Valsof-News

Saturday, 14 September 2013

Egypt's Mubarak waves, grins as his trial resumes

AYA BATRAWY 1 hour ago

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's ousted long-time autocrat Hosni Mubarak was back in court Saturday, grinning and waving as his trial resumed on charges related to the killings of some 900 protesters during the 2011 uprising that led to his ouster.
The 85-year-old former president was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for failing to stop the killings, but his sentence was overturned on appeal earlier this year and a retrial was ordered.
The retrial comes against the backdrop of continued turmoil in Egypt. Unrest has spiked after the popularly backed July 3 military coup that toppled Mubarak's successor, Mohammed Morsi. The interim, military-backed government has targeted members of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood group and arrested hundreds on charges of inciting violence.
Morsi himself is detained at an unknown location and a state of emergency was imposed following a deadly crackdown on his supporters last month. Morsi, who was Egypt's first freely elected president, faces accusations of conspiring with Palestinian gunmen from neighboring Gaza Strip in his escape from prison during the anti-Mubarak uprising.
One of the defendants' lawyers in Mubarak's trial on Saturday suggested that the Brotherhood and Palestinian militants were behind the killings of protesters during the uprising.
The case against Mubarak also involves seven top security officials, including Mubarak's ex-Interior Minister Habib el-Adly. They all face charges of complicity in the killings during the 18-day uprising.
Mubarak, his two sons and a business aide — who has since fled Egypt and is being tried in absentia — also face corruption charges in the same case. Both of Mubarak's sons were in the Cairo court with him on Saturday.
Mubarak was wheeled into the defendants' cage in the heavily-fortified courtroom for the hearing, broadcast live on state television. The former president sat upright, waving to two female supporters who snapped photos of him with their tablet.
Judge Mahmoud el-Rachidi ordered a media blackout of the next three sessions, scheduled to run from Oct. 19 until Oct. 21. The sessions will include testimonies from former security officials, including ex-Interior Minister Ahmed Gamaleddin and ex-intelligence chief Murad Muwafi. Egypt's current oil minister, Sherif Ismail, is also to give testimony in relation to the corruption charges.
The judge ordered the court closed for the upcoming testimonies, barring anyone from attending except lawyers. Journalists will not be allowed to report anything on the testimonies or even quote lawyers who attend the sessions.
Similarly in late 2011, secretive figures in Mubarak's inner circle testified in his initial trial under a media gag order.
In previous courtroom appearances, the former president was lying on a gurney, but he has appeared more confident since his release from prison last month. After his release, Mubarak was ordered detained at a military hospital pending trial in other corruption cases.
Mubarak's two sons, Alaa and one-time heir apparent Gamal, remain in prison pending their trial on separate corruption charges.
Outside the court, about 30 Mubarak supporters brandished his picture and shouted in his support. There were around five other protesters, apparently relatives of demonstrators slain in the anti-Mubarak uprising who were not allowed in the courtroom.

В Нощта на театрите кметът на София Йорданка Фандъкова ще присъства на представлението "Робин” в театър „Възраждане”

Снимка: ГЕРБ

14 септември 2013 | 15:36 | Агенция "Фокус"

Начало / Общини

София. В Нощта на театрите кметът на София Йорданка Фандъкова ще присъства на представлението „Робин” в театър „Възраждане”, съобщиха от Столична община. Премиерата на „Робин” е с начален час 21.30 ч. Представлението е финансирано по програма „Култура” на Столична община.
За първи път София има своята Нощ на театрите. Столичани и гостите на града могат да избират между 80 културни прояви, между които театрални постановки, прожекции и работилници по актьорско майсторство. Наред с театър „Възраждане” в Нощта на театрите с постановки се включват и общинските театри „Театър София” и „Малък градски театър зад канала”.
Инициативата е част от Европейската Нощ на театрите, която от години се провежда в над 10 страни.

