Hollywood legend Charlton Heston dead at 83

LOS ANGELES, California -- Actor Charlton Heston died at Beverly Hills home at the age of 83 Saturday, his family said.

Heston, known for portrayals of larger than life figure including Moses and Ben Hur, was suffering the late stages of Alzheimer's Disease.

Heston's wife of 64 years, Lydia, was by his side at the time of his death, according to the family statement.

Heston is survived by a son, a daughter and three grandchildren.

"We knew him as an adoring husband, a kind and devoted father, and a gentle grandfather, with an infectious sense of humor," the family said. "He served these far greater roles with tremendous faith, courage and dignity. He loved deeply, and he was deeply loved."

While no funeral plans have been announced, the family said it would hold a private memorial service.

The Internet Movie Database listed 126 movies and television production credits for Heston, starting in 1941. He rose to fame in the 1950s with starring movie roles including Ben Hur, for which he won an Oscar. He played Moses in the Ten Commandments.

Heston's last acting credit was for playing an elderly Josef Mengele, the Auschwitz Nazi surgeon who performed medical experiments on concentration camp refugees during World War Two in the 2003 movie My Father, Rua Alguem 5555.

Heston was also known for his political activism.

He was a high-profile supporter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his civil rights movement. He attended King's 1963 March on Washington and stood near the podium as King delivered his "I have a dream" speech.

He was president of the National Rifle Association from 1998 to 2002, a role that cast him as a conservative.

Heston was Born John Charles Carter in Evanston, Illinois on Oct. 4, 1924. He took the surname Heston after his mother divorced and remarried when he was 10.

Bush: NATO must boost troops for Afghanistan

BUCHAREST, Romania -U.S. President George W. Bush called on NATO members Wednesday to send more troops to Afghanistan.
Citing a recent recording from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden that threatens attacks on Europe, Bush said the war in Afghanistan must be won. The United States, France and Romania are among countries that are adding troops to the NATO-led coalition there.

"We ask other NATO nations to step forward with additional forces as well," Bush said. "If we do not defeat the terrorists in Afghanistan, we will face them on our own soil."

He also called for the admission of Ukraine and Georgia into the alliance, and he renewed his commitment to a missile defense system in Europe.

Bush spoke ahead of a summit of NATO leaders in Bucharest.

The question of whether the Soviet republics of Ukraine and Georgia can start the process to become NATO members is controversial for the alliance.

Russia has expressed concerns about Ukraine and Georgia joining the alliance, which has already made members of former Soviet countries like Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. "My country's position is clear," Bush said. "NATO should welcome Georgia and Ukraine into the membership action plan and NATO membership must remain open to all of Europe's democracies that seek it and are ready to share in the responsibilities of NATO membership."

Another contentious issue at the summit is a missile defense system that the United States plans for eastern Europe. Bush cited a growing ballistic missile threat from the Middle East as a main reason for having the system in place.

Russia opposes the plans, concerned that the defensive shield could turn into an offensive operation. Bush said Moscow has no reason for worry.

"The missile defense capabilities we are developing are not designed to defend against Russia, just as the new NATO we are building is not designed to defend against Russia," Bush said.

"The cold war is over. Russia is not our enemy."

Bush plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi on Sunday. Putin also plans to attend the NATO summit in Bucharest this week.
advertisement

Poland and the Czech Republic have agreed to host parts of the system, but many others in Europe share Russian concerns and don't believe the system is needed to guard against an imminent threat from Iran or North Korea.

Europe is also dependent on Russia for at least 40 percent of its oil and is reluctant to upset the Kremlin.

Bush: NATO must boost troops for Afghanistan

BUCHAREST, Romania -U.S. President George W. Bush called on NATO members Wednesday to send more troops to Afghanistan.
Citing a recent recording from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden that threatens attacks on Europe, Bush said the war in Afghanistan must be won. The United States, France and Romania are among countries that are adding troops to the NATO-led coalition there.

"We ask other NATO nations to step forward with additional forces as well," Bush said. "If we do not defeat the terrorists in Afghanistan, we will face them on our own soil."

He also called for the admission of Ukraine and Georgia into the alliance, and he renewed his commitment to a missile defense system in Europe.

Bush spoke ahead of a summit of NATO leaders in Bucharest.

The question of whether the Soviet republics of Ukraine and Georgia can start the process to become NATO members is controversial for the alliance.

Russia has expressed concerns about Ukraine and Georgia joining the alliance, which has already made members of former Soviet countries like Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. "My country's position is clear," Bush said. "NATO should welcome Georgia and Ukraine into the membership action plan and NATO membership must remain open to all of Europe's democracies that seek it and are ready to share in the responsibilities of NATO membership."

