Tennis: Azarenka rides Gulf breeze past Oprandi in opener






DOHA: Victoria Azarenka's bid to hold on to her Qatar Open title, and the world number one ranking, began with victory over herself, a treacherous wind, world number 62 and Romina Oprandi on Wednesday.

Azarenka's 6-2, 6-3 success was encouraging both in the way she responded to being within a point of losing the first three games in irritating conditions and for her maturing sense of adaptability.

There were moments when the 23-year-old resorted to cursing and racket swishing, but Azarenka's frustration never got out of control and her grip on the match increased as her mind imposed its focus.

With Serena Williams' fitness still the subject of speculation, and with Maria Sharapova needing both Williams and Azarenka to falter if she is to regain the pinnacle, the top-seeded Belarussian could yet hang on to the top spot.

"It was a little bit of a slow start, and I had to adjust," Azarenka said.

"I couldn't go for my shots, and I had to be a bit more patient. She (Oprandi) is tricky and plays so many different balls that you don't know what to expect. I had to focus more and move my feet more."

The title-holder also took satisfaction from her ratio of successful moves to the net, winning 15 of her 20 attempts in what is not an area of special strength for her.

"It's something I want to improve. I am solid from the baseline, so I tried to change it up a bit," she said. "I had a lot of opportunities to do that today."

It was Azarenka's first match since retaining her Australian Open title in Melbourne three weeks ago, and underlined her better physical condition than Williams.

The Wimbledon and US Open champion's strapped up ankle will be tested again on Thursday by a last-16 clash against Urszula Radwanska, the younger of the two Polish sisters.

Azarenka's last-16 match is against Christina McHale, the world number 44 from the United States.

A repeat on Saturday of her semi-final last year with Agnieszka Radwanska, the world number four, looks very possible, though she cannot hold on to the top ranking if Williams is still surviving at that stage.

Radwanska, whose intelligent, well-controlled game seems well suited to the conditions, earlier reached the last 16 with comfortable win, by 6-3, 6-2 over Anastasia Rodionova, a qualifier from Australia.

She next plays Ana Ivanovic, the former world number one from Serbia.

At least Williams can be sure that her conqueror at the Australian Open will not be troubling her again in this tournament.

Sloane Stephens, playing her first event as a top 20 player, led by a set and 5-3 but could not get past Klara Zakopalova, the world number 24 from the Czech Republic, losing 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/5).

The American also served for the match at 6-5 in the final set, and then fought back from 1-5 down in the tie-break to 5-5, but still narrowly missed her chance of tackling another big name.

Zakopalova will instead take on Sharapova.

Two other seeds were beaten, Marion Bartoli, the number nine from France, and Roberta Vinci, the number 15 from Italy, bringing the total of casualties to five so far.

An ailing Bartoli lost 6-4, 6-4 to Svetlana Kuznetsova, the former French and US Open champion who is looking livelier than last year.

Another former world number one, Caroline Wozniacki, also reached the last 16.

The athletic Dane also made a tenacious escape from 3-6 down in a first set tie-break, saving four set points altogether before beating Sorana Cirstea, the world number 31 from Romania by 7-6 (9/7), 6-0.

Wozniacki next plays Mona Barthel, the German who on Tuesday upset her fifth-seeded compatriot, Angelique Kerber.

- AFP/jc



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Video: Syria's youngest talk about life in war zone

The impact of war on Syria's youngest residents is depicted in a striking video released Wednesday by Global Post. A correspondent, identified only as " Maya," spoke with kids in a Syrian children's shelter about their experiences growing up in a war zone.


The sound of explosions can be heard in the background as the footage opens to a room filled with young people.

"When the shelling starts we don't hear the explosions as much, so we feel safer," says 14-year-old Mariam. "But when the shelling is heavy we feel only God can protect us."

Between images of the children playing--with hula hoops, computer games and, in one case, a bullet--the young subjects give their personal accounts of war. They speak candidly, and without tears, about witnessing brutal massacres, the deaths of classmates and dreaming about bombs.

Turkieh, an 8-year-old with bouncy curls and a bright pink sweater, is calm as she recounts the loss of her mother.

"My mum went to buy bread and was coming back when the sniper shot her," she says.

The United Nations say close to 70,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict started.


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Dorner Hid Just Steps From Command Center













Christopher Dorner, the fugitive ex-cop who authorities believe died in a fiery standoff with police Tuesday night, was apparently holed up in a snow-covered cabin in the California mountains just steps from where police had set up a command post and held press conferences during a five-day manhunt.


