Off the Dribble: Knicks and Fans Honor Lee on His Return

In five years as a Knick, David Lee became an elite rebounder, a skilled scorer, an All-Star and a fan favorite. But points came more easily than victories, so when Lee was asked, upon his return, to share his best moments, he was stumped.

“That’s a great question,” he said Wednesday, before playing his first game as a visitor at Madison Square Garden. “I don’t know that I can put my finger on one. We had a couple good come-from-behind victories, last-second tip-ins, things like that.”

Like a lot of players who lived through the mayhem of the last six years in New York, Lee did not get the chance to be part of an eventual Knicks renaissance. The Knicks let him leave last summer when they decided to invest $100 million in Amar’e Stoudemire. Lee joined the Golden State Warriors in a sign-and-trade deal for $80 million.

Barton Silverman/The New York Times The former Knick David Lee was honored with a video tribute in his return to the Garden.

In a generally miserable Knicks era, Lee was one of the few bright spots, and his efforts were recognized Wednesday night. During a first-quarter timeout, the Knicks played a video packed with Lee dunks and rebounds, along with one bloody nose and many hugs with children. When it was over, the public-address announcer Mike Walczewski gave the traditional, “Once a Knick, always a Knick” introduction as fans rose for a standing ovation. Lee acknowledged them with a raised hand and a bowed head.

“I know it’s going to be an emotional night,” he said earlier in the day. “One of the greatest things that I was privileged to be a part of here is interacting with the fans. You never know, New York could all boo tonight. Stranger things have happened. But I think I should get a warm reception.”

After all the years of chaos and controversy, coach firings and feuds, Lee earned his moment.

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Burma's exiled satirists return home

11 September 2011 Last updated at 16:36 GMT The four Burmese - three comedians and a dancer - had been in self-imposed exile for nearly four years A group of prominent Burmese satirists has flown back to Burma from self-imposed exile in Thailand.

Three comedians and a dancer flew from Chiang Mai to Rangoon weeks after Burma's new civilian president urged exiles to come home.

One of them said there were signs that Burma's military-backed government was taking steps towards democracy.

President Thein Sein's appeal has divided exiles, some of whom point out that he offered no amnesty.

The performance troupe, Thee Lay Thee, became well known across Burma for daring shows and videos in which it joked and performed satirical skits about the military leadership.

A performance in Rangoon in late 2007 poked fun at the authorities, just months after the security forces put down renewed anti-government protests.

Weeks later, the group went on an overseas tour and decided not to come back.

Their founder, the comedian Zarganar, who stayed in Burma, was jailed in 2008 and is now serving a 35-year prison-sentence.

"Steps towards democracy"

Thee Lay Thee continued to perform in exile, mostly in Thailand which they made their base.

But since their departure Burma has changed.

Burma's president Thein Sein's appeal to exiles to return home has not met with universal approval

The democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was released from years of detention in November 2010, and a nominally-civilian government, backed by the military, took power this year.

"We like the fact that the new government is taking steps towards democracy," Thee Lay Thee's manager, also a comedian who goes by the stage-name of Godzilla, told the BBC Burmese service.

"That's why we decided to cooperate with it, and contribute with the knowledge we have."

Divided opinion

Similar comments by the comedian are reported in the online version of the Burmese weekly news magazine "The Voice" in its edition dated 12th September.

But President Thein Sein's appeal to Burmese last month to come home and help develop the country has divided opinion among tens of thousands who have fled abroad since the 1988 uprising.

The president said even those who had committed past offences would be welcome - but there has been no amnesty, and some exiles doubt that the government is serious about change.

A veteran journalist, Sein Kyaw Hlaing, was reported to have been detained for questioning after accepting an offer to return.

Burma has resisted international pressure to free some 2,000 political prisoners it is believed to be holding.

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Biggest Loser Top Four Shocked by the Return of the Ex-Cons

It’s the return of the ex-cons in the country’s biggest reality TV show.

Twelve eliminated contestants from the “Biggest Loser Pinoy Edition” went back to the camp in last night”s epsiode (Sep 6), following the elimination of Ryan, a twist that shocked the four remaining contestants.

