ERIN BURNETT OF CNBC WAS AMAZED THAT THE INTERNET SITE USED FOR A POLE NEVER USED (WWW)JUST AN ADDRESS.OVIOUSLY THE NEW WORLD ORDER IS ELIMINATING OR CHANGING THE REGULAR INTERNET.GET READY FOLKS THE DICTATORSHIP IS ON BIG TIME ON THE NET NOW.
ERINS BIO
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15838220/
EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
EARTHQUAKES
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
LAST COUNT DEAD I HEARD WAS BURIED IS 170,000 AND COUNTING.
No respite for Haiti amid fresh aftershocks by Daphne Benoit – JAN 26,10
PORT-AU-PRINCE (AFP) – Two new aftershocks rattled weary Haitians on Tuesday, as top US officials defended the huge American military-led aid operation from criticisms of being too heavy-handed.We just can't get used to these quakes. Each aftershock is terrifying and everyone is afraid, trader Edison Constant said after the aftershocks struck in quick succession around dawn, two weeks after the quake.I hid under my bed,added iron merchant Julien Louis, exhausted by a stream of some 50 aftershocks since the devastating 7.0-magnitude quake on January 12.The US Geological Survey, which warned the Caribbean nation could be feeling aftershocks for the next 30 days, measured the second tremor at 4.4. But for the traumatized people left homeless, hungry and destitute each new quake is a fresh reminder of the terrifying minute two weeks ago when the earth shook, destroying their lives.Haitian leaders say the earthquake killed 150,000 people and left a million homeless with hundreds of thousands now dependent on handouts from a massive aid relief operation and living in makeshift camps.US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton defended the US operation in Haiti from criticisms that it lacked leadership and had been too heavy-handed in the immediate chaotic aftermath of the quake.I deeply resent those who attack our country, the generosity of our people and the leadership of our president in trying to respond to historically disastrous conditions after the earthquake, Clinton said.
Some 20,000 US troops have been sent to Haiti to help distribute food and water. They took over control of the damaged airport, but many have remained stationed on offshore ships, including a floating hospital which has been treating scores of injured.The United States needed to send both troops and civilians to deliver aid to the Haitians who desperately needed it, Clinton said.We're scrambling as quick as we could to do everything we needed in the past two weeks.Leftist Latin American allies Venezuela, Bolivia and Cuba have criticized the United States for its response, accusing US forces of occupying the country rather than helping its people.A senior Italian official separately deplored a lack of a coordinated international aid effort in Haiti, saying the United States had too many officers there and could not find a capable leader.The international relief effort has indeed struggled to get enough aid into the capital Port-au-Prince and out towards flattened towns near the quake's epicenter, stoking security fears.Looters were out early Tuesday in the capital's commercial center and appeared to be more organized than in past days, sharing out the tasks of digging through the rubble, equipped with wagons and sledgehammers. Related article: NGO rushes to aid Haiti handicapped.Donor nations and aid organizations have warned rebuilding the impoverished country will take at least a decade.Right now, the needs of the people are survival and immediate recovery, said Pierre Kraehenbuehl, director of operations at the International Committee of the Red Cross.Next comes the phase of long-term reconstruction, he told foreign media in Tokyo.This is going to be more than 10 years of efforts.And Haitians, who lived with decades of political upheaval and bloodshed, remain fearful that the new-found international interest in their plight could soon fade. The West has come to help us. It is extraordinary, but it will not last,said Andre Muscadin, an evangelical pastor.Rather than give us a fish, teach us to catch fish.
Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive said the world must hammer out a long-term strategy after meeting the Caribbean country's immediate needs for food, water, shelter and health care. Related article: Donors vow to help rebuild Haiti Donor countries have agreed to hold a full conference on aid to Haiti at the UN headquarters in New York in March. Haiti's President Rene Preval urged the world to urgently airlift 200,000 more tents and 36 million ready-to-eat packs before the rainy season starts in May. Aid organizations fear disease could spread like wildfire if thousands are still living in tent cities when the rains come..
Haiti's homeless plead for tents after earthquake By JONATHAN M. KATZ and BEN FOX, Associated Press Writers – JAN 26,10
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – The dusty soccer field lined with spacious tents is an oasis for earthquake survivors among Haiti's homeless sheltering by the hundreds of thousands in squalid camps.Competition for the canvas homes has boiled into arguments and machete fights, a sign of the desperation felt by the hundreds of thousands of people without homes struggling for shelter in this wrecked city. Haiti's president has asked the world for 200,000 tents and says he will sleep in one himself.Fenela Jacobs, 39, lives in a 13-by-13-foot (4-by-4-meter) abode provided by the Britain-based Islamic Relief Worldwide. She says the group offered her two tents for 21 survivors but she ended up putting everyone in one tent after people threatened to burn both down if she didn't give a tent up.Still, she says living in the 6-foot-high (2-meter-tall) khaki home with a paisley interior is better than the makeshift shelters crafted from bed sheets propped on wooden sticks where her family was living before.It's a lot more comfortable, Jacobs said, though she added it gets really hot inside the tent in Cazo, a Port-au-Prince neighborhood hidden in the hills behind the international airport.Tents are in desperately short supply following the 7.0-magnitude quake on Jan. 12 that killed at least 150,000 people.
The global agency supplying tents said it already had 10,000 stored in Haiti and at least 30,000 more would be arriving. But that is unlikely to address the extensive shelter needs,the International Organization for Migration stressed.The organization had estimated 100,000 family-sized tents were needed. But the U.N. says up to 1 million people require shelter, and President Rene Preval issued an urgent appeal Monday calling for 200,000 tents and urging that the aircraft carrying them be given urgent landing priority at Port-au-Prince airport.In solidarity with earthquake victims, Preval plans to move into a tent home on the manicured lawn of his collapsed National Palace in downtown Port-au-Prince, Tourism Minister Patrick Delatour told The Associated Press.It is a decision that the president has made himself, Delatour said.The secretary-general of the Organization of American States, Jose Miguel Insulza, planned to visit Haiti on Tuesday to study relief efforts.The Haitian government and international groups were preparing a more substantial tent city on Port-au-Prince's outskirts.
Brazilian army engineers with the U.N. peacekeeping force in Haiti have cleared and leveled 12 acres (five hectares) north of the city, planned as the first of more than a half-dozen sites that officials hope will shelter the displaced before the onset of spring rains and summer hurricanes.Col. Delcio Monteiro Sapper said the Interamerican Development Bank wants to clear a total of 247 acres (100 hectares) owned by Haiti's government that could house 100,000 quake refugees.Helen Clark, administrator of the U.N. Development Program, said providing shelter is a pressing priority that requires innovative solutions.China, for example, set up 400,000 semi-permanent houses after the Sichuan earthquake, she said in a statement.Similar initiatives will need to be considered and supported for Haiti.On the soccer field in the Cazo neighborhood, the tents are marked Qatar Aid, a gift from the Gulf state, but some Haitian quake survivors have personalized theirs — one flies a Haitian flag, another has a Jamaican flag with a picture of Bob Marley.This was miserable, said Islamic Relief Worldwide's Moustafa Osman, from Birmingham, England, pointing to the few remaining homemade shelters at the site.People were living like this everywhere.Osman's own supply of 1,000 tents has yet to make its way to Haiti, stuck somewhere en route or possibly even waiting in containers that have arrived at Port-au-Prince airport but have yet to be unpacked. He persuaded a Qatari search and rescue team that was leaving Haiti to donate their 82 tents. He desperately needs at least 16 more for the soccer field settlement, which houses 500 people. Latrines and showers are also yet to arrive. Osman doesn't speak the local Creole language, so he went to a mosque and hired two Haitians to translate for him. He said he made clear to them that we are not here for the Muslims, we are here for all the people.He then negotiated with the St. Claire Roman Catholic Church for permission to use the field on their land for his camp and cleared it with Haiti's government. Fights broke out Sunday when workers were distributing tents, with families trying to get the shelters and others competing for space.
Osman confiscated a machete and temporarily evacuated his staff from the camp.
He worries there will be violence if he doesn't get the tents needed to house the remaining families. He hired two men among the refugees, clad them in blue vests marked Islamic Relief Worldwide and put them to work as go-betweens linking the people in the camp and his staff. In Montreal on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and officials of more than two dozen donor nations and international organizations met to assess the progress of the relief effort. The Haitian government asked the international community to provide $3 billion for Haiti's reconstruction, the tourism minister said. Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive told the conference his impoverished nation lost 60 percent of its gross domestic product in the quake. U.S. officials say the rescue phase of the operation is over and the focus has shifted to relief and recovery. Outside of the food area, the two prime worries are: one, medical services or medical equipment, and, two, shelter, said Lewis Lucke, U.S. special coordinator for relief and reconstruction. He said officials are seeing so many people unable to return to their homes that they are scrambling to get them plastic sheeting and other shelter.This is one of our main priorities.The U.N. reported Tuesday that more police officers were reporting for duty and Port-au-Prince was generally secure but there had been isolated looting. It said commerce was increasing, with banks, supermarkets and gas stations returning to operation. The U.S. government is donating its old and unused embassy building in downtown Port-au-Prince to Haiti's government, which will use it as a temporary legislature, according to Delatour, the tourism minister. The building, next door to the partially collapsed Parliament building, will be rented at a nominal $1 a year, Delatour said. One senator was killed in the collapse and another was trapped for days, but rescued. There are 54 confirmed American dead in Haiti, and U.S. officials were seeking to confirm 36 other possible deaths, State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid said Monday. Associated Press writers contributing to this story included Michelle Faul in Port-au-Prince, Rob Gillies in Montreal, Frank Jordans in Geneva, and David Koop and Charles J. Hanley in Mexico City.
