Postal Service in Statue of Liberty stamp photo mix-up
A detail of the new stamp Details shown in the stamp are more sharply defined than on the statue
The US Postal Service regrets issuing a stamp featuring a photo of a Las Vegas casino's replica Statue of Liberty rather than the original in New York harbour, a spokesman has said.
But the postal service printed three billion of the first-class stamps and will continue to sell them, he said.
And the agency would have selected the photograph anyway, he said.
A stamp collector discovered the mix-up after noting discrepancies between the stamp image and the copper original.
The mix-up was first reported by Linn's Stamp News, a publication for philatelists.
It points out that the photo used on the stamp shows a rectangular patch on the crown that is present on the 14-year-old statue at the New York-New York Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, but not on the 305ft (93m) copper statue in New York.
In addition, the facial features on the Las Vegas replica are more sharply defined than on the original.
The image was taken from a stock photography service, the New York Times reported.
Designed by French sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi and French engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, the statue - entitled Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World - was given to the US by the French and dedicated in 1886.
Apr 15, 2011
Richard Branson's lemur plan raises alarm
Richard Black By Richard Black Environment correspondent, BBC News
Red ruffed lemur The red ruffed lemur is one of many sliding towards extinction, as logging proceeds
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories
* Radical moves for the world's rarest cat
* China's rich fuel illegal timber
* Madagascar plundered for rare rosewood
Sir Richard Branson is to import lemurs to the Caribbean, where they will live wild in the forest on his islands.
The project has alarmed conservation scientists, who point out that many previous species introductions have proved disastrous to native wildlife.
But Sir Richard's team maintains that both the lemurs, which will come from zoos, and native animals will be fine.
Introducing species found on one continent into another for conservation purposes is virtually unprecedented.
Lemurs are found only on the African island of Madagascar and many species are threatened, largely because of deforestation.
The threat has grown worse since the toppling of President Marc Ravalomanana's government two years ago, which allowed illegal logging to flourish.
"We've been helping to try and preserve lemurs, and sadly in Madagascar because of the government being overthrown the space for lemurs is getting less and less," Sir Richard told BBC News from his Caribbean property.
"Here on Moskito Island we've got a beautiful rainforest - we brought in experts from South Africa, and they say it would be an absolutely perfect place where lemurs can be protected and breed."
Ring-tailed and red ruffed lemurs are two of the species in the plan. Both are on the Red List of Threatened Species.
Moskito (also spelled Mosquito) Island is one of two that Sir Richard owns in the British Virgin Islands (BVI). Several luxury houses, including one for the boss of the Virgin business empire himself, are being built on it.
His other island is Necker, home to an eco-tourism resort where a stay is priced at around $2,000 (£1,200) per day.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
It's crucial that this move does not send the wrong message to people that it may be a good idea to keep lemurs as pets”
End Quote Christoph Schwitzer IUCN Primate Specialist Group
The plan has aroused a lot if interest locally, with the bulletin boards of BVI news websites buzzing with comments for and against, and politicians locking horns.
And it concerned conservation scientists contacted by BBC News.
"Maybe [Sir Richard] has got some people to say it is alright - but what else lives on the island, and how might they be affected?" asked Simon Stuart, chair of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Species Survival Commission (IUCN SSC).
"It's pretty weird - I would be alarmed about it and would want some reassurances."
Dr Stuart suggested the project could contravene the IUCN's code for translocations - designed to prevent the repetition of disastrous events such as the introduction of rabbits and cane toads to Australia.
Among other things, it says that translocations should never happen into natural ecosystems.
When they do happen into areas that have already been altered by human hand, there should be a controlled trial period with continual assessment.
In the past, it says: "The damage done by harmful introductions to natural systems far outweighs the benefit derived from them".
Sifaka Sifakas can jump, but not swim - still, some local people are concerned about them escaping
And Christoph Schwitzer, who co-ordinates the Madagascar work of the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group, said the lemurs should really be kept in some kind of confinement.
"The project would only be acceptable if he intended to keep them in a controlled environment - that is, in some kind of fenced-in enclosure where they cannot become a problem to the native fauna and flora," he said.
"It's crucial that this move does not send the wrong message to people that it may be a good idea to keep lemurs as pets for their own personal pleasure."
And he warned that there could be impacts on local wildlife.
While some species of lemur are faithful to a diet of fruit, others will grab whatever is around, including lizards and other small animals.
"There may be birds nesting, and if there are some of the lemurs would attempt to predate on their eggs - or there may be small invertebrates that they'd go for," said Dr Schwitzer.
Necker and Moskito Island are home to reptiles such as the stout iguana, the turnip-tailed gecko and the dwarf gecko that local conservationists have identified as being of specific concern.
Sir Richard told BBC News that an environmental impact assessment had been carried out for Moskito Island; but critics in the BVI said it did not include evaluation of "introduced exotic species".
Welfare benefits
Sir Richard's motivation for wanting to introduce the animals is not entirely clear.
They seem unlikely to make a significant difference to his eco-tourism business.
Ring-tailed lemurs Ring-tailed lemurs will be the first arrivals - adaptable feeders with a taste for bird eggs
One of his principal advisors is Lara Mostert, one of the managers of the Monkeyland Primate Sanctuary, a South African facility where many species of monkey and lemur live together in a patch of forest.
She said Sir Richard's lemurs would have a much better life than in the zoos where they currently live - some, she said, in "horrific" conditions.
"Unfortunately, primates have become rather like a business - the animals are seen as a commodity and apart from that they don't really have an identity," she said.
"And that's one of the things I like about Sir Richard's plan - he's not going to sell them."
She thinks the animals will thrive on Moskito Island.
Sir Richard sees the project as bringing conservation benefits, envisaging that at some point in the future, lemurs could be re-introduced from Moskito Island to Madagascar.
But captive breeding programmes already exist for this purpose.
Lara Mostert suggested Sir Richard's son "wanted a lemur after seeing the movie 'Madagascar'".
Despite the concerns, the plan has been approved by the BVI government and appears to be going ahead.
The first consignment, consisting of about 30 ring-tailed lemurs, is due to arrive within a few weeks, moved from zoos in Sweden, South Africa and Canada.
The much more imperilled red ruffed lemur may follow, possibly alongside some of the sifakas, famed for their calls and their jumping, may follow.
As threats to natural diversity multiply around the world, transporting species from place to place for conservation is one of the "extreme schemes" that conservationists are talking about and even beginning to implement.
But almost without exception, these translocations are taking place within the ecological region where the animal originated, rather than halfway across the planet.
Richard Black By Richard Black Environment correspondent, BBC News
Red ruffed lemur The red ruffed lemur is one of many sliding towards extinction, as logging proceeds
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories
* Radical moves for the world's rarest cat
* China's rich fuel illegal timber
* Madagascar plundered for rare rosewood
Sir Richard Branson is to import lemurs to the Caribbean, where they will live wild in the forest on his islands.
The project has alarmed conservation scientists, who point out that many previous species introductions have proved disastrous to native wildlife.
But Sir Richard's team maintains that both the lemurs, which will come from zoos, and native animals will be fine.
Introducing species found on one continent into another for conservation purposes is virtually unprecedented.
Lemurs are found only on the African island of Madagascar and many species are threatened, largely because of deforestation.
The threat has grown worse since the toppling of President Marc Ravalomanana's government two years ago, which allowed illegal logging to flourish.
"We've been helping to try and preserve lemurs, and sadly in Madagascar because of the government being overthrown the space for lemurs is getting less and less," Sir Richard told BBC News from his Caribbean property.
"Here on Moskito Island we've got a beautiful rainforest - we brought in experts from South Africa, and they say it would be an absolutely perfect place where lemurs can be protected and breed."
Ring-tailed and red ruffed lemurs are two of the species in the plan. Both are on the Red List of Threatened Species.
Moskito (also spelled Mosquito) Island is one of two that Sir Richard owns in the British Virgin Islands (BVI). Several luxury houses, including one for the boss of the Virgin business empire himself, are being built on it.
His other island is Necker, home to an eco-tourism resort where a stay is priced at around $2,000 (£1,200) per day.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
It's crucial that this move does not send the wrong message to people that it may be a good idea to keep lemurs as pets”
End Quote Christoph Schwitzer IUCN Primate Specialist Group
The plan has aroused a lot if interest locally, with the bulletin boards of BVI news websites buzzing with comments for and against, and politicians locking horns.
And it concerned conservation scientists contacted by BBC News.
"Maybe [Sir Richard] has got some people to say it is alright - but what else lives on the island, and how might they be affected?" asked Simon Stuart, chair of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Species Survival Commission (IUCN SSC).
"It's pretty weird - I would be alarmed about it and would want some reassurances."
Dr Stuart suggested the project could contravene the IUCN's code for translocations - designed to prevent the repetition of disastrous events such as the introduction of rabbits and cane toads to Australia.
Among other things, it says that translocations should never happen into natural ecosystems.
When they do happen into areas that have already been altered by human hand, there should be a controlled trial period with continual assessment.
In the past, it says: "The damage done by harmful introductions to natural systems far outweighs the benefit derived from them".
Sifaka Sifakas can jump, but not swim - still, some local people are concerned about them escaping
And Christoph Schwitzer, who co-ordinates the Madagascar work of the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group, said the lemurs should really be kept in some kind of confinement.
"The project would only be acceptable if he intended to keep them in a controlled environment - that is, in some kind of fenced-in enclosure where they cannot become a problem to the native fauna and flora," he said.
"It's crucial that this move does not send the wrong message to people that it may be a good idea to keep lemurs as pets for their own personal pleasure."
And he warned that there could be impacts on local wildlife.
While some species of lemur are faithful to a diet of fruit, others will grab whatever is around, including lizards and other small animals.
"There may be birds nesting, and if there are some of the lemurs would attempt to predate on their eggs - or there may be small invertebrates that they'd go for," said Dr Schwitzer.
Necker and Moskito Island are home to reptiles such as the stout iguana, the turnip-tailed gecko and the dwarf gecko that local conservationists have identified as being of specific concern.
Sir Richard told BBC News that an environmental impact assessment had been carried out for Moskito Island; but critics in the BVI said it did not include evaluation of "introduced exotic species".
Welfare benefits
Sir Richard's motivation for wanting to introduce the animals is not entirely clear.
They seem unlikely to make a significant difference to his eco-tourism business.
Ring-tailed lemurs Ring-tailed lemurs will be the first arrivals - adaptable feeders with a taste for bird eggs
One of his principal advisors is Lara Mostert, one of the managers of the Monkeyland Primate Sanctuary, a South African facility where many species of monkey and lemur live together in a patch of forest.
She said Sir Richard's lemurs would have a much better life than in the zoos where they currently live - some, she said, in "horrific" conditions.
"Unfortunately, primates have become rather like a business - the animals are seen as a commodity and apart from that they don't really have an identity," she said.
"And that's one of the things I like about Sir Richard's plan - he's not going to sell them."
She thinks the animals will thrive on Moskito Island.
Sir Richard sees the project as bringing conservation benefits, envisaging that at some point in the future, lemurs could be re-introduced from Moskito Island to Madagascar.
But captive breeding programmes already exist for this purpose.
Lara Mostert suggested Sir Richard's son "wanted a lemur after seeing the movie 'Madagascar'".
Despite the concerns, the plan has been approved by the BVI government and appears to be going ahead.
The first consignment, consisting of about 30 ring-tailed lemurs, is due to arrive within a few weeks, moved from zoos in Sweden, South Africa and Canada.
The much more imperilled red ruffed lemur may follow, possibly alongside some of the sifakas, famed for their calls and their jumping, may follow.
As threats to natural diversity multiply around the world, transporting species from place to place for conservation is one of the "extreme schemes" that conservationists are talking about and even beginning to implement.
But almost without exception, these translocations are taking place within the ecological region where the animal originated, rather than halfway across the planet.
Arkansas and Oklahoma storms kill nine
Storm clouds over Kiefer, Oklahoma, on Thursday night Storm clouds passed over the small town of Kiefer, Oklahoma, on Thursday night
Severe storms have left at least nine people dead and destroyed school buildings and dozens of homes in the US states of Arkansas and Oklahoma.
A tornado swept through the small town of Tushka, Oklahoma, killing two elderly sisters and injuring at least 25 people, officials said.
In Garland County, Arkansas, lightning knocked a tree into a house, killing a man and his baby daughter.
And a six-year-old boy was killed by a falling tree in Bald Knob, Arkansas.
Tushka Public School Principal Matt Simpson said the tornado had destroyed five school buildings, the Associated Press news agency reported.
In rural St Francis County, strong storm winds flipped over a mobile home, killing a woman inside it and injuring her husband.
A mother and her eight-year-old son were killed in Little Rock, Arkansas when a tree fell on a home, and outside the city in Pulaski County a tree fell on a vehicle, killing a man inside, a police official said.
The National Weather Service said at least 10 tornados struck the central and southern plains regions of the US on Thursday, and warned of tornados and powerful thunderstorms over the southern US states on Friday.
Storm clouds over Kiefer, Oklahoma, on Thursday night Storm clouds passed over the small town of Kiefer, Oklahoma, on Thursday night
Severe storms have left at least nine people dead and destroyed school buildings and dozens of homes in the US states of Arkansas and Oklahoma.
A tornado swept through the small town of Tushka, Oklahoma, killing two elderly sisters and injuring at least 25 people, officials said.
In Garland County, Arkansas, lightning knocked a tree into a house, killing a man and his baby daughter.
And a six-year-old boy was killed by a falling tree in Bald Knob, Arkansas.
Tushka Public School Principal Matt Simpson said the tornado had destroyed five school buildings, the Associated Press news agency reported.
In rural St Francis County, strong storm winds flipped over a mobile home, killing a woman inside it and injuring her husband.
A mother and her eight-year-old son were killed in Little Rock, Arkansas when a tree fell on a home, and outside the city in Pulaski County a tree fell on a vehicle, killing a man inside, a police official said.
The National Weather Service said at least 10 tornados struck the central and southern plains regions of the US on Thursday, and warned of tornados and powerful thunderstorms over the southern US states on Friday.
G20 agrees guidelines to measure economic imbalances
French Finance Minister and G20 chair Christine Lagarde speaks to US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde (r) chaired the meeting
Continue reading the main story
Global Economy
* China booms as inflation tops 5%
* Indian inflation rate hits 8.9%
* US inflation hits 2.7% in March
* Food prices 'threaten millions'
Finance ministers and central bankers from the G20 have agreed a set of "indicative guidelines" to measure potential risks to the global economy posed by national economic policies.
All members of the G20 will be monitored under the new system.
In addition, members who account for more than 5% of total G20 economic output will be subject to a deeper, second-stage analysis of imbalances.
They include the US, China, Japan, Germany and France.
This is to "reflect the greater potential for spillover effects from larger economies", the group said.
The G20 did not formally name the countries this would apply to but French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said that France would be one of seven in total to face higher scrutiny.
The group was meeting in Washington, ahead of the spring meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The G20 accounts for 85% of global output and is now the main forum for trying to reform the world's financial system.
Addressing imbalances
Many economists believe that global imbalances contributed to the recent financial crisis.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
The guidelines operate a little bit like a net which actually holds those of the countries that violate or do not respect the guidelines”
End Quote Christine Lagarde French Finance Minister
Emerging market countries reinvested their surpluses in Western markets, causing banks to take excessive risks, so the argument goes.
Finance ministers agree that they must find a solution to these kind of imbalances.
But countries disagree over how quickly they need to act.
China recognises that it must open its economy and allow its currency, the yuan, to get stronger, but it wants to do it at its own pace.
The US, on the other hand, wants to see this happen much faster.
Monitoring methods
After its last meeting in February, the group reached a deal on indicators to detect the economic imbalances.
The Washington deal on measurement applies to these indicators, which include public debts and deficits, and private debt levels and savings rates.
In its latest communique, the G20 said its monitoring would use four approaches:
* estimating what a country's imbalances should look like using economic models specific to that country
* looking at a country's imbalances in terms of their national historical trends
* comparing a country's imbalances with groups of similar countries
* comparing a country's imbalances with the full G20.
The last three approaches will use statistics from 1990 to 2004 "as this is the period that preceded the large build-up in external imbalances", the communique said.
Click to play
Advertisement
Watch: European policy makers 'too complacent' over economic recovery
"Those countries identified by at least two of the four approaches as having persistently large imbalances will be assessed in-depth to determine in a second step the nature and root causes of their imbalances and to identify impediments to adjustment," the group said.
The second step of assessment would be carried out independently by the IMF.
"The guidelines operate a little bit like a net which actually holds those of the countries that violate or do not respect the guidelines," said Ms Lagarde, who chaired the meeting as France currently holds the presidency of the G20.
"And the net is a little bit tighter for those countries that are considered of systemic importance because they represent more than 5% of the GDP [gross domestic product] of the G20."
However, the group made no mention of any "name and shame" list which would identify those members in the most risky positions.
'No complacency'
Although the global economy appears to be on the path to recovery, the meeting took place at a time when plenty of threats to growth remain.
Among the challenges are unrest in the Middle East, high oil prices, continued inflation in China and debt problems in Europe.
The head of the IMF, Dominique Strauss Kahn, told the BBC that some policy makers thought "the crisis was behind us" and this was "the wrong attitude".
In Europe, he said, there was no room for complacency regarding high levels of debt.
"A lot more has to be done by the Europeans to fix the [debt] problem," he said.G20 agrees guidelines to measure economic imbalances
French Finance Minister and G20 chair Christine Lagarde speaks to US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde (r) chaired the meeting
Continue reading the main story
Global Economy
* China booms as inflation tops 5%
* Indian inflation rate hits 8.9%
* US inflation hits 2.7% in March
* Food prices 'threaten millions'
Finance ministers and central bankers from the G20 have agreed a set of "indicative guidelines" to measure potential risks to the global economy posed by national economic policies.
All members of the G20 will be monitored under the new system.
In addition, members who account for more than 5% of total G20 economic output will be subject to a deeper, second-stage analysis of imbalances.
They include the US, China, Japan, Germany and France.
This is to "reflect the greater potential for spillover effects from larger economies", the group said.
