TMCnet News
AP International NewsBrief at 11:55 a.m. EST(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jailed Nobel Peace Prize winner applauded in OsloOSLO, Norway (AP) _ With his Nobel Peace Prize diploma and medal placed in his empty chair, imprisoned Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo was given a standing ovation at the award ceremony Friday as dignitaries demanded his release. It was the first time in 74 years the prestigious $1.4 million award was not handed over, because Liu is serving an 11-year sentence in China on subversion charges for urging sweeping changes to Beijing's one-party communist political system. Somalia mulls privately trained anti-piracy forceNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) _ Somalia is considering allowing a private security company to train a 1,000-man anti-piracy force in the capital of Mogadishu, a Somali official said Friday. It would be the second such unit funded by an unidentified country _ a project that has raised eyebrows in Washington and at the U.N. The security company, Saracen International, is already training a different 1,000-man force in Somalia's northern region of Puntland. The project is being funded by an unknown Muslim country that those involved _ including a former U.S. ambassador and a former CIA officer _ will not name. Spam downloads surge among WikiLeaks supportersLONDON (AP) _ WikiLeaks supporters on Friday downloaded increasing amounts of the spam-shooting software used to attack companies seen as hostile _ a development that could challenge even Internet giants such as PayPal and Amazon.com during the crucial Christmas shopping season. U.S. data security company Imperva says downloads of the attack program used to bombard websites with bogus requests for data have jumped to over 40,000, with thousands of new downloads reported overnight. Intense climate talks stretch into final hoursCANCUN, Mexico (AP) _ Climate negotiators labored through the night and into their final day Friday with a raft of issues undergoing intense bargaining, but with high hopes an agreement was within reach on small but essential steps to stem global warming. If successful, the two-week Cancun meeting will create a fund of $100 billion a year for developing countries threatened by altered weather patterns, and give them the technology to leapfrog old petroleum-based economic development in favor of clean energy. Iran to air new footage of woman in stoning caseTEHRAN, Iran (AP) _ Iran's state TV said Friday it will air new footage of an Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery, the latest in state-orchestrated broadcasts on a case that has raised an international outcry. The footage, to be aired late Friday on English-language Press TV, will show Sakineh Mohammedi Ashtiani at her home in northwestern Iran giving a reenactment of the murder of her husband, for which she has also been convicted, according to the station. Royal attack prompts big questions on UK securityLONDON (AP) _ British officials defended the country's security practices Friday amid a flury of questions over the royal family's safety after rampaging student protesters attacked a car carrying Prince Charles and his wife Camilla. The chief of the Metropolitan Police pledged to investigate after protesters set upon the heir to the throne's Rolls Royce as it drove through London's busy West End on Thursday night. The royal couple was attending a charity event at London's Palladium theater. Police say Croatian ex-PM arrested in AustriaZAGREB, Croatia (AP) _ Croatian police say the former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader has been arrested in Austria on an international warrant, a day after he left the country amid a corruption probe. In a statement mailed to The Associated Press, police spokesman Krunoslav Borovec said Austrian police informed them that Sanader was arrested on Friday at 3.50 p.m. (1430 GMT) "in the Salzburg area." UK court grants bail to suspect in honeymoon deathLONDON (AP) _ A British court granted bail on Friday to a newlywed accused of hiring a man to kill his bride during their honeymoon in South Africa. British businessman Shrien Dewani is accused of arranging the murder of his wife, 28-year-old Anni, in Cape Town. The woman was found dead in the back of an abandoned taxi with a bullet wound in her neck on Nov. 13. Pink Floyd star's son sorry for climbing memorialLONDON (AP) _ The son of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour issued a public apology Friday for climbing atop of one of Britain's most important war memorials during violent student demonstrations against rising university fees. Charlie Gilmour, 21, said he was sorry for the "terrible insult" to the thousands who died for the country. Gilmour _ a Cambridge University history student _ said he did not realize that the monument he climbed was the Cenotaph, which commemorates Britain's war dead. Gorbachev warns about Russia's stabilityMOSCOW (AP) _ Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has warned that Russia's undemocratic political landscape is threatening its stability. Gorbachev said in an article published Friday in Novaya Gazeta newspaper that the lack of political competition, flawed elections, shrinking media freedom and rampant corruption have slowed down Russia's development. (c) 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. 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