Haitians Trying to Leave Quake-Hit Port-au-Prince Behind By JAY NEWTON-SMALL / PORT-AU-PRINCE AND JIMANI - Tue Jan 26, 1:10 am ET
A dozen young men jostled one another waiting in line Sunday for food and water in CitÉ Soleil, one of Haiti's poorest neighborhoods. One wore an Obama campaign T-shirt and when asked about it, he and his comrades grinned and chanted, Obama! But when asked if they would stay in Port-au-Prince and help rebuild the devastated city as the Obama Administration is encouraging Haitians to do, they all shook their heads.As Obama said, all Haitians are Americans and all Americans are Haitians, said Bertrand Aboite, 31. The U.S. President never actually said this. He did pledge that Haitians wouldn't be forgotten or forsaken,but many Haitians appear to have taken away another message.I want to go to Cap-Haitien as soon as possible and take a boat to Miami, said Aboite, referring to the port city on Haiti's north coast facing the U.S. Me too, me too, piped up Sello James, 15, who lost an aunt and a cousin in the earthquake. A chorus of agreement followed as the men and boys lapsed into dreams of Miami and plots involving stolen boats and much rowing. (See TIME's exclusive photos from the Haiti earthquake.)Though extreme, their desire to flee Port-au-Prince is shared by many in this city that had accounted for about a third of Haiti's population before the disaster - some 3 million people. No one knows how many have died - though the estimates go as high as 150,000. But, as aftershocks continue to rattle the capital, many more of its skittish denizens are fleeing town. Thousands have piled onto ferries to Les Cayes in the south and Cap-Haitien, the old northern capital and a favorite launching ground for those willing to risk a sea crossing of more than 400 miles in the hopes of attaining the American dream. Others are imposing themselves on rural relatives for refuge or have bought their way into the Dominican Republic. What is clear, though, is that Port-au-Prince is a shattered metropolis, incapable of sustaining the 3 million who called it home.
Haiti's rich and middle classes have the easiest tickets out. Many upper-class Haitians have country homes in the Dominican Republic and already possess multiple-entry visas to cross into the country on the other side of the island of Hispaniola. For new applicants, the line is long and the cost is steep - to the tune of a few hundred U.S. dollars (Haitians have an annual per capita GDP of $1,300). Getting in illegally is cheaper: hire a coyote and hike the hills or bribe your way through the nine police checkpoints that have magically cropped up in the 11 days since I last drove between Santo Domingo and Haiti. An untold number of Haitians have already taken this route, swelling Santo Domingo's Creole community noticeably. (Watch TIME's video Haiti Rescue: Saving the Man Who Saved My Life.)But Haitians can cross the border and still be out of luck - if they don't have money. Amelia Bernard, 40, lost six family members when her Port-au-Prince house collapsed. She and five other kin were fortunate: they were evacuated with an injured relative to a hospital in Jimani, a Dominican town on the border of Haiti. But, lacking funds, they are in limbo: stuck with no home or prospects in Haiti but no way forward deeper into the Dominican Republic because they can't afford visas.We are waiting, waiting to see where life leads us,Bernard says.For those simply wanting out of the misery of Port-au-Prince, the Haitian government is building a tent city in the exurb of Croix des Bouquets. To that end President RenÉ PrÉval Monday asked the international community for 200,000 family tents to be rushed to Haiti as soon as possible. The government wants people settled well ahead of the rainy season, which is due to start in just over a month. Ad hoc tent cities with badly dug latrines have a long history of leading to deadly cholera epidemics when rain mixes bad water with good. (See pictures of dramatic rescues.)
But aside from fleeing the country or setting up temporary camp, the solution most experts are hoping for is that Haitians move in long-term with their relatives in the countryside. One of Haiti's problems, developmentally speaking, has always been the urban focus of its population; nearly half, 47%, of the population lives in the cities. Centuries ago, when Toussaint Louverture won independence for Haiti, the population of former plantation slaves turned away from agriculture in disgust. If more Haitians farmed, the country would be more self-sufficient and a network of towns would strengthen the country's internal markets.Every economy needs diversity and Haiti will rebuild stronger, I think, with many towns and cities instead of a single metropolis,says Wally Amundson, the Latin America director for the Adventist Disaster and Relief Agency, which has been operating in Haiti for more than 30 years. After he drops his sister off in Santo Domingo, Theophile Amos, 25, plans on staying with family in MÔle Saint-Nicolas. His Port-au-Prince home and the factory he worked in were both destroyed; he also lost a sister and his parents. Amos doesn't know when he'll ever finish his journalism degree, but he thinks he'll have a better shot at finding work in the northwestern Haitian town.Port-au-Prince has too many memories, too many ghosts.In MÔle Saint-Nicolas, he says,I hope to start again fresh.Read more in the new TIME book Earthquake Haiti: Tragedy and Hope and support TIME's Haiti relief efforts.
STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
Rains strand 2,000 tourists at Machu Picchu ruins By ANDREW WHALEN, Associated Press Writer – Mon Jan 25, 6:50 pm ET
LIMA, Peru – Heavy rains and mudslides in Peru blocked the train route to the ancient Inca citadel of Machu Picchu on Monday, keeping nearly 2,000 tourists stranded.The government declared an emergency in the region Monday and evacuated 20 elderly and ill tourists by helicopter from the village of Machu Picchu Pueblo near the ruins, Lima's CPN radio said.Government officials said 1,954 tourists in all had been stranded in the village.The train is the only means of transportation on the last leg of the trip to the ruins from the city of Cuzco and service was suspended after mudslides Sunday.Many people have run out of dollars or Peruvian soles and are begging for food or water for their children or for accommodations. Others are strewn about the floor of the train station waiting, Mexican tourist Alva Ramirez, 40, told The Associated Press by telephone from a hostel Monday.Ramirez said hotels were full and turning people away in the village, a tangle of restaurants and traveler's hostels that has sprung up in recent years on either side of the railway. Tourists must pass through the village on their way to the ruins.Perurail spokeswoman Soledad Caparo told the AP that train company crews were working nonstop to clear rock and mud covering the tracks, but she said flooding of the adjacent Urubamba River had slowed the cleanup.Rains stopped Monday night and Perurail said in a statment that service could resume Tuesday, weather permitting. It added that military helicopters delivered food and water to the village and would return Tuesday to continue evacuations.The company said it was providing stranded passengers with meals on Monday and Tuesday morning, with support from the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge.Chilean tourist Martin Squella, 19, told the AP that many travelers slept on the street Sunday and that restaurants raised prices to take advantage of the high demand.Heavy rains battered the Cuzco region the past three days. Floods and slides killed a woman and a baby and damaged stone walls at archaeological sites near Cuzco, the ancient Inca capital.This year is absolutely atypical. This situation hasn't occurred in the last 15 years. ... the river has never been so high, Tourism and Foreign Commerce Minister Martin Perez said at a news conference.
Winter storm in Midwest brings fierce winds By BLAKE NICHOLSON, Associated Press Writer – Mon Jan 25, 9:10 pm ET
BISMARCK, N.D. – A winter storm that moved across several Midwestern states Monday brought fierce winds and light snow that was easily blown around, leaving travelers stranded and closing some schools and businesses.The weather was so bad in northeastern North Dakota that Grafton construction company owner Jack Burns decided not to even leave his house.It wasn't worth it, he said.We definitely can work outside in the cold, but you can't work outside in the wind. We pretty much have to wait until this blows over.Heavy snowfall was not expected, but strong winds were blowing around what was falling — or had already fallen in the last several days — in the Dakotas, Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota, creating whiteout conditions in some places. Ice buildup on power lines also was a problem in some areas.Crews in the Dakotas, Nebraska and Iowa were continuing efforts to restore electricity to about 13,000 people, mostly in rural areas.Conditions were so bad in North Dakota, that officials advised people not to travel at all. Portions of Interstate 94 were closed in the southern part of the state because of zero visibility and a multi-vehicle crash. Interstate 29 was closed between Grand Forks and the Canadian border and from Watertown, S.D., to the North Dakota border.Iowa officials closed a nearly 80-mile stretch of Interstate 35 from Ames to Clear Lake after a pileup that the state Department of Public Safety said involved as many as 40 vehicles. There was no immediate word on injuries.In northeast Nebraska and south central and southwest Minnesota, some state highways were closed.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty activated the National Guard to help counties in southern and west-central Minnesota provide shelter and other services. Armories in Olivia, Marshall, and St. James were opened for stranded travelers.At the Pilot Travel Center in Clear Lake in northern Iowa, truckers and other travelers were pulling off Interstate 35 and waiting for the storm to pass. Manager Dan Skiye said he had at least 100 semitrailers in his parking lot Monday afternoon.The truckers say they can't see the front of their trucks and they're pulling off, he said.In southwest Minnesota, at least 100 students were hunkered down for the night at their high school because the blizzard made it too dangerous for them to travel home.
