Reuters, TRIPOLI: Libya forces have killed dozens of protesters in the eastern city of Benghazi in the latest violence to threaten Muammar Gaddafi's authority, with national Muslim leaders appealing for an end to the growing death toll.
Before the latest reports of deaths, Human Rights Watch said 84 people had been killed over three days in a fierce security crackdown mounted in response to anti-government protests that seek to emulate uprisings in neighboring Egypt and Tunisia.
Britain's Independent Sunday said the body count in Benghazi may be as high as 200.
"Dozens were killed ... not 15, dozens. We are in the midst of a massacre here," a witness told Al Jazeera television. The man said he helped take the victims to hospital in Benghazi, Libya's second city.
The broadcaster Sunday reported some security personnel captured by protesters appeared to be foreign mercenaries. Earlier, the channel said, security forces fired at mourners at a funeral killing at least 15 people.
Witness accounts have been hard to independently verify because Libyan authorities have not allowed foreign journalists into the country since the protests against Gaddafi erupted and local reporters have been barred from traveling to Benghazi.
Mobile phone connections have been frequently out of service and Internet service in Libya has been cut off, according to a U.S. company that monitors web traffic.
A Benghazi hospital doctor said victims had suffered severe wounds from high-velocity rifles. Comments on social network sites suggested one man was hit by an anti-aircraft missile.
"Gaddafi will find it hard to make concessions in order to survive. I think the attitude of the Libyan regime is that it's all or nothing," Sir Richard Dalton, a former British ambassador to Libya, told the newspaper.
The bloody crackdown prompted about 50 Libyan Muslim religious leaders to issue an appeal, sent to Reuters, for the security forces, as Muslims, to stop the killing.
"This is an urgent appeal from religious scholars (faqihs and Sufi sheikhs), intellectuals, and clan elders from Tripoli, Bani Walid, Zintan, Jadu, Msalata, Misrata, Zawiah, and other towns and villages of the western area," said the appeal.
"We appeal to every Muslim, within the regime or assisting it in any way, to recognize that the killing of innocent human beings is forbidden by our Creator and by His beloved Prophet of Compassion (peace be upon him)... Do NOT kill your brothers and sisters. STOP the massacre NOW!"
A Benghazi resident said security forces were confined to a compound from which snipers were firing at protesters.
"Right now, the only military presence in Benghazi is confined to the Command Center Complex in the city. The rest of the city is liberated," he said.
"Thousands and thousands of people have gathered in front of Benghazi's court house....All of the revolutionary committee (local government) offices and police stations in the city have been burned," he said.
The account could not be independently verified and a security source earlier gave a different version, saying the situation in the Benghazi region was "80 percent under control."
The private Quryna newspaper, which is based in Benghazi and has been linked to one of Gaddafi's sons, said 24 people were killed in Benghazi Friday. It said security forces fired to stop protesters attacking the police headquarters and a military base where weapons were stored.
"The guards were forced to use bullets," the paper said.
Italy's Ansa news agency quoted an Italian witness in Benghazi as saying the city was "completely out of control."
"All the government and institutional buildings and a bank have been burned, and the rebels have ransacked and destroyed everything. There's no one on the streets, not even the police," said the witness, who declined to be identified.
The government has not released any casualty figures or made any official comment on the violence.
CALM IN TRIPOLI
The violence has been largely concentrated around Benghazi, some 1,000 km (625 miles) east of the capital, where support for Gaddafi traditionally has been weaker than in the rest of the country. There was no clear sign of a nationwide revolt.
In Green Square in the center of Tripoli, next to the walled old city, several hundred people gathered Saturday, waving portraits of Gaddafi and chanting "Our revolutionary leader!" and "We follow your path," a Reuters reporter said.
A state-controlled newspaper said the violence was part of "the dirty plans and the conspiracies designed by America and Zionism and the traitors of the West."
State television showed footage of one of Gaddafi's sons, Saadi Gaddafi, who was this week put in charge of Benghazi, touring Green Square. He was cheered by about 1,000 people, most of them supporters of the capital's two main soccer clubs, Al-Ahly and Al-Ettihad.
The crowd chanted "God, Libya and Muammar only."
Libya watchers say an Egypt-style nationwide revolt is unlikely because Gaddafi has oil cash to smooth over social problems, and is still respected in much of the country.
(Additional reporting by Souhail Karam in Rabat and Matt Falloon and William Maclean in London and Tom Heneghan in Paris; Writing by Matthew Jones)
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Libyan forces kill dozens as talks begin in Bahrain
Reuters, TRIPOLI: Libyan security forces shot dead dozens of protesters as they struggled to stamp out a revolt in the second city Benghazi as Bahrain's rulers began talks with the opposition as unrest continued to sweep the Middle East.
Anti-government demonstrators in Bahrain swarmed into Pearl Square in Manama on Saturday, putting riot police to flight in a striking victory for their cause and confidently setting up camp for a protracted stay.
In Libya's eastern city of Benghazi, a witness told Reuters snipers had fired at protesters from a fortified compound.
"Dozens were killed ... not 15, dozens. We are in the midst of a massacre here," said the resident, who did not want to be named. The man said he helped take the victims to a local hospital during Saturday's violence.
The Libyan authorities have not allowed foreign journalists into the country since the protests against Gaddafi erupted, and the witness' account could not be independently verified.
Human Rights Watch says 84 people have been killed in Libya since the protests began, the death toll a reflection of the ferocity of the security crackdown mounted in response to anti-government protests that sought to emulate uprisings in neighboring Egypt and Tunisia.
Unrest has spread from those two countries, whose leaders were toppled, to Bahrain, Libya, Yemen, Oman, Kuwait and Djibouti as people take to the streets demanding political and economic change.
Anti-government protests met varying degrees of force in Yemen, Algiers and Djibouti, while an Egyptian court approved a new party in a landmark ruling. Authorities in Saudi Arabia detained activists trying to set up the kingdom's first political party.
SNIPER FIRE
In Libya, the violence was concentrated around Benghazi, 1,000 km (625 miles) east of the capital, where support for Gaddafi traditionally has been weaker than in the rest of the country.
There was no sign of a nationwide revolt, but Twitter was abuzz with talk of unrest in towns other than Benghazi. Reports ranged from the use of mercenaries and aircraft to mortars and artillery against protesters, but with foreign media banned from entering the country, they were impossible to verify.
Internet service has been cut off in Libya, but local Muslim leaders called for an end to the violence.
"This is an urgent appeal from religious scholars (faqihs and Sufi sheikhs), intellectuals, and clan elders from Tripoli, Bani Walid, Zintan, Jadu, Msalata, Misrata, Zawiah, and other towns and villages of the western area of our beloved Libya to all of humanity, to all men and women of goodwill," they said in an appeal to Reuters.
The Benghazi witness told Reuters security forces had set up a 50-meter (yard) perimeter around their "command center" and fired at anyone approaching it.
He said people were killed after protesters tried to break into the compound command. Another resident earlier said the security forces were confined to the compound.
The resident said the violence was beginning to hurt food supplies. Italy's Ansa news agency quoted an Italian witness there as saying the city was "completely out of control."
"All the government and institutional buildings and a bank have been burned, and the rebels have ransacked and destroyed everything. There's no one on the streets, not even the police," said the witness, who declined to be identified.
The government has not released any casualty figures or made any official comment on the violence.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague urged Libya to stop using force against protesters, calling it "unacceptable and horrifying," and asked Middle Eastern governments to respond to the "legitimate aspirations" of their people.
The unrest has helped drive up oil and gold prices.
Analysts say that Gaddafi, unlike the Egyptian leadership, has oil cash to smooth over social problems, and is respected in much of the country.
BAHRAIN TALKS
In Bahrain, a key U.S. ally and home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet, thousands of protesters celebrated as they poured into Pearl Square after riot police pulled out.
"We don't fear death any more, let the army come and kill us to show the world what kind of savages they are," said Umm Mohammed, a teacher wearing a black abaya cloak.
Bahrain's government said it had opened a dialogue with opposition groups demanding reform. The crown prince called for a national day of mourning for the six people killed in this week's protests and appealed for calm.
