Congress passes aid package for 9/11 responders

After a last-minute compromise, Congress passed legislation Wednesday to provide up to $4.2 billion in new aid to survivors of the September 2001 terrorism attack on the World Trade Center and responders who became ill working in its ruins.

The House passed the bill on a 206-60 vote Wednesday about two hours after the Senate cleared it on a voice vote as lawmakers raced to wrap up their work before Christmas. President Barack Obama has said he is eager to sign the measure, though some supporters of the bill have criticized him for not getting more involved in the fight.
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The package provides $1.5 billion to monitor the health rescue and cleanup workers and treat illnesses related to ground zero. It also reopens a victims' compensation fund with $2.7 billion.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., said the measure was long overdue. "It's the right thing to do, and it's the right time to do it," she said.

The bill was a product of a compromise involving Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Republican Sens. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and Mike Enzi of Wyoming. New York members of Congress had sought $2 billion more for the overall bill. They accepted the smaller amount in exchange for GOP critics dropping their opposition.

"The Christmas miracle we've been looking for has arrived," Schumer and Gillibrand said in a joint statement.

Schumer and Gillibrand had sought $6.2 billion and keeping the compensation fund open for 10 years.

"Every American recognizes the heroism of the 9/11 first responders, but it is not compassionate to help one group while robbing future generation of opportunity," said Coburn, who led a GOP blockade against the bill. "This agreement strikes a fair balance."

The bill gained momentum with help from cable TV personalities. Among the biggest supporters of the package were Fox News anchor Shepard Smith and comedian and activist Jon Stewart, who championed the bill and lashed its GOP foes on his Comedy Central TV program "The Daily Show."

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg praised Congress for finally working out a bill.

"As we look forward to the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, I am encouraged that our elected representatives in Washington came together and stood by those who were there for America in its hour of greatest need," Bloomberg said.

The compromise was reached after Democrats scheduled a showdown test vote for Wednesday afternoon and Republicans countered by threatening to run a 30-hour clock before allowing final Senate and House votes on the bill. That would have required keeping both the Senate and House in session for votes on Christmas Eve.

Backers worried that the bill would face a much tougher fight in the new, more fiscally conservative Congress where Republicans will have a stronger hand.

"Any single senator can hold this up way past Christmas and we know that can kill the bill," Schumer said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program Wednesday.

Nearly 16,000 responders and 2,700 people living near ground zero are currently sick and receiving treatment, supporters of the bill said. More than 40,000 responders are in medical pharm tech school monitoring, backers said.

The bill would be paid for with a fee on some foreign firms that get U.S. government procurement contracts. The bill also calls for extending fees on certain firms that rely on H-1B and L-1 visas.

Researchers have found that people exposed to the thick clouds of pulverized building materials at the trade center site have high rates of asthma and sinus problems. Many firefighters also suffered a reduction in lung power.

Doctors aren't sure, though, exactly how many people are ill, and scientific doubt persists about just how many of the hundreds of illnesses are actually linked to the trade center dust. Doctors still don't know whether there is any connection between the dust and potentially fatal illnesses like cancer.

The legislation is named for James Zadroga, a police detective who died at age 34. His supporters say he died from respiratory disease contracted at ground zero, but New York City's medical examiner said Zadroga's lung condition was caused by prescription drug abuse.

Московской милиции приказали отслеживать передвижения футбольных фанатов

Начальник столичного ГУВД Владимир Колокольцев приказал усилить меры безопасности на улицах Москвы в связи с произошедшими в субботу, 11 декабря, беспорядками. Об этом сообщает РИА Новости со ссылкой на начальника управления информации и общественных связей ГУВД Виктора Бирюкова.

По его словам, начальник ГУВД распорядился "отслеживать все передвижения футбольных фанатов, проводить профилактическую работу с ними, а в случаях серьезных правонарушений - задерживать".

В пресс-службе Управления транспортной милиции МВД РФ по ЦФО сообщили, что на все железнодорожные вокзалы Москвы направлены дополнительные наряды. Кроме того, дополнительные силы выделены для охраны подмосковных электричек.

