"Executed" corpses dumped in restive Syrian city

1 of 13. Demonstrators protest against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad after Friday prayers in Hula near Homs, January 27, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Handout

By Alistair Lyon

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The bodies of 17 men previously held by Syrian security forces have been found in the city of Hama, activists said on Saturday, victims of a deadly struggle between President Bashar al-Assad and those determined to topple him.

Turkey was due to meet Gulf Arab states later in the day to reinforce support for an Arab call for Assad to quit. The Arab League and Western countries are pushing for a U.N. Security Council resolution on Syria, resisted by Assad's ally Russia.

Elsewhere in Syria, security forces firing mortars at the northeastern town of Quwaira killed an infant, activists said.

An oil pipeline was also set ablaze in the town at dawn, although it was not immediately clear if this was the work of saboteurs or the result of firing by security forces. The pipeline supplies crude oil to the Banias refinery.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said troops were battling rebels in the central town of Rastan and that security forces had killed a man in the southern province of Deraa and another at a checkpoint in Harasta, near Damascus.

Activists also reporting fighting between armored forces and rebels at the edges of the Damascus suburb of Irbin.

The reported killings in Hama occurred during a military offensive this week that intensified a five-month-old crackdown on the conservative Sunni Muslim city, where Assad's father crushed an armed Islamist revolt in 1982 and killed thousands.

"They were killed execution-style, mostly with one bullet to the head. Iron chains that had tied them were left on their legs as a message to the people to stop resisting," Abu al-Walid, an activist in the city, told Reuters by telephone.

Another activist said the bodies, their hands tied with plastic wire and some with their legs chained, were dumped in the streets of five Hama neighborhoods on Thursday evening.

Turkey, hosting a meeting with Gulf Arab foreign ministers later in the day, urged Syria's leadership to comply with an Arab League transition plan that calls on Assad to step down.

"We are siding with the Syrian people and their legitimate demands," Turkish President Abdullah Gul was also quoted as saying by the United Arab Emirates newspaper al-Bayan.

MORE SYRIANS FLEE CONFLICT

Turkish officials say the number of Syrians seeking sanctuary in Turkey has risen in the past six weeks, with 50 to 60 arriving daily, taking the total living in refugee camps to nearly 9,600 from about 7,000 previously.

More than 6,000 Syrian refugees have fled to Lebanon.

Turkey, which spent years rebuilding relations with Syria, turned against Assad after he ignored its advice to enact reforms to calm what began in March as a peaceful uprising against his rule, inspired by Arab revolts elsewhere.

Diplomatic pressure has failed so far to persuade Damascus to halt a violent crackdown on what the government says are armed terrorists implementing a foreign-inspired conspiracy.

The United Nations, which estimated in mid-December that more than 5,000 people had been killed, says it can no longer keep track of the death toll. The government says insurgents have killed more than 2,000 soldiers and policemen.

The U.N. Security Council discussed a new European-Arab draft resolution on Friday aimed at halting the bloodshed.

Russia, which joined China in vetoing a previous Western draft resolution in October and which has since promoted its own draft, said the European-Arab version was unacceptable in its present form but added that it was willing to "engage" on it.

Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin criticized the draft, which endorses the Arab transition plan.

Moscow, he said, wants a Syrian-led political process, not "an Arab League-imposed outcome of a political process that has not yet taken place" or Libyan-style "regime change."

Britain and France said they hope to put the draft to a vote next week after Arab League Secretary General Nabil Elaraby and the Qatari prime minister brief the council on Syria on Tuesday.

The draft, obtained by Reuters, calls for a "political transition" in Syria. While not calling for U.N. sanctions against Damascus, it says the council could "adopt further measures" if Syria does not comply with the resolution.

Russia and Iran are among Syria's few remaining allies.

With Prime Minister Vladimir Putin facing the biggest protests of his 12-year rule and planning to return to the Kremlin in a March presidential vote, Russia wants to avoid approval of any regime change engineered from outside.

(Additional reporting by Khaled Yacoub Oweis in Amman, Joseph Logan in Dubai, Steve Gutterman in Moscow, Louis Charbonneau at the United Nations and Simon Cameron-Moore in Istanbul; editing by Tim Pearce)

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5:54 PM | 0 comments

Putin's Russia set against regime change in Syria

By Steve Gutterman

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian warnings to the West and its Arab allies to keep their hands off Syria hide a slight chance for compromise on a U.N. resolution aimed at halting bloodshed in the country, but a demand for President Bashar al-Assad to step aside could be a deal-breaker.

With Prime Minister Vladimir Putin facing the biggest protests of his 12-year rule and planning to return to the Kremlin in a March presidential vote, Russia wants to avoid stamping its approval on any regime change engineered from outside.

Moscow has been busy drawing "red lines" as it comes under pressure to stop shielding its old ally Assad and to use its power as a veto-wielding U.N. Security Council member to push Damascus into ending the crackdown which has killed thousands of civilians.

Russia has erected a wall of noise, emphasizing it opposes sanctions against Syria - a major customer for its arms - and making clear it will block any attempt for the Council to endorse military intervention.

The latest test of Russia's resolve, a new draft resolution backed by Western and Arab powers led by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, does not call for new sanctions or threaten military action - but it does call for Assad to cede power.

The draft says the Council supports an Arab League plan "to facilitate a political transition leading to a democratic, plural political system ... including through the transfer of power from the President and transparent and fair elections."

Moscow could potentially be appeased if the draft's supporters remove the specific reference to the transfer of power by Assad or add a clause ruling out military intervention.

However, it may also demand a clear statement that Assad's more violent opponents share blame for the bloodshed. Russia would also be pleased by the removal of a clause calling for "further measures" if Syria does not comply swiftly, wording that to Moscow smacks of sanctions.

Gennady Gatilov, a deputy foreign minister, said on Friday that Russia would not support a demand for Assad's resignation and warned that a rushed vote would be doomed to failure, indicating Moscow could veto the draft in its current form.

Putin has said little publicly on Syria for months, letting diplomats do the talking, and President Dmitry Medvedev is formally responsible for foreign policy.

But Putin, who is expected to win a six-year Kremlin term despite a drop in popularity from previous highs, is widely believed to be guiding Russia's Syria strategy.

Russia and China used a double veto in October to block a Western-backed draft resolution condemning Assad's government for its crackdown on pro-democracy protesters and opponents, which the United Nations says has killed more than 5,000 people.

Western diplomats say Russia might find it difficult to veto a resolution they say is simply intended to provide support for the Arab League, whose efforts to end the Syrian violence have generally been welcomed by Moscow.

REGIME CHANGE

But Sergei Markov, a university vice president and former lawmaker with Putin's party, predicted Russia would also veto the new Western-Arab resolution if its call for Assad to give up power remains. "For Russia, this is intervention in domestic politics and part of a strategy of regime change," he said.

Russia has adamantly warned the West it would not allow a repeat in Syria of last year's events in Libya, where NATO military intervention helped rebels to drive longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi from power.

Moscow had let the NATO air operation go ahead by abstaining in the U.N. vote that authorized it, but then accused the alliance of overstepping its mandate to protect civilians.

Putin has angrily likened the Libyan resolution to "medieval calls for crusades," and last month suggested Gaddafi was hounded to his death with the help of NATO special forces and U.S. pilotless drones.

Russia has plenty of pragmatic reasons to resist political change in Syria, one of Moscow's strongest footholds in the Middle East since the Soviet era. Syria has been a major client for Russian arms sales and hosts a naval maintenance facility on its Mediterranean coast that is the only base outside the former Soviet Union for Russia's shrunken navy.

More importantly, analysts say, Putin needs to be seen to be standing up to the West and making clear that the internal affairs of sovereign states, including Russia, are off-limits to foreign interference.

The call for Assad to step aside is particularly objectionable for a leader who, since coming to power in 2000, has answered U.S. and European charges that he has rolled back democracy with accusations of Western meddling and told his citizens to guard against efforts to foment revolution in Russia.

PUTIN'S POLITICS

"For Putin, the language is unacceptable, because it sets a precedent," said Vladimir Frolov, president of LEFF Group, a Moscow-based government relations firm.

To many Russians, he said, "Putin would look inconsistent, weak and stupid if he were to authorize the Foreign Ministry to support that. He's been saying the opposite to his supporters on the stump."

Putin has turned to anti-Western rhetoric repeatedly during his campaign for the March 4 vote.

Facing criticism over a December parliamentary vote that many Russians suspect was rigged to favor the ruling party, Putin accused the United States of stirring up a persistent street protest movement that have undermined his authority.

He told students in Siberia on Wednesday that the United States "wants to control everything" and seeks to make other countries its "vassals," not allies.

Russia's warning on Friday indicated that it will seek to remove the reference to the transfer of power. But its insistence that details of a political settlement be worked out in talks seemed to leave little room for compromise.

Russia might be more pliable on other aspects of a resolution if it clearly rules out military intervention, said Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of the journal Russia in Global Affairs.

But he said Western and Arab states were unlikely to put recourse to the use of force entirely out of reach or bend far enough on the call for Assad to give up power to satisfy Moscow.

With Arab states such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar determined to get Assad out of power and Russia opposed, he said, "I cannot really see some resolution that could be agreed by all."

"This is not Libya, it's a completely different situation."

(editing by David Stamp)

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1:29 PM | 0 comments

Fading Gingrich attacks Romney in ad

1 of 2. U.S. Republican presidential candidate and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich speaks during the Hispanic Leadership Network conference in Doral, Florida January 27, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Shannon Stapleton

By Jane Sutton

MIAMI (Reuters) - Newt Gingrich struggled to regain momentum in the Republican presidential race on Friday as two new polls showed him falling behind rival Mitt Romney, who was seen as the winner of the final debate before the Florida primary.

The White House contenders courted Florida's sizable Hispanic vote, many of them Cubans, with appearances on Friday at the Hispanic Leadership Network, where Romney received an unusually warm reception and the reaction to Gingrich was more sedate.

Bouncing back after losing the South Carolina primary to Gingrich on Saturday, Romney had an 8-percentage point lead over him in a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday. A Quinnipiac University poll gave him a 9-percentage point edge.

The Reuters/Ipsos online poll gave Romney 41 percent and Gingrich 33 percent ahead of Saturday's contest.

