World/Nation Briefs 5.23.2012
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
CAIRO (AP) — Determined to end decades of authoritarian rule, millions of Egyptians waited patiently in long lines outside polling stations across the nation on Wednesday to freely choose their first president since last year’s ouster of longtime ruler and close U.S. ally Hosni Mubarak.
‘‘I can die in a matter of months, so I came for my children, so they can live,’’ a tearful Medhat Ibrahim, 58, who suffers from cancer, said as he waited to vote in a poor district south of Cairo. ‘‘We want to live better, like human beings.’’
Thirteen candidates, who include Islamists, liberals and Mubarak regime figures, are contesting the election. No outright winner is expected to emerge from the two-day vote starting Wednesday. So, a runoff between the two top finishers will be held June 16-17. The winner will be announced on June 21.
‘‘It’s a miracle,’’ said Selwa Abdel-Malik, a 60-year-old Christian from the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria as she was about to vote. ‘‘And it’s a beautiful feeling too.’’
For most of his 29-year rule, Mubarak — like his predecessors — ran unopposed in yes-or-no referendums. Rampant fraud guaranteed ruling party victories in parliamentary elections. Even when, in 2005, Mubarak let challengers oppose him in elections, he ended up not only trouncing his liberal rival but jailing him.
———
Regulators probe whether Morgan Stanley selectively informed clients ahead of Facebook IPO
WASHINGTON (AP) — Regulators are examining whether Morgan Stanley, the investment bank that shepherded Facebook through its highly publicized stock offering last week, selectively informed clients of an analyst’s negative report about the company before the stock started trading.
Rick Ketchum, the head of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the self-policing body for the securities industry, said Tuesday that the question is ‘‘a matter of regulatory concern’’ for his organization and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The top securities regulator for Massachusetts, William Galvin, said he had subpoenaed Morgan Stanley. Galvin said his office is investigating whether Morgan Stanley divulged to only some clients that one of its analysts had cut his revenue estimates for Facebook before the stock hit the market on Friday.
The bank said late Tuesday that it ‘‘followed the same procedures for the Facebook offering that it follows for all IPOs,’’ referring to initial public offerings of stock. It said that its procedures complied with regulations.
The questions about the role played by Morgan Stanley, the lead underwriter for the deal, add to the confusion surrounding Facebook’s IPO. In the most hotly anticipated stock debut in years, the offering raised $16 billion for the social networking company, valuing it at $104 billion
———
After deal on probes, Iran seeks concessions from world powers in key Baghdad nuclear talks
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iran is demanding that world powers set specific timetables and goals in talks Wednesday over Tehran’s nuclear program, a senior Iranian government official said before a second round of negotiations.
The push for milestones by Iran reflects apparent efforts to force concessions from the West on sanctions in exchange for gradually addressing international concerns over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear ambitions.
Tehran hopes to leave Baghdad with a clear framework for future talks and potential dealmaking, the official said. Western diplomats have voiced similar concerns, although few believe the discussions in Baghdad will yield breakthroughs in the showdowns over Iran’s nuclear program.
The U.S. and allies fear Iran could use its nuclear expertise to build atomic weapons. Iran claims it only seeks nuclear reactors for energy and research.
Iranian negotiators, who met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki hours before the talks were to open, would not identify any specific offers or benchmarks they wanted to see by the day’s end.
———
Senator: Secret Service prostitute scandal broader than originally believed, not isolated case
WASHINGTON (AP) — Several small groups of Secret Service employees separately visited clubs, bars and brothels in Colombia prior to a visit by President Barack Obama last month and engaged in reckless, ‘‘morally repugnant’’ behavior, Sen. Susan Collins says.
She says the employees’ actions during the stunning prostitution scandal could have provided a foreign intelligence service, drug cartels or other criminals with opportunities for blackmail or coercion that could have threatened the president’s safety.