В пресс-службе подчеркнули, что "пока никаких инцидентов, связанных с болельщиками, на вокзалах и в электропоездах не зафиксировано".

11 декабря на Манежной площади в центре Москвы произошел несанкционированный митинг, собравший, по оценкам правоохранительных органов, около пяти тысяч человек. Акция, в которой приняли участие футбольные болельщики и националисты, переросла в беспорядки, погромы и столкновения с милицией.

Поводом для митинга стало убийство болельщика московского "Спартака" Егора Свиридова, который погиб 6 декабря в драке с уроженцами одной из кавказских республик. Собравшиеся требовали наказать форум хакеров в гибели Свиридова.

В результате беспорядков пострадало около 30 человек. Примерно 65 участников митинга были задержаны.

UN climate talks in Mexico hang in balance

Hopes have been raised of a possible breakthrough at the UN climate summit in Cancun as key talks enter the decisive final stage.

A draft text, being considered by delegates, looks to bridge differences that could scupper the talks.

Earlier, prospects for a deal appeared to be receding, with nations clashing on future emission commitments.

Japan and Russia were opposed to further cuts under the Kyoto Protocol - a major demand of developing countries.

There were also divisions over a proposed fund to help poor nations deal with climate impacts.

The latest draft document makes reference to a "second commitment period" of the Kyoto Protocol - a period in which countries in the protocol would make further emission cuts - without mandating that it will happen.

The issue has caused major divisions between developing countries and Japan and Russia.

However, it still needs to be accepted by the plenary of the 190-nation gathering.

'Zombie process'
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The money wrangle concerned the proposed "Green Fund" - a vehicle that would gather and distribute funds running to perhaps $100bn (£63bn) per year by 2020.

During overnight discussions into Friday morning, the US, EU and Japan stuck to their line that the World Bank must administer the fund.

For developing countries, this was unacceptable, as they viewed the bank as a western-run institution.

The latest development, in which the World Bank will be invited to run the fund for an initial three-year period, seems to have won the support of many delegates and observers attending the summit.
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CANCUN CLIMATE SUMMIT

Small island states are looking at ways to evacuate their entire populations, says UN chief
Japan targeted on climate stance
Carbon cuts key to climate funds
Huhne to stay at UN climate talks
Climate warning at Cancun summit
Charges to tackle ship emissions
Poorer nations 'need carbon cuts'

France's environment minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet said: "It's a text of compromise. You look for compromise, you look for a formula that's acceptable to everyone; in general it's got some interesting things in it."

Brazilian negotiator Luiz Figueiredo said Japan and Russia "accept this language, while before they didn't accept it", the AFP news agency reported.

The UK's Climate Secretary Chris Huhne warned that there was a "real danger" that the annual talks could become a "zombie process" if there was not a successful outcome.

The Sudanese negotiator suggested that it was too early to judge whether the draft document would succeed in delivering a deal at the talks being held in the Mexican resort.

"At the first cut it shows some promise. But whether it amounts to something adequate to address the challenge is something we have to look at," Lumumba Stanislaus Di-Aping told BBC News.

As to whether it allowed Japan and Russia wriggle-room not to commit to a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol, he added: "That's a very serious question. We cannot have the [protocol] as an empty shell."

Balancing act

BBC environment correspondent montauk real estate, reporting from the summit in Cancun, said the compromise text was a step forward but the talks were still likely to go down to the wire.

"The new document is strong on acknowledging the scale of the problem, but does not commit parties to new measures to curb emissions," he observed.

"It recognises that developed countries would need to cut their combined emissions by 25-40% below 1990 levels by 2020 in order to meet 1.5C or 2C targets - but does not say how it is to be done."

He added that it "urged" Annex One countries (industrialised nations) to "raise the level of ambition" in order to meet the 25-40% threshold.

Some - especially the Latin American Alba bloc, spear-headed by Bolivia - also object to the Green Fund as currently conceived, because they believe western nations have a duty to pay up from the public purse, whereas the fund calls for money to be raised through levies on carbon trading, taxes on aviation, or other "innovative mechanisms".

