U.S. offers $5 million reward for Pakistani Taliban leaders

Washington (CNN) -- Hakimullah Mehsud, a key leader of the Pakistani Taliban, has been charged for his alleged involvement in the killings of seven U.S. citizens at an American military base in Afghanistan in 2009, the U.S. Justice Department announced Wednesday.

A $5 million reward is being offered for information leading to the capture of Mehsud and another top Pakistani Taliban leader, Wali Ur Rehman, U.S. officials announced.

A complaint listed two criminal charges against Mehsud.

"We support any lawful means to hold this terrorist accountable for what he's done," CIA spokesman George Little said Wednesday. "The announcement today is part of that".

A U.S. official said the criminal charges are meant to deal with Hakimullah if he's captured, and added, "He can face justice in other ways, too. That hasn't changed". The "in other ways" comment was a backhanded reference to CIA Predator missile strikes in Pakistan, which have killed a number of suspected al Qaeda terrorists and other extremists.

The group -- which was declared a terrorist organization by the United States -- is believed to be responsible for terrorist acts, including the December 30, 2009, suicide attack on a CIA base in Afghanistan and the attempted Times Square bombing earlier this year.

CNN

Nearly 60 years later, a Korean War vet is identified

(CNN) -- A Kentucky service member who was missing in action during the Korean War has been identified, a Defense Department agency said on Wednesday.

The Defense Prisoner of War-Missing Personnel Office said the remains of U.S. Army Sgt. Charles P. Whitler of Cloverport, Kentucky, were identified and returned to his family. He will be buried with full military honors.

Maj. Carie Parker, spokeswoman for the office, said about 85 missing service members have been identified every year from past conflicts -- World War I up through Cold War conflicts. More than 8,000 service members remain missing from the Korea War.

Whitler had been assigned to 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment in Novermber 1950 when troops were "occupying a defensive position near the town of Unsan by the Kuryong River known as the 'Camel's Head'".

Enemy forces attacked U.S. troops, and Whitler's unit "was involved in fighting which devolved into hand-to-hand combat around the 3rd Battalion's command post".

CNN

There was second survivor from Mexico massacre, officials say

Mexico City, Mexico (CNN) -- A second person survived a massacre in which 72 migrants from Central and South America were killed last week in northern Mexico, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa and Mexican officials said.

A man from Ecuador was previously thought to be the only survivor.

That man, identified as Luis Freddy Lala Pomavilla, said someone else also lived through the mass shooting, Correa said at a news conference late Tuesday night upon his return to Ecuador from a trip to Haiti.

Correa did not provide details other than to say the second survivor came from Honduras.

"We don't want to put him in danger," Correa said.

Viviana Macias, a spokeswoman for the Mexican attorney general's office, confirmed Wednesday that a second person had survived the attack.

The attorney general's office said authorities had not revealed news of the second survivor in order to protect the person's safety. For the same reason, officials said Wednesday, they will not reveal the person's identity.

CNN

Azarenka collapses in soaring heat at Flushing Meadows

(CNN) -- Tenth seed Victoria Azarenka retired from her second round match at the U.S. Open after collapsing in soaring temperatures.

Azarenka, from Belarus, was trailing 5-1 in the opening set of her second round match against Argentina's Gisela Dulko in temperatures of nearly 100 degrees Fahrenheit when she crouched down after a rally.

Seconds later she slumped to the floor as medics rushed out to treat her before she was taken from the court in a wheelchair, but Azarenka later said she was suffering from concussion.

In a statement on the WTA Tour's official website she said: "I was warming up in the gym prior to my match against Gisela Dulko when I fell while running a sprint. I fell forward and hit my arm and head.

"I was checked by the medical team before I went on court and they were courtside for monitoring. I felt worse as the match went on, having a headache and feeling dizzy.

"I also started having trouble seeing and felt weak before I fell. I was taken to the hospital for some medical tests and have been diagnosed with a mild concussion".

