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UN inspectors reach Syria gas victims
UN inspectors reach Syria gas victims (Reuters) / 26 August 2013 UN chemical weapons inspectors in Syria met and took samples from victims of an apparent poison gas attack in a rebel-held suburb of Damascus on Monday after the UN team survived a gun attack on its convoy. A Syrian doctor told Reuters from the town of Mouadamiya that investigators from the United Nations had crossed the frontline from the centre of the capital, which remains under the control of President Bashar Al Assad’s forces. The UN said the shooting crippled one vehicle but mentioned no injuries. With Western powers considering military strikes, despite vocal opposition from Assad and his Russian and Iranian allies, any evidence to support rebel claims that government forces fired gas-laden rockets five days ago that killed hundreds of civilians will be a key element in arguments for peace or war. “I am with the team now,” the doctor who uses the name Abu Karam told Reuters by telephone from rebel-held Mouadamiya. “We are in the Rawda mosque and they are meeting with the wounded. Our medics and the inspectors are talking to the patients and taking samples from the victims now.” Another opposition activist said a large crowd was growing of people eager to air their grievances to the UN team. There was a plan for the experts also to take samples from corpses. Syrian state television blamed rebel “terrorists” for the shooting, which briefly halted the convoy but failed to stop the inspectors from crossing the front line. The opposition blamed it on pro-Assad militiamen. Any delay diminishes whatever evidence the experts might recover. With speculation mounting that Nato powers might fire cruise missiles to satisfy calls for action to protect Syrian civilians, US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said any operation would be coordinated with allies. British Prime Minister David Cameron cut short a holiday to chair a top level security meeting. “The United States is looking at all options regarding the situation in Syria. We’re working with our allies and the international community,” Hagel told a news conference. “We are analysing the intelligence. And we will get the facts. And if there is any action taken, it will be in concert with the international community and within the framework of legal justification.” Hagel plans discussions with his British and French counterparts, a senior US official said. The French foreign minister said on Monday that Russian and Chinese vetoes in the UN Security Council may make it hard to get a UN agreement to satisfy international law. The UN said in a statement that gunmen shot at the first vehicle in the team’s six-car convoy, damaging it to the point that the team had to stop to find a replacement car. “The first vehicle of the Chemical Weapons Investigation Team was deliberately shot at multiple times by unidentified snipers in the buffer zone area,” it said. “It has to be stressed again that all sides need to extend their cooperation so that the team can safely carry out their important work.” The team of chemical weapons experts wearing blue UN body armour left a Damascus hotel where they have been based for over a week, accompanied by a car of Syrian security personnel, as well as an ambulance. At least two mortar bombs struck the area of central Damascus on Monday. Syrian state media said the mortar bombs were locally made and fired by “terrorists”. SANA state news agency said three people were wounded. Assad said accusations that his forces used chemical weapons were politically motivated and warned the United States against intervening in his country. “Would any state use chemicals or any other weapons of mass destruction in a place where its own forces are concentrated? That would go against elementary logic. So accusations of this kind are entirely political,” he told the Russian newspaper Izvestia in an interview. “Failure awaits the United States as in all previous wars it has unleashed, starting with Vietnam and up to the present day.” In Beijing, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China supported an independent and objective investigation by UN experts into allegations of the use of chemical weapons in Syria, and urged a cautious response and a political resolution to the crisis. The experts’ mandate is to find out whether chemical weapons were used, not to assign blame, but the evidence they collect, for example about the missile used, can provide a strong indication about the identity of the party responsible. Continue reading
Business Focus: Styling Industry
The styling industry is rapidly evolving in Kenya, thus present many Business opportunities. In this episode we bring you stories of successful entrepreneurs… Continue reading
Social media fuels massive Philippine anti-graft rally
Social media fuels massive Philippine anti-graft rally (AFP) / 26 August 2013 Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in the Philippine capital on Monday to voice outrage at corrupt politicians, in a modern-day “People Power” rally fuelled by social media. The march, emulated on a smaller scale in other cities around the country, was the largest anti-graft demonstration since President Benigno Aquino was elected in 2010 on a platform to fight corruption. Demonstrators gesture a thumbs down sign during a protest against official corruption at Luneta park in Metro Manila on Monday. -Reuters The protesters ranged from members of the clergy and students to businessmen, middle-class families, lawyers and other professionals, in a sign of the breadth of anger over graft in the impoverished nation. But while few called for the ousting of Aquino, whose personal ratings remain high, there was widespread fury with politicians. “We are all angry at all the stealing of the politicians. We are telling them that time is up,” said 80-year-old, retired university professor Teodoro Jurado. Organisers said the rally drew up to 400,000 people while the police estimate was a maximum of 100,000. Urban planner Paulo Alcazaren estimated 250,000-300,000 attended, based on the park’s size and aerial photographs he took. Calls for protest began circulating on Facebook and Twitter about two weeks ago after a series of newspaper articles about a major scam involving legislators’ Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF). The fund is money allocated for lawmakers to be used in their pet development projects. Critics charge they are “pork barrel” projects which have traditionally been a source of corruption. At the centre of the controversy is a businesswoman who reportedly connived with legislators to syphon off some 10 billion pesos ($230 million) from the fund. She has since gone into hiding after being charged with the illegal detention of a whistleblower. Middle-aged physician Paz del Rosario, one of the protesters, said she attended “to be part of a historic event”. “Hopefully this will be the start of a bigger thing. All walks of life are here. This is from social media, the Internet, tweets and texts. There is no leader here,” she said. Many protesters wore pig masks and oinked in unison at noontime to condemn the legislators’ pork barrel. The influential Archbishop of Manila, Cardinal Luis Tagle, called on the crowd to be “honourable” and to work together for the less fortunate. “Let us look upon the oppressed and the poor as our true brothers. Let us listen to the heartbeat of our nation and the voice of God,” he said. Church leaders have previously played crucial roles in calling support for protests in the largely-Catholic Philippines, such as the 1986 “People Power” revolt that helped topple dictator Ferdinand Marcos. In 2001 a popular uprising overthrew the graft-tainted president Joseph Estrada. In the 1986 revolt, radio stations had helped summon the populace while in the 2001 uprising, it was cellphone SMS or “text” messages that brought many protesters out. Aquino had previously planned to expand the PDAF in his 2014 budget so that each senator would receive 200 million pesos ($4.5 million) while each member of the House of Representatives would get 70 million pesos. But in the face of growing anger last week, the president announced that he was suspending the releases of money and vowed to reform the system. At a speech marking the country’s national heroes’ day, Aquino said the government would catch those who stole state funds. “We will do everything in our power to find those who conspired to take advantage of the PDAF’s good intentions, and to hold them accountable,” he said. National police spokesman Senior Superintendent Reuben Sindac said the rallies were all peaceful, and the Manila marchers even cleaned up the park afterwards. Continue reading
