Cops Found Batman Mask in Colorado Movie Theater Shooter’s Apartment

Police found a Batman mask in the apartment of the Colorado movie theater shooter who killed 12 during a screening of the newest Batman movie last year, according to testimony Wednesday.

FBI agent Leslie Kopper said in a pretrial hearing that police also found a calendar in James Holmes’ apartment marked with a “unique symbol” on the day of the attack, though she did not elaborate on the symbol in the calendar, the Associated Press reports. Aurora, Colo. police Detective Thomas Wilson separately said he found a violent drawing of “some kind of maze involving a serial killer” in a spiral notebook inside a backpack in the apartment.

Holmes’ has admitted being the gunman in the July 2012 attack at a showing of The Dark Knight Rises, in which he killed 12 and wounded 70 others, but he has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

Sources : TIME

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Police Won’t Charge George Zimmerman in Domestic Dispute

George Zimmerman, the man acquitted in the high-profile 2012 shooting of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, will not be charged for a domestic dispute last month with his estranged wife, police said Wednesday.

Lake Mary Officer Zach Hudson said investigators decided the dispute in Florida did not rise to a criminal level, the Associated Press reports.

Days after wife Shellie Zimmerman filed for a divorce, she called police to her father’s home following a dispute there with her husband. George Zimmerman was briefly questioned at the location.

George Zimmerman was acquitted of murder chargers earlier this year in the Martin shooting, which sparked national debate on race, guns and self-defense laws.

Sources : TIME

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US, Vietnam Sign Accord on Nuclear Energy

At the East Asian Summit in Brunei, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh signed a so-called 123 accord.

 

If signed by President Obama and subsequently not blocked by the U.S. Congress, the agreement would allow American atomic energy firms into Vietnam in exchange for Hanoi's pledge not to enrich its own uranium.

 

A senior U.S. State Department official noted Vietnam "has taken steps towards the development of a robust domestic infrastructure to support its nuclear-power generation program," and that with this agreement "Vietnam has signed on to the strongest global standards of non-proliferation."

 

Secretary Kerry told Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung just minutes after signing the agreement that, "it would create numerous opportunities for our businesses between our two countries. And obviously our nuclear cooperation is quite significant.”

 

Kerry also told the Vietnamese leader that he looked forward to visiting his country “somewhere in the next few months.”

Sources : VOA

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US boy carrying replica gun shot dead by California police

A 13-year-old boy carrying a replica assault rifle has been shot dead by police in the US state of California.

Officers in the city of Santa Rosa say they opened fire after the boy refused orders to drop the rifle, which they believed to be real.

The shooting on Tuesday is now being investigated.

It comes a day after a 12-year-old boy in Nevada gunned down a maths teacher at his school and wounded two fellow pupils before taking his own life.

In the latest incident, two sheriff's deputies saw the teenager "with what appeared to be some type of rifle", a news release from the Sonoma County Sheriff's office said.

Witnesses in Santa Rosa said they heard several shots

The deputies called for backup and repeatedly ordered the boy to drop the gun before firing several rounds from their handguns, police said.

The boy, who was pronounced dead at the scene, was later identified by his family as Andy Lopez.

His father, Rodrigo Lopez, said the replica gun had belonged to a friend.

The sheriff's office said a plastic handgun had also been found in the boy's waistband.

Witness Brian Zastrow told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat he heard seven shots.

"First, I heard a single siren and within seconds I heard seven shots go off, sounded like a nail gun," he said.

Police Lt Dennis O'Leary said the deputies had been placed on administrative leave pending the inquiry.

Sheriff Steve Freitas described the shooting as a "tragedy" and promised the investigation would be thorough and transparent.

"As a father of two boys about this age, I can't begin to imagine the grief this family is going through," he said.

A spokeswoman for the boy's school described him as "a very loved student, a very popular, very handsome young man, very smart and capable".

Linsey Gannon, assistant principal at Lawrence Cook Middle School, said he played trumpet in the school band.

"Our community has been rocked by his loss," she said.

Candles, teddy bears and flowers have since been left at the scene of the shooting.

On Monday, a 12-year-old boy who has not been named opened fire at a school in Sparks, Nevada, killing maths teacher and Afghanistan veteran Michael Landsberry.

Police said Mr Landsberry had tried to coax the boy to drop the gun, enabling children in the playground to flee.

The boy then shot and injured two fellow pupils, before taking his own life on the outdoor basketball court.

