Italian captain being placed under house arrest (AP)

ROME ? An Italian coast guard official vehemently demanded that the captain go back to his crippled cruise ship to oversee its evacuation, but the captain repeatedly resisted, according to a shocking audiotape made public Tuesday.

Prosecutors have accused Capt. Francesco Schettino of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning his vessel before all passengers were evacuated during the grounding of the Costa Concordia cruise ship off the Tuscan coast on Friday night.

After Schettino was interrogated by prosecutors for three hours Tuesday, a judge in Grosseto, Tuscany, ruled that the captain, who had been detained a few hours after he allegedly abandoned the Concordia, should be released from jail and confined to his home near Naples under house arrest, his lawyer, Bruno Leporatti, told reporters outside the courthouse.

Prosecutors wanted him kept in Grosseto's prison, and Leporatti had asked that he be freed.

The death toll from the tragedy nearly doubled to 11 on Tuesday when divers extracted the bodies of four men and one woman from the ship's wreckage. The victims were in their 50s or 60s and each wore the orange vest that passengers use, indicating they were apparently passengers and not crew members, said a Coast Guard spokesman, Cmdr. Filippo Marini. Their nationalities were not immediately determined.

Prior to that grim finding, the coast guard had raised the number of missing to 25 passengers and four crew members. Italian officials gave the breakdown as 14 Germans, six Italians, four French, two Americans, one Hungarian, one Indian and one Peruvian. But there was still confusion over the numbers, with the German Foreign Ministry in Berlin listing 12 Germans as confirmed missing.

The Costa Concordia was carrying more than 4,200 people when it hit a reef off the Tuscan island of Giglio after Schettino made an unauthorized deviation from the cruise ship's programmed course, apparently as a favor to his chief waiter, who hailed from the island.

Schettino has insisted that he stayed aboard until the ship was evacuated. However, a recording of his conversation with Italian Coast Guard Capt. Gregorio De Falco indicates he fled before all passengers were off ? and then resisted De Falco's repeated orders to return.

"You go on board and then you will tell me how many people there are. Is that clear?" De Falco shouted in the audio tape.

Schettino resisted, saying the ship was tipping and it was dark. At the time, he and his second-in-command were in a lifeboat and the captain said he was coordinating the rescue from there. He also said he was not going back aboard the ship "because the other lifeboat is stopped." Passengers have said many lifeboats on the exposed port side of the ship didn't winch down after the ship had capsized.

De Falco shouted back: "And so what? You want to go home, Schettino? It is dark and you want to go home? Get on that prow of the boat using the pilot ladder and tell me what can be done, how many people there are and what their needs are. Now!"

"You go aboard. It is an order. Don't make any more excuses. You have declared 'Abandon ship,' now I am in charge," De Falco shouted.

At one point, De Falco vowed: "I'm going to make sure you get in trouble. ... I am going to make you pay for this. Go on board, (expletive)!"

Schettino was finally heard on the tape agreeing to reboard. But the coast guard has said he never went back, and had police arrest him on land.

The 52-year-old Schettino, described by the Italian media as a genial, tanned ship's officer, has worked for 11 years for the ship's owner and was made captain in 2006. He hails from Meta di Sorrento, in the Naples area, which produces many of Italy's ferry and cruise boat captains. He attended the Nino Bixio merchant marine school near Sorrento.

Schettino recounted his version of events before prosecutors and the judge at Tuesday's hearing in Grosseto to decide whether he should remain jailed.

The captain could face up to 12 years in prison on the abandoning ship charge alone.

Leporatti told the hearing the captain had insisted that after the initial crash into the reefs he had maneuvered the ship close to shore in a way that "saved hundreds, if not thousands, of lives."

Passengers, however, described the evacuation as chaotic.

Steve and Kathy Ledtke, who live in Fort Gratiot, Michigan, said they were sitting down to a late dinner Friday when they realized something had gone wrong. Kathy Ledtke told WDIV-TV that it seemed no one was in charge.

"It was complete chaos and it was every man for himself," Kathy Ledtke said. "Nobody knew where to go."

Earlier Tuesday, Italian naval divers exploded holes in the hull of the grounded cruise ship, trying to speed up the search for the missing while seas were still calm. Navy spokesman Alessandro Busonero told Sky TV 24 the holes would help divers enter the wreck more easily.

"We are rushing against time," he said.

The divers set four microcharges above and below the surface of the water, Busonero said. Video showed one hole above the waterline less than two meters (6 feet) in diameter.

Mediterranean waters in the area were relatively calm Tuesday with waves of just 12 inches (30 centimeters) but they were expected to reach nearly 6 feet (1.8 meters) Wednesday, according to meteorological forecasts.

A Dutch shipwreck salvage firm, meanwhile, said it would take its engineers and divers two to four weeks to extract the 500,000 gallons of fuel aboard the ship. The safe removal of the fuel has become a priority second only to finding the missing, as the wreckage site lies in a maritime sanctuary for dolphins, porpoises and whales.

Preliminary phases of the fuel extraction could begin as early as Wednesday if approved by Italian officials, the company said.

Smit, a Rotterdam, Netherlands-based salvage company, said no fuel had leaked from any of the ship's tanks and that the tanks appeared intact. While there is a risk the ship could shift in larger waves, to date it has been relatively stable perched on top of rocks near Giglio's port.

Smit's operations manager, Kees van Essen, said the company was confident the fuel could safely be extracted using pumps and valves to vacuum the oil out to waiting tanks.

"But there are always environmental risks in these types of operations," he told reporters.

The company said any discussion about the fate of the ship ? whether it is removed in one piece or broken up ? would be decided by Italian ship operator Costa Crociere and its insurance companies.

The Miami-based Carnival Corp., which owns the Italian operator, estimated that preliminary losses from having the Concordia out of operation at least through 2012 would be between $85 million and $95 million, along with other costs. The company's share price slumped more than 16 percent Monday.

It was not yet clear if the ship ? which was completed in 2006 ? would ever be able to return to service.

Carnival said its deductible on damage to the ship was approximately $30 million. In addition, the company faces a deductible of $10 million for third-party personal injury liability claims.

Carnival said other costs related to the grounding can't yet be determined.

___

Barry contributed from Milan; Frances D'Emilio in Rome contributed.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120117/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_italy_cruise_aground

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Over 500 million Chinese citizens now connected to the web

The number of internet-connected Chinese citizens jumped 4 percent in 2012, pushing the country's total number of users over the 500 million mark. A report issued by the state-owned China Internet Network Information Center (CINIC) reveals that over 37% (513 million people) living in The Middle Kingdom are now traversing the information superhighway. Unsurprisingly, the majority of these internet connections (close to 70%) can be attributed to mobile phones; as we've seen over the past few days, this mobile-centric user-base has generated very high demand for certain cellular products. Those scrutinizing the CINIC's report note that the statistics quoted by the Chinese government could be a wee bit on the high side. The report considers a user "internet connected" if they are over the age of six and have been online in the past half year. Hit the source link for more surfing stats from the Far East.

Over 500 million Chinese citizens now connected to the web originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Jan 2012 08:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/r-yGdNI_6_U/

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Golden Globes 2012: Stars Tweet From The Show

As Golden Globe nominees head to the red carpet in preparation for the night ahead of them, we're following their Tweets to keep tabs on what's going on inside and out.

Among stars Tweeting the most are Zooey Deschanel, Eric Stonestreet, Sofia Vergara, Idris Elba, and Alec Baldwin. Stay tuned for live Tweets and photos from the stars!

?? BACK TO ARTICLE

Zooey Deschanel

"I am wearing a gown but my nails are wearing tuxedos!!! #goldenglobes"

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/15/golden-globes-2012-stars-_n_1207858.html

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Soldier faces hearing at Afghan base over suicide (AP)

KABUL, Afghanistan ? An American soldier charged with abuse that led to the suicide of a 19-year-old fellow soldier in Afghanistan is facing a preliminary hearing Sunday on a base in the country, the U.S. military said.

The hearing came as two more members of the international force in Afghanistan died of what NATO described as "non-battle-related" injuries and two Afghan police were killed by a roadside bomb.

Spc. Ryan J. Offutt is charged with offenses including maltreatment, involuntary manslaughter and negligent homicide in the death of Pvt. Danny Chen, the military statement said. Offutt is one of eight infantrymen charged in connection with the suicide.

Chen shot himself in a guardhouse Oct. 3 in Afghanistan after what investigators say were weeks of racial slurs, humiliation and physical abuse.

