Egypt's Mubarak returns to court in landmark trial (Reuters)

CAIRO (Reuters) ? Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, charged with the killing of protesters and abuse of power, was wheeled into court on a hospital trolley on Wednesday as his trial resumed after a delay of almost two months while lawyers demanded a new judge.

Many Egyptians hope the trial will heal some of the scars of his autocratic rule and help the country find stability after nearly a year of political turmoil under the military generals who replaced him in power.

But the multitude of witnesses and the complexity of the charges mean the case could drag on for months, perhaps years.

Mubarak, his two sons, the former interior minister and senior police officers face charges ranging from corruption to involvement in the deaths of hundreds of protesters in the uprising that unseated him.

"The court has responded to all the defendants' lawyers requests," said lawyer Khaled Abu Bakr, who represents families of people who died in the uprising. "Egypt has guaranteed for Mubarak a very fair trial, the judge has ensured that all the basics of justice are there ... no one should object the final verdict"

The former leader, who is being held under guard at a military hospital near Cairo because doctors say he has a heart condition, was brought into the court on a hospital trolley, covering his eyes with his arm and surrounded by police.

Previous sessions were marred by clashes outside the Cairo court building between Mubarak supporters and Egyptians demanding the death penalty for him, but there were no scuffles when Mubarak arrived on Wednesday.

He was widely believed to be grooming his son Gamal to succeed him but any such plan was overturned when disgust at poverty, corruption and the brutality of Egypt's security forces boiled over and millions took to the streets in January.

Around 850 people were killed in the 18-day uprising that overthrew him, with the police accused of shooting live rounds at unarmed demonstrators. Much of the trial centers on who gave the order to fire.

The case has gripped the Middle East, a region ruled mostly by autocrats who seemed unassailable until this year when Mubarak and the leaders of Tunisia and Libya were toppled in popular revolts.

The sight in August of Mubarak, the man who ruled the Arab world's most populous nation for three decades, appearing behind bars in a Cairo courtroom on charges that could bring the death penalty was one of the defining moments of the Arab Spring.

Later that month the presiding judge Ahmed Refaat ordered television cameras out of the courtroom until the case concludes, ensuring key testimony by top officials took place beyond public view.

Lawyers for families of the dead filed a suit in September calling for Refaat and the two other judges to be replaced.

They had complained that the judges had failed to give them enough time to question Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, who heads the ruling military council, during his court appearance. Their request was rejected.

TEST FOR ARMY

Former Interior Minister Habib al-Adli and six senior police officers are also standing trial. Businessman Hussein Salem, a close associate of Mubarak, is being tried in absentia.

Lawyers asked that the deputy head of the military council, General Sami Anan, give testimony, and also Major General Naguib Mohamed Abdel Salam, former commander of the Republican Guard.

Abdel Salam was ordered by Mubarak on January 28 to send Republican Guard troops to surround the state television building in Cairo, said Mohamed Gendi, lawyer for Ismail Sha'er who headed the state security services and is one of those on trial.

"We request to know what orders Major General Abdel Salam received from Mubarak. Were the orders to use force with protesters or just to protect the TV state building?" said Gendi.

The lawyers also asked for the former head of the National Security Authority, Mostafa Abdel Nabi, and Major General Hamdi Badeen, head of the military police, to appear as witnesses.

The judge gave no response to the demands before calling the session to a close. He set January 2 for the court to reconvene.

The case is a test for the army, which may be uncomfortable at the prospect of a public humiliation for Mubarak, a former air force head.

Whatever the outcome, his overthrow ensures his successors cannot ignore the power of the public.

But those who hoped that the revolt would lead quickly to a return to stability and an improvement in their lives have been disappointed.

Egyptians began choosing a new parliament a month ago in elections due to last until mid-January, but the vote has taken place in the shadow of violence and an economic crisis.

Protesters demanding the army cede power more swiftly fought troops in Cairo for five days until calm was restored last week. The Health Ministry put the death toll at 17.

The Muslim Brotherhood, whose party is leading in the election, said the army's timetable for handing power to civilians after a presidential vote, due before mid-2012, should not be changed as it would cause chaos.

(Additional reporting by Marwa Awad; Writing by Tom Pfeiffer; Editing by Giles Elgood)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111228/wl_nm/us_egypt_mubarak_trial

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Kraft vending machine teases children with adult-only pudding dispenser (video)

We've seen odd and law-swerving vending machines before, but none as meanspirited as Kraft's collaboration with Intel that only gives pudding samples to adults. The unimaginatively titled iSample denies the youthful its sweet nectar by taking a facial scan and determining dessert deservedness based on biometric data, like how far apart your facial features are. Part experiment, part publicity stunt, Intel is trying out technologies that could recommend products based on age. The company also claims it may retrofit the technology into existing machines to let companies study who's buying its products; Kraft is clearly in it just to deny children some pudding. To see if you have spent enough time at the fountain of youth, head down to Chicago's Shedd Aquarium or New York's South Street Seaport, and take your place in the line of parents ordering one for their progeny. Check the promo video after the break to see the machine wiping disappointment all over the kids' little faces.

Continue reading Kraft vending machine teases children with adult-only pudding dispenser (video)

Kraft vending machine teases children with adult-only pudding dispenser (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Dec 2011 21:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/ILatCtk35b4/

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Strong quake shakes Siberia (AP)

MOSCOW ? Miners in a swath of southwestern Siberia are being told to leave their shafts after a strong earthquake shook the region.

No injuries or damage have been reported from the quake, which had a preliminary magnitude reading of 6.6 and hit late Tuesday.

The epicenter was about 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of Kyzyl, capital of the Russian republic of Tuva that borders Mongolia, according to the U.S. National Earthquake Information Center and Russian seismologists.

Russian news agencies quoted Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu as saying miners in the coal-producing regions of Kemerovo and Khakassia were being taken out of the mines.

