prosecutors allege that rana helped his friend david coleman headley key
suspect in the mumbai attacks by allowing him to use his immigration company as
cover for surveillance trips to india and denmark
rana was charged thursday with three separate counts of providing material
support for terrorism in the mumbai attacks the denmark terror plot and to the
banned pakistani militant group lashkar taiba
also indicted on conspiracy charges related to the denmark plot were ilyas
kashmiri an alleged terror kingpin in pakistan who prosecutors accuse of being
in regular contact with al qaeda leaders and abdur rehman hashim syed
retired major in the pakistani military neither man is in us custody
headley has pleaded not guilty to terrorism related charges and remains
in custody where he is cooperating with prosecutors
the washington born son of former pakistani diplomat and american mother
headley reportedly befriended bollywood stars and even dated an actress during
his lengthy surveillance trips to mumbai
the indictment alleges that rana acted as messenger while headley scoped out
the mumbai terror targets taking photos and video and entering their positions
on gps device
nearly year after the bloody hour siege which began november
headley was allegedly recorded discussing five future targets with rana
prosecutors said the targets included bollywood the indian temple somnath the
national defense college in delhi shiv sena political party in india with
roots in hindu nationalism and the danish newspaper
headley had already begun the planning for second indian attack during march
surveillance trip whose targets included the national defense college and
chabad houses in several cities in india the indictment alleges
he was also working on the danish newspaper plot weeks before the mumbai attack
was carried out the indictment alleges
headley is accused of once again using rana immigration business as cover in
order to arrange visit to the copenhagen and aarhus offices of jyllands
posten denmark highest circulating daily
during february meeting in pakistan kashmiri allegedly told headley that they
should use truck bomb to attack the newspaper and directed him to meet with
european contacts who could provide the money weapons and manpower for the
attack
headley and rana were arrested in october on terror charges related to the plot
to attack jyllands posten and kill an editor and the cartoonist
headley was charged last month with spending two years casing out mumbai even
taking boat tours around the city harbor to scope out landing sites for the
attackers
he has allegedly admitted to attending laskar terror training camp in pakistan
in and
rana pakistani born canadian citizen who owns the chicago based first world
immigration services that headley allegedly used as cover insists that he is
pacifist who was duped by his friend
if headley cooperating he may not be telling the truth defense attorney
patrick blegen told reporters last month after rana was denied bail on the
initial charges related to the danish plot
blegen was not immediately available for comment thursday
date has not yet been set for rana arraignment on the new charges
rugbyu european cup round fixtures
paris jan afp
european cup round fixtures this weekend the penultimate round of the pool
stages
friday
pool
glasgow sco newport gwent dragons wal
pool
ulster irl edinburgh sco
saturday
pool
treviso ita munster irl
pool
gloucester eng biarritz fra
pool
clermont auvergne fra ospreys wal
leicester eng viadana ita
pool
stade francais fra bath eng
pool
cardiff blues wal sale eng
pool
leinster irl brive fra
sunday
pool
northampton eng perpignan fra
pool
toulouse fra harlequins eng
pool
scarlets wal london irish eng
rugbyu ospreys face crunch clermont test in european cup
paris jan afp
big spending ospreys boast squad many rugby clubs can only dream of but the
european cup competition has not been kind to the welsh region
the final two pool matches of this year tournament starting on saturday in
france promise another nerve wracking run in with games against french and
english league toppers clermont and leicester respectively
we are at crunch time now and you can fail to be excited about it said
ospreys and wales back row forward ryan jones
we ve worked hard to put ourselves in good position after four rounds of the
tournament but this is where the hard work really starts
ospreys top pool with three wins for points clermont and leicester behind
on points apiece with italian whipping boys viadana winless
if we don hit the right performance levels in the final two fixtures this
month then the results we secured in october and december won count for
anything jones acknowledged
we ve improved throughout the season week on week but we are under no
illusions about where we are right now we realise that we still have some way
to go if we are going to finish off the job
we go out to clermont knowing that we have to be professional out there and do
our job properly to ensure that we bring something back with us if we can do
that it will then set up the leicester game to be something special
losing bonus point at clermont and home win over leicester would be enough
for ospreys who welcome back welsh internationals lee byrne prop adam jones
and lock ian evans into team complemented by ex all black enforcer jerry
collins and compatriot marty holah at open side flanker
the nail biting nature of european cup action sees only the six pool winners and
two best placed runners up qualify for the quarter finals
stade francais will seek to put their miserable top form to one side and
consolidate their place atop pool with home game against bath with
edinburgh playing ulster in the other match
three time champions toulouse play harlequins at home on sunday with pool
