Indian women travel inside a Women Only metro train compartment in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013. Five men pleaded not guilty after being formally indicted Saturday in a special court on 13 charges, including rape and murder, in the fatal gang rape of a woman in a New Delhi bus, a lawyer said. The brutal attack set off nationwide protests, sparking a debate about the treatment of women in India and highlighting the inability of law enforcement agencies to protect them. (AP Photo/Yirmiyan Arthur)
Indian women travel inside a Women Only metro train compartment in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013. Five men pleaded not guilty after being formally indicted Saturday in a special court on 13 charges, including rape and murder, in the fatal gang rape of a woman in a New Delhi bus, a lawyer said. The brutal attack set off nationwide protests, sparking a debate about the treatment of women in India and highlighting the inability of law enforcement agencies to protect them. (AP Photo/Yirmiyan Arthur)
Indian women travel inside a crowded Women Only metro train compartment in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013. Five men pleaded not guilty after being formally indicted Saturday in a special court on 13 charges, including rape and murder, in the fatal gang rape of a woman in a New Delhi bus, a lawyer said. The brutal attack set off nationwide protests, sparking a debate about the treatment of women in India and highlighting the inability of law enforcement agencies to protect them. (AP Photo/Yirmiyan Arthur)
NEW DELHI (AP) ? Five men pleaded not guilty Saturday after being formally indicted in a special court on 13 charges, including rape and murder, in the fatal gang rape of a woman in a New Delhi bus, a lawyer said.
The men signed statements in the fast-track court saying they were innocent, said one of the men's lawyers. The lawyer cannot be identified under a gag order imposed by the court.
The court will begin hearing the evidence of witnesses on Tuesday. If convicted, the five men could face the death penalty.
A sixth suspect, who is 17, will be tried in a juvenile court and could face a maximum sentence of three years in a reform facility if convicted.
Police say the victim and a male friend were attacked after boarding a bus Dec. 16 as they tried to return home after watching a movie. The six men, the only occupants of the private bus, beat the man with a metal bar, raped the woman and used the bar to inflict massive internal injuries to her, police say. The victims were dumped naked on the roadside, and the woman died from her injuries two weeks later in a Singapore hospital.
The brutal attack set off nationwide protests, sparking a debate about the treatment of women in India and highlighting the inability of law enforcement agencies to protect them.
Also on Saturday, women's groups across the country slammed a decision by the government to bring changes in India's rape laws through an ordinance.
A government panel set up after the outcry over the gang rape and weeks of street protests by students and women examined India's criminal justice system's treatment of violence against women. After examining more than 80,000 submissions, the panel, headed by retired Chief Justice J.S. Verma, came out with a 630-page report recommending amendments to the laws governing crimes against women.
On Friday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Cabinet approved an ordinance to introduce stricter penalties for crimes against women, including death in extreme cases of rape. It also approved increasing the maximum seven-year sentence for rape to 20 years and imposing stiff punishments for crimes such as stalking, cyber stalking and voyeurism.
The ordinance has to be signed by President Pranab Mukherjee to become law.
Women activists have accused the government of ignoring many key suggestions of the panel, including prosecuting army and paramilitary soldiers accused of sexual offenses and barring politicians facing rape charges from contesting elections.
"The ordinance is a complete betrayal of the faith people had reposed in the government," said Kavita Krishnan, a women's rights activist. "This is a fraud and the people are going to be out on the streets protesting this mockery of the Verma commission's recommendations."
Women's groups have appealed to Mukherjee not to sign the ordinance into law until it can be debated in Parliament.
"We are alarmed at the complete lack of transparency shown by the government. We call upon the president not to sign such an ordinance," five women's groups said in a statement.
The government said Saturday that a parliamentary committee would examine all the recommendations of the panel.
"The government is aware that we need stringent laws to protect women," said R. P. N. Singh, junior minister for home affairs. "We will discuss the recommendations and make further changes to the law that may be required."
The completion of a new mass transit route is encouraging developers to shift their attention to Bangkok?s suburbs
Property firms are shifting their focus to the suburbs of Bangkok, particularly to areas in the vicinity of the Purple Line mass-transit route from Bang Sue to Bang Yai, reported The Nation. Developers are currently awaiting the new Bangkok city plan that is scheduled to take effect on May 15.