He had earlier announced that all troops had been ordered off the streets -- meeting one of the conditions for talks set out by an ex-lawmaker of the main Shi'ite opposition bloc Wefaq.
The Sunni Muslim Al-Khalifa dynasty rules Bahrain, but the Shi'ite majority has long complained about what it sees as discrimination in access to state jobs, housing and healthcare.
The United States and top oil producer Saudi Arabia see Bahrain as a bulwark against neighboring Shi'ite Iran.
In Egypt, a court approved the Wasat Party (Center Party), the first new party to be recognised since President Hosni Mubarak was overthrown this month, and an official said there would soon be a limited cabinet reshuffle.
In Yemen, one protester was killed and seven were hurt in clashes with supporters of President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa.
Riot police in Algiers meanwhile prevented some 500 protesters marching in through the city center.
The uprisings sweeping through the region also reached the tiny Horn of Africa state of Djibouti, where three leading opposition politicians were detained on Saturday in a move to quash anti-government protests.
Djibouti, a former French colony between Eritrea and Somalia, hosts France's largest military base in Africa and a major U.S. base. Its port is used by foreign navies patrolling busy shipping lanes off the coast of Somalia to fight piracy. Unemployment runs at about 60 percent.
Anti-government demonstrators in Bahrain swarmed into Pearl Square in Manama on Saturday, putting riot police to flight in a striking victory for their cause and confidently setting up camp for a protracted stay.
In Libya's eastern city of Benghazi, a witness told Reuters snipers had fired at protesters from a fortified compound.
"Dozens were killed ... not 15, dozens. We are in the midst of a massacre here," said the resident, who did not want to be named. The man said he helped take the victims to a local hospital during Saturday's violence.
The Libyan authorities have not allowed foreign journalists into the country since the protests against Gaddafi erupted, and the witness' account could not be independently verified.
Human Rights Watch says 84 people have been killed in Libya since the protests began, the death toll a reflection of the ferocity of the security crackdown mounted in response to anti-government protests that sought to emulate uprisings in neighboring Egypt and Tunisia.
Unrest has spread from those two countries, whose leaders were toppled, to Bahrain, Libya, Yemen, Oman, Kuwait and Djibouti as people take to the streets demanding political and economic change.
Anti-government protests met varying degrees of force in Yemen, Algiers and Djibouti, while an Egyptian court approved a new party in a landmark ruling. Authorities in Saudi Arabia detained activists trying to set up the kingdom's first political party.
SNIPER FIRE
In Libya, the violence was concentrated around Benghazi, 1,000 km (625 miles) east of the capital, where support for Gaddafi traditionally has been weaker than in the rest of the country.
There was no sign of a nationwide revolt, but Twitter was abuzz with talk of unrest in towns other than Benghazi. Reports ranged from the use of mercenaries and aircraft to mortars and artillery against protesters, but with foreign media banned from entering the country, they were impossible to verify.
Internet service has been cut off in Libya, but local Muslim leaders called for an end to the violence.
"This is an urgent appeal from religious scholars (faqihs and Sufi sheikhs), intellectuals, and clan elders from Tripoli, Bani Walid, Zintan, Jadu, Msalata, Misrata, Zawiah, and other towns and villages of the western area of our beloved Libya to all of humanity, to all men and women of goodwill," they said in an appeal to Reuters.
The Benghazi witness told Reuters security forces had set up a 50-meter (yard) perimeter around their "command center" and fired at anyone approaching it.
He said people were killed after protesters tried to break into the compound command. Another resident earlier said the security forces were confined to the compound.
The resident said the violence was beginning to hurt food supplies. Italy's Ansa news agency quoted an Italian witness there as saying the city was "completely out of control."
"All the government and institutional buildings and a bank have been burned, and the rebels have ransacked and destroyed everything. There's no one on the streets, not even the police," said the witness, who declined to be identified.
The government has not released any casualty figures or made any official comment on the violence.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague urged Libya to stop using force against protesters, calling it "unacceptable and horrifying," and asked Middle Eastern governments to respond to the "legitimate aspirations" of their people.
The unrest has helped drive up oil and gold prices.
Analysts say that Gaddafi, unlike the Egyptian leadership, has oil cash to smooth over social problems, and is respected in much of the country.
BAHRAIN TALKS
In Bahrain, a key U.S. ally and home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet, thousands of protesters celebrated as they poured into Pearl Square after riot police pulled out.
"We don't fear death any more, let the army come and kill us to show the world what kind of savages they are," said Umm Mohammed, a teacher wearing a black abaya cloak.
Bahrain's government said it had opened a dialogue with opposition groups demanding reform. The crown prince called for a national day of mourning for the six people killed in this week's protests and appealed for calm.
He had earlier announced that all troops had been ordered off the streets -- meeting one of the conditions for talks set out by an ex-lawmaker of the main Shi'ite opposition bloc Wefaq.
The Sunni Muslim Al-Khalifa dynasty rules Bahrain, but the Shi'ite majority has long complained about what it sees as discrimination in access to state jobs, housing and healthcare.
The United States and top oil producer Saudi Arabia see Bahrain as a bulwark against neighboring Shi'ite Iran.
In Egypt, a court approved the Wasat Party (Center Party), the first new party to be recognised since President Hosni Mubarak was overthrown this month, and an official said there would soon be a limited cabinet reshuffle.
In Yemen, one protester was killed and seven were hurt in clashes with supporters of President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa.
Riot police in Algiers meanwhile prevented some 500 protesters marching in through the city center.
The uprisings sweeping through the region also reached the tiny Horn of Africa state of Djibouti, where three leading opposition politicians were detained on Saturday in a move to quash anti-government protests.
Djibouti, a former French colony between Eritrea and Somalia, hosts France's largest military base in Africa and a major U.S. base. Its port is used by foreign navies patrolling busy shipping lanes off the coast of Somalia to fight piracy. Unemployment runs at about 60 percent.
Iran releases 2 German journalists held for months
AP, TEHRAN, Iran: Iran freed two German journalists arrested four months ago in connection with a highly publicized stoning case, and Germany's foreign minister went to Tehran on Saturday to bring the reporters home in a rare top-level visit by a Western government representative.
An Iranian court threw out the journalists' 20-month prison sentence Saturday, commuting it to a fine of $50,000 each and clearing the way for their release, state media reported.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle in Tehran thanked his Iranian counterpart, Ali Akbar Salehi, for his "commitment to the relations between our countries." Westerwelle's office said in a statement the ministers also discussed their differing opinions on "questions of human rights and the development of democracy."
The Germans — a reporter and a photographer for the Berlin-based mass-circulation tabloid Bild am Sonntag — got caught up in one of the many confrontations between Iran and the West.
They interviewed the son of an Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, whose case has generated widespread international outrage.
Marcus Hellwig and Jens Koch were detained in October after interviewing Ashtiani's son in the northwestern city of Tabriz. Throughout their detention, Iranian officials accused them of a range of serious crimes from spying to having links to groups of Iranian exiles.
Ultimately, they were found guilty of committing acts against Iran's national security. State media reports on Saturday did not elaborate on the details of their alleged offenses.
Officials have also claimed they admitted to violating Iranian laws barring those entering the country on tourist visas from working as journalists.
In Saturday's ruling, a court in Tabriz said the Germans "deserved to have their punishment commuted and enjoy Islamic mercy," state TV reported.
Hours later in Berlin, Germany's Foreign Ministry said the two had been released and were in the care of German consular officials in Tabriz. They then flew to Tehran and were seen arriving at the capital's Mehrabad airport. The two men looked healthy.
Westerwelle later joined the man and took them back home to Germany, his office said.
"We are all jubilant today," Bild am Sonntag's deputy editor Michael Backhaus told The Associated Press. "This is a 132-day-long nightmare that is now ending for the newspaper's staff and all relatives."
Backhaus declined to discuss details of how the journalists' release had been achieved. He said diplomatic efforts were made continuously behind the scenes.
Germany had also sent a deputy foreign minister to Iran in late January as part of its diplomatic efforts to secure the release of the two journalists.
