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EU parliament votes on protection offer to Snowden

In a remarkable move,EU lawmakers on Thursday called on the bloc,s 28 member states to grant protection to US intelligence whistle -blower Edward Snowden ,grant him protection and consequently prevent extradition or rendition by third parties, in recognition of his status as whistle-blower and international human rights defender" after he blew the lid on the US government mass surveillance programmes. MEPS also noted" recent laws in some member states that extend surveillance capabilities of intelligence bodies, citing the case of Britain,France and the Netherlands. Snowden hailed the EP vote urging EU member states to take him in and offer protection as an "extraordinary" gesture of support.In a tweet,Snowden said the vote was "extraordinary ". This is not a blow against the US government  but an open hand extended by friends. It is a chance to move forward ," he said in a second tweeted massage.
Snowden has been living in exile in Russia since June 2013 and faces US charges of espionage and theft of state property which could put him in Jail for 30 years.He says he was doing his duty as a citizen by informing others about the surveillance programmes which scooped up massive amounts of personal data in the name of national security.Earlier this month, he hailed the top EU court,s decision to strike down a transatlantic data deal used by companies like Facebook to send citizen,s personal data to the US.
The European Court of Justice said the "Safe Harbor" accord between the United States and the European 
Commission was invalid because it did not guarantee protection of European,s personal data.
In the resolution, lawmaker called on the European Commission to ensure that all data transfers to the United States should have an "effective level of protection that is essentially equivalent to the guaranteed in the EU ".
They said to little has beem done to safe guard citizen,s fundamental rights following Snowden revelations, which shocked many EU States,especially Germany after they showed that US intelligence had even eavesdropped on German Chancellor Angela Markel when she used her mobile phone.

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Iran backs six-month Syria 'transition' at Vienna peace talks

Iran signaled on Friday it backed a six-month transition period in Syria followed by elections to decide Bashar al-Assad's fate, a proposal floated at peace talks as a concession but which the president's foes rejected as a trick to keep him in power.

Sources who described the Iranian proposal said it amounted to Assad's closest ally dropping its insistence on him remaining in office.

But Assad's enemies say a new election would keep him in power unless other steps were taken to remove him. His government held an election as recently as last year, which he easily won. His opponents have always rejected any proposal for a transition unless he is removed.

Iranian officials attended international peace talks on Syria for the first time on Friday in Vienna, a month after the balance of power in the 4-year-old civil war shifted in Assad's favor with Russia launching air strikes against his foes.

Iran appears to be adjusting its stance in ways that could create more ground for compromise with Western countries that are coming to accept Assad cannot be driven from power by force.

"Iran does not insist on keeping Assad in power forever," Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian, a member of Tehran's delegation at the Syria talks on Friday, was quoted by Iranian media as saying.

A senior official from the Middle East familiar with the Iranian position said that could go as far as ending support for Assad after the transition period.

"Talks are all about compromises and Iran is ready to make a compromise by accepting Assad remaining for six months," the official told Reuters. "Of course, it will be up to the Syrian people to decide about the country's fate."

Syrian opposition figures, already bristling from having been excluded from Friday's talks about the fate of their country, dismissed the reported Iranian proposal as a ruse.

"Who is mad enough to believe that under these circumstances in Syria, anybody can hold elections?" said George Sabra, a member of the Western-backed political opposition, the exiled Syrian National Coalition, told Reuters. "Bashar al-Assad and his regime is the root of the terrorism in Syria."

They say any fair vote is impossible in wartime conditions in which nearly half of the country is displaced.

"In the shadow of this anarchy there will not be real elections, therefore we reject them absolutely," said Ahmed al-Seoud, a fighter in the rebel 13th Division which has been fighting in the western Hama province

Abu Ghaith al-Shami, a spokesman for the rebel Alwiyat Seif al-Sham group which is fighting in the south, said Assad's participation in an election was unthinkable: "The fate of Assad and all criminals should be in court following the massacres committed by him and those with him, towards the Syrian people."