In Kyzyl, residents of multistory buildings who were concerned about aftershocks were being allowed to spend the night in schools, the state news agency RIA Novosti reported.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111227/ap_on_re_eu/eu_russia_earthquake

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DigiTimes : Google'?n tablet modeli di?er Android 4.0 tablet modellerinin sat???n? etkileyebilir

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Source: www.donanimhaber.com --- Monday, December 26, 2011
Google'?n Android i?letim sistemi ile ilgili en ?nemli geli?melerden birisi ge?ti?imiz hafta ?talya'da y?netim kurulu ba?kan? Eric Schmidt'in 2012'nin ilk yar?s?nda ??karmay? d???nd??? tablet a??klamas?yd?. ...

Source: http://www.donanimhaber.com/DigiTimes__Googlein_tablet_modeli_diger_Android_40_tablet_modellerinin_satisini_etkileyebilir-30944.htm

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Human Birdwings combines Wiimote, smartphone in DIY flying initiative (video)

Somewhere, somehow, the Wright Brothers are smiling. Jarnos Smeets, a mechanical engineer from the Netherlands, has been plugging away on his Human Birdwings project for many, many months now, and his latest breakthroughs are absolutely worthy of a peek. Put simply, the bloke has married an HTC Wildfire S, a Wii remote and bookoodles of software genius in order to create a set of wings that are controlled by a human waving his arms as if to fly. As these things tend to go, it's all better explained in video, two of which are hosted up after the break. There's no capture just yet of Jarnos taking off himself, but at this rate, he'll probably be giving Santa a run for his money around this time next year.

Continue reading Human Birdwings combines Wiimote, smartphone in DIY flying initiative (video)

Human Birdwings combines Wiimote, smartphone in DIY flying initiative (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 25 Dec 2011 23:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TechCrunch  |  Human Birdwings (site), (YouTube)  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/25/human-birdwings-combines-wiimote-smartphone-in-diy-flying-initi/

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Shell Oil Messes Off Two Coasts

Shell's 100-mile-long oil slick off the Nigerian coast, 21 December 2011. Envisat ASAR image analyzed by SkyTruth from data courtesy of the European Space Agency.Shell has admitted to spilling up to 40,000 barrels (1.4 million gallons) of crude oil into the ocean about 75 miles (120 km) off Nigeria on Wednesday. The spill occurred while it was transferring oil from a floating oil platform to a tanker.

Satellite pictures captured by independent monitors Skytruth (more here) show a 356-square-mile (923-square-km) slick approaching the oil-battered coast of the Niger Delta. All production from the Bonga field?normally about 200,000 barrels (7.2 million gallons) a day?has been suspended in the wake of the spill.

The Guardian reports on skepticism of Shell's estimates, based on its poor record in the region:

[A] leading Nigerian human rights group said Shell's figures about the quantity of oil spilled or the clean-up could not be relied on. "Shell says 40,000 barrels were spilled and production was shut but we do not trust them because past incidents show that the company consistently under-reports the amounts and impacts of its carelessness," said Nnimmo Bassey, head of Environmental Rights Action, based in Lagos. The spill, one of the worst off the coast of Nigeria in 10 years, is particularly embarrassing for Shell, coming only four months after a major UN study said it could take Shell and other oil companies 30 years and $1bn to clean spills in Ogoniland, one small part of the oil-rich delta. The company also admitted responsibility in August for two major spills in the Bodo region of the delta that took place in 2008, but has yet to pay compensation.

Shell also admitted to a spill in the Gulf of Mexico Sunday of some 13,400 barrels of drilling mud mixed with synthetic oil from the Deepwater Nautilus?a sister rig to the Deepwater Horizon.

The spill occurred at the Appomattox discovery, just 26 miles southeast of last year's disastrous spill. Shell plans five new exploratory wells at Appomattox, hoping to recover more than 250 million barrels of oil... though the Houston Chronicle reports it could be weeks before the company can resume drilling in the hotly-disputed site:

The Appomattox project is at the heart of a high-stakes dispute between environmentalists and the federal government over offshore drilling... In separate cases that have since been consolidated, conservationists are arguing that the government acted prematurely in green-lighting the plan without first finishing an environmental study of the Gulf... The cases present a major test of the federal government's power to swiftly review and approve deep-water exploration?plans.

?

Source: http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2011/12/huge-shell-oil-spill-nigeria

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"Nigerian Taliban" church bombings kill scores

(AP)?

LAGOS, Nigeria - An explosion ripped through a Catholic church during Christmas Mass near Nigeria's capital Sunday, killing at least 25 people, officials said. A radical Muslim sect waging an increasingly sophisticated sectarian fight claimed the attack and another bombing in the restive city of Jos, as explosions also struck the nation's northeast.

The Christmas Day attacks show the growing national ambition of the sect known as Boko Haram, which is responsible for at least 491 killings this year alone, according to an Associated Press count. The group's fundamentalist views and violent ways have earned them the nickname "Nigerian Taliban." The Christmas assaults come a year after a series of Christmas Eve bombings in Jos claimed by the militants left at least 32 dead and 74 wounded.

The first explosion on Sunday struck St. Theresa Catholic Church in Madalla, a town in Niger state close to the capital, Abuja, authorities said. Rescue workers recovered at least 25 bodies from the church and officials continued to tally those wounded in various hospitals, said Slaku Luguard, a coordinator with Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency.

His agency already has acknowledged it didn't have enough ambulances immediately on hand to help the wounded. Luguard also said an angry crowd that gathered at the blast site hampered rescue efforts as they refused to allow workers inside.

"We're trying to calm the situation," Luguard said. "There are some angry people around trying to cause problems."

In Jos, a second explosion struck near a Mountain of Fire and Miracles Church, government spokesman Pam Ayuba said. Ayuba said gunmen later opened fire on police guarding the area, killing one police officer. Two other locally made explosives were found in a nearby building and disarmed, he said.

"The military are here on ground and have taken control over the entire place," Ayuba said.

The city of Jos is located on the dividing line between Nigeria's predominantly Christian south and Muslim north. Thousands have died in communal clashes there over the last decade.