second placed sale travelling to cardiff blues for what is must win game for
the welsh outfit
jean baptiste elissalde comes in for the injured toulouse playmaker david
skrela
against harlequins we ll do well to remember last season disaster against
glasgow warned maxime medard of loss that cost toulouse home quarter
final which was ultimately lost away to cardiff blues
it out of the question to look down on them we ll have to grant them some
respect and give everything to impose ourselves because we need win to
qualify
reigning champions leinster currently second in pool behind london irish
host french club brive with the exiles playing away at scarlets
northampton must beat perpignan in pool at home on sunday and then conjure up
win away in limerick against munster if they are to reach the knock out stages
for only the second time
in pool unbeaten biarritz travel to gloucester with newport gwent dragons
taking on glasgow
obama grabs prime role in haiti rescue
washington jan afp
in deploying the full power of the us government and military to deal with
haiti tragedy president barack obama is being driven by acute moral
humanitarian and national security impulses
but as ever domestic critics lie in wait for missteps in washington partisan
swamp meaning the us leader must keep one eye on domestic political hazards as
he takes on an aggressive public and personal role in the crisis
obama has sought to make frequent moral case to americans in televised
statements to explain why his government is mounting massive aid operation
and making an initial million dollar aid and relief pledge
for the sake of our citizens who are in haiti for the sake of the haitian
people who have suffered so much and for the sake of our common humanity we
stand in solidarity with our neighbors to the south obama said thursday
but for the grace of god there we go
the initial american response to the quake in which tens of thousands of people
are feared dead appears so far to be as swift coordinated and aggressive as
obama had demanded
but the true nature of the us effort and sustained relief and reconstruction
program may only emerge months from now when television cameras have moved onto
the next disaster
they acted very quickly with clear understanding of the magnitude of this
natural disaster said peter deshazo former deputy assistant secretary of
state for western hemisphere affairs
rescue and medical teams are already on the ground in haiti us relief flights
are underway and us troops are helping to secure the devastated capital port
au prince and pull people from mountains of rubble
aides said obama had impressed upon his national security team that national and
moral us interests are at stake
first there are americans in haiti any botched handling of their
plight would represent desertion by the government and political disaster
for the administration
second american leadership requires that we demonstrate america commitment
to help those who have been struck by such terrible tragedy particularly in
our own region an obama aide said
and third because of the deep ties between the united states and haiti
washington had clear motives in aiding impoverished haiti even before the
earthquake and its help is more crucial now the caribbean nation has been
visited by unimaginable tragedy
more stable well governed and economically viable haiti would lessen the
threat of mass illegal immigration to us shores and also reduce the problems
from the narcotics trade which transits through the country
post earthquake haiti in the grip of anarchy would be nightmare that haunts
us border immigration and military planners
under ex president bill clinton in the the united states led multi
national force that was ready to invade haiti and topple military rulers who had
seized power in coup that prompted an exodus of haitians by boat
the leaders eventually withdrew but years of political instability violence and
crime followed doing little to alleviate grinding poverty in the tragedy
scarred nation
but experts say that in recent years concerted international effort
involving the un and world powers to build capacity security and good
governance in haiti has made progress
in essence there were already major international efforts underway to assist
haiti said deshazo now with the center for strategic and international
studies
obama leadership role on haiti comes three weeks after he was criticized for
what detractors saw as sluggish initial response to al qaeda bid to down
us jet on christmas day
in this crisis obama has been the dominant messenger though secretary of state
hillary clinton another sure footed political operator has also blanketed
television shows
obama is offering picture of himself as an engaged leader and commander in
chief reaching out to other world powers and building the political case for
swift intervention in haiti
think so far so good said dante scala professor of political science at
the university of new hampshire
disasters define presidencies said scala referring to the botched handling
of hurricane katrina in which dealt former president george bush
sickening political blow
lessons learned now may also be applied later in the obama white house should
it face catastrophic earthquake on its own soil perhaps in california or
another mass terror attack on the us homeland
amid rage at banks new tax proposal evokes mixed reaction
washington jan afp
with anger boiling over at banks proposed new tax on big finance firms drew
mixed reactions with some calling it fair way to recoup bailout costs and
others arguing it will hurt the sector and consumers
president barack obama unveiled the plan thursday saying the new fee on risky
assets of big financial institutions was way to recoup the cost of massive
