Friday, 6.15.12 PRESS DAKOTAN 5A Obama, Romney Duel In...
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BY HAMZA HENDAWI AND SARAH EL DEEB Associated Press CAIRO — Judges appointed by Hosni Mubarak dissolved the Islamist-dominated parliament Thursday and ruled his former prime minister eligible for the presidential runoff election this weekend — setting the stage for the military and remnants of the old regime to stay in power. The politically charged rulings dealt a heavy blow to the funda- mentalist Islamic Brotherhood, with one senior member calling the decisions a “full-fledged coup,” and the group vowed to rally the public against Ahmed Shafiq, the last prime minister to serve under Mubarak. The decision by the Supreme Constitutional Court effectively erased the tenuous progress from Egypt’s troubled transition in the past year, leaving the coun- try with no parliament and con- centrating power even more firmly in the hands of the gener- als who took over from Mubarak. Several hundred people gath- ered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square after the rulings to denounce the action and rally against Shafiq, the presidential candidate seen by critics as a symbol of Mubarak’s autocratic rule. But with no calls by the Brotherhood or other groups for massive demonstrations, the crowd did not grow. Activists who engineered Egypt’s uprising have long sus- pected that the generals would try to cling to power, explaining that after 60 years as the nation’s single most dominant institution, the military would be reluctant to surrender its authority or leave its economic empire to civilian scrutiny. Shafiq’s rival in the Saturday- Sunday runoff, Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood, said he was unhappy about the rul- ings but accepted them. “It is my duty as the future president of Egypt, God willing, to separate between the state’s authorities and accept the rul- ings,” the U.S.-trained engineer said in a television interview. Late Thursday, he told a news conference: “Millions will go to the ballot boxes on Saturday and Sunday to say ‘no’ to the tyrants.” Senior Brotherhood leader and lawmaker Mohammed el- Beltagy was less diplomatic, say- ing the judges’ action amounted to a “full-fledged coup.” “This is the Egypt that Shafiq and the military council want and which I will not accept no matter how dear the price is,” he wrote on his Facebook page. Equally blunt was another Brotherhood stalwart, lawmaker Subhi Saleh. “The court, I can say, has handed Egypt to the mil- itary council on a golden platter and free of charge too,” he said. In last year’s parliamentary elections — Egypt’s first demo- cratic ones in generations — the Brotherhood became the biggest party in the legislature, with nearly half the seats, alongside more conservative Islamists who took another 20 percent. It is hoping to win the presidency as well. The rulings, however, take away the Brotherhood’s power base in parliament and boost Shafiq at a time when the Is- lamists are at sharp odds with a wide array of major forces, in- cluding the military, the judiciary and pro-democracy groups be- hind the uprising. The court also derailed the broader transition to democracy, said rights activist Hossam Bah- gat. “The military placed all pow- ers in its hands. The entire process has been undermined beyond repair,” Bahgat said. “They now have the legislative and the executive powers in their hands and there is a big likeli- hood that the military-backed candidate (Shafiq) is going to win. It is a soft military coup that unfortunately many people will support out of fear of an Islamist takeover of the state.” On Wednesday, the military- appointed government gave se- curity forces the right to arrest civilians for a range of vague crimes such as disrupting traffic and the economy that would give it a mandate to crack down on protests. Many saw the move as evidence that the generals aim to stay in power beyond the July 1 deadline they announced for handing it over to a civilian presi- dent. All day Thursday, military ar- mored vehicles circulated through Cairo’s streets playing patriotic songs as soldiers passed out leaflets urging passers-by to vote in the runoff election. Plastered on the side of their vehicles were posters say- ing “the army and the people are one hand.” After the court’s decision was announced, a visibly energized Shafiq spoke at a rally that had the trappings of a victory cele- bration. Supporters chanted “We love you, Mr. President,” and the 70-year-old candidate blew kisses to them. In his address, he praised the military and said he hoped for a dramatic change in the makeup of the next parlia- ment. “We want a parliament that re- alistically represents all seg- ments of the Egyptian people and a civil state whose borders and legitimacy are protected by our valiant armed forces,” said Shafiq, a longtime friend and self- confessed admirer of Mubarak. 