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NEWS THURSDAY,
JULY 29, 2010 NEWS
Top
Judiciary Republican Calls Kagan ‘Dangerous’
The top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee is calling Elena
Kagan "a dangerous, progressive, political" nominee for the Supreme Court.
Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama is warning fellow senators to "be careful"
about backing President Barack Obama's nominee, who's expected to be confirmed
easily next week. He says Americans won't forgive senators who vote to
"impose a legal progressive activist legislator from the bench upon them."
Sessions' latest and strongest speech denouncing Kagan comes shortly after
Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine became the fourth Republican to announce she'd
break with her party to support Obama's nominee. Las
Vegas Sun
VOA VIEW: Voters will take revenge against
Senators and Democrats as a whole for confirming Kagan.
Mueller:
Homegrown Terror Growing Problem
FBI Director Robert Mueller says homegrown terrorists are an increasing
problem for U.S. law enforcement. Speaking Tuesday before the National
Academy Associates Annual Training Conference in Boston, Mueller said,
"We continue to confront terrorist threats, both at home and abroad. Nine
years ago, al-Qaida was our primary concern. Today, we also confront homegrown
terrorists and individuals who may travel overseas to train for and perhaps
commit acts of terrorism, but who may one day return home to plan and execute
attacks here." UPI
News
Expiration
Of Bush Tax Cuts Would Cost Families Thousands In 2011
Millions of families will be faced with thousands of dollars in tax
increases if the Bush tax cuts are allowed to expire at the end of the
year, according to estimates from the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation.
A preliminary report obtained by Fox News shows that several tax increases
would hit hard if Congress does nothing to minimize the damage before Dec.
31. The study found that raising just the lowest income tax rate from 10
percent to 15 percent would cost 88 million taxpayers an average of $503
next year. Fox
News
VOA VIEW: Obama wants to financially destroy
working Americans.
Pentagon
Focuses On 'Main Suspect' In Afghanistan Leak
The Pentagon is focusing on jailed Army Pfc. Bradley Manning as the
main suspect in the leak of tens of thousands of secret U.S. military documents
related to the war in Afghanistan, a senior Pentagon official told CNN
Wednesday. Manning, 22, is believed to have accessed a worldwide military
classified internet and e-mail system to download tens of thousands of
documents, according to the official, who did not want to be identified
because of the ongoing criminal investigation of the soldier. The FBI is
assisting in the investigation as well, its director, Robert Mueller, said
Wednesday. CNN
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US Sailor's Body Recovered In Afghanistan
A senior U.S. military official and Afghan officials say the body of
a second U.S. sailor who went missing in a dangerous part of eastern Afghanistan
has been recovered. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because
he was not authorized to disclose the information, says the family of Petty
Officer 3rd Class Jarod Newlove , a 25-year-old from the Seattle area ,
has been notified of his death. Government and police officials in Logar
province say villagers found a body, clothed in a uniform, on Wednesday
in Baraki Barak district. Philadelphia
Inquirer
Obama
Takes Manhattan
It's not exactly hard-hitting journalism, but President Obama said
yesterday he had a good reason for sitting down with the gabby ladies of
the late-morning chatterfest "The View." Obama -- who yesterday became
the first sitting president ever to appear on a daytime talk show -- said
he wanted to be on a program his wife actually watches. "All those new
shows, she's like, 'Eh, let me get the clicker,' " he told the co-hosts
at ABC's Upper West Side studios. Obama's entire interview will air today,
but the network released parts of it last night. NY
Post
Biden Claims
$600 Billion In Stimulus Funds Spent
Vice President Joe Biden says “Americans deserve a government that
actually works,” and on Tuesday he assured liberals that the Obama administration
is “trying to build a government that delivers much more bang for the buck
than it ever has before.” Biden delivered his remarks by video at a conference
on how government can work more efficiently, held by the liberal Center
for American Progress (CAP) in Washington, D.C. “Our country is facing
enormous challenges, from the economy, to health care, to energy security,”
Biden said. “In all these areas, Americans deserve a government that actually
works.” CNS News
VOA VIEW: Deficit spending is a dysfunctional
and inept government at work.
Immigration
Ruling Could Send Message To States
States that had been watching Arizona's immigration law in hopes of
copying it received a rude awakening when a judge put most of the measure
on hold and agreed with the Obama administration's core argument that immigration
enforcement is the role of the federal government. The ruling marked a
repudiation of the Arizona law as U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton indicated
that the government has a good chance at succeeding in its argument that
federal immigration law trumps state law. It was an important first-round
victory for the government in a fight that may not be settled until the
U.S. Supreme Court weighs in. Seattle
Times
Gulf
Cleanup Will Change Once Oil Stops For Good
The government's point man for the Gulf spill plans to meet with coastal
parish officials Thursday to talk about what's next now that the oil has
stopped flowing. Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said crews are having
trouble finding patches of the crude that had been washing up on beaches
and coating delicate coastal wetlands since the Deepwater Horizon offshore
drilling rig exploded April 20, killing 11 people. Though no one knows
for sure how much oil might be lurking below the surface, most of what
was coming ashore has broken up or been sucked up by skimming boats or
burned. Tampa
Tribune
Rising
Oil Prices Boost Exxon 2Q Net Income To $7.56 Billion, Best Result Since
4Q Of 2008
Exxon Mobil Corp. said Thursday its second quarter income nearly doubled
to $7.56 billion as oil prices increased from last year. It's Exxon's highest
quarterly profit since the $7.82 billion earned in the last three months
of 2008. Exxon set a record for quarterly earnings in the U.S. of $14.83
billion in the third quarter of 2008 after oil prices spiked to near $150
per barrel that summer. Oil prices dropped dramatically as the global recession
took hold, and Exxon's profits followed, hitting a six-year low in the
second quarter of 2009. Sun
Sentinel
Key
Parts Of Arizona Anti-Immigration Law Blocked
A judge on Wednesday blocked key parts of Arizona's tough new immigration
law hours before it was to take effect, handing a victory to the Obama
administration as it tries to take control over the issue. Arizona Governor
Jan Brewer said she would file an appeal to reinstate the provisions, which
had popular support but were opposed by President Barack Obama and immigration
and human rights groups. U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton blocked several
provisions including one that required a police officer to determine the
immigration status of a person detained or arrested, if the officer believed
the person was not in the country legally. Reuters
VOA VIEW: Obama is trumping states' rights.
DOJ
Accused Of Stalling On MOVE Act For Voters In Military
The Department of Justice is ignoring a new law aimed at protecting
the right of American soldiers to vote, according to two former DOJ attorneys
who say states are being encouraged to use waivers to bypass the new federal
Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act. The MOVE Act, enacted
last October, ensures that servicemen and women serving overseas have ample
time to get in their absentee ballots. The result of the DOJ's alleged
inaction in enforcing the act, say Eric Eversole and J. Christian Adams
— both former litigation attorneys for the DOJ’s Voting Section — could
be that thousands of soldiers' ballots will arrive too late to be counted.
Fox
News
Governor
Sounds Alarm About Oil Spill In Michigan River
Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm is calling on the Environmental Protection
Agency and a Canada-based energy company to step up efforts to contain
an oil spill in the Kalamazoo River, after more than 840,000 gallons of
oil leaked from a pipeline since Monday. "There needs to be a lot more
done," the governor said Tuesday, after touring the river area in a helicopter.
CNN
Obama:
Helping Small Businesses Is 'As American As Apple Pie'
Helping small businesses is “as American as apple pie,” President Obama
said from a small business in Edison, New Jersey today where he urged Congress
to pass the Small Business Jobs Act. “Small businesses create two out of
every three jobs in this country, so our recovery depends on them,” Obama
said from the Tastee Sub Shop today, “if we want to keep America moving
forward, we need to keep investing in our small businesses.” The president
said it’s clear that “we need to do more” to help small businesses by cutting
taxes, and making more loans available through the bill. ABC
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Vice
President Biden Says Afghan Policy Still Developing
Vice President Biden said Wednesday that it is "much too premature"
to judge the Obama administration's policy in Afghanistan, but he said
this week's release of classified war documents increased public skepticism.
Biden said the White House won't be able to assess whether President Obama's
decision to send 30,000 more servicemembers to Afghanistan is working until
December, when a formal review is due. USA
Today
Lack
Of Funding Threatens The Future Of HIV Drug Therapy In The Developing World
Ten years ago, many experts thought you couldn't bring antiretroviral
therapy to people with AIDS in poor countries. The drugs cost too much,
there weren't enough doctors, the patients wouldn't take the medicines
correctly, and the risk of creating a resistant virus was too high. None
of that turned out to be true. About 5.2 million people with HIV infections
are on lifesaving treatment in low- and middle-income countries. In sub-Saharan
Africa, antiretroviral therapy, much of it paid for by the U.S. government,
is resurrecting whole communities. Washington
Post
Hoyer Refuses
To Rule Out Raising The Retirement Age To Address Social Security
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer on Tuesday would not rule out raising
the retirement age to try to solve the $53 trillion in unfunded liabilities
the federal government faces in Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid and
federal pensions. Unfunded liabilities are commitments that the government
is obligated to pay, but for which there is no money to repay debts and
honor future benefits promised under Medicare, Social Security and government
pensions. CNS
VOA VIEW: Liberal socialists have no shame
taking money from elderly taxpayers.
Mortgage
Brokers To Be Fingerprinted And Registered
Mortgage loan originators will have to be fingerprinted and sign up
to a central registry to do business in future, according to final rules
issued on Wednesday by the Federal Reserve and other regulators. The rules
are part of the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act
of 2008, also called the S.A.F.E. Act. They were issued by the Fed, Comptroller
of the Currency, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, Office of Thrift Supervision,
Farm Credit Administration and National Credit Union Administration. Mortgage
brokers came under tough scrutiny in the wake of the 2007-09 financial
crisis, with some lawmakers and regulators sharply critical of underwriting
standards and practices that were seen as so loose they helped foster a
housing price bubble. Reuters
Fed:
Economy Slowing In Some Regions
The pace of economic activity has slowed or held steady in parts of
the country, revealing a choppy path back to health. A new survey released
by the Federal Reserve Wednesday found the U.S. economy growing this summer,
even as risks mount. Of the 12 regions tracked by the Fed, the survey said
that growth held steady in Cleveland and Kansas City, but slowed in Atlanta
and Chicago. Economic activity elsewhere was described as modest. High
unemployment, cautious consumers and businesses, an ailing housing market
and an edgy Wall Street have kept the recovery from gaining strength. MSNBC
VOA VIEW: The economy is slow everywhere.
Jury
Of Rangel's House Peers Meets In Ethics Case
A jury of Rep. Charles Rangel's congressional peers is ready to publicly
discuss charges of ethical misdeeds. But the political discussions outside
the room will be far more significant. Eight House lawmakers who will determine
guilt or innocence of the former committee chairman will hold their first
meeting Thursday. A number of Democrats considering calls for the New York
Democrat to resign will get their first look at the allegations.
Houston
Chronicle
Toyota
Recalls 412,000 Cars In US, 16,000 In Japan
Toyota is recalling 412,000 passenger cars, mostly the Avalon model,
in the U.S., and another 16,420 vehicles in Japan for steering problems,
the automaker said Thursday. The 373,000 Avalons being recalled in the
U.S. range from the 2000 model year through to 2004 and have improper casting
of the steering lock bar - a component for the steering system - causing
cracks to develop on the surface. In some cases, the crack can cause the
lock bar to break, potentially leading to a crash if the steering wheel
locks, the world's No. 1 automaker by car sales said. No injuries have
been reported from the accidents that may be caused by the defect, it said.
Charlotte
Observer
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Airfares
Higher This Year Vs. Last, DOT Reports
If you think airfares have been rising, it's not your imagination.
Figures just released from the government, while a bit dated, show that
airline prices in the first three months of this year rose nearly 5 percent
from a year earlier. And that doesn't include baggage fees and other extras.
But if you take a step back, air travel still looks like a bargain. Average
fares are 25 percent lower than they were in 1999 after adjusting them
for inflation, the government says. The numbers were contained in a report
issued Wednesday by the Department of Transportation. The average domestic
fare in the first quarter of 2010 rose to $328. Since 2001, the average
price for the first quarter was higher only once — in 2008, when it hit
$333. The government figures include the ticket price plus taxes and things
like security fees. MSNBC
White
House Proposal Would Ease FBI Access To Records Of Internet Activity
The Obama administration is seeking to make it easier for the FBI to
compel companies to turn over records of an individual's Internet activity
without a court order if agents deem the information relevant to a terrorism
or intelligence investigation. The administration wants to add just four
words -- "electronic communication transactional records" -- to a list
of items that the law says the FBI may demand without a judge's approval.
Government lawyers say this category of information includes the addresses
to which an Internet user sends e-mail; the times and dates e-mail was
sent and received; and possibly a user's browser history. It does not include,
the lawyers hasten to point out, the "content" of e-mail or other Internet
communication. Washington
Post
Scientists
Say Planet Continues To Warm
Scientists from around the world are providing more evidence of global
warming, one day after President Obama renewed his call for climate legislation.
“A comprehensive review of key climate indicators confirms the world is
warming and the past decade was the warmest on record,’’ the annual State
of the Climate report declares. Compiled by more than 300 scientists from
48 countries, the report said its analysis of 10 indicators that are “clearly
and directly related to surface temperatures, all tell the same story:
Global warming is undeniable.’’ Boston
Globe
Spain
Reissues US Troop Warrants Over Iraq Death
A Madrid judge reissued arrest warrants Thursday for three U.S. servicemen
over the death of a Spanish journalist killed by American tank fire in
Iraq in 2003.
Judge Santiago Pedraz acted in response to a recent order from the
Spanish Supreme Court that the case - twice shelved by a lower court -
be reopened. Cameraman Jose Couso was one of two journalists killed when
the U.S. soldiers - members of a tank crew - responded to what they said
was hostile fire from a Baghdad hotel that housed Western journalists during
the invasion of Iraq. San
Diego Union
Intelligence
Nominee Has Smooth Session
President Barack Obama's nominee to be chief of U.S. intelligence,
James R. Clapper, is expected to be approved by the Senate Intelligence
Committee when the panel meets Thursday. The director of national intelligence
oversees the nation's 16 spy agencies. Obama nominated Clapper, a retired
Air Force lieutenant general who is the Pentagon's chief intelligence official,
to succeed retired Adm. Dennis Blair. The nation's third intelligence chief
-- Congress created the position in 2004_ Blair stepped down under pressure
after clashing with other intelligence officials. Indy
Star
Obama
To Defend Education Policies To Critics
President Barack Obama is defending his administration's education
policies, responding to criticism that so far they have not substantially
helped minority students.
The president blames some of the criticism of his plan on teachers
and others resistant to change. Obama was to speak Thursday at the centennial
convention of the National Urban League, one of eight civil rights organizations
that released a report this week calling the president's $4.35 billion
education initiative an ineffective approach for failing schools. In excerpts
released ahead of the president's speech, Obama says his program's goal
is to spur innovate education reform in states and turn around failing
schools, many in minority communities, not just label them as troubled
and then walk away. Kansas
City Star
VOA VIEW: More money will not solve in
inherent lack of parental responsibility among minorities.
Schwarzenegger
Orders Gov't Worker Furloughs
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday brought back furloughs for
thousands of state workers until California passes a budget. Schwarzenegger
released a new executive order requiring state workers to take three unpaid
days off per month starting next month. State workers were furloughed a
total of 46 days when Schwarzenegger issued a similar order in February
2009, which translated to a pay cut of about 14 percent for workers. It's
unclear how long the latest round of furloughs could last, as Schwarzenegger
and lawmakers enter the fifth week of the new fiscal year without a balanced
budget. CBS
Massachusetts
Pushes For Popular Presidential Vote
Massachusetts is poised to become the sixth state to approve a law
intended to bypass the Electoral College and elect the president of the
United States by popular vote. The state senate passed the bill 28 to 9,
the Globe reports, and it now goes to the desk of Democratic Gov. Deval
Patrick, who has said he supports the idea. Under the law, all 12 of Massachusetts'
electoral votes will go to the presidential candidate who receives the
most votes nationally. However, it will not go into effect until enough
states have signed onto the plan to ensure that at least half of the nation's
electoral votes -- 270 out of 538 -- go to the candidate who won the popular
vote. CBS
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BP
Spill Moves Congress To Restrict Drilling Without Imposing Carbon Price
Congressional Democrats proposed tougher rules for offshore drilling
in response to the worst oil spill in U.S. history, while spurning calls
to place a price on carbon emissions. House and Senate leaders presented
legislation yesterday rewriting oil and natural-gas drilling rules more
than three months after a rig leased by BP Plc exploded in the Gulf of
Mexico. The bills would strengthen safety and environmental standards for
exploration in federal waters, give Congress direct oversight of offshore
energy production, and require companies that cause spills to pay all damages.
