Karzai: No Taliban talks until "we have an address" (Reuters)

ISTANBUL (Reuters) ? Afghan President Hamid Karzai again ruled out peace talks with the Taliban until he knew how to contact the insurgent group, and until then Afghanistan would talk only to Pakistan.

"We cannot keep talking to suicide bombers, therefore we have stopped talking about talking to the Taliban until we have an address for the Taliban ... until that day we have said we will be talking to our brothers in Pakistan to find a solution to the problem that we have," he said.

Karzai was speaking at a press conference in Istanbul alongside Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari following a summit hosted by Turkey to try to heal a rift over the September assassination of Afghan peace envoy Burhanuddin Rabbani.

Shortly after Rabbani's assassination in September, Karzai said there was no point talking to the insurgents and therefore it was best to talk directly with the Pakistanis.

While Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to set up a "joint mechanism" to investigate Rabbani's assassination by a suicide bomber posing as a Taliban peace emissary, Karzai's comments suggested the two countries were far from resolving their differences.

"We have been hurt badly, our desire for peace has been either misunderstood or misused and we have learnt a lesson from the manner in which we pursued the peace process," Karzai said.

Afghanistan accuses Pakistan of supporting the Taliban and has said that Rabbani's killer was sent from the Pakistani city of Quetta.

(Reporting by Myra MacDonald and Jonathon Burch; Editing by Robert Woodward)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111101/wl_nm/us_afghanistan_pakistan_summit_karzai

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Occupy protesters declare victory at shipping port

Occupy Oakland protesters march Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2011, in Oakland, Calif. Thousands of anti-Wall Street protesters are in the streets of Oakland, as part of a day-long series of events aimed at showing the movement's strength and unity. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Occupy Oakland protesters march Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2011, in Oakland, Calif. Thousands of anti-Wall Street protesters are in the streets of Oakland, as part of a day-long series of events aimed at showing the movement's strength and unity. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Protester Alexis Marvel, of Boston, front, holds an American flag and shouts slogans while joining with members of the Occupy Boston movement, students from area colleges, and union workers as they march through downtown Boston, Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2011. The march was held to protest the nations growing student debt burden. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Protesters from the Occupy Boston movement, students from area colleges, and union workers chant slogans and display placards and the American flag as they march through downtown Boston, Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2011. The march was held to protest the nations growing student debt burden. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

A woman marches with Occupy Oakland protesters Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2011, in Oakland, Calif. Oakland's citywide general strike, a hastily planned and ambitious action called by Occupy protesters a day after police forcibly removed their City Hall encampment last week, seeks to shut down the Port of Oakland. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Occupy Oakland protesters march Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2011, in Oakland, Calif. Thousands of anti-Wall Street protesters are in the streets of Oakland, Calif., as part of a day-long series of events aimed at showing the movement's strength and unity. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) ? Occupy Wall Street protesters declared victory after thousands of demonstrators shut down evening operations at one of the nation's busiest shipping ports late Wednesday, escalating a movement whose tactics had largely been limited to marches, rallies and tent encampments since it began in September.

A voice over a bullhorn said "the night is not over, yet." Protest organizers told demonstrators to head back to the downtown plaza across from City Hall, which is where the Oakland movement has been based for several weeks and was the scene of intense clashes with authorities last week.

The nearly 5-hour protest at the Port of Oakland, the nation's fifth-busiest shipping port, was intended to highlight a daylong "general strike" in the city, which prompted solidarity rallies in New York, Los Angeles and other cities across the nation.

The demonstrations in Oakland were largely peaceful and police say there were no arrests.

Police estimated that a crowd of about 3,000 had gathered at the port at the height of the demonstration around dusk. Some had marched from the city's downtown, while others had been bused to the port.

The crowd disrupted operations by overwhelming the area with people and blocking exits with chain-link fencing and illegally parked vehicles. The demonstrators also erected fences to block main streets to the port. No trucks were allowed into or out of the area.

Port spokesman Isaac Kos-Read said evening operations had been "effectively shut down."

Hours later the crowd began to dwindle and a voice on a bullhorn declared a victory for the movement, saying, "The port has been shut down. Let's head back to the plaza."

The Oakland protests became a rallying point for the far-flung movement last week when an Iraq War veteran was injured in clashes with police.

In Philadelphia, protesters were arrested earlier Wednesday as they held a sit-in at the headquarters of cable giant Comcast. Military veterans marched in uniform in New York, angry at their dim job prospects. And parents and their kids, some in strollers, joined the Oakland rallies by forming a "children's brigade."

"There's absolutely something wrong with the system," said Jessica Medina, a single mother who attends school part time and works at an Oakland caf?. "We need to change that."