Писмо до другарката Мая Манолова. От контрапротестиращ

Публикувано на 14/09/2013 |

Наш „бдителен“ читател, минавал покрай НДК, намерил това писмо. Листът бил сгънат прилежно, но вятърът го бил отвял на фонтаните. Заради неговата фундаментална стойност към историята на днешна България, го предлагаме на Вашето внимание. (Текстът е автентичен, правописът – също.)
Другарко Манолова,
Три дни не спя. Три дни съм полудел. Гледам телевизора от сутрин до нощ и ви гледам оня ден сутринта да говорите за протеста на младите и хубавите (дето другарката Дърева така им вика).
Ама оставете ги, другарко Манолова. Не се занимавайте с тях. Ние като сме стари и мъдри – грозни ли сме? С по 3 вишета сме. По вагон книги сме прочели – както каза оня дето на павлов му прави статуя некаква.
Цял живот се бъхтам – цял живот се трудих. И какво – ходих на пет екскурзии до саюза, три до гедерето (докато си беша нашо, взема ни го тоя Горбачов), две до Чехия, другото не го помня. Ама и да го помня – кога беше и какво като беше?
И кво? Место да си рахатувам сега – ходя по митинги и се правя на маймуна. И защо ни пратихте Шамара при нас ? Ма то просто, бе, Манолова. Голем простак и мръстник. Мъ мен мъ срам. Бил певец, бил рабър. Ма то гнусно, бе Манолова. Ма то на маймуна мяза. Ама стискаме – все некой лев идва.
Гледам ги мойте от моя си митинг – и те се срамуват – кОлтурни хора сме, кой с едно више, кой с 2 средни образУвания. И тях ги срам. Ам стискат и те – и те си помагат с некой и друг лев.
Единият път – оня с голата другарка дето нещо френско играха заради онези от паветета. Скрих се в храститити. Плаче ми душата. Срам мъ. Да си имаме власт, да си е наше момчето – Учено, делан камък и ни на маймуни да се правим. За Орешарски казвам. И некаква гола шафрантия да ни води. Избега и тя. Взема си парите и дим да я няма. Ама що срам брахме – ний си знаем.
Ами онова със сокчетата дето го върте Нина на жълтите павета. Нашта Нина, дето ни е шефка. Ваз ви лесно, другарко Манолова. Вие сте си пазени от милицията добре. Много добре ви пазат. Ама ние, стари хора – що страх брахме. Ни го знам президента, ни съм го видел. Знам – го не е наш, лош е. Верно. Стоим на улицата пием булвочите на Нина, хоро играхме за телевизиите. На семсе години – на маймуни ни направихте. На вас ви лесно с Ангел – той министър, вие шеф на парламента.
Ама и за друго да си кажа. Щото вие за некакви 100 лева говорихте по телевизора. Аз с моята другарка колко да струваме. Там едни 70 – 80 лева ще са ни впомощ. Зима иде – требва да си помагаме – вие дръжте фронта горе, ние сме долу и стискаме.
То щото верно идеи, идеи – ама и ние ходим в същите супери дето не ги затвяряте. Скъпите. И там цените и за тези от жълтите павета и от нашия митинг – все същите – скъпо, ама много скъпо. Оня ден онея 3 лева дето ги спестих от тока (заради другаря Стойнев – Маркс и Ленин да го поживят – аз на тех се кръстя) ми ги взе оная дропла от касата на супера. И кво – нема ги. А Стойнев – герой. Не излиза от телевизора.
И да ви кажа нещо – кажете на другарите от цека-то – дръжте, стискайте властта. С тези митинги много си помагаме. Другаря Петров е златен човек – рейс ни уреди, пари ни дава, видехме другари дето не сме се виждали по сто години.
Нека си крещат и викат онея, ние стискаме тука на пилона. Шамара е златно момче. Петното е златен. Ама не бил чел книги – то нии кат четохме докъде го докарахме
Пратете ни Ангел Геварата – колтурно момче е, нека той ни води, а па да си води и телевизията.
Само да не забрава – кажете на другаря Петров (тоя дето дава парите) – на Георги Стоянов Иванов и на жена му от 33 ППО – по 80 лева на пилон. Другите като са по-тъпи – давайте им по 10.
С изсвинение за дългото писмо, ама пусто нема дека да ви вида.
С другарски поздрав,
Георги Стоянов Иванов,
от пилона