But not all were lucky as two of them, Winwin and Andy, were eliminated immediately for gaining weight.

Top four contestants Angela, Art, Larry, and Raffy will battle the ex-cons in a series of challenges before the next weigh-in. If the top four win, they get to send home an ex-con. Otherwise, all ex-cons remain.

The latest turn of events in the Biggest Loser camp is giving the eliminated contestants a second chance to become the first Pinoy Biggest Loser.

“My experience at the BL Camp made me realize that the best things in life are not for free. You have to work hard for it,” said 31-year old Ryan Razon of Pampanga.

While Ryan may have been booted out of the camp, he earned the distinction of being the first Pinoy Biggest Loser contestant to shed off more than 100 pounds.

At the start of the show, Ryan weighed 293 pounds. When he left, his weight stood at 189 pounds or a total loss of 104 pounds.

Wild card contestant Leigh also bid the camp goodbye last Friday feeling lighter and happier. She lost a total of 46 pounds from the time she entered the contest and left weighing only 184 pounds.

“My experience inside the BL camp has been perhaps the hardest thing I’ve ever experienced. I came in thinking only my body will be challenged. I never expected it to be emotionally and mentally challenging at the same time. The experience was priceless,” she said.

Will Ryan and Leigh fare better this time around? Find out as they join Alan, Destiny, Eboy, Edden, Eric, Hazel, JM, and Joy in staging a big comeback.

Don’t miss the exciting twists and turns in this week’s “Biggest Loser Pinoy Edition” after “Guns and Roses” on ABS-CBN. For news and updates on the program, visit http://biggestloserpinoyedition.abs-cbn.com, like it on Facebook, or follow @BLPinoyEdition on Twitter.

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Will Afghanistan return to an era of warlord rule after NATO leaves? (The Christian Science Monitor)

By Tom A. Peter Tom A. Peter – Mon Aug 8, 10:19 am ET

Kandahar City, Afghanistan – In his sprawling office in Kandahar’s gubernatorial palace, Tooryali Wesa spends much of his day behind an imposing hand-carved wooden desk. Stately chairs and couches line the wood-paneled walls, topped with the type of high-vaulted ceiling found in a cathedral or classically designed mosque. The room is a virtual shrine to governance and an apparent testament to the power of the political office.

But in Afghanistan, things are rarely what they seem.

For years, Kandaharis have made it no secret that, while they respect Mr. Wesa, his position is largely symbolic. To get things done, they turn to the region’s power brokers and warlords.

“The biggest challenge has been power brokers,” says Wesa, reflecting on his time as governor. “They had only guns before, but recently in addition to guns they have money. They run most of the businesses, they are awarded contracts from [various international sources], and they are feeding the insurgency.”

The possibility that power brokers and warlords in Afghanistan might be what keeps the country from unraveling has had analysts concerned, but the recent assassination of Ahmad Wali Karzai, one of the most powerful strongmen in Afghanistan, and the ensuing struggle in Kandahar for power, has brought the issue into sharp focus as the US begins to draw down forces.

RELATED For many Afghans, US helicopter crash confirms Taliban momentum

The struggle to replace Ahmad Wali, President Hamid Karzai’s half-brother, highlights a key question at the heart of Afghanistan’s future: After 10 years of the US-led war, who can realistically control the country, warlords and strongmen or the government?

Though much of the international effort here has focused on strengthening democratic institutions, foreign forces have often had to lean on strongmen. As a result, a new generation of warlords has risen to power, fueled by US money.

Many warlords in Afghanistan occupy government posts, but their reach extends well beyond their appointed role. Ahmad Wali, for example, was officially head of the Kandahar Provincial Council. Power brokers, like him, run parallel governments that often undercut the role of government. And most of the men powerful enough to claim these roles come with a litany of criminal allegations against them.

“The whole mission of the international community has always been to invest in individuals and not in a structure or in a system,” says Rangina Hamidi, a political activist in Kandahar. “When you depend on individuals, things will go on well as long as they’re alive. And once they’re gone ... then the whole structure falls.”

