வளைகுடாவில் படைக்குவிப்பு!

U.S. aircraft carrier enters Gulf without incident

By David Alexander
Reuters – 2 hours 2 minutes ago  

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. aircraft carrier sailed through the Strait of Hormuz and into the Gulf without incident on Sunday, a day after Iran backed away from an earlier threat to take action if an American carrier returned to the strategic waterway.

The carrier USS Abraham Lincoln completed a "regular and routine" passage through the strait, a critical gateway for the region's oil exports, "as previously scheduled and without incident," said Lieutenant Rebecca Rebarich, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Fifth Fleet.

The Lincoln, accompanied by strike group of warships, was the first U.S. aircraft carrier to enter the Gulf since late December and was on a routine rotation to replace the outgoing USS John C. Stennis.

The departure of the Stennis prompted Iranian army chief Ataollah Salehi to threaten action if the carrier passed back into the Gulf."I recommend and emphasize to the American carrier not to return to the Persian Gulf. ... We are not in the habit of warning more than once," he said.

aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) sails in the Indian Ocean near Indonesia, February 3, 2005. REUTERS/U.S. Navy/Timothy Smith-Handout

The threat led to a round of escalating rhetoric between the two sides that spooked oil markets and raised the specter of a military confrontation between Iran and the United States.Iran threatened to close the strait, the world's most important oil shipping gateway, while the United States warned such a move would require a response by Washington, which routinely patrols international sea lanes to ensure they remain open.

Iran appeared to ease away from its earlier warnings on Saturday, with Revolutionary Guard Corps
Deputy Commander Hossein Salami telling the official IRNA news agency that the return of U.S.
warships to the Gulf was routine and not an increase in its permanent presence in the region.

"U.S. warships and military forces have been in the Persian Gulf and the Middle East region for many years and their decision in relation to the dispatch of a new warship is not a new issue and it should be interpreted as part of their permanent presence," Salami said.

Pentagon officials declined to comment directly on Salami's remarks, but reiterated that continued U.S. presence in the region reflected the seriousness with which Washington takes its security commitments to partner nations in the region and to ensuring free flow of international commerce.

The Lincoln's arrival in the Gulf was unrelated to Iran's statement on Saturday.Tensions between Iran and the United States have been escalating in recent weeks as President Barack Obama prepares to implement new U.S. sanctions against Iran over its nuclear enrichment program, which Tehran says is for energy production but the West believes is aimed at producing atomic weapons.

The EU is preparing to intensify sanctions against Tehran with an embargo on Iran's oil exports and possibly freezing the assets of Iran's central bank. Obama is preparing new U.S. sanctions that target foreign financial institutions that do business with Iran's central bank.

Both sides tried to scale down the rhetoric last week. The White House emphasized the United States was still open to international talks on Iran's nuclear program, even as it denied Iranian assertions that discussions were under way about resuming a dialogue.

The White House would not confirm or deny Iranian reports that Obama had sent a letter to Iranian leaders, but spokesman Jay Carney said any communications with Tehran would have reinforced the statements Washington has made publicly.

The United States supports talks between Iran and the so-called P5 + 1, the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council - Russia, China, France, England and the United States - plus Germany.

Carney urged Iran to respond to the letter sent in October on behalf of the P5 +1 by European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton."If the Iranians are serious about restarting talks, then they need to respond to that letter," Carney told a White House briefing. "That is the channel by which ... the restarting of those
talks would take place."

(Reporting By David Alexander; Editing by Peter Cooney and Stacey Joyce)

சர்வதேச நாணய நிதியத்துக்கு நாட்டை விற்கும்

New arrangement with the IMF


CB considering commitment fee programme to draw money later

Sri Lankan authorities are considering a possible arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) where the balance dues from the US$2.6 billion facility could be drawn at a later stage, officials said.

While the Central Bank is most likely to opt for a surveillance agreement with the IMF which is standard practice after a programme is over and as a follow up arrangement, an option being considered is a ‘commitment fee’ arrangement. “Under such a programme, the Central Bank pays a commitment fee to the fund to hold the balance of $800 million for a period of time and then draw this amount later,” a senior bank official, who declined to be named, said, adding, “we then can decide either to draw this money or not.”

