http://www.kyivpost.com/news/world/ World http://www.kyivpost.com/news/world/detail/122286/ World Sun, 12 Feb 2012 11:38:47 +0200
Kashgari fled the country, but was arrested by police in majority-Muslim Malaysiaon Thursday as he transited through Kuala Lumpur international airport.

"The Saudi writer was repatriated to his home country this Sunday morning," a police spokesman told Reuters. "This is an internal Saudi matter that we cannot comment on."

Malaysiahas a close affinity with many Middle Eastern nations through their shared religion. The Southeast Asian nation is also a U.S. ally and a leading global voice for moderate Islam, meaning that the decision to extradite Kashgari is certain to be controversial.

"Saudi clerics have already made up their mind that Kashgari is an apostate who must face punishment," Christoph Wilcke, senior Middle Eastresearcher at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement on Friday.

"TheMalaysian governmentshould not be complicit in sealing Kashgari's fate by sending him back."

Kashgari's lawyer in Malaysia, Mohammad Noor, told Reuters by telephone that he had obtained a court order to prevent the deportation, but had not been allowed to see his client.

"If the government ofMalaysiadeports him to Saudi Arabia,disrespecting the court order, this is clearly contempt of court, unlawful and unacceptable," he said.

The Star newspaper quoted Home Minister Hishammuddin Husseinas saying that Kashgari had been repatriated and that the charges against him would be decided by Saudi authorities.

"Malaysiahas a longstanding arrangement by which individuals wanted by one country are extradited when detained by the other," he was quoted as saying.

Blasphemy is a crime punishable by execution under Saudi Arabia's strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law. It is not a capital crime inMalaysia.

Reuters could not verify Kashgari's comments because he later deleted them, but media reported that one of them reflected his contradictory views of the Prophet - that he both loved and hated him.

Kashgari later said in an interview that he was being made a "scapegoat for a larger conflict" over his comments.]]> http://www.kyivpost.com/news/world/detail/122285/ World Sun, 12 Feb 2012 10:09:03 +0200
Under the agreement ending the walkout Sunday, contract workers will receive pay raises and improved benefits.

Israel's labor federation launched the strike on Wednesday, shutting down national and municipal government offices, banks, the stock exchange, rail service and seaports, and disrupting travel at Ben-Gurion International Airport.

The Israeli Chambers of Commerce said the strike would cost the economy $100 million a day.]]> http://www.kyivpost.com/news/world/detail/122283/ World Sat, 11 Feb 2012 20:56:46 +0200
He didn't mention Saturday when the next meeting with Central American leaders will be.

Perez Molina said he will bring the subject up with Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes when Funes visits Monday.

The Guatemalan president said the war on drugs and all the money and technology received from the U.S. has not diminished drug trafficking in the area.

He said drug cartels are to blame for the high rates of violence in Guatemala, which has a homicide rate of 45 per 100,000 people.]]> http://www.kyivpost.com/news/world/detail/122281/ World Sat, 11 Feb 2012 19:36:35 +0200
The Sun's deputy editor Geoff Webster, picture editor John Edwards, chief reporter John Kay, chief foreign correspondent Nick Parker and reporter John Sturgis were those arrested, News International CEO Tom Mockridge said in a message emailed to staff.

Executives moved quickly to reject claims that Murdoch could decide to close down the newspaper. In July, he shuttered the 168-year-old News of The World tabloid amid public outrage when the extent of its phone hacking of celebrities, public figures and crime victims was exposed.

Mockridge said he had been given a "personal assurance today from Rupert Murdoch about his total commitment to continue to own and publish The Sun newspaper." Mockridge acknowledged that the tabloid and its employees were "facing our greatest challenge," but urged them not to prejudge the outcome of the police investigation.

A 39-year-old female employee at Britain's defense ministry, a 36-year-old male member of the armed forces and a 39-year-old serving police officer with Surrey Police, were also arrested Saturday, police said. The development follows the arrest of four current and former journalists at The Sun newspaper last month in connection with the same bribery inquiry.

Sun editor Dominic Mohan expressed his alarm at the arrests of newspaper employees, but insisted the six-day-a-week newspaper would continue its work.

"I'm as shocked as anyone by today's arrests, but am determined to lead The Sun through these difficult times," Mohan said in a statement. "I have a brilliant staff and we have a duty to serve our readers and will continue to do that. Our focus is on putting out Monday's newspaper."

Two people familiar with the matter, both of whom requested anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the issue, said Murdoch was scheduled to head to London in the near future to spend time with the company's journalists. One person explained that the trip had been planned for some time and wasn't in reaction to the latest arrests.

News Corp. declined to comment on Murdoch's travel plans, or on whether he planned to address staff at The Sun.

A former News of the World executive, who also requested anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigations and said he was in touch with the Sun's senior staff — claimed that management there were "fighting to halt morale collapse" at the tabloid, describing Mohan as "somewhat shellshocked" by the developments.

Police said a total of 21 people have now been arrested in their bribery probe — including three police officers — though none has yet been charged. They include Rebekah Brooks, former chief executive of Murdoch's News International; ex-News of the World editor Andy Coulson — who is also Prime Minister David Cameron's former communications chief; and journalists from both the News of the World and The Sun.

Investigators said the inquiry — which is running in parallel to investigations into phone hacking and alleged email hacking — was now widened its remit. It was initially focused on whether reporters had illegally paid police officers for information, but will now examine whether other public officials were also targeted.

Any convictions for bribery offenses could have repercussions for News Corp. in the U.S., where the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act could be used to impose hundreds of millions of dollars in fines even in cases where activity has occurred overseas.

In a statement, police confirmed the latest arrests came after information was provided to detectives by the management standards committee of Murdoch's News Corp., set up to investigate alleged malpractice.

News Corp. confirmed that it had supplied the police with information, but insisted it would "continue to ensure that all appropriate steps are taken to protect legitimate journalistic privilege and sources, private or personal information and legal privilege."

Britain's National Union of Journalists claimed some News International staff felt let down by managers. "They are furious at what they see as a monumental betrayal on the part of News International," the union's general secretary Michelle Stanistreet said.

