Egypt Erupts Over Morsi's 'First Step for Tyranny'

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Nov 27, 2012 1:33pm







ap tahrir protests mi 121127 wblog Egyptians Protest President Morsis Power Grab

Khalil Hamra/AP Photo


CAIRO – Waves of protesters poured into Cairo’s Tahrir Square today to protest the far-reaching constitutional declaration made by President Mohammed Morsi last week that has essentially granted him unchecked power.


Click here for images of the demonstrations in Tahrir Square.


The new declaration frees Morsi from judicial oversight and with no parliament currently in place, many said longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak had simply been substituted with another.


“This is the first step for tyranny, he’s trying to put all the power in his hands and this is against the constitution and the law,” said Hassan Gamal, a professor of orthopaedic surgery. “No exceptions for anybody. Mubarak was tyrant because of the exceptions. We’re not going to tolerate any exceptions anymore.”


Liberal groups had called for the mass protest against Morsi, many of which have long complained of Islamists’ strength in post-Mubarak Egypt, led by Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood. Protesters today said they were afraid of the constitution being written by an Islamist-dominated constitutional assembly, which will be put to a referendum once finished.


“The Muslim Brotherhood, they say something and then do the opposite,” said English teacher Nadine Mustafa. “We are in the 21st century, we want democracy, we don’t want a pharaoh ruining the country. This is ridiculous.”


Morsi’s office published the seven-article declaration on Thursday, the second of which states that Morsi’s laws and decrees “are final and binding and cannot be appealed by any way or to any entity” until the constitution is approved and a parliament elected.


Violence immediately broke out with clashes between Morsi opponents, supporters and police leading to more than 500 injuries and at least three deaths. To prevent more violence, the Muslim Brotherhood on Monday night cancelled their own rallies planned for today, though supporters did turn out in Alexandria.


“He’s a president that was elected to office with no constitution, no parliament and no defined powers in the state. It’s an exceptional circumstance,” argued Muslim Brotherhood senior adviser Jihad Haddad, who accused Mubarak-appointed judges of blocking Morsi’s attempts to reform the country’s institutions.


Morsi’s office insisted that the powers are only temporary. Haddad said the declaration will only be valid until a draft of the constitution is submitted.


“[Morsi] tried to do this through the only available avenue and choice,” Haddad said. “It does terrify [Morsi opponents] because the only thing they can rely on is trust and that trust was given to us during the presidential elections.”




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FAA nominee in the clear after DeMint lifts objection

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Sen. Jim DeMint is lifting his hold on an FAA nominee.
(Jonathan Ernst - Reuters)
After a deep freeze, it looks like things might be moving again in the Senate: Sen. Jim De Mint is no longer blocking the nomination of Michael Huerta to be Federal Aviation Administration administrator.


The South Carolina Republican had put a hold on Huerta last summer, reasoning that Republicans shouldn’t appoint anyone to the five-year position before the outcome of the presidential election was known. If GOP candidate Mitt Romney had won, Huerta could have served through his first term. But now that President Obama has been reelected, DeMint has withdrawn the nominee’s roadblock.


Huerta has served as the acting chief at FAA since the former agency head, Randy Babbitt, resigned following a drunken-driving arrest. The charges were later dropped against Babbitt.


Huerta’s nomination was approved by a Senate committee in July, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid now hopes to add the nomination to a package that could clear the full Senate sometime before the end of the session, a spokesman says.

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Football: Napoli close on Juve, Inter stumble

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ROME: Napoli climbed to second in Serie A, two points behind Juventus, by defeating Cagliari 1-0 on Monday. The win moved them ahead of Inter Milan who lost 0-1 at Parma in a later game.

As Juventus had lost 0-1 to city rivals AC Milan on Sunday, a win for Inter would have moved them to within one point of the Turin side, but in Parma they were up against a side unbeaten at home in eight months.

Both teams had their chances in a tight first half with Fredy Guarin coming closest for the visitors, while a deflected Marco Marchionni cross was well saved by Samir Handanovic early on.

