This and that | Ripple's Web

(CNN) — Pakistani politician Zahra Shahid Hussain, who alleged vote rigging in Karachi, was shot to death Saturday on the eve of a highly contested re-run of balloting in her district, police said.

Hussain was killed in what sources described as an execution-style attack.

The killing came one day before voters cast ballots for the second time this month for one national and two provincial assembly seats in Karachi following allegations of vote rigging in early balloting.

Hussain was the vice president of the Tehreek-e-Insaf party, the political group headed by former cricket star Imran Khan.

Pakistanis react to election results

Pakistan’s new PM faces big challenges

“I am totally shocked and deeply saddened, and still cannot believe anyone would kill such a gentle lady,” Khan said in statement.

She was 67 and was an advocate for education, women’s rights and welfare policy.

Khan, Hussain and the party made headlines following nationwide elections earlier this month, alleging vote rigging in Karachi and elsewhere.

Pakistan’s election commission scheduled a new vote in Karachi for Sunday, saying additional security measures were being taken to protect ballots.

Political killings escalating

Pakistan has seen a rise in targeted killings in recent years across the political spectrum.

A gunman on a motorbike killed a parliamentary candidate and his young child in March in Karachi. Sadiq Zaman Khattak, a representative of the liberal, anti-Taliban Awami National Party, was leaving a mosque with his 4-year-old son when an assassin shot them both.

No one owned up to the attack, but the Taliban have threatened Khattak’s party and have claimed responsibility for some deadly attacks against its members and other politicians.

On the day Khattak was killed, gunmen elsewhere ambushed a top prosecutor, Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali. At the time, he was trying the case stemming from the death of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who had been assassinated while campaigning for her party. Ali was heading to court when attackers opened fire on his car as it passed through an Islamabad neighborhood.

The ambush also wounded his bodyguard, whom authorities assigned to protect him after he received threats from the Pakistani Taliban.

CNN’s Aliza Kassim contributed to this report.

Article source: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/18/world/asia/pakistan-lawmaker-killed/index.html?eref=edition

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NewsRipplesWeb/~3/4nvepJDzCI0/pakistani-politician-killed-ahead-of-vote

New York (CNN) — Police are investigating the slaying of a 32-year-old man in the Greenwich Village neighborhood early Saturday as a hate crime because the gunman made multiple anti-gay comments, they said.

It is the third violent attack in two weeks believed to be motivated by anti-gay bias, police said.

The suspect’s anti-gay remarks were noted before the shooting took place, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. The man was seen urinating on the street outside a bar before going inside and making anti-gay comments to the bartender and brandishing a silver handgun.

A little after midnight, the gunman and two other companions confronted the victim, Marc Carson, and another man he was with on the street. The suspect reportedly made anti-gay remarks and asked them whether they were “gay wrestlers,” Kelly said.

Carson and the other man turned toward the taunts, but backed down and kept walking away. They didn’t know it, Kelly said, but the suspect followed them.

The gunman confronted the two men again, before shooting Carson in the face, police said.

Carson was pronounced dead on arrival at Beth Israel Hospital.

Around 4 a.m., a police officer, responding to a radio alert of the shooting, came across the alleged gunman and apprehended him. The suspect turned over a silver Taurus .38-caliber six-shot revolver, according to police.

Police later identified the suspect as Elliot Morales, 33. Police said the suspect had forged identification and they used facial recognition technology to determine his true identity.

Morales faces a charge of second-degree murder as a hate crime, authorities said.

The identities of the suspect’s two companions — at least one of whom Kelly said left the suspect before the shooting — are still not known.

Kelly said that the killing appeared to be “a hate crime, a bias crime.” There were no words that would aggravate the situation, and the victim did not know the perpetrator, he said.

According to Kelly, there have been 22 bias-motivated events this year. That’s up “significantly” from 13 this time last year.

On May 10, five men brutally beat two gay men near Madison Square Garden after the couple was denied entry into an after-hours billiards bar, according to Port Authority Police. The victims suffered severe facial injuries. Police were able to arrest two of the five men; the rest fled the scene.

There was another attack on gay men on May 5, outside of Madison Square Garden following a New York Knicks game. One of the victims told CNN affiliate WCBS he believes the attack wasn’t an isolated incident.

“There is no words to describe the pain, ’cause this was not an attack on us, this was an attack on all of us,” he said.

Kelly said authorities do not believe the acts are connected, but the investigations are ongoing.

“It’s not a pattern,” he said, “but something that concerns us.”

CNN’s Alcione Gonzalez contributed to this report.

Article source: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/18/justice/new-york-bias-attack/index.html?eref=edition

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NewsRipplesWeb/~3/QHb5GTofzZo/new-york-slaying-considered-hate-crime

.cnn_html_media_utility::before{color:red;content:’’;font-size:9px;line-height:12px;padding-right:1px}
.cnnstrylccimg640{margin:0 27px 14px 0}
.captionText{filter:alpha(opacity=100);opacity:1}
.cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a,.cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a:visited,.cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a:link,.captionText a,.captionText a:visited,.captiontext a:link{color:outline:medium none}
.cnnVerticalGalleryPhoto{margin:0 auto;padding-right:68px;width:270px}
]]

Josephat Torner is an albino activist from Tanzania. His fight for equality and acceptance of people with his condition has been captured in a new documentary called “In the Shadow of the Sun.”

In recent years, there has been an increase in Tanzania in the deaths of albinos. At the heart of the problem, are widespread misconceptions that albinos’ body parts bring good luck and wealth.

In a country where most albinos live their life in the shadows, Torner has stepped out to debunk the misconceptions in the hope of creating a more inclusive society.

Torner and director Harry Freeland spent six years creating “In the Shadow of the Sun.” While making the film, Freeland traveled all across Tanzania with Torner to follow the activist’s community outreach program.

Born with albinism, Torner has a lack of skin color, poor vision and weakened strength. But he doesn’t let any of that stop him from reaching his goals. In an effort to prove that albinos can achieve greatness, he climbed Kilimanjaro, Africa’s tallest mountain.

Torner has overcome several challenges to make the best of his situation. He received an education, got married (pictured here with his wife) and now has two children.

“It’s my dream in my life that people with albinism are respected and given all rights which other human beings are being given,” says Torner.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

African Voices is a weekly show that highlights Africa’s most engaging personalities, exploring the lives and passions of people who rarely open themselves up to the camera. Follow the team on Twitter.

(CNN) — Carefully maneuvering around a jumble of slippery rocks, Josephat Torner slowly steps inside a cluster of dark caves in northeast Tanzania.

Ahead of him, leading the trail with an air of assurance, walks a local witchdoctor.

Aided by a couple of artificial lights, the two figures venture deeper into the darkness, running their hands along the cavern’s limestone walls for guidance. Bats meandering above their heads, the men enter a vast cave chamber dotted with a handful of rocks.

“What I want to know is,” Torner breaks the silence,” have you ever seen anyone pray for something evil down here?” he asks the witchdoctor. “So they can get hold of someone? Like an albino?”

An albino himself, Torner has been traveling around Tanzania to debunk the widespread misconceptions about the congenital disorder. Dozens of albinos have been mutilated and slaughtered in the country in recent years, because of rumors being spread that their body parts can bring wealth and good luck.

Read this: Witchcraft in Tanzania

Josephat Torner: Living with albinism

Albino activist fights for equality

Albino rights activist climbs mountain

To stop the atrocities, Torner thought he needed to confront the group he believed was the source of these rumors: witchdoctors.

And that’s what brought him to the depths of this cave, face to face with his “enemy.”

“We call you a spirit because a white person like you is the devil,” readily admits the witchdoctor.

“You’re saying I’m a white demon?” Torner hits back, “we are demons?”

The reply: “Yes, because you’re white.”

‘In the Shadow of the Sun’

This dramatic confrontation is one of the most intense moments captured in a new documentary, called “In the Shadow of the Sun.”

The independent film, shot by director Harry Freeland, chronicles the life story of Torner and his fight for acceptance of albinos in a country where little is known about the genetic disorder.

“My heart always is still looking the recognition of people with albinism in this world,” says Torner, who’s been an advocate for albino rights since 2004. “Just to recognize that we are here.”

Torner and Freeland spent six years creating the film. The director’s inspiration to make a documentary on albinism came nearly a decade ago, when he had one of his first encounters with someone with the disorder in Senegal.

“A woman approached me in the street, held out her child and said ‘here, take it back, where it comes from,” remembers Freeland. “She had a child with albinism and because I’m white, she thought the child belonged to me in some way — her husband had left her for having a white child and accused her of sleeping with a white man.”

Leading man

People with albinism are born with genes that do not make the normal amounts of the pigment called melanin. Those born with the disorder, which affects people from all races, inherited the genes from their parents who may or may not have any of the associated traits.

But many people don’t understand the effects of the condition and as Freeland discovered, in parts of Africa albinos often suffer social stigma, prejudice and even attacks.

Read this: Slave trade ghost town

Keen to make a film documenting the plight of this group of people, Freeland headed to Tanzania, the country reported to have one of the biggest albino populations in the world. There, he came across many amazing stories, but he didn’t find his leading man until he met Torner.

“I just heard him speak and instantly, I just knew he was the one to lead the film,” says Freeland. “I think so many stories that come out of Africa are negative, and everything about Josephat is positive.”

Despite growing up with a disorder that left his skin and hair pale, as well as his strength and eye sight weak, Torner has succeeded in making the best of his situation.

Over the years, he’s overcome struggles and discrimination to receive an education and get married. A father of two, Torner’ has even climbed Africa’s tallest mountain, Kilimanjaro, to prove that albinos can achieve greatness.

“It was really very difficult to climb,” he admits. “But I was climbing because at that time I had an agenda behind for what is happening to this world,” he adds. “We are killed, we are hunted, we are chopped. So I climbed with a special message … to the African countries: that we are able. But [also] protect us, give us a chance, don’t stigmatize, don’t isolate, don’t hide us to the darkness room — just open the way.”

‘Why are they killing us?’

In 2009, the Tanzanian government embarked on a campaign against the killers of albinos, particularly in the Lake Victoria region. Freeland says at the heart of the problem are witch doctors making claims that albino body parts can bring wealth.

“In Tanzania, there’s been 72 reported people with albinism killed over the last five years,” says Freeland, noting that the actual number could be higher. “And there’s been 34 people left mutilated that have survived attacks.”

Some of the victims were people Torner used to know.

“I was angry,” says Torner, recalling the moments following his confrontation with the witchdoctor.

“He answered it to me directly, without even trying to hide anything. So I was angry, of course, because I remember my brothers and sisters whom I lost, because I will not see them forever and while he’s there he’s continually surviving,” he adds. “So, you ask yourself, ‘what’s the problem? Why are they killing us? Why are they hunting us?’”

Torner realizes he may never get a suitable answer to those questions. Yet, this doesn’t stop him from doing all he can to bring attention to his message of creating a more inclusive society.

He hopes that his community work and the documentary focusing on his efforts, coupled with the outreach from other organizations and the government, will eventually make Tanzania a place where albinos aren’t forced to stay in the shadows.

“It’s my dream in my life that people with albinism are respected and given all rights which other human beings are being given,” he says.

“This is what is in my heart — when I would see justice to people with albinism; when I would see the lifespan of people with albinism is increasing, this is still a dream to my life.”

Teo Kermeliotis contributed to this report.

Article source: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/17/world/africa/josephat-torner-albinism-tanzania/index.html?eref=edition

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NewsRipplesWeb/~3/GwRnKvODNX4/albino-activist-we-are-hunted-and-killed

(CNN) — May has been a bad month for relations between Taiwan and the Philippines.

Taiwan has reacted angrily after one of its fishermen was killed by a Philippine coast guard vessel last week. It has recalled its diplomatic envoy from Manila, frozen applications from Filipinos seeking to work in Taiwan and held naval drills near Philippine waters.

The Philippine coast guard has said the crew of one of its ships fired at the Taiwanese fishing boat on May 9 after it tried to ram a Philippine boat. Manila insists that the shooting took place in waters inside its exclusive economic zone and that the loss of life was “unintended.”

But Taiwan says the Philippine vessel sprayed the fishing boat with bullets in waters claimed by the exclusive economic zones of both countries. It says the 65-year-old fisherman, Hung Shih-cheng, was fatally shot in the back.

The souring ties between the two countries are born out of the messy mix of competing territorial claims to parts of the South China Sea and nearby waters by Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. The areas in dispute include fertile fishing grounds and potentially rich reserves of undersea natural resources.

President Ma Ying-jeou of Taiwan on Friday described last week’s shooting as a “cold-blooded murder,” the Taiwanese national news agency CNA reported.

Ma has so far deemed the Philippine response to the killing to be unsatisfactory. His government has demanded that Manila make a formal apology, compensate the losses, investigate and punish those responsible, and start talks between the two countries on a fishing agreement.

Among the series of measures Taiwan has imposed this week to show its displeasure is a travel alert urging its citizens not to visit to the Philippines.

The Philippine government, meanwhile, has started to show frustration with the Taiwanese stance.

“We did what a decent member, a respectable member of the international community should have done,” Edwin Lacierda, a spokesman for President Benigno Aquino III, said Thursday. “We have gone the extra mile.”

Aquino sent “a personal representative to extend his apology” and offer financial assistance to the family of the dead fisherman, Lacierda said, according to CNN affiliate ABS-CBN. Philippine authorities are investigating the shooting, he said.

He warned that the measures imposed by the Taiwanese government would hurt the economies of both countries.

Lacierda also appealed to the Taiwanese people not to hurt Filipinos living in Taiwan amid reports of harassment.

But Garfie Li, a spokeswoman for Ma, said Lacierda’s comments about going the extra mile were “were untrue and totally unacceptable,” according to CNA.

The United States, an ally of both the Philippines and Taiwan, has expressed regret” over the fisherman’s death and urged the two sides “to work together and to ensure maritime safety, and refrain from actions that could further escalate tensions.”

China has supported Taiwan, which it views as a breakaway province.

“We have repeatedly condemned the violent killing of the innocent fisherman since the incident happened,” Yang Yi, a spokesman for the State Council’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said Wednesday, according to the state-run news agency Xinhua. “We have demanded that the Philippine side take the case seriously, find out the truth as quickly as possible and punish those responsible.”

Beijing and Manila are already at odds over a different territorial dispute in the region that led to a maritime standoff last year.

Article source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/edition_world/~3/-aLgoefKeSw/index.html

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NewsRipplesWeb/~3/7t4JvcgeoZA/fishermans-death-sours-relations-between-taiwan-philippines

(CNN) — A U.S. Army sergeant was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without parole for gunning down five fellow service members at a combat stress clinic in Iraq.

The sentence handed down at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, near Tacoma, Washington, came after Sgt. John Russell pleaded guilty to the killings in a deal in which prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty.

Russell pleaded guilty to the May 11, 2009, killings at Baghdad’s Camp Liberty, telling a military court last month that he “did it out of rage.”

The only question facing the judge, Col. David Conn, was whether Russell committed the slayings with premeditation, which the 48-year-old soldier disputed.

During a brief sentencing hearing, Conn ruled Russell killed with premeditation,” meaning the sergeant could not be given a lesser sentence.

As part of last month’s plea agreement, Russell described to the court how he killed Navy Cmdr. Charles Springle, Army Maj. Matthew Houseal, Sgt. Christian Bueno-Galdos, Spec. Jacob Barton and Pfc. Michael Yates Jr.

It was the first time Russell had publicly detailed what happened at the clinic. Russell, a communications specialist, was on his third deployment to Iraq.

His attorneys argued Russell suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and a brain injury from previous combat, which make him not fully responsible for the killings.

As part of the sentence, Russell was reduced in rank to a private and ordered dishonorably discharged from the Army, Maj. Barbara Junius, a military spokeswoman, said.

Article source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/edition_world/~3/QMaNteiSsJc/index.html

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NewsRipplesWeb/~3/sBjV6f7qb1o/u-s-soldier-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-for-killing-comrades-in-iraq

.cnn_html_media_utility::before{color:red;content:’’;font-size:9px;line-height:12px;padding-right:1px}
.cnnstrylccimg640{margin:0 27px 14px 0}
.captionText{filter:alpha(opacity=100);opacity:1}
.cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a,.cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a:visited,.cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a:link,.captionText a,.captionText a:visited,.captiontext a:link{color:outline:medium none}
.cnnVerticalGalleryPhoto{margin:0 auto;padding-right:68px;width:270px}
]]

Josephat Torner is an albino activist from Tanzania. His fight for equality and acceptance of people with his condition has been captured in a new documentary called “In the Shadow of the Sun.”

In recent years, there has been an increase in Tanzania in the deaths of albinos. At the heart of the problem, are widespread misconceptions that albinos’ body parts bring good luck and wealth.

In a country where most albinos live their life in the shadows, Torner has stepped out to debunk the misconceptions in the hope of creating a more inclusive society.

Torner and director Harry Freeland spent six years creating “In the Shadow of the Sun.” While making the film, Freeland traveled all across Tanzania with Torner to follow the activist’s community outreach program.

Born with albinism, Torner has a lack of skin color, poor vision and weakened strength. But he doesn’t let any of that stop him from reaching his goals. In an effort to prove that albinos can achieve greatness, he climbed Kilimanjaro, Africa’s tallest mountain.

Torner has overcome several challenges to make the best of his situation. He received an education, got married (pictured here with his wife) and now has two children.

“It’s my dream in my life that people with albinism are respected and given all rights which other human beings are being given,” says Torner.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

African Voices is a weekly show that highlights Africa’s most engaging personalities, exploring the lives and passions of people who rarely open themselves up to the camera. Follow the team on Twitter.

(CNN) — Carefully maneuvering around a jumble of slippery rocks, Josephat Torner slowly steps inside a cluster of dark caves in northeast Tanzania.

Ahead of him, leading the trail with an air of assurance, walks a local witchdoctor.

Aided by a couple of artificial lights, the two figures venture deeper into the darkness, running their hands along the cavern’s limestone walls for guidance. Bats meandering above their heads, the men enter a vast cave chamber dotted with a handful of rocks.

“What I want to know is,” Torner breaks the silence,” have you ever seen anyone pray for something evil down here?” he asks the witchdoctor. “So they can get hold of someone? Like an albino?”

An albino himself, Torner has been traveling around Tanzania to debunk the widespread misconceptions about the congenital disorder. Dozens of albinos have been mutilated and slaughtered in the country in recent years, because of rumors being spread that their body parts can bring wealth and good luck.

Read this: Witchcraft in Tanzania

Josephat Torner: Living with albinism

Albino activist fights for equality

Albino rights activist climbs mountain

To stop the atrocities, Torner thought he needed to confront the group he believed was the source of these rumors: witchdoctors.

And that’s what brought him to the depths of this cave, face to face with his “enemy.”

“We call you a spirit because a white person like you is the devil,” readily admits the witchdoctor.

“You’re saying I’m a white demon?” Torner hits back, “we are demons?”

The reply: “Yes, because you’re white.”

‘In the Shadow of the Sun’

This dramatic confrontation is one of the most intense moments captured in a new documentary, called “In the Shadow of the Sun.”

The independent film, shot by director Harry Freeland, chronicles the life story of Torner and his fight for acceptance of albinos in a country where little is known about the genetic disorder.

“My heart always is still looking the recognition of people with albinism in this world,” says Torner, who’s been an advocate for albino rights since 2004. “Just to recognize that we are here.”

Torner and Freeland spent six years creating the film. The director’s inspiration to make a documentary on albinism came nearly a decade ago, when he had one of his first encounters with someone with the disorder in Senegal.

“A woman approached me in the street, held out her child and said ‘here, take it back, where it comes from,” remembers Freeland. “She had a child with albinism and because I’m white, she thought the child belonged to me in some way — her husband had left her for having a white child and accused her of sleeping with a white man.”

Leading man

People with albinism are born with genes that do not make the normal amounts of the pigment called melanin. Those born with the disorder, which affects people from all races, inherited the genes from their parents who may or may not have any of the associated traits.

But many people don’t understand the effects of the condition and as Freeland discovered, in Africa albinos often suffer social stigma, prejudice and even attacks.

Read this: Slave trade ghost town

Keen to make a film documenting the plight of this group of people, Freeland headed to Tanzania, the country reported to have one of the biggest albino populations in the world. There, he came across many amazing stories, but he didn’t find his leading man until he met Torner.

“I just heard him speak and instantly, I just knew he was the one to lead the film,” says Freeland. “I think so many stories that come out of Africa are negative, and everything about Josephat is positive.”

Despite growing up with a disorder that left his skin and hair pale, as well as his strength and eye sight weak, Torner has succeeded in making the best of his situation.

Over the years, he’s overcome struggles and discrimination to receive an education and get married. A father of two, Torner’ has even climbed Africa’s tallest mountain, Kilimanjaro, to prove that albinos can achieve greatness.

“It was really very difficult to climb,” he admits. “But I was climbing because at that time I had an agenda behind for what is happening to this world,” he adds. “We are killed, we are hunted, we are chopped. So I climbed with a special message … to the African countries: that we are able. But [also] protect us, give us a chance, don’t stigmatize, don’t isolate, don’t hide us to the darkness room — just open the way.”

‘Why are they killing us?’

In 2009, the Tanzanian government embarked on a campaign against the killers of albinos, particularly in the Lake Victoria region. Freeland says at the heart of the problem are witch doctors making claims that albino body parts can bring wealth.

“In Tanzania, there’s been 72 reported people with albinism killed over the last five years,” says Freeland, noting that the actual number could be higher. “And there’s been 34 people left mutilated that have survived attacks.”

Some of the victims were people Torner used to know.

“I was angry,” says Torner, recalling the moments following his confrontation with the witchdoctor.

“He answered it to me directly, without even trying to hide anything. So I was angry, of course, because I remember my brothers and sisters whom I lost, because I will not see them forever and while he’s there he’s continually surviving,” he adds. “So, you ask yourself, ‘what’s the problem? Why are they killing us? Why are they hunting us?’”

Torner realizes he may never get a suitable answer to those questions. Yet, this doesn’t stop him from doing all he can to bring attention to his message of creating a more inclusive society.

He hopes that his community work and the documentary focusing on his efforts, coupled with the outreach from other organizations and the government, will eventually make Tanzania a place where albinos aren’t forced to stay in the shadows.

“It’s my dream in my life that people with albinism are respected and given all rights which other human beings are being given,” he says.

“This is what is in my heart — when I would see justice to people with albinism; when I would see the lifespan of people with albinism is increasing, this is still a dream to my life.”

Teo Kermeliotis contributed to this report.

Article source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/edition_world/~3/LxG1FdwPzhU/index.html

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NewsRipplesWeb/~3/YyZ_Vqmp-14/albino-activist-fights-for-equality

Sergey Brin showed off Glass at last year’s I/O, setting a high bar.

(Credit:
CNET)

In our Google I/O poll, we looked at what Google could possibly announce this week to measure up to the high bar set by last year’s skydiving introduction of Google Glass, along with the Nexus 7, Android Jelly Bean, and the apparently ill-fated Nexus Q.

Most of you were interested in seeing some really cool new Nexus hardware from Google this week. It’s a sentiment I share, but I also have a fantasy that we’ll see something relatively unexpected and bleeding edge that will top even last year’s Glass debut. I’ve come up with four imagined Google I/O announcements that I think are highly unlikely, but within the realm of possibility, and would have the whole world buzzing for weeks to come.

Just to be clear: I have no evidence any of these things will happen this week. In fact, I’m pretty positive three of them won’t come true anytime soon. It’s just my (admittedly demanding) wish list for Santa Brin and his elves in Mountain View. Let’s hope they’re listening.

1. A bundle of wearable technology devices for $500 by Christmas:
The more we’re online, the happier Google is. This philosophy has given us
Android and mobile devices offered at below-market prices, like the
Nexus 7 and
Nexus 4. Glass and a rumored Google smartwatch extend the approach by making it easier to be connected and online anywhere. The way I see it, if the goal is to make us all cyborgs, why not go all in and offer a serious package made up of the rumored Motorola X Phone, Glass, and the smartwatch. To really sell it, make it a loss-leader bundle for as low as $500 total, and get it to us before Christmas.

Reality check: I actually believe the least likely part of this fantasy scenario is the timeline. It looks like average consumers have little chance of seeing Glass in 2013. I also think the smartwatch may never hit the market, but it rounds out my imagined package nicely. I do think we’ll see a super phone designed for Glass when the time comes, and the price for Glass is likely to be considerably lower than $1,500.

2. Nationwide Google Fiber:
So this is mainly a selfish fantasy that has accumulated over the countless seconds of daydreaming that occur while dealing with latency on my home satellite connection. An announcement this week that Google is pursuing a nationwide rollout of gigabit Internet connectivity could alter not only the Internet, but the entire economy in pretty fundamental ways.

Reality check: The only reason Google Fiber is on our radar at all right now is the recent addition of a handful of cities to the program. Despite this expansion, it remains a limited experiment in a few small- to medium-sized cities. The moment Google announced a major rollout, it would run into a wall of regulatory and legal challenges from just about anyone with skin in the broadband game. Not to mention that such an endeavor wouldn’t exactly be cheap or easy, even for a behemoth like Google. But we can dream.

Does it come in Android?

(Credit:
Microsoft)

3. A convertible Nexus tablet/laptop:
In my search for the ultimate device that bridges the gap between productivity power and mobility, I’ve sampled many laptops, tablets, and hybrids. I thought the Surface Pro could be the killer solution, but I still found myself preferring my Nexus 7 when it was time to go mobile or chill. But maybe jamming touch on top of Windows isn’t the right way. I’d be very excited to see a reference design from Google for an Android/Chromebook hybrid system that offers more power and productivity than an Android tablet, but keeps the ease of use and design chops of my Nexus 7.

Reality check: Chrome OS still can’t quite compete with the likes of Windows or the MacOS. By all accounts, there’s some barriers between the Chrome team and other parts of Google, but perhaps not for long. I don’t think we’ll see my dream piece of Google hardware so soon after the introduction of the Pixel Chromebook, but this wish could come true in the not-too-distant future.

4. A serious Android @Home offering:
A few years ago, Android @Home was a big part of Google I/O, but the home connectivity and automation platform is still relatively unknown to the world. With what seems like a real push to make Google Now more robust, why not give us more Google in our domestic lives? Teaming up Google Now with light switches and the thermostat could be just the beginning. Why not finally push out that weird Nexus Q thing and give us a way to tap into a new Google streaming-music service throughout the house?

Reality check: Luxuries like home automation are a tough sell when the economy isn’t so hot, even if you’re offering a relatively cheap solution. Nonetheless, this dream is one that actually has an outside chance of coming true this week. There’s been evidence of increasing activity on the @Home team and rumors of a deal on a streaming service; although, that component seems a bit more of a long shot.

What would be really great, though, would be an earth-shattering surprise at the Moscone Center that’s not on this list or any others. Maybe Google colonized the moon while we were distracted by all the buzz around Glass.

Tell us your I/O fantasy in the comments.

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cnet/pRza/~3/87qrgF6h85U/

.cnn_html_media_utility::before{color:red;content:’’;font-size:9px;line-height:12px;padding-right:1px}
.cnnstrylccimg640{margin:0 27px 14px 0}
.captionText{filter:alpha(opacity=100);opacity:1}
.cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a,.cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a:visited,.cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a:link,.captionText a,.captionText a:visited,.captiontext a:link{color:outline:medium none}
.cnnVerticalGalleryPhoto{margin:0 auto;padding-right:68px;width:270px}
]]

A shop owner stands in his damaged shop on Monday, May 13, at the site of a deadly twin bomb blast in the town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, near the Turkish-Syrian border. Turkey has blamed Marxists with Syrian connections for the May 11 attacks.

People try to stop relatives of a victim of the bombings as they argue with police officers on May 13 in Reyhanli. The bombing left at least 47 dead and around 100 injured after two explosive-laden cars exploded in the street.

Relatives mourn at the grave of a bombing victim on May 12. Residents of Reyhanli called on Turkey’s government to step down, alleging that it has gotten their country too involved Syria’s troubles.

The body of Ogulcan Tuna, 18, is carried during the May 12 funeral for the bombing victims.

A search and rescue team member and his dog work on one of the bombing sites near Reyhanli’s shopping district on May 12.

People sift through the rubble on May 12. The first blast occured in front of Reyhanli’s city hall and the second in front of the post office.

Investigators and other personnel gather near the area of the explosions. Nine suspects have been taken into custody after the attack. All are Turkish nationals.

A man stands in a damaged building on May 12 overlooking the scene of the bombing.

Investigators and rescue personnel look for survivors on May 12.

People search through the rubble on May 12 looking for bodies. The bombings have spurred some residents to grab sticks and go after Syrians, according to one resident.

Police investigate the Reyhanli neighborhood on May 12 where buildings collapsed, glass shattered and fire scorched the street and injured bystanders after the bombings the day before.

Residents evacuate a wounded woman to hospital on May 11.

Emergency crews work to put out a fire near the town hall after a car bomb exploded.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

Editor’s note: Fadi Hakura is the associate fellow and manager of the Turkey Project at the London-based think-tank Chatham House. He has written and lectured extensively on Turkey’s political, economic and foreign policy and the relationship between the European Union and Turkey.

(CNN) — Turkey’s tragic loss of at least 47 people in the car bombings in the border town of Reyhanli illustrates vividly that Turkey is not immune to the raging violence next door.

Turkey has suffered similar, though far less deadly events in the past year, including Syria downing a Turkish jet, the killing of five Turks in cross-border artillery fire and a car bomb blast at a Turkey-Syria border crossing in February killing more than a dozen people.

Read more: Turkey blames Marxists with Syrian links for bombings

It is also hosting more than 400,000 largely Sunni Syrian refugees at a cost of $ 1.5 billion and counting. The United Nations estimates that number of refugees will triple by the end of this year. Moreover, it is a critical staging post and a logistical lifeline for opposition fighters against the leadership of Bashar al-Assad in Damascus.

Unsurprisingly, the Turkish government quickly claimed that al-Assad instigated a left-wing Marxist revolutionary group in Turkey to carry out the spectacular attacks. Syria vehemently rejected the charge.

Read more: 5 reasons Syria’s war suddenly looks more dangerous

Yet, so far, the U.S. and its European allies have publicly avoided implicating al-Assad in the attacks. U.S. reticence towards military involvement in Syria in the wake of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the fears of extremist groups dominating the Syrian insurgency is causing enormous consternation in Ankara.

Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will attempt to persuade U.S. President Barack Obama at their meeting on Thursday to impose a no-fly zone in Syria and to provide “lethal” assistance to Syrian opposition fighters. Obama will be sympathetic but unlikely to be immediately forthcoming.

Syria-Turkey border tensions flare

Babacan: Syrian regime will fall

Grand mufti: Close Syrian borders

Possible solutions to Syria war

Read more: Analyst — Syrian hostilities bring Mideast catastrophe closer

Erdogan seemed to imply that Ankara’s response will be limited. He insisted that Turkey will maintain its “extreme cool-headedness in the face of efforts and provocations to drag” his country into the Syrian civil war.

This is in stark contrast to Israeli robust airstrikes against what is understood to be military supplies via Syria to the pro-Iran Lebanese Hezbollah group. Obama has, noticeably and repeatedly, supported the right of Israel to “guard against the transfer of advanced weaponry.”

Syria: Attack on military facility was a ‘declaration of war’ by Israel

Consequently, the Reyhanli incident will probably not be a game-changing development. Rather it may intensify four visible trends of the conflict in Syria.

Firstly, the Turkey-Syria 910km porous frontier is increasingly becoming a volatile and chaotic region beyond the full control of Ankara. It no longer affords protection against the instability ripping Syria apart and could in the future be a destabilizing influence to the immediate neighborhood, including Europe. Ankara lacked the intelligence capabilities to track the movement of the two bomb-laden vehicles near this frontier.

Secondly, the domestic unpopularity of the Turkish government’s stance on Syria may deepen even further. According to a recent poll by U.S.-based Pew Research, merely one-quarter of Turkish respondents favour either Turkey or Arab countries “sending arms to anti-government groups in Syria.” This partially explains why Turkey is refraining from direct retaliatory measures against al-Assad.

Read more: Why Turkey is increasing pressure on Assad

Thirdly, Washington’s leadership is indispensable to bringing order and coherence to the anti-Assad front. Neither Turkey nor its Arab partners are able or willing to act decisively without the U.S. leading from the front. By comparison the pro-Assad alliance of Russia, Iran, Iraq and Hezbollah act in unison to stymie the downfall of al-Assad.

Fourth, the bloodshed could feed the perceptions of an escalating sectarian fault line along the Turkish-Syrian border. Reyhanli is located in the Turkish province of Hatay sharing the sectarian and ethnic diversity of Syria itself. There are concerns that the exacerbating tensions in Syria might undermine the delicate sectarian balance in southern Turkey.

Turkey had boundless ambition and energy to project regional power and influence in the post-Arab Spring Middle East. Reyhanli, and the Syrian civil war more generally, is a stark reminder of the messy transition in an unpredictable part of the world.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are soley those of Fadi Hakura.

Article source: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/13/opinion/turkey-syria-reyhanli-hakura/index.html?eref=edition

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NewsRipplesWeb/~3/U5f79278Iww/why-syrian-carnage-threatens-turkey

(CNN) — A medically-equipped helicopter ferried former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to court Saturday, where 3,000 security personnel were gathered to maintain peace, state TV reported.

At least 25 armored vehicles secured the court venue.

The former autocratic leader faces retrial in the killings of hundreds of civilian protesters who took to the streets for two weeks in early 2011 to demand his removal from office after three decades of rule.

Hundreds more civilians went missing during the revolution and remain unaccounted for.

Mubarak retrial starts, then stops again

Egypt’s economy still struggling

Sectarian woes grow in Egypt

Past court appearances have stirred protests against him as well as impassioned supporters outside Cairo’s police academy, where the trial is being held. Both sides have clashed violently in the past.

Mubarak appeared on the first day of the retrial with other defendants in a cage, where defendants are customarily seated for trial in Egypt. He lay on a stretcher but appeared alert and wore dark sunglasses. Family members of those killed gathered outside the police academy and remained calm.

Saturday’s appearance follows a previous attempt at a retrial in April, which ended abruptly when a judge recused himself and walked out of the courtroom amid jeers from angry onlookers.

Some of them were relatives of protesters who were killed during the Egyptian revolution.

First convictions

The former strongman, who stepped down on February 11, 2011, and his former interior minister, Habib al-Adly, were found guilty and sentenced to life in prison last year on charges that they were complicit in the protesters’ killings.

Mubarak’s sons, his interior minister and six of his security aides also face trial.

The defendants were granted a retrial after appealing their convictions.

The six security aides last year were acquitted of charges related to the killings, and Mubarak’s two sons — Gamal and Alaa — were acquitted of corruption charges. But they, too, were ordered to be retried after President Mohamed Morsy ordered a new investigation last year.

Mubarak’s health

A public prosecutor has sent Mubarak — who spent months detained in a military hospital — back to prison last month, prosecutor spokesman Mahmoud Hefnawi told the state-run al-Ahram newspaper.

Mubarak’s health has been a bone of contention during his trial and incarceration. He suffered a heart attack after relinquishing power and had maintained that he was physically unfit to stand trial.

Hefnawi said the prosecutor reviewed a report of Mubarak’s health and determined that he is fit to return to prison, the newspaper reported.

Mubarak has been held since his guilty verdict last year.

He is also charged with seizing public funds and misusing political influence. He also faces a corruption charge that was not part of the original trial. Mubarak is accused of selling natural gas to neighboring Israel for prices below fair market value.

Mubarak and the other defendants plead not guilty Saturday to all charges. Court was adjourned until June 8.

CNN’s Basil Yousuf contributed to this report.

Article source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/edition_world/~3/I-Ln4zW8tTI/index.html

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NewsRipplesWeb/~3/AlT3281XgcE/mubaraks-retrial-begins

.cnn_html_media_utility::before{color:red;content:’’;font-size:9px;line-height:12px;padding-right:1px}
.cnnstrylccimg640{margin:0 27px 14px 0}
.captionText{filter:alpha(opacity=100);opacity:1}
.cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a,.cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a:visited,.cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a:link,.captionText a,.captionText a:visited,.captiontext a:link{color:outline:medium none}
.cnnVerticalGalleryPhoto{margin:0 auto;padding-right:68px;width:270px}
]]

Smoke rises from an explosion in a Syrian village near the Israeli border on Tuesday, May 7. Tensions in Syria first flared in March 2011 during the onset of the Arab Spring, eventually escalating into a civil war that still rages. This gallery contains the most compelling images taken since the start of the conflict.

Multiple explosions hit a Syrian village near the Israeli border on May 6.

A photo released by the Syrian Arab News Agency shows destruction from what is said was bomb attack in the Al-Hama area of Damascus on Sunday, May 5. According to the Syrian government, Israel launched an attack on a research center in the Damascus suburbs early Sunday.

People run for cover after what activists said was shelling by forces loyal to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad in Syria’s Raqqa province, on May 3.

People walk past a damaged building and multiple destroyed cars at the site of an explosion in Damascus where at least 13 were killed on April 30.

Cleaning takes place following another explosion in an upscale Damascus neightborhood on Monday, April 29. Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi survived the bombing targeting his motorcade.

A smoke cloud rises from shelling on the the al-Turkman mountains in Syria’s Latakia province on Thursday, April 25.

Searchers use a flashlight as they look for survivors among the rubble created by what activists say was a missile attack from the Syrian regime, in Raqqa province, Syria, on April 25.

A handout photograph from Syria’s national news agency SANA shows damage and debris from a mortar attack in the suburb of Jarmana near Damascus, Syria, on Wednesday, April 24. The attack killed seven and wounded more than 25, according to activists and state media. No group claimed responsibility for the mortar fire, which SANA said hit a municipality office and a school building.

A Kurdish fighter from the “Popular Protection Units” (YPG) takes position inside a building in the majority-Kurdish Sheikh Maqsood area of Aleppo, on Apri. 21.

People walk past destroyed houses in the northern Syrian town of Azaz on Sunday, April 21.

Free Syrian Army fighters take positions prior to an offensive against government forces in the Khan al-Assal area, near Aleppo on Saturday, April 20.

Men inspect damage at a house destroyed in an airstrike in Aleppo on April 15.

Syrian and Kurdish rebel fighters walk in the Sheikh Maqsud district of Aleppo on April 14.

A Syrian boy holds an AK-47 assault rifle in the streets of Aleppo on Sunday, April 14.

A female rebel monitors the movement of Syrian government forces in Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsud neighborhood on April 11.

A rebel runs to avoid sniper fire from Syrian government forces in Aleppo on Thursday, April 11.

Syrian rebels observe the movement of Syrian government forces around Al-Kendi hospital in Aleppo on Wednesday, April 10.

Rescue teams and security forces check out the scene of a deadly car bomb explosion in Damascus on April 8.

The fighting has taken a toll on buildings in Aleppo’s Saladin district, seen here on April 8.

A Syrian rebel runs for cover in Deir ez-Zor on April 2.

A rebel checks for snipers across the street toward the Citadel in Aleppo, Syria, on Saturday, March 30, in this photo taken by iReporter Lee Harper.

A Free Syrian fighter mourns the death of a friend in Aleppo on March 30, in this photo taken by iReporter Lee Harper.

A Syrian opposition fighter runs for cover from Syrian army snipers in Aleppo on Wednesday, March 27.

A Syrian girl covers her face to protect herself from fumes as a street covered with uncollected garbage is fumigated in Aleppo on Sunday, March 24.

A Syrian man and his family drive past damaged buildings in Maarat al-Numan, on Wednesday, March 20.

Syrians carry the body of a Syrian army soldier during a funeral ceremony in Idlib province on Tuesday, March 19.

Syrian rebels take position in Aleppo, the largest city in the country, on March 11.

Syrian men search for their relatives amongst the bodies of civilians executed and dumped in the Quweiq River on March 11.

A Free Syrian Army fighter looks back as smoke rises during fighting between rebel fighters and forces loyal to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad on the outskirts of Aleppo on Saturday, March 2.

Residents read Shaam News newspapers published by the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo on March 2.

A member of the Free Syrian Army reacts to the death of a comrade who was killed in fighting, at Bustan al Qasr cemetery in Aleppo on Friday, March 1.

A rebel fighter throws a home-made grenade at Syrian government forces in Aleppo on February 16.

A member of the Free Syrian Army stands with his weapon as he looks at a rainbow in Aleppo on February 16.

A Syrian woman looks through a bus window in Aleppo on February 14.

Free Syrian Army fighters walk through a dust-filled stairwell in Damascus on February 7.

A Syrian rebel gestures at comrades from inside a broken armored personnel carrier in Al-Yaqubia on February 6.

A rebel fighter throws a hand grenade inside a Syrian Army base in Damascus on February 3.

People stand in the dust of a building destroyed in an airstrike in Aleppo, Syria on February 3.

Free Syrian Army fighters run as they enter a Syrian Army base during heavy fighting in the Arabeen neighborhood of Damascus on February 3.

An unexploded mortar shell fired by the Syrian Army sits lodged in the ground in Damascus on January 25.

Fighters from Fateh al Sham unit of the Free Syrian Army fire on Syrian Army soldiers at a check point in Damascus on January 20.

A Free Syrian Army fighter walks between buildings damaged during Syrian Air Force strikes in Damascus on January 19.

A Syrian rebel fighter tries to locate a government jet fighter in Aleppo on January 18.

Syrian rebels launch a missile near the Abu Baker brigade in Albab on January 16.

A Syrian boy walks near rubbish next to tents at a refugee camp near the northern city of Azaz on the Syria-Turkey border, on January 8.

Syrians look for survivors amid the rubble of a building targeted by a missile in Aleppo on January 7.

A father reacts after hearing of a shelling by forces loyal to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo on January 3.

A patient smokes a cigarette at Dar Al-Ajaza psychiatric hospital in Aleppo on December 18, 2012. The psychiatric ward, housing around 60 patients, has lacked the means to function properly since fighting broke out there in July.

Syrians mourn a fallen rebel fighter at a rebel base in the al-Fardos area of Aleppo on December 8.

Members of Liwa (Brigade) Salahadin, a Kurdish military unit fighting alongside rebel fighters, monitor the area in the besieged district of Karmel al-Jabl in Aleppo on December 6.

A member of Liwa Salahadin aims at a regime fighter in the besieged district of Karmel al-Jabl in Aleppo on December 6.

Two young boys sit underneath a washline in a refugee camp on the border between Syria and Turkey near Azaz on December 5.

The bodies of three children, who were allegedly killed in a mortar shell attack that landed close to a bakery in Aleppo, on December 2, are laid out for identification by family members at a makeshift hospital at an undisclosed location of the city.

Smoke rises in the Hanano and Bustan al-Basha districts in Aleppo on December 1 as fighting continues through the night.

Damaged houses in Aleppo are seen after an airstrike on November 29.

A Syrian rebel mourns the death of a comrade in Maraat al-Numan on November 20.

Syrians protesters stand on Assad’s portrait during an anti-regime demonstration in Aleppo on November 16.

A Syrian rebel takes cover during fighting against Syrian government forces in Aleppo on November 15.

Syrian opposition fighter Bazel Araj, 19, sleeps next to his pistol in Aleppo on November 11.

A rebel fighter fires at a Syrian government position in Aleppo on November 6.

A Syrian rebel leaps over debris left in the street while running across a “sniper alley” near the Salahudeen district in Aleppo on November 4.

Rebels hold their position in the midst of a battle on November 3 in Aleppo.

A man cries while being treated in a local hospital in a rebel-controlled area of Aleppo on October 31.

A man is treated for wounds after a government jet attacked the Karm al-Aser neighborhood in eastern Aleppo on October 31.

A Syrian rebel interrogates a handcuffed and blindfolded man suspected of being a pro-regime militiaman in Aleppo on October 26.

Smoke rises from a fuel station following a mortar attack as Syrian women walk on a rainy day in the Arqub neighborhood of Aleppo on October 25.

A Syrian rebel fires at an army position in the Karm al-Jabal district of Aleppo on October 22.

A wounded Syrian boy sits on the back of a truck carrying victims and wounded people to a hospital following an attack by regime forces in Aleppo on October 21.

A man lies on the ground after being shot by a sniper for a second time as he waits to be rescued by members of the Al-Baraa Bin Malek Battalion, part of the Free Syria Army’s Al-Fatah brigade, in Aleppo on October 20.

Syrian army soldiers run for cover during clashes with rebel fighters at Karam al-Jabal neighborhood of Aleppo on October 20.

Smoke rises after a Syrian Air Force fighter jet fired missiles at the suburbs of the northern province of Idlib on October 16.

A Syrian opposition fighter stands near a post in Aleppo on October 11.

A Syrian man mourns the death of his father, who was killed during a government attack in Aleppo on October 10.

A rebel fighter is carried by his friends and laid on a gurney to be treated for gunshot wounds sustained during heavy battles with government forces in Aleppo on October 1.

Syrian rebels help a wounded comrade to an Aleppo hospital after he was injured in a Syrian army strike on September 18.

Free Syria Army fighters are reflected in a mirror they use to see a Syrian Army post only 50 meters away in Aleppo on September 16.

A Syrian man carrying grocery bags tries to dodge sniper fire as he runs through an alley near a checkpoint manned by the Free Syria Army in Aleppo on September 14.

A woman walks past a destroyed building in Aleppo on September 13.

Free Syrian Army fighters battle during street fighting against Syrian army soldiers in Aleppo on September 8.

A Syrian man wounded by shelling sits on a chair outside a closed shop in Aleppo on September 4.

A woman sits in her wheelchair next to her house, damaged by a Syrian air raid, near Homs on August 26.

Members of the Free Syrian Army clash with Syrian army soliders in Aleppo’s Saif al-Dawla district on August 22.

A man mourns in front of a field hospital on August 21 in Aleppo.

Wounded civilians wait in a field hospital after an air strike on August 21 in Aleppo.

People pray during the funeral of a Free Syrian Army fighter, Amar Ali Amero, on August 21.

A man cries near the graves of his two children killed during a recent Syrian airstrike in Azaz on August 20.

A Syrian woman holds her dead baby as she screams upon seeing her husband’s body being covered following an airstrike by regime forces on the town of Azaz on August 15.

A Syrian rebel runs in a street of Selehattin during an attack on the municipal building on July 23.

Syrian rebels hunt for snipers after attacking the municipality building in the city center of Selehattin on July 23.

Members of the Free Syrian Army’s Mugaweer (commandos) Brigade pay their respects in a cemetery on May 12 in Qusayr.

Syrian rebels take position near Qusayr on May 10.

A Free Syrian Army member takes cover in underground caves in Sarmin on April 9.

Rebels prepare to engage government tanks that advanced into Saraquib on April 9.

Men say prayers during a ceremony in Binnish on April 9.

A young boy plays with a toy gun in Binnish on April 9.

A Free Syrian Army rebel mounts his horse in the Al-Shatouria village near the Turkish border in northwestern Syria on March 16, a year after the uprising began.

Syrian refugees walk across a field before crossing into Turkey on March 14.

A rebel takes position in Al-Qsair on January 27.

A protester in Homs throws a tear gas bomb back towards security forces, on December 27, 2011.

A man stands under a giant Syrian flag outside the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus on December 24, 2011.

A member of the Free Syrian Army looks out over a valley in the village of Ain al-Baida on December 15, 2011.

Members of the Free Syrian Army stand in an valley near the village of Ain al-Baida, close to the Turkish border, on December 15, 2011.

Displaced Syrian refugees walk through an orchard adjacent to Syria’s northern border with Turkey on June 14, 2011, near Khirbet al-Jouz.

A Syrian man holds up a portrait of President Bashar al-Assad during a rally to show support for the president in Damascus on April 30, 2011.

Syrians rally to show their support for President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on April 30, 2011.

A screen grab from YouTube shows thick smoke rising above as Syrian anti-government protesters demonstrate in Moaret Al-Noman on April 29, 2011.

A screen grab from YouTube shows Syrian anti-government protesters run for cover from tear gas fired by security forces in Damascus on April 29, 2011, during the “Day of Rage” demonstrations called by activists to put pressure on al-Assad.

Syrians wave their national flag and hold portraits of al-Assad during a rally to show their support for their leader in Damascus on March 29, 2011.

A woman sits by the hospital bed of a man allegedly injured when an armed group seized rooftops in Latakia on March 27, 2011, and opened fire at passers-by, citizens and security forces personnel according to official sources.

Syrian protesters chant slogans in support of al-Assad during a rally in Damascus on March 25, 2011.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

51

52

53

54

55

56

57

58

59

60

61

62

63

64

65

66

67

68

69

70

71

72

73

74

75

76

77

78

79

80

81

82

83

84

85

86

87

88

89

90

91

92

93

94

95

96

97

98

99

100

101

102

103

104

105

106

107

108

109

110

111

112

113

114

115

(CNN) — While the world’s attention was focused on Boston and North Korea, the conflict in Syria entered a new phase — one that threatens to embroil its neighbors in a chaotic way and pose complex challenges to the Obama administration.

What began as a protest movement long ago became an uprising that metastasized into a war, a vicious whirlpool dragging a whole region toward it.

Many analysts believe the United States can do little to influence — let alone control — the situation. And it could make things worse. Fawaz Gerges of the London School of Economics argues against the United States “plunging into the killing fields of Syria … because it would complicate and exacerbate an already dangerous conflict.”

Others contend that if the United States remains on the sidelines, regional actors will fight each other to “inherit” Syria, and hostile states such as Iran and North Korea will take note of American hesitancy. They say inaction has given free rein to more extreme forces.

And in the wake of the strikes against Damascus, apparently by Israeli planes, critics argue that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is now more vulnerable than ever and U.S. intervention could help finish him off.

For Syrian Shiites, civil war isn’t simply rebels vs. government

Syrian opposition: Russia changed stance

Obama takes aim at Syria, North Korea

A war wary village

Difficulty of proving chemical weapons

Republican Sen. John McCain has revived calls for a no-fly zone. And introducing legislation to arm the Syrian rebels in the U.S. Senate on Monday, Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez said: “There will be no greater strategic setback to Iran than to have the Assad regime collapse, and cause a disruption to the terror pipeline between Tehran and Hezbollah in Lebanon.”

But more than two years since the revolt against al-Assad began, regional analysts say Syria is in danger of becoming the next Somalia, which collapsed into fiefdoms 20 years ago and has been stalked by anarchy, terrorism and hunger ever since. Except Syria would be worse. Its religious and ethnic fault lines extend across borders in every direction; Somalia’s anarchy was largely self-contained. Somalia never had chemical weapons, nor the missiles and modern armor that make Syria one of the most crowded arsenals in the world.

And unlike Syria, Somalia was never central to a titanic struggle between different branches of Islam: Sunni and Shia.

Kerry announces more aid to Syria

Given that background, here are five reasons Syria’s war suddenly looks more dangerous.

1: Israel and Hezbollah’s proxy war

For two years, Israel has looked on with growing anxiety as brutal repression in Syria has become de facto civil war. Now a high-octane game of regional poker is under way. The Israelis have not admitted carrying out the devastating strikes of last week, but U.S. officials tell CNN they have no doubt Israel was responsible.

Why would Israel suddenly become an active participant? While much has been said about President Barack Obama’s “red line” — that the use of chemical weapons in Syria would make him reassess U.S. involvement — the Israelis have a different threshold: the transfer of advanced missiles to al-Assad’s ally, the Shiite Lebanese militia Hezbollah.

Their main worry, U.S. officials say, was the possible transfer of Iranian-made Fateh-110 missiles, whose accuracy would pose a new threat to Israel. A consignment of these ballistic missiles had recently arrived at Damascus’ airport. Similarly, the second Israeli strike before dawn Sunday was on a “research facility” near Damascus where weapons destined for Hezbollah were kept.

According to Jane’s Intelligence, Iran’s Defense Ministry reported the test firing of an upgraded Fateh-110 last year, and the Iranian Aerospace Industries Organization claimed it had a range in excess of 180 miles (300 kilometers.)

Israel’s motive was not to degrade the Syrian military. It was about sending al-Assad a message (copied to Iran and Hezbollah): “If you try to raise the regional stakes by passing a new generation of short-range ballistic missiles to Hezbollah, the response will be swift and severe.”

Gerges, author of “Obama and the Middle East,” told CNN that we are seeing “an open-ended war by proxy. … On the one hand you have Israel, regional powers and the Western states; on the other hand you have Iran, Hezbollah and Syria.”

Is Syrian war escalating to wider conflict?

Middle East analyst Juan Cole agrees, writing on his blog: “It is not that the Israelis and Hezbollah are in any direct conflict, but they are gradually both becoming more active in Syria on opposite sides. It is an open question how long this process can continue before the conflict does become direct.”

One miscalculation could provoke a wider escalation.

The stakes for Hezbollah are enormous. For nearly 30 years, it has been sustained by Iranian and Syrian support. If Syria becomes a Sunni-dominated state, Hezbollah’s “rear-base” vanishes, and suddenly it looks more vulnerable to its archenemy Israel, one of whose strategic goals is to counter the growing missile threat from the north.

See destruction from airstrikes in Syria

Syria’s battle of the textbooks

Israel bolsters defense near Syria

Military analysts believe Hezbollah has an arsenal of some 50,000 missiles and rockets, supported by a sophisticated, hardened infrastructure that would be even harder to uproot than during its last conflict with Israel in 2006. Little wonder that Israel has deployed two of its Iron Dome missile-defense batteries in its northern cities.

Will the Syrians retaliate for the strikes, which they describe as a declaration of war by Israel? To do so would divert resources from the regime’s battle for survival. Not to do so would convey an image of weakness in the face of the “Zionist enemy.”

Al-Assad has a history of not retaliating against Israel, most notably when the Israelis took out what was purported to be a Syrian nuclear installation in 2007. According to Cliff Kupchan with the Eurasia Group, Israel has calculated that “Bashar al-Assad is incapable of fighting on two fronts, that Iran will keep its powder dry for a possible future conflict over its nuclear program, and that Hezbollah will not attempt significant retribution without approval from its sponsors.”

But one risk to Israel is that in weakening the Assad regime, it may strengthen some of the best organized and most potent rebel factions: jihadist groups such as the al-Nusra Front, which has already declared its affiliation with al Qaeda in Iraq.

2: More than ever, it’s sectarian

In the early days of the Syrian uprising, people who were anti- and pro-regime shared one common dread: that Syria would descend, Bosnia-style, into sectarian horror. Now, in the fight to prevail, that has become a reality.

Moderates have been sidelined, and despite efforts to revitalize the opposition’s political leadership in exile there is still no umbilical cord between the government-in-waiting and the fighters inside Syria.

The Free Syrian Army coexists with a strong Sunni jihadi element, while the regime is mobilizing “irregular” Alawite militia and Hezbollah fighters.

Syria’s (largely Sunni) rebels say hundreds if not thousands of (Shia) Hezbollah fighters are now fighting for the Assad regime. Hezbollah’s secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, said last week that his party would not stand by and watch the Assad government fall. Regional analysts believe there is a very real risk that along the poorly marked Syrian-Lebanese border, Sunni jihadists will come up against Hezbollah units, setting off a vicious war-within-a-war.

The Syrian opposition sees Iran and Hezbollah everywhere. The head of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel-Rahman told the newspaper Asharq al-Awsat that “Iranian and Hezbollah officers are running the operations room in the battle for Homs and are controlling the army operations in the city.”

He warned of “massacres against the Sunni community living in the besieged areas if the army captures these areas.”

Such massacres were reported in the past week in the coastal Sunni enclaves in Baniyas and al-Bayda. The State Department said over the weekend that “regime and shabiha forces reportedly destroyed the area with mortar fire, then stormed the town and executed entire families, including women and children.”

3: Al-Assad goes for broke?

After being on the defensive for months, the Syrian regime has recently launched a series of brutal counterattacks against areas controlled by rebel factions, seeking to restore precious lines of communication and reconnect Damascus with other parts of the country. In so doing, it appears Assad has relied even more on the shabiha — loyalists with an existential stake in the regime’s survival.

As veteran Middle East watcher Anthony H. Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies has put it: “The Assad regime seems ready to escalate in any way it can to either preserve power or effectively divide the country.”

Among the areas where this counteroffensive has been most intense is Daraya, south of the capital, which has been reduced to ruins on the principle that “if we can’t control it nor shall you.” To the east of Damascus, regime forces have encircled rebels in the Gouta region, relieving the immediate threat to Damascus airport, which is at one end of the critical air bridge between Syria and Iran.

As critical as these areas around Damascus is the town of Qusayr between Homs and the Lebanese border, once home to 50,000 people. Videos uploaded in recent days show the regime pouring artillery fire into the town and conducting airstrikes from above; whole blocks have been demolished. Claims emerged Wednesday from opposition sources of new massacres around the town.

Qusayr sits astride one route to the Syrian coast and another to the Lebanese border. For the rebels, holding Qusayr is important because it’s another way of strangling the regime’s ability to sustain itself, and it complicates Hezbollah’s access to Syria.

The signs are that al-Assad is investing heavily in trying to break the rebels’ hold in key parts of south and central Syria, reversing the gains they had made in a series of hard-won victories last year.

Short of forceful foreign intervention, some military analysts argue for tying al-Assad’s hands behind his back by providing the rebels with more anti-armor and anti-aircraft missiles and a communications infrastructure. More ambitiously, some say the international community should enforce what might be called a “no-move” zone, selectively picking off regime forces from the air or with missiles.

In essence, that’s what NATO’s mission in Libya became. But it would take considerable airpower and the use of facilities across the region to gain control of the Syrian sky. The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, said at the end of April: “The U.S. military has the capability to defeat that system (of Syrian air defenses), but it would be a greater challenge, and would take longer and require more resources” than in Libya.

4: Chemical Weapons

For much of last year, Obama’s “red line” seemed a largely hypothetical one. But as al-Assad’s situation grows more desperate and control of chemical weapons stocks more difficult to guarantee, there are indications that some chemical agents have been used in limited quantities in places like Daraya. The questions are: how much, of what and by whom?

The announcement by a senior U.N. official Monday that rebels may have used sarin gas during an operation near Aleppo in March means this red line is even more difficult to discern. The U.N. commission subsequently said it “has not reached conclusive findings as to the use of chemical weapons in Syria by any parties to the conflict.”

Establishing “custody” and the systematic use of such weapons is very difficult in the absence of monitors on the ground.

A U.S. State Department official on Monday would say only: “We take any reports of use of chemical weapons very seriously and we are trying to get as many facts as possible to understand what is happening.”

But understanding and countering the threat are miles apart. The Pentagon estimated last year it might take 70,000 troops to secure or destroy Syria’s massive stockpiles — and the situation on the ground has deteriorated since then.

In Cordesman’s view, “Any U.S. forces that tried to deal with the chemical weapons in Syria through ground raids would present the problem of getting them in, having them fight their way to an objective, taking the time to destroy chemical stocks, and then safely leaving.”

5: Players and Puppets: Iraq, Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan

Syria is surrounded by neighbors with a stake in influencing the outcome of its civil war. Most — and other more distant states such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia — are backing their own factions as well as supporting the “government-in-waiting.” Now more than ever they feel the force of that whirlpool.

Iraq’s beleaguered Sunni minority is more and more in confrontation with a Shia-dominated government in Baghdad allied to Iran. The Sunni tribes of Anbar and Ramadi have historical connections with their brethren across the border and would welcome a Sunni-dominated government in Syria as a valuable counterbalance to a hostile government at home.

For more than a year, there have been persistent reports of weapons crossing the border to help the Syrian resistance and evidence of co-operation between Syrian and Iraqi jihadists. Resupply convoys headed through Iraq to the Syrian regime have been ambushed in recent months.

In the view of Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group, “Iraq is teetering back towards civil war, with direct implications for the investment climate across the country, and deepening geopolitical conflict between Iran and the Sunni monarchies” of the Gulf.

Turkey is also growing alarmed at the prospect of a more “Balkanized” Syria. It already has 322,000 refugees on its soil, according to latest figures from the UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency, with another 100,000 clamoring to cross.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has upped his rhetoric in recent days, criticizing the Israeli strikes but reserving his most passionate denunciation for the Assad regime.

“You, Bashar Assad, will pay for this. You will pay heavily, very heavily for showing courage you can’t show to others, to babies with pacifiers in their mouths,” he told an audience over the weekend.

But Erdogan is struggling to turn indignation into influence. As the International Crisis Group noted in March: Turkey “now has an uncontrollable, fractured, radicalized no-man’s-land on its doorstep.”

The Jordanians know how that feels. They are trying to cope with 450,000 Syrian refugees — equivalent to some 7% of the Jordanian population — growing restless and desperate in makeshift camps. The number in Lebanon has shot up to 455,000, according to the United Nations. In all, the Syrian conflict has generated an extra half million refugees in just two months.

Lebanon — whose sectarian equation mirrors that in Syria — cannot help but be dragged into the war next door. Several Salafist sheikhs in Lebanon have declared jihad against the Syrian regime in response to Hezbollah’s growing involvement. One of them, Sheikh Ahmed Assir, called on Sunnis in the city of Sidon to form brigades to help the resistance in Qusayr. And rocket fire, apparently from the Free Syrian Army, has landed in Shiite areas around the Lebanese town of Hermel.

A land of bad options

Some critics of the Obama administration say there is a moral imperative to intervene in Syria in the face of slaughter (at least 70,000 Syrians have died so far.) In the Washington Post, former Obama adviser Anne Marie Slaughter has recalled the “shameful” failure to confront genocide in Rwanda.

But Cordesman writes: “Syria has become the land of bad options. The Obama administration has reason to hesitate in intervening.”

And Joshua Landis, who runs the blog Syria Comment and is director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, warns that even “a humanitarian intervention will become a nation-building project, as was the case in Iraq.”

With the number of internally displaced now put at 4.25 million people, that would be a huge project.

The dream among diplomats a year ago was that a moderate opposition could be brought together with some regime elements to ease al-Assad from power. As the Syrian war threatens to become a regional one, the United States and Russia are dusting off that option, calling for an international conference within weeks that would be attended by both the government and the opposition.

“The alternative is that Syria heads closer to the abyss, if not over the abyss and into chaos,” said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

Article source: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/08/world/meast/syria-more-dangerous/index.html?eref=edition

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NewsRipplesWeb/~3/XsnPl1w1Jgk/why-syrias-war-suddenly-looks-more-dangerous