President Obama began his first term with a dramatic change of course for the CIA, issuing orders on his second day in office to close the agency’s secret prisons and ban harsh interrogation techniques.
As Obama approaches a second term with an unexpected opening for CIA director, agency officials are watching to see whether the president’s pick signals even a modest adjustment in the main counterterrorism program he kept: the use of armed drones to kill suspected extremists.
MADRID: Spain's armed Basque separatist group ETA said Saturday it was ready to discuss disbanding and to negotiate with France and Spain if certain conditions are met, in a statement published on a Basque news site.
The group, which last year said it had abandoned violence after a four-decade campaign for an independent homeland that claimed more than 800 lives, said one outstanding issue was the transfer of Basque prisoners to jails closer to home.
ETA wanted to discuss "formulas and timetables" to bring home prisoners and Basque political exiles; disarmament and the break-up of its armed structures; and the demobilisation of ETA members.
The statement ran on Naiz.info, the website of the Basque newspaper Gara.
Until Saturday's statement, the group had refused to announce its dissolution and disarmament, as demanded by Spain and France.
But weakened by a series of arrests in France and Spain in recent years, ETA said Saturday it was ready to "listen to and analyse" proposals from Madrid and Paris.
The two governments would have a "precise knowledge" of its positions, it added.
Gara said it would publish the full statement in its Sunday edition.
ETA has been placed on a list of terrorist organisations by the United States and the European Union and has been blamed for the deaths of 829 people. Its last attack on Spanish soil was in August 2009.
It has persistently called for around 700 Basque prisoners incarcerated in jails across Spain to be transferred back to prisons in the Basque region so they can be closer to their families.
-AFP/ac
Although unveiled in the modest setting of a press conference, the AAP aims high, promising empowerment of the common man, decentralization of power, law-making through referendum, devolution of decision-making powers to gram sabha and an accessible judicial system.
Pitching the party as the platform for aam aadmi, Kejriwal said that there will be men and women representatives from the village or college level up to the national level.
The constitution that was adopted on Saturday betrayed a conscious effort to address the concern of Anna Hazare and others that the transformation of the anti-graft movement into a political party would lead the activists to make compromises for survival's sake. Thus, as part of a lengthy list of do's and don'ts, the party has decided to have an internal Lokpal, provision for right to recall and for denial of posts and tickets to more than one in a family. The party will also make its donor and expense list public.
The AAP, which plans to make its maiden electoral foray in next year's Delhi polls, is moving with urgency. On Monday, the activists are launching a membership drive inviting all "aam aadmis" to join the new party as "founding members''. An event has been planned at Jantar Mantar, the landmark that has been an integral part of the anti-graft stirs, for what will be the first instance of a political platform soliciting membership in public.
It was in the fitness of things that launch of the party of the activists who have been a gadfly for the political establishment should spark a controversy right at the outset. Congress accused them of Intellectual Property Rights theft, saying that the AAP was a rip off on their "aam aadmi" platform.
This was just before Kejriwal and Bhushan have mocked their "aam credentials" by parodying Congress's "aam aadmi ka haath Congress ke saath (common man is for Congress)" claim. "Congress ka aadmi Robert Vadra ke saath", snickered Sanjay Singh of AAP, in a reminder that the just-launched party will keep targeting political parties for corruption.
On the criticism from Congress, Kejriwal said, ``They are just rattled....Congress could never hijack the aam aadmi despite using the term ``aam aadmi''. Now they have lost the word too.''
The launch of the party came after a day-long meeting of over 300 people during which its constitution was adopted and a 23-member national executive elected. The party's first electoral battle will be Delhi but it appeared to be woefully short of representations from the south and eastern India as of now. The executive has so far only two women members. Admitting to the gender imbalance Kejriwal said that they hoped to bring in more people to make the national executive more representative of women, youth, minorities and diverse sections.
Incidentally, names of former Army chief V K Singh and other eminent people who had urged Team Anna to take a political plunge were missing from the list of supporters. When asked about their absence Bhushan said, ``It is true that there were several eminent people who felt that participating in electoral politics was the only way forward. However, one does not have to be a member of the party to support it.''
Both Kejriwal and Bhushan underlined the fact that winning an election was not their focus but establishing an alternative political system and challenging the way politics was being practiced. As usual political parties were at their receiving end.
AAP's formation came after a bitter split with Hazare over the issue of the anti-corruption movement taking a political plunge as desired by Kejriwal. Both Hazare and Kejriwal announced parting of ways on September 19 following differences over forming a party with the former sticking to his position that the movement should remain apolitical.
On October 2, Kejriwal had announced the formation of the party saying its official launch will be on November 26 to coincide with day the country's Constitution was adopted in 1949.
A court in Argentina has convicted an Oxford educated University of North Carolina professor of attempting to smuggle four pounds of cocaine into the United States.
Paul Frampton, a 68-year-old esteemed professor of physics and astronomy, says he thought he was flying to South America to meet with a bikini model but ended up getting caught in what they call a "honey trap."
Frampton flew to Bolivia from North Carolina earlier this year after communicating with someone who claimed to be Denise Milani, winner of Miss Bikini World 2007. She never showed up.
Instead, Frampton says he was met by a man who gave him a suitcase, identifying himself as an intermediary for Milani, and instructing him to take it to her in Argentina.
PHOTOS: Sex, Spies and Scandal
Once there, he says he could not find her and decided to board a plane home, with that suitcase in hand. Police opened it up at the airport and found more than four pounds of cocaine inside.
"He has a high IQ, is well-known and very distinguished in the field of physics and other scientific areas, but when it comes to common sense he scored a zero," said former DC homicide investigator Rod Wheeler.
The Argentinean court sentenced Frampton to serve four years and eight months in custody after prosecutors there presented evidence of text messages they say Frampton sent to the person he thought was the model, saying, "I'm worried about the sniffer dogs," and "I'm looking after your special little suitcase."
READ: UNC Professor Held in Argentina on Drug Charges Wants Raise From University
The University of North Carolina has cut off Frampton's salary in a move that prompted dozens of his colleagues at the university to sign a letter of protest to administrators.
"As more information about his case becomes available ... it becomes more and more obvious that Paul was the innocent, although very gullible, victim of a scam," the joint letter said.
Many wrote separate letters of reference on a website they created to support the embattled professor, who is hoping to serve his time under house arrest in Argentina at a friend's apartment.
From prison Frampton has said, "It does seem unfair that an innocent scam victim is treated as a professional drug smuggler."
Frampton's Argentinean lawyer told ABC News she would have no comment until having a chance to review the judge's complete ruling, which she expects to be released early next week.
However, it appears this is not the first time Frampton has been in hot water over a woman.
The Telegraph, a London based paper that serves Great Britain , reported that friends say he once met another woman online and flew to China to marry her. This time, the woman was real, but after seeing Frampton, she reportedly canceled the wedding.
If you have a story you would like told you can email correspondent Mark Greenblatt at mark.p.greenblatt@abc.com.
NEW YORK: Frenzied shoppers across the United States joined the Black Friday rush for bargains, the kick-off to the crucial holiday shopping season being closely watched amid a lackluster economy.
Television images showed berserk buyers charging through doors as stores opened up for Black Friday sales on the day after the Thanksgiving holiday.
Some stores opened at midnight, while others such as big-box retailers Walmart and Target jumped the gun, opening on Thanksgiving night and carving into the family-centered holiday.
At 11:00 pm Thursday, scores of people were lined up outside a Best Buy store electronics store waiting for its midnight opening.
Phyllis Loges, 52, and her daughter had already waited four hours. "I want to buy a home cinema with TV and sound system," she said, adding that the doorbuster sale price was $1,500, instead of normal prices around $3,500.
In New York City, the well-known Macy's flagship department store was a destination for many. Macy's chief executive Terry Lundgren was on the scene as it opened at midnight.
"I swear I was standing there for 18 to 20 minutes, and the lines of incoming traffic never stopped," he told NBC. "People are definitely shopping and kicking off the shopping on Black Friday."
Black Friday was a boon for tourists, too.
At 7:00 am Friday, Abdul Albudikhi, a 22-year-old from Saudi Arabia, left a Hollister clothing store on Fifth Avenue, his arms laden with shopping bags after shopping since midnight.
"I bought jeans, shoes, a present for my girlfriend, one for my father," he said.
Walmart, the world's biggest retailer, said it had its "best-ever" Black Friday, with larger crowds than last year.
Meanwhile, disgruntled Walmart workers mounted strikes and protests across the country seeking better pay and benefits.
"There is going to be an impact," employee William Fletcher told MSNBC. "The point isn't so much to hurt Walmart as much as it is to get them to listen to us and appreciate the work we do."
Some competitive shoppers lost their cool as they tussled over items or staked out their spots in line.
According to the San Antonio Express News website, one man pulled a gun on another who punched him in the face while the two were waiting in line outside a Sears store late Thursday.
Black Friday starts the year-end holiday shopping season that often tips retailers out of the red and into the black for the year.
But the day's impact on balance sheets is starting to wane, as more and more stores try to reel in customers on Thursday, even if it means that their employees have to forego the traditional Thanksgiving feast.
A decade ago, it would have been impossible to find a single store open on Thanksgiving along New York's big shopping arteries such as Broadway.
But on Thursday, as for the past several years, nearly all the stores were open where Broadway traverses the SoHo neighborhood of lower Manhattan.
Despite a still-struggling economy, Macy's Lundgren seemed upbeat about prospects for the rest of the year, although he acknowledged that November would likely be "a little bit softer" than retailers might like.
The growth of 24/7 online sales is another challenge to brick-and-mortar shopping.
While the National Retail Federation is expecting a 4.1 percent rise in holiday sales this year compared with 2011, data tracker comScore is projecting a jump of 15-18 percent in online purchases.
The NRF projects fewer shoppers in stores and online on Black Friday and the weekend: 147 million, down 3 percent from a year ago.
"Black Friday's on a crash course with irrelevance. Before long, all we're going to be talking about is Cyber Monday," said Louis Banese at Wall Street Daily.
Peter Morici, an economics professor at the University of Maryland, said that Black Friday remains important for retail sales, a big part of the consumer spending that powers about 70 percent of US economic growth.
But he warned that Americans remain cautious amid a fragile recovery.
"If the weekend numbers are not good, the holiday season won't be good."
-AFP/ac
Elated with the "bang-on accurate" test, the seventh time the BMD system has been tested successfully over the last six years, the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) promptly declared a missile shield could be deployed for New Delhi by 2014.
"We are now ready to convert the BMD system from an experimental to an operational one that can be deployed on demand. I am confident we can deploy the Phase-I of the BMD system by 2014," said DRDO chief V K Saraswat, speaking to TOI from the Wheeler Island test range off Odisha coast.
But the reality check is that even American missile defence systems like Patriot Advanced Capability-3, Aegis BMD-3 and THAAD (terminal high-altitude area defence), as also Russian and Israeli ones, are not fully foolproof as of now.
In Friday's test, only one of the incoming missiles was real: a modified Prithvi missile mimicking M-9/M-11 class of Chinese Dong Feng short-range ballistic missiles. The other was an electronically simulated missile of a longer range of 1,500km.
Both "enemy" missile launches were, however, conducted "in the same window" to test the BMD system's capability to handle "multiple threats" simultaneously. "This has been done only by the two superpowers (US and Russia) till now. The real missile was destroyed at an altitude of 14.7-km by the interceptor missile with a direct hit," said Saraswat.
The electronic missile was intercepted at an altitude of 120km. Both the missiles were picked up and tracked by long-range and multi-function radars, which in turn passed the data to guidance and launch computers of the interceptors to "kill" them. "The entire test was done practically in deployment configuration," he said.
While it remains to be seen whether DRDO can indeed deploy an effective missile shield by 2014, it has also begun work on adding a third tier to the BMD system. The existing two-tier system is designed to track and destroy ballistic missiles both inside (endo) and outside (exo) the earth's atmosphere.
The third layer is planned to tackle low-flying cruise missiles, artillery projectiles and rockets in the line with the overall aim to achieve "near 100% kill or interception probability".
"Look what is happening in the Middle-East (Hamas firing rockets at Israeli cities before the recent ceasefire)...hence, protection against low-cost, very close range threats is also needed. We have begun some initial work on the third-tier. We will try to integrate it with the BMD system once it fructifies," said Saraswat.
At present, Phase-I of the BMD system, with interceptors flying at 4.5 Mach high-supersonic speeds to intercept enemy missiles, is meant to tackle hostile missiles with a 2,000-km strike range.
As per DRDO's plans, Phase-II will be geared for taking on 5,000-km range missiles, virtually in the class of ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles), with interceptors at hypersonic speeds of 6-7 Mach.
Two people were shot outside a Walmart in Florida today, one of a rash of fights, robberies and other incidents that have cropped up on one of the most ballyhooed shopping days of the year.
The shooting took place at Walmart in Tallahasse about 12:30 p.m., said Dave Northway, public information officer for the Tallahassee Police Department.
He said a scuffle outside the store escalated into gunplay leaving two people shot. The two victims, whose names and genders have not been released, suffered non-life threatening injuries.
Police do not have a suspect at this time.
At Walmart parking lot on Thanksgiving night in Covington, Wash., two people were run down by a driver police suspected of being intoxicated.
The 71-year-old driver was arrested on a vehicular assault charge after the incident, spokeswoman Sgt. Cindi West of the Kings County Sheriff's Office said.
The female victim, whose identity has yet to be released, was pinned beneath the driver's Mercury SUV until being rescued by the fire department. She was flown to Harborview Medical Center, where she was listed in serious condition, West said.
The male victim was also taken to Harborview Medical Center, where, West said, he was listed in good condition.
Shoppers Descend on Black Friday Deals
Tensions were high at the entrances as people lined up outside stores, waiting for the doors to open.
At a San Antonio, Texas, Sears, one man argued with customers and even punched one in order to get to the front of the line, prompting a man with a concealed carry permit to pull a gun, said Matthew Porter, public information officer of the San Antonio Police Department.
"It was a little chaotic. People were exiting the store," Porter said. "Fortunately for us, officers responded quickly and were able to ease the commotion."
The man who allegedly caused the altercation fled the scene and remains at large, Porter said. The shopper who pulled the gun will not face charges, he said, because of his concealed carry permit.
One man was treated at the scene for injuries sustained when people rushed out of the store, Porter said.
PHOTOS: Black Friday Shoppers Hit Stores
The crush of shoppers in the middle of the night were prey once again this year for thieves, who hid out in parking lots.
In Myrtle Beach, S.C., a woman said a man pulled a gun on her just as she exited her car to go inside a Best Buy store. The thief made off with $200, according to a police report.
In Maryland, 14-year-old boy told police he was robbed of his Thanksgiving night purchases by five men in the parking lot of a Bed Bath and Beyond store early this morning, the Baltimore Sun reported.
And in Massachusetts, Kmart employees tried to locate a shopper over the intercom after a 2-year-old was reported to be alone in a car, ABC News affiliate WCVB-TV reported.
