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samedi 21 septembre 2013

India tests Nuclear-capable missile that can reach Beijing and much of Europe

By Jatindra Dash

BHUBANESWAR, India, September 12 (Reuters) - powered India to test successfully for a second time a missile with nuclear capability Sunday can reach Beijing and much of Europe, bringing production closer to the passage of a gun designed to strengthen its nuclear deterrent capability.

"The test was successful," said Ravi Kumar Gupta, spokesman for the investigation of defence and Development Organization (DRDO). "Hit the target in a predefined path. It met all the mission objectives"

A video distributed by the DRDO showed the Agni-V rocket taking off from a clearing on an island in the State of the East coast of the India's Orissa's forest.

The India is trying to keep the growing pace of China in military force and wants to have a viable deterrent against its larger nuclear neighbor.

The two countries have generally cordial relations, but they fought a brief war in the Himalayas in 1962 and an accumulation of conventional defenses along their disputed border is a source of tension.

The Agni-V is the most advanced version of the indigenous built Agni or fire, series, part of a program that began in the 1960's. Previous versions could reach old rival Pakistan and Western China.

Nuclear weapons Pakistan is increasing its stockpile of nuclear warheads and the development of the short-range nuclear weapons tactics, raising concern an arms escalation of South Asia, the International Institute for strategic studies, said Thursday.

The Think Tank said in a report that the race with Pakistan increased the risk of a nuclear exchange during a conventional conflict, perhaps caused by an act of terrorism.

The Agni-V missile was first tested in April 2012. It is built mostly in the country and has a range of 5,000 kilometres (3,100 miles). Only the UN Security Council permanent members - China, France, Russia, United States and Great Britain - along with Israel, are believed to have such long-range weapons.

Gupta said that India was now ready to begin a process of production and subsequent induction of the missile. (Written by Anurag Kotoky in new DELHI; Edition of Frank Jack Daniel and Robert Birsel)

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samedi 17 août 2013

Mark Reynolds, Yankees Reach Deal: Report

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mark reynolds yankees Mark Reynolds #12 of the Cleveland Indians bats during the interleague game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on May 15, 2013 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rob Tringali/SportsChrome/Getty Images)

NEW YORK (AP) — A person familiar with the deal says the New York Yankees have signed free-swinging corner infielder Mark Reynolds.

Reynolds was released by the Cleveland Indians last week after a monthslong slump.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday night because the deal has not been announced. Reynolds will provide a right-handed bat to back up lefty swinging Lyle Overbay at first base and could spell Alex Rodriguez at third.

Reynolds batted .301 with eight homers in April, but just .187 since. He went .098 (5 for 51) with one RBI in July.

Overall, Reynolds is hitting .215 with 15 homers and 48 RBIs, and he has struck out 123 times. He's only hit two homers since May and none since June 28.

CBSSports.com first reported the deal.

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mardi 13 août 2013

Dwyane Wade divorce fees could reach $10 million: report

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Dwyane Wade's divorce may be costing him a pretty penny, and not because of the settlement.

According to Gossip Extra, an unnamed lawyer said that Wade's legal fees in his divorce and custody battle could reach as high as $10 million. That's likely in addition to the $5 million a judge recently said he should pay his ex-wife, Siohvaughn Funches-Wade.

Wade and Funches-Wade were married in 2002 and have two sons together, Zion and Zaire. Wade filed for divorce in 2007, and after a lengthy divorce and custody battle, the divorce was finalized in 2010. Wade was awarded sole custody of their kids in 2011, but the custody battle is ongoing.

Check out the video above to hear more about Wade's legal fees, then click through the slideshow below to see more on his divorce and other messy athlete splits.

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Chad Johnson and Evelyn Lozada's whirlwind 41-day marriage came to an end in August 2012 when Lozada filed for divorce from the former NFL wide receiver. Earlier that month, Johnson reportedly head-butted his now-ex-wife during an argument. "Basketball Wives" star Lozada was hospitalized for a laceration on her head, and Johnson was arrested on misdemeanor domestic violence charges. The following day, the Miami Dolphins announced that they were terminating Johnson's contract. In a possible attempt to win her back, Johnson had Lozada's face tattooed on his right calf. The couple's divorce was finalized on September 19.