Даниела Дариткова, ГЕРБ: Единственият успех на правителството е, че успя да се задържи на власт 100 дни под непрекъснатите протести

Снимка: ГЕРБ

14.09.2013 11:09 / Смолян / Новини
Смолян. Единственият успех на сегашното правителство е, че успя да се задържи на власт тези 100 дни под непрекъснатите протести на гражданите. Това каза в интервю за предаването „Метроном” на Радио „Фокус” – Смолян депутатът от ПП ГЕРБ за област Смолян д-р Даниела Дариткова. „Наистина друг успех на това управление може да бъде и мобилизацията на огромна обществена енергия и събуждането на едно гражданско общество, което ще бъде реален коректив на всяко едно управление не само в момента, но и в бъдеще”, допълни Дариткова. По думите й, всичко останало е само в сферата на предварително заявените добри намерения, които бяха подпечатани със знака на подмяната – подмяна на вота на гражданите, които подредиха парламентарните сили по определен ред. Една безпринципна коалиция, която роди това управление, която не се основава на еднакви идейни виждания и намерения, а по-скоро на неистово желание да се задържи на власт.
Дариткова подчерта, че всичко това е било подпечатано с най-скандалното назначение – знакът на Делян Пеевски, който беше сложен за управляващ ДАНС. „В последствие нещата за съжаление продължиха в същия дух и ние все още 100 дни стоим в очакване някъде, отнякъде да се появи нов Делян Пеевски. Всичко това обаче не е подплатено с реални действия, защото през тези 100 дни, министрите поетапно излизаха в отпуск, Народното събрание един месец не беше на работа и заявените намерения за активно справяне с проблемите наистина останаха само пожелателни”, каза народният представител. Тя отбеляза, че е имало промени, които категорично са били подкрепени от тях. „Имам предвид увеличението на парите на майките, други мерки бяха от чисто административен характер, като увеличението на парите, които се дават за първокласници. Всичко това, както и гласуването на 40 милиона само за социална политика на фона на една актуализация на бюджета, която включваше 1 милиард нов взет заем, 280 милиона оставане за харчене на Министерски съвет без санкцията на Народното събрание, говорят наистина за една доста скромна социална политика – нещо, което беше заявено като приоритет в началото”, добави Даниела Дариткова. Според нея, всичко останало на този етап наистина говори само за едно нежелание да се чуят гласовете на протестиращите, нежелание да се съобразят с мнението на гражданското общество, желание на всяка цена да останат на власт. Дариткова изрази надежда, всичко това да не бъде наистина пагубно за България и за предстоящия тежък зимен период, който ни очаква.
Нели ГЕРГЬОВСКА

Двама смолянчани заеха първите места на българо-гръцки фотографски конкурс

13.09.2013

Двама смолянчани се класираха на първо и трето място със свои снимки на фотографски конкурс : „Популяризиране на красотата на трансграничната област и нейните хора“ по повод Европейския ден на сътрудничеството. Тази година конкурсът привлече почти двойно повече фотографи-аматьори от България и Гърция, които участваха в конкурса със свои фотографии. Първото място спечели Райна Прахова от Смолян с фотография „Лазарка“, второто е на Стергиос Тсиокас от Комотини с фотография „Мултикултурно следобедно кафе“, а трети се класира Александър Караджов от Смолян с фотография „Есенна приказка”. Караджов е мл.експерт в общинската дирекция „Икономическо развитие, проекти, програми, международни и младежки дейности.”
Отличените фотографии, както и подбор от снимки, които са класирани на предни позиции в конкурса ще бъдат изложени в Комотини в периода 13-16 септември и в Кърджали от 20 до 23 септември т.г.
Днес в Комотини ще се проведе церемонията по откриване на изложбата и ще бъдат връчени наградите на първите трима победители.
Управляващият орган на Програмата за европейско териториално сътрудничество „Гърция – България 2007-2013“, с подкрепата на Съвместния технически секретариат на Програмата и на Националния партниращ орган в България проведе за втора година фотографския конкурс „Популяризиране на красотата на трансграничната област и нейните хора“ по повод Европейския ден на сътрудничеството.
Пресцентър на община Смолян