5A PRESS DAKOTAN the world Friday, 6.15.12 ON THE WEB: www.yankton.net NEWS DEPARTMENT: [email protected] Brought to you by... For more information call 605-665-4606 or find us on Facebook at e Coalition For a Drug Free Yankton Students who use alcohol are five times more likely to drop out of school or to believe that earning good grades is not important. Our youth deserve to live and grow in an environment where alcohol is not misused. Host alcohol-free parties with fun activities to show teens we care about their future. Did You KNOW? Tuscano Pizza grilled on the sidewalk in front of the store every Friday thru Summer. Weather permitting. FRIDAY NIGHT SPECIAL! 4:00 to 8:00 pm 2100 Broadway, Yankton $ 5 00 Fire-Grilled One Topping Tuscano Pizza Add a 2 Ltr of Coke, Diet Coke or Sprite for $1.00 PLANT ONE ON DAD Sunday, June 17 th is Fathers Day 15% off All Plants 15th & Broadway • Yankton 605-665-7700 • We Deliver www.piedpiperflowers.com June 11-16 th JAMES LAWLER DUGGAN/MCT Demonstrators gather outside Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court in Cairo on Thursday, June 14, 2012. In a highly anticipated ruling that put the legitimacy of Egypt's legislature and future constitution in question, Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court ordered the dissolution of one- third of the nation's first democratically elected parliament and allowed former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister to run in this weekend's presidential election. JULIE PACE Associated Press CLEVELAND — President Barack Obama cast his re-election race against Republican Mitt Rom- ney as the economic choice of a lifetime on Thursday, seeking to stir undecided voters and asking the nation to buy into his vision for four more years or face a re- turn to the recession-era “mis- takes of the past.” Said Romney: “Talk is cheap.” From opposite ends of Ohio, a state vital to both of their political futures, Romney and Obama du- eled in economic speeches that set the tone for a fierce, final five months of debate. At the core, the pitches were the political foes’ fa- miliar, fundamentally different takes on how get to an economi- cally aching nation soaring again. “That’s really what this elec- tion is about,” Obama said in his most detailed case for a second term. “That’s what is at stake right now. Everything else is just noise.” Romney went first from Cincin- nati, a Republican stronghold in the state, and he described Obama’s administration as the very “enemy” of people who cre- ate jobs. “Look what’s happened across this country,” Romney said. “If you think things are going swimmingly, if you think the president’s right when he said the private sector is doing fine, then he’s the guy to vote for.” But he questioned why anyone would do that, saying if the job isn’t getting done, pick “someone who can do a better job.” The backdrop was Ohio, seen by political strategists as a state that could swing the election. It went to Obama last time, and George W. Bush before that, and it remains crucial for both competitors this year — particu- larly Romney. No Republican has ever won the presidency without winning Ohio. Romney gave what amounted to his standard speech, albeit re- aligned as a prebuttal as Obama was pulling into his event site at the top of the state. Given the tight presidential race and the enormous interest in the econ- omy, the two speeches offered an- ticipation of a big campaign moment, but the substance yielded little new. This was Obama in professor mode, filling his speech with budget numbers and history and talk of independent analysts. It was an economics case, yet hardly one of roaring rhetorical lift. The goal for Obama was not to uncork new proposals but to define a con- trast. He is still pushing tax credits and other jobs ideas that have awaited action in Congress for months. On Thursday, he said the elec- tion is an opportunity for voters to step in and “break the stale- mate.” In essence, Obama said Rom- ney would gut government and cut taxes for the rich at the ex- pense of everyone else. Romney said Obama is crush- ing the free market with regula- tion. Obama said, “If you believe this economy grows best when everybody gets a fair shot and everybody does their fair share and everybody plays by the same set of rules, then I ask you to