Watches the Thais rule to extradite Russian arms suspect to US

We are saw the Thais rule to extradite Russian arms suspect to US
BANGKOK (AP) -- A Thai appeals court on Friday ordered the extradition of suspected Russian arms smuggler Viktor Bout to the United States, angering Moscow but paving the way to put the man dubbed the "Merchant of Death" on trial.

Shackled in leg irons, Bout vowed to prove his innocence in an American courtroom.

"We will face the trial in the United States and win it," Bout told reporters in Russian after the verdict, according to Russia's RIA Novosti news agency.

The court ordered Bout's extradition within three months, overturning a lower court's ruling in August 2009 that rejected a U.S. request that he face trial there. No further judicial appeals are possible in Thailand.

The ruling is a victory for the Obama administration, which summoned the Thai ambassador in Washington this week so U.S. officials could "emphasize that this is of the highest priority to the United States," according to State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called the court decision "unlawful and political." Without mentioning the United States, he said the ruling was influenced by "very strong outside pressure."

Experts say Bout has been useful for Russia's intelligence apparatus, and Moscow does not want him going on trial in the United States.

Bout, a 43-year-old former Soviet air force officer, is reputed to be one of the world's most prolific arms dealers. He has allegedly supplied weapons that fueled civil wars in South America, the Middle East and Africa, with clients including Liberia's Charles Taylor and Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and both sides of the civil war in Angola.

The head of a lucrative air transport empire, Bout has long evaded U.N. and U.S. sanctions aimed at blocking his financial activities and restricting his travel. He has denied any involvement in illicit activities and claims he ran a legitimate business.

The 2005 Nicolas Cage film, "Lord of War," is widely believed to be modeled after Bout's life.

Bout's nickname arose from his 1990s-era notoriety for running a fleet of aging Soviet-era cargo planes to conflict-ridden hotspots in Africa. A high-ranking minister at Britain's Foreign Office first used it in 2000 to single out Bout for his alleged arms role in Africa.

Dressed in an orange prison uniform, Bout stood after the verdict was announced. Tears welled in his eyes as he hugged his wife and daughter, who wept. He was led out of the courtroom and back to a Bangkok prison where court officials said he would remain until the extradition is processed.

"This is the most unfair decision possible," his wife, Alla Bout, told reporters, speaking in Russian through a translator. "It is known the world over that this is a political case."

Bout's arrest by Thai authorities in March 2008 landed Bout in prison for the first time and set off a legal tug-of-war between the U.S. and Russia.

Pavel Felgenhauer, an independent Moscow-based military analyst, called Bout a "prize catch" for Washington and an embarrassment for Moscow.

"The activities he was performing involved a lot of Russian government officials. The information he has, many parties want to keep under wraps," Felgenhauer said.

The U.S. could secure key military intelligence not only on Russia but on other former Soviet states where Bout operated, he said, adding that if Bout were to accept a plea bargain, "He could really start to sing."

Bout's arrest at a Bangkok luxury hotel was part of an elaborate sting in which U.S. agents posed as arms buyers for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which Washington classifies as a terrorist organization.

Bout was subsequently indicted in the U.S. on four terrorism-related charges that include conspiring to sell millions of dollars worth of weapons to FARC, including more than 700 surface-to-air missiles, thousands of guns, high-tech helicopters and airplanes outfitted with grenade launchers and missiles.

The U.S. indictment also charged Bout with conspiring to kill Americans, conspiring to kill U.S. officers or employees, and conspiring to provide material support to terrorists.

The Russian faces a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted.

In August 2009, the Bangkok Criminal Court rejected a U.S. extradition request. It said that Thailand considers FARC a political movement and not a terrorist group, and that extradition under a Thai-U.S. treaty could not be granted for a political offense.

But the appeals court disagreed, saying Friday that under Thai law the charges against Bout were considered criminal, not political.

"Given that the defendant was charged with conspiring to kill American citizens and American officers, conspiring to source ... anti-aircraft missiles, and acquire weapons for a terrorist group like FARC - these are criminal offenses not just in the country where he is a plaintiff but also the country receiving the charges," the ruling said.

"The court has decided that these charges have no political characteristic as the lower court ruled, therefore the appeals court disagrees with the verdict," the ruling said. "The court has decided to overturn (the lower court verdict). Now Viktor Bout would have be extradited to the U.S. within three months according to the extradition act."

Bout's lawyer, Lak Nittiwattanawichan, said he would try to keep fighting.

"I am going to submit a request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Cabinet. I will also submit a request to the king and queen," he said.