Bloomberg
British
PM Warns Pakistan About 'Promoting Terror'
British Prime Minister David Cameron on Wednesday warned Pakistan against
promoting the export of terror, saying the international community will
not tolerate it.
Mr. Cameron's remarks, made during a visit to Bangalore, India,
are the strongest and highest-level criticism of Pakistan since leaked
U.S. military field reports this week revealed collusion between Pakistan's
Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency and the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Washington
Times
FBI
Director Defends Bureau Over Test Cheating
FBI Director Robert Mueller told Congress on Wednesday that he does
not know how many of his agents cheated on an important exam on the bureau's
policies, an embarrassing revelation that raises questions about whether
the FBI knows its own rules for conducting surveillance on Americans. The
Justice Department inspector general is investigating whether hundreds
of agents cheated on the test. Some took the open-book test together, violating
rules that they take it alone. Others finished the lengthy exam unusually
quickly, current and former officials said. ABC
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House
Panel Passes Measure To Legalize Some Internet Gambling
A House committee passed legislation today that would legalize some
Internet gambling, allowing U.S. residents to place online bets with companies
licensed by the Treasury Department. The measure, sponsored by Representative
Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, would
roll back a law designed to block such wagers. That four-year-old law,
which took effect in June, bars banks from processing payments to offshore
gambling websites. Bloomberg
Congress
Narrows Gap In Cocaine Sentences
Congress on Wednesday changed a quarter-century-old law that has subjected
tens of thousands of blacks to long prison terms for crack cocaine convictions
while giving far more lenient treatment to those, mainly whites, caught
with the powder form of the drug. The House, by voice vote, approved a
bill reducing the disparities between mandatory crack and powder cocaine
sentences, sending the measure to President Obama for his signature. During
his presidential campaign, Mr. Obama said that the wide gap in sentencing
"cannot be justified and should be eliminated." The Senate passed the bill
in March. Washington
Times
Jury
Begins Weighing Blagojevich Corruption Case
Rod Blagojevich's fate was in the hands of jurors Wednesday as they
began deciding whether the impeached Illinois governor tried to sell an
appointment to President Barack Obama's former Senate seat and schemed
to use his political power for personal gain. Jurors, weighing evidence
against the second Illinois governor in a row to be charged with corruption,
received lengthy instructions from the judge on how their deliberations
should be conducted. Prosecutors loaded two carts of exhibits they introduced
at the trial that a marshal would wheel into the jury room.
Las
Vegas Sun
BP
Oil Rig Firefighting Method Questioned
Efforts to extinguish the fire following the Deepwater Horizon oil
rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico may have helped sink it, ABC News reported
Wednesday. The U.S. network said interviews and documents obtained by the
Center for Public Integrity reveal the decision to fight the April 20 blaze
with salt water rather than fire-suppressing foam may have overwhelmed
the ballasts keeping the rig afloat. That may have caused the rig, leased
by British oil producer BP, to list and then sink, ABC said. UPI
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Abbas
Seeks Arab Backing To Nix Talks
In a final thrust to persuade reluctant Palestinian Authority President
Mahmoud Abbas to enter direct talks with Israel, the EU coupled strong
exhortations on Wednesday to Abbas to immediately begin them, with statements
designed to give him confidence that once at the negotiating table, he
will have strong support for a number of his key positions. Abbas arrived
in Cairo on Wednesday for a two-day visit to attend a special meeting of
Arab League foreign ministers that begins on Thursday. The parley will
evaluate the current proximity talks and discuss the possibility of starting
direct negotiations. Jerusalem
Post
'Right
Wing March Could Lead To Deaths'
The State Attorney's office rejected a petition for a right-wing procession
in Umm al-Fahm on Wednesday on the basis that it could lead to violence
and loss of life.
