Egypt gives the boot to hundreds of police officers

Cairo (CNN) -- Hundreds of high-ranking Egyptian police officers have been fired, a purge stemming from the January violence that led to the dramatic departure of the country's president.

Interior Ministry spokesman Alla Mahmoud said 505 generals and 82 brigadiers were dismissed Wednesday, with 27 of them accused of killing protesters.

More than 840 people were killed during the unrest, known as the January 25 revolution.

Reforming police and punishing those who harmed demonstrators are key demands of the protesters camping out at Cairo's Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the uprising against then-President Hosni Mubarak and his government.

Monday, Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf called for the trials of former officials accused of killing protesters to be open to the public. Those comments came two days after he addressed the nation, ordering the termination of all officers accused of killing protesters during the uprising that ousted Mubarak.These developments emerged amid citizen anger at the slow pace of reform since Mubarak resigned February 11.

A group called the January 25 Coalition, named for the day anti-government protests began this year, has said its members will stay in the square until their demands are met.

Protesters have been camped out there for weeks, and many brought TV sets, laptops, books, sleeping bags and clothes with them, suggesting they plan to stay for the long haul. Traffic around the square has been blocked.

The coalition's demands include economic reform, the immediate resignation of the interior minister, speedy trials of former officers and the end of military tribunals.

The military-led government that took over when Mubarak resigned has been prosecuting several former officials accused of ordering security forces to fire on protesters.

Mubarak himself is scheduled to face the Cairo Criminal Court on August 3 on charges of corruption and counts related to the deaths of protesters, officials have said.

Egypt's military rulers have scheduled parliamentary elections for September.

Read more »

Libyan rebels looted and beat civilians, rights group says

Zintan, Libya (CNN) -- Libyan rebels have looted and burned homes and abused civilians, a human rights group said Wednesday.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch said that, in "four towns captured by rebels in the Nafusa Mountains over the past month, rebel fighters and supporters have damaged property, burned some homes, looted from hospitals, homes, and shops, and beaten some individuals alleged to have supported government forces."

The accusations came as rebel forces inside Libya managed to retake a village from Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi 's forces, and rebel leaders were in Europe meeting with NATO officials and the European Commission.

Mahmoud Jibril, chairman of the executive board of the opposition Transitional National Council, said the complaints represent only a "few incidents" that "took place in the very early days of the revolution, and we've been investigating those cases. We are against any human rights violation whomever is the source of those violations." Those responsible are "going to be brought to justice," he vowed.

Jibril spoke at a news conference after meeting with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso in Brussels, Belgium.

In the news release announcing the accusations, Human Rights Watch said its representatives had "witnessed some of these acts, interviewed witnesses to others, and spoke with a rebel commander about the abuses."

"The rebel military commander in the Nafusa Mountains, Col. El-Moktar Firnana, admitted that some abuses had taken place after rebels captured the towns, but said such attacks violated orders issued to the rebel forces not to attack civilians or damage civilian property. He claimed that some people had been punished, but did not say how many people or for what offenses," Human Rights Watch said.

The group also noted that it has "documented repeated indiscriminate attacks by government forces on civilian areas" and the use of landmines.

Inside Libya on Wednesday, rebels lost and then regained control of Qawalish, a village in the western part of the country.

A CNN crew close to Qawalish witnessed the events, including the rebels' five-hour battle to retake the village.

Eight rebels were killed and 30 were wounded, according to hospital sources in nearby Zintan.

Qawalish lies along a major north-south highway leading to Tripoli, which rebel leaders say Gadhafi forces have been using to bring in arms from other parts of Africa. The rebels want to cut off the supply chain.

A rebel commander told CNN his forces would advance another 10 km (6.2 miles) and then stop, because they do not have enough fighters and ammunition to go farther. Reinforcements were heading in.

Almost all civilians had already fled the area around Qawalish.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen issued a statement Wednesday after what NATO called "an informal meeting" with members of the Transitional National Council in Brussels.

"The members of the Transitional National Council thanked us for the mission's indispensable humanitarian role," he said. "And they briefed us on their vision of their country's future -- one based on democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights."

