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Police explode arms cache found in dump

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By Constantinos Psillides
An anti-tank rocket, several anti personnel mines and a cache of anti-aircraft ammunition were found discarded on Monday in a garbage collection area near Xylotympou, according to the police.
The discarded military equipment was found in the middle of a fire that broke out in a garbage collection spot. The fire-fighters called to put out the fire were unaware that the ammunition cache was near.
The fire was reported at 11:30am on Monday in a garbage collection area used to dump domestic appliances and large furniture.
According to the police, the ammunition was discovered after local authority employees inspected the area at 3pm and heard three explosions. The fire, which was deemed “manageable” at that point, regained its intensity and burned the rest of the garbage.
The area was evacuated immediately and the police bomb squad was called. After sealing off the site, the bomb squad destroyed the ammunition in a controlled explosion on Tuesday morning.
Defence Minister Christoforos Fokaides was expected to address the incident later on Tuesday.

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Paphos students back on the streets

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kykkos

Students in Paphos on Tuesday held a further demonstration outside the Kykkos Lyceum protesting against its planned closure. They left lessons at 11am and marched to the government buildings which house local educational offices in the centre of town.
The school has already merged with the closed down Nikolaideio Gymnasium, meaning a reorganisation of the timetable through which lessons are five minutes shorter, leading students to claim they are missing out on valuable study time.
The lyceum is due to close when all its current students have graduated, at the end of the next school year.

 

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Australia police kill ‘terror suspect’ after two officers stabbed

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Still image taken from video shows Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commander Bruce Giles speaking to the media outside the Endeavour Hills Police Station after an altercation in the vicinity, in Melbourne

By Lincoln Feast

Australian police shot dead a teenager after he stabbed two counter terrorism officers, days after sweeping raids involving hundreds of police thwarted what they said was an imminent plot to behead a member of the public.

Australia, a staunch ally of the United States and its escalating action against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, is on high alert for attacks by home-grown militants returning from fighting in the Middle East.

Security has been tightened at public places, including Parliament House in Canberra where police are armed with assault rifles, and at major sports events.

The 18-year-old, named in parliament as Abdul Numan Haider, was asked to attend a police station in the southern state of Victoria on Tuesday night because his behaviour was “causing concern”, police said.

“This was a planned and agreed meeting that was to occur at the Endeavour Hills police station. When these two police officers approached him, they were stabbed, one very seriously,” Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Ken Lay told reporters on Wednesday.

“One of the injured police discharged his firearm, fatally wounding the 18-year-old.”

Police said the man, who had his passport suspended about a week ago, had apparently displayed a flag linked to the militant group the Islamic State at a local shopping mall and had been “of interest” to police for months.

Local media reported he was of Afghan origin and that he had been shouting insults about Prime Minister Tony Abbott and the government before he was shot. The Australian Broadcasting Corp said Haider had links to al-Furqan, a radical Muslim group in Melbourne that was raided by authorities in 2012.

“I can advise that the person in question was a known terror suspect who was a person of interest to law enforcement and intelligence agencies,” Justice Minister Michael Keenan told reporters.

Both officers were in a stable condition in hospital on Wednesday, with one undergoing surgery after he was stabbed in the head, stomach and neck.

Earlier this week, Abbott warned Australians the balance between freedom and security “may have to shift”, as he outlined broad new powers to crack down on suspected militant activity.

“Obviously, this indicates that there are people in our community who are capable of very extreme acts,” Abbott said from Hawaii, where he was en route to New York for a meeting of the U.N. Security Council which is expected to address the issue of foreign fighters.

AUSTRALIA JOINS FIGHT

The Islamic Council of Victoria, a leading Muslim group, called on the government to deal with “the root causes of alienation and disaffection”, while the president of the Lebanese Muslim Association said threats had been made.

“Right-wing extremists – I don’t want to give them the liberty of mentioning their names – but they have made a certain amount of threats not just of attacking mosques, but bombing mosques,” Samier Dandan told reporters.

Australia is concerned over the number of its citizens believed to be fighting overseas with militant groups, including a suicide bomber who killed three people in Baghdad in July and two men shown in images on social media holding the severed heads of Syrian soldiers.

