After months of debate over whether European countries should begin arming the rebels of the conflict in Syria, foreign ministers of the European Union agreed to let its arms embargo expire.
But the move belies deep divides in Europe over what to do about the Syrian civil war, as some fear that it will do little to change the conflict and could even hinder a US-Russian initiative to broker peace.
The statement issued by the EU declares that member states will assess their arms exports on a ?case-by-case basis? and that countries ?will not proceed at this stage? with arms shipments. The position will be reviewed before Aug. 1, giving space to the peace talks expected next month.
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Europe has opposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since the beginning of the civil war and put restrictions on his regime, including a series of economic sanctions that were set to expire at the end of this month. On Monday the EU foreign ministers extended them all, but allowed the arms embargo to expire. Each country would decide whether to export arms or not.
NO CONSENSUS
The move has been hailed by many as a must-do in the face of escalating violence and as a unified message from the EU to Mr. Assad. But behind the statement, there was no consensus among the 27-member states.
Britain and France have pushed the hardest to end the embargo, arguing that in doing so they help level the playing field in the conflict as well as force Assad to negotiate.
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said the decision Monday was ?important for Europe to send a clear signal to the Assad regime that it has to negotiate seriously, and that all options remain on the table if it refuses to do so.?
Many countries in Europe, including Austria, the Czech Republic, and Sweden, have been opposed to sending arms, citing concerns about fueling an arms race and that weapons could fall into the wrong hands ? the same line the US has been arguing.
"The EU should hold the line. We are a peace movement and not a war movement," Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger said, according to the BBC.
On Tuesday, Russia called the EU's move counterproductive to the peace process that is underway and, in response, said it was looking into giving the Syrian government more high-powered missiles. US Secretary of State John Kerry met in Paris Monday with his Russian counterpart to prepare for talks planned for next month.
EFFECTS
Jean-Sylvestre Mongrenier, a European defense analyst at the Thomas More Institute in Paris, says that the support of Russia and Iran to the Assad regime has forced more action by the Western world. ?The conflict is escalating and becoming more and more dangerous,? he says.
Daniel Keohane, head of strategic affairs in the Brussels office of the Spanish think tank FRIDE, says that six months ago the countries within the EU were nowhere close to the decision announced Monday. It?s an important statement, he says, ?to show that Europeans are united against the Assad regime.?
But the impact of Monday?s decision depends on the specific response of Britain and France. ?There is no real and strong European consensus," Dr. Mongrenier says. "The decision to go forward will depend upon a coalition of like-minded countries.?
At least initially, the European decision changes ?nothing in actual terms,? says Yves Boyer, assistant director of the Foundation for Strategic Research in Paris and a defense and international relations expert. "They decided to lift [the embargo] but they will do nothing [before Aug. 1] in the pretext of the peace conference,? he says.
But even after Aug. 1, Dr. Boyer says that because there are already so many arms flowing into Syria, and so many disparate factions, between civil actors and international players using Syria as a proxy, the impact will be minimal. ?I think Europeans have very little leverage in the many dynamics of the conflict.?
Daniel Levy, the director of the Middle East and North Africa Program at the European Council on Foreign Relations in London, says that the priority should not be on the arms question, but on putting EU weight behind the peace process. The agreement, which was hailed by the Syrian opposition, could give France and Britain some ?purchase in their engagement with the opposition,? he says.
But the accord ? to let an embargo expire but not act immediately ? is such a weak offer that it probably does little to change the situation.
Or as Boyer puts it: ?It?s a zero sum game.?
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BAGHDAD (AP) ? A wave of car bombings tore through mostly Shiite Muslim neighborhoods of the Baghdad area on Monday afternoon, leaving at least 57 dead in the latest outburst of an unusually intense wave of bloodshed roiling Iraq.
The blasts are the latest indication that Iraq's security is rapidly deteriorating as sectarian tensions exacerbated by months of Sunni-led anti-government protests and the war in neighboring Syria are on the rise.
Iraq has been hit by a wave of bloodshed that has killed more than 300 people in the past two weeks alone.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Monday's bloodshed, but the attacks bore the hallmarks of al-Qaida's Iraqi arm. The group, known as the Islamic State of Iraq, frequently uses car bombs and coordinated blasts in an effort to undermine Iraqis' confidence in the Shiite-led government.
One of Monday's attacks happened when back-to-back blasts struck an open-air market in the predominantly Shiite al-Maalif area, killing six and wounding 12 others, two police officers said.
The attack came less than an hour after another car bomb exploded in the busy commercial Sadoun Street in central Baghdad. It killed five civilians and wounded 14 others, two other police officers said. Among the wounded were four policemen who were in a nearby checkpoint.
