Syrians protest as army and defectors clash, Friday News

 

Syrian security forces shot dead three protesters calling for the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad and clashes continued in the center of the country between insurgents and loyalist forces, activists said.
Government troops have been battling opponents including army defectors and gunmen in the town of Rastan in the first prolonged armed confrontation since protests erupted against Assad six months ago.

The state news agency said seven soldiers and police were killed in the operation against "terrorists" in Rastan and another 32 were wounded, adding that the army had "inflicted big losses on the armed terrorist groups."
Activists reported attacks on army roadblocks in the nearby town of Talbiseh and said clashes continued in Rastan, prompting defiant calls at demonstrations where tens of thousands of people marched against Assad.
"Rastan is the bastion of free men, despite you, Bashar," proclaimed a sign carried by protesters in the northern province of Idlib. "Bashar get off our backs, Syria wants freedom," demonstrators shouted in Homs.
The United Nations says 2,700 people have been killed in Assad's crackdown on mostly peaceful protests, one of the highest death tolls in the wave of revolts which has toppled three Arab leaders this year.

Western powers have responded with sanctions on Syria's oil exports, forcing Assad's government to curb imports to protect its foreign reserves and adding to economic pressures after the collapse of tourism revenues and a slump in trade.

Assad retains control over most of the military and security forces but army deserters, many of whom are reported to have defected because they refused to shoot at protesters, have formed rebel units in areas around Rastan, a town of 40,000 people which lies 180 km (110 miles) north of Damascus.

One army defector operating in the province of Idlib, northwest of Rastan, said the defectors in the town were using guerrilla tactics against the heavily-armed loyalist forces.

"Rastan has been churning out army officers for decades and there is a lot of experience among the defecting soldiers. Assad is mistaken if he thinks that he can wrap up the attack quickly," he said, adding that the agricultural terrain made it difficult for the regular army to seal off the area.

The area around Rastan was a recruiting ground for Sunni conscripts who provide most of the manpower in an army dominated by officers from Assad's minority Alawite sect. Residents say at least 1,000 deserters and armed villagers have been fighting loyalist forces, who are backed by tanks and helicopters.

One activist said army defectors formed only a small part of the armed resistance. "There are at least 100 army defectors in Rastan and 600 gunmen," he said.

Syria says more than 700 soldiers and police have been killed in the uprising, which it blames on armed groups backed by foreign powers.

In Rastan, troops and security police "were continuing to chase members of these terrorist groups to restore security and stability to Rastan and its citizens," the news agency said.

It said gunmen killed three civilians and wounded several security force members in the province of Hama, and another three members of the security forces were killed in an ambush near Tel Kelakh on the Lebanese border.

U.S. CONVOY PELTED
Relations with Washington hit a new low on Thursday when Assad supporters threw stones and tomatoes at U.S. ambassador Robert Ford's convoy as he visited an opposition figure in Damascus.

Ford and his party were uninjured, the U.S. State Department said, but several embassy vehicles were damaged and the ambassador had to lock himself in an office to await help from Syrian security.
Syria, irked by Ford's meetings with opposition figures, accused Washington of inciting violence and meddling in its affairs. Washington demanded that Syria take steps to protect U.S. diplomats.

"We condemn this unwarranted attack in the strongest possible terms. Ambassador Ford and his aides were conducting normal embassy business and this attempt to intimidate our diplomats through violence is wholly unjustified," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.

The Syrian government said that once it had been alerted to the confrontation, authorities "took all necessary procedures to protect the ambassador and his team and secure their return to their place of work."
At the United Nations, European members of the Security Council softened a draft resolution condemning Syria's crackdown but Russia said it could still not support the new text.

The latest version of the resolution showed that drafters Britain, France, Germany and Portugal had deleted a reference to U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay's recommendation that the council consider referring the Syrian government's crackdown to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

The United States is expected to support it, envoys said, despite its disappointment about compromises made in an attempt to woo Russia, China, Brazil, India and South Africa.

In Paris, Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero expressed French frustration over the lack of agreement. "How many victims will we need to have before the UN Security Council faces up to its responsibilities?" he said.

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US strike kills American al-Qaida cleric in Yemen, Friday News

 

In a significant new blow to al-Qaida, U.S. airstrikes in Yemen on Friday killed Anwar al-Awlaki, an American militant cleric who became a prominent figure in the terror network's most dangerous branch, using his fluent English and Internet savvy to draw recruits for attacks in the United States.

The strike was the biggest U.S. success in hitting al-Qaida's leadership since the May killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. But it raises questions that other strikes did not: Al-Awlaki was an American citizen who has not been charged with any crime. Civil liberties groups have questioned the government's authority to kill an American without trial.

The 40-year-old al-Awlaki was for years an influential mouthpiece for al-Qaida's ideology of holy war, and his English-language sermons urging attacks on the United States were widely circulated among militants in the West.

