Sunday, January 11, 2009
A ferry with 250 passengers and 17 crew members sank in a storm off the coast of Indonesia, authorities said Sunday.
Waves of two meters hit the boat while sailing from the island of Sulawesi to Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo.
The ship sank at dawn on Sunday, said Taufik, an official port. Like many Indonesians, uses only one name Taufik.
Several crew members were found alive, but the fate of the passengers is not clear, he said.
The boat sank Teratai Prima 50 kilometers (31.07 miles) west of Sulawesi, after its captain reported by radio that he was "in the midst of a storm," said Nurwahida also port official.
Eighteen survivors were rescued by fishing boats, but it ignores what happened initially with the rest, said Taufik.
According to Transport Minister Jusman Syafi'i Djamal, the captain reported that 150 people had jumped from the ship before its sinking, but was unaware of what had happened to them.
"We have prepared a search and rescue operations, but the process is affected by the strong waves," said Djamal.
The Teratai Prima, a ship of 700 tons, sank as it headed west Parepare port on the island of Sulawesi, due to Samarinda, East Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo island.
According to Taufik, fishermen rescued 18 crew members and passengers who were aboard the three lifeboats.
The nearest town to the site of the wreck is Majene, about 1370 kilometers (850 miles) northeast of the capital, Jakarta.
The boats are the main form of transport in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands with a population of 235 million.
Labels: World News
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Following is the full list of nominees for the Golden Globes, to be delivered on Sunday in Beverly Hills, California:
FILM:
Film, drama: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," "Frost / Nixon," "The Reader," "Revolutionary Road", "Slumdog Millionaire," "The Visitor."
Movie musical or comedy "Burn After Reading," "Happy-Go-Lucky," "In Bruges," "Mamma Mia!", "Vicky Christina Barcelona."
Foreign film: "Baader Meinhof Complex," "Everlasting Moments," "Gomorrah," "I've Loved You So Long," "Waltz With Bashir."
Director: Danny Boyle, "Slumdog Millionaire", Stephen Daldry, "The Reader", David Fincher, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", Ron Howard, "Frost / Nixon", Sam Mendes, "Revolutionary Road".
Actor, Drama: Leonardo DiCaprio, "Revolutionary Road" Frank Langella, "Frost / Nixon" Sean Penn, "Milk" Brad Pitt, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler. "
Actress, Drama: Anne Hathaway, "Rachel Getting Married", Angelina Jolie, "Changeling"; Meryl Streep, "Doubt" Kristin Scott Thomas, "I've Loved You So Long", Kate Winslet, "Revolutionary Road".
Actor, Musical or Comedy: Javier Bardem, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona", Colin Farrell, "In Bruges", James Franco, "Pineapple Express", Brendan Gleeson, "In Bruges", Dustin Hoffman, "Last Chance Harvey."
Actress, Musical or Comedy: Rebecca Hall, Vicky Cristina Barcelona ", Sally Hawkins, 'Happy-Go-Lucky"; Frances McDormand, "Burn After Reading", Meryl Streep, "Mamma Mia!" Emma Thompson, "Last Chance Harvey.
Supporting Actor: Tom Cruise, "Tropic Thunder" Robert Downey, Jr., "Tropic Thunder", Ralph Fiennes, "The Duchess" Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Doubt" Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight."
Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, "Doubt", Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" Viola Davis "Doubt"; Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler ", Kate Winslet," The Reader. "
Animated movie "Bolt," "Kung Fu Panda", "Wall-E".
Writer: Simon Beaufoy, "Slumdog Millionaire", David Hare, "The Reader" Peter Morgan, "Frost / Nixon"; Eric Roth, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" John Patrick Shanley, "Doubt."
Original Music: Alexandre Desplat, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", Clint Eastwood, "Changeling" James Newton Howard, "Defiance", Hans Zimmer, "Frost / Nixon"; AR Rahman, "Slumdog Millionaire."
