Ukrainian leader offers talks, protesters say no

December 11, 2013

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Opposition leaders in Ukraine rejected President Viktor Yanukovych's offer of talks Wednesday, saying they will not sit down with him until he fires his government and releases all arrested demonstrators.

That stance reflected their growing confidence after the abrupt withdrawal of riot police from parts of Ukraine's capital early Wednesday raised protesters' hopes that weeks of demonstrations have eroded police support for Yanukovych and his government.

Yanukovych issued an invitation late in the day to political, religious and civil figures to join a national dialogue. But it gave no details about a proposed date for the talks — and could have been merely an attempt to buy time and mollify Western officials.

The opposition reaction was scathing. "Instead of a round table, what we got is a breakup (with) truncheons. The authorities are driving into a dead end," opposition leader Oleksandr Turchynov said. Yuri Lutsenko, a former Interior Minister who is now another opposition leader, said the police retreat shows that "basically only some units remain" loyal to Yanukovych.

"This is a great victory," Arseniy Yatsenyuk, leader of the largest opposition party in parliament, said of the police withdrawal. He spoke from the stage at Kiev's central Independence Square, where protesters have set up an extensive protest tent camp manned around the clock.

Western diplomats have increased their pressure on Yanukovych to seek a solution to the tensions that have paralyzed this economically troubled nation of 46 million. In response, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and other officials promised Wednesday that police would not act against peaceful protesters.

"I want to calm everyone down — there will be no dispersal" of protesters," Interior Minister Vitaly Zakharchenko said in a statement, which did not explain why thousands of helmeted and shield-bearing police were deployed in the first place.

Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Victoria Nuland met with Yanukovych on Wednesday after visiting the protest camp. "I made it absolutely clear that what happened last night, what is happening in security terms here, is absolutely impermissible in a European state, a democratic state," she said, referring to police scuffles with protesters.

In Washington, the State Department said it is evaluating all options, including possible U.S. sanctions against Ukraine. It didn't provide details, but in the past the U.S. has imposed asset freezes and travel bans on senior officials in oppressive governments.

Yanukovych's shelving in November of an agreement with the European Union to deepen economic and political ties has set off weeks of protests. Supporters of the EU pact — including many in Kiev, the capital — want Ukraine to become closer to Western Europe and distance itself from Russia, which ruled or dominated Ukraine for centuries.

Russia has worked hard to derail the accord, issuing a variety of trade threats, and Ukrainians in the east look more favorably on aligning closer with Russia. Yanukovych, who is seeking a bailout loan from the International Monetary Fund to keep Ukraine from going bankrupt, is sensitive to the economic disruption that trade disputes with Russia can cause.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton was also in Kiev, meeting with both government officials and opposition figures to urge them to hold talks. The flurry of police action in Kiev began about 1 a.m., when phalanxes approached Independence Square from several directions, tearing down some tents and barricades and scuffling with some protesters. Many protesters, wearing orange construction hats to protect themselves from police truncheons, locked arms against the police and some scuffles broke out.

Separately, three buses of riot police parked on the steps of the city administration building, about 300 meters (yards) away from the square. Protesters poured water on the steps, which quickly froze, and grappled with police.

The police returned to the buses and pulled away hours later, as protesters shouted "Shame!" and "Way to go!" The larger police contingent at the square also left and by Wednesday afternoon, new tents and barricades were being put up.

The protests are the biggest since Ukraine's pro-democracy Orange Revolution in 2004, which forced the annulment of Yanukovych's presidential victory in a fraud-tainted election and ushered his pro-Western opponents into power.

Yanukovych won back the presidency in the 2010 vote, narrowly defeating Yulia Tymoshenko, a key Orange Revolution figure. Tymoshenko was then imprisoned on charges of abuse of office, a case widely criticized in the West as political revenge.

Yuras Karmanau in Kiev and Laura Mills in Moscow contributed to this report.

Pope Francis is Time's Person of the Year

December 11, 2013

NEW YORK (AP) — Time magazine selected Pope Francis as its Person of the Year on Wednesday, saying the Catholic Church's new leader has changed the perception of the 2,000-year-old institution in an extraordinary way in a short time.

The pope beat out NSA leaker Edward Snowden for the distinction, which the newsmagazine has been giving each year since 1927. The former Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected in March as the first pope from Latin America and the first Jesuit. Since taking over at the Vatican, he has urged the Catholic Church not to be obsessed with "small-minded rules" and to emphasize compassion over condemnation in dealing with touchy topics like abortion, gays and contraception.

He has denounced the world's "idolatry of money" and the "global scandal" that nearly 1 billion people today go hungry, and has charmed the masses with his simple style and wry sense of humor. His appearances draw tens of thousands of people and his @Pontifex Twitter account recently topped 10 million followers.

"He really stood out to us as someone who has changed the tone and the perception and the focus of one of the world's largest institutions in an extraordinary way," said Nancy Gibbs, the magazine's managing editor.

The Vatican said the honor wasn't surprising given the resonance in the general public that Francis has had, but it nevertheless said the choice was a "positive" recognition of spiritual values in the international media.

"The Holy Father is not looking to become famous or to receive honors," said the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi. "But if the choice of Person of Year helps spread the message of the Gospel — a message of God's love for everyone — he will certainly be happy about that."

It was the third time a Catholic pope had been Time's selection. John Paul II was selected in 1994 and John XXIII was chosen in 1962. In Argentina on Wednesday, Padre Toto, one of the many "slum priests" the pope supported for years as archbishop of Buenos Aires, praised Time magazine's selection.

"I think the recognition of Time magazine is good news, because Pope Francis embodies one of the values of a church that's more missionary, closer to the people, more austere, more in keeping with the gospel," Toto said. "He had the genius of knowing how to express this sense of the church and hopefully his way of being will catch on with other political leaders, business executives, sports figures. His leadership is inspiring."

Besides Snowden, Time had narrowed its finalists down to Syrian President Bashar Assad, Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, and gay rights activist Edith Windsor, whose Supreme Court case led to the fall of the Defense of Marriage Act, which prevented same-sex couples from federal benefits.

President Barack Obama was Time's selection for 2012. Time editors make the selection. The magazine polled readers for their choice, and the winner was Egyptian General Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who didn't even make the top 10 of Time's final list.

Associated Press writers Nicole Winfield in Rome and Rodrigo Abd in Buenos Aires contributed to this report.

'Pitchfork' protests spread across Italy in advance of confidence vote

Dec. 11, 2013

ROME, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Protests of the so-called "Pitchfork Movement" spread across Italy Wednesday as demonstrations against tax hikes driven by austerity measures gained ground.

Protest leaders threatened a large-scale demonstration in Rome if members of parliament did not withhold their votes from a confidence measure, ANSA reported.

In the third day of anti-government demonstrations, protesters in Turin blocked traffic while other protests around the city shut down food markets and other businesses.

Protesters in Genoa occupied the central square, while a large crowd gathered outside an office of the national tax collection agency in nearby Savona.

In Bisceglie, in southern Italy, protesters occupied the train station, slowing passenger and freight service.

Ahead of the confidence vote, Premier Enrico Letta called for elected officials to be respected.

"This republican Parliament and our offices demand respect in such bitter times," Letta said.

Beppe Grillo, leader of the Five-Star Movement, encouraged police to no longer protect politicians, but Letta said the "loyalty" of the police to upholding Italian democracy was "unquestionable."

Police at a recent protest took off their helmets, which was interpreted as an expression of solidarity with protesters. Police chiefs denied that, saying officers routinely removed their helmets as a way of ensuring the situation had calmed.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2013/12/11/Pitchfork-protests-spread-across-Italy-in-advance-of-confidence-vote/UPI-47511386775107/.

From seed to smoke, Uruguay testing legalized pot

December 11, 2013

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — Uruguay's drug control chief, Julio Calzada, is a nervous man.

As of Wednesday, he has just 120 days to deliver regulations controlling the world's first national marijuana market. President Jose Mujica's goal is to drive drug traffickers out of the dope business and reduce consumption by creating a safe, legal and transparent environment in which the state closely monitors every aspect of marijuana use, from seed to smoke. That means designing and maintaining an industry that is small, contained and profitable.

Congress only approved Mujica's grand "experiment" in broad strokes. The fine print must strike a delicate balance on issues including what strength to allow for marijuana, what price to charge, who can farm it, how to crack down on illegal growers, how to persuade users to buy from the state instead of a dealer, and how to monitor use without being seen as Big Brother. If the rules are too lenient, or too strict, the whole project could fail.

QUALITY: To compete against illegal dealers, the licensed product has to offer a good high, but not so good that consumption explodes or other problems ensue. Calzada told the AP that pharmacies might sell varieties with between 5 percent and 15 percent of THC, marijuana's psychoactive substance.

COST: Calzada said they might begin charging a dollar a gram, and raise or lower it in competition with illegal dealers. Opposition Sen. Jorge Larranaga said this could require subsidies, since in the Netherlands, a gram costs eight euros, more than 10 times as much. Calzada suggested legal pot can be grown much more cheaply in Uruguay.

SUPPLY: Calzada estimates that with fewer than 200,000 habitual smokers in the country of 3.3 million people, just 10 hectares (25 acres) could provide enough weed to complement marijuana produced by authorized pot-growing clubs and individuals licensed to grow a maximum of six plants at home. He said farmers have expressed interest, but how to choose them remains to be determined.

DEMAND: The goal is to persuade Uruguayan adults currently buying from illegal dealers to register with the state, and then crack down on illegal dealers and users. The registration process must be welcoming, and yet have built-in protections so the state can stop licensed users from reselling their legal pot to unregistered friends or even visiting tourists.

CLONING: To crack down on illegal supplies, licensed product must be identifiable. Mujica's wife, Sen. Lucia Topolansky, told the AP the state would provide cloned seeds whose plants can be traced. Opponents said that once license holders grow the allowed six plants at home, tracing legal weed may be impossible. Calzada said he's studying the problem.

MONITORING: Too much government intervention and people won't sign up for legal highs. Too little and the market could quickly spin out of control. Socialist Deputy Julio Bango, who co-authored the law, says they're drawing on the state of Colorado's experience for these logistics.

Mujica acknowledged that his government isn't "totally prepared," but said the global drug war has clearly failed. "Einstein said that there's nothing more absurd than trying to change the results by always repeating the same formula. That's why we want to try other methods," he said in an interview published Wednesday in the newspaper La Republica. "We know we've started down a road where there's no university to tell us what to do. But we have to try, because there's no blind man worse than the one who doesn't want to see."

Senators gave the plan its final congressional approval Tuesday night despite warnings by the U.N.'s International Narcotics Control Board that it violates a treaty signed by Uruguay limiting the legal use of cannabis and other narcotics to medical and scientific purposes.

Venezuela's foreign minister, Elias Jaua, on Wednesday called it an "audacious" and "innovative" move that his government will be closely evaluating as it's implemented.

Associated Press writer Leonardo Haberkorn reported this story in Montevideo and Michael Warren reported from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Black and white, thousands bid farewell to Mandela

December 12, 2013

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — Black and white, old and young, South Africans by the thousands paid final tribute Wednesday to their beloved Nelson Mandela. In silence or murmuring, they filed past the coffin. Some glanced back, as if clinging to the sight, a moment in history.

One man raised his fist, the potent gesture of the struggle against white rule that Mandela led from prison. A woman fainted on the steps, and was helped into a wheelchair. They had only a few seconds to look at the man many called "tata" — father in his native Xhosa — his face and upper body visible through a clear bubble atop the casket, dressed in a black-and-yellow shirt of the kind he favored as a statesman

"I wish I can say to him, 'Wake up and don't leave us,'" said Mary Kgobe, a 52-year-old teacher, after viewing the casket at the century-old Union Buildings, a sandstone government complex overlooking the capital, Pretoria, that was once the seat of white power.

Wearing the black, green and gold of the African National Congress, the ruling party Mandela once led, she was among the multitude who endured hours in the sun to say goodbye to the man they call their father, liberator and peacemaker.

Kgobe said losing Mandela, who died Dec. 5 at 95, was like losing a part of herself. "This moment is really electrifying, knowing well what he did for us. I wish we could follow in his steps and be humble like he was," said Kgobe, whose grandfather, an ANC activist, was arrested several times.

Long lines of mourners snaked through the capital for a glimpse of Mandela's body as it lay in state for three days — an image reminiscent of the miles-long queues of voters who waited patiently to cast their ballots during South Africa's first all-race elections in 1994 that saw Mandela become the country's first black president.

At a parking lot where buses ferried people to the viewing, the mood was cheerful. When a bus carrying supporters of the ANC made a wrong turn and drove away from the Union Buildings, one man joked: "Do they think we will steal the body?"

There was order and respect once they disembarked at the foot of steps leading to a marquee that sheltered Mandela's casket. Signs on the wall said no firearms were allowed. Some people shielded themselves from the sun with squares of cardboard plastered with large images of Mandela.

"Today was the first day and the last day I saw him. ... I had to see him for myself even if I couldn't speak with him," said Amos Mafolo, who works in logistics for the South African police. When his four children are older, Mafolo said, he will sit them down and tell them where he was on this day.

Silver Mogotlane opened his heart, saying he knew Mandela as a symbol and a historical figure, but still wondered in awe: "Who is this man?" "I'm lost. My mind is lost," he said after passing the casket.

Police officers stood nearby, one holding a box of tissues. Mandela was lying in state in the same hilltop building where he made a stirring inaugural address that marked the birth of South Africa's democracy — an irony that was not lost on the throngs.

"It's amazing to think that 19 years ago he was inaugurated there, and now he's lying there," said another viewer, Paul Letageng. "If he was not here, we would not have had peace in South Africa." The mourners were joined by world leaders and Mandela family members, who walked silently past the casket at a special morning viewing, Mandela's widow, Graca Machel, and his former wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, among them.

By the afternoon, long lines had formed, but the government said the cutoff point had been reached, urging people to arrive early on the following two days to get their chance. Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, South African President Jacob Zuma and other leaders passed by the casket in two lines as four junior naval officers in white uniforms stood guard.

U2 frontman Bono also paid his respects, as did F.W. de Klerk, the last president of white rule who shared a Nobel Peace Prize with Mandela for ending apartheid. "I hope that his focus on lasting reconciliation will live and bloom in South Africa," de Klerk said.

South Sudan's president, Salva Kiir Mayardit, stood transfixed before removing his trademark black cowboy hat and crossing himself. The orderly proceedings were in contrast to a large-scale celebration Tuesday that went somewhat awry because of poor transport planning, faulty sound equipment and even an alleged impostor who, acting as an interpreter for the deaf, spouted nonsense rather than translating speeches by President Barack Obama and other statesmen.

The half-empty stands at that event led some to think the public had become apathetic, but the overwhelming response Wednesday showed South Africans' thirst for a simple way to say goodbye. On Wednesday morning, police on motorcycles escorted a hearse bearing Mandela's flag-draped coffin from a military hospital outside Pretoria. Hundreds lined the streets, singing songs from the struggle against the apartheid regime and calling out farewells to Mandela.

Army helicopters circled overhead, but a sudden quiet fell over the amphitheater as the hearse arrived. Eight warrant officers representing the services and divisions of the South African military carried the casket, led by a military chaplain in a purple stole. The officers set down the coffin and removed the flag.

Mandela's body is to be flown Saturday to Qunu, his rural childhood village in Eastern Cape Province, where he will be buried Sunday.

Associated Press writers Gregory Katz and Jon Gambrell in Johannesburg and Ben Curtis in Pretoria contributed to this report.

Quails in orbit: French cuisine aims for the stars

Paris (AFP)
Dec 11, 2013

It's your 150th day in space, and life is starting to resemble the movie "Groundhog Day" -- a repetitive daily routine interspersed with tugs of longing for life back on Earth.