Another contentious issue at the summit is a missile defense system that the United States plans for eastern Europe. Bush cited a growing ballistic missile threat from the Middle East as a main reason for having the system in place.

Russia opposes the plans, concerned that the defensive shield could turn into an offensive operation. Bush said Moscow has no reason for worry.

"The missile defense capabilities we are developing are not designed to defend against Russia, just as the new NATO we are building is not designed to defend against Russia," Bush said.

"The cold war is over. Russia is not our enemy."

Bush plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi on Sunday. Putin also plans to attend the NATO summit in Bucharest this week.
advertisement

Poland and the Czech Republic have agreed to host parts of the system, but many others in Europe share Russian concerns and don't believe the system is needed to guard against an imminent threat from Iran or North Korea.

Europe is also dependent on Russia for at least 40 percent of its oil and is reluctant to upset the Kremlin.

Al-Sadr calls off fighting amid airstrikes, crackdown

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr told his followers to stop fighting and cooperate with Iraqi security forces Sunday, as U.S. and Iraqi forces targeted his Mehdi Army in Basra and Baghdad.

In the nine-point statement -- which was issued by his headquarters in Najaf and came a day after al-Sadr told his fighters not to surrender their weapons -- the cleric demanded that the government give his supporters amnesty and release any of his followers that are being held.

"We announce our disavowal from anyone who carries weapons and targets government institutions, charities and political party offices," said the statement that was distributed across the country and posted on Web sites linked to his movement.

The Mehdi Army entered negotiations with the Iraqi government Saturday night, said Sheikh Salah al-Obaidi, a top aide to al-Sadr. The meeting in Najaf marked the first talks between the two sides since the Iraqi government announced a crackdown on "outlaws" in Basra, al-Obaidi said.

U.S. forces targeted the cleric's Shiite militia in Baghdad as well, launching airstrikes that killed 15 people Sunday in neighborhoods known to be Mehdi Army strongholds, an Interior Ministry official said.

Two airstrikes in the Sadr City neighborhood killed nine people and wounded 14 others, and another strike in the al-Zuhor neighborhood, in northeastern Baghdad, killed six people and wounded 14 others, an Interior Ministry official said.

The U.S. military said it killed 11 militants in those same areas Saturday.

The Baghdad bombings came as Iraqi authorities extended indefinitely a strict curfew on the capital and as fighting between government troops and Shiite militants stretched into its sixth day, leaving about 400 people dead, according to reports from U.S. and Iraqi officials.

In Basra, part of southern Iraq's Shiite heartland, at least 200 people have been killed and 500 wounded in battles since Tuesday, a high-ranking security official said.

Authorities there extended a ban on pedestrian and vehicle traffic just hours before the curfew was to expire Sunday morning.

Al-Maliki compared the outlaws, on whom the government is cracking down, to al Qaeda and said troops would not leave Basra "until security is restored."

"We will continue to stand up to these gangs in every inch of Iraq," he said. "It is unfortunate that we used to use say these very words about al Qaeda, when all the while, there were people among us who are worse than al Qaeda."

Al-Maliki met Saturday in Basra with area tribal leaders and other prominent figures, who expressed support for the government's effort to "save Basra from criminal gangs," according to a statement from the prime minister's office.

The prime minister further said that militants had until April 8 to surrender their weapons in a guns-for-cash program.

On Saturday, supporters of al-Sadr said they were being unfairly singled out in the crackdown, and the cleric told his followers not to hand over their arms "except to a state that can throw out the occupation," al-Obaidi said.

Brazil teen confesses to 12 killings, police say

SAO PAULO, Brazil Police said a 16-year-old boy has confessed to the slayings of 12 people over the past three months in southern Brazil.

The teenager, whose identity was not revealed because he is a minor, told police he allegedly killed his victims in a fit or rage or out of revenge.

However, police inspector Enizaldo Jose Plentz said he believes the boy killed some of his victims for enjoyment.

He said police have enough evidence to prove that the teenager, an unemployed high school dropout, shot dead at least six of the 12 people he says he killed.

Police investigating the slaying of a 39-year-old storeowner earlier this week, arrested the boy Wednesday at his home in the city of Novo Hamburgo, Brazil, Plentz said.

More flights canceled amid Heathrow chaos

LONDON, England -- Flight cancellations, delays and baggage problems continued to plague Heathrow Airport's Terminal Five for a second day, causing more headaches for passengers just a day after the much-heralded building opened for business.

British Airways, the only airline operating from the new terminal, canceled 20 percent of its flights from the terminal on Friday, a spokesman said, and predicted possible delays for the remaining 80 percent.

The airline later said passengers could check in luggage with normal luggage restrictions in place.