The G20 did not formally name the countries this would apply to but French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said that France would be one of seven in total to face higher scrutiny.
The group was meeting in Washington, ahead of the spring meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The G20 accounts for 85% of global output and is now the main forum for trying to reform the world's financial system.
Addressing imbalances
Many economists believe that global imbalances contributed to the recent financial crisis.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
The guidelines operate a little bit like a net which actually holds those of the countries that violate or do not respect the guidelines”
End Quote Christine Lagarde French Finance Minister
Emerging market countries reinvested their surpluses in Western markets, causing banks to take excessive risks, so the argument goes.
Finance ministers agree that they must find a solution to these kind of imbalances.
But countries disagree over how quickly they need to act.
China recognises that it must open its economy and allow its currency, the yuan, to get stronger, but it wants to do it at its own pace.
The US, on the other hand, wants to see this happen much faster.
Monitoring methods
After its last meeting in February, the group reached a deal on indicators to detect the economic imbalances.
The Washington deal on measurement applies to these indicators, which include public debts and deficits, and private debt levels and savings rates.
In its latest communique, the G20 said its monitoring would use four approaches:
* estimating what a country's imbalances should look like using economic models specific to that country
* looking at a country's imbalances in terms of their national historical trends
* comparing a country's imbalances with groups of similar countries
* comparing a country's imbalances with the full G20.
The last three approaches will use statistics from 1990 to 2004 "as this is the period that preceded the large build-up in external imbalances", the communique said.
Click to play
Advertisement
Watch: European policy makers 'too complacent' over economic recovery
"Those countries identified by at least two of the four approaches as having persistently large imbalances will be assessed in-depth to determine in a second step the nature and root causes of their imbalances and to identify impediments to adjustment," the group said.
The second step of assessment would be carried out independently by the IMF.
"The guidelines operate a little bit like a net which actually holds those of the countries that violate or do not respect the guidelines," said Ms Lagarde, who chaired the meeting as France currently holds the presidency of the G20.
"And the net is a little bit tighter for those countries that are considered of systemic importance because they represent more than 5% of the GDP [gross domestic product] of the G20."
However, the group made no mention of any "name and shame" list which would identify those members in the most risky positions.
'No complacency'
Although the global economy appears to be on the path to recovery, the meeting took place at a time when plenty of threats to growth remain.
Among the challenges are unrest in the Middle East, high oil prices, continued inflation in China and debt problems in Europe.
The head of the IMF, Dominique Strauss Kahn, told the BBC that some policy makers thought "the crisis was behind us" and this was "the wrong attitude".
In Europe, he said, there was no room for complacency regarding high levels of debt.
"A lot more has to be done by the Europeans to fix the [debt] problem," he said.
French Finance Minister and G20 chair Christine Lagarde speaks to US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde (r) chaired the meeting
Continue reading the main story
Global Economy
* China booms as inflation tops 5%
* Indian inflation rate hits 8.9%
* US inflation hits 2.7% in March
* Food prices 'threaten millions'
Finance ministers and central bankers from the G20 have agreed a set of "indicative guidelines" to measure potential risks to the global economy posed by national economic policies.
All members of the G20 will be monitored under the new system.
In addition, members who account for more than 5% of total G20 economic output will be subject to a deeper, second-stage analysis of imbalances.
They include the US, China, Japan, Germany and France.
This is to "reflect the greater potential for spillover effects from larger economies", the group said.
The G20 did not formally name the countries this would apply to but French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said that France would be one of seven in total to face higher scrutiny.
The group was meeting in Washington, ahead of the spring meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The G20 accounts for 85% of global output and is now the main forum for trying to reform the world's financial system.
Addressing imbalances
Many economists believe that global imbalances contributed to the recent financial crisis.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
The guidelines operate a little bit like a net which actually holds those of the countries that violate or do not respect the guidelines”
End Quote Christine Lagarde French Finance Minister
Emerging market countries reinvested their surpluses in Western markets, causing banks to take excessive risks, so the argument goes.
Finance ministers agree that they must find a solution to these kind of imbalances.
But countries disagree over how quickly they need to act.
China recognises that it must open its economy and allow its currency, the yuan, to get stronger, but it wants to do it at its own pace.
The US, on the other hand, wants to see this happen much faster.
Monitoring methods
After its last meeting in February, the group reached a deal on indicators to detect the economic imbalances.
The Washington deal on measurement applies to these indicators, which include public debts and deficits, and private debt levels and savings rates.
In its latest communique, the G20 said its monitoring would use four approaches:
* estimating what a country's imbalances should look like using economic models specific to that country
* looking at a country's imbalances in terms of their national historical trends
* comparing a country's imbalances with groups of similar countries
* comparing a country's imbalances with the full G20.
The last three approaches will use statistics from 1990 to 2004 "as this is the period that preceded the large build-up in external imbalances", the communique said.
Click to play
Advertisement
Watch: European policy makers 'too complacent' over economic recovery
"Those countries identified by at least two of the four approaches as having persistently large imbalances will be assessed in-depth to determine in a second step the nature and root causes of their imbalances and to identify impediments to adjustment," the group said.
The second step of assessment would be carried out independently by the IMF.
"The guidelines operate a little bit like a net which actually holds those of the countries that violate or do not respect the guidelines," said Ms Lagarde, who chaired the meeting as France currently holds the presidency of the G20.
"And the net is a little bit tighter for those countries that are considered of systemic importance because they represent more than 5% of the GDP [gross domestic product] of the G20."
However, the group made no mention of any "name and shame" list which would identify those members in the most risky positions.
'No complacency'
Although the global economy appears to be on the path to recovery, the meeting took place at a time when plenty of threats to growth remain.
Among the challenges are unrest in the Middle East, high oil prices, continued inflation in China and debt problems in Europe.
The head of the IMF, Dominique Strauss Kahn, told the BBC that some policy makers thought "the crisis was behind us" and this was "the wrong attitude".
In Europe, he said, there was no room for complacency regarding high levels of debt.
"A lot more has to be done by the Europeans to fix the [debt] problem," he said.G20 agrees guidelines to measure economic imbalances
French Finance Minister and G20 chair Christine Lagarde speaks to US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde (r) chaired the meeting
Continue reading the main story
Global Economy
* China booms as inflation tops 5%
* Indian inflation rate hits 8.9%
* US inflation hits 2.7% in March
* Food prices 'threaten millions'
Finance ministers and central bankers from the G20 have agreed a set of "indicative guidelines" to measure potential risks to the global economy posed by national economic policies.
All members of the G20 will be monitored under the new system.
In addition, members who account for more than 5% of total G20 economic output will be subject to a deeper, second-stage analysis of imbalances.
They include the US, China, Japan, Germany and France.
This is to "reflect the greater potential for spillover effects from larger economies", the group said.
The G20 did not formally name the countries this would apply to but French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said that France would be one of seven in total to face higher scrutiny.
The group was meeting in Washington, ahead of the spring meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The G20 accounts for 85% of global output and is now the main forum for trying to reform the world's financial system.
Addressing imbalances
Many economists believe that global imbalances contributed to the recent financial crisis.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
The guidelines operate a little bit like a net which actually holds those of the countries that violate or do not respect the guidelines”
End Quote Christine Lagarde French Finance Minister
Emerging market countries reinvested their surpluses in Western markets, causing banks to take excessive risks, so the argument goes.
Finance ministers agree that they must find a solution to these kind of imbalances.
But countries disagree over how quickly they need to act.
China recognises that it must open its economy and allow its currency, the yuan, to get stronger, but it wants to do it at its own pace.
The US, on the other hand, wants to see this happen much faster.
Monitoring methods
After its last meeting in February, the group reached a deal on indicators to detect the economic imbalances.
The Washington deal on measurement applies to these indicators, which include public debts and deficits, and private debt levels and savings rates.
In its latest communique, the G20 said its monitoring would use four approaches:
* estimating what a country's imbalances should look like using economic models specific to that country
* looking at a country's imbalances in terms of their national historical trends
* comparing a country's imbalances with groups of similar countries
* comparing a country's imbalances with the full G20.
The last three approaches will use statistics from 1990 to 2004 "as this is the period that preceded the large build-up in external imbalances", the communique said.
Click to play
Advertisement
Watch: European policy makers 'too complacent' over economic recovery
"Those countries identified by at least two of the four approaches as having persistently large imbalances will be assessed in-depth to determine in a second step the nature and root causes of their imbalances and to identify impediments to adjustment," the group said.
The second step of assessment would be carried out independently by the IMF.
"The guidelines operate a little bit like a net which actually holds those of the countries that violate or do not respect the guidelines," said Ms Lagarde, who chaired the meeting as France currently holds the presidency of the G20.
"And the net is a little bit tighter for those countries that are considered of systemic importance because they represent more than 5% of the GDP [gross domestic product] of the G20."
However, the group made no mention of any "name and shame" list which would identify those members in the most risky positions.
'No complacency'
Although the global economy appears to be on the path to recovery, the meeting took place at a time when plenty of threats to growth remain.
Among the challenges are unrest in the Middle East, high oil prices, continued inflation in China and debt problems in Europe.
The head of the IMF, Dominique Strauss Kahn, told the BBC that some policy makers thought "the crisis was behind us" and this was "the wrong attitude".
In Europe, he said, there was no room for complacency regarding high levels of debt.
"A lot more has to be done by the Europeans to fix the [debt] problem," he said.
US House passes $6.2tn spending cut plan
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan introduced the budget proposal
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* US Congress approves budget bill
* Obama sets out deficit cut policy
* Obama urges cuts and taxing rich
The US House of Representatives has passed a 2012 budget plan which aims to cut $6.2 trillion (£3.8tn) in spending by the government over the next decade.
The plan, introduced by Republican Paul Ryan, would cut healthcare and social programmes for the poor and require the elderly to pay more for their healthcare than they do currently.
The bill passed the Republican-controlled House in a 235-193 vote.
The proposal is not expected to make it through the Democratic-led Senate.
The bill, which covers the fiscal year that starts on 1 October, would transform Medicare - a programme in which the US government pays medical bills for the elderly - into a voucher system that subsidises purchases of private insurance plans.
It would also lower taxes for the wealthy, a move fiscal conservatives say will boost US economic growth.
No Democrats in the House backed the bill on Friday; four Republicans also rejected the proposal.
On Thursday, the US Congress passed a budget bill that would cut $38.5bn (£23.6bn) in government spending over the rest of the current fiscal year, to 30 September.
President Barack Obama, who in a policy speech on Wednesday called for raising taxes on the wealthy as well as changes to social programmes, signed the bill into law on Friday.
Blocking the plan
Mr Obama has vowed to block major elements of Mr Ryan's $6.2tn spending bill, notably those dealing with healthcare costs for the elderly.
But the president said on Friday that a compromise with Republicans on spending cuts would be needed to get the necessary support in Congress to raise the US debt ceiling and avoid an economic crisis.
"I think he's absolutely right that it's not going to happen without some spending cuts," Mr Obama told the Associated Press news agency, referring to cuts backed by House Speaker John Boehner.
He added that the world could plunge into a new recession if the ceiling on money the US can borrow is not raised in the next few weeks, before the current debt limit of $14.3tn is reached.
Mr Obama urged immediate action, saying that the US should not get close to a deadline that would destabilise financial markets.
He said he was confident Congress would ultimately raise the limit, saying the latest lawmakers could possibly act is by early July.
But fiscal conservatives have said they will not vote to increase the debt cap without a significant move toward a long-term deficit reduction.
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan introduced the budget proposal
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories
* US Congress approves budget bill
* Obama sets out deficit cut policy
* Obama urges cuts and taxing rich
The US House of Representatives has passed a 2012 budget plan which aims to cut $6.2 trillion (£3.8tn) in spending by the government over the next decade.
The plan, introduced by Republican Paul Ryan, would cut healthcare and social programmes for the poor and require the elderly to pay more for their healthcare than they do currently.
The bill passed the Republican-controlled House in a 235-193 vote.
The proposal is not expected to make it through the Democratic-led Senate.
The bill, which covers the fiscal year that starts on 1 October, would transform Medicare - a programme in which the US government pays medical bills for the elderly - into a voucher system that subsidises purchases of private insurance plans.
It would also lower taxes for the wealthy, a move fiscal conservatives say will boost US economic growth.
No Democrats in the House backed the bill on Friday; four Republicans also rejected the proposal.
On Thursday, the US Congress passed a budget bill that would cut $38.5bn (£23.6bn) in government spending over the rest of the current fiscal year, to 30 September.
President Barack Obama, who in a policy speech on Wednesday called for raising taxes on the wealthy as well as changes to social programmes, signed the bill into law on Friday.
Blocking the plan
Mr Obama has vowed to block major elements of Mr Ryan's $6.2tn spending bill, notably those dealing with healthcare costs for the elderly.
But the president said on Friday that a compromise with Republicans on spending cuts would be needed to get the necessary support in Congress to raise the US debt ceiling and avoid an economic crisis.
"I think he's absolutely right that it's not going to happen without some spending cuts," Mr Obama told the Associated Press news agency, referring to cuts backed by House Speaker John Boehner.
He added that the world could plunge into a new recession if the ceiling on money the US can borrow is not raised in the next few weeks, before the current debt limit of $14.3tn is reached.
Mr Obama urged immediate action, saying that the US should not get close to a deadline that would destabilise financial markets.
He said he was confident Congress would ultimately raise the limit, saying the latest lawmakers could possibly act is by early July.
But fiscal conservatives have said they will not vote to increase the debt cap without a significant move toward a long-term deficit reduction.
Burkina Faso's Blaise Compaore sacks his government
A picture taken on April 1, 2011 show a soldier saluting as Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore meets armed forces representatives Analysts say President Blaise Compaore's grip on the army appears to be slipping
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* Country profile: Burkina Faso
* Timeline: Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso's president has dissolved his government after members of his presidential guard went on an overnight rampage in the capital Ouagadougou.
Blaise Compaore named a new army chief and fired the head of his presidential guard after the unrest - apparently in protest against unpaid allowances.
Mr Compaore, in power since 1987, had sought to calm soldiers earlier this month after similar complaints.
Burkina Faso has been affected by the turmoil in neighbouring Ivory Coast.
The World Bank warned on Thursday that the Ivorian conflict had disrupted supplies and also pushed up prices for processed foods such as dried milk, sugar and vegetable oil in Burkina Faso and other landlocked countries in the region such as Mali and Niger.
Presidential grip slipping?
The dissolution of government was announced in a statement broadcast on national radio said.
"The secretary generals of ministerial departments will ensure the execution of current business," it said.
Mr Compaore had briefly fled the capital during a reported mutiny by his personal guard overnight.
Gunfire was reported in the presidential compound and nearby barracks after demonstrators marched through the capital and other towns on Thursday, angered by rising food prices and alleged human rights abuses.
Unrest among soldiers in the capital quickly spread to other barracks and firing went on until just before dawn, says the BBC's Mathieu Bonkoungou in Ouagadougou.
Residents were said to be so scared by the shootings that many stayed in their homes throughout Friday.
Mr Compaore has ruled the country since taking power in a coup from his friend Thomas Sankara 23 years ago.
He has since won four presidential elections, the latest in November 2010.
But analysts say his grip on the army appears to be slipping.
Earlier this year, students protested in several cities against the death in detention of a young man. Government buildings were torched and six students were killed.
In March, soldiers went on the rampage and managed to free a number of colleagues arrested for rape.
A picture taken on April 1, 2011 show a soldier saluting as Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore meets armed forces representatives Analysts say President Blaise Compaore's grip on the army appears to be slipping
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories
* Country profile: Burkina Faso
* Timeline: Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso's president has dissolved his government after members of his presidential guard went on an overnight rampage in the capital Ouagadougou.
Blaise Compaore named a new army chief and fired the head of his presidential guard after the unrest - apparently in protest against unpaid allowances.
Mr Compaore, in power since 1987, had sought to calm soldiers earlier this month after similar complaints.
Burkina Faso has been affected by the turmoil in neighbouring Ivory Coast.
The World Bank warned on Thursday that the Ivorian conflict had disrupted supplies and also pushed up prices for processed foods such as dried milk, sugar and vegetable oil in Burkina Faso and other landlocked countries in the region such as Mali and Niger.
Presidential grip slipping?
The dissolution of government was announced in a statement broadcast on national radio said.
"The secretary generals of ministerial departments will ensure the execution of current business," it said.
Mr Compaore had briefly fled the capital during a reported mutiny by his personal guard overnight.
Gunfire was reported in the presidential compound and nearby barracks after demonstrators marched through the capital and other towns on Thursday, angered by rising food prices and alleged human rights abuses.
Unrest among soldiers in the capital quickly spread to other barracks and firing went on until just before dawn, says the BBC's Mathieu Bonkoungou in Ouagadougou.
Residents were said to be so scared by the shootings that many stayed in their homes throughout Friday.
Mr Compaore has ruled the country since taking power in a coup from his friend Thomas Sankara 23 years ago.
He has since won four presidential elections, the latest in November 2010.
But analysts say his grip on the army appears to be slipping.
Earlier this year, students protested in several cities against the death in detention of a young man. Government buildings were torched and six students were killed.
In March, soldiers went on the rampage and managed to free a number of colleagues arrested for rape.
Bolivia protests challenge Evo Morales
Protesters run from tear gas on a road outside La Paz, Bolivia Bolivia's government says the blockades are not justified
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* Bolivia reverses fuel prices hike
* Anger in Bolivia over fuel prices
* Transport strike chaos in Bolivia
Protesters in Bolivia have blocked main roads and clashed with police, on the ninth day of nationwide demonstrations against the government.
Police used tear gas to clear the main road south of La Paz, and protesters fought back with stones and slingshots.
Teachers and health workers are on strike to demand a 15% pay increase.
The unrest is the worst yet faced by President Evo Morales, who once led similar protests that forced two previous presidents from power.
There have also been street protests and road blockades in cities across Bolivia, including Cochabamba, Santa Cruz and Tarija.
The biggest clashes happened 45km south of La Paz, Bolivia's main city, where around 2,000 rural teachers used rocks to block the main road to the rest of the country.
