Snowden extradition could take years

ATTEMPTS to extradite ex-intelligence technician Edward Snowden, charged with espionage by US authorities, will result in a protracted legal battle in Hong Kong that could last years, experts said.

Hong Kong, a former British colony that retained a separate legal system when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997, has a long-standing extradition treaty with the US, but Beijing has the potential to veto any ruling.

However Beijing has appeared to distance itself from any decision on the possible extradition of Snowden, who is in hiding in the southern Chinese city after blowing the lid on vast US surveillance programs targetting phone calls and internet traffic.

Hong Kong officials remained tight-lipped on Saturday as to whether they will hold Snowden a day after Washington charged the former CIA contractor with espionage, theft and "conversion of government property".

Hong Kong lawmaker Alan Leong said that if local authorities proceed with extradition, it could result in a lengthy legal battle.

"If every appeal opportunity is taken, I suppose the process will last between three and five years" at the very least, he told AFP.

The case could possibly drag "through at least the magistrates' court, the Court of Appeal and the Court of Final Appeal. So, at least three levels of (Hong Kong) courts," he said.

Snowden can claim fears of political persecution and ask for political asylum, which will buy him time, said Christopher Gane, the dean of law school of Chinese University of Hong Kong.

"If the court decides this man cannot be sent back, this is the end of it. He can't be sent back," he told AFP.

"But if the court decides he could be sent back, it is still up to the Hong Kong chief executive to decide whether to do so. This is when all kinds of possible considerations can come in," Gane said.

Experts have claimed that Snowden is testing Hong Kong's civil liberties under its "one country, two systems" framework by retreating to the former British colony.

Snowden has exposed details on vast US surveillance operations, leaking documents that appear to show huge quantities of private telephone and internet data -- such as emails and call records -- have been scooped up with little or no judicial oversight.

The revelations have embarrassed US President Barack Obama's administration.

23.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Snowden charge 'intimidation': Assange

THE United States has charged leaker Edward Snowden with espionage in an attempt to bully other countries into abandoning him, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says.

US authorities have filed espionage charges against rogue intelligence technician Snowden and asked Hong Kong to detain him.

Assange criticised the move on Saturday in a speech the Australian had planned to deliver from the balcony of the Ecuadorean embassy in London where he's been holed up for over a year.

But WikiLeaks said via Twitter the appearance was postponed "due to a security situation" and instead released a copy of the speech.

Police weren't commenting and a response was being sought from the Ecuadorean embassy.

In the speech Assange says he's been able to work in relative safety from a US espionage investigation only because he sought asylum in the diplomatic mission.

"The charging of Edward Snowden is intended to intimidate any country that might be considering standing up for his rights," Assange said in the written speech.

"That tactic must not be allowed to work.

"The effort to find asylum for Edward Snowden must be intensified. What brave country will stand up for him and recognise his service to humanity?"

Assange this week revealed he'd been in contact with representatives of Snowden to discuss his possible bid for asylum in Iceland following his disclosure of US surveillance programs.

The 41-year-old on Saturday said the US government was spying "on each and every one of us" but it was Snowden who'd been charged with espionage.

"It is getting to the point where the mark of international distinction and service to humanity is no longer the Nobel Peace Prize but an espionage indictment from the US Department of Justice," Assange said.

"Edward Snowden is the eighth leaker to be charged with espionage under this president."

Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino earlier this week revealed Assange had told him he was strong enough to remain in the embassy "for five years ... rather than face legal proceedings in the US".

23.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

UK fugitive killer arrested in Queensland

A BRITISH killer who escaped prison after being jailed for a frenzied knife attack on his aunt has been captured on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.

Simon Hennessey, 49, has been on the run since he walked out of an English prison in December 1998.

In 1978 aged just 14 Hennessey mutilated his aunt Mary Webber, 72, in a brutal knife attack at her home on the English south coast city of Plymouth, stabbing her 70 times.

He admitted killing his aunt but pleaded mental illness and was jailed for life in the same year.

He served 20 years of that sentence before disappearing 15 years ago, but had escaped from a number of prisons before that.

Queensland police have confirmed that a man they have charged with a series of fraud offences is Hennessey.

A spokeswoman for Queensland Police said he had been arrested earlier this month in Maroochydore.

He appeared before Maroochydore Magistrates' Court on June 17 and is currently in custody pending his next hearing in July.

"There is not much more we can say because of the court situation but we are aware that he is a wanted criminal in the UK," she said.

Hennessey's arrest is understood to be related to a sophisticated credit card scam running to tens of thousands of dollars.

He could face a lengthy prison sentence if convicted in Australia but UK police have already contacted Australian authorities to discuss his extradition.

23.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

British teacher jailed for abduction

A BRITISH teacher was sentenced to five years and six months in jail for having sex with a 15-year-old pupil and running off with her to France, sparking an international manhunt.

Jeremy Forrest, a married 30-year-old maths teacher, was convicted of abducting the girl, and pleaded guilty to five further counts of sexual activity with a child.

He was not originally charged with sex offences for legal reasons linked to his extradition from France, but he admitted the new charges when they were put to him at Lewes Crown Court in southeast England.

Judge Michael Lawson, sentencing Forrest to four and a half years for the charges of sexual activity with a child and one year for the abduction charge, told him his behaviour had inflicted great damage.

He said: "Your behaviour in this period has been motivated by self-interest and has hurt and damaged many people -- her family, your family, staff and pupils at the school and respect for teachers everywhere.

"It has damaged you too but that was something you were prepared to risk. You now have to pay that price."

The judge added: "It was your duty as a teacher to stop her infatuation, not to fuel it.

"Your research into what might happen to you if you were caught is proof of the deliberate nature of your behaviour."

When Forrest was convicted of abduction on Thursday after a two-week trial, he had told the girl "I love you" as he was led from the court.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, burst into tears and told him: "I'm sorry."

The British press reported the girl, who is now 16, has vowed to wait for Forrest to serve his sentence so they can resume their relationship.

Prosecutors had labelled him a pedophile who had groomed a vulnerable girl, first kissing her when she was 14. They said he "grossly abused" the trust placed in him as her teacher.

The court heard that Forrest, a keen musician, confessed to the girl that he was unhappy in his marriage and poured out his feelings in angst-ridden Twitter messages.

The couple sent explicit images to each other's mobile phones and soon began a sexual relationship. She said in evidence she had encouraged the affair.

They had sex in his car, in hotel rooms and at the marital home when his wife was away visiting her parents.

23.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Govt to launch discrimination inquiry

THE federal government will set up an inquiry into the treatment of women in the Australian workplace.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard told Fairfax Media the inquiry would assess the problems women faced in the workforce and what action could be taken to correct any problems.

"It's very concerning that there are even anecdotal report that people, particularly women, feel discriminated against when they are caring for young children," she said.

The inquiry, by the Australian Human Rights Commission, will examine concerns women are demoted, sacked or have work hours altered to unfavourable times while on maternity leave or on their return to work.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions said one in three women left the workplace while pregnant or after giving birth.

A national survey on the prominence, nature and consequences of discrimination will be undertaken as part of the inquiry.

It will also take evidence from industry, unions, victims of discrimination and employers.

23.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Govt won't release spin doctor documents

PRIME Minister's Julia Gillard's office is being accused of blocking attempts by media to look at documents relating to the hiring of a Scottish spin doctor.

Labor strategist John McTernan is working in Australia on a 457 visa.

The Weekend Australian was told by the Office of the Information Commissioner it had rejected the prime minister's office's request for an extension to process the documents which are being sought under the Freedom of Information act.

Two extensions had previously been granted.

The Prime Minister, the Weekend Australian says, is "flouting freedom of information rules and refusing to hand over (the) documents."

Ms Gillard has raised concerns about widespread rorting of the 457 visa scheme and announced a crackdown on the issue.

23.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Aust painter Smart was 'larger than life'

AUSTRALIAN artist Jeffrey Smart was a larger than life personality and an outgoing presence, unlike his eerie urban landscapes.

Best known for his structured cityscapes and precisionist painting style, Smart died in Italy on Friday (AEST), aged 91.

Unlike his still urban scenes, Smart was a "force of nature" in person, according to close friend and agent Philip Bacon.

"He was amusing and witty and determined," he said.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said with Smart's death the country had lost "one of its most original and brilliant creative voices".

Friend and National Gallery of Australia director Ron Radford said Smart was an opinionated man whose strong views could be polarising.

"He was always never backward in coming forward," he said.

"He had a biting wit and loved to gossip."

Smart was born in Adelaide in 1921 but permanently relocated to Italy in 1963.

He had a strict approach to his craft inspired by the discipline of the old masters.

"He was meticulous in his work ethic, and every day would be a routine," said Mr Radford.

Although he eventually settled in Tuscany, Smart considered himself an Australian living abroad and made regular visits back to his homeland.

