US cigarette makers sue over graphic warning labels

Breaking News -- US cigarette makers sue over graphic warning labels

Five tobacco companies have sued the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over a new law that would force them to place graphic health warnings on their cigarette packets.

The firms argue the plan violates their constitutional right to free speech, as it requires firms to promote the government's anti-smoking message.

The FDA has not commented on the lawsuit.

The new warnings will be required on cigarette packs from September 2012.

'Depressed, afraid'

RJ Reynolds Tobacco, Lorillard Tobacco, Commonwealth Brands, Liggett Group and Santa Fe Natural Tobacco said they filed their suit against the FDA late on Tuesday in an effort to delay enforcement of the new law.

RJ Reynolds brands include Camel and Winston, while Lorillard brands include Newport and True.

In their 41-page complaint, the five companies say the new labels would illegally force them to make consumers "depressed, discouraged and afraid" to buy their products.

"The government can require warnings which are straightforward and essentially uncontroversial, but they can't require a cigarette pack to serve as a mini-billboard for the government's anti-smoking campaign," Floyd Abrams, a lawyer representing the cigarette makers, said in a statement.

He added that the new labels would violate the companies' free-speech rights under the first amendment to the constitution.

The 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act requires such labels to cover the top half of the front and back sides of cigarette packages and 20% of the printed advertising.

In June, Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the new labels could deter young people from starting to smoke and give adult smokers a new incentive to quit.

Cigarette makers lost a similar suit last year in a US district court in Kentucky when a judge said the FDA could move ahead with forcing the companies to use the new labels, which include images of dead bodies, diseased lungs and rotten teeth.

That ruling is currently pending before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

One of the biggest US tobacco firms, Altria - parent company of Philip Morris and maker of Marlboro cigarettes - has not joined in any of the legal action against the FDA.

More than 220,000 people in the US are expected to be diagnosed with lung cancer in 2011, according to the American Cancer Society.

Tobacco use is estimated to be responsible for 443,000 deaths in the US each year.

source(BBC)

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Michele Bachmann : "Submissive" doesn't mean subservient

Breaking News -- Michele Bachmann : "Submissive" doesn't mean subservient

AMES, Iowa - Appearing on "Face the Nation" Sunday, Rep. Michele Bachmann stood by her comment in Thursday's Republican debate that when she said that wives should be submissive to their husbands, she meant that married couples should have mutual respect.

In 2006, Bachmann said her husband had told her to get a post-doctorate degree in tax law. "Tax law? I hate taxes," she continued. "Why should I go into something like that? But the lord says, be submissive. Wives, you are to be submissive to your husbands.'"

Asked about the comment by CBS News' Norah O'Donnell Sunday, Bahmann reaffirmed that to her, "submission means respect, mutual respect."

"I respect my husband, he respects me," she said. "We have been married 33 years, we have a great marriage...and respecting each other, listening to each other is what that means."

O'Donnell asked Bachmann if she would use a different word in retrospect.

"You know, I guess it depends on what word people are used to, but respect is really what it means," Bachmann replied.

"Do you think submissive means subservient?" O'Donnell asked.

"Not to us," Bachmann said. "To us it means respect. We respect each other, we listen to each other, we love each other and that is what it means."

Bachmann, fresh off a victory in the Iowa straw poll, was also asked about her newest rival for the GOP nomination, Texas Governor Rick Perry, and how her job creation record stacks up against Perry's record. Over the past two years, nearly half the jobs created in the United States were created in Texas.

Asked about her record on jobs, Bachamnn said, "Well, I am a job creator. I am a former tax attorney and I have a post-doctorate degree in tax, years in federal tax court."

O'Donnell asked how that amounts to job creation.

"Because I understand how high taxes destroy jobs, and then my husband and I also started our own successful company. We have created jobs and we -- as a job creator myself, I understand how difficult it is to actually make a profit in a business."

Bachmann also called for tax reform and the repeal of the federal health care law and vowed to get America's Triple-A credit rating back. Bachmann opposes again increasing the debt limit and says America should prioritizing paying its creditors as well as paying members of the military and entitlement obligations when the limit is reached.

"We will announce to the markets in no case will we default and pay our men and women in the military and make sure all senior citizens that are currently on entitlements get their checks," she said, adding that entitlements will eventually need to be reformed.