Some rebel leaders in Libya have criticized NATO for not doing enough to halt Gadhafi's forces.

Rasmussen said the two groups agreed "that NATO's operations to protect civilians must continue. Gadhafi's forces are still threatening innocent people. And as long as that threat continues, we must continue to deal with it."

Gadhafi's regime "has lost all legitimacy," and there must be "a political solution," Rasmussen said, "for the people of Libya -- who have the right to live without violence and fear; the right to plan their own future; and whose legitimate aspirations must be met."

The British Ministry of Defense said British Army helicopters struck Gadhafi troops "engaged in the repression of the civilian population of western Libya" on Tuesday.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the ministry said "Apaches targeted three vehicle check points, which had been located in advance by intensive NATO reconnaissance operations and were being used to prevent free movement by local people. At each check point, military vehicles and structures were identified and successfully engaged using Hellfire missiles and cannon fire, as well as infantry positions. In total, four military structures and seven vehicles were destroyed, including at least one multiple barrelled rocket launcher."

Read more »

5 French troops, Afghan civilian slain in attack

Paris (CNN) -- Five French troops and an Afghan civilian were killed on Wednesday in an insurgent attack in an eastern province of Afghanistan, the French president's office said.

The incident occurred in Afghanistan's Kapisa province, where the French have a strong troop presence, and it comes a day after French President Nicolas Sarkozy visited the country to meet with French troops.

The office said the soldiers were protecting a shura, a gathering of high-profile figures, in Joibar village when "a terrorist detonated his bomb within proximity of the French soldiers." The village is in Kapisa's Tagab valley.

Along with those killed, four French soldiers and three Afghan civilians were injured.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said "the Taliban claim responsibility for the suicide attack."

Capt. Justin Brockhoff -- a spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force --also reported five international troop deaths, but the spokesman did not disclose the nationalities of those killed per ISAF policy.

He said ISAF received a report that the strike could have been a suicide attack and a "small and heavy weapons attack as well."

France has about 3,900 troops in Afghanistan, according to the NATO mission there, and the Defense Ministry says it has lost 69 service members in the long war.

France has said it will begin to reduce troop numbers, following a "timetable comparable to the withdrawal of the American troops," according to a statement from the president's office last month.

In addition, French Defense Minister Gerard Longuet told France Info radio last month that all French soldiers could be out of Afghanistan by 2013.

According to the U.S. timetable, some 33,000 U.S. troops will be withdrawn by September 2012. That will leave just under 70,000 Americans in Afghanistan.

Sarkozy, who is back in France after his Afghanistan trip, passed along his condolences and said France is determine to continue working with ISAF "to restore peace and stability" in Afghanistan.

Read more »

South Sudan becomes newest U.N. member state

(CNN) -- South Sudan officially became the 193rd member of the United Nations on Thursday morning, capping a flurry of activities that started with its independence last week.

The United Nations Security Council recommended the world's newest nation to the General Assembly on Wednesday. The General Assembly acted on the council's recommendation Thursday.

"We look forward to the Republic of South Sudan joining us as a member of the United Nations and to working closely with its representatives," Guido Westerwelle, the foreign minister of Germany, said in a statement Wednesday.

Germany is leading the Security Council this month.

South Sudanese celebrated their independence Saturday in a boisterous ceremony attended by world leaders, including Ban Ki-moon, the U.N. secretary-general.
South Sudan's sovereignty officially broke Africa's largest nation into two, the result of a January referendum overwhelmingly approved by voters.

The referendum was part of a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of civil war pitting a government dominated by Arab Muslims in the north against black Christians and animists in the South.

The two countries look set to divorce in name only -- they have not reached an agreement on the borders, the oil or the status of their respective citizens.

Ban urged north and South Sudan to work together, and said the United Nations has a crucial role to play in their success.

Meanwhile, the Sudan parliament has given preliminary approval to revoking citizenship of South Sudan nationals, according to SUNA, the state news agency.

