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Egypt's el-Sisi: I'll end Brotherhood
5/7/2014 3:00:56 AM
- In a TV interview, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi says it was his duty to run for President
- He vows to finish off the Muslim Brotherhood if elected
- Egyptians will head to the polls to pick a new President later this month
(CNN) -- Egypt's former military chief doesn't mince words when he describes what would happen if he wins this month's presidential vote.
In a taped interview broadcast on Egyptian satellite networks Monday, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi vowed to finish off the Muslim Brotherhood if he's elected, arguing that's what his country's people want.
And he said he had no choice but to run for President.
"Due to the challenges facing Egypt and the targeting of Egypt from inside and outside of the country ... any responsible patriot has a duty toward his country and its future, and has the opportunity to come forward to protect this country, and this people, and their future," el-Sisi said.
The second part of the interview is due to air Tuesday.
El-Sisi deposed Egypt's first freely elected leader, President Mohamed Morsy of the Muslim Brotherhood, last year following mass protests against Morsy's rule.
The officer is popular among Egyptians who supported the army's decision to remove Morsy from power. His supporters see him as the kind of strongman needed to end the turmoil dogging Egypt since a popular uprising ended Hosni Mubarak's three decades of one-man rule in 2011.
But el-Sisi is reviled by the Islamist opposition, which sees him as the mastermind of a coup against an elected leader and the author of a fierce crackdown on dissent.
In Monday's interview, he said there had been two attempts to assassinate him, but that didn't stop him from wanting to run for President.
"I believe in fate," he said. "I am not afraid."
He appeared relaxed in the interview, talking about his children and saying his wife had urged him to seek election.
El-Sisi resigned from his military post in March to run for the presidency.
He'll face just one challenger at the polls, Hamdeen Sabahi, who also had harsh words for the Muslim Brotherhood when he spoke to CNN last month, accusing the group of being "responsible for bloodshed and sponsoring terrorism in Egypt."
But Sabahi said he would scrap a controversial law enacted last fall and backed by el-Sisi, which places severe restrictions on demonstration in Egypt.
"I will issue a law that protects and regulates, not prevents, demonstration. And I will release all the innocent people who were convicted according to this unconstitutional law, and particularly college students in Egypt who were angry because of the excessive force used by the police," he said.
In Monday's interview, broadcast on the Egyptian satellite channels CBC and ONTV, el-Sisi defended the protest law, saying that "irresponsible" demonstrations threaten the state.
Egyptians are scheduled to head to the polls to vote for President on May 26 and 27. Parliamentary elections will be held soon afterward, but dates have not yet been determined, Egypt's state-run Ahram Online reported Monday.
READ: Opinion: For many Egyptians, there is no alternative but el-Sisi
READ: Egypt's El-Sisi to resign, paving way for presidential bid
CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq, Saad Abedine and Marie-Louise Gumuchian contributed to this report.
Pakistan grapples with polio fight
5/7/2014 3:04:29 AM
- India celebrated its polio-free certification in late March
- Its neighbor Pakistan grapples with polio efforts with several cases reported in 2014
- World Health Organization recommends emergency measures in Pakistan
- Pakistan has public health challenges including tribal areas, threats to health workers
(CNN) -- More than a month ago, the public health community celebrated the polio-free certification of Southeast Asia including India, viewed as a hopeful step toward global eradication.
But the euphoria has waned as concerns grow the virus is making a comeback and re-appearing in countries that had previously eliminated the disease within their borders.
Pakistan has seen major challenges in recent years, reporting 80% of polio cases this year.
The country faces challenges within its health system including restricted access to its federally administered tribal areas and violence against polio campaign health workers. Vaccine workers have been tortured, shot, bombed, and even have had their family members kidnapped.
"You have disruption of health services, vaccination services are broken where areas are no-go because there is mistrust and health teams are not allowed within the conflict area," said Dr. Zulfiqar Bhutta, who is co-director of The Hospital for Sick Children in Canada and also works in Pakistan. "In that particular circumstance, to imagine that business would be as usual is naïve."
While Pakistan faces hurdles, India's polio program has been lauded as a model for tackling polio.
India's program "was largely internally funded, strongly managed," said Bhutta.
Once considered the hardest place to end polio, India boosted disease surveillance and immunization efforts to vaccinate hard-to-reach communities. To counter rumors and misgivings about the vaccine, social mobilizers, religious leaders and parents were included to increase understanding about immunizations.
"In Pakistan, that political will in terms of making this a national priority hasn't existed," Bhutta said. "They haven't invested enough in routine immunizations, which are critical to eradicating polio. You've got to get people aware of the importance of preventive strategies."