?We have to wait and see what changes there will be when the new Bangkok city plan becomes effective, because some locations may no longer be available for the development of high-rise residences,? said Anuphong Assavabhokin, CEO of Asian Property Development.
?However, we have continued to buy land and launch residential projects, for both condominiums and detached housing, in the suburbs, especially on Rattanathibet Road, located close to the Purple Line mass-transit rail route,? he said.
Opas Sripayak, managing director of LPN Development, stated that his company had put off purchasing land in Bangkok?s central business district since December.
?We have to protect our business by launching new projects in suburban areas and upcountry until the new Bangkok city plan becomes effective,? Sripayak said.
Nonthaburi province is becoming an increasingly popular destination with property developers.
Residential developments on Ngarmwongwan and Rattanathibet roads in Nonthaburi?s Bang Yai district comprise over 20 projects, with a combined total of approximately 10,000 units, according to a recent survey by The Nation.
One bedroom condominium units with a starting price of THB1 million (US$33,400) are the most popular, according to the survey.
Townhouses starting at THB2.5 million (US$83,753) are in high demand, as well as detached properties starting at THB5 million (US$167,500).
Over the last two years property prices in the area have increased between 20 and 30 percent.
LPN Development launched the Lumpini Park Rattanathibet-Ngarmwongwan project worth THB1.5 billion (US$50.2 million) last year.
Sansiri launched the THB1.3 billion (US$43.5 million) D Condo Rattanathibet in 2012, in addition to townhouses and detached houses in the same area.
Supalai developed 10 condominium projects in Nonthaburi province last year.
Narai Property, SC Asset and Property Perfect have also launched several developments in the area within the last year.
Due to the demand for development in the Nonthaburi area, land prices in the vicinity have surged dramatically from THB30,000 (US$1000) per square wah in 2008 to THB100,000-200,000 (US$3,350-6,700) this year.
Atip Bichanond, managing director of Supalai, said that while land prices on Rattanathibet Road had risen by more than 50 percent in the last three years, the prices in the area remain lower than in some other parts of Bangkok.
This provides an opportunity to develop projects that offer lower prices than other areas of the city, as well as easy access to the city centre once the Purple Line route is completed.
At the end of 2012, there were 181 residential projects in Nonthaburi province, with a combined total of 45,822 available units, according to a survey by a Real Estate Information Centre (REIC).
The REIC estimates it would take 20-30 months to sell all of the available units if no further projects were launched in the area this year.
Conference Programme Committees selected for the 20th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2014)Public release date: 1-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Sian Bowen media@iasociety.org 41-227-100-864 International AIDS Society
AIDS 2014 will take place in Melbourne, Australia, 20-25 July 2014
1st February 2013 - Geneva, Switzerland Preparation is under way for the 20th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2014) which will take place in Melbourne, Australia, from 20 to 25 July 2014. Held every two years, the International AIDS Conference is the premiere gathering where all stakeholders in the global response to HIV meet to discuss progress and future priorities. The twentieth International AIDS Conference will have a strong focus on the epidemic in the Asia and the Pacific region and is expected to convene some 18,000 delegates from all over the world.