stand with me for a second term as president.” He made a concerted push for independent and undecided vot- ers by pledging anew to work with anyone “who believes that we’re in this together.” Despite what had seemed to be a speech showdown, the two events were not of the same scope. Obama spoke for more than 50 minutes, more than doubling Rom- ney’s comments, in what his cam- paign called the first in a series of major economic speeches. The settings offered different optics as well; Romney went coatless with his sleeves rolled up before about 100 people; Obama gave a formal address to 1,500 people. More Accusers Testify In Sandusky Trial BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) — Three more accusers took the stand at Jerry Sandusky’s sex-abuse trial Thursday, one of whom said the former Penn State assistant football coach called himself the “tickle monster” before embracing him in a shower and another who said he was forced into sex acts during more than a hundred nights he spent in the ex-coach’s home. A state investigator also testified that authorities heard about a key witness, assistant coach Mike McQueary, through an anony- mous email to Centre County prosecutors. The investigator, An- thony Sassano, said authorities identified some of Jerry Sandusky’s alleged abuse victims through pictures and lists seized from his home and office and that the university was “not very quick” in get- ting investigators information as part of the probe. A third alleged victim who testified Thursday said he loved San- dusky and that he viewed him as a father figure, but that he be- came angry with Sandusky because he never reached out to him after the witness moved away. The three alleged victims who testified Thursday brought to eight the number of accusers to take the stand over the trial’s first four days. Jurors also heard about two other alleged victims who have not been located by investigators. The ex-coach faces 52 criminal counts involving alleged assaults of 10 boys over a 15-year span. He denies the charges, which brought disgrace to Penn State and led to the ouster of both the school’s president and Hall of Fame football coach Joe Paterno. U.N. Observers Enter Enclave Overrun By Troops BEIRUT (AP) — Smoldering buildings, looted shops, smashed cars and a strong stench of death greeted U.N. observers who en- tered the nearly deserted Syrian town of Haffa on Thursday, a day after President Bashar Assad’s forces overran it as part of a major offensive to recover rebel-controlled territories. The observers had been trying to get into the town for a week after fears were raised that a brutal assault by regime forces was under way. They found the main hospital burned, state buildings and an office of the ruling Baath party in ruins and a corpse lying in the street. “A strong stench of dead bodies was in the air,” said Sausan Ghosheh, spokeswoman for the U.N. observers. She said there was still fighting in some pockets of the mountainous town in the sea- side province of Latakia. The number of casualties was unclear, Ghosheh said, and it ap- peared likely that, as in the past, bodies had been removed or buried before the U.N. mission got in. The fighting, now mostly quelled in Haffa, was mirrored in other parts of Syria, where more than 40 civilians and opposition fighters were killed Thursday, according to activists, alongside more than a half-dozen Syrian forces. Myanmar’s Suu Kyi Falls Ill During Conference BERN, Switzerland (AP) — A rock star welcome greeted Aung San Suu Kyi as she embarked on her first trip to Europe in 24 years. But after a whirlwind of standing ovations, speeches and recep- tions, it all became too much, and she fell ill Thursday during a news conference in Switzerland. The 66-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate became sick shortly after saying how exhausted she was after her long trip from Asia to Europe, which brought her to Geneva late Wednesday night. It was not known how her apparent exhaustion would affect the rest of a tightly-packed schedule, which includes delivering her Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in Oslo on Saturday, 21 years after winning the award. Suu Kyi looked pale as she took questions Thursday evening alongside Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter in the Swiss capital of Bern. After a few minutes, she pressed a finger to her lips and mo- tioned to an aide who rushed to her side with a bag. She then bent over and threw up before being escorted out of the room by offi- cials. A spokesman for the Swiss Foreign Ministry said Suu Kyi recov- ered enough to briefly attend