The street is one of the major hubs in the capital for clinics, pharmacies and shops. Firefighters were seen struggling to extinguish the flames from the debris of the car bomb as police sealed off the area.
Several shops were partially damaged or burned. Elsewhere, police said a car bomb went off in the capital's eastern New Baghdad area as they were waiting for explosives experts to dismantle it, killing a civilian and wounding nine others.
In the northern Sabi al-Boor neighborhood, police said eight civilians were killed and 26 wounded when another car bomb exploded in a market.
Meanwhile in the southwestern neighborhood of Bayaa, another car bomb explosion in a market killed six civilians and wounded 16. In northern Baghdad's Kazimiyah district, a car bomb blew up near a bus and taxi stop, killing four and wounding 11 others. And in Baghdad's central Sadria area, a car bomb went off in a market and killed three civilians and wounded 11.
Authorities also reported 12 killed and 35 wounded when two bombs exploded in the eastern Habibiya neighborhood. In the eastern Jisr Diyala area, a car bomb killed 5 and wounded 12. And in the northern Shaab area, a car bomb killed four and wounded nine.
In Madain, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of central Baghdad, a car bomb killed three and wounded nine.
Medical officials confirmed the causality figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information.
Although violence has decreased sharply in Iraq since the height of insurgency, militants are still capable to carry out lethal attacks nationwide.
The recent wave of bloodshed has raised tensions between the country's Sunni minority and Shiite-led government. The surge in violence has been reminiscent of the sectarian carnage that pushed Iraq to the brink of civil war in 2006 and 2007.
Alarmed by a nationwide deterioration in the security situation, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has ordered a reshuffle in senior military ranks.
Since Saturday, the government has launched a military operation in the country's western Anbar province to chase down fighters from al-Qaida in Iraq. The group has grown stronger thanks to the rising lawlessness on the Syrian-Iraq frontier and to cross-border cooperation with the Syrian militant group Jabhat al-Nusra, or the Nusra Front.
JERUSALEM (AP) ? Israel's trailblazing electric car company Better Place announced Sunday that it is shutting down, less than six years after unveiling an ambitious plan that promised to revolutionize the auto industry by reducing the world's dependency on oil.
Better Place was perhaps Israel's best known clean-tech company and a leading symbol of its "startup" nation status. Israel, along with Denmark, was the company's test market for developing nationwide networks of charging and battery-swapping stations that it hoped would eventually spread globally. But the company experienced repeated delays in getting off the ground and experienced weak demand for its cars after burning through millions of dollars.
The announcement that the company was filing for liquidation comes less than eight months after company founder Shai Agassi was forced out. The project won the support of Israeli President Shimon Peres, received generous financial incentives from the Israeli government and made Agassi a dynamic celebrity CEO.
The company's vision of drastically reducing oil dependence, cutting carbon emissions and blazing a trail for more environmentally friendly means of transportation won it worldwide praise and high-profile endorsements from people such as former President Bill Clinton. But it also faced skepticism from industry insiders who warned of technical pitfalls, such as limited battery range.
In a written statement, the company's Board of Directors said the venture's intentions were still valid but the execution had faults along the way.
"This is a very sad day for all of us. We stand by the original vision as formulated by Shai Agassi of creating a green alternative that would lessen our dependence on highly polluting transportation technologies," the company said. "Unfortunately, the path to realizing that vision was difficult, complex and littered with obstacles, not all of which we were able to overcome."
When reached by The Associated Press, Agassi refused comment Sunday.
Better Place raised some $850 million from investors like General Electric Co. and HSBC Holdings PLC and the European Investment Bank. Israel Corp., controlled by billionaire Idan Ofer, was the largest shareholder in the venture.
In Israel and Denmark, the networks are almost complete, while the company also has operations in Australia, the Netherlands, China, Hawaii and Japan.
Israel was a particularly ideal laboratory, thanks to high fuel prices, a supportive government and its dense population centers. In Israel, 90 percent of car owners drive less than 45 miles, or about 70 kilometers, per day and all major urban centers are less than 100 miles apart, making the use of battery operated cars more feasible than in countries with longer average commutes.
For people making longer trips, the country was dotted with several dozen mechanized battery-swapping stations, where a new battery could be placed in the vehicle in just a few minutes. Green cars were also particularly attractive to Israel, which hopes to weaken the political clout of its oil-rich enemies.
But fewer than 1,000 cars made it on to the road and the company's distinctive charging stations remained largely empty. French automaker Renault has sold a sedan, the Fluence, which was customized to use the stations and was priced in Israel at roughly $32,000, on par with other sedans.
