'al-Qaida sympathizer' accused of NYC bomb plots

Jose Pimentel, 27, right, represented by attorney Joseph Zablocki, left, is arraigned at Manhattan criminal court, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2011, in New York. Pimentel, an "al-Qaida sympathizer" accused of plotting to bomb police and post offices in New York City as well as U.S. troops returning home, was charged with criminal possession of explosive devices with the intent to use in a terrorist manner. (AP Photo/Jefferson Siegel, Pool)

Jose Pimentel, 27, right, represented by attorney Joseph Zablocki, left, is arraigned at Manhattan criminal court, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2011, in New York. Pimentel, an "al-Qaida sympathizer" accused of plotting to bomb police and post offices in New York City as well as U.S. troops returning home, was charged with criminal possession of explosive devices with the intent to use in a terrorist manner. (AP Photo/Jefferson Siegel, Pool)

Jose Pimentel is arraigned at Manhattan criminal court, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2011, in New York. Pimentel, an "al-Qaida sympathizer" accused of plotting to bomb police and post offices in New York City as well as U.S. troops returning home, was charged with criminal possession of explosive devices with the intent to use in a terrorist manner. (AP Photo/Jefferson Siegel, Pool)

Jose Pimentel, 27, right, represented by attorney Joseph Zablocki, left, is arraigned at Manhattan criminal court, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2011, in New York. Pimentel, 27, an "al-Qaida sympathizer" accused of plotting to bomb police and post offices in New York City as well as U.S. troops returning home, was charged with criminal possession of explosive devices with the intent to use in a terrorist manner. (AP Photo/Jefferson Siegel, Pool)

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly holds a component of a mocked up pipe bomb, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2011, in New York. 27-year-old Jose Pimentel of Manhattan, a U.S. citizen originally from the Dominican Republic, was arrested Saturday for allegedly plotting to bomb police and post offices in New York City as well as U.S. troops returning home. (AP Photo/Louis Lanzano)

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly holds a component of a mocked up pipe bomb, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2011, in New York. 27-year-old Jose Pimentel of Manhattan, a U.S. citizen originally from the Dominican Republic, was arrested Saturday for allegedly plotting to bomb police and post offices in New York City as well as U.S. troops returning home. (AP Photo/Louis Lanzano)

(AP) ? An "al-Qaida sympathizer" accused of plotting to bomb police and post offices in New York City as well as U.S. troops returning home remained in police custody after an arraignment Sunday on numerous terrorism-related charges.

Jose Pimentel of Manhattan was described by Mayor Michael Bloomberg at a news conference announcing Pimentel's arrest as "a 27-year-old al-Qaida sympathizer" who was motivated by terrorist propaganda and resentment of U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said police had to move quickly to arrest Pimentel on Saturday because he was ready to carry out his plan.

"He was in fact putting this bomb together," Kelly said. "He was drilling holes and it would have been not appropriate for us to let him walk out the door with that bomb."

Ten years after 9/11, New York remains a prime terrorism target. Bloomberg said at least 14 terrorist plots, including the latest alleged scheme, have targeted the city since the Sept. 11 attacks. No attack has been successful, however. Pakistani immigrant Faisal Shahzad is serving a life sentence for trying to detonate a car bomb in Times Square in May 2010.

Kelly said Sunday that Pimentel was energized and motivated to carry out his plan by the Sept. 30 killing of al-Qaida's U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki.

"He decided to build the bomb August of this year, but clearly he jacked up his speed after the elimination of al-Awlaki," Kelly said.

A U.S. citizen originally from the Dominican Republic, Pimentel was "plotting to bomb police patrol cars and also postal facilities as well as targeted members of our armed services returning from abroad," Bloomberg said.

New York police had him under surveillance for at least a year and were working with a confidential informant; no injury to anyone or damage to property is alleged, Kelly said. In addition, authorities have no evidence that Pimentel was working with anyone else, the mayor said.

"He appears to be a total lone wolf," the mayor said. "He was not part of a larger conspiracy emanating from abroad."

At Pimentel's arraignment, his lawyer Joseph Zablocki said his client's behavior leading up to the arrest was not that of a conspirator trying to conceal some violent scheme. Zablocki said Pimentel was public about his activities and was not trying to hide anything.

