Turkey reacts to Rick Perry's terrorist accusation (AP)

ANKARA, Turkey ? U.S. Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry drew Turkey's ire on Tuesday after suggesting the country is ruled by Islamic terrorists and questioning its NATO membership.

Turkey's Foreign Ministry released a scathing statement saying Perry's comments were "baseless and inappropriate" and that the United States has no time to waste with candidates "who do not even know their allies."

The U.S. State Department also distanced the U.S. government from Perry's remarks late Tuesday.

"We absolutely and fundamentally disagree with that assertion," spokesman Mark Toner said.

Perry, the Texas governor whose candidacy briefly soared when he entered the race in August but whose shine faded after a series of weak debate performances, said Turkey was ruled by "what many would perceive to be Islamic terrorists" and questioned the country's NATO membership.

In a debate ahead of the South Carolina primaries, he said Turkey was moving "far away from the country that I lived in back in the 1970s as a pilot in the United States Air Force that was our ally, that worked with us."

Turkey, which has assisted NATO in Afghanistan and other missions said it has been at the forefront of the fight against terrorism. It said it was "strongly condemning" Perry's words.

"Turkey joined NATO while the governor was still 2 years old," the statement said. "It is a member that has made important contributions to the trans-Atlantic alliance's conflict-full history. It is among countries that are at the front lines in the fight against terrorism."

Toner described Turkey as a stalwart U.S. ally and security partner within NATO, and said it had made a "very courageous stand" against the crackdown in Syria and was an example of "Islamic democracy in action."

Turkey has been ruled by a government led by pious Muslims since 2002. Although its ties with Israel have deteriorated, the government has maintained a close relationship with the West while seeking to represent the views of the Muslim world.

Most recently, Turkey began to host NATO's early warning radar system as part of NATO's missile defense system, which is capable of countering ballistic missile threats from Iran.

Perry also said Turkey should not receive foreign aid. While the United States recently deployed four Predator drones to Turkey from Iraq to aid Ankara in its fight against the autonomy-seeking Kurdish rebels, Turkey does not receive U.S. foreign aid.

The Turkish statement said Turkey's leaders were "personalities respected not only in the United States, but in our region and in the world and whose opinions are strongly relied on."

The Turkish statement said Perry's low standings in polls were proof that the Republicans in the U.S. do not endorse his opinions.

"Figures who are candidates for positions that require responsibility, such as the U.S. presidency, should be more knowledgeable about the world and exert more care with their statement," the Turkish statement said.

The Turkish ambassador to Washington, Namik Tan, said: "We do hope this episode in last night's debate leads to a better informed foreign policy discussion among the Republican Party candidates, one where long-standing allies are treated with respect not disdain."

Perry did poorly in the first two nominating contests, the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, and needs to do well in South Carolina to keep his candidacy alive.

National polls show him far behind the front-runner, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120117/ap_on_re_eu/eu_turkey_rick_perry

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7 killed in northeast Nigeria sect shooting (AP)

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria ? A radical Muslim sect has killed seven people in three separate attacks, authorities said Tuesday, following through on threats to continue attacks in a nation overcome by unrest and divided by religion.

Two soldiers who were distributing food to soldiers on duty were shot dead Tuesday, said Maiduguri police chief Simeone Midenda.

Two other people were killed Monday when gunmen invaded their homes, said military field operation officer Col. Victor Ebhaleme. In Damaturu in nearby Yobe state, gunmen from the sect shot and killed three more people from Chad on Monday, said Yobe state police chief Tanko Lawan.

Authorities blame members of a radical Muslim sect locally known as Boko Haram for all of the attacks which occurred in areas that have seen a heightened security presence.

On Dec. 31, President Goodluck Jonathan declared Borno, Niger, Plateau and Yobe states to be under a state of emergency, meaning authorities can make arrests without proof and conduct searches without warrants. He also ordered international borders near Borno and Yobe state to be closed.

In a video released last week, a leader for Boko Haram said the government run by Jonathan, a Christian from southern Nigeria, could not handle attacks by the group.

"All these things you've been seeing happening, it's Allah who has been doing it because you refuse to believe in him and you misuse his religion and because of that, the thing is more than you, Jonathan," Imam Abubakar Shekau said in the video.

Boko Haram has been blamed for at least 74 deaths in Nigeria since the start of this year alone, according to an Associated Press count and at least 510 deaths last year.

The sect has also recently began specifically targeting Christians in Nigeria's predominantly Muslim north, further inflaming religious divisions in Africa's most populous nation. However, none of Monday's or Tuesday's attacks appeared to target Christians.