Abbott has said that at least 100 Australians are in the Middle East either fighting with or supporting Islamic State or other militant groups, a number that he said has increased in recent months.

At least 20 are believed by authorities to have returned to Australia and pose a security risk, and some 60 people have had their passports cancelled. Earlier this month, the national security agency for the first time raised its four-tier threat level to “high”.

Highlighting the threat posed by returning fighters, Australia was swift to commit troops and aircraft to a U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria earlier this month.

The United States and its Arab allies on Tuesday bombed militant groups in Syria for the first time, killing scores of Islamic State fighters and members of a separate al Qaeda-linked group.

More than 800 police were involved in a security operation in Sydney and Brisbane last Thursday, which authorities said had thwarted a plot by militants linked to the Islamic State group to behead a random member of the public.

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Cleric Abu Qatada cleared of terror plot, freed by Jordan court

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Radical Muslim cleric Abu Qatada speaks to the media after he was acquitted at the State Security Court in Amman

By Suleiman Al-Khalidi

A Jordanian court acquitted radical Muslim cleric Abu Qatada on Wednesday of charges of providing spiritual and material support for a plot to attack tourists during New Year celebrations in 2000, a judicial source said.

Jordan’s state security court ruled that the charges lacked sufficient evidence, the source said.

The source said the cleric was expected to be freed as soon as today.

Qatada was extradited from Britain last year after a lengthy legal process and was acquitted in June in a separate case of charges of conspiring to commit acts of terrorism. That acquittal was also based on lack of evidence.

Wednesday’s session was a retrial in which the prosecution had argued the cleric was a mentor to militant cells in Jordan while he was in Britain, providing spiritual and material support to its followers during the late 1990s.

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Hong Kong student activists rally ahead of threatened blockade

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Student listen a lecture on democracy during the second day of a week-long class boycott that demands genuine democracy in Hong Kong

By Donny Kwok and Venus Wu

Hong Kong students gathered in the heart of the city for a second day on Wednesday ahead of a planned blockade of government buildings if the city’s leader fails to discuss their demands for free elections.

About 300 university students protested in a park flanking government headquarters near the Central financial district where they sat listening to lectures in the middle of a week-long class boycott.

Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997 with a high degree of autonomy and freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland under a formula known as “one country, two systems”.

But Beijing last month rejected demands for people to freely choose the city’s next leader in 2017, insisting that candidates have to be pre-screened, prompting threats from pro-democracy activists to shut down Central.

The city’s leader, Leung Chun-ying, declined to discuss the students’ demands with them on Tuesday, prompting them to set a 48-hour deadline, saying they would surround and paralyse key government buildings if he did not face them.

“Either he has problems with his ability to comprehend and does not understand the students’ demands and the people’s demands, or he just has no heart to listen to our opinions because he is already kneeling in front of grandpa,” student leader Lester Shum said late on Tuesday, in reference to Leung’s close relationship with Beijing.

Hong Kong’s relationship with Beijing has become increasingly fraught in recent months as activists push for freedoms they believe are theirs under the “one country, two systems” formula.

Communist Party leaders in Beijing, for their part, are terrified of calls for democracy spreading to cities on the mainland, threatening their grip on power.

Such dissent would never be allowed on the mainland, where student protests calling for democracy were crushed with heavy loss of life on and around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989.

A Muslim economic professor was jailed for life in the western Chinese region of Xinjiang on separatism charges on Tuesday, a sentence that rights advocates said sent a clear signal that Beijing is determined to suppress dissent.

Confidence in “one country, two systems” is at the lowest it has been since the University of Hong Kong’s public opinion programme began tracking the issue in 1993, it said in a survey released on Tuesday.

More than half, or 56 percent, of the 1,000 people in Hong Kong surveyed by telephone in September said they had “no confidence” in the system.

The student boycott is the latest in a string of civil disobedience actions including an unofficial civil referendum, marches, rallies and a brief occupation of Central that led to more than 500 arrests.

A second occupation of Central is expected on Oct. 1.