President Barack Obama has recently renewed calls for changes to US gun laws following a series of deadly shootings. However, the BBC's Alastair Leithead in Los Angeles says the proposals face fierce resistance.

Sources : BBC

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Drones kill rescuers in 'double tap', say activists

Drones are often lauded for their supposed precision and accuracy. Sometimes, though, the machines - and their human operators - make mistakes, as two new reports from human rights organisations show.

The first round of missiles struck a tent in Zowi Sidgi, a village in North Waziristan, at dusk on 6 July 2012. A small group of miners and woodcutters had gathered there for dinner, according to Amnesty International's Mustafa Qadri.

The tent burned. Friends and family members came running to help. A moment later, there was another drone strike. Many of the people who had come to assist their friends and relatives in the tent were also killed.

Altogether 18 people died in the two rounds of drone strikes. One of the victims was a 14-year-old boy. The strikes in Zowi Sidgi fall into a special category of attacks, said Qadri, a lethal operation that includes two phases.

Mohammad Nazir's son was killed in a 2006 strike in North Waziristan

For these attacks, the US relies on consecutive rounds of strikes - missiles are dropped, killing people. A moment later - when people in the area have raced to the scene to help the wounded, another round of missiles is dropped.

'Particularly shocking'

This practice, known as a "double tap", as journalists have described, is being used more often.

"They appear to be targeting those who have come in to help those who are injured," said Qadri. "And that's particularly shocking."

His research appears in an Amnesty International report.

In a May speech at Fort McNair in Washington, however, US President Barack Obama said the drone strikes in Pakistan and other countries are "effective" and "legal".

"Before any strike is taken, there must be near certainty that no civilians will be killed or injured - the highest standard we can set," he said.

A Human Rights Watch study on drone strikes in Yemen has also been released. For the Human Rights Watch report, researchers looked at six strikes that took place in Yemen from 2009-13. Researchers claim that two of the attacks violated the laws of war "because they struck only civilians or used indiscriminate weapons".

More than 640 people have been killed in US-directed drone strikes in Yemen over the past decade, according to New America Foundation.

During this period of time, about 2,065 people were killed in strikes in Pakistan.

Most of the people who have been killed in the strikes were militants, as research done byaccording to New America Foundation has shown. But sometimes the wrong individuals are targeted.

Americans rely on information gathered by the CIA, the National Security Agency and other US agencies, as documents from former contractor Edward Snowden reveal, to plan some of the strikes.

Individuals who are planning the strikes use the information in order to determine whether or not to carry out an assault - and who should be targeted.

When contacted by the BBC, CIA officials declined to comment.

Child killed

In addition Americans may rely on so-called "pattern of life" analysis, which means they study a group of people over time in order to see if they are doing anything suspicious. The definition can be broad. Indeed Qadri and other activists believe the definition is so vague that innocent people are killed as a result.

"If you're a military-aged male, you're considered a target," he said.

For the Amnesty International report, researchers interviewed more than 60 people, including individuals who saw the strikes in Pakistan occur. Some of the interviews were done in North Waziristan. Based on this research, Qadri and others believe the drone strike in Zowi Sidgi was wrong.

"Let's assume the US made a mistake in the first strike," he said. "But in the second round it should have been clear that they were killing civilians. A child was killed.

"It's up to the US to tell us why they were targeted," he said. "In the absence of that, it's an unlawful killing."

Sources : BBC

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Big Bank to be Penalized Big Dollars

A JP Morgan Chase & Co sign is seen outside of the bank's headquarters in New York.

The largest bank in the United States has tentatively agreed to pay $13 billion in fines, penalties and consumer relief to settle several investigations into bad mortgage loans it allegedly made.

JP Morgan Chase and the U.S. Justice Department still have to finalize the deal, which also requires the bank to cooperate with a continuing criminal probe into the bank's mortgage-backed securities in the run-up to the 2008 financial meltdown.

The settlement would represent the largest penalty ever paid by a single company. The $13 billion total would include $4 billion in aid for struggling homeowners, such as loan modifications.

A number of federal and state regulators claim that JP Morgan Chase misled investors about the quality of the mortgages it was selling between 2005 and 2007 When the so-called housing bubble burst in 2007, investors in those mortgages lost heavily.

The bank has set aside at least $23 billion in reserves to cover settlements and legal expenses related to its actions before and after the financial crisis.

Sources : VOA

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US to Use Romanian Airbase for Afghan Pullout

Romania has agreed to allow the U.S. military to use an airbase near the Black Sea as a key logistics hub for getting supplies and troops into and out of Afghanistan.