"I don't believe that this case is nearly as strong as the people believe," Zablocki said. "He (Pimentel) has this very public online profile. ... This is not the way you go about committing a terrorist attack."

Pimentel, also known as Muhammad Yusuf, was denied bail and remained in custody. The bearded, bespectacled man wore a black T-shirt and black drawstring pants and smiled at times during the proceeding. His mother and brother attended the arraignment, Zablocki said.

Pimentel is accused of having an explosive device Saturday when he was arrested, one he planned to use against others and property to terrorize the public. The charges accuse him of conspiracy going back at least to October 2010, and include first-degree criminal possession of a weapon as a crime of terrorism, and soliciting support for a terrorist act.

Bloomberg said at the news conference that Pimentel represents the type of threat FBI Director Robert Mueller has warned about as U.S. forces erode the ability of terrorists to carry out large scale attacks.

"This is just another example of New York City because we are an iconic city ... this is a city that people would want to take away our freedoms gravitate to and focus on," Bloomberg said.

Kelly said a confidential informant had numerous conversations with Pimentel on Sept. 7 in which he expressed interest in building small bombs and targeting banks, government and police buildings.

Pimentel also posted on his website trueislam1.com and on blogs his support of al-Qaida and belief in jihad, and promoted an online magazine article that described in detail how to make a bomb, Kelly said.

Among his Internet postings, the commissioner said, was an article that states: "People have to understand that America and its allies are all legitimate targets in warfare."

The New York Police Department's Intelligence Division was involved in the arrest. Kelly said Pimentel spent most of his years in Manhattan and lived about five years in Schenectady. He said police in the Albany area tipped New York City police off to Pimentel's activities.

Asked why federal authorities were not involved in the case, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. said there was communication with them but his office felt that given the timeline "it was appropriate to proceed under state charges."

About 1,000 of the city's roughly 35,000 officers are assigned each day to counterterrorism operations. The NYPD also sends officers overseas to report on how other cities deal with terrorism. Through federal grants and city funding, the NYPD has spent millions of dollars on technology to outfit the department with the latest tools ? from portable radiation detectors to the network of hundreds of cameras that can track suspicious activity.

Alexis Smith, 22, who lives in an apartment in the same building as Pimentel, said she was shocked that he was a suspect in a terrorist plot. "He was always very courteous to us," she said, adding that Pimentel helped her carry groceries and luggage into the building.

"It's nice to know he was only working alone," she said.

___

Associated Press writers Jennifer Peltz and Colleen Long and AP video journalist David R. Martin contributed to this report from New York. AP writer Samantha Gross also contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-11-21-NYC%20Bomb%20Plot/id-c3c6c968a6b74f8db58af31dedf780ef

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US official: China constructive on disputed waters (AP)

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE ? China signaled a gradual evolution toward resolving quarrels with its Asian neighbors over disputed waters of the South China Sea, a senior U.S. administration official said Saturday, describing the development as an encouraging step forward in easing tensions over the busiest trade route in the world.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao offered a measured response after 16 of the 18 leaders attending a major Asian summit raised the issue of maritime security, primarily on the South China Sea. The topic has been a thorny issue, with China laying claim to all of the sea, while several Southeast Asian nations claim parts of it.

The U.S. official said Wen seemed reluctant to discuss the dispute during a retreat by the Asian leaders, but responded after President Barack Obama raised it.

The official spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive diplomatic subject. Obama and Wen talked Saturday in a surprise meeting on the sidelines of a major Asian summit, focusing on the economic matters that have prompted disputes between the two major world powers.

The session was not a formally planned moment of diplomacy but rather a late add-on to let the two men continue their conversation from a group dinner the night before.

The South China Sea disputes were discussed only briefly in that meeting, officials said. Instead, Obama and Wen focused on topics such as China currency.

CCTV, China's state broadcaster, said Wen told Obama that China has made strides in reforming its currency exchange and will continue to do so.

Wen also said the world's grim economy made it practical and necessary for China and the U.S. to strengthen their economic and trade relationship, CCTV reported.

"We have a very complicated and quite substantial relationship with China across the board," White House National Security Adviser Tom Donilon told reporters after the one-on-one session.

"We do have economic issues, they are around the proper contribution that the Chinese make to global growth and that goes to currency and other policies," he added.

Donilon said Obama stressed the importance of China adjusting the value of its currency, which the United States contends is deeply undervalued. He said Obama and Wen also briefly discussed territorial disputes in the South China Sea toward the end of their meeting.

But Donilon also downplayed tensions between the two powers, saying the two countries also have found vast areas of agreement.

The Wen-Obama meeting and the subsequent discussion by Asian leaders about the South China Sea came on the last leg of Obama's nine-day Asia-Pacific trip, in which he has focused on bulking up America's presence in the region, including setting up a Marine task force in Australia, in moves largely seen as hedges against China's rise.

A commentary run by the official Xinhua News Agency on Saturday suggested China was uneasy but not alarmed over the renewed U.S. focus on Asia.

"Actually, China as well as other Asian nations never considered the United States had left the Asia Pacific and had never tried to squeeze it out of the region," said the piece, which carried the headline: "U.S. return to Asia raises more questions than can answer."

The commentary noted that the U.S. was trying to court some Asian countries, a clear nod to recent U.S. overtures toward Myanmar, and was interfering in long-standing regional disputes, an apparent reference to U.S. military support for the Philippines as it confronts China in increasingly tense disputes in the South China Sea.

"If the United States sticks to its Cold War mentality and continues to engage with Asian nations in a self-assertive way, it is doomed to incur repulsion in the region," it said.

China has been angered by the U.S. stand that it has a stake in security and unhampered international commerce in the disputed territorial waters of the South China Sea. Wen had told a meeting of Southeast Asian nations on Friday that "external forces should not use any excuse to interfere" in territorial disputes in the sea.

China claims all of the sea, while several Southeast Asian nations claim parts.

Donilon said the United States, as a maritime power, wants territorial disputes resolved peacefully.

"We do believe they should be resolved in accordance with international norms and international law," he said.

Wen's portfolio, though, is chiefly economic, and that is where his conversation with Obama focused, Donilon said. The United States and China have been tussling over China's currency, and over intellectual property. Obama has been challenging China to operate with a greater sense of international rules.

Donilon rejected suggestions that the nine-day mission in the Asia-Pacific was designed to thwart a rising China. The U.S. policy, Donilon said, was about rebalancing U.S. interests and focusing once more on the Asia-pacific region.

"This has nothing to do with isolating or containing anybody," he said.

____

Associated Press writer Alexa Olesen in Beijing contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/china/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111119/ap_on_re_as/as_obama_china

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Piranhas take toes at river beach in west Brazil

(AP) ? Thousands of flesh-eating piranhas have infested a river beach popular with tourists in western Brazil and have bitten at least 15 unwary swimmers, authorities said Wednesday.

Officials in the city of Caceres in Mato Grosso state said this is the first time they have had a problem with piranhas at the Daveron beach on the Paraguay river, where the aggressive fish began schooling about two weeks ago.

"People have got to be very careful. If they're bitten, they've got to get out of the water rapidly and not allow the blood to spread," firefighter Raul Castro de Oliveira told Globo TV's G1 website.

Elson de Campos Pinto, 22, was bitten Sunday.

"I took a dip in the river and when I stood up, I felt pain in my foot," Pinto told G1. "I saw that I had lost the tip of my toe. I took off running out of the river, afraid that I would be further attacked because of the blood. I'm not going back in for a long time."

City officials said the beach will remain open because it's an important draw for tourists in Brazil's Pantanal region, known for its ecotourism.

Each September, Caceres hosts what local officials bill as Brazil's biggest fishing festival, a weeklong event that draws 200,000 people for fishing tournaments and concerts.

Gonzaga Junior, a spokesman for the city government, said he didn't think the piranha attacks would hurt that event since it is many months away.

He tried to put the best face on the problem.

"Everyone knows there are piranhas in the region and have always taken the necessary precautions," he said. "What is different this time is that they've appeared where they never appeared before."

The city has seen far fewer people than normal use the beach recently because of the piranha attacks. It was deserted Tuesday, a national holiday in Brazil, normally a heavy beach day.

Officials have put up large signs warning swimmers about the piranhas, reading in blood red letters: "Attention swimmers. Area at risk of piranha attacks. Danger!"

Local fisherman Hildegard Galeno Alves said that when he throws out a fishing net near the beach of late he catches numerous piranhas.

"I come here with my kids and I always see blood on the river banks," he told G1. "The worst is that the attacks are in shallow water, next to the bank."

Despite making his living off the river, Alves left no doubt about his feelings for the water.

"I would never even think of going in there," he said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-11-16-LT-Brazil-Piranhas/id-c6c3dc17a15a45798c122a71f912bcb8

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Alien rats take on prey's role

Night footage showing rat going for flower nectar.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Night footage showing rat going for flower nectar - courtesy David Pattemore

Invasive rats are compensating for the loss of native pollinators in New Zealand, scientists report.

The rats, which are responsible for devastating the native pollinator populations, are attracted to the flowers for their nectar.

The results could mean that the decline of pollinating animals worldwide does not spell the end for all native plants.

The results are published in a Royal Society journal.

Almost 90% of the world's flowering plants are pollinated by animals.

Insect pollination alone is estimated to be worth ?141bn ($224bn) each year, and according to a report from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) bees pollinate over two-thirds of the world's crops.

So the decline of the world's pollinating animals has unsurprisingly sparked concerns about lower yields and serious long-term food shortages among farmers and governments.

Conservationists also predict the loss of many animal-pollinated plants.

"New Zealand offers a really interesting and rare opportunity to look at what the consequences of species extinction [are] for... pollination," explained conservation biologist David Wilcove from Princeton University, US.

"We have this situation where almost all of the native vertebrates in New Zealand - birds, bats and reptiles - have disappeared from the North island... largely due to predation by rats," he added.

But a small patch of pristine New Zealand woodland still exists, affording the researchers the opportunity to investigate the impact of losing key pollinating species on endemic plant species.

Dr Wilcove, and his then Princeton colleague David Pattemore, set out to study three plants: the red-flowered Metrosideros and Knightia, and the purple-flowered Veronica.

What the duo didn't expect to see was that on the mainland, where the plants were no longer visited by traditional pollinating species, rats, and a recently colonising bird, were doing the job instead.

And for two of the three plant species, the invasive species were doing a comparable job to the native pollinators.

"I was quite startled by it," said Dr Wilcove.

He explains that, in general, this type of compensation is more likely to happen for flowering plants that are pollinated by many different animals.

But for plants that rely on a very specialist pollinator, the loss of its sole pollinating animal still spells doom for the species.

Most crops, Dr Wilcove suspects, are pollinated by multiple species, and so there might be room for one pollinator to be replaced by another.

So for crop species, these findings should be encouraging, he suggested.

"I think this result should at least force people to think more carefully about what possible beneficial role the non-native [species] are having... and perhaps develop a slightly different control strategy," he added.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/science-environment-15738837

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Meryl Streep promotes Thatcher biopic in London (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? Actress Meryl Streep unveiled a poster in London on Monday promoting her upcoming big-screen portrayal of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, which one early review described as "magnificent."

When details of the screenplay became public over a year ago, Thatcher's children were quoted in the press as being "appalled" at the concept.

Questions were also raised as to whether an American actress should play one of the towering figures of British politics.

"The Iron Lady," which hits British cinemas on January 6, depicts an aging Thatcher looking back on the highs and lows of her career and the personal price she paid for power.

Streep attended the photocall against the backdrop of the Houses of Parliament, and was joined by the movie's director Phyllida Lloyd, who also worked with Streep on the hit musical "Mamma Mia!"

The Iron Lady is likely to be a major media talking point over the coming weeks in Britain, where former conservative leader Thatcher is still a divisive figure both revered and reviled by the public.

Streep, a two-time Oscar winner and one of Hollywood's most respected actresses, told the Daily Mail newspaper that playing Thatcher was the biggest role of her career.

"It took a lot out of me, but it was a privilege to play her, it really was," the 62-year-old was quoted as saying.

"It was one of those rare, rare films where I was grateful to be an actor and grateful for the privilege of being able to look at a life deeply with empathy."

Streep added that while she did not agree with many of Thatcher's policies, "I feel she believed in them and that they came from an honest conviction."

The right-leaning newspaper's showbusiness correspondent Baz Bamigboye called Streep's portrayal "magnificent."