An IMF team led by Sri Lanka mission leader Brian Atkin is due tomorrow on a week-long review mission aimed at finalizing the last two installments of the fund facility approved in July 2009 as balance of payments support. The Central Bank, the executing agency of the facility, has so far drawn $1.8 billion from the $2.6 billion with another $800 million due. “The final draw-down of $800 million will be at a higher rate of interest – over 3 % compared to 1.1/4 % from the amount received so far - because we received 400 % of Sri Lanka’s quota in the IMF when each country is generally entitled to 300% of their quota,” the official noted.

He said whenever a country’s quota is exceeded the interest rate goes up and in this context, one question arises, “should we get credit at a highest cost since our foreign reserves are at a comfortable level?” He said this would be one of the key issues discussed during meetings with the IMF team. The official said Sri Lanka’s reserves are comfortable at the moment at over $6 billion as against an average 3 ½ months (worth $4-5 billion) that is generally required. “We need to take a call whether we actually need to draw the final installments at a higher cost when we have enough reserves,” he said.

Other sources in the banking industry said with interest rates mixed internationally, recycling these reserves to earn a better return instead of keeping the funds idle is also not an economically, viable proposition. Some economists and Opposition MPs like economist Harsha de Silva have been critical of the Central Bank and its policies relating to accumulation of foreign reserves through bonds while other sources are foreign remittances and IMF funds. There has been wide criticism of the Bank’s use of some $1billion to support a sagging Rupee and keep it steady against the dollar. In the 2012 budget, the Government announced a 3 % devaluation much to the surprise of the Central Bank which has been resisting any devaluation and has been adjusting the Rupee in a marginal way through open market operations.
Source: Sunday Times LK

இந்திய இராணுவம்

ஜனாதிபதி முன்னிலையில் ஒன்பது Qatar உடன்படிக்கைகள் கைச்சாத்து

வீரகேசரி இணையம் 1/16/2012 6:28:43


உத்தியோகபூர்வ விஜயமொன்றை மேற்கொண்டு இலங்கைக்கு வந்துள்ள Qatar - கட்டார் எமிர் ஷேக்
ஹமாட் பின் கலீபா அல் தானிக்கும் ஜனாதிபதி மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷவுக்குமிடையில் இன்று காலை கலந்துரையாடலொன்று இடம்பெற்றுள்ளதாக ஜனாதிபதி செயலகம் விடுத்துள்ள அறிக்கையில் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

இக்கலந்துரையாடலின் பின்னர் இரு நாடுகளுக்குமிடையில் ஜனாதிபதி முன்னிலையிலேயே ஒன்பது புரிந்துணர்வு ஒப்பந்தங்கள் கைச்சாத்திடப்பட்டுள்ளதாகத் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

உயர்கல்வி மற்றும் விஞ்ஞான ஆய்வுகளுக்கான புரிந்துணர்வு ஒப்பந்தம், பொருளாதார வர்த்தகம் உட்பட ஏனைய உடன்படிக்கைகளிலும் கையெழுத்திடப்பட்டுள்ளதாகத் தெரியவருகின்றது.

Company to formed by Army to undertake projects

Army Company!

Thursday, 19 January 2012 04:40

Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya said that the Army will form a separate company within its management to carryout development and construction projects at a low cost by following the tender procedure of the government.

He said that President Mahinda Rajapaksa has also given the directions and the necessity to form a separate institution in the army for this purpose.

“A committee has been set up to come up with proposals in establishing an institution of this sort,” he said. But it is more likely to come out as a separate directorate within the Army.

The Army has also able to save more than Rs.300 million to the government by carrying out such projects ranging from constructing houses to road construction projects, the Commander said.

Currently the Army engineers supported by a large number of soldiers from every regiment are engaged in a large number of infrastructure projects implemented by the government in all parts of the country mainly in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.

They are engaged in road construction projects in Trincomalee and Batticaloa. A large number of bridges, buildings, playgrounds and parks are also being built by the Army.

The Army was also involved in certain aspects in the construction of the Suriyawewa International Cricket Stadium while the Diyagama Sports Stadium was also constructed by the Army. (Supun Dias)

Sri Lanka at risk from global slowdown: World Bank

LBO>>Economy
Rising Risk
19 Jan, 2012 07:21:35

Sri Lanka at risk from global slowdown: World Bank

Sri Lanka's post-war economic rebound is slowing and financial problems in key Western markets could reduce demand for the island's exports and hit earnings from worker remittances and tourism, the World Bank said.

