Individual government officials "had their own authority," the 61-year-old Duvalier said when asked about his role as head of state from 1971 to 1986. "Under my authority, children could go to school, there was no insecurity."

---

Duvalier, who had boycotted three previous court hearings, struck a mostly defiant tone during a four-hour grilling by a panel of three judges in a packed and sweltering courtroom.

Duvalier, dressed in a navy-blue suit and tie, slipped into the courthouse unescorted early on Thursday, arriving in his own car several hours before the hearing started accompanied by his longtime companion Veronique Roy. 

'Long live Duvalier'
Hundreds of Duvalier supporters gathered outside the courthouse soon after his arrival, some dancing and chanting "Long live Duvalier."

The pretrial Appeal Court hearing was held to determine what charges Duvalier may have to face. It is the first time he has personally been required to address crimes allegedly committed during his rule. 

International human rights observers are closely watching the case and consider it an important test of Haiti's weak justice system after decades of dictatorship, military rule and economic mayhem.

"Whatever happens next, Haitians will remember the image of their former dictator having to answer questions about the repression carried out under his rule," said Reed Brody, a spokesman for Human Rights Watch. 

During the hearing Duvalier was asked by the judges about more than a dozen of the most notorious cases involving alleged extra-judicial killings and detention of political prisoners.

'Calm, almost indifferent'
"He was asked tough questions and his answers were mostly evasive," said Amanda Klasing, a researcher with Human Rights Watch who attended the hearing.

"He was very calm, almost indifferent. His facial expression didn't change at all," she said.

Several alleged victims were in court and expressed satisfaction that he had finally appeared.

"He will have to face history in court, just like other dictators around the world are facing," said Alix Fils-Aime, who was imprisoned by Duvalier's government.

The hearing was adjourned in the afternoon and is set to resume next Thursday.

Reynold Georges, who heads Duvalier's legal team, had argued unsuccessfully at a hearing last week that his client's presence in court was not required.

Duvalier was briefly detained on charges of corruption, theft and misappropriation of funds after returning to the impoverished Caribbean nation in January 2011 following a 25-year exile in France. Those charges are still pending.

Separate charges of crimes against humanity filed by alleged victims of wrongful imprisonment, forced disappearances and torture under Duvalier, were set aside by a judge last year because the statute of limitations had run out. 

But the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, has warned Haitian authorities that there is no statute of limitations under international law for serious violations of human rights.

Return from exile
Critics say prosecutors have been too lenient in Duvalier's case. President Michel Martelly's government recently renewed Duvalier's diplomatic passport, saying he was entitled to it as a former head of state.

Duvalier, who inherited the title "President For Life" at the age of 19, is alleged to have fled Haiti with more than $100 million stashed in European bank accounts in 1986 after street demonstrations and riots broke out in a number of cities. 

His departure ended nearly three decades of dictatorship begun by his father, François "Papa Doc" Duvalier, in 1957. 

The Duvaliers enforced their rule with the aid of a feared militia, the National Security Volunteers, better known as the "Tonton Macoutes," who were blamed for hundreds of deaths and disappearances. 

Soon after he returned to Haiti in 2011, taking up residence in a villa in a posh suburb in the hills above the capital Port-au-Prince, Duvalier issued a brief apology "to those countrymen who rightly feel they were victims of my government," the first public recognition of abuses under his rule. 

While in exile, Duvalier acknowledged privately that killers in his government went unpunished, according to Bernard Diederich, a New Zealand-born journalist and author of several books on Haiti, including a biography of the younger Duvalier. 

"He always passed the blame to others," said Diederich, who conducted four long interviews with Duvalier in the late 1990s.

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

News Analysis 

Nearly two years after the Syrian uprising began, Secretary of State John Kerry announced the U.S. has for the first time agreed to directly supply Syria's opposition with $60 million in non-lethal aid. But, while this money is needed, it is unlikely to immediately change anything on the ground. 

Speaking under the condition of anonymity, supporters of the opposition working to topple Syrian President Bashar al Assad said they were privately disappointed that the U.S. didn't extend more assistance, specifically weapons, and that the EU has not yet lifted an arms embargo.

---

But the concern among U.S. officials is that extremist elements are increasingly filling in the vacuum in areas where the regime has been pushed back and the opposition is struggling to govern. There are worries weapons could end up in the wrong hands.

According to Salman Sheikh, director of the Brookings Doha Center, Kerry’s announcement is "unlikely to change the calculation of the Syrian regime's biggest allies — Russia, Iran and Hezbollah." They will not take the U.S. decision as a serious threat to the regime's survival. 

Sheikh, who has advocated for arming the rebels, says $60 million is an insignificant amount for an opposition that is now expected to operate like a government in some parts of Syria. The salaries of civil servants who are expected to maintain law and order, as well as the country’s justice, sanitation and education services, can cost close to $500 million a month. And Sheikh estimates humanitarian assistance to meet the needs of the people displaced and suffering both inside and outside is about $40 million a day.

The U.S. aid package, which will assist the Syrian Opposition Coalition in 'liberated' areas, is aimed at helping the fledgling coalition expand the delivery of basic goods and services, including security, sanitation and educational services. The United States also will send technical advisers to support opposition staff in Egypt and work with the movement's military arm to provide non-lethal support to the Free Syrian Army, including things such as military rations and medical supplies to tend to sick and wounded fighters.

Foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia and Qatar described Thursday's announcement as a transformational point in the Syrian conflict. And British Foreign Secretary William Hague said his government would be making an announcement on additional aid to the opposition next week. 

