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Coca-Cola resumes its production in Somalia
Today's Headlines
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Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
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Africa North
Spain Seizes 28m Euros in Mubarak-Linked Assets
[An Nahar] Spain announced Thursday it had seized 28 million euros ($37 million) in financial products, luxury cars and buildings linked to ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.
...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011...
Egypt requested Spain's help under U.N. anti-corruption conventions to find and block assets owned by Mubarak, his family, top aides and their related companies, a national police statement said.

Police blocked 18.4 million euros in financial products held in three Spanish banks; two buildings in Madrid's wealthy Moraleja district worth a combined seven million euros; and seven properties in the holiday resort of Malaga worth more than three million euros.

They also seized seven luxury cars.

"The assets could be the proceeds of crimes such as the embezzlement of public funds, corruption, or the illegal enrichment committed during his mandate," police said.

The Egyptian request targeted some 130 people, they said.
Posted by: Fred || 12/14/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336085 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Mauritania outlaws coups d'état
[Magharebia] Carrying out a coup d'état is now punishable by law in Mauritania. Offenders would be subject to imprisonment, fines and other penalties such as forfeiture of civil rights.
Good idea. Make 'em against the law. That'll stop 'em in their tracks...
During a November 29th cabinet meeting chaired by President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, the Mauritanian government examined and approved a bill criminalising putsches and other forms of anti-constitutional changes of authority. These offenses will now be considered "crimes against the stability of the state", the final communiqué stated.

"This draft law stems from the national dialogue between the consolidated governing majority and opposition parties, and in particular the provisions of constitutional law no. 2012-015 of 20 March 2012," the statement read.

Legal expert Baba Ould Cheikh explained that on March 6th, "parliament voted to adopt a number of constitutional amendments including one making the prime minister accountable to both chambers and another outlawing coups d'état."

"Six of the seven heads of state it has had since the overthrow of Moktar Ould Daddah in 1978 have come from the military," Ould Cheikh added.

Ould Cheikh noted that the new legislation "should quell the ardour of would-be putschists as the penalties in the event of a coup d'état provide an adequate deterrent and will pose major setbacks for those who orchestrate them"

"The fact that coups d'état are being outlawed in Mauritania marks a real turning point as this is a decision which strengthens democracy and encourages changes of authority by democratic means - that is, peaceful handovers of power," remarked Professor Ball Mohamed.
Posted by: Fred || 12/14/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336067 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Didn't the League of Nations outlaw war? Didn't work too well, but maybe I'm wrong.
Posted by: AlanC || 12/14/2012 9:21 Comments || Top||

#2  Hey, is this a coup?
Yes.
You can't do that!
BANG!
Posted by: tu3031 || 12/14/2012 12:41 Comments || Top||

#3  Devil's in the details and the implementation. Any bets they define "coup" to include talking about it? And that at some point, organizing a political campaign will fall under the same law?
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 12/14/2012 15:29 Comments || Top||

#4  You mean they were LEGAL up to this time?
Boy I really missed my chance on that one ... I couldda' been King For A Day. :-)
Posted by: Raider || 12/14/2012 16:10 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Saudi Arabia begins aluminium production
Damn! They've got an aluminum well! Who knew?
[Al Ahram] Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in their national face...
on Thursday began aluminium production at its first smelter built through a joint venture between the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma'aden) and US giant Alcoa, a statement said.

"Today we see the first aluminium produced in Saudi Arabia, and the launch of a new industry," Ma'aden President and CEO Khalid al-Mudaifer said at the inauguration of production in Ras al-Khair in Eastern Province.

The Ma'aden Aluminium joint venture is 74.9 percent-owned by the Saudi group, with the rest held by Alcoa.

The smelter is part of a joint venture agreed in 2009 to construct a giant industrial complex costing $10.8 billion.

In addition to the smelter which will have an initial annual capacity of 740,000 metric tonnes, the complex includes a bauxite mine with an initial capacity of four million metric tonnes per year, and an alumina refinery with an annual initial capacity of 1.8 million metric tonnes.
Posted by: Fred || 12/14/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336067 views] Top|| File under:


Caribbean-Latin America
Hugo Chavez stable and recovering after fourth cancer operation
[Guardian.Co.UK] Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez suffered bleeding during his cancer surgery in Cuba that required "corrective measures" to stanch the flow, his government said Thursday.
"Stanch the flow"? Yeah, I'll bet he's doing just great...
A tourniquet firmly tightened about the neck will do it every time.
But in the latest of a series of unusually frank reports about the president's delicate condition, information minister Ernesto Villegas also said Chavez has been making a "progressive and favourable" recovery after the complications from Tuesday's surgery.

"This recovery process, nevertheless, will require a prudent period of time as a consequence of the complexity of the surgery performed," Villegas added.

The government has begun providing regular updates on the president's recovery after the six-hour surgery in what appears to be a slight easing of the secrecy that has surrounded Chavez's medical treatment since he fell ill last year.

