Weekend News Digest is an Open Thread
From Yahoo News Top Stories |
1 Gates in Iraq amid an explosion of violence
by Daphne Benoit, AFP
50 minutes ago
BAGHDAD (AFP) – US Defence Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Baghdad on Sunday on a surprise visit amid an explosion of violence across Iraq which officials said killed at least 35 Iraqis and 10 insurgents.
Gates, on his seventh trip to Iraq, was to meet the head of the US armed forces in the country, General David Petraeus, to discuss a possible drawdown of American troops, and top Iraqi leaders. “I will obviously be interested in hearing General Petraeus about his evaluation, where he stands and what more work he feels he needs to do before he is ready to come back with his recommendations,” he told reporters travelling with him on the plane from Germany to Iraq. |
2 Suicide bombing kills 8 north of Baghdad
Associated Press
27 minutes ago
BAGHDAD – A suicide car bomber targeted U.S.-allied fighters north of Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least eight civilians and wounding 20, Iraqi security officials said.
Police and members of an anti-al-Qaida group opened fire as the attacker sped toward a joint checkpoint. But the bomber managed to detonate his explosives near some stores about 20 yards away. The attack occurred near Balad, 50 miles north of Baghdad, according to a provincial police officer. |
3 In Baghdad, Gates sees signs of progress
By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer
1 hour, 42 minutes ago
BAGHDAD – Iraq’s political leaders are showing promising new signs of progress toward reconciliation, yet still face difficult decisions on how to stabilize the country, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday.
“They seem to have become energized over the last few weeks,” Gates told reporters who traveled with him from an international security conference in Munich, Germany. The Pentagon chief added that he wants to “see what the prospects are for further success in the next couple of months.” Gates arrived after dark at Baghdad International Airport aboard an Air Force C-17 cargo plane. He flew by helicopter to a private dinner with Iraq’s political leaders, including Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, as well as U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker. |
4 Gates says two-tiered NATO puts alliance at risk
By Andrew Gray, Reuters
1 hour, 52 minutes ago
MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) – Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Sunday the NATO alliance was at risk if it became split between members willing and unwilling to fight as he appealed to Europeans to support the war in Afghanistan.
While admitting U.S. policy mistakes — and his own role in one of them — Gates urged the allies to come together in the fight against Islamist militants in Afghanistan and said the credibility of NATO itself was at stake. “We must not — we cannot — become a two-tiered alliance of those who are willing to fight and those who are not,” he told a gathering of security and military experts in Munich. “Such a development, with all its implications for collective security, would effectively destroy the alliance.” |
5 Suicide attack heightens fears for Pakistan polls
By Zeeshan Haider, Reuters
Sun Feb 10, 6:44 AM ET
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistani police said on Sunday they suspected Islamist militants based in the tribal areas on the Afghan border were behind a suicide attack that killed up to 20 people at an election rally in the northwest a day earlier.
The lone bomber blew himself up in the midst of a rally of the opposition Awami National Party (ANP) in Charsadda town in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). Provincial police chief Sharif Virk told Reuters that the severed head of the bomber had been found, and militants from the nearby Mohmand tribal region could have been responsible. |
6 Many believe US is already in recession
By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer
3 minutes ago
WASHINGTON – Empty homes and for-sale signs clutter neighborhoods. You’ve lost your job or know someone who has. Your paycheck and nest egg are taking a hit. Could the country be in recession?
Sixty-one percent of the public believes the economy is now suffering through its first recession since 2001, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll. The fallout from a depressed housing market and a credit crunch nearly caused the economy to stall in the final three months of last year. Some experts, like the majority of people questioned in the poll, say the economy actually may be shrinking now. The worry is that consumers and businesses will hunker down further and pull back spending, sending the economy into a tailspin. |
7 Hollywood writers eye end of strike
by Rob Woollard, AFP
2 hours, 6 minutes ago
LOS ANGELES (AFP) – The final chapter of the Hollywood writers’ strike was in sight on Saturday after union leaders announced a deal had been reached to end the bitter three-month dispute.
Members of the 12,000-strong Writers Guild of America (WGA) were meeting in New York and Los Angeles to study the terms of the agreement, which could see writers return to work as early as next week. In an emailed message sent to members early Saturday, WGA leaders Patric Verrone and Michael Winship said it was time to settle the dispute which has forced the cancellation of several television series and films. |
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8 Car bomb kills 33 in Iraq, Gates visits Baghdad
By Michael Holden and Andrew Gray, Reuters
56 minutes ago
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – A suicide car bomb killed 33 people in Iraq on Sunday, a security official said, hours before U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Baghdad to assess recent security gains and discuss troop levels.
