The Star Online: World Updates
The Star Online: World Updates |
- Alaska emails shine light on Palin, no bombshells yet
- Helicopters open fire to disperse Syrian protesters
- Syria says European U.N. draft would aid 'terrorists'
| Alaska emails shine light on Palin, no bombshells yet Posted: 10 Jun 2011 06:34 PM PDT ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - The state of Alaska on Friday released more than 24,000 pages of former Governor Sarah Palin's emails, shedding some light on how the possible Republican U.S. presidential contender conducted business.
The printed emails to and from Palin, who abruptly quit as governor of the oil-rich state nearly two years ago, were made available to those willing to pay $725 for copies and hundreds of dollars more in delivery fees. Six hours later, almost one quarter of the emails had been scanned and posted online by various media websites. Most of the emails so far reviewed concern fairly dry day-to-day workings of the governor's office, punctuated by the folksy language she has become known for: "You bet!" Much of the correspondence comes from one of Palin's Yahoo accounts -- gov.sarah@yahoo.com -- which she often used from her BlackBerry. Some of the emails posted online include: * A request to aides to set up a meeting with John McCain's team as he campaigned to become the Republican presidential candidate, several months before he chose Palin as his running mate. "Is it possible to get hooked up (maybe by Nick Ayers?) with someone from the McCain campaign?" Palin wrote. "I want to talk to McCain's people about his ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge) and resources positions." * Palin's initial tentative support for Mike Huckabee in the 2008 Republican primaries: "He called. Very cool. Unless McCain calls, Huck's a good pick for me, just fyi. He says he's all for gasline and anwr- very cool," Palin wrote. * Aides planning to send emails to the Anchorage Daily News complaining about treatment of Palin by a blogger on the newspaper's site. "Guys, I may be pretty wimpy about this family stuff but I feel like I'm at the breaking point with the hurtful gossip about my family," Palin wrote "I hate this part of the job and many days I feel like it's not worth it ..." * An aide suggesting a meeting with Pete Rouse, then chief of staff "for a guy named Barack Obama". "I'm game to meet him," Palin replied. * Aides arranging a TV interview on energy issues where the answers are taped and the questions to be introduced later. * Opposition to hunting bears in the McNeil River Bear Sanctuary. "I am a hunter. I grew up hunting - some of my best memories growing up are of hunting with my dad to help feel (sic) our freezer. I want Alaskans to have access to wildlife...BUT - he's asking if I support hunting the bears in the sanctuary? No, I don't... I don't know any Alaskans who do support hunting the McNeil bears that frequent the viewing area. The emails, some heavily redacted to remove private or privileged information, come from the first two years of Palin's governorship, from December 2006 to September 2008. The six cartons of documents include emails from Palin's official account as well as two private Yahoo accounts she used to conduct state business, a practice that critics said circumvented Alaska's open-records law. Dozens of reporters descended on the state capital, Juneau, to get earliest access to the documents, which were first requested in 2008 shortly after Republican presidential nominee McCain chose Palin as his vice presidential running mate. After the Republican loss to U.S. President Barack Obama, Palin quit the governorship with more than a year left in her term to embark on a more visible national career as a television commentator and author. She has not said whether she would run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012. Journalists and Alaska political activist Andree McLeod sought the emails under state public records laws in 2008. At that time, Palin was the subject of a legislative probe into accusations she abused her power as governor to seek revenge against a state trooper who had been married to her sister. The New York Times and The Washington Post started scanning and posting the e-mails on their websites, and are asking readers to comment. MSNBC is working with data research firm Crivella West to produce a searchable database online, some of which is available at http://palinemail.msnbc.msn.com. About 2,400 pages are being withheld because state attorneys have deemed them to contain privileged information. The emails "show a very engaged Governor Sarah Palin being the CEO of her state," said Tim Crawford, treasurer at SarahPAC, Palin's political action committee. "The emails detail a governor hard at work. Everyone should read them." Alaska's open-records law mandates a 10-day deadline for delivery of public documents when requested, but Alaska officials argued the request overwhelmed state resources and received numerous extensions. Requests by news organizations to see emails up to Palin's resignation as governor in July 2009 are still pending. About 3,000 of Palin's husband Todd's e-mails were released last year after a request by NBC. (Additional reporting by Bill Rigby in Seattle; Writing by Bill Rigby; Editing by Doina Chiacu) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. | ||
| Helicopters open fire to disperse Syrian protesters Posted: 10 Jun 2011 06:34 PM PDT AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian helicopter gunships fired machineguns to disperse pro-democracy protests, witnesses said, in the first reported use of air power to quell unrest in Syria's increasingly bloody three-month-old uprising.
The use of the aircraft came on a day of nationwide rallies against President Bashar al-Assad, as unrest showed no sign of abating despite the harsh crackdown by his authoritarian state. The helicopters opened fire in a northwestern town after security forces on the ground killed five protesters, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. "At least five helicopters flew over Maarat al-Numaan and began firing their machineguns to disperse the tens of thousands who marched in the protest," one witness said by telephone. "People hid in fields, under bridges and in their houses, but the firing continued on the mostly empty streets for hours," said the witness, who gave his name as Nawaf. Syria's state television, in contrast, blamed violence in the area on anti-government groups. It made no mention of attack helicopters but said an ambulance helicopter had come under fire over Maarat from "terrorist armed groups," injuring crew. Britain, France, Germany and Portugal have asked the U.N. Security Council to condemn Assad, though veto-wielding Russia has said it would oppose such a move. Denouncing the Syrian government's actions, the White House said Friday's "appalling violence" had led the United States to back the European draft resolution at the United Nations. "The Syrian government is leading Syria on a dangerous path," the White House said. Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem wrote to the Security Council accusing the opposition of violence and sabotage, Al Arabiya television said. Foreign governments were basing their views on "inaccurate information," it said. State television said earlier well-armed "terrorist groups" had burned police buildings and killed members of the security forces in Maarat al-Numaan, which lies 55 km (35 miles) south of Syria's second city Aleppo on the highway to Damascus. LETTER ASKING FOR HELP Moualem's letter asked for U.N. help to combat "extremism and terrorism." Damascus wanted dialogue with the opposition, the letter said. Syrian authorities have banned most foreign correspondents from the country and have repeatedly tried to portray anti-government protesters as armed and violent. "There were peaceful protests today (in Maarat) calling for freedom and for the downfall of the regime," one demonstrator said by phone. "The security forces let us protest, but when they saw the size of the demonstration grow, they opened fire to disperse us." "During the protest, two officers and three soldiers refused to open fire so we carried them on our shoulders. After that, we were surprised to see helicopters firing on us." The northwest border area, like other protest hotspots, is prone to tension between majority Sunni Muslims and Assad's Alawite sect, which dominates the Syrian power elite. The violence may reflect splits within the security forces, whose commanders are mainly Alawite and conscripts Sunni. Activists said Syrian forces had shot dead at least 33 at rallies across the country after Friday prayers. A U.N. spokesman said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had been trying to call Assad all week but was told that the president was "not available." REFUGEES FEAR "SLAUGHTER" Thousands of civilians have fled from the northwestern border area into Turkey, fearing security forces' revenge for incidents in which 120 troops were reported killed this week. Local people said at least 15,000 troops along with some 40 tanks and troop carriers had deployed near Jisr al-Shughour. "Jisr al-Shughour is practically empty. People were not going to sit and be slaughtered like lambs," said one refugee who crossed the border into Turkey. A 40-year-old from Jisr al-Shughour, with a bullet still in his thigh, also described mutiny in Syrian ranks. "Some of the security forces defected and there were some in the army who refused the orders of their superiors," he said. "They were firing on each other." Human rights activists aired a YouTube video described as from a Lieutenant Colonel Hussein Armoush, saying he had defected with soldiers to "join the ranks of the masses demanding freedom and democracy." A Turkish newspaper said Ankara was looking into creating a buffer zone along the border as a contingency if hundreds of thousands of Syrians are driven out. The International Committee of the Red Cross urged Syria to allow its aid workers wider access to the civilian population, including the many believed wounded or detained. Rights groups say over 1,100 civilians have been killed since March in the revolt to demand more political freedoms and an end to corruption and poverty. (Reporting by Alexandra Hudson, Ece Toksabay and Tulay Karadeniz in the Turkish border area and Mariam Karouny and Yara Bayoumy in Beirut, and Matt Spetalnick in Washington; writing by Andrew Roche; editing by Peter Millership and Eric Walsh) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. | ||
| Syria says European U.N. draft would aid 'terrorists' Posted: 10 Jun 2011 06:03 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A European draft resolution condemning Syria for its bloody crackdown on anti-government protesters would only embolden "extremists and terrorists," Syria warned U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon in a letter.
"It is important that the Security Council should not intervene in the internal affairs of Syria, which is a founding member of the United Nations," Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem told Ban in a letter obtained by Reuters on Friday. "We are quite certain that any resolution that is adopted by that body under any heading will only exacerbate the situation and send a message to those extremists and terrorists to the effect that the deliberate destruction that they are wreaking has the support of the Security Council," he said. U.N. Security Council diplomats met again in New York on Friday in an attempt to break their deadlock on a draft resolution that would not impose sanctions on Syria but would condemn it for the crackdown and suggest Syrian security forces might be guilty of crimes against humanity. Diplomats said Friday's meeting produced no changes among the 15 Security Council members. Currently nine council members, including the draft's sponsors Britain, France, Germany and Portugal, plan to vote for it. Russia and China dislike the idea of any council discussion of Syria and have suggested they might use their veto power to kill the resolution. Lebanon, India, Brazil and South Africa have also said they have problems with the text. Envoys said the latest draft, which was submitted to the council on Wednesday by Britain, France, Germany and Portugal, could be put to a vote next week. NO APOLOGY FROM DAMASCUS Moualem offered no apology for the crackdown, which rights groups say has killed over 1,100 civilians since March. He said Damascus had no choice but to press ahead to ensure "the security of the nation and the population." "We hope that the United Nations and its Member States will assist Syria in confronting the challenges of extremism and terrorism and will not hastily adopt a position that will provide a cloak for the murderous, destructive gangs," Moualem said in the letter, which was dated on Thursday. He said that diplomatic moves to condemn Syria in New York and elsewhere "constitute flagrant intervention in the internal affairs of Syria and an attempt to destabilize it and control the current and future decisions and destinies of its people." Earlier, Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters that the U.N. secretary-general had been trying to speak on the telephone with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad but was told that the president was "not available." Moualem said the Syrian government was committed to "building democracy, widening citizens' participation in the political process, firmly establishing national unity and ensuring general order." He added that in the coming days "a committee comprising high-level party representatives and other independent persons will conduct a comprehensive national dialogue in Syria." Moualem said the demonstrations in most places in Syria are not peaceful but "acts of violence, murder and destruction that reduce public and private installations to ashes." "Stockpiles of arms and ammunition have been discovered in a number of places, which confirms that the problem we face has gone beyond the mere making of demands to an onslaught on the security, stability and sovereignty of the country that is being fomented from abroad," he told Ban. He said certain countries base their views about what is happening in Syria on "erroneous information" and ignore both the reforms the Syrian government is implementing and the crimes being committed by "armed gangs." (Editing by Vicki Allen) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
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