MFS - The Other News

                    Morning Posting.

• Updated !Earthquakes in the last 24 hours in the world seismic activity situation Vanuatu 5.2 ; Indonesia 5.1!More info here.

• President Obama defies lawmakers with recess appointments to NLRB.(TheHill).President Obama will recess-appoint his nominees to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), bypassing a likely filibuster from Senate Republicans to keep the controversial agency operating in 2012.The president will use a recess appointment to install Sharon Block, Richard Griffin and Terence Flynn as members of the NLRB. Block and Griffin are Democrats, while Flynn is a Republican.The recess appointments are a huge victory for Obama’s union allies, which had urged the president to use any means necessary to keep the NLRB functioning. Without the recess appointments, the NLRB would have lacked the three-member quorum needed to issue rules and regulations.The move by the White House will further anger Republicans, who are already up in arms about Obama’s recess appointment of Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In a letter to Obama last month, all 47 GOP senators asked the president to refrain from making recess appointments to the NLRB. The labor board has come under fire from GOP lawmakers and business groups for a number of decisions, most notably a complaint against Boeing last year for allegedly retaliating against union workers. Critics of the labor board argue that complaint and other actions by the labor board, such as proposing a regulation to speed up union elections, are an abuse of the NLRB’s authority. The House has since passed legislation that would limit the labor board’s legal powers, and GOP senators have promised to block nominations to the NLRB.
  
  With the Senate likely to block new nominees, the NLRB wouldn’t be able to function without recess appointments. Needing at least three members to form a quorum, the labor board was expected to be reduced to two members with the end of NLRB member Craig Becker’s recess appointment.But with Block, Flynn and Griffin now all members of the NLRB, the labor board is up to its full roster of five members.Republicans tried to prevent recess appointments by keeping the Senate in pro forma session over the holiday break. In response to Cordray’s recess appointment, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said it was an “unprecedented move” by Obama and that he “has arrogantly circumvented the American people.” “This recess appointment represents a sharp departure from a long-standing precedent that has limited the President to recess appointments only when the Senate is in a recess of 10 days or longer,” McConnell said in a statement. The White House has argued that it has legal authority to make recess appointments during the pro forma sessions.
  “In an overt attempt to prevent the President from exercising his authority during this period, Republican Senators insisted on using a gimmick called “pro forma” sessions, which are sessions during which no Senate business is conducted and instead one or two Senators simply gavel in and out of session in a matter of seconds. But gimmicks do not override the President’s constitutional authority to make appointments to keep the government running,” White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer said in a blog post Wednesday.
  Unions cheered the NLRB recess appointments. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka hailed Obama's move as a victory for workers. Hmmmm....."I stopped being President....now i'll be 'Emperor'" or consolidating power to take over the country from Congress? Read the full story here.

• MF Global sold assets to Goldman before collapse: sources.(Reuters).By Lauren Tara LaCapra and Matthew Goldstein. MF Global unloaded hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of securities to Goldman Sachs in the days leading up to its collapse, according to two former MF Global employees with direct knowledge of the transactions. But it did not immediately receive payment from its clearing firm and lender, JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM - News), one of the sources said.The sale of securities to Goldman occurred on October 27, just days before MF Global Holdings Ltd (Other OTC:MFGLQ.PK - News) filed for bankruptcy on October 31, the ex-employees said. One of the employees said the transaction was cleared with JPMorgan Chase.At the same time MF Global, which was run by former Goldman Sachs head Jon Corzine, was selling securities to Goldman to raise badly needed cash, the futures firm was also drawing down a $1.2 billion revolving line of credit it had with JPMorgan, according to one of the former MF Global employees.JPMorgan spokeswoman Mary Sedarat said the bank did not withold money because of the line of credit. She declined further comment on details of the transactions.JPMorgan has fought aggressively in bankruptcy court to protect its interests, and received a lien on some of MF Global's assets in exchange for granting the firm $8 million to fund its bankruptcy costs. The lien puts JPMorgan's interests ahead of MF Global customers who have not yet received an estimated $900 million worth of money from their accounts, which remain frozen as regulators search for missing funds.The hastily crafted transactions and the seeming inability of MF Global to recoup some of the money in the sale to Goldman may start to explain why so much money remains unaccounted for at the futures firm.It is unclear what type of assets Goldman bought from MF Global, but the securities were worth hundreds of millions of dollars, the former employees said. The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity.Read the full story here.

