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05.09.12 Wall Street down 1% on Europe debt fears
(AFP) May 9 - US stocks dived Wednesday, with all the main indices down one percent, as investors worried about political uncertainty in Greece and the troubled Spanish banking sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 135.10 points (1.04 percent) to 12,796.99 in the first 45 minutes of trade (1415 GMT). The broader S&P 500 shed 15.00 (1.10 percent) to 1,348.72, while the tech-rich Nasdaq dropped 30.53 (1.04 percent) to 2,915.74. "Greek political uncertainty continues to foster worries that the nation will exit the eurozone, while Spanish banking sector uneasiness is also taxing sentiment," said analysts at Charles Schwab & Co. Fresh concerns about embattled Spain, the eurozone's fourth-largest economy, were sparked by news the government will announce new rules Friday obliging banks to boost bad-loan provisions.

There were also continued worries that debt-riddled Greece may exit the eurozone after weekend elections threatened the country's EU-IMF rescue deal. On the Dow, JPMorgan Chase dropped 1.8 percent and Bank of America fell 0.4 percent. Walt Disney Company led the few gainers on the blue-chip index, jumping 1.8 percent. The entertainment giant reported Tuesday a 21 percent profit jump in its fiscal second quarter, despite its movie flop "John Carter," beating market expectations. Yahoo! slid 1.6 percent, a day after announcing an internal probe of misstated academic credentials of chief executive Scott Thompson, due to pressure from a hedge fund investor. [More>>france24.com]

05.09.12 US drone attacks in Yemen cause political strain
SANAA (Reuters) May 6 - As Yemen struggles to shake off ex-President Ali Abdullah Saleh's legacy, the United States has intensified drone strikes on al-Qaeda-linked militants, although some Yemeni officials fear this may only fuel instability. This week alone, US officials said they had seized a bomb that was to have been used by Yemen-based militants to attack an airliner, two al-Qaeda men were killed in an apparently related drone strike, and Islamist fighters killed at least 32 Yemeni soldiers when they assaulted an army post in the south.

Saleh's former deputy, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who replaced him as president under an internationally-backed, but still shaky, political transition deal, faces a tough dilemma. He must meet the challenge from emboldened Islamist militants who have exploited more than a year of mayhem to seize and hold towns for the first time, and cannot afford to alienate the United States, one of Yemen's main allies, as it combats what it views as al-Qaeda's potentially deadliest wing. Yet US drone attacks, which have often killed civilians in the past, are resented by Yemenis, even the many who abhor al-Qaeda. Suspicions that feuding generals and politicians, from Saleh down, are not averse to using the militants to advance their own ends also complicate efforts to combat them.

The violence has spiraled since Hadi took power in February vowing to fight al-Qaeda's foothold in Yemen, a desperately poor, water-stressed country mired in multiple conflicts exacerbated by decades of corruption and misrule. "The real war against al-Qaeda has yet to begin and it will not succeed until we eradicate the militants from every town," Hadi said on Saturday. "Terrorist groups should surrender their weapons and relinquish ideology that counters Islamic virtue." The al-Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Sharia group said Monday's storming of an army position was their retort to Hadi's remarks. [More>>thestar.com.my]

05.09.12 CIA sacrifices valuable intelligence source to foil underwear bomb plot
NEW YORK, May 9 - It's a stunning revelation in the foiled plot to blow up a US-bound airliner: The triggerman chosen by al-Qaeda was actually a double agent who was working for the CIA and Saudi intelligence services. He delivered the explosive device to US intelligence officials and provided information on the whereabouts of Fahd al Quso, the senior commander of al-Qaeda's wing in Yemen, who was killed in a drone strike last weekend. It's an intelligence victory, but it came with a cost. US intelligence officials faced a difficult decision. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was looking for a suicide bomber. The target: an American jetliner.

