France to bring home staff from embassy in Iran (AP)

PARIS ? France is temporarily downsizing its embassy in Iran and will bring some employees and their families home, a French official said Saturday. The move is the latest fallout from protesters' storming of the British embassy in Tehran and adds to the international pressure on the Iranian government.

The French diplomatic official described the decision as a preventative security measure, and acknowledged it was a response to the attack on the U.K. mission. But he stressed the French embassy will remain open and declined to specify how many staffers will be sent home.

Some 20 to 30 French citizens, including some French-Iranian dual nationals, work at the embassy, he said. Decisions about who gets to leave will be made on a "case by case basis," the official said. He added that the repatriations could begin as early as Sunday or Monday.

The French Lycee, or high school, in Tehran will also remain open, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record.

London alleges Tuesday's attack ? by protesters angry over the proposed toughening of sanctions over Iran's nuclear program ? was sanctioned by Tehran's ruling elite.

It has prompted Iran's most serious diplomatic fallout with the West since the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy after the Islamic Revolution, and some Iranian political figures have voiced doubts over whether anything can be gained from escalating the diplomatic battle.

Britain has pulled its diplomats out of Iran and expelled Iranian diplomats from its soil. France announced earlier this week that it was recalling its ambassador for consultations following the attack, as have Germany and the Netherlands. Italy and Spain summoned Iranian envoys to condemn the attacks.

The embassy attack has helped fuel support for additional sanctions on the Iranian government over its nuclear program. The U.S. and Western allies including Britain suspect Iran is trying to build a weapons program, but Tehran says it is only interested in nuclear energy.

On Saturday, the Iranian diplomats expelled from London arrived home, the official IRNA news agency reported. The roughly two dozen diplomats and their families were greeted at Tehran's Mehrabad airport and given a hero's welcome by about 150 hard-liners.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111203/ap_on_re_eu/iran_britain

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Ex-head of state appears in dock over murder, rape

Peter De Jong / Pool via EPA

Laurent Gbagbo, center, is accused of crimes against humanity in the aftermath of Ivory Coast's disputed presidential elections in November 2010.

By msnbc.com wire services

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Ivory Coast's ex-president appeared at the International Criminal Court Monday, becoming the first former head of state to face judges at the world's first permanent war crimes court. Laurent Gbagbo vowed to fight the charges against him.

Gbagbo, 66, was calm and smiled at supporters in the public gallery as the 25-minute hearing opened. He told judges he did not need them to read the charges.

Gbagbo was extradited to the Netherlands last week to face charges including murder and rape committed by supporters as he attempted to cling to power.

Prosecutors say about 3,000 people died in violence by both sides after Gbagbo refused to concede electoral defeat.

---

A?four-month war that?displaced more than a million people erupted when?when he refused to accept the results of the?November 2010 election.

President Alassane Ouattara took power in April with the help of French and U.N. forces.

The former president, speaking in French, said he wanted to see the evidence against him.

Former Ivory coast President Laurent Gbagbo is now? in the custody of his challenger Alassane Ouattra - and he's asked the United Nations for protection.? Mr Gbagbo had barricaded himself inside a bunker at his presidential palace in Abidjan for days, resisting all efforts to negotiate his surrender.??John Sparks, Channel 4 Europe reports

"I will challenge that evidence and then you hand down your judgment," he told the three-judge panel.

Gbagbo also complained about his arrest by opposition forces backed by French troops in April, saying he saw his son beaten and his interior minister killed in the fighting.

"I was the president of the republic and the residence of the president of the republic was shelled," he said.

'Deceived'
He also complained about his transfer to The Hague last week from the north of Ivory Coast where he was under house arrest.

"We were deceived," he said. "Things could have been done in a more regular manner."

Monday's brief hearing was scheduled to confirm Gbagbo's identity and ensure he understood his rights and the charges.

Presiding judge Silvia Fernandez de Gurmendi of Argentina scheduled a hearing for June 18 next year at which prosecutors will have to present a summary of their evidence and judges will decide whether it is strong enough to merit committing Gbagbo for trial.