In Kandahar, there has been increasing talk that Kabul will appoint a new personality to replace Wesa who will likely set the tone for which direction the government is headed.

Until recently, two of the most likely contenders represented warlord-government divide. On one side, Gul Agha Sherzai is the classic old school mujahideen fighter-turned-power broker. On the other, there was Ghulam Haider Hamidi, an accountant who had lived in Virginia for nearly two decades and was widely seen as one of the nation’s most honest brokers until he was killed by a suicide bomber on July 27.

A close ally to the president, Mr. Sherzai currently serves as the governor of Nangarhar Province in the east. He is a rotund man who fits the stereotypical warlord mold. Sherzai was the governor of Kandahar after the fall of the Taliban in 2003 but was accused of making hundreds of millions of dollars from the drug trade and operating a band of thugs notorious for extortion, murder, and rape. A number of international and Afghan officials have ascribed the resurgence of the Taliban in the south partly to his heavy-handed tactics.

As governor of Nangarhar, Sherzai’s reputation has improved. Internationals have credited him with playing a major role in eradicating poppy production throughout much of the province.

However, in his current position Sherzai is also accused of skimming money from international development projects and paying off officials and journalists to say positive things about him.

“In the media they say he’s a hero for Nangarhar, but it’s not true,” says Abdul Gafar, a member of parliament from Nangarhar. “These were the efforts of the people of Nangarhar who wanted peace. The credit does not go to Sherzai; it goes to the people.”

Sherzai waves off the accusations.

And many residents of Kandahar say that the circumstances have changed since Sherzai’s last term as governor and he would be unlikely to engage in controversial activities as he reportedly did before.

However, his appointment may risk further undercutting many Afghans’ faith in the international community and the government. Aside from political concerns, many Afghans are also worried that the Taliban may be gaining momentum, especially in the east where they shot down a US helicopter on Saturday, killing dozens. Even after a decade of international military involvement, it appears to many Afghans that stability is still far off.

RELATED For many Afghans,US helicopter crash confirms Taliban momentum

“The people of Afghanistan have lost their trust in the international community because in the beginning, after the Taliban, when the warlords and criminals were hired as government officials, the people were expecting that they [would] be taken to court or removed from government positions after some time. But now that [practice] has continued, and they have become more powerful,” says Ahmad Shah Spar, a human rights activist.

Meanwhile, until his assassination, Mr. Hamidi represented the opposite of politicians like Sherzai. The mayor of Kandahar city for the past four years, he was a man of slight build, who spoke fondly of his time in Virginia and his love of his native Kandahar. Hamidi was perhaps as close to a Western politician as any government official in Afghanistan.

Although he was not completely removed from corruption scandals, he was regarded as a politician committed to making decisions based on the law rather than personal interests.

In a conversation with the Monitor the day before his death, he expressed optimism that the country had evolved politically and would not call on warlords to replace Ahmad Wali.

“Those power brokers, warlords, and drug dealers are losing their power, and we are going the way the development of Kandahar needs,” said Hamidi. “They will never get anything and we are proud of that, and the government is doing things in the correct way.”

But with the death of Hamidi at the hands of a suicide bomber, residents may now be more willing to turn to a strongman like Sherzai whom they see as capable of dealing with the region’s turbulence.

“For the current situation in Kandahar we need a former jihadi,” says Haji Faisal Mohammed, a prominent tribal elder in Kandahar. He says he backs Sherzai despite his questionable past, which includes allegedly murdering a respected elder close to Mr. Mohammed.

He also hopes that the death of Ahmad Wali will present an opportunity to form a tribal council that acts as a check on leaders like Sherzai and creates more equality among the tribes.

“We don’t have any person like Ahmad Wali, so I have no doubt that there will be many people who share the power. There is not a single person to depend on. There will be three or four people from different tribes,” says Waheed Mujada, an independent analyst in Kabul.