"Once again Rupert Murdoch is trying to pin the blame on individual journalists hoping that a few scalps will salvage his corporate reputation," she said.

The five journalists from The Sun — aged between 45 and 68 — are being quizzed on suspicion of offenses of corruption and aiding and abetting misconduct in a public office. Police said the three public servants were being questioned on suspicion of misconduct in a public office and corruption offenses.

Assistant Chief Constable Jerry Kirkby, of Surrey Police, confirmed the police officer being questioned was a member of his force. Surrey Police was responsible for the investigation into missing 13-year-old girl Milly Dowler, who was later found murdered. A wave of public revulsion over the disclosure that reporters had intercepted her voicemails in 2002 led Murdoch to close down the News of The World.

Britain's defense ministry declined to comment on the arrest of the defense official.]]> http://www.kyivpost.com/news/world/detail/122280/ World Sat, 11 Feb 2012 19:21:29 +0200
The northern industrial city has seen violent worker strikes in the past.

The security official says they will be referred to the state prosecutor's office. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.
]]> http://www.kyivpost.com/news/world/detail/122278/ World Sat, 11 Feb 2012 17:50:00 +0200
ACTA has been under negotiation for years and it still in the process of being signed. The United States, Japan, South Korea and others say it is needed to harmonize international standards to protect the rights of those who produce music, movies, pharmaceuticals, fashion, and a range of other products that often fall victim to piracy and intellectual property theft.

Strong opposition to the treaty suddenly emerged in Poland last month and is now spreading across Europe, where protests are taking place in many cities. Critics say they fear it will lead to online censorship and overly harsh punishments for those who use copyrighted material.

Some of the first to gather Saturday were in the bitter cold of the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius. In Germany, a few thousand people protested in downtown Berlin, some with sticking tape over their mouths or wearing Guy Fawkes masks. They carried placards such as "Stop ACTA," ''Right to Remix" and "ACTA: the rule of law was yesterday."

A protest organizer, Tillmann Mueller-Kuckelberg, said the movement against the agreement was "a broad civil rights alliance that has come together out of spontaneous outrage at this project."

"We have the protests in Poland to thank above all for what is happening in Europe and worldwide at the moment," he said.

"A lot of people in other European countries woke up then, and we hope worldwide that the protests will lead to the ACTA agreement being stopped."

Germany's Foreign Ministry said Friday that the country had held off on signing ACTA after the Justice Ministry voiced concerns. An official signature is needed before the deal can go to Parliament for approval.

In Vilnius, hundreds rallied in front of a government building, some carrying signs that said "Stop ACTA."


Marches also took place in the Polish cities of Warsaw, Szczecin, Poznan and Gdansk.

"Down with the censorship of Big Brother," said one of the banners in Warsaw, where about 150 people gathered in front of the presidential palace.]]> http://www.kyivpost.com/news/world/detail/122269/ World Sat, 11 Feb 2012 13:04:10 +0200
A serving police officer, a female employee at the Ministry of Defense and a 36-year-old member of the armed forces were also arrested in an early morning swoop.

London's Metropolitan Police said all eight people are being questioned, and confirmed they were detained following information provided to detectives by the management standards committee of News Corp.

The committee "will continue to ensure that all appropriate steps are taken to protect legitimate journalistic privilege and sources, private or personal information and legal privilege," News Corp. said in a statement.

Police said their investigation relates to alleged corrupt payments made to police officers and other officials by journalists. It is part of a series of police investigations sparked by Britain's tabloid phone hacking scandal.
]]> http://www.kyivpost.com/news/world/detail/122264/ World Sat, 11 Feb 2012 10:50:38 +0200

Demonstrators carrying Iranian flags and pictures of Supreme Leader AyatollahAli Khameneichanted "Death toIsrael" and "Death toAmerica".

"In the coming days the world will witness Iran's announcement of its very important and very major nuclear achievements," Ahmadinejad told a crowd atTehran'sAzadi (Freedom) Square in a speech relayed live on state television.He gave no details.



Tension with the West over Iran's disputed nuclear work has risen in recent weeks. TheUnites Statesand its European allies have imposed new sanctions to try to forceTehranback to talks before it produces enough nuclear material for an atomic bomb.

Iran says its nuclear programme has only peaceful purposes.]]> http://www.kyivpost.com/news/world/detail/122258/ World Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:04:18 +0200
But even the elephant couldn't take Europe's brutal cold snap, despite its thick hide.

So Parc de Thoiry has been closed for five days, even though the bears, hippos, tigers and zebras couldn't care less and are happily prowling the 370-acre (150 hectare) grounds, including its frozen lakes.

"Ice skating," he said, regarding his giraffes and ostriches, "it's not for them."]]> http://www.kyivpost.com/news/world/detail/122255/ World Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:57:18 +0200
The military, meanwhile, stepped up its siege of Homs that has reportedly killed hundreds over the past week. Soldiers who have been bombarding the central city made their first ground move, storming into one of the most restive neighborhoods.

At the same time, troops and security forces opened fire on anti-regime protesters who streamed out of mosques after Friday prayers nationwide. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 27 civilians were killed.

The morning blasts in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria's most populous, ripped apart the facades of the local headquarters of the Military Intelligence Directorate and a barracks of the Security Preservation forces in another part of the city.

At the Directorate, windows were shattered and a large crater was torn into the pavement outside the entrance. A weeping correspondent on state-run TV showed graphic footage of at least five corpses, collected in sacks and under blankets by the side of the road.

At both sites, suicide bombers in explosives-packed vehicles tried to smash into the entrances, security officials said. At the barracks, the Security Preservation forces commander Brig. Firas Abbas told an Associated Press reporter on a government-guided visit to the scene that the vehicle made it through one roadblock before detonating near the gates.

State television cited the Health Ministry as saying 28 people were killed in the two blasts and 235 wounded, including civilians and military personnel. It didn't give a breakdown of the individual casualty toll for each blast.

