80 African migrants feared drowned off Yemen coast

(CNN) -- At least 80 African migrants were feared drowned Monday after their boats capsized off the coast of Yemen, authorities there reported.

The two boats sank in separate accidents.

One boat, which carried 45 migrants mostly from Ethiopia, capsized in the Red Sea, according to Yemen's official news agency, SABA. Three people on that boat, believed to be from Somalia, survived and were found on Yemen's coast, the agency said.

Between 35 and 40 migrants were on the second boat that capsized off the coast of Lahj province, SABA reported, citing the interior ministry.

Many of the people on board were women and children, according to the official website of Yemen's ruling party. It said all of the migrants on the second boat were from Ethiopia.

A search is under way to locate the missing.

Yemen, seen as a gateway to other parts of the Middle East, is a common destination for African migrants fleeing economic hardship and war because of its proximity on the nearby Arabian Peninsula.

Despite the dangers of the journey, thousands of people cross the Gulf of Aden each year, according to the United Nation's refugee agency. CNN

Orioles pitcher: Shooting death was an accident

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (CNN) -- Baltimore Orioles pitcher Alfredo Simon said Monday the shooting death of a 25-year-old man over the weekend was an accident.

"In truth that young man was my friend, like a brother," he said of Michael Esteban Castillo. "It wasn't a thing like we began arguing and I started shooting. It was some accident; it happened by accident," Simon said, speaking at the police station where he turned himself in. "That's why I came here -- to open my soul," he said.

Simon surrendered to Dominican National Police early Monday morning to face murder charges. Simon is also accused of wounding Castillo's 17-year-old brother, Starlin. The injuries to the brother are not life-threatening, police said.

Simon's attorney said the major league baseball player had fired his gun into the air.

Puerto Plata District Attorney Victor Mieses said Monday that he will seek three months of incarceration against Simon and widen the investigation.

Puerto Plata Assistant District Attorney Juan Carlos Hernandez, who is handling the case, said of Simon, "So far he's the one. There's no doubt about the incident." Hernandez added that it's "normal" to seek temporary incarceration when there's a shooting death.

Police spokesman Maximo Baez said Simon turned in his gun as part of the investigation into the shooting in the Los Salados section of the town of Luperon, in the province of Puerto Plata, early Saturday.

Simon was accompanied by his attorney, Carlos Olivares, and by fellow Oriole Julio Lugo, Baez said.

"The projectile's trajectory was only up into the air, so much so that he left," Olivares said of his client. "He understood that nothing had happened at the moment. And 45 minutes later, when he was eating at a some restaurant or discotheque, somebody tells him, 'Hey, you're the one who killed so-and-so'".

Lugo said, "We're concerned about his career or whether he's going to have to go to jail. We don't know if it was him. He wants to clear up what happened, but no one really knows if it was him for sure".

Simon was scheduled to appear at the courthouse in Puerto Plata for arraignment Monday, Baez said.

Simon, 29, hails from Santiago. He joined the Orioles in 2008.

The Baltimore Orioles declined comment. CNN

Hackers strike Zimbabwean regime sites

HARARE, Zimbabwe, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Cyber activists took down Zimbabwean government Web sites, apparently in support of the WikiLeaks whistle-blower site, a computer security firm said Monday.

Grace Mugabe, wife of President Robert Mugabe, was recently reported to be suing a newspaper for $15 million after it published a WikiLeaks cable stating that she has profited from the illegal diamond trade.

Sites of the government and Mugabe's ZANU-PF party were hit by distributed denial-of-service attacks and, in the case of the Finance Ministry, defacements, Sophos reported. The government's www.gta.gov.zw and the party site were still offline Monday.

A statement published on an "Anonymous" site explained "Operation: Zimbabwe".

"We are targeting Mugabe and his regime in the ZANU-PF who have outlawed the free press and threaten to sue anyone publishing WikiLeaks". UPI

Cables point to German-French battle over satellite technology

(CNN) -- Normally Germany and France are close partners at the heart of Europe -- but U.S. diplomatic cables suggest a battle royal between the two allies over satellite technology, with the German space and intelligence agencies accusing the French of bad faith and looking to the United States as a future partner to develop next-generation satellites.

