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Kidnapped Italian woman says being held by Al-Qaeda

DUBAI (AFP) – An Italian woman snatched early this month in Algeria said she was being held by the North African branch of Al-Qaeda, in an audiotape aired by the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya television early Friday.

"I am Italian and I was kidnapped on Wednesday, February 2, in Algeria. I am still being held by the Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the Tarek ibn Zyad battalion. I am asking Al-Arabiya to air this statement," the hostage, identified as Maria Sandra Mariani, said in halting French.

The tape started with a man speaking in Arabic and claiming that the Al-Qaeda offshoot was holding her, adding that "we want her to be able to communicate with the leader of her country."

The 53-year-old woman was abducted in Alidena, an area about 130 kilometres (80 miles) south of Djanet, the main town in southeastern Algeria.

Three Algerians -- a driver, a security guard and a guide -- who accompanied her were freed following the abduction.

Djanet, 2,300 kilometres south of Algiers near the border with Libya, is an oasis mainly inhabited by Tuareg tribespeople.

The North African branch of Al-Qaeda operates in a vast desert area across Algeria, Mauritania, Mali and Niger, where it carries out attacks, trafficking and kidnapping of westerners.

China blocks U.N. report on N.Korea nuclear breaches

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – China has told U.N. Security Council members it plans to block publication of a U.N. special report that accuses North Korea of violating sanctions on its nuclear program, Western diplomats said.

The U.N. Panel of Experts on North Korea submitted a report on January 27 to the Security Council's sanctions committee, which monitors compliance with U.N. sanctions on Pyongyang imposed after its two nuclear tests.

Diplomats told Reuters that China informed council members it would block the publication and transfer of the report to the full council. They said China's move was odd since one of the experts who prepared the report, Xiaodong Xue, is Chinese.

The panel's report, which was seen by Reuters, says that North Korea almost certainly has several more undisclosed enrichment-related facilities. It also says that Pyongyang's uranium enrichment program and its development of a light-water reactor are serious violations of U.N. sanctions.

The report of the panel, which includes experts from the five permanent Security Council members, South Korea and Japan, was partly based on conversations with U.S. nuclear scientist Siegfried Hecker, who saw around 2,000 centrifuges used to enrich uranium during a rare visit to North Korea last year.

The North Korean sanctions committee will present on February 23 its quarterly update on compliance with the U.N. sanctions imposed on Pyongyang after its 2006 and 2009 nuclear tests.

Western diplomats said they hoped the sanctions committee could meet before February 23.

But China has made it difficult to schedule a committee meeting, they said, and wanted as few details as possible of the panel's enrichment assessment and Hecker's visit to North Korea mentioned in the committee's quarterly update.

Sanctions committees work on the basis of consensus, which gives China and all other Security Council members the power to block decisions. Beijing has prevented the transfer to the Security Council and publication of other expert panel reports on North Korea and Sudan in the past.

Diplomats say it is emblematic of China's increasingly self-confident approach to international diplomacy as it seeks to protect states like North Korea to which it has close ties.

PROLIFERATION FEARS

The panel's report raises a number of concerns about North Korea's nuclear program. As Reuters reported last month, it says Pyongyang likely has further secret facilities and calls for better implementation of the sanctions.

The panel also voiced concern that North Korea might "transfer fissile materials or the means of producing them" to foreign countries due to its shortage of hard currency. The panel has previously suggested that Pyongyang may have aided Syria, Myanmar and Iran with nuclear or missile technology.

The panel concluded that the North's enrichment program, which Pyongyang says it began in April 2009, must have been developed much earlier, over the course of "several years or decades" and appears mainly to be for military purposes.

The report says the chief engineer at North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear complex told Hecker of a further facility for processing and converting uranium to a form usable in centrifuges but refused to show it to the American scientist.

North Korea's centrifuges, it said, are based on equipment Pyongyang received from Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan's nuclear arms program who operated a black market operation that specialized in selling enrichment technology to countries under sanctions like Iran, Libya and North Korea.

North Korea says its centrifuges were developed domestically. The expert panel, however, says that "more recent illicit attempts of acquisitions" of items from abroad that are crucial for centrifuge production cast doubt on that.

Like Iran, the panel said North Korea is using second-generation Pakistani-type equipment -- known as "P-2" centrifuges. For some reason, however, the North Koreans have achieved far better results than the Iranians.

Among the likely reasons for that, North Korea appears "to have cooperated more closely with AQK (Khan) than Iran, possibly receiving training in the assembly, operation and maintenance of centrifuges," the report says.

It added that there was no reason to doubt reports that some 200 North Korean nuclear engineers graduate every year.

(Editing by Philip Barbara)

John K. Fanney Joins DeMent Askew LLP

The law firm of DeMent Askew announces that Criminal Law Attorney John K. Fanney has joined its Raleigh, N.C., office.

Raleigh, NC (Vocus/PRWEB) February 15, 2011

The law firm of DeMent Askew announces that Criminal Law Attorney John K. Fanney has joined its Raleigh, N.C., office.

has nearly 21 years of experience and is admitted to the North Carolina, U.S. District & Court of Appeals, and Eastern District North Carolina bars.John Fanney has been named in SuperLawyers and recognized by Martindale Hubbell Peer Review Ratings. He is also a Board Certified Specialist in both state and federal criminal law, State Delegate to the National College for DUI Defense (NCDD) and a frequent speaker at DWI seminars around North Carolina. He merges his successful criminal law practice with DeMent Askew, an established AV-rated law firm.

