In Hospital Report, Housekeeper’s Graphic Account of Attack

在 ServiceModel 客户端配置部分中，找不到引用协定“TranslatorService.LanguageService”的默认终结点元素。这可能是因为未找到应用程序的配置文件，或者是因为客户端元素中找不到与此协定匹配的终结点元素。
在 ServiceModel 客户端配置部分中，找不到引用协定“TranslatorService.LanguageService”的默认终结点元素。这可能是因为未找到应用程序的配置文件，或者是因为客户端元素中找不到与此协定匹配的终结点元素。

Versions of this narrative have been told in court and in various criminal documents since Mr. Strauss-Kahn, the former managing director of the International Monetary Fund, was arrested in May on sexual assault charges.

But this is the most direct account of the housekeeper’s version of events to be offered so far. It comes from a report prepared by a counselor at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center, where the housekeeper was treated just hours after she said she was attacked, and where she related for one of the first times what happened in the hotel suite.

The report, which has been provided to prosecutors and defense lawyers, provides a counselor’s notes of the graphic story told by the 32-year-old Guinean housekeeper, whose credibility has since been called into serious question by prosecutors because of lies they say she told during her immigration application and at other times.

While prosecutors now express severe doubts about the strength of their case, this account is suggestive of a serious sexual assault, which led prosecutors to charge Mr. Strauss-Kahn with attempted rape and sexual abuse.

There are a couple of sentences in the report, however, that the defense could focus on, most notably one that could be interpreted as the housekeeper’s saying that after the alleged attack, she observed Mr. Strauss-Kahn, 62, getting dressed — something that would run counter to her later version of what happened.

Although the Manhattan district attorney’s office agreed last week to release Mr. Strauss-Kahn from house arrest, prosecutors said they still believed that there was evidence of a forcible sexual attack.

Most of their problems with the case, they said, had to do not with the woman’s account of the attack, but rather with inconsistencies in her life story — lies she told on her asylum application and tax returns; deposits that were made to a bank account in her name; and a conversation she had with a man in federal custody in Arizona.

The one major discrepancy that prosecutors have pointed out in the woman’s version of the attack is that in her grand jury testimony, she said she waited in the hallway for Mr. Strauss-Kahn to leave after the attack. But she has since told investigators that she cleaned a nearby room after the attack, according to the prosecution.

The account given to the rape counselor stands out for its detail.

According to the counselor’s notes, the woman said a room service attendant had told her that no one was in the suite. As soon as the housekeeper walked in, she told the counselor, a man, “naked, with ‘white hair,’?” locked the door behind her and pushed her onto the bed.

He “put his penis into her mouth briefly,” the report said. She told him to stop and tried to get away, according to the report, but he pulled her toward the bathroom. He put his hands under her clothes and touched her crotch area, the report said. After she fell to the carpeted floor, according to the report, Mr. Strauss-Kahn again forced her to perform oral sex, grabbing her by the hair and controlling her head with force.

The woman’s lawyer, Kenneth P. Thompson, has since said the housekeeper suffered bruising to her vagina during the episode.

She spit onto the carpet once the sexual encounter was over, according to the report. Then, the report said, the patient “reports he got dressed” and “left the room, and that he said nothing to her during the incident.”

Those sentences raise the question of exactly where the woman was when Mr. Strauss-Kahn got dressed. If she was in the room, it would not be consistent with the two versions she has told investigators, both of which have her fleeing the room after the attack. It also raises the question of what communication they had with each other if Mr. Strauss-Kahn did not speak.

The lawyer William W. Taylor III, who along with Benjamin Brafman is representing Mr. Strauss-Kahn, declined to comment.

The report continues that the woman washed out her mouth with water. The woman also told her supervisor that there was blood on the bedsheets but that it did not belong to her, the report said. The woman was interviewed by Special Victims Squad detectives at the hospital and called her daughter, the report said.

Daniel R. Alonso, the chief assistant to the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., also declined to comment.