However, Yaser Tabbara, the spokesperson for the Coalition and its legal advisor, said Kerry’s Rome meeting with the head of the Syrian National Coalition, Moaz al Khatib, gave reason for "cautious" optimism.

The Syrian opposition is under increasing pressure to deliver a solution but doing so requires substantial "investment in the infrastructure of the armed opposition," Tabbara said. "A political solution without tipping the balance of power on the ground is not viable."

The Syrian opposition had promised to form an interim government by March 2 but that has been postponed for logistical reasons. 

Meanwhile, Syria's official government news agency described Kerry's announcement as a paradox, saying it expressed "Washington's desire to find means to speed up the political process, which aims at ending the crisis in Syria and its desire to help and back the armed terrorist groups in the country."

Related:

U.S. to send rations, medical supplies to Syrian rebels, but not weapons

 

With Benedict XVI's abdication taking effect Thursday, the Roman Catholic Church has no pope until the conclave of cardinals settles on a new one. Like many other procedures of the church, the rules for running the institution during this period are ancient and little-known. Here are answers to questions you might have about exactly what happens when the papacy changes hands:

Who's in charge now?
When a monarch leaves, the period before the new king or queen takes over is called an interregnum. In the Roman Catholic Church, it's called a sede vacante (or "empty seat"). The Cardinal Chamberlain, or Camerlengo — currently Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone — is in charge of running the church, working with three cardinal assistants who are chosen at random and are replaced every three days.

---

Why did the pope use a helicopter?
Benedict headed off to a temporary retirement home at Castel Gandolfo, the summer papal retreat, while his permanent home on the Vatican grounds is renovated. To get there, he took a helicopter. Pope Paul VI started the tradition in 1975 purely for practical reasons: The ancient Appian Way — the only way to get there by car — is narrow and a traffic nightmare.

Benedict has a pilot's license, and he's been known to fly the chopper himself on visits to Castel Gandolfo. That didn't happen this time.

Who's going with him?
Benedict's private secretary, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, accompanies him to Castel Gandolfo and will continue as head of his household. At the same time, he'll continue to play an important role in the affairs of the new pope, an arrangement that has raised questions about the possible division of his loyalties. (As in all other matters, of course, the new pope could reassign Gänswein for any reason.)

Watch World News videos on NBCNews.com

Federico Lombardi, the Vatican's spokesman, said the arrangement was likely chosen for the sake of simplicity.

"I believe it was well thought out," he said.

Not staying with Benedict are the famous Swiss Guards. Regular Vatican police now are responsible for his security.

Why isn't Benedict going back to being a cardinal?
There's no modern precedent for what to do with a living ex-pope, so the Vatican has essentially been making new procedures on the fly. 

According to the Vatican's Code of Canon Law, "cardinal" isn't actually a job. It's an honor bestowed upon a bishop or archbishop, which remains his formal job. When Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI, he ceased being a cardinal and assumed the duties of bishop of Rome. The new pope takes on that title. Hence the Vatican's decision to bestow upon Benedict the unprecedented honorific of "pope emeritus."

Does he get to keep the robe?
Yes, but not the red shoes or the ornamental fur fringe. Those are reserved for the active pope. 

Although it's been widely reported that the red "shoes of the fisherman" are made by Prada, they're not, the Vatican says. They're made by the pope's personal cobbler. ("The Pope, in summary, does not wear Prada, but Christ," it said.) Regardless, they're still quite eye-catching: In 2007, Esquire listed Benedict among the world's best-dressed men — mainly for his red shoes. "The point is: Have a signature," it said.

Benedict also relinquished the gold "ring of the fisherman," which is personally made for every pope. In accordance with tradition, it's to be smashed with a silver hammer by Bertoni, the camerlengo, to keep it from being used to forge documents. Benedict's personal seal will be broken for the same reason.

What happens to @Pontifex?
Benedict was the first wired pope — the first to have an iPod, the first to have a cellphone (it's engraved with his coat of arms, the Vatican says) and the first to have a Twitter account.

This was Benedict's final tweet Thursday (because the account was wiped clean in preparation for its next user, there's no link):

Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said the @Pontifex handle will be turned over to the next pope, who may do with it whatever he pleases.

How do they make the black and white smoke?
Short answer: with difficulty.

After each vote of the papal conclave, the cardinals' ballots are burned. If the vote produces a new pope, the ballots are burned alone, which is supposed to produce a white smoke. If the vote's unsuccessful, a chemical compound is added that's supposed to turn the smoke black.

The official Vatican history says that traditionally, wet straw was used to produce black smoke, but that produced too many false alarms during the election of Pope John XXIII in 1958, so in 1963, the Vatican turned to science. 

(Covering the gray-smoke mixup in 1958, The Associated Press wrote: "So great was the confusion on that Sunday — there were two false alarms — that conclave marshal Sigismondo Chigi told reporters he would have the cardinals briefed 'in the hope that something can be done to remedy the situation Monday.'" The Vatican says it will also ring bells this time to make it clearer when a new pope is chosen.) 

Does the pope have to take a new name?
Not necessarily; it's an ancient tradition, not a law. Until 533, popes used their own names. But that year, a priest named Mercurius of Rome was elected. He was named for the Roman god Mercury, which was  obviously inappropriate for the leader of the Christian church, so he took the name John II. (The Catholic Encyclopedia notes that "the basilica of St. Clement still retains several memorials of 'Johannes surnamed Mercurius.'")

Almost every pope since then has adopted a so-called regnal name.