Then, all of a sudden, things start to look up.

Mission Control has declared that today will be a "special day," and you can look forward to a lip-smacking, finger-lickin'-good gourmet meal at the end of it.

This is where France's space chefs come in.

In an initiative backed by top-of-the-line cuisinier Alain Ducasse, a team of cooks design and make "Special Event Meals" -- SEMs -- to enliven the nutritious but often dull freeze-dried diet of life in space.

About once a month, as the distant Earth rolls slowly beneath them, astronauts can feast on roasted quail, Breton lobster, hand-reared chicken from the Landes, casserole of Burgundy beef cheek, Riviera-style swordfish or duck breast in a caper sauce.

Dessert could be a lemon cream cake, chocolate cake, or "millefeuille" (literally, "thousand-leaf") puff pastry with fruit and cream filling.

As with almost everything connected with space, preparing food to be consumed in zero gravity comes with a range of challenges.

Rule no. 1 is safety, said Lionel Suchet, deputy head of France's Toulouse Space Center, who launched the program.

Because of a "no bacteria" requirement, the food must be handled in an ultra-clean environment.

'Captain Haddock' danger

Another potential devil is texture. Ingredients that provide a pleasant feel in the mouth on Earth could be lethal in space, Suchet said.

"Food can't be too dry, breaking up into crumbs that astronauts can inhale," he said.

"At the same time, you can't have it too liquid. If food is too runny, you get 'Captain Haddock Syndrome'," Suchet said.

This was a reference to an episode in one of the Tintin cartoon books, where a character's whisky rolls up disconcertingly into a ball as their spaceship speeds to the Moon.

"Captain Haddock Syndrome" may sound fun... but the balls of liquid can cause short circuits if they touch electronic gear.

Then there is ease of use. The food must fit in ultra-light aluminum tins that can be reheated on an induction cooktop.

And the astronauts must be able to consume the contents one-handed, using a spoon. Anything with bits that are too big, too tiny, too fiddly or need to be cut is a no-no.

France's National Center of Space Studies (CNES) has ordered up to 2,000 individual meals, from 25 recipes, for next year alone. They are certified by NASA for use aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

Henaff, a small pate-making company based at Pouldreuzic, Brittany, does the cooking, using a sterile chamber at its plant.

French culinary involvement in space dates back to 1993, when French astronaut Jean-Pierre Haignere returned from a mission aboard the Russian space station Mir.

Everything went well, but the food was another matter: day after day of black bread, cold herrings and tinned plasticky cheese... For any French palate, a cosmic nightmare.

In a rush of sympathy, Richard Filippi, a teacher at a restaurant school in Souillac -- appropriately in the foodie heartland of the Dordogne -- contacted the CNES, offering his help.

The meals proved an instant success. In 1997, when France was forced to cancel a manned mission to Mir, Russia's cosmonaut begged the CNES to send up the food anyway as they liked it so much.

"At this point, we discovered that there was an important issue at stake, not just in operational terms but also psychologically, for teams to meet for a good meal on special occasions," Suchet told AFP.

With Ducasse's help, the menu expanded to top-of-the-range offerings. SEMs were born in 2004, and five years later made their first appearance on the ISS.

The importance of festive meals is influencing preparations for manned missions to Mars.

Boredom and tensions between team members will be among the greatest obstacles on what is likely to be a round trip of two years in extreme confinement.

One idea is to have dishes that on "special days" pop out from secret compartments to provide crew with a tasty, morale-boosting surprise.

Source: Space-Travel.
Link: http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Quails_in_orbit_French_cuisine_aims_for_the_stars_999.html.

India's Supreme Court upholds anti-gay sex law

December 11, 2013

NEW DELHI (AP) — India's Supreme Court struck down a 2009 lower court decision to decriminalize homosexual conduct, dealing a blow Wednesday to gay activists who have fought for years for the chance to live openly in India's deeply conservative society.

The judges said only lawmakers and not the courts could change a colonial-era law that bans homosexual acts and makes them punishable by up to a decade in prison. The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community across India reacted to the surprise decision with defiance.