But in interviews over the weekend, prosecutors in the office have maintained that they have done what they are supposed to do, given the evidence they had at each step of the case.

“We’re doing our job,” said Joan Illuzzi-Orbon, the lead prosecutor on the Strauss-Kahn case. “We don’t get paid by indictment. We don’t get paid by convictions. We get paid to do the right thing.”

View the original article here

Murky Identities and Ties Hinder NATO’s Hunt for Afghan Insurgents, Report Says

A report by the Afghan Analysts Network challenges the accuracy of American intelligence used in what are known as targeted killings, and makes a case study of the killing of an alleged Qaeda-affiliated operative in Takhar Province who was attacked by NATO jets as he traveled in a convoy through a rural area. The report offers evidence that NATO forces got the wrong man and that the insurgent commander they were seeking is alive in Pakistan — an interview with him is included in the report.

However, NATO officials stand by their account and the intelligence it was based on, and insist that they got the man they were seeking, Mohammed Amin.

“In this instance, multiple forms of intelligence confirm that coalition forces targeted the correct person after tracking his activities for nearly six months,” said Lt. Col. John Dorrian, a NATO spokesman. Colonel Dorrian said the evidence included confirmation from a family member and “additional intelligence” showing that Mr. Amin had operated as a so-called shadow governor in Takhar on behalf of Taliban insurgents.

The other report, by Human Rights First, examines the growing number of detainees and the legal rights accorded them at the detention facility in Parwan, which replaced the detention area at Bagram air base. As of April 23, the Parwan facility housed 1,750 detainees, according to Cmdr. Pamela Kunze, a spokeswoman for the American military’s detention operations here.

The report notes a number of improvements in detention operations, but emphasizes that many detainees insist they were taken into custody based on false intelligence and that they take that view back to their villages when released. Detainees remain unable to see much of the evidence used to apprehend them or hold them for unlimited periods of time.

“In the view of their families and communities, the United States is arbitrarily detaining people based on false intelligence,” the reports says.

Underpinning both reports is the difficulty of obtaining accurate information about whether people are who they say. It is a problem faced by foreigners working here, whether as diplomats, aid workers, journalists or human rights workers. The United States government and other countries’ governments have repeatedly entered into contracts with corrupt people and paid off rights abusers thinking they were legitimate actors.

“We need to be careful,” said Nadir Nadiry, the deputy director of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission. “Sometimes I’ve gone face to face with NATO because we talked to the families and it seems clear that people had been wrongly killed or detained, and then it was countered by information that shows I was na?ve,” he said.

There have been substantial improvements, but NATO still makes mistakes, he said. “Our findings show that in the last year, it has been much more precise in terms of what the community and people are telling us,” Mr. Nadiry said. “Most of the time, they hit the right target, but yes, sometimes it goes wrong.”

The incident recounted in the Afghan Analysts report occurred on Sept. 2. NATO jets bombed a convoy carrying the man who was alleged to be working with the Taliban in Takhar Province.

The bombs killed him and killed or wounded 8 to 12 others, believed to be insurgents, according to a NATO statement at the time.

Within hours it became clear that at least one person in the convoy was a candidate for Parliament, who was wounded. He insisted that the other people in the convoy were campaign workers accompanying him to three village rallies. NATO’s target was his uncle, who was helping to support his campaign, he said. The government of President Hamid Karzai and the local provincial government said much the same.

The report by Afghan Analysts traces the uncle’s life, in which he fought at various times on different sides and was captured and tortured by different groups. But in the period shortly before his death, he was living peacefully in Kabul. According to the report, a Taliban leader active in Takhar, whom the man knew, used his name as an alias, adding a further layer of confusion and leaving the overall sense that a number of players have such shifting allegiances and identities that it may be nearly impossible to make accurate

Syrians Report Shelling of City and Mass Arrests

。

The shelling, most intense between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m., appeared to mark a further escalation in the crackdown.

