How the Poll Was Conducted

Abstract: The latest New York Times/Siena College Poll of New York City consists of telephone interviews with 1,016 adult residents throughout the city conducted Dec. 7 to 11. All interviewing was done by the Siena Research Institute at Siena College in Loudonville, N.Y. Interviews were in English or Spanish. The telephone numbers called, both landlines and cellphones, were from random digit dialing samples provided by Survey Sampling International of Shelton, Conn. Each borough of the city was represented in proportion to its share of all telephone numbers. Random digits assured access to listed and unlisted numbers alike. The completed samples were adjusted to assure the proper ratio of cellphone-only versus landline-only and dual-phone users. In each landline household, one adult was designated by a random procedure to be the respondent for the survey. Interviewers made multiple attempts to reach every phone number in the sample, calling back unanswered numbers on different days at different times of both day and evening. The combined results have been weighted to adjust for variations in the sample relating to borough, sex, race, Hispanic origin, age, education and (for landline respondents) number of adults in the household. In theory, in 19 cases out of 20, results based on such samples will differ by no more than three percentage points in either direction from what would have been obtained by seeking to interview all residents in the city. Results based on smaller subgroups, like particular demographic categories, have a larger sampling error. Shifts in results between polls over time also have a larger sampling error. In addition to sampling error, the practical difficulties of conducting any survey of public opinion may introduce other sources of error into the poll. Variations in the wording, order and translation of questions, for example, may lead to somewhat different results. Michael R. Kagay of Princeton, N.J., assisted The Times in its polling analysis. Complete questions and results are available at nytimes.com/polls .

Polls
Siena College
Siena Research Institute
NYC
Bill de Blasio
The New York Times


The Struggle of the Global Placeless

Abstract: CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS — On a deck in Boston, seven friends recently gathered for dinner. At the table was a white American man; his wife, an Italian woman he met in Switzerland; a Swiss citizen raised in Kenya; a German of Korean origin; a woman with Haitian, Chinese and European ancestry; the son of a black American and a German Jew; and an American with Indian blood. It took a while to get through the where-are-you-fromming, as it often can these days. There is a modern myth that globalization is new. But the world has integrated before, disintegrated in war, and integrated fitfully again. Goods and people have swirled for a long time , and in the 17th, 18th or 19th century you might have found on any ship a crew and passengers made up of slaves, traders, cooks, officers, colonizers and pilgrims more diverse than our dinner table. What is arguably new is the influence of the placeless and the elevation of placelessness, in some quarters at least, to a virtue. The placeless are no longer just the flotsam and jetsam of empires and colonies. They are the president of the United States now; they are among our leading thinkers and bankers, philanthropists and public servants. Placelessness — variously defined, at varying levels of privilege — might even be seen as becoming the center of gravity of the human condition. Millions now live in one country and work in another, some crossing a border on foot each day, others putting on fake accents and telemarketers’ headsets, migrating by pretense. Millions are pouring out of their villages and into deracinating cities, with human civilization recently becoming urban in majority for the first time. Millions are being raised in a language their ancestors never spoke. And yet the placeless still find themselves colliding with a place-bound world. For the placeless person of privilege, it may be no worse than wrestling with the question “Where are you from?” You wonder every time: Do they want the five-second pick-one-identity answer, or the 30-second geography-biography, or the five-minute story? But for the more vulnerable, the stakes are higher. Mexican laborers are encouraged to work in the United States but chased away by armed vigilantes . In India, northern migrants to coastal, cosmopolitan Mumbai are beaten by armed cadres of a sons-of-the-soil political movement. In China, untold millions of rural dwellers have been drawn to the city to make the roads and buildings to fuel the country’s boom. But, under the reigning hukou system of residency permits, they find themselves without the rights of locals in the big city, without guaranteed access to education and medical care, vulnerable at any time to being sent back to the village. Officialdom struggles to process people without a place. Census forms don’t understand them. Commercial television and cinema create few characters in their image. Tax collectors insist that they choose one of their many countries as the real one. Politicians represent particular places, not ideas or industries or genders, and so if you are a Somalian-born American working in Paris for Nissan, you live in a democracy but without meaningful representation, with no public servants driven to take up your battles. But the problem is not just external. The placeless often also suffer a gnawing tension within, a love-hate relationship with roots. They find that their connections can run worldwide but only an inch deep. They may find it easier to ask friends in five countries for a favor than to ask a neighbor for sugar. They may know something of the foods of every continent but be unable to cook expertly in any one cuisine. They may have visited a greater fraction of the 10 largest cities in the world than of the neighborhoods of their own city. Placeless souls of means have a way out. They find ways of splitting the difference, living rootlessly and yet making space for roots. They travel far from home to study, but then major in the study of their own race or culture or language. Or, in the case of someone like the artist Youngjoo Cho , a native of South Korea who studied in Paris and divides her time between Berlin and Seoul, they use art to soothe the unease of not belonging. In a mixed-media piece of hers called “ Motherland Visiting ,” the detritus of a visit to her native country is springing out of a suitcase after the trip. The work is meant to suggest “the relationship of the placeless to localness,” her Web site says, “a relationship that is becoming more complex in an increasingly mobile world.” Barack Obama, that politician of so many places, has shown a similar interest in roots. A child of many homes, with parents from different races and continents, he has built an adult life more rooted. He traveled in search of his African roots, wrote a book about his quest, worked at the grass roots of community organizing in Chicago, married a woman long rooted there, and built the kind of grounded family that his own childhood had lacked. Indeed, for many placeless people, it is romantic partnership more than a specific patch of earth that gives roots. These days, it is often placeless people who flock to restaurants peddling their rootedness in place: restaurants like Blue Hill in New York, whose Web site talks of “local food” and “nearby farms” and “producers who respect artisanal techniques.” It is the placeless who seem most to loathe the McDonald’s vision of food that scholars have called the “placeless foodscape.” In a recent lecture at Princeton University, Sudhir Kakar , a prominent Indian psychoanalyst and cultural writer, suggested that this longing for place can be buried or denied or suppressed in the placeless, but that it will never truly go away. The postmodern notion of “multiple identities” has become fashionable, he said, with its notion that “migration is an opportunity to reinvent one’s identity.” But this vision, though liberating, denies the role of place in forming consciousness, particularly in childhood, he argued. The placeless dream has the “danger of underplaying if not denying the psychic pain of the migration process and the persistence of the past in the present,” said Mr. Kakar. “The emphasis on multiplicity can divert attention from what is enduring in the person.”

India
United States
Seoul (South Korea)
Day Laborers
Labor and Jobs


Zimbabwe Rivals Strike a Bargain to Share Power

Abstract: JOHANNESBURG — President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and the opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai struck a power-sharing deal on Thursday after more than a month of wrangling, but it was still far from clear how the bitter foes would divide the authority to govern. The agreement, brokered by President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, signals that Mr. Mugabe may be willing to cede some authority to Mr. Tsvangirai, loosening the tight grip on power he has maintained for nearly three decades and easing the political crisis that has engulfed Zimbabwe for months. They did not spell out how the deal would work, but Mr. Mbeki said the details of the agreement would be released Monday at a signing ceremony. Officials in both the governing and opposition parties described an arrangement that seemed to leave neither man clearly in charge. That may reduce the chances that the accord will bring stability and attract the foreign aid needed to rebuild the country’s ruined economy. Under the agreement, officials said, Mr. Tsvangirai would become prime minister and oversee a council of ministers that would formulate and carry out policies. Mr. Mugabe would retain his title of president and would lead a cabinet of the ministers that would supervise the council. That arrangement appears to give both men the power to oversee the same group of ministers. Asked who would lead the government, Nelson Chamisa, a spokesman for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, did not name one man or the other, but instead replied, “This is an inclusive government.” He said executive power would be shared by the president, the prime minister and the cabinet. Zimbabwe has faced political stalemate since Mr. Mugabe, 84, held onto the presidency in a June runoff that was widely denounced as a sham. The country is now crippled by an almost unfathomable inflation rate and traumatized by an election season in which thousands of opposition supporters were beaten by state-sponsored enforcers, human rights groups say. If the agreement does produce a functional power-sharing arrangement, it will be a significant turning point for Zimbabwe, which has become increasingly poverty stricken and isolated in recent years under Mr. Mugabe’s authoritarian rule. But it will be no small task for Mr. Mugabe, a liberation hero, and Mr. Tsvangirai, a 56-year-old former trade union leader and a persistent rival, to work together harmoniously after the enmity that has accumulated in recent months. Even on Wednesday, as the talks neared their conclusion, the opposition released a statement denouncing a “plot” by the governing party, ZANU-PF, to topple its newly elected leader of Parliament. And on Monday, as the talks were getting under way again, the political editor of the state-run newspaper, a mouthpiece for Mr. Mugabe, accused the opposition of “a cancerous connection with Britain and other Western countries.” And there are also crucial questions not yet resolved in this deal. Mr. Mugabe, Mr. Tsvangirai and a third, lesser player, Arthur Mutambara, leader of a small breakaway opposition faction, have still not decided how to divide the ministries, Mr. Chamisa said. They are supposed to turn to that task on Friday. Mr. Mugabe and Mr. Tsvangirai have been testing each other, with Mr. Mugabe threatening to appoint a cabinet of ministers unilaterally and Mr. Tsvangirai saying he would prefer no deal to a bad deal. President Mbeki of South Africa, the mediator in the conflict whose own reputation as a peacemaker has become entwined with the violent, intractable conflict in Zimbabwe, spent the past four days making a last-ditch push for a settlement at a hotel in Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital. As he came out of the hotel, Mr. Tsvangirai told reporters, “President Mbeki will address you, but I just want to tell you, we have a deal.” Mr. Mbeki emerged from the talks after Mr. Tsvangirai, but offered no details of the deal, either. He said that African leaders would gather on Monday in Harare to witness its signing and that only then would a document laying out its terms be released. “We hope the rest of the world will respect the decision of the leadership of Zimbabwe,” Mr. Mbeki said. Under Mr. Mbeki, whom Zimbabwe’s opposition has viewed as an ally of Mr. Mugabe’s, South Africa has fiercely resisted Western efforts in the United Nations to impose international sanctions on Mr. Mugabe’s government and insisted that Africans will solve this crisis on their own. Jendayi E. Frazer, the American assistant secretary of state for African affairs, said Thursday that neither American nor United Nations officials had been briefed on the contents of the final deal — a situation she said was unlike any other mediation in Africa, including those involving Congo, Liberia and Kenya. “We don’t know what’s on the table, and it’s hard to rally for an agreement when no one knows the details or even the broad outlines,” she said. She reiterated the American position that Zimbabwe voted to change its government in March and that any settlement should reflect that reality. Much hangs on the shape of the deal. Zimbabwe’s economy is in an ever-accelerating implosion. Hyperinflation has rendered the salaries of teachers, doctors and working people virtually worthless, and the widespread scarcity of basic goods, from food to medicines, has led to terrible hardships. The country’s international credibility is in tatters, and the United States, Britain and other European countries have said they are willing to provide billions in aid only if Mr. Tsvangirai, who outpolled Mr. Mugabe in the last credible election in March, is in charge of the government. Mr. Tsvangirai had resisted pressure from leaders in southern Africa, including Mr. Mbeki, to accept an earlier deal that would have made Mr. Mugabe chairman of the cabinet of ministers and commander in chief of the armed forces, leaving Mr. Tsvangirai as prime minister and a deputy head of the cabinet, answerable to Mr. Mugabe, opposition officials said. Mr. Tsvangirai won a presidential election in March, but not by a wide enough margin to avoid a runoff. Mr. Mugabe won the June runoff only after Mr. Tsvangirai boycotted it, citing brutal, state-sponsored violence against his supporters. Independent monitors from across Africa concluded that the runoff was neither free nor fair. In an interview last month, Mr. Tsvangirai said he would not consent to a deal that did not give him the authority to govern the country. To do so, he said, would be to commit political suicide. His supporters expected more for their suffering, he said, after thousands were beaten during the election season and more than 100 were killed. Mr. Chamisa, the opposition spokesman, said the party believed that Mr. Tsvangirai would have “sufficient authority” to carry out policies to deliver progress on the bread-and-butter issues of jobs, hunger and peace. “It’s not the best, but it’s the most attainable,” he said of the deal. “The focus now is to rebuild our country.” Another person close to the opposition, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he had been told about the deal in confidence, acknowledged that the lines of authority were murky. “There’s a lot of fudging going on there,” he said. “I’m worried it may be muddled. But Morgan has been adamant that he have the power to implement measures that address the problems facing Zimbabwe. Without that, he’s dead in the water. I have confidence that if he’s signed it, he believes he can deliver on health care, humanitarian assistance and jobs.”