At the heart of the rivalry is HiRos -- a High Resolution Optical System -- that would potentially be a leap forward in satellite surveillance. A flurry of cables obtained by WikiLeaks and published by the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten shows German officials lobbying for a "strategic US/German partnership" in 2009 to develop the system, amid French attempts to kill it.

Some thirty pages of cables show the political maneuvering and enticing technological potential of HiRos, as well as the determination of the German space agency (DLR) to get it deployed by 2013. The cables also shows the DLR's desperation to end Germany's dependence on "foreign sources of imagery".

German officials were clearly sensitive about the dual intelligence and commercial use of the program. In February 2009, U.S. diplomats were told that "to minimize possible political backlash from developing HiRos as an intelligence satellite, the program will be managed by a civil agency." But a later cable -- from September 2009 -- talks about HiRos' "primary customer" as the German intelligence service.

One cable from February 2009 reveals efforts by German officials to steer development work on HiRos away from a Franco-German consortium toward a German company "in an effort to minimize French mischief." Subsequently, a senior official at the German space agency said Germany "had been pushed into a corner by the French and left little choice but to go it alone within the EU". The alliance with the United States, explained another official, would help prevent a French monopoly of the lucrative market for electro-optical imagery. But he was concerned by the "fierce and persistent" French lobbying to halt HiRos. CNN

US Navy investigating lewd videos aboard USS Enterprise

The US Navy says it is investigating the production of lewd videos aboard a US aircraft carrier which have turned the spotlight on a veteran commander.

The videos were apparently made in 2006 and 2007, and one features gay slurs, simulated masturbation and women pretending to bathe together.

The Virginian-Pilot newspaper revealed the existence of the videos, but it is unclear why they are surfacing now.

The films' key figure is Capt Owen Honors, now USS Enterprise commander.

Capt Honors, 49, was the carrier's executive officer - second-in-command - when the videos were made. He now commands the ship, which is based at Norfolk, Virginia.

In the introduction to a video posted on the Virginian-Pilot website, Capt Honors apparently acknowledges receiving complaints about the content of the films. BBC News

Witness: Palestinian shot, left for 30 minutes

(CNN) -- A Palestinian man who was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers was left on the ground for 30 minutes before receiving medical attention, a man who said he witnessed the incident told CNN.

The witness, who would identify himself only as Abdallah for fear of reprisal by Israeli authorities, said he was standing behind the victim just before the shooting.

Abdallah, who was located by CNN, said the man had passed through the security checkpoint near Nablus in the West Bank when a female Israeli soldier started speaking to him in Hebrew. The man turned around and began walking toward her, Abdallah said. The soldier then started to scream at him and, moments later, a soldier next to her opened fire. Abdallah told CNN that other soldiers then fired, and the man fell to the ground, where he lay for about half an hour before receiving medical attention.

The Israeli military said Sunday the man had approached soldiers from an unauthorized lane and was holding a glass bottle. The military said soldiers called on him to stop, but that the man did not comply and continued to approach the soldiers.

He came within a few meters of soldiers, "who then operated according to (Israeli military) rules of engagement, firing towards him," the military said in a statement.

The Israeli military said it was investigating the incident, and reported that the soldiers feared the man was going to stab them with the glass bottle.

Abdallah said he did not see the victim holding a glass bottle when he was shot.

Palestinian Authority spokesman Ghassan Khatib told CNN on Monday that his government condemned the checkpoint shooting and called it murder.

"The man was shot in cold blood and the Israelis said after the killing there were no arms, there was nothing. It was unjustified," said Khatib. "One can describe it as coldblooded killing".

Contacted Monday, the Israeli military could provide no new details on the incident and said it was still under investigation. CNN

China 'in nuclear power advance'

China has developed its own technologies that will enable it to reprocess spent nuclear fuel, state television has reported.

The country has launched an ambitious programme to build a number of new nuclear power stations.

