WARSAW, Poland – Poland's economy grew by 0.5 percent in the first quarter, expanding at a slower pace than in the previous quarter during a particularly harsh winter but still on track for a strong full-year performance amid Europe's broader financial and economic turmoil.
The quarter-on-quarter growth figure released Monday by the Central Statistical Office compared with growth of 1.1 percent in the last three months of 2009.
The numbers were largely in line with economist' expectations, said Maja Goettig, chief economist with Bank BPH in Warsaw, attributing the less robust growth to the harsh winter.
Goettig said she believes the country can achieve 3 percent overall growth in 2010. She and other economists expect growth to accelerate later in the year.
"We're satisfied with this figure," Goettig said.
The data released showed that gross domestic product rose 2.8 percent compared with the first quarter of 2009.
Poland, a country of 38 million people, has done better than many of its neighbors during the past three years of economic turmoil.
It was the only European country that consistently posted growth during the global economic downturn — expanding by 1.7 percent last year. It is the largest of 10 ex-communist countries that joined the European Union in recent years, and its large domestic market helped buoy the economy during the rough times.
It also benefited from being less dependent on exports than neighbors such as the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Goettig said that domestic consumption remains "the main driver to GDP growth," and that the newest figures show factories are rebuilding inventory.
luni, 31 mai 2010
China warns debt woes threaten global recovery
TOKYO (Reuters) – China warned on Monday that Europe's struggle to contain ballooning debt posed a risk to global economic growth, raising the specter of a double-dip recession.
Premier Wen Jiabao, addressing business leaders during an official visit to Japan, issued his warnings a day after France admitted it will struggle to keep its top credit rating and days after a downgrade of Spain's credit status again jolted financial markets.
Referring to the risk of a second dip in global economic growth rates, Wen said: "I believe that we can't say with absolute certainty, so we must undertake close observation and act to prevent it.
"The world economy is stable and beginning to revive, but this revival is slow and there are many uncertainties and destabilizing factors," he said, adding it was too early to wind down stimulus deployed during the 2007-2009 financial crisis.
Governments around the world ran up record debts during the $5 trillion effort to pull the economy out of its deepest slump since the Great Depression and now face a tough balancing act: how to reduce debt without choking off growth.
"Some countries have experienced sovereign debt crises, for example Greece. Is this kind of phenomenon over? Now it seems that it's not so simple," Wen said. "The sovereign debt crisis in some European countries may drag down Europe's economic recovery."
ECB Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny summed up the task.
"The big challenge is to prevent a vicious circle in which (a) crisis of the public sector again leads to crisis developments in the financial and real sectors of the economy," he told a conference hosted by Austria's central bank.
Greece stumbled into the global spotlight late last year when it sharply revised its budget deficit figures, provoking a series of credit downgrades and sending its borrowing costs soaring, which in turn fanned fears it may default on its obligations.
While a 110 billion euro rescue package put together by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund helped avert an immediate meltdown, it failed to dispel fears that other highly indebted euro zone members such as Spain, Portugal and Italy may face a similar fate.
POLITICAL BACKLASH
A massive 750 billion euro emergency scheme cobbled together by EU leaders early this month, again with IMF help, aimed to deter with its sheer size possible speculative attacks on the euro zone's weaker members and thus support the euro.
In return for the safety net, Athens, Lisbon, Madrid and Rome signed billions of euros in spending cuts and tax hikes to rein in debt, despite an outcry from trade unions and political backlash.
IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn praised Spain's austerity package in a newspaper interview, saying they should help restore confidence.
On Friday, Fitch became the second ratings agency to strip Spain of its top triple-A rating a day after it passed its austerity plan by a single vote.
However, recent opinion polls showing the ruling Socialists trailing badly behind the center-right opposition cast doubt whether the government will manage to muster enough support in parliament for its budget.
Such concerns, have been plaguing the euro, which is heading for its worst month since January 2009, down more than 7 percent against the dollar since the start of May and heading for the sixth straight monthly fall. It was steady in Asia on Monday.
"It is difficult to see a recovery in market sentiment as there are worries that further bad news about southern European countries may come out," said a currency trader at a Japanese bank.
Investors and policymakers around the world are also increasingly worried that Europe's efforts to cut debt will sap the continent's anemic growth, denting demand for exports from emerging economies and derailing the global recovery.
The fact that not just the fiscally weakest southern European countries, but also nations at the euro zone's core are under pressure to cut debt and deficits amassed during the financial crisis, is adding to those concerns.
On Sunday, France said keeping its AAA credit rating would be a stretch without some tough action on its deficit, while Germany indicated it might resort to raising taxes to bring its shortfall closer to the EU's limit of 3 percent of gross domestic product.
France, the euro zone's second-largest economy, expects the budget deficit to hit 8 percent of GDP this year, but aims to bring it down to the EU limit by 2013. Germany, Europe's biggest economy, expects its deficit to exceed 5 percent of GDP in 2010. In the future, major improvements are needed in the euro area to prevent bad fiscal behavior and to enforce effective sanctions in the case of breaches of fiscal rules, the head of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet told the conference in Austria.
Striking a more optimistic note, China's Wen said the world's third-largest economy and its prime growth engine remained on course to meet its growth targets this year, though he added it would require Beijing to "maintain a certain level of intensity in its economic stimulus." (Additional reporting by Sarah Morris in Madrid; Writing by Tomasz Janowski; Editing by Neil Fullick)
Premier Wen Jiabao, addressing business leaders during an official visit to Japan, issued his warnings a day after France admitted it will struggle to keep its top credit rating and days after a downgrade of Spain's credit status again jolted financial markets.
Referring to the risk of a second dip in global economic growth rates, Wen said: "I believe that we can't say with absolute certainty, so we must undertake close observation and act to prevent it.
"The world economy is stable and beginning to revive, but this revival is slow and there are many uncertainties and destabilizing factors," he said, adding it was too early to wind down stimulus deployed during the 2007-2009 financial crisis.
Governments around the world ran up record debts during the $5 trillion effort to pull the economy out of its deepest slump since the Great Depression and now face a tough balancing act: how to reduce debt without choking off growth.
"Some countries have experienced sovereign debt crises, for example Greece. Is this kind of phenomenon over? Now it seems that it's not so simple," Wen said. "The sovereign debt crisis in some European countries may drag down Europe's economic recovery."
ECB Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny summed up the task.
"The big challenge is to prevent a vicious circle in which (a) crisis of the public sector again leads to crisis developments in the financial and real sectors of the economy," he told a conference hosted by Austria's central bank.
Greece stumbled into the global spotlight late last year when it sharply revised its budget deficit figures, provoking a series of credit downgrades and sending its borrowing costs soaring, which in turn fanned fears it may default on its obligations.
While a 110 billion euro rescue package put together by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund helped avert an immediate meltdown, it failed to dispel fears that other highly indebted euro zone members such as Spain, Portugal and Italy may face a similar fate.
POLITICAL BACKLASH
A massive 750 billion euro emergency scheme cobbled together by EU leaders early this month, again with IMF help, aimed to deter with its sheer size possible speculative attacks on the euro zone's weaker members and thus support the euro.
In return for the safety net, Athens, Lisbon, Madrid and Rome signed billions of euros in spending cuts and tax hikes to rein in debt, despite an outcry from trade unions and political backlash.
IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn praised Spain's austerity package in a newspaper interview, saying they should help restore confidence.
On Friday, Fitch became the second ratings agency to strip Spain of its top triple-A rating a day after it passed its austerity plan by a single vote.
However, recent opinion polls showing the ruling Socialists trailing badly behind the center-right opposition cast doubt whether the government will manage to muster enough support in parliament for its budget.
Such concerns, have been plaguing the euro, which is heading for its worst month since January 2009, down more than 7 percent against the dollar since the start of May and heading for the sixth straight monthly fall. It was steady in Asia on Monday.
"It is difficult to see a recovery in market sentiment as there are worries that further bad news about southern European countries may come out," said a currency trader at a Japanese bank.
Investors and policymakers around the world are also increasingly worried that Europe's efforts to cut debt will sap the continent's anemic growth, denting demand for exports from emerging economies and derailing the global recovery.
The fact that not just the fiscally weakest southern European countries, but also nations at the euro zone's core are under pressure to cut debt and deficits amassed during the financial crisis, is adding to those concerns.
On Sunday, France said keeping its AAA credit rating would be a stretch without some tough action on its deficit, while Germany indicated it might resort to raising taxes to bring its shortfall closer to the EU's limit of 3 percent of gross domestic product.
France, the euro zone's second-largest economy, expects the budget deficit to hit 8 percent of GDP this year, but aims to bring it down to the EU limit by 2013. Germany, Europe's biggest economy, expects its deficit to exceed 5 percent of GDP in 2010. In the future, major improvements are needed in the euro area to prevent bad fiscal behavior and to enforce effective sanctions in the case of breaches of fiscal rules, the head of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet told the conference in Austria.
Striking a more optimistic note, China's Wen said the world's third-largest economy and its prime growth engine remained on course to meet its growth targets this year, though he added it would require Beijing to "maintain a certain level of intensity in its economic stimulus." (Additional reporting by Sarah Morris in Madrid; Writing by Tomasz Janowski; Editing by Neil Fullick)
India's economy grows at fastest pace in 2 years
MUMBAI, India – A rebound in manufacturing and recovering farm output drove India's quarterly economic growth to 8.6 percent, the best in two years as Asia's third-largest economy returns to pre-crisis levels of expansion.
Growth for the financial year ended March was 7.4 percent, beating a government forecast of 7.2 percent, officials said Monday. The acceleration in the January-March quarter is likely to add to pressure on the central bank to raise interest rates to contain inflation.
India has rebounded from the global downturn faster than expected thanks to strong domestic consumption and investment, but two uncertainties loom: Rain and Europe.
As India's farmers wait for the monsoon, hoping last year's drought won't be repeated, the nation's business elite watches Europe — which accounts for a fifth of India's exports — hoping its sovereign debt crisis won't dampen the investment that's needed to drive growth.
Manufacturing surged an unsustainable 16.3 percent off a low base for the March quarter, up from 0.6 percent a year earlier and its strongest performance in at least two years. Agriculture — which remains an important source of employment — limped along at 0.7 percent, up from the prior quarter's contraction of 1.8 percent, but worse than a year earlier, when it grew 3.3 percent.
"We remain vulnerable to the monsoons, as ever," said Enam Securities economist Sachchidanand Shukla. "This is an annual uncertainty that can shave off 60 to 70 basis points (0.6 to 0.7 of a percentage point) from growth. If the monsoon were to fail again, growth will definitely slip below 8 percent."
He said an unusually bountiful winter crop boosted growth after the worst rainfall since 1972 diminished summer yields.
Monday's figures showed that investment is becoming a key driver of growth as private consumption falls as a share of overall economic activity.
"It's a sign of India moving on to a higher growth trajectory," said D.K. Joshi, chief economist at Crisil, an Indian research and ratings agency. "Investment has picked up really fast and is at par with other economies when they started lifting on a sustained basis."
Investment as a share of gross domestic product rose to 34.6 percent during the March quarter, government data showed. That's far higher than it was in the 1990s, when it hovered near 22 percent of GDP, and close to its peak of 37 percent not long before the global recession, Joshi said.
Europe, India's most important export market, could drag on India, especially if its debt crisis undermines global growth.
Joshi calculates that only about 7 percent of investment comes from abroad. Still, if foreign funding — which Indian companies have used to feed their growing appetite for overseas acquisitions — dries up, domestic sources will be stretched, he said.
"We are more connected to Europe than ever, but we have our own strengths," he said.
From 2003-2008, economic growth averaged 8.8 percent a year, before slumping to 6.7 percent last fiscal year as the Great Recession roiled India's economy.
India's prime minister Manmohan Singh says the billion-plus nation needs to grow at 10 percent a year to eradicate chronic poverty.
Growth for the financial year ended March was 7.4 percent, beating a government forecast of 7.2 percent, officials said Monday. The acceleration in the January-March quarter is likely to add to pressure on the central bank to raise interest rates to contain inflation.
India has rebounded from the global downturn faster than expected thanks to strong domestic consumption and investment, but two uncertainties loom: Rain and Europe.
As India's farmers wait for the monsoon, hoping last year's drought won't be repeated, the nation's business elite watches Europe — which accounts for a fifth of India's exports — hoping its sovereign debt crisis won't dampen the investment that's needed to drive growth.
Manufacturing surged an unsustainable 16.3 percent off a low base for the March quarter, up from 0.6 percent a year earlier and its strongest performance in at least two years. Agriculture — which remains an important source of employment — limped along at 0.7 percent, up from the prior quarter's contraction of 1.8 percent, but worse than a year earlier, when it grew 3.3 percent.
"We remain vulnerable to the monsoons, as ever," said Enam Securities economist Sachchidanand Shukla. "This is an annual uncertainty that can shave off 60 to 70 basis points (0.6 to 0.7 of a percentage point) from growth. If the monsoon were to fail again, growth will definitely slip below 8 percent."
He said an unusually bountiful winter crop boosted growth after the worst rainfall since 1972 diminished summer yields.
Monday's figures showed that investment is becoming a key driver of growth as private consumption falls as a share of overall economic activity.
"It's a sign of India moving on to a higher growth trajectory," said D.K. Joshi, chief economist at Crisil, an Indian research and ratings agency. "Investment has picked up really fast and is at par with other economies when they started lifting on a sustained basis."
Investment as a share of gross domestic product rose to 34.6 percent during the March quarter, government data showed. That's far higher than it was in the 1990s, when it hovered near 22 percent of GDP, and close to its peak of 37 percent not long before the global recession, Joshi said.
Europe, India's most important export market, could drag on India, especially if its debt crisis undermines global growth.
Joshi calculates that only about 7 percent of investment comes from abroad. Still, if foreign funding — which Indian companies have used to feed their growing appetite for overseas acquisitions — dries up, domestic sources will be stretched, he said.
"We are more connected to Europe than ever, but we have our own strengths," he said.
From 2003-2008, economic growth averaged 8.8 percent a year, before slumping to 6.7 percent last fiscal year as the Great Recession roiled India's economy.
India's prime minister Manmohan Singh says the billion-plus nation needs to grow at 10 percent a year to eradicate chronic poverty.
British Airways cabin crew continue strike
LONDON – British Airways cabin crew walked out for the 14th day Monday in an on-and-off strike over pay and working conditions, and a union leader said labor disruptions could continue into the summer.
Striking cabin crew walked off their jobs May 24 for five days and began the new round of strikes Sunday after the latest round of talks collapsed. The cabin crew union has called for another five days of strikes beginning on June 5 if there is no settlement.
The airline says it plans to fly more than 70 percent of its long-haul flights, compared to the 60 percent it had operated during last week's strike, and 55 percent of short-haul flights, up from 50 percent last week.
A big sticking point in the dispute is British Airways' decision to take away free travel benefits for cabin crew who joined in the strikes.
Tony Woodley, joint general secretary of the Unite union, blamed British Airways Chief Executive Willie Walsh for blocking a settlement and said the union is preparing for another vote on continuing strikes beyond early June.
"Willie, we all know there is a deal to be done at British Airways, one that recognizes the real commercial needs and problems of your company as well as our members' legitimate interests. Unite is ready to do that deal," Woodley told union members in Manchester, according to a text released by the union.
"But we are not, and never will, be prepared to see our members and our union humiliated," he added.
Seven days of walkouts in March cost the airline around 43 million pounds ($63 million).
Striking cabin crew walked off their jobs May 24 for five days and began the new round of strikes Sunday after the latest round of talks collapsed. The cabin crew union has called for another five days of strikes beginning on June 5 if there is no settlement.
The airline says it plans to fly more than 70 percent of its long-haul flights, compared to the 60 percent it had operated during last week's strike, and 55 percent of short-haul flights, up from 50 percent last week.
A big sticking point in the dispute is British Airways' decision to take away free travel benefits for cabin crew who joined in the strikes.
Tony Woodley, joint general secretary of the Unite union, blamed British Airways Chief Executive Willie Walsh for blocking a settlement and said the union is preparing for another vote on continuing strikes beyond early June.
"Willie, we all know there is a deal to be done at British Airways, one that recognizes the real commercial needs and problems of your company as well as our members' legitimate interests. Unite is ready to do that deal," Woodley told union members in Manchester, according to a text released by the union.
"But we are not, and never will, be prepared to see our members and our union humiliated," he added.
Seven days of walkouts in March cost the airline around 43 million pounds ($63 million).
Officials: 3 killed in separate Iraq attacks
BAGHDAD – Three people were killed and several others wounded in separate attacks in Iraq, police and hospital officials said Monday.
Among the dead was a prominent local leader of anti-insurgent Sunni forces known as Awakening Councils who was shot by two gunmen armed with silenced pistols. The attackers fled the scene after attacking Nael al-Azami near a popular cafe in Baghdad's northern Azamiyah district Monday morning.
Elsewhere in the capital, a roadside bomb struck an Iraqi police patrol in the capital's Ghadir neighborhood, killing one policeman and wounding 10 bystanders and officers nearby.
In Kirkuk, a policeman has died after a roadside bomb hit his patrol Sunday night. Four of his colleagues were seriously hurt in the blast.
A series of other early morning blasts across Baghdad wounded 11.
The first explosion occurred at 7 a.m. when a bomb attached to a civilian SUV exploded while it was heading down Baghdad's eastern Palestine Street, injuring the driver and a passenger.
About 90 minutes later, two separate roadside bombs targeting police patrols in eastern Baghdad injured a total of five policemen and four bystanders.
The police and hospital officials who described the attacks spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Among the dead was a prominent local leader of anti-insurgent Sunni forces known as Awakening Councils who was shot by two gunmen armed with silenced pistols. The attackers fled the scene after attacking Nael al-Azami near a popular cafe in Baghdad's northern Azamiyah district Monday morning.
Elsewhere in the capital, a roadside bomb struck an Iraqi police patrol in the capital's Ghadir neighborhood, killing one policeman and wounding 10 bystanders and officers nearby.
In Kirkuk, a policeman has died after a roadside bomb hit his patrol Sunday night. Four of his colleagues were seriously hurt in the blast.
A series of other early morning blasts across Baghdad wounded 11.
The first explosion occurred at 7 a.m. when a bomb attached to a civilian SUV exploded while it was heading down Baghdad's eastern Palestine Street, injuring the driver and a passenger.
About 90 minutes later, two separate roadside bombs targeting police patrols in eastern Baghdad injured a total of five policemen and four bystanders.
The police and hospital officials who described the attacks spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Is Sochi Safe Enough for the Olympics?
In 2007, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin gave a "national pledge" that Sochi, a Black Sea resort town near the border with Georgia, would be a safe venue for the 2014 Winter Games. The International Olympic Committee believed him, and Russia won the bid. But Sochi, it turns out, is no Vancouver, and on May 26 the credibility of Putin's promise took a drastic hit. Just before 7:00 p.m., a bomb stuffed with shrapnel was detonated in the nearby city of Stavropol, wounding more than 40 people and killing seven others, including two young girls. No group claimed responsibility for the attack, and in the aftermath investigators fumbled around for a possible motive. But the blast, and the uncoordinated official response to it, has prompted some experts to pose unpleasant questions: Had the security situation around Sochi been properly assessed before Russia took on its Olympic challenge? And if the risk of violence is real, might countries consider pulling their athletes out of the Games?