In remarks prepared for the first congressional hearing on the matter Wednesday, Collins, R-Maine, also challenged early assurances that the scandal in Colombia appeared to be an isolated incident. She noted that two participants were Secret Service supervisors — one with 21 years of service and the other with 22 years — and both were married. Their involvement ‘‘surely sends a message to the rank and file that this kind of activity is tolerated on the road,’’ Collins said.
‘‘This was not a one-time event,’’ said Collins, the senior Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. ‘‘The circumstances unfortunately suggest an issue of culture.’’
Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, the committee’s chairman, said, ‘‘I want to hear what the Secret Service is doing to encourage people to report egregious behavior when they see it.’’
———
European leaders to discuss growth at summit but unclear if they’ll be able to act fast enough
PARIS (AP) — The leaders of the 27 countries that make up the European Union are to meet in Brussels Wednesday to try and find a way to keep the debt crisis in Europe from spiraling out of control and promote jobs and growth.
On Tuesday the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development warned that the 17 countries that use the euro risk falling into a ‘‘severe recession.’’ It called on governments and Europe’s central bank to act quickly to keep the slowdown from dragging down the global economy.
The electoral turmoil in Greece threatens to pull apart the eurozone. Borrowing costs are up for the most indebted governments. There is an increasing number of reports of worried savers and investors pulling funds out of banks that are seen as weak. Meanwhile, unemployment is soaring as recession grips nearly half the eurozone countries.
However, switching the conversation from slashing budgets to promoting growth won’t be easy. And actually producing growth will be even harder.
WHAT’S ON THE AGENDA
———
10 years after federal court ruling, 5 Western states are shielding part of executions
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A San Francisco-based federal appeals court ruled in 2002 that every aspect of an execution should be open to witnesses, from the moment the condemned enters into the death chamber to his final heartbeat.
The ruling established what was expected of the nine Western states within the court’s jurisdiction. A decade later, five of the states have kept part of each execution away from public view, according to an Associated Press review and death penalty experts.
Idaho, Arizona, Washington, Montana and Nevada have conducted 15 lethal injections since the ruling, and half of each procedure has been behind closed doors.
That means that a small group of witnesses, including members of news organizations who act as representatives of the public, do not see, for instance, the insertion of the IVs that deliver the fatal drug mixture.
The practice comes at a time when the method itself has drawn greater scrutiny, from whether the drugs are effective to whether the execution personnel are properly trained.
———
States urged to do better in aiding grandparents, other relatives who fill child-raising void
NEW YORK (AP) — As more of America’s children are raised by relatives other than their parents, state and local governments need to do better in helping these families cope with an array of financial and emotional challenges, a new report concludes.
Compared to the average parent, these extended-family caregivers are more likely to be poor, elderly, less educated and unemployed, according to the report, ‘‘Stepping Up For Kids’’, being released Wednesday by the Baltimore-based Annie E. Casey Foundation.
Yet despite these hurdles, child-welfare experts say children who can’t be raised by their own parents fare better in kinship care than in the regular foster care system.
‘‘We urge state policymakers to make crucial benefits and resources available to kinship families so that their children can thrive,’’ said the Casey Foundation’s president, Patrick McCarthy.
According to 2010 census data, about 5.8 million children, or nearly 8 percent of all U.S. children, live with grandparents identified as the head of household. However, many of those children have one or both of their parents in the household, as well as grandparents.
———
Romney inches closer to GOP nomination for president with primary sweep in Kentucky, Arkansas
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mitt Romney swept the Kentucky and Arkansas Republican presidential primaries Tuesday, inching closer to the GOP nomination he is certain to win.
With no serious opposition left, the former Massachusetts governor easily won both contests. He won all 42 delegates at stake in Kentucky and at least 31 of the 33 delegates at stake in Arkansas.
Two delegates were still undecided in Arkansas.
Romney has 1,065 delegates, leaving him just 79 shy of the 1,144 delegates needed to win the GOP nomination for president. He should reach the threshold next week, when voters go to the polls in Texas.
Assured of the party nod, Romney has been in general election mode for weeks. He’s been spending much of his time fundraising and focusing on Democratic President Barack Obama.