bailout of the sector than began in
the plan which requires congressional approval would raise billion dollars
over years and could be kept for years to offset the full billion
dollar shortfall now estimated for the troubled asset relief program tarp
we want our money back and we are going to get it obama said adding that his
determination is only heightened when see reports of massive profits and
obscene bonuses at some of the very firms who owe their continued existence to
the american people
some analysts lauded the move
this tax broadly makes sense from both political and policy perspective
said douglas elliott senior brookings institution fellow and former
investment banker
right now the public is extremely angry at bankers and would support measures
up to shooting and then burning them there is strong imperative for
politicians and regulators to show that they are on the public side and not
the banks this is particularly important as banks are about to announce near
record bonus payments which the public will find galling
peter cohan who heads management consulting and venture capital firm and
teaches at babson college also supported the measure even though the banks
that repaid tarp funds would be taxed to pay for government losses elswhere
notably on insurance giant aig
wall street is the primary culprit for the financial crisis and should pick up
these losses especially aig cohan said
that because many wall street banks got back door bailout through aig when
the government made good on the credit default swap payments aig owed the banks
but couldn pay on
cohan said the tax also appropriately applies to the riskiest assets of the
banks and exempt things such as insured bank deposits
this approach would seek to discourage the kind of risk taking that started
this mess and reduce bonuses
the obama administration has repeatedly said it would try to recoup the full
cost of the billion dollar troubled asset relief program tarp which was
used to bail out banks and also tapped to aid crippled automakers
but the financial services roundtable an industry lobby for major banks and
insurance firms opposed the plan calling premature effort to recoup tarp
funds which the industry still has four years to repay
two thirds of the tarp investment from banks has already been repaid with
large profit to the taxpayer said steve bartlett president and chief
executive for the roundtable
this proposed tax will do nothing more than stifle economic recovery and
encumber more pressing concerns such as covering new regulatory costs
mark calabria of the libertarian cato institute called the plan misguided
if the effort is really about deficit reduction then it completely misses the
mark he said
the real outcome of this proposed tax would be to increase consumer banking
costs while reducing the value of bank equity all at time when banks are
already undercapitalized
in congress similar divisions emerged along partisan lines
democratic senator chris dodd who heads key banking panel endorsed the idea
the president has it right said dodd wall street owes great debt to the
american public and we have the right and the obligation to recoup as much money
as we can for the taxpayers
but republican senator john cornyn called it another job killing policy that
makes little economic sense
proposing higher taxes on any one business sector sends the signal to all
businesses and families that they could be next this kind of uncertainty is
what holding back small businesses from hiring cornyn said
obama grabs prime role in haiti rescue
washington jan afp
in deploying the full power of the us government and military to deal with
haiti tragedy president barack obama is being driven by acute moral
humanitarian and national security impulses
but as ever domestic critics lie in wait for missteps in washington partisan
swamp meaning the us leader must keep one eye on domestic political hazards as
he takes on an aggressive public and personal role in the crisis
obama has sought to make frequent moral case to americans in televised
statements to explain why his government is mounting massive aid operation
and making an initial million dollar aid and relief pledge
for the sake of our citizens who are in haiti for the sake of the haitian
people who have suffered so much and for the sake of our common humanity we
stand in solidarity with our neighbors to the south obama said thursday
but for the grace of god there we go
the initial american response to the quake in which tens of thousands of people
are feared dead appears so far to be as swift coordinated and aggressive as
obama had demanded
but the true nature of the us effort and sustained relief and reconstruction
program may only emerge months from now when television cameras have moved onto
the next disaster
they acted very quickly with clear understanding of the magnitude of this
natural disaster said peter deshazo former deputy assistant secretary of
state for western hemisphere affairs
rescue and medical teams are already on the ground in haiti us relief flights
are underway and us troops are helping to secure the devastated capital port
au prince and pull people from mountains of rubble
aides said obama had impressed upon his national security team that national and
moral us interests are at stake
first there are americans in haiti any botched handling of their
plight would represent desertion by the government and political disaster
for the administration
second american leadership requires that we demonstrate america commitment
to help those who have been struck by such terrible tragedy particularly in
our own region an obama aide said
and third because of the deep ties between the united states and haiti