Pentagon officials said the agreement reached Friday will allow them to move their operations away from Kyrgyzstan, where lawmakers had voted not to renew the U.S. lease at Manas airbase beyond July 2014.

The United States is working on pulling out most of its combat forces and equipment from Afghanistan by the end of next year.

Washington, however, hopes to keep a few thousand troops in Afghanistan after next year's deadline, but has yet to forge an agreement with the government in Kabul.

Sources : USA

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Changes Coming Atop US Intelligence Agencies

Some U.S. intelligence agencies are undergoing changes in leadership. The director of the National Security Agency and his deputy are resigning, and President Barack Obama has nominated a new secretary of Homeland Security.

Army General Keith Alexander will step down next year as NSA director and commander of the military Cyber Command, according to U.S. officials.

Alexander has led the spy agency for eight years, making him the longest-serving director in NSA history.

In the last few months, he has dealt with leaks by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden about the agency's broad collection of telephone and email data.

National Security Agency Director General Keith Alexander leaves the White House in Washington, Oct. 2, 2013.

White House press secretary Jay Carney denied Thursday that Alexander's departure is related to the Snowden leaks.

"The answer is no. We can confirm that several weeks ago, General Alexander affirmed to the president that he intends to depart his post in the spring of 2014," said Carney. "When he was extended for the third time as the director of the NSA and head of Cyber Command in March of 2013, General Alexander indicated his interest in retiring next spring."

The NSA leader's plan to leave was first reported in June.

Alexander's civilian deputy also is reported to be leaving. Chris Inglis is said to be retiring at the end of this year.

Alexander's exit will give Obama a chance to appoint a new leader for both the spy agency and Cyber Command, or, as some have suggested, to install separate leaders for the two agencies.

Meanwhile, Snowden, in a New York Times interview published Thursday, said he gave all classified NSA documents in his possession to journalists in Hong Kong, not to Russian or Chinese authorities.

In addition, Obama has announced that he is appointing former Pentagon lawyer Jeh Johnson to lead the Department of Homeland Security. If confirmed by the Senate, Johnson would succeed Janet Napolitano, who recently resigned.

Sources : VOA

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Google Unveils Plans for User Names, Comments to Appear in Ads

Google Inc plans to launch new product-endorsement ads incorporating photos, comments and names of its users, in a move to match the “social” ads pioneered by rival Facebook Inc that is raising some privacy concerns.

 

The changes, which Google announced in a revised terms of service policy on Friday, set the stage for Google to introduce “shared endorsements” ads on its sites as well as millions of other websites that are part of Google's display advertising network.

 

Exterior view of Google headquarters in Mountain View, California.

The new types of ads would use personal information of the members of Google+, the social network launched by the company in 2011.

 

If a Google+ user has publicly endorsed a particular brand or product by clicking on the +1 button, that person's image might appear in an ad. Reviews and ratings of restaurants or music that Google+ users share on other Google services, such as in the Google Play online store, would also become fair game for advertisers.

 

The ads are similar to the social ads on Facebook, the world's No. 1 social network, which has 1.15 billion users.

 

Those ads are attractive to marketers, but they unfairly commercialize Internet users' images, said Marc Rotenberg, the director of online privacy group EPIC.

 

“It's a huge privacy problem,” said Rotenberg. He said the U.S. Federal Trade Commission should review the policy change to determine whether it violates a 2011 consent order Google entered into which prohibits the company from retroactively changing users' privacy settings.

 

Users under 18 will be exempt from the ads and Google+ users will have the ability to opt out. But Rotenberg said users “shouldn't have to go back and restore their privacy defaults every time Google makes a change.”

 

Information Google+ users have previously shared with a limited “circle” of friends will remain viewable only to that group, as will any shared endorsement ads that incorporate the information, Google said in a posting on its website explaining the new terms of service.

 

Google, which makes the vast majority of its revenue from advertising, operates the world's most popular Web search engine as well as other online services such as maps, email and video website YouTube.

 

The revised terms of service are the latest policy change by Google to raise privacy concerns.  Last month, French regulators said they would begin a process to sanction Google for a 2012 change to its policy that allowed the company to combine data collected on individual users across its services, including YouTube, Gmail and social network Google+. Google has said its privacy policy respects European law and is intended to create better services for its users.

 

Google's latest terms of service change will go live on November 11.

Sources : VOA

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Al-Qaida Suspect Al-Libi Pleads Not Guilty in NY Court

Libyan Al-Qaida suspect Abu Anas al-Libi pleaded not guilty in a New York court on charges linking him to the bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa in 1998. 

Al-Libi was snatched off a street in Tripoli by American special forces October 5, and interrogated on an U.S. Navy ship before he was brought to New York a few days ago.

Al-Libi, whose real name is Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai, has long been under federal indictment for allegedly planning the deadly 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. He also is charged with conspiring with Osama bin Laden to attack U.S. forces in Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Somalia.

Shuffling into a heavily guarded courtroom, the gray-bearded al-Libi appeared weak and looked older than his 49 years. Through an Arabic interpreter he entered a plea of “not guilty” and requested a court-appointed public defender because he cannot afford a private attorney.

 This file image from the FBI website shows Anas al-Libi, an al-Qaida leader connected to the 1998 embassy bombings in eastern Africa and wanted by the United States for more than a decade.

News reports say al-Libi is suffering from hepatitis, and that his condition worsened aboard the ship when he stopped eating. The judge signed a medical order at the request of attorneys, but no details were released.

New York criminal lawyer Ron Kuby, who has defended other terror suspects, noted the government has successfully tried five defendants accused in the embassy bombings.

“So the government’s path to conviction is smooth and clear and well-traveled, assuming they have evidence against al-Libi that’s comparable to the evidence against others,” said Kuby.

But Kuby said the weeklong interrogation of al-Libi aboard the warship could damage the case - because of rules requiring that someone arrested on a federal criminal indictment be brought before a judge without delay.

“The reason is the American observation of regimes where people are simply arrested and held incommunicado for protracted periods of time, is considered inconsistent with liberty and a society that values human rights,” said Kuby.

Administration officials maintain that the seizure and interrogation did not constitute a formal arrest, and that al-Libi was not officially put under arrest until October 12.

One of the last

Karen Greenberg, director of the Center on National Security at Fordham Law School, said al-Libi is one of the last of the suspects to face justice for the 1998 bombings. Twenty-one were indicted in the case.

“And there are only four outstanding who haven’t been killed or captured, so it brings more closure to that case, which is a central case,” said Greenberg.

The greater significance, she said, is that all the trials so far have been in federal court.

“So it creates that narrative that our courts can try individuals who have attacked the United States, caused deaths, and can be brought to justice here in our court system and not in a military tribunal,” added Greenberg.

In contrast, more than 150 foreign nationals once suspected of terrorism have been held for years in a prison on the U.S. Navy's Guantanamo Bay base. About half have been cleared of suspicion. A handful of others have been tried through military tribunals, but many have neither been brought to trial or released.

Al-Libi reportedly was a computer expert and top aide to Osama bin Laden in the early years of al-Qaida. In Libya, however, members of his family deny that he is an al-Qaida member.

Sources : VOA

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New York Man Arrested for Trying to Join al-Qaida

U.S. authorities have arrested a 25-year-old New York man on charges that he tried to join an Al-Qaida-related organization in Yemen and conspired to commit murders overseas.

Marcos Alonso Zea, as known as "Ali Zea," was arrested Friday at his home in Brentwood, on Long Island.

Sandra Zea speaks to reporters outside the U.S. District Courthouse in Central Islip, N.Y., following the arraignment of hers son Marcos Alonzo Zea, Oct. 18, 2013.

He is charged with with conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country, attempting to support terrorists and al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, known as Ansar al-Sharia, and obstruction of justice.

He pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail.

Last year, Zea attempted to fly to Yemen but was stopped by British officials because he lacked the documents to enter Yemen. He was returned to the United States.

Sources : VOA

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Karzai, Kerry Closer to Troops Agreement

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) arrives for a second meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the Presidential Palace in Kabul

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Afghan President Hamid Karzai say they are closer to an agreement on bilateral security but differences remain over the question of immunity for U.S. troops.

The two officials commented in Kabul late Saturday, following extended talks on a possible U.S. presence in Afghanistan after the NATO-led military mission ends next year.

President Karzai said the question of which country had jurisdiction over any crimes committed by U.S. forces after 2014 would have to be resolved by the Afghan parliament and an assembly of elders.

Kerry said the U.S. could prosecute any wrongdoing by American forces.

The U.S. has been pushing for an agreement with Afghanistan by the end of this month.

The talks between Washington and Kabul have been in progress for more than a year.