Several people were reported injured as riot police moved in to reopen the road.
The protests are being led by Bolivia's main trade union federation, the COB, which is demanding a 15% pay rise for all workers.
'No truce'
The government has already approved a 10% increase for teachers, soldiers and police, and says it cannot afford any more.
"The president and government have always been prepared for dialogue with all sectors, and so the means of pressure they have adopted are not justified," Information Minister Ivan Canelas said.
The COB is demanding direct talks with President Morales rather than his ministers.
""The mobilisations will continue, there will be no truce," COB leader Pedro Montes told reporters.
Mr Morales has been visiting the southern city of Tarija, but pulled out of a public appearance there because of protests.
Bolivia's trade union movement was until recently a close ally of Mr Morales, and helped him win election in 2005 and 2009.
The left-wing Bolivian president is himself a trade union leader, and some of his ministers are former leaders of the COB.
But his popularity fell sharply last December when he attempted to cut fuel price subsidies, only to back down in the face of nationwide protests.
Since then, rising transport and food prices and shortages of some basic goods, such as sugar, have caused rising discontent.
Bolivia's last two presidents were forced from office by mass demonstrations and road blockades which Evo Morales helped to lead.
Protesters run from tear gas on a road outside La Paz, Bolivia Bolivia's government says the blockades are not justified
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories
* Bolivia reverses fuel prices hike
* Anger in Bolivia over fuel prices
* Transport strike chaos in Bolivia
Protesters in Bolivia have blocked main roads and clashed with police, on the ninth day of nationwide demonstrations against the government.
Police used tear gas to clear the main road south of La Paz, and protesters fought back with stones and slingshots.
Teachers and health workers are on strike to demand a 15% pay increase.
The unrest is the worst yet faced by President Evo Morales, who once led similar protests that forced two previous presidents from power.
There have also been street protests and road blockades in cities across Bolivia, including Cochabamba, Santa Cruz and Tarija.
The biggest clashes happened 45km south of La Paz, Bolivia's main city, where around 2,000 rural teachers used rocks to block the main road to the rest of the country.
Several people were reported injured as riot police moved in to reopen the road.
The protests are being led by Bolivia's main trade union federation, the COB, which is demanding a 15% pay rise for all workers.
'No truce'
The government has already approved a 10% increase for teachers, soldiers and police, and says it cannot afford any more.
"The president and government have always been prepared for dialogue with all sectors, and so the means of pressure they have adopted are not justified," Information Minister Ivan Canelas said.
The COB is demanding direct talks with President Morales rather than his ministers.
""The mobilisations will continue, there will be no truce," COB leader Pedro Montes told reporters.
Mr Morales has been visiting the southern city of Tarija, but pulled out of a public appearance there because of protests.
Bolivia's trade union movement was until recently a close ally of Mr Morales, and helped him win election in 2005 and 2009.
The left-wing Bolivian president is himself a trade union leader, and some of his ministers are former leaders of the COB.
But his popularity fell sharply last December when he attempted to cut fuel price subsidies, only to back down in the face of nationwide protests.
Since then, rising transport and food prices and shortages of some basic goods, such as sugar, have caused rising discontent.
Bolivia's last two presidents were forced from office by mass demonstrations and road blockades which Evo Morales helped to lead.
Nigerian ex-governor James Ibori due before UK court
James Ibori (in white) with supporters (2009 image) James Ibori (in white) is expected to appear at the City of Westminster Magistrates' Court
Continue reading the main story
Nigeria votes: 2011
* Free vote challenge
* Affect of social media
* Explore Nigeria: Chaos amid oil
* Q&A: Nigeria elections
An influential Nigerian politician is expected to appear before a court in London charged with money laundering and fraud.
James Ibori, former governor of the oil-rich Delta state, was extradited from Dubai to face 25 charges.
He was arrested in Dubai last May and lost an appeal against his extradition. He denies the allegations.
Mr Ibori is a senior figure in Nigeria's governing People's Democratic Party (PDP).
He is due to appear at the City of Westminster Magistrates' Court on Saturday, Scotland Yard said.
Mr Ibori arrived at London's Heathrow Airport on Friday, accompanied by officers from the Metropolitan Police's extradition unit.
Mr Ibori played a key role in the 2007 presidential election victory of Umaru Yar'Adua, who died last year.
Under Nigeria's federal system, state governors enjoy wide powers.
Those running oil-rich states have budgets larger than those of some African countries.
They enjoy immunity from prosecution while in power, but several have faced corruption charges since leaving office after the last election in 2007.
Nigerians are going to the polls on Saturday for presidential elections.
James Ibori (in white) with supporters (2009 image) James Ibori (in white) is expected to appear at the City of Westminster Magistrates' Court
Continue reading the main story
Nigeria votes: 2011
* Free vote challenge
* Affect of social media
* Explore Nigeria: Chaos amid oil
* Q&A: Nigeria elections
An influential Nigerian politician is expected to appear before a court in London charged with money laundering and fraud.
James Ibori, former governor of the oil-rich Delta state, was extradited from Dubai to face 25 charges.
He was arrested in Dubai last May and lost an appeal against his extradition. He denies the allegations.
Mr Ibori is a senior figure in Nigeria's governing People's Democratic Party (PDP).
He is due to appear at the City of Westminster Magistrates' Court on Saturday, Scotland Yard said.
Mr Ibori arrived at London's Heathrow Airport on Friday, accompanied by officers from the Metropolitan Police's extradition unit.
Mr Ibori played a key role in the 2007 presidential election victory of Umaru Yar'Adua, who died last year.
Under Nigeria's federal system, state governors enjoy wide powers.
Those running oil-rich states have budgets larger than those of some African countries.
They enjoy immunity from prosecution while in power, but several have faced corruption charges since leaving office after the last election in 2007.
Nigerians are going to the polls on Saturday for presidential elections.
Chile to exhume former President Salvador Allende
1971 picture of late Chilean President Salvador Allende Salvador Allende's death was officially ruled a suicide
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* Chile to look into Allende death
The remains of Chile's former President Salvador Allende will be exhumed as part of an inquiry into historic rights abuses, a court has ordered.
Investigators are trying to determine whether Allende killed himself, or was killed by soldiers in the 1973 coup that brought Augusto Pinochet to power.
Allende's body was found in the presidential palace after the building had been attacked by troops and planes.
Judges ruled the exhumation would take place in the second half of May.
Thousands were killed, disappeared or tortured under Gen Pinochet's rule, which lasted until 1990.
The Allende case is one of 726 alleged rights abuses that investigators are looking into.
An official post mortem report found he committed suicide using a rifle given to him by his friend, Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
Allende's doctor confirmed that conclusion and it was accepted by his family.
But some of his supporters continue to believe he was killed by soldiers.
Polarising figure
Earlier this week, his daughter Isabel confirmed that the family had asked for the body to be re-examined.
"We requested the exhumation and autopsy," said Ms Allende, who is a senator in Chile's parliament.
"I think it's the most rigorous and definitive proof to clear up the causes of his death and we think this is going to be tremendously important."
Soldiers supporting the coup led by Gen. Augusto Pinochet take cover as bombs are dropped on the Presidential Palace of La Moneda in this Sept. 11, 1973 file photo Pinochet's forces attacked the palace from ground and air
Allende, who was 65, died in La Moneda presidential palace on 11 September 1973 as it was being bombed by air force jets and attacked by soldiers.
Correspondents say the investigation is likely to stir up bitter emotions in Chile, where Allende still divides opinion.
To some Chileans he was a reckless Marxist intent on turning Chile into a new Cuba; for others, he was a democratic socialist whose death remains the most potent of all the atrocities committed by Pinochet's forces.
Allende came to power in 1970 as Chile's first democratically elected Marxist president.
He pursued a "Chilean path to socialism", nationalising industries and farms.
But his radical policies polarised Chile and angered the US, which backed the military coup against him.
The coup ushered in 17 years of rule by Gen Pinochet, during which more than 3,000 political opponents were killed or "disappeared" by the military and thousands more were imprisoned and tortured.
Gen Pinochet died of a heart attack in 2006 at the age of 91 while under investigation for corruption, torture and murder
1971 picture of late Chilean President Salvador Allende Salvador Allende's death was officially ruled a suicide
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories
* Chile to look into Allende death
The remains of Chile's former President Salvador Allende will be exhumed as part of an inquiry into historic rights abuses, a court has ordered.
Investigators are trying to determine whether Allende killed himself, or was killed by soldiers in the 1973 coup that brought Augusto Pinochet to power.
Allende's body was found in the presidential palace after the building had been attacked by troops and planes.
Judges ruled the exhumation would take place in the second half of May.
Thousands were killed, disappeared or tortured under Gen Pinochet's rule, which lasted until 1990.
The Allende case is one of 726 alleged rights abuses that investigators are looking into.
An official post mortem report found he committed suicide using a rifle given to him by his friend, Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
Allende's doctor confirmed that conclusion and it was accepted by his family.
But some of his supporters continue to believe he was killed by soldiers.
Polarising figure
Earlier this week, his daughter Isabel confirmed that the family had asked for the body to be re-examined.
"We requested the exhumation and autopsy," said Ms Allende, who is a senator in Chile's parliament.
"I think it's the most rigorous and definitive proof to clear up the causes of his death and we think this is going to be tremendously important."
Soldiers supporting the coup led by Gen. Augusto Pinochet take cover as bombs are dropped on the Presidential Palace of La Moneda in this Sept. 11, 1973 file photo Pinochet's forces attacked the palace from ground and air
Allende, who was 65, died in La Moneda presidential palace on 11 September 1973 as it was being bombed by air force jets and attacked by soldiers.
Correspondents say the investigation is likely to stir up bitter emotions in Chile, where Allende still divides opinion.
To some Chileans he was a reckless Marxist intent on turning Chile into a new Cuba; for others, he was a democratic socialist whose death remains the most potent of all the atrocities committed by Pinochet's forces.
Allende came to power in 1970 as Chile's first democratically elected Marxist president.
He pursued a "Chilean path to socialism", nationalising industries and farms.
But his radical policies polarised Chile and angered the US, which backed the military coup against him.
The coup ushered in 17 years of rule by Gen Pinochet, during which more than 3,000 political opponents were killed or "disappeared" by the military and thousands more were imprisoned and tortured.
Gen Pinochet died of a heart attack in 2006 at the age of 91 while under investigation for corruption, torture and murder
Croat generals jailed for war crimes in Krajina
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The moment the sentence was read out to Ante Gotovina (L) and Mladen Markac (R)
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* Profile: Ante Gotovina
* A significant capture
* Croatia country profile
Two retired Croatian generals have been convicted of atrocities against Serbs during the break up of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, after a trial at The Hague.
Judges sentenced Ante Gotovina to 24 years and Mladen Markac to 18 years in jail for crimes including murder, persecution and plunder.
The men helped to plan an operation to retake Croatia's Krajina region and force out all Serbs in 1995.
The Croatian government and public have reacted angrily to the verdict.
The BBC's Mark Lowen in Zagreb says crowds who had gathered to watch the tribunal's hearing on big screens in the Croatian capital booed and hissed when the judge announced the guilty verdicts.
The men are regarded as heroes by many in Croatia.
The UN war crimes tribunal cleared a third defendant, Ivan Cermak, of all charges.
Ex-president implicated
Gotovina and Markac were convicted of a range of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed as their forces retook the Krajina region, which had been under Serbian control since the start of the war in 1991.
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The BBC's Mark Lowen says there were boos and hisses by a crowd watching the sentencing in Zagreb
About 200,000 ethnic Serbs were driven from Croatia in 1995 and at least 150 were killed in a military offensive known as Operation Storm.
The fast-paced military operation, ordered by former Croatian President Franjo Tudjman, began with heavy shelling of the area, which forced many Serbs to flee to Serbia.
During his verdict, Presiding Judge Alphons Orie characterised the operation as a "joint criminal enterprise" between the military commanders and Mr Tudjman, who died in 1999 while under investigation by the tribunal.
Judge Orie said there had been widespread and concerted attacks on the Serb civilian population in Krajina.
"The Croatian military committed acts of murder, cruel treatment, inhumane acts, plunder, persecution and deportation," said the judge.
Both Gotovina and Markac had played a part in planning and overseeing this operation, the court ruled.
Lawyers for both of the convicted men said they would appeal against the verdicts.
Country convicted?
Croatia's Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor said implicating the government in a criminal enterprise was unacceptable.
She said the operation was legitimate and aimed at liberating Croatian territory from occupation.
"My government will do everything possible within the legal framework to get these qualifications withdrawn," she said.
The aftermath of the war is a key issue both in Croatia's domestic politics and its external relations.
The EU has made it clear to former Yugoslav republics that they will not be considered for membership until war criminals are brought to justice.
Gotovina's arrest in 2005 was considered crucial to Croatia's chances of joining the bloc.
War veterans, many of whom turned out in Zagreb to protest at the verdicts, are a powerful lobby group in the country.
"All of us have been convicted, including the Republic of Croatia," said protester Branko Borkovic, a former army commander.
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The moment the sentence was read out to Ante Gotovina (L) and Mladen Markac (R)
Continue reading the main story
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* Profile: Ante Gotovina
* A significant capture
* Croatia country profile
Two retired Croatian generals have been convicted of atrocities against Serbs during the break up of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, after a trial at The Hague.
Judges sentenced Ante Gotovina to 24 years and Mladen Markac to 18 years in jail for crimes including murder, persecution and plunder.
The men helped to plan an operation to retake Croatia's Krajina region and force out all Serbs in 1995.
The Croatian government and public have reacted angrily to the verdict.
The BBC's Mark Lowen in Zagreb says crowds who had gathered to watch the tribunal's hearing on big screens in the Croatian capital booed and hissed when the judge announced the guilty verdicts.
The men are regarded as heroes by many in Croatia.
The UN war crimes tribunal cleared a third defendant, Ivan Cermak, of all charges.
Ex-president implicated
Gotovina and Markac were convicted of a range of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed as their forces retook the Krajina region, which had been under Serbian control since the start of the war in 1991.
Click to play
Advertisement
The BBC's Mark Lowen says there were boos and hisses by a crowd watching the sentencing in Zagreb
About 200,000 ethnic Serbs were driven from Croatia in 1995 and at least 150 were killed in a military offensive known as Operation Storm.
The fast-paced military operation, ordered by former Croatian President Franjo Tudjman, began with heavy shelling of the area, which forced many Serbs to flee to Serbia.
During his verdict, Presiding Judge Alphons Orie characterised the operation as a "joint criminal enterprise" between the military commanders and Mr Tudjman, who died in 1999 while under investigation by the tribunal.
Judge Orie said there had been widespread and concerted attacks on the Serb civilian population in Krajina.
"The Croatian military committed acts of murder, cruel treatment, inhumane acts, plunder, persecution and deportation," said the judge.
Both Gotovina and Markac had played a part in planning and overseeing this operation, the court ruled.
Lawyers for both of the convicted men said they would appeal against the verdicts.
Country convicted?
Croatia's Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor said implicating the government in a criminal enterprise was unacceptable.
She said the operation was legitimate and aimed at liberating Croatian territory from occupation.
"My government will do everything possible within the legal framework to get these qualifications withdrawn," she said.
The aftermath of the war is a key issue both in Croatia's domestic politics and its external relations.
The EU has made it clear to former Yugoslav republics that they will not be considered for membership until war criminals are brought to justice.
Gotovina's arrest in 2005 was considered crucial to Croatia's chances of joining the bloc.
War veterans, many of whom turned out in Zagreb to protest at the verdicts, are a powerful lobby group in the country.
"All of us have been convicted, including the Republic of Croatia," said protester Branko Borkovic, a former army commander.
Syria: Clashes at mass Damascus protest
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Anti-government protests held across Syria
Continue reading the main story
Syria Crisis
* Getting nasty
* Israel on edge
* Washington's dilemma
* Assad speech offers little new
Syrian security forces have used tear gas and batons to disperse tens of thousands of protesters in the capital, Damascus, witnesses said.
The protesters called for reforms, while some demanded the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad.
The protests, in Damascus and other cities, are believed to be the largest in a month of unrest in which about 200 people have been reported killed.
Mr Assad has made some concessions while cracking down on dissent.
Thousands of people were reported to have demonstrated in a number of other Syrian cities, including Deraa, Latakia, Baniyas and Qamishli - places where violence has been previously reported.
State media reported that "small demonstrations" had taken place in different parts of the country and security forces did not intervene.
Yellow card warning
The mass protest in the suburbs of Damascus marks a major escalation of Syria's month of unrest, which has largely bypassed the capital.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
It is time for the Syrian government to stop repressing their citizens and start responding to their aspirations”
End Quote Hillary Clinton US Secretary of State
Analysts said Friday's protests were the largest since they began in the southern city of Deraa on 15 March.
The unrest is seen as the biggest challenge to Mr Assad, who inherited power from his father in 2000.
The protesters say they want greater freedoms, including a repeal of the decades-old security law, which bans public gatherings of more than five people.
Some are calling for the overthrow of the president, who rules with a tight grip through his family and the security forces.
Mr Assad has offered some concessions, forming a new government on Thursday and pronouncing amnesty for an undisclosed number of people detained in the last month.
He has also sacked some local officials and granted Syrian citizenship to thousands of the country's Kurdish minority - satisfying a long-held demand.
The demonstrators in Damascus held up yellow cards, in a football-style warning to President Assad, AP news agency said.
"This is our first warning, next time we will come with the red cards," one protester said.
'Legitimate demands'
Other witnesses said the demonstrators tore down posters of Mr Assad they passed along their route and called for the overthrow of the president.
Reuters quoted a witness who said 15 busloads of secret police had chased people into alleyways north of the city's main Abbasside Square.
Map of Syria
The United Nations and a number of Western governments have decried President Assad's use of force to try to quash the protests.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on Syria's authorities to stop using violence against their own people.
"The Syrian government has not addressed the legitimate demands of the Syrian people," she said after a Nato meeting in Berlin.
"It is time for the Syrian government to stop repressing their citizens and start responding to their aspirations."
