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Middle East: Old Formula For Peace Will Not Work

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 15 Juli 2014 | 23.12

A Complex Web Of Friends And Enemies

Updated: 10:16am UK, Sunday 13 July 2014

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor

Rockets fired from Lebanon into Israel at dawn. The opening of a new front for Israel already engaged in an escalating air campaign in the Gaza Strip? No.

Neither the Israelis nor Hezbollah, which has an arsenal of 100,000 rockets and controls southern Lebanon, are that stupid.

The missile attack on Israel's north was an attempt by Sunni militants to spark a confrontation between Hezbollah and Israel that both know would be a zero sum.

Why would Sunnis, in all probability descendants of Palestinian refugees from what is now Israel, want to do that?

It's Hezbollah, a Shia movement, after all, that has been a major conduit of experts, funding and modern rockets to Hamas, a Sunni organisation, in Gaza. Hamas and Hezbollah are allies.

But only when it comes to fighting Israel.

In Syria, Hamas has condemned the Assad regime, which like Hezbollah is backed by Iran.

Sunnis of Palestinian descent are among volunteers who have joined rebel groups fighting Damascus, while Hezbollah has sent thousands of its best fighters to the frontlines to defend the regime of Bashar al Assad.

There is a logic at work here.

If Sunni groups in south Lebanon can sucker the Israelis into a war with Hezbollah they could enjoy the double whammy of reduced pressure on Gaza, and the use of Israel's devastating air power against Hezbollah, the Sunnis' enemies in Syria.

No better example of an attempt to kill two birds with one stone.

It won't happen because both Hezbollah and Israel, foes who have the greatest respect for one another, saw through the plot some time back. It's not the first time it has been tried.

But it does signal just how the Middle East's tectonic plates of conflict have shifted and can overlap.

The explosion of sectarian Muslim war between Sunni and Shia in Syria, which has spread into Iraq and has destabilised Lebanon, has become the defining clash in a new age of chaos.

Rival regional powers Saudi Arabia and Iran use proxies to vie for influence and control.

The Saudis have become increasingly nervous of the spread of a Shia crescent from Tehran through Baghdad to Damascus and south Lebanon.

But Tehran has also used enemy forces to bolster the positions of its allies.

According to intelligence sources Muhsin al Fadhli, once a senior al Qaeda figure based in Iraq, has taken up an operational role inside Syria - at the instigation of the Iranian government.

Why would Tehran release someone to fight a key client and ally in Damascus?

Because radical groups like the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have fought harder against fellow rebel groups than they have against the Assad regime.

Tehran has split the rebels.

But now ISIS threatens Iran's client government in Baghdad showing that an enemy's enemy may be a friend from time to time, but will remain an enemy.

This may be complicated, but there is no excuse for stupidity in the Middle East. Failure to comprehend this can be fatal.

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CCTV Shows Boston Suspect Day After Bombing

Surveillance footage has emerged showing the Boston bombing suspect hanging out with a friend on the day after the attack that killed three people at the 2013 marathon.

The video was shown at the trial of a friend of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

Azamat Tazhayakov (L) Dias Kadyrbayev (C) and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

Azamat Tazhayakov is on trial for obstruction of justice

In it, Tsarnaev and Azamat Tazhayakov can be seen entering and exiting a gym in what is believed to be their college campus.

At one point, Tsarnaev, wearing a grey sweatshirt, appears to be smiling at his friend.

Tazhayakov is charged with obstruction of justice and conspiracy.

He is accused, along with another friend, of removing a backpack containing altered fireworks from Tsarnaev's dorm room several days after the bombings.

Closing arguments in his trial are scheduled for Wednesday.

Tsarnaev's own trial is slated for November.

Authorities say he and his brother Tamerlan carried out the bombings, which also injured 260 people.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's trial starts in November

Tamerlan Tsarnaev died in a shootout with police in the aftermath of the attack.

Separately, one of the bombing's survivors might become the subject of a Hollywood movie.

Time magazine reported Lionsgate is looking to make a film based on Jeff Bauman's book Stronger.

Mr Bauman lost both legs in the attack.

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Husband Guilty In Murder Trial That Gripped Oz

Brisbane estate agent Gerard Baden-Clay has been sentenced to life for murdering his wife in a case that has captivated Australia.

