American abducted in Pakistan urges help

A 72-YEAR-OLD American development worker who was kidnapped in Pakistan by al-Qaeda more than two years ago has appealed to President Barack Obama in a video to negotiate his release, saying he feels "totally abandoned and forgotten".

The video of Warren Weinstein released on Thursday was the first since two videos released in September 2012.

Weinstein, the country director in Pakistan for J.E. Austin Associates, a US-based firm that advises a range of Pakistani business and government sectors, was abducted from his house in the eastern city of Lahore in August 2011.

In the video sent on Thursday to reporters in Pakistan including The Associated Press, Weinstein called on the US government to negotiate his release.

"Nine years ago I came to Pakistan to help my government, and I did so at a time when most Americans would not come here, and now when I need my government it seems that I have been totally abandoned and forgotten," Weinstein said during the 13-minute video.

"And so I again appeal to you to instruct your appropriate officials to negotiate my release."

It was impossible to tell how much Weinstein's statement, made under the duress of captivity, was scripted by his captors.

The video and an accompanying letter purported to be from Weinstein was emailed anonymously to reporters in Pakistan.

The video was labelled "As-Sahab," which is al-Qaeda's media wing, but its authenticity could not be independently verified. The letter was dated October 3, 2013 and in the video Weinstein said he had been in captivity for two years.

In the video, Weinstein wore a grey track suit jacket and what appeared to be a black knit hat on his head. His face was partially covered with a beard.

Al-Qaeda has said Weinstein would be released if the US halted airstrikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen and also demanded the release of all al-Qaeda and Taliban suspects around the world.

The White House has called for Weinstein's immediate release but has said it won't negotiate with al-Qaeda.

The videos last year showed Weinstein appealing for help from the Jewish community and Israel's prime minister.

Ekleyen HayalPrensesi on 08:10 in foreign news, Pakistan, USA

Turkish PM Erdogan Threatens to Expel Foreign Ambassadors

In veiled threat to US ambassador, embattled Turkish Prime Minister reacts to growing corruption scandal by threatening diplomats.




Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan haas threatened to expel foreign ambassadors over "provocative actions," as his government faces unprecedented pressure over a major corruption scandal.

"Some ambassadors are engaged in provocative actions ... Do your job," Erdogan said in televised remarks Saturday. "We don't have to keep you in our country."

The harsh words are being seen as a veiled threat to US Ambassador Francis Ricciardone, who reportedly told European Union envoys that Washington warned state-owned Halkbank to cut its ties with sanctions-hit Iran.

"We asked Halkbank to cut its links with Iran. They did not listen to us. You are watching the collapse of an empire," Ricciardone is reported to have said, according to numerous Turkish media outlets.

But the American Ambassador has since dismissed the reports as "baseless", in a Turkish-language message on his official Twitter account.

"Nobody should put US-Turkish relations into jeopardy through baseless allegations," he said.

Halkbank has been criticized before in the US over claims it illegally breaching international sanctions imposed on Iran due to the Islamic Republic's nuclear program, but the bank has denied the claims. Its chiefexecutive was recently arrested as part of a wide-reaching corruption scandal that has rocked the Islamist AKP government, in power since 2002.

Suleyman Aslan was arrested along with a number of other high-profile figures Saturday , including the sons of a number of cabinet ministers. He is accused of taking bribes, according to the Hurriyet newspaper. Police also seized $4.5 million in cash at his home, according to Turkish media reports.

Erdogan went on to claim the arrests were part of a conspiracy to undermine his rule.

"There are extremely dirty alliances in this set-up, dark alliances that can't tolerate the new Turkey, the big Turkey. Turkey has never been subjected to such an immoral attack.

"This is an operation ordered by some international groups, and their subcontractors within Turkey are carrying it out, as a step taken against the government. We will not bow down to it," he continued.

This is not the first time the Turkish PM has reacted to domestic crises by blaming foreign conspiracies.

During last summer's Gezi Park protests, Erdogan and other government ministers lashed out at those behind the demonstrations, claiming they were part of a "foreign conspiracy" led by Israel.

