Isnin, 5 Ogos 2013

NST Online Business Times : latest

0 ulasan 7:14 PTG Dicatat oleh blog2

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

NST Online Business Times : latest

Posted: 05 Aug 2013 03:22 PM PDT

NEW YORK: US stocks ended mostly lower on Monday on fairly quiet trading during which some investors fretted about the possible pullback of the Federal Reserve's aggressive bond-buying programme.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 46.23 points (0.30 percent) at 15,612.13.

The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 2.53 points (0.15 percent) to 1,707.14, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 3.36 points (0.09 percent) at 3,692.95.

The US growth outlook appeared firmer as the Institute for Supply Management's July purchasing managers index for the services sector showed a healthy jump in activity.

That raised some concerns that the Federal Reserve might taper its bond-buying programme "sooner rather than later," said Alan Skrainka, chief investment officer at Cornerstone Wealth Management.

Monday's trade was "just a modest pullback," Skrainka added.

Some investors also looked at comments from Federal Reserve Bank of Texas President Richard Fisher that advocated a quick tapering.

"Anytime there is Fed chatter, there is an impact on the market," said Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Webush Securities, adding that the market could easily reverse itself Tuesday.

Apple rose 1.5 percent after the Obama administration overturned an International Trade Commission ban on some of the tech giant's products, stepping into a long-running patent dispute between Samsung and Apple.

Meat processor and marketer Tyson Foods rose 4.1 percent after earnings bested analyst estimates by 9 cents at 69 cents a share. The company also signalled that 2013 revenues would be above market expectations.

Semiconductor and wireless technology producer Qualcomm slipped 0.8 percent after Piper Jaffray cut its rating on the firm on concerns about softening high-end smartphone demand.

Industrial and construction tool supplier Fastenal dropped 1.9 percent after monthly sales showed an increase of 2.9 percent in July compared with last year, below the 5 percent expected, according to a Credit Suisse note. -- AFP

Kredit: www.nst.com.my

NST Online Top Stories - Google News

0 ulasan 9:34 PG Dicatat oleh blog2

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

NST Online Top Stories - Google News

Terror Threat Extends US Embassy Closings Through Aug. 10 (1) - Businessweek

Posted: 05 Aug 2013 08:40 AM PDT

At least 19 U.S. embassies and consulates in predominantly Muslim countries will remain closed through the week as the State Department stays on guard for potential terrorist attacks.

Yesterday's initial one-day closing of 22 U.S. outposts followed the State Department's issuance of a worldwide travel alert warning of planned attacks in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia by al-Qaeda or its affiliates. The decision to extend the selective shutdown through Aug. 10 "is not an indication of a new threat stream," Jen Psaki, a department spokeswoman, said in an e-mail.

"Out of an abundance of caution, we've decided to extend the closure of several embassies and consulates including a small number of additional posts," she said. This is "merely an indication of our commitment to exercise caution."

President Barack Obama instructed his national-security team last week to "take all appropriate steps to protect the American people in light of a potential threat occurring in or emanating from the Arabian Peninsula," according to a White House press release. The terrorist threat that prompted the closure is "very credible" and "specific as to how enormous it was going to be," lawmakers from both parties said.

Essential Staff

Britain's embassy in Yemen, which was also closed yesterday because of heightened security concerns, will remain shut until the end of the Muslim Eid holiday this week, the Foreign Office said on its website. The mission is operating with only essential staff. The U.K. has urged all Britons to leave Yemen.

France will keep its embassy in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, closed though Aug. 7, the Foreign Ministry in Paris said. The German mission there remains shut as well, Foreign Ministry spokesman Andreas Peschke told a news conference in Berlin, though he said there's no evidence of specific terror threats.

"High-level people from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula are talking about a major attack," U.S. Representative C.A. "Dutch" Ruppersberger of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence committee, said on ABC's "This Week" program that aired yesterday. "The good news is that we've picked up intelligence."

The information includes communications among known terrorists intercepted by the National Security Agency in recent days, according to two U.S. officials who asked not to be identified discussing classified intelligence matters. They declined to offer specifics about the exchanges, only saying the content is credible and disturbing.

Dates Given

"This threat was so specific as to how enormous it was going to be and also certain dates were given," Representative Peter King, a New York Republican who serves on both the House Intelligence and Homeland Security committees, said on "This Week." While an attempted attack is most likely to happen in the Middle East, "It could be in Europe, it could be in the United States."

The primary focus is on al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a terrorist group based in Yemen and a remote part of Saudi Arabia, according to King and the two U.S. officials.

"This is the most serious threat that I've seen in the last several years," Senator Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, the top Republican on the chamber's Intelligence Committee, said on NBC's "Meet the Press" program. "There's been an awful lot of chatter out there" among terrorists, Chambliss said, noting it's "reminiscent of what we saw pre-9/11."

Twenty-two embassies and other diplomatic posts were closed yesterday, including in Libya, Egypt, Yemen and Jordan. Some of them were removed from the list of closures for the week, while others were added.

Possible Targets

"Current information suggests that al-Qaeda and affiliated organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks both in the region and beyond, and that they may focus efforts to conduct attacks in the period between now and the end of August," the department said last week. The attacks "may involve public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure."

The warning of a potential attack by al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations is unusual this time partly because the groups are so "widely dispersed," said Michael Chertoff, who was homeland security secretary under President George W. Bush.

"It's actually quite rare to have this broad and yet so alarming and specific a warning be publicly disseminated," Chertoff, who founded a security consulting company in Washington, told "This Week."

Benghazi Attack

The State Department pledged to increase security at embassies and consulates after the attack on a U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept. 11, 2012, led to the death of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. The Central Intelligence Agency said it had warned the State Department repeatedly of terrorist threats in Benghazi before the attack, according to e-mails released later by the White House.

The State Department had issued a similar warning of possible attacks before that.

The latest alert and embassy closures may be an effort to disrupt al-Qaeda operations, according to Michael Hayden, who served as CIA director under the George W. Bush administration.

The announcements may be designed to put al-Qaeda "on the back foot, to let them know that we're alert and we're on to at least a portion of this plot line," Hayden said yesterday on "Fox News Sunday."

Too Ambitious

The scale of the attacks discussed in the intercepted al-Qaeda communications, coupled with the fact that the messages violated the terrorist group's known rules about avoiding mobile and satellite phones and online conversations in favor of couriers, made some intelligence officials suspicious about the group's intent, the two U.S. officials said.

The attacks the terrorists discussed were too ambitious in size and scope to ignore, both officials said, and that may have been deliberate. It's also possible the discussions were intended to put al-Qaeda back in the headlines after years of foiled plots. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they aren't authorized to speak publicly.

At the same time, said both officials, it's not time to exhale because the list of targets and the timing in the intercepted communications may have been deliberately misleading, or the planners may have gone back to the drawing board after they learned that their plans had been discovered.

The U.S. warning came days after al-Qaeda's leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, urged his followers in a speech posted on jihadist websites to attack U.S. sites as a response to American drone strikes in Pakistan and Yemen, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors terrorist groups.

To contact the reporters on this story: Michelle Jamrisko in Washington at mjamrisko@bloomberg.net; Nicole Gaouette in Washington at ngaouette@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Romaine Bostick at rbostick@bloomberg.net

Whitey Bulger was no Robin Hood, but one of the most vicious, violent criminals ... - Boston.com

Posted: 05 Aug 2013 08:17 AM PDT

By Shelley Murphy, Milton J. Valencia and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

James "Whitey" Bulger was "one of the most vicious, violent criminals ever to walk the streets of Boston'' and he was no Robin Hood, despite the myth that he kept drugs off the streets of South Boston, a federal prosecutor said during his closing argument today at the notorious gangster's federal trial.

Whitey Bulger's booking photo after his 2011 arrest

Speaking in US District Court, where the trial began in mid-June, Assistant US Attorney Fred Wyshak summarized the evidence that prosecutors say proves beyond a reasonable doubt that Bulger was a fearsome gang leader who rampaged through Boston's underworld in the 1970s and 1980s and was involved in 19 murders.

"We've been here for two months, and we're near the end," Wyshak told the jurors as US District Court Judge Denise J. Casper looked on. "There's no doubt that the evidence you heard in this case is deeply disturbing."

Wyshak reminded jurors that key evidence against Bulger came from his former allies, especially confessed hitman John Martorano and Bulger's one-time partner, Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi, both of whom implicated Bulger in murder, extortion, and other violent crimes.

Flemmi, Wyshak noted, was an informant for the FBI — just as Bulger was. Wyshak also said that because of Bulger's connection to corrupt FBI agent John Connolly Jr., Bulger's FBI handler, at least four people lost their lives.

"It does not matter that Mr. Bulger was an FBI informant when he put the gun to Arthur Barrett's head and pulled the trigger,'' Wyshak said. "Whether he was an informant or not, he's guilty of murder."

Barrett was murdered in July 1983. Bulger allegedly killed him because he and his gang wanted money Barrett had stolen during a 1980 Medford bank heist.

Wyshak also attacked one of the myths that surrounded Bulger during his years as the leader of the Winter Hill Gang and as one of the best-known criminals in his South Boston neighborhood: the notion that Bulger was a criminal, but not a drug dealer.

"This is not about a Robin Hood story about a man who keeps angel dust and heroin out of South Boston," Wyshak said. He said the reality instead was that South Boston was flooded with drugs, with Bulger's explicit approval and direct involvement.

Wyshak also reminded jurors that Connolly was close to Bulger's brother, William, the former Senate president and president of the University of Massachusetts system. William Bulger, the prosecutor said, was Connolly's advocate when Connolly sought to be picked as Boston police commissioner.

William Bulger was not in the courtroom today, although two of his adult children were on hand, sitting next to their uncle, John "Jackie" Bulger, who was convicted of twice lying to federal grand juries and who helped create fake identity cards for Whitey while he was on the run.

Connolly tipped Bulger off that he was about to be indicted, and Bulger ran from Boston, eventually spending 16 years on the run before he was tracked down in 2011 to Santa Monica, Calif. where he was living in a rent-controlled apartment with girlfriend, Catherine Greig.

Wyshak told jurors that Bulger was long protected by corrupt elements of the FBI, but that federal law enforcement had shifted gears and was ready to prosecute him until he went on the run. The result of that action by Bulger, Wyshack said, was that jurors heard during the trial about crimes that happened 20 or more years go.

"We are here in 2013 because that man ran away,'' said Wyshak, pointing directly at Bulger.

He urged jurors to accept the testimony of government, even though decades have passed since what they witnessed took place. Those moments were seared into their memories by the intensity of the event, he said, just as a fan would remember for years watching Red Sox player Dustin Pedroia hitting a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning.

The closings come after Bulger rose to his feet Friday and told Casper that he would not take the stand in his own defense, bringing an anticlimactic end to a trial that had lasted for seven weeks. Bulger, who had repeatedly vowed to testify since his capture in California two years ago, instead complained he was not given a fair trial.

"As far as I'm concerned, I didn't get a fair trial, and this is a sham," Bulger told Casper with jurors out of the courtroom. "Do what youse want with me. That's my final word."

The suspense had been building as defense lawyers waited until the last of 72 witnesses had testified, on the last day of 35 days of testimony, to announce that Bulger would not testify.

While the jury remained outside the courtroom, Casper asked Bulger if he had made his decision "voluntarily and freely."

"I'm making the choice involuntarily," Bulger said in a clear, calm voice as he stood before the judge, dressed in a long-sleeved navy shirt and jeans.

"I feel that I've been choked off from having an opportunity to give an adequate defense and explain about my conversation and agreement with [former federal prosecutor] Jeremiah O'Sullivan.

"For my protection of his life, in return, he promised to give me immunity," Bulger said.

Bulger's lawyers contended that O'Sullivan, the former head of the New England Organized Crime Strike Force, offered Bulger immunity decades ago.

But Casper barred the immunity defense, ruling that Bulger had offered no documentation to support his assertion and that even if O'Sullivan had made such a promise, he had no authority to do so. O'Sullivan died in 2009.

In past interviews with the Globe, Connolly credited Bulger with warning him that local Mafia members were stalking O'Sullivan in the 1980s and knew the route he walked from work to the commuter train. Connolly said he passed that information to O'Sullivan.

Bulger faces a sweeping federal racketeering indictment that, in addition to the murders, charges him with extortion, money laundering, and possession of illegal weapons. Prosecutors have portrayed him as a long-time, prized FBI informant who killed several people after being warned by a corrupt FBI agent that they were cooperating against him.

Bulger has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is being held without bail.

Shelley Murphy can be reached at shmurphy@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @shelleymurph. Milton J. Valencia can be reached at mvalencia@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @miltonvalencia. John R. Ellement can be reached at ellement@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @JREbosglobe.

Kredit: www.nst.com.my

Ahad, 4 Ogos 2013

NST Online Top Stories - Google News

0 ulasan 9:05 PG Dicatat oleh blog2

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

NST Online Top Stories - Google News

Venice boardwalk crash: Man, 35, arrested on suspicion of murder - Los Angeles Times

Posted: 04 Aug 2013 08:57 AM PDT

The 35-year-old man arrested in connection with Saturday's deadly hit-and-run incident on the Venice boardwalk was booked on suspicion of murder, police said.

At a press conference Sunday morning on the boardwalk, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman said the suspect, Nathan Campbell, was being held on $1-million bail.

Officials did not provide more details or a possible motive for the incident.

PHOTOS: Venice boardwalk crash

The deceased victim was identified Sunday morning as Alice Gruppioni, 32, of Italy, Los Angeles County Coroner's Office officials told NBCLosAngeles.com.

Late Saturday, authorities said a person of interest was being questioned in connection with the incident after turning himself in at a Santa Monica police station. Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Andy Neiman said the man told police he was "connected" to the incident.

The car involved in the crash was found abandoned.

Several videos have emerged showing the crash, which left one person dead and at least 11 others hurt, including one in critical condition.

One of the videos showed a dark black sedan plowing into people on the boardwalk. Another video captured the chaotic scene after the crash.

Witnesses said they believed the driver was traveling about 60 mph — others cited slower speeds — when the crash occurred about 6 p.m. Saturday near the boardwalk's intersection with Dudley Avenue, just before the sun began to set on the tourist haven. Witnesses said "scores of people" were walking along the beach.

"The vehicle appeared to be moving purposefully down the boardwalk, according to witnesses," Humphrey said. He said firefighters responding to the scene thought the driver might have had some kind of medical emergency, but the vehicle did not stop.

"A car plowed through the boardwalk," said Daniel Regidor, 50, who was running nearby when the crash occurred.

"People screaming, running. I was half a mile from the scene, but you could see just this mass of people trying to get out of the way.... Just a lot of people screaming.... It was horrible.

"I saw somebody flying up in the air," Regidor said. "When I came upon the scene, there were a bunch of people on the ground, bloodied."

Daniel Jenkins, 19, was selling medical marijuana-related art and souvenirs on the pedestrian walkway and witnessed the incident.

Jenkins said he saw a blue Charger turn off a side street onto the pedestrian walkway going about 35 mph.

"He started basically losing control," Jenkins said.

He said he saw the vehicle hit a woman who sells turtles and a man who appeared to be homeless.

"All the turtles flew everywhere," as did mannequins outside of storefronts, Jenkins said..

He said the vehicle appeared to speed up after it hit the pedestrians and "zoomed all the way down" for several blocks.

The famed boardwalk is a cultural hub known for its eccentricities. Galleries, restaurants, tattoo shops, skateboard parks and the famous outdoor weight room known as Muscle Beach attract locals and tourists alike.

The crash spurred many, including nearby lifeguards, to race "to the aid of strangers," Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said.

ALSO:

O.C. deputy charged with pepper spraying teen's pizza

Redondo Beach moves forward with waterfront redevelopment

Former L.A. County GOP official allegedly had explicit chats with girl

Chambliss, sources: Terror chatter beyond anything heard since before 9/11 - Fox News

Posted: 04 Aug 2013 08:13 AM PDT

The so-called "chatter" about a terror plot that led the Obama administration to close 22 U.S. embassies and consulates Sunday across the Muslim world goes beyond anything heard before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee and Fox News sources.

Sen. Saxby Chambliss, of Georgia, said Sunday the so-called "chatter" detected by U.S. intelligence agencies that led the Obama administration to order the closures and issue a global travel warning to Americans is "very reminiscent of what we saw pre-9/11."

Sources told Fox News the chatter picked up by U.S. intelligence agents over the past two weeks exceeds anything in the last decade. And it included Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri demanding that key leaders of the terror network in the Arabian Peninsula step up their activities in the wake of recent killings of top terrorists.

The information is the most recent and detailed since the administration made the announcement Thursday.

Officials have not said whether the closures will extend beyond Sunday. However, Maria Harf, a State Department spokeswoman, said following the announcement that the U.S. outposts might be closed "additional days," depending on additional analysis. Other Western countries have also closed outposts in the region.

A Mideast diplomat says al-Zawahiri "pressuring" Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to launch new terrorist attacks on Western and American targets is "unprecedented."

Sources also told Fox News the extraordinary volume of "chatter" follows months of "absolute quietness" on terrorist phone lines, computer outlets, websites and other communication outlets.

They said al-Zawahiri has always been a bigger proponent than his predecessor, Usama bin Laden, of a more centrally managed Al Qaeda terrorist structure, has always sought to "micromanage" AQAP, and is attempting now to assert management authority over individual cells, even if it is largely illusory.

The sources said the closures and the travel alert were also prompted by a spate of recent Al Qaeda-led prison breaks, including one in Aleppo, Syria, this weekend that have freed hundreds of Al Qaeda operatives over the last month.

The return of these individuals to their respective "battlefields" may have contributed to the escalation in "chatter" and has heightened American alarm over the plotting. Recent prison breaks have been orchestrated at Abu Ghraib in Afghanistan, as well as sites in Iraq, Libya and Pakistan.

Yemen is said to be cooperating closely with U.S. intelligence in this period, and the data given to the CIA is said to have informed the embassy closures.

Mideast diplomats say National Security Adviser Susan Rice is a driving force in the closures. They say that Rice is still stinging from the criticism about her role in the fatal attacks on the United State's outpost in Libya and determined to avoid a repeat.

Chambliss told NBC's "Meet the Press" it is "the most serious threat I've seen in a number of years."

On Saturday, top U.S. officials met to review the threat, according to the White House.

Kredit: www.nst.com.my

Sabtu, 3 Ogos 2013

NST Online Top Stories - Google News

0 ulasan 9:31 PG Dicatat oleh blog2

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

NST Online Top Stories - Google News

Spain-inspired Great Bull Run coming to US - USA TODAY

Posted: 03 Aug 2013 09:16 AM PDT

Watch out! The Great Bull Run is coming to the U.S.

Organizers of the Pamplona-inspired event plan for several U.S. cities to unleash bulls to sprint through fenced-in courses as daredevils sprint to avoid being trampled.

The inaugural run is set for Aug. 24 in Richmond, Va. More events are planned for Georgia, Texas, Florida, California, Minnesota, Illinois and Pennsylvania.

Bull runs — when the animals are released to run alongside participants as spectators cheer — are common in Spain and have proved to be dangerous. Dozens of people are injured each year in the San Fermin festival at Pamplona, most by tripping and falling. Bulls have killed 15 people since record keeping began in 1924.

"By participating in the run, you accept the risk that you might be trampled, gored, rammed or tossed in the air by a bull, or bumped, jostled, tripped or trampled by your fellow runners," the event website states. "We do what we can to minimize those risks by using less-aggressive bulls than those used in Spain and allowing runners to hide in nooks and climb over the track fence if necessary, but make no mistake: You could get seriously injured in this event."

About 5,000 people have signed up to participate in the Virginia event, and the number grows by about 50 each day, Rob Dickens, co-founder and chief operating officer of The Great Bull Run, told the Associated Press. And with 2,000 already signed up for the Conyers, Ga., event, Dickens expects 5,000 to 7,000 to run there in October.

Bull runs have long been controversial. Some animal rights groups raise concerns over the treatment of the bulls.

"These events are a shameful example of cruelty for the sake of nothing more than entertainment and profit," Ann Chynoweth, senior director of The Humane Society of the United States' End Animal Fighting & Cruelty Campaign, told the AP. "These companies put the health and safety of both humans and animals at risk, without the required federal oversight. We call on the USDA to investigate these entities immediately."

Organizers at the Great Bull Run say they are "wholly committed to the health and safety of the animals we work with."

"Unlike the running of the bulls in Spain, we don't kill the bulls in a bullfight, nor do we abuse them in anyway," organizers state on the event website. "We don't hit them, shock them or deprive them of food, water, light or sleep. In fact, we have a veterinarian on site at all times to make sure the bulls are treated properly and are perfectly healthy before, during and after each run."

Organizers of the U.S. events plan to include several safety features, making them "quite different than the running of the bulls in Spain," Dickens said.

Unlike the narrow, cobblestone streets of the Spanish runs, the U.S. events will use fencing that will include coves, or notches, so participants can get out of the way quickly.

Bulls will be released in waves of six at a time, giving the animals and people a "better opportunity to complete the course safely," Dickens said.

Before running, participants will be required to sign waivers. Dickens, an attorney, acknowledges that waivers won't prevent lawsuits but likened it to sky-diving or operating a rock-climbing wall: "The waivers for the most part ensure that even if you get sued, they're not going to win."

Organizers say they're planning each of the U.S. events as an all-day experience, with plenty of activities such as a tomato fight, also modeled after a Spanish festival. But they hope the bull runs draw participants who have always wanted to participate but couldn't make the trip to Spain.

"You can go running down the street any time you want, but to run with bulls — that's something that doesn't come along very often," Dickens said.

Contributing: The Associated Press

US issues global travel alert, to close embassies due to al Qaeda threat - CNN

Posted: 03 Aug 2013 08:34 AM PDT

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

France joins Germany, Britain and the United States in closing its Yemen embassy
The State Department issues a global travel alert on possible al Qaeda attacks
Sources say al Qaeda is in final planning stages of unspecified plot
Former U.S. envoy to Iraq says he has never seen as many U.S. embassies closed

(CNN) -- A U.S. global travel alert remained in place Saturday amid fears that al Qaeda may launch attacks in the Middle East, North Africa and beyond in coming weeks.

The threat prompted the United States to announce that 22 embassies and consulates will be closed on Sunday, including in Yemen, which was a focus of concern.

Britain, France and Germany have said they too will close their embassies in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, on Sunday and Monday for security reasons. No other embassies are affected, they said.

Neither Italy nor Spain -- which has no embassy in Yemen -- planned to close any of their embassies.

The U.S. embassies that will be closed Sunday -- when they would normally be open -- stretch across a swath of North Africa and the Middle East, from Mauritania to Oman. Bangladesh and Afghanistan, both majority Muslim nations, are also affected.

The U.S. government's actions are in response to growing intelligence that shows a potential for attacks in Yemen and elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa, said U.S. officials who spoke to CNN on condition of not being identified.

Official: Security tightened in Yemen

"The threat appears to be much worse than it has (been) in a long time," said a senior national security official in Yemen, where the government is "on high alert against possible attacks in the days to come."

Various Western targets -- not just those tied to the United States -- are under threat, two U.S. officials said.

Three sources said the United States has information that members of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula are in the final stages of planning for an unspecified attack.

One of the sources said such preparations appeared to have increased in recent days with the approaching end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Sunday is Laylet al-Qadr, or the Night of Power, one of the holiest moments on the Muslim calendar.

Said one U.S. official: "It all leads us to believe something could happen in the near future."

What's behind timing of terror threat

Christopher Hill, a former U.S. ambassador to Iraq, told CNN he had never seen embassy closures ordered across such a broad area.

"There have been incidents where they've closed down a number of embassies in the Middle East because the information is not specific enough to say that 'embassy X' got to be closed as opposed to other embassies," said Hill, who joined the U.S. Foreign Service in 1977.

"But I think this, closing all of these embassies in the Middle East to North Africa, is in fact unprecedented. At least, I didn't see this during my career."

'Leave Yemen now'

U.S. officials said that, based on intelligence, they were particularly concerned about the U.S. Embassy in Yemen between Saturday and Tuesday. President Barack Obama, amid regular updates on the situation, has directed officials to take all appropriate steps to protect Americans.

A White House official said the president was updated Saturday morning by Lisa Monaco, his assistant for homeland security and counterterrorism.

Obama, who departed for Joint Base Andrews to play golf, was to be updated through the weekend, the official said.

He praised Yemeni President Abdo Rabu Mansour Hadi for his country's efforts following a meeting Thursday at the White House.

The UK Foreign Office has also warned its citizens against travel to Yemen, and urged British nationals to leave as soon as possible.

"If you don't leave the country now while commercial carriers are still flying it is extremely unlikely that the British government will be able to evacuate you or provide consular assistance," it said.

Photos: Attacks on U.S. diplomatic sites

A suicide bomb goes off at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, on February 1. A security guard was killed and a journalist was wounded in the attack. The Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front, or DHKP-C, took responsibility for the bombing. Take a look at other attacks on U.S. diplomatic sites around the world in recent years.

Attacks on U.S. diplomatic sites

HIDE CAPTION

Demonstrators set the U.S. Consulate compound in Benghazi, Libya, on fire on September 11, 2012. The U.S. ambassador and three other U.S. nationals were killed during the attack. The Obama administration initially blamed a mob inflamed by a U.S.-produced movie that mocked Islam and its Prophet Mohammed, but later said the storming of the consulate appears to have been a terrorist attack. View photos of protesters storming the U.S. Embassy buildings.

Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya

HIDE CAPTION

It was unclear whether the apparent plot targets that Arabian nation or one elsewhere -- which is why the travel alert applies so broadly, and why embassies from Bangladesh to Libya are being closed. Nor is the expected time of an attack known, which explains why the U.S. travel alert extends through August.

"Terrorists may elect to use a variety of means and weapons and target both official and private interests," the alert states. "U.S. citizens are reminded of the potential for terrorists to attack public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure."

New York Rep. Peter King, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, called the information "the most specific I've seen."

While the principal attention is on the Arabian Peninsula, he stressed to CNN's Wolf Blitzer that "we can't rule anything out."

"We are focused on the Middle East, but it's a potential series of attacks that really could be almost anyplace," King said.

22 embassies, consulates ordered closed

The State Department has listed 22 embassies and consulates that will close Sunday, which is normally the start of the work week in the countries affected.

The 17 affected U.S. embassies are in Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Mauritania, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Sudan and Yemen. The U.S. Embassy in Israel will be closed as normal Sunday.

See the whole list

Consulates in Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are also being shut for the day. Embassies and consulates in the region typically close or operate with minimal staff on Fridays and Saturdays.

The shutdowns could extend beyond Sunday, a senior State Department official said.

Retired Gen. James Mattis -- who until earlier this year was head of U.S. Central Command, responsible for a 20-country area that includes the Middle East -- said the decision to close the embassies underscores the reality of the threat and the wisdom of U.S. policymakers.

U.S. embassies have been targeted before in places such as Yemen, Turkey and Tanzania, he pointed out. Moreover, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is one of the terrorist network's most active and most destructive branches.

"We have to remember that we're up against an enemy who kills indiscriminately -- whether it be women, children, diplomats -- and our embassies ... have been one of the targets," Mattis told CNN on Friday.

Referring to the move by U.S. officials, he said, "They are showing some proactive discretion here, making certain that we don't give the enemy an opportunity that we can deny them."

Questions, concerns after Benghazi

House leaders have been briefed, Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi told reporters, adding that the travel alert and embassy closings provided "some understanding of the seriousness of the threat."

King, who has also heard such briefings, applauded the government's decision to close its diplomatic missions.

"I give them credit," the Republican said of the Obama administration. "I think the government is doing exactly the right thing here."

Such bipartisan agreement in Washington comes at a time when politicians are still scrutinizing the September 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. consular compound in Benghazi, Libya, which killed four Americans, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

Since then, Republicans have been pressing Obama's administration for answers, with some accusing officials of covering up what happened in Benghazi and not doing enough to track down the attackers.

