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cristiano ronaldo <tsp> ( cnn ) -- has the world of football bitten back ? one of the game 's most controversial characters , luis suarez , has been left off the 23-man longlist for the prestigious ballon d'or for disgracing himself on the pitch . ' the award , which is voted for by coaches and captains of national teams and journalists across the world selected by france football magazine , will be awarded in zurich , switzerland , on january 12 . while the likes of holder cristiano ronaldo and four-time winner lionel messi are up for the gong , suarez 's name is nowhere to be seen , despite the former liverpool striker jointly winning the golden boot with the real madrid forward . barcelona 's suarez returned to action in last weekend 's el clasico against real madrid after completing his four-month ban for biting giorgio chiellini during uruguay 's world cup clash with italy . football 's bad boy has paid the price for his behavior according to philippe auclair , the london-based correspondent for france football magazine . the criteria used for the selection of the longlist of ballon d'or contenders by france football and fifa are very clear , ' auclair told cnn . a player who has disgraced himself on the pitch as suarez has , can not and will not be included , regardless of his achievements throughout the calendar year . in short , under no circumstances could the uruguayan be considered for the award . i think that this is clear enough . ' suarez joined the catalan club for a transfer fee reported to be in the region of â£75 million ( $ 128.5 million ) following a sensational season with liverpool . the 27-year-old scored 31 goals for liverpool with the team just missing out on the english premier league title , although it did qualify for the champions league for the first time in four seasons . suarez 's snub looks to have come following his bite on chiellini -- the third time he has committed such an offense during his career . tony barrett , football writer for the times newspaper who watched suarez on a weekly basis during his time at liverpool , says the forward can only blame himself for his absence from the list of nominees . on the basis of his outstanding form last season , luis suarez 's omission from the nominees for the ballon d'or is staggering , ' barrett told cnn . by common consensus , the forward was among world football 's best performing players as he inspired a wholly unexpected title challenge from liverpool . in terms of form , ability and performance levels , any list of the world 's top players over the last 12 months which does not include suarez will inevitably provoke debate and , in some cases , shock . the only conclusion to be drawn is that his bite on chiellini cost him inclusion and , as ever , suarez has only himself to blame for this . regardless of that , his standing as a player has already been reflected in more meaningful fashion by the fact that barcelona were willing to pay â£75 million to sign him . ' while the debate over suarez continues to rage , ronaldo and messi are likely to go head-to-head once again , while there are several other candidates who will fancy their chances . brazil and barcelona star neymar is on the list alongside the likes of real madrid quartet gareth bale , karim benzema , james rodriguez and sergio ramos bayern munich and germany goalkeeper manuel neuer enjoyed a fine year , helping his club win the league title before lifting the world cup in brazil . neuer 's bayern teammate , arjen robben , who helped the netherlands qualify for the semifinals in brazil , is also in with a shout . bayern captain phillip lahm is on the list alongside teammate bastian schweinsteiger and mario gotze , the man who scored the winner in the world cup final . five players from england 's premier league have been nominated including manchester city 's yaya toure , manchester united 's angel di maria and the chelsea trio of eden hazard , diego costa and goalkeeper thibaut courtois . france and juventus midfielder paul pogba is the sole representative from serie a , while ligue 1 is boosted by the presence of paris saint-germain and sweden forward zlatan ibrahimovic . in the managerial stakes , 10 nominees have been named including chelsea coach jose mourinho -- despite his failure to win a trophy last season . joachim low , the man who led germany to victory at the world cup will be one of the favorites to be named as coach of the year . real madrid manager carlo ancelotti , who led his club to champions league glory last term , is joined by pep guardiola of bayern munich , manuel pellegrini of manchester city and diego simeone , who presided over atletico madrid 's title win in spain last season . there is also room for alejandro sabella , who took argentina to the world cup final , louis van gaal of manchester united , antonio conte of italy and jurgen klinsmann , coach of team usa . | cristiano ronaldo won the title last year |
benazir bhutto <tsp> islamabad , pakistan ( cnn ) -- nearly a year after assassins killed pakistani prime minister benazir bhutto , her widower won the country 's presidential election and hailed his triumph as a victory for democracy . i feel democracy has been vindicated , ' asif ali zardari told cnn . i feel we are coming closer to her [ benazir bhutto 's ] mission of total democracy in pakistan . and we shall take the oath of office of president in the name of shahid benazir bhutto , and that will be a momentous occasion for all the democratic forces in the world . ' zardari , 53 , had been the front-runner in the race to replace former president pervez musharraf , who was forced to resign last month . zardari is to be inaugurated on tuesday and would take office the same day . watch an analyst discuss the election » the election was not by public vote , but rather by lawmakers in the two houses of the national assembly and in the four provincial assemblies around the country . under pakistan 's constitution , the president is elected by a majority vote . watch zardari discuss his challenges » according to the chief election commissioner of pakistan , qazi muhammad farooq , zardari received 481 votes . retired chief justice muhammad saeed uzaman saddiqi received 153 votes and senator mushahid hussain received 44 votes , farooq said . the democracy talks , and everybody hears , ' zardari said in a televised address saturday evening . and to those who would say the people 's party or the presidency would be controversial under our guardianship and under our stewardship , i would say , listen to democracy . ' the president-elect said he would hand over many responsibilities to the parliament . parliament is sovereign , this president shall be subservient to the parliament , ' he said in the televised address . watch why not everyone is celebrating zardari 's win » ' it is the philosophy of ... benazir bhutto , in which we believe , which says democracy is the best revenge , ' zadari said . she taught us how to live . she taught us how to do politics . ' the pro-american zardari will rule a nuclear power threatened by islamic militancy and economic turmoil . the taliban are resurgent in pakistan and the country 's economy is tanking . zardari took over bhutto 's pakistan people 's party ( ppp ) after her death late last year . his party had been confident of a win , saying zardari had the support of three of the four provincial assemblies -- which would be crucial in helping zardari forge the alliances he needs to tackle the country 's main problems . hussain , who was a close aide to the ex-president , was representing musharraf 's pakistan muslim league-q . the party had painted him as a candidate who represented the middle class and has a clean track record -- in contrast to zardari , who spent 11 and a half years in jail on corruption charges that he refutes . siddiqui was nominated by the pakistan muslim league-n ( pml-n ) , led by former prime minister nawaz sharif . musharraf resigned under intense political pressure last month as the ruling coalition began taking steps to impeach him . he had swept to power in 1999 in a bloodless coup . the chairman of the upper house of the assembly , mohammedmian soomro , has been acting president in the meantime . saturday 's election came one day after pakistan 's supreme court reinstated three of its judges who musharraf ousted in november , following his imposition of emergency rule . the ppp had formed a coalition with sharif 's party , the pml-n , but the coalition split apart august 25 . the pml-n had set that date as a deadline for the government to honor its promise to reinstate the judges who were fired . the ppp , which led the coalition , said it believed the coalition should focus on picking a successor for musharraf before it decided on reinstating the judges . at least 60 judges were arrested after musharraf issued his order . some were jailed , others placed under house arrest . security around the national assembly building in islamabad was tight , with police on the roof and at the gates and riot police on site . as the voting took place , a suicide car bomb exploded in northwestern pakistan , killing at least 25 people , including eight police officers , local police spokesman fazal karim said . eight-one others were wounded . the explosion happened at a checkpoint on the outskirts of peshawar , about 4 miles ( 7 kilometers ) from the provincial assembly in pakistan , where some of the presidential voting was taking place . peshawar is the capital of pakistan 's north west frontier province . the province is near pakistan 's border with afghanistan and is rife with islamic extremists . cnn 's senior international correspondent nic robertson contributed to this report . | asif ali zardari , widower of ex-pm benazir bhutto , elected pakistan president |
asif ali zardari <tsp> islamabad , pakistan ( cnn ) -- nearly a year after assassins killed pakistani prime minister benazir bhutto , her widower won the country 's presidential election and hailed his triumph as a victory for democracy . i feel democracy has been vindicated , ' asif ali zardari told cnn . i feel we are coming closer to her [ benazir bhutto 's ] mission of total democracy in pakistan . and we shall take the oath of office of president in the name of shahid benazir bhutto , and that will be a momentous occasion for all the democratic forces in the world . ' zardari , 53 , had been the front-runner in the race to replace former president pervez musharraf , who was forced to resign last month . zardari is to be inaugurated on tuesday and would take office the same day . watch an analyst discuss the election » the election was not by public vote , but rather by lawmakers in the two houses of the national assembly and in the four provincial assemblies around the country . under pakistan 's constitution , the president is elected by a majority vote . watch zardari discuss his challenges » according to the chief election commissioner of pakistan , qazi muhammad farooq , zardari received 481 votes . retired chief justice muhammad saeed uzaman saddiqi received 153 votes and senator mushahid hussain received 44 votes , farooq said . the democracy talks , and everybody hears , ' zardari said in a televised address saturday evening . and to those who would say the people 's party or the presidency would be controversial under our guardianship and under our stewardship , i would say , listen to democracy . ' the president-elect said he would hand over many responsibilities to the parliament . parliament is sovereign , this president shall be subservient to the parliament , ' he said in the televised address . watch why not everyone is celebrating zardari 's win » ' it is the philosophy of ... benazir bhutto , in which we believe , which says democracy is the best revenge , ' zadari said . she taught us how to live . she taught us how to do politics . ' the pro-american zardari will rule a nuclear power threatened by islamic militancy and economic turmoil . the taliban are resurgent in pakistan and the country 's economy is tanking . zardari took over bhutto 's pakistan people 's party ( ppp ) after her death late last year . his party had been confident of a win , saying zardari had the support of three of the four provincial assemblies -- which would be crucial in helping zardari forge the alliances he needs to tackle the country 's main problems . hussain , who was a close aide to the ex-president , was representing musharraf 's pakistan muslim league-q . the party had painted him as a candidate who represented the middle class and has a clean track record -- in contrast to zardari , who spent 11 and a half years in jail on corruption charges that he refutes . siddiqui was nominated by the pakistan muslim league-n ( pml-n ) , led by former prime minister nawaz sharif . musharraf resigned under intense political pressure last month as the ruling coalition began taking steps to impeach him . he had swept to power in 1999 in a bloodless coup . the chairman of the upper house of the assembly , mohammedmian soomro , has been acting president in the meantime . saturday 's election came one day after pakistan 's supreme court reinstated three of its judges who musharraf ousted in november , following his imposition of emergency rule . the ppp had formed a coalition with sharif 's party , the pml-n , but the coalition split apart august 25 . the pml-n had set that date as a deadline for the government to honor its promise to reinstate the judges who were fired . the ppp , which led the coalition , said it believed the coalition should focus on picking a successor for musharraf before it decided on reinstating the judges . at least 60 judges were arrested after musharraf issued his order . some were jailed , others placed under house arrest . security around the national assembly building in islamabad was tight , with police on the roof and at the gates and riot police on site . as the voting took place , a suicide car bomb exploded in northwestern pakistan , killing at least 25 people , including eight police officers , local police spokesman fazal karim said . eight-one others were wounded . the explosion happened at a checkpoint on the outskirts of peshawar , about 4 miles ( 7 kilometers ) from the provincial assembly in pakistan , where some of the presidential voting was taking place . peshawar is the capital of pakistan 's north west frontier province . the province is near pakistan 's border with afghanistan and is rife with islamic extremists . cnn 's senior international correspondent nic robertson contributed to this report . | asif ali zardari , widower of ex-pm benazir bhutto , elected pakistan president |
torres <tsp> ( cnn ) -- dara torres'quest at the age of 45 to make her sixth u.s. olympic team came down to a single , furious lap . she came up short monday , finishing fourth in the finals of the 50-meter women 's freestyle at the olympic trials in omaha , nebraska , behind a trio of women nearly 20 years her junior . torres took to the starting block both a serious contender and sentimental favorite . she 's a 12-time medalist who at the 2008 games earned the title of oldest american swimmer to win an olympic medal . by the time she touched the wall , 24.82 seconds later , torres capped a storied olympic career that began in 1984 at the los angeles games with a gold medal in the 4x100-meter relay , her only event . this is it , ' she told reporters after she got out of the pool , indicating her long , career was finally over . the top two finishers monday secured spots on the u.s. team . jessica hardy , 25 , won the race in 24.50 seconds , while 26-year-old kara lynn joyce finished second with a time of 24.73 . christine magnuson , 26 , finished third with 24.78 . in the pool , torres appeared to pass the torch , as she hugged hardy and joyce , congratulating them on their one-two finish . later , asked what she would most remember about a career with so many milestones , torres said : probably the fact that i 've hung in there this long . ' runner drops out of olympic runoff torres took her time getting out of the pool , looking up at the stands where for nearly three decades she has been cheered on her in olympic bids . she then picked up her 6-year-old daughter , tessa , who buried her head in her mother 's shoulder . i think she 's taking it harder than i am . i told her i would take her to london , ' torres said . last month , torres told cnn 's piers morgan that the road to the london games for her would be a tough one . her age was catching up with her , in some ways . torres , whose sculpted body has inspired awe in middle-aged women , was battling aches and pains that come with age . she talked about hormone changes that every aging woman faces . she had undergone a state-of-the-art knee surgery after it deteriorated following the 2008 games and spent two years recovering . much was made about her knee and whether it would hinder the fast start needed off the blocks to be a contender in the race . her finish in the semifinals of the 50-meter freestyle earned her a third place berth in the final . more than once , torres walked away from swimming . she retired briefly after the 1988 seoul games but returned for the 1992 barcelona games . heathrow on track for olympics she then took a seven-year break before returning for the 2000 sydney games , where she would win two gold relay medals and first individual olympic medals : three bronzes medals in the 50-meter freestyle , 100-meter freestyle and the 100-meter butterfly . torres took another break from swimming , missing the 2004 olympics to focus on starting a family . she gave birth to her daughter in 2005 . she made her last comeback at the beijing games in 2008 , where she earned a silver medal in the 50-meter freestyle and the title of the oldest american woman to swim for the u.s. team . torres'coach , michael lohberg , died last year from complication of aplastic anemia , a rare blood disease . after his death , she decided to go it alone without a coach , though she did hire a trainer . i really wanted to finish the story that i started with him , ' she told reporters during a news conference following the race , according to transcripts . but , she said , she knows he would have been proud of her performance . watch piers morgan tonight weeknights 9 p.m . et . for the latest from piers morgan click here . | torres swam in the 1984 , 1988 , 1992 , 2000 and 2008 olympics |
torres <tsp> ( cnn ) -- dara torres'quest at the age of 45 to make her sixth u.s. olympic team came down to a single , furious lap . she came up short monday , finishing fourth in the finals of the 50-meter women 's freestyle at the olympic trials in omaha , nebraska , behind a trio of women nearly 20 years her junior . torres took to the starting block both a serious contender and sentimental favorite . she 's a 12-time medalist who at the 2008 games earned the title of oldest american swimmer to win an olympic medal . by the time she touched the wall , 24.82 seconds later , torres capped a storied olympic career that began in 1984 at the los angeles games with a gold medal in the 4x100-meter relay , her only event . this is it , ' she told reporters after she got out of the pool , indicating her long , career was finally over . the top two finishers monday secured spots on the u.s. team . jessica hardy , 25 , won the race in 24.50 seconds , while 26-year-old kara lynn joyce finished second with a time of 24.73 . christine magnuson , 26 , finished third with 24.78 . in the pool , torres appeared to pass the torch , as she hugged hardy and joyce , congratulating them on their one-two finish . later , asked what she would most remember about a career with so many milestones , torres said : probably the fact that i 've hung in there this long . ' runner drops out of olympic runoff torres took her time getting out of the pool , looking up at the stands where for nearly three decades she has been cheered on her in olympic bids . she then picked up her 6-year-old daughter , tessa , who buried her head in her mother 's shoulder . i think she 's taking it harder than i am . i told her i would take her to london , ' torres said . last month , torres told cnn 's piers morgan that the road to the london games for her would be a tough one . her age was catching up with her , in some ways . torres , whose sculpted body has inspired awe in middle-aged women , was battling aches and pains that come with age . she talked about hormone changes that every aging woman faces . she had undergone a state-of-the-art knee surgery after it deteriorated following the 2008 games and spent two years recovering . much was made about her knee and whether it would hinder the fast start needed off the blocks to be a contender in the race . her finish in the semifinals of the 50-meter freestyle earned her a third place berth in the final . more than once , torres walked away from swimming . she retired briefly after the 1988 seoul games but returned for the 1992 barcelona games . heathrow on track for olympics she then took a seven-year break before returning for the 2000 sydney games , where she would win two gold relay medals and first individual olympic medals : three bronzes medals in the 50-meter freestyle , 100-meter freestyle and the 100-meter butterfly . torres took another break from swimming , missing the 2004 olympics to focus on starting a family . she gave birth to her daughter in 2005 . she made her last comeback at the beijing games in 2008 , where she earned a silver medal in the 50-meter freestyle and the title of the oldest american woman to swim for the u.s. team . torres'coach , michael lohberg , died last year from complication of aplastic anemia , a rare blood disease . after his death , she decided to go it alone without a coach , though she did hire a trainer . i really wanted to finish the story that i started with him , ' she told reporters during a news conference following the race , according to transcripts . but , she said , she knows he would have been proud of her performance . watch piers morgan tonight weeknights 9 p.m . et . for the latest from piers morgan click here . | dara torres finished fourth in the 50-meter freestyle at the u.s. trials |
torres <tsp> ( cnn ) -- dara torres'quest at the age of 45 to make her sixth u.s. olympic team came down to a single , furious lap . she came up short monday , finishing fourth in the finals of the 50-meter women 's freestyle at the olympic trials in omaha , nebraska , behind a trio of women nearly 20 years her junior . torres took to the starting block both a serious contender and sentimental favorite . she 's a 12-time medalist who at the 2008 games earned the title of oldest american swimmer to win an olympic medal . by the time she touched the wall , 24.82 seconds later , torres capped a storied olympic career that began in 1984 at the los angeles games with a gold medal in the 4x100-meter relay , her only event . this is it , ' she told reporters after she got out of the pool , indicating her long , career was finally over . the top two finishers monday secured spots on the u.s. team . jessica hardy , 25 , won the race in 24.50 seconds , while 26-year-old kara lynn joyce finished second with a time of 24.73 . christine magnuson , 26 , finished third with 24.78 . in the pool , torres appeared to pass the torch , as she hugged hardy and joyce , congratulating them on their one-two finish . later , asked what she would most remember about a career with so many milestones , torres said : probably the fact that i 've hung in there this long . ' runner drops out of olympic runoff torres took her time getting out of the pool , looking up at the stands where for nearly three decades she has been cheered on her in olympic bids . she then picked up her 6-year-old daughter , tessa , who buried her head in her mother 's shoulder . i think she 's taking it harder than i am . i told her i would take her to london , ' torres said . last month , torres told cnn 's piers morgan that the road to the london games for her would be a tough one . her age was catching up with her , in some ways . torres , whose sculpted body has inspired awe in middle-aged women , was battling aches and pains that come with age . she talked about hormone changes that every aging woman faces . she had undergone a state-of-the-art knee surgery after it deteriorated following the 2008 games and spent two years recovering . much was made about her knee and whether it would hinder the fast start needed off the blocks to be a contender in the race . her finish in the semifinals of the 50-meter freestyle earned her a third place berth in the final . more than once , torres walked away from swimming . she retired briefly after the 1988 seoul games but returned for the 1992 barcelona games . heathrow on track for olympics she then took a seven-year break before returning for the 2000 sydney games , where she would win two gold relay medals and first individual olympic medals : three bronzes medals in the 50-meter freestyle , 100-meter freestyle and the 100-meter butterfly . torres took another break from swimming , missing the 2004 olympics to focus on starting a family . she gave birth to her daughter in 2005 . she made her last comeback at the beijing games in 2008 , where she earned a silver medal in the 50-meter freestyle and the title of the oldest american woman to swim for the u.s. team . torres'coach , michael lohberg , died last year from complication of aplastic anemia , a rare blood disease . after his death , she decided to go it alone without a coach , though she did hire a trainer . i really wanted to finish the story that i started with him , ' she told reporters during a news conference following the race , according to transcripts . but , she said , she knows he would have been proud of her performance . watch piers morgan tonight weeknights 9 p.m . et . for the latest from piers morgan click here . | this is it , ' torres said , announcing the end of her career |
fort lauderdale <tsp> ( cnn ) -- spirit airlines said thursday it 's sorry that hundreds of passengers had flights delayed for hours from fort lauderdale-hollywood international airport because of the airline 's voluntary engine inspections . dozens of passengers slept at the airport wednesday night , with some waiting nearly 12 hours before their aircraft were cleared for takeoff . some did lose their tempers , but it was all worked out amicably , ' airport spokesman greg meyer told cnn via e-mail . spirit announced thursday afternoon that all checks had been completed and apologized for the delays . we are working diligently to get our customers where they need to go as quickly as possible , ' airline spokeswoman misty pinson said . we expect to be back to regular schedule later this evening . as always , the safety of our customers is our no . 1 priority . ' this week 's inspections followed last week 's engine failure on a spirit airlines flight shortly after takeoff from dallas/fort worth international airport . spirit flight 165 was heading for atlanta when the failure occurred , but returned safely to the dallas airport . besides one flight cancellation , passengers on atlantic city-bound flight 268 may have experienced the worst delays . they waited nearly 12 hours to depart on a flight scheduled to take off wednesday night at 8:15 p.m . they did n't leave until thursday morning at 8:08 a.m. , according to airport flight departure records . denver-bound flight 355 was scheduled to depart wednesday night at 8:56 p.m. , but did n't leave until more than 10 hours later , on thursday morning at 7:29 a.m. one angry passenger was rafael hernandez , who was trying to get home to chicago . hernandez told cnn affiliate cbs4 in miami that authorities escorted him out of the terminal after he lost his temper . it has been a disaster . i was so frustrated . i 'm never ever going to fly spirit again , ' he said . following the engine failure on one of our aircraft last week , and after reviewing routine maintenance procedures , we are completing a proactive and voluntary check on our aircraft engines overnight as a precautionary measure , ' wrote spirit spokeswoman misty pinson , in an e-mail to cnn . the safety checks take about 45 minutes per aircraft , and were expected to be completed thursday morning , she wrote . some flights are experiencing significant delays as we complete the checks , ' wrote pinson . each aircraft is being returned to service as soon as the check is completed . we apologize for these delays . we are working diligently to get our customers where they need to go as quickly as possible . ... as always , the safety of our customers is our number one priority . ' newcomer tops magazine 's u.s. airline survey cnn 's joe sutton contributed to this report . | dozens of passengers slept at the fort lauderdale airport overnight |
cnn <tsp> ( cnn ) -- war widows , motel kids ' and the working poor are among the many people who have been helped by this year 's top 10 cnn heroes . the top 10 -- remarkable everyday people changing the world -- were revealed thursday by cnn 's anderson cooper . all were nominated by cnn viewers inspired by their hard work and commitment . each of the top 10 will receive a $ 50,000 grant and be honored at cnn heroes : an all-star tribute , ' a globally broadcast event that airs december 11 at 8 p.m. et/5 p.m. pt . one of the top 10 will be voted cnn hero of the year by the public and receive an additional $ 250,000 . the live tribute show , hosted by cooper at the shrine auditorium in los angeles , will culminate in the announcement of the cnn hero of the year . through december 7 , people can vote for their favorite hero at cnnheroes.com . they can also vote from mobile devices . this is the fifth year cnn has conducted its annual search for cnn heroes . in those five years , the campaign has profiled more than 160 people on cnn and cnn.com . and there have been roughly 40,000 nominations received from more than 100 countries . here are the top 10 heroes of 2011 , in alphabetical order : eddie canales eddie canales'son was paralyzed during a high school football game in 2001 . today , canales'nonprofit , gridiron heroes , provides emotional and financial support to high school football players who 've sustained life-changing spinal cord injuries . taryn davis taryn davis was just 21 when her husband , an army corporal , was killed in iraq . in 2007 , she created the american widow project . to date , her nonprofit has provided a community of support to more than 900 young military widows . sal dimiceli sal dimiceli has spent decades helping people get back on their feet . through a local newspaper column and his nonprofit , the time is now to help , dimiceli assists about 500 people a year with food , rent , utilities and other necessities . derreck kayongo derreck kayongo 's global soap project collects partially used hotel soap and reprocesses it to save lives . since 2009 , the atlanta-based nonprofit has provided about 150,000 bars of soap for communities in 10 countries . diane latiker surrounded by gang violence in her chicago neighborhood , diane latiker opened her home to area youth and started a community program called kids off the block . since 2003 , her program has helped more than 1,500 young people . robin lim robin lim became a midwife after her sister died from complications during pregnancy . since 2003 , she and her team in indonesia have helped thousands of low-income women have a healthy pregnancies and births . patrice millet after being stricken with cancer , patrice millet dedicated his life to helping children in his native haiti . his nonprofit youth soccer program provides free equipment , coaching and food to hundreds of participants from the slums and teaches them to become responsible citizens . bruno serato since 2005 , chef bruno serato has been serving free pasta dinners to children , many of whom are poor and live in motels with their families . today , serato provides dinner seven days a week to more than 300 children at the boys & girls club in anaheim , california . richard st. denis since 2008 , richard st. denis and his organization , world access project , have provided hundreds of wheelchairs and mobility aids to people living with disabilities in rural mexico . amy stokes amy stokes is redefining family ' for south african children affected by hiv/aids and poverty . her organization , infinite family , has connected almost 500 teenage net buddies ' with nearly 300 volunteer mentors from all over the world via the internet . note : elena durón miranda was initially chosen as one of the top 10 cnn heroes , but she later asked to withdraw . cnn honored her request . | the annual tribute show will be hosted by cooper and reveal the cnn hero of the year |
cnn <tsp> ( cnn ) -- war widows , motel kids ' and the working poor are among the many people who have been helped by this year 's top 10 cnn heroes . the top 10 -- remarkable everyday people changing the world -- were revealed thursday by cnn 's anderson cooper . all were nominated by cnn viewers inspired by their hard work and commitment . each of the top 10 will receive a $ 50,000 grant and be honored at cnn heroes : an all-star tribute , ' a globally broadcast event that airs december 11 at 8 p.m. et/5 p.m. pt . one of the top 10 will be voted cnn hero of the year by the public and receive an additional $ 250,000 . the live tribute show , hosted by cooper at the shrine auditorium in los angeles , will culminate in the announcement of the cnn hero of the year . through december 7 , people can vote for their favorite hero at cnnheroes.com . they can also vote from mobile devices . this is the fifth year cnn has conducted its annual search for cnn heroes . in those five years , the campaign has profiled more than 160 people on cnn and cnn.com . and there have been roughly 40,000 nominations received from more than 100 countries . here are the top 10 heroes of 2011 , in alphabetical order : eddie canales eddie canales'son was paralyzed during a high school football game in 2001 . today , canales'nonprofit , gridiron heroes , provides emotional and financial support to high school football players who 've sustained life-changing spinal cord injuries . taryn davis taryn davis was just 21 when her husband , an army corporal , was killed in iraq . in 2007 , she created the american widow project . to date , her nonprofit has provided a community of support to more than 900 young military widows . sal dimiceli sal dimiceli has spent decades helping people get back on their feet . through a local newspaper column and his nonprofit , the time is now to help , dimiceli assists about 500 people a year with food , rent , utilities and other necessities . derreck kayongo derreck kayongo 's global soap project collects partially used hotel soap and reprocesses it to save lives . since 2009 , the atlanta-based nonprofit has provided about 150,000 bars of soap for communities in 10 countries . diane latiker surrounded by gang violence in her chicago neighborhood , diane latiker opened her home to area youth and started a community program called kids off the block . since 2003 , her program has helped more than 1,500 young people . robin lim robin lim became a midwife after her sister died from complications during pregnancy . since 2003 , she and her team in indonesia have helped thousands of low-income women have a healthy pregnancies and births . patrice millet after being stricken with cancer , patrice millet dedicated his life to helping children in his native haiti . his nonprofit youth soccer program provides free equipment , coaching and food to hundreds of participants from the slums and teaches them to become responsible citizens . bruno serato since 2005 , chef bruno serato has been serving free pasta dinners to children , many of whom are poor and live in motels with their families . today , serato provides dinner seven days a week to more than 300 children at the boys & girls club in anaheim , california . richard st. denis since 2008 , richard st. denis and his organization , world access project , have provided hundreds of wheelchairs and mobility aids to people living with disabilities in rural mexico . amy stokes amy stokes is redefining family ' for south african children affected by hiv/aids and poverty . her organization , infinite family , has connected almost 500 teenage net buddies ' with nearly 300 volunteer mentors from all over the world via the internet . note : elena durón miranda was initially chosen as one of the top 10 cnn heroes , but she later asked to withdraw . cnn honored her request . | the top 10 cnn heroes of 2011 have been revealed by cnn 's anderson cooper |
cnn <tsp> ( cnn ) -- war widows , motel kids ' and the working poor are among the many people who have been helped by this year 's top 10 cnn heroes . the top 10 -- remarkable everyday people changing the world -- were revealed thursday by cnn 's anderson cooper . all were nominated by cnn viewers inspired by their hard work and commitment . each of the top 10 will receive a $ 50,000 grant and be honored at cnn heroes : an all-star tribute , ' a globally broadcast event that airs december 11 at 8 p.m. et/5 p.m. pt . one of the top 10 will be voted cnn hero of the year by the public and receive an additional $ 250,000 . the live tribute show , hosted by cooper at the shrine auditorium in los angeles , will culminate in the announcement of the cnn hero of the year . through december 7 , people can vote for their favorite hero at cnnheroes.com . they can also vote from mobile devices . this is the fifth year cnn has conducted its annual search for cnn heroes . in those five years , the campaign has profiled more than 160 people on cnn and cnn.com . and there have been roughly 40,000 nominations received from more than 100 countries . here are the top 10 heroes of 2011 , in alphabetical order : eddie canales eddie canales'son was paralyzed during a high school football game in 2001 . today , canales'nonprofit , gridiron heroes , provides emotional and financial support to high school football players who 've sustained life-changing spinal cord injuries . taryn davis taryn davis was just 21 when her husband , an army corporal , was killed in iraq . in 2007 , she created the american widow project . to date , her nonprofit has provided a community of support to more than 900 young military widows . sal dimiceli sal dimiceli has spent decades helping people get back on their feet . through a local newspaper column and his nonprofit , the time is now to help , dimiceli assists about 500 people a year with food , rent , utilities and other necessities . derreck kayongo derreck kayongo 's global soap project collects partially used hotel soap and reprocesses it to save lives . since 2009 , the atlanta-based nonprofit has provided about 150,000 bars of soap for communities in 10 countries . diane latiker surrounded by gang violence in her chicago neighborhood , diane latiker opened her home to area youth and started a community program called kids off the block . since 2003 , her program has helped more than 1,500 young people . robin lim robin lim became a midwife after her sister died from complications during pregnancy . since 2003 , she and her team in indonesia have helped thousands of low-income women have a healthy pregnancies and births . patrice millet after being stricken with cancer , patrice millet dedicated his life to helping children in his native haiti . his nonprofit youth soccer program provides free equipment , coaching and food to hundreds of participants from the slums and teaches them to become responsible citizens . bruno serato since 2005 , chef bruno serato has been serving free pasta dinners to children , many of whom are poor and live in motels with their families . today , serato provides dinner seven days a week to more than 300 children at the boys & girls club in anaheim , california . richard st. denis since 2008 , richard st. denis and his organization , world access project , have provided hundreds of wheelchairs and mobility aids to people living with disabilities in rural mexico . amy stokes amy stokes is redefining family ' for south african children affected by hiv/aids and poverty . her organization , infinite family , has connected almost 500 teenage net buddies ' with nearly 300 volunteer mentors from all over the world via the internet . note : elena durón miranda was initially chosen as one of the top 10 cnn heroes , but she later asked to withdraw . cnn honored her request . | they will be honored at cnn heroes : an all-star tribute , ' which airs live december 11 |
texas <tsp> two conservative lawmakers from texas are calling on border authorities to enhance ebola screening at airports in their state . in a letter to the obama-appointed u.s. customs and border protection commissioner r. gil kerlikowske on friday , sen. jon cornyn and rep. michael mccaul requested that dallas-fort worth international airport and houston george bush intercontinental airport are added to the list of locations where heightened screening of travelers is conducted . changes coming to u.s. airports ' because those traveling from guinea , sierra leone , and liberia can transit to the united states from many other countries , we have concerns that the current decision to screen only at five airports may not adequately protect americans and others traveling to america from the ebola virus , ' the lawmakers said in their letter , which also points out that a combined 15.6 million international travelers moved through the two texas airports in 2013 . latest ebola developments the letter also raises broader questions about the government 's response to preventing the spread of ebola -- namely , the number of people from ebola-affected countries entering the u.s. via sea or land , who would n't be screened at airport security checkpoints . can you catch ebola on a plane ? what other ebola-related measures are being taken at other vulnerable port environments , particularly at high traffic land border ports of entry along the texas-mexico border ? ' the politicians write in their letter . if none , why ? ' cdc director on ebola :'only thing like this has been aids' this is n't the first time lawmakers on capitol hill have clamored for more action from the obama administration on the ebola crisis . earlier this week , 26 primarily republican members of congress penned a letter urging the white house to prevent the spread of ebola in the u.s. by toughening airport screening and banning travelers from west african countries where the disease is rampant . complete coverage on ebola | two lawmakers from texas want ebola screening enhanced in their homestate airports . |
texas <tsp> two conservative lawmakers from texas are calling on border authorities to enhance ebola screening at airports in their state . in a letter to the obama-appointed u.s. customs and border protection commissioner r. gil kerlikowske on friday , sen. jon cornyn and rep. michael mccaul requested that dallas-fort worth international airport and houston george bush intercontinental airport are added to the list of locations where heightened screening of travelers is conducted . changes coming to u.s. airports ' because those traveling from guinea , sierra leone , and liberia can transit to the united states from many other countries , we have concerns that the current decision to screen only at five airports may not adequately protect americans and others traveling to america from the ebola virus , ' the lawmakers said in their letter , which also points out that a combined 15.6 million international travelers moved through the two texas airports in 2013 . latest ebola developments the letter also raises broader questions about the government 's response to preventing the spread of ebola -- namely , the number of people from ebola-affected countries entering the u.s. via sea or land , who would n't be screened at airport security checkpoints . can you catch ebola on a plane ? what other ebola-related measures are being taken at other vulnerable port environments , particularly at high traffic land border ports of entry along the texas-mexico border ? ' the politicians write in their letter . if none , why ? ' cdc director on ebola :'only thing like this has been aids' this is n't the first time lawmakers on capitol hill have clamored for more action from the obama administration on the ebola crisis . earlier this week , 26 primarily republican members of congress penned a letter urging the white house to prevent the spread of ebola in the u.s. by toughening airport screening and banning travelers from west african countries where the disease is rampant . complete coverage on ebola | the lawmakers note 15.6 million international travelers moved through the two texas airports in 2013 . |
sevilla <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a karim benzema brace helped real madrid to a 3-0 win over sevilla on sunday to edge jose mourinho 's side one step closer to a first la liga title in four seasons . the french striker 's goals early in the second half added to cristiano ronaldo 's 19th minute strike to maintain their seven-point lead at the top of the table with three games remaining . it was the perfect tonic for real after they were knocked out of the champions league on penalties by bayern munich on wednesday . it was an important win and the team deserves to be champions as the players have shown their mentality and character , ' said aitor karanka , real madrid 's assistant coach . we will go out looking to win games even when we are the champions , if that happens , as we only have one plan . it will be fantastic to win the league and it is the most important objective at the moment . ' barcelona , who are also coming to terms with a champions league exit and the impending departure of coach pep guardiola , were runaway winners on saturday beating rayo vallecano 7-0 . puyol backs vilanova lionel messi opened the scoring in the 16th minute which was followed by an own goal by roberto correa ten minutes later . messi turned provider for barca 's third laying on the ball for seydou keita to fire a low shot past rayo keeper david cobeno six minutes before the break . pedro fired in a rebound after messi headed against the bar at the start of the second half and thiago scored a fifth 11 minutes from the end . pedro bagged a second three minutes from time but it was left to lionel messi to complete the rout as he scored his second in the 90th minute . earlier , sixth-placed atletico madrid scored in the third minute of injury time to salvage a 2-2 draw at real betis , but the result does little to enhance the europa league finalists'chances of gaining a champions league spot next season . malaga , on the other hand did , beating third place valencia 1-0 to move into fourth and level on 55 points with unai emery 's side . seventh-placed athletic bilbao also lost on saturday going down 2-0 at second-from-bottom real zaragoza . | goals from cristiano ronaldo and karim benzema earn real madrid a 3-0 win against sevilla in the bernabeu |
american <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a black hawk helicopter crashed thursday in southern afghanistan , likely killing all four of its crew members -- all of them americans -- a u.s. military official said . the crash occurred in bad weather , though the official said , we can not yet rule out enemy action . ' troops at a combat outpost in the area waiting to be picked up saw the crash happen , the official said . another helicopter flying nearby was not affected . fatal helicopter crashes involving members of the nato-led international security assistance force are not unprecedented in afghanistan , with some of the aircraft brought down by enemy fire while others crashed for mechanical reasons . the single deadliest loss for u.s. troops since the afghan war began in late 2001 happened in august , when 30 u.s. service members died when a helicopter carrying them went down while they were reinforcing other troops , officials said . seven afghan troops died in that same crash . a u.s. military official said then that insurgents were believed to have shot down the ch-47 chinook . the taliban claimed that militants downed the helicopter with a rocket-propelled grenade . more recently , 12 people died last month when a helicopter crashed last month in afghanistan 's capital city of kabul . capt . david yaryar , an isaf spokesman , said there was no reported insurgent activity in the area ' at the time . | all four of its crew members -- all of them american -- are believed to be dead |
sudan <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the case of a christian woman in sudan who was sentenced to die for refusing to renounce her faith has cast new light on the plight of persecuted christians worldwide . sudan ranks as one of the worst countries for people who practice christianity , but it by no means is alone . like people of other faiths , christians can face discrimination , harassment , arrest , jail time and even death for what they believe . here 's a look at seven terrible countries for christians : north korea for the 12th year in a row , north korea tops the list of places where christian persecution is most extreme , according to open doors , a group that ranks countries in order of persecution . the organization estimates as many as 70,000 christians are imprisoned in labor camps . the god-like worship of the leader , kim jong-un , and his predecessors leaves no room for any other religion , and christians face unimaginable pressure in every sphere of life , ' the group says on its website . forced to meet only in secret , they dare not share their faith even with their families , for fear of imprisonment in a labor camp . anyone discovered engaging in secret religious activity may be subject to arrest , disappearance , torture , even public execution . ' among those imprisoned is kenneth bae , a korean-american . pyongyang sentenced him last year to 15 years of hard labor , accusing him of planning to bring down the government through religious activities . he is widely reported to have been conducting christian missionary work in north korea . kenneth bae worried about his health in north korean camp sudan since 1999 , the u.s. state department has tracked the world 's worst abusers of religious rights . sudan has been on the list since its inception . the country has arrested and deported western christians suspected of spreading their faith , according to a state department report . recently , sudan also arrested and sentenced a woman to die for refusing to renounce her christian faith . the 27-year old woman was released after weeks of international controversy over her conviction . she was later detained with her husband and two children , accused of traveling with falsified documents and giving false information . eritrea just four religious groups are officially allowed to openly practice their faith in this african nation ; the rest are subject to detention or worse . so if you 're not an eritrean orthodox christian , a sunni muslim , a roman catholic or an evangelical lutheran , life could be tough for you here . harsh detentions for religious dissenters are the norm , according to the state department report . members of various religious groups , including jehovah 's witnesses , face retaliation for refusing to participate in military portions of mandatory national service , the report reads . the government is said to penalize jehovah 's witnesses by denying them government services and entitlements . as of november , 52 jehovah 's witnesses were imprisoned in eritrea , according to the jehovah 's witnesses website . it says none has been formally charged or tried . saudi arabia the oil-rich monarchy does n't even pretend to respect religious rights for any faith other than islam . sunni islam is the official religion , and the country 's constitution is based on the quran and the teachings of the prophet mohammed . the public practice of any other religion is prohibited , according to the state department . open doors says most christians in saudi arabia are expatriates from asia or africa . last year , christian migrant fellowships were raided , and worshipers were detained and deported , the group says . nigeria nigeria is split between a majority muslim north and a mostly christian south . boko haram , an islamic extremist group , vowed in 2009 to rid the nation 's north of all non-muslim influence , including christians , according to the voice of the martyrs , another group that tracks the persecution of christians . more than 3,000 people have been killed since then , the organization reports . boko haram translates as western education is a sin ' in the hausa language . the militant group says its aim is to impose a stricter enforcement of sharia law across nigeria , africa 's most populous nation . boko haram 's attacks have intensified in recent years and have included the kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls . somalia pressure is increasing on christians in this country , according to open doors . islamic leaders and government officials publicly reinforce that there is no room for christians , and there is a strong drive to purge christianity from somalia . the militant islamist group , al-shabaab , targets christians and local communities , ' the group says on its site . the terror group is notorious for prohibiting recreational activities and has banned films , dancing and watching soccer in the past . it had also barred foreign aid organizations from southern somalia , describing them as western spies and christian crusaders . iraq religious minorities , such as christians and yazidis , make up less than 5 % of iraq 's population . since 2003 , attacks against these minorities by insurgents and religious extremists have driven more than half of the minorities out of the country , according to the u.n. high commissioner for refugees . according to open doors , attacks and threats against christians rose last year as islamic terrorist groups gained more influence . militants from the islamic state in iraq and syria , or isis , are in the midst of an offensive in iraq . in the northern city of mosul , the site of one of the first major isis victories , witnesses told cnn the group used vehicle-mounted loudspeakers to announce that it had decided to form islamic sharia courts in the city . the group also reportedly removed statues of the christian virgin mary , arab poet abu tammam and singer mulla othman , witnesses said . militants'advance threatens christians in iraq cnn 's daniel burke contributed to this report . | sudan sentenced a woman to die for refusing to renounce her faith ; she was later released |