The only way for intelligence officials to ensure they controlled the plot was to have their own agent volunteer to be the bomber and then hand the bomb to the CIA. The tradeoff: They would lose a source penetrated deep inside the organization — but they would save lives. "This is an intelligence coup; the fact that the CIA and partner intelligence agencies got inside the al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula networks to not only disrupt this plot, but also to get information about the location of senior al-Qaeda figures, including Fahd al-Quso, who was killed last week," observes CBS News national security consultant Juan Zarate. [More>>cbsnews.com]

05.09.12 Blast hits UN observer's convoy in Syria
DARAA, Syria, May 9 - A roadside bomb wounded six soldiers as they escorted a convoy of UN peace observers, including the general who heads the mission, in southern Syria on Wednesday, an AFP photographer said. The explosive device, which appeared to have been planted underground, detonated as the convoy of four vehicles was about to enter the town of Daraa, cradle of a 14-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's regime. Major General Robert Mood of Norway, the head of the UN mission, was in the convoy but escaped unharmed along with 11 other observers and his spokesman Neeraj Singh, said the photographer who was traveling in the convoy. The bomb attack was the latest breach of a month-old ceasefire agreement that international envoy Kofi Annan said could be the last chance to avert a civil war in Syria. Troops elsewhere pounded a rebel hideout near the capital Damascus, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. [More>>timesofindia.indiatimes.com]

05.09.12 Weapons being smuggled both ways between Lebanon and Syria: UN envoy
May 9 - Weapons are being smuggled both ways between Lebanon and Syria, where a 14-month popular uprising has brought the country to the brink of civil war, the United Nations said late Tuesday. Syria has repeatedly said weapons are being smuggled over its border from Lebanon and other countries to arm rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad in the conflict. Western diplomats and UN officials say that although the rebels have received some weapons they remain severely outgunned. More violence was reported across Syria on Tuesday, activists said, as international mediator Kofi Annan, the Red Cross and Arab League warned the country was descending into civil war. "Based on information that we have there are reasons to believe that there is a flow of arms both ways — from Lebanon into Syria and from Syria into Lebanon," said Terje Roed-Larsen, UN special envoy on the implementation of a security council resolution that calls for the disarming of Lebanese militia, according to Reuters. "We do not have independent observers for this, but we are basing our reporting on information we are receiving from a variety of sources," he told reporters after briefing the 15-member UN Security Council. [More>>alarabiya.net]

05.09.12 Afghan ambushes kill nine: officials
KABUL, May 9 - Five Afghan policemen and four bodyguards assigned to protect an education chief have been killed in two ambushes blamed on Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, officials said Wednesday. The police were killed late Tuesday when a bomb detonated by remote control exploded under their patrol vehicle in the western province of Farah, regional police spokesman Abdul Rauf Ahmadi told AFP. He blamed the attack on "enemies of Afghanistan," a phrase used by Afghan officials to refer to the Taliban, which is still fighting a bitter insurgency more than a decade after being toppled from power by the 2001 US-led invasion. In eastern Afghanistan, close to the border with Pakistan, a provincial education director was severely wounded in a Taliban roadside bomb and gun attack that left four of his guards dead, officials said. [More>>thenews.com.pk]

05.09.12 Kidnappings threaten Pakistan aid
(AFP) May 9 - The grisly murder of a Red Cross worker and a video showing an American hostage pleading for his life highlight a perilous security situation in Pakistan that aid groups say is endangering their work. Humanitarian organizations are reviewing operations in Pakistan after the killing of Khalil Dale, whose decapitated body was found on April 29, four months after he was abducted in Quetta, the capital of the southwestern province of Baluchistan. The savage murder of the 60-year-old British convert to Islam sent shockwaves through the aid community, particularly as his employer, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), has a reputation for neutrality that allows it to work safely even in the most hostile situations.