The charred remains of a body believed to be Dorner was removed from another cabin, high in the San Bernadino Mountains near Big Bear, Calif., the site of Dorner's last stand. Cornered inside the mountain cabin, the suspect shot at cops, killing one deputy and wounding another, before the building was consumed by flames.


Police are working to officially identify the body, but "have reason to believe that it is him," said San Bernardino County sheriff's spokeswoman Cynthia Bachman.


The manhunt for Dorner, 33, one of the biggest in recent memory, led police to follow clues across the West and into Mexico, but it ended just miles from where Dorner's trail went cold last week.


Residents of the area were relieved today that after a week of heightened police presence and fear that Dorner was likely dead.


"I'm glad no one else can get hurt and they caught him. I'm happy they caught the bad guy," said Ashley King, a waitress in the nearby town of Angelus Oaks, Calif.


Hundreds of cops scoured the mountains near Big Bear, a resort area in Southern California, since last Thursday using bloodhounds and thermal-imaging technology mounted to helicopters, in the search for Dorner. The former police officer and Navy marksman was being hunted as the suspect who had killed a cop and cop's daughter and had issued a "manifesto" declaring he was bent on revenge and pledged to kill dozens of LAPD cops and their family members.








Carjacking Victim Says Christopher Dorner Was Dressed for Damage Watch Video









Christopher Dorner Manhunt: Inside the Shootout Watch Video









Chris Dorner Manhunt: Fugitive Ex-Cop in Shootout With Police Watch Video





But it now appears that Dorner never left the area, and may have hid out in an unoccupied cabin just steps from where cops had set up a command center.


It was at the cabin Tuesday morning where two women arrived to find a man matching Dorner's description inside. He took the women hostage, tying them up and stealing their car. At 12:20 p.m. PT, one of the woman broke free and called police.


Dorner crashed that car and hijacked a pickup truck as officials from the state Fish and Game Department pursued him.


"I saw some movement in the trees and it was Christopher Dorner and he came out onto the road, out of the snow, and he was dressed in all camouflage and had a big assault, sniper-type rifle and he had a vest on, like a ballistics vest," Rick Heltebrake, the pickup's driver, told ABC News.


"He was dressed up to do some damage it looked like. He said, 'I don't want to hurt you. Just get out and start walking up the road and take your dog with you,'" Heltebrake said.


Dorner then took off into the woods on foot, where sheriff's deputies pursued him to a rental cabin in which he barricaded himself and began firing.


Two deputies were wounded in the firefight and airlifted to a nearby hospital, where one died, police said. The second deputy received non-life threatening injuries, police said.


Some local television stations broadcast police scanner traffic of the firefight, punctuated by the sound of automatic gunfire.


"It was horrifying to listen to that firefight and to hear those words. 'Officer down' is the most gut-wrenching experience that you can have as a police officer," said LAPD spokesman Lt. Andrew Neiman.


Over the course of the next five hours, heavily armed SWAT teams with tank-like vehicles surrounded the cabin, even firing tear gas inside, but never entered the building.


Cops said they heard a single gunshot go off from inside the cabin just as they began to see smoke and fire. Later they heard the sound of more gunshots, the sound of ammunition being ignited by the heat of the blaze, law enforcement officials said.


Dorner is accused of killing four people, including the deputy shot on Tuesday. Last Thursday he allegedly gunned down Riverside police officer Michael Crain, who was laid to rest today.


Crain's shooting and the discovery of an online manifesto pledging to kill dozens of cops launched the dragnet.






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Was euro ever 'about to collapse'?








By Ramy Inocencio, for CNN


February 12, 2013 -- Updated 0948 GMT (1748 HKT)









STORY HIGHLIGHTS


  • Former European Central Bank chief says euro was never going to collapse

  • In 2012, critics predicted at least partial breakup of 17-member eurozone

  • Euro plunged to 25-month low against U.S. dollar in July 2012

  • Currency war fears prevail in run-up to G20 finance ministers meeting this week




Hong Kong (CNN) -- Less than six months ago, eurozone watchers had been predicting the breakup of the 17-member bloc of nations as the euro plunged to a 25-month low against the U.S. dollar last July.


Even as recently as November, Warren Buffett, the famed CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, said of the eurozone's future that "it's hard to tell exactly how it comes out."