The problems came after a disastrous first day for the terminal during which the entire baggage system -- designed to handle dozens of planes at the same time and process 12,000 bags an hour -- failed.

CNN's Richard Quest said: "The news is simply grim at Terminal 5. It couldn't have happened at a worse time."
British Airways and UK airports operator BAA had spent two decades and $8.6 billion building the terminal.

BAA was banking on the luggage system to improve a reputation for chaotic handling that had helped the airport west of London earn the nickname "Hassle Heathrow."

BA director of operations Gareth Kirkwood said: "We sincerely apologize to those customers who have suffered disrupted journeys or baggage delays. We always knew the first day would represent a unique challenge."

Initial glitches in the baggage handling led to the cancellation of at least 34 flights on Thursday. BA earlier admitted some "teething problems" had caused incoming or outgoing flights to be canceled.
It's almost open," Jeff Bryan joked after he and his wife spent 90 minutes waiting for their luggage after an overnight British Airways flight from Miami to Heathrow. "We didn't mind because we're not in a rush, but a lot of people were," he told The Associated Press.
Adding to the opening day woes were protests by campaigners opposed to the airport's expansion.

Later a "flash mob" protest, involving several hundred demonstrators opposed to airport expansion, took place at T5. CNN's Richard Quest, describing the protest, said the day had started out well for BAA but was turning into a "shambles."
The protesters stripped off their outer clothes at 11 a.m. to show red T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan "Stop Airport Expansion."

Made up of local residents and environmental groups, the demonstrators are concerned that a third runway and a sixth terminal will be created at Heathrow, the world's busiest international airport.

Supporters say expansion of Heathrow is vital for the city's economy. Environmentalists say though that expanding London's three main airports -- Heathrow, Gatwick, and Stansted -- will only add to harmful climate change.

The new terminal frees up the rest of Heathrow for other carriers, who are eager to offer services to one of the world's busiest international hubs.

A new agreement, called OpenSkies, comes into force this weekend meaning that travelers on both sides of the Atlantic have more options when booking nonstop flights between the U.S. and Europe.

Iraq's prime minister Wednesday gave Shiite militants battling security forces in Basra a 72-hour deadline to surrender their weapons as the death toll from two days of fighting that threatens to undo efforts to stabilize Iraq neared 50. Nuri al-Maliki gave the ultimatum a day after clashes erupted in the southern oil port city and Baghdad between Iraqi and U.S. security forces and fighters aligned with the Mehdi Army -- the militia of hard-line Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

The fighting has killed 40 to 50 people in Basra, 18 others in Baghdad and left scores injured. Officials say the dead in Basra includes Iraqi troops, police, civilians and militiamen.

The outbreak of violence came as U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff were planning to tell President George W. Bush that they favor the plan to pause troop reductions after the "surge" troops are removed, military and defense officials said.

Al-Maliki is said to be personally overseeing efforts to restore order in Basra, highlighting the significance of the conflict.

Fresh firefights broke out Wednesday between "outlaws" and Iraqi security forces, according to an Interior Ministry official, who reported ongoing military operations in five neighborhoods.

Images from the city show black-masked gunmen targeting their weapons from makeshift vantage points within the city.

Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner, spokesman for the U.S. military, told reporters that the fighting has been "difficult and challenging," as Iraqi and U.S. forces skirmish in bastions of support for al-Sadr.

The renewed violence in Basra and Baghdad has threatened to unravel a seven-month suspension of Mehdi Army activities, a much-praised cease-fire called by al-Sadr that the U.S. military says has decreased violence across Iraq.

Growing tension between the Sadrist movement and Iraqi authorities has boiled over in recent weeks, with Sadrists saying they have been unfairly targeted and detained in U.S. and Iraqi raids.

The U.S. military says it has been targeting Shiite militants who have flouted the al-Sadr cease-fire. A breakdown of the cease-fire and a renewal of street violence could affect U.S. military plans to withdraw and redeploy troops.

Iraqi authorities have identified the fighters battling security forces as followers of al-Sadr. But Bergner specified that the fighting itself is not a battle against the Mehdi Army or the Sadrist movement.

"Enforcement of the rule of law in Basra is not a battle against Jaish al Mehdi, as some suggested. Nor is it a proxy war between the U.S. and Iran as others have purported," Bergner said, making reference to the Arabic name for the Mehdi Army.

"It is the government of Iraq taking necessary action to deal with criminals on the street with weapons." he said.

A Basra city council official said that the latest fighting erupted when security forces entered Mehdi Army strongholds, where militiamen were armed with machine guns, grenades, rockets and mortars.

Basra, Iraq's second largest city and a key transport link in the country's oil industry, was seen as an early success story of the U.S.-led invasion as British troops oversaw a relative calm in the area.

