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Daniel Radcliffe and Holliday Grainger on the Baftas

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 11:50:00 +0000

GOLDEN GLOBES: Downton Abbey wins best mini-series

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:35:00 +0000

Kenny Chesney returns to road with Zac Brown Band

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 13:06:00 +0000

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Kenny Chesney is returning to the road with a vengeance.

Country music's top touring draw of the decade announced Thursday he will co-headline nine stadium dates next year with the Zac Brown Band, pairing two top road acts.

Chesney had sold more than a million tickets a year for eight consecutive years before taking 2010 off. He filled up his time by making two movies and completing his new album, "Hemingway's Whiskey," which debuted at No. 1 in September.

The singer admitted to feeling the lure of the road while away, but the four-time winner of entertainer of the year from both The Country Music Association and The Academy of Country Music thinks the time off will improve the show his fans see next spring and summer.

"What's going to be different for me is the new music," Chesney told The Associated Press in an e-mail. "When we hit the stage this spring we'll be doing a lot of songs from 'Hemingway's Whiskey,' and our show needed that change. It's going to allow me to really make the set different than it's been and make the show more spontaneous."

Spontaneity is something the Zac Brown Band is known for. The six-piece from Atlanta, which won the 2010 Grammy for best new artist and is nominated for both entertainer of the year and best new artist at next week's CMA Awards, has been one of the hardest touring acts since its breakout two years ago and it's live act has drawn rave reviews.

The stadium tour kicks off March 19 in Tampa, Fla., and runs through the summer. Billy Currington will join Chesney and Brown on those dates and Uncle Kracker will open eight of the stadium shows. Tickets go on sale Nov. 20.

Chesney will announce more arena and amphitheater dates later this year for what he says will be his biggest tour since 2006.

"I really miss certain things about the road, like the first note of every night and the energy that's exchanged between the stage and the crowd," Chesney said. "I'm really fired up to feel that. That moment is what drives me and what I look forward to."

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Online:

Kenny Chesney http://www.kennychesney.com

Zac Brown Band http://www.zacbrownband.com

DioGuardi heading to Bravo in new competition show

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 16:37:00 +0000

NEW YORK – The Bravo network says it's bringing former "American Idol" judge Kara DioGuardi (KEHR'-uh dee-oh-GWAHR'-dee) back to TV in a series of her own.

"Going Platinum" will be a song-writing competition that pits contestants against one another as they live together, all vying for a $100,000 grand prize.

DioGuardi will be head judge of the 10-episode series. Singer-songwriter Jewel will serve as host.

"Going Platinum" is scheduled to premiere next year, Bravo announced Tuesday.

DioGuardi, who has written hit songs for such artists as Carrie Underwood and Pink, was a judge on "American Idol" the past two seasons.

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Bravo is a unit of NBC Universal.

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Online:

http://www.bravotv.com

Rajapakse rejects early pardon for 'fool' Fonseka

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:37:00 +0000

SINGAPORE — Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse has ruled out an early pardon for his election rival Sarath Fonseka and dismissed the former army chief as a "fool" who was unprepared for politics.

In an interview with Singapore's Straits Times published Thursday, Rajapakse also spelled out his economic ambitions for post-war Sri Lanka and said it would take time to eliminate the vestiges of the Tamil Tiger rebellion.

"He is a fool. On 16th November he was sitting right here and I asked him if he was interested in contesting and he said, 'No, sir... I haven't made up my mind.' Even on the day of his last visit he didn't tell me," Rajapakse said.

"So I advised him. I told him that politics is not the army. In the army, when you have an order they follow. In politics you give an order and they react in a different way," he added.

Fonseka, who led government forces to victory last year against the Tamil Tiger separatist rebellion, was arrested by the military on February 8, two weeks after he lost the presidential election.

He is now facing a court martial on charges of engaging in politics while he was still commander of the army, and of making irregular procurements.

Rajapakse said he could have prevented Fonseka from running against him by delaying the general's retirement until after the deadline for filing candidacies.

"But I let him contest. I didn't want people to say I was frightened."

He ruled out an early pardon for his rival.

"But if I pardon him what about army discipline? What about the court martials of other officers? What can I do? This is the British law. They gave it to India and us," Rajapakse said.

"Fonseka himself put thousands of soldiers under court martial. At one time the figure was 8,500. I shouted at him and I had to release them."

On allegations that Fonseka was plotting a coup, Rajapakse said: "There was something going on. I cannot discuss all details as inquiries and legal proceedings are on."

Rajapakse also alleged Fonseka "placed cash of 700,000 dollars in a bank after the elections," referring to last month's incident in which police were reported to have found cash in safe-deposit lockers held by Fonseka's son-in-law.

"And that was only half the money and only because the locker wasn't big enough to take more," Rajapakse told the Straits Times.

Rajapakse also said that, after ending more than three decades of civil war, he hoped to double Sri Lankans' per capital income to 4,000 dollars during his second term and turn the island nation into an aviation and shipping hub.

Asked if the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was gone for good, he replied: "No. There are sleeping cadres and there are interested parties, especially outside Sri Lanka."

"Just because the leaders were eliminated, it is not over."

Karzai, Saudi king discuss Afghan conflict

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 08:32:00 +0000

RIYADH — Afghan President Hamid Karzai held talks with Saudi King Abdullah on Wednesday as he sought support to negotiate peace with the Islamist Taliban rebels in his war-torn country.

Karzai met with King Abdullah and senior officials in Riyadh at the king's Janadriyah farm outside Riyadh, the official SPA news agency reported.

"They discussed international efforts to achieve security and stability in Afghanistan as well as the prospects for cooperation between the two countries," SPA reported.

Karzai was believed to be seeking Saudi help to persuade Taliban leaders into reconciliation talks, as well as asking for more financial aid for his country.

Early last year Saudi Arabia hosted secret discussions with Taliban and Afghan officials, which failed to achieve any breakthrough.

The Saudis have insisted that the Taliban stop protecting members of Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan before they will give full support to any peace talks.

"We are aware of the urgent need to improve the security situation, because we believe that there can be no development without security and stability," Karzai said in an interview with Okaz newspaper published on Wednesday.

The meeting with King Abdullah came a week after Britain hosted a meeting of nearly 70 countries to discuss Afghanistan's problems and seek ways to end the war between the the Taliban and Kabul and its Western backers.

Saudi Arabia agreed at the London conference to host a follow-up meeting of Gulf and other donors to Afghanistan at the end of February.