Westbrook Principal Bill Richards said the students would sleep on wrestling mats with donated sleeping bags and blankets. He said he didn't think he would get any sleep.Some people also had to cope without heat as they waited for their power to come back on.About 5,000 people in North Dakota, 5,400 in Iowa and about 200 in northeastern Nebraska remained without power. Outages were more severe in South Dakota, where about 7,900 people still had no electricity. More than 10,000 utility poles were believed to be down in the Dakotas and Iowa.Crews are getting a lot of stuff rebuilt. Then they turn around and ... other stuff is coming down, said Brenda Kleinjan, spokeswoman for the South Dakota Rural Electric Association.In eastern North Dakota, airline flights and school classes were canceled and county offices closed. North Dakota State University in Fargo shut down midmorning, and the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks never bothered to open.It's pretty brutal, University of North Dakota spokesman Peter Johnson said. Meteorologist Ken Simosko in Bismarck said arctic air was heading south from Canada, and some northern areas could see dangerous wind chills overnight Tuesday and Wednesday. One thing after another, it seems like, he said.But it's January. In a couple of months it will be spring and the flowers will be blooming.Associated Press writers Melanie S. Welte in Des Moines, Iowa, James MacPherson in Bismarck, N.D., Wayne Ortman in Sioux Falls, S.D., Chris Williams in Minneapolis and Nelson Lampe in Omaha, Neb., contributed to this story.
UN warns Mongolia's severe weather threatens lives
Mon Jan 25, 7:46 am ET
ULAN BATOR, Mongolia – The United Nations warned Monday that extreme winter weather that has killed more than 1 million livestock in Mongolia is likely to harm the country's food supply and worsen poverty.Meanwhile, a blizzard and brutal temperatures in neighboring China's northwestern Xinjiang region has claimed 13 lives, state media reported Monday. The official Xinhua News Agency said 12 people had died in avalanches in northern Altay and Ili Kazak, while one person died of the cold, citing local authorities,The record cold has affected almost 1.42 million people in Xinjiang, and 161,000 have been evacuated from their homes. Shortages of grain and fuel have also been reported.Up north, 19 of Mongolia's 21 provinces have been hit by heavy winter snow and temperatures that have plunged below minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 40 degrees Celsius), the organization said in a statement.
The extreme winter in the poor, landlocked country sandwiched between China and Russia followed a summer drought that prevented farmers from stockpiling food for livestock.The poor did not have the resources to stockpile food or fuel for heating and the supplies in the now inaccessible villages as a whole are stretched, said Rana Flowers, the U.N.'s resident coordinator in Mongolia.The cold and heavy snow have already killed more than 1 million livestock, the organization said, citing the National Emergency Management Agency. More than a third of Mongolians herd livestock for a living.Flowers said U.N. agencies were trying to reach the worst-hit people, and are particularly concerned about pregnant women cut off from medical facilities by the heavy snow — three have reportedly died in childbirth so far, she said. The agencies are also worried about pneumonia rates among children and pregnant women, and increasing malnutrition.The U.N. is coordinating all donor contributions to Mongolia, after the government asked for food, medicine, heating supplies, warm clothing and money to buy and deliver food for livestock, the statement said.In China, the severe weather has prompted the government to offer aid, with Premier Wen Jiabao pledging during his weekend trip to Xinjiang to offer subsidies and loans for farmers and shepherds.
DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADE BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS).
Spain champions Turkish membership in EU family
ANDREW RETTMAN 25.01.2010 @ 09:28 CET
The Spanish EU presidency has strongly advocated Turkey's entry into the union, but most Europeans would say No if asked in a referendum.Turkey is part of the European family of nations. It's better to have it inside the EU than to leave it standing before the door, Spanish foreign minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said in an interview with German paper Die Welt on Sunday (23 January).The minister, a former EU special envoy to the Middle East, endorsed Turkish accession on strategic grounds. Turkish diplomacy is very well connected in the Middle East and Central Asia where it is taking on an important mediating role. Turkey is also an important partner in the dialogue of civilisations between East and West,he said. This is our challenge in dealing with the Islamic world: We must show that interfaces exist between Muslim societies and between universal values, which are represented by the EU, that co-existence and consensus are possible.Spain has promised to try and open four more negotiating chapters in Turkish-EU accession talks during its six-month EU chairmanship.The talks began in 2005 but just 12 out of 35 chapters have been opened so far due, in part, to opposition by EU member Cyprus, which is locked in conflict with Turkey over the northern part of the island. Speaking in a separate interview in Austria's Die Presse newspaper, also on Sunday, Turkey's chief EU negotiator, Egemen Bagis, sprinkled sarcasm on the Cyprus problem.
Turkey is keen to help the union access Caspian Sea gas supplies but Unfortunately [it] cannot open the energy chapter with the EU because of a beautiful island in the Mediterranean Sea,he said.Mr Bagis said that Turkey aims to put in place the full gamut of EU legislation - the acquis communautaire - by 2013, and gave short shrift to Turkey-scepticism within the union. The days of 1683 lie far behind us. We haven't had any kind of diplomatic difficulties in the past 300 years,he said in reference to the Battle of Vienna in 1683, when a coalition of European countries defeated the army of the Ottoman Empire.Germany and Austria are among the two most staunchly anti-Turkish accession countries in the EU.Germany's new centre-right and liberal government has said that it stands by its EU-level agreement to hold open-ended talks with Turkey. But the CSU party, a member of the governing coalition, wants a privileged partnership instead of full accession. The Austrian government has said that it would call a national referendum before letting Turkey in.A new survey of opinion in five EU countries by the Bogazici University in Istanbul and the Granada University and Autonomous University of Madrid in Spain, cited by AFP, shows that 64 percent of people in France and 62 percent of Germans would say No to Turkey if a referendum was held. The No vote was weaker in the UK, on 46 percent. Poland and Spain would vote Yes by 54 percent and 53 percent, respectively.
Israel bars Belgian development minister from Gaza
LEIGH PHILLIPS 25.01.2010 @ 09:28 CET
Israel blocked Belgian development minister Charles Michel from entering the Gaza Strip on the weekend, arguing that the visit would give symbolic support to Hamas. Separately, Palestinian Authority officials have warned the EU against moving towards offering the militant Islamist group any form of recognition.These kinds of visits can only strengthen Hamas and give it legitimacy,Israeli deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon said in a statement about the aborted Michel trip.We allow humanitarian assistance to enter Gaza, including food and medication, but we will not allow political visits that bolster Hamas, he added.Mr Michel, the son of former EU development commissioner Louis Michel, said that he would raise the issue at the European Union level.This situation is unacceptable, he told Belgian television.
Meanwhile, the Fatah-controlled Palestian Authority has warned the bloc against further moves to make contact with Hamas, still officially described by the EU as a terrorist organisation.The Jerusalem Post, a conservative Israeli English-language newspaper, quotes an unnamed senior official from the PA as saying that EU officials and citizens are ignoring the fact that Hamas had staged a coup in the Gaza Strip.In 2007, a conflict between the two rival Palestinian groups resulted in Fatah assuming control of the West Bank while Hamas, the elected government of both occupied territories, retained control of the Gaza Strip. Both sides accuse the other of organising a putsch.The quoted official suggested that contact with Hamas threatened reconciliation between the two Palestinian sides and ultimately the wider Middle East peace process.Those who are trying to legitimise Hamas are harming the Palestinian Authority and any chance of achieving peace with Israel,he said.Despite the stated EU stance towards Hamas, it is an open secret that European member state officials maintain links with the Gaza administration. Last year, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said that Germany was working with Hamas towards the release of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier held prisoner by the Islamic group, while a Hamas spokesman told EUobserver that it holds meetings on a weekly basis with different diplomatic contacts from France, Spain, Germany, Italy, the UK and Luxembourg.Last week, the speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Abdel Aziz Dwaik met with British businessman David Abrahams, a major donor to the UK Labour Party, in Hebron to facilitate dialogue between Hamas and the international community.Following the meeting, Mr Dwaik said that Hamas accepted Israel's existence and could even consider nullifying the group's charter, which calls for the Jewish state's destruction.He said that his group supported the creation of a Palestinian state within pre-1967 borders and expressed his desire to begin dialogue particularly with the European Union.The charter was drafted more than 20 years ago, Mr Dwaik said.No one wants to throw anyone into the sea.
EUROPEAN UNION ARMY
DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.( BE HEAD OF 3 NATIONS)
25 And he (EU PRESIDENT) shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.(3 1/2 YRS)
DANIEL 8:23-25
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king (EU DICTATOR) of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences,(FROM THE OCCULT) shall stand up.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power:(SATANS POWER) and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;(JESUS) but he shall be broken without hand.
DANIEL 11:36-39
36 And the king (EU DICTATOR) shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,(THIS EU DICTATOR IS JEWISH) nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.(CLAIM TO BE GOD)
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces:(WAR) and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god,(DESTROY TERROR GROUPS) whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many,(HIS ARMY LEADERS) and shall divide the land for gain.
