Extradition process under way after Serbian judges reject appeal from former Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic is on a plane to The Hague to face war crimes charges, the Serbian government has said. Snezana Malovic, the country’s justice minister, said the process of extraditing the former commander of Bosnian Serb military forces to the UN war crimes tribunal “has started.” The move follows judges’ rejection of an appeal by Mladic against his extradition to the UN tribunal. Mladic is charged at the tribunal for atrocities committed by his Serb troops during Bosnia’s 1992-1995 war, including the notorious Srebrenica massacre that left 8,000 Muslim men and boys dead. Earlier on Tuesday, he was briefly released from the jail cell, travelling in a secret high-security convoy to a suburban cemetery where he left a lone candle for his daughter, Ana, who killed herself during Bosnia’s bloody ethnic war. Mladic, 69, was accompanied by a convoy of armoured vehicles, Serbia’s deputy war crimes prosecutor, Bruno Vekaric said. “We didn’t announce his visit to the grave because it is his private thing and because it represented a security risk. The whole operation lasted for exactly 22 minutes and passed without a glitch. He was at the grave for a few minutes.” Europe’s most-wanted war crimes suspect could be handed over to the tribunal in The Hague as soon as late Tuesday or early Wednesday, officials said. A defence extradition appeal sent by mail arguing he is not mentally and physically fit to stand trial arrived at the Belgrade court on Tuesday. Mladic was arrested on Thursday in a village north of the Serbian capital after 16 years on the run. His 23-year-old daughter Ana, a medical student, killed herself in 1994 with her father’s gun. She reportedly did not leave a note, but reports at the time said she ended her life at Mladic’s Belgrade family house because of depression caused by his role in the war. Mladic has rejected the official investigation into his case and claimed she was killed by his wartime enemies, saying the gun was found in her left hand, although she was right-handed. Kadira Gabeljic, whose husband and two sons were killed in the Srebrenica massacre, condemned Mladic’s grave-side visit, saying she almost fainted at the news. So far, experts have managed to exhume only parts of her sons, Mesud and Meho, who were 16 and 21 when killed. “He [Mladic] was allowed to do it, and I am still searching for my children for the past 16 years, ever since Srebrenica happened,” she said. “My husband had been found, but what about my children?” She asked. “I will wait for years. I might even die before their complete remains are found.” In addition to the appeal, Mladic’s lawyer, Milos Saljic, had asked for a team of doctors to examine his client, who is said to have had at least two strokes. Vekaric accused Mladic of using delaying tactics and said nothing should prevent his extradition to tribunal. “Doctors are saying he’s capable of standing trial,” Vekaric said, adding that Mladic will get medical checkups once he arrives at the UN tribunal’s detention unit in The Hague. The prosecutor said no one would be informed when Mladic will be transported from his prison to the Netherlands “because of security risks”. On Monday, the Serbian president, Boris Tadic, rejected speculation that authorities had known of Mladic’s hiding place and delayed his arrest to coincide with a visit by EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton. The rumours have persisted because Mladic was found living not far from Belgrade with relatives who share his last name. “Any such comment makes no sense,” Tadic said. “The truth is that we arrested Ratko Mladic the moment we discovered him.” The president also said it was time for the EU to do its part by boosting his country’s efforts to join the bloc, arguing the arrest of Mladic proves it is serious about rejoining the international fold. “I simply ask the EU to fulfil its part,” he said. “We fulfilled our part and we will continue to do so.” The EU had repeatedly said Serbia could begin pre-membership talks only after it arrested the wartime Bosnian Serb commander. Some EU countries have said Serbia needs to do more, including arresting its last fugitive, Goran Hadzic, who led Croatian Serb rebels during the 1991-1995 war. Tadic said Hadzic would be arrested as soon as possible. Ratko Mladic Bosnia and Herzegovina Serbia War crimes Europe European Union United Nations Peter Walker guardian.co.uk
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Shuttle Endeavour’s six astronauts have checked the systems they need to bring NASA’s next-to-last space shuttle flight to an end. (May 31)
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The final launch of the space shuttle program in July, with the Atlantis, marks an end to the reusable space vehicle. But if it runs into problems, astronauts may need a rescue. (May 31)
Continue reading …Mitch McConnell Calls Elizabeth Warren’s Nomination a Potential ‘Serious Threat to Our Financial System’
May 31, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media Mitch McConnell did his best to carry some water for Wall Street on this weekend’s Meet the Press when he called the potential nomination of Elizabeth Warren to head the Consumer Financial Protection Agency something that “could be a serious threat to our financial system”. And by “threat” I guess he means Wall Street and the banks not being allowed to screw over consumers at will. It’s simply astounding to me that Republicans were willing to go far enough to block her potential nomination and force a pro-forma session over the holiday to keep her from being a recess nominee to head the new agency when I think most of the country is well aware of just how badly Wall Street and the banks’ excesses have and are continuing to harm our economy . I guess you’ve to to hand it to them for staying on message if nothing else. They’re going to insist that government regulations are harming rather than helping our economy, logic and facts be damned and our compliant corporate media sure as hell isn’t going to call them out for it just as Gregory failed to do here with no follow up at all with his question to McConnell. GREGORY: Can I ask you two quick ones? Elizabeth Warren, who is supposed to head up this consumer bureau… McCONNELL: Mm-hmm. GREGORY: …the president’s appointment to do that, would you back her, or would you join Republicans who–to block her nomination? McCONNELL: Well, we’re pretty unenthusiastic about the possibility of Elizabeth Warren. We’re pretty unenthusiastic, frankly, about this new agency, and we’ve sent a letter to the president saying that some changes need to made–be made in the CFPB, the Consumer Financial Protection Board, because as it’s currently constituted, it answers to no one and, I think, could be a serious threat to our financial system.
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CAIRO – Egypt’s prosecutor general says former President Hosni Mubarak is too ill to be imprisoned to await trial on charges he conspired in the deadly shootings of protesters who forced him from power. A government-chosen panel of physicians reported that Mubarak’s heart condition put him at risk of a sudden attack. The 83-year-old former leader suffers from atrial fibrillation and depression, making him unfit for transfer to prison. The medical report, ordered by the prosecutor general and made public on Tuesday, says Mubarak is too weak to get out of bed without help. Last week, Mubarak was ordered to stand trial for alleged complicity in the government-sponsored violence during Egypt’s…
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I spend a lot of time in New York. I even rent a loft in Queens, and as I write this, I’m currently back in New York. As you can probably guess, I love the place. So when the New York office of Penguin Books, which published my book “OverRated: The 50 Most Overhyped Things in History,” asked me to tweet my choices for New York’s most overrated things, I knew that this was no time for personal gripes. There is no shortage of hype in NYC – so here, in more than 140 characters, are 7 things about New York that seriously get more hype than they deserve. As followers of #markjuddery already know, these are 7 Overrated Things about New York…
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On her Friday 1 p.m. ET MSNBC show, NBC correspondent Andrea Mitchell characterized Sarah Palin participating in the annual Rolling Thunder motorcycle rally in Washington as a “distraction,” with the headline on-screen wondering if the former Alaska Governor was “stealing their thunder.” After declaring that Palin was “once again showing that she sure knows how to seize the political spotlight,” Mitchell spoke with Rolling Thunder spokesman Ted Shpak, and asked: “When did you first hear that Sarah Palin was coming? Did you invite her?” Shpak incorrectly claimed: “No, she wasn't invited. We heard yesterday she came out with a press release that she was coming to Rolling Thunder.” In reality, as Hot Air's Ed Morrissey reported on Saturday , there was a miscommunication within the Rolling Thunder organization. He detailed a conversation he had with another organization spokesperson, Christine Colborne: “She explained that Shpak didn’t know that Palin had been indeed invited to ride at the event. The invitation came from a retired board member, Michael DiPaolo, who had connections in Alaska and got Palin to agree to attend….Colborne….explained that the last-minute RSVP didn’t get communicated through the echelons of Rolling Thunder.” During the Friday segment, Mitchell played up Shpak's objections to Palin's attendance: “I know it's an open event. She can get on the back of a Harley, but you're not exactly going to have her bus as part of you're event?” Shpak replied: “Absolutely not. We're not endorsing – you know, we're here for a reason. And our – in a way this has been taking away from the reason we're here.” Mitchell concluded: “So you think it's a distraction? I don't want to put words in your mouth, but-” Shpak added: “No, you don't have to put words in my mouth. It is a big distraction because my phone's been ringing off the hook ever since she did that, she announced that.” So far, Mitchell has failed to offer any correction to her Friday segment. Here is a full transcript of Mitchell's May 27 interview with Shpak: 1:04PM ET ANDREA MITCHELL: Meanwhile, back here, Sarah Palin once again showing that she sure knows how to seize the political spotlight. She's kicking off a national bus tour of east coast historic sites this weekend, with plans to stop at Gettysburg, the Liberty Bell and then New Hampshire. The first time since 2008. Her tour kicks off at Rolling Thunder, the annual motorcycle rally held in Washington in support of the nation's veterans, particularly those held captive or missing in action, a very serious purpose here on Memorial Day weekend. Ted Shpak is a spokesman for Rolling Thunder and he joins us now. Ted, first of all, when did you first hear that Sarah Palin was coming? Did you invite her? [ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Stealing Their Thunder?; Sarah Palin Announces Multi-State Bus Tour] TED SHPAK: No, she wasn't invited. We heard yesterday she came out with a press release that she was coming to Rolling Thunder. MITCHELL: Well, what role do you expect that she would play? You've got an event. You have a rally at the Pentagon. This is something that happens every year. We all here in Washington look forward to it. So how is she going to fit into this? SHPAK: Okay, we've got to remember, we – first of all, Rolling Thunder, it's a demonstration for the prisoner of war issue, veterans issues, taking care of our troops, taking care of our military. And this is why we do this run. Now, anybody, as you probably know, we have a lot of people that show up in town for this weekend. And this is the weekend – the reason that we're here is because of them reasons. Now, we didn't invite her. I heard stories, people calling me and says we endorsed her. We don't endorse nobody. She's not – we have our program after our run, down at the – by the Lincoln Memorial. And she's not invited to speak. We're not endorsing her. But she's – we can't stop her from coming to ride, if she wants to ride. That's fine because, you know, we don't- MITCHELL: No, I know it's an open event. She can get on the back of a Harley, but you're not exactly going to have her bus as part of you're event? SHPAK: Absolutely not. We're not endorsing – you know, we're here for a reason. And our – in a way this has been taking away from the reason we're here. MITCHELL: So you think it's a distraction? I don't want to put words in your mouth, but- SHPAK: No, you don't have to put words in my mouth. It is a big distraction because my phone's been ringing off the hook ever since she did that, she announced that. And, you know, we're not –
Continue reading …Royal newlyweds William and Kate will be touching down in Los Angeles for a few days in early July as part of their first official overseas trip. The California destination was revealed in the just released itinerary of earlier announced trip to North America that will also include an eight-city…
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Melissa McCarthy talks about ‘Bridesmaids’ – a gross-out comedy that follows the trials, tribulations and triumphs of a group of women on the lead up to their friend’s wedding. (May 31)
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Sean Kingston moved to ICU after watercraft crash; ‘Jersey Shore’ star Snooki in Italy fender bender; ‘Hangover’ sets new Memorial Day record. (May 31)
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