Song: "Down to Earth" (played by Peter Gabriel, written by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman), "Wall-E," "Grand Torino" (played by Clint Eastwood), "Gran Torino," "I Thought I Lost You "(played by Miley Cyrus and John Travolta, Miley Cyrus and written by Jeffrey Steele)," Bolt, "" Once in a Lifetime "(played by Beyonce)," Cadillac Records "," The Wrestler "(played by Bruce Springsteen written by Bruce Springsteen), "The Wrestler".
TELEVISION:
Series, drama: "Dexter," "House MD", "In Treatment," "Mad Men," "True Blood."
Actor, drama: Gabriel Byrne, "In Treatment" Michael C. Hall, "Dexter" Jon Hamm, "Mad Men" Hugh Laurie, "House MD" Jonathan Rhys Meyers, The Tudors. "
Actress, Drama: Sally Field, "Brothers & Sisters" Mariska Hargitay, "Law & Order: SVU", January Jones, "Mad Men", Anna Paquin, "True Blood", Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer."
Series, musical or comedy: "Californication," "Entourage," "The Office", "30 Rock," "Weeds."
Actor, Musical or Comedy: Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock" Steve Carell, "The Office" Kevin Connolly, "Entourage", David Duchovny, "Californication" Tony Shalhoub, "Monk."
Actress, Musical or Comedy: Christina Applegate, "Samantha Who?" America Ferrera, "Ugly Betty", Tina Fey, "30 Rock", Debra Messing, The Starter Wife "Mary-Louise Parker," Weeds. "
Miniseries or movie: "Cranford", "Bernard and Doris," "John Adams", "A Raisin in the Sun", "Recount."
Actress, miniseries or movie: Judi Dench, "Cranford" Laura Linney, "John Adams"; Catherine Keener, "An American Crime", Shirley MacLaine, "Coco Chanel", Susan Sarandon, "Bernard and Doris."
Actor, miniseries or movie: Ralph Fiennes, "Bernard and Doris"; Paul Giammatti, "John Adams" Kevin Spacey, "Recount" Keifer Sutherland, "24: Redemption", Tom Wilkinson, "Recount."
Supporting Actress, Series, miniseries or movie: Eileen Atkins, "Cranford" Laura Dern, "Recount", Melissa George, "In Treatment" Rachel Griffiths, "Brothers & Sisters", Dianne Wiest, "In Treatment."
Supporting Actor, Series, miniseries: Neil Patrick Harris, "How I Met Your Mother", Denis Leary, "Recount", Jeremy Piven, "Entourage", Blair Underwood, "In Treatment", Tom Wilkinson, "John Adams."
CECIL B. DeMille LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Steven Spielberg.
Labels: Entertainment
Actor Tony Shalhoub said that while love Adrian Monk, embodying eight years andalusia obsessive-compulsive private investigator are sufficient.
The second half of the seventh season of "Monk" began airing on Friday, and the shooting of the last season will begin in March.
"It's a beautiful role, working with extraordinary people and really enjoy the character, but I think eight years is enough," Shalhoub said in a telephone interview on Thursday. "I think we have explored all aspects, and though I like the program, I really start thinking about the next chapter of my career, whatever."
Shalhoub spoke at an event in support of tax incentives for filmmakers in Wisconsin.
The actor is both a producer of "Monk" and said it wants to produce more after the end of the series.
"I think I want to continue acting, but I want to diversify and produce things that I do not act," he said.
Next month will begin filming his part in the independent film "Feed the Fish."
Shalhoub won three Emmys and a Golden Globe for his work on "Monk," and is nominated for another Golden Globe ceremony broadcast on Sunday.
Labels: Entertainment
Israel warns Gaza Strip to be more attacks
0 comments Posted by Lesbond at Saturday, January 10, 2009Israeli forces bombarded on Saturday smuggling tunnels and platforms for launching rockets from Hamas while aircraft left where Israel dropped leaflets warning of an escalation in attacks.