It has also lowered its forecast for economic growth in the island, saying Sri Lanka is now expected to grow at 6.8 percent in 2012 and 7.7 percent in 2013. Earlier this month, Sri Lanka's central bank said Sri Lanka's
economy is projected to grow at 8.0 percent in 2012 after having grown at about 8.3 percent in 2011. The forecast was lowered from the earlier forecast of nine percent in 2012.

The World Bank said in a new report on global economic prospects that the global slowdown has been taking its toll on South Asia, with merchandise export volumes which had been growing very strongly in the first part of 2011, declining almost as quickly in the second half.

" . . . year-over-year exports in October are broadly unchanged from a year ago," it said.
"A deepening of the Euro Area crisis would lead to weaker exports, worker remittances and capital inflows to South Asia," the World Bank said.

"The EU-27 countries account for a significant share of South Asia merchandise export markets, although not as much as for some developing regions."

Moreover, the bank said, export financing from Europe, an important component of the region‟s trade credit, is particularly vulnerable to drying up, as was the experience during the 2008 financial crisis.

"At the country level, Bangladesh, the Maldives and Sri Lanka are particularly exposed to a downturn in European demand for merchandise," the World Bank said. "With respect to services, tourism sectors could be especially hard hit in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, although greater diversification (with booming arrivals from Asia) should provide a buffer.

However, the World Bank noted that there could be some "countercyclical benefits" for goods exporters - the so-called 'Walmart effect' - for some sectors such as for Bangladesh's garment industry.

The bank also said that a slowdown in global activity would likely translate into lower oil prices that would ease pressures on current account and fiscal balances for the oil import-dependent nations like Sri Lanka.

"Worker remittances inflows could slow markedly through second round effects of weakened domestic demand in migrant host-countries, largely located in the Arabian Gulf," the report warned.

Worker remittances inflows were the equivalent to 7 percent of  GDP in 2010.

"Despite a waning of the post-conflict rebound effects, GDP in Sri Lanka is estimated to have grown 7.7 percent in the 2011 calendar year, slightly below the 2010 pace of 8 percent," the report said.

"While growth was strong at the start of 2011, a deceleration became apparent in the second half of the year, on heightened uncertainty and weakening external demand, as reflected in a modest slowdown in industrial production growth." Given the possibility of further weakening in the global economy, efforts at greater revenue mobilization particularly in countries like Sri Lanka could pay dividends by allowing governments to maintain critical social and infrastructure programs, the World Bank said.

Governments should also look at further improving the targeting of its safety nets and capacity to respond to a crisis to improve efficiency of social safety net programs, it said.

"With markets in the United States and Europe expected to experience prolonged weakness, South Asian countries have the opportunity to re-think and pursue new sources of growth for their countries," the World Bank said.

Sri Lanka News Debrief - 19.01.2012

போர்க்குற்ற விசாரணையில், ராஜபக்சவுக்கு ஒபாமா ராஜீக தண்டனை விலக்கு!

US Justice Dept suggests immunity for President Rajapaksa in Torture Victim Protection legal action

14 January 2012, 9:25 pm
Excerpts of court documents filed by US Justice Dept. on Jan 13, 2012, in response to US intentions sought by the District Court of District of Columbia, in the matter of Torture Victim Protection legal action, Kasippillai Manoharan, et al., v. Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa:

The United States of America, by and through the undersigned counsel, respectfully files this status report concerning the Court’s December 30, 2011 Order regarding a Statement of Interest:

1. Plaintiffs seek a judgment under the Torture Victim Protection Act against President Mahendra Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka for, inter alia, alleged command responsibility for extrajudicial killings of certain Sri Lankan nationals. See Kasippillai Manoharan, et al., v. Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa (Dkt. #1).

2. On December 16, 2011, Defendant filed a motion to solicit the views of the United States regarding the Defendant’s entitlement to head of state immunity, the justiciability of the claims under the political question doctrine, and the applicability of the Act of State doctrine. (Dkt. #9).

3. On December 30, 2011, and in response to Defendant’s motion, this Court requested that the United States indicate by January

13 whether it would file a Statement of Interest in this case and, if so, when it would be filed. (Dkt. #10).

4. The United States is filing separately on this date a Suggestion of Immunity in this case recognizing the immunity of President Mahendra Rajapaksa, the President and sitting head of state of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. As explained in that Suggestion of Immunity, the United States
believes that its determination regarding President Rajapaksa’s immunity is dispositive of this matter. Therefore, the United States will not address the political question doctrine or the Act of State doctrine at this time.
SUGGESTION OF IMMUNITY SUBMITTED BY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Case 1:11-cv-00235-CKK Document 12 Filed 01/13/12
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 517,1 the United States respectfully informs this Honorable Court of the interest of the United States in the pending lawsuit against His Excellency President Mahinda Rajapaksa (sued as “Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa”), the President and sitting head of state of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, and hereby suggests to the Court the immunity of President Rajapaksa from this suit.2 In support of its interest and suggestion, the United States sets forth as follows

1. The United States has an interest in this action because the sole Defendant, President Rajapaksa, is the sitting head of state of a foreign state, thus raising the question of President Rajapaksa’s immunity from the Court’s jurisdiction while in office. The Constitution assigns to the U.S. President alone the responsibility to represent the Nation in its foreign relations. As an incident of that power, the Executive Branch has sole authority to determine the immunity from suit of sitting heads of state. The interest of the United States in
this matter arises from a determination by the Executive Branch of the Government of the United States, in consideration of the relevant principles of customary international law, and in the implementation of its foreign policy and in the conduct of its international relations, to recognize President Rajapaksa’s immunity from this suit while in office.3 As discussed below, this determination is controlling and is not subject to judicial review. No court has ever subjected a sitting head of state to suit once the Executive Branch has suggested the head
of state’s immunity.

2. The Legal Adviser of the U.S. Department of State has informed the Department of Justice that Sri Lanka has formally requested the Government of the United States to suggest the immunity of President Rajapaksa from this lawsuit. The Legal Adviser has further informed the Department of Justice that the “Department of State recognizes and allows the immunity of President Rajapaksa as a sitting head of state from the jurisdiction of the United States District Court in this suit.”

Letter from Harold Hongju Koh to Tony West

3. The immunity of foreign states and foreign officials from suit in our courts has different sources. For many years, such immunity was determined exclusively by the Executive Branch, and courts deferred completely to the Executive’s foreign sovereign immunity determinations. See, e.g., Republic of Mexico v. Hoffmann, 324 U.S. 30, 35 (1945) (“It is therefore not for the courts to deny an immunity which our government has
seen fit to allow, or to allow an immunity on new grounds which the government has not seen fit to recognize.”). In 1976, Congress codified the standards governing suit against foreign states in the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, transferring to the courts the responsibility for determining whether a foreign
state is subject to suit. 28 U.S.C. §§ 1602 et seq.; see id. § 1602 (“Claims of foreign states to immunity should henceforth be decided by courts of the United States and of the States in conformity with the principles set forth in this chapter.”).

4. As the Supreme Court recently explained, however, Congress has not similarly codified standards governing the immunity of foreign officials from suit in our courts. Samantar v. Yousuf, 130 S. Ct. 2278, 2292 (2010) (“Although Congress clearly intended to supersede the common-law regime for claims against foreign states, we find nothing in the statute’s origin or aims to indicate that Congress similarly wanted to codify the law of foreign official immunity.”).

Instead, when it codified the principles governing the immunity of foreign states, Congress left in place the practice of judicial deference to Executive Branch immunity determinations with respect to foreign officials. See id. at 2291 (“We have been given no reason to believe that Congress saw as a problem, or wanted to eliminate, the State Department’s role in determinations regarding individual official immunity.”). Thus,
the Executive Branch retains its historic authority to determine a foreign official’s immunity from suit, including
the immunity of foreign heads of state. See id. at 2284–85 & n.6 (noting the Executive Branch’s role in determining head of state immunity).

