Taliban talks: Govt eyes Saudi mediation for peace

< > < > Funding terrorism: Illegal cash flows may be aiding terrorists By Adil Jawad Published: January 6, 2014 Share this article Print this page Email . FIA unearths evidence of transfer of billions to unnamed accounts in Quetta and Peshawar. KARACHI: Terrorist groups in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and Balochistan have been receiving billions of rupees each month through banking channels and money exchange companies, sources in Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) have revealed. These companies in collusion with some bankers have been transferring huge amounts to unnamed bank accounts in Quetta and Peshawar. The FIA has recently found evidence of transfer of billions of rupees to the two cities in the last few months. According to sources, the FIA made these discoveries during its investigations into the multibillion rupee Trade Development Authority Pakistan (TDAP) scam. photo Rs34b_zps530162e6.jpg Ironically, the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) and other institutions, whose task is to curb the illegal business of hundi and hawala, are completely unaware of these dubious transactions, made right under their nose. If the law enforcers can trace the people receiving billions of rupees through unnamed accounts in Peshawar and Quetta, they will possibly be able to unearth terrorist activities funded by this money. Sources said that after these startling facts, FIA officials were busy uncovering the huge illegal business of money transfer. After discovering evidence of transfer of Rs1billion to Peshawar and Quetta in the last few months, the FIA has registered nine cases under the Anti-Money Laundering Act and arrested dozens of officials of private banks. According to sources, a renowned money exchange company has transferred around Rs34billion to Quetta and Peshawar in the last few months through its unnamed accounts. Interestingly, money exchange companies and banks have no information about the senders and receivers of the money. The FIA has frozen dozens of unnamed accounts in Quetta and Peshawar and issued written notices to their holders. However, as the details submitted for opening the accounts have proven to be incorrect, the FIA has started trying to look for their possible link to terrorist activities. Published in The Express Tribune, January 6th, 2014. Taliban talks: Govt eyes Saudi mediation for peace By Kamran Yousaf Published: January 6, 2014 Share this article Print this page Email . A senior leader from a religious party said Riyadh could use its ‘financial leverage’ over the Taliban. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is planning to enlist Saudi Arabia’s help in brokering a peace deal with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in its quest for peace in the long term. When Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al Faisal meets Pakistani officials during his two-day visit beginning today (Monday), one of the key agenda items would be to explore the possibility of Riyadh’s role in the government’s peacemaking efforts, The Express Tribune has learnt. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government is struggling to revive the nascent peace efforts ever since the killing of TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud in a drone strike in November last year. His successor Mullah Fazlullah has so far refused to respond to the government’s peace overtures. Sources familiar with the development disclosed that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was likely to request the Saudi foreign minister to use his country’s ‘good offices’ in persuading the TTP and its affiliates to come to the negotiating table. The Saudi foreign minister will meet President Mamnoon Hussain, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz. Saud al Faisal is also expected to meet prominent religious leaders, including chief of his own faction of Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam (F) Maulana Fazlur Rehman as well as Maulana Samiul Haq, who is known as the father of the Afghan Taliban. A senior foreign ministry official did not confirm religious leaders’ meeting with the Saudi foreign minister. However, sources told The Express Tribune that both these leaders were likely to meet the top Saudi diplomat at the sidelines of the reception being hosted by the prime minister. Their meeting is likely to focus on efforts to strike a peace deal with the TTP. Both Rehman and Samiul Haq, who are considered close to the Saudi rulers, are intensifying efforts to bring the TTP to the negotiating table as most of the militants studied at their seminaries. Another official pointed out that the government believes Saudi Arabia could use its ‘clout’ over some of the TTP affiliates for an agreement. When contacted, a senior member of the federal cabinet insisted that the Saudis were careful in getting involved in the process considering the TTP’s links with al Qaeda. However, a senior leader from a religious party said Riyadh could use its ‘financial leverage’ over the Taliban. “Money matters a lot for these groups (TTP) and the Saudis can buy anything,” said the leader, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. But a government official said it was unclear whether the Saudis would be willing to play a role as they have their own interests in the region. Defense analyst Lt Gen (retd) Talat Masood is of the view that Riyadh could influence the TTP by squeezing their funding which comes from the Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia. “Secondly, they (the Saudis) can use their links directly or indirectly to persuade these groups for talks,” he told The Express Tribune. Jan Achakzai, a spokesperson for the JUI-F chief, said that as Saudi Arabia was a friend of Pakistan it could help the country’s peace efforts. “But the fact of the matter is that we haven’t evolved a consensus on how to execute the peace plan. Hence the question of seeking help from Saudi Arabia is premature at this stage,” he argued. Published in The Express Tribune, January 6th, 2014.

