Israeli Foreign Minister: Grapel is Not a Spy

Posted June 14th, 2011 at 11:25 am (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

Israel's foreign minister says a U.S.-Israeli citizen arrested in Egypt Sunday is not a spy.

Avigdor Lieberman said on Israel's Army Radio Tuesday that American-born Ilan Grapel had no ties with Israeli or American intelligence services, no matter how “strange” or “careless” his behavior.

The U.S. says a consular officer visited Grapel in prison Monday after he was arrested Sunday and ordered to be detained for 15 days.

Friends and family of Grapel say he is a 27-year-old American-Israeli who was interning for a non-profit organization in Egypt. They say he is an American law student who speaks Arabic and has an avid interest in the Middle East.

Egyptian authorities say the suspect entered Cairo around January 25 and had posed as a foreign correspondent.

The Egyptians allege Grapel is an officer with Israel's Mossad intelligence agency and had encouraged youths to clash with the Egyptian military during the protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square that led to the ouster of Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak.

Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979.

Chinese Inflation Rate Rises in May

Posted June 14th, 2011 at 11:20 am (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

China's inflation rate rose to 5.5. percent in May, its highest level in nearly three years despite government efforts to slow the fast-growing economy.

Last month's inflation rate edged above the 5.3 percent rate posted in April, driven by rising food prices brought on by crippling drought conditions in some parts of China. Beijing has set an annual inflation target of four percent, a level it feels will ward off social unrest.

In response, China's central bank moved Tuesday to raise the ratio of funds banks must set aside as reserves by half a percentage point, in its sixth attempt this year to contain rising prices. The latest increase, to a record 21.5 percent of deposits, is to take effect next week (June 20).

The Chinese government is reversing steps it took to boost the economy as the global slowdown took hold in 2009, including a $586 billion economic stimulus package and a record surge in lending.

Meanwhile, the National Statistics Bureau says industrial output rose 13.3 percent in May from a year earlier, while fixed-asset investment for the first five months of 2011 rose 25.8 percent from the same period in 2010.

Retail sales rose 16.9 percent in May from a year earlier.

Report: U.S. Guns Arming Mexican Cartels

Posted June 14th, 2011 at 11:15 am (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

Three U.S. lawmakers are calling for stricter gun laws, in response to a report saying Mexican drug gangs are getting their firepower from the United States.

The report – prepared for the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control – says 70 percent of the guns recovered at crime scenes in Mexico and traced by authorities came from the U.S.

The chair of the caucus, Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein , is calling on Congress to act on the findings and stop powerful Mexican drug traffickers from having what she calls “unfettered access” to military-style weapons from the United States.

Two other senators who helped prepare the report have joined Feinstein in calling for tougher gun laws.

The report recommends lawmakers close a loophole that allows private gun dealers to sell weapons at gun shows without conducting a background check on buyers.

It also calls for lawmakers to reinstate a ban on assault weapons that expired in 2004 and says the U.S. must do a better job of enforcing an existing ban on imports of military-style weapons.

The report based its findings on information from the U.S. agency in charge of monitoring and tracking the use of firearms .

Mexico has been increasingly critical of U.S. efforts to stop guns from crossing the border.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon has deployed nearly 50,000 troops in the crackdown against drug violence since he took office in 2006.

More than 37,000 people have been killed in the country's drug war in that time.

Syria Widens Crackdown on Dissenters

Posted June 14th, 2011 at 11:00 am (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

Syrian forces are widening a crackdown on dissenters in a region near the Turkish border, while the number of Syrians crossing into Turkey to flee the unrest continues to swell.

Activists Tuesday said Syrian troops are pushing into the town of Maaret al-Numan.

Over the past few days, security forces have swept through Jisr al-Shughour and nearby towns, after the government accused “armed groups” in Jisr al-Shughour of killing 120 security personnel.

Turkish officials say the number of Syrian refugees who have crossed into the country has topped 8,500. Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek Tuesday said nearly half of the refugees are children.