Police arrived to break into the car and remove the child. The boy's caretaker, his mother's boyfriend, denied the incident took place, according to the station, and was not arrested.
Orbiting at the frozen edges of our solar system, the mysterious dwarf planet Makemake is finally coming out of the shadows as astronomers get their best view yet of Pluto's little sibling.
Discovered in 2005, Makemake—pronounced MAH-keh MAH-keh after a Polynesian creation god—is one of five Pluto-like objects that prompted a redefining of the term "planet" and the creation of a new group of dwarf planets in 2006. (Related: "Pluto Not a Planet, Astronomers Rule.")
Just like the slightly larger Pluto, this icy world circles our sun beyond Neptune. Researchers expected Makemake to also have a global atmosphere—but new evidence reveals that isn't the case.
Staring at a Star
An international team of astronomers was able for the first time to probe Makemake's physical characteristics using the European Southern Observatory's three most powerful telescopes in Chile. The researchers observed the change in light given off by a distant star as the dwarf planet passed in front of it. (Learn how scientists found Makemake.)
"These events are extremely difficult to predict and observe, but they are the only means of obtaining accurate knowledge of important properties of dwarf planets," said Jose Luis Ortiz, lead author of this new study and an astronomer at the Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia, in Spain.
It's like trying to study a coin from a distance of 30 miles (48 kilometers) or more, Ortiz added.
Ortiz and his team knew Makemake didn't have an atmosphere when light from the background star abruptly dimmed and brightened as the chilly world drifted across its face.
"The light went off very abruptly from all the sites we observed the event so this means this world cannot have a substantial and global atmosphere like that of its sibling Pluto," Ortiz said.
If Makemake had an atmosphere, light from the star would gradually decrease and increase as the dwarf planet passed in front.
Coming Into Focus
The team's new observations add much more detail to our view of Makemake—not only limiting the possibility of an atmosphere but also determining the planet's size and surface more accurately.
"We think Makemake is a sphere flattened slightly at both poles and mostly covered with very white ices—mainly of methane," said Ortiz.
"But there are also indications for some organic material at least at some places; this material is usually very red and we think in a small percentage of the surface, the terrain is quite dark," he added.
Why Makemake lacks a global atmosphere remains a big mystery, but Ortiz does have a theory. Pluto is covered in nitrogen ice. When the sun heats this volatile material, it turns straight into a gas, creating Pluto's atmosphere.
Makemake lacks nitrogen ice on its surface, so there is nothing for the sun to heat into a gas to provide an atmosphere.
The dwarf planet has less mass, and a weaker gravitational field, than Pluto, said Ortiz. This means that over eons of time, Makemake may not have been able to hang on to its nitrogen.
Methane ice will also transform into a gas when heated. But since the dwarf planet is nearly at its furthest distance from the sun, Ortiz believes that Makemake's surface methane is still frozen. (Learn about orbital planes.)
And even if the methane were to transform into a gas, any resulting atmosphere would cover, at most, only ten percent of the planet, said Ortiz.
The new results are detailed today in the journal Nature.
Ernie Maas could not help choking up as he took his first look around his new home Wednesday afternoon, a simple one-bedroom, federally subsidized apartment on North Glebe Road in Arlington County.
Maas, 61, who served in the Navy for seven years during and after the Vietnam War, has been homeless for about two years, living much of that time under a bridge on Four Mile Run in Arlington.
TOKYO: Japanese police said Friday they had stormed a bank and arrested a man who took five people hostage, with local media reporting he had demanded Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's cabinet resign.
In a televised news conference, a police spokesman said the hostage-taker, identified as Koji Nagakubo, was arrested on suspicion of taking the five captive.
The hostages, including one released earlier, were all in protective custody safely, the spokesman said, while local media said one of them was slightly injured.
The 32-year-old man began the siege Thursday afternoon at the Zoshi branch of the Toyokawa Shinkin Bank in central Aichi prefecture.
Wielding a survival knife, he took four employees and a female customer captive and was demanding the Noda cabinet step down, as well as asking to speak to journalists, local media said.
-AFP/ac
"A study was on for the past one year to identify bridges that needed strengthening, better signaling and easing sharp curves for such service. The upgrade will take about four years from the launch of work. The existing lines can be used for fast moving trains at 200 kmph as freight trains will shift to the dedicated freight corridor (DFC)," said R Ramanathan, Railway Board additional member (civil engineering). He was speaking on the sidelines of a CII summit on urban transport on Thursday.
At present, Rajdhanis, the fastest running trains on this corridor, have a maximum speed of 120 kmph. DFC managing director R K Gupta said the dedicated lines for freight will decongest the existing tracks. He added that this will increase average speed of freight trains from the present 25 kmph to 75 kmph. He said transit time would come down by half (for example Mumbai-Delhi in 24 hours).
"Though the average speed of freight trains on the existing lines hovers around 25 km as we use the same track for passenger trains and the latter get priority over freight trains," Gupta said. He added that carrying capacity on the dedicated corridors would be much more than what is available now.
The first phase of Rewari-Vododara of Western DFC will be commissioned by December 2016 and the entire line - from Dadri (UP) to JN Port (Mumbai) - will be operational by March 2017.
At least two people died and nearly 50 were transported to the hospital after a 100-car pileup in Texas today, according to ABC affiliate KBMT-TV.
A man and a woman died from their injuries, KBMT reported. Their names were not immediately available.
At least five people who were taken to the hospital are in critical condition.
The accident happened in Jefferson County shortly after 8 a.m. Thanksgiving morning on Interstate 10 between Taylor Bayou and Hampshire Road. There was reportedly dense fog in the area at the time of the initial crash.
An 18-wheeler tanker truck began leaking after the chain-reaction accident, KBMT reported.
The westbound lanes of I-10 are now open and eastbound lanes will be closed for at least another eight hours.
A federal investigation into how David H. Petraeus’s biographer and girlfriend obtained numerous classified records is focusing on whether the retired general’s staff gave her sensitive documents at his instruction, according to federal officials familiar with the probe.
Petraeus aides and other high-ranking military officials were often tasked by Petraeus and other top commanders to provide military records and other documents to Paula Broadwell for her work as Petraeus’s biographer, former staff members and other officials told The Washington Post.
MANCHESTER, United Kingdom: Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho marked his 100th Champions League game with a 1-1 draw at Manchester City on Wednesday that sent his side into the last 16 at City's expense.
City had to win to stand any chance of going through, so although Sergio Aguero's 73rd-minute penalty cancelled out Karim Benzema's early opener, the hosts went out in the group phase for a second successive season.
Madrid had Alvaro Arbeloa sent off, but with eight points -- three less than Group D leaders Borussia Dortmund -- they cannot be caught by either Ajax or City, who had not lost in their 19 previous European home games.
The English champions trail Ajax by a point and therefore must win at Dortmund in their final group fixture and hope the Dutch side lose in Madrid if they are to secure the consolation prize of a Europa League berth.
Mourinho, the youngest coach to reach the 100-match milestone, is now a step closer to delivering an elusive 10th European Cup to the Spanish champions, who have already fallen eight points off the pace in La Liga.
City coach Roberto Mancini elected to deploy a three-man defence at the Etihad Stadium, but the home side's defenders did not seem comfortable with the system and Madrid were quick to profit.
In the 10th minute, Angel di Maria was given space to cross from the right and his centre found the unmarked Benzema, who cantered in behind Maicon to beat Joe Hart on the volley from close range.
With Maicon and Pablo Zabaleta on the pitch, the right side of City's defence should have been secure, but Cristiano Ronaldo found plenty of room there.
Roundly booed on his first appearance in the city since leaving Manchester United in 2009, Ronaldo twice reached the byline on Madrid's left, only for Sami Khedira to put both of his crosses wide.
Ronaldo was bearing down on goal again moments later, but Matija Nastasic got back to clear his goal-bound lob off the line and Hart parried his follow-up.
Khedira darted through on goal after 24 minutes, only to miscue an attempted chip, which allowed Hart to save.
City changed their shape, with Zabaleta switching to left-back in a conventional back four, but they were unable to make inroads into the Madrid area.
Their best effort saw Iker Casillas forced to tip over a 25-yard effort from Aguero, who also teed up Maicon for a shot that dribbled wide.
The hosts improved early in the second period, with Aguero heading over from Maicon's cross and David Silva shooting at Casillas after Arbeloa's clearance came straight to him.
Carlos Tevez was introduced on the hour but still fortune eluded City, with Aguero's close-range volley miraculously kept out by Casillas in the 64th minute.
The game turned eight minutes later, after Arbeloa was shown a second yellow card for a push on Aguero inside the Madrid area.
Just as he had done in Saturday's 5-0 win over Aston Villa, Aguero converted the spot-kick, and City's last-16 ambitions appeared revived.
Tevez fired in a low shot that Casillas comfortably held, but despite five minutes of added time that prompted an incredulous reaction from Mourinho, there was to be no late drama.
- AFP/fa
The court, upholding the decision of the trial court which was affirmed by the Bombay High Court, had said that there was no escaping the conclusion that Kasab deserved death penalty alone for the cold blooded killing of scores of innocent persons just because they were Indians.
It said even if one took a narrow view of the "rarest of rare category" classification for award of capital punishment, this was the case where it should be imposed on the convict as it was the "very rarest of rare case to come before the Supreme Court since the birth of the Republic (on January 26, 1950)".
"Now, as long as the death penalty remains on the statute book as punishment for certain offences, including waging war and murder, it logically follows that there must be some cases, howsoever rare or one in a million, that would call for inflicting that penalty. That being the position, we fail to see what case would attract the death penalty, if not the case of the appellant (Kasab)," said a bench of Justices Aftab Alam and Chandramauli K Prasad, which rejected Kasab's appeal on August 29.
The bench's conclusion -- "to hold back the death penalty in this case would amount to obdurately declaring that this court rejects death as lawful penalty even though it is on the statute book and held valid by constitutional benches of this court" - sealed Kasab's fate, requiring no substantial discussion on the merits of his clemency plea, official sources told TOI.
They said the Supreme Court's finding that the option of life sentence for Kasab was "foreclosed" made the task of the government easier for a swift decision rejecting the clemency and carry out the execution.
Kasab's trial proceedings before the "stern and non-nonsense" trial judge M L Tahiliani will be studied as an example of model trial proceedings as the Supreme Court has ordered these to be part of the National Judicial Academy and state academies training judicial officers.
The bench of Justices Alam and Prasad had said, "In the course of hearing of the appeal, we also came to know the trial judge Shri Tahiliani. From the records of the case, he appears to be a stern, no-nonsense person. But he is a true flag-bearer of rule of law in this country. The manner in which he conducted the trial proceedings and maintained the record is exemplary.
"We seriously recommend that the trial court records of this case be included in the curriculum of the National Judicial Authority and judicial authorities of the different states as a model for criminal trial proceedings."
On why Kasab should get death penalty, the bench said, "This is a case of terrorist attack from across the border. It has a magnitude of unprecedented enormity on all scales. The conspiracy behind the attack was as deep and large as it was vicious. The preparation and training for the execution was as thorough as the execution was ruthless.
"In terms of loss of life and property, and more importantly in its traumatizing effect, this case stands alone, or it is at least the very rarest of rare to come before this court since the birth of the Republic. Therefore, it should also attract the rarest of rare punishment.
"Against all this, the only mitigating factor is the appellant's young age, but that is completely offset by the absence of any remorse on his part, and the resultant finding that in his case there is no possibility of any reformation or rehabilitation."
dhananjay.mahapatra@timesgroup.com
The rockets and missiles fell silent over Gaza for the first time in eight days today, but gunfire erupted in the crowded streets of the Palestinian enclave to celebrate the announcement of a ceasefire in the bloody conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The two sides fired final salvos at one another up until the final moments before the 2 p.m. ET cease-fire deadline. At least one Israeli missile landed at 1:57 p.m. ET in Gaza, and four rockets were launched toward the Israeli province of Beer Sheva at 1:59 p.m. ET.
After 2 p.m. ET, however, the sky was finally empty of munitions.
The eight days of fighting left 130 Palestinans and five Israelis dead, and badly damaged many of Gaza's buildings. A bomb that exploded on a bus in Tel Aviv earlier today left an additional 10 Israelis wounded.
The fighting came to an end after a meeting between Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
"This is a critical moment for the region," Clinton said after the meeting, standing next to Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr to announce the deal.
"The people of this region deserve a chance to live free of fear and violence and today's agreement is a step" in that direction, Clinton said. "Now we have to focus on reaching a durable outcome."
Clinton said that Egypt and the U.S. would help support the peace process going forward.
"Ultimately every step must move us toward a comprehensive peace for people of the region," she said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the cease-fire from Tel Aviv after Clinton's announcement.
"I agree that that it was a good idea to give an opportunity to the cease-fire... in order to enable Israeli citizens to return to their day to day lives," Netanyahu said.
He reiterated that it was vital to Israel's security to "prevent smuggling of arms to terrorist organizations" in the future.
An Israeli official told ABC News that the ceasefire would mean a "quiet for quiet" deal, in which both sides stop shooting and "wait and see what happens."
"Who knows if the ceasefire will even last two minutes," the official said. The official said that any possible agreement on borders and blockades on the Gaza/Israel border would come only after a period of quiet.
Clinton and Morsi met for three hours in Cairo today to discuss an end to the violence. The secretary of state met with Netanyahu Tuesday night for more than two hours, saying she sought to "de-escalate the situation in Gaza."
The fighting dragged on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning despite Hamas officials declaring publicly Tuesday afternoon that they expected a cease-fire would be announced Tuesday night, after Clinton and Netanyahu's talks.
The airstrikes by the Israeli Defense Forces overnight hit government ministries, underground tunnels, a banker's empty villa and a Hamas-linked media office. At least four strikes within seconds of each other pulverized a complex of government ministries the size of a city block, rattling nearby buildings and shattering windows.
Hours later, clouds of acrid dust still hung over the area and smoke still rose from the rubble. Gaza health officials said there were no deaths or injuries.
A star is slowly snuffing the life out of an alien planet. But in a macabre twist, material stripped out of the dying world's atmosphere has become a death shroud enveloping the gas giant and its star.
First discovered in 2008, WASP-12b is a so-called hot Jupiter—a gas giant planet orbiting extremely close to its parent star.
Located 1,100 light-years away, WASP-12b hugs its star so tightly that a year on the planet lasts just over one Earth day. The two objects are so close that scientists think that the gas that makes up most of the doomed planet is being boiled off and blown into space by the intense heat from its star.
"At the current best guess ... the planet will lose most of its mass in about one billion years," said astrophysicist Carole Haswell of The Open University in the United Kingdom. A relative blink of an eye when compared to Earth's projected 9-billion-year life span. (Learn about the solar system.)
A Celestial Death Shroud
Scientists predicted that this evaporative process would create a superheated gas cloud surrounding Wasp 12b. Such planet-enveloping clouds have been detected around two other hot Jupiters before. (Learn about hot Jupiters.)
Haswell and her colleagues used NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to find evidence of an extremely diffuse gas cloud surrounding WASP-12b—as they suspected. But the cloud was much bigger than predicted.
"What's new in our work is that we find the whole star-planet system is enshrouded," Haswell said.
Behind the Veil
WASP-12b's gauzy cloak is also unusual in that it appears to be infused with the element magnesium, which absorbs some of its star's light. This renders the entire system invisible when viewed in the near-ultraviolet part of the light spectrum, although the dying planet is otherwise detectable.
"It's like the planet is suffering the sad end of being evaporated away ... and the star has drawn a privacy veil over the whole sordid affair," Haswell said.
Researchers suspect gas clouds surrounding other hot Jupiters may harbor similar cloaking properties, but no one knows for sure.
The Blowoff
Astronomer Helmut Lammer said the new findings are important because they could help reveal the structures and strengths of the magnetic fields of alien planets. This could help scientists compare distant worlds to planets in our own solar system. (Related: "Earth's Core Magnetic Field Changing Fast.")
"Depending on the magnetic field ... magnesium [atoms] can accumulate in front [of] or around obstacles"—such as in front of the outer edge of a planetary magnetic field, known as the bow shock, said Lammer, of the Space Research Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, who was not involved in the study. And we can detect these features when the planet crosses in front of its star, he added. (Learn how NASA finds exoplanets.)
Alfred Vidal Madjar, an astronomer at the Paris Institute of Astrophysics, said he thinks the new WASP-12b observations confirm a hypothesized process called "blowoff," in which hydrogen escapes from a hot Jupiter so quickly that other chemical elements—such as magnesium—also get carried off into space.
The presence of magnesium in the gas cloud "strengthen the reality of the 'blowoff' mechanism," said Vidal Madjar, who also was not involved in the study.
Hot Jupiters that orbit as close to their stars as WASP-12b does will almost certainly be cocooned in similar gas clouds, astronomers say. But ones that orbit further away-or orbit cooler stars-likely do not.
The new WASP-12b research is detailed in this week's issue of the Astrophysical Journal.
Ariane Tschumi has spent more than a year in government as a Presidential Management Fellow (PMF), taking on challenging assignments at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) designed to develop her leadership skills and give her a window into how government operates.
She has worked alongside health-care experts designing model programs intended to better health care and lower costs, and with attorneys in the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), who are trying to prevent waste, fraud and abuse in the health-care system.
NEW YORK: Oil prices slumped Tuesday on fresh economic strains in Europe and amid expectations -- still unfulfilled late in the day -- of a cease-fire between Israel and Gaza.
New York's main contract, WTI light sweet crude for delivery in January, slid $2.53 from Monday to $86.75 a barrel.
Brent North Sea crude for January shed $1.87 to $109.83 a barrel in London trade.
"Rumors abound today as headlines out of the Middle East signalled an 'imminent ceasefire' agreement, but as of this writing nothing has been set in stone," said BMO Capital Markets in its market summary.
"The rumor alone pushed the market lower erasing much of the gains from the previous day sessions, and given all the headline watching, expect continued swings as the Middle East risk premium has re-emerged as the Alpha dog on the street."
Oil prices had surged about $2 a barrel to strike one-month highs on Monday as Israel stepped up its assault on Gaza.
The pressure lower also came with Moody's downgrade of France's sovereign rating late Monday, warning that it was vulnerable to more deterioration in the eurozone.
Despite hopes for a cease-fire and the unexpected arrival in Israel of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, there was no letup late Tuesday to Israel's attacks on Gaza, killing another 26 and taking the toll of the week-long assault to more than 130.
Clinton was to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as Palestinian officials and to visit Cairo to meet with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, seen as one of the most influential negotiators in the current conflict.
- AFP/fa
Banerjee was on the brink of a major embarrassment as NDA joined the Left in formally indicating that it finds opposing the government on FDI a much more paying proposition than a no-confidence motion as it would result in a strong coalition of BJP, Left and regional parties.
Trinamool's efforts to reach out to the Left also failed as CPM leaders reiterated their position that a no-trust motion will only see regional parties like Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) along with smaller entities bailing out the government.
The tone for the NDA meeting was set by BJP leaders L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley who argued that the government has gone back on its word that it will not proceed to implement the FDI proposal without taking political parties on board.
Janata Dal (U) leader Sharad Yadav said the FDI issue will recreate the Opposition unity seen during the Bharat bandh last December.
NDA leaders felt the government should be held to account for breaking the word of President Pranab Mukherjee who as the finance minister had said no decision to allow global retailers will be taken without striving for a political consensus.
Banerjee also found herself at the receiving end of parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath's jibes. ""For the first time in my 32 years in Parliament, I am seeing a party with 19 members moving a no-confidence motion," a confident Nath said.
NDA did hold out a sop for Banerjee, saying the alliance will "explore the possibilities" for a no-confidence motion, but the formulation is intended more to keep lines with the Trinamool leader open rather than any serious political calculation. BJP leaders feel Congress's ally turned foe can be a useful partner in Parliament.
The Opposition alliance's decision sets the stage for a stormy start to Parliament's winter session with BJP and Left preparing to press for motions entailing a vote that will be rejected with equal force by the government. This would well mean disruptions marking the first few days of the session.
After having blocked the entire monsoon session over Coalgate, BJP is not keen on a prolonged stand-off over FDI. It could be willing to settle for some hard bargaining with the government that can ensure a detailed debate in Parliament.
BJP sources said that even a debate without a vote will help the Opposition's cause as it will allow Congress allies like DMK and outside supporters like SP express their reservations. SP leader Ramgopal Yadav said, "we have decided not to implement FDI in UP. We will decide on voting when the time comes."
A debate on FDI will effectively demonstrate Congress's isolation while recreating the wide unity of political parties seen during the Bharat bandh organized to oppose the move.
"NDA will move a resolution under voting provisions seeking disapproval of the government's decision (to permit FDI in multi-brand retail) and urging the government to withdraw the decision," BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said after the meeting.
On the Trinamool's proposal for a no-confidence motion, Prasad said, "This government has failed on all the fronts and the time has come for it go. The NDA would consult all political parties to explore the possibility of a no-confidence motion against the government."
The meeting was attended by senior BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, BJP chief Nitin Gadkari, NDA convener Sharad Yadav, Akali Dal leader Naresh Gujral, Shiv Sena leader Ananth Geete, JD(U)'s Shivanand Tiwari and Kuldeep Bishnoi of Haryana Janhit Party.
Hopes for a ceasefire between between Israel and Islamic militants in Gaza rose today as Hamas declared that a ceasefire would be announced and Israel indicated that a deal was possible.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told ABC News the news would be announced at a press conference in Cairo where Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi has been trying to broker an end to the fighting.
An Islamic Jihad website also reported that the ceasefire would go into effect tonight.
The Israel-Gaza Conflict in Pictures
Israeli officials, however, told ABC News that a final deal had not been concluded and if there was a pact it would be announced after midnight local time, or 5 p.m ET, following a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Clinton flew to the region today to meet with Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas about the fighting.
A ceasefire, if it can be reached, would bring a halt to the worst violence between Gaza and Israel in four years. In the meantime, however, Abu Zuhri called on all militant groups to continue firing rockets on Israel "in retaliation for the Israeli massacres."
Israeli missiles also continued to explode in Gaza while sirens sounded in Israel, signalling incoming rocket fire from Gaza.
Hamas said three Palestinian journalists were killed by an Israeli missile today and Israel said one of its soldiers was killed in by a Palestinian rocket today.