Perhaps the most frightening aspect of the attack and the ensuing investigation has been the sheer number of possible bad guys. According to the various law enforcement officials speaking to Russian media after the blast, there are no less than four groups in that region thought capable of bombing a crowded square in broad daylight. It could have been the Islamist rebels camped out in the nearby Caucasus mountains, they said, but it could also have been Russian nationalists or local mafia groups. Some police officials have suggested the bombing could lead back to neighboring Georgia, noting the blast fell on May 26 - Georgian Independence Day. Georgia and Russia fought a war in 2008, and one of the disputed regions in that war, Abkhazia, lies about 25 miles away from Sochi. (See pictures of a jihadist's journey.)
"The region is such a muddied and bloodied aquarium of conflict that to pick out any one fish is impossible," says retired KGB Colonel Oleg Nechiporenko, now the chief analyst for Russia's National Anti-Terrorist and Anti-Criminal Fund. "Even the idea of holding the Olympics has to be predicated on the end of all violent conflicts in the area, and here we are preparing to hold the Games in what is virtually the front line in our war on terrorism."
For decades, this conflict has focused on the North Caucasus, the basket case of territories that lies a short drive from Sochi and includes Chechnya and the tinderbox republics of Dagestan and Ingushetia. In January, with the Olympic preparations clearly in mind, President Dmitry Medvedev appointed a newcomer named Alexander Khloponin to try to stabilize these regions by developing their economies rather than bringing more police. He has made little progress. As a businessman and former governor in Siberia, Khloponin has no local power base in the North Caucasus; he is grappling with pervasive corruption and widespread poverty, not to mention Islamist insurgents fighting to turn the territory into a Muslim caliphate governed by strict Shari'a law. On March 29, two suicide bombers killed 40 people in the Moscow subway; Chechen warlord Doku Umarov, the leader of those insurgents, claimed responsibility. (See pictures of terror in Mumbai.)
But Khloponin has made some surprising claims in the wake of last week's Stavropol blast. In an interview with the Rossiyskaya Gazeta daily published on May 27, he said that the latest explosion has nothing to do with the Islamist rebels, and was most likely part of a turf war between local gangs. That same day he told a meeting of law enforcement officials that the violent scramble for assets in this region is likely get worse as Russia tries to build tourist infrastructure and ski resorts in the lead up to the Olympics. "There has been an attempt to lump this division of property together with ethnic fighting or to present it as terror," he said, adding that both interpretations were wrong.
It is true that turf wars and racketeering are still common in this part of Russia. Last February, a suspected mafiosi named Alik Minalyan - nicknamed Sochi Alik - was gunned down in Moscow after allegedly running the Sochi underworld for years, and Islamist groups in the North Caucasus are known to extort money to finance their activities. But investigators in Stavropol were quick to question Khloponin's statements on Thursday, telling Russian news agencies that jihadis were still at the top of their list of suspects. These contradictory claims, and the fact that no arrests have yet been made, have done little to calm the public after the bombing. (See pictures of Obama in Russia.)
"It looks like the result of panic, of bad coordination, as if they are trying to cover all the possibilities in case one of them is right," says Nikolai Zlobin, director of the Russia and Eurasia Project at the World Security Institute in Washington. "That shows there has never been a full and systematic security review in these regions to figure out what is a theoretical threat and what is an actual threat."
For its part, the International Olympic Committee is standing by its decision to grant Sochi the right to host the 2014 Games. In a statement to TIME, the IOC says the latest bombing has not changed its position. "Security arrangements fall under the responsibility of the local authorities of the host cities, who ensure that everything that is humanly possible is done to protect the athletes, the spectators and all the people involved in the staging of the Games. We have no doubt that Russia will be up to the task."
But as 2014 approaches, other countries will be watching to see what dangers their athletes might face in Sochi; if any large nation decides to pull out, Zlobin says it could cause a "chain reaction." "There are so many danger points, and this terror attack showed that they are not prepared for them," he notes. "It would be very easy to derail these Olympics, or at least show that the athletes there will be in a compromised position."
Perhaps the most frightening aspect of the attack and the ensuing investigation has been the sheer number of possible bad guys. According to the various law enforcement officials speaking to Russian media after the blast, there are no less than four groups in that region thought capable of bombing a crowded square in broad daylight. It could have been the Islamist rebels camped out in the nearby Caucasus mountains, they said, but it could also have been Russian nationalists or local mafia groups. Some police officials have suggested the bombing could lead back to neighboring Georgia, noting the blast fell on May 26 - Georgian Independence Day. Georgia and Russia fought a war in 2008, and one of the disputed regions in that war, Abkhazia, lies about 25 miles away from Sochi. (See pictures of a jihadist's journey.)
"The region is such a muddied and bloodied aquarium of conflict that to pick out any one fish is impossible," says retired KGB Colonel Oleg Nechiporenko, now the chief analyst for Russia's National Anti-Terrorist and Anti-Criminal Fund. "Even the idea of holding the Olympics has to be predicated on the end of all violent conflicts in the area, and here we are preparing to hold the Games in what is virtually the front line in our war on terrorism."
For decades, this conflict has focused on the North Caucasus, the basket case of territories that lies a short drive from Sochi and includes Chechnya and the tinderbox republics of Dagestan and Ingushetia. In January, with the Olympic preparations clearly in mind, President Dmitry Medvedev appointed a newcomer named Alexander Khloponin to try to stabilize these regions by developing their economies rather than bringing more police. He has made little progress. As a businessman and former governor in Siberia, Khloponin has no local power base in the North Caucasus; he is grappling with pervasive corruption and widespread poverty, not to mention Islamist insurgents fighting to turn the territory into a Muslim caliphate governed by strict Shari'a law. On March 29, two suicide bombers killed 40 people in the Moscow subway; Chechen warlord Doku Umarov, the leader of those insurgents, claimed responsibility. (See pictures of terror in Mumbai.)
But Khloponin has made some surprising claims in the wake of last week's Stavropol blast. In an interview with the Rossiyskaya Gazeta daily published on May 27, he said that the latest explosion has nothing to do with the Islamist rebels, and was most likely part of a turf war between local gangs. That same day he told a meeting of law enforcement officials that the violent scramble for assets in this region is likely get worse as Russia tries to build tourist infrastructure and ski resorts in the lead up to the Olympics. "There has been an attempt to lump this division of property together with ethnic fighting or to present it as terror," he said, adding that both interpretations were wrong.
It is true that turf wars and racketeering are still common in this part of Russia. Last February, a suspected mafiosi named Alik Minalyan - nicknamed Sochi Alik - was gunned down in Moscow after allegedly running the Sochi underworld for years, and Islamist groups in the North Caucasus are known to extort money to finance their activities. But investigators in Stavropol were quick to question Khloponin's statements on Thursday, telling Russian news agencies that jihadis were still at the top of their list of suspects. These contradictory claims, and the fact that no arrests have yet been made, have done little to calm the public after the bombing. (See pictures of Obama in Russia.)
"It looks like the result of panic, of bad coordination, as if they are trying to cover all the possibilities in case one of them is right," says Nikolai Zlobin, director of the Russia and Eurasia Project at the World Security Institute in Washington. "That shows there has never been a full and systematic security review in these regions to figure out what is a theoretical threat and what is an actual threat."
For its part, the International Olympic Committee is standing by its decision to grant Sochi the right to host the 2014 Games. In a statement to TIME, the IOC says the latest bombing has not changed its position. "Security arrangements fall under the responsibility of the local authorities of the host cities, who ensure that everything that is humanly possible is done to protect the athletes, the spectators and all the people involved in the staging of the Games. We have no doubt that Russia will be up to the task."
But as 2014 approaches, other countries will be watching to see what dangers their athletes might face in Sochi; if any large nation decides to pull out, Zlobin says it could cause a "chain reaction." "There are so many danger points, and this terror attack showed that they are not prepared for them," he notes. "It would be very easy to derail these Olympics, or at least show that the athletes there will be in a compromised position."
New U.S.-Russian space crew ready to go
MOSCOW – The next U.S.-Russian crew for the international space station said Monday they are fully ready for their mission even though they initially flunked one of their tests.
NASA astronauts Doug Wheelock and Shannon Walker and Russian commander Fyodor Yurchikhin told reporters Monday that will blast off for the orbiting outpost in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft on June 16 from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Yurchikhin said they had to take an equipment test twice after a failure, but added that the problem demonstrated the crew's team spirit.
"I realize that it is completely my responsibility for all that problems we faced during our exam," he said. "And I assure you we are a real crew."
The trio will join Russians Alexander Skvortsov and Mikhail Kornienko and U.S. astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson, whose crewmates are scheduled to return to Earth early Wednesday.
Russian Oleg Kotov, American T.J. Creamer and Soichi Noguchi of Japan are set to land in Kazakhstan stepped in the Soyuz TMA-17 spacecraft.
NASA astronauts Doug Wheelock and Shannon Walker and Russian commander Fyodor Yurchikhin told reporters Monday that will blast off for the orbiting outpost in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft on June 16 from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Yurchikhin said they had to take an equipment test twice after a failure, but added that the problem demonstrated the crew's team spirit.
"I realize that it is completely my responsibility for all that problems we faced during our exam," he said. "And I assure you we are a real crew."
The trio will join Russians Alexander Skvortsov and Mikhail Kornienko and U.S. astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson, whose crewmates are scheduled to return to Earth early Wednesday.
Russian Oleg Kotov, American T.J. Creamer and Soichi Noguchi of Japan are set to land in Kazakhstan stepped in the Soyuz TMA-17 spacecraft.
Israel boat raid sparks condemnations, protests
ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey withdrew its ambassador to Israel and called for an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council as criticism and condemnations arose across Europe and the Arab world Monday over Israel's deadly commando raid on ships taking humanitarian aid to the blockaded Gaza Strip.
The raid, in which at least 10 pro-Palestinian activists were killed, was a new blow to Israel's international standing at a time when the West — including the United States — have grown frustrated with its stance in the peace process. The bloodshed particularly hurts its relations with Turkey, which was once a close regional ally of Israel but has become increasingly critical of it.
Around 10,000 Turks marched in protest from the Israeli consulate in Istanbul to a main square, chanting, "Murderous Israel you will drown in the blood you shed." The protesters earlier Monday tried to storm the Consulate building but were blocked by police. The flotilla of six ships, carrying some 700 activists, was sponsored in part by a Turkish organization.
Around 1,000 protested in Jordan's capital, Amman, calling for their government to cut diplomatic ties with Israel. Smaller protests erupted in capitals across the Middle East as well as in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo, the Greek city of Thessaloniki and the Pakistani city of Karazhi.
Palestinian youths protesting the raid scuffled with Israeli soldiers, throwing bottles and stones at them, at a checkpoint north of Jerusalem, as senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat called the Israeli raid a "war crime."
Israel says the activists attacked its commandos as they boarded the six ships taking tons of supplies to Gaza, while the flotilla's organizers say the Israeli forces opened fire first.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the violence, saying, "I am shocked by reports of killing of people in boats carrying supply to Gaza. I heard the ships were in international water. That is very bad." He called for a "thorough investigation."
French President Nicolas Sarkozy condemned "the disproportionate use of force" against the flotilla.
"All light must be shed on the circumstances of this tragedy, which underlines the urgency of resuming peace talks," he said in a statement.
Greece suspended a military exercise with Israel and postponed a visit by Israel's air force chief. Greece, Egypt, Sweden, Spain and Denmark summoned Israel's ambassadors demanding explanations for the violence.
But the strongest reaction came from Turkey. Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc called Israel's actions "piracy" and said Turkey is withdrawing its ambassador on Monday as well as canceling three joint military drills and calling on the U.N. Security Council to convene in an emergency session about Israel. Turkey is currently a member of the council.
"I strongly condemn the use of force by Israeli military forces on an aid convoy composed of 32 countries, including Turkey," Arinc said. "This attack must not remain unanswered." He also said a Turkish youth soccer team currently in Israel would be brought home.
The raid also brought heightened attention to Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip, imposed after the Palestinian militant group Hamas seized control of the tiny Mediterranean territory in 2007. The blockade — along with Israel's fierce offensive against Gaza in the winter of 2008-2009 to stop Hamas rocket fire — has fueled anti-Israeli sentiment around the Arab world.
The president of Iran, a key supporter of Hamas, called the raid "an inhuman act."
"All in all, these (actions) only bring closer the end of the miserable and false regime" in Israel, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said, according to state TV.
The Cairo-based Arab League called an emergency session for Tuesday to address the attack, as the two only Arab states with peace deals with Israel — Jordan and Egypt — sharply condemned the violence. Jordan's information minister, Nabil al-Sharif, called it a "heinous crime" and called for the lifting of the blockade on Gaza.
The incident also put Egypt in a tight position. The only Arab country bordering the Gaza Strip, it has helped enforce the blockade by cracking down on smuggling tunnels that are a key source of goods to Gaza's 1.5 million people and by rejecting pressure that it open its border crossing. The Egyptian government has said it cannot open the border since there is no agreement on restoring European monitors who left during the Hamas takeover.
Egypt's Foreign Ministry said the violence underlines how Gaza "remains under total Israeli occupation," and it called "for the immediate lifting of the Israeli siege on Gaza."
In Beirut, about 500 Palestinian and Lebanese activists protested in front of the U.N. headquarters, setting Israeli flags on fire. "The only solution with the usurping entity is resistance. This entity only understands the language of force," Hezbollah lawmaker Nawar al-Saheli told the crowd.
In neighboring Syria, more than 200 Syrian and Palestinian protesters staged a sit-in before the offices of the United Nations to denounce the Israeli raid.
The raid, in which at least 10 pro-Palestinian activists were killed, was a new blow to Israel's international standing at a time when the West — including the United States — have grown frustrated with its stance in the peace process. The bloodshed particularly hurts its relations with Turkey, which was once a close regional ally of Israel but has become increasingly critical of it.
Around 10,000 Turks marched in protest from the Israeli consulate in Istanbul to a main square, chanting, "Murderous Israel you will drown in the blood you shed." The protesters earlier Monday tried to storm the Consulate building but were blocked by police. The flotilla of six ships, carrying some 700 activists, was sponsored in part by a Turkish organization.
Around 1,000 protested in Jordan's capital, Amman, calling for their government to cut diplomatic ties with Israel. Smaller protests erupted in capitals across the Middle East as well as in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo, the Greek city of Thessaloniki and the Pakistani city of Karazhi.
Palestinian youths protesting the raid scuffled with Israeli soldiers, throwing bottles and stones at them, at a checkpoint north of Jerusalem, as senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat called the Israeli raid a "war crime."
Israel says the activists attacked its commandos as they boarded the six ships taking tons of supplies to Gaza, while the flotilla's organizers say the Israeli forces opened fire first.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the violence, saying, "I am shocked by reports of killing of people in boats carrying supply to Gaza. I heard the ships were in international water. That is very bad." He called for a "thorough investigation."
French President Nicolas Sarkozy condemned "the disproportionate use of force" against the flotilla.
"All light must be shed on the circumstances of this tragedy, which underlines the urgency of resuming peace talks," he said in a statement.
Greece suspended a military exercise with Israel and postponed a visit by Israel's air force chief. Greece, Egypt, Sweden, Spain and Denmark summoned Israel's ambassadors demanding explanations for the violence.
But the strongest reaction came from Turkey. Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc called Israel's actions "piracy" and said Turkey is withdrawing its ambassador on Monday as well as canceling three joint military drills and calling on the U.N. Security Council to convene in an emergency session about Israel. Turkey is currently a member of the council.
"I strongly condemn the use of force by Israeli military forces on an aid convoy composed of 32 countries, including Turkey," Arinc said. "This attack must not remain unanswered." He also said a Turkish youth soccer team currently in Israel would be brought home.
The raid also brought heightened attention to Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip, imposed after the Palestinian militant group Hamas seized control of the tiny Mediterranean territory in 2007. The blockade — along with Israel's fierce offensive against Gaza in the winter of 2008-2009 to stop Hamas rocket fire — has fueled anti-Israeli sentiment around the Arab world.
The president of Iran, a key supporter of Hamas, called the raid "an inhuman act."
"All in all, these (actions) only bring closer the end of the miserable and false regime" in Israel, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said, according to state TV.
The Cairo-based Arab League called an emergency session for Tuesday to address the attack, as the two only Arab states with peace deals with Israel — Jordan and Egypt — sharply condemned the violence. Jordan's information minister, Nabil al-Sharif, called it a "heinous crime" and called for the lifting of the blockade on Gaza.
The incident also put Egypt in a tight position. The only Arab country bordering the Gaza Strip, it has helped enforce the blockade by cracking down on smuggling tunnels that are a key source of goods to Gaza's 1.5 million people and by rejecting pressure that it open its border crossing. The Egyptian government has said it cannot open the border since there is no agreement on restoring European monitors who left during the Hamas takeover.
Egypt's Foreign Ministry said the violence underlines how Gaza "remains under total Israeli occupation," and it called "for the immediate lifting of the Israeli siege on Gaza."
In Beirut, about 500 Palestinian and Lebanese activists protested in front of the U.N. headquarters, setting Israeli flags on fire. "The only solution with the usurping entity is resistance. This entity only understands the language of force," Hezbollah lawmaker Nawar al-Saheli told the crowd.
In neighboring Syria, more than 200 Syrian and Palestinian protesters staged a sit-in before the offices of the United Nations to denounce the Israeli raid.
Israeli commandos storm aid flotilla; 10 killed
JERUSALEM – Israeli naval commandos stormed a flotilla of ships carrying aid and hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists to the blockaded Gaza Strip on Monday, killing at least 10 passengers in a predawn raid that set off worldwide condemnation and a diplomatic crisis.
Israel said the forces encountered unexpected resistance as they boarded the vessels. Dozens of passengers and at least five Israeli soldiers were wounded in the confrontation in international waters.
Israel's tough response triggered widespread condemnation across Europe; many of the passengers were from European countries. The raid also strained already tense relations with Israel's longtime Muslim ally Turkey, the unofficial sponsor of the mission, and drew more attention to the plight of Gaza's 1.5 million people.
Turkey announced it was withdrawing its ambassador to Israel, canceling three joint military drills and calling on the U.N. Security Council to convene in an emergency session about Israel. The Israeli ambassadors in Sweden, Spain, Denmark and Greece were summoned for meetings, and the French foreign minister called for an investigation.
The violent takeover also threatened to deal yet another blow to Israel's international image, already tarnished by war crimes accusations in Gaza and its blockade of the impoverished Palestinian territory.
It occurred a day before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was to meet with President Barack Obama at the White House to discuss the Middle East peace process.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy condemned "the disproportionate use of force" against the flotilla.
"All light must be shed on the circumstances of this tragedy, which underlines the urgency of resuming peace talks," he said in a statement.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak expressed regret for the deaths but blamed the violence on organizers of the flotilla, calling the effort a "political provocation" by anti-Israel forces.
Israeli security forces were on alert across the country, and the government advised Israelis to avoid travel to Turkey.
There were conflicting accounts of what happened early Monday.
