Despite Ban, Protests Continue Before Spanish Vote

MADRID — Tens of thousands of demonstrators across Spain continued sit-ins and other protests against the established political parties on Saturday. They did so in defiance of a ban against such protests and ahead of regional and municipal elections on Sunday.

About 28,000 people, most of them young, spent Friday night in Puerta del Sol, a main square in downtown Madrid, the police said. They stayed even as the protest ban went into effect at midnight under rules that bring an official end to campaigning before the election in 13 of Spain’s 17 regions and in more than 8,000 municipalities.

Fueling the demonstrators’ anger is the perceived failure by politicians to alleviate the hardships imposed on a struggling population. The unemployment rate in Spain is 21 percent.

Beyond economic complaints, the protesters’ demands include improving the judiciary, ending political corruption and overhauling Spain’s electoral structure, notably by ending the system in which candidates are selected internally by the parties before an election rather than chosen directly by voters.

The protests, which started May 15, have spread gradually across Spain. Spaniards overseas have also held some protests in front of their embassies to show their support for an alternative campaign that has almost eclipsed that of the established parties.

Although some of the protest groups have called for people to vote for smaller and alternative parties, or to cast a blank ballot, the movement could lead to a decline in voter turnout on Sunday. In the elections four years ago, 63 percent of eligible voters cast ballots.

Sunday’s election is expected to result in a countrywide sweep by the Popular Party, the main center-right opposition, at the expense of the governing Socialists, whose popularity has plummeted because of the economic crisis. The most recent opinion polls suggest that the Socialist Party may lose in regions and municipalities where it has been in power since Spain’s return to democracy in the late 1970s, notably Castilla-La Mancha.

Whatever the outcome, Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero announced in April that he would not seek a third term, paving the way for the selection of a new Socialist leader before the general election, which is expected in March 2012.

As the campaign ban came into force at midnight, many of the Madrid protesters stuck tape across their mouths to signal that they would continue the demonstration, even if ordered to be silent. “The voice of the people can never be illegal,” read some of the banners, while others argued, “We are not against the system but the system is against us.”

Still, the government suggested that it would not order the police to use force to break up any protests and sit-ins in Madrid and elsewhere over the weekend, especially given that protests this week have not generated any violence. Interior Minister Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, speaking during a visit to the Murcia region, said that “the police are there to solve problems and not create new ones.”

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Abbas Urges Continuation of U.S. Aid Despite Agreement With Hamas

RAMALLAH, West Bank — President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority beseeched a group of visiting American Jews on Sunday to urge Congress not to cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in aid as a result of his recent unity agreement with Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza.

“We need your help with Congress,” Mr. Abbas told the visitors from J Street, a group that calls itself pro-Israel and pro-peace. “I hear rumors that Hamas will be in the West Bank, or that it will share authority here. This will not happen. The new government will comply with my policies, and I am against terror and violence.”

Jeremy Ben-Ami, the president of J Street, said he would “bring back to Washington the message that this may be the last opportunity with a Palestinian leader willing to say yes to peace with Israel.” He said he would urge the White House to offer a plan to create a Palestinian state based on the 1967 lines with agreed-upon land swaps and a request of Israel to pause West Bank settlement building for two to three months.

Those are the two conditions under which Mr. Abbas told the group that he would return to peace negotiations with Israel.

“This is our first choice, negotiations,” Mr. Abbas told the group at a lunch he hosted at his West Bank headquarters.

“If we were to start now in negotiations, we would not pay any attention to September,” he added, in reference to the Palestinians’ plan to ask the United Nations to recognize their state this year at its General Assembly meeting if no progress is made by then.

For its part, Israel says it has long advocated beginning talks right away without preconditions, and it contends that Mr. Abbas, with his demands for specific borders and halts on construction, is the one causing delays and lacking in seriousness.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel is due to visit President Obama at the White House on May 20 and to address a joint session of Congress the following week. It is unclear if he will lay out a new proposal for how to restart talks, but moving peace negotiations forward will be the focus of the visit.

