NJ gov sued over communication with Fox News head

Associated Press, By BETH DeFALCO, 25 July 2011

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was sued Monday over his administration's refusal to release correspondence between the president of Fox News and the governor or his staff after a report that the head of the network tried to persuade the first-term GOP governor to run for president in 2012 last summer.

Fox News President Roger Ailes has denied urging Christie to run for president. But speculation continues over whether Christie would jump into the race, even though he has repeatedly said he will not.

The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey filed suit Monday on behalf of John Cook, a reporter for Gawker Entertainment LLC, who sought the information under state's Open Public Records Law.

The governor's office initially refused to confirm any records existed and said that, if they did, they would be exempt from state's open records law based on "executive privilege" as a reason to withhold records from the public. Executive privilege is intended to protect the governor and other elected officials from disclosing records that contain advice to them about their official public duties.

After the lawsuit was filed Monday, the governor's office denied that there were any other records besides a calendar entry.

"Please be advised that this office is in possession of no other records responsive to your request," Raymond Brandes, an attorney for the governor, said in a letter sent to the ACLU and Cook on Monday

In the letter, Christie's office confirmed that he and his wife, Mary Pat, attended a private dinner on Sept. 11, 2010, in New York but declined to comment beyond the letter.

A New York Magazine story in May reported that Ailes, like many others, tried to persuade Christie to run against President Barack Obama in 2012. Following that article, Gawker's Cook filed the public records request.

Ailes, who created Fox, the network of choice for many Republican viewers, in 1996, is a former media consultant for Presidents Nixon, Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

"The public has a right to know whether the head of America's most-watched cable news channel is advising a sitting governor on state matters," Gawker's Cook said in a statement. "If the emails on the state system between the governor and Ailes don't relate to Christie's functions as governor, then they can't be hidden from the public."

In its filings, the ACLU-NJ argues that for executive privilege to be invoked the governor must include an index of potential records and explanation of why executive privilege applies to a judge to privately examine.

"New Jersey needs a system in place to separate executive privilege from carte blanche," ACLU president Frank Corrado, who is representing Cook, said in a statement. "Executive privilege exists to help a governor carry out constitutional obligations, not to diminish the constitutional right to a free press."

Emails sent to Fox News seeking comment not returned on Monday.

Christie was due in Iowa on Monday to speak at an education conference and headline a political fundraiser for a congressman. The trip did little to quell the presidential talk.

News Corp's New York headquarters. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
 forbids US-based companies from profiting from bribery in other
countries. Photograph: Mary Altaffer/AP

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Saudi Arabia blocks Amnesty International website

Amnesty International has criticized a proposed anti-terrorist law

CIO.com,John Ribeiro (IDG News Service), 26 July, 2011

Saudi Arabia appears to have blocked the website of human rights organization Amnesty International after it published an analysis that said a proposed anti-terrorist law in the kingdom could be directed against peaceful protests.

Amnesty, which has its international secretariat in London, said in a statement on Monday that its international website had been blocked in Saudi Arabia following the organization's criticism of the draft anti-terror law.

In a message on Twitter, it pointed people to an alternative link to a statement in Arabic on its U.K. site. "Although the Saudi authorities have blocked our main international site, they haven't yet blocked any Amnesty UK site, as far as we know," Amnesty said.

The development highlights the increased regulation of online activity and websites in the kingdom. It frequently blocks websites that are considered critical of the government, or are seen not to adhere to Islamic principles, but this is one of the few occasions when the government has targeted a high-profile organization.

Online censorship is ubiquitous in Saudi Arabia, said Reporters Without Borders in January. A new rule introduced at the beginning of the year further regulates news websites and other online activity, it said. The press freedom organization rates Saudi Arabia along with China, Cuba, and Iran, as one of ten "enemies of the Internet".

The embassy of Saudi Arabia in London said in a statement on Sunday that Amnesty's concerns about the law "are baseless, mere supposition on their part, and completely without foundation". It added that Amnesty had criticized the law without contacting the embassy for clarity or comment.

The statement did not, however, refer to the blocking of the Amnesty website in Saudi Arabia. Authorities in the country were not immediately available for comment.

