Archive for July 13th, 2010

Jul
13

Yemeni Returns Home After Guantanamo Bay Release

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Yemeni Returns Home After Guantanamo Bay Release

A Yemeni man held at Guantanamo Bay for eight years has been sent home, the Pentagon has said.
It comes after a US court ordered the release of Mohammed Odaini, 26, saying he had no connection to al-Qaeda and had been wrongly detained.
However, the Pentagon said it was maintaining an overall ban on transferring Yemenis, because of the security situation in the country.
There are 180 remaining detainees at Guantanamo Bay.
Almost 600 have left since 2002. The administration has yet to give a timetable for closing the controversial facility. In a ruling delivered on 26 May, US District Judge Henry Kennedy aid US government lawyers had failed to persuade him that Mr Odaini had been lawfully detained.
“The evidence before the court shows that holding Odaini in custody at such great cost to him has done nothing to make the United States more secure.
“There is no evidence that Odaini has any connection to al-Qaeda.”
He also said: “Respondents have kept a young man from Yemen in detention in Cuba from age 18 to age 26.
“They have prevented him from seeing his family and denied him the opportunity to complete his studies and embark on a career.”
Mr Odaini is the first Yemeni sent home since US President Barack Obama stopped repatriations, Reuters news agency reports.
The ban followed claims that a Yemeni al-Qaeda affiliate was behind a failed attempt to blow up a jet over the US on Christmas Day.
The US defence department said in a statement: “The suspension of Yemeni repatriations from Guantanamo remains in effect due to the security situation that exists there.
“However, the administration respects the decision of US federal courts, which ordered the release of Odaini.”
Foreign suspects were given the right to challenge their detention at Guantanamo in the civilian courts in June 2008, by a US Supreme Court ruling.

Source:BBC

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Jul
13

Barefoot Bandit Pleads Guilty In Bahamas

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Barefoot Bandit Pleads Guilty In Bahamas

A fugitive American teenager dubbed the “Barefoot Bandit” has pleaded guilty at a court in Nassau to illegally entering the Bahamas on a stolen plane.
Colton Harris-Moore, who was arrested on Sunday after a high-speed boat chase off Eleuthera Island, was sentenced to three months in jail or a 300 fine.
The 19-year-old's lawyer said he expected the US embassy to pay the fine, after which he would be deported.
Harris-Moore is suspected of about 70 property crimes across eight US states.
Officials say he earned the “Barefoot Bandit” nickname by committing some crimes without any shoes on, and in February he allegedly drew feet on the floor of a shop during a burglary in Washington state.
Just days ago, the FBI announced a 10,000 (6,600) reward for his capture.
Going home?
Harris-Moore wore trainers without laces as armed police officers escorted him into the courthouse in Nassau on Tuesday.
He later smiled after the judge handed down the sentence. Police had said he would also face other charges, including weapons possession.
“Colton wants to go home,” said his lawyer, Monique Gomez.
Emily Langlie, a spokeswoman for the US Attorney's Office in Seattle, said she expected Harris-Moore to be deported shortly by the Bahamian authorities and then flown first to southern Florida.
Typically, US defendants make an initial court appearance in the closest federal jurisdiction to the country deporting them.
Harris-Moore would then be flown to Washington state, where he faces a federal complaint of interstate transportation of stolen property for allegedly flying a plane from Idaho to Washington.
He is later alleged to have stolen a light aircraft from an airport in Bloomington, Indiana, and flown it to Abaco Island in the Bahamas.
His mother, Pam Kohler, told the Associated Press news agency that she looked forward to seeing him again after two years on the run.

