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Demonstrators at Warsaw climate summit demand emission cuts

WARSAW, Poland, Nov. 18 (UPI) — Climate change demonstrators took to the streets of Warsaw during the weekend as host Poland comes under fire from critics at the U.N. COP19 climate summit. Chanting “Change the system, not the climate,” and “Justice and positive energy for all,” nearly 1,000 people marched through Warsaw Saturday as part of the international “March for Climate and Social Justice,” the Polish broadcaster TVN 24 reported. The event caused traffic congestion in the heart of the city as it wound its way from the Palace of Culture and Science, passed over the Poniatowski Bridge along Jerusalem Avenue and past the National Stadium, where the UN climate summit is being held. The march ended at Skaryszewski Park near the National Stadium, where demonstrators set up an “eco-park.” At the head of the procession was a large inflatable globe, emphasizing the demonstrators’ point decisions made to reduce […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Strains With Israel Over Iran Snarl U.S. Goals in Mideast

WASHINGTON—The Obama administration’s overtures to Iran are straining the U.S. alliance with Israel in ways not seen in decades, compounding concerns about the White House’s ability to manage the Middle East’s proliferating security crises, said current and former American diplomats. In a sign of Israel’s growing disaffection with Washington, French President François Hollande was given a hero’s welcome when he arrived in Tel Aviv on Sunday for a three-day visit that would showcase Paris’s hard line against Iran’s nuclear program ahead of international talks in Geneva this week. Mr. Netanyahu reiterated his criticism that the U.S.-backed compromise was a “very bad deal” while hailing Mr. Hollande for his opposition to the agreement at a joint news conference Sunday evening in Jerusalem. “Your support and your friendship is real. It’s sincere. You were one out of six,” he said, referring to the six world powers participating in talks with Iran. […]

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Israel steps up rhetoric ahead of Iran talks

President Shimon Peres (L) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R), welcome French President Francois Hollande (C) and his companion Valerie Trierweiler upon their arrival at Ben Gurion ©Getty President Shimon Peres and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcome French President Francois Hollande at Ben Gurion Israel escalated its rhetoric over Iran’s nuclear programme at the weekend, with a senior official warning it was prepared to launch a unilateral military strike against Iran. Although Israel has talked many times about its willingness to take military action on its own, this warning comes ahead of diplomatic talks with Iran on Wednesday that US officials say are “close” to success. At the same time, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli prime minister, took to the American airwaves again on Sunday to blast the Obama administration over the prospect of a deal with Iran and to lobby public opinion against any agreement. François Hollande, French […]

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French Leader Assures Israel He Will Keep Pressure on Iran

JERUSALEM — As France and other world powers prepared to resume talks with Iran this week on its disputed nuclear program, the French president, François Hollande, arrived in Israel on Sunday for a three-day visit and was warmly embraced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been conducting a lonely campaign against a deal he calls “bad” and “dangerous.” At a red-carpet welcoming ceremony at Ben-Gurion International Airport, Mr. Netanyahu thanked Mr. Hollande for his “resolute stance” on both Syria and Iran, and Mr. Hollande assured Israel that France “will not tolerate nuclear proliferation.” He pledged to keep up the pressure on Iran until it was clear that Iran had given up its quest for nuclear weapons, and declared in Hebrew, “I will always remain a friend of Israel.” Talks in Geneva on Nov. 9 between Iran and six world powers — France, the United States, Germany, Britain, Russia […]

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Israel Working With Saudi Arabia On Iran “Contingency” Attack

Israel Working With Saudi Arabia On Iran “Contingency” Attack Page added on November 17, 2013 When last week’s Iran nuclear talks were blocked by France , it provided a useful glimpse into just who it was that would benefit politically from a continuation of the regional confrontation. But while the French sabotage was an amusing distraction, it revealed a curious shift in middle-east alliances, namely old “enemies” Israel and Saudi Arabia, both feeling shunned by Big Brother, suddenly becoming the best of buddies. It was only a matter of time before this novel alliance moved beyond just paper and tested how far it could go in real life. Said test may come far sooner than expected: according to the Sunday Times, Israel’s Mossad and Saudi Arabia are planning an attack against Iran if negotiations and talks don’t come to an agreement , and that Saudia Arabia will permit Israel […]