Earlier on Wednesday, Karzai cancelled a meeting with the secretary general of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference which was to discuss the group's desire to convene a conference of Islamic scholars in Afghanistan including representatives of the Taliban.

A spokesman for the OIC said that Karzai's cancellation of the meeting related to a scheduling conflict.

Italians evacuate migrants, bring in police after clashes

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 03:23:00 +0000

ROSARNO, Italy — More than 900 immigrants fled a southern Italian town on Saturday after residents violently attacked African farm workers.

The clashes which began late Thursday left 67 people injured in the Calabrian town of Rosarno, but calm was generally restored Saturday, with barricades erected by locals dismantled and shops open.

The injured included 31 foreigners, the latest of whom was fired at with a shotgun on Saturday, as well as 19 police officers and 17 locals, police said.

Locals applauded as buses with police escorts left, taking immigrants from Rosarno to the towns of Crotone, 170 kilometres (105 miles) away, and Bari, around 400 kilometres (260 kilometers) to the northeast.

"Around 910 foreigners have been evacuated to Crotone and Bari," local police chief Mario Morcone told AFP.

A further 210 immigrants were expected to depart during the evening and night, taking the total to leave the area past 1,100, Morcone said, adding that the situation in Rosarno was slowly returning to normal.

The Italian authorities have said immigrants taking the special buses will not be arrested, even if they arrived in the country illegally.

Some of the immigrants who came to the region in their thousands to work on the fruit harvest are fleeing despite being owed wages by their employers.

Francis, a 25-year-old from Ghana, said he was owed 200 euros (290 dollars) but was too frightened to stay. "If we don't leave, we will die," he said, "We came here to work and now people are shooting at us."

The violence broke out Thursday when hundreds of immigrants, most of them Africans employed illegally, demonstrated after some of them had been shot at with air rifles, according to Italian news agency ANSA.

Demonstrators set fire to cars and smashed windscreens before police intervened, leading to a scuffle that left several of the demonstrators injured.

On Friday, local residents set up roadblocks and occupied the town hall, before violence erupted once more.

In separate incidents on Friday, two immigrants were beaten and seriously wounded with iron bars, media and officials said. One of the wounded was admitted to hospital for brain surgery.

Two other immigrants were hit in the legs with shotgun pellets and five more were deliberately run over by vehicles driven by locals, they said. They suffered minor injuries.

Interior Minister Roberto Maroni, a member of the anti-immigrant Northern League party, said the tensions were a result of "too much tolerance towards clandestine immigration".

The right-wing newspaper Il Giornale, owned by the family of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, agreed that illegal immigrants should be kept out.

The majority of workers in Rosarno lived in a disused factory just outside the town of 15,000 inhabitants, with just eight chemical toilets and three showers for 1,000 people.

Compared to other immigrants camping out in freezing conditions in old farm buildings, those living among the factory's old machines and pipes were the lucky ones.

According to Italy's main trade union CGIL, about 50,000 immigrant workers in Italy live in poor conditions similar to those in Rosarno, being housed in insalubrious huts without running water.

It said immigrants employed as farm labourers earned low wages of around 25 euro (36 dollars) a day.

One employer, Pasquale Giovinazzo, 60, justified the low wages, saying the African workers were less experienced than Italians.

The union also accused the mafia of controlling the sector and criticised Maroni's statement, saying immigrants were paid "miserable salaries and have terrible hours, similar to slavery".

Gaza aid stuck in Jordan amid Turkish mediation

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 04:44:00 +0000

AMMAN — An aid convoy trying to reach the blockaded Gaza Strip through Egypt was still stranded in Jordan on Sunday amid Cairo's refusal to let it cross through its territory.

Members of the convoy, which is led by British MP George Galloway, were however hoping for a solution thanks to mediation by Turkey to enter Gaza through the Red Sea port of Nuweiba, the most direct route.

"We are still stuck in Aqaba, awaiting a solution to this problem, which was unfortunately created by Egypt," Zaher Birawi, spokesmen for the convoy, told AFP.

"We have told the Egyptians that we were not trying to challenge them and urged them to help us, but they refused."

Around 250 trucks laden with European, Turkish and Arab aid -- both food and medical supplies-- arrived Thursday in Jordan's Red Sea port of Aqaba hoping to catch a ferry across to Nuweiba.

But Egypt has said the convoy can only enter through El-Arish, on the Mediterranean coast, which would mean going around the Sinai peninsula and through the Suez Canal.

"The Turkish government interfered and dispatched an official on Saturday, and he is currently in talks with the Egyptian consulate in Aqaba, but so far there is no breakthrough," Birawi said.

"Egypt has told the Turkish mediator that we have to coordinate with the Israelis, but we categorically reject this condition even if we have to stay in Aqaba for a year."

He said 15 members of the convoy "have started a hunger strike, while a rally will be held later Sunday."

Galloway, who is leading the convoy, issued a statement on Thursday urging Egypt to facilitate the convoy's passage.

In March, Galloway handed over thousands of dollars and dozens of vehicles to the Hamas-run government in Gaza after arriving in an aid convoy.

Israel and Egypt have severely restricted travel to and from the Gaza Strip since the Islamist Hamas movement seized power there in June 2007.

Egypt's Rafah crossing with Gaza is the only access point into the Palestinian territory that bypasses Israel.

Meanwhile some 100 members of Jordan's powerful trade union federation and the Muslim Brotherhood staged a protest Sunday in Amman against Egypt's decision.

"Muslims and Arabs around the world should press the Egyptian regime to allow the entry of the convoy through Nuweiba," Hammam Said, the overall leader of the Islamist group, told a rally.

Thailand starts deporting Hmong to Laos

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 04:42:00 +0000

KHEK NOI, Thailand — The Thai army began the forcible return Monday of thousands of ethnic Hmong asylum-seekers to communist Laos despite international protests and fears they could face persecution.

"The operation started at 5.30 am (2230 GMT Sunday)," Colonel Thana Charuvat, who is coordinating the operation, told reporters at an army centre about 12 kilometres (seven miles) from a Hmong camp in northern Thailand.

He said 5,000 soldiers, officials and assisting civilian volunteers had entered the camp in Huay Nam Khao village in the province of Phetchabun to begin rounding up more than 4,000 Hmong being held there.

Sixteen trucks carrying more than 400 people lef the camp shortly before 9.30 am (0230 GMT), according to an AFP photographer at the army centre in Khek Noi village. Media were not allowed beyond that point.

The Hmong are seeking asylum in Thailand claiming that they face persecution by the Laotian regime for fighting alongside US forces during the Vietnam War, and Washington has voiced strong concern over the expulsions.

"Around 2,100 of the them are cooperating with the move. The army is talking with the rest," Thana said. The operation was expected to take one day.

Thailand says they are illegal economic immigrants, but has come under fire from the international community for refusing to grant the UN Refugee Agency access to them to assess whether any are political refugees.

Thana said the group would be removed from the Huay Nam Khao camp by truck and later transferred to 100 buses that carry 40 people each.

"They will be transported from the camp to the army camp in Lom Sak district (in Phetchabun) before moving to immigration in Nong Khai (by the border) and going to Laos," he said.

Security forces were seen heading towards the camp by truck armed with batons and shields.

Special forces members were among the troops entering the camp and 50 mobile prison trucks also arrived there last night, said Sunai Phasuk, a Thailand analyst at New York-based Human Rights Watch.

"The army said they would first target group leaders and potential trouble makers. Those people would be snatched and sent out first," he told AFP.

He said local officials expected the Hmong to resist deportation attempts, warning that the situation could "turn ugly".

The Thai government has promised Laos, which insists the group will be safe after returning, that they would be sent back by the end of the year.

"The Lao government confirmed that they will give amnesty to the Hmong leaders," Thana said.

But the United States has said it would be "deeply dismayed" by the deportation and made a last-ditch offer Sunday to help Thailand take an alternative path.

"We have made it abundantly clear that we are prepared to roll up our sleeves and work with partners in Thailand for a solution that is humane and responsible," said Eric P. Schwartz, Assistant Secretary of State for population, refugees and migration.

"Even at this late date we're fully prepared to do that," he told AFP in a telephone interview from the United States.

Diplomats have said several hundred Hmong could have valid fears of persecution and as such should not be forcibly returned.

"It seems difficult to imagine there will be fully fledged international access to the Hmong community on arrival, given the past experiences of repatriation," a Western diplomat in Bangkok said Sunday.

Antonio Guterres, the head of the UN refugee agency, urged Thailand on Thursday to call off the expulsions, saying they would "set a very grave international example".

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Needles successfully extracted from Brazil boy

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 04:46:00 +0000

BRASILIA, Brazil — Surgeons have successfully removed four sewing needles that were inside the lung and close to the heart of a Brazilian toddler. They were allegedly put there by his stepfather during a series of bizarre rituals.

Hospital spokeswoman Susy Moreno says the surgery lasted about three hours and that the 2-year-old boy is in stable condition. Dozens more needles remain inside the boy, but the four removed were considered life-threatening.

Moreno says doctors at the hospital in the northeastern city of Salvador will evaluate the boy's progress before deciding when to perform at least two more surgeries to remove needles.

The surgery conducted Friday evening did not last as long as the six hours that doctors predicted it would take.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Brazilian media say doctors have extracted needles from the heart and lung of a toddler that were allegedly inserted by his stepfather during a series of bizarre rituals.

Brazil's Globo TV and A Tarde newspaper said the needles that posed the greatest threat to the boy were successfully removed. They say the boy was still being operated on to remove two more needles near his heart.

Hospital spokeswoman Susy Moreno did not immediately return a telephone message left on her cell phone seeking comment.

Moreno said earlier Friday that the operation started late Friday afternoon and was expected to last at least six hours. The boy has dozens of needles inside him. More operations are planned if the initial surgery is successful.

Bulgaria could take in a Guantanamo prisoner

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 06:02:00 +0000

SOFIA, Bulgaria — Bulgaria's prime minister says the country could accept one prisoner from Guantanamo following calls from Washington to take in detainees from the U.S. prison in Cuba.

Prime Minister Boiko Borisov has told reporters that taking in an inmate would be a strong gesture of cooperation between Europe and the U.S.

Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov said Saturday in an interview with Bulgarian National Radio that talks between the U.S. and Bulgaria about a possible transfer were under way,

He added that no decision has been made yet and cautioned that Bulgaria's participation would be small, and people who might pose a threat to national security would be not accepted.

Tsvetanov says the issue was due to be discussed before parliament.

In Tuesday speech, Obama to promote new job ideas

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 05:15:00 +0000

WASHINGTON – In his latest job creation effort, President Barack Obama is trying to find practical and politically feasible ways of spurring hiring among skittish employers.

Among the ideas expected in his economic speech Tuesday is an expanded program that gives people cash incentives to fix up their homes with energy-saving materials, senior administration officials have told The Associated Press. Obama is leaning toward new incentives for small businesses that hire new workers and new spending on roads, bridges and other public works, the officials said.

The president also is open to a federal infusion of money to cash-strapped state and local governments, considered among the quickest and most effective — though expensive — ways to stem layoffs.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the package and Obama's speech were being developed. The officials emphasized that Obama probably won't mention in his speech every job idea he will eventually support, and that his address is meant only as one step in a debate that's sure to keep going.

Obama said in his Saturday radio and Internet address that the country is emerging from an "economic storm" and that he's working to put people back on the payroll after a painful recession.

Two years of drastic job cuts all but ended in November, according to the latest figures, and the jobless rate inched down to 10 percent. Putting that in perspective, he said in the address, "For those who were laid off last month and the millions of Americans who have lost their jobs in this recession, a good trend isn't good enough."

The White House is not yet commenting publicly on the details of Obama's speech.

Job losses in the U.S. have been the worst since the 1930s, but new statistics out Friday showed a relatively moderate loss of 11,000 jobs last month. The unemployment rate dipped from 10.2 percent in October to 10 percent in November, but remains at a troubling double-digit level.

Rising frustration over joblessness threatens the president's agenda. The president must connect with voters to boost the chances of his legislative efforts and for Democrats in the 2010 midterm elections and his own in 2012.

Obama held a jobs forum at the White House on Thursday, made a trip Friday to visit business owners, workers and the unemployed in Allentown, Pa., and set the jobs-bill speech for Tuesday at Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.

"History tells us this is usually what happens with recessions — even as the economy grows, it takes time for jobs to follow," Obama said in the weekend address. "But the folks who have been looking for work without any luck for months and, in some cases, years, can't wait any longer."

Obama said he has no intention of backing off his administration's efforts to overhaul health care, improve education, invest in a clean energy economy and deal with mounting federal debts. All, he said, are vital to strengthening the economy long term.

"I didn't run for president simply to manage the crisis of the moment while kicking our most pressing problems down the road," he said.

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Geneva: Police use tear gas on WTO protest

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 04:52:00 +0000

GENEVA — Police with water cannon fired tear gas and rubber bullets Saturday to separate violent demonstrators from a protest opposing a meeting of top world trade officials, but the hooded "black bloc" activists were able to cause damage before 14 were arrested, spokesmen said.

The protesters set fire to at least four cars, broke shop windows and committed other acts of violence Saturday, police spokesman Patrick Puhl said.

Geneva Police Chief Monica Bonfati said officers arrested four looters in addition to the protesters. No injuries to police or protesters were reported, but an 80-year-old women lost her balance and fell, and had to be hospitalized, police said.

The clashes occurred during a march by demonstrators protesting a meeting of the World Trade Organization scheduled to start Monday, in which the United States, China and other commercial powers will spearhead a new attempt to find ways to revive world trade and drag the global economy out of recession.

Bonfati told Swiss television TSR that police were able at the beginning of the demonstration to identify about 200 members of the black bloc — violent elements that join other demonstrations to cause damage. She said they were spread out along the route and police had to separate them from the other protesters.

Eric Grandjean, another police spokesman, said black bloc protesters threw fire bombs at police from the march.

"They also damaged 12 businesses, including a bank at Place Bel-Air and a jewelry shop and a hotel on the Quai des Bergues," he said.

Besides the burned cars, 15 other vehicles, including three buses, were damaged, he said.

Police said the 3,000 protesters included three distinct groups of troublemakers who broke away to attack cars and hotel and shop windows, then rejoined the march, pretending to be peaceful. Organizers claimed there were about 5,000 protesters in total.

The group Anti-WTO Coordination said it "regretted being unable to finish the demonstration and deliver the planned speeches."

It said a few protesters had used the demonstration for their own ends.

Nevertheless, it said, "the international and local mobilization is a success" and it condemned "unreservedly all police repression violating democratic rights."

Much more serious clashes have occurred at previous meetings of trade chiefs, but the coming session lacks the specific goals of previous meetings, when the World Trade Organization tried to conclude a new trade deal. The last so-called ministerial was held in Hong Kong four years ago. Others were in Cancun, Mexico, and Seattle.

WTO opponents claim the agreements produced by the body foster the growth of wealth among corporations at the expense of farmers, workers and others at the low end of the economy.

Swiss officials refused entry at Geneva Airport on Friday evening to three South Koreans who wanted to come into Geneva because Swiss security specialists judged them to be capable of violence, Puhl said, noting that other countries had previously barred the three for the same reason.

The WTO called the meeting of its 153 members to examine major issues at a time when global exports are falling rapidly and the WTO's long-sought Doha liberalization round is limping into its ninth year.

Instead of sensitive tariff and subsidy negotiations, the conference running Monday through Wednesday will focus on the big picture — stabilizing and rejuvenating commerce in the face of increased protectionism, unemployment and exporting of jobs.

The WTO had hoped to avoid the acrimony and the sometimes-violent protests that have plagued previous ministerial conferences. Geneva police have taken a number of steps to ensure the security of the meeting place.

Officials: Pakistani troops kill some 40 militants

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 04:47:00 +0000

KHAR, Pakistan — Pakistani troops killed nearly 40 suspected militants Sunday in a series of operations in northwestern tribal areas near the Afghan border, officials said.

The army launched an offensive against the Taliban in South Waziristan in mid-October, but many militants fled north to escape the fighting. Sunday's attacks, which could not immediately be confirmed, appeared to be targeting areas to which they escaped.

The deadliest strike was in Shahukhel, a town in the tribal area of Orakzai, in which at least 12 militants were reported killed and 14 detained in search operations by border forces, according to officials with the Frontier Corps.

An attack helicopter also pounded several areas elsewhere in the region, killing at least four militants, intelligence officials said.

At least 11 other suspects, including an insurgent commander, were killed in fighting when the army repulsed an attack in the Bajur region, which was the site of a major operation earlier this year, officials said.

The battle broke out after an army base came under rocket fire. The military had been tipped off to the attack and opened fire on the militant positions, they said.

Officials said 10 other militants were killed in military action elsewhere in Bajur. The military campaign against the Taliban there ended with a declaration of victory in March and continued activity underscores the resilience of the militants who are routed only to return to affected areas.

The officials all spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the information. Journalists have little access to Pakistan's volatile tribal regions, which makes it virtually impossible to verify the casualty figures.

Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Azhar Abbas said there were air strikes in tribal areas but he provided no details.

The Pakistani military said in a statement Sunday that five insurgents were killed and one soldier wounded in operations in South Waziristan.

The United States has welcomed the Pakistani offensive, but wants the army to do more against the insurgents blamed for violence across the border in Afghanistan.

Pakistan's army has retaken many towns in South Waziristan but many militants fled and have retaliated with a series of clashes and bombings.

Associated Press writer Riaz Khan in Peshawar contributed to this report.

Netanyahu warns of Iran threat from Israeli missile ship

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:16:00 +0000

ON BOARD THE INS EILAT — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu toured a naval vessel on Tuesday, using the backdrop of his country's military power to warn of the threat posed by the nuclear ambitions of arch-foe Iran.

"The threat that Iran poses is very grave for the state of Israel, for peace in the Middle East and the whole world," Netanyahu said aboard the INS Eilat, a missile ship used recently to intercept a weapons-laden cargo vessel Israel said was ferrying arms from Iran to the Lebanese Hezbollah militia.

"Without any doubt, we are the first target but not the last," Netanyahu said on the ship anchored off the Mediterranean port city of Haifa.

Netanyahu also toured one of Israel's three German-made, Dolphin-class submarines, the country's most expensive weapons platform.

According to specialist newsletter Jane's Defence Weekly, the submarines, known as U212s, are designed for a crew of 35, have a range of 4,500 kilometres (2,810 miles) and can launch cruise missiles carrying nuclear warheads.

However, when it confirmed the sale in 2006, the German government said the two vessels were not equipped to carry nuclear weapons.

Israeli media have reported that the Dolphin submarine could be key to any attack on Iranian nuclear facilities aimed at depriving it of any possibility of developing a weapons capability like Israel's own.

An Israeli submarine passed through the Suez Canal for the first time in June, escorted by Egyptian navy vessels, in what Israeli media said was intended as a message to Iran.

The Middle East's sole if undeclared nuclear power, Israel suspects Iran of trying to develop atomic weapons of its own, a charge Iranian officials strongly deny.

Airline flight returns to Halifax after pilot loses consciousness

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 04:50:00 +0000

HALIFAX, N.S. — A Porter Airlines flight out of Halifax was forced to turn back Saturday after the pilot began losing consciousness and the co-pilot quickly took control of the aircraft.

The airline reported that the co-pilot of Flight 243, which was en route to St. John's, N.L., brought the aircraft back to Halifax without incident and landed safely at 11:44 a.m.

The plane, a Q400 with a capacity of 70 passengers, left Halifax at 10:30 a.m. and the pilot's problem was reported at around 11:16 a.m.

"We received a call that the pilot was needing assistance, he was losing consciousness," said Ashley Barnes, a spokeswoman for the Halifax airport.

"We had ambulances standing by."

Barnes said the pilot was able to walk off the plane and into a waiting ambulance, although there was no word on his condition or on what caused his health problem.

He was later taken to a Halifax hospital for assessment.

Porter Airlines president and CEO Robert Deluce said the pilot is a 39-year-old with 7,000 hours of total flying time.

"The first officer who took charge was a 29-year-old pilot and has almost 4,000 hours of total flying time so they are both fairly experienced guys," said Deluce.

Deluce, who confirmed the pilot did briefly lose consciousness on the return to Halifax, said he didn't know the exact nature of the pilot's health problem.

"It is an unknown condition at this point," he said.

The airline brought in a replacement crew and the flight departed for St. John's at 1:18 p.m.

Man arrested at BC border says 'stereotyping' led to arrest as security threat

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 04:40:00 +0000

VANCOUVER, B.C. — He might be out nearly $1 million in gold coins and a job in Canada, but a Syrian man thanked God Thursday after being released from detention as a potential threat to national security.

Khaled Nawaya said racial stereotyping and his own mistakes set the stage for his arrest in early October as he crossed the border from the United States into British Columbia.

"I'm still in shock and still trying to digest everything and thank God for everything," said the blank-faced 34-year-old said outside an Immigration and Refugee Board hearing after learning he'd been freed.

He was taken into custody Oct. 6 after Canada Border Services agents found a ring emblazoned with the Hezbollah logo, several 9-11 conspiracy DVDs and a Palestinian scarf in his car and flagged them as potential "terrorism resources." The Lebanon-based group has been listed by the government as a terrorist organization since 2002.

But a lawyer for the Canada Border Services Agency, who a few weeks ago successfully argued for his detention on terrorism-related grounds, agreed to Nawaya's release Thursday, provided he reports regularly to the border agency and supplies documentation explaining the items that landed him behind bars.

After his release, Nawaya suggested he got caught up in terrorist suspicion.

"There's always bad people out there. There are good people and when ... bad things happen, the good people get involved automatically," Nawaya said.

"I want to tell everyone who's suspicious there is no reason to be suspicious and not everyone who comes from the Middle East is a bad person. There are lots of good people out there."

His lawyer, Phil Rankin, said the items found in Nawaya's car have much more innocent explanations.

He said Nawaya converted money he won in a lawsuit settlement and other earnings while living in the U.S. into Canadian gold coins, believing they'd would hold value better following the U.S. financial market failure.

Not knowing whether he could legally bring those funds into Canada and fearing a massive tax grab, he said Nawaya lied when asked how much money he was moving across the border.

"He may well lose his money, that's not an impossible scenario," Rankin said of his client's current situation.

Nawaya's brother had to send him money, as his funds remain in police custody. He hasn't been charged with a crime but RCMP are still investigating and have recommended charges for failing to declare the funds.

"We're hoping if we provide documentation the penalty will be reasonable," Rankin said.

A lawyer for the Canada Border Services Agency declined to comment on the case Thursday.

Rankin said that Nawaya's brother, who still lives in the U.S., had the ring with the Hezbollah logo custom-made in the U.S. and it's nothing more than a sign that the brothers disagree with Israel's invasion of Lebanon.

"They may have significance as far as the sentiment, but people are allowed to have controversial views in Canada," he said.

And he pointed out that Hezbollah is a Shiite group while his client is a Sunni Muslim, making any sinister relationship unlikely.

Nawaya was born in Saudi Arabia but holds Syrian citizenship. Upon moving to the U.S. in 1993, he earned two degrees, one in professional aeronautics and another in management.

After changing out of the red correction-issue jumpsuit he wore in custody into a plaid shirt and jeans, Nawaya told reporters he hopes to put the ordeal behind him, but still faces several obstacles.

He's uncertain whether he'll still be accepted into a Vancouver-area job as a flight instructor and doesn't know if Canada will approve his status as a landed immigrant.

Rankin said his client has already undergone extensive checks as part of the process to get his visa to come to Canada, but he's not in the clear yet.

"They're continuing to look at this, this has not gone away."

Canadian Forces battling post-traumatic stress among Afghanistan vets

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:20:00 +0000

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Vimy Ridge. Dieppe. Normandy.

Rwanda. Bosnia. Afghanistan. Canadian troops have witnessed some of the most tragic events of our times, as peacekeepers and as soldiers at war.

Those experiences can haunt them for years after they leave the battlefield, and the Canadian Forces is trying to battle the post-traumatic stress disorder among its ranks.

"Our guys see incredible, terrible things," one soldier at a Canadian base in one of the most violent districts in Kandahar province said in a recent interview.

Soldiers of the base had come under heavy fire from insurgents. Mortar attacks were so regular for a period of time that soldiers were wearing their flak jackets and helmets to eat dinner and walk to the showers.

Several times they carried the caskets of dead friends down the tarmac, draped in the Canadian flag, for one final flight home.

At the tiny trauma centre at the base in the restive Zhari district, Dr. Linda Rodger said dealing with "stress injuries" starts well before soldiers touch the ground in Kandahar.

The pre-deployment training includes courses in coping with stress and trauma. There is also mental health screening for soldiers before they are ever deployed.

Social workers and padres come to the base, offering spiritual guidance or just a compassionate ear. But most importantly, each member of the unit is looking out for the other, she said.

"We all live together. You can't help but know when something happens," she said.

Rodger, who's been in the military since 1990, said soldiers will seek her out to talk - "in the shower, in the gym, in the kitchen lineup."

One veteran of the peacekeeping mission in Croatia said the Balkan conflict was the beginning of the end of the old way of thinking.

"Back then, if a guy had trouble, he was kind of peeled off the herd. It's not the same any more."

The soldier said steps have been taken to deal with the emotional scars of war.

"I don't think anybody who watches a soldier disappear on an IED (roadside bomb) can not be affected," the soldier said. "But we can talk about it now. No one's going to look at you and call you a wimp."

For veterans of the world wars the return home was much different.

Bryan Quinlan, 87, a combat pilot for three years in the Second World War, still has memories that send shivers up his spine.

He flew a torpedo bomber in the Mediterranean, then hunted German submarines from the air. His brother was killed and is buried in Denmark.

But the feelings to those experiences could never be revealed.

"In those days if somebody lost his nerve, and there were many who did and didn't want to fly anymore, they were actually listed as LMF - 'lack of moral fibre.' In other words, they were a coward."

In the First World War, soldiers who turned and ran, even from certain death, were shot by commanders, he said.

It was the startling and high-profile breakdown of former general, now Sen. Romeo Dallaire, that focused attention on stress injury in the armed forces.

Dallaire, who witnessed the 1994 genocide in Rwanda as head of a UN peacekeeping mission, was found in 2000 half-conscious and curled in a fetal position in a Quebec park. In his autobiography, the former soldier admitted he twice tried to kill himself.

"I think he embarrassed the military and the Canadian government to start allocating funding," said Dr. Greg Passey, a soldier turned psychiatrist and one of the country's leading experts on "operational stress injury."

Passey, who spent 22 years in the forces and now heads a new operational stress injury clinic in Vancouver for the Canadian Forces, conducted a sweeping study in the 90s but little came of it.

Since then there's been a huge change, he said.

About five per cent of soldiers returning from Afghanistan show signs of depression or post-traumatic stress, he said, compared with one out of every five soldiers who came back from the former Yugoslavia.

From 2001 to 2006, there was a 40 per cent increase in the number of soldiers being treated for traumatic stress due to greater awareness, he said.

For veterans of the world wars and early peacekeeping missions, "it was not appropriate to talk about it," Maj. Annie Bouchard, commanding officer of Role 1, the Canadian medical clinics throughout Kandahar.

Many came back scarred emotionally, as well as physically, and never recovered. But for today's soldiers, mental health is as important as physical health, she said.

"They know that if they want to be the best soldier, they have to do it," Bouchard said.

There are trained medics, social workers and psychiatrists in theatre to try to deal with stress before it becomes a post-deployment disorder.

A social worker went to a base in the restive Zhari district a couple of days after two soldiers from their unit were killed in a double IED blast. The company commander had requested the visit and 20 to 25 soldiers went to speak to her.

Post-traumatic stress disorder doesn't happen in one day, Bouchard said, and it doesn't happen to everyone.

"The guys we've seen, it's all different events, different reactions," she said. "We're all human. Reactions are variable. For one person it can be an IED blast; for another just going outside the wire at all is triggering a reaction.

"Some people can pick up the pieces of their friend to put in a body bag and it won't bother them after; others can't deal with it."

Admitting traumatic stress doesn't have the stigma it once did in the Canadian Forces, said Bouchard.

Of the 2,800 troops in theatre, there have been five medical repatriations for people who weren't coping well with being in Afghanistan. That low figure suggests to Bouchard that pre-deployment preparation and followups after the tour ends is working.

Yet earlier this year, the Military Police Complaints Commission sounded the alarm about PTSD in its annual report. The report said that of more than 8,000 Afghan veterans who filled out a post-deployment questionnaire last year, about six per cent had symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and/or major depression.

The commission said civilian social agencies that care for soldiers and their families noted a growing number of domestic violence cases. Last year, Ottawa committed $98 million to hire another 218 military mental health specialists, but the military was struggling to fill the positions and the time frame has been extended to 2010.

In June, the House of Commons defence committee released the results of a year-long study of PTSD among Canadian Forces.

The committee heard expert testimony that of some 27,000 soldiers and aircrew who have rotated through Afghanistan, approximately 3,640 members are expected to exhibit some sort of mental health concern. Of those, roughly 1,120 could exhibit symptoms of PTSD, based upon a mathematical model.

Last summer, the Canadian Forces officially launched a mental-health awareness campaign and by this fall, hoped to have 10 operation stress injury clinics like Passey's up and running across the country.

Commodore Hans Jung, commander of the Canadian Forces Health Services Group, said soldiers who have served in Afghanistan are subject to a post-deployment screening between three and six months after their return for mental health and lifestyle issues.

The forces has done about 13,000 such assessments now and "the vast majority from Afghanistan come back well."

Jung said studies have found that about 6.5 per cent develop operational stress injury - a military term, not a medical one. But some also come back and experience "post-traumatic growth," he said.

"You go to Afghanistan, you see the devastation there and a lot of our, especially younger, soldiers come back with a much greater appreciation of Canada as a whole, our role in the world, and they feel a tremendous sense of satisfaction for themselves and what they've been able to contribute."

For those who do suffer a disorder, about a third recover completely, another third function normally but continue to suffer highs and lows, and another third will not recover, he said.

Jung said soldiers are getting better at seeking help but it doesn't mean the stigma has gone away.

"Absolutely not."

Stigma among the rank-and-file is worse than organizational stigma, he said.

"The whole culture of the organization of the military is to be self-sufficient, be gung ho, be out there.... we drive that sense of independence, confidence into individuals," Jung said.

"That's our next challenge, is really breaking down self-stigma."

UK's Brown stands firm on Afghanistan

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:32:00 +0000

LONDON — British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is to defend his government's commitment to Afghanistan in a major speech Friday, saying the war is essential to his country's security, according to excerpts released in advance by his office.

The speech comes after the deaths of seven British soldiers in the past week, including five who were shot and killed by an Afghan police officer they were training. Despite increasing doubt over the country's involvement in the war in Afghanistan, Brown links military action there to safety on Britain's streets.

"We will not be deterred, dissuaded or diverted from taking whatever measures are necessary to protect our security," Brown is to say, according to the excerpts.

"When the main terrorist threat facing Britain emanates from Afghanistan and Pakistan; and when, although the sustained pressure in Pakistan, combined with military action in Afghanistan, is having a suppressive effect on al-Qaida, we know that they continue to train and plot attacks on Britain from the region — we cannot, must not and will not walk away."

Britain currently has about 9,000 troops in the country, the majority in the restive southern Helmand province. The force is the second-largest foreign one in the country after the United States, and Brown recently announced an increase of about 500 soldiers.

Since the start of hostilities in October 2001, 230 British soldiers have died in Afghanistan — more than 90 of them this year alone.

In the speech, Brown is to pay tribute to the military, comparing its efforts to those of soldiers in other wars.

"Just as in the past we learned of the bravery and sacrifice of British soldiers in the First and Second World Wars; in their fight to protect freedom both in our nation and the world; so our children will learn of the heroism of today's men and women fighting in Afghanistan — protecting our nation and the rest of the world from the threat of global terrorism," an excerpt says.

Brown repeated his calls for an inclusive Afghan government, saying recently re-elected President Hamid Karzai's international support depends on what he achieves in key areas.

"He needs a contract with the Afghan people; a contract against which Afghans, as well as the international community, can judge his success," Brown is to say. "International support depends on the scale of his ambition and the degree of his achievement in five key areas: security, governance, reconciliation, economic development, and engagement with Afghanistan's neighbors."

Democrat leads in House race in northern NY

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:35:00 +0000

ALBANY, N.Y. — Democrat Bill Owens is leading with about 49 percent of the vote in a special Congressional election in northern New York that has grabbed national headlines in its final days as it highlighted divisions within the Republican Party.

Owens led Tuesday over Conservative Doug Hoffman's 45 percent of the vote with about 71 percent of precincts reporting in New York's 23rd House district.

Republican Dierdre Scozzafava (skoh-zuh-FAH'-vuh), who withdrew from the race Saturday, has still picked up 6 percent of the vote so far.

The race in the heavily Republican district has been getting national attention, with some calling it a referendum on President Barack Obama and others saying it could help Republicans focus their message to attract more people to the party.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Democrat Bill Owens had an early lead of about 50 percent in a special Congressional election in northern New York that has grabbed national headlines in its final days as it highlighted divisions within the Republican Party.

Owens led Tuesday over surprise contender Doug Hoffman, a member of the state Conservative Party, who had 45 percent of the vote with just 39 percent of precincts reporting in New York's heavily Republican 23rd House district.

Republican Dierdre Scozzafava (skoh-zuh-FAH'-vuh), who withdrew from the race Saturday, had still picked up 5 percent of the vote early on.

In early reports, most votes were coming from Clinton and Jefferson County. Clinton County is Owens' home base, which was expected to go to him. Jefferson County was part of Scozzafava's strongest territory, and early signs that Owens is leading there bode well for him in picking up more of her voters.

The race started about five weeks ago with three candidates and is ending with two — Hoffman and Owens, who is seeking to exploit a split in Republican loyalties and recapture a seat held for decades by the GOP.

Republican Dierdre Scozzafava abruptly quit the race over the weekend and backed Owens after Hoffman's supporters accused her of being too liberal for the largely Republican district because of her support of abortion rights and same-sex marriage.

Hoffman started at a distant third and was viewed as a spoiler at best, cutting away at Scozzafava and opening the door for Owens. But prominent Republicans, including former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, endorsed Hoffman instead of the party-picked Scozzafava.

With gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia, this race was not expected to become a referendum on anything, but between the Republican infighting and attempts by Democrats to portray that as a sign they could retain their majority in the 2010 midterms, Tuesday's special election took on unanticipated importance.

A Hoffman win could force Republicans in Washington to pay closer attention to their votes and positions on issues, rather than counting on the Republican label to get them elected.

"The reality is that the grass roots is not going to walk lockstep on these decisions and so that's a reality (the party is) going to have to deal with," said Tony Fabrizio, a Washington-based Republican pollster and strategist.

An Owens win could signal renewed strength among Democrats, or at least reassure them of Republicans' perceived weakness. It's a seat that has been strongly Republican for decades and is one of only three in the state's 29-seat delegation held by the party. Republican John McHugh vacated the seat in September to become Army secretary.

"They're in a civil war over the definition of their party," said Paul Blank, a Democratic consultant. "And the extremists have won."

No matter the outcome, Republicans will be sorting out their identity as the party tries to strike a balance between growing its ranks and preserving the values that set it apart from the Democratic Party.

"I think that the Republican Party is broad enough to handle many different candidates, but the fact is that I'm a common sense Conservative Republican — I am not a radical," Hoffman said Monday. "The point is that Assemblywoman Scozzafava was not a moderate Republican; she was an ultraliberal Republican."

Clinton warns Iran that patience has limits

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 03:39:00 +0000

JERUSALEM — US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday called on Iran to fulfill its obligations over its controversial nuclear programme, warning the Islamic republic that "patience has limits."

"Our view is that we are willing to work toward creative outcomes like shipping out the low enriched uranium to be reprocessed outside of Iran but we're not going to wait forever," Clinton said in Jerusalem, where she was holding talks with Israeli officials.

"Patience does have finally its limits and it is time for Iran to fulfill its obligations and responsibilities to the international community and accepting this deal would be a good beginning," she said.

Western powers are awaiting a clear response from Tehran over the nuclear fuel deal brokered by UN atomic watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

France has said that under the deal 1,200 kilos of Iranian LEU -- enriched at a facility in Natanz in defiance of three sets of UN sanctions -- would be shipped abroad for further processing and conversion into fuel for a Tehran research reactor.

Western powers back the deal as the reactor is an internationally supervised facility, and the deal aims at removing Tehran's stock of LEU, a major concern in the West which suspects the enriched material could be further refined for use in nuclear weapons.

Israel, the Middle East's sole if undeclared nuclear power and arch-foe of the Islamic republic, has backed the UN deal.

The IAEA has confirmed that Tehran has given an "initial" response to the deal, but late on Friday the state news agency IRNA reported that Iran's response was "not an answer" to the deal and that it wanted more talks.

On Friday, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs warned that US President Barack Obama will not wait for ever for Iran's formal reply.

"The president's time is not unlimited, this was not about talking for the sake of talking, this was about reaching an agreement that just a few weeks ago seemed to be something that the Iranians wanted," he said.

Iranian lawmakers seem increasingly to be opposed to the deal.

Obama considers 'McChrystal Light' Afghan war plan

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:30:00 +0000

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is considering sending large numbers of additional U.S. forces to Afghanistan next year but fewer than his war commander, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, prefers, U.S. officials said.

Such a narrowed military mission would escalate American forces to accomplish the commander's broadest goals, protecting Afghan cities and key infrastructure. But the option's scaled-down troop numbers likely would cut back on McChrystal's most ambitious objectives, amounting to what one official described as "McChrystal Light."

Under the pared-down option, McChrystal would be given fewer forces than the 40,000 additional troops he has asked for atop the current U.S. force of 68,000, officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Senior White House officials stressed, however, that the president has not settled on any new troop numbers and continues to debate other strategic approaches to the 8-year-old Afghanistan war. The officials say Obama has not yet firmly settled on the narrowed option or any other as his final choice for how to overhaul the war effort.

The president saw the impact of the war firsthand early Thursday, flying to a military air base in Dover, Del., where he silently viewed the return of the remains of 18 Americans who died recently in Afghanistan. He later said the middle-of-the-night visit was "a sobering reminder" of the sacrifices of war.

