Tag: InternationalNews

{{One of the highest-ranking military officers yet to abandon Syrian President Bashar Assad defected to neighboring Jordan and said in an interview aired Saturday that morale among those still inside the regime had collapsed.}}

In another setback for the Assad regime, a leading human rights group accused Syria’s government of stepping up its use of widely banned cluster munitions, which often kill and wound civilians.

The twin blows illustrated the slowly spreading cracks appearing in Assad’s regime as well as its deepening international isolation. While few analysts expect the civil war between Assad’s forces and rebels seeking his ouster to end soon, most say it appears impossible for the 4-decade-old regime to continue to rule Syria.

Maj. Gen. Mohammed Ezz al-Din Khalouf announced his defection from Assad’s regime in a video aired Saturday on the Al-Arabiya satellite channel. It showed him sitting next to his son, Capt. Ezz al-Din Khalouf, who defected with him.

The elder Khalouf said that many of those with Assad’s regime have lost faith in it, yet continue to do their jobs, allowing Assad to demonstrate broad support.

“It’s not an issue of belief or practicing one’s role,” he said. “It’s for appearance’s sake, for the regime to present an image to the international community that it pulls together all parts of Syrian society under this regime.”

He also said fighters from the Lebanese military group Hezbollah were fighting in Syria in “more than one place,” but did not give further details.

The Syrian government did not immediately comment on the defection. It portrays the uprising as a foreign-backed conspiracy to weaken Syria being carried out by terrorists on the ground.

Seif al-Hourani, an activist from one of the rebel groups that helped get Khalouf and his family out of the country, said via Skype that Khalouf’s son made contact with rebels about six months ago and leaked them information before he asked for help getting the family out of Syria.

That process took almost a week because of violence in the southern province of Daraa, the easiest place to shuttle Khalouf across the border, al-Hourani said.

Six days ago, rebels smuggled Khalouf, his wife, and three of their children out of Damascus to the southern province of Sweida. Two days later, they moved them to Daraa.

They waited there until late Friday when it was safe enough to drive them to the border and hand them to Jordanian authorities, al-Hourani said.

Like many rebels, al-Hourani spoke on condition he be identified only by that nickname — by which he is widely known among his comrades — because he feared retaliation on his family.

Khalouf was chief of staff of the army branch that deals with supplies and fuel.
While rebels lauded his defection as a blow to the regime, it was unlikely to have a significant effect on Assad’s ability to wage war.

Widespread defections among conscripts and low-level soldiers have sapped the Syrian army’s infantry, but high-level defections have been rare, and Assad’s air force and heavy munitions allow the government to pound rebel areas, even if it cannot take them back.

Still, cracks continue to spread through Assad’s regime as rebel forces expand their areas of control and put increasing pressure on the capital, Damascus.

{agencies}

{{A truck loaded with fireworks exploded during a religious procession in a rural village in central Mexico, killing at least 13 people and injuring 154, authorities said.}}

The blast Friday was set off when a firework malfunctioned and landed on the truck, igniting the fireworks it carried, officials said. Seventy people were burned or had other injuries, and at least 45 were in all were in, authorities in the neighboring states of Tlaxcala and Puebla said.

“They were in a procession, they were shooting off rockets and it exploded and fell onto the other ones,” said Jose Mateo Morales, director of the Tlaxcala state civil protection department. “It was very serious.”

Human remains and burned clothes were spread around a 100-yard (100-meter) radius, including on rooftops, a photographer at the scene said.

The victims were marching in an annual procession in honor of Jesus Christ, the patron saint of Jesus Tepactepec, a village of about 1,000 people, Mateo Morales said.

At least one child was among the victims, Tlaxcala Gov. Mariano Gonzalez said.

Helicopters, dozens of ambulances and soldiers from the area’s military base rushed to the village, about 70 miles (112 kilometers) east of Mexico City.

Tlaxcala Bishop Francisco Moreno said he toured the scene of the blast and went to hospitals to visit the wounded. “I blessed all who died and said a prayer for them,” the bishop said in his Twitter account.

Fireworks are a typical feature of Mexican holidays and religious celebrations but they often are manufactured, stored and transported under unsafe conditions, and the country sees periodic fatal explosions.

Jesus Tepactepec is known for its handicrafts manufacturing, including baskets and wood figures, and its annual religious celebration draws artisans from nearby towns who come to sell their wares.

Associated Press

{{Conservative Muslim and Roman Catholic countries and liberal Western nations approved a U.N. blueprint to combat violence against women and girls, ignoring strong objections from Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood that it clashed with Islamic principles and sought to destroy the family.}}

After two weeks of tough and often contentious negotiations, 131 countries joined consensus Friday night on a compromise 17-page document that Michelle Bachelet, the head of the U.N. women’s agency, called historic because it sets global standards for action to prevent and end “one of the gravest violations of human rights in the world, the violence that is committed against women and girls.”

“People worldwide expected action, and we didn’t fail them,” she said to loud applause. “Yes, we did it!”

