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| Israelis bribed to admit U.S. goods to Gaza -- WikiLeaks Posted: 06 Jan 2011 07:32 AM PST JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. distributors accused Israel in 2006 of charging exorbitant fees to allow their goods into Gaza and an Israeli general admitted corruption existed at a major border crossing, a U.S. diplomatic cable shows. The cable, obtained by WikiLeaks and published on Thursday by the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten, said frequent closures of the Karni crossing had "exacerbated the problem of access and appears to have forced up the cost of bribes" paid to Israelis.
The disclosures predate the 2007 armed takeover of the Gaza Strip, home to 1.5 million Palestinians, by Hamas Islamists hostile to the Jewish state. Israel has cited the Hamas threat in justifying a controversial blockade it has kept on Gaza, with Egyptian help. "As of late May 34 shipments of American goods, amounting to nearly USD 1.9 million dollars, have been waiting three to four months to cross into Gaza," said the cable, classified "secret" by the U.S. ambassador to Israel at the time, Richard Jones. "U.S. distributors assert they are being asked to pay 'special fees' which amount to as much as 75 times the standard processing fee as quoted by GOI (Israeli government) officials." The cable quoted distributors for several U.S. companies complaining that payoffs were required to move their trucks to "a spot near the head of the so-called 'Israeli line'," which progressed more quicker to help Israelis supplying Palestinians. "According to business contacts, allegations of corruption at Karni have a long history," the cable said. It said Yossef Mishlev, the general in charge of Israel's Palestinian liaison unit at the time, had "acknowledged the problem (and that) corruption was the root cause of backlogged shipments waiting to cross into Gaza at Karni". The liaison unit declined comment on the cable. The Israel Airports Authority, which the cable cited as having overall responsibility for Karni, denied wrongdoing. "There was an investigation at the time, and no accusations were levelled against any Authority officials. This problem may have been connected to the truck drivers at Karni," an Authority official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. The crossing is now under Israeli military control due to enhanced risk of Palestinian attack on it, the official said. The U.S. diplomatic cable describes Karni staff being confronted by the bribery allegations during a May 26, 2006 meeting attended by embassy officials. The Karni staff "did not address the issue of bribes," according to the cable, but suggested the U.S. government finance the purchase of more conveyor belts for their terminal or arrange for distributors to ship through Kerem Shalom, a crossing on the southern Israel-Gaza border that abuts Egypt. (Writing by Dan Williams; editing by Mark Heinrich) Copyright © 2011 Reuters | ||
| Mass bird deaths rare, not apocalyptic - experts Posted: 06 Jan 2011 07:32 AM PST OSLO (Reuters) - Birds falling out of the sky in the United States and Sweden are freak examples of the kind of mass animal deaths, from beached whales to deluges of frogs, that have unusual but not apocalyptic causes, experts say.
Storms, hail or lightning can kill birds while tornadoes or waterspouts may suck up small fish or frogs and drop them far away. Human causes, such as fireworks, power lines or a collision with a truck, may explain avian deaths. The U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) urged more research into baffling deaths -- ranging from why whales sometimes make the fatal mistake of swimming onto beaches to recent bird deaths, dubbed the "Aflockalypse" by one newspaper. "Science is struggling to explain these things. These are examples of the surprises that nature can still bring," said Nick Nuttall, spokesman of Nairobi-based UNEP. "More research is needed." Modern threats such as pollution or climate change may be adding to background stresses on wildlife. About 500 dead birds were discovered in Louisiana this week and 5,000 in Arkansas at New Year, many of them red-winged blackbirds. Swedish authorities have been investigating the deaths of 100 jackdaws found in a street in Falkoping. "We made an autopsy on five of the birds yesterday and found internal bleeding but no external lesions," said Marianne Elvander of Sweden's National Veterinary Institute. NO BIRD FLU She said there was no sign that they had died from diseases such as bird flu -- the main worry in such cases. Among the theories was that a truck had collided with the flock. In Beebe, Arkansas, one theory is that fireworks spooked the birds to fly into buildings or other objects. Such birds roost in vast numbers, fly fast and have poor night eyesight, Nuttall said. The widely publicised deaths meant other incidents received far more attention than they otherwise would have. "This is a classic example of freak events coinciding," said Petter Boeckman, a zoologist at the Norwegian Natural History Museum. He said mass deaths of birds were not unheard of, but they normally happened unnoticed at sea or in rural areas away from towns. Many birds are weak and die in winter when food is scarce. In one infamous example, 60,000 ducks died in the Baltic Sea in 1976 after they landed on a small oil slick, fatally mistaking it for an attractive patch of calm water. Storms that suck up small creatures have been linked to reports of small perch fish falling out of the sky in Australia in 2010 far from open water and to a hail of frogs in northwestern Serbia in 2005. Lemmings often die en masse when food runs short. Whale beachings might be caused by factors such as illness, or disorientation caused by extra noise in the oceans, from shipping or oil and gas drilling. Boeckman said the response to the bird deaths also illustrated differences between more religious-minded Americans, versed in Biblical accounts of plagues of frogs or locusts, and secular Swedes who place their trust in human authority. "In the United States the reaction is 'oh no, Doomsday is coming'. In Sweden, they say 'let's call the veterinary authorities'," he said. (Editing by Noah Barkin) Copyright © 2011 Reuters |
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