germany <tsp> london ( cnn ) -- britain has closed its embassy in iran and evacuated all its staff from that country following the attack on the embassy compound in tehran tuesday , british foreign secretary william hague said wednesday . iran has also been ordered to close its embassy in london immediately , with its staff given 48 hours to leave , hague said in a strongly worded statement to the uk parliament . protesters stormed britain 's embassy and a separate compound tuesday in iran 's capital , sparking outrage in the united kingdom . the buildings should have been guarded by iranian security officers . some demonstrators proceeded to vandalize and loot the homes of staff and the ambassador 's residence , destroy furniture , steal their property and set fire to the main embassy office building , hague said . this is a breach of international responsibilities of which any nation should be ashamed , ' hague said . while relations between britain and iran have been strained in recent times , he said , we should be absolutely clear that no difficulty in relations can ever excuse in any way or under any circumstances the failure to protect diplomatic staff and diplomatic premises . iran is a country where opposition leaders are under house arrest , more than 500 people have been executed so far this year and where genuine protest is ruthlessly stamped on . the idea that the iranian authorities could not have protected our embassy or that this assault could have taken place without some degree of regime consent is fanciful . ' the majority of about 200 demonstrators who overran the city center embassy compound were members of a student basij militia organization , he said , which is controlled by elements of the iranian regime . ' hague thanked those european and arab nations that offered assistance to british embassy staff following the incident . british citizens still in iran will be supported by other eu missions there , he said . the united nations security council , the united states , germany , poland , russia and france have all expressed their concern over the incursion , which went against international law , he said . alistair burt , british under-secretary of state at the foreign office , also accused iran 's government of being involved in the embassy incident on wednesday , calling it a deliberate provocation . the people who were involved are known to have connections with elements of the regime , ' burt told cnn . he noted , iran is a divided , conflicted leadership ... it is clear that not all parts of leadership were involved . but nothing like that happens in tehran without leadership being involved in some way . ' the attacks happened in two separate places , simultaneously , ' burt said . protesters who raided the british embassy and the other british compound were demanding that the british ambassador be sent home immediately . the incident has worried some other nations with diplomatic staff in tehran . the netherlands became the latest european nation to recall its ambassador to iran for consultations late wednesday , following the lead of france and germany . the french foreign ministry said it was recalling its tehran envoy , given this blatant and unacceptable violation of the vienna convention on diplomatic relations and the severity of the violence . ' the iranian charge d'affaires in paris has been called upon to reiterate france 's condemnation and to remind the iranian authorities of their obligations , ' the ministry said in a statement . norway is closing its embassy there temporarily because of a general assessment of the security situation in iran , ' foreign ministry spokeswoman hilde steinfeld said earlier wednesday . a statement said the embassy would reopen thursday . ireland 's foreign office urged iran to reconsider its decision to expel the british ambassador to tehran and said it should bring those responsible for the embassy incursion to justice . if this does not happen , it said , there are likely to be serious consequences for iran 's relations with the eu and the wider international community . ' the eu foreign affairs council will address the matter on thursday , said bernard valero , spokesman for the french foreign ministry . tuesday 's demonstration in tehran followed an iranian parliament vote sunday to expel the british ambassador and reduce diplomatic relations with the united kingdom in retaliation for its new sanctions against iran , according to irna , the country 's official news agency . the rally began quietly outside the embassy , but some participants stormed the building , breaking down the door . among other things , they replaced the british flag with an iranian one . speaker ali larijani was quoted on the iranian parliament 's official website as saying that while iranians should act legally , the decision to expel the british envoy was a response to britain 's own behavior . the gathering of the iranian people in front of the british embassy was a reflection of the nation 's public opinion caused by british actions , ' he said , according to the website . alaedin boroujerdi , the lawmaker who introduced the expulsion bill , told the semi-official fars news agency on wednesday that while iran is glad to see the last of the british diplomats , the consequences of closing down iran 's embassy in the uk will be london 's responsibility . ' britain cut all financial ties with iran last week over concerns about its nuclear program , the first time it has cut an entire country 's banking sector off from british finance . iran 's foreign ministry expressed its regret for the student protest , saying on its website that it had turned into an out of control demonstration . ' the ministry said it would take action through legal channels ' against those who stormed the embassy building . a number of ' protesters who broke into both places have been arrested , irna said , quoting the nation 's deputy commander of security forces . hague warned tuesday of serious consequences ' for the raids . british prime minister david cameron described the incursion as outrageous and indefensible ' and demanded that iran immediately ensure the safety of all british embassy personnel . iranian security forces are responsible for guarding the embassy under international law , he said . the failure of the iranian government to defend british staff and property was a disgrace , ' the prime minister said . the iranian government must recognize that there will be serious consequences for failing to protect our staff , ' cameron said . we will consider what these measures should be in the coming days . ' last week 's sanctions ordered british credit and financial institutions to end their business relationships and transactions with all iranian banks , their branches and subsidiaries . the move came after an international atomic energy agency report highlighted new concerns about the possible military dimensions of iran 's nuclear program , ' the british treasury statement said last week . iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful and has called the u.n. watchdog 's report unbalanced ' and politically motivated . ' cnn 's adam levine , elizabeth joseph , antonia mortensen , claudia rebaza , shirzad bozorgmehr and mitra mobasherat contributed to this report . | france and germany recall their ambassadors for consultations |
britain <tsp> london ( cnn ) -- britain has closed its embassy in iran and evacuated all its staff from that country following the attack on the embassy compound in tehran tuesday , british foreign secretary william hague said wednesday . iran has also been ordered to close its embassy in london immediately , with its staff given 48 hours to leave , hague said in a strongly worded statement to the uk parliament . protesters stormed britain 's embassy and a separate compound tuesday in iran 's capital , sparking outrage in the united kingdom . the buildings should have been guarded by iranian security officers . some demonstrators proceeded to vandalize and loot the homes of staff and the ambassador 's residence , destroy furniture , steal their property and set fire to the main embassy office building , hague said . this is a breach of international responsibilities of which any nation should be ashamed , ' hague said . while relations between britain and iran have been strained in recent times , he said , we should be absolutely clear that no difficulty in relations can ever excuse in any way or under any circumstances the failure to protect diplomatic staff and diplomatic premises . iran is a country where opposition leaders are under house arrest , more than 500 people have been executed so far this year and where genuine protest is ruthlessly stamped on . the idea that the iranian authorities could not have protected our embassy or that this assault could have taken place without some degree of regime consent is fanciful . ' the majority of about 200 demonstrators who overran the city center embassy compound were members of a student basij militia organization , he said , which is controlled by elements of the iranian regime . ' hague thanked those european and arab nations that offered assistance to british embassy staff following the incident . british citizens still in iran will be supported by other eu missions there , he said . the united nations security council , the united states , germany , poland , russia and france have all expressed their concern over the incursion , which went against international law , he said . alistair burt , british under-secretary of state at the foreign office , also accused iran 's government of being involved in the embassy incident on wednesday , calling it a deliberate provocation . the people who were involved are known to have connections with elements of the regime , ' burt told cnn . he noted , iran is a divided , conflicted leadership ... it is clear that not all parts of leadership were involved . but nothing like that happens in tehran without leadership being involved in some way . ' the attacks happened in two separate places , simultaneously , ' burt said . protesters who raided the british embassy and the other british compound were demanding that the british ambassador be sent home immediately . the incident has worried some other nations with diplomatic staff in tehran . the netherlands became the latest european nation to recall its ambassador to iran for consultations late wednesday , following the lead of france and germany . the french foreign ministry said it was recalling its tehran envoy , given this blatant and unacceptable violation of the vienna convention on diplomatic relations and the severity of the violence . ' the iranian charge d'affaires in paris has been called upon to reiterate france 's condemnation and to remind the iranian authorities of their obligations , ' the ministry said in a statement . norway is closing its embassy there temporarily because of a general assessment of the security situation in iran , ' foreign ministry spokeswoman hilde steinfeld said earlier wednesday . a statement said the embassy would reopen thursday . ireland 's foreign office urged iran to reconsider its decision to expel the british ambassador to tehran and said it should bring those responsible for the embassy incursion to justice . if this does not happen , it said , there are likely to be serious consequences for iran 's relations with the eu and the wider international community . ' the eu foreign affairs council will address the matter on thursday , said bernard valero , spokesman for the french foreign ministry . tuesday 's demonstration in tehran followed an iranian parliament vote sunday to expel the british ambassador and reduce diplomatic relations with the united kingdom in retaliation for its new sanctions against iran , according to irna , the country 's official news agency . the rally began quietly outside the embassy , but some participants stormed the building , breaking down the door . among other things , they replaced the british flag with an iranian one . speaker ali larijani was quoted on the iranian parliament 's official website as saying that while iranians should act legally , the decision to expel the british envoy was a response to britain 's own behavior . the gathering of the iranian people in front of the british embassy was a reflection of the nation 's public opinion caused by british actions , ' he said , according to the website . alaedin boroujerdi , the lawmaker who introduced the expulsion bill , told the semi-official fars news agency on wednesday that while iran is glad to see the last of the british diplomats , the consequences of closing down iran 's embassy in the uk will be london 's responsibility . ' britain cut all financial ties with iran last week over concerns about its nuclear program , the first time it has cut an entire country 's banking sector off from british finance . iran 's foreign ministry expressed its regret for the student protest , saying on its website that it had turned into an out of control demonstration . ' the ministry said it would take action through legal channels ' against those who stormed the embassy building . a number of ' protesters who broke into both places have been arrested , irna said , quoting the nation 's deputy commander of security forces . hague warned tuesday of serious consequences ' for the raids . british prime minister david cameron described the incursion as outrageous and indefensible ' and demanded that iran immediately ensure the safety of all british embassy personnel . iranian security forces are responsible for guarding the embassy under international law , he said . the failure of the iranian government to defend british staff and property was a disgrace , ' the prime minister said . the iranian government must recognize that there will be serious consequences for failing to protect our staff , ' cameron said . we will consider what these measures should be in the coming days . ' last week 's sanctions ordered british credit and financial institutions to end their business relationships and transactions with all iranian banks , their branches and subsidiaries . the move came after an international atomic energy agency report highlighted new concerns about the possible military dimensions of iran 's nuclear program , ' the british treasury statement said last week . iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful and has called the u.n. watchdog 's report unbalanced ' and politically motivated . ' cnn 's adam levine , elizabeth joseph , antonia mortensen , claudia rebaza , shirzad bozorgmehr and mitra mobasherat contributed to this report . | britain has closed its embassy in tehran after an attack tuesday |
britain <tsp> london ( cnn ) -- britain has closed its embassy in iran and evacuated all its staff from that country following the attack on the embassy compound in tehran tuesday , british foreign secretary william hague said wednesday . iran has also been ordered to close its embassy in london immediately , with its staff given 48 hours to leave , hague said in a strongly worded statement to the uk parliament . protesters stormed britain 's embassy and a separate compound tuesday in iran 's capital , sparking outrage in the united kingdom . the buildings should have been guarded by iranian security officers . some demonstrators proceeded to vandalize and loot the homes of staff and the ambassador 's residence , destroy furniture , steal their property and set fire to the main embassy office building , hague said . this is a breach of international responsibilities of which any nation should be ashamed , ' hague said . while relations between britain and iran have been strained in recent times , he said , we should be absolutely clear that no difficulty in relations can ever excuse in any way or under any circumstances the failure to protect diplomatic staff and diplomatic premises . iran is a country where opposition leaders are under house arrest , more than 500 people have been executed so far this year and where genuine protest is ruthlessly stamped on . the idea that the iranian authorities could not have protected our embassy or that this assault could have taken place without some degree of regime consent is fanciful . ' the majority of about 200 demonstrators who overran the city center embassy compound were members of a student basij militia organization , he said , which is controlled by elements of the iranian regime . ' hague thanked those european and arab nations that offered assistance to british embassy staff following the incident . british citizens still in iran will be supported by other eu missions there , he said . the united nations security council , the united states , germany , poland , russia and france have all expressed their concern over the incursion , which went against international law , he said . alistair burt , british under-secretary of state at the foreign office , also accused iran 's government of being involved in the embassy incident on wednesday , calling it a deliberate provocation . the people who were involved are known to have connections with elements of the regime , ' burt told cnn . he noted , iran is a divided , conflicted leadership ... it is clear that not all parts of leadership were involved . but nothing like that happens in tehran without leadership being involved in some way . ' the attacks happened in two separate places , simultaneously , ' burt said . protesters who raided the british embassy and the other british compound were demanding that the british ambassador be sent home immediately . the incident has worried some other nations with diplomatic staff in tehran . the netherlands became the latest european nation to recall its ambassador to iran for consultations late wednesday , following the lead of france and germany . the french foreign ministry said it was recalling its tehran envoy , given this blatant and unacceptable violation of the vienna convention on diplomatic relations and the severity of the violence . ' the iranian charge d'affaires in paris has been called upon to reiterate france 's condemnation and to remind the iranian authorities of their obligations , ' the ministry said in a statement . norway is closing its embassy there temporarily because of a general assessment of the security situation in iran , ' foreign ministry spokeswoman hilde steinfeld said earlier wednesday . a statement said the embassy would reopen thursday . ireland 's foreign office urged iran to reconsider its decision to expel the british ambassador to tehran and said it should bring those responsible for the embassy incursion to justice . if this does not happen , it said , there are likely to be serious consequences for iran 's relations with the eu and the wider international community . ' the eu foreign affairs council will address the matter on thursday , said bernard valero , spokesman for the french foreign ministry . tuesday 's demonstration in tehran followed an iranian parliament vote sunday to expel the british ambassador and reduce diplomatic relations with the united kingdom in retaliation for its new sanctions against iran , according to irna , the country 's official news agency . the rally began quietly outside the embassy , but some participants stormed the building , breaking down the door . among other things , they replaced the british flag with an iranian one . speaker ali larijani was quoted on the iranian parliament 's official website as saying that while iranians should act legally , the decision to expel the british envoy was a response to britain 's own behavior . the gathering of the iranian people in front of the british embassy was a reflection of the nation 's public opinion caused by british actions , ' he said , according to the website . alaedin boroujerdi , the lawmaker who introduced the expulsion bill , told the semi-official fars news agency on wednesday that while iran is glad to see the last of the british diplomats , the consequences of closing down iran 's embassy in the uk will be london 's responsibility . ' britain cut all financial ties with iran last week over concerns about its nuclear program , the first time it has cut an entire country 's banking sector off from british finance . iran 's foreign ministry expressed its regret for the student protest , saying on its website that it had turned into an out of control demonstration . ' the ministry said it would take action through legal channels ' against those who stormed the embassy building . a number of ' protesters who broke into both places have been arrested , irna said , quoting the nation 's deputy commander of security forces . hague warned tuesday of serious consequences ' for the raids . british prime minister david cameron described the incursion as outrageous and indefensible ' and demanded that iran immediately ensure the safety of all british embassy personnel . iranian security forces are responsible for guarding the embassy under international law , he said . the failure of the iranian government to defend british staff and property was a disgrace , ' the prime minister said . the iranian government must recognize that there will be serious consequences for failing to protect our staff , ' cameron said . we will consider what these measures should be in the coming days . ' last week 's sanctions ordered british credit and financial institutions to end their business relationships and transactions with all iranian banks , their branches and subsidiaries . the move came after an international atomic energy agency report highlighted new concerns about the possible military dimensions of iran 's nuclear program , ' the british treasury statement said last week . iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful and has called the u.n. watchdog 's report unbalanced ' and politically motivated . ' cnn 's adam levine , elizabeth joseph , antonia mortensen , claudia rebaza , shirzad bozorgmehr and mitra mobasherat contributed to this report . | britain has also ordered the immediate closure of the iranian embassy in london , hague says |
athens <tsp> athens ( cnn ) -- tens of thousands of people rallied across greece thursday to protest further tough austerity measures , as a general strike essentially shut down much of the country 's transportation network . clashes broke out in athens after protesters threw stones and bottles at police and chanted slogans saying they had no place policing a peaceful demonstration . the rallies come as european leaders gather in brussels , belgium , for a summit where they will work on building closer ties between eurozone countries . the move is seen as critical to converting recent progress on fixing the region 's debt crisis into a sustainable path to growth . greek prime minister antonis samaras is expected to argue there for more time for greece to implement the cuts demanded by europe in return for the latest installment of bailout funds the country desperately needs . eu leaders talk fiscal union as greeks protest austerity the harsh austerity measures already in place have angered many people in greece , which is in its fifth year of recession and has seen its unemployment rate soar to more than 25 % . thursday 's general strike is the second in a month called by unions who say another round of cuts to wages and pensions are too painful for the greek people to bear . anger over the austerity measures have led to violent street demonstrations in the past . about 30,000 people took part in demonstrations in athens thursday , police spokesman panagiotis papapetropoulos said . the violence , which was fairly limited , lasted about 90 minutes . the protesters had largely dispersed from the city 's central syntagma square by mid-afternoon . a 65-year-old man died after fainting during the rally , an official with the pame union said . the union 's doctors tried to revive the man but this was not possible , ' giorgos pondikos said . he was taken to hospital where his death was confirmed . the incident is not related to any violence . ' rallies were also staged in mainland cities including thessaloniki and patras , as well as on the greek island of crete . we are here to protest the cuts'they'are making , the misery they are imposing on the people , ' said a pame union member protesting in athens . i am here to ensure that the measures wo n't go through and because i feel greek people should have a say on what is being done , ' a fellow demonstrator said . read more : protestors rally as merkel voices support for austerity-hit greece ' there is no other way . the only way is for the working class to understand that we must change things . that what is happening is a result of a flawed system . and we must make sure that it stops to exist . ' some demonstrators waved the flags of spain and portugal , alongside those of greece , in an apparent display of solidarity with other nations laboring under tough austerity programs . shops were closed thursday as a result of the strike , while hospitals operated on skeleton staffing and the transport system was badly affected . greece 's coalition government is struggling to nail down all of the €11 billion of spending cuts it needs to satisfy the conditions of its bailout . athens is also reportedly at odds with the international monetary fund over the outlook for the economy and the likelihood it will achieve its deficit reduction targets . samaras is pushing for a two-year extension of the nation 's bailout program , which the previous government agreed to in march . in a show of support , german chancellor angela merkel met earlier this month with samaras in athens , suggesting that berlin is softening its stance on greece . the so-called troika of the european commission , the european central bank and the imf are due to report on greece 's troubled economy in the coming weeks , with the release of the next tranche of bailout money dependent on its findings . barroso : europe federation'unavoidable' the troika said wednesday at the end of a visit to greece that agreement had been reached on most of the core measures needed to restore the momentum of reform and pave the way for the completion of the review . ' its representatives and greek authorities had comprehensive and productive discussions on the policies needed to restore growth , employment and competitiveness , secure fiscal sustainability in a socially balanced manner , and strengthen the financial system , ' the statement said . in brussels , europe 's leaders will discuss an interim report outlining steps to strengthen the eurozone , including proposed reforms of the banking sector and more integrated budget policies , according to a letter from european council president herman van rompuy . greece 's long-running economic woes have shaken global markets and led to fears the country could crash out of the 17-member eurozone single currency if it defaults on its debt . the turmoil in the eurozone has exacerbated concerns about other ailing nations such as spain and italy , which are also struggling with high unemployment and debt . read more : greeks fearful of what will follow u.s. election cnn 's diana magnay , elinda labropoulou and ben rooney contributed to this report . | new : violence flares in athens as protesters rally against a new round of cuts |
bahrain <tsp> ( cnn ) -- fernando alonso says the reaction of his fellow drivers to formula one 's controversial new rule changes after the opening grand prix of the season was hot-headed . ' the spaniard claimed victory in bahrain on his debut for ferrari but fellow drivers michael schumacher , lewis hamilton and jenson button were critical of 2010 's new laws . they include a ban on refuelling during the race and that the grid 's top ten drivers must start the race on the tires they used to complete the final qualifying session . but alonso says it is too early to consider changing the rules and has pleaded for patience . he said on ferrari 's official web site : i think that many of us have given some hot-headed comments immediately after the race in bahrain . it 's true that the race in sakhir was n't especially spectacular -- although for us ferraristi it was great and exciting -- but it 's too early to talk about changing the rules . we have to see how the tyres behave with different fuel loads and temperatures , which will be different from the ones we had during testing and in bahrain . we have to wait and see different races and check the situation , without being emotional . something that confuses the fans is changing the rules all the time . ' alonso and teammate felipe massa gave ferrari the perfect start to the season with a one-two in bahrain , but the spaniard says no-one is getting carried away . he added : the one-two win in sakhir gave us confidence and was a great result for the hard work during the winter on the track and at the works , but we ca n't take anything for granted . we have to stay with our feet on the ground , keeping calm and staying concentrated -- in melbourne we 're starting from square one . nothing has changed for me -- there are four teams and eight drivers who can fight for victory and we have to give it our all to stay ahead of everybody else . i like the albert park track . it 's quite a technical circuit with some pretty interesting corners . overtaking has never been easy and what is even more important now , like on all city circuits , is the result in the qualifying . ' | alonso says some drivers comments were hot-headed ' after the opening race in bahrain |
congress <tsp> washington ( cnn ) israeli officials are looking at changing prime minister benjamin netanyahu 's plans to address a joint meeting of congress , including potentially relocating the speech , according to an israeli source . the debate follows mounting criticism of netanyahu 's move to use the high profile address to criticize president barack obama 's policy on iran . while a range of ideas are being discussed there is no final decision yet , the israeli source stressed . an official in prime minister netanyahu 's office insists at this moment ' the speech is still on , suggesting the israelis were leaving themselves some wiggle room . in recent days the prime minister has received a number of inquiries about his visit to the us . at this moment there is no change to the plans , ' this official told cnn . house speaker john boehner invited netanyahu last month to speak in the house chamber , but did not consult with the white house before officially reaching out to the israeli leader . the speech is slated for march 3 but many congressional democrats have urged the israeli leader to reconsider delivering the speech , and have also asked the speaker to shift the date . they argue the timing -- two weeks before the election in israel -- is inappropriate . but democrats'larger issue with the speech is it gives netanyahu a broad public platform for his strong criticism of the obama administration 's negotiations with iran . they worry that the israeli leader 's message could jeopardize the international talks over iran 's nuclear program , which are approaching a critical deadline . a move to shift the speech to a venue outside the capitol , or deliver the speech in a closed chamber could be a face saving compromise for netanyahu . he could still deliver his sharp message on iran , but also repair the damage he 's done to his relationship with democrats on the hill , who are angry their allegiance to a key ally is being questioned . ron dermer , the israeli ambassador to the u.s. made the rounds last week on capitol hill , meeting with frustrated house democrats , including some jewish members , who lashed out at his handling of the matter . dermer met with rep. eliot engel of new york , the top democrat on the house foreign relations committee . he also met with others including rep. steve israel , d-new york , rep. jan schakowsky , d-illinois , rep. sander levin , d-michigan , rep. debbie wasserman schultz , d-florida , rep. nita lowey , d-new york . while affirming their support for israel , these members urged netanyahu to reconsider coming to the house floor , and suggested moving the speech to another venue -- anywhere in washington outside the chamber , according to one source familiar with these discussions . an israeli source says they are looking at the possibility of netanyahu speaking somewhere else , or in a closed session on the house floor . in exchange for the shift , netanyahu would potentially add a meeting with top congressional leaders to his schedule . they also hope to have a meeting with white house officials in which the president could drop by , though there 's little evidence the administration is interested in making such a deal . one senior house republican leadership aide tells cnn the speaker 's office is moving forward with plans for netanyahu 's visit . obama acknowledged his very real difference ' with netanyahu over iran at a joint press conference with german chancellor angela merkel on monday . he also reiterated his position that he did n't support a public address so close to the israeli election . we have a practice of not meeting with leaders right before their elections , two weeks before their elections . as much as i love angela , if she was two weeks away from an election , she probably would not have received an invitation to the white house , and i suspect she would n't have asked for one , ' obama said . on friday , vice president joe biden 's office announced he would not attend the speech because he will be traveling abroad . when foreign leaders are invited to address the house and senate , the vice president typically attends speeches and sits on the dais behind the leader - a public image beamed around the world . biden 's office did not release any details of his trip but said it had been in the works for a while . as we have consistently said , this is an event that was coordinated between the israelis and speaker boehner . we are not playing a role in this event , ' a senior obama administration official told cnn . last week , house democratic leader nancy pelosi said she hoped that netanyahu 's speech would be cancelled . while pelosi conceded that she had no reason from her discussions with israeli officials to think that the speech that netanyahu would withdraw from the invitation , she strongly suggested circumstances could change . you never know , things happen in people 's schedules , ' pelosi said . asked if she planned to attend the joint meeting , pelosi said , as of now it is my intention to go . ' but other house democrats , including several members of the congressional black caucus , say they will boycott the speech if it goes ahead as scheduled . netanyahu 's likud party is in a close election race with the center-left opposition led by labor party chairman isaac herzog and former justice minister tzipi livni , who leads a small centrist party . both herzog and livni , who have teamed up to form an alliance in the election , have criticized netanyahu 's decision to address congress and have urged him to cancel it . netanyahu has campaigned on a tough-against-iran platform and has been accused of using the speech as a way to play up those credentials with voters . on sunday , he addressed french-speaking members of his likud party , doubling down on the decision to address congress on march 3 , saying i will go any place i 'm invited to convey the israeli position against those who want to kill us ' . but there are signs the controversy is impacting netanyahu 's standing in the polls , with the israeli media and public voicing concern that netanyahu is contributing to further strains between israel and the united states , its closest ally . an israel army radio poll on monday said only 34 % of israelis think netanyahu should go ahead with the address , while 47 % think he should cancel . another poll published by the times of israel on monday showed netanyahu 's party four seats in the knesset behind herzog and livni 's zionist camp alliance . cnn 's jim acosta contributed to this report | netanyahu scheduled to address congress march 3 |
stoner <tsp> ( cnn ) -- australian motogp star casey stoner will leave ducati at the end of the season to join japanese manufacturer honda . the 24-year-old actually made his motogp debut with the satellite lcr honda outfit in 2006 before moving to ducati , where he won the world title in 2007 . we are very pleased that casey will join honda again next year , ' the factory-team 's vice president shuhei nakamoto told the official motogp website . clearly he is one of the top riders in motogp and he will bring valuable speed and experience to our team . we already have two very strong and experienced riders in dani pedrosa and andrea dovizioso who are performing very well and currently hold second and third positions in the 2010 world championship . we hope to retain these two riders for next year -- giving us what would be a truly formidable line-up . ' stoner added : i have decided to move on . i will have new challenges in the future and different obstacles to overcome , but i will not forget these years with ducati and the people i have had the privilege to work with . ' world champion valentino rossi is now expected to leave yamaha to link-up with his fellow-italians at ducati . rossi is currently recuperating from a broken leg suffered at the italian grand prix last month but is expected to return before the end of the season . | stoner will join dani pedrosa and andrea dovizioso in a formidable line-up next year |
stoner <tsp> ( cnn ) -- australian motogp star casey stoner will leave ducati at the end of the season to join japanese manufacturer honda . the 24-year-old actually made his motogp debut with the satellite lcr honda outfit in 2006 before moving to ducati , where he won the world title in 2007 . we are very pleased that casey will join honda again next year , ' the factory-team 's vice president shuhei nakamoto told the official motogp website . clearly he is one of the top riders in motogp and he will bring valuable speed and experience to our team . we already have two very strong and experienced riders in dani pedrosa and andrea dovizioso who are performing very well and currently hold second and third positions in the 2010 world championship . we hope to retain these two riders for next year -- giving us what would be a truly formidable line-up . ' stoner added : i have decided to move on . i will have new challenges in the future and different obstacles to overcome , but i will not forget these years with ducati and the people i have had the privilege to work with . ' world champion valentino rossi is now expected to leave yamaha to link-up with his fellow-italians at ducati . rossi is currently recuperating from a broken leg suffered at the italian grand prix last month but is expected to return before the end of the season . | australian motogp star casey stoner will leave ducati at the end of the current season |
earth <tsp> ( cnn ) -- on december 11 , 1997 , the world agreed that climate change needed to be tackled . the grandly named united nations framework on climate change adopted the kyoto protocol on that day , and it was eventually ratified by 191 countries . now it 's about to expire with a whimper . of the major industrial powers , only the european union is prepared to continue adhering to the kyoto pact 's provisions on cutting greenhouse gases into 2013 . canada , russia and japan have already said they wo n't . the united states never ratified the agreement . so attention is turning to devising a kyoto 2.0 . ' cnn special : five cities fighting for climate survival this week , nearly 200 delegations have gathered in qatar to plan for a new international climate pact that would come into effect in 2020 . but there are huge disagreements between developed and developing countries over sharing the burden . the kyoto agreement envisaged binding cuts in emissions by the industrialized world -- but not by rapidly industrializing countries like china and india . they are now the largest and third-largest generator of carbon emissions , respectively , and developing countries account for more than half the world 's emissions , according to the international energy agency . read more : how wasted food is destroying the environment the global economic slowdown has helped curb emissions in the developed world . but china and the united states were together responsible for more than 40 % of emissions in 2009 . u.s. emissions of carbon dioxide have risen by 10.5 % since 1990 . and china is heavily reliant on coal -- the most carbon-intensive of fossil fuels -- to drive its economic growth . the stakes for the environmental health of the globe and its citizens have gotten a lot higher in the last 15 years , amid widespread crop failures in the northern hemisphere , changing weather patterns , acidifying oceans and a record ice melt in the arctic ocean . right now , a russian tanker carrying liquefied natural gas is steaming through the arctic on its way to japan -- the first such vessel ever to take the route , thanks to thinner ice cover . read more : images from space track relentless spread of humanity the last decade has seen nine of the hottest years on record . and in a new report , the world bank cites the nearly unanimous ' prediction by scientists that the globe will warm by as much as 4 degrees celsius this century . it expects the consequences to include the inundation of coastal cities ; increasing risks for food production potentially leading to higher malnutrition rates ; many dry regions becoming dryer , wet regions wetter . ' recent extreme heat waves such as in russia in 2010 are likely to become the new normal . ... tropical south america , central africa , and all tropical islands in the pacific are likely to regularly experience heat waves of unprecedented magnitude and duration , ' according to the world bank study . the world meteorological organization , a u.n. agency , reported last week that global carbon dioxide emissions had risen by 50 % since 1990 . there 's fresh evidence that they are still rising , and an overwhelming majority of climate scientists say the warming of the planet is accelerating , with consequences we ca n't predict . scientists describe this as the cascade of uncertainties . ' read more : arab youth offers hope for doha climate talks the wmo calculates that the volume of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has now reached 390.9 parts per million , roughly 40 % higher than the level before the industrial revolution . 375 billion tons of carbon have been released into the atmosphere since 1750 . about half has been absorbed by the oceans and the earth 's biosphere ; the rest will remain in the atmosphere for centuries , gradually cooking the planet . read more : greenhouse gases reached record highs in 2011 , says u.n. study the latest data from the wmo also shows that emissions of nitrous oxide are 20 % higher than in the preindustrial era , and are accelerating . that 's a cause for concern because nitrous oxide is much more toxic ' that carbon dioxide ; its impact on the climate is about 300 times greater . about 40 % of the nitrous oxide emitted is from human activity , according to wmo estimates . there are glimmers of renewed interest in climate change . president barack obama , in his victory speech on the night of the election , said he wanted to pass on a country that is n't threatened by the destructive power of a warming planet . ' the european union has already cut in its emissions by one-fifth , compared with 1990 , and is considering extending that to 30 % by 2020 . a u.n. program is encouraging small-scale projects that address warming at the local level . one such project is in the sprawling indian city of ahmedabad , where a fleet of buses running on compressed natural gas is reducing air pollution . in a city of 7 million , one-fifth of commuters have jumped off their motorcycles and scooters and onto the buses . read more : chasing down the world 's vanishing glaciers but there is already widespread doubt that at the global level , aspirations will be matched by deeds . three years ago , at the abortive climate talks in copenhagen , denmark , rich countries promised the poor they would raise $ 100 billion by 2020 to help them cope with climate change . budget pressures in developed countries make that target look very distant now . nongovernmental organizations like oxfam are lobbying for new taxes on the aviation and shipping industries to help raise the money . they contrast the rapid recovery in the u.s. from the effects of hurricane sandy with the disastrous consequences from the same storm for haiti , where up to 2 million people may face malnutrition after crops were washed away . the notion of shared sacrifice is not one familiar to climate talks . china never tires of pointing out that while it is the largest emitter of carbon dioxide , its emissions per capita are still far lower than those of the u.s . but that may not be for long : last year alone , they rose 9 % . the danger , according to multiple scientific studies , is that without a redoubling of efforts to curb emissions , the goal enshrined in kyoto , japan , of restraining warming to 2 degrees celsius this century , compared with the preindustrial era , will soon be unattainable . right now , the goal of limiting warming to 2 degrees by 2100 seems like a pipe dream . if emissions continue their current path , the target will be breached within two decades . read more : raising a stink about global sanitation the european environment agency says the average temperature on the continent in the last decade was already 1.3 degrees celsius above the preindustrial level . the vast majority of glaciers in europe are retreating ; river flows are decreasing throughout southern and eastern europe . by the late 21st century , european plant species are projected to shift several hundred kilometers to the north , forests are likely to contract in the south and expand in the north , and about half of the mountain plant species may face extinction , ' the eea says . farmers in the u.s. midwest have just endured the worst drought in 50 years ; the bread baskets of ukraine and russia have similarly shriveled in the face of intense heat . technologies exist that will allow humanity to make a rapid dent on emissions . renewable energy accounts for double the amount of power it did just six years ago . carbon sinks deep underground can capture and store emissions from gas flaring . better vehicle emissions standards , reforestation and a developed carbon trading market would all help . there are all sorts of green gestures at the 18th meeting of the united nations framework on climate change in qatar , one of the world 's highest emitters of carbon dioxide per capita . examples are paperless ' documentation and buses run on natural gas to ferry delegates to the conference center , which is partly powered by solar panels . but the political will required of 194 delegations to bring the world closer to a new climate pact is yet to be tested . | earth is seeing crop failures , new weather patterns , record ice melt , acidifying oceans |
business traveller <tsp> london , england ( cnn ) -- days after thick snow brought london to a standstill , the traditional drizzle has returned and it is business as usual in the bustling british capital . the snowmen who populated london during the heaviest snowfall in 18 years are looking worse for wear . the pavement might be slippery with ice but the resumption of the bus and rail services means that you 'll at least be able to move around the city . all airports in the south are operating normally -- albeit with some delays -- so there 's no excuse to stay away . with that in mind , cnn business traveller has compiled a guide for visitors to the city . it is still wise to bring an umbrella , but this week you may want to throw in a couple of ski poles . time zone : london is currently on greenwich mean time ( gmt ) , five hours ahead of eastern standard time and eight hours behind hong kong . from the airport : non-stop train services link gatwick , heathrow and stansted aiports with central london . the heathrow express takes 15 minutes to paddington station and costs from $ 24 ( £16.50 ) for a single journey . the london underground costs only $ 6 ( £4 ) but takes an hour . a breakfast meeting : visitors with a healthy budget and appetite might want to start the day at the grand café in the wolseley ( 160 piccadilly , w1j ) where you where you can buy a traditional fry-up or the english ' for just shy of $ 20 ( £13.50 ) . a budget option with no less of a london flavor can be found at the the cock tavern ( east poultry avenue , ec1a ) in the heart of smithfield market . meat has been traded there for 800 years and early in the morning you can still see butchers plying their trade in bloodied coats . for dinner : impress with a table at one of london 's most famous restaurants , le gavroche ( 43 upper brook street , w1k ) or gordon ramsay at claridge 's ( brook street , w1k ) . for a cheaper option try a traditional pie and mash shop , the once staple of working class east london life . one of the oldest is m manze ( 87 tower bridge road , se1 ) that sells jellied eels as well as pie and mash amid the traditional decor of tiled walls , wooden benches and white marble table-tops . for a drink : two of the oldest london pubs include ye olde cheshire cheese ( 145 fleet street , ec4a ) in the city of london and the prospect of whitby ( 57 wapping wall , e1w ) a short walk along the thames from canary wharf . for one of the best hotel bars try the lanesborough ( hyde park corner , sw1x ) and one aldwych ( 1 aldwych , wc2b ) . high-flyers can also take in the view over a drink at vertigo 42 , the champagne bar atop tower 42 ( 25 old broad street , ec2n ) . tipping : expect to tip around 10 percent in restaurants and cabs , but no tips are expected in bars . on a fine afternoon ( they do exist ) : visit st james 's park to seek out its pelicans and to catch a view of buckingham palace from the bridge on the lake . then walk via westminster abbey to waterloo bridge for spectacular views of the palace of westminster , somerset house and victoria embankment . finish with a ride on the london eye . staying dry : improve your swing at one of london 's indoor golf centers . urban golf ( soho and smithfield ) features eight simulators , two putting greens , a bar and lounge and coaching . shelter can also be found in some of london 's iconic department stores . harrods and harvey nichols are both in knightsbridge . opening hours : most shops and businesses are open from 9 a.m. or 10 a.m. until 6 p.m . larger stores in central london stay open till 7 p.m or 8 p.m. and later on thursdays . what to avoid : the crowds of tourists in leicester square , the trocadero and the ubiquitous scottish steakhouses in london 's west end . transport : be warned : a single-stop tube journey in central london costs $ 8 ( £4 ) . to save money buy an oyster card , which can be used on london 's underground ( £1.60 per single-stop journey ) , buses , trams and some overland rail services . black cabs can be hailed anywhere . fares are high but the pay-off is that all drivers must pass the knowledge ' -- an in-depth exam on navigating around london -- which means they really do know where they are going . do n't miss in february : in 2009 the royal botanic gardens at kew ( richmond , tw9 ) is celebrating its 250th anniversary with a tropical extravaganza ' of exotic plants in one of its conservatories . the natural history museum ( cromwell road , sw7 ) is commemorating the bicentenary of charles darwin 's birth and 150th year of the publication of on the origin of species with a major exhibition . a number of star-studded plays have also just opened in london 's theatreland . imelda staunton , star of harry potter , is in joe orton 's entertaining mr sloane ( trafalgar studios until april 11 ) . james mcavoy is in richard greenberg 's three days of rain ( apollo theatre until may 2 ) . what to pack : february is a particularly bleak and cold month in britain so pack an umbrella and warm clothes . for a handy keepsake of the city , buy an umbrella on arrival from james smith & sons ( 53 new oxford street , wc1a ) . the shop has hardly changed since it opened in 1830 and offers an impressive range of umbrellas and essential gentlemen 's accessories . oh , and do n't forget to pack thermals and some decent footwear . what are your tips for london visitors ? sound off below | cnn 's business traveller offers advice for business travellers in london |
tibetan <tsp> hong kong ( cnn ) -- when a downtrodden tunisian street vendor set himself on fire in protest after his vegetable cart was confiscated by officials , this desperate act of self-sacrifice was seen as a catalyst for a revolution that became known as the arab spring . contrast this with china , where almost 80 people -- men and women -- have self-immolated since 2009 in protest against beijing 's poor treatment of tibet , according to rights groups . yet details of these cases are often sketchy and difficult to verify , such is the stranglehold china has over the region . as a result the issue has yet to gain real traction internationally . beijing has consistently rejected claims it is guilty of oppression in the region and insists tibetans enjoy religious freedom and better living standards under its rule . yet the self-immolations continue . this week , a 34-year-old father of two burned himself to death in front of a mine in the western province of gansu , while another 25-year-old man set himself alight near a monastery in neighboring qinghai province -- which borders tibet , known by china as the tibet autonomous region . both cases were confirmed by china 's state-run xinhua news agency . according to the tibetan government-in-exile and tibetan rights groups , the victims died chanting slogans calling for freedom for the tibetan people and the return from exile of their spiritual leader , the dalai lama . this brought the number of deaths by self-immolation to 15 in november alone -- the same month that china 's political elite ushered in its next generation of leaders during the 18th party congress . in their keynote addresses , leaders , both old and new , appeared to strike a conciliatory tone . in his first speech as communist party leader last week , xi jinping stressed the need for unity in a country where the party was becoming too distant from the people . this followed predecessor hu jintao 's comments to congress delegates that the party should consolidate and develop socialist ethnic relations of equality , unity , mutual assistance and harmony so that all ethnic groups in china will live and develop together in harmony . ' but activists warn that if the chinese government continues to tighten its grip on the tibetan people in the name of stability , it will only create more resentment . they point to the growing list of young victims prepared to take such extreme action , which they say reflects a desperate and painful state of mind for many . the tibet autonomous region is heavily policed by chinese security forces , with internet content controlled by local authorities and access by foreign media largely prohibited , making reliable information almost impossible to come by . pro-tibetan groups such as the international tibet network , say thousands of people have died over the years under china 's tenure , through torture , execution , suicides and starvation -- though cnn can not verify these claims . the groups also claim tibetans have gradually become the minority population in their own homeland , as han chinese -- china 's main ethnic group -- have migrated to the region . london-based free tibet says the construction of a rail link to tibet 's capital , lhasa , in 2006 -- part of china 's western development strategy ( wds ) -- was intended to cement its control over the restive western regions of china , particularly tibet and xinjiang , where separatism remains strong . the incidents are a clear indication of the genuine grievances of the tibetans and their sense of deep resentment and despair over the prevailing conditions in tibet , ' tibetan leader in exile , lobsang sangay , said earlier this year . his government-in-exile has repeatedly called on the international community to intervene to prevent further bloodshed . chinese authorities insist that self-immolations are isolated incidents and most tibetans do not sympathize with or support such actions . a senior official from sichuan , a province with a large tibetan population that has seen the most self-immolation cases so far , says he knows exactly who 's to blame -- the dalai lama : the man beijing calls a terrorist . ' they plot , incite and instigate -- the root cause for such acts is the dalai lama clique , ' li changping told cnn . his loyalists have called those who committed self-immolation national heroes or freedom fighters , vowing to build them monuments and rewarding their families with lots of money . ' the dalai lama has long denied china 's assertion that he 's seeking tibetan independence , saying he wants only an autonomy that would offer protection for their traditional buddhist culture . during an address to japanese lawmakers in tokyo earlier this month , he blamed narrow-minded communist officials ' for seeing buddhist culture as a threat . he then called on chinese authorities to investigate and address the causes of the recent surge in self-immolations . i always ask the chinese government : please , now , thoroughly investigate . what is the cause of these sort of sad things ? ' beijing 's claim over the region is rooted in history . it says tibet has been a part of china since the 13th century , when the mongol empire , which conquered china and formed the yuan dynasty , also conquered tibet . western and central parts of tibet are administered by china as the tibet autonomous region , while eastern parts of the region fall under china 's sichuan , qinghai , yunnan and gansu provinces . after several decades of de facto independence beginning in 1912 , tibet was over-run by china 's people 's liberation army in 1950 to enforce the newly-formed people 's republic of china 's claim of sovereignty over tibet . in 1959 , thousands of tibetans surrounded the dalai lama 's palace in lhasa †” the tibetan capital -- to protect him against what was rumored to be a plot by the chinese military to abduct him . the gathering turned into an all-out revolt against chinese rule , which was suppressed by the pla . the dalai lama fled to india , where he has remained in exile ever since . cnn 's steven jiang contributed to this report . | china says its rule has brought economic stability to the tibetan people |
tibetan <tsp> hong kong ( cnn ) -- when a downtrodden tunisian street vendor set himself on fire in protest after his vegetable cart was confiscated by officials , this desperate act of self-sacrifice was seen as a catalyst for a revolution that became known as the arab spring . contrast this with china , where almost 80 people -- men and women -- have self-immolated since 2009 in protest against beijing 's poor treatment of tibet , according to rights groups . yet details of these cases are often sketchy and difficult to verify , such is the stranglehold china has over the region . as a result the issue has yet to gain real traction internationally . beijing has consistently rejected claims it is guilty of oppression in the region and insists tibetans enjoy religious freedom and better living standards under its rule . yet the self-immolations continue . this week , a 34-year-old father of two burned himself to death in front of a mine in the western province of gansu , while another 25-year-old man set himself alight near a monastery in neighboring qinghai province -- which borders tibet , known by china as the tibet autonomous region . both cases were confirmed by china 's state-run xinhua news agency . according to the tibetan government-in-exile and tibetan rights groups , the victims died chanting slogans calling for freedom for the tibetan people and the return from exile of their spiritual leader , the dalai lama . this brought the number of deaths by self-immolation to 15 in november alone -- the same month that china 's political elite ushered in its next generation of leaders during the 18th party congress . in their keynote addresses , leaders , both old and new , appeared to strike a conciliatory tone . in his first speech as communist party leader last week , xi jinping stressed the need for unity in a country where the party was becoming too distant from the people . this followed predecessor hu jintao 's comments to congress delegates that the party should consolidate and develop socialist ethnic relations of equality , unity , mutual assistance and harmony so that all ethnic groups in china will live and develop together in harmony . ' but activists warn that if the chinese government continues to tighten its grip on the tibetan people in the name of stability , it will only create more resentment . they point to the growing list of young victims prepared to take such extreme action , which they say reflects a desperate and painful state of mind for many . the tibet autonomous region is heavily policed by chinese security forces , with internet content controlled by local authorities and access by foreign media largely prohibited , making reliable information almost impossible to come by . pro-tibetan groups such as the international tibet network , say thousands of people have died over the years under china 's tenure , through torture , execution , suicides and starvation -- though cnn can not verify these claims . the groups also claim tibetans have gradually become the minority population in their own homeland , as han chinese -- china 's main ethnic group -- have migrated to the region . london-based free tibet says the construction of a rail link to tibet 's capital , lhasa , in 2006 -- part of china 's western development strategy ( wds ) -- was intended to cement its control over the restive western regions of china , particularly tibet and xinjiang , where separatism remains strong . the incidents are a clear indication of the genuine grievances of the tibetans and their sense of deep resentment and despair over the prevailing conditions in tibet , ' tibetan leader in exile , lobsang sangay , said earlier this year . his government-in-exile has repeatedly called on the international community to intervene to prevent further bloodshed . chinese authorities insist that self-immolations are isolated incidents and most tibetans do not sympathize with or support such actions . a senior official from sichuan , a province with a large tibetan population that has seen the most self-immolation cases so far , says he knows exactly who 's to blame -- the dalai lama : the man beijing calls a terrorist . ' they plot , incite and instigate -- the root cause for such acts is the dalai lama clique , ' li changping told cnn . his loyalists have called those who committed self-immolation national heroes or freedom fighters , vowing to build them monuments and rewarding their families with lots of money . ' the dalai lama has long denied china 's assertion that he 's seeking tibetan independence , saying he wants only an autonomy that would offer protection for their traditional buddhist culture . during an address to japanese lawmakers in tokyo earlier this month , he blamed narrow-minded communist officials ' for seeing buddhist culture as a threat . he then called on chinese authorities to investigate and address the causes of the recent surge in self-immolations . i always ask the chinese government : please , now , thoroughly investigate . what is the cause of these sort of sad things ? ' beijing 's claim over the region is rooted in history . it says tibet has been a part of china since the 13th century , when the mongol empire , which conquered china and formed the yuan dynasty , also conquered tibet . western and central parts of tibet are administered by china as the tibet autonomous region , while eastern parts of the region fall under china 's sichuan , qinghai , yunnan and gansu provinces . after several decades of de facto independence beginning in 1912 , tibet was over-run by china 's people 's liberation army in 1950 to enforce the newly-formed people 's republic of china 's claim of sovereignty over tibet . in 1959 , thousands of tibetans surrounded the dalai lama 's palace in lhasa †” the tibetan capital -- to protect him against what was rumored to be a plot by the chinese military to abduct him . the gathering turned into an all-out revolt against chinese rule , which was suppressed by the pla . the dalai lama fled to india , where he has remained in exile ever since . cnn 's steven jiang contributed to this report . | activists warn china 's tightening grip on the tibetan people is creating more resentment |
kamron taylor <tsp> ( cnn ) just over a month ago , kamron taylor sat in an illinois courtroom to hear a jury convict him of murder . early wednesday morning , taylor sat in an illinois jail . hiding outside his cell . ready to pounce . when he did , his victim was a correctional officer making his rounds , according to kankakee county sheriff timothy bukowski . taylor beat up the guard , put on his uniform and took his keys . he then walked out of the jail 's door and into the officer 's brown 2012 chevrolet equinox suv . where the 23-year-old , who was set to be sentenced in may , is now is anybody 's guess . the equinox was discovered around 8:30 a.m. ( 9:30 a.m . et ) in kankakee , but without any sign of the convicted murderer who drove it . looking for taylor is job no . 1 for authorities . no . 2 is figuring out how he managed to first get out of his cell , then get out of the jerome combs detention center and on the lam . the question for us is where did ( the county correctional system ) break down , ' bukowski said . it looks right now ( like ) somebody did n't do their job properly . ' what authorities do know is based on video , other evidence and interviews with witnesses -- namely other inmates at the kankakee jail . what they do n't know is how taylor got out of his two-man cell , when he should have been locked down . but somehow he did , and hid . and then when the opportunity arose , he attacked the officer , ' bukowski said , noting that taylor attacked from the side ' around 3 a.m. beat him , choked him . ' he then apparently disrobed the guard , a military veteran and 10-year employee of the corrections department . the guard was left on the jail floor , going in and out of consciousness , for about 35 minutes before authorities -- concerned because the guard had n't responded to calls -- found him , the sheriff said . they then called the ambulance and we were notified and put out an alert , ' added bukowski . by then , taylor was gone . he 'd pushed a button to notify master control ' that he wanted to leave , which means his identity would have been checked by camera . we think that because he had the officer 's uniform on , ' the sheriff explained , that 's how he was able to effectively escape . ' taylor walked out the door and into the detention center 's parking lot , where , authorities said , he clicked the correctional officer 's key fob to find the chevy equinox . that officer is now in an intensive care unit at st. mary 's hospital in kankakee , bukowski said . the manhunt , meanwhile , continues for taylor . he has a history of trouble with the law that predates his murder conviction , including an august 2009 sentence of five years , 10 months in tennessee for robbery and resisting arrest . taylor was on parole for that crime when he killed a man during a june 2013 botched robbery . a jury convicted him of murder in that incident in late february . after the verdict was read , taylor sat down , looked back , then got up and ran , according to the daily journal in kankakee . bailiffs and sheriff 's deputies wrestled him to the ground , eventually leading him out of the courtroom as he cursed . now a $ 5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to his arrest . the fact that he tried to get away once before and has been involved in fights raises an alert , i guess , ' the kankakee county sheriff said . but we figure that the people who are locked up in our facility are n't altar boys , and we take certain precautions for all of them , ' bukowski added . and you ca n't become complacent with anybody , especially murderers . ' cnn 's john newsome contributed to this report . | kamron taylor also tried to escape a courtroom after being convicted of murder in february |
germans <tsp> ( cnn ) -- germans may be full of indignation at the alleged tapping of angela merkel 's phone by the u.s national security agency -- but the outrage is more than the disappointment of being betrayed by a friend , for the shadows of germany 's past are never far away . not 25 years ago , chancellor merkel was a young scientist behind the iron curtain . she grew up a pastor 's daughter which , under one party communist rule in east germany , put her on the fringes of society . people who moved in religious circles were considered problematic because they often did not conform to the party line . and those who did n't follow party rules came under scrutiny , had their choices of a career and a life limited , and sooner or later became a case for the stasi , the secret police of east germany . it was the stasi , the shield and sword ' of the communist party , that was charged with ensuring the power of the party . and it did that mostly by monitoring of people and their behavior . because even in a regime as repressive as east germany , people wanted to express who they really were . many found the courage to follow their hearts and thus became a danger to the existing power structure . that is why the stasi became an all-encompassing entity in east germany . it had to have its eyes and ears everywhere possible to make sure enemies ' of the party were uncovered early and disrupted in their activity . opinion : merkel 's anger is genuine in the fall of 1989 , shortly before the berlin wall fell , the stasi had 91,000 staffers and some 173,000 unofficial collaborators , according to their own files . many more contributed through official functions to the information gathering of the secret police on co-workers , fellow students , neighbors , visitors , even friends and sometimes family . any and all technical means , including phone tapping , were used by the stasi to gather information . many thousands of people landed in jail for their desire to travel freely , to express their opinions openly and to vote for candidates they wanted -- to exercise their human rights , in essence . when finally people gathered the courage to stand up against the repression of the communist party , one of the accomplishments of the peaceful revolution of 1989 was the opening of the stasi archive . people demanded the accessibility of these files to reclaim their stolen lives , to make public and transparent the secret system that had kept them under control for so long . over the past 20 years germany through the stasi archives has examined the exact mechanisms of control through the secret police to better understand their vast network of information gathering and its consequences on the lives of many people . this has been a constant part of public debate in germany . in its course the stasi became synonymous for blanket surveillance and for uncontrolled access of a state into its own citizens'lives . so when the chancellor 's phone is bugged , germans do n't have the bliss of ignorance as americans might have . germans ca n't convince themselves that surveillance might serve a higher purpose , or that it 's acceptable because it 's happening to everyone else in the world . unlike the americans we have experienced the dangers of a nation that condones unchecked state power . we 've seen the results when a state does not respect laws and its citizens'right to privacy and human rights . opinion : why white house'ignorance'does n't cut it granted , it is not as simple as the nsa = the stasi . ' we have thoroughly studied the mechanisms of dictatorship so we can sharpen our senses for democracy . what is different today ? phone tapping as a source of information gathering is an intelligence tool regardless of the regime using it . discussing it in public and demanding stricter rules for its implementation is something that was not possible for four decades in east germany . it is something we do today , knowing full well the dangers to democracy if we do n't . the vast ocean of digital information that each and every one of us contributes to as a consequence of modern life has created a new reality . it has created never before imagined opportunities for businesses , for personal connectivity , for politics , and for intelligence gathering . and it also makes one wonder what the stasi would have done with a vast information hub like facebook that would have let it pry into many , many lives and gather personal information beyond its wildest dreams . but it is precisely because of the stasi 's hunger for information and its abuse of east germany 's citizens that we are today so sensitive about modern day surveillance . it is not just about a wiretapped phone -- it is a reminder of the fragility of free societies . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of dagmar hovestädt . | hovestädt : germans have seen danger of condoning unchecked state power |
germans <tsp> ( cnn ) -- germans may be full of indignation at the alleged tapping of angela merkel 's phone by the u.s national security agency -- but the outrage is more than the disappointment of being betrayed by a friend , for the shadows of germany 's past are never far away . not 25 years ago , chancellor merkel was a young scientist behind the iron curtain . she grew up a pastor 's daughter which , under one party communist rule in east germany , put her on the fringes of society . people who moved in religious circles were considered problematic because they often did not conform to the party line . and those who did n't follow party rules came under scrutiny , had their choices of a career and a life limited , and sooner or later became a case for the stasi , the secret police of east germany . it was the stasi , the shield and sword ' of the communist party , that was charged with ensuring the power of the party . and it did that mostly by monitoring of people and their behavior . because even in a regime as repressive as east germany , people wanted to express who they really were . many found the courage to follow their hearts and thus became a danger to the existing power structure . that is why the stasi became an all-encompassing entity in east germany . it had to have its eyes and ears everywhere possible to make sure enemies ' of the party were uncovered early and disrupted in their activity . opinion : merkel 's anger is genuine in the fall of 1989 , shortly before the berlin wall fell , the stasi had 91,000 staffers and some 173,000 unofficial collaborators , according to their own files . many more contributed through official functions to the information gathering of the secret police on co-workers , fellow students , neighbors , visitors , even friends and sometimes family . any and all technical means , including phone tapping , were used by the stasi to gather information . many thousands of people landed in jail for their desire to travel freely , to express their opinions openly and to vote for candidates they wanted -- to exercise their human rights , in essence . when finally people gathered the courage to stand up against the repression of the communist party , one of the accomplishments of the peaceful revolution of 1989 was the opening of the stasi archive . people demanded the accessibility of these files to reclaim their stolen lives , to make public and transparent the secret system that had kept them under control for so long . over the past 20 years germany through the stasi archives has examined the exact mechanisms of control through the secret police to better understand their vast network of information gathering and its consequences on the lives of many people . this has been a constant part of public debate in germany . in its course the stasi became synonymous for blanket surveillance and for uncontrolled access of a state into its own citizens'lives . so when the chancellor 's phone is bugged , germans do n't have the bliss of ignorance as americans might have . germans ca n't convince themselves that surveillance might serve a higher purpose , or that it 's acceptable because it 's happening to everyone else in the world . unlike the americans we have experienced the dangers of a nation that condones unchecked state power . we 've seen the results when a state does not respect laws and its citizens'right to privacy and human rights . opinion : why white house'ignorance'does n't cut it granted , it is not as simple as the nsa = the stasi . ' we have thoroughly studied the mechanisms of dictatorship so we can sharpen our senses for democracy . what is different today ? phone tapping as a source of information gathering is an intelligence tool regardless of the regime using it . discussing it in public and demanding stricter rules for its implementation is something that was not possible for four decades in east germany . it is something we do today , knowing full well the dangers to democracy if we do n't . the vast ocean of digital information that each and every one of us contributes to as a consequence of modern life has created a new reality . it has created never before imagined opportunities for businesses , for personal connectivity , for politics , and for intelligence gathering . and it also makes one wonder what the stasi would have done with a vast information hub like facebook that would have let it pry into many , many lives and gather personal information beyond its wildest dreams . but it is precisely because of the stasi 's hunger for information and its abuse of east germany 's citizens that we are today so sensitive about modern day surveillance . it is not just about a wiretapped phone -- it is a reminder of the fragility of free societies . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of dagmar hovestädt . | hovestädt : germans see surveillance differently than u.s. due to stasi |
champions league <tsp> ( cnn ) -- argentine midfielder esteban cambiasso scored the winning goal as jose mourinho 's inter milan defeated former club chelsea 2-1 in the first leg of their champions league last 16 tie at the san siro . cambiasso drilled home a low shot from 18 yards out , just four minutes after chelsea had levelled matters , to leave the tie finely poised ahead of the second leg at stamford bridge in three weeks . all the talk beforehand had been about the two coaches , mourinho and carlo ancelotti -- with no love lost between the pair from when ancelotti was in charge of inter 's rivals ac milan , who share the san siro with them . added to the mix was the fact that mourinho was still highly-thought of by many at chelsea after leading the club to successive league titles in 2005 and 2006 . and it was mourinho 's side who struck first , taking a third minute lead when diego milito cut inside john terry before firing home a shot inside goalkeeper petr cech 's right-hand post . in a frantic opening 45 minutes , didier drogba struck the bar for chelsea with a fierce free-kick while they also had a penalty claim for a tackle on salomon kalou turned down . however , chelsea did equalize six minute after the re-start . fine work from right-back branislav ivanovic saw him skip a couple of challenges before laying the ball off to kalou , who curled home a shot fromt he edge of the area that goalkeeper julio cesar should have done better with . but cambiasso quickly restored inter 's advantage and cesar then made up for his error on the goal by keeping out frank lampard 's close-range strike . chelsea may have to do without keeper cech for the second leg . the czech republic international appeared to damage his knee while rolling the ball out and had to be stretchered off . his possible absence would be a major blow for the london side as they fight for trophies on three fronts this season . meanwhile , in the evening 's other champions league tie , primera liga side sevilla look favorites to progress after earning a 1-1 draw at cska moscow . alvaro negredo gave the spanish side a 25th minute lead when tapping home at the far post from a pinpoint jesus navas cross . but the home side levelled midway through the second half when mark gonzalaez , who ironically joined cska in the summer from sevilla 's city rivals real betis , fired home an unstoppable long-range drive that gave goalkeeper igor akinfeev no chance . | the result leaves champions league last 16 tie evenly poised ahead of second leg |
obama <tsp> juan de la torre is living in the united states completely legally . he came here from mexico with his parents at age 14 . his father , a migrant worker , became a permanent resident and filed immigrant petitions for the whole family . eighteen years later , de la torre is still in a constant cycle of waiting to hear from u.s . citizenship and immigration services . he 's not an american citizen . he does n't even have a green card , or permanent residency status . he 's just in limbo , waiting to upgrade to a green card from his approved immigrant petition . in the immigration debate that has gripped the country , de la torre is one of many legal immigrants who feel they 've been overlooked . what to do about millions of undocumented immigrants has been discussed at length in government and the media . but legal immigrants , who say they 're spending countless hours and thousands of dollars to do it right , want reform to help their struggle , too . de la torre 's experience is n't unheard of . for most legal immigrants , it takes at least five years to become a citizen , and that 's after you already have a green card -- a process that can take years because of the finite number of visas available . some legal immigrants live in the united states for 10 years or more before finally becoming naturalized citizens . and they want you to know that , by the way , they 've had to pay taxes that whole time . president obama is listening to the country 's frustrations with the immigration process . he has already made immigration reform a second-term priority , and in his address on immigration this week , the president discussed both illegal and legal immigration . when talking about the legal immigration system , obama focused on the need to keep promising students and entrepreneurs in the country to help grow the american economy . he also stressed the importance of keeping families together . if you 're a citizen , you should n't have to wait years before your family is able to join you in america , ' obama said . while julie richard thought the president 's remarks were definitely a step in the right direction , ' she wished he had been more specific . she and her 7-month-old daughter belong to one of the families that have been torn apart . they ca n't live with her husband and almost never get to see him . richard is canadian , husband brandon gray is american and daughter freja was born in the states . when freja was 2 weeks old , richard and gray took her to canada to visit richard 's family . but when they tried to get back to their home in pennsylvania , richard was denied entrance to the united states . she no longer qualified for a visitor visa because she intended to stay . even though she had applied for a green card some time back , she says officials wo n't let her into the united states until she has it in hand , ' a process that could take up to a year . gray joining the family in canada is not an option -- he serves in the national guard and is a full-time college student -- so they 've been living apart for six months . richard recently found out she 's been granted an interview , the final step toward getting a green card , but she does n't yet know when it will be . i have stopped keeping track of all of the firsts ( gray ) is missing out on , ' she says . i do n't want to think about it and to tell him would only serve to break his heart even further . ' i regret to this day not calling a lawyer before leaving the ( united states ) , ' she added . i 'm not looking to jump the queue ; i just want to wait down in the states . ' even for families that are able to stay together , the hardships that come with waiting for citizenship are n't trivial . it took de la torre , the man who 's been waiting 18 years for a green card , eight years to get a bachelor 's degree . as a noncitizen , he was n't eligible for much financial aid and had to work part-time . other noncitizens are n't allowed to work at all . carlos paris is able to work , but says that comes with a set of problems all its own . a mechanical engineer originally from venezuela , he has been in the united states for eight years with his wife and two children on an h-1b visa , which is for foreign workers with specialized expertise . that means if he were to lose his job , he could be forced to leave the country . he worries about having to restart the entire immigration process from scratch -- a daunting prospect , given the expense and waiting time involved . i think ( politicians ) are going about this all wrong , ' paris says . you should cater to the well-prepared people , and cater to them well . restrict illegal immigration , but maintain a more reasonable legal immigration policy . ' de la torre , who says the immigration offices know him by name at this point , would like to see immigration policy that addresses both undocumented and documented immigrants . i 'm very happy they 're helping the 11 million people here illegally , but what are they doing for us ? ' he says . what good is it for me to be legal if they 're not going to help us ? i 've been paying taxes since i got my social security card when i was 21 . but yet i 'm not receiving anything back . ' | president obama addressed both legal and illegal immigration in his speech this week . |
democrats <tsp> ( cnn ) -- we all understand that the closer congress gets to an election , the more risk-averse it becomes . members just want to get re-elected and are n't looking to take any chances . that 's why lame-duck , post-election sessions are sadly often the most productive : once members feel safe ( or are even on their way out of office ) , they can actually do some real work . so the aerodynamics of congress as it gets close to an election are this : stop . go home . avoid real votes . par for the course . except for this : republicans have recently made a fetish of complaining that president barack obama wo n't let them vote on things . he does too much without us , they say . too many executive actions . too many new regulations . they even voted to sue him over his so-called abuse of power . are you willing to let any president choose what laws to execute and what laws to change ? ' house speaker john boehner intoned mightily on the house floor . are you willing to let anyone tear apart what our founders have built ? ' but wait . are these the same people who now are , um , ducking a vote on congressional authorization for action against isis ? while boehner told cnn 's dana bash that while it would be in the nation 's interest ' to speak ' on this question , he said it was up to the president to request it . we 've not gotten that . ' so , does the white house intend to send something wide-ranging to boehner ? not exactly . instead there will be a vote to authorize the arming of the syrian rebels . while the president would welcome ' further congressional action , a senior administration official says , we believe we have the authority that is necessary ' to wage war against isis . alphonse , meet gaston . hagel : if isis allowed to continue it will be threat to'homeland' not that it 's a surprise . we all know that in the world in which we live , congress -- with an approval rating of 14 % -- wants to take responsibility for things that are good and avoid responsibility for things that are risky . but here 's where each party makes us scratch our heads . in the past , republicans have believed -- strongly -- in the thesis that the chief executive has strong unilateral war-making authority . ( george w. bush went to congress to approve the iraq war , but only after much debate and pressure -- and even his vice president opposed the idea . ) so boehner 's position has historical precedent . except when you consider it in terms of the recent domestic debate : obama ca n't issue a domestic regulation , but he can unilaterally decide to go to war ? huh ? the democrats take the exact opposite posture . the president can issue strong policy regulations and orders when it comes to health care and the environment , but he should n't act without congress when it comes to war . ah , except in this case , because a democrat is president . and because democrats are worried a vote on the use of force could hurt them with their base in the election , which already looks perilous for their party . some unendangered democrats have publicly called for a vote , but their leaders are much more sheepish . right now we believe , as the president has stated , that he has the authority he needs , ' says house democratic leader nancy pelosi . for now , at least . so case closed ? not quite . there are plans this week to vote on the narrower proposition that has bipartisan support : arming the syrian rebels . but what about the larger issue of voting to authorize war against isis ? yea or nay ? check back -- after the election . that 's when politicians vote . | democrats fear a congressional vote 's impact on midterms , conflicted on presidential authority |
melzer <tsp> ( cnn ) -- world number three roger federer exited the monte carlo masters at the quarterfinals stage to austrian jurgen melzer friday . melzer was securing his first victory over the 16-time grand slam champion as he ran out a 6-4 6-4 winner at the prestigious clay court event . it was the earliest defeat for federer in a tournament this year , ending his hopes of claiming the monte carlo title for the first time after being beaten three times in the final by rafael nadal . he has drawn blank since claiming the atp season-opener in doha , qatar . federer had breezed to the last eight , but was always struggling against melzer in blustery conditions . melzer broke for 3-2 in the opening set after an errant federer forehand and held on to close it out . blog : can sharapova return to the top ? the second followed a similar pattern , with federer unable to capitalize on his seven break points in the match as the seventh seed went through . melzer was delighted to finally get past his old nemesis in such convincing fashion . he beat me three times last year and i did n't even win a set , ' he told afp . but many things went well for me , my shots worked well . when he had break points i was calm and served well . i did well on the big points and played my game . ' federer shrugged off his defeat as he now takes a two-week break before the madrid masters in his build-up to the french open next month . i do n't think i played terrible , it was ok. obviously , it was still the first week of clay , so i do n't expect myself to play my very best . if i had , it would be a pleasant surprise , ' said the second seed . melzer will now play world number six david ferrer after the spaniard saw off 11th viktor troicki of serbia 6-3 6-3 in an earlier match friday . there was no stopping world number one rafael nadal , bidding for his seventh straight title in monte carlo , as he swept aside croatian ivan ljubicic 6-1 6-3 to reach the last four . nadal will face off against britain 's andy murray for a place in sunday 's final after the number three seed continued his fine run with a 6-1 6-2 dismissal of portuguse qualifier frederico gil in just over an hour . | roger federer beaten in quarterfinals of monte carlo masters by jurgen melzer |
melzer <tsp> ( cnn ) -- world number three roger federer exited the monte carlo masters at the quarterfinals stage to austrian jurgen melzer friday . melzer was securing his first victory over the 16-time grand slam champion as he ran out a 6-4 6-4 winner at the prestigious clay court event . it was the earliest defeat for federer in a tournament this year , ending his hopes of claiming the monte carlo title for the first time after being beaten three times in the final by rafael nadal . he has drawn blank since claiming the atp season-opener in doha , qatar . federer had breezed to the last eight , but was always struggling against melzer in blustery conditions . melzer broke for 3-2 in the opening set after an errant federer forehand and held on to close it out . blog : can sharapova return to the top ? the second followed a similar pattern , with federer unable to capitalize on his seven break points in the match as the seventh seed went through . melzer was delighted to finally get past his old nemesis in such convincing fashion . he beat me three times last year and i did n't even win a set , ' he told afp . but many things went well for me , my shots worked well . when he had break points i was calm and served well . i did well on the big points and played my game . ' federer shrugged off his defeat as he now takes a two-week break before the madrid masters in his build-up to the french open next month . i do n't think i played terrible , it was ok. obviously , it was still the first week of clay , so i do n't expect myself to play my very best . if i had , it would be a pleasant surprise , ' said the second seed . melzer will now play world number six david ferrer after the spaniard saw off 11th viktor troicki of serbia 6-3 6-3 in an earlier match friday . there was no stopping world number one rafael nadal , bidding for his seventh straight title in monte carlo , as he swept aside croatian ivan ljubicic 6-1 6-3 to reach the last four . nadal will face off against britain 's andy murray for a place in sunday 's final after the number three seed continued his fine run with a 6-1 6-2 dismissal of portuguse qualifier frederico gil in just over an hour . | melzer wins 6-4 6-4 to earn a semifinal meeting with spain 's david ferrer |
british <tsp> ( cnn ) -- ecuador is calling for british authorities to help investigate after officials found a secret recording device planted inside the south american country 's embassy in london . a spy microphone ' was found inside the ecuadorian ambassador 's office on june 14 , ecuadorian foreign minister ricardo patino told reporters wednesday . it was hidden inside a small white box inside an electrical outlet , partially covered by a bookshelf , he said . the discovery , patino said , very seriously concerns us . ' we are requesting backing from the british government to continue with the investigation of the device found , ' he said . the device , he said , contained a sim card and was designed to transmit private conversations occurring inside the embassy . ecuadorian authorities believe it had been in place for weeks . it was found two days before patino was scheduled to arrive at the embassy , he said . patino said authorities have founded suspicions ' that indicate a private british surveillance company was involved , but he did not provide additional details . the company did not immediately respond to a request from cnn to comment . in addition to serving as an office for ecuadorian officials abroad , the embassy has also been home for more than a year to wikileaks founder julian assange , who received asylum from ecuador in august and risks arrest if he leaves the property . the revelation comes amid worldwide debate over u.s. surveillance , including reports that the national security agency planted bugs in diplomatic offices . it also comes as ecuador plays a key role in the global guessing game over the next steps for edward snowden , the former nsa contractor who is on the run after admitting that he leaked classified documents about u.s. surveillance programs . snowden has asked for asylum from ecuador and 20 other countries . patino said on wednesday that his country was still evaluating the request . asked whether assange 's presence inside the ecuadorian embassy had opened the building to more risks , patino acknowledged that the wikileaks founder 's presence had brought greater attention to the embassy . surely , there are risks , yes ... but we are willing to run them when it comes to defending rights , ' he said . cnn 's claudia rebaza contributed to this report . | he calls for british authorities to assist in ecuador 's investigation |
clintons <tsp> ( cnn ) -- hollywood heavies and other glitterati descend on washington on saturday night to light up the capital and lighten up the press corps . it 's the annual white house correspondent 's dinner . there 's a red carpet , a presidential appearance , comedic relief and to make it all real , swanky after-parties . this year marks the 100th soiree , most of which have featured a fancy dinner and the president in attendance . in the early years , it was a small affair for 50 . but in contemporary times , it has ballooned into a premier d.c. event at a huge hotel ballroom . cnn asked julia whiston , who serves as the dinner 's executive director , when did it become such a mob scene , and why ? coincidentally , when i first started , ' she said and paused for effect , with a chuckle . it happened in 1993 , she said . but it was because it was bill clinton 's first dinner . they had a very large hollywood following , and they wanted to be at the dinner . ' the president tells jokes , a famous entertainer tells jokes , and reporters are called to the dais to collect awards . this year , cnn 's brianna keilar will be recognized for some of her reporting on the obama administration . over the past two decades , it 's become something of a washington parlor game to see what news organization can snag the hottest movie stars , reality show personalities , pop singers and sports greats of the moment to be guests . oh , and up-and-coming politicians or heavy-hitters in the obama administration are good gets , too . this year , cnn employees will dine with actress diane lane , as well as new jersey gov . chris christie , texas gov . rick perry and republican national committee chair reince priebus on the right , as well as white house spokesman josh ernest and democratic national committee spokesman mo elleithee on the left . but with the crush of bold-faced names from hollywood getting bigger each year , washingtonians have gotten increasingly star-struck . by the time the dinner arrives , well-known journalists rush for celeb autographs and selfies for their social media feeds . the dynamic led to the moniker nerd prom . ' it 's a title not everyone involved finds particularly affectionate , like whiston . at 68 , she says she still has energy to keep doing this job , and this will not be the last dinner she oversees . when i get that head table in , and they start to present the colors and the marine band starts playing , i think ,'this is not kansas , this is pretty cool ,'' she said . she got the now-coveted job after several years running a similar -- but smaller -- press dinner . and every year since she began , demand has risen . that 's especially true since barack obama became president , in part because he has an even bigger hollywood following than the clintons had during their white house years . joel mchale , best known as host of e ! 's satire show the soup ' and star of nbc 's comedy community , ' is this year 's host . he 's excited about the honor , and even got some advice from some of the entertainers who came before him , which he shared with cnn 's jake tapper . and it was ... all pretty much the same advice , which was ,'this will be the weirdest thing you ever do and it will be the most exhilarating thing you ever do ... and keep it short .'' | it 's the 100th dinner ; it was small in the early years , but became a mob scene once the clintons arrived |
pakistan <tsp> islamabad , pakistan ( cnn ) -- tensions among pakistan , afghanistan and the united states jumped a notch monday , with pakistan 's prime minister warning there would be no more business as usual ' with washington after nato aircraft killed two dozen pakistan troops . pakistani prime minister yousuf raza gilani told cnn in an exclusive interview that pakistan is re-evaluating its relationship with the united states in light of the airstrike , which nato called a tragic unintended ' event . he said the south asian nation wants to maintain its relationship with the united states so long as there is mutual respect and respect for pakistani sovereignty . asked directly if pakistan is getting that respect , gilani said : at the moment not . ' if i ca n't protect the sovereignty of my country , how can we say that this is mutual respect and mutual interest ? ' he asked . the pakistani taliban urged pakistan to respond in kind to the airstrike , while a top adviser to afghan president hamid karzai warned that afghanistan and pakistan could be on a path to conflict . in his cnn interview , gilani highlighted incidents such as the killing of the pakistani troops and a u.s. raid into pakistan to kill osama bin laden as violations of his country 's sovereignty . you can not win any war without the support of the masses ... and such sort of incidents makes people move away from this situation , ' he said . pakistan is a vital land supply route into afghanistan for the united states and its allies , and a key partner in the battle against al qaeda and its aligned jihadist movements . but pakistani authorities turned back 300 trucks carrying nato supplies and fuel into afghanistan on monday , and the prime minister said his government had not yet decided whether to boycott an upcoming bonn conference on the future of afghanistan . details of saturday 's deadly raid remained unclear monday , and the chief of u.s. forces in the region named an air force general from the military 's special operations command to lead an investigation . gen. james mattis ordered the investigating officer , brig . gen. stephen clark , to report back to him by december 23 . according to two senior u.s. officials with direct knowledge of initial reporting on the incident , the probe is focusing on what coordination failures occurred before the airstrike . one of the officials said initial reports indicate u.s. and afghan forces said shots were fired across the border from pakistan , noting that it is a known tactic of insurgents to fire into afghanistan from very close to pakistan border checkpoints because they believe it will give them sanctuary . the united states believes the pakistanis were called ' before nato opened fire , the official said , but he added that at this point , we just do n't know exactly what coordination was done . ' a nato official said afghan troops were working with elements of u.s. special operations forces in a combined mission on the afghan side of the border . pakistani military spokesman maj. gen. athar abbas denied the reports that pakistani troops had prompted the attack saturday by firing on the nato helicopters . speaking by phone to pakistan 's geo tv news , abbas said nato helicopters fired first on the pakistani military checkpoints . abbas said the soldiers notified pakistani military headquarters , which informed nato authorities immediately . the spokesman said pakistani soldiers fired at the nato aircraft in retaliation . speaking in london , the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff , gen. martin dempsey , acknowledged that the u.s.-pakistani relationship was troubled . ' but he suggested it would survive once the two nations work through the real tragedy ' of the pakistani deaths . we 've had other moments before , ' dempsey said . i 'm hopeful that with the relationships we 've built leader-to-leader and worked at over the past years , that we can find our way forward . but i understand the anger . i understand the concern . ' the white house offered its condolences to pakistan , while state department spokesman mark toner said washington was concerned about the impact the incident could have on relations with pakistan . the relationship is vitally important to both countries . we both face a shared threat from extremists . ... we 're taking this very seriously , ' he said . a u.s. official who spoke on condition of anonymity told cnn that pakistan remains a critical ' partner in counterterrorism , and we do not anticipate significant changes in that relationship . ' the pakistani taliban appeared to try to widen the rift monday . a spokesman for the fundamentalist islamic movement , ihsanullah ihsan , said in a phone call to cnn that the u.s. will infringe on pakistan 's sovereignty and continue operations on pakistani soil in the coming days . ihsan said pakistan must respond in kind to the nato attacks , and he warned that the pakistani taliban will continue jihad as long as pakistan remains an ally of the united states . in kabul , meanwhile , a senior adviser to president karzai said afghanistan and pakistan may be on a course toward military conflict . ashraf ghani said the link between pakistan and the assassination of a former afghan president had united his country against interference . ' ghani accused pakistan of harboring and assisting the insurgency in afghanistan , and said his country 's neighbor probably helped the suicide bomber who killed former afghan president burhanudin rabbani in september . the assassination of president rabbani has gelled the nation together against interference . and one or two more actions could put us in an irreversible course ( toward ) conflict . and we 've shown through our history that we are a match for any invader , ' he said . the two nations have been trading accusations in the border regions in the past few months , with pakistan accusing the afghans of harboring militants and afghanistan claiming pakistani shells have hit afghan territory . but on sunday , a spokesman for karzai urged pakistan to come to the bonn conference , which is being billed as a chance to start a reconciliation process in afghanistan . we want pakistan to participate in that . we want pakistan to be part of the solution in afghanistan , ' aimal faizi said . cnn 's nick paton walsh reported from kabul , afghanistan . cnn 's barbara starr and chris lawrence and journalists nasir habib , shaan khan and saboor khattak contributed to this report . | the pakistani taliban say pakistan must respond in kind to the attack |
pakistan <tsp> islamabad , pakistan ( cnn ) -- tensions among pakistan , afghanistan and the united states jumped a notch monday , with pakistan 's prime minister warning there would be no more business as usual ' with washington after nato aircraft killed two dozen pakistan troops . pakistani prime minister yousuf raza gilani told cnn in an exclusive interview that pakistan is re-evaluating its relationship with the united states in light of the airstrike , which nato called a tragic unintended ' event . he said the south asian nation wants to maintain its relationship with the united states so long as there is mutual respect and respect for pakistani sovereignty . asked directly if pakistan is getting that respect , gilani said : at the moment not . ' if i ca n't protect the sovereignty of my country , how can we say that this is mutual respect and mutual interest ? ' he asked . the pakistani taliban urged pakistan to respond in kind to the airstrike , while a top adviser to afghan president hamid karzai warned that afghanistan and pakistan could be on a path to conflict . in his cnn interview , gilani highlighted incidents such as the killing of the pakistani troops and a u.s. raid into pakistan to kill osama bin laden as violations of his country 's sovereignty . you can not win any war without the support of the masses ... and such sort of incidents makes people move away from this situation , ' he said . pakistan is a vital land supply route into afghanistan for the united states and its allies , and a key partner in the battle against al qaeda and its aligned jihadist movements . but pakistani authorities turned back 300 trucks carrying nato supplies and fuel into afghanistan on monday , and the prime minister said his government had not yet decided whether to boycott an upcoming bonn conference on the future of afghanistan . details of saturday 's deadly raid remained unclear monday , and the chief of u.s. forces in the region named an air force general from the military 's special operations command to lead an investigation . gen. james mattis ordered the investigating officer , brig . gen. stephen clark , to report back to him by december 23 . according to two senior u.s. officials with direct knowledge of initial reporting on the incident , the probe is focusing on what coordination failures occurred before the airstrike . one of the officials said initial reports indicate u.s. and afghan forces said shots were fired across the border from pakistan , noting that it is a known tactic of insurgents to fire into afghanistan from very close to pakistan border checkpoints because they believe it will give them sanctuary . the united states believes the pakistanis were called ' before nato opened fire , the official said , but he added that at this point , we just do n't know exactly what coordination was done . ' a nato official said afghan troops were working with elements of u.s. special operations forces in a combined mission on the afghan side of the border . pakistani military spokesman maj. gen. athar abbas denied the reports that pakistani troops had prompted the attack saturday by firing on the nato helicopters . speaking by phone to pakistan 's geo tv news , abbas said nato helicopters fired first on the pakistani military checkpoints . abbas said the soldiers notified pakistani military headquarters , which informed nato authorities immediately . the spokesman said pakistani soldiers fired at the nato aircraft in retaliation . speaking in london , the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff , gen. martin dempsey , acknowledged that the u.s.-pakistani relationship was troubled . ' but he suggested it would survive once the two nations work through the real tragedy ' of the pakistani deaths . we 've had other moments before , ' dempsey said . i 'm hopeful that with the relationships we 've built leader-to-leader and worked at over the past years , that we can find our way forward . but i understand the anger . i understand the concern . ' the white house offered its condolences to pakistan , while state department spokesman mark toner said washington was concerned about the impact the incident could have on relations with pakistan . the relationship is vitally important to both countries . we both face a shared threat from extremists . ... we 're taking this very seriously , ' he said . a u.s. official who spoke on condition of anonymity told cnn that pakistan remains a critical ' partner in counterterrorism , and we do not anticipate significant changes in that relationship . ' the pakistani taliban appeared to try to widen the rift monday . a spokesman for the fundamentalist islamic movement , ihsanullah ihsan , said in a phone call to cnn that the u.s. will infringe on pakistan 's sovereignty and continue operations on pakistani soil in the coming days . ihsan said pakistan must respond in kind to the nato attacks , and he warned that the pakistani taliban will continue jihad as long as pakistan remains an ally of the united states . in kabul , meanwhile , a senior adviser to president karzai said afghanistan and pakistan may be on a course toward military conflict . ashraf ghani said the link between pakistan and the assassination of a former afghan president had united his country against interference . ' ghani accused pakistan of harboring and assisting the insurgency in afghanistan , and said his country 's neighbor probably helped the suicide bomber who killed former afghan president burhanudin rabbani in september . the assassination of president rabbani has gelled the nation together against interference . and one or two more actions could put us in an irreversible course ( toward ) conflict . and we 've shown through our history that we are a match for any invader , ' he said . the two nations have been trading accusations in the border regions in the past few months , with pakistan accusing the afghans of harboring militants and afghanistan claiming pakistani shells have hit afghan territory . but on sunday , a spokesman for karzai urged pakistan to come to the bonn conference , which is being billed as a chance to start a reconciliation process in afghanistan . we want pakistan to participate in that . we want pakistan to be part of the solution in afghanistan , ' aimal faizi said . cnn 's nick paton walsh reported from kabul , afghanistan . cnn 's barbara starr and chris lawrence and journalists nasir habib , shaan khan and saboor khattak contributed to this report . | a top afghan official warns of possible conflict with pakistan |