After the bombings, a Boko Haram spokesman using the nom de guerre Abul-Qaqa claimed responsibility for the attacks in an interview with The Daily Trust, the newspaper of record across Nigeria's Muslim north. The sect has used the newspaper in the past to communicate with public.

The U.S. Embassy in Nigeria's capital of Abuja had issued a warning Friday to citizens to be "particularly vigilant" around churches, large crowds and areas where foreigners congregate.

Several days of fighting in and around the northeastern city of Damaturu between the sect and security forces already had killed at least 61 people, authorities said. On Sunday, local police commissioner Tanko Lawan said two explosions struck Damaturu, including a blast near government offices. He declined to comment further, saying police had begun an operation to attack suspected Boko Haram sect members.

In the last year, Boko Haram has carried out increasingly bloody attacks in its campaign to implement strict Shariah law across Nigeria, a nation of more than 160 million people.

Boko Haram claimed responsibility for a Nov. 4 attack on Damaturu, Yobe state's capital, that killed more than 100 people. The group also claimed the Aug. 24 suicide car bombing of the U.N. headquarters in Nigeria's capital that killed 24 people and wounded 116 others.

The sect came to national prominence in 2009, when its members rioted and burned police stations near its base of Maiduguri, a dusty northeastern city on the cusp of the Sahara Desert. Nigeria's military violently put down the attack, crushing the sect's mosque into shards as its leader was arrested and died in police custody. About 700 people died during the violence.

While initially targeting enemies via hit-and-run assassinations from the back of motorbikes after the 2009 riot, violence by Boko Haram now has a new sophistication and apparent planning that includes high-profile attacks with greater casualties.

Boko Haram has splintered into three factions, with one wing increasingly willing to kill as it maintains contact with terror groups in North Africa and Somalia, diplomats and security sources say.

Sect members are scattered throughout northern Nigeria and nearby Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

Source: http://feeds.cbsnews.com/~r/CBSNewsGamecore/~3/Y7utc2vZ_DY/

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97% The Artist

All Critics (130) | Top Critics (37) | Fresh (126) | Rotten (4)

The Artist is the most surprising and delightful film of 2011.

A silent movie shot in sumptuous black-and-white, no less. A silent flick made with not a jot of distancing winking, but instead born of a heady affection for a bygone, very bygone, era of filmmaking.

It's a rocket to the moon fueled by unadulterated joy and pure imagination.

Strangely, wonderfully, The Artist feels as bold and innovative a moviegoing experience as James Cameron's bells-and-whistles Avatar did a couple of years ago.

"The Artist'' is a small, exquisitely-cut jewel in a style everyone assumes is 80 years out of date.

A beguiling tale about Hollywood's silent movie days that is itself silent, this made-in-L.A. French feature will charm cinephiles with its affection for one of the movies' golden ages.

It's easy to dismiss The Artist as a simple love letter to the silent-film era, but there is a lot more at work here than just an attention-getting gimmick.

This film says a lot, without saying nearly any words. It's one of the best of 2011. (Content Review for Parents also available)

Not only does 'The Artist' clearly demonstrate that something was lost when movies started talking, but it also proves that we haven't begun to learn what can be done with images alone.

It may be silent, but The Artist earns some very loud applause

The Artist is a slight confection, really, but it's so delicious and knowing that it may well end up on any number of cineastes' desert-island lists. It's certainly on mine.

"The Artist" may be too cute to qualify as high art, but it's highly entertaining.

The story and the silent-era conventions may not be entirely original, but the director revives this uniquely American storytelling style with such infectious joy and life-affirming enthusiasm that it's nearly impossible not to respond in equal measure.

Essentially a stunt, but an expertly executed one that's immensely enjoyable, especially for movie buffs...a nimble, exuberant lark.

'The Artist' paints a glorious picture of old Hollyood.

In the more eye-pleasing The Artist, the plot eventually comes too close to its inspiration, though its early moments were headed for mastery - and transformation - of style.

Hazanavicius crafted more than a replica of the silent era... a masterwork that likely won't be imitated. How many movies in 2011 can you say that about? Only the best one.

"The Artist" is a delightful treasure. It is a charming mixture of comedy, melodrama and romance that cinema lovers should make a point of experiencing.

This is not some clinical dissection of bygone cinematic techniques; it's a lively, appealing effort that mostly rises above mere novelty.

It's about more than the gimmick, and The Artist will be calling to you, entrancing you and making you feel the love.

This is the feel-good movie of the year and that's meant as praise, not a putdown.

No less than a gushing ode to cinema itself. Unconditional bliss.

If the concept of a contemporary, postmodern silent film sounds like a gimmick, it is, but Hazanavicius' attention to character makes certain that the film acts as more.

It's not especially deep or profound -- just (very) good old-fashioned fun.

More Critic Reviews

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_artist/

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SocialSteak ? Photos of upcoming LG Fantasy Windows Phone posted online

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Offensive Player of the Year: Jarmon likely done on football field

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Provision Of Job Contract For Various Jobs In Reactor Regulating & Reactor At Bulandshahr

Y K Chaturvedi of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited, Bulandshahr invites tender for provision of job contract for various jobs in reactor regulating & reactor protective system in NAPS. Tender document purchase from Bulandshahr.

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/indiamart/tenders/plant-machinery/~3/97qomrZTD2E/

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Oil rises to near $100 amid improving US economy (AP)

SINGAPORE ? Oil prices closed in on $100 a barrel Friday in Asia amid expectations an improving U.S. economy will boost demand for crude.

Benchmark crude for February delivery was up 23 cents to $99.76 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 86 cents to finish at $99.53 on Thursday.

In London, Brent crude was down 4 cents at $107.85 on the ICE futures exchange.

Crude has jumped from below $93 earlier this week on evidence of a slow but steady improvement in the U.S. economy.

The number of people applying for unemployment benefits dropped last week to the lowest level since April 2008, the third week in a row that applications fell. The Conference Board reported that its measure of future economic activity jumped last month, the second straight gain.

