The O.J. Files

Angelina Jolie cuts Bosnia filming on permit woes

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 17:58:00 +0000

SARAJEVO (Reuters Life!) – Hollywood star Angelina Jolie has cut back on filming plans in Bosnia for her directorial debut after problems with permits, a local producer said on Wednesday.

The film crew had begun shooting exterior shots at a former military barracks in Sarajevo on Wednesday, but Jolie and the film's actors were absent, Edin Sarkic of the Scout Film production told Reuters.

"The American producers have decided that scenes at 12 locations planned in Sarajevo should be shot in Budapest after the permit had been canceled and then reinstated," Sarkic said.

A Bosnian minister in mid-October canceled the filming permit, citing incomplete paperwork after he met with female victims of the Bosnian war, who objected to what they said were details of the plot for the untitled film.

The filming of exterior shots for the movie, whose narrative takes place in wartime Bosnia, was set to end on Friday.

Jolie has said the film is a love story between a Serbian man and a Bosnian Muslim woman on the eve of the 1992-95 war in which 100,000 people died.

The Oscar-winning actress asked women war victims in a letter to hold judgment until they had seen the film in which "there are many twists in the plot that address the sensitive nature of the relationship between the main characters."

Sarkic said that Jolie, who was already filming in Budapest, has said she would come to Sarajevo and speak to the Women Victims of War association, whose president Bakira Hasecic has been the most vocal opponent of Jolie's film project.

Jolie first arrived in Bosnia in April with partner Brad Pitt to visit refugees in eastern parts of the country as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR. Her visit resulted in the construction of dozen new homes for returnees.

Board recommends against Wayne Newton museum plan

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 19:18:00 +0000

LAS VEGAS – An advisory board is recommending against entertainer Wayne Newton's proposal to build a museum and bus tourists to his sprawling estate southeast of Las Vegas.

Dozens of speakers aired opinions before the Paradise Town Advisory Board gave a thumbs-down Tuesday to Newton's proposal to develop his 38-acre Casa de Shenandoah compound as a tourist attraction.

The Clark County Commission is due to take up the matter Nov. 17.

The Las Vegas Strip headliner didn't attend the meeting, although he hosted a neighborhood meeting in September. The Las Vegas Sun reported Newton was represented instead by a lawyer and a prominent area land use consultant.

Board members said they were concerned the project would draw too much traffic and hurt the surrounding neighborhood. It's zoned for rural neighborhood preservation.

___

Information from: Las Vegas Sun, http://www.lasvegassun.com

China, Japan leaders pledge progress on gas dispute

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 07:29:00 +0000

WASHINGTON — The leaders of China and Japan pledged Monday to get back on track on a 2008 agreement to jointly develop a gas field near disputed islands that have been a thorn in relations, officials said.

Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and Chinese President Hu Jintao spoke on the sidelines of a nuclear security summit in Washington, the latest meeting between the two as ties steadily improve between Asia's two largest economies.

Japan and China, two of the world's biggest energy importers, struck a deal in June 2008 to end a bitter spat over four Chinese gas fields in the East China Sea that Tokyo feared may extend into its exclusive economic zone.

Under the deal, Japan agreed to invest in one field, jointly develop an area near another and continue talks with China on the remaining three while freezing further development.

But the agreement has remained just on paper, amid charges in the Japanese press that China has violated it.

Hu told Hatoyama in the meeting that "China's commitment to the June 2008 remains firm and unchanged," Japanese foreign ministry spokesman Kazuo Kodama told reporters.

The two leaders also discussed the latest developments on North Korea and expressed hope that their mutual neighbor would return to six-nation talks on ending its nuclear program, Kodama said.

Kodama said Hatoyama voiced appreciation for China's recent arrest of a factory worker accused of poisoning frozen dumplings destined for Japan. Ten people fell ill in Japan including a small child, causing a public furor.

Hatoyama pledged cooperation to promote food safety with China and said he "certainly hopes that a full accounting of what has happened on this issue will be completed soon," Kodama said.

Hatoyama, whose center-left coalition swept out long-ruling conservatives in August, is considered conciliatory to China on issues that have long divided the neighbors such as World War II history.

China's state-run Xinhua news agency said Hu was "happy" to meet Hatoyama, "who is an old friend of China."

US reduces troop numbers in quake-hit Haiti

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 05:49:00 +0000

PORT-AU-PRINCE — The US military has pulled thousands of its troops from quake-hit Haiti because aid operations have improved, a general said, as relief workers raced to boost conditions at squalid camps.

There were growing calls to speed up efforts to provide tarps and tents ahead of the rainy season, which threatens to bring more misery to the estimated 1.2 million left homeless by the massive earthquake a month ago.

President Rene Preval stressed the urgent need for shelter in a meeting with visiting USAID chief Rajiv Shah and US General Douglas Fraser on Saturday, said Shah, who pledged to boost distribution of shelter material.

Fraser said troop numbers were now down to 13,000 after a post-earthquake high of more than 20,000, while adding that the Haitian government was taking back control of the Port-au-Prince airport during daylight hours.

The United States had assumed operations there in the chaotic atmosphere immediately after the quake, which killed more than 200,000 people.

"There are roughly 13,000 US military men and women supporting the efforts here in Haiti," Fraser said.

"The international aid and relief efforts have improved and increased in Haiti and we've seen an ability to transition those capabilities to other needs around the world."

Fraser would not provide specifics on how long he expected US troops to remain in Haiti, saying it would depend on needs in the Caribbean nation, which was already the poorest country in the Americas before the quake.

Many have warned that the lack of shelter is the most significant threat facing Haitians with the rainy season starting around May. Conditions at makeshift camps for the homeless are already fast becoming major health concerns.

The UN humanitarian coordinator, Kim Bolduc, said on Friday that the sprawling Champ de Mars camp across from the destroyed National Palace has "turned into an almost dangerous area" due to poor sanitation.

Some 16,000 people are jammed into an area that should hold up to 6,000, she said.

John Holmes, UN emergency relief coordinator, said 20,000 latrines were needed at camps and only five to 10 percent had been constructed.

The effort to provide shelter has been criticized by many Haitians as coming far too late, and protests over the stumbling aid distribution have been held in various parts of the capital over the past couple of weeks.

The deputy head of the UN mission in Haiti said Friday that many of the homeless are unlikely to have "good shelter" before the rainy season, though aid workers were hoping to provide everyone with some kind of material.

"No matter what, though, it's not going to be pretty," Anthony Banbury told AFP.

"No one should be under any illusions that all million people who have lost their homes are going to be living in comfortable, sturdy shelter by May 1. That's just not going to happen."

Food distribution has worked better in recent days, officials say, with an estimated total of 2.3 million people now having been given some sort of food.

But Haitians still say the aid effort has fallen short.

Richmond Delinois, a 35-year-old owner of a brick-making company, did not lose his house, but some of his workers did and are now living in his yard.

"How long are we going to remain like this?" he said. "The NGOs come, but no one tells us anything."

Meanwhile, the case of 10 Americans charged with kidnapping in the wake of the earthquake here took another turn, with El Salvador police saying they are looking into a man presented as their Dominican lawyer, Jorge Puello.

El Salvador police said they were working to determine if Puello could in fact be Jorge Torres Orellana, who is wanted in the Central American country for allegations of running an international sex trafficking ring.

The ring lured women and girls from the Caribbean and Central America into prostitution with bogus offers of modeling jobs, according to Interpol, which has issued a wanted persons alert for Orellana.

Four US troops, French soldier killed in Afghanistan

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 04:59:00 +0000

KABUL — Four US troops and a French soldier were killed in separate incidents in Afghanistan on Wednesday as the UN reported the deadliest year yet for civilians in a spiralling Taliban-led insurgency.

Two US soldiers died in an IED (improvised explosive device) strike in the east of the country. Another died in fighting, also in the east, and a fourth died of wounds suffered in an IED explosion in the south.

The French defence ministry said a non-commissioned officer died on the road between Bagram and Nijrab in the east, the third French soldier to die in as many days.

Meanwhile, four Afghan military engineers and a civilian were killed when a bomb device they were trying to defuse went off in the eastern province of Khost, said Zahir Wardak, a senior military official.

The latest fatalities come a day after seven people died in violence at a protest against an alleged desecration of the Koran by foreign forces, officials said.