Human rights campaigners say hundreds of people across Syria have been arrested, including opposition figures, bloggers and activists.
Mr Assad blames the violence in recent weeks on armed gangs rather than reform-seekers and has vowed to put down further unrest.
US officials have said Iran is helping Syria to crack down on the protests, a charge both Tehran and Damascus have denied.
Are you in Syria? What is your experience of the unrest? You can send us your experiences using the form below.
Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7725 100 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.
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Anti-government protests held across Syria
Continue reading the main story
Syria Crisis
* Getting nasty
* Israel on edge
* Washington's dilemma
* Assad speech offers little new
Syrian security forces have used tear gas and batons to disperse tens of thousands of protesters in the capital, Damascus, witnesses said.
The protesters called for reforms, while some demanded the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad.
The protests, in Damascus and other cities, are believed to be the largest in a month of unrest in which about 200 people have been reported killed.
Mr Assad has made some concessions while cracking down on dissent.
Thousands of people were reported to have demonstrated in a number of other Syrian cities, including Deraa, Latakia, Baniyas and Qamishli - places where violence has been previously reported.
State media reported that "small demonstrations" had taken place in different parts of the country and security forces did not intervene.
Yellow card warning
The mass protest in the suburbs of Damascus marks a major escalation of Syria's month of unrest, which has largely bypassed the capital.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
It is time for the Syrian government to stop repressing their citizens and start responding to their aspirations”
End Quote Hillary Clinton US Secretary of State
Analysts said Friday's protests were the largest since they began in the southern city of Deraa on 15 March.
The unrest is seen as the biggest challenge to Mr Assad, who inherited power from his father in 2000.
The protesters say they want greater freedoms, including a repeal of the decades-old security law, which bans public gatherings of more than five people.
Some are calling for the overthrow of the president, who rules with a tight grip through his family and the security forces.
Mr Assad has offered some concessions, forming a new government on Thursday and pronouncing amnesty for an undisclosed number of people detained in the last month.
He has also sacked some local officials and granted Syrian citizenship to thousands of the country's Kurdish minority - satisfying a long-held demand.
The demonstrators in Damascus held up yellow cards, in a football-style warning to President Assad, AP news agency said.
"This is our first warning, next time we will come with the red cards," one protester said.
'Legitimate demands'
Other witnesses said the demonstrators tore down posters of Mr Assad they passed along their route and called for the overthrow of the president.
Reuters quoted a witness who said 15 busloads of secret police had chased people into alleyways north of the city's main Abbasside Square.
Map of Syria
The United Nations and a number of Western governments have decried President Assad's use of force to try to quash the protests.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on Syria's authorities to stop using violence against their own people.
"The Syrian government has not addressed the legitimate demands of the Syrian people," she said after a Nato meeting in Berlin.
"It is time for the Syrian government to stop repressing their citizens and start responding to their aspirations."
Human rights campaigners say hundreds of people across Syria have been arrested, including opposition figures, bloggers and activists.
Mr Assad blames the violence in recent weeks on armed gangs rather than reform-seekers and has vowed to put down further unrest.
US officials have said Iran is helping Syria to crack down on the protests, a charge both Tehran and Damascus have denied.
Are you in Syria? What is your experience of the unrest? You can send us your experiences using the form below.
Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7725 100 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.
Algeria leader Bouteflika pledges constitutional reform
Algerians gather to watch President Bouteflika's speech on a giant screen in Telemcen, 15 April The speech was long awaited
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories
* State of emergency ended
* Algeria, Yemen protests dispersed
* Country profile
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who has been in power for 12 years, has promised to amend the constitution to "strengthen democracy".
Delivering a long-awaited speech on state TV, he said a constitutional commission would be created to draw up the necessary amendments.
It was his first address to the nation in three months.
Unrest broke out in January with strikes, marches and rioting echoing protests elsewhere in the Arab world.
Under pressure to amend the constitution and limit presidential terms, the 74-year-old leader lifted the country's state of emergency in February, after 19 years.
However, the trigger for the unrest appears to be mainly economic, especially sharp increases in the price of food.
"To crown the institutional edifice with the aim of strengthening democracy, it is important to introduce the necessary amendments to the constitution," Mr Bouteflika said in his speech.
"Active political currents" would join constitutional law experts in drawing up the amendments, he said.
In addition, electoral law would be "revised in depth", with the participation of "the political parties, whether present [in parliament] or not".
The current constitution, adopted in 1996, was introduced to strengthen presidential law and ban religion-based parties following Algeria's murderous war between the military and Islamist militants, in which some 150,000 people were killed.
Algerians gather to watch President Bouteflika's speech on a giant screen in Telemcen, 15 April The speech was long awaited
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories
* State of emergency ended
* Algeria, Yemen protests dispersed
* Country profile
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who has been in power for 12 years, has promised to amend the constitution to "strengthen democracy".
Delivering a long-awaited speech on state TV, he said a constitutional commission would be created to draw up the necessary amendments.
It was his first address to the nation in three months.
Unrest broke out in January with strikes, marches and rioting echoing protests elsewhere in the Arab world.
Under pressure to amend the constitution and limit presidential terms, the 74-year-old leader lifted the country's state of emergency in February, after 19 years.
However, the trigger for the unrest appears to be mainly economic, especially sharp increases in the price of food.
"To crown the institutional edifice with the aim of strengthening democracy, it is important to introduce the necessary amendments to the constitution," Mr Bouteflika said in his speech.
"Active political currents" would join constitutional law experts in drawing up the amendments, he said.
In addition, electoral law would be "revised in depth", with the participation of "the political parties, whether present [in parliament] or not".
The current constitution, adopted in 1996, was introduced to strengthen presidential law and ban religion-based parties following Algeria's murderous war between the military and Islamist militants, in which some 150,000 people were killed.
Nigerians to choose president in Africa's biggest vote
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The BBC's Will Grant examines whether ex-military leader Muhammadu Buhari could prove a challenge to the current president and frontrunner, Goodluck Jonathan.
Continue reading the main story
Nigeria votes: 2011
* Free vote challenge
* Affect of social media
* Explore Nigeria: Chaos amid oil
* Q&A: Nigeria elections
Final preparations are under way in Nigeria for Africa's biggest presidential vote with current leader Goodluck Jonathan seen as frontrunner.
His main challenge is expected to come from ex-military leader Muhammadu Buhari, who has strong support in the mainly Muslim north of the country.
Mr Jonathan is counting on opposition divisions to win outright, avoiding a run-off election.
Polling stations open at 0800 (0700 GMT) but voting only starts after noon.
Everyone intending to vote is required to register for accreditation before midday.
The sitting president has staked his reputation on the conduct of the election, repeatedly promising it will be free and fair.
Africa's largest oil producer has long been plagued by corruption and has a history of vote fraud and violence.
The head of the African Union's observer mission, former Ghanaian President John Kufuor, said some shortcomings had been found with the election process but he was confident the electoral commission would resolve them.
'Model for Africa'
Nigerians are pinning their hopes on this being their cleanest election in decades.
Continue reading the main story
Presidential Candidates
* Goodluck Jonathan, incumbent
* Muhammadu Buhari, former military ruler
* Nuhu Ribadu, former anti-corruption fighter
* Ibrahim Shekarau, Kano governor
* 16 others
* Profile: Goodluck Jonathan
* Profile: Muhammadu Buhari
* Profile: Ibrahim Shekarau
* Profile: Nuhu Ribadu
Mr Jonathan is the first head of state from the southern, oil-producing Niger Delta.
In addition to Mr Buhari, he is facing a challenge from former anti-corruption chief Nuhu Ribadu and Kano state governor Ibrahim Shekarau, though both are seen as rank outsiders.
While his People's Democratic Party lost seats in a parliamentary election last week, Mr Jonathan has enjoyed a lead in opinion polls.
The fact that talks between Nigeria's two main opposition parties - fielding Mr Buhari and Mr Ribadu - to agree a formal alliance for the presidential poll broke down has played in his favour.
Mr Buhari will need to prevent him from taking at least a quarter of the votes in two thirds of the country's 36 states if he is to stop him winning in the first round, a feat which northern support alone is unlikely to guarantee, Reuters news agency notes.
The relatively successful conduct of the parliamentary election has increased confidence in the ability of the electoral commission, Inec, to ensure a fair presidential vote.
However, bomb blasts and other attacks have killed dozens in the run-up to the polls.
With 73 million registered voters, Nigeria has the biggest electorate on the continent.
"If Nigeria gets it right, it will impact positively on the rest of the continent and show the rest of the world that Africa is capable of managing its electoral processes," said Mr Kufuor.
"If Nigeria gets it wrong, it will have a negative influence on the continent with dire consequences."
Nigeria: A nation divided
* Politics
* Ethnic
* Wealth
* Health
* Literacy
* Oil
The People's Democratic Party (PDP) has won all elections since the end of military rule in 1999. It won two-thirds of Nigeria's 36 states last time. But having a southerner - President Goodluck Jonathan - as its candidate in the presidential elections may lose it some votes in the north.
Click to play
Advertisement
The BBC's Will Grant examines whether ex-military leader Muhammadu Buhari could prove a challenge to the current president and frontrunner, Goodluck Jonathan.
Continue reading the main story
Nigeria votes: 2011
* Free vote challenge
* Affect of social media
* Explore Nigeria: Chaos amid oil
* Q&A: Nigeria elections
Final preparations are under way in Nigeria for Africa's biggest presidential vote with current leader Goodluck Jonathan seen as frontrunner.
His main challenge is expected to come from ex-military leader Muhammadu Buhari, who has strong support in the mainly Muslim north of the country.
Mr Jonathan is counting on opposition divisions to win outright, avoiding a run-off election.
Polling stations open at 0800 (0700 GMT) but voting only starts after noon.
Everyone intending to vote is required to register for accreditation before midday.
The sitting president has staked his reputation on the conduct of the election, repeatedly promising it will be free and fair.
Africa's largest oil producer has long been plagued by corruption and has a history of vote fraud and violence.
The head of the African Union's observer mission, former Ghanaian President John Kufuor, said some shortcomings had been found with the election process but he was confident the electoral commission would resolve them.
'Model for Africa'
Nigerians are pinning their hopes on this being their cleanest election in decades.
Continue reading the main story
Presidential Candidates
* Goodluck Jonathan, incumbent
* Muhammadu Buhari, former military ruler
* Nuhu Ribadu, former anti-corruption fighter
* Ibrahim Shekarau, Kano governor
* 16 others
* Profile: Goodluck Jonathan
* Profile: Muhammadu Buhari
* Profile: Ibrahim Shekarau
* Profile: Nuhu Ribadu
Mr Jonathan is the first head of state from the southern, oil-producing Niger Delta.
In addition to Mr Buhari, he is facing a challenge from former anti-corruption chief Nuhu Ribadu and Kano state governor Ibrahim Shekarau, though both are seen as rank outsiders.
While his People's Democratic Party lost seats in a parliamentary election last week, Mr Jonathan has enjoyed a lead in opinion polls.
The fact that talks between Nigeria's two main opposition parties - fielding Mr Buhari and Mr Ribadu - to agree a formal alliance for the presidential poll broke down has played in his favour.
Mr Buhari will need to prevent him from taking at least a quarter of the votes in two thirds of the country's 36 states if he is to stop him winning in the first round, a feat which northern support alone is unlikely to guarantee, Reuters news agency notes.
The relatively successful conduct of the parliamentary election has increased confidence in the ability of the electoral commission, Inec, to ensure a fair presidential vote.
However, bomb blasts and other attacks have killed dozens in the run-up to the polls.
With 73 million registered voters, Nigeria has the biggest electorate on the continent.
"If Nigeria gets it right, it will impact positively on the rest of the continent and show the rest of the world that Africa is capable of managing its electoral processes," said Mr Kufuor.
"If Nigeria gets it wrong, it will have a negative influence on the continent with dire consequences."
Nigeria: A nation divided
* Politics
* Ethnic
* Wealth
* Health
* Literacy
* Oil
The People's Democratic Party (PDP) has won all elections since the end of military rule in 1999. It won two-thirds of Nigeria's 36 states last time. But having a southerner - President Goodluck Jonathan - as its candidate in the presidential elections may lose it some votes in the north.
Libya conflict: Gaddafi 'cluster bombing Misrata'
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Abdullah, a doctor in Misrata, told the BBC he had seen evidence of the use of cluster bombs
Continue reading the main story
Libya Crisis
* Letter on Libya: Full text
* Layers of reality in Tripoli
* Libya crisis mapped
* Where is al-Qaeda?
Pro-government forces in Libya have been accused by a human rights campaign group of using cluster bombs, which are banned by more than 100 countries.
Human Rights Watch said one of its photographers had seen three mortar-launched projectiles explode over a residential area of Misrata.
A Libyan government spokesman denied the allegation.
Government troops have intensified their siege of Misrata, the only west Libyan city still in rebel hands.
The BBC's Orla Guerin reports from inside the battle-scarred city that local residents fear a massacre without greater action by Nato air forces to break the siege.
A meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Berlin has ended without a commitment from non-participating states to contribute warplanes despite an appeal by Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
The US, UK and France have said in a joint statement that the threat to Libyan civilians will not disappear while Colonel Muammar Gaddafi remains in power.
Russia suggested Nato was exceeding its UN Security Council mandate to protect civilians.
'Appalling'
Continue reading the main story
At the scene
image of Orla Guerin Orla Guerin BBC News, Misrata
The hospital is struggling to keep pace with the attacks. The emergency ward is a tent in the car park. Patients are rushed in and out to make way for new arrivals. Lights go on and off without warning, plunging surgeons into darkness.
Doctors say they are running short of supplies, beds and staff to treat the continuing flow of wounded.
"If anyone else arrives now, they'll have to be treated on the floor," said Dr Khalid Abufalgha, a member of Misrata's crisis committee.
With so many urgent cases, he cannot help patients with chronic conditions.
And there are growing concerns about the security of the port. Medical supplies are coming ashore here but the heavy shelling has halted some ships, and raised fears that Col Gaddafi wants to cut this last link to the outside world.
* Fearing massacre in Misrata
Releasing photographs of cluster munitions, New York-based Human Rights Watch said three projectiles had exploded over Misrata's el-Shawahda neighbourhood on Thursday night.
First discovered by a New York Times reporter, and inspected by HRW researchers, the object photographed is said to be an MAT-120 120mm mortar projectile, which opens in mid-air and releases 21 sub-munitions over a wide area.
"Upon exploding on contact with an object, each submunition disintegrates into high-velocity fragments to attack people and releases a slug of molten metal to penetrate armoured vehicles," HRW noted.
HRW said the projectile it had examined had been manufactured in Spain.
Steve Goose, HRW's arms division director, said it was "appalling" that Libya was using such weapons, especially in a residential area.
"They pose a huge risk to civilians, both during attacks because of their indiscriminate nature and afterward because of the still-dangerous unexploded duds scattered about," he added.
HRW said it could not determine whether any civilians had been hurt by the cluster bombs which "appear to have landed about 300 metres [yards] from Misrata hospital".
Tripoli denial
The international Convention on Cluster Munitions adopted in Dublin in 2008 prohibits its 108 signatories from using cluster weapons because of the threat they pose to civilians.
A cluster mortar projectile said by Human Rights Watch to have been found in Misrata after an attack on 14 April (image: Human Rights Watch) Human Rights Watch released photos of cluster munitions it said had been found in Misrata
Libya is one of the states which has not signed the convention, along with countries such as the US, Israel, Russia and China.
Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim denied cluster bombs had been used in Misrata.
"I challenge them to prove it," he told reporters in the capital Tripoli.
Referring to inspections by humanitarian groups, he said: "To use these bombs, the evidence would remain for days and weeks, and we know the international community is coming en masse to our country soon. So we can't do this, we can't do anything that would incriminate us even if we were criminals."
There was no immediate comment from Spain, a signatory to the cluster munition convention, on the provenance of the bombs.
The fragments found in Misrata were apparently produced in a year before the convention was adopted.
Rebels in Misrata have been holding out against attacks for two months and UK Foreign Secretary William Hague has stressed that Nato needs to act swiftly to prevent a "massacre" in the city.
He said Nato had been constrained by the need to avoid civilian casualties but had probably prevented the city from being overrun by Col Gaddafi's forces.
Map
Advertisement
Abdullah, a doctor in Misrata, told the BBC he had seen evidence of the use of cluster bombs
Continue reading the main story
Libya Crisis
* Letter on Libya: Full text
* Layers of reality in Tripoli
* Libya crisis mapped
* Where is al-Qaeda?
Pro-government forces in Libya have been accused by a human rights campaign group of using cluster bombs, which are banned by more than 100 countries.
Human Rights Watch said one of its photographers had seen three mortar-launched projectiles explode over a residential area of Misrata.
A Libyan government spokesman denied the allegation.
Government troops have intensified their siege of Misrata, the only west Libyan city still in rebel hands.
The BBC's Orla Guerin reports from inside the battle-scarred city that local residents fear a massacre without greater action by Nato air forces to break the siege.
A meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Berlin has ended without a commitment from non-participating states to contribute warplanes despite an appeal by Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
The US, UK and France have said in a joint statement that the threat to Libyan civilians will not disappear while Colonel Muammar Gaddafi remains in power.
Russia suggested Nato was exceeding its UN Security Council mandate to protect civilians.
'Appalling'
Continue reading the main story
At the scene
image of Orla Guerin Orla Guerin BBC News, Misrata
The hospital is struggling to keep pace with the attacks. The emergency ward is a tent in the car park. Patients are rushed in and out to make way for new arrivals. Lights go on and off without warning, plunging surgeons into darkness.
Doctors say they are running short of supplies, beds and staff to treat the continuing flow of wounded.
"If anyone else arrives now, they'll have to be treated on the floor," said Dr Khalid Abufalgha, a member of Misrata's crisis committee.
With so many urgent cases, he cannot help patients with chronic conditions.
And there are growing concerns about the security of the port. Medical supplies are coming ashore here but the heavy shelling has halted some ships, and raised fears that Col Gaddafi wants to cut this last link to the outside world.
