The traditional way to handle this sort of thing is to write a story, a summary, but there are so many issues in play that I thought this was one where it's best to have you hear directly from specialists in the field. We have three distinguished participants, and there's a great deal of subtlety in their answers. Selecting a couple of quotes, or a tally of their "votes" on an issue, wouldn't depict that complexity.

The discussion roamed from WikiLeaks itself to the First Amendment implications of such a case, to the weaknesses of a prosecution and a defense, to the changes needed in the Espionage Act and other laws.
It's not the most important legal point, but it's notable that the three panelists all offered similar answers to the question, what is a weakness for the defense. The answer: the defendant. His statements and demeanor will hurt him with a judge and jury.

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 AS the controversy surrounding the statement made by the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, about the budget of the National Assembly rages on, the CBN governor has declared that politicians in the country, particularly those who participated in the second and the botched third republics, should be held responsible for killing most of the dead banks in the country.

The CBN governor, who delivered a public lecture entitled “Global Financial Meltdown and the Reforms in the Nigerian Banking sector” at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, said that, “most of the people who killed Nigerian banks are still very much around us, they borrowed money and refused to repay them and when the banks died, they turned around and reinvested the money into their businesses with some of them becoming governors, senators, members of the National Assembly.”

Mallam Sanusi, who said that he did not believe in the categorisation of the banks as ‘failed banks’, explained that, “the banks did not fail but were killed and we must do everything possible to find the killers of the banks just like would be done to find the killers of anybody killed by some people.”
On the banking reform he introduced in the last 17 months, he stated that the reforms had brought stability to the banking sector and the Nigerian economy, adding that due to the measures put in place, no single bank in Nigeria had collapsed ever since the full implementation of the reforms.

He added that no depositor had lost money as a result of the banking sector crisis because, according to him, “the banking system has stabilised and the most affected banks have continued normal operation while modalities for injecting fresh capital into them, either by shareholders or through acquisition and merger arrangements, are being finalised.”

The CBN governor further said that the reforms had also succeeded in returning macro economic and financial system stability, adding that overall output in 2010 was expected to be higher than in 2009, saying, “projections by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that the real GDP in 2010 will grow by 7.85 per cent compared to 6.66 per cent in 2009. The growth rate appears robust but there is need to ensure that it translates into job creation and poverty reduction.”

According to him, between 2009 and 2010, the volatility of the economy has moderated significantly explaining that, “headline inflation declined steadily from 15.1 per cent in end-2008 top 10.4 per cent in September, 2009, rising thereafter to 15.6 per cent in February 2010.
“Since then, it has maintained a downward trend to 13.4 per cent in October, 2010.”

However, on the challenges of the reforms, he said that the major challenge was how to sustain and translate the stability into employment opportunities, because, according to him, “the link between major growth drivers, particularly agriculture and manufacturing, has continued to be weak,” there was, therefore, the need to urgently address all binding constraints to growth, he noted.

He also said that, “inadequate or absence of basic economic and social infrastructure remains a major binding constraint on Nigeria’s economic growth and development. There is, therefore, an urgent need to fast-track the proposed reforms in some key sectors of the economy, notably power and oil and gas sectors, to attract the much-needed investment and reduce large import bills on refined petroleum. There is also need to deepen the deregulation process in the electricity process and transport sector to attract private investment.”




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Police in Sweden say two explosions in central Stockholm that killed one person and injured two others was a terrorist attack.

Police spokesman Anders Thornberg told a news conference Sunday the explosions are being investigated under Swedish law as an act of terror, but that authorities have not raised the security level.

Police say the first blast Saturday occurred in a car near a busy shopping street, slightly injuring two people.  Shortly afterward, a second explosion was heard on the same street.  Police later found one person dead at the scene.  Authorities believe that person was a suicide bomber.

Swedish news agency TT said Saturday that 10 minutes before the blasts, it had received an e-mail in Arabic and Swedish, warning of unspecified "action."

The news agency said the warning, also sent to the Security Police, referred to Sweden's involvement in Afghanistan and to caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad by the Swedish artist Lars Vilks.