The 43-year-old killed his wife, Allison, in April 2012 and dumped her body under a bridge 13km (8 miles) away from their home in the suburb of Brookfield.

Baden-Clay cried as his victim's mother read an impact statement, saying he had destroyed the lives of the couple's three young daughters.

"You have changed your daughters' destiny and sentenced them to life," said Priscilla Dickie.

Despite being found with suspect scratches on his face and body, Baden-Clay always maintained he was innocent and said his wife simply went for a walk and never returned.

But the court heard Baden-Clay - great-grandson of the founder of the Scouting movement Lord Baden-Powell - was a man under pressure.

The trial heard he was struggling to repay over $A500,000 (£273,000) to friends and ex-business partners.

Mrs Baden-Clay's body was found by a kayaker. Pic: Facebook/Justice4Allison

He was also caught between two women. His lover, Toni McHugh, was frustrated over promises he would leave his wife, pleading in an email that she was "sick of being second best and having to take the back seat".

At the same time, during counselling to save their failing marriage, Baden-Clay was telling his wife he wanted a future with her.

The court heard how Baden-Clay had told Ms McHugh in an email weeks before his wife's death: "Leave things to me now."

The two women were due to potentially meet at the same real estate conference on the day she was reported missing, April 20, 2012.

Hundreds of police joined the search for Mrs Baden-Clay, but her decomposing body was found 10 days later by a kayaker at Kholo Creek. The cause of her death remains unclear.

Baden-Clay faced a wealth of circumstantial evidence in the trial.

He claimed the scratch marks on his face were a shaving accident, but experts told the trial they were more likely to be fingernail marks.

He had no explanation for the other marks on his body.

DNA testing identified blood in the boot of Mrs Baden-Clay's car as her own, while leaves found caught up in her hair matched six species near the couple's home.

Baden-Clay also phoned his lawyer in the hours after his wife's body was found and the next day inquired about her life insurance policy.

The defence tried to depict the victim as depressed and suggested she may have simply wandered off to her death. But friends and experts told the trial she was not suicidal.

Baden-Clay, who has been in prison since his arrest in June 2012, will not be eligible for parole for at least 15 years.

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Girl, 3, Who 'Woke Up' At Her Funeral Dies

A three-year-old girl who apparently woke up during her own funeral has now died, according to reports.

The girl was declared clinically dead by medical personnel in Zamboanga del Sur, Mindanao, on Friday.

But during the funeral service on Saturday she apparently began moving her head before her family took her out of her coffin.

Three-year-old girl reportedly declared dead 'wakes up' at funeral

The girl began moving her head whilst in her coffin

Senior Inspector Heidil Teelan, police chief in Aurora, told The Philippine Star the girl had been suffering from a severe fever when she was taken to a medical clinic.

He told the newspaper: "During that time, the attending clinic personnel and physician confirmed that the young patient had no more pulse and was clinically dead last Saturday morning about 9am."

The girl's coffin

He added that after the little girl reportedly moved her head, family members discovered she had a pulse and immediately gave her water before going for medical help.

Doctors were unable to save the girl and she died in hospital on Monday, according to reports.

Dr Mary Silyne Asor-Cabahug, municipal health officer for Aurora, reportedly used a cardiac monitor to assess her condition but found "no signs of life".

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Moscow Train Derailment Leaves 20 People Dead

At least 20 people have been killed after a rush-hour subway train derailed in Moscow, emergency officials said.

Several carriages left the track in a tunnel after a power surge triggered an alarm and appeared to make the train slam on its brakes.

At least 150 people were also taken to hospital. Of those, 50 are in a serious condition, news agency Itar-TASS said, quoting Moscow's health department chief, Georgy Golukhov.

More than 100 people were taken to hospital

Yuri Akimov, a Moscow representative of the emergency services, said outside the Park Pobedy station that about 200 people had been evacuated from the train, which was stuck between two stations in west Moscow.

Helicopters landed in the street to take the most seriously injured to hospital, and around 60 ambulances were also at the scene.

Some people escaped with relatively minor injuries

One survivor told the Rossiya 24 channel that he "thought it was the end".

"There were lots of injured," he added. "Various injuries: heads, legs."

Members of the emergency services carry an injured passenger outside a metro station following an accident on the subway in Moscow

There were reports of a few people still trapped in the wreckage

Another witness told Life News television: "I got into the carriage and after about 20 seconds the light went out and the train was just pulled apart ... Panic started."