The photographer's father said he was overwhelmed by joy when he first learned of their release.
"As a father, you just cry out of joy," Andreas Hartmann told Bild am Sonntag.
The sisters of Hellwig were equally relieved.
"We are grateful and full of joy that the long phase of fear and hope has finally come to a good end," Miriam Lobinsky and Christina Hellwig told the paper.
Westerwelle's office said the minister also talked about Iran's controversial nuclear program, but stressed the minister had not come to negotiate, but merely reiterated the European and Western position on the issue. Germany is part of the six nations leading the negotiations with Iran on its nuclear program.
Ashtiani was convicted of adultery in 2006 after the murder of her husband and sentenced to death by stoning. In the face of international outrage, the sentence has been suspended and is under review by the Supreme Court.
She was later convicted of being an accessory to her husband's murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison. In the wake of the international outcry over the verdict, the Iranian government has been at pains to show that Ashtiani is guilty, airing several interviews with her repeatedly confessing her crimes.
An Iranian court threw out the journalists' 20-month prison sentence Saturday, commuting it to a fine of $50,000 each and clearing the way for their release, state media reported.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle in Tehran thanked his Iranian counterpart, Ali Akbar Salehi, for his "commitment to the relations between our countries." Westerwelle's office said in a statement the ministers also discussed their differing opinions on "questions of human rights and the development of democracy."
The Germans — a reporter and a photographer for the Berlin-based mass-circulation tabloid Bild am Sonntag — got caught up in one of the many confrontations between Iran and the West.
They interviewed the son of an Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, whose case has generated widespread international outrage.
Marcus Hellwig and Jens Koch were detained in October after interviewing Ashtiani's son in the northwestern city of Tabriz. Throughout their detention, Iranian officials accused them of a range of serious crimes from spying to having links to groups of Iranian exiles.
Ultimately, they were found guilty of committing acts against Iran's national security. State media reports on Saturday did not elaborate on the details of their alleged offenses.
Officials have also claimed they admitted to violating Iranian laws barring those entering the country on tourist visas from working as journalists.
In Saturday's ruling, a court in Tabriz said the Germans "deserved to have their punishment commuted and enjoy Islamic mercy," state TV reported.
Hours later in Berlin, Germany's Foreign Ministry said the two had been released and were in the care of German consular officials in Tabriz. They then flew to Tehran and were seen arriving at the capital's Mehrabad airport. The two men looked healthy.
Westerwelle later joined the man and took them back home to Germany, his office said.
"We are all jubilant today," Bild am Sonntag's deputy editor Michael Backhaus told The Associated Press. "This is a 132-day-long nightmare that is now ending for the newspaper's staff and all relatives."
Backhaus declined to discuss details of how the journalists' release had been achieved. He said diplomatic efforts were made continuously behind the scenes.
Germany had also sent a deputy foreign minister to Iran in late January as part of its diplomatic efforts to secure the release of the two journalists.
The photographer's father said he was overwhelmed by joy when he first learned of their release.
"As a father, you just cry out of joy," Andreas Hartmann told Bild am Sonntag.
The sisters of Hellwig were equally relieved.
"We are grateful and full of joy that the long phase of fear and hope has finally come to a good end," Miriam Lobinsky and Christina Hellwig told the paper.
Westerwelle's office said the minister also talked about Iran's controversial nuclear program, but stressed the minister had not come to negotiate, but merely reiterated the European and Western position on the issue. Germany is part of the six nations leading the negotiations with Iran on its nuclear program.
Ashtiani was convicted of adultery in 2006 after the murder of her husband and sentenced to death by stoning. In the face of international outrage, the sentence has been suspended and is under review by the Supreme Court.
She was later convicted of being an accessory to her husband's murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison. In the wake of the international outcry over the verdict, the Iranian government has been at pains to show that Ashtiani is guilty, airing several interviews with her repeatedly confessing her crimes.
Guest lineups for the Sunday news shows
AP, WASHINGTON: Guest lineup for the Sunday TV news shows:
___
ABC's "This Week" — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
___
NBC's "Meet the Press" — Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations; Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
___
CBS' "Face the Nation" — Reps. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.
___
CNN's "State of the Union" — Former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld; Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Richard Lugar, R-Ind.
___
"Fox News Sunday" — Gov. Scott Walker, R-Wis.; Sens. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.
___
ABC's "This Week" — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
___
NBC's "Meet the Press" — Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations; Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
___
CBS' "Face the Nation" — Reps. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.
___
CNN's "State of the Union" — Former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld; Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Richard Lugar, R-Ind.
___
"Fox News Sunday" — Gov. Scott Walker, R-Wis.; Sens. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.
Jazeera probes signal disruptions across Mideast
Reuters, DOHA: Al Jazeera television said it was investigating reports of reception disruptions across the Middle East on Saturday, a day after it said its signal had been jammed on several frequencies.
"We are not sure of the cause but we are looking into it," an Al Jazeera spokesman said.
The Qatar-based news channel's signal was sporadically disrupted in countries including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt throughout Saturday.
Al Jazeera's coverage of the political unrest in the Middle East and North Africa has been widely watched in the Arab world.
It reported the jamming on Friday on its website, where it offered alternative frequencies on the Arabsat, Nilesat and Hot Bird satellites.
The station has closely followed events in Libya, Bahrain and Yemen, contacting protesters and government backers by telephone and often airing footage of events sent via the Internet.
Earlier this month, Egypt's Nilesat cut off Al Jazeera's signal for more than a week after authorities there ordered it to stop operations in Egypt during the unrest that ultimately ended president Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule.
Launched in 1996, Al Jazeera has more than 400 reporters in over 60 countries, according to its website. It says it can reach 220 million households in more than 100 countries.
"We are not sure of the cause but we are looking into it," an Al Jazeera spokesman said.
The Qatar-based news channel's signal was sporadically disrupted in countries including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt throughout Saturday.
Al Jazeera's coverage of the political unrest in the Middle East and North Africa has been widely watched in the Arab world.
It reported the jamming on Friday on its website, where it offered alternative frequencies on the Arabsat, Nilesat and Hot Bird satellites.
The station has closely followed events in Libya, Bahrain and Yemen, contacting protesters and government backers by telephone and often airing footage of events sent via the Internet.
Earlier this month, Egypt's Nilesat cut off Al Jazeera's signal for more than a week after authorities there ordered it to stop operations in Egypt during the unrest that ultimately ended president Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule.
Launched in 1996, Al Jazeera has more than 400 reporters in over 60 countries, according to its website. It says it can reach 220 million households in more than 100 countries.
Pamela Anderson asks India to retire old monkeys
AFP, NEW DELHI: Former "Baywatch" star Pamela Anderson has appealed to India's top medical institute to retire old monkeys used in scientific research, animal rights group PETA India said Saturday.
The Hollywood actress said she had seen a video allegedly secretly filmed at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) that showed sick monkeys and rabbits which had been kept in cages for up to 20 years.
"It broke my heart to see the suffering," Anderson said in a letter written to AIIMS director R. C. Deka on behalf of the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
The video, which was enclosed with the letter, showed animals under extreme distress, with a monkey racing up the walls of the cage to get out and a rat compulsively running in circles, she said.
"The animals suffering behind closed doors at AIIMS must endure this nightmare every day," she said.
The video also depicted newborn rats being shaken in their cages by attendants as well as wounded rats being denied veterinary care, Anderson said.
"Please, won't you at least agree to retire the animals who have been at AIIMS the longest to a sanctuary?" Anderson asked Deka, adding that Indian law required all laboratories to "rehabilitate" animals after three years.
A spokesman for AIIMS told Indian newspaper The Times of India that the institute had not received any letter from Anderson, and said that the research facility was "state of the art" and fully compliant with Indian laws.
Spokesman Y. K. Gupta said that AIIMS already had rehabilitation facilities for animals after they had been spent three years as experiment subjects.
Anderson, 43, recently came to India's financial capital Mumbai to participate in the reality television show "Bigg Boss," the Indian version of "Big Brother."