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Air strikes in Syria hit Islamic State at Iraqi border

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U.S. Navy handout shows F/A-18F Super Hornet attached to the Tomcatters of Strike Fighter Squadron 31 landing aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush after conducting strike missions against Islamic State targets, in the Gulf

By Tom Perry

Five air strikes hit Islamic State-controlled territory in Syria near the Iraqi border on Wednesday, a group that tracks the Syrian war said.

Rami Abdulrahman, who runs the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told Reuters the raids had hit the border town of Albu Kamal and surrounding areas.

It was not clear who had mounted the air raid. A US-led alliance launched air strikes on Islamic State in Syria on Tuesday. A spokesman for the US military said those strikes were “only the beginning”.

“The people there, the activists, say they (the strikes) are probably the (international) coalition, not the regime,” Abdulrahman said, referring to the Syrian government. “The strength of the explosions are greater. Like yesterday.”

The area around Albu Kamal in eastern Syria has been the focus of heavy bombing by US-led forces. The Observatory said around 22 strikes hit the area on Tuesday.

Albu Kamal is one of the main border crossings between Iraq and Syria along a frontier that Islamic State wants to erase after seizing territory both sides.

Weaponry seized by Islamic State in Iraq during a lighting offence in June and taken across the border has helped the group secure more land in Syria.

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Turkish warship shadowing drillship

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DRILLSHIP

By George Psyllides

Hydrocarbon exploration will continue despite Turkey’s objections, Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said on Wednesday, warning that potential harassment was incompatible with the ongoing efforts to reunify the island.

His comments were made from New York as reports said a Turkish warship was shadowing a drillship that will be prospecting for natural gas on behalf Italian-Korean consortium ENI-KOGAS inside Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone.

Kasoulides said the situation was being closely watched and diplomatic moves have been made.

“The information we have is that it is watching from a distance,” the minister said, stressing that the exploration activity will continue as planned.

Kasoulides said Cyprus has moved on a diplomatic level towards countries who have influence “to prevent actions that will be unacceptable and incompatible with the continuation of talks.”

Saipem 10000 arrived at the Onasagoras field in block nine on Tuesday to drill its first well.

The ENI-KOGAS have concessions in Blocks 2, 3 and 9 – are contractually obligated to drill four wells, although they could drill up to six, depending on their findings in the interim.

Turkey, which backs the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state in the north, disputes the Republic’s right to a swathe of sea to the island’s south and southeast that are rich in gas reserves.

It has on a number of occasions sent warships to the area.
Cyprus says the waters are part of its own offshore area, where it has awarded research concessions to France’s Total, US company Noble Energy, and South Korea’s Kogas.

 

 

 

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No hairdryer treatment as ‘fun’ Fergie addresses Ryder Cup team

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United front: Sir Alex Ferguson (bottom row, 3rd left) with Europe’s Ryder Cup team at the Gleneagles Hotel, where the Scot delivered a motivational speech to Paul McGinley’s men

By Mitch Phillips

SIR Alex Ferguson has been unmasked as the man Europe captain Paul McGinley has asked to address his team on the eve of the Ryder Cup but the former Manchester United manager will be leaving his hair dryer at home.

McGinley had said previously that he had a big name in the pipeline but the secret was let out when Ferguson was seen on the course this week.

“The one thing he asked me to do was keep it quiet, we wanted a bit of a surprise for the players. But I guess it’s not a surprise,” McGinley told a news conference.

“There are a number of things that he’s dealing with that he was particularly good at that I think he’ll be a particularly strong fit. There’s a lot of similarities, and I’ve met him a number of times over the last few months. The more I’ve met him, the more there was just such a natural fit.”

McGinley said he played with Ferguson in a pro-am 15 years ago and, after a few subsequent meetings, asked him to help out once he had been named captain.

There will be none of Ferguson’s firebrand changing room roastings, however, with his famous ‘hairdryer’ assaults on errant players left firmly behind in the world of football.

“This is not about him being a headmaster and coming in and preaching to them. This is about fun,” said McGinley.
“The areas that I’ll be talking to the players about, him relating it to football and getting some football stories. So I very much like to think that we’re both coming from the same direction and he’s talking along the lines that I’ll be talking this week.”

