Spying row German Chancellor warns the US

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned the US that there is no spying among friends. Chancellor Merkel gave her tough rebuke as she arrived at the EU summit in russels and her message about America!s "ational Security Agency was clear. Chancellor Merkel has demanded a complete e#planation of claims that her mobile phone was tapped by US intelligence agents. $resident %bama has assured Mrs Merkel that the US was not monitoring her calls but it raises the &uestion of whether her calls have been spied on in the past. %n Monday' (rance summoned the US ambassador over reports in )e Monde newspaper that the "SA had spied on millions of (rench phone calls. A day later' )e Monde reported that the "SA had spied on (rench diplomats in *ashington and at the U". +Euro"ews' ,-../.,/.01

European Parliament votes to suspend its SWIFT data e change agreement with the US
2he European $arliament has voted to suspend its S*3(2 data e#change agreement with the US. 2hey!ve called for US access to the S*3(2 database to be halted following concerns that the US is spying on the EU' and not simply trying to combat terrorism. EU lawmakers suspect that the US has abused an agreement giving it limited access to S*3(2. As such' they voted to free4e *ashington!s capacity to track international payments through the site. 2he worry comes after leaked American documents indicating the US was covertly tapping into S*3(2 were aired on ra4ilian television. 2he US denies any wrongdoing. Although the vote is not conclusive' it does reflect public anger at recent reports that US security agency the "SA is spying on European citi4ens. 2he European Commission said it was 5still waiting for additional written assurances6 that the US is respecting its agreement with the EU. +Euro"ews' ,0../.,/.01

Schul! cere SUSPE"#$%E$ negocierilor UE&SU$ privind acordul de li'er&schim' din cau!a spiona(ului
Pre)edintele Parlamentului European* +artin Schul!* cere* cu oca!ia summitului Consiliului European* suspendarea negocierilor ,ntre UE )i SU$ pentru acordul de li'er&schim'* ,n conte tul acu!a-iilor privind spiona(ul practicat de serviciile secrete americane. 7Cred c8 trebuie s8 suspend8m acum negocierile7 pe tema acordului de liber9schimb' a declarat' conform agen:iei A"SA' Martin Schul4 la ;nceperea reuniunii Consiliului European. 7E#ist8 anumite standarde <i criterii care trebuie respectate' altfel nu are sens s8 mai discut8m unii cu al:ii7' a ad8ugat Schult4.

Summitul Consiliului European a ;nceput =oi' la ru#elles' fiind dominat de scandalul declan<at de amploarea activit8:ilor de spiona= ale serviciilor secrete americane. +Mediafa#' ,-../.,/.01

/ohn 0erry1 there is no military solution 2or Syria

2he US secretary of state' >ohn ?erry' says the Syrian civil war @will not come to an end on the battlefield.@ Speaking after a meeting of .. nations in )ondon' ?erry also says removing chemical weapons from the country does not remove the crisis. 3nternational leaders are urging Syria@s moderate opposition to =oin Geneva 33 peace talks. +2he Guardian' ,,../.,/.01

3'ama pic4s new US homeland security chie2

$resident arack %bama has presented the man he has picked as the ne#t head of US homeland security. 3f confirmed by the Senate' >eh >ohnson will succeed >anet "apolitano at the helm of the huge agency in charge of securing the nation!s borders. 2he former top lawyer at the $entagon' now a partner in a law firm' didn!t hesitate to accept the nomination. 5*hen 3 received the call' 3 could not refuse it.6 >ohnson told reporters at the *hite Aouse. 53 am a "ew Borker and 3 was present in Manhattan on CD..' which happens to be my birthday' when that bright and beautiful day was E a day something like this E was shattered by the largest terrorist attack on our homeland in history.6 Created in the wake of the events of September .. ,//.' the department also handles the nation!s responses to natural disasters like hurricanes' tornadoes and ma=or fires. +Euro"ews' .C../.,/.01

5End drone stri4es6* Pa4istan6s Prime +inister tells 3'ama

$akistan!s $rime Minister "awa4 Sharif was in *ashington to meet US $resident arack %bama for the first time since taking office. Amongst the discussions between the two leaders was the issue of drone strikes which has strained relations between the two countries. 5$akistan and the United States have a strong ongoing counter9terrorism cooperation'6 noted Mr Sharif continuing' 5we have agreed to further strengthen this cooperation. 3 also brought up the issue of drones in our meeting' emphasi4ing the need for an end to such strikes.6 $resident %bama noted that tensions e#isted between the two countries' but hoped they could work out their differences. 53!m optimistic we can continue to make important strides in moving forward because both the $akistani people and the American people have suffered terribly from terrorism in the past.6

3n an effort to bolster relations' %bama has called on Congress to release ... billion euros in aid for $akistan. Aowever' the use of armed drones to target terrorist suspects on $akistani soil continues to plague the leaders' as accusations fly over deaths of civilians breaking international law.

