Peace envoy urges 'real' change in Syria

INTERNATIONAL peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has called for "real change" and a transitional government in Syria but the armed opposition has swiftly retorted that it cannot include President Bashar al-Assad or his top lieutenants.

The envoy unveiled his initiative in Damascus on Thursday as Russia, the Syrian regime's most powerful ally, denied the existence of a joint peace plan with the United States, amid a flurry of year-end diplomatic activity to try to end the bloody 21-month conflict.

"Change should not be cosmetic; the Syrian people need and require real change, and everyone understands what that means," the UN-Arab League envoy said on the fifth and final day of his latest peace mission to Syria.

"We need to form a government with all powers ... which assumes power during a period of transition. That transition period will end with elections," Brahimi said.

He did not specify a date for the envisaged elections, either presidential or parliamentary depending on what could be agreed. He also made no mention on the fate of Assad, whose current term expires in 2014.

"The transition period should not lead to the collapse of the state and its institutions," Brahimi said, adding the initiative was incomplete.

A diplomat at the UN Security Council said on Wednesday the veteran Algerian troubleshooter had received no support from either side since arriving in Damascus on Sunday.

"Assad appears to have stonewalled Brahimi again, the UN Security Council is not even close to showing the envoy the kind of support he needs and the rebels will not now compromise," the diplomat said.

The armed opposition National Coalition and Western governments that recognise it reiterated on Thursday that no transition that gave a role to Assad and his inner circle would be acceptable.

"We will accept any political solution that does not include the Assad family nor those who harmed the Syrian people," National Coalition spokesman Walid al-Bunni told a news conference in Istanbul.

"Our first condition for them is to leave the country," he added.

France, which was the first Western government to recognise the opposition grouping as sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people, said Assad should not have any role in a transition, accusing him of "still ferociously repressing his people".

Russia, which to the fury of the West has refused to cut cooperation with Damascus, hosted a Syrian delegation headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Muqdad, ahead of talks on Saturday with Brahimi.

"This is of course a part of the efforts we are undertaking to encourage dialogue not just with the government but all opposition forces," foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said.

23.09 | 0 komentar | Read More

US stocks slip as 'fiscal cliff' looms

US stocks have edged lower as the deadline for the White House and Republican lawmakers to reach a deal to avert the looming "fiscal cliff" crisis creeps closer.

In the first five minutes of trade on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 2.09 points, or 0.02 per cent, at 13,112.50.

The broad-market S&P 500 edged down 0.78 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 1,419.05.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite lost 4.79 points, or 0.16 per cent, at 2,985.36.

The White House and Congress have until New Year's Eve to reach a compromise on how to avert a year-end crisis that could lead to stiff tax hikes and drastic budget cuts.

Experts say a failure to strike a compromise could plunge the world's biggest economy into recession.

On Wednesday, the Dow was down 0.19 per cent, while the S&P 500 lost 0.48 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.74 per cent.

23.09 | 0 komentar | Read More

Egypt's Morsi to visit Germany

EGYPTIAN President Mohamed Morsi is to visit Germany on January 30, the official news agency MENA reported, quoting a presidential spokesman.

Mr Morsi is to make the trip at the invitation of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the spokesman, Yasser Ali, said.

The visit was announced after a month of political turmoil in Egypt over a new constitution the Islamist president had adopted despite opposition protests and street clashes.

It will be Mr Morsi's second trip to Europe as president after one in September to Belgium and Italy to drum up badly needed aid and investment in Egypt's struggling economy.

He will precede his flight to Germany with a visit to Tunisia to commemorate that country's second anniversary of its revolution, which started the 2011 Arab Spring that spread to Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Syria.

Mr Morsi was elected president of Egypt in June this year, taking over from an interim military administration that ruled since the February 2011 overthrow of Hosni Mubarak, who had ruled the country for three decades.

23.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Militants kill two police, 21 missing

GOVERNMENT officials say dozens of militants armed with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons attacked two tribal police posts in northwest Pakistan, killing two policemen.

Twenty-one other policemen are missing and presumed kidnapped.

The officials say the attacks occurred before dawn in the town of Darra Adam Khel in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The town is located near Pakistan's tribal region, the main sanctuary for Taliban militants in the country.

The officials say security forces have launched an operation to try to recover the 21 missing policemen. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to the media.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Suspicion will likely fall on the Pakistani Taliban, who have been waging a bloody insurgency against the government.

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Missing man found safe in Brisbane

A 71-YEAR-OLD man has been found safe and well after going missing in southeast Brisbane, police say.

The man, who suffers from a medical condition, was last seen leaving a store in Stones Corner on Thursday afternoon.

He was located safe and well at Milton during the evening, police said.

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Pony back with circus after Xmas kidnap

A TINY pony is back at its Austrian circus home more than a week after apparently being kidnapped by a woman who wanted to give her sick daughter a Christmas surprise.

Fridolin the pony, who is only about 60 centimetres tall, went missing from the Vienna Christmas Circus early last week. He was found near a Vienna bus stop on Wednesday.

Circus director Adolf Lauenburger told the Austria Press Agency overnight that a woman called the circus and told officials where to find the pony.

The woman said her daughter wanted a circus pony and she'd taken him to fulfill the girl's wishes for Christmas - but decided she couldn't keep the animal.

Mr Lauenburger wasn't able to identify the woman. Police were looking into the matter.

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Man charged over Qld bomb hoax

A 55-YEAR-OLD man has been charged with making a bomb hoax to a Burleigh Heads shopping centre.

The Burleigh Heads man was charged following investigations into a telephone call received at a West Burleigh Road shopping centre on Thursday morning, police said.

He is expected to appear in the Southport Magistrates Court on January 30.

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More readers turning to e-books

US readers are increasingly opting for digital books instead of ink-and-paper editions, according to a Pew Research Centre study.

The share of US adults reading electronic books rose to 23 per cent in November from 16 per cent the same time last year, according to the Pew study.

Meanwhile, ranks of people age 16 or older turning to pages of printed books fell to 67 per cent from 72 per cent, the findings indicated.

Overall, 75 per cent of US adults read books in one form or another in a slight slip from the 78 per cent figure seen late in 2011, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project.

The growing popularity of e-books was in step with the hot trend in tablet computers, whether they are dedicated reading devices such as Kindles or Nooks or multi-purpose Internet portals such as Apple iPads or Google Nexus devices.

The portion of US adults with some kind of tablet jumped to 33 per cent late this year, as compared with 18 per cent as 2011 came to an end, according to the Pew study.

Understandably, the number of people borrowing e-books from US libraries also rose, findings indicated.

People in higher education and income brackets were more likely to be e-book readers, as were those between the ages of 30 and 49, according to Pew.

The findings were based on a survey taken between October 15 and November 10.

23.08 | 0 komentar | Read More