Soyuz spacecraft lands safely in Kazakhstan

July 01, 2012

ALMATY, Kazakhstan (AP) — A Soyuz space capsule carrying a three-man multinational crew touched down safely Sunday on the southern steppes of Kazakhstan, bringing an end to their 193-day mission to the International Space Station.

Around a dozen recovery helicopters zeroed into the vast uncultivated land mass, where NASA astronaut Donald Pettit, Russia's Oleg Kononenko and Dutchman Andre Kuipers landed in the Russian-made capsule.

Russian space officials quickly surrounded the craft, which performed a perfect upright textbook landing, and erected ladders to begin the process of pulling out the astronauts. The voyage from the space station started 3 -1/2 hours earlier, when it undocked and began a slow, gentle drift away. It made a perfect landing in the still and summery weather at 2:14 pm local time (08:17 GMT), right on schedule.

Commenting on the landing, NASA TV reporter Rob Navias described it as "a bullseye." Kononenko was the first to be extracted from the descent module. He looked pale and tired, but medical staff announced him healthy. Pettit, second out of the module, was heard to say: "It's good to be home."

The three men were hoisted into recliners and posed for photos for a number of minutes before being carried into a tent for further checks. Writing on his NASA blog on the eve of his departure from the space station, Petit write: "I only hope that my small efforts here, perhaps adding one grain of sand to the beach of knowledge, will help enable a generation of people in the future to call space 'home.'"

Petit and his colleagues were part of the team that handled the arrival to the space station last month of the privately owned SpaceX Dragon capsule. That became the first private delivery to the International Space Station.

The retirement of the U.S. shuttle fleet has left Russia's venerable Soyuz spacecraft as the only means to deliver crews to the orbiting laboratory. Russians Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin and U.S. astronaut Joseph Acaba are expected to remain onboard the orbiting space station for a further three months.

They will be joined later this month by NASA astronaut Suni Williams, Russia's Yury Malenchenko and Japanese astronaut Aki Hoshide, who are set to take off on a Soyuz spaceship from the Baikonur cosmodrome in southern Kazakhstan.

Palestinians detain dozens in weapons crackdown

July 02, 2012

JENIN REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank (AP) — The Palestinian self-rule government has detained some 200 people, including security officers, in recent weeks in the biggest crackdown on illegal weapons in the West Bank in five years, a spokesman said Monday.

Officials say the campaign is unusual because it targets include alleged vigilante gunmen linked to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement. Previously, security forces went mainly after armed supporters of rival groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Of some 200 people detained since May, just under 100 have been released after surrendering their weapons while the others remain in custody, said police spokesman Adnan Damiri. In all, about 100 guns have been seized, he said.

The weapons roundup was sparked by a shooting attack in May on the house of the governor of the Jenin district, Kadoura Mousa, who later died of a heart attack. Damiri said suspects in that shooting are among those in detention.

Others are being held on suspicion of illegal weapons dealing, extortion and attacks on security officers, he said. The operation focuses on the Jenin district, the largest contiguous area under Palestinian self-rule. Israel retains overall control of the West Bank, a territory it captured in 1967, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. Palestinians have limited autonomy in 38 percent of the West Bank.

The performance of Abbas' security forces, key to buttressing Palestinian claims for independence, has won praise by Israel in recent years. At the same time, Palestinian officials complain that Israeli restrictions on the movement of the Palestinian security forces and frequent Israeli army incursions into self-rule areas hamper law-and-order efforts.

Jenin saw some of the worst Israeli-Palestinian violence during the second Palestinian uprising a decade ago. At the time, gunmen fighting Israel emerged as local heroes, but also acted with impunity at home, terrorizing other members of the community, residents say.

In recent years, the Palestinian Authority has gradually taken control in Jenin and other parts of the West Bank. However, several high-profile shootings in Jenin in the past 15 months signaled that the campaign was far from complete.

In a brazen daytime attack in April 2011, a masked gunman shot and killed Israeli actor Juliano Mer Khamis, who ran a local community theater, after stopping his car in the Jenin refugee camp. The killer remains at large.

This was followed by the attack on the governor's house in May. On Sunday, assailants fired at Palestinian lawmaker Shami al-Shami of Fatah, wounding him in the leg as he approached his home. Damiri said the motive remains unclear and that there are no suspects yet in Sunday's shooting.