The explosion of a star halfway across the universe was so huge it set a record for the most distant object that could be seen on Earth by the naked eye. The aging star, in a previously unknown galaxy, exploded in a gamma ray burst 7.5 billion light years away, its light finally reaching Earth early Wednesday.

The gamma rays were detected by NASA's Swift satellite at 2:12 a.m. "We'd never seen one before so bright and at such a distance," NASA's Neil Gehrels said.

It was bright enough to be seen with the naked eye.

However, NASA has no reports that any skywatchers spotted the burst, which lasted less than an hour.

Telescopic measurements show that the burst -- which occurred when the universe was about half its current age -- was bright enough to be seen without a telescope.

"Someone would have had to run out and look at it with a naked eye, but didn't," said Gehrels, chief of NASA's astroparticles physics lab at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.The starburst would have appeared as bright as some of the stars in the handle of the Little Dipper constellation, said Penn State University astronomer David Burrows. How it looked wasn't remarkable, but the distance traveled was. The 7.5 billion light years away far eclipses the previous naked eye record of 2.5 million light years. One light year is 5.9 trillion miles.

"This is roughly halfway to the edge of the universe," Burrows said.

Before it exploded, the star was about 40 times bigger than our sun. The explosion vaporized any planet nearby, Gehrels said.

Dalai Lama sees ' cultural genocid ' by China

The Dalai Lama on Sunday called for an international probe of China's treatment of Tibet, which he said is causing "cultural genocide" of his people.

The exiled spiritual leader of Tibet spoke at a news conference Sunday in Dharamsala, India, two days after violent clashes between pro-autonomy demonstrators and Chinese security forces in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital.

A spokesman for the self-declared Tibetan exile government said it has confirmed at least 80 deaths in Friday's violence and that protests were continuing outside the capital Sunday, further undermining China's hopes of a smooth run-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Tibet Watch, a group based in Dharamsala, India, said 34 people have died in the Nwaga County area of Sichuan province in western China.

The dead include women and children, the group said in an e-mail, adding they were killed by Chinese police attempting to stop the protests.

Eight bodies were brought to the Nagaba Kirti monastery, the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy in Dharamsala said. Of the eight, two are the bodies of monks, the center said.

The streets of Lhasa were silent and deserted Sunday night, a contrast to the violent protests of days earlier.

Chinese paramilitary troops and riot police were patrolling, and shots could be heard from time to time, according to James Miles, a reporter for The Economist in Lhasa.

"People are now too afraid to come out of their homes," Miles said. "People are afraid to go about their normal business."

Residents were worried about encountering roving patrols or being shot, he said.

Even if people ventured out to shop, most markets have been ransacked, he said.

"People are going to start running out of food pretty soon. They're going to need essential supplies," Miles said.

Another protest took place in Machu County in northwestern China, Tibet Watch said. It was started by Tibetan students distributing fliers.

They were later joined by monks and laypeople. During the demonstration, several shops and a security headquarters were burned, Tibet Watch said. An estimated 2,000 Tibetans were using firecrackers in the streets, the group said.

The Dalai Lama said China, as the world's most populous nation, deserves to host the Olympics but it must look seriously at repairing its human rights record "in order to be a good host."

He laughed at suggestions that the exile government was fueling the anti-Chinese protests, saying it was the natural result of deep resentment caused by China's treatment of Tibetans as second-class citizens in their own land.

The Dalai Lama -- who fled his homeland 29 years ago after a failed uprising, said Tibet's "ancient cultural heritage" is threatened with extinction by China.

He said the officials in the Chinese government's local administration in Tibet were "very, very negative" toward the native Tibetans, which prevents development of a "harmonious society."

Tibet, he said, is seeking autonomy necessary to safeguard its heritage.

"We are not seeking separation," he said. In fact, he said, Tibet can enjoy modernization through its connection to China.

China was using force to gain stability and peace, but it would always be superficial, he said.

True harmony and unity must come from the heart, the Dalai Lama said.

Although Chinese authorities are keeping a tight control over communications out of Tibet in recent days, the world got a rare live glimpse Sunday inside Lhasa.

Video showed armed Chinese police, dressed in riot gear, searching door to door through the Tai Yan Dao section of Lhasa -- near the Potala Palace. Watch police conduct searches. »

There was no sign of violence between the police or residents.

CNN International's live rebroadcast of the video was not blacked out by the Chinese government to viewers in that country. The government sometimes exercises its power to censor CNN's broadcast of stories sensitive to China by interrupting the broadcast as it is fed into the country.

The Hong Kong Cable camera appeared to be pointed out a window above the area being patrolled.

