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			<title><![CDATA[Officials investigating death of Puerto Rico bank executive]]></title>
			<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:11:40 +0000</pubDate>
			<link><![CDATA[http://news.terra.com/officials-investigating-death-of-puerto-rico-bank-executive,fa0f30b5c455f310VgnCLD2000000dc6eb0aRCRD.html]]></link>
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			<content><![CDATA[The FBI is investigating allegations that high-ranking bank officials in Puerto Rico conspired to have a former Doral Bank executive killed after he claimed he uncovered fraud, the U.S. attorney for the district of Puerto Rico said on Tuesday. Maurice Spagnoletti, 56, was shot multiple times while driving home from work to the fashionable Condado beachfront district in rush-hour traffic in June 2011. Authorities have described the shooting as an apparent contract killing, but have made no arrests. "We have had some leads, but not enough to bring charges. That's why we have been placing more emphasis on this case. It is very important to us," said U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodriguez, who added that the FBI was investigating the Spagnoletti shooting. Spagnoletti's family filed a wrongful death and racketeering lawsuit on Friday against the chief executive and four other high-ranking officials at the bank where he worked at the time of his death. Spagnoletti was chief operating officer at Doral Bank, when he uncovered alleged fraudulent accounting and improper payments by the bank, according to the lawsuit filed by his widow and daughter. U.S. officials will examine the information in the lawsuit, Rodriguez said. "All angles are being investigated ... Nothing is being discarded," Rodriguez said. Doral Financial Corporation, the bank's holding company, issued a statement saying the lawsuit "is false, frivolous and has absolutely no legal basis." It said the bank "has been fully cooperating with the investigating authorities and we will continue to aid the investigation, as we have done since it was started." Spagnoletti received warnings and threats after he sought to have a senior bank employee dismissed for allegedly making hundreds of thousands of dollars in improper payments, the lawsuit said. Doral Bank has 26 branches in Puerto Rico, Florida and New York and nearly $6 billion in assets. It is Puerto Rico's sixth largest bank, and second largest mortgage lender. (Reporting by Reuters in San Juan; Additional reporting and editing by David Adams; Editing by Stacey Joyce)]]></content>
			<description><![CDATA[The FBI is investigating allegations that high-ranking bank officials in Puerto Rico conspired to have a former Doral Bank executive killed after he claimed he uncovered fraud, the U.S. attorney for the district of Puerto Rico said on Tuesday....]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Four from U.S. forces killed in attack in Afghanistan]]></title>
			<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:57:34 +0000</pubDate>
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			<content><![CDATA[Four from U.S. forces were killed in an attack on Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, a U.S. official said on Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity, just as the United States prepares for talks this week with the Taliban. The official said insurgents attacked the base with some kind of indirect fire, leaving open the possibility it was hit by rockets or mortar rounds. No further details were immediately available. (Reporting by David Alexander, writing by Phil Stewart)]]></content>
			<description><![CDATA[Four from U.S. forces were killed in an attack on Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, a U.S. official said on Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity, just as the United States prepares for talks this week with the Taliban....]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Four from U.S. forces killed in attack in Afghanistan]]></title>
			<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:56:17 +0000</pubDate>
			<link><![CDATA[http://news.terra.com/four-from-us-forces-killed-in-attack-in-afghanistan,62de3d49d455f310VgnCLD2000000ec6eb0aRCRD.html]]></link>
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			<content><![CDATA[Four from U.S. forces were killed in an attack on Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, a U.S. official said on Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity, just as the United States prepares for talks this week with the Taliban. The official said insurgents attacked the base with some kind of indirect fire, leaving open the possibility it was hit by rockets or mortar rounds. No further details were immediately available. (Reporting by David Alexander, writing by Phil Stewart)]]></content>
			<description><![CDATA[Four from U.S. forces were killed in an attack on Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, a U.S. official said on Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity, just as the United States prepares for talks this week with the Taliban....]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Argentine court throws out key part of judicial reform law]]></title>
			<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:06:26 +0000</pubDate>
			<link><![CDATA[http://news.terra.com/argentine-court-throws-out-key-part-of-judicial-reform-law,36be30b5c455f310VgnCLD2000000dc6eb0aRCRD.html]]></link>
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			<content><![CDATA[Argentina's Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down a key part of a judicial reform law championed by President Cristina Fernandez that would have mandated the election of members of the board that chooses federal judges. The reform - which Fernandez said was needed to "democratize the judiciary" - passed Congress last month and has been a lightning rod for criticism of the president as talk swirls of a possible bid by her supporters to seek a constitutional change to allow her to seek a third term. She was re-elected in 2011 on promises of increasing the role of government in Latin America's third biggest economy. Critics said the judicial reform would leave judges vulnerable to political influence. Six of the Supreme Court's seven judges agreed to strike the provision on grounds that it was unconstitutional. Justice Minister Julio Alak said he would respect the court's decision. "The process of democratization takes time," he told local television. (Reporting by Nicolas Misculin and Walter Bianchi; Writing by Hugh Bronstein; Editing by Peter Cooney)]]></content>
			<description><![CDATA[Argentina's Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down a key part of a judicial reform law championed by President Cristina Fernandez that would have mandated the election of members of the board that chooses federal judges....]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[DreamWorks says TV revenue to hit $200M by 2015]]></title>
			<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:53:16 +0000</pubDate>
			<link><![CDATA[http://news.terra.com/dreamworks-says-tv-revenue-to-hit-200m-by-2015,5a9e30b5c455f310VgnCLD2000000dc6eb0aRCRD.html]]></link>
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			<content><![CDATA[DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. says its new deal to provide original TV shows to Netflix will help it double the revenue it gets from TV shows to $200 million by 2015. DreamWorks expects $100 million in TV revenue this year. The Glendale, Calif., company released the figures in a call with analysts Tuesday. The deal to supply Netflix Inc. with 300 hours of new TV shows over several years was announced Monday. It allows Netflix to debut the shows in the 40 markets where the video company operates. DreamWorks also announced Tuesday that it will supply new TV shows to German broadcaster Super RTL, where Netflix doesn't operate. DreamWorks shares are up 44 cents to $24.75 in aftermarket trading. The stock has gained 6.6 percent this week.]]></content>
			<description><![CDATA[DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. says its new deal to provide original TV shows to Netflix will help it double the revenue it gets from TV shows to $200 million by 2015....]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Mother in upscale New York suburb indicted as marijuana dealer]]></title>
			<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:47:35 +0000</pubDate>
			<link><![CDATA[http://news.terra.com/mother-in-upscale-new-york-suburb-indicted-as-marijuana-dealer,5e8e30b5c455f310VgnCLD2000000dc6eb0aRCRD.html]]></link>
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			<content><![CDATA[A mother of three in an upscale New York suburb was indicted on Tuesday on charges she ran a sophisticated marijuana operation, federal law enforcement officials said. A federal grand jury indicted Andrea Sanderlin, 45, of Scarsdale, New York, a suburb 20 miles outside of Manhattan, said Loretta Lynch, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and other officials in a media release. Law enforcement agents seized 2,800 marijuana plants and a large quantity of dried marijuana worth an estimated $3 million from a Queens warehouse. Sanderlin is accused of operating the facility which had state-of-the-art lighting, irrigation, electrical and ventilation systems and cost more than $9,000 a month to run. "There's really no difference whether you're a suburban mom growing marijuana in a warehouse in Queens, or a cartel member making cocaine in the jungles of Colombia," said agent James Hayes, Jr. of the Department of Homeland Security. Sanderlin's lawyer, Joel Winograd, was not immediately available for comment. If convicted, she faces a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and up to $10 million in fines. After the mother of three was arrested last month, New York City tabloids compared her lifestyle - living in a Spanish-style mansion, driving a Mercedes SUV, horseback riding in equestrian gear - to the storyline of "Weeds," a television series about a suburban mom who becomes a pot dealer. "Sanderlin could have focused her talents on building a legitimate business enterprise to support her family and serve as a role model for her children," Lynch said in the statement. "Instead, she allegedly chose to inhabit the shadowy underworld of large-scale drug dealers, using drug proceeds to maintain her family's facade of upper middle class stability," the prosecutor said. (Reporting by Barbara Goldberg; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)]]></content>
			<description><![CDATA[A mother of three in an upscale New York suburb was indicted on Tuesday on charges she ran a sophisticated marijuana operation, federal law enforcement officials said....]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Nigeria Islamists kill 9 students in school attack: medic]]></title>
			<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:06:22 +0000</pubDate>
			<link><![CDATA[http://news.terra.com/nigeria-islamists-kill-9-students-in-school-attack-medic,bd3e30b5c455f310VgnCLD2000000dc6eb0aRCRD.html]]></link>