Fighting between Iraqi troops, al-Qaida kills 34

Jan. 5, 2014 3:07 PM ET Fighting between Iraqi troops, al-Qaida kills 34 By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and SINAN SALAHEDDIN, Associated Press THE ASSOCIATED PRESS STATEMENT OF NEWS VALUES AND PRINCIPLES Gunmen patrol after clashes with Iraqi security forces in Fallujah, 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2014. Lt. Gen. Rasheed Fleih, who leads the Anbar Military Command, told the state television Sunday that "two to three days" are needed to push the militants out of Fallujah and parts of Ramadi. (AP Photo) Al-Qaida group says responsible for Beirut bombing Jan. 4, 2014 3:38 PM ET Iraqis battle militant uprising in 2 Sunni cities Jan. 2, 2014 4:15 PM ET Blast in Hezbollah-run area of Beirut kills 5 Jan. 2, 2014 2:47 PM ET Indonesia anti-terror squad kills 6 militants Jan. 1, 2014 2:43 AM ET Suicide car bombing in south Yemen kills 2 guards Dec. 31, 2013 7:24 AM ET BAGHDAD (AP) — The Iraqi military tried to dislodge al-Qaida militants in Sunni-dominated Anbar province Sunday, unleashing airstrikes and besieging the regional capital in fighting that killed at least 34 people, officials said. A series of bombs in Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad, meanwhile, killed at least 20 people. The recent gains by the insurgents have been a blow to the Shiite-led government — as sectarian violence has escalated since the U.S. withdrawal. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Washington was "very, very concerned" by the fighting but would not send in American troops. Video of the airstrikes in Anbar — apparently taken by aircraft at night — was released by Iraq's Defense Ministry showing al-Qaida hideouts being bombarded. It showed men gathered around a vehicle, then running away as the site was struck. A ministry statement said the air force struck a militants' hideout overnight, identifying them as belonging to the al-Qaida-linked Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, which the government refers to as "terrorists." The army and allied tribesmen also fought al-Qaida militants around the provincial capital of Ramadi on Sunday, two Anbar government officials told The Associated Press by telephone. They said 22 soldiers and 12 civilians were killed, along with an unknown number of militants, and 58 people were wounded. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters. Clans inside the city of Fallujah have started to form brigades, they said, and some of the factions who fought the Americans following the U.S.-led invasion a decade ago say they do not want the Iraqi army to enter the city. There was no fighting inside the city on Sunday. Government troops, backed by Sunni tribesmen who oppose al-Qaida, have encircled Fallujah for several days, and have entered parts of Ramadi. On Friday, troops bombarded militant positions outside Fallujah with artillery, a military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to release information. The deadliest attack Sunday in Baghdad took place in the northern Shiite Shaab neighborhood, where two car bombs exploded simultaneously near a restaurant and a tea house. Officials say those blasts killed 10 people and wounded 26. Authorities said a car bomb ripped through the capital's eastern Shiite district of Sadr City, killing five and wounding 10. Another bombing killed three civilians and wounded six in a commercial area in the central Bab al-Muadham neighborhood, officials said. Two other bombings killed two civilians and wounded 13, police said. Medical officials confirmed the causality figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release information. Clashes have been taking place since Monday in Ramadi and nearby Fallujah, and the Baghdad bombings could be seen as an attempt by militants to distract security forces. Earlier on Sunday, a senior Iraqi military commander said that it will take a few days to fully dislodge al-Qaida-linked fighters in the two cities.

