International

Activiştii spun retragerea trupelor siriene este un fals

Joi, 05 Ianuarie 2012 13:49

Activiştii sirieni din opoziţie spun ca autorităţile siriene sunt de rupte de promisiunile lor de a retrage trupele de pe strazile ce au sfâşiat orasele prin luptele ce au loc pe strazi , în contradicţie cu declaraţiile de pace, Liga Arabă ce monitorizeaza situatia din Siria , declara că forţele guvernamentale nu au retras în cazarmi armata.

O misiune a Ligii Arabe a sosit în Siria săptămâna trecută pentru a verifica dacă guvernul pune în aplicare un plan de pace ,în temeiul căruia s-a convenit ,:

- retragerea militarilor

- eliberarea a mii de prizonieri ( detinuti cea au participat la revolta împotriva preşedintelui Bashar al-Assad , ce a început în luna martie.

League Secretary General Nabil Elaraby said in Cairo on Monday the monitors had reported back that state forces had withdrawn from residential areas. The mission was ensuring a halt to bloodshed and had secured the release of about 3,500 prisoners, he said.

"We are not seeing the release of detainees or the true removal of a military presence from the streets," said Rami Abdelrahman, head of the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

"Army tanks have been replaced with police armored personnel carriers that still have the capability to shoot heavy weaponry."

Videos uploaded by activists on the Internet showed armored vehicles hidden behind high dirt barriers.

"Nabil Elaraby, you are in Cairo and we're in Baba Amr. Here are the tanks and there are your monitors," said one activist in a video uploaded on the Internet which showed a team of orange-vested men who appeared to be League monitors standing near an armored vehicle behind a barrier.

Such footage is impossible for Reuters to verify and Syria has barred entry to most foreign journalists.

Opposition groups in the cities of Idlib in the north, central Homs and Deraa in the south said the army had hidden armor in dugouts and replaced tanks with blue armored vehicles said to belong to police forces.

"BLATANT INTERFERENCE" BY U.S.

Washington accused the government of trying to stoke up more violence to justify retaliation.

The Syrian government on Wednesday rejected accusations from Washington that it was failing to live up to its agreement with the Arab League.

"Such a statement is offensive to the Arab League ... because it is a blatant interference in the core of its work, the sovereignty of its states and an unjustified attempt to internationalize (the Syria crisis)," Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdesi said in a statement.

The mission is expected to report on its first week of work by the end of this week.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe called Syrian repression "savage" and talked of the possibility of U.N. action.

"The Arab League has the merit of having taken the initiative, but Arab League observers cannot allow themselves to be manipulated by the regime as the regime is trying to do," he said in Lisbon.

"We hope the Arab League has clear objectives and if these objectives are not met we will work with the (U.N.) Security Council so it pronounces itself about the Syrian situation."

PRISON VISIT

Activists said monitors visited the main prison in Homs. They were greeted with chants of "freedom, freedom" and "the people want the fall of the regime," the activists said, citing leaked messages from detainees and guards.

"The security forces moved some of the detainees but the numbers are so huge they couldn't move them all," said Homs activist Abu Rami. "They moved some detainees to military bases and moved away the ones who are in bad health."

Rights groups say there may be more than 30,000 in prison and activists put the death toll since the team's arrival last week at between 130 and 390 people.

More than 5,000 people have been killed in the crackdown on protests, according to the United Nations. Damascus says it is fighting Islamist militants, controlled from abroad, who have killed at least 2,000 of Assad's forces.

Colonel Riad al-Asaad, head of the rebel Free Syrian Army, pledged this week to escalate operations against Assad's forces in response to what he said was the unsatisfactory performance of the Arab League monitors.

Since November rebel fighters have ambushed military convoys, attacked an airbase, seized army checkpoints and launched symbolic attacks on an intelligence centre and an office of the ruling Baath Party in the heart of Damascus.

** sursa : Reuters

DEFICITUL sPANIEI PE 2011 AR PUTEA FI MAI MARE DE 8%

Luni, 02 Ianuarie 2012 17:26

Guvernul spaniol va aproba în continuare măsuri de reducere a deficitului, în această săptămână, in topul reducerilor de circa 15 miliarde de euro este un pachet de creşteri de taxe şi reduceri de cheltuieli -au anunţat doar cu câteva zile în urmă, miniştrii au declarat luni.

Ei au declarat de asemenea că deficitul bugetar 2011 ar putea fi chiar mai mare decât 8 la sută din PIB, a anunţat săptămâna trecută.