Дорис Пак: Ако правителството разчита на подкрепата на „Атака”, то трябва да си отиде

Снимка: ГЕРБ

14 септември 2013 | 11:56 | Агенция "Фокус"

Начало / Партии

София. България се управлява от правителство, което когато гласува например бюджета или други закони, разчита на гласовете на партия „Атака”, а това е една расистка и антиевропейска партия. Това заяви на пресконференция председателят на Европейската народна партия (ЕНП) – жени Дорис Пак, предаде репортер на Агенция „Фокус”. „Ако правителството продължава да разчита на подкрепата на партия „Атака”, то трябва да си отиде”, заяви още Пак и отбеляза, че „като германски европеец, изпитва отчаяние от това, което вижда в България”.
По думите на Дорис Пак – правителството в момента у нас не действа, крие се зад Социалистическата партия, не разговаря с протестиращите и не говори с хората.
„Очевидно съществува скрит дневен ред, който води до нежелание да се отиде до нови избори”, коментира още Пак. Тя отбеляза, че когато едно правителство съществува единствено и благодарение на гласовете и политическото поведение на „Атака” хората на улицата виждат това.
Според Пак – „ГЕРБ никога не е разчитал на гласовете на „Атака” и никога не е бил зависим от тях”. „Ние не държим на ГЕРБ, ние държим на демократичното развитие на България”, заяви още Дорис Пак.
Ванина НЕДКОВА

БРЮКСЕЛ 1 сподели връзка.

преди около час

Еврокомисарят Кристалина Георгиева днес (14 септември 2013) от 18 часа в предаването "Брюксел 1" на телевизия и радио Bulgaria ON AIR, както и online на www.bgonair.bg, ще коментира какъв бежански поток очаква Европа от конфликта в Сирия и колко бежанци може да поеме, могат ли общините и правителството в България да разчитат на европейски пари за посрещане на бежанците, и защо СС на ООН е неспособен да приеме резолюция за Сирия, призоваваща да не се убиват цивилни.

Бившият министър на отбраната Аню Ангелов и екс-депутата и бивш председател на Комисията по външни работи в НС Асен Агов ще коментират доколко предаването на химическите оръжия под международен контрол може да разреши сирийския конфликт.

Flood rescues continue as Colorado braces for more rain

Keith Coffman 2 hours ago

By Keith Coffman
DENVER (Reuters) - More heavy rain is expected on Saturday in Colorado where rescue workers are battling to reach residents cut off by the worst floods in decades, which have killed at least four people and left 172 still unaccounted for.
Search and rescue teams have used boats and helicopters to pull stranded residents to safety in areas where flash floods toppled buildings, washed out roads and inundated farmland.
The flooding began overnight Wednesday. It was triggered by unusually heavy late-summer storms that soaked Colorado's biggest urban centers, from Fort Collins near the Wyoming border south through Boulder, Denver and Colorado Springs.
Boulder and a string of other towns along the Front Range of the Rockies north of Denver were especially hard hit as water poured down rain-soaked mountains and spilled through canyons that funneled the runoff into populated areas.
Overnight, rescue workers took advantage of a break in the weather to reach residents still stranded in their homes by rampaging floodwaters that turned creeks into raging torrents that burst their banks.
"Quite a bit of the water has receded in the city ... and rescue crews will work throughout the night," Ashlee Herring, a spokeswoman for the Boulder Office of Emergency Management said of the recovery effort.
The National Weather Service in Boulder warned of scattered showers and thunderstorms later on Saturday and into Sunday that could trigger further flash flooding in the already drenched area.
DISASTER

Lyons, a town north of Boulder, was virtually cut off when floodwaters washed out U.S. Route 36, stranding residents without water and power for 48 hours.

