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Parade Planned for World Champs
The World Champion San Francisco Giants will be celebrating in the streets Wednesday.
San Francisco Celebrates World Champion Giants
The streets of San Francisco were alive with orange and black before sunrise Wednesday as Giants fans from across the entire Bay Area flocked to the 49 square miles to celebrate a group of misfits and castoffs who are now world champions.
Read more on KSBW Salinas
Wolf Parade: Barrage from Montreal
The Montreal-based Wolf Parade’s new collection is a keyboard-driven blend of indie rock, weirdo pop, and art-punk, replete with more than a few dark, mysterious, and nervous moments.
Read more on Charleston City Paper
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Japan urges calm after China severs contacts
BEIJING – Japan urged China to remain calm and not inflame their diplomatic spat further Monday after Beijing severed high-level contacts over the detention of a Chinese fishing boat captain near disputed islands.
China's rare move late Sunday pushed already-tense relations to a new low, and showed Beijing's willingness to play hardball with its Asian rival on issues of territorial integrity, which include sparring with Japan over natural gas fields in the East China Sea.
The severing of high-level government contacts came after anti-Japanese protests were held across China on the anniversary of the start of a Japanese invasion of China in 1931, which has historically cast a shadow over ties between the world's second- and third-largest economies.
The latest dispute was sparked when a Chinese fishing vessel collided with two Japanese coast guard ships on Sept. 7 near islands in the East China Sea — called Senkaku by Japan and known as Diaoyu or Diaoyutai in Chinese and claimed by both countries.
The 14 Chinese crew were released last week, but the captain's detention for further questioning — pending a decision about whether to press charges — has inflamed ever-present anti-Japanese sentiment in China.
In Tokyo, a Japanese spokesman said the government was assessing the situation but it had not yet been officially informed of the severing of ties. Noriyuki Shikata, spokesman for Prime Minister Naoto Kan, told The Associated Press if China did make such a decision, "it is truly regrettable."
"We call for calm and prudent action by China in order not to further escalate the situation," Shikata said.
The investigation into the Chinese captain's case is based on Japan's domestic law and is "not based on any political intent," he said.
China's Foreign Ministry said Japan's refusal to release the boat captain had caused "severe damage" to relations.
China's rare move late Sunday pushed already-tense relations to a new low, and showed Beijing's willingness to play hardball with its Asian rival on issues of territorial integrity, which include sparring with Japan over natural gas fields in the East China Sea.
The severing of high-level government contacts came after anti-Japanese protests were held across China on the anniversary of the start of a Japanese invasion of China in 1931, which has historically cast a shadow over ties between the world's second- and third-largest economies.
The latest dispute was sparked when a Chinese fishing vessel collided with two Japanese coast guard ships on Sept. 7 near islands in the East China Sea — called Senkaku by Japan and known as Diaoyu or Diaoyutai in Chinese and claimed by both countries.
The 14 Chinese crew were released last week, but the captain's detention for further questioning — pending a decision about whether to press charges — has inflamed ever-present anti-Japanese sentiment in China.
In Tokyo, a Japanese spokesman said the government was assessing the situation but it had not yet been officially informed of the severing of ties. Noriyuki Shikata, spokesman for Prime Minister Naoto Kan, told The Associated Press if China did make such a decision, "it is truly regrettable."
"We call for calm and prudent action by China in order not to further escalate the situation," Shikata said.
The investigation into the Chinese captain's case is based on Japan's domestic law and is "not based on any political intent," he said.
China's Foreign Ministry said Japan's refusal to release the boat captain had caused "severe damage" to relations.
Indian lawmakers visit Kashmir to address unrest
SRINAGAR, India – A delegation of Indian lawmakers seeking to defuse months of deadly civil unrest in Kashmir arrived in the Himalayan region Monday, a day after four more anti-India protesters died after being hurt during increasingly violent demonstrations.
Lawmakers from all major Indian national parties were expected to meet Kashmiri leaders in Srinagar and find ways to address long-standing demands for self-rule or a merger with predominantly Muslim Pakistan. Srinagar is the largest city in the Indian portion of Kashmir.
But it was unclear how useful the delegation's mission would be after Kashmiri separatists said they would not meet the lawmakers, and dismissed the trip as a public relations stunt by the Indian government.
Kashmir has been rocked by widespread protests against Indian rule since June, with at least 106 people killed in clashes with security forces. Human rights group Amnesty International has urged Indian authorities to investigate the killings and order government forces to stop the use of lethal force against demonstrators.
On Monday, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, a top separatist leader, described the Indian lawmakers' visit as "a facade, a joke."
"They have converted the entire Kashmir region into a prison and now a delegation has been sent to meet the besieged people," Farooq told The Associated Press.
Thousands of armed troops patrolled the deserted streets of Srinagar and other major towns Monday and enforced a curfew for the eighth day.
Three men hurt during street battles with government forces last week died in hospitals in Srinagar on Sunday, a police officer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
Also Sunday, a 22-year-old woman was killed by Indian security forces in the town of Sopore after a group of protesters attacked them with stones, said the officer.
Lawmakers from all major Indian national parties were expected to meet Kashmiri leaders in Srinagar and find ways to address long-standing demands for self-rule or a merger with predominantly Muslim Pakistan. Srinagar is the largest city in the Indian portion of Kashmir.
But it was unclear how useful the delegation's mission would be after Kashmiri separatists said they would not meet the lawmakers, and dismissed the trip as a public relations stunt by the Indian government.
Kashmir has been rocked by widespread protests against Indian rule since June, with at least 106 people killed in clashes with security forces. Human rights group Amnesty International has urged Indian authorities to investigate the killings and order government forces to stop the use of lethal force against demonstrators.
On Monday, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, a top separatist leader, described the Indian lawmakers' visit as "a facade, a joke."
"They have converted the entire Kashmir region into a prison and now a delegation has been sent to meet the besieged people," Farooq told The Associated Press.
Thousands of armed troops patrolled the deserted streets of Srinagar and other major towns Monday and enforced a curfew for the eighth day.
Three men hurt during street battles with government forces last week died in hospitals in Srinagar on Sunday, a police officer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
Also Sunday, a 22-year-old woman was killed by Indian security forces in the town of Sopore after a group of protesters attacked them with stones, said the officer.
Amazing New Designs For The Dollar Bill
The American dollar is in bad need of a makeover. Thanks to the Dollar ReDe$ign Project, we may now have some options.
Organized by creative strategy consultant Richard Smith, the Dollar ReDe$ign Project is soliciting ideas for the dollar bill of the future. "Our great 'rival', the Euro, looks so spanky in comparison it seems the only clear way to revive this global recession is to rebrand and redesign," the project notes on its website.
Fisher started the project in with the intent of "trying to find a catalyst to restart our economy" he told Fox News. The recent competition is now closed, and voting ends on September 30. "This has touched people's hearts," Fisher said, and "people feel the dollar touches their lives."
The leading vote-getter for this year's competition (pictured below) was submitted by British duo Dowling Duncan, which features a unique vertical design.
Why a vertical format? "When we researched how notes are used we realized people tend to handle and deal with money vertically rather than horizontally," they note on the Dollar ReDe$ign Project's website. "You tend to hold a wallet or purse vertically when searching for notes. The majority of people hand over notes vertically when making purchases. All machines accept notes vertically. Therefore a vertical note makes more sense."
Mark Gartland submitted the entry below, entitled "America Today." The $50 bill features (pictured below) Sacagawea, the native American Indian who acted as Lewis and Clark's interepreter and guide. Noting the "cosmetic drabness" of the current dollar bill, Gartland selected various historical icons from including Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln and President Obama to represent the "diverse fabric" of the U.S.
If these money makeovers weren't enough, The Dollar ReDe$ign Project has even circulated a petition to get the U.S. government to seriously consider their ideas. Which of these designs is your favorite?
Organized by creative strategy consultant Richard Smith, the Dollar ReDe$ign Project is soliciting ideas for the dollar bill of the future. "Our great 'rival', the Euro, looks so spanky in comparison it seems the only clear way to revive this global recession is to rebrand and redesign," the project notes on its website.
Fisher started the project in with the intent of "trying to find a catalyst to restart our economy" he told Fox News. The recent competition is now closed, and voting ends on September 30. "This has touched people's hearts," Fisher said, and "people feel the dollar touches their lives."
The leading vote-getter for this year's competition (pictured below) was submitted by British duo Dowling Duncan, which features a unique vertical design.
Why a vertical format? "When we researched how notes are used we realized people tend to handle and deal with money vertically rather than horizontally," they note on the Dollar ReDe$ign Project's website. "You tend to hold a wallet or purse vertically when searching for notes. The majority of people hand over notes vertically when making purchases. All machines accept notes vertically. Therefore a vertical note makes more sense."
Mark Gartland submitted the entry below, entitled "America Today." The $50 bill features (pictured below) Sacagawea, the native American Indian who acted as Lewis and Clark's interepreter and guide. Noting the "cosmetic drabness" of the current dollar bill, Gartland selected various historical icons from including Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln and President Obama to represent the "diverse fabric" of the U.S.
If these money makeovers weren't enough, The Dollar ReDe$ign Project has even circulated a petition to get the U.S. government to seriously consider their ideas. Which of these designs is your favorite?
NASA discovers brand new force of nature
NASA scientists say they may have discovered a new force of nature, after research showed two of their deep space probes were being inexplicably pulled off course.
Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11, which have been in space for over 40 years, are being steadily pulled towards the sun by an unknown power, according to London’s Telegraph newspaper
The scientists said it could not be gravity or solar radiation, as they decreased over distance.
They have also discounted gas leaks and nuclear heat leaks from the satellites.
Although the force is relatively weak — around 10 billion times weaker than gravity — the satellites are travelling at around 43,000km/h on a journey expected to last several million years.
Two other satellites in the solar system, Galileo and Ulysses, are also being affected by a similar force.
The Pioneer satellites have photographed planets Jupiter and Saturn, and Pioneer 10 is so far into space it passed Pluto in 1983.
Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11, which have been in space for over 40 years, are being steadily pulled towards the sun by an unknown power, according to London’s Telegraph newspaper
The scientists said it could not be gravity or solar radiation, as they decreased over distance.
They have also discounted gas leaks and nuclear heat leaks from the satellites.
Although the force is relatively weak — around 10 billion times weaker than gravity — the satellites are travelling at around 43,000km/h on a journey expected to last several million years.
Two other satellites in the solar system, Galileo and Ulysses, are also being affected by a similar force.
The Pioneer satellites have photographed planets Jupiter and Saturn, and Pioneer 10 is so far into space it passed Pluto in 1983.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
India BlackBerry users hold breath over ban
NEW DELHI (AFP) - – India's BlackBerry users are holding their breath as they wait to see if the government carries out a threat this week to ban encrypted messages sent on the phones due to fears of misuse by militants.
The government, worried that militants could use BlackBerry's heavily encrypted services to plan attacks, warned earlier this month it would start blocking emails and instant messages sent on the smartphones unless the company comes up with a way for security agencies to decode the traffic by August 31.
There were indications late last week the deadline might be pushed back beyond Tuesday's deadline as BlackBerry's Canadian makers, Research in Motion (RIM), scrambled to satisfy the authorities.
Minister of state for communications Sachin Pilot said he was "hopeful" a plan could be worked out with RIM.
The government -- keen to project India as a fast-growing, investor-friendly economy -- is "not in the business of shutting down services", Pilot said, but stressed New Delhi was also not ready to sacrifice its security interests.
"These concerns have been addressed in other parts of the world. I see no reason why the government and (security) agencies should take any risk at all as far as technology (is concerned)."
Analysts have noted other security-conscious nations such as China and Russia appear to be satisfied over their intelligence agencies' level of access to BlackBerry communications.
G.K. Pillai, the top bureaucrat in the home ministry, was due to hold a department meeting Monday to take a call on India's next step. Officials have suggested RIM might be given a one or two-month extension of the deadline.
BlackBerry users said they hoped a shutdown could be averted.
"Its as essential as food, water and shelter. A BlackBerry is a necessity for all the corporate guys, and the government can't afford to do that (a ban), thats for sure," said marketing manager Amit Deshmukh.
But the government has already told cellular operators to be prepared to shut off BlackBerry's corporate messaging services. Non-corporate emails are less heavily encrypted and can already be accessed by Indian security agencies.
For RIM, whose shares closed at a 52-week low on Friday of 45.99 dollars in New York, striking a deal with India is crucial and would help ensure the company is not shut out of the world's fastest-growing cellular market.
India, which has 1.1 million BlackBerry users, would be the first country to curb its services. But RIM is also facing a threatened ban by the United Arab Emirates and is negotiating with Saudi Arabia on security issues.
In a bid to head off a showdown, RIM offered Thursday to set up an "industry forum" to look at how to prevent misuse of the encrypted service while safeguarding corporate privacy.
RIM and analysts insist the company is unable to comply with demands to hand over codes allowing interception by security agencies. RIM says it has no "master key" to unlock encryption codes of clients which are set at the user level and argues the issue is an industry-wide concern.
"The industry forum would work closely with the Indian government and focus on developing recommendations for policies and processes aimed at preventing the misuse of strong encryption technologies," RIM said.
"Banning one solution, such as the BlackBerry solution, would be ineffective" and also "severely limit the effectiveness and productivity of Indias corporations," RIM added.
"They are essentially trying to educate the government so it can stay ahead of the technology -- militants are not going to be going around using corporate emails, there are more sophisticated methods," Kunal Bajaj, director India of telecom consulting firm Analysys Mason, told AFP.
"I honestly do not think India will shut BlackBerry services down, it's just taking a bit of time to see what are the options and how to get what they're looking for," he added.
Nareshchandra Singh, principal research analyst at Gartner global consultancy, said there "could be some extension, but ultimately if the government doesn't get what it wants it could come to a ban."
The government, worried that militants could use BlackBerry's heavily encrypted services to plan attacks, warned earlier this month it would start blocking emails and instant messages sent on the smartphones unless the company comes up with a way for security agencies to decode the traffic by August 31.
There were indications late last week the deadline might be pushed back beyond Tuesday's deadline as BlackBerry's Canadian makers, Research in Motion (RIM), scrambled to satisfy the authorities.
Minister of state for communications Sachin Pilot said he was "hopeful" a plan could be worked out with RIM.
