Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/166818116?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Monday, November 28, 2011
Good Reads: Iran, Israel, and Qatar. What's their game?
Israel denies killing an Iranian weapons scientist. Iran detains and releases a Taliban insider. Qatar foments an Arab Spring. Why is everyone suddenly acting like bit players in a Graham Greene novel??
It?s a question very much on people?s minds these days: What is Iran?s game plan?
Skip to next paragraphThe country is allegedly still engaged in a nuclear weapons program, although it denies this. It continues to prop up allies and militant groups throughout the Middle East, including Syria?s embattled President Bashar al-Assad and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. And they?ve been detaining and releasing a number of top Al Qaeda and Afghan Taliban leaders since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001.
What possible use might Iran have for a bunch of elderly Islamists under house arrest?
Leah Farrall, writing for The Atlantic magazine, met one of the Taliban?s foremost advisers, the Egyptian-born journalist Mustafa Hamid, recently at a cafe in Alexandria, Egypt. They discussed his years in detention and his own theories about Iran?s ambitions in the Middle East. Mr. Hamid says he is at a loss to understand why Iran held onto him so long, but he believes the Islamic Republic had more than compassion on its mind when they released him two months ago.
?"Iran only kept those who it could use as playing cards," Hamid says. "Because the Americans say I am important, they thought that they had caught a big fish." Hamid believes that those who remain in Iran ? which reportedly include senior al Qaeda and Egyptian Islamic Jihad leaders as well as a number of other militants of significant stature or experience ? are being held as bargaining chips. "The others who remain, they are being treated as playing cards," he said. "Iran wants to use them to make a deal, and so I don't feel that they are going to release them for this reason."
If, as Hamid believes, Iran is playing a game in the Middle East, it is not the only nation to do so.
Scott Peterson, in yesterday?s Christian Science Monitor, writes a well-researched piece tracing a string of assassinations against Iran?s nuclear scientists and weapons experts. The latest to die, on Saturday at a mysterious blast at a weapons depot outside of Tehran, was Maj. Gen. Hassan Moghaddam, the proclaimed ?father? of Iran?s missile program.
Iran claims that the blast was an accident. Regional experts note that Iran has had a number of strange accidents lately, including a computer virus that accidentally shut down 1,000 of its 8,000 uranium-enrichment centrifuges; and two nuclear scientists who accidently drove past motorcycles who accidently placed ?sticky bombs? to the side of their cars. One of those scientists accidentally died.
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India cops accused of beating AP cameraman, others (AP)
SRINAGAR, India ? An Associated Press cameraman and at least three other journalists said they were assaulted by police and paramilitary forces Friday as they covered a protest in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
Umar Meraj was beaten for several minutes by security forces using rifle butts, batons, fists and a barrage of kicks, according to Meraj and other witnesses.
Local journalists have repeatedly complained of harassment and assaults by police in the tumultuous Himalayan territory. Meraj was assaulted by police at a checkpoint in its main city of Srinagar last year along with his father, Meraj Uddin Dar, also an AP journalist.
Umar Meraj was covering a strike Friday that closed businesses and schools in the region to protest the alleged detention of young political protesters and stone throwers. Separatist protesters routinely take to the streets in Kashmir, calling for independence or merger with Pakistan.
Police said most of the minors had been arrested on charges of rape, murder and other crimes and released on bail.
Clashes broke out during a demonstration in downtown Srinagar and Meraj and two other journalists fled into an alley, the men said. Police and paramilitary forces entered the alley from both sides and began assaulting the journalists, Meraj said.
He fell to the floor and nearly lost consciousness during the assault, he said. Photographer Yawar Nazir, who said he was also beaten, said troops dragged Meraj back onto the main road where other security officials rushed to join in the assault. Freelance photographer Showkat Shafi was also beaten by security forces in the alley, the men said.
The security forces also grabbed Meraj's camera and hit it with their guns and batons as well, destroying it, Meraj said.
After the assault, Meraj was left battered and vomiting by the roadside, where an AP photographer found him. He was admitted to the hospital, where he underwent tests for internal injuries.
A fourth journalist covering the rally, a photographer for a Hindi newspaper, was assaulted by security forces in another area and then detained, according to witnesses.
Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah told AP he would look into the incident.
A police statement issued after the assault said security forces had "exercised maximum restraint" in the face of stone throwing at the rally, but eventually gave chase to protesters.
"Some photojournalists, who had intermingled with the crowd to cover this subversive activity, got trampled down by the fleeing miscreants," the statement said.
In August, Shafi and a Mexican photographer said police beat and detained them while they were covering a street protest. Doctors confirmed the photographers were badly bruised. Reporters Without Borders accused paramilitary forces of beating up 12 journalists covering a demonstration last year.
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Sunday, November 27, 2011
India minister: New retail policy has safeguards (AP)
NEW DELHI ? India's commerce minister said Friday that the decision to open the country's $400 billion retail sector to global chains such as Wal-Mart has a built-in safety net for small shops and farmers.
Anand Sharma told reporters that the Indian cabinet's decision late Thursday allowing 51 percent foreign ownership of supermarkets would vastly improve decrepit infrastructure that causes massive food waste in a country plagued by malnutrition and high inflation.
Sharma said the new rule would only apply in cities with more than one million people. The minimum investment would be $100 million and half of this would have to be invested in rural infrastructure and refrigerated transport and storage. Thirty percent of the produce sourced by the retailer would also have to come from small and medium enterprises.
Top retailers such as Wal-Mart and Tesco have lobbied for years for a chance to build stores in the nation of 1.2 billion people and political deadlock on long-promised reforms in retail and other areas has helped cool foreign investor interest in India. Foreign retailers have Indian partners in wholesale operations, but no retail stores.
The Cabinet also allowed 100 percent foreign ownership of single-brand retail operations, up from 51 percent.
Advocates see the move as a way to strengthen India's creaking food distribution system.
The country suffers chronically high malnutrition and soaring inflation, but it's not for lack of food. It is the world's second largest grower of fresh produce, yet loses an estimated 40 percent of fruit and vegetables to rot because of a lack of refrigerated trucking and warehouses, poor roads, inclement weather and corruption. That translates into lower incomes for farmers and higher prices for consumers.
If companies like Wal-Mart and Tesco can open shops of their own, the investments they make in improving farming techniques and getting produce into stores more efficiently, could bring down food inflation and possibly improving rural incomes.
Sharma said the policy would have a "multiplier effect" and tens of millions of people would gain jobs.
Analysts say India's darkening economic prospects gave fresh urgency to the decade-long talks on opening up India's retail sector. Many see Thursday's move as an attempt by the ruling Congress Party to reassert its leadership, which has been weakened by corruption scandals, soaring inflation and slowing growth.
"When the government's credibility seems to be under significant question, this is one way to give a message that the government is still in business and it means business," said Arvind Singhal, chairman of retail consultancy Technopak Advisors.