* Fearing massacre in Misrata
Releasing photographs of cluster munitions, New York-based Human Rights Watch said three projectiles had exploded over Misrata's el-Shawahda neighbourhood on Thursday night.
First discovered by a New York Times reporter, and inspected by HRW researchers, the object photographed is said to be an MAT-120 120mm mortar projectile, which opens in mid-air and releases 21 sub-munitions over a wide area.
"Upon exploding on contact with an object, each submunition disintegrates into high-velocity fragments to attack people and releases a slug of molten metal to penetrate armoured vehicles," HRW noted.
HRW said the projectile it had examined had been manufactured in Spain.
Steve Goose, HRW's arms division director, said it was "appalling" that Libya was using such weapons, especially in a residential area.
"They pose a huge risk to civilians, both during attacks because of their indiscriminate nature and afterward because of the still-dangerous unexploded duds scattered about," he added.
HRW said it could not determine whether any civilians had been hurt by the cluster bombs which "appear to have landed about 300 metres [yards] from Misrata hospital".
Tripoli denial
The international Convention on Cluster Munitions adopted in Dublin in 2008 prohibits its 108 signatories from using cluster weapons because of the threat they pose to civilians.
A cluster mortar projectile said by Human Rights Watch to have been found in Misrata after an attack on 14 April (image: Human Rights Watch) Human Rights Watch released photos of cluster munitions it said had been found in Misrata
Libya is one of the states which has not signed the convention, along with countries such as the US, Israel, Russia and China.
Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim denied cluster bombs had been used in Misrata.
"I challenge them to prove it," he told reporters in the capital Tripoli.
Referring to inspections by humanitarian groups, he said: "To use these bombs, the evidence would remain for days and weeks, and we know the international community is coming en masse to our country soon. So we can't do this, we can't do anything that would incriminate us even if we were criminals."
There was no immediate comment from Spain, a signatory to the cluster munition convention, on the provenance of the bombs.
The fragments found in Misrata were apparently produced in a year before the convention was adopted.
Rebels in Misrata have been holding out against attacks for two months and UK Foreign Secretary William Hague has stressed that Nato needs to act swiftly to prevent a "massacre" in the city.
He said Nato had been constrained by the need to avoid civilian casualties but had probably prevented the city from being overrun by Col Gaddafi's forces.
Map
An Uncivil War
By PETER CATAPANO
The ThreadThe Thread is an in-depth look at how major news and controversies are being debated across the online spectrum.
Tags:
barack obama, budget, Paul Ryan
With spring holidays upon us, it is perhaps appropriate to recall that there are times at which we must, if we are to be fully human, loose ourselves from the rationalist-materialist bonds of our daily existence and remember that life is about more than money.
Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times
But this isn’t one of those times.
After all, it’s April 15, tax day, and surely not by coincidence, the release date of the film version of Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged.” It is also the end of a week during which a massive and sprawling debate over the massive and sprawling United States budget has gripped legislators, commentators and the president himself in a struggle of rhetoric and ideology out of which Ms. Rand could have surely spun another novel.
Clearly, it is not a time for doves and olive branches. It’s a time for arguing, money and political cage matches.
For some, though, it is a time of rest.
Refreshed? Let’s continue.
And so, as we gather here, let us not reflect on budget details: on the bloodless math, the cost of Medicare, on tax cuts or defense spending, on the superrich, the uninsured, the unemployed, the destitute. Let us rather observe in quiet awe the power of money itself, and the speed with which the fight over it has divided the governing branches of the country, and turned everybody fighting mad and mean.
Exhibit A: President Obama’s budget speech on Wednesday, which, with its firm refusal to give ideological ground to the Republicans — and specifically to the budget plan put forward by Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin earlier in the week — quenched the thirst of Obama’s parched liberal supporters, but inflamed almost every one else.
The speech, titled “The Country We Believe In,” delivered at Georgetown University in Washington, was short on math but long on philosophical lines in the sand of the sort that led Jonathan Cohn at The New Republic to quickly exclaim, “That was a clear, unambiguous, morally grounded defense of the welfare state — as strong and stirring as I’ve seen from this president.” (Right, welfare state; he meant that in a good way.)
A tonic note from the speech, here:
The America I know is generous and compassionate. It’s a land of opportunity and optimism. Yes, we take responsibility for ourselves, but we also take responsibility for each other; for the country we want and the future that we share. We’re a nation that built a railroad across a continent and brought light to communities shrouded in darkness. We sent a generation to college on the GI Bill and we saved millions of seniors from poverty with Social Security and Medicare. We have led the world in scientific research and technological breakthroughs that have transformed millions of lives. That’s who we are. This is the America that I know. We don’t have to choose between a future of spiraling debt and one where we forfeit our investment in our people and our country.
To meet our fiscal challenge, we will need to make reforms. We will all need to make sacrifices. But we do not have to sacrifice the America we believe in. And as long as I’m President, we won’t.
(The full text of the speech is here.)
Greg Sargent at The Washington Post saw the speech as a welcome moral appeal for all things Democrat:
For some time now, a bunch of us have been wondering when — or whether — Obama would step up and make a strong case for an expansive vision of Democratic governance. With Republicans initiating what may be the most consequential argument over the proper role of government in decades — a debate over the legacy of the great liberal achievements of the 20th Century — we’ve all been wondering whether Obama would respond with a level of ambition and seriousness of purpose that he’s shown when taking on other big arguments.
By this standard — in rhetorical terms — it’s fair to say Obama delivered. Sure, the speech trafficked a bit in the usual “speaking hard truths to both sides” positioning. And speeches are the easy part: Obama’s words jarred against recent actions, and what Obama actually does in the months to come will be what either ratifies today’s promises or renders them meaningless. But Obama did offer perhaps the most ambitious defense he may have ever attempted of American liberalism and of what it means to be a Democrat.
On the other side, the big guns came out firing. Surprisingly, there was widespread indignation that the most successful politician in the United States would make a major speech that was … political. An editorial in The Wall Street Journal called Obama “the presidential divider,” and asked, “Did someone move the 2012 election to June 1?”:
We ask because President Obama’s extraordinary response to Paul Ryan’s budget yesterday — with its blistering partisanship and multiple distortions — was the kind Presidents usually outsource to some junior lieutenant. Mr. Obama’s fundamentally political document would have been unusual even for a Vice President in the fervor of a campaign. …
Mr. Obama did not deign to propose an alternative to rival Mr. Ryan’s plan, even as he categorically rejected all its reform ideas, repeatedly vilifying them as essentially un-American. “Their vision is less about reducing the deficit than it is about changing the basic social compact in America,” he said, supposedly pitting “children with autism or Down’s syndrome” against “every millionaire and billionaire in our society.” The President was not attempting to join the debate Mr. Ryan has started, but to close it off just as it begins and banish House GOP ideas to political Siberia.
Mr. Obama then packaged his poison in the rhetoric of bipartisanship — which “starts,” he said, “by being honest about what’s causing our deficit.” The speech he chose to deliver was dishonest even by modern political standards.
That’s pretty harsh. But Jonathan Chait at The New Republic basically says, Yeah, so?: “Of course, Obama’s speech was partisan. He was recognizing that the budget debate reflects a stark partisan divide over basic values. yet the genius of Paul Ryan has been to frame a debate over values as a largely ideology-free exercise in accounting. Ryan objects to progressive taxation and the modern welfare state in philosophical terms. But since most Americans disagree — they want no cuts in Medicare at all and higher taxes on the rich — Ryan must present his case, in pecuniary terms …” Chait adds later: “[Obama's] speech was so wounding to conservatives because he exposed the philosophical stakes they have labored to obscure. What’s more, Obama understands the phoniness of Ryan’s pose as earnest budget wonk.”
But here is the response of Representative Ryan, who you will notice actually looks really hurt and insulted that he was invited by the president to the front row of the speech only to have his budget plan rhetorically dismantled by the leader of the free world.
Some choice quotes from Ryan’s response:
What we heard today was not fiscal leadership from our commander-in-chief. What we heard today was a political broadside from our campaigner-in chief.
We need leadership. We don’t need a doubling down on the failed politics of the past.
This is very sad and very unfortunate. Rather than building bridges, he’s poisoning wells.
Exploiting people’s emotions of fear, envy, and anxiety is not hope; it’s not change. It’s partisanship. We don’t need partisanship. We don’t need demagoguery. We need solutions.
Grover Norquist, writing at Fox News, defended Ryan and criticized the president’s rhetoric as a sort of seasonal disorder — campaign season:
Obama the candidate is back. The President has gone into hibernation. This speech was about what he would do if he was President, not what he will actually do. The hard decisions are put off until, conveniently, after 2012 and 2014. Tax hikes will be automatically triggered if the budget is not kept down. Imagine. All congress and the president have to do is keep spending and an automatic tax hike will hit Americans. No fingerprints on a tax hike vote. The perfect zipless tax hike. This goes into the politician Hall of Fame.
Second, the President’s advisors are scared of the Paul Ryan budget proposal that will be voted through the House of Representatives this Friday. Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin has actually gone to the work of writing down a budget. The President’s speech today was an endorsement of sorts of a series of essays written by retired politicians Simpson and Bowles.
Ross Kaminsky at The American Spectator thought Ryan’s volley was on the mark, and saw a bit of what he thought might be a future wordsmith-in-chief:
I enjoyed the “failed politics of the past” remark, a phrase straight out of the Obama playbook, thus reminding the nation of how far we are from “hope and change” (which Ryan then mentioned explicitly.) …
“Poisoning wells” was an effective metaphor, casting Barack Obama as both politically and economically toxic.
And Ryan’s repeated emphasis on Obama’s partisanship — and the poor manners of inviting senior Republican congressmen to a speech in which Obama all but called them baby-and-granny-killers — is the first step on a long road toward restoring in voters’ minds the view of the GOP as a party of ideas versus the Democrats as a party of tired, old, mindless redistribution.
Ryan’s response to Obama shows why in a decade or so, when Paul’s children are older, he would be a tremendous candidate for president of the United States.
None of this back and forth resembles anything like dignified political discourse, but perhaps the clearest sign of the toxic level of the debate came in an unscripted moment, when a few choice words from the president, apparently spoken in private, were caught by a live microphone at a fundraiser in Chicago Thursday night.
In this aside, Obama goes after Ryan again, this time aiming at his voting record:
When Paul Ryan says his priority is to make sure, he’s just being America’s accountant … This is the same guy that voted for two wars that were unpaid for, voted for the Bush tax cuts that were unpaid for, voted for the prescription drug bill that cost as much as my health care bill — but wasn’t paid for.
Also, if you listened carefully you heard what might be described as Obama’s Joe Pesci moment — You think we’re stupid? — in which he scoffs at Republican attempts to chip away at his health care bill in the budget negotiations:
I said, “Let me tell you something. I spent a year and half getting health care passed. I had to take that issue across the country and I paid significant political costs to get it done. The notion that I’m going to let you guys undo that in a six-month spending bill?” I said, “You want to repeal health care? Go at it. We’ll have that debate. You’re not going to be able to do that by nickel-and-diming me in the budget. You think we’re stupid?”
Sigh.
At this point, there was very little shock in response to this sort of talk coming from the president. Charles Lemos as MyDD put it succinctly: “We would all be better served if President Obama were this candid more often and not reserve such insights for those who can afford tens of thousands of dollars for a dinner with the president. No doubt, it is, nonetheless, very refreshing to hear what the president really thinks.”
Refreshing? It might as well be spring.
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barack obama, budget, Paul Ryan
By PETER CATAPANO
The ThreadThe Thread is an in-depth look at how major news and controversies are being debated across the online spectrum.
Tags:
barack obama, budget, Paul Ryan
With spring holidays upon us, it is perhaps appropriate to recall that there are times at which we must, if we are to be fully human, loose ourselves from the rationalist-materialist bonds of our daily existence and remember that life is about more than money.
Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times
But this isn’t one of those times.
After all, it’s April 15, tax day, and surely not by coincidence, the release date of the film version of Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged.” It is also the end of a week during which a massive and sprawling debate over the massive and sprawling United States budget has gripped legislators, commentators and the president himself in a struggle of rhetoric and ideology out of which Ms. Rand could have surely spun another novel.
Clearly, it is not a time for doves and olive branches. It’s a time for arguing, money and political cage matches.
For some, though, it is a time of rest.
Refreshed? Let’s continue.
And so, as we gather here, let us not reflect on budget details: on the bloodless math, the cost of Medicare, on tax cuts or defense spending, on the superrich, the uninsured, the unemployed, the destitute. Let us rather observe in quiet awe the power of money itself, and the speed with which the fight over it has divided the governing branches of the country, and turned everybody fighting mad and mean.
Exhibit A: President Obama’s budget speech on Wednesday, which, with its firm refusal to give ideological ground to the Republicans — and specifically to the budget plan put forward by Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin earlier in the week — quenched the thirst of Obama’s parched liberal supporters, but inflamed almost every one else.
The speech, titled “The Country We Believe In,” delivered at Georgetown University in Washington, was short on math but long on philosophical lines in the sand of the sort that led Jonathan Cohn at The New Republic to quickly exclaim, “That was a clear, unambiguous, morally grounded defense of the welfare state — as strong and stirring as I’ve seen from this president.” (Right, welfare state; he meant that in a good way.)
A tonic note from the speech, here:
The America I know is generous and compassionate. It’s a land of opportunity and optimism. Yes, we take responsibility for ourselves, but we also take responsibility for each other; for the country we want and the future that we share. We’re a nation that built a railroad across a continent and brought light to communities shrouded in darkness. We sent a generation to college on the GI Bill and we saved millions of seniors from poverty with Social Security and Medicare. We have led the world in scientific research and technological breakthroughs that have transformed millions of lives. That’s who we are. This is the America that I know. We don’t have to choose between a future of spiraling debt and one where we forfeit our investment in our people and our country.
To meet our fiscal challenge, we will need to make reforms. We will all need to make sacrifices. But we do not have to sacrifice the America we believe in. And as long as I’m President, we won’t.
(The full text of the speech is here.)
Greg Sargent at The Washington Post saw the speech as a welcome moral appeal for all things Democrat:
For some time now, a bunch of us have been wondering when — or whether — Obama would step up and make a strong case for an expansive vision of Democratic governance. With Republicans initiating what may be the most consequential argument over the proper role of government in decades — a debate over the legacy of the great liberal achievements of the 20th Century — we’ve all been wondering whether Obama would respond with a level of ambition and seriousness of purpose that he’s shown when taking on other big arguments.
By this standard — in rhetorical terms — it’s fair to say Obama delivered. Sure, the speech trafficked a bit in the usual “speaking hard truths to both sides” positioning. And speeches are the easy part: Obama’s words jarred against recent actions, and what Obama actually does in the months to come will be what either ratifies today’s promises or renders them meaningless. But Obama did offer perhaps the most ambitious defense he may have ever attempted of American liberalism and of what it means to be a Democrat.
On the other side, the big guns came out firing. Surprisingly, there was widespread indignation that the most successful politician in the United States would make a major speech that was … political. An editorial in The Wall Street Journal called Obama “the presidential divider,” and asked, “Did someone move the 2012 election to June 1?”:
We ask because President Obama’s extraordinary response to Paul Ryan’s budget yesterday — with its blistering partisanship and multiple distortions — was the kind Presidents usually outsource to some junior lieutenant. Mr. Obama’s fundamentally political document would have been unusual even for a Vice President in the fervor of a campaign. …
Mr. Obama did not deign to propose an alternative to rival Mr. Ryan’s plan, even as he categorically rejected all its reform ideas, repeatedly vilifying them as essentially un-American. “Their vision is less about reducing the deficit than it is about changing the basic social compact in America,” he said, supposedly pitting “children with autism or Down’s syndrome” against “every millionaire and billionaire in our society.” The President was not attempting to join the debate Mr. Ryan has started, but to close it off just as it begins and banish House GOP ideas to political Siberia.
Mr. Obama then packaged his poison in the rhetoric of bipartisanship — which “starts,” he said, “by being honest about what’s causing our deficit.” The speech he chose to deliver was dishonest even by modern political standards.
That’s pretty harsh. But Jonathan Chait at The New Republic basically says, Yeah, so?: “Of course, Obama’s speech was partisan. He was recognizing that the budget debate reflects a stark partisan divide over basic values. yet the genius of Paul Ryan has been to frame a debate over values as a largely ideology-free exercise in accounting. Ryan objects to progressive taxation and the modern welfare state in philosophical terms. But since most Americans disagree — they want no cuts in Medicare at all and higher taxes on the rich — Ryan must present his case, in pecuniary terms …” Chait adds later: “[Obama's] speech was so wounding to conservatives because he exposed the philosophical stakes they have labored to obscure. What’s more, Obama understands the phoniness of Ryan’s pose as earnest budget wonk.”
But here is the response of Representative Ryan, who you will notice actually looks really hurt and insulted that he was invited by the president to the front row of the speech only to have his budget plan rhetorically dismantled by the leader of the free world.
Some choice quotes from Ryan’s response:
What we heard today was not fiscal leadership from our commander-in-chief. What we heard today was a political broadside from our campaigner-in chief.
We need leadership. We don’t need a doubling down on the failed politics of the past.
This is very sad and very unfortunate. Rather than building bridges, he’s poisoning wells.
Exploiting people’s emotions of fear, envy, and anxiety is not hope; it’s not change. It’s partisanship. We don’t need partisanship. We don’t need demagoguery. We need solutions.
Grover Norquist, writing at Fox News, defended Ryan and criticized the president’s rhetoric as a sort of seasonal disorder — campaign season:
Obama the candidate is back. The President has gone into hibernation. This speech was about what he would do if he was President, not what he will actually do. The hard decisions are put off until, conveniently, after 2012 and 2014. Tax hikes will be automatically triggered if the budget is not kept down. Imagine. All congress and the president have to do is keep spending and an automatic tax hike will hit Americans. No fingerprints on a tax hike vote. The perfect zipless tax hike. This goes into the politician Hall of Fame.
Second, the President’s advisors are scared of the Paul Ryan budget proposal that will be voted through the House of Representatives this Friday. Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin has actually gone to the work of writing down a budget. The President’s speech today was an endorsement of sorts of a series of essays written by retired politicians Simpson and Bowles.