Bachmann was also asked about the controversial Newsweek cover of her which featured an unflattering photograph and the headline "the queen of rage," which Sarah Palin criticized in Iowa on Friday. Bachmann said she was focused on other matters.

"Quite honestly when you lose your Triple-A credit rating and when you lose 30 Americans in Afghanistan, a magazine cover is really the least of your problems," she said.

Shortly before Bachmann's appearance, one of Bachmann's rivals for the nomination, fellow Minnesotan Tim Pawlenty, announced he was dropping out of the race following a disappointing finish in the straw poll.

"I have great respect for the governor. I have known him for a long time and I thought he brought a very important voice to the race," Bachmann said. Asked if she was seeking Pawlenty's endorsement, Bachmann replied: "I look forward to talking to him. I -- hopefully I'll be calling him very soon."

In a statement shortly after the show, she said she had called Pawlenty.

"This morning I spoke with Governor Pawlenty to express my respect and admiration for him, and to wish him and his family well," said Bachmann. "Running for the presidency requires enormous self-sacrifice. Governor Pawlenty brought an important voice and ideas to the campaign, and he served the people of Minnesota and our country well. Our party and our country are better as a result of his service and commitment."

source (cbsnews)

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2 face murder charges in British riots

Breaking News -- 2 face murder charges in British riots

Two men appeared briefly in court Sunday, police in Birmingham said, charged with murder over the hit-and-run deaths of three men during riots that roiled Britain last week.

The two, ages 26 and 17, were ordered to appear in Birmingham Crown Court on Monday.

Police in London, meanwhile, announced they had arrested 1,401 people over violence, disorder and looting since riots broke out just over a week ago. Some 808 of those people have been charged, they said.

Residents say the three victims in the hit-and-run in Birmingham were mowed down by a car while protecting businesses from looters in Britain's second largest city.

Haroon Jahan, 21, along with two brothers, Shazad and Munir Hussein -- both in their 30s -- were keeping watch outside a gas station following a break-in by looters during the riots, relatives said.

"The guy who killed him drove directly into the crowd and killed three innocent guys," said Tarik Jahan, father of the youngest victim. "Why? What was the point of doing that? I don't understand."

Two others remain in custody while another two are free on bail pending further investigations.

"All they wanted to do was to protect their business and other businesses within the community," said Abdullah Khan, an uncle of the two brothers.

Shazad Hussein was looking forward to the birth of his first child in a few months, the uncle said.

"A father will never hold his child, a child will never be held by his father, a wife without a husband, parents who have lost two sons. Words can never express what we are going through at this moment," he said.

Khan appealed for justice, and asked witnesses to come forward.

Community groups are planning a peace rally Sunday for the victims.

West Midlands Police Chief Constable Chris Sims, whose region includes Birmingham, said he had been asked to speak at the event.

He defended police response to the unrest, saying, "Locally in the West Midlands policing is seen as part of the solution not part of the problem.... Officers have been overwhelmed by the support shown by the public."

He said more than 500 people had been arrested by West Midlands police, and that while sentencing was "justifiably harsh ... we must not at this time abandon all compassion for some of our very damaged young people who have been caught up in these incidents."

Birmingham, like many other areas in Britain, was rocked by riots that started after the shooting death of a man who protesters said was killed by police.

The violence first broke out on August 6 following protests over the death of Mark Duggan in the north London neighborhood of Tottenham. He was shot after a police unit that deals with gun crime stopped a cab carrying the 29-year-old father of four.

Police have arrested more than 2,200 people around the country, including the 1,401 held in London.

Many suspects have already appeared before magistrates as hearings are held around-the-clock.

source (CNN)

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Germany marks 50 years since Berlin Wall

Breaking News -- Germany marks 50 years since Berlin Wall

Germany is marking 50 years since the building of the Berlin Wall when the communist East closed its border, dividing the city for 28 years.

Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit told a ceremony on Bernauer Street: "The Wall is history but we must not forget it."

President Christian Wulff said Germany had been securely established as a reunified country.

The city observed a minute's silence at noon (10:00 GMT) in memory of those who died trying to escape.

