Plan to abolish sponsorship system and exit permits for expats unveiled, but no timeline set for implementation.

hrd@moi.gov Legal Consultancy April 12, 2012 - 3:13:14 am Question: If an employee wants to get NOC from the employer, what are the conditions and requisites he has to fulfil. Is it the right of the employer to refuse the transfer of the employee to another sponsor, even if the employee has served the employer for several years? Does it depend on the fact that the employment contract is for a fixed term or for an indefinite period? Are there any other ways for the worker to obtain NOC without the consent of the employer if there are better job opportunities in Qatar? Answer: It is a fact that the employer is the sponsor of the employee or worker who works for him with the exception of women as they have been allowed by law to work without requiring the transfer of sponsorship due to social considerations. The workers under the clause of secondment are also exempted from this. This exception is temporary – for a period of six months and it may be extended for similar period. This exception is related to work for other party other than the sponsor in the nonofficial working hours. This category is referred as collaborators, note that these excepted categories do their work under the law and under the work permits issued by the Department of Labor. The NOC is a declaration from the sponsor addressed to the Ministry of the Interior and it includes the approval of the sponsor to transfer the sponsorship of the worker or the employee to another employer. The law regulating the entry and exit of expatriates, their residence and sponsorship (4/2009) points out that the Ministry of Interior can transfer the sponsorship of a foreign worker to another employer with a written agreement between the new employer and the previous employer, after approval of the competent authority, for the categories subject to the provisions of labour law. The transfer of sponsorship shall result in replacing the former sponsor with the new sponsor in all his obligations, the expiration of sponsorship for the former sponsor and the remission of his obligations arising therefrom. The consent of the sponsor is a prerequisite for transfer of sponsorship and this right has been prescribed for sponsor for the obligations which fall on the shoulder of the sponsor because of the sponsorship system. There is no relationship between the fact that the employment contract is for a fixed term or for an indefinite duration. There is no doubt that the final decision in the matter of transfer of sponsorship or not depends on the concerned authority at the Ministry of Interior, where the decision is issued by the approval to transfer the sponsorship or non-approval or deportation of the foreign employee. It is worth mentioning that the right of the sponsor in granting the sponsored employee a NOC is not an absolute right, but it is limited and linked to the non-existence of lawsuits between the parties. The sponsorship law points out that the Minister of the Interior or his deputy can transfer the sponsorship of a foreign worker temporarily in the event of litigation between the sponsor and the foreign worker. The Minister or his deputy can approve the transfer of sponsorship of a foreign worker to another employer in the event of proven abuse of the sponsor or if the public interest requires so. For the same reasons, at the request of the worker and the approval of the Ministry of Labour, the sponsorship of the worker, who falls under the Labor Law, can be transferred to another employer. Question: A person working with a contracting company wanted to leave the country due to some emergency circumstances and requested the company to issue an exit permit, but the company rejected the request. Which authority should he approach in order to leave the country? Answer: Law No. 4/2009, concerning the regulation of entry and exit of expatriates and their residences and sponsorships, states that expatriates are not permitted to leave the country temporarily and permanently without submission of exit permit by the sponsor. This permit, if could not be obtained by the expatriate, is replaced by presenting exit warrant or a certificate indicating of no judgment under process or claim cases are filed against the expatriate to be issued by the competent courts after fifteen days of announcement in two daily newspapers for one time of the date of expatriate departure of the country in accordance with procedures and restrictions issued by the Minister of Interior. In view of the above, the inquirer shall refer the competent department at the Ministry of Interior to present an exit warrant or to publish leave announcement in two daily newspapers for one time including full name, nationality and residence number with his intent to leave the country and the competent department and the Ministry of Interior will receive any claims against the said party within maximum period of two weeks of the date of announcement. After the elapse of two weeks of the announcement date, the inquirer shall request the competent court to issue a certificate of no judgment under execution or claim cases against him and present it to the competent department at the Ministry of Interior in order to have the required exit permit. ============= Legal corner: NOC is valid only for one transfer March 14, 2013 - 1:14:16 am When I joined my present company, I had with me a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from my previous employer. In case I leave this firm, are they obliged to give me an NOC or is it the discretion of the management? If my current employer denies me an NOC, what can I do to get it? Name withheld on request Law No. 4/2009, which governs the entry, exit, residence and sponsorship of expatriates, stipulates that the agency concerned at the Ministry of Interior requires written approval from both parties, besides approval from the Ministry of Labour, for transferring an employee’s sponsorship. Transfer of sponsorship results in the new sponsor bearing all obligations to the employee, and clears the former sponsor of all responsibilities. This condition for transferring sponsorship should be adhered to by all parties. Therefore, the questioner should get a new NOC from his current employer to transfer his sponsorship. The NOC is valid only for one transfer and cannot be used more than once, and it becomes void once used for transferring sponsorship, since the names of the current and new sponsors will be different the next time. Nevertheless, the NOC can be used as evidence to show that the worker has a local contract. But there is no provision in law that obliges a sponsor to transfer the sponsorship of his employee if he has been recruited locally. Article (12) of the law says the minister or his representative may provisionally transfer the sponsorship of an expatriate worker in case of claims between him and his sponsor. The minister or his representative may also approve the transfer of sponsorship of an expatriate worker if it is proved that the current sponsor is abusive or if public interest requires it. My friend returned from his annual vacation last week. He has availed of his annual air ticket to his country as per the contract. Within a month of resuming work, he resigned. Is the employer supposed to provide him an air ticket to his country of residence? Name withheld on request The contract says an employer who brings a worker from his home country should provide him an air ticket when he comes to Qatar, when he goes on his annual leave and when he ends his contract. There is no legal restriction on when these tickets can be used; however, this is governed by the agreement between the two parties. The employer’s obligation to return the worker to his home country at the end of his services, whether he is alive or dead, is a firm obligation. Law No. 14/2004 states: “The employer should return, at his expense, the employee to the place from where he brought him, or to a destination agreed on by both parties, when he ends his contract.” The employer should end the process of returning the employee to the agreed destination within two weeks of the end of his contract. In case of the employee’s death, the employer is responsible for all financial expenses incurred in returning the body to his home country. If the sponsor fails to meet these requirements, the Ministry of Labour will return the employee, or the body, at its own expense and take administrative action against the sponsor and make him pay the costs. The sponsor can also be fined a minimum of QR2,000 and not more than QR5,000 for not complying with the law. I advice the questioner to approach the labour dispute office or the public relations department at the Ministry of Labour to file a complaint to get a one-way ticket from the employer. I am working in a restaurant as a service staff. Our company gives us only two days off in a month and we work 10 to 12 hours a day. On weekends, they force us to work overtime but they give us only 10 percent of our daily basic pay as compensation. We work more than 48 hours a week, the limit stipulated in the labour law. During Ramadan, we work 12 hours a day. Our company is violating the labour law. What should we do? Name withheld on request Law No. 14/2004 regulates relations between employers and employees in the private sector, including shift workers. The above law stipulates that working hours in a week should not exceed 48 hours, except during Ramadan, when the limit is 36 hours. Workers may put in additional hours provided they work no more than 10 hours a day. The employer should pay overtime, which is not less than the basic salary and at least 25 percent of the basic salary per hour. The worker should be given a paid day off every week which must not be less than 24 successive hours. Friday is the official holiday for all workers, with the exception of shift workers. Shift workers’ weekly day off can be on any other day, and there is no extra payment for working on a Friday if they get a day off another day. However, if work on a Friday is not compensated with a day off, the worker should be paid a day’s basic salary plus 150 percent of the salary per day. If the job requires work on official holidays such as Eid, the worker should be paid for that in accordance with the provisions of law mentioned above. I advise the questioner to go to the labour dispute office or the public relations department at the Ministry of Labour to get compensation for the extra hours and days of work. The Peninsula =================== Legal Advice: Terms of entry for expatriates to work February 29, 2012 - 9:25:28 pm The expatriate cannot enter the country or go out of it unless he holds a passport or valid travel document and he holds a visa stating the purpose of entry. The expatriate cannot enter the country or go out of it except from the fixed ports and after having the entry or exit stamp on the passport or travel document. The expatriate, who had a previous residence in the country for the work shall not get a work visa, but after two years from the date of departure. The Minister of the Interior or his deputy can waive this period. They can also exclude some cases from that period, on basis of the written consent from the former sponsor and the worker was judged under the provisions of Article (61) of the Labour Law No. 14/2004 or in accordance with the provisions of the HR Law No. 8/2008 on the staff of the State and he did not appeal against the decision in the competent court or an appeal was filed against him and his appeal was rejected, he can return to the country to work only after the lapse of four years from the date of his departure. Article (61) of the Labour Law No. 14/2004 7-If the worker practiced aggression against the employer, the manager or one of the chiefs during work or because of it. 8- If the aggression against the worker or his colleagues during the work is repeated in spite of the written notice. ========= Legal Corner: Conflicts between worker and sponsor July 12, 2012 - 9:22:04 am The aim of this legal section is to make the reader aware of the legal structure in the country and helping everyone understand Qatari law. We receive many queries from the readers and we have tried to respond to each of them through these columns. From the emails we receive from the readers, we find that the maximum number of queries are related to the dispute between worker and employer. We have responded and answered most of them, but the dilemma regarding the situation of the worker during the period of litigation remains. When the income of the worker stops, his problems increase day after day and material situation deteriorates from bad to worse. The matter does not get corrected and he returns as he was, but after a period that is estimated as twice the period in which he remained without any work or more precisely without income. Therefore, we review the situation of the sponsored worker in the law to search for the causes of the problem, the aggravation and the ways and means to eliminate them. We start from law no. (4/2009) on regulating the entry and exit of expatriates, their residence and sponsorship, which determines the responsible person for the sponsorship of expatriate’s residence, as the law indicates that the sponsor of residency is the employer or head of household or the one who asked the visitor to come on his sponsorship. His sponsorship includes granting the permission to his sponsored to exit. Therefore, it is clear that the basic principle is that a foreign worker will be sponsored by the employer he works with, so the sponsorship of the working expatriate shall be on the employer only, and the head of the family is the sponsor of the members of his family residing with him in the state while the sponsorship of the visitor shall be on his host residing in the country. The woman shall be sponsored by the head of her expatriate family to stay with him and she shall remain on his sponsorship until she joins any job. The woman who came for the work can bring her husband on her personal sponsorship, and finally the Qatari woman married to a non-Qatari man, can bring her husband and her children on her personal sponsorship. The law also points out that the expatriate who, has been permitted to enter or stay for a particular purpose or work in a particular destination, must not violate the purpose for which he has been permitted, and he must leave the country within ninety days after the end of this purpose or work or in case of cancellation of residence for any reason. The discussion will continue about the expatriate who was permitted to stay for the work with the party that sponsors him and contracts with the expatriate worker under an employment contract in writing and attested by the Department of Labour. The employment contract determines the provisions on working relationship between the two parties. It must include, in particular, the name of the employer, workplace, worker’s name, his qualifications, nationality, profession, place of residence, obligatory procedures to prove his identity, date of the contract, nature and type of work, place of the contract, start date of work, duration of the contract if its term is fixed and finally the agreed wage, mode and time of payment. If the contract of employment is not written, the worker can establish the working relationship and his rights arising from it by all means of proof. The worker can terminate the employment contract before the expiry of its duration, retaining his all rights in the end of service gratuity if the employer breached his obligations set under the employment contract and mentioned in the law. The Labor Law No. 14/2004 also points out that the employer, at the end of the service of the worker, has to return him at his expense to the place he brought from at the time of joining of work or to any other place that have been agreed upon between the parties. if the worker had joined the another job before leaving the country, the obligation, to return him to his home country or other place agreed upon, shall transfer to the new employer. The employer shall bear the costs of transport of the worker to his country of origin or his place of residence. If the employer didn’t return the worker, the Department of Labor will do that at the expense of the employer and recover the expenses by the administrative means. ========================= Qatar announces changes to labour law Sam Bollier Last updated: 15 May 2014 20:00 Doha, Qatar - The Qatari government has announced several changes to its controversial labour system amid international criticism of its treatment of foreign workers. At a joint press conference in Doha on Wednesday, Qatar's Ministries of Interior and Labour released plans to ease restrictions on foreign workers' terms of employment. The proposals include abolishing the country's "sponsor" system, under which workers are bound to a single employer for the duration of their residence, giving expatriates greater latitude to change jobs and leave the country. Qatar's exit permit system, in which workers are currently required to obtain their employers' consent before being allowed to leave the country, "will now be replaced with an automated system through the Ministry of Interior", said a press release from the conference. However, no deadline was set for implementing the proposals. The proposals to change the labour system must first be evaluated by the Shura Council, Qatar's legislative branch, before being ratified. "We hope that this [the reforms] will be soon, but no timeline has been fixed," said Muhammad Ahmed Al Atiq of the Ministry of Interior at the press conference. He added that the proposed changes would apply "to all working in Qatar, whether domestic workers or those who work for companies". Other proposed reforms would require employers to pay wages electronically to improve transparency and timely payments, and would increase the penalty for confiscating workers' passports from 10,000 riyals ($2,700) to 50,000 riyals ($13,700). Reporting from the conference, Al Jazeera's Mohamed Vall said officials avoided answering questions on the nature of the new laws protecting workers. Close scrutiny Qatar's labour situation has come under close scrutiny since it won its bid to host the 2022 football World Cup. With a small native population, the country has brought in about 1.4 million migrant labourers, concentrated in the construction and service sectors. Only about 10 percent of people over the age of 14 are citizens of Qatar. Human rights watchdog Amnesty International has said the labour systems prevalent in the Gulf states, known as kefala, creates an "excessively unequal power relationship" between employers and workers, who are not allowed to change jobs or leave the country without their employers' permission. A report published by Amnesty last November found that migrant workers in the country "face a range of abuses at the hands of their employers", some of which "amount to forced labour and human trafficking".