Această cifră a fost deja o creştere majoră asupra prognozei pentru 6 la sută de către guvernul anterior.

Ministrul Trezoreriei Cristobal Montoro a declarat că noile măsuri ar fi adoptate la o întâlnire de Cabinet joi. Pachetul de austeritate a fost anunţat anterior vinerea trecută.

Montoro gave no details but told reporters the measures would show Spain's eurozone partners and other countries that Madrid's new conservative government is serious about acting quickly to shore up public finances.

Separately, Finance Minister Luis de Guindos said that the government, which took power just before Christmas, found out only early last week how bad the 2011 deficit numbers were and had no choice but to act quickly by increasing income and property taxes, despite an election campaign pledge not to do so.

The conservative Popular Party swept to victory in Nov. 20 general elections, winning a comfortable majority in Parliament as voters enduring 21.5 unemployment and a stagnant economy dumped the incumbent Socialists.

De Guindos said the 8 percent figure would have come out in a matter of weeks anyway and would have almost certainly led to a punishing rise in Spain's borrowing costs.

So the government acted quickly by announcing Friday the package of tax rises and spending cuts at the same time as it unveiled the new deficit estimate, so as to stay ahead of events, he said.

"It was an act of responsibility and political initiative to keep the Spanish economy from reaching a situation that would have been practically unsustainable," de Guindos told Cadena Ser radio.

He said both the central government and Spain's regional governments shared blame for the overspending.

As for the final 2011 deficit figure, he said: "It is possible that it will exceed 8 percent. Not by much, I certainly hope."

He said Spain right now, with its economy a mess and the eurozone in a debt crisis, could not afford to announce its deficit will be two points higher than forecast without also quickly taking measures like raising taxes, as unpleasant as that might be.

"If we had not, others would have done it for us," de Guindos said, suggesting the European Union would have stepped in somehow.

The deficit-reduction package is a first bitter taste of austerity for Spaniards under the new Popular Party government. It came as part of an extension of the 2011 budget because none for 2012 had been passed when the government changed hands.

More austerity is expected when a full-blown 2012 budget is approved in late March.

The government's goal is to get the deficit down to 4.4 percent of GDP this year.

** sursa :Associated Pres

Kim Jong Un a fost numit oficial comandant suprem al armatei

Sâmbătă, 31 Decembrie 2011 08:53

Coreea de Nord a anunţat sâmbătă că Kim Jong Un a fost numit oficial comandant suprem al armatei, consolidarea în continuare autoritatea sa, după moartea tatălui său, vechi liderului nord-coreean Kim Jong Il

.Funcţionari şi mass-media de stat , iau acordat lui Kim Jong Un, care este la 20 de ani l, un şir de titluri de elita al Coreei de Nord ,iar în urma morţii tatălui său, urmeaza la putere ,în această lună, după 17 ani la putere a tatalui sau.

Titlul de Supreme Commander - şi proclamarea formală a acestuia de către Biroul Politic puternic al Comitetului Central al Partidului Muncitoresc "- este un semn clar că Kim Jong Un doreste consolidarea rapidă puterii asupra Coreea de Nord.

Este, de asemenea, cel mai recent pas dintr-un cult al personalitatii înfloritoare în jurul lui.

Vârsta lui Kim Jong Un şi lipsa de experienţă au ridicat întrebări în afara Coreea de Nord cu privire la conducerea lui a unei naţiuni angajate în negocieri delicate pentru programul său nuclear şi a lupta cu zeci de ani de dificultăţi economice şi penuria cronică alimente.

But the North has moved quickly to show the world a unified face.Kim Jong Un should be "the only center of unity, cohesion and leadership" of the Workers' Party, North Korea's state media said, and the 1.2 million-strong military should uphold the "songun," or military-first, politics laid down by Kim Jong Il.The party said the country should unite around Kim Jong Un and strengthen "the monolithic leadership system of the dear respected Comrade Kim Jong Un throughout the party and society."An unannounced Workers' Party meeting Friday proclaimed that the younger Kim "assumed supreme commandership of the Korean People's Army" according to a will made by Kim Jong Il on Oct. 8, the North's official Korean Central News Agency said in a statement early Saturday morning.

The meeting of the North's ruling party came one day after the official mourning period for Kim Jong Il ended and senior military and political officials publicly declared Kim Jong Un leader of the party, military and people at a massive memorial for his father.

