Protesters surge around Egypt's presidential palace


CAIRO (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Egyptian protesters surged around the presidential palace on Friday and the opposition rejected President Mohamed Mursi's call for dialogue to end a crisis that has polarized the nation and sparked deadly clashes.


The Islamist leader's deputy said he could delay a December 15 referendum on a constitution that liberals opposed, although the concession only partly meets a list of opposition demands that include scrapping a decree that expanded Mursi's powers.


"The people want the downfall of the regime" and "Leave, leave," crowds chanted after bursting through barbed wire barricades and climbing on tanks guarding the palace of Egypt's first freely elected president.


Their slogans echoed those used in a popular revolt that toppled Mursi's predecessor Hosni Mubarak in February 2011.


Vice President Mahmoud Mekky said in a statement sent to local media that the president was prepared to postpone the referendum if that could be done without legal challenge.


The dialogue meeting was expected to go ahead on Saturday in the absence of most opposition factions. "Tomorrow everything will be on the table," a presidential source said of the talks.


The opposition has demanded that Mursi rescind a November 22 decree giving himself wide powers and delay the vote set for December 15 on a constitution drafted by an Islamist-led assembly which they say fails to meet the aspirations of all Egyptians.


The state news agency reported that the election committee had postponed the start of voting for Egyptians abroad until Wednesday, instead of Saturday as planned. It did not say whether this would affect the timing of voting in Egypt.


Ahmed Said, leader of the liberal Free Egyptians Party, told Reuters that delaying expatriate voting was made to seem like a concession but would not change the opposition's stance.


He said the core opposition demand was to freeze Mursi's decree and "to reconsider the formation and structure of the constituent assembly", not simply to postpone the referendum.


The opposition organized marches converging on the palace which elite Republican Guard units had ringed with tanks and barbed wire on Thursday after violence between supporters and opponents of Mursi killed seven people and wounded 350.


Islamists, who had obeyed a military order for demonstrators to leave the palace environs, held funerals on Friday at Cairo's al-Azhar mosque for six Mursi partisans who were among the dead. "With our blood and souls, we sacrifice to Islam," they chanted.


"ARM-TWISTING"


In a speech late on Thursday, Mursi had refused to retract his November 22 decree or cancel the referendum on the constitution, but offered talks on the way forward after the referendum.


The National Salvation Front, the main opposition coalition, said it would not join the dialogue. The Front's coordinator, Mohamed ElBaradei, a Nobel peace laureate, dismissed the offer as "arm-twisting and imposition of a fait accompli".


Murad Ali, spokesman of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), said opposition reactions were sad: "What exit to this crisis do they have other than dialogue?" he asked.


Mursi's decree giving himself extra powers sparked the worst political crisis since he took office in June and set off renewed unrest that is dimming Egypt's hopes of stability and economic recovery after nearly two years of turmoil following the overthrow of Mubarak, a military-backed strongman.


The turmoil has exposed contrasting visions for Egypt, one held by Islamists, who were suppressed for decades by the army, and another by their rivals, who fear religious conservatives want to squeeze out other voices and restrict social freedoms.


Caught in the middle are many of Egypt's 83 million people who are desperate for an end to political turbulence threatening their precarious livelihoods in an economy under severe strain.


"We are so tired, by God," said Mohamed Ali, a laborer. "I did not vote for Mursi nor anyone else. I only care about bringing food to my family, but I haven't had work for a week."


ECONOMIC PAIN


A long political standoff will make it harder for Mursi's government to tackle the crushing budget deficit and stave off a balance of payments crisis. Austerity measures, especially cuts in costly fuel subsidies, seem inevitable to meet the terms of a $4.8-billion IMF loan that Egypt hopes to clinch this month.


U.S. President Barack Obama told Mursi on Thursday of his "deep concern" about casualties in this week's clashes and said "dialogue should occur without preconditions".


The upheaval in the most populous Arab nation worries the United States, which has given billions of dollars in military and other aid since Egypt made peace with Israel in 1979.


