2 China blasts US tire duties as protectionist blow
By Chris Buckley and Doug Palmer, Reuters
47 mins ago
| BEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China decried a U.S. decision to impose added duty on Chinese-made tires, saying the move sent a dangerous protectionist signal before a G20 summit and could stoke reactions impeding global recovery.
But the White House played down the dispute, saying it was simply "enforcing the rules of the road" and did not expect the matter to escalate into a trade war.
"We're simply enforcing those rules and we expect the Chinese to understand those rules," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters on Saturday. |
3 Obama launches push for financial regulatory reform
By Jeff Mason and Deborah Charles
Fri Sep 11, 7:53 pm ET
| WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration is launching a broad push for action on financial regulatory reform, returning to a key legislative priority even as the debate over healthcare consumes the U.S. Congress.
President Barack Obama's speech in New York on Monday, a year after the collapse of Lehman Brothers led to a worldwide financial crisis, will push for further measures to safeguard the financial system, officials said.
The president has put most of his domestic policy focus on the healthcare debate in recent months, drawing criticism from some who believed the regulatory reforms he proposed earlier this year were being shunted to the background. |
4 5 US troops among 50 killed in Afghan violence
By RAHIM FAIEZ and NOOR KHAN, Associated Press Writers
25 mins ago
| KABUL - About 50 civilians, security forces and militants were killed in violence around Afghanistan, including a bomb that left 14 Afghan travelers dead in one of the country's most dangerous regions. Another roadside bomb killed three American soldiers in the east.
The attacks Friday and Saturday reached a broad swath of the country, demonstrating the spread of the Taliban insurgency, which had been largely confined to the country's south and east in the years after the 2001 U.S. invasion. Half of those killed in the most recent attacks were civilians, who often find themselves caught in the grinding war between the Taliban and U.S. and NATO forces.
Bombs caused most of Saturday's casualties - including homemade blasts in the former Taliban stronghold of Kandahar and a neighboring province that together killed 20 civilians. U.S. military officials said a roadside bomb in eastern Afghanistan killed the three Americans, but released no other details. |
5 Back-to-back bombs at Shiite shrine in Iraq kill 4
By DAVID RISING, Associated Press Writer
34 mins ago
| BAGHDAD - Two bombs exploded back to back near a Shiite shrine in central Baghdad where worshippers had gathered in prayer Saturday, killing four people and injuring 24, police and hospital officials said.
The first bomb went off next to the tomb of a revered ninth century religious figure, Sheik Othman al-Omari. Then a car bomb exploded in a nearby parking lot as crowds were gathering. The blasts damaged the shrine and blew out the windows of neighboring buildings.
Attacks blamed on al-Qaida in Iraq and other Sunni extremists are again targeting Shiite civilians. Violence between Shiites and Sunnis drove the country to the brink of civil war in 2006 and 2007, though it has ebbed since. |
6 UK troubled by anti-Islam rallies, counterprotests
By RAPHAEL G. SATTER, Associated Press Writer
51 mins ago
| LONDON - Violent clashes between anti-Islam demonstrators and Muslim counter-protesters in English cities are worrying the government, with one British minister comparing the disturbances to 1930s-era fascist incitement.
The violence that has hit Luton, Birmingham and London in the last few months has involved a loose collection of far-right groups - such as the previously unknown English Defense League - on one side and anti-fascist organizations and Muslim youth on the other.
In an interview published Saturday, Communities Minister John Denham accused the anti-Islam protesters of deliberately stirring up trouble. |
7 State lawmakers try to halt health care changes
By JACQUES BILLEAUD, Associated Press Writer
1 hr 45 mins ago
| PHOENIX - Republicans in more than a dozen states opposed to President Barack Obama's push for health care overhaul have mounted state-driven efforts to block federal intervention in health care, with some early success.
The push-back centers in some areas on fact - Obama's stated determination that all Americans should be required to get health care coverage, for example. Other resistance, though, is based on unfounded notions of what has been proposed - fears, for example, that the nation would adopt a single-payer system in which the government would take over health care, something Obama specifically disavowed on Wednesday.
Even if state lawmakers succeed, doubts remain over whether their proposals would take effect if a federal overhaul were passed. Experts say federal law likely would trump such state changes. |
8 Nation marks 9/11 with acts of volunteerism
By VERENA DOBNIK, Associated Press Writer
Sat Sep 12, 10:17 am ET
| NEW YORK - The nation marked the eighth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks with rain-soaked remembrances and acts of volunteerism honoring those who rushed into danger to help.