"This is a market that just appears to want to go higher," energy consultant and trader The Schork Group said in a report. "All good positive economic headlines are hyped and all poor headlines are ignored. Bears seem unable to keep crude from finishing 2011 below $100."

The market is also primed for potential threats to global crude supplies, such as rising tensions between Iran and Western nations over Iran's nuclear power program. The U.S. and Europe may bolster sanctions against the world's fourth crude biggest producer.

"Iran might not passively wait for sanctions to be applied and could act unilaterally to embargo supplies," J.P Morgan said in a report. "We are also concerned about Iraq, where political uncertainties seem to be rising following the U.S. troop pullout."

"We expect Iraq to add about 500,000 barrels a day of new supply in both 2012 and 2013, and any deviation from its present course could have serious implications for global supply."

Trading volume is normally low during the next week as many traders take vacations around the Christmas and New Year's Day holidays. Global oil markets are closed Monday for Christmas.

In other energy trading on the Nymex, natural gas fell 3.3 cents to $3.14 per 1,000 cubic feet. Heating oil rose 0.4 cent to $2.92 a gallon and gasoline futures were up 0.4 cent to $2.64 a gallon.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/energy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111223/ap_on_bi_ge/oil_prices

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Ship Bound for China Busted with American Patriot Missiles Labeled as "Fireworks"

Lucy, you got some 'splainin to do! A German vessel carrying 69 American-made Patriot missiles and 160 tons of explosives was detained en route to China. Nobody has any idea who shipped it, or to whom.

While this certainly puts Best Buy's shipping woes into perspective, it's no small slip-up?Patriot missiles are a coveted American weapon, and their sale is meant to be regulated. And, typically, we don't sell our weapons to superpower military rivals like China.

Now, as DefenseTech points out, Germany owns its own stock of Patriots, and has sold them to third parties in the past. But on the Shanghai-bound boat, the sophisticated interceptors were in boxes marked "fireworks." This doesn't exactly scream legal transaction, unless China is planning the most destructive fireworks display in its storied history. But I'm sure authorities are putting the pieces together to figure out how an enormous cache of weapons almost made it to China, right? ABC News, comfort us:

Investigating officers didn't know the origin of the Patriot missiles or who was supposed to receive them

Well, great. [ABC News via DefenseTech]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5870482/ship-bound-for-china-busted-with-american-patriot-missiles-labeled-as-fireworks

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How moms talk influences children?s perspective-taking ability

Public release date: 22-Dec-2011
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Sarah Hutcheon
202-289-7905
Society for Research in Child Development

Young children whose mothers talk with them more frequently and in more detail about people's thoughts and feelings tend to be better at taking another's perspective than other children of the same age.

That's what researchers from the University of Western Australia found in a new longitudinal study published in the journal Child Development.

"Parents who frequently put themselves in someone else's shoes in conversations with their children make it more likely that their children will be able to do the same," according to Brad Farrant, postdoctoral fellow at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research at the University of Western Australia, the study's lead author.

To learn more about how we develop the ability to take another's perspective, researchers looked at the influence of the way parents interact with and talk to their children. The two-year study involved more than 120 Australian children between the ages of 4 and 6 at the start of the study, both youngsters with typically developing language and those who were delayed in their acquisition of language. The participants were part of a larger ongoing longitudinal research project.

The children completed tasks designed to assess their language skills, their ability to infer others' beliefs and use these to predict others' behavior, and their ability to flexibly shift between different perspectives. Mothers also reported on the types of language they used with their children.

Among children with typically developing language, the researchers found that moms who talked more often and in greater detail about people's thoughts and feelingscommenting on how another person might react to a particular situation as well as their own feelings about the topic at handhad children with better language skills and better perspective-taking skills. This suggests that mothers' use of this type of language influences their children's language ability and cognitive flexibility, which in turn appears to influence their development of theory of mind, a key component in learning to take another's perspective.

Children with delayed language acquisition were delayed in their development of perspective-taking skillsthough this wasn't necessarily due to moms' use of language. This highlights the role played by language as children develop the ability to take another's perspective.

"Solving the many challenges that the world faces today requires us all to get better at taking the perspective of other people," according to Farrant.

###

The study was supported by a University of Western Australia Hackett scholarship and a University of Western Australia completion scholarship.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 22-Dec-2011
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Sarah Hutcheon
202-289-7905
Society for Research in Child Development

Young children whose mothers talk with them more frequently and in more detail about people's thoughts and feelings tend to be better at taking another's perspective than other children of the same age.

That's what researchers from the University of Western Australia found in a new longitudinal study published in the journal Child Development.

"Parents who frequently put themselves in someone else's shoes in conversations with their children make it more likely that their children will be able to do the same," according to Brad Farrant, postdoctoral fellow at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research at the University of Western Australia, the study's lead author.

To learn more about how we develop the ability to take another's perspective, researchers looked at the influence of the way parents interact with and talk to their children. The two-year study involved more than 120 Australian children between the ages of 4 and 6 at the start of the study, both youngsters with typically developing language and those who were delayed in their acquisition of language. The participants were part of a larger ongoing longitudinal research project.

The children completed tasks designed to assess their language skills, their ability to infer others' beliefs and use these to predict others' behavior, and their ability to flexibly shift between different perspectives. Mothers also reported on the types of language they used with their children.

Among children with typically developing language, the researchers found that moms who talked more often and in greater detail about people's thoughts and feelingscommenting on how another person might react to a particular situation as well as their own feelings about the topic at handhad children with better language skills and better perspective-taking skills. This suggests that mothers' use of this type of language influences their children's language ability and cognitive flexibility, which in turn appears to influence their development of theory of mind, a key component in learning to take another's perspective.

Children with delayed language acquisition were delayed in their development of perspective-taking skillsthough this wasn't necessarily due to moms' use of language. This highlights the role played by language as children develop the ability to take another's perspective.

"Solving the many challenges that the world faces today requires us all to get better at taking the perspective of other people," according to Farrant.