Ross Kaminsky at The American Spectator thought Ryan’s volley was on the mark, and saw a bit of what he thought might be a future wordsmith-in-chief:
I enjoyed the “failed politics of the past” remark, a phrase straight out of the Obama playbook, thus reminding the nation of how far we are from “hope and change” (which Ryan then mentioned explicitly.) …
“Poisoning wells” was an effective metaphor, casting Barack Obama as both politically and economically toxic.
And Ryan’s repeated emphasis on Obama’s partisanship — and the poor manners of inviting senior Republican congressmen to a speech in which Obama all but called them baby-and-granny-killers — is the first step on a long road toward restoring in voters’ minds the view of the GOP as a party of ideas versus the Democrats as a party of tired, old, mindless redistribution.
Ryan’s response to Obama shows why in a decade or so, when Paul’s children are older, he would be a tremendous candidate for president of the United States.
None of this back and forth resembles anything like dignified political discourse, but perhaps the clearest sign of the toxic level of the debate came in an unscripted moment, when a few choice words from the president, apparently spoken in private, were caught by a live microphone at a fundraiser in Chicago Thursday night.
In this aside, Obama goes after Ryan again, this time aiming at his voting record:
When Paul Ryan says his priority is to make sure, he’s just being America’s accountant … This is the same guy that voted for two wars that were unpaid for, voted for the Bush tax cuts that were unpaid for, voted for the prescription drug bill that cost as much as my health care bill — but wasn’t paid for.
Also, if you listened carefully you heard what might be described as Obama’s Joe Pesci moment — You think we’re stupid? — in which he scoffs at Republican attempts to chip away at his health care bill in the budget negotiations:
I said, “Let me tell you something. I spent a year and half getting health care passed. I had to take that issue across the country and I paid significant political costs to get it done. The notion that I’m going to let you guys undo that in a six-month spending bill?” I said, “You want to repeal health care? Go at it. We’ll have that debate. You’re not going to be able to do that by nickel-and-diming me in the budget. You think we’re stupid?”
Sigh.
At this point, there was very little shock in response to this sort of talk coming from the president. Charles Lemos as MyDD put it succinctly: “We would all be better served if President Obama were this candid more often and not reserve such insights for those who can afford tens of thousands of dollars for a dinner with the president. No doubt, it is, nonetheless, very refreshing to hear what the president really thinks.”
Refreshing? It might as well be spring.
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barack obama, budget, Paul Ryan
Young, Restless and Glued to Soaps
By GINIA BELLAFANTE
Published: April 15, 2011
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My first, most vivid television memory is of watching the Watergate hearings in 1973 at my rapt mother’s side. My second involves exposure to villainy of another kind — that of Billy Clyde Tuggle, the sort of pimp who drugged his employee base on “All My Children.” For these encounters with Tuggle, my mother was absent. She was then, and remains now, in her late 80s, a largely “news only, no sap, thank you” participant in the experience of American television. She reserved (and reserves) her greatest disdain for soap opera “drivel” and, inevitably perhaps, my addiction to daytime television became my most impassioned act of adolescent subversion.
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Heidi Gutman/ABC
David Canary and Susan Lucci in the ABC soap “All My Children,” which is to end in September.
Related
*
Media Decoder Blog: ABC Cancels 'All My Children' and 'One Life to Live' (April 14, 2011)
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Stay Tuned for Soap Stars’ Next Acts (November 7, 2010)
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ArtsBeat Blog: A Fond Farewell to 'As the World Turns' (September 17, 2010)
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CBS Turns Out ‘Guiding Light’ (April 2, 2009)
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Ruth Warrick and Louis Edmonds in an “All My Children” episode first shown in 1979.
By daytime television, I do not mean “The Young and the Restless” on CBS, or anything else that was shown on a rival of ABC’s. For decades, each weekday, ABC has broadcast the sine qua non soap trilogy of “All My Children,” at 1 p.m. Eastern time, followed by “One Life to Live” and “General Hospital.” On Thursday the network announced that in September, “All My Children” would end its run after 41 years, and that “One Life to Live” would conclude in January.
Soap operas are fading for all the reasons that hardly need to be rehashed — the audience for them has been declining since the broadcast of the O. J. Simpson trial in the ‘90s and perhaps even before. I have not watched “All My Children” or “One Life to Live” since the early ‘80s, but both series constituted the near entirety of my television habit when I was a girl. My mother would have loved it had I joined her for Friday night viewings of “Wall Street Week” with Louis Rukeyser — because you are never too young to know the formula for market capitalization — but I preferred my money talk dramatized in the feuds among the wealthy, roughed-up and aspiring that supply so many of daytime television’s wondrous absurdities.
My enabler in soap opera viewing was my grandmother — my mother’s mother — a Sicilian immigrant and an unlikely mischief maker, whose devotion to what she and legions of other women invariably called “my stories” was belied by a seriousness in nearly all other things.
An eager assimilator, she spoke impeccable English with no vestiges of accent. In the fictitious Northeastern suburbs of Pine Valley on “All My Children” and neighboring Llanview of “One Life to Live,” she saw an America in which ingenuity prospered and aristocracy was so often ridiculed. Ruth Warrick’s memorable Phoebe Tyler Wallingford on “All My Children” was a high-society meddler who commended herself for belonging to the “Daughters of Fine Lineage.” Erica Kane, so famously played by Susan Lucci on the series, survived rough beginnings, rape, addiction, disfigurement and 10 marriages to become a businesswoman who semi-regularly received counsel from Warren E. Buffett.
I liked Pine Valley and Llanview — the leafy (no matter how artificially so) look and feel of the places. In the anti-urbanist spirit of the ‘70s, they were portrayed as unambiguously desirable places to live. The real estate was good, and all you really had to worry about was that some nutcase in a maternity ward might do a little baby switching. In my memory, it was violent Center City, near Pine Valley, that stood as the true nexus of evil.
As a child growing up in the ‘70s in the suburbs (in this case on Long Island), you got the sense that things probably weren’t as they seemed — that wives weren’t as happy as they pretended to be; that husbands on extended-stay business trips possibly were not merely concentrating on sales; that mothers who spent long, sequential days in bed might have been allergic to something other than pollen. If soap operas weren’t exactly telling it like it was, they were at least confirming for a young girl’s subconscious that her amorphous suspicions and vague feeling of unease held a perceptive truth. I didn’t need to wait for “The Ice Storm” to know the score.
A version of this article appeared in print on April 16, 2011, on page C1 of the New York edition.
By GINIA BELLAFANTE
Published: April 15, 2011
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My first, most vivid television memory is of watching the Watergate hearings in 1973 at my rapt mother’s side. My second involves exposure to villainy of another kind — that of Billy Clyde Tuggle, the sort of pimp who drugged his employee base on “All My Children.” For these encounters with Tuggle, my mother was absent. She was then, and remains now, in her late 80s, a largely “news only, no sap, thank you” participant in the experience of American television. She reserved (and reserves) her greatest disdain for soap opera “drivel” and, inevitably perhaps, my addiction to daytime television became my most impassioned act of adolescent subversion.
Enlarge This Image
Heidi Gutman/ABC
David Canary and Susan Lucci in the ABC soap “All My Children,” which is to end in September.
Related
*
Media Decoder Blog: ABC Cancels 'All My Children' and 'One Life to Live' (April 14, 2011)
*
Stay Tuned for Soap Stars’ Next Acts (November 7, 2010)
*
ArtsBeat Blog: A Fond Farewell to 'As the World Turns' (September 17, 2010)
*
CBS Turns Out ‘Guiding Light’ (April 2, 2009)
Blog
ArtsBeat
The latest on the arts, coverage of live events, critical reviews, multimedia extravaganzas and much more. Join the discussion.
* More Arts News
Enlarge This Image
ABC
Ruth Warrick and Louis Edmonds in an “All My Children” episode first shown in 1979.
By daytime television, I do not mean “The Young and the Restless” on CBS, or anything else that was shown on a rival of ABC’s. For decades, each weekday, ABC has broadcast the sine qua non soap trilogy of “All My Children,” at 1 p.m. Eastern time, followed by “One Life to Live” and “General Hospital.” On Thursday the network announced that in September, “All My Children” would end its run after 41 years, and that “One Life to Live” would conclude in January.
Soap operas are fading for all the reasons that hardly need to be rehashed — the audience for them has been declining since the broadcast of the O. J. Simpson trial in the ‘90s and perhaps even before. I have not watched “All My Children” or “One Life to Live” since the early ‘80s, but both series constituted the near entirety of my television habit when I was a girl. My mother would have loved it had I joined her for Friday night viewings of “Wall Street Week” with Louis Rukeyser — because you are never too young to know the formula for market capitalization — but I preferred my money talk dramatized in the feuds among the wealthy, roughed-up and aspiring that supply so many of daytime television’s wondrous absurdities.
My enabler in soap opera viewing was my grandmother — my mother’s mother — a Sicilian immigrant and an unlikely mischief maker, whose devotion to what she and legions of other women invariably called “my stories” was belied by a seriousness in nearly all other things.
An eager assimilator, she spoke impeccable English with no vestiges of accent. In the fictitious Northeastern suburbs of Pine Valley on “All My Children” and neighboring Llanview of “One Life to Live,” she saw an America in which ingenuity prospered and aristocracy was so often ridiculed. Ruth Warrick’s memorable Phoebe Tyler Wallingford on “All My Children” was a high-society meddler who commended herself for belonging to the “Daughters of Fine Lineage.” Erica Kane, so famously played by Susan Lucci on the series, survived rough beginnings, rape, addiction, disfigurement and 10 marriages to become a businesswoman who semi-regularly received counsel from Warren E. Buffett.
I liked Pine Valley and Llanview — the leafy (no matter how artificially so) look and feel of the places. In the anti-urbanist spirit of the ‘70s, they were portrayed as unambiguously desirable places to live. The real estate was good, and all you really had to worry about was that some nutcase in a maternity ward might do a little baby switching. In my memory, it was violent Center City, near Pine Valley, that stood as the true nexus of evil.
As a child growing up in the ‘70s in the suburbs (in this case on Long Island), you got the sense that things probably weren’t as they seemed — that wives weren’t as happy as they pretended to be; that husbands on extended-stay business trips possibly were not merely concentrating on sales; that mothers who spent long, sequential days in bed might have been allergic to something other than pollen. If soap operas weren’t exactly telling it like it was, they were at least confirming for a young girl’s subconscious that her amorphous suspicions and vague feeling of unease held a perceptive truth. I didn’t need to wait for “The Ice Storm” to know the score.
A version of this article appeared in print on April 16, 2011, on page C1 of the New York edition.
Japan Vows Prompt Sharing of Info on Nuke Crisis
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: April 15, 2011 at 10:14 PM ET
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Japan has offered reassurances to the international community that it will share information about its nuclear plant crisis promptly and accurately.
Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda told a news conference Friday he had made that commitment to counterparts from the Group of 20 rich industrial countries and those with major emerging markets in Washington.
Japan's central bank governor Masaaki Shirakawa said governments had expressed appreciation for Japan's ability to main a functioning financial system and settlement system after the earthquake struck the northern part of the country a month ago.
He said Japan's economy was suffering supply constraints, but that as these problems ease, the country would be back on the path of "modest recovery."
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: April 15, 2011 at 10:14 PM ET
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Japan has offered reassurances to the international community that it will share information about its nuclear plant crisis promptly and accurately.
Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda told a news conference Friday he had made that commitment to counterparts from the Group of 20 rich industrial countries and those with major emerging markets in Washington.
Japan's central bank governor Masaaki Shirakawa said governments had expressed appreciation for Japan's ability to main a functioning financial system and settlement system after the earthquake struck the northern part of the country a month ago.
He said Japan's economy was suffering supply constraints, but that as these problems ease, the country would be back on the path of "modest recovery."
Tornadoes, Severe Weather Strike Alabama; 1 Killed
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: April 15, 2011 at 10:19 PM ET
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MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Officials say tornadoes have touched down in six Alabama counties, killing one person and causing multiple injuries.
The severe weather was part of a system that has already slammed the South and killed nine people in Oklahoma and Arkansas.
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley said Friday night that one person was killed in Marengo County in the west-central part of the state. No further details on the death or the injuries were immediately released.
The storms began late Thursday in Oklahoma, then pushed into Arkansas. By late Friday, tornadoes had also been reported in Mississippi and strong winds knocked down trees in Georgia.
In Alabama, the governor declared a state of emergency for all counties. In Mississippi, a state of emergency was declared for 14 counties.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: April 15, 2011 at 10:19 PM ET
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MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Officials say tornadoes have touched down in six Alabama counties, killing one person and causing multiple injuries.
The severe weather was part of a system that has already slammed the South and killed nine people in Oklahoma and Arkansas.
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley said Friday night that one person was killed in Marengo County in the west-central part of the state. No further details on the death or the injuries were immediately released.
The storms began late Thursday in Oklahoma, then pushed into Arkansas. By late Friday, tornadoes had also been reported in Mississippi and strong winds knocked down trees in Georgia.
In Alabama, the governor declared a state of emergency for all counties. In Mississippi, a state of emergency was declared for 14 counties.
New York Paternity Fight May Have Millions of Ripples
Ozier Muhammad/The New York Times
Nina Montepagani with a photo of Dr. Sebastiano Raeli, who she says is her father.
By WILLIAM GLABERSON and ELISABETTA POVOLEDO
Published: April 15, 2011
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IT is a small case, really, easily lost among the thousands in New York City’s courts.
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Brooklyn Collection/Brooklyn Public Library
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in 1951. Nina grew up there in the 1950s.
A retired schoolteacher named Nina Viola Montepagani, born in a hospital in Brooklyn in 1952, files a lawsuit to change her birth certificate.
She wants to remove the name of her father.
Or, at least, the man who said he was her father. Who acted like her father. Who treated her, until the day he died, with complete, selfless love.
His name was Giuseppe Viola. He was a proud, hard-working man who returned to the same town in southern Italy four times to find four wives. He worked as a laborer and as an elevator operator before moving upstate. Illiterate, he still made a show of reading the newspaper. His second wife, Anna, was Mrs. Montepagani’s mother. They lived in the early 1950s in three plain rooms in Williamsburg in a walk-up on Lorimer Street where the tenants shared a bathtub in the hall.
But this striving if spartan immigrant existence masked a far more complex reality, one that was only hinted at.
Maybe it was in the apartment, when Giuseppe was out working, or maybe it was at the coat factory where Anna sewed buttons, that she wrote the letters. They were anguished, emotional, miserable. And they were written to a prosperous young Italian doctor named Sebastiano Raeli.
“If I would ever tell this story to someone, it would seem impossible to believe. It seems something out of a novel,” Anna Viola wrote to Sebastiano in 1957, when Nina (“beautiful child,” Anna wrote) was 5.
It seems she had known Sebastiano in Rome before she came to join Giuseppe in Brooklyn. Nina was born about eight months after she arrived.
“How much pain I carry in my heart! How much humiliation,” Anna wrote.
Nina Montepagani always felt the entry under “father” was not literally true. “I felt like I didn’t belong anywhere,” she said recently. There had been clues: oddly similar names, family stories and a piece of paper with an address in Rome carried in Giuseppe’s wallet for decades.
The decision by the New York courts about whether to delete Giuseppe Viola’s name from the old birth certificate could help reshape one of the most rigid rules of American law: the presumption that infants born to married women are the children of their husbands. The law often changes slowly to catch up with ideas about family, and Mrs. Montepagani’s challenge offers a snapshot of one case that could help erode a rule that dates from a long-ago world.
It could also have a ripple effect that could cross the seas and affect a considerable fortune.
When Dr. Sebastiano Raeli died a few years ago, officially childless, he left $100 million behind; that ambitious young doctor had ended up owning a small hotel empire. He left it to a university, but Italian law allows children to claim up to half of their parents’ estates, will or no will.
That is, unless a document across the ocean, in New York City, says someone else is your father.
And so, a suit is filed. Court documents — old letters, photographs, affidavits and passports — and interviews in New York and Rome tell the story behind the case.
Dr. Raeli’s widow doesn’t want to talk about the woman in America trying to remove the name of another man from her birth certificate. Her lawyer said she had nothing to say about “an episode that involves personal and familial relationships.”
Mrs. Montepagani’s story is not a novel, but can read like one. Nina Viola Montepagani has been preoccupied with the riddle of her two fathers for decades, said Barbara Kittelsen, a friend since they were teenagers. “She’s thought about it every day of her life.”
Anna’s Chapter
Anna Aliano turned 28 in the summer of 1950 in the small southern Italian town of Montemurro. She was a pleasing-looking woman with high cheekbones. According to family lore, she had already had her heart broken once by a Montemurro boy.
Then Giuseppe Viola arrived, looking for a bride. He was originally from Montemurro, having left more than 40 years earlier. But when his first wife died, he returned to find a new one. He was 58 that summer, childless and 30 years older than Anna. He was a short, balding man with a round face. But he wore a white suit. He may have seemed a rich American, as immigrants can back home.
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www.montemurrosulweb.it
Montemurro, Italy, around the 1950s. Anna Aliano and Giuseppe Viola met there.
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Courtesy of Nina Montepagani
Ms. Montepagani's birth certificate. Joseph (Giuseppe) Viola is listed as her father. She is appealing a New York City judge's refusal to delete Mr. Viola's name and leave the space blank.
Anna and Giuseppe were married on Sept. 30, 1950. In October, the groom left to return to the apartment in Williamsburg, his passport shows. The bride went to Rome, where she awaited the papers that would allow her into America.
In Rome, court documents claim, she met a Sicilian with a square face from a family of means, Sebastiano Raeli. A young doctor, he was three years older than Anna. If there was a romance, its story is lost. Mrs. Montepagani said an aunt once told her she saw Dr. Raeli cry when Anna left for America on Oct. 11, 1951. Mrs. Montepagani’s suit claims that the date of her conception was most likely the previous month.
