- Royal Opera chief gets top job at scandal-hit BBC
- Thanksgiving Day marked with parades, feasts in wake of Sandy
- Petraeus mistress had substantial classified data on computer: sources
- India executes last gunman from Mumbai attacks
- Rebels threaten wider Democratic Republic of Congo conflict
Royal Opera chief gets top job at scandal-hit BBC
(Reuters) - The BBC on Thursday named a former journalist who runs the Royal Opera House to lead the broadcaster and restore public faith after sex abuse scandals tarnished the reputation of one of Britain's most treasured institutions.
Tony Hall, a former director of BBC news, will replace George Entwistle, who resigned as director-general this month after failing to get to grips with a crisis which threw the 90-year-old state-funded organization into turmoil.
Hall's immediate task will be to rebuild the confidence and image of a news organization buffeted by the fallout from a scandal centered on former BBC presenter Jimmy Savile, who died at 84 last year and has since been exposed as one of Britain's most prolific, predatory child abusers.
"I care passionately about the BBC, about what it can do, its program makers and the impact we have," Hall told reporters.
"It's one of those extraordinary organizations which is an absolutely essential part of the UK, of Britain, of who we are, but also has this incredible impact around the world, too."
Thanksgiving Day marked with parades, feasts in wake of Sandy
Reuters) - Americans celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday with parades and sumptuous feasts, some sharing the bounty at East Coast emergency shelters to express gratitude for what they still had after Superstorm Sandy caused widespread damage throughout the region.
"We're trying to do it Pilgrim style," said Louis DeCarolis, 51, who was roasting a turkey in a fire pit marked by an American flag and dug into the front yard of his son's home in Rockaway Beach, Queens. The area lost power when it was flooded by the deadly storm, which hit the area last month.
Thousands of area residents are coping with the loss of homes, businesses and loved ones. At an emergency shelter in another coastal community, Belle Harbor, Queens, red cloths and red and pink roses graced tables groaning with trays of stuffing and pumpkin pies for people displaced by the historic storm that destroyed homes and businesses in New York and New Jersey.
Petraeus mistress had substantial classified data on computer: sources
(Reuters) - A computer used by Paula Broadwell, the woman whose affair with CIA Director David Petraeus led to his resignation, contained substantial classified information that should have been stored under more secure conditions, law enforcement and national security officials said on Wednesday.
The contents and amount of the classified material - and questions about how Broadwell got it - are significant enough to warrant a continuing investigation, the officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to comment publicly.
The details about material held by Broadwell, a reserve officer in military intelligence, emerged Wednesday as the Pentagon suspended her security clearance. There are growing concerns among military and law enforcement officials about the potential fallout from the affair between Petraeus and Broadwell, who co-authored a biography of the retired general.
India executes last gunman from Mumbai attacks
New Delhi (CNN) -- India on Wednesday executed Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, the last surviving gunman from the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai that killed more than 160 people, a government official said. Kasab, a Pakistani, was hanged at Yerwada Jail in Pune, a city southeast of Mumbai, said K.S. Dhatwalia, a spokesman for the Indian home ministry. It was the first use of capital punishment in India in eight years.
The execution took place after Kasab's last attempt to avoid the death penalty, a clemency petition, was rejected earlier this month by President Pranab Mukherjee. Kasab was one of 10 heavily armed men who in November 2008 attacked landmarks around Mumbai, including high-end hotels, the city's historic Victoria Terminus train station and the Jewish cultural center Chabad House. He was photographed holding an assault weapon during the three days of violence. Indian forces killed the nine other suspects.
A Mumbai court sentenced Kasab to death in 2010 after he was convicted of murder, conspiracy and waging war on India. He pursued the appeals process through the Indian justice system, but the Supreme Court in August upheld his death sentence.
Rebels threaten wider Democratic Republic of Congo conflict
(CNN)-- A rebel group now in control of a key city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo announced Wednesday that it plans to "liberate" the entire country.
A spokesman for the rebel M23 group said its successful operation to take Goma on Tuesday, the culmination of several days of heavy fighting against government forces, was just the beginning.
"We will push on to Bukavu, then Kisangani, and finally take Kinshasa and overthrow the government," Lt. Col. Vianney Kazarama said to enthusiastic cheers from a crowd of several hundred at Goma's stadium, according to a Congolese reporter there.
Kazarama said that once the rebels overthrow the government, they will call for elections. Kinshasa, the country's capital, lies nearly 1,000 miles to the west of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.
On Wednesday, M23 consolidated its control of Goma, calling on policemen and the remaining government soldiers in town to integrate with the rebel group. Activity started to return to normal, with shop owners restarting their businesses -- some after closing their doors for several days because of the tense situation. M23 has called on schools and banks to reopen as early as Thursday. The front line, according to the rebel fighters, has moved to the west of Goma, to Mugunga.
No comments:
Post a Comment