 As World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz clings to his job, two key players in the scandal over his girlfriend’s compensation package — which has since made her the highest paid member of the U.S. State Department — have further distanced themselves from the actions that led to the furor. When the scandal first broke in early April, top aides to Wolfowitz told reporters that the compensation terms of his girlfriend, longtime bank staffer Shaha Riza, were negotiated and approved, respectively, by Roberto Danino, the bank’s then-general counsel, and by Ad Melkert, the former chairman of the board’s ethics committee in mid-2005. Both former officials issued short denials at the time. But they declined to elaborate until yesterday, when they insisted to FOX News that their roles in the matter were marginal — with one official claiming that Wolfowitz cut him out of the final discussions entirely. ...
http://www.foxnews.com
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Editor - 15:41:00 04-19-07
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 Racial Slur on Couch Label Blamed on Chinese Company's Faulty Software Program |
Doris Moore was shocked when her new couch was delivered to her home with a label that used a racial slur to describe the dark brown shade of the upholstery. The situation was even more alarming for Moore because it was her 7-year-old daughter who pointed out "n——- brown" on the tag. "My daughter saw the label and she knew the color brown, but didn't know what the other word meant. She asked, 'Mommy, what color is that?' I was stunned. I didn't know what to say. I never thought that's how she'd learn of that word," Moore said. The mother complained to the furniture store, which blamed the supplier, who pointed to a computer problem as the source of the derogatory label. Kingsoft Corp., a Chinese software company, acknowledged its translation program was at fault and said it was a regrettable error. The software is the culprit, it’s not trained to be Politically Correct. ...
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=3057638
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Editor - 12:29:00 04-19-07
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| Anti-Castro Militant Leaves U.S. Jail Luis Posada Carriles Released From Federal Custody, But Faces Immigration Fraud Trial |
Anti-Castro Cuban militant Luis Posada Carriles has been released from federal custody and is en route to his wife's house in Miami, his lawyer said Thursday. Posada was released from a New Mexico jail after posting bond, his lawyer, Felipe D.J. Millan, said. Millan said immigration authorities were not detaining him, though there is an outstanding order of deportation. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman in El Paso did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Posada, a 79-year-old former CIA operative, is awaiting a May 11 trial on immigration fraud charges. He is wanted in Cuba and Venezuela, where he is accused of plotting the 1976 bombing of a Cuban jetliner that killed 73 people. A judge ruled that he could not be deported to those countries because he might be tortured. No other country has agreed to take him. We can’t let our Terrorist be tortured, that’s only for other terrorists...
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/19/world/main2704857.shtml?source=RSSattr=World_2704857
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Editor - 12:21:00 04-19-07
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| Insurgents announce ‘Islamic Cabinet’ for Iraq Militant coalition, including al-Qaida, declares plans in Web video |
An insurgent coalition announced a “Cabinet” for its Islamic state in Iraq in a Web video posted on Thursday, naming the head of al-Qaida in Iraq as “minister of war.” The video was issued by the Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella group of insurgent groups including al-Qaida. A man identified as a spokesman for the group appeared, with his face obscured, speaking from behind a desk with a flat-screen computer. “It is the duty at our present stage to form this Cabinet, the first Islamic Cabinet, which has faith in God,” said the spokesman, wearing robes and a red kafiyyah headdress. ...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18202494/
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Editor - 12:16:00 04-19-07
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| Gates says 'clock is ticking' on Iraq |
Defense Secretary Robert Gates slipped into Iraq Thursday to warn Iraqi leaders that the U.S. commitment to a military buildup there is not open-ended.Gates said the political tumult in Washington over financing the military presence in Iraq shows that both the American public and the Bush administration are running out of patience with the war."I'm sympathetic with some of the challenges that they face," Gates said of the Iraqis during his surprise visit. But, he said, "the clock is ticking."Gates added, "Frankly I would like to see faster progress."He said that the Iraqis need to push through legislation on political reconciliation and sharing oil revenues. "It's not that these laws are going to change the situation immediately, but I think ... the ability to get them done communicates a willingness to work together."...
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2007-04-19-gates-iraq_N.htm?csp=34
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Editor - 12:13:00 04-19-07
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| U.S. to have 127 million flu-vaccine doses |
The United States is expected to have at least 127 million flu-vaccine doses on hand for this year's influenza season -- the most ever, companies told the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday. Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine unit of Sanofi-Aventis, said it would have 50 million doses. Novartis AG said it would have 40 million doses, GlaxoSmithKline Plc said it would have 30 million to 35 million doses and MedImmune said it would provide 7 million doses. An Australian vaccine maker, CSL Ltd., said it could provide some vaccine as well, if it got approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The CDC and other health officials are eager to increase the share of Americans who get vaccines each year against seasonal influenza, which kills about 36,000 people in an average U.S. flu season and puts 200,000 into the hospital. Officials are also wary of the potential for an influenza pandemic, such as bird flu. ...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070419/ts_nm/flu_vaccines_dc
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Editor - 09:30:00 04-19-07
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