NEW UNDERTAKING

Nevertheless, a commitment from Iran to a defined time limit for a transition could be viewed as a significant new undertaking, potentially forming a basis for future diplomacy at a time when Assad's position has been strengthened by Russia's decision to join the war on his side.

A senior U.S. official and other delegates said a new round of Syria peace talks could be held as soon as next week.

All previous efforts to find a diplomatic solution to Syria's civil war have collapsed over the insistence of the United States, European powers, Arab states and Turkey that Assad agree to leave power.

In the past, Iranian delegations were excluded for refusing to sign up to U.N.-backed proposals that called for a transition of power in Damascus. Tehran has long said it was not committed to Assad as an individual, but that it was up to Syrians to decide his fate, a position that amounted to an endorsement of election results that confirmed him in office.

Russia's participation in the conflict on Assad's behalf creates a new incentive for a diplomatic push to end a war that has killed more than 250,000 people and driven more than 10 million people from their homes. Western countries that have called for Assad's removal from power appear to have accepted that he cannot be forced out on the battlefield.

In the latest violence from the battlefield, a local rescue group operating in rebel-held areas said more than 45 people were killed by a government missile strike on a marketplace in a town near Damascus.

The group, Syrian Civil Defence, posted a picture on its Facebook page of about a dozen bloodied bodies laid on the ground. It linked to a video showing people tending to survivors in a chaotic scene of blackened rubble and fire.

"Utterly heinous that while world leaders meet for peace in Vienna, attack(s) against civilians continue in Syria," the group said on Twitter.

HOPE FOR COMPROMISE

The United States has said it is looking for signs of compromise from Tehran and Moscow at Friday's conference, defending its decision to talk directly to Iran about the Syrian conflict for the first time.

The conference will also be attended by European powers, Turkey and Iran's arch enemy in the region, Saudi Arabia.

"I am hopeful that we can find a way forward," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters shortly before the meeting began on Friday morning. "It is very difficult."

Iranian and Russian officials have repeatedly said the priority for Syria should be the defeat of Islamic State militants, who have seized large areas of Syria and Iraq.

The divide between Assad's allies and Western and Arab nations seeking his ouster has deepened since Moscow began air strikes against opposition forces in Syria a month ago.

Russia says it is bombing Islamic State, but most of its air strikes have hit other groups opposed to Assad, including many that are supported by Washington's allies.

The United States is leading its own bombing campaign against Islamic State, the world's most violent jihadist group, but says Assad's presence makes the situation worse. Washington has said it could tolerate Assad during a short transition period, but that he would then have to exit the political stage.

Assad's latest seven-year presidential term runs until 2021. He is believed to control a quarter or less of Syrian territory, but that includes the main cities of Western Syria which are home to the bulk of people still inside the country.

Assad's office said on Tuesday political initiatives could not work in Syria before terrorism had been wiped out, his long-held position.

Republican 2016 debate: Winners and losers in five key fights

 

There was a whiff of desperation in the air - along with the sizzle of political pyrotechnics - as Republican candidates took the stage for Wednesday night's presidential debate on cable news network CNBC

Fewer than 100 days remain until the first votes are cast in Iowa, and if one of the many candidates languishing in the polls is going to make a move, time is running out.

Although the debate stretched for more than two hours, its lasting importance can likely be distilled down to the outcome of five key confrontations - and who came out on top.

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John Kasich v Donald Trump and Ben Carson

Ohio Governor John Kasich - who recently expressed disgust with the state of the Republican race - was an early aggressor, taking thinly veiled shots at both Donald Trump and Ben Carson and their "fantasy" budget plans.

"Folks, we've got to wake up," he said. "We cannot elect somebody that doesn't know how to do the job."

The responses from the two front-running outsider candidates perfectly illustrated their different temperaments and campaign styles.

Carson had earlier said he would "not be engaging in awful things about my compatriots here" and stuck with it, ignoring the governor's jabs.

Trump, of course, shot back, noting the governor was going on the attack because his poll numbers have "tanked", resulting in his position on the end of the stage.