pakistan <tsp> islamabad , pakistan ( cnn ) -- tensions among pakistan , afghanistan and the united states jumped a notch monday , with pakistan 's prime minister warning there would be no more business as usual ' with washington after nato aircraft killed two dozen pakistan troops . pakistani prime minister yousuf raza gilani told cnn in an exclusive interview that pakistan is re-evaluating its relationship with the united states in light of the airstrike , which nato called a tragic unintended ' event . he said the south asian nation wants to maintain its relationship with the united states so long as there is mutual respect and respect for pakistani sovereignty . asked directly if pakistan is getting that respect , gilani said : at the moment not . ' if i ca n't protect the sovereignty of my country , how can we say that this is mutual respect and mutual interest ? ' he asked . the pakistani taliban urged pakistan to respond in kind to the airstrike , while a top adviser to afghan president hamid karzai warned that afghanistan and pakistan could be on a path to conflict . in his cnn interview , gilani highlighted incidents such as the killing of the pakistani troops and a u.s. raid into pakistan to kill osama bin laden as violations of his country 's sovereignty . you can not win any war without the support of the masses ... and such sort of incidents makes people move away from this situation , ' he said . pakistan is a vital land supply route into afghanistan for the united states and its allies , and a key partner in the battle against al qaeda and its aligned jihadist movements . but pakistani authorities turned back 300 trucks carrying nato supplies and fuel into afghanistan on monday , and the prime minister said his government had not yet decided whether to boycott an upcoming bonn conference on the future of afghanistan . details of saturday 's deadly raid remained unclear monday , and the chief of u.s. forces in the region named an air force general from the military 's special operations command to lead an investigation . gen. james mattis ordered the investigating officer , brig . gen. stephen clark , to report back to him by december 23 . according to two senior u.s. officials with direct knowledge of initial reporting on the incident , the probe is focusing on what coordination failures occurred before the airstrike . one of the officials said initial reports indicate u.s. and afghan forces said shots were fired across the border from pakistan , noting that it is a known tactic of insurgents to fire into afghanistan from very close to pakistan border checkpoints because they believe it will give them sanctuary . the united states believes the pakistanis were called ' before nato opened fire , the official said , but he added that at this point , we just do n't know exactly what coordination was done . ' a nato official said afghan troops were working with elements of u.s. special operations forces in a combined mission on the afghan side of the border . pakistani military spokesman maj. gen. athar abbas denied the reports that pakistani troops had prompted the attack saturday by firing on the nato helicopters . speaking by phone to pakistan 's geo tv news , abbas said nato helicopters fired first on the pakistani military checkpoints . abbas said the soldiers notified pakistani military headquarters , which informed nato authorities immediately . the spokesman said pakistani soldiers fired at the nato aircraft in retaliation . speaking in london , the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff , gen. martin dempsey , acknowledged that the u.s.-pakistani relationship was troubled . ' but he suggested it would survive once the two nations work through the real tragedy ' of the pakistani deaths . we 've had other moments before , ' dempsey said . i 'm hopeful that with the relationships we 've built leader-to-leader and worked at over the past years , that we can find our way forward . but i understand the anger . i understand the concern . ' the white house offered its condolences to pakistan , while state department spokesman mark toner said washington was concerned about the impact the incident could have on relations with pakistan . the relationship is vitally important to both countries . we both face a shared threat from extremists . ... we 're taking this very seriously , ' he said . a u.s. official who spoke on condition of anonymity told cnn that pakistan remains a critical ' partner in counterterrorism , and we do not anticipate significant changes in that relationship . ' the pakistani taliban appeared to try to widen the rift monday . a spokesman for the fundamentalist islamic movement , ihsanullah ihsan , said in a phone call to cnn that the u.s. will infringe on pakistan 's sovereignty and continue operations on pakistani soil in the coming days . ihsan said pakistan must respond in kind to the nato attacks , and he warned that the pakistani taliban will continue jihad as long as pakistan remains an ally of the united states . in kabul , meanwhile , a senior adviser to president karzai said afghanistan and pakistan may be on a course toward military conflict . ashraf ghani said the link between pakistan and the assassination of a former afghan president had united his country against interference . ' ghani accused pakistan of harboring and assisting the insurgency in afghanistan , and said his country 's neighbor probably helped the suicide bomber who killed former afghan president burhanudin rabbani in september . the assassination of president rabbani has gelled the nation together against interference . and one or two more actions could put us in an irreversible course ( toward ) conflict . and we 've shown through our history that we are a match for any invader , ' he said . the two nations have been trading accusations in the border regions in the past few months , with pakistan accusing the afghans of harboring militants and afghanistan claiming pakistani shells have hit afghan territory . but on sunday , a spokesman for karzai urged pakistan to come to the bonn conference , which is being billed as a chance to start a reconciliation process in afghanistan . we want pakistan to participate in that . we want pakistan to be part of the solution in afghanistan , ' aimal faizi said . cnn 's nick paton walsh reported from kabul , afghanistan . cnn 's barbara starr and chris lawrence and journalists nasir habib , shaan khan and saboor khattak contributed to this report . | pakistan denies firing first at a nato aircraft that killed two dozen pakistanis |
obama <tsp> ( cnn ) -- facebook , where people love to discuss politics and complain about other people discussing politics , saw a huge surge in election day chatter on tuesday . in a stunning nod to the power of social media in this election , obama 's first public acknowledgment of victory was a post shared on twitter and facebook . it read four more years ' and included a photo of barack and michelle obama hugging . that single post was the most retweeted in the history of twitter ( more than 700,000 times ) , and on facebook it raked in an astounding 3.5 million likes and almost 500,000 people shared it on their own timelines . over the course of the day , there were more than 71.7 million election related posts and comments on facebook in the united states and 88.7 million around the world . according to facebook 's internal talk meter , which measures how much buzz events get on the network , the election was the most talked about event in 2012 . it was especially popular among 25- to 34-year-olds and in d.c. , mississippi and virginia . it was also a huge topic internationally . canada , the united kingdom and australia were the top countries posting about the election . obama was mentioned 10 million times on facebook during election day . in just one hour , from 11 p.m. to 12 a.m. , he was mentioned 4.1 million times on facebook -- more than romney 's 4 million total for the entire day . not everyone appreciates having political posts fill their facebook feed . heightened emotions have let to angry fights in comment threads , interfamily drama and unfriendings . the negativity has even caused some to declare they are leaving the social network for a while . quitting facebook is n't the only way to cut out the politics . you also can install tools that remove political posts automatically , such as the browser extensions social fixer or noppl . unpolitic.me will not only block the offending posts , it will replace them with the ultimate bipartisian animal , cats . top election day terms on facebook : 1 . obama 2 . vote / voted 3 . romney 4 . election 5 . president 6 . country 7 . win / wins 8 . line 9 . four more years / 4 more years 10 . ohio disgruntled voters threaten to leave the homeland the best election night tweets | on tuesday , more people talked about obama than romney on facebook |
obama <tsp> ( cnn ) -- facebook , where people love to discuss politics and complain about other people discussing politics , saw a huge surge in election day chatter on tuesday . in a stunning nod to the power of social media in this election , obama 's first public acknowledgment of victory was a post shared on twitter and facebook . it read four more years ' and included a photo of barack and michelle obama hugging . that single post was the most retweeted in the history of twitter ( more than 700,000 times ) , and on facebook it raked in an astounding 3.5 million likes and almost 500,000 people shared it on their own timelines . over the course of the day , there were more than 71.7 million election related posts and comments on facebook in the united states and 88.7 million around the world . according to facebook 's internal talk meter , which measures how much buzz events get on the network , the election was the most talked about event in 2012 . it was especially popular among 25- to 34-year-olds and in d.c. , mississippi and virginia . it was also a huge topic internationally . canada , the united kingdom and australia were the top countries posting about the election . obama was mentioned 10 million times on facebook during election day . in just one hour , from 11 p.m. to 12 a.m. , he was mentioned 4.1 million times on facebook -- more than romney 's 4 million total for the entire day . not everyone appreciates having political posts fill their facebook feed . heightened emotions have let to angry fights in comment threads , interfamily drama and unfriendings . the negativity has even caused some to declare they are leaving the social network for a while . quitting facebook is n't the only way to cut out the politics . you also can install tools that remove political posts automatically , such as the browser extensions social fixer or noppl . unpolitic.me will not only block the offending posts , it will replace them with the ultimate bipartisian animal , cats . top election day terms on facebook : 1 . obama 2 . vote / voted 3 . romney 4 . election 5 . president 6 . country 7 . win / wins 8 . line 9 . four more years / 4 more years 10 . ohio disgruntled voters threaten to leave the homeland the best election night tweets | a photo of barack and michelle obama hugging is the most-liked post of all time |
facebook <tsp> ( cnn ) -- facebook , where people love to discuss politics and complain about other people discussing politics , saw a huge surge in election day chatter on tuesday . in a stunning nod to the power of social media in this election , obama 's first public acknowledgment of victory was a post shared on twitter and facebook . it read four more years ' and included a photo of barack and michelle obama hugging . that single post was the most retweeted in the history of twitter ( more than 700,000 times ) , and on facebook it raked in an astounding 3.5 million likes and almost 500,000 people shared it on their own timelines . over the course of the day , there were more than 71.7 million election related posts and comments on facebook in the united states and 88.7 million around the world . according to facebook 's internal talk meter , which measures how much buzz events get on the network , the election was the most talked about event in 2012 . it was especially popular among 25- to 34-year-olds and in d.c. , mississippi and virginia . it was also a huge topic internationally . canada , the united kingdom and australia were the top countries posting about the election . obama was mentioned 10 million times on facebook during election day . in just one hour , from 11 p.m. to 12 a.m. , he was mentioned 4.1 million times on facebook -- more than romney 's 4 million total for the entire day . not everyone appreciates having political posts fill their facebook feed . heightened emotions have let to angry fights in comment threads , interfamily drama and unfriendings . the negativity has even caused some to declare they are leaving the social network for a while . quitting facebook is n't the only way to cut out the politics . you also can install tools that remove political posts automatically , such as the browser extensions social fixer or noppl . unpolitic.me will not only block the offending posts , it will replace them with the ultimate bipartisian animal , cats . top election day terms on facebook : 1 . obama 2 . vote / voted 3 . romney 4 . election 5 . president 6 . country 7 . win / wins 8 . line 9 . four more years / 4 more years 10 . ohio disgruntled voters threaten to leave the homeland the best election night tweets | on tuesday , more people talked about obama than romney on facebook |
facebook <tsp> ( cnn ) -- facebook , where people love to discuss politics and complain about other people discussing politics , saw a huge surge in election day chatter on tuesday . in a stunning nod to the power of social media in this election , obama 's first public acknowledgment of victory was a post shared on twitter and facebook . it read four more years ' and included a photo of barack and michelle obama hugging . that single post was the most retweeted in the history of twitter ( more than 700,000 times ) , and on facebook it raked in an astounding 3.5 million likes and almost 500,000 people shared it on their own timelines . over the course of the day , there were more than 71.7 million election related posts and comments on facebook in the united states and 88.7 million around the world . according to facebook 's internal talk meter , which measures how much buzz events get on the network , the election was the most talked about event in 2012 . it was especially popular among 25- to 34-year-olds and in d.c. , mississippi and virginia . it was also a huge topic internationally . canada , the united kingdom and australia were the top countries posting about the election . obama was mentioned 10 million times on facebook during election day . in just one hour , from 11 p.m. to 12 a.m. , he was mentioned 4.1 million times on facebook -- more than romney 's 4 million total for the entire day . not everyone appreciates having political posts fill their facebook feed . heightened emotions have let to angry fights in comment threads , interfamily drama and unfriendings . the negativity has even caused some to declare they are leaving the social network for a while . quitting facebook is n't the only way to cut out the politics . you also can install tools that remove political posts automatically , such as the browser extensions social fixer or noppl . unpolitic.me will not only block the offending posts , it will replace them with the ultimate bipartisian animal , cats . top election day terms on facebook : 1 . obama 2 . vote / voted 3 . romney 4 . election 5 . president 6 . country 7 . win / wins 8 . line 9 . four more years / 4 more years 10 . ohio disgruntled voters threaten to leave the homeland the best election night tweets | election day inspired 71.7 million posts and comments on facebook in the u.s . |
mubarak <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- ahead of direct talks between israel and the palestinians on thursday , president barack obama said wednesday night that he was hopeful -- cautiously hopeful ' that the talks could achieve a two-state solution to the long running mideast conflict . though each of us holds a title of honor -- - president , prime minister , king -- - we are bound by the one title we share , ' obama said on a stage with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu , palestinian authority president mahmoud abbas and the leaders of egypt and jordan . we are fathers , blessed with sons and daughters , ' obama said . so we must ask ourselves what kind of world do we want to bequeath to our children and our grandchildren . ' the president was speaking at the start of a working white house dinner with netanyahu , abbas , jordan 's king abdullah ii and egyptian president hosni mubarak . each made remarks before the dinner . also attending the dinner were secretary of state hillary clintonand middle east quartet representative tony blair . the quartet consists of the united states , russia , the united nations and the european union . we do n't seek a brief interlude between two wars , we do n't seek a temporary respite between outbursts of terror , ' netanyahu said . we seek a peace that will end the conflict between us once and for all ... for our generation , our children 's generation and the next . ' netanyahu and abbas condemned attacks against the israelis in recent days . we do not want any blood to be shed -- one drop of blood from the israelis or the palestinians , ' said abbas . we want peace between the two countries ... let us sign a formal agreement for peace and put an end to this long period of suffering forever . ' in earlier remarks from the white house rose garden , obama said that this moment of opportunity may not soon come again . ' with the u.s. war in iraq drawing to a close , the middle east moved front and center for administration officials wednesday as obama held a series of high-stakes meetings with israeli and arab leaders . obama huddled behind closed doors at the white house with the israeli and arab leaders . on wednesday night , obama called the talks very productive . ' but he also pointed to challenges ahead . we are under no illusions , ' he said . passions run deep ... there 's a reason that the two-state solution has eluded previous generations -- - this is extraordinarily complex and extraordinarily difficult . ' but , ' he continued , we know that the status quo is unsustainable . ' obama and netanyahu met first on wednesday , briefly addressing reporters to condemn , in obama 's words , the senseless slaughter ' of two men and two women tuesday near the west bank city of hebron . terrorists ... are purposely trying to undermine these talks , ' obama said . the message should go out ( that this attack ) is not going to stop ' the united states from backing israel and the peace process . later , after meeting with abbas , he said that we are making progress ' in negotiations . during his meetings with abbas and king abdullah , according to the white house , obama was joined by secretary of state hillary clinton , chief of staff rahm emanuel , national security advisor gen. james jones , and former sen. george mitchell , among others . mitchell is obama 's special envoy for middle east peace . at stake is a unique window of opportunity ' for a breakthrough in the israeli-palestinian conflict within the next year , according mitchell . talks have been stalled for a year and a half . the hurdles , however , remain steep . one immediate threat is the looming september 26 expiration of israel 's 10-month freeze on settlement construction in the west bank . chief palestinian negotiator saeb erakat indicated to cnn this week that if israel does not extend the freeze , direct talks may quickly fall apart . netanyahu will have closed the door in my face ' if settlement construction resumes , erakat said . pressed on whether the palestinian delegation would walk out of talks at that point , erakat said that we will not be able to go . ' netanyahu can have settlements or peace , but he ca n't have both , erakat said . another roadblock to any comprehensive deal is the palestinian view that any two-state solution must include a handover of all the land israel captured in the 1967 war , along with east jerusalem as the palestinian capital . while netanyahu has expressed openness about a palestinian state , he has expressed strong opposition to a palestinian takeover of east jerusalem . the issue of hamas control of gaza , erakat noted , also remains a major problem . ' while gaza is generally considered to be part of any future palestinian state , hamas has refused to recognize israel 's right to exist and is not a part of the talks . hamas leaders are frequently in conflict with the more moderate abbas and his fatah organization , which has the upper hand in the west bank . mitchell , however , told reporters tuesday that both netanyahu and abbas are noting polls showing fear of intensified conflict if negotiations fall apart . this is a moment in time within which there remains the possibility of achieving the two-state solution , ' mitchell asserted . the alternatives ... pose far greater difficulties and far greater problems in the future . ' several top officials close to the negotiations conceded to cnn that it is hard to be optimistic about a peace deal at the moment . they downplayed expectations , saying that nobody directly involved in the talks expects a deal to be reached this week . but simply resuming talks was a critical step , and a comprehensive middle east peace deal has been one of obama 's top foreign policy goals , they said . the biggest breakthrough would be an agenda [ emerging thursday ] for a second round of meetings soon to move forward , ' one top official actively engaged in the talks said . clinton is set to play the main role in the talks on thursday , hosting a meeting at the state department with netanyahu and abbas . cnn 's hala gorani and david molko contributed to this report | obama is hosting netanyahu , abbas , mubarak , and king abdullah ii at the white house |
abbas <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- ahead of direct talks between israel and the palestinians on thursday , president barack obama said wednesday night that he was hopeful -- cautiously hopeful ' that the talks could achieve a two-state solution to the long running mideast conflict . though each of us holds a title of honor -- - president , prime minister , king -- - we are bound by the one title we share , ' obama said on a stage with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu , palestinian authority president mahmoud abbas and the leaders of egypt and jordan . we are fathers , blessed with sons and daughters , ' obama said . so we must ask ourselves what kind of world do we want to bequeath to our children and our grandchildren . ' the president was speaking at the start of a working white house dinner with netanyahu , abbas , jordan 's king abdullah ii and egyptian president hosni mubarak . each made remarks before the dinner . also attending the dinner were secretary of state hillary clintonand middle east quartet representative tony blair . the quartet consists of the united states , russia , the united nations and the european union . we do n't seek a brief interlude between two wars , we do n't seek a temporary respite between outbursts of terror , ' netanyahu said . we seek a peace that will end the conflict between us once and for all ... for our generation , our children 's generation and the next . ' netanyahu and abbas condemned attacks against the israelis in recent days . we do not want any blood to be shed -- one drop of blood from the israelis or the palestinians , ' said abbas . we want peace between the two countries ... let us sign a formal agreement for peace and put an end to this long period of suffering forever . ' in earlier remarks from the white house rose garden , obama said that this moment of opportunity may not soon come again . ' with the u.s. war in iraq drawing to a close , the middle east moved front and center for administration officials wednesday as obama held a series of high-stakes meetings with israeli and arab leaders . obama huddled behind closed doors at the white house with the israeli and arab leaders . on wednesday night , obama called the talks very productive . ' but he also pointed to challenges ahead . we are under no illusions , ' he said . passions run deep ... there 's a reason that the two-state solution has eluded previous generations -- - this is extraordinarily complex and extraordinarily difficult . ' but , ' he continued , we know that the status quo is unsustainable . ' obama and netanyahu met first on wednesday , briefly addressing reporters to condemn , in obama 's words , the senseless slaughter ' of two men and two women tuesday near the west bank city of hebron . terrorists ... are purposely trying to undermine these talks , ' obama said . the message should go out ( that this attack ) is not going to stop ' the united states from backing israel and the peace process . later , after meeting with abbas , he said that we are making progress ' in negotiations . during his meetings with abbas and king abdullah , according to the white house , obama was joined by secretary of state hillary clinton , chief of staff rahm emanuel , national security advisor gen. james jones , and former sen. george mitchell , among others . mitchell is obama 's special envoy for middle east peace . at stake is a unique window of opportunity ' for a breakthrough in the israeli-palestinian conflict within the next year , according mitchell . talks have been stalled for a year and a half . the hurdles , however , remain steep . one immediate threat is the looming september 26 expiration of israel 's 10-month freeze on settlement construction in the west bank . chief palestinian negotiator saeb erakat indicated to cnn this week that if israel does not extend the freeze , direct talks may quickly fall apart . netanyahu will have closed the door in my face ' if settlement construction resumes , erakat said . pressed on whether the palestinian delegation would walk out of talks at that point , erakat said that we will not be able to go . ' netanyahu can have settlements or peace , but he ca n't have both , erakat said . another roadblock to any comprehensive deal is the palestinian view that any two-state solution must include a handover of all the land israel captured in the 1967 war , along with east jerusalem as the palestinian capital . while netanyahu has expressed openness about a palestinian state , he has expressed strong opposition to a palestinian takeover of east jerusalem . the issue of hamas control of gaza , erakat noted , also remains a major problem . ' while gaza is generally considered to be part of any future palestinian state , hamas has refused to recognize israel 's right to exist and is not a part of the talks . hamas leaders are frequently in conflict with the more moderate abbas and his fatah organization , which has the upper hand in the west bank . mitchell , however , told reporters tuesday that both netanyahu and abbas are noting polls showing fear of intensified conflict if negotiations fall apart . this is a moment in time within which there remains the possibility of achieving the two-state solution , ' mitchell asserted . the alternatives ... pose far greater difficulties and far greater problems in the future . ' several top officials close to the negotiations conceded to cnn that it is hard to be optimistic about a peace deal at the moment . they downplayed expectations , saying that nobody directly involved in the talks expects a deal to be reached this week . but simply resuming talks was a critical step , and a comprehensive middle east peace deal has been one of obama 's top foreign policy goals , they said . the biggest breakthrough would be an agenda [ emerging thursday ] for a second round of meetings soon to move forward , ' one top official actively engaged in the talks said . clinton is set to play the main role in the talks on thursday , hosting a meeting at the state department with netanyahu and abbas . cnn 's hala gorani and david molko contributed to this report | abbas says , let us ... put an end to this long period of suffering forever ' |
abbas <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- ahead of direct talks between israel and the palestinians on thursday , president barack obama said wednesday night that he was hopeful -- cautiously hopeful ' that the talks could achieve a two-state solution to the long running mideast conflict . though each of us holds a title of honor -- - president , prime minister , king -- - we are bound by the one title we share , ' obama said on a stage with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu , palestinian authority president mahmoud abbas and the leaders of egypt and jordan . we are fathers , blessed with sons and daughters , ' obama said . so we must ask ourselves what kind of world do we want to bequeath to our children and our grandchildren . ' the president was speaking at the start of a working white house dinner with netanyahu , abbas , jordan 's king abdullah ii and egyptian president hosni mubarak . each made remarks before the dinner . also attending the dinner were secretary of state hillary clintonand middle east quartet representative tony blair . the quartet consists of the united states , russia , the united nations and the european union . we do n't seek a brief interlude between two wars , we do n't seek a temporary respite between outbursts of terror , ' netanyahu said . we seek a peace that will end the conflict between us once and for all ... for our generation , our children 's generation and the next . ' netanyahu and abbas condemned attacks against the israelis in recent days . we do not want any blood to be shed -- one drop of blood from the israelis or the palestinians , ' said abbas . we want peace between the two countries ... let us sign a formal agreement for peace and put an end to this long period of suffering forever . ' in earlier remarks from the white house rose garden , obama said that this moment of opportunity may not soon come again . ' with the u.s. war in iraq drawing to a close , the middle east moved front and center for administration officials wednesday as obama held a series of high-stakes meetings with israeli and arab leaders . obama huddled behind closed doors at the white house with the israeli and arab leaders . on wednesday night , obama called the talks very productive . ' but he also pointed to challenges ahead . we are under no illusions , ' he said . passions run deep ... there 's a reason that the two-state solution has eluded previous generations -- - this is extraordinarily complex and extraordinarily difficult . ' but , ' he continued , we know that the status quo is unsustainable . ' obama and netanyahu met first on wednesday , briefly addressing reporters to condemn , in obama 's words , the senseless slaughter ' of two men and two women tuesday near the west bank city of hebron . terrorists ... are purposely trying to undermine these talks , ' obama said . the message should go out ( that this attack ) is not going to stop ' the united states from backing israel and the peace process . later , after meeting with abbas , he said that we are making progress ' in negotiations . during his meetings with abbas and king abdullah , according to the white house , obama was joined by secretary of state hillary clinton , chief of staff rahm emanuel , national security advisor gen. james jones , and former sen. george mitchell , among others . mitchell is obama 's special envoy for middle east peace . at stake is a unique window of opportunity ' for a breakthrough in the israeli-palestinian conflict within the next year , according mitchell . talks have been stalled for a year and a half . the hurdles , however , remain steep . one immediate threat is the looming september 26 expiration of israel 's 10-month freeze on settlement construction in the west bank . chief palestinian negotiator saeb erakat indicated to cnn this week that if israel does not extend the freeze , direct talks may quickly fall apart . netanyahu will have closed the door in my face ' if settlement construction resumes , erakat said . pressed on whether the palestinian delegation would walk out of talks at that point , erakat said that we will not be able to go . ' netanyahu can have settlements or peace , but he ca n't have both , erakat said . another roadblock to any comprehensive deal is the palestinian view that any two-state solution must include a handover of all the land israel captured in the 1967 war , along with east jerusalem as the palestinian capital . while netanyahu has expressed openness about a palestinian state , he has expressed strong opposition to a palestinian takeover of east jerusalem . the issue of hamas control of gaza , erakat noted , also remains a major problem . ' while gaza is generally considered to be part of any future palestinian state , hamas has refused to recognize israel 's right to exist and is not a part of the talks . hamas leaders are frequently in conflict with the more moderate abbas and his fatah organization , which has the upper hand in the west bank . mitchell , however , told reporters tuesday that both netanyahu and abbas are noting polls showing fear of intensified conflict if negotiations fall apart . this is a moment in time within which there remains the possibility of achieving the two-state solution , ' mitchell asserted . the alternatives ... pose far greater difficulties and far greater problems in the future . ' several top officials close to the negotiations conceded to cnn that it is hard to be optimistic about a peace deal at the moment . they downplayed expectations , saying that nobody directly involved in the talks expects a deal to be reached this week . but simply resuming talks was a critical step , and a comprehensive middle east peace deal has been one of obama 's top foreign policy goals , they said . the biggest breakthrough would be an agenda [ emerging thursday ] for a second round of meetings soon to move forward , ' one top official actively engaged in the talks said . clinton is set to play the main role in the talks on thursday , hosting a meeting at the state department with netanyahu and abbas . cnn 's hala gorani and david molko contributed to this report | obama is hosting netanyahu , abbas , mubarak , and king abdullah ii at the white house |
ebola <tsp> ( cnn ) forty-three people who came into contact with ebola patient thomas eric duncan are now officially cleared after not demonstrating any symptoms during a 21-day monitoring period , dallas county judge clay jenkins said monday . one more will be cleared later monday , and four others will complete their 21-day monitoring period soon , he said . thankfully , they are all asymptomatic , and it looks like none of them will get ebola , ' said jenkins , who is overseeing response efforts in dallas . texas officials'conflicting numbers the news conflicted with information jenkins provided to cnn on sunday indicating that all 48 people would be cleared at midnight . dallas mayor mike rawlings also provided numbers that conflicted with jenkins'information from sunday . jenkins told cnn that in addition to the 48 people whose quarantine was ending monday , there were 75 health workers being monitored . rawlings said 120 people were still being monitored . it was unclear how he came up with that total . among those in the clear is duncan 's fiancée , louise troh . monday marks the 21st day since her last contact with duncan , who was the first person to die of the disease in the united states . we are so happy this is coming to an end , and we are so grateful that none of us has shown any sign of illness , ' troh said in a statement sunday . we have lost so much , but we have our lives and we have our faith in god , which always gives us hope . ' texas nurses nina pham and amber vinson , who helped care for duncan , remain hospitalized as they battle the virus . pham is in stable condition at a national institutes of health facility in bethesda , maryland , according to anthony fauci , director of the national institute of allergy and infectious diseases . vinson is at emory university hospital in atlanta . her family has not given permission to make her condition public . while there are signs of hope in the united states and at least one more country in west africa -- nigeria was declared ebola-free monday , following an announcement that senegal is now rid of the virus -- ebola is still spreading rapidly in guinea , liberia and sierra leone , health officials report . more than 4,500 people have died from the virus in west africa , according to the world health organization , which said the region is still suffering from widespread and intense transmission ' because patients do n't have access to adequate health care . there 's a social crisis , too . orphans of victims are often abandoned , their relatives terrified of taking them in . here 's the latest about the virus from around the world : ebola czar begins work this week ron klain , the former chief of staff to two vice u.s. presidents who has been tapped as the obama administration 's ebola czar , ' will begin his new duties wednesday , white house press secretary josh earnest said . klain is highly regarded at the white house as a good manager with excellent relationships both in the administration and on capitol hill . his supervision of the allocation of funds in the stimulus -- at the time an incredible and complicated government undertaking -- is respected in washington . he does not have any extensive background in health care -- something many republicans seized on -- but the job is regarded as a managerial challenge . he 's strong . he 's very tough , ' said cnn political analyst david gergen . it 's important in this job to be a coordinator ; you have to knock heads together . he 's tough enough to do that . ' a former chief of staff to vice president joe biden and also to former vice president al gore , klain is president of case holdings and general counsel of revolution , an investment group . he has clerked for the u.s. supreme court and headed up gore 's effort during the 2000 florida recount . nigeria : ebola is gone nigeria was thrust in the ebola spotlight in july after an infected air traveler introduced the virus to lagos . the case spurred fears that the disease would spread across the city of 21 million and throughout africa 's most populous country . in the end , nigeria confirmed 19 ebola cases , including seven deaths . the world health organization said an aggressive government response and effective contact tracing helped keep the virus in check . this is a spectacular success story that shows that ebola can be contained , ' who said monday . such a story can help the many other developing countries that are deeply worried by the prospect of an imported ebola case , ' it said . many wealthy countries , with outstanding health systems , may have something to learn as well . ' nigerian health officials reached 100 % of known contacts in lagos and 99.8 % at the second outbreak site in port harcourt , who said . and unlike in guinea , liberia and sierra leone -- the combined epicenter of the outbreak -- all identified contacts in nigeria were physically monitored every day for 21 days , the agency said . the few who tried to escape the monitoring system were tracked down and returned to finish their required monitoring period . for who to declare an ebola outbreak over , a country must pass 42 days with active surveillance in place , supported by good diagnostic capacity , and with no new cases detected , the agency said . the 42-day period is also twice the maximum incubation period for ebola . doctors without borders : worker has recovered a worker with the international organization doctors without borders announced monday that a staffer in norway who contracted ebola in west africa and was treated in europe is now free of the virus . he has been discharged from care , according to doctors without borders'london office . the organization is not releasing any more information , including the staffer 's name or plans , citing patient confidentiality . spain : nurse 's aide free of ebola teresa romero ramos , who had contracted ebola after caring for a patient with the deadly disease , is now free of the virus , spain 's special ebola committee said sunday . a third test came back negative after two earlier tests showed the levels of ebola in her system were almost nil . romero has recovered enough to produce antibodies , virus expert luis enjuanes told cnn . but she 'll stay in the hospital for days , possibly a few weeks , to recover , enjuanes said . u.n. worker dies an employee with the united nations'entity for gender equality , u.n. women , died over the weekend from ebola , spokesman stephane dujarric said monday . the staffer worked for the organization in sierra leone , and the worker 's spouse is receiving treatment for the virus , according to dujarric . cnn 's al goodman , joshua berlinger , eliott c. mclaughlin and bharati naik contributed to this report . | u.n. staffer who worked in sierra leone has died of ebola ; spouse being treated |
ebola <tsp> ( cnn ) forty-three people who came into contact with ebola patient thomas eric duncan are now officially cleared after not demonstrating any symptoms during a 21-day monitoring period , dallas county judge clay jenkins said monday . one more will be cleared later monday , and four others will complete their 21-day monitoring period soon , he said . thankfully , they are all asymptomatic , and it looks like none of them will get ebola , ' said jenkins , who is overseeing response efforts in dallas . texas officials'conflicting numbers the news conflicted with information jenkins provided to cnn on sunday indicating that all 48 people would be cleared at midnight . dallas mayor mike rawlings also provided numbers that conflicted with jenkins'information from sunday . jenkins told cnn that in addition to the 48 people whose quarantine was ending monday , there were 75 health workers being monitored . rawlings said 120 people were still being monitored . it was unclear how he came up with that total . among those in the clear is duncan 's fiancée , louise troh . monday marks the 21st day since her last contact with duncan , who was the first person to die of the disease in the united states . we are so happy this is coming to an end , and we are so grateful that none of us has shown any sign of illness , ' troh said in a statement sunday . we have lost so much , but we have our lives and we have our faith in god , which always gives us hope . ' texas nurses nina pham and amber vinson , who helped care for duncan , remain hospitalized as they battle the virus . pham is in stable condition at a national institutes of health facility in bethesda , maryland , according to anthony fauci , director of the national institute of allergy and infectious diseases . vinson is at emory university hospital in atlanta . her family has not given permission to make her condition public . while there are signs of hope in the united states and at least one more country in west africa -- nigeria was declared ebola-free monday , following an announcement that senegal is now rid of the virus -- ebola is still spreading rapidly in guinea , liberia and sierra leone , health officials report . more than 4,500 people have died from the virus in west africa , according to the world health organization , which said the region is still suffering from widespread and intense transmission ' because patients do n't have access to adequate health care . there 's a social crisis , too . orphans of victims are often abandoned , their relatives terrified of taking them in . here 's the latest about the virus from around the world : ebola czar begins work this week ron klain , the former chief of staff to two vice u.s. presidents who has been tapped as the obama administration 's ebola czar , ' will begin his new duties wednesday , white house press secretary josh earnest said . klain is highly regarded at the white house as a good manager with excellent relationships both in the administration and on capitol hill . his supervision of the allocation of funds in the stimulus -- at the time an incredible and complicated government undertaking -- is respected in washington . he does not have any extensive background in health care -- something many republicans seized on -- but the job is regarded as a managerial challenge . he 's strong . he 's very tough , ' said cnn political analyst david gergen . it 's important in this job to be a coordinator ; you have to knock heads together . he 's tough enough to do that . ' a former chief of staff to vice president joe biden and also to former vice president al gore , klain is president of case holdings and general counsel of revolution , an investment group . he has clerked for the u.s. supreme court and headed up gore 's effort during the 2000 florida recount . nigeria : ebola is gone nigeria was thrust in the ebola spotlight in july after an infected air traveler introduced the virus to lagos . the case spurred fears that the disease would spread across the city of 21 million and throughout africa 's most populous country . in the end , nigeria confirmed 19 ebola cases , including seven deaths . the world health organization said an aggressive government response and effective contact tracing helped keep the virus in check . this is a spectacular success story that shows that ebola can be contained , ' who said monday . such a story can help the many other developing countries that are deeply worried by the prospect of an imported ebola case , ' it said . many wealthy countries , with outstanding health systems , may have something to learn as well . ' nigerian health officials reached 100 % of known contacts in lagos and 99.8 % at the second outbreak site in port harcourt , who said . and unlike in guinea , liberia and sierra leone -- the combined epicenter of the outbreak -- all identified contacts in nigeria were physically monitored every day for 21 days , the agency said . the few who tried to escape the monitoring system were tracked down and returned to finish their required monitoring period . for who to declare an ebola outbreak over , a country must pass 42 days with active surveillance in place , supported by good diagnostic capacity , and with no new cases detected , the agency said . the 42-day period is also twice the maximum incubation period for ebola . doctors without borders : worker has recovered a worker with the international organization doctors without borders announced monday that a staffer in norway who contracted ebola in west africa and was treated in europe is now free of the virus . he has been discharged from care , according to doctors without borders'london office . the organization is not releasing any more information , including the staffer 's name or plans , citing patient confidentiality . spain : nurse 's aide free of ebola teresa romero ramos , who had contracted ebola after caring for a patient with the deadly disease , is now free of the virus , spain 's special ebola committee said sunday . a third test came back negative after two earlier tests showed the levels of ebola in her system were almost nil . romero has recovered enough to produce antibodies , virus expert luis enjuanes told cnn . but she 'll stay in the hospital for days , possibly a few weeks , to recover , enjuanes said . u.n. worker dies an employee with the united nations'entity for gender equality , u.n. women , died over the weekend from ebola , spokesman stephane dujarric said monday . the staffer worked for the organization in sierra leone , and the worker 's spouse is receiving treatment for the virus , according to dujarric . cnn 's al goodman , joshua berlinger , eliott c. mclaughlin and bharati naik contributed to this report . | who : nigeria is free of ebola after 19 cases and seven deaths |
ebola <tsp> ( cnn ) forty-three people who came into contact with ebola patient thomas eric duncan are now officially cleared after not demonstrating any symptoms during a 21-day monitoring period , dallas county judge clay jenkins said monday . one more will be cleared later monday , and four others will complete their 21-day monitoring period soon , he said . thankfully , they are all asymptomatic , and it looks like none of them will get ebola , ' said jenkins , who is overseeing response efforts in dallas . texas officials'conflicting numbers the news conflicted with information jenkins provided to cnn on sunday indicating that all 48 people would be cleared at midnight . dallas mayor mike rawlings also provided numbers that conflicted with jenkins'information from sunday . jenkins told cnn that in addition to the 48 people whose quarantine was ending monday , there were 75 health workers being monitored . rawlings said 120 people were still being monitored . it was unclear how he came up with that total . among those in the clear is duncan 's fiancée , louise troh . monday marks the 21st day since her last contact with duncan , who was the first person to die of the disease in the united states . we are so happy this is coming to an end , and we are so grateful that none of us has shown any sign of illness , ' troh said in a statement sunday . we have lost so much , but we have our lives and we have our faith in god , which always gives us hope . ' texas nurses nina pham and amber vinson , who helped care for duncan , remain hospitalized as they battle the virus . pham is in stable condition at a national institutes of health facility in bethesda , maryland , according to anthony fauci , director of the national institute of allergy and infectious diseases . vinson is at emory university hospital in atlanta . her family has not given permission to make her condition public . while there are signs of hope in the united states and at least one more country in west africa -- nigeria was declared ebola-free monday , following an announcement that senegal is now rid of the virus -- ebola is still spreading rapidly in guinea , liberia and sierra leone , health officials report . more than 4,500 people have died from the virus in west africa , according to the world health organization , which said the region is still suffering from widespread and intense transmission ' because patients do n't have access to adequate health care . there 's a social crisis , too . orphans of victims are often abandoned , their relatives terrified of taking them in . here 's the latest about the virus from around the world : ebola czar begins work this week ron klain , the former chief of staff to two vice u.s. presidents who has been tapped as the obama administration 's ebola czar , ' will begin his new duties wednesday , white house press secretary josh earnest said . klain is highly regarded at the white house as a good manager with excellent relationships both in the administration and on capitol hill . his supervision of the allocation of funds in the stimulus -- at the time an incredible and complicated government undertaking -- is respected in washington . he does not have any extensive background in health care -- something many republicans seized on -- but the job is regarded as a managerial challenge . he 's strong . he 's very tough , ' said cnn political analyst david gergen . it 's important in this job to be a coordinator ; you have to knock heads together . he 's tough enough to do that . ' a former chief of staff to vice president joe biden and also to former vice president al gore , klain is president of case holdings and general counsel of revolution , an investment group . he has clerked for the u.s. supreme court and headed up gore 's effort during the 2000 florida recount . nigeria : ebola is gone nigeria was thrust in the ebola spotlight in july after an infected air traveler introduced the virus to lagos . the case spurred fears that the disease would spread across the city of 21 million and throughout africa 's most populous country . in the end , nigeria confirmed 19 ebola cases , including seven deaths . the world health organization said an aggressive government response and effective contact tracing helped keep the virus in check . this is a spectacular success story that shows that ebola can be contained , ' who said monday . such a story can help the many other developing countries that are deeply worried by the prospect of an imported ebola case , ' it said . many wealthy countries , with outstanding health systems , may have something to learn as well . ' nigerian health officials reached 100 % of known contacts in lagos and 99.8 % at the second outbreak site in port harcourt , who said . and unlike in guinea , liberia and sierra leone -- the combined epicenter of the outbreak -- all identified contacts in nigeria were physically monitored every day for 21 days , the agency said . the few who tried to escape the monitoring system were tracked down and returned to finish their required monitoring period . for who to declare an ebola outbreak over , a country must pass 42 days with active surveillance in place , supported by good diagnostic capacity , and with no new cases detected , the agency said . the 42-day period is also twice the maximum incubation period for ebola . doctors without borders : worker has recovered a worker with the international organization doctors without borders announced monday that a staffer in norway who contracted ebola in west africa and was treated in europe is now free of the virus . he has been discharged from care , according to doctors without borders'london office . the organization is not releasing any more information , including the staffer 's name or plans , citing patient confidentiality . spain : nurse 's aide free of ebola teresa romero ramos , who had contracted ebola after caring for a patient with the deadly disease , is now free of the virus , spain 's special ebola committee said sunday . a third test came back negative after two earlier tests showed the levels of ebola in her system were almost nil . romero has recovered enough to produce antibodies , virus expert luis enjuanes told cnn . but she 'll stay in the hospital for days , possibly a few weeks , to recover , enjuanes said . u.n. worker dies an employee with the united nations'entity for gender equality , u.n. women , died over the weekend from ebola , spokesman stephane dujarric said monday . the staffer worked for the organization in sierra leone , and the worker 's spouse is receiving treatment for the virus , according to dujarric . cnn 's al goodman , joshua berlinger , eliott c. mclaughlin and bharati naik contributed to this report . | doctors without borders staffer treated for ebola is free of virus , group says |
facebook music <tsp> san francisco ( cnn ) -- joining likes ' on facebook , the social network has added dozens of new types of posts , including bought , ' read ' and want . ' sixty applications that let users publish information automatically to facebook launched at a news conference held at a trendy nightclub here on wednesday . many of these are new versions of existing online services or mobile apps . apps for foodies , like foodspotting and foodily , can publish to a user 's facebook profile when she updates her digital diary of meals . ticketmaster can publish to facebook when customers buy concert tickets . like with facebook music , the social network may create monthly personalized reports that are posted to a person 's profile showing how the app was used at any given time . for example , someone could see the places a friend traveled to last summer , thanks to tripadvisor . since the launch of facebook music in september , participants such as mog and spotify have reported large increases in membership . some 400,000 people coming from facebook have signed up for mog accounts since september , and each day , facebook sends an average of 4,000 people who have never visited mog before , david hyman , the music company 's ceo , said in a phone interview . the platform itself is the biggest traffic generator we 've ever had , ' hyman said . it is very significant . ' facebook programmers have created a mathematical algorithm that will examine the types of posts a person has chosen to give prominent placement to on his or her profile , facebook cto bret taylor said in an interview . whether food , movies or exercises logged into facebook , the site will try to predict what you 're most passionate about based on past choices , similar to how the system determines its news feed based partly on the people you contact most often , taylor said . each user will be able to manually override these profile placements , he said . people care a lot about the way their profile looks , ' taylor said . these features are only available to those who have enabled the facebook timeline , which opened to everyone about a month ago . eventually , every user will be required to use that version of the site profile . taylor described the new app features as part of a maturation of facebook , which goes beyond the initial perspective of its co-founder , mark zuckerberg , who coded the website in his sophomore year at harvard university . zuckerberg , who is now facebook 's ceo , did not attend the event wednesday . previously , the profile was all the things mark zuckerberg was interested in in college , ' taylor said . you know , movies , music and books . ' ( zuckerberg , 27 , only lists one book on his facebook profile : ender 's game , which came out the year after he was born . ) facebook will review each new action , as it 's called , that 's proposed by developers in order to screen for profanity or other unwanted words , mike vernal , the company 's platform engineering director , said in an interview . software developers will be able to create an unlimited number of these actions , he said . that would be useful for something like itunes , which allows users to listen , ' watch ' and buy ' things , although apple is not participating in the program . a spokesman did n't respond to a request for comment . despite some early opposition , facebook wants to encourage all developers to adopt the new tools . we 've got a whole new set , a whole new class , of applications that we think we 're enabling with this platform , ' carl sjogreen , a facebook product director , said onstage during the announcement . when we say anything , we really mean anything . ' in characteristic facebook ambition , sjogreen added , we 're even more excited about the thousands of apps to come . ' | facebook music was a precursor to these new features |