NBA star Dwyane Wade's divorce from high school sweetheart Siohvaughn Funches lasted almost four years -- it began in November 2007 and wasn't finalized until June 2010. In May 2010, Funches-Wade filed a lawsuit against Wade's girlfriend, actress Gabrielle Union, for "engag[ing] in sexual foreplay" with Wade in front of their two young children. It was later dismissed by an Illinois judge. She also accused her ex-husband of giving her chlamydia, although sworn witness testimony proved otherwise. In addition to the messy divorce proceedings, the ex-couple was also embroiled in a nasty custody battle over their two sons, Zion and Zaire. Wade was awarded sole custody in March 2011, which his ex-wife later unsuccessfully attempted to appeal. In June 2012, she was arrested for trying to abduct their two children.

In 2009, Tiger Woods made headlines for something other than his golf skills when reports of his numerous extramarital affairs began to surface. First, the National Enquirer published a story about his alleged affair with Rachel Uchitel, a New York nightclub hostess. Days later, Woods was involved in a minor car crash outside of his Florida home which led to widespread speculation about the circumstances of the accident. In the following weeks, roughly a dozen reported mistresses came forward, releasing incriminating voicemails and text messages Woods had sent -- all while married to Elin Nordegren. The ex-couple finalized their divorce in August 2010 after almost six years of marriage. Nordegren walked away with joint custody of their two children and a reported $110 million settlement.

Robin Givens filed for divorce merely eight months after marrying famed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson in February 1988. Both partners accused the other of erratic behavior and abuse: Givens told Barbara Walters that Tyson was manic depressive and that she lived a "life of horror" with the boxer. In divorce papers, she states that Tyson "has throughout our marriage been violent and physically abusive, and prone to unprovoked rages of violence and destruction." In return, Tyson attempted to have their marriage annulled, claiming that he had been subjected to "extreme cruelty" and that Givens had manipulated him into marriage by falsely telling him she was pregnant. Tyson accuses her of waging a "campaign to publicly humiliate [me], strip [me] of [my] manhood and ... dignity and to destroy [my] credibility as a public figure." In the end, Givens received a cool $10 million settlement.

NBA star Jason Kidd and his ex-wife, Joumana, split in January 2007 after 10 years of marriage. In the divorce filing, he accused her of "extreme cruelty" throughout their union. "The defendant's extreme and unwarranted jealousy and rage has left the plaintiff concerned about her emotional stability," the papers say, noting that Joumana had kicked, hit, punched and thrown household items at her husband numerous times. Joumana filed her own lawsuit one month later, in which she portrayed the basketball star as a binge drinking abuser who assaulted her while she was pregnant with the couple's first child. She accused him of engaging in extramarital affairs with television reporters, strippers, a New Jersey Nets season ticket holder (where Kidd had previously played), a Nets employee and a cheerleader. Prior to the dramatic dissolution of their marriage, Kidd was arrested for spousal abuse in January 2001 and pleaded guilty to hitting Joumana.

Alex Rodriguez's ex-wife, Cynthia Scurtis, filed for divorce in July 2008, citing "emotional abandonment" of her and their children in addition to "extramarital affairs and other marital misconduct." The documents were filed several days after the New York Yankees star was linked to Madonna in various media outlets and Scurtis' subsequent trip to visit Lenny Kravitz in his Paris home (she denied anything "improper" happened). Prior to the couple's separation, Rodriguez had been linked to several strippers, playboy models, and prostitutes. In the divorce petition, Scurtis demanded the couple's $12 million Florida estate and an equitable distribution of all assets acquired during their marriage, in addition to alimony and child support. Rodriguez countered that he would only give her what was mandated in their prenuptial agreement. They privately settled their multi-million dollar split in September 2008.

Three days after former MLB pitcher Chuck Finley's ex-wife, Tawny Kitaen, was arrested for attacking him with a stiletto heel, Finley filed for divorce. In the petition and restraining order filed in April 2002, Finley claimed his wife was a suicidal and abusive drug user who poses a danger to their two children. The couple's nanny also filed a declaration, in which she testified that one of the kids frequently asked her, "Is mommy whacked out today?" One month later (and after a stint in rehab for prescription drug addiction), Kitaen fired back with allegations of her own, contending that Finley was a binge drinker, marijuana smoker and illegal steroid user. Since the split, Kitaen has had numerous run-ins with the law, including arrests for drug possession and driving under the influence.

Golfer Greg Norman divorced Laura Andrassy, his wife of 25 years, in May 2006. Though he denied it at the time, Norman was having an affair with then-married tennis player Chris Evert, whom he married merely weeks after their respective divorces were finalized. During the messy divorce proceedings, Andrassy's lawyers accused Norman of cutting off her credit cards and leaving her without income. She eventually received a reported $103 million in the settlement. When Norman's quickie marriage to Evert fell apart 15 months after their nuptials, Andrassy commented, "He made his bed."