5. The doctrine of head of state immunity is well established in customary international law. See Satow’s Guide to Diplomatic Practice 9 (Lord Gore-Booth ed., 5th ed. 1979). In the United States, head of state immunity decisions are made by the Department of State, incident to the Executive Branch’s authority in the field of foreign affairs. The Supreme Court has held that the courts of the United States are bound by
suggestions of immunity submitted by the Executive Branch. See Hoffman, 324 U.S. at 35–36; Ex parte Peru, 318 U.S. 578, 588–89 (1943). In Ex parte Peru, in the context of foreign state immunity, the Supreme Court, without further review of the Executive Branch’s immunity determination, declared that the Executive Branch’s suggestion of immunity “must be accepted by the courts as a conclusive determination by the political arm of the Government.” 318 U.S. at 589. After a suggestion of immunity is filed, it is the “court’s duty” to surrender jurisdiction. Id. at 588. The courts’ deference to Executive Branch suggestions of foreign state immunity is compelled by the separation of powers. See, e.g., Spacil v. Crowe, 489 F.2d 614, 619 (5th Cir. 1974).

6. For the same reason, courts have also routinely deferred to the Executive Branch’s immunity determinations concerning sitting heads of state. See Ye v. Jiang Zemin, 383 F.3d 620, 626 (7th Cir. 2004) (“The obligation of the Judicial Branch is clear — a determination by the Executive Branch that a foreign
head of state is immune from suit is conclusive and a court must accept such a determination without reference to the underlying claims of a plaintiff.”); Saltany v. Reagan, 702 F. Supp. 319, 320 (D.D.C. 1988) (holding that the suggestion of Prime Minister Thatcher’s immunity was conclusive in dismissing a suit that alleged British complicity in U.S. air strikes against Libya), aff’d in part and rev’d in part on other grounds, 886 F.2d 438 (D.C. Cir. 1989).

When the Executive Branch suggests the immunity of a sitting head of state, judicial deference to that suggestion is predicated on compelling considerations arising out of the Executive Branch’s authority to conduct foreign affairs under the Constitution.

See Ye, 383 F.3d at 626 (citing Spacil, 489 F.2d at 618). Judicial deference to the Executive Branch in these matters, the court of appeals noted, is “motivated by the caution we believe appropriate of the Judicial Branch when the conduct of foreign affairs is involved.” Id.

See also Spacil, 489 F.2d at 619 (“Separation-of-powers principles impel a reluctance in the judiciary to interfere with or embarrass the executive in its constitutional role as the nation’s primary organ of international policy.” (citing United States v. Lee, 106 U.S. 196, 209 (1882))); Ex parte Peru, 318 U.S. at 588.4 As noted above, in no case has a court subjected a sitting head of state to suit after the Executive Branch has suggested the head of state’s immunity.5

7. Under the customary international law principles accepted by the Executive Branch, head of state immunity attaches to a head of state’s status as the current holder of the office. After a head of state leaves office, however, that individual generally retains residual immunity only for acts taken in an official
capacity while in that position. See 1 Oppenheim’s International Law 1043–44 (Robert Jennings & Arthur Watts eds., 9th ed. 1996). In this case, because the Executive Branch has determined that President Rajapaksa, as the sitting head of a foreign state, enjoys head of state immunity from the jurisdiction of U.S. courts in light of his current status, President Rajapaksa is entitled to immunity from the jurisdiction of this Court over this suit.

CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, the United States respectfully suggests the immunity of President Rajapaksa in this action.

Dated: January 13, 2012 Respectfully submitted,

TONY WEST
Assistant Attorney General

VINCENT M. GARVEY
Deputy Branch Director
/s/ Judson O. Littleton

JUDSON O. LITTLETON (TX Bar No. 24065635)
JOHN G. SETTER, JR. (VA Bar No. 82621)
Trial Attorneys

United States Department of Justice
Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch
20 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20001

Counsel for the United States of America

Source http://transcurrents.com/news-views/archives/7256

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மகிந்தவுக்கு கருணை காட்டியது ஒபாமா நிர்வாகம் – போர்க்குற்ற வழக்கில் இருந்து தப்புகிறார்

புதினப்பலகை [ ஞாயிற்றுக்கிழமை, 15 சனவரி 2012, 00:13 GMT ] [ கார்வண்ணன் ]

அமெரிக்காவின் கொலம்பியா மாவட்ட நீதிமன்றத்தில் தாக்கல் செய்யப்பட்ட போர்க்குற்ற வழக்கில், குற்றம்சாட்டப்பட்ட சிறிலங்கா அதிபர் மகிந்த ராஜபக்சவுக்கு இராஜதந்திர சிறப்புரிமை* உள்ளதாக ஒபாமா அமெரிக்க அரசாங்கம் நீதிமன்றத்துக்கு அறிவித்துள்ளது.