"It's a performance of towering proportions that sets a new benchmark for acting, a searing interpretation that looks at the big forces that shaped Mrs T's life," he wrote, using a common shortened form for Thatcher's name.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111114/film_nm/us_margaretthatcher_streep

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Cray Replaces IBM To Build $188M Supercomputer

I would normally say, "This isn't your father's IBM", but with respect to Mr. Buffett's age, I'm not sure it is his father's IBM, either.

In the 60's and 70's IBM was the company to work for.

In the 80's they began cutting.

In the early 90's they were slashing. We were trying to buy an RS6000 and from week to week I didn't know who I was talking to as the people were exiting so fast. When I ran into difficulty with a security flaw I found myself talking to someone from IBM in Australia who had them send me

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/QxTUb1l72fo/cray-replaces-ibm-to-build-188m-supercomputer

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Berlusconi's party backs Monti to be new PM (AP)

ROME ? Leaders of Silvio Berlusconi's party have given their approval for economist Mario Monti to try to form a government, but say it can only last just long enough to implement measures to save Italy from financial disaster.

Angelino Alfano, head of the conservative party, says whether the party will actually support any Monti government depends on who is in the Cabinet and details of his program. Alfano says no politicians who opposed Berlusconi while the media mogul was in power should join the new government.

Italy's president is expected to tap Monti later Sunday evening to try to assemble a government. Berlusconi reluctantly resigned Saturday after Italy came under severe market pressure to fix its ailing economy.

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

ROME (AP) ? Economist Mario Monti won pledges of support Sunday to lead a new technocratic government to try to rescue Italy from financial disaster, including from Silvio Berlusconi's conservative party.

But Berlusconi's ally, the Northern League, said it would become an opposition party rather than back Monti.

After days of being pummeled by international investors skittish about Italy's massive debts, Italy faces severe pressure from financial markets to have a new government before Asian markets open.

President Giorgio Napolitano was talking Sunday with all party leaders and could tap Monti as soon as Sunday evening, just 24 hours after Berlusconi reluctantly resigned from the premiership due to a loss of faith in his leadership.

But even if Monti is chosen, he would still have to assemble a cabinet, present his rescue strategy to Parliament, and then seek a confidence vote after a debate. All that could take a few days.

The man Berlusconi chose to be his political heir, Angelino Alfano, said the conservative People of Freedom party would "give the OK to Monti's being tapped. "

"Then we'll see and will talk with Monti about his program, and if it suits us well, we will support him," Alfano told state TV. Berlusconi's party is the largest in Parliament, and its leaders were the last in a long line of politicians having their say to Napolitano. The party's backing would be crucial for any new government to successfully push economic reform.

Pierluigi Bersani, head of the largest opposition force, made up largely of former Communists and Christian Democrats, said his party would back an "emergency, transition government," whose "strong, technical, authoritative character" will help Italy deal with the crisis.

Whoever leads Italy faces a monumental task: an Italian default could tear apart the coalition of 17 countries that use the euro and wallop Europe and the U.S., which are trying to avoid new recessions.

Italy's economy is hampered by high wage costs, low productivity, fat government payrolls, excessive taxes, choking bureaucracy, and an educational system that produces one of the lowest levels of college graduates among rich countries.

In addition, as the third-largest economy in the eurozone, Italy is considered too big for Europe to bail out like it did Greece, Portugal and Ireland.

The next Italian government needs to push through even more painful reforms and austerity measures to deal with euro1.9 trillion ($2.6 trillion) in debt ? about 120 percent of the country's economic output. And many of those debts are coming due soon ? Italy has to roll over more than euro300 billion ($410 billion) of its debts next year alone.

Most centrists and center-left parties in the opposition have pledged support for a Monti government, saying the former European Union competition commissioner has the moral authority and economic know-how to get Italy to pass long-delayed structural economic reforms.

"Italian parties are at fork in the road. Either they speculate on the situation, hoping that they can get some campaign capital from it, or they take up their responsibilities to save the country," said centrist opposition leader Pier Ferdinanco Casini, expressing hope that a new government could last until elections are scheduled for spring 2013.

But Umberto Bossi said his Northern League party won't back any Monti-led government "for now." Bossi said he told Napolitano that his party, whose support kept Berlusconi's conservative coalition in power for years, will be a "vigilant" opposition to any Monti government until the economist spells out his plans.

"For now, we said, 'no.' Then we'll see the program and decide, time by time" whether to support specific legislation, Bossi said. "In any case, we won't give him any blank check."

Bossi's party has been demanding early elections instead. He also has opposed one key remedy, a pension reform that raises the retirement age for women.

Roberto Maroni, a founder of the Northern League, said he personally esteems Monti but won't back him.

"Parliament must have the guarantee of an opposition," Maroni told Italy's Sky TG24 TV. "Otherwise it won't be a democratic parliament."

Pressured for days by the markets, the 75-year-old Berlusconi stepped down Saturday night after new austerity measures won approval in Parliament. He slipped out of the presidential palace through a side door after handing in his resignation, as a hecklers jeered in the square outside the main entrance.

Even those new austerity measures are not enough to revive the dormant Italian economy. They raised the retirement age to 67, but not until 2026. They called for the sale of state property and privatizing some services but contained no painful labor reforms.

Maroni said he spoke with Berlusconi Saturday night and found him "very tried, physically tired. But he is always a great fighter."

"It was an ugly show to see. People spitting, throwing" objects, Maroni said.

"This phase is over, a blank page is being opened," Maroni said, holding out hope that the League and Berlusconi's forces might again join in a future political coalition.

Berlusconi's longtime nemesis, former anti-corruption prosecutor Antonio Di Pietro, said his small Italy of Values Party would be willing to back a strictly "technocrat" government with no politicians in the cabinet "to respond to the (economic) emergency and give back this country its credibility."

Without mentioning Monti by name, Di Pietro insisted that elections must be held as soon as possible. But, he acknowledged, "in these hours of emergency, it's very hard" to carry out an electoral campaign.

Monti was reserved Sunday as he and his wife headed to church in Rome. Asked whether he was excited at the prospect of being Italy's next premier, he responded: "Have you noticed what a beautiful day it is?"

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111113/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_italy_financial_crisis

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Stock market dips as Europe troubles resurface (AP)

NEW YORK ? Stocks edged lower on Wall Street Monday as a jump in Italy's borrowing costs reminded investors of how much work remains to be done to contain Europe's debt woes. The euro and European stock indexes also fell.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 66 points to 12,086, as of noon Eastern. Bank stocks sank the most. Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase & Co. fell 2 percent, the largest drops among the 30 large companies in the Dow.

Major indexes closed higher last week as it appeared Greece and Italy were making steps toward getting their debt troubles under control. New governments are taking over both countries, which are at the center of the crisis.

Worrying signs about Europe reemerged Monday. Italy's largest bank, Unicredit, reported a $14.4 billion quarterly loss. Also, the Italian government raised $4.1 billion in a sale of five-year bonds, but the 6.29 percent interest rate was the highest since 1997. Italy paid a much lower rate of 5.32 percent at a similar auction last month. The increase is a sign that investors are still worried about Italy's ability to service its debt and cut back its bloated budget.

"The problems these countries are dealing with go well beyond their prime ministers," said Dan Greenhaus, chief global strategist at the brokerage BTIG. "Italy didn't get where it is in five minutes. And it's not going to get out of where it is in five minutes. This is going to take months."

The S&P 500 index fell 11 points, or 0.8 percent, to 1,252. The Nasdaq composite fell 16, or 0.6 percent, to 2,663.

Germany's DAX fell 1.2 percent and France's CAC-40 fell 1.3 percent. The euro fell 1 percent against the dollar.

Boeing Co. gained 2 percent. The airline Emirates placed an order for 50 777s, one of the largest orders ever placed with the aircraft maker. Boeing also picked up a new customer, Oman Air, which ordered six 787s.

J.C. Penney Co. fell 1 percent after reporting a quarterly loss. The department store operator said its results were weighed down by restructuring costs. The company also lowered its earnings outlook for the rest of the year.

Lowe's Cos. rose 2 percent after the country's second-largest home-improvement retailer reported revenue and earnings that beat analysts' expectations. IBM rose 1 percent after Warren Buffett said his firm has built up 5 percent stake in the company.

The Dow has made gains in six of the past 7 weeks, and is still up 0.9 percent for the month. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are slightly lower.

