Water flows over tops of levees in Missouri; flooding alert issued for Neb. nuclear plant

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Several levees in northern Missouri were failing Sunday to hold back the surge of water being released from upstream dams, and locals braced themselves for more breaches as the Missouri River dipped but then rose again.

A hole in the side of a Holt County levee continued to grow, deluging the state park and recreational area in Big Lake, a community of less than 200 people located 78 miles north of Kansas City. The water — some from recent rain — started pouring over levees Saturday night and Sunday morning in Holt and Atchison counties, flooding farmland, numerous homes and cabins.



In Nebraska, a flooding alert was issued for a second nuclear power plant. But officials said it was the least serious emergency notification issued, and the public and workers are not threatened.

The Missouri River dipped by almost 1 foot after the Big Lake breach in Missouri, but water started to rise again by Sunday afternoon, said Jud Kneuvean, chief of emergency management for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Kansas City District.

Kneuvean said he thought the flooding in the area wouldn’t start for another day or two, but the water level surged by about 2 feet from Saturday morning to Sunday morning. The corps suspects that the culprit was an influx of rainwater that combined with a surge from a notch cut in the breached Hamburg, Iowa, levee to allow trapped water to flow back into the river.

“I looked at it mid-evening (Saturday) and told one of my co-workers, ‘We are going to have levees start popping,’” Kneuvean said. “Within about an hour, we were getting the calls on them.”


Washington Post


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Foreign Office warns Britons to leave Syria immediately

Britons have been urged to leave Syria immediately as the situation in the Middle East country continues to deteriorate amid civil unrest.

The Foreign Office said Britons should use "commercial means" to leave while they were still available.

In a statement the FCO said it would be "highly unlikely" its embassy in Damascus would be able to help if the situation were to deteriorate further.

Evacuation options would also "be limited" it added.'Number of deaths'

Violence between protesters opposed to Syria's leadership and the security forces has flared across the country in recent weeks.

The new advice comes amid reports of Syrian troops moving into a village firing guns and setting fire to houses, part of a campaign to crush a revolt in the north-west of the country.

The FCO has advised against travel to Syria for some time, but said its advice had been reviewed and reissued following "continued violent disturbances in urban centres across the country, including the capital Damascus".

BBC

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13822576
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NATO admits killing civilians in Tripoli air strike

AFP - NATO on Sunday acknowledged it was responsible for civilian deaths in Tripoli after Libyan officials showed reporters five bodies, including two toddlers, they said were among nine people killed in a "barbaric" air strike.

An alliance statement in Brussels said "NATO acknowledges civilian casualties in Tripoli strike" during action targeting a missile site.

"It appears that one weapon did not strike the intended target and that there may have been a weapons system failure which may have caused a number of civilian casualties," the statement added.

Libyan government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim earlier accused the Western alliance of "deliberately targeting civilians," insisting there were no military targets anywhere near the residential neighbourhood of Tripoli that was hit overnight.

Alliance spokesman Wing Commander Mike Bracken had earlier said NATO was looking into the matter, adding: "NATO deeply regrets any civilian loss of life during this operation and would be very sorry if the review of this incident concluded it to be a NATO weapon."

The admission that the civilian deaths were caused by NATO is an embarrassment for the alliance which has led the bombing campaign under a UN mandate to protect civilians.

However, officials from the rebel-held east of the country blamed Kadhafi for the deaths, alleging that the veteran strongman was deliberately using schools and mosques to stash arms.

"We are sorry for the loss of civilian life," said rebel spokesman Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, adding that "we hold the Kadhafi regime responsible for having placed military armaments and rocket launchers near civilian areas."

Journalists were taken to the Al-Arada district of Tripoli to see rescue teams and bystanders desperately searching for survivors among the wreckage of a two-storey block of flats after the early morning air strike.

An AFP correspondent saw two bodies pulled from the rubble.

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Israel launches major home front defence drill

Israel on Sunday launched a major five-day home front defence exercise intended to prepare its population and emergency services to respond to massive missile attacks, the Israeli military said.

Named "Turning Point 5," the exercise involves testing nationwide siren systems and the cellular network, distributing emergency kits, improving coordination and practising evacuation and shelter procedures.

As part of the exercise, now in its fifth year, Israelis are being asked to enter their "pre-selected protected spaces" when they hear sirens sound on Wednesday.

The sirens will sound twice, once in the morning, once in the evening, to give citizens two opportunities to participate in the drill, the military said.

Among the scenarios being prepared for are sustained rocket attacks on the Tel Aviv region, the electrical grid or a geriatric hospital, local media reported.

Israel came under heavy rocket fire during its 2006 war with Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, and the country's southern towns near the Gaza Strip have also frequently been fired on from the Palestinian territory.

For the first time, lawmakers will also be called on to participate in response to a simulated attack on the parliament building in Jerusalem.

Some 80 municipalities will be taking part, along with the military, police, fire service and emergency services. The military's Home Front command will also test an emergency SMS service during the exercise, the army said.

Speaking on army radio on Sunday, Israel's home front defence minister Matan Vilnai cautioned that the exercise should not be seen as "undermining Israel's deterrent power."

"Our enemies know perfectly well that if they attack us, we will strike them with very tough blows, but we must prepare... because they have the capacity to fire missiles and rockets at all of our territory," he said.