CNN

Chilean miners receive first hot meal in three weeks

Chilean miners trapped underground after a rock collapse have received their first hot meal in 26 days.

Meatballs, chicken and rice were piped through a tube to the 33 miners, who are stuck 700m (2,300ft) below the surface.

Previously the miners have been only been nourished with glucose tablets and high-protein milk.

A team from the US space agency Nasa have arrived at the mine to offer their advice on keeping the miners healthy.

The team of four experts were requested by the Chilean government to share their experience of coping in confined spaces.

A nutritionist from the team helped put together the menu.

Engineers have drilled through 20m of rock so far at the San Jose mine, in Copiapo, after beginning their work on Monday. The rescue attempt is expected to take three to four months.

BBC News

Environmental Militant Killed by Police at Discovery Channel Headquarters

A radical enviornmentalist who took three hostages at the Discovery Channel headquarters while wearing what police may be explosives was shot and killed by officers, police said.

The gunman, identified as James Lee, was killed by police following four hours of negotiations but the hostages are all safe, said Montgomery County Police Chief J. Thomas Manger.

Manger said the suspect had "metalic canisters" strapped to his chest and back. When Lee was struck by police bullets, one of the canisters "popped." Police have not confirmed if the canisters were a bomb, but Manger said the "device may have gone off" when he was shot.

Manger said police will search the building looking for other potential explosives Lee may have left inside.

ABC News

Star says marriage was for love, not card

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- Mexican soap opera actress Fernanda Romero denied her marriage was a sham engineered so she could get a U.S. work permit during a federal trial in Los Angeles.

Romero told jurors in the Los Angeles courtroom she really loved Kent Ross, the pizza deliveryman she married five years ago, CNN reported Wednesday.

Prosecutors accused Romero of paying Ross $5,000 to marry her June 12, 2005, and alleged Romero and Ross never lived together as a couple.

Romero said their marriage was real, but fell apart because of his drinking and her focus on her modeling and acting career.

U.S. District Judge Manuel Real barred defense lawyers from using evidence they said would show Romero was framed and turned in by a photographer angered because she rejected his romantic overtures, CNN said.

UPI

Scientists create 'smarter' materials

WATERLOO, Ontario, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- New "smart materials" could revolutionize the manufacture of diverse products ranging from medical devices to automotive components, Canadian researchers say.

Scientists at the University of Waterloo in Ontario have developed a process dubbed Multiple Memory Material Technology that could allow engineers to incorporate far greater functionality into devices, a university release said Wednesday.

Smart materials, also known as shape memory alloys, are well known for their ability to remember a predetermined shape.

The materials assume one shape at one temperature and take on a second "remembered" shape at a different temperature.

Until now they have been limited to change shape at only one temperature, but with the Waterloo process they can be given multiple different memories, each one with a different shape triggered by a different temperature.

UPI

The Duke's manse on the market

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Sept. 1 (UPI) -- Well, Pilgrim, if you want to buy John Wayne's home in Orange County, Calif., it'll cost you a cool $2.2 million.

Aside from living in the house where Wayne played cards and other games, any buyer would have the Duke's name included in the title history of 14 Rue Grand Ducal, a 4,448-square foot manse off the 4th tee of a private golf course in Newport Beach, The Orange County Register reported Wednesday.

Realtor Linda Stearns said Wayne did some remodeling on the house, including expanding the master bedroom, installing dark hardwood floors and designing a custom art piece.

"He put his own touches in it," Stearns says.

UPI

3 Afghan Oxfam workers dead in bombing

KABUL, Afghanistan, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- British aid group Oxfam says it is temporarily suspending its work in Badakhshan province in Afghanistan after a bombing that killed three people.

Two of the victims were members of the group's Afghan staff and the third a local volunteer, Oxfam said. Two people, a volunteer and staff member, were hurt in the roadside bombing Monday.

"They were deeply committed to improving the lives of other Afghans and our thoughts are with their families at this time," Oxfam said in a statement.

