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Marjah, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Twelve Afghan civilians were killed Sunday when two rockets fired by coalition forces in southern Afghanistan missed their intended target, as the Taliban showed stiff resistance to the NATO assault against the militant group.
"We deeply regret this tragic loss of life," U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of the International Security Assistance Force, said in a statement. "The current operation in Central Helmand is aimed at restoring security and stability to this vital area of Afghanistan. It's regrettable that in the course of our joint efforts, innocent lives were lost."
Coalition forces fired two rockets with the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System at insurgents firing upon Afghan and ISAF forces, but they struck about 300 meters off their intended target, ISAF said.
The incident happened in the Nad Ali district of Helmand province, where NATO forces have launched Operation Moshtarak, a huge offensive by an international coalition of 15,000 troops including Afghans, Americans, Britons, Canadians, Danes and Estonians.
McChrystal conveyed his apologies to Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the statement said.
Coalition forces have also suspended use of the HIMARS pending a review of Sunday's incident. The intended target was an insurgent compound from where coalition forces were taking direct fire, ISAF said.
NATO, which launched the effort Saturday, announced the offensive before it started so that citizens could get out of harm's way. Karzai on Saturday had urged Afghan and international troops to exercise "absolute caution" and ensure civilian safety.
Helmand is a bastion of pro-Taliban sentiment and awash with the opium used to fund the insurgency. Marjah, a region known as the heroin capital of Afghanistan, is where the Taliban has set up a shadow government.
The Moshtarak operation also includes securing Kandahar and providing support to the government and police there, British Maj. Gen. Gordon Messenger said in a news release Sunday. The Taliban has had increasing influence in Kandahar.
Officials said Sunday they did not know how many Taliban fighters remained in the Marjah region of Helmand province, but think they may be in the hundreds -- some of whom are holed up in civilian compounds.
Taliban forces tried to overrun, successfully in some cases, several positions that coalition forces had secured inside the city, U.S. Marines told CNN.
In one instance, three suspected suicide bombers breached a secure military area near Koru Chareh Bazaar, throwing three or four grenades inside the compound, Marine officials said. The insurgents were killed before they could detonate their bomb vests.
The sporadic firefight continued throughout the day, with an average of two to three Taliban fighters being killed in each battle, the Marines said.
"It is not unusual for the Taliban to melt away to regroup. The threat is still present in the area that they might come back, and our troops are well aware of that," Messenger told CNN.
"The troops are fighting in very open terrain, especially now during the winter," he said. "This is a very complex operation but it has worked extremely well."
Messenger emphasized the cooperation with the Afghan nationals as a key element in both preparing and executing this operation.
"The atmosphere among the locals remains positive, largely because elders on the ground knew about the operation ahead of time," he said. "The sense is genuinely that the population is prepared to give this a go."
Provincial spokesman Dawoud Ahmadi said 27 Taliban fighters have been killed. Afghan and international force also discovered a total of 2,500 kilograms (5,500 pounds) of explosives during the operation.
The Taliban spokesman for the Marjah area claimed six Taliban casualties, saying militants had killed 192 Afghan and coalition troops.
In the past, the Taliban has often inflated casualty figures.
"NATO forces have not captured any areas in Marjah from the Mujahadeen," said Qari Yousif Ahmadi, the Taliban spokesman.
Soldiers on Sunday found a weapons cache in the Nad Ali district that included two 155 mm artillery rounds, four pressure plates, blasting caps and batteries, according to ISAF.
In another incident, coalition forces shot a man who refused | [
"ISAF commander apologizes after what?",
"how many civilans killed?",
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"What does ISAF commader apologize about?"
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"innocent lives were lost.\""
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"Twelve Afghan civilians were killed Sunday when two rockets fired by coalition"
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] | ISAF commander apologizes after 12 civilians killed .
U.S., Marine, British soldier killed, U.S. military official says .
Marjah region long a bastion of pro-Taliban sentiment, awash with opium .
Coalition's ground offensive follows air assaults . |
Marjah, Afghanistan (CNN) -- U.S. Marines fighting the Taliban in southern Afghanistan achieved a main objective Tuesday -- taking over the police headquarters in the center of the Taliban stronghold of Marjah.
CNN correspondent Atia Abawi, embedded with the Marines, said troops didn't receive any resistance when they took the station, but gun battles broke out in the area a few hours later.
There was an engagement for 15 to 20 minutes, with constant gunfire coming from different directions, and there have been "sporadic battles," Abawi said.
Unlike previous days, there was fighting in the evening, with Taliban militants trying to attack Marine locations with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades. One of the grenades hit close to one of the U.S. positions and a fire broke out.
About 15,000 Afghan and NATO forces are taking part in Operation Moshtarak, which focuses on the town of Marjah and surrounding areas in Helmand province. Set in a region known as the country's heroin capital, Marjah is where the Taliban established a shadow government.
The military says the goal of Operation Moshtarak is to provide security, governance and development, and authorities hope fighters choose to reject the insurgency and join the government's reintegration process.
Clearing out poppy fields is a key part of the push, the biggest since the Afghanistan War started in 2001. The Taliban finances its activities in part through the illegal opium trade.
One of the biggest challenges facing the NATO mission in Afghanistan is attacking the Taliban while limiting civilian casualties. On Sunday, 12 civilians died in a rocket attack by coalition troops. Three other Afghan civilians were killed by NATO in separate incidents on Sunday and Monday.
On Tuesday, Abawi spoke to one civilian whose property had been destroyed in the initial push by Marines. Despite that, he said he was happy to see Americans arrive and noted that Marines promised to pay for the damages to his home.
He said Afghans have suffered under the Taliban, who he said had beheaded some people and forced their way into people's homes for food. | [
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"What illegal trade does the Taliban use?",
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"Who has a shadow government?"
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] | Operation Moshtarak focuses on area where heroin produced, Taliban has shadow government .
Taliban finances uses illegal opium trade to finance activities .
Gun battles broke out hours later after headquarters seized, CNN correspondent says .
Taliban militants try to attack Marine locations with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades . |
Mecca, Saudi Arabia (CNN) -- The Hajj, an obligatory pilgrimage for Muslims, began this year on Wednesday with two twists: thinner crowds and heavy rain. A rare rainstorm inundated pilgrims in the city of Mina, flooding tents and making conditions miserable for the 2.5 million pilgrims performing the ancient rituals, according to Isha Sesay, CNN's correspondent there. The tents, where pilgrims plan to spend the night in prayer and contemplation, were leaking and flooding, giving rise to fears of disease, Sesay reported. She said, however, that the several hours of rain was not likely to stop any of the pilgrims from performing the rituals. "They've saved for years to get here," Sesay reported. "This is a blessing. They're not going to let rain get in the way." iReporter witnesses heavy rain near his home She said no incidents had been reported among the dimished number of pilgrims. Officials said the swine flu could be keeping pilgrims from the fifth pillar of Islam, which requires devotees to journey to the holy city of Mecca at least once in their lifetime. Saudi's Hajj Ministry said Wednesday that 40 percent fewer Saudi pilgrims are participating in the ancient rituals this year, largely due to fears of disease, though a greater number of international visitors had come. "Concerns about the spread of H1N1 may have affected the turnout but we are confident of all measures in place to increase monitoring of cases and awareness about how one can protect himself or herself," said Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabbeeah, the Saudi health minister. A teenager and three elderly people have died of the H1N1 flu virus at the Hajj. The victims were a 17-year-old Nigerian female and a Sudanese man, an Indian man and a Moroccan woman who each were 75 years old. Many of the 2 million pilgrims have been arriving days and weeks ahead of the Hajj, which coincides with flu season. The rituals of the five-day event began Wednesday. But with fewer visitors, businesses are feeling the pinch this year. Shopkeeper Fahmi al-Rashidi said he has slashed prices of the gold he sells in Mecca's Al-Ghaza market. "Business is lower than last year," he said. "I think swine flu fears combined with high gold prices are turning people away from spending." Another merchant, Fahd al-Qraishi, said a normal 20 percent profit has dropped to 5 percent. Hajj observed in Second Life The Hajj Ministry reported, however, a 17 percent increase in the number of international pilgrims, some of whom are enjoying discounted rates at hotels including the Hilton Makkah. Then there was the real damper. Mecca resident Khaled Nemary said he had not seen so much rain in a quarter-century. And the forecast? Showers through Friday. CNN's Amir Ahmed and Daniela Deane contributed to this report. | [
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] | Huge downpours flood tents in Mina .
Ministry says there are 40 percent fewer Saudi pilgrims this year .
With fewer visitors, merchants report less business .
No incidents reported among pilgrims . |
Mecca, Saudi Arabia (CNN) -- Chanting "Allahu Akbar" -- God is Greater than any -- more than 2 million pilgrims crossed new pedestrian bridges Saturday to perform one of the last rituals of the Hajj season.
Jamarat is a re-enactment of an event when Prophet Abraham stoned the devil and rejected his temptations, according to Muslim traditions.
The ritual stoning of three pillars, which occurs in the tent city of Mina -- about two miles from Mecca, was the scene of stampedes and many deaths in the 1980s and 1990s as pilgrims passed a crowded bottleneck area leading to the small pillars on the ground.
But this year the Saudi government completed a new project that avoids past congestion at the site. The government has erected three massive pillars and completed a $1.2 billion, five-story bridge nearby where pilgrims can toss stones. Authorities and pilgrims say it's a roomier atmosphere and more efficient way to accommodate the faithful.
"Everything went fine so far," Col. Khakled Qarar Mohammadi, head of the emergency forces at Jamarat, told CNN.
"It is an immense responsibility that we had to deal with. About 3 million pilgrims move in a small geographic area at the same time wanting to do the same ritual. So we have been preparing for this for years now."
Irtiza Hasan, a pilgrim from the United States, said all went well at the ceremony.
"The only incident I saw was that there were some handicapped women who were turned away in fears that they get hurt."
But Mohammadi said, "There are 10 vans on the second floor especially designated to serve the elderly and handicapped. Each van can take up to 14 pilgrims."
As a measure to alleviate harm, according to Muslim traditions, the elderly and the handicapped can appoint someone else to stone for them.
The five-story Jamarat bridge is air-conditioned at 19 degrees Centigrade, or 66 Fahrenheit, throughout the day and backed by water sprinklers that can reduce the temperature to about 29 degrees C, or 84 F. The bridge is designed to allow the addition of seven more levels to hold as many as 5 million pilgrims in the future if the need arises.
According to authorities, the bridge is 950 meters (1,039 yards) long and 80 meters (87 yards) wide. Each floor is 12 meters (13 yards) high with three tunnels and 12 entrances and 12 exits in six directions. It has a helicopter pad for emergencies.
According to Mohammadi, the project has 509 advanced closed-circuit television cameras monitoring pilgrims' movements. Those cameras feed into the main operations room, which oversees the Jamarat Bridge and the surrounding areas -- all screened by dozens of security officers on 72 monitors at the operation room.
The stoning ritual is done over at least two days, where pilgrims stone three pillars at Mina -- believed to be where the Prophet Abraham stoned the devil when he tried to dissuade him from obeying God's orders to slaughter his son. According to tradition, the event was a test from God, who gave Abraham a ram to slaughter instead.
The last ritual that marks the end of Hajj is when pilgrims go from Mina to Mecca to make a last visit to al-Masjid al-Haram, Islam's holiest site, before going back home.
The ritual is called Tawaf al-Wada'a -- or farewell circumambulation in the holy mosque. It's where pilgrims go around the black cube seven times counter-clockwise asking that their Lord accept their pilgrimage and grant them another visit to the holy city. | [
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Jamarat re-enacts Abraham's stoning the devil, according to Muslim tradition .
Ritual was scene of deadly stampedes as pilgrims crammed through bottleneck .
The air-conditioned bridge is 950 meters long, 80 meters wide; each floor is 12 meters high . |
Mecca, Saudi Arabian (CNN) -- A teenager and three elderly people in Saudi Arabia for the hajj pilgrimage have died of the H1N1 flu virus, the Saudi Health Ministry said. The victims of the virus were a 17-year-old Nigerian female and a Sudanese man, an Indian man and a Moroccan woman who each were 75 years old. "These cases were discovered too late," said Dr. Khaled Al-Marghalani, the ministry spokesman. "Some were old, and the others had pre-existing chronic conditions." Al-Marghalani said the Sudanese man initially went to a doctor who treated him, but not for H1N1. "So when his doctor sent him to the hospital, and he was treated for H1N1, it was too late," he said. The annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, is required of Muslims at least once in their lives, and millions of people around the globe make the trek to attend. This year, the hajj begins Wednesday, and many pilgrims have been arriving days and weeks ahead of the event, which coincides with flu season. When Arab health ministers met in Cairo, Egypt, a few months back, it looked like several groups might even be banned from this year's event because of the flu. They were children under 12, adults over 65, pregnant women and people with chronic illnesses. The Saudis didn't ban anybody from coming and left the responsibility to the pilgrims' countries of origin. In effect, officials issued guidelines only for people at risk. Two days ago, Saudi Arabia's health minister, Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, gathered representatives to discuss efforts to detect the ailment. "It would be nice to have more time to prepare [for the possibility of H1N1 spreading in Saudi Arabia] ahead of the hajj, but I am very satisfied with all the measures taken and have great confidence," he said before the meeting. Al-Marghalani said the "safe weapon" for the kinds of H1N1 cases that resulted in the deaths is Tamiflu, the drug used to fight influenza. "If we lose Tamiflu, we will lose the war. But Tamiflu is only effective in the first 48 hours of when the symptoms appear," he said. | [
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] | Virus kills teenager, three elderly people on hajj pilgrimage .
Arab ministers considered barring some groups from this year's event .
Saudis left responsibility to pilgrims' countries of origin . |
Melissa Harris-Lacewell is associate professor of politics and African-American studies at Princeton University. She is the author of the award-winning book "Barbershops, Bibles, and BET: Everyday Talk and Black Political Thought" and writes a daily blog titled The Kitchen Table. Melissa Harris-Lacewell says African-Americans remain skeptical about racial progress in the U.S. PRINCETON, New Jersey (CNN) -- America was proud of itself for electing Barack Obama. The pride was not just partisan and ideological; it was also specifically and clearly racial. The morning after Obama's win, The New York Times declared "Racial Barrier Falls in Decisive Victory." The Los Angeles Times asserted that "for the first time in human history, a largely white nation has elected a black man to be its paramount leader." Some black commentators openly wept on election night, thrilled with witnessing the election of our first black president. Even Sen. John McCain, conceding defeat, pointed to the greatness of the American promise fulfilled in the election of his opponent. Obama's victory offered the possibility that the scars of America's racial legacy were healed or, at least, that they were less raw. For many African-American citizens, the election of the first black U.S. president was cause for celebration and open-mouthed wonder about an outcome that seemed so unlikely just two years earlier, when Obama announced his bid. Despite this joy, many black citizens were dubious that his victory represented the destruction of any particular racial barrier. African-Americans were both proud of and excited about Obama, but in the 45 years since the passage of the Civil Rights Act, black Americans had seen doors to power, influence and wealth open just enough to admit just a few without fundamentally altering opportunities for the majority. Indeed, responses to a recent CNN/Essence Magazine/Opinion Research Corp. survey indicate that black enthusiasm about Obama exists side-by-by side with deep skepticism about America's racial progress. This atmosphere of both enthusiasm and doubt has sparked discussion about whether we have entered a post-racial era in American politics. It is a difficult debate, because the term "post-racial" is not clearly defined. Race itself is a slippery idea. Typically, we treat race like a fixed, unchanging, biological category. But race is none of these things. Race is a social construct. Though it is based in physical traits, race is a category developed through social practice, law and history. As a nation, we made blackness through our politics, developing a category of people who could be enslaved and later segregated. So when we talk of a post-racial America, we are not pointing to the massive demographic shifts that are unalterably changing the racial, ethnic and linguistic landscape of America. Instead, "post-racial" is an expression of social and political longing. For most, this means an America free of racism and discrimination, but others seem to hint at a society entirely free of racial identity or recognition. The idea of a post-racial America has been upheld as an achievable ideal where people would receive equal treatment and fair outcomes regardless of their race. It has been critiqued as an impossible dream unlikely to exist in a nation with a history of slavery and legal discrimination. It has been denounced as an unworthy goal that would require black Americans to reject their cultural specificity and unique social and political concerns. Undoubtedly, the 2008 election broke formerly entrenched racial trends. Obama was elected just as the depth and breadth of the American economic crisis was becoming clear. Some suggested that his victory could be explained by the nation's fiscal difficulties because he was the candidate of the out-party, which often wins when times are hard. But this analysis forgets the cross-cutting history of race. When the economic pie shrinks, Americans rarely form multiracial political coalitions led by minority candidates. Obama's victory countered the trend toward racial balkanization more typical in tough economic times. The changing dynamics of racial politics were further evidenced when Obama won both Virginia and | [
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] | Melissa Harris-Lacewell: Barack Obama's election celebrated as racial triumph .
She says it represented real progress in the arena of politics .
Harris-Lacewell: In many other areas, issues of race remain significant . |
Memphis, Tennessee (CNN) -- The leader of a Memphis-based YMCA group said he felt "gut-punched" by a televised report in which two men alleged a former coach with that organization had sexually abused them as boys.
Keith Johnson, the president and CEO of the YMCA of Memphis and the Mid-South, said he first heard of the allegations against Robert "Bobby" Dodd while watching ESPN's "Outside the Lines" program on Sunday.
He said the sports network didn't contact him in advance of the piece. As of Monday, several days after Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong announced his department would investigate the claims against Dodd, Johnson said that law enforcement had not touched base with his YMCA organization.
In the ESPN report, Dodd's accusers said he sexually abused them in hotel rooms during tournaments when they were 12 to 16 years old.
CNN has not been able to reach Dodd, 63, for comment on the allegations. ESPN said it also had been unable to reach him.
On Monday afternoon, Memphis police Deputy Chief Dave Martello said the investigators' options are limited given that no one has filed a formal complaint against Dodd.
"A person is going to have to actually come to the police and report this," Martello told reporters. "The fact they go on TV and make these accusations is not notifying the authorities."
Martello said police are still trying to determine "where (the alleged crimes) happened, when they happened and who was involved." But if a person doesn't offer details directly to police, there are only "going to be a lot of baby steps," he said.
Dodd, who is not a direct relative of the late former Georgia Tech football coach of the same name, was a basketball coach affiliated with the Memphis YMCA in the 1980s, Johnson confirmed. Two now grown men alleged in the ESPN report that Dodd abused them during that time.
The allegations were made amid child sex scandals at Penn State and Syracuse universities and The Citadel. Both men accusing Dodd told ESPN the publicity from the scandals prompted them to act.
The YMCA said Dodd left in 1992 "to pursue AAU sports full-time," including founding an organization called the YOMCA, which stands for Youth of Memphis Competitive Association and is unrelated to the YMCA. He eventually became president and CEO of the Amateur Athletic Union, a position he held until his dismissal on November 14.
Johnson came to Memphis as head of the Fogelman Downtown YMCA a year after Dodd left. In his time with the organization, including over the last decade as an executive for the regional YMCA, Johnson said he had never heard complaints regarding the former coach.
Martello said that Memphis police began looking into the case after the AAU gave them information last Friday. AAU spokesman Ron Sachs had also said that his organization kick-started the child sex abuse criminal probe -- although the group has varied as to whether it claims to have contacted authorities last Thursday or Friday -- telling CNN that the organization provided the identities of three of Dodd's accusers, including not brought up in the ESPN report.
This disclosure followed a nearly monthlong investigation ordered by the AAU, Sachs said Sunday.
The AAU got "cryptic, brief" e-mails, signed only as "shrimp breath," on November 7, 8 and 9 that "alleged, in a very general way, that Bobby Dodd engaged in child sexual abuse," Sachs said. On November 9, the organization got two brief voice-mails along the same lines. There was no name or contact information left in either case.
Those messages were sent to the AAU's compliance and general counsel office, and AAU officers were notified on November 11. The board members, several of whom flew into Orlando, convened the next Monday, November 14, "to confront then-President Bobby Dodd," said Sachs.
In that meeting, Dodd said he had gotten similar phone messages and said he was innocent, according to Sachs, who said he had spoken with several AAU officers who | [
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] | Memphis police says no accusers have contacted them, making their probe challenging .
Going "on TV and (making) accusations is not notifying" police, a deputy chief says .
Robert "Bobby" Dodd, recently AAU's CEO, is accused of sexually abusing boys in the '80s .
He was a Memphis-based YMCA coach at the time, a YMCA executive says . |
Men who are circumcised are less likely to get sexually transmitted infections such as genital herpes and human papillomavirus (HPV), but not syphilis, according to a study of adult African men published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine. Circumcision rates have traditionally been higher in the U.S. than in Europe, but they've been on the decline. The finding adds to the evidence that there are health benefits to circumcision. It was already known that circumcision can reduce the risk of penile cancer, a relatively rare disease. In a previous study, the same research team found that adult circumcision could reduce the risk of HIV infection. Efforts to increase the practice of male circumcision in areas with high rates of sexually transmitted infections, including Africa, could have a tremendous benefit, say the study's authors. Genital herpes has been associated with an increased risk of HIV, and HPV can cause genital warts as well as a higher risk of anal, cervical (in women), and penile cancers. Health.com: Is your partner cheating? How to protect yourself In the United States, infant circumcision is declining. About 64 percent of American male infants were circumcised in 1995, down from more than 90 percent in the 1970s. Rates tend to be higher in whites (81percent) than in blacks (65 percent) or Hispanics (54 percent). Some opponents say the removal of the foreskin is an unnecessary surgical procedure that may reduce sexual sensitivity in adulthood. In Jewish and Muslim cultures, young or infant boys are routinely circumcised for religious reasons. Circumcision rates have traditionally been higher in the U.S. than in Europe, but the American Academy of Pediatrics currently says that the medical benefits are insufficient to recommend circumcision for all baby boys. In the new study, a research team at the Rakai Health Sciences Program in Uganda -- in collaboration with researchers from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland, and Makerere University in Uganda -- conducted two clinical trials involving 3,393 uncircumcised men ages 15 to 49. All the men were negative for HIV and genital herpes (also known as herpes simplex virus type 2); a subgroup of men also tested negative for HPV. Roughly half of the men underwent medically supervised circumcision at the start of the trial, while the other half were circumcised two years later. Overall, circumcision reduced the men's risk of genital herpes by 28 percent (10.3 percent of uncircumcised men developed genital herpes compared with 7.8 percent of circumcised men) and HPV infection by 35 percent (27.8 percent of uncircumcised men were infected with HPV compared with 18 percent of circumcised men). Circumcision did not, however, protect against syphilis. (About 2 percent of men in both groups contracted syphilis.) Health.com: A sexual risk taker comes to terms with drinking, depression, and STDs Study coauthor Thomas C. Quinn, M.D., professor of global health at Johns Hopkins University, says that choosing circumcision, whether it's the parents of an infant or an adult male for himself, is and should remain an individual decision. "But the critics need to really look at the benefits versus the risks," he adds. "By now a large body of evidence has shown that the health benefits clearly outweigh the minor risk associated with the surgery. In our study, we didn't see any adverse effects or mutilation. We're recommending supervised, safe, sterile environments -- not circumcision out in an open field with rusty instruments." Increasing circumcision rates in Africa may not only help men, but would likely protect women too, possibly lowering the rates of female cervical cancer, the authors say. Ronald H. Gray, M.D., professor of public health at Johns Hopkins University and study coauthor, says that the researchers plan to look at whether male circumcision reduces the transmission of HPV to female sexual partners. Health.com: 10 questions to ask a new partner before having sex Even in the United States, this study has relevance, says Anthony Fauci, M.D., director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (which funded one of the trials). "In this country, circumcision for | [
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],
[
"penile cancer,"
],
[
"1995,"
],
[
"did not,"
],
[
"sexually transmitted infections"
]
] | Study: Circumcision reduces risk of HPV infection and herpes, but not syphilis .
Circumcision known to reduce risk of HIV infection and penile cancer .
64 percent of American baby boys circumcised in '95, down from 90 percent in 70s . |
Metropolis, Illinois (CNN) -- Superman will not be saving Lois Lane this time, but the residents of Metropolis are hopeful his fans will. Metropolis, Illinois wants a companion statue for Superman, but the economy may block its efforts. The villain is the economy. Despite being about $70,000 shy of the funding needed to cast a figure in the image of the fictional "Daily Planet" reporter, this town of 6,000 residents says it's going forward with a ground breaking. Metropolis wants its Lois Lane statue. There are no skyscrapers here. If you search the local telephone book you won't find any familiar names. There's no Lex Luthor or Perry White. The closest Jimmy Olsen lives in Aledo, Illinois. If you call the nearby nuclear plant and ask about kryptonite they won't take you seriously. Most days of the year you can walk about town without seeing anyone in a cape or leotard. Very little about Metropolis, Illinois, resembles the metroplex made famous in "Action Comics," except for the constant presence of Superman. His statue stands 15-feet tall outside the Massac County Courthouse and 50 yards away is the county justice center. In 1972, DC Comics, the current owner of the character, declared the town the official home for Superman. Since then, it's residents have fashioned a monument, a museum, and an annual festival around the superhero. "We've had groups from as far away as Japan and Australia," said Karla Ogle, one of the festival organizers. "There's a family that comes every year from Canada." And each year Noel Neill is honored. She's the original Lois Lane. Neill starred opposite George Reeves in the 1950s "Adventures of Superman" television series and it's her image the local chamber of commerce wants to immortalize in a statue. The town first came up with the idea of a companion statue for Superman in 2005. A lot has changed since then, primarily the economy. "We've been affected pretty heavily because most of our revenue comes from the casino," said Mayor Billy McDaniel. The Harrah's Casino is the closest thing this little burgh has to a tall building. "Their revenue has been down as much as 30 percent," noted McDaniel. And the Metropolis budget is not bulletproof either. The town has not been replacing some workers as they retire, because of the lower tax receipts. What about the prospects for Lois Lane? "If there's any money out there we're going to find it," said the mayor. Metropolis has agreed to foot half the statue's bill, if the Illinois Board of Tourism provides a matching grant. Private donations have raised only $9,000 in four years, not even enough to pay for the monument's base. "They were good initially, but slowed down to a trickle," said Clyde Wills with the Metropolis Chamber of Commerce. "We're committed to the project," despite the economy. The city plans to break ground for the statue on June 11, during the opening night of their annual Superman festival, even though the state is months away from a decision on their grant request. Lois Lane's fate, like in most issues of the comic, is "to be continued ..." | [
"who plans to go through with groundbreaking?",
"Where was the Lois Lane statue to be?",
"when Illinois town came up with idea for Lois Lane statue?",
"Who came up with the idea for the Lois Lane statue?"
] | [
[
"Metropolis"
],
[
"Metropolis, Illinois"
],
[
"Metropolis"
],
[
"Metropolis, Illinois"
]
] | Illinois town came up with idea for Lois Lane statue in 2005 .
Since then, the economy has taken a downturn and the funding is short .
Town plans to go through with groundbreaking, despite the budget shortfall . |
Mexico City (CNN) -- A 14-year-old accused of ruthless killings on behalf of a Mexican drug cartel boss is a U.S. citizen, a U.S. State Department spokeswoman said Monday.
Gini Staab would not provide any further information.
"We have confirmed the boy's U.S. citizenship but can't say anything more about the boy's situation in the absence of a (provisional arrest warrant) signed by at least one of the parents," Staab said.
Earlier, Staab said that the boy, once his citizenship was confirmed, would be given "all appropriate consular assistance, just like we would for any U.S. citizen arrested and incarcerated overseas." Assistance would include prison visits, information on local attorneys and checks on his welfare, she said.
The teen -- reportedly carrying a birth certificate issued in San Diego -- and two of his sisters were detained Thursday at an airport in central Mexico after an anonymous tip alerted authorities he was heading to Tijuana, Mexico, local media reported.
A spokeswoman for the Mexican attorney general's office said authorities detained the 14-year-old Thursday evening on suspicion of working as a drug-cartel hit man, but declined to provide details.
But the boy faced a battery of questions from reporters after he was detained, answering questions point-blank as camera flashes lit his face.
"I slit their throats," he said, describing what he said was the killing of four people.
The teen told reporters after his capture Thursday night that he was an orphan who joined the Pacifico Sur drug cartel when he was 12. He said Julio "El Negro" Padilla, one of the group's alleged leaders, threatened him.
"I either work or he'll kill me," the 14-year-old said.
With his hands shoved into the pockets of his cargo pants, the 14-year-old told reporters that he was paid weekly in dollars and pesos. But in answering questions about whether he knew what he was doing when he allegedly participated in the killings, the teen said he was under the influence of drugs and unaware of his actions.
"No, I didn't know," he said.
Troops standing beside the teen while the youth was interviewed wore masks to hide their faces -- a common sight in Mexico, where clashes between authorities and cartels have intensified since President Felipe Calderon announced a crackdown shortly after he took office in 2006.
But the teen's face was clearly visible.
Martin Perez, director of Mexico's Children's Rights Network, said late Friday that authorities should not have given television cameras and newspaper photographers access to the 14-year-old.
"It was completely inappropriate, the form of presenting him in front of the media," he said.
"Everyone has the right to be presumed innocent," he said. "Also, it could put his life at serious risk. We have to remember that this is a fight between criminal organizations."
CNN's Claudia Dominguez, Rey Rodriguez, Nick Valencia and Krupskaia Alis contributed to this report. | [
"What did the hit man say?",
"What did he say about drug cartel boss?",
"was the boy a citizen?",
"What was confirmed by the state dept?",
"What did he do?",
"Who was accused?",
"What did the accused hit man say?"
] | [
[
"\"I slit their throats,\""
],
[
"\"I either work or he'll kill me,\""
],
[
"U.S. citizenship"
],
[
"the boy's U.S. citizenship"
],
[
"slit their throats,\""
],
[
"14-year-old"
],
[
"\"I slit their throats,\""
]
] | State Department confirms the boy's citizenship, but offers no further information .
"I slit their throats," accused teen hit man says .
"I either work or he'll kill me," he says, describing a drug cartel boss . |
Mexico City (CNN) -- A Mexican mayor campaigning for the president's sister in a gubernatorial race was fatally shot in the southeastern state of Michoacan, the state attorney general's office said.
The killing of La Piedad Mayor Ricardo Guzman Romero on Wednesday is the latest in a number of mayoral killings dating to last year. According to CNNMexico, 18 mayors have been killed in 2010 and 2011.
But Guzman's death garnered extra attention because he was killed in President Felipe Calderon's home state, and because he was campaigning for the president's sister, gubernatorial candidate Luisa Maria Calderon. She is running as a candidate for the National Action Party, or PAN, the same party to which the president belongs.
The attack came just 11 days before the state elections, where in addition to a governor, 40 lawmakers and 113 mayors will be chosen.
Guzman was elected mayor in 2008, and his term was to end in January.
"At the moment, the federal authorities and military are in charge (of the case)," Michoacan attorney general's office spokesman Armando Soto La Marina said.
According to authorities, Guzman was participating in a campaign event, walking down one of his town's boulevards, when a black vehicle approached and a gunman shot from inside.
The shooter escaped, and the mayor was taken to a hospital, where he died, authorities said.
Luisa Maria Calderon said she was saddened by the killing, but that "we're not going to stop our fight for Michoacan."
Michoacan has long been a center of drug cartel violence. It was where President Calderon initiated his campaign against the cartels in 2006.
Last year, the PAN and an allied party declined to run candidates in at least 20 mayoral races in Michoacan because of insecurity. | [
"How many mayor's have been killed since 2010",
"Who was he campaigning for",
"What day of the week was Ricardo Guzman Romero killed",
"Since 2010 how many mayors have been killed",
"When was Romero killed",
"Who was killed on wednesday",
"When have 18 mayors been killed since"
] | [
[
"18"
],
[
"the president's sister"
],
[
"Wednesday"
],
[
"18"
],
[
"Wednesday"
],
[
"La Piedad Mayor Ricardo Guzman Romero"
],
[
"2010 and 2011."
]
] | Ricardo Guzman Romero was killed on Wednesday .
He was campaigning for the president's sister in a race for governor .
Eighteen mayors have been killed since 2010 . |
Mexico City (CNN) -- On the eve of a meeting of Mexico´s top prosecutors and judicial officials in Veracruz state, authorities Wednesday were still trying to determine who left 35 bodies in a busy thoroughfare there -- and why.
Investigators said a video may hold clues to how unidentified men managed to drive two open-back trucks filled with corpses through rush-hour traffic and then abandon them, blocking traffic as stunned onlookers watched.
Police in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz found the abandoned trucks and the bodies near a shopping mall in the municipality of Boca del Rio on Tuesday. Mexico´s state prosecutors and court presidents are scheduled to meet there Thursday.
Photos of the scene showed the two trucks with their back gates open, the bodies falling out onto the street. People on a nearby overpass looked down on shirtless bodies piled on top of each other.
¨This is a way of making yourself known, and saying, ´We have the power, we can do this with impunity,´¨ said Jose Reveles, a security analyst. "'We do it at five in the evening, in a heavily traveled avenue. We drive two trucks loaded with cadavers, and nobody stops us.'"
Drug-related violence has been on the rise in Veracruz as cartel members battle over territory.
But the large toll gripped headlines across Mexico and drew attention from peace activists gathering in a conference in the nation´s capital Wednesday.
"They were left like trash in the street," said Edgardo Buscaglia, president of the Institute of Citizen Action for Justice and Democracy.
Buscaglia, an expert on organized crime, told audience members that the bodies found in Veracruz are a reminder that Mexicans must not become desensitized to violence, even if authorities say the victims had criminal histories.
"The value of a human life does not decrease because it has a criminal background or not," he said.
The dead included 12 women and 23 men.
The video may show that the two trucks were guarded by other cars that could have doubled as getaway vehicles, Veracruz Attorney General Reynaldo Escobar Perez said Wednesday in a radio interview. He did not say where the video came from.
Investigators also are looking into whether police colluded with the people who discarded the bodies, he told W Radio.
As of Wednesday, morning, 95% of the bodies had been identified through databases, Escobar Perez said.
Most of them had criminal records, he said. One of them was identified as a local policeman who disappeared about 15 days ago, he said.
In another interview, the attorney general said that the victims died of suffocation. Only one had a bullet wound, he said. The state of the bodies led investigators to deduce they died shortly before being abandoned, Escobar Perez said.
The attorney general on Tuesday described the grisly discovery as "unprecedented."
"It hasn't happened before in the state of Veracruz," he said.
The two trucks were abandoned in the middle of the highway, witnesses said. Their gates were open and bodies had fallen out.
Hours later, bloodstains remained on the road as troops stood guard.
Boca del Rio is in Veracruz state's most populated area. It has become a frequent site of clashes between armed groups as drug-related violence grows.
Earlier Tuesday, 32 inmates escaped from three prisons in Veracruz, authorities said. At least 14 of them have been apprehended.
Escobar Perez said none of the bodies that had been identified by Tuesday night appeared connected with the prison breaks.
Government figures indicate that more than 34,600 people have been killed in drug-related violence since Mexican President Felipe Calderon began a crackdown on cartels in December 2006. Other reports estimate that more than 40,000 have died. The latest government figures were released in January.
Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly Wednesday, Calderon decried the violence caused by drug trafficking and called on fellow leaders to put a stop to the burgeoning weapons trade and rampant drug consumption fueling it.
¨Today we must be aware that organized crime today is killing more people and more youth than all | [
"Who said there is a video of the scene?",
"Which state were the bodies found?",
"Where were the bodies found?",
"Which country has criminals that are showing their power?",
"Who are expected to meet nearby?"
] | [
[
"Investigators"
],
[
"Veracruz"
],
[
"near a shopping mall in the municipality of Boca del Rio"
],
[
"Mexico"
],
[
"Mexico´s state prosecutors and court presidents"
]
] | NEW: Analyst: Criminals are sending a message of power, impunity .
NEW: Mexico´s state prosecutors are scheduled to meet nearby .
The attorney general says investigators have a video of the scene .
The bodies were found near a shopping mall in Veracruz state . |
Mexico City (CNN) -- The helicopter crash in Mexico that killed Interior Minister Jose Francisco Blake Mora and all seven other people aboard shows no evidence of an explosion, a Mexican official said Saturday.
"In visual and preliminary investigations of the crash site, the remains of the aircraft do not show evidence of any kind of damage from an explosion or fire," said Dionisio Perez-Jacome, minister of communication and transportation.
"It is worth mentioning that according to the available information up until this moment, present at the place and time of the incident were layers of clouds and reduced visibility," Perez-Jacome said.
His announcement on government television came as Mexico began a day of grieving for the eight killed Friday in the helicopter crash in a rural area just south of Mexico City.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon and his wife were among the government officials at a public funeral in Mexico City on Saturday afternoon.
The eight caskets were each draped with the Mexican flag on the vast green grounds of Campo Militar Marte where Calderon led a tearful ceremony of handing portraits of the eight helicopter victims to their respective families and children. A military band played sorrowful dirges, as did a drum and bugle corps at other points in the funeral.
"Here, in the earth, their example and memory will endure forever," Calderon told the black-attired mourners in the galleries and grandstand, all on their feet during the ceremony.
"These are difficult times for the government and for the nation, but it is also a time to show the strength to overcome these adversities," Calderon said.
The Friday incident -- which occurred 2.5 miles south of the town of Santa Catarina Atoyzingo in the municipality of Chalco -- evoked comparisons to a 2008 plane crash that also killed the country's then-interior minister.
That crash, in a luxurious Mexico City neighborhood, was later determined to be an accident caused by turbulence. The Learjet carrying the minister and others was following a commercial airliner too closely, authorities said.
Calderon on Friday called Blake Mora "a great Mexican who deeply loved his country and served until the last moment of his life."
Analysts said that the crash puts renewed attention on the president's controversial efforts to fight the nation's notorious cartels because the interior minister oversees domestic security.