Zimbabwe
Mugabe Robert
Tsvangirai Morgan
Mbeki Thabo
Politics and Government


Kerry Tells Iraq to Help Stop Arms Shipments to Syria

Abstract: BAGHDAD — Secretary of State John Kerry told Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, the prime minister of Iraq, on Sunday that Iraq must take steps to stop Iran from shipping arms to Syria through Iraqi airspace. But an hour and 40 minutes of discussions here, which Mr. Kerry said were sometimes “spirited,” failed to yield a breakthrough on the issue. As Mr. Kerry prepared to leave Iraq afterward, he warned that the Iranian flights were sustaining the government of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, and were undermining Iraq’s standing with American lawmakers. “Anything that supports President Assad is problematic,” Mr. Kerry said at a news conference here, where he voiced hope that progress might be made in resolving the issue. Mr. Kerry’s visit to Iraq on Sunday was the first by an American secretary of state since 2009. He came at a time when concerns are growing over Iraq’s role in the crisis in Syria, and when the United States’ influence in Iraq has been dwindling. The State Department has been sharply reducing its huge presence here, and its diplomats have seemed powerless to affect the course of events on two of Washington’s pressing concerns: Iraqi tolerance for the Iranian weapons shipments to Syria and issuance of arrest warrants for certain Sunni leaders by the Shiite-dominated Iraqi government. The Obama administration has appeared to be less engaged in Iraq in recent months, as it has sought to “normalize” relations, and the Iraqis have distanced themselves from their former occupiers. And there is a sense among many Iraqi officials that the Americans are no longer willing to marshal the influence they still have. “The Americans are not using claws or teeth,” Mowaffak al-Rubaie, Mr. Maliki’s former national security adviser, said shortly before Mr. Kerry’s visit. A headline Sunday in the Iraqi newspaper Al Mada referring to President Obama’s trip last week to the Middle East read, “Obama Visited the Region but Ignored Iraq.” The article noted that “Iraq was not even mentioned in Obama’s speeches to the region” and said that “all the protests and bombings in Iraq haven’t come to the attention of Obama.” The Iranian flights, which are vitally important for Mr. Assad’s forces, represent a major challenge for American strategy concerning Syria. Mr. Kerry has repeatedly said that the Obama administration wants to change Mr. Assad’s “calculation” that he can prevail, and persuade him to relinquish power and agree to a political transition. Image Mr. Kerry leaving the American Embassy in Baghdad. Credit Jason Reed/Reuters But Robert Ford, the American ambassador to Syria and the senior State Department official dealing with the Syrian opposition, told Congress last week that Iran has been “plussing up” its aid and strengthening Mr. Assad’s belief that he can defeat the rebels militarily. A senior State Department official traveling with Mr. Kerry said that planes carrying Iranian arms reach Syria almost daily. American officials have repeatedly insisted to Iraq that it should request that the Iranian flights land and be inspected. But the Iraqis have done so only twice since July, the State Department official said. In one of those cases, the plane was on its way back to Tehran from Syria, and its cargo was already delivered. Iran has said the flights carry only humanitarian aid. As a senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Mr. Kerry suggested that the United States consider linking its support for Iraq with Mr. Maliki’s willingness to order inspections of Iranian flights. “If so many people have entreated the government to stop, and that doesn’t seem to be having an impact,” Mr. Kerry said in September, “that sort of alarms me a little bit, and seems to send a signal to me, maybe we should make some of our assistance or some of our support contingent on some kind of appropriate response.” But as a secretary of state, Mr. Kerry has been less confrontational. In his meeting with Mr. Maliki on Sunday, Mr. Kerry argued that Iraq ought to have a role in international discussions about Syria’s post-Assad future, but to secure that role, it was important that Iraq stop facilitating aid for Mr. Assad. “We agreed to try to provide more information with respect to this,” Mr. Kerry said afterward, alluding to Iraq’s insistence that the American government share with Iraq its intelligence on the Iranian flights, to show that they were carrying arms. Whether that will sway Mr. Maliki is unclear. Iran has an enormous stake in Syria: it is Iran’s staunchest Arab ally and a conduit for supporting Hezbollah, the Lebanese Islamist movement. Iraq, too, has a lot at stake there. The prospect of a rebel victory in Syria and the rise of a Sunni-led government, Mr. Maliki fears, might embolden Sunnis in Iraq. So his Shiite-dominated government has increasingly sided with Mr. Assad as well. American promises to help shape a stable democracy in Syria have been met with skepticism by some Iraqi officials. In an interview late in 2012, Sheikh Humam Hamoudi, the chairman of the Iraqi Parliament’s foreign affairs committee, recalled a visit in September from A. Elizabeth Jones, the acting assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs . “What she said was that they would educate the Syrians on how to be a democracy,” Mr. Hamoudi said, adding with a hint of sarcasm, “just like what happened in Iraq.” Concerning Iraq’s fraught domestic politics, which lurch from crisis to crisis, Mr. Kerry encouraged Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish lawmakers to cooperate, and pressed the Iraqi government to reconsider its recent decision to postpone provincial elections in two Sunni-dominated provinces — Anbar and Nineveh — where street protests have erupted in recent months. “Everyone needs to vote simultaneously,” Mr. Kerry said on Sunday, adding that “no country knows more about voting under difficult circumstances than Iraq.” The elections had been scheduled for April 20. Mr. Kerry also asked Sunni leaders to give up their boycott of participation in the Iraqi cabinet. He met with Osama al-Nujaifi, a Sunni who is the speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, and spoke by telephone with Massoud Barzani, the leader of the Kurdish regional government, who is in Erbil. “It’s an important moment,” Mr. Kerry said at the start of a meeting with Mr. Nujaifi, alluding to stalled efforts at political reconciliation. “There’s a lot happening, and a lot not happening.”