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Sectarian fury could threaten Iraq's push for record oil output

BASRA, Iraq, Nov. 17 (UPI) — The Iraqi government is seeking to restore calm in the southern province of Basra, the country’s main oil production center, after hundreds of foreign oilmen were hastily evacuated amid violent protests by Iraqi oil workers. The evacuation, after rioters wrecked a camp used by Houston-based Schlumberger Inc., the world’s largest oilfield services company, came amid a worsening surge of sectarian warfare across Iraq that threatens to undermine a drive by the government to boost oil production to record levels and challenge Saudi Arabia as the world’s leading oil power. Until recently, the bloodletting, largely the work of Sunni extremists of al-Qaida against Iraq’s Shiite majority, had not seriously threatened the Basra oil fields, which produce around two-thirds of Iraq’s output. But in the last few weeks the Shiites around Basra, Iraq’s second largest city, have become targets, and any major escalation could impact […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Sectarian fury could threaten Iraq’s push for record oil output

BASRA, Iraq, Nov. 17 (UPI) — The Iraqi government is seeking to restore calm in the southern province of Basra, the country’s main oil production center, after hundreds of foreign oilmen were hastily evacuated amid violent protests by Iraqi oil workers. The evacuation, after rioters wrecked a camp used by Houston-based Schlumberger Inc., the world’s largest oilfield services company, came amid a worsening surge of sectarian warfare across Iraq that threatens to undermine a drive by the government to boost oil production to record levels and challenge Saudi Arabia as the world’s leading oil power. Until recently, the bloodletting, largely the work of Sunni extremists of al-Qaida against Iraq’s Shiite majority, had not seriously threatened the Basra oil fields, which produce around two-thirds of Iraq’s output. But in the last few weeks the Shiites around Basra, Iraq’s second largest city, have become targets, and any major escalation could impact […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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A tough time

SINCE far back in time Yazidis have gathered every year at Lalish, a village in Iraqi Kurdistan, to celebrate the Feast of Assembly, their faith’s most important annual rite. Yet this year the minority’s conical temples and tombs stood empty. Even Baba Sheikh, the Yazidis’ leader, was too afraid to attend the seven-day festival. A recent upswing in violence has pushed Iraq’s monthly death toll close to 1,000. The region around the capital, Baghdad, has borne the brunt of the carnage. But attacks have also increased in the relatively peaceful Kurdish autonomous region in the north, where much of Iraq’s Yazidi community of 70,000-300,000 lives. They have reason to be fearful. In bordering districts of Iraq proper, such as the city of Mosul and the Sinjar region to the west, armed Islamist groups have often singled out Yazidis as targets. On August 14th 2007, nearly 800 people perished when […]

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Iraq’s Delays in Finishing Pipeline Defer Iran Gas Exports

Page added on November 17, 2013 While some Iranian energy officials had earlier said Iran’s natural gas exports to Iraq would begin by mid-March 2014, higher consumption in Iran during the cold season and Iraq’s delays in constructing its side of the pipeline will defer the project by a few months. Iran, which has the largest gas reserves in the world, seeks to enhance gas production by increasing foreign and domestic investments. But it is still a net importer of the energy source as the local demand has outstripped production increases. Iran is particularly dependent on imports during winter months, when residential heating demand peaks. Iran exports natural gas to Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, and receives pipeline imports from Turkmenistan and the Republic of Azerbaijan. Since 2000, Iran’s annual natural gas imports have exceeded its exports in all but two years (2010 and 2012). In 2011 and 2012, Iran […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple