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Luis Miguel Goitizolo

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RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES?
6/18/2013 10:09:50 AM

Anger in southern Egypt over Islamist governor

Appointment of ex-militant group member as a governor of Luxor causes uproar in southern Egypt


Associated Press -

FILE - In this Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013 file photo, Foreign tourists visit the Hatshepsut Temple, in the ancient southern city of Luxor, Egypt. Stunned tourist workers vow to block the newly appointed Islamist governor of Luxor province from taking office. The reason: He belongs to a former militant group that killed nearly 60 tourists visiting a Pharaonic temple there in the 1990s. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser, File)

LUXOR, Egypt (AP) -- Angry tourism workers and activists in Luxor threatened Monday to block a newly appointed Islamist governor from his office because of his links to a former militant group that killed scores of people in a 1997 attack in the ancient city and devastated Egypt's sightseeing industry.

Adel el-Khayat was named to the provincial governor's post Sunday by President Mohammed Morsi, causing the outrage. El-Khayat is a member of the Construction and Development party, the political arm of Gamaa Islamiya, which waged an armed insurgency against the state starting in 1992 and attacked police, Coptic Christians and tourists.

In November 1997, gunmen from the group attacked tourists at Luxor's 3,400-year-old Hatshepsut Temple, killing 58. More than 1,200 people died in the campaign of violence by the group and another militant organization, Islamic Jihad.

Tourism is the lifeblood of Luxor, home to some of Egypt's most dramatic ancient temples and pharaonic tombs, including that of King Tutankhamun. The city has been hit hard by the downturn in foreign visitors since the Arab Spring unleashed political turmoil since 2011.

Hundreds of people protested outside the governor's office Monday night. The tourism workers, opposition politicians and activists in the crowd said they would consider sealing off the site with locks and chains, and sending el-Kayat back to Luxor's airport.

"When I heard about the appointment, I remembered the whole scene," said Tharwat Agamy, the head of Luxor's Tourism Chamber who witnessed the 1997 attack.

"With my own arms, I carried the blooded bodies of the women, children and men," Agamy said, recalling that the victims' corpses were mutilated.

"I still remember the ... newlywed Japanese couple hugging each other and both dead," he added. "Are these human beings? Do they have mercy inside their hearts?"

Not only are the horrific memories of what has been dubbed the "Luxor Massacre" still fresh in the minds of many residents, but they also worry about the impact of a hard-line Islamist running the southern city and surrounding province.

El-Khayat's party calls for strict implementation of Islamic Shariah law, which includes imposing an Islamic dress code for women, banning alcohol, and preventing the mixing of the sexes. Workers in a city as heavily dependent on tourism as Luxor worried that such policies would further hurt their business.

His appointment was also seen as a move aimed at solidifying Morsi's support among hard-liners ahead of protests planned for later this month by the liberal opposition and youth activists. The Gamaa's party has threatened to counter opposition demonstrations with an "Islamic revolution."

Both the Gamaa and Islamic Jihad renounced violence in the 2000s amid a crackdown by then-President Hosni Mubarak. Since Mubarak's ouster in 2011, both have launched political parties, and the Gamaa's is allied to Morsi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.

El-Khayat, who was among 17 new governors appointed by Morsi, said he would not be influenced by his political affiliation.

"I am honored to belong to the Islamist current, but now as a governor, I am in the service of the nation," he said in comments emailed to The Associated Press by the group's media representative. "It is not fair to judge someone just because of affiliation but by evaluating their work, performance and skills."

He said the Gamaa also suffered under Mubarak, that the group didn't order the Hatshepsut Temple attack, was not aware of it, and condemned it afterward.

At the time of the attack, however, the group claimed responsibility for it. Two years later, one of the top group's leaders, Rifai Ahmed Taha, warned the government that there could be another such attack if Egypt did not change its hostile policy toward the Islamic movement.

One of the founders of Gamaa Islamiya, Nageh Ibrahim, said that el-Khayat split from the group when it diverted to militancy and worked for 30 years as an engineer in an agency of the Ministry of Housing.

Ibrahim said the group is short of members who are qualified to hold a senior government post so it nominated el-Khayat.

"He didn't participate in any violence. He has nothing to do with the attacks," Ibrahim said.

But many residents of Luxor still found Morsi's move shocking. Tourism is the main employer in the province of about 1 million people, and practically the only industry besides farming and a sole factory processing the region's sugar cane crop.

"Does the president and his advisers know that Luxor is a tourist province? Do they know the culture background and the black history of the affiliates of the Islamic group?" asked poet Hussein al-Kabahi.

Driver Ahmed Gahlan wondered how a hard-line Islamist who belongs to a conservative group could even be considered for the leadership of a city and province where tourism has such a high priority.

"Is he going to shake hands with foreigners, whom they consider as devils? They even refuse to shake hands with Muslim women, so what about foreigners?" he asked.

Boat operator El-Nadi el-Rawi said the appointment of el-Khayat would have a "disastrous" impact on European sightseers.

"They want to kill tourism," the 26-year-old added. "Why Luxor? There are many other provinces where the governor can serve."

Hotel manager Gamal Ahmed Mahmoud, 49, said that the decision was another setback for his livelihood.

"Hotel managers are about to close their hotels because of heavy debts," he said.

Tourism in all of Egypt has been struggling since Mubarak's ouster and the breakdown in security in the country.

The number of tourists coming to Egypt fell to 9.8 million in 2011 from 14.7 million the year before, and revenues plunged 30 percent to $8.8 billion. Last year, the numbers climbed up to slightly more than 10 million, but most visitors go to the beach resorts of the Red Sea, staying away from Nile Valley sites like Luxor.

___

Michael reported from Cairo.

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Luis Miguel Goitizolo

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6/18/2013 10:15:27 AM

Protesters back in streets of Brazilian cities


Associated Press/Nicolas Tanner - Protesters try to invade the state assembly during a protest in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, June 17, 2013. Officers in Rio fired tear gas and rubber bullets when a group of protesters invaded the state legislative assembly and threw rocks and flares at police. Protesters massed in at least seven Brazilian cities Monday for another round of demonstrations voicing disgruntlement about life in the country, raising questions about security during big events like the current Confederations Cup and a papal visit next month. (AP Photo/Nicolas Tanner)

Demonstrators shout slogans during a protest in front of the Brazilian National Congress in Brasilia, Brazil, Monday, June 17, 2013. Protesters massed in at least seven Brazilian cities Monday for another round of demonstrations voicing disgruntlement about life in the country, raising questions about security during big events like the current Confederations Cup and a papal visit next month. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Protestors gather at the Municipal theater during a march in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, June 17, 2013. Protesters massed in at least seven Brazilian cities Monday for another round of demonstrations voicing disgruntlement about life in the country, raising questions about security during big events like the current Confederations Cup and a papal visit next month. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
SAO PAULO (AP) — More than 100,000 people took to the streets in largely peaceful protests in at least eight cities Monday, demonstrations that voiced the deep frustrations Brazilians feel about carrying heavy tax burdens but receiving woeful returns in public education, health, security and transportation.

In Sao Paulo, Brazil's economic hub, at least 65,000 protestersgathered at a small, treeless plaza then broke into three directions in a Carnival atmosphere, with drummers beating out samba rhythms as the crowds chanted anti-corruption jingles. They also focused on the cause that initially sparked the protests last week — a 10-cent hike in bus and subway fares.

Violence was seen in Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and the southern city of Porto Alegre. Police clashed with clusters of protesters in those cities, at times using tear gas to disperse them. In Rio, about 50 protesters tried to break into the state assembly building before being driven off. The newspaper O Globo, citing the state security department, said 20 police officers and 10 protesters were injured in Rio. In Porto Alegre, some protesters set a bus on fire and threw rocks at empty commuter trains.

Thousands of protesters in the capital, Brasilia, peacefully marched on congress, where dozens scrambled up a ramp to a low-lying roof, clasping hands and raising their arms, the light from below sending their elongated shadows onto the structure's large, hallmark upward-turned bowl designed by famed architect Oscar Niemeyer. Some congressional windows were broken, but police did not use force to contain the damage.

Rarely since the end of the 1964-1985 dictatorship has Brazil seen protests of such size.

"This is a communal cry saying: 'We're not satisfied,'" Maria Claudia Cardoso said on a Sao Paulo avenue, taking turns waving a sign reading "#revolution" with her 16-year-old son, Fernando, as protesters streamed by.

"We're massacred by the government's taxes — yet when we leave home in the morning to go to work, we don't know if we'll make it home alive because of the violence," she added. "We don't have good schools for our kids. Our hospitals are in awful shape. Corruption is rife. These protests will make history and wake our politicians up to the fact that we're not taking it anymore!"

The protests come after the opening matches of soccer's Confederations Cup over the weekend, just one month before a papal visit, a year before the World Cup and three years ahead of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The unrest is raising some security concerns, especially after protests last week in Sao Paulo and over the weekend in Rio produced injury-causing clashes with police.

Protest leaders went to pains to tell marchers that damaging public or private property would only hurt their cause. In Sao Paulo, sentiments were at first against the protests last week after windows were broken and buildings spray painted during the demonstrations.

Police, too, changed tactics. In Sao Paulo, commanders said publicly before the protest they would try to avoid violence, but warned they could resort to force if protesters destroyed property. During the first hours of the march that continued into the night there was barely any perceptible police presence.

The Sao Paulo march itself was a family oriented affair: A group of mothers received a rousing cheer when they arrived at the plaza where the march began, brandishing signs that said "Mothers Who Care Show Support."

"I'm here to make sure police don't hurt these kids," said Sandra Amalfe, whose 16-year-old daughter chatted with friends nearby. "We need better education, hospitals and security — not billions spent on the World Cup."

Officers in Rio fired tear gas and rubber bullets when a group of protesters invaded the state legislative assembly and hurled things at police. But most of the tens of thousands who protested in Rio did so peacefully, many of them dressed in white and brandishing placards and banners. Many people in the city left work early to avoid traffic jams downtown.

In Belo Horizonte, police estimated about 20,000 people joined a peaceful crowd protesting before a Confederations Cup match between Tahiti and Nigeria as police helicopters buzzed overhead and mounted officers patrolled the stadium area. Earlier in the day, demonstrators erected several barricades of burning tires on a nearby highway, disrupting traffic.

Protests also were reported in Curitiba, Belem and Salvador.

Marcos Lobo, a 45-year-old music producer who joined the protest in Sao Paulo, said the actions of police during earlier demonstrations persuaded him to come out Monday.

"I thought they (the protests) were infantile at first because of my preconceived notions," Lobo said. "Then I saw the aggression."

Another protester, Manoela Chiabai, said she wanted to express her dissatisfaction with the status quo.

"Everything in Brazil is a mess. There is no education, health care — no security. The government doesn't care," the 26-year-old photographer said. "We're a rich country with a lot of potential but the money doesn't go to those who need it most."

In a brief statement, President Dilma Rousseff, who faces re-election next year and whose popularity rating recently dipped for the first time in her presidency, acknowledged the protests, saying: "Peaceful demonstrations are legitimate and part of democracy. It is natural for young people to demonstrate."

Ariadne Natal, a professor at the University of Sao Paulo whose research focuses on violence, said protesters want to "take advantage of this moment when we have foreign visitors, when the world's press is watching, to showcase their cause."

"The problem we've seen is that the police action is trying to prevent these protests," she said. "What we need to figure out is how the protests as well as the big events can be carried out democratically."

Brazilians have long accepted malfeasance as a cost of doing business, whether in business or receiving public services. Brazilian government loses more than $47 billion each year to undeclared tax revenue, vanished public money and other widespread corruption, according to the Federation of Industries of Sao Paulo business group.

But in the last decade, about 40 million Brazilians have moved into the middle class and they have begun to demand more from government. Many are angry that billions of dollars in public funds are being spent to host the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics while few improvements are made elsewhere.

Protests are routine in Brazil, but few turn violent. Security experts say the demonstrations aren't the main danger for the hundreds of thousands of visitors who will descend on Brazil from now through the Olympics in 2016.

However, Joe Biundini, whose FAM International Group provides security details to executives attending the Confederations Cup, said there is a danger of escalating violence from the protests if authorities don't negotiate with demonstrators.

"If the government doesn't sit down with them it could get worse in future matches," Biundini said.

___

Associated Press writers Jenny Barchfield in Rio de Janeiro, Marco Sibaja in Brasilia and Jill Langlois in Sao Paulo contributed to this report.


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Luis Miguel Goitizolo

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RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES?
6/18/2013 10:20:46 AM

Unions give lift to Turkish protest movement


Associated Press - People shout anti-government slogans during a rally by the labor unions in Istanbul, Turkey, Monday, June 17, 2013. A day earlier, riot police cordoned off streets, set up roadblocks and fired tear gas and water cannons to prevent anti-government protesters from an effort to return to Taksim Square in Istanbul. Labor unions and political foes of Prime Minister Recep Erdogan rallied Monday by the thousands across Turkey, hoping to capitalize on weeks of protest that began as small-scale activism and parlay it into a chance to register broader discontent.(AP Photo)

