Thousands of Somalis flee area fearing fighting

MOGADISHU, Somalia?? Thousands of people fled a camp for the displaced near Somalia's capital on Sunday, fearing an imminent clash between African Union peacekeepers and the al-Qaida-linked militants who are trying to demonstrate their strength amid an assault on two fronts.

In the country's south, meanwhile, others braced for fierce battles as Kenyan soldiers closed in on a militant-held town in their weeklong effort to defeat the al-Shabab group blamed for suicide bombings, kidnapping foreigners and killing famine victims.

African Union forces already have pushed the militants from their last base in the capital of Mogadishu, and those staying on the outskirts said they worried the battles were approaching. The African Union Mission to Somalia force, also known as AMISOM, said in a statement Sunday they had advanced to Mogadishu's outskirts.

"We want to pass here before the fighting closes the escape routes," said Salado Abdullahi, a mother of six, who was at a checkpoint in Mogadishu on Sunday.

Somalia has been a failed state for more than 20 years, and the lawless country is a haven for pirates and international terrorists. Al-Shabab fighters have been waging a war against the weak Somali government for more than five years.

A force of 9,000 peacekeepers from Burundi and Uganda have been aiding the Somali forces. Al-Shabab retreated from Mogadishu amid a devastating famine a few months back, but re-emerged by staging their deadliest single bombing that killed more than 100 people.

On Sunday, a suicide bomber killed himself and wounded two AU troops when he ran after the AU convoy.

The Kenyan military sent troops into neighboring Somalia one week ago to pursue the militants following a string of kidnappings on Kenyan soil that were blamed on Somali gunmen. Al-Shabab has threatened to launch suicide bombings inside Kenya in retaliation, and the U.S. Embassy warned late Saturday than an imminent terrorist attack is possible.

Kenya's military spokesman Maj. Emmanuel Chirchir said fighting was a likely to occur in the town of Afmadow "very soon."

"Most likely man-to-man battles will occur in Afmadow," he told The Associated Press. "That is one of the areas we really want to inflict trauma and damage on the al-Shabab basically to reduce their effectiveness completely so that they do not exist as a force."

Hundreds of residents were fleeing Afmadow Sunday in anticipation of fighting. Chirchir said al-Shabab were regrouping in the town of Bula Haji to face the Kenyan troops.

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Somali gunmen have kidnapped four Europeans in the last six weeks ? two from Kenya's Lamu coastal resort region and two from the Dadaab refugee camp near the Somali border. One of the hostages, a quadriplegic French woman, died on Wednesday.

The kidnappings have threatened Kenya's tourism industry, which had only recently bounced back from a near collapse after postelection violence left more than 1,000 dead several years ago.

Kenya's troops are untested and it isn't clear if they are prepared for a long-term occupation requiring counterinsurgency skills ? a scenario that ended U.S. and Ethiopian interventions during Somalia's 20-year-old civil war. The Somalia operation is Kenya's biggest foreign military commitment since independence in 1963.

However, al-Shabab has been weakened by a severe famine in its strongholds. Al-Shabab also is beset by internal divisions and public discontent over the group's strict punishments, recruitment of child soldiers and indiscriminate bombings.

_____

Tom Odula reported from Nairobi, Kenya.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45006979/ns/world_news-africa/

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Lindsay Lohan Cuts Ties With Manager, Reality

Lindsay Lohan is looking for a fresh start.

She's cleaning more than soiled linens at the morgue - she's cleaning house, kicking her business manager Lou Taylor to the curb, according to reports.

Taylor, who also manages Britney Spears, "didn't have the time to manage her," according to LiLo's peeps, and she wants someone to put more effort in.

She could start by making their job a little easier. Just saying.

Lookin' good, Lindsay Lohan. Lookin'. Good.

According to sources, LiLo felt her finances (Taylor's responsibility) were starting to slip through the cracks ... her not having much in the way of work can't help.

Whatever the reason, word was getting back to the star that her balances were not being handled in a timely manner, in part because Taylor is based in Tennessee.

Lohan's rep, Steve Honig, says the split was amicable and she and Taylor remain friends. Maybe she can arrange a nice parting gift cupcake delivery ...

[Photo: WENN.com]

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/10/lindsay-lohan-cuts-ties-with-manager-reality/

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Exclusive: Olympus trail reaches elusive banker's Florida home (Reuters)

BOCA RATON, Florida (Reuters) ? A former Wall Street banker of Japanese descent has emerged as a key figure in the scandal engulfing Japanese blue-chip company Olympus Corp (7733.T), according to documents provided by the company's ex-CEO.