"Two ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) service members from the United States were killed today as a result of an IED (improvised explosive device) strike in eastern Afghanistan," the force said in a statement.

A later ISAF statement said: "An ISAF service member from the United States was killed today during an engagement with insurgents in eastern Afghanistan. In a separate engagement another ISAF service member from the United States died of his wounds today as a result of an IED strike in southern Afghanistan."

The deaths took to around 20 the number of foreign forces killed in Afghanistan since the start of the year, according to an AFP tally based on that kept by the independent icasualties.org website.

In southern Kandahar province, a hub of Taliban activity, a militant detonated a truck bomb near government installations in Daman district, injuring three police and as many civilians, the interior ministry said.

Civilians are increasingly being caught in the crossfire of the Afghan war, the United Nations said in a report on Wednesday, with 2,412 killed in 2009, the highest toll since the US-led invasion in late 2001.

This is up 14 percent from the 2,118 civilians who died in 2008, and the vast majority of the dead were killed in Taliban attacks, the UN's Mission for Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in its report.

UNAMA's head of human rights Norah Niland said 67 percent of last year's civilian deaths, or 1,630, were in insurgent attacks, while pro-government forces including NATO and US troops were responsible for 25 percent, or 596 civilian deaths.

The deadliest months were August, with 333 deaths, and September, with 336, she told reporters.

"The good news is that, in part, the number of casualties is not keeping pace (with) warfare incidents," Niland said, referring to an escalation in fighting as the insurgency has spread its shadow across the country.

NATO had "reduced the number of air strikes in residential areas and the figures of casualties as a result of air strikes has come down significantly," she said.

But an influx of foreign troops over the course of 2010, as a new counter-insurgency strategy takes hold, meant "much more warfare and that's bad news for Afghan civilians," Niland said.

Civilian casualties are a source of tension between the Afghan government of President Hamid Karzai and the international forces fighting the insurgency.

Karzai uses the issue to press home his authority, draw support for his unpopular government while criticising the tactics of the foreign forces.

The report's release comes a day after seven people were killed during protests sparked by rumours foreign troops had desecrated the Koran. The toll was given by an official, blaming Taliban for inciting the unrest.

Investigators sent to the southern province of Helmand found that no desecration of the Muslim holy book had taken place in the military operation Monday, said Daud Ahmadi, spokesman for the provincial governor.

It followed earlier reports that nine people were killed during the demonstration in Gamsir district.

The United States and NATO have 113,000 troops leading the fight against the Taliban, with another 40,000 being deployed over the course of this year.

Stop Guantanamo transfers to Yemen: senators

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 01:51:00 +0000

WASHINGTON — Three senior US senators on Tuesday called on President Barack Obama to stop transferring Guantanamo detainees to Yemen until Sanaa can guarantee that they will not return to the battlefield.

Senators John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Joseph Lieberman -- the first two Republicans and the third a political independent -- said that such transfers are "highly unwise and ill-considered."

Close to half of the 198 "war on terror" detainees still at the US prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba -- which Obama has vowed to close -- are from Yemen.

The senators wrote to express their "deep concern" about plans to transfer six Yemeni detainees at Guantanamo to the Yemeni government.

They said the six "have been identified as threats to the United States and its allies due to their connections to the Al Qaeda terrorist network."

"Given the security situation in Yemen and the failure of the Yemeni government to secure high-value prisoners in the past, we believe that any such transfers would be highly unwise and ill-considered," the senators wrote.

The letter cites the case of Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the suspect in the attempted Christmas Day airliner bombing, who reportedly told investigators that he received explosives training in Yemen.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) claimed credit for the failed strike.

The senators also said Said Ali al-Shihri, whom they described as "AQAP's longstanding deputy," was held in Guantanamo Bay but released in 2007.

"In addition, many of the other leaders of AQAP were previously held in Yemeni government custody. However, they escaped in February 2006 from a maximum-security prison in Sanaa," the senators said.

"In view of these events, the planned repatriation of six Yemeni detainees from Guantanamo Bay is especially alarming," they wrote.

"We request an immediate halt to the transfer of all detainees to Yemen until the American people and the Congress can be assured of the security situation in that country," the senators wrote.

US lawmakers demand access to expelled Hmong

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 01:49:00 +0000

WASHINGTON — US lawmakers on Tuesday denounced Thailand for expelling more than 4,000 Hmong into Laos and demanded that the Vientiane government allow immediate international monitoring to ensure their safety.

The senators representing Minnesota and Wisconsin, states home to much of the Hmong community in the United States, said they "strongly condemn" Thailand for going ahead with Monday's mass expulsion despite US and UN pleas.

"This action violates humanitarian and refugee principles and could have serious repercussions," said the statement by Senators Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl of Wisconsin and Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.

"We share the concern of many of our Hmong-American constituents whose loved ones have been forced to return, and we will be paying close attention as the Hmong are resettled in Laos," said the senators, all members of President Barack Obama's Democratic Party.

The senators urged Laos "to ensure the safety and well-being of these individuals and to allow immediate and ongoing monitoring by international observers at all stages of the resettlement and reintegration process."

In a separate joint statement, the top Democrat and Republican on the House Foreign Relations Committee said that the repatriation "marks a dangerous precedent" for refugees worldwide.

"The Lao government must ensure that they are treated humanely, guarantee access to the international community for independent monitoring, and let those who are eligible for resettlement be resettled promptly," wrote Representatives Howard Berman, the committee chair, and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the ranking Republican.

Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont had earlier held out the threat of scaling back military cooperation with Thailand, a long-standing US ally, if it went ahead with the expulsions.

Both Thailand and Laos said that the Hmong were illegal immigrants and not political refugees as they contended. Thailand said it had received assurances that Laos would treat them well.

But Hmong activists say that the ethnic group continues to face persecution in communist Laos stemming from the time of the Vietnam War, when the mountain people were recruited to fight alongside US forces.

Doctors Without Borders said earlier this year that Hmong who fled to Thailand recounted killings, gang-rape and malnutrition inflicted by Laotian forces.

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Pakistan govt: Ministers who lost amnesty to stay

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 04:50:00 +0000

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan's ruling party leaders insisted Saturday that they supported the president and would not oust other top government officials after the Supreme Court struck down an amnesty shielding them from corruption charges.

The party dismissed talk of any confrontation with the judiciary, but defiant moves by party leaders since Wednesday's sweeping — and popularly hailed — court ruling has so deepened the political turmoil in this nuclear-armed U.S. ally that some analysts gave the government only months to survive in its current form.

The escalating tensions threaten to distract Pakistan's leadership just as Washington is ramping up the pressure on Islamabad to widen its offensives against Islamist militants to include groups that threaten Western forces in neighboring Afghanistan.

The verdict means that thousands of corruption and other cases against politicians, bureaucrats and party workers dating back to the 1990s have, or will soon be, reopened. Many of the accused claim the charges against them are politically motivated.

During a critical meeting of the party leadership Saturday night, party officials told the media that they respected the courts and that accused members were prepared to face any charges.

But they also insisted that no Cabinet minister affected by the loss of the amnesty would be asked to quit — even to burnish the party image — and they said they had full confidence in President Asif Ali Zardari, who is constitutionally immune from prosecution in the graft cases against him.

"Mere accusations don't mean a person is proven guilty and on such a basis talk of resignations is not right," said Jahangir Badar, secretary-general of the Pakistan People's Party.

Aside from resisting calls for the ouster of Cabinet ministers, the government has in recent days suspended officials who were carrying out court orders and elevated one party member named in a graft case to law minister. The moves came as anti-corruption courts issued summonses to more than 100 suspects, while the Interior Ministry issued travel bans on some 250.

"It's not looking good for stability," said Cyril Almeida, an opinion writer for Dawn, a leading English-language newspaper. He ruled out a military coup — something Pakistan is prone to — but said the events have pitted "the political leadership that currently controls the executive against the judiciary."

Even Zardari's position is tenuous because his opponents say they'll now challenge his eligibility to be president in the first place. Zardari has resisted opposition calls that he resign on moral grounds and has long insisted on his innocence.

Among the suspects summoned by anti-corruption courts are Interior Minister Rehman Malik — a figure seen as close to the U.S. — and presidential secretary Salman Farooqi, court officials said. Malik and Defense Minister Ahmed Mukhtar were among the 250 barred from leaving the country following the Supreme Court's decision.