IN PICTURES: Battling the Afghan insurgency

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Iraq's Qaeda asks ex-fighters to return, threatens attacks (Reuters)

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Al Qaeda's Iraqi affiliate has asked Sunni militia members who turned against the insurgency and joined forces with the U.S. military and the Shi'ite-led government to return to its ranks, threatening to attack those who do not "repent."

In an hour-long audio speech, the spokesman for the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, said the group was growing stronger "despite all the difficulties and challenges" and was still training and sheltering foreign fighters, the U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group said late Monday.

"As for you, satanic Awakenings, we strive to guide you more than you strive to kill us. If you come to us in repentance, we will accept your repentance even if you killed a million people," Adnani said, according to SITE.

"Do not stand in the way between us and the (Shi'ites) ... We will not get bored or tired; rather, we will continue until the Day of Judgment, and we will kill from amongst you only those who we see will never return."

The Sahwa militia, or Awakening Council, made up of former insurgents who turned against al Qaeda and helped turn the tide of the Iraq war, was formed in late 2006, mostly by Sunni sheikhs with the help of the U.S. military during the sectarian bloodshed that killed tens of thousands of people.

The integration of the former Sahwa fighters into the government is considered a key to stabilizing Iraq, eight years after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein and before a full withdrawal of U.S. troops by the end of this year.

The Sahwa are increasingly concerned that the new Shi'ite-led government is not carrying out a promise to hire them. Two years ago the Pentagon criticized the slow pace of integration, saying that a failure to hire the Sahwa fighters could jeopardize security gains.

Jobless Sahwa could return to a weakened but still lethal insurgency that carries out dozens of attacks each month.

While overall violence has plunged since the 2006-07 bloodshed, bombings and other attacks occur every day, and occasional major attacks kill dozens of people. Sahwa militia members are frequent targets.

Adnani said the ISC was still carrying out hit and run attacks despite rumors the insurgency had been weakened by the arrests and killings of its leaders, and ordered Iraqi officials not to execute jailed Muslims.

"Know that if you execute Muslim women and men in general and the mujahideen (fighters) in particular, you will face dire consequences," he said. "Everyone knows that when we say, we deliver."

(Reporting by Rania El Gamal, editing by Tim Pearce)

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A return to warlord rule for Afghanistan?

KANDAHAR CITY, AFGHANISTAN — In his sprawling office in Kandahar’s gubernatorial palace, Tooryali Wesa spends much of his day behind an imposing hand-carved wooden desk. Stately chairs and couches line the wood-paneled walls, topped with the type of high-vaulted ceiling found in a cathedral or classically designed mosque. The room is a virtual shrine to governance and an apparent testament to the power of the political office.

But in Afghanistan, things are rarely what they seem.

For years, Kandaharis have made it no secret that, while they respect Mr. Wesa, his position is largely symbolic. To get things done, they turn to the region’s power brokers and warlords.

"The biggest challenge has been power brokers," says Wesa, reflecting on his time as governor. "They had only guns before, but recently in addition to guns they have money. They run most of the businesses, they are awarded contracts from [various international sources], and they are feeding the insurgency."

The possibility that power brokers and warlords in Afghanistan might be what keeps the country from unraveling has had analysts concerned, but the recent assassination of Ahmad Wali Karzai, one of the most powerful strongmen in Afghanistan, and the ensuing struggle in Kandahar for power, has brought the issue into sharp focus as the US begins to draw down forces.

RELATED: For many Afghans, US helicopter crash confirms Taliban momentum

The struggle to replace Ahmad Wali, President Hamid Karzai’s half-brother, highlights a key question at the heart of Afghanistan’s future: After 10 years of the US-led war, who can realistically control the country, warlords and strongmen or the government?

Though much of the international effort here has focused on strengthening democratic institutions, foreign forces have often had to lean on strongmen. As a result, a new generation of warlords has risen to power, fueled by US money.

Many warlords in Afghanistan occupy government posts, but their reach extends well beyond their appointed role. Ahmad Wali, for example, was officially head of the Kandahar Provincial Council. Power brokers, like him, run parallel governments that often undercut the role of government. And most of the men powerful enough to claim these roles come with a litany of criminal allegations against them.