Lou Dubois and Mary Lou Ahern of NBC News contributed to this report.

Related:

• Cheers and tears as Benedict flies to temporary home in hilltop town
• Inside Castel Gandolfo, Pope Benedict's spectacular temporary retirement home
• How the pope's retirement package compares to yours

As March Madness looms, a religious news website has created its own bracket for the papal conclave featuring not basketball teams but a "Sweet Sistine" of cardinals who could become pope.

The topical online contest was devised by the non-profit Religion News Service, part of the University of Missouri School of Journalism.

---

It came as the world’s cardinals gathered in Rome to see Pope Benedict depart the Vatican for the last time as pontiff Thursday.

They are expected to begin the process of choosing his successor at the Vatican from early next week.

By late Thursday more than 7,000 had 'played' in the first round of the poll, which pits New York's Archbishop, Cardinal Timothy Dolan against Boston’s Cardinal Sean O'Malley and Canada’s Marc Ouellet against Mexico's Norberto Rivera.

First round voting ends at midnight ET on Friday. You can play the game, and see the early results, here.

To boost your chances, there’s insight on some of the contenders here.

Related:

Inside Castel Gandolfo, Pope Benedict's spectacular temporary retirement home

'Amateur hour': Vatican conclave drama is one for the history books, experts say

Inside the Vatican: The $8 billion global institution where nuns answer the phones

 

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is clinging to life, according to the country's vice president.

"The commander is fighting for his health, for his life," Nicolas Maduro said on national TV Thursday.

The statement comes 10 days after Chavez returned to Venezuela from Cuba where he had received two months of treatment for his most recent bout with cancer.

---

Later on Thursday, Maduro addressed the country's national assembly, but while the expectations grew that he would say something new about Chavez' health, he stuck to the same message, saying his boss "is battling there for his health, for his life, and we're accompanying him."

It was the clearest public indication to date of the severity of the president's condition.

On Feb. 15, the Venezuelan government released photos of Chavez in a bed in Cuba wit his two daughters by his side. The photographs were the only images of him seen since December.

As expected by many Latin American analysts, Maduro's speech to the assembly has a propagandist tone.

During his address, Maduro praised Chavez' patriotism and dedication and blamed the U.S. for the destruction caused by the drug war, saying American consumers are to blame and the DEA is "the largest drug cartel in the world."

Upon his return to his home country, Chavez was transported to a hospital in the nation's capital, Caracas.

Maduro's statements on Thursday contradicted earlier press reports that the populist leader had died but signaled that the prognosis was grim.

Chavez disappeared from the public eye in December to be treated for cancer, but Venezuelans have not been informed of what type of cancer he suffers from, nor the severity. The president was too ill to attend his inauguration in January.

The president has made repeated trips to Cuba for treatment since 2011 and had not apparently cultivated a protégé to succeed him, sparking criticism that he had created a power vacuum.

The former paratrooper, who has been in power since 1999, has been a thorn in the side of Washington, espousing leftist and anti-American policies, and maintaining close ties with Havana.

NBC News' Erika Angulo contributed to this report.

FORT MEADE, Md. – A military judge on Thursday accepted guilty pleas by  Army Pfc. Bradley Manning to 10 lesser charges against him, leaving the ex-intelligence analyst to face 12 other counts for allegedly leaking hundreds of thousands of government documents to the WikiLeaks website. 

The acceptance of the "naked guilty pleas" -- meaning there is no agreement between the government and the defense that would limit the sentence – at a pre-trial hearing means that Manning faces up to 20 years in prison, even if he is ultimately acquitted of the most-serious charges against him. 

Col. Denise Lind, the military judge presiding over the case, also accepted Manning’s “not guilty” pleas to the remaining charges, including "aiding the enemy." His court martial on those charges, which carry a maximum sentence of life in prison, is scheduled to begin on June 3. 

During the day-long pre-trial hearing, Manning acknowledged that his actions were a discredit to the service and that he knew WikiLeaks was not authorized to have the information he provided. 

At one point when Lind asked him whether he knew what he was doing was wrong, he answered simply, "Yes, your honor."

---

More than an hour of Thursday's hearing was consumed by Manning's composed reading of a 35-page prepared statement that offered his first public explanation of his motives for leaking the government documents to WikiLeaks. He said he did so to “spark domestic debate” on foreign policy and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Manning painted himself as a young man with an "insatiable thirst for geopolitical information" and a desire for the world to know the truth about what was happening in Iraq and Afghanistan. But he said he became increasingly disillusioned after being sent to Iraq by actions that "didn't seem characteristic" of the U.S., the leader of free world.

Manning said under oath that the first documents he sent to WikiLeaks in early 2012 were the combined information data network exchanges for Iraq and Afghanistan, which he described as the daily journals of the "on-the-ground reality" of the conflicts in Iran and Afghanistan. 

He said he sent the information while on leave and staying at his aunt's house in Potomac, Md., using a public computer at a Barnes & Noble store in Rockville or North Bethesda. He said included a brief note calling the information the most significant documents of our time, and closing with, "Have a good day." 

He said he tried to send the information to the Washington Post and the New York Times before turning to WikiLeaks.  He said he later sent information to WikiLeaks eight other times from his personal laptop at Contingency Base Hammer in Iraq. 

Manning is facing 22 criminal charges that include "aiding the enemy" and could face a life sentence if convicted of the most serious charges. 

Manning said he decided to release the first batch information because he was depressed and frustrated, and felt "a sense of relief" when he returned to Iraq. He said he finally had a "clear conscience" because someone else knew what was happening. 