State TV blamed "terrorists." Anti-Assad activists accused the regime of setting off Friday's blasts to discredit the opposition and avert protests that had been planned in the city on Friday.

Capt. Ammar al-Wawi of the Free Syrian Army, a rebel group that wants to bring down the regime by force, denied involvement. He said fighters from his group had a short gunbattle with troops several hundred yards (meters) from the Directorate about an hour before the explosion but they did not carry out the bombings.

"This explosion is the work of the regime to divert world attention from the crimes it is committing against the people of Homs," he said.

The blasts were the fourth such dramatic suicide attack since late December. All occurred on Friday mornings against various security headquarters and prompted the same exchange of accusations. The earlier attacks, in the capital Damascus, killed dozens of security forces and civilians, according to Syrian officials. Nobody has claimed responsibility for any of the attacks.

Friday's bombings were the first significant violence in Aleppo, a city of some 2 million people that is home to a prosperous business community and merchant classes whose continued backing for Assad has been crucial in bolstering his regime.

The city has seen only occasional protests. Assad's opponents have had little success in galvanizing support there, in part because business leaders have long traded political freedoms for economic privileges. Also, the city has a large population of Kurds, who have mostly stayed on the sidelines of the uprising since Assad's regime began giving them long-denied citizenship as a gesture to win support.

Still, hours after the explosions, hundreds of protesters marched in several Aleppo neighborhoods after Friday prayers, part of nationwide demonstrations labeled "Friday of 'Russia is killing our children'" — denouncing Russia's veto last weekend of a U.N. attempt to condemn Syria's crackdown.

Regime forces opened fire on the Aleppo protesters, killing at least seven, according to the Observatory. Another activist group, the Local Coordination Committee put the Aleppo toll at 12 and said 22 others had been killed nationwide. The figures could not be independently confirmed, in part due to restrictions the Syrian government has put on journalists.

Assad's crackdown has killed well over 5,400 people since the uprising began in March, according to U.N. estimates.

The regime's crackdown on dissent has left it almost completely isolated internationally — except for key support from Russia and China, which delivered a double veto last Saturday to block a U.N. resolution calling on him to leave power.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov signaled Friday that Moscow will again use its veto power at the United Nations to block any resolution aimed at ousting Assad.

"If our foreign partners don't understand that, we will have to use strong means again and again to call them back to reality," he was quoted as saying by the ITAR-Tass news agency.

Moscow's stance is motivated in part by its strategic and defense ties, including weapons sales, with Syria. Russia also rejects what it sees as a world order dominated by the U.S. Last month, Russia reportedly signed a $550 million deal to sell combat jets to Syria.

Across Syria on Friday, thousands held protests denouncing the Russian position, from the northwestern province of Idlib, to the suburbs of Damascus, the Mediterranean coastal city of Latakia and the eastern town of Deir al-Zour.

A week ago, security forces launched a major assault on the central city of Homs after unconfirmed reports that army defectors and other armed opponents of Assad were setting up their own checkpoints and taking control of the most restive neighborhoods.

Days of bombardment of the neighborhoods with artillery, heavy machine guns and mortars continued on Friday, as troops on the ground backed by tanks for the first time pushed into one of the districts, Inshaat, activists said.

The Observatory said troops were going house to house detaining people. Inshaat is next to Baba Amr, a neighborhood that has been under rebel control for months.

"They are punishing the residents," said the Observatory's chief Rami Abdul-Rahman, who added that food supplies were dwindling in the area.

Mohammed Saleh, a Syria-based activist, said the regime appears to be trying to take over rebel-held areas in Homs and Idlib before Feb. 17, when Assad's ruling Baath party is scheduled to hold its first general conference since 2005.

The conference is expected to move on reforms that Assad has promised in a bid to calm the uprising. During the conference, Baath party leaders are expected to call for national dialogue and announce they will open the way for other political parties to play a bigger role in Syria's politics.

The opposition has rejected such promises as insincere and said it will not accept anything less than Assad's departure.]]> http://www.kyivpost.com/news/world/detail/122254/ World Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:28:43 +0200
Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and heads of the three parties backing his government — including George Karatzaferis who Friday railed against the deal — agreed to deep private sector wage cuts, civil service layoffs, and significant reductions in health, social security and military spending.

Investors had breathed a sigh of relief Thursday that the agreement would allow Greece to get a €130 billion ($173 billion) bailout package and avoid a bankruptcy next month that could send shockwaves around the financial markets.

But finance ministers from the other 16 eurozone states threw up a roadblock later in the day and insisted that Greece had to save an extra €325 million ($430 million), pass the cuts through a restive parliament and guarantee in writing that they will be implemented even after planned elections in April. News that the leader of a small partner in Greece's coalition government would now vote against the austerity measures deepened the gloom on Friday.

The renewed fears of a Greek default, which could send shockwaves around the global economy, dented sentiment in the markets Friday.

In Europe, the benchmark index in Athens close 3.2 percent lower. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares ended 0.7 percent lower at 5,852.39 while Germany's DAX slid 1.4 percent to 6,692.96. The CAC-40 in France lost 1.5 percent at 3,373.14.

The euro was also hit hard, trading 0.7 percent lower at $1.3187.

In the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average was down 0.9 percent at 12,776.82 while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 0.8 percent to 1,341.68.

The prevailing view remains that a deal will be cobbled together but the uncertainty is weighing on stocks. Once all the demands have been fulfilled, the eurozone will give Greece the green light to start implementing a separate bond swap deal with banks and other private investors designed to slice some €100 billion ($132 billion) off Greece's debt load.

"For all the rhetoric, it is probable that a deal will still be reached because the consequences of not doing so would be so damaging for the EU as a whole," said Gary Jenkins, managing director at Swordfish Research.

However, it is possible that the Greek politicians "suffer from negotiating fatigue and decide that putting their people through the austerity measures are not worth it."

Earlier in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 0.6 percent to close at 8,947.17. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1.1 percent to 20,783.86 and South Korea's Kospi dropped 1 percent to 1,993.71.

