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No reports yet of debris from falling satellite

No reports yet of debris from falling satellite

BERLIN (AP & staff) — Scientists were trying to establish how and where a defunct German research satellite returned to the Earth Sunday, after warning that some parts might survive re-entry and crash at up to 280 mph (450 kph). There was no immediate solid evidence to determine above which continent or country the ROSAT scientific research satellite entered the atmosphere, said Andreas Schuetz, spokesman for the German Aerospace Center. Most parts of the minivan-sized satellite were expected to burn up, but up to 30 fragments weighing a total of 1.87 tons (1.7 metric tons) could crash. Scientists were no longer able to communicate with the dead satellite and it must have traveled about 12,500 miles (20,000 kilometers) in the final 30 minutes before entering the atmosphere, Schuetz said. Experts were waiting for “observations from around the world,” he added. Scientists said hours before the re-entry into the atmosphere that the satellite was not expected to hit over Europe, Africa or Australia. According to a precalculated path it could have been above Asia, possibly China, at the time of its re-entry, but Schuetz said he could not confirm that. The 2.69-ton (2.4 metric ton) scientific ROSAT satellite was launched in 1990 and retired in 1999 after being used for research on black holes and neutron stars and performing the first all-sky survey of X-ray sources with an imaging telescope. The largest single fragment of ROSAT that could hit into the earth is the telescope’s heat-resistant mirror. During its mission, the satellite orbited about 370 miles (600 kilometers) above the Earth’s surface, but since its decommissioning it has lost altitude, circling at a distance of only 205 miles (330 kilometers) above ground in June for example, the agency said. Even in the last days, the satellite still circled the planet every 90 minutes, making it hard to predict where on Earth it would eventually come down. A dead NASA satellite fell into the southern Pacific Ocean last month, causing no damage, despite fears it would hit a populated area and cause damage or kill people. Experts believe about two dozen metal pieces from the bus-sized satellite fell over a 500-mile (800 kilometer) span. The German space agency puts the odds of somebody somewhere on Earth being hurt by its satellite at one in 2,000 — a slightly higher level of risk than was calculated for the NASA satellite. But any one [...]

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Tunisia vote in first free elections

Tunisia vote in first free elections

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP & staff) — Tunisians began voting at dawn Sunday in their first truly free elections, the culmination of a popular uprising that ended decades of authoritarian rule and set off similar rebellions across the Middle East. Voters are electing members of an assembly that will appoint a new government and then write a new constitution, definitively turning the page on the 23-year presidency of Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, who was overthrown by a monthlong uprising on Jan. 14 stirred by anger at unemployment, corruption and repression. The party expected to come out on top, Ennahda, is a moderate Islamic party whose victory, especially in a comparatively secular society like Tunisia, could have wide implications for similar religious parties in the region. The unexpected revolution in this quiet Mediterranean country — cherished by European tourists for its sandy beaches and desert oases — set off a series of similar uprisings against entrenched leaders, an event now being called the Arab Spring. If Tunisia’s elections produce an effective new government they will serve as an inspiration to pro-democracy advocates across the region, including in next-door Libya, where longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi was killed last week by rebel forces. The campaign season has been marked by controversies over advertising, fears over society’s religious polarization and concerns about voter apathy, but in the run-up to the vote a mood of optimism and excitement in the capital was palpable. “This is the first time in my life I’ve truly voted. It is something extraordinary,” said Turkane Seklani, a 37-year-old casting her ballot in polling station set up in the Bourguiba High School in Tunis. The sun was still rising as she cast her ballot soon after 7 a.m., but the capital was already humming with political activity. She said she voted for center-left party Ettakatol, because its leader, a doctor who opposed Ben Ali in the years before the uprising, “is a good man and I find him honest and with integrity.” The ballot is an extra-large piece of paper bearing the names and symbols of the parties fielding a candidate in each district. It’s a cacophony of choice in a country effectively under one-party rule since independence from France in 1956, and where the now-popular Islamist party Ennahda was long banned. There are 7.5 million potential voters, though only 4.4 million of them, or just under 60 percent, are actually registered. [...]

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Thai flood situation may ease early next month

Thai flood situation may ease early next month

BANGKOK (AP & staff) — Thai authorities say the worst of the flooding that is threatening the capital will be over by the first week of November, but they’re warning people to stay prepared. The Flood Relief Operations Command gave its advice Sunday in a televised press conference just a day after reports that the city’s Chao Phraya river was overflowing its banks deepened concerns that Bangkok would be inundated. The command’s chief, Justice Minister Pracha Promnok, said people should not be too concerned about the spillover because it could be drained off. He also said water in a major canal that had been overflowing was receding. However, the agency also urged people to adjust their lifestyles to cope with the emergency.

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Karzai: Afghanistan to back Pakistan in US-Pak war

Karzai: Afghanistan to back Pakistan in US-Pak war

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP & staff) — If the United States and Pakistan ever went to war, Afghan President Hamid Karzai says Afghanistan would back neighboring Pakistan. Karzai made the comment to the private GEO television station in Pakistan in an interview broadcast on Saturday. It is a surprising remark given Karzai’s recent criticism of Pakistan and his show of alliance with the United States during U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s visit to Kabul last week. Both Clinton and Karzai vocally accused the Pakistan government of providing sanctuary to terrorist groups launching attacks in Afghanistan. A military conflict between the U.S. and Pakistan is not likely, but Karzai says that if Pakistan were attacked and asked for Afghanistan’s help, the Afghans would support the Pakistanis.