But since then, the euro has appreciated nearly 11% as its member countries battled to contain sovereign debt crises, rising unemployment and social unrest. The euro now stands at a 13-month high against the greenback.


And flying in the face of last year's critics, former European Central Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet told CNN's Nina dos Santos that the euro "was never about to collapse" and that its viability as a currency is solid.








"The euro as a currency has never been put in question," asserted Trichet, while at the same time admitting the euro area's financial stability and credit worthiness had been tested.


As for the euro, he said it "is certainly reliable and credible."


Yet, the euro's gains over the past seven months is a mixed blessing. Arguments have long-existed for and against a stronger currency. Appreciation means investors are more confident in the euro but eurozone exports become more expensive when sold overseas; devaluation makes the bloc's exports more competitive globally, which many eurozone officials would prefer.


But if the world's major economies devalued their currencies to make exports more competitive and to spur their economies to growth again, it would be chaos, says Trichet.


"If the reasoning is the same in all constituencies you have nothing but...a 'beggar-thy-neighbor' policy which is a recipe for catastrophe."


That catastrophe could take the form of an all-out currency war. And this week, the world's leading banks called on the G20 group of richest nations to avoid such an outcome.


"We believe major central banks should focus on enhancing their cooperation...to guide market expectations and thus help avoid a disorderly interest rate adjustment process and undue exchange rate volatility," the Institute of International Finance wrote in a letter to Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, who is chairing the G20 finance minister's meeting later this week.


But with the eurozone in recession for the second time in four years, the desire to devalue the euro may be strong. The European Central Bank in December cut its 2013 growth forecast, with a best-case growth rate scenario of only 0.3%.


"It is no time for complacency," warned Trichet who added that the central banks of the United States, Japan and Europe as well as their private sectors should get their "house(s) in order."












Part of complete coverage on







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Convicted French rogue trader seeks to reverse fine in court






PARIS: French rogue trader Jerome Kerviel said on Tuesday he was trying to render meaningless the 4.9 billion euros in damages he owes to Societe Generale by seeking the same amount from the bank in a labour court.

Kerviel, convicted to three years in jail, said on RTL radio that he had filed a case in the Paris labour court seeking 4.9 billion euros ($6.6 billion) in damages from Societe Generale.

He said the bank firing him in 2008 for gross misconduct had "implied that there was the intention on my part to destroy the company, which was never the case and which was proven" during his trial.

Kerviel was convicted of forgery and breach of trust for circumventing trading limits to amass 50 billion euros in open deals, which had threatened to bring down one of Europe's largest banks.

Kerviel had insisted that his managers knew what he was doing and turned a blind eye as long profits flowed in.

The bank incurred the loss of nearly five billion euros when it quickly unwound Kerviel's trades before the market became aware.

Kerviel conceded the amount of damages he is seeking "is a bit ironic", saying he hopes a court analysis will show that he wasn't responsible for the losses the bank incurred.

"I want that figure verified because I believe that it is not a Kerviel loss," said the ex-trader.

Kerviel added he wasn't seeking to be reinstated at the bank.

An appeals court rejected last October Kerviel's attempt to overturn his conviction. He remains out of prison while waiting for his case to be reviewed by the Court of Cassation, France's top appeals court.

- AFP/de



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Fugitive ex-cop Dorner eluding manhunt






STORY HIGHLIGHTS


  • NEW: Search of the Big Bear Lake area will continue, police say

  • NEW: Pace of public tips rose 400% since $1 million reward offer

  • Dorner is accused of killing an officer and the daughter and future son-in-law of another cop

  • The fugitive said he believed he was unfairly terminated




Los Angeles (CNN) -- The massive search for a renegade ex-cop bent on carrying out "unconventional and asymmetrical warfare" focused on a mountainous resort area near Los Angeles for a sixth day Tuesday, but to no avail, authorities said.


Christopher Jordan Dorner is accused of killing one police officer and wounding two others, as well as killing the daughter of his police union representative and her fiancé.


The violent spree, authorities say, is part of Dorner's campaign of vigilante justice for what he believes was his unfair termination.


Los Angeles police spokesman Lt. Andy Neiman said Tuesday that the department had received more than 1,000 tips on Dorner's whereabouts. Some of the calls have come from Dorner's past acquaintances or people who think they have spotted the fugitive.


"It's frustrating," Neiman said. "But we are hoping that something will break loose from the public."