REVELATION 19:19
19 And I saw the beast,(EU LEADER) and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse,(JESUS) and against his army.(THE RAPTURED CHRISTIANS)
EU to send gendarmerie force to Haiti-A UN peacekeeper guards a bank queue in earthquake-struck Haiti (Photo: un.org)ANDREW RETTMAN 25.01.2010 @ 17:48 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - EU foreign ministers have opted to send 300 or so military police to support the aid effort in Haiti, on top of a massive US security force.
France and Italy pledged to send between 120 and 140 gendarmes each at the ministers' meeting in Brussels on Monday (25 January). The Netherlands is to send 60. Portugal and Spain are also expected to contribute.The EU mission is getting ready to go in the next few days and will fall under UN command when it arrives in the earthquake zone. The modest size of the EU-hatted deployment stands in contrast to US plans to have 20,000 military personnel on the ground by the end of the week. EU foreign relations chief Catherine Ashton said UN leaders had asked her for specialists to help with specific policing problems rather than to provide general security in the collapsed state. The UN is looking for people with expertise to do specific things,she said.We need to help support the [Haiti] administration get back to life.Following his visit to the Caribbean island over the weekend, EU development commissioner Karel De Gucht said the country has been decapitated.The Haitian state has practically disappeared. We met the president, the prime minister and senior officials, but we were meeting them in a disused police station. That's all that the government consists of, he said.The commissioner paid tribute to nurses and doctors working around the clock in a sort of war zone to help the 250,000 people injured in the disaster on top of the 200,000 or more dead.
The EU foreign ministers on Monday also set up a co-ordination cell in Brussels to help ensure that the mixed bag of bilateral EU aid to Haiti is delivered as efficiently as possible.Twenty four EU countries as well as the European Commission have put forward over €450 million in cash, 12 search and rescue teams, 130 civil protection experts, two field hospitals, 38 medical teams, six water sanitation units and an aircraft carrier with two hospitals on board. Going into the meeting on Monday, French EU affairs minister Pierre Lellouche repeated French concerns that the EU is playing second fiddle to the US in terms of its international profile on the Haiti crisis: We're going to try to do better in terms of the union's visibility,he said. Ms Ashton batted aside press questions about the importance of the EU's image, however. There's been a recognition from the people of Haiti, the US, the UN and others of the extremely important role the EU has played. On the main issue, we should ask, have we tried to save lives, to support the people of Haiti? Yes we have,she said.The remarks follow harsh criticism of international posturing over the crisis by an Italian government envoy to the region, Guido Bertolaso. When there is an emergency it triggers a vanity parade. Lots of people go there anxious to show that their country is big and important, showing solidarity, Mr Bertolaso said from Haiti at the weekend.The original article said Portugal would send 50 gendarmes and Spain 40. It later emerged the countries have not yet made clear their pledges.
Somalia security forces to get EU training
VALENTINA POP 25.01.2010 @ 17:45 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Europe's foreign affairs ministers on Monday (25 January) decided to send some 100 military personnel to train Somali security forces, following a request by the transitional government in Mogadishu and amid increasing attacks from militants.EU ministers justified the decision by expressing their concern about the worsening security situation in Somalia and its spreading effects to neighbouring countries,according to the final conclusions of the one-day meeting in Brussels.The European training mission, comprising roughly 100 military personnel, will take place in Uganda, where Somali forces are already being trained by the United Nations and the US. Somalia's transitional government last year requested international help to train some 6,000 security forces, as it struggles with attacks from militants, including on refugee camps. The EU would train up to 2,000 soldiers when it takes up its mission, most likely in May. It also runs a naval mission – Atalanta – aimed at fighting piracy off the Somali coast and providing security to UN ships carrying food aid.Somalia, one of the poorest countries in the world, has been scarred by civil wars and insurgencies ever since the overthrow of President Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. Mogadishu has seen daily attacks and fighting between government forces and the insurgents, leading to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people. Some member states, notably the Netherlands, raised the question of how the EU will ensure that the newly trained troops will not switch sides once they're back in Somalia.
In its final conclusions, EU's ministers stressed that this mission will be part of a wider international effort and encompassing inter alia the vetting of trainees, the monitoring and mentoring of the forces once back in Mogadishu and the funding and payment of the salaries of the soldiers.A recent report by Amnesty International called for arms transfers to the Somali government to be suspended until there are adequate safeguards to prevent weapons from being used to commit war crimes and human rights abuses.The human rights watchdog also appealed to countries providing military and police training to integrate international humanitarian law and arms management in their programs.A UN arms embargo on Somalia has been in place since 1992 but states can apply for exemptions to supply security assistance to the Somali government.
EU police mission in Afghanistan still understaffed-Eupol still needs over 100 staff from member states (Photo: Council of European Union)VALENTINA POP Today JAN 26,10@ 09:34 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – On the eve of an international conference on Afghanistan, the commanders of the EU's police mission in the country have asked MEPs to press their governments to send more police trainers.I ask for your help in convincing national members of parliaments and governments to staff our mission in full, it is crucial for our credibility, Kees Klompenhouwer, the EU's Brussels-based civilian operations commander told MEPs on Monday (25 January).Three years into its mandate, the Eupol mission to Afghanistan is still below the 400 pledged staff. In the coming weeks, its ranks will be boosted to 310, but Mr Klompenhouwer said that is still not satisfactory.The 400 mark is a political symbol, but it's also very important to have the mission fully deployed in the field, he stressed.His remarks were echoed by Kai Vittrup, the head of Eupol in Kabul, who also emphasised the need for member states to lift restrictions on where their staff can be deployed. Currently, only police trainers and experts from Denmark, Romania and Estonia are fully flexible. The rest, coming from other 18 EU countries, plus Canada, Norway, New Zealand and Croatia, must stay either in the Afghan capital or in a specific military base in the country. I want this mission to be throughout Afghanistan, not just in Kabul, but I need your help for that. Outside Kabul, we need accommodation, staffing and especially flexibility from member states, Mr Vittrup said.
The Dane, who used to be a commander of the Copenhagen police, said his mission was already showing good results in training city police in Kabul, so that they are able to identify potential suicide bombers at the checkpoints and arrest or kill them before they detonate their bombs. Two such would-be attackers were identified and stopped during the presidential elections on 20 August, Mr Vittrup said.Training Afghan criminal police to gather proper evidence from crime scenes is another area of expertise. The Danish commander spoke about neglect and mistrust between the four branches of the Afghan police, who gather information separately and only share it when they are forced to.On anti-corruption, Eupol is the leading non-military unit tasked to come up with a longer-term strategy. A hotline has been set up and the European officials are now recruiting more local staff to answer the calls.But all these initiatives are still nascent and in the shadow of the grand-scale military operation led by Nato. However, unlike the troops deployed to the country, Eupol was not looking at an exit strategy, Mr Klompenhouwer said.We are here to stay at least another 5-10 years, in order to succeed, he said, noting that the country has been at war for over 30 years.What we do is train civilian police so that there is something in place when the war is over,he added.Part of the new strategy for Afghanistan announced by US President Barack Obama is an increase in non-military aid such as police training. An international conference dedicated to these efforts is taking place on Wednesday and Thursday in London.
NATO, Russia formally resume military ties By SLOBODAN LEKIC, Associated Press Writer – Tue Jan 26, 9:43 am ET
BRUSSELS – Russia and NATO formally resumed military ties Tuesday in the latest sign of improving relations between the Cold War rivals as they move to boost cooperation in the fight against insurgents in Afghanistan.It was the first meeting between NATO and Russia military officials since relations broke down in the wake of Russia's war with Georgia in August 2008.Russian Chief of Staff Gen. Nikolai Makarov held talks with NATO's top officer, Italian Adm. Giampaolo Di Paola, before a formal meeting with the defense chiefs of NATO's 27 member states, said Col. Massimo Panizzi, spokesman for NATO's military committee.Officials said that meeting was expected to focus on furthering cooperation in areas of common interest such as Afghanistan, and anti-piracy and counterterrorism operations. No specific decisions were expected Tuesday, but the talks were expected to pave the way for closer technical cooperation.Relations between NATO and Moscow have improved steadily since they were suspended after the war with Georgia.Foreign ministers met in June on the Greek island of Corfu, and NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen held talks in Moscow last month with President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Moscow has repeatedly expressed its willingness to help the war effort in Afghanistan because of fears that any return to power by Taliban extremists would destabilize Central Asia and endanger Russia's own security. It has allowed NATO nations to use its territory and air corridors for the transport of supplies to Afghanistan as routes through Pakistan have come under repeated Taliban attack.
Russia also has trained hundreds of Afghan government anti-narcotics officers.But Fogh Rasmussen and NATO's military commander, U.S. Adm. James Stavridis, have indicated they would like cooperation to be expanded to include items such as Russian military help in maintaining the large fleet of Soviet-built military helicopters being used by both the alliance and the Afghan army and police.
Afghanistan's security forces are largely armed with the ubiquitous Soviet-designed Kalashnikov assault rifles, and NATO officials say they would like Russia to provide more of those to both the army and police.