After immigration officials stopped Mukhtar from boarding a plane to China on Thursday, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani criticized the travel ban, suspended the secretary of the interior ministry and ordered an inquiry.

Part of the difficulty of eradicating official corruption in Pakistan is that investigative and prosecutorial bodies are rarely truly independent of the executive branch. Political analyst Rasul Bakhsh Rais noted that ruling party member Babar Awan was named law minister right around the same time that he was accused in a bribery case — an accusation he has denied.

Rais gave the government "months" before it has to change, either through a shake-up of its leadership, mid-term elections or in some other fashion. That's not helpful for the Obama administration, which needs political stability in Pakistan to succeed in neighboring Afghanistan, where violence against U.S. and NATO troops is running at all time highs.

The amnesty was introduced as part of a U.S.-backed deal to allow Zardari's wife, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, to return from self-imposed exile in 2007. Bhutto was killed in December of that year, and Zardari took over the party afterward.

Many ordinary Pakistanis and civil rights activists have hailed the court ruling, saying the amnesty provided unfair cover to the privileged elite who control this impoverished country of 175 million. Analysts said the ruling party must be careful in how it deals with the judiciary, which is a far more popular branch of government.

The country's powerful army, meanwhile, has tense relations with Zardari, and is unlikely to back the civilian leadership. But it's also busy tackling insurgents on its soil — even as the U.S. pressures it to do more — and is unlikely to want to seize the reins of government, analysts said.

"Is a coup a clear and present danger right now? I think not. The army's got its hands full," Almeida said.

Sudan leaders agree on south referendum law

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 05:48:00 +0000

KHARTOUM, Sudan — Sudan's leaders have settled their differences Sunday over the hotly disputed 2011 referendum on southern independence, the official news agency reported, clearing a main hurdle facing the fragile four year-old north-south peace deal.

The referendum bill has been straining relations between the former rivals for months.

Northern officials have demanded at least 75 percent of registered southern voters turn out in order for the referendum results to be valid. The south insists on a lower threshold.

Senior southern official Pagan Amum said President Omar al-Bashir and the southern President Silva Kiir met with their political advisers and finally agreed on the bill.

The two sides also agreed on the referendum rules for three areas laying on the yet undemarcated north-south border, including the oil-rich region of Abyei.

"We announce with this agreement the end of the disagreement between the (northern) National Congress Party and the (southern) Sudan People Liberation Movement over the three laws (on the referendum for the border areas). We will present them to the Parliament in two days," Amum said, according to the official SUNA news agency.

He didn't explain how the differences were settled. Southern officials said they are holding a party meeting to discuss the agreements.

The 2005 peace deal ended more than 20 years of civil war in which 2 million people perished.

The peace deal also created a national unity government and a semiautonomous south. It provides for nationwide parliamentary and presidential elections to be held in April 2010, and a referendum in 2011 to determine whether the south wanted to secede from the northern Arabized north.

As part of the peace deal, the two parties agreed to work to make unity attractive. But southerners, increasingly frustrated at the lack of peace dividends, have openly favored independence.

Many northerners fear the secession of the oil-rich south would deprive their government of the much prized oil revenues.

Last month, Kiir called on his people to vote for secession in the referendum if they do not want to end up as second class citizens. His call, the first ever favoring a split, angered his northern partner and was described as a violation of the spirit of the peace deal.

Southern officials complain the north is reneging on many elements of the peace deal, including power and resource sharing and abolishing laws that violate freedoms of expression and religion.

The partners are still bogged down in disagreement over the law regulating the responsibilities of the powerful national security services. Southerners and other opposition groups say the law in place grants the security agencies wide-sweeping powers, and undermines free and fair elections scheduled for April 2010.

Amum and other southern officials were briefly detained last week for participating in a rally demanding changes to the law.

Philippine massacre suspects face rebellion raps

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 04:45:00 +0000

SHARIFF AGUAK, Philippines — Prosecutors drew up additional charges of rebellion Monday against members of a powerful southern clan suspected in the Philippines' worst political massacre, as troops uncovered more hidden weapons.

Civil rights groups were set to challenge at the Supreme Court President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's declaration of martial law in Maguindanao province, which authorized thousands of troops to make arrests without court warrants and crack down on the Ampatuan clan and its private army.

Andal Ampatuan Sr., the clan's patriarch and former governor who has ruled unopposed for years, has been arrested with at least six other family members and about 60 followers on suspicion of planning and carrying out the Nov. 23 killing of 57 people — including 30 journalists and their staff — traveling in a convoy of a political rival. The Ampatuans have denied involvement.

Ampatuan's son, Andal Ampatuan Jr., who turned himself in last month, is the only one charged with multiple counts of murder. Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera said prosecutors would file murder charges against the other Ampatuans who were arrested over the weekend, as well as additional charges of rebellion for allegedly organizing armed resistance.

Thirty-nine firearms and crates of ammunition were dug up Sunday at a farm believed owned by the Ampatuans near the provincial capital of Shariff Aguak, army Brig. Gen. Gaudencio Pangilinan said. Other stockpiles, including mortar shells, were retrieved last week outside the Ampatuans' compound. Officials said the weapons, some stamped with Defense Department markings, were enough to arm a battalion.

Army troops and police said they were pursuing about 4,000 armed followers of the Ampatuans, some reportedly massing in eight Maguindanao towns. Security forces sealed off Maguindanao's exit points and mounted checkpoints, police Director Andres Caro said.

Pangilinan told reporters the gunmen were capable of carrying out bombings, arson attacks and abductions.

The Ampatuans are notorious for running a large private army, many of them pro-government militia who are meant to be an auxiliary force to the military and police in battling insurgents and bandits.

The clan helped Arroyo win crucial votes from Maguindanao during 2004 elections, but the administration's party expelled them after the massacre.

Citing a breakdown in law and order and massing up of Ampatuan's supporters, Arroyo on late Friday imposed martial law in Maguindanao — the first use of military rule in the Philippines since late dictator Ferdinand Marcos declared it nationwide more than 30 years ago.

Pro-democracy advocates accused her of overreacting, and a group of human rights lawyers argues that there are insufficient grounds for martial law and plan to challenge it in the Supreme Court later Monday.

An Ampatuan ally, Rep. Didagen Dilangalen, filed a separate motion against martial law.

Arroyo sent a report on her martial law declaration to Congress, which will convene Tuesday to approve or reject it. Her allies dominate the lower house.

Associated Press writers Jim Gomez, Teresa Cerojano and Hrvoje Hranjski in Manila contributed to this report.

Suspect in Philippine massacre charged with murder

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 04:47:00 +0000

MANILA, Philippines — The heir of a powerful clan was charged Tuesday in connection with the Philippines' worst political massacre — an ambush in which 57 people, more than half journalists, were slaughtered.

Three witnesses, who escaped because their car was at the tail end of the election convoy that was attacked in a southern province Nov. 23 , said they saw Andal Ampatuan Jr. and about 100 gunmen, including police officers, stopping the cars, prosecutor Al Calica told The Associated Press.

Hours later, troops found bullet-riddled and hacked-up bodies near the highway sprawled in the grass and hastily buried with a backhoe in three mass graves.

Ampatuan turned himself in last week. He has denied the charges.

He is the scion of a clan allied with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo that has ruled Maguindanao unopposed for years. His father — the family's patriarch — and six other family members also are considered suspects but have not been charged.

The massacre was a bloody prelude to elections scheduled for May. Campaign violence is relatively common in the Philippines — 130 died in the run-up to the last elections — but the brazen convoy attack was shocking for its ruthlessness and scale.

Arroyo has declared a state of emergency in Maguindanao and a neighboring province and ordered troops and police to confiscate unlicensed weapons and restore order. But few think the measures will go far enough in a lawless region notorious for political warlords that has been outside the central government's control for generations.

Prosecutors initially filed 25 counts of murder against Ampatuan in southern Cotabato city, whose regional trial court is nearest to the massacre site in Ampatuan township. Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera said she will ask the court to try the case elsewhere, fearing witnesses may become reluctant to testify over fears for their safety.

"The evidence is strong," Calica said, adding that at least 10 witnesses provided written testimonies linking Ampatuan to the killings.