gulf stream <tsp> ( cnn ) -- it is one of the most iconic ports in the world , the dramatic backdrop to everything from ancient roman sailing ships to world war two military vessels and gas-guzzling speedboats . now london 's historic river thames has played host to a new generation of boat -- one which could revolutionize not just the future of nautical design , but scientific research on the high seas . introducing ms turanor planet solar -- the world 's largest solar-powered boat . sunny disposition resembling more starship enterprise ' than a modern catamaran , the 35-meter vessel arrived in the british capital last week -- its last stop on a scientific expedition across the atlantic . featuring an expandable deck covered in over 500 square meters of solar panels , the 60-ton vessel is completely powered by the sun . more than 800 solar panels charge enormous lithium-ion batteries stowed in the catamaran 's twin hulls , which power two electric motors at the back . on a full battery we can run for 72 hours without sun , ' says captain gerard d'aboville , who is also the first man to row solo across the atlantic and the pacific oceans . i receive meteorological forecasts for the next week , which update on our map every hour , so i can see the sunniest route to take . ' eco expedition the $ 16 million vessel cut an impressive figure as it cruised beneath london 's raised tower bridge , marking the end of an almost three-month scientific expedition along the atlantic 's warm gulf stream . heading off from miami in june , the boat 's team of scientists examined water and air samples , as part of their research into climate change . led by university of geneva climatologist martin beniston -- a member of a united nations-backed panel on climate change that won the 2007 nobel peace prize -- they used high-tech vacuum cleaners ' to measure aerosols ( fine particles in the air ) and winches which plunged 200 meters below the water . watch : stunning time-lapse of antarctic science mission ' the fact that the boat does n't create any pollutants means what we measure is as natural as possible , ' said beniston . and in terms of awareness-raising , we 're carrying out the research in a boat which could be connected to the future and reducing our carbon footprint . ' record breaking design it 's not the first time the high-tech vessel has made headlines around the world . in may last year it also became the first solar-powered vessel to circumnavigate the globe , traveling at an average speed of five knots . it continued to break the record books earlier this year when it made the fastest solar-powered crossing of the atlantic -- traveling from spain to the west indies in 22 days and breaking its own previous record by four days . see : high-tech yacht aiming to smash speed record the brainchild of swiss eco-adventurer raphael domjan , the high-tech boat was designed by new zealand nautical architecture company lomocean design , and built by german shipyard knierim yachtbau in 2010 . and with room for up to 60 people , you 're more likely to see the unusual boat before you hear it . unlike other diesel-powered ships , ms turanor planet solar glides silently across the water . the boat has a very special look , with her expandable deck , ' said d'aboville . in fact , we were two miles off the coast of monaco when some people called the police to say there was an airplane on the water . ' old name , new look but for such a futuristic-looking vessel , ms turanor planet solar has an ancient-sounding name . turanor ' was named after the word for power of the sun ' in j.r.r tolkien 's lord of the rings ' trilogy . it may also prove to be the beginnings of an epic adventure -- this time on the high seas . | completes scientific expedition along atlantic 's gulf stream |
singapore <tsp> a third successive year of california 's worst drought in a century has the golden state 's reservoirs at record lows . agriculture has been affected , hitting the local economy , while some small communities risk running out of water . but business is booming in california 's orange county water district ( ocwd ) , through a pioneering wastewater treatment facility that recycles used water -- or sewage -- and returns it to the drinking supply . the plant is expanding production from 70 to 100 million gallons per day , enough for 850,000 people , around one-third of the county population . as the owcd output is mixed with the main groundwater supply it reaches over 70 % of residents . global problem the facility is among the oldest and largest of its type in the world , and could represent a model solution for a global problem . the u.n. warns that half the world population will face water scarcity by 2030 , accelerated by climate change and population growth . shortages on such a scale would threaten food production , as well as a health crisis through increased exposure to unsanitary water , which already kills millions each year through waterborne diseases such as cholera and diarrhea . but the introduction of reuse systems has been difficult , with a high degree of public skepticism . orange county began recycling water for non-potable use in the 1970s , but only began contributing to the drinking supply in 2008 , combined with a comprehensive pr and education campaign to allay public fears . operators now feel the system is well established and ready to scale up . it 's a watershed moment right now , we 're seeing widespread acceptance of these technologies , ' ocwd general manager mike markus said . as the shortages become more extreme and water supplies are cut , it has raised awareness that we need to find alternative resources . ' the process works by re-routing a proportion of the 1.3 billion gallons of waste water generated in southern california each day into a three-step treatment . the first is microfiltration of the treated waste water to remove solids , oils and bacteria , before the resulting liquid goes through reverse osmosis , pushing it through a fine plastic membrane that filters out viruses and pharmaceuticals . the water is then treated with uv light to remove any remaining organic compounds , before joining the main groundwater supply , which must pass strict quality controls to meet legal standards , and distribution to households . read this : machine makes drinking water from thin air the ocwd says the water exceeds all state and federal drinking water standards . safety has also been established in pioneering projects around the world . water-insecure singapore , previously reliant on imports , now delivers 30 % of its needs through the newater reclamation facility . although only a small amount is added to its reservoirs , the output surpasses who standards for potable use to the extent that a high proportion is directed for industrial uses requiring ultra-clean water . one of the world 's earliest schemes , in windhoek , namibia , has been in operation since 1968 and has tackled both shortage and water-borne diseases . over half of the sub saharan african population faces water insecurity , and the greatest health risk , diarrhea , kills over a million people each year in the region . but research showed that in the 1970s disease occurred at lower rates for people supplied by the windhoek plant than through conventional treated sources . standards are stricter because of the novelty of the technology and process , ' says benedito braga , president of the world water council . the quality from sewage is very good , as good or better than the tap water in any city in the developed world . ' the message is now being heeded and the model is spreading . california has put $ 1 billion into funding recycling for potable use ( $ 800 million of that in low-interest loans ) , with new initiatives launched in los angeles , san francisco and san diego . texas , parts of which are also severely affected by drought , aims to generate 10 % of all new supplies through reclaimed water by 2060 . a facility in big spring has introduced the first direct potable reuse ' scheme in the united states by sending recycled water to the final treatment plant without passing it through groundwater reserves . dealing with disgust in each case , public relations are key , as recycled water schemes have been historically shot down by public disgust at the concept . this was most vividly shown in the australian city of toowoomba in 2006 when local activists represented by the group citizens against drinking sewage ' defeated plans to introduce reclaimed sources , citing health risks and emotive factors . but australia also shows the extent to which attitudes have changed . after a three-year public trial , the city of perth will receive up to 20 % of its drinking water from reclaimed sources in coming decades , with a reported 76 % public support . a network of similar programs is being established across the country , according to the australian water recycling center of excellence . psychologists say the aversion is deeply held and difficult -- but not impossible -- to overcome . the disgust comes from intuitive concepts of contagion , ' says dr. carol nemeroff of the university of south maine , who has studied reactions to reclaimed water . it is magical in nature , the same type of thinking that underlines voodoo practices . ' one of the best ways to get past it is perceptual cues -- if you can see sparkling fresh , clear water , and taste it that helps to overcome the concept ... the contagion type thinking decreases with familiarity , ' says nemeroff , adding that necessity can also be a key driver . if you 're desperate you 'll override anything for survival . ' energy and cost in orange county and other facilities , mixing the output with groundwater is a largely unnecessary , confidence-building measure to allay public fears . but as awareness improves , operators hope to move from indirect to direct potable reuse , which would bring down energy use and costs , while avoiding the counter-intuitive step of re-contaminating purified water . the main cost is energy and that is coming down all the time , ' says mike markus . improvements in membrane technology allow us to use less pressure to do the same thing . ' the energy cost of reverse osmosis has come down by 75 % since the 1970s , he says , while emerging technologies such as aquaporin may reduce it further . even now , the cost is favorable compared with desalination or imported water in california . markus hopes such advances will allow for the creation of portable modular units that can be cheaply transported to the areas of the world with the greatest need . campaign group water reuse does much of its work in education outreach , through messages such as the downstream ' concept , that all water is ultimately recycled . it 's the same water now as when dinosaurs walked the earth , ' says executive director melissa meeker . it 's about understanding the water cycle and how we fit into it . once people think about it , they become more open-minded . ' if costs continue to fall and public acceptance continues to grow , waste water can become a major defense against the projected scarcities of this century . the world water council projects that recycled sewage will be a normalized source of drinking water in cities around the world within 30 years , and much of the infrastructure and technology is already in place . it 's up to us now to get used to it . | singapore produces large amounts of high-quality recycled water |
fbi <tsp> ( cnn ) -- a san francisco man accused of possessing bomb-making materials in his apartment also bought lethal toxins online , the fbi said in documents unsealed friday . ryan kelly chamberlain ii was charged this week with possession of an illegal destructive device . bomb technicians found a series of items in his house , leading to a manhunt that ended with his arrest monday . items included a powdery , green explosive substance , a model rocket motor , ball bearings and an igniter for home-made bombs , according to a different affidavit unsealed earlier this week . it did not list deadly toxins at the time . but the latest documents detail lethal poisons bought anonymously in dark , encrypted corners of the web . the investigation has revealed that chamberlain has utilized an anonymous , internet-based market place known as black market reloaded to facility the unlawful acquisition and possession of biological agents and lethal toxins in california and florida , ' fbi agent michael eldridge wrote in the latest documents . chamberlain bought abrin from a seller in sacramento in december , the documents allege . he said he planned to use the poison to ease the suffering ' of cancer patients , according to the documents . abrin is a natural poison found in the rosary pea plant . it 's similar to ricin , but has never been used in terrorist attacks , according to the centers for disease control and prevention . in addition , he allegedly bought ground rosary peas and pure nicotine in december and june of last year , respectively . nicotine can be used to poison food and water , according to the cdc . chamberlain , 42 , was arrested near the golden gate bridge after a three-day manhunt . it 's unclear if he 's entered a plea . authorities had been looking for him after searching his neighborhood on a tip that he had items of great concern ' at his home , fbi special agent in charge david johnson said . he declined to say what chamberlain planned to do , if anything , or what motivated him . if convicted of the illegal destructive device possession charge , he faces up to 10 years in prison and a $ 10,000 fine . | fbi : he bought lethal poisons in dark , encrypted corners of the web |
fbi <tsp> ( cnn ) -- our nixon ' is mostly comprised of super 8 home movies made by three of president nixon 's closest aides : h.r . bob ' haldeman , john ehrlichman , and dwight chapin . a lot of people have asked us how we got our hands on their home movies , and whether we had to license them . the short answer is that we got the films from the nixon library ( which is part of the national archives and records administration ) , and we did n't have to license them because they are in the public domain . but how they ended up in the nixon library , why they are in the public domain , and what happened when we found out there were multiple copies of the whole collection ( of widely varying quality ! ) is an interesting story . haldeman , ehrlichman and chapin were enthusiastic amateur cinematographers . between 1969 and 1973 , they filmed more than 500 reels of super 8 . and the united states navy photographic center fueled their enthusiasm by providing them with free film and processing , as well as copies of their films to share with each other . dwight chapin also told us that they had planned to donate copies to the official presidential records . four lessons from nixon 's failed presidency but the home movies took an unexpected path during the watergate investigation , when the fbi confiscated the contents of ehrlichman 's office , including a box of a duplicate set ( copies ) of the home movies . thus , the home movies were among the evidence given to the watergate special prosecutor . ( we are speculating , but we 're going to go out a limb here and say they were not of any use at all in that investigation . ) when nixon resigned on august 9 , 1974 , he arranged to have his presidential papers sent to his home in san clemente , california , assuming that they were his personal property . his assumption was warranted , as all his predecessors had taken possession of their papers after their terms of office . attorney general william saxbe agreed that the papers belonged to nixon , but also concluded that the government had to respond to subpoenas covering the papers . accordingly , nixon agreed to deposit his papers with the administrator of general services , with the understanding that some of the papers would eventually be donated to the united states . under the agreement , nixon retained title to his papers and could prohibit their use . the inner demons that drove nixon congress was concerned that nixon would destroy papers relevant to the watergate investigation , so it passed the presidential records and materials preservation act of 1974 ( prmpa ' ) , 44 u.s.c . ⧠2111 ( 1988 ) . the prmpa authorized the administrator of general services to take possession of and provide access to nixon 's presidential papers , including the secret white house tapes . regulations issued under the prmpa allowed interested parties to object to the release of particular documents , and authorized the administrator to return purely personal materials to nixon . nixon immediately challenged the constitutionality of the prmpa . while the supreme court ultimately upheld the prmpa , it did not determine whether nixon was entitled to compensation for his papers . nixon v. adm'r of gen. services , 433 u.s. 425 ( 1977 ) . in 1980 , nixon filed an action for just compensation under the takings clause , which he eventually won , after more than a decade of litigation.nixon v. u.s. , 978 f.2d 1269 ( 1992 ) . in 2000 , the justice department agreed to pay the nixon estate $ 18 million . in response to the litigation over nixon 's presidential papers , congress passed the presidential records act of 1978 ( pra ' ) , 44 u.s.c . â§â§ 2201-07 , which took effect on january 20 , 1980 . the pra provides that presidential and vice-presidential records are the property of the united states , and establishes procedures for their preservation , including eventual public access . as a result of the prmpa , nixon 's presidential papers became the property of the united states and were deposited in the national archives . the nixon collection included 44 million documents , 3,700 hours of audiotapes , thousands of photographs , and -- getting back around to where we come into this -- the box of super 8 films that came from ehrlichman 's office ! under the prmpa regulations , purely personal material was removed from the home movies and returned to haldeman , ehrlichman and chapin . everything that remained was optically printed to 16mm color negative film for preservation . serendipitously , we happened to know the guy ( bill brand ) who had been contracted to make these preservation prints . so , that 's how we heard about the home movies . just hearing about them from bill was enough to make us think there was a very special film in there , just waiting for someone to make it . we paid for the national archives to make standard definition video transfers of the preservation negative , and we began editing our nixon ' with these . they were pretty low resolution , being copies of copies , but we decided we could live with the quality since the content was so astonishing . but about a year into our edit , we learned that the haldeman family had donated another set of copies of the super 8 films . consulting with nixon library archivist ryan pettigrew , we discovered that this collection contained originals rather than copies . the difference in image quality , detail and resolution was stunning ! we had actually already locked picture with the lower-quality telecines , but we gulped hard and decided it was worth it , both in terms of money spent and additional work in post-production , to make a whole new set of scans so that our nixon ' would look as good as it could possibly be . since at the time the nixon library did not have a budget allocated to apply their standard 16mm inter-negative preservation technique to this collection , and since we desperately wanted to use it in our film , we proposed to pay for archival-quality digital scans . we hired jeff kreines , inventor of the kinetta film scanner , to travel to the nixon library and make the scans . he scanned every frame of the entire collection at a resolution much higher than hd video , and delivered them to us as digital files . this suited both our needs as filmmakers and the nixon library 's interest in experimenting with an affordable method of digital film preservation . of course , it also meant we had to manually replace every frame of our film with the new scans -- a saga unto itself -- but it was worth it ! | footage seized by the fbi during watergate is presented in our nixon , ' along with interviews |
justin bieber <tsp> ( cnn ) -- katy perry is officially the queen of twitter . the singer has reached more than 50 million followers on the social media site , making her the most followed person in the universe . perry took the milestone in stride . oh yeah and we grew to 50 million katycats ! eh , regular day at the office , ' she tweeted ( of course ) . not that perry does n't have competition hot on her heels . justin bieber has about 49.4 million beliebers ' hanging on his every 140-character submission , while president barack obama has around 41.2 million followers . lady gaga has just over 41 million little monsters . ' the video site youtube , taylor swift , britney spears , rihanna , instagram , and justin timberlake round out the rest of the top 10 most-followed twitter accounts . perry snagged the twitter throne from bieber in november . he , in turn , had earlier toppled gaga , who for two years was the most followed person . in october she told usa today that felt felt like she had learned how to tame that social media dragon . ' | she surpassed justin bieber in november |
twitter <tsp> ( cnn ) -- katy perry is officially the queen of twitter . the singer has reached more than 50 million followers on the social media site , making her the most followed person in the universe . perry took the milestone in stride . oh yeah and we grew to 50 million katycats ! eh , regular day at the office , ' she tweeted ( of course ) . not that perry does n't have competition hot on her heels . justin bieber has about 49.4 million beliebers ' hanging on his every 140-character submission , while president barack obama has around 41.2 million followers . lady gaga has just over 41 million little monsters . ' the video site youtube , taylor swift , britney spears , rihanna , instagram , and justin timberlake round out the rest of the top 10 most-followed twitter accounts . perry snagged the twitter throne from bieber in november . he , in turn , had earlier toppled gaga , who for two years was the most followed person . in october she told usa today that felt felt like she had learned how to tame that social media dragon . ' | perry has more than 50 million twitter followers |
julian dean <tsp> ( cnn ) -- italian veteran alessandro petacchi won his second stage of the 2010 tour de france on wednesday as cycling 's premier event returned to less testing terrain after two days of crash-marred racing . petacchi triumphed in the fourth leg from cambrai to reims as last year 's top sprinters thor hushovd and mark cavendish could manage only ninth and 12th respectively . fabian cancellara retained the leader 's yellow jersey as he came home 26th in the 163-strong peloton in the same time as last year 's winner alberto contador ( 32nd ) and seven-time champion lance armstrong ( 36th ) . british rider cavendish , who won six stages last year , had a better day after struggling in the wet and on the cobble stones of previous runs but will be disappointed after being forced out of contention at the final sprint . petacchi timed his dash to perfection as he followed up his win in the first stage into the belgian capital of brussels , where several crashes dented the hopes of cavendish among others . the lampre team rider came home in three hours 34 minute and 55 seconds to edge out new zealander julian dean and norway 's edvald hagen boasson , with australian robbie mcewen fourth and south africa 's robert hunter fifth . saxo bank 's cancellara retained a 23-second lead over team sky 's geraint thomas , who was 19th , while third-placed australian cadel evans remained a further 16 seconds back after ending in 16th . hushovd retained the sprinters'green points jersey that he won overall last year and in 2005 , but had his margin trimmed to 10 points by petacchi and acknowledged the threat posed by the 36-year-old -- back at the tour for the first time since 2004 . i do n't know what happened at the finish today , i just had nothing in the legs when i started to sprint . i just felt tired and i could n't go in the last couple of hundred meters , ' hushovd told the tour de france website . yesterday and the day before i went really deep and i think i 'm paying for it now . i still have a lead in the green jersey competition but you saw today that i lost a lot of points to petacchi and mcewen . it was a fast and nervous sprint today and in the last corner i was too far back . i think i spent too much energy to fight with cavendish and , when petacchi went on the left , i just could n't sprint . petacchi is a threat to the green jersey . he seems really strong now and , if he wants to , he come make it all the way to paris . i 'm surprised by how well alessandro is going . i know he 's a good , strong rider but to come back to the tour de france like he has is impressive . ' swiss rider cancellara was happy to have an uneventful day after losing teammate frank schleck on tuesday . my team was happy and i think many other teams were pleased . we needed something like this after tough , hard , nervous , and stressful opening stages , ' he said . we 've spent a lot of energy and we need to recover a bit because soon we 'll get to the alps , and that 's when another sort of music will play . ' | he heads off new zealander julian dean as sprint rival mark cavendish ends in 12th |
john hinckley <tsp> lawyers for presidential assailant john hinckley jr. say he is not dangerous and should eventually be released from a government mental hospital . but prosecutors are fighting that , saying hinckley has been deceptive about his activities while on visits to his mother in williamsburg , virginia . a hearing began in washington on wednesday to determine the future of hinckley , who shot president ronald reagan and three others in march of 1981 . he was found not guilty by reason of insanity in 1982 . in opening statements , prosecutor sarah chasson said secret service agents will testify they performed surveillance on hinckley without his knowledge earlier this year when he was allowed what he was told was unsupervised free time in williamsburg . on several occasions in july and september , hinckley was supposed to go to the movies or shopping but instead went to bookstores where he looked at books about ronald reagan and presidential assassins , chasson said . a requirement of hinckley 's current visitation program is that plans be laid out detailing what he will do when on his own and that medical staff and the secret service are informed . according to chasson , in the first instance in july , hinckley was supposed to go to the movie captain america . ' later when he saw his treatment team , ' hinckley not only maintained he had gone to the movie , but he enthusiastically recommended it . chasson also quoted from a 1987 diary entry by hinckley in which he said psychiatry is a guessing game ' and doctors will never know the true john hinckley . ' the hospital does n't know what mr. hinckley is thinking and he wants it that way , ' the prosecutor said . hinckley 's attorney , barry levine , said the issue is not whether hinckley has sometimes been deceptive but whether he is dangerous . this man is not dangerous and the evidence shows he is not dangerous , ' levine said . he added that hinckley is flawed ' but is fundamentally decent . ' levine said that in the two and a half decades that hinckley has been at st. elizabeths hospital in washington to undergo treatment and during his visits outside that facility , there has not been a single act of violence . ' since 1999 , levine said , hinckley has been taking a drug called risperdal . medical websites describe risperdal as an antipsychotic medication often used to treat bipolar disorder and schizophrenia . dr. tyler jones , director of psychiatry at st. elizabeths , testified hinckley also started taking zoloft in 2005 after complaining about anxiety . jones said hinckley had been diagnosed years ago as suffering from depression and from an unspecified psychotic disorder . but jones said he 's been in remission for both of those disorders for many years . he said hinckley also suffers from narcissism , which has improved but is still present . jones said he has interviewed hinckley but has not treated him . according to jones , hinckley 's treatment team was informed by the secret service that hinckley had not told the truth about his activities during several visits . jones said the medical staff discussed this issue with hinckley , who initially did not appear to view the issue as a big deal , but later understood it was a serious issue . although concerned hinckley was not truthful about his activities , jones said , we did n't feel this constituted an increased risk . ' the staff decided to reduce hinckley 's christmas visit to his mother from 10 days to five days , and he will not be allowed to have any unaccompanied activities during that december stay . jones said the staff had considered stronger action including the possibility of revoking hinckley 's privileges altogether . a september filing by prosecutors said hinckley continues to be deceptive regarding his relationships with and interest in women . ' according to the document , in june of 2009 he went on the internet to find photos of his female dentist . when he was caught , hinckley claimed , falsely , that the dentist had invited him to view her personal photographs . ' asked about the photographs of the dentist , jones said the photographs were of the woman graduating from dental school and were not salacious . ' he said the hospital considers hinckley a low risk of violence to himself and others . ' currently , hinckley is allowed to visit his mother 10 days a month . on july 29 , st. elizabeths hospital filed a proposal to increase that . the first step would allow hinckley to have two visits of 17 days . that would be followed by six visits of 24 days . according to the september government filing opposing the plan , the hospital would then be given the sole discretion to place hinckley on convalescent leave in his mother 's hometown . ' after the judge and all the lawyers were in place , hinckley , now 56 , entered the court wearing a brown sports jacket , dark pants and a striped tie . he shook hands with all his lawyers and sat down . u.s. district judge paul friedman greeted hinckley and he replied , saying , good morning . ' hinckley 's defense team has listed him as a possible witness at the proceedings but has not revealed if he will definitely testify . prosecutors want to cross-examine hinckley and his defense lawyers oppose that . mental health experts and secret service agents will testify , along with hinckley 's brother and sister . hinckley 's mother is now 85 years old and is not a scheduled witness . the hearing is scheduled to run about a week and a half . it 's not clear how quickly the judge might issue a ruling on the hospital 's plan to gradually allow hinckley greater freedom . on march 30 , 1981 , hinckley waited for president reagan to leave a washington hotel after a speech . he opened fire and hit reagan , his press secretary , james brady , secret service agent timothy mccarthy and washington police officer thomas delahanty . all survived , but brady suffered a serious head wound that permanently affected his mobility and his speech . hinckley , who was 25 at the time of the shooting , was enamored of actress jodie foster . he left a letter addressed to her in his washington hotel room saying , dear jodie . there is a definite possibility i will be killed in my attempt to get reagan . ' | after john hinckley shot reagan , he was found not guilty by reason of insanity |
john hinckley <tsp> lawyers for presidential assailant john hinckley jr. say he is not dangerous and should eventually be released from a government mental hospital . but prosecutors are fighting that , saying hinckley has been deceptive about his activities while on visits to his mother in williamsburg , virginia . a hearing began in washington on wednesday to determine the future of hinckley , who shot president ronald reagan and three others in march of 1981 . he was found not guilty by reason of insanity in 1982 . in opening statements , prosecutor sarah chasson said secret service agents will testify they performed surveillance on hinckley without his knowledge earlier this year when he was allowed what he was told was unsupervised free time in williamsburg . on several occasions in july and september , hinckley was supposed to go to the movies or shopping but instead went to bookstores where he looked at books about ronald reagan and presidential assassins , chasson said . a requirement of hinckley 's current visitation program is that plans be laid out detailing what he will do when on his own and that medical staff and the secret service are informed . according to chasson , in the first instance in july , hinckley was supposed to go to the movie captain america . ' later when he saw his treatment team , ' hinckley not only maintained he had gone to the movie , but he enthusiastically recommended it . chasson also quoted from a 1987 diary entry by hinckley in which he said psychiatry is a guessing game ' and doctors will never know the true john hinckley . ' the hospital does n't know what mr. hinckley is thinking and he wants it that way , ' the prosecutor said . hinckley 's attorney , barry levine , said the issue is not whether hinckley has sometimes been deceptive but whether he is dangerous . this man is not dangerous and the evidence shows he is not dangerous , ' levine said . he added that hinckley is flawed ' but is fundamentally decent . ' levine said that in the two and a half decades that hinckley has been at st. elizabeths hospital in washington to undergo treatment and during his visits outside that facility , there has not been a single act of violence . ' since 1999 , levine said , hinckley has been taking a drug called risperdal . medical websites describe risperdal as an antipsychotic medication often used to treat bipolar disorder and schizophrenia . dr. tyler jones , director of psychiatry at st. elizabeths , testified hinckley also started taking zoloft in 2005 after complaining about anxiety . jones said hinckley had been diagnosed years ago as suffering from depression and from an unspecified psychotic disorder . but jones said he 's been in remission for both of those disorders for many years . he said hinckley also suffers from narcissism , which has improved but is still present . jones said he has interviewed hinckley but has not treated him . according to jones , hinckley 's treatment team was informed by the secret service that hinckley had not told the truth about his activities during several visits . jones said the medical staff discussed this issue with hinckley , who initially did not appear to view the issue as a big deal , but later understood it was a serious issue . although concerned hinckley was not truthful about his activities , jones said , we did n't feel this constituted an increased risk . ' the staff decided to reduce hinckley 's christmas visit to his mother from 10 days to five days , and he will not be allowed to have any unaccompanied activities during that december stay . jones said the staff had considered stronger action including the possibility of revoking hinckley 's privileges altogether . a september filing by prosecutors said hinckley continues to be deceptive regarding his relationships with and interest in women . ' according to the document , in june of 2009 he went on the internet to find photos of his female dentist . when he was caught , hinckley claimed , falsely , that the dentist had invited him to view her personal photographs . ' asked about the photographs of the dentist , jones said the photographs were of the woman graduating from dental school and were not salacious . ' he said the hospital considers hinckley a low risk of violence to himself and others . ' currently , hinckley is allowed to visit his mother 10 days a month . on july 29 , st. elizabeths hospital filed a proposal to increase that . the first step would allow hinckley to have two visits of 17 days . that would be followed by six visits of 24 days . according to the september government filing opposing the plan , the hospital would then be given the sole discretion to place hinckley on convalescent leave in his mother 's hometown . ' after the judge and all the lawyers were in place , hinckley , now 56 , entered the court wearing a brown sports jacket , dark pants and a striped tie . he shook hands with all his lawyers and sat down . u.s. district judge paul friedman greeted hinckley and he replied , saying , good morning . ' hinckley 's defense team has listed him as a possible witness at the proceedings but has not revealed if he will definitely testify . prosecutors want to cross-examine hinckley and his defense lawyers oppose that . mental health experts and secret service agents will testify , along with hinckley 's brother and sister . hinckley 's mother is now 85 years old and is not a scheduled witness . the hearing is scheduled to run about a week and a half . it 's not clear how quickly the judge might issue a ruling on the hospital 's plan to gradually allow hinckley greater freedom . on march 30 , 1981 , hinckley waited for president reagan to leave a washington hotel after a speech . he opened fire and hit reagan , his press secretary , james brady , secret service agent timothy mccarthy and washington police officer thomas delahanty . all survived , but brady suffered a serious head wound that permanently affected his mobility and his speech . hinckley , who was 25 at the time of the shooting , was enamored of actress jodie foster . he left a letter addressed to her in his washington hotel room saying , dear jodie . there is a definite possibility i will be killed in my attempt to get reagan . ' | defense attorneys want john hinckley to be transitioned out of a mental hospital |
reagan <tsp> lawyers for presidential assailant john hinckley jr. say he is not dangerous and should eventually be released from a government mental hospital . but prosecutors are fighting that , saying hinckley has been deceptive about his activities while on visits to his mother in williamsburg , virginia . a hearing began in washington on wednesday to determine the future of hinckley , who shot president ronald reagan and three others in march of 1981 . he was found not guilty by reason of insanity in 1982 . in opening statements , prosecutor sarah chasson said secret service agents will testify they performed surveillance on hinckley without his knowledge earlier this year when he was allowed what he was told was unsupervised free time in williamsburg . on several occasions in july and september , hinckley was supposed to go to the movies or shopping but instead went to bookstores where he looked at books about ronald reagan and presidential assassins , chasson said . a requirement of hinckley 's current visitation program is that plans be laid out detailing what he will do when on his own and that medical staff and the secret service are informed . according to chasson , in the first instance in july , hinckley was supposed to go to the movie captain america . ' later when he saw his treatment team , ' hinckley not only maintained he had gone to the movie , but he enthusiastically recommended it . chasson also quoted from a 1987 diary entry by hinckley in which he said psychiatry is a guessing game ' and doctors will never know the true john hinckley . ' the hospital does n't know what mr. hinckley is thinking and he wants it that way , ' the prosecutor said . hinckley 's attorney , barry levine , said the issue is not whether hinckley has sometimes been deceptive but whether he is dangerous . this man is not dangerous and the evidence shows he is not dangerous , ' levine said . he added that hinckley is flawed ' but is fundamentally decent . ' levine said that in the two and a half decades that hinckley has been at st. elizabeths hospital in washington to undergo treatment and during his visits outside that facility , there has not been a single act of violence . ' since 1999 , levine said , hinckley has been taking a drug called risperdal . medical websites describe risperdal as an antipsychotic medication often used to treat bipolar disorder and schizophrenia . dr. tyler jones , director of psychiatry at st. elizabeths , testified hinckley also started taking zoloft in 2005 after complaining about anxiety . jones said hinckley had been diagnosed years ago as suffering from depression and from an unspecified psychotic disorder . but jones said he 's been in remission for both of those disorders for many years . he said hinckley also suffers from narcissism , which has improved but is still present . jones said he has interviewed hinckley but has not treated him . according to jones , hinckley 's treatment team was informed by the secret service that hinckley had not told the truth about his activities during several visits . jones said the medical staff discussed this issue with hinckley , who initially did not appear to view the issue as a big deal , but later understood it was a serious issue . although concerned hinckley was not truthful about his activities , jones said , we did n't feel this constituted an increased risk . ' the staff decided to reduce hinckley 's christmas visit to his mother from 10 days to five days , and he will not be allowed to have any unaccompanied activities during that december stay . jones said the staff had considered stronger action including the possibility of revoking hinckley 's privileges altogether . a september filing by prosecutors said hinckley continues to be deceptive regarding his relationships with and interest in women . ' according to the document , in june of 2009 he went on the internet to find photos of his female dentist . when he was caught , hinckley claimed , falsely , that the dentist had invited him to view her personal photographs . ' asked about the photographs of the dentist , jones said the photographs were of the woman graduating from dental school and were not salacious . ' he said the hospital considers hinckley a low risk of violence to himself and others . ' currently , hinckley is allowed to visit his mother 10 days a month . on july 29 , st. elizabeths hospital filed a proposal to increase that . the first step would allow hinckley to have two visits of 17 days . that would be followed by six visits of 24 days . according to the september government filing opposing the plan , the hospital would then be given the sole discretion to place hinckley on convalescent leave in his mother 's hometown . ' after the judge and all the lawyers were in place , hinckley , now 56 , entered the court wearing a brown sports jacket , dark pants and a striped tie . he shook hands with all his lawyers and sat down . u.s. district judge paul friedman greeted hinckley and he replied , saying , good morning . ' hinckley 's defense team has listed him as a possible witness at the proceedings but has not revealed if he will definitely testify . prosecutors want to cross-examine hinckley and his defense lawyers oppose that . mental health experts and secret service agents will testify , along with hinckley 's brother and sister . hinckley 's mother is now 85 years old and is not a scheduled witness . the hearing is scheduled to run about a week and a half . it 's not clear how quickly the judge might issue a ruling on the hospital 's plan to gradually allow hinckley greater freedom . on march 30 , 1981 , hinckley waited for president reagan to leave a washington hotel after a speech . he opened fire and hit reagan , his press secretary , james brady , secret service agent timothy mccarthy and washington police officer thomas delahanty . all survived , but brady suffered a serious head wound that permanently affected his mobility and his speech . hinckley , who was 25 at the time of the shooting , was enamored of actress jodie foster . he left a letter addressed to her in his washington hotel room saying , dear jodie . there is a definite possibility i will be killed in my attempt to get reagan . ' | after john hinckley shot reagan , he was found not guilty by reason of insanity |
paul hansen <tsp> ( cnn ) -- for the 56th year , world press photo announced the winners of its annual contest friday . the jury gave prizes in nine themed categories to 54 photographers of 32 nationalities for what is considered one of the most prestigious photojournalism honors . photos : selection of world press photo 's 2012 winners this year 's photo of the year , taken by paul hansen , is a striking image of the bodies of two young children carried through the streets of gaza city after an israeli airstrike on their home , the photographer said . they are being taken to a mosque for burial , their father 's body carried on a stretcher behind them . their mother was hospitalized . the photograph humanizes what some may see as a politically charged situation . but contest jury chair santiago lyon told cnn that there was no talk of it being controversial . lyon is the vice president and director of photography for the associated press . in two weeks , more than 103,000 images were narrowed down to about 10,000 in a first round of judging . a second round determined first , second and third place for one of nine themed categories . this year 's final round of judges were a global mix , lyon said . there were three things jurors were looking for in a winning image -- a photograph that reached the intellect , heart and stomach . the gaza city photo accomplished that , lyon said . photos : first place photographers react to winning world press photo prizes ' the strength of the pictures lies in the way it contrasts the anger and sorrow of the adults with the innocence of the children . it 's a picture i will not forget , ' mayu mohanna , a jury member from peru , said in a world press photo press release . the final images were discussed for several hours , and an anonymous vote cast hansen 's image as the picture of 2012 . i thought it was a prank call , ' swedish photographer hansen said about hearing he 'd won . i have mixed feelings about it . it 's a horrible picture . ' the story behind the photo started the day before it was shot , he said . he and a colleague were talking to a norwegian doctor in a hospital . the doctor told the story of a gaza city family whose home had been destroyed in an israeli airstrike . two young boys and their father were killed , and their mother was sent to the intensive care unit . the next day , on november 20 , 2012 , hansen and his colleague set out to cover a funeral . it was for the woman 's sons and husband whose bodies were marched through the neighborhood , their destroyed home unable to house grieving relatives . the picture is one of 12 of the day 's events , taken for a swedish daily newspaper , dagens nyheter . when asked about the image 's possible controversy , hansen said it truthfully portrays the situation . you can see that they 're dead , but it 's not gruesome in any other way besides emotion , ' he said . the ability to portray something in a manner that does n't make the reader turn away takes conscious balancing , hansen said , adding that it 's something for which he strives . the emotion of the photograph remains strong for hansen as well . he said he later cried . crying is part of the job , ' he said . if you 're not there as a person first , why are you there ? ' lyon , the jury chair , said the judges looked at the photograph for its power . we felt that was the reality of the scene , ' he said . it is very powerful . we do n't shy away from showing reality . ' | photographer paul hansen says he has mixed feelings about winning prestigious contest |
hotelsweep <tsp> ( budget travel ) -- if you book hotels online , it 's time to face facts : your favorite travel website probably is n't cutting it . in the past decade , some of the best-known travel sites have lost their fastball . they 're not as smart and nimble as the new kids on the web that now have tools for smarter comparison shopping , searches for smaller b & bs and niche neighborhoods , and access to blocks of rooms reserved for its members . before you try these , one word of caution : no single site is the be-all-and-end-of-all of hotel booking . we recommend using at least two search tools , such as your current favorite online travel agency and one of the hotel shopping engines we 've named here , to max out your chances of nabbing the perfect room or upgrade . happy shopping ! backbid best for : travelers who like the idea of hotel owners competing for their business . what it does : hoteliers often hold back a handful of rooms to sell to last-minute guests , but they do n't always fill them . you can book one of these rooms as they 're released by logging on to backbid , which enables hotels to sell rooms to travelers who already have confirmed bookings at rival properties . how it works : book a refundable reservation at a hotel through your favorite website , and then create a free account at backbid . forward the email with your confirmed hotel reservation to the site , and it will shoot your reservation details -- minus your credit card information -- to dozens of hotels at your destination . backbid will then share with you any counter-offers rival hotels may make , such as a comparable room at a lower rate . dealbase best for : travelers who want an independent source to vouch for the honesty of vacation package prices . what it does : many hotels tout packages that include perks , such as valet parking and a spa treatment , claiming that the package prices represent deep discounts over buying the components separately . dealbase vets each package for its true value . how it works : use dealbase to pick a hotel package at your destination , then click on the listing for a breakdown of the estimated costs of the package 's components . ( the site even publishes a list of the worst ' hotel deals . ) budget travel : 12 elevators you need to see to believe hotelsweep best for : travelers who prefer staying at independently owned properties . what it does : founded this year , hotelsweep lists more than 50,000 u.s. hotels , motels , b & bs , and guesthouses , scraping listings off countless websites . ( a british version , hotelsweep.co.uk , does the same thing for lodging in the united kingdom . ) one of the perks of the site is that it lists mom-and-pop properties -- places that generally aim to attract budget-conscious travelers , but are too small to afford the costs of being listed with multinational travel agencies . how it works : punch your destination into hotelsweep 's direct hotel search ' tool , and the site will fetch a quick-and-dirty list of properties , which you can sort by nightly rate or distance from a particular location . a google street view image of the property is provided , but it 's up to you to take the next step and contact the managers and book a room . if that is too much work , hotelsweep also has a live price comparison ' tool , which is a standard booking engine powered by hotelscombined.com , an australian rival to kayak , though it does n't include all of the mom-and-pop listings that turn up in the direct hotel search ' tool . hipmunk best for : culture vultures and nightlife fans who want to stay in the buzziest neighborhoods . what it does : previously a metasearch site for airfare , hipmunk last year added hotels to its repertoire . one of its signature tricks is to allow a traveler to name his or her favorite interest , such as nightlife , shopping , and museum-hopping , and the site will filter its listings to only display hotels in neighborhoods with an especially high number of relevant venues , such as bars , boutiques , and museums . how it works : run a search for a hotel like you would on any travel site , and hipmunk retrieves real-time rates from booking sites , such as orbitz , getaroom , hotels.com , hotelscombined , and vacation rental platform airbnb . hipmunk also assigns an ecstasy ' rating to each hotel , based on an evaluation of the property 's rates , amenities , and user reviews on tripadvisor . budget travel : 15 food etiquette rules that might surprise you momondo best for : travelers booking hotels overseas who have been disappointed by the selection on u.s.-based travel agencies . what it does : in 2010 , momondo , moved beyond being a flight metasearch engine and now lists hotels from major overseas hotel booking sites , such as escapio and hotelopia , which tend to be overlooked by u.s.-based travel sites like expedia . it also includes an option to search for hostels . how it works : like kayak , you enter your search query , and the site draws up a list of rates from various online travel agencies and hotel sites . room 77 best for : travelers whose priority is a room with the most amenities . what it does : room 77 is unique in researching room-by-room amenities and floor plans for hundreds of three- to five-star hotels in about 30 north american , european , and asian cities . it then facilitates booking a particular type of room . how it works : room 77 works like a typical hotel search engine , only it goes into much greater detail about the amenities available in individual rooms at hotels , such as what the view might be from any given window . guests who book directly through room 77 can take advantage of its free room concierge ' feature , in which it contacts hotel managers on a guest 's behalf to request a room matching his or her preferences , such as connecting rooms ' and distance from elevators . ' there are no guarantees , but the site claims that its customers have a high satisfaction rate with its concierge service . budget travel : 21 girl trips you absolutely love room key best for : travelers who prefer the consistency and quality control of u.s.-owned chain hotels , and do n't want to be distracted with information about other places . what it does : seven hotel chains -- best western , choice hotels ( comfort inn , quality inn ) , hilton , hyatt , intercontinental ( holiday inn , crowne plaza , hotel indigo ) , marriott , and wyndham ( howard johnson , ramada , days inn , super 8 ) -- are listing their rooms together in a new search engine . unlike major online travel agencies like expedia and priceline , room key limits its selection to chains , eliminating most of the uncertainty about what kind of hotel you might end up with . how it works : punch in your destination and travel dates and the site brings up a list of relevant hotels , which you can winnow down using the standard tools , such as distance , price , and star rating . when you decide to book , you 're sent directly to a hotel owned website , where you 'll need to enter your credit card number to book the room . booking directly with the hotel cuts out the middleman and earns you customer loyalty points . yourroomkey best for : travelers looking mostly for american business-type hotels . what it does : finds the cheapest rooms at major-brand hotels located at america 's largest airports and financial districts -- and nearly nowhere else . how it works : this consolidator has access to rooms at a volume discount with major brands like hyatt and marriott at most major u.s. airports ( especially chicago , denver , los angeles , philadelphia , san francisco , and washington , d.c. ) . by only allowing members to see deals , the site is able to offer rates much lower than major chains and websites with lowest-price guarantees offered to the general public . get the best travel deals and tips emailed to you free - click here ! copyright © 2011 newsweek budget travel , inc. , all rights reserved . | hotelsweep is best for travelers who prefer staying at independently owned properties |
