Egypt plans to send delegation to US as NGO furor mounts

A Egyptian military team plans to visit the United States next week as Cairo's crackdown on pro-democracy organizations has called into question the future of US aid to Egypt, American officials said on Friday.
The Egyptian delegation hopes to meet with officials at the State Department and the Pentagon. It will also hold talks on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers will soon consider a new request for aid to Egypt's military, which now runs about US$1.3 billion per year, one official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The Egyptian visit comes after Egypt's military-led authorities pounced on non-governmental organizations, including several funded by the US government, and slapped travel bans on six American staffers including a son of US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, a former congressman.
Political analysts say the crackdown, along with questions over Egypt's Emergency Law and security forces' treatment of women protesters, has clouded the outlook for Egypt's fledgling democracy following last year's overthrow of Hosni Mubarak.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said American officials were pressing Egyptian authorities the crackdown, which she described as 'bizarre.' The Americans have demanded that Egypt lift travel restrictions placed on a number of foreign NGO staffers.
'We do not have progress since yesterday, I am sorry to report,' Nuland said.
The six US citizens work with the National Democratic Institute and International Republican Institute. Both receive US public funding and are loosely affiliated with the two major political parties in Washington.
'The assertions of the Egyptian government in these cases are that they are subject to a judicial process which is not complete,' Nuland said. 'Our message back is, 'Complete these formalities and let our people travel as soon as possible.''
High tension
Officials said a detailed Washington schedule for the Egyptian visit was still being worked out, adding that it was a regular staff delegation that was coming at a moment of high tension in the US-Egypt relationship.
Other political sources said the Egyptians were expected to discuss the NGO issue on Capitol Hill, where a number of senators have warned the Egyptians that US aid was at stake if action against the NGOs continues.
'Continued restriction of their activities and harassment of international and Egyptian staff will be looked at with great concern, particularly in light of Egypt's considerable US assistance,' 11 senators said in a letter to Egyptian Field MarshallHussein Tantawi dated 18 January.
President Barack Obama spoke with Tantawi on 20 January and stressed the importance of the NGOs, as well as Egypt's deteriorating economic situation and its request for $3.2 billion in support from the International Monetary Fund.
The Obama administration is finalizing its budget for the 2013 fiscal year, which will be presented on 13 Febuary and is expected to include continued assistance for Egypt's military.
Lawmakers imposed conditions on the US assistance given in 2012, requiring Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to certify that the Egyptian government is supporting the transition to a civilian government. That includes holding free and fair elections and implementing policies to protect freedom of expression, association, and religion, and due process of law.
Clinton can waive this if it is in US national security interests, but must notify Congress that she has done so.
'Those are decisions that are going to have to be made later on in the winter and spring,' Nuland said. 'These are points that we're obviously making clear to the Egyptians.'

Iraq Kurd leader voices backing for Syria Kurds

Iraqi Kurdish leader Massud Barzani on Saturday backed minority Kurds in Syria, who have rallied against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad during 10 months of nationwide protests.
Barzani, the president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, was speaking at a two-day conference of Syrian Kurds in the Iraqi Kurdish capital of Arbil.
"We do not want to interfere in the affairs of Kurds in Syria, but we will help and support your decisions," he said.
"But on the condition that you remain united during this sensitive period, and that you avoid internal conflicts."
He continued: "The situation is important to us because it (Syria) is a neighbouring country, we have a long border with it, and more than two million Kurds live there. It is important to know their future."
More than 200 Syrian Kurds living in 25 countries took part in the conference, which will conclude on Sunday in Arbil.
Iraq's Kurdish region, comprised of three provinces in the north, enjoys broad autonomy under the country's 2005 constitution.
Syria's Kurdish community, meanwhile, is represented by a dozen squabbling political parties, all of them banned by authorities in Damascus.
Syrian Kurds have participated in demonstrations against Assad's rule, but a crackdown by the regime has been largely focused on the country's majority Sunni Arab community.
The United Nations said last month that more than 5,400 people had been killed in Syria since March last year.

Alleged dacoit tortured to death in Karachi

KARACHI: The residents of Godhra critically injured two dacoit, allegedly involved in robbery and street crimes, Geo News reported.According to SP Gulburg, the residents of Godhra, New Karachi, caught two alleged dacoits and tortured them critically. The injured robbers were shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where one of them succumbed to injuries.The identity of the accused has not been ascertained yet.

Panetta believes Pakistan knew of bin Laden hideout

WASHINGTON: US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta still believes someone in authority in Pakistan knew where Osama bin Laden was hiding before US forces went in to find him, he said in a TV interview to air Sunday.Intelligence reports found Pakistani military helicopters had passed over the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan where US Navy SEALs discovered and killed bin Laden last year, according to excerpts of an interview Panetta gave to CBS News.'I personally have always felt that somebody must have had some sense of what was happening at this compound. Don t forget, this compound had 18-foot walls... It was the largest compound in the area.'So you would have thought that somebody would have asked the question, What the hell s going on there? ' Panetta told CBS.The Pentagon chief said that concern played a significant factor in Washington not warning Pakistan officials of the impending raid: 'it concerned us that, if we, in fact, brought (Pakistan) into it, that-- they might...give bin Laden a heads up,' he said.Panetta acknowledged he did not have 'hard evidence' Pakistan knew of the Al Qaeda leader s whereabouts.US Navy SEALs killed Bin Laden on May 2 in a raid on a compound in the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad, north of the capital Islamabad, and later buried the 9/11 mastermind at sea. (AFP)

Syria unrest: Arab League suspends Syria mission

The Arab League says it is suspending its controversial monitoring mission in Syria because of the upsurge in violence.

A statement said the observers would remain in Syria, but temporarily stop their work.
The mission was set up in December to monitor Damascus' compliance with the League's plan to end bloodshed. But several countries withdrew monitors.
The mission has been criticised as toothless by Syria's opposition.

Costa Concordia: Woman's body found, bringing toll to 17

The Costa Concordia is still lying on its side off Giglio island

 

Divers searching the wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise ship in Italy have found the body of a woman, bringing the death toll to 17.

The body was found in a submerged part of the vessel, which ran aground off the Tuscan coast with more than 4,200 people on board, on 13 January.
Another 15 people are still missing.
The operation to start emptying fuel tanks has been halted because of bad weather. Salvage crews are expecting to resume work early next week.
Dutch salvage company SMIT has withdrawn a barge that had been placed alongside the hulk of the Costa Concordia.
Divers are hoping to install external tanks to pump more than 2,300 tonnes of diesel out of the 290m-long vessel.
The operation is expected to take about four weeks to complete.
The BBC's Alan Johnston in Rome says the delay will add to fears that a leak could cause an environmental disaster in the marine national park.
The Costa Concordia is lying on its side off Giglio island, where it hit rocks at the start of a Mediterranean cruise.
The captain, Francesco Schettino, is under house arrest while his actions are being investigated.
He is accused of multiple manslaughter, causing a shipwreck, and abandoning ship before all passengers were evacuated. He denies the allegations.
 

Pakistan v England: Tourists humiliated to lose series

Abdur Rehman (second left) is congratulated after bowling Eoin Morgan

England crumbled to a 72-run defeat in the second Test against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi to lose the three-match series.

Chasing 145 to win, the tourists were bowled out for 72, with left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman taking 6-25.
Only Andrew Strauss and Matt Prior reached double figures as England wilted under the pressure applied by the Pakistan spin bowlers.
Earlier, Monty Panesar ended with 6-62 as Pakistan were bowled out for 214, before the tourists disintegrated.
Panesar's efforts looked to have England well placed to level the series, but instead Strauss's side slipped to their lowest-ever total against Pakistan and their first series defeat since 2009.

Davos 2012: IMF issues austerity warning

Christine Lagarde said austerity was only one of the measures needed to overcome the debt crisis

 

 

Austerity programmes must be tailored to each economy, Christine Lagarde said, and not be" across the board".
The International Monetary Fund has been one of those stressing the need for countries to cut their debts, but some fear this could hit growth.
The correct response to the eurozone debt crisis has been a major debate at World Economic Forum in Davos.
"We are not suggesting there should be fiscal consolidation across the board," Ms Lagarde stressed.
"Some countries have to go full-speed ahead to do this fiscal consolidation, but other countries have space and room. They should explore what to do... in order to help themselves.
"It has to be tailor-made."
One of those expressing concerns about the possible implications of fiscal consolidation at the gathering at the Swiss ski resort was US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.
He told the annual meeting of political and business leaders on Friday that there was a risk of a recessionary "cycle" from austerity measures.
 

Leon Panetta concern over Bin Laden 'informer' Shikal Afridi

US special forces caught up with Bin Laden in a quiet Pakistani town last year

 

 

US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has said he is "very concerned" about a Pakistani doctor arrested for providing intelligence for the US raid that killed Osama Bin Laden last year.

Dr Shikal Afridi is accused of running a CIA-run programme in Abbottabad where Bin Laden was killed. A Pakistan panel says he should be tried for treason.
Mr Panetta told the CBS TV network the arrest had been "a real mistake".
Dr Afridi provided "very helpful" information for the raid, he added.
He was arrested shortly after the operation, carried out by US special forces in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad on 2 May last year.
Pakistan was deeply embarrassed by the raid, and condemned it as a violation of sovereignty.
 

London mulls Rio-style Jesus statue for Olympics

• Enlarge PhotoLondon may erect a replica of Rio de Janeiro's famous Christ the Redeemer statue …

London may erect a replica of Rio de Janeiro's famous Christ the Redeemer statue to mark the passage of the Olympic torch to Brazil at the end of this year's games, reports said.

The 30-foot (10-metre) sculpture would sit atop Primrose Hill, one of the most popular viewing points in the British capital, according to "secret plans" uncovered by the Camden New Journal, the local newspaper.

The upscale area in north London is home to actor Jude Law, supermodel Kate Moss and opposition Labour party leader Ed Miliband.

Mistrial for officer in Katrina shootings probe

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge declared a mistrial Friday in the case against a retired police sergeant charged with helping cover up deadly shootings on a New Orleans bridge after Hurricane Katrina, the last of 20 New Orleans police officers who were charged by the Justice Department's civil rights division to get his day in court.

Gerard Dugue was on trial for charges he wrote a false report on the shootings of unarmed residents on the Danziger Bridge, less than a week after the August 2005 hurricane. The case was expected to go to the jury early next week. Now it's up to prosecutors to decide whether to retry the case.
U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt ruled that Justice Department prosecutor Bobbi Bernstein may have unfairly influenced the jury hearing Dugue's trial by mentioning the name of a man who was beaten to death by a New Orleans police officer in a case unrelated to Dugue's.
Bernstein argued that merely mentioning Raymond Robair's last name couldn't amount to any prejudice against Dugue. The retired sergeant wasn't charged in the Robair case, but the judge said it's impossible to know if any jurors heard her remark and drew any negative conclusions.
"That's a chance that I'm not willing to take," he said, adding that a mistrial was "the last thing in the world I want to do."
Bernstein said she couldn't comment on the judge's ruling or prosecutors' plans.
The hurricane, which struck Louisiana and Mississippi on Aug. 29, 2005, drove a wall of water into the coast. Levees broke and flooded roughly 80 percent of New Orleans, plunging the city into chaos and subjecting police to harsh, dangerous conditions.
The storm also cast a spotlight on a troubled police department that has been plagued by corruption for decades. In Katrina's aftermath, federal authorities launched a new push to clean up the police force. The criminal probes were only part of the effort. The Justice Department also embarked on a top-to-bottom review of the department that produced a scathing report on its practices.
Before the trial started, Engelhardt barred prosecutors from introducing evidence related to Dugue's involvement in the department's probe of Robair's death. Defense attorney Claude Kelly asked for a mistrial after he heard Bernstein turn to a colleague and say, "Get me Robair," while cross-examining Dugue. Bernstein was asking for a file related to the Robair case.
Bernstein said she wanted to ask Dugue about his report in the Robair case to show he knows how to properly write a report and is capable of assessing whether witnesses are credible or not.
Kelly, however, said Bernstein's "outrageous behavior" could have left jurors with the impression that Dugue was suspected of wrongdoing in the Robair case. Engelhardt angrily scolded Bernstein, saying she should have privately discussed the matter with him at the bench if she thought she could broach the subject.
"My orders are my orders, and I expect them to be followed," he said.
Earlier Friday, on the fifth day of his trial, Dugue denied participating in a cover-up, claiming he didn't learn until years later that police shot innocent, unarmed people on the bridge.
Dugue said he now knows some of his former colleagues lied to him about their actions on the bridge less than a week after the 2005 storm. He said he didn't learn the truth — that police shot six people, killing two, without justification — until after other officers started cooperating with a federal probe of the shootings and pleaded guilty in 2010 to participating in a cover-up.
"If anybody says anything about me being involved in a cover-up, they're a liar," he said.
Prosecutors said Dugue rigged his investigation of the Sept. 4, 2005, shootings and submitted a false report to clear several officers who opened fire on the bridge as they responded to another officer's distress call.
During her cross-examination of Dugue, Bernstein pressed him to explain why he didn't do more to verify or challenge the officers' accounts of the shootings.
"Your job is not to just type out what people say and be done," Bernstein said.
Dugue said he didn't have the "supporting cast" to conduct a more thorough investigation because the police department was overwhelmed in Katrina's chaotic aftermath.
"I didn't have the tools, the resources, the people to do that teamwork," Dugue said. "It wasn't there."
He wasn't charged in the shootings and didn't get involved in the case until six weeks later, when he was assigned to take over the department's investigation. Prosecutors said the cover-up, which included a planted gun, phony witnesses and falsified reports, already was in motion when Dugue inherited the investigation from Sgt. Arthur Kaufman in October 2005.
Dugue said his "jaw dropped" when he learned Kaufman hadn't collected any shell casings or other physical evidence from the scene of the shootings. Dugue said he immediately dispatched a crime scene technician to comb over the bridge. Still, Dugue insisted he didn't have any reason to suspect that Kaufman or the shooters were lying.
"I did not know anything about any kind of cover-up," he said.
Kaufman is one of five current or former officers convicted in August of civil rights violations stemming from the shootings. They are scheduled to be sentenced April 3.

Justice Dept. turns over docs in Fast and Furious

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has turned over nearly 500 additional pages of emails and other material to a House committee that has been investigating a controversial smuggling probe called Operation Fast and Furious for most of the past year.

Some of the latest material turned over Friday night deals with the head of the department's criminal division, Lanny Breuer, while other material deals with a top aide to Attorney General Eric Holder.
The attorney general is scheduled to appear before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Feb. 2 to answer questions from the panel chaired by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif.

Japan's Oscar-winning designer Ishioka dies: reports

• Japan's Oscar-winning designer Ishioka dies: reports

Oscar-winning Japanese costume designer Eiko Ishioka has died of pancreatic cancer in Tokyo, local media said Friday.

She was 73.
Ishioka, who worked across print and screen, had been based in New York but returned to Tokyo last year because of her illness and died on January 21, Japanese public broadcaster NHK said, quoting her US-based manager.
Ishioka, born in Tokyo in 1938, began her career by working at Japanese cosmetic maker Shiseido's public relation division after graduating from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in 1966.
Ishioka won a Grammy Award for the artwork for jazz legend Miles Davis' "Tutu" in 1987 and an Academy Award for Best Costume Design for Bram Stoker's Dracula in 1993.
Japan's leading art director also designed costumes for the Broadway musical "Spiderman".

Udinese boss Francesco Guidolin: Juventus were born for the Champions League

Udinese boss Francesco Guidolin has voiced his belief that Juventus are a club that were born to play Champions League football.

The Turin club failed to qualify for either European competition this season, but a remarkable start to 2011-12 has has ensured Antonio Conte's side sit at the summit of Serie A without losing a single game.

Guidolin's side will play their first match at the Turin club's new stadium on Saturday, and the 56-year-old was full of praise for their upcoming opponents.

'Juve were born in the Champions League. Conte plays good football, worthy of the new stadium. But we will play with incredible courage,' Guidolin told the Correire Dello Sport.

The former Palermo boss went on to praise Barcelona in the wake of their aggregate victory over Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey, but voice his belief that Italian teams can compete with Pep Guardiola's side.

'Real Madrid were courageous and showed that the distance between the two is not so large any more. But Barca had more certainty, more self-esteem, and of course are a great team.

'I don't put much emphasis on the foreign leagues. I'm convinced our league can easily compete with Barcelona and Real Madrid. I'm not only thinking of Milan, but of Juventus too.'

Finally, Guidolin went on to say that the Premier League is interesting to watch, but has a dearth of technique.

Rafael van der Vaart admits Tottenham didn't deserve to beat Watford in FA Cup fourth round

Rafael van der Vaart has conceded Tottenham didn't deserve to progress into the FA Cup fifth-round draw following their victory over Watford.

The Dutchman's fortuitous first-half strike was enough to secure the win at Vicarage Road on Friday evening but the hosts had plenty of chances to stage an upset.

'I think we played a bad game today,' Van der Vaart told ESPN.

'Sometimes you have these days. The 100 per cent sharpness is not there.

'I think it was a difficult game, the pitch was heavy and yes they played a great game.

'It was a lucky strike but I'm happy it caused the win.'

Carlo Cudicini maintains his team-mates were aware the tie would be tricky prior to the match but was pleased to progress into the next round.

'Once you've been in England for a while you know what the FA Cup is about,' Cudicini said.

'We knew it would be a difficult game and it was. So we're pleased to go through.

Cudicini's fingertip save from Sean Murray's curled effort in the second half denied Watford their best chance to equalise, and the Italian targets a league and cup double this term.

'Yes, sometimes you just need a little touch and the ball went onto the post,' he said. 'Lucky but at the same time it was what we needed at that moment.'

'We have a great squad. We have shown that in the Premier League and we hope for a long run in the FA Cup as well.'

Ghana tipped to beat Mali in west African derby

The Africa Cup of Nations Group D will serve up a second west African derby when Ghana face Mali on Saturday.
Mali edged past Guinea 1-0 in the first west African derby of the group on Tuesday, while the third such clash will be next week when Ghana battle another sub-regional rival Guinea.
Pre-tournament favourites Black Stars of Ghana will again be expected to beat Mali after they defeated Les Aigles home and away in the qualifying tournament for the 2010 World Cup, which also served as eliminator for the 2010 Nations Cup.
"It’s difficult when you are one of the pre-tournament favourites," admitted Ghana coach Goran Stevanovic.
"We have already learnt that it is not easy to beat any team here. We therefore have to be ready for Mali."
However, Ghana, who are on $90,000-a-man if they win this competition, were far from convincing in their opening game against debutants Botswana and only had a lucky first-half goal by skipper John Mensah to thank for a slim win.
Mensah will miss this match on account of his sending off against Botswana, but will be available for selection in the final group game against Guinea if he recovers from a muscle problem he suffered in his team’s first game.
"It’s difficult to replace a player like Mensah but I have told the team that I would need all of them for this tournament and so I have 20 players who could replace him against Mali," said Stevanovic.
Young centre back Jonathan Mensah, who was introduced after Mensah’s dismissal for a professional foul, will most likely play alongside another youngster John Boye in the heart of the Black Stars back four Saturday.
Rennes defender Boye was so outstanding in his Nations Cup debut that he was picked as the best player for the Botswana match. He did not show any nerves and he even saved a goal-bound effort on the goal line.
There have been some concerns as regards the fitness of star striker Asamoah Gyan, who limped out of training Thursday with a suspected ankle complaint.
It will be a heavy body blow for Ghana should Gyan fail to recover for this match as the Black Stars are thin on strikers for this tournament.
Mali also had to defend with their lives a first-half goal by Bakaye Traore to turn away Guinea in the other Group D match on Tuesday.
Barcelona midfielder Seydou Keita has assumed bigger responsibilities in the absence of top Mali stars like Mahamadou Diarra, Momo Sissoko and Frederic Kanoute, who has quit international football.
Keita said Mali are driven to win again against the highly-rated Ghanaians.
"Ghana remain the favourites in our group, but the Black Stars are not unbeatable," maintained Keita, who was very emotional after a hard-fought win over next door neighbours Guinea.
"The objective is to play to our potentials and get a positive result on Saturday."
He added: "We have not achieved anything yet and in football, th

Guinea, Botswana hope to kick start Cup campaign

Guinea and Botswana will be pressed to win on Saturday after both teams lost their opening Africa Cup of Nations Group D matches.
A win for either team will revive their hopes, which suffered a setback after opening day losses respectitvely to Mali and Ghana.
"We have to fight to win against Botswana," said Guinea coach Michel Dussuyer, who lost his 82-year-old father about the time his team were losing to Mali Tuesday night.
"Botswana are a difficult team to play against, they close down the space and defend very well.
"I watched their games against Tunisia and Chad on video. They defend very well and counter attack.
"It may have been very disappointing to lose our first game, but I’m proud of the performance of the team. All the same, we cannot sit on that, we have to improve.
"We are working for the future and so have several young players, who are only having their first experience at this tournament but I still expect us to do better against Botswana."
Guinea's experienced campaigner Bobo Balde also agreed Saturday’s match will not be a walkover for his team.
"We have watched their tapes and also know that even though they are only making their debut at this tournament, they made things very difficult for a team like Ghana," said the towering central defender.
"But we believe in ourselves and we want to win this game."
Besides a strong showing especially in the second half, The Zebras from Botswana will be boosted by the return of skipper Diphetogo Selolwane, who missed the Ghana clash due to suspension.
‘Dipsy’ from top South African club Supersport United is one of the most experienced Botswana players, whose foreign destinations have included a sojourn in the United States.
He said he expects a tougher match against Guinea than what they faced when up against Ghana.
"We played Guinea before home and away and they beat us, they are good footballers, who play good football and they play a different style from Ghana," said Dipsy.
"They play a real African football, where you are very aggressive and they use their big bodies but there is always a way around it, I believe we can beat them."
Botswana coach Stanley Tshosane has rated the Guinea match as a must-win, while asking for cash incentives for the team.
"This is a decisive game and it is very important for us, it is a must-win game, a draw will not work for us. We have to takes risks and not be cautious as we were at the beginning against Ghana," said Tshosane.
The Zebras finished top of a qualifying group that included Tunisia, Togo and Malawi and Tshosane said he is not in any doubt that he has a quality team in Gabon.
"You have seen how they played, it is not easy to play like that against a team of Ghana’s calibre.
"And now I believe these boys can turn things around here."
However, earlier this month, the players threatened to stay away from a final warm-up match at home to Zimbabwe to press home their demands for a $15,000-a-man bonus for qualifying for the Nations Cup.
Tshosane said some cash in the pockets of his players will lift them above Guinea.
"There are a lot of things the players are not happy with and it is high time they were given money to boost their morale," urged the coach, who celebrated his 55th birthday last week.

Greeks bid farewell to film director Angelopoulos

More than a thousand people, including leading lights in politics and entertainment, attended the funeral Friday of Greek film director Theo Angelopoulos killed in a road accident earlier this week.
The funeral at an Athens cemetery was broadcast live on state television and those attending included the head of the Greek Orthodox Church Metropolitan Ieronymous and Culture Minister Pavlos Geroulanos.
Helene Gerassimidou, who appeared in his Palme-d'Or winning film "Eternity and a Day", paid tribute to "the poet of time and history".
Angelopoulos's coffin was covered with a wreath of roses offered by his widow Fivi and awards he had won in his four-decade-long career. A burst of claps followed, in Greek tradition, when the coffin was lowered to the ground.

Senate banking panel to vote on Iran sanctions February 2

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - - The Senate Banking Committee expects to vote on Thursday, February 2 on legislation containing more sanctions on Iran, the panel announced on Friday.
Lawmakers want to strengthen the economic chokehold on Iran to discourage Tehran from seeking to build a nuclear bomb. The panel's announcement gave no details of the upcoming legislation, saying these would be released next week.
(Reporting By Susan Cornwell)

Libyan commander says will retake Bani Walid

By Oliver Holmes and Taha Zargoun
SADADA, Libya (Reuters) - A militia commander whose troops were driven out of the Libyan tribal stronghold of Bani Walid this week said on Friday that his forces were massing to recapture the town but were holding back at the government's request.
"It is our right to reenter Bani Walid and nobody can prevent us," Imbarak al-Futmani said in an interview with Reuters at his desert camp near Sadada, 30 miles east of Bani Walid.
Futmani's troops were pushed out by angry townsmen who he accuses of being the remnants of loyalists of Muammar Gaddafi, the former dictator who was overthrown then captured and killed in October.
Eight hundred of his men were now massed along the eastern flank of the town awaiting his orders to enter by force, said the elderly warrior, who was dressed in an ornate black and gold waistcoast, a skullcap and a white blanket over his shoulder.
Bani Walid, 90 miles south of Tripoli, was one of the last towns to surrender to the anti-Gaddafi rebellion last year.
Hundreds of fighters loyal to the interim government have surrounded the isolated town after hearing word that a pro-Gaddafi uprising had broken out.
Futmani said he faced a couple of hundred "criminals" nostalgic for Gaddafi's time in power, rather than large battalions of organized loyalists.
"We have all the revolutionary fighters with us and we can take Bani Walid in a matter of hours."
"If they don't hand themselves in, they will face what they cannot imagine," he added, his eyes hidden by thick-rimmed, amber Ray-Ban sunglasses.
GADDAFI SUPPORT ALLEGATIONS
On Monday, armed residents surrounded Futmani's brigade, who named themselves the "28th of May," after the date last year when Gaddafi loyalists executed a number of pro-democracy protesters in Bani Walid.
After a battle in which Futmani lost six fighters, his men fled the barracks in the dark of the night.
"Once the Gaddafis broke through the gate and entered the barracks, all they cared about was stealing our tanks. We just walked right out," said one of Futmani's men.
Echoing complaints by residents that the 28th of May Brigade had been harassing people and abusing prisoners, the town elders said they were dismissing the government-backed local council on which Futmani sits and appointing their own local government.
They said they were not Gaddafi supporters but just tired of the militia pushing its weight around their town.
Futmani says the elders profited from Gaddafi and were trying to reclaim their town from its rightful rulers, the western-backed National Transitional Council (NTC) government.
WAITING ON THE PRIME MINISTER
With hundreds of fighters waiting at the gates of Bani Walid, drinking tea and oiling their weapons in the cold desert, why have they have not pushed forward?
Sitting in his base, a former Gaddafi holiday mansion on the top of a rocky hill, Futmani said the prime minister had asked him to hold off to allow civilians to leave the town and, hopefully, for the assailants to surrender.
"The prime minister called me and asked me not to move and I accepted," he said.
"(Prime minister Abdel Rahim) El Keib promised that the government would use force to maintain security, if necessary."
Troops from the nascent National Army, composed of revolutionary fighters who have signed up to the government force, had joined the militias around Bani Walid.
The NTC has been unable to fully establish control over armed revolutionary groups in Libya and has only incorporated a few brigades into a national security force. All of the militias claim loyalty to the government but most are still unwilling to disarm. Instead, they adopt a wait-and-see approach to who comes to power, and if they like them.
Futmani's men cruise around the base in dirty pick-up trucks with machineguns mounted on the back.
He is skeptical of any peaceful solution and saw more violence ahead.
"These pro-Gaddafis, they see us a rats, like Gaddafi did," he said. "They are murderers and criminals, they will never integrate into the new Libya because they know they will face justice now."

Bus-sized asteroid shaves by Earth

WASHINGTON: An asteroid about the size of a bus shaved by Earth on Friday in what spacewatchers described as a 'near-miss,' though experts were not concerned about the possibility of an impact.The asteroid, named 2012 BX34, measured between six and 19 meters in diameter (20 to 62 feet), said Gareth Williams, associate director of the US-based Minor Planet Center which tracks space objects.The asteroid, which had been unknown before it popped into view from a telescope in Arizona on Wednesday, came within about 60,000 kilometers (37,000 miles) of Earth on Friday at about 1500 GMT, he said.'It s a near miss. It makes the top 20 list of closest approaches ever observed,' Williams told AFP.NASA had announced on Twitter on Thursday that the asteroid would 'safely pass Earth on January 27.'Williams explained that since the asteroid was so small, it could only be detected when it was close to the Earth, but that the fly-by, while a surprise, was not terribly uncommon.'This came about a sixth of the distance from the Moon,' he said. 'In the past year we have had some 30 objects that were observed to come within the orbit of the Moon.' (AFP)

Missing in Rio high-rise collapse presumed dead

There is no hope of finding survivors from the three high-rise buildings that collapsed in central Rio, authorities said Friday, which could bring the final death toll to 26.
Two days after the office buildings -- of 20, 10, and four stories -- crashed down near the municipal theater on the city's Cinelandia square, officials said 11 bodies had been recovered, including seven on Friday.
"Regrettably I must say that we no longer expect to find survivors," Sergio Simoes, the state secretary for Civil Defense, said Friday, noting that all the bodies extricated from the rubble so far "were badly crushed."
Twelve of the 22 missing were believed to be in a classroom on the sixth floor of the 20-story Liberdade building where a computer firm was giving a training course when the structure collapsed.
"We expect to find a significant number of people there," Simoes said.
Late Thursday, Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes put the official toll at four dead, with 22 missing.
A dense cloud of smoke still hung over the rubble from a fire that was still burning, beyond the reach of firefighters.
The search was expected to end sometime between Friday night and Saturday morning "to minimize the suffering of families," of the victims, said Colonel Ronaldo Alcantara of the city's fire department.
Some 390 people are taking part in the rescue effort, including a contingent that was sent to Haiti during the devastating earthquake there two years ago.
The disaster could have been far more deadly if it had happened during the day, and it raised fresh questions about Brazil's preparations to host the 2014 Football World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
The three buildings collapsed almost simultaneously for as yet unknown reasons, though authorities said they did not believe an explosion had occurred, as witnesses initially reported.
Investigators were focusing on a structural problem as the likely cause. Witnesses reported that remodeling work had been taking place on two floors of one of the buildings.
The work had not been cleared with the Rio Engineering Regional Council (CREA) and was therefore illegal, according to CREA official Luis Antonio Consenza. Police and the CREA have launched an investigation.
Brazil has had several calamities in recent months, including explosions caused by gas leaks, and fatal accidents in poorly maintained amusement parks or in packed streetcars with faulty brakes.
City authorities are scrambling to upgrade the country's infrastructure and to build or renovate 12 stadiums around the country in time for the World Cup, one of the world's premier sporting events.
Last month football's ruling body FIFA warned Brazil about delays in the progress of construction projects expected to be ready for the four-yearly extravaganza.
The Getulio Vargas Foundation and consultancy Ernst & Young have said the country needs more than $11 billion in investment to fix roads, boost hotel capacity, reinforce security and develop its telecom network ahead of the Cup.

Musharraf to return after tensions end: APML

DUBAI: Former president Pervez Musharraf will return to Pakistan once the tensions between the government and the Supreme Court subside, a senior official in his All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) said on Friday.Musharraf announced this month he planned to return home between January 27 and 30 and take part in a parliamentary election due to be held by 2013, but later said aides had advised him to delay his return due to political instability.Mohammad Saif, secretary-general of APML, said Musharraf did not want his return to overshadow a contempt case being heard in the Supreme Court against Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani that could push him out of office.'General Musharraf will return to Pakistan, that s for sure. But we are waiting for the tension between the government and the Supreme Court to subside,' Saif told journalists in Dubai.'The government, which is bogged down in court cases and has failed on both economic and political fronts, would try to wiggle out of this situation by diverting the attention to General Musharraf.'He gave no date for Musharraf s return.Pakistan s Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned the contempt hearing for Gilani which is adding to growing pressure on the unpopular civilian government.Gilani was in court to explain why he should not be charged with contempt for failing to re-open old corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari. The government maintains Zardari has presidential immunity.Saif said Musharraf was upset by the delay, but took the advice of his party and would stay in Dubai until his return home. Musharraf was not at the news conference.Pakistan s government also faces pressure from the military over a mysterious memo seeking U.S. help to avert an alleged planned coup last year.Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup and briefly imposed a state of emergency in Pakistan before resigning in 2008, has been living in Dubai for almost three years.

Scores storm Syrian embassy in Cairo

Scores of opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime stormed the Syrian embassy in Cairo on Friday before being dragged away by security forces, an AFP reporter said.
At least 200 protesters forced their way into the building in the Garden City neighbourhood in Cairo, breaking doors and windows, before Egyptian security officials arrived and took them out. No arrests were made.
The embassy was empty because Friday is a weekend day in Egypt.
Syrian Ambassador Yusef Ahmed headed to embassy after the incident and said he would formally complain to the authorities.
'The Syrian embassy is being targeted. We will be sending a formal letter calling for the embassy to be protected. The protection today was very weak,' Ahmed told AFP.
The protesters 'went into the building. They reached the floor where the ambassador's office is located.
Unfortunately they were not resisted,' he said as he walked over broken glass and into the building.
'This is a very serious development,' he said.
Ahmed said protesters had already stormed the ambassador's residence in recent weeks, when it was also empty.
'It is the same people. We have given a list of names to the authorities, but no measures have been taken,' Ahmed said.
The storming of the embassy and the lack of protection point to a 'development that does not suit the brotherly relations between Egypt and Syria,' Ahmed said.
Syria has been gripped by violence since March, with a regime crackdown on dissent leaving more than 5,400 dead including 384 children, according to UN figures.
The head of the Arab League monitoring mission in Syria said that, since Tuesday, unrest had soared 'in a significant way,' especially in the flashpoint central cities of Homs and Hama and in the northern Idlib region.
The latest wave in the government crackdown, now in its 11th month, comes as the West tries to ride diplomatic momentum sparked by last weekend's surprise call by the Arab League for Assad to step down.
Western and Arab nations were to hold talks in New York later Friday on a draft resolution denouncing the Assad regime that has been blocked by strong resistance from Damascus allies Beijing and Moscow.

Update: 40,000 protest against military rule in Tahrir Square

Around 40,000 demonstrators congregated in Tahrir Square Friday evening, after 14 marches from neighborhoods around Cairo arrived in the symbolic home of the 25 January revolution to protest against continued military rule.
The protesters chanted against the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, accusing the council of responsibility for killing more than 80 civilians since former President Hosni Mubarak stepped down last February.
Demonstrators held up a doll of SCAF leader Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi in the square. The protesters manipulated the doll to have the fake Tantawi say, 'We [the SCAF] have protected the revolution. Whoever is in Tahrir is a thug.'

Earlier in the evening, the Muslim Brotherhood stage in Tahrir Square attempted to drown out anti-Brotherhood protesters by turning up Quranic verses on its loudspeakers.
The dispute began when some protesters marched into the square, raised their shoes at the Brotherhood's stage, chanted and threw rocks at them. After turning up the Quranic verses failed, Brotherhood members instead began chanting against the SCAF.
That did not work, either, so the Brotherhood invited some revolutionary youths onto their stage to convince the crowd to not attack them. After that failed, the Brotherhood announced that it would remove an anniversary banner from its stage as an affront to the revolutionaries, and draped a cloth over the banner.
Earlier in the square, a group of judges held a mock trial for former President Hosni Mubarak, former First Lady Suzanne Mubarak, and other symbols of the deposed Mubarak regime, charging them with corrupting Egyptian politics, abusing power and squandering public funds.
The judges mock sentenced all of the defendants to death. They were then expected to march to the Supreme Constitutional Court to demand their rulings be implemented.
Al-Azhar announced earlier in the day that it will soon issue a 150-member statement demanding the ruling military council 'immediately' hand over power to a civilian presidential council, as massive protests take place across Egypt demanding an end to military rule.
Scholars from the preeminent Sunni institution have constructed a nine-point statement to help solve Egypt's current political crisis, said Sheikh Gamil Allam, a former dean of Al-Azhar's Faculty of Islamic Law.
The statement will urge the SCAF to transfer power to a council headed by respected civilian figures, including Hamdeen Sabbahi, Noha al-Zeiny, Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh, Hossam Eissa, George Ishaq, Ahmed Harara and Ghada Kamal, as well as a member from the SCAF.
The SCAF should also begin accepting presidential nominations, and prepare to draft the new constitution and hold a referendum on its legitimacy within 60 days, Allam added.
Allam said that the Al-Azhar statement will also address the ongoing trial of former President Hosni Mubarak and other figures from his regime, retribution and compensation for the families of the revolution's martyrs, and the release of all political prisoners and those sentenced in military courts.
The statement will also set a time frame for meeting the demands from different segments of society, which include respecting press freedoms as well as NGOs and human rights organizations.

Thousands flooded into Tahrir Square throughout the day on Friday, chanting 'Down with military rule. We the people are the red line' and 'The people want the fall of the regime' after Friday prayers in a protest they have named both the 'Friday of Pride and Dignity' and the 'Second Friday of Anger.'
Massive marches named after martyrs of the 25 January revolution headed toward Tahrir from various Cairo neighborhoods on Friday afternoon, chanting similar slogans. Similar protests are also taking place in various governorates around the country.
After Friday prayers concluded at Istiqama mosque in Giza, thousands of worshipers held a march named after Alaa Abdel Hady, a doctoral student who was killed in December clashes outside the cabinet building between protesters and security and military forces.
In the upper-class neighborhood of Heliopolis, around 100 people marched, chanting 'Down with military rule' and inviting residents to join them.
Witnesses said that protesters began to gather outside Nour mosque in Abbasseya in preparation for another march to Tahrir named after Mohamed Mohsen, who was killed in clashes in Abbasseya in July of last year.
Protesters chanted slogans against the SCAF, such as 'Why are we governed by the military? Is Hosni coming back?' and 'Bread, freedom, human dignity.'
In the Giza neighborhood of Mohandiseen, demonstrators set off in a march named after Al-Azhar scholar Emad Effat, who was also killed during the December clashes outside the cabinet.
In addition, a march from Khazendara mosque in Shubra headed to Tahrir named for Sally Zahran, who was killed in the early days of the 18-day uprising against Mubarak.
Earlier in the square, the preacher of Omar Makram mosque delivered the Friday sermon to thousands of Egyptians who gathered there to protest military rule and demand a swift transfer of power to a civilian government.
'Have we toppled the regime or are there some former figures still manipulating the fate of the nation?' said Sheikh Mazhar Shaheen, who often preaches at Friday protests in the square. 'The revolution has not fulfilled all of its goals.'
Shaheen then chanted, 'God protect the revolution' and the protesters shouted 'God is great' in response.
Before Shaheen began his sermon, thousands filled Tahrir totake part in the mass demonstration.

Popular committees, mostly comprised of Muslim Brotherhood members and other volunteers, closed off all the entrances to Tahrir to inspect those arriving.
Three stages have been set up in the square for the April 6 Youth Movement, Muslim Brotherhood, 25 January Revolution Youth Coalition, and a fourth for independent political forces.
'I announce today I did not come here in celebration, I came to call for fair retribution for those who killed our martyrs,' Shaheen continued in his sermon. 'We will not celebrate while our martyrs' blood has not yet dried.'
The protesters are denouncing the slow pace of trials for those implicated in killing protesters during the 25 January revolution and demanding that the SCAF swiftly hand over power to civilians.
On Wednesday, hundreds of thousands of Egyptians flooded Tahrir Square and other public areas nationwide to protest and celebrate the first anniversary of the uprising that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak.The Friday morning demonstrators joined dozens who have been staging a sit-in in Tahrir since Wednesday.
Revolutionary groups have recently proposed that the SCAF transfer power to the newly elected speaker of the People's Assembly, Saad al-Katatny of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, until a new president is elected.
The People's Assembly is currently the only elected authority in Egypt. Prior to the revolution, Mubarak's now-disbanded National Democratic Party had a commanding majority in the legislature.

Facebook May File for IPO By Wednesday: Report

RELATED QUOTES

Symbol	Price	Change
MS	18.56	+0.41
GS	111.77	+3.21
YHOO	15.74	+0.21

 
Facebook could file for its long-awaited initial public offering as early as Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
The social-networking company is expected to pick Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS - News) as the lead underwriter for the IPO, the Journal said. The Wall Street bank has been the most popular choice among internet IPOs in recent years.
The company is currently looking at a valuation of $75 billion to $100 billion, according to the report.

The impending IPO - expected to raise $10 billion - is a prized trophy for investment banks, set up a fierce competition on Wall Street, particularly between front-runners Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs 

Cher is not dead

Credit: Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Pop icon Cher is not dead, despite Twitter trend and rumors

Music icon Cher is not dead, though a rumor spread like wildfire Thursday night on social media sites and had many fans scrambling for verification. The celebrity death hoax game has spiraled out of control lately, and Cher's name is the latest of many to be brought into the mix. Scottsdale fans started seeing tweets about Cher's supposed death on Twittter, and “RIP Cher” even started trending. Luckily, Gossip Cop was quick to check on this one and rule it a false rumor.
The site said this death hoax seemed connected to a not-so-funny joke that was picked up and spread. The chatter was intense around 11:00 p.m. Scottsdale time when many Twitter users were looking for news on popular entertainment sites, while others were able to make light of the situation. As user @Zoey93339 posted, “RIP Cher: Twitter has a habit of killing people without them knowing.” Looking back on Twitter to when the topic gained traction, it seems that user @obseseschoolgirl is where the rumor originated. Naturally she seems to think the entire ordeal is quite hilarious, though she is receiving a great deal of criticism. She's embracing all of the mentions of her, joking about who has commented and even is trying to start “RIP rihanna” going now.
In this day and age of news, true or fake, spreading like wildfire on sites like Twitter, it makes it easy for pranks like this to get going. It isn't always easy to see where they originate, and those who start the death hoaxes rarely stop to think about the way they could be hurting others. Fans, family and friends of the victims find themselves worried as these stories spread quickly, and a story like Cher's death gets people wound up quickly. Today it's Cher, within a few days it will probably be somebody else. Most people seem to think this death hoax game is lame, but unfortunately Twitter is filled with people like @obseseschoolgirl crying for attention.
Cher's fans of course can stock up on any of her CDs and movies at local stores such as the Barnes & Noble at Kierland Commons or the Fiesta Shopping Center in Scottsdale. 

Finding Paul Simon, seeking Sugar Man at Sundance

By Christine Kearney
PARK CITY, Utah (Reuters) - Two documentaries that cast eyes back to South African apartheid and speak to music's healing power have shared the spotlight at the Sundance Film Festival this week among a wide selection of movies about songs, singers and musicians.
Nonfiction films "Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap," in which rapper and actor Ice-T interviews Eminem, Nas, Snoop Dogg and others about the roots of hip hop, and "Shut Up and Play the Hits," about LCD Soundsystem's last concert in New York, have focused on music.
"Filly Brown," about a female hip hop artist, "California Solo" in which Robert Carlyle plays a washed up rock star, and "I Am Not A Hipster," about a tortured singer songwriter, were among fictional films about the lives of musicians.
But it was singer-songwriter Paul Simon who captured the media spotlight with the premiere of documentary "Under African Skies," and another nonfiction film "Searching for Sugar Man" that wowed crowds here. Both of them are linked to South Africa.
"Under African Skies," recounts the making of Simon's groundbreaking 1986 album "Graceland" and shows Simon returning to South Africa where he recorded much of the acclaimed record that sparked controversy for breaking a cultural boycott of that country due to apartheid policies.
The film shows footage of original recording sessions from "Graceland" in South Africa and chronicles Simon's 2011 reunion with the album's musicians for a 25th anniversary concert.
The film makes the case that the album and resulting concert tour were overwhelming forces in bringing together people of various races and that political attacks against Simon by groups including the African National Congress were unwarranted.
"The 'Graceland' phenomenon really came from a musical source and didn't have an overt political point of view," Simon told the Sundance audience about recording in South Africa. "I am actually saying, 'I have no regard for the structures of apartheid, I am here purely on a musical basis.'"
The film cuts back-and-forth between Simon's 2011 reunion trip and the original "Graceland" recording sessions, offering insight into how hit songs like "You can call me Al" were assembled after Simon was inspired by South African music groups including Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
"My first impulse was to go where the music was and the musicians that I wanted to play with, and I didn't know how it was going to come out," Simon, now 70, told the audience.
"What happened with Graceland in becoming a worldwide hit was that the traditional music of South Africa became hip all over the world and South Africa began to take pride in what was a musical form that they considered old hat, really," he said.
"SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN"
In stark contrast to Simon's success as an artist, there is the story of an obscure, 1970s Detroit folk singer known as Rodriguez, who is the focus of "Searching for Sugar Man."
Producers of his only two albums, "Cold Fact" and "Coming From Reality," considered Rodriguez better than Bob Dylan with his poetic lyrics protesting racial and economic inequality. He wrote about a hard life on the streets of Detroit.
His records failed to sell in the United States.
The film about him has won standing ovations from cheering, tearful audiences at Sundance where many have said it was among the best movies they had seen.
"Searching for Sugar Man" begins in South Africa where the folk singer's song, "Sugar Man", was banned on the radio and he became an enigmatic, cult hero in the 1970s to a mostly white, liberal crowd spurred by his anti-establishment message in their questioning of apartheid.
Yet, after his two albums bombed in the U.S., Rodriguez faded into obscurity, never recording again nor knowing about his success in South Africa.
A record retailer in that country, Stephen "Sugar" Segerman termed him, "bigger than Elvis," and set about searching for the Mexican-American singer rumored to have shot himself or set himself afire on stage.
"It's been quite a journey to make this film, it took five years," said director Malik Bendjelloul who painstakingly uses grainy footage, animation and interviews to reconstruct Segerman and music journalist Craig Bartholomew's quest to find out what happened to the singer and his royalties. The film's soundtrack utilizes the folk singer's songs.
"We knew nothing, his name never cropped up anywhere," Segerman said of the search. "There was a mythology around this man for 30 years."
And in a strange twist of Sundance fate, Segerman believes one reason Rodriguez's first album never took off was because it was released near the same time as Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon's seminal smash hit, "Bridge Over Troubled Water."
(Additonal reporting by Zorianna Kit, Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Jackson kids stamp star's footprints in Hollywood

Stars including Justin Bieber and Smokey Robinson paid tribute to Michael Jackson on Thursday, as the late star's three children immortalized his shoe- and glove-prints at a Hollywood landmark.
Paris, Prince and Blanket made a rare appearance at a ceremony outside the Grauman's Chinese Theatre, where the hand and footprints of generations of stars are recorded in cement, attracting millions of tourists every year.
Jackson's mother Katherine and brothers Tito, Marlon, Jackie also attended the ceremony, preceded by an hour-long tribute show, along with comedian Chris Tucker and legendary music producer Quincy Jones.
"It's a very good celebration and I know if Michael was here he would agree, to see all the friends and loved ones and especially his fans here to celebrate this with him," Katherine Jackson told the crowd.
A section of Hollywood Boulevard was closed off outside the Chinese Theatre for the tribute ceremony, which was broadcast live via Twitter, and watched by a few hundred lucky fans who turned up from before dawn to see the show.
The three children helped to stamp prints of a pair of Jackson's shoes, and one of his famous sequined gloves, into the wet-cement like material, before pressing their own handprints into it.
Paris Jackson also wrote "Michael (heart) Jackson" next to the prints, before signing the date.
When dry the foot and handprints will then be placed in the courtyard of the Chinese Theatre.
Normally only legendary movie stars and filmmakers leave their prints there, but the King of Pop joins them as a special tribute, and also due to onscreen output including the video "Thriller" and post-humous "This is It" documentary.
Jackson died on June 25, 2009 at the age of 50, from an overdose of clinical anesthetic propofol in Los Angeles, where he was preparing for a series of comeback shows in London.
His former doctor Conrad Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in November and jailed for four years.
Jackson's children Prince, 14; Paris, 13; and Blanket, 9, are rarely seen in public, although they did attend a tribute concert for their father in Cardiff, Wales in October.
Paris Jackson has also been interviewed for a live action/animated film in which she features, called "Lundon's Bridge and the Three Keys," based on a famous book series for teenagers.

Monty Python members to re-unite for new film

Members of iconic British comedy group "Monty Python" will re-unite for a new film, a science fiction farce, ex-Python Terry Jones said.
"Absolutely Anything" will not be a Python film as such, but key members of the gang, John Cleese, Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam, are involved, said Jones, who will direct the movie.
US comic Robin Williams will also lend his voice to the film, which will combine animation and live action, while producers are attempting to sign up the other surviving Python member, Eric Idle, for the project.
"It's not a Monty Python picture, but it certainly has that sensibility," Jones told industry daily Variety, adding filming was expected to begin in Britain in the coming months.
The original Python members -- who first joined forces on surreal TV series "Monty Python's Flying Circus" -- will voice a group of aliens who give an earthling the power to do "absolutely anything" to see what a mess he makes.
Williams will play a talking dog called Dennis, who seems to understand more than anyone else about what happens as a result.
Jones co-directed the 1974 "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" with Gilliam, as well as directing "Life of Brian" and "Monty Python's The Meaning of Life."
"Life of Brian" producer Mike Medavoy will be one of several producers on the new project, based on a script by Jones and Gavin Scott developed over the last two decades.
"Terry and Gavin have crafted a classic farce -- something I feel I know a little about after all the 'Pink Panther' pictures we did with (director) Blake Edwards and United Artists," he said.
"In fact, the movie even has a pompous Frenchman reminiscent of Inspector Clouseau," a character which could be played by Williams, while other key roles have yet to be decided, he said.
The five surviving Python members last reunited in a 1998 appearance at the Aspen Comedy Festival, along with an urn which allegedly contained the ashes of late member Graham Chapman, who died in 1989.

Special Report: In anarchic Mekong, bloody diplomacy

By Andrew R.C. Marshall
ON THE MEKONG RIVER (Reuters) - A thin line divides tourism, trade and terror in the Golden Triangle, where the lawless borders of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos meet.
In Myanmar, where the jungly banks of the Mekong River vanish into the mist, lies an anarchic realm of drug smugglers, militiamen and pirates on speedboats. "I'm scared to go any further," says Kan, a 46-year-old boatman, cutting his engine as he drifts just inside Myanmar waters from Thailand. "It's too dangerous."
It was here, according to the Thai military, that 13 Chinese sailors on two cargo ships laden with narcotics were murdered in early October. It was the deadliest assault on Chinese nationals overseas in modern times. But a Reuters investigation casts serious doubts on the official account of the attack.
The Thai military says the victims were killed upriver before their ships floated downstream into Thailand. But evidence gleaned from Thai officials and unpublished police and military reports suggests that some, if not all, of the sailors were still alive when their boats crossed into Thailand, and that they were executed and tossed overboard inside Thai territory.
Their assailants remain unknown. Initially, the prime suspect was a heavily armed Mekong pirate who terrorizes shipping in Myanmar. But then the investigation turned to nine members of an elite anti-narcotics taskforce of the Thai military.
New patrols by Chinese gunboats were supposed to restore peace to the region. But a visit to the Golden Triangle also found that attacks on Mekong shipping continue.
Incongruously, just across the river from where the ill-fated ships were found moored, on the Laos side of the triangle, Reuters also discovered a vast casino complex catering to Chinese tourists. Its Chinese owner regards it as a "second homeland"; others worry it could morph into a strategic Chinese outpost.
CHINA'S MEKONG AMBITIONS

White House urges Senate on insider trading bill

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate scheduled a vote next week on legislation banning insider trading by members of Congress, a measure the White House described on Thursday as an important step in cleaning up Washington politics.
"This bipartisan legislation will help limit the corrosive influence of money in politics and restoring the American people's trust in Washington," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said in a statement.
The legislation, which Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid scheduled for a test vote late on Monday, would explicitly ban federal lawmakers from trading stocks based on information they glean that has not been made public.
The measure also would prohibit them from owning stocks in companies on which they could have an impact through legislation they are working on.
"We believe this is an important first step to prevent members of Congress from profiting from their positions and call for swift passage," Carney said.
Similar legislation is under review in the House of Representatives but it was unclear when a vote in that chamber could occur. Legislation tackling this issue has been pending in Congress for the past five years. It won renewed attention following a "60 Minutes" television report last year that some lawmakers had profited from inside information.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has authority to prosecute insider trading under general anti-fraud provisions but it has never launched cases against members of Congress.
Monday's action in the Senate is a procedural vote intended to gauge support in the 100-member chamber. If at least 60 senators vote yes, that could clear the way for debate and a vote on the legislation itself and would indicate enough support for passage.
(Reporting By Richard Cowan and Aruna Viswanatha; editing by Christopher Wilson)

US plans to cut Army, invest in future

WASHINGTON: The Pentagon on Thursday proposed trimming the Army s size by 13 percent as the debt-ridden United States winds down a decade of war but vowed new investments to exert power in Asia and the Middle East.With pressure mounting to balance the US books, President Barack Obama s administration sought a nine percent cut in the 2013 budget compared with last year s request by retiring older ships and planes and pulling back two brigades from Europe.But the administration called for investment on new projects including a futuristic floating base for special operations and drones and assigning elite Brigade Combat Teams with language training to each region of the world.'We are at a strategic turning point after a decade of war and substantial growth in defense budgets,' Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said as he unveiled a preview of the Defense Department s 2013 budget requests.Panetta vowed to maintain US power in the Middle East and Asia -- where China s growing military has concerned the United States and its allies -- including by modernizing submarines and funding a next-generation bomber.Panetta called for funding to station littoral combat ships in Singapore and patrol craft in Bahrain, part of the US strategy of forward-deploying its military to such small and strategically placed US allies.'The force we are building will retain a decisive technological edge, leverage the lessons of recent conflicts and stay ahead of the most lethal and disruptive threats of the future,' Panetta told a news conference.The budget is far from a done deal. Panetta is hoping to ward off calls for steeper cuts backed by some members of his Democratic Party, while Republicans seeking to defeat Obama in November elections have resisted any cuts to the military and instead prefer reductions on social benefits at home.Panetta proposed a $613 billion budget for the year starting in October -- a $525 billion base spending plan and $88.4 billion for combat operations, primarily in Afghanistan. He said the base budget would rise to $567 billion by the 2017 fiscal year, by when the United States plans to withdraw most forces from Afghanistan.He proposed reducing the number of active US Army soldiers from 570,000 in 2010 to 490,000 by 2017 and cutting the Marines strength from 202,000 to 182,000 over the same period.General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, acknowledged that the proposals were 'tough' and said he expected more cuts in the future as the Pentagon looks to meet a goal of saving $259 billion over five years.'The primary risks lie not in what we can do, but in how much we can do and how fast we can do it,' Dempsey said. 'As I have said before, we will face greater risks if we do not change from our previous approach.'Among the most ambitious future projects, the budget would fund work on an 'afloat forward staging base' -- a giant barge that can transport special operations or other forces at quick notice, reducing demands on aircraft carriers.Even with cuts, the US military remains far larger than those of other countries. China, which has the world s second largest military budget, said it was devoting 601.1 billion yuan ($91.1 billion) in 2011, although many foreign experts believe that the actual figure is higher.The United States has 285 ships and a goal of 313 in total, although the proposal calls for the early retirement of seven cruisers.Panetta also called for getting rid of six of the Air Force s 60 tactical air squadrons -- meaning about 120 planes -- along with one training squadron.As previously announced, the Pentagon plans to pull out two of four brigades from Europe -- for a total of more than 7,000 troops. The United States now has three brigades in Germany and one in Italy, although it has not decided which to withdraw.In one proposal that is especially sensitive, Panetta said that Obama would ask Congress to set up a commission to consider closure of military bases 'with a goal of identifying additional savings and implementing them as soon as possible.'Panetta promised to maintain military pay raises over the next two years that are in line with the private sector but warned of 'more limited' increases afterward. He also called for increases in fees paid for health care, although he said the costs for retirees would remain below private sector plans. (AFP)

