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INTERNATIONAL EDITION
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7, 2012
109TH YEAR I ©2012 THE MIAMI HERALD
World powers agree to resume talks with Iran BY JAMES KANTER AND NICHOLAS KULISH New York Times Service
BRUSSELS — The global powers dealing with Iran’s disputed nuclear program said Tuesday that they had accepted its offer to resume negotiations broken off in stalemate more than a year ago — a move that could help relieve increased pressure from Israel to use military force against Tehran. “I have offered to resume talks with Iran on the nuclear issue,” said Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, who represents the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany as the contact on the nuclear issue with Iran. “We hope that Iran will now enter into a sustained process of constructive dialogue which will deliver real progress.” The announcement of a new round of face-to-face negotiations — which EU officials said would probably take the form of a series of meetings with no fixed deadline — came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, which regards Iran as its most dangerous enemy, was in the midst of a two-day visit to the United States to press his view that diplomatic and economic pres-
IAN ROB GRIFFITH/AP FILE
Queen Elizabeth II walks through the crowd at the Great Aussie Barbecue in Perth, Australia.
Waving flags or farewell? Outposts mull ties to U.K. BY DAVID STRINGER Associated Press
LONDON — From sunkissed Caribbean beaches to icy north Atlantic tundra, Queen Elizabeth II’s family has begun a celebratory tour to mark her 60th year on the throne — just as questions are raised about dumping the monarchy in the far-flung outposts of Britain’s faded empire. Prince Harry has opened celebrations in Jamaica, the nation that is most vocally stirring opposition to the queen’s role as head of state of 16 nations and 14 smaller British dependencies, and Prince Charles
will travel to Australia, where the prime minister has raised doubts about continued allegiance to the crown. While the 85-year-old monarch commands respect across her dominions, opinion polls show republican movements in some countries would gain momentum if Charles takes the British throne as expected. Harry, third in line to the throne, is set to meet with Jamaica’s Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, who says the queen is a “lovely lady” but insists her country must sever remaining links to Britain, in part because of the shameful
legacy of slavery. “It is important to us because it is part of a journey, a journey that started when our ancestors were dragged, sold into slavery and brought here and elsewhere in the Caribbean,” Simpson Miller told The Associated Press in an interview. Millions of Africans were transported as slaves to Caribbean colonies until Britain abolished its slave trade in 1807. Some analysts believe that if Jamaica, which won independence in 1962, removes the queen as head of state, others in • TURN TO THRONE, 2A
‘Those folks don’t have a lot of responsibilities. They’re not commander in chief. This is not a game and there’s nothing casual about [war with Iran]. — U.S. President Barack Obama on his Republican rivals
sures on Iran to dissuade it from developing a nuclear weapon were not working. U.S. President Barack Obama, who has said a nucleararmed Iran is unacceptable, urged Netanyahu to give diplomacy and sanctions more time. At a news conference in Washington after the announcement, Obama largely repeated his recent comments on Iran. But he coupled them with an unusually blunt warning to his Republican rivals against irresponsible “bluster” or any reckless rush to war. “Those folks don’t have a lot of responsibilities,” he said, referring to the Republicans. “They’re not commander in chief.” • TURN TO IRAN, 2A
Jury convicts Stanford in $7B Ponzi scheme HOUSTON — (AP) — Texas tycoon R. Allen Stanford, whose financial empire once spanned the Americas, was convicted Tuesday on all but one of the 14 counts he faced for allegedly bilking investors out of more than $7 billion in massive Ponzi scheme he operated for 20 years. Jurors reached their verdicts against Stanford during their fourth day of deliberation, finding him guilty on all charges except a single count of wire fraud. Stanford, who was STANFORD once considered one of the wealthiest people in the United States, looked down when the verdict was read. His mother and daughters, who were in the federal courtroom in Houston, hugged one another, and one of the daughters started crying. “We are disappointed in the outcome. We expect to appeal,” Ali Fazel, one of Stanford’s attorneys,
said after the hearing. He said the judge’s gag order on attorneys from both sides prevented him from commenting further, and prosecutors declined to comment after the hearing. Prosecutors called Stanford a con artist who lined his pockets with investors’ money to fund a string of failed businesses, pay for a lavish lifestyle that included yachts and private jets, and bribe regulators to help him hide his scheme. Stanford’s attorneys told jurors the financier was a visionary entrepreneur who made money for investors and conducted legitimate business deals. Stanford, 61, who’s been jailed since his indictment in 2009, will remain incarcerated until he is sentenced. He faces up to 20 years for the • TURN TO STANFORD, 2A
U.S. to press Russia to assist with efforts against Syria
Egypt lawmaker resigns after lying about nose job
BY KAREN DEYOUNG
CAIRO — Call it the curious case of the nose job. The new Egyptian Parliament’s first scandal broke this week amid disclosures that an ultraconservative Islamist attempted to mask his plastic surgery by convincing fellow lawmakers that his bruised and bandaged face was the work of an attack by thugs. Sympathy engulfed Anwar Bilkimy after initial reports indicated that he was beaten and robbed. Egypt, after all, is experiencing a troubling jump in violent crime, including the beating of a presidential candidate in an attempted carjacking. But Bilkimy was undone by doctors stunned at a ruse that crossed the bounds of vanity and religion and was drenched in cue-the-violins melodrama. With pressure intensifying on him, he resigned Monday from his Salifi Al Nour party and Parliament, which was sworn in six weeks ago. Many ultraconservative Islamists condemn plastic surgery as
Washington Post Service
McCain calls for U.S.