Ekleyen HayalPrensesi on 14:31 in foreign news, İsrael, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, USA

Turkeys' lives spared: Obama pardons Thanksgiving birds

President Obama continued the annual tradition of pardoning the official White House Thanksgiving turkey at a windy and chilly ceremony in the Rose Garden Wednesday, thanking Popcorn – the National Thanksgiving Turkey winner, chosen by voters on Facebook and Twitter - and Caramel, the runner-up, for their service."Generally, Thanksgiving is a bad day to be a turkey, especially at a house with two dogs," Mr. Obama said, flanked by his daughters Malia and Sasha.

He announced Popcorn as the winner of a competition - "quite literally, the 'Hunger Games,'" as he described it - to be the lucky pardoned turkey.  Popcorn's victory proved "that a turkey with a funny name can have a future in politics," Mr. Obama added, poking fun at the "skinny kid with a funny name" line he regularly used to describe himself during his 2008 run for the White House.

"As for Caramel, he is sticking around and he's already busy raising money for his next campaign," he joked.

Mr. Obama’s quips continued another recent tradition: presidential turkey jokes.During the 1993 turkey pardon ceremony, President Bill Clinton said the pardon was easy for him "because I've been around turkeys all my life." Upon realizing the double meaning of his statement, Mr. Clinton was quick to add: "I didn't mean it like that." 

At the turkey pardon in 2001, President George W. Bush observed that "our guest of honor looks a little nervous. Nobody's told him yet that I'm going to give him a pardon." 

In 1990, then-President George H. W. Bush sought to allay the fears of his audience that a "terrible fate" awaited the turkey presented him. "We've decided to spare him. He will not be subjected to questions from the Washington press corps after this ceremony."

On a more serious note, Mr. Obama said he and his family on Wednesday will deliver two donated turkeys to a local "organization that works to help out our neighbors here in D.C. who need it most."

He also took the opportunity to thank U.S. servicemembers for their "service and sacrifice."

"You keep us safe, you make us proud, and you remind us of our own obligations to build on the work of our predecessors and leave something better for our own kids," Mr. Obama said.According to the White House's history of turkey pardons, Americans have been giving the president holiday turkeys since 1873, during Ulysses S. Grant’s presidency. In 1947, the White House started celebrating these gifts in the Rose Garden. Not every president has been in the habit of sparing the turkey's life, however: Presidents Eisenhower and Johnson ate the turkeys presented to them.

Mr. Obama alluded to the history of presidents consuming the Thanksgiving honorees in 2009saying that he came close to inviting that year’s pardoned turkey - Courage - to dinner. 

“Thanks to the intervention of Malia and Sasha, because I was ready to eat this sucker, Courage will also be spared this terrible and delicious fate," he said.

"I'm told Presidents Eisenhower and Johnson actually ate their turkeys," Obama said. "You can't fault them for that; that's a good-looking bird."

The first “pardon” was bestowed by President George H.W. Bush in 1989, according to the White House. In a Rose Garden ceremony, Mr. Bush said that year’s turkey had “been granted a presidential pardon as of right now” and it was sent to live out its life at a farm in the D.C. suburbs.

This year’s birds, Popcorn and Caramel, were raised by turkey farmer John Burkel in Badger, Minn. Burkel is the chairman of the National Turkey Federation, and in that role, he was asked to provide the birds for the ceremony. The second bird is sent along in case the first gets stage fright.

Both turkeys are 20 weeks old and approximately 38 pounds and their names were chosen from submissions from elementary schools in Roseau County, Minn., according to the White House.

Following Wednesday’s pardon, the turkeys will live at George Washington’s historic Mount Vernon estate until January before moving to Morven Park’s Turkey Hill farm in Leesburg, Va.  However, if recent history is any indication, their days are numbered.

Sadly, all but one of the turkeys pardoned by Mr. Obama during his presidency have lived to see a second Thanksgiving, National Journal reports. 

The turkeys tend to only live a few more months post-pardon – last year’s pardonee, Cobbler, was euthanized on Aug. 22, 2013, nine months after its time on the national stage. Gobbler, its backup, died in February. 

As these turkeys were bred for consumption, they’re usually beset with health problems related to obesity – most significantly, heart failure – which tends to do them in at a young age, according to a 2010 report for the Humane Society. 

Ekleyen HayalPrensesi on 06:05 in foreign news, Turkey, USA