Iraq
Syria
John Kerry
Iran
Military
US Foreign Policy


Prisoner Letters Offer Glimpses of Life in Solitary Confinement

Abstract: The handwritten letters arrived by the dozens, from men who described in flawed but poignant language what it was like to lose their minds. “I feel like I am developing some kind of skitsophrinia behaviors,” one man wrote. “I hear voices echoing as I try to fall asleep.” Another said his mind “rots” with “thoughts that are uncommon or unnatural and you wonder where the hell did that come from?” They are prisoners in New York’s state prison system, and they were convicted of a range of crimes, including selling drugs and murder. The men were ordered out of the general prison population and into solitary confinement — or, in their parlance, “the box” — where they lived in tiny, elevator-size cells cut off from almost all human contact. The reasons varied: fighting, smoking, testing positive for drugs; but often prisoners are sent into isolation for more serious crimes, like stabbing other inmates, trying to escape or attacking guards. Having been held captive to their imaginations for weeks, months or, occasionally, years on end, the men — many already struggling with mental illness — brought their paranoia, rage, anxiety and hope to life on the page, with descriptions that were sometimes literary and other times nearly impossible to decipher. More than anything, they conveyed a grisly awareness that their identities were unraveling, a feeling so disconcerting for some that they tried to take their own lives. The trove of letters from more than 100 inmates to the New York Civil Liberties Union , which corresponded with the men to bolster its attempts to curtail the practice of solitary confinement, gives new insight into a closed-off world usually viewed only one person at a time. The letters may add fuel to the national debate over whether holding prisoners in extreme isolation amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. Many states have recently shifted away from the practice, which was the subject of federal hearings this summer, but it remains widespread in New York. Nearly 4,500 prisoners in the state are held in segregated housing on any given day, about half in solitary confinement and half in cells with another inmate, according to the N.Y.C.L.U., which planned to publish a 72-page report on its findings on Tuesday, a copy of which was provided in advance to The New York Times . The civil liberties group called both types of segregation “arbitrary, inhumane and unsafe,” arguing that corrections officials have too much discretion to send inmates to segregated housing for long periods, even for minor infractions. The report does not call for abolishing solitary confinement but recommends that the state corrections department enact more restrictive regulations that reserve isolation as a punishment for the most violent offenders and that the state take a census of its cells to find out which inmates deserve to be there. A spokesman for the corrections department, Peter K. Cutler, limited his comments in an interview on Monday because the report had not been released. “Disciplinary segregation is something that we take very seriously in our system,” Mr. Cutler said. He said the factors guiding the department were inmate behavior and the safety and security of the prisons. “There is a process. It is not something that is done unilaterally.” “Inmates are absolutely entitled to rights, and should never be subjected to violence,” Donn Rowe, president of the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association , said in a statement. “But their anonymous complaints should also be met with an appropriate amount of skepticism, and the public must be reminded that New York’s prison system houses some of the most violent and troubled individuals in this country.” In the letters, the inmates — whose real names were not released by the N.Y.C.L.U. because the organization said they might suffer retribution from corrections officials — accepted responsibility for the crimes that they had committed on the outside but questioned whether their behavior on the inside deserved such treatment. They pointed fingers at the mental health officials, nurses and guards who they said brushed off complaints. “Please, somebody help,” wrote a man who would try to commit suicide months later. “I need HELP!!!” The inmates began serving their time among the general population at prisons spread across the state. They were transferred to segregated housing after breaking the rules. One said he was cited for “wreckless eyeballing and stalking” after he looked at a female prison guard’s backside as she bent over to pick up her keys. Most of the men ended up at one of the two state prisons dedicated entirely to isolation cells, Upstate Correctional Facility, in the town of Malone near the Canadian border, or Southport Correctional Facility, in Pine City. Monotony was the rule for 23 hours a day. They received their food through slots in the doors. For one hour each day, they exercised in a small metal cage called the “kennel.” The men “fished,” or passed notes, books and magazines to each other using ripped sheets weighted by toothpaste tubes. But mostly they watched the walls. “The water from the sink is a milky color,” one inmate wrote. “It’s not white but its definitely not clear. Our shower is extremely hot and drips even after we cut it off — nonstop. Due to the moisture from the shower and the sink, we now are beginning to notice knats, also known as ‘fruit flies.’ The walls are marked with gang signs, demonic drawings, mucus, feces and rust. We are not allowed to disinfect our cells. There is toothpaste hard and flaky on my lights, walls, bed, ceiling, doors and vents. On my shower there is numerous stickers, mildoo, soap residoo, and what appears to be little spots of dried blood.”

Prison
Letters
New York
Mental Health
NYCLU


Police Arrest Suspects in Tel Aviv Bus Blast, Including Israeli Citizen

Abstract: JERUSALEM — An Arab with Israeli citizenship and several West Bank Palestinians have been arrested on suspicion of carrying out the bus bombing in the heart of Tel Aviv on Wednesday, the Israeli police and the internal security service, the Shin Bet, announced on Thursday. The bombing, which injured 21 people, was regarded as a terrorist act and was the first such attack to strike the Mediterranean city in more than six years. It revived traumatic memories of the second Palestinian uprising, rattling the population even as a cease-fire was in the works to end eight days of intense fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. A Shin Bet statement said that the suspects were rounded up within hours of the explosion. Most of them, it said, were from the Palestinian village of Beit Laqiya in the Ramallah area of the West Bank, and were associated with both Hamas an another militant group, Islamic Jihad. It said the suspects had recruited a resident of Taibe, an Arab village in northern Israel, who was originally from Beit Laqiya but who had become an Israeli citizen through a family unification program. None of the suspects were immediately identified. The Shin Bet said the group from Beit Laqiya had admitted to preparing the bomb, choosing Tel Aviv as the target and buying cellphones for the remote detonation of the device. The Shin Bet and the police said that the Israeli man placed the bomb on the bus and then disembarked. He then made contact with the organizers in Beit Laqiya, who activated the bomb by a phone call, they said. The Israeli man fled. After the blast, the police set up roadblocks and hunted for the bomber with helicopters. There were reports of huge traffic jams along Route 443, a highway that runs through the West Bank close to Beit Laqiya. Israeli officials said that the bomb on the bus appeared to be smaller than the kind used by suicide bombers during the last Palestinian uprising, which broke out in 2000. A former police chief told Israel Radio that it seemed like a hastily improvised attack, rather than one that pointed to an organized terrorist infrastructure. Still, such attacks from the West Bank have become a rarity, and the recruitment of an accomplice inside Israel was bound to raise further concerns among Israelis. The Israeli military said that overnight it had arrested 55 Palestinians across the West Bank whom it described as “terror operatives” affiliated with various groups.

Police
Palestinians
Terrorism
Israel
Buses
Tel Aviv (Israel)


Faster Pace of Growth May Not Last Long

Abstract: Stoked by rising inventories, the American economy grew at a significantly faster pace in the third quarter than first estimated, but probably at the expense of economic activity during the current quarter as businesses work off some of the excess stock on their shelves and in warehouses. As investors digested the better-than-expected data on Thursday from the Commerce Department for July, August and September, many economists immediately cut their estimates for fourth-quarter growth. Barclays, for example, now expects the nation’s gross domestic product to advance at only a 1.5 percent annual rate, down from 2 percent and far below the government’s latest estimate of a 3.6 percent pace for the third quarter. A final revision is scheduled Dec. 20. Still, the latest data comes at a time when other signs are pointing to improved economic performance next year, both in the United States and abroad, including more robust manufacturing activity and hiring. In London on Thursday, British officials raised their projections for growth in 2013 and 2014, a sharp reversal from a year ago, when Britain was flirting with a double-dip recession. On the Continent, however, the outlook is bleaker. On Thursday, the European Central Bank raised its estimate for growth next year by just 0.1 percentage point to a still-anemic 1.1 percent; the central bank expects the euro zone — the 17 European nations that use the euro — to show a contraction of 0.4 percentage point once all the data for 2013 is in. Image Credit The New York Times “All in all, we’re seeing positive developments,” Mario Draghi, the president of the central bank, said at a news conference, after the bank left its main interest rate unchanged at 0.25 percent. The situation in Europe makes the United States look good by comparison, even if things are not as rosy as the latest figures from Washington might suggest. “You can never be unhappy with a 3.6 percent number for gross domestic product,” said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. “But the details are more sobering than the headlines. Apart from the inventory numbers, the revisions are pretty trivial.” “Either companies thought demand would accelerate and built inventories in anticipation of sales that didn’t happen,” Mr. Shepherdson added, “or they’re building in anticipation of stronger demand in the fourth quarter.” With demand uncertain in the final three months of the year, Mr. Shepherdson expects fourth-quarter growth will probably run at a pace of 1 to 2 percent. The economy’s performance in the final months of 2013 will also determine the denouement of one of the longest-running dramas on Wall Street — the timing of when the Federal Reserve begins easing its stimulus efforts. Investors and traders had expected policy makers to begin tapering its monthly $85 billion bond purchases in September, but the central bank held off because of mixed economic data. Although the latest data on growth in gross domestic product comes after a series of better-than-expected figures in the United States, American central bankers don’t appear to be in a rush to pull back on the stimulus. While they could act as soon as the next Fed meeting later this month, many analysts do not expect a move until early 2014. Image Credit The New York Times On Thursday, the president of one regional Fed bank indicated that he remained cautious. “The strong third quarter doesn’t make a trend,” said Dennis P. Lockhart, president of the Atlanta Fed. “I am not prepared to interpret the revised third-quarter number as an indication that the economy is on a much stronger track — I think we’re still on that relatively moderate growth track.” The spotlight on the Fed will grow more intense after Friday, when the Labor Department reports the latest figures for job creation and the unemployment rate in November. Although many economists say that the job market will remain cloudy because of the aftereffect of October’s government shutdown, the report will be closely watched because it will provide the last major clue to the economy before Fed policy makers gather on Dec. 17 and 18. “It’s a big number,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial. “I think they won’t taper in December, but it is close.” With a gain of 204,000 positions, the jobs data for October was surprisingly robust, catching most economists off-guard. On Friday, the consensus calls for payrolls to have increased by 185,000 last month with the unemployment rate falling to 7.2 percent, according to Bloomberg News. On Thursday, the Labor Department said initial weekly jobless claims unexpectedly dropped to 298,000, the lowest in more than two months. Experts warn the numbers could be volatile, especially the unemployment rate, which is based on a survey separate from the one that tracks hiring and was affected heavily by furloughed government workers in October. The subsequent return of those workers could push the unemployment rate back down more sharply for November, economists said. If it drops to 7.1 percent, it would reach the lowest level in five years. “The unemployment rate is a complete guess,” said Ellen Zentner, senior United States economist at Morgan Stanley. Even if the more reliable payroll number is stronger than predicted, she said there was little chance of a Fed move this month because fourth-quarter growth looks so weak. Morgan Stanley expects the United States economy to expand by just 1 percent in the final three months of the year.


