ICC must be allowed to carry out work ‘without intimidation’, say 93 member states

The Guardian, Harry Davies, Sat 15 Jun 2024

Joint statement of support for international criminal court issued following revelations of Israeli interference 

The international criminal court has been the subject of efforts by Israel and its intelligence
agencies to undermine, influence and intimidate. Photograph: Peter Dejong/AP

The international criminal court must be allowed to carry out its work “without intimidation”, a group of 93 states has said in a significant public intervention intended to reinforce support for the judicial body. 

In a joint statement issued late on Friday issued late on Friday, the large group of ICC member states vowed to defend the institution and “preserve its integrity from any political interference and pressure against the court, its officials and those cooperating with it”. 

The show of unity for the court and its staff comes in the wake of revelations published by the Guardian about efforts by Israel and its intelligence agencies to undermine, influence and intimidate the court as part of a nine-year campaign of surveillance and espionage. 

It also follows recent warnings by the office of the ICC’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, that it has been subjected to “several forms of threats” and hostile intelligence activity apparently intended to interfere with and improperly influence the prosecutor’s work. 

Last month, Khan announced that he has filed applications for arrest warrants against senior Hamas and Israeli officials for war crimes and crimes against humanity, which he alleged had been committed during Hamas’s 7 October attack and the ensuing war in Gaza. 

Khan’s decision to seek arrest warrants against Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and defence minister, Yoav Gallant, is the first time an ICC prosecutor has taken such action against the leaders of a close western ally. The move provoked a fierce response from Israel and its allies in the US. 

The statement supporting the ICC was drafted by five of the court’s member states – Belgium, Chile, Jordan, Senegal and Slovenia – and is understood to have been presented to the rest of the court’s state parties last week for their endorsement. 

A diplomatic source familiar with the effort said the disclosures about Israeli intelligence operations against the court had been “really eye-opening for a lot of diplomats” and “made some realise that it’s time to put out some sort of statement from the states that belong to the court responding to what has now come to light”. 

However, they said the statement was also a response to other recent forms of hostile activity against the ICC, such as a cyber-attack last year, and came as the prosecutor is conducting an investigation into senior Russian political and military figures allegedly involved in war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine. 

“The court is going after some very powerful people, not just in the Palestine investigation, and it’s time to send a message that the state parties are there to defend it,” the source said. 

Longtime ICC observers said it was notable that major western powers such as Germany, France, Canada and the UK had supported the statement, which called on “all states to ensure full cooperation with the court for it to carry out its important mandate”. 

They also pointed to the large number of endorsing states – 93 of the ICC’s 124 members – and noted that previous statements rallying around the court had not garnered as much support. 

“This is a unique moment of international solidarity, with 93 ICC states parties standing up for global justice and accountability for mass atrocities,” Danya Chaikel, the International Federation for Human Rights’s representative to the ICC, said. 

“They are collectively opposing the egregious threats to the court from powerful countries including Israel, the US and Russia, and strongly rejecting their efforts to manipulate the rule of law for political gains,” she added.

The Netherlands to work for ‘a strong UN in a safe, sustainable world’

DutchNews, September 21, 2017

Mark Rutte addresses the UN in New York. Photo: UN Photo/Cia Pak

The Netherlands will join the UN Security Council on January 1 next year on a temporary basis and prime minister Mark Rutte, plus other ministers are in New York to meet leaders ahead of the start.

The Netherlands has three priorities during its temporary membership, Rutte said in a speech to the gathering: a strong United Nations in a safe and sustainable world. 

‘The problems confronting today’s world – migration, climate change, food security, cybercrime and terrorism – are by definition international,’ he said. ‘No single country can tackle them in isolation. We need each other. Working together across sectors is part of our country’s tradition’ 

The prime minister went on to say that the Netherlands is particularly keen to share its expertise in water management with the rest of the world. ‘Working together on water issues, is more crucial than ever before,’ Rutte said. ‘The impact of climate change on the water cycle is brought home to us every day, all over the world, and sometimes violently.’ 

The prime minister did not comment on US president Donald Trump’s controversial speech but told journalists later that ‘his eyebrows raised’, the NRC reported. 

It is the first time in 20 years that the Netherlands has been able to join the UN as one of 10 temporary members of the security council.