Inter came closest to taking the lead after 62 minutes when Guarin sent in a tremendous pile-driver of a shot from almost 30 metres out that was parried over the bar by Antonio Miranti.

Japanese winger Yuto Nagatoma was proving a handful for the Parma defence down the right and Argentine striker Diego Milito had an opening after 72 minutes but failed to get any power on his shot and it was easily saved by Handanovic.

Two minutes later, the visitors paid the price as Parma opened the scoring.

Nicola Sansone picked up the ball wide left near the halfway line and drove through the Inter defence to fire in a low right-footer that Handanovic got a hand to but could not keep out of his bottom right corner.

Inter powered forward in search of an equaliser, but it was Parma who nearly scored a second with a tremendous header from Yohan Benalouane on a free-kick from Jaime Valdes, but Handanovic reacted quickly to nudge it over the bar.

In the night's other game, a Marek Hamsik's strike after 73 minutes was enough to give Napoli a 1-0 win at Cagliari, taking them past Fiorentina and Inter into third place, two points behind Juventus.

- AFP/fa



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Ex-NSG commando Surender Singh holds forth on 26/11 symbolism

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NEW DELHI: Anti-graft crusader Arvind Kejriwal was not the only one to tug at the hearts of people gathered at his party launch on Monday. There was a soldier, who seemed to exemplify the popular slogan 'Jai Jawan Jai Kisan.' Ex-NSG commando Surender Singh made his public speaking debut at the gathering, but narrated his plight in an articulate manner.

Born in a poor farmer's family in Haryana's Chhara, Singh had seen action in the Kargil war in 1999, was a part of the United Nations Peace Mission to Congo and was later posted in strife-torn Jammu and Kashmir's Bandipore. He was also one of the 26/11 heroes, having gunned down two terrorists during the Mumbai carnage.

In spite of his rustic Haryanvi accent, Surender, who is left hearing impaired after a hand grenade explosion during the attack, said, "While the jawans are sacrificing so much, the funds meant for them are being spent on parties in five-star hotels."

He also drew people's attention to the symbolism of '26/11.' Surender cited that on the same day in 1949 the Indian constitution was unveiled, but ironically the nation faced a terrorist attack in Mumbai on the same date in 2008. "Today is also 26/11. It's a very important date and is symbolic of India's journey. I am glad that the AAP is being launched on this date," he said.

Surender, who along with former India Against Corruption activists, had earlier charged the government of not honoring him and non-payment of pension. On Monday, Surender retorted, "I have not received a single penny. Whatever is in my account is from my insurance and an amount of Rs 2 lakh that I had got earlier. Information and broadcasting minister Manish Tewari's tweet that I have been paid is completely false," added Surender.

On being asked that he was being considered least experienced in politics, he said, "Indeed I don't have experience of corruption and crime record politicians have and I don't even wish to have such experiences."

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Space Pictures This Week: Space "Horse," Mars Rover, More

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Mom Fears Dad in Boy's Disappearance

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The mother of 13-year-old boy Dylan Redwine, who disappeared a week ago during a court ordered visit to his father, fears that the dad may have done something to "remove Dylan from the situation."


Dylan Redwine was last seen at the home of his father, Mark Redwine, when he vanished seven days ago.


"I was married to Mark for a lot of years, and I know the way he reacts to things," Elaine Redwine told ABC News. "If Dylan maybe did or said something that wasn't what Mark wanted to hear, I'm just afraid of how Mark would have reacted."


Elaine and Mark were divorced and live about five hours away from each other, ABC News affiliate KMGH reports. Dylan was staying at his father's home because of a court order granting his father visitation rights for Thanksgiving.


Elaine Redwine told ABC News she believes her ex-husband was upset that she was the court-mandated primary custodian of their son.


"I don't think Mark treats him very well," Elaine Redwine said. "I would not put it past Mark to have done something to remove Dylan from the situation. You know, like 'if I can't have him, nobody will.'"


