Obama Requesting Help To Pay For Afghan Army
Mapping the way out of an unpopular war, the United States and NATO are trying to build an Afghan army that can defend the country after 130,000 international troops pull out. The alliance’s plans for arm’s-length support for Afghanistan will be a central focus of the summit President Barack Obama is hosting Sunday and Monday in Chicago. The problem with the exit strategy is that someone has to pay for that army in an era of austerity budgets and defense cutbacks. The problem for the United States is how to avoid getting stuck with the check for $4.1 billion a year. “This has to be a multilateral funding effort,” said Pentagon spokesman George Little. “We think there should be contributions from other countries.”
That’s partly why so many non-NATO nations are getting invitations to the summit. About 60 countries and organizations are expected to be represented, including nations such as Japan that are far removed from the trans-Atlantic defense pact’s home ground. More than 20 nations have already agreed to help fund the Afghan army and more are expected to announce their commitments at the Chicago summit. U.S. and other NATO leaders claim that fundraising is on track, although the totals publicly announced so far are small. A senior Obama administration official said the U.S. and its partners would seek to set targets at the summit for the size and scope of the Afghan security forces after 2014, when foreign forces pull out. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to preview the upcoming summit, would not detail pledges expected in Chicago.
Source: AP
Judge Delays Mladic Trial Due To Evidence Errors
A judge suspended Ratko Mladic’s genocide and war crimes trial indefinitely Thursday after prosecutors failed to disclose thousands of documents to the former Bosnian Serb military chief’s defense team – a ruling that could delay the trial for months. Presiding judge Alphons Orie said he was delaying the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal case due to “significant disclosure errors” by prosecutors, who are obliged to share all evidence with Mladic’s lawyers. The announcement is a significant setback for the court in one of its highest profile cases, its final trial to focus on atrocities committed during the 1992-95 Bosnian war, which left over 100,000 dead.
Orie said judges will analyze the “scope and full impact” of the error and aim to establish a new starting date “as soon as possible.” The presentation of evidence was supposed to begin later this month. Prosecutors had already acknowledged the errors and did not object to the delay. Mladic’s attorney has asked for a six-month delay. Mladic is accused of commanding Bosnian Serb troops who waged a campaign of murder and persecution to drive Muslims and Croats out of territory they considered part of Serbia. His troops rained shells and snipers’ bullets down on civilians in the 44-month siege of the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo.
Source: Reuters
Today In History May 17
1792- The New York Stock Exchange was founded by brokers meeting under a tree on what is now Wall Street.
1829- John Jay, American statesman and the first chief justice of the Supreme Court, died at age 83.
1875- The first Kentucky Derby was run; the winner was Aristides.
1940- The Nazis occupied Brussels, Belgium, during World War II.
1954- the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that racially segregated public schools were inherently unequal.
1973- The Senate began hearings into the Watergate scandal.
1980- Rioting that claimed 18 lives erupted in Miami’s Liberty City neighborhood after an all-white jury in Tampa acquitted four former Miami police officers of fatally beating a black man.
1987- An Iraqi warplane attacked the U.S. Navy frigate Stark in the Persian Gulf, killing 37 American sailors. Iraq and the United States called the attack a mistake.
1996- President Bill Clinton signed “Megan’s Law,” a measure requiring neighborhood notification when sex offenders move in.
2000- Two former Ku Klux Klansmen were arrested on murder charges in the 1963 church bombing in Birmingham, Ala., that killed four black girls.
2011- Actor and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a statement confirming a Los Angeles Times report that he had fathered a child with a woman on his household staff more than a decade earlier.
Source: AP
While You Were Sleeping May 17, 2012
Plan to strike Iran “ready” says US Israel envoy.
Pakistani air force planes crash on training mission in the country’s northwest, killing all 4 pilots.
6 police and a civilian die in attack by gunmen on Afghan governor’s compound.
HSBC says turnaround plan on target, costs cut by $2 billion.
Chinese boats seized by North Koreans in rare public spat.
Spains borrowing costs leap and bound sale.
Greek exit could cost euro zone 100s of billions of euros.
Defiant Greek leftist refuses to back austerity.
Egypt’s cautious provinces makes vote to hard call.
Sri Lanka president to free jailed rival this week.
Cameron tell Europe to quell the turmoil.
Source: AP and Reuters
BREAKING: TRAYVON MARTIN AUTOPSY RELEASED
Florida teenager Trayvon Martin died from a single gunshot wound to the chest fired from “intermediate range,” according to an autopsy report reviewed Wednesday by NBC News. The official report, prepared by the medical examiner in Volusia County, Fla., also found that the 17-year-old Martin had one other fresh injury – a small abrasion, no more than a quarter-inch in size – on his left ring finger below the knuckle. Separately, a medical report on Martin’s alleged killer, 28-year-old George Zimmerman, prepared by his personal physician the day after Martin’s shooting in Sanford, Fla., on Feb. 26, found that the Neighborhood Watch volunteer suffered a likely broken nose, swelling, two black eyes and cuts to the scalp. That report, first reported Tuesday by ABC News, also was reviewed by NBC News.