The government -- keen to project India as a fast-growing, investor-friendly economy -- is "not in the business of shutting down services", Pilot said, but stressed New Delhi was also not ready to sacrifice its security interests.
"These concerns have been addressed in other parts of the world. I see no reason why the government and (security) agencies should take any risk at all as far as technology (is concerned)."
Analysts have noted other security-conscious nations such as China and Russia appear to be satisfied over their intelligence agencies' level of access to BlackBerry communications.
G.K. Pillai, the top bureaucrat in the home ministry, was due to hold a department meeting Monday to take a call on India's next step. Officials have suggested RIM might be given a one or two-month extension of the deadline.
BlackBerry users said they hoped a shutdown could be averted.
"Its as essential as food, water and shelter. A BlackBerry is a necessity for all the corporate guys, and the government can't afford to do that (a ban), thats for sure," said marketing manager Amit Deshmukh.
But the government has already told cellular operators to be prepared to shut off BlackBerry's corporate messaging services. Non-corporate emails are less heavily encrypted and can already be accessed by Indian security agencies.
For RIM, whose shares closed at a 52-week low on Friday of 45.99 dollars in New York, striking a deal with India is crucial and would help ensure the company is not shut out of the world's fastest-growing cellular market.
India, which has 1.1 million BlackBerry users, would be the first country to curb its services. But RIM is also facing a threatened ban by the United Arab Emirates and is negotiating with Saudi Arabia on security issues.
In a bid to head off a showdown, RIM offered Thursday to set up an "industry forum" to look at how to prevent misuse of the encrypted service while safeguarding corporate privacy.
RIM and analysts insist the company is unable to comply with demands to hand over codes allowing interception by security agencies. RIM says it has no "master key" to unlock encryption codes of clients which are set at the user level and argues the issue is an industry-wide concern.
"The industry forum would work closely with the Indian government and focus on developing recommendations for policies and processes aimed at preventing the misuse of strong encryption technologies," RIM said.
"Banning one solution, such as the BlackBerry solution, would be ineffective" and also "severely limit the effectiveness and productivity of Indias corporations," RIM added.
"They are essentially trying to educate the government so it can stay ahead of the technology -- militants are not going to be going around using corporate emails, there are more sophisticated methods," Kunal Bajaj, director India of telecom consulting firm Analysys Mason, told AFP.
"I honestly do not think India will shut BlackBerry services down, it's just taking a bit of time to see what are the options and how to get what they're looking for," he added.
Nareshchandra Singh, principal research analyst at Gartner global consultancy, said there "could be some extension, but ultimately if the government doesn't get what it wants it could come to a ban."
North Korean leader prolongs China visit: report
SEOUL (AFP) - – North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il appears headed for a third destination in China rather than returning home from a surprise trip believed linked to his country's succession process, a report said Sunday.
Kim's special train left the northeastern city of Changchun late Saturday in what was believed to be a departure for home, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.
But as of Sunday morning there were no signs the train had returned to the North via the Chinese border cities of Dandong or Jian, the agency quoted a diplomatic source in Beijing as saying.
A source in the Chinese city of Yanji told Yonhap the local government was preparing to receive a special guest. "It is highly likely that it would be Chairman Kim," the source said.
Kim has not previously visited Yanji, capital of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture which is part of China's economic development plan for its northeastern provinces.
Yonhap said Kim's other likely destinations in Yanbian include the towns of Tumen and Hunchun near the border with the North.
The South's cable news channel YTN reported that work to clean up main streets and control traffic in Tumen began Sunday morning. It said some 10 large sedans have been waiting at a train station in Namyang, a North Korean town bordering Tumen, since early Saturday afternoon.
South Korean media has reported that Kim, 68, is believed to have met President Hu Jintao in Changchun, during an apparent mission to seek China's support for an eventual handover of power to his youngest son Jong-Un.
The leader suffered a stroke in August 2008 and since then has speeded up plans for a power transfer in the hardline communist state.
China is the impoverished North's sole major ally and its economic lifeline. It chairs six-nation talks on the North's nuclear disarmament and has been pressing Pyongyang to return to the forum which it quit in April 2009.
The current visit is Kim's second to China in about three months, even though he rarely travels abroad. He met Hu during his previous visit in May.
The trip went ahead despite last week's visit to Pyongyang by former US President Jimmy Carter to secure the release of a jailed American. It was not known whether Jong-Un, believed to be aged about 27, accompanied his father.
On the first day on Thursday, Kim paid a visit to Jilin's Yuwen Middle School which his father, North Korea's founder Kim Il-Sung, attended from 1927 to 1930.
Yonhap said a visit by Kim to the Yanbian region may be related to economic cooperation plans.
Beijing is reportedly seeking permission to extend its lease of the North's northeastern port of Rajin which provides access to the Sea of Japan (East Sea).
China currently has a 10-year lease on Rajin, which also borders Russia, Li Longxi, governor of the Yanbian prefecture, said during China's annual legislative meeting in March.
He said the use of the port would make it easier to ship coal from northeast China to southern China and Japan.
Official media in Beijing and Pyongyang have said nothing about Kim's visit, which may also be aimed at securing much-needed food and construction aid following recent severe floods.
Seoul officials said they would seek information from China as soon as Kim returns home.
"Customarily, China has briefed related countries about the result of Kim's visit (to China) once he returns home, and South Korea is certainly the number one priority in this matter," a foreign ministry spokesman told AFP.
"We expect the same process to take place very soon, possibly this week."
Kim's special train left the northeastern city of Changchun late Saturday in what was believed to be a departure for home, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.But as of Sunday morning there were no signs the train had returned to the North via the Chinese border cities of Dandong or Jian, the agency quoted a diplomatic source in Beijing as saying.
A source in the Chinese city of Yanji told Yonhap the local government was preparing to receive a special guest. "It is highly likely that it would be Chairman Kim," the source said.
Kim has not previously visited Yanji, capital of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture which is part of China's economic development plan for its northeastern provinces.
Yonhap said Kim's other likely destinations in Yanbian include the towns of Tumen and Hunchun near the border with the North.
The South's cable news channel YTN reported that work to clean up main streets and control traffic in Tumen began Sunday morning. It said some 10 large sedans have been waiting at a train station in Namyang, a North Korean town bordering Tumen, since early Saturday afternoon.
South Korean media has reported that Kim, 68, is believed to have met President Hu Jintao in Changchun, during an apparent mission to seek China's support for an eventual handover of power to his youngest son Jong-Un.
The leader suffered a stroke in August 2008 and since then has speeded up plans for a power transfer in the hardline communist state.
China is the impoverished North's sole major ally and its economic lifeline. It chairs six-nation talks on the North's nuclear disarmament and has been pressing Pyongyang to return to the forum which it quit in April 2009.
The current visit is Kim's second to China in about three months, even though he rarely travels abroad. He met Hu during his previous visit in May.
The trip went ahead despite last week's visit to Pyongyang by former US President Jimmy Carter to secure the release of a jailed American. It was not known whether Jong-Un, believed to be aged about 27, accompanied his father.
On the first day on Thursday, Kim paid a visit to Jilin's Yuwen Middle School which his father, North Korea's founder Kim Il-Sung, attended from 1927 to 1930.
Yonhap said a visit by Kim to the Yanbian region may be related to economic cooperation plans.
Beijing is reportedly seeking permission to extend its lease of the North's northeastern port of Rajin which provides access to the Sea of Japan (East Sea).
China currently has a 10-year lease on Rajin, which also borders Russia, Li Longxi, governor of the Yanbian prefecture, said during China's annual legislative meeting in March.
He said the use of the port would make it easier to ship coal from northeast China to southern China and Japan.
Official media in Beijing and Pyongyang have said nothing about Kim's visit, which may also be aimed at securing much-needed food and construction aid following recent severe floods.
Seoul officials said they would seek information from China as soon as Kim returns home.
"Customarily, China has briefed related countries about the result of Kim's visit (to China) once he returns home, and South Korea is certainly the number one priority in this matter," a foreign ministry spokesman told AFP.
"We expect the same process to take place very soon, possibly this week."
5 kidnapped Afghan campaign workers found dead
KABUL, Afghanistan – Afghan officials said they found the bodies Sunday of five kidnapped campaign workers for a female parliamentary candidate in the western province of Herat.
The five were snatched Wednesday by armed men who stopped their two-vehicle convoy as it was traveling through remote countryside. Five others traveling in the vehicles had earlier been set free, according to a man who answered the phone at the home of candidate Fawzya Galani and declined to give his name.
Residents of Herat's Adraskan district reported finding the bodies early Sunday and they were later transported to the local morgue, district chief Nasar Ahmad Popul said.
No one has claimed responsibility for the killings, although Taliban insurgents have been waging a campaign of murder and intimidation in hopes of sabotaging the Sept. 18 polls.
Galani may be a particular target of insurgents because she is one of only a few female candidates for the 249 seats in the lower house of parliament.
Also in Herat, parliamentary candidate Abdul Manan was shot and killed Saturday on his way to a mosque by an attacker traveling by motorbike.
A number of other candidates and their assistants have been killed, injured or threatened around the country.
Many Afghans say they don't plan to take part in the voting, either because of safety concerns or cynicism with ineffective government and disgust over widespread corruption.
Electoral officials plan to open 5,897 polling sites for the parliamentary elections, having discarded more than 900 proposed venues because army and police could not guarantee security. Last year, 6,167 voting centers nominally operated during presidential polls.
The five were snatched Wednesday by armed men who stopped their two-vehicle convoy as it was traveling through remote countryside. Five others traveling in the vehicles had earlier been set free, according to a man who answered the phone at the home of candidate Fawzya Galani and declined to give his name.
Residents of Herat's Adraskan district reported finding the bodies early Sunday and they were later transported to the local morgue, district chief Nasar Ahmad Popul said.
No one has claimed responsibility for the killings, although Taliban insurgents have been waging a campaign of murder and intimidation in hopes of sabotaging the Sept. 18 polls.
Galani may be a particular target of insurgents because she is one of only a few female candidates for the 249 seats in the lower house of parliament.
Also in Herat, parliamentary candidate Abdul Manan was shot and killed Saturday on his way to a mosque by an attacker traveling by motorbike.
A number of other candidates and their assistants have been killed, injured or threatened around the country.
Many Afghans say they don't plan to take part in the voting, either because of safety concerns or cynicism with ineffective government and disgust over widespread corruption.
Electoral officials plan to open 5,897 polling sites for the parliamentary elections, having discarded more than 900 proposed venues because army and police could not guarantee security. Last year, 6,167 voting centers nominally operated during presidential polls.
Obama says Iraq war 'ending,' calls country 'sovereign'
VINEYARD HAVEN, Massachusetts (AFP) - – Three days before the official end of the US combat mission in Iraq, US President Barack Obama said on Saturday Iraq was now a "sovereign" nation free to determine its own destiny.
"On Tuesday, after more than seven years, the United States of America will end its combat mission in Iraq and take an important step forward in responsibly ending the Iraq war," Obama said in his weekly radio address.
The president, who is spending his last full vacation day Saturday on the island of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, is to deliver on Tuesday a nationally-televised Oval Office address on Iraq.
"As a candidate for this office, I pledged I would end this war," he said Saturday. "As president, that is what I am doing. We have brought home more than 90,000 troops since I took office."
US troop numbers in Iraq fell below 50,000 last Tuesday in line with Obama's instructions as part of a "responsible drawdown" of troops, seven years on from the invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein.
American troop levels are now less than a third of the peak figure of around 170,000 during the US military "surge" of 2007, when Iraq was in the midst of a brutal Shiite-Sunni sectarian war that cost thousands of lives.
But more than 4,400 US servicemen and women have lost their lives in this war since it began in 2003, according to an AFP count based on data from www.icasualties.org, an independent website.
And violence in the country, while down from the worst levels seen at the height of sectarian strife, continues to threaten stability in the nation, spooking investors, terrorizing religious minorities and raising the specter of a return to chaos after the end of US combat operations.
Particularly vulnerable are the Sunni Arab militiamen who sided with American soldiers against Al-Qaeda but now fear a surge in bloody revenge attacks against them.
The fighters have already been targeted in a number of attacks, including three killed Friday night in northern Iraq.
The US combat mission in Iraq is to officially end on August 31. The remaining US troops, who will have a support and training mission, are scheduled to leave the country by the end of 2011.
"But the bottom line is this: the war is ending," Obama said. "Like any sovereign, independent nation, Iraq is free to chart its own course. And by the end of next year, all of our troops will be home."
The president also used his address to call on Americans to honor those who have served in Iraq by sending them messages via such social networking Internet sites as YouTube, Facebook, Flickr or Twitter.
A strong critic of the war, Obama has always drawn a distinction between former Republican president George W. Bush's decision to invade Iraq and the daily fights US soldiers were waging in the country.
Addressing disabled veterans in Atlanta, Georgia, earlier this month, Obama noted that the Iraq war had sparked a vigorous debate in the country and that there were American patriots both in favor of and against the war.
But "what this new generation of veterans must know is this: our nations commitment to all who wear its uniform is a sacred trust that is as old as our republic itself," the president said Saturday. "It is one that, as president, I consider a moral obligation to uphold."
"On Tuesday, after more than seven years, the United States of America will end its combat mission in Iraq and take an important step forward in responsibly ending the Iraq war," Obama said in his weekly radio address.
The president, who is spending his last full vacation day Saturday on the island of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, is to deliver on Tuesday a nationally-televised Oval Office address on Iraq.
"As a candidate for this office, I pledged I would end this war," he said Saturday. "As president, that is what I am doing. We have brought home more than 90,000 troops since I took office."
US troop numbers in Iraq fell below 50,000 last Tuesday in line with Obama's instructions as part of a "responsible drawdown" of troops, seven years on from the invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein.
American troop levels are now less than a third of the peak figure of around 170,000 during the US military "surge" of 2007, when Iraq was in the midst of a brutal Shiite-Sunni sectarian war that cost thousands of lives.
But more than 4,400 US servicemen and women have lost their lives in this war since it began in 2003, according to an AFP count based on data from www.icasualties.org, an independent website.
And violence in the country, while down from the worst levels seen at the height of sectarian strife, continues to threaten stability in the nation, spooking investors, terrorizing religious minorities and raising the specter of a return to chaos after the end of US combat operations.