In 2014, the World Health Organization confirmed 74 new cases of polio -- 59 of them were in Pakistan. Within Pakistan, 46 of these cases have been from its restive Federally Administered Tribal Areas, which is located along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and retains internal autonomy.
The country with the second highest number of polio cases is Afghanistan, which reported four cases. But all of these are related to viruses that originated from Pakistan, according to the WHO.
Emergency measures recommended
On Monday, the WHO recommended emergency measures for three of the countries deemed as the greatest risk for further exporting the virus -- Syria, Cameroon and Pakistan.
The organization called for residents of these countries to get vaccinated and show proof of polio immunization before international travel. It also calls for the head of state to declare polio a national public health emergency.
"If the situation as of today and April 2014 went unchecked, it could result in failure to eradicate globally one of the world's most serious vaccine preventable diseases," said Dr. Bruce Aylward, assistant director-general for polio, emergencies and country collaboration at the WHO.
Pakistan has been establishing vaccination booths at its land borders with Afghanistan, China, India and also Iran, according to the WHO.
Zulfiqar Bhutta, Hospital for Sick Children in Canada
Bhutta said he wasn't surprised by the WHO's move, but worried the recommendation was a "Band-Aid measure" that's "not going get to the root of the problem."
This may divert the vaccines and human resources from Pakistan communities that need them the most, to the huge number of travelers, Bhutta said. "I'm concerned that will take away from the main polio control program and that's the last thing anybody wanted."
Pakistan is considered the only country that is "off track" in meeting its target to stop polio transmission, according to the WHO.
Militants in Pakistan have targeted anti-polio campaigns since U.S. intelligence officials used a fake vaccination program to aid their hunt for Osama bin Laden in 2011. Since then, militant groups, with connections to the Pakistani Taliban, have been opposing polio vaccinations and accusing health workers of pursuing a political agenda. Dozens have been killed in acts of violence carried out against polio vaccine workers.
Pakistan has tried to protect its health workers from violence. In Peshawar, authorities banned the riding of motorcycles during vaccine campaigns to prevent attacks, said Aylward.
Polio, which can cause permanent paralysis in hours, has been reported in 10 countries: Afghanistan, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Israel, Somalia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Cameroon and Syria.
READ: WHO sounds alarm on polio spread
Is ANC losing respect?
5/7/2014 3:37:43 AM
- South Africa's fifth democratic elections are held this Wednesday - first since Nelson Mandela's death
- President Jacob Zuma is most divisive figure in South African politics today, says Justice Malala
- Malala: Several scandals have wracked his administration since he came to power in 2009
- He predicts Zuma will win power, but ANC will lose share of the vote
Editor's note: Justice Malala is a South African political commentator, newspaper columnist and talk show host. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
Johannesburg (CNN) -- Sunday could not have begun any better for South Africa's ruling African National Congress, the party of Nelson Mandela. As the autumn sun rose and warmed the seats of the 95,000-seater, calabash-shaped FNB Stadium, supporters poured in from across the country.
By mid-morning the stadium was packed to the rafters. The beautiful, melodic songs used by activists through the years of struggle against apartheid until 1994 when Mandela was voted into power filled the stadium. Party activists crowed about the party's pulling power: no other political party in the country has yet managed to fill the stadium.
This was the last political rally before new South Africa's fifth democratic elections are held. All the major parties staged political rallies, but the ANC sought to present a show of force as it attempts to swat off challenges from the relentless opposition Democratic Alliance and the upstart, Left-wing Economic Freedom Fighters launched a few months ago by expelled former ANC Youth leader Julius Malema.
Then the ANC's leader, President Jacob Zuma, rose to address the packed stadium. Within half an hour of his plowing into a statistics-laden speech, nearly half the stadium seats were empty. A laborious and monotonous speaker at best, Zuma struggled through the speech, igniting only a few rounds of applause from die-hard supporters in the hour-long delivery. It was only at the end, when he burst into his election signature song Yinde Lendlela ("This Road Is Long," as opposed to his other favorite, "Give Me My Machine Gun") that some energy returned to the crowd.
The scandal-soaked Zuma -- who was booed in front of U.S. President Barack Obama, Cuba's Raul Castro and other world leaders at the same stadium on December 10 last year during the memorial service for Nelson Mandela -- has become the most divisive figure in South African politics today and the pivot around which electioneering and questions about the country's future have swung. As he spoke, a scandal about the national ombudsman's report into how he unduly benefited from the building of a $25 million palace for him at his rural KwaZulu Natal village was intensifying. A $200 million town is also being built near his home, claimed a newspaper.