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lundi 1 juillet 2013

New Orleans Prison Reform: U.S. Justice Department, City Sheriff Reach Orleans Parish Prison Pact

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New Orleans Prison Reform Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman speaks at a news conference at a construction site for new jail facilities in New Orleans, Thursday, March 28, 2013.

NEW ORLEANS -- Citing a history of inmate deaths, sexual assaults, beatings, stabbings and poor medical care at the New Orleans jail, a federal judge on Thursday approved an agreement between the U.S. Justice Department and the city's sheriff aimed at reforming the notoriously dangerous lockup.

In approving the agreement, U.S. District Judge Lance Africk rejected efforts by Mayor Mitch Landrieu's administration to squelch the pact. Landrieu has said mismanagement by Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman is at the heart of the problems at the Orleans Parish Prison, and that the potentially expensive agreement could affect public safety by forcing the financially strapped city to cut services and even lay off police officers.

"The Court is well aware of New Orleans' high homicide rate and budgetary constraints, but the evidence shows that violent crime is endemic within OPP as well," Africk wrote. "OPP inmates, and particularly inmates with mental health issues, leave the facility more damaged, and perhaps more dangerous, than when they arrived."

Africk also said that nobody knows how much the consent decree will cost. Financial issues are to be discussed at a hearing next week.

His ruling came weeks after a contentious hearing in which the city's accusations of mismanagement by Gusman included release of an inmate-made video showing brazen drug use, gambling, beer drinking and the brandishing of a loaded handgun in a cell in a now-closed part of the jail complex. Inmates testified about sexual assaults and beatings at the hands of guards or other inmates. Prison experts said treatment for mental or physical conditions was badly lacking and that violent inmates were often mixed in with vulnerable ones.

"The Court finds that the proposed consent judgment is the only way to overcome the years of stagnation that have permitted OPP to remain an indelible stain on the community, and it will ensure that OPP inmates are treated in a manner that does not offend contemporary notions of human decency," Africk wrote.

The agreement, known as a consent decree, calls for Gusman to provide adequate medical and mental health care and overhaul policies on use of force and rape prevention, among other reforms that are expected to require more money for personnel. The sheriff, even while downplaying problems at the jail, said the agreement will aid reform, and he said the city inadequately funds the jail.

The agreement was the result of a lawsuit filed by the Southern Poverty Law Center on behalf of inmates in April of last year. The Justice Department later intervened in the class-action suit. The announcement of the consent decree in December raised immediate concern from city officials.

Months earlier, Landrieu's administration had reached a long-sought agreement with the Justice Department for reforms at the New Orleans Police Department, plagued by years of allegations of brutality and biased policing. Landrieu hailed that agreement as a needed reform in July 2012. But, by January he was trying to put the brakes on it, saying the city could be forced into painful personnel or service cuts if it's forced to fund the police pact and the separate jail reform consent decree.

U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan approved the police pact despite the city's objections.

The police reforms could cost in the neighborhood of $50 million over the coming years. In opposing the separate jail agreement, the Landrieu administration cites court filings indicating it could add $22 million annually to the $30.5 million the city already turns over to Gusman.

Africk's ruling was the second legal setback for Landrieu this week in the battles over criminal justice reform. On Wednesday, a federal appeals court refused to delay implementation of the police agreement pending the city's appeal.

In a related development Friday, the city's inspector general released a report calling for reforms in jail funding, touching on issues likely to be discussed in court next week. The report was critical of some Sheriff's Office accounting.

"OPSO aggregated both revenues and expenditures into categories that did not correspond to specific revenue sources or to Jail expenditures, which made it impossible to connect the City's Jail funding to Jail services and operations," the report from Inspector General Ed Quatrevaux said. "As a result, inspectors were unable to determine whether City monies allocated to OPSO in 2011 appropriately funded only the facilities and services the City was obligated to fund ...."

The report also compared spending on the Orleans Parish Prison to a comparable jail in Louisville, Ky.

"The benchmark analysis revealed that in 2011 New Orleans's Jail appeared to be adequately funded when compared to the benchmark jail and that OPSO expenditures in total and in certain categories were significantly greater than those for the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections."

Landrieu seized on that report in a statement about Africk's ruling, and he repeated his contention that Gusman should no longer run the jail. "The only way to fix the conditions and operations at the jail is to put a federal receiver in place that will run a safe and secure jail in a financially responsible way," Landrieu said.

Gusman, the Justice Department and the SPLC all hailed the agreement.

"Today's ruling enhances the possibility that the OPSO will be properly funded after years of delays," Gusman's statement said. He did not immediately address the IG report.

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