Smart was with his partner Ermes De Zan when he died.

A funeral will be held in Italy next week.

23.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

European stocks continue slump

EUROPEAN stock markets briefly rebounded as investors fished for bargains but then resumed a steep slump driven by the Federal Reserve's plans to cut easy-money stimulus.

In midday trading, London's benchmark FTSE 100 was up over one per cent, with the Paris CAC and Frankfurt's DAX 30 also showing significant gains.

But those gains fizzled after Wall Street reopened, with London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares closing down 0.70 per cent to 6,116.17 points.

In Frankfurt the DAX 30 index fell 1.76 per cent to 7,789.24 points, while in Paris the CAC 40 dropped 1.11 per cent to 3,658.04 points.

Milan slumped 1.89 per cent and Madrid shed 1.56 per cent.

"After the declines seen in the past two days we've seen an attempt at a relief rally today, though it hasn't been enough to prevent the fifth weekly decline in a row for European equity markets," said CMC Markets UK analyst Michael Hewson.

All three main European indices had tumbled on Thursday by around 3.0 per cent after the Fed signalled it may begin winding down its massive bond-buying policy, which is more commonly known as quantitative easing (QE).

The European single currency slid to $1.3125, from $1.3225 late in New York on Thursday.

In commodity markets, gold climbed to $1,295.25 an ounce in London, after slumping in Asian trading hours to $1,269.45 -- which was the lowest level since mid-September 2010.

Gold had traded around $1,366 an ounce before the Fed's announcement on Wednesday sent the dollar climbing.

"Gold prices tumbled... with no large physical buyers or investors in sight," said Andrey Kryuchenkov, analyst at Russian financial group VTB Capital.

The precious metal had been hit by a rising dollar, making dollar-priced gold more expensive for buyers using rival currencies, thereby weighing on demand.

Gold fell also on receding inflationary concerns. Investors often buy gold as a hedge against inflation, and many analysts see QE stimulus as stoking inflationary pressures.

Investor sentiment has additionally been rocked this week by poor Chinese economic manufacturing data.

The losses are part of a global correction in equities and commodities, which had enjoyed strong rallies since the Fed unveiled its bond-buying scheme in September.

Tokyo began the day two per cent lower, extending Thursday's slump, but it reversed course in the afternoon thanks to the dollar rally and closed 1.66 per cent higher.

Hong Kong lost 0.10 per cent and Shanghai shed 0.16 per cent. Chinese shares pared earlier losses after reports the country's central bank had pumped billions of dollars into several lenders to ease a liquidity crisis.

Wall Street seemed to have finally stabilised in opening trade on Friday, after two days of heavy losses, but by midday had reversed initial gains.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.30 per cent to 14,714.77 points, the broad-based S&P 500 lost 0.48 per cent to 1,580.63 points, and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 1.03 per cent to 3,329.99 points.

On Thursday the Dow lost nearly 354 points, or 2.3 per cent, to finish at 14,758.32 points, to chalk up the blue chip index's largest points loss since November 9, 2011.

The plunge followed one per cent losses on Wednesday sparked by Chairman Ben Bernanke's statement that the Fed could begin pulling back its $85 billion-a-month stimulus program late this year and wind it up by mid-2014.

"Optimism was dealt a severe blow as investors continued to grapple with the announcement that stimulus measures from the US could end in the middle of 2014," added Spreadex trader Shavaz Dhalla.

"Investors seemed to be astonished by the announcement despite the fact that officials have been alluding to the possibility in recent times."

23.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Illegal transfers cost Japanese bank $270m

NEW York state has hit Japan's largest bank, the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi-UFJ, with a $US250 million ($A270 million) fine for handling money transfers that violated sanctions on Iran as well as Sudan and Myanmar.

The state's Department of Financial Services (DFS) said Mitsubishi-UFJ moved billions of dollars through its New York branch between 2002 and 2007 for state and private entities in Iran, Sudan and Myanmar, including entities on the US Treasury's blacklist.

In that period banking services and money transfers fell under US sanctions on the three countries.

To hide them, the DFS said the bank employees "systematically" removed information from wire transfer messages that could have identified the parties involved.

In all, the bank handled nearly 28,000 illegal transactions worth $100 billion in violation of the law, according to the DFS.

"We have and will continue to take a hard line in rooting out misconduct at banks that threatens our national security," Benjamin Lawsky, the state superintendent of financial services, said in a statement.

"Whenever and wherever we uncover serious wrongdoing, we will take strong enforcement action to protect our country from money laundering, terrorism, and other dangerous misdeeds."

The bank agreed to the fine and to boost its compliance procedures and controls to prevent future violations, New York said in the statement.

The bank said in a statement that it had identified the violations itself in 2007, cooperated with the authorities, and "voluntarily and promptly ceased the practices."

Last year London-based Standard Chartered Bank was fined $667 million by federal and New York state authorities for permitting hundreds of billions of dollars to be laundered through its US branch by clients from Iran, Myanmar, Libya and Sudan, in violation of US sanctions.

And earlier this week New York authorities fined a unit of accountancy Deloitte $10 million for its poor oversight in monitoring Standard Chartered's compliance with sanctions restrictions.

23.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Experts to re-examine Knox DNA clues

CONTRADICTIONS and illogical conclusions in the ruling that freed US student Amanda Knox from jail mean DNA evidence will be re-examined from scratch and witnesses may be re-heard, her lawyer says.

"We were very surprised, we took it very badly," Luciano Ghirga said in reference to a damning report released by Italy's highest appeals court explaining why it quashed the acquittal of Knox and her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito.

"The new court will re-examine all the evidence from the very start, with fresh expert evaluation and possibly fresh testimony from witnesses," he said.

"We are ready to fight, to answer every challenge point by point," he added.

Knox and Sollecito - originally sentenced to 26 and 25 years in prison for sexually abusing and killing Knox's British housemate Meredith Kercher - were acquitted by an appeals court in Perugia in 2011 after four years behind bars.

In March, however, Italy's highest appeals court overturned the acquittal and ordered a retrial in a Florence appeals court, citing "numerous examples of shortcomings, contradictions and incoherencies" in the original appeal ruling.

The 74-page report accused the judges of glazing over clues and insisted the prosecution's claim from the original trial - that the grizzly murder was the result of "an erotic game that spun out of control" - was a valid hypothesis.

"We had gone beyond that theory, proved there was nothing to it," Ghirga said, while Sollecito's lawyer Giulia Bongiorno added: "If there was an erotic game, most certainly Raffaele Sollecito and Amanda Knox were not part of it."

Both Knox and Sollecito face a retrial in a Florence court, although no date has yet been set and Italy cannot compel the Seattle-born student to return.

23.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

IMF says Spanish recession 'may end soon'

SPAIN'S biting recession may end soon but the outlook is tough and Madrid must do more to battle the country's unacceptably high unemployment rate, the IMF has warned.

Spain's economy, still reeling from a 2008 property market crash, fell into a double-dip recession in 2011 and the unemployment rate has since soared to more than 27 per cent.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's conservative government has pursued an austerity policy even in the face of mass protests in the streets, but it now says the recession is close to bottoming out.

Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said on Tuesday that the country was "coming out of the recession" and the previous day Budget Minister Cristobal Montoro said the economy was at a turning point.

The International Monetary Fund, in an annual review of the eurozone's fourth-largest economy, agreed that the contraction may be coming to an end.

But it cautioned on Wednesday that tough times lay ahead.

"While there are signs the economic contraction may end soon, the outlook remains difficult," the Washington-based Fund said in a report.

The IMF said it expected the Spanish economy to start to grow later this year and to pick up to a pace of one per cent in the medium term, with only "limited" gains in employment.

23.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Italy court jails Dolce & Gabbana duo

AN Italian court has sentenced fashion house duo Dolce & Gabbana to one year and eight months in prison for tax evasion of around one billion euros ($A1.41 billion), according to media reports.

Lawyers for Dolce and Gabbana, whose celebrity clients include Beyonce and Madonna, immediately said they will be appealing, and under Italian law the sentence will be suspended in the meantime.

Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana were accused of having transferred control of their brands to a shell company in Luxembourg in 2004 and 2005 to avoid paying Italian taxes.

Prosecutors had argued that setting up the Luxembourg company Gado -- an acronym of the surnames of the two designers -- while the company was operating out of Italy was a bid to defraud the state.

In her closing speech, prosecutor Laura Pedio said there was "rock-solid proof" that the duo had committed "sophisticated tax fraud".

She said Gado was "a sort of cloud with the consistency of gas," while fellow prosecutor Gaetano Ruta said it was "an artificial construction the aim of which was to get a tax advantage".

Investigators completed a probe into the designers, as well as five other people, in 2010 and the case was dismissed in April 2011 but reopened in November last year and went to trial.

Founded in 1985, Dolce & Gabbana employs more than 3000 people and has 250 shops in 40 countries around the world.

23.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

UK deputy speaker in more assault claims

A DEPUTY speaker of Britain's lower house of parliament, who is already facing accusations of rape and sexual assault, has been re-arrested on three counts of indecent assault.

Nigel Evans, 55, an MP in Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative Party, was first arrested in May and released on bail.

Returning to a police station on Wednesday as part of his bail conditions, he was told he faced additional allegations. All the claims involve men in their 20s.

"A 55-year-old man from Pendleton in Lancashire (northwest England) has today answered his bail following his arrest in May on suspicion of rape and sexual assault," police said.

"He has subsequently been further arrested on suspicion of three further offences of indecent assault."

Evans' original arrest last month stunned parliament, where the openly gay MP is a popular figure and well-liked by MPs across the political spectrum.

He had previously dismissed the first set of allegations as "completely false", and said they had been made by two people he had "regarded as friends".

"Clearly we want closure of this as soon as possible and I carry on assisting this inquiry fully and openly," Evans said outside Preston police station in Lancashire on Wednesday.

"I continue to refute all allegations," he said, adding that he was "extremely grateful" for all the support he had received from family, friends and constituents.

He was released on bail until September 10 pending further inquiries.

The original incidents were alleged to have happened between July 2009 and March 2013 in Pendleton, where Evans lives in his constituency.

The new allegations are said to have occurred in Blackpool on the Lancashire coast, and London, between 2003 and 2011. Police did not give any further details.

23.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Iceland holds 'informal' talks on Snowden

ICELAND says it has held informal talks with an intermediary of US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden who reportedly may want to seek political asylum there.

"A representative of his has, to my knowledge... had some informal discussions with some employees of a couple of ministries, but no formal discussions," Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson said during a visit to Stockholm.

He said that Snowden, who is holed up in Hong Kong after blowing the lid on a vast US electronic surveillance program, would need to be in Iceland in order to apply for asylum.

"So since he's not in the country it's not for me to comment on presently," he said.

Interior Minister Hanna Kristjansdottir told public broadcaster RUV on Tuesday that the government had been approached by a spokesman for the WikiLeaks website, Kristinn Hrafnsson, who wanted to "discuss the matter with a representative of the ministry".

"He got a meeting where the matter was discussed," she said.

She said however that the government did not feel bound by a 2010 resolution by the Icelandic parliament seeking to make the country a safe haven for journalists and whistleblowers from around the globe.

"The resolution is not a part of the laws that apply to asylum seekers," she said.

In an interview with British newspaper the Guardian on June 10, Snowden described Iceland as a country that shared his values.

However, observers say the new centre-right coalition in Reykjavik may be less willing to anger the United States than its leftist predecessor.

Former US government contractor Snowden, 29, fled to Hong Kong on May 20 but the United States has yet to file any formal extradition request.

23.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Turkey PM claims victory over protests

TURKISH Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has claimed victory over anti-government protesters after a heavy crackdown, as police raided homes and arrested dozens of demonstrators in a bid to stamp out nearly three weeks of unrest.

After a weekend of clashes sparked by the eviction of protesters from Istanbul's Gezi Park, the focal point of the protests, demonstrators have struggled to regroup and police have since fought only sporadic battles with smaller groups of demonstrators across the country.

On Monday night, riot police in the capital Ankara briefly fired tear gas and water cannon at protesters who hurled back stones and hid behind makeshift barricades, but there were no other reports of confrontations.

In Istanbul, dozens of demonstrators switched to silent protests, standing still in quiet defiance in the main Taksim Square located next to Gezi Park.

As the protests appeared to lose their intensity, Erdogan said he had overcome the crisis, seen as the biggest challenge yet to his Islamic-rooted government's decade-long rule.

"Our democracy has been tested again and came out victoriously," the premier told members of his ruling Justice and Development party (AKP) to roaring applause.

"The people and the AKP government have foiled the plot ... hatched by traitors and their foreign accomplices."

Confident he has weathered the storm, he warned against any resurgence of the protests.

"From now on, there will be no question of showing any tolerance to people or organisations who engage in violent acts."

His comments came as police carried out raids at homes across the country, detaining over 100 demonstrators.

Meanwhile, Hurriyet Daily News reported that the justice ministry was working on legislation to regulate social media.

Erdogan lashed out at Twitter at the start of the unrest, branding it a "troublemaker" and accusing the online messaging service of spreading "lies".

Turkey's crisis began when a sit-in to save Gezi's 600 trees from being razed prompted a brutal police response on May 31.

23.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Vic police misleading on abuse: church

THE Catholic Church has hit back at claims that not a single case of child sex abuse was reported to Victorian police.

Peter O'Callaghan, QC, the independent commissioner in charge of the Catholic Church's Melbourne-based complaints system, has submitted to the state's child sex abuse inquiry that Victorian police had told "blatant untruths", News Limited reports.

He said a great deal of police evidence was "misconceived, misleading and damagingly wrong".

Deputy Police Commissioner Graham Ashton had previously submitted to the inquiry that police had not "had a single referral of a child sex abuse allegation by the Catholic Church", claims that have formed the defining evidence of the investigation.

Mr O'Callaghan submitted that of 304 complaints made to him to June 30 last year, 97 were reported to police, 115 related to offenders who were already dead, nine were for offenders who were overseas and 76 complainants were encouraged by him to go to police, News Limited reported on Wednesday.

He also detailed cases from 1997 and 1999 when he arranged for victims of abuse to be interviewed by police, and charges were laid.

Mr O'Callaghan claims there was constant contact between him, police and the church.

He also refuted police claims that victims of abuse were required to sign confidentiality agreements on their complaints, saying they were free to discuss with anyone the facts and circumstances of the abuse and any compensation paid.

A committee spokeswoman told News Limited that all evidence to the inquiry would be considered.

She said serious penalties awaited anyone who gave false or misleading evidence.

23.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Gaddafi son's lawyer blasts Libya

A LAWYER for a son of ousted dictator Muammar Gaddafi has accused Libyan authorities of showing a "blatant disregard" for the International Criminal Court by announcing they will put Seif al-Islam Gaddafi on trial in August.

In an urgent filing to the Hague-based court on Tuesday, British lawyer John Jones is asking appeals judges to reject Libya's request to suspend an order that Tripoli surrender Seif al-Islam to the court.

Libyan authorities are appealing the international court's right to try Gaddafi's one-time heir apparent, saying that he should face justice at home.

Jones says that Seif al-Islam could be executed in Libya before the appeal is completed if he is not handed over to the court.

Libyan prosecutors on Monday said Seif al-Islam and others will go on trial in August.

23.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Korean Air orders 11 Boeing long-haul jets

BOEING has announced that Korean Air has agreed to buy five 747-8 jumbo jets and six 777 planes in a deal worth $US3.6 billion ($A3.79 billion) at list prices, adding to an already strong order book at the Paris Air Show.

The US aviation giant on Tuesday said the agreement for the long-haul aircraft was not a firm order, adding it would work with the South Korean airline to finalise the deal.

It caps a highly successful day for Boeing at the world's largest air show, where the US firm traditionally vies with arch-rival Airbus for supremacy in the number of orders.

Earlier Tuesday, Boeing launched the biggest version of its next-generation Dreamliner family with more than 100 orders for the 787-10 plane from five airlines and leasing companies around the world.

A 787-10 costs $US290 million at catalogue prices, which would mean the contracts were worth $US29.6 billion, although hard negotiation in the airline industry usually results in big discounts from list prices.

Korean Air's decision to buy five 747-8s will be particularly welcome at Boeing, as the modernised version of the popular jumbo jet has not been faring well.

23.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

At least 50 plots foiled by spy programs

US surveillance efforts have foiled more than 50 potential terrorist events since the 2001 attacks, the head of a US spy agency argues, defending the programs as vital to national security.

"These programs are immensely valuable for protecting our nation and securing the security of our allies," said General Keith Alexander, director of the secretive National Security Agency, in the latest bid by the government to deflect criticism of the telephone and internet snooping programs that came to light last week.

"In recent years the information gathered from these programs provided the US government with critical leads to help prevent over 50 potential terrorist events in more than 20 countries around the world."

Alexander said "at least 10 of these events included homeland-based threats".

The NSA chief told the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday that he would be providing information on the incidents foiled since the September 11, 2001 attacks.

"It's over 50 cases," he said, adding that the exact number was still being reviewed.

He said that details of four incidents were being made public, including plots to bomb the New York Stock Exchange and the subway system in New York.

Alexander also said the programs had a sound legal foundation with oversight by courts and Congress.

"I believe we have achieved the security and relative safety in a way that does not compromise the privacy and civil liberties of our citizens," he said.

Alexander and other officials appeared at the hearing to discuss the firestorm after the release of news reports disclosing the vast data gathering of data of phone records and monitoring of internet communications.

23.46 | 0 komentar | Read More