Oakland organizers said they targeted the port because they want to stop the "flow of capital." The port sends goods primarily to Asia, including wine as well as rice, fruits and nuts, and handles imported electronics, apparel and manufacturing equipment, mostly from Asia, as well as cars and parts from Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Hyundai.

Craig Merrilees, spokesman for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, said its members were not being called to strike, but that they supported the protesters.

The members "are supporting the concerns raised by Occupy Oakland and the Occupy movement to speak up for the 99 percent and against the corporate greed that is wrecking America," Merrilees said.

Kos-Read, the port spokesman, said at around 9 p.m. that a decision had not yet been made on when the port would re-open. Officials had said earlier that they planned to resume operations as soon as it was safe to do so.

As protesters left the area on foot some stopped to burn money, others bickered, and one burned an American flag.

Zachary RunningWolf, a well-known Bay Area activist, said he burned the flag "to start an educated discussion among us."

The day's events in Oakland began with a rally outside City Hall that drew more than 3,000 people who spilled into the streets and disrupted the downtown commute. Protesters hung a large black banner that read: "Occupy Everything, DEATH TO CAPITALISM."

The crowd included students, families with young children and many people wearing labor union T-shirts. "Shut down the 1 percent. We are the 99 percent," they chanted.

Although windows at two bank branches and a Whole Foods store were broken and graffiti was painted inside one of the banks, officials described the protests as peaceful and orderly and said no arrests had been made.

"It is important to acknowledge the world is watching Oakland tonight," city administrator Deanna Santana said as demonstrators began to gather at the port. "And we need to ensure it remains a safe place for everyone."

There was little to no visible police presence all day, although authorities were on standby in case of an emergency, officials said.

Elsewhere, police in Philadelphia arrested nine protesters who staged a sit-in inside the Comcast lobby. Officers handcuffed them and led into police vans as supporters cheered.

One protester, Bri Barton, said she was there because the gleaming Comcast tower represents excessive wealth in a city with many blighted neighborhoods. "It's hard for me to see this and that existing in the same city," she said.

In New York, about 100 military veterans marched in uniform and stopped in front of the New York Stock Exchange, standing in loose formation as police officers on scooters separated them from the entrance. On the other side was a lineup of NYPD horses carrying officers with nightsticks.

"We are marching to express support for our brother, (Iraq war veteran) Scott Olsen, who was injured in Oakland," said Jerry Bordeleau, a former Army specialist who served in Iraq through 2009.

The veterans were also angry that returned from war to find few job prospects.

"Wall Street corporations have played a big role in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Bordeleau, now a college student. He said private contractors have reaped big profits in those countries.

In Boston, college students and union workers marched on Bank of America offices, the Harvard Club and the Statehouse to protest the nation's burgeoning student debt crisis.

They say total outstanding student loans exceed credit card debt, increase by $1 million every six minutes and will reach $1 trillion this year, potentially undermining the economy.

"There are so many students that are trying to get jobs and go on with their lives," said Sarvenaz Asasy of Boston, who joined the march after recently graduating with a master's degree and $60,000 in loan debt. "They've educated themselves and there are no jobs and we're paying tons of student loans. For what?"

Oakland let city workers use vacation or other paid time to take part, and officials said about 5 percent took the day off. About 360 Oakland teachers didn't show up for work, or roughly 18 percent of the district's 2,000 teachers, officials said. The district has been able to get substitute teachers for most classrooms, and where that wasn't possible children were sent to other classrooms, he said.

"I came here because the schools are in the (same) boat as everyone else," said Steve Neat, a fifth-grade teacher.

"We have five schools being closed here in Oakland. We have class sizes skyrocketing. We have cuts, cuts, cuts, just like everyone else. And the 1 percent, their share of the wealth is growing, and it's time for that to stop. It's time for some of that wealth to be shared out to all of society," he said.

Some protesters broke off from the rally to picket at nearby banks. All three banks located within blocks of the plaza were closed, though that didn't stop protesters from chanting and waving signs outside.

At a Citibank branch, more than a dozen protesters blocked the entrance, some with fake $100 bills taped across their faces. They held signs with messages such as "Share the Billions with the Millions." About 200 people chanted outside a Wells Fargo branch, where graffiti was scrawled on the wall. The messages read "The 1 percent won't back down" and "Who's robbing who?"

Farther away from the rally, vandals shattered a Chase bank branch and splattered ink all over an ATM. Someone later taped a note to the shattered glass that read: "We are better than this. ... Sorry, the 99 percent."