Coppied by http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_THAILAND_US_ARMS_SUSPECT?SITE=CAWOO&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2010-08-20-02-28-52

approximately 4,000 years ago Woolly mammoth extinction 'not linked to humans'

Watches this Woolly mammoth extinction 'not linked to humans'
By Pallab Ghosh
Science correspondent, BBC News

The woolly mammoth finally died out approximately 4,000 years ago
Woolly mammoths died out because of dwindling grasslands - rather than being hunted to extinction by humans, according to a new study.

After the coldest phase of the last ice age 21,000 years ago, the research revealed, there was a dramatic decline in pasture on which the mammoths fed.

The woolly mammoth was once commonplace across many parts of Europe.

It retreated to northern Siberia about 14,000 years ago, where it finally died out approximately 4,000 years ago.

The reasons for its extinction are unclear and have been a matter of heated scientific debate.

Some scientists have argued that it was principally the result of climate change while others say that it was driven by pressures of a growing human population, or even a cataclysmic meteor strike.

Now, according to Professor Brian Huntley of Durham University, that debate has been settled.

"What our results have suggested is that the changing climate - through the effect it had on vegetation - was the key thing that caused the reduction in the population and ultimate extinction of mammoths and many other large herbivores," he said.

Professor Huntley and his colleagues created a computer simulation of vegetation in Europe, Asia and North America over the last 42,000 years.

They did this by combining estimates of what the climate was like during this period with models of how various plants grow under different conditions.

They found that the cold and dry conditions during the ice age, with reduced concentrations of carbon dioxide, didn't favour the growth of trees.

So instead of forests there were vast areas of pasture, which was ideal for large herbivores, such as woolly mammoths. But as a result of a warmer, wetter climate and rising concentrations of carbon dioxide at the end of the ice age, trees emerged at the expense of the grasslands.

"During the height of the ice age, mammoths and other large herbivores would have had more food to eat," said Professor Huntley.

"But as we shifted into the post-glacial stage, trees gradually displaced those herbaceous ecosystems and that much reduced their grazing area."
Coppied by http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11000635

The body karen who Karen Woo: shot doctor's body repatriated back to UK from Afghanistan

Aid worker Karen Woo was one of ten people shot by the Taliban Photo: FACEBOOK
Saw this Karen Woo: shot doctor's body repatriated back to UK from Afghanistan
The body of Karen Woo, the aid worker killed by the Taliban in Afghanistan, has been repatriated back to Britain.
Dr Woo, who was due to marry later this week, was one of 10 workers shot down earlier this month as they tried to hide during an ambush by militants.
The 36 year-old’s body was brought back to Britain on a British Airways plane from Kabul, landing at Heathrow Airport just after lunch on Monday.

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In a statement issued through the Foreign Office, Dr Woo’s family paid tribute to the “team of brave and selfless people”.
“We would like to thank all those who have expressed sympathy and support over the past week – the public reaction has been overwhelming and generous,” they said.
“However, we would also like to take this opportunity to emphasise that while Karen was the only UK national involved in this incident, she was part of a team of brave and selfless people who were determined to make a difference and the sacrifice of the whole group and their families should be recognised.”
The sole survivor of the attack, the workers’ Afghan driver, has given a detailed account of the attack, saying several of the charity workers tried to hide among vehicles but were gunned down or hit with a grenade as they fled.
Two of the three women in the team, which included Dr Woo, jumped into a 4x4 vehicle to try to escape but were killed by a grenade, in the northeast province of Badakhshan on August 5.
The team, which comprised Dr Woo, six Americans, a German and three Afghans, was ambushed after travelling about 100 miles on foot and horseback through mountains to the province of Nuristan treating eye disease among impoverished villagers.
The team returned to their vehicles to drive back to Kabul when they were ambushed.
Ten gunmen with covered faces ran at them shooting in the air and demanding their satellite phones.
After the driver’s testimony emerged, the International Assistant Mission said the attack was now believed to be the work of a band of insurgent fighters, rather than common bandits.
Dr Karen Woo’s fiancé, Mark “Paddy” Smith, told an emotional crowd gathered in Kabul’s secluded British Cemetery for a memorial last week that she would not have wanted them to dwell on her death.
A private British funeral for Dr Woo will be held at a later date.
Coppied by http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/7948692/Karen-Woo-shot-doctors-body-repatriated-back-to-UK-from-Afghanistan.html

The Kosovo Security Force is an important part of Kosovo's transitionKosovo state edges forward slowly

Watches now Kosovo state edges forward slowly

By Mark Lowen
BBC News, Kosovo
In arid scrubland under a scorching sun in southern Kosovo, a group of uniformed men don heavy helmets and protective vests.