However, they have repeatedly stalled on issues of Afghan sovereignty, the expected role of U.S. forces, and Karzai's demand for American guarantees against future foreign intervention. If there is no agreement, U.S. forces will leave by the end of 2014.

In another development, U.S. officials announced the capture of senior Pakistani Taliban commander Latif Mehsud.

Word of his capture came as Kerry met with Karzai on Friday.

A U.S. State Department spokeswoman said Mehsud was captured in eastern Afghanistan.

The spokeswoman said Mehsud's group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan had claimed responsibility for attacks that include an attempted bombing in New York's Times Square in 2010.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.

Sources

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US Senate has Rare Sunday Session Days Amid Fiscal Impasse

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, center, accompanied by Democratic leaders, gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington,

The U.S. Senate holds a rare Sunday session just days before a deadline to raise the country's debt ceiling, and nearly two weeks into a partial government shutdown.
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said he and Republican leader Mitch McConnell held positive talks Saturday, but that the two sides still had a long way to go.
Reid criticized Senate Republicans who rejected a Democratic plan that would have raised the government's borrowing limit through next year. Republicans said they wanted any extension to include spending cuts.
The International Monetary Fund's policy committee Saturday pleaded with U.S. leaders to take "urgent action to address short-term fiscal uncertainties," echoing calls from G-20 financial leaders a day earlier. And the head of the World Bank (Jim Yong Kim) urged lawmakers to avert the crisis, or "it could be a disastrous event for the developing world," and also greatly hurt developed countries.
President Barack Obama has warned that the economy could be hurt if Washington fails to pay its bills for the first time in history. The deadline to raise the debt ceiling is Thursday.
Democratic legislative leaders met with the president Saturday, searching for a way forward, but there was no apparent progress made toward a deal.
Meanwhile, the partial government shutdown entered its 13th day Sunday with no obvious end in sight as legislators continue to squabble.
However, officials at three of the most famous U.S. national parks - the Statue of Liberty, the Grand Canyon and Mount Rushmore - have announced they are reopening. The move comes after state governors agreed to provide the money needed to operate the parks.

Sources

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US, Philippine Forces End Joint Maneuvers

U.S. and Philippine Marines board a CH-53 to prepare for a water insertion exercise to practice jumping from the chopper into water for raids and humanitarian assistance, Philippine Marine Base Gregorio Lim, Ternate, Cavite, Sept. 20, 2013.

More than 2,000 U.S. and Philippine marines finished three weeks of joint amphibious exercises in the northern Philippines Friday, capping the year’s joint training agenda, which officials of both countries hope will be expanded in the near future.  But the U.S. government shutdown has cast a shadow as the two governments talk about more U.S. troop visits to the Philippines. 

The bilateral exercises closed on a day that President Barack Obama was supposed to go the Philippines.  But he canceled his visit because of the U.S. government shutdown.  Secretary of State John Kerry was scheduled to go in his stead, but Kerry’s trip was canceled Thursday afternoon because Manila was about to be battered by a typhoon.

Despite the nixed trips, Visiting Forces Commission Executive Director Edilberto Adan said the Philippines remains reassured by its partnership with the United States.

“We have our common values.  We want a democracy that is alive.  Both our nations respect the rule of law.  We want freedom of navigation of our seas.  So this alliance is emphasized through these exercises that these two nations remain committed to the purpose, to the objectives, of the Mutual Defense Treaty,” Adan stated.

Negotiators from the Philippines and the U.S. are currently combing through the Treaty and the Visiting Forces Agreement to work out how the Philippines will accommodate more frequent U.S. troop visits.

The U.S. wants easy access to areas where it could dock ships, land planes and have equipment positioned and ready to use.  Philippine negotiators say the plan fits well with their weak and aging military’s $1.8 billion upgrade program, and add that having more training opportunities with a visible American presence would help form a “minimum credible defense posture.”  The Philippines is in a territorial dispute with China over rocks and outcroppings in the South China Sea, which China claims almost entirely.

While the details of the agreement were being scrutinized by the parties in several rounds of talks in Washington and Manila, marines from both countries carried out exercises in waters near disputed territory.

On a windy Friday in Ternate, Cavite - about 220 kilometers southeast of the contested Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea - a massive CH-53 helicopter whirred above the choppy water of a small beach.  A few dozen marines in full gear jumped out of its belly aiming for rubber boats below.

The troops were practicing entering locations through water for military raids and humanitarian purposes.

This was not the first time Philippine marines practiced the maneuver.  But Philippine Marines spokesman Vince Salmingo said it was an important activity to share with U.S. counterparts.