"The whole mission of the international community has always been to invest in individuals and not in a structure or in a system," says Rangina Hamidi, a political activist in Kandahar. "When you depend on individuals, things will go on well as long as they’re alive. And once they’re gone ... then the whole structure falls."

In Kandahar, there has been increasing talk that Kabul will appoint a new personality to replace Wesa who will likely set the tone for which direction the government is headed.

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Until recently, two of the most likely contenders represented warlord-government divide. On one side, Gul Agha Sherzai is the classic old school mujahideen fighter-turned-power broker. On the other, there was Ghulam Haider Hamidi, an accountant who had lived in Virginia for nearly two decades and was widely seen as one of the nation’s most honest brokers until he was killed by a suicide bomber on July 27.

A close ally to the president, Mr. Sherzai currently serves as the governor of Nangarhar Province in the east. He is a rotund man who fits the stereotypical warlord mold. Sherzai was the governor of Kandahar after the fall of the Taliban in 2003 but was accused of making hundreds of millions of dollars from the drug trade and operating a band of thugs notorious for extortion, murder, and rape. A number of international and Afghan officials have ascribed the resurgence of the Taliban in the south partly to his heavy-handed tactics.

As governor of Nangarhar, Sherzai’s reputation has improved. Internationals have credited him with playing a major role in eradicating poppy production throughout much of the province.

However, in his current position Sherzai is also accused of skimming money from international development projects and paying off officials and journalists to say positive things about him.

"In the media they say he’s a hero for Nangarhar, but it’s not true," says Abdul Gafar, a member of parliament from Nangarhar. "These were the efforts of the people of Nangarhar who wanted peace. The credit does not go to Sherzai; it goes to the people."

Sherzai waves off the accusations.

And many residents of Kandahar say that the circumstances have changed since Sherzai’s last term as governor and he would be unlikely to engage in controversial activities as he reportedly did before.

However, his appointment may risk further undercutting many Afghans’ faith in the international community and the government. Aside from political concerns, many Afghans are also worried that the Taliban may be gaining momentum, especially in the east where they shot down a US helicopter on Saturday, killing dozens. Even after a decade of international military involvement, it appears to many Afghans that stability is still far off.

RELATED: For many Afghans,US helicopter crash confirms Taliban momentum

"The people of Afghanistan have lost their trust in the international community because in the beginning, after the Taliban, when the warlords and criminals were hired as government officials, the people were expecting that they [would] be taken to court or removed from government positions after some time. But now that [practice] has continued, and they have become more powerful," says Ahmad Shah Spar, a human rights activist.

Meanwhile, until his assassination, Mr. Hamidi represented the opposite of politicians like Sherzai. The mayor of Kandahar city for the past four years, he was a man of slight build, who spoke fondly of his time in Virginia and his love of his native Kandahar. Hamidi was perhaps as close to a Western politician as any government official in Afghanistan.

Although he was not completely removed from corruption scandals, he was regarded as a politician committed to making decisions based on the law rather than personal interests.

In a conversation with the Monitor the day before his death, he expressed optimism that the country had evolved politically and would not call on warlords to replace Ahmad Wali.

"Those power brokers, warlords, and drug dealers are losing their power, and we are going the way the development of Kandahar needs," said Hamidi. "They will never get anything and we are proud of that, and the government is doing things in the correct way."

But with the death of Hamidi at the hands of a suicide bomber, residents may now be more willing to turn to a strongman like Sherzai whom they see as capable of dealing with the region’s turbulence.

"For the current situation in Kandahar we need a former jihadi," says Haji Faisal Mohammed, a prominent tribal elder in Kandahar. He says he backs Sherzai despite his questionable past, which includes allegedly murdering a respected elder close to Mr. Mohammed.

He also hopes that the death of Ahmad Wali will present an opportunity to form a tribal council that acts as a check on
leaders like Sherzai and creates more equality among the tribes.

"We don’t have any person like Ahmad Wali, so I have no doubt that there will be many people who share the power. There is not a single person to depend on. There will be three or four people from different tribes," says Waheed Mujada, an independent analyst in Kabul.

