Greenpeace activists climb oil platform -..[ 3160 ]

Putin: Greenpeace activists not pirates, but they violated intl law

RT : September 25, 2013 08:48

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during the plenary session of the Third International Arctic Forum "The Arctic – Territory of Dialogue" held in Salekhard 

(RIA Novosti / Alexei Druzhinin)

The Greenpeace activists who boarded a Russian oil rig are “obviously not pirates,” says President Vladimir Putin. However, technically they did try to take the rig over, thus violating international law.
The Russian president was referring to an incident last week in which a group of environmental activists scaled an oil rig in protest against the danger they claimed oil extraction poses.
Russian border guards detained them and their vessel. Russia’s Investigative Committee has since launched a piracy case against the protesters. 
“Anything could have happened. An operator error or a technical malfunction. There was a danger to lives and people’s health. Are such publicity stunts really worth the possible serious consequences they may bring?” Putin asked participants of an international Arctic forum in Russia. 
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Camouflage clad mask wearing officer of Russian Coast Guard (C) pointing a knife at a Greenpeace International activist (L) during an environmentalists' attempt to climb Gazprom’s ‘Prirazlomnaya’ Arctic oil platform somewhere off Russia north-eastern coast in the Pechora Sea on September 18, 2013 (AFP Photo / Greenpeace / Denis Sinyakov)

Putin defended the actions of the border guards, saying there could not be certain that the people they are opposing were actually Greenpeace activists.

He cited the example of the bloody takeover of the Kenyan shopping mall by radical Islamist gunmen as a worst-case scenario the guards could have considered.
He added that “It would have been better if Greenpeace members were in this hall and describing their attitude to the problems we are discussing, voicing their demands and wording their concerns. Nobody brushes them aside.” 
"The one thing I agree with Putin is that Greenpeace are not pirates,” the head of the Greenpeace Russia Energy Department, Vladimir Chuprov, said in a statement. “I’d like to remind that Vladimir Putin himself told Canada’s The Globe and Mail that he admires the actions of courageous people who oppose giant industrial and military ships while riding small boats.”
He added that Greenpeace tried to alarm Russian authorities of the danger of an oil spill in the Arctic, particularly from the Gazprom-owned Prirazlomnaya rig, where the incident happened.
“A spill may contaminate water in a 140 sq km area, while the cleanup plan the company has is absolutely inadequate. What’s more, we can’t access it,” Chuprov said. “So far we have seen only polite brush-offs and no real action from the authorities.”
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Greenpeace activist dressed as a polar bear holding a banner in front of the Arctic Sunrise Greenpeace's Arctic protest ship in Kola Bay at the military base Severomorsk on the Kola peninsula on September 24, 2013 (AFP Photo / Greenpeace / Igor Podgorny)

A Greenpeace ship approached the oil rig despite orders from the border guard not to do so last Wednesday. Two of the activists scaled the rig and were preparing to stay there for several days. 

Next day border guard troops boarded both the rig and the activists’ ship Arctic Sunrise, detaining all the 30 protesters and eventually towing the vessel to the Russian port of Murmansk. 

Greenpeace activists are currently facing piracy charges, Russia’s Investigative Committee announced on Tuesday. The environmental organization called the allegations absurd. 
On Wednesday Russian law enforcers said that the criminal case may be downgraded to less severe charges, if the investigation proves it necessary. The detained activists may be released on Thursday night, unless charges against them are filed and a court orders their arrest.
Greenpeace Russia complains that the prosecution is not allowing legal counsel to meet the activists, citing the lawyers as saying that they have never seen such violations of due process in their careers. The organization has chosen three lawyers to represent those involved in the incident.
Gazprom said it considers filing a lawsuit against Greenpeace as its response to the incident.

Horror from Kenya mall (video) ...[ 3159 ]

Horror stories from Kenya mall emerge

The Situation Room|Added on September 23, 2013CNN's Arwa Damon talks to eyewitnesses from inside the mall attack in Nairobi.

• PLAY VIDEO IN LARGE SIZE :

Merkel wins German election ...[ 3158

Angela Merkel celebrates after German election win

Angela Merkel told her supporters: "We can all be delighted"

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BCC.,  23 September 2013 Last updated at 06:29 GMT 

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Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative party has won Germany's election, but finished just short of an absolute majority, official results show.

Mrs Merkel urged her party to celebrate "a super result" as she looked set for a historic third term.
Her conservative bloc took about 41.5% of the vote - but her liberal partners failed to make it into parliament.
It is thought she is likely to seek a grand coalition with the Social Democrats (SPD) who won 26%.

Analysis

Chris Morris BBC News, Berlin

This is an amazing result for Angela Merkel, currently Germany's - and Europe's - pre-eminent politician. It was clear that she would win this election, but no-one really predicted that she could get so close to an absolute majority.
The final results are not yet in, but it may still be that she needs a coalition partner. The obvious solution is a grand coalition with the centre-left Social Democrats. The party improved its share of the vote in second place, but still did not do as well as it wanted.
But there are divisions within the SPD about going into coalition again as a junior partner. In 2009 they were punished by the electorate for doing that in 2005.
Now the same thing has happened to the liberal Free Democrats, who have been in coalition with Mrs Merkel for the last four years, but appear to have been kicked out of parliament altogether.

The results showed that the liberal Free Democrats (FDP) won only 4.8%, which correspondents say is a disaster for the junior coalition partner, leaving it with no national representation in parliament for the first time in Germany's post-war history.

Party chairman Philipp Roesler called it "the bitterest, saddest hour of the Free Democratic Party".
The FDP was beaten by the Green Party (8.4%) and the former communist Left Party (8.6%). It almost finished behind the new Alternative fuer Deutschland (AfD), which advocates withdrawal from the euro currency and took 4.7%, just short of the parliamentary threshold.
There was at one point speculation that Mrs Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister CSU might even win enough seats for an absolute majority - the first in half a century.
'Something fantastic'

Final percentage of the vote

• CDU bloc: 41.5%
• SPD: 26%
• FDP: 4.8%
• Left Party: 8.6%
• Green: 8.4%
• AfD: 4.7%

Mrs Merkel earlier addressed jubilant supporters at CDU headquarters. After waiting for chants of "Angie, Angie" to die down, she told them: "This is a super result."

"We can celebrate tonight because we have done something fantastic."
But, in a reference to coalition building, she said it was "too early to say exactly what we'll do".
Correspondents say that the 59-year-old chancellor seemed to acknowledge the complexities of forming a government when she was asked on television if she planned to reach out to other parties.
"Maybe we won't find anyone who wants to do anything with us," she replied.
Correspondents say that the result is nevertheless a ringing endorsement of her steady leadership during the euro zone crisis.
CDU parliamentary group leader Volker Kauder said that the party "has a clear mandate from voters to form a government". The outcome showed that "voters want Angela Merkel to remain chancellor" for a third term, he said.

 

Angela Merkel told supporters they had achieved "something fantastic"

 

 CDU supporters celebrated a resounding victory

 

 Peer Steinbrueck has said he will not take part in a grand coalition

 

 FDP chairman Philipp Roesler oversaw a disastrous result for the party

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Mrs Merkel has made clear she would be prepared to work with the Social Democrats (SPD) in a grand coalition, as she did in 2005-09.
The SPD has been more reluctant to consider linking up with the CDU/CSU again. The party leader, Peer Steinbrueck, was finance minister in the previous grand coalition, but has said he would not serve in such a government again.
Correspondents say that whatever the shape of the coalition that ends up forming the government, there probably will not be any significant policy shifts, although Germany might take a slightly softer approach to austerity in the eurozone.
Several weeks of difficult coalition negotiations are expected.
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Peer Steinbrueck: "We did not get the result we wanted"

After the exit polls were released, but before official results were confirmed, Mr Steinbrueck conceded that it would be up to Mrs Merkel to decide how to proceed saying: "The ball is in Mrs Merkel's court. She has to get herself a majority."
The BBC's Chris Morris, at Social Democrat headquarters, said Mr Steinbrueck was putting a brave face on it but the atmosphere was subdued.
The SPD would have preferred to enter a coalition with the Green Party, but does not appear to have the votes to do so, and has ruled out a three-way alliance including the Left Party (Die Linke).
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Analysts think the SPD will probably agree to a coalition with the CDU/CSU.

Muslim Brotherhood activities banned,..[ 3157 ]

Report: Egypt court bans Brotherhood activities

By Schams Elwazer, CNN

September 23, 2013 -- Updated 1940 GMT (0340 HKT)

Muslim Brotherhood activities banned, report says

(CNN) -- An Egyptian court Monday ordered a ban on activities of the Muslim Brotherhood and froze its finances, according to state-run news website EgyNews.

The move is the latest in an anti-Muslim Brotherhood crackdown that began when the military ousted President Mohamed Morsy, who was backed by the Brotherhood, in early July.

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The country's Ministry of Social Solidarity said earlier this month that it was considering punishing the group, accusing it of violating a law regulating non-governmental groups, EgyNews reported. The law prohibits such groups from operating as political organizations and forming militias.

The Brotherhood has a political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party, and the current government has accused the Brotherhood of inciting violence.

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A U.S. State Department spokeswoman, in response to a question at a briefing in Washington, said the department is looking for more information about the court's ruling.

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"A transparent and inclusive political process that preserves the rights of all Egyptians to participate and leads back to a civilian-led government is critical to the success of Egypt's political and economic future," said Jen Psaki. 

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She added that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy had discussed the matter when they met Sunday in New York.

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Egypt: Protesters get new logo and salute

 

Mixing football and politics in Egypt

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Opinion: Why the Muslim Brotherhood can't back down

Egypt has been in turmoil since Morsy's ouster, with the military and Morsy opponents battling Muslim Brotherhood members and others.

In August, hundreds of people -- citizens as well as members of security forces -- were killed. Many of the deaths occurred when the military used force to clear two pro-Morsy sit-in sites in Cairo. Violence raged after pro-Morsy supporters staged demonstrations a few days later.

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Read more: What is the Muslim Brotherhood?

The Brotherhood was underground during the regime of President Hosni Mubarak, who had banned the group. But after Mubarak's ouster in 2011, the group's Freedom and Justice Party got into gear and fielded parliamentary candidates.

The Freedom and Justice Party won about half the seats up for election in December 2011, and its presidential candidate, Morsy, won in 2012.

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Egyptian security forces lately have rounded up high-profile members of the group. Last week, they arrested a Muslim Brotherhood spokesman, Gehad El-Haddad, who was a frequent guest on Western media.

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He was arrested at an apartment in a Cairo suburb, Egypt's state-run newspaper Al-Ahram reported. He was accused of inciting violence and murder. El-Haddad was active on social media, notifying supporters of rallies.

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Egyptian police official killed in clashes on outskirts of Cairo

The " Costa Concordia " rise ...[ 3156 ]

See Costa Concordia rise from water

Added on September 17, 2013 /CNN


The capsized cruise liner Costa Concordia was righted in an effort to salvage the ship. CNN's Matthew Chance reports.