Bolivia's hardline stance was not popular with all other developing countries, with Costa Rica saying the nation's delegation were "leading the process to delay the discussion".

Закон "О полиции" прошел первое чтение в Думе. Полицейских обяжут извиняться и проверяться

Госдума РФ приняла в пятницу в первом чтении законопроект "О полиции", внесенный президентом в нижнюю палату российского парламента. "За" проголосовали 384 депутата, против были 58 и двое воздержались, сообщает Радио "Свобода".

Президентский законопроект предусматривает, в частности, переименование милиции в полицию, передачу органами внутренних дел ряда выполняемых ими сейчас функций в иные ведомства, устанавливает правила применения полицией спецсредств и правила служебного поведения полицейских.

Документ представлял депутатам министр внутренних дел Рашид Нургалиев. С критикой законопроекта выступала фракция КПРФ, заявившая, что не поддержит его, отмечает радиостанция. Коммунисты считают принимаемые меры и решения МВД поверхностными, ненаучными и поспешными, и что новый закон мало чем отличается от действующего закона о милиции. Все остальные фракции в Думе поддержали законопроект.

- Непарламентскую оппозицию на обсуждение в Думе не оставили

Напомним, законопроект "О полиции" был подготовлен по инициативе президента РФ Дмитрия Медведева в рамках реформы МВД и выложен для публичного обсуждения в интернете. Новый документ должен сменить действующий в России закон "О милиции". В конце октября Медведев внес законопроект в Госдуму.

Ранее спикер Думы Борис Грызлов заявил, что данная законодательная инициатива президента может быть принята Думой до конца осенней сессии. В то же время правозащитники и оппозиция призывали не торопиться с принятием нового закона. Они считают, что законопроект о полиции нуждается в радикальной корректировке.

Полицейских обяжут извиняться и будут проверять на детекторе лжи

"Конечно, нельзя рассчитывать, что новый закон сделает сразу милиционеров идеальными полицейскими. Однако вектор, задаваемый проектом закона - правильный", - заявил глава МВД РФ Рашид Нургалиев, представляя депутатам проект закона. Он также разъяснил некоторые положения, предусмотренные в законопроекте "О полиции".

В частности, по его словам, полицейский, нарушивший права граждан или организаций, должен будет возместить причиненный вред и принести извинения. Нургалиев отметил, что сотрудник полиции "обязан принести свои извинения лицу, чьи права и свободы были им нарушены", передает "Интерфакс".

Кроме того, сотрудников будущей российской полиции будут тестировать на детекторе лжи, а также проверять на алкогольную и наркологическую зависимость, продолжил Нургалиев. По его словам, полицейские будут также проходить психологическую экспертизу в недавно открытом центре МВД.

Нургалиев напомнил, что разработанный законопроект должен стать ключевым этапом реформирования МВД, основная задача которой - "вывести систему внутренних дел России на новый уровень". По его словам, в законопроекте воплощен такой подход к реформе, который способен сделать полицию по-настоящему "полезной и нужной для граждан", передает ПРАЙМ-ТАСС.

В то же время Нургалиев сообщил, что избавление МВД от лишних функций, таких как содержания вытрезвителей, проведения техосмотра, административного выдворения иностранных граждан, ведения реестра дисквалифицированных лиц и контроля за кассовой техникой, проходит непросто и затянется до 2012 года. "Мы не собираемся это делать (передавать неполицейские функции в другие ведомства) сиюминутно. Многие органы, которым мы передадим функции, к этому еще не готовы", - сказал министр.

Нургалиев также пообещал, что пенсии бывшим сотрудникам МВД с 2012 будут увеличены вдвое. При этом он подчеркнул, что это коснется не только тех, кто станет пенсионером в 2012 году, но всех ветеранов МВД, "в том числе и тех, кто вышел на пенсию в советское время", отмечает ИТАР-ТАСС.

Финансовый вопрос

Отвечая на вопросы думцев, Нургалиев заявил, в частности, что переименование милиции в полицию будет финансироваться из бюджета МВД РФ на 2011-2012 годы, на это не потребуются заоблачные средства. "Мы это просчитывали Монголия. И это этапный вопрос, который будет учитываться нами в пределах финансирования", - сказал министр.