His most detailed explanation involved the release of aerial weapons team video showing airstrikes that killed some Iraqi civilians and several Reuters journalists.

“It was troubling to me" that the U.S. military in Iraq wouldn't release the video, he said. Also disturbing was the "seemingly delightful blood lust" exhibited when members of the air crew referred to the civilians as "dead bastards" and congratulated one another on their ability to kill large numbers of people. He said he was encouraged by the public response, that others were "as troubled" as he was.

In addition to the charge of aiding the enemy, Manning pleaded not guilty to counts alleging theft of U.S documents or videos -- including allegations that he stole the list of all of the emails and phone numbers of U.S. military and personnel in Iraq at the time -- unauthorized access of that information and downloading unauthorized software onto government computers.

The charges to which he pleaded guilty included intentionally causing intelligence information to be published on the Internet, improper handling of classified information and counts of conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline.

Specifically, Manning acknowledged that he had unauthorized possession of information, that he willfully communicated it, and that he communicated it to an unauthorized person. However, he only acknowledged that for nine specific files or pieces of information, including: 

• Combat engagement video of a helicopter gunship;
• Two Army intelligence agency memos;
• Certain records of the combined information data network exchange Iraq (which tracks all significant acts and patrol reports);
• Combined information data network exchange Afghanistan records;
• Some SOUTHCOM files dealing with Guantanamo Bay;
• An investigation into an incident in a village in Farah, Afghanistan; 
• Some Department of State cables.

Related story: WikiLeaks case: Bradley Manning seeks first public statement on motive

At his court martial, Manning’s defense is expected to argue that he considered himself a "whistleblower" and released the documents with "no malicious intent" or the intent to do "any harm to anyone." The government contends the release of the documents put some lives at risks, including the names of Afghans who were working with the U.S. military and intelligence.

Jim Miklaszewski is NBC News’ Chief Pentagon Correspondent and Courtney Kube is NBC News’ National Security Producer.  

 

This story was originally published on Thu Feb 28, 2013 11:00 AM EST

LONDON — The mastermind behind Britain's "Great Train Robbery," a 1963 heist that turned its perpetrators into celebrities, has died at age 81, local media reported Thursday.

Bruce Reynolds died in his sleep at his home in London after a period of ill health, reports from news media including the BBC said, citing comments from Reynolds' son, Nick.

---

His death came just months before the 50th anniversary of the Great Train Robbery, which was at the time Britain's largest robbery.

In August 1963, Reynolds, along with an 11-member gang, tampered with railway track signals and stopped a Royal Mail night train travelling from Glasgow to London carrying letters, parcels and large amounts of cash.

Reynolds and his men stormed the train and made off with 2.6 million pounds, equivalent to about 40 million pounds or $61 million in today's money.

Train driver Jack Mills was struck over the head during the robbery. He died seven years later, and many people believed the injuries he sustained during the heist contributed to his death.

Most of the gang members were caught and given prison sentences totaling more than 300 years, but Reynolds evaded capture, fleeing Britain with his wife and son. He spent five years as a fugitive in places as far afield as Canada and Mexico.

On his return to Britain, Reynolds was caught by police and sentenced to 25 years in prison, of which he served just 10.

Reynolds later found fame as an author after penning his memoirs, titled "Autobiography of a Thief." 

His accomplice Ronnie Biggs achieved similar notoriety after he escaped from the prison where he was serving a 30-year jail sentence for his part in the robbery.

Biggs spent 36 years on the run, leading a playboy lifestyle in South America, before finally surrendering to British police in 2001. Biggs was freed in 2009 on health grounds.

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Somalia’s president has offered an amnesty to young pirates amid a "drastic" fall in the number of attacks off East Africa.

In an interview with the AFP news agency Wednesday, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said that he wanted to offer an "alternative means of earning a living" to young Somalis caught up in the lucrative business of hijacking ships and yachts, then ransoming the passengers and crew.

---

"We have been negotiating with the pirates indirectly through the elders," Mohamud said. "Piracy has to end."

But he stressed the amnesty offer did not apply to senior pirates. “We are not giving them amnesty, the amnesty is for the boys,” he said

Captain Pottengal Mukundan, director of the International Maritime Bureau, which monitors piracy, said Thursday that there had been a "very drastic decrease" in the number of attacks of East Africa.

He said there had been just two attacks in the area so far this year, compared to 30 in January and February last year, a trend he described as "very, very positive."

The two recent attacks were unsuccessful and suspects in both incidents were later apprehended by international naval forces that patrol the seas off the Horn of Africa.

However, Mukundan stressed that "we cannot become complacent."

"There’s still a very high possibility that, if the guard is let down, attacks will happen," he said.

'Alternative jobs'
He said the naval presence in the area was one of the main reasons behind the drop in attacks.

Mukundan said pirates known to be guilty of attacks should be prosecuted, but added that an amnesty had worked well when it was tried in Nigeria in 2010.

"A number of militants who also doubled up as pirates and robbers did law down their weapons and look for alternative jobs," he said.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement that five Somali men had been found guilty of "engaging in piracy and committing other offenses" in an attack on the USS Ashland on April 10, 2010.

According to their defense, the men were returning home in a skiff after taking refugees from Somalia to Yemen. The lawyers said they needed help and an AK-47 was fired toward Ashland to get its attention. Ashland returned fire, killing one and setting the skiff on fire.