Ferguson stood down as United manager following the 2012-13 season and has had to suffer on the sidelines since, as first David Moyes, and now Louis Van Gaal have failed to maintain the high standards he eventually set after his own shaky beginnings.

“He is a big fan of golf, as we know,” said McGinley. “He knew a lot about the players and he’d watched them and observed a lot of them and was very keen on getting to meet the ones he had not met. And of course the players are mad about football, every one of them.”

Ferguson is the latest in a long line of motivators, alive and dead, used to inspire the two Ryder Cup teams.
Former Wales and British Lions scrumhalf Gareth Edwards gave a rousing speech at the Welsh resort of Celtic Manor four years ago.
The ‘spirit of Seve Ballesteros’ was called upon by Europe throughout the 2012 tournament, while uplifting notes quoting Bob Torrance, respected coach and father of former Ryder Cup favourite Sam, are posted around the European team room at Gleneagles this week.

The Americans too have looked for outside help. Captain Corey Pavin brought in Major Dan Rooney, an F-16 pilot and Iraq war veteran, to address his team in 2012 while George W. Bush, then Governor of Texas, gave something of a tub-thumping speech to his country’s team in 1999.

There was a little less gravitas around in 2008 when European captain called in disc jockey DJ Spoony and Nicko McBrain, the drummer with rock band Iron Maiden. Europe went down to what remains their only defeat in the last six matches.

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Parties from both sides agree to disagree on guarantor powers

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DIKO's Nicolas Papadopoulos

By Angelos Anastasiou

Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot political parties expressed diverging views on the need for third-state guarantees following a settlement of the Cyprus problem during Wednesday’s scheduled meeting at the Ledra Palace under the auspices of the Slovak embassy.

The meeting was hosted by DIKO and attended by the party’s leader Nicolas Papadopoulos.

In his speech, the DIKO leader argued against the need for guarantees as part of a solution to the Cyprus problem, while acknowledging the need for the two communities to better understand each other.

“I strongly believe that no matter how much we may disagree on certain issues, talking about such issues, even the sensitive ones, only helps us understand and inform one another, and hopefully in the future, live with one another,” he said.

“I fear that if we accept such a system [of third-state guarantees], we will simply perpetuate the very flaws and insecurities that created the Cyprus problem in the first place. To put that in more simple words; it will mean that we accept that Greek and Turkish Cypriots shall remain suspicious of one another – that they cannot be trusted with one another, and the so-called guarantors will be needed for providing security to them.”

A joint communiqué read out after the meeting by the Ambassador of Slovakia to Cyprus Oksana Tomova said that “the [meeting’s] conclusion was that there are many ways to secure a peaceful future for all the communities in Cyprus and they must all try to do their best to find them.”

The leaders and representatives of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot political parties voiced their opinions on the issue “Does Cyprus need guarantor powers? Are guarantors the means for ensuring stability and unity after a solution or the cause for future insecurity?” as proposed by the hosting party, DIKO.

Despite differing views on the issue, political parties acknowledged the importance of maintaining contact with each other.

The next meeting of the leaders and representatives of the two communities’ political parties will be held on Wednesday, October 22.

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Neophtyou: almost back on track with troika

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DISY chief Averof Neophytou on Tuesday after his shouting match with AKEL boss Andros Kyprianou

By George Psyllides

Ruling DISY MP Averof Neophytou suggested that Cyprus would be back on track with the adjustment programme if the Supreme Court upholds the president’s objections on four foreclosures-related bills passed by opposition parties along with the main law.

His comments came a day after parliament decided on two other related bills that Anastasiades had sent back because they were considered to be incompatible with the terms of the island’s bailout.

Apart from the two bills he had sent back to parliament, Anastasiades has also referred four bills to the Supreme Court to issue a final ruling on whether they were in line with the constitution. That decision is expected late next month.

Parliament accepted one of the referrals and amended the other before approving it anew.

If the Supreme Court agreed with the president, the island’s bailout programme would be back on track, Neophytou said.

“My view is that if the president’s referrals are upheld by the Supreme Court, with yesterday’s (Tuesday’s) balanced management of the two bills, Cyprus will get a positive review that will provide the opportunity to further normalise the system and keep the country on the course of stability,” Neophytou said.