Ранее сообщалось, что Минфин России не готов выделить средства на реформу полиции в 2011 году. С1 марта 2011 года, когда в России должна появиться полиция, по 2012 год полицейские будут существовать только на бумаге. По мнению Минфина, предложение о вступлении законопроекта в силу с1 марта 2011 необоснованно, так как не обеспечено финансовыми ресурсами.

В МВД проинформированы о позиции Минфина: 7 декабря замглавы МВД Сергей Булавин попросил помощи у членов думского комитета по безопасности в "поединке" с Минфином. Он заявил, что переименование полиции, изменение удостоверений и смена вывесок обойдутся бюджету примерно в полмиллиарда рублей. При этом в МВД изготовление нагрудных знаков для полицейских оценивали в миллиард рублей, а в целом затраты на преобразование милиции в полицию составят в 2,2 млрд руб.

Students attack Prince Charles' car after fee hike

Furious student protesters attacked a car carrying Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, vandalized buildings and battled riot police Thursday as a controversial hike in university fees triggered Britain's worst political violence in years.

In a major security breach, demonstrators set upon the heir to the throne's Rolls Royce as it drove through London's busy West End on its way to a theater. A group of up to 20 struck it with fists, sticks and bottles, breaking a window and splattering the gleaming black vehicle with paint.

In the frenzy, some chanted "off with their heads!"

Adnan Nazir, a 23-year-old podiatrist who was following the protesters, said Charles, 62, kept his calm, gently pushing his 63-year-old wife toward the floor to get her out of the line of fire.

"Charles got her on the floor and put his hands on her," Nazir said. "Charles was still waving and giving the thumb's up.

"It was just a surreal thing," he said. "It was completely manic."

Charles' office, Clarence House, said the royal couple was unharmed. But the attack took police completely by surprise and raises serious security questions.

The chief of the Metropolitan Police, Paul Stephenson, said the force would launch an investigation into Thursday's violence.

Prime Minister David Cameron said the violence against the royal couple was "shocking and regrettable."

"It is clear that a minority of protesters came determined to provoke violence, attack the police and cause as much damage to property as possible," Cameron said. "They must face the full force of the law."

Police said it was unclear whether the royals had been deliberately targeted, or were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The couple arrived looking somber but composed at the London Palladium theater, where they were attending a Royal Variety Performance.

Camilla later managed to shrug off the ordeal, saying there was "a first time for everything," the Press Association news agency reported.

Protesters erupted in anger after legislators in the House of Commons approved a plan to triple university fees to 9,000 pounds ($14,000) a year.

As thousands of students were corralled by police near Parliament, some strummed guitars and sang Beatles songs — but others hurled chunks of paving stones at police and smashed windows in a government building.

Another group ran riot through the busy shopping streets of London's West End, smashing store windows and setting fire to a giant Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square.

Police condemned the "wanton vandalism." They said 43 protesters and 12 officers had been injured, while 22 people were arrested. Police said the number of arrests would likely rise.

Home Secretary Theresa May said that "what we are seeing in London tonight, the wanton vandalism, smashing of windows, has nothing to do with peaceful protest."

The violence overshadowed the tuition vote, a crucial test for governing Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition, and for the government's austerity plans to reduce Britain's budget deficit.

It was approved 323-302 in the House of Commons, a close vote given the government's 84-seat majority.

Many in the thousands-strong crowd outside booed and chanted "shame" when they heard the result of the vote, and pressed against metal barriers and lines of riot police penning them in.

Earlier small groups of protesters threw flares, billiard balls and paint bombs, and officers, some on horses, rushed to reinforce the security cordon.

The scuffles broke out after students marched through central London and converged on Parliament Square, waving placards and chanting "education is not for sale" to cap weeks of nationwide protests aimed at pressuring lawmakers to reverse course.

The vote put Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and his Liberal Democrat party in an awkward spot. Liberal Democrats signed a pre-election pledge to oppose any such tuition hike, and reserved the right to abstain in the vote even though they are part of the governing coalition proposing the change.