The group claimed responsibility for attacks that killed at least 42 people in Christmas Day strikes that included the bombing of a Catholic church near Abuja. The group also claimed an August suicide car bombing that targeted the U.N. headquarters in the capital, killing 25 people and wounding more than 100.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120117/ap_on_re_af/af_nigeria_violence

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Tornadoes touch down in Indiana, Kentucky and Mississippi (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Tornadoes struck parts of Mississippi, Indiana and Kentucky on Tuesday, including one that hit a home in Mississippi and injured at least one person, meteorologists said.

The Indiana and Kentucky twisters knocked out power lines, downed trees and caused property damage, while a Sheriff's Department dispatcher said the Mississippi tornado struck a home in south Marion County, and a person who was inside suffered a possible broken arm.

Tornadoes are unusual for this part of the year in Indiana and neighboring Kentucky, although twisters occasionally hit Mississippi during the current season, said Dan Pydynowski, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather.com, whose company provides forecasting services.

A cold front combined with a warm and humid air mass contributed to the latest twisters, but those conditions were dissipating, he said.

"The threat's pretty much come to an end everywhere, so I don't think there's any more tornadic activity to worry about anywhere at this point," Pydynowski said.

In the area of Louisville, Kentucky, a twister knocked down trees and power lines along roadways, the National Weather Service said. To the north in Clark County, Indiana, a twister touched down in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart, the Weather Service added. When the twister moved, a vehicle was turned over on nearby Interstate 65, the agency said.

At Madison Municipal Airport in southeast Indiana, a twister also damaged a Beechcraft King Air when it moved the small plane and broke its nose gear, the Weather Service said.

(Reporting By Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/weather/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120118/us_nm/us_tornado_strikes

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Does the La Ni?a weather pattern lead to flu pandemics?

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Worldwide pandemics of influenza caused widespread death and illness in 1918, 1957, 1968 and 2009. A new study examining weather patterns around the time of these pandemics finds that each of them was preceded by La Ni?a conditions in the equatorial Pacific. The study's authors--Jeffrey Shaman of Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and Marc Lipsitch of the Harvard School of Public Health?note that the La Ni?a pattern is known to alter the migratory patterns of birds, which are thought to be a primary reservoir of human influenza. The scientists theorize that altered migration patterns promote the development of dangerous new strains of influenza.

The study findings are currently published online in PNAS.

To examine the relationship between weather patterns and influenza pandemics, the researchers studied records of ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific in the fall and winter before the four most recent flu pandemics emerged. They found that all four pandemics were preceded by below-normal sea surface temperatures?consistent with the La Ni?a phase of the El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation. This La Ni?a pattern develops in the tropical Pacific Ocean every two and seven years approximately.

The authors cite other research showing that the La Ni?a pattern alters the migration, stopover time, fitness and interspecies mixing of migratory birds. These conditions could favor the kind of gene swapping?or genetic reassortment?that creates novel and therefore potentially more variations of the influenza virus.

"We know that pandemics arise from dramatic changes in the influenza genome. Our hypothesis is that La Ni?a sets the stage for these changes by reshuffling the mixing patterns of migratory birds, which are a major reservoir for influenza," says Jeffrey Shaman, PhD, Mailman School assistant professor of Environmental Health Sciences and co-author of the study.

Changes in migration not only alter the pattern of contact among bird species, they could also change the ways that birds come into contact with domestic animals like pigs. Gene-swapping between avian and pig influenza viruses was a factor in the 2009 swine flu pandemic.

###

Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health: http://www.mailman.hs.columbia.edu

Thanks to Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116744/Does_the_La_Ni__a_weather_pattern_lead_to_flu_pandemics_

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European court: Cleric can't be deported from UK (AP)

LONDON ? An extremist cleric described as one of Europe's leading al-Qaida operatives should not be deported to face terrorism charges in Jordan because of the risk evidence obtained through torture would be used against him, Europe's highest court ruled Tuesday.

After a six-year legal battle, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that deporting Abu Qatada from Britain ? where he is in prison custody ? would "give rise to a flagrant denial of justice."

Abu Qatada ? whose real name is Omar Mahmoud Mohammed Othman ? is an extremist Muslim preacher from Jordan who has been described in both Spanish and British courts as a leading al-Qaida figure in Europe.

A Palestinian-Jordanian citizen, Abu Qatada arrived in Britain in 1993 and was detained in 2002 under anti-terrorism laws which at the time allowed suspected terrorists to be held in jail without charge.

Though Abu Qatada was released in 2005, when the unpopular law was overturned, he was kept under surveillance and arrested again within months, to be held pending his deportation to face terrorism charges in Jordan.

He was convicted in his absence in Jordan of terrorist offenses related to two alleged bomb plots in 1999 and 2000, and would face a retrial if deported there from Britain.

Although Abu Qatada has never faced criminal charges in Britain, authorities in the U.K. have accused him of advising militants and raising money for terrorist attacks. He "is a leading spiritual adviser with extensive links to, and influence over, extreme Islamists in the U.K. and overseas," prosecutors told a British court in 2007.