A woman shouts anti-government slogans during a rally by the labor unions in Ankara, Turkey, Monday, June 17, 2013. A day earlier, riot police cordoned off streets, set up roadblocks and fired tear gas and water cannons to prevent anti-government protesters from an effort to return to Taksim Square. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)
Riot police stand by near a rally by the labor unions in Ankara, Turkey, Monday, June 17, 2013. A day earlier, riot police cordoned off streets, set up roadblocks and fired tear gas and water cannons to prevent anti-government protesters from an effort to return to Taksim Square in Istanbul. Labor unions and political foes of Prime Minister Recep Erdogan rallied Monday by the thousands across Turkey, hoping to capitalize on weeks of protest that began as small-scale activism and parlay it into a chance to register broader discontent.(AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish labor groups fanned a wave of defiance against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's authority, leading rallies and a one-day strike to support activists whose two-week standoff with the government has shaken the country's secular democracy.

Riot police again deployed in Turkey's two main cities, and authorities kept up their unyielding stance against the street demonstrations centering on Istanbul'sTaksim Square. But Monday's police sweep was less forceful than in recent days, with only scattered firing of tear gas and water cannon on pockets ofprotesters.

After activists were ousted from their sit-in in adjacent Gezi Parkover the weekend, two labor confederations that represent some 330,000 workers picked up the slack Monday by calling a strike and demonstrations nationwide. Unionists turned up by the thousands in Ankara, Istanbul, coastal Izmir and elsewhere.

The turnout defied Turkey's interior minister, Muammer Guler, who warned that anyone taking part in unlawful demonstrations would "bear the legal consequences." But one analyst called the rallies a "legitimate and a lawful expression of constitutional rights."

"People are raising their voices against the excessive use of police force," said Koray Caliskan, a political science professor at Istanbul's Bosphorus University. Demonstrators, he said, were showing they were no longer cowed by authorities, and "the fear threshold has been broken."

In a sign that authorities were increasingly impatient, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc floated the prospect that authorities could call in troops to quash the protests.

Erdogan's opponents have grown increasingly suspicious about what they call a gradual erosion of freedoms and secular values under his Islamic-rooted ruling party. It has passed new curbs on alcohol and tried, but later abandoned its plans, to limit women's access to abortion.

The government set off protests nationwide and drew criticism abroad over a police crackdown that began May 31 against environmentalists and other activists in Taksim Square who were protesting against plans to tear down trees and re-develop Gezi Park. Thousands have flooded the streets nightly since then, many honking car horns and waving Turkish flags.

Erdogan, who has held power for 10 years and was re-elected in 2011, mobilized his supporters over the weekend in two huge rallies — insisting his duty was to keep order, railing against media coverage of the protests and lashing out at unspecified foreigners whom he said want to hurt Turkey.

TV images Monday showed crowds of government supporters in Istanbul facing down some protesters and chanting "the hands targeting the police should be broken." On Twitter, a trending topic urged protesters to stay home — some expressing concern that pro-government mobs might attack them.

But overnight, for hours, a lone man stood silently on Taksim Square, eventually joined by about 20 other people who did likewise before police escorted them away. The group put up no resistance. Pockets of unrest erupted elsewhere in Istanbul, with police resorting to water cannon and tear gas at times.

The labor rallies had a more structured feel than the counterculture-style sit-in at Gezi Park's tent city, and the work stoppage involved many professionals who make up a liberal, urban class that mostly backs the anti-Erdogan protesters. But labor strikes often have little visible impact on daily life in Turkey, a country of about 75 million, and Monday's rallies were no different.

Feride Aksu Tanik, of the Turkish Doctors Union, said it had called its work stoppage "to protest against the police force that attacks children, youngsters and everyone violently, and to the detentions of doctors who provide voluntary services to the injured."

Turkey's doctors association said Monday that four people, including a police officer, had died in violence linked to the crackdown, and an investigation was ongoing into the death of a fifth person who was exposed to tear gas. More than 7,800 people have been injured; six remained in critical condition and 11 people lost their eyesight.

The tough tactics used by the government to disperse protesters during the past two weeks have drawn international criticism.

Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany — home to some 3 million Turks — told German broadcaster RTL she was "appalled" to see footage of police forces moving in to clear Gezi Park over the weekend. She criticized the crackdown by Turkish police as "much too strong."

___

Keaten reported from Ankara, Turkey. Ezgi Akin in Ankara, Burak Sayin and Sophiko Megrelidze in Istanbul, and Juergen Baetz in Berlin contributed.