DeMent Criminal Law Group is led by Rusty DeMent, who’s attained an AV rating with Martindale-Hubbell and was named to Business N.C.'s Legal Elite for criminal law. The addition of Fanney solidifies DeMent Askew as a leading . In addition to their prowess in criminal law, DWI and traffic violations, the firm is also accomplished in civil litigation, personal injury,and real estate.

“We are pleased and excited to have John Fanney join our firm.We’re looking forward to adding his expertise to the services we offer our clients,” says Rusty DeMent.

About DeMent Askew LLP

DeMent Askew, LLP was founded in 1968 by Russell W. DeMent, Jr. and quickly established a reputation for unwavering trial advocacy.Thenow boasts seven attorneys, five partners and two associates, and an exceptionally experienced and professional staff. They stand ready to protect their clients’ rights in civil and criminal litigation in North Carolina’s state and federal courts.

Attorneys at the law firm of DeMent Askew offer legal counsel primarily in the following areas: Criminal defenseDWI/TrafficPersonal injuryCivil litigation

DeMent Askew is proud that the majority of their new clients are referred to them by former, satisfied clients and other law firms in NC.In most cases, they offer free initial consultations so clients can quickly find out what their rights are, and what they can do to help.

Founded in 1968, the lawyers at DeMent Askew, LLP are confident that our exceptional law firm & litigation team can help you find the right solution to your legal problem.For more information about the firm, please go toor call 919-833-5555.

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Rusty DeMent, PartnerDeMent Askew919-833-5555Email Information

HP to pit "TouchPad" against iPad this summer

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Hewlett-Packard Co unveiled its entrant in the tablet race, announcing a touchscreen device for summer release called the TouchPad to try to steal momentum from Apple Inc's popular iPad.

The 9.7-inch tablet runs on the webOS mobile operating system, which HP acquired last summer in its $1.2 billion purchase of handheld device pioneer Palm.

Pricing and other details for the 1.5-pound tablet, which runs off Qualcomm Inc chips and supports video calling, will be announced later.

The world's largest technology company by revenue also announced new webOS smartphones, the Veer and the Pre3.

WebOS is widely viewed as a strong platform, but HP faces an uphill battle to gain traction in the mobile market. Its products are arriving late to a market already crawling with competition from Apple and devices based on Google Inc's Android.

With the traditional personal computer market maturing and prices continuing to erode, HP -- the world's largest PC maker -- needs credible offerings in the tablet and smartphone space to stay in the conversation.

But its rivals have a huge headstart, and the company will have to spend and market aggressively if it hopes to make any headway. HP, famous for penny-pinching under former CEO Mark Hurd, has made it known it plans to invest under new CEO Leo Apotheker.

IDC expects the smartphone market to rise 25 percent this year, while industry tracker iSuppli predicts the tablet market to more than triple. In contrast, IDC expects less than 10 percent growth in the PC market this year.

HP bought Palm to bring it a differentiated software platform to deploy across a range of its products.

WebOS allows HP to offer devices with fully integrated hardware and software, a soup-to-nuts strategy that has proved wildly successful for Apple.

Todd Bradley, who heads HP's PC division, said the company has over 88,000 retail locations. He estimated the market for connected devices at roughly $160 billion and growing fast.

"Our global reach is unprecedented," he said.

Also on Wednesday, Amazon.com said it plans to launch its free Kindle e-reader app for the TouchPad that will let users buy content, and for a wide spectrum of mobile devices including the iPad and traditional computers.

Shares of Palo Alto, California-based HP were up 0.7 percent at $48.49 at mid-afternoon on Nasdaq.

(Editing by Edwin Chan, Matthew Lewis and Richard Chang)

Could George W. Bush face arrest in Switzerland?

New York – The former president canceled a trip to Geneva amid threats by human rights groups that they'd pursue legal charges against him for sanctioning torture

Former President George W. Bush was forced to forgo a planned trip to Switzerland this week as human rights activists exertedon the Swiss governmentto arrest him for allegedly sanctioning "the torture of terrorismsuspects" held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.Left-wing protesters even threatened to file acriminalcomplaint against the former president. Here, a brief guide to the controversy:

Why was Bush heading to Switzerland?Bush was slated to be theat a February 12 Jewishcharity gala in honor of the Switzerland-based United Israel Appeal.

What were the activists planning to do?Groups including Amnesty International, the Center for Constitutional Rights, Human Rights Watch, and the International Federation of Human Rights said they would file a 2,500-page complaint against the president under the international Convention Against Torture. Two men supposedly inspired the complaint: Majid Khan, who is reportedly still at Guantanamo, and Sami al-Hajj, a former Al Jazeera cameraman, who was released in May 2008. Organizers were also planning protests outside the hotel where Bush was going to speak, and were urging demonstrators to bring shoes to the rally, a gesture intended to evoke the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoe at Bush in 2008.

Could Bush really have been arrested? It'sunlikely. An "initial assessment" by the Swiss Justice Ministry determined that the former president would have immunity from prosecution for his actions while in office, .The activist groups disputed that. But even if Bush could have beenbrought up on charges, prosecutors would likely have run out of time to investigate them and take actionbefore he left thecountry.

So why was his appearance canceled?Representatives of the charity say security fears, not legal threats, led them to cancel Bush's appearance. "We regret that the speech has been canceled," a Bush spokesman told The Associated Press. He said the president "was looking forward to speaking about freedom and offering reflections from his time in office." But the groups seeking Bush's arrest question these official statements: "Whatever Bush or his hosts say, we have no doubt he canceled his trip to avoid our case."

Sources: , , ,

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