———
Green Bay Packers receiver Donald Driver named “Dancing With the Stars” champion
LOS ANGELES (AP) — He already has a Super Bowl ring, and now football star Donald Driver can add the ‘‘Dancing With the Stars’’ mirrorball trophy to his awards collection.
The Green Bay Packers receiver won the ABC dance show Tuesday after wowing audiences and judges with his kickin’ country-themed freestyle routine. He and partner Peta Murgatroyd hoisted the glittery prize above their heads after being named the new ‘‘Dancing’’ champs.
Streamers and confetti rained down from the ceiling, filling the ballroom as they celebrated. Driver’s wife and children joined him on the dance floor.
With just one point separating the three finalists, it was up to the viewers to pick the winner.
He and his fellow finalists, Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins and Cuban actor William Levy, each earned perfect scores for their last performances Tuesday. Jenkins came into the final contest with a perfect 60 points; Driver and Levy each had 59.
———
Heat in control: James and Wade combine for 58, Miami tops Indiana 115-83 in Game 5
MIAMI (AP) — Dwyane Wade was bleeding after taking a smack in the head from Tyler Hansbrough, who became the target of a retaliatory shot from Udonis Haslem a few moments later.
When that was over, the Miami Heat kept hitting the Indiana Pacers where it mattered most — the scoreboard.
LeBron James scored 30 points, Wade added 28, and the Heat moved one win away from another trip to the Eastern Conference finals with a 115-83 victory over the hurting Pacers on Tuesday night, when three flagrant fouls added more intrigue to an already-physical series and Indiana watched starting forwards Danny Granger and David West leave with injuries.
‘‘We’re in the flow,’’ James said. ‘‘We’re in a good flow right now. Guys know what it takes out on the floor to help us win and guys are always in position, both offensively and defensively.’’
The Heat outscored Indiana 74-45 after Granger sprained his left ankle, and 86-58 after Wade took the shot from Hansbrough early in the second quarter. Miami leads the best-of-seven East semifinals 3-2, with Game 6 in Indianapolis on Thursday night.
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CAIRO (AP) — Determined to end decades of authoritarian rule, millions of Egyptians waited patiently in long lines outside polling stations across the nation on Wednesday to freely choose their first president since last year’s ouster of longtime ruler and close U.S. ally Hosni Mubarak.
‘‘I can die in a matter of months, so I came for my children, so they can live,’’ a tearful Medhat Ibrahim, 58, who suffers from cancer, said as he waited to vote in a poor district south of Cairo. ‘‘We want to live better, like human beings.’’
Thirteen candidates, who include Islamists, liberals and Mubarak regime figures, are contesting the election. No outright winner is expected to emerge from the two-day vote starting Wednesday. So, a runoff between the two top finishers will be held June 16-17. The winner will be announced on June 21.
‘‘It’s a miracle,’’ said Selwa Abdel-Malik, a 60-year-old Christian from the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria as she was about to vote. ‘‘And it’s a beautiful feeling too.’’
For most of his 29-year rule, Mubarak — like his predecessors — ran unopposed in yes-or-no referendums. Rampant fraud guaranteed ruling party victories in parliamentary elections. Even when, in 2005, Mubarak let challengers oppose him in elections, he ended up not only trouncing his liberal rival but jailing him.
———
Regulators probe whether Morgan Stanley selectively informed clients ahead of Facebook IPO
WASHINGTON (AP) — Regulators are examining whether Morgan Stanley, the investment bank that shepherded Facebook through its highly publicized stock offering last week, selectively informed clients of an analyst’s negative report about the company before the stock started trading.
Rick Ketchum, the head of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the self-policing body for the securities industry, said Tuesday that the question is ‘‘a matter of regulatory concern’’ for his organization and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The top securities regulator for Massachusetts, William Galvin, said he had subpoenaed Morgan Stanley. Galvin said his office is investigating whether Morgan Stanley divulged to only some clients that one of its analysts had cut his revenue estimates for Facebook before the stock hit the market on Friday.