Read more »

Study: No health risks at Samsung semiconductor factories

Seoul (CNN) -- A health study on the working conditions at Samsung Electronics' semiconductor factories concluded Thursday that there are no health risks posed at South Korean workers, disappointing former employees battling the electronics giant and government agencies for compensation.

The Samsung-commissioned study, conducted by U.S.-based firm Environ, concluded there is no scientific link to the diagnosis of leukemia of several ex-plant workers, but failed to immediately release data backing the conclusion, citing sensitivity over trade secrets.

"We will consider releasing data excluding trade secrets," Kwon Oh-hyun, President of Samsung Electronics Device Solutions, said at a news conference.

Former Samsung plant workers and bereaved family members have been fighting for work injury compensation since 2009 and believe the substances used for manufacturing semiconductor parts has led to leukemia and rare forms of cancer.

Supporters of the former employees questioned the validity of the report.

"They have not addressed any of the controversial issues and continued to lay out abstract answers. It seems like it was all a huge show," said Kong Jeong-ok, a researcher at the Korea Institute of Labor Safety and Health and avid supporter of the former Samsung workers' group.

An administrative court ruled late June in favor of two ex-employees, who died of leukemia after working at the same production line, in a suit filed against the country's workers' compensation agency. It marked the first victory for a group of more than 70 people who claim to have physical ailments or disorders caused by working conditions at Samsung plants.

Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service filed an appeal to the Seoul court some hours after Samsung announced its results to the media.

Family members of the former employees visited the government compensation agency earlier this week demanding they respect the court's decision and not appeal. An official at the agency said they had made the decision to appeal Wednesday.

The Samsung-commissioned report studied the working conditions of three production lines at two separate facilities and examined six specific cases to determine whether the manufacturing environment caused leukemia.

Samsung confirmed the six cases coincide with the victims who filed the law suit against the government's compensation agency, adding the study was commissioned as bereaved family members were unsatisfied with previous studies conducted by the country's occupational safe and health agency.

Members of the Samsung Electronics' support group expressed their disbelief at the study's results and the compensation agency's decision to appeal.

"For the first time in four years, we were able to gain recognition for work-related compensation. It is unacceptable that the agency which is meant to protect the rights of workers is going against a court ruling and appealing," said Lee Jong-ran, one of the organizers of the group.

Read more »

Chinese dissident's company challenges tax evasion allegations

Beijing (CNN) -- A company that Chinese authorities say is controlled by dissident artist Ai Weiwei challenged tax evasion allegations Thursday.

An attorney; Ai's wife, Lu Qing; and an accountant were to represent the design firm at the hearing.

Pu Zhiqiang, a famous human rights lawyer in China, told CNN that the Beijing tax bureau declined to have an open hearing and provided no reason.

Ai said he disagreed with plans to have a closed hearing.

"If we wish the modern society to function effectively, cases like this should be conducted openly with transparency and public witness," Ai said. "Otherwise a lot of problems would emerge."Pu said that if the evidence is valid, he will advise Ai's company, which includes a studio, to pay the back taxes of 5 million RMB (US $770,000) and the punishment fee of 7 million RMB (US $1 million), which is in accordance with Chinese regulations.

If he does not find the evidence valid, however, Pu said that the company will appeal.

Ai, considered China's most famous artist, was originally detained in April on grounds of tax evasion. However, his family and human rights advocates believe that the real reason for his imprisonment is his outspoken criticism of the Chinese state.

After three months in jail, Ai was released on bail in June, possibly for medical concerns.

Most famous for designing the Bird's Nest stadium for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Ai later called for a boycott of the games because he said China was using them as propaganda.

Ai also has accused the Chinese government of trying to silence dissidents.

Also Thursday, Ai confirmed he had received an invitation from the Berlin University of the Arts to accept a professorship there.

"I won't be allowed to leave the country for at least a year so I'll have to wait until I'm free to have a clear plan about my future and my work," he said.

The president of the university, Martin Rennert, said the institution will welcome Ai whenever he can make it.

"We will wait for him to come when he feels the time is right," Rennert said.

