Russian firepower helps Syrian forces edge towards Turkey border The Syrian army advanced towards the Turkish border on Monday in a major offensive backed by Russia and Iran that rebels say now threatens the future of their nearly five-year-old insurrection against President Bashar al-Assad.Iranian backed-militias played a key role on the ground as Russian jets intensified what rebels call a scorched earth policy that has allowed the military back into the strategic northern area for the first time in more than two years.
« Our whole existence is now threatened, not just losing more ground, » said Abdul Rahim al-Najdawi from Liwa al-Tawheed, an insurgent group. « They are advancing and we are pulling back because in the face of such heavy aerial bombing we must minimise our losses. » The Russian-backed Syrian government advance over recent days amounts to one of the biggest shifts in momentum of the war, helping to torpedo the first peace talks for two years, which collapsed last week before they had begun in earnest.
The Syrian military and its allies were almost five km (3 miles) from the rebel-held town of Tal Rafaat, which has brought them to around 25 km (16 miles) from the Turkish border, the rebels, residents and a conflict monitor said.The assault around the city of Aleppo in northern Syria has prompted tens of thousands to flee towards Turkey, already sheltering more than 2.5 million Syrians.
In the last two days escalating Russian bombardment of towns northwest of Aleppo, Anadan and Haritan, brought several thousand more, according to a resident in the town of Aza. Aleppo, Syria’s largest city before the war with 2 million people, has been divided for years into rebel and government-held sections. The government wants to take full control, which would be its biggest prize yet in a war that has already killed at least 250,000 people and driven 11 million from their homes.
Rebel-held areas in and around Aleppo are still home to 350,000 people, and aid workers have said they could soon fall to the government.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was quoted at the weekend as saying Turkey was under threat, and Ankara has so far kept the border crossing there closed to most refugees.There are now around 77,000 refugees taking shelter in camps on the Syrian side of the Turkish border, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said on Monday. He said that a worst-case scenario could see as many as 600,000 at Turkey’s border.
After around a week of heavy Russian air strikes, Syrian government troops and their allies broke through rebel defences to reach two Shi’ite towns in northern Aleppo province on Wednesday, choking opposition supply lines from Turkey.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was « appalled » by the suffering of Aleppo, blaming primarily Russian bombing and suggesting it violated a U.N. Security Council resolution Moscow signed in December.
Kerem Kinik, Vice President of the Turkish Red Crescent, told reporters at the Oncupinar border crossing that Syrians were fleeing Russian strikes in panic. The closure of the road to Aleppo risked a much larger scale repeat of crises in Ghouta, a besieged Damascus suburb, or even Madaya, a blockaded town were residents have starved. »The route to Aleppo is completely closed and this is a road that was feeding all the main arteries inside Syria. Unless this is reopened, you will see Aleppo falling day by day into a similar situation as in Madaya and Ghouta and you will see a deepening humanitarian crisis, » he said.
Putin ally says Chechen spies infiltrate Islamic State in Syria Ramzan Kadyrov, hardline leader of Russia’s Chechen region and close ally of President Vladimir Putin, said Chechen spies loyal to Moscow had infiltrated Islamic State in Syria and were gathering intelligence for Russian air force bombing strikes.
The assertion, by Ramzan Kadyrov, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, is impossible immediately to verify. But true or not, it could have the effect of stirring distrust in jihadi ranks towards Chechens and other militants from Russia and the former USSR who have joined Islamic State.Kadyrov, who keeps tight control of Chechnya, a mostly Muslim region with a history of rebellion against Moscow, said Chechen spies had trained alongside Islamic State fighters from the start of the Syrian war.
« An extensive spy network has been set up inside Islamic State, » Kadyrov’s office quoted him on Monday as telling Russia’s state-controlled Russia 1 channel.He said Chechnya’s « best fighters » had been sent to Syria to gather information about militants’ structure and numbers. »Thanks to their work as agents, the Russian air force is successfully destroying terrorist bases in Syria. » When asked about the comments, Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Putin, declined to confirm the presence of Chechen forces in Syria. Kadyrov’s full interview on the subject is due to be broadcast on state TV on Wednesday.
Air strikes help force IS to halve fighters’ pay -Glaser U.S.-led air strikes have had a substantial impact on the money Islamic State (IS) makes from oil, and have helped force the militant group to cut its fighters’ pay by up to 50 percent, a senior U.S official said on Monday.
Daniel Glaser, assistant secretary for terrorist financing at the U.S. Treasury Department, said the strikes had hit the group’s ability to extract, refine and transport oil from territory it controlled in Iraq and Syria. »When you look at difficulties that we know that they are having with respect to the transport, with respect to the extraction, I think it’s fair to say they are no longer able to make money the way they used to be able to, » Glaser told a London conference.
The strikes had also targeted cash storage sites which had « literally incinerated millions of dollars ». »(IS) has cut salaries to its fighters in (its de facto capital) Raqqa by up to 50 percent, » Glaser added.The cash squeeze on IS had also been intensified by the decision of the Iraqi government to cut off paying salaries to its employees in IS-held territory, as this amounted to some $2 billion a year, Glaser said.
« We see indications that our efforts to disrupt (IS) sources of revenue are bearing fruit, both because of targeted air strikes against (IS) financial and commercial activities and due to our efforts to decrease liquidity into (IS)-controlled territory, » he added.IS has declared a self-styled caliphate across areas of territory it controls in Iraq and Syria, imposing its own harsh interpretation of Islamic law.
Glaser said the US had estimated it made some $500 million a year from oil, along with hundreds of millions more from taxation and extortion to go with the hundreds of millions it had seized from banks when it captured Iraqi towns and cities.He said IS still had a lot of money but cutting its income stream would hamper its efforts. »It’s not cheap to run a caliphate, it’s not cheap to run a war, » Glaser said. « You need to pay your fighters. They are having a harder and harder time doing it. »
Turkey’s Erdogan threatened to flood Europe with migrants -Greek websiteTurkish President Tayyip Erdogan threatened in November to flood Europe with migrants if European Union leaders did not offer him a better deal to help manage the Middle East refugee crisis, a Greek news website said on Monday.Publishing what it said were minutes of a tense meeting last November, the euro2day.gr financial news website revealed deep mutual irritation and distrust in talks between Erdogan and the EU’s two top officials, Jean-Claude Juncker and Donald Tusk.
The EU officials were trying to enlist Ankara’s help in stemming an influx of Syrian refugees and migrants into Europe.Over a million arrived last year, most crossing the narrow sea gap between Turkey and islands belonging to EU member Greece.
Tusk’s European Council and Juncker’s European Commission declined to confirm or deny the authenticity of the document, and Erdogan’s office in Ankara had no immediate comment.The account of the meeting, in English, was produced in facsimile on the website. It does not state when or where the meeting took place, but it appears to have been on Nov. 16 in Antalya, Turkey, where the three met after a G20 summit there.
« We can open the doors to Greece and Bulgaria anytime and we can put the refugees on buses … So how will you deal with refugees if you don’t get a deal? Kill the refugees? » Erdogan was quoted in the text as telling the EU officials.It also quoted him as demanding 6 billion euros over two years. When Juncker made clear only half that amount was on offer, he said Turkey didn’t need the EU’s money anyway.The EU eventually agreed a 3 billion euro fund to improve conditions for refugees in Turkey, revive Ankara’s long-stalled accession talks and accelerate visa-free travel for Turks in exchange for Ankara curbing the numbers of migrants pouring into neighbouring Greece.