The Hollywood actress said she had seen a video allegedly secretly filmed at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) that showed sick monkeys and rabbits which had been kept in cages for up to 20 years.
"It broke my heart to see the suffering," Anderson said in a letter written to AIIMS director R. C. Deka on behalf of the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
The video, which was enclosed with the letter, showed animals under extreme distress, with a monkey racing up the walls of the cage to get out and a rat compulsively running in circles, she said.
"The animals suffering behind closed doors at AIIMS must endure this nightmare every day," she said.
The video also depicted newborn rats being shaken in their cages by attendants as well as wounded rats being denied veterinary care, Anderson said.
"Please, won't you at least agree to retire the animals who have been at AIIMS the longest to a sanctuary?" Anderson asked Deka, adding that Indian law required all laboratories to "rehabilitate" animals after three years.
A spokesman for AIIMS told Indian newspaper The Times of India that the institute had not received any letter from Anderson, and said that the research facility was "state of the art" and fully compliant with Indian laws.
Spokesman Y. K. Gupta said that AIIMS already had rehabilitation facilities for animals after they had been spent three years as experiment subjects.
Anderson, 43, recently came to India's financial capital Mumbai to participate in the reality television show "Bigg Boss," the Indian version of "Big Brother."
India charges Pakistani singer for undeclared cash
AFP, NEW DELHI: India charged a well-known Pakistani singer with currency violations on Saturday after he and his entourage were allegedly caught with $124,000 in undeclared cash at New Delhi's airport, reports said.
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, a nephew of late Pakistani singing great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and his group were boarding a plane to Lahore via Dubai last Sunday when authorities alleged they found the $124,000 cash in their bags.
Thirty-seven-year-old Khan is accused of carrying undeclared foreign currency in violation of India's Foreign Exchange Management Act and customs rules, the Press Trust of India and other media reported.
Khan's manager Maroof, who goes by one name, faces similar charges, the reports said.
The singer was stopped at the airport and his passport confiscated after performing a string of concerts in India.
According to Indian customs rules, visitors are allowed to carry only $5,000 in cash in and out of the country.
Central Board of Excise and Customs chairman S. Dutt Majumdar said the cash had allegedly been found divided among the musical troupe.
Rahat, a frequent visitor to India, is rated as one of the top "playback" singers in Bollywood, the country's prolific Hindi-language film industry, performing songs to which actors lip-synch the words.
He has several hit songs to his credit and won India's Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer this year.
A spokesman for the Pakistan High Commission (embassy) in New Delhi said he was not immediately aware of the charges.
But the Pakistani foreign ministry said in Islamabad earlier in the week it was "closely monitoring the situation".
The charges were laid just over a week after nuclear rivals India and Pakistan agreed to resume peace talks suspended more than two years ago after Islamist gunmen killed 166 people in Mumbai.
Authorities could impose "heavy penalties" on Rahat and his manager, the Press Trust of India said, quoting unidentified official sources.
It was not immediately known what penalties the pair could face.
Khan's agent Yusuf Salahuddin said the singer was perhaps unaware of India's stringent foreign currency laws.
"He was in India for 10 days and did about seven concerts all across the country and this must have been some of the money which possibly was given to him at the airport," he told Times Now TV station earlier this week.
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, a nephew of late Pakistani singing great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and his group were boarding a plane to Lahore via Dubai last Sunday when authorities alleged they found the $124,000 cash in their bags.
Thirty-seven-year-old Khan is accused of carrying undeclared foreign currency in violation of India's Foreign Exchange Management Act and customs rules, the Press Trust of India and other media reported.
Khan's manager Maroof, who goes by one name, faces similar charges, the reports said.
The singer was stopped at the airport and his passport confiscated after performing a string of concerts in India.
According to Indian customs rules, visitors are allowed to carry only $5,000 in cash in and out of the country.
Central Board of Excise and Customs chairman S. Dutt Majumdar said the cash had allegedly been found divided among the musical troupe.
Rahat, a frequent visitor to India, is rated as one of the top "playback" singers in Bollywood, the country's prolific Hindi-language film industry, performing songs to which actors lip-synch the words.
He has several hit songs to his credit and won India's Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer this year.
A spokesman for the Pakistan High Commission (embassy) in New Delhi said he was not immediately aware of the charges.
But the Pakistani foreign ministry said in Islamabad earlier in the week it was "closely monitoring the situation".
The charges were laid just over a week after nuclear rivals India and Pakistan agreed to resume peace talks suspended more than two years ago after Islamist gunmen killed 166 people in Mumbai.
Authorities could impose "heavy penalties" on Rahat and his manager, the Press Trust of India said, quoting unidentified official sources.
It was not immediately known what penalties the pair could face.
Khan's agent Yusuf Salahuddin said the singer was perhaps unaware of India's stringent foreign currency laws.
"He was in India for 10 days and did about seven concerts all across the country and this must have been some of the money which possibly was given to him at the airport," he told Times Now TV station earlier this week.
Lure of Twitter eludes Couples
AFP, LOS ANGELES: When it comes to connecting, Fred Couples prefers face-to-face to Facebook.
The 51-year-old former Masters champion admits he's not really up to speed with Twitter, Facebook and the like, despite the increasing use of social networking sites by athletes in a wide array of sports.
"Is it called twittering or tweeting?" Couples asked, when asked if he would be going on-line to update fans on the fact that he had seized the second-round lead at the PGA Northern Trust Open on Friday.
"I don't even know what Facebook is," said Couples, whose keeps his cyber-communication to telephone text messaging.
And even if he did master Twitter, Couples added, "What information do I hve for my 500,000 followers? I'm 51, I live in the desert. They all know that already."
Perhaps it's not surprising that Couples, who will captain the US Presidents Cup team taking on a team of international stars at Royal Melbourne on November 17-20, has started his early season scouting in a more personal style.
"Steve Stricker I've seen, and talked to a few other guys, talked to Rickie Fowler a couple times," Couples said. "There will be some young guys. Obviously Mark Wilson and DA Points are off to a great start (in 2011).
"For right now, it's just kind of interesting to look at some guys just to see how they hit it and how good they are," added Couples, who expects the focus on the event to intensify after the British Open in July.
Whatever the eventual makeup of the US squad, Couples said one thing was certain: he won't be a playing captain.
"No way," Couples said, adding that even another US tour victory here wouldn't sway him.
The 51-year-old former Masters champion admits he's not really up to speed with Twitter, Facebook and the like, despite the increasing use of social networking sites by athletes in a wide array of sports.
"Is it called twittering or tweeting?" Couples asked, when asked if he would be going on-line to update fans on the fact that he had seized the second-round lead at the PGA Northern Trust Open on Friday.
"I don't even know what Facebook is," said Couples, whose keeps his cyber-communication to telephone text messaging.
And even if he did master Twitter, Couples added, "What information do I hve for my 500,000 followers? I'm 51, I live in the desert. They all know that already."
Perhaps it's not surprising that Couples, who will captain the US Presidents Cup team taking on a team of international stars at Royal Melbourne on November 17-20, has started his early season scouting in a more personal style.
"Steve Stricker I've seen, and talked to a few other guys, talked to Rickie Fowler a couple times," Couples said. "There will be some young guys. Obviously Mark Wilson and DA Points are off to a great start (in 2011).
"For right now, it's just kind of interesting to look at some guys just to see how they hit it and how good they are," added Couples, who expects the focus on the event to intensify after the British Open in July.
Whatever the eventual makeup of the US squad, Couples said one thing was certain: he won't be a playing captain.
"No way," Couples said, adding that even another US tour victory here wouldn't sway him.
Jane Goodall toasts 20 years of "Roots and Shoots"
Reuters, ORLANDO, Florida: At 76, famed primatologist Jane Goodall has no thoughts of slowing down.
Still traveling more than 300 days a year, she marshals her personal experiences, her expertise and her rock star status as a world renowned scientist to influence decision makers and inspire young people.
But on Saturday she was happy to stop and pause to mark the 20th anniversary of Roots and Shoots, the worldwide youth service movement she founded in 1991 in Tanzania.
