When the U.S. reports its gross domestic product, the sum of all goods and services the economy produces for a particular period, it doesn't count illegal activities like prostitution since how would you ever get a handle on that?
As the Bureau of Economic Affairs observed in a document on how it constructs the GDP:
Some activities, such as the care of one's own children, unpaid volunteer work for charities, or illegal or black-market activities, are not included because they are difficult to accurately measure and value.
Nevertheless, the challenge of trying to estimate what illegal activity adds to the national GDP didn't deter South Africa which for the first time has estimated the contributions of the criminal activity including drug sales and abalone poaching to its overall economic output.
South African economists estimate illegality added $465 million, or less than one percent, to South Africa's 2008 GDP of $305.9 billion.
The problem is, experts believe South African government economists are underestimating how much the black market is raking in.
From Reuters:
"I think it is a bit conservative," said Freddie Mitchell, economist at research group Efficient.
"The international community sees South Africa as a haven for drugs, so I think 3.5 (billion rand) is a bit of an underestimation."
President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held a joint news conference at the White House today.
Singh is making the first official State visit of a foreign leader since Obama was sworn into office in January. There will be a State Dinner at the White House tonight.
While issues related to U.S.-India relations were likely to come up during the news conference, iPresident Obama was also asked about reports that he's planning to announce next Tuesday his decision on how many more U.S. troops will be sent to Afghanistan.
We used the box below to live-blog during the news conference. Just click the "play" button and our updates should flow in automatically. If you want to submit a comment, there's a box at the bottom of the player for them:
Today marks the 150th anniversary of the publication of one of the world's most important and controversial books -- Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species.
As NPR's Joe Palca reported on Morning Edition, "Darwin's book fundamentally altered how scientists look at the natural world, and continues to frame biological research today":
But there's more Darwin-related news to pass along.
First, there's the incredible report that a rare, first-edition copy of Origin was recently found on a bathroom bookshelf in Oxford, England, and will soon be auctioned for an estimated $100,000 or so.
Then, as the BBC reports, there's the public appeal from the curator at Darwin's home for help in finding his lost Galapagos notebook. It is, curator Annie Kemkaran-Smith believes, "an invaluable record of some of the most famous few weeks in the history of science." It's believed to have been stolen from Darwin's home in the early 1980s.
Obama and his advisers met last night. (Pete Souza/White House/AP)
By Mark Memmott
Good morning.
There will be considerable action at the White House today, where reporters will be trying to get more details about the rapidly approaching announcement on how many more U.S. troops will be sent to Afghanistan and where President Barack Obama is welcoming Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the new administration's first State Dinner.
On Morning Edition, NPR's Don Gonyea talked with co-host Renee Montagne about the decision on troops, which is expected to be made public next Tuesday:
McClatchy Newspapers' Washington bureau is reporting the president is likely to announce that 34,000 more U.S. troops will be sent to the effort in Afghanistan.
The current schedule for events at the White House (much of which will be webcast here):
-- 9:15 a.m. ET: Singh arrives for meetings.
-- 11:35 a.m. ET: Singh and Obama hold a joint news conference (we'll live-blog during it; there are almost sure to be questions about the president's decision on troops for Afghanistan).
-- 7 p.m. ET: Guests arrive for the State Dinner.
-- 8:15 p.m. ET: The two leaders offer their toasts.
On Morning Edition, NPR's Michele Kelemen reported about India's role in global affairs, and how it's a nation that the U.S. needs on its side on issues such as climate change, trade and countering terrorism:
Other news to watch for this morning:
-- At 8:30 a.m. ET, the Commerce Department releases its latest estimate of third-quarter gross domestic product growth. Last month, in its first look at third-quarter GDP, Commerce said the economy grew at a 3.5% annual rate -- a rebound after four straight quarters of GDP declines.
As for other stories making headlines, they include:
-- Reuters -- "Philippines Imposes Emergency; Massacre Toll Reaches 46": "The Philippines placed two southern provinces and a city under emergency rule on Tuesday after gunmen killed 46 people in a brutal election-related massacre that has shocked the country. Many of the victims in the killings in Maguindanao province were women from the powerful Mangudadatu clan. About a dozen journalists were also among the dead."
-- The New York Times -- "Iran Expanding Effort To Stifle The Opposition": Iran's government "appears to be starting a far more ambitious effort to discredit its opponents and re-educate Iran's mostly young and restive population. In recent weeks, the government has announced a variety of new ideological offensives. It is implanting 6,000 Basij militia centers in elementary schools across Iran to promote the ideals of the Islamic Revolution, and it has created a new police unit to sweep the Internet for dissident voices."
Contributing: Chinita Anderson of Morning Edition.
There are reports out of the Middle East that Israel and Hamas may be close to a deal for the exchange of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier Hamas fighters captured three years ago, for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Representatives of Hamas, the Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip, are said to be meeting with Egyptian and German mediators in Cairo to firm up the list of prisoners Israel would release in order to free the member of the Israeli Defense Force.
Officials close to the talks said Israel agreed to include in the exchange for soldier Gilad Shalit some 160 prisoners whose release it previously vetoed. But both sides have publicly avoided comment or sought to play down talk of an imminent deal.
Shalit was captured by Palestinian militants who tunneled into Israel from the Gaza Strip in 2006. Israel has linked any major easing of its blockade on the territory to the soldier's return home.
-- The Associated Press -- Four U.S. Military Personnel Killed In Afgahnistan: In the past 24 hours four U.S. service members died in Afghanistan, NATO officials said today. The AP writes that:
Three of the Americans died in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, the statement said. Two of them were killed by a bomb attack and the third in a separate firefight. The military said the fourth U.S. service member died in the east Monday in a bomb explosion. The deaths bring the number of Americans killed in Afghanistan in November to 15. October was the deadliest month for U.S. troops in the eight-year war, with 58 dead.
From Kabul, NPR's Tom Bullock filed this report. As he says, 2009 has been the deadliest year so far for U.S. forces in Afghanistan:
-- BBC News -- "Philippines Gunmen Kill 21 In Election Violence": "Twenty-one politicians and journalists abducted in the southern Philippines have been found dead, the army says. The group was seized on the southern island of Mindanao early on Monday. ... The country is to hold national elections in May 2010. Registration for local and national races began earlier this month."
-- The Associated Press -- "Miners' Families Want Answers In China Mine Blast": "Grieving family members demanded answers Monday from mining officials about the underground gas explosion that left at least 104 men dead in northeastern China. The massive blast Saturday in Hegang city in frigid Heilongjiang province erupted at night when some 500 miners were working below ground. Most escaped, but 104 were confirmed dead and an additional four were missing and feared dead, the official Xinhua news agency reported Monday."
-- The Patriot-News (Harrisburg, Pa.) -- "Three Mile Island Incident Considered Minor, But Some Question Communication": "A radiation leak inside a reactor building at Three Mile Island posed no risk to public safety, according to TMI officials, but some local officials are upset about a lack of communication in what they agree was a minor incident. At 4 p.m. Saturday, about 150 workers inside the Unit 1 containment building were sent home after a radiation alarm sounded inside the building. TMI spokesman Ralph DeSantis said the employees were safe; the employee most seriously exposed to radiation received roughly the same dosage as an X-ray, he said."
Related NPR Newscast report from Scott Gilbert ofWITF -- Cause Is Unclear; Plant Grabbed Headlines In '79 After Partial Core Meltdown:
-- The Associated Press -- "Democrats At Odds Over Health Bill": "Moderate Senate Democrats threatened Sunday to scuttle health care legislation if their demands aren't met, while more liberal members warned their party leaders not to bend. The dispute among Democrats foretells of a rowdy floor debate next month on legislation that would extend health care coverage to roughly 31 million Americans. Republicans have already made clear that they aren't supporting the bill. Final passage is in jeopardy, even after the chamber's historic 60-39 vote Saturday night to begin debate."
Related story by USA TODAY -- "Health Care Lobby Booms": " Companies and groups hiring lobbying firms on health issues nearly doubled this year as special interests rushed to shape the massive revamp of the nation's health care system now in its final stretch before Congress. About 1,000 organizations have hired lobbyists since January, compared with 505 during the same period in 2008, according to a USA TODAY analysis of congressional records compiled by the nonpartisan CQ MoneyLine."
-- Morning Edition -- "Unexploded Bomb May Shatter N. Ireland Peace". "In Northern Ireland, a 400-pound car bomb failed to detonate over the weekend. It was placed outside police headquarters in Belfast, and that has residents wondering if dissident factions of the IRA are intent on stepping up violence." NPR's Rob Gifford spoke with ME host Renee Montagne:
Contributing: Chinita Anderson of Morning Edition.
He's got another term. (Shah Marai/AFP/Getty Images)
By Mark Memmott
Good morning.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai was sworn in for a second term today, and at his inauguration in Kabul promised to crack down on corruption. This comes, of course, after an election marred by massive fraud.
As NPR's Philip Reeves reports from Kabul, Karzai has "been under intense pressure from the international community, especially since he was elected in August in a contest marred by widespread fraud. His speech was tailored to address some of those concerns. He heavily emphasized the need for his government -- which has a reputation for rampant graft and ineptitude -- to bring an end to corruption":
Just across the border from Afghanistan, in Peshawar, Pakistan, there's been more deadly violence. Reuters writes that "a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a court building in Peshawar on Thursday, killing 18 people, officials said, in the latest of a series of attacks on the northwestern Pakistan city."
Yesterday, as Frank posted, NPR's Daniel Zwerdling reported on a memo written in 2007 about the lone suspect in the killings of 13 people and wounding of more than 30. The chief of psychiatric residents at Walter Reed, Maj. Scott Moran, detailed a series of problems concerning Army Maj. Nidal Hasan.
The Los Angeles Times says the White House is trying to put a "positive spin" on the president's trip.
Other stories making headlines this morning include:
-- ABC News -- Which Hospitals Are Ignoring New Mammogram Recommendations? There's A List: "Medical leaders across the country announced they will not heed the recommendations to stop routine mammograms for low-risk women in their 40s." ABC compiled a list of such centers that told the network about their decisions.
-- Politico -- "Obama Rewards Big Donors With Plum Jobs Overseas": "Of the nearly 80 ambassadorship nominations or confirmations since Obama's Inauguration, 56% were given to political appointees and 44% have gone to career diplomats, according to records kept by the American Foreign Service Association. ... White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said it is unfair to judge the Obama administration by its first wave of ambassadorial nominations. ... 'We're well-aware of the historical target of career vs. noncareer ambassadors, and we will be right on that target,' said Vietor. That historic benchmark is roughly 30% political appointees to 70% career diplomats."
-- The Wall Street Journal -- "Some Courts Raise Bar On Reading Employee E-mail": "Recent cases have shown that employees sometimes have more privacy rights than they might expect when it comes to the corporate email server. Legal experts say that courts in some instances are showing more consideration for employees who feel their employer has violated their privacy electronically."
Contributing: Chinita Anderson of Morning Edition.
Under Cuban President Raul Castro, political repression has continued apace. (Javier Galeano / AP Photo)
By Frank James
In Cuba, it appears the still relatively new dictator operates fairly much like the old dictator.
The repression of Cuba's political dissidents under Fidel Castro has continued unabated under his brother Raul Castro who has led the communist nation since July 2006, according to a new report from Human Rights Watch.
The report's finding isn't a surprise but for the sake of those being held as political prisoners, it's important that HRW continues to shine a light on the situation facing those who have become targets of the Cuban regime for their political views.
An excerpt:
As the new head of state, Raul Castro inherited a system of abusive laws and
institutions, as well as responsibility for hundreds of political prisoners arrested during his
brother's rule. Rather than dismantle this repressive machinery, Raul Castro has kept it
firmly in place and fully active. Scores of political prisoners arrested under Fidel Castro
continue to languish in Cuba's prisons. And Raul Castro's government has used draconian
laws and sham trials to incarcerate scores more who have dared to exercise their
fundamental freedoms.
Raul Castro's government has relied in particular on a provision of the Cuban Criminal Code that allows the state to imprison individuals before they have committed a crime, on the suspicion that they might commit an offense in the future. This "dangerousness" provision is overtly political, defining as "dangerous" any behavior that contradicts socialist norms. The most Orwellian of Cuba's laws, it captures the essence of the Cuban government's
repressive mindset, which views anyone who acts out of step with the government as a
potential threat and thus worthy of punishment.
Somalia is the most corrupt country in the world, followed closely by Afghanistan and Myanmar, according to researchers at the "global civil society organization" Transparency International.
The organization looks at issues such as how common bribery of public officials is, based on reports from multiple sources. It takes information from 13 different surveys of each nation and then develops rankings. By its measures, these are the most corrupt nations, in order:
A man reads a Taiwanese newspaper in Taipei showing a photo and headline about President Barack Obama's town hall event in Shanghai. (Patrick Lin / AFP/Getty Images)
By Frank James
With so much of the media focus on U.S.-China relations, Taiwan has become something of an afterthought for a lot of us if we think about it at all.
Fortunately, NPR's Frank Langfitt has been thinking about Taiwan, a place he was familiar with, having visited it earlier in the decade.
He alerted us to a recent reporting trip he took to Taiwan which finds itself in an even longer shadow cast by the ever more powerful mainland. In an e-mail, he wrote:
Hey, Frank:
I went to Taiwan in October for the first time in nine years and the result is a piece on All Things Considered today.
When I last visited Taiwan in 2000, I covered the island's election of what was essentially a pro-independence presidential candidate -- Chen Shui-bian -- whose attitude towards China was defiant.
What a difference a bad Taiwanese economy and booming Chinese one makes.
Pakistani Army soldiers today in South Waziristan. (Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty Images)
By Mark Memmott
Pakistan's Army took reporters to South Waziristan today to buttress its claim to have captured most Taliban bases in the region during a month-long offensive.
The Army claims to have killed more than 500 militants. Chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said others may have fled the towns and villages.
"We still believe many are still here. They have gone to the countryside, the forested areas, to villages and into the caves," Abbas said, according to the Associated Press. He vowed the Army will "chase them in the forested areas, wherever they are hiding in the countryside."
NPR's Julie McCarthy was among the reporters who went along. She says some Army officials claim to have been surprised by the "low-level of resistance" they've encountered so far. Julie filed this report from South Waziristan:
Julie is due to report more on the situation in South Waziristan during today's edition of All Things Considered. Click here to find an NPR station near you.
After six weeks of being held hostage, 36 crew members and their Spanish trawler, the Alakrana, have been released by Somali pirates -- who claim they received a ransom of more than $3 million.
The BBC reports that Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero "said that the pirates had abandoned the Alakrana and all 36 members of the tuna boat's crew were 'safe and sound'."
The Associated Press says that:
A Somali villager named Ali Ahmed Salad said 12 armed pirates left the ship shortly after noon Tuesday and joined colleagues near the pirate town of Haradhere. Ali Gab, a self-proclaimed pirate, told The Associated Press that a boat delivered $3.3 million in ransom. ...
Zapatero was evasive when asked if the government had taken part in payment of a ransom. "The government did what it had to do," he told a news conference after talks with the president of Hungary, Laszlo Solyom.
NPR's Jerome Socolovsky says the prime minister "dodged questions as to whether a ransom was paid. He said only that his government worked within 'the limits of legality' to win the fishermen's release."
Bloomberg News is quoting another purported pirate spokesman, Hassan Gadaf, as saying the kidnappers received $4 million and that the Spanish government agreed to release two pirates who were captured on Oct. 3 -- one day after the Alakrana was stormed.
As CNN.com reports, "pirates seized the Spanish fishing boat off Somalia 47 days ago. The crew included 16 members from Spain and 20 from Africa and Asia."
As the day begins there are reports from Iran that one of its officials has told Reuters that neither economic sanctions nor the threat of a military attack will derail its nuclear program. And:
Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's envoy to the U.N. nuclear watchdog, told Reuters the agency's concern that Tehran may be hiding more nuclear work after it unveiled the enrichment site was an unfair political judgment beyond its mandate.
Other stories making headlines this morning include:
Hu and Obama reveiw the honor guard at the Great Hall of the People today in Beijing. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images)
-- The Associated Press -- "Obama, Hu Divided Over Economy, Human Rights": "President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao emerged from hours of intense talks Tuesday determined to marshal their combined clout on crucial issues, but still showing divisions over economic, security and human rights issues that have long bedeviled the two powers."
-- ABC News -- Officials Say Hasan Sought 'War Crimes' Prosecutions of American Soldiers: "Major Nidal Malik Hasan's military superiors repeatedly ignored or rebuffed his efforts to open criminal prosecutions of soldiers he claimed had confessed to 'war crimes' during psychiatric counseling, according to investigative reports circulated among federal law enforcement officials." Hasan has been charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder for the Nov. 5 shootings at Fort Hood in Texas.
-- The Seattle Times -- "Paul Allen Being Treated For Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma": "The Microsoft co-founder was diagnosed earlier this month with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of cancer similar to the one that led to his early retirement from the software company in 1983." Allen is 56.
From a related story by the Associated Press: "In a memo sent to employees, the CEO of Allen's investment firm says the 56-year-old Allen received the diagnosis this month and has begun chemotherapy. The CEO, Jody Patton, noted that doctors say Allen has a relatively common form of the disease -- and that Allen survived Hodgkin's disease in the 1980s."
-- The Salt Lake Tribune -- Woman In Elizabeth Smart Case Expected To Plead Guilty: Wanda Eileen Barzee, "the 64-year-old wife of street preacher Brian David Mitchell," is expected to plead guilty today to federal charges for her role in the 2002 abduction of Utah girl Elizabeth Smart.
Contributing: Chinita Anderson of Morning Edition.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown last night "raised the prospect of agreeing (to) a timetable for international withdrawal from Afghanistan, in a speech in which he claimed that almost half of al-Qaida's leadership had now been killed," The Guardian writes.
According to the Guardian, Brown:
Said the damage already inflicted on al-Qaida gave international forces the chance to set a timetable for pulling out.
Meanwhile, the BBC reports that British Foreign Secretary David Miliband says Britain has not committed to a "war without end" in Afghanistan.
According to Reuters, "nearly 68,000 U.S. and 40,000 allied troops are at present
deployed in Afghanistan." President Barack Obama is currently debating how many more U.S. forces should be sent to the Central Asian nation.
ABC News' Jake Tapper ran the bow past "an academic with expertise about the Japanese Empire, and in general a supporter of President Obama" who said it is not unprecedented for an American president to bow when meeting a Japanese emperor (Nixon did so in 1971), but that Obama's much deeper bend was too low.
From the right, conservative blogger/commentator Michelle Malkin asks "Crikey, is there a single adult in the White House who can teach the commander-in-chief some presidential protocol?"
Obama's breach of protocol is of a piece with the substance of his foreign policy. He means to teach Americans to bow before monarchs and tyrants. He embodies the ideological multiculturalism that sets the United States on the same plane as other regimes based on tribal privilege and royal bloodlines. He gives expressive form to the idea that the United States now willingly prostrates itself before the rest of the world. He declares that the United States is a country like any other, only worse, because we have so much for which to apologize.
Earlier this year, Obama bowed upon meeting Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz al Saud.
As we reported just a short time ago, there's word this morning that General Motors plans to repay the $6.7 billion in government loans it's gotten by 2011 -- four years early.
Among the other stories making headlines:
-- Morning Edition -- "Obama Pushes China Not To Censor Information". NPR's Scott Horsley reports from Beijing:
The president held a town hall meeting with future Chinese leaders in Shanghai. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)
-- The Washington Post -- "Cleric Says He Was Confidant To Hasan": " In his first interview with a journalist since the Fort Hood rampage, Yemeni American cleric Anwar al-Aulaqi said that he neither ordered nor pressured Maj. Nidal M. Hasan to harm Americans, but that he considered himself a confidant of the Army psychiatrist who was given a glimpse via e-mail into Nadal's growing discomfort with the U.S. military."
-- The Associated Press -- Afghan Officials Announce Anti-Corruption Effort: "Afghan officials launched a new anti-corruption unit and major crime fighting force Monday amid stiff international pressure to clean up the government following a fraud-tainted presidential election. ... Law enforcement agencies from Britain and the United States, along with Interpol, helped set up the unit, Interior Minister Hanif Atmar said. The British and U.S. ambassadors to Afghanistan attended the launch in a show of support."
Related story from the Associated Press -- "Clinton: U.S. Wants More Accountability From Kabul": "The United States is limiting its goals in Afghanistan and demanding better accountability from that country's underperforming leader, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Sunday, and she tied additional U.S. civilian help to results from Kabul."
Related story on Morning Edition -- "Afghans Grow Frustrated Waiting For Obama's Plan. NPR's Philip Reeves reports from Kabul:
-- Chicago Tribune -- Officials Will Tour Prison That Might House 'Gitmo' Detainees: "A delegation from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons is scheduled to tour and inspect the Thomson Correctional Center Monday as part of a White House proposal to buy the facility and use it to house some terror suspects now detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, officials said Sunday morning. Speaking Sunday at news conferences in Moline and Chicago, Gov. Pat Quinn called the Obama Administration's interest in the prison near the Mississippi River a 'great, great opportunity for our state.' "
-- The New York Times -- "Drug Makers Raise Prices In Face Of Health Care Reform": "Even as drug makers promise to support Washington's health care overhaul by shaving $8 billion a year off the nation's drug costs after the legislation takes effect, the industry has been raising its prices at the fastest rate in years. ... Drug makers say they have valid business reasons for the price increases. Critics say the industry is trying to establish a higher price base before Congress passes legislation that tries to curb drug spending in coming years."
-- The Associated Press -- "U.N. Summit Approves New Approach To Hunger Fight": In Rome, "world leaders at a food summit on Monday rallied around a new strategy to fight global hunger and help poor countries feed themselves, but failed to pledge funds sought by the U.N. ... The summit did not commit to a specific figure of $44 billion a year for agricultural aid that the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization says will be necessary in the coming decades."
-- Florida Today -- Shuttle Atlantis On Schedule For Afternoon Launch: "Shuttle Atlantis is being fueled for flight at Kennedy Space Center this morning as NASA gears up for a planned launch this afternoon of Atlantis and six astronauts on an International Space Station outfitting mission. The 18-story spaceship and its crew are slated to blast off from Launch Complex 39A at 2:28 p.m. ET, the middle of a 10-minute opportunity to put the shuttle on course for a ground-up rendezvous and docking at the station just before noon Wednesday."
Contributing: Chinita Anderson of Morning Edition.
-- The Associated Press -- "Attacks Kill 16 In Pakistan, Spy Agency Targeted": "A suicide bomber in a pickup truck attacked the northwestern regional headquarters of the Pakistani spy agency overseeing a campaign against militancy, killing 10 people Friday. Another suicide assault in the area killed six more. ... About an hour later, a second suicide car bomber attacked a police station farther south near the Afghan border, killing six people, said police official Tahir Shah."
-- BBC News -- British Prime Minister Thinks NATO Will Send More Troops To Afghanistan: "Gordon Brown has said he is hopeful he will be able to persuade countries both in and outside NATO to send more military personnel to Afghanistan. The prime minister said he had 'taken responsibility' for making the case for reinforcing the Afghan effort and believed 'burden sharing will happen.' He told the BBC that U.K. strategy was 'in line' with that of the U.S., which is considering how many troops to send."
Related report from the Associated Press: "A suicide car bomber attempting to strike an international military convoy on the outskirts of Kabul wounded at least 19 people Friday, including nine NATO service members, on a road that has become a frequent target."
-- Morning Edition -- Obama Begins 10-Day Swing Through Asia. From Tokyo, NPR's Scott Horsley talks with Renee Montagne about what's on the president's agenda. The central focus of the trip is China, Scott says:
-- Politico -- Obama Will Use 'State Of The Union' Address To Focus On Deficits: "President Barack Obama plans to announce in next year's State of the Union address that he wants to focus extensively on cutting the federal deficit in 2010 -- and will downplay other new domestic spending beyond jobs programs, according to top aides involved in the planning."
-- Morning Edition -- U.S. Seeks Complete Forfeiture of NY Skyscraper And Four Mosques Tied To Iran. NPR's Mike Shuster reports:
The story atop the left side of The New York Times' front page this morning is one that seems likely to generate several days' worth of follow-ups:
"American Adviser To Kurds Stands To Reap Oil Profits," the headline says.
The news: Peter Galbraith, a veteran U.S. diplomat who has been a private adviser to the Kurdish regional government in Iraq, "stands to earn perhaps a hundred million or more dollars as a result of his closeness to the Kurds, his relations with a Norwegian oil company (DNO) and constitutional provisions he helped the Kurds extract."
Galbraith's response? Here's what the Times has:
"What is true is that I undertook business activities that were entirely consistent with my long-held policy views. ... I believe my work with DNO (and other companies) helped create the Kurdistan oil industry which helps provide Kurdistan an economic base for the autonomy its people almost unanimously desire."
"So, while I may have had interests, I see no conflict."
Galbraith also points out that he was acting as a private citizen, not a representative of the U.s. government, when he advised the Kurds.
Galbraith recently was in the news after being fired from his post at the U.N. mission in Afghanistan because, Galbraith says, he had strongly warned about the possibility of fraud and corruption before Afghanistan's ill-fated presidential election in August.
Update at 3:20 p.m. ET:All Things Considered co-host Melissa Block spoke to Galbraith this afternoon for an interview that will air on today's show. He said again that he does not believe he had a conflict of interest, and he said that his views on the situation in Kurdistan have long been public. Here's part of their conversation:
Click here to find an NPR station that broadcasts ATC.
An extraordinary story in Great Britain -- of a grieving mother who read the prime minister the riot act when he called to apologize for misspelling her family's name and other mistakes in a condolence letter about the death of her son in Afghanistan -- has moved to a new stage this morning.
"I Accept Humbled PM's Apology" is the headline this morning at the website of Britain's The Sun, which has been aggressively pursuing the story.
"Let's let's move on to what's really important -- whether we do enough to protect our soldiers when we send them to war," says Jacqui Janes, who lost her son Jamie and is making the case that if the British Army had more helicopters in Afghanistan he might have been saved.
As NPR's Rob Gifford reported on Morning Edition, the story of Janes' outrage over the condolence letter she got is just one symbol of a "growing disenchantment" in Britain over the Afghan War. We'll embed Rob's full report below -- but here's a key part of it that's worth listening to alone. It's Janes' recording of her telephone conversation with the prime minister, during which she lets him have it with all the fury of a mother who's just lost a child (you'll also hear Rob's voice in the middle, as he narrates):
Much of the power is out in two of the world's most populous cities -- Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
According to Reuters, "tens of millions of people" are without electricity. The wire service adds that:
CBN Radio reported that Rio's state governor had ordered extra police onto the streets. The website of Globo TV said other major cities, including Belo Horizonte and the capital Brasilia, were also affected by the power cut. The electricity operator in the state of Minas Gerais said the massive outage was caused by a problem at the Itaipu dam.
The Associated Press reports that "Mines and Energy Minister Edison Lobao says authorities do not know why the dam went offline. He says a possible cause was a large storm that hit the area around the dam straddling the Brazil-Paraguay border."
Update at 6:45 a.m. ET, Nov. 11: The power started to come back on in Brazil after about two hours in most places, the AP reports. The wire service also says that power went out in all of Praguay for about 30 minutes last night.
"Questions remained about what happened," AP adds.
Jorge Miguel Samek, the head of Itaipu Binacional, the agency in charge of the dam, said there was a "99% chance the blackout happened because of a storm."
In Rio, there was "a spike in assaults around the Maracana football stadium," AP says.
Iraq's minorities -- including Yazidis, Shabaks, Turkoman and Assyrian Christians -- face a "full-blown human rights catastrophe" as the long-festering territorial dispute between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the central government in Baghdad "threatens to erupt again," Human Rights Watch reports.
The group warns that the minorities are being targeted by both insurgents and by the KRG as it aims to increase its hold on the disputed areas just south of their semi-autonomous region.
Germans and other Europeans celebrated the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall with a display of giant dominoes decorated to look like the infamous wall knocking each other over as onlookers cheered. Judging by video of the event, it appeared as visually striking as the Germans had hoped.
As NPR's Eric Westervelt reported on the network's newscast:
ERIC: Thousands of Germans crowded in and around the Brandenburg Gate in the heart of Berlin in a steady downpour to celebrate two decades of a unified Germany.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said twice in the 20th century German and France fought wars and triggered tragedy in Europe. But today, Sarkozy said, it is above all France and Germany that stand for freedom, adding "We are brothers. We are Berliners." Chancellor Merkel praised the courage of ordinary East Germans who helped bring down the wall as did British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
BROWN: This wall was torn down not by leaders, not from on high, not from military might. This wall was torn down by the greatest force of all: the unbreakable spirit of the men and women of Berlin. (cheers)
ERIC: As part of the celebration one thousand giant painted dominos were toppled along a route where the wall once stood.
Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal, all graduates of the University of California, Berkeley, were arrested July 31 after straying over the Iranian border from northern Iraq. The U.S. government and their families say there were on a hiking vacation and crossed accidentally.
But Jafari-Dolatabadi, according to the Iranian media, insists they entered Iran to spy.
Today, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told reporters in Berlin that "we believe strongly that there is no evidence to support any charge whatsoever. ... And we would renew our request on behalf of these three young people and their families that the Iranian government exercise compassion and release them, so they can return home."
Nine Uighurs have been executed by the Chinese government for taking part in ethnic violence that rocked the country's far west in July, Chinese state media reported today.
According to the Associated Press, the state news service did not report when the executions were carried out or give any other details.
As NPR's Anthony Kuhn reported, the violence in Urumqi left hundreds dead over the summer. The unrest began when Uighurs (a mostly Muslim, Turkic minority) protested over the government's handling of a brawl between ethnic Han and Uighur workers at a toy factory.
A judge in Italy has convicted 23 Americans who were tried in absentia for the 2003 kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric from a Milan street during a CIA extraordinary rendition, the Associated Press reports. Three Americans were acquitted.
Earlier, NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reported that all but one of the defendants had been identified as CIA agents.
She also reported that seven Italian spy agents were on trial. The AP says five of the Italians were acquitted "because Italy withheld evidence, contending it was classified information." The trial has been going on for three years.
The cleric, reports Sylvia, is known as Abu Omar. He says he was blindfolded, taken to Egypt and tortured.
According to the AP, "22 of the convicted Americans were immediately sentenced to five years in jail. ... The other convicted American, Milan CIA station chief Robert Seldon Lady, was given the stiffest sentence, eight years in prison."
Thanks to the independent Tehran Bureau and PBS-TV's Frontline there are videos of the anti-government protests that broke out today in Tehran. Here's one, which Tehran Bureau says was taken at Tehran University:
The Wall Street Journal reports that "Iranian authorities battled with opposition protesters in Tehran Wednesday, after demonstrators used the 30th anniversary of the storming of the U.S. Embassy as cover for their first significant protest in weeks."
The Guardian says these appear to be the largest protests since the demonstrations in the immediate aftermath of Iran's presidential election in June, which opponents say was rigged in favor of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
On Morning Edition, Borzou Daragahi of the Los Angeles Timestalked with host Steve Inskeep about this 30th anniversary of the takeover of the U.S. embassy in Tehran, and the remarkably different (anti-government) kind of protests that occurred today:
The morning-after punditry is in full-swing now that the smattering of elections across the nation are over. As we wrote, Republicans had a good day -- winning the governors' mansions in New Jersey and Virginia. But Democrats managed to take advantage of a split with the GOP to take a New York congressional seat that had been in Republican hands since before the Civil War.
NPR's Political Junkie blog will have much more about the election results as the day continues.
Among the other stories making headlines:
-- The Guardian -- "British Soldiers Killed In Attack By Afghan Policeman": "Five British soldiers have been killed and several others injured in a gun attack by a 'rogue' Afghan policeman in Helmand province, the Ministry of Defense said today. The soldiers -- three from the Grenadier Guards and two from the Royal Military police -- were killed by gunshot wounds suffered in the attack, which happened in the Nad-e'Ali district yesterday."
NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson reports from Kabul: The Afghan police officer ran from the scene, and "the feeling is that he's crossed over and joined the Taliban."
-- BBC News -- "Iran Police Clash With Protesters": "Police have clashed with opposition supporters in the Iranian capital, Tehran, witnesses and state media say. Police used tear gas and batons, said witnesses. Unconfirmed reports said the authorities had also opened fire."
Related conversation on Morning Edition -- Protests Were Widespread Despite Government's Warning: Borzou Daragahi of the Los Angeles Times talks with host Steve Inskeep about this 30th anniversary of the takeover of the U.S. embassy in Tehran, and the remarkably different (anti-government) kind of protests that occurred today:
-- Morning Edition -- Secretary Clinton Says Her Comments About Israeli Settlements Did Not Create A "Long-Term Problem". The secretary of State spoke with NPR's Jackie Northam:
-- CNN International -- "Israel Detains Ship Loaded With Weapons": "The Israeli Navy detained a ship loaded with weapons that was traveling about 100 miles west of the country's coast and headed to Syria, Israeli officials said Wednesday. The ship was detained on Tuesday and was escorted to an Israeli port to be searched, an Israel Defense Forces statement said."
-- The Wall Street Journal -- "Fears Of A New Bubble As Cash Pours In": "Concerns are mounting that efforts by governments and central banks to stoke a recovery will create a nasty side effect: asset bubbles in real-estate, stock and currency markets, especially in Asia."
Related news to watch for today: Federal Reserve policymakers end two-days of meetings. They're expected to say this afternoon that they aren't going to adjust short-term interest rates, which it how is holding between zero and 0.25%.
-- The Times of London -- "German Government Blasts 'Unacceptable' GM U-Turn": "Germany's Economic Minister today branded a decision by America's General Motors to scrap the sale of its European business as 'totally unacceptable.' ... British unions were delighted with the decision, which was announced late yesterday after a GM board meeting in Detroit."
Related story by The Detroit News -- "GM Calls Off Sale, Keeps Opel": "General Motors Co.'s board of directors Tuesday voted to keep its German carmaker, Adam Opel GmbH, instead of selling it to Canada's Magna International Inc. and its Russian partner, Sberbank. The board based its decision, in part, on an improved business environment in Europe and GM's overall financial health and stability since emerging from bankruptcy court after receiving about $50 billion in federal aid."
One of the nation's largest cities, as we just reported, is having some mixed emotions today.
The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the New York Yankees 8-6 last night to extend the World Series to a game six on Wednesday. The Yankees lead three-games-to-two in the best-of-seven championship.
There's much more than that going on today, of course.
NPR's Dave Mattingly and Isaac-Davy Aronson of NPR member station WNYC report on the voting today in Virginia, New Jersey, New York and elsewhere:
The contests are being closely watched to see what, if anything, they may reveal about voters' attitudes toward President Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats.
Looking ahead to next year, by the way, Politico says that "in what could be a nightmare scenario for Republican Party officials, conservative activists are gearing up to challenge leading GOP candidates in more than a dozen key House and Senate races in 2010." They're looking at today's special election in New York's 23rd Congressional district, where Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman pressured the GOP nominee to drop out, as something of a template for 2010.
We'll be combining forces with Ken Rudin of the Political Junkie tonight to "live-blog" election results. So check both The Two-Way and Political Junkie for updates.
Other stories making headlines include:
-- BBC News -- "Karzai Vows To Battle Corruption": "Afghan President Hamid Karzai has vowed to remove the 'stigma' of corruption, a day after winning a new five-year term.
In his first remarks since being declared winner on Monday of August's fraud-marred poll, he also pledged to lead an inclusive government."
Related conversation on Morning Edition "Karzai's Team Needs To Establish Strong Government." Former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad tells host Renee Montagne that he has no doubt Karzai will try to reach out to his critics, but that putting together an effective government will be difficult:
Related story by NPR.org -- "Karzai 'Victory' Puts Spotlight On U.S. Troop Decision": "Afghan President Hamid Karzai's victory by default in the contested election may resolve the country's immediate political crisis, but it could complicate the outcome of the Obama administration's much-anticipated decision on sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan."
-- The New York Times -- "Gore's Dual Role In Spotlight: Advocate And Investor": "Critics, mostly on the political right and among global warming skeptics, say (former vice president Al) Gore is poised to become the world's first 'carbon billionaire,' profiteering from government policies he supports that would direct billions of dollars to the business ventures he has invested in. ... Mr. Gore says that he is simply putting his money where his mouth is. 'Do you think there is something wrong with being active in business in this country?' Mr. Gore said. 'I am proud of it. I am proud of it.' "
Afghanistan, and today's declaration that President Hamid Karzai has been re-elected despite the massive fraud during the August election, was topic No. 1 at today's White House briefing.
Spokesman Robert Gibbs said that Karzai is "obviously ... the legitimate leader of the country" now that he has been "declared the winner of the Afghan election." The U.S. will continue to discuss with Karzai and his ministers, Gibbs added, "governance, civil society and corruption ... to ensure that we have a credible partner in our efforts to help secure the country":
As for whether this means President Barack Obama can now come to a decision about how many, if any, additional U.S. troops to send to Afghanistan, Gibbs said that "the decision is still -- will be made in the coming weeks":
As we just reported, President Hamid Karzai has been declared the winner in Afghanistan's presidential election -- without having to go through the runoff that had been scheduled for this coming Saturday.
His challenger, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, dropped out of the runoff yesterday. Abdullah said he did not think the process would be transparent enough. Already, the results of the country's August election had been set aside because of widespread corruption.
This morning's news comes as President Barack Obama continues to review U.S. policy in Afghanistan and considers whether or not to send tens of thousands of more American troops there. Earlier, the Los Angeles Times reported that:
U.S. and other Western officials, who leaned heavily on Karzai to accept a runoff after the tainted election in August, are now pressing him and electoral officials to find a legally acceptable way to cancel the poll and declare Karzai the winner. Neither the U.S. nor the United Nations is prepared to risk more lives for an election with only one candidate, said a Western official familiar with the talks.
There will surely be lots of reaction and analysis about the news from Afghanistan as the day goes on. We'll pass them along as the story develops.
Meanwhile, other stories making headlines include:
The aftermath in Rawalpindi. (Aamir Qureshi/Getty Images)
-- The Associated Press -- "Bomb Outside Bank Kills 30 Near Pakistani Capital": "A suicide bomber killed 30 people outside a bank near Pakistan's capital Monday, as the U.N. said spreading violence had forced it to pull out some expatriate staff and suspend long-term development work in areas along the Afghan border. Islamist insurgents have carried out numerous attacks in Pakistan in recent weeks, killing some 250 people in retaliation for an army offensive in the Pakistani Taliban stronghold of South Waziristan, also along the frontier shared with neighboring Afghanistan."
Related report from NPR's Julie McCarthy in Islamabad: Today's attack in Rawalpindi appeared to target both military personnel and civlians. Both groups were in line at the bank at the time of the explosion.
Update at 9:30 a.m. ET: Both Reuters and the Associated Press are now reporting that the death toll from the bombing stands at 35. We've also updated this post's headline, which earlier put the death toll at 30.
-- The Wall Street Journal -- "CIT Files Its Bankruptcy Plan": "CIT Group Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection Sunday, in a final attempt to restructure and keep the doors open at the century-old commercial lender."
Related report on Morning Edition: " The government lent CIT more than $2 billion a year ago. Taxpayers will probably lose that money as a result of the bankruptcy."
-- Boston Globe -- "Billions In Aid To Banks Not Reaching Many Seeking Loans": "Many small businesses are having a difficult time getting SBA loans from lenders that took government handouts. In addition to frustrating owners who say they need the money to survive, the banks' reluctance to lend undermines a goal of the federal stimulus program: Ease the credit crunch so companies can grow and hire again."
-- San Francisco Chronicle -- "Bay Bridge Stays Closed": "Pushing traffic turmoil into a second week, Caltrans said late Sunday that the workhorse Bay Bridge will probably remain closed through the morning commute after a fix meant to shore up a cracked beam failed a critical stress test. When the region's busiest span will reopen remains unknown. Caltrans officials refused to speculate."
-- Morning Edition -- Yankees Are One Win Away From 27th World Series Title: As NPR's Mike Pesca reports, a key at-bat by Johnny Damon led to the Bronx Bombers' 7-4 win last night in Philadelphia:
The Yankees lead the series three games to one. Game five is tonight, in Philadelphia, at 7:57 p.m. ET.
If you've been wondering how many jobs the White House thinks have been created or saved by this year's $787 billion stimulus program, keep an eye on Recovery.gov. The administration plans to release its latest numbers on just that subject today.
NPR's Scott Horsley and Politico's Mike Allen say that administration officials have sent reporters an e-mail to say that they anticipate reports from state and local governments, businesses and organizations "will credit the Recovery Act with directly creating or saving about 650,000 jobs." The e-mail says that number stems from about half of the stimulus spending so far, meaning the program has likely "created or saved at least 1 million jobs."
CNN is also already reporting the news will be that 650,000 jobs were saved or created by about $150 billion in the funding so far. That's the number The Wall Street Journalis citing as well.
We'll pass along more news as it comes in -- as well as the inevitable second-guessing and analysis from various quarters.
Today's release by the independent Recovery, Accountability, and Transparency Board shows that recipients of a subset of Recovery Act funds have reported creating or saving 640,329 jobs so far. Since this reporting is based on only a portion of the Act's funds -- about $160 billion, which represents less than half of the money put to work so far -- it represents a subset of the jobs created or saved. This number also leaves out indirect jobs: employment created as a result of ARRA funds money spent by direct recipients. ...
Since, as noted above, the recipient reporting represents less than half of the obligations plus tax cuts so far, we can get a rough sense of its comparability to the more comprehensive estimates above by doubling the recipient-reported job creation of 640,329, yielding a jobs number -- almost 1.3 million. ...
Given that more than half of Recovery Act funds have yet to be obligated, the fact that many funded projects have a lot more hiring to do, and the fact that these reports account for around 640,000 jobs through the end of September despite all the omissions just noted, we are solidly on track to meet our goal of 3.5 million jobs saved or created by the end of next year.
Update at 12:45 p.m. ET: At the White House a moment ago, Vice President Joe Biden just remarked that "I can say without fear of being contradicted by any responsible source that so far" the stimulus has saved or created more than 1 million jobs.
Here's audio of the vice president:
Update at 8:05 a.m. ET. More from CNN:
"We're solidly on track to create or save 3.5 million jobs by the time this program winds down," administration economist Jared Bernstein told CNN on Friday. "There's a lot more ammunition in that Recovery Act. The stimulus package is absolutely working, both in GDP terms and in terms of saving or creating jobs."
Among the other stories making headlines this morning, as we just reported it looks like there's a deal in place to end the political crisis in Honduras and return ousted president Manuel Zelaya to office.
Other news:
-- Morning Edition -- "Afghan Decision Will Come With A Price Tag". NPR's David Welna reports that the high financial cost of any surge in the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan is putting some Democrats in a tight spot:
-- The Washington Post -- "Dozens In Congress Under Ethics Inquiry": "House ethics investigators have been scrutinizing the activities of more than 30 lawmakers and several aides in inquiries about issues including defense lobbying and corporate influence peddling, according to a confidential House ethics committee report prepared in July."
Related story by The Associated Press -- Ethics Committee Says No Inferences Should Be Drawn: "The House ethics committee announced Thursday it is investigating two California Democratic lawmakers (representatives Maxine Waters and Laura Richardson), but its embarrassed leaders then had to explain that other members -- named in a confidential memo that leaked out -- may have committed no wrongdoing."
-- The Associated Press -- "Search Is On For Mid-Air Collision Survivors In California": "The U.S. Coast Guard and Navy were searching early Friday for as many as nine people off the Southern California coast following a collision between a Coast Guard plane and a Marine Corps helicopter, officials said. The crash was reported at 7:10 p.m. Thursday, about 50 miles off the San Diego County coast and 15 miles east of San Clemente Island, Coast Guard spokeswoman Petty Officer Allyson Conroy said."
-- The New York Times -- "Iran Rejects Deal To Ship Out Uranium, Officials Report": " Iran told the United Nations nuclear watchdog on Thursday that it would not accept a plan its negotiators agreed to last week to send its stockpile of uranium out of the country, according to diplomats in Europe and American officials briefed on Iran's response."
-- The Associated Press -- "France's Jacques Chirac Ordered To Stand Trial": "Former French President Jacques Chirac has been ordered to stand trial in an alleged corruption scandal dating back to his tenure as Paris mayor, a judicial official said Friday. A magistrate has ordered Chirac to stand trial on charges of 'embezzlement' and 'breach of trust,' the official said."
Frank Browning reports on the story for NPR from Paris:
Honduras' four-month-old political crisis may be about to end.
"Representatives of ousted President Manuel Zelaya finally reached an agreement with the interim government that could ... possibly pave the way for Zelaya's reinstatement," the Associated Press reports.
The government of Roberto Micheletti, which had refused to let Mr. Zelaya return, signed an agreement with Mr. Zelaya's negotiators late Thursday that would pave the way for Congress to restore the ousted president and allow him to serve out the remaining three months of his term.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton confirmed on Friday that Mr. Zelaya and Mr. Micheletti had approved what she called "an historic agreement."
As NPR's Jason Beaubien reported earlier this month for All Things Considered, the June coup highlighted " deep divisions in the country's society, which is split between a powerful yet tiny elite and the vast majority of poor, ordinary citizens":
Update at 10:25 a.m. ET. From Mexico City, Jason files this report about the new deal:
Saying that "we just keep going into more valleys and finding more enemies because we're going into their valleys," former U.S. foreign service officer Matthew Hoh just spoke with NPR about the decision he made to leave the State Department because he disagrees with U.S. policy in Afghanistan.
In an interview, much of which will be broadcast later today on All Things Considered, Hoh told host Melissa Block that he's convinced the U.S. is losing "soldiers and Marines in combat to people who are fighting us, really only because we're occupying them":
Hoh believes most Afghans just want to be left alone in their villages and valleys. "They're concerned with the events in their local area, in their village and valley and that's what they fight for":
American policy has been misdirected, Hoh thinks, because "we only talk to Afghans who come into our headquarters and talk to us. We don't get out and talk to the people who live in the villages and valleys. And you realize that they want is to be left alone":
The U.S. had to go after the Taliban and al-Qaida after the 9/11 attacks, Hoh believes, but now is in danger of making al-Qaida stronger, not weaker:
And, he does not think leaving Afghanistan would turn that country into a "safe haven" for al-Qaida again. He maintains that al-Qaida no longer needs that country. Al-Qaida, he maintains, is an "ideological cloud" that spreads via the Web:
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Iranian poet Simin Behbahani, who back in June wrote two poems about the post-election turmoil in her country -- and read them for NPR's Davar Iran Ardalan, who sent us the audio for this post -- is the 2009 mtvU Poet Laureate.
The 82-year-old Behbahani is being recognized by the music TV network's college division because her work "has made a significant impact on the world's cultural landscape."
Here's a video that Weekend Edition's Thomas Pierce produced of Davar's late June conversation with Behbahani:
It is "hard to believe" that no one in Pakistan's government knows where al-Qaida's leaders are hiding, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said today in Lahore, Pakistan.
Her remarks are being reported by NPR's Jackie Northam, Reuters, the Associated Press and other correspondents who are with the former first lady on her trip through central Asia and the Middle East.
According to the AP, Clinton's comments came during an interview with Pakistani journalists. The wire service adds that:
Clinton said al-Qaida has used Pakistan as a haven since 2002. She said she finds it hard to believe that nobody in Pakistan's government knows where the leaders of Osama bin Laden's terrorist network are hiding.
She also said she finds it hard to believe that Pakistani authorities couldn't "get them" if they wanted to.
Bin Laden and others -- as well as Taliban leaders -- have long been thought to be hiding on the Pakistani side of the border with Afghanistan.
Update at 12:45 p.m. ET. While in Lahore, Clinton visited the tomb of Pakistan's national poet, Allama Mohammad Iqbal:
It's been another deadly day in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
In Peshawar, Pakistan, a car bomb devastated a crowded market. At least 80 people were killed and more than 200 others wounded.
According to the Associated Press, the Pakistani government "blamed militants seeking to avenge an army offensive against al-Qaida and Taliban close to the Afghan border."
NPR's Julie McCarthy filed this report from Islamabad:
In Kabul, gunmen attacked a guest house frequented by U.N. aid workers. At least 12 people died during fighting at the scene, including six U.N. staffers and the three attackers. One American is among the dead, according to the U.S. embassy. The attackers did not set off the bombs in the suicide vests they were wearing.
From Kabul, NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson reports that also today, a rocket was fired at one of Kabul's high-end hotels -- but it did not explode:
A wounded man is carried from the scene in Kabul. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)
Update at 10:15 a.m. ET. The death toll in Peshawar has topped 90 and photos from the scene clearly show the devastation:
A South Korean soldier stands guard on Oct 16, 2009 near the demilitarized zone northeast of Seoul, South Korea that has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War. (Lee Jin-man / AP Photo)
By Frank James
It seems more than slightly strange that anyone would want to defect to NORTH Korea. The trek to freedom usually runs in the other direction.
But the North Korean news agency is saying a 30-year old South Korean has indeed defected to the north.
As NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from China:
The north's Korean Central News Agency identified the defector as 30-year-old Kang Tong-rim, a former employee of the Samsung company who later became a pig farmer.
South Korea's Yonhap News Agency quoted the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff as saying that Kang had apparently cut a hole in a fence on the south side of the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone that divides the two Koreas.
KCNA reported that while in the army, Kang had previously failed in two attempts to defect to the North. It said that Kang was "beside himself with joy for having accomplished this heroic deed." It added that he was now "under the warm care of a relevant organ."
Despite the warm relevant organ business, it's unlikely too many more South Koreans will be rushing north to join the former pig farmer.
It's not that it's unheard of for some South Koreans to defect to the north. The English-language Korea Herald reports this:
A 45-year-old South Korean man made it into the communist neighbor through the border between North Korea and China in 2007 but was expelled for reasons yet to be identified.
As the day gets started, Reuters offers this news alert from Tehran. It captures the "maybe, maybe not" nature of that country's relations with the rest of the world:
Iran will accept the framework of a U.N.-drafted nuclear fuel deal, but will also demand changes to it, al Alam state television reported on Tuesday. Al Alam, citing an unnamed official, said Iran would present its response to the proposed agreement within 48 hours.
-- The Associated Press -- Pakistan Claims Progress In Push Against Taliban: " Pakistan's army says 42 militants have been killed in the latest stage of its offensive against the Taliban close to the Afghan border. A statement Tuesday says that troops were making steady progress in the 11-day old campaign in South Waziristan."
-- Morning Edition -- "No. 3 Man Moving Up In Al-Qaida". NPR's Dina Temple-Raston reports on the new face of al-Qaida:
-- The Associated Press -- "Obama Putting $3.4 Billion Toward A 'Smart' Power Grid": "President Barack Obama, during a visit to a solar energy facility in Arcadia, Fla., is announcing Tuesday that he is making available $3.4 billion in government support for 100 projects aimed at modernizing the power grid. The projects include installing "smart" electric meters in homes, automating utility substations, and installing thousands of new digital transformers and grid sensors."
Related report from NPR's Scott Horsley:
-- The New York Times -- "Ex A.I.G. Chief Is Back, Luring Talent From Rescued Firm": "Maurice R. Greenberg, who built the American International Group into an insurance behemoth with an impenetrable maze of on- and offshore companies, is at it again. Even as he has been lambasting the government for its handling of A.I.G. after its near collapse, Mr. Greenberg has been quietly building up a family of insurance companies that could compete with A.I.G. To fill the ranks of his venture, C.V. Starr & Company, he has been hiring some people he once employed."
As the day gets going, details are still coming in about two deadly incidents involving U.S. helicopters in Afghanistan. The Associated Press writes that the crashes killed 14 Americans, most of them military personnel.
From southern Afghanistan, NPR producer Graham Smith reported that one of the helicopters had just left the scene of a firefight -- but that U.S. officials do not believe it was brought down by fire from the ground:
In other news involving Afghanistan:
-- The Washington Post reports that "the Pentagon's top military officer oversaw a secret war game this month to evaluate the two primary military options that have been put forward by the Pentagon and are being weighed by the Obama administration as part of a broad-based review of the faltering Afghanistan war, senior military officials said." One involved the hypothetical addition of 44,000 more troops. The other added 10,000 to 15,000.
-- On Morning Edition, NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson reported that some parts of northern Afghanistan have also destabilized in recent months:
As for other stories making headlines, they include:
-- The Wall Street Journal -- "Senate On Verge Of Health Bill": "Top Senate Democrats are close to finalizing their health bill and could unveil a measure as soon as early this week that would include stiffer penalties on employers who fail to provide health coverage. Senate leaders plan to submit the bill to the Congressional Budget Office for a cost estimate as soon as Monday, and make the legislation public as soon as Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the negotiations."
-- The New York Times -- "U.S. Considers Reining In 'Too Big To Fail' Institutions": "A senior administration official said on Sunday that after extensive consultations with Treasury Department officials, Representative Barney Frank, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, would introduce legislation as early as this week. The measure would make it easier for the government to seize control of troubled financial institutions, throw out management, wipe out the shareholders and change the terms of existing loans held by the institution."
-- The Associated Press -- "Death Toll Rises To 155 In Dual Baghdad Bombings": "The death toll from Iraq's worst attack in more than two years climbed to 155 Monday as Iraqis buried the dead from the twin suicide bombings that devastated the heart of Baghdad. Funerals were held around the city amid heightened security that snarled traffic during the morning rush hour. The bombings targeted two government buildings, calling into question the state's ability to protect itself as it prepares for January elections and the U.S. military withdrawal."
Related report from NPR's Nishant Dahiya in Baghdad -- Iraqi Leaders Blame Al-Qaida And Neighboring Countries:
-- Morning Edition -- "Karadzic Boycotts Start Of War Crimes Trial". The Bosnian Serb claimed he needs more time to prepare his defense. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli filed this report:
From a related report by BBC News: "Karadzic, 64, was taken to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague last year, after 13 years in hiding. ... He was indicted in 1995 on two counts of genocide and a multitude of other crimes committed against Bosnian Muslim, Bosnian Croat and other non-Serb civilians during the 1992-1995 war, which left more than 100,000 people dead."
State TV in Iran says that nation "wants to buy nuclear fuel it needs for a research reactor rather than accept a U.N.-drafted plan to ship much of its uranium to Russia for further enrichment," the Associated Press reports from Tehran.
The AP says that news will "come as a disappointment to the U.S., Russia and France," which support a draft plan to have Iran send its uranium elsewhere for enrichment -- a plan that in theory would make it less likely Iran would gather enough fuel that would be suitable for a nuclear weapon because it would have less uranium at its disposal and would no longer control the enrichment process.
According to Reuters, France's foreign minister is saying that the news out of Iran today is not positive.
Update at 10:35 a.m. ET. The AP adds that:
While Iran did not reject the plan outright, state TV said that Tehran was waiting for a response to its own proposal to buy nuclear fuel rather than ship low-enriched uranium to Russia for further enrichment. Iran has often used counterproposals as a way to draw out nuclear negotiations with the West.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran is waiting for a constructive and confidence building response to the clear proposal of buying fuel for the Tehran research reactor," state TV quoted an unnamed source close to Iran's negotiating team as saying Friday.
A suicide bomber killed seven people near a major air force complex in northwest Pakistan on Friday, while an explosion killed 17 on a bus heading to wedding elsewhere in the region, the latest in a surge of militant attacks this month.
As NPR's Karen Grigsby Bates reported on Morning Edition, the 76-year-old director will likely spend considerable time in prison if he is returned to the U.S. (her report includes some graphic details about his crime):
As the Los Angeles Times says, sales was "a comic with a gift for slapstick who attained cult-like popularity in the 1960s with a pie-throwing routine that became his signature."
Other stories making headlines include:
-- The New York Times -- "Senate Leader Takes Risk Pushing Public Insurance Plan": "In pushing to include a government-run health insurance plan in the health care bill, the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, is taking a calculated gamble that the 60 members of his caucus could support the plan if it included a way for states to opt out."
-- Politico -- "Pelosi Lacks Votes For Most Sweeping Public Option": "Speaker Nancy Pelosi counted votes Thursday night and determined she could not pass a 'robust public option' -- the most aggressive of the three forms of a public option House Democrats have been considering as part of a national overhaul of health care. Pelosi's decision -- coupled with a significant turn of events yesterday during a private White House meeting -- points to an increasingly likely compromise for a trigger option for a government plan."
-- ESPN.com -- American League Series Goes Back To The Bronx After Angels Beat Yankees: Game six of the AL championship series is set for Saturday night in Yankee Stadium after the Angels win 7-6 Thursday night.
-- Morning Edition -- Protesters Storm BBC Over Interview With Fascist Politician. NPR's Rob Gifford reports from London:
An urgent cry for help from one of the world's poorest nations:
"Ethiopia appealed on Thursday for 159,410 tons of emergency aid to feed 6.2 million people, 25 years after more than a million perished in the country's notorious famine," Reuters writes.
Iranian-American scholar Haleh Esfandiari knows first-hand what it's like inside Tehran's Evin Prison. In 2007, she was held there for more than three months and interrogated, sometimes for eight hours a day, because the Iranian government suspected her of trying to organize opposition to the ruling regime.
This afternoon, she spoke with All Things Considered host Melissa Block about the case of another Iranian-American, Kian Tajbakhsh. This week, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison by a court in Tehran. Tajbakhsh was caught up in a mass trial of those the government accused of espionage and other crimes after the protests following that country's disputed presidential election in June.
Tajbakhsh was also held in Evin Prison when Esfandiari was there in 2007.
She was stunned to hear he had been arrested again and then convicted, Esfandiari said. She's certain Tajbakhsh was living "a quiet life, translating books and writing books":
Much more from Melissa's conversation with Esfandiari will be on today's edition of ATC. Click here to find an NPR station near you.
Guinea is just the latest to suffer. (Schalk van Zuydam/AP)
By Mark Memmott
Some stories are hard to hear, read or see -- but important nonetheless.
This report from NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton about the wave of rapes in the West African nation of Guinea during last month's military crackdown on pro-democracy advocates is one of those stories.
As she says, "the soldiers' brutal assaults on women" -- carried out in broad daylight -- have shaken French-speaking Guinea. "The people's refrain is C'est du jamais vu -- never before have we witnessed such acts."
Take note -- Ofeibea's report, done for All Things Considered, includes graphic details of the atrocities:
On today's ATC, NPR's Michele Kelemen will follow the story with a report on Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's effort to focus world attention on the ongoing problem of sexual violence against women.
European Commission diplomat Margo Wallstrom tells Michele that one problem is that there aren't enough women in key positions to both document and investigate the crimes:
Alan Doss, who runs the United Nations' office in Eastern Congo, tells Michele that countries haven't answered the U.N.'s call for more women peacekeepers:
Click here to find an NPR station that broadcasts ATC.
As we just reported, there's word from Vienna this morning that a draft agreement has been reached for Iran to export most of its enriched uranium to Russia for processing. That's been a critical goal of negotiators from the U.S., France and Russia because it could lessen the chances of Iran obtaining enough fuel for a nuclear weapon.
We'll watch for more news on that as the day continues.
Meanwhile, other stories making headlines include:
-- USA TODAY -- "White House Neglecting Bioterrorism," Bipartisan Commission Warns: " The Obama administration is working hard to curb nuclear threats but failing to address the more urgent and immediate threat of biological terrorism, a bipartisan commission created by Congress is reporting today. The report obtained by USA TODAY cites failures on biosecurity policy by the White House, which the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction says has left the country vulnerable. ... White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said protecting the nation from deadly weapons is among President Obama's 'top national security priorities.' "
-- The Associated Press -- "Watchdog: Bailout Helped But At A Great Cost": "A government watchdog said the $700 billion bailout for the financial industry played a major role in rescuing the economy over the last year but also engendered anger and distrust among Americans because of secrecy and confusion about the way the program was handled. The mixed and blunt assessment by Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general in charge of oversight for the bailout fund, comes just as the administration is taking steps to wind down and refocus the Wall Street rescue effort. Barofsky's conclusions are in a quarterly report scheduled for release Wednesday." (That report is to be posted here.)
From a related story by USA TODAY:
"The American people's belief that the funds went into a black hole, or that there was a transfer of wealth from taxpayers to Wall Street, is one of the worst outcomes of this program, and that is the reputational damage to the government," said Neil Barofsky, special inspector general of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), in an interview.
-- The Washington Post -- "U.S. Deeply Split On Troop Increase For Afghan War": "As President Obama and his war cabinet deliberate a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan, Americans are evenly and deeply divided over whether he should send 40,000 more troops there, and public approval of the president's handling of the situation has tumbled, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll."
Related story by the Associated Press -- "Afghan President's Rival Accepts Nov. 7 Runoff": "President Hamid Karzai's chief political rival agreed Wednesday to take part in the Nov. 7 runoff election, setting the stage for a high-stakes showdown in the face of Taliban threats and approaching winter snows. Ex-Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah made his comment to reporters one day after Karzai bowed to intense U.S. and international pressure and accepted findings of a U.N.-backed panel that there had been massive fraud on his behalf in the Aug. 20 vote. Those findings showed Karzai failed to win the 50 percent required to avoid a runoff."
Helping the injured after a train crash today near Agra, India. (AP photo)
-- NPR News -- At Least 21 Killed In Train Crash. NPR's Philip Reeves reports from New Delhi:
-- Morning Edition -- Obama To Increase Credit To Small Businesses. As NPR's Scott Horsley reports, some small business owners say they desperately need more help if they're going to stay in business:
-- The New York Times -- Administration Doesn't Always Listen To Volcker: Former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker is a top economic adviser to President Barack Obama, but his advice that the nation's banks "be prohibited from owning and trading risky securities, the very practice that got the biggest ones into deep trouble in 2008," isn't gaining favor within the administration.
A draft agreement has been reached for Iran to export most of its enriched uranium, NPR's Eric Westervelt and the Associated Press are reporting from Vienna, where negotiators have been meeting.
Diplomats from Iran, the U.S., Russia and France have been discussing Iran's nuclear ambitions and the other nations' concern that it wants to develop weapons of mass destruction.
According to the AP:
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei said Wednesday that Iran and the U.S., Russia and France have signed off on a draft deal that he hoped would be approved by the nations' capitals by Friday.
He gave no details. But a diplomat inside the closed meeting told the Associated Press that the draft foresees the export most of Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium.
Getting Iran to send its enriched uranium elsewhere for processing has been a critical goal of the other nations because that would in theory reduce the chances of the Persian nation obtaining enough of the material to produce a weapon.
Update at 8:30 a.m ET. The AP's latest version of the story adds a bit of uncertainty about Iran's position (we've highlighted key phrases used by AP):
Iranian negotiators on Wednesday agreed to consider a draft deal that -- if accepted by the Tehran leadership -- would delay its ability to make nuclear weapons by sending most of the material it would need to Russia for processing, diplomats said Wednesday.
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei confirmed that representatives of Iran and its three interlocutors -- the U.S., Russia and France - had accepted the draft, which still has to be finalized by the four nations' capitals. ElBaradei said he hoped that would occur by Friday.
Update at 7:55 a.m. ET. NPR's Westervelt reports that:
Diplomats say if the deal is finalized, most of the enriched uranium would be sent to Russia for conversion into fuel that could be used for medical research and cancer care.
How's this for a comment on how bad governance is on the African continent? The multi-million dollar prize created by a wealthy African-born telecommunications executive to reward recently retired African leaders who embody enlightened leadership won't be given this year since the Mo Ibrahim Foundation which awards the prize found no one worthy of it.
(iStockphoto.com)
The Mo Ibrahim Foundation made the announcement yesterday. I missed the initial announcement but thought this was such a telling commentary on the state of self-government on the African continent that it should be mentioned in the blog today.
"The Mo Ibrahim Foundation is committed to supporting great African leadership that will improve the economic and social prospects of the people of Africa. The Foundation's focus is the promotion of good governance in Africa and the recognition of excellence in African leadership.
The Prize Committee welcomed the progress made on governance in some African countries while noting with concern recent setbacks in other countries.
This year the Prize Committee has considered some credible candidates. However, after in-depth review, the Prize Committee could not select a winner."
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments in the case of men who have challenged the U.S. government's right to continue holding them at the Guantanamo Bay detention center even though it's been determined they represent no threat to the USA.
Whether the case will ever really reach the High Court isn't clear, however. All but one of the group -- ethnic Uighurs from western China -- have already been released or will be soon. If none are left at the detention center by the time the case would be heard next year, it might be dismissed instead.
Also today, a new coalition of retired U.S. military officers and the progressive group VoteVets.org released the first of what it says will be a series of national TV ads urging Congress to "close Gitmo now":
The only American arrested in Iran during the crackdown on protesters following that country's June presidential election has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Kian Tajbakhsh was prosecuted during a mass trial of alleged Iranian opposition members and reportedly faced charges including espionage, contacting foreign agents and acting against Iran's national security, the Associated Press writes.
The verdict looked certain to anger the United States, which is seeking to engage the Islamic Republic in direct talks to resolve a long-running row over Tehran's disputed nuclear ambitions.
Tajbakhsh was among more than 100 people detained after the presidential poll who were in the dock at a series of mass trials that got under way in August on charges of fomenting post-election street unrest.
Tajbakhsh was accused of espionage and acting against national security.
The presidential poll, which was followed by huge opposition protests, plunged Iran into its deepest internal crisis since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
The moderate opposition says it was rigged to secure President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election. Officials deny it.
As we reported just a few minutes ago, it's looking more and more like there will be a election run-off in Afghanistan between incumbent President Hamid Karzai and former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah. Also, as we've already noted, firm director Roman Polanski was told today that he must wait in a Swiss prison while he fights against extradition to the United States.
Among the other stories making headlines:
-- The Washington Post -- Poll Shows Most Americans Support "Public Option" In Health Care: "A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows that support for a government-run health-care plan to compete with private insurers has rebounded from its summertime lows and wins clear majority support from the public. ... Sizable majorities back two key and controversial provisions: both the so-called public option and a new mandate that would require all Americans to carry health insurance.
-- The Associated Press -- Talks With Iran Bog Down: "Talks meant to persuade Iran to send most of its enriched uranium abroad -- and thus delay its potential to make a nuclear weapon -- bogged down Tuesday over fierce Iranian resistance to French participation, diplomats said. Tuesday was the second day of talks in the Austrian capital between Iran and the United States, Russia and France over Iran's nuclear program. But discussions were delayed at least two hours in an attempt to resolve the impasse over the French."
Related report from NPR's Eric Westervelt in Vienna:
The talks are aimed at hammering out details of a plan Iran agreed to in principle in Geneva earlier this month. The deal would send about 75% of Iran's declared stockpile of low enriched uranium to Russia and France for processing and would be returned to Iran as fuel for use in a medical research reactor in Tehran.
-- Morning Edition -- "Iran, U.S. Wage A Quiet War Over The Economy". NPR's Tom Gjelten reports:
-- BBC News -- Blast Rocks University In Islamabad: "At least four people have been killed and 18 wounded in bomb explosions at a university in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, officials say. Police say the blasts at the International Islamic University were caused by suicide bombers. The attack is the first since the Pakistani army began its offensive against militants in South Waziristan, in the country's north-west. Pakistan was hit by a wave of bombings in the days before the assault began."
-- Los Angeles Times -- AIDS Vaccine Positive Results Might Have Been Just By Chance: "A secondary analysis of data from the Thai AIDS vaccine trial -- announced last month to much acclaim -- suggests that the vaccine might provide some protection against the virus, but that the results are not statistically significant. In short, they could have come about merely by chance."
Those who have followed closely the tragedy in Darfur know that in recent months two of the key players on the Obama administrations policy team -- U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice and special envoy J. Scott Gration (a retired Air Force major general) -- have seemed to disagree over how best to approach the government of Sudan, and over whether the killing in Darfur still amounts to genocide.
As this story from August shows, Rice has talked of the "ongoing genocide." Gration has spoke of the "remnants of genocide."
Words are critical to diplomacy, of course. Just a short while ago, All Things Considered host Melissa Block spoke with Gration about today's announcement by the administration of a new policy on Sudan. Melissa noted that while Rice and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton both used the word "genocide" today, Gration did not. Does he think the genocide continues in Darfur?
As the time for today's announcement of a new U.S. policy toward Sudan and its tragically troubled region of Darfur drew near, there was interest in just what word President Barack Obama would use to describe what's happening there. His statement is now out and the word he used is "genocide".
Here is the president's message, which was just released by the White House:
The UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland during a September session on the Gaza conflict. (Salvatore Di Nolfi / AP Photo)
By Frank James
In an expected move, the United Nations Human Rights Council on Friday approveda report that described Israel's actions in Gaza at the end of 2008 and start of 2009 as war crimes. Israel entered the Palestinian-run territory last December to confront the militant group Hamas after rockets were launched at Israel from Gaza.
The council, which generally tilts against Israel, also passed a resolution Friday criticizing the Jewish state while ignoring Hamas' provocations, specifically the launching of those rockets at Israeli cities.
The resolution not only criticized Israel for its actions confronting Hamas in Gaza earlier this year but for other, long-term actions, for example restrictions it places on Palestinians in East Jerusalem and excavation activities around the Al Aqsa Mosque, a site Muslims consider sacred.
That one-sided condemnation came despite the the report, the work of investigators led by South African Richard Goldstone, also describing some Hamas actions as war-crimes, namely the aforementioned indiscriminate rocketing of civilian areas in Israel.
The council's membership includes some nations that have historically been unfriendly to Israel over the decades who also aren't synonymous with human rights, states like Russia, China, Saudi Arabia and Cuba.
As Reuters reports:
In a special session proposed by the Palestinians, 25 states including China and Russia endorsed the resolution. Six including the United States voted against, and 11 abstained. Four, including France and Britain, did not vote.
Some of the news that's broken overnight from overseas:
Pakistan: "A suicide attacker detonated a car bomb at a mosque next to a police station in the northwest Pakistani city of Peshawar on Friday, killing 11 people in the latest bloodshed in an unrelenting wave of terror that has hit the country," the Associated Press writes.
From Islamabad, NPR's Julie McCarthy reports that "militants are thought to be intensifying their campaign of terror to stall or pre-empt an army operation in South Waziristan, their stronghold."
Iraq: Reuters reports that "a suicide bomb killed nine people and wounded 33 on Friday in an attack on a Sunni Muslim mosque in north Iraq's restive province of Nineveh, police said."
Afghanistan: "The U.S. military says four American service members have been killed in a bombing in southern Afghanistan," the AP reports. "A U.S. statement Friday said that two of the service members were killed instantly in the blast and two others suffered fatal injuries in the same explosion. Names of the victims and the precise location of the Thursday attack were not released. The latest deaths bring to 25 the number of American troops killed in Afghanistan this month."
Indonesia: "A strong earthquake has rattled buildings in Indonesia's capital," Jakarata, the AP says. The estimated magnitude: 6.4. There's no word yet on injuries or damages.
There have been more attacks on military sites in Pakistan today, as we just reported, and a loud explosion has been heard in the city of Peshawar. We'll keep an eye on events there as the day continues.
The economy will be in the news again this morning. At 8:30 a.m. ET, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the September consumer price index -- the most-watched measure of inflation at the consumer level. And at 9:30 a.m. ET, stocks resume trading on Wall Street. Will the Dow Jones industrial index move even higher after cracking the 10,000 mark yesterday?
Also today, President Barack Obama visits New Orleans for the first time since taking office last January. At an early afternoon town hall meeting, he'll get a chance to hear directly from residents about how the long, slow recovery from 2005's Hurricane Katrina is going.
Though most New Orleans-area residents were heartened by the news that Obama would be making his first presidential visit to the region Thursday, nine months into his first term, there also has been carping that his itinerary is on the light side.
From WWNO in New Orleans, Eileen Fleming reports that some local officials wish Obama was spending more than a few hours in their battered region:
Other stories making headlines include:
-- The Associated Press -- "Italy Denies Paying Off Taliban In Afghanistan": "The Italian government denied a newspaper report Thursday that its secret services paid the Taliban thousands of dollars to keep an area in Afghanistan controlled by the Italians safe. Premier Silvio Berlusconi's office called the report in the Times of London 'completely groundless.' The defense minister said the paper published 'rubbish.' "
Times of London -- "Berlusconi Attempts To Duck Afghanistan Bribe Scandal": "Silvio Berlusconi today sought to duck the blame for a series of secret Italian payments to Taliban fighters that left French soldiers exposed in Afghanistan. The Italian prime minister denied any knowledge of money paid to Afghan warlords in an apparent attempt to divert attention over the clandestine deals to his predecessor's administration. The Times has learned that when French soldiers arrived to assume control of the Sarobi area, east of Kabul, in mid-2008, they were not informed that the departing Italians had kept the region relatively peaceful by paying local Taliban fighters to remain inactive.
In Kabul, a U.S. spokesman for NATO forces in Afghanistan denied the allegations. "We don't do bribes," Col. Wayne Shanks said. "We don't pay the insurgents."
-- Morning Edition -- Zazi Allegedly Made Contact With Top Al-Qaida Operative. "The man arrested last month for allegedly plotting to blow up targets in New York contacted one of Osama bin Laden's right-hand men, U.S. intelligence officials say." NPR's Dina Temple-Raston reports:
-- The New York Times -- "Public Option Is Next Big Hurdle In Health Debate": "As the White House and Congressional leaders turned in earnest on Wednesday to working out big differences in the five health care bills, perhaps no issue loomed as a greater obstacle than whether to establish a government-run competitor to the insurance industry."
The "escalating wave of terror" in Pakistan continues today with news that "teams of gunmen attacked law enforcement facilities across the eastern city of Lahore." The Associated Press says at least 38 people were killed and that the attacks appear to be "aimed at scuttling a planned offensive into the militant heartland on the Afghan border (and) highlight the militants' ability to carry out sophisticated strikes on heavily fortified facilities."
And just moments ago, Reuters and the AP reported that a large explosion has been heard in the Pakistani city of Peshawar.
On Morning Edition, NPR's Julie McCarthy spoke with host Steve Inskeep from Islamabad. Pakistani officials, she said, say "the hunters are being hunted" as militants go after the government's counterterrorism forces.
Update at 8:05 a.m. ET. Reuters reports that the explosion in Peshawar was "in a neighborhood where government workers live" and that a rescue worker and local news media say at least one person -- a child -- was killed.
"North Korea offered a rare apology Wednesday," the Associated Press writes, when one its officials expressed regret for last month's release of water that caused flooding downstream in South Korea and killed seven people -- six of them in the South.
From Seoul, Doualy Xaykaothao reports for NPR that a North Korean official told his South Korean counterparts, without going into details, that the water was released to avoid some sort of even worse catastrophe in the North:
Now that the Senate Finance Committee has passed its version of legislation to overhaul the nation's health care system, work begins on melding that bill with the version passed by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
Meanwhile, as we reported a few minutes ago, there's going to be renewed attention today for the bonuses paid to executives at bailed-out insurance giant AIG. A House committee will hear testimony on the problem that the Treasury Department had trying to understand AIG's compensation plan.
As for other stories making headlines, they include:
-- CBS News -- "Afghan Corruption Could Derail Troop Surge": "Rampant government corruption might derail the fight against the Taliban and al-Qaida in Afghanistan even if as many as 80,000 additional U.S. troops are sent to the war, the top military commander there has concluded, according to U.S. officials briefed on his recommendations. The conclusion by Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal is part of a still-secret document that requests more troops even as he warns that they ultimately may not prevent terrorists from turning Afghanistan back into a haven."
-- The Guardian -- "Gordon Brown To Send More British Troops To Afghanistan": British Prime Minister Gordon Brown "will announce in parliament today that he has agreed to send 500 more soldiers to Afghanistan, straight after reading out a grim roll call of the 37 troops who were killed in the conflict while MPs were on their summer recess."
-- Morning Edition -- "U.S. Lawmakers Tout Aid Plan That's Heavily Criticized In Pakistan":NPR's Michele Kelemen reports:
-- The Washington Post -- "Health Insurers Emerge As Obama's Top Foe In Reform Effort": "Attacks on the leading Democratic reform plan this week by the insurance lobby left little doubt that two of the most powerful institutions involved in the debate -- the White House and the nation's insurance companies -- have abandoned any real hope of forging a compromise."
-- Los Angeles Times -- Southern California Battered By Storm: About 12,000 people in Los Angeles were without power last night as a storm pummeled Southern California. "The storm, which battered the northern part of the state with heavy rain and wind, was losing power but could still dump up to 4 inches of rain in mountain areas ravaged by recent wildfires, according to the National Weather Service. About half an inch of rain was expected in coastal areas."
Related report from NPR News -- Record Rainfall In Many Areas:
-- The Wall Street Journal -- "Drink's iPhone 'App' Gets Anger Flowing": "Energy drinks are meant to be edgy and cool, and drunk by young men. So PepsiCo Inc. decided to release an Apple iPhone application for its Amp Energy drink to appeal to guys out on the prowl. Now the snack and beverage giant is facing a storm of criticism for 'Amp Up Before You Score.' The app, released last Friday, purports to help men pick up any one of 24 types of women, such as the 'sorority girl,' 'cougar,' 'rebound girl' or 'punk rock girl.' "
Related story on Morning Edition -- "Pepsi Apologizes After iPhone App Spurs Complaints".NPR's Laura Sydell reports:
Just hours after Britain's The Guardianpublished a very unusual story about how it had been "prevented from reporting parliamentary proceedings on legal grounds which appear to call into question privileges guaranteeing free speech established under the 1688 Bill of Rights," the gag has been lifted.
"The existence of a previously secret injunction against the media by oil traders Trafigura can now be revealed," The Guardian now writes.
It appears the legal firm representing a company accused of dumping toxic waste in Ivory Coast has withdrawn its objection to The Guardian reporting that a member of parliament wants an explanation for why information about the dumping case was being suppressed.
As The Guardian notes:
The right to report (on) parliament was the subject of many struggles in the 18th century, with the MP and journalist John Wilkes fighting every authority -- up to the king -- over the right to keep the public informed. After Wilkes's battle, wrote the historian Robert Hargreaves, 'it gradually became accepted that the public had a constitutional right to know what their elected representatives were up to.' "
The top story as the day gets going, as we reported a few minutes ago, is the Senate Finance Committee vote on its version of legislation to overhaul the nation's health care system.
The committee meets at 10 a.m. ET. We'll post an update on the news, and the NPR Health Blog will also be following the action.
Among the other stories making headlines:
-- The Washington Post -- "Support Troops Swelling U.S. Force In Afghanistan": "President Obama announced in March that he would be sending 21,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. But in an unannounced move, the White House has also authorized -- and the Pentagon is deploying -- at least 13,000 troops beyond that number, according to defense officials. The additional troops are primarily support forces, including engineers, medical personnel, intelligence experts and military police. Their deployment has received little mention by officials at the Pentagon and the White House, who have spoken more publicly about the combat troops who have been sent to Afghanistan."
-- BBC News -- Al-Qaida Faces A "Funding Crisis": Al-Qaida "is in its worst financial state for many years while the Taliban's funding is flourishing, according to the US Treasury. Senior Treasury official David Cohen said al-Qaida had made several appeals for funds already this year. The influence of the network -- damaged by U.S. efforts to choke funding -- is waning, he said. The Taliban, meanwhile, are in better financial shape, bolstered by Afghanistan's booming trade in drugs."
-- The Associated Press -- Pakistani Jets Bomb Militants: "Pakistani jets bombed militant targets in the main insurgent stronghold along the Afghan border Tuesday ahead of an expected ground offensive there, while the army killed 26 insurgents elsewhere in the northwest, authorities said."
Related conversation on Morning Edition -- Journalist Rashed Rahman tells NPR's Steve Inskeep that militants may be trying to provoke the Pakistani military into attacking:
-- The New York Times -- "Congress Is Split On Effort To Tax Costly Health Plans": "A proposed tax on high-cost, or 'Cadillac,' health insurance plans has touched off a fierce clash between the Senate and the House as they wrestle over how to pay for legislation that would provide health benefits to millions of uninsured Americans."
-- Morning Edition -- After Saying GOP Health Plan Is To Have Folks "Die Quickly," Rep. Grayson Stirs Debate:NPR's Greg Allen reports:
-- Los Angeles Times -- "Schwarzenegger Pens A New Course For California": "After threatening a mass veto to spur a big water deal, the governor reversed course, revved up his ballpoint pen and signed a surprising slate of legislation. It included bills he had vetoed in the past and a flurry of measures that steered sharply away from the socially conservative Republican base the governor has rarely embraced."
As for other stories making headlines, they include:
-- The New York Times -- "U.S. Can't Trace Foreign Visitors On Expired Visas": "Eight years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and despite repeated mandates from Congress, the United States still has no reliable system for verifying that foreign visitors have left the country. New concern was focused on that security loophole last week, when Hosam Maher Husein Smadi, a 19-year-old Jordanian who had overstayed his tourist visa, was accused in court of plotting to blow up a Dallas skyscraper."
-- The Associated Press -- "New Blast In Pakistan As Taliban Vow More Attacks": "The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility Monday for a weekend siege on army headquarters and vowed to activate militant cells across the country for more attacks as another explosion in a market killed at least 41 people."
Related story on Morning Edition -- "Attack On Pakistani Army Spotlights Punjab Province": The region is a terrorist recruitment and training ground, NPR's Julie McCarthy reports:
-- CBS News -- "Gun Troubles For U.S. Troops In Afghanistan": The problems some U.S. troops have had with misfiring weapons during intense firefights raises a question -- "Eight years into the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan, do U.S. armed forces have the best guns money can buy? Despite the military's insistence that they do, a small but vocal number of troops in Afghanistan and Iraq has complained that the standard-issue M4 rifles need too much maintenance and jam at the worst possible times."
-- Morning Edition -- Expert Says Already Strapped U.S. Military Will Be Strained Even Further By Any Ramping Up In Afghanistan. John Nagl, a former lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army and president of the Center for a New American Security, spoke with host Steve Inskeep:
-- The Associated Press -- "Insurers Mount Attack Against Health Overhaul": "After working for months behind the scenes to help shape health care legislation, the insurance industry is now sharply attacking the emerging plan with a report that maintains Senate legislation would increase the cost of a typical policy by hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars a year."
On the march. (Brendan Smialowski / Getty Images)
-- The Washington Post -- Gay Rights March Pushes Marital, Military Equality: "Tens of thousands of gay-rights activists marched Sunday in Washington to show President Obama and Congress that they are impatient with what they consider piecemeal progress and are ready to fight at the federal level for across-the-board equality, including for the right to marry and the right to serve in the military."
Contributing: Chinita Anderson of Morning Edition.
North Korea fires two short-range missiles off east coast
As the Associated Press notes:
In the past, such launches have often been seen as routine military exercises by the North. The latest firings come as Pyongyang has said it is ready to return to international talks on its nuclear weapons programme, though insisted it holds talks first with the United States.
Meanwhile, Reuters is reporting that the North has declared a "no-sail zone" of its east coast.
It was predictable that conservative heads would explode after they learned that President Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
But what's fascinating is that some liberal heads are exploding too.
Peter Beinart, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, writes this on the Daily Beast:
I like Barack Obama as much as the next liberal, but this is a farce. He's done nothing to deserve the prize. Sure, he's given some lovely speeches and launched some initiatives--on Iran, Israeli-Palestinian peace, climate change and nuclear disarmament--that might, if he's really lucky and really good, make the world a more safe, more just, more peaceful world. But there's absolutely no way to know if he'll succeed, and by giving him the Nobel Prize as a kind of "atta boy," the Nobel Committee is actually just highlighting the gap that conservatives have long highlighted: between Obamamania as global hype and Obama's actual accomplishments.
But Obama will survive this award. The damage to the Nobel Committee itself will be greater. They've clearly fallen in love with celebrity, and with the idea of shaping the course of history--in other words, they've fallen in love with an absurdly grandiose conception of their role. The Nobel Prize Committee should be in the business of conferring celebrity on unknown human-rights and peace activists toiling in the most god-forsaken parts of the world; the people who really need the attention (and even the money). It should be in the business of angering powerful tyrants by giving their victims a moment in the sun. Choosing Barack Obama, who practically orbits the sun already, accomplishes the exact opposite of that. Let's hope Obama eventually deserves this award. And let's hope the Nobel Committee's decision meets with such a deafening chorus of chortles and jeers that it never does something this stupid again.
Mohandas Gandhi was just one notable non-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. (AP Photo)
By Frank James
This morning's bracing news from Oslo that President Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize has led to a lot of head scratching.
And as a Foreign Policy magazine piece reminds us, the bewilderment felt by so many Friday morning at the latest decision by the Nobel Peace Prize Committee isn't unprecedented.
FP has a list of notables who never won the prize but should have.
Leading the list is everyone's favorite non-winner, Mohandas Gandhi, who embodied the ironic idea of non-violence as the most powerful weapon to effect social change. And Gandhi didn't win despite being nominated thrice.
As the piece notes, the Nobel Committee seemed to know it erred:
Although the committee considered awarding Gandhi the prize in 1948, following his assassination, Alfred Nobel's will clearly required that the award be given to a living person. However, the decision to not dispense any award that year because "there was no suitable living candidate" appears to be an implicit admission that the committee missed its opportunity to recognize Gandhi's accomplishments.
President Barack Obama, who has been in office just short of nine months, has been awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, it was just announced in Oslo.
In what can only be called a huge surprise, the Nobel committee gave the new American president the award because of "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."
More as we get it.
Update at 5:45 a.m. ET. We're putting a Cover It Live box into this post so that we can roll in news and reactions to the announcement as they happen. Just click the "play" button below and our updates should flow in automatically. Also, if you have a comment add it in the box at the bottom of the player. We'll publish as many as we can (below the box are our earlier updates and a poll question):
Update at 5:37 a.m. ET: The last time a sitting U.S. president won the Peace Prize was in 1919, when Woodrow Wilson was given the honor.
The only other sitting U.S. president to win was Theodore Roosevelt, in 1906.
Update at 5:32 a.m. ET. Here's the committee's statement:
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has attached special importance to Obama's vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.
Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama's initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.
Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future. His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population.
For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world's leading spokesman. The Committee endorses Obama's appeal that "Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges."
Update at 5:25 a.m. ET. A question many will be asking:
With his nation firmly in the center of the news about the fight against terrorism in Central Asia, former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf is out telling Americans that they should be prepared to send more troops to neighboring Afghanistan to assist in that battle.
Musharraf, who faces some legal challenges back home because of accusations that he unlawfully put judges under house arrest during a state of emergency and other issues, was on on NPR's Talk of the Nation this afternoon.
We used this post to live-blog the highlights of Musharraf's conversation with Neal Conan and his exchanges with listeners. Just click the "play" button below and our updates should flow in automatically. Later today, the audio will be posted here.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who's under quite a bit of suspicion over charges of alleged corruption and personal misbehavior, today lost the immunity from prosecution that his political partners gave him last year.
Italy's Constitutional Court, as the Associated Press writes, overturned a 2008 law "that had caused the suspension of a trial in which Berlusconi was charged with ordering the 1997 payment of at least $600,000 to British lawyer David Mills in exchange for the lawyer's false testimony at two hearings in other corruption cases in to the 1990s."
NPR's Sylvia Poggioli says the ruling cannot be appealed and that there are two other cases against Berlusconi that can now proceed:
We already passed along word that this year's Nobel Prize in chemistry has been awarded to three scientists who did ground-breaking work on ribosomes, which help translate DNA information into life.
But there's plenty of other news as the day gets going. Among the stories making headlines:
-- The New York Times -- "Obama Rules Out Large Reduction In Afghan Force": " President Obama told Congressional leaders on Tuesday that he would not substantially reduce American forces in Afghanistan or shift the mission to just hunting terrorists there, but he indicated that he remained undecided about the major troop buildup proposed by his commanding general."
Related story by Politico -- "Tensions Surface In Afghanistan Meeting": "Sen. John McCain drew a direct response from (President Barack) Obama during the meeting Tuesday afternoon when the Arizona Republican told his former opponent that he shouldn't be making a decision on a strategy for the war in such a 'leisurely' fashion, two sources familiar with the meeting said. A little later in the meeting, Obama told McCain that his decision-making won't be 'leisurely,' because no one feels more urgency to get this right than Obama, the sources said."
-- Morning Edition -- "Amid Afghan Debate, What About Pakistan?" Many analysts say Pakistan is more critical than Afghanistan to long-term U.S. plans for Central Asia, as NPR's Jackie Northam reports:
Related conversation on Morning Edition --Washington Post columnist David Ignatius talks with host Renee Montagne about his recent visit to Pakistan's Swat Valley, which until recently was under Taliban control:
-- Dallas Morning News -- Inquiry On Hold In Flawed Arson Case That Led To Execution: " The Texas Forensic Science Commission's inquiry into a flawed arson investigation that led to a Corsicana man's execution is on hold for now, and it's unclear how or when it will move forward, the commission's new chairman said Tuesday. Gov. Rick Perry appointed Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley last week, two days before a scheduled public hearing with experts critical of the evidence used in Cameron Todd Willingham's murder-arson case. Bradley canceled the hearing, saying he and another new commissioner needed time to prepare."
-- Morning Edition -- Supreme Court Takes Up Case On Legality Of Memorial Cross On Federal Land.NPR's Nina Totenberg reports:
-- The Associated Press -- Obama's Approval Rating Edges Up In AP-GfK Poll: "President Barack Obama's approval ratings are starting to rise after declining ever since his inauguration, new poll figures show as the country's mood begins to brighten. But concerns about the economy, health care and war persist, and support for the war in Afghanistan is falling. An Associated Press-GfK poll says 56% of those surveyed in the past week approve of Obama's job performance, up from 50% in September. It's the first time since he took office in January that his rating has gone up."
Related chart from Pollster.com. Consensus of polls shows president's approval and disapproval ratings converging since Inauguration Day -- but holding steady in recent weeks:
Contributing: Chinita Anderson of Morning Edition.
One of Africa's most wanted fugitives was arrested Monday for his alleged role in the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Idelphonse Nizeyimana, who was one of Africa's most-wanted fugitives for his alleged role in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, is now in UN custody. (AP Photo/U.S. Department of State)
Idelphonse Nizeyimana was arrested Monday at a hotel in Kampala, Uganda. A senior Rwandan army officer at the time of the massacre, he was accused of ordering the extermination of Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
He's also been charged with having his troops kill the former queen of Rwandan, Rosalie Gicanda, an important figure for Tutsis.
Nizeyimana has also been implicated in the violence in eastern Congo, where former members of the Rwandan military have been responsible for atrocities against civilians.
As we reported a short time ago, the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded today to three scientists who pioneered fiber optics and the transmission of digital data over those lines.
Coming up this afternoon, President Barack Obama will visit the National Counterterrorism Center in McLean, Va. The Washington Post says he will tell intelligence officials "that their recent successes have proved how effectively multiple agencies can perform when they work in concert." As the Post adds:
The White House has been charting a delicate course as it attempts to turn the page on Bush-era anti-terrorism policies. Even as Obama wages a war in Afghanistan that he has called critical to curbing terrorism, his administration is trying to defend itself from criticism by former vice president Richard B. Cheney and other Republicans for casting aside what they say are critical tools for protecting the United States.
Obama aides pointed to the events leading up to the recent arrest of Najibullah Zazi as a prime example of what they say is the president's deep involvement in anti-terrorism efforts.
As for other stories making headlines, they include:
-- The Independent -- Arab States, China, Russia, Japan And France Are Discussing Not Using Dollar For Oil Trading: "In the most profound financial change in recent Middle East history, Gulf Arabs are planning -- along with China, Russia, Japan and France -- to end dollar dealings for oil, moving instead to a basket of currencies including the Japanese yen and Chinese yuan, the euro, gold and a new, unified currency planned for nations in the Gulf Co-operation Council, including Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar. ... The plans, confirmed to The Independent by both Gulf Arab and Chinese banking sources in Hong Kong, may help to explain the sudden rise in gold prices, but it also augurs an extraordinary transition from dollar markets within nine years."
Related story by Bloomberg News -- "Saudi Bank Governor Denies Talks To Replace Dollar": "Saudi Arabia hasn't held talks with China and other countries on dropping the dollar as the currency for pricing oil, Saudi Central Bank Governor Muhammad al-Jasser said, denying a report in the U.K.'s Independent newspaper. The Independent report is 'absolutely incorrect' and there has been 'absolutely nothing' of that nature discussed between Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, and other countries, al-Jasser told reporters in Istanbul, where he's attending an International Monetary Fund summit. The dollar pared losses after his remarks."
-- Morning Edition -- McChrystal In Hot Water Over "Appearance" Of Speaking Out Of Line.NPR's Tom Bowman reports that the comments made by the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan are not all that unusual:
Related story by The Wall Street Journal -- "Afghan War Units Begin 2 New Efforts": "The Pentagon is establishing two new units devoted to the Afghan war, highlighting the military's focus on the conflict even as the White House considers scaling back the overall U.S. mission there. The units -- a so-called Afghan Hands program run out of the Pentagon and a new intelligence center within Central Command, which oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan -- are designed to help troops deepen their intelligence about the country's complex political and tribal dynamics."
-- The New York Times -- "U.S. Push To Expand In Pakistan Meets Resistance": "Steps by the United States to vastly expand its aid to Pakistan, as well as the footprint of its embassy and private security contractors here, are aggravating an already volatile anti-American mood as Washington pushes for greater action by the government against the Taliban."
-- Morning Edition -- "Tale Of Exploding Assassin Worries Security Officials": An al-Qaida suicide bomber who had hidden an explosive inside his body managed to have a private meeting with a Saudi prince. The resulting explosion killed the bomber, the prince was only slightly injured -- and security experts are deeply troubled. NPR's Mary Louise Kelly reports:
Contributing: Chinita Anderson of Morning Edition.
Not true, says a Middle East analyst who wrote a biography of the Iranian leader.
Meir Javedanfar writes in The Guardian that the Ahmadinejad family's previous name -- Sabourjian -- is not, as the Daily Telegraph reported, "a Jewish name meaning cloth weaver."
Javedanfar notes that Guardian correspondent previously reported that "sabor" is Farsi for thread painter -- and that the carpet industry was once common in the Iranian leader's native home of Semnan province.
We expect more experts will be weighing in on this.
The man who now claims to be leading the Pakistani Taliban reportedly met with a small group of reporters from his clan on Sunday and vowed to avenge the killing of his brother, who preceded him as head of the militant group.
The BBC and other news media outlets say that Hakimullah Mehsud met with about five journalists at an undisclosed location. There have been rumors in recent weeks that he too is dead. Baitullah Mehsud, Hakimullah's brother and then the head of the Pakistani Taliban, was killed in August by a U.S. missile attack. Another Mehsud brother, Kalimullah, was killed last month in a clash with Pakistani security forces.
Pakistan's Dawn writes that:
Mehsud said his group would avenge the killing of Baitullah Mehsud and strike back at Pakistan and the U.S. for the increasing number of drone attacks in the tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan.
On Morning Edition, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told host Renee Montagne that his country "is playing its role" in going after terrorists within its borders. Qureshi also said that if the U.S. knows where key Taliban leaders are in Pakistan, it should share that intelligence so that Pakistani forces can go after them. And, he said the U.S. needs to make a "long-term commitment" to Pakistan and the region:
Good morning. It's the first Monday in October and that means a new Supreme Court session begins today. As NPR's Nina Totenberg reported on Morning Edition, the issues on the court's docket include gun rights, the separation of church and state and the tension between efforts to regulate campaign finance and the First Amendment:
For an interactive look at the major cases in the new term, click here.
Meanwhile, among the stories making headlines are:
-- NPR News -- "Three Americans Share Nobel Medicine Prize": "Three American scientists who made key discoveries about how living cells age have received the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The winners are Elizabeth Blackburn of the University of California, San Francisco; Carol W. Greider of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore; and Jack Szostak of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston." The news of their honor was announced this morning in Stockholm. NPR's Jon Hamilton also filed this audio report:
-- The Associated Press -- Suicide Bomber Kills 5 At U.N. Office In Islamabad: "A suicide bomber disguised as a security officer struck the lobby of the U.N. food agency's Pakistan headquarters Monday, killing five people a day after the new leader of the Pakistani Taliban vowed fresh assaults, authorities and witnesses said."
-- The New York Times -- "Attacks On Remote Posts Highlight Afghan Risks": " Insurgents attacked a pair of remote American military bases in Afghanistan over the weekend in a deadly battle that underscored the vulnerability of the kind of isolated bases that the top American commander there wants to scale back."
Related story by The Washington Post -- Gen. McChrystal "Faulted On Troop Statements": "National security adviser James L. Jones suggested Sunday that the public campaign being conducted by the U.S. commander in Afghanistan on behalf of his war strategy is complicating the internal White House review underway, saying that "it is better for military advice to come up through the chain of command."
-- BBC News -- "Search Ends For Sumatra Survivors": "Officials in the earthquake-hit city of Padang, Indonesia, have called off the search for survivors in the rubble of buildings five days after the disaster. The focus has turned to bringing aid and medical help to survivors in the city and the surrounding areas. At least 1,000 people have died and at least 1,000 remain missing after the earthquake struck last Wednesday."
Related story on Morning Edition -- "Thousands Still Missing In Wake Of Sumatra Quake." Doualy Xaykaothao reports from Padang, Sumatra:
-- Morning Edition -- First Doses Of Swine Flu Vaccine Start Arriving This Week. Have Questions? NPR Will Try To Answer Them:
Click here at noon ET for an online chat, hosted by the NPR Health Blog, with NPR's Richard Knox and Dr. Richard Wenzel, professor and chair of internal medicine at the Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, in Richmond.
Contributing: Chinita Anderson of Morning Edition.
On the one hand, it's been announced that Iran will allow officials of the International Atomic Energy Agency to inspect its newly revealed uranium enrichment site on Oct. 25 -- a site Iran says is to generate fuel to be used for peaceful purposes.
And the IAEA's chief, Mohamed ElBaradie says this development is a sign that "we are at a critical moment ... we are shifting gears from confrontation into transparency and cooperation."
Senior staff members of the United Nations nuclear agency have concluded in a confidential analysis that Iran has acquired "sufficient information to be able to design and produce a workable" atom bomb.
While preliminary, the Times writes, "the report's conclusions, described by senior European officials, go well beyond the public positions taken by several governments, including the United States."
The international agency mentioned by the Times is the IAEA. The Times says that:
While the analysis represents the judgment of the nuclear agency's senior staff, a struggle has erupted in recent months over whether to make it public. The dispute pits the agency's departing director, Mohamed ElBaradei, against his own staff and against foreign governments eager to intensify pressure on Iran.
Dr. ElBaradei has long been reluctant to adopt a confrontational strategy with Iran, an approach he considers counterproductive. Responding to calls for the report's release, he has raised doubts about its completeness and reliability.
These aren't the kinds of things you hear from many Western executives when their companies are in trouble:
-- Bloomberg News -- "Toyota Motor Corp., the world's biggest automaker, is 'grasping for salvation' as it predicts a second straight annual loss, President Akio Toyoda said. ...
"The automaker is one step away from 'capitulation to irrelevance or death,' Toyoda said, citing a study of how companies fail. Toyota has forecast a record loss of 450 billion yen ($5 billion) in the year ending March after the worldwide recession pummeled car demand."
-- The New York Times -- "From grief over a fatal crash linked to Toyota floor mats to regrets over the company's forecast for a second consecutive annual loss, the executive offered a litany of apologies to astonished reporters gathered for a briefing Friday at the Japan National Press Club."
-- Kyodo News -- "Toyoda said a 'once-in-a-century shakeup' is necessary to free the battered auto industry from oil dependence and promised to bring the company back to its roots in pursuing a customer-first policy."
It's already been a busy morning, there's much more news expected as the day gets going and there are several interesting stories from overnight to pass along. So let's get right to it.
As we just reported, President Barack Obama has made his in-person pitch to the International Olympic Committee on behalf of Chicago's bid for the 2016 Summer Games. The IOC's decision is due around 12:30 p.m. ET.
Coming up at 8:30 a.m. ET, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports on September job losses and that month's unemployment rate. As NPR's John Ydstie told Morning Edition's Steve Inskeep, economists say it's likely the jobless rate inched up from August's 9.7%.
As for other stories making headlines, they include:
-- The Associated Press -- 3,000 May Be Trapped Under Quake Rubble In Indonesia: "Indonesia's Health Ministry says nearly 3,000 people may still be trapped under rubble after a powerful earthquake two days ago. Priyadi Kardono, a spokesman for the ministry's Disaster Management Agency, said Friday 715 people have been confirmed dead and 2,400 hospitalized."
Related story from BBC News -- "Indonesia Awaits World Quake Aid": "International rescue teams are heading to Indonesia in a last-ditch effort to free trapped earthquake survivors. Experts from the U.K., Australia and South Korea were en route to Sumatra, hit by a 7.6-magnitude quake two days ago. Others pledged emergency cash. More than 1,000 people are already known to have died, the U.N. says, with thousands thought to remain trapped. But one survivor was found on Friday: a young woman pulled, barely conscious, from within a collapsed school."
-- The Wall Street Journal -- "Comcast, NBC In Deal Talks": "Talks to merge Comcast Corp.'s cable networks and General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal are the latest sign of a big shift in television, with cable channels becoming more valuable than broadcast networks and companies rethinking their strategies for making and delivering content to consumers in a digital era."
-- Las Vegas Review-Journal -- Reid Says Health Care Legislation Will Have "Public Option": "Any health insurance reform bill that lands on the desk of President Barack Obama will include a so-called 'public option,' Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Thursday. What that public option will be remains unclear. 'We are going to have a public option before this bill goes to the president's desk,' (the Senate majority leader) said during a conference call with Nevada residents."
Contributing: Chinita Anderson of Morning Edition.
President Barack Obama has made the first direct pitch ever by a U.S. leader to the Internationl Olympic Committee on behalf of an American city's effort to host the Summer Games.
Now all that's left to do is await the IOC's announcement about which city will get the 2016 games. That news is expected at 12:30 p.m. ET.
In Copenhagen, Obama told IOC leaders that "the city of Chicago and the United States of America will make the world proud":
Franco, and thousands of others, lie here. (Paul White/AP)
By Mark Memmott
Spain's government is going to try to identify tens of thousands of victims of the country's 1936-39 Civil War who were buried at a mausoleum where the remains of dictator Gen. Francisco Franco also reside.
There may be as many as 60,000 bodies -- many who were opponents of Franco's government -- interred at the site, in the Valley of the Fallen (Valle de los Caidos) outside Madrid.
The mausoleum was built between 1940 and 1958 on General Franco's orders. But lacking enough bodies of his own supporters to fill it, his regime ordered that remains from the mass graves of Republican soldiers and sympathizers (Franco's opponents) should be transferred there.
Franco died on Nov. 20, 1975. A 2007 law banned what had become annual Masses held at his tomb on the anniversary of his death.
Then yesterday, the Associated Press says, the parliament "approved a proposal for the government to try to account for all the bodies within six months, and to help in exhuming them if relatives wish."
In 2005, NPR's Jerome Socolovsky filed this report for Weekend Edition Sunday about the ongoing controversy over what to do with Franco's tomb:
The death toll continues to rise in Indonesia, where it's thought that more than 1,000 people were killed during yesterday's earthquake off West Sumatra. We've rounded up the latest news from there in this post.
There's much more news to pass along this morning, of course, from the multi-nation talks underway in Geneva between Iran, the U.S. and other nations, to the ongoing discussions within the Obama administration over the appropriate strategy to pursue in Afghanistan.
Among the top stories:
-- NPR.org -- "U.S. Allies Open Nuclear Talks With Iran": "While the U.S. and other powers want to press Iran on its nuclear aspirations and uranium-enrichment program, Iranian officials insist that they will not discuss the issue if it veers beyond a general conversation about nuclear technology amid a host of other unrelated topics."
Related story by The Washington Post -- "Iranian Opposition Warns Against Stricter Sanctions": "As the United States and its allies consider further sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, opponents of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad fear that such punishment could have unintended consequences, strengthening the government's hand against domestic dissent and triggering an even harsher crackdown on political foes."
Related story on Morning Edition -- U.S. Has Relatively Low Expectations, But Might Hold One-On-One Talks With Iran. NPR's Eric Westervelt reports from Geneva:
-- The Washington Post -- "On War, Obama Could Turn To GOP": "With much of his party largely opposed to expanding military operations in Afghanistan, President Obama could be forced into the awkward political position of turning to congressional Republicans for support if he follows the recommendations of the commanding U.S. general there."
Related story on Morning Edition -- Differing Views On What To Do. NPR's Steve Inskeep, Tom Gjelten and Don Gonyea talk about the options in Afghanistan:
From a related story by the Associated Press -- McChrystal Reiterates That "Neither Success Nor Failure Can Be Taken For Granted": In a speech today in London, Reuters reports, the head of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan said today of the task ahead in Afghanistan that "I discount immediately anyone who simplifies the problem or offers a solution...or says 'this is what you have got to do' because they absolutely have no clue about the complexity of what we are dealing with." Gen. Stanley McChrystal was speaking to the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
-- Morning Edition -- Obamas Lead Final Push For Chicago's Olympics Bid. NPR's Cheryl Corley reports from Copenhagen:
Related story from All Things Considered -- Some In Chicago Don't Want The Games:
Contributing: Chinita Anderson of Morning Edition.
Three months after being accused of plotting against the government and one week after his case was called to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's attention by NPR's Steve Inskeep, Iranian businessman Bijan Khajehpour has been released from a prison in Tehran.
Steve heard the news via e-mails from Khajehpour's colleagues, and a spokesman for Ahmadinejad tells NPR's Davar Iran Ardalan that the president did indeed fulfill a promise to "follow through with the judicial system," and that Khajehpour has been set free.
As Steve wrote on Friday, one day after interviewing Ahmadinejad in New York, the Iranian president's efforts to explain his points of view "made me think of another man who tried to explain Iran" -- Khajehpour -- and to cite his case as one of many examples of people who have been imprisoned because they spoke out against the official results of the June president election.
Steve wrote that:
Khajehpour is an Iranian businessman whom I met in Tehran last January. ...
Like many Iranians, Khajehpour left his country and studied abroad after Iran's Islamic revolution. Unlike millions of Iranians who made new lives abroad, he chose to return to his country. He became a business consultant, working with foreign firms who wanted to do business in Iran. He also met journalists like me, and offered us a window into the Iranian point of view.
It was an optimistic view. "I see the Islamic Republic of Iran as a human being that was born in 1979," he said. "And it was very naughty as a child, made a lot of mistakes in its first decade of life. Today, it's 30 years old and settling down. It's getting married and, you know, finding a house."
That was before the election. After the vote, authorities arrested him. He was one of 100 people put on trial en masse on charges of taking part in a foreign-inspired plot against Iran. A number of Iranians, including a former president, called the trial a sham. ...
The enforced silence of men like Khajehpour makes a powerful statement about Iran's government. It's a statement Ahmadinejad must contend with as he defends Iran before the world.
Khajehpour's release, of course, still leaves dozens of others in jail for raising their voices in protest over what they view as a rigged presidential election.
Indonesian officials say at least 75 people have been killed and thousands more trapped under flattened buildings in a powerful earthquake off Sumatra island.
Most of the destruction appears centered on the coastal city of Padang, in West Sumatra province.
Update at 11:45 a.m. ET: Use #padang if you're on Twitter and are looking for news and comments about the disaster.
A USS Blue Ridge arrives in Manila in February 2009.(Bullit Marquez / AP Photo)
By Frank James
It's easy to forget that the dangers to U.S. troops from Islamic extremists aren't limited to Iraq and Afghanistan.
A reminder of the dangers sometimes faced by members of the U.S. military in places where attacks against American troops are infrequent came today with the report that two U.S. sailors were killed on the southern island of Jolo by an improvised explosive device believed planted by Abu Sayyaf, a terrorist group linked to Al Qaida.
The U.S. sailors' deaths were the first of American troops in seven years in the Philippines. Killed along with the U.S. service members was a Filipino marine. The sailors were part of a Seabee team helping to build schools and other projects.
The BBC says "at least 128 people were killed when Guinean troops opened fire on opposition protesters on Monday, rights groups and opposition figures claim."
Reuters, meanwhile, puts the death toll at "more than 150."
For now, at least, the Associated Press is reporting that "soldiers patrolling the streets of Guinea's capital fired into the air Tuesday, a day after some shot at pro-democracy demonstrators in the West African country leaving at least 100 dead, a local doctor said."
What's going on in Guinea? Reuters writes that:
Opponents believe military junta leader Captain Moussa Camara is preparing to run as a candidate in a presidential election due to have taken place this year but now postponed to January. While he himself has made no formal declaration, his supporters have in recent weeks said there should be no impediment to him standing. Two days after Camara held a rally for his supporters in the city of Labe, a coalition of rival parties sought on Monday to hold their own event at a stadium in the capital Conakry. It was banned but thousands of people took to the streets and broke into the stadium anyway -- prompting an immediate and massive crackdown by security forces.
Update at 10:25 a.m. ET: The latest AP report says the death toll is now "at least 157" and that "soldiers reeking of alcohol menaced Guinea's capital Tuesday."
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi continues to say and do some of the most inappropriate things.
Yesterday, as the Associated Press and NPR's Silvia Poggioli report, the prime minister's indiscretion was again referring to the United States' first African-American president as being tanned:
The list of Berlusconi's questionable activities is quite long. As the AP says:
The 72-year-old Berlusconi has made no secret for his admiration of attractive women. He has been on the defensive in a sex scandal that erupted last spring after his wife complained he was infatuated with young women and announced she is divorcing him.
Prosecutors in the southern city of Bari are investigating a local businessman, as a suspect in a cocaine investigation, who has said he sent some 30 young women to dinners and parties at Berlusconi's Rome palazzo residence and Sardinian villa. The businessman told investigators he paid the women's expenses and in some cases extra money in case they had sex with the premier. But he stressed Berlusconi was unaware of these arrangements
As Silvia says, it's no wonder that last week first lady Michelle Obama greeted Berlusconi with a handshake rather than a kiss (as she did with some other leaders at the G-20 summit):
A handshake will do just fine. (Jewel SamadAFP/Getty Images)
There's word from Iran as the day begins that it has test-fired a long-range missile capable of reaching Israel and U.S. bases elsewhere in the Middle East. NPR's Carl Kasell introduces this report:
Sticking with news about Iran, The New York Times reports that the Obama administration "is scrambling to assemble a package of harsher economic sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program that could include a cutoff of investments to the country's oil-and-gas industry and restrictions on many more Iranian banks than those currently blacklisted, senior administration officials said Sunday."
Also this morning, the death toll continues to climb in the Philippines, where at least 140 people have died after a tropical storm caused massive flooding.
As for other stories making headlines, they include:
-- The Washington Post -- "U.S., Allies Vow Support For Karzai": "The United States and NATO countries fighting in Afghanistan have told President Hamid Karzai's government that they expect him to remain in office for another five-year term and will work with him on an expanded campaign to turn insurgent fighters against the Taliban and other militant groups."
-- USA TODAY -- "Confidence, Optimism Grow In Pockets Of U.S.": In communities such as Paris, Ill., unemployment remains high but some people are heading back to work. And "there is growing confidence as workers who are getting paychecks spend money, spreading optimism to small-business owners and city leaders."
-- Morning Edition "Honduras Restricts Liberties To Prevent Rebellion". NPR's Jason Beaubien reports from Tegucigalpa that the current government is allowing warrantless arrests and has banned "unauthorized" public meetings as ousted president Manuel Zelaya remains holed up in the Brazilian embassy (ME co-host Renee Montagne introduces his report):
-- The Associated Press -- "Merkel Vows Quick Deal On German Coalition": "Chancellor Angela Merkel has vowed to press ahead quickly with forming a new center-right German government following her election victory. Sunday's election gave the conservative Merkel a second four-year term. It allows her to dump her 'grand coalition' with the center-left Social Democrats and form a new government with the pro-business Free Democrats."
-- The New York Times Safire Was "Oracle Of Language": "William Safire, a speechwriter for President Richard M. Nixon and a Pulitzer Prize-winning political columnist for The New York Times who also wrote novels, books on politics and a Malaprop's treasury of articles on language, died at a hospice in Rockville, Md., on Sunday. He was 79." He was, among many other things, "an unofficial arbiter of usage."
Related story on Morning Edition -- It Was "Hard Not To Love" Safire. NPR's David Folkenflik reports:
Contributing: Chinita Anderson of Morning Edition.
We tried something earlier and it didn't quite work (don't click here because that would be cheating).
But a good suggestion came in from reader Caitlin Jenkins, so we'll try something else.
Basically, with the so-called Group of 20 in the news today because of the gathering of world leaders in Pittsburgh, the question comes up: Who's in the G-20?
Here's a little test. We've thrown in 30 possibilities. See how you score:
There's new audio from al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in which he tells the Europeans to exit Afghanistan.
In a new message, Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden tells European nations to leave Afghanistan. ( AP Photo)
According to a Reuters report, the key part of his message translates from Arabic to:
"We are not demanding anything unjust. It is just for you to end injustice and withdraw your soldiers from (Afghanistan)."
The audio appears to be on a videotape which has German subtitles. Germany holds its parliamentary elections over the weekend.
While Germany's participation in NATO's Afghanistan mission is deeply unpopular, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her center-right party have opposed an immediate pullout.
The latest tape appears to continue a trend by bin Laden that now stretches over years of his issuing messages to citizens in Western nations just before elections in those countries. It appears to be an attempt on al Qaeda's part to sway the results.
Seemed nonplussed by questions about the newly-revealed plant; ... Ahmadinejad's response meandered from the defensive to the aggressive. "This does not mean we must inform Mr. Obama's administration of every facility that we have," he said.
He warned that if Obama brings up the uranium facility, it "simply adds to the list of issues to which the United States owes the Iranian nation an apology over. Rest assured that this will be the case. We do everything transparently."
He added, "I'm not the person who should be giving this advice to Mr. Obama because principally, Mr. Obama's mistakes work in our favor. But still, we do not want to see a president of a country like the United States of America to make blunders of the sort, to make mistakes of the sort."
Ahmadinejad, Time reports, also said that "if I were (President) Obama's adviser, I would definitely advise him to refrain making this statement because it is definitely a mistake."
Update at 11:12 a.m. ET.Time just posted video from the interview. As you'll see, Ahmadinejad insists Iran has fulfilled its international obligations:
The U.S., Britain and France will this morning accuse Iran of secretly operating a second facility that produces nuclear fuel, NPR, the Associated Press, The New York Times and other news media are reporting.
President Barack Obama is expected to make the announcement at 8:30 a.m. ET in Pittsburgh, where he and other leaders of the so-called G-20 nations are meeting to talk about global economic issues.
As the Times says:
"The revelation ... appears bound to add urgency to the diplomatic confrontation with Iran over its suspected ambitions to build a nuclear weapons capability."
Iran has long insisted that it is pursuing peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Yesterday, as we reported, Morning Edition's Steve Inskeep interviewed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. For complete coverage of their conversation, click here. And here's what was on ME this morning:
Later today, by the way, Obama is due to hold a news conference. It's scheduled for 4:40 p.m. ET, after the close of the G-20 summit.
Other stories making headlines this morning include:
-- NPR News -- Zazi Due In Court Again Today; Arrests Made In Separate Plots Involving Alleged Attempts To Bomb Targets In Texas And Illinois: NPR's Dina Temple-Raston and Giles Snyder report:
Related story by The Denver Post -- Feds Say Zazi "Shopped For Bomb Materials At Beauty-Supply Stores": "For nearly a week, Najibullah Zazi told the FBI, reporters and even his own attorney that he had nothing to do with plotting a terrorist attack on U.S. soil. But an FBI affidavit and indictment unsealed Thursday charge that for weeks Zazi had been following bomb-making instructions, collecting chemicals from beauty-supply shops and testing the preparation of a hydrogen peroxide bomb in a metro-area hotel room."
Related story by the Dallas Morning News -- "Man Arrested In Alleged Attempt To Bomb Dallas Skyscraper": "A 19-year-old Jordanian citizen was arrested Thursday in a dramatic FBI sting operation after he parked a vehicle laden with government-supplied fake explosives at an iconic downtown Dallas skyscraper and attempted to detonate it, authorities said."
Related story by The State Journal-Register in Springfield, Ill. -- "Alleged Downtown Terrorism Plot Defused": "Over the two years that authorities tracked Michael C. Finton, accused Thursday of trying to bomb Springfield's federal courthouse, they gave Finton plenty of chances to drop the idea. According to a 25-page affidavit filed in support of the charges against Finton, however, he would not be deterred. Authorities say Finton tried Wednesday to ignite what he thought was a huge quantity of explosives contained in a van parked near Sixth and Monroe streets."
-- CBS News' 60 Minutes -- "McChrystal: Violence 'Worse' Than Expected": "As the news from Afghanistan moves to the front pages of Americans' newspapers, the general tasked with turning things around there tells 60 Minutes that the spread of the violence in Afghanistan was more than he expected. Gen. Stanley McChrystal's interview with CBS News National Security correspondent David Martin will be broadcast on the 42nd season premiere of 60 Minutes this Sunday, Sept. 27, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.
-- The New York Times -- "In Poll, Public Wary Of Obama On War And Health": "President Obama is confronting declining support for his handling of the war in Afghanistan and an electorate confused and anxious about a health care overhaul as he prepares for pivotal battles over both issues, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll."
-- The Associated Press -- "Justice Ginsburg Hospitalized": "Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the 76-year-old Supreme Court justice who underwent pancreatic cancer surgery earlier this year, fell ill at work after a treatment for anemia and was hospitalized overnight. Ginsburg was taken to Washington Hospital Center at 7:45 p.m. ET Thursday and would remain there for the night as a precaution, a statement from the court said."
Contributing: Chinita Anderson of Morning Edition.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez still has a thing for former President George W. Bush. (Henny Ray Abrams / AP Photo)
By Frank James
Former President George W. Bush may be out of office but that didn't stop Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez from still using his old nemesis as a whipping boy during his speech to the United Nations General Assembly Thursday.
Chavez said of the area around the podium: "It doesn't smell like sulfur. It's gone." Instead he said he smelled "hope."
Those were allusions to Chavez's 2006 UN appearance where he called Bush "the devil" and to President Barack Obama who has made "hope" his stock in trade. The smell of sulfur has of course traditionally been associated in literature and folklore with hell and Satan.
Then there was this Bush-inspired Chavez line: "Please don't throw a shoe at me."
The question now is what will Chavez do for an encore without Bush's presence to offer him more material?
Pakistani villagers are increasingly taking on the Taliban in northwestern Pakistan. (Sherin Zada / AP Photo)
By Frank James
Interesting story out of Pakistan about something that appears to be a growing trend: Pakistani villagers fighting back against the Taliban.
The Associated Press' Riaz Khan is reporting that a convoy of anti-Taliban tribal elders was ambushed in northwestern Pakistan with nine people killed.
The members of the anti-Taliban citizens' group were traveling from the Machikhel area to meet security officials in Bannu district when their three-vehicle convoy was attacked by insurgents, police officer Mohammad Ghani Khan said.
Pakistani authorities have urged tribal elders to speak out against the Taliban, and in turn the militants have killed scores of local leaders. With government backing, some elders have raised militias, known as lashkars, to battle the insurgents. The militias have been compared to Iraq's Awakening Councils, which helped U.S. forces turn the tide against al-Qaida there.
One of the most attention-grabbing parts of this story is what happened after the insurgents ambushed the motorcade. They apparently moved in to kill any survivors.
Armed local residents came out of their homes and fought off the Taliban after the ambush, preventing them from killing the survivors, Khan said. Witness Inayatullah Khan said tribesmen killed two militants in the gunbattle. Security forces later arrived in the Khaisur area and joined the fight.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper says his nation's diplomats will boycott Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's UN speech. (Canadian Press)
By Frank James
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has ordered Canadian diplomats to skip Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech to the United Nations General Assembly Wednesday.
A snippet from Reuters:
"There's no way I'm going to permit any official of the government of Canada to be present and to give any legitimacy to remarks by a leader like that," Harper told a news
conference in Oakville, Ontario.
He referred to flagrant abuse of human rights, detention without charges of a Canadian journalist and especially his "insulting, disgraceful declarations denying the Holocaust."
The Canadian prime minister made his view known at the corporate offices of Tim Hortons, Canada's equivalent of the U.S.' Dunkin' Donuts where he went for a previously scheduled event. He spoke in the company's test facility, with donuts and signage behind him, making for an unusual backdrop for a discussion of great affairs of state.
Sure, this Associated Press report about masked gunmen raiding a cash depot in Stockholm and then flying off with their loot in a helicopter is a fun read.
But there's something fascinating, we have to say, about listening to Sveriges Television's report about today's robbery:
Authorities, AP says, don't know yet how much money the thieves got.
Nigeria just can't seem to shake the negative place it occupies in minds around the world.
Colin Powell in the 1990s famously called it "nation of scammers." And that was before the so called "419" e-mail scams really took off, a species of Internet chicanery that made the nation the butt of many jokes.
Now, it's the recently released South African movie District 9 in which Nigerians are depicted as cannibals, among other things.
An excerpt from an Associated Press story:
One of the summer's biggest blockbusters -- a sci-fi morality tale about aliens and apartheid -- is not welcome in Nigeria because of its portrayal of Nigerians as gangsters and cannibals, Nigeria's information minister said Saturday.
Information Minister Dora Akunyili has asked movie houses in the capital of Abuja to stop screening "District 9" because the South Africa-based sci-fi movie about aliens and discrimination makes Nigerians look bad.
Addressing the delegates. (Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)
By Mark Memmott
President Barack Obama is this morning delivering his first address to the United Nations General Assembly. As we reported earlier, among the messages he has for other world leaders will be that they can't wait for the USA to solve all of the globe's problems.
You'll have many ways to follow the address. NPR will broadcast it live (click here to find a station near you). NPR.org will be streaming the audio. The cable news networks will have it on the air as well.
And we're live-blogging in this post as the president speaks. Just click "play" below and our updates should flow in automatically. You can also submit comments at the bottom of the player. We'll publish as many as we can while the president's speaking.
Update at 10:50 a.m. ET. The president has finished his address. Now, if you click the "play" button, you can read what he had to say. Or, you can click here for a transcript.:
When I was on the State Department's web site earlier Tuesday looking for information related to the closing of the U.S. embassy and other American-government offices in South Africa because of a credible terrorist threat, I came across a press release on another threat to Americans in South Africa: armed gangs attacking shopping malls.
Here's some advice the U.S. government offers Americans:
Do not enter a store if you observe suspicious activity such as customers lying on the floor or a person brandishing a weapon. If you observe such activity, immediately leave the area and call the police.
Thank you, State Department. What would we ever do without tips like this? Next they'll be telling us to put the shower curtain inside the tub.
You have to give it to the Libyans. They suffer no shortage of chutzpah.
Trying to find a place for Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to stay this week when he attends the United Nations General Assembly meeting in Manhattan, they pretended to be Dutch.
An excerpt from a story on the website of The Times newspaper of London:
Libyan officials posed as Dutch diplomats to try to find Colonel Gaddafi a place to stay this week on his first visit to the US.
The envoys, including one calling himself Ronald, approached a property agent on the Upper East Side of New York to inquire about renting the Barclay Mansion, a six-storey townhouse on East 78th Street.
Jason Haber, who has a master's degree from Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, realised the ruse and the deal did not go through.
"When someone says they are representing the Dutch, you accept that at face value," Mr Haber told The Times. "After a few conversations, the accents did not match. When the e-mails started it became quite clear. The e-mails had a Libyan Embassy address."
Earlier there was talk that Gadhafi might stay in a tent, first in Central Park, then on Libyan-owned property in Engelwood, NJ. Those ideas didn't pan out.
Gadhafi will instead be at the luxurious Pierre Hotel on Fifth Ave.
Meanwhile, the Libyan-Dutch ruse reminded some of us of those old SNL skits featuring the Coneheads, space aliens who, when questioned by the suspicious, would blurt out "We're from France."
The U.S. Embassy in South Africa and other American facilities there are closed until further notice in response to a "credible" threat, according to State Department spokesman Ian Kelly.
At the State Department daily briefing, Kelly said:
The embassy received information about a possible threat against the embassy. So as a precaution the State Department decided to close U.S. government facilities in South Africa today.
We've notified the American community in South Africa to remain vigilant when they're in the vicinity of U.S. government facilities. The embassy is tracking developments very closely and assessing its security posture and formulating an appropriate course of action.
I think part of that course of action is to consult closely with South African authorities. And the embassy will reopen as soon as we've completed out assessment of the security posture.
Asked by reporters for more information about the threat, Kelly said:
You know how it is with these situations. We don't like to go into too much detail about the nature of the information we've gotten... It was pretty credible information regarding U.S. government facilities in South Africa.
Here's the "warden message" the State Department issued on Monday which now remains effect at least through Wednesday.
In April 2004, then-president George W. Bush said he remained "hopeful and determined to find a way forward toward a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute."
Today, President Barack Obama said he delivered one message to the leaders of Israel and Palestine when they met today:
"Despite all the obstacles, despite all the history, despite all the mistrust, we have to find a way forward."
Here's an audio clip from the president's comments after his meeting in New York with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:
And here's the text of the president's complete statement, as transcribed by the White House:
Many hope Ahmadinejad will see this. (Stan Honda / AFP/Getty Images)
By Mark Memmott
Green is the color adopted by Iranian activists who oppose President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and come Thursday night in New York City they'll bask in the glow of one very big symbol.
The Empire State Building will be bathed in green lights.
And the display will come at the same time as Iranian activists stage protests around the city over Ahmadinejad's appearance at this week's opening of the U.N. General Assembly.
As The Wall Street Journal explains, the owners of the building are not endorsing the activists' movement. In fact, a request from some activists to have the green lights turned on this week was turned down by Empire State Building Co.
But -- and here's where what the activists believe is a good omen comes into the story -- the owners did approve a request to turn on the green lights this Thursday in honor of the 70th anniversary of film The Wizard of Oz.
Mary Goldwater of an effort called Project Greenlight tells the Journal that the Oz anniversary certainly "works to our advantage."
For NPR.org's coverage of Iran and related issues, click here.
"Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya has returned to Honduras almost three months after he was ousted in a coup," Reuters reports, "despite warnings he would be arrested, a senior aide said Monday. Zelaya was in a U.N. building in the capital Tegucigalpa Monday, aide Eduardo Reina told Venezuela's Telesur television network."
Zelaya's forced removal led the U.S. to cut off aid to the Honduran government. As the Associated Press notes:
Zelaya was deposed and exiled on June 28 amid suspicions among his opponents that he wanted to overturn a constitutional provision limiting Honduran presidents to a single term. He has denied that was his goal.
Update at 1:45 p.m. ET: Reuters now adds that "Roberto Micheletti, a bitter rival of Zelaya who has run Honduras since the June 28 coup, denied that the president had returned, saying he was still in exile in neighboring Nicaragua." The Associated Press, though, says that Zelaya told local TV Channel 36, "I cannot give details, but I'm here."
And, AP reports that "Elisabeth Sierra, a spokeswoman for the Honduran Embassy in Nicaragua, where Zelaya had been exiled, said the ousted president returned to his country Monday and was at U.N. offices in Tegucigalpa."
The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan warns in an urgent, confidential assessment of the war that he needs more forces within the next year and bluntly states that without them, the eight-year conflict "will likely result in failure," according to a copy of the 66-page document obtained by The Washington Post.
The top military commander in Afghanistan warns in a confidential assessment of the war there that he needs additional troops within the next year or else the conflict "will likely result in failure."
Update at 8:45 a.m. ET: In that copy of the assessment put online by the Post, McChrystal writes that "success is achievable, but it will not be attained simply by trying harder or 'doubling down' on the previous strategy. Additional resources are required, but focusing on force or resource requirements misses the point entirely. The key take away from this assessment is the urgent need for a significant change to our strategy and the way that we think and operate."
McChrystal also says that:
"Our campaign in Afghanistan has been historically under-resourced and remains so today. ... Resources will not win this war, but under-resourcing could lose it. ... Ideally, the (Afghan National Security Force) must lead this fight, but they will not have enough capability in the near-term given the insurgency's growth rate. In the interim, coalition forces must provide a bridge capability to protect critical segments of the population. The status quo will lead to failure if we wait for the ANSF to grow."
On Morning Edition, NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman told host Steve Inskeep that it's no surprise that Gen. Stanley McChrystal wants more troops for the war in Afghanistan -- and notes that there's growing opposition in Congress to the idea of sending more combat forces:
Sticking with news about the war on terror, there's more to report about the arrests of three men over the weekend in connection with a cross-country probe into a possible plot to bomb transportation hubs in New York City. On Morning Edition, NPR's Dina Temple-Raston told guest host Linda Wertheimer that law enforcement officials feared the plotters "actually had the capacity and expertise to launch a credible attack." So far, the men have been charged with lying to authorities:
As The Denver Post reports, "today, 24-year-old Najibullah Zazi and his father, Mohammed, 53, are scheduled to make initial appearances in federal court." The third man facing charges is New York imam Ahmad Wais Afzali.
As for other stories making headlines this morning, they include:
-- The Hill -- "Obama Frames G-20 Meeting As Debate Over Future Global Economy": The G-20 summit of world leaders in Pittsburgh on Thursday and Friday "is shaping up as a debate over what the world economy of the future should look like." On Sunday, President Barack Obama "made it clear he wants to talk about fostering a new era in global economic affairs."
Related story on Morning Edition -- At U.N., Obama Will Continue Effort To Mend Fences. NPR's Michele Kelemen looks ahead to the president's appearance this week at the United Nations:
-- The Wall Street Journal -- "IRS Extends Deadline To Declare Foreign Accounts": "In an effort to keep its doors open to tax evaders, the Internal Revenue Service will extend until Oct. 15 its limited amnesty program for U.S. taxpayers with undeclared income on foreign accounts, according to government officials. The special voluntary disclosure program was to have ended Wednesday. It began in March after UBS AG in February turned over the names of more than 250 account holders as part of a criminal settlement."
-- BBC News -- Thai King In Hospital; Condition Stable: "The 81-year-old king of Thailand has been admitted to hospital suffering from a fever. Doctors said King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest-serving monarch, had shown signs of fatigue and was being treated with antibiotics. ... Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told reporters there was 'nothing to be concerned about.' "
-- NPR News -- "FCC Chief Seen Edging Toward 'Net Neutrality' Rules". "A speech scheduled for Monday by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski is being closely watched by both sides of a debate over 'network neutrality' -- a term describing a world in which Internet service providers can't charge different rates for different levels of service." NPR's Laura Sydell reports:
Finally, if you're looking for a lively minute-by-minute recap of last night's Emmy Awards, check out Planet Money.
Contributing: Chinita Anderson of Morning Edition.
"Iranian hardliners attacked opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi and security forces clashed
with his supporters during an annual anti-Israeli rally in Tehran on Friday," Reuters is reporting
The wire service adds that:
The state news agency IRNA said Mousavi and reformist cleric Mehdi Karoubi, both defeated candidates in the disputed poll in June, were forced to leave the rally after being attacked by "angry people".
Reformist former president Mohammad Khatami took part in the rally, but was also attacked by hardliners and had to leave after his robe was ripped and his turban fell to the ground, an ally of Khatami who accompanied him told Reuters.
As during the weeks that followed Iran's disputed presidential election in June, Twitter is overflowing with posts about the news from Tehran. Search for #iranelection to see them.
But as always, getting reliable news from inside that tightly controlled country is difficult. The Guardianlive-blogged the day here.
Witnesses reported instances of clashes between the rival demonstrators as well as between opposition supporters and security forces.
It was not immediately possible to independently verify the reports.
In one instance, a group of Iranian protesters attacked Mohammad Khatami, a reformist former president, while he was marching with opposition supporters in Tehran, a reformist website reported.
-- Los Angeles Times -- "Pro- And Anti-Government Marchers Face Off In Tehran;" Ahmadinejad Questions Holocaust Again: "Tens of thousands of demonstrators chanting, 'Not Gaza, not Lebanon, I sacrifice my life for Iran,' swarmed the streets of the capital, turning a day in support of the Palestinian cause into a major opposition rally. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose disputed reelection three months ago triggered Iran's worst political domestic crisis in decades, delivered a blistering condemnation of Israel on the occasion of annual Quds Day. In a fiery speech, he questioning the Holocaust and blamed 'Zionists' for ongoing wars in the Middle East."
Related story by the Associated Press -- Reformist Attacked: "Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lashed out at Israel and the West saying Friday the Holocaust was a lie and a pretext for occupying Palestinian lands, while hard-liners attacked a reformist cleric who was marching with the opposition at an anti-government rally in Tehran."
Related story from NBC News -- "Ahmadinejad Refuses To Rule Out" Developing Nuclear Weapons: "Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad refused Thursday to explicitly rule out development of nuclear weapons and said in an interview with NBC News that he would 'never' halt Tehran's work on peaceful nuclear programs to mollify Western skeptics." Asked if he stole Iran's June election, Ahmadinejad said "I don't know what you mean by that. ... We should be courageous enough to accept the vote of the people." And, he said of the death of protester Neda Soltan: "I was saddened as well ... We are treating it as a suspicious death."
-- The Associated Press -- Suicide Bomb Kills 25 In Northwest Pakistan: "A suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a hotel in a northwest Pakistan market Friday, killing 25 people in a possible sectarian attack, police and a government official said. The attack in Usterzai village on the outskirts of Kohat town was the second in two days in the area, which is not far from the Afghan border and has witnessed past incidents of violence between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. A bomb Thursday in Kohat wounded six people."
-- NPR News -- Double Suicide Attack In Somalia Condemned:" NPR's Paul Brown introduces a report from Ofeibia Quist-Arcton on the deadly twin suicide bomb attacks in Mogadishu:
Other stories making headlines include:
-- Morning Edition -- For Some In Europe, "A Sense Of Betrayal" After U.S. Shift In Missile Defense Plan. NPR's Eric Westervelt reports:
Related Morning Edition report from NPR's Mike Shuster -- "New Picture Of Iran's Progress On Missile Development" Led To Change In Plan:
-- The New York Times -- "Reasons Unclear For Terrorist Fears": "As they zeroed in on Najibullah Zazi, law enforcement authorities came to view him as a potential terrorist threat. They raided homes connected to him, his relatives and friends in New York and Colorado, but have said very little other than to proclaim that the investigation revealed no imminent danger. The public, then, has been left struggling to make sense of what is known about Mr. Zazi and his acquaintances, his travels and intentions, if any, and how he came to the attention of the federal agents and local police who were intently tracking him."
Related story by the Denver Post -- "Federal Agents Grill Aurora Shuttle Driver For Second Day": "An Aurora (Colo.) man in the cross hairs of a multistate anti-terrorism investigation met with federal agents for a second day of questioning Thursday. Najibullah Zazi, the 24-year-old airport-shuttle driver who has become the focal point in the investigation, arrived with his lawyer at the FBI's Denver offices shortly after 2 p.m. He was questioned until late in the evening and was scheduled to return for more questioning at 9 a.m. today. His attorney, Art Folsom, said earlier in the day he was confident Zazi, who has proclaimed his innocence, would not be arrested."
-- Boston Globe -- "House Backs An Interim Senator": Massachusetts state House lawmakers "approved legislation last night that gives Governor Deval Patrick the power to appoint a temporary successor to the late Edward M. Kennedy in the US Senate, putting Massachusetts on track to have a new senator in place by next week. ... Possible candidates are believed to include former governor Michael Dukakis and former Democratic National Committee chairman Paul G. Kirk Jr., who is chairman of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library."
Several stories have broken since we signed off last night. Among them:
-- The Associated Press -- "Suicide Car Bomber Hits Italian Convoy In Kabul;" At Least 16 Killed: "A suicide car bomber attacked an Italian military convoy on a road in Afghanistan's capital Thursday, killing six Italian soldiers and 10 Afghan civilians, officials said. ... Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility, saying in a text message that they had ordered had carried out the suicide attack against foreign forces."
-- The Denver Post -- "FBI Searches Two Aurora Residences In Connection With Anti-Terror Probe": "Federal investigators released an Aurora man late Wednesday night after 8 1/2 hours of questioning in connection with a multi-state anti-terrorism investigation. Najibullah Zazi, 24, left the Byron G. Rogers Federal Building after 10:30 p.m. -- but is scheduled to return this afternoon for another round of questioning, according to his attorney, Art Folsom. The move came after a day that saw federal agents raid Zazi's apartment and a house where his aunt and uncle live."
Related report from NPR's Dina Temple-Raston on Morning Edition: "Raids In N.Y., Denver Yield Questions, No Arrests":
-- The Associated Press -- "Obama Scrapping Missile Shield" In Poland & Czech Republic, Czech Prime Minister Says: "The Czech prime minister says President Barack Obama has told him that the U.S. is abandoning plans to put a missile shield in the Czech Republic and Poland. Czech Premier Jan Fischer told reporters in Prague on Thursday that Obama phoned him to say that Washington has decided to scrap the plan that had deeply angered Russia."
Related reports -- "Pentagon to announce major changes to missile defense system," Reuters says; "pool report" from Baghdad says that Vice President Joe Biden declined comment on the news.
-- NPR News -- Folk Singer Mary Travers Dies; She Was 72. NPR's Paul Brown reports:
-- NPR News -- Actor/Comedian Henry Gibson Has Died; He Was 73. NPR's Karen Grigsby Bates reports:
As for other stories making headlines today, they include:
-- The Washington Post -- Baucus' Bill "May Weather The Blows": "On the surface, it appears that no one is happy with Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) -- and that may be the best news President Obama has had in months. Within minutes of the release of the Senate Finance Committee chairman's long-awaited health-care reform bill Wednesday, the attacks started flying. ... But behind the rhetorical fireworks was a sense that the fragile coalition of major industry leaders and interest groups central to refashioning the nation's $2.5 trillion health-care system remains intact."
Related story by The New York Times -- "Magic Number For Democrats In Senate On Health Bill Is 60": "The unveiling of a compromise health care proposal has Senate Democrats pondering a daunting mathematical challenge: how to keep all 59 Democrats united and attract at least one Republican to pass an overhaul measure."
Related story on Morning Edition -- "Republicans Who Helped Craft Health Bill Don't Endorse It". NPR's David Welna reports:
-- Politico -- "In The Race From Race, Democrats Rebut Jimmy Carter": "Jimmy Carter is 84 years old and three decades removed from the White House, but he still has the power to make Democrats run. Away from him, that is. From the White House to Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Democrats raced to distance themselves from the former president's claim that racism was behind Rep. Joe Wilson's "You lie" outburst and other attacks on President Barack Obama."
-- New Haven Register -- Arrest "Imminent" In Death Of Yale Grad Student.
Coming up later today: The Census Bureau releases figures on August housing construction, at 8:30 a.m. ET; President Barack Obama holds a health care rally in College Park, Md., starting around 11:40 a.m. ET.
President Shimon Peres, The Jerusalem Post reports, said the report "mocks history and fails to distinguish between aggressor and those acting in self-defense."
All Things Considered host Robert Siegel talked today with the retired South African judge who led the inquiry, Richard Goldstone, and with Mark Regev, spokesman for the Israeli government. Their opinions on the validity of the report couldn't have been more different.
Regev, however, is caustic in his condemnation of Goldstone:
Regev mentions Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland and former U.N. high commissioner for Human Rights, because she turned down the chance to head the U.N. investigation into the actions of both sides in last January's battles.
Much more of Robert's conversations with Goldstone and Regev will be on today's ATC. Click here to find an NPR station near you.
Former president Jimmy Carter has gotten into the middle of the debate over whether racism may be playing a part in the protests aimed at President Barack Obama. Carter tells NBC News that "an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man":
-- The New York Times -- "Man In Queens Raids Denies Any Terrorist Link": "A Colorado man whose visit to New York apparently set off government raids on several Queens apartments on Monday has denied having ties to al-Qaida or any other terrorist group. 'I have nothing to do with this,' said the man, Najibullah Zazi, 25, who was reached by telephone in Colorado on Monday and Tuesday. 'This looks like it's going toward me, which is more shocking every hour.' "
-- Morning Edition -- Al-Qaida Operative Killed In Somalia Linked To Minneapolis Boys Who Had Been Recruited By Terrorists:
-- The Associated Press -- New Prime Minister & Cabinet Take Places In Japan: "Longtime opposition leader Yukio Hatoyama was elected prime minister and installed his new Cabinet Wednesday, promising to reinvigorate Japan's economy and shake up government with his left-of-center party after more than 50 years of nearly unbroken rule by conservatives."
Among the things to watch for today -- At 8:30 a.m. ET, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the consumer price index figures for August. President Obama meets with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the White House. And Vice President Joe Biden continues his visit to Iraq.
Marc Garlasco, a military analyst at Human Rights Watch, say he is a "military geek" who enjoys collecting World War II memorabilia -- including Nazi medals. He's written a book on the subject: The Flak Badges of the Luftwaffe and Heer.
Much remains to be told about what happened Monday near the town of Barawe in southern Somalia. The headline, though, is that local officials say that Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan -- one of Africa's most-wanted al-Qaida operatives -- is dead. And some details are starting to come out.
There's fresh news from Iraq as the day begins. Convicted "shoe-thrower" Muntadhar al-Zeidi, famous around the world for throwing his footwear at then-president George W. Bush last December in Baghdad, was released from prison.
At the TV station where he's a reporter, al-Zeidi told other journalists today that he was tortured by Iraqi security forces while in prison. The abuse included beatings, whippings and electric shocks, al-Zeidi said. NPR's Nora Raum introduces this report from Quil Lawrence, who is in Baghdad:
Other stories making headlines include:
-- Politico -- Democrats To Vote Today On "Resolution Of Disapproval" Aimed At Rep. Wilson: "House Democratic leaders will move ahead with a 'resolution of disapproval' against Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., on Tuesday afternoon, following through on their threat to sanction the conservative lawmaker for heckling President Obama during his speech to Congress last week." Wilson famously shouted "you lie!" at the president. He has since apologized to the White House -- but has declined to apologize from the House floor.
Reminder -- Last Thursday, we started this online poll -- and as of this morning, nearly 16,000 votes had been cast and the split was an even 50-50. Add your vote if you wish:
-- The Associated Press -- Sen. Baucus Close To Releasing Health Care Plan: "Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus has been trying for months to write a health care bill that could win Republican support. If he succeeds he may find it's fellow Democrats he has to worry about. Baucus, D-Mont., said Monday that 'we're getting very close' to finalizing sweeping health legislation to enact President Barack Obama's priorities of extending coverage to most of the 50 million uninsured and holding down spiraling health care costs. Following weeks of closed-door negotiations with two other Democratic senators and three Republicans, Baucus plans to unveil his bill Wednesday, and he hopes Republicans are with him. Such a bargain could mark a turning point for Obama's top domestic priority."
-- The New York Times -- "Pakistan Army Is Said To Be Linked To Many Killings In Swat": " Two months after the Pakistani Army wrested control of the Swat Valley from Taliban militants, a new campaign of fear has taken hold, with scores, perhaps hundreds, of bodies dumped on the streets in what human rights advocates and local residents say is the work of the military."
-- Related story on Morning Edition -- "Training A 'Flip-Flop Army' ". Capt. Benjamin Tupper has some stories to tell about his work with new Afghan soldiers. His new book, Welcome to Afghanistan: Send More Ammo, details his time as an embedded trainer in the Afghan National Army:
-- Bloomberg News -- Treasury & Citigroup Exploring Sale Of Government's Stake: "The U.S. Treasury Department and Citigroup Inc. have begun discussing how to sell the 34% stake that the government acquired in the rescue of the bank, people familiar with the matter said. The Treasury, which owns 7.69 billion common shares after a recent preferred-stock conversion designed to shore up the bank's capital, may start unloading the stake as soon as October, one of the people said. It aims to sell the holdings over the next six to eight months, the person said."
-- Morning Edition -- For Swayze, Dancing Was "Most Intense Way To Connect": Actor and Dirty Dancing legend Patrick Swayze died Monday afte ra long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 57. Jesse Baker profiles the man who set millions of girls' hearts fluttering:
Farewell. (Jae C. Hong / AP)
Over at Monkey See, Linda Holmes recalls what it was like to be 16 when Dirty Dancing came out. And as she says, "making things that are beloved certainly isn't everything, but it is something, and Swayze made things that were beloved broadly and without cynicism."
As for things to watch today, they include President Barack Obama's speech this afternoon to the AFL-CIO in Pittsburgh. And, the Bureau of Labor Statistics issues the latest news on inflation -- the August wholesale prices report.
An Israeli air force combat helicopter flies over the crash site of a F-16 warplane that was flown by Assaf Ramon, the son of an Israeli astronaut who died in the space shuttle Columbia disaster, near the West Bank Jewish settlement of Pnei Hever, west of Hebron, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009. (David Vaaknin / AP Photo)
By Frank James
Israelis are grieving the death over the weekend in a fighter jet crash of the 21-year old fighter-pilot son of the first Israeli in space who tragically died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003.
Asaf Ramon, an Israeli Air Force captain, died Sunday when his F-16A fighter jet crashed into a hill during a training mission.
The young pilot's father was Ilan Ramon, son of a Holocaust survivor, who was one of the seven astronauts killed when the Columbia disintegrated above the American Southwest because of damage that occurred at launch. Asaf was one of Ilan and Rona Ramon's four children.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports that Asaf was buried next to his father. An excerpt from its report:
The funeral began at 4 P.M. at Kibbutz Nahalal and was closed to the media, as requested by Ramon's mother, Rona.
"You were supposed to bury me here, happy, old, surrounded by grandchildren," said Rona Ramon, over the graves of her husband and son.
Hundreds of Ramon's relatives and friends, as well as a number of dignataries, accompanied the procession...
She'll have to wait another day for her brother's release. (Ghassan Adnan / NPR)
By Mark Memmott
It looks like it will be another day at least before the Iraqi television reporter known around the world as the shoe-thrower will be released from a Baghdad prison.
Muntadhar al-Zeidi's brothers told reporters that he called them from prison to say he won't be freed until Tuesday because of delays in processing his paperwork, the Associated Press reports.
It was last December when al-Zeidi, during a Baghdad news conference being held by then-president George W. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, hurled two shoes at the U.S. leader. The president ducked both times.
If you haven't seen the video from that incident in a while, here it is:
Update at 11:05 a.m. ET. Courtesy of Ghassan Adnan from NPR's staff in Baghdad, we've added some photos from the scene outside the prison today. There's one above and two more below:
Though health care remains atop the agenda in Washington, financial regulation will be competing for the spotlight today.
As this timeline shows, it's the one-year anniversary of Lehman Brothers' collapse. And as NPR's John Ydstie reports, "a year ago this week the global financial system teetered on the edge of collapse":
President Barack Obama will be on Wall Street today to deliver what the White House is billing as a "major speech on the financial crisis." That happens at noon ET. We'll "live-blog" the highlights, and NPR's Neal Conan will be on many NPR member stations anchoring coverage of the president's address.
Related story by Bloomberg News -- "Stiglitz Says Bank Problems Bigger Than Pre-Lehman": " Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel Prize- winning economist, said the U.S. has failed to fix the underlying problems of its banking system after the credit crunch and the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc."
Related story by The Wall Street Journal -- "Government's Trial And Error Helped Stem Financial Panic": "It was only a year ago that the world economy was enveloped in a financial panic of such dimensions that, if one believes Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, it threatened to produce a calamity as bad as the Great Depression. Today, the economy is far from vigorous. Unemployment remains high. Huge swaths of the financial system remain on government life-support. But the global recession appears over, and now forecasters are arguing over the pace and sustainability of recovery."
As for the other stories making headlines this morning, they include:
-- The Washington Post -- Poll Signals That "Reform Opposition Is High But Easing": "President Obama continues to face significant public resistance to his drive to initiate far-reaching changes to the country's health-care system, with widespread skepticism about central tenets of his plan, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. But after a summer of angry debate and protests, opposition to the effort has eased somewhat, and there appears to be potential for further softening among critics if Congress abandons the idea of a government-sponsored health insurance option, a proposal that has become a flash point in the debate."
Related report by CBS News Face the Nation -- Sen. Snowe Says Public Option Blocks Consensus: "Moderate Republican Senator Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, said a public option in the health care bill is 'universally opposed by all Republicans in the Senate' and called it 'a roadblock to building the kind of consensus that we need to move forward,' on Face the Nation Sunday."
-- The Associated Press -- "Bin Laden Reportedly Calls Obama 'Powerless' ": "In an audio message posted on militant websites, a man thought to be al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden says President Barack Obama is "powerless" to stop the war in Afghanistan. The voice also asserts that the new U.S. president is following the policies of his predecessor, George W. Bush. The terrorist-monitoring group SITE Intelligence has more on the message here.
Related story on Morning Edition -- "Timeline Of Afghan War's Progress Differs In U.S., Kabul":
-- New Haven Register -- Body Found May Be That Of Missing Graduate Student: " A body believed to be that of missing Yale graduate student Annie Le was found Sunday hidden inside a wall at 10 Amistad St., the building where she was last seen alive. It was supposed to be the day she would marry her college sweetheart and celebrate at a reception in a tony section of Long Island."
Fifty-five years after World War II code-breaker Alan Turing took his own life following a conviction for "gross indecency" -- being gay at a time when that was illegal in Britain -- he's gotten a full apology from his nation's government.
While Turing was dealt with under the law of the time, and we can't put the clock back, his treatment was of course utterly unfair, and I am pleased to have the chance to say how deeply sorry I and we all are for what happened to him. ...
This recognition of Alan's status as one of Britain's most famous victims of homophobia is another step towards equality, and long overdue. ...
But even more than that, Alan deserves recognition for his contribution to humankind. ...
It is thanks to men and women who were totally committed to fighting fascism, people like Alan Turing, that the horrors of the Holocaust and of total war are part of Europe's history and not Europe's present. So on behalf of the British government, and all those who live freely thanks to Alan's work, I am very proud to say: we're sorry. You deserved so much better.
Taiwan News writes that Chen also faces a $200 million (in Taiwan dollars; or about $6 million in U.S. dollars) fine and that:
The verdict came after more than a year of revelations and allegations about four cases of corruption and money laundering involving a total of $800 million (Taiwan dollars; $24.5 million U.S.) and 14 defendants, including Chen and his closest relatives, former aides, government officials and business leaders.
In a verdict reportedly numbering 1,200 pages and weighing three kilograms, the judges found Chen guilty on six counts, issuing separate verdicts on each count which were then compiled to the life sentence and the fine. If Chen was unable to pay his fine, his assets might be impounded, reports said. The court also ruled he should lose his civil rights for life.
The BBC reports there were no life jackets aboard when a boat that was mostly full of schoolchildren sank Wednesday in Sierra Leone.
According to the Associated Press, police official Ibrahim Samura says at least 221 people remain missing and 39 passengers have been rescued so far.
The BBC says "the boat was traveling a sea route of about 40 miles along the coast from the town of Shenge to the village of Tombo near the capital, Freetown." Reuters says the boat was caught in a storm.
Smoke rises over Gaza City on Jan. 13. (Hatem Moussa / AP)
By Mark Memmott
"The extremely heavy civilian casualties and the massive damage to civilian property require serious introspection on the part of Israeli society," the human rights group B'Tselem writes today in a report that concludes most of the Palestinians killed in last winter's offensive against Gaza's Hamas rulers were civilians.
The report states that:
Israeli security forces killed 1,387 Palestinians during the course of the three-week operation. Of these, 773 did not take part in the hostilities, including 320 minors and 109 women over the age of 18. Of those killed, 330 took part in the hostilities, and 248 were Palestinian police officers, most of whom were killed in aerial bombings of police stations on the first day of the operation. For 36 people, B'Tselem could not determine whether they participated in the hostilities or not.
B'Tselem says its research is "the result of months of meticulous investigation and cross-checks with numerous sources." As Haaretz.com reports, though, the Israeli Defense Force "claims that 1,166 Palestinians were killed ... of whom 709 were Hamas combatants and 295 were civilians. It said it was unable to determine the status of the remaining 162."
From Jerusalem, Linda Gradstein reports that the Israeli military is sharply critical of B'Tselem's research:
There's news from Afghanistan this morning that New York Times reporter Stephen Farrell, who along with his interpreter had been held captive by militants since Saturday, was freed by British commandos.
But the interpreter, Sultan Munadi, and one British commando were killed during a firefight. Farrell's kidnapping had not been reported prior to the raid that freed him. He is the second Times reporter in recent months to have been kidnapped in Afghanistan. In June, reporter David Rohde and interpreter Tahir Ludin escaped from their captors after being held for seven months.
The main story of the day, though, looks to be President Barack Obama's prime-time address to a joint session of Congress.
The Wall Street Journal says Obama "will press for a government-run insurance option in a proposed overhaul of the U.S. health-care system that has divided lawmakers and voters for months."
On Morning Edition a short time ago, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told NPR's Renee Montagne that Obama believes the so-called public option is "a valuable tool" and something "he'd like to see." Gibbs did not directly answer Renee's question about whether the president would veto a health care overhaul bill that doesn't include that option. "We're not going to accentuate the negative," Gibbs said:
Staying with health care for a moment:
-- The New York Times' Prescriptions blog offers its advice on how to watch tonight's presidential address. Among the things to look for: "Any sign that he is now willing to let Democrats go it alone, maybe by using a controversial procedural tactic known as budget reconciliation."
-- On Morning Edition, NPR's Mara Liasson said the president's goal remains the same -- to find some consensus so that a health care overhaul bill can be passed this year:
-- NPR's Richard Knox takes a look at a key Republican, Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine:
-- Former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin takes aim at the president's health care "bureaucratization" again in an op-ed piece published by The Wall Street Journal. She once again brings up the "death panels" that she has warned about before (panels the president and his supporters say don't and won't exist).
There will, of course, be many ways to watch and monitor the president's address, which is set to begin at 8 p.m. ET. It will be broadcast by all the cable news networks, on many NPR stations, and at NPR.org.
We will "live-blog" the speech, using a "Cover It Live" box that lets you -- the readers -- discuss the address as it's happening. We're hoping to have Ken Rudin of NPR.org's Political Junkie blog and Scott Hensley of NPR.org's Health Blog join us. As the time draws near, come back here if you want to follow along.
As for other stories making headlines, they include:
-- Morning Edition -- "High Court Weighs Upending Campaign-Money Rules": "The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court have returned early from their summer recess to hear arguments in a case that could rip apart the legal underpinnings of the nation's campaign finance laws. For more than a century, for all practical purposes, those laws have barred corporations from spending money on candidate elections. Wednesday's argument is a double first: The first argument to be heard by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and the first time new U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan will argue a case before the Supreme Court." NPR's Nina Totenberg reports:
Related story by On the Media -- The case goes well beyond Hillary: The Movie, the film that kicked off the legal debate:
The Supreme Court hears the case at 10 a.m. ET. Audio of the argument is scheduled to be released by late morning.
-- Variety -- Columnist Army Archerd, A "Defining Voice" In Show Business, Has Died: "Showbiz has lost one of its defining voices, one who honed his craft in the bygone era of close-knit Hollywood and evolved through the many iterations of the industry. Army Archerd, who became an industry institution and beloved figure in his more than half a century at Daily Variety, died Tuesday in Los Angeles. He had a rare form of mesothelioma cancer, thought to be the result of his exposure to asbestos in the Navy during WWII. He was 87."
One more story to watch for today: The Federal Reserve releases its latest "beige book" review of how the economy is doing at 2 p.m. ET.
"After months of preparations, yesterday's early morning switch from right to left went without incident and in an atmosphere of national celebration," the Associated Press says. No accidents were reported.
ITN News posted this video report, which makes the key point that alcohol sales were banned for three days running up to and including the switch:
The Obama administration's special envoy to Sudan says that the challenge of bringing peace and stability to that country is obviously daunting and cautions that it's impossible to gauge the odds of success as people there move toward a decision on whether to remain one nation or divide into separate states.
"One in a million?" he says with a laugh when asked about the odds, before conceding he can't put a number on those chances.
But, says retired Air Force major general Scott Gration, "we've got to succeed; there's really no choice" because millions of lives are at risk.
The State Department put Gration, who heads back to Sudan next week, together with news bloggers for a Q&A session this morning. Some of the other things he had to say:
Set aside some time around 8:30 a.m. ET if you're anxious to hear about what's expected to be the day's big news. That's when the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases figures on the August unemployment rate and the number of jobs eliminated last month by U.S. businesses (it would be a HUGE surprise if there was job growth last month). The BLS will post the employment report here. We'll pass along the news as quickly as we can. Planet Money will be on the story as well.
On Morning Edition, NPR's Chris Arnold told guest host Ari Shapiro that the jobless rate likely ticked up to 9.5% in August from 9.4% in July and that employers probably eliminated about 250,000 jobs. Those aren't great numbers, but they're much better than the losses of last winter and spring:
A not-as-bad-as-before jobs report, of course, would add to the evidence gathered in recent weeks that signals the economy may be on the mend. The Wall Street Journal this morning offers another such sign: An increase in the number of people at shopping malls hints that consumers may be coming out of their shells.
As for other stories making headlines, they include:
-- The Associated Press -- Dozens Of Afghan Civilians Reported Killed In NATO Airstrike: "A NATO jet blasted two fuel tankers hijacked by the Taliban in northern Afghanistan, setting off a huge fireball Friday that killed up to 90 people, Afghan officials said. The NATO command said a 'large number of insurgents' were killed or injured in the pre-dawn attack near the village of Omar Khel in Kunduz province. An Afghan police officer said the 90 dead included about 40 civilians who were siphoning fuel from the trucks."
Related story on Morning Edition -- "Two Democrats Criticize Afghan War Strategy." NPR's Tom Bowman talks with Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts and Sen. Russell Feingold of Wisconsin about their concerns regarding President Barack Obama's Afghan strategy:
-- The Associated Press -- North Korea Claims It Is In Final Stage Of Enriching Uranium:
-- Los Angeles Times -- Incendiary Materials Found Near Site Where Wildfire Started; Homicide Investigation Launched: "A source close to the investigation said investigators found incendiary material near the site. The source, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to discuss the matter, would not be more specific or identify the material. Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca said investigators don't want to release details out of fear it could hurt their ability to find and prosecute an arsonist." Two firefighters were killed while battling the blaze.
Related report from NPR News' Paul Brown:
-- El Paso Times -- "Juarez In Shock" After Massacre: "The brutality of a massacre (Wednesday) at a Juarez drug rehabilitation center in which 18 people were killed shocked a city already plagued with record-breaking violence. A motive for the attack was under investigation, but it appeared to be linked to feuding drug trafficking groups."
-- Los Angeles Times -- "Democrats Consider Setting 'Trigger' For Government Healthcare": "Looking to break the logjam on healthcare legislation, the White House and Democrats in the Senate are increasingly placing their hopes on the idea of a 'trigger' that, if set off, would allow the government to offer health insurance to many Americans."
The King of Pop, who died June 25, was laid to rest last night at Glendale (Calif.) Forest Lawn Memorial Park. (Harrison Funk/AP Photo/The Jackson Family)
Security guard Demba Karamba displays his injured hand as he talks to journalists while awaiting the arrival of police and firefighters outside the smoldering Gabonese Embassy in Dakar, Senegal Thursday, Sept. 3, 2009. (Rebecca Blackwell / AP Photo)
By Frank James
Unrest struck the West African nation of Gabon (and neighboring Senegal, too) after the eldest son of long-time African big man Omar Bongo who died earlier this year, was declared the victor in presidential elections.
Opponents of Ali Ben Bongo claimed they won the election and complained of irregularities. But a French election observer said problems were minimal, according to reports.
According to a Reuters story datelined Libreville:
Security forces clashed with opposition supporters in Gabon's capital on Thursday after Ali Ben Bongo, son of long-time ruler Omar Bongo, was declared the winner of a disputed presidential election.
Ali Bongo . (ISSOUF SANOGO / AFP/Getty Images)
Protesters targeted facilities owned by French oil giant Total and U.S. oil field services firm Schlumberger in the Port Gentil oil hub, and ex-colonial power France's consulate there, the French Foreign Ministry said.
But a Reuters witness touring the capital Libreville after anti-riot police had dispersed protesters said its streets were largely deserted, in what could prove an early sign that former defence minister Ben Bongo was asserting his authority.
Non-humanitarian U.S. aid to Honduras is being suspended, the State Department says, as the Obama administration seeks to up the pressure on that nation's interim government -- which deposed President Manuel Zelaya in a coup back in June.
NPR's Michele Kelemen reports that:
Without putting a dollar figure on the aid, the State Department announced that it is terminating a "broad range" of assistance.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had already suspended some aid and revoked the diplomatic visas of members of the interim government in Honduras, which has refused to agree to a negotiated settlement to have Zelaya return.
The State Department also called for free and fair elections when Hondurans go to the polls in November.
Crowds gathered at a number of sites in downtown Urumqi Thursday to protest against hypodermic syringe attacks in the capital city of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and demanded security guarantees from the authorities.
The Financial Timessays "a resident" of the city who "said he had seen a group of Han Chinese protesters beating up a Uighur suspected of carrying out attacks with syringes, but he was rescued by police and taken to hospital."
China's Xinjiang TV reported that nearly 500 people have sought treatment for stabbings by syringes, and that almost all of the victims were ethnic Han Chinese.
Reuters says protesters demanded that the local Community Party chief apologize and resign because of a breakdown in security. The wire service adds that:
The demonstration was a rare public challenge by Han Chinese to the ruling Communist Party in tense Xinjiang, where deadly ethnic strife with Muslim Uighurs broke out in early July.
Back in July in Urumqi, as the Associated Press writes, "ethnic Muslims first set upon Hans who then retaliated with vigilante attacks." About 200 people died.
She also believes she met Tom Cruise in a previous life.
Yukio Hatoyama, leader of the Democratic Party of Japan, is set to become prime minister later this month. In Sunday's elections, his party ousted the Liberal Democratic Party -- which has ruled Japan for decades.
The El Paso Timesputs the number of dead at 19 in an execution-style attack at a drug rehabilitation center just across the border in Mexico. And, the newspaper says, "the death toll could grow higher." At least six people were wounded.
The Associated Press, which at this moment puts the death toll at 17, says "the attackers on Wednesday broke down the door of El Aliviane center in Ciudad Juarez, lined up their victims against a wall and opened fire, said Arturo Sandoval, a spokesman for the regional prosecutors' office."
Just yesterday, the El Paso newspaper reported that the mayor of Juarez "is asking the Mexican army to stay six more months in the violence-plagued city, where August ended as the deadliest month ever, with more than 300 homicides."
Police outside the drug center where the killings took place. (AP photo)
As our day begins, there's fresh -- and mildly encouraging -- news from the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development. In a new report, the global economic development agency concludes that:
Recovery from the global recession is likely to arrive earlier than had been expected a few months ago but the pace of activity will remain weak well into next year.
You can expect to hear more about the economy, and why the Obama administration believes its actions have helped turn things around, when Vice President Joe Biden speaks this morning at the Brookings Institution in Washington.
Other news that's occurred overnight includes:
-- Word from the western Chinese city of Urumqi about more protests there. In July, ethnic clashes between the majority Han and ethnic Uighurs left about 200 people dead.
-- A vote by the Iranian parliament to approve President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's new cabient. the ministers include "the first woman in the 30-year history of the Islamic republic," the BBC reports.
As for stories making headlines:
-- Morning Edition -- Obama Seeks To Regain Momentum On Health Care. NPR's Mara Liasson reports on the administration's strategy and the address President Barack Obama will make before Congress next Wednesday:
Related story by The New York Times -- "Obama Aides Aim To Simplify And Scale Back Health Bills": "President Obama plans to address a joint session of Congress next week in an effort to rally support for health care legislation as White House officials look for ways to simplify and scale back the major Democratic bills, lower the cost and drop contentious but nonessential elements."
Related story on Morning Edition -- "Minnesota Experiment Puts Patient Health First." NPR's David Welna reports:
Related story on Morning Edition -- "Records Of Health Worker Misdeeds Kept Secret."
-- USA TODAY -- "Women Take Over The Workplace": "Women are on the verge of outnumbering men in the workforce for the first time, a historic reversal caused by long-term changes in women's roles and massive job losses for men during this recession. Women held 49.83% of the nation's 132 million jobs in June and they're gaining the vast majority of jobs in the few sectors of the economy that are growing, according to the most recent numbers available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics."
Related story by The New York Times -- "A Reluctance To Retire Means Fewer Openings."
-- Los Angeles Times -- "Crews Probe Point Of Origin As Fire Marches East": "Fire investigators hunched under a scorched, 20-foot-tall oak tree off Angeles Crest Highway on Wednesday afternoon, using wire mesh sifters to search through the ash in an attempt to determine whether the largest brush fire in Los Angeles County history was deliberately set."
-- Morning Edition -- Haqqani Network Conducts Its Own Reign Of Terror In Afghanistan. The Haqqani Network is a terrorist group that is not as well known as the Taliban or al-Qaida. From its base in Pakistan, the group has mounted a series of sophisticated attacks in Afghanistan. NPR's Renee Montagne talks with terrorism expert Vahid Brown about the group:
But the phrase that has created a frenzy around this story is "Lord of the Flies." A simple Web search today shows that the Project on Government Oversight chose wisely when it wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton that "numerous e-mails, photographs, and videos portray a Lord of the Flies environment" among the contract guards working at the U.S. embassy in Kabul.
As the Associated Press writes, POGO tells Clinton that those guards are subjected to hazing and other inappropriate behavior by supervisors. And the sometimes graphic details, which you can read in the letter below, include reports of some very lewd behavior.
State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said yesterday that the department believes "these are very serious allegations, and we are treating them that way."
"The secretary and the department have made it clear that we will have zero tolerance for the type of conduct that is alleged in these documents," Kelly added.
The guards are employees of ArmorGroup North America, a division of Wackenhut Services. A company spokeswoman, Susan Pitcher, told Reuters that Wackenhut had no comment.
"There was no conspiracy, no cover-up, no double dealing, no deal on oil, no attempt to instruct Scottish ministers, no private assurances by me to Col. Gadhafi," British Prime Minister Gordon Brown insisted today, in his longest response so far to criticism of the decision by Scottish officials to release convicted "Lockerbie bomber" Abdel Baset al-Megrahi.
"We made absolutely clear to the Libyans and everybody else that this was a decision for the Scottish government," Brown added.
But, as the BBC adds, "Brown did not directly refer to the suggestion the Libyans had been told he did not want to see al-Megrahi die in a U.K. prison." The BBC adds that:
On Tuesday, Scottish officials released a report saying a Libyan official had said Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell had told them Mr. Brown did not want the Lockerbie bomber to die in a Scottish prison.
Mr. Rammell -- and UK foreign secretary David Miliband -- have since confirmed that this report was accurate.
Meanwhile, Reuters is reporting that it has been told by "a Libyan official source" that al-Megrahi has been moved into an emergency room at a hospital in Tripoli.
As the AP notes:
Al-Megrahi, 57, was sentenced to life in prison in 2001 for the 1988 explosion that destroyed Pam Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Britain's worst terrorist attack, it left 270 people dead. Scotland freed him on compassionate grounds Aug. 20 after doctors said he had terminal cancer.
Update at 12:10 p.m. ET: The AP now reports that "family members" say al-Megrahi has been taken to intensive care.
Update at 10:30 a.m. ET. From London, NPR's Rob Gifford reports:
"We were firmly back inside China" when North Korean soldiers took them into custody, Current TV reporters Laura Ling and Euna Lee say in their first extended account of the events that led to their five months of captivity in the North.
According to the reporters, their guide led them across a frozen river last March 17. Fearing that they were about to cross over the border from China to North Korea, the women say, they turned around:
Feeling nervous about where we were, we quickly turned back toward China. Midway across the ice, we heard yelling. We looked back and saw two North Korean soldiers with rifles running toward us. Instinctively, we ran.
We were firmly back inside China when the soldiers apprehended us. Producer Mitch Koss and our guide were both able to outrun the border guards. We were not. We tried with all our might to cling to bushes, ground, anything that would keep us on Chinese soil, but we were no match for the determined soldiers. They violently dragged us back across the ice to North Korea and marched us to a nearby army base, where we were detained. Over the next 140 days, we were moved to Pyongyang, isolated from one another, repeatedly interrogated and eventually put on trial and sentenced to 12 years of hard labor.
The Associated Press notes that "Lee and Ling said that while they were in detention, they swallowed their notes, damaged their videotapes and made other efforts to protect the identities of their sources."
The women were released last month after former president Bill Clinton made a trip to Pyongyang and met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. They made this video to thank those who had worked for their release:
The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack, which happened in the eastern province of Laghman as the intelligence chief, Abdullah Laghmani, was leaving a ceremony that marked the inauguration of a mosque. NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson filed this report from Kabul:
Unfortunately, there's other breaking news of death and destruction to pass on from overseas:
-- "A bomb has exploded outside the Athens stock exchange, slightly injuring a female passer-by and damaging the building," the BBC reports. "The blasts may be the work of a Greek extremists' group, Revolutionary Struggle, says the BBC's Malcolm Brabant in Athens."
-- "A powerful earthquake in Indonesia has killed at least 11 people and injured dozens of others," the Associated Press writes. "National Disaster Management Agency Satrio Nurhadiwibowo spokesman says those killed were in two towns in West Java province."
As for other stories making headlines, they include:
-- Politico -- "Obama Shifts Strategy;" Won't Insist On "Public Option": "Aides to President Barack Obama are putting the final touches on a new strategy to help Democrats recover from a brutal August recess by specifying what Obama wants to see in a compromise health care deal and directly confronting other trouble spots, West Wing officials tell Politico. Obama is considering detailing his health-care demands in a major speech as soon as next week, when Congress returns from the August recess. And although House leaders have said their members will demand the inclusion of a public insurance option, Obama has no plans to insist on it himself, the officials said."
Related story on Morning Edition -- Lobbyists Campaign For Their Versions Of Health Care Overhaul. NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with lobbyist Paul Lee about how it works:
-- Los Angeles Times -- "Weather Aids Firefighters, But Some Flanks Of Fire Have Lethal Potential": "Higher humidity and slightly lower temperatures helped firefighters inch closer to subduing the monstrous fire that has lashed about the San Gabriel Mountains for a week, but they were scrambling late Tuesday in gusty winds to keep it from overrunning Mt. Wilson."
-- U.N. Office On Drugs and Crime -- "Afghan Opium Production In Significant Decline": "Opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan is down 22%, opium production is down 10%, while prices are at a 10-year low. The number of opium poppy-free provinces has increased from 18 to 20 out of a total number of 34, and more drugs are being seized as a result of more robust counter-narcotics operations by Afghan and NATO forces."
Related report from Kabul by NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson:
-- The New York Times -- "Tribal Leaders Say Karzai's Team Forged 23,900 Votes": "The accusations ... are the most serious allegations so far that have been publicized against (President Hamid) Karzai's electoral machine, which faces a deluge of fraud complaints from around the country."
-- Morning Edition -- Some Jobs Are "Gone For Good". "The labor market will remain tough for many months to come. But when jobs eventually come back, traditionally strong areas such as health care and education are expected to lead the way. Analysts say weaker ones -- such as construction -- could take years to return. And many jobs in areas such as autos and newspapers are gone for good." NPR's Frank Langfitt reports:
Imagine if one day you were driving to work like always ...
Everybody on the right. (Elise Amendola / AP)
... and the next day you and everybody else had to switch sides of the road:
Everybody on the left. (Elise Amendola / AP)
That's what will happen Monday in Samoa and as the local Observer reports, there are many unhappy people:
The feeling of uneasiness is increasing throughout Samoa. TV ads depicting roadsides littered with crosses implying mass deaths air every night.
The reason the South Pacific island nation is doing this, the Associated Press reports, is that it wants to be in line with left-side driving Australia and New Zealand -- and because officials in Samoa want "encourage some of the 170,000 expatriate Samoans living in those nations to ship used cars (with steering wheels on the right) back to relatives." That could help reduce car prices in Samoa.
The impending switch, though, has inspired letters such as this to the Observer. It begins:
In eight more days, one of our loved ones will cease to be with us. This is not a premonition but based on what is happening with this road switch fiasco.
Correction at 6:10 p.m. ET: Our directions got crossed earlier. Folks drive on the left in Australia and New Zealand, as the post now states, not on the right.
Turks and Armenians continue to chip away at the wall of enmity that's existed between them for more than a century as Turkish and Armenian officials announced today that they were entering final talks that could lead to diplomatic ties between their two nations and a reopening of the border between them.
Turkey (in red) beat Armenia 2-0 in this 2008 World Cup qualifier but both nations were seen as winners as the meeting was a step towards reconciliation between formerly sworn enemies. A rematch occurs in October. (Misha Japaridze / AP Photo.)
Turkey officially recognized Armenia in 1991 when the latter nation declared its independence after the Soviet Union's collapse. But the two countries haven't had official diplomatic links due to a lingering mutual animosity that appears to be thawing.
For Armenians the stumbling block has been the Turkish refusal to acknowledge the genocide of Armenians by Turks during the Ottoman Empire's dying days at the start of World War I.
Meanwhile, Turks have had their grievances against Armenians, going beyond the annoying Armenian tendency to constantly mention the genocide.
The countries have differed over the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh which claimed independence in 1991. Armenia has supported the ethnic Armenians against the Azebaijanis who have Turkic roots and have asserted claims on Nagorno-Karabakh.
Armenia has also antagonized the Turks by re-commissioning a nuclear power plant widely regarded as unsafe that lies close to the Turkish border.
Al-Megrahi's condition is said to have worsened. (Channel 4 News / APTN)
By Mark Memmott
Libya is at the center of several interesting stories this morning, starting with word from the BBC that "the Scottish Government is due to publish documents it says justify the decision to release the Lockerbie bomber on compassionate grounds."
Then there's the news from the Associated Press that "the health of the Lockerbie bomber, who has terminal prostate cancer, has swiftly deteriorated since his release from a Scottish prison less than two weeks ago, said a senior Libyan official Tuesday."
According to the AP:
The head of the Libyan State Information Agency, Majid al-Dursi, said Tuesday that Abdel Baset al-Megrahi is in the hospital and described him as "very sick."
In The Times of London, Conservative Party leader David Cameron goes after Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the Labor Party for not condemning al-Megrahi's release. "On a matter fraught with such emotion, and with the potential to damage Britain's reputation abroad, a decisive lead from the Prime Minister was required," Cameron writes.
Finally, on Morning Edition today, guest host Ari Shapiro talked with Martin Fletcher of The Times about the six days of celebrations that Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is staging to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the military coup that brought him to power:
Firefighters set this "back fire" in La Crescenta in a bid to control the spread of flames. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)
By Mark Memmott
The news from southern California this morning isn't good. As the Los Angeles Times puts it, "Blaze Consumes 105,000 Acres, No End In Sight. Huge Wildfire Shows Little Sign Of Slowing Down."
"This is a very angry fire that we're fighting right now," U.S. Forest Service Cmdr. Mike Dietrich said Monday night.
Nova Safo filed this report for NPR News earlier. Firefighters are trying to box in the blazes outside Los Angeles, but are hindered by the rugged terrain:
As we noted yesterday, there are many online sources for keeping track of the fires.
Other stories making headlines this morning include:
-- The New York Times -- "Justice Dept. To Recharge Enforcement Of Civil Rights": "Seven months after taking office, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. is reshaping the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division by pushing it back into some of the most important areas of American political life, including voting rights, housing, employment, bank lending practices and redistricting after the 2010 census."
-- Politico -- "White House Fears Liberal War Pressure": "White House officials are increasingly worried liberal, anti-war Democrats will demand a premature end to the Afghanistan war before President Barack Obama can show signs of progress in the eight-year conflict, according to senior administration sources."
-- ABC News' Political Punch blog -- Obama Is Having More Success Against Terrorists Than Bush Did, President's National Security Adviser Says: "Responding to criticism from former Vice President Cheney that President Obama is making the nation more vulnerable to terrorism, the president's National Security Adviser, Gen. Jim Jones (Ret.), told ABC News in an exclusive interview that actually the reverse is true: President Obama's greater success with international relations has meant more terrorists put out of commission."
-- The Associated Press -- "Mexico Tries To Evacuate Thousands Ahead of Jimena": "Emergency workers struggled to evacuate thousands of reluctant slum dwellers as extremely dangerous Hurricane Jimena approached Mexico's resort-studded Baja California Peninsula on Tuesday. Jimena, just short of Category 5 status with winds of near 155 mph (250 kph), could rake the harsh desert region fringed with picturesque beaches and fishing villages as a major storm by Tuesday evening."
-- BBC News -- "Iran Has 'New Nuclear Proposal' ": "Iran has prepared a new nuclear proposal and is ready to resume talks on its nuclear program, according to media reports. The Islamic Republic's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili was quoted making the claim on Iranian television."
Among the news to watch for later today: At 10 a.m. ET, the Census Bureau releases figures on construction spending in July.
Contributing: Chinita Anderson of Morning Edition.
In Acton, Calif., flames soared into the sky Sunday. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)
By Mark Memmott
Raging wildfires in Los Angeles County lead the news this morning. Two firefighters lost their lives yesterday, and about 12,000 homes are threatened. The so-called Station fire covers thousands of acres and is "very much out of control," the Los Angeles Times reports.
As NPR's Mandalit Del Barco reports, the flames also threaten to disrupt vital communications networks in southern California. She spoke with Morning Edition's Renee Montagne:
Other stories making headlines this morning include:
-- Kyodo News -- "Japan Bureaucracy Appears Unruffled By DPJ's Sweeping Victory": "Central government officials on Monday appeared unruffled by the Democratic Party of Japan's landslide victory driving the long-dominant Liberal Democratic Party from power for only the second time in its 54-year history. ... 'It's just like when the president changes in a private company,'' said a high-ranking Finance Ministry official, who refused to be named. ''All we have to do is to follow the policy of our new head.'' The DPJ, which has never governed since its inception in 1996, has pledged to wrest power from elite bureaucrats in formulating policies and put an end to what it sees as wasteful spending."
Related story from NPR's Louisa Lim on Morning Edition -- A "seismic shift" in Japan:
-- The New York Times -- "As Big Banks Repay Bailout Money, U.S. Sees A Profit": "Nearly a year after the federal rescue of the nation's biggest banks, taxpayers have begun seeing profits from the hundreds of billions of dollars in aid that many critics thought might never be seen again. The profits, collected from eight of the biggest banks that have fully repaid their obligations to the government, come to about $4 billion, or the equivalent of about 15 percent annually, according to calculations compiled for The New York Times."
-- Boston Globe -- "In Or Out, Joe Kennedy Will Affect Race For Senate Seat": "With Massachusetts having paid its final respects to Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the politics of succession begins in earnest this week -- candidates will emerge, a race will take shape, and the Kennedy clan will have to reveal whether it wants to keep the seat in the family. All eyes now are on Joseph P. Kennedy II, the former US representative, with family members and political allies expecting him to make a decision very shortly on whether to enter the Democratic primary."
-- The Wall Street Journal -- Home Haircuts Are Recession Indicators: "The downturn has created a nation of cost, and hair- cutters. To help pare their budgets, more Americans are bypassing the salon and opting to lop off their own locks. The results, can be shear disaster -- clogged drains, fresh cowlicks and crooked trims."
Related story by NPR's Jack Zahora on Morning Edition -- The "layway" is making a comeback thanks to the weak economy:
-- USA TODAY -- "$3.1 Billion Set Aside For Jobless Unclaimed": "More than $3.1 billion in stimulus money for state unemployment insurance programs is sitting in a federal trust fund because 23 states haven't expanded their jobless benefits, Labor Department records show."
Related story by NPR's Joseph Shapiro on Morning Edition -- "Social Security Administration Struggles With Backlog":
People cast their votes at a Tokyo polling station, August 30, 2009. (Junko Kimura / Getty Images)
By Frank James
Japanese voters on Sunday ejected from power the party that has governed Japan nearly without interruption since the post-World War II period, the inaptly named right-of-center Liberal Democratic Party.
Stanford University-trained engineer Yukio Hatoyama, leader of the left-of-center Democratic Party, will get to form the next Japanese government.
As NPR's Louisa Lim has reported from Tokyo:
Japan's political landscape is being remade after this election. The votes are still being counted, but all the exit polls indicate the opposition Democratic party of Japan has won by a landslide. Some projections say it could have won as many as 320, or two-thirds of the 480 seats contested.
Meanwhile, projections show the LDP will only hold about 100 seats. It's held power for all but 11 months of the past 53 years. Party officials say they will elect a new leader after their historic defeat. Voters have been punishing the ruling party for Japan's poor economy, the rising wealth gap and bureaucratic bungling. Local media is reporting turnout for the election is a record high, around 69 percent of all voters.
The call for change was overwhelming, with a landslide vote going to the opposition Democratic party of Japan. This untested left-of-center party will be in charge of steering the world's second largest economy. Prime Minister Taro Aso said he would take responsibility for a loss which he said was beyond his expectations, and apologized for a lack of leadership. He said his party should start afresh with a new leader.
Meanwhile, the man who will be Japan's next prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, pledged not to be arrogant and said he would listen to the people. On Monday, the party will hold talks with its two allies on forming a coalition government. It will have to deal with record unemployment and soaring welfare costs amid a rapidly-ageing society.
Laura Dekker, her father Dick Dekker and lawyer, Peter De Lange, right, speak with the media. (AP Photo)
By Frank James
A Dutch court has taken the wind out of the sails of the 13-year old girl who wants to be the youngest person to sail solo around the globe and her enabling parents.
The court gave child welfare authorities temporary guardianship of Laura Dekker and has ordered psychologists to assess her to see if she is mentally up to circumnavigating the globe alone. That effectively delays here trip which was supposed to begin Sept. 1 by two months.
As the Associated Press reports:
Judges said Laura Dekker would face both mental and physical risks if she were allowed to go ahead with the two-year trip in her 26-foot (8-meter) boat named Guppy.
The court said she could continue living with her father, but would become the responsibility of Dutch child care officials for two months while an independent child psychologist evaluated her case.
The court battle in this traditional seafaring nation has attracted attention around the world, raising questions about parental responsibility when children want to set off on perilous adventures.
The Dalai Lama: Taiwan-bound? (Fabrice Coffrini / AFP/Getty Images)
By David Gura
Reporter Doualy Xaykaothao says that the president of Taiwan, Ma Ying-jeou, made the unexpected announcement, that he had invited the Dalai Lama to visit, as he toured areas devastated by Typhoon Morakot.
At a school destroyed by mudslides, he told reporters that the Dalai Lamacould come to Taiwan to pray for the souls of the dead -- and also to pray for the souls of the survivors.
According to Xaykaothao, Ma rejected a visit by the Dalai Lama last year -- for political reasons. "Mah had been newly elected to office, and he has been trying to improve ties with China, which claims sovereignty over self-governing Taiwan."
The president of Taiwan has been criticized for how he and his government handled Typhoon Morakot and its aftermath, which killed more than 650 people.
A large apparent truck bomb exploded in a commercial district of Kandahar, Afghanistan.
( / From CIA World Factbook)
According to NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson who's in Afghanistan and has e-mailed some initial info:
Ahmad Wali Karzai, head of the provincial council (Afghan Hamid Karzai's brother), says 29 confirmed dead, 55 more injured, 20 of them critically, bodies and wounded still being dug up.
This truck or tanker went off near a construction company in a neighborhood with homes and restaurants, he confirms. At least three buildings collapsed.
The police are trying to dig out bodies and wounded ...
This truck or tanker went off near a construction company in a neighborhood with homes and restaurants, he confirms. At least three buildings collapsed.
Unclear who is responsible, Taliban are mum thus far.
This happened at 7:30 p.m. about 45 minutes after people broke the Ramadan fast.
Scotland's Justice Minister Kenny MacAskilll told an emergency session of the Scottish Parliament today that he stood by his decision to release convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset Ali Al Megrahi for reasons of compassion to allow the Libyan to return home to die from prostate cancer.
But MacAskill sounded a little naive when he complained that the Libyans didn't live up to their end of a bargain to keep Megrahi's return to Tripoli low-key. Libya, after all, is still led by Moammar Gadhafi who may not be as erratic as he once was but who still most often operates according to his own rules.
Kenny MacAskill told MSPs: "It is a matter of great regret that Mr Megrahi was received in such an inappropriate manner. It showed no compassion or sensitivity to the families of the 270 victims of Lockerbie."
He went on: "Assurances had been given by the Libyan Government that any return would be dealt with in a low-key and sensitive fashion."
Again, Libya isn't exactly the most predictable state. It turned over Megrahi and another Libyan national to Scottish authorities for trial in the Netherlands in 2001, and admitted involvement in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing of Pan Am 103, as well as other terrorist attacks. It also paid $2.7 billion to the families of victims.
Then Libyan officials reversed themselves. The Libyans said they weren't responsible for the terrorist attacks, that they admitted to them only to free themselves of economic sanctions that were crippling their economy.
In Iraq, bomb attacks on two minibuses have killed at least 20 people, several news sources -- including the the BBC and Reuters -- report. The vehicles were traveling from Baghdad to Kut, a city on the Tigris River, about 90 miles southeast of Iraq's capital.
Last week, a wave of bombings in Iraq's capital -- near the Green Zone, outside the foreign ministry and the finance ministry -- killed 101 people.
On Saturday, Iraq's foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, told reporters that "there has been an obvious deterioration in the security situation in the last two months," and that "what is coming might be bigger attacks, and the government needs to shoulder its responsibility and deal with the security inefficiencies."
What looked to be a hero's welcome on Thursday for convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al Megrahi when he arrived in Tripoli, Libya was duly noted by the families of the victims of Pan Am 103 and added to their outrage that he was released by the Scottish government because he has terminal cancer.
The only man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing returned home Thursday to a cheering crowd after his release from a Scottish prison -- an outrage to many relatives of the 270 people who perished when Pan Am Flight 103 exploded.
The BBC adds that "Britain and the US have strongly condemned the jubilant welcome given in Libya to the man convicted of the bombing of a US plane over Lockerbie. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband described the scenes as 'deeply distressing.' "
The celebratory scene had to be what Scottish authorities feared as they deliberated on whether to release Megrahi.
It definitely played in the minds of the Obama administration, which had asked Libya not to have an elaborate welcome for Megrahi.
Libyan officials may have been aware there would be a problem. This morning, the AP writes:
Libya appeared on Friday to be trying to downplay the return of the Lockerbie bomber, keeping him out of the public eye and making little official mention of him, amid outrage by families of the U.S. victims and a warning by President Barack Obama not to give him a hero's welcome. ...
Even as al-Megrahi descended from the airplane, Libya seemed to quickly scale down its planned more elaborate welcome. Hundreds in the crowd were rushed away by authorities and the arrival was not aired live on state TV.
On this sultry summer Friday there are some things to keep an eye on.
At 10 a.m. ET, the National Association of Realtors releases its figures on July sales of so-called existing homes. Those numbers are closely watched because home sales are good indicators of how the economy's doing and how healthy it will or won't be in coming months.
Sticking with the economy for a minute, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is scheduled to speak at the Kansas City Fed's annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo. His appearance is also set for 10 a.m. ET, and his words will be parsed for clues to whether the Fed thinks the economy has indeed begun to strengthen. Steve Beckner of Market News International reports:
In Washington this morning, friends and family will gather for the funeral of conservative commentator and journalist Robert Novak.
Out in the Atlantic near Bermuda, meanwhile, Hurricane Bill has weakened slightly -- but still threatens to flood the island's coastlines and bring dangerous waves and riptides to the eastern coast of the USA.
Finally, Muslims around the world are preparing for the start of their religion's holiest month. NPR's Jamie Tarabay filed this report about Ramadan:
As for stories making headlines, they include:
-- The Associated Press -- "Karzai, Abdullah Teams Claim Wins In Afghan Vote": "Campaign teams for President Hamid Karzai and top challenger Abdullah Abdullah each positioned themselves Friday as the winner of Afghanistan's presidential election, one day after millions of Afghans braved dozens of militant attacks to cast ballots. Partial preliminary results won't be made public before Saturday, as Afghanistan and the dozens of countries with troops and aid organizations in the country wait to see who will lead the troubled nation for the next five years."
-- ABC News -- "Opposition To Health Care Reform Is On The Rise": "Public doubt about health care reform has grown as the debate's raged this summer, with a rise in views it would do more harm than good, increasing opposition to a public option -- and President Obama's rating on the issue at a new low in ABC News/Washington Post polls."
-- The New York Times -- "CIA Said To Use Outsiders To Put Bombs On Drones": "From a secret division at its North Carolina headquarters, the company formerly known as Blackwater has assumed a role in Washington's most important counterterrorism program: the use of remotely piloted drones to kill al-Qaida's leaders, according to government officials and current and former employees."
-- The Washington Post -- "Detainees Shown CIA Officers' Photos; Justice Dept. Looking Into Whether Attorneys Broke Law At Guantanamo": "The Justice Department recently questioned military defense attorneys at Guantanamo Bay about whether photographs of CIA personnel, including covert officers, were unlawfully provided to detainees charged with organizing the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, according to sources familiar with the investigation."
Cindy Hickey is the mother of Shane Bauer, one of the three U.S. hikers held incommunicado by Iran for nearly three weeks after the Americans reportedly crossed into Iranian territory over the largely unmarked border between that nation and northern Iraq's Kurdistan region. Hickey talked Thursday with All Things Considered host Melissa Block.
Hickey denied that her son, a freelance journalist, and his friends Joshua Fattal and Sarah Shourd who all knew each other from their days as students at the University of California at Berkeley, are spies, an accusation made by Iranian officials.
And she said while the captives' families want their loved ones released, most immediately, they'd just like the three to be able to make phone calls home and have consular access.
Here's part of her conversation with Melissa:
HICKEY: We were notified that they are being detained in Iran. We have not been granted consular access. And that is what we would like. Of course, we'd like them home quickly and safely but consular access is really the next step. And it's been almost three weeks so we're really wanting to know where they are. Just to hear their voice on the phone would be something that is going to give us some peace of mind.
MELISSA: And as far as you know, no charges have been filed at this point. The indications were that the Iranians would be possibly be pursuing espionage charges.
HICKEY: We haven't anything about any charges and, you know, of course, beyond a shadow of a doubt these kids, hiking, definitely were there for recreational purposes and in no way are spies.
Caster Semenya of South Africa should be basking in the accomplishment of winning a gold medal and setting a personal best in the 800 meters at the World Championships in Berlin, Germany Wednesday.
World Championship women's 800m winner Caster Semenya.(David J. Phillip / AP Photo)
Instead, the 18-year old has had her gender questioned because of her masculine features, with doubters saying she's actually a man, though they don't have any proof.
Proof of her gender may be forthcoming with the International Athletic Associations Federation asking the South African Athletic Association to have gender testing done.
The verification requires a physical medical evaluation, and includes reports from a gynecologist, endocrinologist, psychologist, an internal medicine specialist and an expert on gender.
It will take weeks before the test results are known.
Convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi is being released from prison, Scottish Justice minister Kenny MacAskill just confirmed.
"These are my decisions and my decisions alone," he said, prior to announcing that he is granting a "compassionate release" because al-Megrahi has a terminal illness.
"Mr. al-Megrahi now faces a sentence imposed by a higher power," MacAskill said. "He is going to die."
"Mr. al-Megrahi did not show his victims any comfort or compassion," the minister added. "But that alone is not the reason for us to deny compassion to him and his family in his final days."
As Frank noted yesterday, MacAskill's announcement is not a surprise. Al-Megrahi is dying from prostate cancer and is being sent home to Libya.
The Dec. 21, 1988, bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 killed all 259 people on board and another 11 people on the ground in Lockerbie, Scotland.
Update at 9:45 a.m. ET: The cable news networks are showing the police-and-ambulance caravan that is taking al-Megrahi to the airport.
And here's the audio of MacAskill as he talked about the bomber's lack of compassion -- and why Scotland would not do the same:
Update at 8:40 a.m. ET. The White House just released this statement from spokesman Robert Gibbs:
The United States deeply regrets the decision by the Scottish Executive to release Abdel Basset Mohamed al-Megrahi. Megrahi was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for his role in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, which blew up over Scotland on December 21, 1988. As we have expressed repeatedly to officials of the government of the United Kingdom and to Scottish authorities, we continue to believe that Megrahi should serve out his sentence in Scotland. On this day, we extend our deepest sympathies to the families who live every day with the loss of their loved ones. We recognize the effects of such a loss weigh upon a family forever.
Afghans have gone to the polls to vote for a president, and as we reported a short time ago the turnout is said to have been light and there has been some violence. Click here for all of NPR.org's coverage of news from Afghanistan.
As for other stories making headlines this morning, they include:
-- Boston Globe -- "Kennedy, Looking Ahead, Urges That Senate Seat Be Filled Quickly": "Senator Edward M. Kennedy, in a poignant acknowledgment of his mortality at a critical time in the national health care debate, has privately asked the governor and legislative leaders to change the succession law to guarantee that Massachusetts will not lack a Senate vote when his seat becomes vacant." The Democratic senator is battling brain cancer. The Globe has posted a copy of Kennedy's letter to Gov. Deval Patrick here.
-- The New York Times -- "CIA Sought Blackwater's Help In Plan To Kill Jihadists": "The Central Intelligence Agency in 2004 hired outside contractors from the private security contractor Blackwater USA as part of a secret program to locate and assassinate top operatives of al-Qaida, according to current and former government officials."
-- The Wall Street Journal -- "New Rx For Health Plan: Split Bill": "The White House and Senate Democratic leaders, seeing little chance of bipartisan support for their health-care overhaul, are considering a strategy shift that would break the legislation into two parts and pass the most expensive provisions solely with Democratic votes."
-- The Associated Press -- Poverty Rate Said To Have Risen: "The ranks of poor and uninsured Americans are likely increasing -- with more than 38.8 million believed to be in poverty. Rebecca Blank, the Commerce Department's undersecretary of economic affairs, spoke to The Associated Press in advance of next month's closely watched release of 2008 census data. Noting the figures are not yet final, Blank said the numbers likely will show a 'statistically significant' increase in the poverty rate, to at least 12.7%. That would represent a jump of more than 1.5 million poor people compared with the previous year."
-- The Times of London -- Alleged Killer Of Neda Soltan Identified: "The man accused of killing Neda Soltan has been identified as Abbas Kargar Javid, a pro-government militiaman, after photographs of the Basiji's ID cards appeared on the Internet." Neda's death, which was shown around the world on YouTube, galvanized outrage about the Iranian government's crackdown on protests over the country's disputed June 12 presidential election.
-- Morning Edition -- "Kilogram's Future Hangs In The Balance": Since 1889, the official kilogram -- a small metal cylinder weighing around 2.2 pounds -- has been at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures in Paris. But there's a problem. Its mass seems to be changing. Now, scientists say, the world needs a new official kilogram. That's going to require a special kind of scale.
CNN and ITN News are reporting that the Scottish government has decided to release convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds because he is dying from terminal prostate cancer.
The CNN report goes further than the wire services. They wires are reporting that Scotland's justice secretary has made a decision that will be announced Thursday but they don't say what the decision is.
An Associated Press excerpt:
A statement released Wednesday says Scottish Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill has "informed families and other interested parties that he has reached his decisions on the applications for prisoner transfer and compassionate release."
A Scottish government spokeswoman says the minister's decision will not be released before Thursday.
Al-Megrahi was the sole person convicted in 2001 of taking part in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 on Dec. 21, 1988...
Many families of the 270 victims, 259 who were on the Boeing 747 with the remaining victims on the ground, fiercely oppose al-Megrahi's release.
One explosion was near the Foreign Ministry (in background). (Khalid Mohammed / AP)
By Mark Memmott
Good morning.
There have been a series of explosions in Baghdad today. Dozens are reported dead and more than 300 are said to have been wounded. Carl Kasell introduces this report from NPR's Deborah Amos, who is in the Iraqi capital:
Violence also continues to flare in Afghanistan, where the presidential election is scheduled for tomorrow. On Morning Edition, co-host Renee Montagne spoke with NPR's Jackie -- who is in Kabul. Then Renee, who just returned from Afghanistan, talked with co-host Steve Inskeep about what's happening there as the time to vote draws near:
For those who like to mix some history with their news, Morning Edition also aired a conversation between Steve and Amin Tarzi, director of Middle East studies at the Marine Corps University, about the events of 1979 in Afghanistan (when the Soviet Union invaded):
As for other stories making headlines, they include:
-- The New York Times -- "Democrats Seem Set To Go It Alone On A Health Bill": "Given hardening Republican opposition to Congressional health care proposals, Democrats now say they see little chance of the minority's cooperation in approving any overhaul, and are increasingly focused on drawing support for a final plan from within their own ranks."
Related story by The Washington Post -- "Debate's Path Caught Obama By Surprise": "President Obama's advisers acknowledged Tuesday that they were unprepared for the intraparty rift that occurred over the fate of a proposed public health insurance program, a firestorm that has left the White House searching for a way to reclaim the initiative on the president's top legislative priority."
-- Morning Edition -- "Health Co-Ops Touted As Alternative To Public Plan": "The Obama administration appears to be backing away from the idea that a health care overhaul has to include the option of a government-run insurance program. If this public plan is removed from the bills currently under construction in Congress, it could be replaced by nonprofit health insurance plans run on the co-op model, where people who buy the insurance are the ones who own the insurance company." NPR's Joanne Silberner reports:
-- From a related story by the Associated Press -- "Forecasters say the dangerous hurricane could get even stronger. ... The most significant threat could be to Bermuda, which the storm could pass in three or four days."
-- Morning Edition -- Sanctions On Myanmar Are 'Huge Strategic Error,' Sen. Webb Says: In a conversation with NPR's Steve Inskeep, Democratic Sen. James Webb of Virginia talked about the trip he just made to Myanmar, his meetings with its reclusive leader and democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi and why he thinks it no longer makes sense to have economic sanctions aimed at that country:
-- The Wall Street Journal -- "Reluctant Shoppers Hold Back Recovery": "Major retailers reported that American consumers are continuing to hunker down, casting a cloud over the durability of the U.S. recovery and underscoring the importance of overseas demand in restoring the world economy to health."
-- USA TODAY -- "Climate Plan Calls For Forest Expansion": " New forests would spread across the American landscape, replacing both pasture and farm fields, under a congressional plan to confront climate change, an Environmental Protection Agency analysis shows. About 18 million acres of new trees -- roughly the size of West Virginia -- would be planted by 2020, according to an EPA analysis of a climate bill passed by the House of Representatives in June."
Retired beekeeper Louis Guiroy shows an Asian hornet's nest he found near his home in Parempuyre, near Bordeaux, southwestern France, in this Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2007 file photo. (Bob Edme / AP Photo)
By Frank James
If you thought the only invasive species that rattled the French were boorish American tourists, think again. Chinese hornets are attacking French beehives.
It was bad enough that the French bee hives have suffered the same inexplicable losses affecting bee hives throughout the world, the phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder. The Chinese hornets are accelerating the demise of many French bees.
An excerpt from Reuters, including its original English spelling of certain words:
"More and more of them are coming and they're colonising France," Quentin Rome, a researcher at the National History Museum in Paris, told Reuters.
The three centimetre-long insects, recognisable by their orange heads and yellow feet, probably arrived in France on a boat carrying ceramic goods from China, researchers believe.
The first hornets were observed in France in 2004, and the most recent study recorded 1,100 nests across the country. The hornet is now firmly established near Bordeaux and has advanced as far north as parts of Brittany in northwestern France.
"They multiply quite quickly, and they settle in a new department every year," Rome said.
The hornet is not yet present in other European countries, but will probably spread across the continent, he added.
Fortunately for France's wine industry, most wine grapes don't need to be pollinated by bees so there's little threat to that important French industry. That's not to diminish the threat to French beekeepers and the other agricultural products that rely on bees to pollinate plants.
As reports circulate that Israel, as the Associated Press says, "has quietly moved to halt new housing projects in the West Bank, while outwardly rebuffing U.S. pressure to stop construction in its settlements," the Israeli ambassador to the United States tells NPR that his country "would like to see some quid pro quo from the Arab side." Here's some of Ambassador Michael Oren's conversation with ATC co-host Robert Siegel (the first voice is Robert's):
Later in the conversation, Oren says that Israel is still going to allow settlers to expand the homes they already have. He calls it "normal life construction":
Also during the interview, Oren says U.S.-Israeli relations have not soured since President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took office:
Obama met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak at the White House today. The U.S. leader said of the Arabs and Israelis that "everybody has to take steps," and that both sides "have to take risks" to achieve peace.
There will be more from Robert's conversation with the ambassador on ATC today. Click here to find an NPR station near you.
Things will be busy today at the White House, where President Barack Obama meets with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak late this morning, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in the early afternoon and former president Bill Clinton in late afternoon. Bill Clinton's trip to North Korea, where he met with leader Kim Jong Il, is sure to be on their agenda.
Also today, at 8:30 a.m. ET, the Commerce Department reports about July home construction.
As for the stories making headlines, two familiar subjects -- health care and Afghanistan -- lead the way again. And there's word from South Korea that former president Kim Dae-jung, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to bring peace between the North and South, has died. He was 85.
The day's top stories:
-- Politico -- "Liberals Revolt Over Public Option": "The White House's signal that it's willing to back off support for a public health insurance option has sent congressional liberals into full revolt, bluntly warning the administration that no legislation will pass without a government-run plan."
Related story on Morning Edition -- "Even though some Democrats want to hold on to what's known as the public option, the plan is losing appeal. A likely alternative to that plan is a network of nonprofit health co-ops:"
Related story by The New York Times -- "Alternate Plan As Health Option Muddies Debate."
-- Morning Edition -- "Is Britain's Health System Really That Bad?" "The National Health Service in the United Kingdom has become a punching bag for some critics of proposals to remake the U.S. health care system. Britons are offended by how some U.S. media outlets have singled the British system out for what not to do."
Related conversation on Morning Edition -- Host Steve Inskeep talks to Lord Ara Darzi, a surgeon and British government advisor, about Britain's National Health Service:
-- USA TODAY -- "Unemployed Workers Flock To COBRA": "A federal subsidy designed to make health insurance more affordable for laid-off workers has led to a doubling in the number of people who have opted to continue their former employer's coverage. The coverage, known as COBRA, allows people who leave their jobs to continue their former employer's health coverage for up to 18 months."
-- The Associated Press -- "Bomb Attack Kills At Least 7 Near Kabul": "A suicide car bomber attacked a NATO convoy Tuesday on the outskirts of Kabul, killing at least seven civilians and wounding 50 people, including several international troops, officials said. A U.N. spokesman said three U.N. staff were also wounded. The attack occurred two days before national elections in which Afghans are to select a new president."
Related story by Reuters -- "Suicide Car Bomb, Rockets Strike Kabul Ahead Of Vote."
Related story on Morning Edition -- The head of the United Nations mission in Afghanistan says he expects there will be more violence ahead of Thursday's voting:
Related graphic at WashingtonPost.com -- How The Afghan Election Will Work. A key point: If no presidential candidate wins more than 50% of the votes, a runoff of the top two will be held, most likely on Oct. 1.
Locations and projected paths of Ana and Bill. (National Hurricane Center; USGS / AP)
-- The Associated Press -- "Hurricane Bill Gathers Strength Out In Atlantic": "The first hurricane of the Atlantic season loomed far out in the ocean Tuesday, gaining power and moving on a track that forecasters said could take it close to Bermuda by the end of the week."
-- YnetNews.com -- "Israel Agrees To Freeze Settlement Construction As Gesture To U.S.": "In a subtle overture to the U.S., Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Housing Minister Ariel Atias agreed upon a de facto moratorium on new building in the settlements."
-- BBC News -- "Russia Detains Ship 'Hijackers' ": "Eight people have been arrested for hijacking the cargo ship Arctic Sea, Russia's defense minister says. Anatoly Serdyukov said the group of suspects included Russian, Estonian and Latvian nationals."
"The Russian-crewed freighter that sparked a high-seas mystery when it disappeared nearly three weeks ago has been found by a Russian naval frigate off the West African coast," the Associated Press writes, citing Russian news agencies as the source of the news.
According to the AP, those agencies are in turn quoting Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov as saying that the Arctic Sea's 15 crew members are alive and now aboard a Russian Navy ship.
The Arctic Sea was last heard from July 28. As the AP recounts, "the crew had reported being attacked on July 24 in the Baltic Sea by masked men who beat them and questioned them about drugs before leaving 12 hours later, Swedish police have said."
Reports that the ship had been spotted near the Cape Verde Coast first surfaced late last week. There's no word yet on why it took until today for the ship to be located by the Russian Navy.
In Iraq, "death squads ... (are) singling out men whom they considered not 'manly' enough, or whom they suspected of homosexual conduct," Human Rights Watch reports today. Hundreds are thought to have been murdered.
The organization's report, called They Want Us Exterminated, says that the killings are being carried out by militias (with the "Mahdi Army" bearing "primary responsibility") and that they:
Are committed with impunity, admonitory in intent, with corpses dumped in garbage or hung as warnings on the street. The killers invade the privacy of homes, abducting sons or brothers, leaving their mutilated bodies in the neighborhood the next day. They interrogate and brutalize men to extract names of other people suspected of homosexual conduct.
They specialize in grotesque and appalling tortures: several doctors told Human Rights Watch about men executed by injecting glue up their anuses. Their bodies have appeared by the dozens in hospitals and morgues.
How many have been killed will likely never be known: the failure of authorities to investigate compounds the fear and shame of families to ensure that reliable figures are unattainable. A well-informed official at the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) told Human Rights Watch in April that the dead probably already numbered "in the hundreds."
The Associated Press writes that "an Iraqi Interior Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to discuss the issue with the media, acknowledged there has been a sharp escalation in attacks against gay men this year by suspected Shiite extremists."
Human Rights Watch calls on the militias to cease their attacks and on the Iraqi government to condemn them and "take all appropriate measures to end torture, disappearances, summary killings, and other abuses, including abuses based on sexual orientation and gender expression and identity."
As the day gets going here in the USA, there are some conflicting signals about whether the Obama administration is or is not ready to abandon the so-called public option plan in its proposed health care overhaul.
Yesterday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said on CNN that such a government alternative to private health insurance is "not the essential element" of the administration's plan. That led to headlines such as this one by The New York Times: " 'Public Option' In Health Plan May Be Dropped."
But widely respected political blogger Marc Ambinder at The Atlantic reports that he's been told by "an administration official" that Sebelius "misspoke." Ambinder writes that "the official said that the White House did not intend to change its messaging and that Sebelius simply meant to echo the president, who has acknowledged that the public option is a tough sell in the Senate." And he quotes White House spokeswoman Linda Douglass as saying "nothing has changed."
Expect much more discussion about this as the day goes on.
In other health care related news, the new president of the Canadian Medical Association says her country's health care system is in deep trouble. NPR News' Carl Kasell introduced this report:
President Barack Obama, by the way, is due in Phoenix today. He's scheduled to address the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention. The Arizona Republic writes that while the Democratic president "may not have been their first choice," the veterans plan to give Obama a warm and respectful reception.
Other stories making headlines this morning include:
-- Morning Edition -- In Afghanistan, U.S. Ambassador Gets Out To Meet People In Advance Of Thursday's Election: As Afghanistan's presidential election draws near, Morning Edition's Renee Montagne continues her reports about that country and its future. Today, she speaks with U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, who is trying to spotlight women's affairs and to "visibly try to reassure the Afghan people" that the U.S. is there to help for the long haul:
-- BBC News -- "Japan's Economy Leaves Recession": "Japan has come out of recession after its economy grew by 0.9% (a 3.7% annual rate) in the April-to-June quarter. The growth comes after four consecutive quarters of contraction." Japan's economy is the world's second-largest.
-- Politico -- "White House Will Change E-mail rules": "The White House said Sunday night that it will change its e-mail sign-up procedures after some recipients of a health-care e-mail complained that they had not asked to receive updates."
-- Tallahassee Democrat -- "Worst Is Over" as Tropical Storm Claudette Dumps Rain On Panhandle: "Some remnant bands of rain from Tropical Storm Claudette are expected to come through Tallahassee this morning, but the worst is over, according to Parks Camp, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tallahassee. The Tallahassee airport only measured .06 inches of rain in the past day, but the Big Bend coastal area was hit harder."
-- CBS News -- "American Leaves Myanmar After Release": "An American man imprisoned for sneaking into the home of detained Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi flew out of the country Sunday after a visiting U.S. senator won his release. John Yettaw of Falcon, Missouri, was headed to Bangkok, Thailand, on a military plane with Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia, who secured his freedom Saturday with a plea to Myanmar's ruling military junta."
Related report from NPR's Michael Sullivan in Bangkok:
-- Itar-Tass -- Truck Bomb Kills About 20 In Ingushetia: "Monday morning's truck bomb blast in Nazran left 18 people killed and 69 others injured, the Ingush Interior Ministry told Itar-Tass. Earlier reports said there were 15 fatalities."
Related news from The Associated Press -- Suicide bomber kills at least 20.
In the Middle East, extremism seems to beget extremism which only begets more extremism.
That's one conclusion to draw from the current situation in the Gaza Strip where Hamas, which controls that territory, is being challenged by an Islamist extremist group called Jund Ansar Allah with even more radical aspirations than Hamas.
Hamas, the Palestinian nationalist organization, successfully challenged the older and less radical nationalist organization, Fatah to gain control of Gaza.
Now along comes a group called Jund Ansar Allah which has a pan-Arab world view and with its al Qaeda style sensibilities is even more radical than Hamas. The more radical group's challenge led to a violent clash today with Hamas.
A French Defense Ministry spokesman says the Russian-manned cargo ship Arctic Sea has been found near Cape Verde, off the West African coast, the Associated Press reports.
The ship has been missing since it passed through the English Channel on July 28.
As the BBC writes, quite a bit of mystery has surrounded the Arctic Sea in recent weeks:
The ship had reported being boarded by up to 10 armed men as it sailed through the Baltic Sea on 24 July, but the intruders were reported to have left the vessel on an inflatable boat after 12 hours.
The Guardian adds that "numerous theories have been put forward to explain the vessel's disappearance, ranging from it being boarded by pirates to a commercial dispute."
Update at 2:10 p.m. ET. NPR's Corey Flintoff adds that the ship:
Had a crew of 15 Russian sailors and a cargo of timber valued at more than $1.6 million dollars. The Arctic Sea was on its way from Finland to Algeria when the mysterious events took place.
Former soldiers hold cups of vodka to celebrate Russian Paratroopers' Day in Moscow's Red Square, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2009. (Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP Photo)
By Frank James
Russians have long loved their vodka to the point of alcoholism. But the severity of the problem severity is still so staggering that it's capable of surprising even top Russian officials.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev expressed dismay on Wednesday at the depth of the problem.
According to a Reuters report:
Medvedev said he was shocked by official data showing the average Russian drank 18 litres (38 pints) of pure alcohol each year.
"When you convert that into vodka bottles, it is simply mind-boggling," Medvedev said.
Medvedev made his comments to a meeting of Russian officials in Sochi, a Black Sea resort.
A Congolese rape victim crosses her arms while sitting next to an infant in front of the transit house they stay in, at the Heal Africa clinic in Goma on August 8, 2009. (ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP/Getty Images)
By Frank James
If the continuing depravity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo involving the rapes of tens of thousands of women, children and men, isn't the world's most depressing story, it's hard to imagine what comes in first.
And this comes after an estimated 5.4 million people were killed in a war that's raged in eastern part DRC for more than a decade.
The rapes, many by rebels and many others by Congolese government forces, have gotten more attention recently, with the visit of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the country as part of her 11-nation tour and some very good reporting.
All Things Considered, for instance, had an interview with Anneka Van Woudenberg, a researcher with Human Rights Watch, who has been closely tracking the Congo rape crisis and likely has a stronger stomach and conscience than many people. Her interview made for very had listening.
An excerpt:
Ms. VAN WOUDENBERG: Well, I have to say, in my head, I think I've probably got hundreds, if not thousands now, of stories of women and girls who have been raped. But I have to say on this last trip I was really shocked by one story that I heard of a young 15-year-old girl who had been kept in a hole in the ground for five months naked and raped repeatedly day after day after day. And she then fell pregnant as a result of the rape. And when she got home, of course, you know, showing a big bump, her family excluded her from the home, saying that she had brought this on herself.
I wish that these stories were rare. I wish that this was an exception. But this particular story was not. And what hurts in particular, I think, for many of the women and girls is that this isn't just rebel troops, this isn't just armed groups, militia groups raping. It is also the soldiers of the Congolese army. The very people who are supposed to be protecting them are raping them.
Who's he calling bourgeois? In 2005, Chavez teed it up in India. (AP photo)
By Mark Memmott
It was "out of bounds" for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to label golf a "bourgeois sport," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley declared today in a pun-filled shot at one of the American government's least-favorite foreign leaders.
At the opening of State's daily news briefing, Crowley said he "wished to protest" Chavez's "unwarranted attack" on the game.
Golf, Crowley argued, is a "truly global sport." Here's his full statement:
According to The New York Times, Chavez' recent "brief tirade" about golf prompted officials "to shut down two of the country's best-known golf courses, in Maracay, a city of military garrisons near here, and in the coastal city of Caraballeda."
Our thanks to NPR's Michele Kelemen for the tip about Crowley's comments.
"Empirical evidence points to a clear set of weaknesses and vulnerabilities in Pakistan's nuclear safety and security arrangements" and militants have already tried to attack that nation's nuclear facilities, says a new paper published by the Combating Terrorism Center at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
The paper's author also warns that there is a "genuine" threat of Pakistan's nuclear weapons falling into terrorists' hands.
Most of Pakistan's nuclear sites are close to or even within areas dominated by Pakistani Taliban militants and home to al-Qaida. The Pakistani Taliban and al-Qaida are more than capable of launching terrorist attacks in these areas, including within Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
They have also proved that they have good intelligence about the movement of security personnel, including army, ISI (intelligence services) and police forces, all of whom have been routinely targeted. A series of attacks on nuclear weapons facilities has also occurred.
The report's author is professor Shaun Gregory, director of the Pakistan Security Research Unit at the University of Bradford in the U.K. He reaches this conclusion:
The risk of the transfer of nuclear weapons, weapons components or nuclear expertise to terrorists in Pakistan is genuine. Moreover, knowledge that such a transfer has occurred may not become evident until the aftermath of a nuclear 9/11 in Pakistan or elsewhere in the world.
It remains imperative that Pakistan is pressured and supported, above all by the United States, to continue to improve the safety and security of its nuclear weapons and to ensure the fidelity of those civilian and military personnel with access to, or knowledge of, nuclear weapons.
The challenge to Pakistan's nuclear weapons from Pakistani Taliban groups and from al-Qaida constitutes a real and present danger, and the recent assaults by the Pakistan Army on some of these groups in FATA (Federally Adminstered Tribal Areas) and in the NWFP (North-West Frontier Province) is a welcome development. Nevertheless, more steps must be taken before the threat is neutralized and Pakistan's nuclear weapons no longer pose an existential danger to the rest of the world.