Russia Destroys Piles of Banned Western Food

Abstract: MOSCOW — Ramping up enforcement of a ban on European food imports , the Russian authorities on Thursday destroyed hundreds of tons of foodstuffs they said violated the proscription, instituted a year ago in retaliation for Western sanctions over Ukraine. Following an order by President Vladimir V. Putin , officials threw huge piles of pork, tomatoes, peaches and cheese into landfills and garbage incinerators. The frenzy, remarkable even by the standards of Russia ’s recent politicization of food supplies, was gleefully reported by Russian state television. “You can see behind me cheese that was made nobody knows where, without labels,” Yekaterina Mironova, a journalist on Rossiya 24 television, standing before a gigantic mound of orange cheese rounds, as a bulldozer revved its engine in the background. The offending cheese, she said, would be plowed into a landfill in the Belgorod region of western Russia. News reports chronicled the destruction throughout the day, along the entire breadth of Russia’s western border, from Orenburg in the south to St. Petersburg in the north. “German cheese being burned in Pulkovo,” screamed one headline on the news portal Gazeta.ru . Throughout the Ukraine crisis, there has been a real war in which more than 6,000 people have died and, on the sidelines of that war, a food fight. Russia has a track record of applying food import rules politically. In 2013, the Kremlin banned Ukrainian chocolate , ostensibly for health reasons. As tensions escalated, Russia banned European milk products like yogurt, giving rise to the term Milk Curtain for the new East-West divide in Europe. After Western nations imposed sanctions on Russian banks and oil companies over Moscow’s support for separatism in eastern Ukraine, Russia turned, as it has so often before, to food, banning European and American imports. Image A Moscow grocery store last August, after Russia imposed a ban on European food imports in retaliation for Western sanctions over Ukraine. Credit Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters But Russia’s notoriously corrupt customs inspections turned out to be as porous as, well, Swiss cheese. Many products, like Danish canned ham, easily found in Moscow grocery stores, were slipping through. Importers had taken to obscuring the origins of shipments, suggesting that they came from Turkey rather than a European Union country, for example, or used other ruses to slip sustenance over the borders. In response, Mr. Putin on July 29 issued a decree with a title as long as a menu item in a farm-to-table restaurant — “On Special Economic Measures to Protect the Russian Federation’s Security” — and it ordered the destruction of contraband food discovered inside Russia starting Thursday. In one instance in southern Russia, workers fed 114 tons of pork into an incinerator, while 73 tons of peaches labeled as Turkish reached the end of the road on a highway west of Moscow. In the Smolensk region on Thursday, agricultural and sanitary officials said they had detected a load of European tomatoes. “The European origin of the tomatoes was established by the logistics of the load,” the regional office of the inspection agency tasked with the food destruction, Rosselkhoznadzor, told Interfax. Vladimir Severinov, the head of the agency in the Smolensk region, said the “cargo will be destroyed with the aid of heavy machinery, tractors, bulldozers. The process will be recorded on video.” In a country with a history of food shortages, the televised destruction of food evoked a sense of pride in a country that can afford, if it so chooses, to grind cheese into the ground or donate it to others. Russia last accepted food aid in 1998. The daily newspaper Izvestia quoted a member of the group Communists of Russia as saying that the seized food should be sent to Africa, where it would “elevate the prestige of our country among the people of Africa.” Other public figures suggested feeding the confiscated contraband food to orphans. However, in a country where food prices have in some cases doubled and tripled with the collapse of the ruble and the import ban, more than 288,000 people endorsed an online petition at Change.org asking Mr. Putin to cancel his decree and stop wasting food. A spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, said Mr. Putin would be informed of the petition.

Russia
Food
Ukraine
Vladimir Putin
Embargoes Sanctions
EU


A Wealth Tax Would Look Beyond Income

Abstract: INCOME tax rates have recently been raised slightly for some affluent people, and there is pressure for additional increases. But some economists say raising marginal income tax rates on high earners may miss the mark. One reason is that the truly wealthy employ all kinds of legal means to minimize their tax liability, including shifting income around the world, deferring gains on their assets and many other sophisticated strategies. Another, though, is that taxes on ordinary income simply don’t apply to inheritance or investment, principal sources of wealth. Under legislation that Congress approved on New Year’s Day the top marginal income tax rate for 2013 has risen to 39.6 percent from 35 percent for individuals on ordinary income over $400,000 and for couples on income over $450,000, while tax deductions and credits start phasing out on income as low as $250,000. But what is being taxed is often just a small portion of the income and wealth of the very richest Americans; unearned income, including unrealized gains and gains on investments, is either not taxed or taxed at a fraction of the top rate on wages. Taxing wealth in addition to income is one way to make sure that the rich contribute more to government coffers. That would essentially be a tax on household assets like property, stocks, bonds, unincorporated businesses, trusts, art and yachts. The idea is to aim at the wealthiest part of the population, perhaps the top 1 percent, a group that has seen the most significant and consistent accumulation of wealth over the last few decades. “A wealth tax is an attempt to fill the holes in income tax,” said Douglas A. Shackelford, a tax expert at the University of North Carolina. “The primary hole is unrealized capital gains. That’s behind the big buildup of dynastic wealth.” COUNTRIES like Canada have a tax on asset appreciation, based on the value of the assets at the time of the owner’s death. The United States does not, and the tax code contains a huge loophole through which to pass wealth to one’s heirs. Here is how that can work in practice: A billionaire can borrow against his stocks, art and real estate, and spend that borrowed money without paying tax. All he has to do is pay interest on the loan. When he dies, his heirs can sell the assets to pay off the debt. Under an existing rule known as the “step-up in basis,” no matter how much the assets have appreciated in value, no one will owe income tax on that gain. And the rest of his fortune goes to his heirs without anyone ever paying income taxes on the appreciation in the assets. Partly to close loopholes like this, Ronald I. McKinnon, an economist at Stanford, advocates a wealth tax in addition to income tax. He outlined his proposal in a recent op-ed article in The Wall Street Journal titled “The Conservative Case for a Wealth Tax.” Professor McKinnon’s plan would require households to list all domestic and foreign assets annually. There would be a $3 million wealth exemption, which, in his estimation, would exclude more than 95 percent of the population. The remainder would be subject to a flat tax of about 3 percent of household wealth. In Europe, in addition to a wealth tax, many countries have a value-added, or consumption tax. Because the idea of a consumption tax is politically unpopular in the United States, he said in an interview, “I think the case is even stronger in the U.S.” “Plus,” he added, “the income tax is a poor vehicle for hitting the wealthy.” Other economists say that a wealth tax would also address other problems. “Wealth inequality and lack of access to opportunity is destroying the meritocratic aspects of our economy,” said Daniel Altman, an economist at New York University and a former member of the editorial board of The New York Times. “That will cost us growth in the long run.” Mr. Altman proposes replacing the income tax with a wealth tax. He estimates that a flat wealth tax of 1.5 percent would be more than enough to replace the revenue from current income, estate and gift taxes. But he proposes establishing tax brackets according to wealth levels. For instance, no tax might be imposed for a household’s first $500,000 in wealth, 1 percent for the next $500,000 and 2 percent for wealth above $1 million. Proponents of a wealth tax also say it would encourage innovation and risk-taking because it wouldn’t tax wealth in its early phases, but only after it has been amassed. There are several main criticisms. For one, valuing unfamiliar assets — say, private businesses or art collections — would not be easy. A related issue is liquidity, as an owner may not be able to readily obtain cash based on the value of the assets in question. And some fear a negative effect on capital formation. There are also possible legal roadblocks. Matthew J. Franck, writing for National Review Online, said instituting a wealth tax might require a constitutional amendment. A similar concern haunted proponents of the income tax until ratification of the 16th Amendment in 1913. IT is unclear whether the idea of a wealth tax will ever gain traction in the United States. But longtime deficit problems remain, and tax increases of some type may well be part of the solution. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development , the United States raised less tax revenue in 2010 as a proportion of gross domestic product than any other industrialized nation, aside from Chile and Mexico. “Should we reform the income tax, the estate tax or bring in a third tax like the wealth tax?” asked Professor Shackleford at the University of North Carolina. “We have to do something. There’s a tremendous amount of tax escaping because we don’t tax the deceased and we don’t tax the heirs.”

Tax
Income tax
HNWI,Wealth,Billionaires,1 Percent
Federal Taxes
Income Inequality