That margin is similar to three polls released on Thursday that all showed Romney taking control of the battle in Florida, where the former Massachusetts governor enjoys a financial and organizational advantage over Gingrich.

Romney battered the former House of Representatives speaker in two debates this week, wounding him in the same format that has helped fuel Gingrich's campaign.

"With the debates now over, Gingrich will need some other way to reverse the tide that appears to be going against him," Quinnipiac University pollster Peter Brown said.

Tuesday's Florida primary is the fourth contest in the state-by-state battle for the Republican nomination to challenge President Barack Obama, a Democrat, in the November 6 U.S. election. Romney won in New Hampshire and former Senator Rick Santorum won the first contest in Iowa.

Romney repeatedly attacked Gingrich at Thursday's debate in Florida, scoring points on immigration, candidates' finances and even lunar exploration.

"That was Romney on Red Bull," Republican strategist Ron Bonjean said. "You could tell Newt was tired, he's carrying a heavy load. He was counting on pure momentum to carry him through Florida, and that momentum has stopped."

At a campaign event in Cape Canaveral, Florida, Romney reminded the crowd of his debate performance.

"How about that debate last night? Wasn't that fun?" Romney asked. "I've had the fun of two debates where I had to stand up and battle, and battling was fun."

'CUBA WILL BE FREE'

An energized Romney, whom Gingrich has described as the most anti-immigrant candidate in the Republican race, won several standing ovations from the Hispanic crowd in Miami earlier on Friday.

"There is a time coming soon when Cuba will be free," Romney told them, adding "America can't sit back" in dealing with the island nation off the coast of Florida.

Gingrich received a much quieter response, once again mocking Romney's call for "self-deportation" of illegal immigrants as "a fantasy. It's not a solution."

Gingrich said the concept might work for younger illegal immigrants who had been in the United States a short time, but not for older immigrants with deep family ties. They should be allowed to apply for citizenship through local councils similar to draft boards, he said.

A Florida win for Romney would put him in a strong position to capture the nomination as the primary map tilts in his favor in February with contests in seven states where he has the potential for strong showings.

Next up on February 4 is Nevada, where Romney won with 51 percent of the vote during his failed 2008 presidential bid. On February 7 Minnesota and Colorado hold caucuses and Missouri holds a primary. Gingrich did not make the ballot in Missouri.

Four of the states with February contests - Nevada, Maine, Colorado and Minnesota - use caucus systems, which often require greater organization to rally voter turnout. That could help Romney take advantage of his superior financial and staff resources.

On February 28, Michigan and Arizona hold primaries. Romney was raised in Michigan, where his father was a governor and car executive.

A new Gingrich television ad in Florida asked: "What kind of man would mislead, distort and deceive just to win an election?"

"This man would be Mitt Romney," the ad's narrator said.

Romney's camp said the sharp tone from Gingrich was a sign he was desperate to distract from his own record as House speaker, where he faced an ethics probe, and as a consultant with mortgage giant Freddie Mac.

"It is laughable to see lectures on honesty coming from a paid influence peddler who suffered an unprecedented ethics reprimand, was forced to pay a $300,000 penalty, and resigned in disgrace at the hands of his own party," Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul said.

(Additional reporting by Ros Krasny; writing by John Whitesides; editing by Alistair Bell and Mohammad Zargham)

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8:51 AM | 0 comments

Salvage crews suspend work on capsized ship

By Emilio Parodi

GIGLIO, Italy Jan 28 (Reuters) - Salvage crews preparing to pump thousands of tonnes of diesel fuel and oil from the wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise ship off the Italian coast suspended work on Saturday after heavy seas made conditions unsafe, officials said.

A barge carrying pumping equipment that was attached to the capsized ship was withdrawn although work may be resumed in the afternoon, depending on conditions.

"The wind conditions and waves of more than a metre have forced us to interrupt work but we'll start up again when conditions improve," said Antonino Corsini, one of the emergency services divers working with Dutch salvage company SMIT.

Despite the interruption the search continued for bodies on the half-submerged vessel, which lies in about 20 metres of water on a rock shelf close to the island of Giglio off the Tuscan coast.

Divers found the body of a woman on Saturday, bringing the total number of known dead to 17.

But with no hope of finding survivors, the focus has switched to preventing an environmental disaster in Giglio, a popular holiday island in a marine nature reserve.

Before the work was suspended, crews were installing valves to help pump out six of the ship's fuel tanks, which contain around half of the more than 2,300 tonnes of diesel.

Pumping, originally expected to begin on Saturday, is expected to be delayed until at least Sunday. The process of extracting all the fuel is expected to take at least 28 days, officials have said.

The Concordia, a 290-metre long floating resort carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew, sank more than two weeks ago after it ran into a rock which tore a hole in its hull.

The accident, expected to create the most expensive maritime insurance claim ever, has triggered a legal battle which has seen U.S. and Italian lawyers preparing class action and individual suits against the operator, Costa Cruises.

In a bid to limit the fallout, Costa, a unit of Carnival Corp , the world's largest cruise ship operator, has offered the more than 3,000 passengers $14,500 each in compensation on condition they drop any legal action.

The Concordia's captain, Francesco Schettino, is under house arrest, suspected of causing the accident by steering too close to shore and faces charges of multiple manslaughter and abandoning ship before the evacuation was complete.

The ship's first officer, Ciro Ambrosio, has also been questioned by prosecutors but the company itself has not been implicated in the investigation at this stage.

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4:19 AM | 0 comments

U.S. government invalidates potent Rambus patent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The last of three patents that tech licensing company Rambus (RMBS.O) used to win infringement lawsuits against Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ.N) and others has been declared invalid, according to legal documents.

The three patents - collectively known as the Barth patents - pertain to memory chips used in personal computers and are considered to be among Rambus' most valuable intellectual property.

An appeals board at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office declared the patent invalid on January 24, according to a ruling posted on their website. The previous two were declared invalid in September.

The invalidation is more bad news for Rambus, whose stock shed 60 percent of its value in the weeks after a November 16 court decision in which it lost a $4 billion antitrust lawsuit against Micron Technology Inc (MU.O) and Hynix Semiconductor Inc

(000660.KS).

The Barth patents had been used to accuse a long list of tech companies of infringement, earning Rambus millions of dollars in licensing fees through settlements.

Rambus can appeal the latest decision from the PTO. "We're evaluating our options," said company spokeswoman Linda Ashmore.

Rambus' share price fluctuates sharply on its successes and failures in patent litigation and licensing. The company announced Thursday that it had fourth-quarter revenue of $83.4 million and annual revenue of $312.4 million.

Rambus has aggressively used the three Barth patents to pursue infringement claims against technology companies.

It was met with success in July 2010 when the International Trade Commission, which hears patent litigation involving imported products, ruled that graphics chip maker Nvidia, Hewlett-Packard and other smaller companies had infringed the three Barth patents. Nvidia subsequently settled with Rambus on the issue.

POTENT PATENT

The patents in question were also among six that Rambus used in accusing a long list of companies of infringing in a new ITC complaint filed in early 2011. That complaint was filed against STMicroelectronics(STM.PA), MediaTek (2454.TW) and Broadcom, among others. Broadcom has since settled.

It was unclear if Rambus appealed the invalidation of the first two Barth patents from September, and the company did not immediately respond to a telephone call seeking comment.

Scott Daniels, a partner in the law firm Westerman, Hattori, Daniels and Adrian, LLP, said Rambus was unlikely to win an appeal on the third Barth patent, since it would be appealed back to the examiner, who would be highly unlikely to disagree with the higher-ranking appeals board.

Once appeals are exhausted at the patent office, companies can dispute patent invalidations to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington.

(Reporting By Diane Bartz; Editing by Gary Hill)

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1:18 AM | 0 comments

Occupy protesters barred from camping in DC squares

By Ian Simpson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The National Park Service will bar Occupy DC protesters from camping in the two parks where have been living since October, in a blow to one of the highest-profile chapters of the movement denouncing economic inequality.

The Occupy DC protesters must stop camping in McPherson Square and Freedom Plaza, both a few blocks from the White House, starting at about noon on Monday, the Park Service said on Friday.

The Park Service will start to enforce regulations that "prohibit camping and the use of temporary structures for camping in McPherson Square and Freedom Plaza," the agency said in a flyer distributed at the sites.

"Although 24/7 demonstration vigils and the use of symbolic temporary structures, including empty tents used as symbols of the demonstration, may be permitted in the park areas, camping and the use of temporary structures for camping is not."

The protesters have been in the two sites since around the start of October. They have spearheaded numerous protests in Washington, including a demonstration that drew hundreds of people to the Capitol this month.

The McPherson Square site has drawn increasing criticism from Congress and the District of Columbia administration.

The park bordering K Street, a symbol of Washington lobbyists, has been criticized because of squalor and rats, and the protesters' numbers have been swelled by homeless people.

Sara Shaw, a McPherson Square protester handling contacts with the media, said the group would discuss its response at an evening meeting. She said 50 to 100 people were living in the square.

Bob Vogel, superintendent of the National Mall and Memorial Parks, said in a statement: "The National Park Service takes very seriously its tradition of providing opportunities for First Amendment activities.

"We have a long history spanning several decades of 24-hour First Amendment vigils."

(Reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Paul Thomasch)

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8:45 PM | 0 comments

Steve Jobs told Google to stop poaching workers

By Dan Levine

(Reuters) - Apple's Steve Jobs directly asked former Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt to stop trying to recruit an Apple engineer, a transgression that threatened one junior Google employee's job, according to a court filing.

The 2007 email from Jobs to Schmidt was disclosed on Friday in the course of civil litigation against Apple Inc, Google Inc and five other technology companies. The proposed class action, brought by five software engineers, accuses the companies of conspiring to keep employee compensation low by eliminating competition for skilled labor.

In 2010, Google, Apple, Adobe Systems Inc, Intel Corp, Intuit Inc and Walt Disney Co's Pixar unit agreed to a settlement of a U.S. Justice Department probe that bars them from agreeing to refrain from poaching each other's employees.

According to an unredacted court filing made public in the civil litigation on Friday, the now-deceased Jobs emailed Schmidt in March 2007 about an attempt by a Google employee to recruit an Apple engineer. Schmidt was also an Apple board member at the time.