However, mainland Chinese shares edged higher with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gaining 0.1 percent to 2,351.98. The Shenzhen Composite Index also gained 0.5 percent to 903.64.

Oil prices tracked the bulk of equities around the world lower — benchmark oil was down $1.35 to $98.49 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.]]> http://www.kyivpost.com/news/world/detail/122250/ World Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:16:30 +0200
The station quoted witnesses as saying that the bus hit eight cars plus a number of motorcycles and an electric pole before plunging into a ravine.

At least 13 bodies were recovered and more than 20 injured people were rushed to a nearby hospital, while residents working in the dark evacuated others who are wedged under the bus.

Indonesia's Poor safety standards on roads claim hundreds of lives each year.]]> http://www.kyivpost.com/news/world/detail/122248/ World Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:50:18 +0200
Elsewhere in Europe the situation has been much worse, with hundreds of people — most them homeless — dying in the cold, and many cities and towns being trapped by much deeper snow.

In Romania, officials on Friday reported 13 more deaths and rounded up about 220 homeless to shelter them from the deep freeze at night. Huge chunks of ice were blocking navigation on the Danube River in Romania, one of Europe's key waterways.

In October, a magnitude-7.2 earthquake and a powerful aftershock flattened some 2,000 buildings and killed 644 people around the city of Van, a provincial capital in southeastern Turkey. The government responded by moving 134,000 people to temporary homes and 7,500 others to tents.

At one of the camps on Friday, Gonul Meral, 33, who is living in a tent with her two children and her unemployed husband, said: "I am doing the dishes now, but the water in the basin is frozen so I have to heat it up again. It's so hard."

The house that she and her family were renting before the disaster was destroyed by the quake.

"I miss cooking there very much," she said in a telephone interview. "Sometimes, I feel that I can't stand it another day," Meral said, sobbing.

Ragtag encampments also have sprung up in empty patches of ground in the quake zone, in the courtyards of houses, and even on the median strips of highways. These people say they prefer to stay close to their property to guard it, even if their life is tougher than it would be in the relief centers.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said one reason the quakes killed so many people was the shoddy construction work on the homes that collapsed, comparing the negligence of builders to murder.

Some of the survivors in tents are now placing plastic sheeting over their shelters to try to stay as warm as possible.

"We can't keep the stove burning late at night, fearing smoke inhalation when we fall asleep," said Meral's husband, Gurkan.

Tekin Numanoglu, 39, another tent dweller in a family of four, said it has been especially difficult for his wife, who broke a leg during the quake. Like everyone else, she has to walk 100 yards (meters) through the snow to reach the nearest toilets.]]> http://www.kyivpost.com/news/world/detail/122245/ World Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:59:17 +0200
Russia said it would block any U.N. resolution that could pave the way for a replay of what happened in Libya.

In that case, Russia abstained from a vote, which cleared the way for months of NATO air force attacks that helped Libyans end Moammar Gadhafi's regime and kill the Libyan leader.

Syria is Russia's last remaining ally in the Middle East, and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Friday that his government will thwart any attempts by the West and major Arab powers to oust Assad by using a U.N. resolution.

"If our foreign partners don't understand that, we will have to use strong means again and again to call them back to reality," he was quoted as saying by the ITAR-Tass news agency.

On Friday, Russian lawmakers also supported shielding Assad's regime from international sanctions.

In the lower house of parliament, the lawmakers unanimously passed a statement warning against foreign military intervention in Syria and accusing the West and Arab nations of planning a regime change there.

Alexei Pushkov, the head of the State Duma's foreign affairs committee, said Russia strongly opposes what he called another military "operation to promote democracy."

Just before the legislative session began, he said: "We are against using humanitarian reasons to change the regime."

The Duma's statement emphasized that the U.N. Security Council must not side with the opposition in Syria's internal conflict by demanding that Assad's regime step down.

Moscow has maintained close ties with Damascus since the Cold War, when Syria was led by the current leader's father, Hafez Assad.]]> http://www.kyivpost.com/news/world/detail/122243/ World Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:31:02 +0200
A magnitude-7.2 quake and a magnitude-5.7 aftershock in October flattened some 2,000 buildings, killing 644 people around the city of Van, a provincial capital.

Turkey has moved about 134,000 people into temporary homes but about 7,500 others are still trying to survive a record cold winter in tents with just electric hookups.

Gonul Meral, 33, has two children and has been homeless since October, when her landlord evicted her after an earthquake left her husband unemployed. She says her tent is so cold that water inside it is freezing solid.

"It is so hard, I had to fight to get a tent and I don't know whether they will let me keep it because those whose houses were damaged have priority," Meral said by telephone. "I am doing the dishes now, but the water in the basin is frozen and I have to heat the water again."

Turkey's government is racing to erect temporary housing sites and build proper apartment buildings for quake survivors.

Ragtag unofficial encampments have also sprung up in empty patches of ground in the quake zone, in the courtyards of houses or even on highway median strips. Many people say they prefer to stay close to their property to keep watch over it, even if that means enduring living conditions that are rougher than in the organized camps.

In Romania, freezing weather killed another 13 people and left thousands of villagers stranded as navigation on parts of Danube — one of Europe's key waterways — is blocked because of floating ice, authorities said Friday. Some 220 homeless people were brought to shelters as temperatures plunged to minus 20 Celsius (minus 4 Fahrenheit) overnight.]]> http://www.kyivpost.com/news/world/detail/122238/ World Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:25:25 +0200
Gabriela Tohanean, a spokeswoman for emergency situations, said about 260 communities were cut off by snowdrifts.

Another spokesman Vasile Prahoveanu said thousands were stranded in the hardest hit region in eastern Romania.

Authorities said navigation on the Danube was partially halted Friday because of floating ice.]]> http://www.kyivpost.com/news/world/detail/122237/ World Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:10:51 +0200
The threat is largely symbolic since legal experts say a judge must first authorize such warrants, but it shows the depth of anger against foreign lenders who have demanded drastic wage and pension cuts in exchange for funds to keep Greece afloat.

"Since you are continuing this destructive policy, we warn you that you cannot make us fight against our brothers. We refuse to stand against our parents, our brothers, our children or any citizen who protests and demands a change of policy," said the union, which represents more than two-thirds of Greek policemen.

"We warn you that as legal representatives of Greek policemen, we will issue arrest warrants for a series of legal violations ... such as blackmail, covertly abolishing or eroding democracy and national sovereignty."

The letter was also addressed to the European Central Bank's mission chief in Greece, Klaus Masuch, and the former European Commission chief inspector for Greece, Servaas Deroose.

Policemen have borne the brunt of the anger of massed protesters who frequently march to parliament and clash with police in riot gear. Chants of "Cops, pigs, murderers!" are regularly hurled at policemen or scribbled on walls.

Thousands turned out on Friday for the latest protest in Athens, this time against new austerity measures that include a 22 percent cut in the minimum wage.

A police union official said the threat to 'refuse to stand against' fellow Greeks was a symbolic expression of solidarity and did not mean police would halt their efforts to stop protests getting out of hand.]]> http://www.kyivpost.com/news/world/detail/122233/ World Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:30:51 +0200
Police said the clashes came as some 7,000 people marched peacefully Friday on the first day of a 48-hour general strike by the country's two main labor unions.

A separate protest by some 10,000 Communist demonstrators ended without incident.

The strike comes a day after the country's crucial international bailout was put in limbo by its partners in the 17-nation eurozone, who are demanding even more cutbacks.]]> http://www.kyivpost.com/news/world/detail/122230/ World Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:57:13 +0200
Turkey's government says it is racing with time to erect temporary cities and build proper apartment buildings to answer the plight of the quake homeless.

A magnitude-7.2 quake and a magnitude-5.7 quake in October flattened some 2,000 buildings, killing 644 people in and around the city of Van.]]> http://www.kyivpost.com/news/world/detail/122226/ World Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:05:48 +0200
Sociologist Mikolaj Czesnik told Gazeta Wyborcza the drop is due to an accumulation of unpopular steps: plans to increase the retirement age, reduction of state refunds for some medications and a failure to consult the public over a treaty protecting intellectual property rights.

Meanwhile, support for the main opposition party, Law and Justice, rose four points to 26 percent.

The pollsters questioned 975 people between Feb. 2 and 6. The poll's margin of error is 3.3 percentage points.]]> http://www.kyivpost.com/news/world/detail/122224/ World Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:40:10 +0200
A court in Hangzhou city sentenced dissident Zhu Yufu on Friday in a hearing attended by his ex-wife and son, said the Chinese Human Rights Defenders. Zhu's ex-wife and lawyers could not immediately be reached.

Zhu is among a group of writers and intellectuals targeted by Chinese authorities in a crackdown aimed at preventing Arab Spring-style popular uprisings.

Three other dissidents have received nine- and 10-year prison terms for subversion or inciting subversion over the last few months.

Human rights activists have criticized the ruling party's use of vague subversion laws to jail its critics. Authorities began using the subversion law against activists after repealing a widely criticized law on counterrevolutionary activities.

Zhu's lawyer Li Dunyong said previously that during the trial, prosecutors cited as evidence a poem Zhu wrote titled "It's Time." Sections of the poem have since been widely shared on the Internet. Part of it reads: "It's time, Chinese people! The square belongs to every one. Your feet are your own. It's time to use your feet to go to the square and make a choice."

Zhu sent the poem to friends via the Internet early last year as anonymous calls circulated online urging Chinese to imitate protests that toppled governments in North Africa and the Middle East.

Prosecutors said "It's Time" was meant to encourage Chinese to stage their own anti-government protests, Li said. He said that Zhu denied the charges and denied posting the poem to any public online forum. He said he shared it only with friends.]]> http://www.kyivpost.com/news/world/detail/122221/ World Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:07:43 +0200
"We know they're (Greece) not going to be able to fulfill the expectations and even if they do sign up for it they won't be able to carry it out. It seems inevitable Greece is going to go to a euro lite, or exit the euro altogether," said Justin Urquhart Stewart, director at Seven Investment Management.

At 0915 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.5 percent at 1,068.09 points.

The STOXX Europe 600 euro zone Banking Index, exposed to the euro zone's sovereign debt, fell 1.1 percent. The index is still up more than 19 percent in 2012.

"As Greece moves towards a final resolution, you'll see some nervousness, I don't think that's necessarily a reason to be selling but you might sit on the sidelines and wait for the next news to come through. Use the volatility," Urquhart Stewart said.

ALCATEL-LUCENT SOARS

Some corporate results helped limit the index's losses.

Telecoms gear maker Alcatel-Lucent soared 17 percent. Within half an hour of the start of trading, volumes had exceeded the 90-day average for an entire session.

The company reported a strong cash position, though it was hit by slower spending by U.S. operators in the fourth quarter, causing its revenue and margins to slip and delaying a long-awaited turnaround.

Barclays, the first of the British banks to report, rose 2.5 percent. Analysts said although profit fell short opf forecasts, it held up well comapred with others in the sector suc as Credit Suisse and UBS.

European earnings have been mixed with regard to expectations. Of the companies in the STOXX 600 that have reported results in the current earnings season, 49 percent have missed forecasts, according to Thomson Reuters StarMine data.

The pan-European index is on course to fall 0.8 percent over the week, but is up more than 25 percent from the 2011 low it hit in September, boosted by global growth prospects improving, and stimulus measures.

Investors should continue to buy risk assets on the dips, with equities set to extend their recent rally provided the euro zone situation does not spiral out of control and global economic growth remains on a recovery path, UBS said.

UBS has increased its allocation to energy in its recommended portfolio, with an emphasis on crude oil, as it expects oil prices to rise due to supply constraints and improved macroeconomic conditions.]]> http://www.kyivpost.com/news/world/detail/122218/ World Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:30:38 +0200
The EU and IMF are exasperated by a series of broken promises by Athens and weeks of disagreement over the terms of a 130 billion euro ($172 billion) bailout, with time running out to avoid a default.