The pace of tips being given to investigators increased by 400% since the city of Los Angeles put up $1 million in reward money Sunday for information leading to Dorner's arrest and conviction, Neiman said.


The search for the 270-pound, 6-foot Dorner has focused on the Big Bear Lake area, where authorities say his burning truck was discovered last week after he allegedly started carrying out his threats to kill police and their family members.


Talk Back: Why do some see Chistopher Dorner as a vigilante hero?


Over the past two weeks, the search -- considered one of the largest in the history of Southern California -- has taken authorities from Orange County to the border of Mexico and from Los Angeles to Big Bear Lake.


"Big Bear's still where we're looking right now," Neiman said Tuesday. The search area surrounds where Dorner's burning truck was discovered last Thursday .


"Until we can confirm that he's either there or he's not there, this investigation has to stick with what we know and what we know is that we found evidence that he was there," Neiman said.


While the LAPD spokesman told reporters he was "not ready to confirm" that a man seen in security camera video from a southern California sporting goods store was Dorner, the Los Angeles Times quoted unnamed law enforcement sources saying it was him.


The video, published Monday by the celebrity news website TMZ.com, shows the man carrying what appears to be scuba equipment at the Sports Chalet store in Torrance, California, on February 1, two days before the killings of Monica Quan, the daughter of the police union rep, and her fiancé, Keith Lawrence.









Ex-cop at center of California manhunt











HIDE CAPTION

















A "no bail" arrest warrant was issued for Dorner after the Riverside County district attorney filed a murder charge Monday against him in the killing of Riverside Police Officer Michael Crain.


"That allows him to be apprehended anywhere within California, out of state or out of the country," District Attorney Paul Zellerbach told reporters Monday.


The murder charge is accompanied by two "special circumstances," including killing a police officer on duty and firing a weapon from a vehicle.


Dorner was also charged with the attempted murder of three other police officers, including another Riverside officer who was wounded when Crain was killed. That officer, whose name has not been released, is in a lot of pain and faces "many surgeries," Riverside Police Chief Sergio Diaz said.


Dorner is also accused of opening fire on two LAPD police officers, wounding one, in the suburb of Corona.


There has been speculation, based in part on an arrest warrant affidavit filed last week, that Dorner could have crossed state lines into Nevada or made his way to Mexico.


Federal authorities, meanwhile, were asking anyone across the country with information about Dorner or his whereabouts to contact their local FBI or U.S. Marshals Service.


LAPD reopens case that led to Dorner's dismissal


Over the weekend, LAPD said it was reopening the case that resulted in his termination.


Dorner accused his training officer of kicking a mentally ill man during an arrest in 2007. The LAPD ruled the complaint unfounded and kicked Dorner off the force for filing a false complaint.


Dorner challenged his firing in court and lost.


Suspect's grudge dates back to 2007 complaint


In a manifesto released last week, Dorner blamed racism and corruption in the LAPD for his termination and vowed to wage "unconventional and asymmetrical warfare" against LAPD officers and their families. He called it a "last resort" to clear his name and strike back at a department he says mistreated him.


LAPD Chief Charlie Beck had a different term for it Sunday.


"This is an act -- and make no mistake about it -- of domestic terrorism," he told reporters Sunday. "This is a man who has targeted those that we entrust to protect the public. His actions cannot go unanswered."


Timeline in manhunt


Targeting police


Authorities say Dorner began making good on his threats on February 3 when he allegedly killed Quan, 27, and Lawrence in an Irvine parking lot, south of Los Angeles.


According to the manifesto, Randal Quan, Monica Quan's father, bungled Dorner's LAPD termination appeal.


Randal Quan represented Dorner during the disciplinary hearing that resulted in his firing. The officer was among dozens named in the manifesto.


The retired officer told investigators he received a call from someone identifying himself as Dorner who told him he "should have done a better job of protecting his daughter," according to a federal arrest warrant affidavit.


Investigators traced the call to Vancouver, Washington, but based on the timing of other sightings, they don't believe Dorner was in Vancouver at the time, the affidavit states.


Days later, early Thursday morning, Dorner allegedly opened fire on two LAPD police officers, wounding one, in the suburban city of Corona.


Roughly 20 minutes later, Dorner allegedly fired on two officers in the nearby city of Riverside, killing Crain and wounding another.


Since then, the LAPD has provided security and surveillance details for more than 50 police officers and their families -- many of whom were named in the manifesto.


Additionally, the LAPD is no longer releasing the police chief's schedule to the public or the media.