In its motion to court Sunday, Better Place said it was seeking the appointment of a temporary liquidator. In light of its failure to raise additional funds, the company asked for the court's assistance in protecting the rights of its employees, customers and creditors.
"From the start, Better Place was a breakthrough for the infrastructure of the electric car industry and successfully completed the development of its technology and infrastructure. Israel was the first place in which an electrical car could travel without limit," said CEO Dan Cohen. "Unfortunately, after a year's commercial operation, it was clear to us that despite many satisfied customers, the wider public take up would not be sufficient and that the support from the car producers was not forthcoming."
Contact: Joan Kureczka Joan@kureczka-martin.com 415-821-2413 Kureczka/Martin Associates
New prospective data presented on 1,000 patients at 2013 Heart Rhythm Society shows over 90 percent fewer major device infections
Denver, CO (May 11, 2013): Use of TYRX, Inc.'s AIGISRx Antibacterial Envelope reduced major infection rates by more than 90% in patients undergoing Cardiovascular Implantable Electronic Device (CIED) replacement procedures compared to similar high-risk cohorts, according to the CITADEL & CENTURION clinical study results presented on Saturday at the Late Breaking Clinical Trials session at Heart Rhythm 2013, the Heart Rhythm Society's 34th Annual Scientific Sessions.
CITADEL / CENTURION is a prospective, multicenter clinical study to evaluate the major device infection and mechanical complication rates in the 12 months after implantation, in patients at high risk for CIED infection who have their CIED implanted with an AIGISRx Antibacterial Envelope. Study patients were enrolled at 55 US centers, and were at high-risk for infection because they were undergoing a CIED replacement procedure with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), (CITADEL), or a cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) device (CENTURION).
The results from a planned interim analysis of the primary endpoints for the first 1000 eligible patients after 90 days of follow up were presented by Dr. Charles A. Henrikson, the Chief of Electrophysiology at the Oregon Health Sciences University.
Key study findings include:
The CITADEL / CENTURION cohort at 90 days of follow-up had 95% fewer major CIED infections than the pre-defined published control cohort of 533 ICD and CRT replacement procedures (Gould et al. JAMA 2006, 295(16); 1907-1911) which had a major CIED infection rate of 1.88% at a mean follow-up of 81 days (0.1% vs. 1.88%; PThe CITADEL / CENTURION cohort at 90 days of follow-up had 94% fewer major infections than the 45-day major infection rate of 1.7% reported for the cohort of 1081 ICD/CRT replacement procedures in the Ontario ICD Database (Krahn et al. Circulation Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology 2011 4(2) 136-42 (0.1% vs. 1.7%; PThere was 1 major infection (0.1%), the primary efficacy endpoint of the study, after 90 days of follow-up. There were 11 minor infections (limited to the incision and skin) (1.1%).
The incidence of the most common mechanical complication, major hematomas (1.5%), was not significantly different than the pre-defined control cohort (2.3%; P = NS).
There were no unanticipated serious AIGISRx-related adverse events. There were 20 (2%) deaths, none related to the AIGISRx.
"CIED infections are increasing in frequency, are associated with substantial morbidity, mortality, and cost, and present significant challenges to patients and for the physicians who provide care for them," stated Charles A. Henrikson, MD, FHRS, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, Oregon. "The CITADEL & CENTURION are large prospective studies enrolling patients at community, academic, and VA medical centers which will provide us with useful clinical information on the use of the AIGISRx Envelope in a variety of patients who are at high risk for CIED infection."
The CITADEL (NCT01043861) & CENTURION (NCT01043705) studies are registered in the ClinicalTrials.gov registry of federally and privately supported clinical trials conducted in the US and around the world.
###
This study was funded by TYRX, Inc.
About Heart Rhythm Society
Heart Rhythm 2013 is the most comprehensive educational program for heart rhythm professionals, featuring more than 250 educational sessions and more than 130 exhibitors showcasing innovative products and services. The Heart Rhythm Society's Annual Scientific Sessions have become the must-attend event of the year, allowing the exchange of new vital ideas and information among colleagues from every corner of the globe.
About TYRX, Inc.
TYRX, Inc. commercializes innovative, implantable combination drug+device products focused on infection control, including the AIGISRx Antibacterial Envelope, designed to reduce surgical site infections associated with Cardiac Implantable Electronic Devices (CIEDs). AIGISRx products contain the antimicrobial agents, rifampin and minocycline, which have been shown to reduce infection by pathogens responsible for the majority of CIED infections, including "superbugs" such as methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA).*
For more information, please visit http://www.TYRX.com or http://www.HeartDeviceInfection.com.
*Data on file at TYRX and published Hansen et al. Pacing Clin Electrophysiol. 2009; 32(7):898-907.