On the June 24, 1952, birth certificate that listed Giuseppe Viola as the father, there was no obvious entry concerning Sebastiano Raeli. But the full first name of the child, who would be known throughout her life as Nina, may have been a hint from her mother: Sebastiana.
The next month, July 1952, the child was christened at St. Nicholas Church in Brooklyn. Around that time, a picture was taken, according to the court record.
It shows Anna in a flowered dress standing next to none other than Sebastiano, evidently visiting Brooklyn from Italy. He is holding a baby.
Mrs. Montepagani, 58, has few memories of those first years: her mother and her in matching pink dresses; a trip to Coney Island. But she recalls a darkening mood in the apartment in Williamsburg. Anna called Giuseppe “il Vecchio” — the old man. They fought, and the mother told the child not to call the old man “Daddy.”
But in one of her letters to Sebastiano at the time, dated July 1957, Anna was bitter toward him as well. “I would have preferred never to have known you,” she wrote, “so that this whole story never would have come to pass.”
Two months later, at 35, Anna Viola died of cervical cancer at Kings County Hospital.
Giuseppe’s Chapter
Giuseppe Viola was the child’s father on the birth certificate and in life. He raised her and, Mrs. Montepagani said, “adored me my whole life, and vice versa.”
He was a proud man, honored by a job in the 1950s as an elevator man in Rockefeller Center, and vain in touching ways. Though he did not know how to read, he would study the newspaper, sometimes upside down.
After Anna died, he again ventured to Montemurro and married another woman. The family then moved to an Italian neighborhood in Albany, where he worked as a parks groundskeeper. When his third wife died, in 1966, he went back to Montemurro yet again, this time marrying a woman from the next town over.
Nina, he would say, was his only child, but he had a poignant habit. For years, he carried in his wallet a piece of paper he could not read. On it was an address in Rome: Dr. Raeli’s. He kept it should the child need help in an emergency.
There was a lot that was unspoken. When the fourth wife came, she brought an 18-year-old son, Biagio Nasca.
Now 59, Mr. Nasca recalled that he was taken to meet Dr. Raeli in Rome before he left, and that the doctor gave him a gift for Nina. It was a frumpy green-and-white sweater. The teenage Nina never wore it.
But she wrote Dr. Raeli in adolescent angst about all the changes in her life. He quickly made an appearance, the lawsuit says; he flew to Albany. “He said, ‘She belongs to me; she should come with me,’ ” Donata De Luise, an Albany woman who was at the meeting, recalled recently. Nina, who was 16, cried, she said. Nina stayed in Albany.
By the 1970s, Nina was a young woman. On a trip to Florence, she met Mauro Montepagani, a tourists’ portrait painter who was five years older, outside the Uffizi Gallery. He became her husband and the father of her two children.
Back home in Albany in 1977, Nina asked Giuseppe directly about Dr. Raeli.
He put his head down and she saw tears. “He said: ‘Why are you talking about this? I never talk about this,’ ” she said.
Giuseppe died in 1987, at the age of 95. She said she had seen him every day. “It was just a joy to me to sit next to him and watch TV,” she said.
Dr. Sebastiano Raeli was unmarried for much of his life. He was busy building what would become a hotel empire of more than 800 rooms in the neighborhood near Rome’s Termini railway station. There are nine hotels, each with red-lettered signs and simple furnishings.
Enlarge This Image
Photo courtesy of Nina Montepagani.
Nina Montepagani says this photo shows her as a baby, with her mother, Anna, and Dr. Sebastiano Raeli.
Enlarge This Image
Courtesy of Nina Montepagani
Giuseppe Viola, who raised Nina and is listed as her father on her New York City birth certificate.
He had begun the hotel business in space he first rented as a medical office, and he ran it for years with a woman 19 years his junior, whom he eventually married in 2004, when he was 85.
He was ascetic in his habits and compulsive about his nutrition, limiting carbohydrates and measuring portions. He was a passionate bicycle racer, with trophies lining the walls of his austere penthouse in one of his properties, the Hotel Archimede. The couple “lived very simply,” said Anna Maria Varrone, who has worked for the hotels for years.
The doctor could also be argumentative, said a nephew, Paolo Raeli, a real estate developer in Rome, who said his uncle had a series of disputes with family members.
In New York, Mrs. Montepagani taught in the Troy schools; Mauro Montepagani worked as a laborer in a bakery warehouse. Their children were born in the 1980s, Julia and Joe, who was named for Grandfather Giuseppe, “Joe” from Montemurro.
In 1994, Mrs. Montepagani had her own cancer scare. She called Dr. Raeli; a round of intense contact began. There were family visits in Italy in 1995 and 2000. In a letter to Julia when she was 12, he wrote: “In regards to the relationship between your mother and me, it is very delicate,” according to a copy of the letter filed in court.
He mentioned “my role as grandfather.” He offered advice. Julia Montepagani, 26, remembered recently how, during a visit at the austere penthouse, “he was always telling us how to eat and the right way to live, like he had discovered the right way to do it.”
In 2000, he sent Mrs. Montepagani specific instructions for her daily diet: 200 grams of fruit — “preferably apples” — garlic and onion at each of five meals a day.
But by the next year, something had changed. An Italian lawyer wrote Mrs. Montepagani. He called her “a mythmaker,” flatly stated that Dr. Raeli had denied he was her father and demanded a DNA test to be done in Italy. She said she feared a setup and declined.
In 2006, Rome’s Tor Vergata University announced that Dr. Raeli and his wife had promised all of their property to the school. Officials of the university say it may be, at $100 million or more, the largest gift ever to an Italian college. The announcement quoted Dr. Raeli as saying they had done the good deed “because we don’t have children.” University officials said they were watching the outcome of Mrs. Montepagani’s court action closely.
The Lawsuit
In 2001, an Italian judge dismissed a suit Mrs. Montepagani had filed there to stake her claim as Dr. Raeli’s daughter, saying she could not begin a legal challenge there because of one seemingly simple fact: Her birth certificate in Brooklyn listed Giuseppe Viola as her father.
So in 2009, with a New York lawyer, Lawrence B. Goldberg, she began an unusual case against New York City as the custodian of records to delete the name of Giuseppe — whom she had seen every day and had called her father — from her official past. City officials say that even though there are more than 38,000 applications a year to change birth certificates, there are only perhaps a dozen to simply remove a father’s name and to leave, in its place, a blank.
The city has fought her in court, arguing that she does not have enough evidence and that changes to birth certificates must be granted cautiously in an era of identity theft and terrorism.
In two rulings over the past year, a State Supreme Court justice in Manhattan, Michael D. Stallman, agreed and seemed skeptical of her claim to be the daughter of a wealthy Italian. “Petitioner,” he noted, “was born during the marriage of her mother to Joseph Viola.” The law’s presumption that children born to married parents are “legitimate” is one of the strongest in the legal system, he wrote.
Some family law specialists say such a stern test may be outdated, as families have changed and the social stigma of children born to unmarried parents has eroded. Mr. Goldberg filed arguments in March in a state appeals court in Manhattan asserting that the modern law must be more flexible.
“Somehow,” he said in an interview, “the judge locked us into the social mores of the 1950s,” when Anna Viola may have said in a Brooklyn hospital that the father of the child she named Sebastiana was, of course, her husband, Giuseppe.
Nina Viola Montepagani acknowledged that one reason for the case was “$50 million.” But there was another, she said, after all these years. It was, she said, because “I exist. I am.”
Ozier Muhammad/The New York Times
Nina Montepagani with a photo of Dr. Sebastiano Raeli, who she says is her father.
By WILLIAM GLABERSON and ELISABETTA POVOLEDO
Published: April 15, 2011
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IT is a small case, really, easily lost among the thousands in New York City’s courts.
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Brooklyn Collection/Brooklyn Public Library
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in 1951. Nina grew up there in the 1950s.
A retired schoolteacher named Nina Viola Montepagani, born in a hospital in Brooklyn in 1952, files a lawsuit to change her birth certificate.
She wants to remove the name of her father.
Or, at least, the man who said he was her father. Who acted like her father. Who treated her, until the day he died, with complete, selfless love.
His name was Giuseppe Viola. He was a proud, hard-working man who returned to the same town in southern Italy four times to find four wives. He worked as a laborer and as an elevator operator before moving upstate. Illiterate, he still made a show of reading the newspaper. His second wife, Anna, was Mrs. Montepagani’s mother. They lived in the early 1950s in three plain rooms in Williamsburg in a walk-up on Lorimer Street where the tenants shared a bathtub in the hall.
But this striving if spartan immigrant existence masked a far more complex reality, one that was only hinted at.
Maybe it was in the apartment, when Giuseppe was out working, or maybe it was at the coat factory where Anna sewed buttons, that she wrote the letters. They were anguished, emotional, miserable. And they were written to a prosperous young Italian doctor named Sebastiano Raeli.
“If I would ever tell this story to someone, it would seem impossible to believe. It seems something out of a novel,” Anna Viola wrote to Sebastiano in 1957, when Nina (“beautiful child,” Anna wrote) was 5.
It seems she had known Sebastiano in Rome before she came to join Giuseppe in Brooklyn. Nina was born about eight months after she arrived.
“How much pain I carry in my heart! How much humiliation,” Anna wrote.
Nina Montepagani always felt the entry under “father” was not literally true. “I felt like I didn’t belong anywhere,” she said recently. There had been clues: oddly similar names, family stories and a piece of paper with an address in Rome carried in Giuseppe’s wallet for decades.
The decision by the New York courts about whether to delete Giuseppe Viola’s name from the old birth certificate could help reshape one of the most rigid rules of American law: the presumption that infants born to married women are the children of their husbands. The law often changes slowly to catch up with ideas about family, and Mrs. Montepagani’s challenge offers a snapshot of one case that could help erode a rule that dates from a long-ago world.
It could also have a ripple effect that could cross the seas and affect a considerable fortune.
When Dr. Sebastiano Raeli died a few years ago, officially childless, he left $100 million behind; that ambitious young doctor had ended up owning a small hotel empire. He left it to a university, but Italian law allows children to claim up to half of their parents’ estates, will or no will.
That is, unless a document across the ocean, in New York City, says someone else is your father.
And so, a suit is filed. Court documents — old letters, photographs, affidavits and passports — and interviews in New York and Rome tell the story behind the case.
Dr. Raeli’s widow doesn’t want to talk about the woman in America trying to remove the name of another man from her birth certificate. Her lawyer said she had nothing to say about “an episode that involves personal and familial relationships.”
Mrs. Montepagani’s story is not a novel, but can read like one. Nina Viola Montepagani has been preoccupied with the riddle of her two fathers for decades, said Barbara Kittelsen, a friend since they were teenagers. “She’s thought about it every day of her life.”
Anna’s Chapter
Anna Aliano turned 28 in the summer of 1950 in the small southern Italian town of Montemurro. She was a pleasing-looking woman with high cheekbones. According to family lore, she had already had her heart broken once by a Montemurro boy.
Then Giuseppe Viola arrived, looking for a bride. He was originally from Montemurro, having left more than 40 years earlier. But when his first wife died, he returned to find a new one. He was 58 that summer, childless and 30 years older than Anna. He was a short, balding man with a round face. But he wore a white suit. He may have seemed a rich American, as immigrants can back home.
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www.montemurrosulweb.it
Montemurro, Italy, around the 1950s. Anna Aliano and Giuseppe Viola met there.
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Courtesy of Nina Montepagani
Ms. Montepagani's birth certificate. Joseph (Giuseppe) Viola is listed as her father. She is appealing a New York City judge's refusal to delete Mr. Viola's name and leave the space blank.
Anna and Giuseppe were married on Sept. 30, 1950. In October, the groom left to return to the apartment in Williamsburg, his passport shows. The bride went to Rome, where she awaited the papers that would allow her into America.
In Rome, court documents claim, she met a Sicilian with a square face from a family of means, Sebastiano Raeli. A young doctor, he was three years older than Anna. If there was a romance, its story is lost. Mrs. Montepagani said an aunt once told her she saw Dr. Raeli cry when Anna left for America on Oct. 11, 1951. Mrs. Montepagani’s suit claims that the date of her conception was most likely the previous month.
On the June 24, 1952, birth certificate that listed Giuseppe Viola as the father, there was no obvious entry concerning Sebastiano Raeli. But the full first name of the child, who would be known throughout her life as Nina, may have been a hint from her mother: Sebastiana.
The next month, July 1952, the child was christened at St. Nicholas Church in Brooklyn. Around that time, a picture was taken, according to the court record.
It shows Anna in a flowered dress standing next to none other than Sebastiano, evidently visiting Brooklyn from Italy. He is holding a baby.
Mrs. Montepagani, 58, has few memories of those first years: her mother and her in matching pink dresses; a trip to Coney Island. But she recalls a darkening mood in the apartment in Williamsburg. Anna called Giuseppe “il Vecchio” — the old man. They fought, and the mother told the child not to call the old man “Daddy.”
But in one of her letters to Sebastiano at the time, dated July 1957, Anna was bitter toward him as well. “I would have preferred never to have known you,” she wrote, “so that this whole story never would have come to pass.”
Two months later, at 35, Anna Viola died of cervical cancer at Kings County Hospital.
Giuseppe’s Chapter
Giuseppe Viola was the child’s father on the birth certificate and in life. He raised her and, Mrs. Montepagani said, “adored me my whole life, and vice versa.”
He was a proud man, honored by a job in the 1950s as an elevator man in Rockefeller Center, and vain in touching ways. Though he did not know how to read, he would study the newspaper, sometimes upside down.
After Anna died, he again ventured to Montemurro and married another woman. The family then moved to an Italian neighborhood in Albany, where he worked as a parks groundskeeper. When his third wife died, in 1966, he went back to Montemurro yet again, this time marrying a woman from the next town over.
Nina, he would say, was his only child, but he had a poignant habit. For years, he carried in his wallet a piece of paper he could not read. On it was an address in Rome: Dr. Raeli’s. He kept it should the child need help in an emergency.
There was a lot that was unspoken. When the fourth wife came, she brought an 18-year-old son, Biagio Nasca.
Now 59, Mr. Nasca recalled that he was taken to meet Dr. Raeli in Rome before he left, and that the doctor gave him a gift for Nina. It was a frumpy green-and-white sweater. The teenage Nina never wore it.
But she wrote Dr. Raeli in adolescent angst about all the changes in her life. He quickly made an appearance, the lawsuit says; he flew to Albany. “He said, ‘She belongs to me; she should come with me,’ ” Donata De Luise, an Albany woman who was at the meeting, recalled recently. Nina, who was 16, cried, she said. Nina stayed in Albany.
By the 1970s, Nina was a young woman. On a trip to Florence, she met Mauro Montepagani, a tourists’ portrait painter who was five years older, outside the Uffizi Gallery. He became her husband and the father of her two children.
Back home in Albany in 1977, Nina asked Giuseppe directly about Dr. Raeli.
He put his head down and she saw tears. “He said: ‘Why are you talking about this? I never talk about this,’ ” she said.
Giuseppe died in 1987, at the age of 95. She said she had seen him every day. “It was just a joy to me to sit next to him and watch TV,” she said.
Dr. Sebastiano Raeli was unmarried for much of his life. He was busy building what would become a hotel empire of more than 800 rooms in the neighborhood near Rome’s Termini railway station. There are nine hotels, each with red-lettered signs and simple furnishings.
Enlarge This Image
Photo courtesy of Nina Montepagani.
Nina Montepagani says this photo shows her as a baby, with her mother, Anna, and Dr. Sebastiano Raeli.
Enlarge This Image
Courtesy of Nina Montepagani
Giuseppe Viola, who raised Nina and is listed as her father on her New York City birth certificate.
He had begun the hotel business in space he first rented as a medical office, and he ran it for years with a woman 19 years his junior, whom he eventually married in 2004, when he was 85.
He was ascetic in his habits and compulsive about his nutrition, limiting carbohydrates and measuring portions. He was a passionate bicycle racer, with trophies lining the walls of his austere penthouse in one of his properties, the Hotel Archimede. The couple “lived very simply,” said Anna Maria Varrone, who has worked for the hotels for years.
The doctor could also be argumentative, said a nephew, Paolo Raeli, a real estate developer in Rome, who said his uncle had a series of disputes with family members.
In New York, Mrs. Montepagani taught in the Troy schools; Mauro Montepagani worked as a laborer in a bakery warehouse. Their children were born in the 1980s, Julia and Joe, who was named for Grandfather Giuseppe, “Joe” from Montemurro.
In 1994, Mrs. Montepagani had her own cancer scare. She called Dr. Raeli; a round of intense contact began. There were family visits in Italy in 1995 and 2000. In a letter to Julia when she was 12, he wrote: “In regards to the relationship between your mother and me, it is very delicate,” according to a copy of the letter filed in court.
He mentioned “my role as grandfather.” He offered advice. Julia Montepagani, 26, remembered recently how, during a visit at the austere penthouse, “he was always telling us how to eat and the right way to live, like he had discovered the right way to do it.”
In 2000, he sent Mrs. Montepagani specific instructions for her daily diet: 200 grams of fruit — “preferably apples” — garlic and onion at each of five meals a day.
But by the next year, something had changed. An Italian lawyer wrote Mrs. Montepagani. He called her “a mythmaker,” flatly stated that Dr. Raeli had denied he was her father and demanded a DNA test to be done in Italy. She said she feared a setup and declined.
In 2006, Rome’s Tor Vergata University announced that Dr. Raeli and his wife had promised all of their property to the school. Officials of the university say it may be, at $100 million or more, the largest gift ever to an Italian college. The announcement quoted Dr. Raeli as saying they had done the good deed “because we don’t have children.” University officials said they were watching the outcome of Mrs. Montepagani’s court action closely.
The Lawsuit
In 2001, an Italian judge dismissed a suit Mrs. Montepagani had filed there to stake her claim as Dr. Raeli’s daughter, saying she could not begin a legal challenge there because of one seemingly simple fact: Her birth certificate in Brooklyn listed Giuseppe Viola as her father.