The bomber struck a checkpoint outside a crowded market near the town of Balad in the country’s north, said Colonel Hamadi Atshan, a spokesman for Iraqi security forces in the area. The checkpoint was run by Sunni Arab volunteers who have joined U.S. forces to fight al Qaeda, Atshan said, adding women and children were among those killed in one of the worst attacks in Iraq this year. The U.S. military put the death toll at 23. |
9 SEC eyes disclosure in subprime probes
By Rachelle Younglai, Reuters
Sat Feb 9, 6:28 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating how banks, credit rating firms and lenders valued and disclosed complex mortgage-backed securities that ultimately led to the subprime crisis, a top agency enforcer said on Saturday.
“The big question is, who knew what when, and what did they disclose to the marketplace?” said Cheryl Scarboro, an associate director in the SEC’s enforcement division in charge of the subprime working group. The SEC has opened about three dozen investigations into firms and individuals involved in the subprime mortgage market. The investor protection agency has not named any names. But Morgan Stanley (MS.N) and Merrill Lynch (MER.N) are some of the firms in the financial services industry that have disclosed that government investigators are seeking information about their subprime activities. |
10 Beijing says snow storms destroy one tenth of China’s forests
AFP
Sun Feb 10, 2:35 AM ET
BEIJING (AFP) – China has lost about one tenth of its forest resources to recent snow storms regarded as the most severe in half a century, state media reported Sunday.
A total of 17.3 million hectares (43 million acres) of forest have been damaged across China as the result of three weeks of savage winter weather, the China Daily website said, citing the State Forestry Administration. More than half the country’s provinces have been affected, and in the worst-hit regions, nearly 90 percent of forests have been destroyed, according to the paper. |
11 After US pulls plug, future unclear for ‘clean coal’
by Rob Lever, AFP
Sat Feb 9, 11:34 PM ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The US government’s decision to end funding for a “zero emissions” coal-fired power plant project has cast doubt over the future of “clean coal” to meet growing global energy needs.
The US Department of Energy in late January decided to pull the plug on funding for the FutureGen project launched in 2003 to demonstrate how coal can be burned cleanly, with carbon emissions stored underground in a process known as sequestration. Government officials say they remain committed to the idea of clean coal, but a public spat with a public-private alliance raises doubts about any viable project. |
12 Australian PM dismisses Japan whaling protests
By James Grubel, Reuters
Sat Feb 9, 10:06 PM ET
CANBERRA (Reuters) – Australia will continue to photograph Japan’s whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said on Sunday, despite Japan’s warning of a diplomatic protest over Australia’s tough anti-whaling stance.
Rudd said while Australia had strong economic, diplomatic and security ties with Japan, it was also important for Australia to continue to oppose Japan’s annual whale hunt. “Calling commercial whaling scientific whaling is not right, it’s not accurate,” Rudd told Australian television on Sunday. |
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13 Army sniper convicted of killing Iraqi
By BRADLEY BROOKS, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 46 minutes ago
BAGHDAD – A U.S. Army sniper convicted of killing an unarmed Iraqi civilian and planting evidence on his body was sentenced Sunday to 10 years in prison.
Sgt. Evan Vela had faced a possible life sentence. Earlier Sunday, jurors found him guilty of murder without premeditation in the May 11 killing of an Iraqi man south of Baghdad. Vela was also sentenced to forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and will receive a dishonorable discharge. His case is automatically referred to a military appeals court. |
14 Norway closes Kabul embassy after threat
By BJOERN AMLAND, Associated Press Writer
Sun Feb 10, 11:21 AM ET
OSLO, Norway – Norway closed its embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul Sunday because of “terror threats,” a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said.
Kristin Melsom said the embassy had been closed until further notice. She would not elaborate on the nature of the threats or how long the embassy would remain closed. “It is too early to comment on that,” she said. Norway has been singled out at least twice by al-Qaida as a nation that should be targeted because of its deployment in Afghanistan and a previous deployment in Iraq. Norwegian Defense Minister Anne-Grete Strom-Erichsen on Friday confirmed that Norway will add 200 extra troops to its 500 soldiers in Afghanistan with the deployment of special forces and helicopters in March. |
15 Iran’s Ahmadinejad may visit Baghdad by late March
Reuters
Sun Feb 10, 7:02 AM ET
TEHRAN (Reuters) – President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is expected to visit neighboring Iraq by March 19, Iran’s foreign minister said on Sunday, a trip that would make him the first leader of the Islamic Republic to visit its former foe.