Lt. Gen. Rasheed Fleih, who leads the Anbar Military Command, told state TV Sunday that "two to three days" are needed to push the militants out of Fallujah and parts of Ramadi. Fleih added that pro-government Sunni tribes are leading the operations while the army only is offering aerial cover and logistics on the ground. He didn't elaborate on the operations. "The quiet and safe life that is sought by the Anbaris will not be completely restored before few hours or two to three days, God willing," Fleih said.

Ramadi was a stronghold of Sunni insurgents during the U.S. war. Al-Qaida militants largely took both cities over last week and have been fending off incursions by government forces there since. ISIL is also one of the strongest rebel units in neighboring Syria, where it has imposed a strict version of Islamic law in territories it holds in the civil war raging there. It also has kidnapped and killed dozens of people it deems critical of its rule. On Saturday, it claimed responsibility for a suicide car bombing in a Shiite-dominated neighborhood in Lebanon. Tensions in Anbar have run high since Dec. 28, when Iraqi security forces arrested a Sunni lawmaker sought for terrorism charges. Two days later, the government dismantled a months-old, anti-government Sunni protest camp, sparking clashes with militants. To ease the tension, the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki withdrew army forces from the cities. Sunni lawmakers see the army as a tool of al-Maliki to target his rivals and consolidate power. Kerry said the U.S. would support Iraq in its battle with al-Qaida, but without sending in troops. The U.S. was "very, very concerned" by the fighting, he told reporters as he left Jerusalem for Jordan and Saudi Arabia on Sunday to discuss his effort to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians. However, he said the U.S. would not send ground troops in to support Iraqi forces. The U.S. recently supplied Iraq with Hellfire missiles often used against militants. Violence in Iraq spiked in April after the government staged a crackdown on a major Sunni protest camp. Iraq's al-Qaida branch has fed on Sunni discontent and on the civil war in neighboring Syria, in which mostly Sunni rebels fight a government whose base is a Shiite offshoot sect. Militants have targeted civilians, particularly in Shiite areas of Baghdad, with waves of coordinated car bombings and other deadly attacks. According to the U.N., Iraq had the highest annual death toll in 2013 since the worst of the country's sectarian bloodletting began to subside in 2007. The U.N. said violence killed 8,868 last year. ___ Follow Sinan Salaheddin on Twitter at www.twitter.com/sinansm. ============= BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Car and roadside bombs exploded in commercial areas of Baghdad on Sunday killing at least 19 people, police and medical sources said. The deadliest attack took place in northern Baghdad's mainly Shi'ite district of Shaab where two car bombs went off killing at least nine people and wounding 25. No group immediately claimed responsibility for Sunday's attacks but Sunni Muslim insurgents have stepped up attacks on Iraqi security forces and supporters of the Shi'ite-led government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Islamist militants linked to al Qaeda and tribal fighters have taken control of Ramadi and Falluja, the main cities in the Sunni Muslim-dominated province of Anbar in a serious challenge to the government's authority. Iraqi troops and allied tribesmen are trying to retake the province. In a separate incident, gunmen set up a fake check point on the main road between Baghdad and Kirkuk, killing six drivers, late on Saturday near Udhaim, 90 km (60 miles) north of Baghdad, police said. (Reporting by Kareem Raheem, Writing by Suadad al-Salhy; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