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			<content><![CDATA[Suspected Islamist militants opened fire on a school in Nigeria's northeastern city of Maiduguri on Tuesday, killing nine students, witnesses and a medical worker said, the second deadly attack on schools in three days. Witness Ibrahim Mohammed said he was taking exams in a classroom at Ansarudeen School when gunmen stormed the building, opening fire at random. "I saw five students sitting the exams killed on the spot. Four others were killed as they were entering the school premises," he said by telephone, still shaking with fear. Mortuary attendant Alhaji Baba at the State Specialists morgue in Maiduguri told Reuters he counted nine corpses come in after the attack. The military was not immediately available for comment. Boko Haram, whose name roughly translates as "Western education is sinful" and is seen as the biggest security threat to Africa's top oil producer, has attacked several schools in the past. Seven students, two teachers and two insurgents were killed when suspected Boko Haram militants attacked a school in the northeastern town of Damaturu on Sunday. The two attacks have raised fears that a month-long offensive by government troops has merely pushed militants into hiding, from where they can still launch devastating operations. Nigerian forces say their offensive has enabled them to wrest back control of the remote northeast from Boko Haram. They say they have destroyed key bases and arrested more than 150 suspected insurgents in the states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa - all covered by a state of emergency declared by President Goodluck Jonathan last month. But critics of the military strategy, including several opposition politicians and some northern governors, will see the upsurge in violence as evidence the north's crisis cannot be solved by force alone. In a separate attack, armed bandits attacked Kizera village in northwest Nigeria's Zamfara state on Thursday, killing at least 32 people, local police chief Usman Gwary said. Insecurity in the north caused by the Boko Haram insurgency has been a boon for criminal gangs and rival ethnic militias with scores to settle, security sources say. (Reporting by Lanre Ola and Ibrahim Mshelizza; Additional reporting by Isaac Abrak; Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)]]></content>
			<description><![CDATA[Suspected Islamist militants opened fire on a school in Nigeria's northeastern city of Maiduguri on Tuesday, killing nine students, witnesses and a medical worker said, the second deadly attack on schools in three days....]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[FBI releases new video of suspect in 2008 Times Square bombing]]></title>
			<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:50:30 +0000</pubDate>
			<link><![CDATA[http://news.terra.com/fbi-releases-new-video-of-suspect-in-2008-times-square-bombing,6cfd3d49d455f310VgnCLD2000000ec6eb0aRCRD.html]]></link>
			<guid><![CDATA[http://news.terra.com/fbi-releases-new-video-of-suspect-in-2008-times-square-bombing,6cfd3d49d455f310VgnCLD2000000ec6eb0aRCRD.html]]></guid>
			<content><![CDATA[Federal authorities announced a $65,000 reward on Tuesday in the unsolved 2008 case of the Times Square bomber who tried to destroy a military recruiting station before escaping on a bicycle. Authorities released new videos of the suspect and a picture of the bomb. They said the explosion - which went off in one of the city's busiest intersections - might be related to two earlier bombings in New York, one at the British Consulate in 2005 and another at the Mexican Consulate in 2007. "Someone, somewhere, knows something about a bomber who's still on the run," George Venizelos, the FBI's assistant director-in-charge, said. "We're asking for the public's assistance in finding those responsible and encouraging the public to look closely at these photos and video, which could be the key to breaking the case." The Times Square bomb exploded about 3:45 a.m. on March 6, 2008, at the Armed Forces Recruiting Station, a small, stand-alone building. No one was wounded and the blast caused only minor damage, according to the FBI and the New York City Police Department. The suspect, who rode a blue Ross bicycle, dismounted, placed the bomb at the recruiting station, lit the fuse and fled, authorities said. The bicycle was later found in a dumpster near Madison Avenue and 38th Street. "The bomber narrowly missed killing or injuring passers-by who can be seen clearly in the vicinity, moments before the blast," New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. Authorities said the bomb was made of an ammunition can of the sort commonly found on the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan. The can was filled halfway with black powder and detonated using a time fuse. The consulate bombs were similarly delivered by someone on a bicycle and detonated between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m., authorities said. The videos show the suspect wearing a gray sweatshirt and pants of an unknown color. The suspect's height, weight, age and race are not known, authorities said. The suspect appeared to be working alone but could have had a lookout or a surveillance team of as many as five other people in Times Square at the time of the attack, authorities said. The photos and video are being displayed on digital billboards in Times Square and throughout the Northeast. The FBI and the NYPD will be using the Twitter hashtag #BikeBomber to disseminate information about the attacks and to solicit information. The FBI can also be reached at 212-384-1000. Tipsters may remain anonymous. (Editing by Scott Malone and Leslie Adler)]]></content>
			<description><![CDATA[Federal authorities announced a $65,000 reward on Tuesday in the unsolved 2008 case of the Times Square bomber who tried to destroy a military recruiting station before escaping on a bicycle....]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[New Hampshire nears approval of medical marijuana law]]></title>
			<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:41:37 +0000</pubDate>
			<link><![CDATA[http://news.terra.com/new-hampshire-nears-approval-of-medical-marijuana-law,1f0e30b5c455f310VgnCLD2000000dc6eb0aRCRD.html]]></link>
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			<content><![CDATA[New Hampshire is set to become the final state in New England to allow medical marijuana after negotiators from the Republican-controlled Senate and Democratic-controlled House agreed Tuesday on a bill backed by Governor Maggie Hassan. The law would allow up to four marijuana dispensaries to open as soon as 2015. Patients with cancer, HIV, glaucoma and other diseases would be eligible to purchase the drug with state-issued identity cards from a physician or nurse practitioner certifying that they need it to soothe pain. "Allowing doctors to provide relief to patients through the use of appropriately regulated and dispensed medical marijuana is the compassionate and right policy for the State of New Hampshire," Hassan, a Democrat, said in a statement. The compromise "addresses the concerns that I have heard and expressed throughout this session, and provides the level of regulation needed for the use of medical marijuana," she added. Both legislative bodies must vote on the compromise language in the coming weeks, though that is seen as a formality given Hassan's support. A provision in a version of the bill passed by the New Hampshire House that would have allowed patients to cultivate their own marijuana was stripped from the compromise bill, said Matt Simon, a New Hampshire-based legislative analyst for the Marijuana Policy Project, which supported the bill. The compromise bill also bars the use of medical marijuana for treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, and limits most medical providers to treating five medical marijuana patients at any one time. "It's very restrictive in limiting access to only four points of distribution," said Simon. "We may find that's not sufficient access, but it's at least a start" The move to legalize medical marijuana in New Hampshire advanced after Governor John Lynch, a Democrat, left office in January after eight years. He had repeatedly vetoed medical marijuana bills passed by the legislature. The state, known for a libertarian streak, is unusual in that such measures have repeatedly won support from large numbers of Republicans in the state's legislature. Nationwide, 19 states plus the District of Columbia have passed medical marijuana laws, according to the pro-legalization National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. (Editing by Scott Malone and Leslie Adler)]]></content>
			<description><![CDATA[New Hampshire is set to become the final state in New England to allow medical marijuana after negotiators from the Republican-controlled Senate and Democratic-controlled House agreed Tuesday on a bill backed by Governor Maggie Hassan....]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Gravestone of late Mayor Koch had birth date wrong]]></title>
			<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:20:33 +0000</pubDate>
			<link><![CDATA[http://news.terra.com/gravestone-of-late-mayor-koch-had-birth-date-wrong,9acd3d49d455f310VgnCLD2000000ec6eb0aRCRD.html]]></link>
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			<content><![CDATA[Former Mayor Ed Koch was 88 years old when he died in February, despite what his gravestone said. A worker at the Trinity Cemetery in Manhattan noticed last week that the gravestone's inscription shaved 18 years off the mayor's life after a stonecutter transposed two digits in his birth year, a Trinity spokeswoman said on Tuesday. The correct year of 1924 was mistakenly carved as 1942, she said. "It was a simple human mistake," said Tommy Flynn, owner of Flynn Funeral & Cremation Memorial Centers, which worked with Koch to create his funeral monument. "Did you ever write a phone number down wrong?" Flynn said he was horrified to get the call from the cemetery alerting him to the error. "I've had better days," he said, adding that the inscription had been re-engraved. The stone has been in place for several years since Koch bought the burial plot, but the inscription of the dates was only added last week. George Arzt, a long-time spokesman for Koch, said the late mayor's family and friends were unperturbed by the mistake but added that he could not say the same for Flynn. "He was beside himself in embarrassment over the error," Arzt said. Koch, however, known for his love of the spotlight, would have enjoyed being back in the news, he said. "He would have also said, I want the record corrected!'" Arzt said, mimicking Koch's distinctive New York accent. "He was proud of his age, so he's probably having a good chuckle," Arzt said. Koch, a native of the Bronx, was mayor of New York City from 1978 until 1989. His trademark question to New Yorkers was "How'm I doin'?" (Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst; Editing by Carol Bishopric)]]></content>
			<description><![CDATA[Former Mayor Ed Koch was 88 years old when he died in February, despite what his gravestone said....]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Ohio residents held disabled woman in slavery, government charges]]></title>
			<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:11:34 +0000</pubDate>
			<link><![CDATA[http://news.terra.com/ohio-residents-held-disabled-woman-in-slavery-government-charges,afcd30b5c455f310VgnCLD2000000dc6eb0aRCRD.html]]></link>