"I would be very pleased if your recruiting department would stop doing this," Jobs wrote.

Schmidt forwarded Job's email onto other, undisclosed recipients.

"Can you get this stopped and let me know why this is happening?" Schmidt wrote.

Google's staffing director responded that the employee who contacted the Apple engineer "will be terminated within the hour."

He added: "Please extend my apologies as appropriate to Steve Jobs."

Google spokeswoman Niki Fenwick said on Friday the company, "has always actively and aggressively recruited top talent."

Apple representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The tech defendants have asked a U.S. judge in San Jose, California to quickly dismiss the civil lawsuit, arguing that the companies engaged in bilateral anti-poaching deals to protect collaboration. The companies did not participate in an "overarching conspiracy," they argued in filings.

But at a court hearing this week, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh said the civil lawsuit will proceed, although it may be split up into multiple potential class actions.

Among the revelations stemming from the civil litigation is a 2007 note from Palm's chief executive to Apple's Steve Jobs, saying that an anti-poaching agreement would be "likely illegal.

The latest court filing also refers to a 2007 note from Intel chief executive Paul Otellini discussing that company's agreement with Google.

"Let me clarify. We have nothing signed," Otellini wrote. "We have a handshake 'no recruit' between eric and myself. I would not like this broadly known."

Intel representative Sumner Lemon said on Friday the company, "disagrees with the allegations contained in the private litigation related to recruiting practices and plans to conduct a vigorous defense."

The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California is In Re: High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation, 11-cv-2509.

(Reporting By Dan Levine; editing by Tim Dobbyn and Andre Grenon)

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5:09 PM | 0 comments

Obama administration bolsters homeowner lifeline

A realtor and bank-owned sign is displayed near a house for sale in Phoenix, Arizona, January 4, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Joshua Lott

By Margaret Chadbourn

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration, in an election-year bid to help distressed homeowners, on Friday expanded its main foreclosure prevention program, and pushed for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to forgive mortgage debt.

The administration said it would extend the life of the Home Affordable Mortgage Program by a year through 2013 and widen it to reach more heavily indebted homeowners.

It also said it would provide incentives to encourage Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-controlled mortgage finance providers, to write down loans, an idea which their regulator has worried would unnecessarily add to the cost of taxpayer bailouts for the two firms.

The regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, withheld final judgment on the proposal, saying it would study it further.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac own or guarantee about half of all U.S. home loans, and their participation in principal reduction under HAMP could greatly expand the reach of the $29.9 billion program.

Nearly 11 million Americans are underwater on their mortgages - meaning they owe more than their homes are worth. With some key electoral swing states among the hardest hit by the housing crisis, the sector's health could become an important factor in November's elections.

President Barack Obama made clear in his State of the Union address on Tuesday that he would continue to press for aggressive action to help homeowners, and Friday's announcement was just the first of several on housing initiatives that are expected in coming weeks.

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives last year sought to shut down HAMP, arguing it was ineffective, but the bill died in the Democratic-led Senate.

The HAMP program, which draws from the Treasury Department's financial bailout fund, pays mortgage servicers to rewrite loan terms to reduce monthly payments.

When the administration launched the program in 2009, it expected as many as 4 million loans would be modified. So far, only about 900,000 households have permanently won new loan terms.

As of the end of last year, only about $3 billion had been spent of the $29 billion set aside for HAMP.

EXPANDING ITS REACH

As part of its effort to reach more Americans, both the Treasury Department and the Department of Housing and Urban Development said they would seek to aid homeowners pinched by other types of debt, including credit cards and medical bills.

In addition, the administration said it was tripling the incentives paid to investors when they reduce loan balances. Investors who rent out properties would also be able to access mortgage aid under the revamped program.

FHFA's acting director, Edward DeMarco, has argued that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could provide equal relief to homeowners through loan forbearance at less cost to taxpayers than slashing mortgage debt.

Treasury has notified the FHFA that it "will pay principal reduction incentives to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac if they allow servicers to forgive principal in conjunction with a HAMP modification," Treasury Assistant Secretary Timothy Massad said.

By offering taxpayer money to cover the costs of write-downs at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Obama administration is seeking to overcome DeMarco's objections.

"DeMarco said he is willing to reconsider principal reduction for mortgages backed by Fannie and Freddie, if, in his words, 'a source of funds outside the enterprises emerge to cover some portion of the costs associated with reducing principal,'" Senator Jack Reed, a member of the Senate Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs Committee, said in a statement.

"The administration has now made those funds available," Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, said. "I expect FHFA to promptly reconsider their analysis and help more Americans avoid foreclosures."

Reed has been urging the administration to tap HAMP for principal reductions on loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The administration did not specify how much it would pay Fannie and Freddie to participate in HAMP.

(Reporting By Margaret Chadbourn; Editing by Andrea Ricci, Tim Ahmann, Andrew Hay, Leslie Adler)

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1:34 PM | 0 comments

"Barefoot Bandit" gets 6.5 years of federal time

Colton Harris-Moore (L), the Barefoot Bandit, talks with one of his lawyers at his sentencing in Island Superior Court in Coupeville, Washington in this December 16, 2011 file photograph.

Credit: Reuters/Marcus Donner/Files

By Laura L. Myers

SEATTLE (Reuters) - A serial burglar nicknamed the "Barefoot Bandit" was sentenced on Friday in Seattle to 6-1/2 years in prison for his guilty plea to federal charges stemming from a sensational, two-year crime spree as a sometimes-shoeless teenage runaway.

The federal judge also ordered that Colton Harris-Moore, 20, serve his federal sentence simultaneously with a state term of more than seven years in a move his lawyers say could see him freed before his 26th birthday.

The proceedings marked the end of an extraordinary two-year saga for Harris-Moore, a high school dropout and self-taught pilot who escaped from a juvenile detention facility and stayed one step ahead of the law as he broke into homes and stole cars, boats and planes across nine states and British Columbia.

His exploits, which prosecutors said included at least 67 crimes, came to an end when he was captured in the Bahamas in July 2010 after crash-landing a stolen aircraft he had flown to the islands from Indiana.

The 78-month federal prison term he was given on Friday was the maximum he faced for seven federal charges he pleaded guilty to in June, including interstate transportation of two stolen airplanes and a yacht, a bank burglary, possessing a firearm as a fugitive and piloting an aircraft without a valid license.

Last month in state court in Coupeville, Washington, Harris-Moore, who grew up in the Puget Sound community of Camano Island, was sentenced to 87 months for 33 crimes ranging from residential burglary to attempting to elude police.

His lawyers said that with credit Harris-Moore is expected to receive for time served and good behavior, their client, who turns 21 in March, would likely spend 4-1/2 years in prison and could be released before his 26th birthday.

In a 5-minute statement read before District Judge Richard Jones pronounced the sentence, Harris Moore apologized for his crimes, "The lessons learned on the back of my victims are no way an excuse for my crimes."

Asked by the judge what message he would wish to send to young people, Harris-Moore said, "What I did could be called daring, but I'm lucky to be alive."

MOVIE DEAL

As part of his plea deal, Harris-Moore agreed to forfeit any profits from the rights to his life story. He has signed a movie deal with 20th Century Fox, setting aside about $1.3 million in proceeds as restitution to his victims.

During his December 16 state sentencing, Island County Superior Court Judge Vickie Churchill called Harris-Moore's case a tragedy but also a "triumph in the human spirit" because of his severely-troubled childhood.

Defense documents filed on Thursday argued that Harris-Moore was "at a low risk for re-offending and has the will and interest to make a life for himself as a member of the community."

A small commuter airline has communicated with Harris-Moore "about his future after incarceration," the documents said. They also cited e-mails from him expressing ambition to become a pilot.

A 39-page sentencing memorandum filed by prosecutors, however, questioned whether Harris-Moore was truly remorseful.

Prosecutors referred to e-mails and calls by Harris-Moore while in federal detention in which he referred to police as "swine" and "asses," the media as "vermin," and a Washington county prosecutor as a "complete fool."

The defense responded that "quoting and parsing his e-mails is, frankly, nothing more than an inflammatory attempt to use a cognitively impaired adolescent's thoughts against him."

At his state sentencing hearing, Harris-Moore described his childhood, growing up with an alcoholic mother, as one "that I would not wish on my darkest enemies."

His mother, Pam Kohler, slipped into Friday's proceedings shortly after they began and sat in the back row of the packed courtroom, listening intently, taking her sunglasses on off and craning her neck to catch glimpses of her son.

She waved to him during a break, and Harris-Moore, who has said through his attorneys in the past that he would rather she not attend his court appearances, acknowledged her with a nod and a slight smile. She then called his name out loud, "Colt."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Darwin Roberts said Harris-Moore's behavior was not excused by his troubled upbringing.

"Having a bad childhood and dreaming of flying an airplane is not a reason to break into a bank," he said.

One of the burglary victims, Kelly Kneifl of Yankton, South Dakota, testified about how his family was terrorized when they returned home from a trip in the middle of the night to find that Harris-Moore, naked, had broken into their house.

"For the next year, literally ... Dad would have to go into the house first" and the children were to afraid to sleep in their own room.

(Editing by Steve Gorman, Daniel Trotta and Cynthia Johnston)

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9:24 AM | 0 comments

Exclusive: Germany wants Greece to give up budget control

By Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany is pushing for Greece to relinquish control over its budget policy to European institutions as part of discussions over a second rescue package, a European source told Reuters on Friday.

"There are internal discussions within the Euro group and proposals, one of which comes from Germany, on how to constructively treat country aid programs that are continuously off track, whether this can simply be ignored or whether we say that's enough," the source said.

The source added that under the proposals European institutions already operating in Greece should be given "certain decision-making powers" over fiscal policy.

"This could be carried out even more stringently through external expertise," the source said.

The Financial Times said it had obtained a copy of the proposal showing Germany wants a new euro zone "budget commissioner" to have the power to veto budget decisions taken by the Greek government if they are not in line with targets set by international lenders.

"Given the disappointing compliance so far, Greece has to accept shifting budgetary sovereignty to the European level for a certain period of time," the document said.

Under the German plan, Athens would only be allowed to carry out normal state spending after servicing its debt, the FT said.