WASHINGTON — In the aftermath of Russia’s weekend election, to lead on Syria strikes the Obama administration has said that it would renew efforts to perWASHINGTON — (AP) — suade Moscow to cooperate with Sen. John McCain has become international efforts against Syria. the first lawmaker to call for air“It is something that we expect strikes against Syria, saying U.S. to take up virtually immediately President Barack Obama has with the Russian side,” State De- taken too soft a stand against partment spokeswoman Victoria President Bashar al Assad and Nuland said Monday. his brutal crackdown on his She suggested that Russia, own people. which has vetoed two U.N. resoMcCain said the Syrian govlutions on Syria, had been “pre- ernment’s slaughter of unarmed occupied” with its presidential civilians has likely resulted in election. In what appeared to be war crimes and that its neigha coordinated message, British bors in the region will intervene and French officials said much the militarily, with or without the same thing. United States. From the Senate The appeals came as thousands floor on Monday, McCain said of refugees crossed Syria’s borders the United States has a moral into Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan and strategic obligation to force to escape ongoing assaults by out Assad and his loyalists. President Bashar al Assad’s miliinto Damascus for a two-day visit tary forces. Syria said it would permit the beginning Wednesday. United Nations’ emergency relief coordinator, Valerie Amos, • TURN TO SYRIA, 2A
DOZENS ARRESTED CALIFORNIA CAPITOL PROTESTS, 5A
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BY AMRO HASSAN AND JEFFREY FLEISHMAN
Los Angeles Times Service
COUNTRIES CUTTING IRANIAN OIL PURCHASES, 6A
SIGNS OF SLOWER GROWTH IN CHINA, BUSINESS FRONT
tampering with God’s creation. The case has exposed the foibles of politicians and become a diversionary chuckle in an Egypt beset with deep economic and political problems as it makes the messy transition from military rule to democracy. Bilkimy told police last week that he was stopped and beaten by gunmen and then robbed of 100,000 Egyptian pounds, or about $16,500, while traveling in his car on the highway between Cairo and the Mediterranean city of Alexandria. He claimed that he slipped into a coma and was taken to a nearby hospital. His bandaged face was photographed by local media. A member of Parliament’s subcommittee on health, Bilkimy had earlier said that he had been targeted by gunmen and received death threats after his committee urged that former President Hosni Mubarak be transferred to a prison hospital during his trial on charges of complicity in the killing of protesters during last year’s revolution. Bilkimy was visited in his hospital room by top lawmakers,
ARSENAL GOES DOWN FIGHTING AGAINST MILAN, SPORTS FRONT
including Parliament Speaker Saad Katatni. But the tale began quickly unraveling. Dr. Mahmoud Nassef told investigators that Bilkimy’s bandaged face was a result of plastic surgery. A report by the hospital where he was taken after the supposed beating stated that his nose was bandaged before he arrived in the emergency room. Nader Bakar, a spokesman for Al Nour, said Bilkimy violated the party’s rules and marred its reputation. “The core of Nour party is ethics, and in this situation there was lying, regardless of the motive behind it,” Bakar said. “This incident is unacceptable.” The disgraced lawmaker’s mea culpa was posted in the media: “I, Anwar Bilkimy, admit that my claims of an attack by gunmen on the highway road were untrue . . . That’s why I submit my resignation after subjecting the party to public embarrassment and I also submit my resignation to the parliament’s speaker.” Prosecutors are investigating whether Bilkimy will be charged for making false claims to police.
INDEX NEWS EXTRA...............3A THE AMERICAS...........4A OPINION.......................7A COMICS & PUZZLES....6B
3/7/2012 5:52:51 AM
BY DAVID MORRILL DMORRILL@ANDEANTRADING.COM
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Where to find that perfect gift BY DEKE CASTLEMAN DEKE@ACCESSECUADOR.COM
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