"You bet. We'll have a little toast," Goodall told Reuters in an interview.
The British scientist, best known for her study of chimps in Tanzania and for founding the Jane Goodall Institute, reflected on her hopes for a future shaped by the hands of youth like those in Roots and Shoots.
"These are young people who will not capitulate. They are really passionate," Goodall said.
Roots and Shoots aims at "empowering young people to take action through service projects, creating positive change for people, animals and the environment," according to its website http://www.rootsandshoots.org/.
The organization works through local chapters and includes tens of thousands of young people in almost 100 countries.
Youths are encouraged to identify and tackle problems in their own backyards: from the 2.8 million wooden chopsticks discarded daily in Taiwan, to the litter on a mountain in Kyrgyzstan or the carbon footprint of a school in Europe.
Many chapters operate through schools and other civic and religious organizations. Surprising even to Goodall are the 800 chapters on mainland China and two in North Korea.
"It didn't seem that the Chinese administration would be very amenable to young people choosing what they want to do to make the world a better place themselves," Goodall said.
"In fact, it just took off and the government actually asked me to introduce it to the schools," she said.
A TALK AT A TANZANIAN SCHOOL
Roots and Shoots was born when Goodall, wanting to thank Tanzania for hosting her decades of research among the chimpanzees in the Gombe Stream National Park, offered to give talks at local schools.
She found a huge interest in the environment, along with a lack of environmental education, among the students.
Twelve students, selected by their classmates, later went to Goodall's home where they talked on her veranda about their environmental concerns. This was the start of Roots and Shoots.
Encouraged by Goodall, the original 12 then tried to stop the export of live birds from Tanzania and dynamite fishing, in which explosives tossed in the water kill the fish so they can be easily collected. But, Goodall noted, the political system in Tanzania at the time thwarted those early efforts.
However, of those original 12, one went on to serve as minister of environment for Tanzania, another became Roots & Shoots' national director in Tanzania, and others are active in careers such as journalism and education, Goodall said.
The scientist thoroughly enjoys recounting the store of anecdotes about young people working for a more humane and "green" world in Roots and Shoots chapters around the world.
Recently, she said, a teacher on the Isle of Man created a chapter and introduced his students to climate change.
Inspired, the students calculated that they would need to plant 2 million trees to offset the carbon dioxide released by all their travel to and from school. So they began a tree-planting campaign.
"The best way to create the kind of change that we need if we care about our great-great-grandchildren is for everybody to spend just a few minutes each day thinking about the consequences of the choices they make," Goodall said.
"What they eat, what they wear, how they get from A to B, how they interact with people, animals, the environment. You start going off on all sorts of fascinating trails when you think about life in those terms," she said.
Looking back at her own experiences, Goodall said she can appreciate the energy and idealism of the young people.
"Lots of disappointment. I mean, people who are really enthusiastic to protect some kind of species or environment and then it all gets pushed aside in the name of progress or economic benefits," she said of her own experiences.
"It gets very, very sad when you know how many people care, and yet somehow, however much they care, they fail. The main thing there, is to encourage people. OK, you failed this time. Don't give up. We've still got to go on fighting these things if we care about the future," Goodall said.
Still traveling more than 300 days a year, she marshals her personal experiences, her expertise and her rock star status as a world renowned scientist to influence decision makers and inspire young people.
But on Saturday she was happy to stop and pause to mark the 20th anniversary of Roots and Shoots, the worldwide youth service movement she founded in 1991 in Tanzania.
"You bet. We'll have a little toast," Goodall told Reuters in an interview.
The British scientist, best known for her study of chimps in Tanzania and for founding the Jane Goodall Institute, reflected on her hopes for a future shaped by the hands of youth like those in Roots and Shoots.
"These are young people who will not capitulate. They are really passionate," Goodall said.
Roots and Shoots aims at "empowering young people to take action through service projects, creating positive change for people, animals and the environment," according to its website http://www.rootsandshoots.org/.
The organization works through local chapters and includes tens of thousands of young people in almost 100 countries.
Youths are encouraged to identify and tackle problems in their own backyards: from the 2.8 million wooden chopsticks discarded daily in Taiwan, to the litter on a mountain in Kyrgyzstan or the carbon footprint of a school in Europe.
Many chapters operate through schools and other civic and religious organizations. Surprising even to Goodall are the 800 chapters on mainland China and two in North Korea.
"It didn't seem that the Chinese administration would be very amenable to young people choosing what they want to do to make the world a better place themselves," Goodall said.
"In fact, it just took off and the government actually asked me to introduce it to the schools," she said.
A TALK AT A TANZANIAN SCHOOL
Roots and Shoots was born when Goodall, wanting to thank Tanzania for hosting her decades of research among the chimpanzees in the Gombe Stream National Park, offered to give talks at local schools.
She found a huge interest in the environment, along with a lack of environmental education, among the students.
Twelve students, selected by their classmates, later went to Goodall's home where they talked on her veranda about their environmental concerns. This was the start of Roots and Shoots.
Encouraged by Goodall, the original 12 then tried to stop the export of live birds from Tanzania and dynamite fishing, in which explosives tossed in the water kill the fish so they can be easily collected. But, Goodall noted, the political system in Tanzania at the time thwarted those early efforts.
However, of those original 12, one went on to serve as minister of environment for Tanzania, another became Roots & Shoots' national director in Tanzania, and others are active in careers such as journalism and education, Goodall said.
The scientist thoroughly enjoys recounting the store of anecdotes about young people working for a more humane and "green" world in Roots and Shoots chapters around the world.
Recently, she said, a teacher on the Isle of Man created a chapter and introduced his students to climate change.
Inspired, the students calculated that they would need to plant 2 million trees to offset the carbon dioxide released by all their travel to and from school. So they began a tree-planting campaign.
"The best way to create the kind of change that we need if we care about our great-great-grandchildren is for everybody to spend just a few minutes each day thinking about the consequences of the choices they make," Goodall said.
"What they eat, what they wear, how they get from A to B, how they interact with people, animals, the environment. You start going off on all sorts of fascinating trails when you think about life in those terms," she said.
Looking back at her own experiences, Goodall said she can appreciate the energy and idealism of the young people.
"Lots of disappointment. I mean, people who are really enthusiastic to protect some kind of species or environment and then it all gets pushed aside in the name of progress or economic benefits," she said of her own experiences.
"It gets very, very sad when you know how many people care, and yet somehow, however much they care, they fail. The main thing there, is to encourage people. OK, you failed this time. Don't give up. We've still got to go on fighting these things if we care about the future," Goodall said.
Banksy welcome at Oscars, but will he show?
AP, LOS ANGELES: The question that's kept Oscar observers guessing since nominations were announced last month — Will Banksy show up? — remains unanswered. But the motion picture academy says the bad-boy British street artist is more than welcome to attend.
The elusive graffiti star is up for best documentary feature for his directing debut, "Exit Through the Gift Shop." Since he prefers to hide his face, it has seemed unlikely he would reveal himself before half a billion viewers worldwide on Hollywood's biggest night. Even in his own film, he appears in shadows, wearing a hoodie and with his voice altered to make it unrecognizable.
While publicists for the movie and for Banksy himself declined to comment as to whether he'll be at the Kodak Theatre with the rest of the nominees on Feb. 27, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences says it would be happy to see him.
"Banksy and his folks are keeping things very mysterious," the academy's executive director, Bruce Davis, said Friday. "We certainly are expecting the producer of the film to be with us, Jaimie D'Cruz, but I would not be surprised if Banksy were in the audience as well — but I don't think he's going to be wearing a name tag, so it may not be clear."
It seems Banksy was already in L.A. this past week, as evidenced by a few new pieces of his work that have cropped up around town.
One of them, a billboard for the Las Vegas nightclub Light, was tagged with graffiti images of Mickey and Minnie Mouse drinking and smoking with a sexy, scantily clad dancer. CBS Outdoor, which owns the billboard, quickly pulled the image down, saying it didn't meet their standards.