The conflict between Islamists and opponents who each believe the other is twisting the democratic rules to thwart them has poisoned the political atmosphere in Egypt.


The Muslim Brotherhood's spokesman, Mahmoud Ghozlan, told Reuters that if the opposition shunned the dialogue "it shows that their intention is to remove Mursi from the presidency and not to cancel the decree or the constitution as they claim".


Ayman Mohamed, 29, a protester at the palace, said Mursi should scrap the draft constitution and heed popular demands.


"He is the president of the republic. He can't just work for the Muslim Brotherhood," Mohamed said of the eight-decade-old Islamist movement that propelled Mursi from obscurity to power.


(Additional reporting by Omar Fahmy; Writing by Edmund Blair and Alistair Lyon; Editing by Giles Elgood)



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Clash averted between UP, Haryana farmers

SONIPAT: An ongoing dispute over possession of agricultural land between two villages of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh threatened to turn violent on Friday. The tension, however, was eased after timely intervention by police and revenue officials from the two states, who have now decided to hold a joint meeting on December 12 to settle the dispute.

Tension had been brewing between farmers of Jajal village in Sonepat and Nivada village of Baghpat district in Uttar Pradesh for the past three days over possession of agricultural land along Yamuna river. The farmers of Jalal village alleged that they had completed wheat sowing in around 100 acres of land adjoining Yamuna river falling within the revenue boundary of the village. On Wednesday, farmers from Nivada, carrying firearms, ploughed the fields to take possession of the land. The situation worsened on Thursday when Nivada farmers again did the same thing.

The affected farmers were planning to retaliate when Sonipat district administration got information and rushed to mediate between the two groups. While some youths from Jalal wanted to hit back, farmers instead informed the SDM and police authorities about the matter.

After receiving information about face-off, Sonepat SDM Jag Niwas and DSP Rakam Singh along with tehsildar Naresh, SHO Sultan Singh and police personnel reached the spot while SDM of Baghpat in UP too arrived at the spot to discuss the issue. Sonipat SDM said the two groups have decided to hold a meeting on December 12 to resolve the dispute. "The farmers of both the villages would also attend the meeting and till then have been asked not to take any action in haste," he added.

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Smokers celebrate as Wash. legalizes marijuana


SEATTLE (AP) — The crowds of happy people lighting joints under Seattle's Space Needle early Thursday morning with nary a police officer in sight bespoke the new reality: Marijuana is legal under Washington state law.


Hundreds gathered at Seattle Center for a New Year's Eve-style countdown to 12 a.m., when the legalization measure passed by voters last month took effect. When the clock struck, they cheered and sparked up in unison.


A few dozen people gathered on a sidewalk outside the north Seattle headquarters of the annual Hempfest celebration and did the same, offering joints to reporters and blowing smoke into television news cameras.


"I feel like a kid in a candy store!" shouted Hempfest volunteer Darby Hageman. "It's all becoming real now!"


Washington and Colorado became the first states to vote to decriminalize and regulate the possession of an ounce or less of marijuana by adults over 21. Both measures call for setting up state licensing schemes for pot growers, processors and retail stores. Colorado's law is set to take effect by Jan. 5.


Technically, Washington's new marijuana law still forbids smoking pot in public, which remains punishable by a fine, like drinking in public. But pot fans wanted a party, and Seattle police weren't about to write them any tickets.


In another sweeping change for Washington, Gov. Chris Gregoire on Wednesday signed into law a measure that legalizes same-sex marriage. The state joins several others that allow gay and lesbian couples to wed.


The mood was festive in Seattle as dozens of gay and lesbian couples got in line to pick up marriage licenses at the King County auditor's office early Thursday.


King County and Thurston County announced they would open their auditors' offices shortly after midnight Wednesday to accommodate those who wanted to be among the first to get their licenses.


Kelly Middleton and her partner Amanda Dollente got in line at 4 p.m. Wednesday.