Badakhshan in northern Afghanistan has only recently been hit by the violence that has overwhelmed other areas. In August, 10 medical volunteers were killed in a part of the province that borders more violent areas.

The Oxfam bombing was near the border with Tajikistan, The Guardian reported. That area, while home to drug-trafficking networks, had been thought to be free of political violence.

UPI

Penn State mascot busted for drunkenness

STATE COLLEGE, Pa., Sept. 1 (UPI) -- Penn State University says it has suspended its Nittany Lion mascot for a month over his arrest for being drunk in public.

Clint Gyory, 20, won't be donning his lion costume for the first month of the football season; however, it was not clear Wednesday if the cheerleading team had brought in a temp.

The Daily Collegian newspaper at Penn State said Gyory donned the cat suit as a freshman last fall and was considered the youngest of a long line of lions to stalk the sidelines in State College. His predecessor had been barred from the Rose Bowl after being busted for drunken driving.

UPI

Studio completes Memphis-to-Nashville move

MEMPHIS, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- House of Blues Studio D -- the Memphis studio for Isaac Hayes, Sam the Sham and Three 6 Mafia -- says it's completed its trek to its new home in Nashville.

The move complete, Studio D will be part of Gary Belz's House of Blues studio complex while the main House of Blues facility will remain in operation in Memphis, The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal reported Tuesday.

"Memphis has been very good to us over the years, but at the same time Nashville has a base and is still growing," Belz said. "We've had a surplus of (recording) rooms in Memphis for a while and a lack of rooms in Nashville, so the move made sense".

The Studio D building is steeped in history dating back five decades, billed as the state-of-the-art Sounds of Memphis studio when built in the late 1960s.

UPI

Fuld: Government failed Lehman Bros.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- Former Lehman Bros. Chief Executive Officer Richard Fuld Jr. told a Washington panel Wednesday that government error allowed the firm to fail.

Lehman Bros. collapsed in September 2008 at the height of the financial crisis. Its failure made the firm an instant poster child for Wall Street's troubles at the time.

Speaking to the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, which is investigating the causes of the financial meltdown, Fuld said, "Lehman was forced into bankruptcy not because it neglected to act responsibly or seek solutions to the crisis but because of a decision, based on flawed information, not to provide Lehman with support," The Los Angeles Times reported.

"Uncontrollable market forces and the incorrect perception and accompanying rumors that Lehman did not have sufficient capital" were the reasons the bank went under, he said.

The commission's chairman, Phil Angelides, said the decision to allow the bank to fail was less pertinent than the causes that pushed Lehman Bros. into a bankruptcy scenario.

UPI

Irish cardinal will not resign after scandals, he says

Armagh, Northern Ireland (CNN) -- Months after the revelation that he helped cover up for one of Ireland's most notoriously abusive priests, the country's top Catholic churchman, Cardinal Sean Brady, says he has "moved on" and will not resign.

"I've moved on there, I think, and I got a lot of support in my decision," he told CNN in a rare interview.

Brady was part of an internal church investigation into Father Brendan Smyth in 1975, he confirmed early this year. He did not report his findings to the police and asked two teenagers who gave him evidence to sign oaths of secrecy.

In March, Brady apologized for his role in the Smyth investigation.

"I want to say to anyone who has been hurt by any failure on my part that I apologize to you with all my heart," he said at his home church, St. Patrick's Cathedral in Armagh.

Smyth died in prison in 1997, having been convicted in both the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom of child abuse.

Deeply Catholic Ireland has been profoundly shaken by a series of government-backed reports that found Catholic clergy committed physical and sexual abuse of children across the country going back at least 70 years.

Church officials systematically hushed up the abuse, the reports found.

CNN

Alonso insists Ferrari can still win F1 title

London, England (CNN) -- Fernando Alonso insists he can still drive Ferrari to the Formula One world title, despite losing ground on his rivals after a disappointing Belgian Grand Prix.

The Spaniard is 41 points behind the current leader in the drivers' championship standings, McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, after he span out in the latter stages at Spa.