This latest breakthrough could provide fuel for those plants for years to come.

Chinese scientists have apparently been working on this technology for 24 years.

State television says they have now perfected a procedure that will allow them to reprocess spent nuclear fuel.

It is a complex and costly procedure but the recycled material can be used again to fuel nuclear power stations.

China is not the first country to develop its own reprocessing facilities. France, Britain and India are just three countries that already have their own operations.

But this breakthrough will have major implications in China.

The country is building a number of new nuclear power plants in an effort to diversify its energy sources.

At the moment it mostly relies on coal. This latest development could help its nuclear power programme.

State television says the country currently has enough known uranium for at most 70 years.

It claims this new process could mean that supply will now last for 3,000 years. BBC News

OBITUARIO | En Santa Bárbara La actriz Anne Francis fallece a los 80 años por un cáncer de páncreas

La actriz Anne Francis, co-protagonista de la famosa película de ciencia ficción 'Planeta prohibido' (1956), falleció a los 80 años por complicaciones de cáncer de páncreas, informó este lunes el diario 'Los Angeles Times'.

Francis, que también fue diagnosticada de cáncer de pulmón en 2007, falleció el domingo en una residencia de ancianos en Santa Barbara (California), dijo al diario su hija, Jane Uemura.

La actriz adquirió fama en la década de los cincuenta del siglo pasado con el filme 'Planeta prohibido', que se convirtió en un clásico de la ciencia ficción, y en los años sesenta protagonizó la serie 'Honey West', en la que interpretó el papel de una detective privada.

Francis comenzó su carrera artística a temprana edad en radio y televisión, y participó en Broadway antes de lanzarse a la pantalla grande a comienzos de los cincuenta. Posteriormente, regresó a la televisión en decenas de series.

La actriz actuó en más de 30 películas, entre ellas, 'Conspiración de Silencio' (1955); 'Más allá de las lágrimas' (1955), y 'Pescador pescado' (1969), pero destacó como una de las estrellas de 'Planeta prohibido'(1956), junto a Walter Pidgeon y Leslie Nielsen, éste último fallecido el pasado noviembre. El Mundo

Chrysler llama a revisión 144.065 automóviles de la marca Dodge en EEUU

El grupo automovilístico Chrysler ha llamado a revisión 144.065 unidades de modelos de la firma Dodge en el mercado estadounidense, a causa de diferentes problemas técnicos y electrónicos, según una comunicación remitida por la compañía a la Administración Nacional de Seguridad en el Tráfico por Carretera de Estados Unidos (NHTSA, por sus siglas en inglés).

De este total de vehículos afectados por esta medida, 56.611 unidades corresponden al modelo RAM 1500 de Dodge fabricados entre septiembre de 2009 y diciembre de 2010. La firma señala que estos vehículos pueden registrar un ruido procedente del eje trasero.

Al mismo tiempo, 22.274 unidades son del modelo RAM de Dodge 4500 y 550 que fueron fabricados entre 2007 y 2010, a causa de un problema en una pieza defectuosa que puede provocar una pérdida de la dirección del vehículo.

Esta campaña de revisión afecta también a 65.180 unidades del Dodge Journey fabricado entre noviembre de 2007 y septiembre de 2008, con motivo de un eventual defecto en las conexiones de las puertas delanteras, que puede ocasionar un fallo en los sensores de impacto delantero y la iluminación del testigo de airbag en el panel de control. El Mundo

El fútbol argentino debe 280,2 millones de dólares

La deuda de los clubes de fútbol de la Primera División de Argentina llegó el año pasado la cifra récord de unos 280,2 millones de dólares, 36 millones más que la de 2009, destaca un informe publicado por el diario bonaerense La Nación.

River Plate, uno de los clubes más populares de Argentina, encabeza la lista de deudores con un "rojo" de 54,2 millones de dólares un año después de que su presidente, Daniel Passarella, declarase al club "en coma cuatro".

El informe, basado en los balances contables de los clubes, subraya que solamente los modestos Lanús y Godoy Cruz de Mendoza no tienen deudas y forman parte del lote de nueve entidades deportivas que cerraron 2010 con ganancias.