"If a future (bail-out) tranche is not disbursed, Greece cannot threaten its lenders with a default, but will instead have to accept further cuts in primary expenditures as the only possible consequence of any non-disbursement," the FT quoted the document as saying.

The German demands for greater control over Greek budget policy come amid intense talks to finalize a second 130 billion-euro rescue package for Greece, which has repeatedly failed to meet the fiscal targets set out for it by its international lenders.

CHAOTIC DEFAULT THREAT

Greece needs to strike a deal with creditors in the next couple of days to unlock its next aid package in order to avoid a chaotic default.

"No country has put forward such a proposal at the Eurogroup," a Greek finance ministry official said on condition of anonymity, adding that the government would not formally comment on reports based on unnamed sources.

The German demands are likely to prompt a strong reaction in Athens ahead of elections expected to take place in April.

"One of the ideas being discussed is to set up a clearly defined priorities on reducing deficits through legally binding guidelines," the European source said.

He added that in Greece the problem is that a lot of the budget-making process is done in a decentralized manner.

"Clearly defined, legally binding guidelines on that could lead to more coherence and make it easier to take decisions - and that would contribute to give a whole new dynamic to efforts to implement the program," the source said.

"It is clear that talks on how to help Greece get back on the right track are continuing," the source said. "We're all striving to achieve a lasting stabilization of Greece," he said. "That's the focus of what all of us in Europe are working on right now."

(Reporting By Noah Barking; Additional reporting by George Georgiopoulos in Athens and; Adrian Croft in London; writing by Erik Kirschbaum; editing by Andrew Roche)

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Iran sends rare letter to U.S. over killed scientist

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks Mehrabad airport with journalists Tehran after his visit to Latin America 14 January 2012.

IMG credit: Reuters/Raheb Homavandi

By Parisa Hafezi

Tehran (Reuters) - Iran said on Saturday it had evidence Washington behind the latest killing, a nuclear scientist was, State television reported, at a time when tensions with regard to the country's nuclear program have escalated at their highest level ever.

In the fifth attack of its kind in two years, a magnetic bomb at the door of the 32-year-old Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan designed car during the Wednesday morning rush hour in the capital. His driver was also killed.

US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton denied responsibility and Israeli President Shimon Peres said that Israel had no role in the attack to the best of his knowledge.

"We have reliable documents and evidence that this terrorist act was designed, led and supported by the CIA," the Iranian Foreign Ministry in a letter to the Swiss Ambassador to Tehran, said passing State TV reported. The Swiss Embassy represents the interests of the United States in a country where Washington has no diplomatic relations.

The spokesman of Iran joint armed forces staff Massoud Jazayeri, said: "Our enemies, especially America, Great Britain and the Zionist regime (Israel), must be liable for their actions."

Iran in the past has accused caused a number of spectacular and sometimes bloody breakdowns Israel its nuclear programme. Israeli officials comment on any involvement in these events, although publicly expressed some satisfaction with the setbacks.

Does feel of the warmth of unprecedented new sanctions, Iran's clerical establishment the sword swung by threat, the most important Mid-East route block oil, start to enrich uranium to an underground bunker and sentenced an Iranian-American citizens to death espionage charges.

State TV said that a "Declaration of the sentence" also had been sent, United Kingdom, say that the Iranian nuclear scientists started killing after the head of British MI6 spy service intelligence operations against the States announced nuclear weapons.

The West says that Iran's nuclear programme is aimed at building a bomb. Tehran says that it has the right to peaceful nuclear energy.

The UN Security Council and Secretary-General asked Ban Ki-moon Tehran to condemn the latest killing.

After years of international sanctions, which had little effect on the Iran, signed President Barack Obama new measures on new year's Eve, which, if fully implemented, it would make it impossible for most countries for Iranian oil to numbers.

Washington is where the countries gradually reduce their purchases of Iranian oil to get temporary relief from the sanctions.

The European Union should reveal similar measures next week, and terminate one gradually between their Member States, which buy about one-fifth of Iranian exports oil embargo.

The combined measures mean that Iran will fail to sell 2.6 million barrels per day of exports, which it uses its 74 million people to feed all. Even if it finds a buyer, must these steep discounts, cut offer much-needed revenue into the.

On Tuesday, shipping sources said Reuters Iran was less than 8 million barrels - storage an increasing supply of oil at sea - and was likely to more as they battle to sell it to save.

Iran denies it problems: "there was no interruption of Iran's crude oil exports through the Persian Gulf..." We have oil in the Gulf because of the sanctions as some foreign media reported not stored "Oil official Pirouz Mousavi said more on Friday the semi-official news agency."

The sanctions cause real hardship on the roads, where prices for basic imported goods soar, currency is the Rial fell and the Iranians have been have stream in Rial, dollars, to protect their savings, buy sell.

The pain comes less than two months before the parliamentary elections, Iran only since the year 2009 by eight months of demonstrations was followed a presidential election.

The revolt by force successfully put Iranian authorities, but since then she "Arab spring" has shown fueled by anger over economic difficulties the vulnerability of the authoritarian governments in the region to protest.

ZUSAMMENSTOß threat

Iran has threatened, blocking the Strait of Hormuz leads to the Gulf when its oil exports imposed sanctions and threatened, take unspecified action if Washington an aircraft carrier through the Straits, international waterway sails.

Military experts say Tehran can do little to the massive US-led fleet to fight, which protects the road, but increase the threats could lead the chance of a misunderstanding, to a military conflict and a global oil crisis.

The Pentagon said on Friday that small Iranian boats close to U.S. ships in the Strait last week had indeed said that they believed not, that it was "hostile intent."

The United States and Israel have ruled out non-military action diplomacy fails, the nuclear dispute. Iran says that it would take revenge if attacked.

The tension has spikes in global oil prices in recent weeks, caused, although prices facilitate trade on the prospect of lower demand in economically affected European countries last week at the end. Brent crude oil fell to pay 82 cents to $110.44 per barrel on Friday.

The chances of an immediate relaxation seek to set away on the nuclear further deadlock due to the refusal of Iran, the sensitive nuclear work.

Last week Iran uranium enrichment began u-Bahn - the most controversial part of its nuclear programme - a bunker deep under a mountain near the Shi Shi'ite Holy City of Qom.

Nuclear talks with powers collapsed a year ago. Iran says it wants to resume the talks, but in the West says that unless no point in it, it is ready, a setting of uranium enrichment, to discuss, that can be used, make material for a bomb.

(Additional reporting by Mitra Amiri;) Writing by Parisa Hafezi. (Editing by Peter Graff)

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Blast in home of Gaza militant leader kills one

GAZA (Reuters) - A Palestinian man who had been preparing an attack on Israeli targets was killed on Saturday in an explosion at the home of a militant leader in the Gaza Strip, his group said.

The explosion took place at the Rafah home of Zuhair Al-Qaissi, chief commander of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), an armed Palestinian faction that often operates independently of Gaza's Hamas rulers.

The PRC confirmed the man killed was a member of the group and that he was preparing an attack on Israelis when the blast occurred. Al-Qaissi himself was not hurt in the explosion.

Al-Qaissi's predecessor, Kamal al-Nairab was killed in an Israeli air strike in August.

(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Writing by Maayan Lubell)

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11:15 AM | 0 comments

Tunisians celebrate their revolution one year on

 

1 of 2. Tunisians celebrate the first year anniversary of the revolution at Bourguiba Avenue in Tunis January 14, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Zoubeir Souissi

By Tarek Amara

TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisians Saturday marked the first anniversary of the revolution that started the "Arab Spring" with celebrations that were true to the spirit of the revolt: raucous, unscripted, and driven by the energy of ordinary people.

Thousands of people flooded into Bourguiba Avenue in the center of the capital, the same spot where demonstrators massed exactly one year ago, forcing autocratic leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali to accept his rule was over and flee the country.

Since that moment, Tunisia has become a model for democratic change in the Middle East and its revolt has re-shaped the political landscape of the region. It inspired revolutions in Egypt and Libya, as well as uprisings in Syria and Yemen whose outcome is still in the balance.

In a nod to the "people power" origins of Tunisia's revolution, the country's new authorities did not try to stage-manage the public celebrations.

Instead they invited people to descend on the center of the capital to mark the day in their own way.

Some people marched down Bourguiba Avenue chanting "Tunisia is Free!" and "Bye bye dictatorship. Welcome freedom!" Others carried Tunisian flags, and cages with their doors swinging open, an allegory for the country's journey to freedom.

"This is an occasion when all Tunisians should celebrate with pride," said Samir Ben Omrane, who was in the center of Tunis with his wife and two daughters. His wife was carrying a birthday cake with a single candle on the top.

"I am happy that my children can live in freedom in this country, which has provided an example to the world," he said.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that a year ago the world was inspired by Tunisia's demands for democracy, freedom and dignity.

"Their courage echoed throughout the region, where other peoples, encouraged by the actions of their Tunisian brothers and sisters, found the courage to also make their rightful aspirations heard," he said in a statement.

COMPETING VOICES

The celebrations in Tunisia were in stark contrast to the tightly-regimented and starchy public occasions held during Ben Ali's 23-year-rule over Tunisia, when dissent was punished with long jail terms, torture or forced exile.

The new Tunisia is a cacophony of different groups, each demanding to be heard.

For all its progress toward democracy, Tunisia has acute problems of poverty and unemployment and its society is split over the rise to power of Islamists who were banned from public life for years under Ben Ali.

One group of young people gathered in front of the Interior Ministry headquarters to press for deeper reforms.

"It's true that Ben Ali is not here any more," said one of the group, 25-year-old Walid Ben Salam. "But we still have to be careful and to protect this revolution ... What we are missing is a separation of religion from politics," he said.

"We need to pay homage to the martyrs of the revolution and not forget the thousands of unemployed people."

Elsewhere, several dozen relatives of people killed by security forces in the run-up to the revolution protested outside the Saudi Arabian embassy.

They were demanding the extradition of Ben Ali and his wife, Leila Trabelsi, who have been in Saudi Arabia since fleeing there a year ago.

Moncef Marzouki, a political prisoner under Ben Ali who is now the country's president, declared Saturday a national holiday. He marked the event by granting pardons to 9,000 prisoners and commuting 122 death sentences.