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"Dual Channeling" + "Unexpected Change" (4) - Mar 18 - 19, 2017 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text version "Change")

"...Light and Dark Balance

The light and dark balance on the planet is starting to rearrange itself and is going to create more wild cards. Wild cards are "unexpected shifts", things that are often shocking in ways that are not positive or negative, but rather are changes in the paradigm of what was. They often push the future, both in consciousness and science.

There are several coming in the form of Human Beings making changes in ways and in places you don't expect. There's one that is way overdue in New York City at the United Nations. It's an old organization with wonderful ideas about helping the planet, but stuck in its own old-energy politics. What will happen there? If you don't see much soon, it may actually cease functioning. Wildcards are not guaranteed. They are timed to match the free choice of those around them. That's what makes a wild card - totally unexpected events. Think of this: An organization set out to create peace on Earth may become more dysfunctional and even fail, or a wild card may come and restructure it all at great controversy and almost no funding. That's what wild cards do.

You may find it in business, in banking or in politics. New ideas never tried before that are radical may exist soon. Expect these kinds of things, but they have to grow on you. There may be some starts and stops. There may be seed planters who don't make it. Then others may come in and make the seeds start growing. That means ideas that were not accepted yesterday may actually be accepted now or in the future. This is because as you evolve, you will see the new wisdom in them. This is all part of the growth process through time.

So this is where you are currently in the change pattern. You are at the beginning of the growth process. All this with a new grid, with very few time fractals to undo, and with a clean slate from historic energies. Are you ready?

Listen: No prophecy at all has been written about what is happening on your planet now. Zero. There are no elders anywhere or channellers anywhere at the moment giving you good, solid prophecy about what's next. This is because you just went through the tunnel of old energy, the old prophecies, and are barely free of them. This is a new energy that you have never experienced before on the planet. If you don't know what I'm talking about, go read the prophecies.

According to the best and most popular and accepted prophecies of your time, where are you supposed to be right now? The answer is "dead".

Where is the earth supposed to be right now? The answer is "radioactive". No one can exist on a planet that has had a massive nuclear exchange, no matter what your movies say. It's "goodbye" to Humans on the planet. The whole idea of a post-apocalyptic earth is a fantasy. You don't live when there's that much radiation. It affects everything in the air, in the oceans and the very dust that would have been kicked up by thousands of nuclear explosions would be circling the planet and blocking the sun for decades. Dark - life gone.

Dear one, that is the apocalypse that never took place. Instead, you stand here with your kids and a new planet with hope. You may wonder why I'm enamored with all of you, but you don't really know it, not yet.

In a generation or two, somebody will raise a hand and say, "I couldn't help but notice we're different from those before." This is how long it takes, especially to rewrite the old consciousness of expected doom. Two generations may have to go by before someone raises a hand to say, "Look, the sun's coming out [a metaphor]. It's different." Humans are slow to change, but they may notice attitudes changing and that they have a new road to walk on.

So you want to know what your task is at the moment, dear old soul? Your task is to encourage those around you using your compassion and balance. When you hear them talk about the fact that they cannot get ahead, or that things are horrible on the planet, or what the news said last night, speak up in a loving way. When timed correctly. you can say, "I'm really not onboard with that. I feel we have a positive time ahead. Things are different. Can't you feel it, can't you see it? I think we've got a brighter future. We just need to be patient with it and stop wallowing in the drama others are giving us that influences us and makes us fear everything."   .."

California adopts sweeping gun control measures

Yahoo – AFP, July 1, 2016

Children hold up signs that reads "Disarm Hate" at a press conference calling
on Congress to hold a vote on new gun control measures on June 29, 2016 in
San Francisco, California (AFP Photo/Andrew Burton)

Los Angeles (AFP) - California's governor approved a series of gun control measures Friday, including new restrictions on assault weapons, in the wake of recent mass shootings across the country that have triggered outrage.

Governor Jerry Brown signed into law six bills that were part of a package put before him by state lawmakers, further boosting firearms restrictions in one of the US states with the most stringent gun control laws.

"My goal in signing these bills is to enhance public safety by tightening our existing laws in a responsible and focused manner, while protecting the rights of law-abiding gun owners," Brown said in a statement.

The bills approved by the governor include a ban on assault weapons with magazines that can quickly be detached, new restrictions on loaning firearms and new punishment for falsely reporting guns as stolen.