Soldiers from the East began construction on the morning of 13 August 1961

Initially a barbed wire fence, it became a wall which spread for nearly 160km (100 miles)

More than 300 watchtowers were erected to spot escapees

Minefields were laid in some sectors

The BBC's Stephen Evans in Berlin says the East German authorities portrayed the Wall as a barrier to keep the fascist West out - what came to be known as the Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart.

But he says the accepted view now is that it was to keep East German potential migrants in.

'Saddest day'

Addressing the ceremony on Bernauer, a street famously divided by the Wall and now site of a memorial, Mayor Wowereit said the capital was remembering the "saddest day in its recent history".

"It is our common responsibility to keep alive the memories and pass them on to the next generation, to maintain freedom and democracy and to do everything so that such injustices may never happen again," he said.

Earlier, Mr Wulff told Die Welt newspaper that the modern Germany could take pride in "East Germans' irrepressible desire for freedom and West Germans' solidarity with them".

Chancellor Angela Merkel, who also attended the event, was herself raised in the East.

The number of people who died trying to cross the Wall is disputed - at least 136 are known to have been killed but victims' groups say the true number is more than 700.

The first victim was thought to be Guenter Litfin on 24 August 1961 and the last Chris Gueffroy on 6 February 1989.

A list of names of the victims was read out overnight.

Although the Wall came down in 1989, it remains for some a symbol of continuing economic division between the richer west and poorer east.

Invisible barrier

Brigitta Heinrich, a schoolteacher by profession, grew up in Klein-Glienicke, which was unusual in that it was an East German enclave on the territory of West Berlin.

Speaking to Russian news agency Ria-Novosti, she said one of her own pupils had escaped across the Wall in the early days, using a ladder.

The schoolboy's parents were forced to move out of Klein-Glienicke as a result, and the mother was sacked from her job in a company, she said.

Recalling the hardships and broken illusions of the communist state, Ms Heinrich, who still lives in the East, also talked of the difficulty of readjusting to a unified country.

She said she had made friends with other Europeans such as Italians and Finns since the fall of the Wall but some West Germans, especially in regions further away from Berlin, seemed indifferent to people from the former East, as if an invisible barrier remained.

"I cannot name a single West German with whom I socialise now - really, I can't," she said.

Few parts of the Wall remain, though city authorities have laid down an 8km row of cobblestones to mark its path.

Tourists often struggle to find original sections.

source : (BBC)

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Ex-NYC top cop to advise UK on gangs

Breaking News -- Ex-NYC top cop to advise UK on gangs

A former New York and Los Angeles police chief will advise the British government on tackling the street gangs blamed for the violence that raged nationwide this week.

Bill Bratton, who had private talks with British Prime Minister David Cameron on Friday, said there are lessons from the United States that were relevant to the situation in England.

Large numbers of police will be on the streets over the weekend following widespread rioting and looting in London and other cities, including Birmingham and Manchester at the start of the week. Five deaths are believed to be linked to the unrest.

Police have arrested more than 2,100 people around the country, many of whom have already appeared before magistrates. Hearings are being held round-the-clock in some courts to deal with the large numbers charged.

The violence first broke out in north London's Tottenham neighborhood a week ago after a protest over the death of a local man, Mark Duggan. He was shot after a police unit that deals with gun crime stopped a cab carrying the 29-year-old father of four.

Riots and looting spread across London and other cities, at a huge cost to local businesses and communities.

London's Metropolitan Police said Saturday they had charged a man with handling stolen goods after recovering electrical products worth £40,000 ($65,000) in Tottenham.

Street gangs are "at the heart of all the violence," Cameron told an emergency Parliament session Thursday, citing evidence of their ties to police attacks and looting.

Cameron said he had asked senior government ministers to work "on a cross-government program of action to deal with this gang culture" to report back to Parliament in October.

"I also believe we should be looking beyond our shores to learn the lessons from others who have faced similar problems," he said. "That is why I will be discussing how we can go further in getting to grips with gangs with people like Bill Bratton."

Cameron's Downing Street office said he had spoken to Bratton Friday after the former police chief agreed to take part in a series of meetings on tackling gangs in the fall.

"Bill Bratton, who has long-standing links with British policing, will be providing this advice in a personal capacity and on an unpaid basis," a Downing Street statement said.