Those protesting were particularly incensed by the broken pledge from Clegg's party.

"I'm here because the Liberal Democrats broke their promise," said 19-year-old Kings College student Shivan David. "I don't think education should be free but I do think that tripling fees doesn't make any sense. We are paying more for less."

Clegg defended the proposals, saying the plans represent the "best possible choice" at a time of economic uncertainty.

But under intense political pressure, 21 Liberal Democrat lawmakers — more than a third of the total — voted against the apple computers store. Another eight, including at least one government minister, abstained.

Experts warned that fallout from the policy could pose a greater risk after the vote.

"The real danger for the government is not that they won't pass it through, but that it will be a policy fiasco," said Patrick Dunleavy, a political science professor at the London School of Economics. "By picking this fight with the student body ... the government seems to have gotten itself into choppy water."

Cameron's government describes the move as a painful necessity to deal with a record budget deficit and a sputtering economy. To balance its books, the U.K. passed a four-year package of spending cuts worth 81 billion pounds, which will eliminate hundreds of thousands of public sector jobs and cut or curtail hundreds of government programs.

Associated Press Writers Jill Lawless and Gillian Smith contributed to this report.

WikiLeaks' Assange fights extradition to Sweden

WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange has told a London court he will fight extradition to Sweden.

The 39-year-old Australian was appearing before City of Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday. He was asked whether he understood that he could consent to be extradited to Sweden, where he faces allegations of sex crimes.

Assange said that he understood — and that he did not consent.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

LONDON (AP) — Visa says it has suspended all payments to WikiLeaks pending an investigation of the organization's business.

Visa's decision is a powerful blow to the loosely knit organization, which relies on online donations to fund its operations.

Popular online payment company PayPal, Inc. has already severed its links with WikiLeaks. fitness and health decision to pull the plug on WikiLeaks leaves the website with one fewer source of revenue.

Swiss authorities closed Assange's new Swiss bank account Monday.

French court: Continental guilty in Concorde crash

Continental Airlines Inc. and one of its mechanics were convicted in a French court of manslaughter Monday because debris from one of its planes caused the crash of an Air France Concorde jet that killed 113 people a decade ago.

The Houston-based airline was ordered to pay Air France tech system euro1.08 million ($1.43 million) for damaging its reputation, in addition to a fine of around euro200,000 ($265,000). The victims of the crash were mostly German tourists.

The presiding judge confirmed investigators' long-held belief that titanium debris dropped by a Continental DC-10 onto the runway at Charles de Gaulle airport before the supersonic jet took off on July 25, 2000, was to blame. Investigators said the debris gashed the Concorde's tire, propelling bits of rubber into the fuel tanks and sparking a fire.

The plane then slammed into a nearby hotel, killing all 109 people aboard and four others on the ground.

Ronald Schmid, a lawyer who has represented several families of the German victims, said he was "skeptical" about the ruling.

"It bothers me that none of those responsible for Air France were sitting in the docks," he told The Associated Press by phone from Frankfurt.

The airline and mechanic, John Taylor, were also ordered to jointly pay more than euro274,000 ($360,000) in damages to different civil parties.

Taylor was also handed a 15-month suspended prison sentence, and a euro2,000 ($2,650) fine. All other defendants — including three former French officials and Taylor's now-retired supervisor Stanley Ford — were acquitted.

The court said Taylor should not have used titanium, a harder metal than usual, to build a piece for the DC-10 that is known as a wear strip. He was also accused of improperly installing the piece that fell onto the runway.

Continental's defense lawyer, Olivier Metzner, confirmed the carrier would appeal. He denounced a ruling that he called "patriotic" for sparing the French defendants and convicting only the Americans.

"This is a ruling that protects only the interests of France. This has strayed far from the truth of law and justice," he said. "This has privileged purely national interests.

Continental spokesman Nick Britton, in a statement, echoed that sentiment, and said the airline disagreed with the "absurd finding" against it and Taylor.