Some Qatari government officials have expressed the need for reforms. "The sponsorship system was set up at a different time and according to a different demographic composition… but today the situation has changed and due to the flow of the expats, we certainly need to carry out many changes," Sheikh Mohammed Bin Jassim Al Thani, Qatar's assistant minister of foreign affairs,

told Al Jazeera's Jamal Elshayyal earlier this month. Minimum wage Many expatriate labourers in Qatar agree. Joseph, a security guard from Kenya who asked that his real name not be used to protect his identity, told Al Jazeera that workers in Qatar should be able to freely change jobs. "That would increase competition [in the labour market] - and then you get better services," said Joseph, who wants to work in the sales sector but cannot do so. He added that Qatar should introduce a minimum wage law. "When you look around at all the luxury, definitely they are able to increase the wage." Monthly wages for blue-collar workers in Qatar are often between 800-1,200 riyals a month ($220-$330) for a six-day work week, which can come out to less than $1 an hour. Little data exist on Qataris' attitudes towards the labour sponsorship system. One 2010 survey found almost half of Qataris wanted the system to be made stricter. Some Qatari business groups have defended the exit visa requirement, saying that non-Qatari partners or employees could suddenly depart the country without repaying loans or business expenses. Yet some Qatari employers have called for reforms.

Dr Ahmed Al Mohannadi, the editor-in-chief of Doha Stadium Plus magazine, said some employers "take advantage of the system", and that it's unfair to prevent workers from leaving for better-paid jobs. "I want people... coming to work to my country to feel proud they are in a very good system, not what we have now," said Al Mohannadi.

Nicholas McGeehan, Human Rights Watch's Gulf researcher, said that although the watchdog group has been very critical of Qatar, the country's authorities have been open compared to other states in the region. However, he tweeted that Qatar's announcement was "very disappointing" and claimed, "Sadly the reality is that Qatar has no plans to abolish or seriously reform kafala". Likewise, Amnesty International said Wednesday's announcement fell short of the fundamental changes needed to address the systemic abuses against migrant workers. "While some of the measures announced today are positive and if implemented would improve conditions for workers, they do not go nearly far enough," said Amnesty's James Lynch. Follow Sam Bollier on Twitter: @SamBollier ============= Regarding transfer of sponsorship, Law No. 4/2009 states that the Minister of Interior or his deputy may transfer the sponsorship of an expatriate worker temporarily in case of a legal dispute between the sponsor and the worker, or if there is proven abuse by the sponsor, or if public interest requires it. In case of lengthy legal processes, the law says that the Ministry of Interior can use its discretion to transfer a worker’s sponsorship without the consent of the sponsor, regardless of whether the relationship between the parties is subject to Labour Law No. 14/2004 or not. The ministry can transfer the sponsorship of an expatriate temporarily until a verdict is issued by the court. If the court holds that the sponsor has treated the worker arbitrarily, the transfer of sponsorship becomes final and the relationship between the parties ends, but if the allegations against the sponsor are not proved, the worker’s sponsorship can be cancelled and he can be deported. The questioner is advised to approach the competent authority at the Ministry of Interior to transfer his sponsorship temporarily until the lawsuit is decided. ================================ Rules on staff accommodation and safety October 25, 2012 - 6:15:33 am What are the rules companies have to follow while providing accommodation to their employees? 1) In shared rooms, area provided for each worker should not be less than four metres. 2) In each room, no more than four workers should be housed in normal housing camps, and eight workers in temporary dwellings. 3) Entrances, corridors, roofs and cellars should not be used as lodging areas for workers. 4) Windows must have wire mesh so that no insects or dust may enter the lodging. 5) Rooms must be well-ventilated and have natural lighting and adequate provision of electrical light. (A) Employers must provide lodging with the following basic furniture and appliances: 1) Beds with mattresses and appropriate covers and cupboards to keep clothes. No double beds allowed. 2) The provision of enough air-conditioners and ventilation fans. 3) One water cooler for every 20 workers provided with three candle ceramic filter; no fiber or threads filters allowed. 4) Refrigerator for storing food, size depending on number of workers. 5) Trash bin with lid, and strong trash bags. 6) Employer should assign a worker for cleaning the lodging, and a supervisor to inform the employer of maintenance requirements. 7) First Aid box, with enough antiseptics and bandages. 8) One toilet, well-ventilated, with sufficient light and water heater for every 8 workers. 9) Employer must properly maintain the lodging, and no deductions should be made for maintenance or provisions from the workers’ wages. (B) Temporary dwellings must include the following: 1) Dining hall with adequate furniture for the number of workers staying at the temporary lodging provided with mesh screen on doors, windows, together with insects’ catchers. 2) If there are more than 100 workers in the lodging, a special first aid room must be maintained by a qualified nurse. 3) They must have proper systems for disposal of sewage and garbage regularly, with manholes and garbage collection units. 4) It is illegal to use workers lodgings for other purposes. 5) Employer is bound to provide fire alarm and extinguishers according to fire department regulations. 6) Lodging should be provided with first aid boxes with enough bandages and antiseptics. What are vocational safety conditions? Labour law and ministerial decrees in this regard oblige employers to take all necessary precautions for safety at the work place. Most important of these include the following: l The employer should inform you of all work-related risks and dangers and you must be made aware of all precautionary measures to guard you against such dangers in a language that you understand. l The employer should provide you with protective garments and gear. l In case there are openings or excavations in the work area that people may fall into or which may prove hazardous, such openings must be lined with protective fence. l In case of work platforms, they should be erected as per technical specifications, must be fenced and provided with safe method for climbing to it. l Permanent stairs should be made with anti-slip materials, and provided with safety precautions. l Scaffolds must be made of strong materials, have enough room with fencing and safety equipment to prevent workers from falling. l Precautions should be taken during the use of equipment with high level of noise and vibration, like providing ear protectors to workers, making sure that noise is not over permitted levels and for very long periods. l Closed areas must have exhaust fans for operating equipment that produce dust, smoke or harmful gases. l Electrical equipment must have circuit breakers. What precautionary measures should be taken when using or storing work tools and equipment? Labour law and ministerial decrees issued in this regard oblige employers to take precautionary measures, most important being: l Provision of appropriate mechanical lifting equipment, ensuring the safety and usability of chains and hooks and their periodic inspection. l Lifting equipment must display a notice indicating maximum lifting capacity. l Provide lifting equipment operator’s cabins with a communication device. l Operator’s cabins in lifting cranes must be provided with mains of communications. l It is illegal for non-qualified and unauthorised people to operate lifting, hauling, and transportation equipment. What electrical safety precautions are necessary? Labour laws and ministerial decrees issued in this regard oblige employers to take many precautionary measures, most important being: l Electrical distribution panels must be placed in safe and easy to use locations, switches must be of non-sparking type. l Conducting regular check on cables, wirings, and connections. What fire protection precautions are mandatory? Employer must take precautionary measures to prevent fire, in accordance with the direction of authorities, and according to the nature of activities in the work place and the nature of production materials. Care must be taken as following: l Providing enough emergency exits, installing alarms with necessary training on use. l Abiding by necessary technical standards in constructing ovens, boilers and other sources of heat, insulating hot gas pipes and internal combustion engines exhausts. l Prohibiting smoking in work areas and punishing anyone who does not abide by the prohibition. l Leaving enough space between work units to prevent the occurrence of fire, especially in areas containing flammable material and not leaving any fire source in these areas. l Educating workers on fire sources and methods of fire prevention and training them on how to use fire extinguishers. What precautions must be taken against natural hazards? Employers must take necessary precautionary measures against natural hazards, the most important being the following: l Stopping work at noon time in open areas during summer -- from 15th of July to 31st of August -- so that morning working hours do not exceed five hours a day and do not extend beyond 11:30 am. In the afternoon, work must not start before 3:00 pm, and employer must keep a schedule directing this in an obvious place so that it can be read and seen by labour inspectors during their inspection visits. l Workers must be provided with protective gloves, socks, shoes, and heavy clothes in winter. l They must be provided with protective coats during the rainy seasons l They must provide you with head cover and cold drinking water during work in open areas. ====================== Legal Corner: Regulation of secondment in Qatar March 07, 2012 - 11:44:44 pm Article (15) of sponsorship Law No. (4) of 2009 on the regulation of the entry and exit of expatriates, their residence and sponsorship points out that it is prohibited for any natural and legal person to allow for the expatriates, who have been recruited for work, to work with other parties or to use the workers who are not sponsored by him. The authority which is bound to implement the law, with an exception of what has been mentioned above, can permit the sponsor to transfer his expatriate employees to another employer to work for him for a period not exceeding six months, renewable for another similar period. The authority can also permit the expatriate to work for some time with the other party in his non-working hours if his sponsor approved the same in writing. It is prohibited to waive the visas for others or dispose of them in any or their trade by third parties, whether the waiving or disposition or trading is done with charges or without the same. Anyone who violates any of these provisions shall be punished by imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years and a fine not exceeding QR50,000 or either of them. In case of recurrence the guilty shall be punished by an imprisonment for not less than fifteen days and not exceeding three years and a fine of not less than twenty thousand riyals and not more than one hundred thousand riyals. The accused shall be considered as recurrent if he commits a similar offense within one year from date of completion of the implementation of the sentence or the drop of the same with the lapse of time. In all cases, one must get the approval by the Ministry of Labor for the categories subject to the provisions of the Labor Law No. 14/2004 which states that non-Qatari workers can be utilised only after the approval by the Department of Labor and receiving a license to work in the state according to the rules and procedures decided by the ministry. In order to grant the work permit for a non-Qatari, there must not be a Qatari worker recorded in the registers of Department of Labor. He must be eligible to perform the work for which licence is required. He must have obtained a residence permit and be medically fit while the validity of work permit is determined by the duration of residence. Regarding the secondment the law requires that the period of secondment must be six months renewable for one term only and during this period the relationship between the seconded person and the employer is subject to the provisions of the Qatar Labor Law No. 14/2004 under an employment contract which includes the rights and obligations of the parties and the relationship of the sponsor with his seconded employee is limited to two things only which include the issuance of exit and renewal of residence permit. We will mention the rights of seconded employees and collaborators in detail in another article. ============================