• Defying Republicans, Obama to Name Cordray as Consumer Agency Chief.(NYT).President Obama will challenge Senate Republican foes of the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau by naming Richard Cordray as its director while Congress is out of town, according to a senior administration official.That would allow the agency to establish new regulations over financial institutions, putting into effect elements of the financial regulatory overhaul that was one of the administration’s main achievements in Congress.Mr. Obama’s exercise of constitutional powers to name top officials without Senate confirmation while Congress is in recess is a stiff challenge to Republicans, who have attempted to block the maneuver by holding “pro forma” sessions over the holidays.Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, objected strenuously, saying Mr. Obama was overstepping the bounds of his executive power and leaving the agency open to legal challenges.“Although the Senate is not in recess, President Obama, in an unprecedented move, has arrogantly circumvented the American people,” he said.“The president is committed to seeing Richard Cordray as head of the consumer bureau,” a senior administration official said. “We believe this appointment is fully within his legal rights.”Senator Tim Johnson, a Democrat of South Dakota who is chairman of the Banking Committee, praised the move.“Mr. Cordray is eminently qualified for the job, as even my Senate Republican colleagues have acknowledged,” he said. “It’s disappointing that Senate Republicans denied him an up-or-down vote, especially when it’s clear he had the support of a majority of the Senate.”Mr. Cordray boarded Marine One with Mr. Obama on Wednesday for the short flight to Andrews Air Force Base, where he is to accompany the president to his hometown of Cleveland for the announcement. The president is expected to deliver remarks on the economy at a high school in the Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights.Hmmmm......It's nice to be 'king'......Consolidating power for the takeover?Read the full story here.More here.Update: Today, U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) released the following statement on the news that President Obama would appoint Richard Cordray to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Board (CFPB) after Cordray had been rejected by the U.S. Senate:"The President has taken an unprecedented step: he has bypassed Congress to appoint a nominee, previously rejected by the Senate, to lead an agency with significant powers and no accountability to the American people. We need fundamental structural changes in this organization to assure that it can truly protect consumers."

• Anti-Semites Scrawl Swastika on Canadian Graves.(INN).Desecration of Jewish graves has spread to the capital of British Columbia, Canada, where swastikas were scrawled on gravestones in Victoria’s historic Emanu-El Jewish Cemetery.Police said the attack is disturbing and that “It seems like it’s more of a targeted thing, where it’s placed and what’s said,” Victoria police officer Mike Russell told the city’s Time-Colonist newspaper.“We’re really appealing to the public for any information they may have” because there were no videos of the vandalism, he added. He said that the vandalism was reported Saturday night and occurred the same day because a caretaker had been there a day before.Rabbi Harry Brechner wrote an open letter calling on the vandals to confess and to “come clean the gravesites, and when you are through take a tour with me around the cemetery and meet some of the people who lived through Nazism.”Both the cemetery and the Emanu-El synagogue date back to the 1860s, and the cemetery is the oldest Jewish burial ground in western Canada. The synagogue is Canada’s oldest Jewish house of worship in continuous use, according to the Victoria newspaper.Read and see the full story here.

• In major blow, EU agrees embargo on Iranian crude.(Reuters).European governments have agreed in principle to ban imports of Iranian oil, EU diplomats said Wednesday, dealing a potentially heavy blow to Tehran that crowns new Western economic sanctions imposing real pain just months before an Iranian election.The prospective embargo from the European Union, along with tough U.S. financial measures signed into law by President Barack Obama on New Year's Eve, form a concerted Western campaign to impose sanctions over Iran's nuclear program.Iran says its nuclear program is strictly peaceful, but Western countries say a November U.N. report shows it has sought to build an atomic bomb. Talks between Tehran and major powers broke down a year ago.Diplomats said EU envoys had held talks on Iran in the last days of December, and that any objections to an oil embargo had been dropped - notably from crisis-hit Greece which gets a third of its oil from Iran, relying on Tehran's lenient financing. Spain and Italy are also big buyers."A lot of progress has been made," one EU diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "The principle of an oil embargo is agreed. It is not being debated any more."The embargo will force Tehran to find other buyers for oil. EU countries buy about 450,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Iran's 2.6 million bpd in exports, making the bloc collectively the second largest market for Iranian crude after China.The news caused a spike rise in oil prices, with Brent crude peaking at nearly $114 a barrel in intraday trading, up nearly $2 from Tuesday's close.Tehran insisted it would have no trouble: "We could very easily replace these customers," said S. M. Qamsari, International Director of the National Iranian Oil Co.Hmmmm.....Let me Guess Obama's buddy Turkey?Read the full story here.