A spokesman for the Tibetan government in exile said Sunday it had confirmed from "reliable sources" inside Tibet that at least 80 people were killed during protests Friday in Lhasa. Many others were shot to death by police in other areas, but the numbers have not been confirmed, an exile spokesman said.

The exile government said Chinese authorities had effectively imposed martial law, although it has not been officially declared. Schools, shops and businesses have been closed, it said.

Home telephones and cell phones have been cut off and the movement of people is restricted in many parts of Tibet, it said.

"Monasteries have been completely sealed off by [the military] and remain under extremely strict surveillance," the exiles said. "Monks are being followed even as they try to move within the compounds of the monastery."

Still, there were protests going on outside the Tibetan capital, the exiles said.

More than 200 people protested in Nyangden -- near the Sera Monastery north of Lhasa -- Sunday, the exiles said.

Police used tear gas against demonstrators who took to the streets of Kama Kusang, east of Lhasa, on Sunday, they said.

The exile spokesman also said there were major protests at the Labrang Tashikyil Monastery and at least four people were taken into custody by Chinese soldiers.

Xinhua, China's official news agency, quoted police in Tibet giving protesters a deadline of midnight Monday "to stop their criminal activities and offering leniency to those who surrender themselves."

Dead girl's mom faces police probe

The mother of a British girl found dead in Goa last month is facing police questions about negligence, her lawyer said Tuesday.

Indian police plan to question Fiona MacKeown soon, perhaps in the next few days, lawyer Vikram Varma told CNN from the Indian state.

MacKeown's daughter, Scarlett Keeling, 15, was found dead on Goa's Anjuna Beach last month.

Scarlett had been on an extended vacation with her family, and was living with a male friend and his aunts while the rest of the family traveled to an adjoining Indian state.

Police arrested a bartender over the weekend in the case, which they are treating as a rape and murder.

Varma said that any questions about negligence by the mother were unfounded. He said MacKeown trusted the friend's family to take care of her daughter.

"She had left Scarlett in the care of two aunts," he said. "They had assured Fiona that they would look after her child. They were in touch with her four times a day."

The lawyer added: "I don't see the legal strength in such a line of questioning."

MacKeown believes the questions about negligence are a "diversion tactic" to turn attention away from what she considers a corrupt police investigation, the mother's spokeswoman, Dakini Runningbear, told CNN. Watch an explanation of how the police changed their focus in the case »

"These guys are just trying to grab at straws," he said.

A police spokesman could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Police arrested bartender Samson D'Souza, 29, on Sunday.

Inspector General Kishan Kumar said police had evidence that D'Souza raped Scarlett, and were trying to link him to her death.

A magistrate granted police another 14 days to hold D'Souza on Monday while the investigation continues, Kumar said. D'Souza has not been charged.

MacKeown has said she believes D'Souza was not the culprit and that police arrested him only to make it appear they were making progress.

She also criticized police for initially saying her daughter drowned despite clues that pointed to homicide. She demanded a second autopsy, after which police changed the cause of death.

Varma said the police investigation had been "nothing but murky."

"The place where this crime has happened, it's a small village, and when a crime happens all the people know about it," Varma said.

"But it took three weeks for a police officer to change this crime from death due to drowning in the sea to rape and murder."

Sex scandal Democrat urged to quit

Campaigning New York Governor Eliot Spitzer came under mounting pressure to resign Tuesday, a day after the key ally of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was linked to a prostitution ring.

Aides to Spitzer and the state's lieutenant governor have begun planning for a possible handover of power, a top legislative staffer said Tuesday.

And the Republican leader of the state Assembly said he would move to impeach Spitzer if he remained in office.

Spitzer apologized publicly to his family and the people of New York on Monday but did not elaborate on the scandal.

At a hastily convened news conference in Albany, the state capital, he confessed to an undisclosed personal indiscretion, saying he had acted "in a way that violates my obligations to my family."

"I have disappointed and failed to live up to the standard I expected of myself," the 48-year-old father of three teenage girls said. "I must now dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family."
Once seen as a rising star within the Democratic party, Spitzer took office in January 2007 with a landslide victory after serving eight years as the state's attorney general. But the scandal raises questions about whether he will make it through a second year.

"I think there's no question if he is involved -- and I'm not saying he is, because we don't know all the facts -- I would say he'd have to resign," said James Tedisco, the Republican minority leader in the state Assembly.

Tedisco said Spitzer's push to reform government "loses all validity if he was involved in something illegal like that."
The Republican Governors Association called on Spitzer to resign to "allow the people of New York to pursue honest leadership."

"The American people are tired of corrupt and hypocritical politicians. The governor of New York is just another in the long list of politicians that have failed their constituents," said Nick Ayers, executive director of the Governors Association.
U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton sidestepped questions about the sex scandal threatening her home state governor and political ally.