But U.S. officials say he moved into a direct operational role in organizing such attacks as he hid alongside al-Qaida militants in the rugged mountains of Yemen. Most notably, they believe he was involved in recruiting and preparing a young Nigerian who on Christmas Day 2009 tried to blow up a U.S. airliner heading to Detroit, failing only because he botched the detonation of explosives sewn into his underpants.

Yemen's Defense Ministry said another American militant was killed in the same strike alongside al-Awlaki — Samir Khan, a U.S. citizen of Pakistani heritage who produced "Inspire," an English-language al-Qaida Web magazine that spread the word on ways to carry out attacks inside the United States. U.S. officials said they believed Khan was in the convoy carrying al-Awlaki that was struck but that they were still trying to confirm his death. U.S. and Yemeni officials said two other militants were also killed in the strike but did not immediately identify them.

Washington has called al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, as the branch in Yemen is called, the most direct threat to the United States after it plotted that attack and a foiled attempt to mail explosives to synagogues in Chicago.

In July, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said al-Awlaki was a priority target alongside Ayman al-Zawahri, bin Laden's successor as the terror network's leader.

The Yemeni-American had been in the U.S. crosshairs since his killing was approved by President Barack Obama in April 2010 — making him the first American placed on the CIA "kill or capture" list. At least twice, airstrikes were called in on locations in Yemen where al-Awlaki was suspected of being, but he wasn't harmed.

Friday's success was the result of counterterrorism cooperation between Yemen and the U.S. that has dramatically increased in recent weeks — ironically, even as Yemen has plunged deeper into turmoil as protesters try to oust President Ali Abdullah Saleh, U.S. officials said.

Apparently trying to cling to power by holding his American allies closer, Saleh has opened the taps in cooperation against al-Qaida. U.S. officials said the Yemenis have also allowed the U.S. to gather more intelligence on al-Awlaki's movements and to fly more armed drone and aircraft missions over its territory than ever before.

The operation that killed al-Awlaki was run by the U.S. military's elite counterterrorism unit, the Joint Special Operations Command — the same unit that got bin Laden.

A U.S. counterterrorism official said American forces targeted a convoy in which al-Awlaki was traveling with a drone and jet attack and believe he's been killed. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Yemeni government announced that al-Awlaki was "targeted and killed" around 9:55 a.m outside the town of Khashef in mountainous Jawf province, 87 miles (140 kilometers) east of the capital Sanaa. It gave no further details.


Local tribal and security officials said al-Awlaki was traveling in a two-car convoy with two other al-Qaida operatives from Jawf to neighboring Marib province when they were hit by an airstrike. They said the other two operatives were also believed dead. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.

Al-Awlaki, born in New Mexico to Yemeni parents, began as a mosque preacher as he conducted his university studies in the United States, and he was not seen by his congregations as radical. While preaching in San Diego, he came to know two of the men who would eventually become suicide-hijackers in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The FBI questioned al-Awlaki at the time but found no cause to detain him.

In 2004, al-Awlaki returned to Yemen, and in the years that followed, his English-language sermons — distributed on the Internet — increasingly turned to denunciations of the United States and calls for jihad, or holy war. The sermons turned up in the possession of a number of militants in the U.S. and Europe arrested for plotting attacks.

Al-Awlaki exchanged up to 20 emails with U.S. Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, alleged killer of 13 people in the Nov. 5, 2009, rampage at Fort Hood. Hasan initiated the contacts, drawn by al-Awlaki's Internet sermons, and approached him for religious advice.

Al-Awlaki has said he didn't tell Hasan to carry out the shootings, but he later praised Hasan as a "hero" on his Web site for killing American soldiers who would be heading for Afghanistan or Iraq to fight Muslims.
In New York, the Pakistani-American man who pleaded guilty to the May 2010 Times Square car bombing attempt told interrogators he was "inspired" by al-Awlaki after making contact over the Internet.

After the Fort Hood attack, al-Awlaki moved from Yemen's capital, Sanaa, into the mountains where his Awalik tribe is based and — it appears — grew to build direct ties with al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, if he had not developed them already. The branch is led by a Yemeni militant named Nasser al-Wahishi.
Yemeni officials have said al-Awlaki had contacts with Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the accused would-be Christmas plane bomber, who was in Yemen in 2009. They say the believe al-Awlaki met with the 23-year-old Nigerian, along with other al-Qaida leaders, in al-Qaida strongholds in the country in the weeks before the failed bombing.

Al-Awlaki has said Abdulmutallab was his "student" but said he never told him to carry out the airline attack.
The cleric is also believed to have been an important middleman between al-Qaida militants and the multiple tribes that dominate large parts of Yemen, particular in the mountains of Jawf, Marib and Shabwa province where the terror group's fighters are believed to be holed up.

Last month, al-Awlaki was seen attending a funeral of a senior tribal chief in Shabwa, witnesses said, adding that security officials were also among those attending. Other witnesses said al-Awlaki was involved in negotiations with a local tribe in Yemen's Mudiya region, which was preventing al-Qaida fighters from traveling from their strongholds to the southern city of Zinjibar, which was taken over recently by Islamic militants. The witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals and their accounts could not be independently confirmed.