The caravan was carrying 30 journalists and the wife, two sisters, an aunt and several supporters of Ampatuan's rival, Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu of Maguindanao's Buluan township.

Mangudadatu had sent his relatives to file his candidacy papers to run for governor in the May elections because he said Ampatuan had threatened to chop him to pieces if he attempted to challenge the clan's ironclad control. Mangudadatu has said he believed female family members would not be harmed.

In a statement to prosecutors, Mangudadatu said his wife called him on a cell phone, saying her convoy had been blocked by about 100 gunmen led by Ampatuan, who was then approaching her.

"He slapped me," Mangudadatu quoted his wife as saying before the line went dead. Her body was later found peppered with 17 gunshot wounds, according to an autopsy report.

"The ghastly scenario during the retrieval of their bodies show the unspeakable horror they must have undergone as they were ... massacred," the prosecutors said in a case document submitted to the court. The AP obtained a copy of the document.

Authorities said earlier that they have taken six police officers into custody, including the Maguindanao provincial police chief and his deputy. Two inspectors among them were allegedly seen with Ampatuan during the massacre, said Erickson Velasquez, head of the police criminal investigation division.

One of the six, Chief Inspector Sukarno Adil Dicay, told investigators that he had stopped the convoy at a checkpoint for routine security checks along with 16 other policemen.

He said that Ampatuan, armed with a rifle, suddenly arrived with 100 gunmen wearing camouflage fatigues who robbed the people in the convoy of cell phones and other belongings. Dicay said that he was outnumbered but he pleaded with Ampatuan not to shoot the civilians.

Ampatuan and the gunmen herded the convoy away, Dicay said in a written statement, which was submitted to police officials.

He said that Ampatuan threatened to kill him and his policemen if they let any other vehicles through the checkpoint to follow them.

Prosecutors said that the killings were carefully planned and that more charges will follow. At least one witness alleged that the Ampatuan clan had gathered in the patriarch's mansion in the provincial capital of Shariff Aguak days before to plan the killings, said chief state prosecutor Jovencito Zuno.

The graves were dug in advance and a backhoe positioned to bury the bodies, prosecutors said.

The Ampatuans denied any responsibility in the killings in a rare news conference in Shariff Aguak on Sunday.

Associated Press writers Hrvoje Hranjski, Teresa Cerojano and Oliver Teves contributed to this report.

Philippines' deadliest massacre tests government

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 04:46:00 +0000

A few miles (kilometers) off the main highway, on a remote hilltop covered with waist-high grass, bodies lay with twisted hands reaching in the air. They had been shot point-blank.

Nearby, bodies were being laid out under banana leaves Tuesday as police — their faces covered against the stench — unearthed a mass grave containing 22 victims from Monday's ambush on an election caravan. The discovery brought the death toll to 46 — an unprecedented act of violence at the outset of the country's election season.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared a state of emergency in Maguindanao and a neighboring southern province, sending extra troops and police to try to impose the rule of law.

"No effort will be spared to bring justice to the victims and hold the perpetrators accountable to the full limit of the law," she said.

Few think she will be successful in the impoverished, lawless region that has been outside the central government's reach for generations, and where warlords backed by private armies go by their own rules.

Authorities ended the search for bodies Wednesday. The final death toll included 18 Filipino journalists from regional newspapers, TV and radio stations who were accompanying family members and supporters of a gubernatorial candidate out to file his nomination papers for May 2010 elections.

The deaths were "the largest single massacre of journalists ever," according to Paris-based Reporters Without Borders.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the "heinous crime committed in the context of a local election campaign" and hoped that "no effort will be spared to bring justice and to hold the perpetrators accountable," U.N. spokeswoman Michele Montas said at U.N. headquarters in New York.

Dozens of gunmen intercepted the caravan as it traveled on a two-lane highway that cuts across vast open tracts of land and banana groves, police said. They took some of the people to the grassy area, where the killings started.

Authorities found 24 bullet-riddled bodies sprawled on the ground next to five abandoned vehicles.

Police, aided by a backhoe, worked most of Tuesday to extricate the bodies from the mass grave. All had been shot multiple times and were dumped on top of one another. One was a pregnant woman.

Grieving relatives helped identify their loved ones before they were given the bodies, covered by banana leaves, for burial.

In all, 21 women and 25 men died, said military spokesman Col. Jonathan Ponce.

The gubernatorial candidate, Ismael Mangudadatu, was not in the convoy because he had received death threats. He said he met with the defense secretary, national police chief and military commanders to demand justice and the immediate arrest and prosecution of the killers of his wife, two sisters and other relatives.

Mangudadatu said four witnesses in his protection, whom he refused to identify, told him the convoy was stopped by gunmen loyal to Andal Ampatuan Jr., a town mayor and rival, to prevent Mangudadatu's family from filing election papers.

"It was really planned because they had already dug a huge hole (for the bodies)," Mangudadatu said.

He said there were reports from the area that the militia had been blocking the road for a few days.

Police said they were investigating reports that Ampatuan and dozens of policemen and pro-government militiamen were among the gunmen who blocked the convoy.

Maguindanao's acting governor is Sajid Ampatuan, another son of former Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr. The powerful Ampatuans, who have ruled the impoverished province unopposed since 2001, are expected to run again next year. The clan could not be reached for comment.

The family helped deliver votes for the Arroyo administration in 2004 elections. Human Rights Watch expressed concern Wednesday that the administration's relationship with the clan would hinder an impartial investigation.

Arroyo's peace adviser, Jesus Dureza, said he met Tuesday with Andal Ampatuan and received assurances that his family would cooperate in the probe.

It was not clear how far Arroyo's administration would go in trying to force the provincial warlords to give up their weapons and private armies.

Police said Maguindanao's provincial police chief and three other officers were relieved of duty and confined to camp after they were reported to have been with the militiamen who stopped the convoy.

Such militiamen are meant to act as an auxiliary force mobilized by the police or military to fight rebels and criminals, but often act as private enforcers of local warlords.

Much of the southern island of Mindanao, including Maguindanao province, used to be ruled by fiercely independent sultans who fought Spanish and American colonizers. The political dynasties of the Ampatuans and the Mangudadatus behave in a much similar way — ruling by force, unopposed in their turfs with little outside interference.

Julkipli Wadi, a professor of Islamic studies at the University of the Philippines, said he doubted the national government's resolve in trimming the powers of political dynasties like the Ampatuans because they deliver votes during elections.

"Because of the absence of viable political institutions, powerful men are taking over," he said. "Big political forces and personalities in the national government are sustaining the warlords, especially during election time, because they rely on big families for their votes."

Obama says US, allies working on Iran nuclear deal

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:24:00 +0000

SEOUL, South Korea — President Barack Obama says the U.S. and its allies are working on ways to send a "clear message" to Iran on its nuclear program.

Iran's foreign minister said Wednesday that Iran will not ship its low-enriched uranium out of the country for processing, again rejecting a U.N. plan aimed at thwarting any attempt by Iran to make nuclear weapons.

Obama said that over the next several weeks, the U.S. and its allies will work on developing a package of potential sanctions designed to pressure Iran to accept what Obama said is a fair offer.

Obama spoke at a news conference in Seoul, South Korea, with President Lee Myung-bak (lee myuhng bahk).

IMF chief again says Chinese yuan should rise

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:58:00 +0000

BEIJING — International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn on Monday reiterated that a stronger yuan would help bolster China's economy, amid mounting pressure on Beijing to let the currency rise.

In a speech to a finance forum focused on rebalancing the world economy, Strauss-Kahn highlighted China's efforts to boost private consumption, and said a stronger currency was "part of the package of necessary reforms".

"Allowing the renminbi and other Asian currencies to rise would help increase the purchasing power of households, raise the labor share of income, and provide the right incentives to reorient investment," he said.

"Higher Chinese domestic demand, along with higher US saving, will help rebalance world demand and assure a healthier global economy for us all," he said, according to a copy of his speech received by AFP.

Strauss-Kahn -- whose two-day visit to China coincides with that of US President Barack Obama -- delivered a similar message Friday in Singapore ahead of a weekend summit of Asia-Pacific leaders.

Last week, finance ministers from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum called for greater exchange rate flexibility, in what is widely seen as code for China to allow the yuan to strengthen against the dollar.

In a joint statement, they said APEC members should follow "monetary policies consistent with price stability in the context of market-oriented exchange rates that reflect underlying economic fundamentals".