Jupiter Shines All Night Long Sunday: How to See It

Jupiter Shines All Night Long Sunday: How to See It . SPACE.com By by Geoff Gaherty, Starry Night Education . Jupiter Shines All Night Long Sunday: How to See It . View gallery Andrew Kwon took this image of Jupiter on Nov. 20 from his backyard observatory in Mississauga, Ontario, … . Jupiter will reign as king of the night sky on Sunday (Jan. 5), visible all night long as it reaches opposition. Venus and Moon Share Last Night Sky Encounter Tonight for Nearly a Year SPACE.com Moon, Other Cosmic Wonders Meet in Christmas Sky This Week SPACE.com Wow! Space Station Crosses Crescent Moon in Amazing Photo SPACE.com This means that, in Earth's sky, Jupiter will stand exactly opposite the sun. As the sun sets in the west, Jupiter will rise in the east. Jupiter sets in the west just as the sun is rising in the east. Because we are only two weeks past the winter solstice, the shortest day in the year, this means that Jupiter will be above the horizon for over 15 hours for skygazers in mid-northern latitudes. [Amazing Night Sky Photos by Stargazers: January 2014] You can see a live webcast Jupiter at opposition online Sunday, courtesy of the online skywatching website Slooh. The all-night webcast will begin at 5 p.m. EST (2200 GMT) and feature views of Jupiter from the Prescott Observatory in Arizona. With the naked eye, Jupiter will be the brightest object in the sky other than the moon, since Venus sets less than an hour after the sun. At magnitude -2.7 on the upside-down brightness scale astronomers use, Jupiter will outshine all of the bright circle of winter stars which surround it. Jupiter will be three times brighter than Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, at magnitude a -1.4 Jupiter Shines All Night Long Sunday: How to See I … Jupiter reaches opposition with the Sun on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2014 surrounded by a ring of bright stars … With binoculars and a steady hand, you should be able to spot one or more of Jupiter's four brightest moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. These are easy targets for even the smallest telescope. Editor's note: If you snap an amazing photo of Jupiter that you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, send pictures, comments and other details to managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com It is fun to follow in Galileo's footsteps and watch these four moons as they dance around Jupiter, shifting positions from night to night. Sometimes they pass in front of Jupiter, casting their shadows on his face; at other times they disappear behind Jupiter or into his mighty shadow. More powerful telescopes reveal a wealth of detail in the tops of Jupiter's clouds. Jupiter's rapid rotation forces these clouds into distinct horizontal bands, easily visible in telescopes of at least 3 inches (75mm) aperture. Embedded in one of these cloud belts is a gigantic oval storm. This has been followed for centuries by astronomers, who call it the Great Red Spot. Being a storm in Jupiter's upper atmosphere, the Great Red Spot drifts back and forth in longitude, while staying more or less at the same latitude. It varies in its color and darkness, but right now it is a particularly intense orange color according to Canadian astronomer Alan Whitman. Because Jupiter is above the horizon for about 15 hours this month, we have a rare opportunity to observe a complete rotation of the planet, which takes slightly less than 10 hours. For example, on Tuesday night, Jan. 7, observers in eastern North America can see the Red Spot at 6 p.m. in the evening local time, and again, one full Jupiter day later, at 4 a.m. in the morning. This article was provided to SPACE.com by Simulation Curriculum, the leader in space science curriculum solutions and the makers of Starry Night and SkySafari. Follow Starry Night on Twitter @StarryNightEdu. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on SPACE.com. Jupiter's 92 Million Miles Closer To Earth - January 2014 Skywatching Video Best Night Sky Events of January 2014: Stargazing Sky Maps (Gallery) Jupiter Quiz: Test Your Jovian Smarts Copyright 2014 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