Particularly vulnerable are the Sunni Arab militiamen who sided with American soldiers against Al-Qaeda but now fear a surge in bloody revenge attacks against them.
The fighters have already been targeted in a number of attacks, including three killed Friday night in northern Iraq.
The US combat mission in Iraq is to officially end on August 31. The remaining US troops, who will have a support and training mission, are scheduled to leave the country by the end of 2011.
"But the bottom line is this: the war is ending," Obama said. "Like any sovereign, independent nation, Iraq is free to chart its own course. And by the end of next year, all of our troops will be home."
The president also used his address to call on Americans to honor those who have served in Iraq by sending them messages via such social networking Internet sites as YouTube, Facebook, Flickr or Twitter.
A strong critic of the war, Obama has always drawn a distinction between former Republican president George W. Bush's decision to invade Iraq and the daily fights US soldiers were waging in the country.
Addressing disabled veterans in Atlanta, Georgia, earlier this month, Obama noted that the Iraq war had sparked a vigorous debate in the country and that there were American patriots both in favor of and against the war.
But "what this new generation of veterans must know is this: our nations commitment to all who wear its uniform is a sacred trust that is as old as our republic itself," the president said Saturday. "It is one that, as president, I consider a moral obligation to uphold."
US conservatives rally to 'restore America'
WASHINGTON (AFP) - – Tens of thousands of people gathered at the site where Martin Luther King Jr gave his "I Have a Dream" speech 47 years ago to hear right-wing icons call on them to "restore America."
In wide-ranging and often religious terms, Fox News host talks show host Glenn Beck told Americans that their country was "at a crossroads" and urged them to return to "faith, hope and charity."
"Today we must decide, who are we? What is it we believe? We must advance or perish. I choose advance," he said to a cheering crowd that stretched from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument about a mile (1.6 kilometers) away.
Beck, who hosted the event to "restore America's honor," said he was told that between 300,000 and 500,000 people attended the event. But an AirPhotosLive.com estimate for CBS News based on aerial photographs of the rally said only 87,000 people showed up.
An average of two million viewers watch Beck's show, which airs daily on weekdays.
Many streets in downtown Washington were closed off and patrolled heavily by police, while rally participants packed Metro stations before heading to the site with folding chairs, baseball caps, cameras, strollers and children in tow.
The rally, billed as a non-political, faith-based salute to US troops and values, attracted many members of the conservative Tea Party movement, who eschewed their usual practice by honoring organizers' requests to not bring signs.
Hardly an African American was in sight.
The rally drew criticism because it was staged at the very same location where King made his call for racial equality nearly half a century ago.
Critics said Beck and fellow conservative icon Sarah Palin's political stances were sharply at odds with King's civil rights legacy.
Black leaders, including the Reverend Al Sharpton, held a competing march and accused Beck of misrepresenting the slain civil rights leader's message of equality among all races.
"The folks who criticize our marches are now trying to march themselves," Sharpton said. "They may have the Mall, but we have the message. They may have the platform, but we have the dream. The dream was not states' rights."
Beck said the timing was coincidental, and argued he had every right to commemorate King's struggle.
"Whites don't own Abraham Lincoln. Blacks don't own Martin Luther King," he said earlier this month.
The event came ahead of congressional elections in November, when Republicans hope to wrest control of Congress away from President Barack Obama's fellow Democrats.
The rally's goal was loosely defined, with Beck telling viewers of his Fox News talk show -- a must-watch for many US conservatives -- that it would pay tribute to "heroes, our heritage and our future."
Lou Tribus, a 67-year-old retiree, said he had traveled hundreds of miles (kilometers) from Tennessee in the south for the rally.
"We want to see our nation return to its foundation principles," he told AFP.
Another attendee, who only gave her fist name, Dawn, said she wanted to "bring back the values that my country was founded on."
Palin, a potential Republican presidential candidate in 2012, shared top billing at the event with Beck. Avid supporters chanted "USA! USA! USA!" as she appeared on stage.
She took a jab at Democrats -- Obama chief among them -- who have campaigned on promises of change in US politics.
"We must not fundamentally transform America as some would want," she said. "We must restore America and restore her honor."
Beck focused heavily on the need for Americans to embrace religion.
"We will be the shelter for the world, because the storm is coming. It is not just an American storm, it is a human storm. It is a global storm," he warned, adding that Americans would be called on to "save" the world.
"God is the answer and he always has been."
Beck's critics said it was inappropriate for a man who has accused Obama, an African-American, of having "a deep-seated hatred of white people," to stage a rally on the anniversary of King's speech.
The August 28, 1963 address drew a quarter million people and was designed to raise Americans' awareness of racial inequities that made blacks second-class citizens.
The predominantly white US conservative movement, now most visibly represented by the Tea Party, has faced persistent allegations of racism, after group members held up openly racist signs at rallies.
Dawn, 47, a small business owner from northern Virginia, expressed surprise at criticism of the rally.
"I think Martin Luther King would agree with us," she said. "I don't see why they think we shouldn't be here today."
In wide-ranging and often religious terms, Fox News host talks show host Glenn Beck told Americans that their country was "at a crossroads" and urged them to return to "faith, hope and charity."
"Today we must decide, who are we? What is it we believe? We must advance or perish. I choose advance," he said to a cheering crowd that stretched from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument about a mile (1.6 kilometers) away.
Beck, who hosted the event to "restore America's honor," said he was told that between 300,000 and 500,000 people attended the event. But an AirPhotosLive.com estimate for CBS News based on aerial photographs of the rally said only 87,000 people showed up.
An average of two million viewers watch Beck's show, which airs daily on weekdays.
Many streets in downtown Washington were closed off and patrolled heavily by police, while rally participants packed Metro stations before heading to the site with folding chairs, baseball caps, cameras, strollers and children in tow.
The rally, billed as a non-political, faith-based salute to US troops and values, attracted many members of the conservative Tea Party movement, who eschewed their usual practice by honoring organizers' requests to not bring signs.
Hardly an African American was in sight.
The rally drew criticism because it was staged at the very same location where King made his call for racial equality nearly half a century ago.
Critics said Beck and fellow conservative icon Sarah Palin's political stances were sharply at odds with King's civil rights legacy.
Black leaders, including the Reverend Al Sharpton, held a competing march and accused Beck of misrepresenting the slain civil rights leader's message of equality among all races.
"The folks who criticize our marches are now trying to march themselves," Sharpton said. "They may have the Mall, but we have the message. They may have the platform, but we have the dream. The dream was not states' rights."
Beck said the timing was coincidental, and argued he had every right to commemorate King's struggle.
"Whites don't own Abraham Lincoln. Blacks don't own Martin Luther King," he said earlier this month.
The event came ahead of congressional elections in November, when Republicans hope to wrest control of Congress away from President Barack Obama's fellow Democrats.
The rally's goal was loosely defined, with Beck telling viewers of his Fox News talk show -- a must-watch for many US conservatives -- that it would pay tribute to "heroes, our heritage and our future."
Lou Tribus, a 67-year-old retiree, said he had traveled hundreds of miles (kilometers) from Tennessee in the south for the rally.
"We want to see our nation return to its foundation principles," he told AFP.
Another attendee, who only gave her fist name, Dawn, said she wanted to "bring back the values that my country was founded on."
Palin, a potential Republican presidential candidate in 2012, shared top billing at the event with Beck. Avid supporters chanted "USA! USA! USA!" as she appeared on stage.
She took a jab at Democrats -- Obama chief among them -- who have campaigned on promises of change in US politics.
"We must not fundamentally transform America as some would want," she said. "We must restore America and restore her honor."
Beck focused heavily on the need for Americans to embrace religion.
"We will be the shelter for the world, because the storm is coming. It is not just an American storm, it is a human storm. It is a global storm," he warned, adding that Americans would be called on to "save" the world.
"God is the answer and he always has been."
Beck's critics said it was inappropriate for a man who has accused Obama, an African-American, of having "a deep-seated hatred of white people," to stage a rally on the anniversary of King's speech.
The August 28, 1963 address drew a quarter million people and was designed to raise Americans' awareness of racial inequities that made blacks second-class citizens.
The predominantly white US conservative movement, now most visibly represented by the Tea Party, has faced persistent allegations of racism, after group members held up openly racist signs at rallies.
Dawn, 47, a small business owner from northern Virginia, expressed surprise at criticism of the rally.
"I think Martin Luther King would agree with us," she said. "I don't see why they think we shouldn't be here today."
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Experts not consulted over Lockerbie bomber's release
LONDON — Four cancer specialists who were closely involved in the Lockerbie bomber's treatment have said they were not consulted before his release, a report said Sunday.
One of the experts said he was "surprised" that his advice was not sought before Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi was freed in August last year, in comments to The Sunday Times newspaper.
None of the medics, who were working for the national health service when they dealt with Megrahi, said they signed off on a prognosis stating that the bomber had only three months to live, said the report.
The Scottish government freed him on compassionate grounds because he was suffering from terminal cancer and had only a short time to live, but he is still alive almost a year later.
"I was surprised when I heard he was being released, because I wasn't really asked for my opinion... it's a bit odd," said Zak Latif, the bomber's urologist in Scotland.
A Libyan doctor, Ibrahim Sherif, and a British cancer expert, Professor Karol Sikora -- who was paid by the Libyan government -- examined Megrahi and concluded he had three months to live, according to The Sunday Times.
Sikora admitted in an interview last month the bomber could in fact live for 10 years or longer.
Megrahi is the only man convicted of the 1988 terrorist attack over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, in which 270 people died, including 189 Americans.
The fact he is still alive almost a year after his release from prison has enraged critics in the United States who accuse oil giant BP of having pressed Scottish authorities for Megrahi's release to safeguard a lucrative business deal.
The Scottish government vehemently denies it came under pressure from BP.
Scottish ministers last year published a report by Andrew Fraser, director of health and care at the Scottish Prison Service.
It highlighted the names of four specialists in the case but their names were blacked out, said The Sunday Times.
As well as consultant urologist Latif, they were: urologist Geoffrey Orr, who first diagnosed Megrahi's cancer; Richard Jones, Megrahi's personal oncologist; and Grahame Howard, a consultant, according to the paper.
Latif said he had never had any dealings with Fraser: "I've never met or spoken to him. I deal with prostate cancer all the time and I'm very reluctant to make any kind of prognosis."
"I don't know how he made the decision of three months," he added.
Latif said Jones was not consulted before the release. Jones refused to comment, said The Sunday Times.
Orr said he had not been in touch with Scottish prison authorities since late October 2008, when he retired. "I would not even attempt to make a prognosis," he said.
Howard has previously said he is not surprised that Megrahi is still alive.
The Scottish government told the paper: "Due and proper process was followed at every stage."
One of the experts said he was "surprised" that his advice was not sought before Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi was freed in August last year, in comments to The Sunday Times newspaper.None of the medics, who were working for the national health service when they dealt with Megrahi, said they signed off on a prognosis stating that the bomber had only three months to live, said the report.
The Scottish government freed him on compassionate grounds because he was suffering from terminal cancer and had only a short time to live, but he is still alive almost a year later.
"I was surprised when I heard he was being released, because I wasn't really asked for my opinion... it's a bit odd," said Zak Latif, the bomber's urologist in Scotland.
A Libyan doctor, Ibrahim Sherif, and a British cancer expert, Professor Karol Sikora -- who was paid by the Libyan government -- examined Megrahi and concluded he had three months to live, according to The Sunday Times.
Sikora admitted in an interview last month the bomber could in fact live for 10 years or longer.
Megrahi is the only man convicted of the 1988 terrorist attack over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, in which 270 people died, including 189 Americans.
The fact he is still alive almost a year after his release from prison has enraged critics in the United States who accuse oil giant BP of having pressed Scottish authorities for Megrahi's release to safeguard a lucrative business deal.
The Scottish government vehemently denies it came under pressure from BP.
Scottish ministers last year published a report by Andrew Fraser, director of health and care at the Scottish Prison Service.
It highlighted the names of four specialists in the case but their names were blacked out, said The Sunday Times.
As well as consultant urologist Latif, they were: urologist Geoffrey Orr, who first diagnosed Megrahi's cancer; Richard Jones, Megrahi's personal oncologist; and Grahame Howard, a consultant, according to the paper.
Latif said he had never had any dealings with Fraser: "I've never met or spoken to him. I deal with prostate cancer all the time and I'm very reluctant to make any kind of prognosis."
"I don't know how he made the decision of three months," he added.
Latif said Jones was not consulted before the release. Jones refused to comment, said The Sunday Times.
Orr said he had not been in touch with Scottish prison authorities since late October 2008, when he retired. "I would not even attempt to make a prognosis," he said.
Howard has previously said he is not surprised that Megrahi is still alive.
The Scottish government told the paper: "Due and proper process was followed at every stage."
U.N. chief to meet Pakistan leaders over floods
(Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will meet Pakistani leaders on Sunday to discuss the country's worst floods in decades as popular anger mounts over the government's failure to tackle the crisis.
Nearly 12 percent of the population, some 20 million people, have been affected by one of the worst catastrophes in Pakistan's history. Six million still need food, shelter and water, according to the United Nations.
Ban will meet both Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani and President Asif Ali Zardari, who has been a lightning rod for popular anger after traveling to Europe in the middle of the catastrophe and not cutting short his trip.
The UN leader plans to visit flood hit areas on Sunday.
The floods, triggered by torrential monsoon downpours just over two weeks ago, engulfed Pakistan's Indus river basin, killing up to 1,600 people.
Ban's visit comes as millions of Pakistanis are increasingly frustrated by the government that has already been hit by political bickering and growing militant violence,Flood victims have complained that not enough government aid is arriving and looting has occurred in many flood hit areas amid increasing signs of lawlessness.
Pakistan's government has been accused of being too slow to respond to the crisis with victims relying mostly on the military and foreign aid agencies for help.
Floodwaters pose new threats to the populous Sindh province and the southwest province of Baluchistan, a region also hit by a decades long separatist insurgency.
In the northwest Swat valley, flour, cooking oil and rice were carried by mules along narrow mountain tracks to 150,000 people in Shahpur, with roads cut off and the weather too bad for helicopters.
Despite the government's perceived failure to tackle the crisis, a military coup is unlikely. The army's priority is fighting Taliban insurgents, and seizing power during a disaster would make no sense, analysts say.