Other scandals have wracked his administration since he came to power in 2009. Questions continue to be raised about his closeness to an Indian family that employs his son and wife and which landed a private jet filled with 200 wedding guests from India at a top-security military base; his evasion of more than 700 charges of fraud and corruption due to the influence of intelligence services and numerous suspect business connections by members of his family.
In all these cases, Zuma has said that he did not know and that people abused his name to gain favor.
Yet, despite the cocktail of scandals and gaffes that engulf Zuma, there is no doubt here that the ANC will win the election on Wednesday and Zuma will be returned to the presidency. According to a South African Sunday Times poll released on May 4, the ANC will get 63.9% of the vote, down from the 65.9% the party won in the 2009 general election. The opposition DA will increase its support to 23.7% while Malema's EFF party is expected to get 4.7%.
If there is so much disenchantment with Zuma, then, why is he headed for victory? History, for one. In Zuma's speech on Sunday he went through a long list of achievements by the ANC in the 20 years of democracy. It is an impressive roll call: ubiquitous access to water, electricity and health services. About 16 million people are now on social grants while there is universal access to no-fee schools. The dignity of full citizenship has been restored to blacks like me, a powerful, deep act that resonates with many. We still enjoy a free and vigorous press, despite iniquitous new legislation waiting to be enacted by Zuma that will criminalize much newsgathering.
Yet this narrative -- which the ANC has harnessed in its election slogan: "We have a good story to tell" -- is incomplete. Violent strikes over poor services are on a sharp increase, with the SA Police Services reporting a total of 569 protests in three months in South Africa's wealthiest province, Gauteng. About 122 of these turned violent.
Reports of corruption are on the increase, with Transparency International's 2013 global Corruption Perception Index showing that South Africa has dropped 17 places since Zuma came to power in 2009. South Africa is currently ranked 72 out of 175 countries.
The economy is taking a beating under Zuma, with paltry GDP growth of 1.9% last year and unemployment at 24.1% (narrowly defined) or a staggering 36% if one includes those who have given up looking for work. The EFF has found fertile ground among these disaffected youth, with an estimated 30,000 young people turning up to listen to Malema giving his final election speech on Sunday.
Justice Malala
So what happens after Wednesday? Increasingly, South Africa feels like a country caught between its past and its future. For many, the ANC represents the triumph against a heinous apartheid system. The memory of Mandela, so central to that victory, is still fresh. Leaving this party of freedom, which has enjoyed near 70% majorities in the late 1990s and early 2000s, feels like a betrayal of the struggle for freedom.
Yet, slowly, all that is changing. A 63% win by the ANC, for example, will mean that the party is experiencing its second significant decline in two successive elections. With the growing discontent about its government, it is unlikely that it will claw back these losses at the next election in 2019.
The opposition DA, for long regarded as a "white party," is swiftly transforming. Advised by Barack Obama and Bill Clinton's former pollster, Stan Greenberg, it has encouraged the emergence of credible young black leaders. The EFF, in just five months, has become a force to be reckoned with. But both parties are only likely to give the ANC a real run for its money in the 2019 and 2024 elections.
Many are hoping that the ANC will get a scare in these elections and begin to reflect on some of its failures. Among these would be assessing the damage done to the party by Zuma's scandals, and a return to some regard for the people. Indeed, speculation is rife that Zuma may be ousted should the ANC's showing in this election fall to 60%.
That is unlikely. Zuma controls about 75% of the ANC's national executive committee, and it is unlikely that his allies in that powerful body would cut him loose. Given that scenario, he will continue to inflict damage on the party of Mandela -- and on the nation's fortunes.
That would open the window for a stronger challenge from the opposition in 2019 and beyond. On the other hand, President Zuma could attempt to introduce serious economic reforms to build a proud legacy for himself. That, too, seems unlikely.
And so South Africa finds itself caught in a slow, glacial even, journey towards a multi-party future. Loyalty to its past heroes continues to hold it hostage.
Thai court set to deliver verdict in PM Yingluck case
5/7/2014 5:11:21 AM
- Thailand's prime minister could be ousted from office by an imminent court ruling
- Yingluck Shinawatra is accused of abuse of power for moving national security chief from post
- Her opponents allege her party and a relative benefited from the move, ruled unlawful by a court
- Observers fear renewed mass protests and a deepening of the country's political crisis
(CNN) -- Thailand's protracted political crisis appears set to deepen today, as the country's Constitutional Court prepares to deliver a ruling on abuse of power charges against embattled Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
A ruling against the caretaker PM could end her premiership and see her cabinet removed from office, raising the specter of renewed mass protests by her supporters, and a potential confrontation with anti-government protesters who have been protesting in Bangkok for months in a bid to oust Yingluck.