Before they release more aid, Greece's financial backers have demanded parliamentary ratification of the new austerity package this weekend, the identification of a further 325 million euros of spending reductions by next Wednesday and a strong commitment from all parties to implement the reforms.

But it may be a demand too far. Many Greeks, already suffering from five consecutive years of recession, are increasingly angry about the measures, which are unlikely to ease an economy, where one in five is unemployed, shops close one after another and households are tightening their budget.

The central Athens Syntagma square, in front of parliament, echoed with loudspeaker calls to rally against the measures: "No to layoffs! No to salary cuts! No to pension cuts! Do not bow your heads! Resist!"

Strikers brought the metro and buses to a halt, and ships were docked in the country's main ports in a 48-hour general strike, not long after another nationwide action on Tuesday.

Hospital doctors and bank employees also walked off the job and teachers were set to join on Friday. Flights were not affected by the strike, an airport official said.

"TOMBSTONE"

"The measures included in the new (EU/IMF) memorandum and which the three political leaders agreed with the government and the troika are the 'tombstone' of the Greek society," the civil servants' union ADEDY said in statement.

"It's time for the people to speak up."

ADEDY and its private sector sister GSEE represent about two million workers, or roughly half the country's workforce. They have staged repeated strikes since the country first resorted to a bailout from foreign lenders in 2010.

The two unions have called for protesters to rally in front of parliament. Turnout at protests has been relatively small over the past months and Friday's rally will be a test of the anger against the new austerity measures.

Greek ministers are scheduled to meet in a cabinet meeting at around 1100 GMT.

Facing elections as soon as April, Greece's party leaders have been loath to accept the lenders' tough conditions.

After days of delays, and under threat of a messy default that could force Greece out of the euro zone, they agreed on Thursday to cut the minimum wage by 22 percent as part of efforts to make the economy more competitive.

Two sources said the government was also promising spending cuts and tax rises worth 13 billion euros from 2012 to 2015, almost double the seven billion originally pledged.

Jean-Claude Juncker, who chairs the Eurogroup of finance ministers in the euro zone, urged Greece late on Thursday to act on their promises.

"In short, no disbursement before implementation," he told a news conference after six hours of talks in Brussels.

Germany's deputy finance minister, Steffen Kampeter, piled on the pressure on Friday, underlining the need for structural change in Greece - a comment echoed by European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso visiting India.

"Obviously these political decisions are grim, but they are necessary because the alternative is giving them money without changes in behaviour, which neither the German parliament nor other euro zone parliaments will approve," he told local television.

Some Greek newspapers seemed to support the demands.

"Greece's credibility is zero. That is why the troika (of officials from the EU, IMF and European Central Bank) is asking for written assurances and the voting of the implementation laws," financial daily Imerisia wrote in an editorial.

"Let us decide ... if we want to continue being part of the euro zone or if we wish to walk down a dark path."]]> http://www.kyivpost.com/news/world/detail/122215/ World Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:49:00 +0200
The ministers, who met in Brussels Thursday want Athens to find an extra €325 million ($430 million) in savings, pass the cuts through Parliament, and issue written guarantees they will be implemented even after planned elections April.

Unions are planning protests in Athens and other cities around midday Friday.]]> http://www.kyivpost.com/news/world/detail/122213/ World Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:24:18 +0200
The blasts were the first in Aleppo, Syria's largest city, which has been relatively quiet since the uprising against President Bashar Assad's regime erupted in March.

Last month, a suicide attack in the capital Damascus killed 26 people. Assad's crackdown on the uprising has killed more than 5,400 people, according to the U.N.

The government blames the unrest on a foreign conspiracy by Israel and the West. It says armed gangs and terrorists are behind the uprising, not protesters seeking democratic change.]]> http://www.kyivpost.com/news/world/detail/122208/ World Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:30:37 +0200
Gilani has refused, arguing that President Asif Ali Zardari has immunity from prosecution while in office.

Last week, the court ruled that Gilani would be charged on Monday. His lawyer appealed the decision but Chief Justice Iftikar Mohammad Chaudry rejected the petition on Friday.

Gilani could be sentenced to prison for six months and lose his job if found guilty of contempt.]]> http://www.kyivpost.com/news/world/detail/122207/ World Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:15:22 +0200
But Eurogroup chairman Jean-Claude Juncker set three conditions, saying the Greek parliament must ratify the package, a further 325 million euros of spending cuts needs to be found, and political assurances must be given that the plan will be implemented.

The agreement, after weeks of wrangling over the terms of the 130 billion euro ($173 billion) bailout, at least removed the imminent risk of a hard default by Greece, which faces a major bond redemption on March 20.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan slid 1.4 percent, moving further away from a six-month high hit the day before, which lifted the index up nearly 14 percent this year.

European shares are likely to inch lower, with financial spreadbetters expecting Britain's FTSE 100, Germany's DAX and France's CAC-40 to open down about 0.1-0.2 percent.

The euro was off a two-month high of $1.3322 reached on Thursday, trading down 0.2 percent at $1.3258.

"I don't think anyone thinks it's going to be a nice once-off, tidy solution to the challenge. It's going to turn out to be the never-ending story and I think that's kind of the way investors are looking at this now," said Adrian Foster, head of financial markets research for Asia-Pacific at Rabobank International in Hong Kong.

"It's getting harder and harder to agree terms with Greece unless there is a real signpost along the way to ensure that Greece is living up to that sort of commitment," he said.

In Asia, China's trade shrank in January from a year earlier, with factory shutdowns for Lunar New Year holidays exacerbating a slowdown in external demand that has turned Beijing to take steps to support the domestic sector.

Analysts cautioned that the data had been heavily skewed by the week-long holiday which fell in January this year and in February last year.

Japan's Nikkei fell 0.5 percent after opening marginally higher. Hong Kong shares fell 0.9 percent, facing tough resistance at 21,000.

Industrial commodities, such as oil and copper, retreated from Thursday's rally made on the news of a Greek deal, while gold steadied, as a firmer dollar was offset by support from accommodative monetary conditions worldwide.