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German falling satellite entered atmosphere

German falling satellite entered atmosphere

BERLIN (AP & staff) — A defunct satellite entered the atmosphere early Sunday and pieces of it were expected to crash into the earth, the German Aerospace Center said. There was no immediate solid evidence to determine above which continent or country the ROSAT scientific research satellite entered the atmosphere, agency spokesman Andreas Schuetz said. Most parts of the minivan-sized satellite were expected to burn up during re-entry, but up to 30 fragments weighing 1.87 tons (1.7 metric tons) could crash into Earth at speeds up to 280 mph (450 kph). Scientists were no longer able to communicate with the dead satellite and it must have traveled about 12,500 miles (20,000 kilometers) in the last 30 minutes before entering the atmosphere, Schuetz said. Experts were waiting for “observations from around the world,” he added. Scientists said hours before the re-entry into the atmosphere that the satellite was not expected to hit over Europe, Africa or Australia. According to a precalculated path it could have been above Asia, possibly China, at the time of its re-entry, but Schuetz said he could not confirm whether the satellite actually entered above that area. The 2.69-ton (2.4 metric ton) scientific ROSAT satellite was launched in 1990 and retired in 1999 after being used for research on black holes and neutron stars and performing the first all-sky survey of X-ray sources with an imaging telescope. The largest single fragment of ROSAT that could hit into the earth is the telescope’s heat-resistant mirror. During its mission, the satellite orbited about 370 miles (600 kilometers) above the Earth’s surface, but since its decommissioning it has lost altitude, circling at a distance of only 205 miles (330 kilometers) above ground in June for example, the agency said. Even in the last days, the satellite still circled the planet every 90 minutes, making it hard to predict where on Earth it would eventually come down. A dead NASA satellite fell into the southern Pacific Ocean last month, causing no damage, despite fears it would hit a populated area and cause damage or kill people. Experts believe about two dozen metal pieces from the bus-sized satellite fell over a 500-mile (800 kilometer) span of uninhabited portion of the world. The NASA climate research satellite entered Earth’s atmosphere generally above American Samoa. But falling debris as it broke apart did not start hitting the water for another 300 miles (480 kilometers) [...]

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Conflicted Iraqis face future without US troops

Conflicted Iraqis face future without US troops

BAGHDAD (AP & staff) — For the first time in decades, Iraqis face a future on their own, with neither Saddam Hussein’s iron fist nor the United States’ military might to hold them together. This has been both their dream and nightmare: They wanted American troops (the occupiers) to go, but they wanted American troops (the protectors) to stay. Now many fear an increase in violence, growing Iranian influence and political turmoil after President Barack Obama’s definitive announcement that all U.S. forces will leave by the end of the year. In conversations with The Associated Press, Iraqis across the political, religious and geographic spectrum on Saturday questioned what more than eight years of war and tens of thousands of Iraqi and U.S. lives lost had wrought on their country. They wondered how their still struggling democracy could face the challenges ahead. “Neither the Iraqis nor the Americans have won here,” said Adnan Omar, a Sunni from the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. Rifaat Khazim, a Shiite from the southern city of Basra, said, “I do not think that this withdrawal will bring anything better to Iraq or that Iraqi leaders will be able to achieve stability and security in this country. Most of the Iraqis yearn now for Saddam’s time. Now, Iraq is defenseless in the face of the threats by the neighboring countries.” Across the country there was a strong sense of disbelief. The Americans, having spent hundreds of billions of dollars, lost nearly 4,500 troops’ lives and built up sprawling bases as big as many Iraqi cities, would never really leave, many Iraqis thought. Some celebrated the exit of foreign occupiers and the emergence of real sovereignty. But there was also an apprehension, almost a sense of resignation, that things will get worse. Though greatly reduced from the depths of near civil war from 2006 to 2008, shooting and bombings rattle Iraqis daily. Significantly all the elements from those darkest days remain: al-Qaida militants, Shiite militias, Sunni insurgents. Resentment still simmers among the Sunni Muslim minority over domination by the Shiite majority, Kurds in the north still hold aspirations of breaking away. Despite years of promises of better government services, most of the country gets by on a few hours of electricity a day. In the eyes of Iraqis, the Americans were both the cause of those woes and the bulwark against them exploding. Many blame the 2003 [...]

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Activists: Syrian troops hunt protesters, kill 5

Activists: Syrian troops hunt protesters, kill 5

BEIRUT (AP & Staff) — Thousands of Syrian security forces fanned out Saturday through suburbs of the capital Damascus in search of regime opponents, while five others were killed in raids across the country, activists said. The raids came as the Arab League’s secretary general announced that the 22-nation organization would dispatch a delegation to Syria next week to persuade it to stop firing on protesters. The British-based Syrian Observation for Human Rights said some 5,000 soldiers and policemen set up checkpoints and conducted house-to-house searches in the Damascus suburbs of Zamalka, Hammouriyeh, Irbin and Saqba. The Observatory and the Local Coordination Committees, another activist network, said five people were killed in the central city of Homs, in the northern Idlib province and in the countryside near the central city of Hama on Saturday. The raids come a day after 25 people were reported killed across the country when security forces fired on anti-regime protesters who poured into the streets, energized by the death of Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi. The U.N. says more than 3,000 people have died since the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad began in mid-March. The Observatory also said it had documented a total of 114 civilian deaths and arrest of more than 2,100 people so far this month in Homs alone. The city is a center of anti-Assad activism. In an indication of growing pressure on Assad from other Arab states, Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby said on the sidelines of a World Economic Forum conference in Jordan that an Arab ministerial committee led by the prime minister of Qatar will travel to Damascus next Wednesday. The League met in Cairo last week and gave Syria until the end of this month to enact a cease-fire and start a national dialogue with the opposition, pledging to meet again to consider new options should Syria refuse. The committee was tasked with making contacts to start a national dialogue between Syrian officials and the opposition that would take place at the League’s headquarters in Cairo. Damascus seems to have agreed to the Arab mission through gritted teeth, as it is loathe to grant any right to outsiders to interfere in what it considers its internal affairs and Qatar, in particular, has been critical of the Assad regime’s crackdown. Damascus also has insisted that any discussions with the opposition take place on Syrian territory. However, Syria has not curbed [...]

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285 Indian girls shed ‘unwanted’ names

285 Indian girls shed ‘unwanted’ names

MUMBAI, India (AP & Staff) — More than 200 Indian girls whose names mean “unwanted” in Hindi chose new names Saturday for a fresh start in life. A central Indian district held a renaming ceremony it hopes will give the girls new dignity and help fight widespread gender discrimination that gives India a skewed gender ratio, with far more boys than girls. The girls — wearing their best outfits with barrettes, braids and bows in their hair — lined up to receive certificates with their new names along with small flower bouquets from Satara district officials in Maharashtra state. In shedding names like “Nakusa” or “Nakushi,” which mean “unwanted” in Hindi, some girls chose to name themselves after Bollywood stars like “Aishwarya” or Hindu goddesses like “Savitri.” Some just wanted traditional names with happier meanings, such as “Vaishali” or “prosperous, beautiful and good.” “Now in school, my classmates and friends will be calling me this new name, and that makes me very happy,” said a 15-year-old girl who had been named Nakusa by a grandfather disappointed by her birth. She chose the new name “Ashmita,” which means “very tough” or “rock hard” in Hindi. The plight of girls in India came to a focus as this year’s census showed the nation’s sex ratio had dropped over the past decade from 927 girls for every 1,000 boys under the age of 6 to 914. Maharashtra state’s ratio is well below that, with just 883 girls for every 1,000 boys — down from 913 a decade ago. In the district of Satara, it is even lower at 881. Such ratios are the result of abortions of female fetuses, or just sheer neglect leading to a higher death rate among girls. The problem is so serious in India that hospitals are legally banned from revealing the gender of an unborn fetus in order to prevent sex-selective abortions, though evidence suggests the information gets out. Part of the reason Indians favor sons is the enormous expense of marrying off girls. Families often go into debt arranging marriages and paying for elaborate dowries. A boy, on the other hand, will one day bring home a bride and dowry. Hindu custom also dictates that only sons can light their parents’ funeral pyres. Over the years, and again now, there are efforts to fight the discrimination. “Nakusa is a very negative name as far as female discrimination [...]

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Shark kills American diver off western Australia

Shark kills American diver off western Australia

CANBERRA, Australia (AP & Staff) — A great white shark killed an American recreational diver on Saturday in a third fatality in recent weeks off southwest Australia that has shaken beach-loving residents and sparked fears of a rogue predator targeting humans. Australia averages fewer than two fatal shark attacks a year nationwide. The state government has promised to hunt the killer and is considering more aircraft surveillance off west coast beaches as whales migrating in larger numbers attract more sharks. The first sign that the 32-year-old American man, whose name and hometown have not been released, was in trouble as he dived alone was when a stream of bubbles erupted on the ocean surface beside his 25-foot (8-meter) dive boat, police said. His two horrified companions on the boat saw his lifeless body surface and a 10-foot (3-meter) great white swim away, Western Australia Police Sgt. Gerry Cassidy said. The shark struck 500 yards (meters) north of the picturesque tourist haven of Rottnest Island, which is 11 miles (18 kilometers) west of a popular Perth city beach where a 64-year-old Australian swimmer is believed to have been taken by a great white on Oct. 10. Authorities cannot say whether the American was killed by the same shark that is believed to have taken Bryn Martin as he made his regular morning swim from Perth’s Cottesloe Beach toward a buoy about 380 yards (350 meters) offshore. But an analysis of Martin’s torn swimming trunks recovered from the seabed near the buoy pointed to a great white shark being the culprit. No other trace of Martin has been found. “It’s a cloudy old day today which is the same as we had the other day with Cottesloe, and they’re the conditions that sharks love,” Cassidy said. The American had a work visa and had been living in a Perth beachside suburb north of Cottesloe for several months. The tragedies follow the death on Sept. 4 of 21-year-old bodyboarder Kyle Burden, whose legs were bitten off by a shark described as 15 feet (4.5 meters) long at a beach south of Perth. Witnesses were unsure of the type of shark. Perth, the capital of Western Australia state and one of Australia’s largest cities, is renowned for its white sand beaches, but the best surfing locations are further south in the wine region of Margaret River. While great whites trail the migration of whales [...]

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US warms to idea of Pakistan talks with militants