காசிப்பிள்ளை மனோகரன் மற்றும் இருவரால் மகிந்த ராஜபக்சவுக்கு எதிராக தொடுக்கப்பட்ட போர்க்குற்ற வழக்கிலேயே, சிறிலங்கா அதிபருக்கு இராஜதந்திர சிறப்புரிமை உள்ளதென ஒபாமா நிர்வாகம் கூறியுள்ளது.

அமெரிக்க இராஜாங்கத் திணைக்களத்தின் நீதித் திணைக்கள சட்ட ஆலோசகர் ஹரோல்ட் ஹோ இந்த போர்க்குற்ற வழக்கில் இருந்து விலக்குப் பெறுவதற்கு சிறிலங்கா அதிபருக்கு இராஜதந்திர சிறப்புரிமை உள்ளதாக கொலம்பியா மாவட்ட நீதிமன்றத்துக்குப் பரிந்துரைத்துள்ளார்.

இந்த வழக்கை விசாரித்து வரும் கொலம்பியா மாவட்ட நீதிபதி கொலீன் கொல்லர் கொட்டேலி, இந்த விவகாரத்தில் இராஜாங்கத் திணைக்களத்தின் பரிந்துரைகளை ஜனவரி 13ம் நாளுக்குள் தெரியப்படுத்துமாறு கேட்டிருந்தார்.

இந்தநிலையில் கடந்த வெள்ளியன்று அமெரிக்க நீதித்திணைக்களத்தின் உதவி சட்டமா அதிபர் ரொனி வெஸ்ட் மற்றும் பிரதி கிளை பணிப்பாளர் வின்ஸ் எம்.காலர்வே ஆகியோர் சிறிலங்கா அதிபருக்குள்ள இராஜதந்திர சிறப்புரிமை குறித்த பரிந்துரைகளை நீதிமன்றத்தில் சமர்ப்பித்தனர்.

இதையடுத்து நீதிபதி கொட்டேலி, இந்தப் பரிந்துரைகளை ஏற்றுக் கொண்டு சிறிலங்கா அதிபருக்கு எதிரான இந்த வழக்கை தள்ளுபடி செய்யலாம் என்று நீதிமன்ற வட்டாரங்கள் கூறியுள்ளன.

இதற்கிடையே, சிறிலங்கா அதிபரை போர்க்குற்ற வழக்கில் இருந்து காப்பாற்றும் வகையில் அமெரிக்க இராஜாங்கத் திணைக்களம் நடந்து கொண்டுள்ளது குறித்த தமிழர் இனப்படுகொலைகளுக்கு எதிரான அமைப்பு ஏமாற்றம் வெளியிட்டுள்ளது.
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*( Diplomatic Immunity: ராஜீக தண்டனை விலக்கு ENB)

சிரியாவில் இராணுவத் தலையீட்டுக்கு அழைப்புவிடும் Qatar

Qatar State Visit To the UK

In This Photo: Queen Elizabeth II, Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Camilla Parker Bowles, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al-Missned, the Emir of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin
Khalifa Al-Thani, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall review a Guard of Honour during their visit Windsor Castle as part of their State visit to the United Kingdom on October 26, 2010 in Windsor, England. The Sheikh is on a two day State visit to the UK, the first
since 1985, which is seen as important in strengthening already strongly established business links with one of the Gulf States most financially powerful nations.

Qatar calls for intervention to end Syria violence

By Michael Peel in Abu Dhabi  January 14, 2012 5:40 pm

Arab troops should be sent to end the bloodshed in the uprising against Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, Qatar’s ruler has said, the first public call for military action as political efforts to halt the violence unravel.
Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani – who joined Nato’s military action in Libya – told the US broadcaster CBS that soldiers should go to Syria to “stop the killing”, as the mounting death toll made a mockery of a regional peace plan.