Hundreds of people were kidnapped and killed in a crackdown by Gbagbo's forces following last year's contested election, sparking a war that only ended when Ouattara's French-backed rebel forces captured Gbagbo in April.

But Ouattara's forces were also behind some of the atrocities, including rapes and executions, as they swept toward the coast from their northern stronghold.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/05/9222915-ivory-coasts-ex-president-laurent-gbagbo-appears-at-war-crimes-court

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Wisconsin Tops Michigan State In Big Ten Championship To Clinch Rose Bowl Berth

INDIANAPOLIS ? Wisconsin got the late touchdown it needed, the late stop it needed and the big break it needed Saturday night.

Otherwise, the inaugural Big Ten championship game may have ended the same way the Badgers' first round with Michigan State did.

Montee Ball scored four touchdowns, the last coming on a 7-yard run with 3:45 left, and the Badgers used a running into the kicker penalty to kill the clock as No. 15 Wisconsin hung on to beat No. 11 Michigan State 42-39 and earn a second straight Rose Bowl bid.

"It makes it twice as nice," Badgers coach Bret Bielema told the crowd after hoisting the trophy. "They came out today, they weren't going to be denied, and to do it here, first time ever ? Big Ten champs, twice!"

Yes, the Badgers (11-2) were ready to party when streamers started covering the field. Some players walked into the postgame news conference carrying roses. Quarterback Russell Wilson, the game's MVP, tucked the rose behind his ear.

Next up for Wisconsin is Pac-12 champion Oregon, which beat UCLA in its conference title game Friday night.

But the Badgers almost didn't make it.

After losing on a deflected Hail Mary pass in October in East Lansing, the Spartans (10-3) looked as if they might pull off another miracle comeback Saturday night when they forced what appeared to be a three-and-out with less than two minutes to go.

Coach Mark Dantonio called for a punt block, but instead of getting the ball or taking advantage of Keshawn Martin's return inside the Wisconsin 10-yard line, Isaiah Lewis hit punter Brad Nortman. The 5-yard penalty gave Wisconsin the ball with Michigan State out of timeouts.

Game over.

"I don't know if he hit him," Dantonio said. "You probably have seen all the replays, but he threw the flag. I thought he flopped a little bit."

It's the second straight year, Michigan State and Wisconsin have been in the Rose Bowl hunt at season's end.

The Badgers got the invite last year based on a tiebreaker. This year, they took the undisputed title thanks primarily to their two offensive leaders ? Ball and Wilson.

Ball was his usually spectacular self early and efficient late. He ran for more than 100 yards and scored on two 6-yard TD runs in the first quarter. He scored two more times in the final 13 1/2 minutes -- once on a 5-yard shovel pass and the other a 7-yard TD run that gave Wisconsin a 40-39 lead. A conversion pass from Wilson to Jacob Pedersen made it 42-39 with 3:45 left.

Ball finished with 27 carries for 137 yards and three scores, and his four TDs put him within one of breaking Barry Sanders' FBS mark (39) as he tried to impress the Heisman voters.

Wilson was nearly as good. He was 17 of 24 for 187 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions and broke the NCAA record by throwing a TD pass in his 37th consecutive game. Graham Harrell of Texas Tech held the previous mark (36).

"This is one of the reasons I came here," Wilson said of the Rose Bowl ticket.

The loss not only extended Michigan State's Rose Bowl drought, it hasn't gone since 1988, and ruined Dantonio's pregame prediction. In an interview taped Friday, Dantonio told a local radio station that the Spartans would win the game and go to the Rose Bowl.

He and the Spartans tried everything to make that happen.

The Spartans ran a fourth-down pass play, called a fake extra point and even got an impromptu lateral for a score ? and that was just in the first half. Kirk Cousins made most of it work. Only one of his 17 first-half passes hit the ground in the first half, and he wound up 22 of 30 for 281 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

But it was Cousins' ability to fool the normally stout Badgers' defense that nearly won the game.

On fourth-and-1 in the second quarter, he got Wisconsin to bite on a fake pitch and hooked up with a wide open B.J. Cunningham for a 30-yard TD pass to cut the deficit to 21-14.