“The new thing here is as much as possible we try to… avail of a new unit to do this.  Our other guys were able to undergo the same training before," Salmingo explained. "But for this particular exercise… it is going to be a new unit but the same training.”

The pending agreement makes clear that there will be no U.S. bases in the Philippines, which closed down century-old American installations in 1992 under domestic pressure. The Philippine negotiators say they do not expect any doubling of the thousands of troops that come every year for joint activities.

The Mutual Defense Board, comprised of both countries’ officials, is meeting next week to plan the coming year’s joint exercises.  Undersecretary Adan said they hope to have additional training scheduled under the anticipated agreement.

Sources

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Kerry Visits Afghanistan For Talks With Karzai

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry takes off in a black hawk helicopter after arriving for an unannounced visit to Kabul on October 11, 2013.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan for talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, as a deadline approaches for a security deal over the future of U.S. troops in the country.
The countries are trying to hammer out an agreement by the end of October to allow U.S. forces to stay in Afghanistan after the NATO-led military mission ends next year.
Washington and Kabul have been talking for over a year and have been stalled over issues of Afghan sovereignty, the expected role of U.S. forces, and Mr. Karzai's demand for American guarantees against future foreign intervention.
If there is no agreement, U.S. forces will leave after 2014.

Sumber

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Hawking documentary details triumph of mind over ravaged body

Stephen Hawking believes the afterlife is a fairytale and has battled the steady deterioration of his body all his life, the British cosmologist told an audience attending the premiere of a documentary about him.

The 71-year-old author of the bestselling "Brief History of Time", who earlier this week backed the right for the terminally ill to end their lives as long as safeguards were in place, was diagnosed with motor neurone disease at the age of 21 and given two to three years to live.

"All my life I have lived with the threat of an early death, so I hate wasting time," the wheelchair-bound Hawking said on Thursday night, using the computer-generated voice he controls with a facial muscle and a blink from one eye.

In "Hawking", the world`s most famous theoretical physicist says he is not afraid of death, and after the screening told audience members the afterlife was a fairytale for people afraid of the dark.

"I think the brain is like a programme in the mind which is like a computer, so it`s theoretically possible to copy the brain onto a computer and so provide a form of life after death," he said.

"However this is way beyond our breadth and capabilities."

The documentary explores the headlong rush of a brilliant schoolboy with illegible handwriting who enjoyed the dilettante Oxford University life before illness sparked a lifelong frenzy of discovery about the origins of the universe, which began as a graduate at Cambridge University and has astounded the world.

U.S. theoretical physicist Kip Thorne said before the premiere that the young Hawking`s application of mathematical techniques to theories on the birth of the universe showed things no one had ever been previously able to touch.

"This was just so far beyond what anybody else had been able to do at that time in a compelling way that it was clear that there was something really amazing about this man," said Thorne, who has been friends with Hawking since the 1960s.

The film - written and narrated by Hawking - lays bare the determination of a man whose illness forced him to invent ways to keep one of the modern world`s greatest minds from being silenced as he steadily lost control of his body.

"He is the most stubborn man I have ever met," Thorne said.

The film premiered in the same year his autobiography "Stephen Hawking: My Brief History" was released.

Hawking`s sister Mary says in the film that her brother was highly competitive, curious about everything in a household which friends described as very academic, and explains how she received a doll`s house as a present when they were children, to which Stephen immediately added plumbing and electrics.

Mary told Reuters that life with her brother was engaging, exciting and occasionally frustrating. "It`s a waste of time arguing with Stephen, he always manages to turn the argument round," she said.

The film dashes through Hawking`s early years, interspersed with footage from his life as it is today at conferences, receptions and in his Cambridge University offices with graduate students. The main focus stays on his efforts to keep working.

"There is nothing like a eureka moment," he says in the film. "I won`t compare it to sex, but it lasts longer."

"Hawking" also allows the world into his family life with first wife Jane and their three children, the breakdown of their marriage and his subsequent marriage to one of his carers.

Jane appears on camera to explain how the pressures of caring for the children and the increasingly disabled Hawking became even worse once full-time nurses were brought into the home, obliterating any privacy.

His second wife and former nurse, Elaine Mason, does not appear in the film, and Hawking portrays their 1995-2007 marriage with a few pictures and a brief description.

It`s not Hawking`s first appearance in the world of popular media. His "Brief History of Time" was a bestseller, he has written children`s books with his daughter Lucy and made TV appearances including on "Star Trek", "The Simpsons" and most recently science comedy "The Big Bang Theory".