"Portraying the metal strip as the cause of the accident and Continental and one of its employees as the sole guilty parties shows the determination of the French authorities to shift attention and blame away from Air France," he said, noting that Air France was state-run at the time.

Roland Rappaport, a lawyer for the family of Concorde pilot Christian Marty and a pilots union, said the verdict was system detection and asked why blame was heaped on Continental mechanics when French officials were aware of weaknesses on the Concorde around two decades before the crash.

"This trial made clear that the Concorde, this superb plane, suffered from severe technical insufficiencies, problems with the fuel tanks that were known since '79," he said outside the courtroom.

The fine delivered against Continental surpassed the euro175,000 ($231,000) fine sought by a state prosecutor, who had requested 18-month suspended prison sentences for both Taylor and Ford.

The prosecution also requested a two-year suspended sentence for Henri Perrier, former head of the Concorde program at former plane maker Aerospatiale. It argued for acquitting French engineer Jacques Herubel and Claude Frantzen, former chief of France's civil aviation authority.

While France's aviation authority concluded the crash could not have been foreseen, a judicial inquiry said the plane's fuel tanks lacked sufficient protection from shock and said officials had known about the problem for more than 20 years.

The families of most victims were compensated years ago, so financial claims were not the trial's focus — the main goal was to assign responsibility. It is not uncommon for such cases to take years to reach trial in France.

Continental is now part of Chicago-based United Continental Holdings Inc., which was formed in October as the holding company owner of United and Continental airlines, which will eventually be combined into a single airline.

In France, unlike in many other countries, plane crashes routinely lead to trials to assign criminal responsibility. It is common for cases to drag on for years.

In 2009, France's highest court finally confirmed the acquittal of all those originally accused of responsibility in an Air Inter crash that killed 87 people in 1992 — 17 years earlier.

Tow vessel pulling disabled freighter to reach Alaskan harbor Tuesday

Rescuers towing a giant disabled freighter in frigid Alaskan waters were attempting to avoid bad weather on Sunday, a move that will delay its arrival in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, the Coast Guard said.

The Tor Viking II vessel, towing the Golden Seas freighter, had "moved south a little bit" to avoid 20-foot seas and 30-knot winds, Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Dana Warr said. The Tor Viking II's captain made the decision to loop below the Aleutian Islands, he said. The freighter is not expected to arrive in Dutch Harbor until Tuesday afternoon, he said Sunday.

The 738-foot Golden Seas suffered engine problems Friday morning and was chugging along at only 3 knots (3.5 mph). On Saturday night, the Tor Viking II vessel reached the Golden Seas and began towing it toward Dutch Harbor, a journey of about 275 miles, Warr said.

"Right now, everything is going as planned," Warr said, adding that authorities will remain vigilant until the freighter reaches Dutch Harbor.

The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Alex Haley was expected to meet the two vessels on Sunday morning, according to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.

Warr said Sunday the cutter was "just around the corner" and able to assist should the tow line break -- the worst-case scenario, he said. In addition, the Coast Guard can fly out in helicopters to reconnect the tow, he said. "We have plan B in place in case something happens," he said.

"The safety of the crew is paramount. At high school in are not in any danger," Jeremy Michels, responsible party incident commander, said in a teleconference Saturday.

The tow operation took about three hours to set up, Warr said Sunday.

The Golden Seas is carrying canola seed used for making canola oil as well as more than 450,000 gallons of crude oil, 11,700 gallons of diesel and 10,000 gallons of lube oil on board, officials said.

The vessel, owned by the Greek company Allseas Marine, was traveling from Vancouver, British Columbia, to the United Arab Emirates.

The towing operation will be challenging because of high seas, including waves of up to 26 feet, officials have said.

The Golden Seas encountered waves as high as 29 feet on Friday, the Coast Guard said.

Helicopters aided the effort to keep the freighter from drifting southeast and running aground on Atka Island, part of the Aleutian Islands in the Bering Sea, before the tow was connected.

Gary Folley of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation said the state and Coast Guard are conducting a risk assessment of rescue operations in the region. The study will include a look at possible funding to add more rescue tugs on the islands.