"These men were pirates — plain and simple," U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride said in the statement. "They attacked a ship hoping to hold it ransom for millions of dollars. Few crimes are older than piracy on the high seas, and today’s verdict shows that the United States takes it very seriously."

George Venizelos, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York Field Office, said the five men were "headed where they belong: to federal prison."

"Let this send a clear message of deterrence to anyone who threatens those who traverse the high seas," he said.

The five, who face life in prison, are due to be sentenced in July.

Related:

Somali pirate kingpin says he's giving up hijacking; UN skeptical

World sea piracy falls to lowest level since 2008

Hostages freed by Somali pirates after nearly 3 years in captivity

JOHANNESBURG — His hands are tied to the rear of a police van while his body lies behind it, on the ground. The van speeds off, dragging the slender man along the pavement as a onlookers shout in dismay and at least one records the scene. He is later found dead in a police cell.

It's a gut-wrenching video, made all the more disturbing by the fact that the men who carried out the abuse were uniformed South African police officers and the van was a marked police vehicle. The Daily Sun, a South African newspaper, posted the footage Thursday, and it was quickly picked up by other South African news outlets and carried on the Internet. It sparked immediate outrage.

---

Some of those in the crowd who watched the scene unfold in a township east of Johannesburg shouted at the police and warned that it was being videotaped. The police did not seem at all concerned as they tied Mido Macia, a 27-year-old taxi driver from neighboring Mozambique, to the back of a police vehicle, his hands behind his head, his buttocks on the ground. At least three policemen participated in the incident. Macia was found dead in a police cell late Tuesday in the Daveyton township east of Johannesburg.

The Independent Police Investigative Directorate, the police watchdog agency, said Thursday that a murder probe is under way and that Macia suffered head and other injuries, including internal bleeding.

'What has this guy done?'
The graphic footage renewed concerns about brutality, corruption and other misconduct by a national police force whose reputation has suffered in recent years amid reports that many officers lack training. Some have been charged with committing the crimes they are supposed to prevent, including rape and murder.

"We are going to film this," several onlookers shouted in Zulu as the police tormented Macia. One bystander can be heard on the videotape shouting in Zulu: "What has this guy done?"

At first, Macia, dressed in jeans and a red T-shirt, is dragged along the road by the vehicle at slow speed, the footage shows. He awkwardly tries to keep step even though he is almost horizontal above the ground. Then the van stops, two policemen pick up the legs of the taxi driver and drop them to the ground as the van picks up speed and drives off, beyond the view of the camera.

The police watchdog agency said the incident started just before 7 p.m. on Tuesday when the cab driver was allegedly obstructing traffic with his vehicle. Then, Macia allegedly assaulted a constable and took his weapon before he was overpowered, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate said in a statement.

Macia was found dead over two hours later by another policeman, according to the watchdog agency.

In a statement, the police force said National Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega "strongly condemned" what happened. The statement said people are "urged to remain vigilant and continue to report all acts of crime irrespective of who is involved."

Phiyega has sought to upgrade the reputation of the South African police. Last month, Phiyega told a group of police officials the standing of the force "has been severely but not irreparably tarnished over the past several years."

Related:

Full South Africa coverage from NBC News

To a chorus of bells and a ripple of applause from his closest advisers, Pope Benedict XVI departed the Vatican for the last time as pontiff Thursday.

He emerged from the Apostolic Palace and was saluted by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican secretary of state, and other senior staff members in the St. Damaso Courtyard before being driven to his helicopter for the journey to his lavish temporary residence.

---

A crowd of well-wishers was waiting to greet him from the piazza when he arrived by helicopter at his temporary residence at Castel Gandolfo, which is about 20 miles south-east of Rome.

They chanted his name in Italian and cheered wildly as he appeared from the balcony of the building. Some were moved to tears.

"Thank you for your friendship," he said. "I am just a pilgrim."

To coincide with his 5 p.m. local time (11 a.m ET) departure, a final message was posted to the pontiff's official Twitter account.

"Thank you for your love and support," it said. "May you always experience the joy that comes from putting Christ at the centre of your lives."

Although the pope has a helicopter pilot’s licence, the chopper was flown by an Italian air force pilot, as is customary.

Due to join the pontiff on the 15-minute flight were his personal secretaries Archbishop Georg Ganswein and Monsignor Alfred Xuereb, along with Monsignor Leonardo Sapienza, the deputy prefect of the papal household, Professor Patrizio Polisca who is the pope's personal physician, and Sandro Mariotti, the pope's butler.

It was a quiet departure, characteristic of his shy demeanor, giving little hint of the historical significance of the event — the first of its kind for almost six centuries.

Earlier, he said a muted goodbye to his cardinals and closest advisers.

"I will continue to be close to you," he told them in the Vatican's 16th century Sala Clementina, before exchanging individual, private greetings.

"The future pope is among you," the pontiff added, pledging his "unconditional reverence and obedience" to his successor.

He also expressed a desire for the church to work like an orchestra where diverse elements came together in harmony — yet another reference to his frustration over infighting at the top of the church.

 

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, was among 11 cardinals from the United States bidding him farewell on his final day as pontiff.

"It was kind of somber for me," Dolan told TODAY. "To see this gentle, learned, loving holy man, to see him very fragile, to see him having made what I consider to be a remarkably humble and courageous decision, it was very moving, it was a very tender moment."

"I was honored that he remembered my name — it’s always good when the boss knows your name," he added.

When the doors of Castel Gandolfo closed shorlty after 8 p.m. local time Friday (2 p.m. ET) it marked the end of his papacy — a resignation instead of a death. The distinctive Swiss Guards in attendance went off duty.