The charges, brought in a lawsuit filed by anti-government senators, accuse Yingluck of abusing her power by unlawfully transferring National Security Council chief Thawil Pliensri from his role in September 2011. Her opponents allege the move was intended to benefit her Puea Thai Party and a family member.
Thawil was replaced by the then national police chief, whose role was in turn occupied by Priewpan Damapong, a relative of Yingluck.
In March, Thailand's Supreme Administrative Court ruled the transfer was unlawful, and Thawil was reinstated.
Yingluck appeared in court for about an hour Tuesday to defend herself. "I didn't do anything against the law," she said. "I have performed my duty in the administration with the intention of benefiting the country."
Yingluck has led a caretaker administration since parliament was dissolved in December, ahead of a general election in February that was disrupted by anti-government protesters. The Constitutional Court subsequently voided the election.
The protests had been sparked in November by Yingluck's government's botched attempt to pass an amnesty bill that would have paved the way for the return of her brother -- the former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra -- to the political fray in earnest.
Thaksin, a wealthy communications tycoon, was overthrown in a military coup in 2006, and has since lived in self-imposed exile to avoid a corruption conviction which he says is politically motivated. The anti-government protesters, drawn mainly from Bangkok's middle class, royalist establishment, allege that Yingluck is her brother's puppet, and seek to rid Thai politics of her family's influence.
In contrast, the "red shirt" supporters of Yingluck and her brother, many of whom are poor and hail from rural areas, accuse the court of bias against their side. Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai political party was dissolved by the court in 2007, and the following year the court forced two Thaksin-linked prime ministers from office.
Both camps are planning large gatherings in the capital in the coming week, with fears that mounting tensions could trigger a confrontation. Political tensions have occasionally spilled over into deadly violence during the current crisis.
Yingluck also faces a charge brought by the National Anti-Corruption Commission over a controversial state rice-buying scheme that could also force her from office and see her banned from politics. The commission's ruling is expected this month.
CNN producer Kocha Olarn contributed to this report.
Cargo clue in Korea ferry sinking
5/7/2014 4:00:03 AM
- NEW: Loosely tied goods helped cause the ship to capsize, investigators say
- NEW: Ferry carried more than twice the cargo weight it was allowed, police say
- Diver dies during recovery operation Tuesday
- Not including the diver, the disaster's death toll rises to 267
Seoul, South Korea (CNN) -- The South Korean ferry disaster that killed more than 260 people last month was caused in part by excessive cargo and a failure to tie that cargo down properly, the joint police and prosecuting team investigating the disaster said Tuesday.
It marked the first time South Korean investigators said what they believe led to the April 16 sinking of the ferry Sewol, which was carrying 467 passengers and crew -- including more than 300 high school students on a field trip -- when it capsized.
Investigators said they've indicted four employees of the ferry's owner, Cheonghaejin Marine Co., in the last two weeks, including a senior executive Tuesday. Details about the charges weren't immediately available.
Authorities took aim at the cargo Tuesday, saying its weight was more than double the ship's limit.
The cargo wasn't tied properly -- and the loosely tied goods helped cause the ship to capsize, senior prosecutor Yang Joong-jin said.
"The lashing devices that should have held cargo goods steady were loose, and some of the crew members did not even know" how to use them correctly, Yang said.
Investigators had been probing the possibility the ship overturned because cargo shifted and forced the ship off balance.
At least 268 people died in the disaster, which happened while the ferry was traveling from Incheon to the resort island of Jeju, off South Korea's southwestern coast. Thirty-four people still are unaccounted for, according to the country's coast guard.
Officials: Firm got $2.9 million for extra cargo since '13
Tuesday's news came nearly a week after South Korean authorities searched Cheonghaejin Marine's offices as part of a criminal investigation.
This trip wasn't the first time the ferry had excess cargo, the joint investigation team said Tuesday.
Since the Sewol began the Incheon-Jeju route in March 2013, the ferry carried excess cargo 139 times, investigators said.
Cheonghaejin Marine earned an extra 62 million South Korean won ($62,000) for the excess cargo on the April 16 voyage, and nearly 3 billion South Korean won ($2.9 million) in extra profit for all of the excess cargo that the ferry carried since March 2013, investigators said.