Around the country, Americans packed up care packages for soldiers, planted gardens for low-income families and painted abandoned, boarded-up homes. The anniversary Friday was declared a day of service for the first time this year to pay homage to those who sacrificed their lives to save others from the burning World Trade Center.
Memorials in New York, at the Pentagon and at the crash site of United Airlines Flight 93 in Pennsylvania all took place under gray skies. |
9 'No winners' yet in Afghan poll, Karzai ahead
By RAHIM FAIEZ, Associated Press Writer
1 hr 31 mins ago
| KABUL - Afghan President Hamid Karzai hung onto his 54 percent to 28 percent lead over his closest rival Sunday in the presidential contest as the vote count ground on in the face of fraud allegations.
Despite the lopsided margin, the U.N. mission warned there were "no winners" yet from last month's election, which has come down to the incumbent and former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abduallah.
Karzai's lead could still be cut to below 50 percent, depending on the outcome of investigations by a U.N.-backed group into hundreds of fraud allegations. If that happens, Karzai will face Abdullah in a runoff. |
10 Health care faces some big legislative bottlenecks
By CHARLES BABINGTON, Associated Press Writer
56 mins ago
| WASHINGTON - The fierce national debate over health care is entering a new phase, with advocates on all sides focused on a few legislative bottlenecks that will determine the ultimate overhaul of the $2.5 trillion medical care system.
President Barack Obama's prime-time address to Congress on Wednesday reassured some nervous Democratic lawmakers, and he aligned himself more closely with certain proposals. While Obama's words seemed to halt and possibly reverse the momentum that conservative groups had gained in August, they did not resolve all the concerns of centrist Democrats who will play pivotal roles, especially in the Senate.
Obama's speech "was a game-changer when it came to the message," said Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., one of the moderates. "But it's not an automatic change on the legislative side." |
11 Water deal eludes Calif lawmakers at session's end
By JUDY LIN, Associated Press Writer
Sat Sep 12, 11:56 am ET
| SACRAMENTO, Calif. - California lawmakers ended a legislative year dominated by an unprecedented fiscal crisis without an agreement on their top policy priority - an ambitious upgrade of the state's water delivery and storage system.
Democrats and Republicans believed there was enough momentum to try again and vowed to continue meeting in a yet-unannounced special session. Each side said they are determined to fix a problem that has bedeviled lawmakers and governors for decades.
But the state Senate session ended with a bitter partisan battle early Saturday, after Republicans blocked all bills requiring a two-thirds vote, raising doubts about whether there really is enough goodwill to reach accord on major policy issues such as water. |
12 White House stiffens against illegal immigrants
By ERICA WERNER, Associated Press Writer
Sat Sep 12, 2:18 am ET
| WASHINGTON - The White House strengthened its stand against health care coverage for illegal immigrants Friday, and a pivotal Senate committee looked ready to follow its lead.
The developments reflected a renewed focus on the issue in the days since a Republican congressman's outburst during President Barack Obama's health care speech to Congress on Wednesday night. Republican Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina shouted "You lie!" as Obama said illegal immigrants wouldn't be covered under his health plan.
Democrats had pointed to provisions in House and Senate legislation that prohibited illegal immigrants from getting federal subsidies that would be offered to lower-income Americans to help them buy insurance. |
13 House plans to admonish Rep. Wilson over outburst
By BEN EVANS and SEANNA ADCOX, Associated Press Writers
Sat Sep 12, 2:21 am ET
| WASHINGTON - Democratic leaders are planning a House vote early next week to admonish Republican Rep. Joe Wilson if he does not apologize on the House floor for yelling "You lie!" during President Barack Obama's health care address to Congress.
National attention from the heckling episode has money pouring into Wilson's campaign treasury and that of his 2010 Democratic challenger. Wilson had raised more than $700,000 since the incident as of Friday, according to the National Republican Congressional Committee. His opponent, Rob Miller, had received more than $1 million from 25,000 donors nationwide, said his campaign manager, Lindsay Zoeller.
Democratic leaders initially showed mixed interest in punishing Wilson. But they decided at a meeting late Thursday that they probably will propose a resolution of disapproval early next week if he doesn't apologize to Congress, said Brendan Daly, a spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. |
14 Dem senator: Speed Afghan security force training
By LARA JAKES, Associated Press Writer
Sat Sep 12, 2:19 am ET
| WASHINGTON - The Senate Armed Services chairman Friday added to mounting pressure on the White House to avoid escalating the war in Afghanistan by calling for faster training of Afghan security forces instead of sending more U.S. troops into combat.