'Ghosts' of the LAPD's past


It was Dorner's allegations of racism at the LAPD that led Beck over the weekend to reopen the investigation into his claims.


Beck said he was not doing it to "appease a murderer" but out of concern that Dorner's allegations will resurrect a painful part of the department's history.


LAPD haunted by past


For years, the LAPD was dogged by complaints of racism and corruption. In 1965 and 1992, the city was rocked by racial riots that were sparked, in part, by claims of police racism and brutality.


"I hear the same things you hear: The ghosts of the past of the Los Angeles Police Department," Beck said Sunday. "I hear that people think maybe there is something to what he says, and I want to put that to rest."


Despite numerous reviews of Dorner's case, he said it has "never been reviewed by me."


"If there is anything new, we will deal with it, and we will deal with it in a public way," Beck said.


CNN's Alan Duke, Matt Smith, Chelsea J. Carter and Holly Yan contributed to this report.






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Prosecutor: Fugitive ex-cop still looking for revenge

LOS ANGELES A prosecutor who filed a murder charge against a fugitive former Los Angeles police officer that could result in the death penalty said he believes the man hasn't finished carrying out his vendetta.

"Just read his manifesto and look at his actions," Riverside County District Attorney Paul Zellerbach said. "He's trying to send a message, and it would be my belief that his message is not completed yet."

Zellerbach filed charges Monday against Christopher Dorner for the murder of Riverside police Officer Michael Crain and the attempted murder of three other officers.

The manhunt for Dorner, 33, began last Wednesday when he was named the suspect in the Orange County killings of a former Los Angeles police captain's daughter and her fiance the previous weekend. Hours after police announced they were looking for him, Dorner allegedly fired at two LAPD officers then ambushed the Riverside officers.

"By both his words and conduct, he has made very clear to us that every law enforcement officer in Southern California is in danger of being shot and killed," Zellerbach said at a news conference guarded by four officers armed with rifles.




21 Photos


Manhunt for suspected LAPD cop killer






Play Video


Fugitive officer goes from hunter to hunted






Play Video


Miller on Dorner manhunt: "They got a lot of tips"



Police said Dorner wrote a lengthy manifesto that was posted to Facebook after the double killing. The manifesto vowed deadly revenge on those in the LAPD responsible for his firing years earlier, and their families. Police now are providing protection for some 50 families thought to be targets.

The search for Dorner remained focused in the mountains near Big Bear Lake about 80 miles east of Los Angeles after his burned-out truck was found there last Thursday. Authorities are searching more than 30 square miles day and night in the ski resort area and checking on roughly 600 cabins.

Police urged area residents with security cameras to review images to see if Dorner was recorded.

Police and other officials believe a $1 million reward, raised from public and private sources, will encourage residents to stay vigilant. More than 1,000 tips had come in since the reward was announced, Lt. Andrew Neiman, an LAPD spokesman, said Tuesday. CBS Los Angeles affiliate KCAL reports that the city council is considering raising the reward by $100,000.

"Now it's like the game show `Who Wants to be a Millionaire,"' said Anthony Burke, supervisory inspector for the U.S. Marshals regional fugitive taskforce. "Instead of one contestant, we've got 100,000, and there's only one question you have to answer. All they have to answer is where he's at, and we can take it from there."

Neiman also said investigators obtained new security video from a Sport Chalet sporting goods store in suburban Torrance but had not determined whether it shows Dorner. The video posted earlier on TMZ.com recorded a man resembling Dorner arrive with two small scuba tanks then leave with both those tanks and a larger one.

The wide-ranging search has created unusually heavy traffic backups at California border crossings into Mexico, as agents more closely inspect each car. State police in Mexico's Baja California were given photographs of Dorner and warned to consider him armed and extremely dangerous.

A U.S. Marshals Service affidavit used to obtain a federal arrest warrant on Feb. 7 cited probable cause to believe Dorner went to Mexico, but Neiman said Tuesday that it "in no way indicates one way or the other" whether Dorner is in that country.

Authorities have obtained a no-bail arrest warrant, which allows Dorner to be apprehended anywhere, Zellerbach said.

Dorner was fired from the LAPD five years ago, when a department board determined that he falsely claimed another officer had kicked a suspect. Randal Quan represented him during the proceeding.

Quan's daughter, Monica, and her fiance, Keith Lawrence, were found shot dead Feb. 3 in a car in the parking structure of their Irvine condominium. Last Wednesday, after discovery of the manifesto, Irvine police announced they were searching for Dorner.