Obama is likely to hold off on making a decision until after Afghanistan's presidential runoff election on Nov. 7, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday in Pakistan.

"I would imagine that he will be coming to a decision sometime after the Afghan election is finally resolved," Clinton told a group of Pakistani journalists during an interview in Lahore.

Two officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because Obama has not announced his decision, said the troop numbers under the narrowed scenario probably would be lower than McChrystal's preference, at least at the outset. The officials did not divulge exact numbers.

The stripped-down version of McChrystal's plan still would adopt the commander's overall goals for a counterinsurgency strategy aimed at turning the corner against the Taliban next spring.

But that pared-down approach would reflect a shift in thinking about what parts of the war mission are most important and the intense political domestic debate over Afghan policy.

A majority of Americans either oppose the war or question whether it is worth continuing to wage, according to public opinion polls dating to when Obama shook up the war's management and began a lengthy reconsideration of U.S. objectives earlier this year.

Any expansion of the war will displease some congressional Democrats. If Obama does not meet McChrystal's request, Republicans are likely to accuse Obama of failing to give McChrystal all of what he needs.

A stripped-down approach would signal caution in widening a war that is going worse this year than last despite intense U.S. attention and an additional 21,000 U.S. forces on Obama's watch.

Fourteen Americans were killed Monday in Afghanistan in two helicopter crashes, and roadside bombings Tuesday left eight U.S. troops dead. October has been the worst month for U.S. fatalities since the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan began in October 2001.

Even if McChrystal gets less than he wants from Obama, the U.S. may still end up adding more troops later in 2010. The most likely reason would be to fill voids left by some NATO allies who have been considering troop cutbacks.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has pushed back hard against a faction of administration officials, led by Vice President Joe Biden, who contend that much of the U.S. national security objective in Afghanistan could be accomplished by concentrating on strikes at al-Qaida along the Pakistan border.

That approach would hunt terrorists with techniques such as missile-loaded pilotless drones, and could require little or no additional U.S. manpower.

Gates has bridged both sides, officials said. Long wary of a large U.S. presence that could too easily look like an occupation army, he has suggested recently that he could support a carefully designed expansion.

Obama meets Friday with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the military leaders who would have the responsibility for carrying out his strategy decisions. White House officials said the president will continue to consider his options with advisers over the next couple of weeks, adding that other broad war council meetings may still be called during that period.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is on record supporting a troop increase. He has not quantified his preference, but he signed off on McChrystal's assessment of the worsening conditions in Afghanistan and the need for a change in approach and boost in manpower.

Gates has not given a public opinion on McChrystal's request but has pushed for the commander's overarching strategy during recent weeks of review by the White House, officials said.

"I think that the analytical phase is ... coming to an end," Gates said last week in Europe. "Probably over the next two or three weeks we're going to be considering specific options and teeing them up for a decision by the president."

As for McChrystal, he already begun carrying out elements of his targeted counterinsurgency plan, which focuses on the volatile south and east of the country and emphasizes protecting civilians even if it means allowing individual militants to escape.

McChrystal's recommendations got broad endorsement from NATO defense chiefs last week, with the suggestion that some nations will increase troops or other resources.

The Friday meeting is the last formal session the president has scheduled to review the situation in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan, a decision-making process that Republican critics say has taken too long.

AP White House Correspondent Jennifer Loven and AP writer Ben Feller in Washington and National Security Writer Robert Burns traveling in Islamabad contributed to this report.

Labour dispute strands seniors and disabled who depend on HandyDart transit

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:33:00 +0000

VANCOUVER, B.C. — Thousands of seniors, those with physically disabilities and the seriously ill in Metro Vancouver have been left sitting at home after a labour dispute stalled their transportation service.

The Amalgamated Transit Union, representing HandyDart workers, issued 72-hour strike notice for Monday morning, but most drivers who showed up for work Sunday were told to go home.

Dave Watt, president of ATU local 1724, says the company jumped the gun without informing either the union or its customers that it would be stopping service.

Watt says they're looking for job security and to retain benefits after workers in eight separate unions were merged into one when the HandyDart service was contracted out to MVT Canadian Bus last year.

The company presented an offer to the union on Thursday, but Watt says the union had only clarified some of the issues in the offer before it found out its workers were being sent home.

The Labour Relations Board has ruled that HandyDart services for renal dialysis and cancer patients are essential and must be provided.

Parents in B.C. police custody after alleged attempt to flee with children

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:30:00 +0000

TORONTO — Police say a Toronto couple will likely face abduction charges for allegedly attempting to fly to Hong Kong after fleeing to B.C. with their children during a court-appointed visit Saturday.

The six-year-old boy and five-year-old girl were reported missing Saturday when they did not return to their foster parents' home following an unsupervised two-hour visit with their biological parents.

Police found the children with their parents early Sunday in the Vancouver suburb of Richmond.

Toronto police Det. Jim Giczi says the Children's Aid Society was planning to ask for full custody later this week, putting the supervised and unsupervised visits to an end.

He says the parents were preparing to fly to Hong Kong on Sunday afternoon and if the family had not been located before that, the saga would have ended very differently.

The parents are in custody in B.C. and will likely face two counts of child abduction and the children, who are with the B.C. Children's Aid Society, will be returned to their foster parents Monday.

Greyhound to refuse some Man., Sask. trips after Nov. 1

noreply@blogger.com (Daryl Lorette) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 03:47:00 +0000

Ticket agents for Greyhound are telling travellers they will not take bookings on some bus routes for trips after Nov. 1.

The transportation company has said it needs government support to maintain service in some markets, including routes in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and northern Ontario.

Greyhound says without about $15 million in subsidies, it will shut down routes from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., through Manitoba, and as far west as Saskatoon.

The November deadline is a new development, according to senior government officials in Manitoba.

"That's news to me," Ron Lemieux, the province's transportation minister, told CBC News on Friday. "We agreed we would be talking up and through past the 22nd at the meeting that we just finished having."

Lemieux was referring to meetings with the company on Thursday that he said concluded with a commitment to meet again.

"We would sit down and talk face to face about where do we go from here," Lemieux said.

He added he is keen to work out some solution to maintain service.

"I would like to have a conversation with them directly," Lemieux said. "We are going to explore every item. That could mean everything. Working with Greyhound in the short term until the working group has taken a further look right across the country at what that means."

Greyhound Canada did not respond to a request from CBC News to talk about the matter.

It did issue a statement to say it was encouraged that politicians had formed a working group to consider how to help the bus company.

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