La lista de clubes más endeudados se completa con el Independiente (36,1 millones de dólares), Racing Club (26,3), Boca Juniors (24,4) y San Lorenzo (24 millones de dólares), entidades que junto al River Plate son llamadas las "cinco grandes" del fútbol argentino.

Lanús, con ganancias por 4,1 millones de dólares, ha sido el que consiguió mayores réditos el año pasado, seguido por Colón (2,1), Estudiantes de La Plata, el actual campeón (1,6), Vélez Sársfield (1,4) y Boca Juniors (990.000 dólares).

River Plate, que apunta a formar un fideicomiso por unos cinco millones de dólares y no reforzará su plantilla a menos que venda la ficha de algún jugador, debe afrontar en el corto plazo vencimientos de deudas por 31,2 millones de dólares.

Boca Juniors, el más popular de Argentina y tradicional rival del River Plate, sostiene en cambio que este año podrá pagar sin problemas vencimientos de deudas por 10,2 millones de dólares.

Los dirigentes declaran que el "rojo" responde a la inflación y los fuertes gastos en mantenimiento de la infraestructura de los clubes, que cada año se reparten 150 millones de dólares que les paga el Estado por derechos de transmisión televisiva de los torneos de Primera División, en los que compiten 20 equipos.

La Asociación del Fútbol Argentino (AFA) oficia de prestamista de los clubes sin cobrarles intereses y en 2010 les desembolsó unos 30 millones de dólares, aunque cerró el año pasado con unas ganancias por 2,5 millones. El Mundo

Bank of America se prepara para una posible filtración de Wikileaks

El Bank of America se prepara para una posible filtración de la plataforma de revelaciones Wikileaks, según informaciones que publica este lunes el diario estadounidense "The New York Times".

Un equipo de 15 a 20 personas lleva a cabo una investigación interna para el caso de que Wikileaks difunda informaciones comprometedoras."Si algo pasa queremos estar preparados", dijo un ejecutivo del banco. "Uno quiere saber cuáles son sus opciones antes de que algo ocurra en vez de decidir cuando está ya en apuros". La entidad también se ha asesorado legalmente sobre potenciales problemas en caso de que se difunda información confidencial de sus clientes.

Desde que Julian Assange, el fundador de Wikileaks, señaló que la web está en poder del disco duro de un ejecutivo del Bank of America se estima que el banco norteamericano podría verse afectado por una filtración de Wikileaks.

El pasado noviembre el propio Assange señaló que la web "derribará" a uno de los grandes bancos estadounidenses mostrando un "ecosistema de corrupción".

"Ello dará un visión real y representativa de cómo se comportan los bancos a nivel ejecutivo, de una forma que creo que estimulará las investigaciones y las reformas", dijo entonces Assange a la revista Forbes. El Mundo

Calderón afirma que 'es necesario limpiar a México de la delincuencia'

El presidente de México, Felipe Calderón, afirmó que su país está en la "ruta correcta" para ser un país más seguro y confió en que, por esa vía, va a derrotar al crimen organizado.

"Seguiremos combatiendo con firmeza y determinación a los criminales. Todos sabemos que es necesario limpiar a México de la delincuencia, la impunidad y la corrupción que se habían enraizado en nuestra sociedad y en nuestras instituciones", afirmó.

"Vivimos un momento crucial.Pero sé que sumando esfuerzos vamos a construir el México de progreso, de justicia y de seguridad que todos anhelamos", señaló el mandatario en un mensaje de cinco minutos televisado en cadena nacional el domingo por la noche con motivo del Año Nuevo.

En su alocución reconoció que la lucha contra la inseguridad es "uno de los temas más importantes y de mayor preocupación para todos"en el México actual, y prometió que, por ello, su Gobierno seguirá "combatiendo con firmeza y determinación a los criminales".

"Sabemos que sólo enfrentando al crimen con decisión podremos garantizar la seguridad de nuestras familias y de su patrimonio",añadió.