COLUMN-Acidifying oceans add to list of CO2 dangers: Wynn

COLUMN-Acidifying oceans add to list of CO2 dangers: Wynn Fri, Sep 06 04:00 AM EDT (The author is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own) By Gerard Wynn LONDON, Sept 6 (Reuters) - The world's oceans will become dangerously acidic for corals and shellfish this century if carbon dioxide (CO2) levels continue to rise at current rates, adding to the urgency to reduce manmade CO2 emissions, according to an emerging science. Evidence for ocean acidity may also prove less controversial than the science of global warming, as it seems likely there will be less doubt surrounding the chemical and biological processes involved. That could add to the impetus to cut manmade carbon emissions, particularly if signs emerge of a threat to the world's fisheries. In the past 200 years, people have released more than 2 trillion tonnes of additional CO2 into the atmosphere by fossil fuel burning, cement production and changes in land use such as deforestation. That has in turn added more than 520 billion tonnes of CO2 to the world's seas, scientists estimate, or a quarter of all emissions. CO2 dissolves in and reacts with water to form carbonic acid (H2CO3) which disassociates to form hydrogen and bicarbonate ions. The excess hydrogen ions combine with carbonate ions producing more bicarbonate. Adding more CO2 to sea water therefore increases aqueous CO2, bicarbonate and hydrogen ions, the latter lowering sea water pH (a measure of acidity or alkalinity) and carbonate ions. One effect has been a fall in ocean surface pH of 0.1 units compared with pre-industrial levels, to an average of 8.1. That is equivalent to a 30 percent increase in average acidity of surface ocean waters worldwide. Faster falls in pH have been observed in the Arctic (as colder water absorbs more CO2), with pH dropping by about 0.02 units per decade since the late 1960s in the Iceland and Barnet's Seas, according to the "Arctic Ocean Acidification Assessment 2013", published by the Oslo-based Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme. A second, related effect has been a drop in the level of calcium carbonate, vital for the shells and skeletons of many marine organisms. As with atmospheric CO2, there is a lag effect where it will take tens of thousands of years for the world's ocean chemistry to recover from carbon emissions now, even if the latter were to halt today, meaning the effects that do emerge will be felt at least for centuries. GEOLOGICAL RECORD One way to project the possible effects of ocean acidification is to extrapolate from events in the Earth's geological past, especially more recently. For example, the authors of an article published last year in the journal Science, "The Geological Record of Ocean Acidification", analysed the end of the last glacial period, 20,000 years ago, when CO2 levels rose by a third over thousands of years. They estimated that ocean surface pH dropped 50 times more slowly than at present (0.002 units per century), and that the shell weights of tiny creatures called foraminifera fell by 40 to 50 percent. Analysis is more limited regarding the more distant past. For example, the authors were unsure how far ocean pH fell 56 million years ago, during a period of warming, when CO2 was up to five times present levels. A major extinction of tiny creatures with carbonate shells may have been caused by higher ocean CO2, falling ocean oxygen, higher temperatures, or a combination of all three. Others studies have estimated that coral reef volumes dropped by 99 percent during the same period, called the Palaeocene Eocene Thermal Maximum. REVIEW An alternative technique is laboratory analysis of existing shellfish species in an aquarium with modified chemistry. A study published last week in the journal Nature Climate Change, "Sensitivities of extant animal taxa to ocean acidification", reviewed research on such animal impacts. It analysed 167 studies reporting effects from higher ocean CO2 on the performance of 153 species. The authors concluded that more active creatures with less calcified shells (less calcium carbonate) and the ability to regulate their own body fluid pH survived better. That favoured crustaceans (crabs, lobsters, crayfish and shrimp) and fish, and counted against corals, echinoderms (starfish and sea urchins) and molluscs (mussels, clams and oysters). One contrary effect is for higher ocean CO2 levels to stimulate photosynthesis (where CO2 is a raw material), potentially increasing the productivity of microscopic plants called phytoplankton. At CO2 levels that could occur by the end of this century assuming annual emissions continue to rise through 2100 (a very pessimistic outlook), most investigated echinoderm species and about half of researched molluscs would be negatively affected, the study concluded. GAPS There are several gaps and difficulties facing this emerging science. First, the combined effect of other pressures on sea life, including warmer water, lower oxygen levels and over-fishing, complicates the task of unravelling and projecting their individual effects. Second, sea creatures do not exist in isolation but in food chains, or ecosystems, where the disappearance of one, as a result of ocean acidification, could affect many more; such wider analysis has hardly begun. And third, there is a large uncertainty over how far countries will control carbon emissions this century, with some ocean acidification studies to date assuming high levels of emissions which may ultimately be avoided. An edition of the scientific journal "Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society" dedicated to ocean acidification, published last week, summed it up: "Whilst much has been learned in the past decade about the potential implications of climate change on marine organisms and ecosystems, substantial knowledge gaps still exist." Something to agree on is that ocean acidification, like climate change, poses a serious threat, and adds to the impression that carbon emissions must be cut sooner than later. (Editing by Mark Potter)