The veteran banker, Hajime 'Jim' Sagawa, owned an obscure U.S. financial firm that was hired by the camera and endoscope maker five years ago to provide what later turned out to be stunningly expensive advice, a fee of $687 million, the documents show.

Reuters went to Sagawa's Florida home on Thursday. The ex-Nomura banker's wife, Ellen, said he was traveling and that he had done nothing wrong.

"My husband was on Wall Street for many years and was well-respected," she said after answering the door of their waterside two-story home in Boca Raton, north of Miami.

"My husband is clean as a whistle, I assure you," she said when asked about Sagawa's connection with the scandal which has wiped out half of Olympus's market value, outraged major shareholders and been drawn to the notice of securities regulators in Japan and the Serious Fraud Office in London.

She gave Reuters her husband's cell phone number but calls went to voicemail and he did not return them.

Former Olympus CEO Michael Woodford, barely a fortnight into his tenure in the top job, raised the alarm on the huge advisory fee after his sudden firing last week. The sum was equal to a third of the 2008 takeover deal to which it related -- compared with the 1-2 percent bankers usually charge.

Woodford, now in the UK, gave Reuters a copy of an independent inquiry into the fee, which was paid in relation to Olympus's $2.2 billion takeover of UK medical equipment firm Gyrus. He had commissioned the inquiry from accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) while he was still an executive.

PwC has declined to comment on the report, which is marked confidential and carries no date for when it was compiled.

Olympus, which denies any wrong-doing over the fee payment, has not given details on the identities of the advisers who earned the fee, other than acknowledging that the fees were paid to two obscure firms, AXES and AXAM Investments.

The PwC report identifies Sagawa as the principal of AXES, which was the main advisory firm, though it does not claim to know where the money trail finally ends.

"Sagawa represented AXES in relation to the Gyrus transaction who we understand has resided in the United States from 1980 to the present, including a period stationed in New York for Nomura Securities," the PwC report said.

It said Sagawa was AXES president and "held himself out" to be a director of affiliated firm AXAM which ultimately received the bulk of the controversial fee from Olympus.

In his career on Wall Street, Sagawa had been an investment banker at PaineWebber and Sanyo Securities in the 1990s, according to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) records.

"We understand that members of the board may have had previous dealings with Sagawa prior to his involvement with AXES," the PwC report said.

But it added: "In relation to Olympus' acquisition of Gyrus, we understand that the board confirmed that there were no personal vested interests between themselves and Sagawa or AXES."

The PwC report said that Olympus first hired AXES in June 2006 and agreed to pay a basic fee of $5 million and another 1 percent of any acquisition price. At the time, the Japanese company was targeting a deal with Boston Scientific (BSX.N) and Cook Inc, according to the report.

In 2007, AXES was given a bigger shopping list, Tyco International (TYC.N) and Gyrus were added as potential acquisition targets, the report said. Olympus also agreed to pay the obscure firm 5 percent of any purchase price for a deal of up to $2.5 billion, it said.

Sagawa's wife denied he was a director of AXAM, incorporated in the Cayman Islands, a tax haven. But she said she had only limited knowledge of her husband's businesses.

Woodford has notified regulators in Japan and fraud investigators in his native Britain of his concerns, though he too has stopped short of making specific allegations of wrong-doing at Olympus. He says he was fired for asking questions.

Before his dismissal, he sought the resignations of Olympus Chairman Tsuyoshi Kikukawa and senior executive Hisashi Mori.

"The eventual cost of the transaction to Olympus is extremely significant and is as a result of a number of actions taken by management which are questionable and which give cause for concern," the PwC report said.

"Based on the review we have undertaken to date, we were unable to confirm that there has been improper conduct, however, given the sums of money involved and some of the unusual decisions that have been made it cannot be ruled out at this stage," it concluded.

The report said AXES was a dormant company. The firm's brokerage license lapsed in May 2008, according to FINRA records. That was three months after Olympus closed the Gyrus purchase.

At the time, the Gyrus acquisition was the largest and most costly acquisition in the Japanese company's history. The more than $2 billion Olympus paid was four times larger than any other company it had purchased.

A security guard at the Manhattan address for AXES said the firm's office had been closed for a couple of years. Contact numbers for AXAM could not be found, and the PwC report says the firm was struck off the Cayman Islands registry in the last year.

Ellen Sagawa told Reuters that her husband was in contact with Olympus "all the time."

