Turkey diverts Syrian plane to Ankara

The Airbus A320 en route to Damascus from Moscow was escorted to the capital's Esenboga Airport

Turkish fighter jets have forced a Syrian passenger plane to land at Ankara airport on suspicion that it may be carrying weapons, officials and news reports say. State-run TRT television said the Airbus A320 en route to Damascus from Moscow was intercepted by fighter jets on Wednesday as it entered Turkish airspace and escorted to the capital's Esenboga Airport. Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish foreign minister, said that the plane was forced to land because of information that it may be carrying "non-civilian cargo". Interviewed by TRT in Athens, Davutoglu said Turkey was within its rights under international law to investigate civilian planes suspected to be carrying military materials. The move comes amid heightened tensions between Turkey and Syria, which have been exchanging artillery fire across the volatile border in the past week. Private NTV television said there were 35 passengers on board the plane. Syrian airspace 'unsafe'

Hundreds march a year after Egypt Copt killings

09/10/2012 - EGYPT
Hundreds march a year after Egypt Copt killings

Hundreds gathered in Cairo on Tuesday for a peaceful protest that marked the one-year anniversary of the deaths of nearly 30 demonstrators at a Coptic Christian protest that was violently crushed by security forces.


Hundreds of Egyptian protesters marched Tuesday to mark one year since nearly 30 demonstrators were killed in a Coptic Christian demonstration that was violently crushed by security forces.

Demonstrators carrying posters of those who died during the violence walked solemnly down a main Cairo thoroughfare in the working class district of Shubra.

Some waved flags, others held posters of officials they want to see put on trial.

Groups of them chanted against Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the military ruler who took charge of the country following the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak, and whose forces are accused of killing the protesters.

"Either we get justice, or we die like them," they sang.

The march was organised by the Maspero Youth Union, a group of Coptic activists formed in the wake of last year's deadly protest that left Egypt's Christian community deeply scarred.

"The only political demand on this day is to seek justice for the martyrs and for the criminals implicated in the massacre be tried," the group said on Facebook.

Tuesday's procession followed the route taken a year ago by the Coptic protesters.

On October 9, 2011, thousands of demonstrators marched from Shubra to Maspero in central Cairo to denounce the torching of a church in the southern province of Aswan.

The protest was attacked and violence flared when the army and riot police charged at the protesters, leaving 26 Coptic Christians, one Muslim man and one policeman dead, says Amnesty International.

Graphic videos that were subsequently posted on the Internet showed army vehicles ramming into protesters at high speed.

In a report published last week, Amnesty said "armed and security forces used excessive, including lethal, force against those not posing a threat to them or others."

"The Egyptian authorities have failed to conduct a full impartial and independent investigation into the circumstances of the violence and to bring those responsible to account," the rights watchdog said.

Christians, who make up six to 10 percent of Egypt's population of 83 million, have regularly complained of discrimination and marginalisation. They have also been the target of numerous sectarian attacks.

Israel PM calls early elections

09/10/2012
Israel PM calls early elections

By - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday called early parliamentary elections after his coalition could not agree on a budget, in a campaign move that will likely win him re-election.