"The national mood is such that even before this, people are alarmed" about cartel violence, said Stephen Zamora, professor at the University of Houston Law Center who's an expert on Mexican law and U.S.-Mexico relations.
"Calderon is in the last year of his presidency, so Mexico is entering a presidential election year just as the United States is. President Calderon has been criticized because the number of persons killed has escalated during his presidency and so people see him as failed. I think that's a harsh judgment," Zamora said.
"He inherited a country, especially in the northern states, that is being destabilized by the drug cartels. He's started employing the army, which hasn't been used much domestically, to fight the drug cartels," Zamora said.
While Blake Mora was well regarded by U.S. officials, his loss won't devastate the Calderon administration, said Pamela K. Starr, associate professor of international relations at the University of Southern California.
"I think there's an inevitability that there will be speculation that organized crime was involved in this, but it seems highly unlikely to me that indeed will be the case," Starr said, noting how the helicopter crashed under foggy conditions in a remote area.
"He was very highly thought of both within Mexico and with his counterparts in the United States," Starr said of Blake Mora. "With that said, he has not been one of the central figures in the battle against drug cartels in Mexico. The lead has been taken more by the federal police and the president himself, along with the military and the prosecutor's office."
The helicopter went down in the Xochimilco area south of Mexico City, government spokeswoman Alejandra Sota said.
Two other government officials were killed in the crash: | [
"Which area did the crash happen?",
"What type of aircraft was involved?",
"How many other people died?",
"Who is the president?",
"What did the president say?",
"What was the Mexican minister called?",
"What type of aircraft was it?"
] | [
[
"just south of Mexico City."
],
[
"helicopter"
],
[
"seven"
],
[
"Felipe Calderon"
],
[
"\"Here, in the earth, their example and memory will endure forever,\""
],
[
"Jose Francisco Blake"
],
[
"helicopter"
]
] | NEW: Rural crash area had clouds and reduced visibility .
NEW: "These are difficult times," president says at public funeral .
Investigators don't find evidence of an explosion or a fire aboard the aircraft .
Mexican Interior Minister Jose Francisco Blake Mora dies with seven others . |
Mexico City, Mexico (CNN) -- The reputed leader of the Zetas drug cartel in the Mexican state of Veracruz was killed in a gunbattle with federal authorities, the Mexican attorney general's office has said.
Braulio Arellano Dominguez, also known as "El Gonzo," "Zeta 20" or "El Verdugo," was mortally wounded when federal police and sailors went to search a house in the city of Soledad de Doblado, the attorney general said in a release Tuesday.
Arellano Dominguez opened fire with a .38-caliber revolver and was wounded in the firefight, officials said. He died while being transported to a hospital.
Three other suspects were arrested.
Officials said they confiscated five cars, four motorcycles, a submachine gun, a hand grenade, four pistols, more than 150 rounds of ammunition, communication equipment, three bags containing unspecified powder and pills, 74,900 pesos ($5,655) and $107 in U.S. currency.
Veracruz is in southeastern Mexico on the Gulf of Mexico coast.
Los Zetas, formed by former Mexican elite commando-type soldiers, consists mostly of ex-federal and local police. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration considers the group among the most advanced and violent of Mexico's drug cartels.
Originally formed as the Gulf drug cartel's enforcement wing, the Zetas increasingly have branched out on their own.
More than 12,000 people have been killed since President Felipe Calderon declared war on the drug cartels after taking office in December 2006. He has deployed thousands of military personnel and federal police in his battle against the drug traffickers. | [
"what is the name of the cartel?",
"what country is the group based in?",
"What was the leader of Los Zetas doing?",
"Who died in firefight with authorities?",
"Who was reported to be in a gun battle?",
"in what way the leader die?",
"Who is considered a violent drug cartel?",
"Who died in a firefight?",
"What is one of Mexico's most violent drug cartels?"
] | [
[
"Zetas"
],
[
"Mexico"
],
[
"killed in a gunbattle with federal authorities,"
],
[
"Braulio Arellano Dominguez,"
],
[
"Braulio Arellano Dominguez,"
],
[
"gunbattle"
],
[
"Braulio Arellano Dominguez,"
],
[
"Arellano Dominguez"
],
[
"Los Zetas,"
]
] | Reputed leader of Los Zetas cartel in Mexico's Veracruz state reportedly in gunbattle .
Braulio Arellano Dominguez dies in firefight with authorities, attorney general says .
Los Zetas considered one of Mexico's most advanced and violent drug cartels . |
Mexico City, Mexico (CNN) -- A law allowing same-sex weddings took effect Thursday in Mexico City, one day after the second same-sex marriage was performed in Argentina. The Mexican measure also allows same-sex couples to adopt children. Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard has said officials will be prepared to implement the new city law. The Mexican Institute for Sexology, a private educational institution founded in 1979, held a workshop last month for the 60 Civil Registry judges who will perform the weddings, said Juan Luis Alvarez-Gayou, the institute's founder and director. Workshops are being held this week for 120 civil court judges who may have to rule on domestic issues after the weddings, Alvarez-Gayou said. The Catholic Church has been opposed to the law, but officials have accepted the measure, the institute director said. "We haven't had any problems with the judges," Alvarez-Gayou said. The Mexico City law comes amid the beginning of wider acceptance for same-sex unions in Latin America. In Argentina, Damian Bernath and Jorge Salazar were married Wednesday in a civil ceremony in the nation's capital, Buenos Aires, the official Telam news agency reported. Judicial measures had prevented gay marriage in Buenos Aires, but a judge issued a ruling last week allowing the two men to marry. It was the second same-sex marriage in Argentina. The previous wedding took place in Tierra del Fuego after two men were denied a permit in Buenos Aires. In that case, a Buenos Aires court had ruled that a ban on same-sex marriage was illegal and ordered the proper authorities to grant the couple a marriage license if they applied for one. On the eve of their December 1 wedding, however, another court filed an injunction, halting the nuptials. In many Latin American jurisdictions, the issue of same-sex marriage is decided on the local and state level. | [
"Workshops were held for who?",
"How many judges had to go to workshops?",
"Mexico City law comes as what?",
"What will the measure allow?",
"Where did the civil ceremony take place?",
"how many judges made the ruling",
"what can same sex couples now do"
] | [
[
"60 Civil Registry judges"
],
[
"120"
],
[
"amid the beginning of wider acceptance for same-sex"
],
[
"same-sex couples to adopt children."
],
[
"Mexico City,"
],
[
"120"
],
[
"adopt children."
]
] | Measure also allows same-sex couples to adopt children in Mexico's capital city .
Workshops held for 120 judges who may have to rule on domestic issues .
Mexico City law comes as same-sex unions in Latin America slowly gain acceptance .
On Wednesday, two men were married in civil ceremony in Buenos Aires, Argentina . |
Mexico City, Mexico (CNN) -- An American jailer was the target in the shooting deaths of three people with ties to the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, Mexican officials said.
The jailer, Arthur Redelfs, and his wife, Lesley Ann Enriquez, were killed in a drive-by shooting in Juarez earlier this month. Enriquez was an employee of the U.S. Consulate in that city.
Jorge Alberto Salcido Ceniceros, 37, the husband of a Mexican employee of the consulate, was also killed at around the same time as Redelfs and Enriquez.
A suspect arrested in the case gave new details on the high-profile killings, Mexican federal authorities said in a statement late Tuesday. Ricardo Valles de la Rosa, a member of the Aztecas gang, was arrested Friday based on military intelligence, the statement said.
According to federal officials, de la Rosa told interrogators that he was a lookout for the operation that killed the two Americans.
He said he got to know many leaders of the Aztecas, a street gang affiliated with the Juarez cartel, while imprisoned in El Paso County, Texas. Although he was born in Juarez, de la Rosa lived in El Paso for 30 years.
One of the Azteca leaders called and ordered him to find where consulate employees were having a children's party and to follow the white sport utility vehicle belonging to Redelfs, a jail guard in El Paso, authorities said.
The call came days in advance of the killings, the statement said.
De la Rosa followed Redelfs' vehicle down a Juarez avenue, until being told to fall back because the shooters had the vehicle in their sights, the statement said. A few moments later, de la Rosa heard shooting.
According to federal authorities, de la Rosa drove by the scene and saw that in addition to Redelfs, his wife, who was four months pregnant, was also dead. An infant in the back seat was uninjured.
De la Rosa also admitted to involvement in four other homicides involving members or rival gangs, authorities said.
No additional arrests have been made in the case. De la Rosa remains imprisoned pending the outcome of the investigation.
Ceniceros' wife was not traveling with him, but two of their children in the car were wounded. His white SUV looked very similar to the one Redelfs drove. | [
"How many people were killed?",
"Who was killed in drive by shooting?",
"Where were they killed?",
"Who was the suspect?",
"What did the suspect arrested in case give?",
"Who were killed?",
"What was the suspect?",
"Who was killed in the drive by?"
] | [
[
"three"
],
[
"The jailer, Arthur Redelfs, and his wife, Lesley Ann Enriquez,"
],
[
"Juarez"
],
[
"Ricardo Valles de la Rosa,"
],
[
"new details on the high-profile killings,"
],
[
"Arthur Redelfs, and his wife, Lesley Ann Enriquez,"
],
[
"Ricardo Valles de la Rosa,"
],
[
"Lesley Ann Enriquez,"
]
] | Arthur Redelfs and wife, Lesley Ann Enriquez, killed in a drive-by shooting in Juarez .
Suspect arrested in case gives new details on high-profile killings of three people total .
Officials: Suspect said he was lookout for the operation that killed the two Americans . |
Mexico City, Mexico (CNN) -- At least two car bombs exploded Friday near the television studios of Televisa in Ciudad Victoria, the capital of Tamaulipas state in northeastern Mexico, authorities said.
One blast occurred outside the TV station while the second happened next to the municipal transit service offices, said the state attorney general's office.
No fatalities or injuries were reported. The nearly simultaneous blasts occurred shortly after midnight.
The explosion in front of Televisa, a CNN affiliate, damaged the building and knocked out power on the block, the station said. The station also was knocked off the air locally, Televisa said.
Images of one of the blasts show the carcass of a car, the explosion leaving only the vehicle's mangled frame but not causing much damage to nearby buildings or trees. The wreckage lies next to a wooden street pole that is slightly tilted and holds a stop sign.
The car that exploded in front of the television studio was a red Chevrolet Corsica with Texas license plates, the attorney general's office said in a news release. The car in front of the transit office was a white Mazda, also with Texas license plates, officials said.
Tamaulipas is the state where authorities discovered 72 bodies this week on a ranch believed to be used by narcotraffickers. Authorities are investigating whether the 58 men and 14 women, who were migrants from Central and South America, were killed by the Zetas cartel.
Televisa previously came under attack August 15 when a grenade damaged apartments near the TV station's office in the city of Monterrey in neighboring Nuevo Leon state. There were no reports of injuries in that attack.
A similar attack occurred the previous day, when a grenade was launched against the Televisa offices in the city of Matamoros, in Tamaulipas. The building was damaged but there were no reports of injuries.
It was not clear Friday why Televisa is being targeted.
Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon have become a bloody battleground between the Zetas and the Gulf Cartel, which ended an alliance earlier this year. The Zetas used to be the armed branch of the Gulf Cartel but have split off into a separate drug-trafficking organization.
Journalists have come under increasing attack in Mexico, as drug cartels try to limit the information being distributed about their activities.
The Committee to Protect Journalists, an independent, nonprofit organization, criticized this month's grenade attacks against Televisa.
"No journalist is safe in Mexico when criminal groups feel free to wage grenade attacks on a national broadcaster," said Carlos Lauria, the organization's senior program coordinator for the Americas. "Drug traffickers are increasingly terrorizing the press and defining what is news and what isn't. We urge the Mexican authorities must fully investigate these incidents and bring those responsible to justice."
Eight journalists were killed in Mexico in 2009 and another eight have been killed so far this year, the Committee to Protect Journalists said this month.
In total, 54 journalists and media workers have been slain in Mexico since 1992, the group said.
Car bombings by Mexican cartels are a new phenomena. Among the first was a July 15 explosion in Ciudad Juarez that killed four people. | [
"Where did the attacks occur?",
"What else was discovered in the same state?",
"Where were no fatalities or injuries reported?",
"What was a target of a car bomb?",
"How many bodies were discovered?",
"What targeted Televisa, a CNN affiliate?",
"Where was Televisa was previously attacked?",
"What was previously attacked two weeks ago in Monterrey?",
"How many bombs targeted Televisa?"
] | [
[
"in Ciudad Victoria, the capital of Tamaulipas state in northeastern Mexico,"
],
[
"72 bodies"
],
[
"in Ciudad Victoria,"
],
[
"Televisa"
],
[
"72"
],
[
"two car bombs"
],
[
"near the TV station's office in the city of Monterrey"
],
[
"Televisa"
],
[
"two"
]
] | One car bomb targeted Televisa, a CNN affiliate .
The attacks occurred in the same state where 72 bodies were discovered this week .
No fatalities or injuries were reported in the bombings .
Televisa was previously attacked nearly two weeks ago in Monterrey . |
Mexico City, Mexico (CNN) -- Authorities believe assassins targeted a pregnant woman and two other people connected with a U.S. consulate who were killed in drive-by shootings over the weekend, Ciudad Juarez Mayor Jose Reyes Ferriz said Monday.
The killings were carried out by a local gang, known as Los Aztecas, that is allied with the Juarez Cartel, Reyes told CNN. No arrests had been made by Monday afternoon.
"We know that the U.S. citizens were targeted," Reyes told CNN, saying a police officer saw gunfire from a car directed at the Americans' car. "We know they were chasing them. We know they wanted to kill them."
Two of the victims were a four-months-pregnant employee of the consulate in Juarez and her U.S. citizen husband who was a jailer in nearby El Paso, Texas, U.S. and Mexican officials said. The couple's 10-month-old child, who was in the vehicle, was not injured, Reyes and other officials said.
The child has been turned over to U.S. consular officials, Reyes said. The couple lived in El Paso, the State Department said.
The third victim, found dead in a separate vehicle, was identified as the husband of a Mexican employee of the consulate. His wife was not traveling with him, but two of their children in the car were wounded, officials said.
All the victims had left a birthday party at the consulate Saturday before they were attacked, Reyes and State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Monday. The slain couple, Arthur Redelfs, 34, and Lesley Ann Enriquez, 35, were on their way home to El Paso, Crowley said.
Redelfs was a 10-year veteran of the El Paso County Sheriff's Office, according to Jesse Tovar, a spokesman for the department.
Reyes said the attackers may have been confused because both groups of victims were traveling in similar-looking vehicles.
Redelfs and his wife were in a white late-model Toyota RAV4 SUV. The third victim, Jorge Alberto Salcido Ceniceros, was driving a late-model white Honda Pilot, the mayor said.
Salcido, 37, was a state police officer who was married to a Mexican employee at the U.S. consulate, Reyes said.
His two children, ages 4 and 7, were wounded and transported to a hospital, the attorney general's office said. Salcido's wife was traveling in another vehicle, which was not attacked, Reyes said.
In Washington, President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed their anger.
"The president is deeply saddened and outraged by the news of the brutal murders of three people associated with the United States Consulate General in Ciudad Juarez," National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said in a statement Sunday. "He extends his condolences to the families and condemns these attacks on consular and diplomatic personnel serving at our foreign missions. In concert with Mexican authorities, we will work tirelessly to bring their killers to justice."
Clinton said the "safety and security of our personnel and their families in Mexico and at posts around the world is always our highest priority."
"I have spoken with our ambassador in Mexico, and we are working with the government of Mexico to do everything necessary to protect our people and to ensure that the perpetrators of these horrendous acts are brought to justice," she said.
In response to the shootings, the U.S. State Department authorized the temporary relocation of employees' families working in border-area consulates.
"These appalling assaults on members of our own State Department family are, sadly, part of a growing tragedy besetting many communities in Mexico," Clinton said in a statement Sunday night. "They underscore the imperative of our continued commitment to work closely with the Government of [Mexican] President [Felipe] Calderon to cripple the influence of trafficking organizations at work in Mexico."
The families of employees at U.S. consulates in Tijuana, Nogales, Ciudad Juarez, Nuevo Laredo, Monterrey and Matamoros are allowed to leave for 30 days "in response to an increase in violence along the Mexican side of its border with | [
"Who was targeted?",
"How many people were killed?",
"What happened in Juarez over the weekend?",
"What is the killings linked to?"
] | [
[
"a pregnant woman and two other people"
],
[
"a pregnant woman and two other"
],
[
"assassins targeted a pregnant woman and two other people"
],
[
"Los Aztecas,"
]
] | Gang connected to drug cartel carried out 3 weekend killings, Ciudad Juarez mayor says .
Drive-by shootings killed U.S. employee at consulate and 2 others .
"We know that the U.S. citizens were targeted," Reyes told CNN .
State Department warns Americans of danger of traveling to parts of three Mexican states . |
Mexico City, Mexico (CNN) -- Four suspected drug cartel members have been arrested in connection with the slaying of a family in what authorities call an act of revenge for the death of a drug baron, a state attorney general said Wednesday.
The shootings early Tuesday that led to the deaths of four family members of 3rd Petty Officer Melquisedet Angulo Cordova was an act of revenge carried out by Los Zetas, a drug cartel allied with the Beltran Leyva cartel, said Rafael Gonzalez Lastra, attorney general for the southern Mexican state of Tabasco.
The suspects were arrested Tuesday night, he said.
Cordova was killed in the December 16 shootout that resulted in the death of Arturo Beltran Leyva, nicknamed the "boss of bosses," during a raid by a Mexican navy contingent at an upscale resort condo in Cuernavaca, Mexico.
Angulo Cordova was hailed as a hero by President Felipe Calderon and laid to rest in his home state of Tabasco.
Early Tuesday, gunmen entered the family's home and opened fire, killing Angulo Cordova's mother, sister and aunt. Angulo Cordova's brother was injured in the shooting and later died in a hospital.
The Zetas, the protection arm of the Gulf cartel that also operates as its own trafficking organization, carried out revenge killings because of an alliance between them and the Beltran Leyva group, Gonzalez Lastra said.
Two of the arrested cartel members were responsible for the payments for the killings, and two acted as lookouts during the incident, he said.
The suspects were identified as Julio Acosta Saucedo, Yesenia Hernandez Valencia, Azael Jesus Garcia Reyes and Julio Acosta Vargas.
Gonzalez Lastra said authorities know the identities of the shooters as well as the vehicles used in the attack.
Some local police officers were also involved, he said. | [
"How many of the arrested were responsible for payout?",
"How many detainees were?",
"Whose family members were killed?",
"Who carried out acts of revenge?"
] | [
[
"Two"
],
[
"Four"
],
[
"3rd Petty Officer Melquisedet Angulo Cordova"
],
[
"Four suspected drug cartel members"
]
] | NEW: Two of the arrested were responsible for payout; two acted as lookouts, official says .
Four family members of 3rd Petty Officer Melquisedet Angulo Cordova were killed .
Tabasco attorney general says slayings were an act of revenge carried out by Los Zetas .
Cordova was killed in the shootout that resulted in the death of Arturo Beltran Leyva . |
Mexico City, Mexico (CNN) -- Heavy flooding in central Mexico in the past week has killed at least 33 people and left thousands homeless, the government said Monday.
Schools remained closed in five cities in Mexico's Michoacan state, where the flooding has killed at least 22 people and left more than 3,500 residents homeless, the state government said on its Web site.
Another 83 people still were missing Monday in Michoacan, a state in western coastal Mexico that has been beset by drug violence in the past few years.
A mudslide Saturday killed at least 11 people near the small town of Temascaltepec, in neighboring Mexico state.
Uncharacteristic heavy rain throughout Mexico also has led to flooding in the nation's capital, Mexico City.
Up to 35,000 people nationwide could have been affected, published reports said.
On Sunday, Mexican President Felipe Calderon toured Valle de Chalco, a city in Mexico state.
In Valle de Chalco, on the eastern outskirts of the Mexico City area, officials announced that contaminated water from a sewage network that overflowed Friday will continue to flood the town for at least another 48 hours. The number of affected houses in the city grew from 2,000 on Friday to about 3,000 on Monday, the government said.
Mexico state is bordered on the west by Michoacan and adjoins Mexico City on three sides -- north, east and west.
In Mexico City, officials announced the reopening Monday of 165 of the 174 schools that were closed Friday because of the heavy rain and flooding.
Calderon and other Mexican officials have vowed to help displaced families, including offering them food, medicine, shelter and cash allowances to buy new furniture. | [
"How many schools were closed in total?",
"What number were killed?",
"How many people were affected by flooding?",
"What number of schools closed?",
"How many schools were closed?",
"What has the flood done?",
"How many people are dead?",
"How many schools will reopen monday.",
"How many people were killed?"
] | [
[
"174"
],
[
"33"
],
[
"35,000"
],
[
"174"
],
[
"174"
],
[
"killed at least 22 people and left more than 3,500 residents homeless,"
],
[
"33"
],
[
"165"
],
[
"33"
]
] | Flooding in the last week could have affected up to 35,000 people, reports say .
Government: At least 22 people dead and more than 3,500 homeless in Michoacan state .
165 of 174 Mexico City schools that were closed Friday reopened Monday .
Government vows to offer food, medicine, cash and shelter to displaced people . |
Mexico City, Mexico (CNN) -- Leaders of more than 30 Latin American and Caribbean nations are meeting in Mexico from Monday to launch a group that will serve as an alternative to the Organization of American States.
The main difference between the OAS and the yet-to-be-named organization will be that the United States and Canada will not be members.
Leaders of Latin American countries have been meeting almost every year since 1986 when the Rio Group was created by countries including Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia and Venezuela. This year's summit is intended to take the Rio Group to a new level by creating the organization.
Among the main topics to be discussed at the summit is whether to recognize Porfirio Lobo as the legitimate president of Honduras.
Lobo, who took office in late January, was elected under a de facto government that resulted from a coup in June against then-president Manuel Zelaya. The ousted leader was then forced out of the country.
Other topics on the agenda include the creation of a long-term plan to help Haiti recover from the devastating effects of the earthquake and Argentina's conflict with Great Britain over oil drilling offshore from the Falkland Islands.
The Unity Summit of Latin America and the Caribbean will be held in Cancun. | [
"how many nations meet?",
"from how many nations did the Leaders took place at the regional summit in Cancun?",
"what will be discuss?",
"What is the objective of summit?",
"Who meet at regional summit in cancun?",
"what will the Summit discuss about?"
] | [
[
"30"
],
[
"more than 30"
],
[
"whether to recognize Porfirio Lobo as the legitimate president of Honduras."
],
[
"to take the Rio Group to a new level by creating the organization."
],
[
"Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia and Venezuela."
],
[
"whether to recognize Porfirio Lobo as the legitimate president of Honduras."
]
] | Leaders from more than 30 nations meet at regional summit in Cancun .
Objective of summit is to create alternative to OAS with U.S., Canada .
Summit will discuss recgnizing Porfirio Lobo as legitimate president of Honduras . |
Mexico City, Mexico (CNN) -- Mexico City, the country's capital, is one of the world's important cultural centers -- showcasing Latin America's rich history and traditions.
"I love its uniqueness," CNN's Armando Talamantes said of the city where he lives and works. "The weather is never too hot and never too cold."
What's just right is the city's endless supply of music, local food and art museums. With a population of 8.8 million people, Mexico City is one of the most densely populated areas in the country and one of the richest cities in the world. It's also a huge attraction for soccer fans and bullfighting enthusiasts.
From eating out any time of the night to enjoying a day in the "Mexican Venice," or Xochimilco, to visiting the pyramids just outside the city, Talamantes says Mexico City is a constant surprise and delight. Here, he offers some insider tips on traveling to his hometown:
Where can you get the best view of the city?
If you're downtown, go to the top of Torre Latinoamericana. It was the tallest skyscraper in Mexico City for many years. Now, it's kind of old but keeps its charm.
If you're on Reforma, Mexico's most beautiful avenue, try to step into Piso 51 in Torre Mayor, the tallest skyscraper in Latin America. Beware: It is a private club, and you will be asked to join.
Which restaurant would you take your loved one to for an anniversary or other special occasion?
Taberna del León in Plaza Loreto offers traditional Mexican cuisine in a cozy environment. It's managed by Mónica Patiño, the famous Mexican chef.
Where is the best place to people watch?
Try barrio La Condesa -- its streets are full of bars and restaurants attracting a very interesting crowd, especially on nights and weekends. Also, you can go to Emilio Castelar, a street in Polanco full of life and good-looking people.
What is your favorite neighborhood? Why?
Colonia Roma is becoming the "Mexican Soho," with lots of galleries, restaurants, bars, boutique hotels, fountains and squares. It is antique, so you can find old buildings, but it's also transforming into a more modern area.
It is close to La Condesa, which is also a very cool place, full of young people.
What's the biggest misconception about your city?
You won't believe how many trees are in the city. And the robberies aren't that common, either.
Where do you go to relax?
Espacio Escultórico at the UNAM, Mexico's biggest university campus, offers a collection of sculptures by famous artists. That is a little farther south of the city. If you're not willing to travel that much, go into Bosque de Chapultepec's audiorama, where you can sit on a bench and listen to some good music.
What essential thing should visitors see or experience if they have only a few hours?
Go inside Museo de Antropología, which showcases the very DNA of Mexico. If you don't want to step into a museum, go downtown to see El Zocalo (Mexico City's main square) and Templo Mayor, the remains of an ancient Aztec temple.
What's the biggest tourist trap? Is there a "tourist trap" that's actually worth seeing?
The biggest tourist trap is Plaza Garibaldi, were the mariachis are awful and you can get mugged. A trap that could be worth seeing is the area called Xochimilco, often called "Mexican Venice" because of a series of canals.
Where was your most memorable meal? Where's your favorite place to spend a night out on the town?
Zinco bar, on Cinco de Mayo Street in downtown, has great jazz music and a very cheerful crowd.
Are there local specialty dishes or drinks that visitors must try?
Not really. Just stick to the tacos and tequila as if you were any place in Mexico. If you want something fancy, try duck enchiladas in Izote restaurant on Avenue | [
"Espacio Escultórico has a collection of what items?",
"Zinco bar is on what street?",
"What kind of music is played at the Zinco bar?",
"Zinco bar has great what kind of music?",
"On what street is the Zinco bar?"
] | [
[
"sculptures"
],
[
"Cinco de Mayo"
],
[
"jazz"
],
[
"jazz"
],
[
"Cinco de Mayo"
]
] | Espacio Escultórico at Mexico's biggest university campus has a relaxing collection of sculptures .
Stick to the tacos and tequila as if you were anywhere in Mexico .
Zinco bar, on Cinco de Mayo Street downtown, has great jazz music, cheerful crowd . |
Mexico City, Mexico (CNN) -- Shootouts between drug suspects and the military in the Mexican northeastern border state of Tamaulipas have left seven dead and 11 wounded, the government reported.
One of the dead and the 11 wounded were Mexican military who were ambushed while on patrol late Thursday night in the cities of Miguel Aleman, Mier and Valadeces, the Notimex news agency reported, citing the nation's National Defense Department. The cities are along the U.S. border, near McAllen, Texas.
The cities also are near Reynosa, Mexico, where the United States closed its consulate Thursday because of recent increased drug violence.
The U.S. Consulate also issued a warning "to advise U.S. citizens of recent gun battles in Reynosa, Mexico, and cities surrounding Reynosa in the last week."
Thursday night's firefights were the latest in a string of confrontations that some residents say have been going on for at least 10 days.
Earlier this week, local news reports said, gunmen in as many as 20 vehicles clashed with members of the Mexican military and municipal police in Ciudad Mier, just west of Reynosa. The daytime gun battle Tuesday reportedly resulted in the abduction of 10 municipal police officers.
Video from the scene showed abandoned police sport utility vehicles with bullet holes and broken windows. Shattered glass covered the street against a backdrop of palm trees. A damaged red truck with the insignia CDG -- the Spanish acronym for the Gulf Cartel -- was shown being towed from the shooting scene.
In Reynosa, residents told CNN on Thursday that banners purportedly placed throughout the city by the rival Los Zetas drug cartel announced there would be a gunfight at 8 p.m. Residents reported hearing gunshots as early as 7:30 p.m.
After Thursday night's gunfire, officials say they confiscated 14 vehicles, 29 firearms, 10 hand grenades and more than 1,700 rounds of ammunition of various caliber.
On a tour of the border cities, Tamaulipas Gov. Eugenio Hernandez Flores sought to reassure residents that the government is committed to controlling the mayhem.
Violence throughout Mexico has exploded since President Felipe Calderon declared war on the drug cartels shortly after assuming office in December 2006. More than 16,000 people have been killed in drug violence since then.
Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas, is the most violent city in Mexico and one of the deadliest on earth. The rival Juarez and Sinaloa cartels are fighting for control of the lucrative drug routes into the United States as well street sales within Ciudad Juarez. The cartels also are fighting the Mexican army and federal, state and local police.
Mexican officials point out that most of the deaths involve criminals; few civilians have been killed.
In Juarez earlier this month, however, 10 teenagers and five other people were gunned down at a party. Officials said the gunmen belonged to the Juarez cartel and mistakenly believed the partygoers were members of a gang affiliated with the Sinaloa cartel.
CNN's Mariano Castillo and Nick Valencia contributed to this report. | [
"How long have the firefights lasted?",
"Did any Mexican soldiers die?",
"for how many days have their been firefights?",
"Who was ambushed by drug suspects?",
"What closed on thursday?"
] | [
[
"10 days."
],
[
"One"
],
[
"at least 10"
],
[
"Mexican military"
],
[
"consulate"
]
] | NEW: Firefights have been going on for 10 days, residents say .
One Mexico soldier among the dead .
Drug suspects ambushed military patrol .
U.S. closed nearby consulate on Thursday . |
Mexico City, Mexico (CNN) -- The Mexican government has apologized to the families of two students killed early Friday who officials initially said were drug gang members.
Jorge Antonio Mercado Alonso, 23, and Javier Francisco Arredondo Verdugo, 24, were mechanical engineering graduate students at the Technological Institute of Higher Learning of Monterrey, the Mexican Interior Ministry said Sunday in its apology for the shootings.
Mexican soldiers chasing criminals who had fired on an army patrol shot and killed the students, the Interior Ministry said. Some of the criminals had fled onto the college campus.
"The Mexican government expresses its most deeply felt condolences to the families," the Interior Ministry said in a release on its Web page.
The federal government will intensify its investigation to find out what happened, the ministry said.
On Friday, Mexican officials had said the two dead men were part of the criminal gang that shot at the soldiers. University officials also said Friday that all students were safe.
That account changed Saturday, when Mercado's mother tried to call him after finding out about the campus shootout. When she couldn't reach him, she traveled to Monterrey, where she identified her son's body, said the campus rector, Rafael Rangel Sostman.
"I'm certain he is with God," said the mother, Rosa Elvia Mercado Alonso.
The school's rector blamed himself for the mix-up in identities.
"I offer a public apology and take responsibility for having given information that ended up not being correct," Rangel said. "I want to offer my most deeply felt condolences to the family of our two students and offer them our support in this difficult situation."
Both men were scholarship students, the college said.
Monterrey is in Nuevo Leon, one of two states in northeastern Mexico where drug cartel members blocked roads with hijacked vehicles Thursday and Friday to prevent military reinforcements from arriving. The criminals also set up roadblocks in neighboring Tamaulipas state.
Three presumed gang members and one soldier were killed in various skirmishes over the two-day period, officials said.
The area, which borders Texas, has seen bloody fighting between the Zetas and Gulf cartels after a recent gangland slaying. Hours-long gun battles are common, and U.S. officials were recently forced to temporarily close the consulate in the city of Reynosa.
Mexico has been gripped in massive drug-related bloodshed since President Felipe Calderon declared war on the cartels shortly after coming into office in December 2006. Much of the violence has taken place around Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas.
There are no official government tallies, but more than 16,000 people are estimated to have died in the drug wars. The vast majority of the deaths are among reputed criminals, with some police and military also being killed. Relatively few of the deaths have been civilians.
Even so, the United States and Canada have issued travel warnings, particularly along the border area. The Texas Department of Public Safety took the unprecedented step this year of recommending that students on spring break not go to border areas inside Mexico.
News of the violence and the travel warnings apparently have had an effect. Mexicans say tourism along the border has declined significantly this year. | [
"Where did the criminals flee to?",
"What were soldiers chasing?",
"Where did this take place?",
"Where did they flee?"
] | [
[
"onto the college campus."
],
[
"criminals who had fired on an army patrol"
],
[
"Technological Institute of Higher Learning of Monterrey,"
],
[
"Some of the criminals had fled onto the college campus."
]
] | Officials say soldiers were chasing drug criminals who had fired on an army patrol .
They said some criminals had fled to Technological Institute of Higher Learning of Monterrey .
Initially, officials said mechanical engineering graduate students were drug gang members .
Interior Ministry apologizes for deaths, pledges more intense investigation . |
Miami (CNN) -- A defunct satellite plummeting toward Earth is expected to re-enter the atmosphere between 11:45 p.m. Friday and 12:45 a.m. Saturday ET, NASA reported late Friday evening.
"During that time period, the satellite will be passing over Canada and Africa, as well as vast areas of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. The risk to public safety is very remote," the space agency said.
The United States is once again an unlikely but potential target for the 26 pieces of the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, expected to survive the descent. Those pieces, made of stainless steel, titanium and beryllium that won't burn, will range from about 10 pounds to hundreds of pounds, according to NASA.
"There is a low probability any debris that survives re-entry will land in the United States," NASA headquarters said, "but the possibility cannot be discounted because of this changing rate of descent."
Mark Matney of NASA's Orbital Debris team in Houston said there's no way to know exactly where the pieces will come down.
"Keep in mind, they won't be traveling at those high orbital velocities. As they hit the air, they tend to slow down. ... They're still traveling fast, a few tens to hundreds of miles per hour, but no longer those tremendous orbital velocities," he explained.
Because the satellite travels thousands of miles in a matter of minutes as it orbits -- even just before it begins re-entry -- it will be impossible to pinpoint the exact location the pieces will come down. On top of that, Matney said, the satellite is not stable.
"Part of the problem is, the spacecraft is tumbling in unpredictable ways, and it is very difficult to very precisely pinpoint where it's coming down even right before the re-entry."
Because water covers 70% of the Earth's surface, NASA has said that most if not all of the surviving debris will land in water. Even if pieces strike dry land, there's very little risk any of it will hit people.
However, in an abundance of caution, the Federal Aviation Administration released an advisory Thursday warning pilots about the falling satellite, calling it a potential hazard.
"It is critical that all pilots/flight crew members report any observed falling space debris to the appropriate (air traffic control) facility and include position, altitude, time and direction of debris observed," the FAA statement said.
The FAA said warnings of this sort typically are sent out to pilots concerning specific hazards they may encounter during flights such as air shows, rocket launches, kites and inoperable radio navigational aids.
NASA says space debris the size of the satellite's components re-enters the atmosphere about once a year. Harvard University astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell noted that the satellite is far from being the biggest space junk to come back.
"This is nothing like the old Skylab scare of the '70s, when you had a 70-ton space station crashing out of the sky. So, I agree with the folks in Houston. It's nothing to be worried about," McDowell said.
Pieces of Skylab came down in western Australia in 1979.
The only wild card McDowell sees is if somehow a chunk hits a populated area.
"If the thing happens to come down in a city, that would be bad. The chances of it causing extensive damage or injuring someone are much higher."
NASA said that once the debris hits the atmosphere 50 miles up, it will take only a matter of minutes before the surviving pieces hit the Earth.
CNN's Mike Ahlers contributed to this report. | [
"What craft is undergoing re-entry?",
"How many pieces are expected to survive?",
"When is reentry expected?",
"Where will the remnants land?",
"What time will reentry happen?",
"What happens to the pieces during re-entry?",
"What did NASA say?",
"What time is re-entry expected?"
] | [
[
"defunct satellite"
],
[
"26"
],
[
"11:45 p.m. Friday and 12:45 a.m. Saturday ET,"
],
[
"in water."
],
[
"between"
],
[
"land in the United States,\""
],
[
"\"There is a low probability any debris that survives re-entry will land in the United States,\""
],
[
"between"
]
] | Re-entry is expected between 11:45 p.m. Friday and 12:45 a.m. Saturday ET, NASA says .
The space agency still can't say with certainty where the satellite's remnants will land .
About 26 pieces, some weighing hundreds of pounds, are expected to survive reentry . |
Miami (CNN) -- NASA's Inspector General's Office says an investigation is under way after a white powdery substance found at the Kennedy Space Center tested positive for cocaine.
"Law enforcement personnel field tested the substance, which indicated a positive test for cocaine," said Renee Juhans, an executive officer with the office.
"The substance is now at an accredited crime lab for further testing," she said.
Juhans said that 4.2 grams of a white powdery substance was found in a NASA facility March 7. She could not confirm where, at the Kennedy Space Center, the drug was found.
"A NASA Office of Inspector General investigation is ongoing," she said.
NASA has a zero-tolerance drug policy. All employees may be randomly tested. It is not known whether any employees have been asked to submit to drug testing in this investigation.
"We have no further comment," Juhans said.
In January 2010, about 200 Kennedy Space Center workers were tested when a small bag of cocaine was found inside a space shuttle processing facility where Discovery was being readied for flight. That case was closed, and there were no arrests. | [
"Who has a zero tolerance drug policy?",
"How many grams of the substance were found?",
"What is the reason for the investigation?",
"What kind of drug policy does NASA have?",
"When was it discovered?",
"When was the substance discovered?",
"to what has nada zero tolerance",
"what found the nasa"
] | [
[
"NASA"
],
[
"4.2"
],
[
"substance found at the Kennedy Space Center tested positive"
],
[
"zero-tolerance"
],
[
"March 7."
],
[
"March 7."
],
[
"drug policy."
],
[
"white powdery"
]
] | NASA is investigating after 4.2 grams of powdery substance is found .