The cabinet this month also indicated that it is open to allowing 26 percent foreign investment in pension fund management ? another headline item in the Congress Party's promised second wave of economic reforms, which follow a round of liberalization forced by a balance of payments crisis in the early 1990s.
The central bank has raised interest rates by 5.25 percentage points over the last 18 months but that hasn't been enough to control runaway inflation or the rupee's freefall. Food inflation, which quickly becomes a political issue in India, has been bouncing into the double digits since 2008 and now stands at 9.1 percent.
"Monetary policy interventions have not been able to control inflation," Singhal said. "Now they have to look into supply side policy, which could have an impact."
International investors, who have grown increasingly wary of corruption, surprise tax bills and shifting regulations in India, have also put pressure on the government to make good on old promises to grant them greater access.
Rajan Bharti Mittal, vice chairman and managing director of Bharti Enterprises, said Friday that the retail move was a "major landmark in India's economic reforms process."
Bharti's joint venture with Wal-Mart has 13 wholesale outlets in India and sources produce from thousands of farmers.
"We have always stated that development of organized retail in India will bring immense benefits across the value chain ? from farmers to small manufacturers and above all to consumers, while creating enormous employment opportunities at the bottom of the pyramid," Mittal said in a statement.
Wal-Mart, British-based Tesco PLC and French-based retailer Carrefour welcomed the decision.
"This legal evolution should contribute to modernize the Indian food supply chain and to fight against food inflation for the benefit of Indian customers," Carrefour said in a statement.
The change, which does not require approval by India's fractious Parliament, was opposed by the Trinamool Congress Party, a key partner in the ruling coalition, and the main opposition BJP party. The country has struggled to find consensus because of concerns that competition from the foreign retail giants could hurt millions of small shopkeepers, as well as the poor.
Sharma said the new policy had been reached through a "transparent and democratic process of consultation with all the stake holders."
India's $400 billion retail sector is the nation's second-largest employer, after agriculture, according to consulting firm Deloitte.
Ashish Sanyal, managing director of retailing consultancy AMP Retail Services, said small businesses had nothing to fear from the big chains.
"At the end of the day this is like the high tide. All boats will rise. We will learn from the big retailers," he said.
___
AP Business Writer Erika Kinetz in Mumbai contributed to this report.
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Blasts kill 15 in Iraq as US troops pull out (AP)
BAGHDAD, ? A string of explosions hit a Baghdad market and the capital's western outskirts on Saturday, killing at least 15 people and exposing the challenges still facing Iraqi security forces just over a month before all American troops leave the country.
The bombings mark the second major attack against Iraqi civilians this week and come as American forces are packing up to leave and handing over their remaining security responsibilities to Iraqi forces. Many Iraqis are concerned that insurgents may use the transition period to launch more attacks in a bid to regain their former prominence and destabilize the country.
Iraqi security officials maintain that they are fully prepared for the American withdrawal, which is required under a 2008 security pact between the U.S. and Iraq. About 15,000 U.S. troops remain in the country, down from a one-time high of about 170,000.
Earlier this week, the top U.S. general in Iraq, Lloyd Austin, said that there would likely be some "turbulence" after American troops leave. But he did not think there would be a wholesale descent into violence.
The first blasts Saturday struck an area where people looking for work were gathered in the mostly Sunni village of al-Zaidan, west of Baghdad. Seven people were killed and 11 others were wounded, police officials said.
Hours later, three bombs exploded near kiosks in a market in downtown Baghdad where vendors were selling CDs and military uniforms, killing eight people and wounding 19 others.
"I went outside my shop and saw people running in all directions trying to leave the market area. I saw several bodies and wounded people on the ground," said Mohammed Youssef, who owns a clothing shop in the area.
Iraqi military commanders later ordered all the vendors selling products in the area to close up their kiosks and move, in an attempt to clear out the area and make it harder for insurgents to hide bombs.
Health officials at Abu Ghraib's general hospital and at three hospitals in Baghdad confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.
The market had until recently been protected by blast walls, but the military spokesman for Baghdad, Qassim al-Moussawi, said they were removed because the security situation in the city has been improving.
The bombers "try to prove their presence and hinder our efforts to remove all the concrete walls, but we will continue removing them and keeping control," he said.
Baghdad is crisscrossed with concrete blast walls that both reassure and frustrate residents. The walls helped reduce violence and protect areas such as markets or major buildings. But they also create huge traffic jams and hurt the economy.
The Iraqi security forces have been slowly removing the blast walls, but some people in the market area Saturday said they wanted them back.
"We have been expecting something bad in the market after the security forces removed the blast barriers a few days ago," said Youssef.
Violence has ebbed across Iraq since the height of the fighting, but deadly bombings and shootings still occur almost daily as U.S. troops prepare to leave. On Thursday evening, 19 people died in the southern city of Basra after three bombs went off in quick succession.
As the U.S. has drawn down the number of American troops in Iraq over the last year, the U.S. military has played more of an advising role to Iraqi security forces, leaving the more high-profile jobs such as patrolling and manning checkpoints to Iraqi security forces.
But U.S. troops have played a key role in helping Iraqi forces gather intelligence on suspected insurgents, something that will be lost when the American military departs.
In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Gen. Austin said that Iraqis are very good at human intelligence ? gathering information from a local population that they know well. But they lack the American technology and ability to analyze intelligence gathered from multiple sources and then use that information to combat terror networks such as al-Qaida.
"What we've learned about al-Qaida is they have a very sophisticated network and the ability to kind of see themselves across the country, and synchronize activities," he said. "In order to counter that I think you need the ability to put pressure on the network."
___
Associated Press staff in Baghdad, Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Hadi Mizban, contributed to this report.
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Triple bombings in south Iraq kill 19, injure 64 (AP)
BASRA, Iraq ? A string of bombings in a southern oil city killed 19 people Thursday evening and injured dozens more, a grim sign of the security challenges Iraq will face after American troops go home.
The U.S. military is drawing down its troops ahead of an end-of-December deadline to have all American forces out of the country. Incidents like Thursday's triple bombing in a city seen as key to Iraq's economic development show the dangerous prospects awaiting Iraqis next year.
Three bombs went off in a popular open-air market in Basra, police and health officials said.
The third bomb exploded a few minutes after Iraqi army and police forces arrived on the scene in response to the earlier blasts, officials said. The third blast caused all the fatalities and almost all of the injuries, the officials said.
Among the dead and wounded were many policemen and Iraqi army soldiers.
The police officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters.
Kamal Ali was working at a clothing shop across the street when the blasts went off. He said after the first explosion, bystanders rushed to help the victims. When another blast went off about five minutes later, the terrified people ran to escape.
Then police and soldiers rushed to the scene before the third and most deadly bomb went off.
"Most of the casualties are police and Iraqi troops who rushed to help the victims and cordoned off the scene. They sacrificed their lives for the poor people," Ali said.
