Bush signs bill on detainee interrogation

WASHINGTON — President Bush signed legislation Tuesday establishing new rules for interrogating and trying suspected terrorists, but the fight over how to deal with detainees is far from over.

The new law is already under attack in court, and no one is likely to be brought to trial under the new rules anytime soon. Even some lawmakers who voted for the legislation questioned its constitutionality.

Although the law’s future is uncertain, critics and supporters agreed that its enactment marks a major shift in the nation’s approach to terrorism and some legal principles. Programs that Bush launched in secret now have the full support of Congress.

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Tags: S.C. | terror | Signs | prosecution | legislation | INTERROGATION | DETAINEE | bill | Washington | tuesday | Graham | Bush

Symantec Spurns Microsoft's Vista Security Proposal

Microsoft's plan to provide limited access to the Vista kernel in the 64-bit version of the upcoming OS is not enough, a Symantec executive said Tuesday.

"It's not enough at all," said Rowan Trollope, Symantec's vice president of consumer engineering, and the man in charge of the security company's Norton AntiVirus and Norton Internet Security products. "It leaves customers exposed to threats."

Trollope's rebuff is the latest in the increasingly antagonistic brawl between Microsoft and Symantec, which remains a partner of the Redmond, Wash.-based operating system giant. Since September, Symantec has publicly criticized Microsoft's PatchGuard, a technology it will deploy in the 64-bit version of Windows Vista that locks out all access to the kernel. PatchGuard is meant to stop both malicious code and third-party software from making changes at the kernel level, and has been touted by Microsoft as a defense against rootkits and other malware.

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Tags: Wash. | Trollope | Spurns | version | Security | kernel | access | Vista | Symantec | Redmond | proposal | Norton | Microsoft

U.S. urges China to enforce sanctions

Washington - One day after passage of a U.N. Security Council resolution punishing North Korea for its apparent test of a nuclear weapon, senior U.S. diplomats said Sunday that China must help enforce it and use economic leverage to compel Pyong yang to return to disarmament talks.

The resolution, passed unanimously, calls on states to prevent North Korea from selling or buying certain banned weapons and technology. But China said Saturday that Beijing would not inspect cargo entering or leaving North Korea, for fear of raising tensions in the region.

China's unwillingness to act against its longtime ally raises the stakes for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's diplomatic mission to Asia this week. Ever since the current nuclear crisis with North Korea began in 2002, the Bush administration has relied heavily on China to use its influence with North Korea's leaders. But Beijing's caution has frequently disappointed U.S. officials.

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Tags: urges | Sanctions | Protesters | nuclear weapon | enforce | Washington | Security Council | North Korea | Korean | China

Jennifer Aniston, No One Dumped Anyone

Although she never officially admitted she was dating Vince Vaughn in the first place, after rumors of her breakup from Vince Vaughn last week, the “Friends” actress claimed they are “still on”.

Jennifer Aniston never confirmed a romantic relationship between her and her “The Break-up” co-star, Vince Vaughn, but reports about their breakup made headlines last week. Shortly after that, the 37-year-old actress made her appearance on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” to promote a short film she co-directed, “Room 10,” and according to audience members, she dismissed rumors about the split.

People magazine quoted a source as saying: "The film said that relationships aren't luck, they're hard work, and I think that was really meaningful to people - Jen got a little teary-eyed when she was talking about it, too.

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Tags: Film | breakup | actress | Jennifer Aniston

Nintendo Wii Pre-Orders To Begin Friday

Nintendo fans willing to wait in long lines outside the retail stores EB Games or GameStop could get a chance to plunk down a $50 deposit to reserve a new Nintendo Wii console. The gaming retailers, which merged in 2005, begin taking preorders on Friday.

"Extremely limited supplies" could cause EB Games and GameStop to reach presale limits quickly -- "most likely in minute," according to a note posted on the Web.

Although purchases are limited to one console per household, not even a deposit guarantees receipt of a system, EB Games and GameStop said. A limited online pre-order program will be announced at a later date, after software and accessory availability details are confirmed.