Early Thursday in the Riverside County city of Corona, Dorner shot at two LAPD officers who had been dispatched to protect a possible target of Dorner, police said. One officer's head was grazed by a bullet; the other was unharmed.

Minutes later, Dorner used a rifle to ambush two Riverside officers, killing one and seriously wounding another, authorities said. The slain officer was identified as the 34-year-old Crain. The other officer's identity was not released to protect his family.

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Fort Hood Hero Says President 'Betrayed' Victims













Three years after the White House arranged a hero's welcome at the State of the Union address for the Fort Hood police sergeant and her partner who stopped the deadly shooting there, Kimberly Munley says President Obama broke the promise he made to her that the victims would be well taken care of.


"Betrayed is a good word," former Sgt. Munley told ABC News in a tearful interview to be broadcast tonight on "World News with Diane Sawyer" and "Nightline."


"Not to the least little bit have the victims been taken care of," she said. "In fact they've been neglected."


There was no immediate comment from the White House about Munley's allegations.


Thirteen people were killed, including a pregnant soldier, and 32 others shot in the November 2009 rampage by the accused shooter, Major Nidal Hasan, who now awaits a military trial on charges of premeditated murder and attempted murder.


Tonight's broadcast report also includes dramatic new video, obtained by ABC News, taken in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, capturing the chaos and terror of the day.


WATCH Exclusive Video of Fort Hood's Aftermath


Munley, since laid off from her job with the base's civilian police force, was shot three times as she and her partner, Sgt. Mark Todd, confronted Hasan, who witnesses said had shouted "Allahu Akbar" as he opened fire on soldiers being processed for deployment to Afghanistan.


As Munley lay wounded, Todd fired the five bullets credited with bringing Hasan down.






Charles Dharapak/AP Photo













Despite extensive evidence that Hasan was in communication with al Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki prior to the attack, the military has denied the victims a Purple Heart and is treating the incident as "workplace violence" instead of "combat related" or terrorism.


READ a Federal Report on the FBI's Probe of Hasan's Ties to al-Awlaki


Al-Awlaki has since been killed in a U.S. drone attack in Yemen, in what was termed a major victory in the U.S. efforts against al Qaeda.


Munley and dozens of other victims have now filed a lawsuit against the military alleging the "workplace violence" designation means the Fort Hood victims are receiving lower priority access to medical care as veterans, and a loss of financial benefits available to those who injuries are classified as "combat related."


READ the Fort Hood Victims' Lawsuit


Some of the victims "had to find civilian doctors to get proper medical treatment" and the military has not assigned liaison officers to help them coordinate their recovery, said the group's lawyer, Reed Rubinstein.


"There's a substantial number of very serious, crippling cases of post-traumatic stress disorder exacerbated, frankly, by what the Army and the Defense Department did in this case," said Rubinstein. "We have a couple of cases in which the soldiers' command accused the soldiers of malingering, and would say things to them that Fort Hood really wasn't so bad, it wasn't combat."


A spokesperson for the Army said its policy is not to comment on pending litigation, but that it is "not true" any of the military victims have been neglected and that it has no control over the guidelines of the Veterans Administration.


Secretary of the Army John McHugh told ABC News he was unaware of any specific complaints from the Fort Hood victims, even though he is a named defendant in the lawsuit filed last November which specifically details the plight of many of them.


"If a soldier feels ignored, then we need to know about it on a case by case basis," McHugh told ABC News. "It is not our intent to have two levels of care for people who are wounded by whatever means in uniform."


Some of the victims in the lawsuit believe the Army Secretary and others are purposely ignoring their cases out of political correctness.






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Why pope will long be remembered





































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STORY HIGHLIGHTS


  • Timothy Stanley: Benedict XVI's resignation is historic since popes usually serve for life

  • He says pope not so much conservative as asserting church's "living tradition"

  • He backed traditionalists, but a conflicted flock, scandal, culture wars a trial to papacy, he says

  • Stanley: Pope kept to principle, and if it's not what modern world wanted, that's world's problem




Editor's note: Timothy Stanley is a historian at Oxford University and blogs for Britain's The Daily Telegraph. He is the author of "The Crusader: The Life and Times of Pat Buchanan."


(CNN) -- Journalists have a habit of calling too many things "historic" -- but on this occasion, the word is appropriate. The Roman Catholic Church is run like an elected monarchy, and popes are supposed to rule until death; no pope has stepped down since 1415.


