Evening Edition

Evening Edition is an Open Thread

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1 UN warns of death squad killings in Ivory Coast

by Dave Clark, AFP

2 hrs 44 mins ago

ABIDJAN (AFP) – The United Nations said Sunday that at least 50 people have been killed in Ivory Coast’s post-election crisis, amid reports of “massive” human rights abuses, and refused to withdraw its peacekeepers.

The UN force’s determination to stay threatens to provoke a showdown with strongman Laurent Gbagbo’s hardline supporters, but leaders of the world body said it would remain and investigate reports of death squad killings.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay expressed concern about “the growing evidence of massive violations of human rights” in the restive West African country since Thursday.

2 Defiant Gbagbo orders UN out of Ivory Coast

by Dave Clark, AFP

Sat Dec 18, 6:32 pm ET

ABIDJAN (AFP) – Defiant Ivory Coast leader Laurent Gbagbo ordered UN and French peacekeepers out of the country on Saturday, accusing them of backing rebel fighters supporting his rival Alassane Ouattara.

The demand for their “immediate” departure reflects the growing anger of Gbagbo’s nationalist supporters, and came as his most notorious lieutenant urged young Ivorians to make ready to fight for their sovereignty.

The United Nations, United States, European Union and Ivory Coast’s west African neighbours all demanded that Gbagbo cede power to Ouattara after both men claimed to have won last month’s presidential election.

3 UN force rejects order to quit Ivory Coast

by Dave Clark, AFP

Sun Dec 19, 11:00 am ET

ABIDJAN (AFP) – The United Nations peacekeeping force in Ivory Coast risked provoking a showdown with isolated leader Laurent Gbagbo’s hardline supporters Sunday, refusing his demand that it pack its bags and go.

Gbagbo ordered the 10,000-strong UN mission to leave on Saturday, accusing it of arming rebels loyal to his rival Alassane Ouattara, but UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon dismissed the ultimatum and called on him to step down.

Both Gbagbo and Ouattara claim to have won last month’s presidential vote but, while the latter has been recognised as the victor by the international community, the incumbent is clinging doggedly on to power.

4 Swimmer Lochte ends on golden note in Dubai

by Sarah Tregoning, AFP

2 hrs 2 mins ago

DUBAI (AFP) – Ryan Lochte doubled his gold medal haul to six and took his overall medal tally to a record 21 on the final session at the short course world championships here Sunday.

The American set a new championship best time of 1:46.68 in the 200m backstroke, followed by an all-out effort in the 100m individual medley in a time of 50.86, meaning that Lochte achieved a gold medal in every individual event he contested.

He was also part of the victorious 4×100 medley relay team that signed off the championships with a final gold, bringing the US medal tally to 25 overall, with 12 golds.

5 Tendulkar adds to legend in S.Africa cricket Test

by Colin Bryden, AFP

Sun Dec 19, 12:00 pm ET

CENTURION, South Africa (AFP) – The legend of Sachin Tendulkar continued to grow on Sunday as the Indian batting maestro hit his 50th Test century and shared a remarkable partnership with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on the fourth day of the first Test against South Africa at SuperSport Park.

It was almost certainly not enough to save his team from defeat, with India finishing the day on 454 for eight in their second innings, still 30 runs short of making South Africa bat again.

But it was an heroic effort which salvaged the reputation of an Indian side which took a battering in the first innings.

6 Assange cites McCarthyism as BoA tightens WikiLeaks vice

by Beatrice Debut, AFP

Sat Dec 18, 3:41 pm ET

ELLINGHAM, United Kingdom (AFP) – WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange denounced “business McCarthyism” in the United States after the Bank of America halted all transactions to the website Saturday.

The Australian, who was spending his second full day on bail, vowed the whistle-blowing site would carry on releasing controversial leaked US diplomatic cables as he insisted his life was under threat.

Bank of America, the largest US bank, halted all transactions for WikiLeaks, joining other institutions that have refused to process payments for the website since it started to publish the documents last month.

7 Thousands mass to protest Belarus polls

by Maria Antonova, AFP

1 hr 16 mins ago

MINSK (AFP) – Thousands of opposition supporters massed in Minsk Sunday to protest elections that exit polls said were swept by President Alexander Lukashenko, after police used violence to disperse demonstrators.

One of the nine challengers seeking to unseat Lukashenko — once slammed as Europe’s last dictator by Washington — was badly wounded in clashes as protestors filled Minsk’s main square on a freezing winter night.

According to an exit poll for Belarus public ONT television, Lukashenko won 72.2 percent of the vote which, if confirmed, would give him a crushing outright first round victory.

8 Belarus set to give maverick president new term

by Maria Antonova, AFP

Sun Dec 19, 9:47 am ET

MINSK (AFP) – President Alexander Lukashenko on Sunday icily warned the opposition against holding protests as Belarus voted in disputed polls expected to hand the unpredictable strongman a fourth term.

Lukashenko, who has ruled the former Soviet republic of 10 million for the past 16 years, is running against nine opposition candidates in a battle seen as fairer than in previous years but still marred by foul play allegations.

He is widely expected to sail to victory, with the main uncertainty whether the opposition manages to bring significant numbers of supporters out onto the streets for protests Sunday night.

9 Garment scraps head for Western living rooms

by Kamrul Hasan Khan, AFP

Sun Dec 19, 12:26 pm ET

HATIBANDHA, Bangladesh (AFP) – Every year, Bangladesh’s garment sector produces billions of dollars worth of high-street clothes for major western brands — and generates mountains of fabric offcuts in the process.

While an informal recycling sector has sprung up to deal with the scraps of leftover jeans and T-shirts churned out by the country’s 4,500 garment factories, it produces only low-value products for domestic consumption.

But one Bangladeshi entrepreneur has found a new, more lucrative way of dealing with the estimated 100,000 tonnes of scrap fabric the garment sector produces each year: making rag-rugs for export.

10 Afghan troops shoot rebels dead to end siege

AFP

Sun Dec 19, 11:22 am ET

KUNDUZ, Afghanistan (AFP) – Troops shot dead rebels at an army recruitment centre in northern Afghanistan Sunday to end a day-long seige following two attacks by militants that killed at least 13 security personnel.

The gunbattle between insurgents and security forces in Kunduz erupted after four militants armed with guns and suicide vests attacked the centre early Sunday, killing eight security personnel, officials said.

Two of the attackers were killed by security forces as the other pair occupied the facility throughout the day, officials said.

11 Rebels hold Afghan army centre after deadly attack

AFP

Sun Dec 19, 9:19 am ET

KUNDUZ, Afghanistan (AFP) – Militants were occupying an army recruitment centre in northern Afghanistan on Sunday, officials said, in one of two attacks against Afghan military personnel that killed 13 people.

The building in Kunduz was being held by two rebels who survived an attack on the centre that had been carried out by four militants armed with suicide vests and automatic rifles, an official said.

The attackers killed four Afghan soldiers and four police officers in a gunfight before two of them were killed, deputy provincial governor Hamidullah Danishi told AFP. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

12 Congress repeals ban against gays in military

By Donna Smith and Thomas Ferraro, Reuters

Sat Dec 18, 6:15 pm ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Congress on Saturday repealed the ban against gays serving openly in the military, a major victory for President Barack Obama who had promised to end what his liberal supporters said was an outdated and discriminatory policy.

Obama intends to sign it into law next week, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said. But Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who had pushed for the change, warned gay men and women serving in the military that the current “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy will remain in effect for some time while the new rules are put in place.

“By ending ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ no longer will our nation be denied the service of thousands of patriotic Americans forced to leave the military, despite years of exemplary performance, because they happen to be gay. And no longer will many thousands more be asked to live a lie in order to serve the country they love,” Obama said in a statement.

13 Republicans fail in second bid to amend START

By David Alexander, Reuters

37 mins ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A second Republican bid to amend President Barack Obama’s strategic nuclear arms treaty with Russia failed during debate in Senate on Sunday and top Democrats expressed confidence they would have the votes to approve the accord.

Republican Senators concerned about the large disparity in tactical, short-range nuclear weapons between Russia and the United States rallied behind a treaty-killing amendment that would have inserted a reference to the issue in the preamble of the accord. The amendment was defeated 60-32.

Democratic Senator Bob Casey said members of both parties were concerned about Russian tactical nuclear weapons but there was a simple reason the New START nuclear treaty did not address them — because it is an agreement dealing with strategic, or long-range, atomic arms.

14 Iraq’s Allawi says he will join Maliki government

By Ahmed Rasheed, Reuters

Sun Dec 19, 11:05 am ET

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, whose Sunni-backed coalition won the most seats in Iraq’s March election, ended weeks of wavering on Sunday and said he would join a new government to be unveiled on Monday.

Allawi’s decision cleared another potential hurdle in long and contentious negotiations between Iraq’s Shi’ite, Sunni and Kurdish political blocs to form a new government after the inconclusive election.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is to present his new cabinet to parliament on Monday. Maliki will win a second term if lawmakers approve his cabinet and government program as expected.

15 U.N. rejects Gbagbo demand to quit Ivory Coast

By Tim Cocks, Reuters

34 mins ago

ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Laurent Gbagbo, who has refused to step down as Ivory Coast’s president following a disputed election last month, faced growing confrontation with foreign peacekeepers on Sunday after the United Nations rejected his demand that they leave.

Former colonial power France said its troops stationed in Ivory Coast had the right to respond if directly attacked, and urged Gbagbo to step aside or face international sanctions. The United States ordered the evacuation of non-essential embassy staff, citing a rising risk of violence.

The world’s top cocoa grower is locked in a dispute over a November 28 presidential vote that both Gbagbo and rival Alassane Ouattara claim to have won. Ouattara’s claim is backed by numerous foreign governments and the U.N. Security Council.

16 China counters U.S. criticism of Pakistan

By Kamran Haider, Reuters

Sun Dec 19, 7:45 am ET

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao lauded on Sunday Pakistan’s efforts to battle al Qaeda, just days after the United States said its ally could do more to crack down on militants, especially along the Afghan border.

Wen’s comments, made in a speech to parliament, appear part of China’s strategy to lend support to old friend Pakistan, often criticized by the United States and many in the West as an unreliable, but necessary, ally in the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan.

“Strengthening and promoting strategic, brotherly relations is our joint strategic choice and they are in the interests of two countries and their people,” Wen said, as he wrapped up a three-day visit to Pakistan.

17 Internet road rules near FCC vote

By Jasmin Melvin, Reuters

Sun Dec 19, 1:12 pm ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A controversial proposal for Internet traffic rules that would allow providers to ration access to their networks is scheduled to come before communications regulators for a vote on Tuesday.

The rules would ban high-speed Internet providers like Comcast Corp and Verizon Communications from blocking lawful traffic, but are expected to acknowledge their need to manage network congestion and possibly charge consumers based on Internet usage.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski’s plan will likely attract the grudging support of his two fellow Democrats, analysts say, overcoming opposition from the agency’s two Republicans.

18 Foreign troop toll for 2010 in Afghanistan hits 700

By Michelle Nichols and Mohammad Hamed, Reuters

Sun Dec 19, 6:57 am ET

KABUL/KUNDUZ, Afghanistan, Dec 19 (Reuters) – Taliban insurgents launched attacks in Kabul and a major northern city on Sunday as the 2010 death toll for foreign troops climbed to 700, nearly a third of the total killed in nearly a decade of war.

Two militants wearing suicide vests attacked a bus carrying Afghan army officers in Kabul, killing five and wounding nine, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the assault, the first major attack in the Afghan capital since May, when six foreign troops were killed by a large suicide car bomb.

19 Irish opposition calls on PM to dissolve parliament

By Yara Bayoumy, Reuters

Sat Dec 18, 9:46 am ET

DUBLIN (Reuters) – Ireland’s main opposition party, the center-right Fine Gael, called on Prime Minister Brian Cowen to dissolve parliament no later than the end of January for an election to take place.

Cowen, the most unpopular premier in recent Irish history, is widely expected to lose the election over his handling of a financial crisis that has forced Ireland to seek an 85 billion euro ($113.1 billion) EU/IMF bailout.

Opinion polls show support for Cowen and his Fianna Fail party at record lows, while Fine Gael is the most popular party. It is expected to lead a coalition government along with the center-left Labour party after the election.

20 Gays see repeal as a civil rights milestone

By VERENA DOBNIK, Associated Press

Sun Dec 19, 10:52 am ET

NEW YORK – Allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the U.S. military is a step toward equality, advocates say, but a fight for other social changes such as gay marriage still lies ahead.

The Senate voted Saturday to end the 17-year ban on openly gay troops, overturning the Clinton-era policy known as “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

“It’s one step in a very long process of becoming an equal rights citizen,” said Warren Arbury of Savannah, Ga., who served in the Army for seven years, including three combat tours, before being kicked out two years ago under the policy. He said he planned to re-enlist once the policy is abolished.

21 With gay ban debate over, military impact in doubt

By ROBERT BURNS, AP National Security Writer

23 mins ago

WASHINGTON – The debate over gays in the military has been settled with a historic decision to allow them to serve openly, but big questions lie ahead about how and when the change will take place, how troops will accept it and whether it will hamper the U.S. military effort in Afghanistan and Iraq.

President Barack Obama is expected to sign into law this week the legislation that passed the Senate on Saturday, an act some believe will carry social implications as profound as President Harry S. Truman’s 1948 executive order on racial equality in the military.

The new law probably won’t go into practice for months. Obama and his top advisers must first certify that repealing the 1993 ban on gays serving openly will not damage U.S. troops’ ability to fight. That ban, known as “don’t ask, don’t tell,” has allowed gays to serve, but only if they kept quiet about their sexual orientation.

22 Thousands try to storm govt building in Belarus

By YURAS KARMANAU, Associated Press

28 mins ago

MINSK, Belarus – Thousands of opposition supporters in Belarus tried to storm the main government building to protest what the opposition claims was large-scale vote-rigging in Sunday’s presidential election.

Dozens of protesters were injured in clashes with riot police, left bruised and bloody after being beaten with clubs. An Associated Press reporter at the scene also was struck on the head, back and arm.

Protesters broke windows and glass doors, but were pushed back by riot police waiting inside the building, which also houses the Central Election Commission. Hundreds more riot police then arrived in trucks.

23 McConnell to vote against treaty with Russians

By DONNA CASSATA, Associated Press

1 hr 5 mins ago

WASHINGTON – The Senate’s Republican leader said Sunday he would oppose a nuclear arms treaty with Russia, damaging prospects for President Barack Obama’s foreign policy priority in the final days of the postelection Congress. Top Democrats still expressed confidence the Senate would ratify the accord by year’s end.

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., criticized the treaty’s verification system and expressed concern that the pact would limit U.S. missile defense options even though Obama insisted Saturday that the treaty imposes no restrictions on missile defense.

“Rushing it right before Christmas strikes me as trying to jam us,” McConnell said on CNN’s “State of the Union” a few hours before debate on the treaty resumed Sunday, the fifth day of consideration of the pact. “I think that was not the best way to get the support of people like me.”

24 Gawker hack underscores flaws with passwords

By JORDAN ROBERTSON, AP Technology Writer

1 hr 47 mins ago

SAN FRANCISCO – The fallout from a hacking attack on Gawker Media Inc. a week ago underscores a basic security risk of living more of our lives online: Using the same username and password for multiple sites is convenient, but costly.

After the attack on the publisher of such blogs as Gawker, Gizmodo and Jezebel exposed account information on as many as 1.4 million people, several unrelated companies had to freeze their accounts and force users to reset passwords.

Gawker Media itself didn’t have all that much sensitive information about its users. But the usernames and passwords obtained there could open doors to more valuable accounts elsewhere, including e-mail and banking.

25 Wanted: Buyer for controversial Cape Wind energy

By JAY LINDSAY, Associated Press

56 mins ago

BOSTON – Cape Wind has outlasted a decade of government review, a slew of court brawls and fierce opposition from mariners, fishermen, Indian tribes and Kennedys just to win the right to sell its wind-fueled electricity.

Now, all it needs are customers.

Last month, the nation’s first offshore wind farm nailed down its first buyer when the Massachusetts Department of Public Utility approved a deal that sees Cape Wind selling half its power to National Grid, the state’s largest electric utility.

26 Taliban show reach, kill 13 Afghan troops

By ELENA BECATOROS and AMIR SHAH, Associated Press

1 hr 45 mins ago

KABUL, Afghanistan – Insurgents struck Afghan security forces in Kabul and the north Sunday, killing 13 soldiers and policemen in attacks that show the Taliban’s capability to strike far from their southern strongholds.

The attacks, both claimed by the Taliban, began at daybreak in the northern city of Kunduz, when four militants stormed an army recruitment center. At least two of the insurgents detonated suicide vests, and the remaining fighters battled security forces in a daylong firefight that left four Afghan army soldiers and four police dead, Kunduz deputy police chief Abdul Rahman Aqtash said.

The city, a major agricultural and marketing center that controls one of the main highways into neighboring Tajikistan, virtually shut down, with shops, the bazaar and administrative offices closing as the gunbattle raged, said Moeen Marastial, a parliament member from Kunduz.

27 Contractors behaving badly mean headaches for US

By RICHARD LARDNER, Associated Press

Sun Dec 19, 9:39 am ET

WASHINGTON – At two in the morning on Sept. 9, 2005, five DynCorp International security guards assigned to Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s protective detail returned to their compound drunk, with a prostitute in tow. Less than a week later, three of these same guards got drunk again, this time in the VIP lounge of the Kabul airport while awaiting a flight to Thailand.

“They had been intoxicated, loud and obnoxious,” according to an internal company report of the incident, which noted that Afghanistan’s deputy director for elections and a foreign diplomat were also in the lounge. “Complaints were made regarding the situation.” DynCorp fired the three guards.

Such episodes represent the headaches that U.S. contractors can cause in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere. They are indispensable to the State Department’s mission overseas, handling security, transportation, construction, food service and more. But when hired hands behave badly – or break the law – they cast a cloud over the American presence.

28 Bank of America stops handling WikiLeaks payments

By TOM MURPHY, AP Business Writer

Sun Dec 19, 12:54 am ET

Bank of America Corp. has joined several other financial institutions in refusing to handle payments for WikiLeaks, the latest blow to the secret-releasing organization’s efforts to continue operating under pressure from governments and the corporate world.

The Charlotte, N.C.-based bank’s move adds to similar actions by Mastercard Inc. and PayPal Inc. Though previous moves have prompted reprisals by hackers, Bank of America’s site is as well-protected as they come, security experts say.

Its site was problem-free through midafternoon Saturday.

29 Students look to 2012 after immigration bill fails

By AMY TAXIN, Associated Press

59 mins ago

LOS ANGELES – Emboldened by months of phone calls to lawmakers, hunger strikes and sit-ins, a group of college students and graduates in Los Angeles say they plan to take their fight for immigrant rights to the states and the 2012 election after Senate Republicans blocked a key piece of legislation.

But it won’t be easy.

The Senate vote Saturday to toss the proposal that would have granted young illegal immigrants a route to legal status dealt a harsh blow to student activists who will face an even steeper uphill battle in the next Congress.

30 Lindsey Vonn is 2010 AP Female Athlete of Year

By HOWARD FENDRICH, AP Sports Writer

Sat Dec 18, 4:13 pm ET

Lindsey Vonn remembers being a 9-year-old wannabe Olympian, waiting in line for hours on end to shake the hand of a medal-winning skier and get an autograph.

These days, Vonn is the one speeding to victories and hoping to inspire the next generation to hit the slopes.

Gold and bronze medals at the Vancouver Games, plus a third consecutive World Cup overall title, helped Vonn become the 2010 Female Athlete of the Year, chosen by members of The Associated Press. She is the first skier – male or female – to win one of the annual AP awards, which began in 1931.

31 Mont. Supreme Court considers access restrictions

By MATT VOLZ, Associated Press

Sun Dec 19, 12:31 pm ET

HELENA, Mont. – The Montana Supreme Court is considering restrictions to public access of certain information now available throughout the court system, including a proposal to seal all documents filed in family law cases except for final orders.

Freedom of information advocates say the proposals are unnecessary and would run counter to the right-to-know provisions in the state constitution.

The Supreme Court put the recommendations out for public comment on Dec. 7. The comment period will last for 90 days.

32 Holiday lights can mean more than meets the eye

By MARTHA IRVINE, AP National Writer

Sun Dec 19, 12:06 pm ET

A string of illuminated glass bulbs, hung for the holidays, may seem like no big deal, so common it’s easy to pass them without really noticing. But we humans are simple beings who sometimes communicate best in the most basic ways.

Lights on a cold, dark night can be a welcome, even heartwarming sight. And in gloomy economic times, or other trying circumstances, they can mean even more.

One study found that outdoor holiday displays can tell a lot about a neighborhood. Whether found in wealthy or working-class areas, they represent a community’s spirit or “social capital,” even indicating how well neighbors care for one another, says David Sloan Wilson, a professor in Binghamton University’s departments of biology and anthropology.

33 Ex-soldier talks about slaying of Iraqi family

By BRETT BARROUQUERE, Associated Press

Sun Dec 19, 11:33 am ET

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – An Iraq War veteran serving five life terms for raping and killing a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and killing her parents and sister says he didn’t think of Iraqi civilians as humans after being exposed to extreme war zone violence.

Steven Dale Green, a former 101st Airborne soldier, told The Associated Press in his first media interview since the 2006 killings, that his crimes were fueled in part by experiences in Iraq’s particularly violent “Triangle of Death” where two of his sergeants were gunned down. He also cited a lack of leadership and help from the Army.

“I was crazy,” Green said in the exclusive telephone interview from federal prison in Tucson, Ariz. “I was just all the way out there. I didn’t think I was going to live.”

34 Gay rights in focus before UN vote

By ANITA SNOW, Associated Press

Sun Dec 19, 10:48 am ET

UNITED NATIONS – A culture war has broken out at the United Nations over whether gays should be singled out for the same protections as other minorities whose lives are threatened.

The battle will come to a head on Tuesday when the General Assembly votes to renew its routine condemnation of the unjustified killing of various categories of vulnerable people.

It specifies killings for racial, national, ethnic, religious or linguistic reasons and includes refugees, indigenous people and other groups. But the resolution, because of a change promoted by Arab and African nations and approved at committee level, this time around drops “sexual orientation” and replaces it with “discriminatory reasons on any basis.”

35 Cuban-Americans haul goods home on holiday visits

By PETER ORSI, Associated Press

Sat Dec 18, 10:49 pm ET

HAVANA – In Cuba, Santa’s sleigh is a Boeing 737.

Thousands of Cuban-Americans are heading to Havana this holiday season carrying everything from electronics and medicine to clothing and toiletries to help relatives back home supplement monthly salaries averaging about $20.

Not only are Cuban-Americans visiting the island in far greater numbers since President Barack Obama lifted travel restrictions last year, they are bringing more stuff. One carrier says the average bag weight per passenger is up 55 percent – and many Miami-Havana flights are shadowed by a separate cargo plane just to haul the load.

36 Obama offers assurances to GOP on nuke treaty

By JULIE PACE, Associated Press

Sat Dec 18, 4:26 pm ET

WASHINGTON – Pushing hard for a victory on a top national security imperative, President Barack Obama sought to assure Republican lawmakers Saturday that a new arms control treaty with Russia would not hamper U.S. missile defense.

In a letter to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Obama said that as long as he is president, the U.S., “will continue to develop and deploy effective missile defenses to protect the United States, our deployed forces, and our allies and partners.”

Obama’s message was aimed at some GOP critics of the New START treaty who have argued that the pact with Russia would limit U.S. efforts to deploy missile-defense programs.

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