New province: Altaf Hussain kicks up a firestorm

< > By Z Ali Published: January 4, 2014 Share this article Print this page Email . MQM’s supporters listening to speech of Altaf Hussain in Hyderabad. PHOTO: NNI HYDERABAD: In a spine-chilling warning to his political foes on Friday, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain raised the spectre of a separate province if the Pakistan Peoples Party failed to accept his party’s mandate. “I want to tell the nationalist groups and PPP leaders that if they don’t accept the mandate of urban Sindhis then [they should] create a separate province for them,” Altaf said. He also warned the establishment that the MQM would struggle to carve out a separate country if it was opposed. Addressing a public meeting on Friday to launch the party’s election campaign for the local government polls, he took up the cudgels on behalf of former military ruler Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf while also demanding a share in Sindh’s power structure. “I am still ready for dialogue. But after me I don’t know if there will be anyone left for dialogue or the urban people will just unleash violence to achieve their objectives,” he said. photo 22_zps6a1d88a0.jpg Altaf followed up his threats with a power-sharing offer. He told the PPP’s patron-in-chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and chairman Asif Ali Zardari that his call for a separate province could be withdrawn, “if you sit on the table and make an agreement for 50-50% division of power [in the provincial and local government structures]”. The MQM chief wrapped up his diatribe with a direct appeal to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for intervention in Sindh. He complained that the establishment continued to ignore his people but ‘you can’t throw Sindh’s half population into the sea’. “What do you want? Shall I raise the slogan for a separate state?” Altaf, however, hastily added that he was only describing the state of affairs rather than expressing his desire. He asked PM Nawaz to intervene in the provincial government and to tell provincial Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah to stop divisive politics. Championing Musharraf’s cause He argued that ex-president Pervez Musharraf should not be put to trial alone but all the generals, judges, parliamentarians and politics who abetted his October 12, 1999, coup and the November 3, 2007, emergency should also be tried. “Only a package deal can be accepted. General [Ashfaq Pervez] Kayani, former chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and other judges were also part and parcel of the dictatorship and martial law. Hang Zia, hang Musharraf, hang Altaf but also hang Kayani and Chaudhry.” He also questioned constitutional law experts as to why the judiciary — which had validated Musharraf’s coup for three years till 2002 — is not being held reprehensible. He said Musharraf’s legal team including advocate Sharifuddin Pirzada and Mansoor Khan were getting death threats for their assistance in the case. The MQM chief also strongly criticised the anchorpersons, accusing them of having crossed all limits. “People like you have divided Pakistani into two. Do you want still more pieces [of the country]?” According to him, some anchorpersons have become multimillionaires and billionaires and some among them have their own mansions, palaces, farmhouses and cars, which, according to him, was not the case in the past even when celebrated journalists lived frugal lives. Grieving over his 24-year- long exile in Britain, he expressed fears that he would meet the fate of dictator Ziaul Haq if he returned to the country. He advised the establishment to redress the wrongs done to his supporters to prevent the seeds of separatism from germinating in the Urdu speaking community. Published in The Express Tribune, January 4th, 2014.