Therefore, it almost feels like a concession to the modern world to read that Benedict XVI is retiring on grounds of ill health, as if he were a CEO rather than God's man on Earth. That's highly ironic considering that Benedict will be remembered as perhaps the most "conservative" pope since the 1950s -- a leader who tried to assert theological principle over fashionable compromise.


The world "conservative" is actually misleading, and the monk who received me in to the Catholic Church in 2006 -- roughly a year after Benedict began his pontificate -- would be appalled to read me using it. In Catholicism, there is no right or left but only orthodoxy and error. As such, Benedict would understand the more controversial stances that he took as pope not as "turning back the clock" but as asserting a living tradition that had become undervalued within the church. His success in this regard will be felt for generations to come.



Timothy Stanley

Timothy Stanley



He not only permitted but quietly encouraged traditionalists to say the old rite, reviving the use of Latin or receiving the communion wafer on the tongue. He issued a new translation of the Roman Missal that tried to make its language more precise. And, in the words of one priest, he encouraged the idea that "we ought to take care and time in preparing for the liturgy, and ensure we celebrate it with as much dignity as possible." His emphasis was upon reverence and reflection, which has been a healthy antidote to the 1960s style of Catholicism that encouraged feverish participation bordering on theatrics.


Nothing the pope proposed was new, but it could be called radical, trying to recapture some of the certainty and beauty that pervaded Catholicism before the reforming Vatican II. Inevitably, this upset some. Progressives felt that he was promoting a form of religion that belonged to a different century, that his firm belief in traditional moral theology threatened to distance the church from the people it was supposed to serve.



If that's true, it wasn't the pope's intent. Contrary to the general impression that he's favored a smaller, purer church, Benedict has actually done his best to expand its reach. The most visible sign was his engagement on Twitter. But he also reached out to the Eastern Orthodox Churches and spoke up for Christians persecuted in the Middle East.


In the United Kingdom, he encouraged married Anglican priests to defect. He has even opened up dialogue with Islam. During his tenure, we've also seen a new embrace of Catholicism in the realm of politics, from Paul Ryan's nomination to Tony Blair's high-profile conversion. And far from only talking about sex, Benedict expanded the number of sins to include things such as pollution. It's too often forgotten that in the 1960s he was considered a liberal who eschewed the clerical collar.






The divisions and controversies that occurred under Benedict's leadership had little to do with him personally and a lot more to do with the Catholic Church's difficult relationship with the modern world. As a Catholic convert, I've signed up to its positions on sexual ethics, but I appreciate that many millions have not. A balance has to be struck between the rights of believers and nonbelievers, between respect for tradition and the freedom to reject it.


As the world has struggled to strike that balance (consider the role that same-sex marriage and abortion played in the 2012 election) so the church has found itself forced to be a combatant in the great, ugly culture war. Benedict would rather it played the role of reconciler and healer of wounds, but at this moment in history that's not possible. Unfortunately, its alternative role as moral arbiter has been undermined by the pedophile scandal. Nothing has dogged this pontificate so much as the tragedy of child abuse, and it will continue to blot its reputation for decades to come.


For all these problems, my sense is that Benedict will be remembered as a thinker rather than a fighter. I have been so fortunate to become a Catholic at a moment of liturgical revival under a pope who can write a book as majestic and wise as his biography of Jesus. I've been lucky to know a pope with a sense of humor and a willingness to talk and engage.


If he wasn't what the modern world wanted -- if he wasn't prepared to bend every principle or rule to appease all the people all the time -- then that's the world's problem rather than his. Although he has attained one very modern distinction indeed. On Monday, he trended ahead of Justin Bieber on Twitter for at least an hour.


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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Timothy Stanley.






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Pope announces shock resignation in historic move






VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict XVI announced on Monday he will resign this month because of his advancing age in a fast-changing world, becoming the first pontiff in 700 years to step down of his own free will.

The 85-year-old said he will step down on February 28 after just eight years in office, making his one of the shortest pontificates in modern history and stunning the world's 1.1 billion Catholics.

The German-born leader made the announcement in a speech in Latin at a meeting with cardinals in his residence in the Apostolic Palace, with his frail voice barely audible as he read a pre-written text.

"I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry," he said.

As tributes poured in from across the world, the Vatican emphasised the former Joseph Ratzinger was not leaving due to any illness, despite speculation over his frail appearance in recent months.