While Banksy's representatives won't comment on the work, as is their custom, Associated Press photos of the billboard match those on Banksy's own website. There was also no explanation as to why the iconic Disney characters were used, but the Academy Awards are televised by Disney-owned ABC.
Contrary to earlier reports, Davis said the academy did not tell Banksy to stay away from the Oscars for fear that he might cause a disruption at the elegant ceremony.
"We like to have the nominees with us," he said. But he added that because of Banksy's penchant for secrecy, "this presents certain problems, and we're talking to people about that. We kind of like to know who we're giving an Oscar to, but I think we can handle that if his film should win — and remember, there are four other contenders here.
"Weird stuff happens on the show, and that's the stuff people remember," Davis said (who can forget the streaker or Sally Field). "If that film should win and if something unusual transpires, that is not a bad thing for the Academy Awards."
"Exit Through the Gift Shop," which follows the evolution of the Los Angeles street art scene as it builds to a frenzy over the latest hot, new thing, is up against "Gasland," "Inside Job," "Restrepo" and "Waste Land."
When Banksy was nominated Jan. 25, he put out a statement: "This is a big surprise. I don't agree with the concept of award ceremonies, but I'm prepared to make an exception for the ones I'm nominated for. The last time there was a naked man covered in gold paint in my house, it was me."
The elusive graffiti star is up for best documentary feature for his directing debut, "Exit Through the Gift Shop." Since he prefers to hide his face, it has seemed unlikely he would reveal himself before half a billion viewers worldwide on Hollywood's biggest night. Even in his own film, he appears in shadows, wearing a hoodie and with his voice altered to make it unrecognizable.
While publicists for the movie and for Banksy himself declined to comment as to whether he'll be at the Kodak Theatre with the rest of the nominees on Feb. 27, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences says it would be happy to see him.
"Banksy and his folks are keeping things very mysterious," the academy's executive director, Bruce Davis, said Friday. "We certainly are expecting the producer of the film to be with us, Jaimie D'Cruz, but I would not be surprised if Banksy were in the audience as well — but I don't think he's going to be wearing a name tag, so it may not be clear."
It seems Banksy was already in L.A. this past week, as evidenced by a few new pieces of his work that have cropped up around town.
One of them, a billboard for the Las Vegas nightclub Light, was tagged with graffiti images of Mickey and Minnie Mouse drinking and smoking with a sexy, scantily clad dancer. CBS Outdoor, which owns the billboard, quickly pulled the image down, saying it didn't meet their standards.
While Banksy's representatives won't comment on the work, as is their custom, Associated Press photos of the billboard match those on Banksy's own website. There was also no explanation as to why the iconic Disney characters were used, but the Academy Awards are televised by Disney-owned ABC.
Contrary to earlier reports, Davis said the academy did not tell Banksy to stay away from the Oscars for fear that he might cause a disruption at the elegant ceremony.
"We like to have the nominees with us," he said. But he added that because of Banksy's penchant for secrecy, "this presents certain problems, and we're talking to people about that. We kind of like to know who we're giving an Oscar to, but I think we can handle that if his film should win — and remember, there are four other contenders here.
"Weird stuff happens on the show, and that's the stuff people remember," Davis said (who can forget the streaker or Sally Field). "If that film should win and if something unusual transpires, that is not a bad thing for the Academy Awards."
"Exit Through the Gift Shop," which follows the evolution of the Los Angeles street art scene as it builds to a frenzy over the latest hot, new thing, is up against "Gasland," "Inside Job," "Restrepo" and "Waste Land."
When Banksy was nominated Jan. 25, he put out a statement: "This is a big surprise. I don't agree with the concept of award ceremonies, but I'm prepared to make an exception for the ones I'm nominated for. The last time there was a naked man covered in gold paint in my house, it was me."
Vols basketball a family affair for Bruce Pearl
AP, KNOXVILLE, Tenn: Coach Bruce Pearl likes to talk about family, both his real family and his Tennessee Volunteers family. Fortunately for him, the two overlap.
It will be quite the family affair for Pearl on Saturday when the Vols (16-10, 6-5 Southeastern Conference) host Georgia.
Son Steven will be on the court as one of the Volunteers' reserve forwards, daughter Jacqui will sing the national anthem and his wife, Brandy, will be there to promote the family's goal to raise $1 million for cancer prevention programs as part of Tennessee's Outlive campaign.
"One of the things about being here is I'm not a guest," Pearl said. "It's our life. It just makes sense because in order to be effective in my job it requires the family's commitment, their tolerance of having to share me."
They also helped him bear the frustration and sadness he felt while suspended from coaching the Vols during the first eight SEC games of the season as punishment for misleading NCAA investigators during an ongoing probe into recruiting by him and his staff.
The Outlive campaign, in its third season, is part of the Pearls' effort to give back to Tennessee and the Knoxville community. It was the idea of former graduate assistant Brooks Savage, who was inspired after learning of former Tennessee guard Chris Lofton's battle with testicular cancer and that Pearl's mother, Barbara, was a cancer survivor.
Proceeds from the sale of T-shirts that fans are being encouraged to wear to the Georgia game as part of a "white out" and tickets to a fundraising event the Pearls will host in April will be donated to the University of Tennessee Medical Center Cancer Institute.
Pearl wouldn't even be coaching the Vols without the blessing of his family, particularly his two oldest children. Jacqui was attending the University of Wisconsin and Steven was a junior in high school when Pearl interviewed with Tennessee athletics director Mike Hamilton in the spring of 2005 after leading Wisconsin-Milwaukee to the NCAA regional semifinals.
"I wanted the job badly, but I answered him, 'I can't say right now, Mike, because I've got to go home and talk to my family.' If they really had strong objections at that time — I had seven guys coming back, we were going to be better the next year at Milwaukee — but (Steven) said, 'No dad, let's go.'"
Steven Pearl didn't get much interest from schools when it came time to graduate high school, but he also was interested in remaining close to his family. He's played a much larger role for the Vols during his senior season thanks to his solid defensive play and strong leadership on and off the court.
"I've always been vocal because I feel like a lot of the guys on the team will listen to me," said Steven, 23. "A lot of them shut down when the other guys talk to them, but I feel like they respect me enough to listen to me and know that I have their best interest at heart."
Bruce Pearl gets a little teary-eyed sometimes when he talks about the way Steven became a bigger leader during his suspension. He knows his son puts up with extra heckling and pressure from outside the program and that there's an extra challenge that comes with playing for your father.
"I try to let there be a separation between the coach and the father," Bruce Pearl said. "There have been times I will say, 'All right, who do you want to talk to? Do you want to talk to your coach or do you want to talk to your dad?' It helps us because if he can't confide in his dad, then who can he go to?"
Pearl's two younger children from his previous marriage, 17-year-old Leah and 15-year-old Michael, could end up filling in for Steven after he leaves Tennessee. Leah, a junior at Knoxville's Bearden High School, plans to try out for the Vols' dance team, and Michael is an aspiring basketball coach who likes to watch film and draw up plays and also wants to attend Tennessee.
Like Michael, Jacqui used to spend time watching game tape with her dad. When Bruce Pearl and Steven participated in the World Maccabiah Games in Israel in 2009 as coach and player for the U.S. basketball team, Jacqui went along and kept stats and assisted as a kind of team manager.
She hopes to return with them for the next Maccabiah Games, an international Olympics-style event for Jewish athletes, in 2013. Until then, she'll keep filling in as the Vols' part-time anthem singer.
"I love being able to sing at the games — it's my part of the show we've got going down here," said Jacqui, 25. "I get a rush from being on the court in front of 20,000 fans and doing my part."
It will be quite the family affair for Pearl on Saturday when the Vols (16-10, 6-5 Southeastern Conference) host Georgia.
Son Steven will be on the court as one of the Volunteers' reserve forwards, daughter Jacqui will sing the national anthem and his wife, Brandy, will be there to promote the family's goal to raise $1 million for cancer prevention programs as part of Tennessee's Outlive campaign.
"One of the things about being here is I'm not a guest," Pearl said. "It's our life. It just makes sense because in order to be effective in my job it requires the family's commitment, their tolerance of having to share me."