So in 2009, with a New York lawyer, Lawrence B. Goldberg, she began an unusual case against New York City as the custodian of records to delete the name of Giuseppe — whom she had seen every day and had called her father — from her official past. City officials say that even though there are more than 38,000 applications a year to change birth certificates, there are only perhaps a dozen to simply remove a father’s name and to leave, in its place, a blank.
The city has fought her in court, arguing that she does not have enough evidence and that changes to birth certificates must be granted cautiously in an era of identity theft and terrorism.
In two rulings over the past year, a State Supreme Court justice in Manhattan, Michael D. Stallman, agreed and seemed skeptical of her claim to be the daughter of a wealthy Italian. “Petitioner,” he noted, “was born during the marriage of her mother to Joseph Viola.” The law’s presumption that children born to married parents are “legitimate” is one of the strongest in the legal system, he wrote.
Some family law specialists say such a stern test may be outdated, as families have changed and the social stigma of children born to unmarried parents has eroded. Mr. Goldberg filed arguments in March in a state appeals court in Manhattan asserting that the modern law must be more flexible.
“Somehow,” he said in an interview, “the judge locked us into the social mores of the 1950s,” when Anna Viola may have said in a Brooklyn hospital that the father of the child she named Sebastiana was, of course, her husband, Giuseppe.
Nina Viola Montepagani acknowledged that one reason for the case was “$50 million.” But there was another, she said, after all these years. It was, she said, because “I exist. I am.”
Bus Was Going 78 M.P.H. Just Before Fatal Crash on I-95, Investigators Say
By PATRICK McGEEHAN
Published: April 15, 2011
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The bus that crashed in the Bronx last month, killing 15 passengers, was traveling as fast as it could go — 78 miles an hour — less than a minute before it flipped onto its right side and slammed into a signpost, federal investigators said on Friday.
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Robert Stolarik for The New York Times
The World Wide Tour bus flipped over in the Bronx on March 12, killing 15.
Related
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Discount Bus Industry Is Subject of Federal Safety Inquiry (April 4, 2011)
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Official Says Bus in Crash That Killed 15 Was Speeding (March 31, 2011)
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Bus Driver in Bronx Crash Says He Was Sober and Awake (March 24, 2011)
*
Carnage on I-95 After Crash Rips Bus Apart (March 13, 2011)
The National Transportation Safety Board said for the first time that the bus had been exceeding the speed limit on Interstate 95 just 45 seconds before it veered off the highway, according to a preliminary report by the board about the March 12 crash.
The State Police have also been studying the crash and interviewing witnesses to help the Bronx district attorney determine whether to file criminal charges against the driver of the bus, who was returning to New York from a trip to a casino in eastern Connecticut.
The driver, Ophadell Williams, 40, of Brooklyn, told investigators that a tractor-trailer passing him had swerved, forcing him to veer off the road. A truck driver contacted the police later that day to say he had seen the crash. But the report said that investigators found no evidence of any contact between his truck and the bus and that on March 22 the truck driver was cleared of any responsibility.
The safety board’s report did not reach a conclusion about the cause of the crash, which it is still investigating. In the 90 seconds before the crash, the bus traveled at different speeds, the report said, but was going 78 miles per hour within 45 seconds of the crash. The bus’s speed decreased just before the crash, the report said.
The posted speed limit on that stretch of I-95, just south of the Westchester County line, is 55 m.p.h. The report indicated that the engine of the bus was limited to a top speed of 78 m.p.h.
The only public comments by Mr. Williams about the crash have been made through his lawyers. State officials revoked his driving privileges after reports became public of Mr. Williams’s criminal record, which includes serving time in prison for convictions of manslaughter and larceny.
Howard Lee, a lawyer representing Mr. Williams, said Friday that he had not yet read the safety board’s preliminary report and so had little to say about it. But as he has in the past, Mr. Lee questioned whether speeding caused the crash. He also expressed skepticism about the decision to clear the truck driver, who he said could have played a role in the crash even if the two vehicles did not collide.
Lawyers representing some surviving passengers and relatives of victims of the crash have claimed that Mr. Williams fell asleep at the wheel before the crash, which occurred at 5:45 a.m. The bus, operated by World Wide Travel of Greater New York, a company based in Brooklyn, was returning to Chinatown in Manhattan from an overnight trip to the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Conn.
Mr. Williams had driven the bus to the casino the previous night. While the passengers were inside the casino, he bought a meal, then returned to the bus, ate and slept for a few hours, his lawyers have said.
The report said that none of the 33 passengers, other than Mr. Williams, could have been wearing a seat belt because his was the only one on the 12-year-old bus. It also said that there was a video camera in the front of the bus facing forward but “the system was not designed to record video information and was not operating at the time of the accident.”
The safety board said that the fateful run was one of 14 daily round-trips between New York City and the casino, which is in Uncasville. It said World Wide Travel received a “satisfactory” rating in its latest review for compliance with federal bus-safety regulations.
A version of this article appeared in print on April 16, 2011, on page A16 of the New York edition.
By PATRICK McGEEHAN
Published: April 15, 2011
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The bus that crashed in the Bronx last month, killing 15 passengers, was traveling as fast as it could go — 78 miles an hour — less than a minute before it flipped onto its right side and slammed into a signpost, federal investigators said on Friday.
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Robert Stolarik for The New York Times
The World Wide Tour bus flipped over in the Bronx on March 12, killing 15.
Related
*
Discount Bus Industry Is Subject of Federal Safety Inquiry (April 4, 2011)
*
Official Says Bus in Crash That Killed 15 Was Speeding (March 31, 2011)
*
Bus Driver in Bronx Crash Says He Was Sober and Awake (March 24, 2011)
*
Carnage on I-95 After Crash Rips Bus Apart (March 13, 2011)
The National Transportation Safety Board said for the first time that the bus had been exceeding the speed limit on Interstate 95 just 45 seconds before it veered off the highway, according to a preliminary report by the board about the March 12 crash.
The State Police have also been studying the crash and interviewing witnesses to help the Bronx district attorney determine whether to file criminal charges against the driver of the bus, who was returning to New York from a trip to a casino in eastern Connecticut.
The driver, Ophadell Williams, 40, of Brooklyn, told investigators that a tractor-trailer passing him had swerved, forcing him to veer off the road. A truck driver contacted the police later that day to say he had seen the crash. But the report said that investigators found no evidence of any contact between his truck and the bus and that on March 22 the truck driver was cleared of any responsibility.
The safety board’s report did not reach a conclusion about the cause of the crash, which it is still investigating. In the 90 seconds before the crash, the bus traveled at different speeds, the report said, but was going 78 miles per hour within 45 seconds of the crash. The bus’s speed decreased just before the crash, the report said.
The posted speed limit on that stretch of I-95, just south of the Westchester County line, is 55 m.p.h. The report indicated that the engine of the bus was limited to a top speed of 78 m.p.h.
The only public comments by Mr. Williams about the crash have been made through his lawyers. State officials revoked his driving privileges after reports became public of Mr. Williams’s criminal record, which includes serving time in prison for convictions of manslaughter and larceny.
Howard Lee, a lawyer representing Mr. Williams, said Friday that he had not yet read the safety board’s preliminary report and so had little to say about it. But as he has in the past, Mr. Lee questioned whether speeding caused the crash. He also expressed skepticism about the decision to clear the truck driver, who he said could have played a role in the crash even if the two vehicles did not collide.
Lawyers representing some surviving passengers and relatives of victims of the crash have claimed that Mr. Williams fell asleep at the wheel before the crash, which occurred at 5:45 a.m. The bus, operated by World Wide Travel of Greater New York, a company based in Brooklyn, was returning to Chinatown in Manhattan from an overnight trip to the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Conn.
Mr. Williams had driven the bus to the casino the previous night. While the passengers were inside the casino, he bought a meal, then returned to the bus, ate and slept for a few hours, his lawyers have said.
The report said that none of the 33 passengers, other than Mr. Williams, could have been wearing a seat belt because his was the only one on the 12-year-old bus. It also said that there was a video camera in the front of the bus facing forward but “the system was not designed to record video information and was not operating at the time of the accident.”
The safety board said that the fateful run was one of 14 daily round-trips between New York City and the casino, which is in Uncasville. It said World Wide Travel received a “satisfactory” rating in its latest review for compliance with federal bus-safety regulations.
A version of this article appeared in print on April 16, 2011, on page A16 of the New York edition.
A Warning, and 68 Minutes Later a Killer Touches Down
Larry W. Smith/European Pressphoto Agency
A trophy cabinet at the school in Tushka, Okla. (population 405), was damaged Thursday evening by a vicious tornado that tore off part of the roof and destroyed dozens of homes.
By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.
Published: April 15, 2011
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TUSHKA, Okla. — The sound of chain saws filled the air in this rural town on Friday as Jessica Eldridge sifted through a pile of rubble that until last night had been her house, looking for clothing, family photos, pots and pans, any belongings she could salvage.
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Jessica Eldridge, center, and her grandfather, Ernest Eldridge, right, salvage belongings from what is left of Jessica's home in Tushka, Okla.
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Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press
Jerome Whittington salvaging items from his car in Tushka.
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Rex C. Curry for The New York Times
Family members covered the roof of their damaged home Friday, a day after a tornado in Tushka.
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Rex C. Curry for The New York Times
Mikayla Quinn retrieved items from a mobile home in Tushka that had been across the road.
Somehow her pet dachshund had survived, but she found little else, much of it destroyed or carried away as a vicious tornado destroyed dozens of homes, demolished the town school, ripped apart a tractor-trailer factory and scattered cars and trucks about as though they were toys.
“I broke down last night,” said Miss Eldridge, 23, the mother of a newborn and a toddler. Her red-rimmed eyes were glassy and distant. “My daughter wanted to go home, and she doesn’t understand the wind took the home and it’s blown away.”
At least two people died when the twister touched down here in Tushka, a town of 405 residents, late in the evening Thursday, leaving a trail of destruction a half-mile wide and seven miles long. The storm system moved on to Arkansas, where 80-mile-an-hour winds caused seven more deaths Thursday night. On Friday evening, three suspected tornadoes spawned by the same system touched down in Mississippi, leaving extensive damage and one person with life-threatening injuries in Clinton, about 10 miles from Jackson.
The Oklahoma medical examiner identified the two people who died in Tushka as Ava Walkup, 75, and Sammie Dement, 80. A neighbor said the women, who were sisters, were found buried in the debris of the house Mrs. Dement shared with her husband, who was also seriously injured.
Most people made it to shelter, however. The town received notice of the approaching tornado 68 minutes before it hit. “That, most likely, contributed to the minimal loss of life,” said Walt Zaleski, a warning coordinator meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
The tornado was one of five to touch down in eastern Oklahoma on Thursday just before dusk, the National Weather Service said. Witnesses said they saw several funnel clouds descending from the darkening sky, then they appeared to merge into one twister that entered the town from the southwest.
More than 150 residents rushed into two town shelters near the school and crowded inside, waiting as the winds tore up trees, downed power lines, tore the roofs from buildings and flipped over cars and trucks.
Clay Cole, 53, who lives next-door to the school, said he was on his front porch when he heard the storm. “It sounded like a big locomotive,” he said. “Whoom, whoom, whoom.” He sprinted to the shelter, a 45-foot-long cellar with metal doors built 90 years ago, and stumbled down the stairs.
“It had at least 100 or more people in it — it was full,” he said. “You could hear stuff a-ripping and a-tearing. It lasted three minutes or so until it was over. Then nothing.”
Outside, Alfred Elliot, 64, a truck driver, was driving pell-mell to the shelter with the funnel in his rearview mirror before the tornado touched down. He watched as part of the school’s roof lifted up and disappeared into the air in front of him. The winds blew out the back window of his truck, but somehow spared him and his wife, Linda Elliot, 62. “I was half scared to death,” he said. “God had to be sitting in the pickup and watching over me.”
The storm tore off the top floor of the original school building, built in 1927, scattering brick rubble below. An adjacent gymnasium collapsed and winds knocked down walls and ripped the roof off a newer annex. Somehow the winds left trophies in their cases and many books on shelves.
Michelann Ooten, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management, said at least 50 homes were damaged. Scores of people were left without housing, and the Red Cross has set up a temporary shelter for displaced residents in the nearby town of Atoka.
Throughout the town, trees as large as eight feet in diameter were ripped up at their roots, many falling across streets and highways. Utility poles were snapped off like toothpicks. Large pieces of sheet metal from a factory outside town were twisted up like discarded tissues. A bed rail was driven through a tree. One trailer home had been blown off its foundation and 30 yards into a neighbor’s yard. Upended tractor-trailers made many roads impassible, including the northbound lanes of Interstate 69, officials said.
In Arkansas, most of the fatalities were caused by trees and heavy branches falling on mobile homes, state emergency management officials said. Among the victims was a 6-year-old boy, Devon Adams, of Bald Knob in White County, who was sleeping on a couch in his family’s house when an enormous tree crashed through the ceiling and crushed him, the authorities said.
In St. Francis County, in eastern Arkansas, a double-wide trailer was sent airborne by the fierce winds, killing a woman and injuring her husband, the authorities said. In Pulaski County, the storm killed one man, James Loftis, 56, whose recreational vehicle was crushed by a tree.
Ben Fenwick contributed reporting.
A version of this article appeared in print on April 16, 2011, on page A13 of the New York edition.
Larry W. Smith/European Pressphoto Agency
A trophy cabinet at the school in Tushka, Okla. (population 405), was damaged Thursday evening by a vicious tornado that tore off part of the roof and destroyed dozens of homes.
By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.
Published: April 15, 2011
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TUSHKA, Okla. — The sound of chain saws filled the air in this rural town on Friday as Jessica Eldridge sifted through a pile of rubble that until last night had been her house, looking for clothing, family photos, pots and pans, any belongings she could salvage.
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Jessica Eldridge, center, and her grandfather, Ernest Eldridge, right, salvage belongings from what is left of Jessica's home in Tushka, Okla.
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Jerome Whittington salvaging items from his car in Tushka.
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Rex C. Curry for The New York Times
Family members covered the roof of their damaged home Friday, a day after a tornado in Tushka.
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Rex C. Curry for The New York Times
Mikayla Quinn retrieved items from a mobile home in Tushka that had been across the road.
Somehow her pet dachshund had survived, but she found little else, much of it destroyed or carried away as a vicious tornado destroyed dozens of homes, demolished the town school, ripped apart a tractor-trailer factory and scattered cars and trucks about as though they were toys.
“I broke down last night,” said Miss Eldridge, 23, the mother of a newborn and a toddler. Her red-rimmed eyes were glassy and distant. “My daughter wanted to go home, and she doesn’t understand the wind took the home and it’s blown away.”
At least two people died when the twister touched down here in Tushka, a town of 405 residents, late in the evening Thursday, leaving a trail of destruction a half-mile wide and seven miles long. The storm system moved on to Arkansas, where 80-mile-an-hour winds caused seven more deaths Thursday night. On Friday evening, three suspected tornadoes spawned by the same system touched down in Mississippi, leaving extensive damage and one person with life-threatening injuries in Clinton, about 10 miles from Jackson.
The Oklahoma medical examiner identified the two people who died in Tushka as Ava Walkup, 75, and Sammie Dement, 80. A neighbor said the women, who were sisters, were found buried in the debris of the house Mrs. Dement shared with her husband, who was also seriously injured.
Most people made it to shelter, however. The town received notice of the approaching tornado 68 minutes before it hit. “That, most likely, contributed to the minimal loss of life,” said Walt Zaleski, a warning coordinator meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
The tornado was one of five to touch down in eastern Oklahoma on Thursday just before dusk, the National Weather Service said. Witnesses said they saw several funnel clouds descending from the darkening sky, then they appeared to merge into one twister that entered the town from the southwest.
More than 150 residents rushed into two town shelters near the school and crowded inside, waiting as the winds tore up trees, downed power lines, tore the roofs from buildings and flipped over cars and trucks.
Clay Cole, 53, who lives next-door to the school, said he was on his front porch when he heard the storm. “It sounded like a big locomotive,” he said. “Whoom, whoom, whoom.” He sprinted to the shelter, a 45-foot-long cellar with metal doors built 90 years ago, and stumbled down the stairs.
“It had at least 100 or more people in it — it was full,” he said. “You could hear stuff a-ripping and a-tearing. It lasted three minutes or so until it was over. Then nothing.”
Outside, Alfred Elliot, 64, a truck driver, was driving pell-mell to the shelter with the funnel in his rearview mirror before the tornado touched down. He watched as part of the school’s roof lifted up and disappeared into the air in front of him. The winds blew out the back window of his truck, but somehow spared him and his wife, Linda Elliot, 62. “I was half scared to death,” he said. “God had to be sitting in the pickup and watching over me.”
The storm tore off the top floor of the original school building, built in 1927, scattering brick rubble below. An adjacent gymnasium collapsed and winds knocked down walls and ripped the roof off a newer annex. Somehow the winds left trophies in their cases and many books on shelves.
Michelann Ooten, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management, said at least 50 homes were damaged. Scores of people were left without housing, and the Red Cross has set up a temporary shelter for displaced residents in the nearby town of Atoka.
Throughout the town, trees as large as eight feet in diameter were ripped up at their roots, many falling across streets and highways. Utility poles were snapped off like toothpicks. Large pieces of sheet metal from a factory outside town were twisted up like discarded tissues. A bed rail was driven through a tree. One trailer home had been blown off its foundation and 30 yards into a neighbor’s yard. Upended tractor-trailers made many roads impassible, including the northbound lanes of Interstate 69, officials said.
In Arkansas, most of the fatalities were caused by trees and heavy branches falling on mobile homes, state emergency management officials said. Among the victims was a 6-year-old boy, Devon Adams, of Bald Knob in White County, who was sleeping on a couch in his family’s house when an enormous tree crashed through the ceiling and crushed him, the authorities said.
In St. Francis County, in eastern Arkansas, a double-wide trailer was sent airborne by the fierce winds, killing a woman and injuring her husband, the authorities said. In Pulaski County, the storm killed one man, James Loftis, 56, whose recreational vehicle was crushed by a tree.
Ben Fenwick contributed reporting.
A version of this article appeared in print on April 16, 2011, on page A13 of the New York edition.
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