For his part, Palestinian militants fired at least 15 more rockets into Israel and Egypt organized with the goal of ending violence.
We saw smoke and flames rising into the sky over Gaza City. The Israeli threat to launch a "new phase" in its offensive two weeks that has killed more than 800 Palestinians came despite international calls for a ceasefire.
13 Israelis have also died, four of them by the rockets and other militias in battles in the Gaza Strip. Five soldiers were lightly wounded in the fighting on Saturday.
"The IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) carried out the operation of an escalation in the Gaza Strip," the leaflets warned in Arabic. "IDF forces are not working against the people of Gaza, but Hamas and the terrorists. Stay safe by following our orders," they added.
The text urged the residents of Gaza to help and not away from Hamas, the Islamic militia group that governs the strip.
Israel launched an air offensive on December 27 after years of Palestinian rocket attacks against southern Israel. A week later, the campaign was reinforced by ground forces with artillery fire and tanks, which have contributed to an increase in civilian casualties.
The launch of the leaflets appeared to be part of a psychological strategy. The Israeli defense authorities said they are preparing a third phase of the offensive in which ground troops would move more in Gaza, but is still awaiting government approval.
In the bloodiest incident of the day, an Israeli artillery shell fell on a house outside the northern city of Yebaliya, killing nine persons while sitting in his garden.
In a separate, one woman was killed by an Israeli air strike in the southern town of Rafah.
Israeli forces said that more than 15 militiamen were killed Saturday in heavy fighting in the Gaza Strip. Its more than 40 planes bombed targets throughout the country, including 10 rocket launching areas, the storage of weapons smuggling tunnels, anti-aircraft missile launchers and armed groups.
Israel has been severely criticized in the world for the growing number of civilians killed in the fighting. Paramedics said that the nine victims of the attack were from the same clan and included two children and two women.
"The residents brought to the hospital in a civilian car. The all put in the boot because their bodies were very mixed," said manager Adham Hakim. "The identified shortly after a separate their bodies in the morgue."
The Israeli army did not comment immediately, but has repeatedly blamed Hamas militiamen of using residential areas for refuge. In recent days, an Israeli attack at a school in the United Nations left nearly 40 dead.
Both Israel and Palestinian witnesses said that militiamen carried out an attack from the area moments before.
In Cairo, the Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas on Saturday urged Israel and Hamas to accept a truce mediated by Egypt.
After meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Abbas stressed that there was no time to lose to end the bloodshed in the Gaza Strip, where 1.4 million people.
Labels: World News
Beckham will not come as a holder on Sunday in Italy
0 comments Posted by Lesbond at Saturday, January 10, 2009David Beckham does not debut on Sunday in the Italian League against Roma, said the coach Carlo Ancelotti's Milan.
"Beckham is ready to play but has been inactive two months, but it is hard to put in as head match against Roma," said Ancelotti, according to the local news agency Saturday.
Ancelotti stressed that the former England captain, who came on loan for three months of the Los Angeles Galaxy is ready to make a significant contribution "to the team, adding that Milan would be accepted in the case of wanting to stay after the end of the loan .
The former general manager of the Galaxy, Alexi Lalas, speculated that Beckham would leave the Galaxy and stay in Milan. But the English player's spokesman, Simon Oliveira, Beckham said he was ready to return to the Galaxy in March for the start of the MLS season in the United States.
Beckham made his debut for Milan in a friendly match against Hamburg on Tuesday.
Labels: Sports
Obama economic plan meets reality in the Capitol
0 comments Posted by Lesbond at Saturday, January 10, 2009At the urging of his fellow Democrats, the president-elect Barack Obama agreed to make modest changes in its proposed tax cuts, then to invite legislators to give ideas to revive an economy that loses jobs at an alarming rate.
Democrats in Congress officials said that Obama advisers had agreed to increase the 10,000 million dollars originally provided tax incentives for energy, although it remained unclear what the final figure.
Two officials said they would be at least 20,000 million dollars, but others indicated that the total would be higher.