Bratton, who since 2009 has worked for private security consultancy Altegrity and its subsidiary Kroll, is seen as having taken bold steps to cut crime rates in New York and Los Angeles.

"I would certainly be in a position to discuss the contemporary American experience and my work in these areas -- in particular the successes that created real reductions in gang-related crime in Boston, New York and most recently in Los Angeles, where we also saw significant improvements in the relations between the police and the city's diverse communities," he said in a statement on Kroll's website Friday.

"There are many lessons from these experiences that I believe are relevant to the current situation in England."

Bratton said he believed the British government could overcome the problem, adding: "I support their resolve to seize upon this difficult situation as an opportunity to address the issues of gangs and gang violence and the resulting fear and disorder head-on."

While there have been sporadic incidents of disorder, London has been calm since Tuesday morning and other cities since early Wednesday.

About 16,000 officers -- many more than usual -- are expected to remain on London's streets through the weekend.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg warned against stirring up more trouble over the weekend, urging anyone planning to do so to "think again."

And Home Secretary Theresa May announced that a march planned for Saturday by the English Defence League, a far-right group, had been banned.

"It is clear that a ban is needed to ensure communities and property are protected," she said Friday.

Officers would be deployed to Telford, the venue of the march, she said.

In Birmingham, where three young men were killed in a hit-and-run this week thought to be connected to the unrest, community groups are planning a "peace rally" Sunday, West Midlands Police said.

Meanwhile, Cameron has angered some senior police officers by saying he thought that initially there were "simply far too few police deployed onto the streets" in London, and that "the tactics they were using weren't working."

"Police chiefs have been frank with me about why this happened," he said Thursday. "Initially, the police treated the situation too much as a public order issue rather than essentially one of crime."

source : (CNN)

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Gunman reported near Virginia Tech dining hall

Breaking  news -- Gunman reported near Virginia Tech dining hall – source(Forbes) -- Virginia Tech was locked down Thursday when three children attending a summer camp said they saw a man holding what looked like a gun on the campus where a 2007 massacre left 33 people dead.

The university issued an alert on its website at 9:37 a.m. Thursday telling students and employees to stay inside and lock their doors. University spokesman Larry Hincker said during a news conference later in the morning that the campus alert remained in effect and that people should stay indoors until further notice.

The university posted the alert on its website and its official Twitter account. The Roanoke Times also reported that the university sounded its emergency sirens and issued an emergency alert by phone and email.

The school's website was inundated throughout the morning, and school officials said they were bringing additional servers online to deal with the traffic.

The children told police they saw the man quickly walking toward the volleyball courts, carrying what might have been a handgun covered by some type of cloth.

State and local police swarmed the area but said they could not find a gunman matching their description. The university said in a tweet posted just before noon that no other sightings had been reported but asked people to stay inside.

Va. Tech Police Chief Wendell Flinchum said that the three children were interviewed, and that the information they gave was deemed credible.

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Oslo flower memorial cleared away

Breaking News -- Oslo flower memorial cleared away – BBC -- The flowers will be composted and the candles recycled, while archivists will collect any cards and other mementos.

The killing of eight people in a bombing in Oslo and the shooting dead of 69 people at a youth camp on the island of Utoeya shocked the nation.

Far-right extremist Anders Behring Breivik has confessed to the attacks.

The flowers began appearing the day after the killings and grew to carpet an area about 50m (164ft) by 30m (98ft) in front of the capital's cathedral.

'People's voice'

A spokesman for Oslo's city government said the cards left at the memorial would go to the national archives to remember what ordinary people had said in the outpouring of grief.

"One of the people in the archives said that for a long time now we have heard what the prime minister said about this, what the king has said about it, what the politicians have said about this catastrophe that hit us," said spokesman Erik Hansen.

"Now they wanted to see what the people, what kids, what adults had said on the signs, the postcards they have made here. So now they are collecting that now to have the people's voice," he added.

Police are looking at whether Mr Breivik acted alone and if he had contact with other cells of right-wing extremists in Western Europe opposed to the immigration of Muslims.

Mr Breivik blames the governing Labour Party for increased immigration in Norway. Its youth wing was on Utoeya island for a summer camp when the attack took place, while the Oslo car bomb was set off near government buildings.