The head of the Basra provincial council, Ahmed al-Sulaiti, confirmed the incident.
"We can't blame the security forces for this act. They were the people most hurt," he said by telephone from Basra.
Basra is about 340 miles (550 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad It is considered the center of Iraq's burgeoning oil sector.
Many foreign oil companies have offices there. The country is relying on foreign companies to bring the money and expertise needed to develop Iraq's vast oil sector, which has been ravaged by war, sanctions and neglect.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombings, and it was not clear whether it was the work of Sunni extremists like al-Qaida, or by Shiite militias. Sunni militants often stagger their blasts in order to cause the most carnage, and they often target security officials, whom they see as propping up the Shiite-led government.
The area where the blasts occurred is also a stronghold for Shiite militia members, who have been known to use violence as they jockey for power and control.
__
Associated Press writers Mazin Yahya and Rebecca Santana in Baghdad contributed to this report.
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Saturday, November 26, 2011
Video: Photographers capture keepsakes for troops abroad
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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/45435031#45435031
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Manna House helping people and pets | al.com
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama
-- When the Manna House first opened in 2004, it's mission was primarily to provide food for needy people.But needy people often have pets and the people getting food for themselves occasionally asked about pet food.
One young volunteer, Sarah Nicely, started purchasing pet food to give away to the pet owners. She eventually began getting donations from the community.
"That's how so many of our ministries begin," said Manna House Director Fran Fluhler. "I never thought about the people who come here needing food for their pets, but Sarah saw a need and ran with it."
Unfortunately, Sarah died after a short bout with pneumonia in April 2010 at age 28. She would be proud of the work Manna House continues by distributing food to needy families for their pets, said Fluhler.
As a result of Sarah's vision, Manna House has been chosen as a distribution center for pet food from the Rescue Bank ( www.rescuebank.org ), a nonprofit organization committed to supporting the animal rescue community through a network of regional affiliates.
Each center receives truck loads of food to be distributed to qualified 501C3 rescue groups.
Marna Thrift, a Manna House volunteer, was instrumental in getting the Rescue Bank to select the local program, PaWs (Purrs and Waggs Supplies) to become part of the national network which has 28 distribution centers. She asked Fluhler for permission to use the Manna House warehouse to store the food.
Fluhler agreed and the first monthly truck load of 32,500 pounds of food arrived on Nov. 3 in Huntsville. Local rescue organizations have already taken nearly 30,000 pounds. The groups must pay five cents per pound to help pay for the cost of delivery, said Thrift.
"By teaming up with Manna House, we were able to make an immediate impact throughout North Alabama," she said. "If we had tried to do it ourselves, it would have taken more than a year to get started."
Volunteer Lisa Shedd is the contact person for local shelters, which should make appointments for pick-up on Mondays or Thursdays, 4 to 7 p.m. She said 14 area groups have already signed up for the program.
"Many shelters we distribute to in turn help not only the animals in their shelters, but low or no-income families that are struggling to keep their pets," said Shedd.
While the Rescue Bank food is only for nonprofit rescue groups, the Manna House has other donated food from the community for the patrons with pets.
Joyce Horne and Cora Toney were recently waiting for food for themselves outside the Manna House. Each has two dogs and they were also hoping to get some pet food while there.
"I means a lot they are able to help me with my dogs," said Toney, 67. "The dogs don't understand when you don't have food for them."
Horne said she is "so excited" to receive the dog food.
"Sometimes when I run out of their food, I have to fix them table scraps, but I know that's not good for them," said Horne. "This is a real blessing for me."
John Kane, director of the Rescue Bank based in Houston and San Diego, said the nonprofit organization began in 2006 following pet rescue efforts during Hurricane Katrina.
"Many volunteers who worked together during Katrina decided to continue working together," said Kane. "We really operate on the food bank model."
The Rescue Bank, co-founded by Houston attorney Elizabeth Asher, collects pet food primarily from the Mars Petcare US, but also receives food from Del Monte and Purina, said Kane, one of four "core" volunteers in two offices.
Shedd believes the program will made a big difference in the community.
"This program is my heart for the community trying to survive these hard times and keep their pets," she said. "With this program, our many shelters and Manna House working together, we will be able to do that."
Source: http://blog.al.com/breaking/2011/11/manna_house_now_helping_people.html
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Alibaba.com Grows Revenues And Profits, Misses Expectations
Alibaba.com, the massive B2B e-commerce company based in China, this morning published (PDF) its results for the third quarter of the year. The company reported a 11.9 percent increase (to $64 million) in its Q3 net profit, with revenues rising 10.6 percent to $250 million, year-over-year. This was below Wall Street expectations; Alibaba blamed a weak U.S. economy, a decline in manufacturing, the eurozone debt crisis and on-going platform enhancement activities for missing analysts' forecasts.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/pCDylG9RkBo/
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Weinstein desires to become recognized film brand (omg!)
NEW YORK (AP) ? While Harvey Weinstein has no plans to roar like the MGM lion before each of his movies, the Oscar-winning producer wants to turn the film studio bearing his family's name into a recognizable brand. His wish list includes branding on par with Facebook's F, Twitter's T and Apple's, well, apple.
While he says he will continue to use the "the black and white logo that looks like it's from high school in 1954," he's letting his films this week do the talking ? or at least one of them.
Already in theaters is "My Week with Marilyn," starring two-time Oscar nominee Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe. It's based on the writings of Colin Clark, who spent a week with the iconic actress in 1957 while she was filming "The Prince and the Showgirl" in the United Kingdom.
Weinstein, who heads The Weinstein Co. with his brother, explained the subject matter's appeal to him.
"I wanted to be that 23-year old boy and spend a week with Marilyn Monroe and go skinny-dipping," Weinstein said Wednesday. "Haven't we all dreamed of being with someone that gorgeous?"
But this is not another Monroe biopic. Weinstein calls it "a snapshot movie about one episode in her life." He equates the film's tone with his 2010 Oscar winner for best picture, "The King's Speech," about a speech therapist who helps King George VI.
With production credits in such Broadway hits as "Billy Elliot," ''The Producers" and "God of Carnage," Weinstein always has his eyes on Broadway. He admits it's a dream to bring "My Week with Marilyn" to the great stage in "five to 10 years." And when that happens, he has his heart set on seeing Monroe played by singer Katy Perry, whom he met while taking his daughters to the annual Jingle Ball concert at Madison Square Garden last year.
"I think Katy would be perfect to play Marilyn Monroe," Weinstein said, adding: "She would knock it out of the universe."
Weinstein's other new film, "The Artist," which comes out Friday, is a modern homage to the silent film era and was the darling of the Cannes and Toronto International film festivals. It was shot in black and white using the original 4:3 aspect ratio.
While the film is not your typical studio release, Weinstein doesn't concern himself with such things.
"With a script or a book I try to do what would appeal to me," he says proudly. "I'm not here to do the mainstream movies."
And the results are promising. Weinstein likes the buzz both films are getting, but his source isn't what you'd expect: It's the RottenTomatoes.com website, which compiles reviews and assigns percentage scores based on the average.
"I just go to Rotten Tomatoes to check on who's writing, and I read some of the reviews on Rotten Tomatoes," he said. "I like the site. It's fun. I like the interviews on the site."
Weinstein was proud to report Wednesday the Monroe film was at 85 percent. And "The Artist" was trending a bit higher, based on reviews going back to April, when it played at Cannes.
"I wish I could brand the movies in a way so they would just look at the page and trust me rather than a critic or anything else," Weinstein said.
Weinstein has been seeking advice from firms like Christian Dior and Louis Vuitton about how consumers recognize their products. Oddly enough, he's not expecting to recreate that Columbia Pictures lady with the torch. The iconic Leo the Lion has become synonymous with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Weinstein says that while the lion is a powerful symbol, he's not seeking that type of message. Nor is he shy about the brand.
"The thing about MGM and why it doesn't work at the end of the day is because they would make great musicals and then they would make Andy Hardy movies, or they would make Tarzan movies, so you never know what you got at MGM.
"I'm pretty consistent, at least on my side of the fence, with making a certain, you know, they call it artistic, it's really not, but something that is just a little more literary in its approach."
___
Online:
http://weinsteinco.com/
___
John Carucci covers entertainment for The Associated Press. Follow him at http://www.twitter.com/jcarucci_ap
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Friday, November 25, 2011
Man arrested after fatal shooting at Chicago hospital
By msnbc.com staff and The Associated Press
Update at 8:20 a.m. ET: Police arrested a suspect in the shooting after a routine traffic stop?early Friday, University of Illinois at Chicago spokesman Mark Rosati told The Associated Press. The man fled the car and was detained a few blocks away, Rosati added.
Story last updated at 6:35 a.m. ET
A woman was shot dead at a hospital in Chicago late Thursday and a manhunt was launched to find the shooter, authorities told the Chicago Tribune.
An ambulance was not able to reach the wounded woman, who was shot in a parking garage at the University of Illinois at Chicago?Medical Center shortly before midnight, because the area was still dangerous, Chicago Fire Department?spokesman Larry Langford told the paper.?She later died.
Even though the suspect was not located, the hospital resumed normal operations at about 5 a.m. local time (6 a.m. ET), according to The Associated Press.
The Tribune reported a?text message was sent out by the medical center warning staff and students that there was "a man with a gun in the UIC Hospital, last seen on the second floor. Stay in a secure location and lock doors if possible. He is armed and dangerous."
A notice posted later on the UIC website said, "Police conclude multiple searches of hospital, no sign of gunman. Hospital, OCC open for normal operations."
SWAT teams, other police and a helicopter were all involved in the search.
A second victim, who was injured but not shot, was in police custody, an?unidentified?source told the Tribune.
The Tribune reported that the suspect was the 47-year-old former boyfriend of the slain woman.
The alert said the man being sought by police was black and?was wearing?a navy blue jacket with a fur-trimmed hood, navy blue cargo pants and white gym shoes at the time.
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Fitch cuts Portugal rating on high debts, worse outlook
LISBON?? Fitch downgraded Portugal's credit rating to junk status on Thursday, citing large fiscal imbalances, high debts and the risks to its EU-mandated austerity program from a worsening economic outlook.
The ratings agency cut Portugal to BB+ from BBB-, which is still one notch higher than Moody's rating of Ba2. S&P still rates Portugal investment grade.
Fitch said a deepening recession makes it "much more challenging" for the government to cut the budget deficit but it still expects fiscal goals to be met both this year and next.
"However, the risk of slippage - either from worse macroeconomic outturns or insufficient expenditure controls - is large," Fitch said.
The challenging economic environment was clear in a Reuters poll on Thursday, where economists forecast Portugal's economy will contract by 2.9 percent next year, the deepest recession since the 1970s, and 1.6 percent this year, in line with the government's estimates.
Portugal's 10-year bond prices plunged, sending yields surging more than 100 basis points to 13.85 percent -- the second highest level in the euro zone after Greece. The spread to German Bunds also rose more than 100 basis points to 1,168.
The downgrade of Portugal came after the dramatic deterioration of the euro zone crisis in recent weeks as it spread to bigger countries like Italy and Spain.
"The worsening regional outlook helped inform the downgrade (of Portugal)," Rabobank said in an analyst note. "This, in turn, underlines the mounting risk of systemic downgrades."
Portugal sought a 78-billion-euro bailout from the European Union and IMF earlier this year and has adopted sweeping austerity measures to bring public accounts under controls.
Under the loan program Portugal must cut the budget deficit to 5.9 percent of gross domestic product this year from around 10 percent in 2010. Next year it must cut the deficit further to 4.5 percent.
STATE COMPANIES A RISK
Fitch said the state-owned "enterprise sector is another key source of fiscal risk" and has caused a number of upward revisions to the country's debt and budget deficit figures this year. The government has said there was an unexpected fiscal shortfall of about 3 billion euros this year.
"Given these downside risks, Fitch sees a significant likelihood that further consolidation measures will be needed through the course of 2012," Fitch said.
It sees Portugal total debt peaking at 116 percent of GDP in 2013 from 93.3 percent at the end of last year.
Filipe Garcia, an economist at Informacao de Mercados Financeiros, said that while the downgrade does not change the government's financing conditions as it is under a bailout, it could worsen the situation for companies.
"Where (the downgrade) has an impact is on companies, such as banks and other issuers like EDP or Brisa, whose ratings are greatly influenced by the sovereign rating, leaving them in a more difficult situation," said Garcia.
The agency said Portugal's debt crisis poses big risks for the country's banks. "Recapitalisation and increased emergency liquidity provision from the ECB to Portugal's banks will, in Fitch's view, be needed and provided," it said.
Under Portugal's bailout, 12 billion euros has been set aside for funding banks if necessary.
Fitch said a worsening fiscal or economic situation could lead to further downgrades. "Furthermore, although Portugal is funded to end-2013, sovereign liquidity risk may increase materially toward the end of the program if adverse market conditions persist," Fitch said.
The government hopes to return raising debt in financial markets at the end of 2013.
Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45427292/ns/business-stocks_and_economy/
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Libya can try Gaddafi son if conditions right: ICC (Reuters)
TRIPOLI (Reuters) ? The International Criminal Court's (ICC) chief prosecutor said on Wednesday that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi can be tried inside Libya provided there is a judicial process that does not shield him from international justice.
Speaking at a news conference in Tripoli, Luis Moreno-Ocampo said it was very important for Libya that Saif al-Islam, the captured son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, is tried inside Libya. The ICC earlier this year issued a warrant for Saif al-Islam's arrest on charges of crimes against humanity.
(Reporting by Francois Murphy; Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Alison Williams)
Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111123/wl_nm/us_libya
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Thursday, November 24, 2011
Palestinian membership threatening UNESCO programs (AP)
PARIS ? The Palestinians can raise their flag alongside those of 194 full-fledged nations at UNESCO after signing a document finally giving them a voice within the vast U.N. system, and pride across the Arab world but their membership is threatening pro-democracy projects around the globe.
Last month's decision by the Paris-based U.N. education and cultural organization to recognize Palestinians triggered an immediate funding cutoff by the U.S. that will force UNESCO to scale down literacy and development programs in countries like Iraq, Afghanistan or the new nation of South Sudan.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki will be signing the so-called instrument of accession Wednesday in London where UNESCO was created after World War II. The Palestinian flag can then go up at UNESCO, but a date wasn't immediately known.
For some, the U.S. funds cutoff is counterproductive and risks scrambling the message America tries to project to the world. UNESCO works to turn child soldiers into unarmed schoolkids, teach Muslims about the Holocaust and ensure clean drinking water in volatile regions ? far from Israel and the territories the Palestinians want to call their nation.
After pounding at the doors of the United Nations in New York for full recognition, the Palestinians sought coveted U.N. access through the back door, requesting membership in UNESCO.
The funding crisis started immediately after the Oct. 31 vote that made Palestine a member of UNESCO, with two U.S. laws kicking in to stop the flow of U.S. funds for the organization. The United States contributes $80 million annually in dues ? 22 percent of UNESCO's overall budget ? and its 2011 contribution was not yet in when the laws took effect, immediately throwing UNESCO into crisis mode. Extra U.S. funds for special projects are also halted.
The U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is working to fill the money gap, even resorting to a newly created "click online and donate" site for individuals who might care to chip in. Appeals have gone out to member nations.
With the vote to admit Palestine, "some consider UNESCO as a hero, some as a villain," UNESCO Deputy Director-General Getachew Engida said.
"We're all caught in this cross-fire, unfortunately, and it is too bad. I'm an African and I feel the pain," said Engida, who is an Ethiopian.
UNESCO may be best known in the public mind for its program to protect the cultures of the world via its Heritage sites. But its core mission also includes life-sustaining activities like helping to eradicate poverty or ensure clean water as well as teaching girls to read and promoting freedom of expression and human rights. All these are essential elements of nation-building, and engendering a climate of peace and are in the public eye as the Arab Spring unfolds in painful fits of violence and hope in North Africa and the Middle East.
A grim reality is already setting in for many nations ? including those which voted for Palestinian membership ? particularly in projects where the United States was directly implicated.
A case in point is Iraq, where several projects are compromised and one may not see the light of day ? just as the United States completes its troop pullout by year's end.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had promised $900,000 for the first phase of a project to strengthen Iraq's National Water Council, joining $500,000 in Iraqi funds to set up a database to track water supplies. Without the U.S. funds, the project is at risk, officials say.
Another $1 million in U.S. funds have been suspended for a project to promote public confidence in Iraq's judiciary system through training to make the country's Higher Judicial Council more transparent, and accessible. Since the contract was signed on Sept. 23, before the vote to accept Palestine to UNESCO, the final outcome is not yet clear.
South Sudan, which became an independent nation in July after decades of civil war with Sudan, is getting a bittersweet welcome to the organization it joined last month.
UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova had pledged that that the organization "will stand with the people of South Sudan to strengthen their education system and support the training of teachers and education professionals."
But plans to help create the country's first Ministry of Education, a 10-year project by UNESCO's International Institute for Education Planning, is among those that may suffer without the U.S. funds.
"This is a country starting from scratch and it needs all the help it can get," said Engida, UNESCO's deputy chief.
In a nation of 8 million, more than 1 million primary school-age children in South Sudan are out of school, among them returning refugees. UNESCO is also looking to support disarmament and integration into society of child soldiers.
Officials has warned that the U.S. move jeopardizes programs in America's core interests.
"In my personal view, I don't think that withholding funds is in the interest of the United States," Engida said. "UNESCO works in close cooperation with the U.S. administration ... to advance on common shared values, on democracy, good governance, freedom of the press, education for all."
Even without its largesse, the United States remains a welcome member. It was voted to UNESCO's executive board 48 hours after pulling out its money.
While the click-to-donate program aimed at the public has reportedly brought in paltry sums, some nations are digging into their pockets, notably Indonesia with a pledge Tuesday of $10 million and Gabon with an early pledge of $2 million, according to UNESCO spokeswoman Sue Williams.
Engida says he remains optimistic.
"I still believe in the sense of humanity."
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Movember Mustache Movie Madness: Perfect Period Piece Pushbrooms
by Jim Gibbons
Hollywood has a long love affair with history that rivals some of cinema's greatest romances. While mustaches may not be tremendously hip nowadays, many fine films take place in eras where the 'stache was much more commonplace. Though Movember?the men's health charity event where gentlemen grow and groom mustaches to raise funds for [...]
Hollywood has a long love affair with history that rivals some of cinema's greatest romances. While mustaches may not be tremendously hip nowadays, many fine films take place in eras where the 'stache was much more commonplace. Though Movember?the men's health charity event where gentlemen grow and groom mustaches to raise funds for [...]
Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2011/11/23/movember-mustache-brad-pitt-daniel-day-lewis-ben-kingsley/
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Photojojo intros iPhone Lens Dial for fisheye, telephoto and wide-angle shooting
Photojojo intros iPhone Lens Dial for fisheye, telephoto and wide-angle shooting originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Nov 2011 10:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Campbell Soup 1st-quarter net income falls
CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) ? Campbell Soup Co. says fiscal first-quarter net income fell 5 percent as price increases were not enough to offset lower volume in its soup and beverage businesses.
Still, net income results came in better than expected. Campbell says it is working to stabilize its U.S. soup business.
The Camden, N.J.,-based company is trying to regain lost ground after several years of declining soup sales. Shoppers have curbed their soup consumption, stopped stocking pantries or shifted to competitor's brands.
Net income fell to $265 million, or 82 cents per share, in the quarter ended Oct. 30, from net income of $279 million, or 82 cents per share, last year.
Analysts polled by FactSet expected 79 cents per share.
Revenue was nearly flat at $2.16 billion. Analysts expected revenue of $2.21 billion.
Associated PressWednesday, November 23, 2011
'Dancing With The Stars': Rob Kardashian Leads Final Round
LOS ANGELES ? Rob Kardashian swung to the top of the "Dancing with the Stars" leaderboard Monday.
The 24-year-old reality TV star and his professional partner, Cheryl Burke, waltzed ahead of the competition on the ABC ballroom contest's final dance-off. Kardashian and Burke nabbed a combined 57 out of a possible 60 for a breezy waltz and dizzying swing-era freestyle routine that garnered Kardashian his first perfect 30 of the season.
"Never would I ever have thought that I'd get a perfect score, and we did it with the hardest freestyle," he said.
U.S. Army veteran J.R. Martinez and TV personality Ricki Lake tied for second place with 54. Lake remained consistent with a 27 for both her cha-cha and a freestyle number that incorporated everything from quickstep to salsa moves, while Martinez earned a 24 for a so-so cha-cha before winning a perfect 30 for his high-energy salsa-inspired freestyle.
"It was a like a jungle tribal hypnotic experience," judge Bruno Tonioli told Martinez.
Lake and partner Derek Hough have been front-runners throughout the show's 13th season, consistently earning high marks from the judges. Martinez and partner Karina Smirnoff have also ranked high with the panel, occasionally topping the leaderboard. Kardashian has experienced steady growth under Burke and may have peaked at just the right moment.
"You're like the male version of Cinderella who made it to the ball," judge Carrie Ann Inaba told him.
The scores will be combined with viewer votes to determine the champion Tuesday.
Previously dismissed contestants include actor David Arquette, activist Chaz Bono, soccer player Hope Solo, singer Chynna Phillips, actress Elisabetta Canalis, basketball player Metta World Peace and TV personalities Kristin Cavallari, Carson Kressley and Nancy Grace.
___
ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co.
___
AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen contributed to this report. Derrik J. Lang and Sandy Cohen can be reached at and .
Links:
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Online:
http://abc.go.com/shows/dancing-with-the-stars
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Egypt crowds chant rejection of election plan
CAIRO?? Egypt's military leader promised to speed the transition to civilian rule, saying Tuesday that presidential elections will be held by the end of June 2012. But the major concession was immediately rejected by tens of thousands of protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square, who responded with chants of "Leave, leave!" now.
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Late Tuesday, tear gas was pouring into Tahrir Square but dissipated in about 10 minutes, according to tweeted reports by NBC's News' Richard Engel.
The protests continued hours after Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi vowed that landmark parliamentary elections will start on schedule on Monday, the first vote since longtime authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak was ousted in an uprising nine months ago. And he said the military was prepared to hold a referendum on immediately transferring power to a civilian authority if people demand it.
Tantawi said he has accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Essam Sharaf's civilian government and politicians who attended a 5-hour crisis meeting with the ruling generals said the military intended to replace Sharaf's cabinet with a "national salvation" government. It was not clear who might head the new Cabinet, but names of a couple presidential hopefuls were mentioned.
"Our demands are clear," said Khaled El-Sayed, a protester from the Youth Revolution Coalition and a candidate in the upcoming parliamentary election. "We want the military council to step down and hand over authority to a national salvation government with full authority." He also demanded that the commander of the military police and the Interior Minister, who is in charge of the police, be tried for the "horrific crimes" of the past few days, when 29 people were killed in clashes, most of them in Cairo.
The standoff culminated four days of clashes and demonstrations around the country that have constituted the most sustained challenge so far to nine months of military rule. It plunges the country deeper into a crisis that may only hamper the democratic transition the protesters are fighting for.
Slideshow: Violent clashes in Egypt (on this page)In Tahrir Square, the atmosphere was reminiscent of the 18-day uprising that toppled Mubarak, with jubilation over the large turnout mixed with the seething anger directed at the military. On Tuesday, the protesters had called for a million people to turn out and drew a massive crowd of tens of thousands.
The crowds carried an open wooden coffin with a body of a slain protester wrapped in white and held a funeral in the middle of the square.
A stuffed military uniform was hung from a central light pole with a cardboard sign on its neck saying "Execute the field marshal," a reference to Tantawi, Mubarak's defense minister of 20 years. People cheered when the effigy was hung and state television showed some hitting it with sticks or shoes.
Men in the square opened a corridor in the middle of the crowds and formed a human chain to keep it open, giving easy access to motorcycles and ambulances ferrying the wounded to several field hospitals in the square.
Sweet smells of popcorn and cotton candy mingled with tear gas and burning garbage.
As night fell on the square, thousands streamed in over a bridge across the Nile river. Men and women carrying blankets and boxes of supplies chanted: "Down with the field marshal."
The latest round of unrest began Saturday when security forces violently evicted a few hundred protesters who camped out in Tahrir. The perceived use of excessive force angered activists, who began to flock to the square. A joint army and police attempt to clear the square on Sunday evening failed, leaving protesters more determined to dig in there.
The clashes played out amid charges that the military was trying to cling on to power after an elected parliament is seated and a new president elected. The military recently proposed that a "guardianship" role for itself be enshrined in the next constitution and that it would enjoy immunity from any civilian oversight.
Further confusing the political situation, the military-backed civilian government on Monday submitted a mass resignation in response to the turmoil.
In his brief televised address to the nation, Tantawi did not mention a specific date for the transfer of power, although the presidential election has long been considered the final step in the process. The military has previously floated the end of next year or early 2013 as the date for the presidential vote.
"The armed forces, represented by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, has no desire to rule and puts the country's interests above all. It is ready to hand over responsibility immediately and return to its original duty of defending the country if the people want that and through a public referendum if it is necessary," he said.
Tantawi sought to cast the military as the nation's foremost patriots and angrily denounced what he called attempts to taint its reputation.
But he hinted at conspiratorial plots behind the protests, much like Mubarak did in his final days.
He spoke of forces "who are working in the dark to incite sedition and drive a wedge between the people and the Armed Forces or between different segments of the Egyptian people."
"At the end we will hand over power to an elected civil authority," Tantawi said, but he did not offer to step down. The crowd in Tahrir Square responded with chants of, "the people want the fall of the Field Marshal."
The crowds in Tahrir immediately rejected Tantawi's proposals with chants of "erhal," or leave.
"We are not leaving, he leaves," chanted the protesters. "The people want to bring down the field marshal," they shouted.
A youth group that played a key role in the anti-Mubarak uprising said it decided to remain in the square until the military handed over power to a civilian presidential council to run the country's affairs. Beside a representative of the military, the council should include pro-reform leader and Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, said the April 6 group.
"The military council has failed to manage the transitional period, and the generals' hands are tainted by the blood of the nation's youth and have been collaborating with the counterrevolution," the group said in a statement.
Others in the square said the referendum was just a ploy to divide people.
American students arrested
Three American students at the American University of Cairo, which sits on Tahrir Square, were arrested outside the university's campus Monday night, Morgan Roth, a spokeswoman for the university, told NBC News.
She did not specify whether any charges had been filed or what any charges may be, but she named the three students as Luke Gates, an Indiana University student from Bloomington, Indiana; Gregory Porter, a Drexel University student from Glenside, Pennsylvania; and Derrik Sweeney, a Georgetown University student from Jefferson City, Missouri.
The three were on a study abroad program with the American University of Cairo.
They were being held at the Abdeen police station in Cairo, NBC reported.
Egyptian television said that they had been arrested after being seen throwing fire bombs from the roof of a building owned by the American University of Cairo, NBC News' Richard Engel reported.