Hours later, as the line grew, volunteers distributed roses and a group of men and women serenaded the waiting line to the tune of "Chapel of Love."


Because the state has a three-day waiting period, the earliest that weddings can take place is Sunday.


In dealing with marijuana, the Seattle Police Department told its 1,300 officers on Wednesday, just before legalization took hold, that until further notice they shall not issue citations for public marijuana use.


Officers will be advising people not to smoke in public, police spokesman Jonah Spangenthal-Lee wrote on the SPD Blotter. "The police department believes that, under state law, you may responsibly get baked, order some pizzas and enjoy a 'Lord of the Rings' marathon in the privacy of your own home, if you want to."


He offered a catchy new directive referring to the film "The Big Lebowski," popular with many marijuana fans: "The Dude abides, and says 'take it inside!'"


"This is a big day because all our lives we've been living under the iron curtain of prohibition," said Hempfest director Vivian McPeak. "The whole world sees that prohibition just took a body blow."


Washington's new law decriminalizes possession of up to an ounce for those over 21, but for now selling marijuana remains illegal. I-502 gives the state a year to come up with a system of state-licensed growers, processors and retail stores, with the marijuana taxed 25 percent at each stage. Analysts have estimated that a legal pot market could bring Washington hundreds of millions of dollars a year in new tax revenue for schools, health care and basic government functions.


But marijuana remains illegal under federal law. That means federal agents can still arrest people for it, and it's banned from federal properties, including military bases and national parks.


The Justice Department has not said whether it will sue to try to block the regulatory schemes in Washington and Colorado from taking effect.


"The department's responsibility to enforce the Controlled Substances Act remains unchanged," said a statement issued Wednesday by the Seattle U.S. attorney's office. "Neither states nor the executive branch can nullify a statute passed by Congress."


The legal question is whether the establishment of a regulated marijuana market would "frustrate the purpose" of the federal pot prohibition, and many constitutional law scholars say it very likely would.


That leaves the political question of whether the administration wants to try to block the regulatory system, even though it would remain legal to possess up to an ounce of marijuana.


Alison Holcomb is the drug policy director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington and served as the campaign manager for New Approach Washington, which led the legalization drive. She said the voters clearly showed they're done with marijuana prohibition.


"New Approach Washington sponsors and the ACLU look forward to working with state and federal officials and to ensure the law is fully and fairly implemented," she said.


___


Johnson can be reached at https://twitter.com/GeneAPseattle


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Supreme Court to Take Up Gay Marriage Cases












The Supreme Court today decided to take up two major cases regarding gay marriage, one of which could ultimately lead the court to decide whether there is a fundamental right to same-sex marriage.


The justices announced that the court would hear a challenge to Proposition 8, the controversial California ballot initiative that passed in 2008 that restricted marriage to opposite-sex couples, as well as a challenge to a federal law that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.


Check Out Same-Sex Marriage Status in the U.S. State By State


A divided three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down "Prop 8" in February, ruling that it "serves no purpose , and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California and to officially reclassify their relationship and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples."


It was a narrow ruling, specific to California and its history with Prop 8. The court did not reach the broader question of whether there was a fundamental right to gay marriage.


Supporters of Prop 8 are asking the Supreme Court to hear an appeal of that ruling. Gay marriages have been put on hold in California until the Supreme Court decides the issue. The cases will likely be argued in March.






David Paul Morris/Getty Images







Opponents of Prop 8 are represented by David Boies and Theodore Olson, two lawyers who argued on opposite sides in the historic Bush v. Gore case that resulted in Bush's election as president.


Get more pure politics at ABCNews.com/Politics and a lighter take on the news at OTUSNews.com


They contend in court briefs that the question about whether the states might discriminate against gay men and lesbians in the provision of marriage licenses could be the "defining civil rights issue of our time."


The court will also hear a challenge to a key section of a federal law, the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. At issue in this case is not whether there is a fundamental right to gay marriage, because the same-sex couples are legally married in states that allow gay marriage, but that the gay couples alone are denied federal benefits such as the Social Security survivor assistance.