Read more »

Focus of debt talks to narrow without deal by Friday, sources say

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama and congressional negotiators will have to end their long-term deficit reduction talks and focus solely on finding a way to raise the federal debt ceiling if they fail to reach an agreement on spending cuts and tax hikes by Friday, according to two Democrats familiar with the talks.

Obama told negotiators Wednesday that he had set Friday as a deadline to decide whether a broad agreement on debt reduction is feasible.

The president is scheduled to meet behind closed doors at the White House with top congressional leaders on Thursday afternoon -- the fifth straight day of talks.

Administration officials have warned that a failure to raise the current $14.3 trillion debt ceiling by August 2 could trigger a partial default. If Washington lacks the money to pay its bills, interest rates could skyrocket and the value of the dollar could decline, among other things.

The seriousness of the situation was reinforced Wednesday when Moody's Investors Services -- a major rating agency -- said it would put the sterling bond rating of the United States on review for possible downgrade. Moody's said it had initiated the review because of "the rising possibility" that Congress will fail to raise the debt ceiling in time.

Wednesday's negotiations ended on a tense note with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Virginia, and Obama squaring off over the Republican's call for a short-term extension of the debt ceiling.

At one point, Obama said the political wrangling confirmed what the public considers to be the worst of Washington, according to Democratic sources familiar with the talks who spoke on condition of not being identified.

Multiple sources, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said Obama told the gathering that "this could bring my presidency down," referring to his pledge to veto any short-term extension of the debt ceiling. Sources say he vowed, "I will not yield on this."

The exchange concluded almost two hours of talks that failed to achieve a breakthrough.

Cantor claimed the Obama became "very agitated and said I've sat here long enough -- that no other president -- Ronald Reagan -- would sit here like this -- and that he's reached the point that something's gotta give."

Obama called for Republicans to compromise on either their insistence that a debt-ceiling hike must be matched dollar-for-dollar by spending cuts or on their opposition to any kind of tax increase, Cantor said.

"And he said to me, 'Eric, don't call my bluff.' He said 'I'm going to the American people with this,'" Cantor quoted Obama as saying.

"I was somewhat taken aback," Cantor said. When he continued to press the issue, Cantor said, Obama "shoved back from the table, said 'I'll see you tomorrow' and walked out."

Democratic sources provided a different take on the exchange, saying Obama cut off Cantor at the end after the GOP leader changed from his previously held position against a short-term extension of the debt ceiling.

Obama responded that he'd veto such a temporary measure, according to the sources, then went on to say that what was happening in the negotiations confirmed the worst of what the American people think about Washington.

According to the sources, Obama expressed frustration with the unwillingness of congressional Republicans to compromise and called on them to stop posturing and catering to their bases. He then ended the meeting, the Democratic sources said.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said Thursday that "Cantor has shown he shouldn't even be at the table, and Republicans agree he shouldn't be at the table."

Obama has insisted on one deal that will raise the amount of money the government can borrow to sufficient levels to last through 2012 -- after his campaign for re-election. But Cantor's call for a short-term agreement could win the support of Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, an aide to Boehner said.

Democrats and Republicans remain at sharp odds over how to proceed. Obama has indicated a preference for a "grand bargain" that would save up to $4 trillion over the next decade through a combination of spending cuts, raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans and reforming politically popular entitlement programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.

GOP leaders remain adamantly opposed to any tax hikes, arguing that increasing the burden on "job creators" now would derail what has already proven to be, at best, a shaky economic recovery.

Earlier this week, Obama said he cannot guarantee that older Americans will receive their Social Security checks next month if a deal is not reached.

Testifying Wednesday on Capitol Hill, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned that failure to raise the ceiling would create a "major crisis" and be potentially "catastrophic" for the global economy.
On Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, unveiled what he characterized as a last-ditch plan to avert a default if negotiators can't reach an agreement. The Republican leader proposed three short-term increases in the amount the government can borrow while at the same time registering the disapproval of Congress for such a move.