Unnecessary litigation scaring foreign investors

Of recoverable reserves through improved recovery rate gas fields of Japan's largest and "Minami Nagaoka Gas Field" The '20 extended pic.twitter.com/u28yaz9gfh more condensate production of 3100 barrels of gas and 1.23 million cubic feet Nissan (light oil) from 1984 in the extension of the production period and increase Minami Nagaoka gas field, collected http://www.inpex.co.jp/news/pdf/2014/ than the atmospheric depth of 5,000 meters from about 4,000 underground gas fields of Japan's largest INPEX held 20140919.pdf ... Of recoverable reserves through improved recovery rate gas fields in the country's largest "Minami Nagaoka Gas Field" And increase the extension of the production period (inform) INPEX Corporation (hereinafter, the Company), we are working on the development and production business, which is the gas field in the country's largest "Minami Nagaoka Gas Field" as (Operator) operations principal. For the same gas field, to start the production and condensate natural gas (especially light crude oil) than in 1984, we have stable production over 30 years now, but this time, improvement of the recovery rate of the gas field we've decided that a main purpose the extension of production period and the accompanying increase in recoverable reserves by, to undertake facility expansion of Koshiji Koshijihara original plant that is doing the refining and processing of natural gas (※) , I will inform you. Facilities to improve the gas delivery capacity of the well, such as separator and (※) booster It is a gas field of the nation's largest located in the inland of 10 kilometers south-west of Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture, Minami Nagaoka gas field, producing a condensate of about 3,100 barrels per day of natural gas and about 123 million scf per day get off. The 20 further from the current assumptions also for the production period to improve the recovery rate of the gas fields by equipment enhancement of Koshijihara plant to undertake this time, recoverable reserves of natural gas, crude oil and condensate, and also increased by approximately 20% it is extended about a little less than a year, to contribute to the gas supply stable and our efficient use and effective of valuable domestic energy resources is expected. Natural gas produced from the Minami-Nagaoka gas field, refining and processing at Oyazawa your Yazawa plant and Koshijihara plant It is, total length about spread to Kantokoshin'etsu held by the Company It has been supplied to customers through the natural gas pipeline network of 1,400 km. The Company, in order to cope with domestic natural gas demand that strong growth is expected in the future, in addition to new and enhancement of core pipeline, along the "INPEX medium and long-term vision", our company developed and manufactured overseas we are working to establish ties organically infrastructure of domestic natural gas business and the LNG business of "gas supply chain." So as to promote the effective use of further domestic energy resources, you can use with peace of mind the natural gas environmentally friendly to everyone more over a long period of time, we will continue to strive. Or more ========================= 世界最大日立ＬＮＧタンクの約1600㌧の屋根を５時間かけて持ち上げた ＬＮＧタンクの底部で組み上げた屋根を、空気の圧力で押し上げる工事（エアレイ­ジング）が行われた Lifted over 5 hours of roof about 1600㌧ the world's largest Hitachi LNG tank Was performed (air lasing) Construction boost pressure of the air, the roof is assembled at the bottom of the LNG tank... The 15th (not / equivalent) Fifth Pier Port of Hitachi, Ibaraki, Minato-ku, Tokyo Gas was published in the press Hitachi LNG under construction in (Hitachi City Tome-machi) and (liquefied natural gas) base. Has been performed (air Raging) construction over about four and a half hours from 8:00, by pushing up with the pressure of the air, the roof was assembled at the bottom of the LNG tank this day. It is aimed at running of March 2016 in the company. LNG tank about 86m ㍍ diameter, about 59m ㍍ height. In 230 000 liters ㌔㍑ that the world's largest as aboveground tank, storage capacity can be supplied to city gas equivalent to about 340 000 hotels of annual usage of household. 180,000 liters ㌔㍑ in aboveground, the largest, was 250,000 liters ㌔㍑ is of the type in which the underground until now. The roof is about 1600 tons ㌧ weight. Is fed from the air blower, and is pushed up to a height of about 38m ㍍ over 4 and a half hours. According to the company, raised roof construction of the LNG tank by the air Raging is the first time in the prefecture. Has three factories in the Tokyo Bay in the company, the base is four places first. It will strive to strengthen supply in South North Kanto and Tohoku in the establishment of the base, there is also the aim of hedging against disasters such as capital Earthquake. And seawalls of 8m ㍍ above sea level, etc. hit the pilings to bedrock underground 60m ㍍ the structure, the base is also to strengthen the preparedness for earthquake and tsunami. Construction began on July 12, 60% has been completed. In addition to the LNG tank, I will develop a large pier and dedicated LPG vessels and tanks (50,000 liters ㌔㍑). Pipeline connecting the existing pipeline of Tochigi Prefecture Moka and the same base total project cost - including the cost of laying "Ibaraki Tochigi trunk", is about 120 billion yen. 東京ガスは15日、茨城港日立港区の第５埠頭（ふ／とう）（日立市留町）に建設中の日­立ＬＮＧ（液化天然ガス）基地を報道陣に公開した。この日は午前８時から約４時間半掛­けて、ＬＮＧタンクの底部で組み上げた屋根を、空気の圧力で押し上げる工事（エアレイ­ジング）が行われた。同社では２０１６年３月の稼働を目指している。 　ＬＮＧタンクは直径約86㍍、高さ約59㍍。貯蔵能力は地上式タンクとして世界最大と­なる23万㌔㍑で、一般家庭の年間使用量の約34万軒に相当する都市ガスを供給できる­。これまで最大のものは、地上式で18万㌔㍑、地下に埋設するタイプでは25万㌔㍑だ­った。 　屋根は重さ約１６００㌧。送風機から空気を送り込み、４時間半掛けて約38㍍の高さま­で押し上げられた。同社によると、エアレイジングによるＬＮＧタンクの屋根上げ施工は­県内では初めて。 　同社では東京湾岸に３工場を有し、同基地は４カ所目。同基地の新設で北関東や南東北で­の供給力強化を図るとともに、首都直下地震など災害に対するリスクヘッジの狙いもある­。同基地も海抜８㍍の防潮堤と、構造物には地下60㍍の岩盤までくいを打つなど、津波­や地震への備えを強化している。 　工事は12年７月に着手し、６割が完了している。ＬＮＧタンクのほか、ＬＰＧタンク（­５万㌔㍑）や専用船の大型桟橋などを整備する。総事業費は同基地と栃木県真岡市の既存­パイプラインを結ぶパイプライン「茨城―栃木幹線」の敷設費も含め、約１２００億円と­なっている。 6-10-1 Roppongi Minato-ku, Tokyo www.robuchon.com =============== Unnecessary litigation scaring foreign investors By Zafar BhuttaPublished: July 27, 2014 US authorities took up the Mashal LNG case with the Pakistan government and asked it to come up with sustainable policies in order to protect the interest of investors. PHOTO: FILE ISLAMABAD: Foreign investors, discouraged by sometimes unnecessary litigation, are gradually losing interest in Pakistan, putting future capital flows into the country at stake. To avert the trend and woo investors, the government needs to mull over establishing audit or corporate courts in order to swiftly address the issues faced by local and foreign companies. Many international oil and gas companies have pulled out by winding up their operation in the wake of dispute with the government over different issues. Most of them are fighting tax cases in courts. The country has lost an opportunity to bring cheaper liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies at $11 per million British thermal units (mmbtu) under the Mashal project while in copper and gold mining Tethyan Copper Company (TCC) has approached an international court. In the area of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), Progas filed a case in the international court, claiming damages of $500 million and blaming its losses on a shift in government’s policy. In this scenario, experts suggest the government should dissolve the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and strengthen the Auditor General of Pakistan in matters pertaining to investigation into business deals. The time is ripe to set up audit and banking courts so that the auditor general could pursue cases as NAB has been used and influenced by different governments for victimisation. Present courts have no expertise in dealing with business disputes as happened in the case of Mashal LNG project where the apex court asked the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources to take it up for reconsideration before the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet. In a case relating to a scam in the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra), NAB was coming up with different stories as initially it claimed a Rs82-billion scandal in the decision on increasing the unaccounted-for-gas (UFG) ceiling from 5% to 7%. However, in a fresh reference, it said the size of the scam was Rs26 billion, leading people to raise questions over the probe conducted by the bureau. It also filed two different investigation reports which were challenged in court. In the first report, which took two and a half years, there was no allegation on a big brokerage house. However, in the second report which took only a few days, its name was included while some big names were removed. This came despite the fact that the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan ruled out in May 2013 any insider trading by stock brokers in shares of gas companies and a report in this regard was presented to the policy board. However, the report was later dumped. Investor concerns Some major foreign investors like the US and UK also questioned the legal system in Pakistan, in particular they objected to court cases against foreign firms in the Mashal LNG project. In their view, things like these send bad signals to foreign investors. Officials say the US authorities took up the Mashal case with the Pakistan government and asked it to come up with sustainable policies in order to protect the interest of investors. With the Mashal episode in investors’ minds, the previous government conducted roadshows in an effort to attract investors to bid for hydrocarbon exploration licences, but no new foreign company expressed interest in the auction of exploration blocks held in March 2013. International donors are also concerned about court cases. Top officials of the Asian Development Bank once told journalists that they were against the setting up of rental power plants, but the government should have honoured the agreements once they were made with the investors. The investors are already shy of making investment in the country over law and order concerns and to encourage them the government should dissolve NAB, strengthen the auditor general and establish audit or corporate courts. Published in The Express Tribune, July 28th, 2014. Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.