Approval of the bills by parliament a couple of weeks ago prompted international lenders to withhold the next tranche of financial aid. It will not be released until Cyprus complied with the terms of the bailout.

DIKO, which voted on DISY’s side on Tuesday, urged the government to prepare and submit the insolvency framework early in October. The framework is seen as the main protection for primary residences, an issue that was hotly debated in the run up to the foreclosures vote.

The party also called on the government to kick start talks for the creation of a state company to manage non-performing loans.

Main opposition AKEL described Tuesday’s vote as a negative development because rejection of the referral would have sent a strong message to the arrogant troika and the government’s refusal to negotiate.

“We are stressing that there is no way we will agree with the effort of the government and the troika to pave the way for mass, indiscriminate foreclosures against small borrowers,” spokesman Giorgos Loukaides said.

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University of Cyprus creates Confucius Institute

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THE University of Cyprus has established one of the 460 Confucius Institutes in the world.

Constantinos Christofides, Rector of the University, speaking at a news conference said the Confucius Institute would significantly contribute to the internationalisation of the University of Cyprus.

“It does not only open a window into the field of education and culture, but it also opens a window on broader cooperation on issues like the economy and trade, while our students will have the opportunity to learn Chinese, to travel more easily to this country. I am confident that this will enhance cooperation between the two countries,” Christofides said.

Assistant Professor Wang Shenxian, speaking during the conference, referred to the important help provided by the Rector on the establishment of Confucius Institution at the University of Cyprus, which will bring the people of China and Cyprus closer.

He announced that the official opening of the Institute would be on September 27, when the tenth anniversary of the world’s Confucius Institutes is celebrated.
Confucius Institutes are non-profit institutions affiliated with the ministry of education of China. Their aim is to promote the Chinese language and culture around the world. There are 460 Institutes in more than 120 countries. (CNA)

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iPhone 6 hits Cyprus on Thursday

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iphone 6

Apple’s newest addition in their smart phone family, the much hyped iPhone6, will make its Cyprus debut on Thursday in all MTN stores.

According to a press release, the new iPhone will only be available for clients willing to sign a contract with MTN. New clients signing the MTN Smart Unlimited payment plan can buy the new iPhone for €73 per month.

The iPhone 6 series includes a number of changes over its predecessor, the iPhone5, including a streamlined design, models with larger 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch displays, a faster processor, upgraded cameras, improved LTE and Wi-Fi connectivity, and support for a near-field communications-based mobile payments offering.

It’s available in three colours, according to the release. Gold, silver and graphite.

The new Apple product made quite a splash globally, exceeding four million in sales in pre-orders and 10 million in sales in the first three days after its release.

The iPhone 6 was officially released on September 19.

 

 

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Cyprus ready to help fight the Islamic State

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Cyprus wants to contribute in tackling the threat posed by the Islamic State, Defence Minister Christoforos Fokaides said on Thursday, as reports suggested France could use a National Guard air force base to fly bombing missions against the militants.

At the same time, The Times reported that RAF Akrotiri was gearing up for the same purpose.

“We are in consultation with our (EU) partners, we want to help tackle the threat stemming from the Islamic State organisation,” the defence minister said.

But Fokaides declined to comment when asked whether a deal was expected between Cyprus and France for the use of the Andreas Papandreou base for bombing missions against the IS.

“There is nothing to announce regarding this,” he said.

British Prime Minister David Cameron told the UN on Wednesday that Britain should now join US-led airstrikes against IS militants in Iraq and the country’s parliament has been recalled to secure approval.

“It is right that Britain should now move to a new phase of action,” Cameron told the 193-member General Assembly.

“I am therefore recalling the British Parliament on Friday to secure approval for the United Kingdom to take part in international air strikes against ISIL (Islamic State) in Iraq,” he said.

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Man arrested for importing cocaine through the post

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A 38-year-old Nicosia man has been arrested on suspicion of importing around 1.5 kilograms of cocaine through the post.

Police said the package containing the drug had been spotted at Larnaca airport on September 11. It was forwarded to a post office in the capital for controlled delivery, which led to the suspect’s arrest.

A subsequent search of his home came up with an air pistol, police said.

