Newsweek reporter in Iran reportedly 'confesses'
01 July 2009
A reporter for Newsweek magazine who was arrested in Tehran has confessed to doing the bidding of Western governments, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported Wednesday.
Maziar Bahari, 42, made his alleged confession at a news conference Tuesday. Because international journalists have been limited in their ability to gather news in Iran, CNN has not been able to confirm the agency report.
Fars reported that the Canadian-Iranian reporter who had worked for the BBC and England's Channel 4 network admitted having filed false reports for Newsweek during the elections -- a charge the magazine rejected.
"He has been reporting for years without any possible hint of bias and beyond reproach," Newsweek Paris Bureau Chief Chris Dickey told CNN. "We think he's one of the best reporters in the business."
He called the report "preposterous."
Dickey said Bahari had not been allowed to speak with a lawyer or with his family since his arrest on June 21.
"The Western media are part of the capitalist machinery and liberal democratic governments of the West," Bahari reportedly said. "When a Western reporter comes to Iran, like a politician or specialist, he will be made to fit into the Western complex. For that person, the interests of the Westerners, who take advantage of every occasion to stand against Iran, are of utmost importance."
source: cnn.com/international
Iraq secures cities for US exit
27 June 2009
The Iraqi authorities are tightening security in preparation for next Tuesday's deadline for US soldiers to pull out of the country's cities.
All police leave has been cancelled and extra troops have been drafted in, amid a spate of bomb attacks this week which has left 250 people dead.
Prime Minister Nouri Maliki says the attacks may be aimed at stirring up sectarian tensions.
But he says he is confident his government can safeguard security.
"[The attackers] want to sweep delight from the Iraqi people's hearts. They have revealed their real intentions," said Mr Maliki.
"But this will not bend our determination and will for what we have agreed upon - that is, to return security responsibilities to our military and police forces."
Filipino prisoners honor Jackson with 'Thriller' show
Inmates at the prison in Cebu perform their tribute to Michael Jackson Saturday.
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A rendition of Jackson's 1980s smash hit by prisoners at the Cebu Detention and Rehabilitation Center in the central Philippines garnered more than 24 million views since 2007, when prison supervisor Byron Garcia first uploaded it to the video-sharing Web site.
The prison has since posted other dance videos, including performances to Van Halen's "Jump," Queen's "Radio Ga Ga," and Phil Oakey and Giorgio Moroder's "Together in Electric Dreams."
Jackson, known as the "King of Pop," died Thursday in Los Angeles, less than two weeks shy of the first in a series of comeback concerts in London, England.
When he heard the news, Garcia, himself a fan of the 50-year-old pop icon, organized a free tribute performance by inmates for local people in the prison courtyard.
Jackson family 'want new autopsy'
Jackson fans have been paying tribute to the star all weekend
Relatives of Michael Jackson will seek a second autopsy on the star because they still have unanswered questions about his death, family friends say.
Veteran politician Rev Jesse Jackson, who has been counselling the family, said they were upset the official cause of death might not be known for weeks.
He said the family wanted answers from the star's personal doctor, Conrad Murray, who was with him when he died.
Coroners ruled out foul play after an initial autopsy on the 50-year-old.
But they gave no cause of death, saying the results of toxicology tests could take weeks to come back.
Jackson's family have also spoken of their grief at his death.
source: bbc.com
Obituary: Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson's unique blend of soul, funk and rock made him the biggest pop act in the world.
Beyond this, his business acumen and intuitive understanding of the music market allowed him to showcase his remarkable talents.
Michael Jackson sold records by the million - and broke records too.
With the soulful vocal presence of Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder and the dance moves of James Brown, Jackson's appeal crossed both national and racial boundaries.
His first break came in 1968, when the Jackson Five signed to the Motown label, and he was just 11 when the group released its first single.
WORLDWIDE ALBUM SALES
Off The Wall: 19m
Thriller: 65m
Bad: 28m
Dangerous: 29m
HIStory: 18m
Invincible: 8m
Hits like I Want You Back, ABC, The Love You Save, and I'll Be There, which all went to number one in the United States in 1970, made the Jackson Five the first group in pop history to have their first four singles top the charts.
Before long, the youngest member of the Jackson Five was beginning to outstrip his brothers.
A series of solo hits, including Got To Be There, Rockin' Robin and Ben - the maudlin, yet chart-topping, paean to a rat - had shown that the promise of early years had come to fruition.
By the mid-1970s, both Michael's, and his brothers', careers were beginning to stall. Motown has ended its interest in the group, which had re-signed - as the Jacksons - to the Epic label.
But it was while Michael was working on the film musical The Wiz, an all-black retelling of the Wizard of Oz - in which he played the Scarecrow to Diana Ross's Dorothy - that he met the man who would turn him into a superstar and transform the world of popular music.
Music producer, composer and arranger, Quincy Jones, who could already boast a formidable track record, having created hits for artists like Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin and George Benson, took Jackson's raw talent and moulded it into an awesome new sound.
Video extravaganza
Their first collaboration, Off The Wall, released in 1979, became the first album to provide four top ten US hits for an artist: the title track, Don't Stop Till You Get Enough, Rock With You and She's Out of My Life.
Jackson the child wonder in 1972 on Top of the Pops
Four years later came Thriller, the album which would define his career. A heady mix of disco, R&B and funk, its nine tracks spawned seven hit singles and became the best-selling album of all time, with at least 55 million copies bought to date.
Having already experimented with video on Off The Wall, Jackson now took the new medium to new heights.
WORLDWIDE ALBUM SALES
Off The Wall: 19m
Thriller: 65m
Bad: 28m
Dangerous: 29m
HIStory: 18m
Invincible: 8m
The John Landis-directed film, accompanying the album's title track, was a 16-minute big-budget extravaganza, featuring cutting-edge special effects and the voice of veteran horror actor, Vincent Price.
The Thriller video, and its companion, Beat It, also ended MTV's neglect of black artists, while making the mini-musical blockbuster de rigueur for any self-respecting pop star.
source: bbc.com
More tests after Jackson autopsy
26 June 2009
Determining the cause of Michael Jackson's death could take several weeks, a coroner has said, as fans continued to pay tribute to the singer.
An autopsy had been conducted but further tests were required that could take up to six weeks, the coroner said.
But he said foul play and trauma had been ruled out in the death of Jackson, who died on Thursday at the age of 50.
Entertainers and world leaders have all been paying tribute to the deceased star.
Singers Madonna and Justin Timberlake praised his talent, while a spokesman for Barack Obama said that the US president saw Jackson as a "music icon".
'Additional testing'
Los Angeles County coroner's spokesman Craig Harvey said police had put a security hold on Jackson's case, limiting the amount of information that can be released.
LA County coroner's office statement following the autopsy
He said a three-hour autopsy had been held but the cause of death had been deferred.
"It means that the medical examiner ordered additional testing such as toxicology and other studies," Mr Harvey said.
The tests would take between four to six weeks, at which point he anticipated being able to close the case, he said.
Jackson, who had a history of health problems, collapsed at his Los Angeles home around midday on Thursday.
A recording of the telephone call made to emergency services has been released, in which the caller said Jackson was unconscious and had stopped breathing.
His personal doctor - who witnessed his collapse - was trying to revive him, the caller said.
source: bbc.com
Ex-detainees allege Bagram abuse
24 June 2009
Allegations of abuse and neglect at a US detention facility in Afghanistan have been uncovered by the BBC.
Former detainees have alleged they were beaten, deprived of sleep and threatened with dogs at the Bagram military base.
The BBC interviewed 27 former inmates of Bagram around the country over a period of two months.
The Pentagon has denied the charges and insisted that all inmates in the facility are treated humanely.
All the men were asked the same questions and they were all interviewed in isolation.
Ill-treatment
They were held at times between 2002 and 2008 and they were all accused of belonging to or helping al-Qaeda or the Taliban.
None were charged with any offence or put on trial; some even received apologies when they were released.
They put a pistol or a gun to your head and threatened you with death.
Bagram former detainee
Just two of the detainees said they had been treated well.
Many allegations of ill-treatment appear repeatedly in the interviews: physical abuse, the use of stress positions, excessive heat or cold, unbearably loud noise, being forced to remove clothes in front of female soldiers.
In four cases detainees were threatened with death at gunpoint.
"They did things that you would not do against animals let alone to humans," said one inmate known as Dr Khandan.
"They poured cold water on you in winter and hot water in summer. They used dogs against us. They put a pistol or a gun to your head and threatened you with death," he said.
"They put some kind of medicine in the juice or water to make you sleepless and then they would interrogate you."
The findings were shown to the Pentagon.
Lt Col Mark Wright, a spokesman for the US Secretary of Defence, insisted that conditions at Bagram "meet international standards for care and custody".
Col Wright said the US defence department has a policy of treating detainees humanely.
"There have been well-documented instances where that policy was not followed, and service members have been held accountable for their actions in those cases," he said.
'Legal black hole'
Bagram has held thousands of people over the last eight years and a new detention centre is currently under construction at the camp.
Some of the inmates are forcibly taken there from abroad, especially Pakistanis and at least two Britons.
About 600 so-called enemy combatants are held at Bagram air base
Since coming to office US President Barack Obama has banned the use of torture and ordered a review of policy on detainees, which is expected to report next month.
But unlike its detainees at the US naval facility at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, the prisoners at Bagram have no access to lawyers and they cannot challenge their detention.
The inmates at Bagram are being kept in "a legal black-hole, without access to lawyers or courts", according to Tina Foster, executive director of the International Justice Network, a legal support group representing four detainees.
She is pursuing legal action that, if successful. would grant detainees at Bagram the same rights as those still being held at Guantanamo Bay.
But the Obama administration is trying to block the move.
Last year, the US Supreme Court ruled that detainees at Guantanamo should be given legal rights.
Speaking on the presidential campaign trail, Barack Obama applauded the ruling: "The court's decision is a rejection of the Bush administration's attempt to create a legal black hole at Guantanamo.
"This is an important step toward re-establishing our credibility as a nation committed to the rule of law, and rejecting a false choice between fighting terrorism and respecting habeas corpus."
Ms Foster accuses the new administration of abandoning that position and "using the same arguments as the Bush White House".
In its legal submissions, the US justice department argues that because Afghanistan is an active combat zone it is not possible to conduct rigorous inquiries into individual cases and that it would divert precious military resources at a crucial time.
They also argue that granting legal rights to detainees could harm Mr Obama's "ability to succeed in armed conflict and to protect United States' forces" by limiting his powers to conduct military operations.
A US federal appeals court judge is expected to rule soon.
These revelations come at a time when Mr Obama is trying to re-set Washington's relationship with the Muslim world and trying harder than ever to win the war in Afghanistan.
It is a controversy that threatens to damage the image of the new administration in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
source : bbc.com