Apple iPhone 6 pre-orders hit record 4 million on first day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGxlm82hWDM Apple to unveil new iPads, operating system on Oct. 21: report Wed, Sep 17 14:40 PM EDT image (Reuters) - Apple Inc (AAPL.O) is set to launch two new iPads and release the next version of its Mac operating system at its next event on Oct. 21, a Daily Dot report said, citing sources familiar with the matter. The company plans to unveil the sixth generation of its iPad and the third edition of the iPad mini, as well as its operating system OS X Yosemite, which has undergone a complete visual overhaul, the Internet news website said. Trudy Muller, a spokeswoman for Apple, declined to comment. The iPad is expected to have a 9.7 inch screen, while the new version of the iPad mini will have a 7.9 inch screen, Bloomberg earlier reported, citing people familiar with the matter. A Bloomberg report said the Cupertino, California-based company will launch its next generation of iPads around mid-October as Apple prepares for the holiday season by boosting its product lineup. Apple sold 13.3 million iPads in the quarter ended June, falling short of analysts' projections for more than 14 million. Apple also unveiled its Apple Watch, two larger iPhones and a mobile payments service dubbed "Apple Pay" last week. (Reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bangalore,; Additional reporting by Christina Farr; Editing by Joyjeet Das) ============================= Mon, Sep 15 19:48 PM EDT image 1 of 4 By Lehar Maan (Reuters) - Apple Inc said many customers will need to wait until next month for their new iPhones after a record 4 million first-day pre-orders were logged, double the number for the iPhone 5 two years ago. The company said demand had outstripped supply of the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which feature larger screens and longer battery life. Deliveries of pre-orders will begin on Friday and will continue through October. Bumper first-day pre-orders point to first-weekend sales of up to 10 million units, analysts estimated. "Assuming preorders are similar to the 40 percent of first weekend sales for the iPhone 5, this would imply iPhone 6/6Plus first weekend sales could be around 10 million," Wells Fargo Securities analysts wrote in a note. About 2 million pre-orders were received for the iPhone 5 in the first 24 hours after it went on sale in September 2012. Apple sold 5 million of these phones in the first weekend. Apple sold 9 million iPhone 5Ss and 5Cs, which were launched last year, in the first three days in stores. The company did not reveal pre-order numbers for these phones. Raymond James analysts said they expect sales of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus to top 9 million in the first weekend. "Apple will be selling every iPhone it can make, at least through October. Because of this, the first weekend sales are typically more indicative of supply than demand," they said. The company routinely grapples with iPhone supply constraints, particularly in years that involve a smartphone re-design. Apple's website showed last week that the larger 5.5-inch "Plus" models displayed a wait time of up to a month. The 4.7-inch version was available for delivery on Sept. 19. Janney Capital Markets analysts said the large number of pre-orders was due to "pent-up demand" for bigger iPhone screens. The brokerage raised its sales estimate for the latest iPhones to 37.4 million units for the current quarter and 60 million for the quarter ended December. "We believe significant demand will even spill into the March and June quarters given supply and the timing of shipments in China," Barclays analysts wrote in a note. The company said the new iPhone models will be available to customers in its stores in the United States, Canada, Australia and some other countries on Friday morning. AT&T Inc, Sprint Corp, T-Mobile US Inc, Verizon Wireless and some Apple authorized resellers will also start selling the phones on Friday. The phones will come equipped with Apple's new payments service, "Apple Pay", which launches in the United States next month and allows users to pay for items in stores with their phones. Apple's shares were up less than 1 percent at $102.92 Monday afternoon. (Reporting By Lehar Maan and Soham Chatterjee in Bangalore; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)

Warren Buffett Tells You How to Turn $40 Into $10 Million

Warren Buffett Tells You How to Turn $40 Into $10 Million By Patrick Morris Warren Buffett is perhaps the greatest investor of all time, and he has a simple solution that could help an individual turn $40 into $10 million. A few years ago, Berkshire Hathaway CEO and Chairman Warren Buffett spoke about one of his favorite companies, Coca-Cola, and how after dividends, stock splits, and patient reinvestment, someone who bought just $40 worth of the company’s stock when it went public in 1919 would now have more than $5 million. Yet in April 2012, when the board of directors proposed a stock split of the beloved soft-drink manufacturer, that figure was updated and the company noted that original $40 would now be worth $9.8 million. A little back-of-the-envelope calculation of the total return of Coke since May 2012 would mean that $9.8 million is now worth about $10.8 million. The power of patience I know that $40 in 1919 is very different from $40 today. However, even after factoring for inflation, it turns out to be $540 in today’s money. Put differently, would you rather have an Xbox One, or almost $11 million? Related > Free guide — Your 10 Step Guide to Making $1 Million in the Market But the thing is, it isn’t even as though an investment in Coca-Cola was a no-brainer at that point, or in the near century since then. Sugar prices were rising. World War I had just ended a year prior. The Great Depression happened a few years later. World War II resulted in sugar rationing. And there have been countless other things over the past 100 years that would cause someone to question whether their money should be in stocks, much less one of a consumer-goods company like Coca-Cola. The dangers of timing Yet as Buffett has noted continually, it’s terribly dangerous to attempt to time the market: “With a wonderful business, you can figure out what will happen; you can’t figure out when it will happen. You don’t want to focus on when, you want to focus on what. If you’re right about what, you don’t have to worry about when” So often investors are told they must attempt to time the market, and begin investing when the market is on the rise, and sell when the market is falling. This type of technical analysis of watching stock movements and buying based on how the prices fluctuate over 200-day moving averages or other seemingly arbitrary fluctuations often receives a lot of media attention, but it has been proved to simply be no better than random chance. Investing for the long term Individuals need to see that investing is not like placing a bet on number 32 on the roulette wheel, but instead it’s buying a tangible piece of a business. It is absolutely important to understand the relative price you are paying for that business, but what isn’t important is attempting to understand whether you’re buying in at the “right time,” as that is so often just an arbitrary imagination. In Buffett’s own words, “if you’re right about the business, you’ll make a lot of money,” so don’t bother about attempting to buy stocks based on how their stock charts have looked over the past 200 days. Instead always remember that “it’s far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price.” Be your own Warren Buffett If you’re interested in creating your own version of this story, it’s essential to find investments that stand the test of time. To help out in your search, for a limited time we’re sharing the names of two ASX companies that meet the stringent criteria our analysts require when seeking out incredible long term investing opportunities. Our analysts are calling it “Warren Buffett’s Greatest Wisdom“, and thousands of investors have already capitalised on similar research we’ve released. Make sure to access your free copy today by clicking here now. The Motley Fool’s Top Dividend Stock 2014-15 This little known growth stock trades on a modest valuation and pays a very juicy fully franked dividend. Find out the name of this “under the radar” ASX stock in this free report — “The Motley Fool’s Top Dividend Stock 2014-15.” But hurry… this report is only available for a limited period of time. Click here now.

Qatar foreign minister believes abducted bishops still alive: how Cain killed his brother Abel

Qatar rejects accusation it sent weapons to Libya DOHA Tue Sep 16, 2014 2:36am EDT Libya's Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni speaks to reporters in Abu Dhabi September 10, 2014. REUTERS/ Stringer Libya's Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni speaks to reporters in Abu Dhabi September 10, 2014. Credit: Reuters/ Stringer Turkey would welcome Muslim Brotherhood figures who leave Qatar - Erdogan MIDEAST STOCKS - Factors to watch - September 16 Washington wins diplomatic support for campaign in Iraq; Syria trickier Former Libyan general claims new air strike in western Libya S&P says to move Greek, UAE, Qatar stocks to emerging indexes Sept 22 (Reuters) - Qatar has denied an accusation by Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni that it sent three military aircraft loaded with weapons to a Tripoli airport controlled by an armed opposition group. In a statement to Qatar's news agency (QNA), Assistant Foreign Minister for Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Rumaihi described the allegation as misleading and unfounded. "The policy of the State of Qatar is based on clear and consistent foundations: mutual respect and non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries," said the statement on Monday evening. Analysts say Libya is turning into a conflict zone for competing regional powers as the country faces the prospect of becoming a failed state or even civil war three years after the ousting of Muammar Gaddafi. Qatar helped bankroll rebels who ousted Gaddafi, and it continues to be an ally of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist movement with a following in many Muslim countries including ties to the opposition group now controlling Tripoli. Rumaihi said Thinni should check the accuracy of his information before releasing public statements, something that was particularly important since Thinni had not said anything about "the bombing of his country and its citizens recently". This is a reference to an assertion by the United States that the United Arab Emirates (UAE), an anti-Islamist Gulf Arab state, bombed positions held by opposition fighters in Libya days before those forces seized the capital last month. Thinni has denied this allegation, but has said without elaborating that the UAE is supporting Libya. The UAE has not directly addressed the allegation. Qatar and the UAE are on opposite sides of a rift among Gulf Arabs over the role of Islamists in Arab politics. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain are angry over Qatar's support for the Brotherhood, whose ideology challenges the principle of conservative dynastic rule that dominates the Gulf. The three states recalled their ambassadors from Qatar in March, accusing Doha of failing to abide by an accord not to interfere in each others' affairs. Qatar denies the charge. In a sign that pressure may be having some effect, the Brotherhood said on Saturday that Qatar had asked seven senior Brotherhood figures to leave the country. (Reporting by Amena Bakr, Editing by William Maclean and Andrew Heavens) ====== 'War is madness’: Pope Francis says WWIII is happening already Published time: September 13, 2014 14:44 Get short URL Pope Francis walks inside the Austro-Hungarian cemetery at Fogliano in Redipuglia September 13, 2014.(Reuters / Stefano Rellandini ) Pope Francis has compared the current situation internationally to a third World War “fought piecemeal, with crimes, massacres and destruction.” Calling wars irrational, the Pontiff lamented conflicts are often “justified by an ideology.” "War is irrational; its only plan is to bring destruction: it seeks to grow by destroying," Francis said while visiting Italy’s largest war memorial Saturday. "Greed, intolerance, the lust for power. These motives underlie the decision to go to war and they are too often..." "War is madness” which “ruins everything, even the bonds between brothers” the Pope said as he recalled the Genesis story of how Cain killed his brother Abel. "Humanity needs to weep and this is the time to weep," Francis said in the homily of a Mass. Francis has also spoken during a mass at the Italian First World War memorial at Fogliano di Redipuglia, in northern Italy, where more than 100,000 fallen Italian soldiers are believed to be buried in the military graveyard. “Here lie many victims. Today, we remember them. There are tears, there is sadness. From this place we remember all the victims of every war. Today, too, the victims are many,” the Pope said. "Even today, after the second failure of another world war, perhaps one can speak of a third war, one fought piecemeal, with crimes, massacres and destruction," Francis said. “And these plotters of terrorism, these schemers of conflicts, just like arms dealers, have engraved in their hearts, ‘What does it matter to me?’” In the past few months, Francis has repeatedly called for the end of military conflicts in Ukraine, Iraq, Syria, Gaza and throughout Africa. In July, he also made an emotional appeal to the world, calling to stop war, especially in the Middle East and Ukraine, saying that the children who live in conflict zones are suffering most and are deprived of hope and a future. During his visit to Korea in August, the Pope said that humanity was in the midst of a Third World War. “Today we are in a world at war everywhere. A man said to me, ‘Father, we are in World War III, but spread out in small pockets everywhere.’ He was right,” Francis said at the time. ======= Qatar foreign minister believes abducted bishops still alive Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid al-Attiyah is reported to have told attendees at a Sept. 4 closed-door meeting in Doha that the information available to him indicated that two Orthodox bishops abducted in Syria in 2013 were still alive, despite rumors sometimes circulating to the contrary. The statement was told to Al-Monitor by a high-ranking official who attended Attiyah's meeting with a Lebanese delegation visiting Qatar to discuss the issue 500 days after the abduction of Bishop Boulos Yazigi of the Greek Orthodox Church of Aleppo and the Syrian Orthodox archbishop of Aleppo, Yohanna Ibrahim. Summary⎙ Print Qatar’s Foreign Minister Khalid al-Attiyah said that he has obtained information that two bishops kidnapped in Syria last year are still alive. Author Jean Aziz Posted September 8, 2014 Translator(s)Joelle El-Khoury The two men were reportedly detained April 22, 2013, in Damascus by gunmen opposed to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Since that time, there have been contradictory reports about the clerics. None of the reporting on their fate or on the identity of their kidnappers has been confirmed. The same source told Al-Monitor that although Attiyah appeared confident that the bishops remained alive, he did not seem optimistic that Qatar would be able to raise the matter with the relevant parties, because of the bishops’ movement in dangerous areas under the armed opposition’s control and, more significant, among more than one armed group. After reports appeared that the clerics had been abducted by Chechen gunmen, the kidnappers reportedly handed them over to Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaeda's military wing in Syria. At that stage, Attiyah said, his country tried to mediate with the kidnappers for the bishops' release. During the same period, Doha engaged in other similar mediations, one of which led to the release of 11 Lebanese Shiites being held by gunmen in the Syrian town of Azaz, close to the Turkish border. Another Qatari mediation resulted in the release of nuns from the Maaloula monastery, northwest of Damascus, who were detained by Jabhat al-Nusra. Attiyah told the delegation that his government had received reports suggesting that the bishops were recently held by Jabhat al-Nusra members, but they either handed the kidnapped bishops over to the Islamic State (IS) or the men themselves pledged allegiance to IS. This has caused contacts between Qatar and Jabhat al-Nusra to be interrupted and Doha's mediation for the mens' release frozen. Attiyah explained that his government does not have any contacts whatsoever with IS, unlike with Jabhat al-Nusra, with which it has open channels. This was recently evident in the situation surrounding the Lebanese soldiers detained by the two groups in the barren lands of Arsal, in northeast Lebanon, where a Qatari mediator contacted Jabhat al-Nusra seeking the release of the soldiers in the absence of contacts with IS. Two of the soldiers have been beheaded by IS, which has threatened more decapitations if the Lebanese government does not meet its demands, notably, the release of nearly 400 Islamist inmates in Lebanese prisons on charges of terrorism. Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/09/bishop-abducted-syria-alive-qatar-mediation.html##ixzz3DF7rpftO

