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Sunday 14 July 2013

Thousands protest in Israel Saying Netanyahu and Morsi are Same



On Saturday, thousands of people marched on Tel Aviv’s Habima Square, marking the two-year anniversary of social protests against the high cost of living and economic policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minster Yair Lapid.

The organizers planned a vigil to last until Sunday morning, marking two years since the massive street demonstrations of 2011.

Protesters blocked traffic in downtown Tel Aviv as police declared the demonstration illegal and attempted to disperse the crowd. Protesters shouted, “Bibi [Netanyahu] and [deposed Egyptian President Mohammed] Morsi are the same revolution."

One person was arrested in the protest, which lasted until midnight. The city’s mayoral candidate, Nitzan Horowitz, told Haaretz that the demonstrations are “more just than ever…People are crying out for two years, and the problem only gets worse.”

He added that Lapid - who essentially built up his popularity by supporting the previous protests - has turned into a servant of the same system, enacting worse budget laws than his predecessors.

The leader of the 2011 protest has called on Lapid to step down, hoping this year’s demonstration will provide “an opening for a new season of protest," underlining that it is not about food or medicine, but that “a response to thieves must be revolution” – one that belongs to everyone, not just the middle classes.

Over 55,000 Congolese refugees flee to Uganda as clashes intensify



Uganda is gradually being extremely flooded by refugees from Democratic Republic of Congo with the incessant rise and intensification of communal clashes. About 3,000 were earliest recorded to have fled but the number represented a drop in the ocean with the latest reports. From 3,000, it soared to about 30,000.

The number of Congolese refugees to Uganda was recorded to have exceeded 55,000 late Saturday and increased by nearly 20,000 compared with the day before. Thousands of newcomers temporarily settle at schools in Bundibugyo, about 20km (12 miles) from the border with Congo.

Mass exodus began as the town of Kamango in the northernmost part of DR Congo's North Kivu province was attacked Thursday by a Ugandan-led rebel group, the Allied Democratic Forces, which was formed in the mid-1990s. Congo is really battling with heavy insurgencies and high cases of militants attacks with that of and from the M23 rebels being the most prominent and the highest national headache.

FG confiscates 1500 double barrel guns illegally imported by Zamfara State Governor



By Malik Shabbazz

FG has ordered the confiscation of 1500 double barrel guns illegally imported by Zamfara State Governor. Sources revealed that the Federal Government ordered the seizure of the guns based on the alleged contravention of firearms laws of the land.

The governor is said to harbour feelings of betrayal against the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, also an indigene of the state due to a soft approval given the governor by the IG which is now being trampled upon.

Sources revealed that there was an armed robbery crisis in the state in 2012, during which the governor sought and clinched approval from the state police commissioner on the formulation of a vigilante group. It is said to have been agreed that the group would be armed at which time, the governor then decided to import double-barrel guns.

A source said: “The governor ordered for 1,500 double-barrelled guns through a dealer in Kano who got supplies from Ukraine.’

However the federal government has ordered the repatriation of the guns to Abuja because there was no executive approval to import the arms.

Sources disclosed that the importation was executed to bypass the approval of the presidency because of the belief that individuals can buy double-barrel guns and apply for licence from police.

The source said, “Due to the brouhaha and outrage the issue generated and in order to avoid a presidential hammer, the police had to follow the rules and now the IG had ordered that the guns be taken to the Force Headquarters. They were being taken to Abuja right now.”

Latin American Countries to Recall Ambassadors from Selected European Countries



Leaders in Latin American took a very drastic decision in the wake of the mistreatment of one of their own by the symphatisers of the United States over the Snowden saga. The leaders are to summon the European ambassadors for countries who blocked their airspace to Bolivian President Evo Morales and demand an explanation. Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Venezuela, on Friday decided to call their representatives in Spain, France, Italy and Portugal for consultations.

Bolivia demanded apologies from the four European nations for the July 2 dramatic airspace blockade and detour to Vienna, when Morales' plane was blocked from entering the airspace above several countries. The president was flying home from a meeting of natural gas producers in Moscow.

European governments are believed to have acted on suspicions that fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden, who had been in diplomatic impasse in the Moscow airport, was on board the plane. The decision to take this stance was made during a summit of the Mercosur trade bloc. Bolivia is in the process of becoming a full member of Mercosur but is currently an associate.

"We emphatically reject the interception of telecommunications and espionage actions in our nations, as they constitute a violation of human rights, of the right of our citizens to privacy and information,'' Mercosur leaders said in the summit's final statement. "It's unacceptable behaviour that breaches our sovereignty and harms relations between nations."

The South American group also defended the right of asylum after Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua recently offered it to Snowden. Washington has put pressure on regional presidents to block Snowden from finding refuge in Latin America. "We repudiate any activity that could undermine the authority of States to grant and fully implement the right of asylum," the statement said.

"We reject any attempt in pressuring, harassment or criminalisation of a State over a country's sovereign right to grant asylum." Uruguayan Foreign Minister Luis Almagro said the four Mercosur trace bloc nations will recall their own ambassadors in the European countries involved for consultations over the incident. The actions of the four European countries were "unfounded, discriminatory and arbitrary, in a flagrant violation of the precepts of international law," Almagro said.

He said the summit found that Morales was subjected to "neo-colonial practices." "It is an incredible, unfriendly and hostile action that violates human rights and affects the freedom of transit and movement and the immunity that every head of state enjoys," Mercosur leaders concluded, according to Almagro.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said that the European actions were offensive to each of the leaders at the summit as Latin American presidents, and vowed "concrete and effective actions, be it with regard to the governments or the ambassadors of those countries." According to US National Security Agency (NSA) documents leaked by Snowden that the United States spied on many countries around the world including Mercosur members Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela.

Snowden was granted audience by Human Rights Watch in Moscow. He hinted that he would prefer to be in Russia where he is safe because of the hurdles of and dangers in flying to Latin America. He earlier wrote to 21 countries for asylum and has received no positive response. Wikileaks later revealed he wrote to additional six.

Reports from Moscow reveal Russia is yet to formally receive his asylum request. The Russian  President has expressed willingness in granting him asylum only to the extent that he stops the damaging act of revealing US secrets.

The White House, after Snowden's meeting with HRW, said Russia should not provide him with 'Propaganda Platform'. UN human rights chief, Navi Pillay in her first reaction on the Snowden imbroglio said the fiugitive NSA leaker is worth protecting and the world rejects US espionage act.