Pentagon proposes cuts in budget, Army size

The Pentagon on Thursday proposed trimming the number of Army troops by 13 percent as the debt-ridden United States winds down a decade of war but vowed renewed investment to exert power in Asia and the Middle East.
With pressure mounting to balance the US books, President Barack Obama's administration sought a nine percent cut in the 2013 budget compared with last year's request by retiring older ships and planes and pulling back two brigades from Europe.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, offering a budget request preview, said he was seeking to reduce the number of active US Army soldiers from 570,000 in 2010 to 490,000 by 2017. The Marines would be cut from 202,000 to 182,000.
Panetta proposed a $613 billion budget for the year starting in October -- a $525 billion base spending plan and $88.4 billion for combat operations, primarily in Afghanistan. The total request was $671 billion in the current year.
Panetta vowed to maintain US power in the Middle East and Asia -- where China's growing military has concerned the United States and its allies -- including by modernizing submarines and funding a next-generation bomber.
Panetta called for funding to station littoral combat ships in Singapore and patrol craft in Bahrain, part of the US strategy of forward-deploying its military to such small and strategically placed US allies.

Karachi police arrest fake army general

KARACHI: Police in Karachi arrested a man who spent three years posing as a general to grab land and solicit favours from several government officials, Geo News reported on Friday.Maqsood Shah, 52, was detained on Thursday near an army area in Karachi as he strolled in uniform to meet a government official in order to clinch approval for an illegal land transfer, officials said.Shah was detained after allegedly threatening the official in question, who subsequently tipped off police.Police also found fake military gear, an AK-47 rifle and a Blackberry from his house.Shah is accused of ringing up several provincial cabinet ministers and pretending to be a general in order to solicit 'undue favours'.The police said he would be put on trial and faced a maximum sentence of five years if found guilty of fraud.Police told that Shah is the brother of a retired army colonel who is abroad. A military spokesman said he had no comment.

BP must cover some Transocean oil spill damages

By Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) - A federal judge on Thursday said BP Plc must indemnify Transocean Ltd for some compensatory damage claims over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier, who oversees multistate litigation over the spill, agreed with Transocean that the Swiss driller was not responsible for compensatory damage claims raised by third parties for oil spilled below the ocean surface.
He also ruled, however, that London-based BP need not indemnify Transocean for punitive damages, or civil penalties imposed by the U.S. government under the federal Clean Water Act.
Thursday's decision reduces the potential liability Transocean faces over the April 20, 2010 Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion that caused 11 deaths and the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history.
Transocean owned the rig, while BP owned a majority of the Macondo well whose blowout led to the spill.
Shares of Transocean rose 7.7 percent in after-hours trading, and BP shares fell 0.6 percent.
Barbier oversees several hundred cases related to the spill, including a $40 billion lawsuit that BP filed against Transocean last April.
Both companies welcomed parts of the judge's decision.
"This confirms that BP is responsible for all economic damages caused by the oil that leaked from its Macondo well, and discredits BP's ongoing attempts to evade both its contractual and financial obligations," Transocean spokesman Lou Colasuonno said in an email.
BP spokesman Daren Beaudo said in an emailed statement that the decision "holds Transocean financially responsible for any punitive damages, fines and penalties flowing from its own conduct. As we have said from the beginning, Transocean cannot avoid its responsibility for this accident."
Transocean had argued that its drilling contract obligated BP to defend it from claims over subsurface pollution, even if Transocean was found grossly negligent or "strictly liable."
BP countered that its responsibility to indemnify Transocean did not extend that far.
Barbier did not decide whether Transocean will be liable for punitive damages or the civil penalties, or rule on BP's claim that Transocean breached its drilling contract.
The judge has set a February 27 start date for a trial to apportion blame.
Transocean shares rose $3.64 to $50.90 in after-hours trading in New York, after closing regular trading down 10 cents at $47.26.
BP's American depositary receipts fell 27 cents to $44.50 after hours, after dropping 13 cents to $44.77 during the day.
The case is In re: Oil Spill by the Oil Rig "Deepwater Horizon" in the Gulf of Mexico, on April 20, 2010, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana, No. 10-md-02179.
(Reporting By Jonathan Stempel)

Mali says Al-Qaeda backing Tuareg rebels

Fighters from Al-Qaeda's North Africa branch helped Tuareg rebels in their offensive against the northeastern Malian town of Aguelhoc earlier this week, Mali's defence ministry said Thursday.
"On Tuesday 24 January 2012, at 6:00 am, the town of Aguelhoc came under attack again, from AQIM jihadis, MNLA forces and others," a statement said.
The defence ministry was referring to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and the Azawad National Liberation Movement, a rebel group which is demanding greater Tuareg autonomy and has launched a military offensive in recent days.
Malian troops retook control of the town, it said.
This was the first time an official connection has been made between AQIM and Tuareg rebel group.
A resident at the local teacher's training college, Alhousseini Toure, said Islamists were among the attackers, shouting "God is the Greatest.'"

Pakistan heart drugs: 'Faulty batch kills 70' in Lahore

Officials have warned that faulty drugs may have been distributed to thousands of people

 

At least 70 people are believed to have died in the Pakistani city of Lahore over the past three weeks because of faulty heart drugs, officials say.

They said that at least 400 others are being treated for similar symptoms.
The number of dead has soared since Tuesday, when officials said about 36 people with cardiovascular problems had died since the start of the month.
The owners of three local drugs companies alleged to have supplied the contaminated drugs have been arrested.
The deaths have caused panic in the city less than three months after a dengue fever epidemic.
Officials have warned that the batch of contaminated drugs might have been distributed to nearly 40,000 people since 15 December. They say that patients affected by the sub-standard drugs suffer a rapid depletion of white cells and blood platelets.
The symptoms - first noticed in late December - created an impression that patients were suffering a form of dengue fever, a mosquito-borne disease common in Pakistan during the monsoon season, officials say.
But patient data soon revealed that all of those affected were heart patients who had been using free cardiovascular drugs from the government-run Punjab Institute of Cardiology.
Publicity campaign Officials told the BBC that the deaths appear to have been caused by a batch of drugs issued on 15 December.
They say one or more of at least six drugs - all manufactured by little-known local firms and purchased by the Institute of Cardiology for heart patients - may be responsible.
The parliamentary health secretary for Punjab, Saeed Illahi, told the BBC that about 400 heart patients were ill from taking the drugs. About 100 had been admitted to hospital, with many of them still in a critical condition.
Drug samples have been sent to London and Paris for further investigation, he said.
Officials of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) told a court in Lahore on Wednesday that the drugs did not carry dates of manufacture and expiry.
The court has remanded in custody three people who own pharmaceutical firms which supplied the drugs to the Institute of Cardiology. The owners of two other companies are being sought, Mr Illahi said.
None of the firms has commented on the allegations.
The institute provides free heart drugs to about 600,000 heart patients annually.
Hospital sources have told the BBC that if they do not buy medicines from the cheapest supplier they can be taken to court by drug companies.
The government has now launched a publicity campaign warning people not to use the faulty batch of drugs.
The BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says the Pakistani pharmaceuticals market is intensely competitive, with local companies competing with multinationals for hospital contracts.