Offutt, 32, of Greenville, Pa. was charged in December along with seven others in the same unit. He joined the Army in 2006 and served 14 months in Iraq before being deployed to Afghanistan. An attorney for Offutt could not immediately be contacted.

Chen, a native New Yorker of Chinese descent, had only been in Afghanistan for two months when he killed himself.

He had told relatives he endured weeks of racial teasing and name calling while in training in the U.S.

After arriving in Afghanistan, investigators said, Chen was subjected to hazing by members of his unit, the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division based in Fort Wainwright, Alaska.

Chen's family has said investigators told them that at a remote base in southern Afghanistan, he was subjected to racial slurs and forced to do excessive sit-ups, push-ups, runs and sprints carrying sandbags.

On the day of his death, he had reported to the guard tower without his helmet or adequate water and was forced to crawl about 100 yards (100 meters) across gravel carrying his equipment as his comrades threw rocks at him, a family representative has quoted investigators as saying.

Sunday's hearing under Article 32 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice will determine whether Offutt faces court-martial.

The two most serious charges, involuntary manslaughter and negligent homicide, carry prison sentences of up to 10 years and three years, respectively.

The hearing is being held at Kandahar Air Field, the sprawling base for U.S. and NATO operations in the south.

Chen's family and Chinese community members in New York have called for legal proceedings related to his death to be held in the United States, so they could witness them.

Offutt's mother, Carol Tate of Sharon, Pa., told The (Sharon) Herald last month that she has spoken to her son and thought there were other factors that have not been made public, but she declined further comment.

The Army has identified the other soldiers charged as 1st Lt. Daniel J. Schwartz, 25, of Maryland (no hometown was given); Staff Sgt. Blaine G. Dugas, 35, of Port Arthur, Texas; Staff Sgt. Andrew J. Van Bockel, 26, of Aberdeen, S.D.; Sgt. Adam M. Holcomb, 29, of Youngstown, Ohio; Sgt. Jeffrey T. Hurst, 26, of Brooklyn, Iowa; Spc. Thomas P. Curtis, 25, of Hendersonville, Tenn; and Sgt. Travis F. Carden, 24, of Fowler, Ind.

VanBockel, Holcomb, Hurst, Curtis and Offutt were charged with the most serious offenses, including involuntary manslaughter, negligent homicide, and assault and battery.

The NATO-led force also said two service members in southern Afghanistan died Sunday of injuries that were not battle-related.

A coalition statement did not say whether the injuries were the result of an accident, suicide, or other causes and it did not give the troops' nationalities.

Sunday's deaths bring to 16 the number of coalition troops who have died in Afghanistan this month.

On Saturday, a roadside bomb killed two Afghan police officers as they were driving home in the eastern province of Khost, provincial police chief Sardar Mohammad Zazia said.

Both officers were members of a counternarcotics squad, he said. Khost lies along the border with Pakistan's lawless northwestern tribal region and is a stronghold of the al-Qaida-allied Haqqani network.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120115/ap_on_re_as/as_afghanistan

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Re-elected Taiwan leader: China politics can wait

Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou declares his victory in the presidential election, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012, in Taipei, Taiwan. Ma won a close re-election fight, leveraging his message of greater prosperity through expanded ties with China to beat his populist-minded opponent, Tsai Ing-wen. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou declares his victory in the presidential election, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012, in Taipei, Taiwan. Ma won a close re-election fight, leveraging his message of greater prosperity through expanded ties with China to beat his populist-minded opponent, Tsai Ing-wen. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou declares his victory in the presidential election, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012, in Taipei, Taiwan. Ma won a close re-election fight, leveraging his message of greater prosperity through expanded ties with China to beat his populist-minded opponent, Tsai Ing-wen. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou hugs his wife Chow Mei-ching, left, as he declares his victory in the presidential election, in Taipei, Taiwan, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012. Ma won a close re-election fight, leveraging his message of greater prosperity through expanded ties with China to beat his populist-minded opponent, Tsai Ing-wen. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou, right, speaks to supporters after declaring victory in the presidential election, in Taipei, Taiwan, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012. Ma won a close re-election fight, leveraging his message of greater prosperity through expanded ties with China to beat his populist-minded opponent, Tsai Ing-wen. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Supporters fill a street in front of the ruling Nationalist Party campaign headquarters before Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou declares victory in the presidential election, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012 in Taipei, Taiwan. Ma won a close re-election fight, leveraging his message of greater prosperity through expanded ties with China to beat his populist-minded opponent, Tsai Ing-wen. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)

(AP) ? Economy first, politics later ? if ever. That's the mandate Taiwanese voters gave their newly re-elected president on relations with the Chinese mainland, which is bent on achieving unity with the democratic island but will have to wait for it.

Beijing favored President Ma Ying-jeou over a challenger from a pro-independence party, and has worked with Ma to build closer economic links. But while Chinese President Hu Jintao would like to see progress in repairing the political rift between Taiwan and the mainland before he leaves office this year, Ma made clear after declaring victory Saturday that he wants to strengthen economic ties before addressing political issues.

He told reporters there is no clear timetable for beginning any political talks with the authoritarian mainland, the world's second-biggest economy.

"With mainland relations, we will work on the economy first and politics later, work on the easier tasks first and the more difficult ones later," Ma said after winning a second four-year term. "There is no rush to open up political dialogue. It's not a looming issue."

That could present a challenge to the Chinese leadership, which insists that Taiwan is part of Chinese territory and sooner or later needs to come under Beijing's control. The two sides split amid civil war in 1949.

Hu has pivoted sharply away from the intimidation and bullying that used to be a hallmark of Beijing's policy toward the island, but his government continues to point hundreds of missiles at Taiwanese targets and maintains its long-standing threat to resort to force if Taiwan resists unification indefinitely.

Failure by Hu to produce concrete political achievements in Taiwan could strengthen the hand of less patient Chinese leaders emerging in the military and the government.

Ma, for his part, has ruled out even meeting Hu.

"My formal capacity is the president of the Republic of China," he said, referring to Taiwan's official name. "It will not be possible for me to meet with mainland leaders in another capacity. People here would not accept it."

No Chinese leader could acknowledge Ma's status as ROC president, because to do so would be to accept that a separate China exists alongside the People's Republic. That violates the so-called "one-China policy," the central canon of Beijing's approach to Taiwan for the past 62 years.

In its first reaction to Ma's victory, China's official Xinhua News Agency took a positive tone, reflecting Beijing's view that he was a far better choice than challenger Tsai Ing-wen, whose party maintains its theoretical support for an independent Taiwan.

"The results of the elections have indicated that the peaceful development of the cross-strait relations is a correct path and has been widely recognized by the Taiwan people," Xinhua said.

Although the Nationalists formally advocate unification between the sides, they reject the idea of doing so under mainland communist rule and have decisively sidelined the issue in favor of maintaining the status quo.

Chao Chun-shan, a China expert at Taipei's Tamkang University, said that Hu's imminent departure makes it unlikely that Beijing will press Ma to make a political deal anytime soon. If a Taiwan political gambit failed, Hu's successors could come off looking bad while they are still in the relatively vulnerable position of just beginning to consolidate their power, Chao said.

"I don't think there is room for talks on a political deal in (Ma's) second term." Chao said. "Economics is the first priority."

There is considerable appetite in Taiwan for pursuing the kind of economic deals that Ma brought to fruition during his first term. Under his leadership Taiwan increased the number of direct mainland China flights, opened itself to large numbers of free-spending Chinese tourists and cut tariffs on scores on Taiwanese exports to the mainland.

That contrasts sharply with a strong local resistance to engaging China politically, out of fear that any deal could undermine the island's hard-won democratic freedoms. Polls over the last 10 years have shown that no more than 10 percent of Taiwanese favor union with the mainland, with most of the rest supporting an open-ended continuation of Taiwan's de facto independence.

Sixty-three year-old Tsai supporter Victor Tsai ? no relation to the defeated candidate ? said he too favored strengthening economic ties with the mainland, as long as there were no political strings attached.

"I do business with China all the time but it doesn't influence my political views," he said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-15-AS-Taiwan-Presidential-Election/id-e4d0cc771b714e10b700ce5f9a7fe71d

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Iranian leader meets Fidel Castro (AP)

HAVANA ? Two of Washington's top irritants, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Fidel Castro, discussed world events for two hours, and the Iranian leader on Thursday described the retired Cuban revolutionary as healthy and engaged, and declared their two countries to be allies "fighting on the same front."

"It made me enormously happy to see the comandante healthy and fit," Ahmadinejad said through a translator at an impromptu airport appearance alongside Fidel's brother, Cuban President Raul Castro, before flying off to Ecuador.

Raul said his 85-year-old brother and Ahmadinejad met for two hours Wednesday, "a demonstration that his brain is working very well." Fidel Castro stepped down in 2006 due to an illness that nearly killed him, but continues to write essays on world events.

One of his main themes has been warning that a conflict pitting the U.S. and Israel against Iran could lead the world toward nuclear Armageddon. Iranian officials last year said they welcomed Castro's support, but did not share his apocalyptic concerns, arguing the West would not dare attack.

Raul Castro and the Iranian president also held a late-night meeting Wednesday, discussing bilateral relations and world events.

"We have common positions on many things," Ahmadinejad said. "We have been, are and will be together one with the other."

Ahmadinejad took no questions about tensions between his country and Washington over Iran's nuclear program, and did not comment on the assassination Wednesday of a nuclear scientist working at Iran's main uranium enrichment facility.

Iran's government blamed the killing on Israel, the U.S. and Britain. The U.S. denied involvement.

Ahmadinejad began his Latin America tour shortly after Washington imposed tougher sanctions on Tehran over the nuclear program. He spent less than 24 hours in Cuba, following visits to Venezuela and Nicaragua.

In Ecuador, Ahmadinejad got a bear hug from President Rafael Correa, who last received the Iranian president during his 2007 inauguration and visited Tehran the following year. The two dined at the presidential palace and waved to hundreds of Ecuadorean from its balcony, where a big Iranian flag flew.

The Iranian president thanked Correa for his solidarity and said that "the era of imperialism and global arrogance are exhausted."

The president of Quito's chamber of commerce, Blasco Penaherrera, criticized the visit, calling the foreign policy of Ecuador's leftist president irresponsible.

"It's going to make it much more difficult to make progress with our principal market, the United States," he said.

Iran opened an embassy in Ecuador in 2008. Trade between the two nations has been meager.

___

Associated Press writer Gonzalo Solano in Quito, Ecuador, contributed to this report.

___

Follow Paul Haven at http://www.twitter.com/paulhaven

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120112/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cb_latin_america_iran

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Crash and burn time for Spain's crusading judge? (AP)

MADRID ? He indicted late Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet on genocide charges and became an instant hero to many around the world. A decade later he launched a similar crimes-against-humanity probe over atrocities by the right-wing victors of Spain's Civil War.

Now Judge Baltasar Garzon is finding himself in the dock.

On Tuesday, Garzon goes on trial for allegedly ordering illegal jailhouse wiretaps in a domestic corruption probe. A week later he appears in court to face charges he overstepped his authority in the Civil War case.

Supporters say he's the victim of a witchhunt by courthouse colleagues jealous of his fame and of arch-conservatives angered by his attempt to revisit Spain's war-time past.

Whatever the motivations, Spain's once high-flying but now-suspended super sleuth may be about to crash and burn definitively.

Garzon doesn't face jail time if convicted in either trial. But he can be removed from the bench for up to 20 years, which at his age ? 56 ? would in effect end his career as an investigating magistrate at the National Court.

The judge ? who also charged Osama bin Laden and probed abuses at the United States' Guantanamo Bay prison for terror suspects ? is separately under investigation over his dealings with a big Spanish bank.

Garzon's lawyer says the precedent set by the trials, plus the probe which could lead to a third trial, will make it virtually impossible for Garzon to take up his post again even if he is acquitted in all three cases.

"Judge Garzon is facing the perfect storm," said the attorney, Gonzalo Martinez-Fresneda.

New York-based Human Rights Watch said the fact that Garzon was even charged for probing killings and forced disappearances by supporters of Gen. Francisco Franco during and after the 1936-39 war is an outrage.

The group's spokesman, Reed Brody, said it is already discouraging judges in other countries from applying the principles of law he championed.

Both sides in the Spanish war ? the Republican side and Franco's rebel right-wing forces ? committed atrocities. But they were addressed by a post-Franco-era amnesty approved by Parliament. Republican atrocities against pro-Franco civilians had already been thoroughly documented by the regime.

The specific charge against Garzon is that he knowingly overstepped the bounds of his jurisdiction with his unprecedented albeit abortive probe of crimes committed by the Franco side.

Garzon, a workaholic from a modest background in Spain's olive-growing south, certainly never expected to find himself in court as a criminal suspect.