Eight GOP lawmakers are asking that incoming FBI Director James Comey brief Congress within 30 days about the investigation. They say the administration's inquiry to date has been "simply unacceptable," according to a draft letter obtained by CNN.

Earlier this week, Vice President Joe Biden and senior State Department officials went to Congress to discuss embassy security.

Biden also briefed congressional leadership, key committee chairmen and ranking members about the latest threat concerns, a source who attended the meeting said.

Another official said the recent intelligence might not have warranted such a response before the Benghazi attack, which created a political firestorm for the administration.

On Thursday, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said the agency was taking the steps out of an abundance of caution.

CNN found embassy attack suspect before FBI

CNN's Greg Botelho, Barbara Starr, Chris Lawrence, Jill Dougherty, Dana Bash, Evan Perez, Gloria Borger, Jim Acosta, Elise Labott, Mohammed Jamjoon, NuNu Japaridze, Bharati Naik, Karen Smith, Laura Smith-Spark and Hakim Almasmari contributed to this report, which was written by Tom Cohen in Washington.

Comments »

Jumaat, 2 Ogos 2013

NST Online Top Stories - Google News

0 ulasan 9:24 PG Dicatat oleh blog2

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

NST Online Top Stories - Google News

State Department issues travel alert for Americans abroad - CBS News

Posted: 02 Aug 2013 09:16 AM PDT

The State Department issued a worldwide alert to U.S. citizens traveling abroad on Friday, warning that al Qaeda and its affiliates are planning terrorist attacks that may materialize before the end of August, and suggesting that North Africa and the Middle East are the focus of the threat.

The alert, which expires August 31, 2013, urges Americans traveling in that region to be aware of their surroundings: "U.S. citizens are reminded of the potential for terrorists to attack public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure. Terrorists have targeted and attacked subway and rail systems, as well as aviation and maritime service."

Play Video

State Dept: Some embassies to close Sunday due to "security considerations"

Play Video

State Dept: Some embassies to close Sunday due to "security considerations"

The alert comes amid a heightened security concerns for embassies across the region after the State Department announced Thursday that any embassy normally open on Sunday would be closed for the day, with the possibility of a longer closure. The announcement was linked to al al Qaeda plot against U.S. diplomatic facilities in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia, where Sunday is the beginning of the work week, CBS News correspondent David Martin reported.

Officials say it appears to be a real plot in the making, not just the normal aspirational chatter among terrorists. The same officials say they are still missing key pieces of information.

As of Friday morning, at least 21 facilities in 18 countries announced that they will close on Sunday pursuant to the State Department's guidance, including the U.S. embassies in Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Mauritania, Sudan and Djibouti.

On Thursday, Marie Harf, the deputy spokeswoman for the State Department, told reporters the embassies were told to close as a "precautionary" measure taken "out of an abundance of caution."

Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, said that the administration took a "responsible step" in closing diplomatic facilities on Sunday.

"They obviously see a somewhat imminent threat to western targets," he explained.

When asked if the decision to close the embassies has anything to do with the end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month that ends next week, McCaul replied, "That's always a concern, yeah."

Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said that the threat was not based on "the regular chit-chat."

"When you have a threat and you think it's serious, you have to put it out," he said. "You get chit chat all the time, but this got to another level."

The security of American embassies and other diplomatic facilities became a political controversy in the wake of the September 2012 attack on a U.S. facility in Benghazi, Libya, that claimed the lives of four Americans, including then-ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens. In the wake of that attack, Republicans accused the State Department of providing insufficient security for diplomatic personnel in Libya.

Ruppersberger suggested on Friday that the current heightened security posture in the Middle East and North Africa is a result of the lessons learned from the attack in Benghazi.

"We have systems in place as a result of Benghazi," he said. "There is a lot of research and work being done in making sure we have systems in place to protect Americans in our embassies."

Whitey Bulger will not testify; calls trial a 'sham' - Boston.com

Posted: 02 Aug 2013 08:16 AM PDT

By Shelley Murphy and Milton J. Valencia, Globe Staff

Notorious gangster James "Whitey" Bulger said today he would not take the stand at his racketeering and murder trial in US District Court in Boston.

Bulger, who is accused of 19 murders during his terrifying reign in Boston's underworld, told US District Court Judge Denise J. Casper that he wanted to testify, but because Casper would not allow him to claim that he was granted immunity by now-deceased federal prosecutor, Jeremiah O'Sullivan, Bulger saw no reason to do so.

"I'm making the choice involuntarily because I have been choked off,'' Bulger said, refering to his uimm with old u. "As far as I'm concerned, I didn't get a fair trial. This is a sham. Do what you want with me.''

As Bulger spoke, Patricia Donahue, the widow of Michael Donahue, one of Bulger's alleged victims, shouted, "You're a coward!"

Relatives of other alleged Bulger murder victims groaned.

Casper cut Bulger off and pressed him to be clear on whether he would testify or not. He told her he would not testify.

"That's my final answer,'' he said.

Bulger's exchange with Casper took place without the jury present. After the brief conversation between Bulger and Casper, the jury was brought back to the courtroom. Defense attorney Jay W. Carney rose and appeared to suprise some jurors with what he said next: "The defense calls no further witnesses and we rest at the time."

Casper told jurors that closing arguments would be held Monday and they would be given their legal instructions Tuesday, then begin deliberating. Deliberations will last all day, in contrast to the trial, where testimony ended each day at 1 p.m.

"We'll see you on Monday," Casper told jurors.

Bulger's decision not to testify came despite a public promise from Carney before the trial that the 83-year-old gangster would share his version of events — how he believed he was never an informant for the FBI, and how he was told by prosecutor O'Sullivan that he could commit crimes with impunity.

Judge Casper ruled in May that Bulger could not claim to the jury that he had immunity. Federal prosecutors have called the claim "fantastical" and absurd.

It was an anticlimactic end to testimony in a high-profile trial that has so far consumed 35 days and included testimony from 72 witnesses, including some former close Bulger cronies who had cut deals with prosecutors in return for testifying against the one-time leader of the Winter Hill Gang.

During the trial, US Attorney Carmen Ortiz's office presented a mountain of evidence, beginning in mid-June, about Bulger's criminal exploits in the 1970s and 1980s.

Bulger's decision not to testify frustrated relatives of some of the people he is accused of murdering, especially the widow and sons of Donahue, an innocent Dorchester truck driver murdered in 1982 by Bulger with the help of another man.

The other killer's identity has officially remained a mystery, although some have suggested it was Patrick Nee. The Donahues wanted Bulger questioned about who the man was.

Earlier today, Bulger offered to hand over $822,000 in cash found inside the walls of the California apartment where he was arrested in 2011 to relatives of Donahue and Brian Halloran, who Bulger was allegedly targeting.

According to trial testimony, Bulger had been tipped that Halloran was cooperating with the FBI against him; Donahue was an innocent who offered to give Halloran a ride home.

Both families sued the FBI for its corrupt relationship with Bulger, but the federal courts reluctantly threw out the cases on grounds they were filed beyond the statute of limitations, an argument aggressively pushed by the Justice Department.

Bulger faces a sweeping federal racketeering indictment that, in addition to the 19 murders, charges him with extortion, money laundering, and possession of illegal weapons. Prosecutors have portrayed him as a long-time, prized FBI informant who killed several people after being warned by a corrupt FBI agent that they were cooperating against him.

His notoriety grew when he eluded a worldwide manhunt for 16 years before his capture in seaside Santa Monica, Calif., in 2011. Revelations of FBI corruption and his brother William's parallel rise in the political world to become president of the Massachusetts Senate stoked further interest in the case and inspired numerous books, TV shows, and movies.

Martin Finucane, John R. Ellement and columnist Kevin Cullen of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Shelley Murphy can be reached at shmurphy@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @shelleymurph. Milton J. Valencia can be reached at mvalencia@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @miltonvalencia.

Kredit: www.nst.com.my

Khamis, 1 Ogos 2013

NST Online Top Stories - Google News

0 ulasan 9:53 PG Dicatat oleh blog2

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

NST Online Top Stories - Google News

Fugitive Snowden granted a year's asylum in Russia, leaves airport - Reuters

Posted: 01 Aug 2013 09:36 AM PDT

A picture of fugitive former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden in his new refugee documents granted by Russia in Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport August 1, 2013, is seen in this still image taken from a video filmed by Rossiya 24 TV Channel. REUTERS/Rossiya 24/Handout via Reuters

By Timothy Heritage and Alissa de Carbonnel

MOSCOW | Thu Aug 1, 2013 12:49pm EDT

(Reuters) - Fugitive former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden slipped quietly out of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport on Thursday after being granted a year's asylum in Russia, ending more than five weeks in limbo in the transit area.

Russia's decision to help the American, and ignore U.S. requests to send him home to face trial for leaking details of government surveillance programs, is sure to anger Washington and increase doubts that a summit between presidents Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin will go ahead in Moscow in September.

After 39 days avoiding hordes of international reporters desperate for a glimpse of him, Snowden managed to give them the slip again, leaving the airport in a car.

"Over the past eight weeks we have seen the Obama administration show no respect for international or domestic law but in the end the law is winning," Snowden, whose first leaks were published two months ago, was quoted as saying by the WikiLeaks anti-secrecy group which has assisted him.

"I thank the Russian Federation for granting me asylum in accordance with its laws and international obligations."

Grainy images on state television showed the 30-year-old's document, which is similar to a Russian passport, and revealed that he had been granted asylum for a year from July 31.

A Russian lawyer said he had handed Snowden a document from Russia which enabled him to leave the airport for a safe location which would remain secret, and that he could now work and travel freely in the country of 142 million.

State television also showed a picture of him getting into a grey car at the airport driven by a young man in a baseball cap. Snowden wore a backpack and a blue button-up shirt.

"He is the most wanted man on planet Earth," Snowden's lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, told Reuters. "He has to think about his personal security. I cannot tell you where he is going."

"He can live wherever he wants in Russia. It's his personal choice," he said.

OTHER OFFERS OF ASYLUM

Snowden, who had his U.S. passport revoked by Washington, fled to Moscow from Hong Kong on June 23 and had stayed at a hotel at the airport, Kucherena said, but was "psychologically exhausted".

"Imagine yourself daily (having to listen to) 'Dear passengers, the flight to New York, the flight to Washington, the flight from Rome'," the lawyer said.

Snowden, whose revelations have fuelled a debate in the United States about civil liberties and national security needs, was accompanied by Sarah Harrison, a WikiLeaks representative.

"We would like to thank the Russian people and all those others who have helped to protect Mr. Snowden. We have won the battle - now the war," WikiLeaks said on Twitter.

WikiLeaks issued its statement as the case against Private Bradley Manning continued for releasing classified U.S. data through its website.

Snowden hopes to avoid a similar fate. Nicaragua, Bolivia and Venezuela have offered him refuge, but there are no direct commercial flights to Latin America from Moscow and he was concerned the United States would intercept any flight he took.

He was forced to bide his time in the transit area between the runway and passport control, which Russia considers neutral territory. Kucherena had given Snowden Russian books to help pass the time and says he has started learning Russian in preparation for his stay, which could be extended after a year.

"I am so thankful to the Russian nation and President Vladimir Putin," the American's father, Lonnie Snowden, told Russian state television. He is expected to come to Russia to see his son shortly.

It is not clear what Snowden plans to do in Russia, although he has said he would like to travel around the country. VKontakte, Russia's answer to social networking site Facebook, has already offered him a job.

STRAINS IN TIES

Washington has signaled in the last few weeks that Obama might consider boycotting the planned summit with Putin. It did not immediately comment on Snowden's change of status, which steps up the level of support he is receiving from Russia.

It is not clear whether Obama might also consider a boycott of a G20 summit in Russia in September or of the Winter Olympics which Russia will host in the city of Sochi next February.

A senior Kremlin official played down concerns.

"Our president has ... expressed hope many times that this will not affect the character of our relations," Yuri Ushakov, Putin's top foreign policy adviser, told reporters.

But Senator Robert Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, criticized Moscow's decision and said Russia should send Snowden home because his revelations could do great harm to the United States.

"Edward Snowden is a fugitive who belongs in a United States courtroom, not a free man deserving of asylum in Russia," Menendez said. "Regardless of the fact that Russia is granting asylum for one year, this action is a setback to U.S.-Russia relations."

Putin wants to improve relations with the United States that are strained by issues from the Syrian conflict to his treatment of opponents and foreign-funded non-governmental organizations, but would have risked looking weak if he had handed him over to the U.S. authorities.

More than half of Russians have a positive opinion of Snowden and 43 percent wanted him to be granted asylum, a poll released by independent research group Levada said this week.

Putin has said Snowden must stop anti-U.S. activities, but it was not clear whether the American had agreed to do so. Snowden has said that he does not regard his activities as hostile to the United States.

There has already been diplomatic fallout from Snowden's leaks, which included information that the U.S. National Security Agency bugged European Union offices and gained access to EU internal computer networks, even though the EU is an ally.

China, Brazil and France have voiced concern over the spying program and U.S. ties with Latin American states have been clouded.

(Additional reporting by Gabriela Baczynska, Alexei Anishchuk, Katya Golubkova and Gleb Stolyarov, editing by Elizabeth Piper and Michael Roddy)

Ariel Castro victim: 'Nobody should go through what I went through' - CNN

Posted: 01 Aug 2013 07:51 AM PDT

Ariel Castro's sentencing for the kidnapping and rape of three women in Ohio will be issued Thursday, August 1. During the trial, the prosecution presented images from inside the house that reveal the disturbing conditions in which they were held. A model of the house was also included.

HIDE CAPTION

Evidence photos from Castro's trial

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

NEW: Ariel Castro says he's a "happy person inside"
He swears he didn't beat the victims
Victim Michelle Knight reads impact statement to Castro
Cleveland kidnapper faces life plus 1,000 years

Cleveland (CNN) -- [Breaking news alert, 12:51 p.m. ET]

Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro, speaking at his sentencing hearing, said, "I'm not a violent person. I simply kept them there so they couldn't leave." He was referring to the three women he held captive for about a decade.

Castro said he knew what he did was wrong, but he argued that the "accusations that I would come home and beat them" are "totally wrong." "I'm not a monster. I'm just sick. I have an addiction. Just like an alcoholic has an addiction."