Development hopes still alive for Ontario’s Ring of Fire

January 2, 2014 Updated: January 2, 2014 | 4:54 pm By Staff Torstar News Service Torstar News Service Hopes for development of the promising $60-billion Ring of Fire mineral belt in northwestern Ontario took a heavy blow in November but they aren’t dead yet. Hopes for development of the promising $60-billion Ring of Fire mineral belt in northwestern Ontario took a heavy blow in November but they aren’t dead yet. Just weeks after Cleveland-based Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. stunned the province by suspending its $3.3 billion project, a Toronto mining company is taking a major step forward. Noront Resources Ltd., the second-largest player after Cliffs, has completed studies required for an environmental assessment of its plan to develop the Eagle’s Nest deposit of high-grade nickel, copper, platinum and palladium estimated to be worth $700 million. “We believe that Eagle’s Nest will be the first mine developed in the Ring of Fire and this brings us one step closer to achieving that goal,” said chief executive Alan Coutts.. The entire Ring of Fire — an area of 4,000 square kilometres about 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay — is estimated to be worth about $60 billion in deposits, including chromite, a key ingredient in stainless steel. It’s believed the area could be mined for up to 100 years. Cliffs was to build a smelter near Sudbury, open a mine in the Ring of Fire in 2016 and create 1,200 jobs in the economically depressed north as part of its plans now on hold. The company blamed unresolved land claims, environmental assessment issues and a lack of government support for infrastructure and power needs, prompting opposition parties to blame Premier Kathleen Wynne’s government for “bungling” a massive opportunity. Work on Noront’s environmental impact statement began in 2009 — two years after the company found the mineral deposits — and examined the mine site itself along with a road corridor and railway loading area. The plan is now available for public comment before a final version is submitted to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment, likely next spring. Other mining firms such as KWG Resources, Bold Ventures Inc. and MacDonald Mines also have exploration on the go and are among 27 companies with 13,000 claims staked, said Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle. “It would be incorrect to say Cliffs wasn’t a setback but other companies are extremely involved,” he told the Star from his riding of Thunder Bay—Superior North. However, miners need more help if the Ring of Fire is to reach its full potential, observers said, such as the immediate formation of a government-led development corporation to build $2 billion in infrastructure such as roads and rail lines into the area. The Ring of Fire is 300 kilometres from the nearest railway line and the troubles surrounding it have become heated with a Liberal minority government at Queen’s Park, an election expected as early as next spring, and Liberal seats in northern Ontario potentially at risk. “The development corporation is a good idea but they should have done it three years ago,” added Progressive Conservative MPP Norm Miller (Parry Sound—Muskoka), his party’s northern development critic, who noted lots of businesses in southern Ontario would benefit from supplying equipment and materials to mining companies in the Ring of Fire. He suspects the timing of Gravelle’s announcement that the province wants to form a development corporation with the federal government and miners was fishy. “It came just before the Cliffs deal fell apart” in November, Miller said. “Has it been incorporated or was it just an announcement?” Gravelle acknowledged the development corporation is “still in the discussion stage.” He repeated calls for the federal government to join in with financial support, despite recent pronouncements suggesting Ottawa is cool to the idea after previously touting the Ring of Fire as a huge economic opportunity. “We’re prepared to make a significant contribution to the development corporation and we’re hoping the federal government will do the same,” Gravelle said. “The corporation is going to be extremely important” It’s anticipated about $1.25 billion will be needed for roads and another $1 billion for industrial infrastructure. The danger now is that nothing happens, infrastructure does not get developed to help miners and the Ring of Fire turns cold, warned New Democrat MPP and mining critic Michael Mantha (Algoma—Manitoulin). “We’re only talking about one or two actual developments now. We’re still going to be spinning our wheels five years from now if we don’t move more aggressively.” Gravelle said the government is also waiting for environmental and revenue-sharing agreements with First Nations to be worked out, calling them key to proceeding. “Unless the First Nations are able to support this it’s hard to imagine this project moving forward,” he added, noting former premier Bob Rae is working for aboriginals on this while former Supreme Court justice Frank Iaccobucci s the government’s lead negotiator. “We are hoping to have a framework agreement ready to sign soon. The province is absolutely committed to moving the Ring of Fire forward.”

Heavy snowstorm hammers northeastern U.S.