washington had clear motives in aiding impoverished haiti even before the
earthquake and its help is more crucial now the caribbean nation has been
visited by unimaginable tragedy
more stable well governed and economically viable haiti would lessen the
threat of mass illegal immigration to us shores and also reduce the problems
from the narcotics trade which transits through the country
post earthquake haiti in the grip of anarchy would be nightmare that haunts
us border immigration and military planners
under ex president bill clinton in the the united states led multi
national force that was ready to invade haiti and topple military rulers who had
seized power in coup that prompted an exodus of haitians by boat
the leaders eventually withdrew but years of political instability violence and
crime followed doing little to alleviate grinding poverty in the tragedy
scarred nation
but experts say that in recent years concerted international effort
involving the un and world powers to build capacity security and good
governance in haiti has made progress
in essence there were already major international efforts underway to assist
haiti said deshazo now with the center for strategic and international
studies
obama leadership role on haiti comes three weeks after he was criticized for
what detractors saw as sluggish initial response to al qaeda bid to down
us jet on christmas day
in this crisis obama has been the dominant messenger though secretary of state
hillary clinton another sure footed political operator has also blanketed
television shows
obama is offering picture of himself as an engaged leader and commander in
chief reaching out to other world powers and building the political case for
swift intervention in haiti
think so far so good said dante scala professor of political science at
the university of new hampshire
disasters define presidencies said scala referring to the botched handling
of hurricane katrina in which dealt former president george bush
sickening political blow
lessons learned now may also be applied later in the obama white house should
it face catastrophic earthquake on its own soil perhaps in california or
another mass terror attack on the us homeland
google reclaims don be evil mantle
san francisco jan afp
in drawing battle line with chinese internet censors google is reclaiming
don be evil mantle lost in global business arena where profits routinely
trump morals
while critics challenge whether google motivation is altruistic the search
engine seized the high ground by declaring it will not filter query results in
china even at the price of being shut out of the booming market
do think good part of this is they want to do the right thing silicon
valley analyst rob enderle of enderle group said of google but none of these
decisions are simple
google announced on tuesday that it would stop bowing to chinese internet
censors and could pull out of the world largest online market of million
users
internet rights activists are hoping that such stand by an internet company of
google stature will reverse the practice of technology firms siding with
government censors as price of admission to china
do think that google is bit idealistic they have streak there said
colin maclay managing director of the berkman center for internet and society
at harvard university
they also have streak of arrogance and of pride and they have big streak
of strategy they re really smart at least thus far they ve come out smelling
like rose
the new stand on china hearkens back to days after google was launched in
when the california firm founded by college students sergey brin and larry page
coined an unofficial motto of don be evil
an our philosophy page at google corporate website on thursday outlined
principles including you can make money without doing evil
google saintly image was tarnished in when it launched self censored
version of its search engine in china to appease the communist regime
it has been further impugned by controversies involving tracking people online
behavior to target advertising indexing copyrighted works such as news stories
and trying to digitize all the books in the world
google believes that one of its asset values is righteousness said gartner
vice president and analyst whit andrews
it believes if it was not righteous it would not make as much money as it
does
google announced thursday it is donating million dollars and internet
technology to relief organizations on the ground in haiti to help in the
aftermath of deadly magnitude earthquake
during recent international climate talks in copenhagen google unveiled free
tool for monitoring deforestation around the world google also provides an
online service that lets people track the spread of flu viruses
the company has also offered free tool that allows users to control energy
consumption in homes and an initiative to cheaper renewable energy
percent program at google allows workers to devote one paid day weekly to
outside causes
google executives agonized over the decision to make compromises to get into the
china market
at the time the company argued short term sacrifice would result in long term
good by opening china up to an internet lifestyle of limitless information
google went in saying we re going to do this responsibly and hopefully we can
do more good than harm maclay said
now they are annoyed they were pissed off at being jerked around whole
bunch and they don like it totally respect their decision to depart
china based cyber spies struck google and at least other unidentified firms
in apparent bids to steal intellectual property and hack into the email accounts
of rights activists around the world according to security experts
google is establishing this as moment when they can draw line andrews