Gazans streamed out of northern neighborhoods during the afternoon after the Israel Defense Forces dropped leaflets telling residents to evacuate before dark. Scared Palestinians poured into Gaza City, cars and trucks piled high with belongings, many heading to schools for shelter.
There have been 126 Palestinian deaths in six days of fighting, just under half were civilians. Three Israelis were killed last Thursday when a rocket slammed into their apartment.
ABC News' Matt Gutman contributed to this report
An unusual high-tech oil-drilling rig that's been at work off the coast of Cuba departed last week, headed for either Africa or Brazil. With it went the island nation's best hope, at least in the short term, for reaping a share of the energy treasure beneath the sea that separates it from its longtime ideological foe.
For many Floridians, especially in the Cuban-American community, it was welcome news this month that Cuba had drilled its third unsuccessful well this year and was suspending deepwater oil exploration. (Related Pictures: "Four Offshore Drilling Frontiers") While some feared an oil spill in the Straits of Florida, some 70 miles (113 kilometers) from the U.S. coast, others were concerned that drilling success would extend the reviled reign of the Castros, long-time dictator Fidel and his brother and hand-picked successor, Raúl.
"The regime's latest efforts to bolster their tyrannical rule through oil revenues was unsuccessful," said U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Florida Republican who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, in a written statement.
But Cuba's disappointing foray into deepwater doesn't end its quest for energy. The nation produces domestically only about half the oil it consumes. As with every aspect of its economy, its choices for making up the shortfall are sorely limited by the 50-year-old United States trade embargo.
At what could be a time of transition for Cuba, experts agree that the failure of deepwater exploration increases the Castro regime's dependence on the leftist government of Venezuela, which has been meeting fully half of Cuba's oil needs with steeply subsidized fuel. (Related: "Cuba's New Now") And it means Cuba will continue to seek out a wellspring of energy independence without U.S. technology, greatly increasing both the challenges, and the risks.
Rigged for the Job
There's perhaps no better symbol of the complexity of Cuba's energy chase than the Scarabeo 9, the $750 million rig that spent much of this year plumbing the depths of the Straits of Florida and Gulf of Mexico. It is the only deepwater platform in the world that can drill in Cuban waters without running afoul of U.S. sanctions. It was no easy feat to outfit the rig with fewer than 10 percent U.S. parts, given the dominance of U.S. technology in the ultra-deepwater industry. By some reports, only the Scarabeo 9's blowout preventer was made in the United States.
Owned by the Italian firm Saipem, built in China, and outfitted in Singapore, Scarabeo 9 was shipped to Cuba's coast at great cost. "They had to drag a rig from the other side of the world," said Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado, a University of Nebraska professor and expert on Cuba's oil industry. "It made the wells incredibly expensive to drill."
Leasing the semisubmersible platform at an estimated cost of $500,000 a day, three separate companies from three separate nations took their turns at drilling for Cuba. In May, Spanish company Repsol sank a well that turned out to be nonviable. Over the summer, Malaysia's Petronas took its turn, with equally disappointing results. Last up was state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA); on November 2, Granma, the Cuban national Communist Party daily newspaper, reported that effort also was unsuccessful.
It's not unusual to hit dry holes in drilling, but the approach in offshore Cuba was shaped by uniquely political circumstances. Benjamin-Alvarado points out that some of the areas drilled did turn up oil. But rather than shift nearby to find productive—if not hugely lucrative—sites, each new company dragged the rig to an entirely different area off Cuba. It's as if the companies were only going for the "big home runs" to justify the cost of drilling, he said. "The embargo had a profound impact on Cuba's efforts to find oil."
Given its prospects, it's doubtful that Cuba will give up its hunt for oil. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that the waters north and west of Cuba contain 4.6 billion barrels of oil. State-owned Cubapetroleo says undiscovered offshore reserves all around the island may be more than 20 billion barrels, which would be double the reserves of Mexico.
But last week, Scarabeo 9 headed away from Cuban shores for new deepwater prospects elsewhere. That leaves Cuba without a platform that can drill in the ultradeepwater that is thought to hold the bulk of its stores. "This rig is the only shovel they have to dig for it," said Jorge Piñon, a former president of Amoco Oil Latin America (now part of BP) and an expert on Cuba's energy sector who is now a research fellow at the University of Texas at Austin.
Many in the Cuban-American community, like Ros-Lehtinen—the daughter of an anti-Castro author and businessman, who emigrated from Cuba with her family as a child—hailed the development. She said it was important to keep up pressure on Cuba, noting that another foreign oil crew is heading for the island; Russian state-owned Zarubezhneft is expected to begin drilling this month in a shallow offshore field. She is sponsoring a bill that would further tighten the U.S. embargo to punish companies helping in Cuba's petroleum exploration. "An oil-rich Castro regime is not in our interests," she said.
Environmental, Political Risks
But an energy-poor Cuba also has its risks. One of the chief concerns has been over the danger of an accident as Cuba pursues its search for oil, so close to Florida's coastline, at times in the brisk currents of the straits, and without U.S. industry expertise on safety. The worries led to a remarkable series of meetings among environmentalists, Cuban officials, and even U.S government officials over several years. Conferences organized by groups like the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and its counterparts in Cuba have taken place in the Bahamas, Mexico City, and elsewhere. The meetings included other countries in the region to diminish political backlash, though observers say the primary goal was to bring together U.S. and Cuban officials.
EDF led a delegation last year to Cuba, where it has worked for more than a decade with Cuban scientists on shared environmental concerns. The visitors included former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator William Reilly, who co-chaired the national commission that investigated BP's 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster and spill of nearly 5 million barrels of crude into the Gulf of Mexico. (Related Quiz: "How Much Do You Know About the Gulf Oil Spill?") They discussed Cuba's exploration plans and shared information on the risks.
"We've found world-class science in all our interactions with the Cubans," said Douglas Rader, EDF's chief oceans scientist. He said, however, that the embargo has left Cubans with insufficient resources and inexperience with high-tech gear.
Although the United States and Cuba have no formal diplomatic relations, sources say government officials have made low-profile efforts to prepare for a potential problem. But the two nations still lack an agreement on how to manage response to a drilling disaster, said Robert Muse, a Washington attorney and expert on licensing under the embargo. That lessens the chance of a coordinated response of the sort that was crucial to containing damage from the Deepwater Horizon spill, he said.
"There's a need to get over yesterday's politics," said Rader. "It's time to make sure we're all in a position to respond to the next event, wherever it is."
In addition to the environmental risks of Cuba going it alone, there are the political risks. Piñon, at the University of Texas, said success in deepwater could have helped Cuba spring free of Venezuela's influence as the time nears for the Castro brothers to give up power. Raúl Castro, who took over in 2008 for ailing brother Fidel, now 86, is himself 81 years old. At a potentially crucial time of transition, the influence of Venezuela's outspoken leftist president Hugo Chávez could thwart moves by Cuba away from its state-dominated economy or toward warmer relations with the United States, said Piñon.
Chávez's reelection to a six-year term last month keeps the Venezuelan oil flowing to Cuba for the foreseeable future. But it was clear in Havana that the nation's energy lifeline hung for a time on the outcome of this year's Venezuelan election. (Chávez's opponent, Henrique Capriles Radonski, complained the deal with Cuba was sapping Venezuela's economy, sending oil worth more than $4 billion a year to the island, while Venezuela was receiving only $800 million per year in medical and social services in return.)
So Cuba is determined to continue exploring. Its latest partner, Russia's Zarubezhneft, is expected to begin drilling this month in perhaps 1,000 feet of water, about 200 miles east of Havana. Piñon said the shallow water holds less promise for a major find. But that doesn't mean Cuba will give up trying.