On its next possession, Michigan State receiver Keith Nichol, who wrestled the Hail Mary pass across the goal line to beat Wisconsin in October, beat the Badgers again. This time, he caught a short pass from Cousins and just before stepping out of bounds lateraled to Cunningham, who ran the final 4 yards for a TD. Michigan State then called for a fake extra point that Brad Sontag ran in to make it 22-21.

"We felt we were having our way offensively the whole game," Cousins said. "We never felt like it was won. But we felt like we had our way offensively."

Even after playing more conventional football for most of the next two quarters and taking a 36-34 lead, the Spartans lined up two different players in the Wildcat formation, ran a reverse and drove for a 25-yard field goal to make it 39-34 with 8:31 left in the game.

But just like the first meeting, the Badgers answered.

Wilson led Wisconsin on an eight-play, 64-yard scoring march, converting a fourth-and-6 when Wilson scrambled, threw back across the field and Jeff Duckworth made a spectacular adjustment to haul in a 36-yard pass. On the next play, Ball burst up the middle for the 7-yard TD to give the Badgers the lead.

This time, the Wisconsin defense stiffened and after a replay review overturned a third-down play that would have gone for a first down, the Spartans punted for only the third time in the game.

They never got another chance.

"It's tough," Cousins said. "We came close two years in a row. We don't get to go, it's tough."

Michigan State's Martin had a career-high nine receptions for 115 yards, the second 100-yard game of his career.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/04/wisconsin-tops-michigan-state-big-10-championship_n_1127709.html

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Syracuse coach Boeheim apologizes for abuse reaction (Reuters)

SYRACUSE, New York (Reuters) ? Syracuse University head basketball coach Jim Boeheim, who two weeks ago lashed out at those accusing a former assistant of sexually molesting ball boys, apologized on Friday for what he called insensitive remarks and said he "misspoke very badly."

At a press conference after a home basketball game, Boeheim made his most contrite statement since longtime assistant coach Bernie Fine was fired on Sunday following mounting allegations of improper behavior with juveniles, two of them ball boys working with the team.

Three men have accused Fine of sexually molesting them as juveniles during basketball team trips and at other times. A grand jury is investigating the allegations, which Fine has said were "patently false."

"I believe that I misspoke very badly in my response the allegations that have been made," an emotional Boeheim said. "I shouldn't have questioned what the accusers expressed or their motives. I am really sorry that I did that and I regret any harm that I caused."

Boeheim, a Hall of Fame coach who has one of the best winning records in college basketball, said that when the allegations erupted he reacted out of loyalty to Fine, with whom he had worked for more than 40 years.

"I reacted without thinking. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I am trying to learn from my mistake," he said.

Two former ball boys, Bobby Davis and Mike Lang, and a third man, Zach Tomaselli, all accused Fine of molesting them repeatedly when they were boys.

Tomaselli, now 23, told Reuters on Thursday that Fine invited him to an away basketball game in Pittsburgh in 2002 and molested him while the boy was staying with Fine in a hotel room. Tomaselli's father said his son was lying, and Tomaselli himself has been charged with abusing a 13-year-old boy.

INITIALLY SUPPORTED FINE

When the latest allegations emerged two weeks ago, Fine was put on leave by the university. Boeheim told reporters then that he fully supported Fine and that the accusers were lying.

"It is a bunch of a thousand lies that he has told," Boeheim was quoted by ESPN then as saying of accuser Davis.

Fine was fired by the university on Sunday after ESPN aired what it said was the audio of a telephone call between Fine's wife Laurie and Davis in which she suggests that she was aware her husband had behaved inappropriately.

On Sunday, Boeheim reversed himself and supported the firing, but did not apologize for his earlier comments.

Child abuse groups have accused Boeheim of being insensitive and said he should resign for supporting Fine.

On Tuesday at his first postgame press conference since Fine's firing, Boeheim said he was not worried about losing his job and would wait until the completion of the investigation to "find out what happened on my watch."

But his tone on Friday was different. Boeheim said he had spent part of Thursday at a Syracuse facility that cares for abused children and their families, and would get more involved in raising awareness of the problem.