One measure also requires an ID and background check for someone seeking to purchase ammunition.

The governor vetoed five other bills that had been approved by lawmakers, saying some were similar to an initiative that will be put to California voters during general elections in November and others did not add to existing legislation.

The package of bills -- denounced by gun-rights advocacy groups as "Gunpocalyse" -- was adopted on Thursday by state lawmakers who were spurred by recent mass shootings that have roiled the country, including the June 12 assault in Florida that killed 49 people and last year's terror attack in San Bernardino in which 14 people died.

Among the bills vetoed by the governor was one that would have required that stolen or lost guns be reported to authorities within five days and another limiting the purchase of a rifle or shotgun to one a month.

Democrats who control the legislature in California had voted in favour of the bills while most Republicans had voted against.

Gun control is a hot-button issue in the United States and Democratic lawmakers in Washington last month staged a sit-in in the lower house of congress to demand a vote on gun control legislation.

The protest came in the wake of the mass shooting in Orlando, the deadliest in modern US history.

Asean Establishes Landmark Economic and Security Bloc

Jakarta Globe, Trinna Leong, November 22, 2015

Asean leaders joined China's Premier Li Keqiang at the summit in Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia. (AFP Photo/Fred Dufour)

Kuala Lumpur. Southeast Asian nations on Sunday established a formal community that attempts to create freer movement of trade and capital in an area of 625 million people with a combined economic output of $2.6 trillion.

The community declaration was signed by leaders of the 10- member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Kuala Lumpur, this year's host of the group's annual summit.

Twelve years in the making, the Asean community is a landmark in the 48-year history of a group founded at the height of the Cold War as an anti-communist bulwark.

The Asean Community includes a political, security and socio-cultural dimension in a region with governments ranging from communist in Vietnam and quasi-military in Myanmar to the kingdom of Brunei and the boisterous democracy of the Philippines.

But it is the economic community that offers the most concrete opportunities for integration in a region whose combined gross domestic product (GDP) would make it the world's seventh-largest economy.

In practice, Asean has already virtually eliminated tariff barriers among the 10 countries, said Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, the summit host, at the signing ceremony. "We now have to ensure that we create a truly single market and production base, with freer movement of goods and services."

At the closing news conference, however, he said Asean had no specific deadline for achieving zero tariffs, but would aim for "meaningful deliverables that can be done every year when we meet at the Asean summit."

The combined GDP of the Asean economies is expected to grow from $2.6 trillion to $4.7 trillion by 2020, Najib said, and could become the world's fourth-largest economy as a bloc as early as 2030.

The countries aim to harmonize economic strategies, recognize each other's professional qualifications and consult more closely on macroeconomic and financial policies.

They have also agreed to enhance the connectivity of their transportation infrastructure and communications, better facilitate electronic transactions, integrate industries to promote regional sourcing, and enhance private-sector involvement in the economy.

Eight groups of professionals will be able to work more easily throughout the region: engineers, architects, nurses, doctors, dentists, accountants, surveyors and tourism professionals.

Asean groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Reuters

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"Message for South America" - Nov 16, 2015 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - New


"The End of History" -  Nov 20, 2010 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll)

" ... South America and the New Energy

South America is starting to consider the same thing. My partner was just there and I allowed him to see the energy of the potential future in that land.

I would like to paint history for you regarding South America. There was a time when every single country had a dictator. Less than 15 years ago, they had failing economies and currencies that were worthless. Trouble and strife and killings were the norm. Marauding drug lords openly killed in the streets and corruption was everywhere. Even the politicians created fear and many disappeared overnight, never to be seen again. Today it isn't that way. Today, there is an ongoing stability as one country after another brings a new, positive, stable energy to their cultures. So, without a concentrated effort by any kind of multi-national leadership or direction, how could this have changed in only 15 years?

Within the entire continent, there's only one dictator left. What's happening? If you think that's amazing, there is a move afoot that you're not going to hear about yet. But they're discussing it right now, so let me tell you what they're thinking. "What would happen if we took these countries and eliminated the borders?" Sound familiar? They're talking about it. In back rooms where nobody is reporting it, they're saying, "What about a plan of eventually having one currency from the top of Columbia to the bottom of Chile? And we would be strong and we would be unified." And dear ones, I'm here to tell you, that it's going to work, and it might not take 50 years. Soon the one dictator will be gone, and the unification can begin.

There's a shift happening on this planet ...."

Anger as Saudi king takes over entire French beach

Yahoo – AFP, Vincent Morvan, 19 July 2015

An AFPTV screen grab shows the beach at Vallauris which will be cut off 

from the public during the Saudi royal family's stay (AFP Photo)

Vallauris (France) (AFP) - Beach lovers on the French Riviera expressed their anger Sunday over the imminent arrival of the Saudi royal family, who have ordered a long stretch of beach to be closed off to the public.

"Looking after their security is fine, but they should at least let us go for a swim," said Mohamed, a disgruntled fishing enthusiast.

Nestled in the rocks between the coastal railway and the translucent waters of the Mediterranean, the grounds of the royal family's immense villa stretches across a kilometre of Riviera coastline between Antibes and Marseille.

Local authorities confirmed that King Salman is due to arrive at some point this week, and that access to the entire kilometre stretch will be cut off, including the public beach at Vallauris, which can only be reached through a tunnel under the railway line.

"Access to the coast will be prohibited by police officers for the duration of the king's holiday," said local official Philippe Castanet.

Coastguards will also stop anyone coming within 300 metres of the villa by sea.

Beach users swung between disappointment and anger over the news.

"They take the decision and there's nothing we can say," said Mohamed, rinsing off his fishing rod on the beachfront.

"It's a good fishing spot and blocking access is not acceptable."

Beach-to-villa elevator

Fatima, a local nurse, had come with her two daughters for a swim.

"Whether it's him or another billionaire, they always have priority over ordinary people. On the other hand, they are good for business, coming here with 400 people in their entourage. I heard they might even fix the roads."

King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is due to arrive on the French Riviera

this week (AFP Photo)

Her boyfriend Didier recalls a time when Salman's predecessor King Fahd was visiting and the police had to forcibly remove swimmers who refused to clear out.

Workers hired by the Saudis had last week already started building the fence that will close off access to the beach, but were ordered to stop until the royal family arrives.

They had also generated a great deal of anger by starting work on an elevator from the beach to the villa, which involved pouring a huge slab of cement directly on to the sand.

The local authorities have allowed work on the elevator to continue on condition that it is dismantled when the family vacation ends.

The villa itself has become a hive of activity, with one local, Christian, saying there were dozens of people decking it out with rose bushes and other plants over the weekend.

"You can see they've replaced the balcony windows, no doubt to put in some bullet-proof glass," he said.

He also pointed out what appeared to be a golden throne, positioned to soak up the sun -- and a view unspoiled by the general public -- on the villa's terrace.

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Prosecute sexual offenders, says UN panel

Nations whose peacekeeping troops commit sexual abuse should be named and shamed, according to a UN panel. Its report also recommends that flouter nations be barred from contributing troops to UN missions.

Deutsche Welle, 17 June 2015

Panel chairman, East Timor's ex-president Jose Ramos-Horta, delivered the report's findings to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, saying recent news of sexual misconduct robbed the UN of its key asset - its integrity.

This follows disclosure that top UN officials did not promptly follow up after staff discovered alleged abuse by French soldiers in the Central African Republic.

A draft UN document obtained by the news agency AFP last week contained 480 allegations of sexual abuse from 2008 until 2013, with a third involving children and teenagers under 18.

It outlined cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Haiti, Sudan and South Sudan and said peacekeepers had bought sex with anything from jewelry to television sets.

Jose Ramos Horta Präsident von Ost-Timor

Overcome 'dark chapter', says
Ramos-Horta

'Dark chapter'

Horta , a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, said it would take "enormous effort to overcome this dark chapter."

His panel's report recommends that nations who contribute offending troops be excluded from UN missions paid from the world body's peacekeeping budget of $8 billion (7.1 billion euros).

Disciplinary action must be taken by contributing nations to ensure that immunity given while deployed still resulted in prosecution back at home, the panel said.

"Immunity must not mean impunity," it said.

Non-immune civilian UN personnel facing credible sexual abuse allegations should cooperate immediately with the host country, the panel added.

Female UN staff and human rights experts should be more involved and report regularly on the human rights situation in each area of deployment.

Investigations should be set a six-month deadline compared to the average 16 months.

