Italy furious after Brazil's Lula refuses extradition

 

Cesare Battisti was on the run for 26 years before his arrest in 2007

Italy has reacted with fury to the Brazilian president's decision on his last day in office not to extradite an Italian former left-wing militant.

The Italian foreign ministry recalled its ambassador to Brazil, while the defence minister said Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had shown a "lack of courage".
But Brazil's government said the move was not an "affront" to another state.
Cesare Battisti has been convicted in absentia of murdering four people in Italy between 1978 and 1979.
The 56-year-old has maintained his innocence, saying he is the victim of political persecution in Italy and that he risks being killed if extradited.

"I am guilty, as I have often said, of having participated in an armed group with a subversive aim and of having carried weapons. But I never shot anyone," he wrote in a book published in 2006.
Political asylum Battisti has been on the run since escaping from an Italian jail in 1981 while awaiting trial. He spent the intervening years in France - where he started a career as a novelist - Mexico and finally Brazil.
After he was arrested in Brazil in 2007, the Italian government requested his extradition under an existing bilateral treaty. It said the former member of the radical Armed Proletarians for Communism (PAC) was a terrorist.
Last year, the Brazilian government accepted a request from Battisti for political asylum, but the Supreme Court ruled that the designation was illegal as he was convicted of "common crimes" rather than political acts.
The judges said the extradition treaty should apply, but nevertheless left the final decision to the president.

Analysis

Duncan Kennedy BBC News, Rome

Italy has been desperate to get its hands on Cesare Battisti, who has become something of a scapegoat for the country's years of political violence - someone to blame for the period known as the "Years of Lead".
These were the dark days of the 1970s and early 1980s, when bombings and assassinations rocked Italy's political foundations. Very few people were ever prosecuted. There was talk of the state having a hand in some of the attacks.
Battisti represents a visible face for the wrongdoing. Families of Battisti's four alleged victims have all condemned Brazil for its failure to send back. The son of a man shot dead in 1979 said that until Battisti was returned, there could be no justice.

On Friday - the final day before handing over the presidency to Dilma Rousseff - Lula decided to turn down Italy's request "on the basis of a report by the attorney general", Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said.

"This type of judgement does not constitute an affront from one country to another," he added.
But Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi condemned the move, and vowed to explore all options to have it reversed.
"I express deep bitterness and regret at the decision by President Lula to refuse the extradition of Cesare Battisti, a multiple murderer, despite insistent requests and urging at all levels from Italy," he said.
"This is a choice contrary to the most elementary sense of justice," he added. "I consider this situation is anything but closed - Italy will not give up and will make sure of its rights."
Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa said the decision was "seriously offensive to Italy, and above all to the memory of the people who were killed and the pain of the relatives of those who lost their lives".
"They should be under no illusion that this can happen without consequences," he told Sky TG24 television.
"Just the fact that Lula waited for the last hour of his term is a sign of his lack of courage," he added. "It's a disgrace. I'll never tire of saying it."
The Italian foreign ministry said its ambassador to Brazil would press the case with Ms Rousseff as soon as possible and would be recalled to Rome for consultations.
The president of Brazil's Supreme Court told reporters earlier on Friday that the legality of President Lula's decision would still have to be assessed by the chamber when it resumed work in February after a recess.

Joe Miller accepts Murkowski victory in Alaska Senate race

 

Joe Miller had challenged the validity of some ballots

Joe Miller, a Republican candidate backed by the Tea Party, has conceded defeat to Lisa Murkowski in Alaska's US Senate election.

The move ends a protracted legal challenge that Mr Miller mounted following the election on 2 November.
Authorities certified Ms Murkowski's victory on Thursday, but Mr Miller could have appealed.
Ms Murkowski lost the Republican nomination in August to Mr Miller, but she ran a write-in campaign.
This involves voters adding a candidate's name to the ballot paper as they vote.