Planning for the Arrival of Cinderella

Abstract: If you see a life-size dragon flying in the New York City sky on Thursday, chances are you’ve had either too much family time or sudden exposure to the work of Bill Schermerhorn. If it’s the former, take a deep breath and a bite of stuffing; if the latter, strap in: After Toothless the dragon adds its name to the list of balloons that have appeared in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, there are still miles of floats, cheerleaders, dancers and marching bands to come, all choreographed and curated by Mr. Schermerhorn, the creative director of Macy’s Parade and Entertainment Group. “I’m the storyteller,” he said. Mr. Schermerhorn, 53, lives in Hell’s Kitchen with his partner, Dan Dutcher, a publicist. ONE-MAN PARADE I’m a morning person, so normally I’m up around 7 a.m., even on Saturday and Sunday. Even with the craziness now about the parade, I usually take a walk. I love to walk around the city. On a usual Sunday I’ll pick up a cup of coffee at the Starbucks by Carnegie Hall and walk up Madison and through the park, and revel in a little bit of nature in the city. I love it because it doesn’t matter what time of year, I can think about scripts I’m writing, or song lyrics, even just figuring out some new staging in my head. And then I like walking up new side streets and just looking at the architecture, especially on the East Side, imagining the people living there, either in the past or today. And what stories they can tell. Image Credit Chester Higgins Jr./The New York Times CROISSANT STOP I save breakfast until I get back. Around 10 o’clock or so I’ll pick up almond croissants at the François Payard Bakery — quite delicious. And I’ll pick up a cup of coffee there and bring them back to the apartment, and maybe by then Dan will be up, but maybe not. I’ll sit and read the paper. SHORT ROUTE This time of year I’ll take a shorter walk and come directly to the office. Sunday mornings here are still a little quiet, so I can get quite a bit done — figuring out details on a staging moment, or concentrating on a window unveiling. I’ll need to figure out how Cinderella arrives onstage or something. I try to get here by 9 o’clock, almost like a regular workday, because if I can get out of here for the afternoon, I’d like to. If I’m in a recording studio, that might go until 5 or 6. MANAGING THE TALENT Snoopy wasn’t in last year. Charlie Brown was in instead. Mickey Mouse may not be in this year, but five years from now he may be back. EXCURSION Dan and I will go to the Met museum or stop at Christie’s and look at what art is up for sale, because that’s probably the only time you’ll get to see that Monet before it goes in somebody’s living room. I love going to the Botanical Garden in the Bronx. I find those things relaxing and stimulating at the same time. All these things can relate to what we do, whether it’s Macy’s Flower Show or fireworks — we take ideas from anything and everything. A BITE I love eating at the American wing of the Met museum. We’ll often grab lunch there. CHORES No matter what Sunday it is, there’s always time to do laundry and what we call our desk work at home, which is paying bills. That usually happens between 4 and 5 on a Sunday. Image Credit Chester Higgins Jr./The New York Times MEAL PLAN We always try to eat at home at our dining room table. I cook. I’ll go to Whole Foods. I find it reassuring that we can sit and talk and eat together. If we do go out it’ll be the Greek Kitchen , which is on 10th Avenue. Dinner is either fish or pork chops, nothing too complicated. Image Credit Chester Higgins Jr./The New York Times STORY HOUR The cooking starts between 6 and 6:30, so we can eat at 7. We have to be done with everything because 8 o’clock is “Once Upon a Time” on ABC. I’m watching that, and Dan is probably in our bedroom looking for a “Golden Girls” marathon. I’m fascinated by fairy tales. ESCAPE AND RETURN Something like “Once Upon a Time” is a world you can escape in. And then I’ll probably read a script I’m working on or work on some lyrics until I’m ready to go to bed at 10 or 10:30. PRODUCTIVE DREAMS I hope that in the sleeping process, something will come to me in the middle of the night and I’ll get up and get a pen, and what once seemed hard now seems so easy. It could be a parade staging thing. If I’m thinking about it before I go to sleep, somehow when I wake up the answer is like, Of course, why didn’t I think of that?

Bill Schermerhorn
Thanksgiving
Parade
Hell's Kitchen Manhattan
Macy's


A Finnish Turf Battle Pits Wolf Against Reindeer Herder

Abstract: SUOMUSSALMI, Finland — Close to the tiny Finnish village of Saaravaara, bloody tracks lead through the snow to the frozen carcass of an 8-month-old male reindeer lying on its side, its neck torn, its underbelly ripped open. Within minutes, Ilmari Schepel, a local agriculture official, identified the culprit: a wolf. His evidence was the shape of the bite to the animal’s throat and the belly tear; wolves are particularly fond of reindeer intestines. This town, a 20-minute drive from Finland’s border with Russia and more than 375 miles northeast of Helsinki, is on the front line of Finland’s wolf wars. The fight is between backers of European Union regulations, which are meant to halt sharp drops in the population of wolves and other endangered predators across Europe, and the roughly 7,000 reindeer herders whose livelihoods are threatened by increased attacks on their animals. Finland, which joined the European Union in 1995, came under criticism that its hunting practices did not mesh with European habitat directives. So in 2001, the Finnish government tightened its hunting laws to meet European Union standards. Finnish law now states that every kill must be covered by a permit and restricts the number of permits to about 10 percent of a particular predator’s known numbers. Seven years later, the populations of wolves, lynxes, brown bears and wolverines in Finland have grown substantially, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in Helsinki. In this area, the number of wolves has roughly tripled since 1996, and attacks on reindeer herds have increased more than threefold in the past 10 years. The level of anger about the hunting restrictions is high here. In one telling example, Stavros Dimas, the European environment commissioner who insisted on the hunting crackdown to protect the endangered predators, received a bullet in his mailbox from an irate hunter. Asko Moilanen, 40, a third-generation herder, said that because of his losses to predators over the past three years, his income from reindeer has been reduced to almost nothing. “Either we should be allowed to hunt or they should pay compensation for the real losses,” he said. “It affects my whole life and my family.” Mr. Moilanen, who is married with four children, depends on his wife’s earnings to stay afloat. “The people are poor here, but I am a beggar. Last year on my tax return, I declared just 100 dollars earned from herding.” Herders complain that state compensation for lost reindeer — each carcass fetches about $439 — is inadequate because it fails to take account the remains of those that are never found. The Agriculture and Forestry Ministry says the herders are fairly compensated. In much of Finland, reindeer hold a hallowed place in the collective imagination, perhaps akin to the buffalo in the history of the American West. Farther north toward the Arctic Circle, Lapland is the supposed home of Santa Claus and his flying reindeer. Less sentimental Finns enjoy eating reindeer: fried, sautéed, smoked or cold. For its part, the European Commission insists that, under the European Habitats Directive, wolves have the right to be protected. “Men and wolves have lived together for centuries, and there is no reason why they should not continue to do so,” said Barbara Helfferich, a spokeswoman for Mr. Dimas, the European environment commissioner. “We need to ensure coexistence and protect the species according to the law.” The area around Suomussalmi is just north of the line that marks the country’s reindeer herding zone. Before Finnish law was amended in 2001, there were few restrictions on hunting of predators here. On a recent day in the snow-covered forest, Kalervo Rytinki, a retired policeman and herder, demonstrated how wolves are now hunted by uncoiling a rope marked with small black flags that he tied around trees. The rope — known as a flag line — enclosed an area where a pack was known to be roaming. Because the line was dipped in a pungent oil made from elk antlers, the wolves would be reluctant to cross the line. Gradually, the hunters reduced the area enclosed by the flag line to trap the wolves. Though herders here had permits to kill three wolves, Mr. Rytinki said the hunt was halted because the wolf pack numbered at least nine and there was a risk that more than three reindeer would be killed before the wolves were trapped. He said there was no illegal hunting here because anyone breaking the law could lose their rifle, face fines related to income and go to jail for up to two years. While those hunters were law abiding, some conservationist say the same cannot be said for the country as a whole. Matti Nieminen, a spokesman for the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation, said that there was too much illegal hunting of wolves and that licensing should focus on the wolves that kill most local animals. According to Ilpo Kojola, a senior research scientist at the Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute, mortality among wolves runs at about 20 percent a year. Nine of 10 dead wolves are killed by humans and, of those, about 30 percent die in illegal hunts, he said. Finland last year lost a court case brought by the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, which ruled that Finns had failed to protect wolves from hunters. The commission is expected to review the case and decide in the next two weeks whether the authorities in Helsinki protect wolves and other endangered predators sufficiently.

Finland
Animals
Wolves
Hunting and Trapping


Man Charged in Scheme to Sell Harlem Property He Did Not Own

Abstract: In late 2007, Henry Vargas began shopping what he said was his 60 percent stake in a plum piece of Harlem real estate. He wooed potential buyers with the name of his father, Victor — a well-established Harlem landlord — saying that his father owned a 30 percent stake in the commercial property, a triangular lot just north of Central Park, at Lenox and St. Nicholas Avenues. A third man with a stake in the lot, Manuel Duran Jr., was an elderly dirt farmer from the Dominican Republic whose share was only 10 percent, Mr. Vargas told potential buyers. Mr. Vargas, 35, even posed in front of the property for a photograph that appeared in a real estate journal. By May 2008, an independent developer agreed to buy Mr. Vargas’s share for $4.8 million, giving him a $1 million down payment. Five months later, New York Road Runners , the nonprofit organizer of the New York City Marathon , signed a contract to buy the same 60 percent share for $8.5 million. The property, it turned out, was not Mr. Vargas’s to sell, prosecutors said on Wednesday. In fact, he owned no part of it, and Mr. Duran was the sole owner, Robert M. Morgenthau, the Manhattan district attorney, said at a news conference in his office. Mr. Vargas, indicted on charges of forgery, grand larceny and scheming to defraud, was arraigned Wednesday in State Supreme Court in Manhattan in connection with his attempt to sell the property at 21-41 Lenox Avenue. Prosecutors said that Mr. Vargas forged documents to make it seem as though he had a 60 percent ownership interest in the property. Before forging those documents, prosecutors said, Mr. Vargas had entered into an agreement with Mr. Duran to potentially buy the property for $36 million. That agreement gave Mr. Vargas access to information about the building, including the leases of the tenants, that he used to further present himself as the true owner, prosecutors said. On Wednesday, Mr. Vargas pleaded not guilty and remained in custody pending a bail application that his lawyer, Steven Ross, planned to submit. Mr. Ross declined to comment on the case because he said he had received it only shortly before the arraignment and had not had time to review all of the facts. Mr. Vargas faces forgery and grand larceny charges that could land him in prison for up to six years if convicted. Prosecutors said on Wednesday that Mr. Vargas had a history of forgery. In 2000 and 2003, Mr. Vargas, who lives in Whitestone, Queens, pleaded guilty to separate forgery charges and served a year in a federal prison, prosecutors said. In the current case, the developer, Pete Skyllas, never went through with the purchase. But believing that Mr. Vargas was the majority owner of the property, Mr. Skyllas let him keep the $1 million down payment as a loan and agreed to share in any profits that Mr. Vargas would make from a sale, prosecutors said. The Road Runners never paid Mr. Vargas any money, prosecutors said, but put $1 million into an escrow account. The group also spent about $300,000 in fees for lawyers and other consultants related to the transaction, prosecutors said. Prosecutors said that Fernando Mateo, the head of the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers, was a collateral victim of Mr. Vargas’s scheme. Mr. Mateo had lent Mr. Skyllas $3.8 million for a different real estate venture, with Mr. Skyllas’s supposed stake in the Lenox Avenue property as collateral, prosecutors said. But Mr. Vargas’s scheme fell apart after the Road Runners told one of the building’s tenants about the transfer, and that tenant notified Mr. Duran, prosecutors said. Prosecutors said that Mr. Vargas was trying to get as much money as possible up front from the Road Runners, and said he might have been planning to flee to the Dominican Republic, where his father is from. “If he would have been willing to wait and take over his father’s business, he could have done well,” Mr. Morgenthau said. A profile of Mr. Vargas that appeared in the New York Real Estate Journal in June 2008 called him an “innovative businessman” who was instrumental in revitalizing Harlem. “His work in the community will forever be the subject of conversation for many years to come in Harlem,” the article said. Victor Vargas has made a living as a landlord of apartment buildings on West 111th Street for 30 years, said his daughter, Emily Ospino, 39. In early 2008, Henry Vargas took out an $8.5 million mortgage on the buildings without telling his father, according to Carl E. Person, a lawyer for Victor Vargas. Henry Vargas pocketed about $1.1 million and allowed the mortgage to go into default, Mr. Person said. The elder Mr. Vargas was unaware of his son’s actions until receiving a foreclosure notice, Mr. Person said, adding that the action has forced Victor Vargas to file for bankruptcy. “I felt a range of emotions — shocked, upset, betrayed, victimized,” Victor Vargas, who speaks little English, said through Ms. Ospino. “I couldn’t believe my son would do this.” Victor Vargas said he believed that his son manipulated his mother into siding with him, causing a rift that led to their separation three years ago. They had been married for 40 years. “It has torn our family completely apart,” Ms. Ospino said. “It’s just a mess.”

