Big aftershock freshly damages New Zealand city AP

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand A magnitude-5.1 aftershock hammered New Zealands earthquake-hit city of Christchurch on Wednesday morning, freshly damaging buildings, sparking evacuations and prompting the extension of a state of emergency for another week.

The latest quake, just four miles 6.4 kilometers below the surface and centered six miles 10 kilometers southeast of the city, was felt by residents as the strongest aftershock in Christchurch since Saturdays 7.1 magnitude earthquake wrecked hundreds of buildings. Nobody was reported injured by the latest temblor.

"My guts is just churning up here. When will this thing end? It is like living in a maelstrom," Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker said as workers streamed from the citys emergency headquarters.

"We have got staff in tears, we have got fire engines going through the middle of the city, power is out and a lot of people are very, very churned up by that," he told the NewstalkZB radio station. "It was a devastatingly, vicious sharp blow to the city."

Initial reports from geological agency GNS Science that the Wednesday morning temblor was magnitude-6.1 were quickly corrected downward.

Officials closed the citys main road tunnel for inspection due to concerns that the aftershock may have caused cracking to the tunnel and retaining walls leading to it, New Zealand Transport Agency local spokesman Peter Connors said.

The tunnel, built in the 1960s, links Christchurch to the port of Lyttelton.

More than 140 aftershocks have rattled the region since Saturday, and earthquake experts warned Tuesday that another strong temblor might hammer the region in coming days.

The weekends powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake smashed buildings and homes, wrecked roads and disrupted the central city, though nobody was killed and only two people were seriously injured � which authorities attributed to good building codes and the quakes early morning timing.

"It was as strong as the earthquake in Haiti earlier this year, which caused widespread devastation and is estimated to have killed approximately 230,000 people," Prime Minister John Key said. "Although no one lost their life ... families have been traumatized and lost their valued possessions."

On Wednesday, Key traveled north of the city to inspect houses in the town of Kaiapoi that had been torn from their foundations by the quake.

"It shows you how well the building code works in New Zealand as they had been picked up, ripped apart and yet the structure has survived enough that people could escape," Key said after looking through one wrecked house.

"As this disaster unfolds what were seeing is some areas are much more badly affected than we thought they were, and, in fact, the damage is much greater than we thought it was," Key told reporters.

The city center remained cordoned off by troops Wednesday, as authorities extended a state of civil emergency for another seven days. Only building owners and workers are allowed into the central city to begin clearing up the mess � with much of the center taking on the mantle of a ghost town.

Quake experts said aftershocks likely will continue for several weeks � and the worst of them may be yet to come.

"It is still possible that well have a magnitude-6 in the next week, and people ought to be aware of that, particularly if they are around structures which are already damaged," said Ken Gledhill, a monitor at GNS Science. "For a shallow earthquake like this, they will go on for weeks."

Key called off a planned nine-day trip to Britain and France, citing what he called the quake zones continuing "instability."

The New Zealand government has said it plans to pay at least 90 percent of the hundreds of millions of dollars needed to rebuild Christchurchs water, waste water and road infrastructure.

In a statement Tuesday to Parliament, Key pledged to remove bottlenecks to reconstruction and said the government "is prepared to step up financially to rebuild the region."

The main quake struck at 4:35 a.m. Saturday near the South Island city of 400,000 people, ripping open a new fault line in the earths surface, destroying hundreds of buildings and cutting power, which has been gradually restored in recent days.

The government has said that at least 100,000 of the regions 160,000 homes sustained some damage.

New Zealand sits above an area where two tectonic plates collide. The country records more than 14,000 earthquakes a year � but only about 150 are felt by residents. Fewer than 10 a year do any damage.

New Zealands last major earthquake registered magnitude 7.8 and hit South Islands Fiordland region on July 16, 2009, moving the southern tip of the country 12 inches 30 centimeters closer to Australia.

___

Associated Press Writer Ray Lilley in Wellington contributed to this report.

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China calls in Japan envoy over boat collision AP

TOKYO Diplomatic tensions between China and Japan escalated Wednesday when Beijing called in Japans ambassador after a Chinese fishing boat collided with two Japanese patrol vessels near a chain of disputed islands and Tokyo arrested the boats captain.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Song Tao summoned Japanese Ambassador Uichiro Niwa and urged Japan to stop the "illegal interception" of Chinese fishing boats, the official Xinhua News Agency reported late Tuesday.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku urged that the situation be handled calmly.

"We will handle the matter firmly in accordance with law," he told reporters, according to Kyodo News agency. "It is important that in Japan we not get overly excited."

Japan Coast Guard spokeswoman Akane Yonemori said Wednesday that the 41-year-old Chinese captain of the fishing boat had been arrested for allegedly obstructing public duties in connection with Tuesdays collision near the chain of islands in the East China Sea.

She said the coast guard is investigating the Chinese captain on Ishigaki island, around 400 kilometers 250 miles south of Okinawa. The ships remaining 14 crew members will also be questioned on board, she said.

No injuries were reported from the two separate collisions that occurred within 40 minutes, Japan Coast Guard spokesman Yosuke Oi said. The two Japanese patrol vessels sustained minor damage. It was unclear if the Chinese ship was damaged.

The collisions happened in Japanese territorial waters off the northwestern coast of Japans Kuba island, just north of uninhabited, disputed islands known as Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese. About 120 miles 190 kilometers east of Taiwan, the islands are controlled by Japan but are also claimed by China and Taiwan.

The collisions occurred after the Japanese patrol vessels ordered the Chinese ship to stop for an inspection over alleged violation of international fishing laws after it repeatedly ignored earlier warnings to exit the area, Oi said.

The Chinese trawler, carrying a crew of 15, first collided with the Japanese patrol boat Yonakuni, slightly damaging its stern. About 40 minutes later, the Chinese fishing boat made a sudden turn and collided into another patrol vessel, the Mizuki, causing a dent on its starboard side and damaging its railings, Oi said.

Jiang Yu, a spokeswoman for Chinas Foreign Ministry, told a regular news conference Tuesday that Beijing had been in contact with Japan over the incident and was concerned about the situation.

Jiang said China reiterated its claim to the Diaoyu Islands and its adjacent islets and urged Japanese patrol boats in the area against any "so-called law enforcement activities or any actions that would jeopardize Chinese fishing boats or Chinese people."

"We are keeping a close eye on the developments and reserve the right to make a further response," she said.

Japanese officials do not believe the boat is carrying any activists attempting to make a political statement on the island, Oi said.

Japan has lodged a protest with China several times over the entry of Chinese vessels into waters near the islands. Activists from Hong Kong and Taiwan have also sailed to the islands to make territorial claims.

___

Associated Press writer Chi-Chi Zhang in Beijing contributed to this report.

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Women, kids among 17 dead in NW Pakistani bombing AP

PESHAWAR, Pakistan A car bomb ripped through a police compound in a northwestern Pakistani city, killing 14 women and children and three officers, the latest in a string of attacks proving that Islamist militants remain a potent force in the country.

The dead were the wives and children of police officers, said Khalid Omarzai, the citys top government official. Another 94 people were wounded in Tuesdays bombing, he said, adding that they had been taken to hospitals after rescuers cleared rubble of over two dozen collapsed houses and shops.

The complex in the garrison city of Kohat houses officers homes, a training facility and a commercial area.

Officer Mohammad Arif said there was a huge explosion in the residential area of the compound soon after the evening breaking of the daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan. Power to the area was cut, forcing emergency workers to search for victims in the dark, he said.

Kohat, the major town on the road between the provincial capital of Peshawar and several tribal areas, has been the scene of several militant attacks this year. In April, two burqa-clad suicide bombers attacked refugees lined up to register for food and other relief supplies in the district, killing 41 people and wounding dozens more.

"This city is a war zone. We would always expect such attacks," said Omarzai, the government official.

The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for a series of recent attacks across the nation aimed at destabilizing the country and weakening a civilian government already struggling with a massive flooding that has displaced millions and caused widespread destruction.

The deadliest have targeted minority Shiite Muslims. A suicide bombing killed at least 65 Shiite Muslims at a procession in the southwestern city of Quetta on Friday. Two days earlier, a triple suicide attack killed 35 people at a Shiite ceremony in the eastern city of Lahore.

On Monday, a Taliban suicide bomber detonated a car in an alley behind a police station in a strategically important town in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 17 police and civilians in an explosion that shattered the station and neighboring homes.

About 40 people were wounded in the attack in Lakki Marwat, which sits on the main road between Punjab province, Pakistans largest and most prosperous, and the North and South Waziristan tribal regions.

