after taking off from portland norad said in statement
shortly after take off passenger caused disturbance on the plane and the
pilot decided to return the aircraft to portland it said
the fighter aircraft led the plane back to portland airport at about pm and
law enforcement officers were investigating the incident according to the
statement which offered no other details
norad joint us canada mission scrambles fighter jets to respond to possible
terrorist threats from the air after the attacks of september
involving hijacked airliners
based in the central us state of colorado norad was created during the cold war
in to protect north america against air attacks
new brain scan better at detecting early alzheimers
washington jan afp
new kind of brain scan seems to be better at detecting early signs of change
related to the onset of alzheimer disease new research published wednesday in
the online issue of neurology found
the scan called diffusion tensor imaging dti could prove important to
earlier detection and in turn better treatment
as better medicines for alzheimer disease become available it will be
important to identify people at high risk for the disease as early and
accurately as possible so treatment can be most effective said norbert schuff
of the university of california san francisco who wrote an editorial about the
study
the dti mri more sensitive than traditional mri for detecting changes in brain
chemistry allows for mapping fiber tracts that connect brain regions
researchers looked at healthy people in rome aged
our findings show this type of brain scan appears to be better way to measure
how healthy the brain is in people who are experiencing memory loss this might
help doctors when trying to differentiate between normal aging and diseases like
alzheimer said author giovanni carlesimo phd with tor vergata university
in rome
dti along with mri could serve as an important tool in understanding how and
why person experiences memory decline he added
an estimated million people worldwide including million in the united
states live with dementia with alzheimer disease causing the majority of
cases according to the world health organization who
with the aging of populations this figure is projected to increase rapidly over
the next years
texas teen hired friend to kill mother police
washington jan afp
texas teenager who said his mother was too strict hired school friend to
kill her houston police said on wednesday
the houston police department said danish moazzam minhas was so angry at
his mother that he hired friend nur mohamed to carry out the murder
both suspects have confessed to their roles in the killing minhas told
investigators he wanted his mother dead because she was too strict and
controlling mohamed told police minhas paid him the department said
minhas mother tabassum khan was found at her home with multiple stab
wounds in the early morning on november the day before thanksgiving police
said
both minhas and mohamed have been charged with murder
more guantanamo ex inmates tied to militants pentagon
washington jan afp
an increasing number of former detainees from the us prison in guantanamo have
forged links to militant groups after their release the pentagon said on
wednesday
the precise number remained classified but was in keeping with previous
defense department report in april that said percent of former inmates had
engaged in or were suspected of having ties to militants pentagon press
secretary geoff morrell said
can give you the numbers other than to say that do not believe that
trend has reversed itself morrell told news conference
human rights groups have dismissed the pentagon numbers as propaganda saying
the information was too vague and that most of the detainees that had allegedly
returned to the fight were not identified
the april report showed an increase from to percent in what the pentagon
calls the recidivism rate for detainees transferred out of the prison at the us
naval base in guantanamo bay cuba
the issue has taken on heightened importance after failed attack on us
airliner on christmas day was tied to al qaeda branch in yemen where two
former guantanamo detainees are believed to be acting as senior leaders
including said ali al shihri
president barack obama on tuesday suspended transfers of guantanamo detainees to
yemen following the christmas day incident
the administration is under intense pressure from domestic critics not to send
more detainees back to yemen due to fears they could slip into extremism in the
arab nation where al qaeda has expanded its presence in recent years
morrell said deciding which of the remaining detainees at guantanamo could
be transferred to another country was daunting challenge
this is an inexact science he said
we are making subjective calls based upon judgment intelligence and so there
is no foolproof answer in this realm that what makes this so difficult
the pentagon was preparing to release the latest numbers and details on former
guantanamo detainees suspected of extremist links morrell said
obama has vowed to close the controversial guantanamo prison where inmates
are still held of the remaining detainees about are yemeni according to
defense officials
seven yemeni detainees have already been sent home by the obama administration
including six in december several others were repatriated during george
bush administration
high level obama administration task force is working to determine the fate of
the remaining prisoners at guantanamo including some of the most wanted terror
suspects
some inmates will face trial before military or civilian courts and others will
be detained indefinitely because they are considered too dangerous to release
but cannot be tried because evidence against them is scant or tainted
child soldiers leave maoist camps in nepal
sindhuli nepal jan afp
thousands of former child soldiers who fought for the maoists in nepal decade
long civil war will thursday begin leaving the un monitored camps where they
have spent the past three years
around young men and women are due to swap their blue people liberation
army pla uniforms for civilian clothes and begin their journey home after an
official ceremony at the sindhuli camp in central nepal
they are the first of almost former maoist fighters living in camps
around the country to be officially discharged as part of the peace
agreement key step forward in nepal faltering peace process
after lot of delays we are finally ready to discharge the disqualified maoist
combatants from the un monitored camps it is milestone for the country
peace process spokesman for the peace ministry told afp
we hope it will pave the way for the crucial step of rehabilitating and
reintegrating maoist combatants
almost former combatants were confined to un supervised camps as part of
the accord that followed the end of the conflict between maoist guerrillas
and the state
in december the united nations mission in nepal unmin completed
verification process and found that former fighters were minors when the
war ended and another were not genuine combatants
they had been slated for release soon afterwards but the process was repeatedly
delayed by disagreements between the maoist party now in opposition and its
political rivals
over the next month all will leave the camps move pla spokesman chandra
prasad khanal said would send message to the world that we are committed to
peace
for us this is sad moment because we are sending away our fellow fighters in
the decade long people war he told afp but we are taking this step in
order to bring the peace process to logical conclusion
the discharge of the former child soldiers will allow the maoists to be removed
from un list of organisations that use children in conflict
rights groups say the former rebels forcibly recruited child soldiers during the
conflict sometimes demanding one person from every home in areas under their
control although some signed up voluntarily
many became cooks or porters or did medical work but they also received
military training
the maoists want the remaining pla members to be integrated into the
regular army key tenet of the peace agreement
but the military opposition to such move has hampered progress and last
year row between the then army chief rukmangad katawal and maoist leader
pushpa kamal dahal over the issue brought down the maoist led government
no one is even sure how many former fighters remain in the camps they are not
being kept there by force and several thousand are believed to have walked out
in the three years since the end of the war
those being officially discharged will receive set of civilian clothes and
identity papers and each will be given rupees dollars to travel
back to their villages and begin setting up home
there they will be given access to vocational training and education while un
observers will monitor their progress amid concerns they could be lured into
nepal growing number of criminal gangs many of which have political links
the release of these young people sends out symbolic message for the new
year said gillian mellsop nepal representative of the united nations
children fund unicef
not only can these young people now finally get on with their lives but this
also marks new beginning at the start of new decade for nepal so that it
can move forward to more stable peaceful future
football spanish cup results
madrid jan afp
results from the first legs of spanish cup last matches on wednesday
celta vigo arthuro villarreal rossi
alcorcon lopez gomez racing santander christian geijo
moraton
valencia silva deportivo la coruna guardado alvarez
recreativo huelva fornaroli barrales pen candeias atletico
madrid
played tuesday
barcelona ibrahimovic fc sevilla capel negredo pen
thursday
rayo vallecano real mallorca
hercules alicante osasuna
malaga getafe
mobile phone use may stave off reverse alzheimer study
washington jan afp
talking on mobile phone could be good for you because the electromagnetic
waves emitted by the devices could protect against and even reverse alzheimer
disease study on mice showed wednesday
researchers at the university of south florida exposed mice most of whom had
been genetically altered to develop the alzheimer disease as they aged to
electromagnetic waves generated by us mobile cellular phones
the mice were zapped with megaherz of frequency twice day for one hour
each time over period of seven to nine months the equivalent of several
decades in humans
in older mice with alzheimer long term exposure to the electromagnetic fields
caused deposits in the brain of beta amyloid protein fragment that
accumulates in the brain of alzheimer sufferers to form the disease
signature plaques to be erased
memory impairment in the older mice disappeared too the study showed
young adult mice with no apparent signs of memory impairment were protected
against alzheimer disease after several months of exposure to the mobile phone
waves the study showed
and the memory levels of normal mice with no genetic predisposition for
alzheimer disease were boosted after exposure to the electromagnetic waves
the study was the first to look at the long term effects of mobile phone
exposure in mice or humans and its findings took even the researchers by
surprise
frankly started this work few years ago with hypothesis that the
electromagnetic fields from cell phone would be deleterious to alzheimer
mice lead author gary arendash professor at the university of southern
florida told afp
when we got our initial results showing beneficial effect thought give
it few more months and it will get bad for them
it never got bad we just kept getting these beneficial effects in both the
alzheimer and normal mice arendash said
based on the findings in mice the researchers are hopeful that electromagnetic
field exposure could be an effective non invasive and drug free way to prevent
and treat alzheimer disease in humans
family sues for brain in bag funeral home blunder
santa fe new mexico jan afp
family in new mexico are suing funeral home after their grandmother brain
was sent to them in bag of personal belongings following the woman death it
was reported wednesday
the albuquerque journal reported that the grisly discovery was made after family
members noticed foul odor coming from bag sent to them by the devargas
funeral home and crematory in espanola valley
the allegation was contained in lawsuit filed on behalf of four family members
in district court in albuquerque the paper reported
according to the report the bag had been left inside family member truck
overnight when family members opened it they found personal effects and bag
labeled with her name reading brain the lawsuit alleged
wouldn you agree that it was horrible mistake albuquerque attorney
richard valle told the paper no loved one brain should ever be part of those
belongings
the brain has since been buried with the woman body
funeral home owner johnny devargas insisted his business was not to blame
pointing the finger at another entity in utah
all can say is devargas did absolutely nothing wrong and that the family was
well cared for he was quoted by the paper as saying
the family was very meticulously cared for and they were very pleased with our
service
the woman who was identified only by her initials in the lawsuit was killed in
car accident in utah in september
football friendly result benin libya
cotonou jan afp
friendly international result here on wednesday
benin sessegnon libya
blair allies call for ballot on british pm
london jan afp
two ex ministers called wednesday for ballot of labour lawmakers on whether
british prime minister gordon brown should remain leader highlighting his
vulnerability months before general election
brown has faced repeated rumours of threat to his struggling leadership since
taking over from tony blair in but has held on and will have to fight
general election before june this year
although the latest development seems unlikely to unseat brown it is deeply
embarrassing and makes public the splits which have dogged labour for most of
his premiership
in letter to all labour lawmakers geoff hoon defence secretary when
britain joined the iraq war in and former health secretary patricia
hewitt said the party was deeply divided over whether brown should be leader
many colleagues have expressed their frustration at the way in which this
question is affecting our political performance they wrote
we have therefore come to the conclusion that the only way to resolve this
issue would be to allow every member to express their view in secret ballot
if there was no secret ballot this grumbling could continue into the election
campaign diverting attention from our real message said hoon and hewitt
seen as blair allies
the letter gained early support from handful of persistent brown critics who
say that with labour around points behind the main opposition conservatives
led by david cameron it is time for change
its timing is awkward british political parties effectively started election
campaigning this week after the christmas break brown has not yet called the
general election but it looks likely to come in may
it seems improbable that any vote which could come as early as monday would go
against him not least because there is no obvious candidate to replace him
but if it did it could allow figures like foreign secretary david miliband
who reportedly considered standing against brown in way to challenge
for the leadership without having wielded the knife
in brief statement hours after the letter was released miliband said he
supported the re election campaign for labour government
am working closely with the prime minister on foreign policy issues and
support the re election campaign for labour government that he is leading he
said
british news media suggested miliband and other key cabinet ministers were
offering only lukewarm support for brown given their comments and the length
of time taken to make them
the times described miliband statement as less than wholehearted while the
guardian said it was both later and less full throated than anything offered by
fellow cabinet members
the bbc reported six cabinet ministers were prepared to support coup
in june last year brown fended off nascent leadership plot after several
cabinet ministers quit in quick succession and one james purnell urged him to
step down
westminster rumours that another cabinet minister could be about to call
publicly for brown to quit in the coming days have so far proved unfounded
peter mandelson business secretary and brown effective deputy who reportedly
fell out with the prime minister in recent weeks responded to the letter by
saying the government should carry on as usual
no one should over react to this initiative he said it is not led by
members of the government no one has resigned from the government
the prime minister continues to have the support of his colleagues and we
should carry on government business as usual
mandelson has also dismissed the reports of resignation
one of brown closest allies schools secretary ed balls dismissed the call
for ballot saying it would make voters think labour had lost our marbles
the government the cabinet the labour party is fully behind gordon brown
balls told sky news television ve spoken to the prime minister but he
getting on with doing his job
baseball dawson elected to hall of fame
new york jan afp
eight time all star outfielder andre dawson was elected to baseball hall of
fame on wednesday in his ninth try but bert blyleven and roberto alomar fell
shy of the honor
dawson one of only three players along with barry bonds and willie mays
with at least home runs and stolen bases received of votes in
voting announced by the baseball writers association of america
that was more than the percent needed for election he was votes shy
last year
second baseman alomar on the ballot for the first time received votes
percent
feel disappointed but next year hopefully make it in alomar said at his
home in new york at least was close
blyleven received votes percent up from last year and the
pitcher will likely get in because he has two more tries on the ballot
slugger mark mcgwire whose hall of fame chances took nosedive after he evaded
questions from congress in about steroid use received votes
percent that was more than last year and matched the total from his first
two appearances on the ballot
dawson will be inducted july at cooperstown along with manager whitey herzog
and umpire doug harvey who were elected last month by the veterans committee
dawson hit homers in career that spanned from nicknamed the
hawk he was voted national league rookie of the year in with montreal and
nl most valuable player in with the chicago cubs the first member of
last place team to earn the honor
dawson stayed with the cubs through then spent two seasons each with
boston and florida he had career average with rbis and steals
playing through knee operations
development aid key to terrorism fight clinton
washington jan afp
us secretary of state hillary clinton said wednesday that overseas development
aid was strategic economic and moral imperative for advancing us interests
and fixing world problems
we cannot stop terrorism or defeat the ideologies of violent extremism when
hundreds of millions of young people see future with no jobs no hope and no
way ever to catch up to the developed world she said in speech at the
peterson institute for international economics
aides stressed earlier that clinton views come in the context of the critical
need for improved conditions in countries beset by islamist insurgencies citing
situations in afghanistan pakistan and yemen as prime examples
we cannot be assured of promoting safer more democratic world when one
third of humankind live in conditions that offer them little chance of building
better lives for themselves or their children clinton said
the federal budget for international aid grew nine percent for over last
year to some billion dollars for
it is distributed mainly through the us agency for international aid and the
millennium challenge corporation mcc government assistance program
emphasizing conditions for us approved governance
specialized funds are also allocated such as for aids prevention marked for
billion dollars of funds over the next six years and efforts to promote
food security pegged at an initial billion dollars
clinton said the new development pushed by president barack obama was based more
on partnership not patronage
in the past we have sometimes dictated solutions from afar often missing our
mark on the ground she said adding that the model emphasized consultation
over decree
we want partners who have demonstrated commitment to development by
practicing good governance rooting out corruption making their own financial
contributions to their own development she said
key to us efforts clinton added was focus on female investment around the
world
women and girls are one of the world greatest untapped resources she said
with just one year of schooling woman children are less likely to die in
infancy or suffer from illness or hunger and more likely to go to school
themselves
clinton noted the proverb give man fish and he ll eat for day but
teach man to fish and he ll eat for lifetime well if you teach woman to
fish she ll feed the whole village
guinea interim leader agrees to opposition pm
conakry jan afp
guinea interim junta leader general sekouba konate on wednesday invited the
opposition to select the country next prime minister ahead of the formation of
transition government
in speech to members of the military junta which seized power in bloodless
coup in december konate said guinea leadership must act to bring peace
to the country
the decision of prime minister belonging to the opposition and designated by
it is ours said konate in his address which was broadcast by national radio
he said the new prime minister would lead talks with all social and political
groups to form broad based government of national union
konate who is also defence minister has led the west african country since
junta leader moussa dadis camara was wounded in an assassination attempt on
december
top us and french diplomats held talks in morocco tuesday with konate about the
need to restore civilian rule in conakry
officials in washington believe konate may be more supportive for guinea
return to civilian rule and democracy than camara who is being treated in
rabat hospital for his month old wounds sustained when his aide de camp shot him
in the head
french foreign minister bernard kouchner speaking during visit to rwanda
called konate announcement wednesday very good surprise
understand that he konate hesitated but he did his duty we have to thank
him for that said kouchner
it was not easy and it will not be easy because it not over yet he said
adding that he had feared civil war in the country
konate gave no date for the appointment of prime minister but said it was up
to all parties concerned to reflect on the make up of the new government without
further delay
the country cannot continue to wait and suffer further he said the
international community is urging us to speed up the process and expects
significant progress
konate spoke day after returning to conakry from week long stay in morocco
where he met with camara on december
junta source has said camara did not seem aware of his surroundings when
konate visited him but guinea official media reported earlier that the leader
is recovering and will return to conakry as soon as possible
konate also called on opposition leaders who fled the country to return and said
he was guaranteeing the safety of all
the main opposition leaders who were injured in crackdown by security forces
on more than junta opponents in conakry stadium in september fled to
europe and other west african countries
konate said presidential and legislative elections would be held at date set
by the new transition government
the first round of presidential polls had been scheduled for january
obama critics push for aid to yemen military
washington jan afp
group of top us lawmakers urged president barack obama on wednesday to ramp up
aid to yemen military saying they had lost trust in the country ability to
be strong partner against terrorism
we no longer have confidence that the yemeni government has the capacity to
assist the united states in providing for our nation security the senior
republicans on five key committees urged obama in letter
we support efforts to strengthen yemen military and think we should build
on these existing programs recent events only reinforce that yemen is country
that requires our security assistance they wrote
representatives buck mckeon of the house armed services committee jerry lewis
of the house appropriations committee pete hoekstra of the house intelligence
committee peter king of the house homeland security committee and lamar smith
of the house judiciary committee signed the letter
us officials have charged that yemen served as home base for the alleged author
of the failed christmas day airline bombing nigerian national umar farouk
abdulmatallab
the united states has accused the al qaeda branch in yemen of training
abdulmutallab who tried to blow up northwest airline flight before it landed
in detroit but was overpowered by passengers
the lawmakers urged obama to undertake comprehensive review of our engagement
with yemen warning that like pakistan yemen suffers from ungoverned spaces
that harbor al qaeda and its affiliated networks
they said obama should make permanent freeze on transfers of detainees from
the guantanamo bay facility for suspected terrorists to yemen and track those
already sent there to blunt any possible terrorist plots
placing our trust and security in the hands of country already under siege by
al qaeda only invites more risk to our safety and yemen stability they
wrote
the lawmakers urged obama to further tighten air travel security measures and
called on the president to reverse decision to try the suspect in civilian
courts arguing that he is properly an unlawful enemy combatant who should face
military justice
ski jumping kofler takes four hills title
bischofshofen austria jan afp
austrian olympic silver medalist andreas kofler won the four hills title on
wednesday despite finishing fifth in the final event
the year old also an olympic gold medalist in the team event won with
points ahead of finnish great janne ahonen pts while last year
champion wolfgang loitzl of austria was third pts
never dared think that would win the title once in my career said
kopfler
it is incredible still can quite believe it added kopfler who missed
out on olympic gold in by just of point
wednesday event was won by another austrian thomas morgenstern with
points ahead of ahonen pts and swiss jumper simon ammann was third
pts
there was disappointment for austrian prodigy gregor schlierenzauer who was the
strong favourite to take the title after victories in garmisch partenkirchen on
friday and innsbruck on sunday but ended up finishing fourth overall
second place overall for ahonen five time winner of the series but who only
came out of retirement recently spoilt austrian hopes of their first podium
cleansweep since
the finn was happy with his overall showing
the first jump was great the second was not bad with the second overall place
really satisfied he said
my technique is still giving me the possibility that can be on the very top
that really good the one year break didn change that
nfl redskins introduce new coach shanahan
washington jan afp
mike shanahan who guided denver to two super bowl titles said wednesday he is
excited and honoured to take over the head coaching job of the washington
redskins
the team introduced shanahan as head coach and executive vice president on
wednesday two days after sacking coach jim zorn
shanahan inked five year deal worth some seven million dollars per year and
which also gives him final approval on personnel decisions
his arrival is part of the shakeup following washington worst nfl season since
three weeks ago owner dan snyder hired bruce allen as general manager and it
was allen not the usualy hands on snyder who introduced shanahan on wednesday
the arrival of shanahan and allen give washington strong leadership something
they appeared to in desperate need of during the recently concluded season
we needed guy like mike shanahan cornerback deangelo hall said we needed
proven leader proven winner he definitely going to get these guys
motivated and get the most out of all of them
shanahan won the super bowl twice in seasons with the broncos
but he was sacked year ago after denver third straight campaign without
making the playoffs
he made the playoffs in half of his seasons in denver and had only two losing
seasons in and in
the broncos won two straight super bowls after the and seasons with
quarterback john elway
defensive player andre carter sounded pleased to have the coaching position
filled so quickly
you always wonder what going to be happen you don want to be on pins and
needles carter said when we had the team meeting with bruce allen he told
us something would happen hastily he wasn joking when he said that
nba wizards arenas suspended over guns in locker room
new york jan afp