“All the necessary preparations and arrangements have been made for this trip and, God willing, it will take place before the end of the year,” Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency. He was referring to the Iranian year which ends on March 19. Iraq’s Foreign Ministry said last month that Ahmadinejad, who like other Iranian leaders often rail against the U.S. military presence in Iraq, had accepted an invitation to visit Baghdad but it did not announce a date. |
16 Kenya rivals ready to discuss power-sharing
By Daniel Wallis and Joseph Sudah, Reuters
Sun Feb 10, 10:15 AM ET
NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenya’s rival parties geared up on Sunday to thrash out a power-sharing agreement to end a deadly crisis over President Mwai Kibaki’s disputed re-election.
Both sides gave ground last week at talks mediated by former U.N. boss Kofi Annan, paving the way for a deal to stop turmoil that has killed more than 1,000 and uprooted 300,000 more. Opposition leader Raila Odinga accuses Kibaki of rigging the December 27 poll, triggering ethnic violence that shattered Kenya’s image as a peaceful business, tourism and transport hub. |
17 Fire sweeps through London’s Camden market
Reuters
Sat Feb 9, 7:44 PM ET
LONDON (Reuters) – A huge fire swept through Camden market, one of the British capital’s most popular tourist spots, on Saturday, damaging shops, a famous nightspot and nearby houses.
London Fire Brigade said it had sent 20 fire engines and 100 firefighters to tackle the blaze at the market in north London, a bohemian area usually thronged with shoppers and people enjoying local pubs and clubs. Nobody was injured but market storage areas and shops were set ablaze and adjoining houses damaged, the Fire Brigade said. |
18 A Political Compromise in Kenya?
By NICK WADHAMS/NAIROBI, Time Magazine
Sun Feb 10, 10:30 AM ET
Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced Friday that Kenya’s government and the opposition are close to reaching a power-sharing deal to resolve the political deadlock that sparked weeks of bloodshed. But after the chaos in which more than 1,000 people were killed and 300,000 have been displaced, it remains open to question whether a deal among politicians will be enough to restore the peace. |
19 Australia Learns to Say "I’m Sorry"
By ELIZABETH KEENAN/SYDNEY, Time Magazine
Sun Feb 10, 10:30 AM ET
Australia is about to apologize for six decades of social engineering that took tens of thousands of children from their parents. The apology, to be made by Australia’s new government on Feb. 13, has been taking shape since 1997, when a 600-page report titled “Bringing Them Home” hit politicians’ desks. Studded with heart-wrenching personal narratives, the report – based on a 17-month inquiry by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission – found that between 1910 and 1970, perhaps 100,000 children had been “forcibly removed” from Aboriginal families. |
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20 Big drug case derailed by rogue snitch
By THOMAS J. SHEERAN, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 42 minutes ago
CLEVELAND – Wes Ballard is trying to put his life back together after serving 10 months in jail because of lies told by an informant who was handled by a federal agent now facing multiple investigations himself.
Ballard and 25 other people were arrested in a sting meant to clean up the drug trade in Mansfield, about halfway between Cleveland and Columbus. Many of those arrested were convicted. … The sting was based on a tips from Jerrell Bray, a small-time operator who was supervised by Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Lee Lucas. The 34-year-old Bray, enlisted as an informant in 2005, has admitted concocting a fabric of lies to polish his informant credentials and keep suspects flowing through the court system. He’s serving 15 years for perjury and civil rights violations against the individuals targeted in his role as an informant. |
21 Cattle group votes to beef up marketing fee
Reuters
2 hours, 13 minutes ago
RENO, Nevada (Reuters) – Cattle producers voted this weekend to increase the fee that they pay to finance the “Beef, It’s What’s For Dinner” advertising campaign and other programs, because inflation and other costs have eroded the buying power of the current rate.
During the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association annual convention, which concluded here on Saturday, members voted to increase this fee, called a checkoff. While no amount was included in that action, there was an accompanying directive to increase it to $2 per head from the current $1 rate. “It costs more to be a player in the marketplace,” said Michael Kelsey, executive vice president of the Nebraska Cattlemen Association and a developer of the new checkoff proposal. |
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22 Huckabee looks to Virginia, Maryland
By KEVIN FREKING, Associated Press Writer
8 minutes ago
WASHINGTON – Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is hoping his victories in Kansas and Louisiana are a sign of things to come in Tuesday’s presidential primaries in Virginia and Maryland.
On Saturday, Huckabee won all 36 delegates at stake in Kansas and narrowly held on to win Louisiana’s primary. But he badly trails Arizona Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, in the overall race for delegates. Some say he should even step aside as a way to help the GOP maintain resources for the general election. But Huckabee described such talk Sunday as “total nonsense.” “The Democrats haven’t settled their nominee either, so for us to suddenly act like we have to all step aside and have a coronation instead of an election, that’s the antithesis of everything Republicans are supposed to believe,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “We believe competition breeds excellence and the lack of it breeds mediocrity.” |
23 Bush says McCain needs to win over conservatives
By Jeremy Pelofsky, Reuters
Sun Feb 10, 11:44 AM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President George W. Bush on Sunday told conservative members of his Republican Party that White House hopeful Sen. John McCain needed to do some work to win them over but he was a “true conservative.”