Norwegian police have cast doubt on Mr Breivik's claims that he was part of a broader network but say they will look into them.

A special police unit has been set up to investigate the attacks.

Meanwhile, a court has appointed two psychiatrists to try to examine Mr Breivik's actions, with a mandate to report back by 1 November.

Mr Breivik has been charged under the criminal law for acts of terrorism. The charges include the destabilisation of vital functions of society, including government, and causing serious fear in the population.

At a court appearance on 25 July, Mr Breivik admitted carrying out the attacks but did not plead guilty to the charges. He was remanded in custody for eight weeks, with the first four to be in solitary confinement.

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Egypt's ex-President Hosni Mubarak Denies All Charges

Breaking News -- Egypt's ex-President Hosni Mubarak Denies All Charges – BBC -- Egypt's ex-President Hosni Mubarak has denied charges of corruption and ordering the killing of protesters, on the opening day of his trial in Cairo. He was wheeled on a hospital bed into a cage in court to the astonishment of onlookers outside, correspondents say.

The 83-year-old is being tried with his sons, who also deny charges against them, ex-Interior Minister Habib al-Adly and six other former officials.

Mr Mubarak was forced from office by mass demonstrations in February.

The charge of ordering the killing of protesters carries the death penalty.

Some 3,000 soldiers and police were drafted in to maintain order at the police academy for the first day of the trial of Mr Mubarak and his sons, which has now been adjourned until 15 August. The trial of Mr al-Adly and the six other security officials is due to resume on Thursday.

'Calm'

Mr Mubarak's trial was originally going to be held in a Cairo convention centre but the authorities moved the venue to a temporary courtroom set up inside the academy because of security concerns.

An estimated 600 people are thought to be watching the proceedings in and outside the courtroom, with millions more watching on TV.

Up until the last moment there was doubt whether Mr Mubarak would actually appear in the court, say correspondents.

His defence team claim he is seriously ill and there was speculation they might negotiate for him to remain in the hospital wing of the police academy while the proceedings took place in the courtroom.

But Mr Mubarak was wheeled into the cage from where he observed proceedings with the other defendants, including his two sons Alaa and Gamal.

Judge Ahmed Rifaat opened the session by asking for order, saying "the civilised Egyptian people require calm... to make sure that the mission of the court is carried out fully so we can please God almighty and our consciences".

Despite that, the court session was at times unruly, with lawyers jostling and clamouring to be heard by the judge.

The charges against the Mubaraks were read out, and Hosni Mubarak and his sons each denied them.

"Yes, I am here," the former president said, raising his hand slightly when the judge asked him to identify himself and enter a plea. "I deny all these accusations completely."

Earlier, defence lawyers said they needed a delay to proceedings to consider 4,000 pages of evidence. There has been speculation that the case will be adjourned, although the judge has been previously quoted as vowing that the trial would proceed speedily.

Judge Rifaat is a respected jurist seen as independent of the former regime, says state newspaper al-Ahram.

Everybody was in shock as the trial began, says the BBC's Jon Leyne, in Cairo, because this was the moment that no-one in Egypt - maybe all of the Middle East - expected to see.

There was amazement and silence from the people gathered outside as they watched a screen broadcasting proceedings, our correspondent says.

"I am delighted that I see them in a cage. I feel that my son's soul is finally starting to be at rest and that his blood will cool," Saeeda Hassan Abdul Raouf, the mother of a 22-year-old protester who was among those killed in the uprising, told the Associated Press outside the trial venue.

One of the protest leaders, film-maker Ahmed Rasheed, told the BBC that across Cairo people had gathered around television screens in shopping malls and shops, watching and arguing as the trial was broadcast.

"I was quite overwhelmed to see the scene taking place, I was very pessimistic about this. I didn't believe he was going to show up in court."

Earlier, scuffles broke out between hundreds of supporters and opponents of the ex-president, with hundreds of white-clad police and riot police with shields and helmets intervening to separate demonstrators hurling stones and bottles at each other.

Sceptical

Mr Mubarak was flown to Cairo from hospital in the coastal resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, where he had been detained and receiving treatment since April for a heart condition.

The former Egyptian leader resigned on 11 February, after 18 days of protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square, in which some 850 people were killed.