The dollar's long decline is bad news for Asian exporters struggling to maintain competitiveness, particularly against Chinese rivals benefiting from the yuan's government-enforced stability.

Feds move to seize 4 mosques, tower linked to Iran

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:20:00 +0000

NEW YORK – Federal prosecutors took steps Thursday to seize four U.S. mosques and a Fifth Avenue skyscraper owned by a nonprofit Muslim organization long suspected of being secretly controlled by the Iranian government.

In what could prove to be one of the biggest counterterrorism seizures in U.S. history, prosecutors filed a civil complaint in federal court against the Alavi Foundation, seeking the forfeiture of more than $500 million in assets.

The assets include bank accounts; Islamic centers consisting of schools and mosques in New York City, Maryland, California and Houston; more than 100 acres in Virginia; and a 36-story glass office tower in New York.

Confiscating the properties would be a sharp blow against Iran, which has been accused by the U.S. government of bankrolling terrorism and trying to build a nuclear bomb.

A telephone call and e-mail to Iran's U.N. Mission seeking comment were not immediately answered. Nor was a call to the Alavi Foundation.

It is extremely rare for U.S. law enforcement authorities to seize a house of worship, a step fraught with questions about the First Amendment right to freedom of religion.

The action against the Shiite Muslim mosques is sure to inflame relations between the U.S. government and American Muslims, many of whom are fearful of a backlash after last week's Fort Hood shooting rampage, blamed on a Muslim American major.

The mosques and the skyscraper will remain open while the forfeiture case works its way through court in what could be a long process. What will happen to them if the government ultimately prevails is unclear. But the government typically sells properties it has seized through forfeiture, and the proceeds are sometimes distributed to crime victims.

Prosecutors said the Alavi Foundation managed the office tower on behalf of the Iranian government and, working with a front company known as Assa Corp., illegally funneled millions in rental income to Iran's state-owned Bank Melli. Bank Melli has been accused by a U.S. Treasury official of providing support for Iran's nuclear program, and it is illegal in the United States to do business with the bank.

The U.S. has long suspected the foundation was an arm of the Iranian government; a 97-page complaint details involvement in foundation business by several top Iranian officials, including the deputy prime minister and ambassadors to the United Nations.

"For two decades, the Alavi Foundation's affairs have been directed by various Iranian officials, including Iranian ambassadors to the United Nations, in violation of a series of American laws," U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement.

There were no raids Thursday as part of the forfeiture action. The government is simply required to post notices of the civil complaint on the property.

As prosecutors outlined their allegations against Alavi, the Islamic centers and the schools they run carried on with normal activity. The mosques' leaders had no immediate comment.

Parents lined up in their cars to pick up their children at the schools within the Islamic Education Center of Greater Houston and the Islamic Education Center in Rockville, Md. No notices of the forfeiture action were posted at either place as of late Thursday.

At the Islamic Institute of New York, a mosque and school in Queens, two U.S. marshals came to the door and rang the bell repeatedly. The marshals taped a forfeiture notice to the window and left a large document sitting on the ground. After they left a group of men came out of the building and took the document.

The fourth Islamic center marked for seizure is in Carmichael, Calif.

The skyscraper, known as the Piaget building, was erected in the 1970s under the shah of Iran, who was overthrown in 1979. The tenants include law and investment firms and other businesses.

The sleek, modern building, last valued at $570 million to $650 million in 2007, has served as an important source of income for the foundation over the past 36 years. The most recent tax records show the foundation earned $4.5 million from rents in 2007.

Rents collected from the building help fund the centers and other ventures, such as sending educational literature to imprisoned Muslims in the U.S. The foundation has also invested in dozens of mosques around the country and supported Iranian academics at prominent universities.

If federal prosecutors seize the skyscraper, the Alavi Foundation would have almost no way to continue supporting the Islamic centers, which house schools and mosques. That could leave a major void in Shiite communities, and hard feelings toward the FBI, which played a big role in the investigation.

The forfeiture action comes at a tense moment in U.S.-Iranian relations, with the two sides at odds over Iran's nuclear program and its arrest of three American hikers.

But Michael Rubin, an expert on Iran at the American Enterprise Institute, said the timing of the forfeiture action was probably a coincidence, not an effort to influence Iran on those issues.

"Suspicion about the Alavi Foundation transcends three administrations," Rubin said. "It's taken ages dealing with the nuts and bolts of the investigation. It's not the type of investigation which is part of any larger strategy."

Legal scholars said they know of only a few cases in U.S. history in which law enforcement authorities have seized a house of worship. Marc Stern, a religious-liberty expert with the American Jewish Congress, called such cases extremely rare.

The Alavi Foundation is the successor organization to the Pahlavi Foundation, a nonprofit group used by the shah to advance Iran's charitable interests in America. But authorities said its agenda changed after the fall of the shah.

In 2007, the United States accused Bank Melli of providing services to Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs and put the bank on its list of companies whose assets must be frozen. Washington has imposed sanctions against various other Iranian businesses.

___

Associated Press writers Samantha Gross in New York City, Juan A. Lozano in Houston, investigative researcher Randy Herschaft in New York City and AP photographer Jacquelyn Martin in Maryland contributed to this report.

___

On the Net:

http://www.alavifoundation.org

Brazil, US urge talks in Venezuela, Colombia spat

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:48:00 +0000

CARACAS, Venezuela — Brazil and the U.S. urged Colombia and Venezuela on Tuesday to talk out their differences after Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez ordered his military to prepare for a possible war with his neighbor.

The push for diplomacy came as many in both Colombia and Venezuela dismissed Chavez's words as an attempt to distract attention from domestic problems, including the struggling economy and water shortages and power blackouts.

Chavez has warned that troops he ordered to the Colombian border should be ready for a possible conflict if the U.S. attempts to provoke a war between the South American countries. He cited a recent deal between Bogota and Washington giving U.S. troops greater access to Colombian military bases as a threat to regional stability.

Brazil's defense minister, Nelson Jobim, played down the risk of an armed conflict.

"We believe that everything can be resolved with dialogue," Jobim said in Brasilia. "I don't think the tension is going to increase; it's part of the rhetoric of the continent."

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said: "We are very much aware of recent tensions along the Venezuelan-Colombia border."

"I certainly don't think this is about the United States," Crowley added. "But we certainly would encourage dialogue between Venezuela and Colombia and a peaceful resolution of the situation along their border."

The Organization of American States also called on Colombia and Venezuela to settle their problems through dialogue.

Chavez scoffed at Colombia's plans to file complaints with the OAS and U.N. Security Council in response to the instructions he gave to Venezuelan soldiers over the weekend.

"Now they are accusing me of calling for war," Chavez said in a televised speech Tuesday, denying his message to the military was meant as a threat. "They really have to be cynical to say that."

Tensions have escalated and trade has dropped dramatically since the diplomatic crisis erupted in July over the plan to grant U.S. military aircraft and warships expanded access to Colombian bases, including $46 million in construction at the Palanquero air base in Colombia's central Magdalena valley.

Colombia's government has sought to assuage Venezuela's concerns, saying U.S. troops would be operating solely on Colombian soil to help its military combat drug trafficking and leftist rebels. But critics of U.S. policies argue the accord is meant to help Washington expand its influence and interference in the region.

Many in Venezuela oppose the idea of a war with Colombia and view the suggestion of a conflict as pure bluster.

A poll released Tuesday by the Caracas-based polling firm Datanalisis found that nearly 80 percent of Venezuelans said they would disagree with Chavez declaring war on Colombia. The poll consulted 1,300 people and was completed last month, before Chavez's latest remarks. The poll had an error margin of 3 percentage points.

That and other surveys have shown a recent decline in Chavez's popularity as the country copes with its economic woes and other problems.

"It's always more interesting to get the people talking about a war with Colombia than to get them talking about issues like inflation, water problems or electricity problems," pollster Luis Vicente Leon of Datanalisis told The Associated Press.

The biggest effect of the crisis so far has been the fall in trade. The Colombian-Venezuelan chamber of commerce estimates bilateral trade this year could fall 20 percent from 2008, to around $4.5 billion.

Associated Press Writer Desmond Butler in Washington contributed to this report.