There were eight DOMA petitions filed with the court. One involved Edith Windsor, who, in 2007, married Thea Spyer, her partner of more than 40 years. The couple were married in Canada, but resided in New York until Spyer died in 2009.


Windsor was forced to pay $363,000 in federal estate taxes. She applied for a refund believing she was entitled to a marital deduction, but she was denied the claim on the grounds that she was not a "spouse" within the meaning of DOMA.


In briefs filed with the court, Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr. writes, "Although Section 3 of DOMA does not purport to invalidate same-sex marriages in those States that permit them it excludes marriage from recognition for purposes of more than 1,000 federal statutes and programs whose administration turns in part on individuals' marital status."


Recent ABC News-Washington Post polls say that 51 percent of Americans support gay marriage, which is legal in nine states and the District of Columbia.


ABC News' Sarah Parnass contributed to this report.



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Football: City will benefit from European exit: Ferguson






MANCHESTER, United Kingdom: Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson says that Manchester City's European demise has given Roberto Mancini's side a clear advantage in the race for the Premier League title.

City, who host leaders United on Sunday, failed to clinch a place in the Europa League after finishing bottom of their Champions League group following defeat by German side Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday.

Yet Ferguson told a news conference in Manchester on Friday that fewer games and distractions would aid their neighbours as they look to defend the title they won last season.

"I honestly think it is an advantage to City," said the long-serving United manager.

"The less games, the less chance of injuries. It gives them a full week to prepare for games now, but on the other hand, you have to keep (players) happy.

"They have a big squad, probably a bigger squad than most teams. I think they would rather have European football. Any big team would want European football all the time, and that's the biggest disappointment to them.

"But out of that disappointment, the advantage is there for them in terms of use of players and time to prepare for games. So there's no question it's an advantage to them."

United will open up a six-point lead at the top of the table if they win at the home of their neighbours.

Yet the 19-time champions of England arrive at the Etihad Stadium having lost three of their last six league and cup games and with concerns about the performances of their defence.

In addition, memories of the 6-1 thrashing his players suffered at the hands of City in October 2011 remain fresh in Ferguson's mind.

"It did (have an impact), particularly the 6-1 defeat, because of the goal difference. It turned us right round and that's what cost us (the title)," he added.

United have managed just four clean sheets in 23 league and cup games this season, and Ferguson added: "It's not as though we are ignoring it.

"City will have expected us to have worked on that this week. We have lost, I think, 10 goals from set plays this season, which is a lot.

"We hope to find a solution and if you do find a solution, it makes a difference. It will be a tight game on Sunday, there won't be a lot in it and we have enough players to make an impact."

As for the prospect of opening up a six-point lead, Ferguson said: "It wouldn't mean a great deal because there is such a long time to go until the end of the season."

Ferguson believes either United or City will win the title, claiming Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur have fallen too far behind in the table.

"I think it's going to be close between the two sides," he said.

"We have that gap over Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham. It would be difficult to think the two of us would collapse and allow another team to get in."

Ferguson reiterated his statement from last season that City were now United's biggest rivals in the league before questioning the number of penalties his rivals have been awarded in recent times.

"It's 21 in the last year, isn't it? Something like that. If we were to get that number of penalty kicks there would have been an inquiry in the House of Commons, and protests."

Captain Nemanja Vidic had hoped to return to the centre of defence after three months out with a knee injury.

But Ferguson says the Serbia defender is not ready, while Nani (hamstring) is a definite absentee.

Japan midfielder Shinji Kagawa (knee) is also a doubt, along with Tom Cleverley (calf).

- AFP/fa



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Egypt demonstrators reject Mursi call for dialogue


CAIRO (Reuters) - Demonstrators rejected a call from Egypt's Islamist President Mohamed Mursi for a national dialogue after deadly clashes around his palace, demanding the "downfall of the regime" - the chant that brought down Hosni Mubarak.