A leading Senate Republican quickly countered that deploying more American troops to Iraq is what helped turn that war around.
The Senate panel's chairman, Michigan Democrat Carl Levin, had earlier raised concerns about a possible new troop buildup. But his proposal Friday to focus the U.S. mission in Afghanistan more on training than fighting was a blunt warning to the Obama administration - and it came after other Democratic congressional leaders raised similar concerns this week. |
15 Annie Leibovitz buys back copyright to her photos
By ULA ILNYTZKY, Associated Press Writer
Fri Sep 11, 11:11 pm ET
| NEW YORK - Annie Leibovitz has won an extension on a $24 million loan in a financial dispute that threatened her rights to her famous images, the two sides said in a joint statement Friday.
Leibovitz and the company, Art Capital Group, said the 59-year-old photographer had been given more time to repay the loan. The loan's deadline passed on Tuesday, but both parties had continued to work to try to resolve the dispute. Neither party would specify the length of the extension.
"In these challenging times I am appreciative to Art Capital for all they have done to resolve this matter and for their cooperation and continued support," Leibovitz said in the statement. |
16 World honors 9/11 heroes, but divided over war
By GREGORY KATZ, Associated Press Writer
Fri Sep 11, 11:12 pm ET
| On the day to remember the terror of 9/11, the war it spawned in Afghanistan sowed fresh divisions. President Barack Obama, speaking under rainy skies after placing a wreath at the site of the attack on the Pentagon, called on the world to "renew our resolve against those who perpetrated this barbaric act and who plot against us still."
But his call for an increased war effort in Afghanistan, birthplace of the 9/11 plot, is rejected by some who fear a Vietnam-style quagmire as the battle against Taliban insurgents bogs down in faraway, hostile terrain.
Even at home, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services committee warned that the U.S. has "lost the initiative" in the fight against al-Qaida. He is seeking more training for Afghan forces before committing more U.S. troops to the battle. |
17 A symbol of Russian history at risk in California
By JUDY LIN, Associated Press Writer
5 mins ago
| FORT ROSS, Calif. - Nearly two centuries ago, Russian colonists selected a patch of sloping grassland along California's rugged North Coast for a new settlement. It was from this spot about 80 miles north of San Francisco that they hoped to harvest Redwoods, grow crops and hunt seals for the lucrative fur trade.
Today, Russian Americans throughout Northern California honor their past by visiting Fort Ross Historic State Park. Hundreds drive up a winding coastal highway to picnic at the park on holidays, and priests still hold occasional services inside the fort's reconstructed Russian Orthodox church.
But the colonial outpost that claims to have established California's first shipyard and windmill is very much at risk of being abandoned by its current caretaker. Fort Ross is among 100 of California's 279 state parks that officials are considering shutting down. |
18 Lava maps causing angst in Puna area of Big Island
By HERBERT A. SAMPLE, Associated Press Writer
2 hrs 29 mins ago
| PAHOA, Hawaii - The U.S. Geological Survey's 35-year-old maps of lava danger zones in this southern corner of the Big Island are a tableau of earthy colors and odd shapes originally meant for scientific and planning purposes.
The maps have also long been used by the home insurance industry to assess lava hazard risks. But in the last year or two, the maps have become a source of contention as insurers have hiked rates or completely abandoned areas around this small town that are deemed to be the most dangerous.
And Fannie Mae, the huge backer of home mortgages, recently declared it would no longer do so in the two most hazardous zones. That has residents pointing fingers of blame at the charts that even the Geological Survey acknowledges are outdated and need to be replaced. |
19 Former Bush aide Card not seeking Kennedy seat
By STEVE LEBLANC, Associated Press Writer
Fri Sep 11, 11:55 pm ET
| BOSTON - Former Bush White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card said Friday he will not seek the Senate seat left vacant last month by the death of Edward Kennedy.
Card, who served in the White House under former President George W. Bush during some of the administration's toughest moments including the decision to go to war in Iraq, said in a statement that the decision is in the best interest of his family. His decision was announced just hours after Democratic Rep. Edward Markey said he also won't jump into the race to succeed Kennedy.