No major economic reports are coming out Monday.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111114/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/us_wall_street

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Khaldun Bshara has dodged bullets to preserve Palestinians' heritage (The Christian Science Monitor)

Ramallah, West Bank ? Most visitors to the Palestinian architectural company RIWAQ would be forgiven for thinking that its building and people are similar to others in the area.

With its Arabesque entryway, high ceilings, and tiled floor, the stone structure that houses the firm is a standard Ottoman design common across the region. And the people, busily working behind desks, appear to be like any other office employees.

But RIWAQ, which means "gallery" in Arabic, is more than just an architectural firm: It's a thriving center for architectural conservation. Today, as the dream of an independent Palestinian state grows more realistic, the organization's work in preserving Palestinian cultural heritage has taken on added significance.

RELATED: Palestinian statehood: why Arabs have turned on Obama

RIWAQ director Khaldun Bshara excitedly points to the intricate details of the long-term renovation that has given this once-run-down 80-year-old former family home a new purpose. Most recently, it served as a strategic frontline base between fighting Palestinians and Israelis.

Standing in the lush garden with its vibrant bougainvillea and mix of indigenous plants, Mr. Bshara recalls how just over a decade ago he would have to keep away from the arched windows as bullets fired by Israeli soldiers and stones from Palestinian protesters flew past.

"We were right on the firing line during the second intifada," recalls the silver-haired architect, who started working for RIWAQ just before that Palestinian uprising began in 2000.

Bshara has gone on to dedicate his life to renovating such buildings and, in the process, has kick-started the efforts at heritage-building that lie at the heart of any viable national identity.

"I don't think that the declaration of [a Palestinian] state will have a huge impact on our work, but as we move in that direction, it will certainly bring more attention to the importance of heritage," says Bshara, referring to the Palestinian leadership's attempt to seek international recognition of a Palestinian state at the United Nations. "Our work will continue on, regardless of whether there is a state or not."

Founded in 1991 by architect Suad Amiry, together with a group of Palestinians concerned that their historical sites were disappearing, RIWAQ has spent the past two decades rebuilding and reviving villages damaged by the constant state of conflict in the area.

Aside from its impressive data-collection operation aimed at identifying all buildings of significance to Palestinian history, RIWAQ has gained financial support from a wide range of local and international sources, which has allowed it to improve people's lives by rejuvenating their surroundings.

"One of our goals is to connect the disconnected villages spread out all over the West Bank," says Bshara, describing one recent project in which a team of architects and experts cleared, renovated, and even added a contemporary structure to a local music conservatory. "We could sense how the renovations had a huge impact on how the kids behaved and even found meaning to their existence in terms of music and openness," he says.

"RIWAQ helped by giving us a place to hold our activities," says Fatimah Issa, director of the nonprofit organization Women for Life. "They let us hold on to our past while helping us for the future."

She adds: "Their work is unique because it makes us feel thankful that we have a country. It makes our country real."

While RIWAQ's projects are largely chosen based on their architectural importance and history, Bshara concedes those are not the only criteria. "We also look at how the project will help the community, and we also consider the place's proximity to [Israeli] settlements and the [Israeli security barrier] wall," he says.

"We are doing something very political while we are doing apolitical stuff. We believe that these buildings and cultural sites are the only physical [artifacts] that are left for us to use as an identity symbol, and we see our work as a central element to creating a national identity of Palestine."

"RIWAQ is a very strong institution in our community as it focuses on the rehabilitation of Palestinian heritage both in terms of the people and the buildings they use," says Palestinian Culture Minister Siham Barghothi.

While work such as fixing up a community center has practical value, it is also "vital because renovating these buildings keeps our history alive," Ms. Issa says.

Bshara, born and raised in the village of Tubas near Nablus, says his dedication to Palestinian cultural heritage stems from a sense of social responsibility. "I believe that everyone has to give back to the community that helped him to flourish," he says, citing his mother as the inspiration for this desire to help other people in this way.

RIWAQ is mainly funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, along with other foundations such as the European Union's EUROMED Heritage program, several Arab organizations, and wealthy individuals.

? For more, visit: www.RIWAQ.org

? For more stories about people making a difference, click here. 

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20111114/wl_csm/419988

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