Migrant arrivals to Greece’s Lesbos rise after days of bad weather They waved, cheered and let out sighs of relief as their rubber boat, packed with dozens of mainly Syrian and Afghan refugees, approached the Greek coast guard ship that would rescue them at open sea near the island of Lesbos.After being pulled aboard one by one, the men, women, and children staggered, exhausted and relieved, to the boat’s rear, where they huddled alongside strangers on Monday and waited quietly to be transported to the shore.
They were among more than 300 people, including scores of children and babies, rescued in under two hours from six rubber dinghies by the Greek vessel Agios Efstratios, patrolling near the Turkish border.
By early afternoon, more than 1,500 refugees and migrants reached the eastern Aegean island, a sharp rise in the rate of arrivals from Turkey after days of gale force winds and freezing temperatures.Over a million people fleeing war, persecution and poverty in the Middle East and Africa have taken rickety boats across the Mediterranean to Europe since early last year. Over 50,000 people have arrived in Greece in 2016, the United Nations’ refugee agency, UNHCR, says.
Thousands have died trying to reach Europe, and on Monday alone 27 migrants, 11 of them children, drowned off Turkey’s Aegean coast as they tried to reach a Greek island, the Turkish coast guard said. »We left from death, » said 28-year-old Esma, face framed by a cream-coloured headscarf, who fled fighting in Syria’s biggest city of Aleppo with her two children, hoping to reunite with her husband in Germany.
Sitting nearby, young girls consoled their crying siblings, one mother breastfed her hungry infant, while another woman kissed a copy of the Koran and held it up to her forehead.For most on board, the hardest and most dangerous part of their journey will end once they reach Greece and continue their trek through the Balkans to wealthier northern Europe.
Eighteen-year-old English student Siba, who fled the Syrian city of Deir al-Zor, said her family spent 25 days trying to cross into Turkey from different entry points and five days on the Turkish coast, unable to board their boat to Greece because of choppy seas and storms.Asked what drove them to leave Syria, she imitated the sound of explosions and said: « Our house is finished… My uncle is dead. He died in front of my eyes. His head was cut, » she said.
Twenty-seven migrants drown as boat capsizes near Turkey, coast guard says Twenty-seven migrants, 11 of them children, drowned off Turkey’s Aegean coast as they tried to reach a Greek island, the Turkish coast guard said.Four migrants were rescued and a search operation was underway for nine remaining passengers.One migrant was rescued by a fisherman and three more were rescued by the coast guard, which said it had deployed boats and helicopters to search for more passengers.The boat sank in the Aegean Sea near the Edremit area of the northwestern province Balikesir.
Separately, the private news agency Dogan said 11 migrants died and three were rescued when another boat sank further south, off the coast of Dikili in the province of Izmir.More than 900,000 people fleeing Syria, Afghanistan and other war-torn or impoverished countries arrived in Greece from Turkey last year, often risking their lives in the short but perilous sea crossing in overloaded boats. Hundreds have died making the attempt.
Turkey, Germany to seek NATO help monitoring migrant flow from Syria Turkey and Germany plan to seek help from NATO allies in monitoring the flow of migrants from Syria trying to get to Europe across the Aegean Sea, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Monday.
Speaking at a joint news conference in Ankara with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Davutoglu said the matter would be jointly raised by the two countries at a meeting of NATO defence ministers on Thursday. »Turkey and Germany will together recommend to NATO … NATO becoming involved concerning the consequences of the flow of refugees from Syria, » Davutoglu said.
« In particular, we will make a joint effort on the effective use of NATO’s observation and monitoring mechanisms on the border and in the Aegean, » he said, giving no further details.Migrants have entered Europe by a variety of routes, over sea and over land from Turkey, via Libya and by a northern route through Russia into Scandinavia. Monitoring those movements is important to efforts to control the flow.
Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert wrote on Twitter that support for the Turkish coast guard and the European Union’s Frontex border agency would be discussed at a « NATO level ».U.S. President Barack Obama, whose country’s forces dominate the North Atlantic defence alliance, said after a call with the Italian head of state that he wanted to work with NATO allies to address Europe’s refugee crisis.
Merkel criticises Russia over Syria bombing that forces thousands to flee German Chancellor Angela Merkel criticised Russia on Monday for bombings in Syria that have forced tens of thousands of civilians to flee, suggesting they were in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution that Moscow signed in December.Speaking during a visit to Ankara, Merkel said she was « appalled » and « shocked » by the suffering in the Syrian city of Aleppo, which she blamed on bomb attacks originating primarily from the Russian side in support of the Syrian government. »We must take another look at Resolution 2254 from December 18, the resolution of the UN Security Council that was supported by Russia, » Merkel said. »In the resolution the Security Council demands that all sides stop attacks on civilians and civilian targets without delay, and in particular the use of indiscriminate weapons, such as bomb attacks from the air. It is very specific in the resolution. » At a news conference with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Merkel also called for immediate steps from Ankara to improve the situation for refugees in Turkey, saying the 3 billion euros pledged by the European Union must be deployed without delay.
« We need a visible first project. It doesn’t help a child from Syria that is a refugee here, or a Turkish class that has to share its room with Syrian refugees to say we have pledged 3 billion. They want to see a school in the city and fast, » Merkel said. »We need to work on this. We need to make sure there are not too many bureaucratic hurdles. Rather the refugees have to see the benefits quickly and without bureaucracy. »
Merkel refugee aid projects in Turkey must be built swiftly Donors should stop talking and start building projects to help refugees in Turkey, following European promises of billions of dollars in aid last week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday.
« We need a visible first project. It doesn’t help a child from Syria that is a refugee here, or a Turkish class that has to share its room with Syrian refugees to say we have pledged 3 billion. They want to see a school in the city and fast, » Merkel said during a visit to Ankara.
« We need to work on this. We need to make sure there are not too many bureaucratic hurdles. Rather the refugees have to see the benefits quickly and without bureaucracy. » At a news conference with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Merkel also called for fast action from Ankara to improve the situation for refugees in Turkey, saying the 3 billion euros pledged by the European Union in a donors conference last week must be deployed quickly.
Merkel also said she was « appalled » and « shocked » by the suffering in the Syrian city of Aleppo, which she blamed on bomb attacks originating primarily from the Russian side in support of the Syrian government.She said the bombings have forced tens of thousands of civilians to flee and suggested Russia’s actions might be in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution that Moscow signed in December.
U.S. stepping up push for ceasefire, aid in Syria-officials U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will push to secure an immediate Syrian ceasefire and aid for civilians ahead of a crucial meeting in Munich this week as he seeks to keep a fragile peace process alive, U.S. officials said.The renewed struggle to salvage diplomacy comes as Syrian opposition figures, Western diplomats and analysts voice concern that peace efforts have been all but doomed by a Russian military push that has shored up Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s hold on power.
Critics of Kerry’s approach question whether a ceasefire, if one can be achieved, may come too late. The Syrian army advanced towards the Turkish border on Monday in a major offensive backed by Russia and Iran that rebels say threatens the future of their nearly five-year insurrection against Assad.Kerry’s approach, which will need Russia’s backing to succeed, is aimed at giving the opposition enough breathing space so that they come back to the negotiating table following the suspension of peace talks in Geneva last week. »Kerry believes that if we can get a ceasefire in place and more aid delivered, other diplomatic progress is possible, » a senior U.S. administration official said.
« It’s hard to get dialogue going when people are being killed and starved to death. » The meeting of major powers in Munich on Thursday will be vital to determining the survival of the diplomatic process that has been a key element of President Barack Obama’s Syria policy, which has been marked by his desire to limit U.S. involvement.
The success or failure of Kerry’s diplomacy in coming weeks could determine whether U.S-backed opposition groups become part of a negotiated settlement for Syria or whether those militias will face collapse, potentially joining a stream of refugees or extreme elements like the Islamic State, analysts say.Jeffrey White, a former senior Defense Intelligence Agency Analyst now with the Institute for Near East Policy, said the White House had erred by not developing a strategy that balanced a military and diplomatic response to Syria’s unravelling and was paying the price.