rowling <tsp> in 1990 , a 25-year-old researcher for amnesty international , stuck on a train stopped on the tracks between london and manchester , stared out the window for hours . to those around her , no doubt rustling newspapers and magazines , busily rifling through work , the young woman no doubt appeared to be little more than a space cadet , wasting her time , zoning out . but that woman came to be known as jk rowling . and in those idle hours daydreaming out the train window , she has said that the entire plot of the magical harry potter series simply fell into ' her head . mark twain , during an enormously productive summer of writing in 1874 , spent entire days daydreaming in the shade of quarry farm in new york , letting his mind wander , thinking about everything and nothing at all , and , in the end , publishing the adventures of tom sawyer . ' such creative breakthroughs in leisurely moments are hardly unique to literature . physicist richard feynman idly watched students in the cafeteria goof off by spinning plates . for the fun of it , he began to make calculations of the wobbles . that piddling around , ' as he called it , led to developing the feynman diagrams to explain quantum electrodynamics , which resulted in a nobel prize . legend has it not only that archimedes had his eureka ! ' moment about water displacement while relaxing in the tub , but that einstein worked out the theory of relativity while tootling around on his bicycle . though protestant work ethic-driven americans have tended to worry about the devil holding sway in idle time , it turns out idle time is crucial for creativity , innovation and breakthrough thinking . and now we know why . neuroscience is finding that when we are idle , our brains are most active . it all has to do with something called the brain 's default mode network , explains andrew smart , a human factors research scientist and author of the new book , autopilot , the art & science of doing nothing . ' the default mode network is like a series of airport hubs in different and typically unconnected parts of the brain . and that 's why it 's so crucial . when the brain flips into idle mode , this network subconsciously puts together stray thoughts , makes seemingly random connections and enables us to see an old problem in an entirely new light . using brain scans , psychologists john kounios and mark beeman have found that just before that moment of insight , the brain turns inward , what they call a brain blink , ' and lights up an area believed to be linked to our ability to understand the poetry of metaphors . a positive mood and taking time to relax , they found , were critical precursors to these a-ha ! moments . that 's not to say that being idle all the time is the answer . sir isaac newton was steeped in the study of physical science when he sat in his garden in a contemplative mood , ' idly sipping tea after dinner one evening , noticed an apple fall straight to the ground , and came up with the law of gravity . to be most creative , you need this oscillation between deep study with focused attention and daydreaming , which is why you may have your great ideas when you 're in the shower , ' smart told me . they can come into your consciousness when you 're not busy . ' smart himself typically takes long , leisurely walks during the workday and carries a notebook with him to capture any interesting thoughts or ideas that his default mode network may burble to the surface . most employers frown on such behavior . but if they 're smart , they would n't . one recent study of the pharmaceutical industry by bernard munos of the innothink center for research in biomedical innovation and william chin , former dean of research at harvard medical school , for example , found that , despite massive research and development budgets , the number of potential breakthrough drugs introduced in the past decade has dropped roughly in half . why ? because companies became obsessed with cautious efficiency , they argue , rather than in often risky , dreamy innovation . companies pressure workers to be in the office , to work all the time . but at the same time , they 're really interested in innovation , which comes from letting go , ' smart said . but you ca n't have it both ways . ' just think . the wright brothers closed up their busy bicycle shop in ohio , decamped to the beach in north carolina and in this playful , leisure time , invented the airplane . bill gates escapes to a cabin in the woods for think weeks . ' google , facebook and linkedin give employees some version of 20 percent time ' -- affectionately known as employee goof off time . ' and giving workers time to daydream , experiment and follow a passion without worrying about failure has resulted in some of their most innovative and successful products , such as gmail and adsense , an advertising program that wired reports now produces about a quarter of google 's revenue hard as it is to believe in our modern , work-worshipping culture , idleness , leisure time , daydreaming and time away from the hurly-burly , the drudgery of routine and the endless nose to the grindstone , is not only essential for innovation , it is , in fact , what has created civilization . art , literature , inventions , innovation , philosophy -- one could argue nearly all that is transcendent about our flawed human species -- has come as a result of a delicate balance between the uninterrupted time in leisure to daydream , to set the default mode network free , and the concentrated time at work to make those flights of whim and fancy something real . philosopher bertrand russell , in his famous 1932 essay , in praise of idleness , ' advocated a four-hour workday and more leisure time for all . daydreaming , imaging the possibility of a better world in leisure time , he argued , not only cultivated arts , science and culture , but liberated the oppressed and birthed new , democratic systems of governance . without leisure , he wrote , mankind would never have emerged from barbarism . ' it 's a crucial truth that is increasingly getting lost as our work hours climb . workers in the u.s. put in among the most extreme hours of any advanced economy on the planet -- as economic uncertainty and fear of the future keep us firmly planted at our desks , the better to show the boss what good workers we are in advance of the next round of downsizing . our antiquated laws give no overwork protection to knowledge workers , and as advances in technology , as much as they are designed to free us , keep us instead tethered to the office , checking texts and e-mails , returning work calls everywhere and all the time , leaving us feeling perpetually on call ' and never quite able to get away from it all . work , and this insidious work creep says leisure scholar ben hunnicutt , is now how americans tend to answer the existential questions of who we are and how we find meaning in life . and in so doing , we have created a world that has no time for something as seemingly silly and unproductive as daydreaming and leisure time . and that 's where we 're wrong . just imagine , what if , instead of staring out the window , that amnesty international researcher stuck on a train dove into a thick ream of cases to catch up on ? or , if it were today , whipped out her smartphone and tackled the backlog of e-mails in her inbox , diverting herself occasionally with a game of candy crush ? or would we all have been too busy to stop and notice just how much smaller the world is without magic ? | from newton to twain to rowling , creative thinkers have productively used idleness |
oklahoma <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the united states is experiencing its biggest spike in west nile virus since 2004 , with 241 cases of the disease reported nationwide this year so far , including four deaths , health officials said . of the 42 states that have reported infections in people , birds or mosquitoes , 80 % of them have been in texas , mississippi and oklahoma , the cdc said in a statement . the national centers for disease control and prevention also listed a breakdown of infections by state . it is not clear why we are seeing more activity than in recent years , ' said marc fischer , a medical epidemiologist at the cdc . regardless of the reasons for the increase , people should be aware of the west nile virus activity in their area and take action to protect themselves and their family . ' the virus is transmitted through infected mosquitoes . in the united states , most infections occur between june and september , and peak in august , according to the cdc . symptoms include fever , headache , body aches , joint pains , vomiting , diarrhea , or rash , the cdc said in a statement this week . less than 1 % develop a serious neurologic illness such as encephalitis or meningitis ( inflammation of the brain or surrounding tissues ) , ' it said . people over age 50 and those with conditions such as cancer , diabetes and kidney disease or with organ transplants are at greater risk . there are no medications to treat west nile virus or vaccines to prevent infection . people with milder illnesses typically recover on their own but those more seriously affected may need hospital care . health experts say prevention measures include avoiding mosquito bites , using insect repellent and getting rid of insect breeding sites . symptoms of west nile virus | at least 80 % of the infections are in texas , mississippi and oklahoma |
kenya <tsp> ( cnn ) -- people in poorer countries send text messages more often than those in wealthier countries . men in spain and germany access the internet on their phones twice as much as women do . and use of online social networks grew dramatically in egypt and russia over the past year , most likely as part of the recent political upheavals in those countries . these are among the results of a new report that measured the usage of digital communication in 21 countries . the survey by the pew research center 's global attitudes project found that text messaging is now a widespread global phenomenon : in the countries polled , 75 % of cell phone owners say they text . in almost all the countries surveyed , the use of social networks such as facebook and twitter did n't change much from 2010 to 2011 . two notable exceptions were egypt , where 28 % of respondents now use social networks -- up from 18 % last year -- and russia , where social-networking use rose from 33 % to 43 % . facebook and other networking tools played a prominent role in the revolution that toppled egyptian president hosni mubarak in february . protesters organized so effectively on social networks that the egyptian government shut down the internet for five days in an unsuccessful attempt to quell the uprising . observers say social networks also have helped mobilize protesters in moscow , where tens of thousands have filled the streets to speak out against russian parliamentary elections they say were rigged . the pew survey found that only 6 % of internet users in russia were not on social-networking sites . researchers conducted the survey face-to-face and via telephone in the spring of this year . sample sizes in each country ranged from 700 in japan to more than 4,000 in india . among the survey 's other findings : -- of the countries surveyed , text messaging was most common in indonesia and kenya , where 96 % and 89 % of people said they regularly send texts . by contrast , 67 % of people in the united states were frequent texters . -- in spain , 29 % of male cell phone owners use their devices to access the internet , compared to 13 % of female phone owners . this mobile-web gender gap was also pronounced in germany ( 26 % /11 % ) and in turkey ( 30 % /14 % ) . -- social networking is generally more common in wealthier nations , largely driven by the fact that they have higher rates of internet access . for example , 53 % of respondents in israel and 50 % of respondents in the u.s. said they use social networks , compared with 5 % in india and 2 % in pakistan . | people in poorer countries such as kenya send texts more often than those in wealthier ones |
peasants <tsp> ( cnn ) -- this here ai n't no protest song or anything like that , cause i do n't write no protest songs . ' -- bob dylan , gerde 's folk city , new york , april 1962 bob dylan and joan baez perform at a civil rights rally in washington , d.c. in 1963 it was in typically oblique fashion that dylan launched blowin'in the wind ' on the world . a song takes on a life of its own once it has left a musician 's private domain and even if he did n't see it as a protest song , it has certainly been interpreted as one by its listeners . it has become one of the most recognized political songs of popular culture and its release on the 1963 album the freewheelin'bob dylan ' arguably marks the pinnacle of the protest song as a cultural force . today dylan really does n't write protest songs and hardly , it would seem , does anyone else . but is this because there is a dearth of politically-motivated singers , or has the public simply lost its appetite for protest ? there was a particular genre of songwriting which dylan represented in the sixties and seventies which does n't continue in quite the same way , ' says professor john street , head of politics at the university of east anglia and author of politics and culture . ' if the protest song is defined by the lone voice with a guitar , then it probably has declined , even though people like billy bragg and so forth strive to keep it alive . ' in his brief sojourn as leader of the counterculture 's political awakening , dylan was following in a tradition for protest in folk music that had existed for centuries . folk practitioners such as woody guthrie and pete seeger used their music in the 1940s and 1950s to support the burgeoning labor movement and to speak out against senator joseph mccarthy 's purge against un-american ' behavior . but the roots of protest music can be traced back to as early as the 14th century in england where the cutty wren ' was taken up as the rallying call for the peasants'revolt of 1381 . the protest song crossed the atlantic and many were written during the american war of independence . nor did the protest song die when dylan eschewed overtly political song-writing . when dylan stepped across the electric fence , the protest song made the leap with him . suddenly , in a world where the counter culture was brushing the brim of mainstream culture , even rock n'roll , which hitherto had limited itself to the subjects of love , sex , cars and dancing , was overflowing with political messages ; jimi hendrix played a version of the star-spangled banner ' which was interpreted by many as an anti-vietnam statement . crosby , stills , nash and young wrote ohio ' after four students were killed by members of the ohio national guard at an anti-war demonstration at kent state university . in soul music , artists such as james brown with say it loud - i 'm black and i 'm proud ' and marvin gaye with his album what 's going on ' became spokespersons for the civil rights movement of the late 1960s . this carried over into the 1980s with hip hop acts such as public enemy protesting against the endemic racism and poverty faced by the black community in america . meanwhile in the uk , the punk movement took on the mantle of political protest from its folk and rock forebears , with groups such as the clash criticizing racial disharmony in british society . but as the new century approached it seems as though the appetite for using music as a tool for protest diminished . parallels can be drawn between the political climate of the 1960s and today : a fear of communism has been supplanted by a fear of terrorism and even george w. bush himself has pointed out similarities between the vietnam war and the conflict in iraq . it would seem like a ripe time for the protest song to make a comeback . while the iraq war has seen some of the 1960s'stalwarts re-emerge , with neil young calling for george w bush to be impeached and bruce springsteen releasing an album of thirteen covers of protest songs by pete seeger , none of yesterday 's stars wield the same influence with today 's young as they did when they were at their peek . some mainstream pop stars have made stabs at political songs . in 2006 pink released the single dear mr president , ' an open letter to george w. bush criticizing some of his policies , on her album i 'm not dead ' . but the song was only released as a single in europe and australia , leaving her open to criticism that releasing an anti-us foreign policy song in europe , where opinion had already largely turned against the wars in afghanistan and iraq , was virtually riskless . but it seems musicians are still flexing their muscles in the political sphere , only the protest comes dressed in different clothes , with a new hard-nosed approach that matches the nous of politicians . rock stars are no longer part of the counter culture . they are immensely wealthy members of the establishment , with the weight of large corporations behind them , and they are using their insider influence to lobby on behalf of their cause . the focus has shifted to fighting global poverty and climate change , with musical events such as live 8 and live earth , and while they may not be singing songs of protest , pop stars are using their presence at these global events to push for change . the idea that we should listen to people like bono and geldof on africa is in a part a product of the thought that musicians were not merely crafters of nice tunes but were actually serious commentators on our world , ' says street . the kind of people who might have sat on the outside looking in are now so establishment , they 're acting as pressure groups within the system . ' in fact , geldof has pointedly lambasted the protest song , claiming it has little or no power to effect change . he told rolling stone magazine that the protest rock served out by the clash , who headlined the 1978 rock against racism festival at victoria park in london was a laughable farce ' and that the rhetoric of pop revolution was too easy . ' it was this same line of thinking that led him to dismiss the idea that african bands should play at live8 because they were african : they should only appear if they were popular , he argued , as it was the ability to attract large crowds who would rally behind the push to cancel world debt that would persuade public opinion wary g8 leaders to bend from their course . while the live 8 concerts were met with cynicism by some - for many of the people listed in this line-up ... it 's a chance to get on world-wide television , sell a load of albums and feel very pleased with yourself at the end of the day , ' said janet street-porter in the uk 's independent newspaper - they succeeded in bringing on board the world 's media and in exerting pressure which led to the cancelling of debt for the world 's poorest countries and $ 50 billion in aid promised . but according to a report by data ( debt , aids , trade , africa ) , the g8 have since shuffled at half-pace on aid , and fell backwards on trade ' . the legacy of live8 will determine which relationship between music and politics is the most effective . e-mail to a friend | protest songs date back to 14th-century britain and the peasants'revolt |
chinese <tsp> ( cnn ) -- if body language is a good gauge of political standing , li keqiang is looking very much like china 's premier-in-waiting . last monday , vice premier li delivered the keynote speech at the boao forum , a meeting of business and political leaders held yearly in southern hainan province . looking relaxed and confident , he ad-libbed briefly , gesticulating with both hands before he read his prepared speech . china 's reform has entered a crucial juncture ' , li said , stressing that reform and innovation ' are the driving force to promote economic and social development . li said reforms will focus on taxation , finance , prices and income distribution . no big pronouncements , no off-the-cuff remarks , no mistakes . barring unforeseen political reversals , li ( whose name is pronounced lee kuh-cheeyahng ) is expected to become the chinese premier in march next year , succeeding wen jiabao . as the current executive vice premier , li already oversees important portfolios , such macro economic planning , health care , energy and housing . he is already making an impact . unlike his predecessors , li 's speaks fairly good english . when he visited hong kong university last year , he delivered part of his speech in english -- a gesture that prompted debate in the mainland . video clips of his speech went viral on social media . some netizens thought it was inappropriate ' that he spoke in english . others praised him for open-mindedness ' and for breaking away from the stoic style of chinese leaders . how far li will break away from old conventions , experts say , remains uncertain . li is considered a carbon copy of president hu jintao , his mentor and benefactor , because of similarities in background , priorities and style . the son of a minor county official in anhui , a poor province where hu was also born , li was a teenager when the decade-long cultural revolution interrupted his schooling . as an educated youth who need reeducation through labor ' , he worked on the farm for four years . there , at age 21 , he joined the communist party . in early 1978 , less than two years after chairman mao died , he entered peking university to study law -- a discipline which in earlier years was reviled as bourgeois . ' peking university in the late 1970s was a hub of intellectual and political ferment . i saw that up close when i studied there from 1977-81 . china then was at the end of the maoist era and the beginning of deng xiaoping 's reform . inside and outside classrooms , students and faculty debated big topics like where to , china ? ' like everyone in our generation li keqiang was keen for new ideas , ' recalls yang baihui , an international politics major . he had the social experience from the cultural revolution , so he was also pragmatic . ' li collaborated with yang and another student in translating the due process of law , ' a book on constitutional law by the noted british judge lord alfred denning . he was smart , intelligent and hard-working , ' recalls jingzhou tao , a former law-school classmate and now a partner at dechert law firm . he was already a student leader at that time . ' in 1980 , peking university held competitive elections for people 's representatives ' to the local legislature . li did not stand for elections -- he happened to have an off-campus internship -- but as chairman of the student federation he spent time with politically active students like wang juntao , who campaigned but failed to get a seat . he had the typical traits of peking university students then -- idealistic and independent , at times very out-spoken about certain issues , ' recalled wang in a recent essay . after graduation , li decided to work for the communist youth league ( cyl ) , a training ground for party and government officials . since then , we 've stepped on different paths and our paths rarely crossed , ' wrote wang . in the 1980s , as the cyl cadre in charge of student movement he handled several incidents , still in the old style like his college days -- control the scale of protests but never resort to political prosecution . ' in 1989 , however , their paths went in different directions . li rose through the ranks of cyl while completing a master 's degree in law and then an economics doctorate under li yining , the guru of market reforms in china . wang was jailed as a black hand ' for his role in the student protests that culminated in the bloody tiananmen crackdown . wang has been in exile in the united states since 1994 and is now co-chair of the china democratic party , which advocates radical change in china . at cyl , li 's career intersected with hu , who headed cyl for many years . under hu 's patronage , li has been on a fast track to the top . in 1998 , li at 43 became henan 's provincial governor , the youngest in china . his brief stint there led to criticisms related to an outbreak of aids when the government-run blood banks infected tens of thousands of blood-sellers , some with hiv . most of the infections actually happened before li arrived in henan , but critics accused him of tolerating the cover-up of the scandal . li also survived three major fire accidents in henan . in 2004 , he was appointed party chief of liaoning , a rust-belt province in northeast china , and was tasked with reviving its ailing state-owned enterprises . as china 's executive vice premier , li remains a stalwart supporter of hu 's seek a harmonious society ' dictum . he advocates social equity and is skeptical of bureaucracy . a confidential u.s , embassy memo published on the wikileaks website describes li telling the then-u.s. ambassador in beijing that local economic data are for reference only . ' he acknowledged official corruption as the biggest source of public anger and thought the effective solution was to create transparent rules and adequate supervision . like his mentor hu , li has risen to his high position more by avoiding big mistakes than through bold ideas and major accomplishments . still , in substance and in style , expectations are high . chinese microblogger yudafengxue ' tweeted : li is a better speaker than many chinese top leaders but still needs to work on his stage presentation and body language . it 's part of china 's national image ! ' | li hails from the same province -- anhui -- as his mentor , chinese president hu |
chinese <tsp> ( cnn ) -- if body language is a good gauge of political standing , li keqiang is looking very much like china 's premier-in-waiting . last monday , vice premier li delivered the keynote speech at the boao forum , a meeting of business and political leaders held yearly in southern hainan province . looking relaxed and confident , he ad-libbed briefly , gesticulating with both hands before he read his prepared speech . china 's reform has entered a crucial juncture ' , li said , stressing that reform and innovation ' are the driving force to promote economic and social development . li said reforms will focus on taxation , finance , prices and income distribution . no big pronouncements , no off-the-cuff remarks , no mistakes . barring unforeseen political reversals , li ( whose name is pronounced lee kuh-cheeyahng ) is expected to become the chinese premier in march next year , succeeding wen jiabao . as the current executive vice premier , li already oversees important portfolios , such macro economic planning , health care , energy and housing . he is already making an impact . unlike his predecessors , li 's speaks fairly good english . when he visited hong kong university last year , he delivered part of his speech in english -- a gesture that prompted debate in the mainland . video clips of his speech went viral on social media . some netizens thought it was inappropriate ' that he spoke in english . others praised him for open-mindedness ' and for breaking away from the stoic style of chinese leaders . how far li will break away from old conventions , experts say , remains uncertain . li is considered a carbon copy of president hu jintao , his mentor and benefactor , because of similarities in background , priorities and style . the son of a minor county official in anhui , a poor province where hu was also born , li was a teenager when the decade-long cultural revolution interrupted his schooling . as an educated youth who need reeducation through labor ' , he worked on the farm for four years . there , at age 21 , he joined the communist party . in early 1978 , less than two years after chairman mao died , he entered peking university to study law -- a discipline which in earlier years was reviled as bourgeois . ' peking university in the late 1970s was a hub of intellectual and political ferment . i saw that up close when i studied there from 1977-81 . china then was at the end of the maoist era and the beginning of deng xiaoping 's reform . inside and outside classrooms , students and faculty debated big topics like where to , china ? ' like everyone in our generation li keqiang was keen for new ideas , ' recalls yang baihui , an international politics major . he had the social experience from the cultural revolution , so he was also pragmatic . ' li collaborated with yang and another student in translating the due process of law , ' a book on constitutional law by the noted british judge lord alfred denning . he was smart , intelligent and hard-working , ' recalls jingzhou tao , a former law-school classmate and now a partner at dechert law firm . he was already a student leader at that time . ' in 1980 , peking university held competitive elections for people 's representatives ' to the local legislature . li did not stand for elections -- he happened to have an off-campus internship -- but as chairman of the student federation he spent time with politically active students like wang juntao , who campaigned but failed to get a seat . he had the typical traits of peking university students then -- idealistic and independent , at times very out-spoken about certain issues , ' recalled wang in a recent essay . after graduation , li decided to work for the communist youth league ( cyl ) , a training ground for party and government officials . since then , we 've stepped on different paths and our paths rarely crossed , ' wrote wang . in the 1980s , as the cyl cadre in charge of student movement he handled several incidents , still in the old style like his college days -- control the scale of protests but never resort to political prosecution . ' in 1989 , however , their paths went in different directions . li rose through the ranks of cyl while completing a master 's degree in law and then an economics doctorate under li yining , the guru of market reforms in china . wang was jailed as a black hand ' for his role in the student protests that culminated in the bloody tiananmen crackdown . wang has been in exile in the united states since 1994 and is now co-chair of the china democratic party , which advocates radical change in china . at cyl , li 's career intersected with hu , who headed cyl for many years . under hu 's patronage , li has been on a fast track to the top . in 1998 , li at 43 became henan 's provincial governor , the youngest in china . his brief stint there led to criticisms related to an outbreak of aids when the government-run blood banks infected tens of thousands of blood-sellers , some with hiv . most of the infections actually happened before li arrived in henan , but critics accused him of tolerating the cover-up of the scandal . li also survived three major fire accidents in henan . in 2004 , he was appointed party chief of liaoning , a rust-belt province in northeast china , and was tasked with reviving its ailing state-owned enterprises . as china 's executive vice premier , li remains a stalwart supporter of hu 's seek a harmonious society ' dictum . he advocates social equity and is skeptical of bureaucracy . a confidential u.s , embassy memo published on the wikileaks website describes li telling the then-u.s. ambassador in beijing that local economic data are for reference only . ' he acknowledged official corruption as the biggest source of public anger and thought the effective solution was to create transparent rules and adequate supervision . like his mentor hu , li has risen to his high position more by avoiding big mistakes than through bold ideas and major accomplishments . still , in substance and in style , expectations are high . chinese microblogger yudafengxue ' tweeted : li is a better speaker than many chinese top leaders but still needs to work on his stage presentation and body language . it 's part of china 's national image ! ' | li is expected to become chinese premier next march |
chernobyl <tsp> on april 26 , 1986 , the chernobyl nuclear power plant 's reactor no . 4 blew up after a cooling capability test , and the resulting nuclear fire lasted 10 days , spewing 400 times as much radiation as the bomb dropped on hiroshima . to date , it 's the world 's worst nuclear accident . the 2011 fukushima meltdown , of course , is still playing out -- but actually , so is chernobyl . nearly 28 years after the disaster , reactor no . 4 simmers under its sarcophagus , ' a concrete and metal cover hastily built after the accident . it 's now cracked , rusted and leaking radiation . a partial roof collapse last february sent reverberations of fear throughout the world . as well it should have . with 200 tons of lava-like radioactive material still below the reactor , and the new safe confinement ' aimed at containing and protecting it not scheduled for completion till 2015 ( already 15 years overdue ) this story of nuclear disaster is in its early chapters . today , chernobyl 's soil , water , and air are among the most highly contaminated on earth . the reactor sits at the center of a 1,000-square-mile exclusion zone , ' a quarantined no-man 's land complete with border guards , passport control and radiation monitoring . inside the zone are hundreds of unmarked ( and un-mapped ) burial sites where machinery from the cleanup after the 1986 accident was dumped . these days , ukraine 's four other nuclear power plants also dispose of their spent fuel inside the zone . it 's real , and it 's scary . ted.com : the deadly genius of drug cartels but amidst the complicated real-life calculations and compromises -- where science and politics meet to duke out the viability of nuclear energy -- the long , deep , human parable of chernobyl is often lost . that story is partly embodied in an unlikely community of some 130 people , called self-settlers ' who , today , live inside the chernobyl exclusion zone . almost all of them are women , the men having died off due to overuse of alcohol and cigarettes , if not the effects of elevated radiation . about 116,000 people were evacuated from the zone at the time of the accident . some 1,200 of them did not accept that fate . of that group , the remaining women , now in their 70s and 80s , are the last survivors of a group that defied authorities -- and it would seem , common sense -- and illegally returned to their ancestral homes shortly after the accident . i 've been filming and interviewing this unlikely community since 2010 . the zone 's scattered ghost villages are silent and bucolic , eerie and contaminated . many villages were bulldozed after the accident , others remain -- silent vestiges to the tragedy , and home to the ubiquitous wild boar . still , other villages have 1 or 2 or 8 or 12 babushkas , or babas -- the russian and ukrainian words for grandmother ' -- living in them . one self-settler , hanna zavorotnya , told me how she snuck through the bushes back to her village in the summer of 1986 . shoot us and dig the grave , ' she told the soldiers who nabbed her and other family members , otherwise we 're staying . ' then she handed me a chunk of warm salo -- - raw fat -- from her just-slaughtered pig . ted.com : what i discovered in new york city 's trash why would they choose to live on deadly land ? are they unaware of the risks , or crazy enough to ignore them , or both ? it 's hard for us -- especially westerners with deeper connections to our laptops than any piece of soil -- to understand . but these women see their lives in a decidedly different way . when i asked hanna about radiation , she replied : radiation does n't scare me . starvation does . ' it 's all about context . they lived through stalin 's holodomor -- the genocide-by famine of the 1930s that wiped out millions of ukrainians -- and then the nazis in the1940s . some of the women were shipped to germany as forced labor . when the chernobyl accident happened a few decades into soviet rule , they were simply unwilling to flee an enemy that was invisible . so long as they were well beyond child bearing , self-settlers were allowed to stay semi-illegally . ' five happy years , the settlers logic went , is better than 15 condemned to a high-rise on the outskirts of kyiv . the residents of the chernobyl region are forest-dwelling steppe people of ukraine 's polesia region and did not adapt well to urban environments . there is a simple defiance common among them : they told us our legs would hurt , and they do , ' one 80-year-old woman told me . so what . ' ted.com : why our universe might exist on a knife edge what about their health ? there are benefits of hardy living from the land -- but also complications from an environment laced with radioactive contaminants , such as cesium , strontium and americium . health studies vary . the world health organization predicts more than 4,000 deaths will eventually be linked to chernobyl . greenpeace and others put that projection into the tens of thousands . all agree thyroid cancers are sky high , and that chernobyl evacuees have suffered the trauma of relocated peoples everywhere , including anxiety , depression , radioactive contamination from the accident has been death-dealing , to be sure , but relocation trauma is another , less-examined fallout of chernobyl . of the old people who relocated , one chernobyl medical technician , whose job is to give annual radiation exposure tests to zone workers said : quite simply , they die of anguish . ' home is the entire cosmos of the rural babushka , and connection to the land is palpable . they told me : if you leave you die , ' those who left are worse off now . they are all dying of sadness , ' motherland is motherland . i will never leave . ' ted.com : architecture at home in its community curiously , what sounds like faith may actually be fact . there are n't studies to refer to ( after all , semi-legal marginalized old women living on radioactive land are hardly a civic or research priority ) but surprisingly these women who returned home have , according to local officials and journalists who have kept track of them , seem to have outlived their counterparts who accepted relocation -- by some estimates , up to 10 years . how could this be ? certainly , their exposure at an older age put them at smaller risk . ( young animals -- and i 'm including humans here -- are more severely affected by radiation . ) but let 's consider a less tangible though equally powerful idea . does happiness affect longevity ? is the power of motherland , so fundamental to that part of the world , palliative ? are home and community forces that can rival even radiation ? i believe so . and unfailingly , so do the babushkas of the zone . radiation or not , these women are at the end of their lives . but their existence and spirit will leave us wondering about the relative nature of risk , about transformative connections to home , and about the magnificent tonic of personal agency and self-determination . they are unexpected lessons from a nuclear tragedy . | holly morris:1986 chernobyl nuclear accident world ' worst . area still highly contaminated |
chernobyl <tsp> on april 26 , 1986 , the chernobyl nuclear power plant 's reactor no . 4 blew up after a cooling capability test , and the resulting nuclear fire lasted 10 days , spewing 400 times as much radiation as the bomb dropped on hiroshima . to date , it 's the world 's worst nuclear accident . the 2011 fukushima meltdown , of course , is still playing out -- but actually , so is chernobyl . nearly 28 years after the disaster , reactor no . 4 simmers under its sarcophagus , ' a concrete and metal cover hastily built after the accident . it 's now cracked , rusted and leaking radiation . a partial roof collapse last february sent reverberations of fear throughout the world . as well it should have . with 200 tons of lava-like radioactive material still below the reactor , and the new safe confinement ' aimed at containing and protecting it not scheduled for completion till 2015 ( already 15 years overdue ) this story of nuclear disaster is in its early chapters . today , chernobyl 's soil , water , and air are among the most highly contaminated on earth . the reactor sits at the center of a 1,000-square-mile exclusion zone , ' a quarantined no-man 's land complete with border guards , passport control and radiation monitoring . inside the zone are hundreds of unmarked ( and un-mapped ) burial sites where machinery from the cleanup after the 1986 accident was dumped . these days , ukraine 's four other nuclear power plants also dispose of their spent fuel inside the zone . it 's real , and it 's scary . ted.com : the deadly genius of drug cartels but amidst the complicated real-life calculations and compromises -- where science and politics meet to duke out the viability of nuclear energy -- the long , deep , human parable of chernobyl is often lost . that story is partly embodied in an unlikely community of some 130 people , called self-settlers ' who , today , live inside the chernobyl exclusion zone . almost all of them are women , the men having died off due to overuse of alcohol and cigarettes , if not the effects of elevated radiation . about 116,000 people were evacuated from the zone at the time of the accident . some 1,200 of them did not accept that fate . of that group , the remaining women , now in their 70s and 80s , are the last survivors of a group that defied authorities -- and it would seem , common sense -- and illegally returned to their ancestral homes shortly after the accident . i 've been filming and interviewing this unlikely community since 2010 . the zone 's scattered ghost villages are silent and bucolic , eerie and contaminated . many villages were bulldozed after the accident , others remain -- silent vestiges to the tragedy , and home to the ubiquitous wild boar . still , other villages have 1 or 2 or 8 or 12 babushkas , or babas -- the russian and ukrainian words for grandmother ' -- living in them . one self-settler , hanna zavorotnya , told me how she snuck through the bushes back to her village in the summer of 1986 . shoot us and dig the grave , ' she told the soldiers who nabbed her and other family members , otherwise we 're staying . ' then she handed me a chunk of warm salo -- - raw fat -- from her just-slaughtered pig . ted.com : what i discovered in new york city 's trash why would they choose to live on deadly land ? are they unaware of the risks , or crazy enough to ignore them , or both ? it 's hard for us -- especially westerners with deeper connections to our laptops than any piece of soil -- to understand . but these women see their lives in a decidedly different way . when i asked hanna about radiation , she replied : radiation does n't scare me . starvation does . ' it 's all about context . they lived through stalin 's holodomor -- the genocide-by famine of the 1930s that wiped out millions of ukrainians -- and then the nazis in the1940s . some of the women were shipped to germany as forced labor . when the chernobyl accident happened a few decades into soviet rule , they were simply unwilling to flee an enemy that was invisible . so long as they were well beyond child bearing , self-settlers were allowed to stay semi-illegally . ' five happy years , the settlers logic went , is better than 15 condemned to a high-rise on the outskirts of kyiv . the residents of the chernobyl region are forest-dwelling steppe people of ukraine 's polesia region and did not adapt well to urban environments . there is a simple defiance common among them : they told us our legs would hurt , and they do , ' one 80-year-old woman told me . so what . ' ted.com : why our universe might exist on a knife edge what about their health ? there are benefits of hardy living from the land -- but also complications from an environment laced with radioactive contaminants , such as cesium , strontium and americium . health studies vary . the world health organization predicts more than 4,000 deaths will eventually be linked to chernobyl . greenpeace and others put that projection into the tens of thousands . all agree thyroid cancers are sky high , and that chernobyl evacuees have suffered the trauma of relocated peoples everywhere , including anxiety , depression , radioactive contamination from the accident has been death-dealing , to be sure , but relocation trauma is another , less-examined fallout of chernobyl . of the old people who relocated , one chernobyl medical technician , whose job is to give annual radiation exposure tests to zone workers said : quite simply , they die of anguish . ' home is the entire cosmos of the rural babushka , and connection to the land is palpable . they told me : if you leave you die , ' those who left are worse off now . they are all dying of sadness , ' motherland is motherland . i will never leave . ' ted.com : architecture at home in its community curiously , what sounds like faith may actually be fact . there are n't studies to refer to ( after all , semi-legal marginalized old women living on radioactive land are hardly a civic or research priority ) but surprisingly these women who returned home have , according to local officials and journalists who have kept track of them , seem to have outlived their counterparts who accepted relocation -- by some estimates , up to 10 years . how could this be ? certainly , their exposure at an older age put them at smaller risk . ( young animals -- and i 'm including humans here -- are more severely affected by radiation . ) but let 's consider a less tangible though equally powerful idea . does happiness affect longevity ? is the power of motherland , so fundamental to that part of the world , palliative ? are home and community forces that can rival even radiation ? i believe so . and unfailingly , so do the babushkas of the zone . radiation or not , these women are at the end of their lives . but their existence and spirit will leave us wondering about the relative nature of risk , about transformative connections to home , and about the magnificent tonic of personal agency and self-determination . they are unexpected lessons from a nuclear tragedy . | she says thousands relocated rural chernobyl to city , but 1,200 defiantly came back to live |
grigny <tsp> grigny , france ( cnn ) hatouma diarra does n't want to be judged by the clothes she wears , by the religion she follows or , least of all , by where she grew up . but diarra , raised by immigrants from mali in the paris suburb of viry-chatillon , says it 's as if her neighborhood is stamped across her forehead . it 's hard to dream when everyone says the place you come from only spawns'jihadists , terrorists and delinquents ,'' the 21-year-old says . you end up feeling completely isolated . ' viry-chatillon is just one of the many banlieues -- heavily immigrant , working class suburbs -- dotted around the periphery of the french capital . but its close proximity to grigny has made the neighborhood synonymous with violence and failure . grigny is the hometown of amedy coulibaly , who killed a policewoman as well as four hostages at a kosher supermarket in paris two weeks ago . his associates said and cherif kouachi slaughtered 12 more at the office of the satirical magazine charlie hebdo . together they are the worst terror attacks in france in decades . diarra 's concerns were exacerbated this week when french prime minister manuel valls declared that there was a geographic , social and ethnic apartheid ' that had developed in france . she believes the use of provocative language only further alienates the people living in the banlieues . diarra says that the past two weeks have attracted a relentless and unwelcome media spotlight on viry-chatillon , with journalists descending en masse and filming from their cars for fear of being assaulted or having their equipment stolen . the negative press has dredged up many prejudices and cultural stereotypes that diarra has spent most of her young life fighting to dispel -- ever since the 2005 riots that left thousands of cars burnt in the paris region , thousands arrested and millions more traumatized across france . yes , we need better education and , yes , delinquency exists in these towns , but the government tarnishes us all with the same brush . you stop feeling like an individual and begin to think you 're reduced to a crime-ridden town , ' diarra says . diarra believes the media perpetuates certain cliches about towns like hers -- especially the one about how banlieues are full of bad apples . ' it 's a sentiment shared by coulibaly 's sister , maimouna coulibaly -- now a successful dancer -- who reflected on the 2005 riots in a 2009 interview with the san francisco chronicle . when you are in the projects , they want you to shut your mouth , to stay here , to grow up complacent . for me , the way that people in the projects are portrayed so negatively in the media really hurt me a lot , ' maimouna told the paper . but phillippe rio , the mayor of grigny , is trying to shatter this image of banlieues as crime-wracked ghettos . rio grew up in the concrete maze that is the grande borne -- the same housing project as coulibaly . rio says it 's easy to overlook the success stories of the banlieues in favor of tales of homegrown terrorists , but that not everyone from his town is a criminal . grigny was home to a professional football player , an actress , even a patisserie chef who now works in hong kong , ' he says . these are all very successful people . ' in the same breath , the mayor admits that his town faces grave economic problems . forty percent of grande borne residents aged 16-25 are unemployed . the average net annual income in grigny is 9,600 euros , according to rio -- the lowest in the paris region . these factors make it very difficult for those who live in the area to feel like they 're part of society , the mayor says . rio has been waging a campaign to get a fully staffed police station for the town 's 30,000 inhabitants . but the interior ministry has yet to grant his wish . the mayor also believes that better education will help bridge the gap between the banlieues and the state , the us and them ' mentality . eric betencourt , a schoolteacher in the eastern parisian suburb of clichy-sous-bois , has a class largely made up of second and third generation immigrant children . a man with a calm demeanor , he believes opening a dialogue with his students on the theme of identity in france is crucial to helping his students find their place within the state . his main worry is what happens when they leave school and begin job hunting . because they struggle to find a job , they feel disinherited , stigmatized , and suddenly these young adults ca n't find their role in the workplace and therefore they create their own communities , ' he says . de-charles clauda aka was amedy coulibaly 's social worker . his small office in grande borne is littered with photos of smiling children that he has helped guide into adulthood . aka believes one of the reasons coulibaly might have formed a relationship with hardened criminals when he was in jail was because he did n't fit into life outside the prison walls , despite desperately wanting to be part of a community . [ coulibaly ] had a big problem with identity , he was lost . and prison offered him some bad examples to follow , ' aka says . coulibaly 's cousin amad agrees . he befriended a bunch of idiots and became himself an idiot , ' amad told french radio rmc . he did not hate jews , christians , it 's the state he hated . ' connecting the disaffected youth to the state through job creation is what majid el jarroudi has dedicated the last 6 years to . the business he founded , the agency for diversity in entrepreneurship , strives to reveal the untapped potential of doing business with undeserved entrepreneurs in marginalized neighborhoods . ' el jarroudi says the negative publicity surrounding the banlieues means companies shy away from recruiting there -- and in turn , this further antagonizes the people of these towns . we feel like we 're alone , and when we talk about the banlieues we only talk about its problems and never about the opportunity the banlieues represent today , ' el jarroudi says . that is crucial to bringing everyone together . ' in the meantime , hatouma diarra is hoping opportunity will come knocking as she pursues an internship this summer . her dream is a career in journalism , but she knows that ambition alone may not be enough . to have a future you need to believe in yourself , but you also need others to believe in you , ' she says . | kosher store shooter amedy coulibaly grew up on rough estate in the banlieue ' ( suburb ) of grigny |
white house <tsp> washington ( cnn ) -- a former head of the cia slammed president obama on sunday for releasing four bush-era memos , saying the new president has compromised national security . former cia chief michael hayden said sunday it is wrong to make interrogation methods public . michael hayden , who served as former president bush 's last cia director from 2006 to 2009 , said releasing the memos outlining terror interrogation methods emboldened terrorist groups such as al qaeda . what we have described for our enemies in the midst of a war are the outer limits that any american would ever go to in terms of interrogating an al qaeda terrorist . that 's very valuable information , ' hayden said during an appearance on fox news sunday . ' by taking [ certain ] techniques off the table , we have made it more difficult -- in a whole host of circumstances i can imagine -- for cia officers to defend the nation , ' he said . but sens . claire mccaskill , d-missouri , and lindsey graham , r-south carolina , said certain techniques should not have been allowed in the first place . mccaskill called them a great recruitment tool for those who want to do harm to our country . ' white house chief of staff rahm emanuel dismissed hayden 's assertion that releasing the memos had undermined u.s. intelligence efforts by giving al qaeda critical new information . one of the reasons the president was willing to let this information out was that already the information was out , ' he said on abc 's this week . ' go get the new york review of books . it 's there . ' hayden said he called several senior white house officials to express his opposition before the president released the documents . hayden also noted that four previous cia directors , as well as current agency director leon panetta , opposed the release . the memos said , among other things , that interrogation tactics such as waterboarding , sleep deprivation and slapping did not violate laws against torture absent the intent to cause severe pain . obama prohibited the use of so-called enhanced interrogation techniques ' such as waterboarding shortly after taking office in january . such techniques undermine our moral authority and do not make us safer , ' he said thursday , when the white house released the memos . the obama administration has said it wo n't pursue charges against cia officers who used those tactics against prisoners in their custody . and emanuel told abc that the people who crafted the policy should not be prosecuted either . ' but in a sharply worded editorial sunday , the new york times called for the impeachment of jay bybee , a federal appeals court judge who was a justice department official when he wrote one of the memos that authorized those techniques . these memos make it clear that mr. bybee is unfit for a job that requires legal judgment and a respect for the constitution , ' the newspaper editorialized . the memos were written to provide legal immunity for acts that are clearly illegal , immoral and a violation of this country 's most basic values , ' it stated . asked about that call on fox news sunday , ' mccaskill said : i think we have to look at it . ' mccaskill , a member of the senate 's standing investigative subcommittee , said the obama administration made the right decision by agreeing not to prosecute intelligence officers . but she added : a lawyer that 's responsible for this kind of advice that clearly went too far in terms of stretching what our law is -- it worries me that he 's sitting on the federal bench right now . ' graham , however , said seeking to punish lawyers who advised the bush administration is a very bad precedent . ' i think it would be disaster to go back and try to prosecute a lawyer for giving legal advice that you disagreed with to a former president , ' said graham , a member of the senate judiciary committee and a lawyer in the air force reserve . hayden said the administration 's decision to release the bush administration memos will make cia officials less willing to engage in interrogation tactics now sanctioned by the federal government . the basic foundation of the legitimacy of the agency 's action has shifted from some durability of law to a product of the american political process . that puts agency officers in a horrible position , ' he said . the really dangerous effect of this [ decision ] is that you 'll have agency officers stepping back from the kinds of things that the nation expects them to do . ... you 're going to have this agency -- on the front line of defending you in this current war -- playing back from the line , ' he said . hayden also said that , contrary to the assertions of many critics , the interrogation techniques in question had forced suspected terrorists to reveal valuable information and made the country safer . he predicted that the release of the memos would be just the beginning . ' there will be more revelations , more commissions , there will be more investigations , ' hayden said . mccaskill told fox news sunday ' that the united states will be better off in the long run by clearly prohibiting interrogation techniques such as waterboarding . and graham said that while he was concerned that the release of the memos was a huge tactical and strategic mistake done for political reasons , ' the decision to allow certain enhanced interrogation techniques was a mistake as well . graham added that he always thought waterboarding was a procedure that would come back to haunt the country , and quite frankly it has . ' | white house chief of staff defends release , saying info was already public |