On Wednesday, the Brotherhood, which has emerged as the most powerful political faction in Egypt since the 2011 uprising, lashed out at the anticipated document for advocating sexual freedoms for women and the right to abortion “under the guise of sexual and reproductive rights.”

It called the title, on eliminating and preventing all forms of violence against women and girls, “deceitful.”

Last week, Egypt proposed an amendment to the text saying that each country is sovereign and can implement the document in accordance with its own laws and customs, a provision strongly opposed by many countries in Europe, Latin America and Asia.

It was dropped in the final compromise drafted by the meeting’s chair. Instead, the final text urges all countries “to strongly condemn all forms of violence against women and girls and to refrain from invoking any custom, tradition and religious consideration to avoid their obligations with respect to its elimination.”

When countries were polled on their views on the final draft, there was fear among the declaration’s supporters that Egypt would oppose it, which would block the consensus required for adoption.

The head of Egypt’s delegation, politician and diplomat Mervat Tallawy, surprised and delighted the overwhelming majority of delegates and onlookers in the crowded U.N. conference room when she ignored the Brotherhood and announced that Egypt would join consensus.

“International soldarity is needed for women’s empowerment and preventing this regressive mood, whether in the developing countries or developed, or in the Middle East in particular,” Tallawy told two reporters afterwards.

“It’s a global wave of conservatism, of repression against women, and this paper is a message that if we can get together, hold power together, we can be a strong wave against this conservatism.”

Tallawy, who is president of the National Council for Women-Egypt, said she has told this to Egypt’s President Mohammed Morsi, who came from the Muslim Brotherhood;

“I believe in women’s cause. I don’t take money from the government. I work voluntarily. If they want to kick me out they can. But I will not change my belief in women,” she said. “Women are the slaves of this age. This is unacceptable, and particularly in our region.”

A number of Muslim and Catholic countries including Iran, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the Holy See and Honduras expressed reservations about elements of the text — but Libya was the only country to dissociate itself from the final document though it did not block consensus.

Libya’s top cleric raised similar concerns to the Muslim Brotherhood, rejecting the document for violating Islamic teachings.

The Libyan delegation objected to paragraphs calling for sex education for all adolescents and youth, with appropriate direction from parents, and for priority to programs for girls’ education so they can take responsibility for their own lives, “including access to a sustainable livelihood.”

At the start of the meeting, Bachelet said data from the World Health Organization and other research shows that an average of 40 percent — and up to 70 per cent of women in some countries — face violence in their lifetimes, and she pointed to recent high-profile attacks on women in India and Pakistan.

She said Friday that during the two-week session “countless women and girls around the world have suffered violence.”

When the Commission on the Status of Women took up violence against women a decade ago, governments were unable to reach agreement on a final document because of differences over sex education, a woman’s right to reproductive health, and demands for an exception for traditional, cultural and religious practices.

The final document approved Friday reaffirms that women and men have the right to enjoy all human rights “on an equal basis,” recommits governments to comprehensive sex education, calls for sexual and reproductive health services such as emergency contraception and safe abortion for victims of violence, and calls on government to criminalize violence against women and punish gender-related killings.

But it dropped references to sexual orientation and gender identity.

“We did make gains,” said Francoise Girard, president of the New York-based International Women’s Health Coalition. “This is the first time we have an agreed document recognizing emergency contraception as a necessary service to preserve women’s health.”

Terri Robl, the U.S. deputy representative to the U.N. Economic and Social Council, called the agreement an important step but said the text is “only a beginning.” She expressed regret at its failure to state that ending violence must apply to all women, regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity, or to refer specifically to “intimate partner violence.”

While the document is not legally binding, Britain’s U.N. Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said “it sets a certain standard by which all member states can monitor their performance and can be monitored by others.”

{{President Barack Obama has told Israelis that the United States has significant capabilities to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and that he was keeping all options on the table.}}

In an interview with Israeli television broadcast on Thursday, ahead of his visit next week, Obama said the United States estimated it would take Iran “over a year or so” to develop a nuclear weapon, once Tehran decided to pursue one.

He also acknowledged the differences he has had with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but said the foundation of bilateral ties was strong, as was his commitment to Israel’s security.

Obama said he and Netanyahu shared a “terrific, business-like relationship”, and a number of times referred to the Israeli leader as Bibi, his popular childhood nickname.

Regarding the long-stalled peace process with the Palestinians, Obama spoke somewhat vaguely, saying he was coming to listen during meetings he would hold with Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Obama’s first presidential visit to Israel comes at the onset of spring – the “red line” previously set by Netanyahu for attacking Iran’s nuclear sites.

Iran denies it is seeking a bomb and says its nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes.

“We think that it would take over a year or so for Iran to actually develop a nuclear weapon, but obviously we don’t want to cut it too close,” Obama said.

Asked if he would order an attack on Iran should diplomacy fail, Obama said: “When I say that all options are on the table, all options are on the table. The United States obviously has significant capabilities but our goal here is to make sure that Iran does not possess a nuclear weapon that could threaten Israel or could trigger an arms race in the region.”