Mr Mubarak's lawyer insists the former president is seriously ill. Our correspondent says many Egyptians are sceptical about this.

An official quoted by the state news agency, Mena, said Mr Mubarak would stay at a hospital within the police academy compound during the trial to ensure he could attend the sessions.

Over the past month there have been renewed sit-in protests in Tahrir Square by people angry with the slow pace of change in the country.

Among their demands to the military council in charge has been the call for speedier trial for former regime officials.

On Monday and Tuesday, police backed by army troops moved in to clear the last few protesters from square.

The former Interior Minister, Mr Adly, has already been sentenced to 12 years in jail for money-laundering and profiteering.

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Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, back in Houston

Breaking News -- Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, back in Houston – BBC -- Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords received a warm welcome in the House of Representatives. The US Senate is to vote on a bill to raise the nation's debt limit, one day after the House of Representatives backed it and hours before a deadline.

Monday's vote in the House appears to have averted the prospect of the first full-scale US federal debt default.

Members of the 100-seat Senate will vote at midday (16:00 GMT) on Tuesday. If approved it will be signed into law by President Barack Obama.

The deal ties a $2.4tn (£1.5tn) debt increase to spending cuts.

The Senate vote will take place barely 12 hours before Washington is due - according to the US treasury department - to cease to be able to meet all its bills.

The bill has the backing of Republican and Democratic leaders in the Senate and is thought likely to win the support of the 60 senators it needs to pass.

In the House on Monday evening the bill passed by a clear margin of 269 votes to 161.

Despite ongoing reservations about how the bill would fare with conservative members of the House, the bill won the backing of 175 Republicans, with 66 voting against.

Democrats were more evenly split - 95 for and 95 against.

The vote was notable for the reappearance in the House of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords for the first time since she was shot in the head in Tuscon, Arizona in January.

Ms Giffords - who has undergone a number of operations - caught lawmakers by surprise when she appeared on the floor of the House on Monday evening.

There was a standing ovation and embraces for the Democratic representative, who voted in favour of raising the debt ceiling.

Triggers in place

The deal, hammered out over the weekend after weeks of feverish speculation, raises the debt limit by up to $2.4tn (£1.5tn) from $14.3tn, and makes savings of at least $2.1tn in 10 years.

In a key point for President Obama, the bill would raise the debt ceiling into 2013 - meaning he would not face another congressional showdown on spending in the middle of his re-election campaign next year.

The compromise deal deeply angered both right-wing Republicans and left-wing Democrats.

Liberals have been unhappy that the plan relies on spending cuts only and does not include tax rises, although Mr Obama could still let Bush-era tax cuts for the top brackets expire in January 2013.

House Republicans were displeased that the bill did not include more savings.

Announcing the deal on Sunday evening, President Obama said that, though it was not the one he would have preferred, it was a "serious down-payment" on the US deficit.

The deal would enact more than $900bn in cuts over the next 10 years.

It would also establish a 12-member House-Senate committee charged with producing up to $1.5tn of additional deficit cuts over a decade.

If the panel failed to produce at least $1.2tn in deficit savings, spending cuts would take effect across much of the federal budget.

The Pentagon would be among those areas affected, but in a concession to Democrats, individual benefits under Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare would be exempt.

The legislation also requires the House and Senate to vote on an amendment to the Constitution, forcing the US to balance its budget.

The political stalemate has unsettled financial markets, endangered Washington's coveted triple-A credit status, and exasperated Americans still grappling with unemployment of 9.2%.

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Africa cast pall over Ramadan for Muslims

Breaking News -- Africa cast pall over Ramadan for Muslims  -- (CNN) -- Muslims around the world on Monday ushered in the month of Ramadan, the month of dawn-to-dusk abstinence from food and beverages. But The unrest in the Middle East and North Africa has cast a pall over what is traditionally a period of comity and goodwill toward men.

Several countries in the region have been swept up in protests against longtime rulers since the January revolt that ousted Tunisian strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. In many cases, these demonstrations and movements have been met with brute force that has escalated into seemingly unending violence.

Most anti-government demonstrations have taken place after prayers, with the masses taking to the streets after meeting at mosques.

The month, which brings more Muslims to mosques, has some governments worrying that the gatherings will provide more opportunities for such protests -- and demonstrators fearing that security forces will crack down forcefully to prevent them.