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			<content><![CDATA[Three Ohio residents are accused of holding a cognitively disabled woman and her daughter against their will and forcing the woman to perform physical labor for them, threatening her with snakes if she didn't comply, authorities said on Tuesday. The trio, Jordie Callahan, Jessica Hunt and Daniel Brown, conspired to beat the woman and her child, threatened them with snakes and forced them to sleep in a padlocked room with a large iguana, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The arrests on Tuesday came a little over a month after the discovery in Cleveland of three young woman who had been held prisoner for about a decade in a home owned by Ariel Castro, a former school bus driver who has since been charged with rape, kidnapping and murder. "We are yet again reminded that modern-day slavery exists all around us," Steven M. Dettelbach, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, said in a statement about the Ashland case. "The victims in this case endured violence, threats, sub-human living conditions and other horrific acts." Authorities said that Callahan, 26, and Hunt, 31, recruited the woman, identified only as "S.E.," and her child to live with them in their two-bedroom apartment in Ashland, about 70 miles southwest of Cleveland, along with Hunt's four young sons, numerous pit bull dogs, a poisonous coral snake and pythons. During the time of the woman's captivity between May 2011 and October 2012, Hunt used S.E.'s government benefits cards and rarely gave any money to S.E., according to the government statement. Callahan and Hunt forced S.E. to clean the house, do laundry and care for the numerous animals, authorities said. S.E. and her child initially slept on a basement concrete floor with no mattress, and later on the floor of a padlocked room upstairs. They were given only canned food or leftovers to eat, the government said. The statement also said that the conspirators injured S.E. at various times in order to obtain pain medication prescriptions for their own use. Callahan and Hunt also forced S.E. to hit her child, threatening to inflict worse harm on both of them if she didn't, and took a video of it, the government said. The child's identity was not revealed and her exact age was not given, but she was said to have been born in 2007. Callahan told S.E. that if she "messed up" or told police about her living conditions, he would show the videos to police and have her daughter taken away, according to the government. S.E.'s circumstances were discovered by authorities after she was arrested in late 2012 for shoplifting a candy bar. She asked that she to be taken to jail, saying Callahan and Hunt were "mean to her." The three were scheduled to appear at an initial hearing Tuesday afternoon. (Reporting by Kim Palmer and Mary Wisniewski; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Steve Orlofsky)]]></content>
			<description><![CDATA[Three Ohio residents are accused of holding a cognitively disabled woman and her daughter against their will and forcing the woman to perform physical labor for them, threatening her with snakes if she didn't comply, authorities said on Tuesday....]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Scientists discuss new photo-taking satellite]]></title>
			<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:08:12 +0000</pubDate>
			<link><![CDATA[http://news.terra.com/scientists-discuss-new-photo-taking-satellite,6bad3d49d455f310VgnCLD2000000ec6eb0aRCRD.html]]></link>
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			<content><![CDATA[Nearly 120 scientists and engineers from around the world are meeting in South Dakota this week to discuss operational and technical issues with collecting images from the Landsat 8 satellite. The U.S. Geological Survey's Earth Resources Observation and Science Center north of Sioux Falls collects, archives and makes available for download more than 400 data-filled images of the Earth each day. The center also partners with a network of ground stations across the globe that help download and distribute the data. More than two dozen countries are represented at this week's meetings of the Landsat Ground Station Operators Working Group and the Landsat Technical Working Group in Sioux Falls, said Steven Labahn, the center's international ground station network manager. "The international cooperators have some very local expertise and knowledge about these special areas," Labahn said "We share information that improves the entire data set." Since 1972, Landsat satellites have been snapping pictures across the globe as part of a mission to document the planet. Satellites in the fleet have helped document forest fires, tsunamis and everyday changes in the Earth's geography. NASA launched the newest addition, Landsat 8, in February, and the space agency handed over operational control of the satellite to the EROS Center a few weeks ago. Adam Lewis, representing the Australian government at the meeting, said the photos help scientists see what is happening to the planet over time. "You can measure how much bare earth there is, and that tells you how well the land's being managed, whether it's being affected by drought, how much runoff there might be into rivers and oceans," said Lewis, the National Earth Observation group leader for Geoscience Australia. Landsat 8 is working in tandem with Landsat 7, launched in 1999, to take pictures of each inch of the planet's surface every eight days. Landsat 7 continues to operate despite a faulty scan line corrector that leaves zigzag gaps in some images. Landsat 5, which dates back to 1984, worked decades past its expected mission end but began failing in November. The earlier generation satellites had limited capacity to store data, and the international ground stations were needed to regularly download information so the orbiters could keep snapping pictures. Landsat 8 has enough onboard storage to send all its images back to the South Dakota repository, but the stations are a backup in case the orbiter ever fails. "That network is standing at the ready to bring images back," Labahn said. "We wouldn't have to lose the mission or the ability to capture images globally." The international partners also use their local expertise to help calibrate the satellite's imagery, like zeroing out a bathroom scale. When the Landsat is over Australia, for instance, it should capture the darkness of the man-made Lake Argyle while recording the bright color of Lake Frome, which is a shallow salt pan. "We have nice clear atmosphere, so when the satellite's looking at those, there's no smog or other hazing to confuse the signal," Lewis said. Ground stations can also help the satellite flight operations team gain telemetry about the health of the satellite while it's on the other side of the world, he added. The new Landsat has several advantages over its still-functioning predecessor, which captures just 250 images a day. Landsat 8 boasts two new spectral bands: one to see deeper into oceans, lakes and rivers, and another to detect cirrus clouds and correct for atmospheric effects. And its infrared band is split into two, allowing for more accurate surface temperature readings. ___ Online: http://landsat.usgs.gov/ ___ Follow Dirk Lammers on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/ddlammers]]></content>
			<description><![CDATA[Nearly 120 scientists and engineers from around the world are meeting in South Dakota this week to discuss operational and technical issues with collecting images from the Landsat 8 satellite....]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[NYC to offer free phone-charging stations in parks]]></title>
			<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:05:09 +0000</pubDate>
			<link><![CDATA[http://news.terra.com/nyc-to-offer-free-phone-charging-stations-in-parks,b4ad3d49d455f310VgnCLD2000000ec6eb0aRCRD.html]]></link>
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			<content><![CDATA[It's a sight that can trigger dread: the low-battery message on your cellphone when there's no charger around. But New Yorkers needing a little extra juice will have some new options this summer. The city is teaming up with AT&T to install 25 solar-powered charging stations in parks across the five boroughs. The charges will provide a free boost to dying phones and other mobile devices. The solar technology in the "Street Charge" stations can fully charge up to 30 phones before it needs its own recharge  even with cloud cover and during the night. The idea came about after Superstorm Sandy. The storm left New Yorkers desperately searching for power to contact friends and loved ones.]]></content>
			<description><![CDATA[It's a sight that can trigger dread: the low-battery message on your cellphone when there's no charger around....]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[China says Ghana's arrest of its miners will not harm relations]]></title>
			<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:00:28 +0000</pubDate>
			<link><![CDATA[http://news.terra.com/china-says-ghanas-arrest-of-its-miners-will-not-harm-relations,e9bd30b5c455f310VgnCLD2000000dc6eb0aRCRD.html]]></link>
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			<content><![CDATA[China is determined that its relations with Ghana will not be undermined by the arrest of some 200 Chinese illegal gold miners in a crackdown by Ghanaian authorities, a senior Beijing Foreign Ministry official said on Tuesday. The arrests are a sensitive issue for China, which would want to defuse any issue that could stoke popular resentment against its citizens doing business in Africa or threaten its expanding trade relationship with the continent. "This issue of illegal mining is a disharmony in the bilateral relations but we should always have the bigger picture in mind," said Xuejun Qiu, a director in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing. He was speaking at a rare news conference that followed a week of meetings between a delegation he led and the government of President John Mahama to try to resolve the issue. Ghanaian authorities this month rounded up 202 Chinese nationals who they said were working as illegal small gold producers. They have made sporadic arrests before, but these were the first mass raids. The workers, mainly from Shang Lin County in Guangxi Zhang autonomous region in southern China, have been repatriated, the Chinese official said. A senior Ghana government official said 218 Chinese citizens had been repatriated and would now be classed as "prohibited immigrants". It was not immediately clear why he gave a different figure. Hundreds of other Chinese nationals might repatriate themselves voluntarily, the official said, but gave no further details. Authorities in Accra say Chinese citizens were not specifically targeted, but the arrests have touched a nerve in Ghana because of fears Chinese people can exploit the economic imbalance between the two countries. Ghana is one of Africa's brightest economic stars and the continent's second biggest gold miner, as well the world's number two cocoa producer. AngloGold Ashanti, which operates the flagship Obuasi mine, is the largest gold miner. China's trade with Africa is dominated by the import of African raw materials to power China's economy, Chinese involvement in infrastructure projects and the export of Chinese products to African consumers. Bilateral trade between Ghana and China stood at $5.43 billion dollars in 2012, up 56.5 percent over the previous year, according to Chinese ambassador Gong Jianzhong. "The illegal activities conducted by some of the Chinese may harm the image of the Chinese in African countries," he said. Tens of thousands of people in Ghana do illegal small-scale mining, a practice that is called "galamsey". The businesses sift tons of mud in river beds and forests to extract ore that is processed on site and sold to middlemen. (Additional reporting by Matthew Mpoke Bigg; Editing by Alison Williams)]]></content>
