Evening Edition

The wave of support for Julian Assange, currently in a British jail as Sweden seeks his extradition on rape charges, came as hackers — dubbed “hack-tivists” — stepped up cyber attacks on those opposed to WikiLeaks.

But after taking down the websites of Visa, Mastercard and others, supporters of the whistleblower website tried but failed to knock online retail giant Amazon.com offline.

The decision by the African bloc (AU) came after the UN Security Council and senior African leaders said Gbagbo should abandon efforts to cling to office in the wake of the November 28 run-off against former premier Alassane Ouattara.

A letter from US President Barack Obama to Gbagbo meanwhile “made clear that if he makes the wrong choice … we would look at possible sanctions against him and others if necessary,” State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said.

“This is not a prize against China. This is a prize honouring people in China,” Nobel Committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland insisted at a press conference in Oslo, traditionally held by the laureate on the day before the annual peace prize ceremony.

He did however say he believed the prize to Liu, who remains stuck in a Chinese prison and will not be able to attend Friday’s ceremony, would change things in Beijing.

China has kept up a barrage of criticism of the award to Liu who will be unable to attend the ceremony, insisting that the vast majority of countries oppose the decision to hand the prize to a man it considers a criminal.

“Those people at the Nobel committee have to admit they are in the minority. The Chinese people and the overwhelming majority of people in the world oppose what they do,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters in Beijing.

The fresh round of criticism, which also targeted the Oslo-based Nobel committee, comes on the eve of a ceremony in the Norwegian capital honouring Liu, who was jailed in December 2009 for 11 years on subversion charges.

“Those people at the Nobel committee have to admit they are in the minority. The Chinese people and the overwhelming majority of countries and people in the world oppose what they do,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said.

With one day left for the UN-led talks in Mexico, South African President Jacob Zuma urged the more than 190 nations to set up “the building blocks” for a comprehensive climate deal when he leads next year’s meeting in Durban.

“We dare not lose this opportunity,” Zuma told reporters at the talks in resort city of Cancun.

Calisto Tanzi, 72, was not in court for the sentencing and has only served nine months between prison and house arrest since the spectacular collapse in 2003 of a company that he founded in 1961 and operated in 30 countries.

The court in Parmalat’s home town of Parma in northern Italy said Tanzi and other former executives sentenced with him will have to pay two billion euros (2.6 billion dollars) back to the company, which has emerged from bankruptcy.

Despite an unrelenting White House charm offensive, House Democrats declared behind closed doors, by voice vote, that the framework deal was unacceptable in its current form, ensuring it could not pass this year absent key changes.

“We will continue discussions with the president and our Democratic and Republican colleagues in the days ahead to improve the proposal before it comes to the House floor for a vote,” said Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Dominguez, winner of the 5,000 metres at the 2001 and 2003 World championships in addition to the 2009 steeplechase, was seen entering a Guardia Civil police station in northern Spain’s Palencia, an AFP photographer said.

Interior ministry sources put the number of detainees at 14, saying they included top athletes, coaches and medical staff.

Supporters of popular singer Michel Martelly took to the streets after Tuesday night’s results showed he had been narrowly — and unexpectedly — knocked out of the race for the presidency of the impoverished Caribbean nation.

Instead, President Rene Preval’s handpicked protege Jude Celestin defied predictions to snap up second place and a coveted slot in January’s run-off in which he will battle a former first lady for the nation’s top job.

The group “Anonymous” claimed credit for bringing down the websites of the two firms after they suspended payments to WikiLeaks, and for attacking the site of a Swiss bank that closed an account of site founder Julian Assange.

“Hackers Take Down Visa.com in the Name of Wikileaks. Wow. This is getting crazy,” said a message from the group on microblogging site Twitter, as the attacks started to take on the proportions of an all out cyber war.

After a group which has dubbed itself “Anonymous” vowed to intensify its “war of data” against Mastercard, Visa and other groups which have cut funding to the website, the Swedish government then came under attack.

In an online chat with AFP, organisers of the group said thousands of volunteers were taking part in their defense of WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange, whom they described as a “free-speech martyr.”

EU Economics Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn also backed a delay for Greece in the repayment of its 110-billion-euro rescue loan, accorded in May by both the EU and the International Monetary Fund.

Rehn said EU finance ministers were ready to look favourably on a delay in the face of concern about Greece’s ability to meet a 2015 deadline given the parlous state of its economy.

Demonstrators surged into the square in front of the Houses of Parliament, as lawmakers prepared to vote on moves to allow universities in England to charge annual fees of up to 9,000 pounds (14,200 dollars, 10,700 euros).

In ugly scenes in the heart of London, protesters repeatedly tried to break through a cordon of riot police and at one point attempted to smash down a metal fence around the parliament and hurl sections of it at officers.

The change — which would see students at English universities charged fees of up to 9,000 pounds (14,200 dollars, 10,700 euros) a year — have exposed deep tensions within the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition.

The move comes amid a series of deep cuts in public spending imposed by the government to slash a record deficit.

The campaign to avenge WikiLeaks against those who have obstructed its operations, calling itself Operation Payback, has already temporarily brought down the websites of credit-card giants Visa and MasterCard, and of the Swedish government.

In Moscow, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange showed the West was hypocritical in its criticism of Russia’s record on democracy.

While most countries have plowed much more attention and resources into cyber security in recent years, most of the debate has focused on the threat from militant groups such as al Qaeda or mainstream state on state conflict.

But attempts to silence WikiLeaks after the leaking of some 250,000 classified State Department cables seem to have produced something rather different — something of a popular rebellion amongst hundreds or thousands of tech-savvy activists.

While unlikely on its own to derail the tax plan, the Democrats’ rebellion gives Obama another political headache just over a month after he took a beating in mid-term elections.

In a raucous, closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill, mutinous Democrats chanted “Just say no!” as they vowed to overhaul Obama’s plan to extend low tax rates for nearly all Americans, according to lawmakers in the room.

Confer wanted to avoid the unintended consequences of the political compromise struck by President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans to extend lower tax rates to all Americans, including high earners.

Yields in the U.S. Treasury bond market spiked on Wednesday as investors worried the deal would inflate further the ballooning U.S. deficit, pushing mortgage rates upward just as the U.S. housing market was showing some signs of recovery.

China maintained its combative tone on the eve of the prize ceremony in Oslo, and announced the award of its own “Confucius Peace Prize” to former Taiwan vice-president Lien Chan, though his office said he was unaware of the award.

China jailed Liu last Christmas Day for 11 years for subversion of state power and for being the lead author of Charter 08, a manifesto calling for democratic reform in the one-party state.

Travelex’s prepaid card business focuses on travelers that use plastic instead of travelers checks. But MasterCard hopes to expand the business to offer cards to consumers in emerging markets that do not have bank accounts and therefore cannot use credit or debit cards.

The deal will “be an important driver for our growth in the whole prepaid arena,” especially outside of the United States, MasterCard Chief Executive Ajay Banga said during a conference call with investors and reporters on Thursday.

He has spent 20 yuan ($3) at Ding’s electrical appliance shop on a heat-belt, which he can fill with boiling water and strap around his waist to ward off the bitter winter chill on the Himalayan plateau.

The 66-year-old grins: “I already have a television at home. But I would like a washing machine and a fridge. I hope to buy those next year.”

Several environment ministers said that failure at the talks in Mexico could undermine faith in the ability of the United Nations to tackle global problems in the 21st century as power shifts toward emerging nations led by China and India.

“I think that what is at stake here is also multilateralism,” said European Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard. “It’s absolutely crucial that this process, which is the only one we have … can prove that it can deliver results.”

That’s because Britain has one of the most U.S.-friendly extradition regimes in Europe. Sweden, with its tough media-protection laws, may not be so quick to hand the 39-year-old Australian over.

“(U.S. officials) might be well advised, if they think they have a basis, to try to extradite him while he’s still here,” said Peter Sommer, a cybercrime expert at the London School of Economics.

The U.N.’s top human rights official raised the alarm over officials’ and corporations’ moves to cut off WikiLeaks’ funding and starve it of server space – something she described as a “potentially violating WikiLeaks’ right to freedom of expression.”

Navi Pillay also expressed surprise at the scale of the online attacks that have targeted major American financial players – in some cases denying access to their websites for hours at a time.

But keep that under wraps. The U.S. doesn’t want that sort of sensitive information getting out for a decade or so.

While the recent leak of government documents onto the website WikiLeaks has revealed government secrets on such topics as Iran, North Korea and Yemen, the disclosure also unmasked another closely guarded fact: Much of what the government says is classified isn’t much of a secret at all.

Demonstrators set upon the heir to the throne’s limousine as it drove through London’s West End shopping and entertainment hub. Protesters who had been running amok and smashing shop windows kicked and threw paint at the car, which sped off.

Charles’ office, Clarence House, confirmed the attack but said “their royal highnesses are unharmed.”

By voice vote in a closed caucus meeting, Democrats passed a resolution saying the tax package should not come to the House floor for consideration as written, even though no formal House bill has been drafted. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., introduced the resolution.

Said Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas: “If it’s take it or leave it, we’ll leave it.”

Facing GOP objections, Democrats put aside the so-called Dream Act and said they’d try again to advance it before year’s end. They’re short of the 60 votes needed to do so, however, and critics in both parties quickly said they won’t change their minds in the waning days of the Democratic-controlled Congress.

“This is mainly a political exercise rather than a serious attempt to deal with our broken immigration system,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.

Authorities said the home was so packed with homemade explosives that they had no choice but to burn it to the ground.

Remotely controlled explosive devices ignited the home in Escondido and it quickly became engulfed in flames as thick smoke rose high into the sky, going just as authorities had planned to avoid spreading toxic fumes through the community.

Some people who were at the Miami concert March 1, 1969, insist even today that he exposed himself, though others in the audience and Morrison’s bandmates contend he was just teasing the crowd and only pretended to do the deed. Crist, tuned in to the controversy by a Doors fan, said there was enough doubt about what happened at the Dinner Key Auditorium to justify a pardon.

The board, which consists of Crist and a three-member Cabinet, voted unanimously to pardon Morrison as they granted several other pardons Thursday. At the hearing, the governor called the convictions a “blot” on the record of an accomplished artist for “something he may or may not have done.”

So where does the money come from? Kelly Rummelhart of Gridley, Calif., has part of the answer. Her 4-year-old son was using her iPad to play the game and racked up $66.88 in charges on her credit card without knowing what he was doing.

Rummelhart had no idea that it was possible to buy things – buy them with real money – inside the game. In this case, her son bought one bushel and 11 buckets of “Smurfberries,” tokens that speed up gameplay.

The decision follows rioting sparked by the announcement that government-backed candidate Jude Celestin and former first lady Mirlande Manigat were poised to enter a January runoff, while entertainer Michel “Sweet Micky” Martelly had apparently been narrowly eliminated.

Council president Gaillot Dorsainvil read a statement on Haitian radio saying that tally sheets would be re-counted with international observers and electoral officials.

Chanting “Freedom to Liu! Freedom for China!” about 100 protesters tried to deliver a petition with more than 100,000 signatures urging the dissident’s release from a Chinese prison before being diverted by police away from the embassy gates.

The protest came on the eve of the Nobel prize ceremony, where the 54-year-old Liu will be represented by an empty chair. Friday will be the first time the peace prize will not be handed out since 1936, when Adolf Hitler prevented German pacifist Carl von Ossietzky from accepting the award.

“It’s an obsolete approach that’s a holdover from the Cold War and a bilateral treaty without taking into account multilateral threats,” former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Wednesday, becoming the latest potential 2012 candidate to object to swift passage of the treaty without changes.

Gingrich joins Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, John Thune and Sarah Palin – all outspoken critics of the pact. The bright line between would-be GOP challengers and the incumbent Democrat raises the likelihood that the New START treaty will become a 2012 issue and its success or failure will reverberate as the next presidential campaign takes shape.

National Right to Life held a strategy conference this week in Arlington, Va., to offer its state affiliates guidance for the 2011 legislative session. Indiana, Iowa and Kentucky lawmakers have already started drafting bills similar to Nebraska’s law, and abortion opponents are pushing lawmakers in Kansas, Maryland and Oklahoma to do the same.

“What Nebraska did was fantastic,” said Margie Montgomery, the executive director of Kentucky Right to Life. “That makes us more excited about it. Now we can point to it – it’s already a law in Nebraska. That’s really good for us.”

Citing low student loan repayments and high dropout rates at for-profit schools, the report from Sen. Tom Harkin is urging Congress and the federal agencies involved to “act now” to make sure the aid programs are not being exploited.

A representative of for-profit colleges responded that the enrollment growth ought to be celebrated, and that active-duty military and veterans are choosing schools that serve their needs.

John Graham, 55, is accused of shooting Annie Mae Aquash and leaving her to die on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge reservation in December 1975. Prosecutors allege that Graham and two other AIM activists kidnapped and killed Aquash because they thought she was a government spy.

Graham, a Southern Tutchone Indian from Canada, is charged with two counts of murder and could receive life in prison if convicted.

The proposal next goes to the Wyoming Legislature for approval, although Gov. Dave Freudenthal doubted lawmakers would vote against the plan and undo months – and in a sense, years – of negotiations with the Interior Department.

“Negotiating is always slow, but I’m glad that we got it done,” the governor said. “This is a reasonable deal.”

After that summer of mistrust and raw feeling, he’s looking on the bright side.

Rauf says he hopes to use the platform he gained through the angry debate to turn his small nonprofit group into a global movement celebrating pluralism.

But in the days since, authorities have recorded several other incidents of vandalism aimed at the city’s Jewish community, including someone taking Hebrew books from two libraries – one at the university and one off-campus – and placing them in toilets and urinating on them.

“When you go after the books, it’s a much more severe act, much more premeditated. It cuts much deeper, I think, too,” said Corenblum, a 22-year-old psychology major from Alabama and one of about 4,000 Jewish students on the campus of 40,000 about 60 miles south of Indianapolis.

Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation undersecretary Scott Kernan sent that message to assistant secretary Anthony Chaus on Sept. 29. The “mission” turned out to be a trip to Arizona for a fresh supply of sodium thiopental, the so-called knock-out drug used in the state’s three-drug lethal injection.

California’s only batch was set to expire and the drug was in short supply – as the state’s first execution in five years loomed.

“The progress made is encouraging, but unresolved issues are still many,” Zimbabwe’s Margaret Mukahanana-Sangarwe, chair of a conference working group, said Wednesday of the half-dozen key disputes. “We need to do better and we need to do more.”

This year again the U.N. talks will fail to produce an overarching deal to slash emissions of global warming gases. From the start, the two weeks of talks focused instead on reaching agreement in secondary areas under the U.N. climate treaty.

The hands-on search last week also embarrassed the university officials who invited Meera Shankar, India’s ambassador to the United States, to give a speech for an international studies program.

“It was a wonderful program, maybe the best we’ve had, (but) this stupid incident ruined the whole thing. She said, ‘I will never come back here,'” said Janos Radvanyi, chair of Mississippi State University’s international studies department. “We are sending her a letter of apology.”

The people, who spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the plans ahead of an announcement expected Thursday, said the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in the Forked River section of Lacey Township will close a decade earlier than called for under its current license.

In return, the aging plant will not be required to build one or more cooling towers to replace its current technology, which draws 1.4 billion gallons of water a day from Barnegat Bay, killing billions of aquatic creatures each year.

Tom Williams was in his kitchen thumbing through the mail when he opened a letter from GMAC. It informed him that the bank would confiscate his house unless he immediately paid off his mortgage balance of $276,000. But Williams had never missed a mortgage payment. And his loan wasn’t due to mature until 2032.

Warren Nyerges opened his front door in Naples, Fla., to find a scraggly-haired summons server standing on his stoop. He plopped a foreclosure notice from Bank of America in Nyerges’ hands. But Nyerges had paid for his house in cash. And he’d never had a checking account, much less a mortgage, with Bank of America.