Adequate resources

Those abused should be assisted by "an effective and adequately resourced" victim assistance program, the panel recommends, adding that the UN needed a new deputy secretary-general responsible for peace and security.

More generally, the Ramos-Horta report said the boom in UN peacekeeping to 130,000 troops deployed on 16 missions in world's crises regions required adaptation to meet new realities.

The report objects to calls that the UN involve itself in counter-terrorism operations, saying instead there should be a strong UN push on conflict prevention combined with "modest UN rapid deployment."

ipj/ng (AFP, AP)

Bangladesh and India to Swap 18th-Century Border Enclaves

Jakarta Globe, Reuters,  Jun 06, 2015

Indian Border Security Force (BSF) personnel patrol with a sniffer dog along
 a stretch of the India-Bangladesh border ahead of India's Independence Day
 celebrations in Fulbari village, on the outskirts of the northeastern Indian city
of Siliguri, in this Aug. 12, 2009 file photo. (Reuters Photo/Rupak De Chowdhuri)

Dhaka, Bangladesh. Bangladesh and India will seal an agreement simplifying their 4,000 kilometer border at the weekend, over four decades after the neighbors first tried to untangle complex territorial rights set down in 1713.

The agreement will be one of several to be finalized during a two-day state visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi beginning on Saturday, Dhaka’s Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali told journalists on Friday.

In 1974, the then leaders of the two countries — Indira Gandhi of India and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman of Bangladesh — agreed to swap almost 200 enclaves of land located in one country but officially belonging to the other.

“But with the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (in 1975), along with the almost all the members of his family, the process of the agreement stopped for a long time,” Ali said.

The agreement, which has since been updated, will be “a historic milestone in the relationship between the two neighboring south Asian countries,” he added.

Established by a treaty between two former princely states, the 106 Indian enclaves in Bangladesh and 92 Bangladeshi enclaves in India are islands of foreign territory inside each country, most of them close to the official border.

Their inhabitants — about 37,330 in Indian enclaves and 14,200 in Bangladeshi enclaves — are deprived of public services because their governments have no access to them.

Under the agreement, each country will take over most of the enclaves on its territory and inhabitants will have the right to stay where they are or move to the other side of the border.

Ali said the two countries would also sign a number of deals to boost trade and security along the border and fight human trafficking.

Officials would also discuss a possible increase in Indian aid for Dhaka and in Bangladeshi electricity imports from India.

In a separate meeting on Friday, the Bengladeshi central bank governor Atiur Rahman urged Indian businesses to use his country as a low-cost manufacturing base for goods for local and global markets.

Reuters

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China calls for cooperation in addressing security challenges

Want China Times, Xinhua 2015-02-07

Yang Jiechi, left, attends the opening panel of the 51st Munich Security 

Conference, Feb. 6. (Photo/Xinhua)

Countries need to foster a new vision of addressing security challenges through cooperation, said a top Chinese official in Munich, Germany, on Friday.

"We need to pursue cooperative security," said Yang Jiechi, a Chinese state councilor, at the opening panel of the 51st Munich Security Conference.

"A single line of silk does not make a thread and a single tree does not make a forest," Yang said, "No country, however powerful, can handle today's complex security challenges on its own."

The veteran diplomat said China and the EU have stepped up cooperation with other countries and given an effective response to a series of international and regional security challenges.

More than 20 countries, including China and some European countries, are actively engaged in escort missions in the Gulf of Aden. The Chinese and EU fleets conducted two anti-piracy escort exercises. All these efforts have helped maintain navigation security safety in the region's waters, Yang said.

China, European, and other countries also participated in the escort mission for shipping Syrian chemical weapons, playing a positive role in maintaining peace in the region concerned, he added.

On resolving the Iranian nuclear issue, Yang said we face a major opportunity. China is ready to enhance communication and cooperation with relevant parties to work for the early conclusion of a just, balanced and win-win comprehensive agreement.

On the issue of Ukraine, the State Councilor said China calls on all parties to seek peaceful solutions through political dialogue and support the international community in making positive efforts towards a political settlement.

"We call on all relevant parties to pursue a political settlement, strengthen inclusive political dialogue, accommodate each other's interests and concerns and seek a comprehensive, balanced and lasting political settlement. China will continue to play a positive and constructive role in pursuit of a political settlement of the Ukraine issue," Yang said.