• Senator queries Obama on Iran sanctions.(JPost).WASHINGTON - A Republican senator on Tuesday questioned President Barack Obama's commitment to new sanctions on Iran's central bank, noting the president had claimed the right to sidestep some of the requirements when he signed them into law last week.In a statement issued as he signed a defense bill into law on Saturday, Obama said several provisions including the sanctions that target Iran's central bank "would interfere with my constitutional authority to conduct foreign relations."The president, a Democrat, said in his statement that if any application of these provisions conflicted with his constitutional authorities, "I will treat the provisions as non-binding."Senator Mark Kirk, one of the authors of the new sanctions on Iran, said on Tuesday that Obama was challenging the entire US Senate if he did not implement the new sanctions, because senators approved them unanimously before they were appended to the defense bill."With the Senate voting 100-0 to cripple the Central Bank of Iran, the president's signing statement hinting he will ignore parts of this law risks overwhelming opposition in the Congress," Kirk, a Republican, said through a spokesman.The new sanctions would penalize foreign financial institutions that do business with Iran's central bank, the main conduit for its oil revenues.Obama has approved a series of sanctions on Iran and warned that no option is "off the table" in stopping Tehran from its suspected quest for a nuclear weapon.But as Congress considered the sanctions on Iran's central bank, Obama aides said that threatening US allies might not be the best way to get their cooperation in action against Iran.As Obama signed the bill last week, senior US officials said Washington was consulting with its foreign partners to ensure the measures can work without harming global energy markets.Iran threatened on Tuesday to take action if the US Navy moves an aircraft carrier into the Gulf, Tehran's most aggressive statement yet after weeks of sabre-rattling as new U.S. and European Union financial sanctions take a toll on its economy. In his signing statement last Saturday, Obama also expressed concern about the constitutionality of a number of other provisions in the defense bill that related to the treatment and transfer of detainees and said he would interpret them "to avoid constitutional conflict".Christopher Kelley, a Miami University of Ohio professor who has researched presidential signing statements, said he found at least 10 instances in Obama's statement on the defense bill when he challenged the bill's constitutionality, although there may be more."Saying things like 'I will treat it as non-binding' is a clear constitutional challenge," Kelley said in an email to Reuters.The legislation authorized US defense programs from war fighting to weapons building for 2012. Obama said he signed the bill because he wanted to ensure key services and defense programs get the financing they need.Hmmmm......"Dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme liberty". ~ Plato.Read the full story here.

• Tehran decries foreign troops presence in Gulf, announces new Military drill.(JPost).Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi continued Tehran's heated rhetoric against the West on Wednesday, decrying the presence of foreign military forces near the Strait of Hormuz. "The presence of extra-regional powers in the Persian Gulf is unhelpful and damaging and their presence has no result other than turbulence in the region," he told reporters following a cabinet meeting, according to a Tehran Times report.Vahidi added that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is planning on holding another military exercise in the near future, according to Iran's student newspaper ISNA. Iran recently concluded a ten-day naval drill, during which it test fired two long-range missiles. Iran said that it was using the test to display its resolve in countering any attack by enemies such as Israel or the United States.The Iranian defense minister's comments followed an Iranian threat Tuesday that the country would "take action" if the US Navy were to move an aircraft carrier into the Gulf. The statement made by Iran's Army chief Ataollah Salehi was Tehran's most aggressive yet after weeks of saber-rattling following new US and EU financial sanctions took a toll on its economy.The prospect of sanctions targeting the oil sector in a serious way for the first time has hit Iran's rial currency, which fell by 40 percent against the dollar in the past month. It recovered 20% of its value Wednesday through intervention by Iran's Central Bank.Read the full story here.

• What To Do About Egypt.By ElliotAbrams.The bipartisan “Working Group on Egypt,” of which I am a member, has just made public its most recent comment on developments there. The statement is in the form of a letter to Secretary Clinton. The text is as follows:

Dear Secretary Clinton,
We write to express our grave concern about the assault last week by the Egyptian authorities on Egyptian and international civil society groups. These latest actions undermine the already unsteady progress toward democracy in Egypt and raise serious doubts about whether the current military authorities will permit a successful transition from Army rule.
Claims by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) that it did not order the raids have no credibility. The raids are the culmination of more than six months of steadily increasing harassment of NGOs via the state media, Central Bank, Ministry of International Cooperation, and Ministry of Justice–all of which serve at the pleasure of the SCAF.
The SCAF’s actions go to the heart of what constitutes democracy, that is, not just the casting of ballots on Election Day but the promotion of engaged citizenship and creation of robust institutions of law, fairness, and tolerance. If the SCAF succeeds in its current effort, it will lead Egypt down a path that no American administration can support.
In order to send a clear signal, we strongly urge that provision of all U.S. military aid be suspended immediately until Egyptian military authorities reverse their recent actions and demonstrate their commitment to the democratic process and to permitting human rights groups to conduct their activities without harassment or interference. It is currently impossible for the State Department to certify that “the Government of Egypt is supporting the transition to civilian government including holding free and fair elections; implementing policies to protect freedom of expression, association, and religion, and due process of law,” as stipulated by the Congress in its FY2012 authorization. We also urge that current aid from FY2011 be suspended.
Madam Secretary, in addition to undermining the efforts of international and Egyptian civil society organizations to monitor the democratic process in Egypt, we believe the Egyptian authorities’ actions, including and especially the targeting of three American groups, the National Democratic Institute, the International Republican Institute, and Freedom House, represent a deliberate test of the Obama administration’s commitment to democratic reform in Egypt. If the United States does not respond firmly, this will be read both by the Egyptian authorities, and more importantly, by the Egyptian people as acquiescence to the Egyptian authorities’ assault on civil society and the democratic process.
The United States should use every tool at its disposal to persuade the Egyptian military to stop the assault on democracy and begin a real transition to civilian rule immediately. After a year of conversations with the SCAF by U.S. officials at all levels, it is clear that the message is not getting through; in fact, the SCAF’s behavior and social and economic conditions in the country have deteriorated markedly. Withholding military assistance is the only way to get the SCAF’s attention. The United States simply should not provide assistance to an Egyptian military that treats as criminals other Egyptians who also receive U.S. aid. The United States must show that if the military insists on continuing its disastrous course, it will do so without the support of the U.S. taxpayer.The punch line comes at the end, when the group urges that aid to the Egyptian military be suspended: “Withholding military assistance is the only way to get the SCAF’s attention. The United States simply should not provide assistance to an Egyptian military that treats as criminals other Egyptians who also receive U.S. aid. The United States must show that if the military insists on continuing its disastrous course, it will do so without the support of the U.S. taxpayer.” This recommendation is not made lightly, and retaining American influence with the Egyptian army is a significant goal. But the military must understand that it is simply impossible, in our democratic system, to continue to send them funds when they punish human rights and democracy promotion groups for receiving U.S. funding. Even if the Obama administration wants to keep the money flowing, it would not be long before Congress insisted that it stop.As I suggested here, in “Mubarakism Without Mubarak,  Mubarakism was a system that perpetuated military rule and American aid by arguing that the military was the only alternative to the Brotherhood (and groups worse than the Brotherhood) while in fact it created perfect conditions for the Islamists to thrive. We now see the result of those decades of repression and we should reject the invitation to continue the Mubarak system, this time with a collective military leadership replacing the dictator. The struggle for democracy and human rights in Egypt will be long and hard and we cannot determine the outcome, but we must at the very least let all Egyptians know which side we are on. For now, we must let the army know that if it is their policy to crush democracy activists, there is a price they will pay. It’s $1.3 billion a year.Read  the full story here.

• Iran: Foreign Warships Will Need Iranian Permission to Pass through Strait of Hormoz.(IMRA).TEHRAN - All foreign warships will soon be unable to pass through the Strait of Hormoz unless they first receive a permission from the Iranian Navy ships deployed in the region, an Iranian parliamentarian said, adding that the country's lawmakers are now working on a relevant plan as the strategic waterway is part of the Iranian territories."If the military vessels and warships of any country want to pass via the Strait of Hormoz without coordination and permission of Iran's Navy forces, they should be stopped by the Iranian Armed Forces," Nader Qazipour told FNA, explaining about the contents of the plan.He underlined that the plan will be presented to the parliament's presiding board next week.In relevant remarks on Monday, another Iranian legislator stressed that Iran will use all its capabilities and possibilities to defend the country against foreign threats and the country will use the Strait of Hormoz as a defensive tool and will close the waterway if it comes under threat."Iran will definitely use the defensive potential of the Strait of Hormoz if it is faced with threats," Rapporteur of the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Kazzem Jalali told FNA.Iranian lawmakers and officials have recently warned enemies that Iran is entitled to the right to close the strategic oil lifeline as a defensive option against foreign invasion."The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is not on the Islamic Republic of Iran's agenda (at present), but if threats against Iran come to trample upon the rights of our nation while others use the strait for exporting their oil, then Iran will be entitled to the right to close the Strait of Hormuz," member of the Iranian Parliament Mohammad Taqi Rahbar told FNA late December."The international conventions reserve such rights for the Islamic Republic of Iran as well," Rahbar underscored.The lawmaker, however, said, "For the time being, the Islamic Republic of Iran has not decided to close the strait, but this (closing the strait) depends on the conditions of the region."Read the full story here.

