Former President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama are among those being asked to testify by the defense in the Sept. 11 case at Guantanamo in an effort to have charges dismissed. Lawyers for three of five defendants filed a motion for dismissal because of what is known in the military commission system as "unlawful influence." The lawyers say in their pretrial motion that Bush, Obama and other officials have made public statements that make it impossible to give the defendants a fair trial. The motion was filed May 11 but it was only released Wednesday on a Pentagon website. Military prosecutors have not yet responded. Others named include Vice President Joe Biden and Attorney General Anthony Holder. The judge will decide whether they ... Continue reading →
By Fredy Builes It began as a normal summer day in cold Bogota, with bright sun lighting up the morning. I had just picked up one of my favorite lenses from a repair shop, and was carrying a camera and wide angle lens in a bag while heading for a local university which I have done photo assignments for. As I talked to Vicky, the head of the journalism school, all of a sudden a great explosion shook us. In her eyes I saw the same fear that I was feeling, as the deafening sound left us speechless. It was only instinct that carried me to the street. I ran out of the university towards the place of the explosion like a bull being released ... Continue reading →
FOR Brazil’s government recent weeks have brought some long-awaited victories. The overvalued currency has weakened to two reais to the dollar, from its peak of 1.54 last July. At 9% the Central Bank’s policy interest rate is near to historic lows and should fall further after President Dilma Rousseff’s brave decision to cut returns on government-backed savings accounts, which had previously acted as a floor. Both developments were welcomed by manufacturers, who have been labouring under a turbocharged currency and sky-high interest rates for years. Neither, though, was enough to reverse a recent shift in mood against Brazil. Investors were initially sceptical about Brazil’s inclusion in the BRICs, the acronym devised in 2001 by Jim O’Neill of Goldman Sachs to group Brazil, Russia, India and ... Continue reading →
Quick: What did the first four public editors of The New York Times have in common? That's right. All were white, male, well into or past middle-age, and distinguished in the world of news or magazines. That's not surprising, really, at a newspaper that not so long ago was known as The Gray Lady. But with the news Monday evening that public editor No. 4, Arthur Brisbane, will step down in September, the calls for change have already begun. On Tuesday, the Poynter Institute, a leader in journalism education and mid-career training, stripped a story across the top of its website with the headline,"5 qualifications The New York Times should require of its next public editor." Among them were "at least one element of diversity" ... Continue reading →
BUENOS AIRES (AP) -- El ex presidente de Colombia Alvaro Uribe participará el miércoles en un simposio internacional en el teatro de Buenos Aires donde la víspera la policía desactivó un artefacto explosivo. El ex mandatario disertará en el marco del encuentro WOM Leadership Symposium, confirmó a periodistas el supervisor del Teatro Gran Rex, Aldo Benítez, quien seńaló que en el edificio "está todo controlado y tranquilo". El martes la policía desactivó un dispositivo explosivo en el tercer piso del teatro, en el sector donde el ex mandatario iba a ofrecer un cóctel después de dar la conferencia. En tanto Uribe dijo a The Associated Press el miércoles por correo electrónico que tiene una agenda muy apretada y que apenas termine su intervención saldrá de ... Continue reading →
DUBAI | Wed May 23, 2012 11:05am EDT DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran has presented its own "comprehensive" package of proposals to six world powers during talks between the two sides over its disputed nuclear program, Iranian media reported on Wednesday. "In this session of negotiations, Iran presented to the P5+1 a package comprising five points that include a range of nuclear and non-nuclear issues," the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) reported."In the first session, the P5+1 presented its proposals to Iran, but apparently from the Iranian point of view this package is not balanced".(Reporting by Isabel Coles; Editing by Janet Lawrence) Continue reading →
22 May 2012 Last updated at 20:00 ET Peru dolphins not killed by oil blasts, says minister The dolphins were washed up in Chiclayo, in the north of Peru A Peruvian minister has denied claims that explosions used in oil exploration are to blame for the deaths of hundreds of dolphins. Fisheries Minister Gladys Triveno said a government investigation showed that natural causes were to blame. She contradicted a study by an environmental group which suggested that explosions had caused the deaths. The animals have washed up along Peru's northern coastline since the beginning of the year. Ms Triveno said the official government report by Peru's Maritime Institute (Imarpe) ruled out oil exploration, or infection by a virus or bacteria, as triggers for the deaths ... Continue reading →