It already sets security policies and influences foreign policy, and is described by some as a state within a state.
The International Monetary Fund has warned of major economic harm and the Finance Ministry said it would miss this year's 4.5 percent gross domestic product growth target.
Any economic downturn would come just as the government aims to fund projects across the country to win hearts and minds in the battle against the Taliban.
Wheat, cotton and sugar crops have all suffered damage in a country where agriculture is a mainstay of the economy.
Nearly 12 percent of the population, some 20 million people, have been affected by one of the worst catastrophes in Pakistan's history. Six million still need food, shelter and water, according to the United Nations.Ban will meet both Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani and President Asif Ali Zardari, who has been a lightning rod for popular anger after traveling to Europe in the middle of the catastrophe and not cutting short his trip.
The UN leader plans to visit flood hit areas on Sunday.
The floods, triggered by torrential monsoon downpours just over two weeks ago, engulfed Pakistan's Indus river basin, killing up to 1,600 people.
Ban's visit comes as millions of Pakistanis are increasingly frustrated by the government that has already been hit by political bickering and growing militant violence,Flood victims have complained that not enough government aid is arriving and looting has occurred in many flood hit areas amid increasing signs of lawlessness.
Pakistan's government has been accused of being too slow to respond to the crisis with victims relying mostly on the military and foreign aid agencies for help.
Floodwaters pose new threats to the populous Sindh province and the southwest province of Baluchistan, a region also hit by a decades long separatist insurgency.
In the northwest Swat valley, flour, cooking oil and rice were carried by mules along narrow mountain tracks to 150,000 people in Shahpur, with roads cut off and the weather too bad for helicopters.
Despite the government's perceived failure to tackle the crisis, a military coup is unlikely. The army's priority is fighting Taliban insurgents, and seizing power during a disaster would make no sense, analysts say.
It already sets security policies and influences foreign policy, and is described by some as a state within a state.
The International Monetary Fund has warned of major economic harm and the Finance Ministry said it would miss this year's 4.5 percent gross domestic product growth target.
Any economic downturn would come just as the government aims to fund projects across the country to win hearts and minds in the battle against the Taliban.
Wheat, cotton and sugar crops have all suffered damage in a country where agriculture is a mainstay of the economy.
Moscow airports operate normally despite smoke - aviation regulator
Moscow airports are operating normally despite smoke from fires raging outside the Russian capital, the country's aviation authority Rosaviatsia said on Sunday.
The smoke has shrouded Moscow again after a brief respite as a result of peat bog and forest fires raging in the neighboring Vladimir and Ryazan regions. The smoke has been blown into Moscow by southeast winds, Russia's emergencies ministry earlier said.
"The visibility in Moscow airports is now 1,400-3,000 meters. The smoke has not caused any flight delays," Rosaviatsia said.
Since mid-June, the Moscow Region has been in the grips of an abnormal heat wave sparking peat bog and forest fires. During two weeks the capital was blanketed in acrid dense smog.
The worst smoky days were August 6 and 7, when the carbon monoxide concentration in the air exceeded the maximum permissible level 6 to 7 times over.
The smoke has shrouded Moscow again after a brief respite as a result of peat bog and forest fires raging in the neighboring Vladimir and Ryazan regions. The smoke has been blown into Moscow by southeast winds, Russia's emergencies ministry earlier said.
"The visibility in Moscow airports is now 1,400-3,000 meters. The smoke has not caused any flight delays," Rosaviatsia said.
Since mid-June, the Moscow Region has been in the grips of an abnormal heat wave sparking peat bog and forest fires. During two weeks the capital was blanketed in acrid dense smog.
The worst smoky days were August 6 and 7, when the carbon monoxide concentration in the air exceeded the maximum permissible level 6 to 7 times over.
China holds day of mourning for mudslide victims
BEIJING — Flags were flying at half mast and public entertainment cancelled Sunday as China marked a national day of mourning for the more than 1,200 people killed by massive mudslides in the northwest.
Thousands of residents and rescuers in Zhouqu, the remote mountain region in Gansu province flattened by last weekend's landslides, stopped search efforts to take part in a ceremony to remember the victims, state television said.
Sirens wailed as mourners, wearing white paper flowers and some still clutching their shovels, observed a three-minute silence at 10:00 am.
Rescuers and medics later resumed their duties, clearing debris from the swollen Bailong River, searching for bodies buried under sludge and spraying disinfectant to prevent a disease outbreak, the Xinhua news agency said.
President Hu Jintao and other top leaders also paid tribute to the victims, as flags across the country and at overseas embassies were flown at half-mast and public entertainment such as movies, karaoke, online games and television was suspended, state media reports said.
State television broadcast images of about 10,000 people gathered at Tiananmen Square in Beijing early Sunday to watch a special flag-raising ceremony while other ceremonies were held across the country.
Shortly after midnight, the home pages of Chinese websites turned black and white while newspapers were stripped of colour in a show of mourning, Xinhua said.
In Hong Kong, flags on government buildings were lowered and a daily evening light show in the harbour was cancelled out of respect for those killed in the devastating mudslides which buried entire villages.
According to Chinese tradition, the seventh day after a death marks the height of the mourning period.
Authorities said 505 people in Zhouqu were still missing after the avalanche of mud and rocks last Saturday night, which levelled an area five kilometres (three miles) long and 300 metres wide.
The official death toll stood at 1,239 as of Saturday.
Authorities are struggling to keep up with demand for coffins in the devastated region, whose population is one-third Tibetan, the China Daily said.
Authorities warned heavy rains would continue into Sunday and said further flash floods, landslides and floating debris continued to pose dangers in Gansu province and neighbouring Sichuan, Xinhua said.
In Sichuan, at least 38 people were missing after landslides Saturday destroyed hospital buildings in Wenchuan county, the epicentre of an earthquake in May 2008 that left nearly 87,000 dead or missing, Xinhua said previously. About 10,000 people were evacuated as the government turned schools and municipal office buildings into temporary shelters, it said.
Elsewhere in Gansu, new floods and landslides have killed 34 people and left 63 missing in the city of Longnan close to Zhouqu, Xinhua said.
More than 122,000 residents in Longnan have been evacuated after more than 150 millimetres (six inches) of rain fell overnight on Wednesday.
The mudslides in Gansu are the latest in a string of weather-related disasters across China which is battling its worst floods in a decade.
More than 2,100 people have been left dead or missing and 12 million evacuated nationwide, not including the toll from the Zhouqu incident.
The civil affairs ministry said Friday it had not calculated a new nationwide flood death toll.
Thousands of residents and rescuers in Zhouqu, the remote mountain region in Gansu province flattened by last weekend's landslides, stopped search efforts to take part in a ceremony to remember the victims, state television said.
Sirens wailed as mourners, wearing white paper flowers and some still clutching their shovels, observed a three-minute silence at 10:00 am.
Rescuers and medics later resumed their duties, clearing debris from the swollen Bailong River, searching for bodies buried under sludge and spraying disinfectant to prevent a disease outbreak, the Xinhua news agency said.
President Hu Jintao and other top leaders also paid tribute to the victims, as flags across the country and at overseas embassies were flown at half-mast and public entertainment such as movies, karaoke, online games and television was suspended, state media reports said.
State television broadcast images of about 10,000 people gathered at Tiananmen Square in Beijing early Sunday to watch a special flag-raising ceremony while other ceremonies were held across the country.
Shortly after midnight, the home pages of Chinese websites turned black and white while newspapers were stripped of colour in a show of mourning, Xinhua said.
In Hong Kong, flags on government buildings were lowered and a daily evening light show in the harbour was cancelled out of respect for those killed in the devastating mudslides which buried entire villages.
According to Chinese tradition, the seventh day after a death marks the height of the mourning period.
Authorities said 505 people in Zhouqu were still missing after the avalanche of mud and rocks last Saturday night, which levelled an area five kilometres (three miles) long and 300 metres wide.
The official death toll stood at 1,239 as of Saturday.
Authorities are struggling to keep up with demand for coffins in the devastated region, whose population is one-third Tibetan, the China Daily said.
Authorities warned heavy rains would continue into Sunday and said further flash floods, landslides and floating debris continued to pose dangers in Gansu province and neighbouring Sichuan, Xinhua said.
In Sichuan, at least 38 people were missing after landslides Saturday destroyed hospital buildings in Wenchuan county, the epicentre of an earthquake in May 2008 that left nearly 87,000 dead or missing, Xinhua said previously. About 10,000 people were evacuated as the government turned schools and municipal office buildings into temporary shelters, it said.
Elsewhere in Gansu, new floods and landslides have killed 34 people and left 63 missing in the city of Longnan close to Zhouqu, Xinhua said.
More than 122,000 residents in Longnan have been evacuated after more than 150 millimetres (six inches) of rain fell overnight on Wednesday.
The mudslides in Gansu are the latest in a string of weather-related disasters across China which is battling its worst floods in a decade.
More than 2,100 people have been left dead or missing and 12 million evacuated nationwide, not including the toll from the Zhouqu incident.
The civil affairs ministry said Friday it had not calculated a new nationwide flood death toll.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Two-million-year-old hominid sheds light on evolution
Two skeletons of a new hominid species dating back two million years and found in South Africa have shed light on a previously unknown stage in human evolution, scientists said Thursday.
Baptised Australopithecus sediba, the partially fossilized specimens -- an adult female and a juvenile male -- were found in 2008 in a cavern 40 kilometres (24 miles) from Johannesburg.
"They, ladies and gentlemen, are potentially a Rosetta stone into the past," Lee Berger, a paleo-anthropologist at the University of Witwatersrand, told a press conference at the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site.
"They represent a completely new and unexpected species of human ancestor to science. Something we did not think was there."
The 1.9-million-year-old hominids are in "extraordinary condition", would have known each other, and were possibly related. The adult female was aged in her late 20s or early 30s and the boy between 11 and 13, he said.
"What we have found are arguably the most complete early hominid skeletons ever discovered. Each individual is far more complete than the famous Lucy fossil from Ethiopia."
The hominids walked upright and share a number of traits with the first known species of homo sapiens, having long arms like apes but short and powerful hands, according to a paper to be published in the journal Science.
They have evolved pelvises, small teeth and long legs that would enable them to run like a human. It is also probable that they could climb trees.
"Australopithecus sediba appears to present a mosaic of features demonstrating an animal comfortable in both worlds," said Berger, the principal author of the paper, in an earlier telephone press conference.
Both specimens were about 1.27 metres (4 feet two inches) in height. The female weighed about 33 kilos (72.6 pounds) and the young male 27 kilos.
The species had small brains, measuring about a third of the volume of those of modern humans.
But Berger noted that the shape of their brains appears to have evolved from other species of australopithecus.
"Australopithecus sediba appears to present a mosaic of features demonstrating an animal comfortable in both worlds," said Berger, the principal author of the paper.
The new species had many physical characteristics similar to those of early hominids that would help to explain what it means to be human, he said.
The skeletal structure of the two fossils is similar to those of the first Homo species, but the new examples appear to have employed it in the same way as "Lucy," perhaps the world's most famous fossil.
Found in 1974, Lucy dated back 3.2 million years and was considered the common ancestor of humanity until the discovery of the 4.4-million-year-old "Ardi", which points to a common ancestor with the chimpanzee.
Berger said it was not possible to establish the "precise" position of the new species in relation to early man.
"We can conclude that this new species shares more derived features with early Homo than any other known australopith species, and thus represents a candidate ancestor for the genus," he said.
The site of the discovery is rich in fossils and at least two other specimens of sediba have been excavated and are being analysed, Berger said.
The searchers have also identified the fossils of at least 25 other animal species, including a hyena, a wild dog, antelopes and a horse.
Baptised Australopithecus sediba, the partially fossilized specimens -- an adult female and a juvenile male -- were found in 2008 in a cavern 40 kilometres (24 miles) from Johannesburg.
"They, ladies and gentlemen, are potentially a Rosetta stone into the past," Lee Berger, a paleo-anthropologist at the University of Witwatersrand, told a press conference at the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site.
"They represent a completely new and unexpected species of human ancestor to science. Something we did not think was there."
The 1.9-million-year-old hominids are in "extraordinary condition", would have known each other, and were possibly related. The adult female was aged in her late 20s or early 30s and the boy between 11 and 13, he said.
"What we have found are arguably the most complete early hominid skeletons ever discovered. Each individual is far more complete than the famous Lucy fossil from Ethiopia."
The hominids walked upright and share a number of traits with the first known species of homo sapiens, having long arms like apes but short and powerful hands, according to a paper to be published in the journal Science.
They have evolved pelvises, small teeth and long legs that would enable them to run like a human. It is also probable that they could climb trees.
"Australopithecus sediba appears to present a mosaic of features demonstrating an animal comfortable in both worlds," said Berger, the principal author of the paper, in an earlier telephone press conference.
Both specimens were about 1.27 metres (4 feet two inches) in height. The female weighed about 33 kilos (72.6 pounds) and the young male 27 kilos.
The species had small brains, measuring about a third of the volume of those of modern humans.
But Berger noted that the shape of their brains appears to have evolved from other species of australopithecus.
"Australopithecus sediba appears to present a mosaic of features demonstrating an animal comfortable in both worlds," said Berger, the principal author of the paper.
The new species had many physical characteristics similar to those of early hominids that would help to explain what it means to be human, he said.
The skeletal structure of the two fossils is similar to those of the first Homo species, but the new examples appear to have employed it in the same way as "Lucy," perhaps the world's most famous fossil.
Found in 1974, Lucy dated back 3.2 million years and was considered the common ancestor of humanity until the discovery of the 4.4-million-year-old "Ardi", which points to a common ancestor with the chimpanzee.
Berger said it was not possible to establish the "precise" position of the new species in relation to early man.
"We can conclude that this new species shares more derived features with early Homo than any other known australopith species, and thus represents a candidate ancestor for the genus," he said.
The site of the discovery is rich in fossils and at least two other specimens of sediba have been excavated and are being analysed, Berger said.
The searchers have also identified the fossils of at least 25 other animal species, including a hyena, a wild dog, antelopes and a horse.
Thai forces use tear gas, water cannon on protesters
Thai security forces used tear gas and water cannon Friday against anti-government protesters who stormed a television station on the outskirts of Bangkok, an AFP reporter witnessed.