It was discovered March 7, but officials can't confirm where .
NASA has a zero-tolerance drug policy . |
Miami (CNN) -- The 4-year-old girl sobbed as rescuers rushed her ashore. In the boat behind her, the faces of her fellow survivors were painted with "a thousand-yard stare," one witness said Monday.
That girl and three others spent 20 hours stranded in stormy water after their 22-foot boat capsized off the Florida Keys over the weekend. They were picked up Sunday afternoon by Coast Guard rescuers.
A few hours earlier, David Jensen was maneuvering the Snap Shot, his fishing charter boat, from Duck Key to the open sea when he and others "saw a big object floating in the distance."
"The closer I got, I could see a guy waving," Jensen said.
They found three men clinging to part of what had been their boat. One charter customer quickly jumped in to help, while others threw life jackets to the men, only one of which could muster the energy to swim over, Jensen said.
Once aboard, a language barrier -- the rescued men were Spanish-speaking -- and raw emotions made it difficult to ascertain exactly what had happened. One who did speak English was very upset: "He lost his mother," Jensen explained.
Officer Robert Dube of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said Monday that a son had tried to hold onto his 79-year-old mother in the hours after their ship went down around noon Saturday. But she slipped away into the rough waters, Dube said, before rescuers could reach her.
This victim, later identified as Zaida San Jurjo Gonzalez, and the men had clung to the capsized boat's hull. But four others -- three women and the young girl -- couldn't hold on, and drifted off, Jensen said, based on his conversations with the survivors and authorities.
The charter boat captain contacted the Coast Guard after learning others were unaccounted for, and he took his boat out five miles in the direction where the four had drifted away.
He saw no signs of them. But rescuers did come upon the four Sunday morning, bringing them aboard near Marathon, which is roughly halfway between Key Largo and Key West, according to a Coast Guard statement
Authorities later learned that the three women, wearing life jackets, had held tight to a floating cooler and took turns holding the girl through the afternoon, night and next morning.
"That definitely saved their lives," Dube told CNN. "It could have been a lot worse situation."
Wayne Crosby of Captain Hook's Marina and Dive Center said he watched rescuers bring the four to a dock in Marathon on Sunday. They handed the girl off the boat first, he told CNN affiliate WSVN.
"They had her all wrapped up. ... She couldn't stop crying. She was panic-stricken," Crosby said.
At the dock, rescuers scrambled to tend to all the victims.
"They just had that look on their face, like a thousand-yard stare," Crosby told WSVN.
The group had suffered multiple jellyfish stings over the course of their ordeal, Dube said. And by Monday, the 4-year-old had been treated for mild hypothermia and exhaustion. But the wildlife officer added that, by then, she appeared to be "in very good spirits."
Ernie Perroncello, owner and operator of Sea Tow in Marathon, said weather in the area Saturday when the boat went down was terrible.
"You can get yourself in trouble real quick " on the area's water, said Perroncello, whose company salvaged the capsized boat.
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux and Dave Alsup contributed to this report. | [
"What was one of the men upset about?",
"What did one survivor lose?",
"How many men was the chapter captain talking about?",
"Who found the capsized boat?",
"Who were clinging to the boat?",
"What did the witness say?",
"How many were rescued?",
"How many others did the coast guard rescue?",
"What could the girl not stop doing?"
] | [
[
"\"He lost his mother,\""
],
[
"his mother,\""
],
[
"three"
],
[
"David Jensen"
],
[
"three men"
],
[
"faces of her fellow survivors were painted with \"a thousand-yard stare,\""
],
[
"girl and three others"
],
[
"three"
],
[
"crying."
]
] | NEW: A charter captain describes coming upon three men clinging to a capsized boat .
NEW: He says one was upset because "he lost his mother," who had slipped away .
The Coast Guard later rescued four more who'd been on the boat, including a young girl .
A witness says the girl "couldn't stop crying" when rescuers brought her ashore . |
Miami, Florida (CNN) -- He wanted to sit outside for a while and enjoy the night air, then took a shower and curled up on the couch to watch a cartoon movie. A boring night by many teenagers' standards. But 15-year-old Michael Brewer, who suffered burns over 65 percent of his body in October -- allegedly at the hands of a group of youths he knew -- reveled in it, his mother told reporters Wednesday. Being out of a hospital burn unit, she said, was "the only thing he wanted for Christmas." "He's really looking forward to spending Christmas with his family," Valerie Brewer said of her son, who was released from the University of Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital Burn Center on Tuesday. "We hope everybody has as wonderful a Christmas as we're going to have." Three teens -- Denver Jarvis and Matthew Bent, both 15, and Jesus Mendez, 16 -- are accused of being in a group that poured alcohol over Brewer and set him ablaze October 12 in what police said was a dispute over $40, a video game and a bicycle. All three teens are charged as adults with one count of attempted murder. Each has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, each could face a sentence of up to 30 years in prison. The family did not return to their Deerfield Beach, Florida, home, and does not plan to, Valerie Brewer said. Instead, they went to "a safe place" -- both so they can have privacy and so Michael Brewer can feel secure. "He doesn't feel safe going back to the neighborhood," she said. "The families of the boys live within five blocks of us. He does fear for his life going back there. ... He doesn't want to go back and I don't blame him. We're looking forward to moving on and having some peace." She told CNN in an interview later Wednesday the family is looking for another home. Brewer, who suffered second- and third-degree burns over about two-thirds of his body, has "a long road ahead of him," Dr. Louis Pizano, associate director of the burn center, said Wednesday. He faces hours of physical therapy five days a week, Pizano said -- a painful process both because of the burns and because of muscle atrophy resulting from the recovery process. Therapists are working to help him walk more easily and regain a range of motion in his arms and legs, Pizano said. Doctors are hopeful Brewer will not require any more skin grafts, he said. Valerie Brewer told CNN in a later interview Wednesday that her son managed to shower "all by himself" Tuesday night. Showers can be excruciating for him, she said, as it hurts when the soap and water hit his open wounds. Plus, she said, he must take a piece of gauze and wipe his wounds to get any dead skin off. "He's very courageous for doing it by himself." Besides his painful treatment and recovery, Brewer suffered an emotional toll, his mother said. "He really doesn't talk about it with me or with his father," Valerie Brewer said. "He talks to the therapists about it because he doesn't want to upset us." He takes medication to help with night terrors, she told CNN, but "he wakes up every night with nightmares." She said she sleeps about three or four hours a night, depending on how many times her son wakes up in pain or with a nightmare. Detectives say eyewitnesses told them that Mendez used a lighter to set fire to Brewer after Jarvis poured alcohol over him. Bent allegedly encouraged the attack, police said. Brewer jumped into a pool at his apartment complex to put out the flames. Authorities have said Mendez admitted setting Brewer on fire. According to an arrest transcript, the boy said he made a "bad decision." Pizano said Wednesday he would have predicted a six-moth hospital stay for Brewer. While he said it is "miraculous | [
"What did doctors say to describe Brewer's recovery?",
"what did his mother say",
"what did the doctors say",
"What was Brewer's age?",
"at what age is the boy",
"What happened to Brewer?"
] | [
[
"has \"a long road ahead of him,\""
],
[
"\"the only thing he wanted for Christmas.\""
],
[
"are hopeful Brewer will not require any more skin grafts,"
],
[
"15-year-old"
],
[
"15-year-old"
],
[
"suffered burns over 65 percent of his body in October"
]
] | Michael Brewer, 15, was severely burned in October, allegedly by teens he knew .
Getting out of hospital was "the only thing he wanted for Christmas," his mom says .
Brewer family to spend holiday at "a safe place," not their old home .
Doctors credit Brewer's "miraculous" recovery to his determination, spirit . |
Miami, Florida (CNN) -- A 15-year-old boy who was burned over 65 percent of his body in October, allegedly by a group of teenagers he knew, has been readmitted to a Miami hospital after he had trouble breathing, a hospital spokeswoman said Monday.
Michael Brewer "had complications with his breathing and is now back in the ICU," said Lorraine Nelson, spokeswoman for Jackson Memorial Hospital. Brewer was admitted to Jackson Memorial's Holtz Children's Hospital on Sunday night and is in serious condition, she said.
It was not known whether Brewer's condition was related to his severe burns. He was released from Jackson Memorial's burn unit December 22, more than two months after the October 12 incident.
"He had been doing very well. He had been going to physical therapy and doing well, but things happen," Nelson told CNN.
At the time he was discharged from the burn unit, Dr. Louis Pizano, associate director of the burn center, told reporters, "From what happened in the beginning, we would have predicted probably six months, at least, in the hospital. And it is miraculous."
Brewer had three skin graft surgeries during his stay in the burn unit and was on a ventilator for almost the entire first month.
Three teenagers have been charged as adults with attempted murder in connection with the incident. Detectives said eyewitnesses told them that 16-year-old Jesus Mendez used a lighter to set fire to Brewer after Denver Jarvis, 15, allegedly poured alcohol over him, and that Matthew Bent, also 15, allegedly encouraged the attack. Detectives said Mendez admitted that he set Brewer on fire and that he made a "bad decision," according to an arrest transcript.
The three face a maximum sentence of up to 30 years in prison if convicted. Two other boys who were allegedly involved, a 13-year-old and 15-year-old, have not been charged in the attack.
A court-appointed psychologist who examined two of the five boys allegedly involved in the attack told CNN they are competent to proceed and assist their attorney.
Detectives believe that Brewer owed Bent $40 for a video game. When Brewer did not pay, police said, Bent stole Brewer's father's bicycle, then was arrested when Brewer reported him to the police.
The next day, police believe, the group sought out Brewer. Witnesses reported the group called him "a snitch" as they set him on fire.
Witnesses have said Brewer jumped into a pool to put out the flames. | [
"What percentage of his body was covered?",
"What were the teens charged with?",
"What was Michael Brewer having trouble doing?",
"when was he burned",
"who was charged with the crime",
"who had trouble breathing"
] | [
[
"65"
],
[
"attempted murder"
],
[
"breathing,"
],
[
"October,"
],
[
"Matthew Bent,"
],
[
"Michael Brewer"
]
] | Michael Brewer had trouble breathing "and is now back in the ICU," hospital says .
No word on whether his condition is related to burns on 65 percent of his body .
He was burned October 12, released from hospital burn unit December 22 after skin grafts .
Three teens charged as adults with attempted murder in connection with burning . |
Miami, Florida (CNN) -- A 15-year-old boy who was set on fire, allegedly by a group of youths he knew, told police he remembered "cold stuff all over my clothes and ... burning."
"Somebody poured something on me and lit me on fire," Michael Brewer tells police from his hospital bed in the audiotaped interview conducted November 23, six weeks after the October 12 incident. "I started running."
Broward County, Florida, prosecutors released the interview, along with other audio, video and documents, to media outlets including CNN on Monday and Tuesday.
Three teenagers have been charged as adults with attempted murder in connection with Brewer's burning. Detectives said eyewitnesses have told them that 16-year-old Jesus Mendez used a lighter to set fire to Brewer after Denver Jarvis, 15, allegedly poured alcohol over him, and that Matthew Bent, also 15, allegedly encouraged the attack.
Detectives said Mendez admitted that he set Brewer on fire, and that he made a "bad decision," according to an arrest transcript. Interviews with the suspects were not part of the evidence released this week.
Detectives believe that Brewer owed Bent $40 for a video game. When Brewer did not pay, police said, Bent stole Brewer's father's bicycle, then was arrested when Brewer reported him to the police. The next day, police believe, the group sought out Brewer.
In the interview, Brewer speaks in a soft, labored voice and sounds breathless. He can be heard inhaling and exhaling on the recording.
He told police that Bent "came to my house and he tried to take my dad's bike. He threatened me. He threatened my sister."
He said Bent wanted him to buy something that he didn't want to buy, but he couldn't remember what. "I think it was stolen," Brewer said.
He said he saw Jarvis pour the flammable liquid on him, and told police he was walking away from the others when it occurred.
When the teens approached him, he said, one told him, "Nobody's going to hit you." Instead, he recalled "cold stuff all over my clothes and ... burning."
Bent, Mendez and Jarvis face a maximum sentence of up to 30 years in prison if convicted. Two other boys who were allegedly involved, a 13-year-old and 15-year-old, have not been charged in the attack.
After he was set on fire, "I'm like, run. Run," Brewer said. "I ... jumped the fence and jumped into the pool."
"This guy comes running out and tries to pull me out of the water, and I said, 'Leave me, leave me,' 'cause my skin was, like, hanging," he said.
"I got out of the pool, and ... in a chair. And then they put me on a stretcher, and they strapped me, and then they put me on the helicopter."
A videotaped interview with an eyewitness to the incident is also among the pieces of evidence released.
In it, the teenager recalls hearing Bent, who is known as Zeke, tell Jarvis to pour the flammable liquid on Brewer. "Zeke's like, 'Yeah, yeah, pour it on him,'" the witness says, estimating the pouring lasted three to five seconds.
Asked if a lot of fluid was poured on Brewer, the boy said it soaked his entire back.
Brewer was released from Jackson Memorial Hospital's burn unit on December 22 after more than two months. During that stay, he had three skin-graft surgeries and was on a ventilator for a month.
He was readmitted to the hospital earlier this month after experiencing trouble breathing, but was re-released after three days. Doctors have said he faces a long recovery and rehabilitation process.
Brewer is recovering at an undisclosed location. His mother, Valerie Brewer, has said he will be home-schooled once he has recovered enough to resume his | [
"Who is charged with attempted murder in the incident?",
"who is michael brewer",
"What age is Brewer?",
"What interview do police release?",
"who was charged as adults"
] | [
[
"Matthew Bent,"
],
[
"was set on fire,"
],
[
"15-year-old"
],
[
"audiotaped"
],
[
"Three teenagers"
]
] | Police release interview with teen set on fire, allegedly by youths he knew .
Michael Brewer recalls threats, flames, running, jumping in pool to douse fire .
Three teens are charged as adults with attempted murder in the incident .
Brewer, 15, faces long recovery and rehabilitation process . |
Miami, Florida (CNN) -- Five Florida men convicted of plotting terrorist acts with al Qaeda were sentenced Friday to long prison terms, the Department of Justice announced.
Seven suspects were arrested in June 2006 for allegedly conspiring to blow up buildings, including the 110-story Sears Tower, the nation's tallest building, in Chicago, Illinois; the FBI's Miami office and others.
Five were convicted in May, their third trial after juries failed to reach a verdict on two previous attempts. The sixth was found not guilty. A seventh was found not guilty earlier.
The suspected ringleader, Narseal Batiste, 35, was sentenced to 13½ years in prison plus 35 years of supervision after his release.
He was the only defendant found guilty earlier this year of all four conspiracy charges, including conspiring to incite a rebellion against the United States, supplying materials to a terror organization and terrorists, and conspiring to destroy buildings with explosives.
Another defendant, Patrick Abraham, 30, was sentenced to 9 years, 4-and-a-half months in prison, to be followed by 15 years of supervision. He was convicted of two counts involving supplying materials to terrorists and terror groups, and of conspiring to destroy buildings with explosives.
Stanley Grant Phanor, 34, Burson Augustin, 24, and Rotschild Augustine, 26, were convicted of supplying materials to terrorists but acquitted of the other charges.
Phanor got eight years, Augustin got six and Augustine seven. All will be supervised for 10 to 15 years after release.
The sixth defendant, Naudimer Herrera, 25, was acquitted on all four counts.
The prosecution of the men "helped make our community safer by rooting out nascent terrorists before they could carry out their threats," Acting U.S. Attorney Jeffrey H. Sloman of the Southern District of Florida said in a statement announcing the sentences Friday.
Lawyers for two of the men said they intended to appeal when the verdict was announced in May.
The terror trial in Miami was the third held for the defendants, a group of homeless men initially known as the "Liberty City 7," for the Miami neighborhood where authorities say they operated.
In the first trial, a mistrial was declared after nine days of deliberations in December 2007, although a seventh defendant was acquitted. The jury in the second trial deadlocked in April 2008 after deliberating for 13 days.
The first two juries could not determine whether the defendants were seriously plotting with al Qaeda -- as the prosecutors alleged -- or if they were simply struggling young men who were looking to con an FBI informant out of money, as the defense alleged.
Authorities have said the men did not have explosives or weapons and that their plans appeared "more aspirational than operational." The investigation began after an Arabic speaker contacted authorities and said Batiste approached him about waging "jihad" in the United States.
Investigators then planted among the group an undercover informant, who claimed to be an al Qaeda member who helped plan the attack on the USS Cole in 2000. A federal raid on the group's Liberty City warehouse in 2006 revealed a receipt for purchase of a gun, as well as ammunition, marijuana, two credit cards, 10 euros, three machetes, two swords, an ax, uniforms and a flight suit.
On a surveillance videotape played during trial, Batiste could be heard saying he was "very grateful" to Osama bin Laden and "loved" the al Qaeda leader's work. He also said he respected bin Laden and wanted to meet him someday.
In other excerpts, Batiste told the informant his people needed training, and they discussed going to Chicago because the city has underground trains and tunnels.
CNN's John Couwels contributed to this report. | [
"How many suspects were arrested?",
"what is liberty city 7",
"who is narseal batiste",
"who was arrested in 2006",
"Who is the suspected ringleader?"
] | [
[
"Seven"
],
[
"group of homeless men"
],
[
"suspected ringleader,"
],
[
"Naudimer Herrera,"
],
[
"Narseal Batiste,"
]
] | Trial was the third for defendants, homeless men initially known as "Liberty City 7"
Seven suspects were arrested in June 2006; five were convicted in May .
Suspected ringleader, Narseal Batiste, 35, was sentenced to 13½ years . |
Miami, Florida (CNN) -- From the custom-made, hand-beaded white dress to silver-studded high-heeled shoes, diamond jewelry and tiara, Jenny Ferro is preparing for a day she's dreamed about since she was 3 years old. "I'm really excited," says Jenny, eagerly nodding her head. "Really, really, a lot!" She isn't getting married. The 15-year-old is preparing for her quinceañera, a coming-of-age ritual in Latin culture, marking a young girl's entrance into womanhood. The centuries-old tradition began as a ceremony to introduce girls to society on their 15th birthday and signified that they were ready for marriage. Today, many quinceañeras have become much more elaborate. Jenny and her mother, Marlene Ferro, have worked out every detail of the party well in advance, from the rehearsal to the reception to the flower girl and the music. The theme of the party is bedazzled. First, there is the dress, which Marlene had designed specially for her daughter. It cost about $800. Then there are the shoes, high-heeled and silver to match the dress. During the party, the high heels will be ceremoniously slipped onto her feet to replace her flat shoes -- a symbolic transition of her journey from childhood to womanhood. "It makes her look like a princess," gushes Marlene Ferro. Quinceañeras are becoming increasingly popular in the United States. One reason for their popularity is a greater acceptance of Latin culture in America, according to Michele Salcedo, author of "Quinceañera!" a comprehensive guide to the celebration. "The 15th birthday, culturally, is a milestone. It doesn't have to be celebrated with a party at all, but it is generally marked by something quite special," Salcedo says. Experts believe the quinceañera is rooted in Mayan, Aztec and European traditions. Today, many coming-of-age ceremonies resemble lavish "Sweet 16" celebrations. Beyond the elaborate apparel, food and festivities, modern quinceañeras often feature a court of 15 people, typically consisting of family and friends. As the event continues to grow in popularity, the makeup of the court has also changed. "It has gone beyond Latinos, so that a lot of Latino girls will have not only family members in court but they will reach out to non-Latino friends," says Salcedo. "So it's a way of reaching out and extending social ties and bringing people in who might not otherwise have an opportunity to know a Latino family and to know the culture." Family plays the largest role in the quinceañera, leading up to and during the party. Mothers, fathers, grandparents and godparents can spend years preparing a night to remember for the young girl. The tradition is just as important to the family as it is to the young woman. The large, extravagant celebrations often symbolize a family's hard work and success. How has America changed Latinos? Marlene Ferro, who emigrated from Cuba as a child with her parents, says Jenny's quinceañera was a gift to both of them. The 43-year-old, single mother of three, saved for years and estimates that she spent at least $20,000 on her daughter's quinceañera. "I was able to accomplish something that I had been looking forward to for 15 years," says Marlene Ferro. The parties can be as big and expensive as a family can imagine and costs can escalate into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to Salcedo. She recommends that families manage expectations before the party planning even begins. iReporter Alexis Fernandez's quinceañera was a big event in Alaska "Sometimes people go way overboard and [spend] much more on the celebration than they can afford and that's the downside of the quinceañera," says Salcedo. "Because when it's done right it can be a beautiful family celebration and a celebration of a milestone that a young girl goes through." Quinceañeras have changed over the years. Even though her tiara was taller than her daughter's | [
"How long has Jenny been preparing for her celebration?",
"how much did Marlene Ferro spend?",
"How much will be spent on Jenny's celebration?",
"What is a quinceanera?",
"when did Jenny Ferro start preparing?",
"What happens to girls at age 15?",
"what is the name of the 15th birthday celebrations?",
"What age are Quinceañeras celebrated at?",
"How much did Marlene ferro spend",
"What marks a girl's transition to womanhood?",
"Who has been preparing for her celebration since she was 3?",
"Since what age has Jenny Ferro been preparing for her Quinceañera?"
] | [
[
"since she was 3"
],
[
"$20,000"
],
[
"$20,000"
],
[
"a coming-of-age ritual in Latin culture,"
],
[
"since she was 3 years old."
],
[
"womanhood."
],
[
"quinceañeras"
],
[
"15th birthday"
],
[
"$20,000"
],
[
"quinceañera,"
],
[
"Jenny Ferro"
],
[
"3 years old."
]
] | Quinceañeras, or 15th birthday celebrations, mark a girl's transition to womanhood .
Jenny Ferro, 15, has been preparing for her celebration since she was 3 years old .
Marlene Ferro estimates she spent $20,000 on her daughter's quinceañera .
Expert: The elaborate parties are a way for Latinos to say 'I have done well here' |
Miami, Florida (CNN) -- He lies in a bed on a balloon-type mattress, to reduce pressure on his burned body. He is covered with bandages; a ventilator breathes for Michael Brewer because he can't do it for himself. He's hooked up to the marvels of modern medicine that are trying to give the 15-year-old burn victim a chance to be a kid once again. Sixty-five percent of his body is covered with second- and third-degree burns. "People are writing horror stories ... but people just can't imagine the kind of sickness we're talking about," said Dr. Nicholas Namias, medical director of the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital Burn Center in Miami. "I've been to movies like everyone else, and Hollywood hasn't even thought of something like this," Namias said. Brewer is heavily sedated, and the ventilator does not allow him to speak. His open wounds are covered by bandages, which are changed daily. It's a four-hour process. He has not been able to speak with police since his desperate fight for life began October 12, when police say five teenage friends, including a 13-year-old, doused Brewer with rubbing alcohol and set him on fire. The attack occurred after Brewer reported to police that one of the youths had stolen his father's bicycle. Police say the bicycle was stolen because Brewer did not pay one of the boys $40 for a video game. According to police, witnesses said the teens called Brewer "a snitch" as they used a lighter to set him ablaze. Namias explained how Brewer's organs are not functioning the way they should be, but that is expected at this early stage of recovery. "He's still on the ventilator and advanced modes of mechanical ventilation. We are breathing for him. His contribution to the breathing is trivial," Namias said. Namias also explained that in burn cases, words must be chosen carefully when talking about patients and their condition because so much is at risk and so much can change quickly. "When you say he's doing OK, in this situation it means he's alive and responding to treatments," Namias said. "We're still dealing with the respiratory failure. We're dealing with infection now and the need to supply the massive amount of nutrition that this person needs to survive." On Monday, the five teens who are accused of taking part in the attack appeared separately before judges in Broward County, Florida. State prosecutors were granted additional time to build their case. Formal charges are expected later this month. For now, all five teens are being held in custody. Four of the boys, all 15 years old, could be charged as adults. The 13-year-old also could be charged as an adult but under Florida law only if Brewer dies. Michael Brewer's parents, Valerie and Michael Brewer Sr., issued a written statement through the hospital last week. They are not granting interviews. "The recovery process will be baby steps, but eventually he will be whole again," they wrote. But their son's injuries enter the realm of medicine and science that has no guarantee. "There's no evolutionary mechanism to survive a 65 percent burn," Namias said. "Surviving is a miracle of modern medicine and about the technology and the things we do. This is not like a gunshot and you come out of the [operating room], and say everything's going to be OK," he added. "We never give up, and we never predict it. ... Our expectation is survival." Across the hospital floor in the burn unit at Jackson Memorial Hospital, six other people's lives also are at stake: all victims of various accidents, all with burns similar to Michael Brewer's. They, too, are trying to regain at least a part of what they used to have. "It's understandable that people can be burned in accidents," Namias said. " | [
"What did teens do to Michael Brewer?",
"What age is Michael Brewer?",
"What percentage of his body is covered in burns?",
"What did Michael Brewer report before the attack?",
"When did the teen suspects appear before judges?",
"What do police say Michael Brewer was doused in?",
"When was he attacked?",
"What is 65 percent of Brewer's body is covered in?",
"When did the suspewcts appear in court?",
"At what age was Michael Brewer at the time of the attack?",
"How much of Brewer's body was covered in burns?",
"How many boys were arrested for the attack on Michael Brewer?",
"how much percent of Brewer's body is covered in second-, third-degree burns?",
"who doused Michael Brewer?",
"What percent of Brewer's body is covered in burns?",
"what is the age of Michael Brewer?",
"Who doused Michael Brewer in alcohol?",
"In which state did this occur?"
] | [
[
"with rubbing alcohol and set him on fire."
],
[
"15-year-old"
],
[
"Sixty-five"
],
[
"that one of the youths had stolen his father's bicycle."
],
[
"Monday,"
],
[
"rubbing alcohol"
],
[
"October 12,"
],
[
"second- and third-degree burns."
],
[
"On Monday,"
],
[
"15-year-old"
],
[
"Sixty-five percent"
],
[
"five"
],
[
"Sixty-five"
],
[
"five teenage friends,"
],
[
"Sixty-five"
],
[
"15-year-old"
],
[
"five teenage friends,"
],
[
"Florida."
]
] | Police say teens doused Michael Brewer, 15, with rubbing alcohol and set him ablaze .
Attack came after Brewer reported that one boy had stolen his father's bicycle .
65 percent of Brewer's body is covered in second-, third-degree burns .
Teen suspects appeared before judges Monday in Florida . |
Miami, Florida (CNN) -- Marie, a Haitian mother, couldn't have been more grateful. "Thank you God for TPS," she recently told an attorney helping her fill out forms that will protect her from deportation. She was referring to temporary protected status, which will allow her to work legally, help Haiti and support her two young children. It's the sentiment that we hear most these days.
As longtime advocates, we at Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center were gratified when the Department of Homeland Security granted temporary protected status to unauthorized Haitian immigrants after the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti. Temporary protected status will allow perhaps 100,000 Haitians to legalize their status for the next 18 months.
They'll be able get work permits and driver's licenses and send more money to loved ones struggling in Haiti's ruins. Such people-to-people help is one of the best forms of foreign aid. Remittances encourage Haitians to stay and rebuild Haiti, rather than attempt treacherous sea voyages that more often than not end in tragedy.
Today, Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center and other pro bono groups are working furiously to help Haitians apply for temporary protected status and warn them away from "raketè," scammers who will rip them off. It's a mammoth job in South Florida, home of the nation's largest Haitian-born population.
The six-page temporary protected status application includes complicated questions and must be translated for non-English speakers. Many Haitians also need help filling out work-permit and fee-waiver forms. Without a waiver, applicants ages 14 to 65 must pay $470 in fees and $50 for a younger child.
Frankly, temporary protected status is the least our government can do after decades of denying Haitians just immigration treatment. No previous administration had granted temporary protected status to Haitians despite numerous occasions when deportees would have been unsafe due to political conflict or natural disasters, conditions that typically trigger temporary protected status. Indeed, we had been actively pushing for temporary protected status since four killer storms demolished 15 percent of Haiti's gross domestic product in late 2008.
The history of discriminatory treatment goes back much further. Since Haitians started coming to U.S. shores nearly 50 years ago, they routinely have been denied the fundamental protections promised to refugees of virtually every other nationality.
Finally more attention is being paid to the need to help the Haitians. As a key neighbor, the United States needs to prepare for a long-term commitment in which U.S. Haitians play a key role.
Many of these Haitians wish to travel to support relatives in Haiti and contribute to reconstruction. But for Haitians with temporary protected status, those trips could lead to dire consequences. Though they may travel legally, some may face problems coming back home and, thus, should consult with an attorney before leaving.
Many U.S. citizen and resident Haitians also are trying desperately to bring relatives here from Haiti, but some face daunting delays because of archaic immigration processes. Given the substantial moral and material help that Haitians in our country offer Haiti, Homeland Security should find solutions to permit travel and expedite relative reunification.
We are hopeful, too, that Homeland Security will address concerns regarding Haitians who have arrived here since the earthquake with no or improper visas. One glaring example is the dozens of Haitians who were flown here on military planes after the earthquake, only to be detained. Many lost their parents, siblings and children; one of our clients lost his twin 9-year old daughters. Virtually all had U.S. citizen and lawful permanent resident relatives awaiting their release.
Their prolonged detention only exacerbated the terrible trauma they suffered before fleeing Haiti. During their detention, most showed signs of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. Yet Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center's attempts to get permission for a psychotherapist to meet with the Haitians were repeatedly rebuffed.
When everyone in the world was offering to help the Haitians, Immigration and Customs Enforcement kept our clients in detention for more than two months. They only released them after a front page New York Times story ran and the Haitians agreed to be deported whenever ICE wants.
Haitian orphans also | [
"She says such status was not granted when?",
"what would help haiti",
"what was not granted",
"Further immigration changes would aid Haiti's effort to recover from what?"
] | [
[
"deportees would have been unsafe due to political conflict or natural disasters,"
],
[
"temporary protected status,"
],
[
"temporary protected status"
],
[
"catastrophic earthquake"
]
] | Cheryl Little says giving protected status to Haitian immigrants was wise .
She says such status was not granted in earlier disasters .
Little says further immigration changes would aid Haiti's effort to recover from quake .
A comprehensive immigration reform bill would be a major step forward, she says . |
Miami, Florida (CNN) -- The parents of an injured baby girl who was flown to Florida for treatment after Haiti's earthquake have been told what they already know: They are the biological parents of the little girl.
The International Red Cross notified Nadine Devilme and Junior Alexis in Haiti that DNA testing proves that the infant is theirs, said Mark LaPoint, an attorney representing the baby.
Rescuers dubbed her Patricia, but her parents call her Jenny.
On Wednesday morning, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman decided that Jenny's parents will get to take her back to Haiti after doctors and nurses in Florida finish treating her.
"This is a case where these were really good parents, and I can't wait for these parents to be reunited with their baby," the judge said. "This is one happy day."
Federal authorities have pledged to help Devilme and Alexis travel from Haiti to the United States to reunite with their daughter, though the timing of that trip has not yet been determined, said Bob Martinez, an attorney for the parents.
The baby still has a hard time closing her left hand and needs some medical therapy, LaPoint said in court Wednesday.
The judge scheduled a hearing for April 7 to get an update on the baby's condition.
Jenny was 4 months old when the January 12 earthquake destroyed large swaths of Haiti. Her mother was knocked unconscious in the 7.0-magnitude temblor and taken to a hospital. When she awoke, she urged her husband to go home to search for their baby.
Alexis searched through the broken rubble for four days, but found nothing. The couple says that on the fifth day, January 16, witnesses saw a cleanup crew rescue Jenny from the rubble. She reportedly was found in the arms of her baby sitter, who was dead. The witnesses got word to Devilme, who was in the hospital with her own injuries.
Rescuers apparently assumed the baby was an orphan and whisked her away to a different hospital in Port-au-Prince, one run by the University of Miami and Project Medishare, where a team of pediatricians worked desperately to keep her alive.
Read more about the couple awaiting the baby's return
With several broken ribs, the baby was having trouble breathing. The doctors stabilized her, and a few hours after the baby's rescue, a United Nations truck took her to a plane that was minutes away from leaving for Miami, Florida.
"I told the ambulance driver if she got there in time, we'd name the baby after her," says Dr. Arthur Fournier, a University of Miami physician working at the hospital.
The driver, Patricia, did make it on time, and thereafter, doctors at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami referred to the infant by that name.
Devilme says the friend who told her of Jenny's rescue didn't know where the baby had been taken. By the time she found out , the baby had already been flown to Miami, Devilme says.
Devilme and Alexis say it was "God's will" that Jenny went to Miami, as she might not have survived if she'd stayed in Haiti.
Jenny was discharged from the hospital and is living in foster care in Florida. Her parents are living in a tent city in Port-au-Prince and recently had the DNA testing needed to prove the baby is theirs.
The DNA tests have taken more than a month because of logistical difficulties getting the test to Haiti and because of a legal dispute over whether the baby should become a ward of the state of Florida or a ward of the U.S. government, says Mark Riordan, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Children and Families. | [
"Where can jenny go back to ?",
"What caused her injuries ?",
"When will her parents trip be ?",
"What did Floriday Judge say regarding Jenny?",
"The child suffered injuries from what?",
"what is not set"
] | [
[
"Haiti"
],
[
"Haiti's earthquake"
],
[
"after doctors and nurses in Florida finish treating"
],
[
"I can't wait for these parents to be reunited with their baby,\""
],
[
"earthquake"
],
[
"the timing of that trip"
]
] | NEW: Florida judge says parents can take Jenny back to Haiti after her medical treatment ends .
NEW: Timing of parents' trip not set; April 7 hearing will provide update on baby's condition .
Parents say it was "God's will" that the child went to Miami for treatment of quake injuries .
The child, apparently mistaken for orphan amid quake chaos, is in foster care in Florida . |
Miami, Florida (CNN) -- Tropical Storm Paula pushed across western Cuba Thursday evening with wind gusts just under hurricane strength in some places, bringing heavy rain and high winds to the island nation, forecasters said.
The storm is gradually weakening and is expected to become a tropical depression Friday, the Miami, Florida-based National Hurricane Center said
As of 8 p.m. ET, the center of Paula was about 25 miles (45 kilometers) east of Havana, the center said. It was moving east at 14 mph (22 kph).
Paula passed just south of the Cuban capital around 6 p.m. Thursday -- with sustained winds of 41 mph (67 kph) and a gust of 54 mph (87 kph) recorded in Havana -- after making landfall at about noon near Puerto Esperanza.
The storm's maximum sustained winds have weakened to 55 mph (90 kph), the center said Thursday night, but wind gusts of 68 mph had been recorded earlier near Puerto Esperanza. Stronger gusts were confined to a small area near the storm's center, the center said.
Paula's tropical storm-force winds have expanded to 70 miles (110 km) outward from the center, altering the landscape of a storm that has been roughly half that size for most of its duration.
Forecasters said the storm was likely to stick to an east to east-northeast track, moving across western and central Cuba Thursday night and Friday.
The hurricane center said that tropical storm force winds should continue to spread eastward across western and central Cuba Thursday night, primarily along the north coast.
The center discontinued an earlier tropical storm watch also was for the Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas.
Emergency management officials in the Keys said Wednesday they were keeping an eye on the progress of Paula and expected some gusty winds and rain, but no protective actions had been initiated. Forecasters predict the center of Paula will remain south of the Keys.
Paula is likely to dump an additional 2 to 4 inches of rain over portions of western and central Cuba over the next two days, the National Hurricane Center said. Total maximum amounts could be 10 inches in some areas. Heavy rain could trigger flash floods and mudslides, forecasters said. The Florida Keys could see between 1 and 2 inches of rain.
In addition, a storm surge is forecast to raise water levels by 2 to 4 feet above normal tide levels along the coast of western Cuba, accompanied by "large and destructive waves," the hurricane center said. | [
"What are the maximum sustained winds?",
"What day might Paula become a tropical depression?",
"Where is Storm Paula pushing across?",
"Where is Tropical Storm Paula?",
"What is the maximum sustained windspeed?",
"What could the storm brng to Florida Keys?"
] | [
[
"55 mph"
],
[
"Friday,"
],
[
"western Cuba"
],
[
"western Cuba"
],
[
"55 mph (90 kph),"
],
[
"tropical depression"
]
] | NEW: Storm is gradually weakening, with maximum sustained winds of 55 mph (90 kph)
Tropical Storm Paula pushes across western Cuba .
Paula could become a tropical depression on Friday .
Forecasters say the storm could bring rain to parts of the Florida Keys . |
Mission Viejo, California (CNN) -- When Marty Kubicki received a text message that his wife, Aahmes, and two teenage daughters, Olivia and Alexis, were alive in Haiti, he was overwhelmed with relief.
"I felt like an enormous burden had been placed off me, but at the same time I knew that they were OK. I always felt they made it," he said. Groups of church members have been volunteering at an orphanage for nearly six years, since church members Bill Manassero, his wife Suzette, and Jim Duggan opened the center.
But by Friday there was chaos at the Maison De Lumiere Orphanage in Haiti as 11 American missionary volunteers were trying to find a way to leave after severe shortages of food, water and medicine sparked anger in people they had been trying to help.
"People are becoming hostile at the missionary workers and we now find ourselves desperately trying to get them out," said Mike Maiolo, senior pastor of the volunteers' home church in Mission Viejo. He said he had received urgent messages from Haiti that everyone wanted to leave.
The Kubickis and the others from Mission Viejo Christian Church arrived in Port-Au-Prince a week ago to help assist nearly 100 abused and abandoned children at the orphanage.
The facility sustained heavy damage in the earthquake but no one was killed, he said.
Within hours of the quake, the volunteers became de facto nursing assistants after word spread that Maison De Lumiere was serving as a makeshift triage center.
"Lots of doctors and nurses have been coming by the facility because word's gotten out, so there's all these people being pulled out of rubble and they're assisting and attending to the injured as best as they can," Marty Kubicki said.