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Tags: gaming | wii | pre-orders | Nintendo

Police to probe Jolie 'hit and run'

Police are to investigate claims by a man that he was hit by a car carrying Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie in India.

Mittal Rawat, 19, was riding his motorbike on a busy road in the city of Pune when he was hit by a car, which he alleges was ferrying the star.

He said: "I did not actually know if it was her (Jolie's) car but I saw it being chased by lots of reporters in their vehicles.

"One of them was even sitting backwards on his bike. So, I guess it was them - I saw Jolie's bodyguard in the car."

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Tags: Mittal Rawat | probe | actress | US | PUNE | police | India | hollywood | Angelina Jolie

Impose sanctions on North Korea

The world in which we live didn't change Monday when North Korea's official news agency reported the regime had performed a successful underground nuclear test. But since then, U.S. officials have been scrambling to fashion an adequate response, especially by the U.N. Security Council, to keep North Korea's tyrannical ruler Kim Jong Il from pursuing his nuclear weapons program, which could upset the world nuclear balance forever.

The threat posed is not just that he could acquire the wherewithal to launch a nuclear missile attack on South Korea, Japan or even the U.S. mainland. His ambitions also could trigger a more dangerous arms race in the Pacific, and desperate as he always is for funds, he might also sell nukes to Iran, that other "axis of evil" state, or to terrorist groups. North Korea already has a track record for selling missiles and missile parts, and in July it rattled Pacific Rim nations by test-firing seven missiles into the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.

Bush administration officials need to make clear to the U.N. Security Council and the American people that there should be no more delays in cutting off the North's access to heavy weaponry, nuclear materials, missile components and investment that can be diverted to militarily aggressive projects. A U.N. sanctions resolution could be passed as early as today. The U.S. had to soften its draft resolution several times to accommodate Russia and China, including added assurances that military action against North Korea would require a separate Security Council resolution.

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Tags: Sanctions | REGIME | agency | U.S. | South Korea | Security | Russia | peninsula | pacific | North Korea | Korea | Japan | Iran | China

More batteries recalled

Japanese electronics makers Sharp and Fujitsu announced plans to recall laptop batteries made by Sony Corp., adding to an already massive global recall of the batteries that are at risk of overheating and catching fire.

Sharp Corp. said it was recalling 28,000 Sony-made battery packs for seven laptop models, all sold for domestic Japanese use.

Another electronics maker, Fujitsu, also said that it was recalling more laptop batteries made by Sony following an initial recall earlier this month. Fujitsu recalled 51,000 batteries for 11 models, including nine that were also sold outside Japan.

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Tags: Fujitsu Corp | Recall | Laptop | U.S. | sony | Japan

U.S., Japan Seek N. Korea Sanctions Vote

The U.S. and Japan said they want a vote Saturday by the U.N. Security Council on a resolution imposing punishing sanctions on North Korea for its claimed nuclear test and demanding the elimination of all its nuclear weapons. But last-minute changes sought by Russia and China could delay a vote.

The five permanent council members the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France and Japan were to meet Saturday morning before the full 15-member council convenes to discuss the changes.

"I'm still ready to go for a vote, and we'll just have to see what the instructions are overnight, in particular from Moscow and China," U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said late Friday, adding the changes were essentially technical in nature.

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Tags: elimination | Vote | U.S. | Security | Sanctions | Russia | North Korea | New York | N Korea | Moscow | Japan | France | Council | China | Britain

U.S., Japan Seek N. Korea Sanctions Vote

The U.S. and Japan said they want a vote Saturday by the U.N. Security Council on a resolution imposing punishing sanctions on North Korea for its claimed nuclear test and demanding the elimination of all its nuclear weapons. But last-minute changes sought by Russia and China could delay a vote.

The five permanent council members the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France and Japan were to meet Saturday morning before the full 15-member council convenes to discuss the changes.

"I'm still ready to go for a vote, and we'll just have to see what the instructions are overnight, in particular from Moscow and China," U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said late Friday, adding the changes were essentially technical in nature.