The pontiff, who will now be known as pope emeritus, will remain at the papal summer residence for two months until his permanent home in a monastery within the Vatican is refurbished.

'A caring pastor'
NBC News Vatican expert George Weigel said Benedict would be remembered as "the greatest papal preacher since Gregory the Great in the 6th century" and "a caring pastor."

Father John Bartunek, a priest and author who works in Rome, added: "One of the characteristics that has struck us is personal humility and sincerity. He has a certain sweetness and openness and he’s always present, always willing to listen and that will also be part of his legacy."

"A lot of the repercussions of his decisions won’t be seen right away," he said.

Thursday's goodbyes were in stark contrast to Wednesday's public event, where a crowd of more than 100,000 cheered, applauded and waved banners of support as he delivered his final audience at a packed St. Peter's Square.

He assured pilgrims and well-wishers that he was not "coming down from the cross" despite renouncing his office, saying his decision was taken "in full awareness of its gravity and rarity but also with profound serenity of spirit."

An introverted theologian, Benedict is credited with pushing the "new evangelization" and repairing rifts with Jews, but faulted for not taking stronger action as a sex-abuse scandal tarnished the church's reputation and for letting the Vatican bureaucracy run amok.

Vatican watchers say there is no clear front-runner to replace him and Benedict's legacy will loom large as they look to the future.

A Vatican spokesman told the Catholic News Service that the college will probably not meet over the weekend but could gather the following Monday for informal talks to set a date for the conclave and begin talking about priorities for 266th pope.

Under church law, the conclave couldn’t start until March 15, but an amendment this week will allow the cardinals to push up the date as along as all 115 electors are in place. There were supposed to be 117, but one is too sick to attend and another recused himself after being accused of inappropriate behavior with priests.

And the Vatican guesthouse, where the cardinals will stay during the conclave, must be swept for listening devices before they can move in.

The length of the conclave — with its four secret ballots a day, cast in the Sistine Chapel — is anyone's guess; it took two days to elect Benedict and three to choose his predecessor, John Paul II.

Dolan, who will be in the conclave, said: "There’s a mixed feeling. You hear cardinals say there is a sense of wanting a new pope as soon as possible, and for that to happen in the most prudent way you need some time for reflection and prayer to get to know each other. But the  first item on the agenda at the general congregations next week will be 'When well we begin the conclave?'"

Meanwhile, the Vatican announced on Thursday that a 92-year-old French cardinal, Jean Honoré, died on Wednesday. Because of his age, he was not among the 117 cardinals eligible to take part in the conclave.

NBC News' Tracy Connor contributed to this report.

Related:

Inside Castel Gandolfo, Pope Benedict's spectacular temporary retirement home

'Amateur hour': Vatican conclave drama is one for the history books, experts say

Inside the Vatican: The $8 billion global institution where nuns answer the phones

This story was originally published on Thu Feb 28, 2013 6:57 AM EST

ROME — In a policy shift, the United States on Thursday announced plans to send military rations and medical supplies directly to Syrian opposition fighters, but fell short of providing weapons and ammunition that the rebels had been asking for.

"The simple fact is (Syrian President Bashar) Assad cannot shoot his way out of this," Secretary of State John Kerry said after his first meeting with Syrian opposition leaders in Rome. "For more than a year the U.S. and our partners who have gathered here in Rome have called on Assad to heed the voice of the Syrian people and halt his war machine. Instead what we have seen is his brutality increase."

---

For the first time, the U.S. will supply the Free Syrian Army with food for fighters on the ground and medical supplies for the wounded.

Kerry also announced $60 million in new aid to help the Syrian Opposition Coalition deliver basic goods and services, including security, sanitation, and education, to communities that the rebels control.  The aid is intended to help counteract the influence of radical fighters.

The U.S. will also send "technical advisers" to support opposition staff in Egypt in implementing the assistance and ensure that it gets to the right people. The U.S. plan, forged with European allies, will not include weapons despite the calls of a growing number of American senators and members of the Syrian opposition.

When he was still a senator, John Kerry recommended looking into potentially arming the opposition and setting up safe zones inside the country. His predecessor, Secretary Hillary Clinton and then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta also both urged last year that vetted units of the rebel force be armed and trained. 

Disappointed opposition?
The announcement is sure to also disappoint opponents of the Syrian regime who have been asking for weapons.  Frustration with the West's stance had prompted the opposition coalition to say last week that it would boycott the Rome talks. It changed its mind under U.S. pressure.

An unnamed European diplomat who spoke to Reuters held out the prospect of possible Western military support, saying the coalition and its Western and Arab backers would meet in Istanbul next week to discuss military and humanitarian support to the rebels.  

Kerry, who is in Europe on his first foreign trip in his new position, has said that Washington is looking for new ways to help rebels fighting Assad's government and speed up political transition in the country. 

"We are working and will continue to work closely with the Syrian Opposition Coalition and our international partners in order to make sure that the assistance we give reaches who need it and that we want to have receive it, even those who are trapped in some of the hard to reach areas," Kerry said.

The West and Syria's neighbors have been looking for a solution to the two-year-old civil war in Syria that has claimed approximately 70,000 lives, forced at least 2.5 million people from their homes, and sent hundreds of thousands fleeing into neighboring countries.  The conflict also threatens to destabilize the region, in particular neighboring Lebanon.

U.S. policymakers also are trying to make sure the aid does not fall into the hands of al-Qaida sympathizers fighting with the rebels.

