Taliban willing to compromise, Afghan negotiators say (Reuters)

KABUL (Reuters) ? Senior Afghan peace negotiators believe the Taliban are willing to significantly soften past hardline ideologies, with its leaders already laying the ground for possible peace talks in the Gulf state of Qatar.

Former Taliban minister Maulvi Arsala Rahmani, a member of the High Peace Council set up by President Hamid Karzai two years ago to liaise with insurgents, said that after a decade of fighting with NATO, the Taliban were ready to moderate on reimposition of fundamentalist positions.

And despite the assassination only last September of former president and leader of the peace process Burhanuddin Rabbani, secret discussions that began in Germany in November 2010 between U.S., Taliban, German and Qatari representatives had a good chance of success, Rahmani said.

"The Taliban are not back to govern the same way as the old Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. When they are back, they will be back as Afghans," Rahmani, a Taliban defector but with strong ties to the movement, said at his sparsely furnished home in a part of western Kabul heavily damaged during the country's bloody civil war.

"For Taliban members with the talent and skills, they will be election candidates for parliament, the presidency or the cabinet. The Taliban are not back to take over Afghanistan," he said.

Martine van Bijlert, of respected independent think-tank Afghanistan Analysts Network in Kabul, said no one could assume that talks with the Taliban would not work.

"But at the same time, we can't get ahead of ourselves," she said. "There seems to be a real chance at the moment. The high council has an interest in optimism of course, given their role in the process. But whether it can work is a fine balance. There is not an option not to try."

The Taliban announced this month that it would open a political office in Qatar to support possible peace talks with the United States and key allies, seen by backers like Rahmani as the best chance of reaching a ceasefire ahead of a withdrawal of foreign combat troops in 2014.

As a confidence-building measure, the Islamist group which ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until the U.S.-led invasion of the country in late 2001 called for the release of five members being held at Guantanamo Bay, a U.S. military enclave in Cuba.

Rahmani said preparations in Qatar were under way, with a team of senior aides to the Taliban's one-eyed leader Mullah Mohammad Omar already in Doha.

"I think the (Qatar) office is operational, but media are strictly banned," he said, looking frail with age and swathed in a heavy, fur-lined coat against the winter cold.

"People are already there like Shahabuddin Delawar (a former Taliban envoy to Saudi Arabia), Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai (a former Taliban deputy foreign minister) and Tayeb Agha (said to be a close aid and former secretary to Mullah Omar)."

Talks could begin in weeks and Rahmani said he expected that junior Taliban fighters would accept any peace agreed by their leaders if negotiations with U.S. and Afghan government officials proved ultimately successful.

"Those who fight on the field take their instruction from the leaders. The soldiers will not fight, or have someone else organize them and supply them. To say otherwise just looks like propaganda to me," he said.

TALIBAN SPLIT

But Mohammad Ismail Qasimyar, another peace council member and its adviser on foreign relations, said while he saw signs of moderation among the Taliban leadership, a peace deal had the potential to split junior members with more hardline views away from Taliban, possibly to continue a lower-level war.

"I would not dare to say all of the Taliban are thinking the same," said Qasimyar, appointed to the council of 62 men and eight women along with Rahmani in 2010.

"Some, especially the leadership, have changed hearts and minds. But the new recruits and younger ones, they are more ideological. I don't think they will change, but the majority will join the peace process," he said.

While a Qatar office for the Taliban was already a reality, Qasimyar said more had to be done before it could be called officially open. A Taliban spokesman told Reuters he could not comment on the progress of preparations.

And Qasimyar said Pakistan, seen by some political analysts as a possible disgruntled spoiler in the process because of its longstanding demand to have a big say in Afghanistan's future, had been quietly supportive, helping move Taliban named on a United Nations travel blacklist.

Pakistan, and its powerful military and intelligence service ISI, has consistently denied meddling in Afghanistan, but Islamabad had pushed for a Taliban office in the Turkish capital Ankara or Saudi Arabia's Riyadh, because of Pakistan's close ties with both countries.

Qasimyar said the Taliban had no choice but to compromise in a peace process he believed could be concluded "in a couple of years," embracing other insurgent groups as well as Afghan ethnic groups which fought brutal Taliban rule.

But Afghanistan could eventually emerge with a different shape of government, possibly with a stronger parliamentary system and less power in the hands of the presidency, he said.

"The constitutional system has to prevail," he said. "But if we all agree, and we all come into a peace agreement and we all come back to our country, all of us here, then we have to think about amendments to the constitution, amended through the machinery that is set up in the constitution."

(Editing by Nick Macfie)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120127/wl_nm/us_afghanistan_talks

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Struggling in US, F-35 fighter pushes sales abroad

FILE - In this July 14, 2011 file photo released by U.S. Air Force, a 33rd Fighter Wing aircraft maintainer moves by the Department of Defense's newest aircraft, the U.S. Air Force F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter (JSF), before giving the pilot an order to taxi the aircraft at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. Detractors say the F-35 stealth fighter, the costliest military plane ever, is destined to go down as one of the biggest follies in aviation history. But it may have found a savior: deep-pocketed U.S. allies hungry to add its super high-tech capabilities to their arsenal. The program marked a major success last month when Japan chose it as a replacement for 42 aircraft. It was the F-35's first victory in an open-bidding competition, though countries from Britain to Israel previously made commitments. (AP Photo/U.S. Air Force, Samuel King Jr., File)

FILE - In this July 14, 2011 file photo released by U.S. Air Force, a 33rd Fighter Wing aircraft maintainer moves by the Department of Defense's newest aircraft, the U.S. Air Force F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter (JSF), before giving the pilot an order to taxi the aircraft at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. Detractors say the F-35 stealth fighter, the costliest military plane ever, is destined to go down as one of the biggest follies in aviation history. But it may have found a savior: deep-pocketed U.S. allies hungry to add its super high-tech capabilities to their arsenal. The program marked a major success last month when Japan chose it as a replacement for 42 aircraft. It was the F-35's first victory in an open-bidding competition, though countries from Britain to Israel previously made commitments. (AP Photo/U.S. Air Force, Samuel King Jr., File)

TOKYO (AP) ? Detractors say the F-35 stealth fighter, the costliest military plane ever, is destined to go down as one of the biggest follies in aviation history. But it may have found a savior: deep-pocketed U.S. allies hungry to add its super high-tech capabilities to their arsenal.

The program marked a major success last month when Japan chose it over the Boeing F/A-18 and the Eurofighter Typhoon as a replacement for 42 aircraft in its aging air force. It was the F-35's first victory in an open-bidding competition, though countries from Britain to Israel previously made commitments and others are expected to follow.

Manufacturer Lockheed Martin also is looking to bring F-35s to South Korea in a deal that could be Seoul's biggest single defense outlay ever ? 60 top-of-the-line fighters worth more than $7 billion. A decision could come as soon as October.

In the U.S., however, the stealth jet has been called a boondoggle. John McCain, the ranking Republican on the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, has slammed the F-35 as a "scandal and a tragedy," a "train wreck" and "incredibly expensive."

With U.S. defense budget cuts looming and many critics of the program still unconvinced, foreign support is a make-or-break issue for the program, which has been described as too big to fail. It could become the cornerstone of global air strategy for the next few decades, or a trillion-dollar bust.

"The U.S. fighter jet industry has all of its eggs in this one basket," said Richard Bitzinger, a security expert at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University. So many countries have bought into the program, he said, there is now no realistic choice but to forge ahead with it.

"It would be almost impossible for the U.S. to cancel the F-35, since the repercussions would be global," he said.

The F-35 is the world's only "fifth generation" fighter jet, combining state-of-the art stealth technology with highly advanced avionics and maneuverability. The first F-35 flew in 2006, and 42 have been produced so far. China and Russia are working on rival ? and some experts say superior ? aircraft.

About 130,000 people in 47 states and Puerto Rico have jobs related to the project. The only states without F-35 work are Hawaii, North Dakota and Wyoming.

"Simply put, there is no alternative to the F-35 program. It must succeed," Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley said in September.

The Pentagon envisions buying 2,443 F-35s for the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy, but some members of Congress and Department of Defense officials are balking at the price tag, which has jumped from $233 billion to $385 billion. Some estimates suggest it could top out at $1 trillion over 50 years, making it the most expensive program in military history.

In frustration over cost overruns, Congress added a requirement that Lockheed Martin cover extra costs on future F-35 purchases to the defense bill it passed last month.

"The delays and cost increases that F-35 has suffered have put it under substantial political pressure in Washington, so a win like the Japan program is a major boost," said James Hardy, Asia Pacific specialist with IHS Jane's in London.

Success rides heavily on foreign investment because the more F-35s are produced, the cheaper each jet is to build and maintain.

Lockheed Martin, in conjunction with Northrop Grumman, Pratt & Whitney and BAE Systems, has been careful to bring in international partners. The fighter is being developed with support from Britain, Norway, Denmark, Holland, Italy, Turkey, Australia and Canada.

Among the leading international partners, the U.K. is planning to buy 138 F-35s, Italy 131 and Canada 65. Australia has ordered 14 and has plans to buy as many as 100 for 16 billion Australian dollars ($17 billion).

The Israeli government selected the F-35A as its air force's next generation aircraft in 2010 ? making it the first country to receive the F-35 through the U.S. government's Foreign Military Sales process.

Singapore also has said it will buy F-35, although it hasn't set numbers yet, and there may be longer-term interest from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil and India, said Hardy, of IHS Jane's.

The wide range of buyers is in contrast to Lockheed Martin's last stealth fighter, the now discontinued F-22 "Raptor." It was hailed as a wonder of technology but failed in large part because Congress deemed it too sensitive to sell even to Washington's closest allies.

Narushige Michishita, a professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies who has advised the Japanese government on defense issues, said he thinks the F-35 is Japan's best option.

"If this was about a Cold War-type competition, then the F-22 would have been better. But if this is a long-term peacetime competition, you need numbers and presence, and close coordination among allies," Michishita said.

But defense analyst Carlo Kopp of the private Air Power Australia think tank said he thinks it was a mistake for his country and others to buy in. He said the F-35 program should have been canceled years ago and that the policy of pushing forward with it at any cost only threatens to create a budgetary sinkhole that would weaken the defenses of the U.S. and its allies.

"It will never become a viable combat aircraft due to cumulative poor choices made early in the design, and later Band-Aid fixes," Kopp said.

Further cost increases could prompt foreign buyers to cut their orders, which would put even more pressure on Lockheed Martin. Other problems also continue to trouble its international partners:

? Concerns about whether Lockheed will be able to deliver on time prompted Australia to caution that it won't decide until later this year whether to buy any more than the 14 ordered so far.

? Structural glitches have emerged that compromise the F-35's ability to land on aircraft carriers. That's a big issue for Britain, where the plane is slated to replace its carrier-friendly Harrier jets by 2020. British media have also reported that the F-35 can't fire British air-to-air missiles.

? Canada and Norway may have difficulty operating the F-35 on icy runways. The plane's single-engine design ? unlike the twin-engine F-22 or F-15 ? could also be an issue. If the engine goes out, planes and pilots in the Arctic could be lost.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-27-AS-Selling-The-F35/id-9b621a301a2843fa8e4099c3ca06738d

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US blacklists German terror suspects (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The Obama administration is hitting two German-Moroccan brothers and a German-Turk man with financial sanctions for their involvement in terrorist activities in central Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

The State Department and Treasury Department say brothers Yassin and Monir Chouka are identified as "specially designated global terrorists" along with Mevlut Kar. The move freezes any assets they have in US jurisdictions and bars Americans from financial dealings with them.

The Choukas are affiliated with the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, a designated foreign terrorist organization that claims responsibility for numerous attacks in Afghanistan. Kar is affiliated with the Islamic Jihad Union, another designated foreign terrorist organization, and was implicated in a 2007 bomb plot targeting U.S. military installations and American citizens in Germany.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/terrorism/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_us_germany_terrorism

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China says EU ban on Iran oil not "constructive" (Reuters)

BEIJING (Reuters) ? China on Thursday criticized the European Union for banning oil imports from Iran, Beijing's third biggest crude supplier and a major trading partner.

The European Union agreed on Monday to ban imports of oil from Iran and imposed a number of other economic sanctions, joining the United States in a new round of measures aimed at pushing Iran into reining in its nuclear activities that Tehran says are for peaceful purposes.

China, the world's second largest crude consumer, has long opposed unilateral sanctions that target Iran's energy sector and has tried to reduce tensions that could threaten its oil supply.

Last week, Beijing told a visiting Iranian delegation that returning to nuclear talks was a "top priority." During a tour to Arab states earlier this month, Chinese premier Wen Jiabao also made a strong statement opposing Iran developing and possessing nuclear weapons, but defended China's right to buy Iranian crude oil as normal trade activity.

Asked about the EU embargo, China's Foreign Ministry said in a faxed statement: "It is not a constructive approach to simply pile up the pressure and impose sanctions."

"China hopes relevant parties to resort to measures conducive to regional peace and stability," the statement added.

China is the largest buyer of Iranian crude oil, importing 30 percent more from Iran in 2011 compared to the previous year. But China halved its purchases from Iran in January and February, following a dispute over the terms of payment.

(Reporting by Chen Aizhu and Tracy Zheng; editing by Miral Fahmy)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120126/wl_nm/us_china_iran

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'Nonstick' pollutants may cut efficiency of vaccines in kids

Effects in children with the highest exposures suggest immunizations may fail to protect some from disease

Web edition : Tuesday, January 24th, 2012

Tiny concentrations of two common pollutants ? chemicals known as PFOA and PFOS ? in the blood may be linked to impaired immunity in children, a new study finds. In kids with the highest exposure to the chemicals, vaccinations can fail to trigger sufficient quantities of protective antibodies.

?We were shocked, to be frank, in the magnitude of the effect,? says study leader Philippe Grandjean, a physician at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. He and his European colleagues describe their findings in the Jan. 25 Journal of the American Medical Association.

The long-lived pollutants ? part of a class of chemicals called perfluorinated compounds, or PFCs ? have been generated over the years by the production of chemicals that impart nonstick and water- and stain-repellency to fabrics, cookware and more, including older formulations of treatments marketed under such trade names as Teflon and Scotchgard. Pervasive environmental contaminants, PFCs taint air, water and food.

For the new study, Grandjean?s group followed 587 children in Denmark?s Faroe Islands (about midway between Norway and Iceland) from before birth through age 7. The researchers measured PFCs in the blood of the kids? moms during pregnancy and in the children at ages 5 and 7. Blood concentrations of the chemicals, Grandjean points out, were in the same ballpark, if a bit lower, than those typically seen in Americans.

The Faroese youngsters received standard childhood immunizations, and their antibody responses to tetanus and diphtheria were measured as babies and before and after booster vaccinations at age 5.

Children with the highest perfluorinated pollutant exposures tended to exhibit a less robust response to the vaccines, both before and after their booster shots.

Among children in the top third of exposure to the chemicals PFOA, PFOS and a third related compound that goes by the nickname PFHxS, ?inadequate response to the vaccinations was particularly common,? Grandjean observes. When subpar responses occur ? antibody levels below 0.1 international units per milliliter ? ?we can?t rely on a vaccine as being effective,? he explains.

The findings mean the immune system is somehow deficient, Grandjean says, and they and raise questions about whether such deficiencies might also point to a heightened vulnerability to allergy, asthma and even, potentially, autoimmune disease.

Toxicologist Margie Peden-Adams of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas finds the new study impressive. "Those of us in the field will be excited to see it.?

The immune system is one of the most sensitive systems for toxicity, Peden-Adams says. In rodent tests, her team showed fetal and adult exposure to PFOA and PFOS diminish antibody production to foreign substances.

In cell-based studies, Emanuela Corsini of the University of Milan in Italy and her colleagues saw related problems and identified two different mechanisms for the apparent immunotoxicity of PFOA versus PFOS. Although primary PFC manufacturers have stopped using or are voluntarily phasing out both compounds, Corsini notes, she says these chemicals remain ?of toxicological concern due to their environmental persistence and potential to bioaccumulate through the food chain.?

Found in: Chemistry and Environment

Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/337869/title/Nonstick_pollutants_may_cut_efficiency_of_vaccines_in_kids

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News Corp plans US Spanish-language TV network

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. is launching a Spanish-language broadcast TV network that aims to bring the flavor of the Fox network to Hispanic audiences in the U.S.

The move is touted as a bold entry into a market dominated by top-ranked Univision and No. 2 Telemundo, in the same way that Fox rattled broadcasters ABC, CBS and NBC with its debut a quarter century ago.

The company said Monday that the new network, MundoFox, will be launched in September or October in partnership with Colombia-based RCN Television Group. RCN already produces popular shows for one of Univision's junior networks in the U.S., TeleFutura. RCN's biggest hits include "El Capo" and "La Hija del Mariachi."

"Just think of Fox vs. ABC, CBS and NBC," said Hernan Lopez, president of Fox International Channels, which is a 50-50 partner in the network with RCN. "Much of the content that we will create will have the same effect on Spanish viewers."

Over the next couple of years, RCN's programming will be available exclusively on MundoFox as its agreements with other networks such as Univision's TeleFutura expire, Lopez said.

MundoFox aims to be carried on stations covering 75 percent of U.S. households. RCN chief executive Gabriel Reyes said the network will be launched in major U.S. cities with large Hispanic populations such as Miami, Los Angeles, New York, Dallas and San Diego.

Lopez said MundoFox is seeking affiliate agreements with large TV stations that are independent and already broadcast in Spanish, although it would also seek English-language or other language stations willing to make the switch.

The new network will be based in Los Angeles and will feature telenovelas ? nightly dramas that can run to 200 episodes ? teleseries with less than half as many episodes, and two daily newscasts, which would draw on the resources of RCN's 24-hour news channel NTN24.

MundoFox has yet to hire a chief executive.

Lopez declined to say if MundoFox news would take its conservative leanings from the Fox network, saying it would be editorially independent and its tone would be up to the joint venture's CEO.

RCN's director of content, Fernando Gaitan, said NTN24 "tends to be very neutral" and will likely continue that editorial stance at MundoFox.

There are 50 million Latinos among the 309 million residents of the U.S., accounting for about 60 percent of the population growth in the country in the 2010 census, Lopez said. Relative to its share of the population, the estimated $3.6 billion spent on TV advertising to that group last year was a fraction of an estimated domestic ad market of more than $80 billion.

"We think there's opportunity for growth," Lopez said. "We're going to capture a big part of that growth."

___

Associated press writer Edwin Tamara in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2012-01-23-News%20Corp-MundoFox/id-c3561a47e0c64ba6aba8afe2d8a2213d

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Super Bowl first: Social media command center

By Athima Chansanchai

It'll probably take the rest of winter for Niners and Ravens fans to get over what happened yesterday that knocked their respective teams out of Super Bowl XLVI (that would be 46 for all of you who don't read Roman numerals). But for Patriots and Giants fans, the fun is just beginning. Through a newly installed social media command center, visitors to the big game in Indianapolis will be able to ask questions and receive answers leading up to the Feb. 5 showdown.

For the next two weeks until?the NFL's most important game, an Indianapolis-based?team (no, not the Colts) is operating out of a 2,800-square-foot space to read and respond to fans who are one of 100,000 to 150,000 lucky souls who will be in Indianapolis for the game, posting about the Super Bowl and their beloved teams. (This includes those who are traveling to the city for pre/during/post-game festivities, or watching from places other than the about 70,000-capacity stadium, but still in and around the city.)

This social media super team will provide directions, to-do around town suggestions and other important information (such as what to do in case of an emergency at the stadium).

Indianapolis digital marketing firm Raidious is in charge of the operation, with CEO Taulbee Jackson at the helm. Jackson sits on the Super Bowl host committee and was asked to help with social media strategy. I reached to Jackson by phone this morning and he shared more details on this Superbowl first.

"It's the first time any facility like this has been built to manage social media for such a large event," Jackson said. "We were outgrowing our second office in 18 months at the same time the Host Committee asked for our help, so we designed and built the space with the express intention of using it as the Super Bowl Social Media Command Center, then taking over the space afterwards."?

The team ??which includes about 50 people, led by?Raidious' staff of 16 and students and journalism/telecommunications students from Ball State University, Butler University and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis?? will work in the command center 15 hours a day. (Not all at once!)

One team will focus on social media management and moderation, while the other (most likely the students) will work?on content development for posts on all the events and activities that surround the game, as well as things to do in Indianapolis since a big part of the team's mandate will be promoting the city to newcomers. "It's?Hoosier hopsitality for the 21st century," Jackson said.

Given that the two league championship teams are from New York and New England, it's a good bet there will be first-timers in the zone. While most visitors are expected to arrive in the city next Wednesday or Thursday (Feb. 1 and Feb. 2), the social media command center will swing into high gear starting this week.

As we've already seen, sports fans are some of the most rabid in social media posts, with record-setting tweets about Tim Tebow?(9,420 tweets per second), as well as the 7,196 tweets per second during the Women's World Cup final between the U.S. and Japan last summer. And have you ever looked at your Facebook on football Sundays, much less the playoffs? It's one sure way to see who's a fan, and how intense they are about it. (On my Facebook, the Bears, Ravens, Raiders and Niners fans are definitely the most vocal.)

In fact, every time the Super Bowl comes around, it's a proven magnet for the millions who are active on Facebook, Twitter and now, Google+. In 2011, the only Facebook status update topic in the world, amongst 800 million users?that bested the Packers winning Super Bowl 45 was the death of Osama bin Laden.?

For those who will be in Indy, there will be plenty to write home about, but they'll also be in company with the millions glued to their sets that Sunday watching with them. ?

The Super Bowl social media command center will concentrate on key word-based monitoring, but because they're geo-targeting the Indianapolis/Indiana area and those coming to town for the game, they won't be as overwhelmed as they would be if they tried to deal with all the online traffic the event generates.

"One of the reasons we've staffed it the way we have, and put in all this technology, is to deal with the high levels of volume, even limiting that to the Indianapolis, Indiana area," Jackson said.

Safety is another priority, using Twitter to get any emergency instructions and information out quickly if necessary.?

From the main Super Bowl XLVI site, fans can access the social media command center's activity through its management of the Super Bowl Facebook page, Flickr and Twitter accounts and the site's blog.

More stories:

Check out Technolog on?Facebook, and on Twitter, follow?Athima Chansanchai, who is also trying to keep her head above water in the?Google+?stream.

Source: http://digitallife.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/23/10216687-super-bowl-first-social-media-command-center

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