Mursi said in a televised speech late on Thursday that plans were on track for a referendum on a new constitution on December 15 despite clashes that killed seven people. He proposed a meeting on Saturday with political leaders, "revolutionary youth" and legal figures to discuss the way forward after that.


But a leading activist group rejected the offer, and fresh demonstrations were called for Friday.


The "April 6" movement, which played a prominent role in igniting the revolt against Mubarak said on its Facebook page that Friday's protests would deliver a "red card" to Mursi.


Egypt has been plunged into turmoil since Mursi issued a decree on November 22 awarding himself wide powers and shielding his decisions from judicial review.


His Islamist supporters say the decree was necessary to prevent Mubarak-era judges from interfering with reforms. A constitution drawn up by a body dominated by Islamists is due to be put to a referendum next week.


The opposition has demanded that Mursi scrap his decree, postpone the referendum and redraft the constitution.


In his address, Mursi said: "I call for a full, productive dialogue with all figures and heads of parties, revolutionary youth and senior legal figures to meet this Saturday."


Several thousand opposition protesters near the palace waved their shoes in derision after his speech and shouted "Killer, killer" and "We won't go, he will go" - another of the slogans used against Mubarak in last year's revolt.


The Cairo headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood, the group that propelled Mursi to victory in a June election, was set ablaze. Other offices of its political party were attacked.


TENTATIVE CONCESSION


The United States, worried about the stability of an Arab partner which has a peace deal with Israel and which receives $1.3 billion a year in U.S. military aid, had urged dialogue.


Mursi said his entire decree would lapse after the constitutional referendum, regardless of its result.


He said a new constituent assembly would be formed to redraft the constitution if Egyptians rejected the one written in the past six months.


The Republican Guard, an elite unit whose duties include protecting the presidential palace, restored peace on Thursday after a night of violence outside the palace, ordering rival demonstrators to leave by mid-afternoon.


Mursi supporters withdrew, but opposition protesters remained, kept away by a barbed wire barricade guarded by tanks. By evening their numbers had swelled to several thousand.


Thousands of supporters and opponents of Mursi had fought well into Thursday's early hours, using rocks, petrol bombs and guns. Officials said 350 were wounded in the violence. Six of the dead were Mursi supporters, the Muslim Brotherhood said.


Opposition groups have called for protests after Friday prayers aimed at "the downfall of the militia regime", a dig at what they see as the Brotherhood's organized street muscle.


A communique from a leftist group urged protesters to gather at mosques and squares across Egypt, and to stage marches in Cairo and its sister city Giza, converging on the presidential palace. "Egyptian blood is a red line," the communique said.


Hardline Islamist Salafis also summoned their supporters to protest against what they consider biased coverage of the crisis by some private Egyptian satellite television channels.


Since Mursi issued his decree, six of his advisers have resigned. Essam al-Amir, the director of state television, quit on Thursday, as did a Christian official at the presidency.


The Brotherhood's supreme guide, Mohamed Badie, called for unity, saying divisions "only serve the nation's enemies".


The Islamists, who have won presidential and parliamentary elections since Mubarak was overthrown, are confident they can win the referendum and the parliamentary election to follow.


As well as relying on his Brotherhood power base, Mursi may also tap into a popular yearning for stability and economic revival after almost two years of political turmoil.


Egypt's pound hit an eight-year low on Thursday, reversing gains made on hopes that a $4.8 billion IMF loan would stabilize the economy. The stock market fell 4.6 percent.


(Additional reporting by Edmund Blair and Marwa Awad; Writing by Alistair Lyon and Peter Graff; Editing by Louise Ireland)



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Farmers’ body calls off toll plaza protest

NEW DELHI/GHAZIABAD: In a big relief to the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government, Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) on Thursday suspended its plan to take over more toll plazas in the state. The decision came after the Ghaziabad administration slapped a Rs 15 lakh notice on the organization for toll loss at Dasna plaza due to its protests.

The Meerut DM and police chief forwarded CM Akhilesh Yadav's letter to BKU representatives assuring the farmers that their grievances would be addressed. BKU first called off the takeover of DND toll plaza in Noida and later announced withdrawal of its men from all toll plazas across the state from Thursday night.

BKU's Rakesh Tikait claimed the protest had generated awareness on how tolling practices were wrong. "The protest can be revived at any time," he said. He said the authorities had agreed to expedite disbursement of Rs 200 crore compensation to farmers for land acquisition, providing adequate over and underpasses across highways for local traffic and construction of service roads so that local traffic was not forced to take the toll road. tnn

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Celebrations planned as Wash. legalizes marijuana


SEATTLE (AP) — Legal marijuana possession becomes a reality under Washington state law on Thursday, and some people planned to celebrate the new law by breaking it.


Voters in Washington and Colorado last month made those the first states to decriminalize and regulate the recreational use of marijuana. Washington's law takes effect Thursday and allows adults to have up to an ounce of pot — but it bans public use of marijuana, which is punishable by a fine, just like drinking in public.


Nevertheless, some people planned to gather at 12:01 a.m. PST Thursday to smoke in public beneath Seattle's Space Needle. Others planned a midnight party outside the Seattle headquarters of Hempfest, the 21-year-old festival that attracts tens of thousands of pot fans every summer.


"This is a big day because all our lives we've been living under the iron curtain of prohibition," said Hempfest director Vivian McPeak. "The whole world sees that prohibition just took a body blow."


In another sweeping change for Washington, Gov. Chris Gregoire on Wednesday signed into law a measure that legalizes same-sex marriage. The state joins several others that allow gay and lesbian couples to wed.


That law also takes effect Thursday, when gay and lesbian couples can start picking up their wedding certificates and licenses at county auditors' offices. Those offices in King County, the state's largest and home to Seattle, and Thurston County, home to the state capital of Olympia, planned to open the earliest, at 12:01 a.m. Thursday, to start issuing marriage licenses. Because the state has a three-day waiting period, the earliest that weddings can take place is Sunday.


The Seattle Police Department provided this public marijuana use enforcement guidance to its officers via email Wednesday night: "Until further notice, officers shall not take any enforcement action — other than to issue a verbal warning — for a violation of Initiative 502."


Thanks to a 2003 law, marijuana enforcement remains the department's lowest priority. Even before I-502 passed on Nov. 6, police rarely busted people at Hempfest, despite widespread pot use, and the city attorney here doesn't prosecute people for having small amounts of marijuana.


Officers will be advising people to take their weed inside, police spokesman Jonah Spangenthal-Lee wrote on the SPD Blotter. "The police department believes that, under state law, you may responsibly get baked, order some pizzas and enjoy a 'Lord of the Rings' marathon in the privacy of your own home, if you want to."


Washington's new law decriminalizes possession of up to an ounce for those over 21, but for now selling marijuana remains illegal. I-502 gives the state a year to come up with a system of state-licensed growers, processors and retail stores, with the marijuana taxed 25 percent at each stage. Analysts have estimated that a legal pot market could bring Washington hundreds of millions of dollars a year in new tax revenue for schools, health care and basic government functions.


But marijuana remains illegal under federal law. That means federal agents can still arrest people for it, and it's banned from federal properties, including military bases and national parks.


The Justice Department has not said whether it will sue to try to block the regulatory schemes in Washington and Colorado from taking effect.


"The department's responsibility to enforce the Controlled Substances Act remains unchanged," said a statement issued Wednesday by the Seattle U.S. attorney's office. "Neither states nor the executive branch can nullify a statute passed by Congress" — a non-issue, since the measures passed in Washington and Colorado don't "nullify" federal law, which federal agents remain free to enforce.


The legal question is whether the establishment of a regulated marijuana market would "frustrate the purpose" of the federal pot prohibition, and many constitutional law scholars say it very likely would.


