Asia stocks slump on Europe debt crisis impasse

(AP) ? Asian stock markets were mostly lower Friday as the results of a meeting among leaders of Europe's biggest economies disappointed investors and Portugal's credit rating was lowered to junk.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell marginally to 8,161.87 while South Korea's Kospi lost 0.9 percent at 1,779.93. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.8 percent to 17,790.54 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 shed 1.4 percent at 3,989.

Investment sentiment continued to wane after a meeting Thursday in Strasbourg, France of the leaders of the three biggest euro economies: Italian Premier Mario Monti, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The three leaders pledged to push for changes to European Union treaties to bring the fiscal policies of countries using the euro common currency more in line with each other.

Many investors were hoping Merkel might drop her steadfast opposition to a greater role for the European Central Bank or the creation of a eurobond that would pool the debts of all countries in the currency union. Some experts believe the ECB is the only institution capable of getting Europe past its debt crisis.

Piled onto the disappointment from the Strasbourg summit was a debt demotion for Portugal.

Fitch Ratings, citing Portugal's large fiscal imbalances, its high indebtedness across all sectors and an adverse macroeconomic outlook, reduced the country's credit rating to BB+. That means Portugal is considered non-investment grade by Fitch, making it even more difficult for the struggling country to return to the bond markets.

In the U.S., markets were closed for the Thanksgiving on Thursday. A crucial test comes on so-called Black Friday ? the day that kicks off the holiday shopping season.

How well retailers do during the biggest shopping season of the year will have consequences for the still-fragile U.S. economic recovery.

The spending of consumers, which accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity, can impact stores' expansion plans and inventory decisions into the new year. That trickles through the rest of the economy, from suppliers to jobs.

The November-December period accounts for 25-40 percent of annual sales. About a quarter of jobs in the U.S. are directly or indirectly supported by the retail industry.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-11-24-World-Markets/id-f43c13a13d504347a065b7e8771e7995

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Egyptian troops replace police at Cairo flashpoint (Reuters)

CAIRO (Reuters) ? Egyptian troops moved into streets around the Interior Ministry in Cairo on Wednesday, replacing riot police who had repeatedly clashed with protesters trying to reach the building, an army officer said. Riot police withdrew inside the ministry.

The removal of the widely hated police seemed to be part of efforts to calm violence that has killed more than 30 people and wounded 2,000 in Cairo and elsewhere in six days of protests targeting the ruling military council, not the army itself.

The Interior Ministry, near Tahrir Square, has been the main flashpoint for clashes in which police have fired tear gas, pellets and rubber bullets at stone-throwing demonstrators.

The protesters have derided an agreement forged on Tuesday by Egypt's ruling military council and mostly Islamist parties for a swifter transfer to civilian rule.

In another attempt to defuse tension, Sami Enan, the deputy head of the army council, said he was ready to meet youth activists driving the protests in Tahrir, state television said.

As dusk fell, thousands of people, many of them onlookers, had crowded into Tahrir, which was also the arena of protests which toppled President Hosni Mubarak on Feb. 11.

Vendors were selling everything from snacks to face masks for protection against wafting tear gas.

Fatihia Abdul Ezz, a 60-year-old woman, said she had come to the square for the first time after seeing images of violence.

"They (the army rulers) were with Mubarak from the start," she said. "I came when I saw our sons being killed."

Protesters unfurled a huge sign denouncing army commander Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, Enan and the council that has run Egypt since Mubarak's overthrow.

"Down, down with military rule. We the people are the red line. The people want to bring down the field marshal, Sami Enan and the military council," it read.

One man walked around the square holding aloft 10 spent tear gas shells, along with cartridge casings threaded on a string.

The overall death toll has reached 38 by a Reuters count after a man was killed in Alexandria and another died in what the state news agency MENA said was an attack on a police station in the northern town of Marsa Matrouh.

The Health Ministry said 32 people had been killed and 2,000 wounded in disturbances across the country of 80 million.