			<description><![CDATA[China is determined that its relations with Ghana will not be undermined by the arrest of some 200 Chinese illegal gold miners in a crackdown by Ghanaian authorities, a senior Beijing Foreign Ministry official said on Tuesday....]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Protesters jailed as they decry Republican shift in North Carolina]]></title>
			<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:56:37 +0000</pubDate>
			<link><![CDATA[http://news.terra.com/protesters-jailed-as-they-decry-republican-shift-in-north-carolina,059d3d49d455f310VgnCLD2000000ec6eb0aRCRD.html]]></link>
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			<content><![CDATA[A conservative shift by North Carolina's first Republican-led government in more than a century is drawing weekly protests to the state capital of Raleigh, but some lawmakers are defiantly standing their ground. In the latest of the "Moral Monday" demonstrations, dozens of clergy members, doctors, teachers and environmentalists trampled paper copies of legislation before being handcuffed by police officers when they refused to leave the statehouse as an act of civil disobedience. Nearly 500 people have been jailed in seven weeks of protests at the state legislature. The 84 people arrested on Monday were all released by early Tuesday, according to organizers. The protests have gained momentum since spring, when a few dozen people first rallied against the political shift to the right in a state that Barack Obama won in the 2008 presidential election but lost in 2012. The demonstration on Monday drew about 1,000 people. "They may have the votes, but we have our voices and our bodies," the Reverend William Barber, president of the state NAACP, told the crowd. "We are sowing a seed of resistance that will come up in communities all across this state and nation." Protesters argue Republican lawmakers are pushing measures that benefit the rich and hurt the vulnerable. Republicans took control of both legislative chambers in North Carolina in 2010 and were buoyed by the election last fall of the state's first Republican governor, Pat McCrory, in 20 years. The protesters' complaints cover a wide array of issues, including lawmakers' efforts to cut unemployment benefits, require identification to vote and refuse federal money to expand Medicaid under Obama's health care law. Some lawmakers have been defiant, and at times heated, in their responses to the protests. One state senator referred to the events as "Moron Monday" in a newspaper opinion column. "The circus came to the State Capitol this week, complete with clowns, a carnival barker and a sideshow," state Senator Thom Goolsby wrote in the Chatham Journal. McCrory decried the influence of "outsiders" on the group, comparing protesters to the much larger crowds that tried unsuccessfully to oust Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker in response to a 2011 law that severely limited public workers' collective bargaining rights in that state. The recent comments by politicians seemed to galvanize protesters on Monday. Raleigh attorney Mike Sigmon, 34, said he had long been a swing voter and resented being ridiculed for disagreeing with the recent actions taken by the legislature. "I've always considered myself moderate, and this was a moderate state," said Sigmon, who was arrested. "But in just the last few years this has become a conservative state. I believe in science and reason, and that's not what they're about." The protests could have a lasting impact, even if they do not sway lawmakers during the waning days of this year's legislative session, said David Meyer, a political science researcher who studies social movements. "If they inspire other people to join in and do a range of other things, these kinds of protests can make a huge difference," said Meyer, a professor at the University of California at Irvine. "But if it's just occasional street theater, even if it's regularly performed, that's not going to do that." (Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Grant McCool)]]></content>
			<description><![CDATA[A conservative shift by North Carolina's first Republican-led government in more than a century is drawing weekly protests to the state capital of Raleigh, but some lawmakers are defiantly standing their ground....]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Stuntwoman sues News Corp. over alleged phone hack]]></title>
			<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:56:09 +0000</pubDate>
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			<content><![CDATA[A woman who worked as a stunt double for Angelina Jolie sued Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. in Los Angeles on Tuesday, claiming she's a victim of a phone hacking scheme to obtain information about the actress. Eunice Huthart, of Liverpool, England, is the first person to sue the media company in the U.S. Her New York attorney, Norman Siegel, said, "This is the beginning and we're going to go one step at a time." He said the suit speaks for itself on the reasons it was filed in Los Angeles. It claimed Huthart's phone was hacked while she was working with Jolie on Hollywood films including "Mr. & Mrs. Smith." She said that was how the Sun newspaper learned that Jolie and Brad Pitt were "an item." A News Corp. spokesman declined to comment. Huthart, who became a close friend of Jolie and is the godmother to her first biological child, said she was unaware that she was a victim of the phone hackers until British police came to see her last year. She said the intrusion which removed messages from her cellphone caused distress in her family life and caused her to miss calls from Jolie. The lawsuit cited numerous references to the United Kingdom phone hacking scandal involving News Corp. companies and claims numerous grounds for damages. A monetary figure was not specified, but it asked that the companies be assessed damages based on the profits they made from the stories on Jolie. It also seeks punitive damages. The lawsuit also names as defendants News Corp. entities News International Ltd. and News Group Newspapers Ltd., and unidentified private investigators and journalists. The case is the first hacking-related lawsuit against News Corp. in the U.S. and is the culmination of a lengthy search for a plaintiff who would take on the company in a U.S. court room. Siegel, Huthart's lead lawyer, has been on the hunt for evidence of News Corp. hacking on U.S. soil since the scandal broke in July 2011. Siegel, who has represented Sept. 11 victims' families in civil cases, sent a letter nearly two years ago to the FBI demanding an inquiry into whether 9/11 victims' phones had been hacked by News Corp. journalists. Siegel was later retained by British attorney Mark Lewis, who has represented hacking victims in the U.K. Since the scandal broke in the summer of 2011, News Corp. has spent $388 million in settlements, legal fees, and other costs associated with ongoing investigations in the U.K. Last year, the company settled 36 lawsuits by hacking victims including actor Jude Law and soccer player Ashley Cole. The federal suit claims Huthart began missing telephone messages in 2004 from family, friends and others, causing damage to relationships with her daughter and husband. She said her husband began to think she was having an affair because she didn't answer her voicemail messages. She said she was particularly distressed over failing to receive messages from her young daughter who "called several times to report that she was being bullied in school in Liverpool, England," the suit said. "Plaintiff did not receive those messages and could not console her daughter," said the suit, adding that Huthart "was despondent and believed she had failed as a parent." During the filming of "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," Huthart said she lived at a home in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles with Jolie and her assistant and they became close friends. On occasion, she said Jolie would leave her messages with code names for hotels and individuals and details of times they would be meeting. The suit said she often did not get Jolie's messages because they were being intercepted by investigator Glenn Mulcaire and his alleged co- conspirators. Mulcaire was imprisoned for six months in 2007 for hacking phones on behalf of the now defunct News of The World. The suit said that it was through hacking the stunt double's phone that the Sun newspaper learned that Pitt and Jolie were "an item." The paper reported it had exclusively learned that the couple checked into a hotel posing as a married couple while plugging their movie. Once, Huthart said she missed a message from Jolie confiding that she was registered at a hotel under the name "Pocohontas," and Huthart had trouble locating her. The latest case comes at a sensitive time for the media giant controlled by Rupert Murdoch, which will spin off its publishing and newspaper arm from its more profitable TV and movie unit by the end of the month. On Friday, Murdoch also filed for divorce from his wife since 1999, Wendi Deng Murdoch. News Corp. has said that the stronger entertainment side of the company, to be called 21st Century Fox, will bear any further legal costs or civil claims related to hacking after the split, while the publishing company, to retain the name News Corp., will be liable for any criminal penalties if they arise. 21st Century Fox would also be responsible for any civil settlement involving a U.S. law that aims to prevent bribery overseas called the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. ___ AP Business Writer Ryan Nakashima contributed to this report]]></content>
			<description><![CDATA[A woman who worked as a stunt double for Angelina Jolie sued Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. in Los Angeles on Tuesday, claiming she's a victim of a phone hacking scheme to obtain information about the actress....]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Russia evacuates thousands after blasts at army munitions store]]></title>
			<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:42:21 +0000</pubDate>
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			<content><![CDATA[Some 6,000 people were evacuated in Russia's southwestern Samara region on Tuesday after ammunition explosions shook a military training area, the Emergencies Ministry said. The ministry said five explosions initially took place at the site on Tuesday evening, triggering a fire that was still causing blasts hours later. Footage aired on Russia's state television showed plumes of dark smoke rising from the site, where the ministry said some 11 million pieces of ammunition was stored. "Some 6,000 people were evacuated from a nearby village," ministry official Vladimir Stepanov said. "More than 30 people sought medical help, four of them are hospitalized." Officials said it was not clear what caused the explosions but gave no indication of foul play. (Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska; Editing by Alison Williams)]]></content>