The AIDS 2014 conference organizers are excited to announce the members of the three Programme Committees who are key to the development of a robust conference programme: the Community Programme Committee; the Leadership & Accountability Programme Committee; and the Scientific Programme Committee:
Community Programme Committee
Committee Co-Chairs
Brent Allan, Australia
Khartini Slamah, Malaysia
Yolanda Simon, Trinidad
Committee Members
Claire Tuyishime Gasamagera, Rwanda
Marama Pala, New Zealand
Kate Thomson, UNAIDS
Tony Di Pede, Canada
Leadership & Accountability Programme Committee
Committee Co-Chairs
Annmarree O'keefe, Australia
Louise Binder, Canada
Sunil Pant, Nepal
Committee Members
Bill Bowtell, Australia
Mabel Bianco, Argentina
Sheila Tlou, UNAIDS
Svitlana Moroz, Ukraine
Scientific Programme Committee
Committee Co-Chairs
Gita Ramjee, South Africa
Joel Gallant, United States
Marian Pitts, Australia
Track A: Basic and Translational Research
Co-Chairs
Anthony Kelleher, Australia
Brigitte Autran, France
Track B: Clinical Research
Co-Chairs
Jenny Hoy, Australia
Stefano Vella, Italy
Track C: Epidemiology and Prevention Research
Co-Chairs
Andrew Grulich, Australia
Peter Godfrey-Faussett, UNAIDS
Track D: Social and Political Research, Law, Policy and Human Rights
Co-Chairs
John de Wit, Australia
Justine Sass, UNESCO
Track E: Implementation Research, Economics, Systems and Synergies with other Health and Development Sectors
Co-Chairs
Ashok Alexander, India
Naomi Rutenberg, United States
"Our committee members are leaders in the HIV response drawn from 14 countries. With such a wide array of expertise we are confident that AIDS 2014 will offer a conference programme covering the most pressing topics across the five different scientific tracks," said Sharon Lewin, AIDS 2014 Local Co-Chair, Director of the Infectious Diseases Unit, Alfred Hospital, and Professor of Medicine, Monash University. "Women represent 59% of the committees' members to ensure that topics specifically linked to the advancement of women's leadership and participation will be extensively covered by the AIDS 2014 Conference Programme".
In 2013 the Conference Coordinating Committee will regularly meet to develop the AIDS 2014 Conference Programme under the leadership of the two Co-Chairs, Professor Sharon Lewin and Professor Franoise Barr-Sinoussi, AIDS 2014 International Chair, International AIDS Society (IAS) President and Director of the Regulation of Retroviral Infections Unit at the Institut Pasteur in Paris.
Conference updates will be regularly communicated in the upcoming months.
###
AIDS 2014 Conference Organization
AIDS 2014 is convened by the IAS and permanent partners the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+); the International Council of AIDS Service Organizations (ICASO); the International Community of Women with HIV/AIDS (ICW), and the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
Non-permanent partners are the Positive Women's Network and Sidaction.
The Australian based partners are: AusAID; the Australasian Society for HIV medicine (ASHM); and the National Association of people living with HIV (NAPWA).
The Asia Pacific Partners are: The Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers (APNSW); the National AIDS Research of India (NARI); and the AIDS Society of Asia and the Pacific (ASAP).
About the IAS
The International AIDS Society (IAS) is the world's leading independent association of HIV professionals, with over 16,000 members from more than 196 countries working at all levels of the global response to AIDS. The IAS members include researchers from all disciplines, clinicians, public health and community practitioners on the frontlines of the epidemic, as well as policy and programme planners.
The IAS is lead organizer of the IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention, which will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 30 June 3 July 2013 and custodian of the biennial International AIDS Conference, which will be held in Melbourne, Australia, 20-25 July 2014.
Sian Bowen (Geneva, Switzerland)
Senior Manager, Communications
Email: Sian.Bowen@iasociety.org
Francesca Da Ros (Geneva, Switzerland)
Communications and Media Officer
Email: Francesca.Daros@iasociety.org
Tel: 41-22-710-0822
Local journalists can also contact Rebecca Elliot at the Melbourne Convention & Visitors Bureau who will forward on enquiries to the IAS communications team.
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Conference Programme Committees selected for the 20th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2014)Public release date: 1-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Sian Bowen media@iasociety.org 41-227-100-864 International AIDS Society
AIDS 2014 will take place in Melbourne, Australia, 20-25 July 2014
1st February 2013 - Geneva, Switzerland Preparation is under way for the 20th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2014) which will take place in Melbourne, Australia, from 20 to 25 July 2014. Held every two years, the International AIDS Conference is the premiere gathering where all stakeholders in the global response to HIV meet to discuss progress and future priorities. The twentieth International AIDS Conference will have a strong focus on the epidemic in the Asia and the Pacific region and is expected to convene some 18,000 delegates from all over the world.
The AIDS 2014 conference organizers are excited to announce the members of the three Programme Committees who are key to the development of a robust conference programme: the Community Programme Committee; the Leadership & Accountability Programme Committee; and the Scientific Programme Committee:
Community Programme Committee
Committee Co-Chairs
Brent Allan, Australia
Khartini Slamah, Malaysia
Yolanda Simon, Trinidad
Committee Members
Claire Tuyishime Gasamagera, Rwanda
Marama Pala, New Zealand
Kate Thomson, UNAIDS
Tony Di Pede, Canada
Leadership & Accountability Programme Committee
Committee Co-Chairs
Annmarree O'keefe, Australia
Louise Binder, Canada
Sunil Pant, Nepal
Committee Members
Bill Bowtell, Australia
Mabel Bianco, Argentina
Sheila Tlou, UNAIDS
Svitlana Moroz, Ukraine
Scientific Programme Committee
Committee Co-Chairs
Gita Ramjee, South Africa
Joel Gallant, United States
Marian Pitts, Australia
Track A: Basic and Translational Research
Co-Chairs
Anthony Kelleher, Australia
Brigitte Autran, France
Track B: Clinical Research
Co-Chairs
Jenny Hoy, Australia
Stefano Vella, Italy
Track C: Epidemiology and Prevention Research
Co-Chairs
Andrew Grulich, Australia
Peter Godfrey-Faussett, UNAIDS
Track D: Social and Political Research, Law, Policy and Human Rights
Co-Chairs
John de Wit, Australia
Justine Sass, UNESCO
Track E: Implementation Research, Economics, Systems and Synergies with other Health and Development Sectors
Co-Chairs
Ashok Alexander, India
Naomi Rutenberg, United States
"Our committee members are leaders in the HIV response drawn from 14 countries. With such a wide array of expertise we are confident that AIDS 2014 will offer a conference programme covering the most pressing topics across the five different scientific tracks," said Sharon Lewin, AIDS 2014 Local Co-Chair, Director of the Infectious Diseases Unit, Alfred Hospital, and Professor of Medicine, Monash University. "Women represent 59% of the committees' members to ensure that topics specifically linked to the advancement of women's leadership and participation will be extensively covered by the AIDS 2014 Conference Programme".
In 2013 the Conference Coordinating Committee will regularly meet to develop the AIDS 2014 Conference Programme under the leadership of the two Co-Chairs, Professor Sharon Lewin and Professor Franoise Barr-Sinoussi, AIDS 2014 International Chair, International AIDS Society (IAS) President and Director of the Regulation of Retroviral Infections Unit at the Institut Pasteur in Paris.
Conference updates will be regularly communicated in the upcoming months.
###
AIDS 2014 Conference Organization
AIDS 2014 is convened by the IAS and permanent partners the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+); the International Council of AIDS Service Organizations (ICASO); the International Community of Women with HIV/AIDS (ICW), and the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
Non-permanent partners are the Positive Women's Network and Sidaction.
The Australian based partners are: AusAID; the Australasian Society for HIV medicine (ASHM); and the National Association of people living with HIV (NAPWA).
The Asia Pacific Partners are: The Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers (APNSW); the National AIDS Research of India (NARI); and the AIDS Society of Asia and the Pacific (ASAP).
About the IAS
The International AIDS Society (IAS) is the world's leading independent association of HIV professionals, with over 16,000 members from more than 196 countries working at all levels of the global response to AIDS. The IAS members include researchers from all disciplines, clinicians, public health and community practitioners on the frontlines of the epidemic, as well as policy and programme planners.
The IAS is lead organizer of the IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention, which will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 30 June 3 July 2013 and custodian of the biennial International AIDS Conference, which will be held in Melbourne, Australia, 20-25 July 2014.
Sian Bowen (Geneva, Switzerland)
Senior Manager, Communications
Email: Sian.Bowen@iasociety.org
Francesca Da Ros (Geneva, Switzerland)
Communications and Media Officer
Email: Francesca.Daros@iasociety.org
Tel: 41-22-710-0822
Local journalists can also contact Rebecca Elliot at the Melbourne Convention & Visitors Bureau who will forward on enquiries to the IAS communications team.