EU unclear about next move on Iran
LEIGH PHILLIPS Today JAN 26,10 @ 09:23 CET
European Union foreign ministers on Monday (25 January) left a Brussels meeting without a clear picture as to what should be the bloc's next move regarding Iranian non-compliance with international demands regarding its nuclear programme.France for its part pushed for the EU to ready fresh sanctions against Tehran, following on from a similar warning on Monday from Berlin, although European powers have said that no such action should be taken unilaterally in the absence of consensus in the United Nations Security Council.The Europeans have to prepare the sanctions process, France's Europe minister, Pierre Lellouche, told a press conference after the meeting.We have been in talks for six years, he continued, adding: All the West's proposals have been rejected.Mr Lellouche warned that Iran's enrichment of uranium was now at the threshold of militarisation.German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday told national diplomats that sanctions were on the cards if Tehran continued its intransigence.Time is running out, she said, according to German media, while adding that ratcheting up sanctions against the country would be a tragedy for the Iranian people.Other EU member states were more sanguine , with the bloc's new foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, underscoring the need to await agreement at the UN level before Europe could move forward: We just have to wait and see what comes out of the discussions of the Security Council.Sweden's foreign minister, Carl Bildt, also told reporters: The sanction instrument is a very blunt one so it should be used with extreme care. Our aim is to get the Iranians to the negotiating table and have a political solution.The Security Council permanent five - China, France, Russia, the UK and the US - and Germany have already met once in 2010 to consider further sanctions, but without reaching agreement.World powers are concerned at the possibility that Iran's nuclear energy programme is secretly aimed at developing weapons in violation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Tehran maintains the programme only has peaceful ends, intended to provide further electricity resources to its citizens.Iran has called for all nuclear weapons states across the Middle East to disarm and for the region to become a nuclear weapon free zone. Israel, its long-standing nemesis, has never acknowledged its nuclear capacity, although it is widely understood that Israel has 100 to 200 such weapons. The UN Security Council has slapped sanctions on Iran three times as a result of its uranium enrichment activities.Most recently, the International Atomic Energy Agency's offer to ship Iran's low-enriched uranium overseas for reactor-fuel enrichment was rejected by the Islamic republic.
EU business leaders criticise 2020 consultation procedure
ANDREW WILLIS 25.01.2010 @ 09:22 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - European business organisations have voiced strong criticism over the recently expired consultation period for the EU's 2020 Strategy, a process designed to give European stakeholders a say in the bloc's new 10-year economic plan.
With original expectations for an October 2009 start, the consultation period eventually kicked off on 24 November last year, allowing organisations and individuals a total of seven weeks to make submissions via the internet before the 15January deadline.Eurochambres, a Brussels-based umbrella organisation representing some 200 European chambers of commerce and industry, said the process was both too short and poorly organised. We are furious about the whole consultation procedure, director of European affairs Ben Butters told EUobserver in an interview.It's been amateurish.Describing the commission document accompanying the process as not very tight and failing to ask specific questions,Mr Butters also said the truncated consultation period was made even shorter by the Christmas recess. It's a risky game to launch into a key policy plan like this without engaging key stakeholders, he said. Business Europe, a Brussels-based European association of industries and employers, was also unimpressed by the consultation paper. In general we thought it was extremely weak, especially in the area of governance,the association's 2020 project leader, Joana Valente, said of the 12-page document, which outlines a list of potential measures to achieve a sustainable social market and greener economy over the next decade.
Commission defense
The European Commission has defended the sounding-out process however, saying over 2,000 submissions have been made from a broad spectrum of backgrounds including 22 EU governments, NGOs, academics, professional associations and individuals. This is an encouraging and impressive response which shows the level of interest in these proposals,the commission spokesman for the strategy, Mark English, told this website, stressing that the consultation document was intended to consult, not proscribe.With officials now poring over the entries, the commission intends to publish a summary of the consultation trends in late February, with the broad themes also feeding into the commission's communication on the EU 2020 Strategy, expected around the same time. Following repeated delays, the EU executive's new team of 27 commissioners is also likely to take over the reigns sometime next month. Mr English firmly rejected suggestions the late changeover would prevent the new team from taking ownership of the 10-year economic blueprint for sustainable European growth.
The strategy was amongst the topics discussed during three seminars for potential members of the new team in December, he said. Already spending considerable amounts of time in Brussels to prepare their cabinets and make contacts, officials indicated the incoming commissioners were playing an active role in the shaping of next month's highly anticipated communication on the strategy. Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso is set to outline the broad components of the communication to EU leaders when they meet for an informal summit on 11 February, with further discussion on the actual document set for the regular March summit. The conclusions of the March meeting will give a clear indication of the direction member states wish to take, with the final plan expected to be rubber stamped at the June European Council.
Greek bond auction provides some relief
ANDREW WILLIS Today JAN 26,10 @ 09:15 CET
Greek officials breathed a collective sigh of relief on Monday evening (25 January) after the country's first bond issuance this year attracted considerable investor interest, a sign that market concerns over the country's public finances have, at least for the moment, partially subsided.The successful selloff of €8 billion in five-year fixed-rate bonds also helped allay fears the Greek government might struggle to raise the €53 billion it will need this year to fund its debt requirements. This proves the trust investors have in Greece's economy. Greece proved it can raise the funds it needs for 2010 without a problem, said Spyros Papanicolaou, the head of the country's public debt management agency.Investors placed about €25 billion in orders for the Greek bonds, greatly exceeding expectations. But analysts said the high demand was at least partially the result of the attractive terms on offer, with the Greek administration offering a costly interest rate. Peter Chatwell, an interest rate strategist at Calyon in London, described the bond as tremendously cheap, reports Reuters. The bonds are expected to yield around 6.2 percent. This compares with the 2.295 percent yield on German five-year bonds on Monday evening and the 5.85 percent yield on existing five-year Greek bonds.But Mr Papanikolaou said he expected to see the spread between the yields on Greek and German government bonds start to narrow following the successful auction.
We expect the spread to start to tighten after the sale because Greece has been misread and misjudged, he said.
Breather all round
News of the successful issuance helped lift the euro currency, which has been shaken recently by fears a Greek default could greatly weaken the 16-member bloc as a whole. Giada Giani, an economist at Citigroup, said:The bond sale was a positive sign, in the sense that Greece avoided the absolute disaster of proving unable to raise the amount it was targeting,reports The Times. Greek stocks also rose following the surge in investor sentiment. Monday's success will come as welcome respite to many eurozone officials, with concerns over Greece's budget deficit, ballooning debt and unreliable statistics hogging Europe's financial news pages in recent months. Last October, the newly elected centre-left Pasok government disclosed that budget deficit figures had been massively understated, leading to credit rating downgrades and considerable market jitters.
Greek deficit endangers euro, EU commission says
VALENTINA POP 25.01.2010 @ 09:29 CET
Soaring public deficits in euro countries such as Greece weaken the credibility and endanger the cohesion of the common currency, according to a leaked European Commission paper. Meanwhile, the Greek finance minister has rejected speculation that his country might leave the eurozone.Growing imbalances between countries within the common currency are a matter of serious concern for the eurozone as a whole, a paper drafted by the commission's economic and financial unit for the EU's finance ministers and obtained by German paper Der Spiegel says.These imbalances can weaken confidence in the euro and endanger the cohesion of the monetary union, it warns. In particular, Brussels' experts are worried about countries with soaring public deficits: Greece, Ireland and Spain. The combination between lagging competitiveness and excessive increase of state debt is worrying in this context, the document reads.European officials and some member states, particularly Germany, have grown impatient with Greece after the bloc's statistics office found that economic data provided by Athens had been embellished.The Der Spiegel leak came on top of other harsh words for Greece over the weekend.
Never again shall we accept deficit data which doesn't correspond to reality, European Central Bank (ECB) chief Jean-Claude Trichet told Focus magazine. Those who don't stick to the rules, act irresponsibly and without solidarity, damaging the euro, ECB chief economist Jurgen Stark said in Welt am Sonntag.Mr Stark added that the problems were not solely linked to budget deficits. Countries such as Greece need a radical re-orientation of their economic policies, he argued.The EU has no plans to help Greece out financially, however, with another ECB official, Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo, calling rumours that the bloc could fund a credit-line for Greece absurd.Back in Athens, Greek finance minister Giorgos Papakonstantinou told Die Welt that he strongly opposes any talk of his country leaving the eurozone. Speculations about an exit from the monetary union are absurd. I completely reject the idea that Greece will quit the eurozone,he said. Mr Papakonstantinou remained confident that Athens would manage the colosal task of lowering the deficit. We will manage the budget problems on our own. We didn't ask anyone for financial support and we don't expect any external help,he said.
French report wants limits on Muslim face veil By ELAINE GANLEY, Associated Press Writer – Tue Jan 26, 8:11 am ET
PARIS – A parliamentary panel that wants Muslim women to stop veiling their faces recommended Tuesday that France ban such garb in public facilities, including hospitals and mass transit, and a leading panel member said he foresees such an interdiction by the end of 2010.The nearly 200-page report contains a panoply of measures intended to dissuade women from wearing all-enveloping veils in France. It also recommends refusing residence cards and citizenship to anyone with visible signs of a radical religious practice.However, there is no call to outlaw such garments — worn by a tiny minority of Muslims — in private areas and in the street. A full ban was the major issue that divided the 32-member, multiparty panel which ultimately heeded warnings that a full ban risked being deemed unconstitutional and could even cause trouble in a country where Islam is the second-largest religion.The report, which culminates six months of hearings, was formally presented to the president of the National Assembly, the lower house, Bernard Accoyer, and made public.
Conservative lawmaker Eric Raoult, the panel's No. 2 member, said later that he foresaw a limited ban in the public sector before the end of the year.We need maybe six months or a little more to explain what we want,he told The Associated Press, adding that by the end of 2010 there could be such an interdiction.Accoyer was more vague but told a news conference that we can certainly find solutions in a brief time.Universities, hospitals, public transport and post offices would be among areas included in a limited ban on the all-encompassing veil.As envisaged by the panel, such a ban would require that people show their faces when entering the facility and keep the face uncovered throughout their presence, the report says.Failure to do so would result in a refusal to deliver the service demanded. That means, for instance, that a woman seeking state funds commonly accorded to mothers would walk away empty-handed.A parliamentary resolution condemning such garb, with no legal weight and the easiest measure to pass, would be likely to precede concrete initiatives.The veil is widely viewed in France as a gateway to extremism, an insult to gender equality and an offense to France's secular foundation. A 2004 French law bans Muslim headscarves from primary and secondary school classrooms.
The language in the report was carefully chosen in an effort to avoid offending France's estimated 5 million Muslims — the largest such population in western Europe — and accusations of discrimination. Muslim leaders have already complained that the debate over the full veil coupled with an ongoing debate on French national identity has left some Muslims feeling their religion is becoming a government target.The panel went to work, taking testimony from more than 200 experts and others, after President Nicolas Sarkozy said in June that veils that hide the face are not welcome on French territory.Such veils are thought to be worn by only several thousand Muslim women who, most often, pin a niqab across their faces, hiding all but the eyes. Worn with a long, dark robe, such clothing is customarily associated with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states.The report puts an emphasis on educating women who wear the robes in France about the rules of the Republic.Any action on the report would not come before March regional elections.
Minister: Israel rejects UN Gaza war probe call By AMY TEIBEL, Associated Press Writer – JAN 26,10
JERUSALEM – Israel will rebuff a U.N. panel's demand for a special investigation into last winter's Gaza offensive, a Cabinet minister said Tuesday, a decision that could open the government to an international war crimes inquiry.Information Minister Yuli Edelstein said Israel would submit a document to the U.N. later this week that deals only with Israel's own investigations of its conduct during the three-week war.Those investigations have been conducted by the military, which has exonerated itself of any systematic wrongdoing.To the best of my knowledge, there is no intention to create an investigative committee, Edelstein told Israel Radio, saying he had checked with his colleagues in the Cabinet.It was not certain that Edelstein's comments were Israel's last word on the subject. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was out of the country, and his office declined comment.The U.N. report accused both Israel and Gaza's Islamic militant Hamas rulers of war crimes and urged both to independently probe their wartime conduct. The U.N. General Assembly endorsed the report last November, giving the sides until Feb. 5 to respond.By rejecting calls for an independent inquiry, Israel could open itself to international war crimes proceedings. But Israeli leaders are worried that forcing soldiers to testify could hurt morale and make troops wary of taking part in future battles.
Israel, which considers the report to be deeply flawed, will relay a document addressing something very specific, namely, the character and credibility of internal investigations that took place in Israel,Edelstein said.Nine Israel-based human rights groups issued a call Tuesday to Netanyahu to order a full-fledged inquiry. In a joint statement, they said the internal probe does not satisfy Israel's obligations to investigate.Although Israel denies wrongdoing, it is worried about the report, which has battered its image internationally. Netanyahu recently called the report one of Israel's three biggest strategic challenges — along with Iran's nuclear threat and militants' rocket attacks that had sparked the Gaza war.
Israel launched the Gaza offensive after years of rocket barrages on its southern region. More than 1,400 Palestinians, including more than 900 civilians, were killed, as were 13 Israelis. Large chunks of Gaza were devastated and have not been repaired because of an ongoing Israeli and Egyptian blockade.The U.N. report, authored by veteran war crimes prosecutor Richard Goldstone, accused Israel of deliberately targeting Palestinian civilians and intentionally destroying infrastructure, homes and livelihoods.Powerful forces in Israel have arrayed against appointing an independent panel with sweeping investigative powers. Netanyahu, who will ultimately decide the case, has said he doesn't want to see Israeli officers hauled before such a panel.But in deference to the international outrage, top defense officials would be open to having prominent civilian jurists examine the military's own investigations, without empowering them to call soldiers to testify, defense officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to report on confidential discussions.It's unlikely such a halfway measure would satisfy the U.N.'s call for a credible probe.If Israel disregards the U.N.'s call, the Security Council could refer the case to prosecutors at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Washington would be expected to block such a move, but would not be able to spare Israel an embarrassing, high-profile investigation.Israel says Hamas is to blame for civilian casualties because militants operated within residential areas. It says it made exceptional efforts to avoid harming civilians.Israel refused to cooperate with the Goldstone probe, despite Goldstone's Jewish faith and his close ties Israel, because the U.N. body that commissioned it has a history of singling out Israel for particular censure.
Israel says Turkish leader fueling anti-Semitism By JOSEF FEDERMAN, Associated Press Writer – JAN 26,10
JERUSALEM – An internal Israeli Foreign Ministry document accuses Turkey's prime minister of fueling anti-Semitism with his criticism of Israel, an official said Tuesday, threatening to spark a new diplomatic row with one of its few Muslim allies.
The ministry's report comes two weeks after Israel's deputy foreign minister enraged Turkey by summoning the country's ambassador for a humiliating public reprimand shown on Israeli TV. Although Israel was forced to apologize, the report said the reprimand made it clear to Turkey that there must be a limit to its criticism.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been a fierce critic of Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip last year. The report accused Erdogan, leader of an Islamic-oriented party, of going too far with his rhetoric and creating negative public opinion toward Israel.He does this by repeating motifs in his speeches of describing the suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza and blaming Israel of committing war crimes, going as far as using anti-Semitic expressions and incitement,the report said.It said Erdogan, for instance, does not distinguish between Israeli and Jewish, turning criticism of Israel into anti-Jewish diatribes. It also said he has turned a blind eye to anti-Semitic references in the Turkish media and has made ignorant and insulting comments about Jews.Excerpts of the ministry's report were published in the Haaretz daily and confirmed by an Israeli official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was discussing a confidential document.In Turkey, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu rejected the charge.To criticize Israel is not anti-Semitism, he told independent NTV television. Criticism of Israel's policies should not be given other meanings. He called on Israel to lift its blockade of Gaza.
Israel and Turkey have forged close military and economic ties in recent decades. Turkey has given Israel a rare ally in the Muslim world, while for Ankara the alliance has boosted its standing with the West.Last year, the Turks mediated several rounds of indirect peace talks between Israel and Syria.The alliance, however, has become strained since Erdogan's party came to power in 2002 — and particularly since the Gaza war.Some 1,400 Palestinians were killed, including about 900 civilians, according to Palestinian and international human rights groups. Israel, which launched the operation to halt years of Hamas rocket attacks, says the militant group caused civilian casualties by hiding in residential areas.In a sign of the poor relations, Israeli officials said this week that Israeli tourism to Turkey has plummeted about 45 percent over the past year. Tourism officials said 300,000 Israelis went to Turkey last year, compared with 560,000 in 2008. Turkey had been a popular destination for Israelis, attracted by low prices and the convenience of a 90-minute flight.Yossi Fattal, head of the Israel Tourist and Travel Agents Association, said politics and tourism are inextricably linked.This is not only about political differences, but something more basic, about the personal relationship between the countries, he said.Unless something meaningful is said by the (Turkish) government, the drop in numbers will continue.Associated Press Writer Shira Rubin contributed to this report.
Ultra-Orthodox seek boycott of their own Web sites By AMY TEIBEL, Associated Press Writer – Tue Jan 26, 7:32 am ET
JERUSALEM – Prominent ultra-Orthodox Israeli rabbis are targeting a new foe in the decidedly impious world of the Internet: They've demanded a boycott of their community's own Web sites, accusing them of disseminating gossip, slander ... filth and abominations.It's the latest flashpoint in a long-simmering battle by rabbis in the profoundly insular ultra-Orthodox, or haredi, community to preserve their influence over hundreds of thousands of followers in an era when the forces of technology are growing ever more powerful.The ultra-Orthodox portals do not contain the seamy material that traditionally has been the main target of rabbinical ire. But the sites, which publish articles on politics, economics, health and religion, do offer freewheeling discussions with irreverent and unmonitored reader responses — including direct criticism of rabbis' authority.A reader responding to a recent report on alleged bribery in an ultra-Orthodox school in the Tel Aviv area posted a photograph of the hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil monkeys, likening them to municipal, school board and rabbinical officials.
Another reader, commenting on a legal dispute that made its way from a religious court to a secular court, predicted that the harediban — a play on the word Taliban — would lose their grip on the community.The anonymous comments are an injection of openness in the intensely cloistered world of Israel's estimated 650,000 haredim, Hebrew for God fearing.The haredim live in isolated enclaves across Israel and study in closed school systems. These communities, easily recognized by their bearded men in long black coats and brimmed hats, have minimal contact with the rest of the world.Ultra-Orthodox rabbis have labored hard to throw up walls between their community and the outside world, and technology has long been a battleground.
Television was an early target and remains off-limits in many ultra-Orthodox homes. Cellular phones were another point of contention, with rabbis ordering the use of kosher filters out of fear the phones would be used to access sex sites or other objectionable material.Haredi rabbis have been railing against the dangers of the Internet for a decade. In one infamous incident, the family of Israel's Sephardic chief rabbi, Shlomo Amar, had a 17-year-old boy kidnapped and beaten at knifepoint after he became acquainted with the rabbi's daughter through an Internet chat room and later met her unchaperoned — an ultra-Orthodox taboo. Amar was not charged in the case.The very existence of haredi Web sites gives the Internet a cloak of legitimacy in the ultra-Orthodox world, said Menachem Friedman, an expert on Jewish religious society in Israel.If there are haredi Web sites, then it means the Internet is kosher, with all the openness to the outside world that legitimacy would imply, he said.The sites, largely run by members of the haredi community, provide a rare outlet for public discourse, further upsetting the rabbis, says Avishay Ben Haim, religious affairs reporter for Israel's Maariv daily.The Web sites set the agenda, he said. They are threatening the old elite.The rabbis haven't been able to keep out the Web entirely. They have offered a dispensation to businesspeople and others who use it to make a living. And filters devised over the years have permitted the ultra-Orthodox to strictly screen content, allowing the Internet to flourish in their midst.Now, the rabbis are trying to plaster the cracks in the haredi world's self-imposed walls.In a letter published recently in ultra-Orthodox newspapers, 21 top rabbis called for an Internet boycott, specifically of the haredi sites, which they said were defaming the haredi community and spreading slander and filth.
We must vilify these sites and purge them from our midst,said the letter.Even if the sites themselves aren't guilty of objectionable conduct,they are making people use the despicable Internet, which has harmed so many Jewish souls, added the letter, which has been posted on the same haredi Web sites they wanted boycotted. Web site operators did not return calls or e-mails seeking comment. In the U.S., home to the world's second-largest Jewish community after Israel, there's been no similar boycott call, said Rabbi Avi Shafran, spokesman for the haredi Agudath Israel of America group. But he said he could identify with the rabbis' concerns. The blogosphere may have worthy offerings but it is saturated, too, with hatred, lies, half-truths and slander, Shafran said in an e-mail. He said when sites allow anonymous comments, the potential for what is Jewishly wrong is magnified exponentially.Agudath Israel of America has never maintained a Web site, Shafran said, for fear that would send a subliminal message to people that the Web is a place they should regard as benign.So far, the boycott calls in Israel have already claimed significant victories. At least two sites have shut down and key figures have resigned from another. But insiders don't expect the ban to squelch Internet use.The Internet broke down the walls of the ghetto that the haredi world built up, said Ben Haim, the Maariv reporter.
Dollar up sharply, pound struggles
JAN 26,10
LONDON (AFP) – The dollar was sharply higher against the euro on Tuesday, buoyed by US consumer confidence data while the pound took a hit after news that Britain had only just limped out of recession, dealers said.They said fears that China, which has played a key role in the recovery so far, might be trying to slow its booming economy has dampened investor confidence given the weak growth prospects in the developed countries.Those countries have also run up huge deficits to get their economies back on track, sparking a warning Tuesday from the International Monetary Fund of the dangers involved and the need for sound policy.A key risk is that a premature and incoherent exit from supportive policies may undermine global growth and its rebalancing, it said in a report cautiously upgrading its overall growth forecasts.High fiscal deficits and debt are raising concerns about sustainability and sovereign risk -- which is the primary consideration in many countries.In late London trade, the euro fell to 1.4087 dollars from 1.4149 dollars in New York late Monday.
The dollar in turn slipped to 89.59 yen from 90.22 yen.Talk that China may accelerate the pace of monetary tightening shook the markets overnight, said Jane Foley of Forex.com.Meanwhile, the pound tumbled to 1.6158 dollars from 1.6240 dollars after figures showed the British economy just scraped out of recession in the fourth quarter with growth of 0.1 percent, well short of forecasts for 0.4 percent.The pound suffered from a sharp pull-back (on the data) and is likely to remain under pressure going forward, said Calyon economist Slavena Nazarova.The dollar may have got support from better-than-expected US consumer confidence figures in January, up for a third straight month, dealers said.The Conference Board, a private research firm, said its consumer confidence index rose to 55.9 in January from an upwardly revised 53.6 in December and compared with forecasts for 53.5.
Consumer confidence rose for the third consecutive month, primarily the result of an improvement in present-day conditions, said Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board's consumer research center.Franco cautioned, however, that consumers' short-term outlook, while moderately more positive, does not suggest any significant pickup in activity in the coming months.Elsewhere, German business confidence rose for a record 10th month in a row.The closely watched Ifo survey of around 7,000 firms in the manufacturing, construction, wholesaling and retail sectors, climbed to 95.8 in January from 94.6 in December, hitting its highest level since July 2008.This positive reading from the German business survey will raise hopes that the recovery may be gathering renewed momentum in the first quarter of 2010," said Daiwa economist Colin Ellis.In London on Tuesday, the euro was changing hands at 1.4087 dollars against 1.4149 dollars late on Monday, at 126.21 yen (127.69), 0.8718 pounds (0.8709) and 1.4712 Swiss francs (1.4709). The dollar stood at 89.59 yen (90.22) and 1.0444 Swiss francs (1.0398). The pound was at 1.6158 dollars (1.6240). On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold eased to 1,093.25 dollars an ounce from 1,095.25 dollars an ounce late on Monday.
Economy staggers out of record recession by Roland Jackson – JAN 26,10
LONDON (AFP) – Britain narrowly emerged from its longest ever recession in the final quarter of 2009, official data showed on Tuesday, but massive debt could stunt recovery before a general election due by June.Gross domestic product -- the value of all goods and services produced in the economy -- grew by just 0.1 percent in the three months to December, aided by the services sector, after a 0.2-percent contraction in the third quarter.The recession is officially over -- but only just, said Deutsche Bank economist George Buckley.The positive figure, which dashed market expectations for a 0.4-percent expansion, marked the end of a deep recession which began in the second quarter of 2008 as a result of the global financial crisis.The return to quarterly growth may also not be enough for Prime Minister Gordon Brown to keep his job in the upcoming election, as the nation faces a tough recovery amid calls to tackle soaring state debt.While the UK may be officially out of recession, it is far from out of the economic woods, said IHS Global Insight economist Howard Archer.Like many Western countries, Britain's public debt has rocketed as the government spent billions on financial stimulus measures and banking-sector bailouts in an attempt to avert economic meltdown.Brown was confident but cautious about the outlook for the battered economy, his spokesman said on Tuesday.
The state of the economy has become the key battleground ahead of an election that is likely to see Brown's Labour Party defeated by the main opposition Conservatives, according to polls.Whichever party wins power, the nation faces serious public spending cuts and taxation hikes in the years ahead to cut borrowing, economists said.Finance minister Alistair Darling told the BBC that the recovery would be bumpy.
There are many bumps along the way, we are not out of the woods yet so I think my caution is right, he said.What I would say though is these figures, which show modest growth, demonstrate the need for us to maintain support for the economy now.
The Conservatives' finance spokesman, George Osborne, blasted the government over its handling of the economy.After this great recession, any signs of growth are welcome -- but these very weak growth figures show that Gordon Brown's government left us badly prepared for the recession and badly prepared for the recovery, Osborne said.We urgently need a new model of economic growth that includes a credible deficit reduction plan that keeps mortgage rates low, creates jobs and doesn't choke off recovery.But Darling argued that the recovery could be compromised by cutting public expenditure too soon.If you start to take money out of the economy and start cutting (spending) too early you will end up wrecking the recovery.The return to growth, after a record six straight quarters of contraction, means that Spain is the only major economy still trapped in recession after the worst global economic downturn since the 1930s. The UK economy finally exited recession in the fourth quarter last year but at a snail's pace, said Capital Economics analyst Jonathan Loynes. With households under pressure, credit in short supply and a fiscal squeeze looming, the path back to pre-recession levels of activity will be a long and bumpy one.British GDP shrank by 3.2 percent in the fourth quarter, compared with the equivalent October-December period in 2008. The outlook for the global economy is far from rosy, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the United Nations recently warning of a possible renewed or double-dip recession this year. Some commentators argued that Britain's return to growth was skewed because temporary government measures had lifted GDP, particularly in the retail and car sectors. The ONS said Tuesday that the economy shrank 4.8 percent in 2009 -- the biggest annual contraction on record. The government had forecast contraction of 4.75 percent in 2009, followed by growth of 1.0-1.5 percent this year. The economy has shrunk by 6.0 percent over the last six quarters.