"God as my witness, I never beat these women like they're trying to say that I did. I never tortured them," he said.

Castro admitted that he drove past his own daughter, failing to give her a ride, so he could kidnap his second victim, Gina DeJesus. He said he did it because "I was driven by sex."

"I am truly sorry for what happened," he said.

[Breaking news alert, 12:43 p.m. ET]

Describing himself as a "very emotional person," Ariel Castro said during his sentencing hearing that "these people are trying to paint me as a monster and I'm not a monster. I'm sick."

"I believe I am addicted to porn to the point that it makes me impulsive and I lost it," he said, adding he's "not trying to make excuses."

"I'm a happy person inside," he added.

[Breaking news alert, 12:36 p.m. ET]

Tim McGinty, Cuyahoga County prosecutor, stressed there's no backing to the claim that Ariel Castro suffered from mental illness. "He is responsible," he said, likening him to murderers John Wayne Gacy and Ted Bundy. "He has no excuse."

When asked what Castro would do if he could go back and do things differently, the kidnapper responded that he'd do it all over again, McGinty said. "He doesn't believe he did anything wrong," McGinty said. "There is no remorse."

[Breaking news alert, 12:30 p.m. ET]

During Ariel Castro's sentencing hearing, prosecutor Anna Faraglia said that Castro "tormented (his victims) by allowing them to watch their vigils ... and even had the audacity to attend them." She further said that Castro would talk to his victims' parents as if he were distraught by their disappearances when "they were right underneath his roof."

Defense attorney Craig Weintraub then told the judge that he felt some of the testimony presented was inappropriate because "these were really private matters," the sentence had been agreed upon prior to the hearing and Castro waived his right to challenge the facts of the case. Judge Michael Russo responded that he felt the testimony and evidence was necessary to help him guide his decision on whether to accept the sentence.

[Breaking news alert, 12:20 p.m. ET]

Michelle Knight, one of Ariel Castro's kidnap victims, said in court she missed her son during her ordeal in captivity. "I cried every night. I was so alone. I worried what would happen to me and the other girls every day," she said at Castro's sentencing hearing Thursday.

Kidnapping victim Michelle Knight told her captor, Ariel Castro, during his sentencing hearing, "You took 11 years of my life away. ... I spent 11 years in hell. Now, your hell is just beginning."

"I can forgive you, but I will never forget," she said in her statement to Castro, calling him a hypocrite.

"Nobody should go through what I went through," she said tearfully. She called another victim, Gina DeJesus, her "teammate" saying the woman saved her when she was "dying from his abuse."

Knight said she "will overcome what happened" but Castro "will face hell for eternity."

"I will live on. You will die a little every day."

[Breaking news alert, 12:15 p.m. ET]

Sylvia Colon, cousin and spokeswoman for kidnap victim Gina DeJesus, told Ariel Castro's family that "we do not hold you accountable" for Castro's crimes.

Colon, speaking at Ariel Castro's sentencing hearing Thursday, added, "It is not for us to judge or determine any punishment. Only a higher power can do that." She was speaking at Ariel Castro's sentencing

Beth Serrano, sister of kidnap victim Amanda Berry, said her sister doesn't want to speak of the horrors she went through because she doesn't want her daughter to hear details about the case. "She will do anything to protect her daughter." She was speaking at Ariel Castro's sentencing hearing,

[Breaking news alert, 12:04 p.m. ET]

Michelle Knight, one of three women held captive for a decade by Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro, entered the courtroom after a break in his sentencing hearing Thursday.

[Previously published story, 11:55 a.m. ET]

They were forced to play Russian roulette. He threw money at them after sex. He reconfigured his entire home to keep their whereabouts a secret.

And it was all to "purely satisfy his sexual needs," Det. David Jacobs of the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office testified Thursday during the sentencing hearing for Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro.

Castro's victims were subjected to a "complete and comprehensive captivity," forensic psychiatrist Dr. Gregory Saathoff said during the Cleveland kidnapper's sentencing hearing.

Saathoff initially wrote upon learning of the kidnappings, "The scope and magnitude of Ariel Castro's crimes is unprecedented," but he said that an examination of the defendant showed "no psychiatric illness whatsoever."

Already in the testimony, witnesses have recounted Castro forcing the girls to play Russian roulette, throwing money at them after sexually abusing them, his admission that he's a "criminal" and "sexual predator" and the measures he took to keep the women's whereabouts a secret.

Explaining how women the age of Castro's victims typically are learning how to be intimate in life, psychiatrist Frank Ochberg, a pioneer in trauma science, described the mental damage the women suffered.

"This was not real intimacy. This was a perversion of intimacy," Ochberg said, further describing the women's survival and coping skills as "marvelous, compelling examples of resilience, of imagination, of humanity."

While Castro faces the possibility of spending the rest of his days in prison, Ochberg said the women will experience "life sentences" themselves and the horrific memories are not going away.

Deborah Knight, the grandmother of kidnapping victim Michelle Knight, participates in a community balloon-release service in Michelle's honor on Thursday, May 9, in Cleveland. Four females were found in a home on Seymour Avenue in the Clark Fulton neighborhood on Monday. Since then, the neighborhood and the nation have wondered how they were held captive without anyone noticing sooner.

The Clark Fulton neighborhood

HIDE CAPTION

Testimony kicked off with Barbara Johnson, the Cleveland police officer who first responded to kidnapper Ariel Castro's home. She recalled finding Michelle Knight and Georgina DeJesus after hearing the pitter-patter of footsteps in a dark room.

Knight "literally launched herself" into another officer's arms," Johnson said, "legs, arms, just choking him. She just kept repeating, 'You saved us! You saved us!' "

Johnson said the kidnapping victims were scared, pale, talkative and didn't want to be left alone.

After the women were rescued in May, Castro was quick to tell police that his brothers had no involvement in the kidnappings and it was in that context that he told authorities, "I'm a criminal," but he showed no remorse at that time, said .

" 'I knew what I did was wrong.' He said that more than once," Jacobs said, explaining how Castro cooperated with police.

Castro had a gun in the home that he told Jacobs he would "show to the girls as a form of control." Asked if he had ever forced the girls to play Russian roulette, Castro told Jacobs that he didn't remember it, "but if the girls said it, it probably happened."

FBI agent Andrew Burke said he had been familiar with DeJesus' and Amanda Berry's disappearances prior to their discovery earlier this year. Asked if he remembered the moment he saw them, Burke recalled first laying eyes on the three adult victims and Berry's daughter in an ambulance outside Castro's home.

"I'll never forget it," Burke said, explaining the women appeared dehydrated and malnourished. "It was surreal to me. I had been involved in the missing persons investigations for quite some time."

Shown photos and a model of Castro's home, Burke described a residence equipped with an alarm on the back door, a bedspread separating the kitchen and living area, a porch swing obstructing a flight of stairs and a curtain over the stairs leading to the area where the women were held captive.

The door to the room where Berry and her daughter were held had no doorknob and could be secured from the outside. Because the windows in that room were boarded up from the inside, Burke said, a hole was cut in the door for ventilation.