China's vice foreign minister Li Baodong during a APEC Senior Officials Meeting

at the China National Convention Center in Beijing, Nov. 2014. (Photo/Xinhua)

Related Article:

US and China consult on security, arms control

US and China consult on security, arms control

Want China Times, Xinhua 2015-02-03

China's vice foreign minister Li Baodong during a APEC Senior Officials Meeting
at the China National Convention Center in Beijing, Nov. 2014. (Photo/Xinhua)

China and the United States held their seventh consultation on strategic security and multilateral arms control in Beijing on Monday, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Chinese vice foreign minister Li Baodong and US under secretary of state for arms control and international security affairs Rose Gottemoeller co-chaired the meeting.

The two sides exchanged views on international security, bilateral security cooperation and the building of a new type of major-country relations between the two countries.

They agreed to enhance dialogue, cooperation and strategic trust on a basis of mutual respect and win-win cooperation, to promote healthy growth of China-US ties and jointly safeguard world and regional peace and stability.

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China calls for cooperation in addressing security challenges

Pentagon recommends closer US military ties with China

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-06-06

China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, on its way back to its home port of
 Qingdao on Jan. 1 this year after a month of sea trials in the South China
Sea. (Photo/CNS)

Addressing the potential threat of the People's Liberation Army's modernization program, the annual report covering the military development of the People's Republic of China delivered by the Pentagon to the Congress on June 5 also suggested Washington should build a healthy military-to-military relationship with Beijing.

In 2013, China announced a 5.7% increase in its annual military budget to US$119.5 billion, continuing more than two decades of sustained annual defense spending increases, the report said. It said the budget was spent in order for the PLA to sustain its strategic modernization as well as key anti-access/area-denial capabilities. Beijing views a modern military as a vital deterrent to prevent adversaries from threatening its national interests or to allow China to defend itself should deterrence fail, it said.

New advanced intermediate- and medium-range conventional ballistic missiles, long-range land-attack and anti-ship cruise missiles, counter-space weapons, and offensive cyber capabilities are being developed in China, according to the report.

However, the report also suggested Washington should develop a positive, cooperative and comprehensive military-to-military relationship with Beijing as a way to maintain regional stability in the Asia-Pacific.

"President Obama stressed that the United States' future depends on a peaceful and prosperous Asia," the report said. "Pursuit of a positive and constructive relationship with China is an important part of the US rebalance, which is designed to preserve and enhance stability in the international system and the Asia-Pacific region." The report said this policy may help to promote China's development in a manner consistent with international norms which serve as a source of security and shared prosperity in Asia.

The report said the Pentagon will continue to devote more attention to Chinese military strategy and encourage Beijing to be more transparent regarding its military modernization program. In addition, the United States must work closely with its regional allies and partners to maintain peace and security.

The Chinese government said however that the annual reports are not conducive to developing military-to-military ties between two nations, according to the official China News Service.

Edward Snowden leaks: US diplomat chooses not to attack the Guardian

Ambassador to UK Matthew Barzun refuses to accuse paper of endangering security but focuses on security and privacy debate

theguardian.com, Patrick Wintour, political editor, Sunday 20 October 2013

Matthew Barzun, US ambassador to the UK, declines an invitation from Andrew
 Marr to criticise the Guardian over the NSA security leaks. Photograph: Getty Images

The US ambassador to Britain, Matthew Barzun, has rejected an opportunity to criticise the Guardian newspaper for publishing leaks from the former National Security Agency employee Edward Snowden, saying he wanted to focus on the importance of the debate about the trade-offs between security and privacy.

Barzun was appearing on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show for the first time since his arrival in London in June, and talked about the impact of the debate on national security created by Snowden's leaks. He also stressed that President Barack Obama was clear that his response to the leaks should not have "a chilling effect on the press".

Asked if he shared the UK security services' concerns about the threat to national security from the leaks, he said he wanted to focus on the "importance of having this debate about what the trade-offs are between security and privacy, between transparency and secrecy, and to do so in a way that protects whistleblowers – which is different, by the way, from wholesale releasing of information, hundreds of thousands of documents".

Barzun said Obama had "promised to seek to balance the legitimate security concerns of not only our citizens but of our allies, and balance those with the privacy concerns shared by all people". He said the president "put in specific measures to protect whistleblowers if they see something illegal or unethical. That's an important part of the balance".