 

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Sierra Leone quarantines three more districts in fight against Ebola

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Italian Airforce soldiers attend a military exercise preparing to help people infected with the Ebola virus, at the Pratica di Mare Air Base

By David Lewis

Sierra Leone has put three more districts under indefinite quarantine in a bid to fight Ebola, President Ernest Bai Koroma said in a statement, which means five of the country’s 14 districts have now been isolated.

The quarantined districts include Port Loko and Bombali in the north and Moyamba in the south, according to a statement Koroma gave late on Wednesday.

“The isolation of districts and chiefdoms will definitely pose great difficulties for our people in those districts,” Koroma said. “(But) the life of everyone and the survival of our country take precedence over these difficulties.”

The World Health Organisation said on Thursday the death toll for the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the worst on record, has killed 2,917 people this year, including nearly 600 people in Sierra Leone.

The new restrictions are likely to further hamper major iron ore firms operating in Sierra Leone. Port Loko is home to London Mining’s concession and African Minerals has its rail and port services there.

The move follows a three-day countrywide lockdown at the weekend that Koroma said had been a success but exposed “areas of greater challenges”.

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France opens door to possible Syria strikes after tourist killed

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France's President Hollande talks to the media in New York, after the beheading of French hostage Gourdel

By John Irish and Andrew Callus

France on Thursday opened the door to possibly joining air strikes in Syria just hours after an Algerian Islamist group beheaded a French tourist in retaliation for Paris’ military action against Islamic State militants in Iraq.

France has repeatedly ruled out taking part in air action in Syria where Islamic State has its power base. It fears that strikes against militants there would leave a void that only Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces could fill, making it difficult for “moderate” rebels to counter the more organised Syrian army.

But the death of French tourist Herve Gourdel, who was beheaded in Algeria just 24 hours after an ultimatum was given to France to halt attacks in Iraq, appeared on toughen Paris’ resolve.

“The opportunity is not there today. We already have an important task in Iraq and we will see in the coming days how the situation evolves,” Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told RTL radio.

Pressed further on whether it was a possibility in the future, Le Drian, who is taking part in a war cabinet meeting on Thursday, said: “The question is on the table”.

US and coalition planes pounded Islamic State positions in Syria on Wednesday, but the strikes did not halt the fighters’ advance in a Kurdish area where fleeing refugees told of villages burnt and captives beheaded.

France last week became the first foreign government to join the United States by conducting air strikes in Iraq against the Islamic State, a militant Sunni Islamist group that has seized a third of Iraq and large swaths of territory across Syria.

Until recently, French officials had said the question of striking Syria was hypothetical given they had not been asked to do so by the US and coalition partners, and that its efforts would centre on providing weapons and training to Syrian rebels on the ground.

President Francois Hollande, who has previously sanctioned weapons deliveries to rebels, late on Wednesday met the President of the Syrian National Coalition at the U.N. General Assembly promising to increase support for the group.

Already this week there was a slight shift in the French position. Ahead of the start of US, and Arab strikes in Syria on Monday, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Paris no longer saw any legal barrier to Syrian air strikes.

Speaking to France Info radio on Thursday, Fabius, who reiterated there was no future for Assad, said the war cabinet would review the French mission against Islamic State, including in Syria.

“Syria is different. There are two enemies. We are going to focus on strengthening the Syrian opposition, but by striking Islamic State we shouldn’t strengthen Assad,” Fabius said.

“Strikes have to be carried out, which the Americans are doing, but we also need to denounce Assad who remains a dictator and reinforce the moderate opposition.”

Highlighting French concerns, the Syrian army took full control of a formerly insurgent-held area northeast of Damascus, Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV reported on Thursday.

Gourdel’s death appeared to unite politicians, religious leaders and the public on Thursday with calls for greater action against Islamic State, which has specifically urged its followers to attack French citizens.

That has prompted Paris to warn 30 of its embassies across the Middle East and Africa of an increased threat and to tighten security across France.

The Muslim Council in France called for a rally of French Muslims to take place on Friday against Islamic State.

“The terrorists want to scare us,” Fabius said. “They are practicing a bloody blackmail which we can’t give into. We will not surrender to it.”

