Whistleblower Snowden 'May Return To The US'

Edward Snowden's father has said he is reasonably confident the whistleblower will return to the US if certain conditions are met.

In an interview with NBC, Lonnie Snowden also said he plans to make that point in a letter to US Attorney General Eric Holder later today.

Those conditions could include not detaining Mr Snowden before trial, NBC reported.

In the interview, Mr Snowden's father also expressed fears his son is being manipulated by others, including WikiLeaks.

Edward Snowden is said to still be in the transit area of Moscow airport

Edward Snowden fled the US after leaking details of American telephone and internet surveillance programmes and has been charged with spying offences.

He flew out of Hong Kong to Moscow, and he is still believed to be in a transit area of the Russian city's Sheremetyevo airport.

A view of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport

Washington is seeking his arrest. The case has created a diplomatic row involving the Hong Kong, the US and Russia.

Hong Kong said it had allowed him to fly to Moscow last Sunday because the US government had made formal mistakes in documents it submitted seeking his arrest – such as getting Mr Snowden's middle name wrong.

WikiLeaks has assisted Mr Snowden and Julian Assange has praised him

But the United States accused it of acting in bad faith.

The US top diplomat in Hong Kong, consul-general Stephen Young, also warned of repercussions.

"They've been throwing out some arguments as to what was going on.

"But frankly I don't think we had a good-faith partner throughout that process."

The consul-general also accused Hong Kong of "obfuscating" the real issues.

Hong Kong officials said immigration records listed Mr Snowden's middle name as Joseph, but the US government used the name James in some documents and referred to him only as Edward J Snowden in others.

"I've spent three years working for good relationship between Hong Kong and the US and we've had a loss of trust at this point," said Mr Young, who is due to retire later this year.

Mr Snowden abandoned his high-paying job as an IT technician contracted to the National Security Agency and went to Hong Kong on May 20.

Barack Obama has sought to play down the international row

He then began issuing a series of leaks on the NSA's global gathering of phone call logs and internet data, including in China and Hong Kong.

On Tuesday, Hong Kong's Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen said US suggestions that the government connived in Mr Snowden's departure were "totally untrue".

23.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Vatican Bank Probe: Senior Cleric Held

A senior Catholic cleric, a former spy and a financer have been arrested as part of a sweeping probe of the Vatican bank.

Nunzio Scarano, known as "monsignor" in recognition of his seniority at the Holy See, is accused of fraud and corruption for plotting to illegally fly 20m euros (£17m) in cash into Italy from Switzerland.

The 61-year-old was arrested along with a former member of the secret service and a financial broker after an investigation into the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR) - as the Vatican bank is known - raised suspicions he was involved in money laundering.

Rome prosecutor Nello Rossi said the money belonged to brothers Paolo, Cesare, and Maurizio D'Amico, who own a fleet of oil tankers, and was the "fruit of tax evasion".

The headquarters of the Institute for Religious Works

Broker Giovanni Carenzio, who is also under investigation in the Canary Islands for fraud according to media reports, was safeguarding the money and was looking for a way to smuggle it into Italy.

Former agent Giovanni Maria Zito was tasked with bringing the cash in on a private jet to avoid tax and customs controls, but the deal fell through when the three men argued, Rossi said.

The jet was supposed to take the 20m euros to Rome airport, from where it would be collected and transported to Scarano's house under armed guard, but the plan was aborted.

Zito was in any case paid 400,000 euros from Scarano's bank account, Rossi said.

Pope Francis has announced a sweeping study of the bank

Mobile telephones used by three were later burned in a bid to destroy evidence, he added.

The arrests were the culmination of a two-year investigation into the three, the Rome prosecutors office said in a statement.

The probe is part of a much wider enquiry launched in 2011 into the Vatican bank, which has long been tarnished by scandals, with criminals using anonymity or false names to launder money.