The Emir’s remarks, in an interview due to be broadcast on Sunday, raise the stakes hugely in a conflict in which even Mr Assad’s enemies abroad have shied away from suggesting military intervention. Western and Arab powers fear the potentially destructive regional impact of war in a country allied with Tehran and which lies at the geographical and political heart of the Middle East.

The intervention plan floated by Qatar – a small but very rich oil state which has taken its historically muscular foreign policy to another level during the Arab awakening – is a sign of how Middle Eastern and western officials are searching for new strategies on Syria amid a faltering three-week old monitoring mission sent there by the inter-governmental Arab League.

Killings in Syria – where 5,000 are estimated to have died during the ten month uprising – have continued despite the arrival of the mission to investigate whether the regime is implementing a peace plan under which it is supposed to pull the army off the streets, release political prisoners and start talks with the opposition.

Six Syrian civilians were killed Saturday, including a 13-year-old boy and a man shot dead in the rebellious central city of Homs, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed, according the Associated Press.

Nabil Elaraby, Arab League secretary-general, warned on Friday that Syria could slip into civil war. The conflict is becoming increasingly militarised, with army defectors now involved alongside the peaceful protesters whose first demonstrations almost a year ago triggered a brutal crackdown by regime forces.

Although there appears to be no appetite for western military intervention along the lines of the Nato mission in Libya that played a big part in ousting Col Muammer Gaddafi, there have been reports of an informal contact group forming to co-ordinate policy on Syria.

The group is said to include Gulf states, Turkey, the US and leading European powers, although NATO and several of its members hit back this week at Russian claims that they were “working under the Libyan scenario” with some Arab allies on a plan to topple Mr Assad militarily.

The allegations by Nikolai Patrushev, Russia’s security council chief, echo the view of Russia’s KGB-trained security elite, but also indicate that Russia is trying to pre-empt calls through the UN or elsewhere for intervention against its strongest Arab ally.

Moscow’s anxiety might have been heightened by meetings this week between Mrs Clinton, and her Saudi and Qatari counterparts.

A Russian-operated ship carrying ammunition docked in a Syrian-government controlled port earlier this week, alarming Assad regime opponents.

Syria’s opposition has condemned the Arab League monitoring mission as an ineffectual operation that is allowing the president more time to crush the uprising. observers have also been plagued by problems on the ground, including minor injuries to 11 monitors from a pro-Assad mob and a walkout by an Algerian team member who branded the operation a “farce”.

Analysts say the Syrian regime – which claims the uprising against it is an act of terrorism driven by foreign powers – has shown few signs of honouring pledges under the Arab League peace plan.

S&P Defends Ratings Cuts as France, Germany Stay the Course

WSJ EUROPE NEWS JANUARY 14, 2012, 6:01 P.M. ET

S&P Defends Ratings Cuts as France, Germany Stay the Course

By GEOFFREY T. SMITH, GABRIELE PARUSSINI and NADYA MASIDLOVER

Standard & Poor's analysts on Saturday defended their downgrades of more than half of the euro zone's 17 members, as the highest-profile victim of the mass ratings cut—France—looked to play down the impact.
In a conference call hours after the downgrades, S&P analysts said they stood by their moves as they believe the euro zone's policy response to the debt crisis has been largely misguided and is building up future risks.

"The proper diagnosis would have to give more weight to the ... rising imbalances in the euro zone," said Moritz Kramer, head of European sovereign ratings. He pointed to problems such as divergences in competitiveness from one country to another, which he said is reflected in huge imbalances in national
current accounts.

Mr. Kramer said the centerpiece of a December summit aimed at arresting the crisis, the adoption of tighter fiscal rules to avoid excessive deficits, "wouldn't have identified the risks" in advance as Germany had one of the largest budget deficits of all during the first 10 years of the euro's existence, whereas Spain, which is a problem area now, had a largely balanced budget.

German chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday called for speedy implementation of euro-zone proposals to address the debt crisis.

(Video: Reuters/Photo: AP)

But Mr. Kramer stressed that S&P isn't calling for more fiscal stimulus from the countries with the biggest debt problems, saying that they have neither the room, nor enough credibility in the debt markets, to try to spend their way out of trouble.