Both documents are part of a mountain of evidence – up to 300 pages and 67 CDs of witness statements, surveillance videos and other material– expected to be made public soon in connection with the second-degree murder case against Zimmerman. Zimmerman allegedly shot Martin during a confrontation inside the gated community in Sanford where Zimmerman was a neighborhood volunteer and where Martin was visiting his father’s fiancée. After first reporting a suspicious person in the neighborhood in a phone call to Sanford police, Zimmerman followed the teenager before a fatal confrontation that remains shrouded in mystery.
Source: NBC News
2 Navy Ships Collide In Pacific; No Injuries
A U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship and a refueling tanker collided in the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday, but there were no injuries and no fuel spills, the 3rd Fleet said. The collision between the assault ship USS Essex and the oiler USNS Yukon occurred at midmorning about 120 miles off Southern California, according to a statement. The Essex was approaching the Yukon to get in position to be refueled when a steering malfunction occurred, and the two ships collided, said Cmdr. Charlie Brown, a fleet spokesman.
Both ships reported some damage, Brown said. He gave no further details. The fleet statement said neither ship’s fuel tanks or systems were compromised, but a full assessment of any damage was continuing. The Essex, an 844-foot-long vessel that resembles a small aircraft carrier, is due to return to San Diego on Thursday after 12 years based in Sasebo, Japan, as command ship for the Navy’s Expeditionary Strike Group 7. It has a crew of about 1,200. The Yukon is a 677-foot tanker that replenishes oil for other Navy ships in the Pacific fleet. It was launched in 1993, and all but three of its 92 crew members are civilians, according to the Navy’s website. Navy ships routinely refuel at sea while under way.
Source: Reuters
RFK Jr’s Estranged Wife, Mary, Found Dead In NY
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s estranged wife, Mary Richardson Kennedy, who had fought drug and alcohol problems, was found dead in her home Wednesday. Attorney Kerry Lawrence, who had represented her in a drunken-driving case, said he didn’t know the cause of her death at age 52. An autopsy was scheduled for Thursday. Police confirmed a body was found on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s property in Bedford, north of New York City, but wouldn’t release the dead person’s name.
The former Mary Richardson married Robert Kennedy Jr., a prominent environmental lawyer and the son of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy, in 1994. The couple had four children, the youngest born in July 2001. Her family cited her devotion to her children in remembering her. “We deeply regret the death of our beloved sister Mary, whose radiant and creative spirit will be sorely missed by those who loved her,” the family said in a statement issued by Lawrence. “Our heart goes out to her children who she loved without reservation.” Mary Kennedy had had trouble with drugs and alcohol and had two high-profile arrests around the time her husband filed for divorce in 2010. She was charged later that year with driving under the influence of drugs, not long after she pleaded guilty to drunken driving when police reported seeing her car hit a curb outside a school near her home. Police said she had a blood-alcohol level of 0.11 percent; the legal limit is 0.08 percent. Her license was suspended.
Source: TMZ
Mueller Confirms Preliminary Probe Of JP Morgan
FBI Director Robert Mueller said Wednesday the bureau has launched a preliminary investigation of JPMorgan Chase & Co. following a $2 billion trading loss at the bank. Mueller’s comment at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing was the first on-the-record confirmation of the probe. On Tuesday, a law enforcement official said that the FBI’s New York office is heading an inquiry into the JPMorgan loss. “All I can say is we’ve opened up a preliminary investigation,” Mueller told the Senate panel. Mueller said that opening a preliminary investigation “depends on a number of factors,” which he did not enumerate. Under attorney general guidelines for FBI operations, a preliminary investigation may be initiated on the basis of any allegation or information indicative of possible criminal activity. Time limits are set for completion of preliminary investigations – usually six months, although six-month extensions can be granted. Extensions of preliminary investigations beyond a year must be approved by FBI headquarters.
Source: AP
Oil Price Still Falling, Near $93 A Barrel
The price of oil continues to decline as supplies grow in the U.S. Benchmark U.S. crude on Wednesday fell by $1 to $92.98 per barrel in New York. It dipped to a seven-month low of $91.81 earlier and is down about 12 percent overall since the beginning of May. Brent crude, which helps set the price of oil imported into the U.S., fell by 87 cents to $110.58 per barrel in London. Prices fell after the government reported that U.S. oil supplies grew last week by 2.1 million barrels. That’s more than analysts expected. Storage levels are now the highest in nearly 22 years. Prices tend to decline when more oil is available. At the pump, retail gasoline prices were flat at a national average of $3.73 per gallon.
Soccer Star Beckham To Bring Olympic Torch To UK
Organizers of the 2012 Olympics say soccer star David Beckham is bringing the Olympic flame back from Greece as the torch begins an 8,000 mile (12,875km) tour across Britain. Beckham, who plays for the Los Angeles Galaxy in the United States, will join officials at a handover ceremony in Athens on Thursday. Organizers said Wednesday that the former England national soccer team captain will then carry the torch back to the U.K. on a flight Friday, along with Princess Anne and other officials. Beckham was part of the delegation that helped London secure the Summer Games ahead of a 2005 vote. A total of 8,000 people will carry the torch during a 70-day relay that will begin in Cornwall, southern England, and reach the Shetland Islands, off Scotland’s north coast.
Source: BBC