Aid groups spend millions of dollars on helping millions of Pakistanis, yet attacks on their staff are increasing, according to the Pakistan Humanitarian Forum (PHF), which represents nearly 50 international organizations. Since 2009, at least 19 aid workers have been murdered and more than 20 abducted across Pakistan by militants and criminals, the PHF said. "This trend of increased targeting of humanitarian aid organizations and personnel will further impede the ability of humanitarian agencies to provide life-saving and life-enhancing support to the most vulnerable population," the PHF warned. According to the PHF, at the end of 2011 there were more than 200 foreigners and 10,000 locals working

in Pakistan for international aid organizations under its aegis. The ICRC is not part of the PHF. [More>>khaleejtimes.com]

05.09.12 Attack of the killer algae: Danish beaches hit by carnivorous creatures that eat animals up to 10,000 times its size
May 9 - Killer algae that eats animals up to 10,000 times its size has been discovered on Denmark's beaches. Scientists say they found the microscopic carnivorous creatures, which devour shrimp-like animals up to a millimeter in size, off the coast of Elsinore which is north of Copenhagen. Copenhagen University's Terje Berge said: "What's really quite sensational about this discovery is that algae, which appear to be animal and plant at the same time, attack and eat zooplankton. If we imagine an African savannah, this would roughly correspond to the grass suddenly jumping up, attacking and starting to eat the gazelle." The study, in the International Society for Microbial Ecology (ISME) Journal, is the first evidence of carnivorous algae outside Spain. It was there, in 2006, a species called Karlodinium armiger was observed paralyzing and then eating small fish. [>dailymail.co.uk]

05.02.12 Taliban claim deadly attacks in Kabul
May 2 - At least seven killed in explosions in Kabul, shortly after surprise visit to country by US President Barack Obama. At least seven people have been killed in several large explosions in the Afghan capital Kabul, shortly after US President Barack Obama paid a surprise visit to the country. At least 17 people were also wounded in the assault on Wednesday morning, most of them Afghan children on their way to school, the interior ministry said. Sediq Sediqi, a spokesperson for interior ministry, said one of the first blasts, a suicide car bomb, occurred near the Jalalabad road, a main thoroughfare of the city. The Afghan Taliban claimed responsibility for the car bomb attack which police said targeted a housing compound for westerners in the city. The area, known as the Green Village, is also home to several foreign military bases. "One of our mujahideen detonated his car in front of a military base," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told the Reuters news agency in a phone call. "Other mujahideen are inside the base fighting. There are very heavy casualties for the enemy. It is a message to Obama that he and his forces are never welcomed in Afghanistan and that we will continue our resistance until all the occupiers are either dead or leave our country," Mujahid later told the AFP news agency. Al Jazeera's Bernard Smith, reporting from Kabul, said: "The Taliban is claiming responsibility for this attack on the Green Village, saying it is connected to the visit of the US president." [More>>aljazeera.net]

05.02.12 More killings reported as Syrian forces fire at demos in Damascus neighborhood
May 2 - Five people have been killed by the gunfire of Syrian forces on Wednesday and as many as 15 Syrian regime troops, including a high-ranking officer, were killed in an ambush in the city of Aleppo, activists at the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Syrian government forces shot at overnight demonstrations in al-Tadamun neighborhood in Damascus, for the second successive day, Al Arabiya reported on Wednesday. As many as 45 people were killed by the forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad across the country on Tuesday, Al Arabiya said citing activists at the Syrian Local Coordination Committees (LCC). Heavy gunfire was reported in Areeha and Idlib, a province bordering Turkey, despite the presence of the UN observers, activists told Al Arabiya.

The Syrian troops stormed al-Atareb town in Aleppo with heavy weaponry during an overnight demonstration that called for freedom. In Duma, Syrian troops stormed houses within a campaign of crackdown and arrests. More Syrian troops were deployed in Deraa, where thousands of people rallied in anti-Assad protests. In Hama, hundreds of Syrians tool part in protests calling for the fall of the regime. They called for international protection. The UN peacekeeping chief on Tuesday accused both the Syrian regime and its foes of violating a ceasefire accord, according to AFP. On the international front, US President Barack Obama gave the US Treasury authority to tighten sanctions against Syria and Iran by going after foreign firms or individuals that violate existing measures. The move, contained in an executive order, will allow the Treasury to publicly identify those engaging in “evasive and deceptive activities” and bar them from access to the US financial and economic sectors, officials said. [More>>alarabiya.net]

05.02.12 Eurozone unemployment jumps to 15-year high
(AFP) May 2 - The European Union published figures on Wednesday showing unemployment in the eurozone rose to 10.9 percent in March. Spain remained the nation with the highest jobless rate, at 24.1 percent. The eurozone unemployment rate hit a record high level in March, jumping to 10.9 percent for the first time for 15 years, official figures showed on Wednesday. Almost 17.37 million men and women looked for work in the single currency area in March, or 169,000 more than in February, according to Eurostat data agency. The 10.9 percent rate equaled an April 1997 record. The unemployment rate had reached 10.8 percent in February, with the eurozone widely expected to have dipped back into recession as it battles a festering debt crisis. The rising jobless rate is sure to fuel arguments for governments to switch from austerity-only policies to growth measures in order to revive the eurozone's sickly economy. Spain, already struggling to fend off fears that it will need a bailout, remained the nation with the highest unemployment rate, at 24.1 percent in March, according to Eurostat. Greece, living off bailout funds since May 2010, came in second again with 21.7 percent in January, the latest figures available for that country. [More>>france24.com]

05.02.12 American CEOs enjoy 15% pay rise in second year of double-digit hikes
May 2 - Boom time for America's top bosses in 2011 contrasts with wider economy, where average wages have been little better than flat. America's top bosses have handed themselves double-digit pay rises for the second year in a row, according to interim figures from the most comprehensive survey of CEO pay. The Guardian's exclusive first look at the research by GMI Ratings reveals that rising share prices helped drive a 15% pay hike for the average US CEO in 2011, with the average compensation package hitting $5.8m. It comes on the back of a 28% pay rise the year before. The two years of double-digit growth follow two years of decline in 2008 and 2009.

The boom time for chief executives contrasts sharply with the wider economy, where average wages have been little better than flat. A compensation survey by Mercer found US employers planned average increase in base pay of 3% in 2012. Inflation is about 2.7%. Last year, the census bureau reported that the income of the typical American family had dropped for the third year in a row. The median family income in 2010 was $49.445, 7.1% below its 1999 peak and when adjusted for inflation roughly at levels last seen in 1996. The news comes as shareholders have begun to challenge outsized pay deals. Last month, Citigroup shareholders voted against the bank's plans to award chief executive Vikram Pandit $14.9m in compensation, including his first bonus since the bank's near-collapse in 2007. [More>>guardian.co.uk]

05.02.12 At least 20 killed as attackers target Cairo protest
May 2 - At least 20 people have been killed in Cairo in an attack on a protest near the Egyptian Ministry of Defense. The unknown attackers used rocks, clubs, firebombs and shotguns. The protesters retaliated, beating some assailants. Soldiers and police have now intervened to stop the clashes, but as long as six hours after the violence started. Two leading presidential candidates have suspended campaigning in protest at the way authorities handled it. Abdul Moneim Aboul Fotouh, an independent Islamist, and Mohammed Mursi, head of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), criticized the authorities' response. In addition, the FJP and the Salafist Nour party, which together control 70% of the seats in parliament, decided to boycott a meeting with the ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces (Scaf). Many of the protesters who were attacked outside the defense ministry building, in the capital's Abbasiya district, on Wednesday morning were supporters of a Salafist preacher barred from standing in the election...The health ministry said more than 150 people were injured on Wednesday and that many were receiving treatment at a nearby field clinic. Some had gunshot wounds and others had been attacked with knives, according to medical sources. [Full story>>bbc.co.uk]

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