Housing and Real Estate
Frauds and Swindling
Suits and Litigation
Vargas Henry


Whites That Go With Spring

Abstract: Remember when white wine by the glass came in one flavor, chardonnay ? As diners have become more knowledgeable about food, restaurants and wine shops have kept pace, with chardonnay giving ground to albarino and aligoté, grüner veltliner and gewürztraminer, viognier and verdicchio. Consumers have backed off cheap, over-oaked chardonnays and embraced outlier varietals that offer better quality for the money. With shad roe and wild ramps in season, I was in the mood for fresh white wines with subtle floral and fruit notes, wines that would complement spring’s fragile bounty. At Zachy’s in Scarsdale, and Fountainhead Wines, in Bedford Hills, I got expert guidance and came away with an armload of great bottles, all under $20. For a simple dinner of, say, fat organic asparagus, new lettuces, wild King salmon and sautéed soft-shelled crabs, these were my favorites: ¶ Domaine Labbé Abymes Vin de Savoie 2009 ($14, pale, green grass, green apple, delicious). ¶ Picollo Ernesto Gavi di Gavi 2010 ($18, crisp, fragrant, apple blossom, apricot, mineral traces). ¶ Domaine de Piaugier Sablet Blanc 2009 ($18, honeysuckle, peach, nice body). ¶ Martin Schaetzel Pinot Blanc 2008 ($16, orange zest, Fuji apple, clean, well-balanced). ¶ Sportoletti Assisi Grechetto 2009 ($12.50, light, appealing, jasmine, grapefruit). ¶ Malvira’ Roero Arneis 2008 ($17.99, flowery, delicate, lilac, lemon, cantaloupe). ¶ Sartarelli Tralivio Verdicchio 2008 ($17.99, pear, hint of anise, refreshing, good body) . ALICE GABRIEL Fountainhead Wines (first four wines), 19 Depot Plaza, Bedford Hills, (914) 244-8973. Zachy’s (remaining wines), 16 East Parkway, Scarsdale, (914) 723-0241, zachys.com .

Wines
Restaurants
Chardonnay (Wine)
Cooking and Cookbooks
Westchester County (NY)


Car Bomb Kills 5 Outside Airport in Somalia

Abstract: MOGADISHU, Somalia — At least five people were killed and a dozen wounded on Thursday when a car loaded with explosives blew up outside a restaurant next to the entrance to the international airport in Mogadishu, officials said. Witnesses said the car bomb attack, which was believed to be aimed at a passing United Nations convoy, went off around 12:40 p.m., setting shops and cars ablaze along the busy road to the Aden Abdulle International Airport. The Shabab, the militant Somali Islamist group, claimed responsibility. “I heard a big explosion, sending heavy smoke to the sky and flames,” said a taxi driver who gave only his surname, Hussein. “Several shops and cars were destroyed and I saw at least four bodies being taken to hospital.” Gen. Ahmed Hassan Maalin, a senior police official who spoke to the local media, confirmed that at least five civilians were killed and eight wounded. The other four wounded were Somalis escorting the convoy, according to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia. “A vehicle exploded close to a convoy of U.N. vehicles about 12:30 today near the international airport in Mogadishu,” the mission said on its Twitter page . “A U.N. car was damaged but no U.N. staff were injured. Four Somali security escorts were lightly injured.” In a statement , Mahamat Saleh Annadif, head of the African Union Mission in Somalia, called on Somalis to assist security forces in stopping the Shabab. “I send my heartfelt condolence to the bereaved friends and families and join the Somali people in unequivocally condemning this craven attack, which is a classical display of Al Shabab’s faltering capabilities,” he said. The Shabab earlier claimed responsibility for several attacks inside and outside Somalia. Mogadishu has been relatively peaceful, but seems to have been shuttered by the constant attacks by the Shabab. Last week, the Shabab banned the use of the Internet in Mogadishu and the areas they control.

Bombs
Airport
Somalia
Mogadishu
Al Shabab
Terrorism
Fatalities,casualties
UN


Iran: Permanent Contraception Through Surgery Is Outlawed

Abstract: Moving to allay the concerns of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, about the country’s declining fertility rate, Iranian lawmakers on Monday passed legislation that prohibits all surgical operations to permanently prevent pregnancy. Passage of the legislation was part of a plan to “prevent a population decline,” the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. Under the measure, any violation would be considered a crime, punishable by fines. Exceptions were made for surgery urgently required for a patient’s health. Ayatollah Khamenei expressed alarm last winter about the conspicuous decline in births in Iran, saying he was “shaking with fear” about demographic trends that could reduce population growth to zero. The number of children per couple has fallen to 1.3 from a peak of 3.6 in the years after the 1979 Islamic revolution. Many young couples have said they are fearful of bringing children into the world, given Iran’s weak economy and isolation from Western sanctions.

Iran
Ali Khamenei
Population
Birth control
Embargoes Sanctions


Kyrgyz Voting Calm After Violence

Abstract: BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — Kyrgyzstan ’s interim leader, Roza Otunbayeva, declared victory on Sunday in a constitutional referendum that she hopes will legitimize her position as president and help stabilize the country, but in a sign of continuing disarray in her government, the director of the Central Election Committee said too few ballots had been counted to call the vote. After Ms. Otunbayeva said at a news conference that it was a “historic day,” the leader of the Central Election Committee, Akylbek Tsariyev, told journalists that the announcement was “premature and no one has the right to speak about the adoption of the new version of the fundamental law.” He said full results would be released Monday. Later in the evening, a local news agency and wire services reported that the commission said the referendum was winning by a wide margin with more than half of the ballots counted. If passed, the new constitution would make Kyrgyzstan the first parliamentary republic in Central Asia, an area dominated by authoritarian presidents. The country’s interim government came to power in April after antigovernment protesters helped topple the president, whom the opposition accused of usurping power. The new system, if approved, would render the position largely ceremonial. As a transitional measure, Ms. Otunbayeva would hold the posts of president and prime minister until an election in October, but she has said she would not seek to be prime minister. The vote went ahead despite criticism that thousands of people, mostly minority Uzbeks, were still in mourning or displaced from their homes after a wave of deadly ethnic violence two weeks ago, and were unlikely to vote, undermining the legitimacy of the election in the very community where the government most needs a mandate. It was unclear Sunday how many Uzbeks voted, though polling stations were open in the southern cities where most of the Uzbek community resides, and United Nations and regional officials said most people who had fled over the border into Uzbekistan had returned in recent days. It was also unclear why the Uzbeks returned so quickly, despite expressing continuing fears of their ethnic Kyrgyz neighbors and the police and military; many Uzbeks said men in uniform were involved in the mayhem. International observers cautioned against putting too much hope in the new constitution in a country where emotions are still raw. Earlier Sunday, Ms. Otunbayeva traveled to the scene of the worst clashes between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz in the city of Osh to vote in a university building. “In this referendum, the people of Kyrgyzstan are proving that the country is united, standing on its feet and going forward,” she told reporters after voting. “As a people, we want to heal the wounds we have sustained in recent times.” Members of her government said they hoped an electoral mandate would elevate her authority, ending a period of weakness and ineffectual governance in the face of the calamitous ethnic unrest and political turmoil. Ms. Otunbayeva said Sunday that ministers intending to take part in Parliamentary elections scheduled for October must resign before July 10 — a move that could dampen infighting in the government. The government’s weakness and the ethnic unrest has severely destabilized Kyrgyzstan, a strategically important nation that hosts an American military base supporting the war in Afghanistan. Miroslav Jenca, the United Nations special representative to Kyrgyzstan, said in an interview that lasting stability, if it comes, will depend on the government conducting a plausible investigation into the ethnic violence and seeking to reconcile the two ethnic communities in the south. Mr. Jenca said it was unclear why so many of the people displaced by the violence in June, mainly women and children, had returned in the past several days. Many are living with relatives or in tents because their homes were destroyed in the violence. All along, officials had said they might return to reunite with their husbands who had stayed to guard the Uzbek neighborhoods, despite intense fear. Some had been so terrified that they refused food distributed by the Kyrgyz military, Mr. Jenca said, because they worried it was poisoned. Mr. Jenca said “psychological pressure” had been used to encourage the refugees to return swiftly, but he declined to elaborate. Kyrgyz officials had visited camps to encourage refugees to return in time to vote on the referendum; political analysts have said the government wanted people to return so the vote would not be criticized as illegitimate. But analysts also said Uzbekistan’s officials were eager to repatriate the refugees out of concern they might cause unrest inside the country because they are a more politically active community than the citizens of Uzbekistan. Still, Mr. Jenca said that “the overwhelming majority” of the refugees say they had not been forced to return. In Bishkek on election day the streets were calm. Madina Musina, a 24-year-old ballroom dance instructor, said she voted for the new constitution because she favors a parliamentary system, after seeing two presidents — Askar Akayev and Kurmanbek Bakiyev — so anger their citizens they were overthrown. “We had a bad experience with presidents,” she said.