« It hasn’t worked, and it’s not going to work, » he said.On Friday, Kerry said talks were under way about a ceasefire and humanitarian access and the Russians had offered « constructive ideas about how a ceasefire in fact could be implemented. » He said he had also secured the backing of Iran for a ceasefire, which he hopes will be in place by the time peace talks resume.
Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters late last week that Moscow hoped the Syrian peace process could be « re-energized » and said Russian diplomats would bring new proposals to the Munich meeting.
Kerry did not attend the Geneva talks but worked the phones in advance in the belief that Russia and other parties would agree to what diplomats involved described as « presentable deliverables » – an accord on issues like delivering aid for Syrian civilians that would help create the conditions for settlement talks. It remains unclear whether the Syrian opposition will come back to talks by Feb. 25 at the latest, as United Nations’ Syria mediator Staffan de Mistura has proposed.
Saudi Arabia says open to sending special forces into Syria Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir on Monday held out the possibility of sending Saudi special forces into Syria as part of a U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State. »There is a discussion with regard to a ground force contingent, or a special forces contingent, to operate in Syria by this international U.S.-led coalition against ISIS and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has expressed its readiness to provide special forces to such operations should they occur, » he said.
Al-Jubeir spoke to reporters after he met for the second day in a row with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Their talks focused on conflicts in Syria and Yemen. Al-Jubeir declined to say how many troops Saudi Arabia might be prepared to send.Last week an adviser to the Saudi defense minister said Saudi Arabia was ready to participate in any ground operation in Syria but did not specify the possibility of sending special forces.
Four months of Russian air strikes have tipped momentum toward Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the nearly-five year Syrian civil war in which at least 250,000 people have died and more than 10 million have fled their homes.The Syrian army advanced towards the Turkish border on Monday in a major offensive backed by Russia and Iran that rebels say now threatens the future of their nearly five-year-old insurrection against Assad.
U.S. President Barack Obama has resisted committing U.S.ground troops to the Syrian civil war given the U.S. experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan, but he last year decided to deploy up to 50 U.S. special operations forces « We welcome this proposal by the Saudis to intensify their efforts by introducing some sort of ground elements into Syria, » U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said at his daily briefing. « Exactly what that’s going to look like and how that’s going to play out I just don’t think we can say right now. »
Canada to end bombing missions in Iraq and Syria Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday Canada would pull out six jets that have been bombing targets in Iraq and Syria, ending a controversial combat role in the fight against Islamic State.
Trudeau’s Liberals won an election last October promising to withdraw the jets but came under pressure from allies who feared the decision could weaken efforts to combat the militant group.Bombing began in November 2014 under the previous Conservative government.
« We can’t do everything .. we were guided by our desire to do what we could do best to help in the region and to do it in the right way, » Trudeau told a news conference. »The people terrorized by (Islamic State) every day don’t need our vengeance, they need our help. » Canada will end its bombing missions by Feb. 22 but keep two surveillance planes in the region as well as refueling aircraft, and triple the number of soldiers training Kurdish troops in northern Iraq to about 200.
Officials in the United States welcomed the announcement, which came after sustained diplomatic pressure from major allies to persuade Canada to do as much as possible. »I’m confident we are going to continue to have discussions with the Canadians about additional steps they can take to further enhance our counter-ISIL efforts, » said White House spokesman John Earnest.
Pentagon praises Canada for boosting training troops in Iraq The Pentagon on Monday praised Canada’s decision to triple the number of troops training Kurdish forces in Iraq.Canada will end its bombing missions by Feb. 22 but keep two surveillance planes in the region as well as refueling aircraft, and triple the number of soldiers training Kurdish troops in northern Iraq to about 200 from about 70 currently, the government said on Monday.
Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said the decision by Canada added « momentum to the effort » ahead of key talks among defense ministers in Brussels to be held this week on ways to accelerate the campaign against Islamic State.
Mass deaths in Syrian jails amount to crime of « extermination » – UN Detainees held by the Syrian government are being killed on a massive scale amounting to a state policy of « extermination » of the civilian population, a crime against humanity, United Nations investigators said on Monday. The U.N. commission of inquiry called on the Security Council to impose « targeted sanctions » on high-ranking Syrian civilian and military officials responsible for or complicit in deaths, torture and disappearances in custody, but stopped short of naming the suspects.The independent experts said they had also documented mass executions and torture of prisoners by two jihadi groups, the Nusra Front and Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. These constituted war crimes and in the case of Islamic State also crimes against humanity, it said.The report, « Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Deaths in Detention », covers March 10, 2011 to November 30, 2015. It is based on interviews with 621 survivors and witnesses and evidence gathered by the team led by chairman Paulo Pinheiro.
« Over the past four and a half years, thousands of detainees have been killed while in the custody of warring parties, » the Commission of Inquiry on Syria said.
The U.N. criticism of the Damascus government comes at a time when its forces have been advancing with the aid of Russian air strikes. A Moscow-backed government assault near the city of Aleppo this month marks one of the biggest momentum shifts in the five year war and helped torpedo peace talks last week.Pinheiro, noting that the victims were mostly civilian men, told a news briefing: « Never in these five years these facilities that are described in our report have been visited and we have repeatedly asked the government to do so. » There was no immediate response by the government of President Bashar al-Assad, which has rejected previous reports.
« Prison officials, their superiors throughout the hierarchy, high-ranking officials in military hospitals and the military police corps as well as government were aware that deaths on a massive scale were occurring, » Pinheiro said. »Thus we concluded there were ‘reasonable grounds’ – that is (the threshold) that we apply – to believe that the conduct described amounts to extermination as a crime against humanity. » Tens of thousands of detainees are held by the government at any one time, and thousands more have « disappeared » after arrest by state forces or gone missing after abduction by armed groups, the report said.
Tens killed in clashes in Turkey’s Kurdish southeast At least nine civilians and 16 rebel fighters have been killed as security forces battle militants of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast, the army and the region’s main political party said on Monday.Violence has raged in the region since the collapse of peace talks last July aimed at ending a three-decade PKK insurgency.Some of the worst clashes have been in the town of Cizre and the Sur district of Diyarbakir, the region’s biggest city, where security forces have imposed a 24-hour curfew.
Ten of the 16 rebels killed on Sunday were in Cizre and six were in Sur, the military said on its website, adding that this brought the militants’ total death toll in the two places to 749 since December.A plainclothes police officer was also gunned down on Monday in the town of Yuksekova near the Iraqi border, media reported.
In the centre of Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, police used water cannon and tear gas on Monday to break up a protest against the Cizre operations, witnesses said. Several people were detained, Dogan News Agency said.Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, speaking at a joint news conference in the capital Ankara with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said the Cizre operations may draw to a close in the next few days.
U.S. military seeks to prepare Africa for shifting terror threat African forces began a U.S.-led counter-terrorism training programme in Senegal on Monday amid what a U.S. commander said were rising signs of collaboration between Islamist militant groups across north Africa and the Sahel.The annual « Flintlock » exercises started only weeks after an attack in Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou left 30 people dead. The assault on a hotel used by foreigners raised concerns that militants were expanding from a stronghold in north Mali towards stable, Western allies like Senegal.
Al Qaeda (AQIM) fighters claimed responsibility for the attack, one of increasingly bold regional strikes in the Sahel, a poor, arid zone between the Sahara Desert and Sudanian Savanna that is home to a number of roving militant groups.U.S. Commander for Special Operations Command Africa Brigadier General Donald Bolduc told reporters on Monday that increased collaboration between militant groups meant they have been able to strengthen and strike harder in the region.