The latest details about Chavez's health came as supporters held church services to pray for him and as Venezuelans increasingly acknowledged that their country might be on the verge of political change if the leftist leader cannot be sworn in for his fourth term early next year.
Posted by: Fred || 12/14/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336065 views] Top|| File under:

#1  They'll announce he's dead, in a week or so, just to be sure they're off the hook.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 12/14/2012 0:08 Comments || Top||

#2  "...'E's pining for the fjords."

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 12/14/2012 5:42 Comments || Top||

#3  Generalissimo Franco is also stable.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 12/14/2012 9:11 Comments || Top||

#4  Why is Sean Penn not donating some type-c (communist) blood?
Posted by: airandee || 12/14/2012 9:33 Comments || Top||

#5  I was just thinking, the headline shoulda read "Generallisimo Francisco Chavez is still alive."
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 12/14/2012 9:43 Comments || Top||

#6  Grave stone is a keeper. I have never seen that before.I suggest a new line of political dolls. Fidel and Chavez life size puppets operated by puppeteers.I think they have been using them for years with Fidel. HA,Ha,Ha,SILENCE I KILL YOU. OK,OK,OK Accchmed.
Posted by: Dale || 12/14/2012 10:26 Comments || Top||

#7  Stable? Chavez has never been stable. Predictable maybe, but not stable.
Posted by: SteveS || 12/14/2012 11:54 Comments || Top||

#8  Nice try, Doc. Worth 5K, anyway.
Posted by: Muggsy Mussolini1226 || 12/14/2012 13:11 Comments || Top||

#9  Bolivar shuffled off this mortal coil on December 17.
Posted by: Shipman || 12/14/2012 16:10 Comments || Top||


Europe
Ukrainian Lawmakers Fight in Parliament for Second Day
[An Nahar] Violent scuffles broke out in the Ukrainian parliament Thursday as dozens of opposition and pro-government politicians brawled for a second day in a chamber notorious for its physical confrontations.
Scrum! Scrum! Though why anyone would copy the Taiwanese legislature is beyond me.
Deputies in suits and shirtsleeves climbed on tables, shouted and grappled with opponents as a protest against the practice of politicians pressing electronic buttons to vote for absentee colleagues descended into violence.

While politicians are legally obliged to vote in person, many of them run around pressing buttons for absent colleagues.

The parliament's opening session on Wednesday also saw fighting erupt between opposition politicians and deputies whom they accused of defecting to the pro-government camp.

Pro-government politicians tried to push back the opposition politicians who blockaded the speaker's tribune, while some clambered on to the desks of the parliamentary leaders and jumped down on their opponents.

The brawls were an ugly start to a new parliament dominated by President Viktor Yanukovych's Regions Party, which claims to have won a majority in legislative elections on October 28.

The fighting postponed a vote on reinstating Yanukovych's ally Mykola Azarov as prime minister, which was due to take place Thursday.

The towering boxing champion Vitali Klitschko, whose opposition party with the acronym UDAR, or punch, has won 42 seats in the parliament, refrained from joining the skirmishes.

"You could call the fists of a world champion a nuclear weapon. I don't think we will use this weapon yet," Klitschko said, quoted by the Interfax news agency.

But he added: "We do support the blockading of the tribune."
Posted by: Fred || 12/14/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336065 views] Top|| File under:


Eurozone agrees payout of 34 bln euros for Greece
[Al Ahram] Finance ministers of the 17-nation eurozone Thursday agreed to release 34 billion euros of bailout funds to Greece which had been frozen since June, the spokesman for Eurogroup chief Jean-Claude Juncker said. "The meeting is over. The release of the financial aid has been accepted," the spokesman told AFP.
Posted by: Fred || 12/14/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336066 views] Top|| File under:


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Abbas Mulls Forming Confederation With Jordan
PA officials say a confederation would only take place after the creation of a Paleostinian state within the pre-1967 lines

Paleostinian Authority officials confirmed Thursday that they were studying the possibility of establishing a confederation with Jordan, but stressed that this would take place only after the creation of an independent Paleostinian state within the pre-1967 lines.
So it's a useless intellectual exercise. I didn't realize the PA was so .. academic...
President Abbas is not the only one there with a highly specialized PhD, after all.
The officials were commenting on a report in the London-based Al-Quds al- Arabi newspaper that claimed that PA President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas
... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial...
had asked senior Fatah leaders to prepare for the formation of a confederation between a Paleostinian state and Jordan.

The newspaper said that Abbas has instructed his advisors to provide him with "detailed strategic reports about the best way to conduct negotiations with Jordan about reviving the confederation plan."

Abbas reportedly met with seven top Fatah and PA figures and discussed with them the idea, the report said, adding that the PA president had asked that the meeting remain confidential.

The report quoted an informed Paleostinian source as saying that Abbas told participants that the confederation plan would come soon "and we must be prepared for it."

Abbas's rapprochement with Jordan is the result of a Saudi-Qatari-Turkish alliance that backs Hamas and ignores the PA, the politicians noted
. Jordan and the PA are scheduled to launch talks on their future relations on February 21, the report revealed.

On Saturday, the Fatah Central Committee is expected to discuss the confederation plan during a meeting in Ramallah, according to the source.

Jordanian politicians quoted Abbas as saying that the Paleostinian state would not be able to survive without forging a confederation with Jordan.