kentucky <tsp> if you 're like derek smith , you spend a lot of time on your smartphone . then again , maybe nobody is quite like derek smith . in one recent week , the medical student sent 40 e-mails and 399 text messages , snapped 25 photos , bought two movie tickets , downloaded four songs , watched a full-length film , checked the weather forecast 15 times , shopped at target , surfed the web for 129 minutes and spent 5½ hours socializing with friends on facebook -- all from his iphone 4s . i am not my phone , but my phone is a reflection of me , ' said smith , 26 , of louisville , kentucky . it does a pretty good job of taking my life and folding it up into a nice little lightweight , pocket-sized summary . it 's almost like i am holding a copy of my brain in my hands . ' as part of our our mobile society series on how phones and tablets are changing our lives , cnn asked a handful of people to document everything they do on their smartphones over the course of a week : every text , every tweet , every minute spent scrolling through instagram or playing words with friends . ' some of the results are displayed here . it was an unscientific project . our volunteers , self-described smartphone addicts , are probably much more active on their handsets than the average person . the idea was simply to demonstrate , whether we realize it or not , how much of our daily lives now is conducted through these little glowing screens . it 's not just that we 're on our phones a lot . it 's that these devices have become time capsules of our lives , documenting our work , our social interactions , our purchases , our travels , our passions and our guilty pleasures . in one week in early september , kathleen baker sent 256 e-mails from her phone , many of those as part of her duties as director of housing for a university . she also posted 34 updates or comments on facebook , liked ' 18 posts and read 93 posts from friends ( 55 of them on her birthday ) . somehow , she also spent another nine-plus hours that week using her phone to surf the web , play games , check her bank balances and listen to audiobooks and music . i actually did n't log as many hours as i thought i would , ' said baker , 46 , who lives with her husband and their three young children in seattle . i did n't include any time that i used my phone to entertain my kids . ... i am very aware of my dependency on my phone , so it was n't too surprising . the phone definitely helps me keep up with all the moving parts of my life . i am almost always on the go , and it allows me to juggle everything , ' baker added in an e-mail . while some people may feel tied to their jobs because of technology , i am happy to have the advantage of owning a smartphone . i ca n't imagine how i would juggle a crazy job , three kids/family obligations , and doctoral studies without it ! i am a happy addict . ' like baker , most people who shared their smartphone-usage habits said they view their phone as a hugely positive thing in their lives , not a burden or the root of an unhealthy addiction . my friends tell me that i am easily the most accessible person they know . my phone is my lifeline , and any attempt to reduce usage is just silly , ' said stephen anfield , 31 , a freelance writer and social-media consultant . anfield , who lives in alexandria , virginia , just outside washington , sent 423 texts during the week he tracked his phone use . he also sent 228 twitter messages , checked in to 26 locations on foursquare , posted nine photos to instagram and placed three orders from five guys burgers . oh , and he received two voice mails . he still has n't listened to them . like many people who participated in this experiment , anfield prefers to communicate via text or e-mail . and like the others , he finds it difficult to go more than a few minutes without checking his droid razr . he sees his phone almost as an extension of himself . if somebody picks up my phone , it does make me nervous , ' he said . it 's not a privacy issue . there 's nothing that i 'm hiding . i just think it 's a very personal item . ' smith , the louisville med-school student , said he did n't realize just how much he used his iphone until he documented his usage for a week . i was stunned by just how integrated my phone has become in my life . it is almost an anatomical appendage , attached to my person as though it were a part of my hand , ' he said . on the few occasions smith has left home without taking his phone , he 's become anxious and depressed . my palms get sweaty , my heart races , i start biting my lip , ' he said in an e-mail . my mind is occupied by thoughts of going home to get the phone . i feel cut off from the world . ' after jotting down all his phone usage and staring at the page -- almost 800 text messages sent and received -- smith wondered whether he was relying on his phone too much . should he cut back ? was he missing out on the world around him ? were his relationships suffering ? ultimately , he decided no . smith also uses his phone to study and do medical research , and he believes the benefits of using it outweigh any potential downside . we do need to be careful not to digitalize our entire existence , not to replace our lives with a microchip , ' he said . but smith believes that his phone enhances , and not detracts from , his real-life human interactions . to him it breaks down barriers and gives him freedom . i feel like my desktop/laptop anchor me into one place . they are ancient in a sense , the electronic devices of our parents and grandparents , ' he said . i do not want to be trapped by the confines of a desk and chair , and today 's world is not as compatible with that type of device . today 's world is too fluid for that . ' | kentucky man is stunned by just how integrated my phone has become in my life ' |
twitter <tsp> if you 're like derek smith , you spend a lot of time on your smartphone . then again , maybe nobody is quite like derek smith . in one recent week , the medical student sent 40 e-mails and 399 text messages , snapped 25 photos , bought two movie tickets , downloaded four songs , watched a full-length film , checked the weather forecast 15 times , shopped at target , surfed the web for 129 minutes and spent 5½ hours socializing with friends on facebook -- all from his iphone 4s . i am not my phone , but my phone is a reflection of me , ' said smith , 26 , of louisville , kentucky . it does a pretty good job of taking my life and folding it up into a nice little lightweight , pocket-sized summary . it 's almost like i am holding a copy of my brain in my hands . ' as part of our our mobile society series on how phones and tablets are changing our lives , cnn asked a handful of people to document everything they do on their smartphones over the course of a week : every text , every tweet , every minute spent scrolling through instagram or playing words with friends . ' some of the results are displayed here . it was an unscientific project . our volunteers , self-described smartphone addicts , are probably much more active on their handsets than the average person . the idea was simply to demonstrate , whether we realize it or not , how much of our daily lives now is conducted through these little glowing screens . it 's not just that we 're on our phones a lot . it 's that these devices have become time capsules of our lives , documenting our work , our social interactions , our purchases , our travels , our passions and our guilty pleasures . in one week in early september , kathleen baker sent 256 e-mails from her phone , many of those as part of her duties as director of housing for a university . she also posted 34 updates or comments on facebook , liked ' 18 posts and read 93 posts from friends ( 55 of them on her birthday ) . somehow , she also spent another nine-plus hours that week using her phone to surf the web , play games , check her bank balances and listen to audiobooks and music . i actually did n't log as many hours as i thought i would , ' said baker , 46 , who lives with her husband and their three young children in seattle . i did n't include any time that i used my phone to entertain my kids . ... i am very aware of my dependency on my phone , so it was n't too surprising . the phone definitely helps me keep up with all the moving parts of my life . i am almost always on the go , and it allows me to juggle everything , ' baker added in an e-mail . while some people may feel tied to their jobs because of technology , i am happy to have the advantage of owning a smartphone . i ca n't imagine how i would juggle a crazy job , three kids/family obligations , and doctoral studies without it ! i am a happy addict . ' like baker , most people who shared their smartphone-usage habits said they view their phone as a hugely positive thing in their lives , not a burden or the root of an unhealthy addiction . my friends tell me that i am easily the most accessible person they know . my phone is my lifeline , and any attempt to reduce usage is just silly , ' said stephen anfield , 31 , a freelance writer and social-media consultant . anfield , who lives in alexandria , virginia , just outside washington , sent 423 texts during the week he tracked his phone use . he also sent 228 twitter messages , checked in to 26 locations on foursquare , posted nine photos to instagram and placed three orders from five guys burgers . oh , and he received two voice mails . he still has n't listened to them . like many people who participated in this experiment , anfield prefers to communicate via text or e-mail . and like the others , he finds it difficult to go more than a few minutes without checking his droid razr . he sees his phone almost as an extension of himself . if somebody picks up my phone , it does make me nervous , ' he said . it 's not a privacy issue . there 's nothing that i 'm hiding . i just think it 's a very personal item . ' smith , the louisville med-school student , said he did n't realize just how much he used his iphone until he documented his usage for a week . i was stunned by just how integrated my phone has become in my life . it is almost an anatomical appendage , attached to my person as though it were a part of my hand , ' he said . on the few occasions smith has left home without taking his phone , he 's become anxious and depressed . my palms get sweaty , my heart races , i start biting my lip , ' he said in an e-mail . my mind is occupied by thoughts of going home to get the phone . i feel cut off from the world . ' after jotting down all his phone usage and staring at the page -- almost 800 text messages sent and received -- smith wondered whether he was relying on his phone too much . should he cut back ? was he missing out on the world around him ? were his relationships suffering ? ultimately , he decided no . smith also uses his phone to study and do medical research , and he believes the benefits of using it outweigh any potential downside . we do need to be careful not to digitalize our entire existence , not to replace our lives with a microchip , ' he said . but smith believes that his phone enhances , and not detracts from , his real-life human interactions . to him it breaks down barriers and gives him freedom . i feel like my desktop/laptop anchor me into one place . they are ancient in a sense , the electronic devices of our parents and grandparents , ' he said . i do not want to be trapped by the confines of a desk and chair , and today 's world is not as compatible with that type of device . today 's world is too fluid for that . ' | one virginia man sent 423 texts and 228 twitter messages from his phone that week |
fernando verdasco <tsp> ( cnn ) -- three-time defending champion rafael nadal made light work of his heavy schedule and a recurring foot problem to reach the last 16 of the french open on friday . rafael nadal inspects his blistered foot during his third-round victory against jarko nieminen . the world no . 2 crushed finnish 26th seed jarkko nieminen 6-1 6-3 6-1 in his fourth successive day of action on the paris clay , following frustration this week with bad weather . he will play fellow spaniard fernando verdasco after his 7-6 5-7 7-6 6-1 win over 15th seed mikhail youzhny of russia . third seed novak djokovic was also untroubled in a later third round match to see off wayne odesnik of the united states 7-5 6-4 6-2 . nadal will be hoping for some time to let his blistered foot recover , needing treatment during the match against nieminen for a problem that saw him beaten in the second round of the rome masters earlier in the claycourt season . he is bidding to become the second man after the legendary bjorn borg to win four successive titles at roland garros , but has already vented his anger at the atp tour for scheduling four top-level clay events in as many weeks . watch nadal talk about his tournament hopes » nadal showed little signs of tiredness as he cruised past nieminen in less than two hours to extend his winning record at the tournament to 24 matches . his opening victory against brazil 's thomaz bellucci took two days due to torrential rain , then on thursday he saw off another qualifier in straight sets when he beat frenchman nicolas devilder . in other third round action on friday , spain 's nicolas almagro again showed his clay court pedigree with a 6-3 6-7 6-3 7-5 win over britain 's 10th seed andy murray . almagro , who has won two titles on clay this season , was made to work hard by murray , but recovered from a 3-1 deficit in the third set to win seven games in row and take command . he will now play 145th-ranked frenchman jeremy chardy who ended the run of 30th seed dmitry tursunov of russia in straight sets . latvia 's ernests gulbis continued his fine run as he defeated nicolas lapentti of ecuador 6-3 7-5 6-2 to set up a clash with home hope michael llodra who beat italy 's simone bolelli in straight sets . in second-round action , france 's florent serra completed a hard-fought 6-4 6-3 6-7 7-6 win over victor hanescu of romania and will next face american bobby ginepri . | second seed next faces fernando verdasco who beat mikhail youzhny |
roland garros <tsp> ( cnn ) -- three-time defending champion rafael nadal made light work of his heavy schedule and a recurring foot problem to reach the last 16 of the french open on friday . rafael nadal inspects his blistered foot during his third-round victory against jarko nieminen . the world no . 2 crushed finnish 26th seed jarkko nieminen 6-1 6-3 6-1 in his fourth successive day of action on the paris clay , following frustration this week with bad weather . he will play fellow spaniard fernando verdasco after his 7-6 5-7 7-6 6-1 win over 15th seed mikhail youzhny of russia . third seed novak djokovic was also untroubled in a later third round match to see off wayne odesnik of the united states 7-5 6-4 6-2 . nadal will be hoping for some time to let his blistered foot recover , needing treatment during the match against nieminen for a problem that saw him beaten in the second round of the rome masters earlier in the claycourt season . he is bidding to become the second man after the legendary bjorn borg to win four successive titles at roland garros , but has already vented his anger at the atp tour for scheduling four top-level clay events in as many weeks . watch nadal talk about his tournament hopes » nadal showed little signs of tiredness as he cruised past nieminen in less than two hours to extend his winning record at the tournament to 24 matches . his opening victory against brazil 's thomaz bellucci took two days due to torrential rain , then on thursday he saw off another qualifier in straight sets when he beat frenchman nicolas devilder . in other third round action on friday , spain 's nicolas almagro again showed his clay court pedigree with a 6-3 6-7 6-3 7-5 win over britain 's 10th seed andy murray . almagro , who has won two titles on clay this season , was made to work hard by murray , but recovered from a 3-1 deficit in the third set to win seven games in row and take command . he will now play 145th-ranked frenchman jeremy chardy who ended the run of 30th seed dmitry tursunov of russia in straight sets . latvia 's ernests gulbis continued his fine run as he defeated nicolas lapentti of ecuador 6-3 7-5 6-2 to set up a clash with home hope michael llodra who beat italy 's simone bolelli in straight sets . in second-round action , france 's florent serra completed a hard-fought 6-4 6-3 6-7 7-6 win over victor hanescu of romania and will next face american bobby ginepri . | third seed novak djokovic later joins nadal in the fourth round at roland garros |
britain <tsp> ( cnn ) -- three-time defending champion rafael nadal made light work of his heavy schedule and a recurring foot problem to reach the last 16 of the french open on friday . rafael nadal inspects his blistered foot during his third-round victory against jarko nieminen . the world no . 2 crushed finnish 26th seed jarkko nieminen 6-1 6-3 6-1 in his fourth successive day of action on the paris clay , following frustration this week with bad weather . he will play fellow spaniard fernando verdasco after his 7-6 5-7 7-6 6-1 win over 15th seed mikhail youzhny of russia . third seed novak djokovic was also untroubled in a later third round match to see off wayne odesnik of the united states 7-5 6-4 6-2 . nadal will be hoping for some time to let his blistered foot recover , needing treatment during the match against nieminen for a problem that saw him beaten in the second round of the rome masters earlier in the claycourt season . he is bidding to become the second man after the legendary bjorn borg to win four successive titles at roland garros , but has already vented his anger at the atp tour for scheduling four top-level clay events in as many weeks . watch nadal talk about his tournament hopes » nadal showed little signs of tiredness as he cruised past nieminen in less than two hours to extend his winning record at the tournament to 24 matches . his opening victory against brazil 's thomaz bellucci took two days due to torrential rain , then on thursday he saw off another qualifier in straight sets when he beat frenchman nicolas devilder . in other third round action on friday , spain 's nicolas almagro again showed his clay court pedigree with a 6-3 6-7 6-3 7-5 win over britain 's 10th seed andy murray . almagro , who has won two titles on clay this season , was made to work hard by murray , but recovered from a 3-1 deficit in the third set to win seven games in row and take command . he will now play 145th-ranked frenchman jeremy chardy who ended the run of 30th seed dmitry tursunov of russia in straight sets . latvia 's ernests gulbis continued his fine run as he defeated nicolas lapentti of ecuador 6-3 7-5 6-2 to set up a clash with home hope michael llodra who beat italy 's simone bolelli in straight sets . in second-round action , france 's florent serra completed a hard-fought 6-4 6-3 6-7 7-6 win over victor hanescu of romania and will next face american bobby ginepri . | nicolas almagro of spain puts out 10th seed andy murray of britain |
west africa <tsp> ( cnn ) -- colombian and mexican drug cartels have jumped the atlantic ocean and expanded into west africa , working closely with local criminal gangs to carve out a staging area for an assault on the lucrative european market . authorities destroy cannabis found in ivory coast . west africa is appealing to drug traffickers from latin america . the situation has gotten so out of hand that tiny guinea-bissau , the fifth-poorest nation in the world , is being called africa 's first narco-state . others talk about how africa 's gold coast has become the coke coast . in all , officials say , at least nine top-tier latin american drug cartels have established bases in 11 west african nations . the same organizations that we investigate in central and south america that are involved in drug activity toward the united states are engaged in this trafficking in western africa , ' said russell benson , the drug enforcement agency regional director for europe and africa . there 's not one country that has n't been touched to some extent . ' the calculus is simple : bigger profits in europe than in the united states , less law enforcement in west africa than in europe . the driving force is the booming european market for cocaine . the exponential rise in the number of consumers has made europe the fastest-growing and most-profitable market in the world , ' said bruce bagley , dean of the graduate school of international studies at the university of miami . while the european market has been expanding , use in the united states has declined from its peak in the 1980s , the u.n. office of drugs and crime said in its 2009 annual report , issued in july . cocaine use prevalence in the usa is 50 percent lower than it was two decades ago , while spain , italy , portugal , france and the united kingdom have all seen cocaine use double or triple in recent years , ' the u.n. report said . about 1,000 tons of pure cocaine are produced each year , nearly 60 percent of which evades law enforcement interception and makes it to market , the report said . that 's a wholesale global market of about $ 70 billion . criminals traffic about 250 tons to europe each year , though not all of it makes it there , the u.n. said . the european market totals about $ 11 billion . about 27 percent of the cocaine that entered europe in 2006 came from africa , the united nations said . huge profits make europe particularly attractive . two pounds of uncut cocaine can sell for $ 22,000 in the united states but for $ 45,000 in europe , analyst ashley-louise bybee wrote in a policy journal this year . the justice department said the price in europe can be three times more than in the united states . it 's a significant market for them to exploit , ' benson said . a strong euro and weaker dollar also make europe attractive to traffickers because of favorable exchange rates . there 's also the fact that the european union recently issued a 500 euro note , currently equivalent to about $ 700 . the largest u.s. denomination in circulation is the $ 100 bill . traffickers prefer the large euro notes because they are easier to carry in large quantities . for example , benson said that $ 1 million in $ 100 bills weighs 22 pounds , while $ 1 million in 500 euro notes weighs 3.5 pounds . it 's a huge difference , ' he said . though europe is highly attractive to traffickers , it can have tight , western-style security . so the colombian and mexican cartels have discovered that it 's much easier to smuggle large loads into west africa and then break that up into smaller shipments to the continent -- mostly spain , the united kingdom and france . west africa is a smuggler 's dream , suffering from a combination of factors that make the area particularly vulnerable . it is among the poorest and least stable regions in the world . governments are weak and ineffective and , as a top dea chief testified to the u.s. senate this summer , officials are often corrupt . law enforcement also is largely riddled with corruption . criminal gangs are rampant . foot soldiers can be recruited from a large pool of poor and desperate youth . it 's a point of least resistance , ' benson said . west africa refers to benin , burkina faso , cape verde , ivory coast , gambia , ghana , guinea , guinea-bissau , liberia , mali , mauritania , niger , nigeria , senegal , sierra leone and togo . this area of the world is ripe , ' bagley said . there has been very little attention paid to it . the united states is loath to give aid to these countries because they are corrupt . ' u.s. authorities find themselves at a great disadvantage fighting cartels that have much more money and guns . the dea has four offices -- in egypt , ghana , nigeria and south africa -- to cover a continent that spans 11.7 million square miles and has nearly 1 billion people . it 's a big place , ' benson acknowledges , noting that there are 54 countries on the continent . local police also are vastly outgunned . guinea-bissau offers an alarming example . the judicial police ... have 60 agents , one vehicle and often no fuel , ' analyst bybee wrote in a journal called new voices in public policy , published by the george mason university school of public policy . as a result , when culprits are apprehended , they are driven in a taxi to the police station . they just recently received six sets of handcuffs from the u.k. , which were badly needed . in the military , one rusty ship patrols the 350-kilometer ( 217-mile ) coastline and 88 islands . ' even when criminals are caught , bybee said , the near absence of a judicial system allows traffickers to operate unimpeded . ' for example , she said , because the police are so impotent , the culprits are often held for just a few hours before senior military personnel suddenly attain extraordinary judicial powers to demand their release . ' the few officials who stand up to the traffickers receive death threats or are killed . west africa also is particularly attractive to traffickers because it is near the soft underbelly of europe , ' said retired four-star army gen. barry mccaffrey , who was drug policy director for president clinton . geography plays another role because west africa is fairly close to the three south american nations that produce nearly all of the world 's cocaine -- colombia , peru and bolivia . many of the shipments depart from venezuela , which shares a 1,273-mile ( 2,050-kilometer ) porous border with colombia and is even closer to africa . they go right dead-ass across the shortest route , ' mccaffrey said . most of the cocaine shipments cross the atlantic in large mother ships ' and then are off-loaded to small vessels near the coastline , the united nations said . small planes modified for overseas flight that can carry a 1-ton cargo also have been used . most of those come from venezuela , the united nations reported . a report issued in july by the government accountability office said traffickers use go-fast boats , fishing vessels and commercial shipping containers as the primary means of smuggling cocaine out of venezuela . mccaffrey also noted the use of go-fast boats and special planes . dea assistant administrator thomas harrigan testified before the senate in june that authorities in sierra leone seized a cocaine shipment last year from a twin-engine aircraft marked with a red cross insignia . the flight originated in venezuela , he said . the gao report noted that u.s. government officials have observed an increase in suspicious air traffic originating in venezuela . ' in 2004 , the report said , authorities tracked 109 suspect flights out of venezuela . in 2007 , officials tracked 178 suspicious flights . then there 's the crime connection in west africa . colombian and venezuelan traffickers are entrenched in west africa and have cultivated long-standing relationships with african criminal networks to facilitate their activities in the region , ' harrigan told a senate subcommittee on african affairs . these organizations do n't operate in a vacuum , ' benson said . they have to align themselves with west african criminal groups . ' the cartels also have aligned themselves with terrorists , harrigan said . the threat of narco-terrorism in africa is a real concern , including the presence of international terrorist organizations operating or based in africa , such as the regional threat presented by al qaeda in the lands of maghreb , ' he said , referring to al qaeda activists in north africa . in addition , dea investigations have identified elements of colombia 's fuerzas armadas revolucionarias de colombia [ farc ] as being involved in cocaine trafficking in west africa . ' benson said the groups operating in africa are primarily narcotics organizations ' but acknowledged that the marxist farc guerrillas in colombia are a force to be dealt with . the rebels have waged war on the colombian government for more than 40 years . the profit potential is such that the farc is one of the largest cocaine-trafficking operations globally and is also a terrorist organization , ' he said . bagley and mccaffrey see less evidence of terrorist connections with the traffickers in africa , both using nearly identical language . i 'd be really skeptical of those kinds of assertions , ' mccaffrey said . i 'm quite skeptical about linkages between cartels and terrorists , ' bagley said . the criminal groups seek profits . they 're not interested in taking over governments . ' still , bagley said , traffickers and terrorists may use some of the same criminal networks . analysts note that the surge of cartel activity in west africa is a fairly recent development . the u.n. report said it started around 2005 . bybee places it around 2006 . mccaffrey , who was in the clinton white house in the 1990s , said he saw the problem coming a long time ago . i 've been warning people in europe and latin america starting 10 years ago where this issue was going to move , ' he said . the europeans absolutely blew me off . ' the u.n. report offers some hope , saying that cocaine seizures in europe peaked in 2006 and topped out in west africa in 2007 . overall seizures have declined since 2006 , the report said . this trend appears to be continuing in 2009 and includes declines in the number and volume of seizures made in the region and in the number of air couriers coming from the region in europe , ' the report concluded . for example , authorities seized 11 large shipments in africa in 2007 , four in 2008 and none so far this year . the report does not specify whether there are fewer shipments or smarter criminals avoiding detection . but if there is a decline , the dea 's benson said he has not seen it . in the last three or four years , it 's increased quite dramatically , ' he said . the colombian organizations have been active there longer than that . in the last two years , we 've also seen mexican involvement in the area as well . ' | officials : at least nine latin american drug cartels have set up bases in west africa |
west africa <tsp> ( cnn ) -- colombian and mexican drug cartels have jumped the atlantic ocean and expanded into west africa , working closely with local criminal gangs to carve out a staging area for an assault on the lucrative european market . authorities destroy cannabis found in ivory coast . west africa is appealing to drug traffickers from latin america . the situation has gotten so out of hand that tiny guinea-bissau , the fifth-poorest nation in the world , is being called africa 's first narco-state . others talk about how africa 's gold coast has become the coke coast . in all , officials say , at least nine top-tier latin american drug cartels have established bases in 11 west african nations . the same organizations that we investigate in central and south america that are involved in drug activity toward the united states are engaged in this trafficking in western africa , ' said russell benson , the drug enforcement agency regional director for europe and africa . there 's not one country that has n't been touched to some extent . ' the calculus is simple : bigger profits in europe than in the united states , less law enforcement in west africa than in europe . the driving force is the booming european market for cocaine . the exponential rise in the number of consumers has made europe the fastest-growing and most-profitable market in the world , ' said bruce bagley , dean of the graduate school of international studies at the university of miami . while the european market has been expanding , use in the united states has declined from its peak in the 1980s , the u.n. office of drugs and crime said in its 2009 annual report , issued in july . cocaine use prevalence in the usa is 50 percent lower than it was two decades ago , while spain , italy , portugal , france and the united kingdom have all seen cocaine use double or triple in recent years , ' the u.n. report said . about 1,000 tons of pure cocaine are produced each year , nearly 60 percent of which evades law enforcement interception and makes it to market , the report said . that 's a wholesale global market of about $ 70 billion . criminals traffic about 250 tons to europe each year , though not all of it makes it there , the u.n. said . the european market totals about $ 11 billion . about 27 percent of the cocaine that entered europe in 2006 came from africa , the united nations said . huge profits make europe particularly attractive . two pounds of uncut cocaine can sell for $ 22,000 in the united states but for $ 45,000 in europe , analyst ashley-louise bybee wrote in a policy journal this year . the justice department said the price in europe can be three times more than in the united states . it 's a significant market for them to exploit , ' benson said . a strong euro and weaker dollar also make europe attractive to traffickers because of favorable exchange rates . there 's also the fact that the european union recently issued a 500 euro note , currently equivalent to about $ 700 . the largest u.s. denomination in circulation is the $ 100 bill . traffickers prefer the large euro notes because they are easier to carry in large quantities . for example , benson said that $ 1 million in $ 100 bills weighs 22 pounds , while $ 1 million in 500 euro notes weighs 3.5 pounds . it 's a huge difference , ' he said . though europe is highly attractive to traffickers , it can have tight , western-style security . so the colombian and mexican cartels have discovered that it 's much easier to smuggle large loads into west africa and then break that up into smaller shipments to the continent -- mostly spain , the united kingdom and france . west africa is a smuggler 's dream , suffering from a combination of factors that make the area particularly vulnerable . it is among the poorest and least stable regions in the world . governments are weak and ineffective and , as a top dea chief testified to the u.s. senate this summer , officials are often corrupt . law enforcement also is largely riddled with corruption . criminal gangs are rampant . foot soldiers can be recruited from a large pool of poor and desperate youth . it 's a point of least resistance , ' benson said . west africa refers to benin , burkina faso , cape verde , ivory coast , gambia , ghana , guinea , guinea-bissau , liberia , mali , mauritania , niger , nigeria , senegal , sierra leone and togo . this area of the world is ripe , ' bagley said . there has been very little attention paid to it . the united states is loath to give aid to these countries because they are corrupt . ' u.s. authorities find themselves at a great disadvantage fighting cartels that have much more money and guns . the dea has four offices -- in egypt , ghana , nigeria and south africa -- to cover a continent that spans 11.7 million square miles and has nearly 1 billion people . it 's a big place , ' benson acknowledges , noting that there are 54 countries on the continent . local police also are vastly outgunned . guinea-bissau offers an alarming example . the judicial police ... have 60 agents , one vehicle and often no fuel , ' analyst bybee wrote in a journal called new voices in public policy , published by the george mason university school of public policy . as a result , when culprits are apprehended , they are driven in a taxi to the police station . they just recently received six sets of handcuffs from the u.k. , which were badly needed . in the military , one rusty ship patrols the 350-kilometer ( 217-mile ) coastline and 88 islands . ' even when criminals are caught , bybee said , the near absence of a judicial system allows traffickers to operate unimpeded . ' for example , she said , because the police are so impotent , the culprits are often held for just a few hours before senior military personnel suddenly attain extraordinary judicial powers to demand their release . ' the few officials who stand up to the traffickers receive death threats or are killed . west africa also is particularly attractive to traffickers because it is near the soft underbelly of europe , ' said retired four-star army gen. barry mccaffrey , who was drug policy director for president clinton . geography plays another role because west africa is fairly close to the three south american nations that produce nearly all of the world 's cocaine -- colombia , peru and bolivia . many of the shipments depart from venezuela , which shares a 1,273-mile ( 2,050-kilometer ) porous border with colombia and is even closer to africa . they go right dead-ass across the shortest route , ' mccaffrey said . most of the cocaine shipments cross the atlantic in large mother ships ' and then are off-loaded to small vessels near the coastline , the united nations said . small planes modified for overseas flight that can carry a 1-ton cargo also have been used . most of those come from venezuela , the united nations reported . a report issued in july by the government accountability office said traffickers use go-fast boats , fishing vessels and commercial shipping containers as the primary means of smuggling cocaine out of venezuela . mccaffrey also noted the use of go-fast boats and special planes . dea assistant administrator thomas harrigan testified before the senate in june that authorities in sierra leone seized a cocaine shipment last year from a twin-engine aircraft marked with a red cross insignia . the flight originated in venezuela , he said . the gao report noted that u.s. government officials have observed an increase in suspicious air traffic originating in venezuela . ' in 2004 , the report said , authorities tracked 109 suspect flights out of venezuela . in 2007 , officials tracked 178 suspicious flights . then there 's the crime connection in west africa . colombian and venezuelan traffickers are entrenched in west africa and have cultivated long-standing relationships with african criminal networks to facilitate their activities in the region , ' harrigan told a senate subcommittee on african affairs . these organizations do n't operate in a vacuum , ' benson said . they have to align themselves with west african criminal groups . ' the cartels also have aligned themselves with terrorists , harrigan said . the threat of narco-terrorism in africa is a real concern , including the presence of international terrorist organizations operating or based in africa , such as the regional threat presented by al qaeda in the lands of maghreb , ' he said , referring to al qaeda activists in north africa . in addition , dea investigations have identified elements of colombia 's fuerzas armadas revolucionarias de colombia [ farc ] as being involved in cocaine trafficking in west africa . ' benson said the groups operating in africa are primarily narcotics organizations ' but acknowledged that the marxist farc guerrillas in colombia are a force to be dealt with . the rebels have waged war on the colombian government for more than 40 years . the profit potential is such that the farc is one of the largest cocaine-trafficking operations globally and is also a terrorist organization , ' he said . bagley and mccaffrey see less evidence of terrorist connections with the traffickers in africa , both using nearly identical language . i 'd be really skeptical of those kinds of assertions , ' mccaffrey said . i 'm quite skeptical about linkages between cartels and terrorists , ' bagley said . the criminal groups seek profits . they 're not interested in taking over governments . ' still , bagley said , traffickers and terrorists may use some of the same criminal networks . analysts note that the surge of cartel activity in west africa is a fairly recent development . the u.n. report said it started around 2005 . bybee places it around 2006 . mccaffrey , who was in the clinton white house in the 1990s , said he saw the problem coming a long time ago . i 've been warning people in europe and latin america starting 10 years ago where this issue was going to move , ' he said . the europeans absolutely blew me off . ' the u.n. report offers some hope , saying that cocaine seizures in europe peaked in 2006 and topped out in west africa in 2007 . overall seizures have declined since 2006 , the report said . this trend appears to be continuing in 2009 and includes declines in the number and volume of seizures made in the region and in the number of air couriers coming from the region in europe , ' the report concluded . for example , authorities seized 11 large shipments in africa in 2007 , four in 2008 and none so far this year . the report does not specify whether there are fewer shipments or smarter criminals avoiding detection . but if there is a decline , the dea 's benson said he has not seen it . in the last three or four years , it 's increased quite dramatically , ' he said . the colombian organizations have been active there longer than that . in the last two years , we 've also seen mexican involvement in the area as well . ' | west africa has little law enforcement , making it easier for traffickers there |
guinea-bissau <tsp> ( cnn ) -- colombian and mexican drug cartels have jumped the atlantic ocean and expanded into west africa , working closely with local criminal gangs to carve out a staging area for an assault on the lucrative european market . authorities destroy cannabis found in ivory coast . west africa is appealing to drug traffickers from latin america . the situation has gotten so out of hand that tiny guinea-bissau , the fifth-poorest nation in the world , is being called africa 's first narco-state . others talk about how africa 's gold coast has become the coke coast . in all , officials say , at least nine top-tier latin american drug cartels have established bases in 11 west african nations . the same organizations that we investigate in central and south america that are involved in drug activity toward the united states are engaged in this trafficking in western africa , ' said russell benson , the drug enforcement agency regional director for europe and africa . there 's not one country that has n't been touched to some extent . ' the calculus is simple : bigger profits in europe than in the united states , less law enforcement in west africa than in europe . the driving force is the booming european market for cocaine . the exponential rise in the number of consumers has made europe the fastest-growing and most-profitable market in the world , ' said bruce bagley , dean of the graduate school of international studies at the university of miami . while the european market has been expanding , use in the united states has declined from its peak in the 1980s , the u.n. office of drugs and crime said in its 2009 annual report , issued in july . cocaine use prevalence in the usa is 50 percent lower than it was two decades ago , while spain , italy , portugal , france and the united kingdom have all seen cocaine use double or triple in recent years , ' the u.n. report said . about 1,000 tons of pure cocaine are produced each year , nearly 60 percent of which evades law enforcement interception and makes it to market , the report said . that 's a wholesale global market of about $ 70 billion . criminals traffic about 250 tons to europe each year , though not all of it makes it there , the u.n. said . the european market totals about $ 11 billion . about 27 percent of the cocaine that entered europe in 2006 came from africa , the united nations said . huge profits make europe particularly attractive . two pounds of uncut cocaine can sell for $ 22,000 in the united states but for $ 45,000 in europe , analyst ashley-louise bybee wrote in a policy journal this year . the justice department said the price in europe can be three times more than in the united states . it 's a significant market for them to exploit , ' benson said . a strong euro and weaker dollar also make europe attractive to traffickers because of favorable exchange rates . there 's also the fact that the european union recently issued a 500 euro note , currently equivalent to about $ 700 . the largest u.s. denomination in circulation is the $ 100 bill . traffickers prefer the large euro notes because they are easier to carry in large quantities . for example , benson said that $ 1 million in $ 100 bills weighs 22 pounds , while $ 1 million in 500 euro notes weighs 3.5 pounds . it 's a huge difference , ' he said . though europe is highly attractive to traffickers , it can have tight , western-style security . so the colombian and mexican cartels have discovered that it 's much easier to smuggle large loads into west africa and then break that up into smaller shipments to the continent -- mostly spain , the united kingdom and france . west africa is a smuggler 's dream , suffering from a combination of factors that make the area particularly vulnerable . it is among the poorest and least stable regions in the world . governments are weak and ineffective and , as a top dea chief testified to the u.s. senate this summer , officials are often corrupt . law enforcement also is largely riddled with corruption . criminal gangs are rampant . foot soldiers can be recruited from a large pool of poor and desperate youth . it 's a point of least resistance , ' benson said . west africa refers to benin , burkina faso , cape verde , ivory coast , gambia , ghana , guinea , guinea-bissau , liberia , mali , mauritania , niger , nigeria , senegal , sierra leone and togo . this area of the world is ripe , ' bagley said . there has been very little attention paid to it . the united states is loath to give aid to these countries because they are corrupt . ' u.s. authorities find themselves at a great disadvantage fighting cartels that have much more money and guns . the dea has four offices -- in egypt , ghana , nigeria and south africa -- to cover a continent that spans 11.7 million square miles and has nearly 1 billion people . it 's a big place , ' benson acknowledges , noting that there are 54 countries on the continent . local police also are vastly outgunned . guinea-bissau offers an alarming example . the judicial police ... have 60 agents , one vehicle and often no fuel , ' analyst bybee wrote in a journal called new voices in public policy , published by the george mason university school of public policy . as a result , when culprits are apprehended , they are driven in a taxi to the police station . they just recently received six sets of handcuffs from the u.k. , which were badly needed . in the military , one rusty ship patrols the 350-kilometer ( 217-mile ) coastline and 88 islands . ' even when criminals are caught , bybee said , the near absence of a judicial system allows traffickers to operate unimpeded . ' for example , she said , because the police are so impotent , the culprits are often held for just a few hours before senior military personnel suddenly attain extraordinary judicial powers to demand their release . ' the few officials who stand up to the traffickers receive death threats or are killed . west africa also is particularly attractive to traffickers because it is near the soft underbelly of europe , ' said retired four-star army gen. barry mccaffrey , who was drug policy director for president clinton . geography plays another role because west africa is fairly close to the three south american nations that produce nearly all of the world 's cocaine -- colombia , peru and bolivia . many of the shipments depart from venezuela , which shares a 1,273-mile ( 2,050-kilometer ) porous border with colombia and is even closer to africa . they go right dead-ass across the shortest route , ' mccaffrey said . most of the cocaine shipments cross the atlantic in large mother ships ' and then are off-loaded to small vessels near the coastline , the united nations said . small planes modified for overseas flight that can carry a 1-ton cargo also have been used . most of those come from venezuela , the united nations reported . a report issued in july by the government accountability office said traffickers use go-fast boats , fishing vessels and commercial shipping containers as the primary means of smuggling cocaine out of venezuela . mccaffrey also noted the use of go-fast boats and special planes . dea assistant administrator thomas harrigan testified before the senate in june that authorities in sierra leone seized a cocaine shipment last year from a twin-engine aircraft marked with a red cross insignia . the flight originated in venezuela , he said . the gao report noted that u.s. government officials have observed an increase in suspicious air traffic originating in venezuela . ' in 2004 , the report said , authorities tracked 109 suspect flights out of venezuela . in 2007 , officials tracked 178 suspicious flights . then there 's the crime connection in west africa . colombian and venezuelan traffickers are entrenched in west africa and have cultivated long-standing relationships with african criminal networks to facilitate their activities in the region , ' harrigan told a senate subcommittee on african affairs . these organizations do n't operate in a vacuum , ' benson said . they have to align themselves with west african criminal groups . ' the cartels also have aligned themselves with terrorists , harrigan said . the threat of narco-terrorism in africa is a real concern , including the presence of international terrorist organizations operating or based in africa , such as the regional threat presented by al qaeda in the lands of maghreb , ' he said , referring to al qaeda activists in north africa . in addition , dea investigations have identified elements of colombia 's fuerzas armadas revolucionarias de colombia [ farc ] as being involved in cocaine trafficking in west africa . ' benson said the groups operating in africa are primarily narcotics organizations ' but acknowledged that the marxist farc guerrillas in colombia are a force to be dealt with . the rebels have waged war on the colombian government for more than 40 years . the profit potential is such that the farc is one of the largest cocaine-trafficking operations globally and is also a terrorist organization , ' he said . bagley and mccaffrey see less evidence of terrorist connections with the traffickers in africa , both using nearly identical language . i 'd be really skeptical of those kinds of assertions , ' mccaffrey said . i 'm quite skeptical about linkages between cartels and terrorists , ' bagley said . the criminal groups seek profits . they 're not interested in taking over governments . ' still , bagley said , traffickers and terrorists may use some of the same criminal networks . analysts note that the surge of cartel activity in west africa is a fairly recent development . the u.n. report said it started around 2005 . bybee places it around 2006 . mccaffrey , who was in the clinton white house in the 1990s , said he saw the problem coming a long time ago . i 've been warning people in europe and latin america starting 10 years ago where this issue was going to move , ' he said . the europeans absolutely blew me off . ' the u.n. report offers some hope , saying that cocaine seizures in europe peaked in 2006 and topped out in west africa in 2007 . overall seizures have declined since 2006 , the report said . this trend appears to be continuing in 2009 and includes declines in the number and volume of seizures made in the region and in the number of air couriers coming from the region in europe , ' the report concluded . for example , authorities seized 11 large shipments in africa in 2007 , four in 2008 and none so far this year . the report does not specify whether there are fewer shipments or smarter criminals avoiding detection . but if there is a decline , the dea 's benson said he has not seen it . in the last three or four years , it 's increased quite dramatically , ' he said . the colombian organizations have been active there longer than that . in the last two years , we 've also seen mexican involvement in the area as well . ' | guinea-bissau , fifth-poorest nation in the world , is called africa 's first narco-state |
latin american <tsp> ( cnn ) -- colombian and mexican drug cartels have jumped the atlantic ocean and expanded into west africa , working closely with local criminal gangs to carve out a staging area for an assault on the lucrative european market . authorities destroy cannabis found in ivory coast . west africa is appealing to drug traffickers from latin america . the situation has gotten so out of hand that tiny guinea-bissau , the fifth-poorest nation in the world , is being called africa 's first narco-state . others talk about how africa 's gold coast has become the coke coast . in all , officials say , at least nine top-tier latin american drug cartels have established bases in 11 west african nations . the same organizations that we investigate in central and south america that are involved in drug activity toward the united states are engaged in this trafficking in western africa , ' said russell benson , the drug enforcement agency regional director for europe and africa . there 's not one country that has n't been touched to some extent . ' the calculus is simple : bigger profits in europe than in the united states , less law enforcement in west africa than in europe . the driving force is the booming european market for cocaine . the exponential rise in the number of consumers has made europe the fastest-growing and most-profitable market in the world , ' said bruce bagley , dean of the graduate school of international studies at the university of miami . while the european market has been expanding , use in the united states has declined from its peak in the 1980s , the u.n. office of drugs and crime said in its 2009 annual report , issued in july . cocaine use prevalence in the usa is 50 percent lower than it was two decades ago , while spain , italy , portugal , france and the united kingdom have all seen cocaine use double or triple in recent years , ' the u.n. report said . about 1,000 tons of pure cocaine are produced each year , nearly 60 percent of which evades law enforcement interception and makes it to market , the report said . that 's a wholesale global market of about $ 70 billion . criminals traffic about 250 tons to europe each year , though not all of it makes it there , the u.n. said . the european market totals about $ 11 billion . about 27 percent of the cocaine that entered europe in 2006 came from africa , the united nations said . huge profits make europe particularly attractive . two pounds of uncut cocaine can sell for $ 22,000 in the united states but for $ 45,000 in europe , analyst ashley-louise bybee wrote in a policy journal this year . the justice department said the price in europe can be three times more than in the united states . it 's a significant market for them to exploit , ' benson said . a strong euro and weaker dollar also make europe attractive to traffickers because of favorable exchange rates . there 's also the fact that the european union recently issued a 500 euro note , currently equivalent to about $ 700 . the largest u.s. denomination in circulation is the $ 100 bill . traffickers prefer the large euro notes because they are easier to carry in large quantities . for example , benson said that $ 1 million in $ 100 bills weighs 22 pounds , while $ 1 million in 500 euro notes weighs 3.5 pounds . it 's a huge difference , ' he said . though europe is highly attractive to traffickers , it can have tight , western-style security . so the colombian and mexican cartels have discovered that it 's much easier to smuggle large loads into west africa and then break that up into smaller shipments to the continent -- mostly spain , the united kingdom and france . west africa is a smuggler 's dream , suffering from a combination of factors that make the area particularly vulnerable . it is among the poorest and least stable regions in the world . governments are weak and ineffective and , as a top dea chief testified to the u.s. senate this summer , officials are often corrupt . law enforcement also is largely riddled with corruption . criminal gangs are rampant . foot soldiers can be recruited from a large pool of poor and desperate youth . it 's a point of least resistance , ' benson said . west africa refers to benin , burkina faso , cape verde , ivory coast , gambia , ghana , guinea , guinea-bissau , liberia , mali , mauritania , niger , nigeria , senegal , sierra leone and togo . this area of the world is ripe , ' bagley said . there has been very little attention paid to it . the united states is loath to give aid to these countries because they are corrupt . ' u.s. authorities find themselves at a great disadvantage fighting cartels that have much more money and guns . the dea has four offices -- in egypt , ghana , nigeria and south africa -- to cover a continent that spans 11.7 million square miles and has nearly 1 billion people . it 's a big place , ' benson acknowledges , noting that there are 54 countries on the continent . local police also are vastly outgunned . guinea-bissau offers an alarming example . the judicial police ... have 60 agents , one vehicle and often no fuel , ' analyst bybee wrote in a journal called new voices in public policy , published by the george mason university school of public policy . as a result , when culprits are apprehended , they are driven in a taxi to the police station . they just recently received six sets of handcuffs from the u.k. , which were badly needed . in the military , one rusty ship patrols the 350-kilometer ( 217-mile ) coastline and 88 islands . ' even when criminals are caught , bybee said , the near absence of a judicial system allows traffickers to operate unimpeded . ' for example , she said , because the police are so impotent , the culprits are often held for just a few hours before senior military personnel suddenly attain extraordinary judicial powers to demand their release . ' the few officials who stand up to the traffickers receive death threats or are killed . west africa also is particularly attractive to traffickers because it is near the soft underbelly of europe , ' said retired four-star army gen. barry mccaffrey , who was drug policy director for president clinton . geography plays another role because west africa is fairly close to the three south american nations that produce nearly all of the world 's cocaine -- colombia , peru and bolivia . many of the shipments depart from venezuela , which shares a 1,273-mile ( 2,050-kilometer ) porous border with colombia and is even closer to africa . they go right dead-ass across the shortest route , ' mccaffrey said . most of the cocaine shipments cross the atlantic in large mother ships ' and then are off-loaded to small vessels near the coastline , the united nations said . small planes modified for overseas flight that can carry a 1-ton cargo also have been used . most of those come from venezuela , the united nations reported . a report issued in july by the government accountability office said traffickers use go-fast boats , fishing vessels and commercial shipping containers as the primary means of smuggling cocaine out of venezuela . mccaffrey also noted the use of go-fast boats and special planes . dea assistant administrator thomas harrigan testified before the senate in june that authorities in sierra leone seized a cocaine shipment last year from a twin-engine aircraft marked with a red cross insignia . the flight originated in venezuela , he said . the gao report noted that u.s. government officials have observed an increase in suspicious air traffic originating in venezuela . ' in 2004 , the report said , authorities tracked 109 suspect flights out of venezuela . in 2007 , officials tracked 178 suspicious flights . then there 's the crime connection in west africa . colombian and venezuelan traffickers are entrenched in west africa and have cultivated long-standing relationships with african criminal networks to facilitate their activities in the region , ' harrigan told a senate subcommittee on african affairs . these organizations do n't operate in a vacuum , ' benson said . they have to align themselves with west african criminal groups . ' the cartels also have aligned themselves with terrorists , harrigan said . the threat of narco-terrorism in africa is a real concern , including the presence of international terrorist organizations operating or based in africa , such as the regional threat presented by al qaeda in the lands of maghreb , ' he said , referring to al qaeda activists in north africa . in addition , dea investigations have identified elements of colombia 's fuerzas armadas revolucionarias de colombia [ farc ] as being involved in cocaine trafficking in west africa . ' benson said the groups operating in africa are primarily narcotics organizations ' but acknowledged that the marxist farc guerrillas in colombia are a force to be dealt with . the rebels have waged war on the colombian government for more than 40 years . the profit potential is such that the farc is one of the largest cocaine-trafficking operations globally and is also a terrorist organization , ' he said . bagley and mccaffrey see less evidence of terrorist connections with the traffickers in africa , both using nearly identical language . i 'd be really skeptical of those kinds of assertions , ' mccaffrey said . i 'm quite skeptical about linkages between cartels and terrorists , ' bagley said . the criminal groups seek profits . they 're not interested in taking over governments . ' still , bagley said , traffickers and terrorists may use some of the same criminal networks . analysts note that the surge of cartel activity in west africa is a fairly recent development . the u.n. report said it started around 2005 . bybee places it around 2006 . mccaffrey , who was in the clinton white house in the 1990s , said he saw the problem coming a long time ago . i 've been warning people in europe and latin america starting 10 years ago where this issue was going to move , ' he said . the europeans absolutely blew me off . ' the u.n. report offers some hope , saying that cocaine seizures in europe peaked in 2006 and topped out in west africa in 2007 . overall seizures have declined since 2006 , the report said . this trend appears to be continuing in 2009 and includes declines in the number and volume of seizures made in the region and in the number of air couriers coming from the region in europe , ' the report concluded . for example , authorities seized 11 large shipments in africa in 2007 , four in 2008 and none so far this year . the report does not specify whether there are fewer shipments or smarter criminals avoiding detection . but if there is a decline , the dea 's benson said he has not seen it . in the last three or four years , it 's increased quite dramatically , ' he said . the colombian organizations have been active there longer than that . in the last two years , we 've also seen mexican involvement in the area as well . ' | officials : at least nine latin american drug cartels have set up bases in west africa |