###

The study was supported by a University of Western Australia Hackett scholarship and a University of Western Australia completion scholarship.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-12/sfri-hmt121511.php

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Panetta becomes first defense chief to visit Libya

U.S. Sec. of Defense Leon Panetta greets members of the Libyan delegation on the tarmac during his arrival in Tripoli, Libya, Saturday, Dec., 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, Pool)

U.S. Sec. of Defense Leon Panetta greets members of the Libyan delegation on the tarmac during his arrival in Tripoli, Libya, Saturday, Dec., 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, Pool)

U.S. Sec. of Defense Leon Panetta walks across the tarmac during his arrival in Tripoli, Libya, Saturday, Dec., 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, Pool)

U.S. Sec. of Defense Leon Panetta greets members of the Libyan delegation on the tarmac during his arrival in Tripoli, Libya, Saturday, Dec., 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, Pool)

U.S. Sec. of Defense Leon Panetta is greeted by Ambassador Gene Crets during his arrival in Tripoli, Libya, Saturday, Dec., 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, Pool)

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) ? U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta arrived in Tripoli Saturday, taking advantage of the ouster of Moammar Gadhafi in an eight-month civil war to become the first Pentagon chief to set foot on Libyan soil.

But Panetta has indicated that the U.S. will give more time to the Libyans to gain control of the militias that overthrew Gadhafi before determining how to help the fledgling government.

At a news conference with Libyan Prime Minister Abd al-Raheem al-Keeb, Panetta said that he was confident that the new Libyan government is reaching out to all of the disparate groups and would bring them together so they will be part of "one Libya." Panetta, who was joined by Gen. Carter Ham, commander of U.S. Africa Command, said the United States would provide whatever assistance the Libyans needed.

The Libyan prime minister told reporters that he was optimistic that they will be able to deal with the militias.

Panetta's route into the city on Saturday took him past lush orange groves, carcasses of bombed buildings and the charred and graffiti-covered compound once occupied by Gadhafi. Flying from rooftops were the green, black and red flags, adorned with a star and a crescent, belonging to the new government. Amid the Arabic graffiti splashed across the walls of the compound was a short comment in English: "Thanx US/UK."

Panetta also made an emotional visit to what historians believe is the gravesite of 13 U.S. sailors killed in 1804. Those deaths were caused by the explosion of the U.S.S Intrepid, which was destroyed while slipping into the Tripoli harbor to attack pirate ships that had captured an American frigate.

Panetta walked into the small walled cemetery with more than two dozen gravestones, and over a corner where five large but simple white gravestones mark the graves of the American sailors. The stones read "Here lies an American sailor who gave his life in the explosion of the United States Ship Intrepid in Tripoli Harbour, Sept. 4, 1804."

Panetta placed a wreath at the site, and then observed a moment of silence. He also left behind a memento of his visit on top of one of the stones, a Secretary of Defense souvenir coin.

While eager to encourage a new democracy that emerged from Libya's Arab Spring revolution, the U.S. is wary of appearing as trying to exert too much influence after an eight-month civil war. At the same time, however, leaders in the U.S. and elsewhere worry about how well the newly formed National Transitional Council can resolve clashes between militia groups in the North African nation.

Ahead of Panetta's visit, the Obama administration announced it had lifted sanctions the U.S. imposed on Libya in February to choke off the Gadhafi regime's funds while it was violent suppressing peaceful protests. The U.S. at the time blocked some $37 billion in Libyan assets, and a White House statement said Friday's action "unfreezes all government and central bank funds within U.S. jurisdiction, with limited exceptions."

Recovery of the assets "will allow the Libyan government to access most of its worldwide holdings and will help the new government oversee the country's transition and reconstruction in a responsible manner," the White House said.

But the continuing violence in Libya, including recent skirmishes between revolutionary fighters and national army troops near Tripoli's airport, reflects the difficulties that Libya's leaders face as they try to forge an army, integrating some of the militias and disarming the rest.

Officials acknowledge that process could take months, and that they can't force the militias to go along.

Panetta told reporters Friday that his visit to the Libyan capital will give him a better sense of the situation and allow him to pay tribute to the people for bringing down Gadhafi and trying to establish a democratic government.

"It seems to me they are working through some very difficult issues to try to bring that country together," said Panetta. "It's not going to be easy. This is not a country that has a tradition of democratic institutions and representative government. This is going to take some work "

But he said he has seen indications that the Libyans are making progress.

"I think that any country like Libya that was able to do what they did and show the courage that they did in making the changes that took place there ? I'm confident that ultimately they're going to be able to succeed in putting a democracy together," he said.

Panetta said the U.S. is prepared to provide Libya any assistance it needs.

By traveling to Libya, however, Panetta was highlighting the different approaches that the U.S. and other countries are taking with respect to rebellions against tyrannical leaders.

The U.S. and NATO provided months of military power and assistance to the Libyan rebels, but officials have made it clear they do not intend to do the same in Syria despite the furor over President Bashar Assad's crackdown on pro-reform demonstrators.

Panetta, who met with Turkish officials Friday, said they did not discuss any specific steps to increase pressure on Assad to step down.

But they talked about the need to work together with other nations to "get Assad to do the right thing."