A senior State Department official told NBC News on Thursday:

"We are concerned that we have extremists operating in and among the opposition who don't share the goals of a future Syria that is democratic, that's united, that is just, and that respects the human rights of all Syrians citizens and provides for all of them. So those members of the opposition that support our shared values need to be able to demonstrate that they can deliver a better day and need to set an example of a Syria where daily life is governed neither by the brutality of the Assad regime nor by the agenda of al-Qaida affiliated extremists."

Hardline groups such as Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamist Ahrar al-Sham have already waged some of the deadliest attacks in Syria, including car bombings in Damascus, Aleppo and elsewhere. Their ranks have been swollen by jihadi fighters from around the Muslim world.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Related:

US, allies planning direct aid to Syrian rebels

Huge blast rocks central Damascus as Assad hints at talks

In initial coup for Kerry, Syria's opposition to attend Rome meeting

This story was originally published on Thu Feb 28, 2013 6:51 AM EST

BEIJING — Beijing and other parts of northern China were stung by hazardous air pollution levels Thursday as strong winds blew a sandstorm through the region.

Air in the capital turned a yellowish hue as sand from China's arid northwest blew in, turning the sky into a noxious soup of smog and dust.

---

At 6 a.m. local time, the U.S. Embassy's air quality index showed a reading of 516 for particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter. Known as PM2.5, such particles are considered particularly dangerous because they can lodge deeply in the lungs. On the American air pollution index, the air at that time and throughout much of the morning was classified as "beyond index."

 

The developers of the U.S Embassy's air monitoring station had planned for an index capped at 500. The World Health Organization suggests that 24-hour exposure to PM2.5 should be limited to levels of 25 on that scale.

Beijing's municipal government issued a yellow-haze warning late Wednesday while state media urged citizens to stay indoors or to take precautions such as donning face masks before venturing outside.

Across northern China in provinces including Hebei, Hubei, Jiangsu and Inner Mongolia, air monitoring stations recorded readings over 500, and visibility across the region was severely curtailed. In some places visibility was below 3,200 feet, leading to highway closures, suspension of high-speed train services and the cancellation of flights from Beijing International Airport.

By mid-afternoon, pollution levels had fallen and strong winds had pushed much of the remaining cloud cover from the capital.

Geographically close to the Gobi Desert, Beijing and other northern cities are particularly susceptible to sandstorms such as Thursday's. Sandstorms are prevalent in late winter and spring as melting frost frees sand and strong winds kick it up and push it eastward.

The start of 2013 has brought chronic bad air to much of China. In January, air pollution readings were so bad that they were compared to living in an airport smoking lounge. That comparison was underscored by record high levels of PM2.5 on Jan. 12, when readings topped out at 755 on the air quality index.

Frustration over China's continued pollution problems popped up across Chinese social media. But irritation over the long-brewing issue was perhaps best summed up by a viral photo originally posted on popular Web portal QQ.com of an unhappy looking Yao Ming, grimacing at the Beijing sky.

Yao, the former NBA All-Star and current member of a Communist Party advisory board known as the China People's Political Consultative Conference, is currently in Beijing in the lead-up to next month's National People's Congress.

The congress will mark the final step in China's once-in-a-decade leadership change as party heads Xi Jinping and Le Keqiang formally take over as China's president and prime minister, respectively.

Since taking over China's ruling Communist Party late last year, the new leaders have spoken repeatedly about improving the mainland's environment.

Many China watchers believe that China's environmental degradation -- underscored by severe air pollution, contaminated soil and dirty waterways -- will be a focal point during the congress.

This story was originally published on Thu Feb 28, 2013 6:46 AM EST

CAIRO, Egypt — Liberals and other opponents of the Islamist government in Egypt have called for the military to resume control of the country if its dire economy continues to worsen amid ongoing political turmoil.

On Tuesday, a coalition of leftist and liberal parties known as the National Salvation Front announced it would boycott upcoming parliamentary elections, claiming President Mohammed Morsi is driving through an Islamist agenda and breaking a promise to govern on behalf of all Egyptians.

---

Without the NSF’s participation, many fear Islamist parties led by the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party and the more conservative Salafist parties will sweep the elections and dominate the House of Representatives. This would give them near complete control of the executive and legislative branches of government.

Amid the political strife, Egypt’s economy is on the brink of economic collapse —  the government announced earlier this month it had run out of money to continue to pay for fuel subsidies.

Former United Nations nuclear agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei, who now leads the moderate Dustour party, was recently quoted by Foreign Policy magazine as saying that if “Egypt is on the brink of default [on its international debts], if law and order is absent, [the army] has a national duty to intervene.”

"I am sure they are as worried as everyone else. You cannot exclude that the army will intervene to restore law and order," he told reporters.

'Act of deception'
Referring to the forthcoming election, ElBaradei also said he would "not be part of an act of deception" in a message on Twitter. 

"Absence of law & order, due process & cascade of Fatwas & 'legal' investigations vs opposition fast tracks Egypt towards a Kafkaesque state," he wrote in another tweet.

While liberals supported the revolution against former strongman Hosni Mubarak, some now see the idea of a military regime as a lesser of two evils if the alternative is the country's collapse.

Opposition newspapers, including el-Dostoor and el-Masry el-Youm, have highlighted the failures of Morsi's government with several pundits suggesting the military may have to intervene if the situation continues to deteriorate.

And on Monday, dozens of people rallied in Cairo at the tomb of former President Anwar Sadat, who was assassinated by Islamist soldiers in 1981, to demand the military reassume control of the country and remove the Muslim Brotherhood from power.