Dylan had been with his dad in Vallecito, Colo., for just one day before he went missing. Mark Redwine told police that his son was in his home when he left to run some errands at 7:30 a.m. When he returned four hours later, the boy was missing.








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Elaine Redwine told ABC News she was having a difficult time getting in touch with her ex-husband about their son.


"He hasn't had any contact with us. [My older son] tried to get a hold of him by texting him, and he wouldn't respond," she said. "I just find it odd that at a time like this, he would be so evasive."


Mark Redwine declined to speak to ABC News.


Police say they are considering a number of possibilities, including abduction and the possibility that Dylan ran away.


"Foul play is definitely something we are looking at, but we're hoping it's a runaway case and that Dylan will show up and will be fine," La Plata Sheriff's Office spokesman Dan Bender said. "Because we don't have any clues that point in any particular direction, we have to consider every possibility."


Dylan's mother and older brother both insist Dylan wouldn't run away without contacting them, or if he did run away from his dad's home, he would have gone to them.


"When he was afraid in any situation, he knew he could call me and I would drop everything and go out there, first thing," Dylan's brother, Cory Redwine, 21, told ABC News. "He knew that me, my mom, my step-dad, any of us, if he called us and said, 'I need your help,' he knew we'd be there."


Hundreds of people have turned up to help search for Dylan, but so far police say they are no closer to finding him.


"We had people in the air, on horseback, on ATVs, search dogs, and we got no clues from any of that," Bender said.


Dive teams are searching nearby Vallecito Lake using a high-powered sonar gun, after searches this weekend revealed nothing, according to KMGH. Search teams are also combing the shoreline around the lake.


Elaine Redwine told ABC News she thinks somebody must know something, and she hopes they come forward.


"Vallecito is a small community. If anybody has seen anything or knows anything, no matter how big or small it seems, please tell us," Redwine said. "Everything right now is crucial to bringing my little boy home."


Redwine is described as 5 feet tall, 105 pounds, blond hair, blue eyes and fair complexion. He was last seen wearing a black Nike shirt, black basketball nylon shorts, black Jordan tennis shoes and a two-tone blue and white Duke Blue Devils baseball hat.



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Football: Messi reaches 82 goals as Barca stay clear

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MADRID: Lionel Messi struck twice as Barcelona won 4-0 at Levante on Sunday to remain three points clear of Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga.

Messi's goals were both laid on by Andres Iniesta who also hit the target himself before supplying Cesc Fabregas for the fourth.

The Argentine's brace means he now has 82 goals in 2012, just six short of German legend Gerd Mueller's all-time calendar record set in 1972.

He also tops the La Liga charts for the season with 19 goals.

Atletico had earlier beaten Sevilla 4-0 to keep pace at the top and go eight points ahead of city rivals Real Madrid in third who had lost 1-0 at Betis on Saturday.

Barca had struggled in the first half and their cause was not helped by losing Dani Alves after only 13 minutes with what appeared to be a recurrence of a recent hamstring injury.

When his replacement Martin Montoya took the pitch it meant Barca's full side had also starred for the club at youth level.

Jose Maria Barkero had the best chance of the opening exchanges for Levante, drawing Barca goalkeeper Victor Valdes into a save with a 12th-minute drive.

Barca took 10 minutes to react, Messi hitting a low shot that missed just wide right, a minute before Xavi Hernandez hit a similar drive that went to the left.

The Catalans' intricate build-up play was comfortably contained by solid defending from the home team in a tight first period.

Levante, in the meantime, looked dangerous on the counter-attack and Obafemi Martins narrowly glanced a header wide just before half-time.

However, Barca finally found a way through just after the break and it was from a perfectly threaded pass from Iniesta that allowed Messi to coolly slot home.

Five minutes later, Iniesta was the provider again, the little midfielder pulling back the ball for Messi to double the lead.

Another five minutes had passed before Iniesta buried Levante's challenge for good with a drive from the edge of the area.

The fourth came on 63 minutes, this time Fabregas was given the simple task of finishing off another Iniesta pass.

Barca had solved what had at first seemed a difficult task with four goals in 18 second-half minutes and for Levante there was no way back.

Valdes made matters worse for the home side making a double save from a Barkero penalty in the dying minutes after Carles Puyol had handled in the area.

For Atletico, Radamel Falcao, Arda Turan and Koke got first-half goals and Miranda one in the last-minute to make it seven straight home wins in the league against a Sevilla side that played with only 10 men from the 22nd minute and finished with nine.

Atletico made a breakthrough on 19 minutes when Koke was pulled down by Federico Fazio, who received a straight red.

Falcao smashed the penalty straight down the middle of the goal for his 11th league goal of the season and Sevilla were facing more than an hour of play with ten men.

On 38 minutes, Turan doubled the home side's lead when Falcao received a defensive clearance and broke at speed before releasing the Turkish winger, who hit a shot that caught a slight deflection of Spahic on the way to goal.

On the stroke of half-time, Koke stroked home a Diego Costa cross for the third.

It was one way traffic in the second period but Sevilla held firm for most of it, despite losing Ivan Rakitic to a second yellow card on 83 minutes, before Miranda hit the fourth from close range in injury time.

Also on Sunday, Athletic Bilbao and Deportivo La Coruna shared the points in a 1-1 draw in the San Mames stadium.

Oscar de Marcos put the home side ahead on 24 minutes when he converted a Markel Susaeta cross, but against the run of play Abel Aguilar hit an equaliser early in the second-half to earn Deportivo a point and move his side out of the relegation zone.

Getafe won 2-0 at Espanyol to keep the Barcelona side bottom of the table, two points behind Deportivo.

Pedro Leon put Getafe ahead on 15 minutes before Mane doubled the lead in the last-minute.

-AFP/ac



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Colleagues remember CBI DIG Suresh Kumar Palsania

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NEW DELHI: A condolence meeting was held on Sunday at the CBI headquarters in memory of DIG Suresh Kumar Palsania, who led the probe in the 2G spectrum allocation case.

Palsania, a 1996-batch IPS officer of Odisha cadre, passed away earlier this month at the age of 44 after an acute illness. Remembering him as a gritty officer, minister of state for personnel V Narayanasamy said, "When he was battling with disease, me and director CBI went to hospital where he said he would be fit and be back soon. I vividly remember my last meeting with him at Vigyan Bhavan, just a month back. He looked hale and hearty and as always, smiling, while he received the President's Police Medal. I could not have imagined in my dream that we would lose him so soon."

CBI chief A P Singh said Palsania had assured him that he would ensure the agency met all challenges.

"Throughout last year, under very trying circumstances, I found Suresh completely unflappable and totally in control of the situation. Whether it was briefing the PAC, JPC or CVC on the intricacies of the investigation, we relied on Suresh," he said. Terming his death as a huge loss to the Indian Police Service, DGP Prakash Mishra said Palsania was an outstanding officer whose "perfect upbringing" reflected in his humane qualities.

Special director V K Gupta choked with emotion while describing his association with him. "When I joined CBI in 2010 and sat down with him to review the 2G case, he took with seriousness the responsibility and led the team in the probe," he said.

His batch-mate and fellow DIG, Sanjay Kumar Singh termed him as a fearless, strong-willed and brave officer who never cared for personal comfort while on duty but always showed caring attitude towards his subordinates and colleagues. SP Vivek Priyadarshi, who was the investigating officer in the 2G case, said when Palsania joined the Anti-Corruption Branch, there were reports that CBI had changed its officer under pressure. But, his professionalism proved otherwise.

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Distant Dwarf Planet Secrets Revealed

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Orbiting at the frozen edges of our solar system, the mysterious dwarf planet Makemake is finally coming out of the shadows as astronomers get their best view yet of Pluto's little sibling.