Park Pobedy is the deepest metro station in Moscow, 84m (275ft) deep, making the rescue particularly hard.

Photos on social media showed passengers walking along the tracks inside the dimly lit tunnel. They also appeared to show carriages piled on top of each other.

Helicopters rushed the most serious casualties to hopsital

A city transport spokesman said all passengers had been evacuated, dismissing earlier reports that people were still trapped.

While accidents are regular occurrences in the Moscow Metro, deadly incidents are rare.

Opened in 1935, the ornate subway system carries some nine million people every day.

Suicide bombings killed 40 people in 2010, but there is no suggestion of foul play causing the latest incident.

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Oscar Pistorius In Row About Trial At Nightclub

Oscar Pistorius has been involved in an argument at a nightclub in Johannesburg, but has denied claims it was a "bar brawl".

The South African Paralympian said he was approached by a man at The VIP Room, days after the final evidence was heard in his trial for the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

Pistorius claimed Jared Mortimer "aggressively interrogated" about the trial during the row.

Mr Mortimer pictured with Nelson Mandela. Pic: Antoine de Ras

Mr Mortimer, a businessman, told local media that Pistorius insulted his friends and began poking him in the chest.

Pistorius' spokeswoman Anneliese Burgess said the incident, on Saturday night, was not a "bar brawl".

"We can confirm that Oscar was at the said venue with one of his cousins," she said in a statement.

"They sat in a quiet booth in the VIP section when they were approached by an individual who has now been identified as a Mr Mortimer.

South African newspaper front pages feature stories on the altercation

"The individual, according to my client, started to aggressively interrogate him on matters relating to the trial.

"An argument ensued during which my client asked to be left alone. Oscar soon thereafter left the club with his cousin.

"My client regrets the decision to go to a public space and thereby inviting unwelcome attention."

It comes after Pistorius broke his silence on social media by posting a series of messages on his Twitter account on Sunday.

Virgin Active Sport Industry Awards 2013

Reeva Steenkamp was shot dead on Valentine's Day 2013

In them, he posted a collage of himself posing with children and uploaded a passage about how a man in "utter desolation" can still "achieve fulfilment".

Pistorius, 27, claims he heard an intruder in his house and "in fear for his life" approached a closed toilet door and fired four shots through it on Valentine's Day in 2013.

The athlete posted these images on his Twitter account

He said he thought Miss Steenkamp, 29, was still in the bedroom when he opened fire.

Pistorius' defence wrapped up its case in the trial last Tuesday.

The double-amputee, known as the Blade Runner, will be back at Pretoria High Court on August 7 for closing arguments.

The judge will then retire to consider the verdict, which could take several weeks.

Pistorius faces between 25 years and life in prison if found guilty.

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SpongeBob Drawing 'Sparked Soldier Shootings'

A South Korean soldier accused of killing five of his comrades opened fire because he was fed up of cartoons likening him to SpongeBob SquarePants, military officials said.

The 22-year-old, known only by his surname, Yim, allegedly shot members of his own unit near the border with North Korea last month.

He was captured two days later after shooting himself in the chest in an apparent failed suicide attempt.

SpongeBob SquarePants is a popular children's TV character

Brigadier General Seon Jong-Chul, a senior military investigator, said Yim had been picked on by both lower and higher-ranking members of his unit.

On the day of the attack, cartoons were drawn on the back pages of a logbook, depicting Yim as a number of cartoon characters, including SpongeBob, a yellow sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea with his pet snail.

Mr Seon said the cartoons "triggered a flashback" to when Yim was bullied in high school, adding: "Other troops saw it as a small joke but he said he had been greatly distressed by it."

Before shooting himself, Yim wrote a brief note saying "life is more painful and difficult than death".

"Like little children who kill insects without feeling guilty, they do not know how much pain they can give to someone," he added.

Yim, who joined the army in 2012 and was three months from being discharged, had difficulty adapting to military life, it has been reported.

Six survivors of last month's shooting who allegedly took part in the bullying are expected to face disciplinary action.

A spokesman for South Korea's defence ministry said prosecutors plan to charge Yim, who has started legal action against one of his senior officers.

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Europe's Juncker Heckled By Eurosceptics

Eurosceptics heckled the newly appointed European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker as he gave a speech in parliament setting out his plans.