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The United States is struggling to confront an uptick in threats from the world's newest jihadist hot spot with limited intelligence and few partners to help as the Obama administration weighs how to keep Islamic extremists in North Africa from jeopardizing national security without launching war.
The spread of militants across Libya, Algeria and Mali ? many are linked to al-Qaida ? is in part a natural outgrowth for terror networks that have been pushed out of places like Pakistan, Afghanistan and Yemen. But it also reflects a rise in local extremist movements that have been emboldened since the September attack on a U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens.
U.S. counterterror officials agree that extremists have almost no interest in attacking America at home. However, U.S. and Western interests in North Africa ? primarily military bases, diplomatic missions and business facilities ? and Americans traveling there are at increased risk.
Government intelligence and analysis gleaned from the region indicate that America's ability to contain, or respond to, threats from North Africa is harder than it was in war zones like Iraq and Afghanistan because intelligence is not as well developed or available, a senior U.S. official said Thursday.
"We do not have the resources, footprint or capabilities that we have in other theaters," said the intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of releasing intelligence analysis. Moreover, the official said, "it's not clear we have a natural partner with whom we can work," meaning that African nations are unwilling or unable to help with counterterror measures.
Since the attack in Benghazi, North Africa has evolved as the Obama administration's latest national security headache, coming on top of conflicts across the Mideast through Asia. Many, if not all, of the extremists there are linked to al-Qaida in Islamic Maghreb, which is rooted in Algeria. AQIM itself is affiliated with al-Qaida's core network, based in Pakistan and headed by Ayman al-Zawahri, an Egyptian who took over after Osama bin Laden's death in May 2011.
None of the North African groups appear to receive direct orders from al-Zawahri or his lieutenants, and most are as motivated by asserting local authority through criminal activity as by anti-Western ideology.
U.S. intelligence officials believe some of the militants behind the Benghazi attack were linked to AQIM. Others within AQIM are suspected of driving overloaded trucks of rifles, mortars and other weapons from Libya to Mali and Niger to arm allies there.
"The stakes have gone up since Benghazi," said Mark Schroeder, an Africa analyst at the private global intelligence firm Stratfor. "It's a conflict zone now."
Algeria and Mali "are the two 'moths to the flame' areas right now," the U.S. intelligence official said Thursday, citing rising concerns about allied extremist groups across North Africa who are sharing resources, manpower, expertise and information.
Islamic militants overran a BP gas plant in Algeria and lay siege with hostages for four days in January. National security forces launched a bloody counterattack, and Washington had to wait nearly a day before it could piece together what had happened. In all, 37 hostages ? three were Americans ? and 29 militants were killed.
Mali, where the U.S. has no diplomatic or military toehold with the government, is the most likely haven in Africa for militants plotting attacks. Islamic extremists have taken over much of Mali's north, although they were routed from major towns there within weeks of a French military mission that began Jan. 11. The U.S. has not dealt directly with Mali's government since a coup last March that put a junta leadership in power.
The Pentagon is considering plans to base unarmed spy drones in Niger to boost its ability to see what is happening in the region. But there is no appetite and little funding in the White House to send in U.S. troops beyond a military post already located in Djibouti, in East Africa, and limited special forces teams. A senior U.S. military official who deals with Africa issues said few nations there are willing to let U.S. forces work inside their borders for fear of having their sovereignty trampled.
American lawmakers said they are frustrated with the administration's apparent lack of focus on ? or, at least, ability to anticipate and respond to ? the burgeoning North African threat.
"Simply playing Whack-a-Mole with allegedly al-Qaida-affiliated terrorists in one region to another around the world is not the answer," said Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee that oversees Africa issues. "The answer is a better-crafted, thorough strategy that combines development, diplomacy, democracy and security."
Coons added: "You could say that there is no obvious or immediate threat to the American homeland from al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, but they did just succeed in killing three Americans in a hostage-taking in Algeria that had clearly been planned for some time."
Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., another Africa expert, put it bluntly: "If we don't engage, we run the risk of having another Afghanistan pop up one day in the form of North Africa."
White House National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said the administration is "very worried" about the various extremist groups in North Africa but cited "varying degrees of ability and willingness" within governments there to fight them.
"There is a not a quick fix ? these have to be a series of steps we take over the long term," Vietor said. "There is not a narrow military solution that can eradicate bad guys and then we are OK."
The U.S. is already helping fund, train and arm troops from Ethiopia, Kenya, Sierra Leone and other African nations to lead the fight against North African extremists. That would follow the model of international military aid to African forces that have fought and severely hobbled the militant group al-Shabab in Somalia since 2006. Al-Shabab is also loosely linked to al-Qaida.
Yet many North African nations are too consumed by local unrest and security issues to fight militants outside their borders. Nations that have undergone transfers in power over the last few years ? most notably by Arab Spring revolutions ? now find themselves with weaker counterterror abilities.
That has given al-Qaida and other extremists areas to exploit, one of the senior U.S. intelligence officials said.
"What we're seeing is that our enemy, al-Qaida, is showing remarkable adaptability," Bruce Riedel, a scholar at the Brookings Institute think-tank in Washington, told an audience this week. "They are adapting to a new environment, which is the Arab Spring, and taking advantage of it."
___
Follow Lara Jakes on Twitter at https://twitter.com/larajakesAP
A bipartisan group of senators this week outlined a plan for comprehensive immigration reform, an issue President Obama has asked Congress to tackle in the first half of the year. Since the last major overhaul of U.S. immigration policy, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 signed by Ronald Reagan, the number of illegal immigrants has risen dramatically. According to the Pew Hispanic Center this week, the number of illegal immigrants peaked in 2007 at about 12 million, just as the Bush administration ramped up enforcement of existing immigration laws. With the Obama administration?s continued enforcement and the economic recession, the estimated illegal immigrants declined to just over 11 million in 2011.
Estimating where exactly illegal immigrants reside in the United States is tricky, but the Pew Hispanic Center did just that in 2011 for each state. Although California has the highest number of illegal immigrants, Nevada has the largest proportion of illegal immigrants?7.2 percent of the state population and as much as 10 percent of its workforce. California and Texas follow at just under 7 percent of their populations, with New Jersey and Arizona rounding out the top five.
Mouse over your state on the map to see the estimated number of illegal immigrants living there and how that number has changed in the past two decades.
NOTE: Survey methods cannot precisely pinpoint for each state the number of illegal immigrants, so the following data in this map meets the 90-percent confidence interval for population estimates for each state (save for a handful of states where the illegal immigrant population is so low that it's nearly impossible to confidently estimate).
A line of severe storms, reaching from Pittsburgh to the Gulf Coast, is currently sweeping its way across the eastern United States. The system started rolling through the mid-South and parts of the Midwest yesterday (Jan. 29), and a satellite snapped a nighttime view of a lightning flash generated by the storms.
The Suomi NPP satellite, run jointly by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, flew over the satellite activity last night. Because of the near-full moon, the satellite was able to see details of the storm clouds that would only be visible during daylight hours to other satellites, according to a NOAA statement.
Where not blocked by the clouds, the lights of several major southern cities, including Atlanta, Nashville, Tenn., and Chattanooga, Tenn., are clearly visible. Two very bright lights in western Tennessee, though, are not cities at all, but lightning flashes caught by Suomi NPP.
The system brought severe weather to the Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee valleys yesterday, with the National Weather Service issuing several tornado watches and severe thunderstorm warnings. The system continued raging overnight, bringing the threat of nighttime tornadoes, which can be particularly deadly, as people tend to be in bed and unaware of warnings and the storms are harder to see as they bear down. The threat of deadly nighttime tornadoes is exacerbated in the winter with the season's shorter daylight hours.
The potential for severe weather extends from the Southeast up to New York City today, with the possibilities of locally heavy winds and rains.
There have been 430 severe thunderstorm reports, 20 large hail reports and nine tornado reports as of 1 p.m. EST, according to The Weather Channel. One death has been confirmed from a tornado that hit Adairsville, Ga. A tornado that hit Mt. Juliet, Tenn., in the early morning hours was confirmed to be an EF-2 on the tornado damage scale, with maximum winds of 115 mph (185 kph), according to the Nashville National Weather Service office.