Also Turkish news reports say Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan phoned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday and urged him to avoid violence and enact reforms.

On Monday, refugees reaching Turkey said Syrian forces were combing villages back home and arresting men between the ages of 18 and 40. Others told of a scorched-earth campaign with men in black uniforms pouring gasoline on farmlands.

The wave of arrests followed the assault on Jisr al-Shughour by troops backed by tanks and helicopter gunships. Residents say loyalist units led by President Assad's brother, Maher al-Assad, led Sunday's crackdown, which they say was sparked by a mutiny last week when some soldiers refused to shoot protesters and joined the anti-government side.

Syria has banned most foreign journalists, making it difficult to verify accounts of events.

Rights groups say more than 1,300 people have been killed since President Assad launched a crackdown of anti-government dissent in March.

North, South Sudan Try to Finalize Deal on Abyei

Posted June 14th, 2011 at 11:00 am (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

Negotiators for north and south Sudan remain in talks to finalize a reported deal on the disputed Abyei region.

VOA correspondent Peter Heinlein says the presidents of north and south Sudan have left the talks in Ethiopia's capital, but that meetings with lower-level officials continue.

North Sudan's army seized control of oil-rich Abyei last month, prompting tens of thousands of residents to flee the region.

On Monday, African Union mediators said the sides had agreed in principle to demilitarize Abyei and to allow Ethiopian peacekeepers into the area.

Southern official Arop Deng told reporters Tuesday that the sides are now exclusively focused on security issues in Abyei.

Both north and south Sudan claim ownership of Abyei. The dispute has raised fears of renewed war in Sudan as the south prepares to declare independence on July 9.

Meanwhile, the United Nations says north Sudan launched new airstrikes Tuesday in Southern Kordofan state, on the border where northern troops have been fighting southern-aligned militia for more than a week.

A spokesman says the bombing campaign is causing “huge suffering” among civilians and threatening humanitarian aid efforts.

Earlier, the United Nations refugee agency appealed for access to Southern Kordofan. An agency spokeswoman says humanitarian flights have been denied permission to land in the state capital, Kadugli, and that land access is being blocked by militiamen.

The U.N. agency says the fighting in Southern Kordofan has displaced more than 40,000 people and killed at least 10 civilians.

North and south Sudan fought a 21-year civil war that ended with a 2005 peace deal. The south voted overwhelmingly to split from the north in a January referendum.

Abe was scheduled to hold a separate referendum on whether to join the north or south, but the poll failed to happen because the sides could not agree on who was eligible to vote.

IMF: Iran Cuts Inflation & Subsidies

Posted June 14th, 2011 at 10:55 am (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

Officials of the International Monetary Fund say Iran has cut inflation in half and sharply reduced the money it spends subsidizing energy, wheat, transportation and other goods needed by consumers.

After a visit to Teheran, IMF experts said Iran's inflation rate has fallen to a bit over 12 percent. The government has also made deep cuts in subsidies for energy, which will encourage Iranian companies to adopt more energy-efficient practices. That will make more energy available for profitable exports and help the economy.

Officials from the global lender said Iran's economic growth speeded up and rose to 3.5 percent in 2009 and 2010, even though prices for its crucial oil exports faltered.

But the IMF warned that the government should consider raising interest rates and cutting spending to keep inflation under control.

India’s Inflation Rate Rises

Posted June 14th, 2011 at 10:55 am (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

Higher food and fuel costs pushed India's inflation rate to 9.06 percent in May, increasing pressure on the country's central bank to increase interest rates again.

The country's main inflation gauge — the wholesale price index — jumped more than half a point last month from 8.66 percent in April.

The government on Tuesday also amended its March inflation rate to 9.68 percent from the provisional 9.04 percent released earlier.

The Reserve Bank of India has increased interest rates nine times since March of 2010, in order to temper rising inflation.