• Israel Security Council: Obama Naive on Muslim Brotherhood.(INN).Israel’s National Security Council thinks that President Barack Obama is naïve in his attitude towards the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, which stated Sunday it can’t fathom the idea of recognizing Israel.Dr. Rashad Bayumi, the Brotherhood’s number two leader, said on Sunday, "No Muslim Brotherhood members will engage in any contact or normalization with Israel.”President Obama has asked the Muslim Brotherhood’s leading jurist, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, to mediate secret talks between the United States and the Taliban, according to The Hindu newspaper. The jurist previously has called for killing U.S. soldiers in Iraq and has vowed that Islam “will conquer Europe [and] will conquer America,” whether by force or by the spread of radical Islam.In early 2010, when American foreign policy experts could not imagine that the radical Muslim Brotherhood would emerge as the most powerful political force in Egypt, President Obama dismissed the party as a “faction,” adding that “they don’t have majority support in Egypt. But they’re well organized. There are strains of their ideology that are anti-U.S.”Less than a year afterwards, the Brotherhood has emerged as the winner of the first three rounds of legislative elections in the post-Mubarak period. Its closest contender represents the even more radical Salafist Muslim sect.Last summer, the official Obama administration policy changed from shunning the Muslim Brotherhood to “engaging” it. Last month, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Senator John Kerry met in Cairo with top members of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood.  Israel's National Security Council, headed by Maj.-Gen. Yaakov Amidror, recently discussed "The Challenge of the Rise of the Muslim Brotherhood and its Offshoots” and concluded that the US president is naïve, according to the Hebrew daily Yisrael HaYom.Read the full story here.

• "Sanctions that bite"? - Turkey's FM to visit Iran for talks on nuke, Syria.(JPost).ISTANBUL - Turkey's foreign minister will visit Tehran on Wednesday for talks with his Iranian counterpart on Iran's nuclear program and developments in neighboring Iraq and Syria, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said late on Tuesday.Ahmet Davutoglu's visit was described as being in the framework of regular talks between the two ministers, but it comes at a key time for the region and relations between the two regional powers."It is intended that they will exchange views on topical subjects such as Iran's nuclear program and developments in Syria and Iraq," the Turkish foreign ministry said.Davutoglu's visit was set to finish on Thursday.Turkey is evaluating whether to seek a waiver from the United States to exempt Turkish oil importer Tupras from new US sanctions on institutions that deal with Iran's central bank, a Turkish official said on Tuesday.US ally Turkey is among the biggest buyers of Iranian oil and gas. It gets about 30 percent of its oil from neighbor Iran, and Tupras, Turkey's biggest crude oil importer is a big buyer of Iranian crude.The United States has armed itself with tough measures targeting financial institutions that deal with Iran's central bank, the main clearinghouse through which OPEC's No. 2 oil exporter deals with clients around the world.The law, signed by President Barack Obama on Saturday, allows the US to exempt institutions in a country that has significantly reduced its dealings with Iran. Obama may also grant waivers deemed to be in the US national interest or otherwise necessary for energy market stability.Turkey is bound by UN sanctions against Iran, though it opposed the last round of measures in 2010, and it insists it is not obliged to follow non-UN sanctions.Iran threatened on Tuesday to take action if the US Navy moves an aircraft carrier into the Gulf, Tehran's most aggressive statement yet after weeks of sabre-rattling as new US and EU financial sanctions take a toll on its economy.Obama said several provisions including the sanctions that target Iran's central bank "would interfere with my constitutional authority to conduct foreign relations."The president, said in his statement that if any application of these provisions conflicted with his constitutional authorities, "I will treat the provisions as non-binding." Hmmmm.....Turkey got a 'waiver' from buddy Obama to conduct business as usual?Read the full story here.

