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Archive for April, 2009

KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Lawyers from the Pentagon’s legal office will meet with families of Sudanese Guantanamo detainees to discuss how they might be released, a Sudanese foreign ministry official said Friday.

The U.S. delegation arrived in the Sudanese capital on Thursday as the diplomatic detente between Khartoum and the new administration in Washington is showing further signs of a thaw. U.S. Senator John Kerry and U.S. Special Envoy Scott Gration have both visited Sudan this month.

“They are here to collect information for their (the prisoners’) civil defense to facilitate their release,” said Mohammed Omar, who heads the consulates and expatriates section at the foreign ministry.

“They will also meet concerned Sudanese parties from the interior and justice ministries as well as the security and intelligence apparatus and a representative from the lawyers’ syndicate,” Omar told Reuters.

Omar said the delegation would remain in Sudan until Wednesday. U.S. embassy officials in Khartoum have declined to comment on the visit.

Since taking office in January, U.S. President Barack Obama has ordered the closing down of the prison camp at the Guantanamo military base in Cuba.

Washington has had tense relations with the Islamist government of Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who came to power in Africa’s largest country in a 1989 coup.

The United States imposed economic sanctions on Sudan in 1997 and labeled it a “state sponsor of terrorism.”

Ties were strained further by the conflict in Darfur, which both Obama and his predecessor George W. Bush have called genocide, a description Sudan’s government rejects.

Bashir has however struck a more conciliatory tone in his recent comments on the United States. Obama has said the United States will seek a way to restart talks between rebels in Darfur and the Khartoum government.

(Reporting by Yara Bayoumy; Editing by Giles Elgood)

Reported by The AP Associated Press

UNDERHILL, Vt. – The unassuming ship captain who escaped the clutches of Somali pirates said upon his triumphant arrival home Friday that he was just an ordinary seaman doing his job, not a hero, and he praised the Navy for its daring rescue mission.

“They’re the superheroes,” Richard Phillips said. “They’re the titans. They’re impossible men doing an impossible job, and they did the impossible with me. … They’re at the point of the sword every day, doing an impossible job every day.”

Phillips was saved on Easter Sunday, when Navy snipers killed three pirates with three simultaneous nighttime gunshots.

“I’m not a hero, the military is,” he said, appearing healthy and invigorated at a brief airport news conference shortly after his arrival.

Phillips’ wife, Andrea, and their adult children, Daniel and Mariah, went on board the corporate jet to greet him at the Burlington airport. Phillips, wearing a cap from the USS Bainbridge destroyer, which rescued him, waved to a small, cheering crowd and hugged his daughter as he walked inside a building for a private reunion.

He later emerged to praise his fellow crew members of the Maersk Alabama cargo ship.

“We did it,” he said. “We did what we were trained to do.”

When Phillips was rescued, his arms were bound. On Friday, abrasions and scabs could be seen on the insides of his forearms. Asked what the high-seas hostage experience was like, he said: “Indescribable, indescribable.”

The captain, who spoke for just a couple of minutes, was to be feted later at his home in nearby Underhill with his favorite beer and a homemade meal.

Police escort
After his airport appearance, Phillips, 53, was driven home in a dark sport utility vehicle, a Vermont State Police cruiser leading the way into the small rural community where he lives, past freshly tilled farm fields, a pen with spring lambs in it and clusters of neighbors who came out of their houses to wave as he passed.

He doffed the baseball cap and waved it out the window as he passed Chamberlin’s Garden & Farm Market, where four cars sat idling, their drivers honking their horns.

Arriving at his small white farmhouse, he found it festooned with ribbons, “Welcome Home” balloons and signs, with a flag-waving contingent of about 25 people standing on the other side of the road, cheering.

“To be able to come home, safe and sound, from such a harrowing experience … oh, how Andrea’s heart must be filled with joy right now,” said Kathy Wright, of neighboring Jericho, a friend who waved red, white and blue pompoms when Phillips’ vehicle pulled into the driveway.