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Luis Miguel Goitizolo

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6/18/2013 10:28:47 AM

Peru protesters push to stop $5 billion Newmont mine


Reuters/Reuters - Andean people march during a protest against Newmont's proposed $4.8 billion Conga gold mine, near the Cortada lagoon, in the Andean region of Cajamarca November 24, 2011. REUTERS/Enrique Castro-Mendivil

By Mitra Taj

PEROL LAKE, Peru (Reuters) - Thousands of opponents of a $5 billion gold project of Newmont Mining circled a lake high in the Andes on Monday, vowing to stop the company from eventually draining it to make way for Peru's most expensive mine.

Lake Perol is one of several lakes that would eventually be displaced to mine ore from the Congaproject. Water from the lakes would be transferred to four reservoirs that the U.S. company and its Peruvian partner, Buenaventura, are building or planning to build.

The companies say the reservoirs would end seasonal shortages and guarantee year-round water supplies to towns and farmers in the area, but many residents fear they would lose control of the water or that the mine would cause pollution.

"Hopefully, the company and the government will see the crowd here today and stop the project," said Cesar Correa, 28, of the town of Huangashanga in the northern region of Cajamarca.

He was one of many protesters who arrived at Lake Perol on foot or on horseback, some wearing ponchos, as well as traditional broad-brimmed straw hats or baseball caps.

Others carried blankets and bags of potatoes and rice - planning to camp out at the site for weeks to halt the project.

The company said about 1,000 protesters were present, though protesters said their flock swelled to 5,000 or 6,000. A Reuters witness estimated 4,000 people at the protest.

"Why would we want a reservoir controlled by the company when we already have lakes that naturally provide us water?" asked Angel Mendoza, a member of a peasant patrol group from the town of Pampa Verde.

The controversy over Conga - which many in the business sector see as essential for the country's bustling economy - has posed a major challenge to President Ollanta Humala during his nearly two years in office.

He has twice shuffled his cabinet in the face of violent protests against the project.

The protest on Monday was largely peaceful and there were no clashes with police, though a handful of protesters threw rocks and set fire to a wall near one reservoir.

Newmont and Buenaventura said in a statement: "As stated previously, we will only build the proposed Perol reservoir if we are able to secure all the necessary permits and complete an intensive public involvement process with neighboring communities."

"We respect everyone's right to safely and responsibly express their opinion, whether they oppose mining or support economic development," the statement said.

In May, a minor clash between protesters and police marked an ended nine months of relative calm when Humala's government said it would stop trying to overcome local opposition to the mine.

The new round of protests came after a top official for the Conga project, Chief Executive Roque Benavides of Buenaventura, told Reuters water from Perol would be transferred to a new reservoir later this year.

He later said the project might be in jeopardy if water from the lakes could not be transferred.

(Writing by Terry Wade; Editing by Mohammad Zargham and Bob Burgdorfer)


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Luis Miguel Goitizolo

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6/18/2013 10:42:53 AM

Yahoo says it had as many as 13,000 U.S. data requests


Reuters - A Yahoo logo is pictured in front of a building in Rolle, 30 km (19 miles) east of Geneva, December12, 2012. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/Files

REUTERS - Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O) said U.S. law enforcement agencies made between 12,000 and 13,000 requests for data in the last six months, the latest in a series of disclosures by technology companies since intelligence leaks showed the extent of government data gathering efforts.

The company said the requests were made between December 1, 2012 and May 31 this year.

"The most common of these requests concerned fraud, homicides, kidnappings, and other criminal investigations," Yahoo said in a statement posted on its Tumblr page. (http://yahoo.tumblr.com/)

Others were made under the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, it said.

Technology companies have been under pressure to disclose the precise nature of their cooperation with the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) after leaked documents showed it had been acquiring consumer data from them for years.

Edward Snowden, a disillusioned former CIA computer technician who had worked as a contractor at the NSA, identified himself as the source of multiple disclosures on the surveillance that were published by the Guardian and the Washington Post this month.

The reports fuelled a passionate debate in the United States over how to balance civil liberties and the right to individual privacy with concerns about national security.

Apple Inc (AAPL.O), Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) and Facebook Inc (FB.O) have also disclosed the number of data requests they received from U.S. law enforcement authorities.

The companies denied the NSA had any direct access to their servers and said consumer data was only handed over if the request was in the form of a court order.

(Reporting by Chandni Doulatramani in Bangalore; editing by Tom Pfeiffer)


"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)

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