John Ribeiro covers outsourcing and general technology breaking news from India for The IDG News Service. Follow John on Twitter at @Johnribeiro. John's e-mail address is john_ribeiro@idg.com

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Vietnam re-arrests ailing dissident priest Van Ly

BBC News, 25 July 2011

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One of Vietnam's best-known dissidents, Catholic priest Nguyen Van Ly, has been re-arrested more than a year after getting medical leave from prison.

Sources said Fr Ly was escorted
by police from a church in central
Vietnam

Sources told journalists he had been escorted by police from a church in the Hue area of central Vietnam.

The government said he had been distributing anti-government writings.

His eight-year prison sentence for subversion had been suspended in March of last year to allow him to seek treatment for a brain tumour.

The condition of his health was not clear following news of his re-arrest on Monday.

Fr Ly, who is in his 60s, suffered two strokes in 2009 that left him partly paralysed, and Western governments had demanded repeatedly that he be freed.

His original trial made news headlines as he tried to read out a poem criticising Vietnam's communist authorities and was muzzled by police.

He has spent more than 15 years in prison since 1977.

In 2009 a group of 37 US senators wrote to Vietnam's President Nguyen Minh Triet, calling for the priest's release.

The Roman Catholic clergyman was a founding member of Bloc 8406, a pro-democracy movement launched in 2006.

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Maid speaks out about alleged DSK hotel attack

Associated Press, Jul 24, 2011

In this undated photo provided by ABC News, Robin Roberts, right, talks
 to Nafissatou Diallo, the alleged victim in the Dominique Strauss-Kahn
assault case. (AP Photo/ABC News, Heidi Gutman)

NEW YORK (AP) -- The maid accusing Dominique Strauss-Kahn of assaulting her in a Manhattan hotel room is speaking out publicly for the first time.

Nafissatou Diallo tells Newsweek she wants the former IMF leader to go to jail. She alleges he sexually assaulted her while she was working at a Midtown hotel in May. Her photo is on the cover of the magazine.

ABC News says it will carry an exclusive broadcast interview with Diallo on three of its programs, starting Monday.

She told the network she never wanted to be in the public eye but had no choice, amid questions about her credibility.

Lawyers for Strauss-Kahn told ABC that the interview was "an unseemly circus" designed to inflame public opinion.

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US set to end ban on openly gay troops

US defence secretary to certify that repealing prohibition will not hurt military's ability to fight

guardian.co.uk, Associated Press in Washington, Friday 22 July 2011

Two women, both active duty sailors in the navy, kiss during a gay pride
parade in San Diego. Photograph: Gregory Bull/AP

The US defence secretary, Leon Panetta, is set to end the ban on gay people serving openly in the armed forces, certifying that repealing the 17-year-old prohibition would not hurt the US military's ability to fight.

His decision comes two weeks after US military chiefs told Panetta that ending the ban would not affect military readiness. Dismantling the ban fulfils a 2008 campaign promise by Barack Obama, who helped usher the repeal through Congress and signed it into law late last December.

The move triggered vehement opposition from some in Congress and initial reluctance from military leaders, who worried that it could trigger a backlash and erode troop cohesion on the battlefield.

Defence officials said the announcement would be made later on Friday.

Obama is also expected to certify the change. Repeal of the ban would become effective 60 days after certification, which could open the military to gay servicemen and women by the end of September.

The "don't ask, don't tell" policy, adopted under Bill Clinton, has come under an onslaught of legal challenges, including a federal court ruling early in July that ordered the US government to immediately stop enforcing the gay ban.

Days later, however, the Obama administration appealed the ruling, saying that abruptly ending the ban would complicate the orderly process for repeal that had already been set in motion.

A San Francisco appeals court agreed, but added a caveat: the government could not investigate, penalise or discharge anyone for being openly gay.

The military services have conducted extensive internal studies and about five months of training to gauge how troops would react to the change.

A survey last year found that some two-thirds would not care if the ban was lifted. Opposition to the repeal was strongest among combat troops, particularly marines.

The bulk of the military has been trained on the new law, including a complex swath of details about how the change will or will not affect housing, transfers or other health and social benefits. In most cases, the guidelines demand that gay men and lesbians are treated just as any other soldier, sailor, air crew or marine is treated.

As training went on this year, senior military leaders said they had seen no real problems.

Panetta's predecessor as US defence secretary, Robert Gates, told the Associated Press that people had been "mildly and pleasantly surprised at the lack of pushback in the training".

There will still be differences, however, since same sex partners will not be given the same housing and other benefits as married couples. Instead, they will be treated like unmarried couples.

Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defence Network, a national organisation representing gay troops, said Panetta's action was welcomed by gay and lesbian troops "who have had to serve their country in silence for far too long".

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Clinton: Indonesia Can Be Democratic Role Model

Jakarta Globe, July 24, 2011

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Nusa Dua, Bali. US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is urging Indonesia to promote democracy in Burma and countries in the Middle East and North Africa in the throes of upheaval.

She says its successful transition from dictatorship and status as a vibrant Muslim-majority democracy make it an ideal role model for both Burma and the Arab world.

In meetings with senior Indonesian officials on Sunday in Bali, Clinton said the country's recent history "provides an example for a transition to civilian rule and building strong democratic institutions."

She said Indonesia has made significant strides toward democracy and shown that Islam and democracy can co-exist.

Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation and emerged from decades of authoritarian rule just over 10 years ago.

Myanmar Minister To Meet Suu Kyi: Official

Antara News, Sun, July 24 2011

Yangon (ANTARA News) - Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi will meet with a Myanmar minister next week, an official said on Saturday, the first known contact between the Nobel laureate and the new army-backed civilian government.               

Pro-democratic Leader of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi.
(ANTARA PHOTO/REUTERS/Khing Maung Win)

Suu Kyi, who has spent a total of 15 years in detention at the behest of Myanmar's former military dictators, would meet on Monday with Labour Minister Aung Kyi, who represented the ruling generals in previous talks with the opposition figurehead.       

It is not known whether the meeting will signal a softening in stance by the new government, which is led by members of the junta that controlled Myanmar for two decades and was ardently opposed to Suu Kyi and her former political party, the National League for Democracy (NLD).

A government official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters the meeting would take place early Monday afternoon at a state guesthouse close to Suu Kyi's Yangon home.    

In his former role as relations minister for the military junta, Aung Kyi met Suu Kyi 10 times while she was under house arrest. 

Aung Kyi is regarded as one of the more moderate ministers in Myanmar's army-dominated government, and this will be his first meeting with the pro-democracy leader in his capacity as labour minister in the new government.      

Suu Kyi, 66, was released on Nov 13 last year, six days after a long-awaited election widely derided as a sham to entrench military rule behind a veneer of democracy, dubbed by critics as a an "election of generals".  

In numerous media interviews, Suu Kyi expressed a desire to hold dialogue with the new government, which took office in April, to press for some reforms to help Myanmar's people. The government did not respond.             

She has been guarded in her comments and has been careful not to criticise the new government, or the election, and the new administration has given her unprecedented freedom to travel and meet with journalists, diplomats and foreign envoys.              

State newspapers, which serve as mouthpieces for the government, have occasionally criticised Suu Kyi and warned her she would meet "a tragic end" if her or the NLD tried to interfere with its running of the country, comments that drew a sharp rebuke from the international community.          

Analysts say it is likely Myanmar's rulers are aware of Suu Kyi's influence on the international community and realise she would need to be involved if there were to be a review of Western sanctions in place since 1988.       

NLD spokesman Han Tha Myint said he was not aware of the meeting, but welcomed the government's move to engage with Suu Kyi.    

"We welcome this news," Han Tha Myint said. "But we just don`t know what they would like to talk about."

Editor: Ade Marboen

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Israel's military have taken control of the last ship from Freedom Flotilla 2 and are convoying it to Israel. Activist Itamar Shapiro, who took part in the last year's deadly flotilla attempt, told RT why Israel feels so threatened by such missions.