Judy Beltis left her husband, six daughters and five grandchildren in California when she came to Haiti on January 8. Moments after the walls and shelves around her collapsed, she found herself attending the injured and working to save lives, said her husband, Paul.
"This is a mom who couldn't put a Band-Aid on her kids when they had a cut finger because she was so squeamish, and now she's dealing with whatever needs to be done," he said.
On Thursday, the family was assured that Judy Beltis was safe and protected. "I'm going to urge her at some point to come back and get a little rest and restoration, but I know she'll want to head right back," said daughter Jaime.
But that was before Maiolo received the urgent messages late Thursday.
He said the situation had deteriorated to the extent that no one felt safe going outside the compound. Contact with his missionary members in Haiti has been limited to occasional text messages, Internet streaming and e-mail, he said, and his volunteers have not been able to reach U.S. State Department officials.
"The world around us is in such need when something like this happens and we've got to be there for them, but at the same time, there must be a quick way to get them out when there is nothing more to give," Maiolo said. | [
"where are they from",
"where are the volunteers",
"Where did they come from",
"What changed everything",
"how many american volunteers",
"Where are Volunteers from?"
] | [
[
"California"
],
[
"Maison De Lumiere Orphanage in Haiti"
],
[
"Mission Viejo Christian Church"
],
[
"a text message"
],
[
"11"
],
[
"Mission Viejo Christian Church"
]
] | Situation turns chaotic for 11 American volunteers at Maison De Lumiere Orphanage .
Shortages of food, water spark anger in people volunteers had been trying to help .
Volunteers are from Mission Viejo Christian Church in California . |
Mojave, California (CNN) -- Billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson on Monday unveiled the winged rocket his company developed to give paying customers a brief taste of space.
The 300 people who have given Branson's Virgin Galactic $20,000 deposits toward the $200,000 space-ride tickets were invited see SpaceShipTwo in its Mojave, California, hangar. CNN was given an early peek.
The first flight in 2011 -- after 18 months of testing -- will launch from a spaceport under construction in New Mexico, Branson said.
Another aircraft will carry the 60-foot-long SpaceShipTwo to 60,000 feet above the Earth, where "they will drop away and they will then go to 2,000 miles per hour in 10 seconds, where they get propelled into space," Branson said.
Its hybrid rocket motor -- still under development -- will reach a suborbital altitude high enough to reach the edges of space and weightlessness, according to Branson.
"Once in space, [passengers] will unbuckle their seats," he said. "There are enormous windows, which no spacecraft has had before, for them to look back at the Earth. They can float around and become astronauts."
The cabin, which seats six paying passengers, is 90 inches -- nearly 8 feet -- in diameter, which provides "lots of room for zero-G fun," Branson's Web site said.
The first voyage will carry Branson, his wife, mother and children, the entrepreneur said. "Actually, that's my mum on the side -- a younger version of my mum on the side of the spaceship," he said.
After just a few minutes of space tourism, SpaceShipTwo will glide back to Earth, landing where it began the trip in New Mexico, he said.
About 80,000 people have placed their names on the waiting list for seats on SpaceShipTwo and its successors.
"What we want to be able to do is bring space travel down to a price range where hundreds of thousands of people would be able to experience space, and they never dreamed that [they] could," Branson said.
He said he hopes the technology will lead to a new form of Earth travel, jetting people across oceans and continents faster through suborbital routes.
"We would love at some stage, obviously subject to government approval, to take the engineers and start looking at shrinking the world," Branson said.
The spacecraft was based on the technology and carbon-composite construction developed for SpaceShipOne, which won the Ansari X Prize in 2004 for the first privately funded human flight to the edge of space.
The reusable spacecraft is a joint effort by aviation designer Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites and Virgin Galactic, a space tourism venture that is a subsidiary of Branson's Virgin Group. | [
"When will the first flight into space launch?",
"What did Richard Branson unveil?",
"Who unveils spacecraft?",
"How many people does Virgin Galactic have deposits from?",
"What does Branson say about first flight?",
"How many people have given a deposit?",
"Where the first flight will take place?"
] | [
[
"2011"
],
[
"the winged"
],
[
"Richard Branson"
],
[
"300"
],
[
"will launch from a spaceport under construction in New Mexico,"
],
[
"300"
],
[
"New Mexico,"
]
] | Billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson unveils spacecraft .
Media and prospective space-ride tourists get a peek at SpaceShipTwo .
Virgin Galactic has deposits from 300 people toward $200,000 tickets .
Branson says the first flight into space will launch in 2011 in New Mexico . |
Moncks Corner, South Carolina (CNN) -- Every day, before sunrise, Zubaidah Gibbs wakes to pray, then spends hours more singing praises to God under a tree outside her home. She reflects on the setting and thanks God for the beautiful environment around her in this small Southern town.
But this Muslim woman wasn't always at peace with herself, or her religion.
Her 55 years have been a journey from wanting to be white to being proud to be black; from the urban North to the rural South; from studying religions to finding a community in Islam.
As a young girl in the 1960s, "I would have done anything in the world to be white with blue eyes and blonde hair with small lips," Gibbs said. "I didn't hang out with girls who were dark like me, because I felt like they were ugly like me."
She became more comfortable with her race as a teenager, when she heard a different message: James Brown singing "Say it loud, I'm black and I'm proud!"
"I was, like, 'Wow, this is interesting,'" she said. "I started getting rid of [my relaxed hairstyle] and accepting my hair natural, and I was a little bit more comfortable with myself."
But her pride in her roots didn't fill the void she felt in her heart. She was still searching for connections that transcended ethnicity. Her mother, a Christian, encouraged Gibbs to visit various churches around her home in New York, some led by Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses and Catholics.
She was 17 when a blind date with a Muslim man ended at a mosque.
"I heard the adhan [call to prayer] playing, and I saw the people with their long garbs on, and the sisters -- and I just didn't want to leave," she said.
That same year, she embraced Islam, attracted to the message of peace and its disregard for color.
"Islam helped me to identify with the beauty within as well as outside. ...It balanced me out because now I understand who I am as a human," Gibbs said.
Gibbs' spiritual journey had only begun. At age 42, she moved from New York to South Carolina to escape the crowds of the city with her four children. She didn't know of a mosque in the little town where she'd settled, Moncks Corner, but was reluctant to go 30 miles south to Charleston. So, she prayed about it.
One day, Gibbs said, she saw men in kufis, traditional African skullcaps, building what looked like a little house on what had once been known as the "whites-only" side of Moncks Corner. She discovered it was to be a mosque, just as she'd prayed for.
Today, the mosque, Masjid Muhajarun Wal Ansars, is a small white brick building whose members are mostly African-American. They practice mainstream Islam, like 2.45 million other American Muslims, not Nation of Islam, a separate religious tradition associated with black Muslims. Here, they marry Islamic ritual, racial understanding and traditional southern culture.
At the mosque, Gibbs met a spiritual mentor, Sheikh Harun Faye. Faye was born in Thies, Senegal, and came to South Carolina in 1994 after marrying an American.
"I belong to a very large family, and generation after generation all we have done is to lead people to the way of God," Faye said. "So, when I got here, the first thing I wanted was a mosque where I can call the people to God and teach them Islam. And that is what I do."
He opened the mosque in 1996, with five people. The congregation now consists of more than 150 members.
Gibbs was among its first members. She was initially attracted to the mosque's welcoming nature, open-door policy and community outreach. Over the last 14 years, the mosque has assisted thousands of people in need, many of them homeless and ex-convicts. | [
"Where was the mosque she joined?",
"What did Gibbs struggle with?",
"Who struggled with race and religious identity ?",
"How many members did the mosque have?",
"who struggled with her race and religious"
] | [
[
"Moncks Corner,"
],
[
"herself, or her religion."
],
[
"Zubaidah Gibbs"
],
[
"150"
],
[
"Zubaidah Gibbs"
]
] | Zubaidah Gibbs struggled with her race and religious identity early in life.
In rural Moncks Corner, S.C., she joined a mosque that helped her feel whole.
The predominantly African-American, 150-member mosque combines traditional Islam with southern culture. |
Montcoal, West Virginia (CNN) -- I am West Virginia born and raised, and I come from a long line of coal miners. My father, grandfather, brothers, husband and son-in-law either are or were coal miners.
My husband spent 35 years as an underground union coal miner and he died of black lung. I live near Coal River Mountain and my community is experiencing a tragedy.
The situation here, before this disaster, had already compelled me to become an environmental activist, committed to doing everything I can to stop the destructive practice of coal extraction known as mountaintop removal. I am not trying to stop all coal mining. I believe coal mining will be with us for a very long time, considering our enormous thirst for energy and our slow transition to renewable energy.
Throughout Appalachia, 2,000 miles of headwater streams have been destroyed and over 500 mountains have been decapitated by mountaintop removal. I stood by and did nothing until Massey Energy brought this fight to my door.
Three years ago, Massey applied for a permit to blow the top off the mountain behind my house. The company plans to level 6,600 acres of Coal River Mountain and turn it into a moonscape where no living, breathing thing can survive. I believe a higher and better use for this mountain is the Coal River Wind Project.
On Monday, April 5, an enormous explosion went off at the Upper Big Branch mine at Performance Coal Co., a subsidiary of Massey Energy. Thirty-one men in our community didn't come home that day.
We don't yet know the names of all of the deceased and I dread the day when the list is read and we, at last, know our connection to those who didn't make it.
I felt extremely blessed when I knew that my family members who worked at this mine were home and safe. I know many friends and neighbors will be among those we lost and I grieve for all of the families involved.
On April 6, many heartbroken and terrified families kissed their loved ones at the door and sent them off back to work underground. These very brave men enter these mines knowing their fate will probably be the same as their friends' on April 5 or the same as my husband's.
Now, although these very proud, brave and strong men make about $70,000 a year, if they had a choice, many of them would never go underground again. The problem is that we live in a mono-economy and there are no choices. The coal industry has a death grip in the state of West Virginia and we have some of the best politicians money can buy.
We also have some very honest, good and environmentally friendly politicians. Their numbers are small and it is considered to be political suicide to do anything in West Virginia that appears to be anti-coal.
Many of our representatives have tunnel vision and refuse to advocate for job diversity in the coal fields. Coal is a finite resource, and no matter when you think, it will eventually run out -- someday we will have harvested all of the economically feasible coal.
When that day comes, how will the people we love support their families? I live at ground zero for mountaintop removal and because of the stand that I and many other people have taken to stop it, tensions run high in the coal fields. We are all being used by an outlaw industry and corrupt politicians and we are all driven by fear.
The men who work in surface mining are terrified they will lose their jobs. I am terrified that my granddaughter will not have clean drinking water when she is of child-bearing age if we don't stop this.
Massey Energy's record speaks for itself. With an enormous amount of violations and previous deaths at this mine, I will leave it to you to decide if this company puts profits before the safety of its workers or views its employees as a disposable commodity.
We are coping with this enormous tragedy, and sometimes tragedy brings communities together. I can only hope that something good will come out of all | [
"Where does Scarbro come from?",
"What is Scarbro fighting for?",
"What did Scarbro's husband die of?",
"What happened to the husband of Lorelei?"
] | [
[
"West Virginia"
],
[
"coal miners."
],
[
"black lung."
],
[
"he died of black lung."
]
] | Lorelei Scarbro comes from a long line of coal miners; husband died of black lung .
She says Montcoal is grieving and terrified, but brave men still went to work after tragedy .
Scarbro fights for the rights of miners and tries to to stop mountaintop coal removal .
Scarbro: Massey Energy had violations and previous deaths . |
Montevideo, Uruguay (CNN) -- A court sentenced former Uruguayan President Juan Maria Bordaberry to 30 years in prison on Wednesday for the coup that consolidated his power in 1973 and for human rights violations.
Judge Mariana Mota convicted Bordaberry of violating the constitution, nine counts of "forced disappearance" and two counts of political homicide.
Bordaberry, 81, had already been under house arrest since 2007 for the killings of two opposition legislators in 1976.
Bordaberry assumed office in 1972 following an election that has since been questioned. In 1973, he backed a military coup that kept him in power, and dissolved congress and suspended the country's constitution. The military pushed him out in favor of another leader in 1976.
Journalist Dario Klein contributed to this report for CNN | [
"When did Bordaberry come to power?",
"When was Bordaberry pushed out?",
"What did the judge convict him of?",
"Who backed a military coup in 1973?",
"What action helped him retain power in 1973?",
"What kept him in power?",
"Who assumed presidency in 1972?"
] | [
[
"1973"
],
[
"1976."
],
[
"violating the constitution, nine counts of \"forced disappearance\" and two counts of political homicide."
],
[
"Uruguayan President Juan Maria Bordaberry"
],
[
"backed a military coup"
],
[
"he backed a military coup"
],
[
"Bordaberry"
]
] | Juan Maria Bordaberry assumed presidency in 1972 .
He backed a military coup in 1973 that kept him in power .
Judge convicts him of political homicide, forced disappearance .
Military pushes Bordaberry out in 1976 . |
Montevideo, Uruguay (CNN) -- Jose "Pepe" Mujica, a former Marxist Tupamaro guerrilla fighter, won Uruguay's presidential runoff election Sunday, exit polls showed. Exit polls had Mujica defeating former president Luis Alberto Lacalle by a margin of 4 to 8 percentage points. Current Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez confirmed the projection to reporters Sunday evening, and Lacalle conceded in a speech. The streets of the South American country's capital were filled with Mujica's supporters, who cheered and honked their horns. Mujica belongs to the same Broad Front Party as Vazquez, who is popular. Both men are considered leftists. Lacalle is considered more conservative. In a victory speech, Mujica said his administration will continue the policies of Vazquez. "Tomorrow, the commitment continues," he said. Mujica, 74, was imprisoned for 14 years and released in 1985 when democracy was restored to Uruguay after a 17-year dictatorship. He was minister of livestock and agriculture from 2005 to 2008 and is now a senator. Mujica has played down his connection with the Tupamaros, who were defeated in 1973. In his victory speech Sunday, Mujica called for unity and asked his followers not to offend those who voted for other candidates during the first and second rounds of voting. His administration may make mistakes, but it will never turn its back to the problems facing the country, Mujica said. "He is the man who talks and dresses austerely," analyst Gabriel Pereyra said of Mujica. "He is the man who communicates and talks the language of the people." Analyst Rosario Queirolo describes Mujica as "a person who somehow lives what he preaches and is an antipolitician in another way." "He doesn't very well fit the image of a president we have in Uruguay," Queirolo said. Uruguay is one of the smallest countries in South America, about the size of Washington state. But it is also considered one of the most economically developed. Located on South America's southeastern coast, the country has a population of 3.5 million, 92 percent of whom live in urban areas. CNN en Español's Dario Klein and CNN's Arthur Brice contributed to this report. | [
"Who is the former president?",
"Where is Mujica from?"
] | [
[
"Luis Alberto Lacalle"
],
[
"Montevideo, Uruguay"
]
] | NEW: Jose "Pepe" Mujica asks supporters not to offend people who voted for other candidates .
Mujica said to win by margin of 4 to 8 percentage points .
Former president Luis Alberto Lacalle concedes in a speech .
Mujica belongs to the same Broad Front Party as the current president . |
Montgomery, Alabama (CNN) -- Alabama's attorney general questioned Wednesday whether the federal government has the legal right to ask for data from school districts in the state, which has recently passed controversial legislation intended to reduce illegal immigration.
In a letter sent Wednesday, Attorney General Luther Strange said he was "perplexed and troubled" about a request from the Justice Department for information about Alabama's schools.
The Justice Department issued the letter Tuesday to Alabama school districts to ensure they are complying with federal law, which declares that a child may not be denied equal access to schools based on his or her immigration status.
Strange's letter noted that the law was still being litigated.
Strange set a Friday noon deadline for Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general for DOJ's civil rights division, to provide the legal authority for his request.
Last spring, the Alabama legislature passed the law known as HB 56 relating to illegal immigration and a federal judge allowed most of its provisions to go into effect, including a mandate for public schools to ask about the immigration status of students enrolling in the system. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit granted the Justice Department's request for an emergency injunction for that section of the law but allowed other controversial parts to continue being enforced.
Justice urges Alabama schools' compliance on immigrant laws
The Alabama Department of Education sent a memorandum to school districts recommending they wait for resolution of the issue between the state attorney and Justice Department before responding to the DOJ request.
In the days following the implementation of HB 56, the number of Latino students skipping class spiked.
Malissa Valdes, communication manager for the Alabama Department of Education, said the number of Latino absentees has since leveled off but remains several hundred higher than normal.
The Department of Education also released enrollment numbers for the current school year showing an overall decrease in the student population but a 2.8 percent increase in Latino students, who represent some 35,000 of the state's 740,000 students.
Valdes said the state tried to inform the districts of possible changes related to HB 56 while stressing that no student should be denied enrollment regardless of legal status.
"If everyone sticks exactly to what the law asks from them and they don't go beyond, then there should not be any danger to the education of all students that are welcomed, no matter what," Valdes said.
Allison Neal, the American Civil Liberties Union's legal director in Alabama, said she is happy the Justice Department is asking state educators to do what they can to prevent Latino students from becoming discouraged about attending school.
"We want to make sure students have the right to their education," Neal said.
Valdes said the state sent letters to the schools and to students' parents before and after the law was enacted to prevent confusion.
The ACLU declined to comment on Strange's response to the DOJ request.
Officials at Birmingham City Schools have tried to encourage parents to keep their children in our schools and have told them their children would not be affected by the immigration law, said Michaelle Chapman, the schools' director of communications, in a statement. "On the heels of the court decision allowing the law to go into effect, we sent an automated call to all parents explaining that no information would be collected regarding children who already were enrolled. The call went out in Spanish to our Latino families."
The Montgomery School District sent Spanish-speaking teachers to areas with large numbers of Latinos to encourage the families to continue to send their kids to school.
At Evergreen Estates, a mobile home park on the outskirts of Montgomery, parents awaiting the return of their kids from school said they were not aware that some parents were keeping their children home out of fear of the law.
A Guatemalan woman in the United States without legal papers said she had left from Georgia with her eighth-grade son when the state started talking about a similar law and was considering leaving Alabama, too.
"I hear they are looking for farm workers in Florida," she said.
But, she added, she had | [
"What to Feds want?",
"What did Alabama pass?",
"What does Attorney General Luther Strange say?",
"Who says being \"Perplexed and concerned\"?",
"Who is perplexed?"
] | [
[
"reduce illegal immigration."
],
[
"the law known as HB"
],
[
"he was \"perplexed and troubled\" about a request from the Justice Department for information about Alabama's schools."
],
[
"Attorney General Luther Strange"
],
[
"Attorney General Luther Strange"
]
] | Attorney General Luther Strange says he is "perplexed and troubled" over DOJ request .
Feds want to make sure that Alabama schools are not denying children equal access to schools .
Move comes after Alabama passes a controversial immigration law . |
Moscow (CNN) -- Ireland's expulsion of a Russian diplomat over spying allegations is "clearly an unfriendly step that will not go unanswered," Russia's deputy foreign minister said Wednesday, according to a report.
Vladimir Titov's remarks were reported by the state-run RIA-Novosti news agency. The ministry press office told CNN it was not aware of the comment and could not elaborate.
Ireland on Tuesday rebuked Russia for "completely unacceptable" behavior and expelled a diplomat after an investigation found that the Russian intelligence services had forged Irish passports, the government said.
An investigation by the Garda Siochana police force found the Russian intelligence services made "false documents based on the acquisition of details of six genuine passports belonging to Irish citizens," and effectively stole the identities of six Irish people, the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
The probe -- launched after last year's discovery of a Russian espionage operation in the United States -- found "an entirely persuasive picture" of such activities, the statement said.
The department's secretary general met with the Russian ambassador and informed him that it is "not the behavior the government would expect from a country with which we have friendly relations," the statement said.
"The ambassador was also told that the accreditation of a named member of his staff with diplomatic status is to be terminated. ... The individual in question has been asked to leave this jurisdiction by a specified date."
The statement added, "It is hoped that it will be possible to move on from this disturbing incident and to develop further the relationship between Ireland and the Russian Federation which is fundamentally strong and which has significant potential."
CNN's Maxim Tkachenko contributed to this report. | [
"What does deputy minister say?",
"What has the Deputy Minister said?",
"What did the deputy minister say?",
"When was investigation launched?",
"What was disturbing?"
] | [
[
"Ireland's expulsion of a Russian diplomat over spying allegations is \"clearly an unfriendly"
],
[
"step that will not go unanswered,\""
],
[
"step that will not go unanswered,\""
],
[
"last year's"
],
[
"incident"
]
] | Ireland's "unfriendly step" will "not go unanswered," a deputy minister says .
Ireland says a probe found Russian intelligence services forged passports .
Ireland calls the incident "disturbing"
The investigation was launched after Russian agents were discovered in the United States . |
Moscow (CNN) -- President Dmitry Medvedev has signed an order dismissing longtime Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, the Kremlin reported Monday on its website.
The state-run RIA-Novosti news agency said Kudrin had resigned amid a dispute with Medvedev.
The announcement came shortly after Medvedev had given Kudrin until the end of the day to decide whether to quit. "You need to make a decision quickly and tell me about it today," Medvedev told Kudrin during a session of the modernization commission in Dimitrovgrad.
Medvedev urged that Kudrin to "make up his mind about his political future," according to the non-governmental, Moscow-based Interfax news agency.
The president was reacting to a comment Kudrin is reported to have made in Washington. Citing differences with Medvedev, particularly related to defense spending, Kudrin said that he would not remain in a government led by Medvedev, Interfax said.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced Saturday he plans to return next year to the presidency and to name Medvedev as prime minister.
Kudrin, 50, had served as finance minister since 2000, during which time the government had paid off most of its foreign debt and created oil wealth funds that helped the nation weather the global economic problems of recent years, RIA-Novosti said.
-- Maxim Tkachenko contributed to this story | [
"Who has already signed the order dismissing Kurdin?",
"what has been credited?",
"The Finance Minister stepped down over differences with who?",
"Who has been credited with helping Russia weather the global downturn?",
"What has Medvedev already signed?",
"who steps down?",
"what does medvedev signed?"
] | [
[
"President Dmitry Medvedev"
],
[
"most of its foreign debt"
],
[
"Medvedev."
],
[
"Kudrin,"
],
[
"Kudrin,"
],
[
"Kudrin"
],
[
"an order dismissing longtime Finance Minister Alexei"
]
] | Russian Finance Minister Kudrin steps down over differences with Medvedev .
Medvedev has already signed the order dismissing Kurdin .
The economist has been credited with helping Russia weather the global downturn . |
Moscow (CNN) -- President Dmitry Medvedev said Friday he had ceded his presidency bid to the country's powerful Prime Minister Vladimir Putin because the latter is a more popular politician in Russia, who has higher chances to be elected.
"Prime Minister Putin is definitely the most authoritative politician in our country and his rating is somewhat higher (than mine)," Medvedev said in a taped interview with Russia's national TV networks.
Public opinion polls in Russia have invariably indicated that Putin has been ahead of Medvedev in popularity ever since they constructed their ruling tandem almost four years ago. According to the most recent poll, conducted by independent Levada Center, the approval rating of Medvedev stood at 62 per cent in September, compared to Putin's 68 per cent.
In his Friday television interview Medvedev said that he and Putin belong to "the same political force" and have "very close positions on all strategic and tactical issues" and therefore shouldn't compete or quarrel.
"Can we possibly imagine, for instance, (U.S. President) Barack Obama competing with (Secretary of State) Hillary Clinton?" Medvedev asked. "Both of them were bidding for the presidential nomination ... Both were from the Democratic Party, and (the party) finally decided which of them should run to gain the best election result. Our decision was the same," Medvedev said.
"We want to achieve a political result, to win the elections -- the parliamentary elections in December and the presidential elections in March -- not to be nursing our ambitions," Medvedev said. "Any responsible person's ambition is to serve his country, and I insist on that," he said.
Commenting on the statements made by some people that the outcome of the Russian presidential elections is "predetermined", Medvedev said, "I consider such statements absolutely irresponsible, deceitful, and even provocative."
"The decisions made at the congress are only recommendations to the party to support two people in the elections, no more than that," he said.
Last Saturday Medvedev called on the ruling United Russia party to endorse Putin for president in 2012. Putin in turn suggested that Medvedev should take over the role of prime minister if the party wins parliamentary elections in December, in what would be a straight swap of their roles.
The announcement ended more than two years of speculation about whether Putin or Medvedev, his hand-picked successor, would seek to run for a second term.
Putin had stepped down as president in 2008 because the Russian constitution at that time limited the office to two consecutive four-year terms.
Under amendments to the constitution that came into force on December 31, 2008, the presidential term was extended to six years.
This means that if Putin is elected in March 2012 for six years, he would be eligible to run for another six-year term after that, potentially keeping him in charge until 2024. | [
"Who does Medvedev say has a better chance of being elected?",
"who is Medvedev ?",
"What did Medvedev say?",
"Who has Putin suggested take over as prime minister?",
"Who has Putin suggested take over?",
"What does Putin belong to?"
] | [
[
"Prime Minister Vladimir Putin"
],
[
"President"
],
[
"powerful Prime Minister Vladimir Putin because the latter is a more popular politician in Russia, who has higher chances to be elected."
],
[
"Medvedev"
],
[
"Medvedev"
],
[
"\"the same political force\""
]
] | Medvedev says Putin has a better chance of being elected .
He says he and Putin belong to "the same political force"
Putin has suggested Medvedev take over as prime minister . |
Moscow (CNN) -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin accused U.S. drones and special forces of involvement in the death of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in comments Thursday.
He also attacked U.S. Sen. John McCain over a warning that Russia might follow the same path as Libya, suggesting McCain was not of sound mind following his time as a prisoner during the Vietnam War.
Putin's comments were prompted by a question during his traditional year-end question-and-answer program, broadcast live by state media.
Responding to a question about McCain purportedly predicting Putin would meet the same fate as Libya's leader, the Russian prime minister described the televised images of Gadhafi's final moments as "horrible, disgusting scenes" and pointed to U.S. involvement in his death.
"Is that democracy? Who did this? Drones, including those of the U.S., struck his motorcade and then commandos, who were not supposed to be there, called for the so-called opposition and militants by the radio, and he was killed without an investigation or trial," Putin said.
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta acknowledged the day after Gadhafi's death that "it was a U.S. drone combined with the other NATO planes that fired on the convoy" in which the Libyan leader was traveling outside the city of Sirte. But the Pentagon has denied that any U.S. forces were on the ground in a combat role in Libya.
When asked about McCain, Putin said he had met the senator from Arizona, but said the questioner's description of him as the prime minister's friend was "exaggerated."
He then questioned the mental state of McCain, who ran for U.S. president in 2008, saying he "was taken prisoner in Vietnam, and was held not just in jail, but was put in a pit where he was kept for several years -- any person under those circumstances would hardly remain mentally sane."
Shortly afterward, McCain himself jumped into the row via Twitter, posting: "Dear Vlad, is it something I said?" and linking to a news story headlining the Russian prime minister calling McCain "nuts."
The senator's earlier Twitter posts had linked to news stories suggesting Russia might be in line for its own version of the "Arab Spring" but did not appear to suggest Putin would meet the same fate as Gadhafi.
Putin's attack may be a response to critical comments made by McCain in the U.S. Senate last week.
McCain said his statement was a response to "the flawed Duma election that just occurred this weekend, and in light of my strong belief that the growing demand for dignity and uncorrupt governance that has defined the Arab world this year may impact Russia as well."
McCain highlighted "the unfortunate issue of Russia's continued back-sliding on human rights and democracy" and said the post-election protests were unsurprising given "the pattern of corruption and abuse that the Russian government has perpetrated over many years."
He also criticized Russia's "absolutely shameless" blocking of U.N. Security Council action on President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, despite widespread concerns over human rights abuses there.
"The demand for dignity, and justice, and democracy that is shaking the Arab world to its foundations will not be confined to that one region alone," he said, but will spread and demonstrate that change is possible. "And it appears that message may be resonating with people in Russia," he added.
In his televised remarks, Putin suggested that criticism of Russia was linked to its pursuit of "an independent foreign policy."
While his country had more friends than enemies in Europe, he said, "some would like to sideline Russia so that it doesn't get in the way of those wanting to dominate the globe."
Putin's latest comments come a week after he blamed the United States for encouraging opposition protests in the wake of Russia's parliamentary elections.
He said U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had criticized the elections as "neither fair not free -- even before receiving reports from international observers."
This had sent a signal to opposition figures | [
"what did mccain tweet",
"who critized russia",
"Who's death did Putin suggest the US had a role in?",
"Who did Putin question when it came to being sound of mind?",
"Who does McCain think is backliding on human rights?",
"what did putin suggest"
] | [
[
"\"Dear Vlad, is it something I said?\""
],
[
"McCain"
],
[
"Moammar Gadhafi"
],
[
"U.S. Sen. John McCain"
],
[
"Putin"
],
[
"McCain was not of sound mind"
]
] | NEW: McCain criticized Russia's "back-sliding on human rights and democracy" last week .
Vladimir Putin suggests U.S. drones and commandos had a role in Gadhafi's death .
The Russian prime minister questions Sen. John McCain's soundness of mind .
In response, McCain tweets: "Dear Vlad, is it something I said?" |
Moscow (CNN) -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin blamed the United States Thursday for encouraging opposition protests that have broken out since parliamentary elections Sunday.
His accusation followed comments by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this week on Russia's election in which she called for a "full investigation" of apparent irregularities.
The United States had "serious concerns about the conduct of the election," she said, at a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) in Europe Tuesday.
Speaking on state TV, Putin said Clinton had criticized the elections as "neither fair not free -- even before receiving reports from international observers."
This had sent a signal to opposition figures, Putin said, who "with the support of the U.S. State Department" then began "active work."
He told representatives of his All-Russian People's Front movement there was a difference between criticism from within the country and by outside players, and he said Russia should defend itself against "foreign interference."
Demonstrators have been protesting against what they describe as electoral fraud in Sunday's national vote, which kept Putin's United Russia party in power but significantly decreased the number of seats it holds in Parliament.
More than 20,000 people have signed up via Facebook for a protest in Moscow called "Saturday in Revolution Square." If it goes ahead as foreseen, it would be one of the largest opposition protests in the Russian capital in years.
Rallies are also being planned via Facebook in more than 90 other Russian cities Saturday, as well as in London, New York, Kiev, Ukraine, Paris, Geneva, Switzerland and Stockholm, Sweden.
In his remarks, Putin said that "if people are acting within law, they should be given a right to express their opinion," but he said the authorities should take action "by legal means" if they do breach the rules.
Speaking in Europe Thursday, Clinton stood by her comments, while recognizing the value the United States places on its relationship with Russia and the "real progress" made in a number of areas.
But, she added: "At the same time, the U.S. and others have a strong commitment to democracy and human rights, it's part of who we are, our values, and we expressed concerns we thought were well-founded about the conduct of the elections and we are supportive of the rights of the Russian people to realize a better future for themselves."
The OSCE also raised concerns over the conduct of the election in a preliminary report, saying some political parties had been prevented from running and the vote was "slanted in favor of the ruling party."
A draft report by the organization's election-observer mission detailed alleged attempts to stuff ballot boxes, manipulate voter lists and harass election monitors. The group, which monitors and promotes democracy and human rights, cited the lack of an independent body running the election or impartial news media.
There was also "undue interference of state authorities" in the vote, the 56-nation organization said in a statement.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton gave her backing to the OSCE observers' findings in a statement Wednesday, and she said she expected Russia to act on them.
She also voiced concern about the detention of hundreds of protesters following the election and "reports of police violence against activists, journalists and bystanders."
Criticism of the electoral process has also come from within Russia.
Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, called Wednesday for new parliamentary elections in Russia over concerns about vote fraud.
Spokesman Pavel Palezhchenko told CNN Gorbachev was "very concerned about how the situation in Russia is developing" and that the Russian people did not believe their will was reflected in the results.
But Margot Light, professor emeritus of international relations at the London School of Economics, said it was highly unlikely that any notice would be taken of Gorbachev's call.
"They won't re-run the election," she said, suggesting the Russian authorities would instead probably run a case-by-case investigation where there have been specific | [
"Who said that the US values its relationship with Russia?",
"How many people have signed up via Facebook for a protest in Moscow this Saturday?",
"Putin says Secretary Clinton's words sent a signal to who?",
"Putin thinks who sent a signal to opposition leaders?",
"How many people have signed a protest in moscow?",
"Clinton says the U.S. values its relationship with who?",
"How many people signed up on Facebook for a protest in Moscow?",
"When is the moscow protest?"
] | [
[
"Clinton"
],
[
"More than 20,000"
],
[
"opposition figures,"
],
[
"the United States"
],
[
"20,000"
],
[
"Russia"
],
[
"20,000"
],
[
"\"Saturday"
]
] | Clinton says the U.S. values its relationship with Russia but is committed to democracy .
Calls for Russia's parliamentary elections to be re-run will go unheeded, an analyst says .
Putin says Secretary Clinton's words sent a signal to opposition leaders .
More than 20,000 people have signed up via Facebook for a protest in Moscow this Saturday . |
Moscow (CNN) -- Russian election authorities officially registered Prime Minister Vladimir Putin Monday as a candidate for president in next year's election, they announced on their website.
Putin will represent his United Russia party, the Central Election Commission said.
The move is the latest step toward Putin's reclaiming the presidency after switching to the prime minister's office because of a law barring him from serving more than two consecutive terms as president.
Russia's third-richest man, the billionaire New Jersey Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov, announced this month that he will run against Putin for president.
Many ordinary Russians suspect the Kremlin put Prokhorov up to it to give the impression the contest is fair.
Last week, Putin brushed off widespread criticism that the December 4 parliamentary elections in Russia were falsified.
He said their results "reflect the actual line-up of forces in the country, as well as the fact that the ruling force -- the United Russia party -- has lost certain positions."
Tens of thousands turned out to protest the election results that returned Putin's United Russia party to power, but with a smaller majority.
Police estimated crowds in Moscow on December 10 at 25,000, while organizers said the total was 40,000, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported. Either figure would make the protests the largest in the Russian capital in 20 years.
Claiming the results of parliamentary elections were rigged, protesters chanted "Putin out."
They also braved freezing temperatures in other Russian cities to demonstrate against what they said was vote fraud.
Putin said in his question-and-answer session that protesters were positioning themselves for the presidential vote in March.
"It is obvious to me that the attacks on the latest election are secondary; their primary goal is the next election, the Russian presidential election," Putin said December 15.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation said in a preliminary report that some political parties had been prevented from running and the vote was "slanted in favor of the ruling party." Its election-observer mission detailed alleged attempts to stuff ballot boxes, manipulate voter lists and harass election monitors.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also said the United States had "serious concerns" about the election and called for a "full investigation" of apparent irregularities. | [
"Who says he will run against Putin?",
"who will run against putin?",
"What number of Russians demonstrated against election results",
"Who is angling to return to the office?",
"What man is angling to return to the office",
"What billionaire says he will run against Putin",
"what does putin deny?",
"Who claim the results were falsified?"
] | [
[
"Mikhail Prokhorov,"
],
[
"Mikhail Prokhorov,"
],
[
"Tens of thousands"
],
[
"Vladimir Putin"
],
[
"Vladimir Putin"
],
[
"Mikhail Prokhorov,"
],
[
"that the December 4 parliamentary elections in Russia were falsified."
],
[
"ordinary Russians"
]
] | Putin is angling to return to the office he used to hold .
Historic numbers of Russians demonstrated against election results this month .
They claim the results were falsified, but Putin denies it .
Billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov says he will run against Putin . |
Moscow (CNN) -- Tens of thousands of people took to the streets Saturday in Moscow, braving bitterly cold weather to demand fair elections after what they claim were rigged results earlier this month that returned Vladimir Putin's party to power.
The protest, organized primarily through social media and word of mouth, comes on the heels of an announcement by President Dmitry Medvedev of sweeping political reforms, an effort to address discontent following the December 4 parliamentary elections.
The latest mass protest follows one earlier this month, when tens of thousands of people across Russia turned out to protest the election results that kept Putin's ruling United Russia party in power, albeit with a smaller majority. Police estimated crowds in Moscow at 25,000, while organizers said at least twice as many participated.
The protests were considered -- among analysts and political observers -- the largest in Russia in the past two decades.
Turnout at Saturday's protests was even greater, organizers said.
Besides blasting election results, demonstrators spoke about the presidential vote scheduled next year, repeating a popular refrain: "Russia without Putin."
Dozens of protesters were detained across Russia on Saturday, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported. Ten activists were held in St. Petersburg, 22 in Nizhny Novgorod, and about 20 in Barnaul, it said.
Police put the number of protesters in central Moscow at 29,000, but organizers and RIA Novosti correspondents estimated the real number was several times higher, the news agency reported.
Speaking this week before the newly elected parliament members in the Kremlin's St. George Hall, Medvedev proposed that Russia return to direct elections of regional governors; simplify the registration of political parties and presidential candidates; and establish a new editorially independent national public TV channel.
Medvedev also called for lifting many of the political restrictions imposed in the past several years by his predecessor, Putin, Russia's current prime minister and a candidate in the March 2012 presidential elections.
He also announced a number of new anti-corruption measures and called for the redistribution of power and financial resources from the federal government to local governments across the country.
At the same time, he rejected widespread public criticism of the parliamentary elections, which critics say were marred by fraud and other irregularities, and blamed anti-Kremlin opposition figures for their "attempts to manipulate the people and foment social discord."
"We will not allow instigators and extremists to involve society in their reckless schemes, nor will we tolerate interference in our internal affairs from the outside," Medvedev said.
"Russia needs democracy, not chaos. We need to have a faith for the future and justice. It is a good sign that society is changing, and citizens are expressing their position more actively, setting legitimate demands to the authorities. It is a sign that our democracy is growing more mature."