EGYPT

The throngs of pro-democracy activists who have camped out on Cairo's Tahrir Square will take a break during Ramadan.

Twenty six political parties and protest movements issued a statement Sunday morning saying they will suspend their protest 'temporarily.'

Once the month ends, the thousands of disgruntled demonstrators said they will return to the square, which was the hub of the uprising that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak earlier this year.

The protesters have packed the iconic roundabout since July 8 frustrated by what they see as the slow pace of change.

They are demanding speedy trials of police officers accused of killing protesters in the demonstrations that ousted Mubarak, the end of military tribunals, the abolition of the emergency law, and economic reforms such as the establishment of a minimum wage.

YEMEN

In a speech marking the start of Ramadan, Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh reiterated that the only way out of the country's current crisis is through a national dialogue.

"We stress on this occasion that all political movements should adhere to the Gulf Cooperation Council initiative and efforts exerted by the (UN) security council as basis to resolve the crisis facing the nation," Saleh said from his hospital bed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he is recuperating from an attack on his presidential compound on June 2 that left him with serious burns.

His remarks were carried by the official SABA news agency.

Inspired by the revolution in Egypt, demonstrators began protesting Saleh's 33-year-old regime on February 11. A month later, Saleh offered to draft a new constitution that would establish a parliamentary system, but protesters persisted in calling for his resignation, and numerous high-ranking political and military officials resigned or were dismissed.

Saleh balked after making overtures to accept an agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council to step down, and fighting has escalated between security forces and opposition groups -- primarily tribal forces and Islamic militants -- since those efforts broke down in May.

LIBYA

Officials in Tripoli have been preparing for what they say will be a bloody Ramadan as a civil war grinds on in the North African nation.

At a recent gathering in support of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, a Muslim cleric told CNN that loyalist troops would be authorized to break their daytime fasts to fight on the front lines.

"Those who are fasting, if they get thirsty they should break their fast. (Because) those who are fighting are Mujahedeen (holy warriors)," said Mohammed Madani Chouairef. "Everyone standing up to this sedition is a Mujahed except for those who are with NATO."

Protests in Libya started in February, when demonstrators, fed up with delays, broke into a housing project the government was building and occupied it. They quickly gained strength, and a movement to demand democracy and oust Moammar Gadhafi after more than four decades in power exploded into civil war. NATO began airstrikes in March under a U.N. Security Council mandate to protect civilians.

SYRIA

It is unclear that planned protests in the Syrian capital on Monday will proceed, a day after Syrian tanks stormed the flashpoint city of Hama in one of several clashes that rights groups said left more than 70 people dead and more than 100 injured nationwide.

"The attack appears to be part of a coordinated effort across a number of towns in Syria to deter the Syrian people from protesting in advance of Ramadan," said British Foreign Secretary William Hague. "The attacks are all the more shocking on the eve of the Muslim holy month."

The raid marks the latest violence as anti-government protesters in the nation have called for a new regime since mid-March.

Activists blame the deaths of civilians in demonstrations on security forces, but the government has consistently attributed the violence to "armed groups."

President Bashar al-Assad has drawn criticism at home and abroad for his tough crackdown on the protesters calling for his ouster.

U.S. President Barack Obama said he was "appalled" and pledged that U.S. officials will increase pressure on the Syrian regime, "isolate the Assad government and stand with the Syrian people."

AFGHANISTAN

With NATO forces coming under increased attacks in Afghanistan in recent weeks, the top U.S. commander in the country said Sunday it was hard to tell if the pace would continue during Ramadan.

"It's hard to predict what's going to happen," Adm. Mike Mullen told reporters in Kabul. "I have no idea whether violence or attacks will go up or down.

Mullen said the United States has "great regard and respect for this month" but we "have to assure that our forces are protected and we'll see what the enemy does. That probably will drive what happens over the course of the next month."

About 150,000 International Security Assistance Force members are currently deployed in Afghanistan, which includes fewer than 100,000 from the United States. Ten thousand American soldiers are scheduled to leave the country by the year's end.

Seven areas are being handed over to national security forces in what is the first part of a security transition to Afghan control.