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A LAST-MINUTE agreement at United Nations talks has increased pressure on the Gillard government to lift its ambition in tackling climate change, with the Greens saying Labor has ''no choice'' not to set a more ambitious target than a 5 per cent cut in greenhouse gas emissions.
A final overnight session ended with UN negotiators for the first time backing an agreement that formally included targets from the US, China and India.
The deal included arrangements for protecting rainforests and a planned $US100 billion ($101 billion) green climate fund to help the most vulnerable nations cope with the effects of climate change.
The Cancun agreement included steps to ensure transparency in emissions measurement and reporting - a key sticking point for China and the US at last year's disastrous conference in Copenhagen.
But while representatives from more than 190 countries agreed to seek ''deep cuts'' in emissions, the deal does not include targets big enough to meet the goal of limiting the global temperature rise since industrialisation to 2 degrees.
Researchers for the Climate Action Tracker estimated the emissions pledges would set the world on course for 3.2 degrees warming - enough, scientists say, to cause droughts, crop failure, species extinction and increased damage from floods and storms.
Despite this, climate activists welcomed the deal as a step forward that could lay the groundwork for a binding treaty in South Africa next year, or Rio de Janeiro in 2012.
The Climate Institute deputy chief executive, Erwin Jackson, said it was a more significant result than the 2007 Bali climate conference, when wealthy nations recognised they should cut emissions by 25-40 per cent by 2020.
''It has broken the back of starting to capture all the major emitters in a legally binding framework,'' he said.
The Climate Change Minister, Greg Combet, said the conference was a ''historic step forward'' but that a lot of work remained if there was to be a single treaty covering all big emitters.
The Greens deputy leader, Christine Milne, said the agreement would raise the stakes in the Australia climate debate as the multi-party climate committee sought a deal to introduce carbon price legislation next year.
She said Labor had no choice but to increase its ''inexcusably weak'' pledge to cut emissions by between 5 and 25 per cent below 2000 levels by 2020.
''The world's poorest countries made very significant concessions in these negotiations in order to keep the UN process alive,'' Senator Milne said. ''Next time around rich countries like Australia will be expected to make similarly substantial contributions.''
The Coalition climate action spokesman, Greg Hunt, said the results at Cancun were modest, and would not sway it from opposing a carbon price.
The agreement bought more time for nations to negotiate a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol beyond 2012, although that process remains fraught.


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The Minister of Health and President of ECOWAS Assembly of Health Ministers, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, has said that from January 2010 to date, meningitis had hit seven countries of West Africa, causing 1,720 deaths.

“In truth, epidemic-prone diseases have always prevailed in our environment. Cholera alone has caused in 2010, approximately 1900 deaths in 8 countries; meningitis hit 7 countries since January 2010, causing 1,720 deaths; measles a disease placed in test phase, is growing every year, reflecting not only the weakness of our health systems, but also their inability to sustain gains achieved with the mass action through international support,” he said.

Prof Chukwu, who spoke at the weekend in Abuja during the Second Extraordinary Assembly of Health Ministers of ECOWAS, said that the region has the highest rates of epidemic-prone diseases despite the enormous efforts devoted for increased disease surveillance, preparedness and response.

The minister said that despite the outbreaks of diseases recorded in all countries of our community, mortality rates have decreased significantly.

“This fact in itself means that with better organisation and capacity building interventions, we can surely achieve positive results in the control of epidemics,” he said.

He said that WAHO has tried to make the fight easy by developing a 2011-2014 regional support plan for epidemic prone disease control in the ECOWAS region.

Also speaking, Dr. Placido Cardoso, Director General of WAHO said “our mandate requires that we support the efforts of ECOWAS member-states to reduce the burden of morbidity and mortality due to epidemic-prone diseases and their negative impact on socio-economic development in the region

“It is also our responsibility to lead a dynamic regional coordination of preparedness and response to epidemics, in collaboration with states, technical and financial partners.” he said.

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Yesterday's cabinet decision to "bring the last of the Falashmura to Israel" gives members of this community grounds to feel insulted. It is patronizing, even hostile. It demands that activists on behalf of the Falashmura cease their activities and sets a quota beyond which no additional Falashmura will be brought here - as if they were barrels of hazardous waste that had to be eliminated.
The decision also has a logical flaw. If there is no justification for bringing the Falashmura here, why is Israel doing it, despite the considerable social and economic costs involved? If, alternatively, they are entitled to Israeli citizenship, why set a quota? For citizens of what other country has Israel ever set an immigration quota? Indeed, this smacks of pure racism.