Al-Shami said in an interview Sunday that he opposes taking weapons away from Fatah loyalists, arguing that the movement needs them for a possible future confrontation with Hamas and other rivals. The Islamic militant Hamas seized Gaza by force in 2007, leaving Abbas with only parts of the West Bank.

In response to the Gaza takeover, Abbas cracked down on Islamic militants in the West Bank, arresting armed supporters and shutting down Hamas-linked institutions. Damiri said the current campaign is the biggest since 2007.

Associated Press writer Dalia Nammari in Ramallah contributed reporting.

Spain win a personal milestone for Casillas

July 02, 2012

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Though a team triumph, Iker Casillas managed his own personal milestone when Spain beat Italy 4-0 to win the European Championship on Sunday.

The 31-year-old goalkeeper became the first player to ever record 100 wins for his national team. Instead of embracing his fiance journalist as he did after Spain's 2010 World Cup victory in South Africa, Casillas celebrated by giving her a peck on each cheek before running back onto the Olympic Stadium's field to celebrate the unprecedented milestone with his teammates.

"These years have been the best of my life," Casillas said. "Now, we have to enjoy this moment that will last a lifetime." Casillas, making his 137th appearance for Spain, ensured his team stayed in control of the match during a few dips, including just after the 14th minute opener from David Silva. Spain's captain got a hand to a cross destined for Daniele De Rossi in the 17th, before also getting a tip to a cross meant for Mario Balotelli 10 minutes later.

With Spain ahead 2-0 after the break, he made a point-blank reflex save to deny substitute Antonio Di Natale in the 51st. Casillas conceded just one goal from open play at Euro 2012 — to Di Natale in the group stage — and hasn't let in a goal in a knock out match since Zinedine Zidane scored against him at the 2006 World Cup.

Casillas, who counts the Champions League, Spanish league, Intercontinental Cup among his many club trophies, hasn't conceded a goal in the 10 straight elimination games since Zidane scored against him. And Spain has won three straight major titles since.

"We played well in defense (all tournament), not just Iker, but the entire team," defender Gerard Pique said. "We followed our game plan."

Spain answers critics with Euro 2012 'tiki taka'

July 02, 2012

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Spain's talented midfielders answered weeks of criticism over boring play with a masterclass performance of attacking football that led it to a second straight European Championship.

Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez, Cesc Fabregas and David Silva repaid coach Vicente del Bosque's trust in fielding a starting lineup without a traditional striker by pulling the strings in Sunday's 4-0 victory over Italy.

The four players were involved in nearly all four goals as Spain's quick-touch passing and slick combinations — termed "tiki taka" back home — helped the world champions win their third straight major title.

"Even without a traditional striker they still cause a hell of a lot of problems," Italy coach Cesare Prandelli said from the Olympic Stadium. Del Bosque aligned the same starting 11 that he used in the opening 1-1 Group C draw against Italy, and despite routing Ireland 4-0 and beating Croatia 1-0, scrutiny followed. The world champions then beat France 2-0 and Portugal in a semifinal shootout, but the murmurs continued.

There was no argument on Sunday, however, as Spain showed its intent to silence the critics straight from kickoff with Silva capping a goal that involved all four players in the 14th minute. "Everyone has his own opinion, way of seeing things. We're not here to say if this is the best way of playing or not," Iniesta said. "Tonight we were at a high level and true to our style."

The term tiki taka has followed Spain since its Euro 2008 triumph in Vienna four years ago and Spain used its attractive passing game to keep the ball and phase their opponents out of the game. "What we do is difficult, but we make it look easy. It wasn't a walk in the park," Spain captain Iker Casillas said. "We knew that when you slip just a little but, people are there to criticize you. Now we have to enjoy this moment that will last a lifetime."

On the first goal, Xavi gathered at midfield and fed Iniesta on the run, with the Spain playmaker threading a ball to Fabregas. But instead of taking a shot, Fabregas carried his run deep to the goal line before crossing back for Silva to head home.

Xavi, who admitted he hadn't been at his best in Poland and Ukraine, certainly rebounded against Italy as he put Jordi Alba clear on goal with a perfect through ball in the 41st, and the left back scored his first goal with a low shot to the left.

"We deserved it, we were superior," Xavi said. "We played a complete game and perhaps the best of the entire European Championship. We made history and now we have to enjoy it." Spain completed 815 passes to take its overall total in the tournament to more than 4,200. When Italy was reduced to 10 men following the injury of Thiago Motta in the 64th with no substitutes available, the Azzurri had no chance as Spain controlled through its passing with substitutes Fernando Torres and Juan Mata adding late goals.

Del Bosque started with Fabregas, who usually plays an attacking midfield role for Barcelona. He led Spain's attack three times at the tournament. While Torres' late goal ensured he was the tournament's top scorer, it was with Fabregas as a roving center forward that Spain played with the most confidence.

"I don't think there's one way of playing football. You have to find a way to score," Del Bosque responded when asked if his tactical decisions had changed football. "We have very intelligent players who we can trust. It's a balanced team and we have total confidence in our players."

Spain will certainly feel it can defend its World Cup title in Brazil in 2014, especially with talented youngsters like Mata, Santi Cazorla, Pedro Rodriguez and Jesus Navas available to carry the style forward.

Paraguay suspended from Mercosur, no sanctions

June 30, 2012

MENDOZA, Argentina (AP) — The Mercosur trade bloc suspended Paraguay's membership on Friday for having impeached and ousted its president but will not slap economic sanctions on the poor, landlocked country.

The South American group also announced that Venezuela will become a full member starting July 31, a move that will link the region's most powerful agricultural and energy markets. Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo was impeached by the country's Congress a week ago in a fast-track trial triggered by a land eviction that killed 17 people in clashes between police and landless peasants.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez told other heads of state at a Mercosur summit Friday that the "democratic order was broken" in Paraguay because it carried out a two-hour trial where Lugo was not allowed a proper defense. It will be suspended from Mercosur until it holds presidential elections next year.

But Fernandez said Paraguay would not be slapped with economic sanctions because "they never hurt governments. They always hurt the people." Paraguay is among South America's poorest nations and any economic sanction by the bloc would have been disastrous since half its trade is with fellow Mercosur founding members, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.

Mercosur barred Lugo's replacement, former Vice President Federico Franco, from attending the summit. Franco says the transition of power in Paraguay was carried out according to the law. Lugo said at first that he would attend the meeting in order to plead his case with regional leaders but later changed his mind. He then spoke out against retaliatory economic sanctions, which he said would only hurt ordinary Paraguayans.

The landlocked country is highly dependent on beef and soybean exports and is already suffering from a recent drought that parched soy fields and an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease last year that forced the slaughter of hundreds of cattle heads to prevent the spread of the contagious disease.

Paraguay has a long history of dictatorships and fragile democracies. The removal of Lugo, a former Roman Catholic bishop whose presidency was eclipsed by a cancer diagnosis and several paternity scandals, plunged the country into a political crisis and became a top priority for regional leaders. Several governments called back their ambassadors and some called his ouster a coup.

The Union of South American Nations, or UNASUR, also suspended Paraguay during an emergency meeting Friday and handed the pro-tempore presidency to Peru for 12 months. The regional grouping said Fernando Lugo was not allowed a proper defense.

Retaliation for Lugo's ouster came from Venezuela's state-run oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), which earlier canceled a bilateral deal to supply Paraguay with diesel oil. Sergio Escobar, who heads Paraguay's national oil company, announced Friday that Petroleos de Venezuela had instructed an intermediary firm not to deliver 150,000 cubic meters, expected over the coming months.

At the Mercosur summit, Argentina's Fernandez also announced that Venezuela will become a full member of the trade bloc during a ceremony in Rio de Janeiro on July 31. The union links the region's top agricultural and energy suppliers.

Venezuela, an associate member, had been trying to get full status for years. Lugo supported the full-membership because he said its oil could help smaller members of the grouping, but the move had been blocked by Paraguayan lawmakers.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez hailed the decision, calling it "a day for the history of integration." Chavez reiterated his belief that Lugo's ouster was essentially a coup. He spoke by telephone on the Caracas-based television channel Telesur.

"I have no doubt that behind that group of senators and deputees, that behind them is the hand of the empire," Chavez said, using his term for the U.S. government. He didn't offer any evidence to support that claim.