a reception with government officials later but then retired to her room. “She’s just a bit tired,” spokesman Jean-Marc Crevoisier told The Associated Press. “I would be, too, after the long day she’s had.” Ex-Texas Tycoon Sentenced To 110 Years HOUSTON (AP) — Former jet-setting Texas tycoon R. Allen Stan- ford, whose financial empire once spanned the Americas, was sen- tenced Thursday to 110 years in prison for bilking investors out of more than $7 billion over 20 years in one of the largest Ponzi schemes in U.S. history. U.S. District Judge David Hittner handed down the sentence dur- ing a court hearing in which two people spoke on behalf of Stan- ford’s investors about how his fraud had affected their lives. Prosecutors had asked that Stanford be sentenced to 230 years in prison, the maximum sentence possible after a jury convicted the one-time billionaire in March on 13 of 14 fraud-related counts. Stanford’s convictions on conspiracy, wire and mail fraud charges followed a seven-week trial. Stanford’s attorneys had asked for a maximum of 41 months, a sentence he could have completed within about five months be- cause he has been jailed since his arrest in June 2009. During Thursday’s sentencing hearing, Stanford gave a rambling statement to the court in which he denied he did anything wrong. Speaking for more than 40 minutes, Stanford said he was a scape- goat and blamed the federal government and a U.S.-appointed re- ceiver who took over his companies for tearing down his business empire and preventing his investors from getting any of their money back. Scientists: Spain’s Cave Paintings The Oldest WASHINGTON (AP) — New tests show that crude Spanish cave paintings of a red sphere and handprints are the oldest in the world, so ancient they may not have been by modern man. Some scientists say they might have even been made by the much-maligned Neanderthals, but others disagree. Testing the coating of paintings in 11 Spanish caves, researchers found that one is at least 40,800 years old, which is at least 15,000 years older than previously thought. That makes them older than the more famous French cave paintings by thousands of years. Scientists dated the Spanish cave paintings by measuring the decay of uranium atoms, instead of traditional carbon-dating, ac- cording to a report released Thursday by the journal Science. The paintings were first discovered in the 1870s. Egypt Court Dissolves Islamist-Led Parliament Obama, Romney Duel In Ohio Opponents Seek Support For Economic Plans
Transcript of Friday, 6.15.12 PRESS DAKOTAN 5A Obama, Romney Duel In...
BY HAMZA HENDAWIAND SARAH EL DEEBAssociated Press
CAIRO — Judges appointedby Hosni Mubarak dissolved theIslamist-dominated parliamentThursday and ruled his formerprime minister eligible for thepresidential runoff election thisweekend — setting the stage forthe military and remnants of theold regime to stay in power.
The politically charged rulingsdealt a heavy blow to the funda-mentalist Islamic Brotherhood,with one senior member callingthe decisions a “full-fledgedcoup,” and the group vowed torally the public against AhmedShafiq, the last prime minister toserve under Mubarak.
The decision by the SupremeConstitutional Court effectivelyerased the tenuous progressfrom Egypt’s troubled transitionin the past year, leaving the coun-try with no parliament and con-centrating power even morefirmly in the hands of the gener-als who took over from Mubarak.
Several hundred people gath-ered in Cairo’s Tahrir Squareafter the rulings to denounce theaction and rally against Shafiq,the presidential candidate seenby critics as a symbol ofMubarak’s autocratic rule. Butwith no calls by the Brotherhoodor other groups for massivedemonstrations, the crowd didnot grow.
Activists who engineeredEgypt’s uprising have long sus-pected that the generals wouldtry to cling to power, explainingthat after 60 years as the nation’ssingle most dominant institution,the military would be reluctantto surrender its authority orleave its economic empire tocivilian scrutiny.
Shafiq’s rival in the Saturday-Sunday runoff, Mohammed Morsi
of the Muslim Brotherhood, saidhe was unhappy about the rul-ings but accepted them.
“It is my duty as the futurepresident of Egypt, God willing,to separate between the state’sauthorities and accept the rul-ings,” the U.S.-trained engineersaid in a television interview.Late Thursday, he told a newsconference: “Millions will go tothe ballot boxes on Saturday andSunday to say ‘no’ to thetyrants.”
Senior Brotherhood leaderand lawmaker Mohammed el-Beltagy was less diplomatic, say-ing the judges’ action amountedto a “full-fledged coup.”