At least four people were killed, including a couple swept away in floodwaters after stopping their car northwest of Boulder. The man's body was recovered on Thursday and the woman had been missing and feared dead before her body was found on Friday.
Also killed were a person whose body was found in a collapsed building near Jamestown, an evacuated enclave north of Boulder, and a man in Colorado Springs, about 100 miles to the south, officials said.
On Friday, Governor John Hickenlooper declared a disaster emergency for 14 counties, reaching from the Wyoming border south to Colorado Springs. The declaration authorizes $6 million in funds to pay for flood response and recovery.
In neighboring New Mexico, where floods forced the evacuation of hundreds of people in Eddy, Sierra and San Miguel counties, Governor Susana Martinez declared a state of disaster on Friday making funding available to state emergency officials for recovery efforts.
The Boulder Office of Emergency Management listed 172 people as unaccounted for following the floods, stressing that while they were not yet considered missing or in danger, relatives and authorities had not been able to contact them.
In rural Weld County, where the South Platte River has overflowed its banks and virtually cut the county in half, aerial TV footage showed large stretches of land covered in brown water on Friday. Many homes and farms were largely half-submerged.
Weld County sheriff's spokesman Steve Reams said nearly every road in and around a cluster of towns that includes Greeley, Evans and Milliken had been closed by flooding, including bridges that were washed out.
The flooding was the worst in the state since nearly 150 people were killed in Larimer County in 1976 by a flash flood along the Big Thompson Canyon.
The size and scope of property losses remain unquantified, with county assessment teams unlikely to begin preliminary evaluations of the damage at least until early next week, once water has receded, said Micki Frost, spokeswoman for the Colorado Office of Emergency Management.
(Editing by Tim Gaynor and Alison Williams)