In 1982 Robert Calvi - the man known as "God's Banker" for his close ties to the Vatican - was found hanging from London's Blackfriar's Bridge, with rocks and cash stuffed into his suit.

In 2007 five people were cleared of his murder, and the perpetrator has never been brought to justice.

On Wednesday, in an attempt to tighten control of its activities, Pope Francis announced a sweeping study of the bank before a possible clear-out of top management at the Holy See.

23.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Afghanistan: Taliban Talks 'A Decade Overdue'

The top British officer in Afghanistan has said talks with the Taliban have come a decade too late after efforts to negotiate with the insurgents faltered.

General Nick Carter told The Guardian newspaper that it would have been more successful to approach the Taliban in 2002 after they were ousted from power.

The deputy commander of the Nato-led coalition said: "Back in 2002, the Taliban were on the run.

"I think that at that stage, if we had been very prescient, we might have spotted that a final political solution to what started in 2001, from our perspective, would have involved getting all Afghans to sit at the table and talk about their future."

He added that the problems since then have essentially been political problems, which "are only ever solved by people talking to each other".

The US and Afghanistan are still waiting to hear from the Taliban about opening peace talks, but remain willing to go ahead with negotiations despite a stir the militant group caused in opening a new office in Qatar.

The opening of the Taliban office in Doha

Afghan President Hamid Karzai had to shut down the process after Taliban spokesmen presented the office as a de-facto embassy for a government-in-exile.

As the US and UK prepare to pull their troops from Afghanistan next year, Gen Carter said the Kabul government may have to accept it may only have shaky control over some remote areas of the country for some years.

Afghan forces would also need Western military and financial support for several years after Western combat troops head home, he said.

However, he insisted Afghan forces were strong enough to be taking over control from Nato, a move he believed would eventually bring the Taliban to the negotiating table.

"What the opponents of the Afghan government now realise is they are likely to be up against capable Afghan security forces who are going to be here in perpetuity and therefore that old adage that 'We have the clocks but the Taliban have the time', has now been reversed," he told the newspaper.

US soldiers in Afghanistan

"They are now up against security forces who have the time, and they are also Afghan forces ... for those reasons I think that there is every chance people will realise that talking is the answer to this problem," added Gen Carter, who previously served as the top Nato officer in southern Afghanistan, the Taliban's birthplace.

The comments came as Britain was set to mark the fifth annual Armed Forces Day - recognising the relationship between the military and the public.

Ahead of the spending review, announced earlier this week, Gen Carter said the Treasury rather than the military would be to blame if Britain's defence was weakened by cuts.

He said: "At the end of the day our politicians need to decide what they want the Army to do.

"If they determine that the Army is going to do less, it's reasonable for them to reduce it still further."

He added: "We are bound as military people to point out the risks during the course of this to our political masters and ultimately it's down to them to look themselves in the mirror each morning and determine whether or not those risks are manageable."

The review revealed no Army, RAF or personnel would lose their jobs and the equipment budget would be protected.

The budget cut of 1.9% in 2015 would be achieved through civilian job losses in the Ministry of Defence, changes to the way the department buys and commissions big items and by outsourcing the purchasing of non-military goods.

23.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bowling Ball: Boy, 5, Beaten To Death By Teen

A 13-year-old boy has apparently confessed to killing a five-year-old by hitting him in the head with a bowling ball after becoming irritated.

Sida Osman's body was found on Wednesday by police in North Texas, 18 hours after he was last seen riding his bike.

The teenager made the statement after people found him crying, according to a summary of the case read out during a detention hearing, reported by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Police claim the older boy who cannot be named because of his age, and Sida went into the fenced back garden of a vacant house close to where they lived.

The teenager became irritated with Sida "and hit him multiple times in the head, causing his death".

Several Somali families, many who have spent time in Kenyan refugee camps after fleeing unrest in their native country, live in the complex.

Although Sida's parents are Somali refugees, he was born in the US and was due to start kindergarten later this year, according to the local newspaper.

The suspect faces a capital murder charge but is not eligible to stand trial as an adult as he is a juvenile.

Sida's mother, Dahabo Abdi, told Dallas-Fort Worth television station KTVT that she did not know the suspect.

As the family gathered outside the apartment on Thursday, children from the area gave Sida's mother handwritten notes expressing their affection for him.

Some read the notes aloud, including one that read, "you were just an innocent kid".

Muhammad Elmi, the child's uncle, told Dallas-Fort Worth television station KXAS that the family never expected such a tragic outcome.

"We expected to see him alive - you know, coming back to the house smiling, happy," he said.

23.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Western US Set To Swelter In Record Heatwave

A dangerous heatwave is set to scorch the western United States, with record temperatures possible in parts of the country.

Baking sun will see California's notoriously hot Death Valley reach as high as 54C (129F), not far off the world-record high of 57C (134F) recorded there exactly a century ago.

A series of safety precautions are being put in place, with temporary cooling stations being set up for the homeless and elderly as airlines monitor the soaring temperatures to ensure it remains safe to fly.

In Las Vegas and Phoenix - where tigers at the city's zoo are being fed frozen fish snacks - the strong high-pressure system settling over the region is expected to see the mercury hit up to 48C (118F).

Extreme temperatures are expected in California

Temperatures are expected to be only slightly lower in Utah - marketed as having "the greatest snow on Earth" - parts of Wyoming and Idaho.

And cities in Washington state, which is better known for cool, rainy weather, should get into the mid-30s early next week.

In Albuquerque, New Mexico, the mercury hit 41C (105F) on Thursday afternoon, the hottest it has been in the state's most populous city in 19 years.

National Weather Service meteorologist Mark O'Malley said: "This is the hottest time of the year but the temperatures that we'll be looking at for Friday through Sunday, they'll be toward the top.

A tourist protects herself from the sun on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

"We'll be at or above record levels in the Phoenix area and throughout a lot of the southwestern United States. It's going to be baking hot across much of the entire west."

Scientists say that the jet stream, the river of air that dictates weather patterns, has been more erratic in the past few years.

It is responsible for weather systems getting stuck, like the current heatwave. Scientists disagree on whether global warming is the cause of the jet stream's behaviour.

23.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Austrian Alps Fall Kills British Climber

A British climber has died in the Austrian Alps after losing his balance and plunging around 200 metres (650ft) down a slope.

Police said the 42-year-old man, who has not been named, was hiking with a companion in the Tyrol region in western Austria on Friday.

Neither was an experienced climber, according to police.

The Foreign Office confirmed it was communicating with the Austrian authorities.

A spokeswoman said: "We can confirm the death of a British national in Austria. We are providing consular assistance to the family." 

The official tourism website for the area said it is popular with novice hikers and seasoned climbers, with a rating system that includes "easy" hiking trails, moderate mountain footpaths and "extreme" Alpine routes.

The latest tragedy comes just over a month after a British skier died when he fell down the north face of the Aiguille du Midi mountain in the French Alps.

The man was with another skier when they were caught in a storm while descending the challenging Vallee Blanche near Chamonix.

23.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Gay Marriage: California Couples Tie The Knot

A lesbian couple who spearheaded a fight for same-sex marriage in California have become the first to tie the knot hours after a ban was lifted in a landmark US Supreme Court ruling.

Kristin Perry and Sandy Stier exchanged vows in a ceremony conducted by California Attorney General Kamala Harris, as cheers erupted at San Francisco City Hall.

"I now declare you spouses for life," said Ms Harris after the couple exchanged rings and vows.

"I could not be more honoured to stand here today."

The ceremony was the first gay wedding since a brief period in 2008 when California allowed same-sex marriage but then banned it under a close-run referendum.

It came shortly after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco lifted the ban with immediate effect.

Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo married in Los Angeles

Many observers thought it could be several weeks before marriages would resume in the famously liberal western US state, but the appeals court announced gay couples could be wed immediately in a posting online.

"The stay in the above matter is dissolved effective immediately," the ruling read, prompting some hasty wedding ceremony preparations.

Ms Perry and Ms Stier were followed by a long line of other same-sex couples who rushed to City Hall.

Ms Stier said: "Kris and I fell in love 14 years ago.

"We knew that our relationship would last ... and wanted our love to last and to be dignified by the institution of marriage."

Ms Perry told the crowd: "This is the first day of the rest of our lives together, and we could not be more elated by your being here."

Ms Stier and Ms Perry were the plaintiffs in the initial action challenging the ban, which wound its way through the legal system before eventually being heard by the top US court.

The Supreme Court ruled that supporters of the so-called Prop 8 ban lacked the proper standing to appeal a lower-court judgement that declared the measure unconstitutional.

The ruling essentially allowed the original federal court ruling to stand, striking down Prop 8.

23.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Barack Obama Speaks With Mandela's Wife

Barack Obama has told Nelson Mandela's wife he hopes the ailing former leader "draws peace and comfort from the time he's spending with loved ones".

The US President spoke by telephone to Graca Machel while she stayed at the 94-year-old's hospital bedside.

Mr Obama also met two of the Nobel Peace laureate's daughters and eight of his grandchildren at a private meeting, which lasted 30 minutes, at the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory in Johannesburg.

In a statement after the visit, he said: "I also reaffirmed the profound impact that his legacy has had in building a free South Africa, and in inspiring people around the world - including me.

"That's a legacy that we must all honour in our own lives."

Mr Obama will not see the former South African president, who is critically ill, "out of deference" to him and the family's wishes.

Mr Mandela is critically ill in hospital

The president is in Pretoria as part of a three-nation Africa tour, which saw him hold bilateral talks with South Africa's president Jacob Zuma.

After the meeting, Mr Obama told reporters: "Our thoughts and those of Americans and people around the world are with Nelson Mandela and his family and all of South Africans.

"The struggle here against apartheid, for freedom, Madiba's moral courage, this country's historic transition to a free and democratic nation has been a personal inspiration to me, has been an inspiration to the world."

What has happened in South Africa shows the "power of principle" and people standing up for what's right continues to shine as a beacon, he said.

Mr Zuma said Mr Mandela's condition remains "critical but stable" but the government hopes he will be out of hospital soon.

He added that both leaders were "bound by history as the first black presidents of your respective countries".

Scenes outside the hospital where Mr Mandela is being treated

Later, Mr Obama likened Mr Mandela to the first US President George Washington because of the decision of both to step down at the peak of their power.

"What an incredible lesson that is, he said, calling Mr Mandela "one of the greatest people in history".

Earlier, Mr Obama told reporters in Senegal that he "did not need a photo op" with the anti-apartheid icon and would not be pushing for a visit with him.

The prospect of a public encounter between the first black presidents of South Africa and the US had been eagerly awaited for years, but has now been scuppered by Mr Mandela's failing health.

The president, who has previously called Mr Mandela a "personal hero", is due to make a tour on Sunday of Robben Island, the former prison where the anti-apartheid leader passed 18 of the 27 years he spent in jail.

Mr Obama faced protests by South Africans against US foreign policy, especially American drone strikes.

Mr Mandela with his wife Graca Machel

Police fired stun grenades to disperse several hundred protesters who had gathered outside the Soweto campus of the University of Johannesburg, where Mr Obama addressed a town hall meeting with students.

The visit comes after Mr Mandela's ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela said the former South African president's condition has shown "great improvement" over recent days.

Speaking outside the Pretoria hospital on Friday where Mr Mandela is being treated for a recurring lung infection, she said he remained "unwell".

She said: "It becomes very difficult to understand the seeming impatience and statements like: 'It is time for the family to let go'.

"And statements like: 'We are praying for the family not to pull the tubes'.

"Those are insensitive statements that none of you would want made about your parents and grandparents."

Mr Mandela, South Africa's first black president, was taken to hospital three weeks ago with recurrent lung problems.

He turns 95 next month.

23.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Egypt Protests: US Citizen Among Three Dead

Violent clashes across the Egyptian cities of Alexandria and Port Said have left three people dead and more than 70 others injured.

Andrew Pochter was a student in Ohio

Two people were killed in Alexandria. One of them was an American citizen, the US State Department confirmed. 

He has been identified as Andrew Pochter, 21, from Maryland, who was a student at Kenyon College in Ohio.

He had been working as an intern at an American non-profit organisation teach where he was teching English to children and improving his Arabic, his family said in a statement.

"He had studied in the region, loved the culture, and planned to live and work there in the pursuit of peace and understanding," read the statement, that asked for privacy in a time of grieving.

Mr Pochter died from a stab wound to the chest after violence erupted between supporters and opponents of President Mohamed Morsi.

General Amin Ezzeddin, a senior Alexandria security official, said the American was using a mobile phone camera near an office of Mr Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood in the city's Sidi Gaber neighbourhood when it was being attacked by protesters.

He was rushed to a military hospital, where he died.

A second victim was shot dead during clashes in the city, while a third person died as protests also turned violent in Port Said.

The deaths come as leading clerics warned of "civil war" in Egypt after violence in the last week has left several dead and hundreds wounded.

They backed Mr Morsi's offer to talk to opposition groups ahead of mass protests scheduled for Sunday.

State news agency MENA said 70 people had been injured.

A protester hurls a rock towards riot police in Alexandria

TV footage showed protesters running from the scene as gunshots were heard.

The offices of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), the political arm of Mr Morsi's party, were also set on fire during the confrontations.

A Brotherhood member was also killed overnight in an attack on a party office at Zagazig, in the heavily populated Nile Delta, where much of the recent violence has been concentrated.

Mr Morsi's movement said five supporters in all had died this week - three in Mansura and two in Zagazig.

A supporter of Mr Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo

The June 30 protest was called by Tamarod, a grassroots movement which says it has more than 22 million signatures for a petition demanding Mr Morsi's resignation and a snap election.

It alleges that Mr Morsi reneged on his promise to be a president for all Egyptians and has failed to deliver on the uprising's aspirations for freedom and social justice. Mr Morsi's supporters have questioned the authenticity of the signatures.

The president himself warned in a televised speech on Wednesday that the growing polarisation threatens to "paralyse" Egypt.

The army, which oversaw the transition from former president Hosni Mubarak's autocratic rule but has been on the sidelines since Mr Morsi's election, warned it would intervene if violence erupts.

Anti-government protesters start a fire outside an FJP office in Alexandria

It has brought in reinforcements to key cities, security officials said.

In an updated travel warning, the State Department cautioned US citizens "to defer non-essential travel to Egypt at this time due to the continuing possibility of political and social unrest".

President Barack Obama said during a visit to South Africa that the "most immediate concern" was to protect US embassies and consulates in Egypt.

23.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bus Crash Video Studied By Turkey Police

A CCTV camera has filmed the moment a bus full of tourists veered across a busy road before flipping over and crashing into a pole.

People were seen climbing out of the vehicle as it lay on its side.

Bystanders ran to the scene to help victims following the crash, which happened as the bus turned a corner in the southern Turkish resort city of Alanya.

A 15-year-old Swede and a 68-year-old Dane were killed in the crash.

The "Danish Spies" travel agency said a group of 27 Scandinavians - 11 Swedes, 10 Norwegians and six Danes - were on their way back from a trip to nearby mountains on Friday when it tilted over.

The other tourists were said to have sustained minor injuries in the accident, which is being investigated by police.

23.17 | 0 komentar | Read More