Jurors resumed deliberations Thursday in the perjury and obstruction trial of former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. The jury of eight women and four men began deliberating late Wednesday morning, after 14 days of testimony, a full day of closing arguments and more than an hour of instructions from U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton . Libby is charged with lying and obstructing the investigation into the 2003 leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity. After 4 1/2 hours of deliberation, the jurors went home. Prosecutors say he concocted a story to cover up discussions he had with reporters regarding Plame. Libby said he gave investigators his best recollection of what happened and said any mistakes were simply errors in memory.... http://www.msnbc.msn.com censor News |
Editor - 08:46:00 02-22-07 |
Half-tonne Colossal squid hauled from the deep |
A New Zealand fishing crew may have caught the largest Colossal squid ever found, the country's fisheries minister said today. The sea creature, weighing an estimated 450kg (990lb), had eyes as big as dinner plates and sharp hooks on its tentacles. If it were cut into calamari rings, they would be the size of tractor tyres. Jim Anderton said the squid took two hours to land in Antarctic waters. The fishermen were catching Patagonian toothfish south of New Zealand "and the squid was eating a hooked toothfish when it was hauled from the deep", he said. "The squid was almost dead when it reached the surface, and the careful work of the crew was paramount in getting this specimen aboard in good condition." Colossal squid, known by the scientific name Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni, can grow up to 14m (46ft) long and are considered one of the most mysterious creatures of the deep ocean.... http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,2019060,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=12
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Editor - 08:28:00 02-22-07 |
48 Nations Launch Global Drive Against Production and Stockpiling of Cluster Bombs |
Representatives from 48 nations on Thursday launched a global effort to ban the use, production and stockpiling of cluster bombs by the end of next year, despite the opposition of several of the world's major military powers. A draft declaration, obtained by The Associated Press, said these weapons which can linger on former battlefields for years cause "unacceptable harm." It calls for a treaty banning them by 2008, despite concerns that some countries would not agree to act that quickly. Norway hopes the treaty would be similar to one outlawing anti-personnel mines, negotiated in Oslo in 1997. Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said advocates should push for a treaty by the end of 2008, despite concerns. "I believe any other target will be a wrong signal," he said. ... http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2895441
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Editor - 08:23:00 02-22-07 |
Special Election Set for June to Fill Georgia Congressional Seat After Norwood's Death |
Gov. Sonny Perdue on Thursday called for a June 19 special election to fill the House seat left vacant by the death of GOP Rep. Charles Norwood. The date gives the growing field of candidates almost four months to campaign and allows a pair of state senators seeking the seat to complete the current legislative session. Three Republicans have said they will run to represent the northeastern Georgia district: State Sens. Ralph Hudgens and Jim Whitehead, and Paul Broun, a doctor whose father was a longtime Democratic state senator. Doc Eldridge, a former Democratic mayor of Athens, has said he may also run as a Republican. Democrat Terry Holley, who was soundly defeated by Norwood last November, also said he plans to run. There are no primaries before the special election. If no one receives more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff between the top two vote-getters would be held July 17. ... http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2895494
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Editor - 08:21:00 02-22-07 |
Clinton and Obama row over backer |
A row has erupted between two major contenders for the US Democratic Party's presidential nomination in 2008, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. It was sparked after Hollywood mogul David Geffen hosted a fundraiser for Mrs Clinton's rival and called her overly ambitious in an interview. Mr Geffen, who once backed Bill Clinton, also claimed the former first lady might be a "polarising" figure. However, Mr Obama's camp has refused calls to denounce the remarks. A spokesman for the Obama campaign noted that the former first couple did not complain when Mr Geffen raised millions of dollars for Mr Clinton's presidential campaign and was entertained at the White House. Ms Clinton's camp have questioned Mr Obama's vow to stay away from "slash and burn" politics as a result of this latest row. Asked about the row at a forum in the western state of Nevada, Ms Clinton said: "I want to run a very positive campaign, I sure don't want Democrats or supporters of ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6384821.stm
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Editor - 08:19:00 02-22-07 |
No U.K. cash for man wrongly accused over 9/11 Algerian was briefly jailed over erroneous allegations he trained hijackers |
An Algerian-born pilot wrongly jailed in Britain on accusations that he trained the Sept. 11 hijackers lost a legal bid for compensation Thursday at London’s High Court. Two judges ruled that the government was entitled to exclude Lotfi Raissi from its compensation policy for victims of miscarriages of justice because he had been held on a U.S. extradition warrant. The judges said the legal proceedings did not fall “in the domestic criminal process.” Raissi, 33, was arrested near London’s Heathrow Airport shortly after the 2001 attacks after being indicted by a federal grand jury in Arizona. U.S. prosecutors claimed he offered pilot training to the hijackers. The United States had sought to extradite Raissi on charges of falsifying applications for a pilot’s license — he allegedly failed to disclose a knee operation — and other documents.... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17277104/
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Editor - 08:14:00 02-22-07 |
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