“The situation is so bad this morning,” Abu Haydar, a resident there, said by telephone. “It’s been continuous shelling since Sunday.”

?He said he spent the night in a basement and described the city as paralyzed, with only grocery stores and pharmacies daring to open. Checkpoints had proliferated through the city, with security forces checking residents’ identity documents, Mr. Haydar said.

The Syrian government widened its crackdown on Tuesday to include more cities and towns. Activists said army troops, backed by tanks, entered Hama, in central Syria, and several southern villages near Dara’a, the impoverished and besieged town in a region known as the Houran that has become a symbol of the uprising.

“The big question now is what’s next,” said Wissam Tarif, executive director of Insan, a Syrian human rights group. “They are about to announce victory, but what will happen when they pull the troops out?”

At least seven people were killed in demonstrations on Monday night — three in Maadamiyah, a Damascus suburb, and four in Deir al Zour, a town in northeastern Syria, he said.

“The people are very angry and they swear they will be protesting again,” a resident who lives near Othman bin Affan mosque in Deir al Zour said by telephone. The protesters were killed in front of the mosque, which security forces closed two weeks ago to worshipers to prevent them from organizing demonstrations.

Heavy gunfire was also heard Tuesday in at least four southern villages, including Inkhil, Dael, Jassem, Sanamein and Nawa. Activists reported casualties though the numbers were difficult to ascertain, given the difficulties in communication and the Syrian government’s suppression of independent news gathering. Phones have been cut in most besieged towns and cities.

The military operations came as activists called for daily protests across the country on the Facebook page of Syrian Revolution 2011, an Internet-based opposition group.

“The Tuesday of solidarity with prisoners of conscience in the jails of the Syrian criminal regime,” the page said. “The demonstration will continue every day.”

In the capital, Damascus, security forces reinforced their presence, setting up more checkpoints and sending out more patrols, residents there reported. The measures came after 250 people, including university students and professionals, staged a small demonstration on Monday night in Arnoua Square in the heart of the city. The protesters, holding banners that read, “Stop the siege on our cities,” and, “A national dialogue is the solution,” were quickly dispersed by plainclothes police officers. Thirty-two of them were detained, Mr. Tarif said.

Protesters in Homs said they are planning a demonstration, even as the city reels under heavy security measures.

“We are changing strategies,” said Mr. Haydar, the resident in Homs reached by telephone. “We don’t want to reveal the location of our gathering. We want to surprise the security forces.” At least two neighborhoods have been completely isolated, with phones, electricity and water cut and no one allowed to enter or leave, Mr. Haydar said.

The army was also conducting operations in cities along the Mediterranean coast, including Baniyas and Jabla, both under siege for several days. In Baniyas, 63 people have been arrested since Monday night, bringing the total number arrested since Saturday to 419, Mr. Tarif said.

Meanwhile, Dorothy Parvez, a reporter who works for Al Jazeera English, the Qatar-based satellite channel, left Syria aboard a Ukrainian Airways flight headed to Iran on May 2, Bouthaina Shaaban, an adviser to Mr. Assad, said on Monday. She said Ms. Parvez had entered the country on April 29 on her Iranian passport.

Al Jazeera has reported that she was detained by Syrian authorities and, in an e-mailed statement Tuesday, it said it had nothing new to add.

 

Syrians Report Shelling of City and Mass Arrests

。

The shelling, most intense between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m., appeared to mark a further escalation in the crackdown.

“The situation is so bad this morning,” Abu Haydar, a resident there, said by telephone. “It’s been continuous shelling since Sunday.”

?He said he spent the night in a basement and described the city as paralyzed, with only grocery stores and pharmacies daring to open. Checkpoints had proliferated through the city, with security forces checking residents’ identity documents, Mr. Haydar said.

The Syrian government widened its crackdown on Tuesday to include more cities and towns. Activists said army troops, backed by tanks, entered Hama, in central Syria, and several southern villages near Dara’a, the impoverished and besieged town in a region known as the Houran that has become a symbol of the uprising.