• Updated - Turkey to seek US waiver on Iran oil.(HurriyetDaily).Turkey will seek a waiver from the United States to exempt its biggest refiner TÜPRAŞ from new U.S. sanctions on institutions that deal with Iran's central bank, a Turkish energy ministry official told Reuters today.U.S. President Barack Obama signed the new sanctions into law on New Year's Eve, which if implemented fully would prevent most refineries from paying for Iranian crude, the first Western measure that could have serious impact on Iran's oil industry. The law would strip any financial institution dealing with Iran's central bank from access to the U.S. financial system. However, the law allows Obama to issue waivers to firms in countries that significantly reduce dealings with Iran, or at any time when it is either in the U.S. national interest or necessary for energy market stability. U.S. officials have said they will discuss with allies how to implement the law without causing havoc in oil markets. U.S. ally Turkey gets about 30 percent of its oil from neighbour Iran, and TÜPRAŞ - Turkey's biggest crude oil importer, owned by its largest conglomerate, Koç Holding - is a big buyer of Iranian crude. The energy ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said a Turkish energy official would meet a representative of the U.S. embassy in Turkey to learn more about the content of the new U.S. law. NATO member Turkey has deepened economic and financial ties with Iran in recent years, despite Western efforts to isolate Tehran under sanctions aimed at forcing it to stop work on its nuclear activities. Turkey's Energy Minister Taner Yıldız said TÜPRAŞ will continue to buy oil from Iran "until there is a new development". "Iran is one of the countries TÜPRAŞ imports oil from. We have not received information on the new sanctions. TÜPRAŞ continues to buy oil today," Yıldız told reporters. Iran said on Dec. 24 it had extended its crude export contract with Turkey for 2012. Turkey bought 217,000 barrels of oil per day from Iran in mid-2011, or 30.6 percent of its imports, according to the International Energy Agency, making it the sixth biggest buyer of Iranian crude. Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu is expected to visit Tehran later today for talks on Iran's nuclear program and developments in neighbouring Iraq and Syria. The U.S. sanctions and the prospect of new sanctions this month from the European Union appear to be having an impact on Iran's ability to find buyers for its oil at global prices. China, the largest buyer by far of Iranian oil, has cut its purchases for January by more than half from 2011 levels.Hmmmmm........No sanctions for Obama's 'buddy' Erdogan....'business as usual'?Read the full story here.

• Taliban leaders held at Guantánamo Bay to be released in peace talks deal brokered by Muslim brotherhood spiritual guide Yusuf al-Qaradawi.(Guardian).The US has agreed in principle to release high-ranking Taliban officials from Guantánamo Bay in return for the Afghan insurgents' agreement to open a political office for peace negotiations in Qatar, the Guardian has learned.According to sources familiar with the talks in the US and in Afghanistan, the handful of Taliban figures will include Mullah Khair Khowa, a former interior minister, and Noorullah Noori, a former governor in northern Afghanistan.More controversially, the Taliban are demanding the release of the former army commander Mullah Fazl Akhund. Washington is reported to be considering formally handing him over to the custody of another country, possibly Qatar.The releases would be to reciprocate for Tuesday's announcement from the Taliban that they are prepared to open a political office in Qatar to conduct peace negotiations "with the international community" – the most significant political breakthrough in ten years of the Afghan conflict.The Taliban are holding just one American soldier, Bowe Bergdahl, a 25-year-old sergeant captured in June 2009, but it is not clear whether he would be freed as part of the deal."To take this step, the [Obama] administration have to have sufficient confidence that the Taliban are going to reciprocate," said Vali Nasr, who was an Obama administration adviser on the Afghan peace process until last year. "It is going to be really risky. Guantánamo is a very sensitive issue politically."Nasr, now a professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, said the Taliban announcement on the opening of an office in Qatar was a dramatic breakthrough."If it had not happened then the idea of reconciliation would have been completely finished. The Qatar office is akin to the Taliban forming a Sinn Féin, a political wing to conduct negotiations," Nasr said, but added: "The next phase will need concessions on both sides. This doesn't mean we are now on autopilot to peace."This time, he said, it was clear that the top Taliban council – including its reclusive leader, Mullah Omar – was on board with the proposal. In return, Semple said he thought the release of a few prisoners from Guantánamo Bay was politically feasible for the Obama administration, even in an election year."The prospect of ending a costly war in Afghanistan is sufficiently attractive for the Obama administration to move forward with it," Semple said."Even if all five of these people they release went straight back to Quetta [the Taliban stronghold in Pakistan] to rejoin a fight, it wouldn't make any real difference."He said that a number of leading Taliban took part in the secret talks that led to agreement with Qatar, including the former Taliban ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Shahabuddin Dilawar, the former deputy foreign minister Sher Mohammad Stanekzai and Tayeb Agha, a top aide to Mullah Omar, the mysterious Taliban leader who, even in power, only ever met with a handful of western diplomats."The important thing is that all these men are operating with the approval of Mullah Omar," he said. It is not clear when the office will open, and there is also likely to be disagreement on the role of the Kabul government. A senior Afghan government official said the Karzai administration had accepted the creation of a Taliban office in Qatar only after demanding assurances from foreign powers that any peace process must be kept under the firm control of the Afghan government."If it is not led and owned by the Afghan government, it will fail," the official said.Hmmmm.....Now 'this' shines a whole different light on what Obama ment by:"He's Not Bound by Guantanamo"The signing statement says that on the issue of accused terrorist detainees, Obama will interpret and apply provisions that bar the transfer of detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, "in a manner that avoids constitutional conflicts."Read the full story here.