They also helped him bear the frustration and sadness he felt while suspended from coaching the Vols during the first eight SEC games of the season as punishment for misleading NCAA investigators during an ongoing probe into recruiting by him and his staff.
The Outlive campaign, in its third season, is part of the Pearls' effort to give back to Tennessee and the Knoxville community. It was the idea of former graduate assistant Brooks Savage, who was inspired after learning of former Tennessee guard Chris Lofton's battle with testicular cancer and that Pearl's mother, Barbara, was a cancer survivor.
Proceeds from the sale of T-shirts that fans are being encouraged to wear to the Georgia game as part of a "white out" and tickets to a fundraising event the Pearls will host in April will be donated to the University of Tennessee Medical Center Cancer Institute.
Pearl wouldn't even be coaching the Vols without the blessing of his family, particularly his two oldest children. Jacqui was attending the University of Wisconsin and Steven was a junior in high school when Pearl interviewed with Tennessee athletics director Mike Hamilton in the spring of 2005 after leading Wisconsin-Milwaukee to the NCAA regional semifinals.
"I wanted the job badly, but I answered him, 'I can't say right now, Mike, because I've got to go home and talk to my family.' If they really had strong objections at that time — I had seven guys coming back, we were going to be better the next year at Milwaukee — but (Steven) said, 'No dad, let's go.'"
Steven Pearl didn't get much interest from schools when it came time to graduate high school, but he also was interested in remaining close to his family. He's played a much larger role for the Vols during his senior season thanks to his solid defensive play and strong leadership on and off the court.
"I've always been vocal because I feel like a lot of the guys on the team will listen to me," said Steven, 23. "A lot of them shut down when the other guys talk to them, but I feel like they respect me enough to listen to me and know that I have their best interest at heart."
Bruce Pearl gets a little teary-eyed sometimes when he talks about the way Steven became a bigger leader during his suspension. He knows his son puts up with extra heckling and pressure from outside the program and that there's an extra challenge that comes with playing for your father.
"I try to let there be a separation between the coach and the father," Bruce Pearl said. "There have been times I will say, 'All right, who do you want to talk to? Do you want to talk to your coach or do you want to talk to your dad?' It helps us because if he can't confide in his dad, then who can he go to?"
Pearl's two younger children from his previous marriage, 17-year-old Leah and 15-year-old Michael, could end up filling in for Steven after he leaves Tennessee. Leah, a junior at Knoxville's Bearden High School, plans to try out for the Vols' dance team, and Michael is an aspiring basketball coach who likes to watch film and draw up plays and also wants to attend Tennessee.
Like Michael, Jacqui used to spend time watching game tape with her dad. When Bruce Pearl and Steven participated in the World Maccabiah Games in Israel in 2009 as coach and player for the U.S. basketball team, Jacqui went along and kept stats and assisted as a kind of team manager.
She hopes to return with them for the next Maccabiah Games, an international Olympics-style event for Jewish athletes, in 2013. Until then, she'll keep filling in as the Vols' part-time anthem singer.
"I love being able to sing at the games — it's my part of the show we've got going down here," said Jacqui, 25. "I get a rush from being on the court in front of 20,000 fans and doing my part."
Kentucky's Calipari wants team to finish better
AP, LEXINGTON, Ky: With the regular season winding down, Kentucky coach John Calipari is still trying to get his team to learn how to finish off close games.
Calipari recently addressed his players about the issue, hoping his talk would inspire the No. 22 Wildcats before Saturday's game against South Carolina.
Calipari said youth has been part of the problem for the Wildcats (18-7, 6-5). Only two players, Darius Miller and DeAndre Liggins, played significant minutes on last year's team — which had a similar problem.
Many of Kentucky's main contributors were in high school this time last year, and rarely dealt with close-game situations.
Calipari doesn't want his team to worry about the scoreboard, imploring them to focus on the entire game.
"This is all new to them," the coach said. "We're working on it. That's what we got to do. That's the issue right now. Let's finish some games up in the last four or five minutes."
Against Mississippi State on Tuesday, the Wildcats led by 13 with less than 4 minutes left before letting the Bulldogs rally to 83-79 with 43 seconds left.
During that stretch, Mississippi State scored nine straight points, the Wildcats committed two turnovers and missed two free throws, both front-end shots in bonus situations.
Kentucky eventually won 85-79.
Freshman Brandon Knight said when Kentucky has a double-digit lead, he and his teammates have been too aggressive with the ball. They've been trying to force shots when they don't need to.
"We need to play to win and not play to the score," Knight said. "Things like knowing time and clock and knowing when we're up double digits. We don't need to score a lot under four minutes if we have a double-digit lead. At that point, we need to make sure we're running clock and taking good shots."
Kentucky has struggled on the road in the Southeastern Conference. The Wildcats are 1-5 in conference road games this season. All five losses have been by seven points or fewer.
Despite a roster full of youngsters, senior Josh Harrellson said the players know what they need to do and how to execute. They just haven't done it. And even though leads have slipped, Harrellson said his team hasn't lost confidence in its ability to close out games.
"I don't think we're less confident now," Harrellson said. "If we play our game, we'll be all right. The last couple of games, we got riled up when we didn't know what was going to happen. We stopped playing our basketball and played for the score, I guess."
Calipari said he hasn't even thought about talking to his team about the NCAA tournament or playing for a first-round bye in the SEC tournament. Kentucky is fourth in the SEC Eastern Division.
Instead, he reminded the Wildcats that they don't need to do anything differently, they just need to play their game.
"We're just worried about South Carolina," Calipari said. "We just have to try to win a game, try to get better, try to finish a game off and just walk in and say, 'OK, let's try to figure this out.' If we struggle again at the end of the game, let's go back and see where we're struggling and what we can do.
"I have a good team and good players, now let's try to keep this thing rolling."
Calipari recently addressed his players about the issue, hoping his talk would inspire the No. 22 Wildcats before Saturday's game against South Carolina.
Calipari said youth has been part of the problem for the Wildcats (18-7, 6-5). Only two players, Darius Miller and DeAndre Liggins, played significant minutes on last year's team — which had a similar problem.
Many of Kentucky's main contributors were in high school this time last year, and rarely dealt with close-game situations.
Calipari doesn't want his team to worry about the scoreboard, imploring them to focus on the entire game.
"This is all new to them," the coach said. "We're working on it. That's what we got to do. That's the issue right now. Let's finish some games up in the last four or five minutes."
Against Mississippi State on Tuesday, the Wildcats led by 13 with less than 4 minutes left before letting the Bulldogs rally to 83-79 with 43 seconds left.
During that stretch, Mississippi State scored nine straight points, the Wildcats committed two turnovers and missed two free throws, both front-end shots in bonus situations.
Kentucky eventually won 85-79.
Freshman Brandon Knight said when Kentucky has a double-digit lead, he and his teammates have been too aggressive with the ball. They've been trying to force shots when they don't need to.
"We need to play to win and not play to the score," Knight said. "Things like knowing time and clock and knowing when we're up double digits. We don't need to score a lot under four minutes if we have a double-digit lead. At that point, we need to make sure we're running clock and taking good shots."
Kentucky has struggled on the road in the Southeastern Conference. The Wildcats are 1-5 in conference road games this season. All five losses have been by seven points or fewer.
Despite a roster full of youngsters, senior Josh Harrellson said the players know what they need to do and how to execute. They just haven't done it. And even though leads have slipped, Harrellson said his team hasn't lost confidence in its ability to close out games.
"I don't think we're less confident now," Harrellson said. "If we play our game, we'll be all right. The last couple of games, we got riled up when we didn't know what was going to happen. We stopped playing our basketball and played for the score, I guess."
Calipari said he hasn't even thought about talking to his team about the NCAA tournament or playing for a first-round bye in the SEC tournament. Kentucky is fourth in the SEC Eastern Division.
Instead, he reminded the Wildcats that they don't need to do anything differently, they just need to play their game.
"We're just worried about South Carolina," Calipari said. "We just have to try to win a game, try to get better, try to finish a game off and just walk in and say, 'OK, let's try to figure this out.' If we struggle again at the end of the game, let's go back and see where we're struggling and what we can do.