Petitioning for the demonstration against the Islamic movement in Umm
al-Fahm were right-wing activists Itamar Ben-Gvir and Baruch Marzel, as
well as Knesset member Michael Ben-Ari. This is not the first time prominent
right-wing activists Marzel and Ben-Gvir have attempted to hold such a
march in Umm al-Fahm.
Marzel and Ben-Gvir received police approval and held a similar march
in Umm al-Fahm in March 2009. During the Umm el-Fahm march, rock-throwing
and violent clashes with the town's residents prompted riot police to respond
with stun grenades and tear gas. Sixteen policemen were lightly wounded,
including deputy police chief Insp.-Gen. Shahar Ayalon. Jerusalem
Post
Details Of
100M Facebook Users Collected And Published
Personal details of 100m Facebook users have been harvested and published
on the net by a security consultant. Ron Bowles used a piece of code to
scan Facebook profiles, collecting data not hidden by the user's privacy
settings. The list, which has been shared as a downloadable file, contains
the URL of every searchable Facebook user's profile, their name and unique
ID. Mr Bowles said he published the data to highlight privacy issues, but
Facebook said it was already public information. The file has spread rapidly
across the net. BBC
South
Korea's Prime Mminister Offers To Resign
South Korea's prime minister offered to resign Thursday after parliament
shot down his efforts to scrap a plan that would relocate several government
ministries out of the capital. Chung Un-chan, an academic appointed in
September, has led the charge to abandon the project, thought up by the
previous liberal administration.
President Lee Myung-bak has said the plan to move more than half of
the 15 government ministries from Seoul and a nearby city would waste taxpayer
money and create inefficiencies. Detroit
News
Cameron
Sparks Diplomatic Row With Pakistan After 'Export Of Terror' Remarks
A furious diplomatic row erupted between London and Islamabad tonight
after David Cameron accused elements of the Pakistani state of promoting
the export of terrorism. Speaking on his visit to neighbouring India, the
prime minister launched the strongest British criticism yet of Pakistan,
warning that the country could no longer "look both ways" by tolerating
terrorism while demanding respect as a democracy. Angry responses followed
from Pakistani officials in the UK and the foreign ministry in Islamabad.
The row comes as Pakistan's president, Asif Ali Zardari, prepares to visit
Britain next week. He is due to stay at the prime minister's country retreat
of Chequers. Guardian
US
Bailouts Prevented 1930s-Style Great Depression Say Economists
To Washington conservatives they were egregious examples of "big government"
overreach, but the White House's economic stimulus and bailout policies
have saved 8.5m jobs and averted a further slump of 6.5% in US economic
output, according to a study by two influential economists. An in-depth
modelling exercise by Moody's chief economist, Mark Zandi, and a Princeton
University expert, Alan Blinder, paints a bleak scenario of a 1930s-style
Great Depression if the US government had enacted none of its $1.7tn (£1.3tn)
programmes to avert a financial meltdown. Guardian
VOA VIEW: Quacks, not geeks - bailouts
only delayed economic problems.