"I don't have any comment on that," she said when asked about the allegations. "Obviously, I am sending my best wishes and thoughts to the governor and to his family," Clinton said.

The allegations, revealed Monday in The New York Times, were outlined in federal court papers detailing a meeting in a Washington hotel room last month between a prostitute and a client who a source told CNN was Spitzer.

The affidavit does not mention Spitzer by name, but a source with knowledge of the case said the subject identified as Client-9 is the governor. He has not been charged.

His alleged involvement with the ring was caught on a federal wiretap, the source said.

The prostitute, identified only as "Kristen" worked for the Emperors Club, which charged between $1,000 and $5,500 an hour and operated in New York; Los Angeles, California; Miami, Florida; London, England; and Paris, France, according to court papers.

According to the affidavit, defendant Temeka Rachelle Lewis -- who is accused of working as a booking agent for the club -- wrote a text message Monday, February 11, asking the operation's day-to-day organizer to "pls let me know if (Client-9's) 'package' arrives 2mrw. Appt wd be on Wed." Prosecutors say the message was a reference to a deposit.

On Tuesday, according to the affidavit, Lewis sent a message to Kristen, saying Client-9's deposit had not arrived but she should be able to "do the trip" if it arrived the next day.
In a later conversation, Lewis and Kristen discussed when the prostitute could take a train from New York's Penn Station to Washington's Union Station, the affidavit says. Client-9 would be "paying for everything -- train tickets, cab fare from the hotel and back, mini bar or room service, travel time, and hotel."

The affidavit says that, about 5 p.m. Tuesday, February 12, Lewis spoke with Client-9 on the telephone and told him that his "package arrived today." The client asked Lewis whom he would be meeting and, when told it was Kristen, said, "Great, OK, wonderful."

The two discussed how the woman would get a key to his room for a Wednesday rendezvous and how they could arrange credit for future services.

"Client-9 asked Lewis to remind him what Kristen looked like and Lewis said that she was an American, petite, very pretty brunette, 5 feet 5 inches and 105 pounds," the affidavit reads.

In a call to Lewis, Client-9 was told the balance would be $2,712.41, but Lewis suggested he give Kristen $1,500 or $2,000 more so that he would have a credit.

According to the affidavit, Kristen called Lewis about 9:32 p.m. Wednesday, February 13, and told her she was in Client-9's room -- No. 871 -- at the Washington hotel.

Four minutes later, Client-9 was in the hotel, Lewis told Kristen in another call.

No more calls were logged until 12:02 a.m. Thursday -- Valentine's Day -- nearly 2½ hours later. At that time, Kristen told Lewis Client-9 had left and she had collected $4,300.

Lewis told the prostitute she'd been told that Client-9 "would ask you to do things that, like, you might not think are safe -- you know -- I mean that ... very basic things," the affidavit says.


Spitzer, who built his career on rooting out public corruption as New York attorney general, became a national figure with a series of high-profile Wall Street investigations. He is also known for prosecuting prostitution rings. Read Todd Benjamin's blog

People who know Spitzer, 48, were surprised by the allegations. "To say this is a shock is an understatement," said CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, who went to law school with Spitzer.

China court rejects death rulings

China's Supreme Court has rejected 15% of all death sentences handed down by lower courts in 2007.
Chinese media quoted the Supreme Court chief judge as saying this was due to unclear or insufficient evidence and wrong application of procedures.

Huang Ermei said that China had no plans to abolition the death penalty.

Amnesty International says China carried out two-thirds of the world's executions in 2006. Official figures are a state secret in China.

Penalty to stay

But China says the number has fallen since an amendment came into force in January 2007 requiring the Supreme People's Court to approve all death sentences.
Judge Huang Ermei was quoted by the Chinese media on Saturday as saying the verdicts for 2007 had been overturned "because facts surrounding initial convictions were unclear, evidence insufficient, punishment inappropriate, procedures illegal and other reasons".

But the judge said the death penalty would stay in China.

"The abolishment of the death penalty is the trend in international criminal justice, but in our nation we do not have ample conditions to abolish capital punishment," said Ms Huang.

The most high-profile execution in China in 2007 was that of the former head of the State Food and Drug Administration, Zheng Xiaoyu, for taking 6.5m yuan ($860,000; £430,000) in bribes and for dereliction of duty.

US sees job cuts for second month

US employers cut 63,000 jobs from their payrolls in February, much more than expected, Labor Department figures showed.
The decline last month underscores the effect the housing and lending crisis is having on US firms, which were forced to cut 22,000 jobs in January.

The biggest employment declines were seen in the manufacturing, construction and retail sectors.

Those areas of the economy have been hardest hit by the slowdown.