Ten days ago, Mr. Abbas’s Fatah party, which controls the West Bank, and Hamas made a surprise announcement that after four years of bitter division, they had agreed to establish a unity government of technocrats aimed at holding elections within a year and rebuilding Gaza. Mr. Abbas said that without national unity, a deal with Israel would produce little.

But because Hamas is labeled a terrorist group by the United States, some senators and representatives have expressed deep misgivings. On Friday, 27 senators sent Mr. Obama a letter urging him to halt aid to a unified Fatah-Hamas government unless all of its members renounce violence and recognize Israel. The administration has said it is waiting for more details before judging the new arrangement.

Mr. Abbas reiterated that the members of the new unity government would be affiliated with neither Fatah nor Hamas, that he would continue to set policy and that nothing in the West Bank would change regarding security and cooperation with Israel in the coming year leading up to the election. Israel has denounced the deal as bringing terrorists into the Palestinian government, and for that reason it has delayed handing over Palestinian tax receipts to the Palestinian Authority.

Mr. Abbas made clear that many details remained to be negotiated with Hamas. It also seems likely that he will face compromises. At the ceremony on Wednesday in Cairo, for example, Mr. Abbas originally insisted that the leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshal, neither sit on the podium nor make a speech. He won the argument over the seating, but Mr. Meshal was permitted a short talk.

Mr. Meshal said in an interview on Thursday that Hamas was committed to working with Fatah toward a Palestinian state within the 1967 lines and that together they would decide what kind of resistance to Israel was appropriate.

But he pointedly declined to say that such a state would mean the end of his movement’s dispute with Israel nor would he declare his opposition to the use of violence.

Asked if he thought nonviolent resistance was a useful approach for the Palestinians, he replied, “Unfortunately, nonviolence doesn’t work against the Israelis.”

 

Indonesia's Christian Worshippers Pack Easter Services Despite Bomb Threat

 Sara Schonhardt | Jakarta ?April 24, 2011

Christian worshippers fill St. Theresia Church for Easter Sunday services, Central Jakarta, Indonesia, April 24, 2011

Christian worshipers packed Easter services in Jakarta on Sunday, despite a bomb scare at a church days earlier that put police on the highest alert and added to concerns that minority religions are being targeted by increasingly active Islamic hardliners.

Hundreds of people stand together singing at Gereja St. Theresia, while children play with colorful plastic eggs and mothers cradle infants. The celebration here was one of many across Jakarta, where churches overflowed with worshipers undeterred by security threats after police defused several massive bombs on Thursday at a church on the outskirts of the capital.

To safeguard Easter celebrations, police deployed around 20,000 officers to Christian worship sites, and many churches set up security checks at their entrances.

Michael Kawulusan, who attends services at St. Theresia every Sunday, says the increased police presence was reassuring.

"We come to the church for praying so we’re hoping nothing will happen," said Kawulusan. "Of course we are worried, but with these policemen over here guarding the church, I think it should be fine."

Anti-terror police foiled a plot to bomb the church on Good Friday thanks to information obtained after the arrest of 20 people suspected of sending parcel bombs to several prominent figures in Jakarta last month.

The discovery of those devices followed a suicide bombing at a mosque inside a police compound on April 15 that injured around 30 people.

Indonesia is a politically secular country with the world’s largest Muslim population. But increasing attacks against Christians and minority Islamic sects considered deviant have raised concerns of rising intolerance.

Security officials say the string of recent incidents also illustrates the changing face of extremism in Indonesia.? Islamic terrorist groups have previously focused attacks on Westerners in large hotels and embassies.

An International Crisis Group report published last week noted that recent events highlight a shifting trend toward small groups of militants acting independently of large jihadi organizations to attack Indonesians rather than foreigners.

The potential threat has not deterred Anastasia Veronica, who says she has been worshipping at St. Theresia since she was a child, and plans to continue attending with her husband and six-month-old daughter.

"If there was a bomb that exploded here," she said. "We’ve already received guidance by coming to celebrate this day, so I’m not scared."

Across town at the historic Cathedral Church, sounds of hallelujah mix with the Islamic call to prayer. A spokesman for the church estimates the crowd at more than 2,500, still far less than the 4,000 people who took part in Good Friday’s services.

Lucia Darpeni says she is not letting the pre-Easter bomb stop her from worshiping as usual.