Strapped into his wheelchair with a computer screen mounted before him, Hawking displayed the active mind and sense of humour he told the audience has been vital to his survival.

"If I had to choose a superhero to be, I would pick Superman," he said. "I would love to be able to leap from building to building and I had a crush on Margot Kidder who played Lois Lane." 

Sources

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Snowden's Father Arrives in Moscow

The father of former National Security Agency analyst Edward Snowden has arrived in Moscow in hopes of meeting with his son, who has been given asylum in Russia.
Lon Snowden arrived at the Moscow airport, where the younger Snowden spent more than a month in limbo before being granted asylum, on Thursday. Edward Snowden has been charged in federal court in the United States for violations of the Espionage Act after leaking details of U.S. government surveillance programs.

Lon Snowden, father of National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden on the "Today," show in New York.

The elder Snowden told reporters Thursday that he hopes to see his son during his visit to Russia but does not know what Edward Snowden's plans for the future are. He said he is not sure whether his son would return to the United States, but said he has "extreme gratitude" that Edward Snowden is "safe, secure, and free" in Russia.

"I cannot speak for my son and really the legal issues. I'm his father and I don't want to really share my opinions at this point in time. I'm simply thankful that my son is safe and free," said the elder Snowden.

Lon Snowden was met at the airport by Anatoly Kucherena, Edward Snowden's Russian lawyer.

The younger Snowden was held at the Moscow airport starting June 23, when he arrived on a flight from Hong Kong with a revoked U.S. passport. He was allowed to leave the airport August 1 after obtaining temporary asylum in Russia, despite protests from the United States. His whereabouts in Russia have not been made public. 

Sources

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Source: House Republicans Weigh Debt Ceiling Hike Without Add-ons

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio speaks about the ongoing budget battle, Oct. 8, 2013, outside his office on Capitol Hill in Washington.

U.S. House of Representatives Republicans are weighing a short-term debt limit increase with no added policy changes, such as deficit-reduction requirements, according to a source with knowledge of the discussions.
The source, who asked not to be identified, said the initiative gained steam after the Heritage Foundation began pushing for this kind of straight-forward debt limit increase, albeit a short-term one, that Democrats have been insisting upon.
 If such a bill moves forward in the House it would represent a major shift in position.

Sources

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Dr. Rongxiang Xu Addresses the Ongoing Lawsuit Against Nobel Committee

And its Continuous False Advertisement of Fake Pluripotent Stem Cell

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 9, 2013 (ANTARA/PRNewswire) -- Dr. Rongxiang Xu, the founder of "human body regenerative restoration science" and the patentee of damaged organ regeneration- a top priority claimed in President Obama's 2013 State of the Union, addresses the ongoing lawsuit against Nobel Committee and its continuous false advertisement of fake pluripotent stem cell during the past year since Dr. Xu initially filed his lawsuit against the Academy citing, among other claims, libel and unfair competition.
  
Given the winners of 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine were disclosed this week and the Nobel Assembly has not yet made any clarification on its 2012 Prize in Medicine while continuing with its endorsement and false advertisement of fake pluripotent stem cells, Dr. Xu had to come out and tell the public why he sued the Nobel Assembly in 2012 and the progress of the lawsuit.
  
On October 8, 2012, The Nobel Assembly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Shinya Yamanaka and another expert in nuclear transfer for artificially creating the pluripotency of human somatic cells. In the awarding press release and advertising documentary, the Nobel Assembly stated clearly that the prize winner successfully converted somatic cells into pluripotent stem cells by reprogramming genes. But the winner himself did not acknowledge he produced pluripotent stem cells from somatic cells (tissue cells), "My current research focuses on ways to generate cells resembling embryonic stem cells by reprogramming somatic, or skin, cells. I was awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for my discovery that adult somatic cells can be reprogrammed into pluripotent cells," claimed Yamanaka in his declaration. On the other hand, the first claim of Dr. Xu's organ regeneration application patent (US6991813) shows that human somatic cells, cultured in regenerative nutritional substances, can be converted in situ into pluripotent stem cells (keratin 19 expressing stem cells) and regenerate physiological tissues and organs in situ. This procedure has been accomplished in human use. Therefore, Dr. Xu has demonstrated that the human body has the innate regenerative potential to convert somatic cells into pluripotent stem cells; this regenerative potential is not created artificially.