Bank reform must allow open markets: Bank of Canada
Tue Jan 26, 5:47 am ET
OTTAWA (Reuters) – A U.S. proposal to limit banking activities must strike a balance between preventing institutions from being too big to fail and the need to keep markets functioning effectively, the head of Canada's central bank said on Monday.
Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney made the comments in an interview with the Financial Times after U.S. President Barack Obama last week proposed barring financial institutions from engaging in proprietary trading -- operations that are unrelated to serving customers and are for their own profit.We start from two principles. One is you have to have a system that's robust to failure, so we have to move to a system where institutions can fail in an orderly fashion,Carney said in the videotaped interview.Secondly, as a central bank, what we care deeply about is that markets function and to the maximum extent possible that we can enlarge the number of markets that are continuously open ... So we have to work to make these markets open. That means we're going to need firms who are market-makers, he said.
Carney said exactly where to draw the line between banks and their proprietary trading businesses will be the biggest challenge and the answer will differ depending on the country.Different judgments will be taken in different jurisdictions about where you draw the line between proprietary businesses and market-making businesses, he said.Canada has shown little inclination to follow other countries in imposing levies on banks or limiting their activities to prevent future financial crises, mainly because regulatory standards are already higher than elsewhere and none of the major banks needed bailouts.Carney's focus has been on improving market infrastructure to prevent meltdowns of the kind seen in its non-bank asset-backed commercial paper market.In that vein, Canada has begun developing a central counterparty clearinghouse for repo transactions, a step designed to reduce risks and keep markets more liquid in times of crisis. Carney said the service should start operating later this year.On the topic of other countries diversifying their foreign exchange reserves to invest more in Canadian assets, Carney said he expected diversification to continue and that the international monetary system would have to make adjustments to those changes over time.Russia last week announced it would invest some of its gold and foreign exchange reserves in Canadian dollar assets.There's no question that reserves continue to grow, that reserve management strategies are becoming a little more broad in their asset classes and some of that will be reflected in purchase of Canadian assets and other assets,Carney said.(Reporting by Louise Egan; Editing by Jeffrey Hodgson.)
Nigeria Muslim-Christian clashes killed 326: police
Tue Jan 26, 9:24 am ET
KANO, Nigeria (AFP) – Nigerian police said Tuesday that at least 326 people died in Muslim-Christian clashes last week in the central Plateau State.Police gave the first official death toll from authorities from days of bloodshed which broke out on January 17 in Jos, the capital of Plateau, and later spread to nearby villages and towns.From the figures available to the police ... 326 people were killed in the recent violence, police spokesman Mohammed Lerama told AFP.However, other estimates from medical and aid workers and religious and community leaders put the toll at more than 550.Christian resistance to the building of a mosque in a predominantly Christian neighbourhood sparked the violence. Other reports suggest a Muslim landowner was building a house that encroached onto property owned by a Christian.
The clashes had no religious basis but (were) rather an affray hijacked in the name of religion by demons with a human face, said Lerama.Leaders of both faiths have said the unrest owed more to the failure of political leaders to address ethnic differences than any religious rivalries.The military deployed to quell the violence as it became apparent the killings were spiralling out of control for the local security forces.Police said 313 people have so far been rounded up for suspected roles in the Jos killings.Following the clashes in which some people in full military gear were reportedly arrested for suspected involvement, troop movements have been restricted, the army chief said on Monday.The move was taken to avoid soldiers being dragged into the clashes or national politics amid tensions arising from President Umaru Yar'Adua's protracted absence from Nigeria for medical reasons.
We are aware of the fact that there is tension in the country, the army chief of staff, Lieutenant General Abdulrahman Danbazzau, told reporters in Abuja.We also got intelligence information that some people are trying to infiltrate our ranks, Danbazzau said.Troops have been ordered to remain at their postings and only travel with permission to avoid attempts to pull the army into the violence.Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, has a history of military take-overs.The Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Paul Dike, warned members of the armed forces to steer clear of politics.Yar'Adua has been undergoing treatment for a serious heart ailment in Saudi Arabia for more than two months. His absence has stalled governance across the board.Adding to the uncertainty in the world's eighth largest oil exporter, former militants in the oil-rich Niger Delta warned Monday of signs of restiveness in the volatile region because of perceived let-downs by government. Thousands of militants from the delta, in southern Nigeria, laid down arms last year under a government amnesty scheme proposed by Yar'Adua with promises of re-training and re-integration into society. In a statement, top militant leaders Ateke Tom and Government Ekpemupolo warned that Niger Delta youths see the lull in the implementation of the promises as a betrayal by government, a feeling that could further escalate the situation.
China issues warning over US arms sales to Taiwan By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN, Associated Press Writer – JAN 26,10
BEIJING – Contacts with China's military would likely be the first to suffer if Beijing moves to retaliate over upcoming U.S. arms sales to Taiwan — the latest in a flurry of disputes elevating tensions between Washington and Beijing.Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu warned Tuesday that the Obama administration risked damaging bilateral ties with China if it proceeds with the arms package deal, which is likely to include Black Hawk helicopters and Patriot missiles.Once again, we urge the U.S. side to recognize the sensitivity of weapon sales to Taiwan and its gravity, Ma said. Failure to halt sales would impair the larger interests of China-U.S cooperation.The weapons sale to Taiwan, a self-ruled island that Beijing claims as part of its territory, are among several sensitive issues roiling ties between China and the United States that have prompted pointed responses from Beijing.Last week, China issued a sharp counterattack after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton criticized Internet censorship and called on China to investigate cyberattacks against Google. The search giant has threatened to pull out of the world's most populous online market if Beijing doesn't relax its Internet censorship.
On Tuesday, another government spokesman rebuked Washington for Clinton's comments, saying they aimed to discredit China. An editorial in the People's Daily the same day accused U.S. politicians of using the issue to meddle in other nations' affairs on the one hand and to consolidate American hegemony in cyberspace on the other hand.
Arms sales to Taiwan are a constant irritant in relations. They are mandated by a U.S. law requiring Washington to ensure Taiwan is capable of defending itself from Chinese threats, including the more than 1,000 ballistic missiles pointed at the island.In 2008, China suspended most military dialogue with Washington after the Bush administration approved a $6.5 billion arms package to Taiwan that included guided missiles and attack helicopters.Among upcoming exchanges that could suffer: Gen. Chen Bingde, the Chinese military's chief of the general staff, was due to visit the U.S., while U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, had planned to come to China.
Washington has sought to raise the profile and frequency of such visits, using them as the basis for expanded cooperation in practical areas such as joint rescue drills. The Pentagon also hopes to build trust with Beijing to convince the communist government to reveal more about the aims of its massive military buildup.
Also potentially at risk are a planned exchange of visits this year by the heads of NASA and China's national space program and a hoped-for revival of a bilateral dialogue on human rights.Arms sale disputes also highlight Beijing's complicated relationship with Taiwan, which split from the mainland amid civil war in 1949 and has in recent years forged an increasingly independent identity. The U.S. broke diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979 in order to normalize relations with Beijing, but remains Taipei's closest ally and chief source of weapons.Since the election of Taiwan's China-friendly President Ma Ying-jeou in 2008, Beijing has played down its threat to use force to bring the island under its control, while pressing ahead with economic dialogue and easing its campaign to isolate the island internationally. Direct scheduled flights have opened, Chinese tourists can now visit Taiwan and a new round of talks on a free trade agreement began Tuesday in Beijing.Such progress ought to be seen in Washington as a powerful argument against providing more weapons to Taiwan, said Liu Jiangyong of Tsinghua University's Institute of International Studies on Tuesday.Selling arms to Taiwan is a mistake that will bring negative effects to the development of the China-U.S. relations and shows the American government's lack of strategic insight, Liu said.
Report says NKorea may be preparing missile launch By HYUNG-JIN KIM, Associated Press Writer – Tue Jan 26, 7:28 am ET
SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea issued two no-sail zones near its disputed western sea border with South Korea, officials said Tuesday, a possible indication the country may be preparing to conduct missile tests.The no-sail zones were designated just south of the western maritime border — in South Korean-held waters — from Monday through March 29, said a South Korean Defense Ministry official on condition of anonymity, citing department policy.YTN television network cited a military official as saying that the North designated the no-sail zones possibly to conduct missile tests or other military action.South Korea was trying to find out why the North made the no-sail zone announcement. Pyongyang did the same in the past before carrying out missile tests and military maneuvers, the Defense Ministry official said. The North has also issued no-sail zones if bad weather was expected.One of the zones is where navy ships from the two Koreas fought a brief yet bloody gunbattle in November that left one North Korean sailor dead and three others wounded, according to Yonhap news agency. The Defense Ministry said it couldn't confirm the report.
The disputed sea border — drawn by the U.N. Command at the end of the Korean War — is a constant source of military tension between the Koreas, with Pyongyang insisting the line should be redrawn further south. The dispute also led to bloody naval skirmishes in 1999 and 2002.North Korea has sent mixed signals to the South recently. Pyongyang offered talks on restarting stalled joint-tour programs and a joint industrial complex in the North earlier this month.But communist country has also escalated its rhetoric with the powerful National Defense Commission threatening to attack the South and break off all dialogue over a reported South Korea contingency plan to handle turmoil in the North.The two Koreas are still technically at war because their 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.
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