Accuweather.com warned that rains from the line of storms would hit the I-95 corridor around rush hour this evening from New Jersey to South Carolina.
Reach Andrea Thompson at athompson@techmedianetwork.com and follow her on Twitter @AndreaTOAP. Follow OurAmazingPlanet on Twitter?@OAPlanet. We're also on?Facebook?and Google+.
Copyright 2013 OurAmazingPlanet, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? A Vietnamese-American pro-democracy activist returned to the United States on Wednesday night after a 9-month detention on accusations of conspiring to overthrow the communist government of Vietnam.
Nguyen Quoc Quan smiled broadly as he was greeted by his wife, children and other family members, who bore balloons and placed leis around his neck shortly after 8 p.m. as he exited a plane at Los Angeles International Airport.
"I love you a lot, and I feel very near you every minute of jail," he told his wife, Huong Mai Ngo, in Vietnamese, then repeated in broken English for reporters. He pulled her to his side. "Now even closer," he said with a smile.
He said he was proud of what he accomplished and would be willing to return, with his wife's approval.
"The communist government of Vietnam can't stop you, how can I?" she said.
He would only answer a few questions, promising to share details at a news conference Saturday, including the contents of a handwritten letter he brought back from another prisoner.
Vietnamese authorities' decision to release Quan contrasts with the long prison terms given to Vietnamese activists who are members of the same U.S.-based dissident group.
The release came after U.S. diplomatic pressure and removes an obvious thorn in relations between the former enemies. Both countries are trying to strengthen their ties in large part because of shared concerns over China's emerging military and economic might, but American concerns over human rights in one-party, authoritarian Vietnam are complicating this.
Vietnam's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Quan had "confessed to his crime" and asked for leniency to be reunited with his family.
Ngo said prior to his arrival that she doubted this was the case, suggesting that Hanoi was seeking a face-saving way of allowing him to go home.
"I don't believe it. They say that about everybody," she said via telephone earlier Wednesday. "If my husband was prepared to do that (confess), he could have been released nine months ago."
Quan didn't address the issue with reporters at the airport.
Given the diplomatic sensitivities around the case, most observers had expected Quan to be released and quietly deported.
Quan, an American citizen, was arrested at Ho Chi Minh City's airport in April after arriving on a flight from the United States, where he has lived since fleeing Vietnam by boat as a young man. The 60-year-old is a leading member of Viet Tan, a nonviolent pro-democracy group that Vietnamese authorities have labeled a terrorist organization. He was detained in 2007 in Vietnam for six months, also on charges relating to his pro-democracy activities, before being deported.
Authorities initially accused Quan of terrorism, but he was later charged with subversion against the state, which carries penalties ranging from 12 years in prison to death. Earlier this month, 14 Vietnamese activists associated with Viet Tan were sentenced to up to 13 years in jail.
Ngo said the U.S. consulate first informed her of his release.
"I can't believe it," she said. "I cried over the phone when I was told."
In Washington, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said it had no higher priority than the safety and security of American citizens abroad. "It's good news that he's now been released," she said.
Quan's supporters didn't deny that he had come to Vietnam from his home in California to teach non-violent resistance to the Communist government. His lawyer and family members said earlier this month that his trial on charges of subversion was imminent, but then said it had been postponed for unknown reasons.
According to a copy of the indictment obtained by The Associated Press, Quan met with fellow Vietnamese activists in Thailand and Malaysia between 2009 and 2010 and discussed Internet security and nonviolent resistance. The indictment said he traveled to Vietnam under a passport issued under the name of Richard Nguyen in 2011, when he recruited four other members of Viet Tan.
Vietnam is routinely imprisons proponents of free speech and those who seek to undermine the Communist Party's monopoly on power. Last year, the country arrested and convicted several bloggers, part of a reaction against Internet-fuelled criticism of corruption, its human rights record and handling of the economy.
U.S. officials said last year they were delaying Washington's participation in an annual meeting on human-rights concerns because of Vietnam's lack of progress, including Quan's arrest. Such consultations have been held every year since 2006. Congress members with large Vietnamese-American constituencies have been putting pressure on the Obama administration to get tough with Vietnam.
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