Ruthless new Pakistan Taliban leader named

ISLAMABAD – The commander named by members of the Pakistani Taliban as its new leader is as ruthless as his predecessor, taking credit for several attacks, and could order more in the coming weeks to prove the terror network is still in business.

Despite the naming of Hakimullah Mehsud to replace ex-chief Baitullah Mehsud, who is believed to have been killed in a CIA missile strike Aug. 5, questions remained Sunday as to whether the al-Qaida-allied group was united behind their new leader.

A new Taliban leader could direct more fighters across the border in Afghanistan like other jihadi commanders in the northwest, joining insurgents there in the fight against U.S. and NATO forces as they try to stabilize the country eight years after the U.S.-led invasion.

Baitullah was mostly known for suicide strikes against Pakistani civilian, government and security targets.

Two close aides to another commander, Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, told The Associated Press on Saturday a 42-member Taliban council, or shura, had appointed Hakimullah their new leader in an unanimous decision. Like other members of the network, they insisted Baitullah was alive but sick, hence the need for a new chief. U.S. and Pakistani officials are almost certain he is dead.

"Now all these talks of differences should end," said one of the aides, Bakht Zada. "There have not been any differences ever."

Mohammd Amir Rana, an expert on Pakistani militant groups, said he believed the Taliban had not agreed on a replacement, regardless of Mohammad's aides' remarks.

"Maulvi Faqir Mohammad is trying to manipulate the race by announcing to the press that Hakimullah is the head," he said. "Until now there is no consensus," he said, adding that supporters of Hakimullah's major rival, Waliur Rehman, did not accept him.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the government had received intelligence reports about Hakimullah's appointment "as the chief terrorist" but there was no official confirmation. The Dawn newspaper quoted one unidentified intelligence officer as saying the announcement "was a ruse" as part of the ongoing power struggle.

Verifying information from the tribal regions is very difficult, especially since both the government and the Taliban have made claims in the past that turned out not to be true.

Hakimullah comes from the same tribe as Baitullah and had been seen as a likely replacement.

Earlier this month, Pakistani intelligence agencies claimed Hakimullah had been killed in a shootout between rival factions over who should take over a movement that controls large swaths of territory close to the Afghan border, up to 25,000 men and much arms and cash.

Hakimullah called The Associated Press and other news agencies after that battle to say he was still alive.

His apparent selection as head could shore up the Taliban, said Kamran Bokhari, director of Middle East analysis for Stratfor, a global intelligence company.

"It's an attempt to stabilize the group after the initial reports of infighting," Bokhari said, noting the loss of Baitullah was "a massive blow to the organization."

As military chief of Baitullah's Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or Pakistani Taliban Movement, Hakimullah commanded three tribal regions and had a reputation as Baitullah's most ruthless deputy. He first appeared in public to journalists in November 2008, when he offered to take reporters on a ride in a U.S. Humvee taken from a supply truck heading to Afghanistan.

Authorities say he was behind threats to foreign embassies in Islamabad, and there was a 10 million rupee ($120,000) bounty on his head. Hakimullah claimed responsibility for the June 9 bombing of the Pearl Continental hotel in the northwestern city of Peshawar, and the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore earlier this year.

Since Aug. 5, Pakistani officials have been eager to portray the Taliban as in disarray, saying commanders and the rank-and-file were fighting among themselves. At one point, Mohammad — who comes from a different part of the tribal region — claimed to have taken over the leadership.

While it is unclear whether he will be able to maintain unity, Hakimullah was likely chosen for his operational capabilities, said Bokhari, adding that new suicide bombings could be expected.

More attacks would demonstrate the Pakistani Taliban is still intact, he said.

"I think that the decision of the shura to appoint this particular individual is based on that consideration," he said.

Another close Mohammad aide, Sher Zamin, also confirmed that Hakimullah had been elected as the new Taliban chief.

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Associated Press writers Anwarullah Khan, Asif Shahzad and Munir Ahmad contributed to this report.

Millions face shrinking Social Security payment

WASHINGTON – Millions of older people face shrinking Social Security checks next year, the first time in a generation that payments would not rise.