Meanwhile, two roadside bombs Tuesday wounded four police officers in the northwestern district of Hangu, said police official Gul Jamal.

___

Associated Press Writer Hussain Afzal in Parachinar contributed to this report.

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Pressure rises on pastor who wants to burn Quran AP

GAINESVILLE, Fla. The government turned up the pressure Tuesday on the head of a small Florida church who plans to burn copies of the Quran on Sept. 11, warning him that doing so could endanger U.S. troops and Americans everywhere.

But the Rev. Terry Jones insisted he would go ahead with his plans, despite criticism from the top U.S. general in Afghanistan, the White House and the State Department, as well as a host of religious leaders.

Jones, who is known for posting signs proclaiming that Islam is the devils religion, says the Constitution gives him the right to publicly set fire to the book that Muslims consider the word of God.

Gen. David Petraeus warned Tuesday in an e-mail to The Associated Press that "images of the burning of a Quran would undoubtedly be used by extremists in Afghanistan � and around the world � to inflame public opinion and incite violence." It was a rare example of a military commander taking a position on a domestic political matter.

Jones responded that he is also concerned but is "wondering, When do we stop?" He refused to cancel the protest set for Saturday at his Dove World Outreach Center, a church that espouses an anti-Islam philosophy.

"How much do we back down? How many times do we back down?" Jones told the AP. "Instead of us backing down, maybe its to time to stand up. Maybe its time to send a message to radical Islam that we will not tolerate their behavior."

Still, Jones said he will pray about his decision.

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the administration hoped Americans would stand up and condemn the churchs plan.

"We think that these are provocative acts," Crowley said. "We would like to see more Americans stand up and say that this is inconsistent with our American values; in fact, these actions themselves are un-American."

Meeting Tuesday with religious leaders to discuss recent attacks on Muslims and mosques around the U.S., Attorney General Eric Holder called the planned burning both idiotic and dangerous, according to a Justice Department official. The official requested anonymity because the meeting was private.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton added her disapproval at a dinner Tuesday evening in observance of Iftar, the breaking of the daily fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

"I am heartened by the clear, unequivocal condemnation of this disrespectful, disgraceful act that has come from American religious leaders of all faiths," Clinton said.

At the White House, spokesman Robert Gibbs echoed the concerns raised by Petraeus. "Any type of activity like that that puts our troops in harms way would be a concern to this administration," Gibbs told reporters.

Jones said he has received more than 100 death threats and has started wearing a .40-caliber pistol strapped to his hip.

The 58-year-old minister said the death threats started not long after he proclaimed in July that he would stage "International Burn-a-Quran Day." Supporters have been mailing copies of the Islamic holy text to his church to be incinerated in a bonfire.

Jones, who has about 50 followers, gained some local notoriety last year when he posted signs in front of his small church declaring "Islam is of the Devil." But his Quran-burning scheme attracted wider attention. It drew rebukes from Muslim nations and an avalanche of media interview requests just as an emotional debate was taking shape over the proposed Islamic center near the ground zero site of the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York.

The Quran, according to Jones, is "evil" because it espouses something other than biblical truth and incites radical, violent behavior among Muslims.

"Its hard for people to believe, but we actually feel this is a message that we have been called to bring forth," he said last week. "And because of that, we do not feel like we can back down."

Muslims consider the Quran to be the word of God and insist it be treated with the utmost respect, along with any printed material containing its verses or the name of Allah or the Prophet Muhammad. Any intentional damage or show of disrespect to the Quran is deeply offensive.

Jones Dove Outreach Center is independent of any denomination. The church follows the Pentecostal tradition, which teaches that the Holy Spirit can manifest itself in the modern day. Pentecostals often view themselves as engaged in spiritual warfare against satanic forces.

At first glance, the church looks like a warehouse rather than a place of worship. A stone facade and a large lighted cross adorn the front of the beige steel building, which stands on 20 acres in Gainesvilles leafy northern suburbs. Jones and his wife, Sylvia, live on the property and also use part of it to store furniture that they sell on eBay.

A broad coalition of religious leaders from evangelical, Roman Catholic, Jewish and Muslim organizations met in Washington on Tuesday and condemned the plan to burn the Quran as a violation of American values.

"This is not the America that we all have grown to love and care about," said Rabbi Steve Gutow of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. "We have to stand up for our Muslim brothers and sisters and say, "This is not OK."

FBI agents have visited with Jones to discuss concern for his safety. Multiple Facebook pages with thousands of members have popped up hailing him as a hero or blasting him as a dangerous pariah.

The worlds leading Sunni Muslim institution of learning, Al-Azhar University in Egypt, accused the church of stirring up hate and discrimination, and called on other American churches speak out against it.

Last month, Indonesian Muslims demonstrated outside the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, threatening violence if Jones goes through with it.

In this progressive Florida city of 125,000 anchored by the sprawling University of Florida campus, the lanky preacher with the bushy white mustache is mostly seen as a fringe character who doesnt deserve special attention.

At least two dozen Christian churches, Jewish temples and Muslim organizations in Gainesville have mobilized to plan inclusive events � some will read from the Quran at their own weekend services � to counter what Jones is doing. A student group is organizing a protest across the street from the church on Sept. 11.

Gainesvilles new mayor, Craig Lowe, who during his campaign became the target of a Jones-led protest because he is openly gay, has declared Sept. 11 Interfaith Solidarity Day in the city.

Jones dismisses the response of the other churches as "cowardly." He said even if they think burning Qurans is extreme, Christian ministers should be standing with him in denouncing the principles of Islam.

All the attention has caused other problems for Jones, too. He believes its the reason his mortgage lender has demanded full payment of the $140,000 still owed on the church property. Hes seeking donations to cover it, but recently listed the property for sale with plans to eventually move the church away from Gainesville.

The fire department has denied Jones a required burn permit for Sept. 11, but he said lawyers have told him his right to burn Qurans is protected by the First Amendment, with or without the citys permission.

The same would hold true, he said, if Muslims wanted to burn Bibles in the front yard of a mosque.

"Of course, I would not like it," Jones said. But "I definitely would not threaten to kill them, as we have been threatened."

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Angelina Jolie meets flood victims in Pakistan AP

JALOZAI, Pakistan American movie star Angelina Jolie met flood victims in northwestern Pakistan and appealed to the international community to provide aid needed to help the country recover from its worst natural disaster.

The flow of aid money has stalled in recent days, and officials expressed hope the two-day visit by Jolie � who serves as a "goodwill ambassador" for the U.N.s refugee agency � will convince foreign countries and individuals to open their wallets.

The 35-year-old actress said Tuesday she met with many people whose lives have been devastated by the floods, including mothers who lost their children and an elderly Pakistani couple who feared they would never be able to rebuild the home they lost.

"I am very moved by them and I hope that I am able to, today and tomorrow, be able to do something to help bring attention to the situation for all of the people in need in Pakistan," Jolie told reporters after visiting a refugee camp in the Jalozai area.

She toured the area wearing a long black robe and a black headscarf adorned with a thin red stripe � the kind of conservative clothing worn by many Muslim women in Pakistan.

The floods began in the northwest at the end of July after extremely heavy monsoon rains and slowly surged south along the Indus River, swallowing up hundreds of villages and towns and killing more than 1,700 people. Another 17 million have been affected by the floods, and many will need emergency assistance to survive.

The United Nations issued an appeal for $460 million in emergency funds on Aug. 11, but only $294 million, or 64 percent, has been received so far, and donations have more or less dried up in recent days.

Ajay Chhibber, a U.N. assistant secretary general, said he hopes Jolies visit will have "a very big impact" on the inflow of aid money and will keep people focused on the crisis.

"We need more ... well-known figures who can keep the spotlight and focus because people tend to forget internationally," said Chhibber, who is also the U.N. development agencys regional director for Asia. He spoke to reporters during a visit to Islamabad.

___

Associated Press writer Sebastian Abbot contributed to this report from Islamabad.

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Colorado fire forced residents to make mad dash AP

BOULDER, Colo. David Myers knew it was time to leave when he looked out into the forest and spotted bright red flames towering skyward. Then came a blinding cloud of smoke and a deafening roar as the fire ripped through the wilderness.

"You can hear just this consumption of fuel, just crackling and burning. And the hardest thing is ... you couldnt see it because at the point the smoke was that thick," he said.

Myers was among about 3,500 people who desperately fled the fire after it erupted in a tinder-dry canyon northwest of Boulder on Monday and swallowed up dozens of homes. Residents packed everything they could into their cars and sped down narrow, winding roads to safety, encountering a vicious firestorm that melted the bumper of one couples van.

Myers said Tuesday afternoon that people told him they believed his house was destroyed. He said while hes sure he will experience "a varied level of emotions" about losing it, he remembers how he felt when fleeing the wildfire.

"All that really matters to us was my wife and I getting each other, getting the dogs, and getting out of there," Myers said. "We grabbed a couple of things, but when we look around, and we go, What should I take? it all seems pretty irrelevant."

Authorities said they have counted at least 63 structures that have been lost based on a survey of half the area burned. Its unclear how many were homes.

Gov. Bill Ritter declared a state of emergency Tuesday as officials nearly doubled the fires estimated size to more than 7,100 acres, or 11 square miles, after better mapping. At one point, the plume from the fire could be seen in Wyoming, 90 miles to the north.

Authorities investigated reports that the fire started when a car crashed into a propane tank. They are also trying to figure out why an automated phone alert system failed for two hours during the evacuation, forcing authorities to go door-to-door to search for people in harms way.

The fire caused no known injuries as residents appeared to get out of the area in time. But many spent Tuesday in shelters wondering if their homes still existed. Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said nine volunteer firefighters were among those who lost their homes.

Winds pushed the fire through three canyons where disease, drought and beetles that burrow under the bark have killed pine trees. The so-called bark beetles have killed more than 3.5 million acres of trees in Colorado and southeastern Wyoming, and the dead trees are seen as a significant wildfire threat.

Gusty winds hampered firefighting Monday, and a squadron of firefighting planes was grounded much of the day Tuesday because smoke covered the canyonlands and obscured targets. A mix of cold and warm air sandwiched smoke over the area, but eight tankers were cleared to take off later in the day after the inversion began to clear.

At least 200 firefighters, including crews from Wyoming and outside the region, were battling the wildfire. Crews managed to save the historic town of Gold Hill, including an Old West grocery store and structures once used for stagecoach stops.

Though westerly dry winds that spread the blaze Monday had eased Tuesday, authorities would not say whether fire lines had been established or speak about the prospect of containing the fire. Boulder County sheriffs Cmdr. Rich Brough said he didnt have that information, frustrating dozens of evacuees who sought refuge in Boulder.

"Theres no information about anything. ... I am so frustrated," said Ronda Plywaski, who fled her home with her husband and their two German shepherds and spent the night at an evacuation center at the University of Colorado. "I just want to know if my house is OK."

Closer to the fire, some people were seen crossing unmanned road checkpoints to get a closer glimpse of the damage, angering local officials. Authorities say allowing citizens to travel the areas narrow roads will impede fire crews.

"Its important right now for people who have been evacuated to just be patient. This is a very volatile situation," the governor said after touring the area. His disaster declaration released $5 million to fight the blaze.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said Tuesday that it authorized funds to help cover firefighting costs.

Its still not known how the alert system failed or how that affected the response.

Barb Halpin, a Boulder County spokeswoman, said the first four rounds of calls that were made through the countys automated phone alert system targeted about 2,500 phone numbers associated with houses near the most threatened areas. Halpin said she didnt know the exact time when the first alerts when out, only that it was immediately after the fire was first reported.

Halpin said the failures happened later in the afternoon when other areas outside the immediate vicinity of the fire were being alerted.

"Its unfortunate that those callouts failed," Halpin said. "We dont know the reason. Obviously, were investigating."

Halpin said sheriffs deputies went to the areas where the notifications failed to knock on peoples doors and tell them to evacuate.

Brough also repeatedly referred residents seeking information to a county website � despite the fact some displaced residents wouldnt have easy Internet access.

Residents gathered Tuesday at a mountain overlook to watch the yellowish-brown haze. One of them, Kirk Parker, sipped a beer on the tailgate of his Nissan pickup and spotted the roof of his home with binoculars. It wasnt on fire.

"I think were safe," Parker said.

Clark Duerr fled from his house with two dogs but left a pet python in a basement aquarium. Like many others, he said he didnt realize the enormity of the fire until he left.

"It definitely came up on us pretty quick," Duerr said. "There was a lot of orange smoke and a lot of frantic people."

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TalkTalk rapped for malware trial

7 September 2010 Last updated at 09:25 ET

ISP TalkTalk has been reprimanded by the Information Commissioners Office ICO for failing to disclose enough about a malware system it was launching

The ICO said the ISP should have told both it and customers about the trial.

The system is controversial because it collects the urls of websites visited by TalkTalk customers.

In August the ICO received a Freedom of Information request, asking whether it had investigated the system.

It revealed that it had and in correspondence with TalkTalk, Information Commissioner Christopher Graham said: "I am concerned that the trial was undertaken without first informing those affected that it was taking place".

He also revealed that TalkTalk had not told the ICO about the trials.

"In the light of the public reaction to BTs trial of the proposed Webwise service I am disappointed to note that this particular trial was not mentioned to my officials during the latest of our liasion meetings," he added.

BTs Webwise system, devised by ad firm Phorm to track user behaviour in order to serve them more relevant advertisements, proved highly controversial.

TalkTalk defended its trial and the technology.

"We were simply looking at the urls accessed from our network, we werent looking at customer behaviour so we didnt feel we were obliged to inform customers," said Mark Schmid, TalkTalks director of communication.

Protecting customers

Much of the controversy surrounding Webwise centred on the fact that BT conducted widespread trials without telling customers what it was doing.

That led to accusations that it illegally intercepted user data and investigations were launched by The European Commission and UK police.

TalkTalk denied its system had any link with Phorm, despite the fact that it was one of three ISPs which originally signed up to the system.

"It didnt cross our minds that it would be compared to Phorm," said Mr Schmid.

"This is all about protecting customers. It is not designed to provide us with data for any other purpose," he added.

Mr Schmid explained that the system scans websites and would provide customers with a blacklist of sites that contained malware or viruses.

In its tests, some 75,000 websites were found to contain malware.

TalkTalk plans to introduce the system at the end of this year.

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PS3 update blocks hardware hack

7 September 2010 Last updated at 07:13 ET

Sony has closed a loophole that allowed users to run software that enables pirated games to be played on the PS3 console.

The update blocks the PSJailbreak and PSGroove applications.

Mathieu Hervais, one of the developers behind PSGroove, told BBC News that it was "safer not to update" if users wished to continue using the hacks.

Sony won a court order in early September banning the distribution of the PSJailbreak dongle.

The update is the latest step in Sonys ongoing battle against the commercial dongle - PS Jailbreak - that allows users to play pirated software. It also targets open source code, known as PSGroove, which allows homemade games to be played on the console.

While the PSGroove software was not originally intended to allow the playing of pirated games, as PSJailbreak does, it has already been modified by other hackers to permit the practice.

Mixed response

It is the continuation of a cat-and-mouse game between hackers and the electronics giant, which started when PSJailbreak first appeared for sale on website.

The USB dongle was the first hardware hack of Sonys secure games console.

Sony has since obtained a court injunction preventing the distribution of the PSJailbreak dongle in Australia.

The firm has also filed a US lawsuit against Zoomba, a firm that runs a site selling the device. Distributors in the Netherlands have also told the BBC that they have received court documents banning the sale of the dongles.

However, Sony has now decided to tackle the problem head-on by releasing a software update for the consoles that block the hacks.

The new patch received a mixed reception from the gaming community, with some users praising Sony for its prompt action, while others were more critical.

"Every time there is an update, its a security patch I dont care about," wrote one.

"Give me something that will keep me occupied like more visuals on the music player, a way to delete trophies for a game I dont have anymore, backward compatibility for PS2 games, better video chat.

"You guys dont take to many suggestions from your players. If you listen, I mean really listen, to the ideas you will be top," they added.

Mr Hervais told BBC News that it did yet know how Sony fixed the security flaw.

Sony declined to comment on the specifics of the update, but a spokesman told BBC News: "Since this is an overall security related issue, we will not be providing further commentary to this case.

"But as we always have, we will continue to take necessary actions to both hardware and software to protect the intellectual content provided on the PlayStation 3."

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HP sues Hurd over new Oracle job

7 September 2010 Last updated at 15:43 ET

Computer maker Hewlett Packard HP has filed a lawsuit against its former head Mark Hurd in an attempt to stop him joining database software maker Oracle.

Oracle announced the appointment of Mr Hurd as co-president late on Monday night.

HP said Mr Hurds appointment would put its "most valuable trade secrets and confidential information in peril".

Mr Hurd, who resigned from HP only a month ago, is a friend of Oracles chief executive, Larry Ellison.

Mr Hurd was forced to quit after a sexual harassment investigation. He denies any wrongdoing and was backed throughout the investigation by Mr Ellison.

The two are among the best-known figures in the technology industry.

Close links

HP said Oracle would gain "a strategic advantage as to where to allocate or not allocate resources and exploit the knowledge of HPs strengths and weaknesses" as a result of hiring Mr Hurd.

He replaces current co-president Charles Phillips, who himself courted controversy earlier this year when billboards appeared in a number of US cities featuring pictures of himself and a former girlfriend.

Oracle and Hewlett-Packard are closely linked as companies.

They have worked together for 25 years to ensure their products are compatible.

Major technology firms have spent the last few years trying to straddle hardware, software and data storage in a bid to remain relevant.

Oracle recently took over rival Sun Microsystems, while HP just fought off Dell in a close bidding war that leaves it the front-runner to take over the data storage company 3Par.

Mr Ellison said there was no-one better for the job as co-president of Oracle than Mr Hurd: "There is no executive in the IT world with more relevant experience than Mark."

Mr Hurd cut 50,000 jobs during his time at HP.

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Report: Castro blasts Ahmadinejad as anti-Semitic AP

HAVANA Fidel Castro criticized Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for what he called his anti-Semitic attitudes and questioned his own actions during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 during interviews with an American journalist he summoned to Havana to discuss fears of global nuclear war.

Jeffrey Goldberg, a national correspondent for The Atlantic, blogged on the magazines website Tuesday that he was on vacation last month when the head of the Cuban Interests Section in Washington � which Cuba maintains there instead of an embassy � called to say Castro had read his recent article about Israel and Iran and wanted him to come to Cuba.

Goldberg asked Julia Sweig, a Cuba-U.S. policy expert at the Council on Foreign Relations, to accompany him, and the pair spent portions of three days talking with Castro.

Cubas state-controlled media reported Aug. 31 that Goldberg and Sweig met with Castro and attended the dolphin show at Havanas aquarium, but the blog was the first to reveal details of what they discussed.

Goldberg said their first meeting lasted five hours and featured appearances by Castros wife, Dalia, his son Antonio, and several bodyguards, two of which held his elbow to steady Castro when he moved.

"His body may be frail, but his mind is acute, his energy level is high," wrote Goldberg, who also noted Castros self-deprecating humor.

The 84-year-old ex-president wore full military fatigues and an olive-green cap while addressing university students last week, and had previously appeared in public in a military shirt. But Goldberg saw Castro in a red shirt, sweat pants, and black New Balance sneakers.

He said Castro, who himself has been a fierce critic of Israel, "repeatedly returned to his excoriation of anti-Semitism," chiding Ahmadinejad for denying the Holocaust. Castro said that Iran could further the cause of peace by "acknowledging the unique history of anti-Semitism and trying to understand why Israelis fear for their existence."

The gray-bearded revolutionary related to Goldberg a story from his childhood that has been detailed by some biographers: that he overheard classmates saying Jews killed Jesus Christ.

"I didnt know what a Jew was. I knew of a bird that was a called a Jew, and so for me the Jews were those birds," Goldberg quoted Castro as telling him. Castro later added, "This is how ignorant the entire population was."

According to Goldberg, Castro said, "I dont think anyone has been slandered more than the Jews. I would say much more than the Muslims."

Castro also said that the Iranian government should understand that the Jews "were expelled from their land, persecuted and mistreated all over the world, as the ones who killed God."

After undergoing emergency intestinal surgery in July 2006, giving up Cubas presidency and dropping out of sight for four years, Castro has begun making near-daily public appearances to warn of a nuclear war pitting the U.S. and Israel against Iran and also featuring a Washington-led attack on North Korea.

"This problem is not going to get resolved, because the Iranians are not going to back down in the face of threats," Castro told Goldberg.

Goldberg also said he revisited the Cuban Missile Crisis with Castro, asking if once "it seemed logical for you to recommend that the Soviets bomb the U.S."

"Does what you recommended still seem logical now?"

Castros answer surprised him: "After Ive seen what Ive seen, and knowing what I know now, it wasnt worth it all."

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Iraqi soldier fires on US troops, kills 2 AP

BAGHDAD An Iraqi soldier opened fire on American troops and killed two on Tuesday, U.S. and Iraqi officials said. They were the first American servicemen killed since the U.S. declared an official end to combat operations in the country last week.

The Americans were among a group of U.S. soldiers meeting with Iraqi security forces at an Iraqi army compound near the city of Tuz Khormato, about 130 miles 210 kilometers north of Baghdad. The assailant was shot and killed.

The attack demonstrated the danger U.S. troops continue to face even after President Barack Obama officially declared an end to U.S. combat on Aug. 31 as part of his plan for withdrawing all American forces by the end of 2011. Despite the declaration, U.S. forces continue to be drawn into the fighting in Iraq.

The Americans attacked Tuesday were providing security for an American commander who was meeting with Iraqi forces at the compound. Nine U.S. soldiers were wounded, a military statement said.

The citys police chief, Col. Hussein Rashid, identified the assailant as an Iraqi soldier and said the shooting happened after an argument. He did not provide further details.

"This is a tragic and cowardly act and is certainly not reflective of the Iraqi security forces," said Maj. Gen. Tony Cucolo, the American commander in charge of U.S. forces in northern Iraq.

The military is investigating, and the soldiers names were being withheld pending notification of the next of kin.

The deaths raise to at least 4,418 the number of U.S. military personnel killed in Iraq since the war began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

The American military has reduced its footprint in Iraq from a one-time high of 170,000 troops to just under 50,000 troops as of Aug. 31.

The remaining troops are tasked with training the Iraqi security forces, providing security for some State Department missions and assisting the Iraqi forces in hunting down insurgent groups.

But U.S. troops are still able to defend themselves and their bases and still come under attack.

On Sunday, American troops in eastern Baghdad helped Iraqi forces repel an assault on an Iraqi military headquarters in what was the first exchange of gunfire involving Americans since the August deadline.

In a statement posted on a militant website, the Islamic State of Iraq took responsibility for the hour-long assault Sunday on the headquarters of the Iraqi Armys 11th Division. It was the second assault on the complex in less than a month and showed the challenges Iraqi security forces are facing after the U.S. change of mission.

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US church to go ahead with Sept. 11 Quran burning AP

GAINESVILLE, Fla. A Christian minister vowed Tuesday to go ahead with plans to burn copies of the Quran to protest the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks despite warnings from the White House and the top U.S. general in Afghanistan that doing so would endanger American troops overseas.

Pastor Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center said he understands the governments concerns, but plans to go forward with the burning this Saturday, the ninth anniversary of the attacks.

He left the door open to change his mind, saying he is still praying about his decision, which was condemned Tuesday by an interfaith coalition that met in Washington to respond to a spike in anti-Muslim bigotry.

Gen. David Petraeus warned in an e-mail to The Associated Press that "images of the burning of a Quran would undoubtedly be used by extremists in Afghanistan � and around the world � to inflame public opinion and incite violence."

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley echoed that, calling the plan to burn copies of the Quran "un-American" and saying it does not represent the views of most people in the U.S.

"While it may well be within someones rights to take this action, we hope cooler heads will prevail," Crowley said.

Jones told the AP in a phone interview that he is also concerned but wonders how many times the U.S. can back down.

"We think its time to turn the tables, and instead of possibly blaming us for what could happen, we put the blame where it belongs � on the people who would do it," he said. "And maybe instead of addressing us, we should address radical Islam and send a very clear warning that they are not to retaliate in any form."

Jones, who runs the small, evangelical Christian church with an anti-Islam philosophy, says he has received more than 100 death threats and has started wearing a .40-caliber pistol strapped to his hip.

The threats started not long after the 58-year-old minister proclaimed in July that he would stage "International Burn a Quran Day." Supporters have been mailing copies of the Islamic holy text to his Dove World Outreach Center to be incinerated in a bonfire that evening.

The fire department has denied Jones a required burn permit for Saturday, but he says he is going ahead with his event. He said lawyers have told him his right to burn the Quran is protected by the First Amendment whether hes got permission from the city or not.

Muslims consider the Quran to be the word of God and insist it be treated with the utmost respect, along with any printed material containing its verses or the name of Allah or the Prophet Muhammad. Any intentional damage or show of disrespect to the Quran is deeply offensive.

The interfaith group of evangelical, Roman Catholic, Jewish, and Muslim leaders meeting in Washington condemned Jones plan to burn the Quran as a violation of American values and the Bible. Among the participants was Cardinal Theodore Mccarrick, retired Catholic archbishop of Washington, D.C.; Rabbi David Saperstein of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism; and top officials from the Islamic Society of North America, the group that organized the gathering.

"This is not the America that we all have grown to love and care about," said Rabbi Steve Gutow of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. "We have to stand up for our Muslim brothers and sisters and say, "This is not OK."

In this progressive north Florida town of 125,000 anchored by the sprawling University of Florida campus, the lanky preacher with the bushy white mustache is mostly seen as a fringe character who doesnt deserve the attention hes getting.

Still, at least two dozen Christian churches, Jewish temples and Muslim organizations in Gainesville have mobilized to plan inclusive events � some will read from the Quran at their own weekend services � to counter what Jones is doing. A student group is organizing a protest across the street from the church Saturday.

The Vatican newspaper on Tuesday published an article in which Catholic bishops, including Archbishop Lawrence John Saldanha of Lahore, Pakistan, criticized Jones plan.

"No one burns the Quran," read the headline in Tuesdays LOsservatore Romano.

Jones, who has about 50 followers, gained some local notoriety last year when he posted signs in front of his small church proclaiming "Islam is of the Devil." The church is independent of any denomination but follows the Pentecostal tradition, which teaches that the Holy Spirit can manifest itself in the modern day. Pentecostals often view themselves as engaged in spiritual warfare against satanic forces.

Jones Quran-burning scheme, after it caught fire on the Internet, brought rebukes from Muslim nations and an avalanche of media interview requests just as an emotional debate was taking shape over the proposed Islamic center near the Ground Zero site in New York.

The Quran, according to Jones, is "evil" because it espouses something other than the Christian biblical truth and incites radical, violent behavior among Muslims.

"Its hard for people to believe, but we actually feel this is a message that we have been called to bring forth," he said last week. "And because of that, we do not feel like we can back down."

FBI agents have visited to talk about their concerns for Jones safety, as multiple Facebook pages with thousands of members have popped up hailing him as either a hero or a dangerous pariah.

His plan has drawn formal condemnation from the worlds pre-eminent Sunni Muslim institution of learning, Al-Azhar University in Egypt, whose Supreme Council accused the church of stirring up hate and discrimination and called on other American churches speak out against it. Last month, Indonesian Muslims demonstrated outside the U.S. embassy in Jakarta, threatening violence if Jones goes through with it.

___

Associated Press Writer Kimberly Dozier in Kabul, Afghanistan, and AP Religion Writer Rachel Zoll in New York contributed to this report.

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Grim outlook for Democrats puts House up for grabs AP

WASHINGTON Their control of the House in peril, Democrats are playing defense all across the country. Disgruntled voters, a sluggish economy and vanishing enthusiasm for President Barack Obama have put 75 seats or more - the vast majority held by Democrats - at risk of changing hands.

The party could become a victim of its own successes during the past two elections, when candidates were swept into power by antipathy for President George W. Bush and ardor for Obama. Now, eight weeks from Election Day, the Democrats are bracing for the virtual certainty of lost House seats and scrambling to hold back a wave that could hand the GOP the 40 it needs to command a majority

Obama, grasping for a way to turn the tide, on Wednesday plans to propose $30 billion in new investment tax breaks for businesses to go along with tens of billions in spending he called for on Labor Day to invigorate the slow recovery. But even if Congress acts on the requests - a long shot in a highly charged political season - theres little time left for Democrats to salvage their election chances.

With Obamas popularity slumping and the party demoralized, dozens of first- and second-term Democrats as well as longer-serving congressmen who havent faced serious challenges in years are toiling to hold onto their jobs in places that tend to prefer Republicans. And polls show independent voters leaning toward the GOP.

When asked which party they want to control Congress, voters are split or leaning toward Republicans, national surveys say. Perhaps even more ominously for Democrats, voters are overwhelmingly sour about national issues, especially the economy.

More than 60 percent said the nation was in a state of decline and on the wrong track in the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, in which voters likely to turn out in November gave Republicans a gaping 9-point edge when asked which party they wanted to control Congress.

Much can change between now and Election Day, and a GOP House takeover is far from sure. The political parties, individual campaigns and outside groups that spend heavily to influence elections have scarcely begun to distribute the hundreds of millions of dollars they plan to pour into key congressional districts across the country for advertising and on-the-ground organizing that can turn out crucial voters.

And most voters have yet to focus on the contests.

Still, Republicans are confidently predicting Democrats defeat.

"Republicans have the intensity," said Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., head recruiter for House GOP candidates. "The map is growing by the day."

Democrats acknowledge the strong headwinds but counter that, with a solid fundraising advantage over Republicans and years worth of preparation for what they always knew would be a brutal election, they can fight off the GOP onslaught.

"Weve got some very, very tough political territory on an off year with a weak economy, so its a major challenge in a difficult political environment. That said, we will retain a majority in the House," said Democratic Rep. Chris Van Hollen, the partys House campaign chief.

The current breakdown is 255 Democrats, 178 Republicans and two vacancies that appear likely to be won by the GOP.

Democratic incumbents are at risk from California to New York and particularly in the unemployment-stricken Rust Belt, where six in Pennsylvania and five in Ohio face stiff challenges. Hotly contested races are unfolding in every region, including three each in Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Indiana, and two in Alabama, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Wisconsin and Virginia.

Among the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents are Betsy Markey of Colorado, Steve Driehaus of Ohio, and Tom Perriello of Virginia - all freshmen in districts that voted for Republican presidential nominee John McCain in 2008. They had little time to settle into elected office before casting votes for key elements of Obamas agenda that are overwhelmingly unpopular at home, including the health care law and the so-called cap-and-trade measure to curb carbon emissions.

At the same time, a handful of influential, senior Democrats - including Missouris Ike Skelton, the chair of the Armed Services Committee, and South Carolinian John Spratt, the Budget chairman - are facing formidable re-election battles in a year when voter dislike of elected officials, excessive government spending and the political establishment is on the rise.

Reps. Alan Boyd of Florida and Earl Pomeroy of North Dakota - both in the House more than a decade - and Paul Kanjorski of Pennsylvania and Chet Edwards of Texas - veterans of 20 years or more - also face tough fights.

And Democrats are facing tight races to hang on to most of the 20 seats where the incumbent retired, left or is pursuing another office - typically the most difficult for a party to defend. Those include two each in Arkansas and Tennessee, and long-shots in Louisiana, Kansas and upstate New York, where Rep. Eric Massa resigned in March amid an investigation into whether he sexually harassed male staffers.

Most of the 23 open Republican seats are not regarded as seriously in play, although Democrats have good chances of claiming two being vacated by GOP lawmakers running for the Senate, including one in Delaware now held by Mike Castle and one in the Chicago suburbs held by Mark Kirk.

Only a few Republican incumbents are at serious risk in otherwise Democratic districts, including Joseph Cao in New Orleans and Charles Djou in Hawaii. Democrats also believe they have shots at ousting Republican Reps. Dave Reichert in Washington and Lee Terry in Nebraska.

As bad as things are for Democrats, they do lead in the money race. However, with their list of endangered incumbents expanding, they face painful choices about which races to abandon in the interest of spending where they realistically can win.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the partys House campaign arm, had $36 million in cash at the end of July compared to the National Republican Congressional Committees $22 million. But the gap has been closing steadily as Election Day nears, and a handful of GOP-backed outside groups have plans to pour tens of millions into House races in the coming weeks. Unions are also planning to funnel large sums into the contests on behalf of Democrats.

Democrats have booked $49 million worth of TV advertising time in 60 congressional districts, the vast majority of it to protect vulnerable Democratic incumbents, while Republicans have reserved $22 million for advertising in 41 districts, all but one now held by Democrats.

"The opportunity is there," to wrest the House, said Guy Harrison, executive director of the National Republican Congressional Committee. "We just have to execute."

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EU decries barbaric plans to stone Iranian woman AP

TEHRAN, Iran The international crossfire over Irans stoning sentence for a woman convicted of adultery intensified Tuesday with a top European Union official calling it "barbaric" and an Iranian spokesman saying its about punishing a criminal and not a human rights issue.

The sharp words from both sides provide a snapshot of the dispute: Western leaders are ramping up pressure to call off the sentence for Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani and Iran is framing it as a matter for its own courts and society.

The case of the 43-year-old mother of two also spills over into larger and even more complex issues for Irans Islamic leaders of national sovereignty and defense of their system of justice.

Iranian authorities routinely defend their legal codes and human rights standards as fully developed and in keeping with the countrys traditions and values. They have widely ignored Western denunciations over the crackdowns after last years disputed presidential election.

Iranian authorities also bristle at Western criticism � including U.S. State Department human rights reports � and say foreign governments overlook shortcomings in their own systems and fail to hold Western ally Israel accountable.

Irans Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ramin Mehmanparast, showed Tuesday that the Islamic state was willing to push back just as hard as the West � at least with rhetoric.

"If release of all those who have committed murder is considered defending human rights, all European countries can ... free murderers in defense of human rights," Mehmanparast told reporters.

Ashtianis stoning sentence was put on hold in July and is now being reviewed by Irans supreme court. Iranian authorities also say she has been convicted of playing a role in her husbands 2005 murder.

But her lawyer, Houtan Javid Kian, says she was never formally put on trial on the charge of being an accomplice to murder and was not allowed to mount a defense.

At the European parliament, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said he was "appalled" by the news of the sentence.

"Barbaric beyond words," he said during his first State of the Union address in Strasbourg, France.

The case also has been wrapped up in claims of Iranian missteps and abuses.

Last month, Iranian authorities broadcast a purported confession from Ashtiani on state-run television. A woman identified as Ashtiani admitted to being an unwitting accomplice in her husbands killing. Kian said he believes she was tortured into confessing.

Then on Monday, Kian said he received word that his client was lashed 99 times last week in a separate punishment after British newspaper ran a picture of an unveiled woman mistakenly identified as Ashtiani. The newspaper, the Times of London, later apologized for the error.

There was no official Iranian confirmation of the new punishment.

Iran has given no signal it will bend easily to international appeals. Even an offer of asylum from Brazil � which is on friendly terms with Tehran � went nowhere.

The Vatican has hinted of the possibility of behind-the-scenes diplomacy to try to save her life.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner called the stoning sentence "the height of barbarism." Earlier, a hard-line Iranian newspaper, Kayhan, described French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy as a "prostitute" for condemning the stoning sentence.

Mehmanparast, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, said the insult was not sanctioned by the government.

U.S. officials have so far let European allies lead the way over the case, preferring to keep up efforts to enforce tighter U.N. and American sanctions over Irans nuclear program. But Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said last month that Washington remains "troubled" by the case and Ashtianis "fate is unclear."

Ashtianis lawyer sees the next critical period coming next week. The moratorium on death sentences during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan will end, and he worries that an execution could be then carried out "any moment."

Stonings of men and women were widely carried out in the early years after the 1979 Islamic revolution. More recently, the punishment has been imposed less frequently, but cases are rarely confirmed by authorities and no official records are released.

In January 2009, Iranian judiciary spokesman Ali Reza Jamshidi said two men convicted of adultery were stoned to death the previous month in the northeastern city of Mashhad.

Iran also reported a death by stoning in July 2007 for a man convicted of adultery. The U.N. human rights chief at the time, Louise Arbour, condemned the execution as a "clear violation of international law."

Hangings are frequently carried out in Iran, whose legal system is a mix of civil statutes and Quran-inspired codes. Magistrates, who are often Muslim clerics, have wide latitude on sentences for crimes that break moral codes.

In December 2008, Iranian authorities shut down the office of a human rights group led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, whose efforts included appeals to ban stonings. Ebadi has not returned to Iran since last years re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

___

Murphy reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

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AP sources: Former FBI man implicated in CIA abuse AP

WASHINGTON A former CIA officer accused of revving an electric drill near the head of an imprisoned terror suspect has returned to U.S. intelligence as a contractor, training CIA operatives after leaving the agency, The Associated Press has learned.

The CIA officer wielded the bitless drill and an unloaded handgun - unauthorized interrogation techniques - to menace suspected USS Cole bombing plotter Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri inside a secret CIA prison in Poland in late 2002 and early 2003, according to several former intelligence officials and a review by the CIAs inspector general.

Adding details to the public portions of the review, the former officials identified the officer as Albert, 60, a former FBI agent of Egyptian descent who worked as a bureau translator in New York before joining the CIA. The former officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because many details of the incident remain classified.

Both Albert and his CIA supervisor at the time, a second official known as Mike, were reprimanded for their involvement in the incident, the former officials said.

The AP is withholding the last names of the two men at the request of U.S. officials for safety reasons.

Human rights critics say the mens actions were emblematic of harsh treatment and oversight problems in the CIAs detention and interrogation program, amounting to torture that should have been prosecuted. They also say Alberts return as a contractor raises questions about how the intelligence community deals with those who used unauthorized interrogation methods.

"The notion that an individual involved in one of the more notorious episodes of the CIAs interrogation program is still employed directly or indirectly by the U.S. government is scandalous," said Ben Wizner, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union.

Federal prosecutor John Durham is looking at the case - the third time federal authorities have examined it for possible charges. Now held at Guantanamo Bay prison, al-Nashiri faces possible terror charges either in a U.S. military commission or in a civilian court, and the outcome of Durhams investigation could influence his case, possibly determining whether the detainee was tortured.

Nancy Hollander, al-Nashiris lawyer, said torture would be a mitigating factor if al-Nashiri ever faced a possible death sentence.

After leaving the CIA, Albert returned at some point as a contractor, training CIA officers at a facility in northern Virginia to handle different scenarios they might face in the field, according to former officials. Albert hasnt been involved in training CIA employees for at least two years, but a current U.S. official says he continues to work as an intelligence contractor.

A message left with Albert was not returned. Its not clear when he left the agency and became an intelligence contractor.

His former supervisor, Mike, 56, retired from the CIA in 2003 and now teaches and works in the private sector. Mike declined to comment.

The events in Poland were outlined in the CIA Inspector Generals special review of the agencys detention and interrogation program, parts of which were declassified last year. But a full accounting of what happened to al-Nashiri at the so-called black site and who was involved has never been made public.

The CIA used secret prisons scattered around world, from Thailand to Poland, where detainees were questioned and subjected to the simulated drowning technique of waterboarding and other harsh methods.

President George W. Bush closed the black sites in 2006, but the government has yet to divulge the full history of the secret program. Revelations have continued to surface, confronting the CIA even as the spy agency tries to focus on the future.

Al-Nashiri was captured in Dubai in November 2002 and was taken to another CIA secret prison in Afghanistan known as the Salt Pit - a facility that figures in a separate Durham prosecution of a detainee death in 2002.

Al-Nashiri was flown to still another secret CIA prison in Thailand, where he stayed briefly, then taken to the Poland prison on Dec. 5, 2002, just days after that facility was opened.

In Poland, al-Nashiri was subjected to a series of enhanced interrogation techniques - including some not authorized by Justice Department guidelines.

There were heated arguments at CIA headquarters about al-Nashiris treatment, according to a former CIA official. Some CIA officers felt al-Nashiri was "compliant" after two weeks of tough questioning and additional rough treatment was unnecessary. But others thought he was withholding information, and Albert was sent to Poland, according to the special review.

According to the review, Albert took an unloaded semiautomatic handgun to the cell where al-Nashiri was shackled. The officer then racked the slide - a cocking action - of the unloaded weapon once or twice next al-Nashiris head, according to the review.

The special review said that, probably on the same day, Albert revved a power drill to frighten al-Nashiri, who had been left naked and hooded. The drill did not contain a sharpened bit, but the detainee would not have known that. The drill was placed near the detainees head but did not touch him, the review concluded. In January 2003, newly arrived CIA officers heard about these incidents and reported them to headquarters.

Former and current intelligence officials said the agency disciplined Albert and Mike, the CIA officer in charge of the jail. The details of the reprimands remain classified, but Mike had given Albert permission to use the unauthorized techniques, failing to get approval from headquarters, the former U.S officials said.

The CIAs inspector general investigated the incident and referred it to the Bush administration Justice Department. But prosecutors declined in September 2003 to charge Albert with a crime.

Charging Albert for the gun and drill incidents could prove difficult. CIA officers can be prosecuted in the U.S. for crimes committed overseas, but typically just for felonies. Simple assault would not qualify.

And since the gun was unloaded and the drill contained no bit, it would be hard to convict him of more serious charges such as assault with intent to murder or assault with intent to do bodily harm.

Despite those hurdles, al-Nashiris lawyer insisted she would press for legal consideration of the detainees treatment.

"Terrorizing a hooded, shackled prisoner is torture," Hollander said. "I will do everything in my power to make sure the world knows that agents of the U.S. government tortured my client and have now held him in violation of U.S. and international law for over eight years."

___

Associate Press writer Matt Apuzzo in Washington contributed to this report.

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EU OKs new financial supervision deal AP

BRUSSELS European Union nations agreed to create new financial oversight institutions Tuesday, hoping to prevent a repeat of the government debt crisis that nearly left Greece bankrupt and brought the European banking system to its knees.

The unions 27 finance ministers also agreed to give Greece the next chunk of its bailout funds but failed to find common ground on the introduction of a levy on banks or on a new tax on financial trading.

The ministers � called Ecofin � decided to establish a new supervisory board over the financial industry and demand a more transparent sharing of government budgetary information � a move prompted by the dubious accounting practices in Greece over the last few years.

The systemic risk board, the principal new body backed Tuesday, will be chaired by European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet out of Frankfurt. It still needs the formal backing of the European Parliament, but that is expected later this month.

This shows the willingness of European countries to "put behind national interests for the sake of Europe," said Wolfgang Schaeuble, Germanys finance minister.

Belgiums finance minister Didier Reynders, who chaired the meeting, said stricter supervision was one of the most important lessons from the government debt crisis and insisted the deal was necessary now to make sure the new risk board begins work at the start of 2011.

The EU reforms echo recent changes enacted in the United States, where a new council of regulators, led by the Treasury Secretary, has been established to monitor threats to the financial system. The U.S. has also created a new powerful independent consumer financial protection bureau within the Federal Reserve to write and enforce new regulations covering lending and credit.

As well as creating a new financial architecture, the ministers also approved a second installment of emergency loans � worth euro9 billion $11.5 billion � for Greece after the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund praised the country for the efforts it has made since the massive euro110 billion $140 billion bailout plan was agreed in May.

Yet common ground could not be found on the introduction of new banking taxes.

Although many countries in the EU have decided to impose a levy on bank profits, there is no Europe-wide agreement about what to do with the proceeds. Germany wants the revenues to be put in a rescue fund to pay for future banking bailouts while Britain wants to use the money for its own budgetary needs.

"I made it clear ... that we did not support proposals for a European resolution fund," said British Finance Minister George Osborne.

Even though a consensus has not emerged in the EU over the bank levy, Europe has in many ways gone further down the line than the U.S. after Congress failed to back a plan to impose a $19 billion tax on large banks and hedge funds.

The transactions tax, which has been backed by non-governmental organizations, trade unions and politicians, does not look like its going to get the broad backing within Europes capitals, even though French President Nicolas Sarkozy said its going to be a priority when France takes the chair of the Group of 20 countries next year.

Osborne said the problem with the trading tax is the same as it has been since Nobel Laureate James Tobin first proposed it in 1970s � if its not introduced everywhere, then firms will just move their dealmaking elsewhere to avoid paying the tax.

"I suspect that transaction taxes will be discussed for many decades to come," said Osborne.

It certainly looks like it will continue to be a topic of conversation when the finance ministers meet again in an informal meeting at the end of the month � Germanys Schaeuble said the transaction tax issue remained on the table and that the obstacles were not "insurmountable."

Proponents of the measures had claimed they would curb excessive risk-taking and place the financial burden of any rescue package on financial institutions themselves instead of the taxpayer. During the financial crisis, governments across the EU provided financial institutions public support worth an astonishing 16.5 percent of the unions total worth.

Tuesdays Ecofin meeting took place in a less feverish atmosphere than most recent gatherings, when the ministers faced the real prospect of Greeces potential bankruptcy. Only Mays bailout of the country by its 15 partners in the eurozone and the IMF and a near $1 trillion rescue package to support other embattled eurozone economies helped ease concerns.

Worries about the European economy and its ability to deal with large amounts of government debt have eased further by a recent run of better-than-expected data, progress by Greece in strengthening its bailed-out finances and the results of stress tests on 91 of the EUs banks.

Though the most apocalyptic scenarios discussed a few months ago, such as the collapse of the euro currency, have been put on the back burner, market jitters remain. A report in the Wall Street Journal that the summers stress tests into 91 EU banks understated some lenders holdings of potentially risky government debt spooked markets Tuesday � the euro was trading over a cent lower on the day at $1.2750.

Investors know that the government debt crisis could flare up again, particularly as the 16 eurozone governments are set to issue more debt this month than they did in August.

Eurozone governments have bond repayments of euro80 billion $103 billion in September, with around euro30 billion $38 billion due from Italy alone � and the results of the debt sales will reveal what bond investors think of government finances.

"There are growing concerns about a potential round 2 in the eurozone debt crisis as banks and some eurozone governments face a heavy funding schedule," warned Neil MacKinnon, global macro strategist at VTB Capital.

____

Associated Press Writers Raf Casert in Brussels and Jim Kuhnhenn in Washington contributed to this story.

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Fight over Eichmann files back to German court AP

BERLIN Germanys intelligence service has turned over thousands of files on top Nazi Adolf Eichmanns whereabouts after World War II to a journalist who sued for them. But with so many passages blacked out and pages missing, shes taking the matter back to court.

An attorney for freelance reporter Gabriele Weber said Tuesday he was confident that she would win greater access eventually, even though Chancellor Angela Merkels office has argued that some Eichmann files should stay secret.

Last week, Weber went to see the government files on the man known as the "architect of the Holocaust" for coordinating the Nazis genocide policy. She was surprised to find some 1,000 pages missing, despite a federal courts order in April that the intelligence agency, the BND, could not keep all of the documents secret.

Merkels office, which oversees the BND, argued in a filing with the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig that the 3,400 files had been examined and that it had been determined that some should remain withheld for a variety of reasons. It expressed concern that because the information had been received in confidence from other intelligence agencies, to make it public would discredit the BND.

Merkels office has not commented on the April decision and the BND refused to elaborate while the matter is still pending in court.

The arguments, however, were similar to those the court rejected when it made its initial ruling.

"I am certain that we will get all of the files, but it will take some time," Webers Berlin attorney Reiner Geulen said.

He has filed a new request with the Leipzig court arguing that the government is violating the courts original order by withholding so much.

Even though the basics of Eichmanns story after the war are well known � he fled Germany, was captured in Argentina by Israels Mossad in 1960, then hanged after trial in Jerusalem in 1962 � Weber hopes the files will shed more light on missing pieces of the puzzle. Who helped him escape? How much did Germany know about where he was? Is there more to the story of his capture?

While she received some 2,400 pages, another 1,000 � crucially about the years before Eichmann was captured by Israel � were held back, she said. Of the pages she did receive, much of the information was blacked out, she told The Associated Press.

"Of the 2,400 pages, maybe 100 are interesting," she said.

It was not clear when the case would be heard by the Leipzig court.

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3 dead in blast at police complex in NW Pakistan AP

PESHAWAR, Pakistan A large explosion ripped through a police compound in a northwestern Pakistani city Tuesday evening, killing at least three people and wounding 25, a local official said.

The complex in the garrison city of Kohat houses officers homes, a training facility and a commercial area.

Police officer Mumtaz Khan said three bodies had been recovered from the rubble of toppled homes and at least 25 were hurt, including women and children.

Khan said the death toll could rise as many were still trapped in the destroyed houses.

Officer Mohammad Arif said there was a huge explosion in the residential area of the compound soon after the evening breaking of the daily fast during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Power to the area was cut, forcing emergency workers to search for any victims in the dark, he said.

"There was a massive blast and due to the darkness it is not yet known what the extent of damage and loss of life is," he said.

Kohat, the major town on the road between the provincial capital of Peshawar and several tribal areas, has been the scene of several militant attacks this year. In April, two burqa-clad suicide bombers attacked refugees lined up to register for food and other relief supplies in the district, killing 41 people and wounding dozens more.

"This city is a war zone. We would always expect such attacks," said Khalid Omarzai, a top local official .

The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for a series of recent attacks across the nation aimed at destabilizing the country and weakening a civilian government already struggling with a massive flooding that has displaced millions and caused widespread destruction.

The deadliest have targeted minority Shiite Muslims. A suicide bombing killed at least 43 Shiite Muslims at a procession in the southwestern city of Quetta on Friday. Two days earlier, a triple suicide attack killed 35 people at a Shiite ceremony in the eastern city of Lahore.

On Monday, a Taliban suicide bomber detonated a car in an alley behind a police station in a strategically important town in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 17 police and civilians in an explosion that shattered the station and neighboring homes.

About 40 people were wounded in the attack in Lakki Marwat, which sits on the main road between Punjab province, Pakistans largest and most prosperous, and the North and South Waziristan tribal regions.

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Kenyan court convicts, sentences 7 Somali pirates AP

NAIROBI, Kenya A Kenyan court has convicted and sentenced seven Somalis of piracy to five years in jail, a defense lawyer said Tuesday.

A court in the Kenyan port town of Mombasa found the Somalis guilty of attacking a German naval supply ship in the Gulf of Aden on March 29 last year, said Jared Magolo, their lawyer. He said his clients plan to appeal the verdict made Monday.

"Even though we believe that the verdict was not very heavy, but the conviction was not proper," said Magolo.

The European Union anti-piracy task force said it welcomes the courts decision.

The "judgment marks an important step in the cooperation between EU and Kenya in the repression of acts of piracy and armed robbery off the coast of Somalia," said Maj. Gen. Buster Howes, the forces operation commander.

Riding in a single skiff, the seven pirates opened fire on the FGS Spessart, a German Navy tanker, mistaking it for a commercial vessel. They were repelled by ships security and later captured by the German frigate FGS Rheinland-Pfalz. The pirates were handed over to Kenyan authorities in April last year.

Before Monday, Kenyan courts had convicted 28 Somalis of piracy since 2006, when the first piracy case was concluded in the East African nation.

Somalia has been mired in anarchy and chaos since 1991, and the lawlessness has allowed piracy to thrive off its Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden coastlines. Somali pirates are able to make multimillion dollar ransoms from their hijackings.

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Abbas asks US to step into settlement dispute AP

RAMALLAH, West Bank Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he has asked the U.S. to settle a dispute with Israel over settlement expansion that is threatening to derail Mideast peace talks.

Israels 10-month partial freeze on new construction in West Bank settlements ends Sept. 26, and Israeli officials have indicated they will not extend the freeze as is. Abbas has said hell quit peace talks with Israel unless the restrictions remain in place.

Abbas said late Monday that he has asked the U.S. "to intervene in the settlement issue."

The Obama administration has promised an active role in the talks, Abbas told reporters accompanying him on his way back from Washington, where direct negotiations were launched last week after a hiatus of nearly two years.

"The U.S. will be present at the negotiations, not necessarily behind closed doors, but U.S. mediators can be inside the room, or outside," Abbas said.

Settlements take up land the Palestinians want for a state, and Abbas views Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus decision on the freeze as a test of his intentions.

President Barack Obama wants Abbas and Netanyahu to agree on the main principles of a peace deal within a year, but gaps remain wide. In Washington, Netanyahu � who long opposed Palestinian statehood before accepting the idea last year � struck a conciliatory tone, but the Palestinians still fear the Israeli leader plans to use the talks to buy time and establish more facts on the ground.

"Some say he is not serious and practicing PR," Palestinian negotiator Nabil Shaath told reporters on Tuesday, referring to Netanyahu. "But we are going to test him on two imminent issues � the settlement slowdown and then at the negotiating table."

President Barack Obama wants to see both sides reaching agreement on the main elements of a peace deal within a year. But in a message to the Israeli people on Tuesday ahead of the upcoming Jewish New Year, Netanyahu said the negotiations success, while desired, "was not assured."

Abbas and Netanyahu will meet twice next week, first in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheik and then in Jerusalem. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will attend both meetings.

The Israelis are negotiating with Abbas, who has limited governing power in the West Bank under Israels overall security control. The Gaza Strip, located on the other side of Israel, is controlled by Abbas rivals, the Islamic militants of Hamas, who do not recognize Israel and reject negotiations. Clashes and rocket fire are common along the Gaza-Israel border.

On Tuesday, Palestinian militants in Gaza fired a rocket into Israel. No one was hurt.

This version CORRECTS that Clinton will attend Egypt and Jerusalem talks.

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Mozambique government reverses bread price hike AP

MAPUTO, Mozambique Mozambiques government is reversing bread and water price increases that had touched off deadly riots, the planning minister said Tuesday.

Protests last week in the capital, Maputo, over hikes in the costs of bread, water and electricity turned violent, with demonstrators clashing with police. The health department put the death toll at 13.

Planning Minister Aiuba Cuereneia told reporters after a Cabinet meeting that the 20 percent increase in the government-set price of bread � which had followed a year of steady increases on the staple in this impoverished country � that went into effect Monday would be reversed. He said an increase in the price of water also would be reversed, but that higher electricity tariffs were being maintained.

"These are measures we are taking to reduce the cost of living in Mozambique," the minister said. He referred to the protests only to condemn the violence.

The government was cutting back elsewhere to compensate. Cuereneia said the government was suspending salary increases for top government officials and stipends for those chairing the boards of public companies.

The Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization said in a statement Tuesday its experts did not believe the world was headed toward a food crisis like the one in 2008, when high prices sparked political instability in Mozambique, Haiti and elsewhere. FAO said this years cereal harvest worldwide was the third highest on record and food stocks are high. Other conditions, such as soaring fuel prices, that were blamed for the 2007-2008 food crisis arent present now, officials say.

The FAO nonetheless cautioned that food commodities markets will remain more volatile in coming years. It suggested improving the markets regulation and establishing an "appropriate level" of emergency food stocks, while assuring fluid global trade in food.

The agency is holding a special session on Sept. 24 to better gauge the food supply situation in member nations, but FAO stressed that the gathering is "not an emergency meeting."

This year, a drought in Russia has prompted the country to restrict wheat exports, helping drive up global food costs.

Mozambiques government has said that keeping food prices low is difficult because so much of the countrys food has to be imported. The southeastern African nation grows only 30 percent of the wheat it needs.

Energy Minister Salvador Namburete has said Monday that the recent increase in the price of electricity was necessary to cover the cost of electrifying rural areas and constructing a new power line in the countrys northwest.

No one has come forward as the organizer of the protests. Word was spread by cell phone text messages, and on Monday Mozambicans found they were unable to send texts. It was unclear whether the text failure was part of a government crackdown.

The worst of the rioting was Wednesday and Thursday. Though it died down after that, the government had struggled to stamp out unrest and protests had flared outside Maputo.

Authorities have said they were trying to trace who sent the first unsigned cell phone messages calling for protests in the southern African nation. Over the weekend, text messages calling for calm and portraying protests as unpatriotic began to appear � they, too, were unsigned.

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Hundreds of looted artifacts returned to Iraq AP

BAGHDAD Hundreds of Iraqi artifacts looted from museums and archaeological sites across the country have been returned to Iraq.

More than 500 pieces were on display at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tuesday, including a 4,400-year-old statue of a Sumerian king discovered in the 1920s at the ancient city of Ur, in southern Iraq.

The headless statue was stolen from the Iraqi National Museum during the looting and chaos that followed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

The display is part of Iraqi efforts to repatriate its looted cultural heritage.

Among the youngest pieces of Iraqs past returned was a chrome-plated AK-47 with a pearl hand grip bearing Saddam Husseins image. It was taken to the U.S. by an American soldier as a war trophy.

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Japan confirms its first case of new superbug gene AP

TOKYO Japan has confirmed the nations first case of a new gene in bacteria that allows the microorganisms to become drug-resistant superbugs, detected in a man who had medical treatment in India, a Health Ministry official said Tuesday.

The gene, known as NDM-1, was found in a Japanese man in his 50s, Kensuke Nakajima said.

Researchers say the gene � which appears to be circulating widely in India � alters bacteria, making them resistant to nearly all known antibiotics.

Drug-resistant bacteria are not new. Many bacteria are resistant to the worlds first antibiotic, penicillin, as well as successive generations of drugs. Excessive use and improper use of antibiotics have exacerbated the problem and led to the emergence of superbugs.

"The potential of NDM-1 to be a worldwide public health problem is great, and coordinated international surveillance is needed," according to a widely publicized report in the British medical journal Lancet in August.

The gene has been seen largely in the deadly E. coli bacteria and on DNA structures that can be easily copied and passed onto other types of bacteria.

The man was hospitalized in April 2009 after returning from India where he had medical treatment. Nakajima declined to say what kind of treatment the man had received in India, citing the mans privacy.

The man had a high fever while staying at a hospital in Tochigi, north of Tokyo. He was discharged in October last year.

The hospital � Dokkyo Medical University Hospital � kept a preserved sample of the suspected superbug from the man. The hospital examined the sample after the Lancet report.

The Tochigi hospital notified the Health Ministry about the detection of the NDM-1 gene. It told the ministry that no in-hospital infections were found. Following the confirmation of the discovery � Japans first NDM-1 case � the Health Ministry launched a nationwide survey, asking local health authorities to check on hospitals for evidence of more infections.

Along with India, the new superbug gene has been detected in small numbers in Australia, Canada, the United States, the Netherlands, Sweden and the U.K. Researchers say since many Americans and Europeans travel to India and Pakistan for elective procedures like cosmetic surgery, it was likely the superbug gene would spread worldwide.

Antimicrobial resistance � the ability of microorganisms to escape drugs efficacy � is an increasing global health problem that could affect control of diseases such as respiratory infections and dysentery, according to the World Health Organization.

The WHO says NDM-1 requires monitoring and further study. With effective measures, countries have successfully battled multi-drug resistant microorganisms in the past.

It recommends that governments focus their efforts in four areas: surveillance, rational antibiotic use, legislation to stop sales of antibiotics without prescription, and rigorous infection prevention measures such as hand-washing in hospitals.

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