In the official part of the celebrations later Saturday, Marzouki will take part in a ceremony attended by visiting officials including the heads of state from Qatar, Libya and Algeria.

(Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Ben Harding)

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3:43 AM | 0 comments

Greeks like their PM but unhappy with coalition government: poll

 

Greece's Prime Minister Lucas Papademos attends a meeting with delegation of the the main private sector union (GSEE) in the Prime Minister's office at the Maximos mansion in Athens January 4, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/John Kolesidis

ATHENS (Reuters) - Most Greeks are unhappy with their coalition government but continue to support its technocrat Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, an opinion poll showed Saturday.

Pressure is building on Athens to conclude a deal to cut its debt load. Government negotiations with bankers and insurers broke up without agreement Friday, although officials said more talks are likely next week.

The survey by pollster Public Issue for Sunday's Kathimerini newspaper showed that 91 percent of respondents were dissatisfied with the government, up from 80 percent in an early

December poll.

The three-party coalition government was formed in November to push a bailout deal and take the overborrowed country to elections, now tentatively set for April.

Papademos's approval rating remained higher than his government's, though it dropped slightly to 55 percent from 60 percent registered in the December poll.

Also, 50 percent of respondents said they did not see a need for immediate elections.

The poll, conducted on January 5-10 on a nationwide sample of 1,018 Greeks, showed the conservative New Democracy (ND) party maintaining its lead over the PASOK socialists but unable to secure an absolute majority if elections were held today.

New Democracy would win 30.5 percent of the vote versus 14 percent for the socialists and 12.5 percent for the communist party, which is not part of the coalition government.

"The political landscape remains fluid. New Democracy leads but without outright majority," Kathimerini said.

(Reporting by George Georgiopoulos; Editing by Alessandra Rizzo)

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9:42 PM | 0 comments

Three die amid panic as cruise ship wrecked in Italy

1 of 15 Costa Concordia cruise ship that ran aground is seen off the west coast of Italy at Giglio island January 14, 2012. at least three people were killed and rescuers were searching for other victims after on Italian cruise ship carrying more than 4,000 people ran aground and keeled over in shallow waters.

Credit: Reuters/Italian Guardia di Finanza

By Gavin Jones and Antonio Denti

PORTO SANTO STEFANO, Italy (Reuters) - passengers leapt into the sea and fought over lifejackets in panic when an Italian cruise ship ran aground and keeled over, killing at least three and leaving dozens missing.

In the chaotic aftermath of the Friday evening accident near the island of Giglio off the coast of Tuscany, Italian officials could still not say how many of the 4,229 passengers and crew on board the 114, 500-ton Costa Concordia were missing.

"I was sure I what going to that." "We were in the lifeboats for two hours, crying and holding on to each other," said Loren Sintolli, 65, breaking down in tears as she as the event.

"People were trying to steal lifejackets from each other." "We could't only gets ones for children."

On official involved in the rescue operation said two French tourists and a Peruvian crew member were dead. Around 70 people were injured, at least two seriously.

Authorities opened a criminal investigation for possible manslaughter and Italian news agencies reported that the ship's commander, Francesco Schettino had been detained by police.

The vessel's operator, Costa Cruises, a unit of Carnival Corp. & plc, the world's largest cruise operator, said it had been sailing on its regular course when it struck a submerged rock. In a television interview, the ship's commander said the rock charts what not marked on any maritime of the area.

However it remained unclear how the 290 metre-long ship had been able to run aground in calm waters so close to the shore.

"We'll be able to say at the end of the investigation." "It would be premature to speculate on this," said coastguard spokesman Filippo Marini.

The vessel which left capsized on its side in water 15-20 meters deep, with decks partly submerged, not far from the shore. A large gash was visible on its side.

CONFUSION

Officials said the search would continue overnight although darkness and the cold seas would make the work difficult.

Different officials gave varying estimates of the number of missing, with some talking of as many as 70 but there remained considerable uncertainty over how many were really missing and how many had simply not been counted in the confusion.

"We are not sure of the numbers, we cannot exclude that some people are missing, in fact it is very probable," said Ennio Aquilini, head of the fire service rescue operation.

"It could be 10, 20 up to 40 but I cannot give anything more precise." "There is a possibility that no one is missing."

Passengers had just sat down to dinner, a few hours after leaving the port of Civitavecchia near Rome on a week-long cruise to Barcelona and Majorca, when a loud bang interrupted the piano player and the ship began to list.

"We heard a loud rumble, the glasses and plates fell from the tables, the ship tilted and the light went off," said passenger Luciano Castro.

"What followed what scenes of panic;" "people screaming, running around the place, close to US a five-month pregnant young woman was crying and panicking."

The ship, a vast floating resort with spas, theaters, swimming pools, a casino and discotheque, which carrying mainly Italian passengers, but so many foreigners including British, Germans, French, Spanish and Americans. Many were elderly; Some were in wheelchairs.

Passengers crowded into lifeboats, but the mainly Asian staff, few of them able to speak Italian, struggled to bring order to the evacuation.

"It what complete panic." People were behaving like animals. "We had to wait too long in the lifeboats," said 47-year-old Patrizia Perilli.

"We thought we would not make it I saw the lighthouse but I knew I couldn't swim that far but lots of people threw themselves into the sea." "I think they are some of the dead."

Angel Holgado, 50, a guitarist who had been performing when the ship foundered, said he got into a lifeboat but decided to abandon it after it became dangerously overcrowded.

"There what terrible panic and fear, and I jumped into the water and swam to the shore," he said.

SUBMERGED ROCK

Officials said rescue efforts were continuing on Saturday after a night-time operation involving helicopters, ships and lifeboats. The picturesque harbour of Porto Santo Stefano which lined with ambulances and green tents for the victims.

"We have about 40 men at work and we're expecting specialist diving teams to arrive to check all the interior spaces of the ship," said fire services spokesman Luca Cari.

"We don't rule out the possibility that more people will be lost," he said.

Officials said however there what confusion over the numbers of missing and on identifying all the passengers transferred from Giglio to Porto Santo Stefano on the mainland.

"To have a more precise idea we are still waiting for a full list of the people identified in Porto Santo Stefano to make a comparison with the passenger list," said Giuseppe Linardi, police chief in the nearby town of Grosseto.

Passengers were heavily critical of the response by the crew and said they had been left with no information.

"After approximately 20 minutes a voice told US there was a problem with the electricity that they were trying to fix," said Luciano Castro.

"The ship continued to tilt further, after 15 minutes they said again it what a problem with the electricity, but no. one believed it," he said adding that once the evacuation began, the increasing tilt of the ship made the operation more difficult.

"Of course panic makes things worse and the crew members struggled in calming down the most active and worried passengers," he said.

The ship was built in 2004-2005 at a cost of 450 million euros at the Fincantieri Sestri shipyard in Italy.

(Additional reporting by Silvia Ognibene in Florence and Ed Taylor in Frankfurt;) Writing by Philip Pullella and James MacKenzie; (editing by Myra MacDonald)

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2:09 PM | 0 comments

Residents back in Yemen city after months of fighting

A view of the old Sanaa city in Sanaa January 14, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Mohamed al-Sayaghi

ADEN, Yemen (Reuters) - Hundreds of people displaced by months of fighting in southern Yemen returned to their home city on Saturday as armed Islamist militants and government troops looked on, residents said, in what many hoped could be a step towards ending the conflict.

"The army controls the east of Zinjibar and the Ansar al-Sunna hold the western part of the city," Khalid al Saeed said, referring to a group which the government says is linked to al Qaeda.

"Both sides had agreed with our request to return. The army told us to avoid some areas where there are land mines," Saeed said, adding that there was widespread destruction during eight months of fighting.

Thousands of Yemenis have held protests demanding an end to the fighting that has forced them to flee their homes in the south, holding several 50 km (31 mile) marches from the port city of Aden to Zinjibar, capital of southern Abyan province where the militants have seized swathes of territory.

The southern fighting is one of many challenges facing the impoverished state, which has also been rocked by nearly a year of protests against the 33-year rule of outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The United States and top oil exporter Saudi Arabia are both concerned about the growing chaos in the country, which is close to oil shipping routes.

In continued unrest, gunmen believed the be from al Qaeda shot dead a pro-government tribesman outside the city of Lawdar in Abyan province on Saturday, a security official told Reuters.

DEADLINE PASSES

In the capital, a 48-hour deadline given to armed opponents and backers of Saleh to withdraw after months of street fighting passed but there was little change in the armed face off, residents said.

A committee tasked with overseeing the demilitarisation of the capital reiterated on Saturday its demand on rival forces to withdraw, and thanked those which had pulled back, state news agency Saba reported.

Tribal fighters led by Saleh's opponents and Republican Guard troops commanded by the veteran leader's son are still deployed in several areas of Sanaa, including the northern district of Hasaba, scene of some of the heaviest fighting.

In late December, militants shot in the air to stop a march to Zinjibar by activists among the displaced who were calling on both sides to lay down their arms in the south and demanded the government open the Aden-Zinjibar coastal highway, a key trade route closed during the conflict.

Saudi Arabia has backed a Gulf Arab peace plan to resolve the anti-Saleh uprising, under which the president handed power to his deputy. A presidential election is scheduled for February.

But the fighting against the Islamist militants in the south has continued, forcing about 97,000 people to flee. More than 300,000 others have been displaced by a conflict in the north, according to U.N. estimates.

(Reporting by Mohammed Mukhashaf in Aden and Mohammed Ghobari in Sanaa; Writing by Firouz Sedarat; Editing by Peter Graff)

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7:33 AM | 0 comments

Sudan and southern rebels clash in oil border state

AppId is over the quota

KHARTUM | Samstag, 14. Januar 2012 3:37 pm EST

KHARTUM (Reuters) - Sudanesische Armee kämpften Rebellen in den Öl produzierenden Zustand des South Kordofan letzte Woche, beide Seiten sagte am Samstag.

Die Rebellen sagte sie neun Regierungstruppen getötet hatte, aber die Armee verweigert dies.

Kampf gegen stattgefunden hat seit letztem Juni in South Kordofan zwischen die sudanesische Armee und Rebellen aus dem nördlichen Flügel der die Sudan People's Liberation Movement, die Regierung in Khartum zu stürzen wollen.