Petrodollars: how the 3 will maintain investment levels and meet refinancing obligations ?

Yamal, Russia's gas megaplan, becomes symbol of sanctions defiance Fri, Sep 19 07:09 AM EDT image 1 of 3 By Katya Golubkova and Dmitry Zhdannikov MOSCOW (Reuters) - Dozens of Russian energy ventures are in jeopardy due to Western sanctions on technology and funding. Looming over them all, a giant project the Kremlin is bent on saving no matter what. The Yamal plan, a $27 billion investment to tap vast natural gas reserves in northwest Siberia, aims to double Russia's stake in the fast-growing market for liquefied natural gas. If it stays on track, it will also show the West that the world's largest energy industry is not cracking under sanctions. Russia has said it will make sure Yamal has the resources it needs to keep building. But that pledge will be tested: Yamal's gas is so far in the Arctic North that it requires specialised technology often provided by Western partners - many of which will not be able to operate because of the restrictions. And while Yamal's shareholders have already invested $6 billion in it, U.S. and EU action has now effectively cut off the Russian energy firm's access to Western lending. Nonetheless, bankers and analysts returning from a recent trip to Yamal said they were impressed by the project's status. Some said it was hard to tell that Yamal's controlling shareholder, gas firm Novatek, and its billionaire co-owner Gennady Timchenko were subject to some of the most severe U.S. and EU sanctions targeting Putin after he annexed Crimea in eastern Ukraine and lent backing to pro-Russia separatists. "I was astonished by the pace and amount of work that has been done," said Maxim Moshkov, oil analyst at UBS. Some 6,000 people are currently working on the project and the number will rise to 15,000 next year. "They work day and night... Having been there, I realised the project will most likely become a reality," Moshkov said. Andrey Polishchuk from Raiffeisen bank said: "They are building a new airport, storage tanks. Ships are coming to a nearby port one after another. Some are unloading goods, some are waiting to unload". POWERFUL PARTNERS Yamal has powerful partners - French oil major Total and China's CNPC. Total said this week that despite the sanctions it would not be stopping work on Yamal and has suggested that, given Europe relies on Russia for a third of its gas, it would be risky to slow down the project. Yamal will start exports from 2018 and has already pre-sold most of its future output to buyers in Europe and Asia. It will ultimately export 16.5 million tonnes of LNG a year - equal to 6 months of French gas consumption. Novatek, along with gas monopoly Gazprom, has so far escaped European sanctions, but the fact that it is on the U.S. sanctions list makes it almost impossible for it to raise money for the project. So Total is still clear to participate in Yamal. But its ability to finance its share in it through U.S. or European banks has been drastically limited. "Can we live without Russian gas in Europe? The answer is no. Are there any reasons to live without it? I think - and I'm not defending the interests of Total in Russia - it is a no," Total boss Christophe De Margerie told Reuters. Timchenko, co-owner of Novatek, is also a force to be reckoned with - his closeness to Russian President Vladimir Putin giving him heft even as it makes him a target for sanctions. In March 2014, the United States slapped the first round of sanctions on him, explaining: "Timchenko's activities in the energy sector have been directly linked to Putin". Putin subsequently made Timchenko Russia's point person for business relations - including the development of key gas projects - with China. Timchenko has said China, which has a 20 percent stake in Yamal through CNPC, has agreed to lend $20 billion before the end of 2014. But there is still work to do to win that loan. "We have had communications from higher management over compliances that we shall strictly follow international rules," a Chinese banking executive told Reuters on condition of anonymity given the delicate nature of the negotiations. "Basic principles are - we shall not deal with entities that are sanctioned...We don't want the U.S. to find excuses to give us trouble." SUPPORT FROM HOME If China can't put up the money, Putin is likely to. The Russian government, which has accumulated the world's third largest forex reserves of $460 billion, has said it will invest money in profitable projects which can guarantee hefty payouts to state coffers in the future. Various officials have pledged support to Gazprom, state oil firm Rosneft and pipeline and railway monopolies Transneft and RZhD. And Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev told Novatek's chief and co-owner Leonid Mikhelson that Russia would support other companies too, irrespective of their ownership structure. "Should (their Chinese lending) plan fail, they can count on state support. The government has made it clear it will not allow it to fail," said a Western oil executive close to the project. The crunch point for Yamal will come next year when France's engineering firm Technip needs to deliver the core liquefaction plant - technology that Russia is lacking. Technip told Reuters this week it was moving forward with the project. It had earlier warned about the risks to its income from sanctions on Russia. If Technip should run into difficulties - the pace at which sanctions have evolved in the past months suggests more could yet be in the offing - Russia might be able to source the technology from China, which has in recent years become able to design and build large LNG plants. "There might be an opportunity lurking in terms of supplying our own gas liquefaction technology," said an engineering executive at CNPC. (Additional reporting by Aizhu Chen, Vladimir Soldatkin, Denis Pinchuk and Sandrine Bradley; Editing by Sophie Walker) ============ Sanctions against Russia could spur $150 oil – Former BP chief Published time: September 15, 2014 08:53 Edited time: September 15, 2014 11:53 Get short URL Reuters/Stefano Rellandini Oil, Russia and the global economy, Sanctions Western sanctions against Russia, coupled with ongoing political instability in Libya and the advance of ISIS militants in Iraq, could leave the global oil supply exposed and push up oil prices to $150 per barrel, former BP chief Tony Hayward has warned.

The former CEO of BP and now chairman of Glencore Xstrata said the recent boom in US shale production has painted an unrealistic image of the world’s global oil supply, and created a false sense in energy security. “The world has been lulled into a false sense of security because of what’s going on in the US,” Hayward said in an interview with the Financial Times. The hydraulic fracturing boom in the US began in 2008 and has increased US crude output by 60 percent, but Hayward warned it could wane. “When US supply peaks, where will the new supply come from?” Hayward said. Instability in oil producing countries in the Middle East, such as Libya and Iraq, in theory would have driven up oil prices to $150 per barrel, had it not been for the new supply from North America.