Benjamin Netanyahu undoubtedly felt a sense of deja vu yesterday. In June 1998, during his first term as prime minister, he announced that Israel would no longer allow in Falashmura. Now, his second government has made the same proclamation. What are the chances that this time it will actually happen?
For two decades - ever since Operation Solomon, the 1991 airlift of Ethiopian Jews to Israel - every govermnent has wrestled with the Falashmura dilemma. Numerous committees have presented contradictory recommendations, none of which were ever implemented, and estimates of the number of Falashmura remaining have all proven to be divorced from reality.
The only prophecy that did come true was that of settler leader Hanan Porat, who tried in vain to convince then-prime minister Yitzhak Shamir to let 2,500 Falashmura board the 1991 airlift. "They didn't let 2,000 immigrate today," he said. "In the end, 20,000 will come."
An odd mix of rabbis, settlers, Shas politicians, Jewish-American donors and a handful of self-interested Ethiopian immigrant activists, who certainly do not represent the majority of their community, have for years succeeded again and again in forcing prime ministers to eat their words and bring thousands upon thousands of Ethiopian Christians to Israel.
A few senior civil servants tried to stem the tide. One such example is Eyal Gabbai, director general of the Prime Minister's Office, who ultimately broke under the pressure but did manage to get a written commitment from all parties concerned that once the 7,864 Falashmura covered in today's decision have arrived, the Falashmura lobby will disband.
But even if these organizations and individuals keep their promise, there will still be thousands of Ethiopians who claim to have Jewish roots and relatives already living in Israel. And they will continue to be aided by settlers who believe that bringing the "lost tribes" back to Israel can solve the demographic problem, Shas politicians who want to prove they don't hate blacks, and American Jews who want to "repair the world" at Israeli society's expense.
The current organizations might disband, but new ones will emerge in their place. Thousands of new Falashmura will flock to the compound in Gondar. Ethiopian Israelis will hold demonstration to bring their parents and siblings be here. And yet another government will capitulate.

She said that these children need to take more care of themselves than others.
“Children with Type 1 diabetes need to take insulin on a daily basis and follow a strict diet. But, today unlike their routine life they are having fun,” said Bhattacharya.
To mark the day, the Rotary Club organised a walkathon flagged off by mayor SK Nataraj. Siddaiah, commissioner of Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike, was also present on the occasion. Participants walked holding banners with message of diabetes control. Information booklets on the disease were also distributed during the event.
Dr Shuchy Chugh, diabetes educator and a type 1 diabetic, said that diabetes was a serious concern in India. Changing lifestyle, increasing stress levels, a genetic pre-disposition and most seriously, neglect of timely screening and treatment have resulted in a pandemic in India.
VAGUS Super Speciality Hospital held a free diabetic screening camp at the hospital’s premises in Malleswaram. The camp was inaugurated by transport commissioner Bhaskar Rao. More than 200 people availed of the camp.
“Early screening and therapeutic interventions are very important. Once diabetes is diagnosed, lifestyle changes/interventions and drugs are most important to prevent or reduce the onset of diabetes,” said diabetalogist Dr Somshekar Reddy.

Security forces in Nigeria believe a recently-seized arms shipment -- reportedly from Iran -- was bound for the western African nation, not another land.
Marilyn Ogar, spokeswoman for the county's security service, on Friday rejected reports that the material was headed to the Palestinian territory of Gaza, as claimed by some reports in Israel.
In fact, some observers speculate, the weaponry was seized ahead of the 2011 controversial elections which would pit Goodluck Jonathan, the current president from the Christian south, and presidential candidates from the Muslim north.
The country's security service said that it had seized 13 shipping containers in the port of Lagos filled with illegal weapons, including rockets, grenades and bullets.
Each shipping container carried 20 wooden crates, and a leading global shipping company has said that the weaponry came from Iran.
Nigerian officials won't confirm that the materiel originated in Iran, and the country's foreign ministry issued a statement knocking down reports that Nigeria was targeting a particular nation in its investigations and that it was planning to go to the United Nations to lodge a complaint.
This comes as the foreign ministers of Nigeria and Iran met on Thursday.
"If at the end of these investigations, there were breaches of international instruments or conventions to which Nigeria is party, the country would, as a responsible member of the international community, 'do whatever was necessary,' " the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The company, CMA CGM, said it was a victim of a false cargo declaration. The shipper -- who the company identified as an Iranian trader -- had listed the materials inside the containers as "packages of glass wool and pallets of stone."
The containers in question were loaded in Bandar Abbas, a port in southern Iran, and discharged in Lagos in July, the company said.