Army
'Was Close To Seizing Up'
Britain's military commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan brought the
Army close to the point of "seizing up", a former head of the service said
today. General Sir Richard Dannatt said the decision to deploy a task force
to Helmand in 2006 at a time it was facing worsening insurgency in Iraq
represented a "perfect storm" for the Army. Giving evidence to the official
Iraq Inquiry, he disclosed that he had written to the then defence secretary
Des Browne to warn him that morale was "fragile" and could lead to a potentially
devastating exodus of personnel from the service. Gen Dannatt said he had
been surprised to learn of the decision in 2004 to send British troops
to Helmand, even though he was at that time the commander of the Allied
Rapid Reaction Corps which was due to be deployed. Independent
Cameron
Uses Turkish Visit To Launch Ferocious Attack On Israel
David Cameron signalled a toughening stance on Israel yesterday by
comparing the besieged Gaza Strip to "a prison camp" and urging Israel
to end its three-year blockade. Mr Cameron's comments will carry additional
diplomatic weight because they were made in Turkey, which has threatened
to sever ties with Israel after its deadly assault on a flotilla carrying
humanitarian aid to Gaza. In a stopover on his way to India, Mr Cameron
launched a diplomatic offensive aimed at bolstering Turkey's bid to join
the European Union and enlisting its support in the efforts to stop Iran
from building a nuclear bomb. Independent
Gene
That Causes Parkinson's Disease Identified
Researchers have found a molecule that causes the nerve cell death
in the brain that sparks the condition – and hope they can soon stop it
in its tracks. The discovery was described as a "significant step forward"
in the battle against the degenerative disease that affects 120,000 people
in the UK – or one in 500 of the population – with 10,000 new cases being
diagnosed each year. Research may lead to vaccine for diabetes, scientists
sayParkinson's is a movement disorder characterised by uncontrollable shaking
and loss of co-ordination of muscles. Telelgraph
Global
Warming Evidence Is 'Unmistakable'
A new climate change report from the Met Office and its US equivalent
has provided the "greatest evidence we have ever had" that the world is
warming. The report brings together the latest temperature readings from
the top of the atmosphere to the bottom of the ocean. Usually scientists
rely on the temperature over land, taken from weather stations around the
world for the last 150 years, to show global warming. But climate change
sceptics questioned the evidence, especially in the wake of recent scandals
like "climategate". Now for the first time, a report has brought together
all the different ways of measuring changes in the climate. The ten indicators
of climate change include measurements of sea level rise taken from ships,
the temperature of the upper atmosphere taken from weather balloons and
field surveys of melting glaciers. Telegraph
Al-Qaida-Linked
Group Claims TV Bombing In Baghdad
An al-Qaida-linked group claimed responsibility Thursday for a bombing
earlier this week targeting the Baghdad offices of a pan-Arab television
station, describing the deadly attack that killed six people as a victory
against a "corrupt channel." A statement posted on the website of the Islamic
State of Iraq said the operation was carried out by a "hero of Islam" and
was intended to hit the "mouthpieces of the wicked and evil." The Arabic-language
news channel Al-Arabiya is one of the most popular in the Middle East but
is perceived by insurgents as being pro-Western. A suicide bomber driving
a minibus Monday drove through at least two checkpoints before pulling
up to the front of the station's Baghdad office and blowing himself and
his vehicle up. Atlanta
Journal
Afghan
President Asks Why Allies Won't Act On Pakistan
Afghan President Hamid Karzai questioned on Thursday the willingness
of his Western allies to strike insurgent bases in Pakistan given the strong
evidence of Islamabad's support for the Taliban. The question now is 'why
they are not taking action'?" Islamabad's covert backing of the Taliban
resurfaced this week with the publication by the whistleblower organisation
WikiLeaks of tens of thousands of classified U.S. military documents related
to the near-nine-year-old war. NY
Times
General
Assembly Declares Access To Clean Water And Sanitation Is A Human Right
Safe and clean drinking water and sanitation is a human right essential
to the full enjoyment of life and all other human rights, the General Assembly
declared today, voicing deep concern that almost 900 million people worldwide
do not have access to clean water. The 192-member Assembly also called
on United Nations Member States and international organizations to offer
funding, technology and other resources to help poorer countries scale
up their efforts to provide clean, accessible and affordable drinking water
and sanitation for everyone. UN
News
Secretary-General
To Honour Atomic Bomb Victims In Hiroshima And Nagasaki
Ban Ki-moon is set to become the first United Nations Secretary-General
to attend the Peace Memorial Ceremony on the anniversary of the nuclear
attack on Hiroshima when he visits the southern Japanese city next week.
Mr. Ban is also scheduled to visit Nagasaki, which was bombed on 9 August
1945, three days after Hiroshima was attacked. More than 200,000 people
died of nuclear radiation, shock waves from the blasts and thermal radiation.
Additionally, over 400,000 more people have died – and are continuing to
die – since the end of World War II from the impacts of the two bombs.
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