Yemen, the Arab world's most impoverished nation, has become a haven for hundreds of al-Qaida militants. The country has also been torn by political turmoil as President Saleh struggles to stay in power in the face of seven months of protests. In recent months, Islamic militants linked to al-Qaida have exploited the chaos to seize control of several cities in Yemen's south, including Zinjibar.

A previous attack against al-Awlaki on May 5, shortly after the May raid that killed Osama bin Laden, was carried out by a combination of U.S. drones and jets.

Top U.S. counterterrorism adviser John Brennan has said cooperation with Yemen has improved since the political unrest there. Brennan said the Yemenis have been more willing to share information about the location of al-Qaida targets, as a way to fight the Yemeni branch challenging them for power.

Yemeni security officials said the U.S. was conducting multiple airstrikes a day in the south since May and that U.S. officials were finally allowed to interrogate al-Qaida suspects, something Saleh had long resisted, and still does so in public. The officials spokes on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence issues.

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Renewed violence 9 killed in Yemeni

Renewed violence in the Yemeni capital killed at least nine people on Thursday as street battles broke out between forces loyal to the regime and its opponents, medical and security officials said.

The officials said six people died in central Sanaa when government forces shelled thousands gathered for a protest there with mortars and rocket propelled grenades. Snipers on rooftops also targeted the protesters at Change Square, the epicenter of Yemen's seven-month-old uprising, and adjacent streets.

Three bystanders were killed by a mortar shell in Sanaa's northern Hassaba district, the officials also said. The district is home to several of the tribal chiefs who switched sides in March to join the opposition against the 33-year rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The latest deaths took to about a 100 the number of people killed in Sanaa and elsewhere in Yemen since Sunday, in the worst bout of bloodshed in months. The deaths also shattered hope that a cease-fire negotiated on Tuesday could be restored and significantly diminished the chances for a proposal by Yemen's Gulf Arab neighbors to end the crisis.

The Gulf plan, backed by the United States, provides for Saleh to step down in exchange for immunity and for the vice president to take the reins of power until elections are held.

Yemen's turmoil began in February as the unrest spreading throughout the Arab world set off largely peaceful protests in the deeply impoverished and unstable corner of the Arabian Peninsula that is also home to an al-Qaida offshoot blamed for several nearly successful attempts to attack the United States.

Saleh's government responded with a heavy crackdown, with hundreds killed and thousands wounded so far.
The officials who gave Thursday's casualty toll spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. They said that scores of homes and stores across central Sanaa were damaged or caught fire as a result of random shelling blamed on government forces.

The shelling also ruptured many water tanks traditionally stored on rooftops of Yemeni homes, inundating the streets below. Sanaa has for weeks suffered from acute water and power shortages, forcing residents to rely on power generators and buy water extracted from wells and sold on a thriving black market.

Street battles broke out between armed tribesmen opposed to Saleh and their rivals in several locations across Sanaa on Thursday but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

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Enjoys family reunions Americans freed from Iran

Two Americans released from an Iranian prison spent their first full day of freedom Thursday in seclusion, enjoying a joyous reunion with their families in the Gulf State of Oman after being held for more than two years accused as spies.

Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer arrived late Wednesday night in Oman under a $1 million bail-for-freedom deal and were embraced by relatives.

"Everybody is really happy to be together right now," Bauer's brother-in-law Nate Lindstrom told CBS in an interview. Lindstrom was not in Oman with the families but said he had spoken to his wife, Bauer's sister Nicole, from there on Thursday morning. He said his wife had not spoken to her brother in two years and was relieved to finally be with him again, enjoying catching up. There was no word on when the two would return to the U.S.

The families were on the tarmac to greet the two when they arrived Wednesday at a royal airfield near the main international airport in Oman's capital, Muscat. At about 20 minutes before midnight Wednesday, Fattal and Bauer — wearing jeans and casual shirts — bounded down the steps from the blue-and-white plane. The men appeared very thin and pale, but in good health.

"We're so happy we are free," Fattal told reporters in a brief statement before leaving the airport.
"Two years in prison is too long," Bauer said, adding he hoped their release from prison will also bring "freedom for political prisoners in America and Iran."

Iran's Foreign Ministry said that the pair's release was a gesture of Islamic mercy and a response to calls for their freedom by world leaders such as U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Oman's ruler, Sultan Qaboos bin Said.

The release capped complicated diplomatic maneuvers over a week of confusing signals by Iran's leadership. Although the fate of Fattal and Bauer gripped America, it was on the periphery of the larger showdowns between Washington and Tehran that include Iran's nuclear program and its ambitions to widen military and political influence in the Middle East and beyond.

The release came on the eve of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's previously scheduled address Thursday to the U.N. General Assembly's annual ministerial meeting.

The two, along with American Sarah Shourd, were detained in July 2009 along the Iran-Iraq border. They always maintained their innocence, saying they were only hiking in Iraq's relatively peaceful Kurdish region and might have accidentally wandered into Iran. While in prison, Bauer proposed to Shourd. She was released a year ago under similar terms and was with the families in Oman to greet the two.