CONTACTS:
Robert White
President and Chief Executive Officer
TYRX, Inc.
732.246.8676
info@TYRX.com
For Media:
Kureczka/Martin Associates
Joan Kureczka
415.690.0210
Joan@Kureczka-Martin.com
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Contact: Joan Kureczka Joan@kureczka-martin.com 415-821-2413 Kureczka/Martin Associates
New prospective data presented on 1,000 patients at 2013 Heart Rhythm Society shows over 90 percent fewer major device infections
Denver, CO (May 11, 2013): Use of TYRX, Inc.'s AIGISRx Antibacterial Envelope reduced major infection rates by more than 90% in patients undergoing Cardiovascular Implantable Electronic Device (CIED) replacement procedures compared to similar high-risk cohorts, according to the CITADEL & CENTURION clinical study results presented on Saturday at the Late Breaking Clinical Trials session at Heart Rhythm 2013, the Heart Rhythm Society's 34th Annual Scientific Sessions.
CITADEL / CENTURION is a prospective, multicenter clinical study to evaluate the major device infection and mechanical complication rates in the 12 months after implantation, in patients at high risk for CIED infection who have their CIED implanted with an AIGISRx Antibacterial Envelope. Study patients were enrolled at 55 US centers, and were at high-risk for infection because they were undergoing a CIED replacement procedure with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), (CITADEL), or a cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) device (CENTURION).
The results from a planned interim analysis of the primary endpoints for the first 1000 eligible patients after 90 days of follow up were presented by Dr. Charles A. Henrikson, the Chief of Electrophysiology at the Oregon Health Sciences University.
Key study findings include:
The CITADEL / CENTURION cohort at 90 days of follow-up had 95% fewer major CIED infections than the pre-defined published control cohort of 533 ICD and CRT replacement procedures (Gould et al. JAMA 2006, 295(16); 1907-1911) which had a major CIED infection rate of 1.88% at a mean follow-up of 81 days (0.1% vs. 1.88%; PThe CITADEL / CENTURION cohort at 90 days of follow-up had 94% fewer major infections than the 45-day major infection rate of 1.7% reported for the cohort of 1081 ICD/CRT replacement procedures in the Ontario ICD Database (Krahn et al. Circulation Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology 2011 4(2) 136-42 (0.1% vs. 1.7%; PThere was 1 major infection (0.1%), the primary efficacy endpoint of the study, after 90 days of follow-up. There were 11 minor infections (limited to the incision and skin) (1.1%).
The incidence of the most common mechanical complication, major hematomas (1.5%), was not significantly different than the pre-defined control cohort (2.3%; P = NS).
There were no unanticipated serious AIGISRx-related adverse events. There were 20 (2%) deaths, none related to the AIGISRx.
"CIED infections are increasing in frequency, are associated with substantial morbidity, mortality, and cost, and present significant challenges to patients and for the physicians who provide care for them," stated Charles A. Henrikson, MD, FHRS, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, Oregon. "The CITADEL & CENTURION are large prospective studies enrolling patients at community, academic, and VA medical centers which will provide us with useful clinical information on the use of the AIGISRx Envelope in a variety of patients who are at high risk for CIED infection."
The CITADEL (NCT01043861) & CENTURION (NCT01043705) studies are registered in the ClinicalTrials.gov registry of federally and privately supported clinical trials conducted in the US and around the world.
###
This study was funded by TYRX, Inc.
About Heart Rhythm Society
Heart Rhythm 2013 is the most comprehensive educational program for heart rhythm professionals, featuring more than 250 educational sessions and more than 130 exhibitors showcasing innovative products and services. The Heart Rhythm Society's Annual Scientific Sessions have become the must-attend event of the year, allowing the exchange of new vital ideas and information among colleagues from every corner of the globe.
About TYRX, Inc.
TYRX, Inc. commercializes innovative, implantable combination drug+device products focused on infection control, including the AIGISRx Antibacterial Envelope, designed to reduce surgical site infections associated with Cardiac Implantable Electronic Devices (CIEDs). AIGISRx products contain the antimicrobial agents, rifampin and minocycline, which have been shown to reduce infection by pathogens responsible for the majority of CIED infections, including "superbugs" such as methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA).*
For more information, please visit http://www.TYRX.com or http://www.HeartDeviceInfection.com.
*Data on file at TYRX and published Hansen et al. Pacing Clin Electrophysiol. 2009; 32(7):898-907.
CONTACTS:
Robert White
President and Chief Executive Officer
TYRX, Inc.
732.246.8676
info@TYRX.com
For Media:
Kureczka/Martin Associates
Joan Kureczka
415.690.0210
Joan@Kureczka-Martin.com
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
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Public release date: 11-May-2013
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