Authorities also found a "significant amount" of cash in a washing machine in the house. On occasion, Castro would throw the money at the women after sexually abusing them and require that they pay him to pick up any special items for them when he left the house, the agent said.

Also found in the home was a handwritten letter in which Castro described how he victimized his captives and declared, "I am a sexual predator," Burke said. The letter also noted that Castro himself had been sexually abused as a child and mentioned an addiction to pornography and masturbation.

On cross-examination, Burke said the Castro also expressed remorse and said he was sick and mentally ill, but the FBI agent did not concur with the defense's characterization of the letter as a suicide note.

Gerald Maloney, the emergency room doctor on duty when the three victims were taken to the hospital, described them as "very much emotionally fragile at the time" and said Knight requested that no male physicians attend to her.

The women told Maloney that they had been sexually and physically abused and, at times, deprived of food during their years of captivity.

Castro lured DeJesus into his car in 2004 by asking her for help locating his daughter, said Det. Andrew Harasimchuk, recalling DeJesus' statement to him. Castro then told DeJesus he had to go home for money before asking her for help moving a speaker, the detective said.

She became uncomfortable, and Castro told her she had to leave through a different door than the one she entered through. When she walked through that door, she found herself in the basement of his home, Harasimchuk said. Castro then chained her to a center support pole in the basement, bound her hands with plastic ties and sexually assaulted her, the detective said.

All three women told Harasimchuk that they had been repeatedly raped "vaginally, orally and anally" during their captivity, he said.

Castro pleaded guilty last week to 937 counts, including murder and kidnapping, in a deal that dropped a possible death penalty in exchange for life in prison plus 1,000 years.

At the beginning of his hearing, a shackled Castro, flanked by his lawyers and wearing an orange prison uniform and eyeglasses, quietly told the judge he understood the reporting requirements of his sex-offender status, should he ever be released, which is unlikely given the plea deal.

Defense attorney Craig Weintraub told the court that his client accepts "full responsibility" for his conduct. Noting that Castro promptly took responsibility for his crimes, Judge Michael Russo said that given the scope of the crimes, "I don't know that this could've been any more dignified."

Amanda Berry speaks in a video released on YouTube on Monday, July 8, thanking people for support and privacy. Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight escaped from a Cleveland home on May 6 after being held captive for nearly a decade.

Kidnapped teens found decade later

HIDE CAPTION

With a model of Castro's home in the courtroom, another defense attorney, Jaye Schlachet, said he did not approve of anything but the victims' impact statements being introduced during the sentencing hearing. He also mentioned doctors' reports and photos as other examples of things he felt shouldn't be presented in court.

Russo later responded that he wanted to see records pertaining to the case and hear testimony to ensure that "the court can reach and appropriate sentence."

Castro is expected to speak at length during his sentencing, delivering a statement that his sister promises will allow people to see "the other side of Ariel Castro."

He'll give a rather lengthy statement, explaining his life and who he really is, his sister, Marisol Alicea, told CNN on Wednesday night.

"(People will) see the other side of Ariel Castro ... not the monster that everyone thinks he is," she said, adding that she was in no way defending her brother.

"He must pay for what he did."

Alicea said she doesn't plan on attending the sentencing with others in her family, fearing the evidence will be too graphic.

Hearing to last hours

The sentencing hearing is expected to last hours and include witness testimony and evidence, a Cuyahoga County court source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told CNN.

Child custody rights for rapists? Most states have them

Prosecutors want to make sure there's a record going forward in case of a future appeal, should Castro want to try to get out of prison, said the source who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. Prosecutors also want the court and the public to understand the impact Castro's actions had on his victims and the community.

At least one of Castro's victims, Knight, will likely make an impact statement during the hearing, Alicea said. An official with direct knowledge of the investigation also said Knight intends to speak.

In a handwritten note, posted Wednesday on the Cleveland Police Community Relations Facebook page, Knight said she was overwhelmed with the support she has received from "complete strangers."

"It is comforting. Life is tough, but I'm tougher," she wrote. "Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, she became a butterfly. Thanks."

The other two women -- DeJesus and Berry -- will not be present in the court, according to the attorney representing the three women. They could make a videotaped statement, or a family member could talk on their behalf.

Ariel Castro's son: I won't visit dad in prison

Evaluating a kidnapper

Prosecutors also have submitted an evaluation of Castro's confinement and abuse of Knight, DeJesus and Berry that was compiled by acclaimed psychiatrist Frank Ochberg, considered a pioneer in trauma science.

The evaluation was part of the prosecution's pre-sentencing report, which has been submitted to the court.

The evaluation -- using statements, medical records, videotaped interviews and transcripts -- painted a horrifying picture of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of Castro that included brutal beatings and repeated rapes that resulted in pregnancies that he would end by punching the women in the stomach.

"He appeared to be evolving in an ever more dangerous direction, capturing younger and younger women, telling his captives he was hunting for replacements," Ochberg wrote.

Castro abducted Knight, Berry and DeJesus separately over a two-year period between 2002 and 2004, according to investigators.

Promise of a ride

In each case, Castro lured the women into his car with the promise of a ride, according to court documents submitted by Timothy McGinty, Cuyahoga County prosecuting attorney.

Castro "enticed" Knight to go inside the house, where she would be held captive in the next 11 years, with "promises of a puppy for her son."

The documents also say that Castro "serially abused (Knight, Berry and DeJesus) physically, emotionally, and sexually on a daily basis."

All three women kept diaries, with Castro's permission, providing many of the details used in the case.

Knight suffered "the longest"

The women and Berry's 6-year-old daughter were held in Castro's 1,400-square-foot home. DNA tests have confirmed that Castro is the child's father.

In the evaluation, Ochberg wrote that Knight, who was kidnapped first, suffered "the longest and most severely."

"But it was Michelle who served as doctor, nurse, midwife and pediatrician during the birth (of Berry's child). She breathed life into that infant when she wasn't breathing," he wrote.

"At other times, she interceded when Castro sought to abuse Gina, interposing herself and absorbing physical and sexual trauma. But each survivor had a will to prevail and used that will to live through the ordeal."

When freedom came

The women were freed in May after Berry shouted for help while Castro was away.

Neighbor Charles Ramsey said he heard their cries as he was sitting down to eat.

"I see this girl going nuts trying to get out of a house," he told CNN affiliate WEWS. "I go on the porch and she says, 'Help me get out. I've been in here a long time.'"

Finally free, Berry pleaded for a phone.

"Help me, I am Amanda Berry," she frantically told a 911 operator. "I've been kidnapped, and I've been missing for 10 years. And I'm here, I'm free now."

In early July, Berry, DeJesus and Knight released a YouTube video offering their thanks to all those who have helped them since they were freed. They have not faced their captor and tormentor since their rescue.

"I want to thank everyone who has helped me and my family through this entire ordeal. Everyone who has been there to support us has been a blessing," Berry said in the video. "I'm getting stronger each day."

Why so many high-profile crimes in Cleveland?

CNN's Eliott C. McLaughlin wrote from Atlanta, and Pamela Brown reported from Cleveland. CNN's Chelsea J. Carter, Chris Boyette, Ronni Berke, Ashley Fantz and Martin Savidge contributed to this report.

Comments »

Isnin, 5 Ogos 2013