On December 3, 2012, Dr. Xu sued the Nobel Assembly because of its false and misleading reporting has slandered Dr. Xu's reputation and the vendibility of his patents. Dr. Xu has also publically requested the Nobel Assembly to clarify whether the human regenerative potential by conversion into pluripotent stem cells is innate or created artificially by the Nobel prize winner. "Because this is a principle issue regarding the authenticity of life science and this point has to be clarified. This lawsuit is not only for my title to patent, but also for disclosing the truth of human regenerative potential on behalf of the public," said Dr. Xu, "In almost one year after my submission of the lawsuit against the Nobel Assembly, they have not yet had any response to aforementioned scientific principle issue. Instead, they have delayed the suit by removing the case to a federal court in the same area. In the meanwhile, they produced a documentary video covering the introduction of fake pluripotent stem cells and used it to further promote its misleading information on TV. In this period, my attorney informed me about the Nobel Assembly's invitation for a meeting to discuss the possibility of a settlement. While we would consider settlement as one of the options, because we just want to protect our rights by asking the Nobel Assembly to make a clarification on whether Yamanaka created a real pluripotent stem cell or fake pluripotent stem cell; we have no intention to undermine the reputation of the Nobel Assembly, but the filing of a suit was the only way which we could compel the Nobel Assembly to provide a response."

On May 8, 2013, Dr. Xu filed a lawsuit against Dr. Shinya Yamanaka, one of the winners of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, for that the cell produced by Yamanaka using reprogramming method is a fake pluripotent stem cell, while Yamanaka named it "induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)" in his research and promote his fake pluripotent stem cell using the name and function of real pluripotent stem cell, do fraud with the name of iPSC. Therefore, Dr. Xu sued Yamanaka and asked the Court to grant a relief which would require Yamanaka to refrain from using the terms of real pluripotent stem cell or iPSC to describe his fake pluripotent stem cell.  Yamanaka acknowledged in his declaration that "If granted, this declaratory and injunctive relief would severely undermine my reputation in the scientific community, undermine our life-saving research, and cripple our ability to obtain funding for this research. The damage to my reputation, intellectual property, research, and income would certainly far exceed $75,000 if the relief requested by the Plaintiffs were granted."

From Dr. Xu's perspective, by employing the name of pluripotent stem cells both the Nobel Assembly and Dr. Yamanaka have committed false advertising. They do so to enhance the prestige of the prize and benefit from popularizing the fake pluripotent stem cell, respectively. Dr. Xu is steadfast in clarifying the defendants' conduct of false advertisements and unfair competition by continuous legal suits, no matter wherever they are and how many interest groups are involved, whereby to restore the authenticity and safety of scientific community.
   

About Dr. Rongxiang Xu

Dr. Rongxiang Xu is the founder of "Human Body Regenerative Restoration Science" (HBRRS), a renowned life scientist and medical scientist and chairman of the board of MEBO International, a California and Beijing based intellectual property Management Company responsible for managing HBRRS. Dr. Xu is also a standing Member of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, and Honorable Chairman of the Chinese Burn Association of the Integration of Traditional and Western Medicine.
  
For more information on Dr. Xu, visit www.mebo-international.com

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Federal Reserve Board Issues Redesigned $100 Note

The Federal Reserve on Tuesday began supplying financial institutions with a redesigned $100 note that incorporates new security features to deter counterfeiters and help businesses and consumers tell whether a note is genuine.

Distance, demand, and the policies of individual financial institutions will influence how quickly the redesigned notes reach businesses and consumers around the world.

"The new design incorporates security features that make it easier to authenticate, but harder to replicate," said Federal Reserve Board Governor Jerome H. Powell. "As the new note transitions into daily transactions, the user-friendly security features will allow the public to more easily verify its authenticity."

The Federal Reserve, U.S. Department of the Treasury, U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and the U.S. Secret Service partner to redesign Federal Reserve notes to stay ahead of counterfeiting threats.

The redesigned $100 note includes two new security features: a blue 3-D security ribbon with images of bells and 100s, and a color-changing bell in an inkwell. The new features, and additional features retained from the previous design, such as a watermark, offer the public a simple way to visually authenticate the redesigned $100 note.

Consumers worldwide are advised that it is not necessary to trade in older-design $100 notes for new ones. It is U.S. government policy that all designs of U.S. currency remain legal tender, regardless of when they were issued.

For more information about the new design $100 note, as well as training and educational materials, visit www.newmoney.gov.

 

Sources

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