So far, Brent crude has fallen from about $108 a barrel at the start of the year to about $97 today. Hayward said oil supplies from the North Sea and Alaska are nearing maturity, and the world oil supply is dependent on new wells in places such as Russia, Iraq, and Canada. Rosneft's Bazhenov field may be even larger than the North Dakota Bakken shale shelf, which currently produces 1 million barrels of oil per day and has brought about the shale revolution in the America. Sanctions may stymie output Russia, the world’s second-largest oil producer, outputs about 10.5 million barrels of oil per day, shy of the record from the Soviet era. His comments followed decisions from the EU and US to widen sanctions against Russia on Friday, targeting state-run and private oil and gas companies, including Gazprom, Rosneft, Transneft, and Lukoil. They can no long obtain US or EU technology or equipment for extracting deep water, Arctic, or shale oil. Analysts believe there will be no sudden shock to the Russian oil and gas industry, but that future projects and long-term development are at risk. “Because of financial sanctions, the big gorillas are going to start cutting their activities,” Hayward said, speaking about Russian companies. The sanctions will also create problems for Western companies like Exxon Mobil, BP, Shell and others, who have joint ventures worth billions in Russia. ExxonMobil, for example, has a joint venture with Rosneft to explore Russia’s Arctic, and also owns a 19.75 percent stake in the company. ======== Petrodollars: What do Russian oil companies do in the wake of sanctions? By Rosemary Griffin | September 15, 2014 12:01 AM Comments (0) Sanctions against Russia are moving closer to the country’s big oil companies. In this week’s Oilgram News column Petrodollars, Rosemary Griffin looks at the choices that companies such as Rosneft face. ——————————- EU sanctions introduced Friday limit some state-owned Russian oil companies’ access to European financing in a move that could drive Rosneft, Transneft and Gazprom Neft to look to alternative sources. The US added to the Russian oil sector’s woes later in the day, by further restricting Rosneft’s access to US financing, as well as blocking its four biggest crude producers from accessing technology essential to Arctic, deepwater and shale oil technology. In the short term, analysts see the latest measures as unlikely to significantly change the financial profile of the big three oil companies targeted, as previous sanctions had already seriously restricted Russian companies’ access to Western capital markets. But the measures have fuelled debate on how the three will maintain investment levels and meet refinancing obligations going forward. Company representatives declined initial comment, but analysts’ see Rosneft, with its significant debt portfolio as the most exposed to the latest restrictions. Rosneft has been on something of a spending spree in the past two years, most significantly swallowing up what was Russia’s third largest crude producer TNK-BP in 2013, in a mega-deal which saw Rosneft hand over a combined total of over $30 billion to former shareholders AAR and BP. Analysts estimate that Rosneft needs to refinance around $29 billion over 2014 and 2015. It has around $18 billion in cash to cover refinancing this year if necessary, and is expecting its cash flow to be boosted by pre-payments coming in next year. Rosneft holds a key position in the Russian economy, with the government highly likely to intervene if it seems to be in any kind of trouble, something officials have confirmed in recent weeks. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said that the government is looking into ways to support the company to maintain investment and production levels. Rosneft already asked for a massive Rb1.5 trillion (around $42 billion) injection from the state’s national welfare fund in mid-August, but whether the government will stretch quite so far, or promise to underpin all of the company’s ambitious capex plans, remains to be seen. ——————————- Meanwhile, analysts estimate that Transneft needs to refinance around $3 billion of debt in 2014/2015. The company has around $10 billion on its books, and some analysts have pointed to its smooth repayment schedule of around $1.4-$1.5 billion/year over the next few years, as well as its relative flexibility to cut investment compared to most other majors, as key advantages in dealing with the latest restrictions. If it does get into trouble, Transneft is likely to follow Rosneft’s approach. As the company responsible for crude and oil products shipments across Russia, it is a priority for the Russian government to build out infrastructure, particularly to boost crude movements to China. If the government balks at direct cash injections, it could also grant the company greater flexibility in imposing tariffs on its transportation services, although the government has attempted to limit state-owned companies’ tariffs in recent years. The two state-owned giants could also look to Asian partners to meet any shortfall in financing. Rosneft has already offered Chinese partners a direct stake in its most promising greenfield project in East Siberia Vankor, which analysts see as a direct consequence of financial pressure from Western sanctions. Asian investors are already present in many Russian projects and have said they are interested in opportunities arising from Russia’s shift in focus to Asian markets. They are likely to drive a hard bargain though, if Russian companies seem desperate to sell off stakes in their prize assets in return for financing. For Gazprom Neft the situation is slightly different. Some analysts see the company as less exposed as its refinancing requirements in 2014/2015 are estimated to be the smallest of the three, at $2 billion. The company has an estimated $3 billion in cash. Furthermore Gazprom was planning to scale back its investment program from next year, initially by around 10% year on year in 2015. There are indications that company is concerned about how sanctions could impact its financial operations, however. Gazprom took a significant hit from currency conversion rates this year, suffering a Rb5.3 billion (around $143 million) loss on its dollar-denominated debt in the first half, more than double equivalent losses in the same period of 2013. Some analysts believe restricted access to Western capital markets could drive the company’s bid to raise the proportion of its ruble-denominated debt and turn to domestic lenders. In the summer it was also the first Russian oil company to raise the prospect of shifting supply contracts away from the dollar to other currencies, such as the ruble or the euro if the situation continues to worsen.— Rosemary Griffin in Moscow