At some point, he said, he believes that the type of uprisings that happened in Libya and elsewhere across the Middle East will take place in Syria.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-12-17-ML-US-Libya/id-a3a3697feff14f6593694636cebf8904

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Egypt's military clashes with protesters

Egyptian army soldiers beat a protester wearing a Niqab, an Islamic veil, during clashes near Cairo's downtown Tahrir Square, Egypt, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011. Activists say the clashes began after soldiers severely beat a young man who was part of a sit-in outside the Cabinet building. At background graffiti depicts members of the military ruling council and Arabic reads: "Killer". (AP Photo/Ahmed Ali)

Egyptian army soldiers beat a protester wearing a Niqab, an Islamic veil, during clashes near Cairo's downtown Tahrir Square, Egypt, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011. Activists say the clashes began after soldiers severely beat a young man who was part of a sit-in outside the Cabinet building. At background graffiti depicts members of the military ruling council and Arabic reads: "Killer". (AP Photo/Ahmed Ali)

Egyptian army soldiers arrest a woman protester during clashes with military police near Cairo's downtown Tahrir Square, Egypt Friday, Dec. 16, 2011. Activists say the clashes began after soldiers severely beat a young man who was part of a sit-in outside the Cabinet building. (AP Photo/Str)

ALTERNATIVE CROP OF CAI111 An Egyptian army officer aims his gun at protesters during clashes near Cairo's downtown Tahrir Square, Egypt, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011. Activists say the clashes began after soldiers severely beat a young man who was part of a sit-in outside the Cabinet building. (AP Photo)

Egyptian protesters threw rocks at military police during clashes near Cairo's downtown Tahrir Square, Egypt, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011. Activists say the clashes began after soldiers severely beat a young man who was part of a sit-in outside the Cabinet building. (AP Photo/Ahmed Ali)

Egyptian army soldiers clash with rock throwing protesters near Cairo's downtown Tahrir Square, Egypt, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011. Activists say the clashes began after soldiers severely beat a young man who was part of a sit-in outside the Cabinet building. (AP Photo/Ahmed Ali)

CAIRO (AP) ? Soldiers stormed an anti-military protest camp outside Egypt's Cabinet building Friday, beating women with sticks and hurling chunks of concrete and glass onto protesters from the roof of the parliament in a resurgence of turmoil only a day after millions voted in parliamentary elections.

At least three protesters were shot to death in the clashes, including a prominent Muslim cleric, activists said. The heavy-handed assault was apparently an attempt to clear out protesters who have been camped out in front of the building for three weeks demanding the ruling military leave power.

But the mayhem ? which came despite promises from the army-appointed prime minister that the protesters would not be cleared by force ? threatened to spark a new round of violence after deadly clashes between youth revolutionaries and security forces in November that lasted for days and left more than 40 dead.

Several women protesters cowered on the pavement as military police beat them with truncheons and long sticks. Another woman was seen bring dragged away by her hair by soldiers.

Plainclothes and uniformed security officers threw slabs of concrete and stones on protesters from atop the parliament building, according to state TV footage and videos and photos posted by protesters on social networking sites. Protesters threw fire bombs and rocks at the security officers, lighting a part of parliament on fire and chanting "Down with the military."

"It's pretty ironic that the military is throwing rocks at protesters from the parliament building, where a sign is hanging that says democracy is the power of the people," protester Mostafa Sheshtawy said.

Hours after sunset, the crowds of protesters had grown to hundreds and clashes continued, with youths hiding behind a makeshift barrier of metal sheets and an overturned car, throwing volleys of stones at military police lined up in the broad avenue in front of the parliament and Cabinet headquarters.

There were reports of live gunfire from the rooftops. One protester, Islam Mohammed, said a fellow protester pushed him aside and was hit by a bullet in the stomach. "He took a bullet instead of me and fell to the ground. I have his blood on my shirt and hands," Mohammed said. The condition of the wounded man was not known.

Sahar Abdel-Mohsen, a youth activist, said she saw the bodies of two slain protesters brought to a Cairo hospital, both with gunshot wounds. "The blood is still dripping from the head of one of them," a 22-year-old man, she told The Associated Press. The other was shot in the chest, she said. A Health Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of he was not authorized to talk to the press, confirmed the two deaths.

Also killed was Sheik Emad Effat, a cleric from Al-Azhar, Egypt's most eminent religious institution, said Ibrahim el-Houdaiby, a prominent activist. He said Effat ? who has taken a pro-revolutionary position, criticizing the military and issuing a religious decree forbidding voting for former members of the regime in elections ? was shot in the heart after joining the protesters outside the Cabinet.

The Health Ministry said at least 222 people were injured, including broken bones and gunshot wounds.

The assault was likely to re-ignite the tensions between revolutionaries and the military, which took power after the Feb. 11 resignation of Hosni Mubarak. The youth activists who led the protests that ousted Mubarak accuse the military of acting in the same authoritarian way as the former president.

Ziad el-Oleimi, an activist who won a parliament seat in the first round of elections on Nov. 28-29, told AP that military police beat him with sticks on his torso and arms and told him, "Don't imagine the parliament will protect you."

"So long as Egyptians are being humiliated and beaten on the streets, that means the revolution has not reached its goals. Taking to the streets will continue," el-Oleimi said.

The clashes took place as election officials counted ballots from the second round of parliament elections, considered to be the freest and fairest vote in Egypt's modern history. A third of Egypt's provinces voted Wednesday and Thursday. Election results from the first round of voting placed Islamist parties ahead of more liberal parties.

The armed forces retain support among many Egyptians who see it as the only entity able to run the country until presidential elections scheduled for next year.

But the new violence exacerbates the political tensions.

Members of a civilian advisory panel created by the military this month as a gesture to protesters suspended their work, demanding an immediate end to violence against protesters and a formal apology from the ruling military council. The panel is also seeking an independent investigation into the clashes. Two of its members resigned in protest.

A number of newly elected lawmakers condemned the military for the violence.

The Muslim Brotherhood, the biggest winner in parliamentary elections so far, said in a statement that it rejects the assault on protesters and the use of the parliament building to attack people.

In a Tweet, leading reform figure and Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei wrote, "If the sit-in broke the law, isn't the cruelty and brutality used to break it up a greater violation of all human rights laws? This is not how nations are managed."

The protesters have been peacefully camped out in front the Cabinet building for three weeks, preventing the newly appointed prime minister, Kamal el-Ganzouri, from entering his office.

In a statement read on state TV Friday night, the ruling military said its forces did not intent to break up the protest and said officers showed self-restraint, denying the used any gunfire. It said the clashes began when a military officer was attacked while on duty and protesters tried to break into the parliament compound.

But witnesses said the clashes erupted late Thursday after troops snatched a protester, taking him into the parliament building and beating him severely. The troops later moved in, burning protesters' tents.