Britain's Home Secretary Theresa May said she was disappointed by the ruling and the government would consider appealing the European court's decision. It has a three-month window in which to make any appeal, the court said.

"This is not the end of the road," May said. She confirmed Abu Qatada would remain held in British prison custody while a decision is made.

May has not specified what Britain would do if it loses any appeal, though it is likely Abu Qatada would be freed from prison and monitored under a surveillance program which requires those suspected of involvement in terrorism, but not charged with any crime, to abide by a curfew and wear an electronic anklet.

Britain's Special Immigration Appeals Commission has previously been told Abu Qatada was also suspected of links to a bomb plot in Strasbourg, France, and to the raising of funds for terrorism in Chechnya.

In their ruling, the European judges based in Strasbourg said they did not accept Abu Qatada's claims that he would face ill treatment or torture at the hands of Jordanian authorities if sent there for trial, citing recent agreements between Jordan and the U.K.

But the judges warned that evidence in his case had been obtained by torturing his co-accused.

"The court found that torture was widespread in Jordan, as was the use of torture evidence by the Jordanian courts," the ruling said. "In relation to each of the two terrorist conspiracies ... the evidence of his involvement had been obtained by torturing one of his co-defendants."

Judges said evidence obtained through torture is illegal under international law and is also unreliable. The ruling said "there was a high probability that the incriminating evidence would be admitted ... and that it would be of considerable, perhaps decisive, importance."

Britain's highest court had ruled in 2009 that Abu Qatada should be deported to Jordan, despite fears over his potential mistreatment.

Human rights group Liberty urged the British government to make efforts to have Abu Qatada prosecuted in Britain.

"The court found that torture and evidence obtained that way is widespread" in Jordan, Shami Chakrabarti, the group's director, said in a statement. "So it is clear that, if Abu Qatada is to be tried for terrorism, this should happen in a British court without further delay."

British Prime Minister David Cameron will call for reform of the European court in a long-planned speech next week at the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe.

He has frequently complained over the human rights court's rulings and said it had made him "physically ill" when Britain was ordered in 2010 to overturn a centuries-old law and allow prisoners to vote in national elections.

"We have been talking for some time about reform for the European Court of Human Rights," Cameron's spokesman Steve Field said following the Abu Qatada ruling.

He said the court's backlog of about 160,000 cases proved "something isn't working quite as it should be."

Cameron believes the court must focus on the most important cases "rather than essentially being a court of appeal for national judgments," Field said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/terrorism/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120117/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_radical_preacher

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UK: Europe will adopt sanctions on Iranian oil (AP)

LONDON ? Britain's foreign secretary said Sunday that European nations will intensify pressure on Iran over its nuclear program, but insisted the West wasn't pressing for military action.

William Hague told Sky News television that he believed the European Union would agree tough new sanctions against Tehran's oil sector later this month, and would continue to look for peaceful methods of persuading Iran to ditch its pursuit of a nuclear weapon.

Iran insists its nuclear program is intended solely for peaceful purposes, but the West and others accuse it of attempting to build a bomb. Britain's defense secretary Philip Hammond said earlier this month that Tehran was working "flat out" on its weapons program.

"We have never ruled anything out. We have not ruled out any option, or supporting any option. We believe all options should be on the table, that is part of the pressure on Iran, but we are clearly not calling for or advocating military action," Hague said.

"We are advocating meaningful negotiations, if Iran will enter into them, and the increasing pressure of sanctions to try to get some flexibility from Iran," he said.

European officials have worked for several months on banning the purchase of Iranian oil, and are expected to agree to the measures at a meeting of foreign ministers on Jan. 23.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said the new sanctions would help to choke off funding to Iran's nuclear program.

"Even just the option of nuclear armament by Iran would have far-reaching negative consequences far beyond the Gulf region, so it is not acceptable," German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle was quoted as saying in a weekend interview with the Rheinische Post newspaper.

"So, with new sanctions that we want to approve this month, we are now targeting the heart of the Iranian nuclear program: its oil and, with that, its sources of financing," he added. "But the door to dialogue with Iran remains open at the same time."

Westerwelle also dismissed discussion of possible military action if Iran continue to defy international demands to halt its weapons work. "We should not further charge an already tense situation in a turbulent region," he was quoted as saying.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe has said new European sanctions could also target its Central Bank.

"I am confident we will adopt very significant additional measures .... covering the oil sector and possibly other sectors as well," Hague said.

Britain has already downgraded ties with Iran following a major attack on its embassy in Tehran in November, which it insists was sanctioned by the country's ruling elite. In response, Britain pulled all of its diplomats out of Iran and expelled Iranian diplomats from U.K. soil.