This article, "Will Afghanistan return to an era of warlord rule after NATO leaves?" first appeared on CSMonitor.com.

© 2011 Christian Science Monitor

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Libya Wants OFWs to Return; PHL Says 'Not Yet' | PINOY OFW

The Libyan government is appealing to Filipino workers, who escaped from the March uprisings there, to come back to their jobs now that the situation has become ‘peaceful and calm.’

But the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs was not about to lift the OFW deployment ban to Libya, maintaining that the agency remains at “alert level four” to force Filipinos to keep on evacuating Libya.

Unrest in Libya. File photo.

On Monday, Libyan Foreign Ministry Immigration Undersecretary Abdulhadi Al-Huwaid called on Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario to tell him that Libya is now safe for redeployment of Filipino workers.

More than 9,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), most of whom are engineers and highly skilled workers employed by oil companies, returned to Philippines as of April this year in the wake of the uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.

Continue reading at GMA News

http://www.pinoy-ofw.com/news/14873-libya-wants-ofws-return-phl-not-yet.html

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Syria's Assad embarks on path of no return

LONDON — By sending tanks to crush dissent in the city of Hama, where memories of a bloodbath in 1982 that killed 20,000 people are still vivid, embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has chosen a path of no return.

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The Assads have been repeatedly warned by the United States, European Union and Turkey against any attempt to repeat the massacre of Hama, where Bashar's father Hafez Al-Assad put down an Islamist revolt by razing whole neighborhoods of the city.

But the government is signaling to its growing legion of critics abroad that it will not bow to calls for change that have swept across the Arab world, and to its people that it is prepared to wade through blood to stay in power.

Interactive: Young and restless: Demographics fuel Mideast protests (on this page)

Having embarked on a military drive to crush Syria's democracy protests at all costs, the Assads appear to have decided to raise the cost of protest, just as the Muslim month of Ramadan, which began on Monday, offers the opposition a platform to expand its nearly five-month-old uprising.

"The assault on Hama is an indication of loss of control. They crossed the threshold," said Bassma Kodmani, head of the Paris-based Arab Reform Initiative. "They want to show that they can raise the level of repression to the whole country."

"What has been clear is that the government is prepared to use force without limit," Beirut-based Middle East analyst Rami Khouri told Reuters. "But this is not solving the problem. instead, it is making the rebellion more robust."

Symbol of inspiration
Bashar, who inherited power in 2000 from his father, clearly believes overwhelming force will extinguish calls for freedom.

But with 1,600 killed and thousands dragged to the dungeons of Syria's secret police, the protests have spread from city to city unbowed so far by killings, arrests, the disappearance of thousands and the systematic use of torture.

Story: Arab unrest, high food prices cast pall on Ramadan

Avaaz, a global movement that monitors Syria as the government has banned foreign journalists, said that since March 15, 1,634 had died in the crackdown. The group estimated that 2,918 people had disappeared, 26,000 had been arrested with many of them beaten and tortured, and 12,617 were still in detention.

"After four months of brutal repression the regime hasn't realized that there is no military solution to the protest movement and that the only solution is to enact reforms," said Nadim Houri, of Human Rights Watch in Beirut.

The tank assault on Hama on Sunday, in which 84 people were killed, is clearly an attempt to regain control of the city ahead of Ramadan and to avert protests during the holy month.

"They want to prevent Hama from becoming a symbol and inspiration for other cities," Houri said.

But the authorities, analysts say, could not have been more crude in choosing the beginning of Ramadan, a holy day in the Muslim calendar, and Hama, a bastion of revolt which occupies a significant place in Syria's history, to mount their assault.

"You cannot mention tanks and Hama and not evoke memories of the massacre," said Nadim Houri. "Ramadan is full of symbolism and the people will feel more aggrieved by the regime and there will be a backlash."

Analysts say Ramadan will witness calls at prayers for other cities to rise up, including Damascus and Aleppo, the second largest and mainly Sunni city, where demonstrations until now have been modest. They said many will heed the calls.