McConnell's proposal would give Obama power to raise the debt ceiling by a total of $2.5 trillion, but also would require three congressional votes on the issue before the 2012 general election. The president would be required to identify spending cuts equivalent to each debt ceiling increase, though there would be no guarantee Congress would adopt the proposed cuts.

Some congressional Democrats have promised to consider the plan, despite Obama's opposition to any short-term extension. The plan's prospects are also uncertain, however, in the Republican-controlled House. Some conservatives have said the McConnell plan amounts to a capitulation to the Democrats.

In an interview Wednesday with Mandy Connell of WHAS radio, McConnell said his proposal was necessary because an acceptable deficit reduction deal was proving unattainable and the United States must avoid a default that would be "bad for Republicans."

"Given a choice between a bad deal and avoiding default, I choose to avoid default," McConnell said, adding that "if we were to go into default ... the practical effect of that will be to allow the president to make us co-owners of a bad economy."

He also said defaulting is "completely and totally unacceptable, and it's not going to happen."

After Wednesday's meeting, Cantor told reporters that "no one wants to rattle the markets."

For now, however, it remains unclear at best whether the two sides will be able to reach any agreement.

Cantor said that during Tuesday's negotiating session at the White House, Obama presented more details of his proposed cuts to entitlement programs. Republicans, according to Cantor, supported much of what they heard.

But on Wednesday, Cantor reiterated GOP opposition to higher taxes and called on Obama to make public the details of what he is proposing in the negotiations "so that both Republicans and Democrats can make well-informed decisions about something of this magnitude."

Asked about going public with details of entitlement reforms being discussed, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters that would run counter to the negotiating process and the principle that "nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to."

At the heart of Obama's call for more tax revenue would be allowing tax cuts from the Bush presidency to expire at the end of 2012 for families making more than $250,000. His plan would keep the lower tax rates for Americans who earn less.

Obama noted earlier this week he is not looking to raise any taxes until 2013 or later. He claimed he has "bent over backward to work with the Republicans" and not force them to vote on any revenue hikes in the short term -- a politically toxic move for the GOP's conservative base.

In exchange, Obama said, he wants to ensure that the current progressive nature of the tax code is maintained, with higher-income Americans assessed higher tax rates.

For his part, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner warned that time is running out. The secretary said he wants to see a deal to raise the debt limit and cut projected spending by the end of this week -- or next week at the latest -- so that Congress will have enough time to turn the deal into law.

Read more »

Army: Estonian cyclists abducted in Lebanon are released

Beirut, Lebanon (CNN) -- Seven Estonian cyclists kidnapped in northern Lebanon in March were released Thursday, the Lebanese Army said.

All seven were in good health and will be taken to Beirut, the army said.

They were found in the Bekaa Valley, the same area where they were abducted March 23.

Lebanese Interior Minister Marwan Charbel told the LBC channel that 9 people implicated in the abduction of the Estonians have been arrested so far. They include Lebanese suspects and people of other nationalities, he said.

Officials did not say whether a ransom was paid.

"The main thing now is for our seven fellow countrymen to get home to their families and loved ones as quickly as possible," Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet said.

The men were abducted by "local criminals" in the Bekaa Valley as they bicycled into northeastern Lebanon from Syria, police told CNN earlier. They then were handed over to an unknown group.

The following month, the men pleaded for help in gaining their release.

In a video, which was sent as a YouTube link in an e-mail to the Estonian foreign ministry, one of the cyclists reads in English from a statement calling on Lebanese officials and the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Jordan and France to do anything in their power to get them back home. After that, each of the other men makes a short plea for help.

The same month, a statement was posted on a Lebanese news portal by a previously unknown group calling itself the Renaissance and Reform Movement, saying it had carried out the kidnappings.

Read more »

Irish report damns Catholic Church abuse response

Irish report damns Catholic Church abuse response

By Richard Allen Greene, CNN

The Catholic Church in Ireland did not take serious steps to stamp out child abuse by priests even after the scandal blew up worldwide and the Irish bishops put rules in place to stop it, a new report says.

The report demolishes claims by the Catholic Church there that policies it put in place in 1996 have enabled it to get a handle on the problem.