« We have watched that collaboration manifest itself with ISIS becoming more effective in north Africa, Boko Haram becoming more deadly in the Lake Chad Basin (and) AQIM adopting asymmetrical attacks … against urban infrastructure, » he said.
ISIS, or ISIL, is used for the militant group Islamic State.Bolduc said that cooperation had increased as Islamic State exploited a power vacuum in Libya to expand its self-declared caliphate, which takes up large areas in Syria and Iraq.
« We know in Libya that they (AQIM and ISIS) are working more closely together. It’s more than just influence, they (AQIM) are really taking direction from them, » he said.Not all security experts agree that there are emerging alliances between Islamist militant groups. Some argue that competition between groups has led to more attacks.
This year’s programme, which opened on a dusty airstrip in Senegal’s central city of Thies, involves around 1,700 mostly African special operation forces. Western partners including France and Germany are among more than 30 countries participating.Nathan Broshear, spokesman for U.S. Special Operations Command Africa, said the exercises were called Flintlock, after a type of firearm, to symbolize readiness for any threat.
Bolduc stressed the importance of regional cooperation and intelligence-sharing and said the United States would help Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Cameroon set up a joint intelligence centre by the middle of next year.The United States already supports a regional task force against the Nigeria-based group Boko Haram.
The Ouagadougou attack and a hotel attack in Mali’s capital in November led to a greater emphasis on preparing for urban attacks this year through training to increase cooperation between military forces and police.At the request of African partners, the exercises will also include anti-Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) training.The programme, an annual event since 2005, will run from February 8 through 29. Some exercises will also be held in Mauritania
Obama, Italy’s Mattarella discuss fight against Islamic State in Libya U.S. President Barack Obama and Italian President Sergio Mattarella met on Monday in the White House and discussed efforts to work together to combat the Islamic State in Libya.
During a meeting in the Oval Office, Obama and Mattarella talked about the need to help Libya form a united government. »That will allow us to help them build up their security capacity and to push back against efforts by ISIL to gain a foothold in that country, » Obama told reporters after the meeting, using an acronym for Islamic State.Islamic State forces have attacked Libya’s oil infrastructure and taken control of the city of Sirte, exploiting a power vacuum in the North African country where two rival governments have been battling for supremacy.Obama and Mattarella also discussed the refugee crisis facing Europe and the situation in Iraq and Syria.
Libya forces say conduct strikes on Islamic State in Derna, plane crashesForces allied to Libya’s eastern government carried out air strikes on Islamic State militant areas of Derna city, but an aircraft later crashed because of mechanical failure, a spokesman said on Monday.Libyan National Army forces, led by Gen. Khalifa Haftar, carried out an air strike on the Hay Arrbamiya area of Derna, a city that has been the scene of fighting between Islamic State militants and rival Islamist fighters. An eyewitness in the city confirmed an airstrike on Derna in the area controlled by Islamic State but could not give details on any damage or casualties. »An aircraft of the LNA, a MiG-23, crashed due to a technical problem, » LNA local spokesman AbdulKareem Sabra said, adding it had been involved in air strikes on the city. « The pilot managed to escape and is well. » Libya is caught in a conflict between two rival factions, each with its own government and backed by competing brigades of former rebels who once battled together against Muammar Gaddafi in their 2011 uprising.
The United Nations has backed a separate national unity government, which is still trying to gain support and traction on the ground and overcome divisions before establishing itself in Tripoli.Air strikes by unidentified jets often target suspected Islamist militant targets, including fighters loyal to Islamic State who have been present in Derna and have a stronghold further west along the Mediterranean coast in the city of Sirte.
Somalia plane bomber was meant to board Turkish flight -airline executive A suspected suicide bomber who blew a hole in the fuselage of a Daallo Airlines plane last week and forced it to make an emergency landing in Mogadishu was meant to be on a Turkish Airlines flight, Daallo’s chief executive said on Monday.The bomber was sucked out of the plane through the 1-metre-wide (1-yard-wide) hole when the blast ripped open the pressurised cabin in flight, officials said. The pilot landed the plane in the Somali capital, from where it had taken off.
No group has so far taken responsibility for the attack but U.S. officials said on Monday the United States suspects Islamist militant group al Shabaab, which has links to al Qaeda, was responsible for the blast.Daallo Airlines chief executive, Mohamed Yassin, said most of the passengers who were on the bombed flight were scheduled to fly with Turkish Airlines, but were flown to Djibouti by one of his planes after the Turkish carrier cancelled its flight, citing bad weather.
« That particular passenger (who was behind the blast) boarded the aircraft on a Turkish Airlines boarding pass and was on the list for the Turkish Airlines manifest, » Yassin told Reuters by telephone from Dubai.Yassin said Daallo picked up the 70 stranded Turkish Airlines passengers to fly them to Djibouti, including the suicide bomber. In total, the flight had 74 passengers.
Turkish Airlines spokesman Yahya Ustun confirmed the carrier had cancelled a flight to Mogadishu last week due to bad weather and said the company will not make any further comment.Somalia, mired in conflict since civil war broke out in 1991, has few air links outside East Africa. In 2012, Turkish Airlines became the first major international commercial airline to fly out of Somalia in more than two decades.Mogadishu’s heavily guarded airport, which is often compared to the Green Zone in Baghdad, has several safety perimeter fences and checkpoints. It houses a large U.N. compound along with several other Western embassies.Somali officials said an investigation had been launched and arrests made, including airport workers.
U.S. officials said investigators believe the bomb was hidden in a laptop computer, and that the bomber had some type of connection to airline or airport personnel.CCTV footage released by the Somali National Intelligence Agency (NISA) appears to show two airport workers inside the terminal handing the suicide bomber a laptop, according to the government spokesman.
Widow of Islamic State leader charged in death of American -U.S. Justice Dept The wife of a deceased Islamic State leader was charged on Monday in federal court in Virginia with conspiracy in the death of American aid worker Kayla Mueller who was killed a year ago while being held hostage in Syria by the militant group, the U.S. Justice Department said.Nisreen Assad Ibrahim Bahar, aka Umm Sayyaf, 25, admitted to FBI agents last year that Islamic State head Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi « owned » Mueller during her captivity at Sayyaf’s residence, and that « owning » her was equivalent to enslaving her, according to the complaint.
Mueller was raped repeatedly by al-Baghdadi while in captivity in Syria, U.S. officials and the Mueller family spokeswoman said last August. Mueller’s family could not immediately be reached for comment on Monday.
Sayyaf, an Iraqi citizen and wife of Abu Sayyaf, a senior Islamic State leader until his death last May, is currently in Iraqi custody for her terrorism-related activities, according to a statement from John Carlin, the Justice Department’s chief of national security.
Monday’s charges « reflect that the U.S. justice system remains a powerful tool to bring to bear against those who harm our citizens abroad, » Carlin said in the statement.Carlin’s spokesman, Marc Raimondi, told Reuters by email that the U.S. government was « fully supportive » of Sayyaf’s transfer to Iraqi custody, and that the Justice Department continues to « cooperate with authorities in Iraq to support a prosecution through to its completion and to assist in ensuring that justice is served. » The department firmly believes that Sayyaf will be held to account for her crimes, « though we cannot guarantee any particular result, » Raimondi added.
Israel NGO bill, seen as targeting left-wing groups, crosses first hurdle A bill that opponents say targets Israeli human rights groups critical of Israel’s policies towards the Palestinians won initial approval in parliament on Monday with the support of right-wing parties.Called a « transparency bill » by its sponsor, far-right Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, the legislation would require NGOs to give details of overseas donations in all their official publications if more than half their funding comes from foreign governments or bodies such as the European Union.