Protest organizers said Medvedev, who announced the reforms during his fourth and final state-of-the-nation speech Thursday, failed to address what authorities are planning to do about the recent alleged voting fraud, as well as whether fair and free elections are guaranteed in the future. | [
"who are detained",
"What do the demonstrators want?",
"What election results will be announced?",
"What was the number of protesters?",
"where is calling for fair elections",
"when was the mass protest",
"What amount of protesters were detained?",
"How many braved the cold in Moscow to call for fair elections?"
] | [
[
"Dozens of protesters"
],
[
"fair elections"
],
[
"parliamentary"
],
[
"29,000,"
],
[
"Moscow,"
],
[
"Saturday in Moscow,"
],
[
"Dozens"
],
[
"Tens of thousands"
]
] | NEW: Dozens of protesters are detained, RIA Novosti reports .
Tens of thousands brave the bitter cold in Moscow to call for fair elections .
The mass protest follows one this month after parliamentary election results were announced .
Demonstrators want an investigation into this month's election results . |
Moscow (CNN) -- Two policemen were killed by a suicide car bomber in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Dagestan, the Dagestani Interior Ministry said on its website Monday.
The ministry said the officers were patrolling the town of Kizilyurt in a minivan around midnight when an unidentified bomber sitting in a parked Lada car set off an unidentified explosive device in his car as the police minivan was passing by.
The explosion left a crater 1.5 meters (5 feet) wide and 15 centimeters (6 inches) deep, the ministry said. The police minivan was burned out, the ministry said.
Dagestan has been hit by a series of deadly attacks recently, including fatal bombings and shootings.
It is the largest and most volatile of the five Northern Caucasus regions. Rebels continue to stage frequent attacks on security forces, police and civilians.
In August, the head of the Federal Security Service Alexandr Bortnikov told the Russian president that in the first six months of this year, 169 terrorist acts were committed, of which 110 took place in Dagestan.
In recent years, Dagestan has faced ethnic friction, spillover from the discord in neighboring Chechnya and attacks on government officials by militant Islamists, the International Crisis Group has said. | [
"who is the largest and most volatile of the five Northern Caucasus regions?",
"What happened while the officers were on patrol?",
"who leaves a crater 1.5 meters wide and 15 centimeters deep?",
"What size is the crater it left?",
"What left a crater 1.5 meters wide?",
"When did the bomb go off?",
"Where is Dagestan?",
"where was officers?"
] | [
[
"Dagestan"
],
[
"an unidentified bomber sitting in a parked Lada car set off an unidentified explosive device"
],
[
"The explosion"
],
[
"1.5 meters (5 feet) wide and 15 centimeters (6 inches) deep,"
],
[
"The explosion"
],
[
"around midnight"
],
[
"Russia's North Caucasus republic"
],
[
"patrolling the town of Kizilyurt in a minivan around midnight"
]
] | The officers were on patrol when a car bomber detonated a device .
The bombing leaves a crater 1.5 meters (5 feet) wide and 15 centimeters (6 inches) deep .
Dagestan is the largest and most volatile of the five Northern Caucasus regions . |
Moscow, Russia (CNN) -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin sent a strong signal Thursday that he has full hands-on control of his country. As part of his annual town hall forum, Putin spoke for four hours and fielded 80 questions out of 2 million-plus submitted on a live call-in program, "Conversation With Vladimir Putin -- Continued." Responding to a question on whether he had any plans to retire and enjoy the life of an ordinary citizen, Putin tersely replied, "Don't count on that." And when asked whether he plans to run for the presidency again in 2012, he said, "I will think about it. There is plenty of time for that." Speaking of his "tandem" with President Dmitry Medvedev, Putin said he had "known him for many years, graduated from the same universities, having been taught by the same professors." "Those common principles allow us to effectively work together," he said, responding to the never-ending speculation about which one of the duo is more important and whether a rift between them is possible. Putin juggled a myriad of facts and statistics, giving instructions to subordinates along the way to fix problems, as he responded to questions mostly on Russia's domestic issues. These covered pensions, medication prices, the overhauling of entire industries and Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization, Amur tigers and hip-hop music, and everything in between. The program was broadcast live on government television and radio. It marked Putin's eighth annual year-end "town meeting," first launched in 2001 when he was president. This year's forum was his second as prime minister. Representatives from all Russian industries as well as university students packed the auditorium in Gostiny Dvor, a large conference hall next door to the Kremlin, where Putin appeared. Putin took questions from the hall's floor, with live cameras positioned in towns and cities across Russia, and he also responded to phone calls, e-mails and mobile SMS messages. He started off by addressing the issue of terrorism, coming nearly a week after the derailment of a luxury Moscow-St.Petersburg express train, which left 26 people dead and more than 100 injured. Russia's Federal Security Service said an improvised explosive device, which unknown bombers placed beneath the railroad bed, caused Friday's derailment. It was the biggest terror act outside Russia's troubled North Caucasus region since 2004. "We did a lot [in recent years] to break the backbone of terrorism, but the threat has not been eliminated yet," Putin said. "The entire society, each of us, should be conscious of this threat and be vigilant." Addressing the economy, Putin said the peak of the global economic crisis has passed, "although turbulent trends in the global and, as a result, the Russian economy, are still in place." "It will take time and effort to overcome the crisis," he said. The past year has been "one of the most difficult" for Russia in this decade, Putin added, saying the 2009 gross domestic product will shrink by 8.5 percent to 8.7 percent. The slump in the country's industry will be even bigger, he said, around 13 percent, but the projected inflation for 2009 will be lower than in the past year, about 9 percent. The prime minister also cited what he called "positive developments" in the Russian economy. He said some industries, such as military hardware production and agriculture, are even growing. In the arena of international politics, Putin told a questioner that he and former President George W. Bush had a good relationship but have not been in touch. The prime minister described Bush as a "very honest and nice person," saying that if the ex-U.S. leader wanted to continue their relationship, he would be glad to do so. Putin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, said the wide range of issues on which Russians posed questions "provides an excellent instrument for sociological study, | [
"who called bush an honest person",
"what does Putin dismiss?",
"did putin say anything",
"What does Putin call Bush?",
"Will Putin retire?",
"Does Putin actually like George Bush?",
"who works well together?"
] | [
[
"Putin"
],
[
"any plans to retire and enjoy the life of an ordinary citizen,"
],
[
"spoke for four hours and fielded 80 questions out of 2 million-plus submitted on a live call-in program,"
],
[
"\"very honest and nice person,\""
],
[
"\"Don't count on that.\""
],
[
"good relationship"
],
[
"Medvedev, Putin"
]
] | Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin dismisses notion of retiring at town hall forum .
Putin: "Common principles" let him, President Dmitry Medvedev work well together .
Putin calls George W. Bush a "very honest and nice person"
Putin says it will take time to overcome global financial crisis . |
Moscow, Russia (CNN) -- Thousands of opposition demonstrators marched in front of the parliament building in Kiev, Ukraine, Saturday, protesting a deal reached earlier this week to extend Russia's military presence in the former Soviet Republic, national news media reported.
Parliamentary opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko -- the former prime minister who lost to Viktor Yanukovych in the presidential election run-off in February -- told protesters Saturday that the ratification of the treaty must be prevented at all costs.
She claimed that Yanukovych is "selling out" Ukraine, has "openly embarked on the path of destruction of [Ukraine's] national interests, and has actually begun the process of eliminating the state's sovereignty," according to a transcript of the speech on her website.
After the deal was signed Wednesday by Yanukovych and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Tymoshenko said it violated part of the Ukrainian Constitution, which forbids the country from hosting foreign military bases after 2017.
Saturday, protesters reportedly adopted a resolution calling the agreement an "unprecedented act of national treason and disgrace," and calling on all opposition groups to unite against it.
According to Tymoshenko's website, some 10,000 people gathered at the rally. But Ukrainian national news agency UNIAN estimated the number of protesters at 5,000.
The deal extends Russia's lease of a major naval base in the Black Sea port of Sevastopol, Ukraine, for an additional 25 years, in exchange for a 30 percent cut in the price of natural gas that Russia sells to Ukraine.
The agreement may bring an end to years of disputes over natural gas prices, which culminated in Russia turning off the pipeline to Ukraine. The dispute affected not only Ukrainians, but many Europeans who depend on Russian gas pumped through Ukraine.
The two countries had been at odds ever since the "Orange Revolution" swept Yanukovych's fiercely anti-Russian predecessor Viktor Yushchenko to power in 2005.
Throughout his time in office, Yushchenko repeatedly threatened to expel Russia's Black Sea Fleet from Sevastopol. The Russian military lease there was scheduled to expire in 2017.
"The prolongation of the Black Sea Fleet's presence in Sevastopol is essential to Russia," Yanukovych said Wednesday. "We understand that the Black Sea Fleet will be one of the guarantors of security on the Black Sea."
The Kremlin-friendly Yanukovych, who hails from predominantly Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine, trounced Yushchenko in national elections last January.
The Russian president said the new deal added a "concrete and pragmatic dimension" to centuries of relations between Ukrainians and Russians.
Opposition groups in Ukraine, however, were quick to denounce the agreement. Yuschenko's "Our Ukraine" party said the treaty would lead to the "Russification" of Ukraine.
Opposition activists decided Saturday to stage another protest in front of parliament April 27, when the deal will be put to a ratification vote.
CNN's Ivan Watson and Maxim Tkachenko contributed to this report. | [
"What deals was on for Ruusia?",
"Who gets 30 percent cut in price of natural gas from Russia?",
"Who were marching in Kiev and why?",
"Who march in Kiev?",
"Which countries had been at odds during previous Ukraine administration?",
"What Ukraine gets from the deal with Russia?"
] | [
[
"to extend Russia's military presence in the former Soviet Republic,"
],
[
"Ukraine."
],
[
"Thousands of opposition demonstrators"
],
[
"opposition demonstrators"
],
[
"Russia"
],
[
"30 percent cut in the price of natural gas"
]
] | Opposition demonstrators march in Kiev protesting deal over Russian military presence .
Deal extends Russia's lease of naval base in Black Sea port for 25 years .
In exchange, Ukraine gets 30 percent cut in price of natural gas from Russia .
Ukraine and Russia had been at odds during previous Ukraine administration . |
Moscow, Russia (CNN) -- Investigators have found "elements of an explosive device" at the site of the derailment of an express train in Russia and believe an act of terror caused the deadly incident. The derailment killed at least 26 people and injured about 100, but there was no immediate word on who or what group might have been behind the action. "One can say with certainty that that was indeed an act of terror," Vladimir Markin, spokesman for the investigative committee of the Russian prosecutor's office, told CNN. He would not elaborate on exactly what kind of "elements of an explosive device" the investigators discovered earlier, but said the crater found beneath the railroad bed was "1.5 meter by 1 meter in size." Later Saturday morning, a second device went off on nearby tracks going the opposite direction, Vladimir Yakunin, head of Russian Railways, told Russian TV. He said no one was injured in the smaller explosion. Markin said investigators are "studying the site of the accident, questioning the witnesses and conducting all kinds of forensic and technical examinations." Federal Security Service Director Alexander Bortnikov said, "Criminology experts have come to a preliminary conclusion that there was an explosion of an improvised explosive device equivalent to seven kilos of TNT. "Several leads are being pursued now. A criminal case has been opened under Article 205 ("terrorism") and Article 22 ("illegal possession or storage of weapons or explosives") of the Russian Criminal Code." Russian Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev said on TV that there are possible suspects in this crime. "There are several people who could be involved in this crime," he said. One of them, he said, is a "stocky-built man of about 40 years old, with red hair." "There are some traces left at the crime scene which could help in the investigation," he said. "We are getting a lot of information now, and I am very thankful for people who have responded to our requests to render their assistance in investigating this crime." A total of 681 people -- 20 of them employees -- were on the Nevsky Express as it traveled from Moscow to St. Petersburg on Friday night. The Nevsky Express is Russia's fastest train, equivalent to a bullet train. The crash happened at 9:25 p.m. (1825 GMT) when the train was 280 kilometers (174 miles) from St. Petersburg, Russian state radio said. At least three carriages carrying more than 130 people derailed and turned on their sides, and emergency workers were working to free anyone who may still be trapped inside. Yakunin told Russian TV that the company will pay a compensation of 500,000 rubles ($17,240) to the victims' families and 200,000 rubles ($6,897) to those injured. The crash happened 44 minutes after another high-speed train, the Sapsan, had successfully traveled from Moscow to St. Petersburg on the same rails, a representative of the Russian Transport Police said during a video conference call Saturday. In August 2007, an explosion on the tracks derailed the Nevsky Express, injuring 60 people in what authorities called a terrorist act. About 27,000 passengers on 60 trains were facing delays Saturday as a result of the accident, Russian State TV reported. CNN's Maxim Tkachenko contributed to this report | [
"\"elements of an explosive device\" were found where?",
"How many people were killed?",
"Are there any suspects yet?",
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[
"derailment of an express train in Russia"
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[
"280 kilometers (174 miles) from St. Petersburg,"
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] | Investigators probing derailment of train in Russia say they have found "elements of an explosive device"
At least 26 people killed and 100 hurt in derailment between Moscow and St. Petersburg .
No immediate word on who or what group might have been behind the action . |
Moscow, Russia (CNN) -- Russian investigators have identified the second suicide bomber in last week's fatal Moscow subway attacks as Maryam Sharipova, a 28-year-old schoolteacher from Dagestan, authorities said Tuesday.
Sharipova was born in the village of Balakhani, in Dagestan, a predominantly Muslim republic that lies beside Chechnya, in southern Russia, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Prosecutor's Office told CNN. Like Chechnya, Dagestan has been troubled for years by radical Islamic violence.
The committee said it identified Sharipova through forensic medical examinations.
Sharipova and another female bomber, Dzhennet Abdullayeva, detonated their explosives about 40 minutes apart on the morning of March 29. The blasts ripped through the Lubyanka and Park Kultury stations in central Moscow, killing 40 people and wounding more than 80. An estimated 500,000 people were riding trains in the capital at the time of the attacks.
Sharipova triggered a homemade explosive device at Lubyanka subway station, the investigative committee said.
Russian law enforcement bodies are continuing their "investigative and operational search actions to determine and arrest the organizers and masterminds behind the terrorist act," the committee said.
The woman's father, Rasul Magomedov, was flown to Moscow to identify the remains of what was believed to be his daughter, an investigative committee official told CNN on condition of anonymity.
Magomedov's account and forensic analyses left no doubt that the body was that of Sharipova, the official said.
Independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported Sunday in an exclusive article that Magomedov had identified his daughter in a photograph that was published on the Internet last week. The photograph was described as that of a dead unidentified suicide bomber of the Lubyanka metro station. Magomedov was sent the photograph on his mobile phone, the newspaper said.
"My wife and I have immediately recognized our daughter, Maryam," Magomedov told the newspaper in the article, which was reprinted across Russian media. "When my wife had seen our daughter last, she had been wearing that same red scarf that is depicted on the photograph," he said. "We didn't know her whereabouts ..."
Magomedov said he'd seen his daughter for the last time on March 26, while his wife had seen her in the afternoon of March 28, which was less than 24 hours before the deadly bombing.
Several other people who knew Sharipova also recognized her in the photograph, Novaya Gazeta said.
Sharipova -- who, like the other children in her family, was given the last name of her grandfather, Sharipov -- was born into a teachers family.
Her father teaches Russian language and literature at a local school in Balakhani. His wife teaches biology there.
Sharipova attended the same school her parents work in, the newspaper reported. She later graduated from a university in 2005 with a degree in mathematics and another in psychology, the newspaper reported. Recently, she had been teaching computer science at a local school.
"We still can't believe what happened," her father said, according to Novaya Gazeta. "We can't even imagine how she appeared in Moscow."
According to the newspaper, Magomedov described his daughter as "quite pious," but he said she never expressed any radical views.
"I totally rule out that someone might have manipulated her psychologically," he said, noting that she was a certified psychologist, the newspaper reported. "She lived with us, worked as a schoolteacher and led an open life," he said.
A person who knows the Magomedov family very well told the newspaper that Sharipova was a "calm and confident person."
The person, who was not identified, said that no one "ever heard her expressing any extremist opinions or displaying imbalanced behavior."
On Tuesday, Russian state television, citing law enforcement sources, said Sharipova had been the wife of 35-year-old Magomedali Vagabov, a local rebel leader who has been fighting government forces since the 1990s, and who reports directly to Dokku Umarov, the top Chechen rebel, who took responsibility for the bombings.
The investigative committee would not comment on the report.
Russian state television | [
"Who detonated their explosived about 40 minutes apart?",
"Who do the reports identify?",
"Who did the authorities identify as the first bomber?",
"What was she responsible for?",
"Who was identified as first bomber?",
"how many female detonated?",
"Who do reports identify?"
] | [
[
"Sharipova and another female bomber, Dzhennet Abdullayeva,"
],
[
"Maryam Sharipova,"
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[
"Dzhennet Abdullayeva,"
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"fatal Moscow subway attacks"
],
[
"Dzhennet Abdullayeva,"
],
[
"Sharipova and another"
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[
"Maryam Sharipova,"
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] | Reports identify Maryam Sharipova, a graduate of Dagestan State University .
Reports say she was responsible for the bombing at the Lubyanka station .
Two female bombers detonated their explosives about 40 minutes apart .
Authorities identified first bomber as fellow Dagestan native Dzhennet Abdullayeva . |
Moscow, Russia (CNN) -- Russian police released photographs Tuesday of two women suspected of being the suicide bombers who killed at least 39 people on the Moscow metro a day earlier.
Special services are also seeking three suspected accomplices of the bombers, Russian state TV reported, citing Moscow police spokesman Viktor Biryukov.
They are hunting for a 30-year-old man from the Northern Caucasus who was seen on security cameras wearing dark clothes and a black baseball cap, and two women, aged 22 and 45, both ethnic Slavs, who allegedly assisted the man, state TV reported.
Investigators believe that the three suspects accompanied the suicide bombers when they entered the metro, the report said.
They also believe Chechen rebels may have been behind the deadly strike, although nobody has claimed responsibility.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Moscow would "restore order by the use of force" in the region, as part of its "quest to eliminate terrorists and bandits" there.
But it was harder to root out corruption and clan structures, and to build an education system, he said in remarks televised by Russian state TV from his country residence.
"Those are the things that are much more difficult to handle. But it is our task and we will be dealing with those issues no matter what," he said.
Meanwhile, the Russian-backed leader of Chechnya wrote in a newspaper article Tuesday that terrorists who target innocent civilians must be "poisoned like rats."
"We have always believed and we continue to believe that terrorists must be hunted down and found in their lairs, they must be poisoned like rats, they must be crushed and destroyed," Ramzan Kadyrov wrote in the Russian daily Izvestia, a day after the deadly rush-hour attacks in two Moscow subway stations.
"The struggle against terrorists must involve the toughest measures and defeating this evil with only persuasion and educational measures is impossible."
Moscow paused to mourn its dead Tuesday, and flags across the city were lowered to half staff as hundreds of thousands of commuters returned to the transit system. Authorities said the attacks killed at least 39 people -- an increase of one since Monday -- and wounded more than 60 others.
Television stations canceled entertainment programming for the day, while some also pulled commercials.
After being closed most of the day, both stations that were bombed reopened around 5 p.m. (9 a.m. ET) Monday, said Veronica Smolskaya, a spokeswoman for the Russian Emergencies Ministry. A heavy security presence was apparent throughout the subway network as police officers were visible on train platforms.
"Our preliminary assessment is that this act of terror was committed by a terrorist group from the North Caucasus region," said Alexander Bortnikov of the Federal Security Service, in reference to the investigation at one of the blast sites.
The current round of the Russia-Chechnya conflict dates back nearly 20 years, with Chechens having laid claim to land in the Caucasus Mountains region. Thousands have been killed and 500,000 Chechen people have been displaced by the fighting.
Chechnya is located in the North Caucasus region of Russia between the Black and Caspian seas.
Monday's blasts tore through the Lubyanka and Park Kultury stations in central Moscow -- the female bombers detonating their explosives about 40 minutes apart, starting just before 8 a.m. (12 a.m. ET).
An estimated 500,000 people were riding trains throughout the capital at the time of the attacks.
CNN's Matthew Chance, Claire Sebastian and Max Tkachenko contributed to this report. | [
"Who returned to Moscow?",
"What were lowered to mourn the dead across moscow?",
"Who else seeking the authorities?",
"What did Russian police release?",
"What images did Russian police release?",
"What are authorities seeking?",
"What sex are the suspects?"
] | [
[
"commuters"
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],
[
"photographs Tuesday of two women suspected of being"
],
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[
"women"
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] | Russian police release images of two women suspected of being the bombers .
Authorities are also seeking three suspected accomplices of the bombers .
Hundreds of thousands of commuters return to Moscow subway after bombing .
Flags across city lowered to half staff as Moscow pauses to mourn dead . |
Motozintla, MEXICO (CNN) -- "My life was sad before because I had to crawl on the ground," recalls Caesar Morales, a 24-year-old father in Mexico who, until recently, had only one limb and couldn't walk. David Puckett's nonprofit has provided free artificial limbs, orthopedic braces and care to more than 420 people. But today, thanks to David Puckett and his U.S.-based nonprofit, Morales has new prosthetic legs. Now, he's not only able to walk, but his newfound independence has made it possible for him to move to another town where he could find work. "He lifted me up to where I am today," Morales says. Morales isn't the only person in southeastern Mexico who credits Puckett with changing his life. Since November 2000, the certified, licensed prosthetist/orthotist from Savannah, Georgia, has been providing artificial limbs, orthopedic braces and ongoing care to hundreds in need in the communities of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and Chiapas -- free of charge. "When someone loses a limb they immediately know what they've lost," says Puckett. "The goal is to restore the healthy self image again so that that person can see themselves whole." Puckett first connected with the Yucatan people while volunteering on a mission there as a teenager. Struck by the overwhelming poverty and the physical challenges he saw people facing in the rural communities, Puckett vowed to return and make a difference there. "When I finally got into the field of orthotics and prosthetics, I said, 'Ah-ha. Now, I know what I can do.' " His nonprofit, PIPO Missions: Limbs and Braces to Mexico, collects donated, used orthopedic braces and artificial limbs in the United States and crafts new ones from their recycled components. On average, Puckett makes a six-day trip every two months to distribute the custom prosthetics and braces, while also providing ongoing care. "To deliver an artificial limb or brace without follow-up doesn't help that person in the long run," says Puckett. "We need to make sure that they have what they need to continue living successfully for years to come." Over the course of his 41 trips to the region, Puckett has helped more than 420 individuals. He's found that word of his work spreads fast through the villages and people will drive hours to attend his clinics. Puckett's trips are routinely extended to accommodate house calls to immobile residents of distant towns. Watch how Puckett brings prosthetic and orthotic care to people in Mexico » "Someone might say, 'I wanna bring 10 people with me next time you come.' The mixed blessing is they'll bring 50 or 100 people that have physical needs," says Puckett. "The difficulty for me is, how do I say no?" For Puckett, each trip demonstrates the immeasurable impact he is making on people's lives. Stories of previously unimagined independence, confidence and employment greet him from clinical waiting areas, often along with offerings of food, livestock and friendship. When his group helps one person, Puckett explains, it has an effect on an entire community. Watch Puckett describe how one patient in Mexico crafted himself a homemade foot » "It opens a whole other door for many of these folks to experience the world in a way in which they've never even dreamt of," says Puckett. "And the world has an opportunity to greet them, accept them and welcome them back into society. So, it's a double blessing." Watch Puckett describe how he helped a woman now known as "the miracle girl" » In between trips, Puckett also spends time soliciting the aid of surgeons, as he frequently encounters physical conditions that require surgery before prosthetic help can be successfully administered. "If we had a surgeon here, we could see eight to 10 patients in a weekend and change their lives forever," he says. "It's tough for people to make the choice to give up time with their families and a portion of their | [
"Area the organization has helped hundreds?",
"How many people has David Puckett helped?",
"Who does the nonprofit provide limbs to?",
"Who runs the nonprofit organization that provides free artificial limbs?",
"What dies David Puckett's nonprofit provide?",
"What is the name of the organization?",
"What does David Puckett's charity do?",
"Where does this organization operate?",
"What does Puckett's organization do?",
"What has helped organization since November 2000",
"Where does the organization make the limbs?",
"Since when has the organization been running?"
] | [
[
"Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and Chiapas"
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[
"more than 420"
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"hundreds in need in the communities of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and Chiapas"
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] | David Puckett's nonprofit provides free artificial limbs, braces and care .
Since November 2000 the organization has helped hundreds in southeastern Mexico .
Puckett's organization crafts the braces and artificial limbs from recycled ones . |
Mount Everest, Nepal (CNN) -- Even from more than 21,000 feet up the world's tallest mountain, 13-year-old Jordan Romero couldn't resist the opportunity to greet his mother in a live television broadcast Monday.
"Hi, Mom," Romero said with a wave of his hand during the interview broadcast on CNN from the advance base camp on Mount Everest in Nepal.
The interview followed the first day of real climbing in Romero's attempt to become the youngest person ever to reach the summit of Everest, 29,028 feet (8,847 meters) above sea level.
Accompanied by his father and his father's girlfriend, and backed by a team of sherpas and yaks that helped transport their 2,000 kilograms (4,400 pounds) of gear, Romero needed 13 days just to reach the point where real climbing began.
Paul Romero, Jordan's father, said the first day of the actual ascent Monday required technical climbing in tough weather conditions, including ice and snow.
For Jordan, it's all part of the journey.
"It could take ... a couple of weeks or a couple of years," he said, sitting in a tent wearing a parka and fluorescent yellow cap, and with a blue sleeping bag over his legs. "This is the first of many attempts."
His initial impressions? The trip is both hard and great.
"It's Mount Everest. It's a tough mountain. The altitude is tough," Romero said. "It's both physically and technically hard. There's a lot of new things."
At the same time, "I've been able to see Mount Everest from wherever I go. I'm already happy with that."
In addition, Romero said, he was learning "a lot about culture, politics, religion, people, everything about Nepal and China."
"So it's been such a great trip, and I've learned so much from it," he said.
Paul Romero praised his son's climbing Monday, noting that they spent 10 hours on ice and snow.
"Knock on wood, everybody's healthy," the elder Romero said, adding: "Jordan today had a stellar day."
Before they started, Jordan said he wanted to climb Everest for himself and to inspire more young people to get outdoors.
"Obese children are the future of America, the way things are going," he said on April 9 in Kathmandu. "I am hoping to change that by doing what I do: climbing and motivational speaking. I want to motivate children and inspire them to get outdoors."
With a smile, he added: "I am doing this a little for myself, too, to do something big."
Romero has climbed five of the seven highest peaks on seven continents, known as the Seven Summits.
Having a very encouraging father and his girlfriend, who have gone around the world participating in climbing expeditions and competing in endurance racing competitions, certainly helps.
"This is not an isolated vacation," Paul Romero said before the climbing began. "This is a lifestyle. We travel everywhere and climb together."
The family started tackling the Seven Summits in summer 2005. Jordan was just 9 when they climbed the 19,341 feet to the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
Since there is a debate about whether the tallest mountain in Oceania is Kosciuszko in mainland Australia or Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia, Jordan and his family climbed both.
The only peak left for the adventurers to climb after Everest is the Vinson Massif in Antarctica; a trip is planned for December.
The idea to climb the Seven Summits came to Jordan when he saw a mural of the mountains in the hallway of his school when he was 9. Before sharing his dream with his father, he did all the necessary research and only two weeks later told him of his ambition.
"I was very shocked he even knew what the Seven Summits were," Paul Romero recalled. "But then, he is a complete nature fanatic."
Jordan's | [
"What culture is he learning about?",
"what does the 13-year-old Californian aim to be?",
"where is he learning",
"What mountain will the 13-year-old climb?",
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"what cultures is he learning about?"
] | [
[
"Nepal and China.\""
],
[
"youngest person ever to reach the summit of Everest,"
],
[
"advance base camp on Mount Everest in Nepal."
],
[
"Mount Everest,"
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[
"Nepal"
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[
"Nepal and China.\""
]
] | 13-year-old Californian aims to become youngest to climb world's highest mountain .
"It's both physically and technically hard," he says .
But he is learning a lot about culture and people of China, Nepal . |
Mountain View, California (CNN) -- At this moment we have reached a major turning point for both science and the public at large. The SETI Institute is now offering the world the first taste of raw SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) data collected by the Allen Telescope Array in California. With this we move closer to fulfilling the institute's mission, which is to search for our beginnings and our place among the stars
Throughout the institute's 25-year history (we are a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to scientific research, education and public outreach), we have analyzed these raw data with custom algorithms operating on semi-custom hardware. Now we are transitioning to readily available hardware and servers because technology has caught up to us -- hooray!
In the future, we hope that a global army of open-source code developers, students and other experts in digital signal processing, as well as citizen scientists willing to lend their intelligence to our exploration, will have access to the same technology and join our quest.
As I look at my team at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, and at a handful of other SETI teams around the globe, I see very clever individuals who have been willing to forgo the traditional challenges and rewards of academic research to work on a program of immense potential -- to do work that can literally change the world. Many see SETI as a fascinating avocation, but few indeed are willing to make it their vocation.
Read more about Jill Tarter at TED.com
In 2009, when TED awarded me its TED prize and the opportunity to make a wish to change the world - -a wish they would help me fulfil l -- I thought of a mirror. It is the mirror that we hold up to the planet in our scientific search for the answer to the ancient question, 'Are we alone?' It is the mirror in which all humans can see themselves as the same, when compared to the extraterrestrial other. It's the mirror that allows us to alter our daily perspectives and see ourselves in a more cosmic setting. It is the mirror that reminds us of our common origins in stardust.
TED and technology are helping me and my team hold up that mirror to all inhabitants of this planet so that we can see our reflection as Earthlings. I told TED that "I wish that you would empower Earthlings everywhere to become active participants in the ultimate search for cosmic company."
Soon it will be time for you to get involved by participating at setiQuest.org, a website that will make available the results that we get from our telescopes. Right now the site is geared to those knowledgable about digital signal processing, but in the coming months, anyone -- from a child playing a setiQuest game to an interested adult -- can join the search for intelligent life in the cosmos.
It's been 50 years since Philip Morrison and Guiseppe Cocconi published their seminal scientific paper on SETI in the journal Nature, and since Frank Drake first used the Tatel telescope in Green Bank, West Virginia, to attempt to detect any radio signals from technologies he thought could be orbiting the nearby stars of Tau Ceti and Epsilon Eridani. Since then, only those of us privileged enough to use the marvelous tools of the astronomer have been able to shape this pursuit of cosmic company.
For the past decade, you and any other person around the globe have been able to leave your computer turned on and search through data recorded at large radio telescopes with the SETI@home screen saver. But you couldn't change or improve the search your computer was enabling, you couldn't get involved creatively. You didn't have to see your reflection in the cosmic mirror.
Now that computing has gotten fast enough, now that Amazon Web Services, Dell, Intel, Google and others have donated resources to the SETI Institute, my team and I can benefit from your skills and your energy. You can help us with our search.
Access the raw data we have published at setiQuest and show us how to process it in new ways, find signals that our current signal detection algorithms are missing.
This summer, when we openly publish | [
"What did Jill Tarter say that the SETI Institute is offering?",
"Jill Tarter says the SETI Institute is offering the world what?",
"She said technology has enabled nonscientists to help search for what?",
"what seti means"
] | [
[
"the first taste of raw"
],
[
"(Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) data collected by the Allen Telescope Array in California."
],
[
"our beginnings and our place among the stars"
],
[
"(Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence)"
]
] | Jill Tarter says the SETI Institute is offering the world raw cosmic data from its telescopes .
She said technology has enabled nonscientists to help search for extraterrestrial life .
When the setiQuest site is fully developed, even kids will be able to search data .
Tarter: More people combing data means a greater possibility of finding signs of life . |
NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- An Al Qaeda-linked militant group waging war against Somalia's fragile government is becoming an increasing threat to Western ally Kenya and could potentially destabilize the region with dire consequences for global security, officials and analysts warn. Al-Shabab fighters count their bullets in neighborhood of Mogadishu. Al-Shabaab, one of the strongest Islamic militias battling for control of Mogadishu, has gained ground in recent weeks, according to officials, and has started to flex its muscles beyond Somalia's border with terror strikes, kidnappings and recruitment drives. They warn that unless the world takes action the group, which wants to impose an extreme type of Islamic sharia law, could extend its grip across parts of East Africa to gain control of a region that flanks busy shipping routes already plagued by Somali pirates Appeals by Somalia's government for international help to unpick its long-running civil conflict have escalated Al-Shabaad's threats with the group behind warnings of an attack on the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. And, say experts, the group is being backed by foreign fighters -- some said to have links to Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda network -- a situation that draws direct comparisons with the group's influence in pre-9/11 Afghanistan. "Al-Shabaab is a threat to the whole world," Somali Information Minister Farhan Ali Mohamoud told CNN. "First to Somalia, to the neighborhood, and to everywhere they have disagreed with." Watch more on Somalian threat » Mohamoud, whose transitional government has largely failed in its long-term goal of reconciling Somalia's militias, concedes Al-Shabaab is making major gains on his administration and says the global community must act to prevent their threat escalating. "Somalia's problems are not for Somalia alone to solve. Not only for the African Union to solve. It is a global and regional issue. We are very appreciative that the international community understands that, but they need to act now, rather than later." "The issue is not Somalis taking over from other Somalis. But the issue is foreign jihadists imposing their ideas into the region. So Somalia can be a launching pad for a greater and wider jihadist issue." Kenyan government spokesman Alfred Mutua told CNN his country did not yet fear direct attacks from Al-Shabaab but said it was becoming increasingly alarmed about its activities and its links to foreign networks. Despite the concerns, Mutua said the problem was nothing new and while his country struggled to exert control over its porous border with Somalia, it was taking steps to limit the danger. But he warned the threat was not limited to Kenya and could have global reach. "We do believe that Al-Shabaab poses a threat, not only to Kenya, but to all neighboring countries such as Ethiopia and Eritrea," he said. "It is not just a problem that we foresee in Kenya, just because we are neighbors to them, it is a problem that we foresee that may occur to a lot of countries and also poses a threat to outside even this region," he added. "Our concern is not limited to Al-Shabaab. We know that Al-Shabaab are not able to do it without foreign intervention in terms of money and weapons that they are getting from other countries." Ernst Jan Hogendoorn, an analyst with the International Crisis Group, told CNN that while Al-Shabaab had whipped up concerns with headline grabbing acts such as the recent kidnap of two French citizens in Mogadishu and three aid workers on the Kenyan side of the border, countries such as Kenya should pay heed. "I think that Kenya could do a much better job. There is always the possibility that someone could sneak across the border and launch an attack against a soft target. Obviously Kenya has been the target of attacks in the past that are very, very challenging to prevent." But, says Hogendoorn, with an African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia proving largely ineffective, and Ethiopian military presence withdrawn in January ahead of an Al-Shabaab push, Kenyan military involvement was unlikely to offer any | [
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"what do experts warn of",
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"who is one of strongest Islamic militias",
"Who says danger is to region and world despite threats on Nairobi?"
] | [
[
"all neighboring countries such as Ethiopia and Eritrea,\""
],
[
"an attack on the Kenyan capital, Nairobi."
],
[
"that unless the world takes action the group, which wants to impose an extreme type of Islamic sharia law, could extend its grip across parts of East Africa to gain control"
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[
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[
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[
"one of the strongest Islamic militias"
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[
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[
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[
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],
[
"Al-Shabaab,"
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[
"Al-Shabab"
],
[
"Al-Shabaab,"
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[
"it was taking steps to limit the"
],
[
"An Al Qaeda-linked militant group waging war against Somalia's fragile government"
],
[
"Al-Shabaab,"
],
[
"Al-Shabaab,"
]
] | Experts, officials warn of growing threat from Somali militant group .
Al-Shabaab is one of strongest Islamic militias battling for Mogadishu .
Kenya says danger is to region and world despite threats on Nairobi . |
NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- Ethnic fighting once again engulfed Kenya's western Rift Valley on Sunday as witnesses and Red Cross officials reported brutal attacks by members of President Mwai Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe on other ethnic groups. Police attempt to secure a street in Naivasha, where violence flared on Sunday. The violence spread to the Rift Valley town of Naivasha on Sunday, where the Red Cross said there were reports of people being burned alive in their homes. Kenya's main opposition party and the Red Cross said as many as 30 people were killed. Ethnic killings continued in the nearby Rift Valley town of Nakuru, where another 47 people have died since the latest wave of violence began on Thursday, according to the opposition Orange Democratic Movement. The opposition death toll is much higher than police figures, which do not include Sunday's violence in Naivasha. Police say 31 people have died in the Rift Valley region since last Thursday. Watch CNN's Zain Verjee report on the violence » In a statement released Sunday, ODM leader Raila Odinga condemned reports of 30 people being burned alive in their Naivasha homes and blamed the Kibaki government for fomenting the violence in the region. "I condemn this murderous and evil act in the strongest terms possible," he said. "What is now emerging is that criminal gangs, in a killing spree, working under police protection, are part of a well-orchestrated plan of terror." It is a dramatic turn of events, considering Odinga was shaking Kibaki's hand three days ago after the two met under the auspices of former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Many had hoped Thursday's meeting, arranged by Annan who is mediating peace efforts, would bring an end to the outbreak of bloody ethnic battles that followed last month's contested presidential vote. But it seems to have had the opposite effect. Odinga blamed Kibaki's government for orchestrating the Rift Valley violence "to try to influence mediation efforts" and "to divert (attention) from election malpractice to security and violence." "After stealing the elections from Kenyans, Kibaki now wishes to deny them justice and peace," Odinga said. A Red Cross official said the agency had received reports of a non-Kikuyu family burned to death in their house in Naivasha. Television footage showed a man in the back of a police vehicle covered in blood with a large machete wound on the side of his head. Kenyan police dispersed large gangs and cleared rocks littering the streets of the lakeside town, which is dominated by Kikuyu. Tree branches, heavy boulders and oil drums littered the streets of Naivasha's town center as the Kikuyu gangs erected temporary road blocks, CNN correspondent Zain Verjee reported. She said the atmosphere was tense as the gangs checked cars to identify rival tribes. Verjee said there was a heavy police presence on the outskirts of the town. Some shops remained open but the town center was almost deserted except for the roaming gangs. It was a similar situation in Nakuru on Sunday, where ODM member the Rev. Mike Brawan said members of the Kikuyu tribe "are flushing out the non-Kikuyus from their houses." He said Kikuyus are going house-to-house, attacking civilians who are not members of the tribe, as well as looting and burning their property. Police, he said, "are not doing much." Brawan said he saw homes burned and people hacked to death in the violence. "They just die with a lot of pain," he said. It is estimated -- depending on the source -- that between 500 and 1,000 people have been killed in the violence that followed the December 27 election in which Kibaki kept his post. Odinga, the OMD candidate for president, and his supporters claim the election was rigged. International observers noted some irregularities in the voting. Fighting, centered in western Kenya and Nairobi's slums, broke out between tribes loyal to Kibaki and Odinga after Kibaki was declared the winner of recent elections. E-mail to a friend CNN's Zain Verjee and Stephanie Halasz contributed to | [
"Where are people being buried alive?",
"What number of people have been killed in violence that followed the election?",
"What does Red Cross report?",
"What number of people did ethnic fighting kill?"