Israel’s prime minister on Tuesday ordered new parliamentary elections in early 2013, roughly eight months ahead of schedule, setting the stage for a lightening quick campaign that will likely win him re-election.
For nearly four years, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has presided over a conservative coalition that has proven stable in a country where governments rarely serve out a full term.
Re-election could grant him a fresh mandate to continue his tough stance toward Iran’s suspect nuclear program, put the already deadlocked peace process with the Palestinians further into deep freeze and complicate relations with the U.S. if President Barack Obama is re-elected.
In a nationally televised address, Netanyahu said he was forced to call the snap polls after his coalition could not agree on a budget.
“I have decided that it is in Israel’s better interest to go to elections now and as quickly as possible,” he said. “For Israel, it is preferable to have as short a campaign as possible, one of three months over one that would last in practice an entire year and damage Israel’s economy.”
With no viable alternative on the horizon, Netanyahu is expected to easily be re-elected as prime minister: He is riding a wave of popularity and his opposition is fragmented and leaderless.
The next vote had been scheduled for a full year from now, although speculation had been growing for weeks that the current government’s days were numbered and that Netanyahu would call for an early vote.
The immediate reason for the snap elections was the coalition’s inability to pass a 2013 budget by a Dec. 31 deadline, but Netanyahu has long been rumored to be leaning toward elections, given his high standings in opinion polls, the lack of a clear rival and fears the economy could weaken next year.
A recent poll in the Haaretz daily found that 35 percent of Israelis believe Netanyahu is most suited to being prime minister, more than double that of his closest rival, Labor leader Shelly Yachimovich. The survey questioned 507 people and had a margin of error of 4.2 percentage points.
Netanyahu said he spent Tuesday holding talks with his coalition partners and “came to the conclusion that at this time it is not possible to pass a responsible budget.”
He listed his accomplishments, saying his government had boosted security at a time of regional turmoil and improved the economy despite the global economic meltdown.
Parliament reconvenes next week for its winter session without the annual budget in place. At that time, Netanyahu is expected to formally dissolve parliament.
Netanyahu also has little political incentive to wait until October 2013 - and give his opponents a chance to gain ground - when he is well-positioned to win re-election.
Opinion polls put Netanyahu’s Likud Party far ahead of its rivals. But the election results could alter the makeup of his coalition government, which is currently comprised mostly by religious and nationalist parties.
In the 120-seat parliament, no single party controls a majority, resulting in the need for coalition governments usually headed by the leader of the biggest party.
The dovish Labor Party, now a small faction, is running a distant second, having seen its support grow after mass social protests against the country’s high cost of living. Its leader, Yachimovich, who is a former journalist, is running solely on jobs and the economy.
Yachimovich, who has vowed to capitalize on the growing gaps between rich and poor in the coming election, tends to favor a strong government safety net, while Netanyahu favors more conservative, free-market policies.
After Netanyahu’s announcement, Yachimovich said there was a “reasonable probability” of winning.
“The public today understands that security is not just on the borders but is also job and income security and health and education security,” she said.
Perhaps the most viable candidate to replace Netanyahu is former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, but he is entangled in a legal battle that will keep him on the sidelines for the coming months.
Lagging behind Labor in the polls are Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s ultranationalist Yisrael Beiteinu party, a new centrist party led by former TV anchorman Yair Lapid and the decimated Kadima Party, which is currently the largest group in parliament but has slipped badly in the polls under new leader Shaul Mofaz.
“I think the decision for early elections is a day of hope for the citizens of Israel,” Mofaz told Chanel 10 TV. “It is an opportunity to replace the bad Netanyahu government that has isolated Israel politically over the past four years, damaged Israel’s deterrence and deteriorated the middle class.”
During the campaign, opponents are likely to seize upon Netanyahu’s rocky relationship with Obama over how to handle Iran. The rift has unsettled relations with Israel’s closest and most important ally.
Netanyahu could also come under fire for his failure to advance peace talks with the Palestinians, massive street protests in Israel last summer against the growing gap between rich and poor, and widespread resentment over attempts by ultra-Orthodox parties to impose their ways on general society.
Despite these shortcomings, Netanyahu remains popular in opinion polls, thanks to a lengthy period of quiet, a resilient economy and his handling of the Iran issue.
Peace talks with the Palestinians could also possibly be renewed after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas appeared to drop the main demand that has prevented talks.
Abbas told European diplomats that he would resume talks after the U.N. votes on a Palestinian request for “nonmember state” status, backing down from a previous demand to freeze all Israeli settlement activity before peace talks can resume. A vote is expected in November.
The official Palestinian Wafa news agency quoted Abbas as saying that once the U.N. membership is completed “we will be ready to return to the table of negotiations with the Israeli side to discuss all outstanding issues between us on the final status.”
Abbas previously refused to meet Netanyahu while Israeli settlement construction was taking place in the West Bank, where he hopes to establish a future Palestinian state.
Abbas made no mention of a settlement freeze, and officials said Abbas believes a freeze would no longer be necessary if he receives U.N. recognition of a state that includes all of the West Bank.
Peace talks have been frozen for nearly four years, in part because of Palestinian demands for a settlement freeze and Israel’s refusal to accept it.

Israel downs unidentified drone

Israel has shot down drones entering its airspace in the past but such cases are rare [Reuters]

Israeli jets scrambled to intercept a drone that crossed into Israeli airspace from the Mediterranean Sea, bringing it down without incident in the south of the country, a military spokeswoman said. Lieutenant-Colonel Avital Leibovich said Israeli systems on the ground alerted the air force to the drone Saturday morning. She said it flew over the Gaza Strip but did not originate from the Palestinian territory. She said Israel did not know the drone's starting point and an investigation was under way. Nobody was hurt in the incident. Leibovich did not give more details, but Israel media reported that the aircraft was not carrying explosives and could have been a surveillance drone. Leibovich said the operation was successful and the military was in control throughout. "We had monitoring contact from the ground and from the air," she said.

Turkey bombs Syrian targets after cross-border attack

Turkey has shelled targets in Syria in retaliation for cross-border mortar fire that killed five Turkish nationals in the southeastern border region of Akcakale earlier in the day, the prime minister's office said in a statement.

 

Turkey has shelled targets in Syria in retaliation for cross-border mortar fire that killed five Turkish nationals in the southeastern border region of Akcakale earlier in the day, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's office said in a statement on Wednesday.

Car bombs kill scores in central Aleppo

Three car bombs exploded in the northwestern Syrian city of Aleppo on Wednesday, killing at least 48 people and wounding more than 90 others, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

 

At least three car bombs exploded in the centre of Syria's northwestern city Aleppo on Wednesday, killing 48 people and injuring 90 others, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Two blasts were initially reported at Saadallah al-Jabiri Square near a military officers' club and a hotel, the Observatory said.

Shoot-out in Syria's Corleone exposes threat to Assad

© Frederick Deknatel

The probable death of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad’s cousin in a mafia-style shoot-out has exposed a rift among Alawites, the Muslim religious sect to which the Assad family belongs and relies on as its power base.

By Marie Michelet
A mafia-style shoot-out in the traditional home of Syria’s ruling Assad clan - in which an influential cousin of the country’s dictator Bashar al-Assad is thought to have been killed - has exposed a dangerous rift in the country’s Alawite community.
Qardaha, a small town of less than 10,000 inhabitants, is perched in mountains overlooking the coastal town of Latakia.
Its population is overwhelmingly Alawite, the minority Muslim sect to which the Assad family belongs, and is seen as the heart and soul of the regime.
But according to a local Revolutionary Coordination Committee, local strongman Mohammed al-Assad - known as the “Lord of the Mountain” - was killed in a shoot-out on September 28 with rival Alawite clans, putting the Assad stranglehold under unprecedented pressure.