The Church's explanation that it was on a "learning curve" in handling allegations of abuse "could not have had any basis or relevance in Cloyne," said the report, which focuses on the diocese of Cloyne around Cork in southern Ireland.

Ireland's top churchman, Cardinal Sean Brady, called the report "another dark day in the history of the response of Church leaders to the cry of children abused by Church personnel."

Ireland's Foreign Ministry summoned the Vatican representative in the country, Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza, for talks with Foreign Minister Eamon Gilmore on Thursday following the publication of the report.

The report accuses Bishop John Magee, who was responsible for policing abuse in his diocese, of not backing the policy himself and failing to take action against abusers.

"Magee took little or no active interest" in child sex abuse cases for 12 years after the new policy was put in place, the report says, and Monsignor Denis O'Callaghan, who ended up in de facto charge of policing abuse "did not approve of the requirement to report to the civil authorities," the comprehensive report says.

Allegations of abuse within the diocese of Cloyne were so worrying that the Church appointed a special administrator to oversee it.

That archbishop, Dermot Clifford, said he accepted the findings of the report and "humbly apologized" to victims and their families.

And he expressed horror that the church did not act on its anti-abuse policies.

"It appalls me that, up to 2008, 13 years after these procedures were put in place, they were still not being implemented in the Diocese of Cloyne" Clifford said in a statement.

Clifford said Magee and O'Callaghan "accepted full responsibility and apologized for their failures."

Pope Benedict XVI accepted Magee's resignation as bishop of Cloyne in March 2010.

The report also details allegations against Magee himself.

A man referred to by the pseudonym "Joseph" reports that Magee held him in "protracted" embraces, asked him if it "felt good," kissed him on the forehead, told him that he loved him, and said he had dreamed about him.

"Joseph" considered the attention paternal at the time, he told the report's authors, but later reconsidered in light of reports into abuse and raised the issue with another priest.

"I began to think that maybe it wasn't as innocent as I originally thought or assumed it was," he says. He says the events occurred when he was 17 and 18 years old.

The priest to whom Joseph complained reported the matter to the church's own child protection authorities, who considered it "inappropriate" but ruled it did not constitute abuse.

They did not report it to the police but did tell Magee about the accusation and reported it to church officials as high as Cardinal Brady and the Vatican's representative in Ireland, the report says.

Joseph took the issue to the police, who also told him it did not constitute abuse, the report says.

The Vatican also failed to back Irish anti-abuse rules introduced in 1996, saying they were not official policy, according to the report, which was released Wednesday.

While it focuses on the diocese of Cloyne, it follows four earlier independent reports into abuse by Catholic priests and officials in Ireland going back decades.

The 421-page report, which is partially redacted, details complaints against 19 clerics in the diocese between 1996 and 2009.

Read more »

At least 6 die in suicide attack at Kandahar mosque

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- In a brazen strike that punctuates the power and reach of Afghan militants, a suicide bomber slipped into a Kandahar mosque Thursday and killed at least six people, wounding 15 others, a hospital official said.

The attacker hid the explosive device under his turban and detonated it among a group of people who were reading the Quran at the Sera Jama Mosque, said police chief Sher Shah Yousafzai.

The attack occurred as several high-ranking Afghan officials had gathered to remember President Hamid Karzai's half-brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, the Kandahar provincial council chief, who was slain Tuesday by a long-time guard during a gathering at his house.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the Tuesday shooting, saying that the guard accused of killing him was working for them.

Accused of drug dealing and corruption accusations, Karzai was also considered a powerbroker by U.S. officials and others in southern Afghanistan.

He was buried Wednesday.

Thursday's attack also left two religious leaders dead and one child, according to Zelmai Ayoubi, a spokesman for the Kandahar governor's office.

In another incident, the French president's office reported the death of a marine commando on Thursday in Kapisa province in an insurgent attack. The death comes a day after five French soldiers were killed in a suicide strike.

President Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday met with the country's top defense officials over the security situation for French troops in Afghanistan.

Read more »