The trustees who oversee Social Security are projecting there won't be a cost of living adjustment (COLA) for the next two years. That hasn't happened since automatic increases were adopted in 1975.

By law, Social Security benefits cannot go down. Nevertheless, monthly payments would drop for millions of people in the Medicare prescription drug program because the premiums, which often are deducted from Social Security payments, are scheduled to go up slightly.

"I will promise you, they count on that COLA," said Barbara Kennelly, a former Democratic congresswoman from Connecticut who now heads the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. "To some people, it might not be a big deal. But to seniors, especially with their health care costs, it is a big deal."

Cost of living adjustments are pegged to inflation, which has been negative this year, largely because energy prices are below 2008 levels.

Advocates say older people still face higher prices because they spend a disproportionate amount of their income on health care, where costs rise faster than inflation. Many also have suffered from declining home values and shrinking stock portfolios just as they are relying on those assets for income.

"For many elderly, they don't feel that inflation is low because their expenses are still going up," said David Certner, legislative policy director for AARP. "Anyone who has savings and investments has seen some serious losses."

About 50 million retired and disabled Americans receive Social Security benefits. The average monthly benefit for retirees is $1,153 this year. All beneficiaries received a 5.8 percent increase in January, the largest since 1982.

More than 32 million people are in the Medicare prescription drug program. Average monthly premiums are set to go from $28 this year to $30 next year, though they vary by plan. About 6 million people in the program have premiums deducted from their monthly Social Security payments, according to the Social Security Administration.

Millions of people with Medicare Part B coverage for doctors' visits also have their premiums deducted from Social Security payments. Part B premiums are expected to rise as well. But under the law, the increase cannot be larger than the increase in Social Security benefits for most recipients.

There is no such hold-harmless provision for drug premiums.

Kennelly's group wants Congress to increase Social Security benefits next year, even though the formula doesn't call for it. She would like to see either a 1 percent increase in monthly payments or a one-time payment of $150.

The cost of a one-time payment, a little less than $8 billion, could be covered by increasing the amount of income subjected to Social Security taxes, Kennelly said. Workers only pay Social Security taxes on the first $106,800 of income, a limit that rises each year with the average national wage.

But the limit only increases if monthly benefits increase.

Critics argue that Social Security recipients shouldn't get an increase when inflation is negative. They note that recipients got a big increase in January — after energy prices had started to fall. They also note that Social Security recipients received one-time $250 payments in the spring as part of the government's economic stimulus package.

"Seniors may perceive that they are being hurt because there is no COLA, but they are in fact not getting hurt," said Andrew G. Biggs, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington think tank. "Congress has to be able to tell people they are not getting everything they want."

Social Security is also facing long-term financial problems. The retirement program is projected to start paying out more money than it receives in 2016. Without changes, the retirement fund will be depleted in 2037, according to the Social Security trustees' annual report this year.

President Barack Obama has said he would like tackle Social Security next year, after Congress finishes work on health care, climate change and new financial regulations.

Lawmakers are preoccupied by health care, making it difficult to address other tough issues. Advocates for older people hope their efforts will get a boost in October, when the Social Security Administration officially announces that there will not be an increase in benefits next year.

"I think a lot of seniors do not know what's coming down the pike, and I believe that when they hear that, they're going to be upset," said Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont who is working on a proposal for one-time payments for Social Security recipients.

"It is my view that seniors are going to need help this year, and it would not be acceptable for Congress to simply turn its back," he said.

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On the Net:

Social Security Administration: http://www.ssa.gov/

National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare: http://www.ncpssm.org

Thousands evacuated as fires reach Athens suburbs

ATHENS, Greece – A raging fire bore down on Athens' northern suburbs Sunday, prompting panicked residents to battle the flames with tree limbs and buckets, and police to order 10,000 people to evacuate one town immediately.

Frightened inhabitants of Agios Stefanos gathered in the town's main square in early afternoon as flames closed in on the town center and police with loudspeakers directed everyone to leave immediately on the main highway to Athens, 14 miles (23 kilometers) to the southwest.

Other residents tried desperately to save their homes with hoses, buckets and branches. Planes swooped low over the town to pour water on the flaming houses.