Hundreds of people rushed to join the protest after online video and photos showed people carrying the wounded man, his face bruised and swollen, his head wrapped in gauze and blood dripping from his nose.

Protester threw rocks and firebombs at military police, who fired back with water cannons and stones from inside parliament. Several cars were set on fire.

An American producer for Al Jazeera English, Evan Hill, was beaten by military police and his equipment and passport confiscated, the network reported.

The military's assault is also a potential embarrassment to el-Ganzouri, who vowed last month that he would not use force to break up the sit-in. El-Ganzouri had been touted as being more independent of the military than his predecessor, whose government stepped down amid the November protests amid criticism that it was simply a facade for the ruling generals.

"Who has power and who is responsible?" asked ElBaradei on his Twitter account.

___

Associated Press correspondent Sarah El Deeb contributed to this report from Cairo.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-12-16-ML-Egypt/id-4ff94b29b5ca409da342efea5bc84016

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Italian appeals court says why it cleared Knox

FOR USE AS DESIRED, YEAR END PHOTOS - FILE -In this Oct. 3, 2011 file photo, Amanda Knox breaks in tears after hearing the verdict that overturns her conviction and acquits her of murdering her British roommate Meredith Kercher, at the Perugia court, central Italy. Italian appeals court threw out Amanda Knox's murder conviction and ordered the young American freed after nearly four years in prison for the death of her British roommate. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito, File)

FOR USE AS DESIRED, YEAR END PHOTOS - FILE -In this Oct. 3, 2011 file photo, Amanda Knox breaks in tears after hearing the verdict that overturns her conviction and acquits her of murdering her British roommate Meredith Kercher, at the Perugia court, central Italy. Italian appeals court threw out Amanda Knox's murder conviction and ordered the young American freed after nearly four years in prison for the death of her British roommate. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito, File)

MILAN, Italy (AP) ? The Italian appeals court that overturned Amanda Knox's murder conviction in the slaying of her British roommate gave the reasons for its ruling on Thursday: the evidence that had been used by a lower court against the American and her Italian boyfriend just didn't hold up.

Those shortcomings included no murder weapon, faulty DNA, an inaccurate time for the killing, and insufficient proof that Knox and Raffaele Sollecito were even at the location where the crime occurred. So said the Perugia appellate court in its long-awaited reasoning behind its October ruling that reversed the lower court's convictions.

British college student Meredith Kercher was found slain in a pool of blood on her bedroom floor in Perugia, Italy, on Nov. 2, 2007.

Knox and Sollecito, who had just begun dating at the time of the murder, were arrested several days later, then convicted in what prosecutors' portrayed as a drug-fueled sexual assault. They were sentenced to 26 years and 25 years, respectively, in proceedings that made headlines around the world.

On Thursday, the appellate cited among the other failed elements of the prosecutors' case DNA evidence, which was undermined during a re-examination in the appeals trial, and the failure to conclusively identify the murder weapon. The appellate court even contradicted the lower court's time of death, saying it happened at around 10:15 p.m., not after 11 p.m. The court said the "building blocks" used to construct the case had failed.

The appeals court also said there was no proof of the prosecutors' claim that Knox and Sollecito had helped a third man, who was convicted separately, of sexually assault Kercher, nor was there evidence that the pair had simulated a burglary by throwing a rock through a window to remove suspicion from themselves, as prosecutors alleged.

The appeals court said the lower court had arrived at a verdict "that was not corroborated by any objective element of evidence and in itself was not, in fact probable: the sudden choice of two young people, good and open to other people, to do evil for evil's sake, just like that, without another reason."

"It is not, therefore, sufficient that the probability of the prosecutors' hypothesis is greater than the hypothesis of the defense, not even when they are notably greater in number, but it is necessary that every explanation that differs from the prosecutors' hypothesis is, according to the criteria of reasonability, not at all plausible," the court said.

The only elements of the prosecutors case that were proven, the appeals court said, were the charge of slander against Knox, who was convicted of falsely accusing a bar owner of killing Kercher, and the fact that the Knox and Sollecito alibis did not match.

That the alibis were out of synch "is very different" from the prosecutors' claim of false alibis, the court said.

The proven elements combined, the court said, are not enough to support convictions against Knox and Sollecito.

"The only elements that are sustained don't allow the belief, even when put together, that the guilt of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito for the crime of murder ... has been proven," the court said.

After her conviction was thrown out, Knox, 24, returned immediately home to Seattle. She was credited with time served for the conviction of slander for accusing bar owner Diya "Patrick" Lumumba of carrying out the killing.

Prosecutors contended a kitchen knife found at Sollecito's house was the weapon because it matched wounds on Kercher's body and carried traces of Kercher's DNA on the blade and Knox's on the handle. However, the court-ordered review discredited the DNA evidence, saying there were glaring errors in evidence-collecting and that below-standard testing and possible contamination raised doubts over the DNA traces on the blade and on Kercher's bra clasp.

In addition, the defense cast doubt on the knife, questioning why Knox and Sollecito would return it to Sollecito's home if it had been used in the murder. They maintain the real weapon has yet to be found.

A third defendant in the case, Rudy Hermann Guede of the Ivory Coast, was convicted in a separate trial of sexually assaulting and stabbing Kercher. His 16-year prison sentence ? reduced on appeal from an initial 30 years ? was upheld by Italy's highest court in 2010.

The appeals court also expressed incredulity that the two would have cooperated in such a crime with Guede, with whom there is no proof of any relationship. "For example, there is no evidence of phone calls or text messages between the three," the court said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-12-15-EU-Italy-Knox/id-936b1caa6ffa4481a29cbaa8d9a6b212

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Egypt's military clashes with protesters; 9 killed (AP)

CAIRO ? Hundreds of Egyptian soldiers swept into Cairo's Tahrir Square on Saturday, chasing protesters and beating them to the ground with sticks and tossing journalists' TV cameras off of balconies in the second day of a violent crackdown on antimilitary protesters that has left nine dead and hundreds injured.

