Wikileaks has moved forward with a major document drop of hundreds of thousands of confidential US diplomatic cables. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports the action flies in the face of dire warnings from top US officials.
The documents provide a rare glimpse into the inner workings of the State Department. The diplomatic cables cover everything from US concerns over the security of Pakistan's nuclear weapons to a comical portrait of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who apparently likes flamenco dancing and usually travels with a "voluptuous blonde", his senior Ukrainian nurse. Afghan President Hamid Karzai is described as being "driven by paranoia", while Saudi Arabia and Qatar come in for criticism for their records on terrorism. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and US ambassadors have been reaching out to leaders around the world to alert them of potentially embarrassing disclosures. The State Department's legal adviser wrote to the lawyer of Wikileaks, warning that the distribution of the cables could disrupt counterterrorism operations and endanger lives. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Washington.
At this hour, Wikileaks is alleging a denial of service attack has shut down their website.
Chaos in Haiti, where surrounded by the debris of January's earthquake, citizens were to have voted for a new president and for lawmakers. In Port-au-Prince, NPR's Jason Beaubien reports nearly all the major presidential candidates are charging fraud and calling for a nullification of the vote.
Two of the leading candidates are among the ones who are calling for the elections to be nullified. The other leading candidate, Jude Celestin, and they are accusing him of being a candidate who is going to benefit from this fraud that they said they were seeing. So, certainly, this is a wide segment of the political spectrum. They were falling out, coming out and calling for this nullification. And certainly, they have a lot of supporters. So, this is a big deal. This isn't just a few people on the edge saying this. These are some of the main candidates, two of the leading candidates for president saying that they believe these elections should be nullified.
NPR's Jason Beaubien reporting from Port-au-Prince.
The lame-duck Congress resumes session tomorrow with the Bush tax breaks among the major pieces of unfinished business. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is saying today that he, like many other Republicans, will support a continuation of the breaks for all income groups.
"I'm not going to vote to increase taxes on anybody in America, millionaires included. We're in a very weak economy. If you want to make it weaker, raise taxes on anybody is a bad idea."Graham spoke on "Fox News Sunday".
Congressman Charlie Rangel is getting ready to appeal to the House to reduce his ethics violation punishment from a censure to a reprimand.
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In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet has approved a proposal to establish a massive detention center for illegal immigrants. NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro has more.
Some 35,000 illegal immigrants from Africa have crossed into Israel recently. A new wall is being built along the border with Egypt, where most of the immigrants come through, and now, Israel's cabinet approved the construction of a massive detention center that will house them until they can be repatriated. Prime Minister Netanyahu has said the facility will not be aimed at refugees fleeing from war, but rather infiltrators who threaten Israeli jobs. Most of the immigrants come from Sudan and Eritrea. Activists working with the African immigrants here are condemning the plan though, one saying on Israeli public radio that Israel will be locking them up in a ghetto. Lourdes Garcia-Navarro, NPR News, Jerusalem.
A US supercarrier and a South Korean destroyer are in position in the Yellow Sea for war games expected to last till Wednesday. At the same time, China's nuclear envoy wants six-nation talks to convene an emergency session in Beijing early next month. Wu Dawei issued a statement that the international community, especially members of the six-party talks, are deeply concerned about tensions between North and South Korea.
The research firm ShopperTrak is reporting that shoppers spent almost 11 billion dollars Black Friday, up just 0.3% over last year. Deep discounts and online shopping took some of the punch out of in-store sales.
In the Thanksgiving weekend box office contest between "Harry Potter" and "Rapunzel", the boy wizard won, selling over 50 million dollars in tickets.
I'm Louise Schiavone, NPR News, Washington. |