Boeheim said his initial attack on the accusers was "insensitive to the individuals involved and especially to the overall issue of child abuse."

The Syracuse situation has been compared to Penn State University, where a once-respected assistant football coach was charged last month with abusing eight boys over a 15-year period.

That scandal forced out legendary head football coach Joe Paterno and the university president for not telling police. The former assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky, could face life in prison if convicted.

But Syracuse assistant Fine has not been charged with any crime, and a grand jury investigation of the allegations against him is in its early stages.

(Writing by Greg McCune; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111203/us_nm/us_syracuse_coach_boeheim

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Nicki Minaj Calls 'Roman In Moscow' A 'Teaser'

'It's the wackest thing on Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded,' Nicki tells MTV News of sassy new single.
By Christina Garibaldi

Nicki Minaj at the <i>Billboard</i> Women in Music event on Friday
Photo: D. Dipasupil/FilmMagic

NEW YORK — All the Barbies get ready, Roman is back! Nicki Minaj released "Roman in Moscow" on Friday (December 2), the first track off her sophomore album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded.

On the brand-new, hard-hitting single, Minaj's foul-mouthed alter ego Roman Zolanski spits out insults in his rapid-fire flow. It seems safe to say that Roman is fully recharged, and perhaps even taking shots at Nicki's rival Lil' Kim. "I told you, bitch, last year / I'm a rap-bitch nightmare / That's why I call you Buzz Lightyear," Roman says. " 'Cause by the time you start buzzin', bitch, you gonna have white hair!"

MTV News caught up with Minaj at the Billboard Women in Music event on Friday afternoon and she talked to us about the track.

" 'Roman in Moscow is like a teaser to Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, which will drop on Valentine's Day," Minaj said. "When I say it's a teaser, it's like a trailer to the movie, it's like setting the stage and I just wanted to touch the surface. It's the wackest thing on Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded."

On the song, Roman is fired up and wreaking havoc all over Moscow. "Well, he was there [in Moscow] secretly because [alter ego] Martha wanted him to go there, so they put him in this thing with monks and nuns; they were trying to rehabilitate him," Minaj explained. "But I can't tell exactly what happened, you'll just see it in the video format, but let's just say he got out of there." Minaj added that the video for "Roman in Moscow" "will be shot real soon."

The MC is also celebrating her four 2012 Grammy nominations, including one for Best New Artist.

What do you think of "Roman in Moscow"? Let us know in the comments!

Related Artists

• Nicki Minaj

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1675336/nicki-minaj-roman-in-moscow.jhtml

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Will Chris Rene Be There?

Chris Rene made a passionate plea to X Factor viewers last night, on an evening when the top seven contestants covered classic by Michael Jackson:

Just call his name, people, and Rene will be there.

The singer/rapper most definitely put his own spin on this MJ single, rapping various parts of it (the parts Simon Cowell liked best) and being told by LA Reid that he's "the truth." Paula, meanwhile, told Chris that he manifests "in abundance in the heart department."

That's gotta be a good thing, right?

Chris Rene - I'll Be There

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/12/will-chris-rene-be-there/

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Muslim Brotherhood says leads Egypt's vote count (Reuters)

CAIRO (Reuters) ? The Muslim Brotherhood's party said on Wednesday its alliance was leading in Egypt's election, which would give the nation's oldest Islamist group a powerful parliamentary platform to challenge the authority of ruling army generals.

State television said first-round results in Egypt's first free election since army officers ousted the king in 1952 would be issued on Thursday, a day later than scheduled because of a high turnout in the largely peaceful poll.

One party said it doubted the alliance led by the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party had won 40 percent of the vote, as stated by an FJP source, but other parties provided estimates that were in line with the figure.

The results, if confirmed and repeated in the two remaining phases of a six-week election process, would position the Brotherhood to jostle for power with the military council that replaced Hosni Mubarak in February after a popular uprising.

The council, under increasing pressure to make way for civilian rule, has said it will retain powers to choose or dismiss a cabinet. But the FJP leader said on Tuesday the majority in parliament should form the government.