Horas antes del mensaje para el 2011, los cuatro ministerios y la fiscalía, que forman el Gabinete de Seguridad señalaron que la estrategia de combate frontal contra el crimen organizado ha permitido alcanzar "logros históricos" durante la Administración de Calderón, "superiores a resultados obtenidos en períodos pasados".

En un comunicado conjunto, las secretarías (ministerios) de Gobernación (Interior), Defensa Nacional (Sedena), Marina (Semar), Seguridad Pública (SSP) y la Procuraduría General de la República (PGR, Fiscalía) urgieron enriquecer la estrategia en materia de seguridad "con la participación de los gobiernos estatales y municipales".

Además en su discurso para el 2011, el presidente de México, que hace poco más de un mes completó el cuarto de sus seis años de mandato (2006-2012), pidió a las familias mexicanas que sigan esperanzadas con el futuro y luchando para alcanzar sus metas.

En materia económica, recordó que Méxicó está "ya en la senda del crecimiento", circunstancia que, dijo, va a permitir en 2011 "atraer más inversiones, generar más y mejores empleos y abrir más oportunidades para todos".

Asimismo, el presidente mexicano exhortó a las mujeres a seguir siendo "un factor de unidad, de armonía, de responsabilidad y de liderazgo" en sus familias, y a los estudiantes, a que sigan "preparándose a fondo" para el futuro.

Finalmente, invitó a los trabajadores a que den "la batalla por la calidad y la competitividad" al lado de los empresarios, a los que convocó a "demostrar con hechos su confianza en el futuro de México multiplicando sus inversiones y generando más y mejores empleos". El Mundo

Jerry Brown to be sworn in as California governor

Jerry Brown is set to be inaugurated as the new governor of the US state of California, taking over from outgoing Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Mr Brown, a Democrat who also served as California's governor from 1975 to 1983, will be only the second person to lead the state for three terms.

He has warned California residents to expect "shared sacrifice" as the state struggles to overcome a fiscal crisis.

Among his first tasks will be to present a new budget plan.

The state faces a $28bn (£18bn) budget shortfall over the next 18 months.

Voters may be asked to agree to the extension of temporary taxes that were brought in in 2009 and are due to expire in July.

Mr Brown, 72, will need the backing of some Republicans in the state legislature if he is to put any tax measures to voters.

Mr Brown's inauguration ceremony is due to take place at 1100 local time (1900 GMT) in the state capital, Sacramento.

He defeated billionaire Republican candidate Meg Whitman in the November mid-term elections to win office.

When he last held the governorship, Mr Brown became known as "Governor Moonbeam" for what were then viewed as outlandish ideas.

In the intervening years he twice pursued the Democratic nomination for president, campaigned for the US Senate and most recently served as state attorney general.

Mr Schwarzenegger, a Republican, leaves after seven years at the helm of the country's most populous state.

The 63-year-old former action movie star, best known for his role in the Terminator films, has not yet confirmed what he plans to do next.

He was not eligible to run for governor again because of term limits. BBC News

Bayern Munich seal Gustavo deal as transfer window opens

(CNN) -- German champions Bayern Munich have confirmed the signing of Brazilian defender Luiz Gustavo from Bundesliga rivals Hoffenheim.

As part of the deal, which the German media have reported is worth an estimated €15 million ($20 million), Bayern's 18-year-old Austria midfielder David Alaba will move in the opposite direction on loan until the end of this season.

"Luiz Gustavo is the player we always wanted, and he's making the team stronger," Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told the club's official website when the January transfer window opened on Monday.

Bayern will be hoping the new acquisition can help revive their domestic fortunes, with Louis Van Gaal's team fifth in the table and 14 points behind runaway leaders Borussia Dortmund during the winter break. CNN

Uganda bars media from outing gays

A Ugandan High Court judge has ruled that media companies in the country should not publish the identities of people they say are homosexuals.

The decision was described as a "landmark ruling" by gay rights activists.

The case was brought against The Rolling Stone newspaper which last year published several lists of people its editor said were gay.

Many said they were attacked after their names and photos were printed.