Discovered in 2005, Makemake—pronounced MAH-keh MAH-keh after a Polynesian creation god—is one of five Pluto-like objects that prompted a redefining of the term "planet" and the creation of a new group of dwarf planets in 2006. (Related: "Pluto Not a Planet, Astronomers Rule.")

Just like the slightly larger Pluto, this icy world circles our sun beyond Neptune. Researchers expected Makemake to also have a global atmosphere—but new evidence reveals that isn't the case.

Staring at a Star

An international team of astronomers was able for the first time to probe Makemake's physical characteristics using the European Southern Observatory's three most powerful telescopes in Chile. The researchers observed the change in light given off by a distant star as the dwarf planet passed in front of it. (Learn how scientists found Makemake.)

"These events are extremely difficult to predict and observe, but they are the only means of obtaining accurate knowledge of important properties of dwarf planets," said Jose Luis Ortiz, lead author of this new study and an astronomer at the Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia, in Spain.

It's like trying to study a coin from a distance of 30 miles (48 kilometers) or more, Ortiz added.

Ortiz and his team knew Makemake didn't have an atmosphere when light from the background star abruptly dimmed and brightened as the chilly world drifted across its face.

"The light went off very abruptly from all the sites we observed the event so this means this world cannot have a substantial and global atmosphere like that of its sibling Pluto," Ortiz said.

If Makemake had an atmosphere, light from the star would gradually decrease and increase as the dwarf planet passed in front.

Coming Into Focus

The team's new observations add much more detail to our view of Makemake—not only limiting the possibility of an atmosphere but also determining the planet's size and surface more accurately.

"We think Makemake is a sphere flattened slightly at both poles and mostly covered with very white ices—mainly of methane," said Ortiz.

"But there are also indications for some organic material at least at some places; this material is usually very red and we think in a small percentage of the surface, the terrain is quite dark," he added.

Why Makemake lacks a global atmosphere remains a big mystery, but Ortiz does have a theory. Pluto is covered in nitrogen ice. When the sun heats this volatile material, it turns straight into a gas, creating Pluto's atmosphere.

Makemake lacks nitrogen ice on its surface, so there is nothing for the sun to heat into a gas to provide an atmosphere.

The dwarf planet has less mass, and a weaker gravitational field, than Pluto, said Ortiz. This means that over eons of time, Makemake may not have been able to hang on to its nitrogen.

Methane ice will also transform into a gas when heated. But since the dwarf planet is nearly at its furthest distance from the sun, Ortiz believes that Makemake's surface methane is still frozen. (Learn about orbital planes.)

And even if the methane were to transform into a gas, any resulting atmosphere would cover, at most, only ten percent of the planet, said Ortiz.

The new results are detailed today in the journal Nature.


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No Powerball Winner; Jackpot Grows to $425 Million

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Nov 25, 2012 10:37am







ap powerball jackpot jt 121125 wblog No Powerball Winner; Jackpot Grows to Record $425 Million

                                                                (Image Credit: Charlie Neibergall/AP Photo)


The Powerball jackpot has swelled to $425 million, the largest in the lottery’s history, after no tickets matched the winning numbers in a drawing Saturday night.


The Powerball numbers for Saturday were 22-32-37-44-50, and the Powerball was 34.


Iowa Lottery spokeswoman Mary Neubauer said the jackpot could get even bigger before Wednesday, because sales tend to increase in the run-up to a big drawing.


The previous top windfall was $365 million. The jackpot was claimed by eight co-workers in Lincoln, Neb., in 2006.


PHOTOS: Biggest Lotto Jackpot Winners


While millions of Americans can have fun dreaming about how they’d spend the jackpot, the odds of winning are 1 in 175,000,000, according to lottery officials.


To put that in perspective, a ticket holder is 25 times less likely to win the jackpot then they are to win an Academy Award.


Even still, the old saying holds true: “You’ve got to be in it to win it.”




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