An Al-Jazeera reporter on one of the Turkish ships said the Israelis fired at the vessel before boarding it. The Israelis, who had declared they would not let the ships reach Gaza, said they only opened fire after being attacked by activists with sticks, knives and live fire from weapons seized from the Israeli commandos.
"On board the ship we found weapons prepared in advance and used against our forces," declared Israel's deputy foreign minister, Danny Ayalon.
"The organizers' intent was violent, their method was violent and the results were unfortunately violent. Israel regrets any loss of life and did everything to avoid this outcome."
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the Israeli "aggression," declared three days of mourning across the West Bank and called on the U.N. Security Council and Arab League to hold emergency sessions on the incident.
Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the rival Hamas government in Gaza, condemned the "brutal" Israeli attack and called on U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to intervene.
Israel's military chief, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, said soldiers were forced by violent activists to respond with live fire.
Israel said the forces encountered unexpected resistance as they boarded the vessels. Dozens of passengers and at least five Israeli soldiers were wounded in the confrontation in international waters.
Israel's tough response triggered widespread condemnation across Europe; many of the passengers were from European countries. The raid also strained already tense relations with Israel's longtime Muslim ally Turkey, the unofficial sponsor of the mission, and drew more attention to the plight of Gaza's 1.5 million people.
Turkey announced it was withdrawing its ambassador to Israel, canceling three joint military drills and calling on the U.N. Security Council to convene in an emergency session about Israel. The Israeli ambassadors in Sweden, Spain, Denmark and Greece were summoned for meetings, and the French foreign minister called for an investigation.
The violent takeover also threatened to deal yet another blow to Israel's international image, already tarnished by war crimes accusations in Gaza and its blockade of the impoverished Palestinian territory.
It occurred a day before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was to meet with President Barack Obama at the White House to discuss the Middle East peace process.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy condemned "the disproportionate use of force" against the flotilla.
"All light must be shed on the circumstances of this tragedy, which underlines the urgency of resuming peace talks," he said in a statement.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak expressed regret for the deaths but blamed the violence on organizers of the flotilla, calling the effort a "political provocation" by anti-Israel forces.
Israeli security forces were on alert across the country, and the government advised Israelis to avoid travel to Turkey.
There were conflicting accounts of what happened early Monday.
An Al-Jazeera reporter on one of the Turkish ships said the Israelis fired at the vessel before boarding it. The Israelis, who had declared they would not let the ships reach Gaza, said they only opened fire after being attacked by activists with sticks, knives and live fire from weapons seized from the Israeli commandos.
"On board the ship we found weapons prepared in advance and used against our forces," declared Israel's deputy foreign minister, Danny Ayalon.
"The organizers' intent was violent, their method was violent and the results were unfortunately violent. Israel regrets any loss of life and did everything to avoid this outcome."
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the Israeli "aggression," declared three days of mourning across the West Bank and called on the U.N. Security Council and Arab League to hold emergency sessions on the incident.
Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the rival Hamas government in Gaza, condemned the "brutal" Israeli attack and called on U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to intervene.
Israel's military chief, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, said soldiers were forced by violent activists to respond with live fire.
sâmbătă, 29 mai 2010
Pakistan sect demands protection after attacks
LAHORE, Pakistan – Leaders of Pakistan's minority Ahmadi sect demanded better government protection Saturday as they buried many of the 93 sect members killed by Islamist militants at two of the group's mosques.
The request could test the government's willingness to take on hard-line Islamists whose influence is behind decades of state-sanctioned discrimination against the Ahmadis in the Sunni Muslim-majority country.
The attacks occurred minutes apart Friday in two neighborhoods in the eastern city of Lahore. Two teams of gunmen, including some in suicide vests, stormed the mosques and sprayed bullets at worshippers while holding off police.
Thirteen people died overnight at hospitals, raising the death toll to 93, said Raja Ghalab Ahmad, a local sect leader. Dozens were hurt. Waseem Sayed, a U.S.-based Ahmadi spokesman, said it was the worst attack in the group's 121-year history.
Local TV channels reported that the Pakistani Taliban, or their Punjab province branch, had claimed responsibility.
Ahmad called on the government to take action against the militant group, which also has attacked security, government and foreign targets throughout the country in recent years.
"Are we not the citizens of Pakistan?" he asked at the site of the attacks in the Garhi Shahu section of Lahore. "We do have the right to be protected, but unfortunately we were not given this protection."
The Ahmadis are reviled as heretics by mainstream Muslims for their belief that their founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, was a savior foretold by the Quran, Islam's holy book. Many Muslims say Ahmadis are defying the basic tenet of Islam that says Muhammad is the final prophet, but Ahmadis argue that their leader was the savior rather than a prophet.
The sect originated in 1889 in Qadian, a village in British-ruled India. It spread into Muslim-majority Pakistan after British India was partitioned and now claims 160 million adherants in 180 countries, according to a spokesman, Aslam Daud.
Under pressure from Islamists, Pakistan in the 1970s declared Ahmadis a non-Muslim minority. Pakistani Ahmadis — who number between 3 million and 4 million — are prohibited from calling themselves Muslims or engaging in practices such as reciting Islamic prayers.
Mourners on Saturday began burying the victims of the attacks at a sprawling graveyard in Rabwa, a headquarters of the Ahmadi sect 90 miles (150 kilometers) northwest of Lahore. Hundreds of men, women and children wept near bodies covered with white sheets and lined up in an open area for the funeral.
In a sign of the sensitivity surrounding the group, several Pakistani leaders who condemned the attacks did not refer specifically to the Ahmadis in their statements. TV channels and newspapers avoided the word "mosque" in describing the attacked sites, preferring "places of worship."
Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the federal government had alerted Punjab province's administration about threats to the Ahmadi community, and that the latest warning was sent Wednesday.
Officials in Lahore, the provincial capital, said they were investigating Friday's assaults.
The request could test the government's willingness to take on hard-line Islamists whose influence is behind decades of state-sanctioned discrimination against the Ahmadis in the Sunni Muslim-majority country.
The attacks occurred minutes apart Friday in two neighborhoods in the eastern city of Lahore. Two teams of gunmen, including some in suicide vests, stormed the mosques and sprayed bullets at worshippers while holding off police.
Thirteen people died overnight at hospitals, raising the death toll to 93, said Raja Ghalab Ahmad, a local sect leader. Dozens were hurt. Waseem Sayed, a U.S.-based Ahmadi spokesman, said it was the worst attack in the group's 121-year history.
Local TV channels reported that the Pakistani Taliban, or their Punjab province branch, had claimed responsibility.
Ahmad called on the government to take action against the militant group, which also has attacked security, government and foreign targets throughout the country in recent years.
"Are we not the citizens of Pakistan?" he asked at the site of the attacks in the Garhi Shahu section of Lahore. "We do have the right to be protected, but unfortunately we were not given this protection."
The Ahmadis are reviled as heretics by mainstream Muslims for their belief that their founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, was a savior foretold by the Quran, Islam's holy book. Many Muslims say Ahmadis are defying the basic tenet of Islam that says Muhammad is the final prophet, but Ahmadis argue that their leader was the savior rather than a prophet.
The sect originated in 1889 in Qadian, a village in British-ruled India. It spread into Muslim-majority Pakistan after British India was partitioned and now claims 160 million adherants in 180 countries, according to a spokesman, Aslam Daud.
Under pressure from Islamists, Pakistan in the 1970s declared Ahmadis a non-Muslim minority. Pakistani Ahmadis — who number between 3 million and 4 million — are prohibited from calling themselves Muslims or engaging in practices such as reciting Islamic prayers.
Mourners on Saturday began burying the victims of the attacks at a sprawling graveyard in Rabwa, a headquarters of the Ahmadi sect 90 miles (150 kilometers) northwest of Lahore. Hundreds of men, women and children wept near bodies covered with white sheets and lined up in an open area for the funeral.
In a sign of the sensitivity surrounding the group, several Pakistani leaders who condemned the attacks did not refer specifically to the Ahmadis in their statements. TV channels and newspapers avoided the word "mosque" in describing the attacked sites, preferring "places of worship."
Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the federal government had alerted Punjab province's administration about threats to the Ahmadi community, and that the latest warning was sent Wednesday.
Officials in Lahore, the provincial capital, said they were investigating Friday's assaults.
Maradona and Messi arrive in South Africa
JOHANNESBURG (AFP) – Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi arrived in Johannesburg on Saturday with the Argentina squad to prepare for a World Cup they are among the favourites to win.
Clear skies and cool early morning autumn conditions greeted the third team to land in South Africa after Asia powerhouse Australia and five-time champions Brazil for the June 11-July 11 international football showcase featuring 32 national teams.
After a brief session with select TV crews and photographers, coach Maradona, Barcelona superstar Messi and a mix of foreign-based and domestic stars left in a brightly painted luxury coach for their Pretoria base.
Football legend Maradona - who is bidding to add World Cup glory as coach to the 1986 trophy he won as a player - drew huge crowds wherever he went during a pre-tournament inspection visit to South Africa and is set to be among the most colourful characters at the first African World Cup.
The 49-year-old considered by many critics the greatest footballer the game has seen created headlines this week by demanding a special heated loo seat and promising to run naked through central Buenos Aires if he lifts the Cup.
A 450-dollar heated loo seat with a warm-air blow dryer and front and rear bidet wands was ordered for the room where Maradona will stay, South African reports said.
And the naked-run boast came during an Argentine radio show the day after his team outclassed Canada 5-0 in a warm-up for World Cup Group B fixtures against Nigeria, South Korea and Greece.
He captained his country to World Cup glory in 1986 - the tournament in which he scored the 'Hand of God' goal against England - but had to be satisfied with a runners-up medal four years later.
Maradona, banned during the 1994 World Cup after testing positive for the banned substance ephedrine, succeeded Alfio Basile as coach halfway through a faltering Argentine campaign to qualify for the 2010 World Cup.
The 49-year-old also battled to find a winning formula and Argentina secured a place in South Africa only in the final round with a 1-0 victory over Uruguay in Montevideo.
Argentina fell 2-1 away to European champions Spain and triumphed 1-0 away to 2006 World Cup hosts and bronze medalists Germany in high-profile warm-up matches.
But Maradona has yet to convince sections of the media he can take his country to a third title after winning at home in 1978 and in Mexico eight years later.
Criticisms include favouring an overly cautious system that includes only two strikers, usually Messi and Gonzalo Higuain, while leaving Champions League hero Diego Milito, Carlos Tevez and son-in-law Sergio Aguero on the bench, though Maradona did suggest after the mauling of Canada that he could deploy three strikers.
A huge challenge facing Maradona is to coax the best out of Messi, such a scourge to defenders when in the red and blue of Barcelona but too often ineffective when playing for Albiceleste (white and sky blue).
Denmark, Group E contenders with Netherlands, Cameroon and Japan, landed at Johannesburg international airport less than an hour after the South Americans.
Clear skies and cool early morning autumn conditions greeted the third team to land in South Africa after Asia powerhouse Australia and five-time champions Brazil for the June 11-July 11 international football showcase featuring 32 national teams.
After a brief session with select TV crews and photographers, coach Maradona, Barcelona superstar Messi and a mix of foreign-based and domestic stars left in a brightly painted luxury coach for their Pretoria base.
Football legend Maradona - who is bidding to add World Cup glory as coach to the 1986 trophy he won as a player - drew huge crowds wherever he went during a pre-tournament inspection visit to South Africa and is set to be among the most colourful characters at the first African World Cup.
The 49-year-old considered by many critics the greatest footballer the game has seen created headlines this week by demanding a special heated loo seat and promising to run naked through central Buenos Aires if he lifts the Cup.
A 450-dollar heated loo seat with a warm-air blow dryer and front and rear bidet wands was ordered for the room where Maradona will stay, South African reports said.
And the naked-run boast came during an Argentine radio show the day after his team outclassed Canada 5-0 in a warm-up for World Cup Group B fixtures against Nigeria, South Korea and Greece.
He captained his country to World Cup glory in 1986 - the tournament in which he scored the 'Hand of God' goal against England - but had to be satisfied with a runners-up medal four years later.
Maradona, banned during the 1994 World Cup after testing positive for the banned substance ephedrine, succeeded Alfio Basile as coach halfway through a faltering Argentine campaign to qualify for the 2010 World Cup.
The 49-year-old also battled to find a winning formula and Argentina secured a place in South Africa only in the final round with a 1-0 victory over Uruguay in Montevideo.
Argentina fell 2-1 away to European champions Spain and triumphed 1-0 away to 2006 World Cup hosts and bronze medalists Germany in high-profile warm-up matches.
But Maradona has yet to convince sections of the media he can take his country to a third title after winning at home in 1978 and in Mexico eight years later.
Criticisms include favouring an overly cautious system that includes only two strikers, usually Messi and Gonzalo Higuain, while leaving Champions League hero Diego Milito, Carlos Tevez and son-in-law Sergio Aguero on the bench, though Maradona did suggest after the mauling of Canada that he could deploy three strikers.
A huge challenge facing Maradona is to coax the best out of Messi, such a scourge to defenders when in the red and blue of Barcelona but too often ineffective when playing for Albiceleste (white and sky blue).
Denmark, Group E contenders with Netherlands, Cameroon and Japan, landed at Johannesburg international airport less than an hour after the South Americans.
Big volcanic eruptions in Guatemala, Ecuador
GUATEMALA CITY – Explosive eruptions shook two huge volcanos in Central and South America on Friday, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes and disrupting air traffic as ash drifted over major cities.
Guatemala's Pacaya volcano started erupting lava and rocks Thursday afternoon, blanketing the country's capital with ash and forcing the closure of the international airport. A television reporter was killed by a shower of burning rocks when he got too close to the volcano, about 15 miles (25 kilometers) south of Guatemala City.
In the village of Calderas, close to the eruption, Brenda Castaneda said she and her family hid under beds and tables as marble-sized rocks thundered down on her home.
"We thought we wouldn't survive. Our houses crumbled and we've lost everything," Castaneda said while waiting for rescue teams to take them to a shelter at a nearby school.
Meanwhile, strong explosions rocked Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano, prompting evacuations of hundreds of people from nearby villages.
Ecuador's National Geophysics Institute said hot volcanic material blasted down the slopes and ash plumes soared 6 miles (10 kilometers) above a crater that is already 16,479 feet (5,023 meters) above sea level.
Winds blew the ash over the country's most populous city, Guayaquil, and led aviation officials to halt flights out of the Pacific port and from Quito to Lima, Peru.
Neither of the eruptions was expected to disrupt airports in neighboring countries like Iceland's Eyjafjallajokul volcano did in Europe.
In Guatemala, the ash billowing from Pacaya has been thick and falls quickly to the ground, unlike the lighter ash that spewed from the volcano in Iceland and swept over much of Europe, disrupting global air travel, said Gustavo Chigna, a volcano expert with Guatemala's institute of seismology and volcanos.
In Ecuador, the ash cloud drifted out over the Pacific Ocean and was tapering off Friday evening.
Sandro Vaca, an expert at Ecuador's National Geophysics Institute, said Tungurahua's latest eruption was not in the same league with Iceland.
"The ash stretched for hundreds of kilometers, while the plume of ash from the volcano in Iceland covered nearly all of Europe for thousands of kilometers," Vaca said.
In Guatemala, at least 1,910 people from villages closest to the Pacaya volcano were moved to shelters. Some 800 homes were damaged in the initial eruption late Thursday. A second eruption at midday Friday released ash in smaller amounts from the 8,373-foot (2,552 meter) mountain, according to the Central American country's Geophysical Research and Services Unit.
The unit reported an ash plume 3,000 feet (1,000) meters high that trailed more than 12 miles (20 kilometers) to the northwest.
In Guatemala City, bulldozers scraped blackened streets while residents used shovels to clean cars and roofs.
The blanket of ash was three inches (7.5 centimeters) thick in some southern parts of the city. The government urged people not to leave their homes unless there was an urgent need.
The capital's La Aurora airport would be closed at least until Saturday, said Claudia Monge, a spokeswoman for the civil aviation agency. Flights were being diverted to Mundo Maya airport in northern Guatemala and Comalapa in El Salvador.
The television reporter who was killed, Anibal Archila, had appeared on Channel 7 broadcasts standing in front of a lava river and burning trees, talking about the intense heat.
David de Leon, a spokesman for the national disaster committee, confirmed his death.
The most active of Guatemala's 32 volcanos, Pacaya has been intermittently erupting since 1966, and tourists frequently visit areas near three lava flows formed in eruptions between 1989 and 1991.
In 1998, the volcano twice spewed plumes of ash, forcing evacuations and shutting down the airport in Guatemala City.
Eruptions at Tungurahua, 95 miles (150 kilometers) southeast of the Ecuadorean capital of Quito, buried entire villages in 2006, leaving at least four dead and thousands homeless.
Guatemala's Pacaya volcano started erupting lava and rocks Thursday afternoon, blanketing the country's capital with ash and forcing the closure of the international airport. A television reporter was killed by a shower of burning rocks when he got too close to the volcano, about 15 miles (25 kilometers) south of Guatemala City.
In the village of Calderas, close to the eruption, Brenda Castaneda said she and her family hid under beds and tables as marble-sized rocks thundered down on her home.
"We thought we wouldn't survive. Our houses crumbled and we've lost everything," Castaneda said while waiting for rescue teams to take them to a shelter at a nearby school.
Meanwhile, strong explosions rocked Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano, prompting evacuations of hundreds of people from nearby villages.
Ecuador's National Geophysics Institute said hot volcanic material blasted down the slopes and ash plumes soared 6 miles (10 kilometers) above a crater that is already 16,479 feet (5,023 meters) above sea level.
Winds blew the ash over the country's most populous city, Guayaquil, and led aviation officials to halt flights out of the Pacific port and from Quito to Lima, Peru.
Neither of the eruptions was expected to disrupt airports in neighboring countries like Iceland's Eyjafjallajokul volcano did in Europe.
In Guatemala, the ash billowing from Pacaya has been thick and falls quickly to the ground, unlike the lighter ash that spewed from the volcano in Iceland and swept over much of Europe, disrupting global air travel, said Gustavo Chigna, a volcano expert with Guatemala's institute of seismology and volcanos.
In Ecuador, the ash cloud drifted out over the Pacific Ocean and was tapering off Friday evening.
Sandro Vaca, an expert at Ecuador's National Geophysics Institute, said Tungurahua's latest eruption was not in the same league with Iceland.
"The ash stretched for hundreds of kilometers, while the plume of ash from the volcano in Iceland covered nearly all of Europe for thousands of kilometers," Vaca said.
In Guatemala, at least 1,910 people from villages closest to the Pacaya volcano were moved to shelters. Some 800 homes were damaged in the initial eruption late Thursday. A second eruption at midday Friday released ash in smaller amounts from the 8,373-foot (2,552 meter) mountain, according to the Central American country's Geophysical Research and Services Unit.
The unit reported an ash plume 3,000 feet (1,000) meters high that trailed more than 12 miles (20 kilometers) to the northwest.
In Guatemala City, bulldozers scraped blackened streets while residents used shovels to clean cars and roofs.
The blanket of ash was three inches (7.5 centimeters) thick in some southern parts of the city. The government urged people not to leave their homes unless there was an urgent need.
The capital's La Aurora airport would be closed at least until Saturday, said Claudia Monge, a spokeswoman for the civil aviation agency. Flights were being diverted to Mundo Maya airport in northern Guatemala and Comalapa in El Salvador.