Орешарски освиркан в Пловдив, Плевнелиев аплодиран - 06.09.2013

Furyk shoots a 59 at BMW Championship

DOUG FERGUSON 2 hours ago

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Before he could take his place in PGA Tour history with a 59, Jim Furyk had to get in the right frame of mind.
And that wasn't easy.
He was grouchy after the opening round of the BMW Championship. The day that began over breakfast with two friends who are on the Presidents Cup, a stinging reminder that Furyk was left off an American team for the first time in 15 years. Then, he opened with a 72 at Conway Farms and already was nine shots out of the lead.
"I kind of kicked myself in the rear end and said, 'You know, it's done with. There's nothing I can do to change it now. It's over, and let's just focus on this week,'" Furyk said. "I talked to my dad a little bit about my round and told him I felt like I played a lot better than 1-over. He gave me advice that it's a long week, it's four rounds. ... 'You've got three days to get it back.'"
Furyk paused to smile.
"I did it all in one day," he said Friday.
It was one magical day north of Chicago, where Furyk became the sixth player to shoot 59 in PGA Tour history. The significance of his round could be measured in how he did it — the first 59 that featured a bogey — and the response from his peers.
In so many words: "Are you kidding me?"
Furyk was 11 shots better than the course average Friday, and a whopping six shots better than anyone else could manage in 20 mph wind at Conway Farms.
Zach Johnson shot a 70 when he was told Furyk was 11-under on the day with two holes remaining.
"For the day? Seriously?" he replied. "He's on No. 8 to go to 59? I don't have anything to say about that. That's ridiculous."
Brandt Snedeker had no idea he was nine shots ahead of Furyk at the start of the day, so when he saw Furyk's name quickly climbing the leaderboard, he just assumed it was a good round of golf — not a great one. That changed when Snedeker saw a video board as he was finishing on No. 18 that Furyk needed a birdie on No. 9 for a 59.
"I thought, 'What the heck? Are you serious? There's no way," Snedeker said. "On a day like this when the wind is blowing 20 mph out of the north, I don't think anybody out here saw that score coming."
Furyk simply couldn't miss. He made only three putts longer than 12 feet, and one of those was for par on No. 16, the only green he missed. He holed out with a 9-iron from the 15th fairway for eagle. He played the back nine in 28.
But when he three-putted for bogey on No. 5 to fall back to 10-under with four holes to play, a 59 looked bleak. Furyk then rolled in a birdie putt from just inside 12 feet on No. 7, and even during the FedEx Cup playoffs, this was simple math.
He had two holes. He needed one birdie for a 59.
One was the par-5 eighth that could be reached in two with quality shots. His second shot wasn't the highest quality, and he missed a 12-foot birdie putt. The other was No. 9, which played only 386 yards and had a hole location favorable for making birdies.
"It's sitting there, front left with a right-to-left wind just begging you to hit it close," Furyk said.
Standing in the fairway, 103 yards away and a gap wedge in his hand, he realized what was at stake.
"I said, 'How many opportunities are you going to have in life to do this again?'" Furyk said. "Got to take advantage of it. Tried to knock it in there tight and make it as easy on yourself as you can."
That he did. The ball settled 3 feet from the cup, and Furyk received a huge ovation walking to the green. It's the kind of crowd he only sees at the majors, or when he's playing with Tiger Woods. And that's when the magnitude of the moment hit him.
The putt was familiar, too — only 3 feet away, sliding away to the right. It was just like the one he made at East Lake three years ago at the Tour Championship, which he won to capture the $10 million FedEx Cup.
This wasn't for money. It was for history.
Furyk repeatedly pumped his fist as he turned toward the gallery, and then hugged caddie Mike "Fluff" Cowan.
It was the first 59 on the PGA Tour since Stuart Appleby in the final round of The Greenbrier Classic in 2010. The others with a 59 were Al Geiberger in the 1977 Memphis Classic; Chip Beck in the 1991 Las Vegas Invitational; David Duval in the 1999 Bob Hope Classic; and Paul Goydos in the 2010 John Deere Classic.
"That makes me feel depressed about my round," Snedeker said with a laugh after his 68.
Now comes the hard part for Furyk — there's still that matter of winning a tournament for the first time since the 2010 Tour Championship. His 59 gave him a share of the lead with Snedeker at 11-under 131. Johnson was three shots behind.
Tiger Woods thought he was in the group five shots behind until he was told about his ball moving as he removed twigs around it on the first hole. Video confirmed, though a rules official said Woods argued that his ball only oscillated without leaving its original position. Video — and the tour official — won, and Woods was docked two shots. His double bogey turned into a quadruple-bogey 8. His 70 turned into a 72. And those two shots meant he would be paired with Sergio Garcia on Saturday.
Snedeker was watching on a TV screen when Furyk made the putt for 59, and he was genuinely excited for him.
"I guess my job now is to make sure that everybody forgets about it by Sunday," Snedeker said.
As for Furyk?
"I'll have to calm down later on tonight and realize that I've got myself in contention in a golf tournament where I was nine back starting the day," he said. "I still have a weekend ahead of me. I'm excited for that. But I'll enjoy these next few hours at least and have fun with it."