Few experts believe that the Assads -- from the Alawite minority sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam which has ruled over this country of 23 million with a 75 percent Sunni majority -- would respond to the unrest with the sort of change its citizens are demanding: the dismantling of the police state and the Assad clan's power monopoly, free elections and an end to corruption.

For Assad to enact the reforms he has been promising since he came to power in 2000, he would have to purge the Syrian establishment of his most powerful allies and cronies. Since they are the foundation of his power, that is unlikely.

Yet, while grievances proliferate amid more bloodletting, the authorities may not be as robust as they look.

The army, in which nearly all crucial positions are held by Alawites, is nevertheless predominantly Sunni. Reports of soldiers refusing to fire on demonstrators and others who have turned their guns on their own comrades are rife.

That leaves the security services and elite army units commanded by Maher al-Assad, the president's brother, and overseen by Asef Shawkat, his brother-in-law.

Erosion of power
While these forces can ensure a prolonged and bloody conflict, they do not guarantee the Assads' long-term survival.

"The opposition will become more unified and a possible option is that the opposition will create a government in exile that will get some countries to recognize it. This will put huge pressure on the Assad regime," Khouri said.

Although the government seems to have the military might, the political and economic foundations of the Assads, in power for more than 40 years, are being eaten away.

Some advisers and businessmen hitherto close to the government are quietly distancing themselves from Assad.

Sanctions, imposed by the United States and EU, are starting to bite. Key revenue streams look shattered and the economy is declining steeply. Tourism, which accounts for 23 percent of Syria's hard currency earnings, has collapsed and the government may be running out of money.

The Beirut-based Carnegie Middle East Center this month cited reports of $20 billion leaving the country.

Rami Makhlouf, Bashar's millionaire cousin whose interests Syrian bankers say may account for around a third of the economy, has seen pressure on him grow since he was blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury in 2008.

A shareholders meeting of Cham Holding, his main business and Syria's largest private company, was, according to one investor present, unable to elect a new board last month after the outgoing chairman, Nabil al-Kuzbari, was blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control.

One expert said Makhlouf made a $1 billion deposit in June to shore up central bank reserves and the Syrian pound. An Arab diplomat said Syria had asked a Gulf Arab country to deposit $1 billion in the central bank but the request had been ignored.

Syria's isolation can only continue after the weekend's assault on Hama prompted wide condemnation and the European Union extended sanctions against Assad's government.

"They are slowly losing legitimacy among more Syrians and generating more opposition at home and abroad," said Khouri.

The main fear of Sunni Arab governments in the region is that Syria, with an ethnic mix, could descend into sectarian mayhem if the Assad government collapses, something that could destabilize the entire Middle East.

But the Hama assault on fellow Sunnis could finally force the Sunni governments to break their silence and inaction.

"The Hama massacre is a watershed," said Murhaf Jouejati, Professor of Middle East Studies at the Washington-based National Defense University.

"The ferocity of the assault is increasingly galvanizing the international community against the Assad regime and increasing the number of anti-Assad Syrians who until now have been sitting on the fence."

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

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Smoke on Air Canada jet forces return to Sydney

SYDNEY, Australia — Smoke coming from an oven on an Air Canada jetliner forced the aircraft to make a quick return to Sydney for an emergency landing, Australian media reported Thursday.

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The Sydney Morning Herald said that the aircraft, with 264 passengers aboard, landed safely at Kingsford Smith airport at 12:16 p.m. local time Thursday. The plane had taken off from Sydney at 10:25 a.m. Four infants were among the passengers, according to the Herald.

The Herald cited Fire and Rescue New South Wales officials as calling the incident "minor" and saying emergency crews were not required. The Telegraph newspaper reported that a fire broke out in the galley area of Flight AC34, which dumped its fuel before landing.

The Boeing 777-233LR was bound to Vancouver and Toronto, the Telegraph said. Before making the emergency landing, the jet dumped fuel over Hornsby and Longreef in Australia, the Telegraph reported.