"We cannot be forced back into the closet. We are not backing off from our fight against discrimination," said Gautam Bhan, an activist who had petitioned the court. After the ruling, dozens of activists outside the court began crying and hugging each other in consolation.

"This is a very sad day for us, we are back to square one in our fight for the democratic rights of the gay community," said Ashok Row Kavi of the activist group Humsafar Trust. Lawyers and supporters of gays, lesbians and transsexuals vowed to continue pressing for the removal of the law, which they say encourages discrimination, even if it is rarely invoked by prosecutors.

"We feel very let down," said lawyer Anand Grover, who had argued the case on behalf of the advocacy group NAZ Foundation. "But our fight is not over and we will continue to fight for the constitutional right."

He said the foundation would ask for the Supreme Court's decision to be reviewed. According to international human-rights groups, more than 70 countries around the world have laws criminalizing homosexual conduct, with India by far the most populous. Some other countries, while not explicitly outlawing gay sex, have measures that restrict gay-rights activities, such as Russia's recently enacted law prohibiting "gay propaganda."

Efforts to repeal colonial-era anti-sodomy laws have failed to gain much momentum in Africa and Asia, but there have been notable recent gay-rights gains in Latin America, where same-sex marriage or civil unions have been legalized in Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and parts of Mexico.

The largest gay-rights group in the United States — the Human Rights Campaign — described the Indian court ruling as a "disturbing step backward." "It is incomprehensible that a court of law would take the side of discrimination against LGBT citizens," said the group's chief foundation officer, Jeff Krehely. "Criminalizing LGBT relationships leads to dangerous situations, not just for committed couples, but also for LGBT youth, who today received a deeply harmful message that they are less than equal."

The United States expressed concern about the Indian Supreme Court decision, although it wasn't immediately clear if Washington had directly raised the issue with Indian government officials. "We oppose all actions that criminalize consensual sex conducts between adults," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters in Washington. "We call on all governments to advance equality for LGBT individuals around the world."

But the court ruling was welcomed by a conservative U.S. legal advocacy group, Alliance Defending Freedom. "The India Supreme Court has ruled in the interest of the health of its society rather than the interests of activist groups trying to use the court to do their bidding," said the group's chief counsel, Benjamin Bull.

The law in question, dating back to the 1860s when Britain ruled over South Asia, states that "whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal" can be punished by up to 10 years behind bars.

The 2009 New Delhi High Court ruling, which said the law violated fundamental human rights, infuriated conservatives and religious groups who say homosexuality represents a threat to traditional Indian culture.

In a rare alliance, the groups — including the All India Muslim Law Board, Christian groups and Hindu spiritual leaders — argued that gay sex is unnatural and that India should maintain the law. Amod Kanth, head of the Prayas organization for children's welfare, one of India's largest civic groups, cheered Wednesday's ruling and said banning homosexuality is key to ensuring children's normal development and protecting their rights to family.

"Only a man and a woman constitute a family and contribute for the holistic development of a child, which is not possible without a father and a mother," Kanth told the Press Trust of India news agency.

Activists have long argued that the law encourages discrimination and leaves gays, lesbians and bisexuals vulnerable to police harassment or demands for bribes. In a country where arranged marriage is still largely the norm, many gays hide their sexual orientation from friends and relatives.

Acceptance is slowly growing, though, particularly in big cities such as New Delhi and Mumbai. In the last few years, activists have staged large gay pride parades featuring rainbow-colored flags and banners, joyful songs and dancing through the streets.

The government, meanwhile, has begun acknowledging India's transgender — or hijra — community, the origins of which go back millennia to a time when transsexuals, eunuchs and gays held a special place in society backed by Hindu myths of their power to grant fertility.

In 2009, the government allowed them to register to vote as "others," rather than as men or women. And in 2010, a new "third gender" category was added to the national census. Law Minister Kapil Sibal said little about Wednesday's verdict beyond agreeing that the "legislature is the final arbiter of what law should be."

If the issue comes up in Parliament, he said, "we will take it up."

AP National Writer David Crary in New York contributed to this report.