"We come here to clean our hearts," she said. "So there is nothing to fear. Even a little fear cannot prevent us from our activities."

Other worshipers agree, saying their faith will be enough to protect them.

[All VOA blogs...]

Going Green
Watch Rebecca Ward's report on the BP?Gulf oil spill - one year later.

 

Despite Microsoft Partnership, Nokia Continues to Fade in Race With Rivals

The company, based in Espoo, Finland, said it planned to reduce annual operating expenses in its core devices and services business by 1 billion euros, or $1.44 billion, to 4.65 billion euros, or $6.72 billion, by the end of 2013.

“This reduction is expected to come from a variety of different sources and initiatives,” the company said, “including a reduction in the number of employees and normal personnel attrition, a reduction in the use of outsourced professionals, reductions in facility costs, and various improvements in efficiencies.”

Stephen Elop, the Microsoft executive whom Nokia hired to be chief executive last September, said the company would begin negotiations with its work force in Finland and elsewhere next week. Before those talks, Mr. Elop said, Nokia will not speculate on the number of jobs it may eventually cut.

“Speculation on the exact numbers and the timing of those numbers is best postponed until we discuss this with” worker representatives, Mr. Elop said in a conference call with financial analysts.

Some employees will be able to move into other jobs with Nokia, Mr. Elop said, and Nokia may have openings as a result of its partnership with Microsoft. Because of those opportunities, Nokia said it could guarantee employment to its existing employees through this year.

Nokia also confirmed that it had signed its agreement with Microsoft to obtain the Windows operating system for Nokia’s smartphones. The two companies announced the partnership on Feb. 11. Since then, Nokia’s stock price has fallen by about a third.

The cost-cutting initiative came as Nokia lost its lead in cellphone revenue to Apple, the research firm Strategy Analytics said on Thursday, according to Reuters.

Nokia’s phone revenue fell to $9.4 billion in the last quarter, while Apple’s revenue from the iPhone increased to $11.9 billion, the research firm said.

“With strong volumes and high wholesale prices, the PC vendor has successfully captured revenue leadership of the total handset market in less than four years,” Alex Spektor, an analyst, said.

Nokia also reported Thursday that its profit fell slightly, to 344 million euros ($497 million) in the first quarter from 349 million euros ($504 million) in the period a year earlier.

Sales rose 9.2 percent, to 10.4 billion euros ($15.0 billion), in large part because of gains in Latin America and China, where Nokia’s sales rose 29 percent and 30 percent respectively. Sales in North America fell 36 percent, and sales in Europe fell 5 percent.

Nokia said its sales of smartphones rose 13 percent in the quarter, to 24.2 million units from 21.5 million. The market grew 74 percent over all during the same time, Francisco Jeronimo, an analyst with the International Data Corporation in London, said.

On top of that, the average selling price fell 6 percent in the same period, to 147 euros from 155 euros a year earlier, Nokia said.

The company said it had sold 108.5 million cellphones of all types during the quarter, 1 percent more than a year ago. Yet its global share of the cellphone market fell to 32 percent from 34 percent a year ago, according to I.D.C.

Mikko Ervasti, an analyst at Evli Bank, a private bank in Helsinki, said the cuts in operating expenses were needed to bring Nokia in line with its cellphone peers, like Apple, which on average spend only half or even less on research and development than Nokia does.

Mr. Ervasti said the cost-cutting could translate into 6,000 fewer jobs in its cellphone research and development work force, or roughly 38 percent of Nokia’s total staff for mobile phones. Those employees are now working in Finland, China, India, Germany, England, Denmark and San Diego.

“These cuts were needed and are in line with what the market was expecting,” Mr. Ervasti said. “This is a direct consequence of the Microsoft agreement, and Nokia’s own need to trim expenses.”

 

Despite Microsoft Partnership, Nokia Continues to Fade in Race With Rivals

 

The company, based in Espoo, Finland, said it planned to reduce annual operating expenses in its core devices and services business by 1 billion euros, or $1.44 billion, to 4.65 billion euros, or $6.72 billion, by the end of 2013.

