| Obama in Hawaii for APEC Summit Posted: 12 Nov 2011 03:30 AM PST U.S. President Barack Obama is in his native Hawaii where Saturday, he will host an economic summit with Asia-Pacific leaders. The summit begins a nine-day trip for the president aimed at improving U.S. ties with countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
During the two-day Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, President Obama is expected to discuss a proposed Pacific Rim free trade zone that includes the United States, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
Japan said Friday it will participate in the talks on the trade zone, boosting the chances of attracting other regional economic powers such as China.
From Hawaii - after a brief stop in Australia - Mr. Obama will make his second presidential trip to Indonesia, where he spent part of his boyhood. During his visit, he will become the first U.S. president to attend the East Asia Summit, which will take place on the tourist island of Bali.
Analysts say Mr. Obama is also using the trip to reassure allies the U.S. will play a key role in the region and serve as a counterweight to China's rising status.
During his weekly address Saturday, President Obama turned his attention to finding jobs for military veterans. Mr. Obama recorded the message Friday - Veterans Day - aboard the USS Carl Vinson in the western city of San Diego, California.
The president challenged businesses to hire more veterans, especially those returning from tours overseas.
President Obama says he is ready to sign legislation giving tax credits to businesses that hire veterans. The Senate has passed the measure, and the House of Representatives is set to vote on the bill next week. The measure is part of the president's $447 billion jobs package.
Republicans also used their weekly message to focus on jobs for veterans. Congressman Joe Heck of the western state of Nevada says Congress must step up and work together to help veterans who sacrifice so much for the country. 
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| Kidnapped Baseball Player Ramos Rescued in Venezuela Posted: 11 Nov 2011 08:55 PM PST Officials in Venezuela say police have rescued Venezuelan national and U.S. Major League Baseball player Wilson Ramos.
Venezuela's Information Minister Andres Izarra said late Friday that Ramos, a 24-year-old catcher for the Washington Nationals, was found alive by security forces in the mountainous region of Montalban. No details of the rescue operation have been released to the public.
Ramos had been visiting with family at a private home Wednesday night in Valencia when several men entered the residence and snatched him. Ramos was in Venezuela to play with his winter league team, the Aragua Tigers.
Relatives of major league players, but not players themselves up until now, have been kidnapped in recent years in Venezuela.
The mother of former player Ugueth Urbina spent more than five months in captivity until she was rescued in 2005.
In 2009, the son and brother-in-law of Major League Baseball catcher Yorvit Torrealba were kidnapped, but released a short time later. Also that year, the mother of now-retired pitcher Victor Zambrano was rescued, three days after she was abducted. Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters. 
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| US Soldier Sentenced to Life in Prison for Afghan Atrocities Posted: 11 Nov 2011 07:33 PM PST A military panel in the U.S. state of Washington has sentenced U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Calvin Gibbs to life in prison for killing Afghan villagers for sport and cutting off their body parts as trophies. The case has raised questions about how the U.S. military handles misconduct.
It started as a probe into the use of hashish in a troubled platoon. What followed were grisly revelations of planned murders of Afghan villagers who had their fingers cut off and kept as trophies.
During the court martial, which spanned two weeks, the panel was shown grisly photos of severed fingers, and a corpse with its teeth pulled out.
<!--AV--> Prosecutors argued Staff Sergeant Calvin Gibbs was the ringleader who plotted to kill three Afghan villagers in a remote area of Kandahar province. Witnesses testified that grenades and other weapons were placed next to the dead to make the killings appear to be legitimate combat scenes.
Gibbs denied killing two of the villagers. A third, he said, had tried to attack him. In testimony, Gibbs said he cut off fingers to keep as trophies much as a hunter would remove and keep the antlers of a deer.
Platoon members testified Gibbs had disdain for Afghans, described them as "prehistoric" and called them savages who did not deserve to be helped. They also said he led a gang beating of one soldier for reporting the use of narcotics in the platoon.
The image of Gibbs as a hateful killer is not one that exists among many in his hometown of Billings in the U.S. state of Montana. Elementary school employee Mary Mattheis knew him as a child. She told VOA she remembers Gibbs as a well-behaved boy who came from a good family, and she now wonders what may have happened.
"He was always well-mannered and always a nice boy and very polite and kind, and I always remember him for that and always liked him, too. I felt quite disturbed that this would be happening. War is an awful thing, so I imagine he's had his share of what they can do back there, too, in Afghanistan. I imagine he's seen a lot, too, that's maybe done things to him," said Mattheis.
The killings were among the worst atrocities reported in the Afghan conflict.
The case has received little attention in the U.S. media - and some see that as a sign of war fatigue among Americans. Lawrence Korb was assistant secretary of defense during the Reagan administration and is now a senior fellow with the Center for American Progress research group.
"Americans want to focus on the problems we have at home. We've had the greatest economic downturn since the depression. Americans feel that these people don't appreciate what we've done for them. They just want to basically get home and rebuild the United States rather than rebuilding these societies," said Korb.
Korb believes the lengthy conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan overextended U.S. forces, especially the army where soldiers were subjected to multiple deployments.
"They took in people who shouldn't have been in the military under normal circumstances, but particularly put into an atmosphere where it's hard to tell friend from foe, who the good guys and who the bad guys are, what is the end game. You're asking an awful lot of these young men and young women. So, to the extent that there have been these horrible crimes committed, I think we as a nation are partly to blame," said Korb.
Gibbs is the highest ranking soldier to be convicted in the case, and there is no word from the army that any of his commanders have been investigated. The Pentagon leadership has been silent on why the rogue atmosphere in Gibbs' platoon was allowed to go on - even after the father of one platoon member reported the troubles to several officials at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the home of Gibbs' 5th Stryker Brigade.
Cases are pending against two other soldiers. 
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| US Soldier Sentenced to Life in Prison for Afghan Atrocities Posted: 11 Nov 2011 07:33 PM PST A military panel in the U.S. state of Washington has sentenced U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Calvin Gibbs to life in prison for killing Afghan villagers for sport and cutting off their body parts as trophies. The case has raised questions about how the U.S. military handles misconduct.
It started as a probe into the use of hashish in a troubled platoon. What followed were grisly revelations of planned murders of Afghan villagers who had their fingers cut off and kept as trophies.
During the court martial, which spanned two weeks, the panel was shown grisly photos of severed fingers, and a corpse with its teeth pulled out.
<!--AV--> Prosecutors argued Staff Sergeant Calvin Gibbs was the ringleader who plotted to kill three Afghan villagers in a remote area of Kandahar province. Witnesses testified that grenades and other weapons were placed next to the dead to make the killings appear to be legitimate combat scenes.
Gibbs denied killing two of the villagers. A third, he said, had tried to attack him. In testimony, Gibbs said he cut off fingers to keep as trophies much as a hunter would remove and keep the antlers of a deer.
Platoon members testified Gibbs had disdain for Afghans, described them as "prehistoric" and called them savages who did not deserve to be helped. They also said he led a gang beating of one soldier for reporting the use of narcotics in the platoon.
The image of Gibbs as a hateful killer is not one that exists among many in his hometown of Billings in the U.S. state of Montana. Elementary school employee Mary Mattheis knew him as a child. She told VOA she remembers Gibbs as a well-behaved boy who came from a good family, and she now wonders what may have happened.
"He was always well-mannered and always a nice boy and very polite and kind, and I always remember him for that and always liked him, too. I felt quite disturbed that this would be happening. War is an awful thing, so I imagine he's had his share of what they can do back there, too, in Afghanistan. I imagine he's seen a lot, too, that's maybe done things to him," said Mattheis.
The killings were among the worst atrocities reported in the Afghan conflict.
The case has received little attention in the U.S. media - and some see that as a sign of war fatigue among Americans. Lawrence Korb was assistant secretary of defense during the Reagan administration and is now a senior fellow with the Center for American Progress research group.
"Americans want to focus on the problems we have at home. We've had the greatest economic downturn since the depression. Americans feel that these people don't appreciate what we've done for them. They just want to basically get home and rebuild the United States rather than rebuilding these societies," said Korb.
Korb believes the lengthy conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan overextended U.S. forces, especially the army where soldiers were subjected to multiple deployments.
"They took in people who shouldn't have been in the military under normal circumstances, but particularly put into an atmosphere where it's hard to tell friend from foe, who the good guys and who the bad guys are, what is the end game. You're asking an awful lot of these young men and young women. So, to the extent that there have been these horrible crimes committed, I think we as a nation are partly to blame," said Korb.
Gibbs is the highest ranking soldier to be convicted in the case, and there is no word from the army that any of his commanders have been investigated. The Pentagon leadership has been silent on why the rogue atmosphere in Gibbs' platoon was allowed to go on - even after the father of one platoon member reported the troubles to several officials at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the home of Gibbs' 5th Stryker Brigade.
Cases are pending against two other soldiers. 
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| Yemeni forces kill 10 in Taiz as UN envoy visits the country Posted: 11 Nov 2011 05:21 PM PST SANAA (BNO NEWS) -- At least ten people were killed on Friday in fighting between Yemeni security forces and opposition fighters in the city of Taiz, the Yemen Post reported. Dozens more were said to be injured. Security forces were shelling several districts and downtown Taiz, where two bombs exploded near the prayer area in Freedom Square after hundreds of thousands of anti-government protesters had gathered. Medics confirmed that three women were among those killed. A medical staff member at the square said the casualties are expected to rise as government attacks continue, the Yemen Post said. Numerous families have started to evacuate the province, fearing that clashes will continue to escalate in the days to come. The attacks come as United Nations envoy Jamal Benomar is in the country to revise the terms of a power-transfer initiative to end the social unrest. Yemen is one of a handful of countries across North Africa and the Middle East where large numbers of civilians have risen up this year to call for greater democracy and freedoms. But violence in the country has continued to escalate after President Saleh threatened with civil war after refusing, for a third time, to sign the Gulf Cooperation Council initiative for power transition on May 22. Yemeni security forces and thugs loyal to the regime have used live bullets, batons and tear gas against peaceful protesters across the country. In Taiz, pro-Saleh forces have randomly shelled residential areas in the city. The uprising against President Saleh has claimed at least 1,500 lives since February. (Copyright 2011 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. Info: sales@bnonews.com.) 
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