The violent, chaotic scenes suggested that the military ? fresh after the first rounds of parliament elections that it claimed bolstered its status as the country's rulers ? was now determined to stamp out protests by activists demanding it transfer power immediately to civilians.

TV footage, pictures and eyewitnesses accounts showed a new level of force being used by the military against pro-democracy activists the past two days. Military police openly beat women protesters in the street, slap elders on the face, and pulled the shirt off of at least one veiled woman as she struggled on the pavement. Witnesses said they beat and gave electric shocks to men and women dragged into detention, many of them held in the nearby parliament or Cabinet buildings, witnesses said.

Aya Emad, a 24-year-old protester, had a broken nose, her arm in a sling, her other arm bruised. She told Associated Press that troops dragged her by her headscarf and hair into the Cabinet headquarters. She said soldiers kicked her on the ground, an officer shocked her with an electrical prod and another slapped her on the face.

With Egypt in the midst of multistage parliamentary elections, the violence threatens to spark a new cycle of fighting after deadly clashes between youth revolutionaries and security forces in November that lasted for days and left more than 40 dead. The clashes in November involved the widely disliked police force. But in a key difference, this time the police have stayed away and the crackdown is being led entirely by the military.

That could indicate a new confidence among the military that it has backing of the broader public ? after elections held under its watch that saw heavy turnout, were largely peaceful and the fairest and freest in living memory.

Ahmed Abdel-Samei, who came to check on Tahrir Square, said he opposes protests. "Elections were the first step. This was a beginning to stability," the 29-year-old said. "Now we are going 10 steps back."

Noor Noor, an activist who was beaten up trying to protect Emad, said, "Public opinion is addicted or naturally inclined to favor stability or the illusion of it. But in time, it will be hard for the army to cover everything up."

The heavy-handed crackdown could galvanize the military's opponents and even some in the public who praised the army for delivering clean elections. Among those killed Friday was an eminent 52-year-old Muslim cleric from Al-Azhar, Egypt's most respected religious institution. At the funeral Saturday of Sheik Emad Effat, who was shot in the chest, hundreds chanted "Retribution, retribution," and marched from the cemetery to Tahrir.

Tahrir and streets leading to the nearby parliament and Cabinet headquarters looked like war zones. The military set up concrete walls between the square and parliament, but clashes continued.

Flames leaped from the windows of the state geographical society, which protesters pelted with firebombs after military police on the roof rained stones and firebombs down on them. Stones, dirt and shattered glass littered the streets around parliament.

Protesters grabbed helmets, sheets of metal and even satellite dishes to protect themselves from stones from troops above.

In the afternoon, troops charged into Tahrir, swinging truncheons and long sticks, chasing out protesters and setting fire to their tents. Footage broadcast on the private Egyptian CBC television network showed soldiers beating two protesters with sticks, repeatedly stomping on the head of one, before leaving the motionless bodies on the pavement.

The troops swept into buildings from which television crews were filming from and confiscated their equipment and briefly detained journalists.

In one case, plainclothes officers charged up the stairs of a hotel from which Al-Jazeera TV was filming the turmoil below and demanded a female hotel worker tell them where the media crew was or else they would beat her up, a member of the Al-Jazeera crew said. "The woman was screaming and saying I don't know," the crew member said speaking on condition of anonymity because of security concerns. The soldiers threw the Al-Jazeera crew's equipment from the balcony, including cameras, batteries and lighting equipment to the streets, landing on a sweet potato cart whose stove started a fire.

Troops also stormed a field hospital set up protesters next to a mosque in Tahrir, throwing medicine and equipment into the street, protester Islam Mohammed said.

At least nine people have been killed and around 300 people injured in the two days of clashes, the Health Ministry said.

A journalist who was briefly detained by the military forces told Associated Press that he was beaten up with sticks and fists while being led to inside a parliament building, next to Cabinet headquarters.

"They were cursing me saying 'you media are traitors, you tarnish our image and you are biased."

He also saw a group of men and one young woman being beaten: Each was surrounded by six or seven soldiers in uniform and plainclothes beating him or her with sticks or steel bars or giving electrical shocks with prods. "Blood covered the floor, and an officer was telling the soldiers to wipe the blood," said the journalist, who asked not to be identified for security concerns.

Mona Seif, an activist who was briefly detained during violence Friday, said she saw an officer repeatedly slapping a detained old woman in the face, telling her to apologize for objecting to the mistreatment.

"It was a humiliating scene," Seif told the private TV network Al-Tahrir. "I have never seen this in my life.

Pictures posted online by activists during Friday's fighting showed military police dragging several women by the hair, including young activists wearing the religious headscarf. One photo showed soldiers beating up a woman who appeared in her 50s.

Tahrir was the epicenter of the 18-day wave of protests that ousted Mubarak. The military was welcomed by many when it took power and proclaimed itself a partner in and protector of the revolution. Since then, tensions with activists have swelled. In a statement Saturday, the military denied targeting "Egypt's revolutionaries," saying it was pursuing "thugs" who hurled firebombs at its forces at the Cabinet.

Egypt's new, military-appointed interim prime minister defended the security forces' response. He denied the military or police shot at protesters, saying gunfire came from an unidentified group that "came from the back and fired at protesters."

He accused the antimilitary protests that have been held for weeks outside the Cabinet building of being "anti-revolution."

In a potential embarrassment to the military, a civilian advisory panel it created this month suspended its work, demanding an immediate end to violence and a formal apology from the ruling military council. Eight of its members resigned in protest of the crackdown.

The latest round of violence touched off late Thursday after soldiers stormed the antimilitary protest camp outside the Cabinet building near Tahrir Square, expelling demonstrators demanding an end to military rule and an immediate transfer of power to a civilian authority. Witnesses said troops snatched a protester, taking him into the parliament building and beating him.

Mustafa Ali, a protester who was wounded by pellet shot in clashes last month, accused the ruling generals Saturday of instigating the violence to "find a justification to remain in power and divide up people into factions."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111217/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_egypt

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