Mr Miller had challenged the validity of some ballots, saying those on which her name was misspelled should not be counted.
Ms Murkowski is the first Senate candidate to be elected in a write-in campaign since Strom Thurmond in 1954.

Parties and fireworks as the world ushers in new year

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New Year's celebrations have been taking place around the world 

Firework displays, parties and other celebrations are taking place around the world to usher in the new year.

Festivities ranged from the release of thousands of silver balloons in Toyko in Japan, to the first countdown of a western new year in Hanoi, Vietnam.
In Sydney, crowds watched what is hailed as the world's biggest New Year's Eve fireworks display.
Earlier, thousands of revellers took to the streets in New Zealand - the first major country to see in 2011.

Revellers crowded Hong Kong's Times Square

Meanwhile, party-goers in Europe are gearing up for firework displays and other events planned across the continent.
A musical and fireworks are planned at the UK's London Eye big wheel -
which is marking its 10th anniversary.
Crowds have also gathered in Madrid's Puerta del Sol square to take part in "Las Uvas" (The Grapes), a tradition in which people eat a grape for each of the 12 chimes of midnight.
And in the US, up to a million people are expected in New York to see the famous Times Square Ball drop at midnight.
The municipal authorities and warmer weather have combined to clear the streets following the snowstorm which blanketed the city this week.
Dragon display In Hong Kong, hundreds of thousands of people gathered along Victoria Harbour to watch fireworks explode from the roofs of the city's most prominent buildings.
At the Zojoji temple in central Tokyo, Japan, monks chanted as visitors packed in to count down until midnight. Thousands released a mass of silver balloons carrying notes with their hopes for the future.
And in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, fireworks formed the shape of a dragon spiralling up the tallest skyscraper.
This year's display is the country's biggest ever, costing $2m (£1.3m), to mark the beginning of year 100 on the Taiwan calendar.

Sydney was packed as spectators gathered for a massive display of fireworks

In Sydney, about 1.5 million people came out with blankets and camping equipment ahead of the seven-tonne fireworks display above the Harbour Bridge.
Crowds began arriving more than 12 hours before the main display, with new visitors turned away as early as 1500 (0400 GMT), the Associated Press news agency reports.
"We know how to party on new year back home, but Sydney is a bigger and better party than anywhere else," Marcio Motta, a 26-year-old spectator from Brazil, told the Press Association.
This year, meanwhile, marked the first time Vietnam's capital, Hanoi, officially celebrated a Western-style countdown. In previous years, the city authorities have focused on Tet, the holiday marking the lunar new year, which begins on 3 February.
In the Philippines, safety officials urged caution after firecrackers injured at least 245 people in recent days. According to tradition, many believe noisy celebrations drive away evil and misfortune.
In Burma, however, the military government has banned all fireworks and said severe action would be taken against anyone using them.
Political activist Aung San Suu Kyi, who was released from house arrest in November, called for the Burmese people "to struggle together with new strengths, new force and new words in the auspicious new year".
The tiny Pacific nation of Kiribati was the first to welcome in the new year at 1000 GMT. The religious island nation was set to mark the event with church and village services.

Nintendo issues warning on 3DS games for children

 

Earlier versions of the DS have proved hugely popular with children.The eyesight of children under six could be harmed by 3D games played on Nintendo's forthcoming handheld console, the company has warned.

The games giant posted the health warning on the website devoted to the 3DS handheld.
It said specialists had warned of possible damage that could be caused by 3D games which present different images to the right and left eye.
Younger children should only play 2D versions of 3DS games, said Nintendo.
Parental control The 3DS, the successor to the hugely popular DS handheld, goes on sale in late February in Japan and in Europe and the US in March.
The new handheld has two screens like older versions of the console with the top screen being able to show 3D images without the need for special glasses.
Parents should turn off this function if the handheld is going to be used by a child under six years of age, said Nintendo. It said the advice it had received from experts also applied to other 3D content that younger children might be exposed to.
In issuing the warning, Nintendo joins Sony and Toshiba in alerting people to the ill effects that can attend watching 3D movies or playing 3D games.
Sony has already said that parents should get medical advice before letting children watch 3D content on the PlayStation. Toshiba has said parents should keep an eye on children watching its TVs that can display 3D images without needing glasses.
The companies have also warned that watching too much 3D content can cause adults discomfort.