An explosive suspected to be bomb at the early hour of Friday went off  at the premises of the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Matter, Mr. Ndutimi Alaibe, in Opokuma community, Kolokuma/ Opokuma Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, killing one police constable.
The attack, allegedly carried out by  suspected gunmen, was confirmed by the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Aliyu Musa, stating that one of his men died while the other one earlier declared missing had been found.
Aliyu said the gunmen did not go away with any of the property in the house. He, however,  stated that one of the hoodlums alleged to have participated in the bombing of the building had been arrested.
This is coming barely 48 hours after the police foiled the attempt to bomb the popular Ekeki Motor park by suspected members of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) which has thrown the entire community into panic.
Unconfirmed reports disclosed that the suspected gunmen invaded the  community around 1:00 a.m and started shooting sporadically into the air to scare villagers..
After gaining entry into the compound, the bomb was  allegedly detonated, thereby causing severe damage to the building.
However, it could not be ascertained whether the victim was shot while trying to repel the attack by the gunmen.
As of the time of filing this report, movements to the compound have been restricted while passersby were subjected to search by combined team of police and operatives of the Joint Military Task Force, (JTF).
Also, anti-bomb squad was said to have been deployed in the area in order to ascertain whether there are explosives that are yet to be detonated.
Meanwhile, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has called for a full investigation into Friday’s bombing  describing the act as barbaric, inhuman and cowardly.
Making this known in a statement, the state chairman of the party, Mr Miriki Ebikibina, noted with dismay that the attack was coming barely few weeks after a similar one was launched at the oil installation of the Nigeria Agip Oil Company, (NAOC).
Meanwhile, Special assistant to Alaibe, Henry Ngbolue, described the bomb blast as shocking, saying details of the incident were not known yet.
According to him, his boss was in Abuja when the event took place, adding that Alaibe remained unruffled.

"So I'm very glad that the Metropolitan Police Commissioner has said what he said and I think we need to learn the lessons very rapidly."
Peter Smyth, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, rejected Sir Paul's comments, saying: "Once again, Metropolitan Police officers stand between violent protesters, innocent members of the public and property while under attack and facing extreme provocation.
"The officers have shown great restraint and professionalism. It is a reminder that the Government must maintain the number of fully warranted police officers to ensure that policing these spontaneous incidents, along with their every day duties, can be sustained in the capital.
"While we understand and support the right to peaceful protest, police officers must be supported when dealing with such unprovoked violence."
The demonstration, organised by the National Union of Students and the University and College Union, started peacefully, with up to 50,000 students, lecturers and supporters, marching from Whitehall past Downing Street and Parliament.
But around an hour after the protest started, violence flared at Millbank Tower, close to the Tate Britain art gallery where the march was due to end with a rally.
Hundreds of workers were evacuated from the building, which also houses other organisations including Government agencies, as windows were smashed and a fire was lit.
Police officers formed a line across Millbank after clearing the forecourt area of the tower, which was left strewn with debris and ash.
More than 200 officers remained at the scene in full riot gear, holding back a small group of noisy protesters.
Inside the severely damaged lobby of Millbank Tower, a group of around 25 protesters could be seen surrounded by police in fluorescent jackets.
Officers led them down from various floors of the the seven-storey building where they were found after running inside at the peak of the riot.
A thick line of riot police surrounded the remaining 25 or so students detained in the lobby of Millbank Tower.
The students, who had earlier been shouting as they stood feet from officers, fell largely silent but remained cheerful.

The deal, if ratified by the two countries' assemblies, would be one of the largest free trade pacts ever. It is the largest signed by the United States since the North American Free Trade Agreement that went into effect in 1994.
Lee said negotiators would return to the table after the G20 meetings are over this week to try to resolve U.S. concerns, but rejected the suggestion that trade between the two allies was on a fundamentally unfair footing.
"U.S. trade (deficit) against South Korea is about $8 billion a year. Americans seems to think it is very large; it may once used to have been, but it's come down by a lot," Lee said, adding the two were on more or less an even playing field when U.S.-made parts and intellectual property rights were factored in.
Obama said he was confident that the two sides would eventually reach an agreement and was reassured of Lee's commitment.

The attack took place on Sunday in the shallow-water Okoro oilfield off the Obolo local government area of Akwa Ibom.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), on Tuesday morning, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Mr Crowley confirmed that one of those wounded was also an American, and was currently undergoing treatment.
NAN