Card was the highest-profile Massachusetts Republican to consider jumping into the special election. A second potential GOP candidate, state Sen. Scott Brown, had said he'd drop his campaign if Card jumped in. |
20 Lawsuits: Philly police staged raids to rob shops
By MARYCLAIRE DALE, Associated Press Writer
Fri Sep 11, 5:08 pm ET
| PHILADELPHIA - City police officers working for an elite anti-drug unit regularly robbed and harassed bodega owners during sham raids, civil-rights lawyers charge in several federal lawsuits against the officers and the city.
The lawsuits accuse brothers Jeffrey and Richard Cujdik and other drug squad members of disabling security cameras before stealing cash, cigarettes and other merchandise from the mostly immigrant shopkeepers.
A seven-minute security video of a Sept. 11, 2007, raid at the store of one plaintiff, Jose Duran, shows police handcuffing Duran and two customers, milling by the cash register and using a knife to slash a cord on the video camera. Officers later seized the video equipment and searched Duran's vehicle, but had no legal right to do so, Duran's attorney said. |
21 Marines take risks with deadly trust-building game
By EMERY P. DALESIO, Associated Press Writer
Fri Sep 11, 5:06 pm ET
| RALEIGH, N.C. - Lance Cpl. Patrick Malone was relaxing on his bunk at an Iraqi combat base when a direct superior interrupted his late-night movie.
It was time for a game Marines sometimes play to build confidence in colleagues: Point a gun at a comrade and ask, "Do you trust me?"
Cpl. Mathew Nelson raised his weapon - and the 9 mm pistol went off, striking Malone in the head. The higher-ranking Marine rushed to the wounded man's side and tried to perform CPR, but Malone was mortally wounded. |
22 Hurricane season has been a dud - so far
By JENNIFER KAY, Associated Press Writer
Fri Sep 11, 5:01 pm ET
| MIAMI - It may be tempting the weather gods just to point this out, but this has been a dud of a hurricane season so far.
Only two hurricanes have formed in the Atlantic over the past three months, and neither hit the U.S. - a somewhat unusual lull.
"I'm glad that I didn't have to go out and get anything - yet," said Lissette Galiana, who was shopping at a Wal-Mart in suburban Miami on Friday, around what is usually the very peak of the Atlantic hurricane season. "There's always a chance." |
23 SC gov finds fewer friends in fight to keep office
By JIM DAVENPORT, Associated Press Writer
Fri Sep 11, 4:34 pm ET
| COLUMBIA, S.C. - Republican Gov. Mark Sanford is no stranger to going it alone - and nearly three months after calling his mistress his "soul mate," he's been virtually marooned.
Since his unannounced, five-day visit in June with his Argentine mistress, there has been a growing chorus of state political leaders calling for him to resign.
While he initially seemed on track to weather the storm, the affair, his wife's struggles to save their marriage - and subsequent reports that call into question his use of state, private and commercial planes - are stirring up talk that the Legislature when it reconvenes in January is almost certain to vote to impeach him. |
24 Heckling of president is rare in American history
By JOCELYN NOVECK, AP National Writer
Fri Sep 11, 4:32 pm ET
| Some 150 years ago, a congressman from South Carolina, angered by a speech on slavery, entered the Senate chamber and beat a senator from Massachusetts into unconsciousness with a metal-topped wooden cane.
Years earlier on the House floor, a representative from Vermont attacked a colleague from Connecticut - also with a cane - only to be attacked himself with a pair of fireplace tongs.
And then there was the 1838 pistol duel in which William Graves of Kentucky shot and killed fellow congressman Jonathan Cilley of Maine over words spoken on the House floor. (He wasn't even expelled.) |
25 Some Pa. shops close doors to Pagan festival
By RON TODT, Associated Press Writer
Fri Sep 11, 4:22 pm ET
| ADAMSTOWN, Pa. - In the rolling hills of deeply religious rural Pennsylvania sits Stoudtburg Village, a tiny hamlet modeled on a German town. On weekends, tourists come here to visit shops on the ground floors of closely set three-story houses painted bright colors on pedestrian-only streets.
But this weekend, plans for a nature-worshipping group of modern pagans and witches to hold a festival in this picturesque section of Adamstown are getting a mixed reception, with some shop owners welcoming the visitors but others saying they plan to close.