In front of the Oakland Public Library, about three dozen parents brought toddlers and school-age children for a stroller march in a "children's brigade." Demonstrators handed out signs written as if in a children's crayon that read "Generation 99% Occupying Our Future." People attached the signs to their baby backpacks and their strollers.

By the time the group made its way to the main rally, it numbered about 200 adults with their children.

Like others, Marisol Curiel, an Oakland residents who brought her two sons, ages 2 and 4, in a double stroller, said there was a need to tax the wealthy to benefit families and schools and to make sure there are opportunities and jobs for children when they grow up.

"Normally I would be the type of person who would watch it from the sidelines," she said. "But being able to have a presence and also a chance to be more educated seemed really important. All of this will affect not just now, but our future."

___

Associated Press writers Garance Burke and Marcus Wohlsen in San Francisco, Beth Duff-Brown in San Francisco, Mark Pratt in Boston, JoAnn Loviglio in Philadelphia, Jon Fahey and Verena Dobnik in New York and Christina Hoag in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-11-03-Occupy%20Marches/id-42a864abd8ed4e8ebee316f22eefe329

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APNewsbreak: Future holds more extreme weather (AP)

WASHINGTON ? For a world already weary of weather catastrophes, the latest warning from top climate scientists paints a grim future: More floods, more heat waves, more droughts and greater costs to deal with them.

A draft summary of an international scientific report obtained by The Associated Press says the extremes caused by global warming could eventually grow so severe that some locations become "increasingly marginal as places to live."

The report from the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change marks a change in climate science, from focusing on subtle shifts in average temperatures to concentrating on the harder-to-analyze freak events that grab headlines, hurt economies and kill people.

"The extremes are a really noticeable aspect of climate change," said Jerry Meehl, senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. "I think people realize that the extremes are where we are going to see a lot of the impacts of climate change."

The final version of the report from a panel of leading climate scientists will be issued in a few weeks, after a meeting in Uganda. The draft says there is at least a 2-in-3 probability that climate extremes have already worsened because of man-made greenhouse gases.

The most recent bizarre weather extreme, the pre-Halloween snowstorm that crippled parts of the Northeast last weekend, cannot be blamed on climate change and probably isn't the type of storm that will increase with global warming, according to four meteorologists and climate scientists.

Experts on extreme storms have focused more closely on the increasing number of super-heavy rainstorms, not snow, NASA climate scientist Gavin Schmidt said.

By the end of the century, the intense, single-day rainstorms that typically happen once every 20 years will probably happen about twice a decade, the report said.

The opposite type of disaster ? a drought such as the stubbornly long dry spell gripping Texas and parts of the Southwest ? could also happen more often as the world warms, said Schmidt and Meehl, who reviewed part of the climate panel report.

Studies have not yet specifically tied global warming to the continuing drought, but it is consistent with computer models that indicate current climate trends will worsen existing droughts, Meehl said. Scientifically connecting a weather disaster with global warming is a complicated and time-consuming task that can take more than a year and involve lots of computer calculations.

Researchers have also predicted more intense monsoons with climate change. Warmer air can hold more water and impart more energy to weather systems, changing the dynamics of storms and where and how they hit.

Thailand is now coping with massive flooding from monsoonal rains ? an event that illustrates how climate is also connected with other manmade issues such as population growth, urban development and river management, Schmidt said.

In fact, the report says, "for some climate extremes in many regions, the main driver for future increases in losses will be socioeconomic" rather than a result of greenhouse gases.

The panel was formed by the United Nations and World Meteorological Organization. In the past, it has discussed extreme events in snippets in its report. But this time, the scientists are putting them all together.

The report, which needs approval by diplomats at the mid-November meeting, tries to measure the confidence scientists have in their assessment of climate extremes both future and past.

Chris Field, one of the leaders of the climate change panel, said he and other authors declined to comment because the report is still subject to change.

The summary chapter did not detail which regions of the world might suffer extremes so severe as to leave them only marginally habitable.

The report does say scientists are "virtually certain" ? 99 percent ? that the world will have more extreme spells of heat and fewer of cold. Heat waves could peak as much as 5 degrees hotter by mid-century and even 9 degrees hotter by the end of the century.

From June to August this year in the United States, blistering heat set 2,703 daily high temperature records, compared with only 300 cold records during that period. That made it the hottest summer in the U.S. since the Dust Bowl of 1936, according to Weather Underground Meteorology Director Jeff Masters, who was not involved in the study.

And there's an 80 percent chance that the killer Russian heat wave of 2010 would not have happened without the added push of global warming, according to a study published last week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Scientists expect future hurricanes and other tropical cyclones to have stronger winds, but they won't increase in number and may actually decrease.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology meteorology professor Kerry Emanuel, who studies climate's effects on hurricanes, disagrees and believes more of these intense storms will occur.

And global warming isn't the sole villain in future climate disasters, the climate report says. An even bigger problem will be the number of people ? especially the poor ? who live in harm's way.

The 18-page summary report isn't completely grim. It says some "low-regrets measures" can help reduce disaster risks and costs, including better preparedness, sustainable land and water management, better public health monitoring and building improvements.

University of Victoria climate scientist Andrew Weaver, who was not among the authors, said the report was written to be "so bland" that it may not matter to world leaders.

But Masters said the basic findings seem to be proven true by actual events.

"In the U.S., this has been the weirdest weather year we've had for my 30 years, hands down."

___

Online:

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: http://www.ipcc.ch/

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on weather extremes: http://1.usa.gov/sYQQRv

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111101/ap_on_sc/us_sci_climate_extremes

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White House arranges media day for local TV (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Nine local TV stations from across the country and the Hearst Television network are being given special access to the White House. That means on-air time with President Barack Obama and top administration officials to discuss his stalled $447 billion jobs bill.

The anchors will hear from several Cabinet secretaries and get access to other senior officials Tuesday. They'll also broadcast their evening news live from the South Lawn.

The media day gives Obama another opportunity to try to rally the public around his plan to create jobs and grow the economy. Senate Republicans have blocked action on the bill because they object to Obama's call for more direct federal spending as well as a new tax on millionaires to pay for it.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111101/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_white_house_media_day

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Madoff son didn't suspect father of Ponzi scheme (AP)

NEW YORK ? Andrew Madoff says he never suspected his financier father of running a Ponzi scheme because he grew up hearing what a legend he was.

He says people had an incredible vision of Bernard Madoff as a "spectacularly skillful trader."

Andrew Madoff made his comments Monday during an appearance with his mother, Ruth, and his fianc?e, Catherine Hooper, on NBC's "Today" show.

Their appearance coincided with the publication of "Truth and Consequences" by Laurie Sandell. It contains extensive interviews with family members.

Andrew Madoff says the book provided an opportunity to say in their own words what had really happened, and "to speak to the thousands of victims I don't know."

Ruth Madoff says she doesn't miss her husband. She says: "The villain of all this is behind bars."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111031/ap_en_ce/us_people_madoff

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Video: Rick Santelli's Midday Bond Update

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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/45121247#45121247

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Various '7 billionth' babies celebrated worldwide

A newly born baby girl named Danica Camacho, the Philippines' symbolic seven billionth baby, as part of the United Nations' seven billion global population projection, lies on the chest of her mother Camille in government's Fabella Maternity hospital in Manila on Monday Oct. 31, 2011.(AP Photo/Erik De Castro, Pool)

A newly born baby girl named Danica Camacho, the Philippines' symbolic seven billionth baby, as part of the United Nations' seven billion global population projection, lies on the chest of her mother Camille in government's Fabella Maternity hospital in Manila on Monday Oct. 31, 2011.(AP Photo/Erik De Castro, Pool)

A newly born baby girl named Danica Camacho, the Philippines' symbolic seven billionth baby, as part of the United Nations' seven billion global population projection, is weighed in government's Fabella Maternity hospital in Manila on Monday Oct. 31, 2011. (AP Photo/Erik De Castro, Pool)

Danica Camacho is cuddled by her mother Camille as they are wheeled out of the delivery room of the Government's Fabella Hospital moments after she was born Monday Oct.31, 2011 in Manila, Philippines. The Philippines, ranked 12th as the most populated country in the world, joins the rest of the world as it welcomes its symbolic 7 billionth baby. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

In this photo released by United Nations Population Fund, Gamze Ozkan, 18, holds her new born baby boy, Yusuf Efe, at the Zekai Tahir Burak maternity hospital in Ankara, Turkey, early Monday, Oct. 31, 2011. According to the U.N. Population Fund, Yufuf Efe, son of the unemployed mother and a worker husband, will be one of 7 billion people sharing Earth's land and resources by Monday. (AP Photo/Nezih Tavlas, UNPF) EDITORIAL USE ONLY

In this photo released by United Naitons Population Fund, newly born Turkish baby boy Yusuf Efe, reacts next to his mother Gamze Ozkan, unseen, at the Zekai Tahir Burak maternity hospital in Ankara, Turkey, early Monday, Oct. 31, 2011. According to the U.N. Population Fund, Yufuf Efe, son of an unemployed mother and a worker will be one of 7 billion people sharing Earth's land and resources by Monday.(AP Photo/Nezih Tavlas, UNPF) EDITORIAL USE ONLY

MANILA, Philippines (AP) ? She came into the world at two minutes before midnight, a tiny, wrinkled girl born into a struggling Manila family. On Monday, she became a symbol of the world's population reaching 7 billion people and all the worries that entails for the planet's future.

Danica May Camacho, born in a crowded public hospital, was welcomed with a chocolate cake marked "7B Philippines" and a gift certificate for free shoes. There were bursts of photographers' flashes, and speeches by local officials.

The celebrations, though, reflected symbolism more than demography.

Amid the millions of births and deaths around the world each day, it is impossible to pinpoint the arrival of the globe's 7 billionth occupant. But the U.N. chose Monday to mark the day with a string of festivities worldwide, and a series of symbolic 7-billionth babies being born.

Danica was the first, arriving at Manila's Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital at two minutes before midnight Sunday ? but doctors say that was close enough to count for a Monday birthday.

"She looks so lovely," the mother, Camille Galura, whispered as she cradled the 2.5-kilo (5.5-pound) baby, who was born about a month premature.

The baby was the second for Galura and her partner, Florante Camacho, a driver who supports the family on a tiny salary driving a 'jeepney,' ubiquitous four-wheel drive vehicles used by many poor and working-class Filipinos.

Dr. Eric Tayag of the Philippines' Department of Health said later that the birth came with a warning.

"Seven billion is a number we should think about deeply," he said.

"We should really focus on the question of whether there will be food, clean water, shelter, education and a decent life for every child," he said. "If the answer is 'no,' it would be better for people to look at easing this population explosion."

In the Philippines, much of the population question revolves around birth control. The government backs a program that includes artificial birth control. The powerful Roman Catholic church, though, vehemently opposes contraception.

Camacho, a Catholic like her husband, said she was aware of the church's position but had decided to begin using a birth control device.

"The number of homeless children I see on the streets keeps multiplying," Camacho said. "When I see them, I'm bothered because I eat and maybe they don't."

Demographers say it took until 1804 for the world to reach its first billion people, and a century more until it hit 2 billion in 1927. The twentieth century, though, saw things begin to cascade: 3 billion in 1959; 4 billion in 1974; 5 billion in 1987; 6 billion in 1998.

The U.N. estimates the world's population will reach 8 billion by 2025 and 10 billion by 2083. But the numbers could vary widely, depending on everything from life expectancy to access to birth control to infant mortality rates.

In Uttar Pradesh, India ? the most populous state in the world's second-most populous country ? officials said Monday they would be appointing seven girls born Monday to symbolize the 7 billion.

India, which struggles with a deeply held preference for sons and a skewed sex ratio because of millions of aborted female fetuses, is using the day to highlight that issue.

"It would be a fitting moment if the 7 billionth baby is a girl born in rural India," said Dr Madhu Gupta, an Uttar Pradesh gynecologist. "It would help in bringing the global focus back on girls, who are subject to inequality and bias."

According to U.S. government estimates, India has 893 girls for every 1,000 boys at birth, compared with 955 girls per 1,000 boys in the United States.

On Monday, the chosen Indian babies were being born at the government-run Community Health Center in the town of Mall, on the outskirts of the Uttar Pradesh capital of Lucknow.

Six babies were born from midnight to 8 a.m. Monday. Four were boys.

Meanwhile China, which at 1.34 billion people is the world's most populous nation, said it would stand by its one-child policy, a set of restrictions launched three decades ago limiting most urban families to one child and most rural families to two.

"Overpopulation remains one of the major challenges to social and economic development," Li Bin, director of the State Population and Family Planning Commission, told the official Xinhua News Agency. He said the population of China would hit 1.45 billion in 2020.

While the Beijing government says its strict family planning policy has helped propel the country's rapidly growing economy, it has also brought many problems. Soon, demographers say, there won't be enough young Chinese to support its enormous elderly population. China, like India, also has a highly skewed sex ratio, with aid groups saying sex-selective abortions have resulted in an estimated 43 million fewer girls than there should be, given the overall population.

India, with 1.2 billion people, is expected to overtake China around 2030 when the Indian population reaches an estimated 1.6 billion.

___

Sullivan reported from New Delhi. Associated Press writer Biswajeet Banerjee in Lucknow, India, contributed to this report.

(This version Corrects the name of the Indian town to 'Mall' instead of 'Lall' in the 20th paragraph.)

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-10-31-AS-7-Billion-People/id-1a53f1aa5ea84bb5b24e6ab47231a420

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