The television reporter who was killed, Anibal Archila, had appeared on Channel 7 broadcasts standing in front of a lava river and burning trees, talking about the intense heat.
David de Leon, a spokesman for the national disaster committee, confirmed his death.
The most active of Guatemala's 32 volcanos, Pacaya has been intermittently erupting since 1966, and tourists frequently visit areas near three lava flows formed in eruptions between 1989 and 1991.
In 1998, the volcano twice spewed plumes of ash, forcing evacuations and shutting down the airport in Guatemala City.
Eruptions at Tungurahua, 95 miles (150 kilometers) southeast of the Ecuadorean capital of Quito, buried entire villages in 2006, leaving at least four dead and thousands homeless.
Iraq's al-Maliki says he's only party PM nominee
BAGHDAD – Iraq's prime minister said Saturday he is the only nominee from his political party to run the nation's next government, rejecting suggestions of a consensus candidate to satisfy those concerned about his leadership.
Nouri al-Maliki's comments revealed an unwillingness to budge in negotiations with his Shiite partners over forming Iraq's likely next government despite a process that has dragged on in the nearly three months since the March 7 election left the country without a clear winner.
Other Shiite political groups and religious leaders whose support al-Maliki is depending on have been lukewarm at best about him remaining in the job.
Asked by reporters if his State of Law political coalition would compromise on a candidate to satisfy the concerns, al-Maliki said there is "only one nominee to be a prime minister."
"No, the State of Law insists on its candidate," al-Maliki told reporters in the city of Najaf. It was clear he was talking about himself.
Al-Maliki's State of Law coalition came in second in the election behind a coalition backed by Iraq's minority Sunnis. But no single group won an outright majority, making a coalition government necessary.
The prime minister's party has joined up with the religious Shiite Iraqi National Alliance in hopes of capturing enough seats in parliament to run the next government.
The leader of one of the two main political parties that make up the alliance, powerful Shiite cleric Ammar al-Hakim, has said he does not believe al-Maliki has enough Iraqi or international support to remain prime minister.
The other wing of the Iraqi National Alliance, led by anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, intensely dislikes al-Maliki because he crushed their Mahdi Army militia in 2008 and jailed thousands of them. The Sadrists initially rejected al-Maliki as head of a new government. But politicians involved in negotiations say Sadrists are now softening in the face of pressure by neighboring Shiite power Iran to back al-Maliki.
Al-Maliki, whose political coalition fell two seats behind his Sunni-backed rival, former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, has demanded ballot recounts and other legal challenges in an attempt to stay in power.
Cementing a Shiite-dominated coalition government that excludes Sunnis could worsen violence, particularly attacks against the government and its security forces. Since Saddam Hussein's ouster in 2003, Sunnis have been marginalized, and disaffected Sunni Arabs formed the core of the insurgency.
Last week, Iraq's election commission sent the final vote results to the Supreme Court for certification, which could be a major first step toward ending a delay that has heightened tensions in the fragile democracy as American military forces prepare to go home. There is no deadline for the court to certify the results, but U.S. officials believe it will be soon.
Al-Maliki was in Najaf for a 90-minute meeting with the country's most influential Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. After the meeting, al-Maliki said al-Sistani urged him to work quickly to seat a new government as outlined by Iraq's constitution.
Al-Sistani voiced similar concerns last week to Allawi, who leads the Iraqiya coalition that won the most votes in the election.
"We are ready to meet the brothers in the Iraqiya list," al-Maliki told reporters.
In a website statement issued Saturday, Iraqiya called anew on the United Nations and international allies "to intervene quickly to protect the political process and the election results from being manipulated."
Iraqiya cited unnamed forces that it feared would try to pressure the Supreme Court to declare another political group the election victor — despite Iraqiya's win at the polls.
Nouri al-Maliki's comments revealed an unwillingness to budge in negotiations with his Shiite partners over forming Iraq's likely next government despite a process that has dragged on in the nearly three months since the March 7 election left the country without a clear winner.
Other Shiite political groups and religious leaders whose support al-Maliki is depending on have been lukewarm at best about him remaining in the job.
Asked by reporters if his State of Law political coalition would compromise on a candidate to satisfy the concerns, al-Maliki said there is "only one nominee to be a prime minister."
"No, the State of Law insists on its candidate," al-Maliki told reporters in the city of Najaf. It was clear he was talking about himself.
Al-Maliki's State of Law coalition came in second in the election behind a coalition backed by Iraq's minority Sunnis. But no single group won an outright majority, making a coalition government necessary.
The prime minister's party has joined up with the religious Shiite Iraqi National Alliance in hopes of capturing enough seats in parliament to run the next government.
The leader of one of the two main political parties that make up the alliance, powerful Shiite cleric Ammar al-Hakim, has said he does not believe al-Maliki has enough Iraqi or international support to remain prime minister.
The other wing of the Iraqi National Alliance, led by anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, intensely dislikes al-Maliki because he crushed their Mahdi Army militia in 2008 and jailed thousands of them. The Sadrists initially rejected al-Maliki as head of a new government. But politicians involved in negotiations say Sadrists are now softening in the face of pressure by neighboring Shiite power Iran to back al-Maliki.
Al-Maliki, whose political coalition fell two seats behind his Sunni-backed rival, former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, has demanded ballot recounts and other legal challenges in an attempt to stay in power.
Cementing a Shiite-dominated coalition government that excludes Sunnis could worsen violence, particularly attacks against the government and its security forces. Since Saddam Hussein's ouster in 2003, Sunnis have been marginalized, and disaffected Sunni Arabs formed the core of the insurgency.
Last week, Iraq's election commission sent the final vote results to the Supreme Court for certification, which could be a major first step toward ending a delay that has heightened tensions in the fragile democracy as American military forces prepare to go home. There is no deadline for the court to certify the results, but U.S. officials believe it will be soon.
Al-Maliki was in Najaf for a 90-minute meeting with the country's most influential Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. After the meeting, al-Maliki said al-Sistani urged him to work quickly to seat a new government as outlined by Iraq's constitution.
Al-Sistani voiced similar concerns last week to Allawi, who leads the Iraqiya coalition that won the most votes in the election.
"We are ready to meet the brothers in the Iraqiya list," al-Maliki told reporters.
In a website statement issued Saturday, Iraqiya called anew on the United Nations and international allies "to intervene quickly to protect the political process and the election results from being manipulated."
Iraqiya cited unnamed forces that it feared would try to pressure the Supreme Court to declare another political group the election victor — despite Iraqiya's win at the polls.
Kurdish rebel chief to abandon peace efforts
ANKARA, Turkey – Imprisoned Kurdish rebel chief Abdullah Ocalan accused Turkey of ignoring his calls to establish dialogue with his rebels and said he would withdraw from the process, leaving his rebel command in charge, a Kurdish newspaper said Saturday.
Ocalan's announcement that he would formally abandon his efforts on Monday comes amid intensified clashes between Kurdish guerrillas and the Turkish military. Kurdish rebels on Saturday killed two soldiers and one pro-government village guard in a clash near the Iraqi border. Turkey's military killed at least 24 Kurdish rebels in an airstrike on rebel hideouts in northern Iraq last week and separate clashes this week.
"I am withdrawing after May 31 since I could not find an interlocutor," Ocalan was quoted as saying on the website of the Ozgur Politika newspaper.
Ocalan has been influential over his rebel command based in northern Iraq and unsuccessfully pressured Turkey to establish dialogue with his rebels, who are branded as terrorists by the United States and the European Union.
Ocalan said his rebel command would be in charge of the process, along with a pro-Kurdish political party that struggles for Kurdish rights.
"From now on, the PKK might reconcile with the state and find a solution or they might get stuck. Or it is possible that the PKK might be defeated and lose the war or be abolished," Ocalan said. "We can't know what would happen after the war."
The clashes picked up after Turkey's highest court shut down a pro-Kurdish party in December for links to Kurdish rebels, complicating the government's efforts to reconcile with the minority Kurds to end the 26-year-old conflict that killed tens of thousands of people.
Turkey often calls on Iraq to eradicate Kurdish rebel bases to prevent them from staging hit-and-run attacks on Turkish targets. The rebels took up arms in 1984.
Ocalan's announcement that he would formally abandon his efforts on Monday comes amid intensified clashes between Kurdish guerrillas and the Turkish military. Kurdish rebels on Saturday killed two soldiers and one pro-government village guard in a clash near the Iraqi border. Turkey's military killed at least 24 Kurdish rebels in an airstrike on rebel hideouts in northern Iraq last week and separate clashes this week.
"I am withdrawing after May 31 since I could not find an interlocutor," Ocalan was quoted as saying on the website of the Ozgur Politika newspaper.
Ocalan has been influential over his rebel command based in northern Iraq and unsuccessfully pressured Turkey to establish dialogue with his rebels, who are branded as terrorists by the United States and the European Union.
Ocalan said his rebel command would be in charge of the process, along with a pro-Kurdish political party that struggles for Kurdish rights.
"From now on, the PKK might reconcile with the state and find a solution or they might get stuck. Or it is possible that the PKK might be defeated and lose the war or be abolished," Ocalan said. "We can't know what would happen after the war."
The clashes picked up after Turkey's highest court shut down a pro-Kurdish party in December for links to Kurdish rebels, complicating the government's efforts to reconcile with the minority Kurds to end the 26-year-old conflict that killed tens of thousands of people.
Turkey often calls on Iraq to eradicate Kurdish rebel bases to prevent them from staging hit-and-run attacks on Turkish targets. The rebels took up arms in 1984.
Brazil's World Cup: The Worrying Starts Early
Consternation usually follows celebration when a country wins the right to host the World Cup. It is, after all, the most popular of sports championships and no one wants to be embarrassed throwing one of the biggest parties on the planet. It was Brazil's turn for anxiety after it won the rights to the 2014 Cup two and a half years ago. Critics were concerned about the country's ability to build or renovate 12 stadiums in time for the tournament and feared a repeat of the 2007 Rio Pan American Games, also hosted by Brazil, that were last-minute, hugely over-budget and left nary a legacy of improved living conditions for citizens.
Those fears were at the forefront when proposals for the dozen stadiums took forever to get ready. In fact, though building was supposed to have started on all 12 this spring, they only won the approval of FIFA, the game's governing body, earlier this week. (See what becomes of Olympic stadiums.)
FIFA has already been worrying out loud. Earlier this month, the organization's Secretary General Jerome Valcke noted that preparations were so far behind schedule that Brazil is considering reducing the number of host cities from 12 to 8. He lambasted Brazilian soccer bosses for ignoring the agreed deadlines - which the country's planners have refused to divulge - and said it ran the risk of having to build stadiums at the last minute. "I got a report on the status quo of the Brazilian stadiums. I have to say it is not very nice," Valcke told reporters. "It is amazing how Brazil is already late. The stadiums are the basic points we need to have a World Cup in Brazil; for the time being, most of the deadlines are already over and we have to work on new deadlines." Observers say it is surprisingly early for FIFA to be alarmed at the progress of a host country. (See how a blackout in Brazil raises more questions about the Olympics.)
Brazil should have had a head-start. It was the only candidate to host the 2014 tournament and was a popular choice when selected in October 2007. The home of many of the game's greatest teams and most outstanding players, it hadn't been the site of the tournament since 1950 and many fans felt the South American giant deserved to host it again. But while Brazil has continued to produce star after star on the field - it is the only nation to win the World Cup five times - its skills at organization have seemed almost amateurish. Officials waited more than a year after winning the bid to choose the 12 host cities (at least five of which must be ready for the 2013 Confederations Cup). What's more, it has done little to address the basic infrastructure of airports, ports and highways, which clearly cannot support the expected influx of fans. "We are now seeing the consequences of not doing what we could have done," said Jose Roberto Bernasconi, president of an architecture and engineering organization that is closely monitoring Brazil's preparations. "Huge improvements are necessary."
Bernasconi also said authorities have failed on the most basic transparency measures: refusing to publish details of the bid or a timeline for completion of the project's many parts. The government took two years just to draw up a responsibility paper outlining who is in charge of specific aspects of the enterprise. That document was eventually presented in January; it declared that the government would spend $7.4 billion on transport, infrastructure and oversight and that Brazilian states and municipalities in charge of hosting matches will spend $3.9 billion on stadiums and facilities.
But in comments echoing those of Valcke, Bernasconi questioned whether anyone will be taken to task over the recurring delays. Of the 12 stadiums, nine will be publicly owned. Those projects will be eligible for low-interest loans of up to 400 million reais (around $215 million) either to build a new structure or remodel an existing one. But no one has applied for a loan yet. Skeptics say both the nine local governments and three privately owned clubs involved in the bid are deliberately holding off, hoping that the government will be forced to jump in at the last minute and give them the money, allowing them to avoid taking out a loan altogether. "They're waiting to see who'll blink first," said Bernasconi. "Everybody wants to go to the party but no one wants to pay for it."
Those fears were at the forefront when proposals for the dozen stadiums took forever to get ready. In fact, though building was supposed to have started on all 12 this spring, they only won the approval of FIFA, the game's governing body, earlier this week. (See what becomes of Olympic stadiums.)
FIFA has already been worrying out loud. Earlier this month, the organization's Secretary General Jerome Valcke noted that preparations were so far behind schedule that Brazil is considering reducing the number of host cities from 12 to 8. He lambasted Brazilian soccer bosses for ignoring the agreed deadlines - which the country's planners have refused to divulge - and said it ran the risk of having to build stadiums at the last minute. "I got a report on the status quo of the Brazilian stadiums. I have to say it is not very nice," Valcke told reporters. "It is amazing how Brazil is already late. The stadiums are the basic points we need to have a World Cup in Brazil; for the time being, most of the deadlines are already over and we have to work on new deadlines." Observers say it is surprisingly early for FIFA to be alarmed at the progress of a host country. (See how a blackout in Brazil raises more questions about the Olympics.)
Brazil should have had a head-start. It was the only candidate to host the 2014 tournament and was a popular choice when selected in October 2007. The home of many of the game's greatest teams and most outstanding players, it hadn't been the site of the tournament since 1950 and many fans felt the South American giant deserved to host it again. But while Brazil has continued to produce star after star on the field - it is the only nation to win the World Cup five times - its skills at organization have seemed almost amateurish. Officials waited more than a year after winning the bid to choose the 12 host cities (at least five of which must be ready for the 2013 Confederations Cup). What's more, it has done little to address the basic infrastructure of airports, ports and highways, which clearly cannot support the expected influx of fans. "We are now seeing the consequences of not doing what we could have done," said Jose Roberto Bernasconi, president of an architecture and engineering organization that is closely monitoring Brazil's preparations. "Huge improvements are necessary."
Bernasconi also said authorities have failed on the most basic transparency measures: refusing to publish details of the bid or a timeline for completion of the project's many parts. The government took two years just to draw up a responsibility paper outlining who is in charge of specific aspects of the enterprise. That document was eventually presented in January; it declared that the government would spend $7.4 billion on transport, infrastructure and oversight and that Brazilian states and municipalities in charge of hosting matches will spend $3.9 billion on stadiums and facilities.
But in comments echoing those of Valcke, Bernasconi questioned whether anyone will be taken to task over the recurring delays. Of the 12 stadiums, nine will be publicly owned. Those projects will be eligible for low-interest loans of up to 400 million reais (around $215 million) either to build a new structure or remodel an existing one. But no one has applied for a loan yet. Skeptics say both the nine local governments and three privately owned clubs involved in the bid are deliberately holding off, hoping that the government will be forced to jump in at the last minute and give them the money, allowing them to avoid taking out a loan altogether. "They're waiting to see who'll blink first," said Bernasconi. "Everybody wants to go to the party but no one wants to pay for it."
China offers SKorea condolences for ship sinking
SEOGWIPO, South Korea – The premier of China, North Korea's main ally, offered condolences Saturday to South Korea for the sinking of a warship blamed on Pyongyang after promising that Beijing — under pressure to punish the North — would not defend any country guilty of the attack.
Premier Wen Jiabao later joined the leaders of South Korea and Japan in a three-way summit on the southern Korean island of Jeju, saying he hoped it would help achieve peace.
"I hope this summit will conclude with solid results and that we will try together to ensure that it will contribute to world peace," Wen said, according to a Korean-language transcript released by the South Korean president's office.
A multinational team of investigators said last week that evidence proved a North Korean torpedo struck the ship, and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has pledged to take the North to the U.N. Security Council.
North Korea has denied responsibility and warned that any retaliation or punishment would mean war.
The two-day summit was expected to be overshadowed by the sinking in March of the 1,200-ton Cheonan, which killed 46 sailors in one of South Korea's worst military disasters since the 1950-53 Korean War. But the summit's first session Saturday focused on improving economic cooperation. The ship sinking was not discussed but is on Sunday's agenda, said Kazuo Kodama, a Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman.
Before the meeting, the three leaders observed a 10-second moment of silence for the Cheonan's dead crew members, a gesture proposed by Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.
Laying out the investigation results, Lee urged the Chinese premier during bilateral talks Friday to play an "active role" in convincing North Korea to admit its wrongdoing, the presidential Blue House said. Wen told Lee that his country "will defend no one" responsible for the sinking, Lee's office said.
As North Korea's main ally, China has faced growing pressure to take punitive action against Pyongyang for the sinking of the warship. But Beijing has been cautious about taking a stance, saying it still needs to examine the investigation results, Wen told Lee, according to a briefing by presidential adviser Lee Dong-kwan.
Wen offered condolences earlier Saturday to the South's people and the families of the dead sailors at a meeting with South Korean Prime Minister Chung Un-chan, the prime minister's office said.
"China is a responsible nation which insists on justice and is seriously considering the findings of the multinational investigation," Wen said, according to Chung spokesman Kim Chang-young. "China has maintained consistent views on the stability of peace on the Korean peninsula and opposes acts that destroy it," he quoted Wen as saying.
Japan has already given its backing to Seoul, and Tokyo recently instituted new sanctions against North Korea.
South Korean President Lee met with Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Saturday in Jeju ahead of the three-nation summit.
Hatoyama reaffirmed Japan's "active support," pledging to play a leading role in backing South Korea's stance at the U.N. Security Council, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency.
A Japanese government spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.
Hatoyama paid his respects to the dead sailors earlier Saturday during a visit to the National Cemetery in Daejeon, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Seoul, en route to Jeju.
Tensions have been mounting after South Korea's leader announced a slate of punitive measures against the North, including cutting trade, resuming anti-North Korean propaganda broadcasts across the border and launching large-scale naval exercises. U.S.-South Korean military drills are to follow in the coming months.
Also Saturday, some 20 South Korean military commanders met to discuss responses to the ship sinking, a Defense Ministry official said.
"They discussed how to cope with different types of North Korean military provocations and strengthen defense readiness against the North," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the meeting with the media.
South Korea's military reported no unusual moves by North Korean troops in the last week, he said.
North Korea has accused Seoul of fabricating evidence in the ship sinking.
"The South Korean puppet regime's faked sinking of the Cheonan has created a very serious situation on the Korean peninsula, pushing it toward the brink of war," Maj. Gen. Pak Rim Su, director of the powerful National Defense Commission's policy department, said at a rare news conference covered by broadcaster APTN in Pyongyang.
Premier Wen Jiabao later joined the leaders of South Korea and Japan in a three-way summit on the southern Korean island of Jeju, saying he hoped it would help achieve peace.
"I hope this summit will conclude with solid results and that we will try together to ensure that it will contribute to world peace," Wen said, according to a Korean-language transcript released by the South Korean president's office.
A multinational team of investigators said last week that evidence proved a North Korean torpedo struck the ship, and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has pledged to take the North to the U.N. Security Council.
North Korea has denied responsibility and warned that any retaliation or punishment would mean war.
The two-day summit was expected to be overshadowed by the sinking in March of the 1,200-ton Cheonan, which killed 46 sailors in one of South Korea's worst military disasters since the 1950-53 Korean War. But the summit's first session Saturday focused on improving economic cooperation. The ship sinking was not discussed but is on Sunday's agenda, said Kazuo Kodama, a Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman.
Before the meeting, the three leaders observed a 10-second moment of silence for the Cheonan's dead crew members, a gesture proposed by Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.
Laying out the investigation results, Lee urged the Chinese premier during bilateral talks Friday to play an "active role" in convincing North Korea to admit its wrongdoing, the presidential Blue House said. Wen told Lee that his country "will defend no one" responsible for the sinking, Lee's office said.
As North Korea's main ally, China has faced growing pressure to take punitive action against Pyongyang for the sinking of the warship. But Beijing has been cautious about taking a stance, saying it still needs to examine the investigation results, Wen told Lee, according to a briefing by presidential adviser Lee Dong-kwan.
Wen offered condolences earlier Saturday to the South's people and the families of the dead sailors at a meeting with South Korean Prime Minister Chung Un-chan, the prime minister's office said.
"China is a responsible nation which insists on justice and is seriously considering the findings of the multinational investigation," Wen said, according to Chung spokesman Kim Chang-young. "China has maintained consistent views on the stability of peace on the Korean peninsula and opposes acts that destroy it," he quoted Wen as saying.
Japan has already given its backing to Seoul, and Tokyo recently instituted new sanctions against North Korea.
South Korean President Lee met with Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Saturday in Jeju ahead of the three-nation summit.
Hatoyama reaffirmed Japan's "active support," pledging to play a leading role in backing South Korea's stance at the U.N. Security Council, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency.
A Japanese government spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.
Hatoyama paid his respects to the dead sailors earlier Saturday during a visit to the National Cemetery in Daejeon, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Seoul, en route to Jeju.
Tensions have been mounting after South Korea's leader announced a slate of punitive measures against the North, including cutting trade, resuming anti-North Korean propaganda broadcasts across the border and launching large-scale naval exercises. U.S.-South Korean military drills are to follow in the coming months.
Also Saturday, some 20 South Korean military commanders met to discuss responses to the ship sinking, a Defense Ministry official said.
"They discussed how to cope with different types of North Korean military provocations and strengthen defense readiness against the North," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the meeting with the media.
South Korea's military reported no unusual moves by North Korean troops in the last week, he said.
North Korea has accused Seoul of fabricating evidence in the ship sinking.
"The South Korean puppet regime's faked sinking of the Cheonan has created a very serious situation on the Korean peninsula, pushing it toward the brink of war," Maj. Gen. Pak Rim Su, director of the powerful National Defense Commission's policy department, said at a rare news conference covered by broadcaster APTN in Pyongyang.
Rwandan police asked to release US attorney
NAIROBI, Kenya – An international lawyers' group is demanding the release of an American lawyer charged with genocide denial in Rwanda.
The International Criminal Defense Attorneys Association on Saturday urged lawyers and organizations to demand Peter Erlinder's release. Erlinder is in Rwanda to defend presidential hopeful Victoire Ingabire against charges that include promoting genocidal ideology. He was arrested Friday.
ICDAA board member Alison Turner said in Kenya that the charges are political and lack legal foundation.
The U.S. National Lawyers Guild said Rwanda's government was trying to hamstring Ingabire's legal defense by arresting Erlinder. He heads an association of defense lawyers at the U.N. tribunal that is trying the masterminds of the 1994 genocide.
The International Criminal Defense Attorneys Association on Saturday urged lawyers and organizations to demand Peter Erlinder's release. Erlinder is in Rwanda to defend presidential hopeful Victoire Ingabire against charges that include promoting genocidal ideology. He was arrested Friday.
ICDAA board member Alison Turner said in Kenya that the charges are political and lack legal foundation.
The U.S. National Lawyers Guild said Rwanda's government was trying to hamstring Ingabire's legal defense by arresting Erlinder. He heads an association of defense lawyers at the U.N. tribunal that is trying the masterminds of the 1994 genocide.
Drone crew blamed in Afghan civilian deaths
KABUL, Afghanistan – Inexperienced operators of a U.S. drone aircraft ignored or downplayed signs that Afghan civilians were in a convoy blasted in a deadly American missile attack earlier this year, a military report released Saturday said.
At least 23 people were killed in the Feb. 21 attack in Uruzgan province. It was the deadliest missile strike for Afghan civilians in six months and occurred as NATO forces were redoubling efforts to avoid killing innocents.
The attack prompted a strong rebuke from Afghan President Hamid Karzai and a quick apology from the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who is struggling to gain the broad support among Afghans that is crucial to winning the almost 9-year-old war against the Taliban.
The insurgents claimed a victory Saturday when they captured a government outpost in a remote mountainous region near the Pakistan border.
Jamaludin Badar, governor of eastern Nuristan province, said government forces withdrew from the district headquarters in Bargi Matal early Saturday after a major assault by Taliban militants and a battle lasting several days.
Fighting was still going on and Afghan forces hoped to recapture the district center with the help of NATO airstrikes, Badar said. He could not provide casualties.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed in a phone message sent to reporters that insurgents had taken complete control of the district, captured three police vehicles and forced security forces to flee road checkpoints.
North of the capital, a senior Taliban leader in Baghlan province was killed in a NATO airstrike late Friday, the international force said in a statement. It said the man, who was not named, was the Taliban's "shadow governor" of the region and was responsible for organizing and directing attacks on coalition forces.
In the civilian deaths case, attack helicopters fired missiles and rockets into the convoy on a main road near Khod village, where U.S. Special Forces and Afghan troops were battling militants at the time, a summary of the investigation said. Commanders judged that the convoy contained fighters heading toward the village to reinforce the militants.
But the order to attack was based on inaccurate information from the crew at an Air Force base in Nevada that was remotely controlling a Predator drone monitoring the convoy and on flawed analysis of the situation by NATO commanders, Army Maj. Gen. Timothy McHale, who led the investigation, wrote in the report.
Poorly functioning command posts "failed to provide the ground force commander with the evidence and analysis that the vehicles were not a hostile threat and the inaccurate and unprofessional reporting of the Predator crew ... deprived the ground force commander of vital information," the report said.
"Information that the convoy was anything other than an attacking force was ignored or downplayed by the Predator crew," it said.
In a memo released Saturday accompanying the report, McChrystal said he had issued letters reprimanding four senior and two junior officers in Afghanistan over the attack. He also called on the Air Force to investigate the actions of the Predator crew.
The report said the convoy drew early suspicion because men in it appeared to be providing security as it was tracked for more than three hours. Its movements matched radio intercepts of militants calling on others to join the battle near Khod, about seven miles (12 kilometers) from the site of the attack.
No women were seen in the vehicles, but two children were spotted near them at one point. This was inaccurately reported by the drone crew, the report said.
After the initial salvo, the helicopter crews stopped firing because they spotted brightly colored clothing amid the convoy — a strong clue that women were present. Then, video shot from the drone showed women and children present.
McHale criticized the operation's commanders for failing to report the "ample evidence" of civilian casualties for nearly 12 hours after the attack, while they tried for confirmation.
U.S. forces spokesman Navy Rear Admiral Gregory Smith said the only people in the convoy that the drone crew could see was a handful of people traveling in the back of a pickup truck. Others were in closed cars. Smith said the Predator crew should have reported the possibility of civilians in those cars.
"They did not report the ambiguity of what they were seeing," Smith said. "They weren't clearly seeing a heavily armed threat."
Airstrikes accounted for about 60 percent of the nearly 600 civilians killed by NATO and Afghan forces in 2009, according to the United Nations. That percentage is significantly lower than the previous year, the U.N. said, attributing the drop to NATO directives to only conduct airstrikes as a last resort or if they are certain there are no civilians present.
"Our most important mission here is to protect the Afghan people," McChrystal said in a statement Saturday. "Inadvertently killing or injuring civilians is heartbreaking and undermines their trust and confidence in our mission. We will do all we can to regain that trust."
Human rights activists welcomed the report as a sign that NATO was being more open about admitting mistakes.
"But transparency and public accountability for the conduct of troops are still the exception rather than the rule," said Erica Gaston, a lawyer who works on civilian casualties issues for the New York-based Open Society Institute.
Unmanned aircraft are widely used in Afghanistan although they do not attract the attention here that they do across the border in Pakistan, where they have been used to attack extremist sanctuaries in the uncontrolled tribal areas. Those attacks have created huge outrage in Pakistan because of reports of large numbers of civilian deaths, as well as among insurgent leaders.
Meanwhile, militants ambushed an Afghan police convoy Friday in Paktia province in eastern Afghanistan, killing five officers with a roadside bomb and opening fire before fleeing when NATO aircraft started a bombardment, local official Ghulam Dastagir said.
At least 23 people were killed in the Feb. 21 attack in Uruzgan province. It was the deadliest missile strike for Afghan civilians in six months and occurred as NATO forces were redoubling efforts to avoid killing innocents.
The attack prompted a strong rebuke from Afghan President Hamid Karzai and a quick apology from the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who is struggling to gain the broad support among Afghans that is crucial to winning the almost 9-year-old war against the Taliban.
The insurgents claimed a victory Saturday when they captured a government outpost in a remote mountainous region near the Pakistan border.
Jamaludin Badar, governor of eastern Nuristan province, said government forces withdrew from the district headquarters in Bargi Matal early Saturday after a major assault by Taliban militants and a battle lasting several days.
Fighting was still going on and Afghan forces hoped to recapture the district center with the help of NATO airstrikes, Badar said. He could not provide casualties.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed in a phone message sent to reporters that insurgents had taken complete control of the district, captured three police vehicles and forced security forces to flee road checkpoints.
North of the capital, a senior Taliban leader in Baghlan province was killed in a NATO airstrike late Friday, the international force said in a statement. It said the man, who was not named, was the Taliban's "shadow governor" of the region and was responsible for organizing and directing attacks on coalition forces.
In the civilian deaths case, attack helicopters fired missiles and rockets into the convoy on a main road near Khod village, where U.S. Special Forces and Afghan troops were battling militants at the time, a summary of the investigation said. Commanders judged that the convoy contained fighters heading toward the village to reinforce the militants.
But the order to attack was based on inaccurate information from the crew at an Air Force base in Nevada that was remotely controlling a Predator drone monitoring the convoy and on flawed analysis of the situation by NATO commanders, Army Maj. Gen. Timothy McHale, who led the investigation, wrote in the report.
Poorly functioning command posts "failed to provide the ground force commander with the evidence and analysis that the vehicles were not a hostile threat and the inaccurate and unprofessional reporting of the Predator crew ... deprived the ground force commander of vital information," the report said.
"Information that the convoy was anything other than an attacking force was ignored or downplayed by the Predator crew," it said.
In a memo released Saturday accompanying the report, McChrystal said he had issued letters reprimanding four senior and two junior officers in Afghanistan over the attack. He also called on the Air Force to investigate the actions of the Predator crew.
The report said the convoy drew early suspicion because men in it appeared to be providing security as it was tracked for more than three hours. Its movements matched radio intercepts of militants calling on others to join the battle near Khod, about seven miles (12 kilometers) from the site of the attack.
No women were seen in the vehicles, but two children were spotted near them at one point. This was inaccurately reported by the drone crew, the report said.
After the initial salvo, the helicopter crews stopped firing because they spotted brightly colored clothing amid the convoy — a strong clue that women were present. Then, video shot from the drone showed women and children present.
McHale criticized the operation's commanders for failing to report the "ample evidence" of civilian casualties for nearly 12 hours after the attack, while they tried for confirmation.
U.S. forces spokesman Navy Rear Admiral Gregory Smith said the only people in the convoy that the drone crew could see was a handful of people traveling in the back of a pickup truck. Others were in closed cars. Smith said the Predator crew should have reported the possibility of civilians in those cars.
"They did not report the ambiguity of what they were seeing," Smith said. "They weren't clearly seeing a heavily armed threat."
Airstrikes accounted for about 60 percent of the nearly 600 civilians killed by NATO and Afghan forces in 2009, according to the United Nations. That percentage is significantly lower than the previous year, the U.N. said, attributing the drop to NATO directives to only conduct airstrikes as a last resort or if they are certain there are no civilians present.
"Our most important mission here is to protect the Afghan people," McChrystal said in a statement Saturday. "Inadvertently killing or injuring civilians is heartbreaking and undermines their trust and confidence in our mission. We will do all we can to regain that trust."
Human rights activists welcomed the report as a sign that NATO was being more open about admitting mistakes.
"But transparency and public accountability for the conduct of troops are still the exception rather than the rule," said Erica Gaston, a lawyer who works on civilian casualties issues for the New York-based Open Society Institute.
Unmanned aircraft are widely used in Afghanistan although they do not attract the attention here that they do across the border in Pakistan, where they have been used to attack extremist sanctuaries in the uncontrolled tribal areas. Those attacks have created huge outrage in Pakistan because of reports of large numbers of civilian deaths, as well as among insurgent leaders.
Meanwhile, militants ambushed an Afghan police convoy Friday in Paktia province in eastern Afghanistan, killing five officers with a roadside bomb and opening fire before fleeing when NATO aircraft started a bombardment, local official Ghulam Dastagir said.
vineri, 28 mai 2010
Flying on a Space Shuttle is the 'Coolest Thing' Ever, Astronaut Says
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The six astronauts who flew back to Earth aboard shuttle Atlantis Wednesday said their trip was a blast, and they wish they could ride a space shuttle again.
But the spaceflyers admitted there was very little chance of this, since there are only two more shuttle missions planned before NASA's three-orbiter fleet is retired at the end of this year. Nonetheless, the experience on Atlantis was one the crew of STS-132 will remember forever, the astronauts said.
"It certainly did strike me walking around the orbiter today, that I probably just did the coolest thing I'll ever do in my life," Atlantis' STS-132 commander Kenneth Ham said after the landing. "And it's over, it's behind me, it's great, it's a great memory."
The flight was the final planned voyage for Atlantis, though NASA and lawmakers are considering whether to add just one more mission next year to install extra spare supplies on the station.
"From the condition we brought her back in, she is so ready to get stacked and back on the launch pad," STS-132 pilot Dominic "Tony" Antonelli said. "You can tell that's where she wants to be."
Ham and company plan to leave Kennedy Space Center here and fly home to Houston today.
The astronauts spent 12 days orbiting Earth on Atlantis, which linked up with the International Space Station to deliver spare supplies and a new Russian research module. Their work included three spacewalks, which marked a high point for the three astronauts who conducted them.
At one point, spacewalker Stephen Bowen was left with some spare time to wait for further instructions while his teammate wrapped up a task.
"I had about 20 to 30 minutes, sitting there basically laying on my back, watching the world go by past the Russian segment, and I was just thinking, 'How in the world did I end up here? This is just unbelievable, just seems totally surreal and a lot of fun at the same time,'" Bowen recalled.
The astronauts – all veteran space travelers – said they appreciated seeing the space station in its now almost-completely built state.
Mission specialist Garrett Reisman served as a long-duration crewmember on the station's Expedition 16 and 17 in 2008.
"It felt like home when I got back there," Reisman said. "But there were some definite changes. This crew has got the station really shipshape."
He particularly appreciated a recent addition to the orbiting laboratory called the Cupola, a giant dome window that offers sweeping views of the Earth below.
"It's fantastic to look out at the Earth from the Cupola," Reisman said. "You can see from horizon to horizon."
Ultimately, an essential part of the reason the STS-132 mission went so well was the crew's bond, the astronauts said.
"The fun is really these five guys next to me, and we're going to be around together for quite a while longer and we're going to continue to have fun," Ham said.
NASA's next shuttle mission, the STS-133 flight of Discovery, is slated to lift off Sept. 16. Endeavour is planned to launch in late November on what could be the last-ever shuttle mission.
But the spaceflyers admitted there was very little chance of this, since there are only two more shuttle missions planned before NASA's three-orbiter fleet is retired at the end of this year. Nonetheless, the experience on Atlantis was one the crew of STS-132 will remember forever, the astronauts said.
"It certainly did strike me walking around the orbiter today, that I probably just did the coolest thing I'll ever do in my life," Atlantis' STS-132 commander Kenneth Ham said after the landing. "And it's over, it's behind me, it's great, it's a great memory."
The flight was the final planned voyage for Atlantis, though NASA and lawmakers are considering whether to add just one more mission next year to install extra spare supplies on the station.
"From the condition we brought her back in, she is so ready to get stacked and back on the launch pad," STS-132 pilot Dominic "Tony" Antonelli said. "You can tell that's where she wants to be."
Ham and company plan to leave Kennedy Space Center here and fly home to Houston today.
The astronauts spent 12 days orbiting Earth on Atlantis, which linked up with the International Space Station to deliver spare supplies and a new Russian research module. Their work included three spacewalks, which marked a high point for the three astronauts who conducted them.
At one point, spacewalker Stephen Bowen was left with some spare time to wait for further instructions while his teammate wrapped up a task.
"I had about 20 to 30 minutes, sitting there basically laying on my back, watching the world go by past the Russian segment, and I was just thinking, 'How in the world did I end up here? This is just unbelievable, just seems totally surreal and a lot of fun at the same time,'" Bowen recalled.
The astronauts – all veteran space travelers – said they appreciated seeing the space station in its now almost-completely built state.
Mission specialist Garrett Reisman served as a long-duration crewmember on the station's Expedition 16 and 17 in 2008.
"It felt like home when I got back there," Reisman said. "But there were some definite changes. This crew has got the station really shipshape."
He particularly appreciated a recent addition to the orbiting laboratory called the Cupola, a giant dome window that offers sweeping views of the Earth below.
"It's fantastic to look out at the Earth from the Cupola," Reisman said. "You can see from horizon to horizon."
Ultimately, an essential part of the reason the STS-132 mission went so well was the crew's bond, the astronauts said.
"The fun is really these five guys next to me, and we're going to be around together for quite a while longer and we're going to continue to have fun," Ham said.
NASA's next shuttle mission, the STS-133 flight of Discovery, is slated to lift off Sept. 16. Endeavour is planned to launch in late November on what could be the last-ever shuttle mission.
Obama heads to Gulf as BP reports progress
VENICE, Louisiana (Reuters) – BP reported some progress on Friday in its struggle to shut off its gushing deepwater Gulf of Mexico oil well, and President Barack Obama was set to assert control with a visit to coastal areas threatened by the largest oil spill in U.S. history.
BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward said a "top kill" attempt that started on Wednesday to plug the ruptured seabed well had had some success in keeping oil and gas down in the bore. But the final outcome was still uncertain and it could be another 48 hours before it would be known whether it was successful.
"We don't know whether we will be able to overcome the well," he told NBC's "Today Show". The British-based energy giant was maintaining its assessment that the "top kill" plugging operation had a 60-70 percent chance of success.
Rising public anger and frustration over the uncontrolled spill has made it a major challenge for Obama, who will visit the Louisiana coast where sticky oil has permeated wetlands, closed down a lucrative fishing trade and angered locals still on the mend from Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Appearing on several U.S. TV morning news shows, Hayward said BP engineers had injected a "junk shot" of heavier blocking materials -- such as pieces of rubber -- into the failed blowout preventer of the ruptured wellhead.
Later on Friday, they would also pump in more heavy drilling "mud" -- all part of the top kill procedure being attempted.
"We have some indications of partial bridging which is good news," he told CNN. "I think it's probably 48 hours before we have a conclusive view," he added.
Thad Allen, a Coast Guard admiral who is leading the oil spill response, told ABC's "Good Morning America," the next 12 to 18 hours would be "very critical"
BP shares were down around 4 percent in London amid uncertainty over the success of the effort to plug the well.
BP said on Friday the cost of the disaster so far was $930 million, up from a $760 million estimate on Monday. The cost is sure to multiply with clean-up of the spill, which has now surpassed the Exxon Valdez disaster off the Alaska coast in 1989.
"This is clearly an environmental catastrophe, there are no two ways about it," Hayward told CNN, reversing previous comments by him in which he had predicted the ecological impact from the spill would be small.
POLITICAL CHALLENGE FOR OBAMA
Friday's trip will be Obama's second visit to the Gulf in the more than five weeks since a rig explosion killed 11 workers and unleashed the oil from a well head one mile down.
His tour comes a day after he vowed to "get this fixed" as criticism swelled over what many Americans see as a slow government response to one of the country's biggest environmental catastrophes.
Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, was slammed for his administration's handling of Hurricane Katrina, and Obama is anxious to avoid comparisons.
But however much he seeks to assert control, the federal government lacks the tools and technology to solve the deep-sea disaster and depends on BP to find the way to stanch the flow. Relations between the two camps have been strained as Washington put the blame squarely on the London-based company.
If top kill fails, BP said it will immediately try other remedies, such as containing the oil so it can be transported by pipe to a drillship at the water's surface or placing a new blowout preventer atop the failed one.
It is also drilling two relief wells that will stop the flow but those will take several weeks to complete.
The scale of the spill expanded hugely with new government calculations on Thursday that put the flow rate from the ruptured well at as much as four or five times BP's estimate of 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons/795,000 liters) a day.
The U.S. Geological Survey now estimates that the flow ranges from 12,000 barrels (504,000 gallons/1.9 million liters) to 25,000 barrels (1.05 million gallons/3.97 million liters ) per day. The team's best estimate is 12,000 to 19,000 barrels per day.
In the Louisiana wetlands, scientists showed where oil washed into wild cane fields, discoloring the base of green cane and reeds and piercing the air with its pungent smell.
Many of these small islands of wetlands were surrounded by the white protective boom that has been laid out to prevent the oil from seeping in but it was clearly being breached.
"Each of these islands has been fouled," said Ian MacDoland, a professor of oceanography at Florida State University, as he surveyed the scene.
BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward said a "top kill" attempt that started on Wednesday to plug the ruptured seabed well had had some success in keeping oil and gas down in the bore. But the final outcome was still uncertain and it could be another 48 hours before it would be known whether it was successful.
"We don't know whether we will be able to overcome the well," he told NBC's "Today Show". The British-based energy giant was maintaining its assessment that the "top kill" plugging operation had a 60-70 percent chance of success.
Rising public anger and frustration over the uncontrolled spill has made it a major challenge for Obama, who will visit the Louisiana coast where sticky oil has permeated wetlands, closed down a lucrative fishing trade and angered locals still on the mend from Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Appearing on several U.S. TV morning news shows, Hayward said BP engineers had injected a "junk shot" of heavier blocking materials -- such as pieces of rubber -- into the failed blowout preventer of the ruptured wellhead.
Later on Friday, they would also pump in more heavy drilling "mud" -- all part of the top kill procedure being attempted.
"We have some indications of partial bridging which is good news," he told CNN. "I think it's probably 48 hours before we have a conclusive view," he added.
Thad Allen, a Coast Guard admiral who is leading the oil spill response, told ABC's "Good Morning America," the next 12 to 18 hours would be "very critical"
BP shares were down around 4 percent in London amid uncertainty over the success of the effort to plug the well.
BP said on Friday the cost of the disaster so far was $930 million, up from a $760 million estimate on Monday. The cost is sure to multiply with clean-up of the spill, which has now surpassed the Exxon Valdez disaster off the Alaska coast in 1989.
"This is clearly an environmental catastrophe, there are no two ways about it," Hayward told CNN, reversing previous comments by him in which he had predicted the ecological impact from the spill would be small.
POLITICAL CHALLENGE FOR OBAMA
Friday's trip will be Obama's second visit to the Gulf in the more than five weeks since a rig explosion killed 11 workers and unleashed the oil from a well head one mile down.
His tour comes a day after he vowed to "get this fixed" as criticism swelled over what many Americans see as a slow government response to one of the country's biggest environmental catastrophes.
Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, was slammed for his administration's handling of Hurricane Katrina, and Obama is anxious to avoid comparisons.
But however much he seeks to assert control, the federal government lacks the tools and technology to solve the deep-sea disaster and depends on BP to find the way to stanch the flow. Relations between the two camps have been strained as Washington put the blame squarely on the London-based company.
If top kill fails, BP said it will immediately try other remedies, such as containing the oil so it can be transported by pipe to a drillship at the water's surface or placing a new blowout preventer atop the failed one.
It is also drilling two relief wells that will stop the flow but those will take several weeks to complete.
The scale of the spill expanded hugely with new government calculations on Thursday that put the flow rate from the ruptured well at as much as four or five times BP's estimate of 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons/795,000 liters) a day.
The U.S. Geological Survey now estimates that the flow ranges from 12,000 barrels (504,000 gallons/1.9 million liters) to 25,000 barrels (1.05 million gallons/3.97 million liters ) per day. The team's best estimate is 12,000 to 19,000 barrels per day.
In the Louisiana wetlands, scientists showed where oil washed into wild cane fields, discoloring the base of green cane and reeds and piercing the air with its pungent smell.
Many of these small islands of wetlands were surrounded by the white protective boom that has been laid out to prevent the oil from seeping in but it was clearly being breached.
"Each of these islands has been fouled," said Ian MacDoland, a professor of oceanography at Florida State University, as he surveyed the scene.
3 million feet of boom in Gulf, but does it help?
GRAND ISLE, La. – Globs of sticky brownish ooze soil miles of sensitive shoreline and marsh from Alabama to Louisiana. Pelican rookeries are awash in oil. Oyster beds and shrimp nurseries face certain death. All the while, long, slender barriers intended to protect the shoreline float twisted, tangled or sometimes just broken apart, unable to stop the creeping crude.
Since last month's rig explosion and spill of millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico — now the largest spill in U.S. history, surpassing the Exxon Valdez — more than 3 million feet of so-called boom has been deployed along the coast. But it's not a fail-safe method of keeping the oil from washing ashore. It's not always sturdy enough and high winds and waves can send the slime cascading over the barriers.
The key line of defense is sometimes defenseless itself against the elements.
"Even if it's working properly, the best it will do is move the problem somewhere else," said Doug Helton, incident operations coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Emergency Response Division.
"It might be moving it somewhere that's not boomed or it might be moving it 100 yards away where there's a failure in the boom," Helton said. "The use of booms is just one tool but all the boom does is deflect oil, and that's if it functions properly."
BP says it has spent more than $800 million on cleanup and containment efforts since its Deepwater Horizon rig exploded April 20 and sank 50 miles off the Louisiana coast. Since then, an estimated 19 million gallons or more of crude has spewed into the sea.
While BP couldn't immediately provide a figure for how much money has been spent purchasing and deploying the booms, industry estimates put costs around $20 a foot for the basic product — totaling at least $60 million just to buy it, not to mention the cost to hire people to deploy it.
Experts say while the boom isn't perfect, it provides one necessary line of defense. It also offers a psychological boost to those who feel helpless.
Because the oil spill is so widespread, manpower needed to maintain the boom and regularly collect oil from its constraints is stretched thin, Helton said. And as the barriers break apart, he said, response time to repair them must be quick because once the oil seeps past, it's a losing battle.
The spill's impact on shorelines now stretches across 150 miles, from Dauphin Island, Ala., to Grand Isle, La., and has begun to creep inland into sensitive marshland.
"Normally, a spill would affect a smaller geographic area so you'd have more people per linear mile of boom to maintain it, but here the pressure was on to get the boom deployed," Helton said. "It's a difficult situation and people have very high expectations.
"There's no silver bullet," he added.
Regardless of the setbacks, BP spokesman John Curry said the booms are still proving to be an effective tool.
"Booms, by and large, do work. They're not fail-safe, but they're our best protection to contain the oil and protect the coast," Curry said.
Stephen Reilly, CEO of Slickbar Products Corp., one of the world's largest manufacturers of oil spill equipment, including boom, acknowledged the product has limitations based on wind, waves and currents.
He said Slickbar has so far provided several hundred thousand feet of boom to the Gulf oil spill effort, and calls it "absolutely worth it."
"You have to put something in there," Reilly said. "You have to at least make an attempt to deflect it away from these sensitive areas ... The key is to at least try to contain it."
Inexperience may also be taking a toll on the effectiveness of the booms, said Ed Overton, a Louisiana State University professor of environmental sciences.
Hundreds of people, including fishermen and shrimpers who have never deployed boom, have mobilized to help.
"People are frustrated and they want to do something so they say, 'I'll go out and lay the boom.' But if you don't know what you're doing, you're not going to do it right," Overton said. "I'm certain there's a significant percentage of boom deployment that is basically a wasted effort. I've seen shrimp boats just pulling boom and it's not doing anything."
Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand said neither BP nor the federal government is listening to the locals, who know these waters, about where to lay the booms.
"We're still deploying boom in areas that in many cases don't make sense to us, but that's where they want it," Newell said. "They're not asking us for input. Someone else is commanding this ship and they're not taking input from the local commercial fishing industry that knows these waters better than anybody.
"We don't have a command post that's totally unified where they're actually listening to the locals," he added.
But even beyond the environmental effort to contain the oil, effective or not, the booming serves another crucial purpose, providing a psychological boost to those who feel helpless, Overton said.
"It's an ecological incident but this is also a sociological disaster," he said. "It's helping people think they're helping the environment, and there's a lot of good to that. I'm talking about getting to their psyche. They don't know what the future will bring.
"Booming is not just about protecting the environment," he added. "It's also to help the people and that should not be considered trivial or a waste of time."
Since last month's rig explosion and spill of millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico — now the largest spill in U.S. history, surpassing the Exxon Valdez — more than 3 million feet of so-called boom has been deployed along the coast. But it's not a fail-safe method of keeping the oil from washing ashore. It's not always sturdy enough and high winds and waves can send the slime cascading over the barriers.
The key line of defense is sometimes defenseless itself against the elements.
"Even if it's working properly, the best it will do is move the problem somewhere else," said Doug Helton, incident operations coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Emergency Response Division.
"It might be moving it somewhere that's not boomed or it might be moving it 100 yards away where there's a failure in the boom," Helton said. "The use of booms is just one tool but all the boom does is deflect oil, and that's if it functions properly."
BP says it has spent more than $800 million on cleanup and containment efforts since its Deepwater Horizon rig exploded April 20 and sank 50 miles off the Louisiana coast. Since then, an estimated 19 million gallons or more of crude has spewed into the sea.
While BP couldn't immediately provide a figure for how much money has been spent purchasing and deploying the booms, industry estimates put costs around $20 a foot for the basic product — totaling at least $60 million just to buy it, not to mention the cost to hire people to deploy it.
Experts say while the boom isn't perfect, it provides one necessary line of defense. It also offers a psychological boost to those who feel helpless.
Because the oil spill is so widespread, manpower needed to maintain the boom and regularly collect oil from its constraints is stretched thin, Helton said. And as the barriers break apart, he said, response time to repair them must be quick because once the oil seeps past, it's a losing battle.
The spill's impact on shorelines now stretches across 150 miles, from Dauphin Island, Ala., to Grand Isle, La., and has begun to creep inland into sensitive marshland.
"Normally, a spill would affect a smaller geographic area so you'd have more people per linear mile of boom to maintain it, but here the pressure was on to get the boom deployed," Helton said. "It's a difficult situation and people have very high expectations.
"There's no silver bullet," he added.
Regardless of the setbacks, BP spokesman John Curry said the booms are still proving to be an effective tool.
"Booms, by and large, do work. They're not fail-safe, but they're our best protection to contain the oil and protect the coast," Curry said.
Stephen Reilly, CEO of Slickbar Products Corp., one of the world's largest manufacturers of oil spill equipment, including boom, acknowledged the product has limitations based on wind, waves and currents.
He said Slickbar has so far provided several hundred thousand feet of boom to the Gulf oil spill effort, and calls it "absolutely worth it."
"You have to put something in there," Reilly said. "You have to at least make an attempt to deflect it away from these sensitive areas ... The key is to at least try to contain it."
Inexperience may also be taking a toll on the effectiveness of the booms, said Ed Overton, a Louisiana State University professor of environmental sciences.
Hundreds of people, including fishermen and shrimpers who have never deployed boom, have mobilized to help.
"People are frustrated and they want to do something so they say, 'I'll go out and lay the boom.' But if you don't know what you're doing, you're not going to do it right," Overton said. "I'm certain there's a significant percentage of boom deployment that is basically a wasted effort. I've seen shrimp boats just pulling boom and it's not doing anything."
Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand said neither BP nor the federal government is listening to the locals, who know these waters, about where to lay the booms.
"We're still deploying boom in areas that in many cases don't make sense to us, but that's where they want it," Newell said. "They're not asking us for input. Someone else is commanding this ship and they're not taking input from the local commercial fishing industry that knows these waters better than anybody.
"We don't have a command post that's totally unified where they're actually listening to the locals," he added.
But even beyond the environmental effort to contain the oil, effective or not, the booming serves another crucial purpose, providing a psychological boost to those who feel helpless, Overton said.
"It's an ecological incident but this is also a sociological disaster," he said. "It's helping people think they're helping the environment, and there's a lot of good to that. I'm talking about getting to their psyche. They don't know what the future will bring.
"Booming is not just about protecting the environment," he added. "It's also to help the people and that should not be considered trivial or a waste of time."
Today's College Students Lack Empathy
College students today are less likely to "get" the emotions of others than their counterparts 20 and 30 years ago, a new review study suggests.
Specifically, today's students scored 40 percent lower on a measure of empathy than their elders did.
The findings are based on a review of 72 studies of 14,000 American college students overall conducted between 1979 and 2009.
"We found the biggest drop in empathy after the year 2000," said Sara Konrath, a researcher at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research.
The study was presented this week at the annual meeting of the Association for Psychological Science in Boston.
Is "generation me" all about me?
Compared with college students of the late 1970s, current students are less likely to agree with statements such as "I sometimes try to understand my friends better by imagining how things look from their perspective," and "I often have tender, concerned feelings for people less fortunate than me."
"Many people see the current group of college students - sometimes called 'Generation Me' - as one of the most self-centered, narcissistic, competitive, confident and individualistic in recent history," said Konrath, who is also affiliated with the University of Rochester Department of Psychiatry.
Konrath's colleague graduate student Edward O'Brien added, "It's not surprising that this growing emphasis on the self is accompanied by a corresponding devaluation of others."
Other recent studies have shown mixed results on the character of today's youth. For instance, one study of more than 450,000 high-school seniors born at different time periods showed today's youth are no more self-centered than their parents were at their age.
The role of media
Even so, Konrath and O'Brien suggest several reasons for the lower empathy they found, including the ever-increasing exposure to media in the current generation.
"Compared to 30 years ago, the average American now is exposed to three times as much nonwork-related information," Konrath said. "In terms of media content, this generation of college students grew up with video games, and a growing body of research, including work done by my colleagues at Michigan, is establishing that exposure to violent media numbs people to the pain of others."
The rise in social media could also play a role.
"The ease of having 'friends' online might make people more likely to just tune out when they don't feel like responding to others' problems, a behavior that could carry over offline," O'Brien said.
In fact, past research has suggested college students are addicted to social media.
Other possible causes include a society today that's hypercompetitive and focused on success, as well as the fast-paced nature of today, in which people are less likely than in time periods past to slow down to really listen to others, O'Brien added.
"College students today may be so busy worrying about themselves and their own issues that they don't have time to spend empathizing with others, or at least perceive such time to be limited," O'Brien said.
Specifically, today's students scored 40 percent lower on a measure of empathy than their elders did.
The findings are based on a review of 72 studies of 14,000 American college students overall conducted between 1979 and 2009.
"We found the biggest drop in empathy after the year 2000," said Sara Konrath, a researcher at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research.
The study was presented this week at the annual meeting of the Association for Psychological Science in Boston.
Is "generation me" all about me?
Compared with college students of the late 1970s, current students are less likely to agree with statements such as "I sometimes try to understand my friends better by imagining how things look from their perspective," and "I often have tender, concerned feelings for people less fortunate than me."
"Many people see the current group of college students - sometimes called 'Generation Me' - as one of the most self-centered, narcissistic, competitive, confident and individualistic in recent history," said Konrath, who is also affiliated with the University of Rochester Department of Psychiatry.
Konrath's colleague graduate student Edward O'Brien added, "It's not surprising that this growing emphasis on the self is accompanied by a corresponding devaluation of others."
Other recent studies have shown mixed results on the character of today's youth. For instance, one study of more than 450,000 high-school seniors born at different time periods showed today's youth are no more self-centered than their parents were at their age.
The role of media
Even so, Konrath and O'Brien suggest several reasons for the lower empathy they found, including the ever-increasing exposure to media in the current generation.
"Compared to 30 years ago, the average American now is exposed to three times as much nonwork-related information," Konrath said. "In terms of media content, this generation of college students grew up with video games, and a growing body of research, including work done by my colleagues at Michigan, is establishing that exposure to violent media numbs people to the pain of others."
The rise in social media could also play a role.
"The ease of having 'friends' online might make people more likely to just tune out when they don't feel like responding to others' problems, a behavior that could carry over offline," O'Brien said.
In fact, past research has suggested college students are addicted to social media.
Other possible causes include a society today that's hypercompetitive and focused on success, as well as the fast-paced nature of today, in which people are less likely than in time periods past to slow down to really listen to others, O'Brien added.
"College students today may be so busy worrying about themselves and their own issues that they don't have time to spend empathizing with others, or at least perceive such time to be limited," O'Brien said.
Millions face hunger in arid belt of Africa
GADABEJI, Niger – At this time of year, the Gadabeji Reserve should be refuge for the nomadic tribes who travel across a moonscape on the edge of the Sahara to graze their cattle. But the grass is meager after a drought killed off the last year's crops. Now the cattle are too weak to stand and too skinny to sell, leaving the poor without any way to buy grain to feed their families.
The threat of famine is again stalking the Sahel, a band of semiarid land stretching across Africa south of the Sahara. The U.N. World Food Program warned on Friday that some 10 million people face hunger over the next three months before the next harvest in September — if it comes.
"People have lost crops, livestock, and the ability to cope on their own, and the levels of malnutrition among women and children have already risen to very high levels," said Thomas Yanga, WFP Regional Director for West Africa.
The U.N.'s humanitarian chief, John Holmes, said at the end of a four-day visit to neighboring Chad that many Chadians have gone as far as Libya to search for food.
"The level of malnutrition is already beyond the danger point," Holmes said Thursday. "If we do not act now or as quickly as possible, there is a chance the food crisis will become a disaster."
In Niger, some say the growing food crisis could be worse than the one that struck the country in 2005, when aid organizations treated tens of thousands of children for malnutrition.
"We have lost so much we cannot count," said one 45-year-old tribesman with a family of 20 to feed. He and others on Gadabeji Reserve drive starving donkeys through the burnt orange haze of a sandstorm to gather what little water they can on the desiccated plain and struggle to draw water from private wells.
Famine is nothing new to Niger, a former French colony nearly twice the size of Texas. The Sahel cuts through the middle of the country, serving as the dividing line between the sands of the Sahara and the lush farmlands of neighboring Nigeria to the south. Severe droughts have punctuated the region's history for centuries.
Yet outside of uranium mining, agriculture serves as the sole economic engine for a country where just more than a quarter of the population knows how to read. Generation after generation follows worn seasonal tracks, their belongings often fitted onto a single donkey-driven pallet.
Typically, the herders move south at the onset of December, searching for grazing lands. But this year they found only dried lakes and diminishing wells, said Hasane Baka, a regional administrator for AREN, a Nigerien development group for cattlemen.
"People were moving in all directions," Baka said.
Some have crossed into Nigeria, begging for food on the streets of the northern city of Katsina. Others remain behind with their cattle, knowing the livestock would die on a long trip south that could end with Nigerian police simply turning them back. Instead, they wait for rains that might not come.
Those who remain drive their cows into Dakoro, the largest and closest city for nomadic cattlemen. At the open-air market, the ribs of some cattle are starkly visible against their hides. Others die along the road or in trucks on the way.
"You can see the skin and bones of much of them," said trader Ibrahim Tarbanassa, 68.
A single cow once sold for the equivalent of $200. Now, some go for as little as $120 — if they sell at all. Food prices remain high after speculators cornered the already poor harvest last year.
Even in better times, roughly half of Niger's children suffered stunted growth. Now, mothers walk their children as far as 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) to reach one of two aid stations operated by Medecins Sans Frontieres, or Doctors Without Borders, said Barbara Maccagno, the agency's medical coordinator in Niger. The two stations now see about 1,000 children a week, some two or three times underweight, Maccagno said. The number of admissions has doubled in recent weeks.
"It's very hot and without any food available to the family, we're afraid we'll see more," she said.
Maccagno said her agency could offer children meals of vitamin-enriched powdered milks and other foods to help bring a child's weight up, but many children need up to five weeks to gain a stable weight. During that time, the mother must stay with the child, impossible for those who left other children behind, she said.
Other agencies like Oxfam hand out cereals and grains directly to nomadic families living in the bush, but money for such aid is short because of the global economic downturn. The WFP said it has a $96 million shortfall for a program it planned for 1.5 million people in the worst-hit areas of Niger.
Niger's government, now being run by a military council after a February coup ousted President Mamadou Tandja, has said it will provide more than 21,000 tons of food. In 2005, Tandja played down a similar food crisis, dismissing it as "false propaganda" used by the U.N., aid agencies and opposition parties for political and economic gain.
Each drought and crisis ends up gaining its own name. In 2005, traders and nomads began to refer to the crisis as the Tandja famine.
There's no name yet for the drought now facing the country. Many can only wait in a nation that faces cyclical hunger without an end in sight.
The threat of famine is again stalking the Sahel, a band of semiarid land stretching across Africa south of the Sahara. The U.N. World Food Program warned on Friday that some 10 million people face hunger over the next three months before the next harvest in September — if it comes.
"People have lost crops, livestock, and the ability to cope on their own, and the levels of malnutrition among women and children have already risen to very high levels," said Thomas Yanga, WFP Regional Director for West Africa.
The U.N.'s humanitarian chief, John Holmes, said at the end of a four-day visit to neighboring Chad that many Chadians have gone as far as Libya to search for food.
"The level of malnutrition is already beyond the danger point," Holmes said Thursday. "If we do not act now or as quickly as possible, there is a chance the food crisis will become a disaster."
In Niger, some say the growing food crisis could be worse than the one that struck the country in 2005, when aid organizations treated tens of thousands of children for malnutrition.
"We have lost so much we cannot count," said one 45-year-old tribesman with a family of 20 to feed. He and others on Gadabeji Reserve drive starving donkeys through the burnt orange haze of a sandstorm to gather what little water they can on the desiccated plain and struggle to draw water from private wells.
Famine is nothing new to Niger, a former French colony nearly twice the size of Texas. The Sahel cuts through the middle of the country, serving as the dividing line between the sands of the Sahara and the lush farmlands of neighboring Nigeria to the south. Severe droughts have punctuated the region's history for centuries.
Yet outside of uranium mining, agriculture serves as the sole economic engine for a country where just more than a quarter of the population knows how to read. Generation after generation follows worn seasonal tracks, their belongings often fitted onto a single donkey-driven pallet.
Typically, the herders move south at the onset of December, searching for grazing lands. But this year they found only dried lakes and diminishing wells, said Hasane Baka, a regional administrator for AREN, a Nigerien development group for cattlemen.
"People were moving in all directions," Baka said.
Some have crossed into Nigeria, begging for food on the streets of the northern city of Katsina. Others remain behind with their cattle, knowing the livestock would die on a long trip south that could end with Nigerian police simply turning them back. Instead, they wait for rains that might not come.
Those who remain drive their cows into Dakoro, the largest and closest city for nomadic cattlemen. At the open-air market, the ribs of some cattle are starkly visible against their hides. Others die along the road or in trucks on the way.
"You can see the skin and bones of much of them," said trader Ibrahim Tarbanassa, 68.
A single cow once sold for the equivalent of $200. Now, some go for as little as $120 — if they sell at all. Food prices remain high after speculators cornered the already poor harvest last year.
Even in better times, roughly half of Niger's children suffered stunted growth. Now, mothers walk their children as far as 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) to reach one of two aid stations operated by Medecins Sans Frontieres, or Doctors Without Borders, said Barbara Maccagno, the agency's medical coordinator in Niger. The two stations now see about 1,000 children a week, some two or three times underweight, Maccagno said. The number of admissions has doubled in recent weeks.
"It's very hot and without any food available to the family, we're afraid we'll see more," she said.
Maccagno said her agency could offer children meals of vitamin-enriched powdered milks and other foods to help bring a child's weight up, but many children need up to five weeks to gain a stable weight. During that time, the mother must stay with the child, impossible for those who left other children behind, she said.
Other agencies like Oxfam hand out cereals and grains directly to nomadic families living in the bush, but money for such aid is short because of the global economic downturn. The WFP said it has a $96 million shortfall for a program it planned for 1.5 million people in the worst-hit areas of Niger.
Niger's government, now being run by a military council after a February coup ousted President Mamadou Tandja, has said it will provide more than 21,000 tons of food. In 2005, Tandja played down a similar food crisis, dismissing it as "false propaganda" used by the U.N., aid agencies and opposition parties for political and economic gain.
Each drought and crisis ends up gaining its own name. In 2005, traders and nomads began to refer to the crisis as the Tandja famine.
There's no name yet for the drought now facing the country. Many can only wait in a nation that faces cyclical hunger without an end in sight.
Congress moves to end ban on gays in military
WASHINGTON – Congress has taken two big steps toward ending the "don't ask, don't tell" ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military.
In quick succession Thursday, the Senate Armed Services Committee and the full House approved measures to repeal the 1993 law that allows gay people to serve in the armed services only if they hide their sexual orientation.
The votes were a victory for President Barack Obama, who has actively supported ending the policy, and for gay rights groups who have made repealing the ban their top legislative priority this year.
"Lawmakers today stood on the right side of history," said Joe Solmonese, president of Human Rights Campaign, a major gay rights organization.
With passage, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said, "We honor the values of our nation and we close the door on a fundamental unfairness."
The drive to end the ban still has a long way to go. The 234-194 House vote was an amendment to a defense spending bill that comes up for a final vote Friday. While the spending bill, which approves more than $700 billion in funds for military operations, enjoys wide support, some lawmakers vowed to vote against it if the "don't ask, don't tell" repeal was included.
"It jeopardizes passage of the entire bill," said Rep. Gene Taylor of Mississippi, a conservative Democrat who opposed it.
The full Senate is expected to take up the defense bill next month, and Republicans are threatening a filibuster if the change in policy toward gays remains in the legislation.
In quick succession Thursday, the Senate Armed Services Committee and the full House approved measures to repeal the 1993 law that allows gay people to serve in the armed services only if they hide their sexual orientation.
The votes were a victory for President Barack Obama, who has actively supported ending the policy, and for gay rights groups who have made repealing the ban their top legislative priority this year.
"Lawmakers today stood on the right side of history," said Joe Solmonese, president of Human Rights Campaign, a major gay rights organization.
With passage, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said, "We honor the values of our nation and we close the door on a fundamental unfairness."
The drive to end the ban still has a long way to go. The 234-194 House vote was an amendment to a defense spending bill that comes up for a final vote Friday. While the spending bill, which approves more than $700 billion in funds for military operations, enjoys wide support, some lawmakers vowed to vote against it if the "don't ask, don't tell" repeal was included.
"It jeopardizes passage of the entire bill," said Rep. Gene Taylor of Mississippi, a conservative Democrat who opposed it.
The full Senate is expected to take up the defense bill next month, and Republicans are threatening a filibuster if the change in policy toward gays remains in the legislation.
Israel partly opens West Bank road to Palestinians
BEIT SIRA, West Bank – The Israeli military opened part of a major West Bank highway to Palestinian cars on Friday to comply with a ruling of the country's highest court.
The road, known as Highway 443, is a major link between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and is heavily traveled by Israeli commuters.
About 12 miles (20 kilometers) of it run though the West Bank, one of the territories Palestinians and the international community say should form part of a future Palestinian state, and it was built in parts on land expropriated from the Palestinians living there.
The Israeli military, which maintains overall control of the West Bank, banned Palestinian cars from the highway in 2002, after a string of Palestinian shooting attacks there killed Israeli motorists. The military later connected some nearby Palestinian villages with alternative roads, many of them passing through tunnels underneath the highway.
The West Bank's system of separate roads for Israelis and Palestinians has drawn sharp criticism from Palestinians and human rights groups.
In 2007, with the level of Israeli-Palestinian violence declining, local Palestinians petitioned Israel's Supreme Court for access to the road. The court ruled the military's sweeping closure discriminatory and ordered that a nine-mile (14 kilometer) stretch be opened to Palestinian cars, overriding the army's argument that doing so would endanger Israelis.
Military spokesman Peter Lerner said Friday the opening complied fully with the ruling.
"It is to the letter and also to the spirit" of the ruling, he said. "The spirit is to give them access, free access, and we are ensuring safety and security for all people using the road."
But Palestinians and Israeli human rights groups say the opening falls short of making the road worth using for most Palestinian motorists. The two entrances and four exits for Palestinian cars effectively allow them to travel only on a stretch of about 6 miles (10 kilometers), and they can't reach the city of Ramallah, the main destination for Palestinian traffic. Cars entering the roadway must pass security checks, which drivers say will lengthen drive times.
The opening has also angered Israelis, many of whom fear it will expose them to Palestinian shooting attacks similar to those that killed six Israelis on the road between 2000 and 2002.
"They are opening the road to terrorists," said Shmuel Landau, whose 17-year-old son was shot and killed there by Palestinian gunmen in 2001. "I hope nothing will happen to anyone, but I am afraid that the court is endangering our lives and those of our children."
Attorney Dan Yakir of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, which filed the court appeal on behalf of the Palestinians, said at a press conference this week that the opening could facilitate Palestinian movement between villages but won't make it a major highway, as it is for Israelis.
Noting that the road was constructed partially on Palestinian-owned land and was supposed to benefit Palestinians, he said the only solution to any security problems would be to bar Israelis, not Palestinians, from the road.
Only about five Palestinian drivers used the road during the first two hours of the Friday opening, and only after having their engines, trunks, back seats and ID cards inspected by Israeli soldiers.
After exiting the road, driver Farouq Ankawi said the checkpoints would keep many drivers off the newly opened highway and encourage them to use the backroads.
"If I want to avoid the searches, I'll take the old road through the villages," he said. "It's better than going through here."
The road, known as Highway 443, is a major link between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and is heavily traveled by Israeli commuters.
About 12 miles (20 kilometers) of it run though the West Bank, one of the territories Palestinians and the international community say should form part of a future Palestinian state, and it was built in parts on land expropriated from the Palestinians living there.
The Israeli military, which maintains overall control of the West Bank, banned Palestinian cars from the highway in 2002, after a string of Palestinian shooting attacks there killed Israeli motorists. The military later connected some nearby Palestinian villages with alternative roads, many of them passing through tunnels underneath the highway.
The West Bank's system of separate roads for Israelis and Palestinians has drawn sharp criticism from Palestinians and human rights groups.
In 2007, with the level of Israeli-Palestinian violence declining, local Palestinians petitioned Israel's Supreme Court for access to the road. The court ruled the military's sweeping closure discriminatory and ordered that a nine-mile (14 kilometer) stretch be opened to Palestinian cars, overriding the army's argument that doing so would endanger Israelis.
Military spokesman Peter Lerner said Friday the opening complied fully with the ruling.
"It is to the letter and also to the spirit" of the ruling, he said. "The spirit is to give them access, free access, and we are ensuring safety and security for all people using the road."
But Palestinians and Israeli human rights groups say the opening falls short of making the road worth using for most Palestinian motorists. The two entrances and four exits for Palestinian cars effectively allow them to travel only on a stretch of about 6 miles (10 kilometers), and they can't reach the city of Ramallah, the main destination for Palestinian traffic. Cars entering the roadway must pass security checks, which drivers say will lengthen drive times.
The opening has also angered Israelis, many of whom fear it will expose them to Palestinian shooting attacks similar to those that killed six Israelis on the road between 2000 and 2002.
"They are opening the road to terrorists," said Shmuel Landau, whose 17-year-old son was shot and killed there by Palestinian gunmen in 2001. "I hope nothing will happen to anyone, but I am afraid that the court is endangering our lives and those of our children."
Attorney Dan Yakir of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, which filed the court appeal on behalf of the Palestinians, said at a press conference this week that the opening could facilitate Palestinian movement between villages but won't make it a major highway, as it is for Israelis.
Noting that the road was constructed partially on Palestinian-owned land and was supposed to benefit Palestinians, he said the only solution to any security problems would be to bar Israelis, not Palestinians, from the road.
Only about five Palestinian drivers used the road during the first two hours of the Friday opening, and only after having their engines, trunks, back seats and ID cards inspected by Israeli soldiers.
After exiting the road, driver Farouq Ankawi said the checkpoints would keep many drivers off the newly opened highway and encourage them to use the backroads.
"If I want to avoid the searches, I'll take the old road through the villages," he said. "It's better than going through here."
Trott double ton frustrates battling Bangladesh
LONDON (AFP) – Jonathan Trott became only the seventh England batsman to score a Test double century at Lord's as the hosts consolidated their position of strength against Bangladesh here on Friday.
England, at lunch on the second day of the first of a two-match series, were 456 for six with Trott - in his maiden Test innings at Lord's -- 217 not out and Tim Bresnan 24 not out.
But Bangladesh, who have won just three out of their 66 Tests and lost all six against England, could take heart from an improved display by their seamers, with Trott managing just two boundaries in the session.
Worryingly for Bangladesh, opening batsman Tamim Iqbal left the field after appearing to aggravate a wrist injury as he crashed into the boundary rope when attempting a diving stop.
England resumed well-placed on 362 for four, with Trott already a Test-best 175 not out - his second century in as many Test innings in England after his 119 on debut against Australia in the second innings at the Oval last year.
Eoin Morgan, on his Test debut, was 40 not out.
But the left-hander and former Ireland batsman, on his Middlesex home ground, had added just four runs when, pushing outside off-stump against Shahadat Hossain, he saw wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim hold a good diving catch.
England were 370 for five and they gifted Bangladesh a sixth wicket on 400.
Trott drove Robiul Islam through the covers and took a single.
Matt Prior always wanted the second run but Trott was slow to decline and by the time he sent the wicketkeeper back, Prior was already halfway down the pitch and run out for 16 by substitute Shamsur Rahman's throw to Mushfiqur.
The normally methodical Trott had a nervous moment on 197, when he just missed edging a cut through to the keeper off debutant paceman Robiul Islam.
But a controlled pull for two off Rubel Hossain took the former South Africa junior international to 200 in 381 balls with 18 boundaries in over seven hours at the crease.
Trott's was the first double century by an England batsman in a Lord's Test since Robert Key's 221 against the West Indies in 2004.
In all, 14 players from around the world have made Test double hundreds at the 'home of cricket', with the highest individual score former England captain Graham Gooch's 333 against India in 1990.
England, at lunch on the second day of the first of a two-match series, were 456 for six with Trott - in his maiden Test innings at Lord's -- 217 not out and Tim Bresnan 24 not out.
But Bangladesh, who have won just three out of their 66 Tests and lost all six against England, could take heart from an improved display by their seamers, with Trott managing just two boundaries in the session.
Worryingly for Bangladesh, opening batsman Tamim Iqbal left the field after appearing to aggravate a wrist injury as he crashed into the boundary rope when attempting a diving stop.
England resumed well-placed on 362 for four, with Trott already a Test-best 175 not out - his second century in as many Test innings in England after his 119 on debut against Australia in the second innings at the Oval last year.
Eoin Morgan, on his Test debut, was 40 not out.
But the left-hander and former Ireland batsman, on his Middlesex home ground, had added just four runs when, pushing outside off-stump against Shahadat Hossain, he saw wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim hold a good diving catch.
England were 370 for five and they gifted Bangladesh a sixth wicket on 400.
Trott drove Robiul Islam through the covers and took a single.
Matt Prior always wanted the second run but Trott was slow to decline and by the time he sent the wicketkeeper back, Prior was already halfway down the pitch and run out for 16 by substitute Shamsur Rahman's throw to Mushfiqur.
The normally methodical Trott had a nervous moment on 197, when he just missed edging a cut through to the keeper off debutant paceman Robiul Islam.
But a controlled pull for two off Rubel Hossain took the former South Africa junior international to 200 in 381 balls with 18 boundaries in over seven hours at the crease.
Trott's was the first double century by an England batsman in a Lord's Test since Robert Key's 221 against the West Indies in 2004.
In all, 14 players from around the world have made Test double hundreds at the 'home of cricket', with the highest individual score former England captain Graham Gooch's 333 against India in 1990.
Karzai's Delayed Peace Jirga: Any Chance of Success?