			<description><![CDATA[Some 6,000 people were evacuated in Russia's southwestern Samara region on Tuesday after ammunition explosions shook a military training area, the Emergencies Ministry said....]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[U.N. says Libya political exclusion law likely violates rights]]></title>
			<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:51:20 +0000</pubDate>
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			<content><![CDATA[A new law in Libya that bans anyone linked to Muammar Gaddafi from government, regardless of their part in toppling the long-time leader, is arbitrary, vague and likely to violate civil and political rights, the United Nations said on Tuesday. U.N. special envoy to Libya, Tarek Mitri, told the U.N. Security Council that while it was "undeniable" the law had significant political support, the implementation of it risked further weakening Libya's already shaky state institutions. "We believe many of the criteria for exclusion are arbitrary, far-reaching, at times vague, and are likely to violate the civil and political rights of large numbers of individuals," Mitri told the 15-member council. The law was adopted on May 5 at the demand of armed factions who helped end Gaddafi's 42-year rule in 2011. Analysts fear the decision to hold the vote under duress could embolden armed groups to use force again to assert their will over congress. "This escalation in exerting pressure set a dangerous precedent in its resort to the use of military force in order to extract political concessions," Mitri told the Security Council. The heavily armed groups had besieged two ministries before the passing of the law, which came into effect on June 5 and prohibits former officials from holding any high position. It does not make provisions for those who spent decades in exile and became instrumental in toppling Gaddafi Critics and diplomats fear the law could strip the government of experienced leaders, further complicating the transition to an orderly democracy. The head of Libya's national assembly, Mohammed Magarief - an economist and former ambassador to India under Gaddafi - stepped down last month after the passage of the new law. U.N. EXPERTS TO LOOK AT GADDAFI FAMILY Mitri paid tribute to Magarief and his "distinguished record in active opposition" of Gaddafi and said "we also owe him a word of praise and respect for his dignified statesmanship as he distanced himself from the Libyan political scene." Congress members say the law could be applied to more than 20 people in the congress of around 200 members. British U.N. Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant, president of the Security Council for June, said the council had also discussed on Tuesday the whereabouts of members of Gaddafi's family. He said U.N. experts, who monitor sanctions imposed on Libya during the 2011 uprising, would look into the issue. Oman said in March it had granted asylum to some members of Gaddafi's family, two of whom are wanted by Interpol. Algeria said in the same month that the widow of the late Libyan leader and three of his children had left its territory long ago, without saying where they had gone. Mitri also told the Security Council that between 7,000 and 8,000 detainees, many of whom are sub-Saharan Africans suspected of fighting for Gaddafi, were still waiting to be charged or released. They are being held in detention centers across the country, some operated by the government and some by revolutionary brigades. "The process of transferring detainees to the authority of the state moves slowly," Mitri said. "In a number of detention centers, we have observed cases of torture," he said. "There is also evidence of deaths in custody due to torture." The U.N. human rights agency and aid groups have accused the brigades of torturing detainees. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; editing by Jackie Frank)]]></content>
			<description><![CDATA[A new law in Libya that bans anyone linked to Muammar Gaddafi from government, regardless of their part in toppling the long-time leader, is arbitrary, vague and likely to violate civil and political rights, the United Nations said on Tuesday....]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[New York police sued over surveillance of Muslims]]></title>
			<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:38:29 +0000</pubDate>
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			<content><![CDATA[The New York Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the New York Police Department over its surveillance of Muslim communities, accusing the police of trampling on religious freedoms and constitutional guarantees of equality. The surveillance by the NYPD's intelligence division has extended beyond New York City's five boroughs into neighboring New Jersey and other nearby states. The police department says that surveillance of Muslims is legal under an earlier federal court order. The lawsuit is the latest skirmish in an ongoing battle between the NYPD and civil liberties advocates over the department's aggressive policing tactics - including its stop-and-frisk practices, which are the subject of a separate federal lawsuit. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, in Brooklyn, seeks to put an end to the NYPD's surveillance of Muslims, the destruction of all records on individuals created as a result of the program and the appointment of an independent monitor to oversee the department. "When a police department turns law-abiding people into suspects because they go to a mosque and not a church or a synagogue, it violates our Constitution's guarantees of equality and religious freedom," said Hina Shamsi, director of the American Civil Liberties Union National Security Project. She called the NYPD monitoring "suspicionless surveillance" and "religious profiling." The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Muslim New Yorkers, including Asad Dandia, 20, a college student from Brooklyn who helped found a local Muslim charitable group that he said was infiltrated by an NYPD informant. NYPD chief spokesman Paul Browne said on Tuesday all the department's counter-terror tactics were lawful, and would continue. "Critics who suggest that it is unlawful for the police department to search online, visit public places, or map neighborhoods either haven't read the guidelines or are intentionally obfuscating their meaning," Browne said. "Those criticisms ... will not deter the NYPD protecting the public from those intent on killing more New Yorkers." Police officials and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg have fiercely defended the department's surveillance program, and polls have shown that New Yorkers overwhelmingly believe the NYPD has been effective in combating terrorism. The NYPD has beefed up its intelligence-gathering operations since two hijacked planes were crashed into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Those hijackers claimed Islamic principles, though many Muslim leaders condemned the attack, which stands as the deadliest attack on U.S. soil. POLICE DEFEND PRACTICE Last year, the NYPD acknowledged that it's Demographics Unit - created in the wake of the September 11 attacks - engages in monitoring of Muslim communities in New York City, as well as the surrounding region, including mosques in Newark, New Jersey. and among Muslim student associations at colleges in Connecticut and Pennsylvania. The police department has said its surveillance is legal under a federal court order known as the Handschu agreement, which is based on a 1971 case brought against the department by an activist over NYPD surveillance of Vietnam War-era protesters. The guidelines, formalized in 1985, sharply restricted undercover operations in which police monitored political or religious groups and required that police have "specific information" that a person or group is "engaged in, about to engage in, or has threatened to engage in conduct which constitutes a crime." In 2002, the NYPD argued in a federal court affidavit that the guidelines were too restrictive in the post-9/11 era and should be loosened. In an affidavit, the department's NYPD's deputy commissioner for intelligence, David Cohen, said it was critical that the police be able "to conduct investigations into political activity and intelligence-related issues." U.S. District Judge Charles Haight Jr. agreed, and the restrictions were loosened. A series of news reports in 2011 and 2012 detailing the NYPD's monitoring of Muslim mosques, bookstores and restaurants throughout New York City and surrounding areas revived the debate. (Reporting by Chris Francescani; Editing by Scott Malone and Leslie Adler)]]></content>
			<description><![CDATA[The New York Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the New York Police Department over its surveillance of Muslim communities, accusing the police of trampling on religious freedoms and constitutional guarantees of equality....]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Sprint sues to stop Dish Clearwire buyout]]></title>
			<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:38:09 +0000</pubDate>
			<link><![CDATA[http://news.terra.com/sprint-sues-to-stop-dish-clearwire-buyout,bdec30b5c455f310VgnCLD2000000dc6eb0aRCRD.html]]></link>
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			<content><![CDATA[Sprint is suing to stop Dish Network's buyout of wireless data network operator Clearwire. The nation's third-largest cellphone carrier said the proposed deal violates the rights of Sprint and other Clearwire shareholders. Dish has offered to pay $4.40 per share for Clearwire, which has recommended that its shareholders approve the offer. That reverses its earlier stance in support of a takeover bid by Sprint, its majority shareholder. Sprint, headquartered in Overland Park, Kan., has bid $3.40 per share for the minority stake in Clearwire it doesn't already own. Dish Network Corp., based in Englewood, Colo., a satellite broadcaster, has said its offer is contingent on being able to buy 25 percent of the company. But Sprint Nextel Corp. said late Monday that Dish cannot complete its offer without the approval of holders of at least 75 percent of Clearwire's shares. Sprint also contends that the deal violates shareholder rights under Clearwire's charter and an equity holders' agreement. Sprint's complaint, filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery, asks the court to prevent Dish's offer from being consummated. Clearwire is incorporated in Delaware. Dish called the litigation a "transparent attempt" by Sprint to divert attention away from its failure to deal fairly with Clearwire shareholders. The satellite broadcaster said in a statement it was confident its offer will be upheld. Clearwire said it doesn't comment on pending litigation. Earlier this month, Sprint had sent an open letter to Clearwire's board saying the conditions of Dish's offer are illegal and violate Clearwire Corp.'s shareholder agreement. But Dish said in a separate letter that its offer was "carefully designed to comply with applicable law and the existing rights of Clearwire stockholders including Sprint." Clearwire Corp. is based in Bellevue, Wash. Shares of Sprint rose 7 cents to $7.29 in Tuesday afternoon trading, while Dish rose 38 cents to $39.21 and Clearwire fell 2 cents to $4.62. Broader trading indexes, meanwhile, were up less than 1 percent.]]></content>