Chavez dismissed accusations against his government that have emerged since Lugo's ouster, including claims by Paraguay's new government that Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro had tried to convince military leaders to support Lugo.

"I'm not going to answer them. An eagle doesn't hunt a fly," Chavez said. Some observers pointed out that if a diplomat from another country had come to Venezuela and tried to meet with military officers, it would have provoked a scandal, especially given Chavez's personal history of surviving a failed coup in 2002.

"The president never would tolerate it," said Margarita Lopez Maya, a history researcher at Venezuela's Central University who has studied Chavez's presidency. "There the foreign minister goes to a country and talks with military officers. It's completely hypocritical."

Maduro on Thursday night similarly dismissed the claim by Paraguay's defense minister, though he didn't deny meeting with military officials. "These things being said by this person from an illegitimate government that's emerged from a coup d'etat, they simply tell you the political and moral appearance of people who have just carried out a coup d'etat and they try to accuse others of trying to make coups against coups. It has no basis in reality," Maduro told Venezuelan state television.

"We did our work to seek to talk and dialogue with all sectors of Paraguayan society."

Associated Press writers Luis Andres Henao reported from Mendoza, Argentina. Almudena Calatrava and Debora Rey in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jenny Birchfield in Rio de Janeiro and Ian James in Caracas, Venezuela contributed to this report.

Suu Kyi returns from triumphant European tour

June 30, 2012

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Cheering crowds welcomed Aung San Suu Kyi home Saturday from her triumphant tour of Europe, where she won enthusiastic support for her role in Myanmar's democratic transition and was celebrated like a head of state.

Thousands of jubilant supporters packed into Yangon's airport and lined the roads outside waving opposition party flags and holding banners, including one that said: "We are proud of you Mother Suu!" Others were clearly impressed by the honorary doctorate degree she was awarded at Oxford University, shouting: "Long Live Dr. Aung San Suu Kyi!"

The 67-year-old opposition leader smiled and waved as supporters lavished her with floral bouquets and she was escorted into a waiting car, which inched through the crowd on the way to her lakeside villa.

During her two-week trip, Suu Kyi met with political leaders in Switzerland, Norway, Ireland, Britain and France. Supporters said they closely followed Suu Kyi's trip online or in the country's private media, which splashed pictures of Suu Kyi from every stop of the tour across front pages.

"Her Europe trip made this country proud," said 45-year-old supporter Soe Aung, who waited hours for a chance to see her at the airport. "Now, people on the other side of the world know Myanmar." The trip's highlights included Suu Kyi's long-awaited acceptance speech for the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, which she won while under house arrest in Myanmar. The former military regime kept Suu Kyi under house arrest for 15 of 23 years. She was freed in 2010 after the military ceded power to a nominally civilian government.

In Britain, she spoke before a joint session of Parliament, an honor usually reserved for heads of state. Her speech made her the only woman other than Queen Elizabeth II to address the British Parliament.

Throughout her tour, Suu Kyi called on Western countries to help Myanmar build its nascent democracy. She reiterated calls for "cautious optimism" in reforms under way and called for "democracy-friendly, human-rights-friendly investments" so incoming foreign investment helps the impoverished country rather than the wealthy few.

Suu Kyi's trip did not receive any coverage by Myanmar's state-run media, nor has the government of President Thein Sein commented on it. The massive attention Suu Kyi received during a recent trip to Thailand reportedly irked Thein Sein.

Associated Press reporter Yadana Htun contributed to this report.

Whistleblower wins in Supreme Court in Japan first

June 30, 2012

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a whistleblower for the first time in a case that highlights the harsh treatment outspoken employees have endured in a nation that zealously values loyalty and conformity.

Despite being a good salesman with experience in the United States, Masaharu Hamada, 51, was demoted at Olympus Corp., forced to take rudimentary tests and ignored by colleagues, in what he alleged was reprisal for raising the issue of supplier complaints.

He received a notice Saturday from this nation's highest court, dated Thursday, dismissing the appeal by Tokyo-based camera and medical equipment maker Olympus of a 2010 lower court decision. It sealed the victory of the little "salaryman" against a giant of Japan Inc.