philippines <tsp> ( cnn ) -- philippines interior secretary jesse robredo is among three missing after a small aircraft crashed off masbate bay , the state-run pna news agency reported , citing civil aviation authorities . one person , identified as robredo 's aide , was rescued from the crash site , civil aviation chief william hotchkiss told pna . robredo was headed to naga city to attend a political event , the agency reported . the philippines department of interior and local government said on its twitter account that the pilot sent a distress call to the masbate airport requesting an emergency landing . it also said that robredo was unable to get out of the plane . however , the department deleted its messages later . the plane never made it the airport and crashed in the ocean , hotchkiss said . authorities were searching for robredo and the two pilots , pna reported . robredo is a popular minister who is known for the transformation of naga city into a premier place under his leadership as local chief executive , according to his official biography . he is a graduate of john f. kennedy school of government at harvard university . | a small plane crashed in masbate bay in the philippines |
colorado <tsp> it does n't matter if you 're taking on double black diamond trails , gliding cross country through the woods , or staring at the bunny slope with a sense of doom , you can embrace apres ski life . much like the 19th hole in golf , apres ski is a chance to reward oneself after a busy day of relaxation . it might involve meeting friends for a beer , it might mean a couples massage at a swiss-style spa , or it could just be going out for dinner to see what bison tastes like , but it 's definitely a time meant to be enjoyed . with winter approaching quickly ( and already here in some areas ) , kayak.com put together the most popular 4- and 5-star ski destination hotels and resorts in the united states . whether it 's a spa treatment or a drink by the fire , here 's kayak 's list of the perfect places to sit back , kick up your feet or plaster cast , and unwind . rusty parrot lodge and spa ( jackson , wyoming ) the rusty parrot lodge 's spa offers a finnish-style body massage with fresh berry oil serum . if you want to know how a jackson , wyoming hotel got such a tropical name , check out the bird at the front desk , then ask owner ron harrison for the full story . rusty parrot , 175 north jackson street , jackson , wyoming ; +1 307 733 2000 rustic inn at jackson hole ( jackson , wyoming ) located on 12 acres adjacent to wyoming 's elk national refuge , the rustic inn at jackson hole offers an eucalyptus steam room and special spa suites with soaking tubs . rustic inn at jackson hole , 475 n cache st , jackson , wyoming ; +1 800-323-9279 white buffalo club ( jackson , wyoming ) yep , still in jackson hole . before tucking into a 18-ounce bison ribeye , you might want to stop by the bar at the white buffalo club for a pre-dinner margarita flavored with pink grapefruit or coconut . white buffalo club , 160 west gill avenue jackson , wyoming ; +1 888 256 8182 beaver creek lodge ( beaver creek , colorado ) after a day on the mountains of colorado , the rocks modern grill at beaver creek lodge refuels skiers with grilled duck flatbreads , bison chili , and wild game meatballs . beaver creek lodge , 26 avondale lane , beaver creek , colorado +1 970 845 9800 tivoli lodge ( vail , colorado ) at vail 's brown hound lounge at the tivoli lodge , apres skiers can sample an indini cocktail inspired by indy the chocolate labrador for whom the lounge is named . tivoli lodge , 386 hanson ranch road , vail , colorado ; +1 970 476 5615 ext . 10 keystone lodge and spa ( keystone , colorado ) located in keystone , colorado , the keystone lodge and spa at keystone resort offers signature body therapies featuring soy and blueberry , coconut and mango pineapple , or desert salt and mountain rain . keystone lodge and spa , 22010 u.s. 6 , keystone , colorado ; +1 970 496 2316 read more : insider guide to the best of colorado skiing westgate park city resort & spa ( park city , utah ) utah 's westgate park city resort & spa offers an award-winning 30,000-square foot serenity spa with an aromatherapy steam room , a cedar sauna , and a waterfall hydrotherapy spa . westgate park city resort & spa , 3000 canyons resorts drive , park city , utah ; +1 435 655 2240 aspen meadows resort ( aspen , colorado ) the hefner lounge at aspen meadows resort features its own apres ski menu loaded with everything from elk chili and hand-cut fries to warm drink specials . it also lists snow friendly ' wines , raising the question : is there such a thing as a snow unfriendly ' wine ? aspen meadows resort , 845 meadows road , aspen , colorado ; +1 800 452 42 40 vail cascade resort & spa ( vail , colorado ) there are more than 200 breweries in colorado . at vail cascade resort & spa 's fireside bar , visitors can warm up while ordering from a menu devoted to craft beers . vail cascade resort & spa , 1300 westhaven drive , vail , colorado ; +1 970 476 7111 zermatt resort ( midway , utah ) midway , utah 's zermatt resort is named after a swiss mountain village . the zermatt includes a ruheraum , or relaxation room , where guests can relax after a dip in the resort 's geothermal pool . zermatt resort , 784 west resort drive , midway , utah ; +1 866 937 6288 | colorado 's vail also claims multiple venues , including the tivoli lodge |
hugo chavez <tsp> in response to a report that his health was failing and that he had been rushed to the hospital , venezuelan president hugo chavez said thursday that he had the best proof that his recovery from chemotherapy is advancing fine . i 'm here ; this is my answer , ' chavez told reporters at the presidential palace , raising his arms and gesturing at his body . the president announced in june that doctors had removed a cancerous tumor from his body . he underwent chemotherapy in cuba the following month . wearing a red track suit and a baseball cap , chavez appeared to be his old talkative self thursday , running through the irresponsible ' newspaper report paragraph by paragraph and answering questions from reporters for more than an hour . the nuevo herald , citing two unidentified sources who said they were witnesses , reported thursday that chavez had been taken to a military hospital on tuesday because of kidney complications . the report said doctors were considering moving the president to a private hospital where he could be better attended . but chavez told the state-run broadcaster vtv in a telephone call that he was recovering well from his fourth round of chemotherapy . then he called for the afternoon news conference at the palace . before answering questions from a crowd of watching reporters , the leftist left-hander threw a softball with his aides and then switched to a hardball . i 'm going to start practicing baseball or softball , both things , ' he said . i 'm anxious . my legs are asking for a little running , jogging , some sun . being in the barracks for too long is not good for a man who 's used to being at the forefront . but , well , we have to follow the rhythms of medical science . ' asked by a u.s. reporter what type of cancer he has , chavez -- who said he was recuperating from his last round of chemotherapy , which ended 11 days ago -- would not specify . i am my own answer , ' he said . and the life that i will live from now on -- with the favor of god -- will be my response . ' but he said that his last medical examination had yielded very positive results . ' that extended to his cholesterol level , which he said he had been watching for many years . it 's normal now , but it could be lower , ' he said . he said he retained an appetite . i 'm eating . i 'm 90 kilos . i used to weigh 84 . of course , i 'm not doing a lot of exercise . i 'm doing light exercise , but when i start to run and to hit balls and steal second base ... ' about his cancer , the president said only that a tumor the size of a baseball had been removed from his body in a six-hour operation carried out in cuba in june and that it was cancerous . fortunately , for those who love me and for me , it was encapsulated , ' implying that it might have metastasized had it ruptured . the body was protecting itself , ' he said . referring to reports that the cancer affected his colon and his kidneys , he said , all that is false . ' and responding to media reports that he is dying , he said , here i am . ' but , he acknowledged , i 'm not in my best form . i used to box . ' he compared his foot movements to those of former heavyweight champion muhammad ali , whom he referred to by his given name of cassius clay . the disinformation is part of a campaign that many media outlets , including some represented here , ' were part of , he said . it 's a morbid thing . morbid . it 's morbid , obscene , inhumane . but , oh , well , that 's how things are in the world , right ? ' he added , this is like a soap opera . ' the president also revealed that he had been one of the voices calling for the release of two american hikers in iran . josh fattal and shane bauer were detained for two years before being released this month . chavez said that he called and wrote to iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad seeking the hikers'release at the behest of actor sean penn . chavez said he considers penn a friend , and after the two spoke about the hikers , he agreed to add his voice directly with the iranian president . if this call and message helped a little , i am glad . even if it did n't , he said . last week , a representative for penn confirmed a report that penn had flown to venezuela months ago to speak about the hikers'plight with chavez . | a newspaper reports hugo chavez was hospitalized for failing kidneys |
afghanistan <tsp> los angeles ( cnn ) -- the man accused of shooting and paralyzing a u.s. army soldier at a homecoming party in the soldier 's honor faces one count of attempted murder , the spokesman for the san bernardino , california , district attorney said tuesday . district attorney michael ramos filed the charge tuesday against 19-year-old ruben jurado , spokesman christopher lee said . he also filed four special allegations involving premeditation and the use and discharge of a firearm causing great bodily injury , ' the da 's office said in a statement . jurado was being held at the west valley detention center and was expected to be arraigned wednesday or thursday . jurado is accused of shooting army spc . christopher sullivan on friday night at a homecoming party in sullivan 's native san bernardino . sullivan was there celebrating his recent return to california from kentucky , where he was stationed while recovering from wounds sustained in a suicide bombing a year ago in afghanistan . sullivan narrowly survived the attack , which killed five members of his unit and left him with a cracked collar bone and brain damage , according to the san bernardino county sun . sullivan was awarded the purple heart after the incident . he was shot at the party after an argument and physical confrontation ' with jurado , san bernardino police department sgt . pete higgins told cnn . accompanied by an attorney , jurado turned himself in to authorities in chino hills early monday afternoon , said lt. gwendolyn waters . the fight at the party broke out after jurado and sullivan 's younger brother began arguing about football , the brothers'mother , suzanne sullivan , told cnn . jurado pulled out a gun and shot him twice , ' she said . higgins said jurado fled the scene after the shooting . sullivan was rushed to a hospital , where he was being treated , officials said . right now , my son is hanging in physically , ' suzanne sullivan told cnn . he 's on 100 % life support . he can move his head and he responds through nodding and blinking to us . his eyes are n't always open , but we try to encourage him to do so as often as possible . ' she said her son tried to ask what happened to him at the hospital and when they told him he wanted to know , why ? ' we told him what it was about and he just closed his eyes , ' suzanne sullivan told cnn . she said she was told that the suspect and her son might have gone to school and played football together . she also said she could n't believe what had happened to her son , who she said joined the army to try and help her out . he 's a wonderful son . ... the best person you could meet on this earth , ' she said . he 's a giver , not a taker , and just wants to be there for and help people . he was so happy when he joined the army , because he really wanted to defend his country . ' the mother and her family have been at her son 's hospital bedside . a fellow soldier from christopher sullivan 's 101st airborne division brought the infantry 's flag to the hospital , suzanne sullivan told cnn . he loved his platoon . he loved his fellow soldiers , ' she said as she began to sob . he was so proud to serve our country . ' tears rolled down christopher sullivan 's face when he saw the flag of the screaming eagles , the nickname for the division , his mother said . i asked chris if he wanted to me to hang it on the wall or cover him in it , ' suzanne sullivan said . he nodded that he wanted me to cover him with it . once i did that he started to cry , which made me start to cry . it 's been really hard on all of us . ' she said she was distraught over the news that her son , who was already recovering from injuries sustained during his tour abroad , had returned to the united states only to be paralyzed during a party . he once told me that if defending this country takes his life , so be it , ' she said . but to see he survived that , and now for this to happen to him , just breaks my heart . ' suzanne sullivan said her family is having a difficult time coming to terms with what happened . we just want justice to be done , ' she said . cnn 's carey bodenheimer contributed to this report . | the soldier was already recovering from wounds suffered in afghanistan |
james blake <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the deaths of four people this week at a florida mansion leased out by tennis star james blake were murders and a suicide , with a man shooting his wife and teenage children in the head and setting the home on fire before shooting himself , authorities said friday . authorities have identified the dead as darrin campbell , his wife kimberly campbell , and their teenage children , megan and colin , hillsborough county sheriff 's col. donna lusczynski told reporters . the family , found dead at the burning tampa home on wednesday , had been renting the 5,800-square-foot mansion from blake for the past two years , authorities said . blake was not at the home at the time , police said . investigators do n't know darrin campbell 's motive , lusczynski said . authorities believe he used a gun that was registered in his name , lusczynski added . the sheriff 's department has n't said exactly what led investigators to believe he shot his family , but it did say the florida department of law enforcement performed a ballistics test . information on whether the four died from their gunshot wounds , the fire or some other manner was n't immediately available . firefighters first learned of the blaze in a 911 call around 5:45 a.m. wednesday reporting an explosion and flames . campbell used an accelerant to feed the fire and also placed fireworks throughout the home , lusczynski said friday . campbell bought fireworks and cans of gasoline on sunday and bought more gasoline from two stores on tuesday , lusczynski said . a surveillance video obtained by cnn shows a man believed to be darrin campbell inside a phantom fireworks store in tampa on sunday , buying about $ 600 worth of fireworks . he walks out of the store with one cart , and an employee seems to help him out with a second . blake , 34 , born in yonkers , new york , starred at harvard before breaking into professional tennis . he peaked at no . 4 in the world rankings in november 2006 , according to his atp world tour profile . he retired from the sport last year , and remains active with his namesake foundation and thomas blake sr. memorial research fund to support research at memorial sloan-kettering cancer center . cnn 's alina machado , greg botelho and susan candiotti contributed to this report . | home belongs to former pro tennis player james blake , who was leasing it out |
detroit tigers <tsp> ( cnn ) -- the new york yankees'world series hopes may have just taken a hit , as shortstop derek jeter fractured his left ankle in game one of the american league championship series against the detroit tigers on saturday night . jeter suffered the injury while fielding a ground ball in the top of the 12th inning , with new york trailing 5-4 . he immediately went down in pain , staying face down momentarily . jeter was helped off the field , putting no weight on the ankle , with fans chanting derek jeter ! ' yankees manager joe girardi confirmed the severity of jeter 's injury after the game . it wo n't jeopardize his career , but he will not be playing anymore for us this year , ' he said , adding it will likely take three months to recover from the injury . girardi said eduardo nunez will be activated to replace jeter 's spot on the roster . he added that third baseman alex rodriguez -- a former shortstop -- would not replace the yankees captain at the position , citing that it 's been too long since he has played there . detroit won the game 6-4 . game two is sunday afternoon in new york . | jeter was injured during a game against the detroit tigers |
lance armstrong <tsp> ( cnn ) -- lance armstrong 's radio shack team has been involved in a doping case after chinese rider fuyu li tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol . in a statement confirming the news , radio shack said : we have been informed by the uci that our rider fuyu li has had an a-sample positive test for the banned substance clenbuterol . the sample was collected on march 23 in belgium and fuyu li has been immediately suspended pending the outcome of his b-sample test in the next few weeks . if that test is positive the rider will be removed from the team . team radioshack and its management take this incident very seriously . we will respect the rights of our rider but will enforce our zero tolerance policy should his b-sample test positive . ' fuyu , the first chinese to take out a professional cycling licence , is the second rider to have failed a drugs test in as many days after italy 's mattia gavazzi of the csf team tested positive for cocaine following a test in march . | lance armstrong 's radio shack team has been involved in a doping case |
radio shack <tsp> ( cnn ) -- lance armstrong 's radio shack team has been involved in a doping case after chinese rider fuyu li tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol . in a statement confirming the news , radio shack said : we have been informed by the uci that our rider fuyu li has had an a-sample positive test for the banned substance clenbuterol . the sample was collected on march 23 in belgium and fuyu li has been immediately suspended pending the outcome of his b-sample test in the next few weeks . if that test is positive the rider will be removed from the team . team radioshack and its management take this incident very seriously . we will respect the rights of our rider but will enforce our zero tolerance policy should his b-sample test positive . ' fuyu , the first chinese to take out a professional cycling licence , is the second rider to have failed a drugs test in as many days after italy 's mattia gavazzi of the csf team tested positive for cocaine following a test in march . | lance armstrong 's radio shack team has been involved in a doping case |
china <tsp> ( cnn ) -- president obama 's state of the union address predictably focused on his domestic priorities . immigration reform , a laundry list of economic initiatives including infrastructure improvements ( fix it first ) , clean energy , some manufacturing innovation , a bit of educational reform and the rhetorical high point of his speech -- gun control . as in years past , foreign policy made up only about 15 % of the speech , but even within that usual limited attention , tuesday night 's address pointed to few new directions . on afghanistan -- america 's longest war -- obama expressed just a continued commitment to bringing the troops home , ending our war ' while theirs continues . on iran , there was a single sentence reiterating the need for a diplomatic solution , which makes me think that a big diplomatic push is not likely . on north korea , boilerplate promises to isolate the country further after its provocative nuclear test , and on syria , a call to keep the pressure ' on the regime , which means more watching from the sidelines as the horror unfolds . notably , china was mentioned only twice -- once in the context of jobs , and another time with respect to clean energy . nothing about managing what could very well be this administration 's most vexing but critically important bilateral relationship . obama 's call for a reinvigorated free trade agenda was his boldest foreign policy statement of the evening . he is right to note that free trade supports millions of good-paying american jobs , ' but his pledge to pursue a comprehensive transatlantic trade and investment partnership ' -- a free trade agreement with europe -- will run into significant opposition from organized labor , especially given ongoing weaknesses in the economy . without fast track negotiating authority , the prospects for such a deal are minimal . fast track authority , which allows the president to negotiate trade deals that congress can then only approve or disapprove but not amend , expired in 2007 , and it would require quite a breakthrough for congress to approve it again . still , despite these challenges , an agreement is worth pursuing . aside from a free trade agreement with europe , there was little else in this state of the union that hinted at foreign policy ambition . but unpredictable events have a way of derailing america 's best laid plans to stay above the fray of the world 's messiest problems . who could have predicted just a few months ago that mali would get a mention in the state of the union ? iraq -- not uttered once tonight -- could re-emerge as a formidable crisis ; iran , pakistan and north korea also have tremendous potential to erupt . while this administration seems determined to focus inward on getting america 's economic and fiscal house in order , i doubt events in the rest of the world will be so accommodating . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of isobel coleman | coleman : he talked about ending afghanistan war , spoke briefly about iran , syria , china |
iran <tsp> ( cnn ) -- president obama 's state of the union address predictably focused on his domestic priorities . immigration reform , a laundry list of economic initiatives including infrastructure improvements ( fix it first ) , clean energy , some manufacturing innovation , a bit of educational reform and the rhetorical high point of his speech -- gun control . as in years past , foreign policy made up only about 15 % of the speech , but even within that usual limited attention , tuesday night 's address pointed to few new directions . on afghanistan -- america 's longest war -- obama expressed just a continued commitment to bringing the troops home , ending our war ' while theirs continues . on iran , there was a single sentence reiterating the need for a diplomatic solution , which makes me think that a big diplomatic push is not likely . on north korea , boilerplate promises to isolate the country further after its provocative nuclear test , and on syria , a call to keep the pressure ' on the regime , which means more watching from the sidelines as the horror unfolds . notably , china was mentioned only twice -- once in the context of jobs , and another time with respect to clean energy . nothing about managing what could very well be this administration 's most vexing but critically important bilateral relationship . obama 's call for a reinvigorated free trade agenda was his boldest foreign policy statement of the evening . he is right to note that free trade supports millions of good-paying american jobs , ' but his pledge to pursue a comprehensive transatlantic trade and investment partnership ' -- a free trade agreement with europe -- will run into significant opposition from organized labor , especially given ongoing weaknesses in the economy . without fast track negotiating authority , the prospects for such a deal are minimal . fast track authority , which allows the president to negotiate trade deals that congress can then only approve or disapprove but not amend , expired in 2007 , and it would require quite a breakthrough for congress to approve it again . still , despite these challenges , an agreement is worth pursuing . aside from a free trade agreement with europe , there was little else in this state of the union that hinted at foreign policy ambition . but unpredictable events have a way of derailing america 's best laid plans to stay above the fray of the world 's messiest problems . who could have predicted just a few months ago that mali would get a mention in the state of the union ? iraq -- not uttered once tonight -- could re-emerge as a formidable crisis ; iran , pakistan and north korea also have tremendous potential to erupt . while this administration seems determined to focus inward on getting america 's economic and fiscal house in order , i doubt events in the rest of the world will be so accommodating . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of isobel coleman | coleman : he talked about ending afghanistan war , spoke briefly about iran , syria , china |
isobel coleman <tsp> ( cnn ) -- president obama 's state of the union address predictably focused on his domestic priorities . immigration reform , a laundry list of economic initiatives including infrastructure improvements ( fix it first ) , clean energy , some manufacturing innovation , a bit of educational reform and the rhetorical high point of his speech -- gun control . as in years past , foreign policy made up only about 15 % of the speech , but even within that usual limited attention , tuesday night 's address pointed to few new directions . on afghanistan -- america 's longest war -- obama expressed just a continued commitment to bringing the troops home , ending our war ' while theirs continues . on iran , there was a single sentence reiterating the need for a diplomatic solution , which makes me think that a big diplomatic push is not likely . on north korea , boilerplate promises to isolate the country further after its provocative nuclear test , and on syria , a call to keep the pressure ' on the regime , which means more watching from the sidelines as the horror unfolds . notably , china was mentioned only twice -- once in the context of jobs , and another time with respect to clean energy . nothing about managing what could very well be this administration 's most vexing but critically important bilateral relationship . obama 's call for a reinvigorated free trade agenda was his boldest foreign policy statement of the evening . he is right to note that free trade supports millions of good-paying american jobs , ' but his pledge to pursue a comprehensive transatlantic trade and investment partnership ' -- a free trade agreement with europe -- will run into significant opposition from organized labor , especially given ongoing weaknesses in the economy . without fast track negotiating authority , the prospects for such a deal are minimal . fast track authority , which allows the president to negotiate trade deals that congress can then only approve or disapprove but not amend , expired in 2007 , and it would require quite a breakthrough for congress to approve it again . still , despite these challenges , an agreement is worth pursuing . aside from a free trade agreement with europe , there was little else in this state of the union that hinted at foreign policy ambition . but unpredictable events have a way of derailing america 's best laid plans to stay above the fray of the world 's messiest problems . who could have predicted just a few months ago that mali would get a mention in the state of the union ? iraq -- not uttered once tonight -- could re-emerge as a formidable crisis ; iran , pakistan and north korea also have tremendous potential to erupt . while this administration seems determined to focus inward on getting america 's economic and fiscal house in order , i doubt events in the rest of the world will be so accommodating . the opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of isobel coleman | isobel coleman : obama mainly addressed domestic issues : economy , immigration , energy |
moshe katsav <tsp> jerusalem ( cnn ) -- a tel aviv district court tuesday sentenced former israeli president moshe katsav to seven years in prison on multiple charges of rape and sexual harassment . the case involved three women -- two in the president 's office and one in the tourism ministry . in late december , the three-judge panel found katsav guilty of two charges of rape , two charges of forceful sexual harassment and one charge of sexual harassment . katsav had agreed in 2007 to plead guilty to lesser charges and pay a fine to avoid jail time , but he pulled out of the deal when it came time to enter his plea . the plea bargain caused a public storm in israel , mainly because it did not include charges of rape , contrary to what had been suggested in a draft indictment . katsav , of the center-right likud party , was president of israel from 2000 to 2007 . he was minister of tourism before that . the charges stem from allegations made against him in both jobs . he resigned the presidency in june 2007 because of the sexual assault allegations . the judges who read the verdict said that due to the severity of the crime , the punishment must be clear and precise . ' they added that all are equal in the eyes of the law . ' katzav shouted at the judges , you let lies win . ' the former president 's sentence will start on may 8 . his lawyers said he will appeal the sentence . katzav left the court without saying a word , surrounded by family members and security who tried to shield him from the media . this is a day of sadness and shame , but also one of deep appreciation and pride in the israeli justice system , ' israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu said . no one is above the law , not even a president . ' cnn 's michal zippori contributed to this report | moshe katsav pulls out of an earlier plea deal |
andrew getty <tsp> ( cnn ) andrew getty , the 47-year-old grandson of j. paul getty , died tuesday afternoon in his home in los angeles , according to a statement from his mother and father . ann and gordon getty also requested that members of the media and the public respect ( the family 's ) privacy during this extremely difficult time , ' the statement added . getty 's death appears to be natural ( causes ) or an accident , ' ed winter , assistant chief in the los angeles county coroner 's office , told cnn affiliate ktla tuesday night . some medication had also been recovered from getty 's home , though investigators do n't know if getty was currently taking it or what his medical history was , winter said . a female friend was at the home where getty died and is cooperating with investigators , los angeles police department capt . william hayes said . ktla reported that getty was found on his side near a bathroom in his home . where the getty family fortune came from gordon getty is one of three sons of j. paul getty , the oil tycoon who was thought to be the richest man in the world at the time of his death in 1976 . gordon getty , 81 , has a net worth of $ 2.1 billion , according to forbes . court records show andrew getty had recently filed to get a restraining order against a woman . a hearing in the case was scheduled for next week . cnn 's attempt to reach getty 's attorney was not immediately successful . people we 've lost in 2015 cnn 's doug criss , janet digiacomo , mike love , julie in and cheri mossburg contributed to this report . | mother and father of andrew getty confirm death , asks for privacy |
lionel messi <tsp> bayern munich joined fellow german side borussia dortmund in the final of the european champions league by completing a crushing 7-0 aggregate win over barcelona in the nou camp wednesday . leading 4-0 from the semifinal first leg in the allianz arena , bayern ruthlessly pulled apart a barcelona side missing their talisman lionel messi , who sat out the second leg on the bench . after a goalless first half , a fine arjen robben strike , a gerard pique own goal and a thomas mueller header ended any lingering hopes of a barca comeback in a 3-0 victory for the visitors . home coach tito vilanova decided against risking his star asset messi despite him scoring in the weekend win over athletic bilbao . messi injured his hamstring in their quarterfinal tie against paris st germain and has been nursing the problem the last few weeks , cutting an often forlorn figure in munich in the first leg . without his creative influence , the la liga champions in waiting were first kept in check then dismantled by a bayern side reaching their third champions league final in the past four years . the previous two appearances have seen defeat to inter milan in 2010 and chelsea last year but they will start favorites at wembley on may 25 against dortmund . with the bundesliga title already wrapped up and an appearance in the german cup final against stuttgart on june 1 , coach jupp heynckes will be looking to sign off as bayern coach with a treble triumph . former barcelona coach pep guardiola takes over at bayern next season , doubtless relishing the task on the evidence of their comprehensive defeat of his former charges in the semifinal . robben came close to breaking the deadlock in the first half , but delayed his shot . when given a second chance just after the break the dutch international , a former real madrid player , cut inside to beat valdes with a curling shot . franck ribery set up the further goals , first bursting clear down the left in the 72nd minute to see his cross turned clumsily into his own net by pique . four minutes later a similar run left mueller to head home at the far post and complete the rout . all the time messi sat glumly on the bench as the task became hopeless even for his genius . teammate pique reflected on one of the worst reverses in the history of a proud club . perhaps it was the bitterest night i have had at barcelona , ' he told spanish canal plus television . we tried but they scored a goal very early in the second half and this left us broken . the last 25 minutes were very difficult . ' robben , by contrast , is already looking forward to the final against their arch german rivals . to win 4-0 and 3-0 away , especially the 3-0 here , it is amazing , ' he told sky sports . now we are in the final for the third time in four years and it is time to win this thing now . ' | aggregate 7-0 win over barcelona who left injured lionel messi on the bench |
iraq <tsp> days after refusing to rule out recommending u.s. combat troops in iraq , the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff made an unexpected trip saturday to the turbulent middle eastern nation to talk with officials there about combating isis , an official said . gen. martin dempsey traveled to iraq to confer ( with ) iraqi political and security officials on next phase of the campaign to defeat ( isis ) , ' according to a tweet from brett mcgurk , a u.s. diplomat focused on isis as well as iran and iraq . pentagon spokesman jim gregory added that dempsey met with prime minister haider al-abadi , as well as u.s . ambassador stuart jones and u.s. troops and commanders in the country . iraqi pm : u.s.-led campaign welcome if'they do it right' ' the primary purpose of his visit is to get a firsthand look at the situation in iraq , receive briefings , and get better sense of how the campaign is progressing , ' said gregory . during the meeting between dempsey and al-abadi , the two discussed what to do about isis , america 's support for iraq 's armed forces , as well as progress made by iraqi forces , according to a statement from the prime minister 's office . the troops'victories are part of a strategic plan for liberating all iraqi territory , and it will be achieved , al-abadi said . after his baghdad stop , dempsey moved north to irbil , the capital of iraq 's kurdish region and home to u.s. military advisers and consular personnel . the joint chiefs chairman met there with massoud barzani , the president of the semi-autonomous region , according to gregory . until recently , the kurdish region had been the most stable in iraq and a cooperative ally of the united states . but it came under an onslaught earlier this year from isis , one that -- so far , at least -- it has been able to withstand . dempsey 's entire trip , which was n't announced beforehand , is the first since the u.s. military earlier this year launched operation inherent resolve . that 's what washington is calling its military campaign against isis , which consists largely of u.s.-led airstrikes against the terrorist group as well as support for the iraqi military . christopher harmer , an analyst with the institute for the study of war , said saturday that it 's very important for u.s. military leaders such as dempsey to get away from washington and see for themselves how this fight is going . i think what general dempsey is doing here is sending a message both to the u.s. troops that he understands what 's happening , that he wants to get firsthand knowledge of what 's happening , ' harmer said . and ( he is ) also sending a message to our allies , the iraqi government , that he 's taking this seriously and that we 're committed to an ultimate victory on their behalf . ' dempsey has been one of president barack obama administration 's leading voices on the situation in iraq , where isis -- which calls itself the islamic state -- has taken over wide swaths of territory , reportedly terrorizing citizens in the process . obama has made going after isis a top priority in recent months , including expanding coalition airstrikes against the islamist extremist group into neighboring syria . yet he has insisted that american combat troops wo n't play a role in syria or in iraq , though military advisers have recently been sent to iraq . yet in testimony thursday to the house armed services committee , dempsey said he would not rule out asking the president to send u.s. ground troops into iraq . he told the committee that he could envision scenarios in which a u.s. ground contingent would be necessary there , particularly if the coalition moves to retake mosul or the western border with syria . i 'm not predicting at this point that i would recommend that those forces in mosul and along the border would need to be accompanied by u.s. forces , ' cautioned dempsey , but we 're certainly considering it . ' general leaves door open for u.s. ground troops | general meets with iraq 's prime minister , the u.s. ambassador and american troops |
iraq <tsp> days after refusing to rule out recommending u.s. combat troops in iraq , the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff made an unexpected trip saturday to the turbulent middle eastern nation to talk with officials there about combating isis , an official said . gen. martin dempsey traveled to iraq to confer ( with ) iraqi political and security officials on next phase of the campaign to defeat ( isis ) , ' according to a tweet from brett mcgurk , a u.s. diplomat focused on isis as well as iran and iraq . pentagon spokesman jim gregory added that dempsey met with prime minister haider al-abadi , as well as u.s . ambassador stuart jones and u.s. troops and commanders in the country . iraqi pm : u.s.-led campaign welcome if'they do it right' ' the primary purpose of his visit is to get a firsthand look at the situation in iraq , receive briefings , and get better sense of how the campaign is progressing , ' said gregory . during the meeting between dempsey and al-abadi , the two discussed what to do about isis , america 's support for iraq 's armed forces , as well as progress made by iraqi forces , according to a statement from the prime minister 's office . the troops'victories are part of a strategic plan for liberating all iraqi territory , and it will be achieved , al-abadi said . after his baghdad stop , dempsey moved north to irbil , the capital of iraq 's kurdish region and home to u.s. military advisers and consular personnel . the joint chiefs chairman met there with massoud barzani , the president of the semi-autonomous region , according to gregory . until recently , the kurdish region had been the most stable in iraq and a cooperative ally of the united states . but it came under an onslaught earlier this year from isis , one that -- so far , at least -- it has been able to withstand . dempsey 's entire trip , which was n't announced beforehand , is the first since the u.s. military earlier this year launched operation inherent resolve . that 's what washington is calling its military campaign against isis , which consists largely of u.s.-led airstrikes against the terrorist group as well as support for the iraqi military . christopher harmer , an analyst with the institute for the study of war , said saturday that it 's very important for u.s. military leaders such as dempsey to get away from washington and see for themselves how this fight is going . i think what general dempsey is doing here is sending a message both to the u.s. troops that he understands what 's happening , that he wants to get firsthand knowledge of what 's happening , ' harmer said . and ( he is ) also sending a message to our allies , the iraqi government , that he 's taking this seriously and that we 're committed to an ultimate victory on their behalf . ' dempsey has been one of president barack obama administration 's leading voices on the situation in iraq , where isis -- which calls itself the islamic state -- has taken over wide swaths of territory , reportedly terrorizing citizens in the process . obama has made going after isis a top priority in recent months , including expanding coalition airstrikes against the islamist extremist group into neighboring syria . yet he has insisted that american combat troops wo n't play a role in syria or in iraq , though military advisers have recently been sent to iraq . yet in testimony thursday to the house armed services committee , dempsey said he would not rule out asking the president to send u.s. ground troops into iraq . he told the committee that he could envision scenarios in which a u.s. ground contingent would be necessary there , particularly if the coalition moves to retake mosul or the western border with syria . i 'm not predicting at this point that i would recommend that those forces in mosul and along the border would need to be accompanied by u.s. forces , ' cautioned dempsey , but we 're certainly considering it . ' general leaves door open for u.s. ground troops | dempsey visits kurdish president in irbil in northern iraq after his baghdad stop |
iraq <tsp> days after refusing to rule out recommending u.s. combat troops in iraq , the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff made an unexpected trip saturday to the turbulent middle eastern nation to talk with officials there about combating isis , an official said . gen. martin dempsey traveled to iraq to confer ( with ) iraqi political and security officials on next phase of the campaign to defeat ( isis ) , ' according to a tweet from brett mcgurk , a u.s. diplomat focused on isis as well as iran and iraq . pentagon spokesman jim gregory added that dempsey met with prime minister haider al-abadi , as well as u.s . ambassador stuart jones and u.s. troops and commanders in the country . iraqi pm : u.s.-led campaign welcome if'they do it right' ' the primary purpose of his visit is to get a firsthand look at the situation in iraq , receive briefings , and get better sense of how the campaign is progressing , ' said gregory . during the meeting between dempsey and al-abadi , the two discussed what to do about isis , america 's support for iraq 's armed forces , as well as progress made by iraqi forces , according to a statement from the prime minister 's office . the troops'victories are part of a strategic plan for liberating all iraqi territory , and it will be achieved , al-abadi said . after his baghdad stop , dempsey moved north to irbil , the capital of iraq 's kurdish region and home to u.s. military advisers and consular personnel . the joint chiefs chairman met there with massoud barzani , the president of the semi-autonomous region , according to gregory . until recently , the kurdish region had been the most stable in iraq and a cooperative ally of the united states . but it came under an onslaught earlier this year from isis , one that -- so far , at least -- it has been able to withstand . dempsey 's entire trip , which was n't announced beforehand , is the first since the u.s. military earlier this year launched operation inherent resolve . that 's what washington is calling its military campaign against isis , which consists largely of u.s.-led airstrikes against the terrorist group as well as support for the iraqi military . christopher harmer , an analyst with the institute for the study of war , said saturday that it 's very important for u.s. military leaders such as dempsey to get away from washington and see for themselves how this fight is going . i think what general dempsey is doing here is sending a message both to the u.s. troops that he understands what 's happening , that he wants to get firsthand knowledge of what 's happening , ' harmer said . and ( he is ) also sending a message to our allies , the iraqi government , that he 's taking this seriously and that we 're committed to an ultimate victory on their behalf . ' dempsey has been one of president barack obama administration 's leading voices on the situation in iraq , where isis -- which calls itself the islamic state -- has taken over wide swaths of territory , reportedly terrorizing citizens in the process . obama has made going after isis a top priority in recent months , including expanding coalition airstrikes against the islamist extremist group into neighboring syria . yet he has insisted that american combat troops wo n't play a role in syria or in iraq , though military advisers have recently been sent to iraq . yet in testimony thursday to the house armed services committee , dempsey said he would not rule out asking the president to send u.s. ground troops into iraq . he told the committee that he could envision scenarios in which a u.s. ground contingent would be necessary there , particularly if the coalition moves to retake mosul or the western border with syria . i 'm not predicting at this point that i would recommend that those forces in mosul and along the border would need to be accompanied by u.s. forces , ' cautioned dempsey , but we 're certainly considering it . ' general leaves door open for u.s. ground troops | analyst : dempsey likely sending a message to iraq that u.s. is taking isis fight seriously |
isis <tsp> days after refusing to rule out recommending u.s. combat troops in iraq , the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff made an unexpected trip saturday to the turbulent middle eastern nation to talk with officials there about combating isis , an official said . gen. martin dempsey traveled to iraq to confer ( with ) iraqi political and security officials on next phase of the campaign to defeat ( isis ) , ' according to a tweet from brett mcgurk , a u.s. diplomat focused on isis as well as iran and iraq . pentagon spokesman jim gregory added that dempsey met with prime minister haider al-abadi , as well as u.s . ambassador stuart jones and u.s. troops and commanders in the country . iraqi pm : u.s.-led campaign welcome if'they do it right' ' the primary purpose of his visit is to get a firsthand look at the situation in iraq , receive briefings , and get better sense of how the campaign is progressing , ' said gregory . during the meeting between dempsey and al-abadi , the two discussed what to do about isis , america 's support for iraq 's armed forces , as well as progress made by iraqi forces , according to a statement from the prime minister 's office . the troops'victories are part of a strategic plan for liberating all iraqi territory , and it will be achieved , al-abadi said . after his baghdad stop , dempsey moved north to irbil , the capital of iraq 's kurdish region and home to u.s. military advisers and consular personnel . the joint chiefs chairman met there with massoud barzani , the president of the semi-autonomous region , according to gregory . until recently , the kurdish region had been the most stable in iraq and a cooperative ally of the united states . but it came under an onslaught earlier this year from isis , one that -- so far , at least -- it has been able to withstand . dempsey 's entire trip , which was n't announced beforehand , is the first since the u.s. military earlier this year launched operation inherent resolve . that 's what washington is calling its military campaign against isis , which consists largely of u.s.-led airstrikes against the terrorist group as well as support for the iraqi military . christopher harmer , an analyst with the institute for the study of war , said saturday that it 's very important for u.s. military leaders such as dempsey to get away from washington and see for themselves how this fight is going . i think what general dempsey is doing here is sending a message both to the u.s. troops that he understands what 's happening , that he wants to get firsthand knowledge of what 's happening , ' harmer said . and ( he is ) also sending a message to our allies , the iraqi government , that he 's taking this seriously and that we 're committed to an ultimate victory on their behalf . ' dempsey has been one of president barack obama administration 's leading voices on the situation in iraq , where isis -- which calls itself the islamic state -- has taken over wide swaths of territory , reportedly terrorizing citizens in the process . obama has made going after isis a top priority in recent months , including expanding coalition airstrikes against the islamist extremist group into neighboring syria . yet he has insisted that american combat troops wo n't play a role in syria or in iraq , though military advisers have recently been sent to iraq . yet in testimony thursday to the house armed services committee , dempsey said he would not rule out asking the president to send u.s. ground troops into iraq . he told the committee that he could envision scenarios in which a u.s. ground contingent would be necessary there , particularly if the coalition moves to retake mosul or the western border with syria . i 'm not predicting at this point that i would recommend that those forces in mosul and along the border would need to be accompanied by u.s. forces , ' cautioned dempsey , but we 're certainly considering it . ' general leaves door open for u.s. ground troops | analyst : dempsey likely sending a message to iraq that u.s. is taking isis fight seriously |
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