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said he expected a conclave of cardinals to be held in March within 15 or 20 days of the resignation and a new pope elected before Easter Sunday on March 31.

"The pope caught us a bit by surprise," Lombardi said at a hastily-arranged press conference.

Cardinal Angelo Sodano, who was at the historic meeting with the pope, described the announcement as "a bolt of lightning in a clear blue sky".

Benedict's brother Georg Ratzinger told AFP he had known "for a few months" that he was planning to resign and was "feeling the burden of his age."

Some faithful said they hoped the move would signal a major change for the Church after a conservative pontificate that has been marred by scandals including most notably clerical child abuse.

Vatican observers have already begun speculating over who could succeed Benedict, with online betters tipping an African pope as the most likely.

But some say the number of voting-age cardinals from Europe and North America -- 76 out of 118 -- could sway the choice to a Western state.

In the period between the resignation and the election of a new pope, the Catholic Church will be governed by Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone.

The closed-door conclave of cardinals is held in the Sistine Chapel and its decision is famously announced with a puff of black or white smoke to indicate whether a nominee has been selected or not.

The new pope is then announced immediately afterwards with the cry "Habemus Papam" and appears before the crowds of faithful in St Peter's Square.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel led tributes from political and religious leaders across the globe, hailing Benedict as "one of the most significant religious thinkers of our time".

US President Barack Obama offered "our appreciation and prayers" on behalf of all Americans.

Justin Welby, spiritual leader of the world's Anglicans, said he had held his office with "great dignity, insight and courage".

The Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel said Benedict XVI had improved ties between the two religions and which helped reduce anti-Semitism around the world.

Shocked believers flocked to St Peter's Square to express their dismay at what will be only the second formal resignation in the Catholic Church's 2,000-year history after Celestine V in 1294.

"I love Benedict. We're really shocked he's resigning because he wasn't pope for long enough. He hasn't finished his plan," said Sebastian Mazur, a 21-year-old trainee priest from Poland.

In the pope's birthplace of Marktl am Inn in southern Germany, 60-year-old local resident Karin Frauendorfer broke down in tears and said the resignation was "a bad thing in itself, but justified given his poor state of health".

Gian Maria Vian, editor of the Vatican's official daily, L'Osservatore Romano, said the pope took his decision after a particularly wearying trip to Mexico and Cuba last year and only after "a repeated examination of his conscience".

Benedict, who succeeded the late pope John Paul II in 2005 and is known as a diehard traditionalist and a lightning rod for controversy, will retire to a monastery within the Vatican walls.

He said his "strength of mind and body... has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognise my incapacity to adequately fulfil the ministry entrusted to me."

He said he would be stepping down at 8:00 pm, 1900 GMT, on February 28, adding that he was "well aware of the seriousness of this act".

Benedict, who has often had to use a mobile platform to move around St Peter's basilica during Church services, had hinted in a book of interviews in 2010 that he might resign if he felt he was no longer able to carry out his duties.

The pope suffers from arthritis, had a stroke while he was still cardinal and broke a wrist when he slipped in the bath in 2009.

He was the Catholic Church's doctrinal enforcer for many years and earned the nickname "God's Rottweiler". He is an academic theologian who has written numerous books including a trilogy on the life of Jesus Christ that he has just completed.

The guiding principle of Benedict's papacy has been to reinvigorate the Catholic faith, particularly among young people and in parts of the world with rising levels of secularism like Europe and North America.

He has shown a degree of openness on some moral issues -- becoming the first pope ever to speak about the possibility of using contraception to avoid the spread of the AIDS virus -- but is better known for his opposition to abortion, euthanasia and gay marriage as well as the abuse scandals that tainted the Church in the eyes of many.

The US Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, which has been highly critical of Benedict's handling of the paedophilia scandal, called on the Church to "select a pontiff who puts child safety and victim healing first."

The scandal over confidential memos leaked from the Vatican by Benedict's once loyal butler last year was another particularly hard blow for the pope.

Sandro Magister, a Vatican expert at L'Espresso weekly, said the resignation could set a precedent.

"He must have evaluated the effects of the resignation on future pontificates, which will definitely not be for life but will become fixed-term," Magister said.

Vatican expert Marco Politi, author of a best-selling biography of Benedict, said: "This gesture was very courageous and revolutionary.

"This is the first time that in a period of peace for the Church, a pope decides to step down of his own free will," he said.

- AFP/jc



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