Source:BBC

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Jul
13

Police Charged Over PostKatrina Bridge Shootings

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Police Charged Over PostKatrina Bridge Shootings

Six New Orleans police officers have been charged in connection with the fatal shooting of civilians on a bridge in the days after Hurricane Katrina.
Four officers are alleged to have opened fire on unarmed people on the city's Danziger Bridge. Two died and four were hurt in the 2005 incident.
Two supervisors are accused of joining the four officers in attempting a cover-up in subsequent investigations.
The six accused have so far not responded to the charges.
According to the US justice department indictment, police officers Kenneth Bowen, Robert Gisevius, Robert Faulcon and Anthony Villavaso opened fire on a family on the east side of the bridge on 4 September 2005, killing a 17-year-old boy and injuring three other people.
Minutes later, officers were involved in a second shooting on the west side of the bridge, resulting in the death of Ronald Madison, a 40-year-old man with learning difficulties, the indictment says.
If convicted over the deaths of civilians, the four face maximum sentences of life in prison or the death penalty.
They also face charges related to a conspiracy to cover up what happened on the bridge and a conspiracy to file charges against two of those injured in the incident, claiming that they had fired at police.
Sgts Arthur Kaufman and Gerard Dugue are accused alongside the four officers with trying to cover up what happened.
US Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement: “As our investigation of the Danziger bridge incident shows, the Justice Department will vigorously pursue anyone who allegedly violated the law.
“Put simply, we will not tolerate wrongdoing by those who have sworn to protect the public.”
Five former New Orleans police officers have already pleaded guilty to helping cover up the shootings on the bridge.
The incident came in the chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, as the authorities vowed to restore security in the city following a breakdown of law and order.

Source:BBC

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Jul
13

Senate To Vote On Wall St Reform Later This Week

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Senate To Vote On Wall St Reform Later This Week

Comprehensive legislation to regulate the US financial sector is one step closer to becoming law.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is planning a vote later this week, after four undecided senators said in recent days that they would vote for the bill.
The bill languished in Congress for several weeks while Democratic senators scrambled to find the 60 votes necessary to overcome a procedural delay tactic.
Three Republicans will vote yes.
Mr Reid secured the votes of Scott Brown, of Massachusetts, and Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, of Maine, in the past 24 hours.
Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson, a moderate Democrat who had wavered in his support for the reform effort, confirmed his intention to vote for the bill on Tuesday.
With those four votes in hand, Mr Reid appears to have the 60 votes necessary to overcome a filibuster, a procedural tactic that Republicans have threatened to employ to derail the legislation.
One Democrat, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, will cast his vote against the bill, arguing that it does not go far enough in cracking down on risky Wall Street practices.
If passed, the bill will be the most sweeping change to US financial regulation in decades.
It creates a consumer protection agency that is authorised to deal with abusive practices by credit card companies and mortgage lenders.
A new council of regulators will act as a watchdog, attempting to prevent the sort of trading that led to 2008's financial meltdown.
Other regulations that will come into effect in five years force large banks to hold more reserves against possible loan losses.
Commentators consider this a key legislative victory for President Obama, who had originally hoped to sign the bill before 4 July.

Source:BBC

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Jul
13

Iran Scientist Shahram Amiri Free To Leave US Insists

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Iran Scientist Shahram Amiri Free To Leave US Insists

The US insists that an Iranian nuclear scientist who has turned up in the country is there voluntarily and is free to leave.
The state department rejected claims by Tehran that Shahram Amiri, who surfaced at a Pakistani embassy building, had been abducted by US agents.
Mr Amiri vanished more than a year ago.
In June, three videos apparently showing him – and containing contradictory information on his whereabouts – emerged.
He said in the first that he had been kidnapped by US and Saudi agents, in the second that he was living freely in Arizona, and in the third that he had escaped from his captors.
On Monday evening, he arrived at the Iranian Interests Section of the Pakistani embassy in Washington, which handles Iranian affairs in the US capital.
Iranian media say Mr Amiri had worked as a researcher at a university in Tehran, but some reports say he worked for the country's atomic energy organisation and had in-depth knowledge of its controversial nuclear programme. At the time of his disappearance, he was thought to be on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
US TV network ABC reported in March that he had defected and was helping the CIA by revealing valuable information about the Iranian nuclear programme. But earlier this month, Tehran said it had proof that Mr Amiri was being held in the US.
State department spokesman P J Crowley said: “He has been in the United States of his own free will and obviously he is free to go. In fact, he was scheduled to travel to Iran yesterday, but was unable to make all of the necessary arrangements to reach Iran through transit countries.”
The BBC's Kim Ghattas in Washington says there are no direct flights from the US to Iran and the two countries have no diplomatic ties.
She adds that Mr Crowley added that Mr Amiri had informed American authorities that he wished to leave the US – which seems to confirm that American officials have been in touch with him.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told reporters at a news conference that Mr Amiri had been kidnapped during the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca and taken to the US against his will. He said Mr Amiri should be allowed to return home “without any obstacle”.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Mr Amiri was free to go, and highlighted the case of three young Americans held by Iran since July 2009 and accused of illegally entering the country.
“These are decisions that are his alone to make,” she said.
“In contrast, Iran continues to hold three young Americans against their will, and we reiterate our request that they be released and allowed to return to their families on a humanitarian basis.”
Mrs Clinton also mentioned the case of Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent who disappeared in Iran in 2007.