Afghan President Hamid Karzai's heavily trumpeted peace jirga - a proposed grand assembly meant to build national consensus toward a path of reconciliation with the Taliban - has been delayed for a second time, from a start date of late this week to June 2. The National Consultative Peace Jirga Preparation Commission says the delay merely accounts for logistics - that not all of the attending delegates would have been able to make it on time.
But others say that regardless of the reason, multiple postponements and the government's failure to articulate a clear plan for the meeting have caused the traditional Afghan assembly to lose momentum and that by this point, it's unlikely to yield much of anything. "I would be very interested to see what the outcome of the jirga will be, or if there will even be an outcome at all," says a high-ranking European diplomat. (See pictures of life in the Afghan army.)
The three-day jirga has already been subject to criticisms ranging from a lack of legitimacy - jirgas are a traditional Afghan legal practice but are not governed by Afghan law - to accusations of being a political stunt by Karzai ahead of July's Kabul Conference, when Afghanistan's international partners are scheduled to discuss the country's future. The latest delay only reflects the government's continued lack of organization, says Haroun Mir, a former researcher at the Afghan Center for Research and Policy and a candidate in the upcoming parliamentary elections. "But it [is] also because the government does not have a specific plan," he adds. "How can you - in three days - reach a consensus on something that is very complicated?" (See a video on the situation on the ground in Afghanistan.)
According to the jirga's preparatory commission, an estimated 1,600 delegates - 20% of whom are women - are expected to attend. They include members of parliament, tribal elders, religious authorities and representatives of every district. But there is no clear-cut approach to national reconciliation in this war-ravaged country, where military and civilian deaths are on the rise. One of the main local criticisms of Karzai's latest effort is that it focuses on rallying Afghans to a cause that many people - even government officials - believe is far more regional than national. "Certainly everyone will say they would love to start negotiating with the Taliban," predicts Mir. "But the problem is how Karzai will implement it ... Karzai cannot negotiate with Taliban without engaging Pakistan in the process."
In January, Karzai was enraged by Pakistan's arrest of a top Taliban commander, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, with whom Karzai was said to be engaging in secret talks and who some say would have been key to any forthcoming negotiations. This week Afghanistan's intelligence agency accused Pakistan of playing a role in a Kabul car bombing last week that killed 18 people, including six NATO troops. "If the foreigners want peace, they can bring it in one month," says Kandahar native Haji Shamsolah, owner of a construction company, referring to Pakistan, Iran and the U.S.
But even if the jirga does yield a consensus on how to negotiate with the Taliban, a reasonable question is: Then what? Despite popular sentiment in Afghanistan, few in the international community have embraced Karzai's desire to launch negotiations with the Taliban, and the Obama Administration has maintained that any overture at this point would be premature; the Taliban must be weakened first.
In the Taliban's spiritual homeland of Kandahar, where the next major NATO offensive is already under way, that goal still seems a long way off. And NATO commanders are already downplaying their expectations for an offensive that recently has come to be characterized as more of a slow process than a military assault like the February operation in Marjah. "There is no specific D-Day for this," says British Navy Lieut. Commander Iain Baxter at NATO's International Security Assistance Force headquarters in Kabul. "It's all about connecting the people to the government and the government to the people."
Others say the softer tone is a reflection of failure in Marjah, in neighboring Helmand province, where the U.S.-led offensive has yet to rout the Taliban from the area. "They know that if they do that kind of big operation and they can't secure the area, it will create problems later on," says Shamsolah of his hometown, Kandahar. That apprehension has carried over, in some instances, to the jirga. Earlier this week, gunmen killed a popular northern tribal leader who had defied the Taliban by planning to attend the meeting.
But few in Kabul seem optimistic about any potential results of the jirga. And most civilians and low-ranking government bureaucrats interviewed by TIME this week admitted that they were not aware of the jirga's actual purpose - if one would even occur. "It's not important; it's just bulls___," says Mohamed Azim, a former NATO interpreter who quit his job in frustration with what he saw as a lack of progress. "It's all extra expenses to show the people that they are working and thinking about the people. Go make schools with that money. Give it to the poor people."
"It has been eight years, and lots of jirgas have happened with no results," says Shah Mahmoud, a security guard who fled his home in Wardak province two months ago, for fear of Taliban harassment. Mahmoud is not opposed to negotiations with the Taliban but says the government and foreign powers have dragged their feet on a resolution. Says he: "Whatever positive step is needed, they should take it."
See pictures of the presidential election in Afghanistan.
See pictures of the battle against the Taliban.
View this article on Time.com
Related articles on Time.com:
* Afghanistan: Karzai's Peace Talks with Taliban Delayed
* Bagram Attack: Taliban Keeps Focus Kabul Ahead of Jirga
* How Pakistani Assistance is Undermining Afghanistan
* Karzai Talks to the Enemy But Is the U.S. On Board?
* After Obama-Karzai Washington Visit, Kandahar on Radar
But others say that regardless of the reason, multiple postponements and the government's failure to articulate a clear plan for the meeting have caused the traditional Afghan assembly to lose momentum and that by this point, it's unlikely to yield much of anything. "I would be very interested to see what the outcome of the jirga will be, or if there will even be an outcome at all," says a high-ranking European diplomat. (See pictures of life in the Afghan army.)
The three-day jirga has already been subject to criticisms ranging from a lack of legitimacy - jirgas are a traditional Afghan legal practice but are not governed by Afghan law - to accusations of being a political stunt by Karzai ahead of July's Kabul Conference, when Afghanistan's international partners are scheduled to discuss the country's future. The latest delay only reflects the government's continued lack of organization, says Haroun Mir, a former researcher at the Afghan Center for Research and Policy and a candidate in the upcoming parliamentary elections. "But it [is] also because the government does not have a specific plan," he adds. "How can you - in three days - reach a consensus on something that is very complicated?" (See a video on the situation on the ground in Afghanistan.)
According to the jirga's preparatory commission, an estimated 1,600 delegates - 20% of whom are women - are expected to attend. They include members of parliament, tribal elders, religious authorities and representatives of every district. But there is no clear-cut approach to national reconciliation in this war-ravaged country, where military and civilian deaths are on the rise. One of the main local criticisms of Karzai's latest effort is that it focuses on rallying Afghans to a cause that many people - even government officials - believe is far more regional than national. "Certainly everyone will say they would love to start negotiating with the Taliban," predicts Mir. "But the problem is how Karzai will implement it ... Karzai cannot negotiate with Taliban without engaging Pakistan in the process."
In January, Karzai was enraged by Pakistan's arrest of a top Taliban commander, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, with whom Karzai was said to be engaging in secret talks and who some say would have been key to any forthcoming negotiations. This week Afghanistan's intelligence agency accused Pakistan of playing a role in a Kabul car bombing last week that killed 18 people, including six NATO troops. "If the foreigners want peace, they can bring it in one month," says Kandahar native Haji Shamsolah, owner of a construction company, referring to Pakistan, Iran and the U.S.
But even if the jirga does yield a consensus on how to negotiate with the Taliban, a reasonable question is: Then what? Despite popular sentiment in Afghanistan, few in the international community have embraced Karzai's desire to launch negotiations with the Taliban, and the Obama Administration has maintained that any overture at this point would be premature; the Taliban must be weakened first.
In the Taliban's spiritual homeland of Kandahar, where the next major NATO offensive is already under way, that goal still seems a long way off. And NATO commanders are already downplaying their expectations for an offensive that recently has come to be characterized as more of a slow process than a military assault like the February operation in Marjah. "There is no specific D-Day for this," says British Navy Lieut. Commander Iain Baxter at NATO's International Security Assistance Force headquarters in Kabul. "It's all about connecting the people to the government and the government to the people."
Others say the softer tone is a reflection of failure in Marjah, in neighboring Helmand province, where the U.S.-led offensive has yet to rout the Taliban from the area. "They know that if they do that kind of big operation and they can't secure the area, it will create problems later on," says Shamsolah of his hometown, Kandahar. That apprehension has carried over, in some instances, to the jirga. Earlier this week, gunmen killed a popular northern tribal leader who had defied the Taliban by planning to attend the meeting.
But few in Kabul seem optimistic about any potential results of the jirga. And most civilians and low-ranking government bureaucrats interviewed by TIME this week admitted that they were not aware of the jirga's actual purpose - if one would even occur. "It's not important; it's just bulls___," says Mohamed Azim, a former NATO interpreter who quit his job in frustration with what he saw as a lack of progress. "It's all extra expenses to show the people that they are working and thinking about the people. Go make schools with that money. Give it to the poor people."
"It has been eight years, and lots of jirgas have happened with no results," says Shah Mahmoud, a security guard who fled his home in Wardak province two months ago, for fear of Taliban harassment. Mahmoud is not opposed to negotiations with the Taliban but says the government and foreign powers have dragged their feet on a resolution. Says he: "Whatever positive step is needed, they should take it."
See pictures of the presidential election in Afghanistan.
See pictures of the battle against the Taliban.
View this article on Time.com
Related articles on Time.com:
* Afghanistan: Karzai's Peace Talks with Taliban Delayed
* Bagram Attack: Taliban Keeps Focus Kabul Ahead of Jirga
* How Pakistani Assistance is Undermining Afghanistan
* Karzai Talks to the Enemy But Is the U.S. On Board?
* After Obama-Karzai Washington Visit, Kandahar on Radar
Israel's Gaza blockade baffles residents
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Military bureaucrats enforcing Israel's blockade of Gaza allow frozen salmon filet, facial scrub and low-fat yogurt into the Hamas-ruled territory. Cilantro and instant coffee are another matter — they are banned as luxury items.
Over the past three years, Israel has determined down to the tiniest detail what gets into the Gaza Strip and to its population of 1.5 million, using secret guidelines to differentiate between humanitarian necessities and nonessential luxuries in its blockade meant to squeeze the Islamic militant group Hamas.
The results are often baffling.
"Frozen salmon — we never had it before the blockade," said perplexed salesman Abed Nasser, examining a frozen chunk of fish.
Critics have long maintained that Israel's blockade, imposed after Hamas' violent takeover of Gaza in 2007, has not just been confusing, but counterproductive. It has come under renewed scrutiny this week as hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists sail a flotilla to Gaza loaded with thousands of tons of goods.
Israeli Col. Moshe Levy, a senior military official dealing with Gaza, called the flotilla a "provocation" and said all necessary humanitarian aid already reaches Gaza. Israeli officials say they will stop the flotilla by hauling the ships to an Israeli port if they don't turn back.
Critics say the blockade has failed to dislodge Hamas and has hurt Gaza's poor and blocked reconstruction after Israel's devastating three-week military offensive in the winter of 2008-2009. A Palestinian industry report says the blockade has wiped out over 100,000 jobs in Gaza by banning raw materials and stifling trade.
With small exceptions for international aid projects, raw goods vital for trade and construction are banned. A biscuit factory cannot import margarine, and a tomato paste factory cannot bring in empty cans. While fruits, vegetables and frozen meats are let in, fresh meat, vinegar and jam, are not, said Sari Bashi of the Israeli rights group Gisha.
"There are enough quantities of basic food items in Gaza. But because there is a ban on raw materials needed for production and a ban on exporting finished products, people don't have enough money to buy things," she said. "That's why 80 percent of Gaza residents are dependent on international assistance."
Meanwhile, tunnels built under the Gaza-Egypt border haul in scarce goods at inflated prices, enriching smugglers and Hamas, which taxes the trade. Gaza markets are filled with smuggled products like chocolate sauce and shiny children's shoes that most residents cannot afford.
Hamas officials have used smuggled cement to rebuild the notorious Ansar prison where they detain their rivals, and are currently building a shopping center.
But three years after the blockade, Israel is only now shipping in the building materials the U.N. needs to construct 151 apartments for some of Gaza's poorest residents.
"Gaza is being reconstructed — it's just that the U.N. is not doing any of the reconstruction," said U.N. spokesman Chris Gunness. He said the U.N. still had not been given permission to build another 450 apartments in the same project, nor to start rebuilding the 2,400 homes that were destroyed during the war.
Israel has bristled at criticism, insisting there are no shortages of food or other essential goods. On Wednesday, Israel's Government Press Office issued a news release sarcastically encouraging people to visit one of Gaza's few upscale restaurants, Roots Club, which uses a mixture of smuggled and legally imported goods for its menu.
"We have been told the beef stroganoff and cream of spinach soup are highly recommended," it said, attaching a menu.
The press office's director, Daniel Seaman, said he issued the release to counter "propaganda" about a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Gaza's tiny elite and foreigners are well served by the handful of restaurants like Roots, where a meal costs more than a typical Gazan's daily wage. But such places are out of reach for virtually all of Gaza's residents, who overwhelmingly rely on U.N.-donated food aid.
Israel says the blockade aims to dry up Hamas' homegrown weapons industry by keeping out steel that can be forged into rockets and fertilizer that can be turned into explosives.
Officials say the blockade also constrains Hamas' ability to rule and pressures it to release Sgt. Gilad Schalit, an Israeli soldier held captive for four years.
With Egypt destroying some tunnels and restricting the inflow of cash, Hamas has struggled to pay the salaries of its 32,000 civil servants and security forces in recent months. But Hamas remains firmly in power, and residents are left uncertain about what Israel will allow in at any given time.
Israeli refuses to say what it bans or permits. The government said revealing that information would harm Israel's security and foreign relations, in response to a court challenge by the rights group Gisha in May.
Maj. Guy Inbar, an Israeli military official, said Israel bans "luxury" food items because they "will not be consumed by the public — but only by the rich and corrupt Hamas leaders."
The luxuries include goods considered staples in Gaza, like honey, instant coffee and spices, according to Bashi and Palestinian liaison official Raed Fattouh.
Not included are the frozen seafood or low-fat yogurt purchased by Gaza's wealthy few at the al-Rimal supermarket, or facial scrubs and skin-whitening sunscreen at a nearby upmarket pharmacy — all from Israel. Seafood comes as frozen meat, skin creams as feminine hygiene products and diet yogurt comes as dairy, categories permitted by Israel.
Some items have now been allowed to enter after being banned for years, like clothing, shoes and tea, providing the surreal sight of gleaming, expensive boxes of Israeli-imported caffeine-free blueberry tea sold alongside knocked-around boxes of tunnel-smuggled black tea.
"Sometimes we ask (the Israelis) why some things are banned," Fattouh said. "'Release Schalit and make Hamas step down and then we'll lift the blockade,'" he said, quoting Israeli officials. "But there's no problem if you want to have a salmon dinner."
Over the past three years, Israel has determined down to the tiniest detail what gets into the Gaza Strip and to its population of 1.5 million, using secret guidelines to differentiate between humanitarian necessities and nonessential luxuries in its blockade meant to squeeze the Islamic militant group Hamas.
The results are often baffling.
"Frozen salmon — we never had it before the blockade," said perplexed salesman Abed Nasser, examining a frozen chunk of fish.
Critics have long maintained that Israel's blockade, imposed after Hamas' violent takeover of Gaza in 2007, has not just been confusing, but counterproductive. It has come under renewed scrutiny this week as hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists sail a flotilla to Gaza loaded with thousands of tons of goods.
Israeli Col. Moshe Levy, a senior military official dealing with Gaza, called the flotilla a "provocation" and said all necessary humanitarian aid already reaches Gaza. Israeli officials say they will stop the flotilla by hauling the ships to an Israeli port if they don't turn back.
Critics say the blockade has failed to dislodge Hamas and has hurt Gaza's poor and blocked reconstruction after Israel's devastating three-week military offensive in the winter of 2008-2009. A Palestinian industry report says the blockade has wiped out over 100,000 jobs in Gaza by banning raw materials and stifling trade.
With small exceptions for international aid projects, raw goods vital for trade and construction are banned. A biscuit factory cannot import margarine, and a tomato paste factory cannot bring in empty cans. While fruits, vegetables and frozen meats are let in, fresh meat, vinegar and jam, are not, said Sari Bashi of the Israeli rights group Gisha.
"There are enough quantities of basic food items in Gaza. But because there is a ban on raw materials needed for production and a ban on exporting finished products, people don't have enough money to buy things," she said. "That's why 80 percent of Gaza residents are dependent on international assistance."
Meanwhile, tunnels built under the Gaza-Egypt border haul in scarce goods at inflated prices, enriching smugglers and Hamas, which taxes the trade. Gaza markets are filled with smuggled products like chocolate sauce and shiny children's shoes that most residents cannot afford.
Hamas officials have used smuggled cement to rebuild the notorious Ansar prison where they detain their rivals, and are currently building a shopping center.
But three years after the blockade, Israel is only now shipping in the building materials the U.N. needs to construct 151 apartments for some of Gaza's poorest residents.
"Gaza is being reconstructed — it's just that the U.N. is not doing any of the reconstruction," said U.N. spokesman Chris Gunness. He said the U.N. still had not been given permission to build another 450 apartments in the same project, nor to start rebuilding the 2,400 homes that were destroyed during the war.
Israel has bristled at criticism, insisting there are no shortages of food or other essential goods. On Wednesday, Israel's Government Press Office issued a news release sarcastically encouraging people to visit one of Gaza's few upscale restaurants, Roots Club, which uses a mixture of smuggled and legally imported goods for its menu.
"We have been told the beef stroganoff and cream of spinach soup are highly recommended," it said, attaching a menu.
The press office's director, Daniel Seaman, said he issued the release to counter "propaganda" about a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Gaza's tiny elite and foreigners are well served by the handful of restaurants like Roots, where a meal costs more than a typical Gazan's daily wage. But such places are out of reach for virtually all of Gaza's residents, who overwhelmingly rely on U.N.-donated food aid.
Israel says the blockade aims to dry up Hamas' homegrown weapons industry by keeping out steel that can be forged into rockets and fertilizer that can be turned into explosives.
Officials say the blockade also constrains Hamas' ability to rule and pressures it to release Sgt. Gilad Schalit, an Israeli soldier held captive for four years.
With Egypt destroying some tunnels and restricting the inflow of cash, Hamas has struggled to pay the salaries of its 32,000 civil servants and security forces in recent months. But Hamas remains firmly in power, and residents are left uncertain about what Israel will allow in at any given time.
Israeli refuses to say what it bans or permits. The government said revealing that information would harm Israel's security and foreign relations, in response to a court challenge by the rights group Gisha in May.
Maj. Guy Inbar, an Israeli military official, said Israel bans "luxury" food items because they "will not be consumed by the public — but only by the rich and corrupt Hamas leaders."
The luxuries include goods considered staples in Gaza, like honey, instant coffee and spices, according to Bashi and Palestinian liaison official Raed Fattouh.
Not included are the frozen seafood or low-fat yogurt purchased by Gaza's wealthy few at the al-Rimal supermarket, or facial scrubs and skin-whitening sunscreen at a nearby upmarket pharmacy — all from Israel. Seafood comes as frozen meat, skin creams as feminine hygiene products and diet yogurt comes as dairy, categories permitted by Israel.
Some items have now been allowed to enter after being banned for years, like clothing, shoes and tea, providing the surreal sight of gleaming, expensive boxes of Israeli-imported caffeine-free blueberry tea sold alongside knocked-around boxes of tunnel-smuggled black tea.
"Sometimes we ask (the Israelis) why some things are banned," Fattouh said. "'Release Schalit and make Hamas step down and then we'll lift the blockade,'" he said, quoting Israeli officials. "But there's no problem if you want to have a salmon dinner."
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