Diver dies as search for bodies continues
The grim task of retrieving bodies from the sunken ferry was dealt a painful blow Tuesday when an experienced diver lost consciousness and died.
But the nearly 130 divers continued combing the ship despite the loss of their colleague, identified as Lee. His full name was not provided.
Five minutes into his dive, he apparently had problems with his oxygen supply.
"By the time his colleagues went to save him, Lee was unconscious and unable to breathe by himself," government spokesman Koh Myung-suk said.
Lee had been diving for 30 years, officials said.
Since the first day when many escaped the sinking ship, no one has been found alive.
Over the weekend, South Korean President Park Geun-hye visited the port where the rescue operation is based to console families and encourage divers.
Corralling the debris has been difficult for search teams.
Mattresses and clothing from the ship have been found up to 9 miles (15 kilometers) away from the accident site, said Park Seung-ki, a spokesman for the rescue operation.
Large stow and trawler nets will be set up around the sunken ship to catch items that may float away, he said. At the same time, some three dozen ships will be clearing an oil spill from the ferry, which is threatening the livelihood of the local fishermen.
Read: South Korean ferry survivors return to school after classmates' deaths
Read: The images that shocked a nation
Journalist Stella Kim reported from Seoul; CNN's Jason Hanna and Ed Payne wrote in Atlanta
First H5N6 bird flu case dies
5/7/2014 4:31:42 AM
- China confirms first recorded human infection of H5N6 avian flu
- 49-year-old man in Sichuan died Tuesday
- Patient had history of exposure to poultry, health officials believe it was an isolated case
Hong Kong (CNN) -- A 49-year-old man from China is believed to be the world's first human infected with the H5N6 avian flu strain.
The man, who was from Nanbu county in Sichuan province, died Tuesday in a hospital after receiving treatment, according to the Sichuan Provincial Health and Family Planning Commission. He suffered a severe case of pneumonia and was detected to have the H5N6 strain after a throat swab, according to the agency. The man had been exposed to dead poultry.
Medical experts say this an isolated case and that the risk of human-to-human transmission remains low. People who had close contact with the patient did not show any symptoms after medical observation, according to the commission.
Following this latest case, Taiwan issued a travel warning for Sichaun province, advising them to avoid contact with living or dead birds, according to Taiwan's Central News Agency.
The H5N6 is believed to be a low-pathogenic bird flu virus that has been found in Germany, Sweden and United States, according to the Taiwanese news service.
East Asia has seen several bird flu strains infecting humans recently.
In March 2013, a new virus to humans, H7N9 was first reported in China. Since then, 115 people have died and 367 cases of H7N9 have been reported mostly in the country, according to figures from the World Health Organization from February.
H7N9 bird flu resurges in China ahead of Lunar New Year
In May 2013, a 20-year-old woman became the first human to be infected with another bird flu strain called H6N1. The woman had not been exposed to poultry and she recovered after a few days, according to Taiwanese health officials.
In December 2013, China reported the first human case of another avian flu virus, H10N8. The 73-year-old woman from Jiangxi province died. She had a history of contact with live poultry markets, according to the WHO.
Health experts believe that most of these infections are a result of exposure to sickened poultry or contaminated environments.
FBI agent arrested in Pakistan
5/7/2014 4:00:31 AM
- Agent was stopped for carrying ammunition as he attempted to board flight
- A U.S. law enforcement official said it's all an accident
- The agent is in Pakistan as part of effort to train local police
- Diplomatic effort under way to gain the agent's release
(CNN) -- An FBI agent was arrested in Pakistan after he accidentally carried ammunition with him as he attempted to board a domestic flight between Karachi and Islamabad, a U.S. law enforcement official said.
The agent was visiting Pakistan as part of an assignment to provide training to local police, the official said.
A State Department official said diplomats are working with Pakistani authorities to gain the release of the agent.
Pakistani media reported the agent appeared in court Tuesday to face anti-terrorism charges, which restrict unauthorized weapons or ammunition on commercial flights.
Employees for the FBI and other U.S. agencies are allowed to carry weapons in Pakistan when authorized.
In this case, the agent appeared to forget he had a small number of bullets in his possession, the U.S. law enforcement official said. Local media reported he had 15 bullets.
U.S. officials hope this incident is more easily resolved than the 2011 case of a CIA contractor who was arrested and charged with killing two men. Raymond Davis said that he believed they were trying to rob him.
The case inflamed local anti-American sentiment and soured relations until the United States agreed to compensate the families of the two men. Davis was then freed.
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