"I call on all residents to follow the instructions of the police as to where they will go," an emotional Agios Stefanos deputy mayor Panayiotis Bitakos told Skai TV. "We had been begging the authorities since early in the morning to send forces ... It is too late now. Too late."

By mid-afternoon, the town was empty save for a few volunteers who were aiding firefighters. Houses smoldered and burned-out cars littered the streets.

Planes and helicopters, which had suspended operations overnight, attacked the blaze again at dawn. But with gale-force winds propelling the flames, the fire spread unchecked. TV showed airplanes and helicopters dumping water on a forest outside Agios Stefanos — and the fire re-igniting moments after they left.

The forests around Athens' northern suburbs have helped the fire leap to new areas.

"The pine cones are like projectiles — they cover long distances, too, and spread the fire around," said Avraam Pasipoularidis, mayor of the northern suburb of Drossia. "Everything around me is burning."

The fires ignited late Friday; by Sunday they were reported across an area more than 25 miles (40 kilometers) wide. They started in the mountains near the town of Marathon, from which the modern long-distance foot race takes its name. The army removed anti-aircraft missiles from a nearby military base as the flames approached.

Municipal officials said the fire was threatening the archaeological site of Rhamnus, home to two 2,500-year-old temples.

A state of emergency was declared Saturday in greater Athens: These are the most destructive fires in Greece since blazes killed more than 70 people in 2007.

Residents fled on foot, by motorbike and in cars, amid blackouts and cuts in the water supply. No casualties had been reported as of early Sunday afternoon.

TV stations broadcast frantic calls for help from people of different areas, with many complaining that no firefighting equipment had reached them.

A resident of Drossia pleaded with TV station Mega for help, saying far was within 45 yards (40 meters) of his home and he had no water with which to fight it.

Authorities evacuated two large children's hospitals, as well as campsites and homes in villages and outlying suburbs threatened by blazes that scattered ash across Athens. The flames also approached a large monastery on Mt. Penteli.

Officials said help was on the way.

"There are 14 planes — with two of these coming from Italy — and nine helicopters fighting the fire, alongside hundreds of firefighters, volunteers and soldiers," fire brigade spokesman Yiannis Kapakis told reporters.

"These will soon be joined by two planes from France and a helicopter from Cyprus. Cyprus will also send four fire engines and 60 firefighters," he added.

Elsewhere in Greece, serious fires were reported on the islands of Evia and Skyros in the Aegean Sea and Zakynthos in the west. Another large fire that started Saturday in the town of Plataea, 63 kilometers (40 miles) northwest of Athens, was spreading unchecked in western Attica.

A total of 83 fires have broken out across Greece since 6 a.m. Saturday, fire brigade spokesman Kapakis said.

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Associated Press Writer Derek Gatopoulos contributed to this report.

Afghan vote not all free: EU

KABUL (AFP) – EU observers on Saturday welcomed Afghanistan's elections as generally fair, but not universally free as speculation mounted over claims about who won the presidency and the possibility of a run-off.

The top contenders in the race both claim they were heading for victory after the second ever presidential election, which was acclaimed by the West but undermined by growing complaints of ballot-stuffing and low turnout.

But definitive results are not due until next month, leading Afghan and Western officials to call for calm as President Hamid Karzai declared a win and his main rival, ex-foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, insisted he was ahead.

The election may have been hailed a success in foreign capitals, which have pumped billions into Afghanistan since the 2001 US-led invasion and deployed 100,000 troops to contain a Taliban insurgency but concerns have mounted.

"Free was not the case in some parts of the territory due to terror installed," the head of the EU election observation mission, Philippe Morillon, told a Kabul news conference.

"Generally what we have observed was considered by our observers with our methodology good and fair," he added, but reserved judgment on whether the polls were credible, saying "a lot of complaints" would take time to evaluate.

Other independent observers warned that turnout in Taliban strongholds in the south may have been as low as 10 and 25-30 percent for the hotspots of Kandahar and Helmand respectively.

A foreign official said that the Election Complaints Commission had so far received 100 formal complaints about irregularities, including "allegations of ballot-stuffing in Kandahar".

US President Barack Obama hailed the elections as an "important step forward" for the war-torn nation and his special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, was conducting a series of meetings.