These recruits from the recently formed Kosovo Security Force (KSF) are taught to take every precaution.

They are learning how to defuse explosive devices - still a vital task 11 years after the end of the Kosovan war.

Once the detonation wire is fed along the parched earth to the device, an electrical current is sent, producing a large controlled explosion.

The training comes from some of the 10,000 Nato peacekeepers that remain here.
New focus
The building of the KSF is an integral part of Kosovo's transition as it moves from an international protectorate to a locally-run, self-sufficient state.

It is a process that the Kosovan government believes can be accelerated now that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague has said that the declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008 did not violate international law.

The court's opinion was sought by Serbia, which still sees Kosovo as its own southern province.

Continue reading the main story
“
Start Quote

I think the north will never be part of the independent republic of Kosovo”

Resident
Mitrovica
Belgrade has refused to accept the result but the Kosovan government hopes it will prompt more countries to recognise the declaration of independence.

But with the ICJ hurdle crossed, the focus now shifts to the other manifold problems facing Kosovo as it tries to gain acceptance as a functional, independent country.

A serious challenge to that goal comes from the Serb-dominated north, where people reject the secession by Kosovo's Albanian majority and where the central government still exercises practically no control.

In the northern part of the city of Mitrovica, Serbian flags flutter from the buildings and Belgrade-run "parallel institutions" are in place.

"I've lived in Serbia until now and I can't say I'm living in a different state," 35-year-old Diana tells me on the main street.

"The situation is bad for us," she says. "There's no security."

'Black hole'
"I think the north will never be part of the independent republic of Kosovo," says another woman.

"Just like the rest of Kosovo will no longer be part of Serbia."

With political deadlock in the north, crime has flourished.

Sixty-nine countries recognise Kosovan independence
"We have to start handing over to Kosovan institutions."

But that process of transferring control is a slow one here as many local structures are still deemed too weak to work alone.

It is Eulex, backed up by local bodies, that led a recent drive to combat arguably the most serious hindrance to a fully-functional government: corruption - said by international observers to be endemic and institutional.

'War against corruption'
A joint operation last month led to the arrest of the Central Bank governor.

But when Eulex raided the offices of the minister of transport - a wartime ally of Prime Minister Hashim Thaci - the government reacted badly, prompting some to question whether protecting age-old colleagues is seen as more important than tackling the issues.

Continue reading the main story
“
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I will not protect anyone. The law will be without compromise for all those who violate it”

Hashim Thaci
Prime Minister
"I will not protect anyone," the prime minister tells me.

"The law will be without compromise for all those who violate it. The past gives immunity to nobody."

I read him the conclusion of a report by the International Crisis Group, which said that virtually nobody they spoke to on the ground believes the current government supports the rule of law.

"This is the first government that has started fighting corruption after ten years of closing our eyes," he assures me.

So if the anti-corruption operation leads from the minister of transport deeper into his government, will he support the investigation?

"Of course," he replies. "I will lead the war against corruption."

But the critics are not convinced.

"The entire corruptive activities happen within our government," says Ilir Deda, director of the political think-tank Kipred.

Kosovan battle
"There is no political will to fight corruption because it would mean that the political establishment would have to start fighting itself."

Mr Reeve says Eulex hopes to start handing over to Kosovan institutions soon
"The only way our political elite can become responsible is if they fail and then own up to the results they deliver," he says, arguing that the large international presence in Kosovo needs to be scaled down.

"Some battles must be fought by Kosovans," he adds.

In many areas, Kosovo functions well.

Its police force is held up as a model of efficiency. It is a member of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, and its independence has already been recognised by 69 countries.

But the problems run deep: among them, anger from the Serb community, impasse in the north, and corruption.

This tiny territory is edging forward slowly, but the challenge now is to build the state.

Coppied by http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-10988969

British airport Deal agreed to prevent strike action at six UK airports

watches now enjoy Deal agreed to prevent strike action at six UK airports
LONDON – British airport operator BAA and the Unite union have reached a deal to prevent a strike at major UK airports.

“We are pleased to report that a basis for settlement has been agreed,” said Acas chief conciliator Peter Harwood.

The strike could have shut six of the country’s major airports this month.

Unite’s national officer Brian Boyd said the union was calling off the threat of strikes while workers vote on the new proposal, details of which will be announced today.

Mr Boyd said: “Unite came to these negotiations with a strong mandate for industrial action.

“In today’s negotiations between Unite and BAA, the assistance of Acas has been constructive, and we are pleased to announce we are calling off strike action at BAA’s six airports.