"The Brotherhood's goal is to end corruption and start reform and economic development and that's what attracted many to join it, including myself," 28-year-old Ali Khafagi, who is head of the FJP's youth committee, told Reuters.

Khafagi dismissed talk about the Brotherhood banning alcohol or forcing women to wear headscarves if it came to power.

"That could only be done by a mad group and the Brotherhood is not a mad group, but a decent logical group with a good understanding of the Egyptian people and Islam," he added.

Progress towards democracy in the most populous Arab nation will help shape a region convulsed by popular uprisings against autocrats who, like Mubarak, often enjoyed Western support, in part for their role in fighting Islamist militancy.

Islamist parties in Morocco and Tunisia have come out on top in parliamentary elections in the past two months, although in both those countries they campaigned as moderates.

ISLAMIST PRINCIPLES

The generals, perceived by many Egyptians as clinging to perks and power, may face a new challenge from a parliament flush with the popular legitimacy gained from the big turnout.

The Brotherhood's party, however, has already said it wants coalition partners. That might force it towards pragmatic policies and compromises on its Islamist principles.

Full results of Egypt's first election since Mubarak's fall will not be known until after voting ends in mid-January.

Two-thirds of 498 lower house seats will be allocated proportionally by party lists and a third to individuals. The FJP said early indications showed it was ahead in both races.

In the party list race, it was followed by the ultra-conservative Islamist al-Nour Party and the liberal Egyptian Bloc, the FJP said in a statement.

The cabinet resigned last week amid demonstrations against army rule in which 42 people were killed. On Friday the generals picked Kamal al-Ganzouri, a Mubarak-era premier, to form a new cabinet, which he has said will be ready this week.

Five presidential candidates have so far turned down invitations to join his cabinet.

Monday and Tuesday's voting, the first of three rounds which will each be followed by run-offs, passed off mostly peacefully and only minor violations were reported in the election that was watched by international monitors, judges and other observers.

But violence broke out on Tuesday night in Cairo's protest hub of Tahrir Square where protesters are demanding the military step aside immediately. Nearly 80 people were wounded.

Criticizing the authorities, reformist politician Mohamed ElBaradei wrote on Twitter: "Thugs are now attacking the protesters in Tahrir. A regime that cannot protect its citizens is a regime that has failed in performing its basic function."

"VERY SKEWED"

A member of the liberal Egyptian Bloc alliance said the Brotherhood's FJP had won 40 to 50 percent of votes in Cairo, with his own bloc running second with 20 to 30 percent.

But a much smaller liberal party, the Justice Party, said the Brotherhood's estimates were "very skewed." Spokeswoman Nora Soliman said the Brotherhood was strong in some areas but added: "All the numbers they came out with are presumptuous and are designed to create momentum for the second round."

The once-banned Brotherhood did not start the anti-Mubarak revolt, but the political shift since then has propelled it closer to power, even though the army has yet to step aside.

In an implicit challenge to the military's authority, the head of the FJP said parliament should form the government.

"A government that is not based on a parliamentary majority cannot conduct its work in practice," FJP head Mohamed Mursi told reporters in Cairo's working-class district of Shubra, adding that a coalition government would be best.

One member of the military council has said turnout in the election would exceed 70 percent. The FJP's Mursi put it lower at 40 percent.

General Ismail Atman, an army council member, was quoted as saying the poll showed the irrelevance of the Tahrir protests.

The latest violence there erupted when unidentified youths tried to enter the square, a protest organizer said. Petrol bombs were thrown at protesters and guns were fired. Of the 79 wounded, 27 were taken to hospital, the state news agency said.

Youth parties have struggled to organize since the uprising, and some suspended their electoral campaigns this month to focus on the renewed protests against military rule.

"I wanted to vote for the youth, but no one is organized enough. That's why I voted for the Brotherhood," said Sayed Ismail, 38, who works in a Cairo garage. "I don't want an Islamist party, I just want some organization. Enough chaos."

(Additional reporting by Marwa Awad in Alexandria and Yasmine Saleh, Shaimaa Fayed, Tom Perry and Tom Pfeiffer in Cairo; Writing by Alistair Lyon; Editing by Peter Millership)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111130/wl_nm/us_egypt_election

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