The authorities said about 12,000 demonstrators massed outside the broadcaster to try to put an anti-government TV channel back on air, triggering a tense standoff with thousands of security personnel.
Some of the protesters managed to force their way into the compound of Thaicom, which was protected by barbed wire.
The Red Shirt protesters have defied a state of emergency announced by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, vowing to keep up their almost month-long mass rallies in the Thai capital.
The authorities said about 12,000 demonstrators massed outside the broadcaster to try to put an anti-government TV channel back on air, triggering a tense standoff with thousands of security personnel.
Some of the protesters managed to force their way into the compound of Thaicom, which was protected by barbed wire.
The Red Shirt protesters have defied a state of emergency announced by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, vowing to keep up their almost month-long mass rallies in the Thai capital.
US-China held constructive yuan talks: report
US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner held constructive talks on the yuan in China, prompting optimism that Beijing could soon move to change its exchange rate policy, a report said Friday.
Geithner made a quick visit to Beijing late Thursday for a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan, the cabinet official in charge of economic and financial issues, that lasted for more than an hour.
The two sides issued nearly identical brief statements after the talks, saying they had discussed economic relations and the global financial situation, but neither country specifically mentioned the Chinese currency.
An unnamed US official however told The Wall Street Journal that the issue had been discussed, qualifying the talks as "constructive".
The official said the US side, while not expecting a specific pledge of action from Beijing given its concerns about being seen as bowing to US pressure, was encouraged that China would soon take action, the report said.
But the official emphasised that no breakthroughs were reached.
The yuan has been effectively pegged at 6.8 to the dollar since mid-2008.
The United States and China's other key trading partners have been piling pressure on Beijing to allow the yuan to appreciate, saying it is undervalued and gives the Asian nation an unfair advantage by making its exports cheaper.
US lawmakers had been pushing the US Treasury to label China a "currency manipulator" -- a move that would open the door to sanctions.
But a week ago, the Treasury announced the delay of a report that had been expected in mid-April and which could have slapped China with the "manipulator" tag, with Geithner saying there were better ways to advance US interests.
Geithner and Wang discussed other issues on Thursday, including the concerns of US companies about Beijing policies they say put them at a disadvantage in the Chinese marketplace, the Wall Street Journal said.
Geithner made a quick visit to Beijing late Thursday for a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan, the cabinet official in charge of economic and financial issues, that lasted for more than an hour.
The two sides issued nearly identical brief statements after the talks, saying they had discussed economic relations and the global financial situation, but neither country specifically mentioned the Chinese currency.
An unnamed US official however told The Wall Street Journal that the issue had been discussed, qualifying the talks as "constructive".
The official said the US side, while not expecting a specific pledge of action from Beijing given its concerns about being seen as bowing to US pressure, was encouraged that China would soon take action, the report said.
But the official emphasised that no breakthroughs were reached.
The yuan has been effectively pegged at 6.8 to the dollar since mid-2008.
The United States and China's other key trading partners have been piling pressure on Beijing to allow the yuan to appreciate, saying it is undervalued and gives the Asian nation an unfair advantage by making its exports cheaper.
US lawmakers had been pushing the US Treasury to label China a "currency manipulator" -- a move that would open the door to sanctions.
But a week ago, the Treasury announced the delay of a report that had been expected in mid-April and which could have slapped China with the "manipulator" tag, with Geithner saying there were better ways to advance US interests.
Geithner and Wang discussed other issues on Thursday, including the concerns of US companies about Beijing policies they say put them at a disadvantage in the Chinese marketplace, the Wall Street Journal said.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
India hit by new terror attack after bomb kills nine in Pune bakery
India suffered its first major terror attack since the Mumbai massacre when a bomb killed nine people at a café popular with tourists in the western city of Pune on Saturday evening.
The blast struck the popular German Bakery in Pune, 125 miles southeast of Mumbai, about 7.30pm (1400GMT), when the café was packed with diners.
Vinod Dhale, an employee at the bakery which is located in Pune's upmarket Koregaon Park area, said: "We heard a big noise and we all rushed out. The impact was so much that there were tiny body parts everywhere."
At least one foreigner was thought to be among the dead. About 50 injured, including several Iranians and a Taiwanese, were taken to city hospitals. The bomb is thought to have been planted in a bag left under a table.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, which India’s Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram described earlier as "a significant terrorist incident".
"What was being targeted was a soft target where both foreigners and Indians, especially young people, congregate," he said, after visiting the bomb site and the victims in a nearby hospital earlier today. “All the information available to us at the moment points to a plot to explode a device in a place that is frequented by foreigners as well as Indians.”
The German Bakery is close to the Osho ashram, a controversial free-love commune popular with foreigners, which security agencies had warned was on a target list of Islamist militants. It was also near Pune's Chabad House, a Jewish prayer centre, similar to the one targeted in Mumbai along with two luxury hotels and the city's main train station in November 2008.
The Osho ashram was one of the potential targets allegedly surveyed by David Coleman Headley, an American accused by American authorities of scouting targets for the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist function, the group behind the Mumbai attacks, in which 166 people, including 25 foreigners, were murdered by a group of 10 gunmen. 300 others were injured.
According to Indian officials, Mr Headley, who was at one time an informer to the US visited the ashram in March 2009.
Mr Headley came to the attention of the US security services in 1997 when he was arrested for heroin smuggling in New York. He earned a reduced sentence by working for the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) by infiltrating Pakistan-linked narcotics gangs.
Indian investigators, who have been denied access to Mr Headley, suspect he remained on the payroll of the US security services, but switched his allegiance to LeT.
"India is looking into whether Headley worked as a double agent," an Indian home ministry official said in December.
No one has claimed responsibility for the Pune attack, police said.
"There was an abandoned bag which seems to have contained some IED [improvised explosive device]," a police official told reporters.
The explosion came a day after India and Pakistan agreed to resume high-level peace talks on February 25, which have been suspended since the Mumbai atrocity.
The blast struck the popular German Bakery in Pune, 125 miles southeast of Mumbai, about 7.30pm (1400GMT), when the café was packed with diners.Vinod Dhale, an employee at the bakery which is located in Pune's upmarket Koregaon Park area, said: "We heard a big noise and we all rushed out. The impact was so much that there were tiny body parts everywhere."
At least one foreigner was thought to be among the dead. About 50 injured, including several Iranians and a Taiwanese, were taken to city hospitals. The bomb is thought to have been planted in a bag left under a table.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, which India’s Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram described earlier as "a significant terrorist incident".
"What was being targeted was a soft target where both foreigners and Indians, especially young people, congregate," he said, after visiting the bomb site and the victims in a nearby hospital earlier today. “All the information available to us at the moment points to a plot to explode a device in a place that is frequented by foreigners as well as Indians.”
The German Bakery is close to the Osho ashram, a controversial free-love commune popular with foreigners, which security agencies had warned was on a target list of Islamist militants. It was also near Pune's Chabad House, a Jewish prayer centre, similar to the one targeted in Mumbai along with two luxury hotels and the city's main train station in November 2008.
The Osho ashram was one of the potential targets allegedly surveyed by David Coleman Headley, an American accused by American authorities of scouting targets for the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist function, the group behind the Mumbai attacks, in which 166 people, including 25 foreigners, were murdered by a group of 10 gunmen. 300 others were injured.
According to Indian officials, Mr Headley, who was at one time an informer to the US visited the ashram in March 2009.
Mr Headley came to the attention of the US security services in 1997 when he was arrested for heroin smuggling in New York. He earned a reduced sentence by working for the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) by infiltrating Pakistan-linked narcotics gangs.
Indian investigators, who have been denied access to Mr Headley, suspect he remained on the payroll of the US security services, but switched his allegiance to LeT.
"India is looking into whether Headley worked as a double agent," an Indian home ministry official said in December.
No one has claimed responsibility for the Pune attack, police said.
"There was an abandoned bag which seems to have contained some IED [improvised explosive device]," a police official told reporters.
The explosion came a day after India and Pakistan agreed to resume high-level peace talks on February 25, which have been suspended since the Mumbai atrocity.
Premier Says Fraud Tainted Ukraine Vote
MOSCOW — Prime Minister Yulia V. Tymoshenko, the apparent loser in Ukraine’s presidential election, declared Saturday night that she would not concede, denouncing the results as having been tainted by widespread fraud.
Offering her first public comment on the election, on Feb. 7, Ms. Tymoshenko said she would go to court to overturn the victory of her opponent, Viktor F. Yanukovich, who was reported to have won by 3.5 percentage points.
“Yanukovich is not our president,” Ms. Tymoshenko said in a televised address to the nation. “He will never become the legitimate elected president of Ukraine under any circumstances.”
Ms. Tymoshenko acknowledged that Ukrainians were weary from years of political instability. She said she would not organize the kind of mass protests that shook the country during the 2004 Orange Revolution, which she helped lead. But she said she was confident that the election would be thrown out.
Still, she faces a significant challenge. European election monitors praised the balloting, saying that it was conducted freely and fairly, and President Obama and other world leaders have called Mr. Yanukovich in recent days to congratulate him.
Mr. Yanukovich, the opposition leader, mounted a comeback in this election after being the loser in the Orange Revolution. He has ties to the Kremlin, and has already indicated that he hopes to improve Ukraine’s relations with Russia.
He has said that Ms. Tymoshenko should concede and resign as prime minister for the good of the nation.
Ms. Tymoshenko had stirred speculation that she might do so by remaining largely out of the public eye in recent days. But she is known for her political intensity, and the tone of her remarks on Saturday night suggested that she would not immediately respond to domestic or international pressure to back down.
Preliminary results showed that Mr. Yanukovich won by roughly 900,000 votes. But Ms. Tymoshenko said that more than a million votes had been falsified in his favor. She said that on the Crimean Peninsula, a Yanukovich stronghold, 3 to 8 percent of the votes had been stolen for him.
She said some election monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe would support her in court, though she did not mention which ones. The organization approved of the election.
While not seeking demonstrations, Ms. Tymoshenko appeared to be trying to reignite the Orange movement, which arose after Mr. Yanukovich won the 2004 presidential election and his campaign was accused of fraud. Protests forced a new election, which Mr. Yanukovich lost to Viktor A. Yushchenko.
“Our opponents, as they did in 2004, demonstrated that they are not prepared to be elected by honest, democratic rules,” Ms. Tymoshenko said Saturday night. “They have perfectly well realized that they have no chance of earning the sympathy of the majority of people in a lawful way.”
There are major differences between the current situation and the earlier one. European election monitors assailed the 2004 election won by Mr. Yanukovich as deeply flawed, and many countries would not recognize it. What is more, Ukrainians were more enthusiastic about politics back then.
Now, Ukraine’s economy is hurting from the financial crisis, and the public is disillusioned with infighting in the government.
Offering her first public comment on the election, on Feb. 7, Ms. Tymoshenko said she would go to court to overturn the victory of her opponent, Viktor F. Yanukovich, who was reported to have won by 3.5 percentage points.
“Yanukovich is not our president,” Ms. Tymoshenko said in a televised address to the nation. “He will never become the legitimate elected president of Ukraine under any circumstances.”
Ms. Tymoshenko acknowledged that Ukrainians were weary from years of political instability. She said she would not organize the kind of mass protests that shook the country during the 2004 Orange Revolution, which she helped lead. But she said she was confident that the election would be thrown out.
Still, she faces a significant challenge. European election monitors praised the balloting, saying that it was conducted freely and fairly, and President Obama and other world leaders have called Mr. Yanukovich in recent days to congratulate him.
Mr. Yanukovich, the opposition leader, mounted a comeback in this election after being the loser in the Orange Revolution. He has ties to the Kremlin, and has already indicated that he hopes to improve Ukraine’s relations with Russia.
He has said that Ms. Tymoshenko should concede and resign as prime minister for the good of the nation.
Ms. Tymoshenko had stirred speculation that she might do so by remaining largely out of the public eye in recent days. But she is known for her political intensity, and the tone of her remarks on Saturday night suggested that she would not immediately respond to domestic or international pressure to back down.
Preliminary results showed that Mr. Yanukovich won by roughly 900,000 votes. But Ms. Tymoshenko said that more than a million votes had been falsified in his favor. She said that on the Crimean Peninsula, a Yanukovich stronghold, 3 to 8 percent of the votes had been stolen for him.
She said some election monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe would support her in court, though she did not mention which ones. The organization approved of the election.
While not seeking demonstrations, Ms. Tymoshenko appeared to be trying to reignite the Orange movement, which arose after Mr. Yanukovich won the 2004 presidential election and his campaign was accused of fraud. Protests forced a new election, which Mr. Yanukovich lost to Viktor A. Yushchenko.
“Our opponents, as they did in 2004, demonstrated that they are not prepared to be elected by honest, democratic rules,” Ms. Tymoshenko said Saturday night. “They have perfectly well realized that they have no chance of earning the sympathy of the majority of people in a lawful way.”
There are major differences between the current situation and the earlier one. European election monitors assailed the 2004 election won by Mr. Yanukovich as deeply flawed, and many countries would not recognize it. What is more, Ukrainians were more enthusiastic about politics back then.
Now, Ukraine’s economy is hurting from the financial crisis, and the public is disillusioned with infighting in the government.
Gunfire as some Taliban fight Marines in Marjah
MARJAH, Afghanistan — Squads of Marines and Afghan soldiers occupied a majority of the Taliban stronghold of Marjah on Sunday, but gunfire continued as pockets of militants dug in and fought, military officials said.
The second day of the largest offensive since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan was characterized by painstaking house searches and sporadic fighting.
The troops cleared out booby-trapped houses one by one, advancing slowly down streets littered with thousands of homemade bombs and mines. Shots continued to ring out in some neighborhoods.
"We're in the majority of the city at this point," said Lt. Josh Diddams, a Marine spokesman. He said the nature of the resistance has changed from the initial assault, with insurgents now holding ground in some neighborhoods.
"We're starting to come across areas where the insurgents have actually taken up defensive positions," he said. "Initially it was more hit and run."
The Marjah offensive is NATO's most ambitious effort yet to break the militants' grip over their southern heartland.
Using metal detectors and sniffer dogs, U.S. forces found caches of explosives rigged to blow as they went from compound to compound. They also discovered several sniper positions, freshly abandoned and booby-trapped with grenades.
The troops also found two large caches of ammonium nitrate — a common ingredient in explosives — totaling about 8,800 pounds (4,000 kilograms), Diddams said.
NATO said it hoped to secure Marjah, the largest town under Taliban control and a key opium smuggling hub, within days, set up a local government and rush in development aid in a first test of the new U.S. strategy for turning the tide of the 8-year-old war.
At least two shuras, or meetings, have been held with local Afghan residents — one in the northern district of Nad Ali and the other in Marjah itself, NATO said in a statement. Discussions have been "good," and more shuras are planned in coming days as part of a larger strategy to enlist community support for the NATO mission, it said.
Afghan officials said Sunday that at least 27 insurgents had been killed in the operation.
Most of the Taliban appeared to have scattered in the face of overwhelming force, possibly waiting to regroup and stage attacks later to foil the alliance's plan to stabilize the area and expand Afghan government control in the volatile south.
Two NATO soldiers were killed on the first day of the operation — one American and one Briton — according to military officials in their countries. At least seven civilians had been wounded, but there were no reports of deaths, Helmand provincial spokesman Daoud Ahmadi said.
More than 30 transport helicopters ferried troops into the heart of Marjah before dawn Saturday, while British, Afghan and U.S. troops fanned out across the Nad Ali district to the north of the mud-brick town, long a stronghold of the Taliban.
Maj. Gen. Gordon Messenger told reporters in London that British forces "have successfully secured the area militarily" with only sporadic resistance from Taliban forces. A Taliban spokesman insisted their fighters still controlled the town.
President Barack Obama was keeping a close watch on combat operations, White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said.
He said Defense Secretary Robert Gates would have the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, brief Obama on Sunday.
In Marjah, Marines and Afghan troops' advance through the town was impeded by countless land mines, homemade bombs and booby-traps littering the area. Marine ordnance teams blew up several dozen bombs, setting off huge explosions that reverberated through the dusty streets.
On Sunday, most of the Marines said they would have preferred a straight-up gunbattle to the "death at every corner" crawl they faced, though they continued to advance slowly through the town.
"Basically, if you hear the boom, it's good. It means you're still alive after the thing goes off," said Lance Corp. Justin Hennes, 22, of Lakeland, Florida.
Local Marjah residents crept out from hiding after dawn Sunday, some reaching out to Afghan troops partnered with Marine platoons.
"Could you please take the mines out?" Mohammad Kazeem, a local pharmacist, asked the Marines through an interpreter. The entrance to his shop had been completely booby-trapped, without any way for him to re-enter his home, he said.
The bridge over the canal into Marjah from the north was rigged with so many explosives that Marines erected temporary bridges to cross into the town.
"It's just got to be a very slow and deliberate process," said Capt. Joshua Winfrey of Stillwater, Oklahoma, a Marine company commander.
Lt. Col. Brian Christmas, commander of the 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, said U.S. troops fought gunbattles in at least four areas of the town and faced "some intense fighting."
To the east, the battalion's Kilo Company was inserted into the town by helicopter without meeting resistance but was then "significantly engaged" as the Marines fanned out from the landing zone, Christmas said.
Marine commanders had said they expected between 400 and 1,000 insurgents — including more than 100 foreign fighters — to be holed up in Marjah, a town of 80,000 people that is the linchpin of the militants' logistical and opium-smuggling network in the south.
The offensive, code-named "Moshtarak," or "Together," was described as the biggest joint operation of the Afghan war, with 15,000 troops involved, including some 7,500 in Marjah itself. The government says Afghan soldiers make up at least half of the offensive's force.
Once Marjah is secured, NATO hopes to quickly deliver aid and provide public services in a bid to win support among the estimated 125,000 people who live in the town and surrounding villages. The Afghans' ability to restore those services is crucial to the success of the operation and in preventing the Taliban from returning.
Associated Press writers Noor Khan in Kandahar, Rahim Faiez and Heidi Vogt in Kabul, and Robert Burns in Washington contributed to this report.
The second day of the largest offensive since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan was characterized by painstaking house searches and sporadic fighting.The troops cleared out booby-trapped houses one by one, advancing slowly down streets littered with thousands of homemade bombs and mines. Shots continued to ring out in some neighborhoods.
"We're in the majority of the city at this point," said Lt. Josh Diddams, a Marine spokesman. He said the nature of the resistance has changed from the initial assault, with insurgents now holding ground in some neighborhoods.
"We're starting to come across areas where the insurgents have actually taken up defensive positions," he said. "Initially it was more hit and run."
The Marjah offensive is NATO's most ambitious effort yet to break the militants' grip over their southern heartland.
Using metal detectors and sniffer dogs, U.S. forces found caches of explosives rigged to blow as they went from compound to compound. They also discovered several sniper positions, freshly abandoned and booby-trapped with grenades.
The troops also found two large caches of ammonium nitrate — a common ingredient in explosives — totaling about 8,800 pounds (4,000 kilograms), Diddams said.
NATO said it hoped to secure Marjah, the largest town under Taliban control and a key opium smuggling hub, within days, set up a local government and rush in development aid in a first test of the new U.S. strategy for turning the tide of the 8-year-old war.
At least two shuras, or meetings, have been held with local Afghan residents — one in the northern district of Nad Ali and the other in Marjah itself, NATO said in a statement. Discussions have been "good," and more shuras are planned in coming days as part of a larger strategy to enlist community support for the NATO mission, it said.
Afghan officials said Sunday that at least 27 insurgents had been killed in the operation.
Most of the Taliban appeared to have scattered in the face of overwhelming force, possibly waiting to regroup and stage attacks later to foil the alliance's plan to stabilize the area and expand Afghan government control in the volatile south.
Two NATO soldiers were killed on the first day of the operation — one American and one Briton — according to military officials in their countries. At least seven civilians had been wounded, but there were no reports of deaths, Helmand provincial spokesman Daoud Ahmadi said.
More than 30 transport helicopters ferried troops into the heart of Marjah before dawn Saturday, while British, Afghan and U.S. troops fanned out across the Nad Ali district to the north of the mud-brick town, long a stronghold of the Taliban.
Maj. Gen. Gordon Messenger told reporters in London that British forces "have successfully secured the area militarily" with only sporadic resistance from Taliban forces. A Taliban spokesman insisted their fighters still controlled the town.
President Barack Obama was keeping a close watch on combat operations, White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said.
He said Defense Secretary Robert Gates would have the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, brief Obama on Sunday.
In Marjah, Marines and Afghan troops' advance through the town was impeded by countless land mines, homemade bombs and booby-traps littering the area. Marine ordnance teams blew up several dozen bombs, setting off huge explosions that reverberated through the dusty streets.
On Sunday, most of the Marines said they would have preferred a straight-up gunbattle to the "death at every corner" crawl they faced, though they continued to advance slowly through the town.
"Basically, if you hear the boom, it's good. It means you're still alive after the thing goes off," said Lance Corp. Justin Hennes, 22, of Lakeland, Florida.
Local Marjah residents crept out from hiding after dawn Sunday, some reaching out to Afghan troops partnered with Marine platoons.
"Could you please take the mines out?" Mohammad Kazeem, a local pharmacist, asked the Marines through an interpreter. The entrance to his shop had been completely booby-trapped, without any way for him to re-enter his home, he said.
The bridge over the canal into Marjah from the north was rigged with so many explosives that Marines erected temporary bridges to cross into the town.
"It's just got to be a very slow and deliberate process," said Capt. Joshua Winfrey of Stillwater, Oklahoma, a Marine company commander.
Lt. Col. Brian Christmas, commander of the 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, said U.S. troops fought gunbattles in at least four areas of the town and faced "some intense fighting."
To the east, the battalion's Kilo Company was inserted into the town by helicopter without meeting resistance but was then "significantly engaged" as the Marines fanned out from the landing zone, Christmas said.
Marine commanders had said they expected between 400 and 1,000 insurgents — including more than 100 foreign fighters — to be holed up in Marjah, a town of 80,000 people that is the linchpin of the militants' logistical and opium-smuggling network in the south.
The offensive, code-named "Moshtarak," or "Together," was described as the biggest joint operation of the Afghan war, with 15,000 troops involved, including some 7,500 in Marjah itself. The government says Afghan soldiers make up at least half of the offensive's force.
Once Marjah is secured, NATO hopes to quickly deliver aid and provide public services in a bid to win support among the estimated 125,000 people who live in the town and surrounding villages. The Afghans' ability to restore those services is crucial to the success of the operation and in preventing the Taliban from returning.
Associated Press writers Noor Khan in Kandahar, Rahim Faiez and Heidi Vogt in Kabul, and Robert Burns in Washington contributed to this report.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Apple may replace Google with Bing on iPhone
WASHINGTON : Apple is in talks with Microsoft to make Bing the default search engine on the iPhone instead of Google, BusinessWeek magazine reported on Wednesday.
BusinessWeek, citing two people familiar with the matter, said the talks have been under way for weeks and reflect the growing rivalry between Apple and Google, which is currently the default search engine on the iPhone.
Google chief executive Eric Schmidt resigned last year from Apple's board of directors and the Internet search and advertising giant recently came out with a smartphone of its own, the Nexus One, seen as a rival to Apple's iPhone.
Apple also recently bought mobile advertising company Quattro Wireless, two months after Google purchased Quattro Wireless rival AdMob.
BusinessWeek said the discussions between Apple and Microsoft on replacing Google with Bing, which Microsoft launched in June, could still unravel and may not be concluded quickly.
The magazine noted that being the default Web search engine on the iPhone carries financial benefits for Google, which collects money from advertising placed alongside search results and shares it with Apple.
BusinessWeek, which was bought recently by Bloomberg financial news agency, said that making Bing the default search engine on the iPhone could require users to adjust the phone settings if they want to search the Web using Google.
The magazine also said that Apple is looking at providing a search option itself and that a deal with Microsoft may be "about buying itself time."
Google is the overwhelming Web search leader with a 65.7 per cent share of the US search market in December compared with just 10.7 per cent for Bing, according to tracking firm comScore, and also dominates in mobile search.
BusinessWeek, citing two people familiar with the matter, said the talks have been under way for weeks and reflect the growing rivalry between Apple and Google, which is currently the default search engine on the iPhone.Google chief executive Eric Schmidt resigned last year from Apple's board of directors and the Internet search and advertising giant recently came out with a smartphone of its own, the Nexus One, seen as a rival to Apple's iPhone.
Apple also recently bought mobile advertising company Quattro Wireless, two months after Google purchased Quattro Wireless rival AdMob.
BusinessWeek said the discussions between Apple and Microsoft on replacing Google with Bing, which Microsoft launched in June, could still unravel and may not be concluded quickly.
The magazine noted that being the default Web search engine on the iPhone carries financial benefits for Google, which collects money from advertising placed alongside search results and shares it with Apple.
BusinessWeek, which was bought recently by Bloomberg financial news agency, said that making Bing the default search engine on the iPhone could require users to adjust the phone settings if they want to search the Web using Google.
The magazine also said that Apple is looking at providing a search option itself and that a deal with Microsoft may be "about buying itself time."
Google is the overwhelming Web search leader with a 65.7 per cent share of the US search market in December compared with just 10.7 per cent for Bing, according to tracking firm comScore, and also dominates in mobile search.
Amid daily battle to survive, Haitians eye the future
PORT-AU-PRINCE: Hundreds of thousands of Haitians will be living off foreign aid and in temporary housing for years to come, as experts warn rebuilding the quake-ravaged nation may take at least a decade.
Almost two weeks after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake shattered the lives of the nine million people in one of the world's poorest countries, a massive aid operation has cranked into place to provide food, water and shelter.
With the government on Saturday officially calling off the search and rescue efforts for any more survivors beneath the rubble, the focus for international aid organisations has switched to helping hundreds of thousands left destitute.
The Haitian government estimates more than 112,000 people were killed in the January 12 quake - making it the deadliest ever recorded in the Americas.
Most of the bodies which lay rotting for days on the streets in the chaotic aftermath of the quake have now been collected in a grim operation, and buried in mass graves outside the Caribbean nation's capital.
Almost 200,000 people were injured, when for almost a minute the plates along the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault shook with such force that buildings in the capital Port-au-Prince, and other towns like Leogane and Jacmel, toppled like decks of cards.
US naval vessels and floating hospitals have backed up an army of field and tents hospitals set up by aid organisations, amid accusations that scores may have died in the first few days because medical aid was too slow to arrive.
Isabel Lopez, of the World Health Organization, said 150 health facilities were now up and running in the city, but she added: "There is still a strong need for post operative care."
Around a million people were left homeless, the interior ministry estimates, and the government has embarked on a massive relocation programme to move 500,000 people to camps hastily erected in the countryside.
Chief UN spokesman Nicholas Reader said the Haitian government had identified 500 sites where tented encampments might be set up for those now living in squalid, makeshift camps.
"Haiti's recovery must begin with its people, strong, resilient and impatient to get to work rebuilding their lives and their country," UN chief Ban Ki-moon has said.
According to UN data, more than US$1.2 billion dollars has been pledged in funding to help Haiti.
Some 62 foreign search and rescue teams are still in Port-au-Prince, and helped pull a young man out of the rubble Saturday 11 days after the quake.
But with hopes almost extinguished of finding more survivors, the aid operation led by the United States and the United Nations is now concentrated on distributing tonnes of food and water to the needy.
And the needs are enormous. Even before the quake, 70 per cent of Haitians were living on less than two dollars a day.
But fears of an eruption of violence in a nation which has known decades of bloodshed and political upheaval have failed to materialize, with many praising the Haitians' dignified response among their despair.
There have been tales of neighbours sharing out their meagre supplies, and organising watches to keep looters and pillagers at bay.
"I think the people have been heroic," said former US president Bill Clinton, now UN special envoy to Haiti, as he toured one hospital last week.
Despite damage to the main airport in Port-au-Prince, it has been kept open under US military control, and aid flights are also now unloading on three other airstrips - including two in neighbouring Dominican Republic.
US forces, due to reach 20,000 troops, have also worked to reopen the damaged port to unblock logjams of aid, which has poured into the country from overseas.
"Haitians are grieving, but they are also buoyed by the generous outpouring of support from around the world," said Mark Fried of Oxfam.
"Despite the losses they have suffered, they are working hard to turn the empty lots, golf courses and churchyards where they have taken refuge into places where they can live in dignity."
But many organisations warn the coming weeks will be crucial in a race to provide more permanent shelter before the rainy season comes.
Michael Delaney, director of humanitarian response at Oxfam America, said there were serious fears of disease.
"There's concern over sewage, human waste. Very few of the hundreds of sites where people have set up camp have latrines set up," he told AFP, warning that if waste was washed into other areas "it will create a public health mess."
International donors meet Monday in Montreal to prepare a summit on rebuilding Haiti, amid hopes the quake may prove a turning point in the nation's history.
The UN, which suffered its worst ever disaster in the quake with the deaths of more than 40 UN staffers, has launched a programme to create 220,000 jobs in rubble removal and reconstruction, paying each person some five dollars a day.
"There is going to be a long and challenging recovery and we need sustained support," said Jonathan Reckford, chief executive officer of the organisation, Habitat for Humanity. "People need to think in terms of a 10-year time frame."
Almost two weeks after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake shattered the lives of the nine million people in one of the world's poorest countries, a massive aid operation has cranked into place to provide food, water and shelter.
With the government on Saturday officially calling off the search and rescue efforts for any more survivors beneath the rubble, the focus for international aid organisations has switched to helping hundreds of thousands left destitute.
The Haitian government estimates more than 112,000 people were killed in the January 12 quake - making it the deadliest ever recorded in the Americas.
Most of the bodies which lay rotting for days on the streets in the chaotic aftermath of the quake have now been collected in a grim operation, and buried in mass graves outside the Caribbean nation's capital.
Almost 200,000 people were injured, when for almost a minute the plates along the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault shook with such force that buildings in the capital Port-au-Prince, and other towns like Leogane and Jacmel, toppled like decks of cards.
US naval vessels and floating hospitals have backed up an army of field and tents hospitals set up by aid organisations, amid accusations that scores may have died in the first few days because medical aid was too slow to arrive.
Isabel Lopez, of the World Health Organization, said 150 health facilities were now up and running in the city, but she added: "There is still a strong need for post operative care."
Around a million people were left homeless, the interior ministry estimates, and the government has embarked on a massive relocation programme to move 500,000 people to camps hastily erected in the countryside.
Chief UN spokesman Nicholas Reader said the Haitian government had identified 500 sites where tented encampments might be set up for those now living in squalid, makeshift camps.
"Haiti's recovery must begin with its people, strong, resilient and impatient to get to work rebuilding their lives and their country," UN chief Ban Ki-moon has said.
According to UN data, more than US$1.2 billion dollars has been pledged in funding to help Haiti.
Some 62 foreign search and rescue teams are still in Port-au-Prince, and helped pull a young man out of the rubble Saturday 11 days after the quake.
But with hopes almost extinguished of finding more survivors, the aid operation led by the United States and the United Nations is now concentrated on distributing tonnes of food and water to the needy.
And the needs are enormous. Even before the quake, 70 per cent of Haitians were living on less than two dollars a day.
But fears of an eruption of violence in a nation which has known decades of bloodshed and political upheaval have failed to materialize, with many praising the Haitians' dignified response among their despair.
There have been tales of neighbours sharing out their meagre supplies, and organising watches to keep looters and pillagers at bay.
"I think the people have been heroic," said former US president Bill Clinton, now UN special envoy to Haiti, as he toured one hospital last week.
Despite damage to the main airport in Port-au-Prince, it has been kept open under US military control, and aid flights are also now unloading on three other airstrips - including two in neighbouring Dominican Republic.
US forces, due to reach 20,000 troops, have also worked to reopen the damaged port to unblock logjams of aid, which has poured into the country from overseas.
"Haitians are grieving, but they are also buoyed by the generous outpouring of support from around the world," said Mark Fried of Oxfam.
"Despite the losses they have suffered, they are working hard to turn the empty lots, golf courses and churchyards where they have taken refuge into places where they can live in dignity."
But many organisations warn the coming weeks will be crucial in a race to provide more permanent shelter before the rainy season comes.
Michael Delaney, director of humanitarian response at Oxfam America, said there were serious fears of disease.
"There's concern over sewage, human waste. Very few of the hundreds of sites where people have set up camp have latrines set up," he told AFP, warning that if waste was washed into other areas "it will create a public health mess."
International donors meet Monday in Montreal to prepare a summit on rebuilding Haiti, amid hopes the quake may prove a turning point in the nation's history.
The UN, which suffered its worst ever disaster in the quake with the deaths of more than 40 UN staffers, has launched a programme to create 220,000 jobs in rubble removal and reconstruction, paying each person some five dollars a day.
"There is going to be a long and challenging recovery and we need sustained support," said Jonathan Reckford, chief executive officer of the organisation, Habitat for Humanity. "People need to think in terms of a 10-year time frame."
Another massive quake threatens Haiti, seismologists warn
WASHINGTON : Another earthquake is threatening to hit Haiti with as much, if not more force than the massive temblor that levelled Port-au-Prince, seismologists said, urging the country to rebuild with strict norms.
Aftershocks have already rattled the impoverished Caribbean nation in the days following the January 12 quake that killed over 110,000 people, left nearly 610,000 homeless and injured scores more.
On Wednesday, a magnitude 5.9 temblor struck a people already scrambling to rebuild their tattered lives.
But more are likely on their way. The US Geological Survey (USGS) estimated on Thursday that there was a 25 per cent probability that one or several magnitude 6 aftershocks could strike in the coming weeks, although they will space out more and more over time.
If the devastating magnitude 7 quake that hit nearly two weeks ago freed much of the tension accumulated on one portion of the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault zone, another segment east of the epicentre and adjacent to Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince has barely moved, according to the USGS.
Yet part of this fault zone accumulated more strain due to the sliding of North American and Caribbean tectonic plates that could unleash all that strength at any moment without warning.
The geological agency based its predictions on preliminary measures of deformations using radar, satellite and aerial imagery.
"We just know from other earthquakes worldwide and from the history of Haiti that large earthquakes can occur close in time," USGS seismologist David Schwartz told AFP. "Not one of us would be surprised."
Citing Turkey, which experienced two earthquakes above magnitude seven just three months apart in 1999. Schwartz warned a similar scenario could take place in Haiti.
The Enriquillo fault zone, which runs along the southern portion of the island of Hispaniola shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic, could generate a tremor measuring up to 7.2 - slightly higher than the original quake - according to Eric Calais, a seismologist at Purdue University.
"Earthquakes in this region tend to repeat themselves in sequences," he said in an interview, noting that similarly large temblors have shaken Haiti at least four times in the past three centuries, including those of 1751 and 1770, which completely destroyed Port-au-Prince.
"Port-au-Prince must be rebuilt according to strict seismic norms."
Some nuclear plants that can resist magnitude 8 earthquakes are now being built, he noted.
The USGS said an in-depth evaluation of the quake risk for Haiti and other Caribbean countries would provide the basis to establish and improve construction norms in order to eventually erect more resistant buildings.
But this would require extensive geological assessments of faults, soil conditions, strain accumulations, and studies of recent seismic patterns and activity.
Calais lamented the scant attention seismologists have paid to Haiti in recent years. Only two teams of experts, including one from Purdue University where he teaches, have worked in the country in the past 15 years. They had already warned about the risk of a new powerful quake.
He planned to travel to Haiti on Monday with a battery of instruments to coordinate the first seismic study since the quake. - AFP/ms
Aftershocks have already rattled the impoverished Caribbean nation in the days following the January 12 quake that killed over 110,000 people, left nearly 610,000 homeless and injured scores more.On Wednesday, a magnitude 5.9 temblor struck a people already scrambling to rebuild their tattered lives.
But more are likely on their way. The US Geological Survey (USGS) estimated on Thursday that there was a 25 per cent probability that one or several magnitude 6 aftershocks could strike in the coming weeks, although they will space out more and more over time.
If the devastating magnitude 7 quake that hit nearly two weeks ago freed much of the tension accumulated on one portion of the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault zone, another segment east of the epicentre and adjacent to Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince has barely moved, according to the USGS.
Yet part of this fault zone accumulated more strain due to the sliding of North American and Caribbean tectonic plates that could unleash all that strength at any moment without warning.
The geological agency based its predictions on preliminary measures of deformations using radar, satellite and aerial imagery.
"We just know from other earthquakes worldwide and from the history of Haiti that large earthquakes can occur close in time," USGS seismologist David Schwartz told AFP. "Not one of us would be surprised."
Citing Turkey, which experienced two earthquakes above magnitude seven just three months apart in 1999. Schwartz warned a similar scenario could take place in Haiti.
The Enriquillo fault zone, which runs along the southern portion of the island of Hispaniola shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic, could generate a tremor measuring up to 7.2 - slightly higher than the original quake - according to Eric Calais, a seismologist at Purdue University.
"Earthquakes in this region tend to repeat themselves in sequences," he said in an interview, noting that similarly large temblors have shaken Haiti at least four times in the past three centuries, including those of 1751 and 1770, which completely destroyed Port-au-Prince.
"Port-au-Prince must be rebuilt according to strict seismic norms."
Some nuclear plants that can resist magnitude 8 earthquakes are now being built, he noted.
The USGS said an in-depth evaluation of the quake risk for Haiti and other Caribbean countries would provide the basis to establish and improve construction norms in order to eventually erect more resistant buildings.
But this would require extensive geological assessments of faults, soil conditions, strain accumulations, and studies of recent seismic patterns and activity.
Calais lamented the scant attention seismologists have paid to Haiti in recent years. Only two teams of experts, including one from Purdue University where he teaches, have worked in the country in the past 15 years. They had already warned about the risk of a new powerful quake.
He planned to travel to Haiti on Monday with a battery of instruments to coordinate the first seismic study since the quake. - AFP/ms
46 injured as Iran plane catches fire while landing
TEHRAN: An Iranian passenger plane caught fire while landing on Sunday in the northeastern city of Mashhad, injuring at least 46 people on board, state television reported.
Iranian officials told local news networks that the rear end of the Russian-built Tupolev 154 plane owned by Taban Airline caught fire as the aircraft was landing at Mashhad airport.
"The plane caught fire while landing," state television quoted Javad Erfanian, head of disaster management of Khorasan Razavi province of which Mashhad is the capital, as saying.
"Forty-six people have been injured, but most of them are not serious," he said, adding that emergency services evacuated the passengers after which the rear end of the aircraft broke up.
The English language state-owned Press TV said the plane, travelling from Abadan in southwest Iran to Mashhad, had 157 passengers on board. Erfanian said the plane also had 13 crew members on board.
Reza Jafarzadeh, spokesman for Iranian civil aviation, said the plane had left Abadan on Saturday, but bad weather in Mashhad led to the aircraft landing in the central city of Isfahan for the night before it took off again for Mashhad early Sunday.
"The captain had a critical patient on board and so had to do an emergency landing (in Mashhad) which is why the aircraft met with an accident," he was quoted as saying on the website of state television.
Iran, which has been under years of international sanctions, has suffered a number of aviation disasters over the past decade.
Its civil and military fleet is made up of ancient aircraft in very poor condition due to their age and lack of maintenance.
In its worst air accident, a plane carrying members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards crashed in February 2003, killing 302 people on board.
In July last year, a Soviet-designed Tupolev had caught fire mid-air and plunged flaming into farmland northeast of Tehran, killing all 168 people on board.
In December 2005, a total of 108 people were killed when a Lockheed transport plane crashed into a foot of a high-rise housing block outside Tehran.
In November 2006, a military plane crashed on takeoff at Tehran's Mehrabad airport, killing all 39 people on board, including 30 members of Revolutionary Guards.
Iranian officials told local news networks that the rear end of the Russian-built Tupolev 154 plane owned by Taban Airline caught fire as the aircraft was landing at Mashhad airport."The plane caught fire while landing," state television quoted Javad Erfanian, head of disaster management of Khorasan Razavi province of which Mashhad is the capital, as saying.
"Forty-six people have been injured, but most of them are not serious," he said, adding that emergency services evacuated the passengers after which the rear end of the aircraft broke up.
The English language state-owned Press TV said the plane, travelling from Abadan in southwest Iran to Mashhad, had 157 passengers on board. Erfanian said the plane also had 13 crew members on board.
Reza Jafarzadeh, spokesman for Iranian civil aviation, said the plane had left Abadan on Saturday, but bad weather in Mashhad led to the aircraft landing in the central city of Isfahan for the night before it took off again for Mashhad early Sunday.
"The captain had a critical patient on board and so had to do an emergency landing (in Mashhad) which is why the aircraft met with an accident," he was quoted as saying on the website of state television.
Iran, which has been under years of international sanctions, has suffered a number of aviation disasters over the past decade.
Its civil and military fleet is made up of ancient aircraft in very poor condition due to their age and lack of maintenance.
In its worst air accident, a plane carrying members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards crashed in February 2003, killing 302 people on board.
In July last year, a Soviet-designed Tupolev had caught fire mid-air and plunged flaming into farmland northeast of Tehran, killing all 168 people on board.
In December 2005, a total of 108 people were killed when a Lockheed transport plane crashed into a foot of a high-rise housing block outside Tehran.
In November 2006, a military plane crashed on takeoff at Tehran's Mehrabad airport, killing all 39 people on board, including 30 members of Revolutionary Guards.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Rachel Uchitel has had no contact whatsoever with Tiger Woods, says her lawyer
Don't believe those reports that Tiger Woods has been hooking up once again with Rachel Uchitel, the woman alleged to be his original mistress. 
At least that's what Uchitel's high powered lawyer, Gloria Allred, has insisted to RadarOnline.com.
"Ms. Uchitel has had absolutely no contact with Tiger Woods for quite some time, and has not seen him or had any communication with him since she has been in Palm Beach," Allred told the Web site.
Allred's statement comes in response to stories, like the one that appeared in the pages of In Touch Magazine last week, which reported that Woods and Uchitel have been sleeping with each other ever since the scandal broke over the Thanksgiving weekend.
The embattled golf great turned 34 on Wednesday.
At least that's what Uchitel's high powered lawyer, Gloria Allred, has insisted to RadarOnline.com.
"Ms. Uchitel has had absolutely no contact with Tiger Woods for quite some time, and has not seen him or had any communication with him since she has been in Palm Beach," Allred told the Web site.
Allred's statement comes in response to stories, like the one that appeared in the pages of In Touch Magazine last week, which reported that Woods and Uchitel have been sleeping with each other ever since the scandal broke over the Thanksgiving weekend.
The embattled golf great turned 34 on Wednesday.
U.S. seeks answers after Afghanistan bombing that killed 7 CIA operatives
Reporting from Washington and Rochester, N.Y. - The suicide bombing that killed seven CIA employees at a U.S. base will temporarily slow U.S. intelligence-gathering in eastern Afghanistan, but the agency will not retrench on its ambitious buildup in the country while it conducts a security review, officials said Thursday.
Military and intelligence officials were scrambling to determine how the bomber penetrated a forbidding network of barriers, barbed wire and watchtowers at Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khowst province near the Pakistani border, and made his way deep inside to set off a thunderous blast.
Western officials were deeply concerned that the assailant had insider's knowledge of the base layout and security practices, according to an official familiar with the investigation. Some reports said that the attacker was wearing a uniform of the Afghan National Army and carried an identification card, and that officials were trying to determine whether the uniform was stolen or the ID card fake."Does this mean we have a guy who went postal?" asked one U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "Or is there any element within the ANA that is extremist?"
Other reports suggested that the bomber may have been brought onto the base by CIA operatives who wanted to turn the Afghan into an informer.
U.S. officials said they believed a Taliban claim of responsibility for the attack was legitimate.
Afghanistan's Ministry of Defense vigorously denied that the suicide bomber was an Afghan soldier. But the allegation clearly stung, because there have been several recent instances in which members of the Afghan security forces turned guns on their Western mentors.
Intelligence operations at the base target extremist groups including Al Qaeda, the network of Jalaluddin Haqqani, and other militants aligned with the Taliban, officials said. Taliban fighters from both Afghanistan and Pakistan find refuge in the adjacent tribal areas of Pakistan.
Officials declined to provide a more detailed account of the work, but one senior U.S. official said the attack would have a short-term effect on intelligence-gathering in eastern Afghanistan.
Current and former U.S. intelligence officials said the agency would conduct an assessment to determine how security procedures at the base broke down. But officials insisted that the agency would not suspend operations in Afghanistan for the review.
"There's no talk -- none -- of retrenching or slowing the pace of CIA activities," said a U.S. intelligence official. "There are plenty of people ready, able, and in place to pursue the fight. The atmosphere at Langley is one of even greater focus and determination. The place is galvanized."
The CIA has been building up its presence in far-flung parts of Afghanistan, particularly in areas such as Khowst, to gather intelligence as the military prepares to add 30,000 U.S. troops, bringing the total to about 100,000. Officials said in fall that the CIA was deploying spies, analysts and paramilitary operatives, and that the agency's station in Afghanistan would become one of the largest in agency history.
Officials initially reported that eight CIA employees had been killed in the attack Wednesday. But CIA Director Leon E. Panetta, in a note to the agency workforce Thursday, said seven had died and six were wounded.
"Those who fell yesterday were far from home and close to the enemy, doing the hard work that must be done to protect our country from terrorism," he said.
The attack is the deadliest for the CIA since the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut in 1983, in which eight operatives reportedly were killed.
Current and former U.S. officials said that two or three were contractors working for the CIA, and that the rest were career agency employees.
Among those killed was a female officer who served as chief of the CIA base near Khowst, and was a long-time officer in the CIA's Counter-Terrorism Center, according to agency veterans. Her name was not disclosed.
Former CIA officials said some of those killed worked for the CIA's paramilitary branch, known as the Special Activities Division.
One official said that by casting suspicion on the Afghan National Army, perpetrators were trying to drive a wedge between U.S. intelligence personnel and Afghans.
The director of military intelligence in Afghanistan, Maj. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, has been pushing for greater information sharing and cooperation. Military officials said plans to hire Afghans to guard U.S. forward operating bases would not be canceled. Under that program, which is beginning in eastern Afghanistan, Afghans will guard towers, patrol perimeter fences and man checkpoints.
Military officials say that hiring Afghans will improve ties, provide jobs and build trust with local tribes, helping erode support for the Taliban. Equally important, officials believe that by taking Americans and international forces off mundane guard tasks, commanders will be able to put more forces in the field.
The disclosure that the base was home to a major CIA presence was disconcerting to some Afghan officials who work closely with the civilian reconstruction and development officials also based at Chapman.
"We were surprised to hear the CIA are there," said Gul Jamil, a member of Khowst's provincial council. "But the most important thing now is how this base was infiltrated despite tight security."
Afghans living and working near the base, which lies just outside Khowst city, the provincial capital, recounted hearing an extremely loud explosion about 4:30 p.m., as winter darkness was already falling.
Military and intelligence officials were scrambling to determine how the bomber penetrated a forbidding network of barriers, barbed wire and watchtowers at Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khowst province near the Pakistani border, and made his way deep inside to set off a thunderous blast.
Western officials were deeply concerned that the assailant had insider's knowledge of the base layout and security practices, according to an official familiar with the investigation. Some reports said that the attacker was wearing a uniform of the Afghan National Army and carried an identification card, and that officials were trying to determine whether the uniform was stolen or the ID card fake."Does this mean we have a guy who went postal?" asked one U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "Or is there any element within the ANA that is extremist?"
Other reports suggested that the bomber may have been brought onto the base by CIA operatives who wanted to turn the Afghan into an informer.
U.S. officials said they believed a Taliban claim of responsibility for the attack was legitimate.
Afghanistan's Ministry of Defense vigorously denied that the suicide bomber was an Afghan soldier. But the allegation clearly stung, because there have been several recent instances in which members of the Afghan security forces turned guns on their Western mentors.
Intelligence operations at the base target extremist groups including Al Qaeda, the network of Jalaluddin Haqqani, and other militants aligned with the Taliban, officials said. Taliban fighters from both Afghanistan and Pakistan find refuge in the adjacent tribal areas of Pakistan.
Officials declined to provide a more detailed account of the work, but one senior U.S. official said the attack would have a short-term effect on intelligence-gathering in eastern Afghanistan.
Current and former U.S. intelligence officials said the agency would conduct an assessment to determine how security procedures at the base broke down. But officials insisted that the agency would not suspend operations in Afghanistan for the review.
"There's no talk -- none -- of retrenching or slowing the pace of CIA activities," said a U.S. intelligence official. "There are plenty of people ready, able, and in place to pursue the fight. The atmosphere at Langley is one of even greater focus and determination. The place is galvanized."
The CIA has been building up its presence in far-flung parts of Afghanistan, particularly in areas such as Khowst, to gather intelligence as the military prepares to add 30,000 U.S. troops, bringing the total to about 100,000. Officials said in fall that the CIA was deploying spies, analysts and paramilitary operatives, and that the agency's station in Afghanistan would become one of the largest in agency history.
Officials initially reported that eight CIA employees had been killed in the attack Wednesday. But CIA Director Leon E. Panetta, in a note to the agency workforce Thursday, said seven had died and six were wounded.
"Those who fell yesterday were far from home and close to the enemy, doing the hard work that must be done to protect our country from terrorism," he said.
The attack is the deadliest for the CIA since the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut in 1983, in which eight operatives reportedly were killed.
Current and former U.S. officials said that two or three were contractors working for the CIA, and that the rest were career agency employees.
Among those killed was a female officer who served as chief of the CIA base near Khowst, and was a long-time officer in the CIA's Counter-Terrorism Center, according to agency veterans. Her name was not disclosed.
Former CIA officials said some of those killed worked for the CIA's paramilitary branch, known as the Special Activities Division.
One official said that by casting suspicion on the Afghan National Army, perpetrators were trying to drive a wedge between U.S. intelligence personnel and Afghans.
The director of military intelligence in Afghanistan, Maj. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, has been pushing for greater information sharing and cooperation. Military officials said plans to hire Afghans to guard U.S. forward operating bases would not be canceled. Under that program, which is beginning in eastern Afghanistan, Afghans will guard towers, patrol perimeter fences and man checkpoints.
Military officials say that hiring Afghans will improve ties, provide jobs and build trust with local tribes, helping erode support for the Taliban. Equally important, officials believe that by taking Americans and international forces off mundane guard tasks, commanders will be able to put more forces in the field.
The disclosure that the base was home to a major CIA presence was disconcerting to some Afghan officials who work closely with the civilian reconstruction and development officials also based at Chapman.
"We were surprised to hear the CIA are there," said Gul Jamil, a member of Khowst's provincial council. "But the most important thing now is how this base was infiltrated despite tight security."
Afghans living and working near the base, which lies just outside Khowst city, the provincial capital, recounted hearing an extremely loud explosion about 4:30 p.m., as winter darkness was already falling.
Thousands welcome 2010 in Times Square; brave cold and terror fears
Three, two, one . . . It's 2010!
Hundreds of thousands of revelers from all over the globe braved freezing drizzle Thursday night to ring in the new decade in Times Square.
"Look at all the people," gushed Peter Kalkzewiak, 32, of Warsaw, Poland, who was visiting New York for the first time. "A million people. I've never seen anything like it."
Bundled up against the cold rain, the masses of people wearing funny hats started gathering early in the afternoon.
Despite a rotten forecast and fears of terrorism, nothing could dampen the party mood in the famed Crossroads of the World.
"We made it. It's amazing," said Enid Boyd, 51, of Miami, hugging five members of her family after the crystal-covered ball came down. "What a terrific way to spend the new year."
"It's great. I can't explain it," said Katie Holley, 23, of Virginia, sharing a midnight kiss with her boyfriend, Daniel. "It's so pretty, so fun, so much confetti."
"Last year, my resolution was to be in Times Square for New Year's, so I'm here," said Lucrecia Theobald, 40, of the Dominican Republic. "It's beautiful, exciting, the best place to be."
Navy reservists Jamie Pisano, 21, and Ryan Laurentus, 21, both of New Milford, Conn., wanted to party before they both get sent overseas.
"This is America," said Pisano. "It's a good time."
An army of cops, vigilant against trouble, greeted crowds with hand-held metal detectors.
Even with the Christmas Day terror attempt weighing on the nation, few admitted giving a second thought to fulfilling what for many is a lifetime dream.
"It's a little worrying, but not enough to not come," said Lisa Winter, 26, of Fresno, Calif.
"You have to do this at least once in life," said Javier Trevino, 31, of Monterrey, Mexico. "Times Square is the middle of the world."
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly expected fewer partygoers in Times Square because of the damp weather, but vowed to have his troops out in full force.
"Our security regimen remains the same," Kelly said. "We have the most comprehensive counterterrorism program anywhere."
Jordan Diddle, 13, of Greensboro, N.C., thought it was a bit much to need a police escort from an NYPD-barricaded area near 42nd St. to a portable toilet.
"I feel like I'm being held hostage," Jordan said.
Jordan's father, Tony Diddle, 48, said he and his family were eagerly anticipating the midnight hoopla they only knew from television.
"We decided it's a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and this is our once," Tony Diddle said as "New Year's Rockin' Eve" host Ryan Seacrest walked by.
Selle Suppan, 55, a hospital administrator from Ohio, said she and her friends brought a box of Depends adult diapers to eliminate the worry of rest room emergencies.
"That's the big super secret at these kinds of functions," Suppan said.
Bob Rucker, 35, of Selden, L.I., was among the few locals to join the sprawling crowd. His friend Mick Dekranes, 19, of Atlanta talked him into going.
"I've lived in New York my entire life and I've never been here," Rucker said.
"It's pretty crazy to be in the mix with all these people," Dekranes said. "It's insane."
Hundreds of thousands of revelers from all over the globe braved freezing drizzle Thursday night to ring in the new decade in Times Square.
"Look at all the people," gushed Peter Kalkzewiak, 32, of Warsaw, Poland, who was visiting New York for the first time. "A million people. I've never seen anything like it."Bundled up against the cold rain, the masses of people wearing funny hats started gathering early in the afternoon.
Despite a rotten forecast and fears of terrorism, nothing could dampen the party mood in the famed Crossroads of the World.
"We made it. It's amazing," said Enid Boyd, 51, of Miami, hugging five members of her family after the crystal-covered ball came down. "What a terrific way to spend the new year."
"It's great. I can't explain it," said Katie Holley, 23, of Virginia, sharing a midnight kiss with her boyfriend, Daniel. "It's so pretty, so fun, so much confetti."
"Last year, my resolution was to be in Times Square for New Year's, so I'm here," said Lucrecia Theobald, 40, of the Dominican Republic. "It's beautiful, exciting, the best place to be."
Navy reservists Jamie Pisano, 21, and Ryan Laurentus, 21, both of New Milford, Conn., wanted to party before they both get sent overseas.
"This is America," said Pisano. "It's a good time."
An army of cops, vigilant against trouble, greeted crowds with hand-held metal detectors.
Even with the Christmas Day terror attempt weighing on the nation, few admitted giving a second thought to fulfilling what for many is a lifetime dream.
"It's a little worrying, but not enough to not come," said Lisa Winter, 26, of Fresno, Calif.
"You have to do this at least once in life," said Javier Trevino, 31, of Monterrey, Mexico. "Times Square is the middle of the world."
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly expected fewer partygoers in Times Square because of the damp weather, but vowed to have his troops out in full force.
"Our security regimen remains the same," Kelly said. "We have the most comprehensive counterterrorism program anywhere."
Jordan Diddle, 13, of Greensboro, N.C., thought it was a bit much to need a police escort from an NYPD-barricaded area near 42nd St. to a portable toilet.
"I feel like I'm being held hostage," Jordan said.
Jordan's father, Tony Diddle, 48, said he and his family were eagerly anticipating the midnight hoopla they only knew from television.
"We decided it's a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and this is our once," Tony Diddle said as "New Year's Rockin' Eve" host Ryan Seacrest walked by.
Selle Suppan, 55, a hospital administrator from Ohio, said she and her friends brought a box of Depends adult diapers to eliminate the worry of rest room emergencies.
"That's the big super secret at these kinds of functions," Suppan said.
Bob Rucker, 35, of Selden, L.I., was among the few locals to join the sprawling crowd. His friend Mick Dekranes, 19, of Atlanta talked him into going.
"I've lived in New York my entire life and I've never been here," Rucker said.
"It's pretty crazy to be in the mix with all these people," Dekranes said. "It's insane."
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