“This reduction is expected to come from a variety of different sources and initiatives,” the company said, “including a reduction in the number of employees and normal personnel attrition, a reduction in the use of outsourced professionals, reductions in facility costs, and various improvements in efficiencies.”

Stephen Elop, the Microsoft executive whom Nokia hired to be chief executive last September, said the company would begin negotiations with its work force in Finland and elsewhere next week. Before those talks, Mr. Elop said, Nokia will not speculate on the number of jobs it may eventually cut.

“Speculation on the exact numbers and the timing of those numbers is best postponed until we discuss this with” worker representatives, Mr. Elop said in a conference call with financial analysts.

Some employees will be able to move into other jobs with Nokia, Mr. Elop said, and Nokia may have openings as a result of its partnership with Microsoft. Because of those opportunities, Nokia said it could guarantee employment to its existing employees through this year.

Nokia also confirmed that it had signed its agreement with Microsoft to obtain the Windows operating system for Nokia’s smartphones. The two companies announced the partnership on Feb. 11. Since then, Nokia’s stock price has fallen by about a third.

The cost-cutting initiative came as Nokia lost its lead in cellphone revenue to Apple, the research firm Strategy Analytics said on Thursday, according to Reuters.

Nokia’s phone revenue fell to $9.4 billion in the last quarter, while Apple’s revenue from the iPhone increased to $11.9 billion, the research firm said.

“With strong volumes and high wholesale prices, the PC vendor has successfully captured revenue leadership of the total handset market in less than four years,” Alex Spektor, an analyst, said.

Nokia also reported Thursday that its profit fell slightly, to 344 million euros ($497 million) in the first quarter from 349 million euros ($504 million) in the period a year earlier.

Sales rose 9.2 percent, to 10.4 billion euros ($15.0 billion), in large part because of gains in Latin America and China, where Nokia’s sales rose 29 percent and 30 percent respectively. Sales in North America fell 36 percent, and sales in Europe fell 5 percent.

Nokia said its sales of smartphones rose 13 percent in the quarter, to 24.2 million units from 21.5 million. The market grew 74 percent over all during the same time, Francisco Jeronimo, an analyst with the International Data Corporation in London, said.

On top of that, the average selling price fell 6 percent in the same period, to 147 euros from 155 euros a year earlier, Nokia said.

The company said it had sold 108.5 million cellphones of all types during the quarter, 1 percent more than a year ago. Yet its global share of the cellphone market fell to 32 percent from 34 percent a year ago, according to I.D.C.

Mikko Ervasti, an analyst at Evli Bank, a private bank in Helsinki, said the cuts in operating expenses were needed to bring Nokia in line with its cellphone peers, like Apple, which on average spend only half or even less on research and development than Nokia does.

Mr. Ervasti said the cost-cutting could translate into 6,000 fewer jobs in its cellphone research and development work force, or roughly 38 percent of Nokia’s total staff for mobile phones. Those employees are now working in Finland, China, India, Germany, England, Denmark and San Diego.

“These cuts were needed and are in line with what the market was expecting,” Mr. Ervasti said. “This is a direct consequence of the Microsoft agreement, and Nokia’s own need to trim expenses.”

 

McIlroy positive despite collapse

  Rory McIlroy's Masters nightmare

-14: C Schwartzel (SA)-12: J Day (Aus), A Scott (Aus)-10: T Woods (US), G Ogilvy (Aus), L Donald (Eng)-9: A Cabrera (Arg)Selected others: -5: J Rose (Eng), L Westwood (Eng)-4: R McIlroy (NI)-3: M Laird (Sco)-1: I Poulter (Eng), P Mickelson (US)+1: P Casey (Eng)Rory McIlroy vowed to not let his Masters experience taint him after throwing away a four-shot lead in the final round at Augusta.

The Northern Irishman, 21, dropped six shots in three holes on the back nine on his way to an eight-over-par 80 as Charl Schwartzel won the Green Jacket.

"I was still one shot ahead going into the 10th and then things went all pear-shaped after that," he said.

"I'll get over it. I'll have plenty more chances - I know that."

McIlroy then logged in to his Twitter account to add: "Well that wasn't the plan! Found it tough going today, but you have to lose before you can win. This day will make me stronger in the end.

"Oh and congratulations Charl Schwartzel!! Great player and even better guy! Very happy for him and his family!"McIlroy positive despite collapse

McIlroy's disastrous round began with a bogey at the first and he followed that by almost leaving his ball in a fairway bunker on the par-five second when his shot thudded into the front lip.

Rory McIlroy vows to learn from Masters experience

Fortunately the ball bounced out but he found a greenside bunker with his next shot, only to get up and down for par.

Any thoughts that his good fortune would kick-start his round evaporated on the fifth when he dropped another shot to fall back to 10 under par.

McIlroy settled his nerves with a solid par on six and then drained a 20 foot putt on the seventh to return to 11 under par and a lead of one.

However, his Masters bid started to unravel on the 10th when his tee shot ricocheted way left off a tree and nestled between the cabins that separate the main course from the par-three course.

He hit a low hook back onto the fairway but then missed the green with his third shot, hit another tree with his fourth and finally chipped on with his fifth. Two putts later he was back at eight under par after a triple bogey seven.

McIlroy's nerves were further shredded by a three-putt on 11 and, after finding the heart of the green on the par-three 12th, he contrived to take four putts from inside 20 feet to plummet to five under par.

"I don't think I can put it down to anything else than part of the learning curve," he said. "Hopefully if I can get myself back into this position pretty soon I will handle it a little bit better.

Brit golfers reflect on their Masters

"It will be pretty tough for me for the next few days, but I will get over it - I will be fine.

"There are a lot worse things that can happen in your life. Shooting a bad score in the last round of a golf tournament is nothing in comparison to what other people go through.

"Getting applauded up onto the greens, I was almost a little embarrassed at some points. But the support I had here was fantastic and I really appreciate it.

"I can't really put my finger on what went wrong. I lost a lot of confidence with my putting, but I just hit a poor tee shot on 10 and sort of unravelled from there.

"I'll have plenty more chances I know and hopefully it will build a bit of character in me as well."

McIlroy was not alone in struggling with his putter on Augusta's famed tricky greens with England's Lee Westwood admitting frailties with the flat stick cost him dear.

The world number two, who finished runner-up to Phil Mickelson last year, picked up three shots on the front nine to move to six under par but any thoughts of a charge were ended when he double bogeyed the par-three 12th after hitting his tee shot into the water.

"I'm very very frustrated," he said. "I played tee to green like a man who should have won the tournament but I was abysmal on the greens.

"I went to the belly putter which I haven't used for six years but what's bugging me is that I can't hit the hole from four feet.

"I gave myself so many chances so to finish on five under is a killer."

Luke Donald ended the tournament as the highest-placed British golfer, jumping back above Mickelson to third in the world rankings after shooting a three-under-par final round 69 to end tied fourth on 10 under.

However, the Englishman was left to rue a double bogey on 12, after also finding the greenside water, and a further dropped shot on the 17th as he finished four shots adrift of Schwartzel.

"It was, I imagine, one of the best Masters to watch," said Donald.

"Twelve was a killer for me, it was the one bad swing I made all day and I paid the penalty but I dug in deep and made some birdies [on 15, 16 and 18] but I came up short."

The 75th staging of the Masters proved to be another frustrating major for Ian Poulter who opened with a double bogey on his way to a one-under-par total for the tournament.

"I'm disappointed," he said after signing for a one-over-par 73.

"From start to finish I played nicely but I didn't take advantage of holes I should have done, namely [the par-fives] 13 and 15.

"I'm over par on those holes and it's taken me out of contention.

"I hit four perfect tee shots on 13 and never had more than a four iron into the green and on 15 I made two bogeys and that's just not good enough."

In contrast, Scotland's Martin Laird thoroughly enjoyed his final day at the 2011 Masters alongside Tiger Woods despite posting a one-over par 73 to drop back to three under.

"It doesn't get much better than that," he said. "I said to my caddie 'enjoy this walk as it's going to be a year until we're back'.

"Overall, what a great week. It is tough to say in words - the atmosphere was incredible [on Sunday].

"Tiger played well and it was fun to be out there. There's a lot of learning on this course and I can't wait to get back here next year."