“Unite’s negotiating committee will recommend a much-improved offer from BAA. Details of the agreement will be made public once BAA staff have been advised of the improved offer.’’

Mr Boyd said he wanted to thank Acas for its help during the “tough negotiations”.

Mr Harwood said the talks had been “challenging” but he was pleased that the basis of a deal had been agreed. “As you would expect, the details of the deal are confidential until the parties report back to their respective constituencies.”

He said Unite, as well as two other unions involved in the dispute, Prospect and the Public and Commercial Services union, would ballot their members with a recommendation to accept, adding: “Acas is pleased at this development and hope that the matter will soon be settled.”

Brendan Gold, national secretary of Unite, said: “We’ve reached a settlement which we are prepared to recommend to our members.

“We will be undertaking a ballot of our members, and that will commence over the next couple of days, and last for probably about three weeks.

“But that recommendation for acceptance we hope our members will listen to, and we are very pleased to be able to reassure the travelling public that we for our side have worked tirelessly to achieve a settlement.”

He said he was confident that the union’s negotiators had reached a recommended settlement that should put an end to any strike threats in the aviation sector of BAA.

Terry Morgan of BAA said: “We believe that the unions are going to recommend acceptance of our offer to their membership, and if that’s the case then we are very, very confident that any disruption to our airport operations has now been avoided, which is very important to us, to make sure that people travelling on holiday and business over the next few weeks can do so with a high degree of confidence that their journeys are not going to be disrupted.”

He said both sides had come out with a deal they were happy with. “I think it’s a deal that is a fair reward for our staff, but it’s also a deal that the company can afford.”
Coppied by http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2010/0817/1224276974261.html

Watches now this Israel to buy 20 stealth fighter jets from US

we saw Israel to buy 20 stealth fighter jets from US
ISRAEL IS to buy 20 F-35 stealth fighter jets from the US, in a move aimed at maintaining the country’s “qualitative edge” for years to come.

Israel’s approval of the $2.75 billion (€2.15 billion) deal came after years of tough negotiations and American resistance to Israel installing its own systems in the aircraft.

The Lockheed Martin F-35, considered the last word in aviation technology, is capable of penetrating air-defence systems and avoiding detection by radar.

“The F-35 will provide Israel with continued air superiority and help retain its qualitative military edge in the region,” Israeli defence minister Ehud Barak said.

“The plane will provide the air force with improved capabilities in ensuring Israel’s security when operating near and far away.”

The most expensive defence procurement in the country’s history has established Israel as the first foreign country to sign an agreement to buy the single-seat, single-engine, F-35 Joint Strike fighter, outside the eight international partners that helped to develop the plane.

The first F-35 is expected to arrive in Israel in 2015, although Israeli pilots will get a chance to fly it beforehand. In the past, Israel has been the first Middle East country to purchase state-of-the- art American combat jets but a few years later, the same aircraft have been sold to Arab states.

Israeli defence officials believe that other regional states, such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt, will also, eventually, be granted Pentagon permission to buy the F-35.

Although Washington resisted the installation of Israeli systems for the first batch of planes to be delivered, there is agreement to put in $4 billion worth of Israeli systems in future deliveries.

The astronomical cost of the plane led to some opposition to the deal within Israeli defence circles. The official cost of each plane is $96 million, but if locally-manufactured parts, simulators on Israeli air force bases, and repair and maintenance costs are also factored, the actual cost of each plane could be closer to $140 million.

Concern was expressed that by the time the first F-35s arrive in five years time, much of the technology could be out of date.

Some Israeli experts also criticised the F-35 as the world’s “last manned fighter”, arguing such vast sums could be better spent developing pilotless drone technology, where Israel is already a world leader.
coppied by http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2010/0817/1224276973620.html

Obama says yes to Ground Zero mosque

We saw this Obama says yes to Ground Zero mosque

President Obama of the United States delivered a strong defence on Friday night of a proposed Muslim community centre and mosque near Ground Zero in Manhattan, using a White House dinner celebrating Ramzan to proclaim that “as a citizen, and as President, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practise their religion as anyone else in this country.”

After weeks of avoiding the high-profile battle over the centre, his press secretary Robert Gibbs said last week that the President did not want to “get involved in local decision-making” — Obama stepped squarely into the thorny debate.

“I understand the emotions that this issue engenders. Ground Zero is, indeed, hallowed ground,” Obama said in remarks prepared for the annual White House Iftaar.

But, he said: “This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country, and will not be treated differently by their government, is essential to who we are.”
Coppied by http://www.indianexpress.com/news/obama-says-yes-to-ground-zero-mosque/660515/