But with six races left in the season, Alonso is convinced he can still force his way into the reckoning -- starting with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza on September 12.

"With this points system and the way races swing one way or another, I am convinced we still have a significant chance," Alonso wrote on his Ferrari blog.

"There are 150 points up for grabs, enough to turn the situation around. We must remain calm and concentrate, to try and make up the difference as soon as possible.

CNN

Officials: Suspect holding hostages at Discovery Channel

Montgomery County Police spokesman Paul Starks told reporters there remained no reports of injuries, but he could not confirm whether everyone had been evacuated from the building, nor would he say how many hostages were being held.

"We're just continuing to talk to the man and we're hoping to bring about a safe and successful resolution," Montgomery County Police spokesman Paul Starks told reporters.

"It's my understanding that Montgomery County police officers are speaking with him," he said, adding that he believed the conversation was being held by phone. "That has been continuing with him for well over an hour, closing in on two hours now".

CNN

Man, 88, charged with killing wife

SPRINGFIELD, Pa., Sept. 1 (UPI) -- An 88-year-old Philadelphia-area man charged with killing his demented wife after years of devoted care said he "had had enough," court documents say.

Ernest Rayfield is being held without bail in the hospital unit of the Delaware County jail on charges that include murder and aggravated manslaughter, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Police said Rayfield called his daughter Sunday after stabbing his wife, Mary, 87, in the home in Springfield they had shared for half a century. He told her what he had done, saying he "had had enough".

Friends and relatives say Mary Rayfield, who first showed signs of dementia 15 years ago, had recently turned violent. A neighbor said Rayfield told her Friday his wife hit him after he concealed the car keys.

UPI

Jailing of Pregnant Mother of 4 Sparks Protest

A mother of four who is pregnant with a fifth child has become a cause celebre after a court jailed her for three years even though it could have waived the sentence under a legal provision allowing leniency for mothers with young children.

Former Yukos lawyer Svetlana Bakhmina, a mother of three who failed to receive leniency when jailed on politically tinged charges in 2006, is spearheading a campaign to secure the release of the mother, Yulia Kruglova, a regional director for a Dutch-owned insurance company who was jailed in July on embezzlement charges.

The campaign has won the support of children's ombudsman Pavel Astakhov and the Public Chamber. Even prosecutors have filed an appeal.

"I was so amazed by the story that I decided to help," Bakhmina said in a telephone interview.

It is not unusual for a mother to be sent to prison in Russia, but Kruglova, a mother of four little children, was ordered by a judge to immediately start serving three years in prison just two months before her fifth child was supposed to be born by Caesarean section.

Kruglova, 36, who ran the Oranta insurance company's Tolyatti branch, was found guilty of embezzling 16 million rubles ($520,000) from the company and ordered jailed by Tolyatti's Central District Court on July 19.

The mother, who is now hospitalized in a prison clinic, is scheduled to undergo a Caesarean section on Sept. 20.

Three days before that, on Sept. 17, the Samara Regional Court is scheduled to consider separate appeals from prosecutors, who want the prison sentence lifted, and Kruglova's lawyers, who want the mother moved to a better-equipped hospital outside the prison.

The Moscow Times

Georgia dismisses Russia's warning as 'provocation'

Russia's warning to its nationals against visiting Georgia is part of an "anti-Georgia campaign," the south Caucasus state's deputy foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Russia's Foreign Ministry warned its nationals earlier on Wednesday against visiting Georgiabecause of the threat of prosecution facing Russian tourists who visit Abkhazia and South Ossetia without Georgia's permission.

"This statement is part of an anti-Georgia campaign waged by the Russian government. It would be a good idea if they urged their nationals to refrain from illegally crossing the Georgian state border," Nino Kalandadze said.

She said Georgia is causing no problems for Russian nationals who enter through official border crossing points, adding that Russians enjoy a simplified visa regime.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said "foreigners who have visited Abkhazia and South Ossetia face penalties, including sizable fines or imprisonment, when they arrive in Georgia," adding the Georgian authorities were doing all their best to shut Abkhazia and South Ossetia off from the outer world.