Iran supreme leader spurns U.S. overture to fight Islamic State

Islamic State campaign tests Obama's commitment to Mideast allies Wed, Sep 17 09:45 AM EDT image By Jason Szep WASHINGTON (Reuters) - After about 15 hours of flying and five hours of meetings, sleep finally caught up with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Baghdad. It was 6:04 p.m. After sinking into his seat at the center of the cavernous interior of a C-17 military transport plane, he cradled his head in his palm, put his feet on a desk and shut his eyes. Visibly tired, too, were his retinue of aides as they took their seats, some clutching briefing papers with notes scribbled in the margin from meetings with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and the government he had formed a day earlier on Sept. 9. Kerry’s exhaustion was understandable after nearly 24 hours of non-stop travel and meetings. America’s fatigue in the Middle East could be a different story: the Iraqis who met Kerry may wonder if his boss, President Barack Obama, has the energy or stomach for what lies ahead in a country he has spent most of his nearly six years in office trying to leave behind. The challenge is highlighted by a Reuters/Ipsos poll on Friday showing that while Americans support Obama's campaign of airstrikes against Islamic State militants, they have a low appetite for a long campaign against the group. Several important tests loom for the U.S. administration's nascent coalition to “degrade and defeat” the ultra-hardline Islamic State whose militants have seized a third of both Iraq and Syria, declared war on the West and beheaded two American journalists and one British aid worker. The complexity of eliminating Islamic State, which requires stabilizing Iraq, building up its armed forces and creating a western-backed rebel force in Syria, could take years, testing Obama's commitment and that of whoever succeeds him in 2017. "There’s a real general distrust among our regional allies about our commitment to this because we've been missing in action for the last three years," said David Schenker, a specialist on Syria at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a former Pentagon adviser on Syria during President George W. Bush’s administration. In Baghdad, Amman, Jeddah, Ankara, Cairo and Paris in the last week, Kerry laid plans for a U.S.-led coalition of regional and outside powers. It would hammer the black-clad fighters of Islamic State militarily, dry up its funding, eliminate its safe havens in Syria, block its ability to recruit fighters and try to extinguish its extremist ideology. Kerry, who will report on his trip to Obama and Congress this week, insists this is different from past U.S. operations in the region. "This is not the Gulf War of 1991," he told reporters in Paris on Monday. "And it's not the Iraq War of 2003 ... We're not building a military coalition for an invasion. We're building a military coalition together with all the other pieces for a transformation, as well as for the elimination of ISIL itself," he said, invoking an acronym for the Islamic State group. QUESTION OF COMMITMENT World powers meeting in Paris on Monday gave a symbolic boost to that effort, publicly backing military action to fight Islamic State militants in Iraq. France sent jets on a reconnaissance mission to Iraq, a step towards becoming the first ally to join the U.S.-led air campaign there and a senior U.S. official said some Arab countries had promised to take part. On Friday, Kerry will chair a meeting of the U.N. Security Council in New York, which will provide countries which quietly backed the U.S. coalition an opportunity to do so publicly. But questions remain over how far each will commit to a fight that U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Tuesday "will not be an easy or brief effort." A 45-page State Department document detailed offers of assistance from about 40 countries, but these are mostly humanitarian. Military commitments are rare and small. Albania, for instance, plans to provide 22 million rounds of AK-47 bullets, 15,000 hand grenades and 32,000 artillery shells to Kurdish forces in Iraq. U.S. fighter jets have conducted over 160 airstrikes on Islamic State positions in Iraq, resuming military action Obama and many Americans hoped were part of history when U.S. combat forces pulled out of the country in 2011. The most senior U.S. military officer, General Martin Dempsey, raised the possibility on Tuesday that American troops might need to take on a larger role in Iraq's ground war, though Obama also ruled out a combat mission. U.S. officials play down the prospect of imminent air attacks on the Islamist group's heartland in Syria and it remains unclear who, if anyone, would join them. The United States will present a legal case before going into Syria, U.S. officials say, justifying strikes largely on the basis of defending Iraq from militants who threaten its sovereignty and have taken shelter in neighboring Syria during its three-year-old civil war. "OVERALL COORDINATOR" Entering Syrian airspace would deepen a conflict that already cuts across sectarian lines. Islamic State is made up of Sunni militants fighting a Shi'ite-led government in Iraq and a government in Syria led by members of a Shi'ite offshoot sect. Briefing U.S. reporters in Paris, Kerry said there were "several discussions with foreign ministers" on how to defeat Islamic State inside Syria. He did not go into specifics, but he emphasized that it was not just about the airstrikes. Kerry and his advisers often describe the anti-Islamic State campaign as "holistic". The approach was set out in a six-paragraph communique issued on Sept. 11 and signed by 10 Arab countries - Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and six Gulf states including rich rivals Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The Arab states agreed to eight main tasks: stopping the flow of foreign fighters, countering Islamic State financing, repudiating their ideology, ending impunity, providing humanitarian relief, reconstruction of Islamic State-hit areas, supporting states that face "acute" Islamic State threats, and, "as appropriate, joining in the many aspects of a coordinated military campaign." The United States specifically wanted the words "as appropriate," one senior State Department official said. "We wanted to be an overall coordinator of this effort," the official said. "So, ‘as appropriate’ means as part of an overall campaign plan, and as this continues to move forward." (This story adds dropped word "State" in 25th paragraph) (Reporting by Jason Szep; Editing by David Storey and Howard Goller) ======== U.S. general says cannot rule out larger ground role in Iraq Tue, Sep 16 19:00 PM EDT image 1 of 5 By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The most senior U.S. military officer raised the possibility on Tuesday that American troops might need to take on a larger role in Iraq's ground war against Islamic State militants, but the White House stressed they would not deploy on a combat mission. General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, said there was no intention now to place American military advisers on the ground in direct combat. U.S. assistance is taking other forms, including air strikes. Still, Dempsey outlined scenarios in which he might recommend having U.S. troops do more, potentially accompanying Iraqis during complicated offensives, such as a battle to retake the northern city of Mosul from Islamic State fighters. "It could very well be part of that particular mission - to provide close combat advising or accompanying for that mission," Dempsey said. Dempsey acknowledged that Obama's "stated policy is that we will not have U.S. ground forces in direct combat." "But he has told me as well to come back to him on a case-by-case basis," he said. Obama said last week he would lead an alliance to defeat Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, plunging the United States into a conflict in which nearly every country in the Middle East has a stake. But Obama also ruled out a combat mission, saying "we will not get dragged into another ground war in Iraq." How exactly America's role might evolve in the open-ended conflict remains unclear, however. Responding to Dempsey's comments, the White House said Obama’s military advisers had to plan for many possibilities and that overall policy had not changed - that Obama would not deploy U.S. troops in a combat role in Iraq or Syria. White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters that Dempsey was "referring to a hypothetical scenario in which there might be a future situation where he might make a tactical recommendation to the president as it relates to ground troops." Dempsey's spokesman also issued a statement stressing that the four-star general's exchange in the Senate was not about "employing U.S. ground combat units in Iraq." Dempsey was testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, along with U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, as the Obama administration makes its case to Congress for broadening operations against the Sunni militants, which would include U.S. air strikes in Syria for the first time. NO "SHOCK AND AWE' IN SYRIA The U.S. military's Central Command is due to brief Obama on its plans on Wednesday. Hagel said those plans envision striking the militant group's safe havens in Syria to knock out infrastructure, logistics and command capabilities. Dempsey said the strikes would degrade the group's capabilities as broader efforts get under way, including training of more than 5,000 Syrian rebels. "This won't look like a 'shock and awe' campaign because that's simply not how (the Islamic State militants' group) is organized. But it will be a persistent and sustainable campaign," Dempsey told the Senate Armed Services Committee. "Shock and awe" was a term popularly used to describe the initial air assault on Baghdad in the U.S. campaign to oust Saddam Hussein in 2003, and refers to use of overwhelming force to undermine an enemy's will to fight. Congress is expected to approve this week a request from Obama for authorization to arm and train moderate Syrian rebels, one part of his program. Still, Hagel acknowledged the number of Syrian fighters that could be trained over the course of the year would only put the opposition on a path to roll back Islamic State fighters. "Five thousand alone is not going to be able to turn the tide. We recognize that," Hagel said. The Senate hearing was repeatedly interrupted by anti-war protesters, shouting slogans such as, "There is no military solution." One protester was escorted out of the room while holding a sign that read: "More war = More extremism." Senator Angus King of Maine, expressing concern that the United States would be drawn into interminable fights against extremist groups around the world from Iraq to Syria to Africa, said: "This is geopolitical Wack-a-mole." (Additional reporting by Missy Ryan and Steve Holland; Editing by Bill Trott, Susan Heavey, Bernadette Baum and Ken Wills) ================ Satan and a Jewish Woman Give Birth to ISIS in an Iraqi TV Satire, http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/4491.htm #IRGC commander: #US base in Northern #Iraq no threat to #Iran #ISIL #ISIS http://bit.ly/1qTNyQL IRGC commander: US base in Northern Iraq no threat to Iran September 16, 2014 3:02 pm Iraq Crisis, News, Politics, Regional Affairs no comments Commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari TEHRAN (FNA)- Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari downplayed enemies’ war rhetoric against Tehran, and said the US military base in Northern Iraq is not considered a threat to Iran. “The US base (in Iraq’s Kurdistan region) is not a threat to us and we believe that we have left behind (the era of) the superpowers’ direct threats and no matter how thoughtless the enemies can be in foreseeing the future, we believe the issue with direct threat is over now,” Jafari said in a press conference in Tehran on Tuesday. He said that the US military base in Northern Iraq is meant to support the Iraqi Kurds who have been deployed in Erbil region. Also asked about Iran’s position on the United States’ possible airstrikes on ISIL or even government positions on Syrian soil and Damascus’s possible response, Jafari said, “We will certainly show political reaction, but we will not show any direct military action.” “The Islamic Republic of Iran’s policy is supporting Syria, and this action of the United States is bullying and is condemned,” he said, but he meantime underlined, “They will regret if they take such an action.” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei also warned on Monday that the US strike on Syria would be reciprocated by repenting response, although he said Iran would not be involved in such reciprocity. Also on Monday, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces General Hassan Firouzabadi warned the US and its allies to avoid exercising new plots in the region, saying that fighting and bombing the positions of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorist group could not be a pretext for violating the sovereignty of Syria and Iraq. “Military experts know that aerial bombardment is not the solution in the fight against terrorism and it can only be one in the chain of the military actions needed for a comprehensive fight against terrorism,” Firouzabadi said on Monday, implying the United States’ theatrical moves against terrorism. He said the experience gained in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq in the last few months showed that effective fight against terrorism should include a simultaneous use of a wide range of tactics and methods, and said, “The experienced Syrian army forces and the country’s popular forces as well as the Iraqi army and popular forces should have the main role in this campaign.” “Bombing the ISIL terrorists can no way be a permission for violating the sovereignty of the Syrian and Iraqi states,” Firouzabadi added. He stressed the necessity for the regional countries’ vigilance against the US plots, and expressed the hope that “those Muslim regional states that helped to the creation of the ISIL at the beginning of this game would relinquish this plot”. His comments came after NATO heads of state convened in the Welsh city of Newport on 4-5 September. US Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told foreign and defense ministers participating in the NATO summit that the US was forming a broad international coalition against ISIL. Ministers from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada, Australia, Turkey, Italy, Poland and Denmark met in Wales to hammer out a strategy for battling ISIL, but the policy was questioned by many regional officials and political leaders. Islamic State supporter warns of attacks against U.S.: SITE Tue, Sep 16 06:19 AM EDT image BEIRUT (Reuters) - A supporter of Islamic State militants has warned of attacks on the United States and its allies if they continue to carry out military action against the group that has seized large parts of Iraq and Syria, the SITE monitoring service said. The message on a well-known militant Islamist online forum is one of the few responses from supporters of Islamic State to Washington's announcement last week that it was prepared to extend airstrikes against the group into Syria. The posting on the Minbar Jihadi Media website condemned "intervention in the affairs of other peoples" and said it would trigger an equal response, SITE said late on Monday. "It will lead to an equal reaction of the same strength in targeting the American depth and also the nations allied to it and in all aspects," the message said in a translation from Arabic, according to SITE, which tracks militant forums. The United States has stepped up its military response to the hardline group, which has beheaded several Western hostages. On Sunday Islamic State released a video that it said showed the beheading of a British aid worker. U.S. President Barack Obama is calling for a coalition of Western and Middle Eastern countries to fight Islamic State. "I direct a sternly worded warning to each of those nations involved with America, or that are allied with it in their war against the Islamic Caliphate, that their local and international interests will be legitimate targets," the posting by a supporter referred to as "Amir al-Thul" said. The posting used religious language and said the author was speaking from a "blessed pulpit" but it was not clear what influence he had on the actions of Islamic State. The message called on the public in the United States and its allies to oppose government actions against the group. (Reporting by Sylvia Westall; Editing by Louise Ireland) ============ U.S. to Assad: Beware of interfering with U.S. air power in Syria Mon, Sep 15 19:02 PM EDT image By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Syrian military's air defenses would face retaliation if Syria attempted to respond to U.S. air strikes that are expected against Islamic State targets in Syria, senior U.S. officials said on Monday. President Barack Obama's authorization of the use of American air power against Islamic State's strongholds in Syria has raised the question of whether Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would respond in some way. Senior U.S. officials who briefed reporters said Assad should not interfere, that the United States has a good sense of where Syrian air defenses and command-and-control facilities are located. One official said if the Assad military were to demonstrate that it was a threat to the U.S. ability to operate in the area, it would put Syrian air defenses in the region at risk. The United States has stressed it will not coordinate with the Assad government in any way in its fight against Islamic State. Obama's position has long been that he would like to see Assad leave power, particularly after using chemical weapons against his own people last year. But air strikes against Islamic State in Syria could have the indirect effect of benefiting Assad because the extremists have been fighting the Syrian government during what is now a three-year civil war. Washington wants to train and equip Syrian rebels who are deemed to be moderate to hold territory cleared by U.S. air strikes. The U.S. military has conducted dozens of air strikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq, but has yet to launch any in Syria as Obama works to solidify an anti-Islamic State coalition . The president will meet on Tuesday at the White House with retired Marine General John Allen, who is in charge of coordinating the activities of a coalition expected to include some Western allies and a number of Arab states. A senior U.S. official said some Arab states have agreed to join the United States in launching air strikes, but declined to identify them. (Reporting By Steve Holland; Editing by Bernard Orr) ========= Mon, Sep 15 19:43 PM EDT image 1 of 5 By Jason Szep and Mehrdad Balali PARIS/DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's supreme leader said on Monday he had personally rejected an offer from the United States for talks to fight Islamic State, an apparent blow to Washington's efforts to build a military coalition to fight militants in both Iraq and Syria. World powers meeting in Paris on Monday gave public backing to military action to fight Islamic State fighters in Iraq. France sent jets on a reconnaissance mission to Iraq, a step toward becoming the first ally to join the U.S.-led air campaign there. But Iran, the principal ally of Islamic State's main foes in both Iraq and Syria, was not invited to the Paris meeting. The countries that did attend - while supporting action in Iraq - made no mention at all of Syria, where U.S. diplomats face a far tougher task building an alliance for action. Washington has been trying to build a coalition to fight Islamic State since last week when President Barack Obama pledged to destroy the militant group on both sides of the Iraqi-Syrian border. That means plunging into two civil wars in which nearly every country in the Middle East already has a stake. And it also puts Washington on the same side as Tehran, its bitter enemy since the Islamic revolution of 1979. In a rare direct intervention into diplomacy, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Washington had reached out through the Iranian embassy in Baghdad, requesting a meeting to discuss cooperation against Islamic State. "I saw no point in cooperating with a country whose hands are dirty and intentions murky," the Iranian leader said in quotes carried on state news agency IRNA. He accused Washington of "lying" by saying it had excluded Iran from its coalition, saying it was Iran that had refused to participate. Khamenei said that some Iranian officials had welcomed the contacts, but he had personally vetoed them. Khamenei's intervention, including his statement that some Iranian officials welcomed the U.S. overture, was a rare public acknowledgment of division but also a reminder that powerful interests in Iran oppose a wider thaw. "HANDS ARE DIRTY" U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Washington was "not cooperating with Iran", but declined to be drawn on whether it had reached out through the embassy in Baghdad for talks. "I am not going to get into a back and forth," he said. "I don't think that's constructive, frankly." Islamic State fighters set off alarms across the Middle East since June when they swept across northern Iraq, seizing cities, slaughtering prisoners, proclaiming a caliphate to rule over all Muslims and ordering non-Sunnis to convert or die. IS fighters, known for beheading their enemies or captives, raised the stakes for the West by cutting off the heads of two Americans and a Briton in videos posted on the Internet which showed the prisoners bound in orange jumpsuits. French officials said they had hoped to invite Iran to Monday's conference but Arab countries had blocked the move. "We wanted a consensus among countries over Iran's attendance, but in the end it was more important to have certain Arab states than Iran," a French diplomat said. "This conference was like a mass. A big gathering where we listen to each other, but it's not where miracles happen," said another French diplomat. "It was a strong political message of support for Iraq and now we prepare to fight." Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said French aircraft would begin reconnaissance flights over Iraq. A French official said two Rafale fighters and a refueling aircraft had set off. "The throat-slitters of Daesh - that's what I'm calling them - tell the whole world 'Either you're with us or we kill you'. When one is faced with such a group there is no other attitude than to defend yourself," Fabius said at the end of the talks. Calling the decision regrettable, Iraq's Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said Baghdad had wanted Iran to attend. Iran sponsors the governments of both Iraq and Syria and has been at the center of defenses against Islamic State in both countries. The United States reached out to Iran last year when secret talks led to a preliminary deal on nuclear issues. Iran has occasionally played down its conflicts with the West since President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate, was elected last year. "THROAT-SLITTERS" At Monday's international conference in Paris, the five U.N. Security Council permanent members, Turkey, European and Arab states and representatives of the EU, Arab League and United Nations all pledged to help Baghdad fight Islamic State. "All participants underscored the urgent need to remove Daesh from the regions in which it has established itself in Iraq," said a statement after the talks. Daesh is an Arabic acronym for the group which now calls itself Islamic State. "To that end, they committed to supporting the new Iraqi Government in its fight against Daesh, by any means necessary, including appropriate military assistance...." it said. Several Western and Arab officials said no concrete commitments were made and that talks on the different roles of those in the coalition would take place bilaterally and over the next 10 days at the United Nations General Assembly. Iraqi President Fouad Massoum told Monday's conference he hoped the Paris meeting would bring a "quick response". "Islamic State's doctrine is either you support us or kill us‎. It has committed massacres and genocidal crimes and ethnic purification," he told delegates. VOTE OF CONFIDENCE Monday's conference was an important vote of confidence for the new Iraqi government formed last week, led by a member of Iraq's Shi'ite majority, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, and also including minority Sunnis and Kurds in important jobs. Iraq's allies hope Abadi will prove a more consensual leader than his predecessor Nuri al-Maliki, a Shi'ite whose policies alienated many Sunnis, and that the new government will win back support from Sunnis who had backed the Islamic State's revolt. The broad international goodwill toward Abadi shown at Monday's conference means Washington will probably face little diplomatic push back over plans for air strikes in Iraq. Syria, however, is a much trickier case. In a three-year civil war, Islamic State has emerged as one of the most powerful Sunni groups battling against the government of President Bashar al-Assad, a member of a Shi'ite-derived sect. Washington and its allies remain hostile to Assad, which means any bombing is likely to take place without permission of the Damascus government. Russia, which backs Assad, says bombing would be illegal without a resolution at the U.N. Security Council, where it has a veto. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters in Paris that Moscow was already providing military assistance to both Iraq and Syria, suggesting Western countries were guilty of a double standard by helping Assad's foes. "Terrorists can't be good or bad. We must be consistent and not involve our personal political projects, not prioritize them over the general goal of fighting terrorism." The United States resumed air strikes in Iraq in August for the first time since the 2011 withdrawal of U.S. troops. Obama's plans, announced last week, involve stronger military action in Iraq and extending the campaign to Syria. U.S. officials said several Arab countries had offered to join air strikes against Islamic State, but declined to name them. Ten Arab states committed last week to a military coalition without specifying what action they would take. Britain, Washington's main ally when it invaded Iraq in 2003, has yet to confirm it will take part in air strikes, despite the killing of British aid worker David Haines by Islamic State fighters this past week. France has said it is ready to take part in bombing missions in Iraq but is so far wary of action in Syria. (Additional reporting by John Irish, Marine Pennetier, Alexandria Sage and Nicholas Vinocur,; Writing by Peter Graff; Editing by Peter Millership) ========== Shiite Militias Pose Challenge for U.S. in Iraq By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICKSEPT. 16, 2014 Photo Fighters with Asaib Ahl al-Haq, a Shiite militia, and Kurdish pesh merga forces on patrol earlier this month in Tikrit, Iraq. Credit Youssef Boudlal/Reuters BAGHDAD — Militia justice is simple, the fighters explained. “We break into an area and kill the ones who are threatening people,” said one 18-year-old fighter with Asaib Ahl al-Haq, a Shiite militia that operates as a vigilante force around Baghdad. Another 18-year-old fighter agreed. “We receive orders and carry out attacks immediately,” he said, insisting that their militia commanders had been given authority by Iraqi security officials. That free hand has helped make Asaib Ahl al-Haq the largest and most formidable of the Iranian-backed Shiite militias that now dominate Baghdad. Once a leading killer of American troops, the militia is spearheading the fight against the Sunni extremists of the Islamic State, also known by the acronyms ISIS and ISIL. That means Asaib Ahl al-Haq and the United States military are now fighting on the same side, though each insists they will not work together. U.S. General Open to Ground Forces in Fight Against ISIS in Iraq SEPT. 16, 2014 Syrian Plane Shot Down as Attacks by Groups Intensify SEPT. 16, 2014 Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, chairman of a United Nations panel investigating human rights abuses in Syria. U.N. Investigators Cite Atrocities in SyriaSEPT. 16, 2014 But the power and autonomy of Asaib Ahl al-Haq and other Shiite militias also pose a central challenge to the creation of a more just and less sectarian Iraqi government. President Obama has said that the new American military offensive depends on such an inclusive Iraqi government, to undercut the appeal of the Sunni extremists and avoid American entanglement in a sectarian war. How ISIS Works With oil revenues, arms and organization, the jihadist group controls vast stretches of Syria and Iraq and aspires to statehood. Even while many Iraqi Shiites view the militias as their protectors, many in the Sunni minority say they fear the groups as agents of Iran, empowered by the Baghdad government to kill with impunity. After a decade of support from Iran and a new flood of recruits amid the Islamic State crisis, the Shiite militias are also now arguably more powerful than the Iraqi security forces, many here say, limiting the ability of any new government to rein them in.

