CIA gave bags of cash to Afghan leader

(Reuters) - Tens of millions of U.S. dollars in cash were delivered by the CIA in suitcases, backpacks and plastic shopping bags to the office of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai for more than a decade, according to the New York Times, citing current and former advisers to the Afghan leader.

The so-called "ghost money" was meant to buy influence for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) but instead fuelled corruption and empowered warlords, undermining Washington's exit strategy from Afghanistan, the newspaper quoted U.S. officials as saying.

"The biggest source of corruption in Afghanistan", one American official said, "was the United States."

The CIA declined to comment on the report and the U.S. State Department did not immediately comment. The New York Times did not publish any comment from Karzai or his office.

"We called it ?ghost money'," Khalil Roman, who served as Karzai's chief of staff from 2002 until 2005, told the New York Times. "It came in secret and it left in secret."

For more than a decade the cash was dropped off every month or so at the Afghan president's office, the newspaper said.

Handing out cash has been standard procedure for the CIA in Afghanistan since the start of the war.

The cash payments to the president's office do not appear to be subject to oversight and restrictions placed on official American aid to the country or the CIA's formal assistance programs, like financing Afghan intelligence agencies, and do not appear to violate U.S. laws, said the New York Times.

There was no evidence that Karzai personally received any of the money, Afghan officials told the newspaper. The cash was handled by his National Security Council, it added.

U.S. and Afghan officials familiar with the payments were quoted as saying that the main goal in providing the cash was to maintain access to Karzai and his inner circle and to guarantee the CIA's influence at the presidential palace, which wields tremendous power in Afghanistan's highly centralized government.

Much of the money went to warlords and politicians, many with ties to the drug trade and in some cases the Taliban, the New York Times said. U.S. and Afghan officials were quoted as saying the CIA supported the same patronage networks that U.S. diplomats and law enforcement agents struggled to dismantle, leaving the government in the grip of organized crime.

In 2010, Karzai said his office received cash in bags from Iran, but that it was a transparent form of aid that helped cover expenses at the presidential palace. He said at the time that the United States made similar payments.

The latest New York Times report said much of the Iranian cash, like the CIA money, went to pay warlords and politicians.

For most of Karzai's 11-year reign, there has been little interest in anti-corruption in the army or police. The country's two most powerful institutions receive billions of dollars from donors annually but struggle just to recruit and maintain a force bled by high rates of desertion.

(Additional reporting by Alistair Bell and Sarah Lynch in Washington; Writing by Michael Perry; Editing by Mark Bendeich)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/millions-cia-ghost-money-paid-afghan-presidents-office-020006835.html

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Taliban start spring Afghan offensive with bombing

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? Taliban insurgents marked the start of their spring offensive on Sunday by claiming responsibility for a remote-controlled roadside bomb blast that killed three police officers.

In past years, spring has marked a significant upsurge in fighting between the Taliban and NATO forces along with their local allies. This fighting season is a key test, as the international coalition is scheduled to hand over security responsibilities to Afghan forces next year.

In Sunday's attack in Ghazni province in southern Afghanistan, a bomb exploded under police vehicles traveling to the district of Zana Khan to take part in a military operation against insurgents, Mohammad Ali Ahmadi, the province's deputy governor, told The Associated Press.

He said the blast destroyed the vehicle carrying Col. Mohammad Hussain, the deputy provincial police chief, killing him and two other officers. Ahmadi said two officers also were wounded in the insurgent operation, which he said clearly targeted Hussain.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility in an email sent to news media. He called the bombing the first attack in the Taliban spring offensive.

April already has been the deadliest month this year for attacks across the country, where Afghan security forces are increasingly taking the lead on the battlefield in the war that has lasted more than 11 years.

Insurgents have escalated attacks recently in a bid to gain power and influence ahead of next year's presidential election and the planned withdrawal of most U.S. and other foreign combat troops by the end of 2014. U.S.-backed efforts to try to reconcile the Islamic militant movement with the Afghan government are gaining little traction.

There are about 100,000 international troops in Afghanistan, including 66,000 Americans. A top priority of the U.S. force, which is slated to drop to about 32,000 by February 2014, is boosting the strength and confidence of Afghan forces.

Also Sunday, the U.S. Air Force said the coalition plane that crashed on Saturday in southern Afghanistan, killing four service members, was a MC-12 Liberty aircraft.

The twin-engine turboprop plane provides intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, or direct support to ground forces. It crashed in Zabul province, about 180 kilometers (110 miles) northeast of Kandahar Air Field, the Air Force statement said.

The four Air Force service members were deployed to the 361st Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron with the 451st Air Expeditionary Wing at Kandahar Air Field, the statement said. Their bodies were recovered. The cause of the crash is under investigation, but NATO has said initial reports indicate there was no enemy activity in the area where the plane went down.

Taliban has named its spring offensive after Khalid ibn al-Walid, a companion of Islam's Prophet Muhammad who became a legendary Muslim military commander known as the "Drawn Sword of God." The insurgents said their forces planned to infiltrate enemy ranks to conduct "insider attacks" and target military and diplomatic sites with suicide bombers.

In the eastern province of Nangarhar, two local officials said insurgents attacked a U.S. convoy as it passed through two nearby villages on Sunday and that four Afghan civilians were killed in the crossfire when the soldiers fired back. The U.S.-led international military coalition said it was investigating reports of civilian casualties in the province on Sunday but could not immediately confirm them.

The coalition also said Afghan and foreign forces arrested six insurgents on Sunday ? three in Helmand province, one in Baghlan province and two in Kandahar province. The report said the two taken into custody in Kandahar city included a local Taliban leader who allegedly coordinated assassinations, sniper ambushes and other attacks against coalition and Afghan forces.

___

Follow Thomas Wagner on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/tjpwagner

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/taliban-start-spring-afghan-offensive-bombing-171103514.html

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Avalanche fire coach Joe Sacco

DENVER (AP) ? Colorado Avalanche coach Joe Sacco was fired on Sunday after the team missed the playoffs for the third straight season.

The Avs never got on track in the lockout-shortened season and finished last in the Western Conference.

Sacco was in his fourth season in charge of Colorado and wound up with a 130-134-30 mark. He had one year left on his contract.

"The organization believes a change of leadership behind the bench is needed going forward," general manager Greg Sherman said in a release. "Joe has worked for this franchise for eight seasons and he is a dedicated and hard-working coach. We appreciate all he has done and wish him the best in the future."

The Avs will soon begin their search for a replacement.

Sacco spent two seasons in charge of the organization's American Hockey League affiliate squad, the Lake Erie Monsters, before taking over the Avs in 2009 after the firing of Tony Granato.

A former NHL player, Sacco preached a fast-paced style and it served the youthful Avalanche well in his first season as the team earned a postseason spot. He was even a finalist for the NHL's coach of the year.

But Colorado couldn't duplicate that success.

Moments after a 3-1 loss to Minnesota on Saturday to close out the regular season, Sacco was asked about his future, saying, "We're certainly headed in the right direction."

His team was committed to his up-tempo philosophy. Matt Duchene recently said that Sacco's message was still getting across.

"We've all played the system he's put in place to the best of our ability. We've all worked at it," said Duchene, who finished tied with P.A. Parenteau for the team scoring lead with 43 points. "We're all still buying in and working."

Sacco will be back on the bench later this week when he leads the U.S. squad at the world championships. He will even take several Avalanche players with him, including Paul Stastny and Erik Johnson.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/avalanche-fire-coach-joe-sacco-174513532.html

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Woman tracks down lifeguard who saved her -- 50 years ago

Lifeguards save thousands of lives each year, but not many get a 'thank-you' 50 years later. (Wikicommons)In 1964, Eady Rothstein was just a 5-year-old girl hanging out with her family by a pool near Lido Bach on Long Island, New York.

But she fell into the water and nearly drowned before a 21-year-old lifeguard, Larry Brickman, saved her life.

And now, NBC 4 New York reports that nearly 50 years later Rothstein has tracked down the former lifeguard to thank him for rescuing her.

"I've always said I wanted to thank him, and I should do it," Rothstein said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3,533 people drowned in the U.S. from 2005 to 2009, about 700 per year. But that number was much higher in previous decades before CPR and other life-saving medical innovations became more readily available. According to the Original Watermen, some 9,000 people drowned in the U.S. each year after swimming became a national phenomenon in the early 1900s, and before beaches began to employ lifeguards to help protect swimmers.

In August 2012, an electronic lifeguard device named EMILY was sent on its first rescue mission. The buoy-like device can travel up to 22 mph and serves as a flotation device for struggling swimmers.

On Wednesday, the local branch of the YMCA in Austin, Texas, announced it was hiring lifeguards for the summer to help fill a shortage at public pools in the city.

After the 1964 rescue, Rothstein and Brickman fell out of contact. So, Rothstein went online and looked for Brickman?s contact information after finding a reference to him in her family scrapbook.

After she found his phone number, the two were able to connect over the phone and plan to meet in person sometime soon.

"My final words to her when I hung up that day, after I called her back, were, 'You know, I guess we just got very lucky, you and I both,'" Brickman told NBC.

Both Rothstein and Brickman say his knowledge of CPR, which was rare at the time, was instrumental in the rescue.

"If no one was there to do this, I'm afraid she would have succumbed," Brickman said.

"I owe my life, and it's a very nice feeling to finally be able to say, 'Thank you,'" Rothstein added.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/woman-tracks-down-lifeguard-saved-her-nearly-50-001717211.html

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GTA radio brings its broadcasts to iTunes and Spotify

From Vice to San Andreas and on to Liberty City, Rockstar Games has digitally boxed up playlists for eight of its Grand Theft Auto titles which are now available on Spotify and iTunes. "As a service for all GTA fans" -- and to keep them chomping at the bit for the incoming sequel -- Rockstar has curated over 70 playlists from notable faux stations like Radio Espantoso, The Vibe 98.8 and K-Jah. The games studio was limited by the songs that were currently available, so there's a few omissions from both the streaming service and Apple's music store. Once you've got over that initial disappointment, head to Rockstar's site to sample the last ten years of GTA's drive-time listening.

Filed under: Gaming, Internet

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Via: CNET AU

Source: Rockstar

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BOJ's Kuroda: moves in long term rates volatile, watching closely

By Mike Collett MANCHESTER, England, April 10 (Reuters) - England are unlikely to become world champions again because the country's Premier League is now flooded with foreign players, 1966 World Cup winner Bobby Charlton said on Wednesday. "I worry a bit. Every year I feel when one of the newspapers wants me to give an opinion on whether there is a chance to win the World Cup or whatever, I feel obliged to say 'yes they have got a chance' but I think it's a fool's errand," Charlton told delegates at the Soccerex Business Forum. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bojs-kuroda-moves-long-term-rates-volatile-watching-083057755--business.html

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