India has been hit particularly hard by rising food and fuel prices.

Mexican Judge Orders Release of Former Mayor

Posted June 14th, 2011 at 10:40 am (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

A Mexican judge has ordered the release of former Tijuana mayor Jorge Hank Rhon, ruling that officials lack the evidence to charge him with possessing illegal weapons.

Hank Rhon was arrested earlier this month after a raid on his house turned up dozens of weapons.

He was mayor of Tijuana, across the border from San Diego, California, from 2004 to 2007.

The son of a prominent figure in the Institutional Revolutionary Party , Hank Rhon owns a chain of casinos, as well as a local soccer team and a private zoo.

In 1999, a report by the U.S. National Drug Intelligence Center identified Hank Rhon as having links to drug trafficking, but then-U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno said the report's findings were never adopted as the official government view.

The former mayor, who also ran unsuccessfully for governor of Mexico's Baja California state, has denied accusations of corruption and ties to drug traffickers.

UN Warns Against “Son Preference” in Asia

Posted June 14th, 2011 at 10:30 am (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

The United Nations is calling on governments to address sex selection favoring boys, saying it fuels a culture of discrimination and violence.

Five U.N. agencies, including the World Health Organization and the U.N. Children's Fund, said Tuesday there is huge pressure on women to produce sons. This pressure not only directly affects women's reproductive decisions, but also puts them in a position where they must perpetuate the lower status of girls through son preference.

The agencies say the preference for boys in many parts of South, East and Central Asia has led to ratios as high as 130 boys for every 100 girls born. They say this imbalance leads to an increase in violence against women. For instance, the lack of women available for marriage in some areas may lead to the trafficking of women.

The U.N. says women are left to bear the consequences of giving birth to an unwanted baby girl, including violence, abandonment, divorce or even death.

In some countries, pre-natal sex determination through the use of ultrasound is banned. But the U.N. says such restrictions are often bypassed by the use of “clandestine procedures that put women's health in jeopardy.”

The U.N. agencies are calling on governments to set guidelines on the use of technology for health professionals, enact support measures for women and girls, and undertake other legal and awareness-raising actions.

North, South Sudan Try to Finalize Deal on Abyei

Posted June 14th, 2011 at 10:30 am (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

Negotiators for north and south Sudan remain in talks to finalize a reported deal on the disputed Abe region.

VOA correspondent Peter Heinlein says the presidents of north and south Sudan have left the talks in Ethiopia's capital, but that meetings with lower-level officials continue.

North Sudan's army seized control of oil-rich Abe last month, prompting tens of thousands of residents to flee the region.

On Monday, African Union mediators said the sides had agreed in principle to demilitarize Abe and to allow Ethiopian peacekeepers into the area.

Southern official Arop Deng told reporters Tuesday that the sides are now exclusively focused on security issues in Abe.

Both north and south Sudan claim ownership of Abe. The dispute has raised fears of renewed war in Sudan as the south prepares to declare independence on July 9.

Meanwhile, the United Nations says north Sudan launched new airstrikes Tuesday in Southern Kordofan state, on the border where northern troops have been fighting southern-aligned militia for more than a week.

A spokesman says the bombing campaign is causing “huge suffering” among civilians and threatening humanitarian aid efforts.

Earlier, the United Nations refugee agency appealed for access to Southern Kordofan. An agency spokeswoman says humanitarian flights have been denied permission to land in the state capital, Kadugli, and that land access is being blocked by militiamen.

The U.N. agency says the fighting in Southern Kordofan has displaced more than 40,000 people and killed at least 10 civilians.

North and south Sudan fought a 21-year civil war that ended with a 2005 peace deal. The south voted overwhelmingly to split from the north in a January referendum.

Abe was scheduled to hold a separate referendum on whether to join the north or south, but the poll failed to happen because the sides could not agree on who was eligible to vote.

Calendar

March 2024
M T W T F S S
« Jan    
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031

Archives

Categories