“This is the Egypt that Shafiqand the military council wantand which I will not accept nomatter how dear the price is,” hewrote on his Facebook page.
Equally blunt was anotherBrotherhood stalwart, lawmakerSubhi Saleh. “The court, I can
say, has handed Egypt to the mil-itary council on a golden platterand free of charge too,” he said.
In last year’s parliamentaryelections — Egypt’s first demo-cratic ones in generations — theBrotherhood became the biggestparty in the legislature, withnearly half the seats, alongsidemore conservative Islamists whotook another 20 percent. It ishoping to win the presidency aswell.
The rulings, however, takeaway the Brotherhood’s powerbase in parliament and boostShafiq at a time when the Is-lamists are at sharp odds with awide array of major forces, in-cluding the military, the judiciaryand pro-democracy groups be-hind the uprising.
The court also derailed thebroader transition to democracy,said rights activist Hossam Bah-gat.
“The military placed all pow-
ers in its hands. The entireprocess has been underminedbeyond repair,” Bahgat said.“They now have the legislativeand the executive powers in theirhands and there is a big likeli-hood that the military-backedcandidate (Shafiq) is going towin. It is a soft military coup thatunfortunately many people willsupport out of fear of an Islamisttakeover of the state.”
On Wednesday, the military-appointed government gave se-curity forces the right to arrestcivilians for a range of vaguecrimes such as disrupting trafficand the economy that would giveit a mandate to crack down onprotests. Many saw the move asevidence that the generals aim tostay in power beyond the July 1deadline they announced forhanding it over to a civilian presi-dent.
All day Thursday, military ar-mored vehicles circulatedthrough Cairo’s streets playingpatriotic songs as soldierspassed out leaflets urgingpassers-by to vote in the runoffelection. Plastered on the side oftheir vehicles were posters say-ing “the army and the people areone hand.”
After the court’s decision wasannounced, a visibly energizedShafiq spoke at a rally that hadthe trappings of a victory cele-bration. Supporters chanted “Welove you, Mr. President,” and the70-year-old candidate blew kissesto them. In his address, hepraised the military and said hehoped for a dramatic change inthe makeup of the next parlia-ment.
“We want a parliament that re-alistically represents all seg-ments of the Egyptian people anda civil state whose borders andlegitimacy are protected by ourvaliant armed forces,” saidShafiq, a longtime friend and self-confessed admirer of Mubarak.
5APRESS DAKOTANthe worldFriday, 6.15.12
ON THE WEB: www.yankton.net
NEWS DEPARTMENT: [email protected]
Brought to you by...
For more information call 605-665-4606or fi nd us on Facebook at Th e Coalition For a Drug Free Yankton
Students who use alcohol are fi ve timesmore likely to drop out of school or to believe
that earning good grades is not important.Our youth deserve to live and grow in an environment
where alcohol is not misused. Host alcohol-free parties with fun activities to show teens we care about their future.
Did You KNOW?
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JAMES LAWLER DUGGAN/MCTDemonstrators gather outside Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court inCairo on Thursday, June 14, 2012. In a highly anticipated ruling that putthe legitimacy of Egypt's legislature and future constitution in question,Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court ordered the dissolution of one-third of the nation's first democratically elected parliament and allowedformer Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister to run inthis weekend's presidential election.
JULIE PACE Associated Press
CLEVELAND — PresidentBarack Obama cast his re-electionrace against Republican Mitt Rom-ney as the economic choice of alifetime on Thursday, seeking tostir undecided voters and askingthe nation to buy into his visionfor four more years or face a re-turn to the recession-era “mis-takes of the past.”
Said Romney: “Talk is cheap.” From opposite ends of Ohio, a
state vital to both of their politicalfutures, Romney and Obama du-eled in economic speeches thatset the tone for a fierce, final fivemonths of debate. At the core, thepitches were the political foes’ fa-miliar, fundamentally differenttakes on how get to an economi-cally aching nation soaring again.
“That’s really what this elec-tion is about,” Obama said in hismost detailed case for a secondterm. “That’s what is at stake rightnow. Everything else is just noise.”