There were no details available, but Obama has said on other occasions to increase tax incentives for the production of alternative energy sources such as wind.
The terms of energy taxes represent a small part of the huge economic stimulus initiative, which would reach 800,000 million dollars in two years and that leaders in Congress hope to approve by mid-February.
Given the fact that more than 11 million Americans are unemployed, Obama pressed Congress to take urgent action and said the country goes through "a devastating economic crisis will be more difficult to contain with time."
His warning was emphasized by a government report showed that unemployment in December reached its highest level in 16 years, from 7.2%.
But Democrats in Congress are making it clear they want to make modifications to the plan, despite the inevitable delays that would entail. Some ideas of Obama as a tax credit of $ 3000 to create jobs, could be discarded.
Many Democrats do not love the tax cuts for businesses raised by Obama and regretted that not enough money in the proposed project, such as building roads or water infrastructure. Others argue that the measure should provide tax credits to promote renewable energy.
Beyond the differences that have transcended the opening _y with which many Democrats are criticizing some ideas Obama_ highlights the daunting task of structuring a very complex and controversial plan in just weeks. The insistence of lawmakers for changes could delay the recovery plan beyond the mid-February deadline set by the leader of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi.
At a press conference, Obama sought to play down the importance of differences.
"There is no disagreement on the fact that the economy is in a very precarious situation," he said. "There is no disagreement on the need to create jobs."
Some Democratic leaders said that there is more agreement on the main differences of the recovery plan: to help state governments that need cash, cuts of between 500 and $ 1000 to taxes paid by most workers and marriage working, and a huge expenditure package that combines traditional public works projects to help the poor and the unemployed.
Obama said that he appreciated the views of legislators from both parties.
"If members of Congress have good ideas, if they can help identify a project that creates jobs in an efficient manner, that long-term harm our ability to control our deficit is good for the economy, I will accept it," said the president-elect.
"What we can not do is just keep postponing this when we saw the loss of half a million jobs," he added.
Labels: World News
Israel, Hamas, ignoring the call of the UN ceasefire
0 comments Posted by Lesbond at Saturday, January 10, 2009Israeli aircraft and helicopters bombed the Gaza Strip on Friday morning and Hamas responded by launching a barrage of rockets at least two cities as both sides ignored the UN's call for a ceasefire.
Israeli shelling killed two militiamen of the Islamic extremist group Hamas and another unidentified man. Another attack by Israeli aircraft detonated a five-story building in northern Gaza, killing seven people, including a child, said Hamas officials and a hospital. At noon, 19 Palestinians had died.
Before dawn, Israel carried out more than 30 attacks and after sunrise, continuing explosions.
In the afternoon, 23 Palestinians were killed, plus the balance of fatalities to 777 since the conflict began two weeks ago. At least half of them civilians, according to health authorities in Gaza. Thirteen Israelis have been killed during the offensive.
UN humanitarian aid was held in Gaza for the second consecutive day due to the fragile security measures, but the Palestinians who dared to go to aid centers could still get food and medicine. More than half the 1.4 million people living in the territory depend on the UN to eat.
Agency officials later said they plan to resume the delivery of humanitarian aid as soon as possible if the Israeli army says that the UN staff will be protected. A UN agency stopped sending supplies to the besieged Gaza on Thursday after an Israeli tank killed a truck driver transporting food. The Red Cross also reduced its aid operations after one of their drivers was injured in a similar accident.
The World Food Program and UNICEF stressed that still operating in Palestinian territory, where a million people has no electricity and 750,000 have been made due to the lack of running water, according to the UN.
Despite strong criticism from international aid groups, Israel insisted on doing everything possible to facilitate the humanitarian work, citing three hours between breaks of attacks during the past three days, including Friday. Team members for help, however, say that these measures are inadequate.
On Thursday night the UN Security Council resolution approved on a unanimous 14-0, with the abstention of the United States. The resolution urges an immediate ceasefire "after the complete departure of the Israeli army from Gaza."