• Iran again warns US navy not to enter the Gulf.(Emirates24/7).Iran on Wednesday reinforced its warning to America against keeping a US navy presence in the oil-rich Gulf, adding steel to a threat that Washington had dismissed as a sign of "weakness" from Tehran."Iran will do anything to preserve the security of the Strait of Hormuz" at the entrance to the Gulf, Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi said, according to the website of Iran's state television."The presence of forces from beyond the (Gulf) region has no result but turbulence. We have said the presence of forces from beyond the region in the Gulf is not needed and is harmful," he was quoted as saying.The comments echoed a warning issued Tuesday by Iran's military that it would unleash its "full force" if a US aircraft carrier is redeployed to the Gulf."We don't have the intention of repeating our warning, and we warn only once," Brigadier General Ataollah Salehi, Iran's armed forces chief, said as he told Washington to keep its aircraft carrier out of the Gulf.The White House on Tuesday had brushed off the warning, saying it "reflects the fact that Iran is in a position of weakness" as it struggles under international sanctions.The US Defence Department said it would not alter its deployment of warships to the Gulf.But on Wednesday, Salehi again stressed his warning, and called 10 days of Iranian navy war games just held near the Strait of Hormuz as a "message" to the United States."The forces from beyond the region have received the appropriate message from these manoeuvres," he said, according to the official IRNA news agency."Those who have come as enemies should be afraid of our manoeuvres," he said.The exercises climaxed Monday with the Iranian navy test-firing three types of missiles designed to sink warships.The head of Iran's parliamentary national security and foreign policy commission, Aladdin Brujerdi, was also quoted by the Fars news agency as saying the US description of Iran being weak "is a completely illogical stance".He added: "The US talks about sanctioning our oil but they should know that if Iran's oil exports from the Gulf are sanctioned, then no-one will have the right to export oil through the Strait of Hormuz."The developments have sent the price of oil soaring. New York trading of West Texas Intermediate crude was at ê102.60 per barrel, while Brent North Sea crude contracts in London were selling for ê111.81."The situation with Iran remains worrisome," said Nick Trevethan, a senior commodities strategist at ANZ Research in Asia."The consequences of any military action in the Middle East will be enormous. A spike in crude prices will kill off any recovery in the US," he added.Iran's war games were meant to show the Islamic republic could close the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of the world's oil flows, if it is attacked or its oil exports are curbed by sanctions.Last week, a US aircraft carrier, the USS John C Stennis, passed through the strait and eastward, through the Gulf of Oman and a zone being used by the Iranian navy for its drill.Iranian military officials said that, if it tried to return through the Strait of Hormuz to the Gulf, it would be attacked.The US carrier would face the "full force" of Iran's navy, a navy spokesman, Commodore Mahmoud Mousavi, told Iran's Arabic television service Al-Alam on Tuesday.The US Defence Department said in a statement it would continue the rotation of its 11 aircraft carriers to the Gulf to support military operations in the region."Our transits of the Strait of Hormuz continue to be in compliance with international law, which guarantees our vessels the right of transit passage," it said.The Pentagon also underlined its pledge to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, saying "we are committed to protecting maritime freedoms that are the basis for global prosperity; this is one of the main reasons our military forces operate in the region."The increasingly tense situation in the Gulf was taking place as Iran struggled with turmoil on its domestic currency market.Foreign exchange shops on Wednesday were shuttered as traders refused to comply with a central bank order putting a new, low cap on the value of the dollar against the Iranian rial, which has come under intense pressure in recent days.Iranian authorities were trying to shore up their currency after it slid 12 percent on Monday to a record low against the dollar the day after the United States enacted new sanctions hitting Iran's central bank.Iran, however, insisted the volatility of the rial is not the result of sanctions.It "definitely has nothing to with sanctions," foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Tuesday.Read the full story here.