"That certainly wouldn't be regarded as a credit positive, not by our metrics at least," Mr. Kramer said.
The call came a day after S&P downgraded more than half of the currency bloc's 17 sovereign nations. In doing so, it became the first credit-rating firm to strip France and Austria of their triple-A ratings, and cut Portugal and Cyprus to junk status.

Meanwhile, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said Saturday that the government would press on with planned overhauls but wasn't considering fresh austerity measures.Mr. Fillon sought to play down the downgrade in front of anxious voters, who will cast their ballot to pick the next president in 99 days. "This decision is an alert which should not be dramatized, but should not be underestimated either," he said.

The downgrade, which is likely to impose higher borrowing costs on the euro zone's second-largest economy, landed a hard blow on President Nicolas Sarkozy, who had positioned himself as the defender of the country's financial standing during Europe's sovereign-debt crisis.

Countries react to the "Black Friday" announcement of nine credit rating downgrades in the euro zone by Standard & Poor's agency.

Mr. Sarkozy justified efforts to push through unpopular programs—a pension overhaul and deficit-cutting austerity measures—as necessary to defend France's triple-A rating, which it had held since 1975. Other overhauls, aimed at increasing the country's competitiveness and stemming the shift of industrial jobs abroad, are scheduled to be discussed and possibly adopted by the end of the month.

S&P's decision to leave Germany's triple-A rating unchanged exposed a deepening gulf between Paris and Berlin, with France looking increasingly incapable of holding up to Germany and politically weaker in the tough negotiations to resolve the euro-zone crisis.

Mr. Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have held themselves up as the main driving force steering the EU through the debt crisis, presenting other EU countries with compromise solutions that Paris and Berlin had agreed upon ahead of key EU meetings.

France has often counted on the support of southern nations, including Italy, to counterbalance Germany's calls for fiscal orthodoxy, a stance backed by the Netherlands and Finland—both triple-A rated countries.

Mr. Fillon denied that the ratings downgrade would skew the negotiating balance in favor of Germany. "There's no reason our relationship should change," he said. "The destinies of France and Germany are completely linked."

For her part, Mrs. Merkel on Saturday told reporters the S&P ratings downgrades underscore that euro-zone nations must accelerate efforts to implement a closer fiscal union and to set up a permanent bailout facility, the European Stability Mechanism. The ESM, scheduled to start on July 1, should start "as soon as possible" because this is important for investors' confidence, the German leader said.

She said that the downgrades weren't a full surprise and dismissed concerns that they would harm the euro's temporary bailout facility, the European Financial Stability Facility, by making it more difficult for the fund to borrow. "This won't torpedo the work of the EFSF," she said.

While Germany retained its triple-A credit rating, Mrs. Merkel said, "I don't believe that the downgrade has any influence at all on Germany having to do more than others. Instead, we must broaden the basis of our rescue facilities, which we can only do with the ESM because all countries will provide cash" for the facility.

Mrs. Merkel also said she was open to ideas to change legislation that would allow financial players to be less dependent on rating firms' assessments, given insurers' obligation to purchase sovereign bonds with triple-A ratings.

"This is generating a self-reinforcing effect," she said. "That's why I believe it would be very useful to look into it and think about possible legal changes. I support this approach." She referred to a proposal made earlier Saturday by a lawmaker in her party. Michael Meister, a lawmaker with the Christian Democratic Union, said new legislation was needed that would require banks and insurers to provide their own ratings on
their investments instead of relying on rating firms.

Meanwhile, S&P's Mr. Kramer identified a number of near-term risks for the region, highlighting the apparent breakdown of talks between Greece and its private-sector creditors. He said that Greece's debt burden has to be cut, and warned that a disorderly default could shake market confidence, making it
harder for countries to keep rolling over maturing debt. Italy alone has to refinance more than €130 billion of debt between February and April, he said.

Mr. Kramer said S&P still believes that Greek bondholders could hope to recover between 30 and 50 cents on the euro, but said the likeliest outcome was toward the bottom of that range.Also in the call, Mr. Kramer was critical of the euro zone's bailout vehicles, saying that the European Stability Mechanism appeared set up to act as a preferred creditor, subordinating all current holders of euro-zone bonds in the event of a debt
restructuring.
—Andrea Thomas contributed to this article.

Source: Wall Street Journal