Zusammenstöße setzte sich zu benachbarten Blauen Nil Staat, der unabhängigen Südsudan, auch im September grenzt.

Die Gewalt hat bereits etwa 417.000 Menschen zu ihren Häusern fliehen, mehr als 80.000 von ihnen gezwungen im Südsudan, die Vereinten Nationen schätzen.

Blauer Nil und South Kordofan enthalten große Gruppen, die einseitig mit dem Süden in einem jahrzehntelangen Bürgerkrieg, und wer sagen, dass sie stehen weiterhin vor Verfolgung in Sudan da spalteten sich im Südsudan im Juli.

Der SPLM ist jetzt der Regierungspartei im unabhängigen Süden und bestreitet SPLM-Nord Rebellen über die Grenze zu unterstützen.

Die SPLM-Nord-Rebellen sagte sie neun Soldaten getötet hatten, zerstört drei Tanks und beschlagnahmten militärischen Ausrüstung bei Zusammenstößen auf Tees in der Nähe der südlichen Grenze am Montag. Sie auch drei Militärfahrzeuge in einen weiteren Angriff in der gleichen Gegend am Dienstag beschlagnahmt, sagte sie in einer Erklärung.

Armee-Sprecher Sawarmi Khalid Saad bestätigte Militäroperationen in der Stadt Tees zu öffnen eine Straße stattgefunden hatte, aber verweigert, dass alle Soldaten getötet worden waren.

"Diese Gebiete unter Kontrolle der Armee sind," sagte er.

Veranstaltungen in South Kordofan und Blauer Nil schwer sind zu überprüfen, weil Beihilfen Gruppen und ausländische Journalisten sind verboten aus dem Kampf stattfindet.

SPLM-Nord ist Teil einer Reihe von Rebellenbewegungen in unterentwickelten Grenzregionen, die sagen, dass sie kämpfen zu stürzen sudanesischen Präsidenten Omar Hassan al-Bashir und am Ende, was sie sehen, wie die Dominanz der politischen Elite Khartum.

Sudan und Südsudan, die immer noch eine Reihe von Fragen einschließlich der Öleinnahmen zu beheben, Handel regelmäßig Anschuldigungen Aufstände auf jedes andere Hoheitsgebiet zu unterstützen.

Ihrer Streitkräfte stießen bei Jau in einer Region von beiden Seiten letzten Monat in einer seltenes direkte Konfrontation beansprucht.

Einheimische haben Luftangriffe konfrontiert und sporadisch Boden kämpfen, je nach Berechtigungsgruppen und Flüchtlinge, obwohl Sudan es leugnet ist Bombardierung ziviler Bereiche.

(Berichterstattung von Khalid Aziz; Schriftlicher Form von Ulf Laessing. Bearbeiten von Ben Harding und Peter Graff)

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12:58 AM | 0 comments

ElBaradei pulls out of Egyptian presidency race

 

Prominent Egyptian reform campaigner Mohamed ElBaradei talks to journalists before leaving Vienna to Cairo at the Vienna airport, January 27, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Heinz-Peter Bader

By Marwa Awad

CAIRO (Reuters) - Mohamed ElBaradei pulled out of the race to become Egyptian president on Saturday, the Nobel Peace Prize winner saying "the previous regime" was still running the country which has been governed by army generals since Hosni Mubarak was deposed.

"My conscience does not permit me to run for the presidency or any other official position unless it is within a real democratic system," said the former head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, once seen a frontrunner for the post Mubarak held for three decades.

ElBaradei has been a vocal critic of the military council which has been governing Egypt since Mubarak was toppled in February, swept from power by mass protests that were driven by demands for accountable and democratic government.

The military council's opponents say it is seeking to preserve power and privilege in the post-Mubarak era and do not believe the generals' repeated promises that they will surrender power to civilian rule at the end of June.

A favourite of Egyptian liberals and initially seen as a leading candidate, the withdrawal of the International Atomic Energy Agency's head until 2009 was, in part, an admission that he could not win, experts said.

"ElBaradei acknowledges he may not have the grassroots support to win in this presidential election," said political analyst and activist Hassan Nafaa. "He also realizes that the next president will not have full powers and will be bound by the current system," he added.

"By pulling out of the presidential race, he is aligning himself with the youth movement and the liberals, who have been sidelined in the interim process by Islamists."

The bespectacled lawyer's campaign had been weakened by divisions. In November, some of his campaign staff quit, saying he had become cut off from his grassroots base.

ElBaradei took aim at the way the transition was being managed. "The randomness and the mismanagement of the transitional period are pushing the country away from the aims of the revolution," he said in a statement.

His remarks added to a recent wave of criticism targeting the generals. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said this week they looked unlikely to surrender all of their powers by the middle of the year, as promised.

His Carter Center, which has been monitoring the legislative elections, said the council's lack of transparency had created "uncertainty about their commitment to full civilian leadership."

Headed by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the man who was Mubarak's defense minister for two decades, the military council says it has no interest in government and is working to move Egypt towards democracy.

BROTHERHOOD MEETS PM

Egypt's strongest political force, Islamist groups, have dominated elections for the lower house of parliament which got underway in November and are now coming to a close.

The Muslim Brotherhood, founded in 1928, says it has won 46 percent of the seats, with the more hardline Nour Party winning some 23 percent of the seats. The Brotherhood, entering politics in the shape of the Freedom and Justice Party, supports the military council's transition plan.

FJP leaders on Saturday discussed their legislative agenda with Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri, appointed by the council in November. The FJP says it will work with the Ganzouri government, due to stay in office until the middle of the year.

"We aim to find common ground between the government and parliament," Saad el-Katatni, the FJP secretary-general, told Reuters, adding: "We have not decided on who we will join forces with once parliament convenes."

One of Egypt's main liberal political parties said on Monday it would boycott upper house elections later this month in protest against what it says were violations committed by Islamist parties in earlier voting rounds.

ElBaradei said he would now work to help Egypt's youth become part of the political process.

Reflecting on the achievements of the uprising, he said: "The most important gain is that the barrier of fear has been broken and that the people have regained their faith that they are capable of change."

In a move typically undertaken by a head of state, Tantawi will go to Libya on Monday, his first diplomatic mission since the end of parliamentary elections. An official source told Reuters Tantawi plans more diplomatic missions in the region.

There has been speculation that the army chief might run for president, effectively extending the army's grip on power. A campaign backing him for president was launched in October. Tantawi has denied any such plan.

(Additional reporting by Lin Noueihed; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Matthew Jones and Ben Harding)

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5:48 PM | 0 comments

BofA told Fed it could sell branches in emergency: source

By Rick Rothacker

(Reuters) - Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) told Federal Reserve officials in June that it could shed branches in some parts of the country if it needed to raise capital in an emergency, a person familiar with the matter said.

The proposal was part of a series of options provided to the Fed, including issuing a tracking stock for its Merrill Lynch operations. The fact that the bank proposed selling branches doesn't mean it's a desirable move or highly probable, the person said.

Bank of America Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan has been under pressure to raise capital to absorb mortgage-related losses and meet new international standards. The second largest U.S. bank received government bailouts during the financial crisis and emerged as one of weaker institutions in its aftermath.

Since June, Moynihan has taken a number of steps to boost capital levels, including selling nearly $15 billion in China Construction Bank Corp shares and swapping preferred shares for common stock. The bank has said a measure of capital against risk-weighted assets improved to at least 9.25 percent at the end of December, up from 8.65 percent at the end of September.

The bank will provide more details when it reports fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday.

Bank of America spokesman Jerry Dubrowski declined to comment on the bank's interaction with regulators. "We've made significant progress over the last two years to streamline the company, eliminate complexity and strengthen our balance sheet," he said.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on Thursday the possibility that Bank of America could shed branches in an emergency.

Bank of America, which had 5,715 branches at the end of September, has already said it plans to shutter about 750 locations over the next few years as part of a broad cost-cutting initiative. Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N) has about 6,300 branches, while JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) said on Friday that it has about 5,500.

Dubrowski said the bank routinely analyzes its bank branch network on a market-by-market basis. The bank could increase branches in some cities, and decrease them in others, he said.

Bank of America became the first coast-to-coast U.S. consumer bank through a series of acquisitions in the 1980s and 1990s. But its more recent deals, especially the 2008 purchase of Countrywide Financial under Moynihan's predecessor, Ken Lewis, have proven troublesome. The subprime mortgage lender saddled the bank with billions of dollars in bad loans as well as lawsuits related to soured mortgage-backed securities.

The bank's shares fell nearly 60 percent last year amid concerns about the company's capital position, but are up 19 percent this year. The shares closed Friday at $6.61, down 2.7 percent.

(Reporting By Rick Rothacker in Charlotte, North Carolina; Additional reporting by Kavyanjali Kaushik in Bangalore; Editing by Kim Coghill and Carol Bishopric)

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Qatar emir suggests sending Arab troops to Syria

 

1 of 11. Qatar's Amir Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani speaks during celebrations marking the first year anniversary of the revolution in Tunis January 14, 2012. Tunisians on Saturday marked the first anniversary of the revolution that started the ''Arab Spring'' with celebrations. The sign reads ''Revolution of freedom and dignity''.

Credit: Reuters/Zoubeir Souissi

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis

AMMAN (Reuters) - Qatar has proposed sending Arab troops to halt the bloodshed in Syria, where violence has raged on despite the presence of Arab League monitors sent to check if an Arab peace plan is working.

Asked if he was in favor of Arab nations intervening in Syria, Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani told the U.S. broadcaster CBS: "For such a situation to stop the killing ... some troops should go to stop the killing."

The emir, whose country backed last year's NATO campaign that helped Libyan rebels topple Muammar Gaddafi, is the first Arab leader to propose Arab military intervention in Syria where protesters are demanding President Bashar al-Assad stand down.

CBS said on its website that the interview would be broadcast in its "60 Minutes" program Sunday.

Qatar's prime minister heads the Arab League committee on Syria and has said killings have not stopped despite the presence of Arab monitors sent there last month.

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For graphic on Arab League link.reuters.com/pev65s

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In the preview of the interview on the website, the emir did not spell out how any Arab military intervention might work.