Romney went first from Cincin-nati, a Republican stronghold inthe state, and he describedObama’s administration as thevery “enemy” of people who cre-ate jobs.
“Look what’s happened acrossthis country,” Romney said. “If youthink things are going swimmingly,if you think the president’s rightwhen he said the private sector isdoing fine, then he’s the guy tovote for.” But he questioned whyanyone would do that, saying ifthe job isn’t getting done, pick“someone who can do a betterjob.”
The backdrop was Ohio, seenby political strategists as a statethat could swing the election.
It went to Obama last time,and George W. Bush before that,and it remains crucial for bothcompetitors this year — particu-larly Romney. No Republican hasever won the presidency withoutwinning Ohio.
Romney gave what amountedto his standard speech, albeit re-aligned as a prebuttal as Obamawas pulling into his event site atthe top of the state. Given thetight presidential race and theenormous interest in the econ-omy, the two speeches offered an-ticipation of a big campaignmoment, but the substanceyielded little new.
This was Obama in professormode, filling his speech withbudget numbers and history and
talk of independent analysts. Itwas an economics case, yet hardlyone of roaring rhetorical lift. Thegoal for Obama was not to uncorknew proposals but to define a con-trast. He is still pushing tax creditsand other jobs ideas that haveawaited action in Congress formonths.
On Thursday, he said the elec-tion is an opportunity for votersto step in and “break the stale-mate.”
In essence, Obama said Rom-ney would gut government andcut taxes for the rich at the ex-pense of everyone else.
Romney said Obama is crush-ing the free market with regula-tion.
Obama said, “If you believethis economy grows best wheneverybody gets a fair shot andeverybody does their fair share
and everybody plays by the sameset of rules, then I ask you tostand with me for a second termas president.”
He made a concerted push forindependent and undecided vot-ers by pledging anew to work withanyone “who believes that we’rein this together.”
Despite what had seemed tobe a speech showdown, the twoevents were not of the samescope.
Obama spoke for more than 50minutes, more than doubling Rom-ney’s comments, in what his cam-paign called the first in a series ofmajor economic speeches. Thesettings offered different optics aswell; Romney went coatless withhis sleeves rolled up before about100 people; Obama gave a formaladdress to 1,500 people.
More Accusers Testify In Sandusky TrialBELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) — Three more accusers took the stand
at Jerry Sandusky’s sex-abuse trial Thursday, one of whom said theformer Penn State assistant football coach called himself the “ticklemonster” before embracing him in a shower and another who saidhe was forced into sex acts during more than a hundred nights hespent in the ex-coach’s home.
A state investigator also testified that authorities heard about akey witness, assistant coach Mike McQueary, through an anony-mous email to Centre County prosecutors. The investigator, An-thony Sassano, said authorities identified some of Jerry Sandusky’salleged abuse victims through pictures and lists seized from hishome and office and that the university was “not very quick” in get-ting investigators information as part of the probe.
A third alleged victim who testified Thursday said he loved San-dusky and that he viewed him as a father figure, but that he be-came angry with Sandusky because he never reached out to himafter the witness moved away.
The three alleged victims who testified Thursday brought toeight the number of accusers to take the stand over the trial’s firstfour days. Jurors also heard about two other alleged victims whohave not been located by investigators.
The ex-coach faces 52 criminal counts involving alleged assaultsof 10 boys over a 15-year span. He denies the charges, whichbrought disgrace to Penn State and led to the ouster of both theschool’s president and Hall of Fame football coach Joe Paterno.
U.N. Observers Enter Enclave Overrun By TroopsBEIRUT (AP) — Smoldering buildings, looted shops, smashed
cars and a strong stench of death greeted U.N. observers who en-tered the nearly deserted Syrian town of Haffa on Thursday, a dayafter President Bashar Assad’s forces overran it as part of a majoroffensive to recover rebel-controlled territories.
The observers had been trying to get into the town for a weekafter fears were raised that a brutal assault by regime forces wasunder way. They found the main hospital burned, state buildingsand an office of the ruling Baath party in ruins and a corpse lying inthe street.