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Tags: elimination | Vote | U.S. | Security | Sanctions | Russia | North Korea | New York | N Korea | Moscow | Japan | France | Council | China | Britain

Oil prices slide

WORLD crude prices dropped below $US59 in New York trade overnight, as traders cast doubt on the likelihood of an output reduction by the OPEC oil cartel.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in November, lost $US1.01 to $US58.95 per barrel in pit trading.

In London, Brent North Sea crude for November delivery slumped 93 cents to $US59.61 per barrel in electronic deals.

The market shrugged off events in Nigeria - Africa's biggest producer of crude - where armed youths in the country's restive Niger Delta seized a flow station run by oil company Shell.

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Tags: Slide | prices | barrel | Nigeria | Niger Delta | New York | London | Africa

Another Killing in Moscow

Anna Politkovskaya, gunned down over the weekend in Moscow, was the 13th Russian journalist killed since Vladimir Putin became president - and one of the bravest. We may never know who killed her because politically motivated crimes have a way of never being solved in Mr. Putin's Russia.

There is no question about whom Ms. Politkovskaya held responsible in years of unflinching reporting from Chechnya: the Russian Army and Mr. Putin himself. When he finally got around to acknowledging her death yesterday it was in a cold-blooded statement that the authorities "will take every step to investigate objectively the tragic death of the journalist Politkovskaya."

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Tags: weekend | president | journalist | Russian | Russia | Moscow | Killing | CHECHNYA | Army

U.N. considers N.Korea sanctions

The U.N. Security Council is considering possible sanctions to impose on North Korea for its defiance of the world organization through its nuclear test.

The veto-wielding permanent five members met for a second day Tuesday as experts from the panel of 15 debated wording of proposed measures to be put in a formal draft resolution.

Ambassador John Bolton of the United States led the initiative, having circulated among council members a rough draft. He described meetings as showing "substantial areas of agreement."

Ambassador Wang Guangya of China, long an ally of Pyongyang, said "I think we need firm, constructive, appropriate but prudent responses to North Korea. I think there has to be some punitive action."

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Tags: Sanctions | DEFIANCE | United States | Security Council | Pyongyang | North Korea | China

The Brangelina Effect

I don’t know about you, but looking at Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and their son Maddox caught by paparazzi travelling in a rickshaw in Monday’s papers left me with a distinct sense of unease.

You just had to see the pained expressions on the faces of the stars to realise what tension they were undergoing.

Think about it: with the kind of hysteria and feeding frenzy amongst the media that their visit has evoked, all you needed was one over-enthusiastic reporter giving chase in a car on Pune’s traffic congested roads for disaster to ensue.

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Tags: unease | rickshaw | reporter | paparazzi | disaster | Chase | Monday | Maddox | Brangelina

Airbus reformer throws in towel

AIRBUS'S top executive has resigned abruptly, just three months after taking the helm in a previous management shake-up and less than a week after introducing a controversial restructuring plan.

Its parent, European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co, said it had accepted the resignation of Christian Streiff, the first outsider to hold the top post at the world's largest commercial jet maker. Co-chief executive Louis Gallois will replace him.

Mr Streiff's departure, which came after he ran foul of politicians in four countries, raised more questions about the future of Airbus and whether it can regain its competitive edge against arch-rival Boeing. With Airbus distracted by production woes, Boeing has been able to outpace Airbus in aircraft sales this year.

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Tags: reformer | Management | Boeing | Airbus

Paris and Nicole, Together Again

Paris and Nicole are together again. After 18 months of successfully hating on each other (and simultaneously collaborating on making lots of money) the hatchet has been quietly buried courtesy of a steak dinner and a sleepover.

"We are back!" the two said before driving away from Dan Tana's steakhouse Sunday night.

Although it's still unclear why the feud started in the first place, the back-and-forth sniping between the "Simple Life" co-stars became a staple of tabloid pages and the blogosphere for the past year-and-a-half. Perhaps the tension between the two was no longer necessary since Paris now has a real rival in the form of Shanna Moakler, who she claimed punched her last week at a Hollywood night club. Or maybe the reconciliation was "encouraged" by the producers of their reality show, so they wouldn't have to go through the hassle of filming them separately like they did last year.

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Tags: Paris Hilton | hollywood