Last month, Fattal and Bauer were sentenced to eight years in prison each for illegal entry into Iran and espionage.
American and Omani officials did not disclose details about the Americans' plans and when they may head home. After Shourd was freed last September, she stayed for days in Oman before she flew to United States.
"Today can only be described as the best day of our lives," said a Wednesday statement from their families. "We have waited for nearly 26 months for this moment and the joy and relief we feel at Shane and Josh's long-awaited freedom knows no bounds."

"We now all want nothing more than to wrap Shane and Josh in our arms, catch up on two lost years and make a new beginning, for them and for all of us," the statement added.

Obama called it "wonderful, wonderful news about the hikers, we are thrilled ... It's a wonderful day for them and for us."

In many ways, the release was a mirror image of the scene last year when Shourd was freed on $500,000 bail. That deal, too, was mediated by Oman, an Arabian peninsula sultanate with close ties to both Tehran and Washington. A statement from Oman said it hoped the release would lead to better ties between Iran and the U.S.

The first hint of change in the case came last week when Ahmadinejad said Fattal and Bauer could be released within days. But then came the voice of the hard-line ruling clerics, who have waged a stinging campaign against the president and his allies in recent months as part of power struggle.

The clerics made it clear: Only they have the authority to set the timing and ground rules to release the men. After several days of halting progress, their Iranian defense attorney Masoud Shafiei secured on Wednesday the necessary judicial approval for the bail — $500,000 for each man.

Hours later, the gates of Tehran's Evin prison opened and the Americans headed in a convoy with Swiss and Omani diplomats to Tehran's aging Mehrabad airport. Switzerland represents U.S. diplomatic interests in Iran because the U.S. broke off diplomatic relations with Tehran shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Until their release, the last previous direct contact family members had with Bauer and Fattal was in May 2010, when their mothers were permitted a short visit in Tehran, which Iranian officials used for high-profile propaganda.

More recently, Iran used the men's pending release to draw attention to Iranians in U.S. prisons and difficulties faced by their families such as securing visas for visits.

Since her release last year, Shourd has lived in Oakland, California. Bauer, a freelance journalist, grew up in Onamia, Minnesota. and Fattal, an environmental activist, is from suburban Philadelphia.

Shourd and Bauer had been living together in Damascus, Syria, where Bauer was working as a freelance journalist and Shourd as an English teacher. Fattal went to visit them in July 2009 shortly before their trip to northern Iraq.

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Two Americans Spies jailed in Iran has been released

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Killing of Afghan leader endangers peace process

Afghanistan's former president Burhanuddin Rabbani smiles during an interview with …

The suicide bomber who killed the head of an Afghan peace council struggling to start meaningful negotiations with the Taliban delivered a potentially fatal blow to the efforts to find a political settlement in Afghanistan.
Afghan officials on Wednesday mourned the death of former President Berhanuddin Rabbani, who headed the High Peace Council. His assassin had claimed he was a Taliban leader seeking to reconcile with the government and had waited for days in Kabul on the pretext of wanting to talk to Rabbani about peace.

The assassination sapped hope for reconciling with the Taliban and raised fears about deteriorating security in Afghanistan just as foreign combat troops are starting to pull out. Some U.S. and Canadian troops have left in recent months and all foreign combat forces are to go home or move into support roles by the end of 2014 when Afghan forces are to be in charge of protecting and defending the nation.

Mohammad Ismail Qasemyar, the international relations adviser for the peace council, said the bomber, identified as Esmatullah, had approached several council officials, telling them that he was an important figure in the Taliban insurgency and would only speak directly with Rabbani.

"He wanted to talk about peace with Professor Rabbani," Qasemyar said.

The appeal was passed up to President Hamid Karzai, who called Rabbani and encouraged him to meet with Esmatullah, said Ahmad Wali Masood, the brother of Ahmed Shah Masood, the resistance leader who was killed by al-Qaida in 2001. It's unclear if Esmatullah was the attacker's real name.

The bomber stayed for days at a house used for guests of the peace council while waiting for Rabbani to return from a trip to Iran, Qasemyar said.

On Tuesday, the two met and the attacker went to shake hands with Rabbani at his home, bowing his head near the former president's chest and detonating a bomb hidden in his turban, Qasemyar said.
The U.S.-led coalition said another attacker was also involved, but that could not be confirmed by Afghan officials. The Interior Ministry said one person had been detained in connection with Rabbani's death — the driver of the car that took the bomber to Rabbani's house. The driver was found with incriminating documents, said Atta Mohammad Noor, the governor of Balkh province. He did not reveal his source or provide further details.

Rabbani was seen as a unifying force who brought together different ethnic factions, many of whom disagreed about whether the government should even be seeking negotiations with the insurgency.

Rabbani had been a leader of the Northern Alliance resistance movement, and his involvement in the peace council silenced many in that group that didn't want to sit around a table with Taliban militants.