Kyrgyzstan
Referendums
Elections
Politics and Government
Uzbeks (Ethnic Group)


Ring Tones Acquire Some Classical Tastes

Abstract: CHUCK WORKMAN used to cringe whenever the cellphone of someone nearby played a few bars of a popular song instead of simply ringing. "I would think, 'It's a phone, let it ring,' " he said. But Mr. Workman, an Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker in his 60's, is now among a number of older consumers who are personalizing their cellphones by replacing the standard straight-out-of-the-box ring with a snippet of music. One recent week, his cellphone, a BlackBerry , played "Short Ride in a Fast Machine" by John Adams. Before that, it was Mozart's "Magic Flute." Today, consumers in Mr. Workman's age group represent a tiny fraction of the market for ring tones. Almost one in four cellphone users 18 to 24 years old have bought a ring tone in the last six months, and the percentage is even higher for younger teenagers, says Jupiter Research, a technology market research company in New York. But only 9 percent of cellphone users 35 to 44 have done so, and only 2 percent of those over 55 have bought a ring tone. Part of the reason for older people's slowness toward personalizing ring tones is that the selection for this group has been limited. But that is changing. Boosey & Hawkes, a British classical music publisher, for example, recently decided to capture some of the market by making 300 of the most popular classical music recordings in its catalog available as ring tones. These include familiar pieces like Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 and Copland's "Appalachian Spring." Mr. Workman became familiar with the Boosey & Hawkes collection ( booseytones.com ) through his movie-making, and now likes to use music he has used in his films. "I'm really not much of a downloader," he said. "Until now, whatever's on my phone I'd use." In the nine months since Boosey & Hawkes began selling ring tones, the company has experienced a surge in interest, according to Steven Swartz, a spokesman for the company who is based in its New York office. Mr. Swartz said that cellphone users liked classical music as ring tones not just because they liked a certain recording, but because the classical ring tones are rarer and seem less intrusive than ones based on popular music. But Boosey & Hawkes's classical tones cost much more than most popular ring tones, $5.56 apiece, compared with $2 to $3 for more popular genres. Julie Ask, a senior analyst at Jupiter, said the number of new ring-tone customers was increasing more slowly since the days of early adopters. But current customers are buying more than ever, she said. In 2005 the ring-tone market had revenues of $603 million, and that number is expected to reach $931 million this year, Jupiter says. By 2010 ring-tone revenues are forecast to grow to $1.3 billion. "It's not about having a fancy ring tone, but it's really about personalizing your cellphone," said Bruce Gibson, an analyst with Juniper Research, a market research company and consultancy in London. "It becomes a statement of who you are." The increase in selection is clearly attracting new customers. "The ring-tone market is getting more sophisticated," he added. As a category, classical ring tones have not made it to the Top 10 yet. From the start, the focus of the industry has been on popular music, since teenagers have shown the most interest in modifying their phones. Hip-hop and rap are the most popular music for ring tones, together accounting for about a quarter of sales, followed by pop rock and soul and R&B, according to Telephia, a market research company tracking the mobile phone industry. Among the most popular are "Hollaback Girl," by Gwen Stefani and "Just a Lil Bit" by 50 Cent. To help increase sales, some music labels are using ring tones to market new albums. Madonna, for example, released her single "Hung Up" as a ring tone last fall before she released it as an official full-length download. More and more, consumers are buying so-called real tones, those derived from the master recording of the music, over traditional, computer-generated ring tones. With the rate of growth in ring-tone sales slowing, entertainment companies have been branching into related products, most notably personalized ring backs — that is, the tone or music that is played for callers as they wait for the person they are calling to pick up. Unlike ring tones, which are priced individually, ring backs are usually sold as a monthly service. Cellular carriers offer various pricing plans for ring backs, starting at about a dollar a month. For now, the ring-back industry is aimed at younger customers, starting off the way the ring-tone industry did. But demand for downloadable ring backs is expected to grow quickly in the next few years. Even Mr. Workman may get one.

Classical Music
Cellular Telephones
Recordings (Audio)


For Ebola Health Workers, Risks and Duty Collide

Abstract: In the early years of the AIDS epidemic, there was widespread assurance that health care workers were at little risk, that one could get H.I.V. only from unprotected sex, intravenous drug use or transfusions. “There is presently no evidence of AIDS transmission to hospital personnel from contact with affected patients or clinical specimens,” the Centers for Disease Control wrote at the end of 1982. Although the agency advised taking precautions to avoid direct contact with blood and secretion, a number of health care workers continued to perform tasks like drawing blood without even wearing gloves. Dr. Molly Cooke, professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, who was chief resident in medicine at San Francisco General Hospital in 1981, remembers going to dinner with tubes of blood in the pocket of her white coat. Five years later, with transmission routes clearer and procedures codified, such actions were unthinkable. It has long been the peculiar burden of health care workers to weigh the risk of infection against the duty to treat and the professional pull of helping a sick patient. That calculation is different for every person, and often uncertain as the dangers of new infectious agents become known. Ebola is, of course, different from H.I.V. It is more easily transmitted from a sick patient and kills quickly, weeks after infection; AIDS takes years before its victims show serious symptoms. More important, perhaps, thanks to pressure from gay activists and intense scientific research, there are now drugs that effectively treat H.I.V. Though Ebola was discovered earlier, in 1976, there has been limited research funding because the disease has emerged only infrequently and then largely in remote African communities. Still, the treatment of novel infectious diseases inevitably raises similar fears and ethical quandaries for health workers as experience teaches about routes of transmission and adequate protection. Those at risk include physicians, but even more so the nurses and aides who are often on the front lines of exposure, since they spend long periods at the bedside. It is no wonder, then, that nurses’ unions have been vocal in raising concerns and led the charge for better protection. “If an Ebola patient came to my unit right now, I wouldn’t know how to take care of the patient, how to protect myself, or how to protect the other patients,” said Talisa Hardin, an intensive care unit nurse at the University of Chicago Medical Center. “The hospital has told us they have the right equipment, but I don’t know where it is, and I haven’t been trained to use it.” In 10 years as a nurse, Ms. Hardin, a leader of the hospital’s nurses’ union, has seen other epidemic scares, “but this is different, this one is worse,” she said. “This has definitely become the main conversation topic. We are very concerned, and we want hands-on training.” Dr. Cooke says that conversation is familiar. “I remember those early days when you would hear rumors — like ‘there was a hospital worker in France who was sick’ — you’d get tremendously anxious, and you’d have to talk yourself down, ” she said. There were surgeons and phlebotomists who would not take care of people with AIDS, she recalled, a refusal that the hospital ultimately found unacceptable. She added: “It brings up the question of what is the moral responsibility of the health care worker.” She pointed out that before antibiotics and other effective treatments, health care workers knew they were vulnerable to dreaded diseases like Black Death and tuberculosis, and accepted that risk. “We’d forgotten about that,” she said. Over time, the risks posed to health care workers by the virus that causes AIDS became more apparent: By 1987, there were cases documented of health care workers acquiring it after accidental needle sticks. Right around that time, as a newly minted medical resident, I remember drawing an arterial blood sample to check the oxygen level on a patient who was being treating with intravenous antibiotics for AIDS-related pneumonia. I wore gloves, as was already standard at my hospital. But afterward, I tapped the side of the syringe and pressed the plunger gently to expel a tiny air bubble that I worried would have thrown off the reading. A tiny spray of blood droplets flew skyward landing on my face. A risk, or not? As American hospitals have gained more experience with Ebola, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has strengthened safety guidelines for health care workers. But for the moment, we do not understand exactly how the two nurses at Texas Health Presbyterian were infected in the course of treating an extremely sick patient. Nurses there have said that equipment provided by the hospital was inadequate for such a serious virus, and that prior training in dealing with Ebola patients was nonexistent or minimal. While every hospital has a preparedness plan for disasters and infectious disease, putting that into practice is a more complicated matter. Dr. Cooke said hospitals had to take more responsibility to ensure workers safety. “Learning to use new equipment and following new practices in the middle of a crisis is hard to do,” she said. Tom Skinner, a spokesman for the C.D.C. said, “One thing I think we can’t emphasize enough is the need for health care workers to practice, practice and practice some more putting on and taking off their personal protection equipment, and for hospitals to make sure they develop and practice, as well, their Ebola response plans now.” Meanwhile, Dr. Cooke said she has tremendous admiration for the doctors in West Africa: “It’s been inspiring to hear African health care workers saying ‘I’m a doctor, these are my people. There’s no choice.’ It’s a fundamental reminder of what it means to be an M.D.”


Hotel Guest in New York Is Charged With Sexual Assault

Abstract: A guest at the Pierre hotel in Midtown Manhattan was arrested on Monday on charges of sexually assaulting a housekeeper the night before, the police said Monday night. According to the police, the guest, Mahmoud Abdel-Salam Omar, 74, of Alexandria, Egypt, asked that a box of tissues be brought to his room about 6 p.m. on Sunday. A 44-year-old housekeeper delivered them. Once she was inside the room, Mr. Omar grabbed her breasts, kissed her and rubbed against her, the police said. Mr. Omar has been charged with sexual abuse, unlawful imprisonment, forcible touching and harassment. The risks faced by hotel housekeepers were recently highlighted by the arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn , the head of the International Monetary Fund and a prominent French politician, who is accused of assaulting an employee of the Sofitel Hotel in Midtown earlier this month and forcing her to perform oral sex. While people around the world expressed shock and outrage at the accusations, many hotel employees exhibited little surprise. Reports emerged that groping, assaults and even attempted rapes of housekeepers are not uncommon occurrences. At the Pierre, which is at 2 East 61st Street, the housekeeper told hotel officials she was assaulted and the hotel called the police on Monday morning, a police official said. “We will fully comply with the investigation as requested,” the hotel said in a statement.