That leaves the political question of whether the administration wants to try to block the regulatory system, even though it would remain legal to possess up to an ounce of marijuana.


Colorado's measure, as far as decriminalizing possession goes, is set to take effect by Jan. 5. That state's regulatory scheme is due to be up and running by October 2013.


___(equals)


Johnson can be reached at https://twitter.com/GeneAPseattle


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McAfee Mystery Deepens With Possible Heart Attack













Software millionaire John McAfee has been taken to a Guatemala City hospital via ambulance after suffering a possible heart attack at the detention center where he is being held.


McAfee, 67 -- who may soon be deported back to Belize, where authorities want to question him about the shooting death of his neighbor -- was reportedly prostrate on the floor of his cell and unresponsive. He was wheeled into the hospital on a gurney, but when nurses began removing his suit, he became responsive and said, "Please, not in front of the press."


Earlier today, McAfee had complained of chest pains.


McAfee was scheduled to be deported to Belize later this morning, ABC News has learned. But a judge could stay the ruling if it is determined that McAfee's life is threatened by being in Belizean custody, as McAfee has claimed in the past several weeks.


Raphael Martinez, a spokesman for the Belize government, said that if McAfee is deported to Belize, he would immediately be handed over to police and detained for up to 48 hours unless charges are brought against him.


"There is more that we know about the investigation, but that remains part of the police work," he said, hinting at possible charges.


He added that a handover by Guatemala would be "the neighborly thing to do."


A spokesman for the U.S. embassy in Guatemala said that "due to privacy considerations," the embassy would "have no comment on the specifics of this situation," but that, "U.S. citizens are subject to the laws of the countries in which they are traveling or residing, and must work within the host countries' legal framework."


Just hours before McAfee's arrest, he told ABC News in an exclusive interview Wednesday he would be seeking asylum in Guatemala. McAfee was arrested by the Central American country's immigration police and not the national police, said his attorney, who was confident his client would be released within hours.






Guatemala's National Police/AP Photo













Software Founder Breaks Silence: McAfee Speaks on Murder Allegations Watch Video









John McAfee Interview: Software Mogul Leaves Belize Watch Video





"Thank God I am in a place where there is some sanity," said McAfee before his arrest. "I chose Guatemala carefully."


McAfee said that in Guatemala, the locals aren't surprised when he says the Belizean government is out to kill him.


"Instead of going, 'You're crazy,' they go, 'Yeah, of course they are,'" he said. "It's like, finally, I understand people who understand the system here."


But McAfee added he has not ruled out moving back to the United States, where he made his fortune as the inventor of anti-virus software, and that despite losing much of his fortune he still has more money than he could ever spend.


In his interview with ABC News, a jittery, animated but candid McAfee called the media's representation of him a "nightmare that is about to explode," and said he's prepared to prove his sanity.


McAfee has been on the run from police in Belize since the Nov. 10 murder of his neighbor, fellow American expatriate Greg Faull.


During his three-week journey, said McAfee, he disguised himself as handicapped, dyed his hair seven times and hid in many different places during his three-week journey.


He dismissed accounts of erratic behavior and reports that he had been using the synthetic drug bath salts. He said he had never used the drug, and said statements that he had were part of an elaborate prank.


Investigators said that McAfee was not a suspect in the death of the former developer, who was found shot in the head in his house on the resort island of San Pedro, but that they wanted to question him.


McAfee told ABC News that the poisoning death of his dogs and the murder just hours later of Faull, who had complained about his dogs, was a coincidence.


McAfee has been hiding from police ever since Faull's death -- but Telesforo Guerra, McAfee's lawyer in Guatemala, said the tactic was born out of necessity, not guilt.


"You don't have to believe what the police say," Guerra told ABC News. "Even though they say he is not a suspect they were trying to capture him."


Guerra, who is a former attorney general of Guatemala, said it would take two to three weeks to secure asylum for his client.