Abbas hinted that he discussed the idea with Jordan's King Abdullah, when the latter visited Ramallah earlier this week.

Abbas's rapprochement with Jordan is the result of a Saudi-Qatari-Turkish alliance that backs Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, and ignores the PA, the politicians noted.

Abbas's front man, Nabil Abu Rudaineh, said in response that the confederation idea would be discussed only after the establishment of an independent Paleostinian state.

Abu Rudaineh said that the idea was first discussed in 1988 and the two sides agreed that when a Paleostinian state is established this option would be on the table.

He said that any decision taken by the PA leadership would be brought before the Paleostinians for approval through a referendum.

PLO Executive Committee member Wasel Abu Yusef said that the confederation plan was just a "study" during the current phase.

Abu Yusef said that any talk about the confederation plan now would hinder efforts to establish an independent Paleostinian state within the pre-1967 lines "because Israel is hoping that a Paleostinian state would be part of Jordan."

Any confederation would be announced only after a Paleostinian state is established, he added.

"What is happening now is only a discussion and a study about future options of a Paleostinian state."

Diplomatic sources would not comment on the report.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/14/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336087 views] Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority

#1  E.g. the KURDS, I have said that an outbreak of "Arab/Islamic Spring" = "Jordan Spring" + consequent destabilization or fall of the ruling Hashemite Dynasty could give the Paleos the opportunity they need to forcibly or violently create their own unique homeland via merger wid the large Paleo community already residing inside Hashemite Jordan.

As said before, the PA in Gaza-West Bank is a Govt widout any physical land or territory [sovereign]to call its own - EGYPT CLAIMS GAZA AS ITS SOVEREIGN TERRITORY, JORDAN CLAIMS DITTO PER THE WEST BANK, + NEITHER EGYPT OR JORDAN IS SEEMINGLY WILLING TO TRANSFER SAME TO THE PA + PALEO PEOPLE.

At best, the PA + Paleos are nothing more than "guests" of Egypt + Jordan until such time Israel is defeated or destroyed - EVEN THEN, THERE ARE NO GUARANTEES. Safe to say the Paleos are likely on their own.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/14/2012 23:09 Comments || Top||

#2  Safe to say the Paleos are likely on their own.

Everyone loves the Paleos - until they want to come and visit (cue John Belushi "Thing That Would Not Leave" skit). Everyone needs the Paleos to torment the Juice, but no one wants them as neighbors and houseguests. Is there anyplace they haven't been thrown out of?
Posted by: SteveS || 12/14/2012 23:21 Comments || Top||


2 Bethlehem Men Sentenced To Hard Labor For Selling Land To Israel
[Ma'an] A Paleostinian court on Monday sentenced two men from Bethlehem to 10 years hard labor for selling land to Israel.

The men are both from Husan village and were convicted of selling land in the West Bank to Israeli settlers.

The court said one of the accused, a 64-old identified by his initials F.H., brought papers from his brothers that gave him power of attorney to sell land inherited from their father, official news agency Wafa said. The land is located near the Israeli settlement of Beitar Illit.

The other defendant, named only as Y.Z., 49, worked as a contractor in the settlement and arranged for F.H to sell the land to a settler for $45,000.

The court suspended their sentences as the defendants wish to appeal, a Ma'an news hound said.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/14/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336067 views] Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority



Who's in the News
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5Govt of Syria
3TTP
3al-Shabaab
2Palestinian Authority
2Govt of Pakistan
1Govt of Sudan
1al-Qaeda in North Africa
1Hamas
1Lashkar e-Jhangvi
1Taliban
1Thai Insurgency
1Fatah al-Islam
1al-Nusra
1Govt of Iran

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Two weeks of WOT
Fri 2012-12-14
  Coca-Cola resumes its production in Somalia
Thu 2012-12-13
  'Friends of Syria' Recognize Syrian Opposition
Wed 2012-12-12
  Syria Fires Scud Missiles at Insurgents, U.S. Says
Tue 2012-12-11
  North Korea 'launches long-range rocket'
Mon 2012-12-10
  Rebels Seize Chunk of Aleppo Base as Fighting Rages across Syria
Sun 2012-12-09
  Mohammad Ahmed Almansoor Drone-zapped in North Wazoo
Sat 2012-12-08
  Abu-Zaid al Kuwaiti Drone-zapped During Breakfast
Fri 2012-12-07
  6 dead, 450 injured in clashes at Egypt's presidential palace
Thu 2012-12-06
  Two Dead as Egypt Islamists Overrun Opposition Tents
Wed 2012-12-05
  Hundreds of thousands besiege Egypt's presidential palace to protest draft constitution
Tue 2012-12-04
  Syria FM Spokesman 'Defects' from Regime, Leaves Syria
Mon 2012-12-03
  Car bomb in Syria's Homs kills 15: State media
Sun 2012-12-02
  Mullah Nazir orders out Mehsud Taliban fighters
Sat 2012-12-01
  Egypt assembly approves new draft constitution
Fri 2012-11-30
  Damascus fighting cuts off airport, Emirates suspends flights

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