U.S. crude oil fell 0.4 percent to $99.44 a barrel, after gaining $1.13 on Thursday. Brent crude also shed 0.4 percent from Thursday's settlement at $118.59 a barrel, the highest close since July 22.

"Technically, Brent is over-stretched, and the current level is starting to have a significant negative effect on global economic growth," said James Zhang at Standard Bank in a note. "Therefore, caution will be required when the current apparent wave of investment influx ends," as early as next week, he said.

London copper dropped nearly 1 percent to $8,676 a tonne, retreating from levels not seen in nearly five months reached on Thursday.

CONTAGION RISK RECEDING

Rabobank's Foster said the contagion threat from Greece's woes had receded significantly after the European Central Bank's enormous liquidity injection in December worked as a policy response to market jitters over the euro zone debt crisis.

Traders said the Greek news provided incentives to consolidate from a recent rally triggered by positive economic data from the United States and clear signs the ECB's funding move had helped stabilise market sentiment.

"There is a bit of a sense of achievement over the Greece issue and given that the market has been risk-positive, it may be time for some correction to set in," said Hiroshi Maeba, managing director of foreign exchange trading at Nomura Securities in Tokyo.

The euro had likely seen its top for now, but because the market remained short of the single currency, its downside was also limited, Maeba said.

Barclays Capital said in a note that a subdued reaction in the forex market suggested much of the good news was already priced in, leaving the euro capped.

"The political brinksmanship up till the last minute-agreement once again revealed the degree of challenges the Greek government will face in its implementation," it said.

The ECB kept interest rates at a record low 1.0 percent on Thursday as widely expected. ECB President Mario Draghi was non-committal on whether the bank would participate in Greece's debt restructuring, although he indicated that the bank could pass profits from its Greek bond holdings to euro zone countries.

Asian credit markets also turned cautious on Friday, with the spreads on the iTraxx Asia ex-Japan investment grade index widening a tad from Thursday.]]> http://www.kyivpost.com/news/world/detail/122206/ World Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:53:47 +0200
"Snipers are on all the roofs in Baba Amr, shooting at people," Abu Muhammad Ibrahim, an activist in Homs, told The Associated Press by phone on Thursday.

"Anything that moves, even a bird, is targeted. Life is completely cut off. It's a city of ghosts," he added.

As he spoke, explosions could be heard in the background.

"The bombardment has not eased, day or night," he said, asking to be identified by his nickname for fear of reprisals. "Do you hear the sound of the rockets? Children have been wounded, elderly with extreme injuries."

Hundreds of people are believed to have been killed since early Saturday in the heaviest attack the city has endured since the uprising began in March, activists said.

"This brutal assault on residential neighborhoods shows the Syrian authorities' contempt for the lives of their citizens in Homs," said Anna Neistat, associate emergencies director at Human Rights Watch. "Those responsible for such horrific attacks will have to answer for them."

Human Rights Watch also said eyewitness accounts, as well as video reviewed by the group's arms experts, suggest Syrian government forces are using long-range, indirect fire weapons such as mortars.

Such weapons "are inherently indiscriminate when fired into densely populated areas," the New York-based group said.

The wounded have overwhelmed makeshift hospitals and clinics, and there were growing concerns that the locked-down city could soon run out of supplies.

"There is medicine in the pharmacies, but getting it to the field clinics is very difficult. They can't get the medicine to the wounded," Mohammed Saleh, a Syria-based activist, told the AP by telephone.

Baba Amr, he said, has been without electricity since Saturday.

The assault on Homs began after reports that army defectors and other armed opponents of President Bashar Assad were setting up their own checkpoints and taking control of some areas. The reports could not be confirmed.

But the city is the capital of Syria's largest province, stretching from the Lebanese border to the Iraqi frontier. If rebel forces keep gaining ground there, some believe they could ultimately carve out a zone akin to Benghazi in eastern Libya, where rebels launched their successful uprising against Moammar Gadhafi last year.

Saleh said most of the government attacks have been "bombardment from a distance," with regime forces keeping armored vehicles out of the neighborhoods.

Fighters from the rebel Free Syrian Army have been firing back with rocket-propelled grenades and rockets, according to activists' accounts.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees were trying to compile numbers and names of those killed Thursday. The LCC, an activist group, said up to 100 people were killed in Homs, but the toll was impossible to independently verify. The Observatory reported 63 deaths in Homs.

Activists also reported violence in the towns of Zabadani and Daraa.

As the bloodshed persists, the international community is searching for new diplomatic approaches to stop the protracted conflict.

The Syrian government blames the unrest on a foreign conspiracy by Israel and the West. It says armed gangs and terrorists are behind the uprising, not protesters seeking democratic change.

The uprising began with mostly peaceful protests but has transformed into an armed insurgency against Assad in many areas, raising fears the country is spiraling toward civil war. In January, the U.N. estimated an overall death toll of more than 5,400 since March.

The number of children killed has climbed into the hundreds, said Radhika Coomaraswamy, the U.N. representative for children in armed conflict, adding that the situation was particularly harrowing in Homs.

The Syrian regime's crackdown on dissent has left it almost completely isolated internationally as nations have imposed sanctions and withdrawn diplomats. In the latest action, Libya on Thursday gave Syria's top envoy to the country and embassy staff 72 hours to leave, according to Libyan Foreign Ministry press officer Saad Elshlmani.

The United States, meanwhile, is working with its European and Arab allies to organize the inaugural meeting of the "Friends of Syria" to explore ways to further isolate President Bashar Assad, support his foes and end continuing violence. The State Department said that its top Mideast envoy has been dispatched to Morocco, France and Bahrain to help put the meeting together.

Assad has political backing from Russia and China, which delivered a double veto over the weekend in the U.N. Security Council that blocked a resolution calling on him to leave power.

On Wednesday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the lack of unity on the council "has encouraged the Syrian government" to step up its attacks on civilians.

"Thousands have been killed in cold blood, shredding President Assad's claims to speak for the Syrian people," Ban said. "I fear that the appalling brutality we are witnessing in Homs, with heavy weapons firing into civilian neighborhoods, is a grim harbinger of worse to come."