Bush also took a direct shot at Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, questioning his foreign policy by pointing to the senator’s support for direct talks with Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and potentially attacking Pakistan. Bush has previously stayed out of the primary fight and tried to avoid calling McCain, an Arizona senator, the presumptive party nominee despite his commanding lead among delegates over his closest rival, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. |
24 US commerce secretary urges investment in Iraq
AFP
2 hours, 47 minutes ago
AMMAN (AFP) – US Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez on Sunday, insisting that security in Iraq has improved, urged businesspeople to look at potential opportunities to invest in the war-ravaged country.
“What we see today is that the security situation has improved, it has improved to such a way where we believe companies should be taking a look at potential opportunities,” Gutierrez told reporters in Amman. “With security improving, businesses are growing and jobs are created, giving people hope and a different view of the future. So having more security attracts more investments.” |
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25 Retail in focus this week on Wall Street
By MADLEN READ, AP Business Writer
45 minutes ago
NEW YORK – Americans are paying more attention to how much they spend on each box of cereal, tank of gasoline and pair of pants – and Wall Street is, too.
This week’s data on the U.S. consumer, particularly the Commerce Department’s Wednesday report on January retail sales, are going to be monitored closely by investors for clues to how sunken home prices, high energy costs and job cuts are affecting spending. “Retail sales are a big indicator at this point of the mindset of the consumer,” said Kim Caughey, equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group. Government data and company executives alike have suggested that U.S. consumers are having to pare back their discretionary spending to buy necessities. |
26 Reality check for Europe
By Mike Dolan, Reuters
Sun Feb 10, 10:04 AM ET
LONDON, Feb 10 – (Reuters) – The extent of Europe’s infection from the U.S. subprime mortgage virus is becoming clearer, even as the European Central Bank faces down calls for it to follow U.S. and UK counterparts by cutting interest rates.
Early estimates of fourth-quarter national output from the big euro zone economies are due later this week. The picture is probably one of growth in the 15-nation currency area marginally outstripping the U.S. economy in the final quarter of last year. But there are growing signs the credit crisis and looming U.S. recession have hit Europe deeper than policymakers seem willing to acknowledge. Hopes that the euro zone can remain partly insulated from a U.S. housing bust and recession are receding. |
27 As US recession looms, analysts debate severity
by Rob Lever, AFP
Sat Feb 9, 11:31 PM ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) – As the grim notion of recession appears to be taking hold in the United States, debate among economists is shifting from whether a downturn will occur to how long and how severe the slump will be.
Whether the world’s biggest economy is in recession will not be known until later this year at the earliest, but a growing number of analysts have already made the call. “Our view is edging closer to recession, albeit a mild one,” said Joseph LaVorgna, economist at Deutsche Bank in New York, reacting to a spate of weak economic reports. |
28 New twists ahead in France’s rogue trader saga
AFP
Sat Feb 9, 10:57 PM ET
PARIS (AFP) – A new court battle will be held Monday over the detention of French rogue trader Jerome Kerviel while Societe Generale is to soon launch an eight billion dollar capital increase to cover the losses they blame on him.
The decision by a Paris appeals court on Friday to back a prosecution demand that the 31-year-old trader be held in custody was the latest twist in the worst investment banking scandal in history. His lawyer, Elisabeth Meyer, said she would go to a higher appeals court on Monday. |
29 Yahoo to reject Microsoft bid
by Glenn Chapman, AFP
Sat Feb 9, 5:22 PM ET
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) – Internet giant Yahoo’s board has decided to reject Microsoft’s 44.6 billion dollar takeover bid, an informed source told AFP Saturday.
The source confirmed an earlier Wall Street Journal report that Yahoo’s management believes the Microsoft offer, which would bring together two top names in online computing, massively undervalues Yahoo. The Journal said Yahoo’s board also believes the Microsoft offer, at 31 dollars per share, does not account for risks facing Yahoo if it pursues a deal that might be ultimately blocked by government regulators. |
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30 Bird flu spreads to another Bangladesh district
Reuters
Sun Feb 10, 1:27 AM ET
DHAKA (Reuters) – Bird flu has spread to another district in Bangladesh despite efforts by authorities to contain it, taking the number of affected districts to 40, officials said on Sunday.
Health workers culled nearly 12,000 fowls after tests confirmed some chickens had died from the avian influenza virus in the northeast, livestock officials said. The H5N1 virus, first detected in Bangladesh in March last year, was quickly brought under control through aggressive measures, including culling. But follow-up monitoring eased in later months prompting the disease to reappear, experts say. |