There was no immediate plan for a parade or public celebration, owing to the family’s status as somewhat reluctant celebrities.

“We’re respecting the family’s wishes and waiting to see what they’d like to do,” said Kari Papelbon, the town’s zoning administrator.

Yellow ribbons of hope
But all around town, the yellow ribbons that came to symbolize Underhill’s hope during the five days of Phillips’ captivity fluttered in a spring breeze, with lots of late additions as his arrival drew near.

There was a “Welcome Home Captain” sign in front of the Stitch In Time yarn shop, a “Welcome Home Captain Phillips” sign in front of Browns River Middle School and a “Welcome Home Captain Phillips” tar paper sign affixed to a red barn across the street from the family’s home.

Just as telling were a pair of posterboard signs on the fence in front of Phillips’ home.

“Thank You for Your Prayers,” said one.

“Please Give Us Some Time as a Family,” said another, a polite message to members of the media and anyone else hoping to get close.

Police also had kept people away from the airport. Still, two women inspired by the bravery of Phillips, who gave himself to the pirates as a hostage to save his Maersk Alabama crew, sat in the airport’s parking lot with a sign to welcome him home: “You’re a good man, Captain Phillips,” it read.

‘He’s a good man’
“We’re so, so proud of him,” said Lynn Coeby, of Ripton, alongside her mother, Eleanor Coeby. “We think that he has such character and morals and ethics to potentially put his life at risk for his crew, and we wanted to be here to say we think he’s a good man.”

Reorted by AP Associated Press

TEHRAN, Iran – Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Saturday she is “deeply disappointed” by Iran’s sentencing of an American journalist in closed-door trial.

A lawyer for journalist Roxana Saberi said the 31-year-old dual American-Iranian citizen was convicted of spying and sentenced to eight years in prison.

Clinton said in a statement the U.S. is working with Swiss diplomats in Iran to get details about the court’s decision and to ensure Saberi’s well-being. Clinton said the U.S. will “vigorously raise our concerns” with Tehran. She said Saberi was in Iran to learn more about her cultural heritage.

Saberi, a dual American-Iranian citizen, was arrested in late January and initially accused of working without press credentials. But earlier this month, an Iranian judge leveled a far more serious allegation, charging her with spying for the United States.

She appeared before an Iranian court behind closed doors on Monday in an unusually swift one-day trial. The Fargo, North Dakota, native had been living in Iran for six years and had worked as a freelance reporter for several news organizations including National Public Radio and the British Broadcasting Corp.

“Saberi has been sentenced to eight years in jail. I’ll definitely appeal the verdict,” lawyer Abdolsamad Khorramshahi told The Associated Press.

The United States has called the charges against Saberi baseless and has demanded her release, and the conviction and prison sentence could put strains on efforts to improve ties.

President Barack Obama has said it wants to engage Iran in talks on its nuclear program and other issues — a departure from the tough talk of the Bush administration.

Iran has been mostly lukewarm to the idea, but on Thursday Iran’s hard-line president gave the clearest signal yet that the Islamic Republic was also willing to start a new relationship with Washington.

U.S.: Jailing not helpful
In a speech Wednesday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran was preparing new proposals aimed at breaking an impasse with the West over its nuclear program.

But it was uncertain how Washington would react to Saberi’s conviction. On Thursday, the State Department said Saberi’s jailing was not helpful and that Iran would gain U.S. good will if it “responded in a positive way” to the case.

The United States severed diplomatic relations with Iran after its 1979 Islamic revolution and takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

Human rights groups have repeatedly criticized Iran for arresting journalists and suppressing freedom of speech. The government has arrested several Iranian-Americans in the past few years, citing alleged attempts to overthrow its Islamic government through what it calls a “soft revolution.” But they were never put on trial and were eventually released from prison.