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Malaysians Welcome Direct Indonesian Maid Hiring

Jakarta Globe, Hazlin Hassan -Straits Times Indonesia, July 22, 2011

Indonesian women in Bekasi, Java, being checked for eligibility to be
sent abroad to work as domestic workers. (AFP Photo) 

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Kuala Lumpur. Malaysian employers are hailing a move that makes it easier for them to hire Indonesian maids without going through agents, saying it will slash hiring costs and allow them more flexibility in choosing candidates.

Agents' fees can cost up to RM8,000 ($3,200) and cutting out the middleman could more than halve that in some cases.

The move is part of a memorandum of understanding between Malaysia and Indonesia aimed at protecting the rights of employers and maids. The agreement ended a two-year ban by Indonesia on sending new domestic workers to Malaysia, after several high-profile maid abuse cases.

It also cut some of the red tape involved in hiring a maid directly. While it was never compulsory for Malaysians to use agencies, the process was previously beset with bureaucracy.

Many Malaysian families rely on maids for everything from cooking and cleaning to caring for children and aged parents.

Mohamed Imran Ishak, a 34-year-old manager, has hired two maids through agencies in the past, paying between RM5,000 and RM8,000 in fees each time. But the maids were not properly trained and stole from him, he said.

Last year, he brought in the sister of his relative's maid, who came highly recommended.

After she came from Indonesia on a social visit pass, he went to the Immigration Department to apply for her work permit, and took her for a medical check-up. He spent about RM2,000.

'It's easier to do it yourself and it's a lot cheaper,' he said.

Homemaker Chee Meng Lin, 46, said that going direct allowed prospective employers to 'bypass greedy agents'.

'The maid's salary goes directly to her and you can get who you want. If you had a good maid and she wants to go home but she has a relative who can work in her place, then you can hire her directly,' she said.

Maids who go through agencies often have their first few months' salaries cut as they hand over fees to agencies for administrative charges and flight tickets.

Malaysian maid agencies warned that it is risky - for the maid as well as the employer - to bypass them.

Malaysian Association of Foreign Maid Agencies president Jeffrey Foo said maids might be more vulnerable to abuse.

'If a maid is hired directly, then she will have no protection or counseling in times of trouble. She may be subjected to stress, abuse or exploitation,' Mr Foo told The Straits Times, adding that contractual disputes over salaries and days off may also arise.

For employers, the risk of employing a maid with a dubious background is higher, he said, without an agency to vet the applicants.

According to government data, Indonesian maids comprised 76.7 per cent of the total 247,069 foreign maid population in Malaysia as at December last year.

Under the MOU, maids now get a day off each week and get to keep their passports. 

Reprinted courtesy of Straits Times Indonesia. To subscribe to Straits Times Indonesia and/or the Jakarta Globe call 021 2553 5055.

Nuclear Envoys From Two Koreas Meet in Bali

Jakarta Globe, July 22, 2011

Wi Sung-lac, right, South Korea's nuclear envoy, talks with Ri Yong-ho,
 North Korea's vice foreign minister who handles nuclear diplomacy, during
their meeting at a hotel in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Friday. The nuclear envoys
of South and North Korea met on the sidelines of an Asian forum in Bali on
Friday, an official in Seoul said, in the first high-level contact since tensions
spiked on the Korean peninsula last year. (Reuters Photo)  

  

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Nuclear envoys from North and South Korea held rare talks on Friday in the Indonesian island of Bali amid international efforts to revive stalled six-nation negotiations on the North’s atomic weaponry.

The meeting between South Korea’s Wi Sung-lac and his counterpart Ri Yong-ho was the first-ever North-South meeting on nuclear issues outside the six-party format, a foreign ministry spokeswoman said.

The North has previously refused to discuss its nuclear program with the South alone, saying it is intended as a deterrent against the United States.

Six-party host China had been pushing for an inter-Korean nuclear meeting, followed by US-North Korean talks, to pave the way for a resumption of the full dialogue.

Friday’s meeting came after more than a year of high tensions on the Korean peninsula, after Seoul accused its neighbor of two border attacks which killed 50 people in 2010.

Depending on the outcome of Friday’s talks, the South’s Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan could meet his North Korean counterpart Pak Ui-chun, probably on Saturday, the spokeswoman said.

The last round of six-party talks ended without agreement in December 2008. The North formally abandoned them in April 2009 and staged its second nuclear test a month later.

It has expressed conditional willingness to return to the forum, which groups China, the two Koreas, the United States, Japan and Russia.

But the United States, its ally South Korea and Japan say the North should first mend relations with its neighbor.

Seoul accuses Pyongyang of torpedoing a South Korean warship in March 2010 with the loss of 46 lives.

The North denies involvement. But it killed four people in a bombardment of a South Korean island last November, briefly sparking fears of war.

The South had demanded the North take responsibility for those attacks before any major dialogue. But in an attempt to break the diplomatic impasse, it said this condition would not apply to nuclear negotiations.

“It’s been a long time since I met you in London,” Wi told Ri as they started the talks on the sidelines of an Asian security conference, Yonhap news agency reported.

He was recalling their meeting at a security conference in Britain six years ago. “Yes, how nice to see you again,” Ri responded.

All six countries are attending the Asean Regional Forum this week.

Despite Friday’s meeting, the nominee for next US ambassador to South Korea voiced doubt on Thursday that the North was ready to return to serious negotiations.

“We’re not convinced that they really are ready to return to serious diplomacy and negotiations,” Sung Kim, who is now the special envoy to the moribund six-nation talks, told a Senate hearing on his nomination.

“This is why I think Seoul and Washington have both been very cautious in just rushing back to the negotiating table.

“In light of what has happened in the past two years, I think the North Koreans need to prove that they will in fact be a serious partner when the negotiations resume,” Sung Kim added.

Agence France-Presse

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Europe announces a fresh, 'credible' Greek rescue deal

Deutsche Welle, 22 July 2011 

Greece's second aid package is
larger than the first

European leaders say the eurozone, the International Monetary Fund and the private sector will all contribute towards a second package of emergency loans for Greece, as a debt-dominated summit concludes in Brussels.

European Union President Herman van Rompuy said after Thursday's summit in Brussels that the bloc had reached three important decisions which had unanimous support within eurozone.

"We improved the Greek debt sustainability, we took measures to stop the risk of contagion, and finally, we committed to improve the eurozone's crisis management," Rompuy said in the opening moments of his official address.

The EU president said that the instability of the Greek economy, coupled with the resultant jitters on international markets, ultimately could have threatened the single European currency and the economic recovery in Europe and the wider world.

"Convening this meeting focused the minds and accelerated finding a solution. I could not allow a difficult situation to become a dangerous one," Rompuy said.

The nuts and bolts

European leaders in conjunction with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed to lend Greece an additional 109 billion euros (157 billion dollars) in order to cover its financing shortfalls and prevent Athens from defaulting on its sovereign debt.

The program will include lower interest rates and extended maturities as well as a voluntary contribution from private sector financial institutions amounting to 37 billion euros, according to a statement released by the leaders after the summit.

Merkel and Sarkozy struck an
agreement before the summit

European Central Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet reacted coolly to concerns that even voluntary participation by the private sector could provoke rating agencies to downgrade Greece's credit worthiness.

"I don't think experts consider that what has been done would trigger a credit event," Trichet said after the summit.

'European package'

Greece's second aid package, including private contributions, will total at least 146 billion euros. The package comes in addition to the 110 billion euros Athens was promised as part of its first bailout in 2010.

"The only thing we're asking for is the right to make deep changes in our country to make our country a viable one, one of growth and jobs creations," Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said. "This is a European success, a European package."

The breakthrough deal was made possible after German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy came to an agreement in Berlin on Wednesday.

Sarkozy said that Europe was prepared to stand with Athens and guarantee its credit worthiness in the event that credit agencies declare Greece in limited default.

"We have agreed to create the beginnings of a European Monetary Fund," he said.

Author: Spencer Kimball, Mark Hallam (AFP, Reuters, dpa)

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Foreign ministers and delegates of ASEAN and China, Japan and the
 Republic of Korea, pose for group photos during the ASEAN and China,
Japan and the Republic of Korea foreign ministers' meeting held in Bali,
Indonesia, July 21, 2011. (Xinhua/Chen Duo)