] | [
[
"Rift Valley town of Naivasha"
],
[
"between 500 and 1,000"
],
[
"brutal attacks by members of President Mwai Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe on other ethnic groups."
],
[
"47"
]
] | Red Cross reports people being burned alive .
Ethnic fighting kills 47 people since Thursday in western Kenya, opposition says .
Violence follows meeting between President Kibaki and opposition leader .
More than 500 people have been killed in violence that followed the election . |
NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- Gangs of young men armed with machetes are roaming the streets in Kenya as post-election violence threatens to engulf the country. Horrific attacks are being reported, including the torching of a church where people who had sought refuge were burned alive. At least 148 people have been killed and about 75,000 have fled their homes since President Mwai Kibaki won a narrow victory, according to Kenyan government officials. The Associated Press reported a higher number -- about 275 -- have died since Saturday. Much of the violence is between supporters of Kibaki from the majority Kikuyu tribe and backers of opposition leader Raila Odinga, who is from the Luo tribe. The ethnic violence, previously rare in Kenya, is reminiscent of the strife that led to the Rwanda genocide. In a particularly disturbing incident, a mob appears to have burned a church filled with Kenyans seeking refuge from the violence. The Red Cross told The Associated Press that at least 50 were burned to death at the church, some of them children. As many as 200 people were at the church, about 185 miles northwest of Nairobi, KTN reporter Tony Biwott told CNN. Watch as machete-wielding looters haul away goods » Biwott said he counted at least 15 charred bodies, including children, in the burned church and an adjacent field. "I'm sure there were more than 15 but I couldn't count the ones who were ashes," he said in a phone interview. The wounded sustained gunshot wounds, burns and cuts from a panga, a machete-like weapon, the Red Cross said. Watch smoke darken skies near a burned church The national police commissioner has said in Kenyan society, churches are considered sacred and no one would expect such violence there. He said an investigation into the incident is under way. About 120 people are reported dead and over 1,000 injured countrywide, according to The Red Cross. Police and political backers of opposition leader Raila Odinga began clashing about four days ago as Odinga, of the Luo tribe, narrowly lost Kenya's presidential election to Mwai Kibaki. Kibaki is a member of Kikuyu, Kenya's largest tribe. Violence broke out in several cities as frustration mounted during the slow hand-count of the ballots. Kibaki was re-elected with 51.3 percent of the vote, to 48.7 percent for Odinga. "What we now witness is a cold and calculated plan to organize and engage in massacres," government spokesman Alfred Mutua said. Bringing in the New Year, Kibaki -- who rarely speaks to the press -- urged calm to the nation. "It now is a time for healing and reconciliation amongst all Kenyans," he said. Foreign Minister Raphael Tuju said the government is committed to taking control. "If the tear gas doesn't work then unfortunately they have to use live bullets," he told CNN. "The president has been sworn in, the elections are over, the Kenyans have to accept the results, the opposition has to accept the results." Tuesday, international observers said the balloting fell short of international standards for democratic elections. Alexander Lambsdorff, the head of the EU Election Observation Mission in Kenya, cited discrepancies in vote counts, election observers being turned away from polling places and observers being refused entrance to the electoral commission vote-counting room. The violence also has displaced some 75,000 Kenyans inside the country, Mutua said. The government said Tuesday it will not allow any political rallies in the aftermath of the controversial election outcome. Odinga's opposition Orange Democratic Movement had scheduled rallies for Tuesday, raising fears of more violence. Mutua said there was no intention to impose a state of emergency or curfew at this point, and said police are handling the violence well and with "extreme restraint." However, he warned that police restraint would not last forever. The violence is rare for Kenya, which has enjoyed relative calm even as war and chronic political violence wracked neighboring countries, such as Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda. The United States has withheld congratulations for Kibaki, citing concerns | [
"How many are dead?",
"WHo set fire to the church?",
"How many people have been reported dead?",
"Where are 120 reported fatalities?",
"How manyare injured?",
"What did the mob set fire to?",
"What did the mob do?",
"What is the number of people dead?"
] | [
[
"148"
],
[
"Gangs of young men"
],
[
"About 120"
],
[
"Kenya"
],
[
"over 1,000"
],
[
"a church filled with Kenyans seeking refuge from the violence."
],
[
"burned a church filled with Kenyans seeking refuge from the violence."
],
[
"At least 148 people have been killed"
]
] | NEW: Red Cross: 120 people have been reported dead, 1,000 injured .
International observers have called into question Kenyan election results .
Witnesses: Mob set fire to church and burned people to death .
The vote was marred by allegations of vote-rigging by both of the main parties . |
NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- George Obama, the half brother of U.S. President Barack Obama, told CNN on Sunday that he was released from a Kenyan jail hours after his arrest on suspicion of marijuana possession.
George Obama was arrested in Kenya on suspicion of marijuana possession, according to police.
Kenyan police did not confirm whether George Obama was still in their custody. Obama spoke to CNN from his cell phone, and a relative also said he was released.
He said he was arrested on Saturday and released later that day.
Obama was arrested on suspicion of possession of cannabis, known in Kenya as bhang, and resisting arrest, Inspector Augustine Mutembei said. He was held at Huruma police post in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, and scheduled to appear in court Monday, Mutembei said.
But Obama told CNN all charges against him were dropped. Police would not comment on that.
Speaking from behind bars on Saturday, Obama denied the allegations.
"They took me from my home," he said. "I don't know why they are charging me."
George Obama and the president barely know each other, though they have met. George Obama was one of the few people closely related to the president who did not attend the inauguration in Washington.
In his memoir, "Dreams from My Father," Barack Obama describes meeting George as a "painful affair." His trip to Kenya meant meeting family he had never known.
CNN tracked down George Obama in August 2008 and found him at a small house in Huruma, a Nairobi slum, where he lives with his mother's extended family. His birth certificate shows he is Barack Obama's half brother.
The two men share the same Kenyan father.
In the memoir, Barack Obama struggles to reconcile with his father after he left him and his mother when he was a child.
Barack Obama Sr. died in a car accident when George was 6 months old. And like his half brother, George hardly knew his father.
George was his father's last child and had not been aware of his famous half brother until he rose to prominence in the Democratic primaries last year.
Unlike his grandmother in Kogela, in western Kenya, George Obama received little attention from the media until reports about him surfaced in August 2008.
The reports sprung from an Italian Vanity Fair article saying George Obama lived in a shack and was "earning less than a dollar a day."
The reports left George Obama angry.
"I was brought up well. I live well even now," he said. "The magazines, they have exaggerated everything.
"I think I kind of like it here. There are some challenges, but maybe it is just like where you come from, there are the same challenges," Obama said.
Obama, who is in his mid-20s, said at the time that he was learning to become a mechanic and was active in youth groups in Huruma. He said he tries to help the community as much as he can. | [
"what has been dropped?",
"who won't confirm the statements?",
"What will Kenyan police not confirm?",
"who was arrested?",
"Who says he's out of jail, that charges have been dropped",
"Who is now out of jail?",
"What is the relationship to President Obama?"
] | [
[
"all charges against him"
],
[
"Kenyan police"
],
[
"whether George Obama was still in their custody."
],
[
"George Obama"
],
[
"George Obama,"
],
[
"George Obama,"
],
[
"half brother"
]
] | George Obama says he's out of jail, that charges against him have been dropped .
Kenyan police won't confirm George Obama's statements .
George Obama was arrested in Kenya on suspicion of marijuana possession .
Man is half-brother of U.S. President Barack Obama . |
NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- Heavy rains triggered by El Nino weather patterns could potentially prove devastating for east African nations that have been water-starved for months, the United Nations has warned.
A Turkana boy holds an empty cup in a village in northwestern Kenya.
Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda are facing mudslides, crop destruction, waterborne diseases and disrupted road networks, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Friday. Djibouti, Eritrea and Ethiopia could also be affected.
The effects of flooding are expected to be exacerbated because so much greenery has disappeared in the drought.
"More than 23 million people in pastoral, agricultural and suburban communities, as well as internally displaced people and refugees in the region, are reeling from the impact of water and food shortages, pasture scarcity, conflict and insecurity," said John Holmes, the under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs who is coordinating emergency relief operations.
"While we cannot prevent these climatic shocks, we certainly can mitigate their disastrous effects through forward planning and the right funding from the donor community," he said.
Uganda, hit by El Nino a decade ago, is planning to apply some of the lessons learned this time around, said Fred Opolot, a government spokesman.
"The government has allocated funds and resources to areas that will be affected," he said. "Our disaster preparedness department is using press briefings, among other ways, to inform the public."
Though the department is not very well-funded, he said, the government is working with groups such as the United Nations and international aid agencies to prepare for floods.
"It is a multifaceted effort ... we want to ensure citizens are sensitized to the dangers of El Nino and things such as bridges are in good condition."
The rainy season begins in the Horn of Africa in mid-October and runs through the end of the year. Meteorologists have forecasted that this year's rains will be more intense than usual because of the El Nino phenomenon, caused by a rise in temperature in the Pacific and Indian oceans.
Aid agencies are already buckling under the weight of helping millions of people who have suffered through months of failed crops, drought and erratic rains caused by climate change.
In Somalia, 450,000 people in the Juba and Shabelle river basins could suffer, the United Nations estimates. In neighboring Kenya, some 750,000 people -- 150,000 of whom are refugees -- could be affected.
The Turkana, a pastoral tribe in northeastern Kenya, is already reeling from a severe drought that has left scores of people dead and remains of skeletal cows strewn across the flat, arid land. The remote region has no access to resources, making it especially vulnerable to natural disasters such as floods.
CNN's Moni Basu and Faith Karimi contributed to this report. | [
"What nations are going to be affected?",
"What nations are facing flooding?",
"When does the rainy season in Horn of Africa usually strike?",
"What did the warning come after?",
"When do the rainy season usually start?",
"What nations are facing flooding and mudslides?",
"What is expected to happen in East Africa?",
"What warning comes after months of drought?"
] | [
[
"Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda"
],
[
"Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda"
],
[
"mid-October"
],
[
"Heavy rains triggered by El Nino weather patterns"
],
[
"mid-October"
],
[
"Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania"
],
[
"mudslides, crop destruction, waterborne diseases and disrupted road networks,"
],
[
"Heavy rains triggered by El Nino weather patterns could potentially prove devastating"
]
] | U.N. humanitarian agency: East African nations facing flooding, mudslides .
Warning comes after months of drought in region which has decimated greenery .
Rainy season in Horn of Africa usually begins in mid-October, runs to end of year .
Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia set to be affected . |
NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- Heavy rains triggered by El Nino weather patterns could potentially prove devastating for east African nations that have been water-starved for months, the United Nations has warned. A Turkana boy holds an empty cup in a village in northwestern Kenya. Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda are facing mudslides, crop destruction, waterborne diseases and disrupted road networks, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Friday. Djibouti, Eritrea and Ethiopia could also be affected. The effects of flooding are expected to be exacerbated because so much greenery has disappeared in the drought. "More than 23 million people in pastoral, agricultural and suburban communities, as well as internally displaced people and refugees in the region, are reeling from the impact of water and food shortages, pasture scarcity, conflict and insecurity," said John Holmes, the under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs who is coordinating emergency relief operations. "While we cannot prevent these climatic shocks, we certainly can mitigate their disastrous effects through forward planning and the right funding from the donor community," he said. Uganda, hit by El Nino a decade ago, is planning to apply some of the lessons learned this time around, said Fred Opolot, a government spokesman. "The government has allocated funds and resources to areas that will be affected," he said. "Our disaster preparedness department is using press briefings, among other ways, to inform the public." Though the department is not very well-funded, he said, the government is working with groups such as the United Nations and international aid agencies to prepare for floods. "It is a multifaceted effort ... we want to ensure citizens are sensitized to the dangers of El Nino and things such as bridges are in good condition." The rainy season begins in the Horn of Africa in mid-October and runs through the end of the year. Meteorologists have forecasted that this year's rains will be more intense than usual because of the El Nino phenomenon, caused by a rise in temperature in the Pacific and Indian oceans. Aid agencies are already buckling under the weight of helping millions of people who have suffered through months of failed crops, drought and erratic rains caused by climate change. In Somalia, 450,000 people in the Juba and Shabelle river basins could suffer, the United Nations estimates. In neighboring Kenya, some 750,000 people -- 150,000 of whom are refugees -- could be affected. The Turkana, a pastoral tribe in northeastern Kenya, is already reeling from a severe drought that has left scores of people dead and remains of skeletal cows strewn across the flat, arid land. The remote region has no access to resources, making it especially vulnerable to natural disasters such as floods. CNN's Moni Basu and Faith Karimi contributed to this report. | [
"What countries are set to be affected?",
"When does the rainy season start?",
"What do East African nations face?",
"When does the rainy season in Horn of Africa usually begin?",
"What does the warning come after?",
"What are East African nations facing?",
"When is the rainy season in Horn of Africa?"
] | [
[
"Djibouti, Eritrea"
],
[
"mid-October"
],
[
"mudslides, crop destruction, waterborne diseases and disrupted road networks,"
],
[
"mid-October"
],
[
"Heavy rains triggered by El Nino weather patterns"
],
[
"mudslides, crop destruction, waterborne diseases and disrupted road networks,"
],
[
"in mid-October and runs through the end of the year."
]
] | U.N. humanitarian agency: East African nations facing flooding, mudslides .
Warning comes after months of drought in region which has decimated greenery .
Rainy season in Horn of Africa usually begins in mid-October, runs to end of year .
Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia set to be affected . |
NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- Iran's trial of more than 100 people who it has linked to post-election unrest is a "sign of weakness" and shows that the Islamic republic "is afraid of its own people," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told CNN Thursday. Iran is "afraid of the truth and the facts coming out," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said. "It is a show trial, there's no doubt about it," Clinton told CNN's Fareed Zakaria in a wide-ranging interview to be broadcast on his "GPS" program Sunday. "It demonstrates I think better than any of us could ever say that this Iranian leadership is afraid of their own people, and afraid of the truth and the facts coming out." Clinton spoke to Zakaria during her visit to Africa. Those on trial include Newsweek reporter Maziar Bahari, who has dual citizenship in Iran and Canada, and Kian Tajbakhsh, an Iranian-American scholar. The trial, which began over the weekend, is scheduled to resume Saturday, according to Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency. This week, the State Department issued a statement expressing deep concern for Tajbakhsh. "Given that the charges facing Mr. Tajbakhsh are without foundation, we call on Iran's leadership to release Mr. Tajbakhsh without delay," State Department spokesman Robert Wood said Tuesday, reading a prepared statement. "He has played absolutely no role in the election and poses no threat to the Iranian government or its national security." Wood said Tajbakhsh has not been provided an attorney, which he is entitled to, and warned Iran that "the world is watching what is happening in Iran and will bear witness." Speaking on Thursday, Clinton said the United States also has "expressed our concern about Mr. Bahari's confinement and trial" to Canada's government, and offered its help. All of those on trial in Iran -- who include Iranian journalists and supporters of the opposition -- have been charged for their alleged roles in protests that followed last month's disputed presidential election. The June 12 election gave President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a second term in office, but it also sparked a massive opposition movement that has regularly protested against the Iranian leadership and has shaken the foundation of Iran's Islamic theocracy. Those on trial will be placed into three categories, according to Fars: the "plotters, intriguers, and planners of the riots"; "the antagonists and those affiliated to foreign services"; and "the opportunists, hooligans, and hoodlums who set ablaze, or destroyed private and public properties, and those that have had hands in disturbing public security." | [
"Bahari is a dual citizen of what two countries?",
"Who is one of the accused journalist?",
"What did Clinton tell Fareen Zakaria?",
"What Iranian-American scholar is also charged with crimes?",
"What did Clinton tell Fareed Zakaria?",
"Maziar Bahari is a duel citizen of what two countries?",
"On what day will the interview with the secretary of state be broadcast?",
"Who will be interviewed on \"GPS\" Sunday?"
] | [
[
"Iran and Canada,"
],
[
"Maziar Bahari,"
],
[
"\"It is a show trial, there's no doubt about it,\""
],
[
"Kian Tajbakhsh,"
],
[
"\"It is a show trial, there's no doubt about it,\""
],
[
"Iran and Canada,"
],
[
"Sunday."
],
[
"Secretary of State Hillary Clinton"
]
] | "It is a show trial, there's no doubt about it," Clinton told CNN's Fareed Zakaria .
Among the accused is journalist Maziar Bahari, a dual citizen of Iran and Canada .
Iranian-American scholar Kian Tajbakhsh also is charged with crimes .
Interview with the secretary of state will be broadcast on "GPS" Sunday . |
NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- Kenya needs $230 million over the next six months to feed millions affected by drought, the United Nations said in a new report. Farmers carry food handouts from the World Food Programme at a distribution spot near Nanyuki. The three-year failure of annual rains has reduced crop output, the main source of food for the country of 37 million. The drought has also affected water production and prompted power rationing in the east African nation. Kenya gets most of its energy from hydro-generation. About 3.8 million Kenyans need emergency food aid, and conditions are expected to deteriorate in the next few months, the United Nations World Food Programme said Wednesday. The rate among children under 5 suffering malnutrition has gone from 15 to 20 percent in some cases, the report said. "People are already going hungry, malnutrition is preying on more and more young children, cattle are dying -- we face a huge challenge and are urging the international community to provide us with the resources we need to get the job done," said Burkard Oberle, Kenya director of the World Food Programme. The organization said it is helping about 2.6 million people in Kenya affected by drought while the government is supporting 1.2 million more until the end of October. "In order to feed all 3.8 million people for the next six months, WFP and the Kenyan government will require strong support from donors in the weeks ahead," the report said. More than 17 million people across the Horn of Africa need help from the United Nations, which is battling funding shortfalls. Some of the most dire nations include Somalia and Uganda, which need $164 million and $96 million respectively. | [
"How many people live in Kenya?",
"What is the population of the country?",
"Who needs emergency food aid?",
"How much money did the country need?",
"How much does Kenya need?",
"What country needed money?",
"What does Kenya need?",
"What has caused the problem?"
] | [
[
"37 million."
],
[
"37 million."
],
[
"Kenya"
],
[
"$230 million"
],
[
"$230 million"
],
[
"Kenya"
],
[
"$230 million over the next six months to feed millions"
],
[
"drought,"
]
] | U.N.: Kenya needs $230 million to feed millions affected by drought .
Three-year failure of annual rains has hit crops that feed country of 37 million .
About 3.8 million Kenyans need emergency food aid; conditions set to worsen . |
NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- More than 100 people were killed and several dozen wounded when an overturned petrol tanker exploded in Kenya early Sunday, authorities said.
The blast is the second multi-fatality incident in the east African country in four days. A supermarket fire in Nairobi on Wednesday killed at least 27 people, with another 57 still missing.
The tanker explosion occurred near Molo, a small town in the Rift Valley Province -- about 130 kilometers (80 miles) from the capital, a spokesman for the Kenyan police said.
The tanker overturned along a highway spilling gallons of gas which hundreds of residents rushed to scoop up, said Titus Mung'ou of the Kenyan Red Cross.
"People were lining up trying to get the fuel," he said. "They were siphoning off petrol for over an hour. Some people had drilled holes in the tanker and were charging a fee for the assembled crowd."
The vehicle exploded about an hour later, apparently after one of the residents lit a cigarette or started a fire at the crash site, Mung'ou said.
Four policemen, who were trying to control the crowd, were believed to be among the victims, Mung'ou said.
Another 117 people were wounded in the blast, police said. The figures are expected to rise, officials said.
The Red Cross sent more than 80 people to help with rescue efforts. Those who were seriously wounded were flown to a hospital in Nairobi.
Meanwhile, the death toll from last week's Nairobi supermarket fire rose to 27 on Sunday, the Red Cross said.
Rescue workers found the latest victims as they searched through the rubble of the scorched structure in downtown Nairobi.
The fire ignited Wednesday afternoon during a somewhat busy hour in the 24-hour Nakumatt supermarket.
Police launched a criminal investigation to look into allegations that security guards locked people into the burning building. Employees of the supermarket refused to comment on the allegations.
The fire angered Kenyans for what they perceived as a lack of disaster preparedness.
Emergency numbers failed to work and water ran out during attempts to put out the fire, said Mung'ou of the Kenyan Red Cross.
"There is the need to strengthen the capacity in handling fires," Mung'ou said. | [
"where did tanker explosion occurred?",
"When did the explosion happen?",
"What exploded near Molo?",
"what exploded after an hour?",
"Is the explosion was caused?",
"who rushed to scoop up gas from overturned tanker?",
"What did the residents do when the truck overturned?"
] | [
[
"Kenya"
],
[
"Sunday,"
],
[
"petrol tanker"
],
[
"petrol tanker"
],
[
"tanker"
],
[
"hundreds of residents"
],
[
"\"People were lining up trying to get the fuel,\""
]
] | Tanker explosion occurred near Molo, a small town in the Rift Valley Province .
Kenyan Red Cross: Residents rush to scoop up gas from overturned tanker .
Vehicle exploded an hour later after a resident lit a fire, Red Cross official says . |
NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- Officials found 13 bodies in the rubble of a scorched supermarket in downtown Nairobi Friday and are investigating a tip that security guards locked people in the burning building, a police spokesman said. Members of the public helped to fight the fire which left at least 47 people missing. The blaze started on Wednesday afternoon in the Nakumatt supermarket. The Standard Newspaper reported harrowing tales of families trying to find their missing loved ones, at times making the job of firefighters more difficult. So many people crowded the scene that police on foot and on horseback periodically chased them away. Riot police with tear gas and batons stood nervously around the edge of the scene -- where a barricade has been erected. Joseph Mwangi waited among the crowd, hoping for news of his cousin Daniel. On Wednesday, Mwangi sent 16-year-old Daniel Njoge with 6,000 shillings (about $75) to the market. "He was coming to shop for school," said Mwangi, a waiter at a nearby restaurant. "I sent him to the store to get stationery supplies." "On Wednesday night, I got so worried. Now I think he is just in there," Mwangi said, pointing at the burned-out store. "The response was not good," he said. "A person who fights a fire must go into the building, but they just stayed outside." Mwangi registered with the Kenya Red Cross on the scene, as scores of others did, and now he waits. Justin Mule, who works at the Stanley Bookstore across the road from the supermarket, described the start of the fire to CNN: "I saw smoke coming up from the building on Wednesday afternoon. In a few minutes, there were explosions. I saw some guys jumping from the burning roof. Soon after the fire, I saw the store security guards closing the doors because they feared looting. The doors were locked. That was a mistake. They shouldn't have locked the doors." Other witness corroborated his account. Police launched a criminal investigation to look into that allegation, said Eric Kiraithe, a police spokesman Employees of the supermarket refused to comment on the allegations. The fire has angered Kenyans for what they perceive is a lack of disaster preparedness. Local newspaper editorials slammed the government's response to the tragedy. "Disaster preparedness is still a challenge, and the operation was hampered by the Nairobi city layout," said Kenya Red Cross spokesman Titus Mung'ou said. Emergency numbers failed to work and water ran out during attempts to put out the fire, he said. According to local news reports, the fire ignited Wednesday afternoon during a busy hour in the 24-hour supermarket. Hundreds of people crowded around the scene and tourists peered through their hotel windows as firefighters, security guards and civilians struggled to get the fire under control. Periodic explosions rocked the city and debris fell around the building. The crowd cheered each incoming fire truck, and water had to be brought to the scene from a nearby soccer stadium. | [
"How many bodies were found?",
"Rescuers found how many bodies?",
"What is the number of bodies found?",
"In what country did the fire cocur?",
"Rescuers found bodies in which type of store?",
"Where were the bodies found?",
"In what country did the fire occur?",
"What city did the fire occur?",
"The incident happened in which African country?"
] | [
[
"13"
],
[
"13"
],
[
"13"
],
[
"Kenya"
],
[
"supermarket"
],
[
"in the rubble of a scorched supermarket in downtown"
],
[
"Kenya"
],
[
"Nairobi"
],
[
"Kenya"
]
] | Rescuers find 13 bodies in scorched rubble of Kenyan supermarket .
Massive fire engulfed the building in downtown Nairobi on Wednesday .
Incident angers Kenyans for what they perceive is a lack of disaster preparedness . |
NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- One of the FBI's most wanted terrorists escaped a raid over the weekend, Kenyan police said Monday. Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, a suspected terrorist, is shown in photos released by the FBI. Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, indicted in the United States for alleged involvement in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, managed to evade police in a raid Saturday morning in Malindi, along Kenya's coast, said police spokesman Eric Kiraithe. The United States calls Mohammed a senior al Qaeda operative in East Africa. U.S. officials accuse him of being an architect of the embassy bombings that killed 225 people. They also believe Mohammed was involved in attacks on an Israeli-owned hotel and airliner in Kenya in 2002. Kiraithe said Kenyan authorities received information from "local intelligence networks" that led them to conduct the raid, which involved no foreign intelligence officials. He said police know Mohammed had, in fact, been at the location they raided, because they found two passports under names Mohammed has used. Kiraithe did not say what countries the passports were from. A massive manhunt is under way for Mohammed in Malindi and surrounding areas, "more intensive than ever before because we wouldn't want to miss him now," Kiraithe said. The U.S. offers a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his apprehension or conviction. Mohammed has escaped capture and attacks before. Early last year a U.S.-led air strike in Somalia failed to kill him. In 2003, Kenyan police said he escaped authorities. In December 2007, the U.N. Security Council amended a list of 25 al Qaeda suspects subject to sanctions, including Mohammed. The description of Mohammed offered numerous aliases and said he had "reportedly undergone plastic surgery." The FBI description says Mohammed was born in the Comoros Islands, and has used birth dates indicating he was born in either 1972 or 1974. He also has citizenship in Kenya, the description says. It adds, "Mohammed likes to wear baseball caps and tends to dress casually. He is very good with computers." | [
"When were the U.S. embassies bombed?",
"Who is the senior al Qaueda operative?",
"Who evaded the police raid?",
"What did he manage to evade?",
"Who provided authorities information?",
"Who did the authorities receive information from?",
"Who is a senior al Qaeda operative?",
"What was the suspect indicted for?"
] | [
[
"1998"
],
[
"Fazul Abdullah Mohammed,"
],
[
"Fazul Abdullah Mohammed,"
],
[
"police in a raid"
],
[
"\"local intelligence networks\""
],
[
"\"local intelligence networks\""
],
[
"Mohammed"
],
[
"alleged involvement in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania,"
]
] | Suspect indicted in U.S. for 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya, Tanzania .
U.S: Fazul Abdullah Mohammed is a senior al Qaeda operative in E. Africa .
He managed to evade police in a raid Saturday in Malindi, say Kenyan police .
Authorities received information about him from "local intelligence networks" |
NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- Pirates have hijacked a Thai cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden off the Somali coast, the Kenya Seafarers Association said Thursday. The ship, the MV Thor Star, was hijacked Tuesday with 28 Thai crew members on board, said Andrew Mwangura, a spokesman for the association, which acts on behalf of merchant vessels in the region. The Thai-flagged ship is owned by Bangkok-based Thoresen Thai Agencies. Pirate attacks are frequent in the waters off Somalia, a notoriously unsafe area for unescorted vessels. Earlier this month, Canada announced it was dispatching a warship to the area to protect U.N. aid ships after more than two dozen reported pirate attacks in the waters off Somalia this year. | [
"What was the ships name?",
"What was hijacked?",
"What was hijacked Tuesday?",
"Who was hijacked?",
"Who usually hijacks cargo ships?",
"Where are ships frequently hijacked?",
"When did the hijacking occur?",
"What was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden?",
"what number of people were hijacked?"
] | [
[
"MV Thor Star,"
],
[
"Thai cargo ship"
],
[
"Thai cargo ship"
],
[
"MV Thor Star,"
],
[
"Pirates"
],
[
"in the waters off Somalia,"
],
[
"Tuesday"
],
[
"Thai cargo ship"
],
[
"28"
]
] | MV Thor Star, was hijacked Tuesday with 28 Thai crew .
Cargo ship hijacked in the Gulf of Aden off the Somali coast .
Heavily armed pirates frequently hijack cargo ships off Horn of Africa . |
NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- Pirates holding a Saudi-owned oil supertanker off the coast of Somalia have set the vessel free after receiving a ransom payment, a piracy monitor in neighboring Kenya and the U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet said Saturday. A small aircraft drops a ransom payment during a flight over the Sirius Star on Friday. "The supertanker VLCC Sirius Star is currently under way to safe waters," Andrew Mwangura of the Kenya Seafarers Association said in an e-mail. Mwangura said all 23 crew members of the Sirius Star, the largest ship ever hijacked by pirates, are safe and in good health. They are citizens of Croatia, Great Britain, the Philippines, Poland and Saudi Arabia. "Anytime a ship is released, it is positive news," said Cmdr. Jane Campbell of the Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet. "But too many people see it as a ship and its cargo being released. When merchant mariners are released, it is always good news." The ship is a VLCC, or "very large crude carrier." According to the Fifth Fleet, the tanker is more than three times the size of a U.S. navy aircraft carrier. Pirates seized the supertanker November 15. The tanker was carrying two million barrels of crude oil worth about $100 million. The Liberian-flagged tanker is owned by Vela International Marine Ltd., a subsidiary of the Saudi Arabian-based Saudi Aramco. Saleh K'aki, president and CEO of Vela International, said in a statement, "We are very relieved to know that all crew members are safe and I am glad to say that they are all in good health and high spirits. This has been a very trying time for them and certainly for their families. We are very happy to report to their families that they will be on their way home soon." Mwangura said it would have been a "disaster" if the pirates had fired guns aboard the ship, harming the cargo or igniting a fire. "The capture of the Sirius Star raised the specter of an environmental disaster should the hijackers decide to turn the ship into a weapon or foreign navies attempt to release it by force," he said. The pirates had been expected to release the supertanker after receiving the ransom payment Friday, but four pirates drowned after their skiff capsized in rough seas while they were leaving the Sirius Star, according to a journalist who spoke to one of the pirates on board. Watch ransom being parachuted to ship » There were five pirates in the skiff and one survived, the journalist said. The bodies of the other four were recovered, he said. The pirates told another journalist they received $3 million in ransom money but lost part of it when the skiff capsized. "Initially, the gunmen were demanding $25 million for its release but the latest reports indicate that the demand had been lowered to below $3.5 million," Mwangura said. Meanwhile, pirates also have released the MV Delight, an Iranian chartered ship carrying wheat from Germany, Mwangura said. It was captured in November. Details were not immediately available. Hijackings off East Africa are a cause of growing international concern, spurring a number of international navies to patrol the pirate-wracked Gulf of Aden. Dozens of ships have been attacked in the gulf by pirates based in a largely lawless Somalia in recent months. See how pirate attacks are on the rise » Campbell said the number of attacks may have gone up in recent months, but the number of successful hijackings has gone down. She attributed that to measures taken by merchant ships, such as vigilant keeping of watch and evasive ship maneuvers, and the increased naval presence in the at-risk areas. Campbell stressed, however, that they are only preventive measures. "Piracy is a problem that starts on the shore," she said. "The international community needs to address the situation on the ground in Somalia." CNN's David McKenzie contributed to this report. | [
"How many pirates drowned?",
"Who released the supertanker?",
"Who released the Saudi-owned oil supertanker?",
"How did four pirates die?",
"Was the second hijacked ship released?",
"What is the name of the supertanker?",
"What country owned this",
"What was the name of this supertanker?",
"Number of pirates who drowned?",
"How many pirates died in this scenario?",
"How many ships have been hijacked?"
] | [
[
"four"
],
[
"Pirates"
],
[
"Pirates"
],
[
"drowned"
],
[
"the MV Delight,"
],
[
"VLCC Sirius Star"
],
[
"Saudi-owned"
],
[
"VLCC Sirius Star"
],
[
"four"
],
[
"four"
],
[
"Dozens of"
]
] | NEW: Second hijacked ship also released .
Pirates release Saudi-owned oil supertanker after receiving ransom .
All crew members on Sirius Star are safe, according to piracy monitor .
Four pirates drowned, some ransom lost after skiff capsized in rough seas . |
NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- Pirates on a seized Saudi-owned oil supertanker are delaying release of the ship despite receiving a ransom because of a fatal drowning accident that killed four of their colleagues, a journalist who spoke with one of the pirates told CNN. A small aircraft is observed by the U.S. Navy flying over the Sirius Star during a seeming ransom payment Friday. The pirates had been expected to release the Sirius Star, which they've held since November 15, after a ransom payment was parachuted onto the ship. The journalist told CNN that the pirate who spoke said four pirates drowned after a skiff carrying leaving the Sirius Star capsized due to rough seas. Sea charts showed that waves in the area were reaching 5 to 7 feet at the time. There were five pirates in the skiff and one survived, the journalist said. The bodies of the other four were recovered, he said, adding that this will delay the exit of the pirates still remaining on board the ship and thus affect the ship's release after payment of the ransom. The tanker was carrying two million barrels of crude oil worth about $100 million when pirates hijacked it off the coast of Somalia. Pirates seized the Sirius Star more than 450 nautical miles off the African coast in one of their most audacious hijackings to date. The pirates told another journalist that they received $3 million in ransom money, but lost part of it when the skiff capsized. The remaining ransom money is still aboard the ship with the rest of the pirates. The U.S. Navy took photographs and observed as an apparent ransom payment was parachuted aboard the tanker. The pirates aboard the supertanker have equipment to check for counterfeit bills, authorities said. "While the potential release of the Sirius Star is undoubtedly excellent news, we must not forget that nearly 300 other merchant mariners (on other ships) are still being held captive," said Commodore Tim Lowe, deputy Combined Maritime Forces commander. Hijackings off East Africa are a cause of growing international concern, spurring a number of international navies to patrol the pirate-wracked Gulf of Aden. See how pirate attacks peaked in 2008 » Dozens of ships have been attacked in the gulf by pirates based in a largely lawless Somalia in recent months. See a map of the region » The area involved, off the coast of Somalia and Kenya as well as the Gulf of Aden, equals more than 1.1 million square miles. That is roughly four times the size of Texas, or the size of the Mediterranean and Red Seas combined. | [
"What was the tanker carrying?",
"From what country was the supertanker?",
"What was the crude oil worth?",
"When will the crew be released?",
"Who hijacked the tanker?",
"What did the U.S. Navy do?"
] | [
[
"two million barrels of crude oil"
],
[
"Saudi-owned"
],
[
"$100 million"
],
[
"pirates had been expected to release the Sirius Star, which they've held since November 15, after a ransom payment was parachuted onto the ship."
],
[
"pirates"
],
[
"took photographs"
]
] | Pirates counting ransom money aboard hijacked Saudi supertanker .
Witness tells local journalist that ship, crew to be released in next 24 hours .
Tanker was carrying two million barrels of crude oil worth about $100 million .
U.S. Navy took photos of apparent ransom payment being dropped onto ship . |
NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- Somalis are so desperate to survive that attacks on merchant shipping in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean will not stop, a pirate leader promises.
A French warship keeps guard over commerical vessels in the Gulf of Aden last week.
"The pirates are living between life and death," said the pirate leader, identified by only one name, Boyah. "Who can stop them? Americans and British all put together cannot do anything."
The interview with the pirate was conducted in late August by journalists employed by the Somali news organization Garowe Online. The complete interview was provided to CNN last week and provides a glimpse of why piracy has been so hard to control in the region.
Recorded on grainy video, the interview took place in the Somali port city of Eyl, now a center of pirate operations. Eyl is on the east coast of Somalia in the autonomous territory of Puntland. It is a largely lawless zone, considered extremely dangerous for Westerners to enter.
The Puntland government said two unidentified Western journalists were taken hostage Wednesday as they attempted to report on pirate activity.
Boyah said that the piracy began because traditional coastal fishing became difficult after foreign fishing trawlers depleted local fish stocks. Traditional fishermen started attacking the trawlers until the trawler crews fought back with heavy weapons. The fishermen then turned to softer targets. Watch why fishermen turned to piracy »
"We went into the deep ocean and hijacked the unarmed cargo ships," Boyah said.
"For the past three years, we have not operated near the Somali coast. We have operated at least 80 miles [out], in international waters."
When merchant shipping started avoiding the Somali coast, Boyah said, "we went to ships traveling other routes."
Over the past year, the number of pirate attacks has increased dramatically. The International Maritime Bureau cites more than 90 pirate attacks off East Africa so far in 2008. When attacks are successful, the hijacked ships are taken to Somali waters, where the ships and crew are held until a ransom is paid. See how pirate attacks have increased »
Ships recently captured include a massive Saudi supertanker laden with crude oil valued at more than $100 million and a freighter carrying Russian-built tanks.
The hijackings have been profitable. Kenya's foreign minister, Moses Wetangula, estimates the pirates have been paid more than $150 million during the past year. One pirate gang wants $2 million dollars to release a Yemeni freighter and crew seized last week.
Facing increasing disruptions through one of the busiest sea lanes in the world, several countries have sent warships to patrol the area. There have been reports of skirmishes between pirates and naval forces, but the military presence does not concern pirate leader Boyah. He boasts the pirates literally sail in a vast ocean beneath the radar of the warships. Watch how piracy thrives off Somalia »
"No ship has the capability to see everything," he said. "A ship can see 80 miles or so [on radar]. It cannot see us at all. No one can do anything about it."
Boyah said it is unlikely the Puntland regional government would ever crack down on piracy because government officials are involved in financing the piracy and collect a cut of the ransoms.
"They motivate us. It's their money and their weapons," Boyah said. "Thirty percent belongs to them."
The Puntland foreign minister, Ali Abdi Aware, denied government involvement with the pirates, including taking bribes. The minister cited the arrest of six pirates earlier this year as evidence it is acting to stop piracy.
Pirate Boyah said he is unimpressed with the arrests by Puntland authorities.
"The pirates are at sea and Puntland does not approach them. The pirates are on land and Puntland does not approach them," Boyah said. "They arrest some small people and tell the world that they captured pirates, but they are liars."
While Boyah may have been outspoken about the government's ineffectiveness, he did not allow interviewers | [
"What is unable to stop pirates?",
"What amount did pirates gain from ransom?",
"How much have they gained in ransom?",
"How much money did the pirates gain last year?",
"What did the Somali pirate say about piracy?",
"Pirates gain how much in ransom money each year?",
"Somali fishermen turned to what?",
"What are governments unable to stop?"
] | [
[
"Americans and British all put together"
],
[
"$150 million"
],
[
"more than $150 million"
],
[
"$150 million"
],
[
"are living between life and death,\""
],
[
"$150 million"
],
[
"piracy"
],
[
"pirates"
]
] | Piracy a life or death choice, Somali pirate says .
As foreign trawlers took catch, Somali fishermen turned to piracy, leader says .
Pirates gain more than $150 million in ransom in past year, official says .
Governments unable to stop pirates, leader says . |
NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- Those most responsible for last year's post-election violence in Kenya may now be punished by the International Criminal Court, after Kenya missed a deadline to address the issue. A man runs past a market set on fire in post-election violence in Nakuru, Kenya, in January 2008. Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the chief prosecutor of the court, said in a statement Wednesday that his court will now step in to help Kenya address the post-election violence of early 2008. "Kenya will be a world example on managing violence," he said. Kenya's coalition government promised action after more than 1,000 people were killed following a disputed election in December 2007. Hundreds of thousands were displaced amid the bloodshed. One of the chief promises was the formation of a tribunal to try the perpetrators of that violence. Now that Kenya has missed the deadline, Moreno-Ocampo announced a plan to address the issue. In the statement, he said the International Criminal Court would prosecute those most responsible, and other perpetrators would be subject to "national accountability proceedings as defined by the Kenyan Parliament, such as a Special Tribunal." Kenya will also create "other reforms and mechanisms such as the Justice, Truth and Reconciliation commission to shed light on the full history of past events and to suggest mechanisms to prevent such crimes in the future," the ICC statement said. During meetings with Moreno-Ocampo in July, a delegation from Kenya said that prosecuting those responsible for the violence was necessary to prevent similar acts ahead of the 2012 election. CNN's David McKenzie contributed to this report. | [
"how many were killed in 2008?",
"What amount of violence there were in 2008?",
"who will prosecute those most responsible?",
"what did the top court official say?"
] | [
[
"more than 1,000"
],
[
"killed"
],
[
"Luis Moreno-Ocampo,"
],
[
"will now step in to help Kenya address the post-election violence of early 2008."
]
] | Violence in early 2008 killed more than 1,000, displaced hundreds of thousands .
Kenya promised to set up tribunal to try the perpetrators, but has missed deadline .
International Criminal Court says it will prosecute those most responsible .
"Kenya will be a world example on managing violence," top court official says . |
NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- Three British guards jumped overboard and were rescued from the water after battling in vain to prevent pirates hijacking a chemical tanker off the coast of Somalia. Three British security guards board a helicopter to be transferred to a Royal Navy vessel. The Liberian-flagged Biscaglia came under "sustained and heavy attack" early Friday morning, Nick Davis, Director of Anti-Piracy Maritime Security Solutions (APMSS), said in a statement. The three APMSS-employed security guards -- all former British servicemen -- mounted "sustained non-lethal resistance" but were unable to stop the attackers seizing control of the ship, Davis said. The trio were airlifted to safety by a German naval helicopter and flown to a French frigate after the vessel summoned assistance from coalition warships. They were later transferred to a British Royal Navy ship. All three were unhurt, Davis said. "I have spoken with my team leader on the phone and he informs me that the level of violence was significant and forced them reluctantly to leave the vessel after every effort was made to ensure the safety of the ships crew," Davis said. Pirates continued to shoot at the three in the water, Davis said. "The hijacked vessel with pirates in control then attempted to run them down." The Biscaglia is managed by Singapore-based Ishima and owned by Winged Foot Shipping in the Marshall Islands and was crewed by 25 Indians and two Bangladeshis who are believed to be still onboard. The vessel is believed to be on its way to an anchorage in Puntland, northeastern Somalia, Davis said. iReport.com: Share your view from 'Inside Africa' Also Friday, pirates released the Greek ship MV Centauri, which was hijacked in September off the coast of Somalia, according to Andrew Mwangura, the head of the Kenya Seafarers Association. There was no immediate information about the 25 crew members on board the ship when it was taken. A multinational naval force including vessels from the U.S., NATO member states, Russia and India has been patrolling the Indian Ocean waters seas near the Gulf of Aden, which connects the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, following a sharp increase in pirate attacks in the region. Around 20,000 oil tankers, freighters and merchant vessels pass along the crucial shipping route each year. So far this year, pirates have attacked almost 100 vessels off the coast of Somalia coast and successfully hijacked nearly 40, according to the International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Center. The most high-profile hijacking so far came earlier this month, when pirates seized a Saudi oil tanker carrying $100 million worth of oil and a crew of 25, although that attack occurred outside the pirates' normal operational range, 450 nautical miles southeast of Mombasa, Kenya. Pirates are still holding the ship. Another vessel held since September is the Ukrainian MV Farina, which was carrying a cargo of weapons and tanks and a crew of 22. In an interview provided to CNN this week, a pirate leader claimed attacks on shipping would continue as long as life in Somalia remained desperate. "The pirates are living between life and death," said the pirate leader, identified by only one name, Boyah. "Who can stop them? Americans and British all put together cannot do anything." The interview was conducted in August by journalists working for the Somali news organization, Garowe. | [
"Who hijacked the MV Centauri?",
"From which country does the Mv Centauri come from?",
"when did this happen?",
"How many security guards battle pirates?",
"Who released Greek ship MV Centauri?",
"Who rescued the British trio ?"
] | [
[
"pirates"
],
[
"Greek ship"
],
[
"early Friday morning,"
],
[
"Three"
],
[
"pirates"
],
[
"German naval helicopter"
]
] | 3 security guards battle pirates, jump overboard as tanker hijacked off Somalia .
British trio were rescued from water by German naval helicopter .
Liberian-flagged Biscaglia also carrying 25 Indians, 2 Bangladeshis .
Pirates release Greek ship MV Centauri, held since September . |
NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- Two U.S. filmmakers were injured Saturday when their small plane crashed into a three-story residential building in downtown Nairobi. People gather around the wreckage of a plane that struck a building in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi on Saturday. Dan Parris, 25, and Rob Lehr, 26, both from St. Louis, Missouri, were shooting an independent documentary on poverty in Africa. Both men were hospitalized and expected to survive, according to David Peterka, who was part of the film crew, but was not aboard the plane. He said that all four aboard the plane were Americans. A flight engineer, whose name was not released, was critically injured and was in a coma, Peterka said. The pilot, whose name has not yet been released, was killed in the crash. The crew had been in the east African nation for four days and was shooting video of Kibera, one of the largest slums in Africa. The plane was headed to nearby Wilson Airport, where most light aircraft land in the Kenyan capital. "The pilot had warned that he was going to hover and go slow," Peterka said. "They were surprised when they went to about 50 feet off the ground --- and then they hit electrical lines and the plane flipped into the building." Just before the plane crashed, the listening devices went off and they could not communicate with the pilot, Peterka said. Peterka said Lehr, who was ejected because the doors were open for filming, ran back in to rescue the others. Parris crawled out and Lehr, with the help of bystanders, pulled the pilot and the engineer out as the plane burst into flames, Peterka said. "Local residents were using water, dirt to put the fire out" before the fire department arrived, Peterka said. "Before the plane crashed, witnesses said it was flying unusually low," said Francis Mwaka, a Kenyan federal communications official. The four-seater plane was owned by African Inland Missions company. No one on the ground was injured, Mwaka said. The crash is under investigation. CNN's Ben Brumfield contributed to this story. | [
"who was taken to hospital?",
"Who were two of the victims?",
"What do witnesses say about the crash?",
"where did the plane crash?",
"what was the plane doing before the crash?",
"What witnesses said?",
"What did the plane crash into?",
"who were two victims",
"Was there any witnesses?",
"Who was killed in the plane crash?",
"Where did the plane crash?",
"Were there any taken to hospital?",
"who was killed",
"What were the two victims shooting?"
] | [
[
"Dan Parris, 25, and Rob Lehr, 26,"
],
[
"U.S. filmmakers"
],
[
"said it was flying unusually low,\""
],
[
"three-story residential building in downtown Nairobi."
],
[
"shooting video of Kibera, one of the largest slums in Africa."
],
[
"it was flying unusually low,\""
],
[
"a three-story residential building in downtown Nairobi."
],
[
"Rob Lehr,"
],
[
"flying unusually low,\""
],
[
"The pilot,"
],
[
"a three-story residential building in downtown Nairobi."
],
[
"hospitalized"
],
[
"The pilot,"
],
[
"an independent documentary on poverty in Africa."
]
] | Pilot killed, three passengers injured when plane crashes into building .
Two victims were U.S. filmmakers shooting documentary on African poverty .
Dan Parris, Rob Lehr were taken to hospital, expected to survive .
Witnesses say plane was "flying unusually low" before crash . |
NAPA, California (CNN) -- If Barrett Wissman were in the ministry, his arts festivals would be sunny outposts on a fast-widening mission field. His Tuscan Sun Festival opens Saturday in Cortona, Italy. An all-new Singapore Sun Festival opens October 18. And a secret known to missionaries everywhere is clearly in sway at the Festival del Sole in Napa Valley, which has just concluded its second year: Bonding with the locals. With quick fervor, local leaders, the hospitality industry and those all-important vintners of Napa have embraced their festival. When symphony conductor Stéphane Denève mentioned last year that he'd like to get married there, Tatiana and Gerret Copeland of the Bouchaine wine estate threw the ceremony for them in the vineyards. See images from a maestro's marriage in the vineyards of Napa during this year's Festival del Sole » "It's a mission in my life to have more and more people enjoy and love the arts," Wissman says in an interview sandwiched between Denève's presentation of the Grieg piano concerto and Prokofiev's "Romeo and Juliet" suite with the Russian National Orchestra. Watch highlights and comments from Barrett Wissman and the artists of Festival del Sole » "One of the reasons that we have these festivals -- engage local communities and have music, literature, art, film, cuisine, wine, all these subjects -- is we attract different people who like each one. And then get them to like something else. Today, our goal in education in the arts is to get everybody involved." Wissman is uniquely positioned to "get everybody involved." More than a priest or even a bishop in this arts-mission field, he's a cardinal in the industry, the chairman of IMG Artists, a major player in world artists' representation. IMG's roster includes violinists Joshua Bell and Itzhak Perlman, mezzo-soprano Fredericka von Stade, flutist James Galway, guitarist Christopher Parkening, the Joffrey Ballet and composer Jay Greenberg, among many others. Wissman has just announced a new managing director for IMG in North and South America, Elizabeth Sobol. She is, herself, a co-producer of a new festival in Boca Raton, Florida, and architect of a highly publicized new joint venture for IMG with Gorfaine-Schwartz, the agency representing trumpeter-composer Chris Botti, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, singer-songwriter James Taylor and Hollywood film composer John Williams. No matter how far-flung the festivals and events, Wissman stays near his roots. "I'm a pianist," he says, "a concert pianist. I still play, I play from time to time in the festivals. So I'm a musician, I come from the arts." In the case of Napa's Festival del Sole, Wissman has a co-founder, San Francisco-based attorney Richard Walker, who has a specialization in artists' management. Watch an audio slide show in which Richard Walker talks about the atmosphere of the festival » Having worked with Mikhail Pletnev's Russian National Orchestra, Walker says, since its inception in 1990 as the first symphonic entity founded after the Soviet Union's collapse, he emphasizes the stylistic range demanded in festival work. And Walker echoes Wissman's interest in making these festivals oases in the itinerant lives of world-traveling artists. "The events that surround the musical performances," Walker says, "are attended by the artists, themselves -- a time of camaraderie for them because they see each other and spend time enjoying each other's company." As if on cue, two world-class pianists, Polish-Hungarian Piotr Anderszewski and French-born Jean-Yves Thibaudet, are seated at the same table at a gala post-concert dinner held by Far Niente wine estate on a cloudless night in a circular arbor crowded with honeysuckle. Thibaudet jumps up at one point to accompany violinist Bell in Manuel Ponce's "Estrellita," watched by composer Marco Tutino and cellist Nina Kotova. Read about Joshua Bell's recent win of the $75,000 Fisher Prize "We are located in a wonderful | [
"Next in a growing series of arts festivals opens Saturday in Cortona, Italy",
"where is napa valley",
"when is the opening of the festival",
"where was the festival",
"what happens in cortona",
"Where is the Saturday festival?"
] | [
[
"Tuscan Sun"
],
[
"California"
],
[
"opens October 18."
],
[
"Napa Valley,"
],
[
"Tuscan Sun Festival"
],
[
"Cortona, Italy."
]
] | Next in a growing series of arts festivals opens Saturday in Cortona, Italy .
Napa Valley's Festival del Sole staged more than 50 events in nine days .
Wineries engage in friendly rivalries, throwing lavish after-concert galas .
International artists cite chances to meet each other, community among lures . |
NAPLES, Florida (CNN) -- At least seven possible tornadoes were reported Tuesday in eastern Florida as Tropical Storm Fay battered parts of the state with high winds and heavy rain, the National Hurricane Center said. Fay tore through Barefoot Bay, Florida, south of Melbourne Tuesday. Fay could strengthen into a hurricane when it swings over Florida again Thursday, according to the center. "This storm is going to be with us for a while," said Florida Gov. Charlie Crist. "Looks like it could be a boomerang storm." A hurricane watch has been issued for Florida's east coast, from north of Flagler Beach to Altamaha Sound. At 5 p.m., the center of the storm was about 60 miles southwest of Melbourne, the hurricane center said. Fay was traveling north-northeast at 8 mph. Florida Power & Light reported more than 93,000 customers without power in 20 counties. Most of the outages -- 34,000 -- were in Collier County, where Fay came ashore earlier in the day. As many as 9,700 residents in Brevard County were without power Tuesday evening, according to David Waters, the county Emergency Operations Center spokesman. A Brevard County tornado that hit about 1:45 p.m. damaged more than 50 homes, leaving nine uninhabitable, according to the emergency operations center. Three people suffered minor injuries, officials said. Fay's maximum sustained winds remained near 65 mph, with higher gusts, forecasters said. A storm tracker in Moore Haven, near the west bank of Lake Okeechobee, reported winds up to 81 mph in the afternoon. "Some fluctuations in intensity are likely this afternoon and tonight as Fay moves inland over Florida. Some strengthening is expected when Fay moves over the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday," according to the hurricane center. The storm was earlier buffeting Lake Okeechobee with high winds as it moved north and northeast through Florida, leaving a trail of flooding, broken trees and power outages. At midday, the hurricane center issued two tornado warnings -- for St. Lucie and Indian River counties, and tornado watches were in effect for several areas, most of them ending at 4 p.m. A possible twister hit Wellington in Palm Beach County, where the violent weather ripped a small barn off its foundation and left a horse standing unhurt on a concrete slab, authorities said. Dr. Bob Smith, an associate veterinarian at the Palm Beach Equine Clinic, said an 8-year-old quarterhorse named Onyx was in a stall, untied, when the suspected tornado hit about 2 a.m. It destroyed the structure "and left the horse standing there unscathed," Smith said. iReport.com: Flooding, beached whale as Fay hits When he came to work several hours later, a technician had rescued the horse, who was not visibly rattled, Smith said. "She's just calm and cool," he said. "She's fine." Smith said roof tiles flew off the veterinary clinic and broke car windows in a nearby parking lot. The storm also picked up a horse trailer and smashed it into another horse trailer, he said. A tropical storm warning remained in effect along Florida's east coast from north of Ocean Reef to Flagler Beach, including Lake Okeechobee. A tropical storm watch covered that coast north of Flagler Beach to Fernandina Beach. Fay is expected to produce 5 to 10 inches of rain over southern and east-central Florida, with possible maximum amounts of 15 inches. Three to 5 inches of rain were possible in the northwestern Bahamas. Steve Delai, deputy chief of Fire and Rescue for Palm Beach County, said he could not confirm a tornado had hit the southeast county, but the damage was "consistent with a tornado." "It's clear that the damage was in a very linear fashion," he said. Crist said 31 schools were closed in the region Tuesday as a precaution. All but four, including Brevard County, will be open Wednesday. "Floridians should continue to monitor local news reports, stay calm and exercise common sense," he advised. "Please remember to be cautious when testing generators and other | [
"What state had tornados?",
"What will Fay turn into?",
"What number are without power?",
"What did people loos in south Florida?",
"What was reported on Tuesday in Florida?",
"Where are the tornadoes that were reported?",
"When is the hurricane coming?",
"What is the name given to the hurricane?"
] | [
[
"Florida"
],
[
"a hurricane"
],
[
"93,000"
],
[
"power"
],
[
"At least seven possible tornadoes"
],
[
"eastern Florida"
],
[
"Thursday,"
],
[
"Fay"
]
] | Seven suspected tornadoes reported Tuesday in eastern Florida .
Forecasters: Fay will become a hurricane in Florida on Thursday .
Tens of thousands of people without power in southern Florida .
Track Fay with CNN's Hurricane Tracker . |
NASHVILLE, Tennessee (CNN) -- A singer took center stage at a Nashville honky-tonk to promote his new album. He had the good looks and easy charm of a movie star. Kevin Costner is putting his energies into music. His new record is "Untold Truths." Only in this case, he was a movie star. Kevin Costner recently celebrated the release of "Untold Truths" -- his debut country record -- with a free show at The Stage on Broadway. He was backed by his band, Modern West, which also features guitarist John Coinman and bassist Blair Forward -- two men he met 20 years ago in an acting class. The three have been making music on and off since then, with Costner on lead vocals and rhythm guitar. Back in the day, they called themselves Roving Boy. Truth be told, the 2008 incarnation -- Kevin Costner and Modern West -- does not sound like a movie star's vanity project. It's contemporary Americana set against a Western backdrop. Costner sings about freight trains, dusty avenues and broken dreams in a voice that's pleasant, if not terribly distinct. In faded jeans and a toffee-colored cashmere sweater, he commands the stage with the same understated sex appeal he has on the big screen. At 53, Costner is the soft-spoken, heroic everyman we've seen time and again in such movies as "Dances With Wolves," "The Bodyguard" and "Field of Dreams" -- except today he's wielding an acoustic guitar instead of a baseball bat. The mission statement from "Field of Dreams" seems to apply to his philosophy as a recording artist: "If you build it, they will come." Plenty of fans did come to his show that night, but earlier in the day, we caught up with the busy superstar during his rehearsal -- which he had opened up to a group of local college students in a Grammy-sponsored "SoundCheck" session. Listen to Costner kick it with his band » CNN: Even though your album, "Untold Truths," is being marketed as a country album, your sound is really more rootsy than traditional country. Kevin Costner: Yeah. It's just music. CNN: What made you decide to put out an album? Costner: My wife said, "Look, you are the happiest by far when you are making music. Why don't you keep on making music?" CNN: People may not know this, but you've been making music for a long time. Costner: Yeah, for a long time. I have been doing a lot of things for a long time. (chuckles) It's not like we called up and said, "Hey, we have a garage band. Can we show up?" We have been working really hard at this for three years. All of it has been under the radar just because we have not felt like publicizing it. It has kind of happened in the way we wanted it to -- which was more of a grassroots situation, people discovering the band. CNN: When you were talking to the students, you spoke a lot about being fearless. Costner: Their choices are going to be questioned not only by their colleagues, but by their parents. You only get one shot at this life. They can go to college and learn a lot of things, but they should also be encouraged to try things, even if they don't succeed. I am trying -- even if I don't succeed. You know, failure is completely underrated in America. (smiles) CNN: With this new project, there's the possibility of having your head handed to you on a platter. Costner: Well, that will happen no matter what I do -- so I'm not worried about that. I have to get over my own bar on what I think is acceptable. CNN: And what is that? Costner: I don't know. It's just a moment when you feel you've given an honest effort | [
"What is the album called",
"What is Costner not bothered by?",
"What is the name of Kevin Costner's band?",
"Who's band happened organically?",
"What kind of music?",
"What does he try to do because he loves them?",
"What instruments does he play",
"Who has a band called Modern West?",
"What is the name of the band?",
"What is Kevin Costner's band called?",
"What has Costner done for years?"
] | [
[
"\"Untold Truths.\""
],
[
"having your head handed to you on a platter."
],
[
"Modern West,"
],
[
"Kevin Costner"
],
[
"country"
],
[
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],
[
"rhythm guitar."
],
[
"Kevin Costner"
],
[
"Modern West,"
],
[
"Modern West,"
],
[
"making music"
]
] | Kevin Costner has band, Modern West; new album just out .
Costner has actually played music for years, band happened organically .
Costner not bothered by reviews, tries to do things because he loves them . |
NASHVILLE, Tennessee (CNN) -- The accused came from all walks of life: Retirees, dads and twentysomethings. An engineer, a business owner and an auto worker. A man in a wheelchair. Men in need of Spanish or Farsi translators. Brett Beasley, with Nashville's Health Department, educates men arrested for trying to buy sex about STDs. About 40 men somberly entered a classroom on a recent Saturday morning. About half of them wore shiny wedding bands. All had tried to buy a prostitute's services and were caught by police. It was their first offense, and a county court referred them to a one-day program called the John School. It's a program run by volunteers and city officials in conjunction with Magdalene House, a nonprofit that works to get prostitutes off the streets. "Prostitution doesn't discriminate," said Kenny Baker, a cognitive behavioral therapist who is the program's director. "Most of these men don't have a prior criminal history, so our goal is to help these folks understand why they put themselves in a bad position, to prevent it from happening again." Set in a church in Nashville, Tennessee, the John School is led by former prostitutes, health experts, psychologists and law enforcement officers who talk to -- and at times berate -- the men about the risks of hiring a prostitute. Prostitution is based on the law of supply and demand. The thinking is: Women won't stop selling sex until men stop buying. So Nashville and a growing number of cities are shifting their focus from locking up suppliers to educating buyers. Across the country, about 50 communities are using John Schools. Atlanta, Georgia, and Baltimore, Maryland, are among dozens more cities that plan to launch similar programs by the end of the year. See where the John Schools are » "It will make them [offenders] see that this is not a victimless crime, and they are contributing to the exploitation of women," said Stephanie Davis, policy adviser on women's issues at the mayor's office in Atlanta. "It's hurting them, the man, and it's hurting their families and its hurting the community." No comprehensive effort has been made to track the numbers, but experts estimate 1 million to 2 million prostitutes work in the United States. The FBI's 2007 Uniform Crime Report lists about 78,000 arrests for prostitution and commercialized vice, but experts say those numbers are extremely conservative because many sex workers and johns aren't caught. Experts add that easy accessibility to prostitutes and pornography on the Internet are feeding the problem. In most communities, prostitution has been a one-sided battle focused on the women who offer sex. Their customers, when they are arrested, are usually cited for a misdemeanor and fined. By comparison, prostitutes are often charged with more severe sentences and jailed for months, depending on the offense. But in Nashville, the johns' faces are shown on a police Web site. For decades, Nashville battled prostitution by arresting women on the streets and through stings. Still, the problem persisted, irritating business owners and residents. In the early 1990s, Nashville's mayor helped launch the John School with the help of the Magdalene House, public defenders, prosecutors and police officers. Nashville became one of the first major cities in the U.S. to focus on the customers, predominantly men. Only first-time offenders who solicit an adult are eligible for John School. Johns who pick up minors are not eligible and face much tougher sentences. "If you get caught again and you get me, I will guarantee to put you in jail," warned Antoinette Welch, a local prosecutor, in speaking to the men in the class. "I've had men cry to me that they will lose their jobs or their wives, but you're all grown up and you make your own decisions." The men listened carefully as Welch talked about their records; many had not yet told their wives or significant others about their arrest. If the john pleads guilty, | [
"Where do the prostitutes work?",
"What city includes a speech from a former prostitute?",
"Experts say how many prostitutes work in the US?",
"What is the internet making it easier to buy?"
] | [
[
"the United States."
],
[
"Nashville, Tennessee,"
],
[
"estimate 1 million to 2 million"
],
[
"prostitutes and pornography"
]
] | Experts say about 1 million to 2 million prostitutes work in the United States .
About 50 communities have programs that focus on deterring johns .
Nashville's program includes a speech from a former prostitute .
The Internet is making it easier for people to buy prostitutes, experts say . |
NASSAU, Bahamas (CNN) -- John Travolta testified Wednesday that would-be extortionists threatened to go the media with stories implying "the death of my son was intentional and I was culpable somehow." John Travolta's son died of a seizure in January at the age of 16. Travolta testified for the second time in a case against paramedic Tarino Lightbourne and former Bahamian Sen. Pleasant Bridgewater. The defendants are on trial, accused of plotting to extort $25 million from Travolta after 16-year-old Jett Travolta died from a seizure in the Bahamas in January. Travolta and his wife, actress Kelly Preston, entered the downtown Nassau courthouse Wednesday morning surrounded by security personnel. The actor took the stand appearing nervous, and he took a long, deep breath before beginning his testimony. Travolta told the court a longtime employee of his became upset after learning someone was demanding money of the actor in the wake of his son's death. The employee learned through the family attorney, Travolta said, that it was "in regards to a paper I signed in the Bahamas." In earlier testimony, one of Travolta's lawyers, Allyson Maynard-Gibson, said Bridgewater approached her in the days after the January 2 death of Jett, saying she had a legal client who had a document Travolta might want. Bridgewater gave her copies of the papers, which included ambulance dispatch reports and a paper signed by Travolta releasing the ambulance company from legal liability, Maynard-Gibson testified. Watch In Session's Ashleigh Banfield discuss case » The paramedic expected Travolta would pay millions to prevent publication of the documents because "he would not want his name tarnished in media," Maynard-Gibson said. Bridgewater told Travolta's lawyer that her client believed the documents could suggest that Travolta was negligent by wanting to take his unresponsive son to his private jet for a flight to a Florida hospital, instead of going directly to a local hospital, she said. In testimony last week, Travolta said a nanny found Jett unresponsive at the home on the island of Grand Bahamas, where the family was spending their New Year's holiday. Travolta said he initially told the ambulance driver to rush them to an airport where his private jet was parked. Travolta, who is a pilot, said he wanted to fly his son to a West Palm Beach, Florida, hospital instead of driving him to one in Freeport. The paramedic, however, asked Travolta to sign a statement releasing the ambulance company from liability. "I received a liability of release document. I signed it. I did not read it. Time was of the essence," Travolta testified last week. Travolta said that while he and his wife were riding in the ambulance with their son, they decided to divert to the hospital. At the hospital, Travolta was told his son "wasn't alive," he said. On Wednesday, Travolta testified that he learned of a demand for $25 million or "stories connected to that document would be sold to the press." "The stories would imply the death of my son was intentional and I was culpable somehow," Travolta said. An attorney representing Bridgewater and Lightbourne asked Travolta if the defendants ever contacted or threatened him directly. Travolta said they did not, that he heard specifics about the situation through his attorneys. Travolta's testimony lasted only a short time. He was excused and is not expected to return to the witness stand. One of the actor's attorneys, Michael McDermott, took the witness stand Wednesday afternoon and began testimony about a videotaped meeting between him and one of the defendants. The video is expected to be played Thursday for the jury. | [
"What did Travolta sign?",
"who signed the waiver",
"who was in court",
"What reason is Travolta in court?",
"What do the defendants say?",
"What is his sons name?",
"Who was extorted?"
] | [
[
"statement releasing the ambulance company from liability."
],
[
"John Travolta"
],
[
"John Travolta"
],
[
"testified for the second time in a case against paramedic Tarino Lightbourne and former Bahamian Sen. Pleasant Bridgewater."
],
[
"\"the death of my son was intentional and I was culpable somehow.\""
],
[
"Jett Travolta"
],
[
"John Travolta"
]
] | Travolta in court: Defendants used papers to imply negligence in extortion attempt .
Travolta: I signed waiver while considering alternative to area hospital for son .
Defendants thought consideration of alternative would imply negligence, lawyer says .
Travolta says two attempted extortion after his son, Jett, died . |
NASSAU, Bahamas (CNN) -- John Travolta's lawyer testified Tuesday that the paramedic who drove Travolta's son to a hospital the day he died later wanted money for documents the driver suggested could be detrimental to the actor. John Travolta's son died of a seizure in January at the age of 16. Paramedic Tarino Lightbourne and former Bahamian Sen. Pleasant Bridgewater are on trial, accused of plotting to extort $25 million from Travolta after 16-year-old Jett Travolta died from a seizure in the Bahamas. Travolta, who testified last Wednesday, is expected to return to the witness stand later in the week. Travolta's lawyer, Allyson Maynard-Gibson, said Bridgewater approached her in the days after Jett's death on January 2, saying she had a client who had a document Travolta might want. Bridgewater gave her copies of the papers, which included ambulance dispatch reports and a paper signed by Travolta releasing the ambulance company from legal liability, Maynard-Gibson testified. The paramedic expected Travolta would pay millions to prevent publication of the documents because "he would not want his name tarnished in media," Maynard-Gibson said. Bridgewater told Travolta's lawyer that her client believed the documents could suggest that Travolta was negligent by wanting to take his son to his private jet for a flight to a Florida hospital, instead of going directly to a local hospital, she said. Maynard-Gibson said she called police, who then videotaped a hotel room meeting between the paramedic and another Travolta lawyer. Those investigators testified Tuesday, and their video was expected to be played in court later. Travolta's testimony last week was the first time he spoke publicly about his desperate efforts to save his son's life after he suffered a seizure at the family's vacation home in the Bahamas. Travolta and his wife, actress Kelly Preston, have been in seclusion for most of this year. Friends have described their deep grief over Jett's death. Travolta said a nanny found Jett unresponsive at the home on the island of Grand Bahamas, where the family was spending their New Year's holiday. A family friend with a medical background helped in urgent efforts to revive Jett, Travolta said. "We continued CPR, and my wife was holding his head," Travolta said. His wife sat in the Nassau courtroom, sometimes crying as she listened to the testimony. Travolta said he initially told the ambulance driver to rush them to an airport where his private jet was parked. Travolta, who is a pilot, said he wanted to fly his son to a West Palm Beach, Florida, hospital instead of driving him to one in Freeport. The paramedic, however, asked Travolta to sign a statement releasing the ambulance company from liability. "I received a liability of release document," he said. "I signed it. I did not read it. Time was of the essence." Travolta said that while he and his wife were riding in the ambulance with their son, they decided to divert to the hospital. At the hospital, Travolta was told his son "wasn't alive," he said. | [
"who was approached",
"how much was asking for",
"How much did the paramedic try to exhort from John Travolta?",
"what do the papers say",
"How much was being extorted from the victim?",
"Who said she was approached in days after Jett Travolta died?"
] | [
[
"Travolta's lawyer, Allyson Maynard-Gibson, said Bridgewater"
],
[
"$25 million"
],
[
"$25 million"
],
[
"signed by Travolta releasing the ambulance company from legal liability,"
],
[
"$25 million"
],
[
"lawyer, Allyson Maynard-Gibson,"
]
] | NEW: Lawyer says defendants used papers to imply negligence in extortion attempt .
NEW: She says documents showed Travolta sought alternative to area hospital .
Lawyer testifies paramedic tried to extort $25 million from John Travolta .
Allyson Maynard-Gibson said she was approached in days after Jett Travolta died . |
NAZARETH, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- Traveling through the rolling hills of Pennsylvania's farmland, one can almost hear the music of days gone by. The factory of C.F. Martin Guitars in Pennsylvania produces instruments used all over the world. The sounds of an old guitar seem fitting for the rustic buildings and small towns that you pass through. It's almost as if you're being drawn in, closer and closer to where the sound originates: C.F. Martin Guitars in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. Walking through the front doors of the factory, nicely tucked into a residential neighborhood, the floors are shiny, the smell of "newness" in the air, but somehow it feels old. It feels like you're stepping into a part of history. And you have. Martin Guitars was established in 1833 when C.F. Martin, along with his family, immigrated to New York from Germany. Upon visiting some friends in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley, the Martin family decided to trade in the hustle and bustle of New York for the open space and German heritage of rural Pennsylvania. The story of Martin Guitars is not just one of building acoustic instruments, but also one of family. The company has passed the business down from one Martin to the next. While many guitar makers have been sold to corporations, Christian Martin IV, the company's current owner, speaks of the responsibility he feels as the fourth-generation family owner. "Although other guitar makers may have the name, and they certainly do appreciate the history and the heritage, in my case, it's in my blood." Chris Martin describes the business as "focused on one thing, and we don't get distracted easily." The one thing is perfecting the art of guitar making, and, musicians say, Martin Guitars has done it better than most. Christian Martin says that what makes his family's line of guitars so popular is the firm belief that the "guitar is really meant to complement the singer, not to overshadow the person playing it." This idea has been the catalyst for some of America's most beloved singer/songwriters for choosing Martin Guitars. Among the artists who have chosen Martin Guitars as their "tool" are Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, David Crosby and John Mayer. Country music icons Hank Williams and Johnny Cash also were Martin men. "You never know if six months from now Eric Clapton or somebody will be playing the guitar you just worked on," says George Molchany, a final inspector at Martin Guitars. Watch how the guitars are crafted » A tour of the new 84,000-square-foot factory is overwhelming, to say the least. Each stop on the tour is a mix between old and new, hands-on craftsmanship and machined process. The hand sanding of the body of a guitar has been replaced with a belt driven sander; the cutting of the edges of the guitar is done with a router that fills the building with so much noise it is often hard to hear the person talking right next to you. It's a sign that Martin Guitars has changed with the times. Automation has provided the company with more productivity, but if you look in certain corners of the factory, it is still a very hands-on process. "It's tedious. Very much so," says Willard "Buddy" Silvius, a neck fitter at Martin who has been with the company for more than 43 years. "You have to get the feel of the wood. You have to know exactly how much you have to chisel off to get the neck to where you want it to fit." Chris Martin says that although the plant has been modernized to produce more guitars, "there are factories in Asia that make as many guitars in one month as we do in one year." According to Chris Martin, the reason that Martin Guitars has been able to hold off the effects of the troubled economy is because of detailed records that date back nearly two centuries. "Every time we celebrated a 25th anniversary, within a year or two, the economy was in | [
"What icons have played guitars?",
"Who have played guitars?",
"Name 2 icons that have played these guitars",
"What do you have to get the feel of, according to an employee?",
"C.F. Martin Guitars has been producing instruments since when?"
] | [
[
"Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, David Crosby and John Mayer."
],
[
"Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, David Crosby and John Mayer."
],
[
"Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton,"
],
[
"wood."
],
[
"1833"
]
] | C.F. Martin Guitars has been producing instruments since 1833 .
Guitars have been played by icons from Hank Williams to Eric Clapton .
"You have to get the feel of the wood," veteran employee says .
Owner says that each guitar coming out of the factory is unique . |
NEW ALBANY, Indiana (CNN) -- President Bush vetoed a $600 billion spending bill Tuesday, accusing Democratic leaders of wasting money and plotting tax increases, then took his budget fight with Congress on the road.
Congress should cut spending "and send me a responsible measure that I can sign into law," President Bush said.
"The majority was elected on a pledge of fiscal responsibility, but so far, it's acting like a teenager with a new credit card," he said in a speech in New Albany, Indiana.
The bill -- which Bush said was laden with $10 billion in "pork" -- would have funded the departments of Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services. It also would have funded projects such as a prison museum, a sailing school and a program to teach Portuguese.
"Congress needs to cut out that pork, reduce the spending and send me a responsible measure that I can sign into law," the president said. Watch a report on the veto »
While polls show Bush's popularity remains at near-record lows, Congress ranks even lower as a whole. The president has taken numerous opportunities to mock the spending habits of the Democratic leadership and force confrontations over the appropriations bills needed to fund the government for the 2008 budget year, which began October 1.
The bill Bush vetoed Tuesday includes about $150 billion to run those departments and more than $450 billion in mandatory spending on Medicare and Medicaid, the federal health care programs for the elderly and poor, according to the House Appropriations Committee. The committee's chairman, Rep. David Obey, called Bush's veto "not responsible and not credible."
"This is a bipartisan bill supported by over 50 Republicans," Obey, D-Wisconsin, said in a statement issued after the veto. "There has been virtually no criticism of its contents. It is clear the only reason the president vetoed this bill is pure politics."
Bush said Democrats are supporting $22 billion in additional spending beyond his budget proposals this year and $205 billion over five years -- money he said would ultimately be raised by tax increases.
"When the bill for all that spending comes due, Congress is going to turn to the working people, to the small-business owners and the entrepreneurs," he said.
Tuesday's veto is the fifth cast since Democrats took control of Congress in 2006. Congress has overridden one of those, voting last week to authorize $23 billion in water projects nationwide over the president's objections.
Democrats will schedule another override vote this week, an aide to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said. But Antonia Ferrier, spokeswoman for House Republican Whip Roy Blunt, said Bush's GOP allies are confident they will be able to sustain the veto.
Bush signed a $470 billion Pentagon spending bill that covers the Defense Department's normal operations, but Democrats split $50 billion in spending for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan off into a "bridge fund" to which they plan to attach demands for Bush to withdraw U.S. combat troops. The measure sets up another confrontation with the White House.
Bush also demanded Congress reform the alternative minimum tax -- a measure originally aimed at preventing the wealthy from evading taxes, but one that increasingly affects middle-class earners -- without raising additional revenue. He said a plan proposed by Rep. Charles Rangel, the Democratic chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, to eliminate the tax was unacceptable.
"Preventing a tax increase in one area should not be an excuse for raising taxes in other areas," he said. "Congress should eliminate the tax increases in the bill and send the AMT relief to my desk as soon as possible."
The elimination of the tax would cause an estimated $800 billion to be lost over 10 years. To replace that, Rangel's bill would add a 4 percent surtax on individual incomes over $100,000, after deductions, and close corporate tax loopholes. The bill also would cut rates for many individual and corporate taxpayers. Republicans have already started calling it "the | [
"who is to schedule override vote?",
"what bush said?",
"What would the bill have funded?",
"Who did Bush say was \"acting like a teenager with a new credit card\"?",
"what is the schedule?",
"Who scheduled an override vote?",
"who is confident about veto?",
"Who has vetod?",
"What will the bill do?",
"Who is scheduling to override the vote?"
] | [
[
"Democrats"
],
[
"Congress should cut spending \"and send me a responsible measure that I can sign into law,\""
],
[
"projects such as a prison museum, a sailing school and a program to teach Portuguese."
],
[
"Congress"
],
[
"override vote this week,"
],
[
"this week,"
],
[
"Bush's GOP allies"
],
[
"President Bush vetoed"
],
[
"funded the departments of Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services."
],
[
"Democrats"
]
] | Bush says most of Congress "acting like a teenager with a new credit card"
Bill would have funded agencies, but also a prison museum, sailing school .
House panel chairman: Bush's veto "not responsible and not credible"
Democrats to schedule override vote, but Bush GOP allies confident about veto . |
NEW DELHI (CNN) -- India's Tata Motors Monday announced it would begin delivery of the Nano, billed as the world's "cheapest car", in July. Tata Motors expects to begin delivery of the Nano, billed as the world's cheapest car, in July. The four-door Nano is currently being built in "limited numbers" at a company plant in the north Indian hill state of Uttrakhand. Tata Motors, however, aims to make 350,000 Nanos a year from 2010 at another unit elsewhere in the country, a company statement said. "It is to the credit of the team at Tata Motors that a car once thought impossible by the world is now a reality. I hope it will provide safe, affordable, four-wheel transportation to families who till now have not been able to own a car. We are delighted in presenting the Tata Nano to India and the world," company chief Ratan Tata told a news conference in Mumbai to announce the "commercial launch" of the $2,000 car. Watch more on the Nano » Tata Motors said the Nano would initially be available through bookings or reservations filed on a request form priced around $6, or Rs 300. Tata will accept the bookings from April 9 to April 25. Within 60 days of the closure of bookings, Tata Motors will process and announce the allotment of 100,000 cars in the first phase of deliveries, through a computerized random selection procedure, it added. "Deliveries will commence from July 2009," said the company statement. | [
"What costs $2,000?",
"how many cars are made",
"How many Nanos is Tata aiming to make?",
"where are they manufactured",
"What will begin?",
"How much does the Nano cost?",
"When is Tata Motors going to begin delivery of the Nano?",
"Who makes Nanos?"
] | [
[
"Tata Nano"
],
[
"350,000"
],
[
"350,000"
],
[
"India's"
],
[
"delivery of the Nano,"
],
[
"$2,000"
],
[
"July."
],
[
"Tata Motors"
]
] | Tata Motors to begin delivery of the Nano in July .
Tata aims to make 350,000 Nanos a year from 2010 .
Car is billed as the world's cheapest, costing $2,000 . |
NEW DELHI (CNN) -- Suraj Suroj uses his motorcycle for all of his family's transportation needs. In his case, that means transporting himself, his wife and his two sons to and from work and school. Typically, all four of them squeeze onto the motorbike together on the crowded streets of Delhi, India.
Suraj Suroj and his two sons weave through the streets of Delhi on his motorcycle.
"We need more space," Suroj says with one of his sons sitting in front of him and the other clinging to his back. "We can only travel about 20 kilometers or 25 kilometers, after that we get tired traveling on the scooter."
Never mind the fact that it's a very dangerous way to travel. The traffic is chaotic, constant, and congested and neither of Suroj's sons have helmets. Millions of people travel this way in India because helmet laws are not enforced and a two wheeler is the best they can afford.
Not any more.
Monday, Tata Motors finally released what has become known as the "world's cheapest car." With the basic model going for about $2,000, the Tata Nano is being touted as an alternative to motorbikes and scooters.
In dramatic fashion, three versions of the Nano were driven onto a dark stage with headlights flashing and invited guests clapping in Mumbai, India. Tata Motors says the Nano will be available for purchase on April 9 but won't be delivered to customers until July. Watch as Nano is unveiled »
The vehicle has received international attention since it was first revealed in January 2008 at an Auto Expo in Delhi. Tata promised it at an incredibly low price. As the economy began to falter last year and the cost of materials started to rise, analysts began to doubt whether Tata could pull it off.
Chairman of Tata group, Ratan Tata, answered those critics at the launch. "We made a promise and we've kept the promise. We hope this day we will usher in a new form of transport," Tata said.
But the launch of the Nano is months behind schedule. The company ran into trouble when a land dispute sparked angry protests over the building of the Nano plant in the communist stronghold state of West Bengal. Farmers said the land belonged to them.
In the end, Ratan Tata decided to stop operations and move to another state which caused a delay and cost Tata Motors millions.
But the Nano has finally arrived.
Industry experts say the base model is really basic but looks modern, is surprisingly spacious and handles well.
"I think it will live up to what has been promised but it will not live up to what some people may imagine," auto analyst Murad Baig said. "If some people may imagine that this is going to be a golden chariot, no it won't. But it will be an economical, safe, practical, economical to buy, economical to run and a very cute little car, I must say."
At only three meters long, the Nano fits four adults relatively comfortably. Critics point out that the cheapest version of the vehicle comes without air conditioning, airbags or power windows and it only has one side-view mirror. The Nano's speeds top out at 105 kilometers (65 miles) per hour.
Tata says the Nano, which meets Indian environmental standards, has the lowest emissions among cars in its class. But environmentalists are not cheering its arrival. They are worried the Nano will simply add to the number of vehicles already choking the roads.
"We are not saying no to Nano. We are saying no to all cars," said Amanita Roychowdry, a representative of India's Center for Science and Environment.
"What is happening right now is that already when car numbers are exploding in Indian cities what cheap motorization is going to do is going to give that extra push. And that is what worries us. Anything that increases the number of cars on our roads is a bad news."
No one knows, however, if the Nano will increase numbers or simply | [
"what says Industry Experts?",
"what kind of cars are they",
"where is tata motors"
] | [
[
"the base model is really basic but looks modern, is surprisingly spacious and handles well."
],
[
"Tata Nano"
],
[
"Mumbai, India."
]
] | Tata Motors to begin delivery of the Nano in July .
Industry experts say motor is surprisingly good, environmentalists disagree .
Car is billed as the world's cheapest, costing $2,000 . |
NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- About 13,000 employees at state-run Air India walked off the job for two hours Friday after the airline failed to pay their monthly wage. A man walks past the Air India building in Mumbai. Staff staged a strike to protest against unpaid wages. The strike was the last resort for some employees who say management failed to keep a promise to pay them Friday, said J.B. Kadian, the general secretary of the Air Corporation Employees Union. There have been strained talks between management and three unions -- that includes everyone from the cabin crew to sweepers -- after Air India told the bulk of its employees their pay would be delayed by two weeks. The unions said 13,000 employees participated in the strike but Air India did not provide a number. The walkout comes after management did not follow through on its latest verbal agreement to pay the lowest paid employees by July 3, employees say. Employees normally get paid on the last day of the month. The lowest paid unionized employees make less than $100 a week. Employees said they were angered that their pay was delayed at a time when the airline has continued to buy new planes. Air India's spokesperson J. Bhargava told CNN: "We will not tolerate any strike. Striking employees will be subject to loss of wages and productive incentives." Air India is in deep financial trouble. It lost about a billion dollars last year alone. It says it is in a fight for survival due to lower volumes of passengers, the high cost of employing about 31,000 employees as well as the current world financial downturn. Analyst Kapil Kaul from the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation said Air India's problems may stem from bad business decisions rather than the global financial downturn. "We have seen Air India continue to get planes when they have no money to pay salaries," Kaul said. "At the present time the airline does not have a well structure and realistic business case." Air India has asked the government to bail it out. It also said it has avoided layoffs unlike other struggling airlines around the world. | [
"When would they be paid by?",
"What did Air India tell CNN?",
"what Some airline staff had been told they would be paid by?",
"who stages flash strike",
"when were they told they will paid",
"what Air India tells CNN?"
] | [
[
"July 3,"
],
[
"\"We will not tolerate any strike. Striking employees will be subject to loss of wages and productive incentives.\""
],
[
"Friday,"
],
[
"Staff"
],
[
"their pay would be delayed by two weeks."
],
[
"\"We will not tolerate any strike. Striking employees will be subject to loss of wages and productive incentives.\""
]
] | Air India employees stage flash strike after monthly paychecks weren't paid .
Some airline staff had been told they would be paid by Friday, July 3 .
Bosses warned most staff that their paychecks would be two weeks late .
Air India tells CNN: "Striking employees will be subject to loss of wages" |
NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- Angry workers beat to death a human resources vice president after he laid off 42 employees at an auto-parts manufacturing company in southern India, police said Wednesday.
Roy George was vice-president for human resources at Pricol, the auto-parts company.
Some four to five workers, belonging to a union not recognized by the company, barged into his office and beat him up with iron rods, said N. Kannan, a police superintendent of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu state.
George, 47, died from his head injuries Tuesday, Kannan told CNN.
Police have arrested nine people and are expected to round up more.
Last year the Indian head of an Italian company died after allegedly being beaten by a mob of sacked employees.
More than 60 people were charged with the murder of the chief executive of Graziano Transmissioni near New Delhi.
Earlier this month, India's Jet Airways had to cancel hundreds of flights after pilots struck work over the sacking of two of their colleagues in August.
Companies in the South Asian nation, despite its rapid economic growth in recent years, have often been faced with tough labor issues because of archaic laws and company policies on hiring and retrenchment.
Business consultants in India blame such labor standoffs on what they call lack of transparency in retrenchment or layoff policies.
Hiring and firing conditions are often not explained to workers by their companies, said Rajeev Karwal, founding-director of Milagrow Business and Knowledge Solutions.
Issues could spiral out of control if the businesses and bureaucrats are seen in a "corrupt nexus" by the employees seeking reprieve from labor authorities, he said. | [
"How many were arrested?",
"What was Roy George?",
"What did the workers do?"
] | [
[
"nine people"
],
[
"vice-president for human resources at Pricol,"
],
[
"beat to death a human resources vice president"
]
] | Roy George was vice-president for human resources at Pricol auto-parts company .
Police: Four to five workers barged into his office and beat him with iron rods .
Police have arrested nine people and are expected to round up more . |
NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- Angry workers beat to death a human resources vice president after he laid off 42 employees at an auto-parts manufacturing company in southern India, police said Wednesday. Roy George was vice-president for human resources at Pricol, the auto-parts company. Some four to five workers, belonging to a union not recognized by the company, barged into his office and beat him up with iron rods, said N. Kannan, a police superintendent of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu state. George, 47, died from his head injuries Tuesday, Kannan told CNN. Police have arrested nine people and are expected to round up more. Last year the Indian head of an Italian company died after allegedly being beaten by a mob of sacked employees. More than 60 people were charged with the murder of the chief executive of Graziano Transmissioni near New Delhi. Earlier this month, India's Jet Airways had to cancel hundreds of flights after pilots struck work over the sacking of two of their colleagues in August. Companies in the South Asian nation, despite its rapid economic growth in recent years, have often been faced with tough labor issues because of archaic laws and company policies on hiring and retrenchment. Business consultants in India blame such labor standoffs on what they call lack of transparency in retrenchment or layoff policies. Hiring and firing conditions are often not explained to workers by their companies, said Rajeev Karwal, founding-director of Milagrow Business and Knowledge Solutions. Issues could spiral out of control if the businesses and bureaucrats are seen in a "corrupt nexus" by the employees seeking reprieve from labor authorities, he said. | [
"How many beat him with rods?",
"How many workers barged into his office?",
"What was used to beat him?",
"How many have been arrested?",
"Name the vice president?",
"Who was Roy George vice president of?",
"Who was the vice-president for human resources?"
] | [
[
"four to five workers,"
],
[
"four to five"
],
[
"iron rods,"
],
[
"nine people"
],
[
"Roy George"
],
[
"vice-president for human resources at Pricol, the auto-parts company."
],
[
"Roy George"
]
] | Roy George was vice-president for human resources at Pricol auto-parts company .
Police: Four to five workers barged into his office and beat him with iron rods .
Police have arrested nine people and are expected to round up more . |
NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- Authorities are investigating reports that disabled children in India were buried up to their necks during this week's solar eclipse as a supposed remedy for their handicaps.
Hindu women pray as they bathe in the River Ganges after the total solar eclipse in India.
Officials said Thursday they were looking into reports that some 34 children aged 2 to 7 were buried in sand up to their chins -- with the consent of the parents -- in the belief that doing so during an eclipse would cure the children of their disabilities.
V. Anbu Kumar, caretaker deputy commissioner of Gulbarga district in the state of Karnataka, told CNN that everybody at the site had left when he and police officers arrived.
The act was apparently carried out in the early morning hours Wednesday, when the longest solar eclipse of the century turned day into night in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Vietnam, China and parts of the Pacific.
Kumar denied that the ritual takes place during every eclipse, but said authorities are "launching an awareness campaign" against the practice.
A complaint has been registered for "knowingly endangering human lives," Gulbarg police chief B.A. Padmanayna told CNN. Stronger charges could also be pressed against the offenders, he said. Watch the 'exceptional' eclipse »
So far, police have made no arrests in the case.
Wednesday's eclipse reignited some superstitions in India. Most pregnant women hope to avoid giving birth during an eclipse, and Indian astrologers even advise expectant mothers to stay indoors when the event occurs. View the eclipse in pictures »
"It may not cause any physical harm to the baby, but it may affect the child's overall personality," said R.K. Sharma, who describes himself as a "remedial astrologer."
A solar eclipse, he says, weakens the sun god temporarily because of an encounter with dragon Rahu and leaves some cascading results everywhere.
"Bathing in holy rivers and ponds during this time thus helps protect health and develop positivism and greater will power," he explained. | [
"What was it thought that the burials would achieve",
"did parents consent",
"what are reports of",
"Which countries authorities are said to be investigating the matter",
"how many kids buried"
] | [
[
"cure the children of their disabilities."
],
[
"with the"
],
[
"disabled children in India were"
],
[
"India"
],
[
"34"
]
] | Authorities investigate reports disabled children were buried during solar eclipse .
Claims made that 34 kids buried in sand up to their chins to cure disabilities .
Parents reportedly consented to action, Indian officials say . |
NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appeared set for a second term as his Congress party and its allies scored a decisive lead over their opponents on Saturday in a vote count after the country's monthlong general elections. Congress supporters in Banglaore Saturday celebrate the party's lead in election results. The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance surged ahead in more than 255 of the 543 federal parliamentary boroughs, outpacing the main opposition composed of a grouping led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party (BJP). BJP leader Arun Jaitley conceded defeat, stating that the ruling party will win the election. "We respect this mandate and accept it," Jaitley said. India's communists, who last year parted ways with the federal government for its civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with the United States, also suffered a massive blow in their stronghold state of West Bengal as they trailed their rivals in more than half of its boroughs. Singh drove down to the home of Sonia Gandhi, the Italian-born head of the Congress party, after trends gave out a clear mandate in favor of the ruling coalition. Standing beside Gandhi, who once again endorsed the choice of Singh for her party's top job, he thanked voters for their support. He vowed to maintain a stable government that he said would remain committed to secular values. Singh also remarked that he would like Rahul Gandhi, son of his party chief, to become a member of his new Cabinet. Deepak Sandhu, the prime minister's spokeswoman, told CNN that Singh is expected to hold a meeting of his current Cabinet on Monday. The prime minister, whose coalition may need some extra backing to be able to reclaim power with a majority of 272 lawmakers on its side, threw up an invitation to all secular parties to come and support his government. The fifth and final phase of India's marathon general election to choose a federal government ended Wednesday. Most of the results of the will be out by the end of the day, election officials said. India is home to about 714 million voters. About 100 million voters registered for Wednesday's polling. | [
"Who is the Prime Minister of India?",
"What did Janata Party do?",
"Who did Singh thank?",
"Who looks certain to win"
] | [
[
"Manmohan Singh"
],
[
"thanked voters for their support."
],
[
"voters"
],
[
"Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh"
]
] | NEW: Victory looks certain for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's second term .
NEW: Singh stands with Sonia Gandhi, head of Congress party, to thank voters .
NEW: Singh vows to maintain stability, invites support of secular parties .
Hindu nationalist coalition Bharatiya Janata Party concedes . |
NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- Police imposed a curfew in Jaipur on Wednesday, a day after near-simultaneous bomb attacks in the ancient Indian city killed at least 63 people and wounded more than 200. Indian women mourn the death of their relatives in the May 13 serial blasts in Jaipur. Vasundhara Raje, chief minister of Rajasthan -- the state of which Jaipur is the capital -- blamed an "unnamed international terror group" for the attack, but said it was too early in the investigation to specify which one. H.G. Ragavendhra, Jaipur's superintendent of police, told CNN that police found nine newly-purchased bicycles at the scene, and think they were used to carry the explosives. The owner of the bike shop is helping police draw a sketch of the person who purchased them. Police have also picked up six suspects and were questioning them. Jaipur, known as the "pink city" for its rose-colored forts and palaces, is a popular tourist attraction. The majority Hindu city of 2.7 million people has a sizable Muslim population. The day-long curfew, authorities said, was meant to prevent "communal violence." It was intended to prevent large crowds from gathering at the blast site and hampering the investigation, said Jaipur police director Kanhaiya Lal. Also, tempers could flare as mourners spend the day carrying bodies to their home villages and to crematoriums, he said. Home ministry officials suspect the Islamic militant group Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HuJi) of being behind the attacks, according to CNN's sister network CNN-IBN and the Press Trust of India. No one has claimed responsibility. In the past, officials have blamed attacks within its borders on "foreign" Islamic extremist groups fighting against Indian rule in the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir. It is a term that is commonly understood to refer to Pakistan. Kashmir has been the source of bitter dispute and two wars between India and Pakistan. Both control parts of the region, which is predominantly Muslim. Pakistan has denied any involvement in the attacks. See the aftermath of the explosions. » Raje told reporters Wednesday that the military had been placed on alert and security tightened around the borders of the state, the western edge of which lies next to Pakistan. She also took to task the central government, saying it had provided no advance warning about the possibility of such an attack. Furthermore, Raje said, the central government left a state-proposed organized crime bill unapproved for two years. The bill would have allowed local police more leeway to interrogate suspects plotting attacks, she said. On Tuesday evening, eight bombs tore through crowded markets and a packed Hindu temple in Jaipur's walled city. The blasts went off within a 12-minute span and within 500 meters (0.3 miles) of each other. Police defused a ninth bomb. The Jaipur blasts bear an eerie resemblance in its pattern to a deadly attack two years ago in India's financial capital, Mumbai. In July 2006, more than 200 people were killed when seven explosions targeted commuter trains in Mumbai, formerly Bombay. In that incident, the explosions went off within a span of 11 minutes. Both attacks used RDX, one of the most powerful kinds of military explosives, and ammonium nitrate, an oxidizing agent in explosives. And both attacks took place during the evening hours and on Tuesdays. The Jaipur blasts occurred near the temple on a day when devotees pray to Hanuman, the Hindu monkey king. Nearby markets and bazaars that were also targeted were filled with tourists and locals. In the Mumbai attack, the blasts were timed to go off during the height of rush hour. And authorities said the bombs all appeared to have been planted on trains that left the Churchgate station -- used daily by thousands of commuters in the metropolis of more than 11 million people. Indian officials blamed Pakistan's intelligence services and a Pakistan-based militant group, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, for the attack. Pakistan, which banned Lashkar-e-Tayyiba in 2002, denied any involvement | [
"what local indian official blames?",
"What do police impose?",
"What did police suspect were used to carry the bombs?",
"Was anyone wounded by the bombs?",
"What number of people are wounded?",
"what's the amount of peopole that wounded?",
"Who is responsible for the bombing that killed 63 people?",
"what police impose?",
"Where did police impose a curfew?",
"Whom does a local Indian official blame for the blasts?"
] | [
[
"\"unnamed international terror group\" for the attack,"
],
[
"curfew"
],
[
"bicycles"
],
[
"more than 200."
],
[
"more than 200."
],
[
"more than 200."
],
[
"\"unnamed international terror group\""
],
[
"curfew"
],
[
"Jaipur"
],
[
"\"unnamed international terror group\""
]
] | Police impose a curfew in Jaipur day after bomb attacks kill at least 63 people .
Local Indian official blames "unnamed international terror group" for blasts .
Bombs explode within 12 minutes of each other, 200 people also wounded .
Police suspect bicycles may have been used to carry the bombs . |
NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- Suspected Maoist rebels in eastern India who held up a train carrying 300 passengers Wednesday ended their siege after a four-hour standoff, officials said. An election official in Maharashtra Wednesday. Maoist rebels seized the train as India continued to vote. No one was hurt, said A.K. Chandra of India's east-central railway. The suspected rebels seized the train, apparently to protest that some former comrades are taking part in general elections that are under way in the country. The Maoists didn't want the former rebels "to join the mainstream and, therefore, stopped this train," said Sarvendu Tathagat, deputy commission of the Latehar district in the state of Jharkhand. Jharkhand is a mineral-rich state where rebels -- known as the Naxalites -- claim to be fighting for the rights of the poor and the dispossessed who have not benefited from the state's resources. About 300 men, apparently unarmed, boarded the train, disabling its braking system as it passed through a dense forest. The hijackers released the train after "persuasion" by area villagers and railway officials, Chandra said. "They wanted your (media) presence," he said of the hijackers' possible motive. Jharkhand has seen stepped-up deadly attacks by rebels while the country is in the midst of month-long general elections. The second round of the elections begin Thursday. On April 16, when the voting began, suspected rebels triggered an explosion that forced a bus carrying border security troops to stop in the same Latehar district. When the troops stepped out, the attackers killed at least six in a three-hour gun battle. And in neighboring Bihar state, suspected Maoists, who had called for a general strike, set eight trucks on fire, shot dead a driver, and blew up a government office on Wednesday, police said. The Maoist insurgency has claimed more than 6,000 lives since the late 1960s. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called the rebels India's biggest security threat. The elections, covering more than 3 million square kilometers of the planet, will run until next month in several stages of scattered polling. Then, elections officials will count the vote electronically in a single day -- on May 16, three days after the last round of polling. It is an exercise that India undertakes every five years for its 1 billion-plus population. This year, the country is voting in 543 boroughs of the Lok Sabha, or the lower house of the Indian parliament. In the elections this year, 714 million registered voters are eligible to cast ballots. The number is up 43 million from the last vote. | [
"Who stopped a train?",
"how many rebels stopped the train?",
"What has the insurgency claimed?",
"where was the train stopped?",
"What's the popultion of India?",
"What type of rebels are these?",
"What led to the insurgency?"
] | [
[
"Maoist rebels"
],
[
"300"
],
[
"more than 6,000 lives"
],
[
"a dense forest."
],
[
"1 billion-plus"
],
[
"Maoist"
],
[
"elections"
]
] | 300 suspected Maoist rebels stop train as it passed through a forest in Jharkhand .
Official: Train was "stopped," not hijacked in region that has seen rebel attacks .
Maoist insurgency has claimed more than 6,000 lives since the late 1960s .
Incident comes as India is in the midst of month-long general elections . |
NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- The death toll from a powerful cyclone that hit India and Bangladesh this week has climbed to at least 180, officials said Wednesday. Cyclone Aila struck eastern India, causing an estimated $8 million damage in one district alone. In Bangladesh, some 111 people have died and more than 6,600 others have been injured in the storm, said Sultanul Islam Chowdhury from the country's food and disaster management ministry. Cyclone Aila, which made landfall on Monday, has swept away nearly 180,000 homes and affected the lives of more than 3.3 million people, he said. In India, the number of storm-related deaths climbed to 69 Wednesday, according to an emergency official. About a quarter of the total, 20 people, died in landslides triggered by Aila on Tuesday in a hilly region of West Bengal, said Debabrata Pal, a joint-secretary with the state's disaster management department. CNN's Harmeet Shah Singh contributed to this story. | [
"how many people died?",
"which is the name of the cyclone?",
"How many people died in Indie by a cyclone?",
"How many people were killed in Bangladesh?",
"How many people were left homeless due to the cyclone?"
] | [
[
"111"
],
[
"Aila"
],
[
"some 111"
],
[
"111"
],
[
"more than 3.3 million"
]
] | Powerful cyclone in India, Bangladesh kills nearly 200 people, officials say .
Cyclone Aila has left thousands of people homeless in both countries .
Aila packed winds up to 50 miles per hour (80 kilometers) |
NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- The fifth and final phase of India's marathon general election to choose a federal government ended Wednesday. Indians voters hold up their voter ID cards at a polling station in northern India. Home to about 714 million voters, India is now due to hold a single-day vote count Saturday for 543 seats in the lower house of its parliament. India's election commission spokesman Rajesh Malhotra told CNN that a 62 percent voter turnout was recorded in the last phase of polling Wednesday. Voting in the month-long exercise was spread across 28 states and seven federal territories. Stock markets closed 138.4 points down -- as voting drew to a close Wednesday -- apparently over fears of political uncertainty ahead. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Congress party, which came to power in 2004 as head of a communist-backed coalition, is seeking re-election. The party mainly faces opposition from an alliance led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. Watch more about one village refusing to vote » Over the years, regional parties have emerged as key players in government formation in India, creating a situation in which federal power is now shared by a coalition of groups. Last year, Singh's Congress party lost the support of the communists, who opposed India's civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with the United States. The party was able to survive primarily with the backing of a powerful regional party. | [
"What country held elections?",
"what was the vote for",
"What is the name of the Prime Minister seeking re-election?",
"Which day of the week is the vote scheduled to take place?",
"Amount of states where voting happened",
"How many states did the month-long exercise involve?",
"Name of the Prime Minister?",
"Who is the prime minister?",
"who is seeking re-election?",
"what is the prime minister name?",
"What is the number of states that voting was spread across?",
"Whose party is seeking re-election?",
"What country is voting?",
"till how far Voting in the month-long exercise was spread ?",
"How many states voted during the month long exercise?"
] | [
[
"India."
],
[
"general election"
],
[
"Manmohan Singh's"
],
[
"Saturday"
],
[
"28"
],
[
"28"
],
[
"Manmohan Singh's"
],
[
"Manmohan Singh's"
],
[
"Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's"
],
[
"Manmohan Singh's"
],
[
"28"
],
[
"Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Congress"
],
[
"India"
],
[
"across 28 states and seven federal territories."
],
[
"28"
]
] | Voting in the month-long exercise was spread across 28 states .
India is scheduled to hold the vote count on Saturday .
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Congress party seeking re-election . |
NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- The only surviving suspect in last month's attacks in Mumbai has written a letter to the Pakistan High Commission, or embassy, seeking legal aid, CNN's sister network in India reported Saturday, quoting a Mumbai police official. Flames and smoke gush from the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai, India, on November 27. Investigators said that Mohammad Ajmal Kasab is from Faridkot village in the Okara district of Pakistan's Punjab province and that the other nine attackers also are from Pakistan. Pakistani officials have denied that assertion, blaming instead "stateless actors." Rakesh Maria, Mumbai's joint police commissioner of crime, said Saturday that Kasab's three-page letter was written in Urdu. In the letter, Kasab confesses his role in the attacks, CNN-IBN said. The letter is to be delivered to the commission's New Delhi, India, office, possibly Monday, the network reported. Maria paraphrased parts of the letter at a news conference but did not release a copy to the media, CNN-IBN said. More than 160 people were killed in the three-day Mumbai siege that started November 26 and targeted 10 sites, including two luxury hotels, a train station and other landmarks. Of the 10 suspects, only 21-year-old Kasab survived, according to police. This week, Pakistani authorities banned a charity linked to the attacks and placed its leader under house arrest, Pakistan's information minister told CNN. The move came after the U.N. Security Council designated the charity, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, as a terrorist organization because of its links to Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (known by the acronym LeT) and placed sanctions on the group. India has blamed LeT for training the attackers who carried out the Mumbai attacks. | [
"What do investigators say?",
"Who is from Pakistan's Punjab province?`",
"Where is Mumbai?",
"Where is Punjab province located?"
] | [
[
"said that Mohammad Ajmal Kasab is from Faridkot village in the Okara district of Pakistan's Punjab province and that the other nine attackers also are from Pakistan."
],
[
"Mohammad Ajmal Kasab"
],
[
"India,"
],
[
"Pakistan's"
]
] | Mohammad Ajmal Kasab is only surviving suspect in last month's attacks .
He is from Pakistan's Punjab province, investigators say .
Mumbai official says Kasab wrote to Pakistani embassy seeking legal aid .
His letter also includes a confession, police official says . |
NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- Lorna Irungu sits on a hospital bed looking extremely frail. She has lupus and her kidneys continue to fail. Lorna Irungu, 35, had to travel from Kenya to India to receive her third kidney transplant. "At some point I just wanted it to be over," said Irungu, 35. "I was just tired. I was really, really tired of the fighting, of the struggling, of being sick." But Irungu did decide to fight, with the help of a very giving family. Three times she has needed a kidney transplant, and three times her family members insisted on donating. First her father donated, then her sister, and then her brother. Irungu says what she couldn't find was a doctor who would do the tricky third transplant in her own country of Kenya. When she checked in neighboring countries, the cost was impossibly high. Irungu, who's single and has no children, has no insurance. So the former television host was paying for the surgery and medicines out of her own pocket. "When we looked at the price of getting things done in South Africa. I'm like, 'We're never gonna get there.' It's $45,000. Where do I even begin?" The cost of a kidney transplant in the United States can be $25,000 to $150,000, also out of Irungu's price range. Watch more on Lorna Irungu's odyssey » So she began looking elsewhere, sending out e-mails and making phone calls to hospitals in other countries. Doctors at Fortis Hospital in New Delhi, India, were the only ones who responded to her somewhat complicated case. Dr. Vijay Kher, the hospital's director of nephrology, first talked to Irungu by phone. "When she called me from Kenya, she was very sick," Kher said. "She had uncontrolled blood pressures, and she was having fever. She had been in ICU for about three weeks." But Irungu made it to India. Once her condition was stabilized, doctors performed the third transplant, which is a rare operation in India. Of the 1,500 kidney transplants performed at Fortis Hospital, doctors remember having done only two in which the patient was having a third transplant. Doctors had to remove one of the previously transplanted kidneys to make room for the new kidney, Kher said. Doctors said it was unnecessary to remove the three other kidneys because they were not causing harm and they didn't want to subject her to more surgery than was necessary. Even with the complications that can arise during a third transplant, the cost of it and the weeklong hospital stay in India came to about $8,000. It's a fraction of the price she was quoted elsewhere, as is the cost of the post-transplant medication. "This last surgery, I keep saying, has been remarkable." Irungu said. "I haven't felt as good post transplant as I did this time around." After three months in India, Irungu is leaving with four kidneys inside her. Irungu says for now the newly transplanted kidney seems to be working great. "From my experience, the cost here and the quality of care is worth it," Irungu said. "It's worth it because instead of you sitting wherever you are, thinking, 'This is the end for me,' or just getting depressed or getting into this struggle, (you can) just pack up and go." | [
"What did the woman travel from Kenya to India for?",
"How many kidneys does she currently possess?",
"How many kidney transplants has the woman had?",
"What ailments does Lorna suffer from?",
"Who suffers from lupus and has received two transplants?",
"What was removed to make room for the new kidney?",
"Where did she travel for the organ transplant?",
"What amount of kidneys that Irungu has works?",
"Who had a third kidney transplant?",
"Who has four kidneys?",
"Where did woman travel for a tricky third kidney transplant?",
"How many kidneys does she have?"
] | [
[
"third kidney transplant."
],
[
"four"
],
[
"third"
],
[
"lupus"
],
[
"Lorna Irungu"
],
[
"previously transplanted"
],
[
"India"
],
[
"four"
],
[
"Lorna Irungu,"
],
[
"Lorna Irungu,"
],
[
"India"
],
[
"four"
]
] | Woman travels from Kenya to India for a tricky third kidney transplant .
Lorna Irungu suffers from lupus and already has received two previous transplants .
One kidney was removed during the surgery to make room for the new kidney .
Irungu now has four kidneys, but only one works properly . |
NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- "Slumdog Millionaire" leaves audiences uplifted. But that is hardly how one of its child stars felt on Thursday. Indian authorities demolished the home of "Slumdog Millionaire" child actor Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail. Despite the hit movie's mega-millions in box-office receipts, Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail's life changed little after he returned home to Mumbai, India's, Garib Nagar, or city of the poor. On Thursday, even the roof over the real-life slum dweller's head was taken away as Indian authorities tore down the shanty where Ismail's family lived. Authorities said the home and about 20 others around it were illegally built. Senior Inspector Rahim Sheikh told CNN that the shanties were brought down as part of a municipal drive to clear encroachments on public land. Bulldozers leveled the slum built on a municipal garden, said Sheikh, who is in charge of the locality in Mumbai where Ismail lived. The little boy sat among twisted corrugated metal and other debris, surrounded by filth and squalor. Memories of Hollywood's glitz and glitter were distant as tears streamed down his face. He said his family was given no notice of the demolition and did not have time to remove their belongings. But, they said, they plan to return and rebuild. Watch 'Slumdog' actor's home razed. » "Slumdog Millionaire" is the story of Jamal, an impoverished, uneducated teen who competes on an Indian game show. Ismail, who played a young Jamal's brother, Salim, traveled to Los Angeles, California, in February for this year's Academy Awards, where the movie won eight Oscars, including best picture. CNN's Sara Sidner contributed to this story. | [
"What is the name of the city of the poor?",
"What is the number of homes illegally built?",
"What does Garib Nagar mean?",
"What did the family say?",
"Where is Ismail's home?"
] | [
[
"Garib Nagar,"
],
[
"20"
],
[
"city of the poor."
],
[
"was given no notice of the demolition and"
],
[
"Mumbai, India's,"
]
] | Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail's home is in Garib Nagar, or city of the poor .
Indian authorities say the home, 20 others, were illegally built .
Family says they got no notice, plan to rebuild . |
NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- A 3-month-old girl born to an Indian surrogate mother has flown to Japan to join her biological father after spending the first months of her life in legal limbo.
Baby Manjhi and her grandmother flew to Osaka, Japan, from the Indian capital, New Delhi, Saturday night, said family friend, Kamal Vijay Vargiya.
While some countries have banned surrogacy as a money-making venture, it has been legal in India since 2002.
Under the practice, infertile couples are matched with local women to carry babies for $12,000 to $30,000.
Baby Manjhi was conceived when a Japanese couple paid a clinic in India to have the husband's sperm and an anonymous donor's egg implanted in the womb of an Indian surrogate.
The plan worked. But a few months before Manjhi was born, the couple divorced. The intended Japanese mother decided she did not want the baby.
Manjhi was born on July 25. Her father, Ikufumi Yamada, and grandmother traveled from Japan to pick her up and take her to her new home. But Indian law stipulates that a mother must be present in order for a baby to receive a passport.
In this case, neither the birth mother nor the mother who had originally sought the child wanted to be involved.
Manjhi's father looked into a legal adoption, but Indian law does not allow single men to adopt.
The case garnered international headlines. Eventually, Manjhi was issued a birth certificate with just her father's name on it. And on Saturday, she left for Osaka to be reunited with him.
"This is for the first time in 28 years in Jaipur that somebody (in such a situation) has been issued travel documents by Indian authorities. And this became possible mainly because of media," said Sanjay Arya, the doctor who treated Manjhi at a Jaipur hospital.
-- CNN's Harmeet Shah Singh contributed to this report | [
"When did the couple divorce?",
"Surrogacy has been legal since when?",
"How long has surrogacy been legal in India?",
"Some countries have banned what?",
"The Japanese mother decided what?",
"Since when has surrogacy been legal in India?",
"What was made legal in India in 2002?",
"Who decided she did not want the baby?",
"What happened before Manjhi was born?"
] | [
[
"a few months before Manjhi was born,"
],
[
"2002."
],
[
"since 2002."
],
[
"surrogacy as a money-making venture,"
],
[
"she did not want the baby."
],
[
"2002."
],
[
"surrogacy"
],
[
"intended Japanese mother"
],
[
"the couple divorced."
]
] | Surrogacy has been legal in India since 2002 .
Some countries have banned the practice as a money-making venture .
A few months before Manjhi was born, the couple divorced .
The intended Japanese mother decided she did not want the baby . |
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