Troops kill 12 Taliban militants in NW Pakistan: army

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:50:00 +0000

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan's military said Saturday it had killed 12 Taliban militants as government troops pressed a major offensive in the South Waziristan tribal area bordering Afghanistan.

Some 30,000 troops backed by fighter jets and helicopter gunships launched a fierce air and ground offensive into the northwest region three weeks ago and the military has since claimed a series of successes.

It said troops on Friday penetrated into Makin, the hometown of slain Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud who was killed along with some of his family members in a missile strike fired by a US drone on August 5.

Security forces were also consolidating their positions at Sararogha and its surrounding heights in the rugged mountainous region, the military's media wing said in a statement.

"In last 24 hours, 12 terrorists have been killed, and five soldiers including two officers were injured," the statement said.

The strategic town of Sararogha, was a former operational base of Mehsud.

Security forces also captured a 30-feet (10-metre) long tunnel and "plenty of ammunition has been discovered and destroyed" it said.

Pakistan, vowing to crush Tehreek-e-Taliban in the region, said so far 458 Taliban fighters and 42 troops had been killed in the offensive.

The casualty figures cannot be verified because communication lines are down and journalists and aid workers are barred from the area.

South Waziristan has been dubbed by Washington as the most dangerous place in the world because of an abundance of Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters.

The long-awaited assault on South Waziristan came after a spring offensive in the northwestern Swat valley. In July, the government declared the offensive a success but sporadic outbreaks of violence have continued in the valley.

The South Waziristan offensive has displaced more than 250,000 people and the the United Nations has urged Pakistan to ensure safety and security of civilians during the operation.

Report: Kidnap suspect improperly supervised

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:40:00 +0000

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A state report released Wednesday blasts corrections officials for missing chances to catch the sex offender accused of holding Jaycee Dugard captive in his backyard for 18 years.

The 45-page report by the state inspector general paints a heartbreaking picture of overlooked opportunities to rescue Dugard, but also contains new details of the now 29-year-old's first interactions with law enforcement after her captivity.

It says Dugard repeatedly tried to conceal her identity in the hours before it was revealed, telling authorities she was hiding from an abusive husband in Minnesota and defending Phillip Garrido, the man now charged in her abduction and rape.

Garrido and his wife, Nancy, have pleaded not guilty to 29 counts related to 1991 Dugard's abduction, rape and imprisonment.

Inspector General David Shaw, appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to monitor the prison system, said the failures by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation began almost immediately after the state took control in 1999 of Garrido, who had been convicted in 1977 of raping and kidnapping a 25-year-old woman. He was previously under federal supervision.

They included neglecting to interview Garrido's neighbors or to investigate the utility wires running from his Antioch house to the secret backyard compound where Dugard and her daughters are said to have lived. They also included temporarily misclassifying Garrido as a low-risk offender.

Such mistakes by the department resulted "in the continued confinement and victimization of Jaycee and her two daughters," Shaw said.

Dugard's identity was discovered when she and her daughters, ages 12 and 15, who were fathered by Garrido, accompanied Garrido and his wife to his parole agent's office. Dugard said her name was Alyssa. The report said investigators grew suspicious of the Dugard and children's relationship to Garrido and separated them into different rooms.

Unbeknownst to Dugard, Garrido told another agent that Dugard and the girls were his nieces.

Confronted about the inconsistencies, Dugard "explained that she was from Minnesota and had been hiding for five years from an abusive husband, the report said. "She was terrified of being found, she said, and that was the reason she could not give the parole agent any information."

Garrido eventually told the parole agent he had kidnapped and raped Dugard, the report said, an account later confirmed by Dugard, who then identified herself.

According to the report, Dugard told investigators before she identified herself that she knew Garrido was a convicted sex offender, but that he was a changed man. She called him "a great person who was good with her kids."

Corrections Secretary Matthew Cate said Wednesday he deeply regretted if the mistakes made by his department kept Dugard in captivity for even one additional day.

He said he could not comment for privacy reasons on whether any disciplinary actions would be taken against the parole officers who oversaw Garrido.

A statement issued by Dugard's lawyer McGregor Scott said the report "clearly sets out many missed opportunities to bring a much earlier end to the nightmare of Jaycee Dugard and her family."

It also said Dugard is "fully committed" to holding Garrido accountable for his alleged crimes.

The report said for almost the entire first year he was in the California parole system, Garrido was not visited by a parole agent. It said he also was passed over between June 2001 and July 2002, and received only one visit between June 2004 and August 2005.

Parole supervisors also failed to detect and address the inadequate oversight, the report said.

"Put another way, 90 percent of the time the department's oversight of Garrido lacked required actions," the inspector general said.

Garrido was required to register as a sex offender because of the 1977 conviction. He was paroled in 1988, supervised by federal parole authorities.

In March 1999, the U.S. Parole Administration terminated Garrido's federal parole supervision and Nevada briefly took over until June 1999, when California began his supervision.

U.S. Department of Justice spokesman Charles Miller said he could not immediately comment on the report's findings or Garrido's case.

Shaw faulted the California department for not reviewing copies of Garrido's federal parole file that included information about a search a federal agent did of Garrido's backyard, including the secret tented area and a soundproof studio there.

Shaw said a parole agent also failed to adequately investigate the relationship between Garrido and a young girl seen by the agent during a home visit.

As a parolee, Garrido wore a GPS-linked ankle bracelet that tracked his movements. But the report said agents ignored alerts about violations. A review of the GPS information found that over a 32-day period from July 23, 2009, to August 23, 2009, he traveled outside of the 25-mile zone seven times.

Shaw recommended that corrections officials require active GPS monitoring of all sex offenders, so that agents get near real-time updates on the whereabouts of the parolees.

Cate, the corrections secretary, said that requirement would be adopted.

Associated Press Writers Lisa Leff and Jason Dearen in San Francisco also contributed to this report.

On the Net:

Office of the Inspector General,: http://oig.ca.gov/

Obama: Hiring last to come as economy rebounds

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:38:00 +0000

WASHINGTON — As the prospect of double-digit unemployment looms, President Barack Obama on Monday sought to set expectations for the nation, saying job losses will likely roll on "for weeks and months to come" because hiring always lags behind in an economic rebound.

"We just are not where we need to be yet," Obama said as he met with a panel of economic advisers. "We've got a long way to go."

Unemployment hit a 26-year high of 9.8 percent in September. The next monthly reports come out Friday and could show it topping 10 percent.

Still, the economy is growing again. Reports out Monday show improvement in manufacturing, construction and contracts to buy homes.

Obama said that building a sustainable economy and getting people back to work remain his "administration's overriding focus." Obama helped push through a $787 billion economic stimulus package earlier this year, and he says the administration, Congress and the private sector must take more bold steps to help.

Obama spoke as he met with his Economic Recovery Advisory Board. The session was open to reporters and streamed live on the White House Web site.

Obama added that the U.S. must break out of a "debilitating gridlock on trade policy," by ending the false choice between a wide-open, freewheeling import policy or fearful, protectionist approach to trade. He called for a more balanced policy of letting the world know America will compete and trade fairly.

White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov

UN says police, NATO slow to respond to attack

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 03:36:00 +0000

UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations demanded to know Friday why it took an hour for Afghan police and NATO troops to respond to a Taliban attack on a guest house filled with U.N. staff in Kabul.

Afghan authorities denied that they were slow to respond, and a NATO spokesman said the Afghans did not ask the international force for support.

As guests cowered inside their rooms or jumped from windows, two U.N. security officers fought with three militants who attacked the guest house at dawn Wednesday, carrying grenades and automatic weapons and wearing suicide vests. Fire consumed part of the building during the two-hour siege, which left 11 people dead including the attackers.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said two Afghan security guards outside the house where 34 U.N. staffers lived appear to have been killed immediately in the assault, which apparently targeted the U.N. for its role in the Nov. 7 presidential runoff election. The Taliban, which claimed responsibility for the attack, views the balloting as a Western plot.

At that point, two U.N. security officers living in the house took up the job of protecting their fellow U.N. staff.

"For at least an hour, and perhaps more, those two security officers held off the attackers. They fought through the corridors of the building and from the rooftop," Ban told the U.N. General Assembly. "They held off the attackers long enough for their colleagues to escape, armed only with pistols against assailants carrying automatic weapons and grenades and wearing suicide vests."