Source:BBC

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Jul
13

Paperchase Sale Agreed By Borders

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Paperchase Sale Agreed By Borders

US book retailer Borders has agreed a deal to sell UK-based stationery group Paperchase to private equity group Primary Capital for 31m (20m).
Borders said it would use the proceeds from the sale to reduce debt levels and would continue to carry Paperchase products in its US stores.
Primary Capital said it was looking forward to building the business in the years ahead.
Borders acquired a majority interest in Paperchase in 2004.
It said the deal to sell the business should be completed within a week.
Borders has been struggling in the face of increased competition from discounters and online book sellers.
It sold its UK chain of the same name, which went into administration last November, in 2007.
President Mike Edwards said selling Paperchase would strengthen the company's balance sheet and allow it to focus on “revitalising the brand”.
Primary Capital director Graham Heddle said: “We're excited by the opportunity to build on the success of Paperchase, which is a well-known, design-led stationery brand in the UK.
“We look forward to working with the Paperchase team to build the business over the next few years.”
Paperchase operates 106 stores in the UK, including concessions in department stores.

Source:BBC

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Jul
13

Freed Cuban Dissidents Speak After Landing In Spain

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Freed Cuban Dissidents Speak After Landing In Spain

The first freed political prisoners from a group of 52 Cubans have spoken for the first time after flying into the Spanish capital.
In a statement issued after they landed in Madrid, the dissidents said exile was a “continuation of the struggle”.
The seven men and their families flew to Spain on two commercial flights.
The release of the dissidents, who were jailed as part of a government crackdown in 2003, was brokered last week by the Catholic Church and Spain.
Cuba came under international pressure to free them, after a jailed dissident starved himself to death earlier this year to draw attention to their plight.
One of the dissidents, Ricardo Gonzalez, said at Madrid's Barajas airport that being in exile was a “continuation of the struggle”.
He continued: “For me change begins with freedom, not only ours and our companions, but all Cuban citizens. We are sure that, given the seriousness of the church and Spanish government, all prisoners will be freed.”
A second, Julio Cesar Galvez, said: “We are the first of a group of prisoners of conscience who have just landed after seven years in captivity.
“This signifies the start of a new stage for the future of Cuba and all Cubans.
“We hope that those who remain in Cuba will enjoy the same freedom as we do,” he added, referring to political prisoners still held on the island.
Just hours before the dissidents left Havana on Monday evening, former President Fidel Castro made a rare TV appearance.
The 83-year-old spoke at length in an interview on state television about international affairs but did not mention the dissidents.
The Cuban government has agreed to free all 52 of the prisoners in the coming months. At least 20 are said to have expressed a desire to go to Spain.
Spanish officials say they will not be required to stay in the country and will be free to head elsewhere. Both the US and Chile have offered them asylum.
Elizardo Sanchez, head of the Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCHRNR), has said at least three prisoners have told the Church that they want to remain in Cuba.
The former prisoners were reunited with their wives and children late on Monday. Spanish consular officials at the airport interviewed them one by one and then granted them visas. Fidel Castro made no mention of the prisoner issue in his 90-minute interview, but few believe that the two events are unconnected. In a phone call from Havana airport, one of the freed men, Omar Ruiz, told the Associated Press: “I won't consider myself free until I arrive in Spain.”
In the hours before their departure, relatives had been told to prepare to leave Cuba at a moment's notice.
“Sunday they performed medical check-ups, did paperwork for the passports and told us to be ready starting today,” Irene Viera, the wife of community organiser Julio Cesar Galvez, told AP.
“I'm very nervous about all of this,” she said. “I can finally see him without it being in prison for the first time in years.”
The first flight, operated by Air Europa, landed at Madrid's Barajas airport with Lester Gonzalez, Omar Ruiz, Antonio Villarreal, Julio Cesar Galvez, Jose Luis Garcia Paneque and Pablo Pacheco on board at 1249 local time (1049 GMT).
The second, operated by Iberia, carrying journalist Ricardo Gonzalez and his family, arrived shortly afterwards.
Mr Gonzalez's wife told the BBC on Monday that one of the first things they would do after arriving would be to go for a long walk together.
The prisoner release announced last Wednesday could become the biggest this decade on the communist-ruled island.
Under the agreement, 52 political prisoners should be freed in the coming months.
All were part of a group of 75 dissidents rounded up in 2003 and sentenced to jail terms of between six and 28 years. The other 23 have already been freed.
On Sunday, a group of the wives and mothers of the political prisoners – known as the Ladies in White – staged their weekly march through Havana calling for the release of all political prisoners.
The leader of the Ladies in White said their marches would continue.
“While there is one political prisoner or prisoner of conscience, there will be Ladies in White,” Laura Pollan said.
Before Monday's releases there was a total of 167 “prisoners of conscience” in Cuba, according to the CCHRNR.
Cuba has always denied that it has political prisoners, describing them as criminals paid by the US to destabilise the country.