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said during his first official response to the resolution of the Security Council of the UN that the rockets that fell in Israel on Friday, "only demonstrate that the decision of the UN is not practical and will not be accomplished by Palestinian murderous organizations. "
A spokesman for Hamas, however, said the militia group is "not interested" in the resolution because it was not consulted and because the United Nations failed to take into account their minimum demands.
Israel launched its offensive on December 27 in an attempt to stop years of attacks with rocket launchers from the territory controlled by Hamas.
Despite the devastating attack, Hamas continued to bombard the residents of southern Israel on Friday. The rockets struck the south, including in and around Beersheba and Ashkelon, two cities that, like others, have been stalled since the offensive began. No injuries were reported in the attacks.
In Geneva, High Commissioner for Human Rights called for an independent investigation of the crimes committed in Gaza after reports that the Israeli army shelled a house full of Palestinian civilians, killing 30.
Labels: World News
Friday, January 9, 2009
The U.S. dollar rose on Friday, posting its biggest weekly gain in two months against the euro after a government report showed that job losses in December were slightly lower than expected.
Traders sold dollars after a report of private sector jobs released on Wednesday showing a weakness in the U.S. labor market. < p> Many of these bets are pessimistic dollar reversed quickly, triggering a rise in the dollar, when the Labor Department reported 524,000 jobs lost last month, slightly better than Wall Street estimates a cut of 550,000
"The report of the December non-farm payrolls was unequivocally awful, but given that many investors were expecting even worse results, there was some relief after the announcement, "said Meny Gruman, an economist at CIBC World Markets in Toronto.
This" small glimmer of hope "he added, helped push up the dollar temporarily.
The Japanese yen also rose, with traders selling riskier bets in stocks, commodities and currencies with higher yields financed by the low rates of the Japanese unit.
Although report of the non-farm payroll was better than expected, still painted a bleak picture for the world's largest economy and said fears of a deep global recession. < / p> In the operations of the afternoon, the euro fell to 1.3416 dollars, after the employment data in the United States. Traded at 1.3431 at the close, falling 2.1% on the day. The single currency has fallen more than 3% against the dollar, the biggest weekly loss since the last week of October.
The index dó , in particular, a measure of the value of the dollar against six major currencies, rose 1.3% to 82,652. The dollar rose by 2% against the Swiss franc at 1.1147.
Against the yen, the dollar lost 0.8% to 90.36. The strength of the yen has pushed the euro down almost 3%, to 121.37.
Despite the rebound in the dollar, analysts noted that there are more than enough work for the report presage a bad sign for the U.S. economy and its currency.
"No matter how you look, these figures are depressing. The major payroll were slightly better than the consensus forecast, but we had a considerable jump in the unemployment rate, "said Matt Esteve, foreign exchange trader at Tempus Consulting in Washington, DC.
The unemployment rate of 7.2%, for example, was the highest in almost 16 years and the upward revision in November and October pushed the total job losses over the past four months to 1.9 million.
addition, the cuts in 2008 were 2.6 million, the largest decline in 63 years.
"The United States is in recesióny in previous recessions, the job cuts will be extended for at least 15 months, "said Kathy Lien, director of currency research at GFT Forex in New York.
Labels: Business
The bank Lloyds TSB agreed to pay a fine of $ 350 million for having helped their clients evade U.S. sanctions on trade with Sudan and Iran.
The London-based bank acknowledged its responsibility for criminal behavior, according to court documents filed before a federal court in Washington.
The Justice Department indicated that in an even date back to 1995, Lloyds falsified involving wire transfers to countries or individuals on the list of U.S. sanctions.
The bank was accused of deliberately removing information from customers _un process to which the employees of Lloyds called "stripped" _, so that the wire transfers to move without being detected through filters in U.S. financial institutions.
"For over 12 years, Lloyds anonymous facilitated movement of hundreds of millions of dollars from nations sanctioned by the United States through our financial system," said Undersecretary of Justice Matthew Friedrich.