George Gates, the father of a 21-year-old Luke Gates, also confirmed to NBC that his son had been arrested "sometime late last night," and said the family was in contact with the Department of State.
On what appears to be Luke Gates' Twitter feed, Gates lists his location as Cairo, Egypt and makes references to being in Tahrir Square.
His last post, dated Monday, November 21, read, "reports of tear gas being fired from AUC campus on Tahrir, university officials have started investigating."
An airport official also said a U.S. citizen who had been arrested while allegedly filming security forces at Tahrir Square was deported Tuesday to the United Arab Emirates from which he had arrived.
State television showed brief footage of the three students, males who appeared to be in their early 20s.
The new wave of protests and violence around the country that began on Saturday has left 29 dead and has thrown Egypt's politics into chaos less than a week before landmark parliamentary elections were to begin.
"The army is making the same mistake as Mubarak. They hear the demands but respond when it's too late," said protester Mustafa Abdel-Hamid, a supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood who came to Tahrir even though his movement has not endorsed the protests over the past four days.
Battered economy
Egypt's military has been backed into a difficult corner. Protesters are demanding it surrender the reins of power ? or at least set a firm date in the very near future for doing so soon. Without that, few civilian political leaders are likely to join a new government for fear of being tainted as facades for the generals, as many consider the current Cabinet.
The political uncertainty and prospect of continued violence dealt a punishing blow to an already battered economy.
Egypt's benchmark index plunged more than 5 percent, the third straight day of declines. Banks closed early and many workplaces sent employees home ahead of schedule for fear of a deterioration in security.
Several main roads were closed to traffic, adding to Cairo's already congested streets.
'Deplorable' violence
The United States, which gives Egypt's military $1.3 billion a year in aid, has called for restraint on all sides and urged Egypt to proceed with elections.
"We are deeply concerned about the violence. The violence is deplorable. We call on all sides to exercise restraint," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters Tuesday.
Political uncertainty has gripped Egypt since Mubarak's fall, while sectarian clashes, labor unrest, gas pipeline sabotage and a gaping absence of tourists have paralyzed the economy and prompted a widespread yearning for stability.
Meanwhile, rights group Amnesty International accused Egypt's rulers on Tuesday of brutality sometimes exceeding that of Mubarak, saying the hopes of protesters had been "crushed."
The group said Egypt's Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) ? which assumed control after an 18-day uprising toppled Mubarak in February ? had made only empty promises to improve human rights.
In a report, Amnesty said military courts had tried thousands of civilians and emergency law had been extended. Torture had continued in army custody, and there were consistent reports of security forces employing armed "thugs" to attack protesters, it added.
"The SCAF has continued the tradition of repressive rule which the January 25 demonstrators fought so hard to get rid of," said Philip Luther, Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa acting director.
"Those who have challenged or criticize the military council ? like demonstrators, journalists, bloggers, striking workers ? have been ruthlessly suppressed in an attempt at silencing their voices ... The brutal and heavy-handed response to protests in the last few days bears all the hallmarks of the Mubarak era."
By August, Amnesty said the military council admitted about 12,000 civilians had been tried by military courts and at least 13 sentenced to death. The trials were "grossly unfair", said the rights group.
NBC News, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45398123/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/
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'The Fink' talks Survivor Series
Survivor Series 2011 will always be remembered as the night that The Rock returned to the ring, put ?boots to asses? and proved that after seven years, he?s still got it.
However, another WWE Legend received a huge ovation from the WWE Universe inside Madison Square Garden, a surprise return that reminded the sold-out MSG crowd and millions watching around the world that WWE?s November annual is truly rich in tradition and history. As a counter to Alberto Del Rio?s personal ring announcer, CM Punk revealed his own ring announcer for the evening: WWE Hall of Famer Howard Finkel.
A mainstay of WWE throughout the ?80s and ?90s, the signature voice of ?The Fink? has often garnered him the distinction of being one of the greatest ring announcers in history.
Hearing the legendary announcer introduce ?The Voice of the Voiceless,? and anoint CM Punk as the ?NEWWWW? WWE Champion at Survivor Series was not only an honor for Punk, but a welcome treat for our longtime fans. Furthermore, this was a chance for young fans to hear ?The Voice? that has introduced countless iconic Superstars, including ?Stone Cold? Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior, The Undertaker and The Rock.
For The Fink, returning to Madison Square Garden was a night he will never forget. ?This building is hallowed to me,? Fink told WWE.com. ?I have been coming here since January 17, 1977. Each and every time I got in the ring, no matter whom I was introducing or when, I?ve always had fun.?
The WWE Hall of Famer, who served as ring announcer inside Madison Square Garden at the inaugural WrestleMania in 1985, has witnessed many memorable moments in The Garden?s history, though the evening of Nov. 20, 2011, now ranks high for him.
?I?d have to say Survivor Series 2011 will be in my top three favorite Garden moments.? Finkel said with a smile. ?I?ll forever remember it because of the rush I got and the adulation of the WWE Universe in New York City. It meant so much to me because I have always given everything I have when I ring announce. As I said when I was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, no matter who I was introducing, I always wanted them to feel as though they were heading into the main event.?
While The Fink was certainly ecstatic about introducing CM Punk, he also mentioned two other Garden moments that have always resonated with him. ?Certainly being a part of the very first WrestleMania in 1985 was phenomenal.? he recalled. ?Also I will always remember my very first announcing duties inside the Garden: January 17, 1977, with the main event of Bruno Sammartino against Ken Patera.?
Howard has introduced a number of WWE Champions over the years and knows what it takes to wear the prestigious title. ?CM Punk certainly makes a great champion because he is for the people. He is ?The Voice of the Voiceless? and then some. Punk not only wants to represent himself, but many of us in the WWE Universe, and that?s why I think he resonates as a very positive champion.?
And what of the ring announcers that have succeeded him? Ricardo Rodriguez immediately comes to the WWE Hall of Famer's mind.
?Ricardo is lucky he has a meal ticket from Alberto Del Rio, as far as I?m concerned,? Fink expressed. ?I saw Ricardo once in the locker room, and he said to me, ?Howard, you were great in 1990. But this is 2011 and you are no longer relevant.? Well, after the reaction I received at Survivor Series, I truly believe that relevant is my middle name!?
Indeed you are relevant, Howard. And that's more than just the Garden crowd talking.
Source: http://www.wwe.com/inside/howard-finkel-survivor-series
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Google's iOS search app gets a major overhaul, brings instant goodies to iPad users
Continue reading Google's iOS search app gets a major overhaul, brings instant goodies to iPad users
Google's iOS search app gets a major overhaul, brings instant goodies to iPad users originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Nov 2011 15:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
PermalinkAllThingsD | Google Mobile Blog, Google Search (App Store) | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/21/googles-ios-search-app-gets-a-major-overhaul-brings-instant-go/
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Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Libya's NTC unveils new government (Reuters)
TRIPOLI (Reuters) ? Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) named a new government Tuesday with a line-up that dropped several seasoned officials in favor of appointees who will soothe rivalries between regional factions.