It was unclear who — if anyone — among Afghan powerbrokers might be able to fill that role now.


Waheed Muzhda, a Kabul-based analyst and former foreign ministry official under the Taliban regime that was toppled in late 2001, said it was hard to foresee a future for the year-old peace council.

"It is clear for Afghan people, and even for the international community, that the Taliban do not agree with what the Afghan government is suggesting," Muzhda said. "Nobody thinks that any positive development regarding the peace process through the High Peace Council is possible."

Sarajuddin Sirat, who is active in the council and headed Rabbani's political party in northern Baghlan province, said the former president's death will make it very difficult for peace negotiators to move safely around the country to talk with Taliban figures.

"How can we feel safe?" he asked. "Look what happened to Rabbani."

The street where Rabbani lived was under tight security Wednesday and those gathered outside feared another suicide attack because so many dignitaries were there paying their respects. Karzai cut short a trip to the U.S. on hearing of Rabbani's death and landed in Kabul late Wednesday. He visited those wounded in the attack in the hospital and paid his respects at Rabbani's house.

A black cloth, a symbol of mourning, was draped over a wall of Rabbani's house. Throughout the day, top clerics, tribal leaders, government officials, former jihadi commanders and members of Rabbani's party streamed in and out of the house as a loudspeaker broadcast readings of the Quran, the Muslim holy book.
The dignitaries included Vice President Gen. Mohammed Qasim Fahim; Abdullah Abdullah, a top opposition leader who ran against Karzai in the last election; Ismail Khan, a former warlord and current minister of water and power; and Atta Mohammed Noor, a powerful governor of Balkh province in the north. Local citizens denounced the Taliban, saying it was shameful for insurgents to kill an old man working for peace.

Neyamatullah Shahrani, a religious adviser to Karzai, said it will be difficult to replace Rabbani.

"He belonged to all Afghans. He was serving all the Afghan people. It's too early to say how it will affect the peace efforts, but it is very difficult to replace Rabbani. He had relations with all these tribes in Afghanistan."
The Pakistani government and leaders across the world condemned the killing. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called Afghan President Hamid Karzai as he rushed back to Kabul from the United States.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Gen. Mohammad Ayub Salangi, police chief in Kabul, said the Taliban were behind it.

When contacted by The Associated Press, Taliban spokesmen declined to discuss the killing and spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said they were still investigating the killing.

"We are still gathering information on this. Right now our position is that we cannot say anything about this incident," Mujahid said in a statement posted Wednesday on a Taliban website.

In Washington, John Kerry, the chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called Rabbani's assassination a "great setback" for the cause of peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan.

"Former President Rabbani was a historic figure who fought the Taliban in the 1990s and who continued to work for peace and stability as the head of the High Peace Council," Kerry said in a statement. "Afghanistan's enemies want to use his death along with other previous attacks to destabilize the region. We cannot let that happen. Too much is at stake for the people of Afghanistan and the country's future."

Afghans at Rabbani's home blamed the Haqqani network, a militant organization based in Pakistan and affiliated with the Taliban and al-Qaida that has conducted several attacks in the capital.

And some criticized the government for failing to provide security while standing just steps away from its top officials.

"They are continuing to kill our leaders," said Rashuddin, who was a close associate of Rabbani. "How can the bombers get into Kabul? How can they get into the house close to Rabbani? There should be tight security. The Americans are saying they are for peace and security while our leaders are dying in front of our eyes."

Rabbani, whose death came just days after insurgents attacked the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, was the latest high-ranking official close to Karzai to be killed by militants in recent months. Outnumbered on the battlefield, insurgents are conducting targeted attacks against officials aligned with the Afghan government and U.S.-led coalition, lowering hopes that Afghan forces can secure the country.

"Every day they are killing," said Mirza Mohammad, a 50-year-old former Afghan Army officer from Parwan province. "The killing of Rabbani has brought chaos to Afghanistan."

Mohammad, who was among those paying respects Wednesday at Rabbani's home in Kabul, called for a national uprising. "We will soon get revenge," he said. "Pakistan is behind this attack."

Meanwhile, in the Waghaz district of eastern Ghazni province, nine Afghan policemen were killed Tuesday evening while they were trying to defuse a roadside bomb, said Gen. Zirawer Zahid, provincial police chief.
And in the south, two NATO service members were killed in an insurgent attack, the alliance said in a statement Wednesday. NATO did not provide further details.

Including the latest deaths, at least 28 international troops have been killed so far this month in Afghanistan.

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Two Americans Spies jailed in Iran has been released

Two Americans jailed in Iran as spies have been released from Tehran's prison after more than two years in custody.

Associated Press reporters saw a convoy of vehicles with Swiss and Omani diplomats leaving Evin prison Wednesday with the freed Americans inside. They headed to Tehran international airport.

Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal were freed after their Iranian lawyer obtained signatures of two judges on a bail-for-freedom deal. A $1 million bail — $500,000 for each one — was posted.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

The lawyer for two Americans jailed as spies in Iran said they will be released Wednesday after more than two years in custody following a court approval of a $1 million bail deal.

The Iranian attorney Masoud Shafiei said he planned to go to Tehran's Evin prison to begin the procedure for the release of Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal.

"The case is over," Shafiei said. "The court has ordered that they be freed on bail."

The two were arrested along the Iran-Iraq border in July 2009 and sentenced last month to eight years each in prison. A third American arrested with them, Sarah Shourd, was freed last year on bail.

Shafiei said he would meet the two Americans at 3 p.m. local time at Tehran's Evin prison. Swiss and Omani diplomats were standing by at the prison, waiting to pick up the two Americans. Switzerland represents American interests in Iran because the U.S. has no diplomatic relations with Tehran and the prisoners are expected to be taken to Oman after their release.

The case of Bauer and Fattal, who were convicted of spying for the United States, has deepened strains in the already fraught relationship between Washington and Tehran. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was first to mention last week that the Americans' could be released, is in the United States and is scheduled to speak at the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday.

Shafiei said the bail of $500,000 for each of the men was posted after some last-minute bank problems were resolved. He did not say who put up the money.

"There is no obstacle to their freedom now," the lawyer said. "It's only a matter of time before they are out of jail," he added. "They can go to the U.S. the way Sarah did."


The release of the pair will likely follow the pattern of Shourd's release last September after a $500,000 bails was posted. She was then flown on a private plane to the Omani capital Muscat. Last week, Oman dispatched a plane belonging to the Gulf country's ruler to fetch the two Americans if the freedom-for-bail was reached.

Omani officials declined to comment on the ongoing proceedings for the Americans' release. They only said the private plane, sent from Muscat to the Iranian capital last Wednesday, was still in Tehran.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Oman has close ties with both Tehran and Washington and plays a strategic role in the region by sharing control with Iran of the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, which is the route for 40 percent of the world's oil tanker traffic.

The three Americans — friends from their days at the University of California at Berkeley — have maintained their innocence and denied the espionage charges against them.

Their families and the U.S. government say they were just hiking in northern Iraq's scenic and relatively peaceful Kurdish region when they may have accidentally strayed over the unmarked border with Iran.
Since her release last year, Shourd has lived in Oakland, Calif. Bauer, a freelance journalist, grew up in Onamia, Minn., and Fattal, an environmental activist, is from suburban Philadelphia.
Bauer proposed marriage to Shourd while in prison.

Phone messages left for Fattal's mother and brother in Philadelphia were not immediately returned Wednesday.

It was not clear where the two men will be reunited with their families after their release. The last direct contact family members had with Bauer and Fattal was in May 2010 when their mothers were permitted a short visit in Tehran.

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Angelina Jolie Handcuffs Purse to Wrist in Toronto

Once a wild child, always a wild child!

Angelina Jolie carried a unique fashion accessory to Brad Pitt's Moneyball premiere Friday night in Toronto: a gold clutch that was actually handcuffed to her wrist!


The actress, 36, carried the Louis Vuitton Lockit PM Devotion clutch. She paired the shiny gold bag with a sleek black dress.

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Dad thanks suspect for Kienan's return

With the resilience of a three year-old, Kienan Hebert is back to playing with his brothers and sisters, happily running around as police continue their search for a suspect who snatched the boy from his Sparwood, B.C., home and mysteriously returned him there unharmed five days later.

His weeping parents appeared before the media Sunday to thank all who supported them during the gruelling hours and days following their son's abduction last Wednesday, including police and community volunteers.
But the boy's father, Paul Hebert, had a special thank you for "the person" who brought his little boy home Sunday morning. Police allege that person was the abductor _ convicted sex offender Randall Hopley.

"To the person who returned Kienan to our family I'd like to say thank you," Paul Hebert sobbed. "It was the right thing to do. I thank God that Kienan was returned unharmed."

RCMP Cpl. Dan Moskaluk said medical personnel assessed the boy and found him unhurt, in good spirits and happy to be reunited with his family.

Moskaluk's announcement generated a loud cheer from several of the volunteers who had searched for Kienan and had packed the tiny tent where the news conference was taking place.

Paul Hebert — who appeared almost stoic before the media over the five days since his child vanished — had difficulty speaking.

"Thank you, thank you," he managed to say before breaking down in tears. His wife, Tammy, sat beside him, tears running down her face.

Police received an anonymous call around 3 a.m. local time Sunday morning telling them where to find the boy.

Moskaluk said the most troubling thing was that the caller told police they could find Kienan in his own home.
"Taking the child undetected and then placing him back undetected certainly is a chilling prospect," Moskaluk admitted.

The family wasn't home at the time and were staying with a neighbour. The house, which had been surrounded by yellow police tape since the boy's disappearance, had been thoroughly searched by investigators.
After the boy's return, the police tape was placed around the entire block. Later in the day investigators were scouring the house once again for more forensic evidence.

No one saw Kienan taken some time last Wednesday morning and no one witness his return.
"This young boy was returned by an abductor. In 26 years of policing I have never seen this," said an emotional Moskaluk. "The little guy appears to be in good health. Little guys like this are very resilient.
"To the rest of the world 9-11 means New York. 9-11 to me means Kienan Hebert."
Moskaluk also had a message for Hopley.

"Randall, if you're listening, you need to reach out to the police," he said.

"We're not going to put any other children at risk. We want this to be completed."

Roadblocks were set up on the highways in and around Sparwood. RCMP officers stopped hundreds of vehicles, checking in back seats and ordering drivers to pop their trunks to make sure that Hopley was not catching a ride.

Word of Kienan's return spread quickly throughout Sparwood, a coal mining town of about 4,000 surrounded on all sides by mountains and trees. The community had mustered hundreds of volunteers to search the area around the Hebert home.

"I'm rather ecstatic right now. When we heard the news first thing this morning we were already up planning for today's operations. In this case, a little boy being brought back — man, it's excellent," said search and rescue spokesman Jeff Smedley.

Sparwood's acting mayor Sharon Fraser paid the Hebert family a visit early Sunday morning.

"I've never heard of this happening. I've never heard of a child being abducted and then returned right back to the home. So to me it's nothing short of a big miracle," said Fraser. "It just scares the heck out of you period."
Former Sparwood mayor David Wilks, now the Conservative MP for the area, worked as an RCMP officer in Sparwood before entering politics.

Wilks, who attends church with the Hebert's, said he remembers dealing with Hopley in his policing days and admits the circumstances are disturbing.

"Is there another child next? He's still out there," shrugged Wilks.

"He has the uncanny ability to get into a house and back out with everyone in it and not only take a child but deliver the child back," he added.

But Wilks had been optimistic that Kienan would be delivered home safely.

"I felt that he would not harm him but for whatever reason he wanted him to be with him."
The boy's father called his pastor shortly after Kienan was found Sunday morning.

Pastor Ron Rutley of the Sparwood Fellowship Baptist Church gave thanks for Kienan's safe return in his Sunday morning sermon.

"It's just like a dream. Lord we thank you that Kienan is home safe. We pray for him right now," said Rutley.
"Lord we come before you with bittersweet hearts. Sweet for you have heard our prayers and answered them and bitter because we struggle to understand why those prayers had to be uttered at all."

On Saturday, the boy's parents brushed away tears as Moskaluk confirmed that their son was kidnapped from his home in this scenic close-knit mountain community. The boy has a history of sleepwalking, and many were hoping he had perhaps just wandered away.

Clasping his wife's hand tightly under the table, Paul Hebert had a message for Kienan's suspected captor saying they only wanted their son returned unharmed.

Police said a second abduction attempt happened at another home on the evening Hebert went missing. A suspect tried unsuccessfully to lure another child out of the home.

Hopley, 46, was convicted of sexual assault in the mid-1980s and was given a two-year federal prison sentence.

An incident in November 2007 led to charges of break and enter, unlawful confinement and attempted abduction, and the indictment for the case indicated the victim was under 16 years old.
B.C.'s Criminal Justice Branch has confirmed Hopley pleaded guilty to break and enter and was sentenced to 18 months in jail, while the other charges were stayed.

Crown spokesman Neil MacKenzie said Hopley admitted at trial that he attempted to abduct a 10-year-old boy, who was in foster care at the time. Hopley claimed he was acting on behalf of the child's parents.

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Canada Green City Index

Vancouver ranks among the greenest of them all when it comes to environmental performance, placing first in Canada and second overall in an assessment of North American cities.

The coastal city placed behind San Francisco and ahead of New York City in the U.S. and Canada Green City Index released Thursday.

Sponsored by Siemens, the index measures and rates the environmental performance of 27 cities on both sides of the border in nine categories: CO2, energy, land use, buildings, transport, water, waste, air and environmental governance.

The cities chosen were selected with a view towards representing a number of the most populous metropolitan areas in the U.S. and Canada.

Vancouver landed in the top 10 in each of the nine individual categories, ranking first among all cities with the lowest carbon dioxide emissions and best air quality.

The city emits 4.2 metric tons of CO2 per person, far below the index average of 14.5 metric tons. The report said the city's low emissions were a result of policies aimed at green energy promotion and the dominance of hydropower in Vancouver’s energy grid.

Vancouver's "impressive" performance in the air category was the result of low emission levels of all pollutants that were measured, including sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, the report said.

Among the remaining Canadian cities on the green index, Toronto placed ninth overall, Ottawa was 12th, Calgary 14th and Montreal 19th.

The report notes Vancouver's metropolitan area is home to some 2.1 million people, making it the third most populous city in Canada. Yet in their assessment, researchers only account for the 580,000 people living within the city limits.

That makes Vancouver the smallest Canadian city in the index compared to the city populations of Ottawa (810,000), Calgary (990,000) and Montreal (1.6 million). Toronto had the highest city population among the Canadian cities assessed, at 2.5 million.