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US to pay Navajo tribe $554 million in landmark settlement

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Monument Valley, AZ 4/26/07

By Steve Gorman

The Obama administration has agreed to pay the Navajo Nation a record $554 million to settle longstanding claims by America’s largest Indian tribe that its funds and natural resources were mishandled for decades by the US government.

The accord, resolving claims that date back as far as 50 years and marking the biggest US legal settlement with a single tribe, will be formally signed at a ceremony on Friday in Window Rock, Arizona, the capital of the sprawling Navajo reservation.

The deal stems from litigation accusing the government of mismanaging Navajo trust accounts and resources on more than 5.7 million hectares of land held in trust for the tribe and leased for such purposes as farming, energy development, logging and mining.

In return for $554 million, the Navajo agreed to dismiss its lawsuit and forego further litigation over previous US management of Navajo funds and resources held in trust by the federal government.

The deal does not preclude the tribe from pursuing future trust claims, or any separate claims over water and uranium pollution on its reservation, Navajo Attorney General Harrison Tsosie said.

He declined to quantify the total sum the Navajo had claimed it was owed before the settlement, saying he needed to review non-disclosure clauses.

Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly hailed the outcome as a “victory for tribal sovereignty” and promised to host town hall meetings to decide how to allocate settlement funds.

The Navajo Nation is the most populous American Indian tribe, with more than 300,000 members, and the largest by land mass, occupying 70,000 sq km across Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

“After a long, hard-won process, I am pleased that we have finally come to a resolution on this matter to receive fair and just compensation for the Navajo Nation,” Shelly said in a statement.

US Attorney General Eric Holder called the agreement historic and said it showed the Justice Department’s commitment to “strengthening our partnership with tribal nations.”

The deal comes over two years after the administration announced similar settlements with 41 tribes for about $1 billion collectively. Since then, the government has resolved breach of trust claims by nearly 40 additional tribes for more than $1.5 billion, a US Justice Department official said.

Shelly publicly disclosed in May that the Navajo had reached an agreement in principle. The sides revealed on Wednesday that the deal had been fully approved and executed.

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Medinah motivation could backfire on US, says Rose

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Watch out! European big gun Justin Rose (right) says the Americans' thirst for revenge could prove to be a 'double-edged sword' for them at Gleneagles

By Mark Lamport-Stokes

The ploy by the United States to draw extra motivation from a stinging loss to Europe at Medinah two years ago could prove to be “a double-edged sword” for them at the Ryder Cup in Scotland, Justin Rose has said.

US captain Tom Watson has already pinpointed that 2012 defeat outside Chicago as a focal point for his team, saying the Americans will be driven to make amends for one of their most harrowing experiences in the biennial competition.

“It could be very powerful, and it could be exactly the right thing to do – or it could lead to a lot of frustration if they get off to a bad start,” Englishman Rose said of the US tactic.
“Either way, it’s a ploy, it’s a tactic that is probably the right one but if the Europeans can get an upper hand, it’s going to feel very similar to what they have faced probably the last 10, 15 years,” the world number five added.

The Americans have had very little to celebrate at the Ryder Cup over the past 20 years, losing seven times in the last nine editions with their most recent victory coming on home soil at Valhalla in 2008.

At Medinah, they were seemingly poised to clinch a rare win when leading by four points going into the last-day singles, but the Europeans pulled off one of the greatest team comebacks on a golf course to triumph by 14-1/2 points to 13-1/2.

“I can tell you that all the players I have talked to, every one of them without a doubt, had one thing to say about the Ryder Cup,” Watson said about what came to be known as the ‘Meltdown at Medinah’.
“They want to go back and make amends for what happened at Medinah. Our team has that one focus. The Europeans played great in the last round in 2012 and that was a hard loss for the American players and it still sticks with a lot of them.”

The hosting Europeans, who have four of the top six ranked players in the world in their 12-man line-up, are being billed heavy favourites for the September 26-28 matches at Gleneagles.

Former US Open champion Rose, however, does not buy into the notion of Ryder Cup favourites and underdogs.
“We’ve got a good team and we believe in our team but I think the US has a good team with some naturally strong pairings and partnerships,” said the 34-year-old, who will represent Europe for a third time in the competition.