According to McAfee, Guerra is also the uncle of McAfee's 20-year-old girlfriend, Samantha. McAfee said the government raided his beachfront home and threatened Samantha's family.


"Fifteen armed soldiers come in and personally kidnap my housekeeper, threaten Sam's father with torture and haul away half a million dollars of my s***," claimed McAfee. "If they're not after me, then why all these raids? There've been eight raids!"


Before his arrest, McAfee said he would hold a press conference on Thursday in Guatemala City to announce his asylum bid. He has offered to answer questions from Belizean law enforcement over the phone, and denied any involvement in Faull's death.






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ECB slashes growth forecasts, keeps door open to rate cuts






FRANKFURT: The European Central Bank slashed its eurozone growth forecasts Thursday, keeping the door open to more interest rates cuts, even as it insisted it was up to governments to solve the debt crisis.

As widely expected, the ECB's decision-making governing council voted to leave the bank's main refinancing rate at a historic low of 0.75 percent at its last policy meeting this year.

But ECB chief Mario Draghi -- who last month had said further rate cuts were not discussed at all -- revealed there had been "wide discussion" of such a move this time round and the decision was anything but unanimous.

Nevertheless, "in the end the prevailing consensus was to leave the rates unchanged," the Italian central banker said.

The 23-member governing council traditionally likes any decisions to be unanimous or, failing that, by consensus.

And with economic gloom deepening over the 17 countries that share the euro, many ECB watchers believe there is room for additional monetary easing, even if none of them had predicted a cut in the bank's refi rate at this month's meeting.

The bank might be persuaded to act if economic prospects continue to deteriorate, analysts argued.

And the outlook looks gloomy indeed.

In its regular quarterly staff economic projections, the ECB forecast that the eurozone economy will contract both this year and next year and only return to growth in 2014.

According to the updated forecasts, the euro area economy is set to shrink by 0.5 percent in 2012 rather than by 0.4 percent as predicted earlier.

And it would shrink again by 0.3 percent in 2013, instead of growing by 0.5 percent.

Only in 2014 would the economy grow again, by an estimated 1.2 percent, the forecasts said.

The ECB governing council "continues to see downside risks to the economic outlook for the euro area," Draghi said.

"Over the shorter term, weak activity is expected to extend into next year."

Nevertheless, a gradual recovery should start "later" in 2013 as the ECB's low-interest rate policy and rising market confidence fed through into household spending, while a strengthening of foreign demand should support export growth, he argued.

Thus, the ball was very much in the governments' court to solve the two-year-old crisis, Draghi insisted.

By cutting interest rates and launching a raft of anti-crisis measures the ECB had "already done much that is needed," he said, even if he refused to explicitly rule out additional action further down the line.

"In order to sustain confidence, it is essential for governments to reduce further both fiscal and structural imbalances and to proceed with financial sector restructuring," he insisted.

A number of ECB watchers said they still expected the central bank to lower its rates early next year if the economy deteriorated still further.

"The ECB appears to have the door open for an interest rate cut, and we expect it to step through early in 2013," said Howard Archer at IHS Global Insight.

"With the eurozone clearly facing a difficult fourth quarter and beyond after moving into modest recession in the third quarter, and with the underlying inflation situation in the Eurozone looking relatively benign, we believe that the ECB has ample justification and scope to take interest rates down from 0.75 percent to 0.50 percent sooner rather than later," he said.

But others were not so sure.

Draghi "was quite clear that no further monetary policy action is to be expected in the near future," said Marie Diron at Ernst & Young Eurozone Forecast.

Commerzbank chief economist Joerg Kraemer said he "would forecast a lower refi rate if leading economic indicators declined in contrast to our expectations."

ING Belgium economist Carsten Brzeski felt that the fact that the ECB kept rates on hold "even after these strong downward revisions for growth and inflation in our view shows that the ECB prefers to stimulate the economy with non-standard measures and not with additional rate cuts."

A rate cut "might not entirely be off the table but would require an even worse weakening of the economy," Brzeski said.

-AFP/ac



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