Source:BBC

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Jul
13

Alcoa Returns To Profit As Sales Rise Sharply

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Alcoa Returns To Profit As Sales Rise Sharply

US aluminium-maker Alcoa has reported a return to profit as sales surged in the three months to the end of June.
Net profit came in at 136m (91m) for the quarter, compared with a loss of 454m a year earlier, and a loss of 201m in the previous three months.
Sales rose by almost a quarter, from 4.2bn to 5.2bn, despite a fall in aluminium prices.
The Pittsburgh manufacturing giant also forecast a small increase in global aluminium demand this year.
“We improved profits and revenues and maintained our solid cash position,” said Alcoa chief executive Klaus Kleinfeld.
“Prospects for Alcoa and aluminium continue to be excellent.”
Alcoa is traditionally the first company in the Dow Jones industrial average index to report quarterly earnings. It is, therefore, seen as something of a barometer for what is to come.
Andy Fitzpatrick at Hinsdale Associates said: “The market was looking for direction today, and it's going to use this to set the tone for the rest of the week.”
However, some analysts were less optimistic about Alcoa's short-term prospects, particularly in light of the falling aluminium price.
“So far, the aluminium price is lower than what it was in Alcoa's second quarter. I'm worried about that because I think they could lose money in the third quarter,” said Charles Bradford at Affiliated Research Group.

Source:BBC

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Jul
13

BP Prepares Key Test On Gulf Of Mexico Oil Well

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BP Prepares Key Test On Gulf Of Mexico Oil Well

BP will do a key test on its leaking Gulf of Mexico well to see if the flow of oil can be shut off.
The test will start on Tuesday morning and is expected to last between six and 48 hours, according to BP executive Kent Wells.
If the pressure testing of the integrity of the well is successful, it will be kept “shut in” and the leak effectively stopped.
Work on the permanent relief well solution continues.
Mr Wells said the test will determine if the well casing is strong enough to contain the gushing into the Gulf of Mexico.
The test comes one day after a new cap was placed on the leaking well.
Shutting in the well provides a temporary solution to the leaking oil. BP is continuing work on the relief well that is expected to permanently stop the oil.
If the test goes as planned, it will mark the first time since the explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig on 20 April that the leaking oil has been stopped.

Source:BBC

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Jul
13

US Trade Deficit At 18month High

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US Trade Deficit At 18month High

The US trade deficit widened to its highest level in 18 months in May, driven by demand for imported cars, computers and clothing.
The deficit increased by 4.8% to 42.3bn – the largest since November 2008, Commerce Department data showed.
The 2.9% rise in imports outpaced the 2.4% climb in exports.
US manufacturing has benefited from the global economic recovery, but some fear that problems in Europe will hurt sales in the future.
Debt troubles in the eurozone have also caused the value of the euro to weaken against the dollar this year – making US-made goods less competitive in the 16 nations using the euro.
May's deficit rise came despite oil imports dropping by 9.1% because of a lower oil price and lower volumes.