Related Article:

New EU rules to curb transfer of data to US after Edward Snowden revelations

Syria's Assad 'legalises' private security firms

Google – AFP, 6 Aug 2013

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad speaks during an interview with a

German newspaper in Damascus, on June 17, 2013 (SANA/AFP/File)

DAMASCUS — Syria's president has passed a decree legalising private security firms, faced with a 29-month armed revolt against his rule that has pinned down the police, state news agency SANA reported Tuesday.

President Bashar al-Assad's decree regulates "licencing for private companies that provide protection and guard duties ... to ensure the safety of individuals, establishments, property and the transport of cash, jewels and precious metals," said SANA.

One-year renewable licences are to be issued by the interior ministry, it said, but only to Syrian nationals with capital of more than $250,000.

"The interior minister will define the categories of arms to be used by each company, ranging from revolvers to rifles and others," said the agency.

The decree also stipulates that each company will be licenced to recruit between 300 and 800 guards.

A security source told AFP that guards will have to wear a uniform, while the decree will allow security companies to open offices and issue employees with hand arms.

"Security guards will be in charge of protecting prominent personalities and businesses, while securing the transport of money," the source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Before Syria's conflict broke out in mid-March 2011, "these tasks were mainly assigned to the police. But because of the situation, now the police has other tasks," he added.

Alongside the anti-Assad uprising, Syria has been plagued by a spike in crime, kidnappings and robberies.

Related Article:

"2013 - A Difficult Year" – July 14, 2013 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text version) - New

“… You Can See It In Your News

The final item is this: All around you, dear ones, is proof of what I'm telling you. You have two countries currently in turmoil at the moment, and a third one about to go. All three have been stable for a very long time. Who would have thought that Egypt would be part of this? Egypt seemed to be in balance for decades - or was it? Syria ruled itself with an iron hand and created a stability of power that was absolute. What would then cause these to erupt the way they did and at this time? If you take a look at why, and why now, you'll see the timing is all around 2013 and 2012. And it's around Human consciousness that is starting to be more transparent and saying, "We don't want what we now understand and see is continuing unbalance in our country. We see it never getting better, and now we want finality and we want resolution." That is what you're looking at.

It's ugly to look at this, for there is death, suffering, sorrow and turmoil. There is frustration, and the resolution of it all may take longer than you want it to. But someday you will look back and see the results clearly. Mass Human consciousness is starting to change and demand what it expects in the way of integrity. Governments often want the old ways of power, but their people want schools, hospitals, safe streets and parks, and peace with their neighbors.

So expect more of this, especially this year. The more turmoil you see, the more the puzzle is being worked with. So we close this message the way we started it. I know who you are, magnificent one. I sit at your feet in awe. Do not miss this point! Old souls have been here through all of the transitions of humanity. Do you understand that? Four times you came close to this shift you are today experiencing and four times you missed it. Four times you died in the process of trying. This time you didn't.

Do not miss this: There is something within your Akash, a "remembrance button", that is being pushed and plays an emotion that says, "We've felt this before and it didn't turn out well." Don't let this energy define you. It's the button of duality and fear that says things are always the way they are and they will repeat themselves because that's just the way life works. No it isn't! You are magnificent and you have the ability at this point to finally begin to see it, and to cast all the fears and the voices in the back seat of life and tell them you are in charge now and you are the one driving the car of your reality. That's the message of the day. ….”

Obama names first woman head of US Secret Service

BBC News, 26 March 2013

Julia Pierson joined the Secret
Service in their Miami office

US President Barack Obama has picked the first woman director of the Secret Service.

Julia Pierson, formerly Secret Service chief of staff, will succeed Mark Sullivan, who announced last month that he would retire.

The agency was caught up in a prostitution scandal last year during a presidential visit to Colombia.

The Secret Service investigates financial crimes, and protects the president and his family.

"Over her 30 years of experience with the Secret Service, Julia has consistently exemplified the spirit and dedication the men and women of the service demonstrate every day," Mr Obama said in a statement.

"Julia has had an exemplary career, and I know these experiences will guide her as she takes on this new challenge to lead the impressive men and women of this important agency."

Ms Pierson, originally from Florida, joined the Secret Service's Miami Field Office in 1983.

From 1988, she spent four years with the Presidential Protective Division.

Ms Pierson's appointment does not require confirmation by Congress.