Wednesday, 4 January 2012

Breaking News

Breaking News

Rakhi Sawant-Bhatt signing Sunny for nudity: Rakhi

Posted: 04 Jan 2012 09:53 AM PST


Sunny Leone's ouster from the Bigg Boss' house has come as a surprise to many because the porn star has been getting a lot of publicity ever since she arrived in the celebrity house and getting rave 

Gross Backs Away From Outlook After Missing Rally

Posted: 04 Jan 2012 09:50 AM PST


Bill Gross is backing away from Pacific Investment Management Co.'s outlook for a "new normal" after lagging behind the majority of his peers during the biggest bond-market rally in nine years.

The period of muted growth in developed economies, high unemployment and "relatively orderly'' deleveraging that Mohamed El-Erian, who shares the title of chief investment officer with Gross, coined in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis appears to be morphing into a world of credit and zero-bound interest-rate risk, said Gross, the founder of Pimco and manager of the world's biggest bond fund.

"It's as if the earth now has two moons instead of one and both are growing in size like a cancerous tumor that may threaten the financial tides, oceans and economic life as we have known it for the past half century," Gross wrote in a monthly investment outlook posted on the Newport Beach, California-based company's website today. "Welcome to 2012."

Most developed economies have not, in fact, deleveraging since 2008 and credit remains resilient because of the multitude of monetary stimulus packages being made available through central banks in the U.S. and Europe, Gross wrote. This risks leading to unraveling of financial markets if policy makers are unable to foster growth and inflation accelerates, he said.
Hedging Bets

Until the outcome is clear, Pimco is advising investors to consider ways to hedge their bets, including U.S. Treasuries, long-term inflation-indexed U.S. debt, high-quality corporates, senior bank debt and municipal securities.

The recommendations mark a departure from Gross's call last year, when he advised buying higher-yielding emerging market debt as part of the "new normal" and cautioned investors to stay away from the U.S., noting that growth would be higher in developing economies, while excessive borrowing here, the U.K. and Japan would lead to inflation. To that end, Gross eliminated his holdings of Treasuries in February and had a net bet against the securities in the $244 billion Total Return Fund, missing the biggest rally in Treasuries since 2008. Gross issued a "Mea Culpa" to investors in October and boosted the debt to 23 percent of the portfolio by the end of November.

Pimco Total Return Fund (PTTRX) had $5 billion in client redemptions last year, its first year of withdrawals in records going back to 1993, according to Morningstar Inc. (MORN) Clients pulled $1.35 billion from the fund in December, according to the Chicago-based research firm.
Treasury Bull

Pimco Total Return in December 2009 became the biggest mutual fund in the history of the industry after beating most rivals and attracting a record $50 billion in deposits that year. In the five years through Dec. 30, the fund advanced at an annual rate of 8.1 percent, outperforming 97 percent of competitors.

"The bulk of sovereign bond holdings should be in the U.S.," Gross wrote in today's investment outlook. "As long as Euroland credit implosion is possible investors should gravitate to the 'cleanest dirty shirt' sovereigns with the least encumbered balance sheets. Focus on five- to nine-year Treasury maturities to guard against inflation which create opportunities to take advantage of roll-down capital gains."

Treasuries returned 9.8 percent in 2011, while Gross's Total Return Fund gained 4.2 percent, underperforming about 70 percent of its rivals, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Bonds worldwide returned 5.9 percent last year, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch's Global Broad Market Index. That was the biggest increase since the index gained 8.9 percent in 2002.
'Great Risk'

"Investors must lower return expectations," Gross wrote. "The financial markets and global economies are at great risk. Two to five percent for stocks, bonds and commodities are expected long-term returns for global financial markets that have been pushed to the zero bound, a world where substantial real price appreciation is getting close to mathematically improbable."

Minutes released yesterday of the Federal Reserve's Dec. 13 policy meeting said policy makers for the first time will make public their own forecasts for the federal funds rate beginning at the Jan. 24-25 meeting. Fed officials will show investors their forecast for the benchmark interest rate in the fourth quarter of 2012 and the next few calendar years, the minutes said.
'Cost of Money'

"I expect the January Fed meeting to mirror in some ways what we have first witnessed from the ECB," Gross wrote. "It won't take the form of three-year financing by a central bank, but will give assurances via language that the cost of money (FDTR) will remain constant at 25 basis points for three years or more -- until inflation or unemployment reach specific target levels. If and when that doesn't work, then a specific QE3 may be announced, probably by mid-year."

"The financial markets are slowly imploding -- delevering -- because there's too much paper and too little trust," Gross wrote. "Goodbye 'old normal,' standby to redefine 'new normal' and welcome to 2012's 'paranormal.'"

Indian traders released, China takes action, Krishna 'happy

Posted: 04 Jan 2012 09:15 AM PST


NEW DELHI: India on Wednesday secured the release of two Indian traders tortured and taken captive by locals in a trading hub in China. The two were escorted safely to the consulate in Shanghai, external affairs minister SM Krishna said after talks with the Chinese envoy here.

Krishna met Chinese ambassador Zhang Yan here on Wednesday afternoon and was assured that Beijing was paying "serious attention" to the safety of Indian traders, Deepak Raheja and Shyam Sunder Agarwal.

Following the meeting, Krishna said the incident should not be blown out of proportion.

The two Indians were trapped in a hotel in Yiwu city, a trading hub near Shanghai, after some locals alleged that the firm they worked with and whose owner is absconding owed them millions of dollars.

Zhang met Krishna at his residence here and assured the minister that the safety of Indians in China was a "priority".

"I am immensely pleased and satisfied with the quick response I got from the Chinese ambassador and also pleased and satisfied with the local authorities in China, who have been cooperative," SM Krishna said after the meeting.

"The traders have been released and they are on their way to Shanghai under consular officers security. Raheja and Agarwal are out of Yiwu. Let's not blow this incident out of proportion," he said.

The minister said the two countries agreed that the safety of the two Indians "involved in a civil litigation in Yiwu is of utmost importance".

Asked about the return of the traders to India, Krishna said: "Our consular officers have met them. They will perhaps work out the details, but let us not forget that there is a civil litigation against them and we will have to take that into consideration."

Ambassador Zhang said the Chinese authorities were "working hard to resolve the issue".

"I think it will be settled according to legal procedure and according to the rule of law," the envoy told reporters.

In telephonic interviews to Indian TV channels earlier when they were held captive in a hotel, the Indian traders alleged that their lives were at risk because an angry crowd was waiting for them.

Pleading for help from the Indian government, the Indian traders also alleged in TV interviews that they were beaten up and tortured by some people.

Chinese officials in Beijing have said they would initiate criminal proceedings against five locals who held the traders hostage.

In a press statement, spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry Hong Lei said the Chinese judicial authority was "dealing with this case according to law".

"This is an individual case triggered by economic disputes. China hopes India can treat this case with objectivity and fairness, and actively educate Indian merchants in China to behave according to the Chinese law, behave honestly and operate legitimately," Hong said.

In Delhi, Zhang also met joint secretary (East Asia) Gautam Bambawale.

Indian diplomat S Balachandran, a diabetic, posted in China was allegedly ill-treated when he accompanied the two in a court proceedings Dec 31. This triggered a strong protest from New Delhi.

The court did not allow Balachandran to have food or medicine and prevented him from leaving the courtroom despite repeated requests that he suspected rapid fluctuation in his blood sugar levels.

The 46-year-old diplomat had to be admitted to hospital after his condition deteriorated.

The Chinese authorities have denied Balachandran was ill-treated.

Asked about this, Krishna said: "Balachandran is not in the picture now. He is relaxing in Shanghai. Our concern now is the safety of these two Indians."

Bachmann Ends Presidential Campaign

Posted: 04 Jan 2012 09:10 AM PST


Michele Bachmann has suspended her 2012 presidential campaign Wednesday after finishing at the bottom of competitors in the Republican caucuses in Iowa.

"Last night the people of Iowa spoke with a very clear voice. And so I have decided to stand aside," the Minnesota congresswoman said.. "I believe that if we are going to repeal Obamacare, turn our country around and take back our country, we must do so united. And I believe that we must rally around the person that our country and our party and our people select to be that standard-bearer."

The news was not unexpected. Bachmann had canceled a campaign trip to South Carolina despite telling supporters on Tuesday night that she would soldier on.

Bachmann grew up in Iowa and came in first in the Iowa GOP's summer straw poll, but her poll numbers had dropped to single digits by mid- to late September and her campaign was low on money.

Fox News contributor and former Bachmann campaign manager Ed Rollins said Bachmann's loss was pretty devastating after coming in first in last summer's Ames poll. Rollins, who had predicted before the election that she'd finish last, said she would need to drop her campaign since she also has to worry about a redistricting fight at home.

"I don't think she has the resources to go beyond. She doesn't want to end up $1 million in debt," Rollins said, adding, "I think she has nothing to be ashamed of."

Bachmann came in a distant sixth in the caucuses, but told supporters Tuesday night that she was staying in the race as "the best conservative who can and will beat Barack Obama in 2012."

The only Republican candidate who garnered fewer votes was Jon Huntsman -- who did not compete in Iowa, instead focusing his time and money on New Hampshire.  Rick Perry had more than double Bachmann's raw votes but still came in fourth with 11 percent overall.

The Texas governor said Tuesday night that he would reassess his options and returned home rather than traveling to South Carolina, suggesting he was quitting the race. But Wednesday morning, he called the Palmetto State the "next leg of the marathon" in a tweet.

Swiss bank says currency trading claims 'partly incorrect

Posted: 04 Jan 2012 09:06 AM PST


The Swiss central bank has said recent claims about the currency exchanges of its chairman, Philipp Hildebrand, and his wife are "partly incorrect".

The bank said the family broke no rules and published a report into the claims.

Kashya Hildebrand bought $504,000 (£323,024) in August, three weeks before the bank intervened to reduce the value of the Swiss franc. She later sold the dollars to buy a property.

Mr Hildebrand is due to give a press conference on Thursday.
Investigation

The investigation ordered by Swiss National Bank (SNB) was carried out by auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

The central bank announced before Christmas that the couple had been cleared, but it did not publish the report, or full details of its own rules, at the time.

In an effort to counter what the bank called "inaccurate" media speculation, it published a redacted version of the PwC report, alongside the bank's regulations, on Wednesday.

The report laid out a timeline for the family's currency transactions.

On 10 March 2011, the family sold a property in Switzerland and converted the 1.1m Swiss francs from that sale into US dollar ($1.173m).

On 15 August, Mrs Hildebrand bought $504,000 because she wanted to have half of the family's assets in US dollars. Some $20,000 was also transferred into the bank account of Mrs Hildebrand's daughter.
Cheap

"My interest in dollar trade was motivated by the fact that it was at a record low and was almost ridiculously cheap. Since I worked in the banking sector for over 15 years and always observe the markets, I felt comfortable making the trade," said Kashya Hildebrand in a statement given to Swiss television.

On 6 September, following the transaction, the SNB intervened to reduce the value of the Swiss franc, making the dollar stronger.

On 4 October, the family sold $516,000, converting it back into francs in order to buy a new property in Switzerland.

Because the franc had fallen against the dollar the family made a profit.

The PwC statement says that because the money was converted to buy a property, and not to invest in financial products, it is within the bank's rules on currency exchanges.

The larger transfer, made in March, also falls within the rules as it was not used for six months and is considered a passive investment.
Leak

The claims have led to the dismissal of an IT worker at private Swiss bank Sarasin for leaking confidential information on the family.

In a statement the bank alleged the information was then passed on by a lawyer to a politician previously critical of the bank chairman.

The claims have raised concerns about privacy within Swiss banks.

"The more important topic is that someone stole our financial documents from our private bank and is trying to destabilise the Swiss central bank," said Mrs Hildebrand in a phone interview with the 10 vor 10 .

The Swiss banking regulator, Finma, has told the BBC it is in contact with Bank Sarasin about the claims - but it has not launched an investigation.

'Citizens United' Backlash: Montana Supreme Court Upholds State's Corporate Campaign Spending Ban

Posted: 04 Jan 2012 09:04 AM PST



WASHINGTON -- The Montana Supreme Court has put itself on a collision course with the U.S. Supreme Court by upholding a century-old state law that bans corporate spending in state and local political campaigns.

The law, which was passed by Montana voters in 1912 to combat Gilded Age corporate control over much of Montana's government, states that a "corporation may not make ... an expenditure in connection with a candidate or a political party that supports or opposes a candidate or a political party." In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court, in its landmark Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision, struck down a similar federal statute, holding that independent electoral spending by corporations "do not give rise to corruption or the appearance of corruption" that such laws were enacted to combat.

That reasoning -- described by the Citizens United dissenters as a "crabbed view of corruption" -- compelled 23 of the 24 states with independent spending bans to stop enforcing their restrictions, according to Edwin Bender, executive director of the Helena, Mont.-based National Institute on Money in State Politics. Montana, however, stood by its 1912 law, which led several corporations to challenge it as unconstitutional.

By a 5-2 vote this past Friday, the Montana Supreme Court declined to recognize the common understanding that Citizens United bars all laws limiting independent electoral spending. Instead, Chief Justice Mike McGrath, writing on behalf of the majority, called on the history surrounding the state law to show that corporate money, even if not directly contributed to a campaign, can give rise to corruption.

McGrath's opinion in Western Tradition Partnership v. Attorney General harkens back to the turn of the 20th century, when Montana's "Copper Kings" -- the natural resource-rich state's version of the robber barons -- competed "for political and economic domination" so effectively that by the time the Montana voters banned corporate spending in a voter initiative, "the State of Montana and its government were operating under a mere shell of legal authority." One such Copper King, wrote Mark Twain in a quotation cited by McGrath, was "said to have bought legislatures and judges as other men buy food and raiment."

Paul S. Ryan, associate legal counsel at the Campaign Legal Center, characterized the Montana Supreme Court's reliance on factual findings culled from a century of state history, plus the trial testimony from contemporary politicians of both parties, as "an antidote to the crabbed view of corruption" adopted in Citizens United. Nevertheless, most observers, including Ryan, do not anticipate the U.S. Supreme Court accepting that antidote. The ruling in Citizens United that independent spending does not give rise to corruption introduced a categorical rule that no factual reality can overcome as long as the decision's five-justice majority remains on the Court.

To make this point, dissenting state Justice Beth Baker wrote that Montana "made no more compelling a case than that painstakingly presented in the 90-page dissenting opinion of Justice [John Paul] Stevens and emphatically rejected by the majority in Citizens United."

And state Justice James Nelson, also dissenting, put the point more bluntly. Even while lambasting Citizens United's reasoning as "utter nonsense" and "smoke and mirrors," among other insults, he found himself duty-bound to defer to the decision of the highest court in the land. "The Supreme Court in Citizens United rejected several asserted governmental interests," wrote Nelson, "and this Court has now come along, retrieved those interests from the garbage can, dusted them off, slapped a 'Made in Montana' sticker on them, and held them up as grounds for sustaining a patently unconstitutional state statute."

Nelson wrote that it "would not surprise me in the least" if the U.S. Supreme Court reversed his court's decision without even asking for briefs or oral argument from the opposing parties.

To reverse the Montana Supreme Court, however, the justices would have to extract themselves from a quandary of their own making, noted professor Rick Hasen of the University of California-Irvine Law School on his popular Election Law Blog. "If the Court were being honest in Citizens United," Hasen wrote, "it would have said something like: We don't care whether or not independent spending can or cannot corrupt; the First Amendment trumps this risk of corruption."

But by "dress[ing] up its value judgment ... as a factual statement," continued Hasen, the U.S. Supreme Court must now explain why the Montana Supreme Court was not correct to consider the factual record when it came to justifying corporate spending limits in campaign finance laws.

How the Citizens United majority will deny the force of Montana's factual record or, for that matter, Mark Twain's observations -- and whether the Citizens United dissenters will express their schadenfreude at their colleagues' efforts -- remains hypothetical for now. Donald Ferguson, executive director of lead plaintiff American Tradition Partnership (formerly known as Western Tradition Partnership), wrote in an email to HuffPost that his organization has "not yet made a decision on future actions regarding the suit.

Obama defies Republicans with consumer agency pick

Posted: 04 Jan 2012 09:00 AM PST


President Barack Obama plans to bypass Congress and install Richard Cordray as head of the country's new consumer financial watchdog, picking an election-year fight with Republicans who have blocked the nominee.

The move to use a recess appointment, announced by the White House on Wednesday, is being cheered by Democrats and liberal advocacy groups, but it will inflame already bad relations between the White House and Republicans in Congress.

"President Obama, in an unprecedented move, has arrogantly circumvented the American people," Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement.

Republicans, who say the agency itself is a bureaucratic overreach that will hurt the economy, last month blocked a Senate vote on whether to confirm Cordray.

In advance of the 2012 election, the White House has been seeking ways to portray Republicans as obstructionists, and this marks another step Obama is taking to confront objections to his agenda.

The move will likely come with a price, however, as Republicans may now block Obama's picks for other high-profile financial regulators, with vacancies at the Federal Reserve and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

This would leave the White House to decide whether to simply appoint them as well or leave key agencies without confirmed leaders for at least another year.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial oversight law to police the market for consumer products such as credit cards and mortgages.

Democrats have heralded the bureau, which opened its doors in July, as a way to protect consumers from abusive lending practices like the type of home loans that were made in the years leading into the 2007-2009 financial crisis.

Republicans have charged the agency is a virtually unchecked government body that will hurt lending and put small banks out of business.

Republicans have made clear they do not oppose Cordray, a former Ohio attorney general who was nominated in August, but want changes made to the bureau's structure before they allow the Senate to confirm anyone to lead the CFPB.

The decision to bypass the Senate and appoint Cordray to the job was well received by Senate Democrats.

"With Richard Cordray leading the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Americans will finally get the consumer protections they deserve," Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson said in a statement.

Republicans are portraying the move as a break with tradition and possibly illegal, which has led to speculation that some group will challenge Cordray's appointment in court.

"I expect the courts will find the appointment to be illegitimate," House Speaker John Boehner said in statement.

At issue is what authority Obama has to put Cordray in the job as a recess appointment.

The president has the authority to make such a move when the Senate goes on a recess. Republicans, however, have forced the Senate to technically stay in session to try to prevent Obama from making such a move.

Republicans contend that because of these pro-forma sessions, no recess appointments can be made, a view the White House is now challenging by installing Cordray as director of the CFPB.

Under the Dodd-Frank law, the CFPB is limited in what authorities it can exercise without a director in place.

For instance, while it can supervise banks it cannot regulate non-banks, such as payday lenders, without a director.

Democrats and consumer groups have pointed to this lack of federal oversight over the "shadow banking" industry as a reason for Obama to make a recess appointment.

Bachmann says ending presidential campaign

Posted: 04 Jan 2012 08:57 AM PST


Congresswoman Michele Bachmann on Wednesday ended her campaign to become the 2012 Republican presidential candidate and called on supporters to rally behind the party's eventual nominee.

Bachmann did not say whether she would make an endorsement.

"I have decided to stand aside. I will not be continuing in the race for the presidency," Bachmann told a news conference in Des Moine, Iowa.

The announcement came a day after she received only 5 percent of the vote in the Iowa nominating caucuses, dealing what many saw as a fatal blow to her presidential ambitions.

Two Britons arrested with 30 guns in Afghanistan

Posted: 04 Jan 2012 08:54 AM PST


Two British nationals have been arrested in Afghanistan for carrying 30 unlicensed guns, police say.

The men were travelling with a local interpreter and driver on the Jalalabad road, east of Kabul.

They work for a private security company and were carrying AK-47 assault rifles - one of the most commonly used weapons in Afghanistan.

Thousands of private security guards operate in Afghanistan, including many foreigners.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has in the past accused them of undermining the security services and taking work from Afghan nationals.

The men were were arrested along with their driver and interpreter. Kabul police have called on their employers to explain why they were transporting the guns without proper documentation.

Kabul police chief Ayub Salangi told the BBC at least 15 of the AK-47s did not have serial numbers.

Local police and intelligence officials said that the weapons were purchased on the black market.

They say that all private security companies must buy their serial-numbered weapons through the interior ministry.

Consular officials from the British Embassy in Kabul are assisting the pair.

The BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Kabul says that such cases, while hardly routine, have occurred in the past.

A British man was briefly detained in 2007 for having more 100 pistols.

In the same year an American bounty hunter, Jack Idema, was pardoned by President Hamid Karzai after a period in jail for running a private prison in Kabul and torturing Afghans.

Indiana politician to stay in office during court appeal

Posted: 04 Jan 2012 08:50 AM PST


Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White can stay in office while he asks a higher court to overturn a judge's ruling that the embattled Republican was not eligible to run for the position, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Marion County Circuit Court Judge Louis Rosenberg, who ruled in December that White's opponent should be declared the winner of the 2010 election, found that turmoil could be unavoidable whether or not he allowed White to stay in office during the appeal.

If he required White to leave office and his decision were reversed by a higher court, "the negative consequences would be great and irreparable," Rosenberg said in a two-page written ruling.

The Republican secretary of state, who faces seven felony charges including vote fraud, defeated Democrat Vop Osili by more than 340,000 votes in the election. Opponents contended White was not properly registered as a candidate.

White's trial in Hamilton County on those charges is scheduled to start on January 30.

White was registered at his ex-wife's address when he voted in the May 2010 primary and was not registered at his address until after the deadline for filing a declaration of candidacy or certificate of nomination, Rosenberg ruled in December.

Rosenberg reversed a 3-0 Indiana Recount Commission decision that found White eligible and ordered the commission to certify Osili as secretary of state.

Democrats have alleged that the reason White did not change his address was so he could retain a town council position. White has denied the allegations of voter fraud.

Politics and timing are issues in the battle over White's election.

If White's election is upheld and he resigns, or is removed from office after being convicted of a felony, Republican Governor Mitch Daniels would appoint his replacement.

Official: Los Angeles arson suspect under investigation in Germany

Posted: 04 Jan 2012 08:31 AM PST


Los Angeles (CNN) -- A German man due to appear in a Los Angeles court Wednesday in connection with one of the worst arson sprees in the city's history is also under investigation for arson and fraud in his home country, a prosecution official in Germany said.

Harry Burkhart, 24, was arrested in Los Angeles early Monday after a string of 52 fires -- mostly in parked cars -- since Friday. He faces an arraignment hearing Wednesday morning.

No one was hurt in the fires, but property damage costs are likely to reach $3 million, authorities said.

On Wednesday, a German official said Burkhart was also under investigation in relation to a fire in Neukirchen, near Frankfurt.

A house owned by his family burned down in October 2011, said Annemarie Wied, the spokeswoman for the state prosecutor's office in Marburg.

"The evidence points to arson," Wied said, "because the complete inside of the house was devastated by the fire and two sources for the fire were discovered inside the building."

"No one was inside the house when the fire department was called and a claim was made with the insurance company only a day later," she added.

Wied said the investigation for arson and attempted insurance fraud was still in the early stages.
L.A. mayor: Arson suspect held, no bail

In Los Angeles, Burkhart faces one count of arson of an inhabited dwelling -- but is likely to face additional charges, said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Authorities believe Burkhart may have been motivated to set the fires because of his mother's arrest.

Police arrested his mother, 53-year-old Dorothee Burkhart, during a traffic stop December 28.

She was the subject of an international arrest warrant issued by a district court in Frankfurt, Germany, said court spokesman Gunther Meilinger, and is wanted on 16 counts of fraud and three counts of embezzlement.

The charges include an allegation that Dorothee Burkhart failed to pay for a breast enhancement operation performed on her, Meilinger said. U.S. court documents show she allegedly told the Frankfurt clinic in June 2004 that an advance payment of 7,680 euros was made by her husband through a bank transfer. As a result, the breast augmentation surgery was performed the following day.

However, the court documents said, no money had been transferred and the clinic was not paid for the surgery.

Most of the German charges, however, stem from phony real estate deals which Dorothee Burkhart allegedly conducted between 2000 and 2006.

In many cases, Meilinger alleged, she pretended to rent out an apartment she did not own, collected a deposit and then broke off contact with the prospective renters. In other cases, he said, she allegedly lived in apartments without paying rent. The embezzlement charges refer to instances where she allegedly collected deposits for apartments and could not pay them back when they were due.

Under German law, the alleged crimes constitute "severe fraud," Meilinger said. They typically carry a minimum sentence of six months in prison upon conviction, although some defendants can receive suspended sentences.

The international arrest warrant is valid for the European Union and also in countries with bilateral agreements with Germany, including the United States, he said.

The Frankfurt court is readying paperwork for an extradition request, which should be filed in the next few days, he said.

The day after her arrest in California, the first of the fires began in Los Angeles.

On Tuesday, Dorothee Burkhart appeared before a U.S. magistrate judge and did not appear to know that her son had been arrested.

"What did you do to my son?" she yelled at the judge during the hearing. "My son is disappeared since yesterday. Perhaps the German Nazis know of our address."

The mother left Germany in October for California, where she lived with Burkhart in a Hollywood apartment, according to court documents and authorities.

Wied said authorities have not determined whether Dorothee Burkhart could be involved in the German fire.

Investigators seized press clippings about arson attacks in Germany from the Burkhart's apartment in California, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
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Tuesday, 3 January 2012

Breaking News

Breaking News

How To Get Your Sleep On Track After The Holidays

Posted: 03 Jan 2012 07:33 AM PST


Have trouble waking up this morning? You're not alone. The holidays are officially over -- and for many of us, it's back to work today.

"I think it's inevitable that we are going to have to pay the piper," says HuffPost blogger Rubin Naiman, Ph.D., sleep specialist and clinical assistant professor of medicine at the University of Arizona's Center for Integrative Medicine. "If we're stealing time from sleep, we're going to have to pay it back."

Those seemingly requisite holiday cheer activities, such as enjoying a day off work by sleeping in, drinking alcohol at a party, traveling to see family and ringing in the New Year at midnight Sunday morning, can really alter your circadian rhythms, making it difficult to readjust to waking up for normal everyday life.

"This is a kind of stationary jet lag," Naiman explains, where you have pushed your internal body clock ahead one, two or even three hours. "We're actually abruptly shifting to another time zone."

And so the interventions aren't unlike those you'd use to adjust to flying from California back to New York -- Naiman says the key is to use light or light substitutes in the morning and darkness or darkness substitutes in the evening to realign your body clock.

Soak up some bright light outside when you first wake up, suggests HuffPost blogger Russell Rosenberg, Ph.D., CEO of the Atlanta School of Sleep Medicine and chairman of the board of the National Sleep Foundation -- even better if you can combine some outdoor exercise. If going outside isn't possible, spend some time in front of an artificial light box. "That will help reset your clock, your circadian rhythms," he says.

During the day, reserve caffeinated beverages for the morning, and avoid them in the late afternoon and evening. "You don't want to start a vicious cycle of not being able to sleep," Rosenberg explains. And, if you work in a place where it's acceptable to grab a quick catnap, go for it (unless you suffer from insomnia, which can only make the problem worse).

At night, Rosenberg says not to worry if you can't snap back into an earlier bedtime right away. "What's really important is to set a regular wakeup time," he explains. "The bedtime will eventually reset itself." If you can't sleep after a few minutes, get up out of bed and do a non-stressful, non-work related activity. "Don't spend hours in bed wondering when sleep is going to happen. It perpetuates insomnia because you're over thinking it."

Rosenberg says your internal body clock should re-sync itself in a few days (if you have problems beyond that, you may want to speak with a doctor).

And Naiman underscores the importance of letting the readjustment happen slowly and naturally -- a "quick fix" of increased caffeine consumption during the day and alcohol and sleeping pills at night should not be the answer. "That can take a challenging situation and make it worse," he says. Instead, he recommends having faith in your body, and taking a small dose of melatonin between 15 and 30 minutes before you go to bed, if it helps.

"One of the things that I think is really important is to remember that the body and the brain are exquisitely resilient," he says. "We're built to take these kind of changes."

Iran Warns U.S. Against Sending Carrier to Gulf

Posted: 03 Jan 2012 07:28 AM PST


The head of Iran's army warned the U.S. against sending an aircraft carrier back to the Persian Gulf after it passed through the Strait of Hormuz a week ago.

"We usually don't repeat our warning, and we warn only once," Ataollah Salehi was cited as saying by the state-run Fars news agency. "We recommend and emphasize to the American carrier not to return to the Persian Gulf."

The USS John C. Stennis, which Iran said it spotted during naval exercises, passed eastward through the Strait of Hormuz on Dec. 27 on a routine voyage and was operating in the northern Arabian Sea, said the U.S. 5th Fleet, which has a base in Bahrain. Salehi spoke today at a ceremony to mark the completion of 10 days of maneuvers by the Iranian navy on the east side of the strait in the Gulf of Oman.

Iran will block oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz if sanctions are imposed on its crude exports, as the U.S. and European Union have threatened, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency said on Dec. 27, citing Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi. Navy Commander Habibollah Sayyari said the blockage would be "easy," according to the country's Press TV.

About 15.5 million barrels of oil a day, or a sixth of global consumption, passes through the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, according to the U.S. Energy Department.

The U.S. Navy said Dec. 28 that it won't tolerate a disruption to shipping in the strait.

Iran, the world's third-largest oil exporter, is facing new trade restrictions aimed at halting what the U.S. and allies say is a plan to build nuclear weapons. Iran says its atomic program is for peaceful purposes.

Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency are expected to visit Iran soon, the Fars news agency cited Foreign Ministry

Barclays cuts Intel, Applied Materials to equal weight

Posted: 03 Jan 2012 07:26 AM PST

U.S. semiconductor stocks are in for a "volatile" 2012 as inventory correction extends into the first quarter, and an industry recovery due only in the second half, Barclays Capital said and downgraded five stocks, including Intel Corp.

Barclays lowered its ratings on Intel, Applied Materials Inc, Freescale Semiconductor Holdings Ltd, Microchip Technology Inc and Spansion Inc to "equal weight" from "overweight."

"First quarter should be the trough for semis given the ongoing inventory correction, coupled with supply chain constraints, due to muted end demand visibility," Barclays analyst C J Muse wrote in a note to clients.

Muse now expects U.S. semiconductor revenue growth to come in flat to 4 percent in 2012. He had earlier forecast growth of 2-5 percent.

According to Thomson Reuters' Starmine data, Muse is a four star-rated analyst for the accuracy of his earnings estimates on the companies under his coverage universe, which include Intel and Applied Materials.

Intel, which cut its fourth-quarter outlook citing hard drive shortages, will also see lower demand for its core PC business, Muse said.

Applied Materials is also likely to experience headwinds in its flat panel display and solar photovoltaic businesses, said the analyst.

Barclays' Muse sees volatility in the semiconductor space in 2012 with the emergence of new architecture, new computing platforms, expected refresh in operating systems, more players and the ongoing shortage in hard drives.

The analyst, however, expects semiconductor stocks to outperform end markets in the second half of 2012 and expects a 6-8 percent growth rate in 2013.

Barclays upgraded Cymer Inc, LSI Corp, Micron Technology Inc to "overweight" from "equal weight."

The Philadelphia semiconductor index fell 12 percent since the start of 2011 to end the year at 364.44 points, as the industry was hit by disruptions in supply chains with the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and flooding in Thailand.

Don't come back to Gulf, Iran warns US carrier; oil prices jump above $101

Posted: 03 Jan 2012 07:21 AM PST


TEHRAN: Iran's army chief on Tuesday warned an American aircraft carrier not to return to the Persian Gulf in Tehran's latest tough rhetoric over the strategic waterway, part of a feud with the United States over new sanctions that has sparked a jump in oil prices.

Gen. Ataollah Salehi spoke as a 10-day Iranian naval exercise ended near the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Gulf. Iranian officials have said the drill aimed to show that Iran could close the vital oil passage, as it has threatened to do if the United States enacts strong new sanctions over Iran's nuclear program.

The strait, leading into the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea, is the only possible route for tankers transporting crude from the oil-rich states of the Persian Gulf to markets. A sixth of the world's oil exports passes through it every day.

Oil prices rose to over $101 a barrel on Tuesday amid concerns that rising tensions between Western powers and Iran could lead to crude supply disruptions. By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for February delivery was up $2.67 to $101.50 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The jump came a day after Iran test-fired a surface-to-surface cruise missile as part of the maneuvers, prompting Iran's navy chief to boast that the strait is "completely under our control."

Salehi's warning for the US aircraft carrier not to come back seemed aimed at further depicting the strait and the Gulf as under Iran's domination, though there was little way to enforce his warning without military action. The strait is divided between Iran and Oman's territorial waters, and international law requires them to allow free passage through it.

"We recommend to the American warship that passed through the Strait of Hormuz and went to Gulf of Oman not to return to the Persian Gulf," Salehi was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA.

He said Iran's enemies have understood the message of the naval exercises, saying, "We have no plan to begin any irrational act but we are ready against any threat."

The aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis and another vessel exited the Gulf through the Hormuz Strait a week ago, after a visit to Dubai's Jebel Ali port, according to the US Navy's Bahrain-based 5th Fleet. The Fleet did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Salehi's warning.

Iran's sabre-rattling over the strait and the Gulf has come in response to US preparations to impose tough new sanctions that would ban dealings with Iran's Central Bank. That would deeply hurt Iran's oil exports since most countries and companies use the bank to conduct purchases of Iranian crude. Iran relies on oil revenues for around 80 per cent of its budget, meaning a cut-off would be devastating to its already weakening economy.

President Barack Obama has signed the sanctions into law but has not yet enacted them. The sanctions would be the strongest yet by the US, aimed at forcing Tehran to back of its nuclear program, which many in the West say is intended to produce a nuclear weapon. Iran denies the claim, saying its program is peaceful.

French foreign minister Alain Juppe said on Tuesday that is country wants Europe to agree on similar sanctions against Iran by Jan 30 to show its determination to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. He told the French television station i>TELE that there is "no doubt" that Iran is continuing with plans to build a bomb.

Iran's naval maneuvers took place over a 1,250-mile (2,000-kilometer) stretch of water beyond the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, as well as parts of the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden, according to Iranian officials.

A leading Iranian lawmaker said on Sunday the maneuvers served as practice for closing the strait if the West enacts sanctions blocking Iranian oil sales. Top Iranian officials made the same threat last week.

Taliban say office in Qatar has been agreed

Posted: 03 Jan 2012 07:17 AM PST


The Afghan Taliban said Tuesday they have reached a preliminary agreement to set up a political office in the Gulf nation of Qatar, and asked for the release of prisoners held at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay.

The Taliban office is seen by Western and Afghan officials as a crucial step to moving forward with secretive attempts to reach a negotiated end to a decade of war in Afghanistan.

"We are right now ready ... to have a political office overseas, in order to have an understanding with the international (community), and in this regard we have reached an initial understanding with Qatar and relevant sites," spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in an emailed statement.

Afghanistan's high peace council said in late December Kabul would accept a Taliban liaison office in Qatar -- although Saudi Arabia and Turkey were Afghanistan's preferred choices -- but underlined that no foreign power could get involved in the negotiating process without its consent.

Senior U.S. officials told Reuters late last month that, after 10 months of dialogue with the Taliban, talks had reached a critical juncture and they will soon know whether a breakthrough is possible.

As part of the accelerating, high-stakes diplomacy, the United States is considering the transfer of several high-profile Taliban prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay military prison into Afghan government custody.

Mujahid also called for the release of Taliban prisoners.

"The Islamic Emirate has also asked for the release of the Guantanamo prisoners," the statement said, using the Afghan Taliban's own name for its movement.

Afghanistan's leaders have expressed concerns that any office be used only as an address to help negotiators verify the identity of anyone claiming to represent the Taliban, rather than as a base to build political clout.

The call for an address came after a series of failed efforts by Afghans and their Western allies, some of them with interlocutors who turned out to be frauds.

These culminated in the September, 2010, assassination of Karzai's top peace envoy by a man accepted as a Taliban representative, which appeared to destroy the president's appetite for negotiations, but he has recently renewed his support.

Egyptians head to polls again in parliament vote

Posted: 03 Jan 2012 07:15 AM PST


Party agents flooded the streets with banners and verses from the Koran as the third phase of Egypt's parliamentary election began on Tuesday, with Islamists trying to dominate an assembly that will rival the clout of the ruling generals.

The army faced anger over its handling of protests that left 17 people dead in Cairo last month and an economic crisis has made it harder to meet the aspirations of citizens yearning for a better life since the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak.

In an industrial region north of Cairo where labor disputes over low wages preceded the wider protests that brought down Mubarak, optimism was high as residents lined up to vote.

"I am glad to be alive to witness this - a free election in Egypt," said Ahmed Ali al-Nagar, a carpenter in his late 50s from Mahalla el-Kubra. "Workers had a big impact on the political outcome we are living through these days."

Islamists came late to the uprising that unseated Mubarak in February, but were well placed to seize the moment when Egyptians were handed the first chance in six decades to choose their representatives freely.

The military says the parliamentary vote will not be derailed by the eruptions of violence.

The Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) led after the first two rounds, and the strong showing by Islamist movements has sown unease among Western powers that only disowned Mubarak when his three-decade rule was crumbling.

Many citizens see the first fair election they can remember as a chance to end the blight of incompetent leadership and a culture of venality among the powerful that enriched a few and left millions in poverty.

The concluding vote to parliament's lower house takes in regions of the rural south, which has the largest proportions of Christian voters, the Nile Delta region north of the capital Cairo, and the restive Sinai desert region to the east.

Turnout has been far higher and the election atmosphere less tense than in Mubarak's day, when ballot stuffing, thuggery and vote-rigging guaranteed landslide wins for his party.

In Mahalla and the wealthier city of Mansoura, queues at polling stations were shorter than in previous rounds but voting appeared orderly.

Streets were dotted with the posters of parties, especially the Brotherhood and hardline Islamist al-Nour party, promising an end to corruption.

"I have chosen to vote for the Freedom and Justice Party as I like its talk and I think it has a long history and experience and I think they will help us the most," said Amany al-Mursy, a smiling middle-aged woman from Mansoura.

"And if it does not do as we hoped, Tahrir Square is still there. If something goes wrong, we will go out and say something is wrong and remove the wrong people and replace them."

POLICE RAID VOTE MONITORS

Egyptians turned out in unprecedented numbers in the first two rounds and parties ranging from hardline Islamists to liberals and secularists are competing hard for every vote.

Brotherhood banners in Mahalla carried its motto "Islam is the solution" alongside its FJP party logo, in defiance of a ban on religious slogans. In Minya in the rural south, some campaign banners carried verses from the Koran.

Flyers for the hardline Islamist al-Nour party carried names of influential families who had lent their support. Nour drew on the grass-roots influence of the Salafi clerics who founded it to take second spot in the first voting rounds.

Monitors praised the first two rounds as relatively free of irregularities, while noting that many parties had defied a ban on campaigning outside polling stations in election day.

But police raids on pro-democracy and rights groups last week have disrupted the work of leading Western-backed election monitors and drawn accusations that the army was deliberately trying to weaken oversight of the vote and silence opponents.

The government said the raids were part of an investigation into illegal foreign funding of political parties and not aimed at weakening rights groups, which have been among the fiercest critics of the army's rule.

The United States called on Egyptian authorities to halt "harassment" of the groups involved. Egypt's government said some of the groups had no permits to operate in the country.

The U.S.-funded International Republican Institute (IRI) said it was invited by Egypt's government to monitor the election and gave no funding to parties or civic groups.

It urged the government to let staff return to their offices and obtain the official permits they had long requested and said there was no reason to stop it monitoring the vote.

Another U.S.-backed group, the National Democratic Institute (NDI), said it was pressing ahead with monitoring even though police had not returned equipment, documents and money they seized without providing a warrant or an inventory.

"NDI hopes that the confiscated items will be returned promptly," it said, so the group can "resume a constructive dialogue with the appropriate authorities about its work and legitimate efforts to support the democratic process in Egypt."

Fourteen million eligible voters in nine regions were choosing who occupies 150 of the seats in parliament. The staggered lower-house election concludes with a run-off vote on January 10 and 11, with final results expected on January 13.

women terrorists

Posted: 03 Jan 2012 07:12 AM PST

NEW DELHI: The Lashkar-e-Taiba is raising a group of 21 female terrorists at its training camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir for carrying out sabotage activities in India, Army sources said on Tuesday.

"We have confirmed reports that LeT is imparting training to 21 selected female terrorists at its training facilities in Muzaffarabad in PoK for carrying out terrorist activities in India," an Army official said here.

They said the new group, named as Dukhtareen-e-Taiba, is planned to be made active in the Kashmir Valley by the LeT.

In the recent past also, reports have suggested presence of female terrorists operatives in the 42 active terror training camps in PoK.

The women terrorists are planned to be infiltrated into India through routes in Uri sector or using the aerial route through some other country.

Sources said the raising of the female terror group was brainchild of LeT senior functionary and mastermind of Mumbai terror attacks Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.

They said the terror group has suffered serious setbacks in Jammu and Kashmir with the elimination of their top leadership by the security forces.

They are also working on recruiting local youth in certain areas of the state, including Pulwama, to expand terror network and the task has been assigned to a person, Usman Bhai alias Chhota Rehman, they said.

Meteor shower to kick off 2012

Posted: 03 Jan 2012 07:06 AM PST


The Quadrantids, named for a now-extinct constellation, will be visible for two hours early Wednesday, from about 3 to 5 a.m. local times.

The shower is likely to produce up to 100 falling stars an hour, making for a good show. People across North America who stay up late enough, and who have a clear sky, should get a nice view, says Conrad Jung, an astronomer at Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland.

Other than typical January temperatures, the weather should cooperate for watchers: "Viewing should be great over most of the country," reports Weather Channel meteorologist Mark Ressler. The only potentially cloudy spots should be in the Pacific Northwest, the Great Lakes and parts of the Northeast, he says.

It's possible that the East may get a more intense shower because it will go through the densest part of the debris stream first. "But that doesn't mean the West won't see anything," he says.

"There should be a meteor every minute or so at the very least," he says.

The shower is called the "Quads" by astronomers, says Bill Cooke, who tracks "space rocks" as director of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. "They're one of the more active meteor showers of the year, but they're not seen by many people" because they occur in early morning hours in winter, he says. "It's very cold around that time, so people don't want to go outside."

The Quadrantids are also less seen because they're short-lived and relatively little is known about them, he says. The Quadrantids are visible for two hours, then are gone for a year.

The meteors will be coming out of the northern portion of the sky, between a somewhat obscure constellation called Boötes and the handle of the Big Dipper.

As for the somewhat odd name of Quandrantids, it's pronounced Quad-RON-tihds, Jung says. Its name comes from a so-called extinct constellation called the Quadrans Muralis. That doesn't mean the stars have disappeared, only that it's a constellation that's no longer recognized by the International Astronomical Union. It fell by the wayside in the early 20th century, when the constellations were formalized, Jung says.

The shower comes from the remnants of a comet named 2003EH1, which probably broke up in the past 500 years. The tiny particles of rock that remain will enter Earth's atmosphere at 90,000 mph, burning up 50 miles above the surface and creating the falling stars that gazers will see.

"It's possible that 2003EH1 was seen by the Chinese back in the 1490s as a comet, so something the Chinese saw over five centuries ago is probably the parent of the Quadrantids," Cooke says.

Authorities probe cause of Florida women's clinic blaze

Posted: 03 Jan 2012 07:04 AM PST


Accelerant-sniffing dogs will be at a Pensacola, Florida, women's clinic Tuesday as authorities work to determine the cause of a blaze early Sunday that caused extensive damage to the building, officials said.

"We have determined the fire originated outside the building, but haven't determined the exact cause," said Deborah Cox, spokeswoman for the Florida State Fire Marshal's office.

Agents from the FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have joined local authorities in the investigation into the fire at the American Family Planning clinic, Cox said.

Over work

Posted: 03 Jan 2012 07:00 AM PST

two persons who are working 18 hour a day!
VEENA Malik 


 






 AND

Rahman Malik





This statement was given by a famous politician of pakistan

Stephen Lawrence murder: Dobson and Norris found guilty

Posted: 03 Jan 2012 06:52 AM PST


Two men have been convicted of the racist murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence - 18 years after the attack.

Gary Dobson, 36, and David Norris, 35, were found guilty by a jury at the Old Bailey after a trial focused on forensic evidence seized in 1993.

Scientists found a tiny blood stain on Dobson's jacket that could only have come from Mr Lawrence.

As he was led down, Gary Dobson told the jury they had condemned an "innocent man".

Stephen's parents, Doreen and Neville, wept in court as the jury found both men guilty. Duwayne Brooks, Stephen's best friend who had been with him on the night of the murder, tweeted: "Some justice at last".

The original failed investigation led to the Metropolitan Police being branded as institutionally racist.

Stephen Lawrence was 18 when he was stabbed to death near a bus stop in Eltham, south London, in April 1993. Police identified five men who were later named in a damning public inquiry as the "prime suspects".
Continue reading the main story
18 YEARS ON: THE EVIDENCE

    Tiny blood stain on Dobson's jacket
    Scientists found DNA and matched it to Stephen
    Clothing fibres matched victim's clothes
    Single 2mm hair matched to teenager

By that time there had already been a catalogue of police errors and two failed prosecutions, one brought by Stephen's parents, Doreen and Neville Lawrence.

But in a four-year-long cold case review, a fresh team of forensic scientists uncovered microscopic evidence linking the men to the murder - evidence that the police had held all along.

The material - blood stains, clothing fibres and a single hair belonging to the teenager - were recovered from the clothes of the suspects which had been seized in 1993.

Scientists recovered the material using advanced techniques which were not available to the original case scientists.

Dobson and Norris, who denied the murder, said their clothing had been contaminated as police mixed up evidence down the years. Detectives spent months establishing the movements and handling of the exhibits since 1993 - and the jury were told that contamination was implausible.

Gary Dobson, jailed in 2010 for drugs trafficking, is among a small number of men to have been tried twice for the same crime after the Court of Appeal quashed his 1996 acquittal for the murder.

 
In an exclusive interview with the BBC's Panorama, Stephen's mother Doreen Lawrence said: "I don't forgive the boys who killed Stephen. They don't think they have done anything wrong.

"They took away Stephen's life and there is nothing in their behaviour or anything to show they they regret what their actions have done and the pain it has caused us as a family."

Acting Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick, who ordered the 2006 cold case review that led to the convictions, said the case had been extremely important for the Lawrence family, the Metropolitan Police and society at large.

She said: "It has been a unique case in policing. Firstly the horrible, horrible nature of the attack on the night. The time in which it has taken to bring anybody to justice and the tireless campaigning of the Lawrences.

"There is no comparable case. All homicide cases are terrible, but for us it is a very important case. Most importantly we wanted to be able to bring people to justice for the killing and try to give Doreen and Neville Lawrence and their family some sense of justice."

Taliban back Western proposal to open Qatar office

Posted: 03 Jan 2012 06:48 AM PST


The Taliban say they have reached a preliminary agreement to set up a political office, possibly in Qatar, as part of Western plans to end the war.

A statement confirmed the move, which has been backed by Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Both the US and Germany have been pushing for such a representation in an effort to kick-start negotiations.

The office is seen by some as a key step towards ending the 10-year-long conflict in Afghanistan.

The move was welcomed by the Afghan High Peace Council, which is seeking a negotiated end to the war, as "a gesture of good faith".

But it still remains unclear if the insurgents, who claim to be winning the war, are prepared to engage in truly meaningful peace talks - and whether they could take place while international forces continue to kill Taliban fighters and commanders, says the BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Kabul.
Importance of address

In their statement, the insurgents said Afghanistan's "current problem" began with the US-led invasion of 2001 and "the two main sides which were involved in this are the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan [Taliban] and on the other side is the United States and their foreign allies".
Continue reading the main story
Analysis
image of Quentin Sommerville Quentin Sommerville BBC News, Kabul

The establishment of an office is thought by some to be a critical step in reaching a political settlement to the 10-year long conflict. It would give the group an address where negotiators could meet. Establishing the authenticity of would-be negotiators from the Taliban has been a problem in the past.

It is the US and Germany that have been pushing for this. Earlier preconditions that the insurgents would have to lay down arms before any such representation appear to have been dropped. The push for a peace process, with a reluctant President Karzai falling in line, appears to be under way.

Some senior military commanders here say that the Bonn conference, where the international community gave a long-term commitment to Afghanistan, was a wake-up call for the insurgents. They face the prospect of growing old, as exiles, in the Pakistani city of Quetta, commented one senior Isaf commander.

But it is far from certain that the Taliban truly want to negotiate. They know foreign troops are leaving in 2014. And there will be reluctance from some within the group's leadership to sit down and talk with representatives from countries who are killing Taliban soldiers and commanders.

It said the Taliban movement "always tries to solve the issue or the problem with the opposite side through talks" and warned the Western coalition that they would "never force the Afghans to obey them by force".

"For the sake of a better understanding with the internationals, we have an initial understanding to have a political office - including in the country of Qatar."

The statement added that they wanted prisoners released from the US-run detention centre in Guantanamo Bay, as part of a deal.

And it also rejected as false reports by "Western press and officials" about negotiations.

The agreement to set up the liaison office would give the group an address where negotiators could meet, says our Kabul correspondent, and some see this agreement as a critical step.

Establishing the authenticity of would-be negotiators from the Taliban has been a problem in the past.

Last month, President Karzai gave his first public support to the plan - having previously rejected the idea, angry that the US and Germany had discussed potential locations without him.

Kabul has repeatedly stressed that it will not accept any foreign intervention in negotiations with the Taliban.

Efforts to hold talks have been hit by a string of setbacks, including the assassination in September of Burhannudin Rabbani, the head of the peace council, which had been liaising with the militant group.

The Taliban denied being responsible, but said the attack added to the sense of mistrust.

A senior negotiator on the council, Arsala Rahmani, said the Taliban needed to be in touch with the international community.

We welcome their decision to set up a political office," he told Reuters news agency.

"It is a gesture of good faith. The Taliban are blacklisted by the US so it is very important for them to engage in talks with the US."

US and Afghan officials have also stressed that Pakistan - where the Taliban's leadership are believed to be based - must be involved in the process.

Iran threatens U.S. Navy as sanctions hit economy

Posted: 03 Jan 2012 06:45 AM PST


Iran threatened Tuesday to take action if the U.S. Navy moves an aircraft carrier into the Gulf, Tehran's most aggressive statement yet after weeks of saber-rattling as new U.S. and EU financial sanctions take a toll on its economy.

The prospect of sanctions targeting the oil sector in a serious way for the first time has hit Iran's rial currency, which has fallen by 40 percent against the dollar in the past month.

Queues formed at banks and some currency exchange offices shut their doors as Iranians scrambled to buy dollars to protect their savings from the currency's fall.

Army chief Ataollah Salehi said the United States had moved an aircraft carrier out of the Gulf from because of Iran's naval exercises, and Iran would take action if the ship returned.

It did not name the carrier, but the USS John C Stennis leads a task force in the region, and the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet website pictured it in the Arabian Sea last week.

"Iran will not repeat its warning ... the enemy's carrier has been moved to the Sea of Oman because of our drill. I recommend and emphasize to the American carrier not to return to the Persian Gulf," army chief Salehi said.

"I advise, recommend and warn them over the return of this carrier to the Persian Gulf because we are not in the habit of warning more than once."

Lieutenant Rebecca Rebarich, spokeswoman for the U.S. 5th Fleet based in Bahrain, said she was not immediately able to respond.

Tehran's threat comes at a time when sanctions are having an unprecedented impact on its economy, and the country faces political uncertainty with an election in March, its first since a 2009 vote that triggered countrywide demonstrations.

The West has imposed the increasingly tight sanctions over Iran's nuclear program, which Tehran says is strictly peaceful but Western countries believe aims to build an atomic bomb.

After years of sanctions that had little impact, the latest measures are the first that could have a serious effect on Iran's oil trade, 60 percent of its economy.

New sanctions signed into law by U.S. President Barack Obama on New Year's Eve would cut off any financial institutions that work with Iran's central bank from the U.S. financial system, blocking the main path for payments for Iranian oil.

The EU is expected to impose new sanctions by the end of this month, possibly including a ban on oil imports.

Even Iran's top trading partner China - which has refused to back new global sanctions against Iran - is demanding discounts to buy Iranian oil as Tehran's options narrow. Beijing has cut its imports of Iranian crude by more than half for January and, paying premiums for crude from Russia and Vietnam to replace it.

THREATS

Iran has responded to the tighter measures with increasingly belligerent rhetoric.

It spooked oil markets briefly when it announced last month it could prevent shipping through the Straight of Hormuz - a narrow shipping lane through which flows 40 percent of the world's oil trade - if sanctions hurt its own oil business.

It then held 10 days of naval exercises in the Gulf, test firing long range missiles that could hit Israel or U.S. bases in the Middle East. But Tuesday's apparent threat to take action against the U.S. military for sailing in international waters takes the aggressive rhetoric to a new level.

The new U.S. sanctions law, if implemented fully, would make it impossible for many refineries to pay Iran for crude. It imposes measures gradually and allows Obama to offer temporary waivers to prevent an oil price shock.

The European Union is expected to consider new measures by the end of this month, possibly including a blockade. EU members such as such as crisis-hit Greece are still buyers of Iranian oil, which trades at a discount.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Paris wants new measures taken by January 30, when EU foreign ministers meet.

"France ... wants sanctions toughened and the president (Nicolas Sarkozy) has made two concrete proposals on that front - the first being the freezing of Iranian central bank assets, a tough measure, and the second an embargo on Iranian oil exports," Juppe told i>tele, a French TV channel.

Michael Mann, spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, said member states would discuss the issue this week in the hope of reaching an agreement on new steps before the January 30 meeting.

"The ball is still in the Iranians' court," he said.

Although China, India and other countries are unlikely to sign up to any oil embargo, they will be able to insist on deeper discounts, potentially reducing the income Tehran receives from oil.

Beijing has been driving a hard bargain. China, which bought 11 percent of its oil from Iran during the first 11 months of last year, has cut its January purchase by about 285,000 barrels per day, more than half of the close to 550,000 bpd that it bought through a 2011 contract.

The impact of falling government income from oil sales can be felt on the streets in Iran in soaring prices for state subsidized goods and a falling rial currency.

Some exchange offices in Tehran, when contacted by Reuters, said there was no trading taking place until further notice.

"The rate is changing every second ... We are not taking in any rials to change to dollars or any other foreign currency," said Hamid Bakshi in central Tehran.

Housewife Zohreh Ghobadi, waiting in a long line at a bank, said she was trying to withdraw her savings and change it into dollars.

Iranian authorities played down any link between the souring exchange rate and the imposition of the new sanctions.

"The new American sanctions have not materialized yet," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told a news conference Tuesday. "It will take a few months until these sanctions are fully implemented."

The economic impact is being felt ahead of a nationwide parliamentary election on March 2, the first vote since a disputed 2009 presidential election that led to the worst unrest since Iran's 1979 revolution.

Tight race in Iowa kicks off 2012 campaign

Posted: 03 Jan 2012 06:39 AM PST


Iowa Republicans cast the first votes of the 2012 White House campaign on Tuesday, with Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul in a high-stakes battle to win the party's kick-off nominating contest.

Voters will gather in schools, libraries and other public spots across the state to render judgment in the frequently shifting Republican race to pick a challenger to President Barack Obama in the November 6 election.

Santorum, a conservative former senator from Pennsylvania, is the latest candidate to rise in polls in a race that has seen a handful of hopefuls roll through the top spot.

He is battling Romney, the national front-runner and narrow leader in Iowa polls, and libertarian Paul for a crucial win in Iowa that could provide momentum and a surge of new donations as the race moves to next week's contest New Hampshire.

"Get folks and bring them to the caucus with you," Santorum told supporters in Perry, Iowa, on Monday as each of the candidates made a final pitch for votes and tried to bolster their turnout.

Iowa polls showed many voters could still change their mind before Tuesday night, adding an element of unpredictability to an already fluid race.

"I'm undecided, and I'm still in the same boat as when I came," said Zander Morales, a hospital worker in Des Moines after he attended a rally on Monday for Paul, the congressman from Texas. "I'm not sure what I'm going to do."

Republican voters in Iowa gather for the caucuses at more than 800 sites across the state beginning at 7 p.m. EST. Results should begin to come in within a few hours.

The event is the culmination of months of campaigning in Iowa, and starts a frenzied schedule that will include a half-dozen debates in January and three more state contests -- on January 10 in New Hampshire, January 21 in South Carolina and January 31 in Florida.

GANGING UP ON SANTORUM

The stakes are high for each of the six candidates competing in Iowa. Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, is aiming for a win that could ease persistent conservative doubts about his record and propel him toward clinching the nomination early.

Struggling rivals like Texas Governor Rick Perry and Representative Michele Bachmann are fighting for at least a fourth-place finish that could keep their flickering White House hopes alive.

And Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker who led the race just weeks ago, aims to end his slide and prove he can make a comeback.

Santorum was trying to consolidate fractured religious and social conservatives in Iowa and emerge as the leading conservative alternative to Romney.

But Perry, Paul and Romney criticized Santorum for backing costly spending bills when he served in the Senate, hoping to halt his rise in the final hours of the campaign.

"He spends too much money," Paul told CNN.

Iowa's nominating contest has a spotty track record of picking winners, but has traditionally cleared the presidential field of losers and elevated surprise contenders.

Polls show Romney performs best of all the Republicans in head-to-head matchups with Obama in a general election campaign certain to focus on the economy and high unemployment.

But some voters in Iowa were torn between their urge to reclaim the White House from Obama and their search for a candidate who best meets their conservative principles.

Santorum supporter Peggy Greenfield of Clive, Iowa, said she was drawn by his "consistent family values" and foreign policy knowledge.

"When people see the momentum he has going it gives them the courage to go out and caucus for him," she said.
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