FASTER HANDOVER TO CIVILIAN RULE

Tantawi promised on Tuesday that a civilian president would be elected in June, about six months sooner than the army had planned.

"Leave, leave!" responded crowds in Cairo's Tahrir Square. "The people want to topple the marshal."

The military had originally pledged to return to barracks within six months of Mubarak's removal. Its apparent reluctance to relinquish its power and privilege has fuelled frustration among Egyptians who feared their revolution had changed nothing.

Tantawi, who was Mubarak's defence minister for two decades, adjusted the schedule after generals met politicians, including leaders of the once-banned Muslim Brotherhood, which is eager to turn decades of grassroots endeavour into electoral success.

A parliamentary election, billed as Egypt's first free vote in decades, will start on Monday as planned, Tantawi confirmed.

Voting for the upper and lower houses will be completed only in March under a complex, staggered process. Parliament will then pick an assembly to draw up a new constitution, an exercise which the Brotherhood and its rivals are keen to influence.

France added its voice to those of U.N. and other rights groups in denouncing the military's handling of the protests.

French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said his country "strongly condemns the excessive use of force against demonstrators" and called for elections to go ahead on time.

"In this critical period, we reiterate our support for a democratic transition in the country that in 2012 should transfer power back to elected civilian authorities," he said.

United Nations human rights chief Navi Pillay called for an independent investigation into the bloodshed, saying the killing of protesters was inflaming the crisis.

"I urge the Egyptian authorities to end the clearly excessive use of force against protesters in Tahrir Square and elsewhere in the country, including the apparent improper use of tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition," Pillay said.

Instead of a peaceful environment for elections, she added, "we are seeing another outbreak of violence by the state against its increasingly and legitimately angry citizens".

REFERENDUM ON MILITARY RULE

Tantawi angered many youthful demonstrators by suggesting a referendum on whether military rule should end earlier, which they took as a ploy to undermine their cause by appealing to the many Egyptians who fear further upheaval.

"We have to wait and be patient with army rule. We shouldn't have a referendum, it's a waste of time," said Mohamed Rasheed, 62, a salesman in a Cairo jewellery shop, who pointed to discordant opinions among protesters in Tahrir.

"If we listen to them all, we are going to become like Lebanon," he said, evoking a nation notorious for conflict.

Many demonstrators are demanding that the military council immediately hand over all its powers to a civilian body.

"I am worried by the gulf of mistrust between the (army council) and the young people in Tahrir Square. The alternatives proposed from Tahrir do not seem practical," said Mustapha Kamal al-Sayyid, a political science professor at Cairo University.

Tantawi may calculate that most Egyptians, alarmed by turmoil that has hammered an already troubled economy, would prefer army rule to the uncertainties of a radical upheaval.

The Muslim Brotherhood, which helped organise a big protest on Friday but stayed out of subsequent demonstrations, seems willing to compromise with the military in the interest of securing a substantial voice in the new parliament.

Some other Islamist and liberal parties, as well as three out of more than 10 declared presidential candidates, also took part in Tuesday's crisis talks with the military council.

Tantawi has promised a national salvation government to replace Prime Minister Essam Sharaf's cabinet, which resigned this week, but remains in a caretaker role.

Political uncertainty has battered Egypt's finances. Foreign reserves have tumbled to $22 billion in October from $36 billion in December, just before the anti-Mubarak uprising erupted.

Egypt's currency dipped to its lowest level in almost seven years on Wednesday and the yield on an Egyptian dollar bond soared to its highest since March , suggesting that investors are unconvinced that stability will return soon.

(Additional reporting by Tom Miles in Geneva, John Irish in Paris, Maha El Dahan, Patrick Werr and Marwa Awad in Cairo; Editing by David Stamp)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/india/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111123/india_nm/india606765

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Egypt new PM claims more powers than predecessor (AP)

CAIRO ? Egypt's military rulers picked a prime minister from ousted leader Hosni Mubarak's era to head the next government in a move quickly rejected by tens of thousands of protesters, while the United States ratcheted up pressure on the generals to quickly transfer power to a civilian leadership.

More than 100,000 people packed into Cairo's central Tahrir Square for their biggest demonstration since the current showdown began, with activists accusing the generals of trying to extend the old guard and demanding they step down immediately after failing to stabilize the country, salvage the economy or bring democracy following Mubarak's ouster.

Tensions have risen ahead of parliamentary elections, set to begin on Monday. The election is to be staggered over multiple stages that end in March, and the military said Friday it would extend the voting period to two days for each round in an apparent effort to boost turnout due to the current unrest. The first stage covers nine provinces that include Cairo and the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria.

Kamal el-Ganzouri, 78, served as prime minister between 1996 and 1999 and was deputy prime minister and planning minister before that. He also was a provincial governor under the late President Anwar Sadat.

In a televised statement, he said the military has given him greater powers than his predecessor and he wouldn't have accepted the job if he believed military ruler Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi had any intention of staying in power.

"The powers given to me exceed any similar mandates," he said, looking uncomfortable, grasping for words and repeatedly pausing as he spoke. "I will take full authority so I'm able to serve my country."

He also said he won't be able to form a government before parliamentary elections start on Monday.

The Obama administration, meanwhile, appeared to bring its position on the crisis in Egypt closer to the protesters' demands, urging the generals to fully empower the next interim civilian government.

"We believe that Egypt's transition to democracy must continue, with elections proceeding expeditiously, and all necessary measures taken to ensure security and prevent intimidation," The White House said in a statement. "Most importantly, we believe that the full transfer of power to a civilian government must take place in a just and inclusive manner that responds to the legitimate aspirations of the Egyptian people, as soon as possible."

The stance is significant because the Egyptian military has over the past 30 years forged close relations with successive U.S. administrations, receiving $1.3 billion annually in aid.

El-Ganzouri's appointment was announced by state TV following a meeting late Thursday between him and Tantawi. Tantawi was Mubarak's defense minister of 20 years and served in el-Ganzouri's earlier government.

It was the latest in a series of efforts by the military to appease protesters without meeting their main demand of stepping down immediately.

The generals also apologized Thursday for the killing of nearly 40 protesters in five days of deadly clashes, mostly centered on side streets near the square. This was the longest spate of uninterrupted violence since the 18-day uprising that toppled Mubarak on Feb. 11. The streets were relatively calm on Friday as a truce negotiated Thursday in Cairo continued to hold.

But the choice of el-Ganzouri only deepened the anger of the protesters, already seething over the military's perceived reluctance to dismantle the legacy of Mubarak's 29-year rule.

"Illegitimate, illegitimate!" the crowds in the downtown square chanted on hearing the news.

"Not only was he prime minister under Mubarak, but also part of the old regime for a total of 18 years," said protester Mohammed el-Fayoumi, 29. "Why did we have a revolution then?"

El-Ganzouri replaces Essam Sharaf, who resigned this week after nearly nine months in office amid deadly clashes between police and protesters calling for the military to immediately step down. Sharaf was criticized for being weak and beholden to the generals.

The military has said parliamentary elections, the first since Mubarak's ouster, will be held on schedule despite the unrest in Cairo and a string of other cities to the north and south of the capital. Voting starts Monday and concludes in March, meaning that el-Ganzouri could be prime minister only until a new government is formed following the seating of a new legislature.

"El-Ganzouri is a new Sharaf. He's old regime," said Nayer Mustafa, 62. "The revolution was hijacked once. We won't let it happen again."

Friday's protest in Tahrir was dubbed by organizers as "The Last Chance Million-Man Protest." Swelling crowds chanted, "leave, leave" and "the people want to bring down the field marshal", in reference to Tantawi, who took over the reins of power from Mubarak.

Pro-reform leader and Nobel peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei was mobbed by hundreds of supporters as he arrived in the square and took part in Friday prayers, leaving shortly afterward.

"He is here to support the revolutionaries," said protester Ahmed Awad, 35. "He came to see for himself the tragedy caused by the military."

The demonstrators have vowed not to leave the sprawling plaza until the generals step down in favor of a civilian presidential council. Their show of resolve resembles that of the rallies which forced Mubarak to give up power.

Fireworks lit the sky in the evening and a large banner strung over a side street called Mohammed Mahmoud, where most of the fighting occurred, declaring the street would now be called the "Eyes of the Revolution" street, in honor of the hundreds of protesters who suffered eye injuries as a result of tear gas used by police.

About 5,000 supporters of the military staged their own demonstration several miles (kilometers) north of Tahrir in the district of Abbassiyah, not far from the Defense Ministry.

Thousands of pro-democracy protesters also took to the streets in other cities, including at least 10,000 in Alexandria and smaller crowds in Luxor and Assiut in southern Egypt.

The military has rejected calls to immediately step down, saying its claim to power is supported by the warm welcome given to troops who took over the streets from the discredited police early in the anti-Mubarak uprising as well as an overwhelming endorsement for constitutional amendments they proposed in a March referendum.

Tantawi has offered another referendum on whether his military council should step down immediately.

Such a vote, activists say, would divide the nation and likely open the door for a deal between the military and political groups, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood. Egypt's largest and best organized group, the Brotherhood is notorious for its opportunism and thirst for power. It was empowered after the fall of Mubarak, regaining legitimacy after spending nearly 60 years as an outlawed group.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111125/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_egypt

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[OOC] Into The Light

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Mother of bomb suspect apologizes (Politico)

NEW YORK - The mother of a ?lone wolf? accused of plotting to attack police stations and post offices with homemade bombs apologized to New Yorkers on Monday, even as questions arose about why federal authorities - who typically handle terrorism cases - declined to get involved in what city officials called a serious threat.

The mother of Jose Pimentel spoke to reporters outside her upper Manhattan home the day after her son was arraigned in state court on terrorism-related charges.

Continue Reading

?I didn?t raise my son in that way,? Carmen Sosa said. ?I feel bad about this situation.?

She also praised the New York Police Department, saying, ?I think they handled it well.?

Officials with the NYPD, which conducted the undercover investigation using a confidential informant and a bugged apartment, said the department had to move quickly because Pimentel was about to test a pipe bomb made out of match heads, nails and other ingredients bought at neighborhood hardware and discount stores.

Two law enforcement officials said Monday that the NYPD?s Intelligence Division had sought to get the FBI involved at least twice as the investigation unfolded. Both times, the FBI concluded that Pimentel lacked the mental capacity to act on his own, they said.

The FBI thought Pimentel ?didn?t have the predisposition or the ability to do anything on his own,? one of the officials said.

The officials were not authorized to speak about the case and spoke on condition of anonymity. The FBI?s New York office and the U.S. attorney?s office in Manhattan both declined to comment on Monday.

Pimentel?s lawyer, Joseph Zablocki, said his client was never a true threat.

?If the goal here is to be stopping terror ? I?m not sure that this is where we should be spending our resources,? he said.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly defended the handling of the case Monday, saying the NYPD kept federal authorities in the loop ?all along? before circumstances forced investigators to take swift measures using state charges.

?No question in my mind that we had to take this case down,? Kelly said. ?There was an imminent threat.?

Added Kelly: ?This is a classic case of what we?ve been talking about - the lone wolf, an individual, self-radicalized. This is the needle in the haystack problem we face as a country and as a city.?

Authorities described Pimentel as an unemployed U.S. citizen and ?Al-Qaeda sympathizer? who was born in the Dominican Republic. He had lived most of his life in Manhattan, aside from about five years in the upstate city of Schenectady, where authorities say he had an arrested for credit card fraud.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/politico_rss/rss_politico_mostpop/http___www_politico_com_news_stories1111_68887_html/43678278/SIG=11m76u3q7/*http%3A//www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/68887.html

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Rachel Crow Gives Thanks, Makes Judges Into Believers


Do you believe in Rachel Crow?