• Hamas calls Israeli-Palestinian meeting a “farce”.(BikyaMasr).Gaza (dpa) – The Palestinian group Hamas said on Wednesday that the first face-to-face meeting in 16 months between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators to try to restart stalled peace talks was a “farce” and a “waste of time.”The talks in Jordan on Tuesday “contradict the hopes and aspirations of our people,” said Fawzi Barhoom, a spokesman for the Islamist group, which rules the Gaza Strip.The meeting, which was attended by Jordanian officials and representatives of the Quartet of Middle East peace mediators – the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations – ended without a major breakthrough.Hamas, which refuses to recognize Israel, opposes Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s peace moves with the Jewish state.Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the Islamist movement was “astonished” that, during the meeting, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat handed the Israelis Palestinian proposals on borders and security, two major sticking points.Prior to the talks, Hamas called on the Abbas-led Palestinian Authority to shun peace talks with Israel, saying that past negotiations had failed.Hamas, which won a parliamentary election in 2006, has rejected international demands that it recognize Israel’s right to exist, renounce violence and honour past Israeli-Palestinian agreements.Read the full story here.

• Over 130 Doctors Without Borders staff go missing in South Sudan.(BikyaMasr). At least 130 staff from a clinic in South Sudan are missing, the international medical organization said in a statement.The staff had been running a facility in Pibor, but as ethnic violence in the area has left scores dead and thousands fleeing the area, MSF has been unable to contact their staff.Renewed ethnic violence in Jonglei State, South Sudan, has forced thousands of families to flee into the bush. Two Doctors Without Borders medical facilities have been targeted and the independent medical humanitarian organization has been forced to temporarily suspend its much needed medical activities in Pibor County.Late last month, two doctors with MSF were shot and killed in Somalia, highlighting the dangers of working in conflict zones.According to the statement from the group, the staff had evacuated the hospital in Pibor and two outreach clinics as fighters from the Lou Nuer tribe inched closer to the area.Reports from the area say the facilities had been set ablaze by the fighters.The Lou Nuer and Murle are in conflict, with each accusing the other of stealing cattle and killing tribal members. Neither UN peacekeepers nor the South Sudan army were able to stop the attack on Pibor.“Thousands of people have fled for their lives in Lekongole and Pibor in the last week and are now hiding in the bush, frightened for their lives,” said Parthesarathy Rajendran, MSF head of mission in South Sudan.“They fled in haste and have no food or water, some of them doubtless carrying wounds or injuries, and now they are on their own, hiding, beyond the reach of humanitarian assistance.”Hmmmm......Read the full story here.

• Resorts in Maldives fight Islamic spa ban.(Telegraph).The archipelago’s tourism ministry ordered the closure of all spas, massage parlours and health centres, with immediate effect, after an Islamist opposition party claimed they were being used as a front for prostitution.However, the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI), which represents the islands’ hotels, said it would fight for the ban to be overturned.The association says it has filed two civil court cases in an effort to revoke the ban, and has applied for a temporary injunction.Sim Ibrahim, head of MATI, said that tourism was crucial to the country’s economy, and warned that the move could put off overseas visitors.The Maldives are a popular destination for affluent holidaymakers, and many of the island’s resorts feature modern spas. Around 850,000 tourists visited the islands last year.Despite the ban, the majority of hotel spas remain open for business. The luxury Huvafen Fushi resort, where rooms cost up to £6,500 a night, said its spa is open and is continuing to take bookings. The Banyan Tree, Four Seasons, Six Senses and Shangri-La resorts have also confirmed that their spas are operating as normal.The decision has also raised fears that hotels could soon be prevented from selling alcohol to guests. It is currently illegal for tourists to bring alcohol into the country, but some opposition groups would like to see the ban extended to prohibit the sale of alcohol across the islands.Islamic fundamentalism has gained support in the Maldives during recent years, with anti-semitic protests taking place over the government’s decision to allow direct flights to the country from Israel.Last year a Swiss couple, who chose to renew their wedding vows while on holiday in the Maldives, were described as “infidel swine” by the hotel employee who conducted the ceremony. Read the full story here.