The figures also showed the unemployment rate fell to 4.8% from 4.9%, when analysts had been expecting a rise to 5%.

The fall came as a result of people giving up on looking for a job, discouraged by their prospects.

"This employment report removes all doubt that the economy has slipped into a recession," said Jane Caron, chief economic strategist, Dwight Asset Management.

Summit to take on crisis over Colombian raid into Ecuador

The presidents of Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela, entangled in a crisis sparked by a raid by Colombian forces into Ecuador, plan to join other Latin American leaders at a summit Friday.

Colombian forces killed 22 people in the cross-border raid, which targeted a rebel group that has fought the Colombian government for more than 40 years.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known by its Spanish acronym FARC, has operated out of camps in Ecuador, according to Colombia's government.

Colombia has apologized for conducting an attack inside Ecuador, but it also has said the killing of a senior leader of FARC in the raid was the most significant blow in more than four decades of warfare between the Colombian government and the group, which the United States and European Union label a terrorist organization.

After the raid, Ecuador and Venezuela, leftist allies that border Colombia, moved troops toward the frontier and denounced the rightist government of Colombia.

They have urged other countries in Latin America to condemn Colombia's actions, efforts that paid off as Nicaragua broke diplomatic relations with Colombia on Thursday.

The Colombian government, meanwhile, said it seized laptops from the attacked rebel camp showing that Venezuela gave $300 million to the rebels and that senior Ecuadoran officials met with FARC rebels.

The Rio Group summit, to be held in the Dominican Republic, was scheduled before the crisis.

The group is an organization of Latin American nations that seeks to expand cooperation among member states and recommend solutions to common problems, among other things.

President Rafael Correa of Ecuador would like the Rio Group to "categorically reject the aggression against Ecuador," according to a statement on an Ecuadoran government Web site.

His counterpart in Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez, says that Colombia should "accept that it made a mistake," he said, according to the Bolivariana News Agency.

Foreign ministers from across Latin America met Thursday in a prelude to the presidential meetings scheduled for Friday. They said they hoped for a calm resolution to the crisis.

"We have to see everything -- every action that can be seen to bring about a peaceful solution," said David Choquehuanca, the Bolivian foreign minister.

Alejandro Foxley, the Chilean foreign minister, said he worried that Colombia's action would set a "bad precedent in a region that, more than anything, needs to be united."

"The promotion of peace is an essential value of democracy," he said, "and you're not going to see any integration in Latin America or South America if those of us in the various countries don't actively cooperate so that these acts never happen again."

The Rio Group is the second regional forum to consider the crisis.

On Wednesday, the Organization of American States ordered a commission to investigate Colombia's attack. The commission plans to visit Colombia and Ecuador and "propose formulas for bringing the two nations closer together."


The organization also adopted a statement referring to the Colombian attack as "a violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ecuador and of principles of international law."

In Ecuador, thousands of people marched in the capital of Quito to advocate peace and a defense of Ecuadoran sovereignty. Prosecutors in the province where the attack happened said they have opened an investigation into the 22 deaths.

Pentagon bans Google map-makers

The US defence department has banned the giant internet search engine Google from filming inside and making detailed studies of US military bases.
Close-up, ground-level imagery of US military sites posed a "potential threat" to security, it said.

The move follows the discovery of images of the Fort Sam Houston army base in Texas on Google Maps.

A Google spokesman said that where the US military had expressed concerns, images had been removed.

Google has now been barred from filming and conducting detailed studies of bases, following the discovery of detailed, three-dimensional panoramas online - and in particular, views of the Texan base.

"Images include 360-degree views of the covered area to include access control points, barriers, headquarters, facilities and community areas," said the defence department in a statement quoted by AFP news agency.

It said such detailed mapping could pose a threat.

Google spokesman Larry Yu said the decision by a Google team to enter the Texas base and undertake a detailed survey, had been "a mistake".

He told the BBC that it was "not our policy to request access to military installations, but in this instance the operator of the vehicle with the camera on top - which is how we go about capturing imagery for Street-View - requested permission to access a military installation, was given access, and after learning of the incident we quickly removed the imagery".

Individuals and governments

Military officials are currently looking into exactly what imagery is available - though it may not be able to order its removal if images are taken from public streets.

Among the popular mapping services offered by Google are Street View, which allows web users to "drive" along virtual US landscapes with ground-level views, and Google Earth, which offers detailed satellite and 3D images of locations around the world.

In this case, it was imagery offered on Street View that caused the concern.

But both have provoked complaints - from individuals depicted in the images and from governments concerned that satellite images could compromise security.

Gary Ross, a spokesman for the US Northern Command, told AFP that although such services could be useful, "there has to be a balance".

But Mr Yu said Google would listen to concerns about privacy and security.

"We try to have a compliant image removal policy - not only relative to the military but to consumers also," said Mr Yu.

"If people have concerns, they should contact us."

Libya blocks U.N. condemnation of Jerusalem seminary attack

The U.N. Security Council failed to reach a consensus when it met to consider condemning an attack that killed eight people at a prominent Jewish seminary as an act of terrorism .
The council said Libya -- a new, nonpermanent member -- blocked the statement on Thursday night. Ibrahim Dabbashi, Libya's deputy ambassador to the United Nations, said the attack on the school was no different than Israeli military offensives against militants in Gaza.

But Dan Gillerman, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, said he saw no connection between Thursday's shooting and Israel's operations in Gaza.

"This is not a story of retaliation," he said. "These people have been terrorizing Israel for years, have been carrying out suicide bombings and indiscriminate attacks for years."

A gunman broke into the Jewish seminary about 8:30 p.m., spraying automatic-weapons fire, authorities said. Most of the victims were students in their teens and 20s, medical officials said.

At least nine others were wounded before an off-duty Israel Defense Forces officer fatally shot the gunman, Jerusalem District Police commander Aharon Franko said.

The gunman was carrying an AK-47 and a pistol -- and had time to swap weapons during the massacre.

Police are trying to identify the gunman and figure out how he managed, while drawing little notice, to enter the large three-story school in a bustling residential neighborhood.

"There was no alert or warning about this attack," Franko said.
A first responder said the bodies were on the floor of the study hall surrounded by holy books.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Video from Thursday's scene showed a frantic crowd of rescue workers carrying bloodied victims into ambulances. Dozens of police officers were scouring the campus and streets around the yeshiva in case there were other gunmen.

Outside the school, scores of Israeli men gathered from surrounding neighborhoods, demanding justice for the attack.

Authorities are calling the incident at west Jerusalem's Merkaz Harav yeshiva an act of terrorism. The school is one of the largest seminaries in Israel, with about 500 students in the yeshiva and 200 in an advanced graduate program.

"Israel is at the forefront of the struggle against terrorism and will continue to defend its citizens, who are exposed to this threat on a daily basis," Israel's Foreign Ministry said in a written statement.

"Israel expects the nations of the world to support it in its war against those who murder students, women and children, by any means and with respect for neither place nor target."

President Bush backed Israeli leaders in a statement issued Thursday, saying, "I condemn in the strongest possible terms the terrorist attack in Jerusalem that targeted innocent students at the Merkaz Harav yeshiva. This barbaric and vicious attack on innocent civilians deserves the condemnation of every nation."

But Libya's Dabbashi compared the attack with "bloodshed in the Palestinian territory."

"For us, the human lives are the same. We judge the incident itself," Dabbashi told reporters after the Security Council meeting. "When we have to condemn the killing of the Israeli civilians, we also have to look at what's happening in Gaza."

Jerusalem security increased

Security was bolstered, with thousands of additional officers across Jerusalem and the rest of Israel, authorities said.

Meanwhile, celebratory shooting took place in Gaza City after the news of the attack, with hundreds chanting and clapping in the streets. But Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas criticized the killings.

"The Palestinian Authority condemns any attack on innocent civilians," Abbas' office said in a written statement.

The shootings came just a day after U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who met with both Israelis and Palestinians, announced that peace talks will resume between the two sides.

Abbas suspended peace negotiations last week after fierce fighting broke out between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza, but he agreed to resume negotiations after meeting with Rice.

Israel will continue peace talks with the Palestinians regardless of the attack in Jerusalem, Foreign Ministry spokesman Aryeh Mekel said Thursday.

Israel conducted a large-scale operation in Gaza to hunt down Palestinian militants who have been firing dozens of rockets into Israel. At least 70 Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers were killed during the operation, Israeli and Palestinian sources said. Militants also fired at least 25 rockets toward Israel, wounding at least two civilians.

"This operation came directly after the attack committed inside Gaza. This operation is a normal response," said Fawzi Barhoom, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza. Watch Barhoom's reaction to the attack »

Gillerman said the Security Council should condemn the attack. "They are so, so quick sometimes to criticize Israel for defending itself. I would like to see those members convene as we speak in order to condemn this in the strongest possible terms."


Thursday's attack was the worst inside Israel since April 17, 2006, when a suicide bombing outside a falafel restaurant in Tel Aviv killed nine people. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for that attack.

Attacks in Jerusalem are rare. Eight people were wounded August 10 in the Old City when a Palestinian resident grabbed a security guard's gun and fired; and four Israeli security guards were wounded May 26 when two Palestinian gunmen began firing in east Jerusalem. All three of the assailants were killed