To reach agreement on the investigation by the Justice Department and the district attorney of New York, Lloyds agreed to be formally charged, and instead it was agreed that bringing a criminal information document. The company paid 175 million in fines to the U.S. as the New York County, authorities reported.
Tereroristas after the attacks of 2001, the United States intensified its scrutiny of banks that may be moving money linked to terrorists or regimes offenders.
As a result, according to court documents, Lloyds executives decided in 2003 to stop providing "stripped" Iranian banks with branches in England, but continued to do so for four Sudanese banks until January 2007. In 2004 the U.S. withdrew the sanctions applied to Libya.
Most of the money _unos 300 million dólares_ was mobilized on behalf of Iranian banks between 2002 and 2004, according to prosecutors. Lloyds helped move 20 million dollars on behalf of customers of a bank of Sudan, and about 20 million dollars on behalf of a single client Libyan, according to the text in the court.
Last month, Lloyds had assets of $ 700,000 million and more than 67,000 employees.
Labels: Business
The Illinois House voted overwhelmingly on Friday in launching a political trial by Governor Rod Blagojevich, an unprecedented step in this state.
The state Senate must try to decide whether Blagojevich should be impeached for corruption and abuse of power when trying to sell to the highest bidder the federal bench vacated Senate President-elect Barack Obama.
The governor responded with the defiant stance he has maintained since a month ago, when he was arrested on federal charges. He accused the state legislature to retaliate against him for trying to help the people of Illinois and hoped it would be "duly acquitted" for a trial before the Senate.
"The cause of the impeachment is that I have fought for the families and have done things for them," said Blagojevich, who gave a press conference in Chicago accompanied by several beneficiaries of its health programs.
Blagojevic added that the decision of the lower house is not surprising because it has been immersed in a dispute with lawmakers since he was reelected in 2006. The reason for the dispute, according to the governor, is that the camera has resisted his efforts to help people, instead of resisting "the lobby groups and those with particular interests."
The governor closed the conference by quoting the poem "Ulysses" by Alfred Tennyson, who said: "To strive, to seek, find and not to yield."
Earlier, Blagojevich was exercised running in your neighborhood in Chicago while the camera gave their vote. To stand trial were politically necessary 60 votes. The final result was 114-1.
The legislators accused the Democratic governor, in his second term, of betraying the people of Illinois to allow their ambition and self guide their decisions.
"It is our duty to clean this issue and stop the outlandish spectacle that has become the government of Illinois," said Democratic Representative Jack Franks.
Governor Blagojevich is the first contested in the political history of Illinois, long and often sordid. It could be just the eighth U.S. governor to be removed by impeachment. The last was Evan Mecham of Arizona in 1988.
Blagojevich was arrested on December 9 on federal charges that included an affidavit from an FBI agent who described the content of the wiretaps, which Blagojevich allegedly bragged it could get for the Senate seat vacated Obama, and also talked about how to pressure people to provide funds for his election campaign and other activities.
Meanwhile, the politician chosen by the governor to fill the Senate seat Obama received good news on Friday.
The Supreme Court of Illinois said the state secretary of State, Jesse White, do not need to sign the appointment of Roland Burris for the U.S. Senate that the appointment is valid. The ruling stressed that no official from Illinois should take any further step to validate the appointment by Blagojevich.
Burris, former Illinois secretary of justice, faces no charges. But this week was denied access to the swearing in of a seat in part because the Democratic leadership insisted that their accreditation papers were incomplete without the signing of White. The Supreme Court clarified that nothing in state law requires that signs the White nomination.
On Friday, Burris said he hopes soon to take his seat.
But Sen. Dick Durbin federal Burris insisted that it will not be accepted without the signature of White, who refuses to do so because of the charges against Blagojevich.
Durbin said that if White did not change his mind on the signature, the Senate will wait to see if Blagojevich was removed after the impeachment.
Labels: World News