US warms to idea of Pakistan talks with militants

ISLAMABAD (AP & staff) — Despite some tough talk, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s recent visit to Pakistan seemed to subtly soften Washington’s stand on a key point of contention between the two countries: whether Islamabad should take military action against Pakistan-based insurgents fighting American troops in Afghanistan, or try to engage them in peace talks. Clinton seemed to acknowledge during her two-day visit that ended Friday that help with a negotiated settlement is perhaps the best the U.S. can hope for from Pakistan. This shift in the U.S. stance could give Washington and Islamabad new room to cooperate on ending the Afghan war. But serious barriers to negotiations remain. The U.S. believes that military force is still needed to push the Taliban and their allies to make concessions. Pakistan, which Washington alleges supports some of the militant groups, prefers on the other hand to reduce violence to induce the insurgents to come to the table. Islamabad is also worried about being blamed if peace talks fail. It has long-standing ties with the armed groups, but the militants are unpredictable and resistant to pressure. Pakistan is furthermore unsure of exactly what kind of deal the U.S. and Afghan governments might strike with the insurgents, and the atmosphere is permeated by feelings of distrust on all sides. The U.S. has long demanded that Pakistan take greater military action against Taliban militants and their allies who use Pakistani territory to regroup and to send fighters to attack forces in Afghanistan. Recently, the U.S. has pushed for an assault on the Haqqani militant network, which the U.S. alleges is supported by the Pakistan military’s spy agency, the ISI. The U.S. deems the Haqqanis the greatest threat to American troops in Afghanistan. Pakistan has denied supporting the Haqqanis, but has also made clear that it will not conduct an offensive against the group’s safe haven in the North Waziristan tribal area, a position that has not changed despite the two-day visit by Clinton and other senior national security officials, including CIA chief David Petraeus and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey. Many analysts believe Pakistan’s refusal is driven by its belief that the Haqqanis could be key allies in Afghanistan after foreign forces withdraw, especially in countering the influence of archenemy India. The Pakistani military, however, says that its failure to act against the Haqqanis is just a question [...]

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Saudi crown prince dies abroad after illness

Saudi crown prince dies abroad after illness

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP & staff) — The heir to the Saudi throne, Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdel Aziz Al Saud, died abroad Saturday after an illness, state TV said. The death of the prince, who was in his 80s, opens questions about the succession in the critical, oil-rich U.S. ally. Sultan was the half-brother of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, who has also been ailing and underwent back surgery last week. The most likely candidate to replace Sultan as Abdullah’s successor is Prince Nayef, the powerful interior minister in charge of internal security forces. After Sultan fell ill, the king gave Nayef — also his half-brother — an implicit nod in 2009 by naming him second deputy prime minister, traditionally the post of the second in line to the throne. The announcement did not say where outside the kingdom Sultan died or elaborate on his illness but Saudi official circles in Riyadh said he passed away at a hospital in New York. According to a leaked U.S. diplomatic cable from January 2010, Sultan had been receiving treatment for colon cancer since 2009. Sultan, who was also the deputy prime minister and minister of defense and aviation, has had a string of health issues. He underwent surgery in New York in February 2009 for an undisclosed illness and spent nearly a year abroad recuperating in the United States and at a palace in Agadir, Morocco. “It is with deep sorrow and grief that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz Al Saud mourns the loss of his brother and Crown Prince His Royal Highness Prince Sultan Abdel Aziz Al Saud,” the palace said. The statement, which was carried on the official Saudi Press Agency, added that Sultan’s funeral will be held on Tuesday afternoon in Riyadh at the Imam Turki bin Abdullah mosque. From Tajikistan, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton expressed condolences on behalf of the American people and President Barack Obama. “The crown prince was a strong leader and a good friend to the United States over many years as well as a tireless champion for his country. He will be missed,” said Clinton, who is on a Central Asia tour. “Our relationship with Saudi Arabia is strong and enduring and we will look forward to working with the leadership for many years to come.” For the first time, however, the mechanism of [...]

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Eurozone to banks: Take bigger loss on Greek debt

Eurozone to banks: Take bigger loss on Greek debt

BRUSSELS (AP & staff) — Eurozone finance ministers said Saturday that they have agreed that banks should accept substantially bigger losses on their Greek bonds, with a new report suggesting that writedowns of up to 60 percent may be necessary. The report from Greece’s international debt inspectors, which formed the basis for discussions at the finance ministers’ meeting Friday, says that in order to keep rescue loans from the eurozone to the euro109 billion ($150 billion) foreseen under a second bailout deal tentatively reached in July, Greece’s debt would have to be cut by 60 percent. Even that would leave the country’s debts still at 110 percent of economic output in 2020. “Yesterday we agreed that we need a substantial increase in the contribution from the banks,” said Jean-Claude Juncker, Luxembourg’s prime minister who also chairs the meetings of eurozone finance ministers. That means the July deal, under which banks would have taken writedowns on their Greek bondholdings of about 21 percent, is definitively off the table. Austria’s Finance Minister Maria Fekter told journalists that the eurozone’s chief negotiator Vittorio Grilli had been asked to restart negotiations with banks. Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos confirmed as he arrived for the meeting that leaders were looking for banks to write down more than the July agreement envisaged. “But in any case, Greece is not a central problem for the eurozone,” he said. “Now the point is to take a more general and more constructive decision for eurozone as a whole.” The report did not make policy recommendations, and in fact the European Central Bank opposes cutting Greece’s debts further. But finance ministers are clearly paying close attention to the document. Another scenario showed that if Greece’s debts are cut by 50 percent, the country would need euro114 billion ($157 billion), on top of the July package. The agreement to push for much bigger losses is a key step in helping Athens eventually dig out from underneath its debt burden. But asking banks to more significantly write down their Greek debt will raise concerns about their ability to withstand the losses as well as the ensuing turmoil on financial market. As a result, the finance chiefs from the 27 EU countries, meeting Saturday in Brussels, are also expected to force banks across the continent to raise billions in capital for their rainy-day funds. Both measures are critical to solving Europe’s debt crisis, [...]