This young X Factor finalist did all she could last night to earn votes and praise from the judges, covering a Yolanda Adams single with the same pluck and fire she brings each week to the competition. At least we think that's what happened. It was a bit difficult to actually see Rachel on stage, what with all the backup dancers and confetti flying around. This may have been an overly staged performance.

But Paula Abdul referred to Crow as an "angel," while Nicole Scherzinger labeled her a "bright light." Watch the audition and judge for yourself now:

How does Crow compare to Melanie Amaro? Watch the latter's latest performance HERE and decide who has the better shot at winning.

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/11/rachel-crow-gives-thanks-makes-judges-into-believers/

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T-Mobile to bleach Samsung Galaxy S II in white, arriving 'in time for the holidays'

What's that gorgeous device doing in a pearly white on this side of the pond? T-Mobile will be offering a second color option for its flagship TouchWiz device, the Samsung Galaxy S II, "in the coming weeks." Though its exact launch date is uncertain, the two companies assured us that it would land in time for the holidays. We're just hoping they're not referring to Valentine's Day.

T-Mobile to bleach Samsung Galaxy S II in white, arriving 'in time for the holidays' originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Nov 2011 11:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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UC Davis investigates pepper spray incident (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Two University of California, Davis police officers have been placed on leave while the school investigates the apparent use by campus police of pepper spray against seated student protesters, the university said Sunday.

Video footage of a policeman in riot gear using pepper spray on a group of roughly a dozen student protesters at close range in the university's central commons area posted on YouTube spread quickly over the Internet, sparking outrage among some faculty members.

The president of the University of California system, Mark Yudof, said the incident at UC Davis and confrontations at the UC Berkeley campus between police and protesters had prompted him to launch a discussion across all 10 UC campuses.

"I am appalled by images of University of California students being doused with pepper spray and jabbed with police batons on our campuses," Yudof said in a statement.

Yudof said he did not intend to "micro-manage" campus police or the chancellors, but the incidents required a system-wide response. He called for "a full and unfettered discussion about how to ensure proportional law enforcement response to non-violent protest."

The officers will be paid while on leave, university spokeswoman Claudia Morain said. She did not identify them.

In a public statement Saturday, UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi wrote that the use of pepper spray as shown on the video "is chilling to us all and raises many questions about how best to handle situations like this."

ECONOMIC INEQUALITY

Student protesters at Davis had set up an encampment in the university's "quad" commons earlier this month as part of the nationwide Occupy demonstrations against economic inequality and excesses of the global financial system.

Their demonstrations, endorsed by a faculty association, included protests against tuition increases and what they viewed as police brutality on University of California campuses in response to recent protests.

The students had set up about 25 tents in the quad area, but they had been asked not to stay overnight and were told they would not be able to stay during the weekend due to a lack of university resources, Katehi said.

Some protesters took their tents down voluntarily while others stayed. The pepper spray incident appeared to take place Friday afternoon, when campus police moved in forcibly to evict the protesters.

Katehi said she was "saddened" by the manner in which protesters were removed and announced a task force of faculty, students and staff to investigate the incident.

She said she had also instructed the school to reevaluate whether university policy on encampments offered students sufficient "flexibility to express themselves."

The move announcing the task force came after Katehi came under criticism from members of her own faculty.

(Writing by Mary Wisniewski; Editing by David Bailey and Todd Eastham)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111121/us_nm/us_protests_davis_pepperspray

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2 killed in stampede at SEA Games soccer final

updated 12:28 p.m. ET Nov. 21, 2011

JAKARTA, Indonesia - A stampede at the soccer final of the Southeast Asian Games has left two fans dead.

Spectators unable to get inside the 80,000-seat Bung Karno Stadium set two ticket booths ablaze, and police fired warning shots to break up the rowdy crowd.

Later, fans rushed the stadium in an effort to get in.

Nur Somad, a morgue official at the Ciptomangunkusumo hospital, said at least two Indonesians died. Scores more were injured, witnesses said, many of them left unconscious.

In the match, Malaysia defended its gold medal in the regional tournament by Indonesia 5-4 on penalty kicks.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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For the first time in decades, football in Libya is just about, well, football.

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