There is little appetite in the West for any Libya-style intervention in Syria, although France has talked of a need to set up zones to protect civilians there.

The United Nations says more than 5,000 people have been killed since protests against Assad erupted in March. Syrian officials say 2,000 members of the security forces have been killed by armed "terrorists."

In the latest violence, Syrian tanks and troops renewed an assault on the rebel-held hill town of Zabadani near the border with Lebanon Saturday, causing about 40 casualties, an opposition leader said, citing residents reached by telephone.

Kamal al-Labwani said green buses had been brought to the town, suggesting preparations for mass arrests in the town, defended by army deserters and anti-Assad insurgents. It was not immediately clear if the 40 casualties included any dead.

The attack on Zabadani was the biggest against opponents of Assad since the Arab observers began work on December 26.

In the Damascus neighborhood of Qaboun, a resident said security forces killed 17-year old protester Abdel Bassaet Jubbeh when they fired at a night demonstration demanding the removal of Assad.

"He was hit in the chest." The (security police) took six other injured demonstrators from the ground and took them to the Airforce Intelligence complex in Harasta (a Damascus suburb)," said the resident, who gave his name as Sami.

Four civilians died elsewhere, including a 13-year-old boy and a man shot dead in the central city of Homs, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

Syria's military held funerals for 16 soldiers killed by armed "terrorists" in the provinces of Homs, Damascus and Idlib in the northwest, the state news agency SANA said.

SANA also said a blast set off by insurgents in Idlib had derailed a freight train carrying fuel to a power station, setting several fuel tankers ablaze and wounding three people.

MORE OBSERVERS READY

There has been no let-up in the conflict despite the Arab observer mission, which has been castigated even by some of its own members for buying Assad more time to crush his foes.

"This is the last week in the month agreed between Syria and the Arab League and will witness a wide deployment of the monitors," said a source at the Cairo-based League, adding that 40 monitors were ready to join the team of about 165 whenever its leader, Sudanese General Mohammed al-Dabi, requested them.

Plans to expand the team were delayed last week after 11 monitors were slightly hurt in an attack on their convoy by a pro-Assad crowd in the port of Latakia Monday. That incident also prompted the monitors to suspend work for two days.

Dabi is due to report to the Arab League Thursday and Arab foreign ministers will then decide whether to continue the mission, or possibly refer Syria to the U.N. Security Council.

The League chief, Nabil Elaraby, said Friday he feared the conflict could slide into civil war.

Armed clashes, now punctuating what began as a non-violent protest movement, have raised fears of a full-scale conflict in Syria, a Sunni Muslim-majority country of 23 million which also has Alawite, Druze, Christian and Kurdish minorities.

Syria, bordering Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, Jordan and Israel, is at the heart of the volatile Middle East, where its closest allies are Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah group.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmed Davutoglu, whose country has become one of Assad's fiercest critics after previously courting him, held talks in Beirut with Lebanese President Michel Suleiman and other politicians Saturday.

"The Syrian authorities must respond to the legitimate democratic aspirations of the Syrian people," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who is also visiting Lebanon, was quoted as saying by the Beirut newspaper an-Nahar the previous day.

He also urged the Security Council, where Russia and China have blocked firm action on Syria, to speak with one voice.

(Additional reporting by Ayman Samir and Tom Perry in Cairo and Dominic Evans in Beirut; Writing by Alistair Lyon; Editing by Matthew Jones)

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Julianne Moore's "Game Change" as Sarah Palin

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Cast members Ed Harris (L), Julianne Moore and Woody Harrelson attend the panel for the HBO television film ''Game Change'' at the Television Critics Association winter press tour in Pasadena, California January 13, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Mario Anzuoni

By Piya Sinha-Roy

LOS ANGELES | Fri Jan 13, 2012 6:28pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Americans may be gearing up for the 2012 presidential elections, but HBO is revisiting the drama of the 2008 race to the White House in a TV film about Sarah Palin and John McCain.

"Game Change," starring Julianne Moore as Palin and Ed Harris as McCain, is based on the 2010 book by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin that documented the behind-the-scenes action of the presidential campaign four years ago.

But the new film, which will premier on March 10, focuses on the rise of Palin as McCain's 2008 Republican Party running mate.

"We felt that story of Sarah Palin is truly one of the great American political stories of our time," writer Danny Strong told television reporters on Friday.

Moore said that she spent hours working with a vocal coach to master Palin's "idiosyncratic way of speaking" as well as reading Palin's book and watching her TV reality show, "Sarah Palin's Alaska."

"It's a daunting task to play somebody who's not only a living figure but also hugely well known. So for me, the most important thing was accuracy. We're all very familiar with her and those iconic moments four years ago," said Moore, who starred in movie drama "The Hours" and "The Kids Are Alright".

Strong said he was given interviews with everyone he wrote into the film. Except for Palin. Instead, he used the former Alaska governor's own book "Going Rogue" as one of his main sources.

"Her (Palin's) situation was an extraordinary one. She was someone who was involved in state politics and suddenly thrust into international politics, and clearly wasn't prepared," said Moore.

"She was so incredibly charismatic and so unbelievably able to communicate, a true populist," she said.

"Saturday Night Live" actress Tina Fey, whose Palin impersonations became one of the highlights of the 2008 presidential campaign, will also appear in "Game Change", which incorporates news footage into the film .

"I really looked forward to the moment where Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin, would be watching Tina Fey as Sarah Palin. I thought that would be interesting to the story," said director Jay Roach.

Harris, who researched McCain in-depth before portraying him, said his respect for the Arizona Senator deepened.

"He's a man of commended sense of honor and duty, and when he decided to go into politics, by his own admission, his ambition and his ego were constantly in conflict with his sense of honor and duty and patriotism," the "Beautiful Mind" actor said.

Palin, 47, a favorite of the Tea Party movement, ended months of speculation last October by announcing she would not seek a presidential run in 2012.

(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Jill Serjeant)

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Taliban say Marine tape won't hurt Afghanistan talks

U.S. soldiers on patrol in eastern Afghanistan November 28, 2011.

By Mirwais Harooni and Phil Stewart

KABUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A video showing what appears to be American forces urinating on dead Taliban fighters prompted anger in Afghanistan and promises of a U.S. investigation on Thursday but the insurgent group said it would not harm nascent efforts to broker peace talks.

The video, posted on YouTube and other websites, shows four men in camouflage marine combat uniforms urinating on three corpses. One of them jokes: "Have a nice day, buddy." Another makes a lewd joke.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the video, describing the men's actions as "inhuman" and calling for an investigation, in a statement on Thursday evening.

In Washington US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta telephoned Karzai to denounce the actions in the video as "deplorable" and to say it would be investigated immediately, the Pentagon said. General Martin Dempsey, the top U.S. military officer, said actions depicted in the video were illegal.

Although the U.S. military has stopped short of confirming the video is authentic, the Pentagon on Thursday came close. Pentagon spokesman Captain John Kirby said "We don't of have any indication that it's not authentic."

The video is likely to stir up already strong anti-U.S. sentiment in Afghanistan after a decade of a war that has seen other cases of abuse, and that could complicate efforts to promote reconciliation as foreign troops gradually withdraw.

"Such action will leave a very, very bad impact on peace efforts," Arsala Rahmani, a senior member of the Afghan government's high Peace Council, told Reuters.

The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama, seeing a glimmer of hope after months of efforts to broker talks, is launching a fresh round of shuttle diplomacy this weekend.

Marc Grossman, Obama's special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, will fly into the region for talks with Karzai and top officials in Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

One immediate goal is to seal agreement for the Taliban to open a political office in the Gulf state of Qatar.

Despite concerns when the video first emerged that it would not help his efforts to build confidence among the warring parties, a Taliban spokesman said although the images were shocking, the tape would not affect talks or a mooted prisoner release.

"We know that our country is occupied...." "Not a political process, so the video will not harm our talks this is and prisoner exchange because they are at the preliminary stage."

CONCERN FOR MORE PROTESTS

Panetta called the actions shown in the film "utterly deplorable" and said he had ordered the Marine Corps and the commander of the NATO-led international security assistance force in Afghanistan to investigate.

"Those found to have engaged in such conduct will be held accountable to the fullest extent," he said in a statement.

General James Amos, the commandant of the Marine Corps, said in a statement the video "apparently depicts Marines desecrating several dead Taliban in Afghanistan."

He said he had asked the naval criminal investigative service to investigate and had set up another internal inquiry headed by Marine officers.

A Marine officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that the Marines in question were believed to be from the 3rd Battallion, 2nd Marines, which is based in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said he was not aware of whether President Barack Obama of had seen the video or not.

News of the footage had yet to spread in Afghanistan – a country where a minority have access to electricity and the Internet is limited to a tiny urban elite – but Afghans who were told about what the tape appears to show were horrified.

"It may start with just video footage but it will end with demonstrations around the country and maybe the world," said 44-year-old Qaisullah, who has a shop near the Kabul's Shah-e-dushamshera mosque.

Anti-American feeling has boiled over, or been whipped up into violence several times in Afghanistan in recent years. Protests over reports of the desecration of the Muslim holy book have twice sparked deadly riots.

The tape also sparked anger across the Middle East and in Internet chatrooms, prompting reference to earlier scandals involving U.S. soldiers' treatment of prisoners in Iraq and the killing of unarmed civilians in Afghanistan.

"This is the embodiment of the strong assaulting the weak." It's nothing new for the Americans, it only adds to what they have done in Abu Ghraib prison. "This a breach of the sacredness of Islam and Muslims," said Othman al-Busaifi, 45, in Tripoli.

The U.S. military has been prosecuting soldiers from the army's 5th Stryker Brigade on charges of murdering unarmed Afghan civilians while deployed in Kandahar province in 2010, and cutting off body parts as war trophies.

"They cut off ears and fingers and keep them as medals, and urinate on bodies, then they talk about civilization," wrote user Abu Abdullah al-Janubi on one forum.

CRITICAL TIME

The video which released at a critical time for what U.S. officials hope might become authentic talks on Afghanistan's political future.

In Kabul Grossman seek approval from Karzai - whose support for a wants U.S. effort he fears government wants to sideline his has wavered - to move ahead with good-faith measures seen as an essential precursor to negotiations that could give the Taliban a shared role in governing Afghanistan.