___

Associated Press writer Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120115/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_iran

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North Korea transition "smooth," economy the real test (Reuters)

SEOUL (Reuters) ? North Korea's new leadership under the inexperienced Kim Jong-un appears to be functioning "relatively smoothly," but he has to look beyond key ally China to rebuild its shattered economy, South Korea's senior most official on the North said on Monday.

Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik told Reuters that despite Kim Jong-il's sudden death last month, the secretive North had clearly been well prepared for the handover to a third generation of the Kim family.

"The succession of power has been stable and well prepared," Yu said in an interview.

"It's difficult to predict the future, but for the time being it is likely they will focus on consolidating power internally and to appear stable to the outside world."

Rumors swirled in markets this month about a possible coup in North Korea, but the South dismissed them as groundless. Yu said on Monday the new leadership appeared to be stable.

He, however, said that given Kim's age -- he is believed to be in his late 20s -- and inexperience there remained questions about whether he could do "the job right."

"But having lived as a successor in a regime like North Korea itself is a significant experience. He may be young, but age should not be a big problem," said Yu, although he conceded South Korea knows little about the man the North dubs the "supreme commander."

He said the North would seek to build a cult of personality around the young Kim, similar to that which made Kim Jong-il and the state founder's Kim Il-sung into god-like figures.

Yu said the young Kim did not yet appear to have the kind of absolute control that his father and grandfather wielded, saying a small band of trusted minders were playing an important role in supporting and influencing his leadership.

He did not elaborate on the makeup of the inner group of leaders, believed to include Jong-un's uncle and aunt and the military chief. A source with close ties to Pyongyang and Beijing told Reuters last month the North will shift to collective rule from a strongman dictatorship.

"It's difficult to predict what form their role will take," said Yu. "What's important is to think about what sort of help we can offer to encourage them to make changes to stabilize itself."

SEOUL, NOT BEIJING, KEY TO ECONOMY

Yu said Kim's policy choices to stabilize the economy were more important than personal factors in cementing his grip.

Some 30 years ago, the North's centrally planned economy was more vibrant than that of the South, but since the disintegration of the North's then-ally and benefactor, the Soviet Union, the economy has all but collapsed.

North Korea's nominal gross national income (GNI) amounted to 30 trillion won (US$26.5 billion) in 2010 - only 2.56 percent of South Korea's GNI of 1,173 trillion won, South Korea's central bank says.

Yu questioned China's role in rebuilding the economy, saying its influence was limited to the political sphere. Only Seoul, he said, could help save the impoverished state from ruin.

Beijing, the North's main ally and benefactor, has encouraged the North to follow its model of economic reform.

"China obviously wants the North Korean regime to be stable ... To ensure the North's economy does not fall apart, China will invest in the border region and encourage trade, but it is difficult to believe that that will revive the economy."

Beijing provides more than 80 percent of the North's food and oil and has invested heavily as Pyongyang has been subject to international sanctions for nuclear and missile tests.

Over the past year, China has also backed Pyongyang's plans to open special economic zones on its border.

Yu said the North was well aware that only Seoul can offer substantive help, even though the Koreas remain technically at war, having signed only a truce to end the 1950-53 Korean War.

"It is South Korea that has the experience of rebuilding a shattered economy. It is South Korea that understands the risks of rebuilding, and is prepared to take that risk.

"There will be considerable political help from China, but I believe economic assistance will be limited."

HOSTILITIES OR DIALOGUE?

Yu said the North's new "great successor," appeared focused for now on building a militaristic image, and may stage a hostile act to firm up his power base.

"I think a military provocation is a possibility as a way to deflect responsibility if its failure to revive the economy is revealed," he said.

The North has stepped up its rhetoric against the South and Kim has been shown touring military sites in what analysts say is likely aimed at burnishing a hardline image with the army.

On Monday, the North's state media ridiculed South Korean officials, including Yu, as "confrontational fanatics" and "moral imbeciles" who missed the chance of engaging in dialogue when Pyongyang reached out last year for talks.

Yu dismissed the rhetoric and held out an olive branch to the North's leadership, saying Seoul would consider a resumption of food aid if Pyongyang returned to the negotiating table.

"We can discuss the matter of large-scale food aid, including rice, if North-South talks reopen," said Yu, adding no "meaningful" contact had occurred since Kim Jong-il's death.

The South's President Lee Myung-bak cut off all economic aid to the North upon winning office in 2008, demanding Pyongyang's complete denuclearization for the resumption of aid, which amounted to around $4.5 billion the preceding decade.

"The world is changing fast, and it's inconceivable that North Korea will do nothing to solve its problems by waiting," said Yu. "And I expect the North will make the right choice for our common future."

(Writing by Jeremy Laurence; Editing by Ron Popeski)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120116/wl_nm/us_korea_north_minister

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