"We need a society where honest hard-working people don't lose out," Hamada told The Associated Press. "This is about justice and human rights." Hamada's story highlights how workers labeled as misbehaving are punished in Japan, where major companies like Olympus offer lifetime employment, although they more freely fire contract and part-time workers.

That means employees like Hamada become targets of cruel harassment designed to silence them or make them quit. Hamada was nearly driven to breakdown during his five-year battle. Japan is behind some Western nations in protecting whistleblowers. A law to protect them was enacted only in 2006, and critics say it is inadequate because it does not penalize companies that punish whistleblowers. To pursue legal action, whistleblowers can't quit as the law only applies to employees.

Only a handful of whistleblower has come forward in Japan in the past few decades. When they do, they are treated as outcasts, sometimes being told to sit in closet-sized offices or to mow the lawn. Sometimes even their children become victims of discrimination. So abhorred is the employee who dares to question the company.

Hamada sued Olympus in 2008, saying he was punished for relaying a supplier's complaint that its best employees were being lured away by Olympus. Olympus said he was merely transferred, not demoted. His case is considered a whistleblowing case in Japan because he went first to his bosses and then to the company compliance unit, trying to raise questions about the professional behavior of colleagues for the public good, and, as the Supreme Court found, was punished unfairly in retribution.

Last year, the Tokyo High Court reversed an earlier district court decision and ordered Olympus to pay Hamada 2.2 million yen ($28,000) in damages for the transfer. Olympus had appealed. Olympus was not immediately available for comment Saturday. In the past, it has called the court rulings favoring Hamada "regrettable."

Olympus has been targeted recently by another high-profile whistleblower, Briton Michael Woodford, the former chief executive. Woodford was fired in October after he blew the whistle on dubious accounting at Olympus. The company later acknowledged it hid 117.7 billion yen ($1.5 billion) in investment losses dating back to the 1990s. Three former Olympus executives, including the ex-chairman, were arrested earlier this year on suspicion of orchestrating the accounting cover-up.

Woodford has become a hero in Japan. Three weeks ago, Woodford won a 10 million pound (1.2 billion yen, $15.4 million) settlement from Olympus in a British court. He had sued alleging unlawful dismissal and discrimination as he was not given the same treatment as a Japanese employee.

How Hamada will be treated at Olympus on Monday remains unclear. He plans to show up at work at 8:45 a.m. as usual, wearing his company color, blue, as he is confident he is an upstanding "Olympus-man."

Hamada said he would like to be transferred to the corporate compliance division, given the serious problems that have surfaced with Woodford's case and the knowledge he has gained about proper management through his court battle.

"I would like to work for the true revival of Olympus, where dedicated employees can work and feel joy, in a nurturing environment, and be proud," said Hamada.

Slain Hamas official buried in Jordan

AFP
Fri, 29 Jun, 2012

Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal and top Islamist leaders in Jordan on Friday attended the burial of a senior member of the Palestinian movement who was killed this week in Damascus.

Around 500 people took part in the funeral of Kamal Hussein Ghannaja, whose coffin was taken from a mosque in Amman's east to a nearby cemetery, where he was buried amid tight security.

"Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar (God is greatest). Hamas, you are the gun and we are the bullets. Martyrs are beloved of God," they chanted.

Hamas has said Ghannaja, a Jordanian, was killed on Wednesday in a Damascus suburb, accusing Israel's spy agency of having carried out an attack.

"All options are open. Investigations are still under way," Khalil Hayyeh, a senior Hamas leader, told AFP at the funeral.

"There were burn marks on his body. So maybe he was targeted or it was the result of an accident at home."

Ghannaja was a deputy of Mahmud al-Mabhuh, a senior Hamas military commander found dead in a Dubai hotel room in 2010. Investigators in the Gulf emirate have accused Mossad of that murder.

Syria has long allowed Hamas to operate offices in Damascus, but the Palestinian group has in recent months quietly moved most operations elsewhere as an uprising rocks the country.

Meshaal, who is in Jordan on his second official visit this year to improve ties with Amman, met on Thursday with King Abdullah II and top officials, including Jordan's intelligence chief.

Relations between Hamas and Jordan have been strained since 1999 when the authorities expelled Meshaal and three other Hamas members after the group was accused of threatening the kingdom's security and stability.