World News | Latest News: 09/16/10

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Census: 1 in 7 Americans lives in poverty (AP)

WASHINGTON ï¿½ The ranks of the working-age poor climbed to the highest level since the 1960s as the recession threw millions of people out of work last year, leaving one in seven Americans in poverty.

The overall poverty rate climbed to 14.3 percent, or 43.6 million people, the Census Bureau said Thursday in its annual report on the economic well-being of U.S. households. The report covers 2009, President Barack Obama's first year in office.

The poverty rate increased from 13.2 percent, or 39.8 million people, in 2008.

The share of Americans without health coverage rose from 15.4 percent to 16.7 percent ï¿½ or 50.7 million people ï¿½ mostly because of the loss of employer-provided health insurance during the recession. Congress passed a health overhaul this year to address the rising numbers of uninsured people, but its main provisions will not take effect until 2014.

In a statement, President Barack Obama called 2009 a tough year for working families but said it could have been worse.

"Because of the Recovery Act and many other programs providing tax relief and income support to a majority of working families ï¿½ and especially those most in need ï¿½ millions of Americans were kept out of poverty last year," Obama said.

The new figures come at a politically sensitive time, just weeks before the Nov. 2 congressional elections, when voters restive about high unemployment and the slow pace of economic improvement will decide whether to keep Democrats in power in the House and Senate or turn to Republicans.

The 14.3 percent poverty rate, which covers all ages, was the highest since 1994. It was lower than predicted by many demographers who were bracing for a record gain based on last year's skyrocketing unemployment. Many had expected a range of 14.7 percent to 15 percent.

Broken down by state, Mississippi had the highest share of poor people, at 23.1 percent, according to rough calculations by the Census Bureau. It was followed by Arizona, New Mexico, Arkansas and Georgia. On the other end of the scale, New Hampshire had the lowest share, at 7.8 percent.

Analysts said the full blow of lost incomes was cushioned somewhat by increases in Social Security payments in 2009 as well as federal expansions of unemployment insurance, which rose substantially under the economic stimulus program. With the additional unemployment benefits, workers were eligible for extensions that gave them up to 99 weeks of payments after a layoff.

David Johnson, the chief of the Census Bureau's household economics division, estimated that expanded unemployment benefits helped keep 3.3 million people out of poverty last year.

He said demographic changes, too, were a factor as many families "doubled up" in single homes and young adults ages 25 to 34 moved back in with their parents to save money in the economic downturn.

The 2009 poverty level was set at $21,954 for a family of four, based on an official government calculation that includes only cash income, before tax deductions. It excludes capital gains or accumulated wealth, such as home ownership, as well as noncash aid such as food stamps.

An additional 7.8 million people would have been counted above the poverty line if food stamps and tax credits were included as income, Johnson said.

Last year saw the biggest single-year increase in Americans without health insurance, lifting the total number to the highest since the government began tracking the figures in 1987. The number of people covered by employment-based health plans declined from 176.3 million to 169.7 million, although those losses were partially offset by gains in government health insurance such as Medicaid and Medicare.

Diane Rowland, executive vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation, said additional increases in the uninsured are probable in the short run.

In 2014, under the new health law, Medicaid will be expanded to pick up millions more low-income people, and the government will offer tax credits for many middle-income households to use to buy coverage through new online insurance markets in each state.

By 2019, the government has estimated that nearly 93 percent of the U.S. population will have health insurance, roughly a 10 percentage point increase from today's level.

Other census findings:

_Among the working-age population, ages 18 to 64, poverty rose from 11.7 percent to 12.9 percent. That puts it at the highest since the 1960s, when the government launched a war on poverty that expanded the federal role in social welfare programs from education to health care.

_Poverty rose among all race and ethnic groups, but stood at higher levels for blacks and Hispanics. The number of Hispanics in poverty increased from 23.2 percent to 25.3 percent; for blacks it increased from 24.7 percent to 25.8 percent. The number of whites in poverty rose from 8.6 percent to 9.4 percent.

_Child poverty rose from 19 percent to 20.7 percent.

___

Associated Press writer Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar contributed to this report.

___

Online:

AP look at state-by-state poverty levels:

http://ping.fm/yfLZL

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

Hurricane Karl takes aim at Mexican Gulf coast (AP)

VERACRUZ, Mexico ï¿½ Karl reached hurricane force in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday and was expected to strengthen more before hitting Mexico's coast near a port and an oil hub Friday.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, said there was a possibility Karl could become a major hurricane with winds of 110 mph (175 kph) or higher before making landfall.

The Mexican government issued a hurricane warning for a 186-mile (300-kilometer) stretch of coast in Veracruz state, stretching northward from the city of the same name. On its predicted path, Karl could make landfall between the port of Veracruz and the oil hub of Poza Rica.

Authorities in Veracruz state ï¿½ whose southern half has suffered severe flooding over the past few weeks ï¿½ braced for a hit on its northern coast, preparing sleeping mats, bottled water and other supplies for anyone taking refuge in shelters. Workers in Veracruz city cut dangerous tree limbs that could become flying debris.

In the beach town of Tecolutla, just south of Poza Rica, fishermen and operators of small tour boats began pulling their craft out of the water.

Some people boarded up windows with sheets of plywood, lashed down cooking gas tanks and reinforced doors and signs to prevent them from being blow away by the hurricane's wind, said Tecolutla's civil defense director, Edilberto Peralta.

"We are getting ready and warning people early, to avoid any loss of human life," said Peralta, whose town of about 25,000 people was lashed by Hurricane Dean in 2007 and severely flooded by a tropical depression in 1999. "We are ready to take drastic measures."

He said officials were considering whether any residents needed to evacuate their homes.

The port of Tuxpan was closed to small craft Thursday, and Port Capt. Gaspar Cime said larger vessels would be banned later in the day. Tuxpan has about 135,000 people.

By Thursday evening, Karl was centered 140 miles (225 kilometers) east-northeast of Veracruz, with winds of 80 mph (130 kph). It was moving westward rapidly at about 12 mph (19 kph).

Farther to the east in the Atlantic, Hurricane Julia weakened to Category 1 on Thursday afternoon, with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (140 kph). Hurricane Igor's top winds also weakened to 125 mph (205 kph) on a track that could take it over Bermuda by Monday.

Karl could cause storm surges of 6 to 9 feet (2 to 3 meters) and "large and destructive waves," as well as dump up to 15 inches (40 centimeters) of rain in some areas of Veracruz state, the U.S. Hurricane Center said in a statement.

Poza Rica, while slightly inland, houses important pipelines and natural gas- and oil-processing plants operated by the state-owned oil company, Petroleos Mexicanos. Pemex said it had no immediate plans to halt production at the plants because of the storm.

About 80,000 people have had their homes damaged and nine people have been killed in flooding from heavy rains in southern Veracruz since Aug. 19. Officials expressed concern Karl could raise river levels again, just as some residents are thinking of returning to their homes.

As a tropical storm, Karl hit Yucatan on Wednesday, downing tree limbs and causing power outages. The storm made landfall on the Mexican Caribbean coast about midway between the cruise ship port of Majahual and the coastal town of Xcalak.

Violeta Pineda, who has operated the Hotel Kabah Na's thatched-roof bungalows for 13 years, said waves were rolling about 25 yards (meters) onto the beach and eating away at a stretch of road that runs along the coast.

Electricity went out briefly around Majahual, which in 2007 took a near-direct hit from Category 5 Hurricane Dean, the third-most powerful Atlantic hurricane ever to hit land.

"This is nothing in comparison," Pineda said.

___

Associated Press Writer Mark Stevenson in Mexico City contributed to this report.

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

Gunman kills himself, mother at Johns Hopkins (AP)

BALTIMORE ï¿½ A man who became distraught as he was being briefed on his mother's condition by a surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital pulled a gun and shot the doctor Thursday, then killed his mother and himself in her room at the world-famous medical center, police said.

The doctor, who was wounded in the abdomen, was expected to survive.

The gunman, 50-year-old Paul Warren Pardus, had been listening to the surgeon around midday when he "became emotionally distraught and reacted ... and was overwhelmed by the news of his mother's condition," Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III said.

Pardus pulled a semiautomatic gun from his waistband and shot the doctor once, the commissioner said. The doctor, identified by colleagues as orthopedic surgeon David B. Cohen, collapsed outside the eighth-floor room where Pardus' mother, 84-year-old Jean Davis, was being treated.

Pardus then holed up in the room in a more than two-hour standoff that led authorities to lock down a small section of the Nelson Building while allowing the rest of the sprawling red-brick medical complex ï¿½ a cluster of hospital, research and education buildings ï¿½ to remain open.

When officers made their way to the room, they found Pardus and his mother shot to death, he on the floor, she in her bed.

Bealefeld said he did not know what the woman was being treated for at Hopkins, a world-class institution widely known for its cancer research and treatment. It is part of Johns Hopkins University, which has one of the foremost medical schools in the world.

Harry Koffenberger, vice president of security, said the hospital uses handheld metal detectors to screen patients and visitors known to be high-risk. However, with 80 entrances and 80,000 visitors a week, it is not realistic to place metal detectors and guards everywhere.

"Not in a health-care setting," Koffenberger said.

The hospital will review procedures and look again at the use of metal detectors, he said.

Michelle Burrell, who works in a coffee shop in the hospital lobby, said she was told by employees who were on the floor where the doctor was shot that the gunman was angry with the doctor's treatment of his mother.

"It's crazy," she said.

Pardus was from Arlington, Va., and had a handgun permit in that state, police said. The gunman was initially identified as Warren Davis, but police later said that was an alias.

Next-door neighbor Teresa Green said Pardus' mother had been hospitalized for six months and that he had been essentially living there with her. She said Pardus appeared to be his mother's sole caretaker.

"He loved his mother. That really showed," Green said.

The wounded doctor, an assistant professor at the medical school, underwent surgery.

"The doctor will be OK," police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. "He's in the best place in the world ï¿½ at Johns Hopkins Hospital."

With more than 30,000 employees, the Johns Hopkins medical system is Baltimore's biggest private employer. The hospital has more than 1,000 beds and more than 1,700 full-time doctors.

Cohen's neighbor in Cockeysville, Md., couldn't believe it when she heard about what happened.

"It was very scary," Jennifer Wickwire said. "It's very upsetting to think it's somebody from this area."

The Nelson Building is the main Johns Hopkins tower. The eighth floor is home to orthopedic, spine, trauma and thoracic services.

Hopkins said it informed its employees about the gunman in an e-mail at 11:30 a.m., about a half-hour after the doctor was shot. They were told to remain in their offices or rooms with the doors locked and to stay away from the windows. At 1:30 p.m., another e-mail went out advising employees that police "are in control of the situation."

As the standoff dragged on, people with appointments in other parts of the hospital were encouraged to keep them.

Hannah Murtaugh, 25, a first-year student at the nursing school, said her physiology class in an adjacent building was put on lockdown. She said a classmate received a text-message warning from the school about a gunman in the Nelson Building. Her professor interrupted the lecture to let students know.

"They just kept telling us to stay away from the windows," she said. "I was scared ï¿½ wondering if any of my friends or other students who had clinicals that day were on that floor, hoping the situation would be contained, trying to see what was going on while staying away from the windows."

___

Associated Press writers Sarah Brumfield, Ben Nuckols and Kathleen Miller in Baltimore and Medical Writer Marilynn Marchione in Milwaukee contributed to this report.

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

Pope admits church failures in sex abuse scandal (AP)

EDINBURGH, Scotland ï¿½ Pope Benedict XVI waded into the hostile atmosphere Thursday of highly secular Britain, admitting the Catholic Church did not act decisively or quickly enough to remove priests who molested children in his strongest comments yet on the worldwide sex abuse crisis shaking his church.

In a visit unprecedented for the bitter opposition to his papacy, Benedict warned against "aggressive forms" of secularism. The German pope recalled how Britain had stood against "Nazi tyranny that wished to eradicate God from society."

Benedict's historic four-day state visit has been overshadowed by disgust over the abuse scandal and indifference in Britain, where Catholics are a minority of 10 percent and endured centuries of bloody persecution and discrimination until the early 19th century.

The trip is the first state visit by a pope to the U.K., and his meeting with Queen Elizabeth II was symbolically significant because of the historic divide between the officially Protestant nation and the Catholic Church.

Only 65,000 of the faithful had tickets to an open-air Mass at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow, far less than the 100,000 initially expected. The British media has been particularly hostile to the pope's visit, noting its $18.7 million (12 million pound) security cost to taxpayers at a time of austerity measures and job losses.

Many in Britain are also strongly opposed to Benedict's hard line against homosexuality, abortion and using condoms to prevent the spread of AIDS. Protests were planned and "Pope Nope" T-shirts were spotted around London.

Still, a crowd of 125,000 in Edinburgh welcomed Benedict warmly as his Popemobile paraded through the streets, with cheers on Princes Street heard from a mile away and well-wishers waving the Holy See's yellow-and-white flag.

Only around 20 protesters gathered at the designated demonstration spot in Glasgow, where the pope celebrated an afternoon Mass, their complaints ranging from abusive priests to the pope's stance on contraception and homosexuality.

While flying to Britain, Benedict was asked about polls that suggest many Catholics have lost trust in the church as a result of the sex abuse scandals. Benedict said he was shocked and saddened about the scope of the abuse, in part because priests take vows to be Christ's voice upon ordination.

"It's difficult to understand how a man who has said this could then fall into this perversion. It's a great sadness," Benedict said in Italian. "It's also sad that the authority of the church wasn't sufficiently vigilant, and not sufficiently quick or decisive to take necessary measures" to stop it.

He said victims were the church's top priority as it tries to help them heal spiritually and psychologically.

"How can we repair, what can we do to help these people overcome this trauma, find their lives again and find again the trust in the message of Christ?" Benedict said.

He insisted that abusive priests must never again be allowed access to young children, saying they suffer from an illness that "goodwill" cannot cure. In addition, he said, candidates for the priesthood must be better screened.

The crowds that turned out in Scotland were enthusiastic.

"I've brought my wee girl Laura to see the pope," said James Hegarty, a 42-year-old unemployed Edinburgh resident. "She's only 4, but it's a once in a lifetime chance to see him."

Tens of thousands waved flags and applauded as Benedict arrived in his Popemobile for the Mass in Glasgow. At one point, he rolled down the vehicle's window to kiss a baby dressed all in pink.

Scottish singing sensation Susan Boyle warmed up the crowd and then fulfilled a dream of singing before the pope, serenading him with "Make Me a Channel of Your Peace."

In his homily, the 83-year-old pope warned young people against the temptations posed by drugs, money, sex, pornography and alcohol, "which the world tells you will bring you happiness."

The pope's first meeting of the day was with Queen Elizabeth II, both the head of state and head of the Church of England, at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, chosen because she spends her summers at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.

The medieval castle is the queen's official residence in Scotland and a potent symbol of the historic divisions that separate Catholics and Anglicans. Mary Queen of Scots lived there during her brief reign as the Catholic queen of Scotland before her execution in 1587 by King Henry VIII's daughter, Queen Elizabeth I.

Henry had broken with Rome earlier in the 16th century, a division followed by centuries in which Catholics were fined, discriminated against and killed for their faith in Britain.

At their meeting Thursday, the queen told Benedict his visit reminded all Britons of their common Christian heritage and said she hoped relations between the Anglican Church and the Catholic Church would be deepened as a result. Efforts for closer relations between Catholics and Anglicans have been clouded recently by Benedict's overtures to conservative Anglicans.

The queen also praised the Catholic Church's "special contribution" to helping the poorest and most vulnerable people around the world.

The pope, too, recalled the shared Christian heritage of Catholics and Anglicans and said he wanted to extend a "hand of friendship" to the British people during his trip.

Tartan-wearing bagpipers marched and thousands of people watched under blustery, cloud-streaked blue skies. The pontiff himself donned a green tartan scarf as he rode through Edinburgh.

Later, he enjoyed a very Scottish treat: a lunch of haggis ï¿½ sheep heart, liver and lungs simmered in sheep stomach ï¿½ at the home of Scottish Cardinal Keith O'Brien.

The last papal visit to Britain was by John Paul II in 1982, Benedict's predecessor who was treated like a superstar and drew a crowd of 250,000 for Mass at the same Glasgow park. The bookish Benedict appears uncomfortable before large crowds.

The pope's visit coincides with the 450th anniversary of the Reformation in Scotland.

In Edinburgh, about 80 protesters led by Northern Ireland Protestant leader the Rev. Ian Paisley gathered at the Magdalen Chapel where John Knox, the leader of the Scottish Reformation, preached.

"This visit should never have happened. We stand here against these abusers. This is a waste of taxpayers' money," Paisley said.

Benedict acknowledged the opposition in his airborne comments to reporters, saying Britain had a "great history of anti-Catholicism. But it is also a country with a great history of tolerance."

The Vatican has been reeling for months as thousands of victims around the globe have spoken out about priests who molested children, bishops who covered up for them and Vatican officials who turned a blind eye to the problem for decades. In the latest admission, hundreds of victims came forward in Belgium with tales of horrific abuse linked to at least 13 suicides.

Previously, Benedict has admitted the scandal was borne of "sins within the church" but he had never acknowledged in such detail the church's failure to act. Advocates for victims have long insisted he take more personal responsibility, given that he was in charge of the Vatican office that handled sex abuse cases and was archbishop of Munich when a pedophile priest was assigned pastoral work while undergoing therapy for having abused young boys.

The main U.S. victim's group dismissed Benedict's comments Thursday, noting that the only real action the Vatican has taken has been to tell bishops to report abuse to police if local laws require them to do so.

"Bishops across the world continue to deliberately choose secrecy and deception over safety and honesty in child sex cases," said Joelle Casteix of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

Vatican officials haven't confirmed that Benedict will meet with abuse victims while in Britain, but U.K. organizers say arrangements are being made.

After the Glasgow Mass, Benedict was traveling to London.

The highlight of his visit is the beatification Sunday of Cardinal John Newman in Birmingham, which will see the 19th-century English philosopher and Anglican convert take a step on his way to sainthood.

The Humanist Society of Scotland placed billboards between Edinburgh and Glasgow that read: "Two million Scots are good without God." It also took exception to the pope's comment Thursday about the Nazis.

"The notion that it was the atheism of Nazis that led to their extremist and hateful views or that somehow fuels intolerance in Britain today is a terrible libel against those who do not believe in God," the group said.

The Rev. Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, responded that Benedict ï¿½ who was forced to become part of the Hitler Youth ï¿½ chose his words wisely. "You can agree or not, but I think the pope knows very well what the Nazi ideology was," Lombardi said.

___

Winfield reported from Edinburgh and Simpson from London. Associated Press reporters Ben McConville in Edinburgh and Danica Kirka in London contributed to this report.

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

UK spy chief warns of dissident Republican threat (AP)

LONDON ï¿½ The head of Britain's domestic spy agency warned Friday that the U.K. faces potent new threats from terrorism incubated in Northern Ireland, the Middle East and North Africa.

Jonathan Evans, director-general of MI5, the country's domestic intelligence service, said in a rare public speech that attacks on the U.K. are increasingly likely to emanate from Somalia, Yemen or Belfast, as al-Qaida-linked groups flee strongholds in Pakistan.

The spy chief said the 2012 London Olympic Games will likely be a major target for terrorist attacks, and warned that dissidents who reject Northern Ireland's peace process could strike mainland British cities for the first time since 2001.

Evans said Irish republican splinter groups have access to weapons, including Semtex explosives, and funds from smuggling and drug trafficking.

"We cannot exclude the possibility that they might seek to extend their attacks to Great Britain, as violent republican groups have traditionally done," Evans said, making a speech late Thursday to security industry professionals in central London. Details of the speech were made public Friday.

While security officials have improved defenses against the threat from Islamic extremism, Evans said al-Qaida plots against Britain are "uncovered on a fairly regular basis," with officers dealing with a handful of different cases at any one time.

But he said the number of plots against Britain with links to Pakistan's tribal areas had dropped from three-quarters to about a half, mainly as a result of drone strikes against al-Qaida leaders ï¿½ but also because of a sharp increase in activity in the Middle East and North Africa.

Would-be terrorists from around the world, including dozens of people either born or living in Britain, are training in camps in Somalia run by the al-Qaida aligned terrorist group al-Shabaab, Evans said.

He warned Somalia shares "many of the characteristics that made Afghanistan so dangerous as a seedbed for terrorism."

"I am concerned that it is only a matter of time before we see terrorism on our streets inspired by those who are today fighting alongside al-Shabaab," he said.

On the threat from Northern Ireland, Evans said his agency had hoped dissident violence would recede following the establishment of the province's joint Catholic-Protestant government under the 1998 peace accord.

"On the contrary we have seen a persistent rise in terrorist activity and ambition in Northern Ireland," he said.

Earlier this week, The Guardian newspaper quoted the dissident Real IRA group as saying it planned attacks in England and would focus on banks. A 1993 bomb in London's financial district killed one person and injured 44.

Evans said dissidents had mounted or attempted 30 attacks this year in Northern Ireland ï¿½ including a car bombing at MI5's base in the region, which caused no serious injuries ï¿½ an increase from 20 attacks last year.

Republican dissidents last made a successful attack in England in August 2001, exploding a car bomb near a shopping center in west London, injuring 11 people.

However, Evans said the priority for his 3,500 staff remains the threat from al-Qaida and affiliated groups ï¿½ and securing the 2012 Olympics.

"The eyes of the world will be on London during the Olympic period and the run-up to it. We have to assume that those eyes will include some malign ones that will see an opportunity to gain notoriety and to inflict damage on the U.K. and on some other participating nations," Evans said.

Evans said his agency also was concerned about the threat from devotees of Anwar al-Awlaki, the U.S. and Yemeni citizen who has become al-Qaida's leading English-speaking voice.

The Yemen-based preacher, who helped direct the failed Christmas Day bombing of a Detroit-bound U.S. airliner, has urged followers to mount attacks of any kind against the West, not simply complex 9-11-style strikes.

"There is a real risk that one of his adherents will ... mount an attack in the U.K., possibly acting alone and with little formal training," Evans said.

Also of concern are terrorists now returning to their communities after serving jail terms, he said. "Some of those prisoners are still committed extremists who are likely to return to their terrorist activities," he said.

Though the spy chief said that many British extremists simply don't have the "skills or character to make credible terrorists," he said the public should not become complacent about the threat.

"Risk can be managed and reduced, but it cannot realistically be abolished and if we delude ourselves that it can we are setting ourselves up for a nasty disappointment," Evans warned.

The spy chief also said the discovery of 10 deep-cover Russian agents in the United States in the summer proved that traditional espionage had not ended with the Cold War.

Evans, who has previously identified Russia and China as having the most active spying operations against the U.K., said British businesses are at risk of espionage alongside traditional government and defense industry targets.

"The overall likelihood of any particular entity being the subject of state espionage has probably never been higher," he said.

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

Guinea vote delays may stoke ethnic divisions (AP)

CONAKRY, Guinea ï¿½ Election officials on Thursday confirmed that a critical presidential runoff in Guinea has been postponed by at least two weeks as the warehouse storing voting materials for the upcoming ballot went up in flames, developments that may stoke ethnic divisions at the heart of the vote.

Passers-by covered their mouths with their T-shirts outside the cement wall of the Camp Samory military barracks where the voting materials were being stored, as the acrid smoke floated over the barbed wire. The fire was burning for more than 40 minutes before the first firetruck arrived and a fireman forced a hose over the wall.

Although the spokesman for the country's election commission said the fire appeared to the result of a short circuit, supporters of leading presidential candidate Cellou Dalein Diallo immediately accused the government of sabotage and of attempting to derail the election which has been postponed multiple times since June.

"Is there such a thing as a place that is more secure than Camp Samory, which houses the chiefs of staff of the army? And you tell me that in this highly secure site, it is only the voting materials that caught fire? And you want me to believe that this is an accident?" said Mamadou Bah Baadikko, the spokesman for the Alliance Cellou for President. "That's especially hard to do given that they have done everything in their power to once again push back the vote."

Earlier on Thursday, the head of communications of the National Independent Electoral Commission confirmed that Sunday's vote had been postponed because voter ID cards ordered from a printer in South Africa had not yet arrived. "There will be no election on Sunday," Thierno Ceydou Bayo told the AP. "The vote will be delayed by at least two weeks, maybe three."

The delay is likely to heighten tension in the capital, where campaigning was temporarily suspended after violent clashes erupted last week between supporters of rival political parties.

Many had hoped the vote would mark a turning point for the troubled nation of 13.7 million that has known only authoritarian rule since independence from France in 1958. Instead, it appears to have exacerbated ethnic divisions that have long been lurking beneath the surface of Guinea's political life.

The parties of the two candidates are divided along ethnic lines, pitting the Peul who are the country's largest ethnic group but who have never had one of their own in power, against the Malinke, the ethnicity of the military general overseeing the transition to civilian rule whose members are overwhelmingly represented in the army. Cellou Dalein Diallo ï¿½ a Peul ï¿½ got 44 percent of the vote during the race's first round, trouncing second-place finisher Alpha Conde, a Malinke, who received 18 percent.

Relations between the two groups are especially strained following the 1-year-rule of an erratic army captain who seized power in a 2008 coup, and who stacked the government with his relatives and tribal allies from the Forestier and Malinke ethnicities.

When thousands of protesters gathered inside the soccer stadium last Sept. 29 to demand an end to military rule, the junta's presidential guard opened fire, massacring at least 150 people. The protesters were largely Peul and the soldiers attacking them yelled out racial slurs. Women that had Peul features were tracked down and gang raped.

Diallo's party has been calling for the runoff to go ahead for months and they accuse the government of stalling in order to give Conde a chance to catch up in the polls. They claim the interim government is biased toward Conde because he is a Malinke, like Gen. Sekouba Konate, the country's interim president who agreed to hand over power to civilians.

Over the weekend, supporters of the two candidates began hurling rocks at each other, killing one person and injuring 54. Witnesses say that instead of political slogans, the clashing sides yelled racial names.

In a televised address to the nation late Wednesday, Konate said he fears the "republic is in danger" due to ethnic divisions and called on Guineans to put country before tribe. "It's our responsibility ... to not put ethnicity (and) regionalism ahead of the nation," he said.

Diallo's supporters said they see an ethnic motive behind the multiple delay as well as behind the fire. "They can't stand the thought of a Peul in power," said Ibrahima Balde, a 39-year-old Diallo supporter who is a Peul. "So they are doing everything they can to stop the election from happening."

Election authorities stress the ballots were not harmed and that the fire will not cause further delays to the poll. The portion of the warehouse affected contained the cardboard voting booths erected at polling stations and the tupperware containers in which completed ballots are placed.

Pathe Dieng, spokesman for the election commission says that it appears to have been the result of a short circuit after members of the commission asked an electrician to connect the warehouse to the power grid. Representatives of both Diallo and Conde's parties were at the warehouse doing a final check of the materials and they wanted to hook up a computer to help with their work.

Electrician Mamadou Drame, 33, who stood on the sidelines as firefighters and soldiers yanked out the tupperware boxes and other materials, says he arrived early in the morning and switched on the power. Then he left to go buy lightbulbs. When he returned, he says he had time to screw in four of the bulbs before he suddenly saw a column of smoke rising from the ground. He ran outside and called for help.

Associated Press Writer Boubacar Diallo contributed to this report.

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

15 die in Somalia as parliament demands gov't vote (AP)

MOGADISHU, Somalia ï¿½ Mortar rounds fired by suspected Islamist insurgents crashed into Somalia's government complex on Thursday, killing three government soldiers, wounding a member of parliament and triggering a counterattack that killed a dozen more people.

The attack happened while parliament was in session to pass a motion asking leaders of the shaky government to appear within three days for a vote of confidence.

One member of parliament was wounded in the face and five government troops were also hurt. Government and African Union troops responded by firing mortars into the main Bakara Market. At least 12 people were killed and 40 were wounded there, said Ali Muse, the head of Mogadishu's ambulance service. Among them was a little boy. He lay limply in his older brother's arms as he was rushed into a hospital.

In a hospital run by Burundian peacekeepers, small children flinched as AU and government troops nearby fired their own mortars.

"We need peace so badly," said 17-year-old year old Kalima Abdi, who lay under a blue mosquito net. "The fighting is too much."

Abdi was paralyzed a month ago by a mortar that was fired at an African Union base but landed on her house, killing her seven brothers and sisters.

The legislators accuse Somalia's transitional government of failing to perform its duties, including trying to foster peace between the country's warring factions and increasing humanitarian efforts. A long-running feud between Somali President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed and Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke has flared again in recent days. Last May Ahmed fired Sharmarke but reversed the decision days later.

The latest rift appears to be about the country's draft constitution, an initiative backed by the United States, the European Union and the United Nations. The prime minister wants the document passed by parliament and civil society representatives while the president wants it put to a referendum.

The new top U.N. envoy to Somalia, Augustine P. Mahiga, told the Security Council at United Nations headquarters in New York on Thursday that a plan to add another 2,000 peacekeeping troops should be "speedily implemented" to bring the force up to its approved level of 8,000.

"Experience in Somalia has shown that the more delayed or inadequate the response is, the more complex the crisis becomes," Mahiga told the 15-member body. "We have to act in a comprehensive manner to address these complex challenges. "

Somalia hasn't had a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew the president. The country's most dangerous militant group, the al-Qaida linked al-Shabab, has increased attacks on the government complex and is believed responsible for Thursday's attack. The militants who control much of this Horn of Africa country want to overthrow the government and install a conservative brand of Islam across the country.

Critics accuse the president of wanting to remain in office beyond his term's expiration next August. If he succeeds in dumping the prime minister, that could kill the draft constitution and possibly extend his term.

___

Associated Press reporter Mohamed Olad Hassan in Mogadishu, Somalia and Malkhadir M. Muhumed in Nairobi, Kenya contributed to this report.

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

France defies EU criticism on Gypsy expulsions (AP)

BRUSSELS ï¿½ French President Nicolas Sarkozy upended a European Union summit to defend his own nation's honor, vowing Thursday to keep clearing out illegal immigrant camps despite accusations that France is being racist and unfairly targets Gypsies.

The summit was supposed to be a forum for molding a unifying European foreign policy, but it turned into a drama of discord ï¿½ with the outspoken Sarkozy usurping the podium to preach his policies and lash out at his critics.

Sarkozy said comments by EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding that linked the expulsions to the mass deportations of World War II were "disgusting."

"I am head of the French state. I cannot let my nation be insulted," Sarkozy told reporters.

The wartime comparison stung many in France and other members of a bloc designed to overcome and prevent the kind of hostilities that divided Europe in the past. France deported some 76,000 Jews from France to Nazi concentration camps, and interned thousands of Gypsies in camps in France during the war.

Sarkozy insisted France's expulsions of Gypsies, or Roma, are a matter of security and said France doesn't have to take lessons from anyone, as long as it respects human rights. He called more than 100 Roma camps dismantled in France in recent weeks havens of crime and undignified living conditions.

"We will continue to dismantle the illegal camps, whoever is there," Sarkozy said. "Europe cannot close its eyes to illegal camps."

Participants at the summit lunch said emotions flared between Sarkozy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso over the expulsions. Barroso did not want to comment on his exchange with Sarkozy, brushing off "useless rhetoric or unnecessary controversies."

"Let's put this behind us, let's work now on substance," he said.

Sarkozy downplayed the exchange. "If there is someone who keeps his calm, and abstains from excessive comments, it is surely me," said the French leader ï¿½ who has a reputation for having a volatile temper.

Britain, so often at loggerheads with France over all issues European, backed Sarkozy.

"Members of the Commission have to chose their language carefully as well," said Cameron, a fellow member of the center-right. He added that "you should, of course have the right to remove people from your country if they are there illegally."

Reding's office has said she expressed regret over the wartime comparison, but maintained her threat to take France to court for targeting an ethnic group in the expulsions.

"All heads of state and government said it was profoundly shocking that one would speak in this way, with historical references that were deeply hurtful to the entirety of our compatriots," Sarkozy said.

"It is an insult, an injury, a humiliation and an outrage," Sarkozy said, the kind of comment rarely heard about any of the EU's top officials.

The expulsions of more than 1,000 Roma from France in recent weeks, mainly to Romania, have also highlighted persistent divisions between richer, older EU members and poorer, newer ones.

Romanian President Traian Basescu accused EU leaders of "hypocrisy" over the Roma expulsions to his country, and warned that those expelled from France may quickly return.

"If we are not honestly recognizing this reality, we will not find solutions," he told reporters in Bucharest.

While Thursday's tensions centered on the Roma, the EU leaders talked little about them, a group that is among the continent's poorest, most mistreated minorities.

"What political power do the Roma have in Europe?" Asked Florin Manole of the Center for Roma Studies at Bucharest University. "I doubt things will change, especially as we have an economic crisis."

Beyond the Roma issue, the government leaders did find unity on some other issues.

They agreed to temporarily waive World Trade Organization tariffs on key Pakistani imports to help boost the flood-devastated country's economy.

The EU already has committed millions of euros in humanitarian aid to help Pakistan recover from the devastation. It also wanted to craft a long-term strategy to help the country get its economy back on track amid fears Islamic extremists could exploit the crisis to strengthen their hold on northwestern regions close to the border with Afghanistan.

The EU also agreed Thursday to a free trade pact with South Korea that will slash billions of dollars in industrial and agricultural duties, despite some countries' worries that the auto industry could be hurt by a flood of cheaper cars.

The deal ï¿½ the first such pact between the EU and an Asian trading partner ï¿½ will be signed at an EU-South Korea summit on Oct. 6 and come into force on July 1, 2011, said Belgian Foreign Minister Steven Vanackere, whose country holds the union's rotating presidency.

However, it first has to be approved by the EU and South Korean parliaments and European carmakers are still hoping lawmakers will ensure safeguards for their industry.

___

Associated Press writers Mike Corder in Brussels and Alison Mutler in Bucharest contributed to this report.

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

Expiring tax cuts hit taxpayers at every level (AP)

WASHINGTON ï¿½ Here's some pressure for lawmakers: If they don't reach agreement on extending soon-to-expire Bush-era tax cuts, nearly all their constituents back home will get big tax increases.

A typical family of four with a household income of $50,000 a year would have to pay $2,900 more in taxes in 2011, according to a new analysis by Deloitte Tax LLP, a tax consulting firm. The same family making $100,000 a year would see its taxes rise by $4,500.

Wealthier families face even bigger tax hikes. A family of four making $500,000 a year would pay $10,800 more in taxes. The same family making $1 million a year would get a tax increase of $52,300.

The estimates are based on total household income, including wages, capital gains and qualified dividends. The estimated tax bills take into account typical deductions at each income level.

Democrats have been arguing for much of the past decade that tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003 under former President George W. Bush provided a windfall for the wealthy. That's true, but they also reduced taxes for the working poor, the middle class, and just about everyone in between.

Those tax cuts expire at the end of the year, setting the stage for a high-stakes debate just before congressional elections in November. If Congress fails to act, families at every income level will see more taxes being withheld from their paychecks come January.

The tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003 reduced marginal income tax rates at every level. They also provided a wide range of income tax breaks for education, families with children and married couples.

Taxes on capital gains and dividends were reduced, while the federal estate tax was gradually repealed, though only for this year.

President Barack Obama wants to extend the tax cuts for individuals making less than $200,000 and joint filers making less than $250,000 in adjusted gross income. That's income from wages, capital gains and dividends, before standard deductions and exemptions are subtracted.

Republicans and a growing number of Democrats in Congress want to extend all the tax cuts, at least temporarily.

On Thursday, House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio said he wants an up-or-down vote on extending all the tax cuts before congressional elections in November.

"Raising taxes on anyone, especially small businesses, is the wrong thing to do in a struggling economy," Boehner said. "On the issue of job killing tax hikes the American people are not going to accept anything less than the vote that they deserve."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., wouldn't commit to vote on any tax proposals before the election. She did, however, pledge to address them by the end of the year.

"The only thing I can tell you is that the tax cuts for the middle class will be extended this Congress," Pelosi told reporters Thursday.

More than half the country backs raising taxes on the richest Americans, according to a new Associated Press-GfK Poll. The survey showed that by 54 percent to 44 percent, most people support raising taxes on the highest earners.

In a breakdown of the numbers, 39 percent agree with Obama, while 15 percent favor raising taxes on everyone by allowing the cuts to expire at year's end. Still, 44 percent say the existing tax cuts should remain in place for everyone, including the wealthy.

While Obama's plan would spare about 97 percent of tax filers, it would mean big tax increases for the wealthy.

Under Obama's plan, a family of four making $325,000 a year would get a tax increase of $5,400, while the same family making $1 million a year would get a tax increase of $56,300, according to the analysis by Deloitte Tax.

A family of four making $5 million a year would get a tax increase of $325,600.

Pelosi said the nation cannot afford to extend tax cuts for top earners.

"I see no justification for going into debt to foreign countries to underwrite and subsidize tax cuts for the wealthiest people in America," Pelosi said.

___

Associated Press writer Laurie Kellman contributed to this report.

(This version updates paragraph 9 to correct that Obama's plan extends tax cuts for individuals making less than $200,000 and couples making less than $250,000.)

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

Iran's president brings political baggage to NY (AP)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates ï¿½ Iran's president will likely swagger into New York next week in much the same style as past visits for the annual U.N. General Assembly: ready to take his jabs at America on its home turf.

But any outward confidence on the big U.S. stage contrasts sharply with his increasingly public power struggles back in Iran that could shape the tone of the Islamic republic for years to come.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ï¿½ who was a divisive figure in Iran after his disputed re-election last year ï¿½ is now the great divider among the conservative leadership as the threat fades from the battered and dispirited opposition, analysts say.

"They have generally gotten rid of the Green Movement and now they are fighting among themselves," Mehrzad Boroujerdi, an expert on Iranian affairs at Syracuse University, referring to the opposition movement.

Just in the past week, Ahmadinejad was hit with a series of slaps ï¿½ including the judiciary commandeering the exit rules for jailed American hiker Sarah Shourd. It adds up to more evidence that the old guard clerics and others are pushing back harder against Ahmadinejad's political hungers.

Their complaint basically is that Ahmadinejad is trying to redraw the political flow chart. Since the Islamic Revolution, it's been easy to follow: the ruling clerics on top and the elected officials ï¿½ including the president ï¿½ notches lower.

Ahmadinejad appears to be constantly testing the system ï¿½ and possibly the patience of theocracy ï¿½ by trying to expand the autonomy of his office in policy decisions and filling key posts. There is also a question of his biggest ally, the hugely influential Revolutionary Guard, and whether it wants to stretch its portfolio even further.

The Guard already controls almost everything of importance in Iran ï¿½ from protecting the nuclear program to directing the Basiji paramilitary corps. These were the front-line forces set loose against protesters who alleged that ballot fraud handed Ahmadinejad another term in office until 2013.

The Guard's widening presence in Iranian affairs is nudging the country ï¿½ in some eyes ï¿½ closer to the values of the generals and away from the mullahs. It's been a repeated theme of the opposition and Western officials such as Secretary of State Hillary Rodman Clinton.

Iran's opposition leader, Mir Houssein Mousavi, has warned that Iranian society is becoming "more militarized."

Now there appear to be more rumblings from the top.

A video currently making the rounds on the Internet shows a student leader reading a statement at a gathering with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei this month urging Ahmadinejad to remain true to the "precepts" of the Islamic Revolution.

In the coded language of Iranian politics, it's widely seen as another way for Khamenei to send indirect warnings to Ahmadinejad to remember who is in charge.

A much clearer rap came this week when Khamenei forced Ahmadinejad to cancel the appointments of six special international envoys. Ahmadinejad apparently had not bothered to clear the postings with Khamenei, who has warned the president to avoid "parallel efforts" in foreign policy.

There's no suggestion that Ahmadinejad could be pushed from office by the theocrats. Khamenei made a tactical decision amid the postelection mayhem to embrace the official results and turn his back on the demonstrators.

But the signs of high-level rifts have wide spillover. They bring questions about whether Iran can continue to speak in a unified voice in its disputes with the West over its nuclear program. Or even how much Ahmadinejad's statements ï¿½ including his expected interviews and speeches in the U.S. ï¿½ are freelance policy or sanctioned by the turbans at the top.

This was once a given. Even Ahmadinejad's predecessor, reform-minded President Mohammad Khatami, did not ruffle the clerics by suggesting he was outside their rules.

"There is only one thing clear: Iran is no longer the topdown structure it once was," said William O. Beeman, a University of Minnesota professor who has written on Iranian affairs. "It's much more fluid."

And, at times, messy. The zigzag path over releasing hiker Sarah Shourd offered up the internal tensions for the world to see.

Khamenei and the judiciary he controls eventually ruled the day after bigfooting Ahmadinejad to take over the release of the American and demand $500,000 in bail, which was paid after mediation by Oman to clear her freedom Tuesday after more than 13 months in custody. Two other Americans detained with her ï¿½ Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal ï¿½ remain jailed in Tehran, accused of spying.

But there also was an added element of inside intrigue in the case. The judiciary head, Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani, is part of the most powerful one-two combination against Ahmadinejad within the establishment.

Larijani's brother, Ali, is parliament speaker and Iran's former nuclear negotiator ï¿½ and considered one of Ahmadinejad's leading rivals among Iranian conservatives.

Meir Javedanfar, an Israel-based author and analyst on Iranian affairs, said the Shourd case suggests that Khamenei may be inclined to move quicker to rein in Ahmadinejad in the future.

Khamenei "has two main goals ï¿½ first and foremost, stability in the system; second, the nuclear program," he said. "By settling this (Shourd) matter as soon as possible, he put out flames which could have become another fire in his backyard."

Still, Ahmadinejad may reap some reflected glory for Shourd's release. He can head to the opening of the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 23 with Shourd as a talking point. Yet it also shows a bit of Ahmadinejad's contradictory nature.

In the past, he has said the detained Americans could be valuable as bargaining chips to exchange for Iranians that Tehran alleges are held by the U.S.

In an interview with NBC News on Wednesday, Ahmadinejad made an indirect ï¿½ but clear ï¿½ reference to supporters of Israel as the main source of tensions between the West and the Muslim world.

"I should say there is no conflict between the two cultures," he said. "They should find where the problem is. I ask this question. Do the people of the United States hate the ... Muslims? Is that so? That's not true. Muslims do not hate Americans, either."

He also gave perhaps a passing nod to his own challenges at home by noting that various groups keep pressure on President Barack Obama.

"Do you really think President Obama can do anything he wishes to?" he said.

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

GOP tries to bring tea party enthusiasm into fold (AP)

WASHINGTON ï¿½ Can this political marriage survive? More than a half dozen tea party-backed candidates have captured Republican Senate nominations, and now the GOP is trying to bring their rebel supporters' enthusiasm into the fold for November.

Republicans have little choice but to at least put on a show of unity: Alienating the antiestablishment tea party could undercut GOP efforts to post big Senate gains, perhaps even win control outright.

Judging by how quickly the GOP establishment embraced tea party nominees after earlier primaries, it may not take long for them to consider insurgent Christine O'Donnell one of their own in Delaware. The state's Senate primary was the freshest source of Republican division after O'Donnell's stunning upset of nine-term Rep. Mike Castle. He hasn't yet rallied behind her but others have, including once and maybe future presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

And, after an initial curt reaction, Sen. John Cornyn's committee to elect Senate Republicans made its support clear. "Let there be no mistake: The National Republican Senatorial Committee ï¿½ and I personally as the committee's chairman ï¿½ strongly stand by all of our Republican nominees, including Christine O'Donnell in Delaware," said the Texas lawmaker. He also sent her $42,000.

The message: The GOP has heard the tea party and is listening.

"Eventually you have to respect the will of the voters," said Delaware's Republican state auditor Tom Wagner, a longtime Castle friend who said the state GOP is still in shock. He said he'd campaign with O'Donnell.

It's still not clear how soon ï¿½ or even if ï¿½ the state party will unify behind her.

Said a GOP House candidate who lost her primary, Michele Rollins: "We're going to need a little bit of time to kind of settle down. It's pretty shocking to Delaware, because we've never had an outside influence come in and dictate the result."

But there are less than seven weeks to Election Day, and the out-of-power GOP can't afford to turn off tea party voters who, if they turn out, could carry Republican candidates to victory in six or more Senate races, including Democratic-held states like Colorado, Nevada, Wisconsin, and Delaware. Republicans need to gain 10 seats to take control of the Senate, though even GOP advocates say that's a steep climb.

Given the stakes, both Washington and the Delaware Senate candidate were taking steps to bridge the divide quickly.

Cornyn and O'Donnell were planning to meet in the coming days, and she was to speak to social conservatives who make up the GOP's base at the annual values voters gathering in Washington on Friday. She also has been reaching out to establishment figures like former Delaware congressman and governor Pete DuPont.

The one-time presidential candidate said: "She's been calling me, and I'd love to hear what she's thinking."

But it isn't yet clear whether the establishment support she's getting now goes beyond lip service. Will the party show her the money?

The Karl Rove-backed outside group American Crossroads has run ads in Kentucky, Colorado and Nevada but hasn't yet weighed in in Delaware. And Cornyn left open the possibility that Delaware may not get more cash, saying: "We will decide where to best allocate additional financial resources among the large number of competitive races at stake this November."

His committee still must calculate whether the conservative O'Donnell, who is being hammered with questions about misstatements and inconsistencies in her background, can defeat county executive Chris Coons and win a Democratic-held seat in a state where the Democrats have the edge in voter registration. O'Donnell managed just 35 percent of the vote in losing to then Senate candidate Joe Biden in 2008.

Early polling shows O'Donnell trailing. The NRSC's money is limited, and Cornyn may decide Republicans have a better shot of picking up Democratic-held states elsewhere.

Still, Cornyn and other longtime party leaders are mindful of the power the tea party is wielding this fall.

"This has given us energy, it's given us enthusiasm, and in many ways it's given us highly qualified candidates who are going to be able to take the fight to the Democrats this fall," former Bush political adviser Rove told Fox News. But he stood by his earlier statement that O'Donnell isn't one of them.

"My job is not to be a cheerleader for every Republican; it's to call them as I see them," he said.

The latest Associated Press-GfK poll suggests just how powerful the tea party could be for the GOP.

Some 40 percent of likely voters call themselves members of the fledgling tea party coalition, and a majority of tea party supporters say they have "a great deal" of interest in the election. Just a third of non-supporters say that. Half of tea party supporters call themselves Republicans, and more than two-thirds at least lean toward the GOP.

More than eight in 10 are hoping for a Republican takeover, and nearly six in 10 say they will be expressing opposition to President Barack Obama with their votes.

But their support for the GOP this fall is not guaranteed.

Although they are most negative about Democrats, tea party supporters' interest and involvement in the elections is also driven in part by dissatisfaction with the Republican establishment.

The year had just gotten under way when the GOP saw that power.

Most party veterans backed Florida Gov. Charlie Crist in Florida for the GOP Senate nomination there. But tea party supporters rallied behind former state House Speaker Marco Rubio, leading Crist to abandon the GOP and run as an independent.

The establishment eventually shifted to Rubio, who now is in a competitive three-way race with Crist and Democratic Rep. Kendrick Meek.

Then, in Utah, tea party backers at a nominating convention helped Mike Lee defeat longtime Republican Sen. Bob Bennett.

In both cases, party leaders seemed to learn lessons about the tea party and GOP unity.

Within days of the primary dust settling in Kentucky, Nevada and Colorado, the establishment was quick to fall in line behind tea party favorites Rand Paul, Sharron Angle and Ken Buck, sending in money and manpower to ensure they had party resources at their disposal to win hotly contested races.

In Wisconsin, wealthy businessman Ron Johnson had the state GOP's backing but also courted tea party activists in his primary victory. He immediately won the Washington establishment's backing in his underdog bid to overtake Sen. Russ Feingold in what's become a competitive contest.

And when Joe Miller shocked the GOP's elite and beat Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, the NRSC and Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell left no question that they would support the nominee ï¿½ even though Murkowski is weighing a write-in bid in the GOP-leaning state.

___

Associated Press Writers Jim Kuhnhenn in Washington and Randall Chase in Dover, Del., contributed to this report.

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

Hurricane Karl forms in the Gulf of Mexico (AP)

MIAMI ï¿½ Karl has become a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico after dumping heavy rains on the Yucatan Peninsula as a tropical storm.

A hurricane warning was issued Thursday for Mexico's coast from Palma Sola to Cabo Rojo. Also, a tropical storm warning has been issued for the coast for north of Cabo Rojo to La Cruz and for the area south of Palma Sola to Veracruz.

Karl's maximum sustained winds are near 75 mph (120 kph). The National Hurricane Center in Miami says additional strengthening is possible and Karl could approach major hurricane strength before reaching Mexico's coast.

Karl is located about 310 miles (500 kilometers) east-southeast of Tuxpan, Mexico, and is moving west near 12 mph (19 kph).

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

CANCUN, Mexico (AP) ï¿½ Tropical Storm Karl re-entered the Gulf of Mexico and strengthened again Thursday after dumping heavy rains on the Yucatan Peninsula, threatening to build into a Category 2 hurricane and hit near a port and an oil hub on the Mexican Gulf coast.

Karl could make landfall by late Friday with winds of as much as 100 mph (160 kph) near the oil hub of Poza Rica, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida.

The storm had weakened as it moved over the Yucatan, downing tree limbs and causing power outages, but once over the Gulf water its winds built back up to about 65 mph (100 kph), and it was expected to quickly reach hurricane strength.

By early Thursday, Karl was about 110 miles (180 kms) off the Yucatan peninsula, about 350 miles (560 kms) east of Tuxpan. But it was heading west at a rapid clip of about 9 mph (15 kph).

Poza Rica, while slightly inland, houses important pipelines, and gas and oil-processing plants operated by the state-owned oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex. The company said it had no immediate plans to halt production at the plants because of the oncoming storm.

Tuxpan is an old port city of about 135,000 located on a river near the coast.

In the Atlantic, Hurricane Igor spun into a dangerous Category 4 storm that could generate dangerous rip currents along the U.S. East Coast over the weekend and bring large swells to the Bahamas and Virgin Islands before that. Category 2 Hurricane Julia was not a threat to land.

In Mexico, the government issued a hurricane watch for its eastern Gulf Coast from La Cruz in the northern state of Tamaulipas south to a point just north of the city of Veracruz.

On Wednesday, Karl made landfall on the Mexican Caribbean coast about midway between the cruise ship port of Majahual and the coastal town of Xcalak.

Violeta Pineda, who has operated thatched-roof bungalows known as the Hotel Kabah Na for 13 years, said waves were rolling about 25 yards (meters) onto the beach and eating away at a stretch of road that runs along the coast.

"There is a lot of wind," said Pineda, whose hotel is about 5 miles (8 kilometers) south of Majahual.

Electricity went out briefly around Majahual. But the town took an almost-direct hit from Category 5 Hurricane Dean in 2007 ï¿½ the third most powerful Atlantic hurricane ever to hit land ï¿½ and "this is nothing in comparison," said Pineda.

Karl's center passed close to Chetumal, the capital of Quintana Roo state.

Chetumal suffered minor flooding and the storm knocked down tree limbs, downing power cables and cutting power to some areas of the city, said Damaris Victoriano Rascon, an employee of the city civil defense office. She said there were no reports of injuries in the storm.

On the other side of the Atlantic, Julia briefly intensified into a powerful Category 4 storm Wednesday before weakening to a Category 2 storm early Thursday with maximum sustained winds near 105 mph (165 kph). Hurricane Igor's top winds increased Thursday to near 145 mph (230 kph).

___

Associated Press Writer Mark Stevenson in Mexico City contributed to this report.

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

Doctor shot at Johns Hopkins hospital in Baltimore (AP)

BALTIMORE ï¿½ A suspect shot a doctor and then barricaded himself inside a room at Johns Hopkins hospital, where he remained holed up more than an hour after the shooting Thursday, police said.

The doctor was rushed to surgery and is expected to survive, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.

He said he did not know the relationship between the gunman and the doctor.

Guglielmi said a small area of the hospital remained locked down and police were preparing a tactical operation to deal with the gunman. People with appointments in other parts of the hospital were encouraged to keep them.

Hopkins spokesman Gary Stephenson said the affected area was the eighth floor of the Nelson building, the main hospital tower.

The rest of the massive hospital, research and medical education complex in remained open, including the emergency department.

With more than 30,000 employees, Johns Hopkins Medicine is among Maryland's largest private employers and the largest in Baltimore. The hospital has more than 1,000 beds and more than 1,700 full-time doctors.

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

Egypt to Israel: Curb construction for 3 months (AP)

JERUSALEM ï¿½ Egypt's leader says he has urged Israel to curb West Bank settlement construction for three more months to give peacemaking a chance.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak says he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the delay could give the two sides time to draft their future borders. After those lines are agreed, Mubarak reasoned, Israel can build within its future borders and the Palestinians within theirs.

His comments were carried in excerpts from an upcoming interview broadcast on Israel Radio.

Netanyahu's office said Thursday that Israel doesn't plan to extend the building restrictions currently in place. They are due to expire in late September.

Netanyahu has indicated, however, that some restrictions would be applied.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) ï¿½ Offering a positive note after two days of inconclusive Mideast peace negotiations, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday he sees no alternative to continuing the talks in search of a peace deal with Israel.

"We all know there is no alternative to peace through negotiations, so we have no alternative other than to continue these efforts," Abbas said, speaking through an interpreter during a welcoming ceremony for visiting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

It was not clear whether Abbas was suggesting that the Palestinians would remain committed to the talks even if Israel does not extend a curb on Jewish settlement construction in the West Bank beyond the end of this month. He had previously said the talks could not survive without continued restrictions on the construction in areas the Palestinians want for a future state.

Clinton and Abbas met at the Palestinian Authority's headquarters in the West Bank.

Abbas thanked the Obama administration. "I know that know that this time is difficult and the circumstances are difficult, but the Americans are exerting active efforts to achieve this peace," he said.

Clinton reiterated her determination to find compromise solutions. The United States is "committed and determined to work for a peace agreement through negotiations that leads to an independent, sovereign and viable Palestinian state that realizes the aspirations of the Palestinian people," she said.

Afterward, Clinton was scheduled to be driven to Amman for a working lunch with Jordan's King Abdullah, whose country already has a peace treaty with Israel and is a strong supporter of efforts to work out a deal between Israel and the Palestinians.

The Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations ï¿½ which started Tuesday in Egypt and concluded Wednesday in Jerusalem ï¿½ produced no apparent breakthrough. Both sides said they would continue striving toward their goal of a final settlement within one year.

Dates for the next round of negotiations at the leaders' level are supposed to be determined during consultations next week.

Gaza militants opposed to the peace efforts have heated up the border with Israel in recent days, sending mortars and rockets crashing into southern Israeli communities and drawing retaliatory Israeli airstrikes.

Overnight, Israeli aircraft hit two Gaza targets that the military described as weapons storage facilities. No casualties were reported.

Palestinian official Raed Fattouh, who coordinates the flow of goods into Gaza with Israel, said the Israeli military also canceled plans to let new cars enter Gaza on Thursday for the first time in four years. The Israeli military had no immediate confirmation.

The passage of new cars through Israel was banned after militants affiliated with Gaza's ruling Islamic militant Hamas Party captured an Israeli soldier in June 2006. The serviceman, Sgt. Gilad Schalit, remains in captivity.

George Mitchell, the Obama administration's envoy for Middle East peace, was traveling separately to Syria on Thursday for talks with senior government officials about starting a separate Syria-Israel peace negotiation. Later Thursday he was due to travel to Lebanon.