"I have a good team and good players, now let's try to keep this thing rolling."
Tarkanian still can't shake bitterness toward NCAA
AP, LAS VEGAS: The show was over, the lights had come on, and Jerry Tarkanian sat with a microphone in his hand halfway up the crowded theater at the Palms hotel and casino.
He was among his people, even if some of the cheerleaders in UNLV red probably weren't even born when the Runnin' Rebels ruled college basketball. But some of the regulars who once cheered from Gucci Row were there, along with several hundred other Las Vegans eager to relive the glory of the past.
It should have been a night for celebration. In a way, it was. There were cheers when images flashed on the screen of Larry Johnson dunking, Greg Anthony playing despite a broken jaw, and Tark chewing on a towel.
And then the NCAA spoiled everything once again.
"Nobody knows what it's like when you buck the NCAA," Tarkanian said. "I'm still bitter to them today."
Twenty years have passed since one of the greatest college teams of all time lost in a shocking upset to Duke in the Final Four. Nine years have gone by since Tarkanian last chewed a towel courtside at Fresno State.
He's 80 now, and he shuffled as he moved slowly to his seat Friday night for the premiere of the HBO documentary on his remarkable run at UNLV. It's an age where many are content to play with grandchildren and forgive those who may have caused them grief in the past.
But time has healed nothing in Tarkanian's blood feud with the powers that be. And the crowd that had come to celebrate now listened somewhat uncomfortably as Tarkanian lit into his old enemies one more time.
"I think they went too light on the NCAA," Tarkanian said of the HBO producers. "If I had my way I think they (the NCAA) all deserve to go to Devil's Island."
Unfortunately for Tark, HBO doesn't have the power to send them there. But the documentary that airs March 12 does have the power to help shape history. For the most part it is sympathetic to the coach who spent almost as much time battling the NCAA as he did putting together teams that changed the way college basketball was played.
Indeed, one of the more striking moments of the night was when the $2.5 million check from the NCAA made out to Tarkanian and his wife, Lois, and their attorneys flashed on the screen. The money was paid in 1998 to settle a suit Tarkanian brought against the NCAA, claiming it singled out the UNLV program for investigation and penalized it three times unfairly.
"That was nice, winning the lawsuit," Tarkanian told me earlier. "The amazing thing is we got beat up in the press all the time and then when we won hardly anything was written about it."
Tarkanian remains convinced there was always some sort of conspiracy between the media and the NCAA to run him out of basketball, the same way he's convinced that the NCAA looked the other way while suspect boosters were helping UCLA win at the same time Tarkanian was first being investigated just a few miles away at Long Beach State.
For its part, the NCAA was convinced the sad-eyed Armenian who won in places coaches had no business winning in was crooked, though his programs were never charged with any major violations. No sooner had Tarkanian's 1989-90 team destroyed Duke 103-73 to win the national championship than the NCAA tried to put the Runnin' Rebels on probation the next season.
Tarkanian brought on some of the NCAA attention himself by recruiting players with questionable backgrounds other schools wouldn't touch. As he pointed out in the documentary, though, the point guard of his best team (Greg Anthony) was the head of the local chapter of the Young Republicans and talked about running for Senate one day, and the others weren't the thugs the media tried to make them out to be.
The NCAA might not have exactly been pure, either. Tarkanian still chuckles at the time his assistant saw an NCAA investigator renting a car at the airport and followed him to a local strip club.
"What we did was get some of their brochures and we'd mail it to him and tell them there was a special on," Tarkanian said.
Lost in the feud he can't seem to put behind him is that Tarkanian was a revolutionary coach who won big everywhere he went, something the Basketball Hall of Fame seems to ignore every year it snubs him.
He should get in just for first Final Four team in 1976-77, which scored more than 100 points in 23 games in an era before both the shot clock and the 3-point shot. He owns other numbers that are just as gaudy, including a career mark of 706-198 while chewing on his towel courtside.
But the statistics don't define Tarkanian. They never will.
His battle with the NCAA does, and that's mostly Tarkanian's fault. He should have just declared victory in 1998 and moved on, but he can't let go.
Certainly not on this night, when what should have been a feel-good moment didn't feel nearly as good.
He was among his people, even if some of the cheerleaders in UNLV red probably weren't even born when the Runnin' Rebels ruled college basketball. But some of the regulars who once cheered from Gucci Row were there, along with several hundred other Las Vegans eager to relive the glory of the past.
It should have been a night for celebration. In a way, it was. There were cheers when images flashed on the screen of Larry Johnson dunking, Greg Anthony playing despite a broken jaw, and Tark chewing on a towel.
And then the NCAA spoiled everything once again.
"Nobody knows what it's like when you buck the NCAA," Tarkanian said. "I'm still bitter to them today."
Twenty years have passed since one of the greatest college teams of all time lost in a shocking upset to Duke in the Final Four. Nine years have gone by since Tarkanian last chewed a towel courtside at Fresno State.
He's 80 now, and he shuffled as he moved slowly to his seat Friday night for the premiere of the HBO documentary on his remarkable run at UNLV. It's an age where many are content to play with grandchildren and forgive those who may have caused them grief in the past.
But time has healed nothing in Tarkanian's blood feud with the powers that be. And the crowd that had come to celebrate now listened somewhat uncomfortably as Tarkanian lit into his old enemies one more time.
"I think they went too light on the NCAA," Tarkanian said of the HBO producers. "If I had my way I think they (the NCAA) all deserve to go to Devil's Island."
Unfortunately for Tark, HBO doesn't have the power to send them there. But the documentary that airs March 12 does have the power to help shape history. For the most part it is sympathetic to the coach who spent almost as much time battling the NCAA as he did putting together teams that changed the way college basketball was played.
Indeed, one of the more striking moments of the night was when the $2.5 million check from the NCAA made out to Tarkanian and his wife, Lois, and their attorneys flashed on the screen. The money was paid in 1998 to settle a suit Tarkanian brought against the NCAA, claiming it singled out the UNLV program for investigation and penalized it three times unfairly.
"That was nice, winning the lawsuit," Tarkanian told me earlier. "The amazing thing is we got beat up in the press all the time and then when we won hardly anything was written about it."
Tarkanian remains convinced there was always some sort of conspiracy between the media and the NCAA to run him out of basketball, the same way he's convinced that the NCAA looked the other way while suspect boosters were helping UCLA win at the same time Tarkanian was first being investigated just a few miles away at Long Beach State.
For its part, the NCAA was convinced the sad-eyed Armenian who won in places coaches had no business winning in was crooked, though his programs were never charged with any major violations. No sooner had Tarkanian's 1989-90 team destroyed Duke 103-73 to win the national championship than the NCAA tried to put the Runnin' Rebels on probation the next season.
Tarkanian brought on some of the NCAA attention himself by recruiting players with questionable backgrounds other schools wouldn't touch. As he pointed out in the documentary, though, the point guard of his best team (Greg Anthony) was the head of the local chapter of the Young Republicans and talked about running for Senate one day, and the others weren't the thugs the media tried to make them out to be.
The NCAA might not have exactly been pure, either. Tarkanian still chuckles at the time his assistant saw an NCAA investigator renting a car at the airport and followed him to a local strip club.
"What we did was get some of their brochures and we'd mail it to him and tell them there was a special on," Tarkanian said.
Lost in the feud he can't seem to put behind him is that Tarkanian was a revolutionary coach who won big everywhere he went, something the Basketball Hall of Fame seems to ignore every year it snubs him.
He should get in just for first Final Four team in 1976-77, which scored more than 100 points in 23 games in an era before both the shot clock and the 3-point shot. He owns other numbers that are just as gaudy, including a career mark of 706-198 while chewing on his towel courtside.
But the statistics don't define Tarkanian. They never will.
His battle with the NCAA does, and that's mostly Tarkanian's fault. He should have just declared victory in 1998 and moved on, but he can't let go.
Certainly not on this night, when what should have been a feel-good moment didn't feel nearly as good.
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