Homosexual acts are illegal in Uganda and activists say the gay community still lives in fear.

"The judge granted a permanent injunction against Rolling Stone from publishing these names," lawyer John Francis Onyango, who represented the three gay rights campaigners who brought the case, told AFP.

"But the ruling went beyond these applicants and extended to all media," he added. BBC News

Africa migrants drown off Yemen as boats sink

Up to 80 African migrants are feared to have drowned off the south coast of Yemen after their boats capsized, Yemeni officials say.

The migrants, mostly from Ethiopia, were travelling in two boats which were hit by strong wind and waves, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Three Somali migrants were reportedly found alive while the coastguard were searching for any other survivors.

Hundreds of Africans drown each year, trying to reach Yemen in crowded boats.

The ministry quoted coastguards in Aden as saying the first boat went down off the coast of Taez province with 46 people on board.

All those on board had drowned apart from the three Somalis, it said.

The second boat capsized off Lahij province.

It was carrying "between 35 to 40 people, all of them Ethiopians and among them women and children," said the ministry statement.

It was not clear from the statement when the incidents took place, but it said a search was being carried out "in hope of finding survivors".

Thousands of people attempt the dangerous journey from Africa across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen every year.

The UN's refugee agency says more than 74,000 Africans arrived in Yemen in 2009, fleeing "desperate situations of civil war, political instability, poverty, famine and drought in the Horn of Africa".

Yemen is seen as a gateway to a better life in the Middle East or Europe, but people smugglers often crowd the migrants onto old and unseaworthy vessels.

Hundreds of would-be migrants die before reaching their destination. BBC News

UK police issue warning after woman's murder

London (CNN) -- A murderer is at large in England, police warned in connection with a case that has gripped the country for more than two weeks.

Joanna Yeates, 25, disappeared on December 17 in the city of Bristol in western England. Her body was found on Christmas Day by a couple walking their dogs a few miles from where she lived, police said.

Her parents said the discovery of the body was a relief, but the confirmation she had been murdered "only intensified our grief.

"She was a beautiful and talented young lady who was destined to fly high. Her life was stolen from her and she was stolen from us," they said in a statement on New Year's Day.

Her boyfriend, Greg Reardon, said he would always love her and hoped "for her sake, justice is found swiftly".

Yeates had been out with friends on the day she vanished, and was last seen alive buying a pizza at 8:40 p.m. that Friday night. Reardon alerted the police when he got home to their apartment December 19 after a weekend away.

Her keys, purse and bank cards were in the apartment, along with a receipt for the pizza.

The investigation became a murder inquiry on December 28 after an autopsy concluded that Yeates had been strangled.

A 65-year-old man was arrested on December 30. British media identified him as Yeates' landlord. He was released on bail January 1.

Bristol police have more than 70 officers and staff working on the case, Detective Chief Inspector Phil Jones said the day the man was released.

Chief Superintendent Jon Stratford said Sunday that "whoever killed Jo remains at large," and said people should take "the usual safety precautions.

"Lone women should avoid walking home alone after dark and householders should keep their premises secure and take care answering the door to strangers," he said, adding that there was "no specific intelligence or information to suggest there is an increased threat to their safety at this time".

Police have released CCTV footage from a liquor store where Yeates shopped before buying the pizza. CNN

Mexican drug cartel says it extends truce

(CNN) -- A statement purportedly released by a violent Mexican drug cartel promises a one-month extension to a truce it called for in December.

The Familia Michoacana cartel, which takes its name from the central-coastal state where it operates, signed the statement, which was circulated by e-mail on Sunday and published in its entirety on a blog dedicated to covering the drug wars.

Mexican authorities were not immediately available to comment on the authenticity of the communication.

The cartel accuses the federal police of committing abuses in the region and blaming them. The authorities have attacked the cartel and any person caught in its path, be it civilians, women or children, the cartel alleges. It also wishes the residents of Michoacan a happy new year.

The Familia Michoacana "separates itself from any criminal act that occurred in the month of December 2010 that the federal authorities want to make us responsible for," the statement says. CNN