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Jordan’s king urges restart of Mideast peace talks

Jordan’s king urges restart of Mideast peace talks

SOUTHERN SHUNEH, Jordan (AP & staff) — Jordan’s king has urged Israel and the Palestinians to look to the Arab Spring uprisings for inspiration and to restart their stalled peace talks. Abdullah says the future for the Middle East and beyond is with the “normalcy of peace.” He spoke at Saturday’s opening of a two-day special meeting of the Davos-based World Economic Forum held on the shores of the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth. Abdullah says “shortsighted leaders may think they can shut” the door to peace — a rebuke believed directed at Israel’s right-wing government. He says a Palestinian-Israeli deal must consider Israel’s “security and acceptance” and allow for the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

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Libyan official: liberation to be declared Sunday

Libyan official: liberation to be declared Sunday

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP & staff) — A military spokesman says Libya’s transitional government will declare liberation on Sunday after months of bloodshed that culminated in the death of longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi. Officials from the governing National Transitional Council had said the announcement would be made Saturday in the eastern city of Benghazi, the revolution’s birthplace. But spokesman Abdel-Rahman Busin says preparations are under way for a Sunday ceremony. He didn’t give an explanation for the delay. The declaration will allow Libya’s new rulers to move forward with efforts to transform the oil-rich nation into a democracy. Libyan authorities are facing questions about how Gadhafi was killed after images emerged showing he was found alive and taunted and beaten by his captors. BREAKING NEWS UPDATE: TRIPOLI, Libya (AP & staff) — A military spokesman says Libya’s transitional government will declare liberation on Sunday after months of bloodshed that culminated in the death of longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi. Officials from the governing National Transitional Council had said the announcement would be made Saturday in the eastern city of Benghazi, the revolution’s birthplace. But spokesman Abdel-Rahman Busin says preparations are under way for a Sunday ceremony. He didn’t give an explanation for the delay. The declaration will allow Libya’s new rulers to move forward with efforts to transform the oil-rich nation into a democracy. Libyan authorities are facing questions about how Gadhafi was killed after images emerged showing he was found alive and taunted and beaten by his captors.

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Enthusiasm builds for Tunisia’s 1st free elections

Enthusiasm builds for Tunisia’s 1st free elections

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP & staff) — Tunis was filled with rival rallies throbbing with music as the political parties marked the end of three weeks of campaigning for the country’s first truly free and multiparty elections since its independence from France in 1956. Tunisians on Sunday will elect an assembly that will appoint a new government and then write the country’s constitution to replace a half-century-old dictatorship that was overthrown by a popular uprising on Jan. 14. Tunisia’s revolution set off a series of similar uprisings across the Middle East that are now being called the Arab Spring, and if these elections produce an effective new government they will serve as an inspiration to pro-democracy advocates across the region. The elections are also being closely watched because the front-runner, Ennahda, is a moderate Islamic party whose victory, especially in a comparatively secular society like Tunisia, could have wide implications for similar religious parties in the region. The campaign season has been marked by controversies over advertising, fears over society’s religious polarization and concerns about voter apathy, but the final rallies at least were marked by optimism and excitement. Late into the night Friday along the capital’s elegant, tree-lined Bourguiba Avenue honking cars bearing campaign posters swerved along the wide street where protesters back in January faced down the regime’s minions and forced President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to flee. Party activists engaged in last-minute campaigning along the packed cafes and crowded sidewalks filled with traffic. “There is almost a sense of wonderment that they have gotten as far as they have,” said Les Campbell, the director for the Middle East and North Africa at the National Democratic Institute, pointing out that Tunisia just 10 months ago had been one of the most repressive countries in the region. “The first thing that strikes me is that the political parties are expressing confidence in the officials running the elections and that’s good news and a good predictor of things to come,” he added. Strict rules about campaign advertising in the streets and in the media have made for a curiously muted campaign compared with many countries in the midst of elections, but in the past few days there has been a sense that Tunisians are increasingly excited about the vote. There are 7.5 million potential voters, though only 4.4 million of them, or just under 60 percent, are actually registered. People [...]

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Greek crisis: what would the ancients say?

Greek crisis: what would the ancients say?

ATHENS, Greece (AP & staff) — More than 200 international philosophers braved strikes and protests to come to Greece this month to join a forum and debate matters of the mind. Topics on the program included “The Limits of Abstraction: Finding Space for Novel Explanation” and “Partial Realism, Anti-realism and Deflationary Realism: Can History Settle the Argument?” For the organizers, the event was a success, a sign that life goes on despite economic hardship and perceptions abroad that Greece is one step from anarchy. It was also a victory for thinking at a time when the country’s debates are dominated by hoarse-voiced slogans. After all, Greece’s illustrious ancient thinkers built the foundations of Western scholarship, and their philosophy stands as an unquantifiable source of national wealth even during a financial crisis. “Sometimes people think that the philosopher is up on Mount Olympus, thinking about abstract things,” said Stathis Psillos, a philosophy professor at the University of Athens. “We philosophers have somehow to stand up and say, ‘Look, OK, money and profit and the bailout are important. But there are people also.’” Greece’s 11 million people face a barrage of existential questions — about change, values, individual and national identities, the future they want. What answers would the icons of ancient philosophy be able to give? Are their precepts, crafted more than 2,000 years ago — when Greece was a “superpower,” not Europe’s weak link — still relevant today? In the broadest sense, yes. Plato, Socrates, Aristotle and a legion of others explored virtue and reason, ethics and evidence, science and harmony. They also pondered financial theory — the drachma was in circulation then. In practical terms, the intellectual superstars would scratch their heads. They lived before capitalism, bailout funds, balance sheets and mass consumerism. They would discover a society radically changed by education, industry and technology. And they might be surprised by the rage, not deliberation, that has gripped Athens, which has been rocked by protests and riots this week against wage cuts and austerity measures. Psillos, who hosted the three-day forum of the European Philosophy of Science Association, said the “social contract,” an idea with Greek roots that groups individuals in a political union, was in “violent rupture” because the state safety net was being scaled down dramatically. The government says the cuts and tax hikes are vital to get international rescue loans that are warding off a wider [...]