Holbrooke, who arrived on Wednesday for one his longest visits since taking office, held meetings with diplomats and officials, and Friday met Karzai, Abdullah and runner-up Ashraf Ghani, said a US embassy spokeswoman.

An energetic campaign by Abdullah and his claims of success, coupled with poor turnout in Karzai's powerbase in the south, have boosted prospects of a run-off, which would take place in early October.

"The question now is whether Karzai, who controls the electoral commission, will be willing to accept a second round. That was one of the issues of his meeting with Holbrooke," said one diplomat on condition of anonymity.

Western backers of Karzai's government have urged presidential candidates to refrain from premature announcements, respect the electoral process and for their supporters to keep calm.

The Independent Election Commission (IEC) said partial results would be released from Tuesday, but that the victor will not be announced until September.

Other observers have raised concern about the length of time before the results are announced, warning this might stoke tensions.

"One way to release that kind of political tension is to provide the public with information about election returns," said Glenn Cowan from US-based election monitors Democracy International.

The EU observers also raised concerns about the IEC's independence, quoting reports that the commission exerted pressure on its staff in a manner which raised questions about its impartiality.

But Karzai's campaign chief said early results gave the incumbent more than 50 percent -- a big enough lead to avert a run-off vote.

Abdullah followed comments by his campaign office that he had 63 percent compared with 31 percent for Karzai, saying: "The country would like to see a change, this is an opportunity for it."

Abdullah has a powerbase in the north and Karzai in the south, divided among the Tajiks and the Pashtuns -- the two largest ethnic groups in Afghanistan, which is still suffering from decades of war and devastating civil conflict.

Abdullah's office has lodged 40 complaints so far, mostly alleging local officials commanded people to vote for Karzai.

Iraqi FM: Baghdad bombings possible inside job

BAGHDAD – Iraq's foreign minister said Saturday that those who carried out bombings that targeted government buildings in the Iraqi capital received help to pull off the attacks, possibly from Iraqi security forces.

The comments comes as anger mounts over the bombings that have lead lawmakers to scrutinize the readiness of Iraqi security forces and raised questions about the loosening of security measures in Baghdad.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has ordered security tightened and concrete blast walls to remain around potential targets, reversing an order earlier this month to remove the walls in Baghdad by mid-September.

"Regrettably, we accepted the order to remove concrete walls and removal of a joint checkpoint near the ministry," Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told reporters during a press conference in Baghdad.

The blasts Wednesday primarily targeted government buildings, including the foreign and finance ministries, killing at least 101 people and wounding more than 500.

Zebari said attacks were so well planned and executed that he would not rule out the possible collaboration of members of Iraq's security forces with attackers.

"We will investigate that," he said.

The Iraqi military announced it arrested members of the insurgent cell responsible for the attacks but gave no details about the suspects. Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, the chief military spokesman in Baghdad, said on Iraqi state television only that both attacks were carried out by suicide bombers.

Zebari said the ministry was investigating how the trucks carrying the bombs were allowed to pass into areas where they are banned from traveling.

He said the prime minister ordered the arrest of officers from several branches of Iraq's security forces as part of an investigation into security lapses that allowed the trucks to park near the ministries.

"What has happened, the number of victims and the destruction of government institutions, is a real national disaster," he said.

Zebari said better, stronger security procedures need to be put in place.

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Associated Press Writers Bushra Juhi and Hamid Ahmed contributed to this report.

Heather Locklear in talks to move back to 'Melrose Place'; would reprise role from original show

Looks like "Melrose Place's" biggest meanie may be back.

Heather Locklear, who played Amanda Woodward on "Melrose Place" during its original run in the '90s, is in talks to return to the new CW version, premiering this fall.

She would reprise her role as the backstabbing ad executive Woodward, People reports. Former castmates Laura Leighton, Thomas Calabro, Josie Bissett and Daphne Zuniga have already signed on.

The CW and a spokesperson for Locklear have yet to comment on the rumored negotiations, but there have been hints that the 47-year-old star would be welcomed back to her old address.