US-Russia Syria weapons talks reach critical stage

MATTHEW LEE 1 hour ago

GENEVA (AP) — Negotiations between the United States and Russia on securing Syria's chemical weapons have reached a critical turning point after two days of intense diplomacy, with a deal key to a resumption of peace talks hanging in the balance.
After lasting late into Friday night, discussions entered a third day on Saturday with U.S. officials pointing to at least limited progress on some elements of a Russian proposal to inventory, isolate and eventually destroy Syria's chemical weapons stocks.
Saturday's session in Geneva, led by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, comes as the Obama administration warned that there is a timetable for a diplomatic resolution of the weapons issue.
They are at a "pivotal point," a U.S. official said Friday. Progress was made on how to account for Syria's chemical weapons inventory, the official said, adding that the U.S. and Russia had narrowed their differences over what each country believes to be the size of the Syrian stockpiles.
Administration officials also said that President Barack Obama was open to a U.N. Security Council resolution that did not include military force as a punishment if Syrian President Bashar Assad doesn't follow through on promises regarding the weapons. While Russia would be all but certain to veto any measure with such a penalty, Obama's willingness to concede the point was likely to be viewed as a step forward.
Still, the administration officials said, Obama would retain the authority to order U.S. airstrikes against Syria. Obama himself said that any agreement to remove Syria's chemical weapons stockpile "needs to be verifiable and enforceable."
After meeting Friday with the emir of Kuwait, Sheik Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah, Obama said the U.S. and Kuwait are agreed that the use of chemical weapons in Syria was "a criminal act."
"It is absolutely important for the international community to respond in not only deterring repeated use of chemical weapons but hopefully getting those chemical weapons outside of Syria," Obama said.
The U.S. will know within a few weeks whether a diplomatic path is workable, administration officials said as they suggested a time limit for the effort. The U.S. and administration officials spoke only on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the internal deliberations publicly.
U.N. inspectors prepared to turn in their own poison gas report this weekend. Two U.N. diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because the time was not yet final, said Friday night that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was expected to brief the Security Council about the report on Monday morning.
Ban said Friday that he expected "an overwhelming report" that chemical weapons were indeed used on the outskirts of Damascus on Aug. 21. Obama called for a limited military strike against Assad's forces in response, then deferred seeking congressional approval to consider the Russian proposal.
Kerry and Lavrov met Friday with U.N.-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi about the potential for a new peace conference in the Swiss city. Kerry said he, Lavrov and Brahimi agreed to meet around Sept. 28 on the sidelines of the annual U.N. General Assembly meetings in New York.
"We are committed to try to work together, beginning with this initiative on the chemical weapons, in hopes that those efforts could pay off and bring peace and stability to a war-torn part of the world," Kerry said.
Kerry, flanked by Lavrov and Brahimi, told reporters after an hour-long meeting that the chances for a second peace conference in Geneva will require success first with the chemical weapons talks, which he said had been "constructive" so far.
Kerry planned to travel to Jerusalem Sunday to discuss the situation in Syria with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He will then go to Paris to see French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and British Foreign Secretary William Hague on Monday about the Syrian war. In Paris, he will meet separately with Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal.

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Associated Press writers John Heilprin in Geneva and Maria Sanminiatelli in New York contributed to this report.

Police end occupation of Mexico City center

MARK STEVENSON and ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON 2 hours ago