“A strong stench of dead bodies was in the air,” said SausanGhosheh, spokeswoman for the U.N. observers. She said there wasstill fighting in some pockets of the mountainous town in the sea-side province of Latakia.
The number of casualties was unclear, Ghosheh said, and it ap-peared likely that, as in the past, bodies had been removed orburied before the U.N. mission got in.
The fighting, now mostly quelled in Haffa, was mirrored in otherparts of Syria, where more than 40 civilians and opposition fighterswere killed Thursday, according to activists, alongside more than ahalf-dozen Syrian forces.
Myanmar’s Suu Kyi Falls Ill During ConferenceBERN, Switzerland (AP) — A rock star welcome greeted Aung
San Suu Kyi as she embarked on her first trip to Europe in 24 years.But after a whirlwind of standing ovations, speeches and recep-tions, it all became too much, and she fell ill Thursday during anews conference in Switzerland.
The 66-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate became sick shortlyafter saying how exhausted she was after her long trip from Asia toEurope, which brought her to Geneva late Wednesday night. It wasnot known how her apparent exhaustion would affect the rest of atightly-packed schedule, which includes delivering her Nobel PeacePrize acceptance speech in Oslo on Saturday, 21 years after winningthe award.
Suu Kyi looked pale as she took questions Thursday eveningalongside Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter in the Swiss capital ofBern. After a few minutes, she pressed a finger to her lips and mo-tioned to an aide who rushed to her side with a bag. She then bentover and threw up before being escorted out of the room by offi-cials.
A spokesman for the Swiss Foreign Ministry said Suu Kyi recov-ered enough to briefly attend a reception with government officialslater but then retired to her room.
“She’s just a bit tired,” spokesman Jean-Marc Crevoisier told TheAssociated Press. “I would be, too, after the long day she’s had.”
Ex-Texas Tycoon Sentenced To 110 YearsHOUSTON (AP) — Former jet-setting Texas tycoon R. Allen Stan-
ford, whose financial empire once spanned the Americas, was sen-tenced Thursday to 110 years in prison for bilking investors out ofmore than $7 billion over 20 years in one of the largest Ponzischemes in U.S. history.
U.S. District Judge David Hittner handed down the sentence dur-ing a court hearing in which two people spoke on behalf of Stan-ford’s investors about how his fraud had affected their lives.
Prosecutors had asked that Stanford be sentenced to 230 yearsin prison, the maximum sentence possible after a jury convictedthe one-time billionaire in March on 13 of 14 fraud-related counts.Stanford’s convictions on conspiracy, wire and mail fraud chargesfollowed a seven-week trial.
Stanford’s attorneys had asked for a maximum of 41 months, asentence he could have completed within about five months be-cause he has been jailed since his arrest in June 2009.
During Thursday’s sentencing hearing, Stanford gave a ramblingstatement to the court in which he denied he did anything wrong.Speaking for more than 40 minutes, Stanford said he was a scape-goat and blamed the federal government and a U.S.-appointed re-ceiver who took over his companies for tearing down his businessempire and preventing his investors from getting any of theirmoney back.
Scientists: Spain’s Cave Paintings The OldestWASHINGTON (AP) — New tests show that crude Spanish cave
paintings of a red sphere and handprints are the oldest in theworld, so ancient they may not have been by modern man.
Some scientists say they might have even been made by themuch-maligned Neanderthals, but others disagree.
Testing the coating of paintings in 11 Spanish caves, researchersfound that one is at least 40,800 years old, which is at least 15,000years older than previously thought. That makes them older thanthe more famous French cave paintings by thousands of years.
Scientists dated the Spanish cave paintings by measuring thedecay of uranium atoms, instead of traditional carbon-dating, ac-cording to a report released Thursday by the journal Science. Thepaintings were first discovered in the 1870s.
Egypt Court Dissolves Islamist-Led Parliament
Obama, Romney Duel In OhioOpponents Seek
Support ForEconomic Plans