"My personal feeling is that it's not something that I'd want to have anything to do with," said Jane Lesher, standing Friday amid the yarn creations of her shop The Soxy Lady, which will close Saturday. "I don't see how it's going to benefit the village, especially if it's going to leave a bad taste in the community's mouth." |
26 Drought-plagued marshes still feeling Ike effects
By CHRIS DUNCAN, Associated Press Writer
Fri Sep 11, 3:12 pm ET
| PORT ARTHUR, Texas - First too much water, now not enough.
The Texas Gulf Coast's recovery from Hurricane Ike - which submerged the marshes in seawater, scouring away beaches, ruining thousands of acres of vegetation and wiping out much of the wildlife - is being stymied by the state's worst drought in 50 years.
The drought has deprived the land of the cleansing rains needed to purge salty residue left from the tidal surge Ike dragged in when it slammed into the Texas coast on Sept. 13, 2008. The toxic soil and contaminated ponds have kept plants from regrowing and animals from nesting, driving off some species altogether. |
27 AFL-CIO seeks more clout with new leadership
By SAM HANANEL, Associated Press Writer
Fri Sep 11, 2:04 pm ET
| WASHINGTON - John Sweeney spent the past 14 years building the AFL-CIO into a political powerhouse for worker's rights and other progressive Democratic causes.
Yet over the same time, the ranks of union members continued to shrink, diminishing organized labor's clout in the workplace. Frustration with Sweeney's tenure and the dip in membership led seven unions to split from the AFL-CIO four years ago to form the rival Change to Win federation.
As Sweeney, 75, prepares to step down next week as AFL-CIO president, his successor and longtime deputy - Richard Trumka - wants to aggressively recruit younger workers and boost membership as a means of expanding labor's political influence. |
28 EU discusses progress, problems during rare Mugabe talks
by Reagan Mashavava, AFP
1 hr 14 mins ago
| HARARE (AFP) - The European Union said Saturday it wanted Zimbabwe's unity government to succeed, but sought further reforms from President Robert Mugabe during a first meeting with him in seven years.
"We want this government of national unity to be a success," EU aid commissioner Karel de Gucht told reporters after the talks.
"I think we should acknowledge that there is progress being made here but there are still several problems outstanding and we discussed those with the president in a very open atmosphere," he added. |
29 Karroubi keeps up heat as Iran panel says he harms regime
by Jay Deshmukh, AFP
Sat Sep 12, 2:16 pm ET
| TEHRAN (AFP) - An Iranian judiciary panel called on Saturday for action against key opposition figure Mehdi Karroubi, even as he kept up the heat by issuing a fresh challenge to the outcome of the June 12 election.
The panel accused 72-year-old Karroubi of harming the regime with his allegations that jailed protesters had been raped, according to the Fars news agency.
The panel said its members had met Karroubi and concluded "that there is no proof that people whom Karroubi alleged were raped have been raped. |
30 Mugabe slams 'bloody whites' ahead of EU visit
by Reagan Mashavava, AFP
Fri Sep 11, 11:52 am ET
| HARARE (AFP) - President Robert Mugabe Friday lashed out at Western sanctions against him, condemning "bloody whites" for meddling in Zimbabwe's affairs, on the eve of a landmark visit by an EU delegation.
As the European Union and South Africa issued a joint call for Zimbabwe's political rivals to make their troubled unity government, the country's veteran ruler said he would not brook outside interference in Harare's affairs.
"Who said the British and the Americans should rule over others? That's why we say down with you. We have not invited these bloody whites. They want to poke their nose into our own affairs. Refuse that," he said. |
31 One shot enough against swine flu, US studies confirm
by Karin Zeitvogel, AFP
Fri Sep 11, 4:18 pm ET
| WASHINGTON (AFP) - A single dose of vaccine could be enough to immunize adults against swine flu, a top US health official said Friday, allaying fears of a scramble for a tight supply of shots when flu season returns.
"Preliminary data from our trials indicate that a single 15-microgram dose of ... vaccine is well tolerated and induces an immune response in most healthy adults," said Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Results of NIH-sponsored clinical trials which began last month showed that a swine flu vaccine produced by French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi Pasteur produced "a robust immune response" in 96 percent of adults aged 18 to 64 after "the rather short time point of eight to 10 days after vaccination," Fauci said. |
32 GM picks Canadian-Russian alliance for Opel
by Richard Carter, AFP
Thu Sep 10, 4:07 pm ET
| BERLIN (AFP) - General Motors said Thursday it had agreed to sell its European unit Opel to a Canadian company backed by Russian finance, two months after the US auto giant emerged from bankruptcy.