The bank said late Tuesday that it ‘‘followed the same procedures for the Facebook offering that it follows for all IPOs,’’ referring to initial public offerings of stock. It said that its procedures complied with regulations.
The questions about the role played by Morgan Stanley, the lead underwriter for the deal, add to the confusion surrounding Facebook’s IPO. In the most hotly anticipated stock debut in years, the offering raised $16 billion for the social networking company, valuing it at $104 billion
———
After deal on probes, Iran seeks concessions from world powers in key Baghdad nuclear talks
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iran is demanding that world powers set specific timetables and goals in talks Wednesday over Tehran’s nuclear program, a senior Iranian government official said before a second round of negotiations.
The push for milestones by Iran reflects apparent efforts to force concessions from the West on sanctions in exchange for gradually addressing international concerns over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear ambitions.
Tehran hopes to leave Baghdad with a clear framework for future talks and potential dealmaking, the official said. Western diplomats have voiced similar concerns, although few believe the discussions in Baghdad will yield breakthroughs in the showdowns over Iran’s nuclear program.
The U.S. and allies fear Iran could use its nuclear expertise to build atomic weapons. Iran claims it only seeks nuclear reactors for energy and research.
Iranian negotiators, who met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki hours before the talks were to open, would not identify any specific offers or benchmarks they wanted to see by the day’s end.
———
Senator: Secret Service prostitute scandal broader than originally believed, not isolated case
WASHINGTON (AP) — Several small groups of Secret Service employees separately visited clubs, bars and brothels in Colombia prior to a visit by President Barack Obama last month and engaged in reckless, ‘‘morally repugnant’’ behavior, Sen. Susan Collins says.
She says the employees’ actions during the stunning prostitution scandal could have provided a foreign intelligence service, drug cartels or other criminals with opportunities for blackmail or coercion that could have threatened the president’s safety.
In remarks prepared for the first congressional hearing on the matter Wednesday, Collins, R-Maine, also challenged early assurances that the scandal in Colombia appeared to be an isolated incident. She noted that two participants were Secret Service supervisors — one with 21 years of service and the other with 22 years — and both were married. Their involvement ‘‘surely sends a message to the rank and file that this kind of activity is tolerated on the road,’’ Collins said.
‘‘This was not a one-time event,’’ said Collins, the senior Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. ‘‘The circumstances unfortunately suggest an issue of culture.’’
Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, the committee’s chairman, said, ‘‘I want to hear what the Secret Service is doing to encourage people to report egregious behavior when they see it.’’
———
European leaders to discuss growth at summit but unclear if they’ll be able to act fast enough
PARIS (AP) — The leaders of the 27 countries that make up the European Union are to meet in Brussels Wednesday to try and find a way to keep the debt crisis in Europe from spiraling out of control and promote jobs and growth.
On Tuesday the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development warned that the 17 countries that use the euro risk falling into a ‘‘severe recession.’’ It called on governments and Europe’s central bank to act quickly to keep the slowdown from dragging down the global economy.
The electoral turmoil in Greece threatens to pull apart the eurozone. Borrowing costs are up for the most indebted governments. There is an increasing number of reports of worried savers and investors pulling funds out of banks that are seen as weak. Meanwhile, unemployment is soaring as recession grips nearly half the eurozone countries.
However, switching the conversation from slashing budgets to promoting growth won’t be easy. And actually producing growth will be even harder.
WHAT’S ON THE AGENDA
———
10 years after federal court ruling, 5 Western states are shielding part of executions
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A San Francisco-based federal appeals court ruled in 2002 that every aspect of an execution should be open to witnesses, from the moment the condemned enters into the death chamber to his final heartbeat.
The ruling established what was expected of the nine Western states within the court’s jurisdiction. A decade later, five of the states have kept part of each execution away from public view, according to an Associated Press review and death penalty experts.
Idaho, Arizona, Washington, Montana and Nevada have conducted 15 lethal injections since the ruling, and half of each procedure has been behind closed doors.