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NATO tries to remove Kosovo Serb roadblocks

NATO tries to remove Kosovo Serb roadblocks

MITROVICA, Kosovo (AP & staff) — NATO-led peacekeepers have tried to remove roadblocks in northern Kosovo, but have been prevented by Serbs guarding the blockade. The troops in full riot gear tried overnight to push through three of the 16 roadblocks formed from vehicles, rocks, mud and logs. But they were met by hundreds of Serbs who sat on the roads to stop the advance. No force was used and no injuries were reported during the tense standoff. Kosovo Serbs have been blocking roads to stop the country’s ethnic Albanian leadership from extending its control over the part of the country populated mostly by ethnic Serbs. Serbs reject Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence and consider the region a part of neighboring Serbia. The peacekeepers say they want to establish freedom of movement.

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Euro chief: agreed on sizable cut to Greek debt

Euro chief: agreed on sizable cut to Greek debt

BRUSSELS (AP & staff) — The chairman of the Eurogroup says eurozone finance ministers have agreed that banks need to take substantial losses on their Greek bondholdings. Jean-Claude Juncker said Saturday that “yesterday we agreed that we need a substantial increase in the contribution from the banks.” Juncker, who is also the prime minister of Luxembourg, did not say how big the cuts would have to be. In July, banks had tentatively agreed to take a loss of about 21 percent on Greek bonds, but it has since become clear that that is not enough to make Greece’s massive debts sustainable. Austria’s Finance Minister Maria Fekter said the chief negotiator for the eurozone has been asked to restart negotiations with banks. That suggests that the eurozone is still aiming for a voluntary deal with banks. BREAKING NEWS UPDATE: BRUSSELS (AP & staff) — Sweden’s finance minister says European banks need to accept substantially more losses on their Greek debt and banks need to be shored up. Anders Borg spoke before meeting with his colleagues from across the European Union in Brussels on Saturday to discuss how to address the eurozone debt crisis, which is raising concerns over Greece’s ability ever to dig itself out of its debt and the banks’ ability to withstand a potential default on its bonds. Borg told reporters before the meeting that Greece needs a “substantive haircut” — a writedown of its debt. Some analysts fear, however, that banks aren’t prepared to weather such losses and are also calling for them to be forced to keep more money on hand. Borg said credibility needs to be restored in the banking system.

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NATO agrees to wind down in Libya until Oct. 31

NATO agrees to wind down in Libya until Oct. 31

BRUSSELS (AP & staff) — NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the alliance agreed Friday to wind down the Libya operation until Oct. 31. He said Friday following a meeting of the alliance’s governing body that the bloc made a preliminary decision to end air operation on Oct. 31, and will make a formal decision next week. The council took into account the wishes of Libya’s new government and of the United Nations, under whose mandate NATO carried out its operations. After Libya’s former rebels killed Gadhafi on Thursday, officials had said they expected the aerial operation to end very soon. The success of the military operation has helped reinvigorate the Cold War alliance and polished the reputation of France and Britain, the two countries that drove it forward. Analysts attributed its success to the fact that NATO remained steadfast over the summer during a long and grinding stalemate against Gadhafi loyalists and avoided the temptation to send ground troops into Libya. NATO earlier said its commanders were not aware that Gadhafi was in a convoy that NATO bombed as it fled Sirte. In a statement Friday, the alliance said an initial Thursday morning strike was aimed at a convoy of approximately 75 armed vehicles leaving Sirte, the Libyan city defended by Gadhafi loyalists. One vehicle was destroyed, which resulted in the convoy’s dispersal. Another jet then engaged approximately 20 vehicles that were driving at great speed toward the south, destroying or damaging about 10 of them. “We later learned from open sources and allied intelligence that Gadhafi was in the convoy and that the strike likely contributed to his capture,” the statement said. Intelligence gleaned during surveillance flights around Sirte on Thursday indicated that a “command and control group, including senior military leaders” were attempting to flee from the town, Cameron’s spokesman Steve Field said. “There was a strike, there was damage to the convoy, the Free Libya Fighters then moved in — as to what happened next that is not entirely clear,” he said. Rasmussen hailed the success of the mission, saying that it demonstrated that the alliance continues to play an “indispensable” role in confronting current and future security challenges. NATO warplanes have flown about 26,000 sorties, including over 9,600 strike missions. They destroyed Libya’s air defenses and over 1,000 tanks, vehicles and guns, as well as Gadhafi’s command and control networks. The daily airstrikes finally [...]

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France, Britain boost Europe’s image in Libya

France, Britain boost Europe’s image in Libya

PARIS (AP & staff) — In Libya, western Europe’s powers finally got tough. France and Britain, the European Union’s most militarized nations, emerged as standouts in the NATO-led campaign that has all but ended with Thursday’s death of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Their efforts — led by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain — have gone a long way toward erasing impressions that Europeans were weak-kneed peaceniks who preferred diplo-speak over derring-do. It’s unclear whether they will reap the political benefits. Sarkozy is unpopular and is facing a possibly tough re-election bid next year, and Cameron has enflamed public opinion over severe state budget cuts. Still, Gadhafi’s demise was welcome news for them. NATO’s top commander, U.S. Adm. Jim Stavridis, said Friday he will recommend the end of the alliance’s seven-month bombing mission in Libya. With the United States determined to take a back-seat if crucial role, Sarkozy and Cameron gambled their political capital and their budget in the costly NATO bombing campaign that helped unproven and ragtag rebel fighters oust and ultimately kill Libya’s tyrant of 42 years. “This operation is quite significant for Europe, because without the Franco-British diplomatic initiative it’s clear it would never have happened,” said Malcolm Chalmers, a defense professor at Kings College in London. “It demonstrates that Europe, and France and Britain in particular, retain significant diplomatic clout despite the economic crisis and the emergence of new powers,” he said. To be sure, many defense analysts noted that Gadhafi’s military was undisciplined, and critics like former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates questioned the war-making ability of NATO, which was created to face down a far mightier foe — the Soviet bloc. Europeans have commanded NATO missions in Kosovo and its anti-piracy patrols off Somalia, but Libya marked the first time they had taken the lead in an actual shooting war. France and Britain — plus the U.S. — conducted the vast majority of the missions. Still, only eight of NATO’s 28 members, including the U.S. and Canada, took part in combat sorties. Others expressed concern about the implications of the campaign on NATO’s main mission — the war in Afghanistan — where a resurgent Taliban have launched a series of high-profile attacks, undermining alliance claims that it was winning the war. Even in Libya, the Americans did much of the heavy lifting. American refueling aircraft kept NATO planes in [...]

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Gadhafi body stashed in shopping center freezer

Gadhafi body stashed in shopping center freezer

MISRATA, Libya (AP & staff) — Moammar Gadhafi’s blood-streaked body was stashed in a commercial freezer at a shopping center Friday as Libyans tried to keep it out of the public eye and away from crowds as they figure out where and when to bury the hated leader. An AP correspondent saw the body at the shopping center in the coastal city of Misrata, home of the fighters who killed the ousted leader a day earlier in his hometown of Sirte. The body, stripped to the waist and wearing beige trousers, was laid on a bloodied mattress on the floor of an emptied-out room-sized freezer where restaurants and stores in the center normally keep perishables. A bullet hole was visible on the left side of his head — with the bullet still lodged in his head, according to the presiding doctor — and in the center of his chest and stomach. His hair was matted and dried blood streaks his arms and head. Outside the shopping center, hundreds of civilians from Misrata jostled to get inside for a peek at the body, shouting “God is great” and “We want to see the dog.” The makeshift provisions for the corpse — at one point it was kept in a private house on Thursday — reflected the disorganization and confusion that has surrounded Gadhafi’s death. His burial had been planned for Friday, in accordance with Islamic traditions calling for quick interrment. But the interim government delayed it, saying the circumstances of his death still had to be determined. Information Minister Mahmoud Shammam also said authorities are “debating right now what the best place is to bury him.” Gadhafi was captured wounded but alive, and there have been contradictory accounts of how he received his fatal wounds — raising the question whether he was shot to death while in custody, something Libyan officials have denied. New images surfaced of the 69-year-old Gadhafi being taunted and beaten by the fighters who captured him. By authorites’ account, at the time the video was taken, Gadhafi would have already suffered the wounds that would kill him about a half-hour later — shots to the head, chest and belly. In the video, there is blood on Gadhafi’s head, but none visible on his chest or belly, and he is talking and uprising. International rights groups called for an investigation into his death. “More details are needed to [...]

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Thai PM says floods may last for 6 more weeks

Thai PM says floods may last for 6 more weeks

BANGKOK (AP & staff) — Thailand’s catastrophic floods may take up to six weeks to recede, the prime minister said Saturday, as the human toll from the crisis rose to 356 dead and more than 110,000 displaced. Excessive monsoon rains have drowned a third of the Southeast Asian nation since late July, causing billions of dollars in damage and putting nearly 700,000 people temporarily out of work. Colossal pools of runoff from the north have been bearing down on the capital for the last two weeks. In recent days, water has overwhelmed districts just outside Bangkok’s northern boundaries, while on Friday, floodwaters began spilling over canals in some of the city’s outermost districts, causing minor damage to homes. Some flooding on Bangkok’s outskirts was expected after Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra ordered floodgates opened in a risky move to drain the dangerous runoff through urban canals and into the sea. So far, most of the vast metropolis of 9 million people has escaped unharmed, and its two airports are operating normally. In a weekly radio address Saturday, Yingluck said that “during the next four to six weeks, the water will recede.” In the meantime, the government will step up aid to those whose lives have been disrupted, including 113,000 people Yingluck said were living in temporary shelters forced to abandon submerged homes. The government said at least 356 people had died in the floods since July. The floods are the worst to hit the country since 1942, and the crisis is proving a major test for Yingluck’s nascent government, which took power in July after heated elections. The Labor Ministry says the flooding has put nearly 700,000 temporarily people out of work, many of them from five major industrial estates north of Bangkok that were forced to suspend operations. Among those affected are Japanese carmakers Toyota and Honda, which have halted major assembly operations, and a slew of automotive parts makers. The electronics industry has also suffered, with the best-known victim being U.S. hard drive maker Western Digital, which has two major production facilities in the flooded zone. While Bangkok has mostly survived unscathed, images of disaster just outside the city have spooked residents, who are girding for the worst after Yingluck urged all Bangkokians to move valuables to higher ground. Thousands of cars are parked alongside elevated highways as drivers try to safeguard their vehicles. And some supply lines are [...]