The United States and European Union have raised their concerns publicly and privately about the legislation as well as moves against dissenting voices in the NGO community and in the arts and media under the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Opponents of the proposed law say it is discriminatory because it is mainly groups that oppose the policies of Israel’s administration towards Palestinians which receive money from foreign governments and the EU.
Private funds from overseas, such as money donated to Israeli groups that support Jewish settlements on occupied land Palestinians seek for a state, are not addressed in the bill.In a statement before the parliamentary vote, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel called the NGO bill a « discriminatory law that harms democracy … (and) supports censorship and political persecution ».
Arab-Israeli lawmakers suspended for meeting families of killed Palestinians Three Arab-Israeli lawmakers were suspended on Monday from speaking in parliament as punishment for supporting families of Palestinian assailants killed by security forces after they attacked Israelis.The Knesset Ethics Committee ruled that Balad party members Hanin Zoabi and Basel Ghattas would be barred from plenum and committee business for four months and Jamal Zahalka for two months, but they will be able to vote.
Last week, the three visited the families of Palestinians killed by Israeli security forces in incidents, including one on a bus in Jerusalem last year in which three people were killed.They were accused of standing as a mark of respect for the attackers, but Zahalka denied this and said they were praying.
Tensions between Jews and Arabs in Israel have risen since a wave of stabbings, shootings and car-rammings carried out mainly by Palestinians has killed 27 Israelis and a U.S. citizen since October. A few Arab Israelis have also carried out attacks.In the same period, Israeli forces have killed at least 156 Palestinians, 101 of them assailants, authorities say. Most of the others died during violent protests.
The bloodshed has been partly fuelled by Palestinian frustration over long-stalled peace talks and anger at perceived Jewish encroachment on a contested Jerusalem shrine.The three legislators faced the hearing after other lawmakers, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and hundreds of members of the public complained to parliament and accused the three of disloyalty to the state.
« We are not prepared to accept a situation where Knesset members support the families of those who murdered Israeli civilians and stand to attention to the memory of those who murdered our children, » Netanyahu said in parliament.Attorney-General Avihai Mandelblit has also called for a police investigation against the three.
The left-wing Balad party is part of the Joint Arab List, a conglomeration of four factions that holds 13 seats in the 120-member Knesset. Balad members are particularly vocal in supporting Palestinian causes.Zahalka told the Knesset television channel news that the suspension was « a political price for our moral stand, but we are prepared to pay this price. » Israel’s Arabs have accused Netanyahu and his right-wing coalition of anti-Arab bias.
Israel may bank on Obama’s successor for future U.S. aid pact -minister Israel may be unable to reach a new defense aid agreement with the Obama administration and could wait for the next U.S. president to secure better terms, a senior Israeli official said on Monday in a veiled rebuke signaling a snag in negotiations.
But a senior U.S. official urged Israel to accept an increased 10-year multibillion-dollar package that President Barack Obama is offering, saying whoever occupies the White House next would be unlikely to demonstrate any greater commitment to Israel’s security.Differences between the two sides, which surfaced after a round of negotiations on a new defense memorandum of understanding (MOU) last week, underscored continuing tensions over last year’s U.S.-led nuclear deal with Iran, Israel’s regional archfoe.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quoted by local media on Monday as telling his cabinet that if Israel’s security needs were not sufficiently met, he would hold off on signing an aid deal and wait for the next U.S. president, who will take office next January.Netanyahu, who has a history of testy relations with Obama, might be hoping for more sympathetic treatment from the next administration, whether Democratic or Republican. But his comments could also be a negotiating ploy to win concessions.
In an apparent swipe at the Obama administration, cabinet minister Zeev Elkin, a Netanyahu confidant in the ruling right-wing Likud party, said Israel was still waiting for a realistic offer from the United States.Current U.S. defense payouts to Israel, worth about $3 billion annually, expire in 2018. Officials say Netanyahu opened talks with a request for an increase to $5 billion annually, an amount the United States was unlikely to accept.
An Israeli official said on Monday that Netanyahu was hoping for about $4 billion, and would seek hundreds of millions of dollars separately for military projects such as missile defense. A U.S. congressional source said, however, that MOU discussions had focused on a U.S. offer of about $3.7 billion. »When the accord with Iran passed, the U.S. president pledged that he would do everything to provide a proper response for Israeli security, » Elkin told Israel’s Army Radio.
Nevertheless, he said it was « possible » that Netanyahu would wait for the next White House occupant to clinch an MOU.
Israel, Elkin said, wants an MOU that « reflects a realistic assessment in terms of U.S. aid, in light of the big changes that U.S. policy promises for the Middle East. After all, these things are not divorced one from the other. » He was referring to the international deal that curbed Iran’s nuclear program in return for sanctions relief – which Israel had adamantly opposed – and the potential ensuing flow of funds to Tehran’s militant allies, as well as U.S. arms sales to Arab states looking to offset Tehran’s regional clout.The Obama administration wants a new deal before the president leaves office as part of his legacy. Officials on both sides say agreement is unlikely before an expected Netanyahu visit to Washington in March but have not completely ruled it out.
Israel tries to bolster its image via Oscars « swag bag »Top Academy Award nominees will have a politically charged gift in their swag bag this year – a luxury trip to Israel paid for in part by a government that hopes such celebrity junkets will offset news coverage of the country’s troubles.Israel’s tourism ministry said the trips, valued at $15,000-$18,000, not including first-class airfare which would be funded by another party whom it did not identify, are on offer to actors and directors vying for Oscars in the Feb. 28 ceremony.Israel has long sought ways to overcome any misgivings foreign visitors might have about the security situation, given the simmering conflict with the Palestinians.
« These are the most senior people in the film industry in Hollywood and leading opinion-formers who we are interested in hosting, » said Tourism Minister Yariv Levin. « They will experience the country first-hand and not through the media. » Among those to be offered the 10-day VIP trip-for-two will be actors Sylvester Stallone, who signed a pro-Israel petition during the 2014 Gaza war, and Leonardo DiCaprio, who sent Israeli paparazzi into a frenzy in 2010 while visiting the country’s top model, Bar Refaeli, his girlfriend at the time.
DiCaprio is among the nominees for best actor this year.One of Stallone’s rivals for best supporting actor, Mark Rylance, is a pro-Palestinian activist in Britain who might be less inclined to take up the offer.The junket would be offered to all 25 artists nominated in the best actor/actress, best supporting actor/actress and best director categories and to the host of the ceremony, the ministry said.
Kerry hopes for talks in weeks on ending Yemen conflict U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday it may be possible to hold talks over the next few weeks on ending the conflict in Yemen. « Over the course of the next week it may become possible to try to engage in some productive conversations about how to bring that conflict to a close, » Kerry told reporters after talks at the State Department with Saudi Foreign minister.
Obama to meet with Jordan’s King Abdullah -White House U.S. President Barack Obama will meet with Jordan’s King Abdullah at the White House on Feb.24, the White House said on Monday.The two leaders plan to discuss the fight against Islamic State, support for Syrian and Iraqi refugees in Jordan and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the White House said.
GM suspends Egypt operations due to currency crisis -company source General Motors has temporarily suspended its operations in Egypt due a currency crisis, a company source told Reuters on Monday.Import-dependent Egypt has been in economic crisis since a 2011 uprising and susequent political turmoil drove foreign investors and tourists away. Dollar reserves have more than halved to $16.4 billion since then.
« The entire sector has a currency crisis we can’t make a car without some of the parts. We stopped production temporarily as of yesterday until we can clear the imports held up in customs, » the source said. »There is still some leeway with the government and the banks to solve the issue. » General Motors’s Egypt operation includes assembling trucks and cars. It makes 25 percent of Egypt’s vehicles.Egypt’s central bank has been rationing dollars and keeping the pound artificially strong at 7.7301 per dollar through weekly dollar auctions.