According to Vilnai, gas masks have been distributed to 60 percent of the population and the rest should receive the protection by next year.

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Turkey warns Assad: You have less than a week to start implementing reforms

A senior Turkish official warned Monday that Syrian President Bashar Assad has less than a week to start implementing long-promised political reforms demanded by Syrian protesters before foreign intervention begins.

Turkey, Syria's biggest neighbor and main trading partner, has been trying to persuade Assad to halt a military crackdown on demonstrations that have killed more than 1,300 civilians and forced thousands to take refuge across the border.

Ersat Hurmuzlu, an advisor to Turkish President Abdullah Gul, told the Dubai-based al-Arabiya channel on Sunday night that Turkey will be watching closely what Assad tells his people in a planned speech on Monday.

"The demands in this field will be for a positive response to these issues within a short period that does not exceed a week," Hurmuzulu said.

"The opposite of this, it would not be possible to offer any cover for the leadership in Syria because there is the danger ...that we had always been afraid of, and that is foreign intervention."

Several European countries have submitted a draft resolution to the U.N. Security Council to condemn Syria's crackdown on protesters. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has indicated he would not support such a resolution.

Syrian authorities blame the violence on armed groups and Islamists, backed by foreign powers. Syria has barred most international journalists from entering the country, making it difficult to verify accounts from activists and officials.

More than 10,000 Syrian refugees have already crossed into Turkey and Turkish officials say a further 10,000 are sheltering close to the border just inside Syria in the olive groves and rich farmland around the town of Jisr al-Shughour.




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U.S. considering charging Assad with war crimes

U.S. ponders whether Bashar al-Assad is a war criminal
Also considering sanctions on Syrian oil and gas
Clinton lobbying for Russian support for UN resolution

The United States says is it considering if war crimes charges can be brought against Syria's president as part of a larger diplomatic effort to get his government to end its crackdown on dissent.

In a telephone conference with reporters Friday, two senior White House officials said the U.S. is also considering economic sanctions against Syria's oil and gas sectors.

The officials said the U.S. is stepping up efforts with its allies as well as regional opposition figures to put pressure on Syria's President Bashar al-Assad.

Also Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke with her Russian counterpart trying to get Russia on board with a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning the violence against protesters. Russia and China have so far opposed efforts to draft a resolution.

The diplomatic wrangling comes as Syrian security forces Friday shot and killed at least 18 more anti-government protesters. Activists and witnesses say security forces used live ammunition against protesters who poured into the streets with renewed calls for President Assad's resignation.

Western news reports say at least two of the deaths occurred in the flashpoint city of Homs and two in the eastern town of Deir el-Zour. At least one teenager is among those killed.

Anti-government rallies were also underway in other cities, including Daraa, Latakia and near the capital, Damascus.

The unrest spilled over into neighboring Lebanon on Friday, where two people were killed following a protest against Mr. Assad's regime. Residents from a Sunni Muslim neighborhood in the city of Tripoli clashed with those from a neighborhood inhabited by members of the Shi'ite Alawite sect. Mr. Assad's family is part of the sect.

Earlier Friday, security forces mounted new assaults in the country's restive northwest, sending tanks and troops into two more cities.

Rights activists and witnesses say the military sent large numbers of soldiers into Maaret al-Numaan, a city that is on the highway linking the capital and the large city of Aleppo. In addition, the security forces moved into the town of Khan Sheikhun.

Meanwhile, Turkish officials say the number of Syrians who have crossed the border to flee from the unrest is nearing 10,000.

The al-Jazeera television network said Friday that some Syrians who have gathered near the Turkish border also demonstrated against President Assad.

In a separate development, U.S. actress and U.N. envoy Angelina Jolie has arrived in Turkey where she will visit refugees at the border.

World powers are increasingly condemning the crackdown. On Friday, French officials voiced support for additional European Union sanctions on President Assad's regime.

Arab Herald

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European credit crunch going global, central banker Jean-Claude Trichet warns

THE central banker at the heart of the euro zone storm has warned that the region's troubles are symptomatic of the economic malaise of Western nations.

Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank, told The Times of London yesterday the sovereign debt threats are "not only a euro area issue, but have a European aspect and a global aspect".

"We were not at ease with the idea that, in the heat of the crisis, all countries were called on to spend as much as possible, embark on deficits as much as possible," he said. "I believe the tensions we are observing in Europe today are part of a much more global phenomenon."

Mr Trichet's words came amid financial market turmoil and political chaos in Greece. World markets and Western governments fear Greece will be unable to service its E340 billion ($457bn) debt and that the country has become effectively ungovernable.

Shares dived to three-month depths around the world, and the euro slid to a new record low against the Swiss franc over fears a collapse could trigger a new global financial crisis.

The ECB chief warned against a debt default by Greece, and insisted no officials had raised the prospect of troubled euro members, including Portugal and Ireland, leaving the bloc.

He said the euro zone should be judged as a whole. "A bird's-eye view of the euro area gives elements that are rather encouraging and often not perceived," Mr Trichet said.

Adding to the crisis fears, an Irish minister said private lenders to the stricken Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide Building Society should share some of the losses suffered by taxpayers.

The centre of the crisis remained Greece, where Prime Minister George Papandreou was struggling to quell revolt against his austerity measures. His country has the lowest credit rating of any in the world, according to Standard & Poor's, over concerns of a default on its national debt.

The Australian


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