"You have to understand, once a Japanese does a favor for another Japanese, the payment is high," she said.

(Reporting by Kevin Gray in BOCA RATON, Tim Kelly in TOKYO, Kirstin Ridley and Alex Smith in LONDON. Writing by Mark Bendeich and Kevin Krolicki; Editing by Neil Fullick, Martin Howell)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111022/bs_nm/us_olympus_adviser

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Gas Pipelines: Big Business But Lightly Regulated?

by Nicholas Kusnetz, ProPublica

The gas pipeline industry is hardly glamorous. But it is lucrative and loosely regulated.

Last weekend, two oil and gas pipeline companies announced they would combine to create the biggest such firm in the U.S. when Kinder Morgan offered more than $20 billion to buy El Paso. If the deal goes through, the companies say, the behemoth would become the continent's fourth largest energy corporation.

While the pipeline business has operated largely, well, underground, several recent accidents have drawn attention to safety and the web of regulations that governs the nation's 2.3 million miles of gas pipelines. A growing controversy over a plan to build a major oil pipeline from Canada's Tar Sands to Texas has also spotlighted industry practices.

On Monday, the Senate passed a pipeline safety bill that would increase fines, hire more inspectors and implement stronger safety standards. The industry has supported the measure, but some advocates have called for larger changes.

Here's a primer on the industry and its regulations.

The Regulations

The system that regulates natural gas pipelines is complex and, critics contend, lax.

"There isn't much regulation and it doesn't really work," said Rick Kessler, who sits on the board of the advocacy group Pipeline Safety Trust. Kessler is also a federal lobbyist on energy issues, but he does not represent pipeline companies.

To build a pipeline to transport gas from Pennsylvania to New York, company X would have to seek a permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and prove that the line is needed. If the company convinces FERC of the need and that the proposed route is appropriate, the government could grant company X the right to seize property through eminent domain if it can't work out deals with landowners.

If the pipeline were not going to cross state lines a state commission would generally oversee the siting of the line. Texas is one of the more industry-friendly states on siting. It grants companies relatively wide latitude to seize property for new lines.

Once a line is approved, a different agency takes over to handle safety issues. The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration sets minimum safety standards, which states can supplement. If a pipe crosses state borders, enforcement generally falls to the federal government, while most states inspect lines that don't leave the state.

But whether the regulators are from Washington or the states, "They don't come out and necessarily walk the pipeline," said Richard Kuprewicz, a former pipeline engineer for Arco who is now a consultant.

In fact, it is generally the pipeline operators themselves who inspect their own lines and report problems. Most government oversight involves checking the paperwork, making sure that things are up to code.

"It's compliance with the regulations," Kuprewicz said. "It's not, 'Are you safe or not.'"

The pipeline industry points to its safety record. Despite several high profile accidents - such as the explosion that killed 8 people in San Bruno, Calif., last year - the number of incidents has not changed dramatically in recent years. There are typically about 275 gas pipeline accidents a year that kill 10 to 15 people and injure about 65 to 70. There was a jump in the number of accidents on transmission lines from 2002 to 2004, but the numbers have generally held steady since then, according to PHMSA.

The industry group for interstate transmission lines, the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, did not respond to requests for comment.

Lydia Meigs, a spokeswoman for the American Gas Association, which represents the utilities that operate most of the 2 million miles of shorter distribution lines (the type of lines involved in recent high-profile accidents) said the industry is best suited to enforce best practices.

Critics disagree, pointing to the San Bruno explosion, where the operator didn't run tests that could have detected the faulty weld that eventually failed.

There's also an entire class of pipelines that is largely unregulated. There are an estimated 200,000 miles of gathering lines - pipes that lead from wells to processing plants - in sparsely populated areas for which PHMSA does not set safety standards (the agency does regulate such lines in higher density areas). Most states do not regulate these lines either, so there is no reporting on any leaks that may be found. Siting is generally worked out by energy companies and landowners.

These rural gathering lines are considered to be low risk not only because relatively few people live near them but also because they are generally smaller and operate at lower pressures than the lines that send gas from state to state. But in March, a federal advisory committee found that newer gathering lines, particularly those in shale gas development areas, are running at higher pressures and that operators should be required to submit safety reports. PHMSA, the federal regulator, is now considering whether to issue new regulations to cover these lines.

Currently, PHMSA has 125 inspectors to cover 290,000 miles of gas and liquids lines, while about 300 state inspectors oversee the remaining 2.2 million miles, according to PHMSA.

The Business

The industry is dominated by a handful of companies, including El Paso, Enbridge and Williams Gas Pipeline, according to Fadel Gheit, an oil and gas analyst with Oppenheimer and Co.

Kinder Morgan, for example, currently operates more than 37,000 miles of lines, carrying not only gas but also oil and carbon dioxide. Last year, the company had a net income of $1.3 billion on $8 billion in revenue.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission sets guidelines for what companies can charge to transport gas. The rates are based on market supply and demand and on the amount of money the company has to spend to build and maintain the line. A gas producer such as Exxon will generally buy a certain amount of transmission capacity and negotiate a rate within FERC's guidelines.

"It's like buying a seat on a flight," Gheit said.

It's a relatively predictable industry, Gheit said, because supply and demand don't fluctuate wildly from year to year. When a company builds a line, it generally locks in long term contracts.

Increased gas development has led to a push for new lines. FERC has approved dozens of new projects over the past couple of years. The Interstate Natural Gas Association of America says that, due to projected increases in production and consumption, the industry will need to build 35,600 miles of transmission lines and 414,000 miles of gathering lines by 2035, at a cost of nearly $140 billion dollars.

Key Pipeline Stats*

Miles of all types of pipelines, gas and liquid - more than 2.5 million

Miles of federally regulated gas transmission andgathering lines - 321,000

Miles of gas distribution lines - about 2 million

Miles of unregulated gas gathering lines - about 210,000

*Source: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials SafetyAdministration

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/22/underground-industry-gas-_n_1026422.html

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Spend the night in the world?s deepest underground hotel in Sweden (Yahoo! News)

Sala Silvermine in Sweden houses a hotel suite 509 ft. underground

In the next few years, extreme travelers could spend the night floating around in a space hotel. For now, what the Earth can offer will have to suffice. Thankfully, some options have the potential to satiate even the most adventurous ? take for example the deepest underground hotel suite in the world. Located in the old, 15th century Sala Silvermine in Sweden, the suite lies 509 ft. deep under the earth's surface.

The tunnels of Sala's mine were used to excavate for silver until 1908. Now, it houses a museum, a theater, two ornate dining rooms, and a hotel suite where two people can spend the night. Guests are first toured around the underground facilities so they know their way around, but ultimately left alone overnight ? attendants stay on ground level. If you're hit by the call of nature in the middle of the night, you'd have to go up to 165 ft. to access the nearest toilet; no bathroom exists within the mine. Phones, of course, do not work that deep underground.

Clearly, if you're claustrophobic, agoraphobic, or if you really just can't stand gloomy places, this hotel is not for you. But if you fancy a stay underground for whatever purpose you might have, you can spend a night in Sweden's Sala Silvermine suite for $580.

Sala Silvermine via Gizmag

This article was written by Mariella Moon and originally appeared on Tecca

More from Tecca:

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/techblog/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_technews/20111021/tc_yblog_technews/spend-the-night-in-the-worlds-deepest-underground-hotel-in-sweden

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Pujols hits 3 HRs, Cards romp to 2-1 Series edge (AP)

ARLINGTON, Texas ? Albert Pujols began the game hoping to shake his slump and maybe get a hit.

He did that, and a whole lot more: He produced the defining game of his monster career, and perhaps the greatest hitting performance in World Series history.

Pujols launched three long homers, drove in six runs and finished with five hits ? tying Series records with each accomplishment ? as the St. Louis Cardinals romped past the Texas Rangers 16-7 on Saturday night for a 2-1 edge.

"Just pretty special," he said.

The three-time NL MVP matched Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson for the most home runs in a game, connecting on fastballs from three different pitchers. Pujols added two singles and set a Series mark with 14 total bases.

"Hopefully, at the end of my career, I can look back and say, 'Wow, what a game it was in Game 3 in 2011," Pujols said.

And to think, his night began with a groundout that left him 0 for 7 against Texas

"I mean, with Babe and Reggie, that's pretty good company right there," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said.

The outburst by Pujols came a day after he was barbed by the media for not sticking around to talk about a Game 2 error and loss. This time, everyone was talking about him.

"When the opportunity presents itself to put him on the bag, I'm not going to let him swing the bat," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "But tonight, we just couldn't get the ball out of the middle of the plate and up, and he just didn't miss.

"I saw him on TV but I'll tell you, tonight was something special."

The Cardinals mashed their way to the highest-scoring game in their storied postseason history, breaking away after first base umpire Ron Kulpa's admitted blown call.