RIA Novosti

Ex-AFP bureau chief heads RIA Novosti's foreign languages department

AFP's former Moscow bureau chief Christopher Boian became on Wednesday the head of RIA Novosti's foreign languages department.

"We are really glad that Chris Boian decided to join us with his immense professional experience of media work," said Maxim Filimonov, RIA Novosti's deputy editor-in-chief.

"He faces the difficult task of raising the work of the multinational team of RIA Novosti's foreign language department to a new level," he said.

More than 100 translators, correspondents and style-editors, both Russians and foreigners, work in the department, preparing news in English, Chinese, German, French, Spanish, Persian and Arabic.

Boian was with AFP for more than 20 years and helped turn the news agency into one of the world's top media outlets.

Boian, who has been writing about Russia for years, is also a fluent Russian speaker.

RIA Novosti

Lukashenko says Moscow 'thugs' may be behind embassy attack

A day after Russia strongly condemned an attack on its embassy in Minsk, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko retaliated by saying that "thugs and scoundrels" from Moscow may be to blame.

Unknown assailants threw two fire bombs onto the premises of the Russian Embassy in Minsk late on Monday. There were no casualties but one of the bombs hit a car. The incident sparked anger in Russia, with the Russian Foreign Ministry accusing "certain forces" of trying to "bring distrust and tensions to [Russia-Belarus] bilateral relations".

Lukashenko told journalists on Wednesday that a theory about Moscow's involvement in the incident was "interesting" and that police would investigate it.

"Most likely, they probably needed this incident. To demonstrate how bad Lukashenko is - why, he nearly carried out that "terrorist attack," as they put it, on his own. Thugs and scoundrels! There is nothing else I can say," the Belta state-run news agency quoted Lukashenko as saying.

RIA Novosti

Ukraine to make its military leaner but meaner

Ukraine will downsize its military while building up its combat capability, the nation's defense minister said on Wednesday.

"Reform of the Armed Forces will not be confined to personnel reductions, but will ensure the maintenance and strengthening of their battle potential," Mykhaylo Yezhel said.

He offered no indication as to the size of proposed personnel cuts.

As of the start of this year the Ukrainian Armed Forces had about 200,000 servicemen.

The government said in mid-July Ukraine is to downsize its Armed Forces by some 20% to 150,000-160,000 personnel in five years. Alongside the cuts in personnel, military spending should grow at a rate of 15-20% a year through 2015.

RIA Novosti

Russia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain home to richest expats

The richest foreign professionals live in Russia, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, HSBC's Expat Explorer Survey said on Wednesday.

The HSBC Bank Expat Economic survey of 4,100 foreign professionals from 100 countries discovered the 25 best countries for expats according to annual income, monthly disposable income, and possession of luxury goods.

The survey revealed that Russia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore, in that order, are the top five locations for expats.

One third of respondents in Russia said they earned over $250,000, while two-thirds of expats in Spain earned only $60,000 a year.

"A fantastic experience with huge financial potential," an expat in Russia said.

RIA Novosti

European Commission to probe Russia-Poland gas deal

The European Commission will study a Russian-Polish gas deal to make sure it complies with European Union legislation, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said on Wednesday following a meeting with Poland's President Bronislaw Komorowski.

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday that an agreement to supply gas via the Yamal-Europe pipeline would be signed in the next 10-12 days after consultations with the European Commission.

Tusk said the consultations would only concern EuRoPol Gaz, the operator and owner of the Polish part of the Yamal-Europe pipeline which carries gas from Russia's Yamal peninsula to Europe.

Under the new Russian-Polish agreement, two state monopolies, Russia's Gazprom and Polskie Gornictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo SA, or PGNiG, will finish upgrading EuRoPol Gaz and will each get a 50 percent stake in it.

RIA Novosti