"We're huge fans of hers," executive producer Todd Slavkin said of Locklear earlier this summer. But she's not an automatic hire just because she's starred on the show in the past. Slavkin explained that "Melrose Place" alumni are being invited back on the basis of whether or not their characters would fit in, or feel contrived.

Meanwhile, "Melrose Place" is still a big part of Locklear's life, even if she doesn't join the new show. She's been dating Jack Wagner, who starred as her boyfriend on the show, Dr. Peter Burns.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2009/08/22/2009-08-22_heather_locklear_in_talks_to_move_back_to_melrose_place_would_reprise_role_from_.html#ixzz0OxG94gIG

AP sources: Report reveals CIA interrogation methods

WASHINGTON – As the Justice Department considers whether to investigate alleged harsh interrogation practices sanctioned by the Bush administration, sources say a soon-to-be-released report by the CIA's inspector general reveals that agency interrogators conducted mock executions of terror suspects.

These latest allegations are contained in a 2004 report that has been kept secret and is to be released next week, two congressional officials told The Associated Press. They spoke late Friday on condition of anonymity because the report has not yet been cleared for release.

Threatening a prisoner with death violates U.S. anti-torture laws.

In one case, interrogators brought a gun and power drill into a session with suspected Cole bomber Abd al Rahim al-Nashiri, the report says. The suicide bombing of the warship USS Cole killed 17 U.S. sailors in Yemen in 2000.

In another episode, a gunshot was fired in a room next to a detainee to make the prisoner believe another suspect had been killed, according to the report, which a federal judge has ordered to be made public Monday in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.

The IG report's findings were first reported by Newsweek on its Web site.

Nashiri was one of three CIA prisoners subjected to waterboarding, a brutal interrogation technique that simulates drowning that was among 10 techniques approved by the Bush administration's Justice Department in 2002. President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder have denounced waterboarding as torture.

"The CIA in no way endorsed behavior_ no matter how infrequent_ that went beyond formal guidance," said agency spokesman Paul Gimigliano. He declined to comment on the contents of the IG report.

Holder is considering whether to appoint a criminal prosecutor to investigate the Bush administration's interrogation practices, a controversial move that would run counter to President Barack Obama's wishes to leave the issue in the past.

Gimigliano said the career prosecutors at the Justice Department have reviewed the report to determine if any laws were broken and whether the interrogators should be prosecuted.

"Professionals in the Department of Justice decided if and when to pursue prosecution," he said. "That's how the system was supposed to work, and that's how it did work."

Just one CIA contract interrogator, David Passaro, has been prosecuted. He was found guilty in 2007 in the beating death of a prisoner in Afghanistan.

The Los Angeles Times reported Aug. 9 that a CIA operative brought a gun into an interrogation booth to force a detainee to talk. One of the congressional officials told the AP that referred to the interrogation of the USS Cole suspect.

The IG review was completed in May 2004. The ACLU has sought its release since then. It was expected to be released earlier this year but was delayed by government request.

The report casts doubt on the effectiveness of the harsh interrogation methods employed by CIA interrogators, according to quotes from the report that were contained in Bush-era Justice Department memos declassified this spring. It says no attacks were averted by information obtained using harsh interrogation methods.

The CIA detained and interrogated 94 terrorist suspects; 28 were subjected to harsh methods. Of those three were waterboarded, according to government documents made public earlier this year.

But former CIA Director Michael Hayden said this week at a panel discussion in Washington that the review also credits the harsh interrogation with yielding information on al-Qaida's basic infrastrucutre, which in turn allowed the CIA to fight the organization behind the 9/11 hijackings.

John L. Helgerson, the now-retired CIA inspector who spearheaded the investigation, told the AP in June that the report is a comprehensive review of everything the CIA did in the secret detention and interrogation program begun in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The investigation was undertaken in response to concerns expressed by agency employees about the program, he added

Karzai, chief rival claim victory in Afghan vote

KABUL (Reuters) – President Hamid Karzai's campaign and chief rival Abdullah Abdullah both said on Friday they had won Afghanistan's election, but Washington's chief envoy warned candidates not to declare victory prematurely.

Both camps said unofficial counts by campaign workers showed they had won enough votes to avoid a potentially destabilizing second round of voting in October. Election officials said no confirmed results had been released.