On a visit to Tripoli, the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor conceded that the captured son of Muammar Gaddafi, Saif al-Islam, may be tried in Libya rather than in The Hague, meaning he faces the death penalty if convicted.
The NTC faced the tricky task of forming a government which would reconcile regional and ideological interests whose rivalry threatens to upset the country's fragile stability, three months after the end of Gaddafi's 42-year rule.
"All of Libya is represented," Prime Minister Abdurrahim El-Keib told a news conference as he unveiled the line-up. "It is hard to say that any area is not represented."
Western countries, which backed the revolt against Gaddafi and have a big stake in seeing his replacements succeed, welcomed the new government, saying it would guide the oil exporting country toward democracy.
The NTC's choices to fill ministerial posts appeared to have put regional affiliation ahead of experience or a track record.
Foreign diplomats had been expecting the foreign minister's job to go to Libya's deputy envoy to the United Nations, Ibrahim Dabbashi.
A respected diplomat, he had rallied other Libyan officials to turn against Gaddafi soon after the revolt erupted against his rule.
Instead, the job was given to Ashour Bin Hayal, a little-known diplomat from the eastern city of Derna, a long-standing anti-Gaddafi stronghold.
"Until the prime minister made his announcement, every diplomat in Tripoli was expecting Dabbashi as foreign minister. It's a big surprise," said one diplomat. "We don't know him (Bin Hayal) at all. We are trying to find out where he is."
Ali Tarhouni, a U.S. academic who returned from exile to manage the oil and finance portfolios in the rebellion against Gaddafi, had no role in the new government.
Hassan Ziglam, an oil industry executive, was named as finance minister, and Abdulrahman Ben Yezza, a former executive with Italian oil major ENI, was made oil minister.
The new cabinet will include as defense minister Osama Al-Juwali, commander of the military council in the town of Zintan.
Juwali appeared to have staked his claim to the job after his forces captured Saif al-Islam at the weekend and flew him to their hometown, instead of transferring him to the capital.
A spokeswoman for the European Union's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, said after the Cabinet was named that the EU was "confident that the interim leadership now in place will enable the country to embark on the political transition ahead."
In a symbolic step for Libya, a deeply conservative Muslim society, the cabinet included two women, heading the ministries of health and social affairs. El-Keib said those appointments showed women enjoyed more equality than ever before.
Absent from any strategic jobs in the government were the Islamists who were persecuted under Gaddafi but have been gaining in power since his downfall. Their rise has worried secularist Libyans, and some neighboring countries.
LIBYAN PROSECUTION
A month after Muammar Gaddafi was captured and killed, Libya is wrestling with the task of building new institutions out of the wreckage of his one-man rule, when corruption was rampant and state institutions were left to decay.
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the last of the former Libyan leader's sons whose whereabouts were still unknown, was captured Saturday in an ambush deep in the Sahara desert.
An NTC official called his arrest "the last chapter in the Libyan drama."
The Hague-based ICC has indicted Saif al-Islam for crimes against humanity, but chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said on a visit to Tripoli that Saif al-Islam could be tried inside Libya as long as the trial complies with ICC standards.
"Saif is captured so we are here to ensure cooperation. Now in May, we requested an arrest warrant because Libyans could not do justice in Libya. Now as Libyans are decided to do justice, they could do justice and we'll help them to do it, so that is the system," he told reporters on his arrival in Tripoli.
"Our International Criminal Court acts when the national system cannot act. They have decided to do it and that is why we are here to learn and to understand what they are doing and to cooperate."
Libyan officials have promised a fair trial but the country still has the death penalty on its books, whereas the severest punishment the ICC can impose is life imprisonment.
"The law says the primacy is for the national system. If they prosecute the case here, we will discuss with them how to inform the judges and they can do it. But our judges have to be involved," said Moreno-Ocampo.
An official in Zintan told Reuters steps were already underway for Saif al-Islam's prosecution. "A Libyan prosecutor met with Saif (on Monday) to conduct a preliminary investigation," said Ahmed Ammar.
(Additional reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian in Tripoli, Alastair Macdonald in Cairo, and Oliver Holmes in Zintan; Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by)
Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111122/wl_nm/us_libya
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Brocade Communications Systems Inc. Earnings Cheat Sheet ...
Scottrade: $7 Online Trades. Real-Time Stock Quotes 
Brocade Communications Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:BRCD) dropped to a fourth quarter loss, but results topped expectations. Brocade Communications Systems is a supplier of networking equipment, including end-to-end Internet Protocol based Ethernet networking solutions and storage area networking solutions for service providers such as telecommunication firms and cable operators.
Investing Insights: Here?s Why Chipotle?s Stock Keeps Winning.
Brocade Communications Systems Earnings Cheat Sheet for the Fourth Quarter
Results: Reported a loss of $4.3 million (one cent per diluted share) in the quarter. Brocade Communications Systems Inc. had a net income of $22.2 million or 5 cents per share in the year earlier quarter.
Revenue: Rose slightly to $550.5 million.
Actual vs. Wall St. Expectations: BRCD reported adjusted net income of 16 cents per share. By that measure, the company beat the mean estimate of 6 cents per share. It beat the average revenue estimate of $527.1 million.
Quoting Management: ?Brocade achieved outstanding results in Q4 that were led by record revenues for our Ethernet business, fast adoption of our 16 Gbps Fibre Channel products, improvements in profitability, and a record cash flow quarter from operations,? said Michael Klayko, CEO of Brocade. ?These strong performances demonstrate that we are executing well on our long-term strategy. Looking at FY 12, we plan to leverage this momentum along with our highly differentiated innovation strategy, expanding product portfolio, and our strong routes to market.?
Key Stats:
The company?s loss in the latest quarter follows profits in the previous three quarters. The company reported a profit of $1.9 million in the third quarter, a profit of $27.6 million in the second quarter and $27.2 million in the first.
The company beat estimates last quarter after being in line with expectations in the third quarter with net income of 5 cents per share.
Looking Forward: Expectations for the first quarter of the next fiscal year have not changed from 8 cents. The average estimate for the fiscal year is 29 cents per share, down from 30 cents ninety days ago.
Competitors to Watch: EMC Corporation (NYSE:EMC), Emulex Corporation (NYSE:ELX), NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP), Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ), Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO), Western Digital Corp. (NYSE:WDC), QLogic Corporation (NASDAQ:QLGC), Dot Hill Systems Corp. (NASDAQ:HILL), Overland Storage, Inc. (NASDAQ:OVRL), and Quantum Corporation (NYSE:QTM).
Investing Insights: Here?s Why Chipotle?s Stock Keeps Winning.
(Company fundamentals provided by Xignite Financials. Earnings estimates provided by Zacks)
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