Spying scandal sends US influence on Latin America into nosedive

America for the Americans - this is a cornerstone of United States’ foreign policy. That doctrine, introduced 190 years ago by President James Monroe, means this: foreigners keep out of the US’ backyard. For decades it US foreign policy also sat well with the elites in Latin America. They even promoted generals to dictators if the men in uniform loved Washington enough. Well, those days are long gone.

Unlike Europeans, who complicitly give a wink and a nudge to the US in the mass surveillance scandal, Latin America is angry. In a drastic move, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, a moderate, decided to call off a State visit to Washington. Leftists in the region are now more aggressive and right-wingers have been pressured to speak out. American experts may insist their focus is on Syria, but the backyard is rising in revolt. The National Security Agency (NSA) scandals have made it impossible for regional leaders to keep quiet without looking weak.

Brazil’s snub has the biggest implications. The decision was taken after Ms Rousseff discovered her personal communications were being spied on. Every South American leader called to support her, including Colombia’s Juan Manuel Santos, the only close ally Barack Obama has left in the region. She promised to attack mass surveillance at the United Nations. Boeing is now likely to lose a US$4 billion deal on fighter jets. 

At least 39 killed, over 150 injured in Nairobi shopping mall attack

At least 39 people were killed and over 150 others wounded, including foreigners, after gunmen stormed an upscale mall in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, the country’s president said.

President Uhuru Kenyatta said the attack sought to intimidate and divide the nation, but stated that the "terrorists" will be defeated, according to Reuters. The president added that he lost "very close family members" in the mall shooting, Reuters reported.

"The despicable perpetrators of this cowardly act hoped to intimidate, divide and cause despondency amongst Kenyans," Kenyatta said in a televised address to the nation. "We have overcome terrorist attacks before. We will defeat them again."

The operation to recover all the hostages and secure control of Nairobi’s Westgate mall is still continuing, more than 12 hours after the attack began, according to Kenyan security officials.

source rt.com

General killed as Egyptian forces raid pro-Morsi town

An Egyptian police general has been killed during a raid by security forces on the Muslim Brotherhood stronghold of Kerdasa, near the capital Cairo, security forces fought gun battles in the town as they searched for the killers of 11 police officers in the town last month. 

At least 55 suspected militants were arrested, police say.

Kerdasa is the second big raid on a militant stronghold since the overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi in July.

On Monday, security forces arrested dozens of residents during a raid on pro-Morsi supporters in the town of Delga, Minya province, about 300km south of Cairo.

In Kerdasa, General Nabeel Farrag was killed when gunmen opened fire from the rooftops of several schools and mosques they had taken over, the interior ministry was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.

source bbc

Yemen violence: Twin attacks on army 'kill 40'

Two car bombs reportedly exploded at a camp in Shabwa province, killing about 30 soldiers and wounding many others.

In a second assault in the area, gunmen shot dead another 10 soldiers in the town of Maifaa,the government is battling al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which frequently targets the military.

In the past year, a major army offensive backed by US drone strikes has forced AQAP and affiliated militant groups out of towns in the south that they seized during the political chaos triggered by the Arab Spring.

BBC Arab affairs analyst Sebastian Usher says the Shabwa attacks, if they were carried out by AQAP, show what they are still capable of, despite having lost a number of their key members to drone strikes.

source bbc

Syria’s opposition risks losing West’s support

A senior opposition official said Washington’s absence at a major opposition meeting in Istanbul this weekend did not go unnoticed: “The Americans did not even bother to send a single diplomat to inform us what they were doing with the Russians.”

Yet diplomats monitoring the meeting said the opposition’s intransigence on adjusting to changing diplomatic priorities could create a rift with the United States. Russian President Putin said on Thursday he hopes the deal will succeed, although it remains unclear how Washington and Moscow will destroy Syria’s chemical arms stockpile. Secretary of State John Kerry says he hopes to see the Security Council act on the plan next week, when the U.N. General Assembly takes place in New York 

source reuters.com

Venezuela’s Maduro granted permission to fly over US after scandal

President Maduro is due to arrive in Beijing this weekend for bilateral talks with the Chinese government. Jaua was adamant that the Venezuelan leader would reach his destination, regardless of any perceived interference.

The incident is the latest diplomatic spat to take place between the United States and Venezuela, who have clashed regularly since Maduro took office in April. 

In July, the Venezuelan president announced that his government was halting attempts to improve relations with the US. The move was in response to comments made by the newly appointed US Ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, who told a Senate committee that her new role would include challenging the “crackdown on civil society” abroad, including in Venezuela.  

source rt.com