"Initial results show that the president has got a majority," Karzai's campaign manager Deen Mohammad told Reuters. "We will not get to a second round."

Abdullah, Karzai's former foreign minister, dismissed the Karzai camp's victory claim and said he was on track to win in the first round after Thursday's vote, which went ahead despite sporadic Taliban violence.

"I'm ahead. Initial results from the provinces show that I have more than 50 percent of the vote," Abdullah told Reuters.

Official preliminary results are not due for two weeks, but counting began immediately after polls closed on Thursday and is largely complete.

Analysts have warned that uncertainty over the outcome or accusations of widespread fraud could lead to civil unrest. U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke said he was certain the outcome of the vote would be disputed.

"We always knew it would be a disputed election. I would not be surprised if you see candidates claiming victory and fraud in the next few days," Holbrooke said at a briefing in Kabul with election observers.

Holbrooke said Washington had an "agnostic" position and did not support any early, unofficial victory declarations.

A U.S. embassy spokeswoman said only the Independent Election Commission (IEC) was in a position to announce results and anything else was "just speculation."

Polls conducted before the election showed Karzai in the lead but suggested he would not win more than 50 percent of the vote needed to avoid a run-off.

Afghan and U.S. officials have breathed a sigh of relief after the relatively peaceful election, which had been marked by a dramatic escalation in violence in the weeks leading up to the vote.

Afghan and international forces suspended offensive operations on voting day, but attacks continued nonetheless.

Three U.S. troops were killed in roadside bomb and mortar attacks in the east and two British soldiers were killed in an explosion in southern Helmand on Thursday, the military said.

PATIENCE URGED

The 6,200 polling stations are required to make their results available to the public as they tabulate them to prevent fraud.

Zekria Barakzai, deputy head of the IEC, urged patience.

"We cannot confirm any claims by campaigning managers. It's the job of the election commission to declare the results. They should be patient," Barakzai said.

An independent Afghan monitoring body, FEFA, said it was concerned about the quality of the poll after receiving reports from its observers across the country of fraud and interference.

The International Republican Institute, a U.S.-based group that monitors elections, said Thursday's vote was marked by "serious problems," but had so far been credible.

Barakzai said two convoys of election workers transporting ballot boxes had been attacked following the vote. In one case, in Balkh province in the north, an election worker was killed and ballots that had already been counted were burned.

He said preliminary figures showed overall turnout was around 40-50 percent, roughly in line with estimates by Western diplomats before the poll. About 70 percent of registered voters cast ballots in the 2004 presidential poll.

Much is likely to depend on turnout in southern areas, such as Karzai's home province of Kandahar, where the president draws his strongest support but where voters faced the brunt of Taliban attacks and intimidation.

Abdullah's spokesman, Fazl Sangcharaki, said the north had voted solidly for Abdullah, except in Jowzjan province, home of Uzbek militia chieftain Abdul Rashid Dostum, who returned to the country days before the vote to campaign for Karzai.

Western backers have expressed concern about Karzai's tactic of seeking support from former militia chiefs, afraid that deals made to secure votes could bring warlords back to power.

In Washington, President Barack Obama hailed the conduct of the election and vowed to press on with his strategy, which has involved sending thousands of additional troops to the country.

The election was a test for Obama's new strategy aimed at reversing Taliban gains. U.S. combat casualties have risen amid a U.S. troop buildup and opinion polls have shown weakening American backing for the war.

(Writing by Paul Tait; Editing by David Fox)

Calif. Assembly balks at early release of inmates

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California Assembly Speaker Karen Bass plans to strip the most controversial provisions from a Senate-approved plan that would have trimmed the state's prison population by 27,000 inmates.
The Assembly version would keep 10,600 more inmates behind bars and leave the state with a new, nearly $200 million budget hole.
Bass says the new plan — to be considered Monday — will do away with proposals by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to allow home detention with electronic monitoring for inmates with less than 12 months to serve, who are older than 60 or who are medically incapacitated.
The Democrat-controlled Assembly will also reject the Republican governor's plan to lower sentences for certain property crimes to misdemeanors, making those offenders ineligible for prison.