Conclusion to Breaking Dawn: Revealed?!?

POSSIBLE HUGE SPOILER ALERT: We may know how Breaking Dawn concludes.
Because the final installment of The Twilight Saga will be broken into two parts, producers had to find a way to break up the films in a suspenseful manner. According to someone who read the script and then spoke to a Robert Pattinson fansite, writers have come up with a way to do just that.

The Volturi will confront the Cullens in a bloody, climactic scene that is described as follows:
Alice touches Aro. When she touches him, he ’sees’ what will happen if he continues his course. So, the first person whose head comes off is Carlisle. In the vision. Then everything goes to sh-t and all kinds of dying happens. And Bella and Edward kill Aro. Bella and Edward, they die too. All these other people die, too. Jane and her brother. Lots of deaths on both sides. Then the [Volturi] guy snaps out of it, says he’s sorry. Everybody makes up and lives happily ever after.
No fantasy sequence of this kind takes place in the book. However, as mentioned, the movie must come up with a way to conclude one half of Breaking Dawn and transition into the final movie.
Might this rumored scene accomplish that goal? You tell us. How does it sound?

JWoww on Jersey Shore Season 3: Crazy Drama!

JWoww promises plenty of drama when Jersey Shore returns for Season 3 next week. We're inclined to believe the fake-breasted, hot-headed star.
Frequent sparring partner Angelina Pivarnick may be gone, but according JWoww (Jenni Farley), tears and tirades are still to come on the MTV hit.
“There’s a whole lot of drama!” JWoww said, admitting that she is at the center of much of the action herself, thanks to her split with Tom Lippolis.

BUSTIN' OUT: JWoww is so ready to this season.

“You will see that I go through a bad breakup, and I find new love,” Jenni says. “Everyone finally gets to see my side. I come out of my shell.”
JWoww’s pissed off ex publicly accused her of cheating - and cheating her out of royalties - last summer, but the starlet is hardly heartbroken.
Instead, she's turning her misadventures in love into the third season of her hit show, along with a dating advice book to be released next year.
At least she has Sammi Giancola to take out her frustrations on. Watch JWoww get into it with her roomie in the Jersey Shore Season 3 trailer!

Amber Portwood and Clinton Yunker: It's Over!

Amber Portwood and Clinton Yunker have broken up, paving the way for her eventual reconciliation with baby daddy/punching bag Gary Shirley.
Just kidding ... about the second part.
The controversial Teen Mom star ended the "mature relationship" this week, and the mixed martial artist has wasted little time moving on.

PORKER: They seemed like such a good match, too ...

"I was out with some friends at Buffalo Wild Wings and recognized Amber's boyfriend Clinton, but he was all over some girl," a source said.
"He told me Amber broke up with him."
In true reality TV style, things got crazy when Gary Shirley, who's been criticized for egging Amber on, showed up to the same restaurant.
"Clinton's brother was there with him and he tried to pick a fight with Gary and friends," the source said, though no punches were thrown.
Police were called to the restaurant but no one was arrested.
Amber Portwood and Gary Shirley had planned a trip to New York City to celebrate New Year's Eve and the prospect of getting back together.
Those plans were nixed when a No Contact Order was given to Portwood in lieu of her domestic violence charges from the local D.A.'s office.
She pleaded not guilty, but the No Contact Order remains.
That order bars her from seeing or having any contact with Shirley. It remains to be seen if it will be lifted. As far as Clinton Yunker goes?
"Clinton didn't seem too torn up about the breakup," the source said. "In fact, he seemed ecstatic and was really having a good night!"