“The last two Ryder Cups have come down to one point, each time, so I don’t really buy into favourites, I don’t really buy into all of that stuff.
“It’s going to be the team who wants it the most on the week and is prepared to dig deep for it that I think is going to be the team that wins. There will be no false sense of security from the Europeans’ point of view.”

Rose is especially thrilled by the prospect of competing in his first Ryder Cup on European soil, having made his debut on a losing team at Valhalla in 2008 before savouring success at Medinah two years ago.

“I am really excited,” said the Englishman, who has achieved an impressive win-loss-half record of 6-3-0 at the Ryder Cup where he is unbeaten in the singles, having twice beaten Phil Mickelson.
“It’s going to be my first Ryder Cup playing in front of a home crowd and hopefully the energy of that will really spur me on at Gleneagles.”

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Myanmar army releases more than 100 child soldiers

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By Jared Ferrie

Myanmar’s army released 109 children from its military ranks on Thursday in its single biggest discharge of child soldiers, but boys are still being illegally recruited from poor families, the United Nations said.

Myanmar has for years been listed among countries where children have been recruited to fight – both by government forces and rebels.

The military ran the country for 49 years and was condemned internationally for human rights abuses including the use of child soldiers.

Bertrand Bainvel, head of the UN Children’s Fund in Myanmar, said the military wants to professionalise its ranks and the presence of child soldiers may block military cooperation with countries that could provide assistance.

A reformist, semi-civilian government that took over in 2011 has been working with the United Nations to get children out of the military. It has released 472 service since June 2012 including Thursday’s discharge, which was the largest yet, according to the United Nations.

“There is a commitment by the Tatmadaw to have this practice eradicated from its ranks,” said Bainvel, referring to the military by its traditional name.

Bainvel said recruitment continues at a decreased rate and that most young recruits come from poor families seeking the income that a son in the army can provide.

Recruiting most often takes place in the two largest cities, Yangon and Mandalay, and is often facilitated by civilian brokers who forge identification documents, making it difficult to determine how many child soldiers remain enlisted.

“This is a big question and there’s no way to say for sure how many there are,” Bainvel said.

The United Nations said seven ethnic minority guerrilla forces, which have fought or are still fighting the government, were also using child soldiers.

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American begins sentence of farm work and isolation in North Korea

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U.S. citizen Matthew Todd Miller sits in a witness box during his trial at the North Korean Supreme Court

By Ju-min Park and James Pearson

Matthew Miller, the American held in North Korea since April for “hostile acts”, began a six-year hard labour sentence on Thursday that he said involved farm work and isolation, media reports said.

Miller, 25, said in an interview with the Associated Press he had written to US First Lady Michelle Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry and his predecessor Hillary Clinton asking for help.

“Prison life is eight hours of work per day,” Miller, dressed in grey prison clothes and a hat, said in the video interview. “Mostly it’s been agriculture, like in the dirt, digging around. Other than that, it’s isolation, no contact with anyone.”

CNN also reported that a North Korean government official released a photo of Miller, taken on Wednesday, his head shaved and in grey prison clothes with the number 107 on his chest and staring away from the camera.

North Korea’s state media said on Saturday that he pretended to have secret US information and was deliberately arrested in a bid to become famous and meet Kenneth Bae, another American detainee in a North Korean prison.

Reuters reported earlier that Miller spent months in South Korea pretending to be an Englishman named “Preston Somerset” and invested time and money hiring artists to help create his own anime adaption of Alice in Wonderland, the Lewis Carroll fantasy with which he seemed fascinated.

Bae, a missionary of Korean descent, is serving a 15-year hard labour sentence after being convicted of crimes against the state last year.

Bae has also appeared before cameras appealing to the US government for help to secure his release. He said he was being held in a special correctional facility.

A third American, Jeffrey Fowle, was arrested for leaving a copy of the Bible in the toilet of a sailor’s club in the port city of Chongjin and is currently awaiting trial.

The United States has said Pyongyang is using its citizens as “pawns” to win a high-level visit from Washington.

Former US presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton have both made trips to the North to secure the release of Americans held in the secretive state.

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