Ban said that "the U.N. security team repeatedly called for help from both Afghanistan government forces and other international partners." He said "initial reports suggest that it was approximately an hour, if not longer, before Afghan police or others arrived on the scene."

U.N. spokeswoman Michele Montas said the U.N. was demanding an explanation.

The secretary-general told the U.N. Security Council that "we were a little taken aback by the fact that our security officers died or were wounded fighting, by themselves, a battle," Montas said.

"We cannot assess yet why. And we have asked, of course, to find out. We have to find out why," Montas said.

Jamil Jumbish, a top Interior Ministry official who is chief of Afghanistan's criminal investigation police, denied that Afghan authorities were slow to respond.

He said Afghan police were stationed in the district and reached the site of the attack "very quickly." He said reinforcements were also sent in shortly afterward. Jumbish, however, did not specify how long it took police to respond to the attack.

NATO spokesman James Appathurai said in Brussels that Afghan forces did not ask NATO's ISAF force for support.

"Of course we make all efforts to support our international partners at all times," Appathurai said. "In this case, ISAF mobilized both medical and quick reaction forces."

The deadly assault pointed to one of the deficiencies in plans for protecting sensitive targets in Kabul.

Afghan authorities are the designated first responders in attacks against civilians in the capital, and the better-equipped and better-trained NATO force is supposed to intervene only if asked by the Afghans.

Although the guest house was full of United Nations employees, the building itself was a privately owned Afghan business.

Ban spoke first at a town hall meeting at U.N. headquarters where hundreds of staff members stood in silent tribute to the U.N. staff members killed in the attack — including two U.N. security officers, Louis Maxwell from Miami and Laurance Mefful of Ghana. Nine other U.N. staff members were injured.

Mefful's widow, Emma, brought tears to many eyes when she spoke with great composure about her husband of 30 years whose life was guided by two principles: "loving his lord and loving his neighbor."

"It was, therefore, not surprising about his heroic actions at a time of crisis, especially doing something to save the lives of others," she said. "He was just a selfless person and would do anything to make others comfortable — and that's what he did. We are very proud of him."

Maxwell's mother, Sandra Maxwell, told The Associated Press that her son was an outstanding trumpet player at Miami Central High School — so good that he was offered a full music scholarship to Florida A & M University, but he decided instead to enlist in the Navy and then joined the United Nations, where he was a close protection officer.

"I'm told from U.N. top officials that because of my son, 17 people are alive," she said, crying. "He was brave. He fought until he couldn't fight anymore. He paid the ultimate price. He was a hero."

Maxwell, 27, is survived by his parents, sister and two children, aged 7 years and 11 months.

In his remarks, the secretary-general went out of his way to commend the U.N. guards.

"I am so grateful for their courage and bravery," Ban said.

His comments echoed those of John Christopher "Chris" Turner of Kansas City, Missouri, who said he also fended off the militants while some guests hid in a back room.

"The real hero here was not me," Turner told NBC on Thursday. "It was the U.N. guards that died fighting in the front of the building. I was merely the last line of defense for the 24 people hiding in the washroom."

Ban identified two of the three other U.N. employees who died in the attack as election workers — Lydia Wonwene of Liberia and Jossie Esto of the Philippines. He said the third worked for the U.N. children's agency, UNICEF.

The secretary-general warned Thursday that the U.N. has become a "soft target" and urgently appealed for more security personnel to protect U.N. staff and facilities in Afghanistan, especially in the run-up to the Nov. 7 presidential runoff election.

Ban said the United Nations will be consolidating U.N. staff in Kabul and around the country, and told Friday's meeting that some personnel not engaged in "critical duties" may be relocated in the coming weeks.

U.N. staff in the capital are currently scattered in 93 guest houses, U.N. officials said.

The secretary-general said staff who survived the attack have been flown out of the country. He said movement of all U.N. staff "remains restricted" and that staff "not directly engaged in critical, election-related duties are being encouraged to take leave" during the run-up to the election and the period immediately thereafter.

As of Oct. 15, there were 6,700 people working for the U.N. mission and all U.N. funds and programs in Afghanistan, including 1,100 international staff and 5,600 local staff, U.N. deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe said.

That includes more than 300 election staff from the U.N. Development Program whose work in support of the runoff is largely completed though some will be assisting the international observers during the runoff, UNDP spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

"U.N. staff continue to help Afghans prepare for the run-off election," Ban said. "That includes pre-positioning election materials in the provinces."

Ban appealed to the General Assembly for an additional $50 million to beef up security at vulnerable U.N. locations, $25 million to assist the U.N. Department of Safety and Security meet new demands "in an increasingly dangerous world," and $10 million for a new fund to help victims and their families.

As he left the town hall meeting, Guy Candusso, one of the representatives on the U.N. Staff Union, said more resources are critical, but not enough.

Unless additional funds are coupled with a systemwide security policy encompassing all U.N. staff that is enforced by the secretary-general, "the result will be further deaths," he warned.

Associated Press Writers Robert H. Reid in Kabul, Slobodan Lekic in Brussels, and Tamara Lush in Miami contributed to this report.

Japanese destroyer collides with South Korean ship

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 03:35:00 +0000

TOKYO — A Japanese navy destroyer and a South Korean container ship collided Tuesday off southern Japan, sparking fires on both ships and injuring three crew members, officials said.

The ships collided under a bridge linking the Japanese main islands of Kyushu and Honshu in the narrow Kanmon Strait, Japan Coast Guard spokesman Seishi Izumi said.

One crew member on the destroyer JS Kurama was slightly injured with scratches and bruises while two others were suffering from smoke inhalation, a Defense Ministry spokesman said on condition of anonymity, citing policy.

None of the South Korean ship's 16 crew members — 12 from South Korea and four from Myanmar — was injured, Izumi said.

The fire on the 7,400-ton container ship Carina Star was extinguished shortly after the collision. The blaze on the destroyer was mostly under control late Tuesday but its temperature was still extremely high, the defense official said.

Officials are investigating the case as possible professional negligence and have begun questioning crew members on both ships, Izumi said.

The defense official said the Japanese ship's bow was badly burned and mangled, but the vessel was still capable of traveling on its own. The container ship's hull was grazed near its bow.

TV footage showed orange flames shooting from the vessels in the dark.

Izumi said the fire apparently broke out as a result of the impact of the collision, with paint inside a storage room on the destroyer catching fire.

The accident occurred under the Kanmon Bridge connecting Kyushu and the western end of Honshu — the narrowest part of the strait — about 530 miles (850 kilometers) southwest of Tokyo, Izumi said.

All sea traffic in the strait was suspended for about four hours after the accident.

The Kurama, carrying 360 sailors, was on its way to its home port of Sasebo on Kyushu after serving as the flagship for the country's triennial fleet review Sunday at the port of Yokosuka. The container ship had left the South Korean port of Busan and was headed to Osaka in western Japan.

Last year, a collision between a destroyer and a tuna trawler off the coast of Chiba, near Tokyo, left two fishermen dead. That accident triggered an uproar in Japan, where many people harbor pacifist sentiments and remain sensitive to anything related to the military.

Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa quickly held a news conference to express regret.

"We deeply apologize to the people for causing concerns," he said. "We will quickly find out what caused the accident."

Ontario cellphone ban starts Monday, violators could face $500 fine

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:04:00 +0000

TORONTO — Starting Monday, Ontario drivers will be the latest Canadians prohibited from using cellphones or BlackBerrys while behind the wheel.

Millions of motorists in the country's most populous province are banned from using any hand-held electronic devices to text, email or talk while driving, except for 911 calls.

They're also forbidden from using portable video games or DVD players while chugging along. Global positioning systems are allowed, as long as they're properly secured to the dashboard.

It's the fourth province to enact such a ban, following Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec and Nova Scotia.

Manitoba's cellphone ban is expected to be proclaimed into law next year, British Columbia has introduced similar legislation and Saskatchewan has promised a bill this fall.

Hands-free devices aren't covered under the Ontario ban, but provincial officials say they're not recommended for use while driving.

Cabinet ministers usually have a driver to shuttle them around on official business, but Ontario Corrections and Community Safety Minister Rick Bartolucci said he still made sure he was prepared for the ban.

"Guess what? I purchased my earpiece," he said.

"I won't be using my hands to use the cellphone. I respect the law because it respects the safety of my fellow Ontarians."