Italy demands justice for slain student, Egypt rejects accusations Italy demanded on Monday that Egypt catch and punish those responsible for the death of a student found tortured by a roadside in Cairo, and the Egyptian government dismissed suggestions its security services could have been involved.
Giulio Regeni, a 28-year-old graduate student at Britain’s Cambridge University, had been researching independent trade unions in Egypt and had written articles critical of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s government.The incident has strained ties between Rome and Cairo, which has made no arrests so far.
« We want the real perpetrators to be discovered and punished according to the law, » Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni told La Repubblica newspaper on Monday. He said Italy « will not be satisfied with suppositions » to explain the death.The discovery of Regeni beaten and burnt with cigarettes prompted insinuations by some journalists and social media users that he had suffered police brutality. La Repubblica compared his injuries to those security services would inflict on a spy.At a news conference in Cairo, Egyptian Interior Minister Magdi Abdel Ghaffar, visibly agitated, dismissed those accusations as « mere assumptions ».
« This is jumping to conclusions without any evidence …This has bothered and depressed us greatly, that such things are being said of the Egyptian security apparatus, » he said.Rights groups say police often detain Egyptians on scant evidence and that they are beaten or coerced. Scores have disappeared since 2013, the groups say. Egypt denies allegations of police brutality.
Sisi regime eclipses Mubarak’s 5 years after Egypt revoltFive years after being ousted after a mass uprising, Egypt’s ex-president Hosni Mubarak is in a military hospital suite and his clan has been nearly rehabilitated under an even more repressive regime.Mubarak stepped down on February 11, 2011 after 18 days of street protests against the police abuses and corruption that marred the Arab world’s largest country during 30 years of Mubarak rule.But five years on, human rights groups are once again denouncing deaths in police stations, arbitrary arrests and the mysterious disappearances of opponents of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s regime.
The groups say that Sisi, who as then army chief ousted freely elected Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013, has installed a regime which is more repressive than Mubarak’s, crushing all opposition. »The present regime continues to follow the line of Mubarak, but is more brutal, » said human rights lawyer Gamal Eid, who like many other rights activists has been banned from travelling abroad.
On January 25, 2011, millions of Egyptians had taken to the streets, making central Cairo’s Tahrir Square the epicentre of an uprising that mobilised protesters using social media networks.The military eventually asked Mubarak, himself a former general, to step aside and installed a military junta in its place.The military council organised the country’s first democratic presidential and parliamentary elections in 2012.
Mauritania Islamist hunger strikers ‘risking death’: statementDozens of Islamists on hunger strike at Mauritania’s main jail said in a statement on Monday that some of the inmates were « in danger of death ».The 27 prisoners accused their jailers of « inflicting collective punishment against (ultra-conservative) Salafist prisoners after the escape of Cheikh Ould Saleck, » a high-profile jihadist on death row over an Al-Qaeda assassination plot.Ould Saleck escaped from jail on December 31, but was recaptured and sent back to Mauritania on January 20 after he crossed the Guinea-Bissau border into Guinea.
He has since been transferred to the Salaheddine prison in the north, where the most dangerous Islamists on death row are held, according to a Mauritanian security source. »We have nothing to do with this jailbreak, » said the inmates on hunger strike in the capital Nouakchott since January 11, demanding that they no longer be held responsible for the escape.
« Some hunger strikers are in danger of death and their situation is getting worse day by day, » said the statement, whose signatories are accused of terrorist activities.The prisoners said conditions in the jail were « unliveable », as they demanded that authorities allow family visits and medicines be supplied to those who need them.Ould Saleck, 31, has been on death row since 2011 over an Al-Qaeda plot to assassinate the president.
Islamic State claims car bomb blast in Saudi capital An explosion damaged a car in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Monday, the Saudi Press Agency reported, an incident the Islamic State militant group said was caused by a bomb one of its members had affixed to the vehicle.Saudi Arabia in 2014 declared Islamic State a terrorist organisation and has detained hundreds of its supporters. The group, which controls territory in Iraq and Syria, has staged a series of attacks in the kingdom.
UAE plans to trim ministries, outsource most govt services – PM The United Arab Emirates plans to outsource most government tasks to the private sector and cut the number of ministries, Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum said on Monday.
The announcement comes as energy-rich Gulf Arab states have been hit by low oil prices, encouraging them to streamline institutions and attract more foreign investment. »We will have a road map to outsource most government services to the private sector … The new government will have a smaller number of ministries and more ministers to deal with national and strategic issues, » the prime minister said on his official Twitter account.
He announced the formation of a single education ministry, abolishing the ministry of higher education, and fused several other state bodies into related ministries. No time frame was given for the changes.Gulf Arab oil exporters have for years subsidized food, fuel, electricity and water, keeping prices very low in an effort to maintain social order, though the UAE economy is less reliant than some of its neighbours on oil revenues.
Oil plunge threatens schools, other services in US producer states From Alaska to Oklahoma, crowded classes, suspended art programs and longer school commutes give students and parents a taste of the downside of cheap gas as oil-producing states scramble to plug budget holes blown by tumbling crude prices.
Spending on education, healthcare and other services is either being cut or faces cutbacks in about half a dozen states that have relied on oil taxes for a sizeable part of their revenues and most did not prepare for oil diving as deep as $30 a barrel. (Graphic:http://tmsnrt.rs/20MhFtt) Heather Popowsky, who has fourth, seventh and eighth graders in Edmond Public Schools in Oklahoma City, said the belt-tightening was evident. »I have seen elective programs like music and art cut back.
I’ve seen a shortage of new teacher hires, so student to teacher ratio has risen. There has been an increased call out for additional supplies at school. » Oklahoma, where oil-related revenue has accounted for 10 percent of the budget at the peak of the shale boom in 2014, in December slashed its oil production tax revenue forecast for this year to $2 million from $102 million planned for in June.
The state has already cut spending on education, which accounts for a third of its $7 billion budget, by $25 million in the 2015-2016 fiscal year and another $20 million cut looms. »We’re starting to have conversations now that this is as bad as it was back during the energy industry crash of the 1980s, » said Matt Holder, chief operating officer for the Oklahoma Department of Education.
« Some of our smaller school districts are having talks about whether they are going to make it through the next crunch, » he said.
Other services will feel the squeeze too with Medicaid providers facing a 3 percent cut in payments and a hiring freeze in force at the state’s department of human services, says David Blatt, director of the Oklahoma Policy Institute, an independent think tank.
Alaska, where until recently oil tax revenue funded up to 90 percent of the state budget is set for a 68 percent gap between spending and revenues this year, according to Moody’s.Its Governor Bill Walker has suggested taxing residents’ income for the first time in 35 years. He also proposed using part of the money earned by the state’s $47 billion « rainy day » fund to cover state expenses rather than pay out as an annual dividend to residents as usual.Despite Walker’s proposals, Standard and Poor’s this month lowered its rating on Alaska’s debt to AA+ from AAA.
With cuts to the $1.4 billion education budget on the agenda, schools – particularly those in remote areas – could eventually be forced to shutter, said Mike Hanley, commissioner for the Alaska state Department of Education.
« Oil revenues have treated us very well, » Hanley said. « But Alaska is a one-legged revenue stool and we’ve become too dependent on oil. » David Teal, director of Alaska’s Legislative Finance Division, said services such as healthcare and corrections could also face cuts. »Of course, people are complaining loudly about reductions in ferry service and snow plowing, but I am not sure they realize that other services will be reduced, » he said.
While Alaska’s financial buffer eases the immediate pressure, the diversified economies of other leading oil producers – Texas and California – make them less vulnerable to the oil slump. California, the nation’s third largest producer, is also less exposed because it has never taxed oil production.The outlook is bleaker for states such as Oklahoma, North Dakota, or Wyoming, that have less of a financial cushion and depend more on the oil industry for jobs and income.
North Dakota, the epicenter of the shale oil boom and the second largest U.S. producer behind Texas, faces a budget shortfall of more than $1 billion and is now debating whether to dip into its reserve fund first or slash spending, including a proposed $72 million cut in the state’s education budget. »If you look at a lot of the states that aren’t dependent on oil production, their revenue forecasts are for growth, » said Gabriel Petek, an analyst at S&P.
Qatar considering special courts for World Cup offenders Qatar may create special courts during the 2022 soccer World Cup to deal quickly and « very gently » with alcohol-consuming fans who break the law in a conservative Muslim state where public drunkenness is prohibited, a Qatari official said on Monday.
Qatari officials have said that the 500,000 football fans expected to descend on their country during the World Cup will be allowed to consume alcohol in designated zones, but how to best balance the country’s cultural values with FIFA’s requirements for the tournament remains contentious. »I know in South Africa there where specific courts established during the World Cup for this kind of thing, and that is something we were discussing with FIFA, » the Gulf state’s 2022 Committee chief Hassan Al Thawadi told journalists on the sidelines of a sports conference in Doha.
During its 2010 World Cup, South Africa set up 56 special courts to accelerate cases involving foreign fans so they could be dealt with before either suspects or witnesses left the country.In South Africa, most court proceedings ended with fines for those found guilty. The same might apply in Qatar, though drug offences often carry jail terms.
Although not « dry » like neighboring countries such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, alcohol is served only at elite hotels in the Gulf state.Public drunkenness is prohibited, as is bringing alcohol to Qatar from abroad. »In relation to drunk fans it will be as it is anywhere else, anyone who is rowdy, anyone who breaches the law, will be very gently – depending on how they react – taken care of in a manner to make sure that people are not disrupting the public order, » said Thawadi. « Everyone will be able to have fun and be exposed to Qatari culture. » Consumption of alcohol is likely to be largely ignored by Qatar’s predominantly young population, as it is swept away with the euphoria of hosting the competition, Thawadi said.
« We welcome everyone in the world. We’ve hosted many people, from many places and that (drinking) was never an issue. This will be a fun world cup. It will be one of the best cups out there. » FIFA has said it will defend the commercial rights of its sponsors, including Anheuser-Busch InBev, which will sponsor the 2022 tournament.Brazil initially refused to sell alcohol during the matches of the 2014 World Cup, but eventually relented after pressure from FIFA.
Iran’s envoy to Russia says Tehran will raise oil market share gradually – RIA Iran will increase its share of the global oil market gradually, in order to avoid price volatility, RIA news agency quoted Iran’s envoy to Moscow as saying on Monday. International sanctions, which were lifted last month, had reduced Iran’s oil exports by around 2 million barrels per day (bpd) since their pre-sanctions peak in 2011, to little more than 1 million bpd.
U.N. group agrees to aircraft standards to cut CO2 emissions Global aviation experts agreed on Monday to the first emissions-reduction standards for aircraft in a deal that will take effect with new models in four years, but environmental groups said the carbon dioxide cuts did not go far enough.
The standards are aimed at makers of small and large planes alike and will apply to all new aircraft models launched after 2020, the Montreal-based United Nations aviation agency said.They will also be phased in for existing aircraft built from 2023, with a cut-off date of 2028 for planes that do not comply with the new standard.
The standards, agreed to after six years of talks, must still be approved by the International Civil Aviation Organization’s governing council later this year. The standards would become mandatory for national aviation authorities around the world.Negotiators from 22 countries have been trying to come up with the world’s first carbon dioxide emissions standards for aircraft as part of the industry’s contribution to efforts to combat climate change.
Aviation was not included in the global climate deal reached at a U.N. conference in Paris in December, but ICAO had been trying to nail down the standard as the first of a two-part strategy after six years of talks.The White House welcomed the outcome. « The U.S. pushed hard for a strong standard and I think we are very pleased with the result, » a senior administration official told reporters.
Estimates for carbon emission reductions from applying the new standards vary widely. The White House said in a fact sheet it would reduce 650 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions between 2020 and 2040.Environmental group Transport and Environment, however, estimated reductions closer to 300 million tonnes over the same period, while the International Council on Clean Transportation projected even fewer emission cuts.
« The proposal will only require CO2 reductions from new aircraft of 4 percent over 12 years, when market forces alone are predicted to achieve more than a 10 percent efficiency gain in the same time frame, » Drew Kodjak, ICCT executive director said in a statement.
The standards would not apply to existing aircraft in service but would require future planes to be light and fuel efficient.That will not affect planemakers Boeing and Airbus’ newest models, such as the 737 MAX or A320neo, since those already exceed the standards. Older planes still in production, such as the 747 and A380 jumbo jets or A330 and 777, would either need to be phased out by 2028 or made more efficient. »It will influence the R&D budgets at the plane and engine makers that already are focused on fuel burn and make sure that remains a continued emphasis, » said one industry expert.
India introduces net neutrality rules barring Facebook’s free Internet India introduced rules on Monday to prevent Internet service providers from having different pricing policies for accessing different parts of the Web, in a setback to Facebook Inc’s plan to roll out a pared-back free Internet service to the masses.
The new rules came after a two-month-long consultation process that saw Facebook launching a big advertising campaign in support of its Free Basics programme, which runs in more than 35 developing countries.The programme offers pared-down Internet services on mobile phones, along with access to the company’s own social network and messaging services, without charge.
The service, earlier known as internet.org, has also run into trouble in other countries that have accused Facebook of infringing the principle of net neutrality – the concept that all websites and data on the Internet be treated equally.
Critics and Internet activists argue that allowing access to a select few apps and Web services for free would put small content providers and start-ups that don’t participate at a disadvantage.On his Facebook page, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg wrote, « Connecting India is an important goal we won’t give up on, because more than a billion people in India don’t have access to the internet. We know that connecting them can help lift people out of poverty, create millions of jobs and spread education opportunities. » On Monday, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), which had suspended the free Facebook service pending a policy decision, said Internet service providers would not be allowed to discriminate on pricing for different Web services.
GLOBAL MARKETS-Shares tumble on global growth concerns; Treasury yields fall Stock indexes worldwide tumbled on Monday, led by banking stocks in Europe and technology stocks on Wall Street on persisting fears of a global economic slowdown, while benchmark 10-year Treasury yields hit their lowest in a year on demand for assets deemed less risky.European shares extended the previous week’s big losses, with the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top regional shares closing at its lowest level since Oct. 2013.
The STOXX Europe 600 banking index fell 5.6 percent, making it the top sectoral decliner. The index has lost more than 24 percent this year on concerns about banks’ profitability and capital strength in an environment where monetary stimulus continues to put pressure on margins.Wall Street continued Friday’s technology-led selloff, with the benchmark S&P 500 stock index falling as much as 2.5 percent. The S&P financial index fell more than 3 percent, with Bank of America, JPMorgan and Citigroup dragging down the index.
The cost of insuring the European financial sector’s senior debt against default also climbed to its highest level since late 2013.U.S. crude prices fell after a meeting between Saudi Arabia and Venezuela failed to reassure investors of measures to bolster sagging prices.Chesapeake tumbled 34 percent after sources told Reuters that the natgas company had tapped existing adviser Kirkland & Ellis to explore restructuring options. Earlier, the stock halved before being halted. »We need oil to stabilize to provide some confidence for investors, partly because to a degree, investors’ stress is high, earnings visibility is low, and market internals continue to weaken, » said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at U.S.Bank Wealth Management in Minneapolis.
Brent crude was last down 58 cents, or 1.7 percent, at $33.48 a barrel. U.S. crude was last down 71 cents, or 2.3 percent, at $30.18 per barrel.MSCI’s all-country world equity index was last down 6.72 points or 1.83 percent, at 359.85.The Dow Jones industrial average was last down 393.92 points, or 2.43 percent, at 15,811.05. The S&P 500 was down 49.04 points, or 2.61 percent, at 1,831.01. The Nasdaq Composite was down 140.09 points, or 3.21 percent, at 4,223.05.
GLOBAL MARKETS-Financial sector stress delivers fresh jolt Stress in the financial sector triggered by worries over global growth and the impact of negative interest rates drove European share prices to their lowest in 16 months on Monday and sent the cost of insuring bank debt soaring.Concern over the health of the sector, which has prompted comparisons with the early days of the global financial crisis in 2008, pushed borrowing costs in the euro zone’s most indebted countries higher and sent investors to the relative safety of ultra-low-risk government debt.The gloomy mood in stock markets looked likely to carry over into U.S. trading hours, with index futures indicating Wall Street would open lower . Some U.S. bank shares traded sharply lower in Frankfurt.
« The fundamental picture is clearly softening, » said Owen Callan, senior analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald. « People are worried about the global economy and particularly now we are beginning to look at the banks. » « You are seeing more and more people saying: is this 2008 again? Maybe not quite as severe, but do we need to be worrying about the banking sector and risk assets on a bigger level? » The STOXX Europe 600 banking index fell 3.7 percent, underpeforming the broader market, which was down 2.7 percent and the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index , down 2.6 percent.
Shares in Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, Credit Suisse, HSBC and BNP Paribas fell between 3.5 percent and 6.7 percent. »Concerns are increasing that in a climate of negative interest rates and prolonged dovish monetary policy, banks’ profitability will be squeezed, » Jaisal Pastakia, investment manager at Heartwood Investment Management, said.
« A high level of unprofitable loans on banks’ balance sheets impacts the broader economy by stifling both domestic demand and bank lending growth, » Pastakia added.The cost of insuring the subordinated debt of European financial firms rose 12 percent on Monday to its highest since April 2013, Markit’s iTraxx index showed.
A similar index for financials’ senior debt hit its highest since October 2013. Both indices are up around 40 percent in the past week.
Shares in U.S. banks Citigroup and JPMorgan trading in Frankfurt were down 3.5 and 3.7 percent respectively, albeit in very low volume.Worries over the banks pushed up borrowing costs in Portugal, Spain and Italy – three countries that were at the heart of the euro zone sovereign debt crisis.
Yields on Portugal’s 10-year debt rose 21 basis points to 3.14 percent, their highest since July 2015.At the same time, German 10-year yields, the euro zone benchmark, fell more than 6 bps to 0.25 percent and two-year yields hit a record low of -0.506 percent.
Ten-year U.S. Treasury yields fell 5.5 bps to 1.79 percent.This pushed the dollar to its lowest against the safe-haven Japanese yen for more than two weeks at 116.11 yen, down 0.6 percent on the day.
Speculators slashed bullish bets on the dollar for a sixth straight week through Feb. 2, according to data on Friday from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Weak U.S. economic data recently has led investors to pare back their bets on steady interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve though the latest CFTC figures do not take account of Friday’s U.S. jobs report. It showed a pick-up in wage growth last month and dented the view on the Fed outlook.Crude oil futures skidded over 2 percent to just over $33 by 1015 GMT, as a meeting between OPEC producers Saudi Arabia and Venezuela provided little indication that steps would be taken to boost prices. Earlier, oil had gained as much as 1 percent on hopes that an agreement would be reached to curb supply.
Asian stocks extend global rout as traders flee to safety Tokyo stocks led a rout across Asian markets Tuesday, while Japanese government bond yields turned negative, the dollar dived against the yen and gold jumped as fears about the global economy sent investors scrambling to safety.While most the the region is closed for the Chinese New Year holiday, trading remained thin but dealers took their lead from New York and Europe where banking shares were battered.
The sell-off is the latest this year, which has seen trading screens from Asia to the Americas awash with red.
The latest round of blood-letting came on the back of worries about the financial sector as the global economy slows down, without the support of the Federal Reserve’s easy monetary policies.London, Paris and Frankfurt all finished down more than 2.5 percent, with the German DAX ending below 9,000 for the first time since October 2014. And Wall Street’s three main indexes all lost more than one percent.
Financials were in focus as a slowdown in the world economy raises the prospect of loan defaults and lower interest rates, which eat into their bottom lines.Banking stocks sagged in New York and Europe, with US titan Bank of America, Germany’s Deutsche Bank and France’s Societe Generale all tanking.
More women executives mean more profits, according to study of 91 countries Companies with 30 percent female executives rake in as much as six percentage points more in profits, according to a study on Monday, feeding into a global debate over the scarcity of women in decision-making business roles.The conclusion stems from a study of about 22,000 publicly-traded companies in 91 countries ranging from Mexico to Norway and Italy conducted by researchers at The Peterson Institute for International Economics, a Washington, DC-based think tank.
« If you’re a firm and you’re discriminating against potential female leaders, that means you’re essentially doing a bad job of picking the best leader for your firm, » said Tyler Moran, one of the study’s three co-authors, in an interview.The results indicate the presence of women in corporate leadership positions can boost a firm’s performance, suggesting a reward for policies that facilitate women rising through corporate ranks.
But the study found while having women in executive ranks resulted in better profitability, female CEOs or board members did not have a statistically-significant impact on the bottom line.The findings further show that not all firms are created equal when it comes to fostering women leadership potential, with some more likely to encourage female managers depending on characteristics ranging from size to national policies such as family-leave.
Larger firms, for example, appear to appoint more women on boards and in upper executive ranks.
Karyn Twaronite, a spokeswoman for professional services company EY, which helped fund the study, said the results would likely prompt discussion over the need for different kinds of workplace arrangements. »This research sheds light on the importance of establishing modern workplace benefits, providing equitable sponsorship opportunities, and creating inclusive work environments, so that both men and women can have equal access to leadership positions, » she said.Still, despite the bottom line incentives of drawing in more female managers, much needs to be done, the research found.
Currently, about three in 10 companies worldwide have no women either in executive positions or on their board, the researchers found.Next month academics, economists and top members of business and labor tapped by the United Nations will meet to make recommendations on how to boost gender equality and empower women over the next 15 years as part of a new set of global goals agreed by the 193 U.N. member nations last year.
Replace female genital mutilation with new rites of passage, says UN chief New, unharmful rites of passage should replace female genital mutilation, U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon said on Monday after new data showed there were more victims of the custom than previously estimated.The call by the U.N. Secretary-General was heard by diplomats, campaigners and survivors gathered at the U.N.headquarters in New York to mark the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, which fell on Saturday. »I am especially inspired by communities that find better ways to mark the rite of passage into womanhood, » said Ban.
He gave the example of young girls in Kenya and Tanzania spending a week away from their families to learn life skills instead of being cut.The U.N.’s children’s agency UNICEF said on Friday more than 200 million girls and women globally have suffered genital mutilation, far higher than previously estimated.Despite growing momentum to end female genital mutilation (FGM), experts warned that booming populations in some high prevalence countries were undermining efforts to tackle the practice widely condemned as a serious human rights abuse.The UNICEF data covers 30 countries, but half of girls and women who have been cut live in just three countries – Egypt, Ethiopia and Indonesia.
(World news summary compiled by Maghreb news staff)