"He got nasty," Trump said. "So you know what? You can have him."

Winner: Trump won the battle, blunting Kasich's attack in his dismissive style, but Carson likely won the war. The retired neurosurgeon offered a third-straight somnambulant debate performance, which means he'll probably be the undisputed frontrunner when the next polls come out.

Marco Rubio v Jeb Bush

It was the Florida showdown everyone has been waiting for. After Rubio parried away a question about missing more than 60 Senate votes while campaigning for president, Bush went on the attack, likening the ease of Senate duties to a "French work week".

"Marco, when you signed up for this, this was a six-year term, and you should be showing up to work," he said. "You can campaign, or just resign and let someone else take the job."

Like a judo master, however, Rubio sent the assault back from whence it came.

The only reason Bush was coming after him, Rubio said, is because "we're running for the same position, and someone has convinced you that attacking me is going to help you."

After that blow, Rubio sought the high ground.

"My campaign is going to be about the future of America," he said. "It's not going to be about attacking anyone else on this stage. I will continue to have tremendous admiration and respect for Governor Bush."

In the very next question, Bush was asked to explain his sinking poll numbers and floundering campaign. It was a devastating few minutes for Bush and likely has more than a few major media outlets freshening up the former governor's political obituaries.

How hard do the French work?

Winner: Rubio, relentlessly on message throughout, won this exchange and likely had the best overall performance of the evening.

Ted Cruz v CNBC

If there was a clear kill shot on Wednesday night, it came when Ted Cruz turned on the CNBC debate moderators with unrestrained gusto.

"The questions that have been asked so far in this debate illustrate why the American people don't trust the media," he said.

"Donald Trump, are you a comic book villain? Ben Carson, can you do math? John Kasich, will you insult two people over here? Marco Rubio, why don't you resign? Jeb Bush, why have your numbers fallen? How about talking about the substantive issues?"

He added that nobody believed that any of the moderators have any intention of voting in a Republican primary.

Despite two obvious ironies - that Cruz gave that answer in response to a substantive question about the debt limit and one of the CNBC questioners is widely credited with inspiring the conservative grass-roots Tea Party movement - the audience erupted with the loudest cheers of the evening.

Winner: If Rubio wasn't the clear winner of the debate, it's only because Cruz offered an equally compelling performance. Other candidates would follow suit in media-bashing, but Cruz got there first - and with the most memorable lines.

Migrant crisis: Austria plans Slovenia border fence

Austria has said it is planning to construct a fence at the main border crossing used by migrants entering the country from Slovenia.

Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann said the move would not shut the border, but would allow better control of arrivals.

It came as Germany said it expected the number of deportations of failed asylum seekers to rise.

Meanwhile, three migrant boats have capsized between Turkey and the Greek islands.

 Austria and Germany, the two countries at the heart of Europe's refugee crisis, seem to be toughening their tone.

They appear to be trying to deter refugees from setting out on their journeys and to head off political critics at home, he adds.

The UN estimates more than 700,000 migrants have crossed to Europe by boat so far this year - mainly from war-ravaged Syria. The approach of winter has so far done little to slow the flow.

The latest moves came after Slovenia said it could erect a fence along its border with Croatia if an EU plan agreed on Sunday was not implemented. It follows suggestions from Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria that they might begin building their own barriers.

Some 85,000 refugees have poured into Slovenia in the last 10 days, after Hungary closed its border with Croatia.

On Sunday, 11 EU states and three non-EU countries agreed to set up reception centres with another 50,000 spaces in Balkan countries, and send 400 guards to assist Slovenia within a week. But EU members have previously been slow to deliver on pledges of such assistance.

"If the situation worsens and the Brussels action plan is not fulfilled, then Slovenia has several scenarios prepared, including the installation of a fence guarded by forces," said Slovenian Foreign Minister Karl Erjavec.

Hungary has already fenced off its border with Serbia and Croasuch a move would, in theory, mean sealing off that route entirely.