Source:BBC

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Jul
13

How Much Damage Has The BP Oil Spill Done

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How Much Damage Has The BP Oil Spill Done

In the months since the start of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico there have been harrowing images of birds coated in oil and dead dolphins, but just what do we know about the scale of the environmental damage done?
“The good news is that oil is a natural product and is relatively easily degraded,” says Prof Ed Overton, an environmental scientist at Louisiana State University.
Oil which has not been dispersed or washed up on shore will be targeted by microbes.
“They use the oil as a food,” says Prof Overton.
There is an advantage in that the spill happened in the warm Gulf of Mexico, where conditions are good for decomposition. In colder climes, things can be harder.
“Contrast that with where you still have beaches where you can kick over cobblestones and still have pools of oil beneath them,” says Stan Senner, director of conservation science for Ocean Conservancy.
“In the Gulf of Mexico it is a different environment. There is some greater capacity for that environment to handle hydrocarbons.”
But that is not to say the oil will totally vanish.
There may be oil which becomes buried on shore, and oil may end up at the bottom of the sea in anaerobic areas – places where there is no oxygen to allow the microbes to do their work.
“We have never seen these clouds or plumes of oil dispersed in tiny droplets in the water,” says Mr Senner. “We don't know how much is ending up on the bottom. Onshore, we don't know how much is being buried.”
The oil can be deadly to both plants and animals, as .
“The wetlands that are already impacted, if only the stems and the grass you see on the surface are affected then the recovery will be within one or two years,” says Dr Larry McKinney, director of the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies.
“If the oil has penetrated down to the roots, then you are going to lose those areas altogether. [Wetlands] will go to open water and will never recover.”
It's hard at this juncture to tell what the eventual effect will be on the northern Gulf Coast's habitat.
“A coating on the leaves will kill the leaves but it doesn't necessarily kill the plant,” says Prof Overton.
“With events like this their impacts occur in different phases,” says Mr Senner. First there is the initial wave of deaths, the animals that get covered in oil and die.
The death toll Mr Senner is aware of already includes a “thousand bird carcasses – half of them are oiled, others are just carcasses, a few hundred turtles, 50 or so dolphins”.
But those small numbers reflect the fact that only a small percentage of carcasses are recovered.
“The assumption is that the actual mortality rate is many times what has been recovered,” says Mr Senner. “The rule of thumb for the bird carcasses is that they find one in 10, but that could be low.”
The question everybody will be asking is how quickly can animal numbers return to normal. It all depends on the life span of the animal.
, there was a 60-70% reduction in shrimp in the year of the spill, but they were back to normal within one or two years, says Dr McKinney.
Then there are longer-lived animals like dolphins, whale sharks and sea turtles. If a single generation has been largely wiped out, numbers might not fully recover for 10-20 years.
And then there are the truly long-lived organisms.
“For deepwater solitary coral communities, their lifespan is in hundreds of years,” says Dr McKinney.

  • What will the effect of widespread use of the dispersant Corexit be?
  • Will migrating birds be severely affected?
  • How much oil has actually been spilled?
  • How much is buried in fragile wetland habitats?
  • What is the effect of oil on deep-sea ecosystems?
    They could potentially be vulnerable to the oil or to patches of oxygen-depleted water created by the oil-eating microbes. When the microbes degrade the oil, oxygen is used up and carbon dioxide is produced.
    Dr McKinney is worried about “huge clouds of low-oxygen oil dispersant mix, [which is] methane-heavy”.
    The plus side for fish stocks on the other hand is that, severe as the damage might be, it will be mitigated by the break in fishing.
    “They have closed such large areas of the Gulf that the pressure has been reduced,” says Dr McKinney. “Reducing the fishing pressure will allow more fish to remain alive and reproduce.”
    So stocks of fish like red snapper could be back to normal within two to four years.
    But, the effect of the spill on species that are already under immense pressure – like Atlantic bluefin tuna – could be severe.
    “In ecosystems, when you wipe out large segments of them, the ecosystem responds to the absence of those things and other things come in to take their place and you don't return to the way things were,” says Mr Senner. “Ecosystems are always dynamic. What we see in the Gulf of Mexico is an ecosystem that already had a number of stresses on it.”
    Some animals and plants may be badly affected by the disruption of the spill and not regain their previous place in the ecosystem once conditions return to normal. But they will be replaced by other organisms.
    A lot of the thinking about the effects of the BP oil spill is informed by the work done following the Ixtoc spill of 1979.
    But there are some aspects of the latest spill about which scientists find it hard even to speculate.
    Marine biologists will admit that not a great deal is known about the effects of oil on organisms in deep water.
    “We know almost nothing about the ecology in the deep ocean,” says Prof Overton.
    It may offer only a crumb of comfort, but the 2010 spill will one day provide that knowledge.

    Source:BBC

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    Jul
    13

    Missing Iranian Scientist at Pakistani Embassy In US

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    Missing Iranian Scientist at Pakistani Embassy In US

    Iran says a nuclear scientist it claims was abducted by the US has taken refuge in its interest section at Pakistan's embassy in Washington, state media say.
    Shahram Amiri disappeared a year ago while on pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
    Earlier this month, Tehran said it had proof he was being held in the US. The US denies having abducted him.
    The allegation came after three videos purportedly of Mr Amiri containing contradictory information as to his whereabouts emerged on the internet.
    The first said he had been kidnapped, the second that he was living freely in Arizona, and the third that he had escaped from his captors.
    “A few hours ago Shahram Amiri took refuge at Iran's interest section at the Pakistan embassy in Washington, wanting to return to Iran immediately,” Iranian state radio reported on Tuesday morning.
    Iran and the US cut diplomatic relations shortly after the 1979 Islamic revolution and the Pakistan embassy looks after Iran's interests.
    The US has strenuously denied abducting him, but ABC News reported in March that Mr Amiri had defected and was helping the CIA.
    Iranian media say Mr Amiri worked as a researcher at a university in Tehran, but some reports say he worked for the country's atomic energy organisation and had in-depth knowledge of its controversial nuclear programme.

    Source:BBC

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    Jul
    13

    US disappointed By Swiss Polanski Extradition Ruling

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    US disappointed By Swiss Polanski Extradition Ruling

    The US has said it is “disappointed” by Switzerland's decision not to extradite the film director, Roman Polanski.
    A state department spokesman said it would continue to seek Mr Polanski's arrest and extradition on charges he had sex with an underage girl in 1977.
    “We have not forgotten about this case,” Philip Crowley told reporters.
    The Swiss justice ministry said the US had not made a convincing argument for Polanski's extradition since he was arrested last year and he was now free.
    After the ruling, Polanski paid “massive thanks” to his supporters.
    “I simply want, from the bottom of my heart, to thank all those who supported me,” the Polish-born French filmmaker said in a statement.
    He also reportedly left his chalet in the Alpine resort of Gstaad, where he had been held under house arrest for eight months
    On Monday, Swiss Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf announced that “the measures taken to restrict the freedom of Mr Polanski” had been lifted. “Mr Polanski can now move freely. He's a free man,” she said, adding that it was “not about deciding whether he is guilty or not guilty”.
    The Swiss justice ministry said it was impossible to rule out “a fault in the US extradition request”.
    The US had failed to disprove Polanski's argument that he fled before sentencing in 1978 because he believed the judge would renege on a plea agreement, it added.
    But speaking to reporters in Washington later, State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said the US questioned the decision.
    “The rape of a 13-year-old girl by an adult who should know better and does know better is a crime,” he said. “We will continue to seek justice in this case and we will evaluate our options.”
    “We think it sends a very important message regarding how women and girls are treated around the world,” he added. “To push this case aside based on technicalities we think is regrettable.”
    Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley called the decision a “disservice to justice and other victims as a whole” and said Polanski could be arrested if he travelled to another country.
    “To justify their finding to deny extradition on an issue that is unique to California law regarding conditional examination of a potentially unavailable witness is a rejection of the competency of the California courts,” he said.
    “The Swiss could not have found a smaller hook on which to hang their hat.”
    Polanski was originally charged with six offences including rape and sodomy over the 1977 case. In 1978, he pleaded guilty to unlawful sex following a plea bargain. He served 42 days in prison.
    He has always maintained he was promised a short sentence, but he fled the US after hearing rumours that the judge was about to re-sentence him for a much longer term. He has never returned.
    The director was taken into custody in Switzerland in September while collecting a lifetime achievement award at the Zurich Film Festival.
    Polanski, whose films include Rosemary's Baby and The Pianist, was moved from prison and placed under house arrest at Gstaad in early December.
    Switzerland said the US could not appeal against its decision.

    Source:BBC

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    Jul
    13

    BP installs New Sealing Cap On Leaking Gulf Oil Well

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    BP installs New Sealing Cap On Leaking Gulf Oil Well

    BP has successfully installed a new sealing cap on the leaking Gulf of Mexico oil well, company officials say.
    It is hoped the new cap will stop the leak and capture all the oil before it can pour into the sea.
    But BP warned the cap system had never been deployed at such depths and said “its efficiency and ability to contain the oil and gas cannot be assured”.
    It also said that the two relief wells being drilled remain the only way permanently to seal the leak.
    That process is due to be completed by mid-August.
    Meanwhile, the US government issued a new deep-water drilling moratorium to replace one struck down in court.
    The moratorium was reworked by the US interior department in the hope of gaining the approval of a federal court that rejected the Obama administration's earlier ban, saying it was too broad.
    The new moratorium applies to any deep-water floating drilling facility but is not based on the water depth where drilling occurs. It will end by 30 November or sooner.
    It is unclear whether a federal court in Louisiana will look at the new moratorium more favourably.
    On Monday evening, Adm Allen hailed “significant progress” on the new well cap and live underwater footage showed the device being placed on top of the well.
    The old cap, which it replaces, managed to contain only about half the oil escaping from the wellhead.
    Adm Allen said BP would carry out tests to determine the integrity of the leaking well on Tuesday morning.
    “The measurements that will be taken during this test will provide valuable information about the condition of the well below the sea level and help determine whether or not it is possible to shut the well for a period of time,” Adm Allen said in a statement.
    During testing, the system collecting the leaking oil will be shut down for six to 48 hours while pressure readings are taken to make sure there are no other leaks from the well.
    The news of progress on the cap came after a visit to Florida by First Lady Michelle Obama, who urged tourists not to abandon the Gulf Coast.
    “It's important for the rest of the country to know that these places are just as vibrant and just as beautiful as they've always been,” she said in Panama City, Florida.
    “And folks here in Florida and across the Gulf Coast are still depending on visitors and tourist dollars to put food on their tables and to pay their mortgages and to send their kids to college.”
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    In June, BP placed a cap, known as an LMRP cap, over the top of the Deepwater Horizon well so oil could be siphoned to the surface. The company is now replacing this with a tightly fitting version – a sealing cap.
    On 10 July engineers removed the LMRP cap, meaning oil began to freely leak from the top of the blowout preventer once more, although the Q4000 containment system continues to take some oil to the surface.
    BP is currently working to place a new capping stack on the blowout preventer (BOP). Once connected, it is hoped that rams in the stack can be closed, shutting off the flow of oil from the top of the BOP.
    At the same time, engineers are preparing to hook up a floating riser pipe to the Helix Producer ship. The system is designed to be easily disconnected in a hurricane.
    The presidential commission set up to investigate the oil spill also began its hearings on Monday.
    At the hearing, Larry Dickerson, president of a drilling company not involved in the Deepwater Horizon incident, said the disaster was “the result of reckless operating mistakes”.
    President Barack Obama, who has visited the area several times, has labelled the spill the nation's worst-ever environmental disaster.
    Coastal communities from Florida to Alabama rely on fishing and tourism, and many people believe the spill will wipe out their livelihoods.
    BP says it has spent 3.5bn (2.3bn) on the response effort so far.
    In addition, the firm has also set aside a 20bn fund to pay for the clean-up operation and other costs.
    The explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig in April killed 11 people. Since then, thousands of barrels of oil have been spilling into the the sea every day.

    Source:BBC

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