Titles are an important part of North Korea's efforts to link Kim Jong Un to the myth-building surrounding the Kim family legacy.Kim Il Sung, the country's first and only president, retains the title Eternal President even after his death.Kim Jong Il held three main positions: chairman of the National Defense Commission, general secretary of the Workers' Party and supreme commander of the Korean People's Army. According to the constitution, his position as chairman of the National Defense Commission made him Supreme Leader of North Korea.Kim Jong Un was made a four-star general last year and appointed a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party. Since his father's death, he has picked up major titles from officials and state media: Great Successor, Supreme Leader and Great Leader.

And now he has officially been named Supreme Commander.Analysts said the moves show the power transition has been smooth and faster than anticipated."The proclamation is something that has been expected, but it is notable that it happened so quickly," said Kim Yeon-su, a North Korea expert at Korea National Defense University. He said North Korea was showing the world that its system was stable and "the elite remain united."He said that next for Kim Jong Un in 2012 would be for him to be nominated as chairman of the National Defense Commission and to rise to the post of general secretary of the Workers' Party.Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said the succession was accelerating and stabilizing."It also shows the military-first rule will continue. The North was pressing ahead with steps for power transition regardless of the mourning period.

That shows the country is united."Choe Yong Nam, 48-year-old army officer, told The Associated Press in Pyongyang that he was confident with Kim Jong Un as supreme commander of the military. "As we were led by illustrious commanders of Mount Paektu, we have won only victories. I am sure that we will always emerge victorious as we have another great leader Kim Jong Un."Paektu is the highest peak on the Korean peninsula that the North cites in propaganda to signify the Kim dynasty. It is also Kim Jong Il's official birthplace.An engineer with the 326 Electric Wire Factory, Kim Song Un, 54, said he did not expect any changes in the country's policies. "We will keep to our path of the socialist cause of juche (self reliance) true to the leadership of Kim Jong Un in the future, as we did under the leadership of Kim Jong Il."

sursa : Associated Press

Boeing câştigă contract de 3.48 miliarde dolari antirachetă al SUA

Sâmbătă, 31 Decembrie 2011 08:37

Boeing Co invingind Lockheed Martin , a reusit să-şi păstreze poziţia sa ca prim contractor pentru scutul antirachetă american cu bataie lunga, a declarat Pentagonul , vineri.

Departamentul american al Apararii a declarat ca lui Boeing i s-a atribuit un contract de 3.48 miliarde dolari, de şapte ani pentru a dezvolta, testa, cerceta şi fabrica sistemele de apărare anti-rachetă.

O echipa condusa de Lockheed Martin Corp şi Raytheon Co s-au întrecut cu Boeing pentru a extinde şi de a menţine proiectul Apărării de sol Midcourse, sau GMD, hub-ul de protecţie antiracheta stratificat.

.Boeing partnered with Northrop Grumman Corp to retain the work."We believe the government conducted a fair and open competition, making the right decision for the future of the program," Norm Tew, Boeing vice president and program director of GMD, said in a statement.Lockheed said it was "honored" to have participated on the bid, a company spokesperson said in a statement on Friday.

The GMD contract's value to Boeing will have been about $18 billion from January 2001, when it formally became the system's prime contractor, through the end of this year, Boeing has said.GMD uses radar and other sensors plus a 20,000-mile fiber optic communications network to cue interceptors in silos at Fort Greely, Alaska and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.The shield has been shaped initially to guard against ballistic missiles that could be fired by Iran and North Korea.

It is the only U.S. defense against long-range missiles that could be tipped with chemical, biological or nuclear warheads.

** sursa : Reuters

Iranul avertizează SUA

Joi, 29 Decembrie 2011 20:55

Iranul avertizează SUA peste Strâmtoarea Hormuz Teheran (Reuters) - Un înalt comandant al Gărzilor Revoluţionare Iraniene a afirmat joi că Statele Unite nu sunt în măsură să spună Teheran "ce să facă în strâmtoarea Hormuz," a raportat televiziunea de stat , după ce Statele Unite ale Americii au declarat că va păstra transporturilor de petrol dinGolf.

Ameninţarea Teheran de a bloca traficul prin pasajul crucial pentru furnizorii de ţiţei din Orientul Mijlociu a urmat deciziei Uniunii Europene de a strânge sancţiuni asupra Iranului pentru programul său nuclear, precum şi de însoţire se mută de către Statele Unite pentru a strânge sancţiuni unilaterale.