said
they got hacked even though they censored themselves against their corporate
ethos
the short term cost to google is relatively small according to analysts google
has been losing ground to chinese search engines and has no major investments in
facilities there
the move makes google champion in western countries where it earns the bulk of
its money and could make the company less tempting target for anti trust
regulators
us political leaders have praised google for defending internet freedom in
china
if you are the hero of the current administration no one wants to be the
bureaucrat taking that hero down enderle said it would be impolitic for
someone to go after google at this time
google could formally exit china then make deal for partner to deliver its
search services in that country
if china came to point in the next to years where censorship ends even
with slow retreat google stand will be remembered andrews said
ruined haitian hospital now doubles as morgue
port au prince jan afp
hundreds of bodies lay rotting outside haiti devastated central hospital
thursday transforming place of healing into an improvised morgue for the
dead
without protective gloves but armed with alcohol dipped rags to dampen the
stench of putrefying bodies waves of distraught haitians moved from corpse to
corpse in search of loved ones who have gone missing in the disaster
growing army of bodies have been laid out in the garden of the facility
some mutilated and half clothed caked in dirt and surrounded by flies
each body is examined by succession of frantic survivors hoping to recover
missing brother daughter or mother for dignified burial
finally found my cousin said jean lionel valentin pointing to body
covered by simple white sheet
but now nobody wants to help me carry her taxis are trying to charge me
fortune and going to have to again leave her here he said
tuesday magnitude quake left much of haiti in ruins but was especially
destructive in the capital port au prince claiming massive but still unknown
number dead believed to be in the tens of thousands
the international red cross estimated that between and people were
killed and three million people third of haiti population affected by
the earthquake
agony is evident on the faces and in the voices of those who survived and those
who mourn loved ones who did not
what is man that you are mindful of him said one distraught woman
florentine mechanically reciting passage of scripture from the book of
psalms
god must be furious with us because he has struck us with such force she
moaned barely managing to suppress nausea as she went from corpse to corpse in
search of her missing sister
the bodies of entire families are laid out here in the hospital patio which has
been transformed into an open air morgue while the building itself was so badly
damaged that most of it is no longer usable
please call for help ask anyone from anywhere in the world to come and
rescue us desperate survivors outside the facility pleaded to any foreigner
they see
every half hour local police van pulls up and adds more cadavers to the ever
growing mass of bodies
didn lose anyone in the earthquake but crying for those who did and
for my country said alius luc an electrical engineer who accompanied
friend to the hospital
how will we ever emerge from this he said in despair
nurse surveying the scene expressed concern meanwhile about the risk of
disease and infection from the rotting mound of bodies
we have to bury the dead to prevent the city from turning into huge focal
point of infection
peru prime minister said that around bodies have been buried so far in
the haitian capital
what little medical treatment is being afforded the sick and injured is provided
by two overtaxed physicians who valiantly have treated scores of patients
some lying on the bare ground others on mattresses recovered from the hospital
doctor doctor the injured patients murmured each time one of the overtaxed
physicians comes near
some of the injured end up dying in the arms of horrified loved ones from loss
of blood result of their untreated wounds
we give them tranquilizers and hydrate them with solution to stem
dehydration said doctor givenson foite who said he has been completely
overwhelmed without sufficient supplies or staff to attend to staggering
number of injured who have arrived seeking medical treatment
he added that members of the haiti medical profession have not been spared in
the calamity
some doctors were killed and the nursing school collapsed he said
the doctors patch up the patients as best they can injecting some of the
wounded with anesthetics and tranquilizers rescued from the hospital pharmacy
we suture some of the injured but we don have the means for the moment to
treat those with more serious injuries another doctor on the scene lamented
haven even seen another doctor much less foreign one said the other
doctor surgeon at the scene
we have nothing to perform operations with and nothing works he said there
are lot of people in dire need of amputations to save their lives the
exhausted physician said
they keep telling me that humanitarian aid is coming he said it clear
that it hasn gotten here yet
quake shakes southern philippines
manila jan afp
magnitude quake shook the southern philippines on friday causing hanging
objects to sway but causing no damage the government seismology office said
there was no immediate tsunami warning but scientists cautioned there may be
aftershocks
the quake struck at am gmt thursday and was centered kilometres
miles south of the southern city of davao on mindanano island at depth of
kilometres
the philippines sits on the pacific ring of fire where continental plates meet
causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity
