Supercomputer predicts revolution (BLOG)

Feeding a supercomputer with news stories could help predict major world events, according to US research.

A study, based on millions of articles, charted deteriorating national sentiment ahead of the recent revolutions in Libya and Egypt.

While the analysis was carried out retrospectively, scientists say the same processes could be used to anticipate upcoming conflict.

The system also picked up early clues about Osama Bin Laden's location.

Kalev Leetaru, from the University of Illinois' Institute for Computing in the Humanities, Arts and Social Science, presented his findings in the journal First Monday.Mood and location

The study's information was taken from a range of sources including the US government-run Open Source Centre and BBC Monitoring, both of which monitor local media output around the world.

News outlets which published online versions were also analysed, as was the New York Times' archive, going back to 1945.

In total, Mr Leetaru gathered more than 100 million articles.

Reports were analysed for two main types of information: mood - whether the article represented good news or bad news, and location - where events were happening and the location of other participants in the story.

Mood detection, or "automated sentiment mining" searched for words such as "terrible", "horrific" or "nice".

Location, or "geocoding" took mentions of specific places, such as "Cairo" and converted them in to coordinates that could be plotted on a map.

Analysis of story elements was used to create an interconnected web of 100 trillion relationships.Predicting trouble

Data was fed into an SGI Altix supercomputer, known as Nautilus, based at the University of Tennessee.

The machine's 1024 Intel Nehalem cores have a total processing power of 8.2 teraflops (trillion floating point operations per second).

Based on specific queries, Nautilus generated graphs for different countries which experienced the "Arab Spring".

In each case, the aggregated results of thousands of news stories showed a notable dip in sentiment ahead of time - both inside the country, and as reported from outside.

For Egypt, the tone of media coverage in the month before President Hosni Mubarak's resignation had fallen to a low only seen twice before in the preceding 30 years.

Previous dips coincided with the 1991 US aerial bombardment of Iraqi troops in Kuwait and the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.

Mr Leetaru said that his system appeared to generate better intelligence than the US government was working with at the time.

"The mere fact that the US President stood in support of Mubarak suggests very strongly that that even the highest level analysis suggested that Mubarak was going to stay there," he told BBC News.

"That is likely because you have these area experts who have been studying Egypt for 30 years, and in 30 years nothing has happened to Mubarak.

The Egypt graph, said Mr Leetaru, suggested that something unprecedented was happening this time.

"If you look at this tonal curve it would tell you the world is darkening so fast and so strongly against him that it doesn't seem possible he could survive."

Similar drops were seen ahead of the revolution in Libya and the Balkans conflicts of the 1990s.

Saudi Arabia, which has thus far resisted a popular uprising, had experienced fluctuations, but not to the same extent as some other states where leaders were eventually overthrown.Mapping Bin Laden

In his report, Mr Leetaru suggests that analysis of global media reports about Osama Bin Laden would have yielded important clues about his location.

While many believed the al-Qaeda leader to be hiding in Afghanistan, geographic information extracted from media reports consistently identified him with Northern Pakistan.

Only one report mentioned the town of Abbottabad prior to Bin Laden's discovery by US forces in April 2011.

However, the geo-analysis narrowed him down to within 200km, said Mr Leetaru.Real time analysis

The computer event analysis model appears to give forewarning of major events, based on deteriorating sentiment.

However, in the case of this study, its analysis is applied to things that have already happened.

According to Kalev Leetaru, such a system could easily be adapted to work in real time, giving an element of foresight.

"That's the next stage," said Mr Leetaru, who is already working on developing the technology.

"It looks like a stock ticker in many regards and you know what direction it has been heading the last few minutes and you want to know where it is heading in the next few.

"It is very similar to what economic forecasting algorithms do."

Mr Leetaru said he also hoped to improve the resolution of analysis, especially in relation to geographic location.

"The next iteration is going to city level and beyond and looking at individual groups and how they interact.

"I liken it to weather forecasting. It's never perfect, but we do better than random guessing."

bbc

Russian crash probe: Engines running til the end (BLOG)

MOSCOW (AP) — All three engines on a Russian jet that slammed into a riverbank were operating up until the moment of the crash and the plane's stabilizer and flaps were in a proper position for takeoff, Russian experts said Friday.

Still, the Moscow-based Interstate Aviation Committee, which is conducting the crash probe, had no conclusions yet about the cause of the crash that killed 43 people, mostly members of a top Russian ice hockey team.

The comments came as aviation experts examined flight data recorders from the crashed plane and began safety checks Friday on Yak-42 jets nationwide.

The chartered Yak-42 jet crashed Wednesday into the sides of the Volga River on a sunny, clear day moments after taking off near Yaroslavl, a city 150 miles (240 kilometers) northeast of Moscow.

It was one of the worst aviation disasters ever in sports, shocking Russia and the world of hockey, for among the dead were 36 players, coaches and staff of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl hockey team. The team had been heading to Minsk, Belarus, to play its opening game of the Kontinental Hockey League season.

Two men survived the crash — player Alexander Galimov and crew member Alexander Sizov — but they were in critical condition Friday, both in medicated comas after being transferred to Moscow for treatment. Hospital officials said Galimov had burns over 90 percent of his body.

The Interstate Aviation Committee said magnetic tapes holding the flight information in the data recorders were wet, but its experts have begun deciphering those segments that have dried out, learning about the engines. The committee didn't specify, however, whether the engines were giving the full thrust.

The Tunoshna airport's runway is three times longer than required for that type of plane but the plane still failed to accelerate sufficiently before takeoff, Russian Deputy Transport Minister Valery Okulov said.

Authorities were also checking fuel supplies at the Tunoshna airport, suspecting that low quality fuel could have caused the crash. The airport has been allowed to resume operations but planes were barred from using local fuel.

Yaroslavl Gov. Sergei Vakhrukov, however, insisted that the fuel couldn't have been the cause, since another plane using the same fuel had flown without any problems.

The crashed jet was built in 1993 and one of its three engines was replaced a month ago, transportation officials said.

Aviation authorities also launched safety checks on all the approximately 60 Yak-42 jets currently in service in Russia, which was expected to lead to disruptions in service. An Associated Press reporter was among the passengers ordered to disembark Friday from a Yak-42 jet bound on an internal flight from Moscow.

Of the six Yak-42s checked so far, three have been grounded, Rostransnadzor transport safety watchdog said. It said their owners will have to fix unspecified flaws before resuming their flights.

In Yaroslavl, where there has been an outpouring of public grief over the deaths of the hockey players, a memorial service was to be held Saturday at the team's arena. Several squads from the Kontinental Hockey League were traveling to Yaroslavl to take part.

Thousands of fans have already come to the Yaroslavl arena to pay their respects, laying mounds of red roses and carnations outside its walls.

President Dmitry Medvedev has called for sweeping reforms to Russia's aviation industry, including replacing aging Russian jets with Western planes.

Experts blame Russia's poor aviation safety record on an aging fleet, weak government controls, poor pilot training and a cost-cutting mentality.

Gadhafi 'on the run,' US defense chief reports (BLOG)

TRIPOLI/AGADEZ, Niger — Libya leader Moammar Gadhafi is on the run, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Tuesday, adding however that he didn't know the ousted leader's location.

"I wish I knew,'' Panetta said when asked about Gadhafi's whereabouts. "I don't have any information as to exactly where he's located ... the best information we have is that he's on the run.''

The Pentagon has said previously it had no reason to believe Gadhafi had left Libya. Asked whether that assessment had changed, Panetta said only: "I don't have any information as to his location.''

Panetta spoke after forces loyal to Gadhafi crossed in several armed convoys from Libya into neighboring Niger.

The toppled Libyan leader's own security chief was at the head of one of the columns, officials said Tuesday.
Customs official Harouna Ide told The Associated Press that Mansour Dao, Gadhafi's security chief, was at the head of the first convoy as it arrived in Niger's capital Niamey.

He said other Libyan convoys were south of Agadez in central Niger, a desert country bordering Libya and where Gadhafi has the support of many Tuareg tribal fighters.

It wasn't clear if Gadhafi family members were in the convoys, but al-Arabiya television quoted Niger's Foreign Minister Bazoum Mohamed as saying Gadhafi himself was not present.

The customs official said there were a dozen vehicles in Dao's convoy, and that among passengers were about 12 Gadhafi officials, Niger's Tuareg rebel leader Rissa ag Boula and other Tuaregs from Niger who had gone to Libya to fight for Gadhafi.

Abdoulaye Harouna, owner of the Agadez Info newspaper, said he saw one of the groups arrive in his town Monday in several dozen pickup trucks.

He said they headed for the capital, Niamey, a drive of some 600 miles. The capital is in Niger's southwestern corner near the nation of Burkina Faso, where Gadhafi has been offered asylum.

Harouna said he saw Boula in the convoy. Boula is a native of Niger who led a failed war of independence on behalf of ethnic Tuareg nomads a decade ago before seeking refuge in Libya.

Convoy carrying gold, cash
Officials from Libya's interim ruling National Transitional Council said Tuesday that one convoy was carrying gold and cash.

"Late last night, 10 vehicles carrying gold, euros and dollars crossed from Jufra into Niger with the help of Tuaregs from the Niger tribe," Fathis Baja, head of the NTC committee for political and international affairs, told Reuters.

NTC spokesman Abdel Hafiz Ghoga said it was carrying money taken from a branch of the Central Bank of Libya in Gadhafi's birthplace Sirte, one of the few towns still in his supporters' hands.

The government of Burkina Faso said late last month they would recognize the Libyan rebels' National Transitional Council. Foreign minister Djibril Bassolet also said the landlocked West African nation would welcome Gadhafi "if he wishes it."

A top security official in Burkina Faso said government officials had not been advised about any convoy headed for Burkina Faso. The official asked not to be named because he's not authorized to speak to journalists.

Both Niger and Burkina Faso are signatories to the International Criminal Court, which issued an arrest warrant for the Libyan leader, his son and the country's intelligence chief. But both nations also belong to the African Union, which during a July summit called on member countries to disregard the warrant.

Western officials said they did not have any information on the convoy. Harouna says the pro-Gadhafi troops accompanying Boula were well-armed.


French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said the ministry did not know who was in the vehicles.

"We have no more information than you do," he told a reporter. "We are monitoring the movement of these vehicles, and we will see."

Gadhafi financed Tuareg revolt?
Gadhafi's regime is believed to have financed the Tuareg rebellion in the north of Niger. African nations where Tuaregs represent a significant slice of the population, like Niger, have been among the last to recognize the rebels that ousted Gadhafi.

Gadhafi remains especially popular in towns like Agadez, a Sahara Desert market town where a majority of the population is Tuareg. There, the ex-ruler is remembered for his largesse and for his assistance to the Tuareg minority during their fight for autonomy.

Harouna said the pro-Gadhafi soldiers accompanying Boula were coming from the direction of Arlit.

The desert that stretches north of Arlit borders both Libya and Algeria. Some members of Gadhafi's family, including his wife, his daughter and two of his sons, recently sought refuge in Algeria.


Gadhafi, who ruled Libya for more than 40 years, has been on the run since losing control of his capital, Tripoli, last month.

The rebels say at least two of his sons had been in the town of Bani Walid, one of the last remaining pro-Gadhafi strongholds, in recent days. Moussa Ibrahim, Gadhafi's spokesman and one of his key aides, was still believed to be in the town, rebel officials said.

Thousands of rebel fighters have surrounded the town as their leaders tried to negotiate a surrender deal.

Most of Libya has welcomed the uprising that swept Gadhafi from power, though rebel forces backed by NATO airstrikes have yet to capture loyalist bastions like Bani Walid, Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte and the isolated southern town of Sabha.

The rebels have extended to Saturday a deadline for the surrender of Sirte and other loyalist areas, though some rebel officials have said they could attack Bani Walid sooner because it has so many prominent loyalists.

Blacks in Libya Face Danger From Rebels (BLOG)

This is a dangerous time to be a black African in Libya.

Throughout the conflict that began in February, rebel forces have been rounding up suspected mercenaries whom, they say, have been hired from neighboring countries like Chad and Niger to fight for Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.

But Libya has a black population of its own, and many black migrant workers were trapped in the country when the conflict began. And it seems that plenty of the black Africans captured as mercenaries were never actually involved in the fight.

On Monday, the chairman of the African Union, Jean Ping, said that Libya’s Transitional National Council “seems to confuse black people with mercenaries,” as my colleagues Kareem Fahim and Neil MacFarquharreported. (There are documented cases of mercenaries from elsewhere, including an ethnic Croatian named Mario who was interviewed in Time magazine last week.)

Amnesty International issued a statement on Tuesday saying that people suspected of fighting for Colonel Qaddafi, “in particular black Libyans and sub-Saharan Africans, are at high risk of abuse” by rebel forces. The statement said that Amnesty representatives were told on recent visits to detention centers in al-Zawiya and Tripoli that one-third to half of the detainees there were from sub-Saharan Africa.

Alex Thomson, a reporter for Channel 4 News in Britain, recounted a frightening scene he witnessed in Tripoli, where men captured by the rebels insisted they were not mercenaries. Those men, he said, appeared to be in serious danger — and they also appeared to be telling the truth.


“Please,” they begged us, “please don’t go. Don’t leave us. They will kill us.”

Another just asked me: “Will they shoot us? Please tell me Sir. Will they shoot us?”

Herded into a corner, a gunman started slapping them. We asked him to stop.

“They are with Gaddafi. We know this. They had guns.”

“Show me the guns,” I said.

No guns arrived. Some of the men crossed themselves, sweating, praying. One began weeping softly.

Mr. Thomson said the men eventually led the rebels to “their women” who were hiding in the bush nearby. Satisfied that they would not have brought their wives to fight in the war, the rebels let them go.

“To be a black African in the wrong part of town at the wrong time,” Mr. Thomson concluded, “is to be in a very frightening place.

nytimes

Travellers vulnerable to hacking of information (BLOG)

Frequent travellers rely on mobile phones, laptops and other electronic devices to stay in touch and take care of business on the road, away from the safety and security of their offices. But reliance on these personal devices potentially exposes sensitive corporate or personal information to the world.

In light of the voicemail hacking scandal stewing in the United Kingdom this summer, have you ever wondered how easy it might be for someone to hack in to your mobile phone voice mail?

Turns out it’s frighteningly easy. In many cases, all a perpetrator needs is your mobile phone number and a cheap or free “spoofing” service widely available online. (Just google “caller ID spoofing” to learn specifics.)

In a nutshell, caller ID spoofing services make calls appear to be coming from any number a hacker chooses. This means they could use the service to fool your mobile phone voicemail system into thinking that a call is coming from your phone, and potentially providing access to your saved messages.

To eliminate this possibility, always be sure that your voicemail ispassword protected for calls coming from your phone or any other phone. You should also opt out of offers from mobile phone companies to bypass entering a password when calling from your own phone.

It’s important to choose a good password and change it from time to time. “Many brand new phones come with common default voicemail passwords such as 0-0-0-0 or 1-2-3-4 which many users neglect to change when setting up their phones. If you are concerned about hacking, set up your phone with a unique password and change it from time to time,” said Atlanta-based telecommunications analyst Jeff Kagan.

There are other ways travellers expose sensitive information to n’er-do-wells too. For example, when working on your laptop on a crowded flight or at an airport gate, have you ever worried about who might be snooping at your laptop screen? A survey commissioned by 3M found that nearly half of all business travellers admitted to sneaking glances of others’ laptop screens while in public spaces. And of those who do peek at other’s screens, 42% admit to being “interested” in what they see.

To help protect sensitive, personal or proprietary information from wandering eyes, 3M has developed what they call “privacy filters”— a thin plastic film that slides over your laptop screen and works like vertical mini-blinds to block the view to anyone trying to view it from the side. (Thescreen is obscured when viewed from the side.) The $50 to $70 privacy screens are available online or at office supply stores.

Finally, if separation from your laptop or mobile phone while travelling scares you as much as it does me, try this low-tech tip: put a small label on the device (right now while you are thinking about it) with your mobile phone number and email written on it. If you’ve mistakenly lost or misplaced it, in most cases the person finding it will make the effort to return it to you, so make contacting you easy.

bbc

The six best cities to get lost in (BLOG)

Put your map away and spin round three times – it is time to get lost. Going off the radar in a strange city can be the perfect way to uncover its secrets, get a feel for the layout and meet the locals.

Of course, there is good lost and bad lost. It is best done on purpose, with plenty of time to spare and a sound way to get found again. Some cities lend themselves to this kind of off-the-chart adventure; here are six of our favourites – and six ways to make it home again.

Venice
This northern Italian city is the ultimate head-spinner. First it comes at you with an endless recession of identical canals and bridges, then it veers off at odd angles and into blind corners, and all the time boggles your senses with its impossible film-set beauty. No fair, Venice! Getting lost here pays – the tramp of a thousand tourists yields to tranquil sunlit courtyards and the sound of pigeons’ wings.

Get found: Look for signs and arrows scrawled on the walls. You can follow them to hubs like the Rialto and L’Accademia.

Varanasi
You could throw yourself into Varanasi’s dark maze of streets a hundred times over and still come out at a different point. Discover temples, sweet shops and silk bargains in the back alleys of this Indian city.

Get found: Countless bicycle rickshaw drivers will be only too happy to take you home – for a price that is in range of just about every budget.

London
Most visitors to London have a fractured, point-to-point experience of the city, popping up from tube stations to visit the sights then diving underground again. It is efficient, but where is the romance? Try to wander and you will be rewarded by grand squares, secluded churchyards and one-off boutiques.

Get found: Just look for the distinctive London Underground sign. Bingo, you are back on the map!

Tokyo
The bewildering pace and flickering neon of this go-go city guarantee a bit of giddiness. Abandon yourself to the disorientation and you might just get off-road enough to find the wabi-sabi side of Tokyo.

Get found: Like London, Tokyo has an excellent public transport system. If it all gets too much, jump a train back to home base.

Istanbul
There are (at least) two great things about getting out of the tourist centre in Istanbul. One – the hotels and hard-sell rug merchants fall away, replaced by local tea shops, parks and houses. Two – the city’s rollercoaster hills reward you with Bosphorus views and toned-up legs. Get lost every day and see your fitness soar!

Get found: If you want to get back to the tourist area, stop for a glass of tea and ask the way to Sultanahmet. Soothe your tired muscles in one of the city’s spectacular bath houses.

Canberra
With its systems of circular roads, Australia’s capital city regularly traps its visitors in a hamster-wheel spiral of confusion. But there are better ways to get lost here. Head out of the city centre – yes, into the bush. Keep going. There! See those suburbs? That is where the life of the city is going on – including some of its best eating.

Get found: Hooray for GPS! Or go with the traditional Aussie method and ask for directions at a servo (service station).

bbc

Malaysia’s Maldives meets Dubai (BLOG)

The water gently laps beneath the deck of our villa, as we admire the sun setting over the Straits of Malacca. Condensation streams down the side of my glass of iced kalamansi juice as we gaze at the ships on the distant horizon. The only sound is the squawk of a native bird flying overhead.

This is the Golden Palm Tree Resort and Spa, a luxurious Maldivian-style, over-water villa complex, just off the coast of Selangor in Malaysia. It is hard to believe that only a few years ago, this was the humble, sleepy fishing village of Bagan Lalang, in Sepang. It has since been transformed into part of a glittering, 22km-long coastline development, poised to place Malaysia firmly on the world’s luxury property and tourism map.

Sepang Goldcoast was conceptualised as an integrated holiday destination catering to international tourists and travellers, modelled on famous beach havens such as the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia and Miami Beach in the United States.

Sepang is situated in Malaysia’s richest and most developed state, Selangor, which is often referred to as the gateway to Malaysia; Port Klang, the country’s largest port, and the Kuala Lumpur International Airport are both located there.

Surrounding the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, Selangor's strategic location boosts its appeal as the preferred holiday destination for the rising middle class Malaysians and foreign tourists. Sepang Goldcoast is a mere 30-minute drive from the airport and just over an hour from the capital.

Local attractions include the stone-carved Hindu temples in the Batu Caves, the aboriginal communities at Pulau Carey and international sporting events like Formula One and yacht races. But the standout attraction at the moment is the Gold Palm Tree Resort and Spa, which opened last summer.

From the air, close to 400 villas fan out into the ocean in the shape of a giant palm tree, much like the Palm in Dubai -- a grandiose development that has been plagued with problems from its inception. Malaysian Tourism officials are counting on the bold resort development to be the jewel in their tourism crown rather than an international embarrassment.

Rooms start a RM800, a reasonable rate compared to similar over-water villas in destinations like the Maldives. When completed, sometime over the next decade, Sepang Goldcoast will have resorts, amusement parks, a marina, floating market and wildlife habitats. Besides sun worshiping, planned local activities include surfing, canoeing, kayaking canopy walks and yoga.

While a waterfront renaissance is nothing new, Malaysia is now realising the opportunities in drawing investments and creating iconic global attractions like this one. Hopefully Sepang Goldcoast will be an example of how revitalising rivers and waterways along with building tourist infrastructure, can reap economic rewards.

bbc

Top level Mexican drug boss found slain on highway (BLOG)

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - One of the top leaders of Mexico's brutal Gulf cartel was found dead, gunned down on a highway near the U.S. border, the Mexican government said on Friday.

Samuel Flores Borrego, also known as "Metro 3," was found shot to death, along with the body of a local police official, in a pickup truck on the highway between the border city of Reynosa and the industrial hub Monterrey, the military and federal attorney general's office said in a joint statement.

"Initial evidence suggests that the facts resulted from an internal settling (of scores) within the criminal group," the statement said.

The U.S. State Department has offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture and said on its website that Flores was in charge of the Gulf cartel's operations in Reynosa, across the border from McAllen, Texas.

The Gulf cartel has been engaged in a vicious battle in the region with its former paramilitary wing, the Zetas, over drug trafficking routes to the United States.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon mounted a forceful defense of his crackdown on drug cartels in his annual state of the nation address on Friday.

Calderon is trying hard to maintain public support for his battle with drug gangs ahead of national elections next year. More than 42,000 people have died in less than five years as violence escalated.

Security forces have captured or killed many senior traffickers. Calderon says the violence is a sign of weakness in the gangs as they fight among themselves to dominate smuggling routes to the United States.

Nigeria Attack Sparks Broader Concerns (BLOG)

LAGOS, Nigeria—Security officials here are concerned that an Islamic militant group believed responsible for a deadly suicide attack on the United Nations compound has splintered into two factions: one focused on local grievances and another that is seeking contacts with outside terror groups—including al Qaeda—and weighing fresh attacks.

On Sunday, a U.N. spokesman said the death toll from Friday's attack had risen to 23, and that 81 people were wounded. Of the 23, nine were U.N. staff, he said.

A Honda Accord packed with explosives was driven through the exit gate of the U.N. building and into the lobby, at which time it blew up and destroyed a large section of the building.

U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro and Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan visited the bombing site over the weekend, and both vowed to continue fighting terrorism. "We condemn it in the strongest terms, but this act of terrorism will only rekindle our resolve to fight terrorism in all of its ramifications," Ms. Migiro said on Sunday.

Although the militant group, Boko Haram, has carried out a series of increasingly deadly attacks over the past year, it isn't known to have gone after a foreign target before. In the search to explain the shift, foreign and local security officials are coming to a share the view that the group has split into factions.

The radical splinter group is believed to have more than a dozen members trained to carry out suicide bombings, said an undercover Nigerian security official based in northern Nigeria. At least four other attacks are planned throughout Nigeria, he said, and may include additional foreign targets. The official couldn't provide more detail but said security officials were working to prevent the attacks.

A Western security official, based in the capital, Abuja, said the more radical faction "may have wanted to prove themselves" with Friday's attack. Part of the reason, he said, may have been to help establish more-concrete ties with terrorist groups outside Nigeria such as al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

"One faction vowed that they would not carry out attacks during the Ramadan period, and they've stood by their word," said the Nigerian security official, referring to the holy Muslim holiday now under way. "The other said they will continue, Ramadan or no Ramadan."

The less-extreme of the two factions appears focused on local grievances, such as non-Islamic practices that include Western-style education in schools and the existence of bars and clubs in the predominantly Muslim north. This wing of Boko Haram is also open to reconciliation talks with the Nigerian government, said Oronto Douglas, a senior adviser to President Jonathan. In the wake of Friday's attack, Mr. Douglas said his government is seeking "greater collaboration between security agencies across the globe." including invitations to the and others to assist with the probe of the attack.

On Saturday, U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation agents visited the bombing site following the Nigerian government invitation, said a U.S. Embassy spokeswoman.

Boko Haram hasn't issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attack, nor has any other group.

But on Saturday, a man claiming to be a Boko Haram member took credit for the attack in a phone interview with The Wall Street Journal. The man, who identified himself as Abu Qaqa, said the group targeted the U.N. because it represents international bodies that support the Nigerian government. The group blames the Nigerian police for killing their leader in 2009 while he was in custody, and for carrying out other attacks on its members more recently.

A police spokesman couldn't be reached for comment on Sunday.

"If nobody touches us, we won't touch them," he said in the phone interview. "But if any group or country comes after us, we will go after them."

Mr. Qaqa said the group is receiving training outside Nigeria, but wouldn't elaborate and didn't discuss the existence of a more extreme Boko Haram faction. He said Boko Haram—which roughly translated means "Western education is sin"—supports other terror organizations operating in Africa. He declined to discuss possible links with al Qaeda, but officials say they believe some Boko Haram members may have received training outside Nigeria.

Mr. Qaqa also said most of the group's funding comes from robbing banks. Boko Haram is thought by authorities to be behind two bank robberies last week in northeastern Nigeria, during which a total of 12 people were killed.

In response to claims from Boko Haram taking responsibility for the attack, the U.N. spokesman said: "As far as we're concerned the claim has been made and it's been still being assessed. There had been general threats made [against the U.N.], but if there is a nonspecific threat, we can't stop [operations] because diseases don't stop."

The U.N. Development Program and Unicef are among the U.N. bodies working in Nigeria on poverty alleviation, education and health programs.

wallstreetjournal

China bans songs in culture crackdown (BLOG)

China has banned 100 songs from being featured on websites, barring artists ranging from Lady Gaga to the Backstreet Boys apparently for being out of tune with the country's cultural authorities.

The ministry of culture said it aimed to regulate the "order" of the Internet music market, adding songs that "harm the security of state culture must be cleaned up and regulated under the law".

The notice, issued on August 19 and posted on the ministry's website, included American singer Lady Gaga's "The Edge of Glory", "Hair", "Marry the Night" and "Bloody Mary".

It did not explain why the songs were banned but China routinely censors anything it considers politically sensitive or offensive.

Lady Gaga's "Bloody Mary" ends with the line "Oh, libertad, mi amor (Oh, freedom, my love)", while "Hair" includes the lyrics "This is my prayer/ That I'll die living just as free as my hair".

Teng Jimeng, a professor of American studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University, said that sex, politics or religion could put a song on the black list but even songs about "youthful independence" may run afoul of censors.

"Sexuality should be avoided, and politics," he said.

But he saw the move as part of a broader tightening of controls over culture given the revolts in the Arab world, which have worried Beijing.

"It's part of a cyclical chill in terms of cultural control," he said.

Boy band The Backstreet Boys, American R&B singer Beyonce, Canada's Simple Plan and British pop group Take That all had songs on the list -- the third to be issued by China's government.

Asian artists with songs banned included Taiwan's Chang Hui-mei, who previously drew Beijing's ire after singing the Taiwan anthem at the inauguration of former Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian in 2000.

China, which regards Taiwan as part of its territory, temporarily banned her from mainland performances and pulled her product advertisements.

Songs placed on previous blacklists include Avril Lavigne's "What the Hell" and the Rolling Stones' version of "It's All Over Now" which dates to the 1960s.

Since 2010, China has required all songs posted on music websites to receive prior approval, in a move the government said was aimed at controlling content and rampant piracy.

Pirated music in China is said to account for as much as 99 percent of all downloads, according to industry estimates.

Authorities have blocked some foreign bands from giving live performances in China, or at least scrutinised set lists in advance to nix songs considered offensive.

The culture ministry reportedly axed the Rolling Stones' sex-and-drugs anthem "Brown Sugar" from the set list when they played Shanghai in 2006.

The official squeamishness over headline foreign performances was heightened when Iceland's Bjork closed a 2008 Shanghai show by shouting "Tibet!" at the end of her song, "Declare Independence".

Man hung from Mexico bridge, shot to death (BLOG)

MONTERREY, Mexico (AP) — Gunmen hung a man from a pedestrian bridge over a busy avenue in the Mexican city of Monterrey Tuesday and shot him to death in front of dozens of motorists.

A police investigator in Nuevo Leon state, where Monterrey is located, said the man was alive when he was hung and died after being shot.

The investigator, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case, said the assailants left a threatening message but he wouldn't reveal what it said.

Monterrey's overpasses have seen several gang killings this year, often carried out in daylight in view of drivers on busy streets below. The Gulf and Zetas drug cartels are fighting for control of the city.

Also Tuesday in the Pacific coast resort of Acapulco, two teenage boys of about 15 years of age were shot to death by unidentified assailants. State police in Guerrero state, where Acapulco is located, said gunmen chased the teenagers down and shot them with about a dozen 9 mm rounds, the type of machine-pistol ammunition favored by drug gangs.

Police also found a man's dismembered body in a car in another Acapulco neighborhood.

As drug-related violence continued, Mexico's top police official, Public Safety Secretary Genaro Garcia Luna, met in Mexico City Tuesday with the head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Michele Leonhart, to review the results of bilateral cooperation in the fight against drug cartels.

The two officials toured Mexico's federal police intelligence center, and discussed information sharing, weapons and drug trafficking.

A statement by Garcia Luna's office said bilateral cooperation "has enabled us to achieve success in the fight against criminal gangs."

French woman in Malaysia 'killed for refusing sex' (BLOG)

(AP)A Malaysian man was charged Tuesday with the murder of a French tourist, a government prosecutor said, as a report quoted police saying the woman was killed after refusing his sexual advances.

Stephanie Foray, a 30-year-old civil servant, went missing in Malaysia in May and her remains were found earlier this month buried in a cave on the resort island of Tioman, off the east coast of peninsular Malaysia.

She and the suspect Asni Omar, a 36-year-old local businessman, had been drinking together on the island and she was later killed after refusing to have sex with him, the New Straits Times quoted police sources as saying.

Asni was charged with murder in a court in the town of Pekan, prosecutor Amalina Zainal Mokhtar told AFP, adding that he faced death by hanging if convicted.

He has not yet entered a plea, she said.

Asni earlier took investigators to a trash dumping site on Tioman to retrieve the murder weapon, a bottle, the New Straits Times said.

Amalina said she had no details on the alleged crime, while police declined to confirm specifics to AFP.

Foray had arrived in Malaysia on May 5 and went missing shortly after taking a ferry five days later to Tioman island.

She had left France last November on a holiday that took her to India and Sri Lanka before arriving in Malaysia.

Chinese site bans Web tools used to evade filters (BLOG)

BEIJING (AP) — A major Chinese online commerce site has banned sales of software used to bypass Internet censorship amid Beijing's efforts to block the development of a Middle East-style protest movement.

But Taobao.com, part of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, said it took the action on its own and received no official order.

A notice on Taobao.com said virtual private networks and Internet protocol proxies were being used to illegally visit foreign websites. It told merchants that use the site to stop selling them and said the accounts of violaters might be canceled.

China's government encourages Internet use for business and education but tries to block access to material deemed subversive or pornographic.

Beijing is especially uneasy about the Internet's potential to spread opposition to communist rule after social networking and other websites played a key role in protests that brought down governments in Egypt and Tunisia.

Taobao's move was the result of a routine review of which products the company wants to be sold on its site, said John Spelich, Alibaba Group's vice president for international corporate affairs. He said he knew of no government instruction to stop sales.

"We are constantly looking at products that we sell and asking ourselves, is this the right business to be in for any number of mercantile reasons?" Spelich said.

"A decision was taken that this was a business that we probably should not be in, so we exited," he said. "I'm not aware of anybody asking us to stop."

The Chinese government's efforts to control Internet use have prompted the rise of a thriving industry that sells tools for Web surfers to evade its filters.

Nearly two weeks after Taobao's sales ban, some merchants on the site still were advertising VPNs and similar products on Tuesday.

Spelich said Taobao also bans products such as shark fins and some types of animal fur that are legal but that it doesn't want to sell for commercial reasons. The company says it has 7 million merchants and some 800 million products on its site.

Georgetown, Chinese basketball teams brawl(BLOG,VIDEO)

BEIJING (AP) — A wild brawl broke out between Georgetown and a Chinese men's basketball team Thursday night, putting an immediate end to a supposed goodwill game that coincided with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's visit to the country.

The benches cleared and fights erupted all over the court with about 9½ minutes left in the fourth quarter. The rest of the exhibition between Georgetown and the Bayi Rockets was called off.

Biden did not attend the game. On Wednesday, he watched the Hoyas beat the Shanxi Zhongyu Brave Dragons 98-81.

The Washington Post reported Georgetown and Bayi players tackled and threw punches at each another. Chairs and water bottles were tossed as the Hoyas headed to the locker room with the score 64-all in a testy, foul-plagued matchup.

"Tonight, two great teams played a very competitive game that unfortunately ended after heated exchanges with both teams," Georgetown coach John Thompson III said in a statement. "We sincerely regret that this situation occurred."

Georgetown and the Rockets are scheduled to play again Sunday night in Shanghai.

The melee was the latest instance of on-court fighting by China, whose players have been fined tens of thousands of dollars by the world and Asian federations for scrapping with opponents.

Georgetown is in China on a 10-day trip which has been cited by the U.S. State Department as an example of sports diplomacy that strengthens ties between the two countries. The Hoyas were briefed by the State Department ahead of their departure on what to expect during its trip to Beijing and Shanghai, according to news releases on the university's website.

"We remain grateful for the opportunity our student-athletes are having to engage in a sport they love here in China, while strengthening their understanding of a nation we respect and admire at Georgetown University," Thompson III said.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner called it an "unfortunate" incident.

"We look to these types of exchanges to promote good sportsmanship and strengthen our people-to-people contact with China," he said.



On Thursday, Biden met with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, who is expected to take over as Communist Party chief next year. After his China trip, Biden will go to Mongolia on Monday, then travel later in the day Japan.

Gaddafi forces fire Scud missile: U.S. official (BLOG)

(Reuters) - Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi fired a Scud missile for the first time in Libya's civil war, a U.S. defense official said, after rebel advances left the Libyan leader isolated in his capital.

Rebels fighting to end Gaddafi's 41-year rule seized two strategic towns near Tripoli over the past two days, cutting the city off from its supply lines and leaving the Libyan leader with a dwindling set of options if he is to stay in power.

However, pro-Gaddafi forces were encountering a fight-back in one of those towns, Zawiyah, west of Tripoli. Snipers concealed in tall buildings were picking off rebel fighters, and salvos of Russian-made Grad rockets landed in the town.

The Scud missile was fired on Sunday morning from near Sirte, Gaddafi's home town 500 km (310.7 miles) east of Tripoli, and landed further east between the rebel-held towns of Brega and Ajdabiyah, said the U.S. official.

The missile came down in the desert, injuring no one, said the official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity. There was no immediate comment from the government in Tripoli.

Firing the missile, which poses little military threat because it is so inaccurate, is evidence of the Gaddafi administration's desperation, said Shashank Joshi, Associate Fellow at Britain's Royal United Services Institute.

"It's an obvious sign that the regime's back is to the wall," he said.

In the six months of fighting up to now, Gaddafi's forces have used short-range Grad rockets but have not before deployed Scud missiles, which have a range of about 185 miles.

In the rebel headquarters in the eastern city of Benghazi, officials said the Scud was probably intended to hit rebel forces near Ajdabiyah.

"Gaddafi troops are using his last gun. He's crazy," said Mohammad Zawawi, media director for rebel forces. "We're scared he'll use chemicals. That's why we're trying to end this war and we hope to end it with the least number of casualties."

"We can't prevent the scuds but we hope NATO can. NATO has the technology to detect them."

Analysts say the rebel strategy is to isolate Tripoli and hope the government collapses, but they say it is also possible Gaddafi will opt to stage a last-ditch fight for the capital.

In a barely audible telephone call to state television in the early hours of Monday, Gaddafi called on his followers to liberate Libya from rebels and their NATO supporters.

"Get ready for the fight ... The blood of martyrs is fuel for the battlefield," he said.

REBEL PUSH

He was speaking as rebels made their most dramatic advances in months of fighting, shifting the momentum in a conflict that had been largely static and was testing the patience of NATO powers anxious for a swift outcome.

Rebel forces in the Western Mountains south of Tripoli surged forward at the weekend to enter Zawiyah. The town is about 50 km (30 miles) west of Tripoli and, crucially, straddles the main highway linking the capital to Tunisia.

A day later, rebels said they had captured the town of Garyan, which controls the highway south from Tripoli linking it to Sabha, a Gaddafi stronghold deep in the desert.

"Gaddafi has been isolated. He has been cut off from the outside world," a rebel spokesman from the Western Mountains, called Abdulrahman, told Reuters by telephone.

Tripoli officials deny the rebels control Zawiyah, and say their forces are preparing to drive "armed gangs" from Garyan.

Rebels on the outskirts of Zawiyah said most of Gaddafi's forces had pulled out of the town, but left behind snipers who made it dangerous for the anti-Gaddafi fighters to move around.

A Reuters reporter saw a rebel pick-up truck deliver six government troops to a makeshift prison. Each of the prisoners was blindfolded with green fabric. They were made to kneel facing a wall and several rebels walked by, shouting at them and slapping them on the head.

"They were firing at us," said Abdel-Muiz Ramadan, 20, a rebel fighter. "We captured one of them and he gave us the location of the others."

He said the snipers were concentrated in tall buildings around Martyrs' Square, focus of a failed revolt by Zawiyah residents earlier this year. "Every time we approach the area, one of their snipers fires at us," said Ramadan.

Medical workers at one of the town's hospitals said 20 people, a mixture of rebel fighters and civilians, were killed on Monday, and the death toll for Tuesday had reached one.

PEACE TALKS

A U.N. envoy arrived in neighboring Tunisia, where sources say rebels and representatives of the government have been holed up on the island resort of Djerba for negotiations.

Tunisia's official news agency on Tuesday quoted the envoy, Abdel Elah al-Khatib, as saying he knew nothing of any negotiations in Djerba.

Speaking in Tunis, he said he held informal talks with representatives of Gaddafi's government and the rebel council. The envoy did not say who they were or what they discussed.

Gaddafi's spokesman denied Tripoli was in talks about the leader's departure, saying reports of such negotiations were the product of a "media war" being waged against Libya.

Talks could signal the endgame of a civil war that has drawn in the NATO alliance and emerged as one of the bloodiest confrontations in the wave of unrest sweeping the Arab world.

Rebels may still lack the manpower for an all-out assault on Tripoli, but are hoping their encirclement of the capital will bring down Gaddafi's government or inspire an uprising. In the past, however, they have frequently failed to hold gains, and a fightback by Gaddafi troops could yet force them back.

Pro-Gaddafi residents of the capital remain defiant.

Makhjoub Muftah, a school teacher who has signed up as a gun-toting pro-Gaddafi volunteer, like many others seemed to think a rebel advance into Tripoli was a remote possibility.

"I wish they would march into Tripoli. I wish," he said, daring the rebels. "They will all die."

Pakistan quizzes suspects over abducted American (BLOG)

LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani police have detained a number of people for questioning in connection with the kidnapping of an American development expert in the eastern city of Lahore, investigators said on Sunday.

In a pre-dawn raid on Saturday, six to eight assailants broke into the house of the man, identified by the U.S. State Department as Warren Weinstein, and abducted him after overpowering security guards.

"We have detained a few people for questioning, including guards posted at the house," Lahore police chief Ahmed Raza Tahir told Reuters.

"We hope to recover him soon," he added, without giving further details.

U.S. embassy spokesman Alberto Rodriguez said they had not yet been informed about any progress in the case. "Police are investigating. We are waiting."

No one claimed responsibility for the abduction.

Kidnapping for ransom is relatively common in Pakistan, although foreigners are not often targets. Militants also occasionally take foreigners hostage but these incidents have taken place in the volatile western regions bordering Afghanistan, where Islamist insurgents are very active.

Weinstein has been identified as working for J.E. Austin & Associates, an Arlington, Virginia-based consulting firm, on a development project in lawless tribal areas where Pakistani troops have been battling Islamist insurgents for years.

Police said the gunmen barged into house on the pretext of sharing a meal with the guards, a common practice during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which started early this month. The attackers then forced Weinstein's driver to knock on his bedroom door. When he opened it, they took him.

The victim, in his 60s, had been living in Pakistan for five to six years, according to police. He mostly lived in Islamabad but had been traveling to Lahore.

Relations between Pakistan and the United States have sharply deteriorated since January, when a CIA contractor killed two Pakistanis in Lahore, and worsened after U.S. Navy SEALS killed al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in a raid in northwestern Pakistan that Islamabad termed a breach of its sovereignty.

Pakistani Taliban, linked to al Qaeda, have claimed responsibility for kidnapping a Swiss couple in July in the volatile southwestern province of Baluchistan.

Eight Pakistani employees of a U.S.-based aid organization, American Refugee Committee (ARC), were kidnapped in Baluchistan last month.

Japan Nuclear Leak: Radioactive Water Continues Pouring Into The Sea

Engineers pinned their hopes on chemicals, sawdust and shredded newspaper to stop highly radioactive water pouring into the ocean from Japan’s tsunami-ravaged nuclear plant Sunday as officials said it will take several months to bring the crisis under control, the first time they have provided a timetable.

Concrete already failed to stop the tainted water spewing from a crack in a maintenance pit, and the new mixture did not appear to be working either, but engineers said they were not abandoning it.

Experts estimate that about 7 tons an hour of radioactive water is escaping the pit. Safety officials have said that the water, which appears to be coming from the damaged No. 2 reactor at Fukushima Daiichi, contains one million Becquerels per liter of iodine 131, or about 10,000 times levels normally found in water at a nuclear facility.

The Fukushima Da-ichi plant has been leaking radioactivity since the March 11 tsunami carved a path of destruction along Japan’s northeastern coast, killing as many as 25,000 people and knocking out key cooling systems that kept it from overheating. People living within 12 miles (20 kilometers) of the plant have been forced to abandon their homes.

The government said Sunday it will be several months before the radiation stops and permanent cooling systems are restored. Even after that happens, there will be years of work ahead to clean up the area around the complex and figure out what to do with it.

“It would take a few months until we finally get things under control and have a better idea about the future,” said Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency spokesman Hidehiko Nishiyama. “We’ll face a crucial turning point within the next few months, but that is not the end.”

His agency said the timetable is based on the first step, pumping radioactive water into tanks, being completed quickly and the second, restoring cooling systems, being done within a matter of weeks or months.

Every day brings some new problem at the plant, where workers have often been forced to retreat from repair efforts because of high radiation levels. On Sunday, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. announced it had found the bodies of two workers missing since the tsunami.

Radiation, debris and explosions kept workers from finding them until Wednesday, and then the announcement was delayed several days out of respect for their families.

TEPCO officials said they believed the workers ran down to a basement to check equipment after the magnitude-9.0 earthquake that preceded the tsunami. They were there when the massive wave swept over the plant.

“It pains us to have lost these two young workers who were trying to protect the power plant amid the earthquake and tsunami,” TEPCO Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata said in a statement.

On Saturday, workers discovered an 8-inch (20-centimeter) crack in a maintenance pit at the plant and said they believe water from it may be the source of some of the high levels of radioactive iodine that have been found in the ocean for more than a week.

This is the first time they have found radioactive water leaking directly into the sea. A picture released by TEPCO shows water shooting some distance away from a wall and splashing into the ocean, though the amount is not clear. No other cracks have been found.

The radioactive water dissipates quickly in the ocean but could be dangerous to workers at the plant.

Engineers tried to seal the crack with concrete Saturday, but that effort failed.

So on Sunday they went farther up the system and injected sawdust, three garbage bags of shredded newspaper and a polymer – similar to one used to absorb liquid in diapers – that can expand to 50 times its normal size when combined with water.

The polymer mix in the passageway leading to the pit had not stopped the leak by Sunday night, but it also had not leaked out of the crack along with the water, so engineers were stirring it in an attempt to get it to expand. They expected to know by Monday morning if it would work.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people are still living in shelters, 200,000 households do not have water, and 170,000 do not have electricity.

Running water was just restored in the port city of Kesennuma on Saturday, and residents lined up Sunday to see a dentist who had flown in from the country’s far north to offer his services. Many were elderly and complaining of problems with their dentures.

Overhead and throughout the coastal region, helicopters and planes roared by as U.S. and Japanese forces finished their all-out search for bodies.

The effort, which ended Sunday, is probably the final hope for retrieving the dead, though limited operations may continue. It has turned up nearly 50 bodies in the past two days.

Egypt's Mubarak Won't Resign, Hands Powers to VP!! (Blog)

CAIRO – Egypt's Hosni Mubarak refused to step down or leave the country and instead handed his powers to his vice president Thursday, remaining president and ensuring regime control over the reform process. Stunned protesters in central Cairo who demand his ouster waved their shoes in contempt and shouted, "Leave, leave, leave."

The rapidly moving events raised the question of whether a rift had opened between Mubarak and the military command. Hours earlier, a council of the military's top generals announced it had stepped in to secure the country, and a senior commander announced to protesters in Tahrir Square that all their demands would soon be met, raising cries of victory that Mubarak was on his way out.

After Mubarak's speech, protest organizers called for the army to take action to oust him, and they vowed increased protests on Friday. Several hundred thousand had packed into Tahrir Square, ecstatic with expectation that Mubarak would announce his resignation in his nighttime address. Instead, they watched in shocked silence as he spoke, slapping their foreheads in anger and disbelief. Some broke into tears.
Around a 1,000 marched on the state television headquarters several blocks away, guarded by the military with barbed wire and tanks. "They are the liars," the crowd shouted, pointing at the building, chanting, "We won't leave, they will leave."

Prominent reform advocate, Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, whose supporters were among the organizers of the 17-day-old wave of protests, issued a Tweet calling on the military to act.
"The army must save the country now," he said. "I call on the Egyptian army to immediately interfere to rescue Egypt. The credibility of the army is on the line."

Mohammed Mustapha, a protest spokesman, said, "We are waiting for a strong reaction from the army to Mubarak's speech." He said "huge numbers" of protesters were expected Friday and that many wanted to march on the Oruba palace, Mubarak's main presidential palace several miles away from Tahrir.
Immediately after Mubarak's speech, Vice President Omar Suleiman called on the protesters to "go home" and asked Egyptians to "unite and look to the future."

In his 17-minute speech on state TV, Mubarak spoke as if he were still in charge, saying he was "adamant to continue to shoulder my responsibility to protect the constitution and safeguard the interests of the people." He vowed that he would remain in the country and said he was addressing the youth in Tahrir as "the president of the republic."

"I saw fit to delegate the authorities of the president to the vice president, as dictated in the constitution," said Mubarak, who looked frail but spoke in a determined, almost defiant voice.
Suleiman was already leading the regime's efforts to deal with the crisis. The constitution allows the president to transfer his powers if he is unable to carry out his duties "due to any temporary obstacle," but it does not mean his resignation. Even in that case, the vice president still cannot request constitutional amendments or dissolve parliament.

Mubarak insisted on the continuation of a government-dominated process for reform that Suleiman drew up and that protesters have roundly rejected because they fear it will mean only cosmetic change and not real democracy. Under that system, a panel of judges and lawyers put together by Suleiman recommends constitutional changes, while a separate panel monitors to ensure that state promises are carried out.
Suleiman has also offered dialogue with the protesters and opposition over the nature of reforms. He has not explained how the negotiations fit in if the judges panel, which is led by Mubarak supporters, is recommending amendments. In any case, the protesters and opposition have resolutely refused talks until Mubarak goes.
Mubarak said that on the recommendation of the panel, he had requested the amendment of five articles of the constitution to loosen the now restrictive conditions on who can run for president, to restore judicial supervision of elections, and to impose term limits on the presidency.

Calling the protesters' demands legitimate, he annuled a constitutional article that gives the president the right to order a military trial for civilians accused of terrorism. He said that step would "clear the way" for eventually scrapping a hated emergency law but with a major caveat — "once security and stability are restored."
The emergency law, imposed when Mubarak came to power in 1981, gives police virtually unlimited powers of arrest.

Before the night's dramatic developments, protests had gained a spiraling momentum, fueled by labor strikes that erupted around the country. Protesters had been gearing up for even more massive demonstrations on Friday, when they planned to march from squares around Cairo into Tahrir.

After the speech, some protesters drifted out of Tahrir, tears of disappointment and anger in their eyes. But the majority of the crowd remained, planning to camp for the night and vowing to continue their campaign.
"The speech is a provocation," said Muhammed Abdul Rahman, a 26-year-old lawyer who had joined the protesters for the first time Thursday. "This is going to bring people together more, and people will come out in greater numbers."

Hazem Khalifa, a young chemist in the crowd, vowed protests would continue. "He's tried to divide people before, now the people understand him and they've learned his ways," he said.
Hisham Bastawisi, a pro-reform judge, called on the military to take power.
"The president has lost his legitimacy long time ago," he said. "The ball now is the army's court. The armed forces must interfere and oust him before it is too late, today before tomorrow."
There was no immediate reaction from the military.
Hours before Mubarak's speech, the military made moves that had all the markings of a coup — without Mubarak or Suleiman on board.

The military's Supreme Council, headed by Defense Minister Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, announced on state TV that it was in permanent session, a status that it takes only in times of war. It said it was exploring "what measures and arrangements could be made to safeguard the nation, its achievements and the ambitions of its great people." That suggested Tantawi and his generals were now in charge of the country.
The statement was labeled "Communique No. 1," language that also suggests a military coup — and raised anticipation of a "Communique No. 2," though there was no sign of one after Mubarak's speech.
Footage on state TV showed Tantawi chairing the council with around two dozen top stern-faced army officers seated around a table. Mubarak and Suleiman, a former army general and intelligence chief named to his post after the protests erupted Jan. 25, were not present.

"All your demands will be met today," Gen. Hassan al-Roueini, military commander for the Cairo area, told thousands of protesters in central Tahrir Square.
The protesters lifted al-Roueini onto their shoulders and carried him around the square, shouting, "the army, the people one hand." Some in the crowd held up their hands in V-for-victory signs, shouting "the people want the end of the regime" and "Allahu akbar," or "God is great," a victory cry used by secular and religious people alike.

The dramatic developments capped 17 days of mass anti-government protests, some drawing a quarter-million people, to demand Mubarak's immediate ouster. What began as an Internet campaign swelled into the stiffest challenge ever to Mubarak's nearly 30 years of authoritarian rule, fueled by widespread frustration over the regime's lock on power, government corruption, rampant poverty and unemployment.
The protests escalated in the past two days with labor strikes and revolts by state employees that added to the chaos.

Chaos engulfs Cairo; Mubarak points to succession

CAIRO – Egyptians woke up to a dawn of uncertainty Sunday with several key buildings still smoldering in the capital and thousands of anti-regime protesters remaining camped out at the city's main square in defiance of an extended nighttime curfew.

President Hosni Mubarak, clinging to power with promises of reform and a new government, had named his intelligence chief as his first-ever vice president on Saturday, setting the stage for a successor as chaos engulfed Cairo. Soldiers stood by — a few even joining the demonstrators — and the death toll from five days of anti-government fury rose sharply to 74.

Overnight and as police melted away, residents set up self-styled checkpoints and barricades at street corners and intersections of their neighborhoods, armed mostly with clubs and sticks to protect their homes. By dawn, the city was eerily quiet, with armored military vehicles encircling main government buildings in the downtown.

Sunday marks the start of the working week here but banks and the stock market will remain closed, as will schools.

Saturday's fast-moving developments across the north African nation marked a sharp turning point in Mubarak's three-decade rule of Egypt. Residents and shopkeepers in affluent neighborhoods boarded up their houses and stores against looters, who roamed the streets with knives and sticks, stealing what they could and destroying cars, windows and street signs. Gunfire rang out in some neighborhoods.

Tanks and armored personnel carriers are fanned out across the city of 18 million, guarding key government buildings, and major tourist and archaeological sites. Among those singled out for special protection was the Egyptian Museum, home to some of the country's most treasured antiquities, and the Cabinet building. The military closed the pyramids on the outskirts of Cairo — Egypt's leading tourist site.

But soldiers made no moves against protesters, even after a curfew came and went for the second night.

"This is the revolution of people of all walks of life," read black graffiti scrolled on one army tank in Tahrir Square. "Mubarak, take your son and leave," it said, in a stark message to the president and his son and potential successor.

Police protecting the Interior Ministry near the site opened fire Saturday at a funeral procession for a dead protester, possibly because it came too close to the force. Clashes broke out and at least two people were killed.

A 43-year-old teacher, Rafaat Mubarak, said the appointment of the president's intelligence chief and longtime confidant, Omar Suleiman, as vice president did not satisfy the protesters.

"This is all nonsense. They will not fool us anymore. We want the head of the snake," he said in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria. "If he is appointed by Mubarak, then he is just one more member of the gang. We are not speaking about a branch in a tree, we are talking about the roots."

The crackdown on protesters has drawn harsh criticism from the Obama administration and even a threat Friday to reduce a $1.5 billion foreign aid program if Washington's most important Arab ally escalates the use of force.

Thousands of passengers were stranded at Cairo's airport as flights were canceled or delayed, leaving them unable to leave because of a government-imposed curfew. Several Arab nations, meanwhile, moved to evacuate their citizens.

The cancelations of flights and the arrival of several largely empty aircraft appeared to herald an ominous erosion of key tourism revenue.

The protesters united in one overarching demand — Mubarak and his family must go. The movement is a culmination of years of simmering frustration over a government they see as corrupt, heavy-handed and neglectful of poverty.

Egyptians were emboldened by the uprising in Tunisia — another North African Arab nation, and further buoyed by their success in defying the ban on gatherings.

At the end of a long day of rioting and mass demonstrations Friday, Mubarak fired his Cabinet and promised reforms. But the demonstrators returned in force again Saturday to demand a complete change of regime.

The appointment of Suleiman, 74, answers one of the most intriguing and enduring political questions in Egypt: Who will succeed 82-year-old Mubarak? Another question is whether his appointment will calm Egypt's seething cities.

Mubarak appointed Suleiman shortly after the U.S. said he needed to take concrete action to achieve "real reform." Suleiman is well known and respected by American officials and has traveled to Washington many times.

As the army presence expanded in Cairo Saturday, police largely disappeared from the streets — possibly because their presence seemed only to fuel protesters' anger. Egyptian police are hated for their brutality.

On Friday, 17 police stations throughout Cairo were torched, with protesters stealing firearms and ammunition and freeing some jailed suspects. They also burned dozens of police trucks in Cairo, Alexandria and Suez. On Saturday, protesters besieged a police station in the Giza neighborhood of Cairo, looted and pulled down Egyptian flags, then burned the building to the ground.

There were no clashes reported between protesters and the military at all, and many in the crowds showered soldiers with affection.

Some 200 inmates escaped a jail on the outskirts of the city, starting a fire first to cover their breakout. Eight inmates were killed during the escape.

On Saturday, feelings of joy over the sustained protest mingled with frustration over the looting and Mubarak's refusal to step down.

"To hell with Mubarak; We don't serve individuals. We serve this country that we love, just like you," yelled a soldier to protesters from atop a tank scrawled with graffiti that said: "Down with Mubarak!"

Like Mubarak, Suleiman has a military background. The powerful military has provided Egypt with its four presidents since the monarchy was toppled nearly 60 years ago. He has been in charge of some of Egypt's most sensitive foreign policy issues, including the Palestinian-Israeli peace process.

Suleiman, additionally, is widely seen as a central regime figure, a position that protesters were likely to view with suspicion.

Mubarak also named his new prime minister Ahmed Shafiq, the outgoing civil aviation minister and fellow former air force officer.

Both appointments perpetuate the military's overriding role in Egyptian politics.

Suleiman's frequent trips to Israel could be held against him by a population that continues to view the Jewish state as a sworn enemy more than 30 years after the two neighbors signed a peace treaty.

With the two occupying the country's most important jobs after the president from the military, Gamal, a banker-turned-politician, appears out of the running for his father's job.

A leaked U.S. diplomatic memo said Gamal and his clique of ruling party stalwarts and businessmen were gaining confidence in 2007 about controlling power in Egypt and that they believed that Mubarak would eventually dump Suleiman, who was seen as a threat by Gamal and his coterie of aides.

Gamal launched his political career within the ranks of the ruling National Democratic Party, climbed over the past 10 years to become its de facto leader, dictating economic policies and bolstering his own political standing.

Gamal's close aide and confidant, steel tycoon Ahmed Ezz, resigned from the party on Saturday, according to state television. Gamal and Ezz are suspected of orchestrating the rigging of the last parliamentary election in November, making sure the ruling party won all but a small fraction of the chamber's 518 seats.

Nineteen private jets carrying families of wealthy Egyptian businessmen with ties to the Mubarak family left Cairo late Saturday, most of them bound for Dubai, an airport official.

"There is nothing short of Mubarak leaving power that will satisfy the people," Mohamed ElBaradei, the country's leading pro-reform activist told The Associated Press on Saturday. "I think what Mubarak said yesterday was an insult to the intelligence of the Egyptian people."

Buildings, statues and even armored security vehicles were covered in anti-Mubarak graffiti, including the words "Mubarak must fall," which by morning had been written over to say "Mubarak fell."

The military extended the hours of the night curfew imposed Friday in the three major cities where the worst violence has been seen — Cairo, Alexandria and Suez. State television said it would begin at 4 p.m. and last until 8 a.m., longer than the 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. ban Friday night that appeared to not have been enforced.

The Internet appeared blocked for a third day Sunday, an effort to hamper protesters who use social networking sites to organize. After cell phone service was cut for a day Friday, two of the country's major providers were up and running Saturday.

in Friday night's looting, hundreds of young men had carted away televisions, fans and stereo equipment from the ruling National Democratic Party, near the Egyptian Museum. Others around the city looted banks, smashed cars, tore down street signs and pelted armored riot police vehicles with paving stones torn from roadways.

(AP)