"There was some smoke seen in the cabin by the crew, actually it was coming from the oven," Jeannie Foster, Air Canada's general manager for Australia and New Zealand told Macquarie Radio. "It was just smoke coming from an oven, there were no injuries."

Air Canada's website listed the flight's status as "Delayed-Diverted."

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Is Putin weighing a return to Russia's top job?

MOSCOW — Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is close to a decision to bid for the presidency in an election next year because he has doubts about his protege, President Dmitry Medvedev, senior political sources say.

Putin ruled as president from 2000 to 2008 before handing over to Medvedev to comply with a constitutional ban on a third consecutive term. He will be free to run in the March presidential election.

Putin, 58, and Medvedev, 45, have repeatedly refused to say which of them will run but as Russia's paramount leader, officials and diplomats say the decision is Putin's.

"I think Putin is going to run, that he has already decided to," said a highly placed source who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the delicacy of the political situation.

The source said Putin had been troubled by the perception that his protege, whom he has known for more than two decades, did not have sufficient support among the political and business elite or the electorate to ensure stability if he pushed ahead with plans for political reform.

"Putin has much more support from the people than Medvedev. Medvedev has overestimated his weight inside the system," he said.

Another highly placed source who declined to be identified said: "Putin wants to return, really wants to return."

The source said an attempt by Medvedev to assert his authority in recent months had unsettled Putin, but the two leaders communicated well on a regular basis.

Story: Hundreds of Russians protest against Putin

A third source also said Putin was thinking of running and that if he became president he could appoint a reformist prime minister, an apparent attempt to dispel fears that his return would usher in a period of stagnation two decades after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Investors see few differences between the two leaders' policies but many say privately that Medvedev would be more likely to carry out reforms than Putin.

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Medvedev's spokeswoman, Natalya Timakova, dismissed talk of any discord between them.

"I do not quite understand where these rumors come from because the president and the prime minister communicate not only on formal issues, but informally too," Timakova said.

A senior Kremlin source said it was up to the people, not the elite, who ruled Russia.

"The discussion should be not about support within the elite but about who has more support from the people," the Kremlin source said. "Support from the elite is not always decisive for the country to move forward."

Asked whether Putin was considering a return to the Kremlin, the prime minister's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said: "Vladimir Vladimirovich is working, working hard, rather than thinking about whether to run in the election."

Batman and Robin
Most officials and foreign diplomats believe that, as the ultimate arbiter between the powerful clans that make up the Russian elite, Putin will have the final say on who will run in 2012.

As Russia's most popular politician and leader of the ruling party, Putin would be almost certain to win a newly extended six-year term if he decided to return to the presidency.

He could also then run again for another term from 2018 to 2024, a quarter of a century since he rose to power in late 1999. He would turn 72 on October 7, 2024.

The picture of Russia's "alpha-dog" ruler eyeing another Kremlin term corresponds to the assessment of U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Beyrle who cast Medvedev as playing "Robin to Putin's Batman," according to leaked U.S. diplomatic cables.

"Russia's bicephalous ruling format is not likely to be permanent based on Russian history and current tandem dynamics," Beyrle wrote in February 2010 according to a copy of the cable. Story: Putin: NATO has no right to kill Gadhafi

Because of Medvedev's weakness in relation to Putin, the Kremlin chief's attempt to present himself as anything other than Putin's loyal protege has puzzled investors and irked some of the officials who make up part of Putin's court.

In a host of choreographed public events, Medvedev has pitched himself as the right man for Russia, calling for opening up the tightly controlled political system crafted by Putin and even reportedly lobbying Russia's powerful tycoons for support.

A Kremlin insider said it appeared that both Medvedev and Putin wanted to be president, but that the tandem had not shown itself to be an effective way to rule Russia.

"Neither Medvedev nor Putin have shown that this construction is stable," said the source, who added that talk of any discord was overblown and that Putin had shown his confidence in Medvedev by steering him into the Kremlin in 2008.

Asked about Medvedev, the source said: "He is not stupid but he is not a brilliant manager and I am not completely convinced he has enough steel... Putin does not plan to leave power anytime soon."

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

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