Iran has released few details about the charges against Saberi. Iranian officials initially said she had been arrested for working in the Islamic Republic without press credentials and she had told her father in a phone conversation that she was arrested after buying a bottle of wine.

An Iranian investigative judge involved in the case charged that Saberi was passing classified information to U.S. intelligence services.

Her parents, who traveled to Iran from their home in Fargo in a bid to help win their daughter’s release, could not immediately be reached for comment on Saturday.

Source Timesonline: Sheera Frenkel in Jerusalem

The Israeli military is preparing itself  to launch a massive aerial assault on Iran’s nuclear facilities within days of being given the go-ahead by its new government.

Among the steps taken to ready Israeli forces for what would be a risky raid requiring pinpoint aerial strikes are the acquisition of three Airborne Warning and Control (AWAC) aircraft and regional missions to simulate the attack.

Two nationwide civil defence drills will help to prepare the public for the retaliation that Israel could face.

“Israel wants to know that if its forces were given the green light they could strike at Iran in a matter of days, even hours. They are making preparations on every level for this eventuality. The message to Iran is that the threat is not just words,” one senior defence official told The Times.

Officials believe that Israel could be required to hit more than a dozen targets, including moving convoys. The sites include Natanz, where thousands of centrifuges produce enriched uranium; Esfahan, where 250 tonnes of gas is stored in tunnels; and Arak, where a heavy water reactor produces plutonium.

“We would not make the threat [against Iran] without the force to back it. There has been a recent move, a number of on-the-ground preparations, that indicate Israel’s willingness to act,” said another official from Israel’s intelligence community.

He added that it was unlikely that Israel would carry out the attack without receiving at least tacit approval from America, which has struck a more reconciliatory tone in dealing with Iran under its new administration.

Port of  Spain,  April 17, 2009 -  President Obama shook hands with Venezuelan Presiden Hugo Chavez  during an impromptu meeting with the anti-U.S. leader at the Summit of the Americas.

“I greeted Bush with this hand eight years ago; I want to be your friend,” Chavez told Obama, according to a Venezuelan presidential press office statement.

Chavez, a staunch ally of Cuba, had became one of the Bush’s administrations most strident critics. In March, he called Obama at best an “ignoramus” after the U.S. leader said Chavez obstructed progress in Latin America.

 Ties between Washington and Caracas have frayed under Chavez, who often accuses U.S. officials of trying to topple him. Chavez expelled the U.S. envoy to Caracas in September in a dispute over U.S. activities in Venezuelan ally Bolivia.

 Former soldier Chavez says socialist revolution can counter U.S. free-market policies in South America and he has become a standard-bearer for anti-U.S. sentiment in the region. But Washington has branded him a threat to regional stability. (Reporting by Patrick Markey; Editing by Eric Walsh)

Foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — were reported on 341,180 properties in March, 46% more than a year ago and 17% more than February’s total, according to the latest report from RealtyTrac Inc., a foreclosure listing firm. (RealtyTrac is a partner of MSN Real Estate.) Read more about  Foreclosures surge back with a vengeance

A former top official in the administration of President George W. Bush called the publication of the memos “unbelievable.”

“It’s damaging because these are techniques that work, and by Obama’s action today, we are telling the terrorists what they are,” the official said. “We have laid it all out for our enemies. This is totally unnecessary. … Publicizing the techniques does grave damage to our national security by ensuring they can never be used again — even in a ticking-time- bomb scenario where thousands or even millions of American lives are at stake.”  Read More

In a one-in-a-million event, Scudere and his fellow passengers survived the plane’s river ditching on Jan. 15, and he walked away with nothing worse than wet clothes. But he could not escape an everyday event that has claimed millions of other victims: He lost his job and found himself questioning his self worth.