During the visit, Obama faces the challenge of overcoming Israeli suspicions that have lingered since his early days in office when he pressed Netanyahu for a freeze on settlement expansion and launched a short-lived outreach to Tehran, Israel’s arch-foe.

Netanyahu, victorious in a January election, only clinched a coalition deal on Thursday, and Obama said any breakthrough in peace negotiations with the Palestinians would be unlikely until the Israeli government stabilised.

“My goal on this trip is to listen,” he said.

Obama stopped short of calling for a freeze in settlement building in the occupied West Bank, but suggested a change in Israel’s policy would empower moderate Palestinian leaders.

He said “it’s a matter of both parties coming together and recognising that their futures in some ways are going to inextricably linked and that Israel will be safer, more secure, more prosperous if the issue can be resolved”.

“Obviously Israel can’t resolve it by itself, but it can’t stop trying.”

In a direct appeal to the Israeli people, Obama said he regretted that he would not have an opportunity to walk the streets and hear what average folks have to say.

“Sometimes I have this fantasy that I can put on a disguise, wear a fake moustache, and I could wander through Tel Aviv, go to a bar, and, you know, have a conversation there,” he said.

{Reuters}

{{Amid mounting disagreements between European governments over an EU arms embargo on Syria, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said France and Britain are ready to arm Syrian rebels without unanimous EU support.}}

Speaking on France Info radio on Thursday, Fabius noted that arming the rebels is “one of the only means left to make things move politically” in Syria.

When asked if France and Britain could join efforts to arm the opposition, Fabius said, “to lift the embargo, exactly”.

France is pushing for an urgent EU meeting on lifting the arms embargo. In his interview Fabius said, “We have to go very fast. The Europeans are supposed to look at this question in several weeks. But we will ask, with the British, to bring forward that meeting.”

Fabius’ comments came days after British Prime Minister David Cameron hinted that the UK could break with some of its fellow EU members on the Syrian arms embargo issue.

Speaking at a parliamentary committee on Tuesday, Cameron said, “”I hope that we can persuade our European partners, if and when a further change becomes necessary, they will agree with us,” before adding, “but if we can’t, then it’s not out of the question we might have to do things in our own way. It’s possible.”

Both Britain and France have been pushing to lift the Syria embargo as a means to level the playing field in a two-year conflict that has killed around 70,000 people.

But Germany, the other powerhouse in the 27-member EU, has been reluctant to lift the embargo, fearing it would lead to proliferation of weapons in the region and spark a proxy war.

US has maintained its position that it does not wish to send arms that it fears could fall into Islamist hands.

Fabius has maintained the lifting of the arms embargo is essential since Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is being supplied with weapons by Iran and Russia and the (opposition) Syrian National Coalition does not have access to heavy weapons.

France24

{{China’s parliament named Xi Jinping as president Thursday, four months after he took charge of the Communist Party with pledges of reform that have raised hopes but so far yielded little change.}}

About 3,000 delegates lined up to cast their votes in Beijing’s cavernous Great Hall of the People, dropping red papers into red ballot boxes in front of giant red flags, but the outcome was never in doubt.

Xi received 2,952 votes at the tightly choreographed ceremony, with one against and three abstentions, a 99.86 % share.

“Now I announce comrade Xi Jinping is selected as president of the People’s Republic of China,” said Liu Yunshan, who chaired the session at the National People’s Congress, a rubber-stamp parliament.

To loud applause, Xi, 59, stood up and bowed to the delegates, before shaking hands with other officials and walking off the stage.

Xi’s formal appointment as head of the world’s most populous nation is due to be followed by the naming of Li Keqiang as premier on Friday, marking the final step in the nation’s once-in-a-decade power handover.

Xi’s new role was effectively guaranteed by his position as Communist party leader, the real source of his authority in China, but the title will increase his public and international standing.

He takes office at a time when China is becoming more assertive on the global stage and is taking a harder line on territorial rows with its neighbours, and Xi has vowed to increase its military strength.

Domestically, since taking the top party post in November Xi has pledged to preserve the ruling party’s grip on power by cracking down on corruption, improving people’s livelihoods and pushing forward economic reforms.

But despite the promises of action on multiple fronts, including pollution, observers say concrete reforms would be complex and will not be swiftly introduced.

Xi last year became head of China’s top military body, the Central Military Commission, unlike his predecessor Hu Jintao, who worked as President for two years before his predecessor Jiang Zemin passed on the Commission chairmanship.

“In recent memory there is no comparable figure who has such power in his hand (so quickly),” said Willy Lam, a politics expert at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

As the son of one of China’s most famous generals, Xi has closer ties to the People’s Liberation Army than Hu did and has strengthened the relationship in recent months with an unusually high number of visits to military bases.

He is seen as one of the architects of China’s recent more assertive stance on territorial disputes with neighbouring countries and a supporter of Beijing’s military expansion, telling troops recently that they should be “combat ready”.

{wirestory}