			<description><![CDATA[Sprint is suing to stop Dish Network's buyout of wireless data network operator Clearwire. The nation's third-largest cellphone carrier said the proposed deal violates the rights of Sprint and other Clearwire shareholders....]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Israeli general says Palestinians quietly aiding U.S. peace drive]]></title>
			<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:21:17 +0000</pubDate>
			<link><![CDATA[http://news.terra.com/israeli-general-says-palestinians-quietly-aiding-us-peace-drive,d1cc30b5c455f310VgnCLD2000000dc6eb0aRCRD.html]]></link>
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			<content><![CDATA[The Palestinian administration in the West Bank has tried to help the latest U.S. peacemaking drive by quietly cutting off funds for grassroots campaigners against Israel's occupation of the territory, a senior Israeli general said on Tuesday. The allegation, which the campaigners contested, underscored the sensitivity of the Palestinians' security coordination with Israel at a time of deadlocked diplomacy over their independence drive and censure from rival Hamas Islamists. Major-General Nitzan Alon, Israel's top West Bank military officer, also said that violence could escalate if U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's peace mission failed, and voiced frustration with the "terror activity" of radical Jewish settlers against whom Israel this week authorized new measures. Briefing diplomats and reporters at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, a conservative think-tank, Alon said Kerry's bids to revive negotiations had a "positive influence on the ground, mainly on the PA (Palestinian Authority). "The PA, for example, almost stopped financing a group that dealt with some riots and protests against Israel, and they halted the funds of this group in the last couple of months." Speaking later to Reuters, he named the group as the Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, whose activism focuses on Palestinian land lost to Israel's West Bank barrier and Jewish settlements. Alon said the PA had kept its bankrolling of the group, and the cut-off of cash, secret. "They weren't looking for diplomatic recognition for the move but rather for the territory to quiet down," he said. Palestinian officials could not immediately be reached for comment. Mohammed al-Khatib, a veteran Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements member, dismissed Alon's disclosure. "The Palestinian Authority has paid compensation to those whose houses or agriculture were destroyed by the occupation and they have helped with lawyer's fees for local activists," Khatib told Reuters. "Nobody gives us money. The activists here do what they do out of a sense of national duty, not to get money." Alon said there were signs of Palestinian restraint in the West Bank wearing thin. He cited rising anti-Israeli violence such as stone- and Molotov cocktail-throwing and what he said was the involvement of some PA security men in attacks. "If, in a few weeks, the attempt of the American involvement will go (away) with nothing, I'm afraid that we will see this trend of escalation even strengthening," he said. Alon has also been outspoken against ultranationalist Jews who have torched and desecrated Palestinian property in so-called "Price Tag" attacks meant to avenge Palestinian violence or discourage bids by the government to curb settlements. (Writing by Dan Williams; Additional reporting by Ali Sawafta in Ramallah; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)]]></content>
			<description><![CDATA[The Palestinian administration in the West Bank has tried to help the latest U.S. peacemaking drive by quietly cutting off funds for grassroots campaigners against Israel's occupation of the territory, a senior Israeli general said on Tuesday....]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Islamist governor promises safety for Luxor tourists]]></title>
			<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:18:35 +0000</pubDate>
			<link><![CDATA[http://news.terra.com/islamist-governor-promises-safety-for-luxor-tourists,2bac3d49d455f310VgnCLD2000000ec6eb0aRCRD.html]]></link>
			<guid><![CDATA[http://news.terra.com/islamist-governor-promises-safety-for-luxor-tourists,2bac3d49d455f310VgnCLD2000000ec6eb0aRCRD.html]]></guid>
			<content><![CDATA[Sixteen years ago, Adel Mohamed al-Khayat was a member of the militant group blamed for slaughtering 58 tourists in Egypt's Valley of the Queens; today he's promising to keep visitors safe. Khayat's appointment by President Mohamed Mursi as governor of the city of Luxor has triggered howls of protest, with demonstrators protesting for a second day on Tuesday and one critic calling it "the last nail in the coffin of tourism". It also prompted the tourism minister, an independent technocrat responsible for one of Egypt's main sources of revenue, to expose a public split in the government, saying the appointment had caused a deep crisis with "dire consequences". But in a telephone interview with Reuters, 60-year-old new governor Khayat insisted he would work to develop tourism: "Luxor is open to all tourists from all over the world," he said. "They are my main concern and are looked after by the state, which is responsible for their security and their wellbeing." Khayat is a member of al-Gamaa al-Islamiya, the movement whose gunmen carried out the 1997 massacre at the Temple of Hatshepsut in Luxor. Sixty-two people died, all but four of them foreigners, in an attack designed to cut off tourist revenue to the government of then-President Hosni Mubarak. Khayat said he had joined the group in 1975, when it first emerged on university campuses, but denied any role in its militant past. He said his activism was restricted to taking part in university seminars, and he had worked as a civil servant at the housing ministry since 1986. Khayat's appointment points to deepening ties between the ruling Muslim Brotherhood and al-Gamaa al-Islamiya, one of several hardline Salafi parties that have moved into the mainstream since Mubarak was toppled in 2011. "BEST IMAGE" The dominance of Islamists has raised concerns among their opponents about the fate of Egypt's pharaonic temples, deemed un-Islamic by hardliners. But Khayat said he was proud of the country's ancient heritage. "God willing, the temples will remain as they are and we will work on cleaning them, protecting them and lighting them so that they are in the best image and no one will be able to harm them," he said. "They are great monuments." Asked about his views on alcohol consumption, an important issue for the local economy as it seeks to draw in visitors, he said: "I have no intentions that would harm tourism." Tourism workers, remembering the heavy blow to their livelihood from the Luxor massacre, protested outside the governor's office for a second day, though Khayat has yet to arrive there. The industry has been hit by falling visitor numbers in the two years since the revolution. "His extremist background will surely affect tourism," said Wael Ibrahim, head of the Luxor tour guide association, told Reuters by phone. "International newspapers wrote about this ... For sure this will lower tourism levels significantly." Sarwat Agami, head of another Luxor industry association, said the appointment had "hammered the last nail in the coffin of tourism in the historic tourist city". Al-Gamaa al-Islamiya was implicated in the 1981 assassination of President Anwar Sadat and waged an armed insurrection against the state in the 1990s. It had ties to al Qaeda, and its spiritual leader is jailed in the United States over a plot to blow up the World Trade Center. It renounced violence more than a decade ago, and set up a political party after the fall of Mubarak. Khayat said he had resigned from the party after his appointment this week. The Muslim Brotherhood has described him as an "excellent choice", saying al-Gamaa al-Islamiya's community ties will help improve law and order in the area. (Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Alison Williams)]]></content>
			<description><![CDATA[Sixteen years ago, Adel Mohamed al-Khayat was a member of the militant group blamed for slaughtering 58 tourists in Egypt's Valley of the Queens; today he's promising to keep visitors safe....]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Kenneth Wilson, Nobel winner for physics, dies]]></title>
			<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:38:10 +0000</pubDate>
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			<content><![CDATA[A physics professor who earned a Nobel prize for pioneering work that changed the way physicists think about phase transitions has died in Maine at age 77. Kenneth Wilson was in the physics department at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., when he won the Nobel Prize in 1982 for applying his research in quantum physics to phase transitions, the transformation that occurs when a substance goes from, say, liquid to gas. He created a mathematical tool that is still used in physics. The son of a Harvard chemist, the Waltham, Mass., later retired from Ohio State University. Wilson had been living in Gray, Maine. Friends and family say he died Saturday at a nursing home in Saco from complications of lymphoma.]]></content>
			<description><![CDATA[A physics professor who earned a Nobel prize for pioneering work that changed the way physicists think about phase transitions has died in Maine at age 77....]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Major natgas pipeline explodes in Louisiana, area evacuated]]></title>
			<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:26:35 +0000</pubDate>
			<link><![CDATA[http://news.terra.com/major-natgas-pipeline-explodes-in-louisiana-area-evacuated,8f2c3d49d455f310VgnCLD2000000ec6eb0aRCRD.html]]></link>
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			<content><![CDATA[A major natural gas pipeline exploded on Tuesday in Washington Parish, Louisiana, destroying a mobile home and causing an evacuation of the area but no injuries were reported, local officials said. The blast on the Florida Gas Transmission (FGT) pipeline, which transports gas from Texas to south Florida, sent a mushroom cloud into the sky and sparked a fire on the line, according to Lauren Ritchie, a spokeswoman for the Washington Parish sheriff's department. "There were no injuries and the damage is being assessed," Ritchie said, adding that the fire had been contained. State and federal officials were taking air quality readings and investigating the incident, which occurred in a rural area near the town of Enon, 80 miles north of New Orleans. Ritchie said 55 residents were evacuated. A section of the pipeline was shut and natural gas rerouted to customers along other parts of the pipeline system, according to a spokeswoman for Energy Transfer Partners, part-owner of FGT. The spokeswoman did not give a timetable for when the section would restart or have any details on the cause of the explosion. FGT said repairs on the line would begin on Wednesday. The pipeline has the capacity to carry up to 3.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. The incident comes as homes and businesses ratchet up their air conditioners to counter warm temperatures in the region, increasing gas consumption. FGT issued an alert on its website, saying it was capping the amount of gas that customers can take from the line due to high demand. One gas trader said FGT prices were higher on Tuesday, but in line with other next-day prices across the country and likely not due to any effect from the explosion. Florida prices on the ICE exchange were around $4.12 per million British thermal units, up about 9 cents from Monday. Gas at the nation's benchmark Henry Hub in Louisiana was heard up 12 cents on the day at $3.90. The explosion caused about 10,000 customers of the Washington-Street Tammany Electric Cooperative in Louisiana to lose power, but a co-op representative said service had been restored to most of them. The near 5,500-mile Florida Gas Transmission system is owned by Florida Gas Transmission Co LLC, an Energy Transfer Partners-Kinder Morgan Inc affiliate. (Additional reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick, Jeffrey Benkoe and Dale Hudson)]]></content>
			<description><![CDATA[A major natural gas pipeline exploded on Tuesday in Washington Parish, Louisiana, destroying a mobile home and causing an evacuation of the area but no injuries were reported, local officials said....]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Tanzania police fire teargas at protesters near blast site]]></title>
			<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:18:26 +0000</pubDate>
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			<content><![CDATA[Tanzanian police fired teargas and warning shots on Tuesday to disperse thousands of people protesting against a weekend bomb attack on an opposition campaign rally, eyewitnesses said. Supporters of the Chadema opposition party gathered in the northern city of Arusha to mourn the three people killed and the more than 50 people injured there in Saturday's blast, they said. The latest violence in Tanzania threatens to taint the image of east Africa's second biggest economy ahead of a visit by U.S. President Barack Obama, expected to be early next month. Eyewitnesses said riot police stepped in as the supporters started to assemble in the Soweto area of the city, making several arrests as they attempted to disperse the crowd. "Police fired teargas at the crowd of Chadema supporters, plus several rounds of ammunitions of warning shots into the air," Daudi Lameck, a resident of Arusha, told Reuters by telephone. "Police ordered people to disperse from the area and started firing teargas cannons. People were running everywhere after shots started being fired and I personally witnessed around 17 people were injured." Police were not immediately available for comment. Chadema officials have long complained about a government crackdown on opposition demonstrations and public rallies. Commenting on Saturday's bomb explosion, Tanzania's Home Affairs Minister Emmanuel Nchimbi told reporters in Arusha preliminary police investigations showed it had been caused by a hand grenade lobbed into the crowd by an unknown assailant. Chadema leader Freeman Mbowe said the explosion was politically motivated and said he believed opposition leaders were the intended target. Saturday's blast occurred near the main stage as Mbowe was addressing supporters at the rally. In January, two people were shot dead in the same region when riot police fired at crowds of Chadema supporters after the authorities banned their rally. The latest bomb attack threatens to exacerbate deep political tensions between the opposition and government in Arusha, a Chadema stronghold. Tanzania, a nation of 45 million people, has enjoyed relative political stability since its independence from Britain in 1961, despite turmoil in some neighboring countries. (Editing by James Macharia and Gareth Jones)]]></content>
			<description><![CDATA[Tanzanian police fired teargas and warning shots on Tuesday to disperse thousands of people protesting against a weekend bomb attack on an opposition campaign rally, eyewitnesses said....]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[French sailor freed after pirate attack, Nigeria says]]></title>
			<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:18:21 +0000</pubDate>
			<link><![CDATA[http://news.terra.com/french-sailor-freed-after-pirate-attack-nigeria-says,014c30b5c455f310VgnCLD2000000dc6eb0aRCRD.html]]></link>
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			<content><![CDATA[A French sailor was freed on Tuesday after being captured by pirates last week from his ship off the coast of Togo and taken to Nigeria, a military commander said. Pirates attacked the oil products tanker Adour on June 13, around 30 nautical miles off the coast of Togo. General Bata Dembiro, a commander in Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta region, said the Nigerian navy and French marines stormed the vessel after the hijackers seized it, but they took Benjamin Elan hostage to enable them to escape. They released the other 14 crew, he said. "The rescued foreign ship worker was abducted in Togo aboard an oil tanker and brought to Bayelsa state (in Nigeria) by suspected kidnappers," Dembiro told Reuters by telephone. The pirates took the Frenchman to a small village in Bayelsa state in the delta, but youths from the local community alerted the authorities, enabling them to mount a rescue operation. The gang had fled before they arrived in the house, he said. The shipping company in charge of the boat, ST Management SAAM, declined to comment except to confirm that there had been an "incident" with the Adour. Pirate attacks off West Africa's mineral-rich Gulf of Guinea have almost doubled from last year and threaten to jeopardize the shipping of commodities from the region. The attacks are mostly carried out by armed Nigerian gangs who are also responsible for kidnappings and oil theft in onshore Africa's largest oil producer, security sources say. (Reporting by Tife Owolabi; Writing by Joe Brock; Editing by Tim Cocks and Michael Roddy)]]></content>
			<description><![CDATA[A French sailor was freed on Tuesday after being captured by pirates last week from his ship off the coast of Togo and taken to Nigeria, a military commander said....]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Analysis: Hezbollah takes Syrian centre-stage, yet remains in shadows]]></title>
			<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:15:14 +0000</pubDate>
			<link><![CDATA[http://news.terra.com/analysis-hezbollah-takes-syrian-centre-stage-yet-remains-in-shadows,6e1c3d49d455f310VgnCLD2000000ec6eb0aRCRD.html]]></link>
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			<content><![CDATA[The voice crackling over the Hezbollah radios was clear and authoritative, and the guerrillas poised to attack the Syrian border town of Qusair recognized it immediately. "As I promised you victory before, I pledge you victory now," Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said, launching a battle in which his fighters decisively defeated rebels trying to topple President Bashar al-Assad. Nasrallah told his troops that God was fighting alongside them, one of the fighters told Reuters. "When we heard his voice, we were ready to fight the whole world," he said. It was a trademark coup de theatre from the reclusive Nasrallah, who has bred an aura of mystique around a force which grew from a shadowy Iranian-backed Lebanese militia into an outfit powerful enough to confront regional superpower Israel. Hezbollah's victory across the Syrian frontier in Qusair highlighted its pivotal role in Assad's fightback against rebels and yet, as in most of its military operations, it has given few details of its role - or where its next battle may be. "Wherever we need to be, we will be.... There is no need to elaborate," Nasrallah said in a televised speech on Friday, delivered as ever from a secret location because of fears for his security since Hezbollah fought a war with Israel in 2006. The need for ambiguity is greater than usual, with Shi'ite Hezbollah's open intervention in a foreign conflict against Sunni Muslim rebels fuelling sectarian tensions and shattering its status across the Arab world as an anti-Israeli champion. But the movement has always tried to keep its enemies guessing about its strengths. Estimates of the number of fighters it committed in Qusair vary from the hundreds to several thousand, although most observers put the figure at between 1,500 and 2,500. Hundreds of other Hezbollah fighters are also deployed in Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. They are stationed around the Shi'ite shrine of Sayyida Zeinab near Damascus with dozens more in two Shi'ite towns in the northern province of Aleppo - mainly training and advising - and in the Zahra quarter of the city of Homs, it says. The British-based anti-Assad monitoring group says 156 Hezbollah fighters have been killed so far in Syria, most of them in the battle for Qusair. A security source in Israel said he believed Hezbollah had 4,000-5,000 fighters in Syria and had lost between 180 and 200. STRONGER THAN BEFORE Hezbollah's overall strength is also unclear, although analysts and defense experts agree it has grown substantially since it fought the inconclusive 34-day war with Israel seven years ago, firing rockets deep into the Jewish state. Those kind of cross-border salvoes mean that much of the focus on Hezbollah's military power in the past has been on its missiles, which Nasrallah said last year could hit targets anywhere in Israel. Its fighters are as well-armed as some regional armies, using anti-tank missiles, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars. Hezbollah flew a drone over Israel last year and in the 2006 war was able to hit an Israeli warship off the Mediterranean coast. But with no shortage of weapons in Syria, Hezbollah's main contribution to Assad's war effort is military expertise. The movement's military structure is based on an elite force backed by a full time militia and a large corps of part-time reserves who undergo rudimentary weapons training - often in Iran - but have jobs outside the group. One analyst, who asked not to be named, said that altogether the total force including the part-time men, known as Saraya, reached 50,000, of which 10,000 to 15,000 were elite forces. A source in Lebanon who has contact with Hezbollah gave a lower figure, saying that top frontline forces and rocket and artillery units combined added up to just 4,000. The force excluding the Saraya was about 10,000 fighters, with a similar number of support personnel. Since the start of the Syrian crisis, Hezbollah has stepped up recruitment and training for the Saraya, sending thousands of men aged from the 20s to their mid-50s to Iran, say residents in its south Lebanon heartland close to the border with Israel. "The reality is that Hezbollah is a very dynamic organization," said Ayham Kamel, Middle East analyst at consultancy Eurasia Group. "Over the years in their war with Israel they've been able to mobilize in different ways and adapt their tactics." UNTESTED IN BATTLE Aram Nerguizian of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said Hezbollah's forces in Qusair were more disciplined, used superior tactics and communications, and were better coordinated than the Syrian rebels there. Nevertheless, he said the loss of between 70 and 110 fighters in the first week of the offensive, according to anti-Hezbollah sources, pointed to the fact that many were untested in battle despite their good training. Those casualties, if confirmed, would be roughly similar to Hezbollah's weekly losses under a blistering onslaught of the Israeli army in the July-August 2006 war. "The high initial death toll (in Qusair) may also point to the Syrian rebels' use of some of Hezbollah's own sniping and booby-trapping techniques," Nerguizian said. The Shi'ite group shared these techniques with Hamas, a Sunni Palestinian organization which now opposes Assad and which may have passed on the know-how to the rebels. Fighting away from their "home" turf in south Lebanon is an additional problem for Hezbollah fighters, long accustomed to battling for territory they know intimately. But the guerrillas have a reputation for learning fast. "This lack of familiarity should not be exaggerated," said an Israeli official, arguing that Qusair was close enough to the Lebanese border for Hezbollah to have had access to the area. "Elsewhere in Syria, Hezbollah is operating largely alongside local Shi'ite communities, so it has guides with an excellent local knowledge," he said, adding that he believed several thousand from a total Hezbollah fighting force of 10,000 were operating inside Syria. "They are from the best units, with the best equipment - the kind of fighters who Hezbollah would usually consider its vanguard against Israel," he said. Sources in Lebanon dispute that, saying only a small minority of the Qusair combatants were from the cream of Hezbollah's military units. The Israeli official said Hezbollah used "standard small arms", anti-tank rockets and even operated Syrian army tanks in the battle for Qusair. Their presence across Syria, from Damascus to Aleppo in the north, underlines Hezbollah's strategic commitment to Assad, and Kamel said the militant group was likely to play some role in the eventual Syrian army effort to recapture the northern city. But for now, Nasrallah is unlikely to show his hand. "Every day we increase our numbers and our weapons," he said at the start of the Syrian conflict. "We are tens of thousands of fighters, trained and ready for martyrdom." "The enemy does not know us, and we will surprise him." (Additional reporting by Dan Williams in Jerusalem and David Cutler in London; editing by David Stamp)]]></content>
			<description><![CDATA[The voice crackling over the Hezbollah radios was clear and authoritative, and the guerrillas poised to attack the Syrian border town of Qusair recognized it immediately....]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Nigeria drops charges against some Russian arms suspects]]></title>
			<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:48:18 +0000</pubDate>
			<link><![CDATA[http://news.terra.com/nigeria-drops-charges-against-some-russian-arms-suspects,5ffb30b5c455f310VgnCLD2000000dc6eb0aRCRD.html]]></link>
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			<content><![CDATA[Nigerian authorities dropped charges on Tuesday against eight Russian sailors suspected of trafficking arms, their lawyer said, but another seven will face trial. The 15 Russian sailors were charged with illegally bringing weapons into Nigeria last year, after Nigerian authorities intercepted a ship on October 23, saying they had found several guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition. The court case has raised tensions between Nigeria and Russia, whose Foreign Ministry has spoken out against the charges. Russian media have reported assurances from Nigeria that the sailors would be allowed to return home. Nigeria has not commented on this alleged promise. Their defense lawyer Abubakar Onegbu told reporters outside the court that the charges had been dropped because they had not been on the ship when it was detained, but had arrived by air to carry out a crew change. The prosecuting counsel was not available for comment. Justice James Soho adjourned the trial of the others until Friday. They are free on bail. "In general we regard this development a positive step," Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday evening. "We expect a similar decision to be taken (in regard to seven remaining sailors) at the upcoming court sitting." Arms smuggling to and through Nigeria is rife. Demand for weapons is high because of an Islamist rebellion in the north, armed robbery and kidnapping by gangs in the south and oil theft and piracy in the southeast. The country is also sometimes used as a conduit for shipping arms to other conflict-ridden parts of West Africa. (Reporting Angela Ukomadu, additional reporting by Gabriela Baczynska in Moscow, Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Michael Roddy)]]></content>
			<description><![CDATA[Nigerian authorities dropped charges on Tuesday against eight Russian sailors suspected of trafficking arms, their lawyer said, but another seven will face trial....]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Islamist governor promises safety for Luxor tourists]]></title>
			<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:48:13 +0000</pubDate>
			<link><![CDATA[http://news.terra.com/islamist-governor-promises-safety-for-luxor-tourists,defb30b5c455f310VgnCLD2000000dc6eb0aRCRD.html]]></link>
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			<content><![CDATA[Sixteen years ago, Adel Mohamed al-Khayat was a member of the militant group blamed for slaughtering 58 tourists in Egypt's Valley of the Queens; today he's promising to keep visitors safe. Khayat's appointment by President Mohamed Mursi as governor of the city of Luxor has triggered howls of protest, with demonstrators protesting for a second day on Tuesday and one critic calling it 'the last nail in the coffin of tourism'. But in a telephone interview with Reuters, the 60-year-old governor declared: "Luxor is open to all tourists from all over the world. They are my main concern and are looked after by the state, which is responsible for their security and their wellbeing." Khayat was a member of al-Gamaa al-Islamiya, the movement whose gunmen carried out the 1997 massacre at the Temple of Hatshepsut in Luxor. Sixty-two people died, all but four of them foreigners, in an attack designed to cut off tourist revenue to the government of then-President Hosni Mubarak. Khayat said he had joined the group in 1975, when it first emerged on university campuses, but denied any role in its militant past. He said his activism was restricted to taking part in university seminars, and he had worked as a civil servant at the housing ministry since 1986. Khayat's appointment points to deepening ties between the ruling Muslim Brotherhood and al-Gamaa al-Islamiya, one of several hardline Salafi parties that have moved into the mainstream since Mubarak was toppled in 2011. "BEST IMAGE" The dominance of Islamists has raised concerns among their opponents about the fate of Egypt's pharaonic temples, deemed un-Islamic by hardliners. But Khayat said he was proud of the country's ancient heritage. "God willing, the temples will remain as they are and we will work on cleaning them, protecting them and lighting them so that they are in the best image and no one will be able to harm them," he said. "They are great monuments." Asked about his views on alcohol consumption, an important issue for the local economy as it seeks to draw in visitors, he said: "I have no intentions that would harm tourism." Tourism workers, remembering the heavy blow to their livelihood from the Luxor massacre, protested outside the governor's office for a second day, though Khayat has yet to arrive there. The industry has been hit by falling visitor numbers in the two years since the revolution. "His extremist background will surely affect tourism," said Wael Ibrahim, head of the Luxor tour guide association, told Reuters by phone. "International newspapers wrote about this... For sure this will lower tourism levels significantly." Sarwat Agami, head of another Luxor industry association, said the appointment had "hammered the last nail in the coffin of tourism in the historic tourist city". Al-Gamaa al-Islamiya was implicated in the 1981 assassination of President Anwar Sadat and waged an armed insurrection against the state in the 1990s. It had ties to al Qaeda, and its spiritual leader is jailed in the United States over a plot to blow up the World Trade Center. It renounced violence more than a decade ago, and set up a political party after the fall of Mubarak. Khayat said he had resigned from the party after his appointment this week. The Muslim Brotherhood has described him as an "excellent choice", saying al-Gamaa al-Islamiya's community ties will help improve law and order in the area. (Editing by Mark Trevelyan)]]></content>
			<description><![CDATA[Sixteen years ago, Adel Mohamed al-Khayat was a member of the militant group blamed for slaughtering 58 tourists in Egypt's Valley of the Queens; today he's promising to keep visitors safe....]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Bosnian Serb president relents over urgent Croatia border deal]]></title>
			<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:39:19 +0000</pubDate>
			<link><![CDATA[http://news.terra.com/bosnian-serb-president-relents-over-urgent-croatia-border-deal,48bb3d49d455f310VgnCLD2000000ec6eb0aRCRD.html]]></link>
			<guid><![CDATA[http://news.terra.com/bosnian-serb-president-relents-over-urgent-croatia-border-deal,48bb3d49d455f310VgnCLD2000000ec6eb0aRCRD.html]]></guid>
			<content><![CDATA[The Serb member of Bosnia's presidency agreed on Tuesday to new border rules needed for when neighboring Croatia joins the EU in July, reversing his position from Monday when he rejected the deal. Nebojsa Radmanovic, the Serb chairman of the presidency that he shares with Muslim and Croat members, said that he changed his mind after getting a green light for the deal from the leadership of the autonomous Serb Republic. Without the agreement, due to be signed in Brussels on Wednesday, people and goods would not be allowed to cross the border after July 1 - a potentially huge blow to the country's exports. The new rules had been considered a largely procedural matter, but Radmanovic said on Monday that Serb representatives had been excluded from an ad hoc panel that agreed a deal with Croatia last week and that he would not accept it. On Tuesday he said that the Serb Republic's president and prime minister had agreed to the deal, "bearing in mind the deadlines and potential negative implications for Bosnian firms and citizens which could emerge if it were not enforced by July 1". The European Commission has scheduled the signing of the border agreement for Wednesday and the presidency said that Prime Minister Vjekoslav Bevanda was now authorized to sign it. An official for the EU had earlier warned that a failure to sign the agreement would leave border crossings "in a kind of a limbo". Bosnia makes most of its exports via the 1,000-km (620-mile) border with Croatia. The discord has highlighted the deficiencies of the tripartite presidency, an institution that emerged after the Bosnian war as a precarious system of power-sharing between Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats. (Reporting By Maja Zuvela; Editing by Daria Sito-Sucic and Robin Pomeroy)]]></content>
			<description><![CDATA[The Serb member of Bosnia's presidency agreed on Tuesday to new border rules needed for when neighboring Croatia joins the EU in July, reversing his position from Monday when he rejected the deal....]]></description>
			<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
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