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BPD blamed for Brandon Marshall's troubles

Breaking News -- BPD blamed for Brandon Marshall's troubles -- (CBSNews) -- Miami Dolphin's superstar Brandon Marshall said his dream home, nice cars, Pro-Bowl accolades, and monster contract couldn't buy him happiness. "I haven't enjoyed one part of them, and they are hard for me to understand why," Marshall, 27, told the Orlando Sentinel. But now doctors have discovered why. The 27-year-old football player suffers from borderline personality disorder.

He had seen psychiatrists since he entered the NFL, and four years of therapy had not helped. After he hit rock bottom following at April altercation with his wife that left him in the hospital with a stab wound and her in jail, he knew that he needed treatment.

On the recommendation of teammate Ricky Williams, who has had his own mental health issues, he became a patient at McLean Hospital in Boston, where he was diagnosed with BPD.

"This is the most stigmatized disorder out there, but it's very treatable and with the right help, the right treatment program, the right theaters, one diagnosed with BPD, can live a healthy, effective, peaceful life," Marshall said.

His treatment program taught him how to "defuse the bomb inside of his head," according to an interview he gave to the Florida Sun Sentinel.

"By no means am I all healed or fixed," Marshall told the paper. "But it's like a light bulbs been turned on in my dark room."

People with borderline personality disorder suffer from inner turmoil that causes them to lash out impulsively and have chaotic relationships. Poor communication within a family, childhood abandonment, and abuse are risk factors. Marshall's spoken to the media in the past about his troubled childhood.

"BPD is a well understood psychological disorder," Mary Zanarini, a professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School, who treated Marshall this summer told the Sun Sentinel. "It's not a form of misbehavior." She said BPD is more common than schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, but is rarely diagnosed because of misperceptions in the mental health community.

People with BPD are uncertain about their identity, and see things as only extremes - good or bad. These sudden shifts often lead to intense and unstable relationships. Symptoms include feelings of emptiness, fear and abandonment, inappropriate anger, and impulsivity. The disorder often leads to depression, drug abuse, problems with work and family, or suicide.

Marshall wants to use his fame to advocate for more widely available treatments for the disorder.

"I'll be the face of BPD," Marshall told the Sun Sentinel. "I'll make myself vulnerable if it saves someone's life because I know what I went through this summer helped save mine."

The National Institute of Mental Health has more on bipolar disorder.

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Syria News : Hama army raid 'kills dozens'

Breaking News -- Syria News : Hama army raid 'kills dozens' – BBC -- Amateur footage of what is believed to be the city of Hama as Syrian forces attack. Syrian security forces have stormed the city of Hama and killed more than 80 people in a bid to crush a long-running anti-government protest, reports say. Eyewitnesses said tanks and troops moved into the city earlier and have been firing on civilians. Hospitals say they are overflowing with casualties.

The government said troops had been sent in to remove barricades and roadblocks erected by the protesters.

US officials accused the government of waging "full-on warfare" on its people.

The assault was a last act of utter desperation by the Syrian gvernment, said JJ Harder, a US embassy spokesman in the capital, Damascus.

With this latest military operation, the authorities are sending a clear message that they will not tolerate large-scale unrest ahead of the month of Ramadan, when protests are expected to grow, says the BBC's Lina Sinjab in Damascus.

But our correspondent says the people of Hama remain defiant, with some still out in streets shouting: "We will not be killed again," a reference to a massacre in 1982 when tens of thousands were killed.

There has also been trouble in other parts of Syria on Sunday:

Residents in the southern town of Hirak said four civilians have been killed and dozens more injured or detained

Rights groups said more than 100 people have been arrested in the Damascus suburb of Muadhamiya

At least seven civilians were killed in the eastern provincial capital of Deir al-Zour, where tanks are patrolling the streets, according to activists

A powerful tribal leader, Nawaf al-Bashir, was detained by secret police in Damascus

The government said five soldiers, including a colonel, have been killed across the country.

The recent protests - calling for widespread democratic reforms and political freedoms - show no sign of letting up despite a government crackdown that has brought international condemnation and sanctions.

Activists say more than 1,500 civilians and 350 security personnel have been killed across Syria since protests began in mid-March.

More than 12,600 people have been arrested and 3,000 others are reported missing. 

Continue Reading : Centre of protests

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