US de2ends drone stri4es amid accusations they violate international law

2he US has defended itself against accusations it has violated international law through drone strikes in $akistan and Bemen. Amnesty 3nternational allege the drone strikes resulted in the unlawful killing of civilians and' in some cases' 5appear to be war crimes6. >ay Carney' spokesman for the *hite Aouse' has strongly denied the accusations. Ae saidF 52o the e#tent these reports claim that the US has acted contrary to international law' we would strongly disagree. 52he administration has repeatedly emphasised the e#traordinary care that we take to make sure counter9terrorism actions are in accordance with all applicable law. 5US counter9terrorism operations are precise' they are lawful' and they are effective' and the United States does not take lethal strikes when we or our partners have the ability to capture individual terrorists.6 3mages shown around the world suggest that' although terrorists are being targeted' the drone strikes are also causing civilian casualties' provoking strong reactions from human rights groupsF 5*e find two clear cases of violations of the laws of war' violations' but not reaching the level of war crimes' which is a different category'6 said )etta 2ayler' senior counter9terrorism researcher at Auman Gights *atch. 5*e also find strong evidence in the other four cases we e#amined of violations of the laws of war' but we!re not calling them.. we!re not .// percent sure' precisely because the %bama administration will not give us access to the additional information'6 2ayler added. 2he strikes have also caused outrage in $akistan' where many argue they cause indiscriminate deaths and in=uries. Speaking from the US' $akistani prime minister "awa4 Sharif labelled the attacks a 5ma=or irritant6 in relations with *ashington' and said they violated $akistan!s sovereignty.

US drone stri4es could 'e classed as war crimes* says $mnesty International
>oint report with Auman Gights *atch =udges US attacks in Bemen and $akistan to have broken international human rights law

US officials responsible for the secret C3A drone campaign against suspected terrorists in $akistan may have committed war crimes and should stand trial' a report by a leading human rights group warns. Amnesty 3nternational has highlighted the case of a grandmother who was killed while she was picking vegetables and other incidents which could have broken international laws designed to protect civilians. 2he report is issued in con=unction with an investigation by Auman Gights *atch detailing missile attacks in Bemen which the group believes could contravene the laws of armed conflict' international human rights law and arack %bama@s own guidelines on drones. Getting to the bottom of individual strikes is e#ceptionally difficult in the restive areas bordering Afghanistan' where thousands of militants have settled. $eople are often terrified of speaking out' fearing retribution from both militants and the state' which is widely suspected of colluding with the C3A9led campaign. 2here is also a risk of militants attempting to skew outside research by forcing interviewees into 7providing false or inaccurate information7' the report said. ut Amnesty mounted a ma=or effort to investigate nine of the many attacks to have struck the region over the last .H months' including one that killed .H labourers in "orth *a4iristan as they waited to eat dinner in an area of heavy 2aliban influence in >uly ,/.,. All those interviewed by Amnesty strongly denied any of the men had been involved in militancy. Even if they were members of a banned group' that would not be enough to =ustify killing them' the report said. Amnesty said it accepts some US drone strikes may not violate the law' 7but it is impossible to reach any firm assessment without a full disclosure of the facts surrounding individual attacks and their legal basis. 2he USA appears to be e#ploiting the lawless and remote nature of the region to evade accountability for its violations'7 it said. 3n Bemen' another country where US drones are active' Auman Gights *atch highlighted si# incidents' two of which were a 7clear violation of international humanitarian law7. 2he remaining four may have broken the laws of armed conflict because the targets were illegitimate or because not enough was done to minimise civilian harm' the report said. +2he Guardian' ,,../.,/.01

Gasoline 2utures tum'le to 789: low* helping pump prices

Gasoline prices are falling fast as oil prices plummet. G % gasoline futures 9 which are traded on the "ew Bork Mercantile E#change 9 plunged to I,.JK a gallon *ednesday morning' the lowest price since "ovember ,/.,. Gasoline futures' which have slid J percent in the past week alone' have an even greater impact on prices at the pump than crude oil prices. 73t@s fourth &uarter demand. 2here@s always less demand for gasoline at the end of the year and that@s what you@re seeing. $lus there@s plenty of supply of gasoline 99 and oil'7 said trader Anthony Grisanti of G%; Energy and a C" C contributor. +C" C' ,0../.,/.01

F<I stirs up another spy scandal with %ussia

Ma=or U.S. media' including the electronic version of The Washington Post' published the information about the involvement of the head of the Gussian Scientific and Cultural Center in *ashington' Buri Laitsev' in the creation of a secret network of agents.

According to =ournalists' who refer to the ( 3' the head of the Gussian Cooperation in *ashington was engaged in the recruitment of American citi4ens. US9based publications wrote that they got hold of the cables between ( 3 agents and the Americans' who came into contact with Laitsev and made trips to Gussia at the invitation of the Gussian Cooperation. %ne of the witnesses &uestioned' ,K9year9old Gichard $ortwood' directly stated that he considered Laitsev a spy. 3n response to such publications' the Gussian Embassy in *ashington vehemently denied the allegations' calling them 7 an echo of the Cold *ar.7 2hese publications try to 7torpedo the efforts of the presidents of Gussia and the U.S. aimed to e#pand direct communication of Gussian and American citi4ens and strengthen mutual understanding and trust' which would bring the bilateral relations to a new level'7 embassy spokesman Bevgeny ?horishko said. An official representative of the ( 3 refused to either confirm or deny the media reports about suspicions against the Gussian official. +$ravda' ,-../.,/.01