“The militias have even bigger role now that they are said to be fighting ISIS” said Alla Maki, a Sunni lawmaker. “Who will control them? We have no real Iraqi Army. Under former Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, Asaib Ahl al-Haq was “encouraged to do dirty jobs like killing Sunnis, and they were allowed to operate freely,” Mr. Maki said. “Now the international community are all being inspired by the removal of Maliki personally, but the policy is still going on.”

The Asaib Ahl al-Haq fighters and the group’s official spokesman insisted that their vigilante attacks protect all Iraqis, Sunnis as well as Shiites. “We have been able to track the sleeper cells of ISIS and secure almost all of Baghdad — about 80 percent,” said Naeem al-Aboudi, a spokesman for Asaib Ahl al-Haq, in a gleaming, leather-paneled conference room at its heavily fortified headquarters in an elite neighborhood of the capital. In the current fight, he added, “the most dangerous areas in Iraq were assigned to Asaib Ahl al-Haq to lead the battle, because of the capability and professionalism of our fighters.” Asaib Ahl al-Haq was closely linked with Mr. Maliki, but Mr. Aboudi said it now sees itself as a “loyal opposition” to the new prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, charged with assembling that more inclusive government. For starters, Mr. Aboudi said, Asaib Ahl al-Haq and the other large Shiite militias are negotiating with Mr. Abadi over the choices for defense and interior ministers. On Tuesday, the opposition of the Shiite militias helped block a parliamentary vote on those nominees. Asked about complaints of discrimination and police abuse against Sunnis under the previous government, Mr. Aboudi said the whole question was backward: “I think Shiites are the real marginalized and persecuted community in Iraq. We have more problems as Shiites than the Sunnis, even though the election showed we are the majority.” So far, though, there is no sign of any official attempts to investigate even the most publicized allegations of extrajudicial killings of Sunnis by Asaib Ahl al-Haq. At the end of July, a report from the research and advocacy group Human Rights Watch said it had documented the killings of 109 Sunni men — 48 in March and April, and 61 between June 1 and July 9 — in the villages and towns around Baghdad. Witnesses, medical personnel and government officials blamed Shiite militias for all of them, and “in many cases witnesses identified the militia as Asaib Ahl al-Haq,” the report said. In one case, Human Rights Watch wrote, a man kidnapped by fighters who identified themselves as members of Asaib Ahl al-Haq was later released because he convinced them that he was a Shiite, not a Sunni. Photo Members of the Iraqi Shiite militia Kata’ib Hezbollah patrolling at the outskirts of Hibhib in northern Iraq last month. The militia is one of several supported by the Iranian government. Credit European Pressphoto Agency Human Rights Watch quoted a doctor in the Health Ministry: “Sunnis are a minority in Baghdad, but they’re the majority in our morgue.” But victims and witnesses said the security forces “seemed too scared of the militias” to act or investigate, said Erin Evers, the group’s researcher in Baghdad. A spokesman for the Iraqi Interior Ministry said it saw no pattern of sectarian killings, suggesting that ordinary crime was wrongly attributed to sectarianism when the victims were Sunnis. The spokesman, Saad Maan, denied that Asaib Ahl al-Haq or other militias were formally allowed to operate freely in Baghdad, although he acknowledged that to defend against the Islamic State the government had called on the Shiite militias to form a new volunteer force. “

There are bad people in each group,” including Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Mr. Maan said. But he vowed that the situation would improve as Iraq strengthened its own police forces, especially with the new international support for the new prime minister, Mr. Abadi. “I think this is a turning point for Iraq,” Mr. Maan said.

Asaib Ahl al-Haq, usually translated as League of the Righteous, is considered the most formidable of Iraq’s three large Iranian-backed militias. The second is Kata’ib Hezbollah, which shares the Iranian patronage and ideology of the Lebanese group of the same name, but has no other known links to it. The third is the Badr Corps, led by Hadi al-Ameri, a lawmaker in the governing coalition who served as minister of transportation in Mr. Maliki’s government. Asaib Ahl al-Haq was created about 10 years ago, in the years after the American invasion, when its leader, Sheikh Qais al-Khazali, broke away from the forces loyal to the prominent Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr. United States officials blame Asaib Ahl al-Haq for a long series of deadly attacks on American forces during their occupation of Iraq. In 2007, Sheikh Khazali led an attack in Falluja that killed five United States Marines, American officials say. He was captured and held for three years by American forces, then released in 2010. He was ultimately transferred to the Iraqi government and then released at the same time as his group released a British computer expert it had held hostage. But Iraqi and American officials denied any prisoner exchange. The group’s attacks continued even as the occupation was ending: In June 2011, for instance, Asaib Ahl al-Haq and other Iranian-backed militias killed 13 American soldiers in rocket attacks on their bases, and that November an Asaib Ahl al-Haq roadside bomb killed the last American to die before the withdrawal. But by January 2012, virtually as soon as the Americans were gone, Mr. Maliki had invited the group back into Iraqi politics as a counterbalance to the influence of other powerful Shiite militias. Many of the group’s leaders were soon reported to be returning from exile in Iran. Asaib Ahl al-Haq came to be known as the armed support for Mr. Maliki’s Shiite political faction. The group’s spokesman declined to disclose its size, but Asaib Ahl al-Haq’s numbers swelled vastly earlier this year when a prominent cleric urged Shiites to take up arms against the invading Sunni fighters. The group has been the leading force in critical fights like the recent battle for the town of Amerli, raising eyebrows among some American military personnel about the prospect of partnering with such enemies to fight the Islamic State. Underscoring the tensions in the de facto alliance, the Kata’ib Hezbollah militia said Monday that it would leave the battlefield if American troops join in the ground fight — an action that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Tuesday was a remote but real possibility as more American advisers became involved in Iraq. Continue reading the main story 3 Comments “We will not fight alongside the American troops under any kind of conditions whatsoever,” the militia said in a statement on its website, adding that its only contact with the Americans would be “if we fight each other.” Mr. Aboudi of Asaib Ahl al-Haq said his militia could accept American airstrikes or military attacks against specific targets, “under the supervision of the Iraqis.” But he does not trust the Americans either, he said, arguing that Washington’s ultimate goal was to divide Iraq and thus increase Israel’s relative strength. “America has been intervening in most of the Arab countries of the region,” he said, “and it never brings stability.”