Richard Stein with the Economist Intelligence Unit, which conducted the research, said that individual indicators were adjusted or "normalized" to take into account differences in geographic area and associated population.

"Thus, the indicators, the categories, their respective scores, and ultimately the overall scores were adjusted to be consistent and to allow comparisons," he wrote in an email to The Canadian Press.

The EIU, an in-house research unit of British magazine The Economist, was also behind a survey released last month which saw Vancouver knocked off its perch as the world's most livable city, falling to third place behind Melbourne and Vienna.

The Economist blamed a "small adjustment" in the city's transport infrastructure for the downgrade, noting the change in score was, in part, "reflecting recent intermittent closures of the key Malahat Highway.''
However, the Malat is located on Vancouver Island, requiring someone from Vancouver to spend 90 minutes on a ferry and at least that much time driving and waiting in a car. The road was closed for 22 hours in April after a fuel tanker truck crashed.

For the green index, Calgary topped the list in the water category, with the city consuming 428 litres of water per person per day compared to the index average of 587.

The city was also cited for its low water distribution leakage rate, which the report said "reflects the city’s vigilance in continually monitoring the system." Calgary was also noted for its high percentage of metered customers and strong wastewater management.

The findings were unveiled at the Green Cities Challenge event at the Toronto Board of Trade.
Speakers weighed in on the efforts needed by individuals, businesses and policymakers to build more environmentally sustainable communities. They called for more to be done to address climate change and expand transportation infrastructure, and for investments in energy-efficient retrofits and technologies to help reduce carbon emissions.

"As the report suggests and as the list of green cities tells us, slowly but surely, our cities and political jurisdictions are adjusting. They are becoming centres of knowledge and innovation," said keynote speaker Richard Florida, senior editor of The Atlantic and author of "The Rise of the Creative Class."
The challenge going forward is to continue to accelerate efforts towards sustainability, he noted.
"We can say the past is what we want — we want more spectacles, bigger malls on the water... we want more consumption and more cars and bigger roads and more energy consumption, we want to treat our workers like cogs in the machine... or we can say we can embrace the future."

Here are some of the top performances among other Canadian cities in other categories:
Montreal: The city took the fourth overall spot in the transport category with its public transit system deemed one of the best in the index. While Montreal's average commute time is "longer than normal" due to travel times from elsewhere in the metro area onto the island, "the city’s high population density ensures efficient transport once in the city of Montreal." Montreal had the second highest share of non-automobile commuters. Some 29 per cent of workers commute by public transit, bicycle, or on foot — more than double the index average.

Ottawa: Canada's capital ranked third in land use. Ottawa's city limits encompass an area five times larger than the average city in the index "creating both opportunities and challenges for land use policies." The report said that while the city's low population density (300 people per square kilometre) leads to some urban sprawl, the city limits also encompass "vast amounts of green space" — the highest percentage in the index.
Toronto: The city earned a fourth-place ranking overall in the waste category, which the report said was driven by its 44 per cent recycling rate — "solidly above" the 26 per cent average. The report said the effort was supported by "well-regarded waste-reduction policies" such as composting, waste separation and volume-based trash payment, and a public awareness campaign.

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Actor Andy Whitfield, star of 'Spartacus' dies of lymphoma at 39

Andy Whitfield, who played the role in the hit cable series "Spartacus: Blood and Sand," has died at the age 39, according to representatives and family.

Andy died on Sunday in Sydney, Australia, 18 months after he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, manager Sam Maydew told the Associated Press.

"On a beautiful sunny Sydney spring morning, surrounded by his family, in the arms of his loving wife, our beautiful young warrior Andy Whitfield lost his 18 month battle with lymphoma cancer," Whitfield's wife Vashti said in a statement. "He passed peacefully surrounded by love. Thank you to all his fans whose love and support have help carry him to this point. He will be remembered as the inspiring, courageous and gentle man, father and husband he was."

Andy Whitfield - who was born in Wales and moved to Australia in 1999 — was a virtual unknown when he was cast as the legendary Thracian slave in "Spartacus," a role made famous by Kirk Douglas in the 1960 Stanley Kubrick film.

The series proved a breakout hit for the Starz network and made waves with its graphic violence and sexuality.
Whitfield appeared in all 13 episodes of the first season that aired in 2010, and was preparing to shoot the second when he was diagnosed with cancer.

While waiting for Whitfield's treatment and expected recovery, the network produced a six-part prequel, "Spartacus: Gods of the Arena," that aired earlier this year with only a brief voiceover from the actor.
But in January after Whitfield's condition grew worse, the network announced that another Australian actor, Liam McIntyre, would take over the role.

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of our dear friend and colleague, Andy Whitfield," Starz President and CEO Chris Albrecht said in a statement Sunday night. "We were fortunate to have worked with Andy in 'Spartacus' and came to know that the man who played a champion on-screen was also a champion in his own life."

Whitfield's previous credits included appearances on the Australian TV shows "Packed to the Rafters" and "McLeod's Daughters."

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