That means that a small group of witnesses, including members of news organizations who act as representatives of the public, do not see, for instance, the insertion of the IVs that deliver the fatal drug mixture.
The practice comes at a time when the method itself has drawn greater scrutiny, from whether the drugs are effective to whether the execution personnel are properly trained.
———
States urged to do better in aiding grandparents, other relatives who fill child-raising void
NEW YORK (AP) — As more of America’s children are raised by relatives other than their parents, state and local governments need to do better in helping these families cope with an array of financial and emotional challenges, a new report concludes.
Compared to the average parent, these extended-family caregivers are more likely to be poor, elderly, less educated and unemployed, according to the report, ‘‘Stepping Up For Kids’’, being released Wednesday by the Baltimore-based Annie E. Casey Foundation.
Yet despite these hurdles, child-welfare experts say children who can’t be raised by their own parents fare better in kinship care than in the regular foster care system.
‘‘We urge state policymakers to make crucial benefits and resources available to kinship families so that their children can thrive,’’ said the Casey Foundation’s president, Patrick McCarthy.
According to 2010 census data, about 5.8 million children, or nearly 8 percent of all U.S. children, live with grandparents identified as the head of household. However, many of those children have one or both of their parents in the household, as well as grandparents.
———
Romney inches closer to GOP nomination for president with primary sweep in Kentucky, Arkansas
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mitt Romney swept the Kentucky and Arkansas Republican presidential primaries Tuesday, inching closer to the GOP nomination he is certain to win.
With no serious opposition left, the former Massachusetts governor easily won both contests. He won all 42 delegates at stake in Kentucky and at least 31 of the 33 delegates at stake in Arkansas.
Two delegates were still undecided in Arkansas.
Romney has 1,065 delegates, leaving him just 79 shy of the 1,144 delegates needed to win the GOP nomination for president. He should reach the threshold next week, when voters go to the polls in Texas.
Assured of the party nod, Romney has been in general election mode for weeks. He’s been spending much of his time fundraising and focusing on Democratic President Barack Obama.
———
Green Bay Packers receiver Donald Driver named “Dancing With the Stars” champion
LOS ANGELES (AP) — He already has a Super Bowl ring, and now football star Donald Driver can add the ‘‘Dancing With the Stars’’ mirrorball trophy to his awards collection.
The Green Bay Packers receiver won the ABC dance show Tuesday after wowing audiences and judges with his kickin’ country-themed freestyle routine. He and partner Peta Murgatroyd hoisted the glittery prize above their heads after being named the new ‘‘Dancing’’ champs.
Streamers and confetti rained down from the ceiling, filling the ballroom as they celebrated. Driver’s wife and children joined him on the dance floor.
With just one point separating the three finalists, it was up to the viewers to pick the winner.
He and his fellow finalists, Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins and Cuban actor William Levy, each earned perfect scores for their last performances Tuesday. Jenkins came into the final contest with a perfect 60 points; Driver and Levy each had 59.
———
Heat in control: James and Wade combine for 58, Miami tops Indiana 115-83 in Game 5
MIAMI (AP) — Dwyane Wade was bleeding after taking a smack in the head from Tyler Hansbrough, who became the target of a retaliatory shot from Udonis Haslem a few moments later.
When that was over, the Miami Heat kept hitting the Indiana Pacers where it mattered most — the scoreboard.
LeBron James scored 30 points, Wade added 28, and the Heat moved one win away from another trip to the Eastern Conference finals with a 115-83 victory over the hurting Pacers on Tuesday night, when three flagrant fouls added more intrigue to an already-physical series and Indiana watched starting forwards Danny Granger and David West leave with injuries.
‘‘We’re in the flow,’’ James said. ‘‘We’re in a good flow right now. Guys know what it takes out on the floor to help us win and guys are always in position, both offensively and defensively.’’
The Heat outscored Indiana 74-45 after Granger sprained his left ankle, and 86-58 after Wade took the shot from Hansbrough early in the second quarter. Miami leads the best-of-seven East semifinals 3-2, with Game 6 in Indianapolis on Thursday night.
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