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EU launches its first satellite navigation system

EU launches its first satellite navigation system

BRUSSELS (AP & staff) — A Russian rocket launched first two satellites of the European Union’s Galileo navigation system Friday after years of waiting for the start of the program billed as the main rival of the ubiquitous American GPS network. The launch of the Soyuz from French Guiana, on the northern coast of South America, marks the maiden voyage of the Russian rocket outside the former Soviet Union, with European and Russian authorities cheering at liftoff. The rocket is expected to place into orbit the Galileo IOV-1 PFM and FM2 satellites during a nearly four-hour mission. The two satellites will be released in opposite directions. “The first part of this mission went well,” Jean-Yves Le Gall, chairman and CEO of Arianespace, the commercial arm of the European Space Agency, said in a brief statement to officials before returning to the control room. He said the rocket is expected to travel over Asia, Indonesia and the Indian Ocean. Antonio Tajani, the EU’s industry and enterprise commissioner, called the launch “a great result” that sends “a very strong political message.” “Europe shows that she is capable of managing a big project just days from the European economic summit,” he said. The EU had all the pomp and speeches about the dawning of a new age prepared for Thursday, but was forced to postpone it for 24 hours because of a leaky valve that kept a Russian Soyuz rocket grounded at the launch site in French Guiana. The Galileo system has become a symbol of EU infighting, inefficiency and delay, but officials are hoping it will kick off a trans-Atlantic competition with the American GPS network. GPS has become the global consumer standard in satellite navigation over the past decade, reducing the need for awkward oversized maps and arguments with back seat drivers about whether to turn left or right. Now, the EU wants Galileo to dominate the future with a system that is more precise and more reliable than GPS, while controlled by civil authorities. It foresees applications ranging from precision seeding on farmland to pinpoint positioning for search-and-rescue missions. On top of that, the EU hopes it will reap a financial windfall. “If Europe wants to be competitive and independent in the future, the EU needs to have its own satellite navigation system to also create new economic opportunities”, said Herbert Reul, head of the EU parliament’s industry, research and [...]

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Spain rules out talks with armed Basque group ETA

Spain rules out talks with armed Basque group ETA

SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain (AP & staff) — Spain was adamant Friday there would be no talks with the Basque separatist group ETA even as it welcomed an end to four decades of bombings and shootings following the group’s announcement it was laying down arms. In a historic statement, ETA announced Thursday it was ceasing its 43-year-long bloody campaign for an independent Basque state in territory straddling northern Spain and southwest France. But the group stopped short of declaring defeat and called on Spain and France to open talks on the conflict. “There is nothing to negotiate with ETA,” Defense Minister Carme Chacon told Spanish National Television, adding that ETA had not achieved any of its aims and that the decades “of pain and crime have not served them (ETA) at all.” It was the first clear signal from the government that there would be no deals made. Chacon said this was the “beginning of an end that has to be managed intelligently.” “The road map from now on has to be followed with consensus and not in a rush,” said Chacon. ETA’s decision was immediately welcomed by Spanish politicians across the board, with Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero saying it was a victory for democracy. Mariano Rajoy, the leader of the conservative opposition Popular Party and the person tipped to form the next government following a national election Nov. 20, also hailed it as a major development but warned that Spain would only be fully at ease when ETA disbands. ETA, which killed more 800 people in its now-ended violent campaign, made the announcement in a video of three its members wearing trademark Basque berets and white cloth masks with slits for their eyes. At the end of the clip, they defiantly raised their fists in the air demanding a separate Basque nation. Spain’s top security official on Friday paid homage to the security forces who helped bring about ETA’s change of heart, but he said they would continue with their work. “We have ended a part of our task,” said Interior Minister Antonio Camacho. “The most complicated part remains: guaranteeing, by means of strict adherence to our laws, that never again should a generation of Spaniards have to bear the burden of a barbarity that has dragged on our progress and compromised our future.” Spain in recent years has repeatedly refused any negotiations with ETA — talks in [...]

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NATO set to decide when to end mission in Libya

NATO set to decide when to end mission in Libya

BRUSSELS (AP & staff) — NATO’s governing body meets Friday to decide when and how to end the seven-month bombing campaign in Libya, a military operation whose success has helped reinvigorate the Cold War alliance. Meanwhile, a NATO official said commanders were not aware that Moammar Gadhafi was in the convoy that was struck Thursday in Sirte by missiles fired from a French warplane, and which led to his subsequent death. “The convoy was a clear military target,” said the official who could not be named under standing rules. “We later learned that Gadhafi was in the convoy. Therefore the strike likely contributed to his capture.” After Libya’s former rebels killed Gadhafi, officials said they expected the aerial operation to end very soon. But the North Atlantic Council may also decide to keep air patrols flying for several more days until the security situation on the ground stabilizes. The final decision will depend on the recommendation of Adm. Jim Stavridis, the supreme allied commander, and the Military Committee, the highest military organ. NATO’s Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has said, after the latest developments, the end of the campaign “has now moved much closer.” He has hailed the success of the mission saying that it demonstrated that the alliance continues to play an “indispensable” role in confronting current and future security challenges. NATO warplanes have flown about 26,000 sorties, including over 9,600 strike missions. They destroyed Libya’s air defenses and over 1,000 tanks, vehicles and guns, as well as Gadhafi’s command and control networks. The daily airstrikes finally broke the stalemate that developed after Gadhafi’s initial attempts failed to crush the rebellion that broke out in February. In August, the rebels began advancing on Tripoli, with the NATO warplanes providing close air support and destroying any attempts by the defenders to block them. President Nicolas Sarkozy said Friday that “the operation has reached its end.” But how to draw down the campaign will be decided “with our allies and also with input from the (interim government).” But in London, Britain suggested that NATO may not immediately complete its mission in Libya, wary over the potential reprisal attacks by remaining Gadhafi loyalists. “NATO will now meet to decide when the mission is complete, and once we are satisfied that there is no further threat to the Libyan civilians and the Libyans are content NATO will then arrange to wind up the operation,” [...]

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