The deal ensures the survival, at least for now, of Opel, which includes Vauxhall in Britain and employs 50,000 people in Europe. It also boosts Moscow's influence in a crucial sector of the western European economy.
But Canadian auto parts maker Magna and its partner, state-owned Russian bank Sberbank, have said they would likely cut 10,000 jobs as part of the purchase. |
33 'New Opel', new worries
by Simon Sturdee, AFP
Fri Sep 11, 11:58 am ET
| BERLIN (AFP) - Relief in Europe at GM choosing a buyer for Opel turned on Friday to worries about job cuts and over whether "New Opel" can survive long term, as the EU warned Germany over state aid to the new owners.
Further concerns focused on the involvement of the Russian government in the loss-making new firm, and over whether the agreement announced on Thursday may yet fall apart over what General Motors called "several key issues" remaining.
Under the deal, GM will sell a 55-percent stake in Opel to a consortium owned 50:50 by Canadian auto parts maker Magna and state-owned Russian lender Sberbank. GM will retain 35 percent and employees the rest. |
34 Afghan vote commission orders first ballots invalidated
by Charlotte McDonald-Gibson
Thu Sep 10, 4:37 pm ET
| KABUL (AFP) - Afghanistan's vote monitoring body on Thursday ordered for the first time that ballots be scrapped from 83 polling stations finding "clear and convincing evidence of fraud" in troubled elections.
Afghans went to the polls in only their second direct presidential election on August 20, but the vote has been marred by low turnout and widespread allegations of vote-rigging, intimidation and other fraud.
"In the course of its investigations, the ECC (Electoral Complaints Commission) has found clear and convincing evidence of fraud" in 83 polling stations in three provinces, the ECC said in statements. |
35 Oil majors propping up Myanmar regime: rights group
by Danny Kemp, AFP
Thu Sep 10, 1:11 pm ET
| BANGKOK (AFP) - Energy giants Total and Chevron are propping up Myanmar's junta with a gas project that has allowed the regime to stash nearly five billion dollars in Singaporean banks, a rights group said Thursday.
France's Total and US-based Chevron have also tried to whitewash alleged rights abuses by Myanmar troops guarding the pipeline, including forced labour and killings, two reports by US-based EarthRights International said.
The group urged the international community to exert pressure on the two companies, which have long managed to avoid Western sanctions against the generals who rule the impoverished Southeast Asian nation. |
36 US trade gap widens on record leap in imports
by Veronica Smith, AFP
Thu Sep 10, 3:31 pm ET
| WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US trade deficit widened in July amid a record surge in imports and rising trade volume, government data showed Thursday in a fresh sign the economy is emerging from recession.
The Commerce Department reported the trade gap jumped to 32.0 billion dollars, from a revised 27.5 billion dollars in June and eclipsing the average analyst forecast of 27.4 billion dollars.
The trade shortfall was 16.3 percent higher than the previous month, the largest percentage increase in more than 10 years. |
37 F1 driver Alonso dismisses talk of Renault crash conspiracy
by Tim Collings, AFP
Thu Sep 10, 4:03 pm ET
| MONZA, Italy (AFP) - Two-times world champion Fernando Alonso on Thursday dismissed and distanced himself from all claims that his Renault team conspired to fix the outcome of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.
Amid the usual bedlam and clamour of the Monza paddock, where the sight of police and investigating lawyers has not been uncommon during previous Italian Grand Prix weekends, the 28-year-old driver said he could not believe anything he had heard.
The Spaniard told reporters: "I'm very surprised. I just cannot imagine this situation (happening) at all, so, as I said, I'm surprised -- and it's time to think of another job now, here in Monza, and with another grand prix, because I'm not spending any more time on this. |
38 Renault, Piquet head for courts in Formula one race-fix row
by Tim Collings
Fri Sep 11, 4:00 pm ET
| MONZA, Italy (AFP) - Formula One's crumbling reputation suffered another bodyblow Friday when paddock superpower Renault accused former driver Nelson Piquet of blackmail as the 'race fix' controversy took a series of bitter, new twists.
Renault announced they were launching criminal proceedings against Piquet and his father, three-time world champion Nelson Piquet senior, in relation to claims that the team conspired to fix the outcome of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.
On a dramatic day of claim and counter-claim, which over-shadowed the build-up to Sunday's Italian Grand Prix here, Piquet, who was sacked by the team in August, insisted he would not be bullied by the French team. |
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