“The big question now is what’s next,” said Wissam Tarif, executive director of Insan, a Syrian human rights group. “They are about to announce victory, but what will happen when they pull the troops out?”

At least seven people were killed in demonstrations on Monday night — three in Maadamiyah, a Damascus suburb, and four in Deir al Zour, a town in northeastern Syria, he said.

“The people are very angry and they swear they will be protesting again,” a resident who lives near Othman bin Affan mosque in Deir al Zour said by telephone. The protesters were killed in front of the mosque, which security forces closed two weeks ago to worshipers to prevent them from organizing demonstrations.

Heavy gunfire was also heard Tuesday in at least four southern villages, including Inkhil, Dael, Jassem, Sanamein and Nawa. Activists reported casualties though the numbers were difficult to ascertain, given the difficulties in communication and the Syrian government’s suppression of independent news gathering. Phones have been cut in most besieged towns and cities.

The military operations came as activists called for daily protests across the country on the Facebook page of Syrian Revolution 2011, an Internet-based opposition group.

“The Tuesday of solidarity with prisoners of conscience in the jails of the Syrian criminal regime,” the page said. “The demonstration will continue every day.”

In the capital, Damascus, security forces reinforced their presence, setting up more checkpoints and sending out more patrols, residents there reported. The measures came after 250 people, including university students and professionals, staged a small demonstration on Monday night in Arnoua Square in the heart of the city. The protesters, holding banners that read, “Stop the siege on our cities,” and, “A national dialogue is the solution,” were quickly dispersed by plainclothes police officers. Thirty-two of them were detained, Mr. Tarif said.

Protesters in Homs said they are planning a demonstration, even as the city reels under heavy security measures.

“We are changing strategies,” said Mr. Haydar, the resident in Homs reached by telephone. “We don’t want to reveal the location of our gathering. We want to surprise the security forces.” At least two neighborhoods have been completely isolated, with phones, electricity and water cut and no one allowed to enter or leave, Mr. Haydar said.

The army was also conducting operations in cities along the Mediterranean coast, including Baniyas and Jabla, both under siege for several days. In Baniyas, 63 people have been arrested since Monday night, bringing the total number arrested since Saturday to 419, Mr. Tarif said.

Meanwhile, Dorothy Parvez, a reporter who works for Al Jazeera English, the Qatar-based satellite channel, left Syria aboard a Ukrainian Airways flight headed to Iran on May 2, Bouthaina Shaaban, an adviser to Mr. Assad, said on Monday. She said Ms. Parvez had entered the country on April 29 on her Iranian passport.

Al Jazeera has reported that she was detained by Syrian authorities and, in an e-mailed statement Tuesday, it said it had nothing new to add.

 

Businesses report rising orders

 8 May 2011 Last updated at 23:47 GMT  Service and manufacturing sectors both experienced growth in April Scottish businesses registered a strengthening pace of growth last month, latest figures suggest.

The Bank of Scotland's purchasing managers index (PMI) has risen since March and at a faster rate than the rest of the UK.

In seven out of nine English regions, growth slowed.

New orders for Scottish businesses were up for the fourth consecutive month, but job creation has slowed and inflation pressures remain strong.

The Bank of Scotland survey found the weakest performing sector was tourism and leisure, while manufacturing exports remained relatively strong.

The bank monitors activity in the manufacturing and service industries on a monthly basis.

Overall, the pace of new business growth for April was unchanged on March's three-and-a-half year high.

Donald MacRae, chief economist at Bank of Scotland, said: "The latest PMI shows that the recovery is back on track with a fourth consecutive month of expansion.

"The latest PMI data also continued to highlight marked growth in new orders.

"It is particularly pleasing to see broad-based growth across both the services and manufacturing sectors."

Anecdotal evidence from survey respondents was also said to indicate improving market conditions, successful promotional campaigns and strong export sales had all contributed to the rise.