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Riot police swept thousands of striking teachers out of the heart of Mexico City on Friday, driving protesters through the streets with tear gas and water cannons in a swift end to the weeks-long occupation of the Zocalo plaza over reforms to the dysfunctional national education system.
It was a dramatic reassertion of state authority after weeks of near-constant disruption in the center of one of the world's largest cities. The teachers have marched through the capital at least 15 times over the last two months, decrying President Enrique Pena Nieto's plan to break union control of education with a new system of standardized teacher testing that become law on Tuesday.
Authorities did not immediately report any injuries. Federal police chief Manuel Mondragon said more than 20 demonstrators were arrested.
The teachers' demonstrations have slowed passage of Pena Nieto's education reform and the pace of his wider agenda of structural reforms, which seeks to reengineer some of Mexico's worst-run institutions, including the weak tax-collection system and underperforming state oil company.
Pena Nieto will almost certainly gain significant political capital if the Friday afternoon operation, led by federal instead of city police, definitively ends the demonstrations that have snarled traffic for weeks in Mexico City.
There was additional pressure to clear the Zocalo where the teachers had been camping out before the president's first traditional Independence Day celebration in the massive colonial-era square on Sunday and Monday.
The confrontation erupted after the teachers armed themselves with metal pipes and wooden and blocked off the Zocalo with steel grates and plastic traffic dividers, threatening to scuttle the Independence Day gathering.
The government responded that celebrations, including the president's shout of independence from a balcony of the National Palace overlooking the Zocalo, would take place in the square as scheduled on Sunday night. The head of the federal police warned on national television that police would move in at 4 p.m. local time.
The teachers, many veterans of similar battles with police in poor southern states, said they would not move from the square where they have camped out since last month. Some fixed knives and nails to wooden planks and declared themselves ready to fight. Others set up sewage-filled portable toilets in the path of police vehicles.
Shortly after 4 p.m., the police swarmed in, shooting tear gas canisters and spraying water from armored trucks. Protesters hurled sticks and chunks of pavement broken from the streets around world-famous tourist attractions including the Metropolitan Cathedral, the Templo Mayor and the National Palace.
But within a half hour, police had cleared the Zocalo and much of the surrounding historic center of virtually all demonstrators. Union organizers said they would reassemble away from the main plaza at the nearby Monument to the Revolution. Small knots of teachers, self-described local anarchists and other supporters hurled bottles and rocks at police on some of the main avenues of downtown Mexico City.
"We're going to reorganize and go back," said a masked teacher who would only give first name, Juan Carlos, as he waited in an alley with about 10 other demonstrators. "It's not going to stay like this. The government isn't going to repress us."
Pena Nieto's new standardized system of test-based hiring and promotion would give the government the tools to break teachers unions' near-total control of school staffing. That control includes the corrupt sale and inheritance of teaching jobs, and it has been widely blamed for much of the poor performance of Mexican schools, which have higher relative costs and worse results than any other in the 34-nation Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
With the education reforms now law, the teachers say they are trying to maintain pressure to protect their rights and privileges as the government puts the changes into effect and reduces union control over teacher hiring and assignment.
The protests were being led by the National Education Workers Coordinating Committee, or CNTE, the smaller of the country's two main teachers unions. The larger union has supported Pena Nieto's reform.
The teachers argue that because they are from poor states and don't have the means to enact peaceful change, their main strength is the ability to shut schools and make life inconvenient in Mexico's economic, political and cultural heart.
Many independent observers say that the teachers are simply accustomed to using disruption as a tactic for winning concessions like better pay and benefits from the weak governments of the states where teachers are among the most powerful political forces.
Mexico City's government avoided intervening until Friday, increasing the frustrations of many capital dwellers. The city's leftist government has historically been slow to crack down on demonstrations, fearful of violence on the capital's streets. Adding to the aversion to force is the legacy of two massacres of protesting students in 1968 and 1971 that became national traumas.
On Wednesday, the demonstrations began turning violent, as demonstrating teachers scuffled with riot police after officers set up a line to keep them from blocking one of the city's main expressways. City officials reported 15 police hurt as teachers seized some plastic riot shields from officers.
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Michael Weissenstein and E. Eduardo Castillo contributed to this report.
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Michael Weissenstein on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mweissenstein

САЩ не очакват ООН да заплаши Сирия с употреба на сила

Снимка: АФП

САЩ не очакват ООН да заплаши Сирия с употреба на сила

14 септември 2013 | 00:07 | Агенция "Фокус"

Начало / Близък Изток

Вашингтон. САЩ не очакват в резолюцията на Съвета за сигурност на ООН за Сирия да се съдържа заплаха за употреба на военна сила срещу близкоизточната държава, тъй като Русия е против подобна мярка, предаде Ройтерс, позовавайки се на данни от високопоставен американски служител.
Междувременно, американският държавен секретар Джон Кери и руският външен министър Сергей Лавров обсъждат предложението на Москва, което предвижда сирийският режим да предаде химическите си оръжия под международен контрол.