"This is a book with many chapters," Piñon said. "And we're just done with the first chapter." (Related: "U.S. to Overtake Saudi Arabia, Russia As Top Energy Producer")
This story is part of a special series that explores energy issues. For more, visit The Great Energy Challenge.
NEW YORK: US stocks surged Monday on upbeat housing data and hopes that politicians will find a way to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff" of automatic tax hikes and spending cuts in January.
The jump was underpinned by Apple, the most valuable public company, which took a 7.2 per cent bounce to $565.73, following weeks of losses.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained a hefty 207.65 points (1.65 per cent) at 12,795.96.
The S&P 500-stock index advanced 27.01 points (1.99 per cent) to 1,386.89, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite leaped 62.94 (2.21 per cent) to 2,916.07.
"In the wake of a couple of stronger-than-expected reports on the US housing sector, as well as growing optimism that US lawmakers will find a resolution to the looming fiscal cliff, the domestic equity markets are rebounding nicely from their recent sell-off," Charles Schwab & Co. analysts said.
The strong rally began a holiday-shortened week amid news that existing home sales rose 2.1 per cent in October from September and home builder confidence improved for a seventh straight month in November.
"The housing data revealed today are quite positive, reflecting the sustained recovery in the housing market that began earlier this year," said Nomura economist Roiana Reid.
Dow member Intel rose 0.3 per cent after announcing that chief executive Paul Otellini would retire in May.
Computer networking giant Cisco, which is buying cloud computing specialist Meraki for $1.2 billion, gained 1.7 per cent.
Lowe's jumped 6.2 per cent after the home improvement retailer posted better-than-expected third-quarter results.
Bank of America added 4.1 per cent after an upgrade by Stifel analysts, lifting financials. Citigroup added 3.2 per cent, Goldman Sachs 2.1 per cent and Morgan Stanley 2.1 per cent.
JPMorgan Chase climbed 2.7 per cent. The bank said Monday it had agreed to pay $297 million to the US Securities and Exchange Commission to settle a dispute over the sale of mortgage-backed securities.
Markets will be closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving Day holiday and have shortened sessions on Friday.
Bond prices fell. The 10-year US Treasury yield rose to 1.61 per cent from 1.57 per cent late Friday, while the 30-year increased to 2.76 per cent from 2.72 per cent.
Bond prices and yields move inversely.
- AFP/fa
"I have already taken up the matter of DSGMC polls with the PM and hope he will ensure justice to Sikhs," he said.
Badal asked the PM to direct the Delhi government to complete the election process for the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Managament Committee by December 31, the deadeline set up by the apex court.
The chief minister had already written a letter to the Prime Minister pertaining to DSGMC elections. Badal was addressing reporters here on the sidelines of the inaugural function of Devi Lal Memorial Centre of Learning .
An Israeli strike on a Gaza City high-rise today has killed one of the top militant leaders of Islamic Jihad, the Palestinian militant group said.
The second strike in two days on the downtown Gaza City building that houses the Hamas TV station, Al Aqsa, has killed Ramez Harb, who is a leading figure in Al Quds Brigades militant wing, according to a text message Islamic Jihad sent to reporters.
Witnesses told the AP that the Israeli airstrike, part of a widening effort to suppress Hamas rocket fire into Israel, struck the building Monday afternoon, and ambulances quickly rushed to the scene. Paramedics told the AP that one person was killed and several wounded.
It is also the second high profile commander taken out in the Israeli offensive, which began six days ago with a missile strike that killed Ahmed Jibari, Hamas' top military commander.
Today mourners buried the 11 victims of an Israeli air strike on Sunday, the single deadliest incident since the escalation between Hamas and Israel began Wednesday. Among the dead were nine members of the Daloo family, killed when an Israeli warplane targeted their home in Gaza City while trying to kill a Hamas rocket maker, whose fate is unknown.
Palestinian deaths climbed to 96 Monday when four more, including two children, were killed in a strike on a sports stadium the Israel Defense Forces said was being used to launch rockets. Gaza health officials said half of those killed were children, women or elderly men.
With the death toll rising, Egypt accelerated efforts to broker a cease-fire, but so far the two sides are far apart. Egypt is being supported by Qatar and Turkey in its peacemaking mission and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is scheduled to arrive at the talks later today.
President Obama called Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today to discuss ways to reduce tensions and bring the fighting to a halt.
Israel carried out 80 air strikes this morning, down from previous morning totals. There were 75 militant rocket launches, the Israeli military said, also a relatively low tally. The Israel Defense Forces said that since Wednesday, around 1,100 strikes had been carried out in Gaza while militants have launched about 1,000 rockets towards Israel.
Three Israeli civilians died from militant rocket fire in one attack Thursday and dozens have been wounded.
Sunday proved to be one the deadliest days of what Israel has called "Operation Pillar of Defense" with at least 23 Palestinians reported killed. Of those, at least 14 were women and children, according to a Gaza health official. The Israel Defense Forces told ABC News it was targeting Hamas rocket maker Yehiya Bia, who lives near the Daloo family in a densely populated Gaza neighborhood and has not been accounted for.
Israel shifted its tactics this weekend from striking rocket arsenals and firing positions to targeting the homes of senior Hamas commanders and the offices of Hamas politicians in Gaza. Doing so brought the violence into Gaza's most densely populated areas.
Israel hit two high-rise buildings Sunday that house the offices of Hamas and international media outlets, injuring at least six journalists.
The tide may be turning for the rare species of giant tortoise thought to have gone extinct when its last known member, the beloved Lonesome George, died in June.
A new study by Yale University researchers reveals that DNA from George's ancestors lives on—and that more of his kind may still be alive in a remote area of Ecuador's Galápagos Islands.
This isn't the first time Chelonoidis abingdoni has been revived: The massive reptiles were last seen in 1906 and considered extinct until the 1972 discovery of Lonesome George, then around 60 years old, on Pinta Island. The population had been wiped out by human settlers, who overharvested the tortoises for meat and introduced goats and pigs that destroyed the tortoises' habitat and much of the island's vegetation.
Now, in an area known as Volcano Wolf—on the secluded northern tip of Isabela, another Galápagos island—the researchers have identified 17 hybrid descendants of C. abingdoni within a population of 1,667 tortoises.
Genetic testing identified three males, nine females, and five juveniles (under the age of 20) with DNA from C. abingdoni. The presence of juveniles suggests that purebred specimens may exist on the island too, the researchers said.
"Even the parents of some of the older individuals may still be alive today, given that tortoises live for so long and that we detected high levels of ancestry in a few of these hybrids," Yale evolutionary biologist Danielle Edwards said.
(See pictures of Galápagos animals.)
Galápagos Castaways
How did Lonesome George's relatives end up some 30 miles (50 kilometers) from Pinta Island? Edwards said ocean currents, which would have carried the tortoises to other areas, had nothing to do with it. Instead, she thinks humans likely transported the animals.
Crews on 19th-century whaling and naval vessels hunted accessible islands like Pinta for oil and meat, carrying live tortoises back to their ships.
Tortoises can survive up to 12 months without food or water because of their slow metabolisms, making the creatures a useful source of meat to stave off scurvy on long sea voyages. But during naval conflicts, the giant tortoises—which weighed between 200 and 600 pounds (90 and 270 kilograms) each—were often thrown overboard to lighten the ship's load.
That could also explain why one of the Volcano Wolf tortoises contains DNA from the tortoise species Chelonoidis elephantopus, which is native to another island, as a previous study revealed. That species is also extinct in its native habitat, Floreana Island.
(Related: "No Lovin' for Lonesome George.")
Life After Extinction?
Giant tortoises are essential to the Galápagos Island ecosystem, Edwards said. They scatter soil and seeds, and their eating habits help maintain the population balance of woody vegetation and cacti. Now, scientists have another chance to save C. abingdoni and C. elephantopus.
With a grant from the National Geographic Society's Committee for Research and Exploration, which also helped fund the current study, the researchers plan to return to Volcano Wolf's rugged countryside to collect hybrid tortoises—and purebreds, if the team can find them—and begin a captive-breeding program. (National Geographic News is part of the Society.)
If all goes well, both C. abingdoni and C. elephantopus may someday be restored to their wild homes in the Galápagos. (Learn more about the effort to revive the Floreana Galápagos tortoises.)
"The word 'extinction' signifies the point of no return," senior research scientist Adalgisa Caccone wrote in the team's grant proposal. "Yet new technology can sometimes provide hope in challenging the irrevocable nature of this concept."
More: "Galápagos Expedition Journal: Face to Face With Giant Tortoises" >>
The new Lonesome George study was published by the journal Biological Conservation.
It’s not a good time to be a Republican. The circular firing squad — it was Mitt Romney’s fault! Demographics did it! Conservatives messed everything up! — has begun in earnest even though the 2012 election is less than two weeks gone.
Regardless of who you choose to blame — we lean toward demographics and a turnout operation that is a pale imitation of what Democrats have put in place — it’s clear that the Republican party needs an overhaul. And the sooner everyone in the party recognizes that fact, the better.
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: New Israeli air raids killed three people in Gaza City on Sunday, taking the death toll to 26 on the bloodiest day of Israel's bombing campaign, Hamas said.
Two of the deaths came in an air strike that targeted a motorbike in the Gaza City neighbourhood of Tal al-Hawa.
"Two Palestinians were killed in an air strike on the Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood," Hamas health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said, without adding details.
A third Palestinian, a six-year-old child, was killed in another strike in northern Gaza on Sunday evening.
"Hussein Jalal Nasser, six years old, was martyred in an air strike that targeted his house," emergency services spokesman Adham Abu Selmiya told AFP.
The deaths brought to 26 the number of Palestinians killed on Sunday, in the bloodiest day so far of Israel's campaign against the Gaza Strip.
The overall death toll in some 100 hours of relentless Israeli air strikes stood at 72, with at least 660 injured, health officials said.,
At least 10 children, five of them babies and toddlers, and five women were among those killed on Sunday, in attacks that came even as diplomatic efforts intensified to broker an end to the bloodshed which began on Wednesday.
The violence has also cost the lives of three Israelis and injured more than 50, according to medical sources.
The deadliest strike by far was in northern Gaza City where a missile levelled a three-storey building, killing nine members of the Al-Dallu family, five of them children, and two other people, medics said.
Qudra named the dead as policeman Mohammed al-Dallu, 35, Suheila al-Dallu, 50, Samah al-Dallu, 22, and five children: Jamal and Sara, whose ages were not immediately available, five-year-old Yussef, two-year-old Ranin, and 11-month-old Ibrahim.
The body of another woman from the same family was also pulled from the rubble but her identity was not immediately clear.
The other two victims, who lived next door, were named as Amina Mattar al-Muzzana, 83, and Abdullah Mohammed al-Muzzana, 22, Qudra said.
The Israeli army had no immediate comment on the strike, only saying the air force had hit "a few targets in northern Gaza City".
Shortly afterwards, six more Palestinians were killed in four separate strikes -- two in Gaza City, one on the Jabaliya refugee camp and one on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
In Gaza City, Sami al-Ghafir was killed in a raid on the eastern Shejaiya neighbourhood, and Mohammed al-Awf was killed in the north of the city.
The strike on Jabaliya killed Suheil Hamada and his son Moamin as they were driving a water delivery truck through the camp.
And an early-evening strike on Nuseirat killed two men, Aatiya Mubarak and Hossam Abu Shawish, the emergency services said.
Earlier strikes across the strip killed six more Palestinians, four of them children.
At around 2:00am (0000 GMT) strikes on the northern town of Beit Hanun killed two toddlers, three-year-old Tamer Abu Saeyfan and his one-year-old sister Jumana.
Several hours later, 18-month-old Iyyad Abu Khusa was killed in a strike east of Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. His two brothers, aged four and five, were critically wounded in the raid, Qudra said.
Medics later reported finding under the rubble of a house in eastern Gaza City the body of a woman who had been killed in a strike earlier in the morning. They named her as Nawal Abdelaal, 52.
And in the late morning an air strike on a small house in the beachfront Shati refugee camp in Gaza City killed 13-year-old Tasneem al-Nahal and Ahmad al-Nahal, 25, both from the same family.
- AFP/fa
An Israeli missile flattened a two-story house in a residential neighborhood of Gaza City on Sunday, killing at least 11 civilians, mostly women and children, Palestinian medical officials said, as Israel expanded a military offensive to target homes of wanted militants.
The attack, which Israel said targeted a militant, was the single deadliest incident of the five-day-old Israeli operation and hiked a toll Sunday that was already the highest number of civilians killed in one day, according to Gaza medics. The bloodshed is likely to raise international pressure for a cease-fire, with Egypt taking the leading role in mediating between Israel and Hamas.
President Barack Obama said he had been in touch with the leaders of Israel, Egypt, and Turkey in an effort to halt the fighting. "We're going to have to see what kind of progress we can make in the next 24, 36, 48 hours," he said.
Obama cautioned against a potential Israeli ground invasion into Gaza, warning it could only deepen its death toll. At the same time, he blamed Palestinian militants for starting the round of fighting by raining rockets onto Israel, and he defended Israel's right to defend itself.
"Israel has every right to expect that it does not have missiles fired into its territory," Obama said in Thailand at the start of a three-nation tour in Asia.
An Israeli envoy arrived in Cairo on Sunday and held talks with Egyptian officials on a ceasefire, according to Egyptian security officials and Nabil Shaath, a top aide of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas who was in the Egyptian capital.
But Israel and Gaza's militant Hamas rulers remain far apart on any terms for a halt in the bloodshed, which has killed 70 Palestinians — including 36 civilians, according to Gaza health officials — and three Israeli civilians.
Hamas is linking a truce deal to a complete lifting of the border blockade on Gaza imposed since Islamists seized the territory by force. Hamas also seeks Israeli guarantees to halt targeted killings of its leaders and military commanders. Israeli officials reject such demands. They say they are not interested in a "timeout," and want firm guarantees that militant rocket fire into Israel will finally end. Past ceasefires have been short lived.
As the offensive moved forward, Israel found itself at a crossroads — on the cusp of launching a ground offensive into Gaza to strike an even tougher blow against Hamas, or pursuing Egyptian-led truce efforts.
"The Israeli military is prepared to significantly expand the operation," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting.
At the same time, Gaza militants continued their barrage of rocket fire at Israel, firing more than 100, including two at Tel Aviv. More than 10 Israelis were injured by shrapnel, two moderately, according to police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld. Israel's "Iron Dome" rocket-defense system shot down at least 30 rockets, including the ones aimed at Tel Aviv.
Israel's announcement Sunday that it was widening its campaign to target homes of militants appeared to mark a new and risky phase of the operation, given the likelihood of civilian casualties in the densely populated territory of 1.5 million Palestinians. Israel launched the offensive Wednesday in a bid to end months of intensifying rocket fire from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
The day's deadliest strike hit the home of the Daloo family in Gaza City, reducing the structure to rubble.
Copyright © News substantiate. All rights reserved.
Design 
And Business Directories