After two taut games in St. Louis, this suddenly turned into a messy slugfest. Pujols, the most feared slugger in the majors, was right in the middle ? he became the first player in Series history to get hits in four straight innings.

So much for any worries about Pujols making a dent.

"I was hitting the ball hard, but I wasn't getting any hits," he said. "But all it takes is one good game. I got five hits, what are they going to say about it?"

Texas fans booed after Kulpa's miss helped the Cardinals score four times in the fourth for a 5-0 lead. The crowd at Rangers Ballpark went silent when Pujols started swinging for the fences, and beyond. His three-run shot in the sixth rattled the windows of the club level high above left field.

Game 4 is Sunday night, with Derek Holland starting for the Rangers against Edwin Jackson. It will be the back half of a St. Louis-Texas style doubleheader ? earlier in the day, the Rams play the Dallas Cowboys right across the parking lot.

This game had an NFL score, too. The teams combined for 23 runs and 28 hits ? at Busch Stadium, they teamed for eight runs and 23 hits in two games.

"You leave a ball up in this park it's going to carry a little more than it does in St. Louis," Pujols said.

Pujols joined Ruth, who hit three homers in games against the Cardinals in 1926 and 1928, and Jackson's three-homer show against the Dodgers in 1977.

"It's an honor to be named in the same category as those guys," Pujols said.

Pujols' six RBIs matched Bobby Richardson in 1960 and Hideki Matsui in 2009. He tied the Series mark for hits in a game set by Paul Molitor in 1982.

Good-luck charm Allen Craig homered for St. Louis and Yadier Molina drove in four runs. The Cardinals broke it open by scoring four times in the fourth, three more in the fifth and four in the sixth.

Adrian Beltre kept delivering for Texas, getting four hits.

Pujols, however, showed exactly why he is the most prized free agent of all going into this winter.

The big slugger connected off Alexi Ogando in the sixth, hit a two-run drive to left-center off Michael Gonzalez in the seventh and tagged Darren Oliver for a solo shot to left-center with two outs in the ninth.

"When Pujols is at the plate, that's the first time he did damage. We fought back pretty good, the next thing you know he's up there batting with guys on base and brings them in," Oliver said. "That's what he does. That's why he's the hitter he is."

By the end, Rangers president Nolan Ryan was rubbing his forehead and it was hard to keep track of all the hits. Balls were rolling into the corners, sailing over the fence and going most everywhere.

In the seventh, a fan wearing a Rangers shirt threw a Wiffle ball toward St. Louis left fielder Matt Holliday as he was preparing to catch a routine fly. The Rangers said the young man and his friend were ejected.

Early in the game, it appeared Kulpa's call would be the focal point.

The Cardinals led 1-0 when Pujols led off the fourth with a single. Holliday followed with a perfect double-play ball, but was ruled safe by Kulpa at first. Replays clearly show part-time first baseman Mike Napoli caught second baseman Ian Kinsler's high toss and slapped a tag on Holliday before he reached the bag.

Kulpa said he thought Holliday beat the tag. The Rangers argued, to no avail.

"Well, he missed the play and I knew he missed the play when I went out there," Washington said.

After the game, the umpire issued a Mea Kulpa.

"I saw a replay when I walked off the field, and the tag was applied before his foot hit the bag," he said.

The Cardinals quickly scored four times, helped when Napoli threw wide to the plate for an error that let two runs cross. Texas fans booed as replays of the bad call circulated ? they won't be happy to learn, either, that Kulpa was born, raised and lives in the St. Louis area.

"Has nothing to do with it," Kulpa said.

For the Cardinals, perhaps it was a little evening up, albeit many years later. The call came four days before the anniversary of umpire Don Denkinger's missed call at first base in the 1985 World Series that severely cost St. Louis.

Starters Kyle Lohse of St. Louis and Matt Harrison were both pulled in the fourth inning. Soon after, it was clear that no pitchers were going to be too effective.

Lance Lynn earned the win with 2 1-3 innings of relief and Harrison took the loss.

NOTES: La Russa earned his 68th postseason victory. He moved ahead of Bobby Cox into second place. Joe Torre leads with 84. ... Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki threw out the first ball. The 7-foot Nowitzki fired a fastball from the mound that Young scooped. There has never been a 7-foot major leaguer, though 7-1 pitcher Loek Van Mil is in the Angels' system.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111023/ap_on_sp_ba_ga_su/bbo_world_series

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Your College Football Afternoon Games Open Thread [Open Thread]

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Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/deadspin/excerpts/~3/rZtLlhZf6VE/your-college-football-afternoon-games-open-thread

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