Mr Juncker was jeered as he hailed the single currency in an address in which he warned the UK the EU should focus on big common challenges and not "small problems".

The former Luxembourg prime minister, whose appointment to Europe's top job was fiercely resisted by David Cameron, won 422 votes in favour - with 250 against and 47 abstentions.

UKIP MEP Nigel Farage told the European Parliament: "We are being asked to vote for the ultimate Brussels insider, somebody who has always operated with dark, backroom deals and stitch-ups."

Nigel Farage has said Mr Juncker's appointment was not democratic

Mr Farage told Sky News after the vote that Mr Juncker's election showed the UK was becoming increasingly isolated in Europe.

He said: "We don't fit in here anymore, we have no say, we have no influence."

The UKIP leader said of the 73 British MEPs, only three had voted for Mr Juncker, who takes his place because he is the choice of the majority party in the European Parliament.

Marine Le Pen, leader of France's National Front, which like UKIP performed well in the European elections, told the parliament: "You weren't elected by the people. We'll fight you and your institutions. Patriots are now in the majority."

Mr Cameron hopes to renegotiate the British deal with the EU and win back powers before putting the country's membership to the vote by the end of 2017.

There were suggestions the Government was becoming progressively Eurosceptic with the appointment of Philip Hammond as Foreign Secretary in Tuesday's reshuffle.

French National Front leader Marine Le Pen

France's Marine Le Pen challenged Mr Juncker's "election"

However, speaking after his appointment Mr Hammond said: "I am going to go into these discussions with the PM and the Chancellor in a very positive mindset and I believe it will be possible to renegotiate significant change to the way the EU works."

Mr Cameron fears the job of cutting a better deal will be more difficult with Mr Juncker, who will officially take over the role in November, in charge.

The Prime Minister has nominated Lord Hill, who was replaced as Leader of the House of Lords in the reshuffle, to become Britain's next commissioner.

Europe had expected Mr Cameron might put forward a more high-profile, female candidate to the EU.

Lord Hill is not regarded as a hardline Eurosceptic and has only indicated he is in favour of a referendum on British membership of the EU in the event of a further transfer of powers.

Mr Juncker said he planned to halt the expansion of the EU over the next five years, which deals a blow to the Scottish Independence campaign.

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond has said the country would win EU membership if it split from the rest of the UK.

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Suicide Car Bomb Kills 89 In Afghanistan Market

A suicide bomber has blown up a car packed with explosives near a busy market and mosque in eastern Afghanistan, kiling 89 people.

A further 42 people were injured in the blast, one of the deadliest attacks since the 2001 US-led invasion.

The explosion took place in the town of Urgun in Paktika province, close to the border with Pakistan, where the military has been attacking Pakistani Taliban hideouts.

Police had reportedly been tipped off about the bombing and were chasing the vehicle when the explosives were detonated by the bomber.

Villagers gather at the site of a car bomb attack in Urgon district in the eastern province of Paktika

Villagers gather at the site of the blast in Urgun, eastern Afghanistan

The wounded were taken to hospitals in the provincial capital, Sharan, by helicopters and ambulances.

The Taliban denied involvement and said they "strongly condemn attacks on local people".

Mohammad Reza Kharoti, the administrative chief of Urgun district, described the bombing as a "brutal suicide attack against poor civilians".

He said there was no military base nearby, adding that many of the victims were buried under the rubble of shops destroyed in the blast.

"The number of victims may increase," said General Zahir Azimi, a defence ministry spokesman.

Afghan policeman inspects a damaged vehicle after was hit by a remote-controlled bomb in Kabul

A separate attack on a presidential palace staff bus in Kabul

In a separate attack, a remotely controlled bomb ripped through a presidential palace staff bus in Kabul, killing two and wounding five. The Taliban claimed responsibility.

The attacks come as foreign troops prepare to leave the war-torn country by the end of the year, and after a disputed presidential election.

The two candidates, former finance minister Ashraf Ghani and ex-foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, have agreed to an audit of all eight million ballots in a deal brokered by US Secretary of State John Kerry.

Preliminary results showed Mr Ghani well ahead of his rival who declared himself the true winner amid claims of widespread fraud by both camps.

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Israel Resumes Airstrikes As Truce Bid Fails