Now he’s a 48-year-old unemployed attorney. Like the Biblical Job, who lost and gained everything, Scudere searches for an elusive meaning in suffering and redemption. He’s grateful, a bit angry and reflective. “I don’t feel sorry for myself,” he said. “It just shows the randomness of life, and the inevitability of loss. You can lose, and yet you can still be preserved. I lost my job, and yet I have my life.”

Frank Scudere, seen with his wife, Johannah, wasn’t injured in the flight that went into the Hudson River but was then laid off from the giant law firm Skadden, Arps. ”I feel displaced. Who am I? My identity as an attorney — that’s gone.”

Find Employee Rights lawyers at Locatealawyer.com

General Growth Properties Inc., owner of some of the nation’s most prominent malls, including the Glendale Galleria, filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors Thursday, marking the biggest real estate bankruptcy in U.S. history.

The filing, anticipated for months, comes as cash-strapped consumers turn away from shopping as a favorite pastime and the role of the mall in American culture is losing its charm.

No One Wants To File For Bankruptcy But It May Be The Smartest Choice.

The real estate investment trust amassed $27 billion in debt during an ill-timed acquisition spree that turned the Chicago-based company with Iowa roots into the nation’s second-largest shopping mall company, behind Simon Property Group Inc.

But, the sudden downturn in the retail industry and the tight credit markets hurt General Growth’s attempt to restructure its debt and, after months of winning extensions, the company ultimately failed to convince enough debt holders to give it more to time.

General Growth said it intends to continue operating all of its shopping centers during the bankruptcy process. Those in Southern California include the Burbank Town Center, Fallbrook Center in West Hills, Northridge Fashion Center and the SouthBay Pavilion in Carson.

“While the retail environment didn’t help them, what did them in is they used way too much debt,” said Jim Sullivan, managing director of Green Street Advisors, a real estate investment research company in Newport Beach, Calif.

The bankruptcy filing could take two different paths, Sullivan said. General Growth could remain largely intact and restructure its debt in court. Or the mall operator cold be forced sell scores of malls, allowing its rivals to acquire trophy shopping centers–such as Tysons Galleria in McLean, Va., Faneuil Hall in Boston, Water Tower Place in Chicago and the South Street Seaport in Manhattan–on the cheap and the closing of less desirable malls.

Bankruptcy by the real estate investment trust had been widely anticipated since the fall, when the company warned it might have to seek protection if it didn’t get lenders to rework its debt terms. Efforts to negotiate with its unsecured and secured creditors ultimately fell short late last month.

“While we have worked tirelessly in the past several months to address our maturing debts, the collapse of the credit markets has made it impossible for us to refinance maturing debt outside of Chapter 11,” Chief Executive Adam Metz said in a statement.

Chapter 11 protection typically allows a company to hold off creditors and operate as normal while it develops a financial reorganization plan.

The company had about $29.6 billion in assets and more than $27 billion in liabilities as of Dec. 31, according to documents filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan.

The company noted that some subsidiaries, including its third-party management business and joint ventures, were not part of the bankruptcy petition. General Growth has a stake in more than 200 malls across 44 states. It included 158 of those shopping centers in the bankruptcy filing.

General Growth said it intends to reorganize with the aim of cutting its corporate debt and extending the terms of its mortgage maturities.

The company said it received a financing commitment from Pershing Square Capital Management LP of about $375 million that General Growth expects to use to operate during the bankruptcy process. Activist investor William Ackman runs Pershing Square, a New York hedge fund that has been building a stake in General Growth in recent months.

John Bucksbaum, a second-generation member of the family that founded the company, stepped down as chief executive late last year in the wake of an escalating crisis. The prominent Chicago family, which had much of its wealth tied up in the company, has seen billions of dollars of its fortune erased.

smjones@tribune.com

Associated Press contributed to this report

According to Reuters a new Afghan law that has drawn Western condemnation for restricting women’s rights does not allow marital rape as its critics claim, but lets men refuse to feed wives who deny them sex, the cleric behind it says. Read more