Rights advocates in Spain and abroad adore him for his pioneering cross-border justice cases, which apply the principle of universal jurisdiction ? the idea that some crimes are so heinous they can be prosecuted anywhere, not just in the country where they are alleged to have been committed.

Since Garzon had Pinochet arrested in London in 1998 in an ultimately failed bid to put him on trial in Madrid, Garzon and colleagues at the National Court have issued indictments and arrest warrants over crimes in such far-flung places as Tibet and Rwanda.

The effect here in Spain has been largely symbolic. There's been only one conviction ? that of an Argentine 'dirty war' suspect who came to Spain voluntarily to testify and ended up charged and convicted in 2005. And there has been one extradition.

But the arrest of Pinochet inspired victims of abuses, especially in Latin American countries like Argentina, Chile and Guatemala, to challenge and win the repeal of laws giving amnesty to perpetrators of atrocities committed by military juntas, said Brody.

"Garzon changed the world," he said.

Spain's decision to put Garzon on trial before the Supreme Court, he added, "leaves Spain open to the charge of double standards: they are willing to work for justice in so many other countries and yet at home they have problems with a judge who seeks justice."

The second trial begins Jan. 24 with a session due to focus on procedural issues. It picks up again a week later, with Garzon expected to testify just that day. His lawyer says the proceedings will probably take a month altogether, with a verdict possibly coming in late March or April.

Garzon is arguably Spain's most polarizing figure.

Even as he became the darling of human rights advocates, he's made many enemies at home. Conservatives deride him as a limelight addict more interested in fame and front-page photos than justice and doing things by the book. They say his attempt to probe the war atrocities was unnecessary digging at old wounds best left alone.

However, even many Spanish Socialists hold a grudge against Garzon over his indictment of government officials over state-financed death squads that targeted the Basque separatist group ETA in the 1980s.

Jose Antonio Martin Pallin, a judge emeritus at the Supreme Court, said there are many people in Spain who want a piece of Garzon ? and his indictment in 2010 over the Civil War probe opened up the floodgates.

Among other things, he said, that gush stems from envy among judges who are used to discretion and modest salaries and disliked Garzon's glitzy lifestyle of jetting around the world to give well-paid lectures on human rights and attracting gaggles of reporters wherever he went.

The first indictment of Garzon meant "hunting season is now open," Martin Pallin said. He described fellow judges' thinking as "this man is going to get it now, for all his enjoyment, for his speaking fees."

Before dropping the Civil War probe in a dispute over jurisdiction ? it began and ended in 2008 ? Garzon declared he had the right to probe what he estimated were 100,000 killings and forced disappearances of people at the hands of Franco supporters and the regime.

Garzon called this a systematic drive to crush opponents and thus a crime against a humanity. His resolutions essentially amounted to an indictment of the Franco regime itself.

After Franco died in 1975 and Spain moved toward democracy while trying to put behind it a ruinous chapter of the past, Parliament in 1977 passed an amnesty for Civil War crimes.

Garzon did not challenge that law. Rather, he said that under the body of international jurisprudence that has accumulated since then, forced disappearances cannot be covered by the 1977 legislation. He argued that since no bodies have been found in cases of missing persons, the crimes are still ongoing.

Martin Pallin agreed that even if acquitted, Garzon would be so tainted as to be finished at the National Court.

"He would probably have to make a sort of symbolic return. Return, and then leave again," he said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120115/ap_on_re_eu/eu_spain_judge_on_trial

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Myanmar says 651 convicts to be freed under pardon (AP)

YANGON, Myanmar ? Myanmar will release 651 prisoners starting Friday under a new presidential pardon, but it's unknown if political detainees will be freed.

Myanmar state radio and television said Thursday evening the prisoners would be freed so they can participate in the task of nation-building. It did not identify them, but that description could be construed to apply to political prisoners.

The release of political prisoners is eagerly anticipated as Myanmar's military-backed but elected government continues reforms begun when it took office last year.

Amnesties under the new government that freed more than 27,000 convicts since last May were disappointing as they included only a few hundred of as many as 2,000 political detainees.

The freedom of political prisoners is a key demand of the United States and other countries for lifting sanctions imposed on Myanmar for the repressive policies of its previous military regime.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120112/ap_on_re_as/as_myanmar_prisoners

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