The sanctions are crippling Syria's economy, but they have failed to stop the military offensives.

There also are fears that the conflict is taking on dangerous sectarian overtones in some areas, including Homs.

Syria's 22 million people are overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim, but Assad and the ruling elite belong to the Alawite sect, which comprises about 10 percent of the population.

The political domination by Alawites has bred seething resentment, which Assad tried to tamp down by enforcing the strictly secular ideology of his Baath Party.

But as the uprising surged, with Sunnis making up the backbone of the revolt, Assad called heavily upon his Alawite power base to crush the resistance, feeding sectarian tensions like those that fueled civil wars in Iraq and Lebanon.

A senior Arab League official said the Cairo-based organization will discuss Sunday whether to recognize the opposition Syrian National Council as the legitimate representative of Syria and whether to allow it to open offices in Arab capitals. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because no decision has been made on the issue.

The U.N. chief said the head of the Arab League plans to send observers back into Syria and has raised the possibility of a joint mission with the United Nations. Ban provided no specifics, but the idea appears aimed at giving the league a boost after its earlier mission was pulled out of Syria because of security concerns.

Also Thursday, Germany expelled four Syrian diplomats following the arrest this week of two men accused of spying on Syrian opposition groups in the country.

Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said he ordered the expulsions of the four Syrian Embassy employees.

German federal prosecutors said Tuesday they had arrested a Syrian and a German-Lebanese dual national on suspicion that they spied on Syrian opposition supporters in Germany for several years.]]> http://www.kyivpost.com/news/world/detail/122205/ World Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:38:44 +0200
Hundreds of thousands of tourists will descend on Rio next week for carnival parades of scantily clad women dancing to samba bands and raucous street parties in the annual pre-Lenten bash.

Both Rio and Salvador are two of the 12 Brazilian cities that will host the 2014 soccer World Cup and the police strikes add security fears to concerns about inadequate infrastructure for the global sports event in Latin America's biggest country. Rio will also host the Olympics in 2016.

The World Cup is expected to attract as many as 600,000 foreign visitors two years from now. Having already faced criticisms by FIFA, soccer's governing body, over the country's preparations for the event, Brazilian officials are scrambling to ensure that security woes don't complicate matters further.

Thousands of police, firefighters and prison guards voted to strike in Rio, demanding higher wages. It was not immediately clear how many of the 70,000 workers in those posts would comply with the call for strike.

Rio state authorities have said 14,000 army troops were ready to protect the city from the wave of murders, looting and vandalism that hit Salvador after 20 percent of the 31,000 police officers of the northeastern state of Bahia walked off their jobs on Jan. 31.

Salvador's striking policemen remained defiant on Thursday and voted to continue their stoppage even after hundreds of them ended an occupation of the state legislature.

Some of the vandalism in the city was allegedly committed by police officers themselves, complicating negotiations with state officials who have refused the strikers' demands that officers be pardoned for any crimes during the walkout.

President Dilma Rousseff, who late last week dispatched 3,000 federal troops to Bahia to restore order, backed state officials' unwillingness to consider an amnesty.

"There can be no amnesty for illegal acts, crimes against property, crimes against people, crimes against public order," Rousseff said on Thursday during a visit to Bahia's neighboring state of Pernambuco. Such an amnesty, she added, would create "a country without rules."

Although many Brazilians understand the plight of the police, whose wages are low compared with many private-sector workers, the chaos caused by the walkout has brought wide condemnation of the strike by government leaders and the general public.

"It's not possible for those who receive money and arms from the people for protection to use those arms against them," said Justice Minister José Eduardo Cardozo.

The federal government, he added, would deploy more troops and additional resources if needed in other states to ensure that the chaos does not spread. Carnival, he predicted, will proceed "with absolute tranquility."

Carnival begins Feb. 17 and lasts through Feb. 21]]> http://www.kyivpost.com/news/world/detail/122204/ World Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:16:07 +0200
Analysts expected January trade to fall due to the Lunar New Year holiday, the country's most important holiday. Chinese exporters rushed out orders in December and then shut down for two weeks or more in January.

But the import decline was sharper than expected, suggesting that even with the holiday factored in, the world's second-largest economy is slowing markedly. China is a major buyer of iron ore, oil and other commodities and industrial components, meaning any downturn could hurt suppliers such as Australia, Brazil and South Africa.

"Such a dramatically low import number reflects extremely weak domestic demand, as investment slumps and drags on economic activity," said IHS Global Insight analyst Alistair Thornton in a report.

The Lunar New Year falls at different times during January or February each year, distorting trade figures. Analysts usually group the two months together and have said they will not have a clear picture until March.

China's export growth has declined steadily as Europe's debt problems and high U.S. unemployment hurt demand for goods. But January was the first outright contraction compared with a year earlier since the 2008 crisis.

Import growth has weakened as Beijing tightened lending curbs to cool an overheated economy and export industries bought less imported raw materials and components as foreign orders weakened.

China's rapid economic growth eased to a 2 1/2-year low of 8.9 percent in the final quarter of 2011, down from 2010's 10.3 percent.

The International Monetary Fund is forecasting 8.2 percent growth this year but has warned that could be cut by nearly half if Europe, China's biggest export market, suffers a severe fall in activity due to its debt woes.

Private sector growth forecasts for 2012 are as low as 7.5 percent.

Construction curbs imposed to discourage overinvestment and cool surging housing prices have cut demand for cement, steel and other building materials. That is bad news for commodity suppliers that are counting on China to help drive global sales as demand elsewhere falters.

In December, import growth fell to 11.8 percent from November's 22.1 percent while export growth declined marginally to 13.4 percent.

China's electricity consumption, an indicator of activity, fell by 7.5 percent compared with a year earlier, the newspaper China Securities Journal reported earlier.

That was the first decline since the 2008 crisis and, before that, since 2002, according to Nomura economist Zhiwei Zhang.

"We therefore believe that this drop reflects a sharp slowdown in industrial production," Zhang said in a report.]]>