Sex Crimes
Hotels and Motels
Building Service Employees
Manhattan (NYC)


European Union Debates Initiative on Embryo Protection

Abstract: BRUSSELS — A packed hearing on a petition calling for the protection of human embryos led to a rare outbreak of raucous exchanges in the European Parliament on Thursday — a sign that the battles over abortion and stem cell research that divide nations like Spain and the United States are making a serious incursion into European Union affairs. The petition, which has garnered 1.8 million signatures, is a sign that the so-called culture wars that have long colored national politics in some countries may be becoming increasingly salient across Europe. It also comes after recent demonstrations in France against same-sex marriage and government efforts in Spain to restrict abortion that signal support for socially conservative causes. Leaders of One of Us , the group that brought the petition, told lawmakers that they were seeking to prohibit the use of European Union funds for research, foreign aid programs and public health activities that are linked to the destruction of human embryos. “The problem here is with those who claim that an embryo, a fetus, is nothing,” said Grégor Puppinck, president of the One of Us committee backing the initiative. “It is understood that life begins at the point of conception and must be respected,” said Mr. Puppinck, who also called for a ban on “the financing of abortion in development aid.” Mr. Puppinck was supported by numerous lawmakers affiliated with the center-right European People’s Party, many from Italy and Poland. But Mr. Puppinck and his supporters received sharp criticism from other lawmakers, like Sophie in ‘t Veld, a lawmaker from the Netherlands. “I would like to remind you that there are more than 500 million European citizens who have not signed your petition, and I will personally oppose your request until the bitter end,” Ms. in ‘t Veld told Mr. Puppinck. The petition was heard under a system introduced two years ago called the European Citizens’ Initiative. It is part of a renewed effort to bring citizens closer to the union, increasingly seen as an elite project led by faceless officials out of sync with the everyday concerns of Europeans. To qualify, petitioners must receive at least one million signatures from a quarter of European Union member states and then apply to the European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, for formal recognition. Once accepted, petitioners are entitled to a hearing before the European Parliament. The commission is not obliged to take any action by accepting such initiatives. But it must reach a formal decision within three months and justify that decision in writing. In the case involving One of Us, the commission must decide by May 28. The hearing held on Thursday generated so much interest that some people were turned away. Those who made it inside the hearing room gave standing ovations to their advocates and loudly booed their adversaries, in one of the most raucous hearings some lawmakers had ever experienced. In an interview, Mr. Puppinck attributed some of his support to the long financial crisis in Europe, which has eroded confidence in existing institutions and in future prosperity. Young people especially are seeking a society that is less governed by “selfishness and egoism” and want to lead “a more authentic life,” he said. Some of the loudest outbursts during the hearing came when Ana Gomes, a lawmaker from Portugal, repeatedly asked whether the European Center for Law and Justice , an organization based in Strasbourg, France, of which Mr. Puppinck is director general, had any links with Pat Robertson, the American Christian evangelist. Mr. Puppinck said in an interview that the European Center and the American Center for Law and Justice , a law firm and educational organization that Mr. Robertson had helped to establish, shared the same chief counsel. But Mr. Puppinck said he had never met Mr. Robertson and he criticized Ms. Gomes for raising issues that were “not the point of the debate.” The petition has led civil society groups like the Center for Reproductive Rights and the German Foundation for World Population to ring the alarm, warning that funding for family planning and abortion-related services in low and middle-income countries could meet stronger headwinds in coming years if the effort gains traction. The initiative would “limit the E.U.'s ability to engage in international commitments” by jeopardizing aid totaling about $120 million spent each year on maternal and reproductive health, said Michael Cashman, a British lawmaker. Other groups like the Wellcome Trust , a global health foundation based in London, have expressed concern about the prospects for research in areas like regenerative medicine and genetic disease. That concern was echoed by Teresa Riera Madurell, a Spanish member of the European Parliament, who told the leaders of One of Us that adequate checks were in place to ensure that ethical standards are respected in stem cell research. “The only thing your ban would achieve would be to slow down research at the European level, and that would have important implications for our competitiveness,” she told the group. The first petition to qualify as a European Citizens’ Initiative was brought by a group called Right2Water that collected 1.9 million signatures. Last month, in response to that initiative, the commission pledged to improve access to clean water across Europe. But Right2Water immediately complained that the commission’s response lacked “any real ambition” and failed to offer a legal commitment ensuring that public, not private, companies provide water services. Mr. Puppinck said he was prepared for a similar rebuff. “My fear is that they say, ‘We have been listening to you very nicely, thank you for collecting two million signatures, goodbye,' ” he said.

European Parliament
Abortion
Research
Politics
European Commission
EU
Embryonic stem cell


Rwanda: Opposition Leader Is Arrested

Abstract: The Rwandan opposition leader Victoire Ingabire, left, was arrested over accusations that she is linked to rebel activities, the police said. Thursday’s arrest was the result of an investigation into Peter Uwumuremyi, a former commander of the rebel Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, the police spokesman, Eric Kayiranga, said by telephone. Mr. Uwumuremyi was arrested Wednesday on charges of buying and distributing arms and ammunition to a group associated with Ms. Ingabire’s party, the spokesman said. Ms. Ingabire returned to Rwanda in January after being in exile for 16 years. She was arrested in April over accusations that she associated with a terrorist group and propagated genocide ideology, and she was freed on bail. She said her party had been blocked from registering candidates in August’s presidential election, which was won by the incumbent Paul Kagame .

War Crimes Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity


Devils’ Kovalchuk Scores Hat Trick in Rout of Islanders

Abstract: NEWARK — The game was stopped early in the third period Thursday so a crew could use shovels to clear the ice of hundreds of baseball caps. Ilya Kovalchuk had his second hat trick in less than a month, and the Devils had fired a warning shot to the N.H.L. Although the Devils played the Islanders for the second time in a quirky week that will end with another game against, yes, the Islanders, Kovalchuk seemed to skate and shoot at warp speed, powering the Devils to a resounding 5-1 victory at Prudential Center. The Devils (38-24-5) have won three of four games since a four-game losing streak, and Kovalchuk and Zach Parise, his linemate and the Devils’ captain, have each had three-goal nights. Parise had a hat trick in a 5-0 victory Friday over the Washington Capitals. “We’re pretty dangerous when we play the right way,” said the veteran forward Patrik Elias, who also scored a goal. “We have guys who can put the puck in.” Kovalchuk has 29 goals this season, which does not put him in the top 10 in the N.H.L., and he weathered a nine-game stretch without a goal that ended Monday, when he scored 49 seconds into a 4-1 victory over the Rangers. But he launched himself into Thursday’s game, scoring a goal 8 minutes 7 seconds into the game, then scoring his second goal on a power-play slap shot at 3:33 of the second period. Parise set him up for his third goal, a slap shot that caught the far corner of the net. “I don’t think I was looking that bad,” Kovalchuk said of his scoreless streak. Asked if he were on a hot streak now, Kovalchuk said: “Let’s not talk about it. We’ll see Saturday.” At least he finally had his first hat trick at home for the Devils. He scored three goals in a Feb. 14 victory at Buffalo, and his third goal that night came when he slapped a puck into an empty net. His performance Thursday might have been his most impressive in two years with the team. Not coincidentally, Kovalchuk, following team-wide orders from the first-year coach Peter DeBoer, is shooting more, rather than passing it. He has 12 shots on goal in the Devils’ last two games. His rising, searing slap shot all but tears holes in the net. “The last couple of games, he’s come out fast,” the Devils rookie center Adam Henrique said. “That’s something we’ve been trying to focus on, is fast starts.” Kovalchuk also benefited early from a break. Parise passed to Kovalchuk, who was not much more than 15 feet from Islanders goaltender Evgeni Nabokov. Kovalchuk’s shot missed the goal — but caromed off the end boards right back to him. He flipped in the rebound, untouched. BLUES 3, DUCKS 1 Patrik Berglund scored the go-ahead goal in the third period and Jaroslav Halak made 24 saves for his career-high seventh straight win. St. Louis improved to a league-best 28-4-4 at home. The Blues have a league-leading 93 points. (AP) FLYERS 5, PANTHERS 0 Ilya Bryzgalov made 28 saves to record his second shutout in three games and Philadelphia beat visiting Florida for its fourth straight win. The victory moved the Flyers within two points of fourth-place Pittsburgh in the Eastern Conference. (AP) CAPITALS 3, LIGHTNING 2 Alex Ovechkin scored on a wrist shot at 4:09 of overtime, and host Washington came back to beat Tampa Bay, snapping a three-game losing streak. Washington trailed, 2-1, late in the third period, before Marcus Johansson forced overtime by scoring with 3:58 left. (AP) BRUINS 3, SABRES 1 David Krejci scored for the fifth time in the last five games and host Boston won consecutive games for the first time in almost two months. Defenseman Johnny Boychuk broke a 1-1 tie with his fourth goal at 12:56 of the third period and Krejci scored 2:58 later to make it 3-1. (AP) PREDATORS 4, AVALANCHE 2 Sergei Kostitsyn scored at 19:28 of the second period, and Nashville improved to 18-3-2 in its last 23 home games. Pekka Rinne stopped 15 shots in his N.H.L.-best 37th win. (AP) STARS 4, SHARKS 3 Tomas Vincour scored in the final minute of regulation, and added the lone goal of the shootout in the fifth round. Kari Lehtonen made 45 saves through overtime and then was perfect in the shootout. Pacific Division-leading Dallas won its fourth straight and improved to 79 points, four ahead of San Jose. (AP) BLUE JACKETS 3, KINGS 1 Mark Letestu scored twice and Jack Johnson had a goal against his former teammates to lead host Columbus to its fourth straight win. (AP)

Hockey Ice
New York Islanders
New Jersey Devils
Kovalchuk Ilya