The diplomatic initiative includes a possible transfer of Taliban prisoners from the U.S. military detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

A would'nt mark a dnalounge for the Obama administration, struggling to secure a modicum of stability in Afghanistan was breakthrough as it presses ahead with its gradual withdrawal from a long and costly. The United States and its allies aim to withdraw combat troops by the end of 2014.

(Additional reporting by Missy Ryan, Andrew Quinn, Laura Macinnis and Warren Strobel in WASHINGTON, Ali Suaib in TRIPOLI, Firouz Sedarat and Andrew Hammond in DUBAI;) Writing by Emma Graham-Harrison and Jackie Frank; Editing by Ron Pope ski and Eric Walsh)

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New molecule could help cool planet

By Nina Chestney

LONDON (Reuters) - A new molecule has been detected in the earth's atmosphere which could help produce a cooling effect, scientists said, but it remains to be seen whether it can play a major role in tackling global warming.

The molecule can convert pollutants, such as nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide, into compounds which can lead to cloud formation, helping to shield the earth from the sun, the researchers said.

Over the past century, the earth's average temperature has risen by 0.8 degrees Celsius. Scientists say the increase must be limited to below two degrees Celsius this century to prevent rising sea levels and other unwelcome consequences.

But mainstream ways of curbing warming, such as renewable power and energy efficiency, are not delivering results nearly enough.

In a paper published in the journal Science on Thursday, researchers from the universities of Manchester and Bristol, and the U.S.-based Sandia National laboratories detected the new molecules, called Criegee biradicals, using a powerful light source 100 million times stronger than the sun.

"We found the biradicals could oxidise sulfur dioxide, which eventually turns into sulphuric acid, which has a known cooling effect," Carl Percival, one of the study's authors and a reader in atmospheric chemistry at the University of Manchester, told Reuters.

However, it is too early to predict how many molecules would have to be formed to make a substantial impact on the world's temperature and their safety would have to be tested.

The effects of cloud formation on the climate are so still far from understood.

COOLING OFF

When Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines erupted in 1991 it released huge amounts of sulphur dioxide, which formed a haze of sulphuric acid. This reduced the amount of sunlight which was able to reach the earth by about 10 percent, lowering global temperatures by around 0.5 degrees Celsius over two years.

However, high concentrations of sulphur dioxide injected into the atmosphere by large explosions could also cause lung ailments, acid rain, and the depletion of the earth's protective ozone layer.

"The biradicals themselves are not a geo-engineering candidate," Percival said, ways of cooling planet referring to radical the down, such as artificial volcanoes or whitening the clouds to make them reflect more sunlight.

The molecules detected by the research team occur naturally in the presence of alkenes, chemical compounds which are mostly released by plants.

"Plants will release these compounds, make the biradicals and end up making sulphuric acid, so in effect the ecosystem can negate the warming effect by producing these cooling aerosols," Percival said.

The greatest cooling effect could be potentially felt in areas where there are high concentrations of both alkenes and pollutants, which enable the biradicals to react.

"(The effect) would really spots like Hong kick in hot Kong or Singapore," Percival said.

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Iran embargo gathers support in Asia and Europe

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Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Japan's Finance Minister Jun Azumi attend a joint news conference at the Finance Ministry in Tokyo January 12, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Toru Hanai

By Parisa Hafezi

TEHRAN | Thu Jan 12, 2012 5:52pm EST

TEHRAN (Reuters) - U.S. allies in Asia and Europe voiced support on Thursday for Washington's drive to cut Iran's oil exports, though fear of self-inflicted economic pain is curbing enthusiasm for an embargo that a defiant Iran says will not halt its nuclear program.

The Speaker of Iran's Parliament Ali Larijani said Iran's nuclear program is also too strong to be derailed by assassinations of nuclear scientists, a day after the fourth such killing.

As a newspaper close to the clerical establishment called for retaliatory assassinations of Israeli officials, a former U.N. inspector said a new, almost bomb-proof plant could provide Iran enough enriched uranium for an atom bomb in just a year.

Such timetables, while Iran denies all Western charges that it even wants nuclear weapons, have added to speculation that Israel and the United States could resort to a military attack on the Islamic Republic - something an aide to Russian leader Vladimir Putin said was growing more likely.

After a motorcycle hitman blew up the 32-year-old engineer during the Tehran rush hour, many Iranians directed anger over the violence, and over painful economic sanctions, at the Western powers, which have hoped to turn popular sentiment against an increasingly divided ruling elite.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that those behind Wednesday's mystery killing would be punished.

Hossein Shariatmadari, who he appointed editor-in-chief of the Kayhan newspaper, wrote: "These corrupted people are easily identifiable and readily within our reach... Assassinations of the Zionist regime's military men and officials are very easy."

While declining comment on allegations it carried out the bombing on Wednesday, Israel has a history of such actions and will be on the alert for possible attacks against it.

Kremlin Security Council head Nikolai Patrushev, close to Putin, was quoted blaming Israel, which says an Iranian bomb would threaten its existence, for pushing for war: "There is a likelihood of military escalation of the conflict, towards which Israel is pushing the Americans," he told Interfax.

Former U.N. nuclear inspection chief Olli Heinonen said this week's announced start of uranium enrichment at a bunker complex could provide Iran with the ability to have enough such material for one nuclear bomb early next year - though it was not clear it would yet have the ability to build one.

A high-level team from the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is expected to visit Iran around January 28.

ASIAN IMPORTERS

Since President Barack Obama signed laws on New Year's Eve that, by denying buyers access to U.S. dollars, aim to cripple Iran's oil sales until it gives ground on the nuclear issue, major importers have been taking positions, torn between keeping in with Washington and quenching their thirst for Iranian oil.

Threats of disruption to the Gulf oil trade, from war or simply blockades, have kept crude prices firm. Benchmark Brent crude was up 1.5 percent at nearly $114 per barrel.

On Thursday, Japan, whose economy is already deep in the doldrums after cuts in its nuclear power supply following last year's tsunami, pledged to take concrete action to cut its oil imports from Iran in response to an appeal for support from visiting U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

However, Tokyo's support was not without reservations.

Finance Minister Jun Azumi said Japan buys 10 percent of its oil from Iran. "We would like to take action concretely to further reduce in a planned manner," he said. But he added: "It would cause immense damage if they were cut to zero."

Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura, the government's top spokesman, later tried to soften Azumi's pledge to reduce Iranian oil imports, saying it was just one of many options under consideration. And Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda voiced concern to Geithner about the potential impact of the U.S. sanctions on Japan and the world economy.

The U.S. Treasury chief welcomed Tokyo's cooperation, an encouraging sign for U.S. foreign policy after China rebuffed his arguments for sanctions earlier on his Asian tour.

One issue affecting Asian governments' willingness to follow the U.S. lead is the availability of alternatives to Iran, the second biggest exporter in OPEC after Saudi Arabia. While ready to help, it is not clear how far U.S. ally Riyadh can increase its own output and exports to make up for spurned Iranian crude.

Japan has already sought extra supplies from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. China's Premier Wen Jiabao will visit Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar in a trip beginning this weekend. The prime minister of South Korea, another major buyer of Iranian crude, is due to visit the UAE and Oman from Friday.

Korean minister Hong Suk-woo told Reuters "it was too early to say" if Seoul would reduce oil imports from Iran. "Our basic stance is to cooperate with the U.S.," Hong said.

China, the biggest buyer of Iranian crude, gave no hint on Wednesday of giving ground to U.S. demands to curb Tehran's oil revenues.

U.S. officials sounded more optimistic, saying they will focus more on China's actions than on its public statements.

However, China has reduced crude purchases from Iran for January and February in a dispute over contract pricing terms.

India faces pressure to cut crude purchases from Iran, but policymakers and industry officials have sent mixed messages on future plans with one unnamed cabinet minister on Thursday saying the country would continue to do business with Tehran.

EUROPEAN CONCERNS

The European Union is more sympathetic to U.S. pressure on Iran. EU foreign ministers are expected to agree on a ban on imports of Iranian crude oil on January 23.

However, even Europe, whose governments largely share the concern of Israel and Washington over Iran's nuclear ambitions, is looking for ways to limit the pain of an embargo.

"We expect a slow and gradual implementation of what will eventually become a full embargo," said Mike Wittner from Societe Generale. "Europe has the same concerns about its fragile economy and an oil price spike as the U.S., probably even more."

Firms in Iran's three biggest EU oil customers, Italy, Spain and Greece, all suffering acute economic discomfort, have lately extended existing purchase deals in the hope to at least delay the impact of any embargo for months, traders told Reuters.

EU diplomats said a consensus was emerging to grant a grace period before banning new deals with Iran - six months for crude oil purchases and three for petrochemicals. Moreover, companies would be able to go on accepting Iranian oil in payment for outstanding debts - something especially helpful to Italy.

Diplomats and traders say the grace period would give European companies time to find alternative sources of crude, but the process would be far from smooth.

"Some (EU members) are saying: 'help us find alternative suppliers and find a way to sustain the discounts we currently have'," one diplomatic source said.

The problem of replacement supplies to Europe could be partially solved with the help of Saudi Arabia. European diplomats have spoken to the kingdom's leadership who have signaled readiness to fill a supply gap, although concerns mount about the producer's spare capacity nearing its limit.

But there is no reason why Riyadh would agree to supply crude at a discount to a buyer like Greece, traders said. Many in the oil market have already pulled the plug on supplies for fear that Athens might default on its debt.

Greek officials have said their country imports up to 40 percent of its oil from Iran and wants to continue the flow without disruption and on the same funding terms.

The EU is also planning new sanctions on Iran's financial sector but states have been divided over whether to include Iran's central bank in these sanctions. Diplomats said France and Britain backed this but Germany opposed the idea - though a German diplomat denied that was the case.

(Additional reporting by Robin Pomeroy, Ramin Mostafavi, Mitra Amiri and Zahra Hosseinian in Tehran, Stanley White and Tetsushi Kajimoto in Tokyo, Ralph Gowling in London, Fredrik Dahl in Vienna, Gleb Bryansky in Moscow, David Brunnstrom and Julien Toyer in Brussels, Tulay Karadeniz and Ibon Villelabeitia in Ankara; Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Louise Ireland)

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