Ontario drivers could be fined up to $500 if they're caught, but unlike other provinces, there are no demerit points attached.

There will be an "education" period in the first three months where police will show some leniency and, in many cases, simply let drivers off with a warning.

But make no mistake - drivers should not assume they're "scot-free" until February, said Sgt. Dave Woodford, a spokesman for the Ontario Provincial Police.

Cops still have discretion to lay charges by way of summons under the new law, where the driver would have to go to court to find out how big the fine will be, he said.

Motorists using a banned device can also be charged under careless driving laws and face fines, six demerit points, licence suspension - even jail time.

"If we see someone driving erratically or they're involved in a collision and they've been on their cellphone, there are already offences in place under the Highway Traffic Act where people can be charged," he said.

"So you don't want to send out he wrong messaging that you're allowed to talk on the phone for the next three months and not be charged with any offences, because you could be."

According to the 2006 Ontario Road Safety annual report, there were 77 fatalities among the 33,551 accidents due to "inattentive" drivers, which included talking on a cellphone while driving.

It's hard to know how many accidents were caused by drivers talking on their cellphones, said Woodford. The cause of many accidents are never known because the driver was killed.

Ontario was the first province to extend the ban to all hand-held electronic devices, a move that B.C. has followed in legislation introduced last week.

The proposed new rules - billed as the most comprehensive in Canada - would go a step further by banning new drivers in B.C. from hands-free phones. Drivers caught violating the rules would receive three penalty points on top of a $167 fine.

But motorists should go beyond the letter of the law if they want to stay safe on the roads, said Robert Tremblay of the Insurance Bureau of Canada.

"Using hands-free devices while driving is certainly better than using hand-held devices, but not using any distracting devices, or participating in any distracting behaviour at all, is the best policy," he said in a statement.

The bureau's tips for obeying the new law include:

-Eat before driving so you won't be tempted to juggle distracting snacks behind the wheel.

-Pull over and park before using a cellphone or other hand-held electronic device.

-Create a "driving" playlist on your iPod or music player and activate it before you hit the road so you won't be searching for a good song while driving.

-If there's something distracting you - something fell on the floor, the kids are acting up in the back seat - pull over to a safe area first, then deal with it.

-Check the map, adjust the seat, the climate control and the radio, and familiarize yourself with the dashboard controls, before heading out.

-Make sure pets are safely secured and in the back seat.

-Listen to your GPS device, don't look at it.

Massive security at Asian summit in Thailand

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 03:38:00 +0000

CHA-AM, Thailand — Thailand has deployed more than 36,000 military and police to guard a summit of Asian leaders, working to prevent any repeat of the disruptions that shut down another meeting earlier this year, an official said Thursday.

The government is still smarting from the storming of the East Asian Summit in April in the seaside city of Pattaya, where anti-government protesters charged through thin police ranks and forced the evacuation of several leaders by helicopter and boat.

A main protest organizer said no new demonstrations are planned this week.

Leaders of 16 Asian and Pacific nations, including Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, will gather Friday for an annual conference of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Cha-am, a beach resort 200 kilometers (120 miles) south of Bangkok.

About half of the security forces mobilized have thrown a security cordon around this summit venue, and the others will be on alert in the Thai capital, said government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn. He said 20 newly bought bulletproof SUV's will chauffeur leaders to their meetings.

"Security forces have also set up emergency escape routes by land, air and sea," he said. "We don't expect it to be necessary but we want to be ready and to assure leaders that they will be able to meet without distraction."

Security forces have also been empowered to impose curfews and restrict freedom of movement around Cha-am and Bangkok.

Roadblocks were thrown up around the summit venue Thursday. Sniffer dogs patrolled hotels and even local fishermen were stopped from going out to sea.

Thailand has been rocked by years of protests and counterprotests by supporters and opponents of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 military coup on accusations of corruption, abuse of power and disrespect to the country's monarch.

Nearly 10,000 demonstrators took to Bangkok's streets last Saturday, demanding a pardon for Thaksin and that he be allowed to return from exile.

However, Nattawut Sai-kua, one of the protest leaders, said no demonstrations will be staged during the conference.

"There is no plan to protest or disrupt the summit," he said. He added that a protest letter will be handed to ASEAN representatives outside the security zone.

The three-day conference includes the annual gathering of the 10-member ASEAN leaders and those of China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

ASEAN is due to unveil a human rights body for Southeast Asia, sign a declaration on climate change and discuss food security, disaster management, bio-energy and economic integration. The group aims to set up an economic community by 2015.

China wants to expand regional trade and investment and plans a $10 billion infrastructure building fund to deepen ties with its Southeast Asian neighbors. A free trade zone between China and ASEAN is slated to be completed by January 2010.

As at previous ASEAN conferences, violation of human rights in military-ruled Myanmar, which joined the group in 1997, could cast a shadow over the proceedings. The international community is urging ASEAN to pressure the junta to reform.

The group prefers to steer clear of the internal affairs of its members, and with Myanmar recently allowing detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi contact with Western diplomats and the United States unveiling a new policy of trying to engage rather than shun the country's leaders, the tone at the conference may be more positive.

The leaders of Cambodia, Indonesia and Malaysia were not expected to arrive in time for Friday morning's opening ceremony, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is hosting an official visit by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, Indonesia is swearing in a new government and Malaysia's government was presenting its budget to Parliament, he said.

Honduras crisis talks stall again

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 03:54:00 +0000

The latest talks on the political crisis in Honduras have stalled with both sides still at odds over the fate of ousted President Manuel Zelaya.

A spokesman for Mr Zelaya, who was exiled in June, said the interim government's proposals were insulting.

Interim leader Roberto Micheletti accused Mr Zelaya's side of promoting "an agenda of insurrection".

The stumbling block is whether Mr Zelaya can return to the presidency ahead of November's elections.

Mr Zelaya, who slipped back into Honduras in September, is insisting he be allowed to serve out his remaining weeks in office before the presidential election on 29 November.

The interim government has proposed that the country's Supreme Court and Congress should submit official proposals to the negotiating commission on Mr Zelaya's possible reinstatement.

The Supreme Court was the body that ordered Mr Zelaya to be removed from office in June, arguing that he had violated the constitution. Congress overwhelmingly backed this.

Curbs lifted

Negotiator Victor Meza, speaking for Mr Zelaya, said the interim government was obstructing progress.

"We're not going to meet again until we have a constructive and serious proposal [from Micheletti]," Mr Meza said.

Talks, while not broken off, were stalled, he said.

Meanwhile, the interim government has now lifted an emergency decree that had curbed civil liberties, although it continued to accuse Mr Zelaya of trying to destabilise Honduras.

"Unfortunately, in recent days, ex-President Zelaya and his followers have promoted an agenda of insurrection in the country," a statement from the interim authorities said.

A pro-Zelaya television channel and radio station, which had their offices closed and equipment confiscated, went back on air on Monday after the measures were officially rescinded.

Mr Zelaya was sent into exile on 28 June after trying to hold a vote on whether a constituent assembly should be set up to look at rewriting the constitution.

The vote was deemed in violation of the constitution by the Supreme Court.

Mr Zelaya's opponents accused him of trying to lift the current ban on presidential re-election to remain in office - a charge he has repeatedly denied.

Some commentators point out that a new constitution allowing presidential re-election was unlikely to have been ready before January 2010, when Mr Zelaya's term was due to end.

Canadians intercept migrant ship

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 03:37:00 +0000

A ship carrying 76 suspected illegal migrants has been seized off Canada's Pacific coast, officials say.

Those on board the ship said they were trying to reach Canada, according to local authorities.

The identity of the migrants was not confirmed, although Canada's public safety minister said there were indications they were from Sri Lanka.

He said it appeared to be a case of human smuggling. The migrants, all men, were said to be in good health.

The merchant vessel, named Ocean Lady, was intercepted by a navy frigate off Vancouver Island before being escorted to a dock in Ogden Point in Victoria, British Columbia.

Officials there were carrying out health and safety and immigration checks.

Those on board the ship were pictured wearing civilian clothes. Some were shirtless.

"The signs do point toward human smuggling," said the public safety minister, Peter Van Loan.

Several ships attempting to smuggle migrants from China to Canada's Pacific coast were intercepted off Vancouver Island a decade ago.

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