Heavy snowstorm hammers northeastern U.S. Fri, Jan 03 07:54 AM EST By Elizabeth Dilts and Scott Malone NEW YORK/BOSTON (Reuters) - A major snowstorm producing blizzard-like conditions hammered the northeastern United States on Friday, causing more than 1,000 U.S. flight delays and cancellations, paralyzing road travel, and closing schools and government offices. The first major winter storm of 2014 brought bone-chilling temperatures and high winds from the lower Mississippi Valley to the Atlantic coast, with nearly 2 feet of snow falling in some areas of Massachusetts. Much of the U.S. northeast saw heavy snowfall and plummeting temperatures late on Thursday and early on Friday morning, said Jared Guyer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. The weather service said the mass of Arctic air would drop temperatures to levels 20 to 30 degrees below normal, with record lows possible on Friday. It was still snowing in some places, such as Boston, "but we are probably past the peak in terms of intensity at this point," Guyer said, adding that the bitter cold and snow-scattering winds showed no signs of letting up. Snowfall reports varied widely, with Washington receiving more than 2 inches, Baltimore some 3 to 6 inches, Philadelphia roughly 5 inches, Hartford 6 to 10 inches and Boston some 14 inches. "If it's going to be cold, it might as well snow," said Zander Fortier, a 29-year-old architect from Boston's Roslindale neighborhood, where the flakes fell steadily on Thursday. Residents grappled on Friday with road and school closures throughout the region. "Severe weather conditions" led officials to close New York City public schools on Friday morning. Schools were also closed in Hoboken and Jersey City, in New Jersey, and in Boston and Providence Massachusetts. The storm also posed the first major challenge to Bill de Blasio, the newly-elected Mayor of New York, which expected to see up to 8 inches of snow. More than 1,400 U.S. flights were canceled and more than 340 were delayed early on Friday, according to flightaware.com. New York's three major airports prepared hundreds of cots to accommodate stranded travelers and Logan International Airport said that up to a quarter of its scheduled flights had been canceled on Thursday. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Thursday warned people to stay in their homes and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick told non-essential state workers to head home on Thursday, as did his officials in neighboring Connecticut. "Tomorrow people should definitely consider staying in their homes if the storm continues as we expect," said New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. "This is nothing to be trifled with. We have learned too well over the past few years the power of Mother Nature. We have seen the damage that has been done." A city worker in Philadelphia was killed after a machine he was using was crushed by a mound of de-icing rock salt, NBC News reported. In Chicago, a man was in critical condition after being pulled out of an icy Lake Michigan by fire fighters. (Additional reporting by Victoria Cavaliere, Marina Lopes and Scott DiSavino in New York, Daniel Lovering in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Ian Simpson in Washington, and Lisa Garza in Dallas. Writing by Eric M. Johnson,; editing by Clive McKeef.) ==================== At least 1,600 flights put on hold as nor'easter storm prepares to dump snow across East Coast Published time: January 02, 2014 17:45 Get short URL Reuters / Brian Snyder Transport, USA, Weather With the new year still only hours old, the Northeastern United States is ringing it in with a major winter storm that’s threatening to upend travel plans and create dangerous driving conditions in numerous states. Snow has already begun falling in parts of New York and Massachusetts, canceling flights, closing down schools and making for slick, hazardous commutes. The nor’easter storm is expected to bring the region between six inches to well over a foot of snow, with the brunt of the accumulation occurring Thursday evening and into Friday morning. Branded “Winter Storm Hercules” by the Weather Channel, the powerful front has already pounded much of the Midwest, dropping up to a foot of snow in some areas and causing close to 200 car accidents in southeast Michigan alone. In Boston, the city is bracing for up to 14 inches of snow. Mayor Thomas Menino declared a snow emergency beginning at noon on Thursday, implemented a parking ban and announced that schools should not expect to reopen until Monday. Meanwhile, the National Weather Service has declared a blizzard warning for much of Long Island, New York, from 6 p.m. Thursday evening until Friday. The area is expecting between eight and 10 inches of snow, with powerful winds reaching 45 mph. Other locations, such as Philadelphia, New York City and parts of New Jersey, aren’t expected to bear as much of a burden, although they could still receive up to seven inches of snow — more than enough to put weekend plans at risk for the millions of residents up and down the East Coast. As with many storms, the people who should prepare for the worst are those traveling and commuting to work. Already, about 1,700 flights have been cancelled for Thursday, according to the airline tracking website FlightAware.com. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has also advised city goers to leave their cars at home in case highways shut down due to heavy traffic and poor conditions. "There will be travel problems," Hugh Johnson, a weather service meteorologist in Albany, New York, told the Associated Press. "It will be very cold." As if the snowfall wasn’t enough of a problem, temperatures are expected to drop to nearly zero degrees Fahrenheit in many areas, sparking fears of electrical outages. The snow is not likely to be heavy enough to down power lines, authorities say, but isolated outages could occur. Coastal towns in Massachusetts, meanwhile, are also bracing for the possibility of moderate flooding. With flood advisories in place for Cape Cod, North Shore and South Shore, the state’s emergency management department says it’s prepared to offer emergency shelter and other equipment if necessary.