The demonstration may have been relatively small, but the call for a return to military rule has created waves of anxiety across the country.

In the past few weeks, Morsi and his office have constantly sought to reassure the public that there is no tension between him and the military.

The president has denied local press reports that he was on the verge of sacking his defense minister.

But the military has fueled some of the tension by issuing warnings of collapse and statements of tacit disapproval of the current political stalemate.

Even the dates of the parliamentary election — to be held over three months — have been cause for controversy.

The date of the first round of voting originally fell on Easter weekend. In a country with nearly a 10 percent Christian population, the dates seemed at best bizarre, at worst offensive. The presidency quickly retracted the election announcement and declared new dates.

Fragile
Islamist parties have dismissed the opposition’s election boycott, saying because they can’t win at the ballot box, they are boycotting the process and thus are jeopardizing Egypt’s fragile democracy.

All this adds to the pressure on its equally fragile economy.

Egypt has been desperately seeking to secure a loan from the International Monetary Fund, which would give it a cash injection that would only Band Aid the problem, not solve it.  

So far, the IMF has refused, citing the need for economic reforms. But the government has struggled to get the political backing it needs to take such drastic steps as cutting subsidies that could trigger broad street protests among those who would be affected the most.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, the country experienced one of its worst tourist accidents on Tuesday when 19 people were killed when a hot air balloon caught fire.

The accident near the ancient city of Luxor raised fears that the country’s decimated tourism industry would be dealt another blow because of increased concerns about safety standards as well as the security of foreigners visiting Egypt.

In a country once beaming with hope and optimism, where its revolution was celebrated for its unity, a newly divided and tumultuous reality has now firmly taken root.

Related:

Meet Omar, the face of Egypt's 'unfinished revolution'

Egypt could 'collapse,' army chief warns as violence continues

Egyptians fear decades of Muslim Brotherhood rule, warn Morsi is no friend of US

A Romanian man known as Nutzu the Pawnbroker has been indicted for leading a fearsome criminal gang, but the public seems to be more interested in his pets: four lions and two bears.

Ion Balint — his real name — had long been known to have an affinity for wild beasts in his home.

"You said I fed men to the lions?" Balint was recorded saying on a videotape as he rode away from prison on a black stallion in 2010. "Why don't you come over and I'll give you some lions!"

Authorities won't confirm that the lions and bears were used to intimidate rivals at his high-walled and heavily guarded estate in the poorest part of Romania's capital, Bucharest. The compound also contained less fearsome beasts, including thoroughbred horses and canaries.

Balint, 48, a stocky man with a mustache and a receding hairline, often appears dressed in T-shirts and tracksuits.

---

The Romanian news media were awash in unconfirmed reports about Balint's excesses, reporting that he used the lions and bears to intimidate rivals and that his house contained a torture chamber.

His son-in-law, Marius Vlad, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the reports were false.

"Many untruths are being reported," he said.

'A good neighbor'
Bystanders and relatives who gathered near the gates of the estate described Balint as a good neighbor and an animal lover, and said they weren't bothered by roaring lions.

"We can hear them every day, but only when they're hungry or the female is in heat," said Gabriela Ionescu, 36, clutching her toddler daughter's hand. "They don't disturb us at all."

Authorities allege that Balint and his brother Vasile headed a criminal network that controlled much of the underworld activity in Bucharest, a city of 2 million. Some 400 police and detectives were involved in the investigation that led to the arrest last week of 67 suspects, including the Balint brothers.

In 2009, Balint was convicted of human trafficking, violence and pimping, and sentenced to 13 years in prison. That was reduced to six years, but Balint was free after a year.

On Wednesday, the four lions and two bears were sedated, put in cages and removed by environmental authorities and the Vier Pfoten animal welfare charity. The animals, which generally appeared in good condition, will be temporarily housed in a zoo and may eventually be relocated in South Africa, animal welfare officers said.

Mircea Pupaza, commissioner of the National Environment Guard, told The Associated Press that Balint had no documentation or health records for the animals, which he's kept illegally for 10 years. He could face a year in prison and a hefty fine for illegally keeping wild animals.

"The lions are a status symbol for him," said Livia Cimpoeru, a Vier Pfoten spokeswoman. She declined to speculate whether they had a more sinister purpose.

Even though Pope Benedict XVI is leaving the papacy, he'll remain in sumptuous, familiar surroundings — at least for a few weeks.

Sometime in April, Benedict will take up permanent residence in Mater Ecclesiae, a modest convent for cloistered nuns at the Vatican. The convent is under renovation, however, so in the meantime, Benedict will live at Castel Gandolfo, the small town of about 8,000 people a few miles southeast of Rome that has been the summer retreat for popes for almost four centuries.

---

Vatican records indicate that Benedict has spent an average of five weeks a year at the grand Apostolic Palace at Castel Gandolfo since he assumed the papacy in 2005, so he should feel quite at home.

And what a home it is. The complex, which overlooks Lake Albano and what's left of the enormous villa of the first-century Roman Emperor Domitian, actually dwarfs Vatican City by almost 400,000 square feet. It comes complete with landscaped gardens, an arboretum, natural conservatories, museums and fish ponds.

Step inside Pope Benedict's temporary new home

The sculptured gardens, which make up more than half of the estate, are a favorite retreat for popes, who have been known to frequently take long walk along their paths. 

And don't forget the 25 dairy cattle, which are reputed to produce some of the finest milk in Europe.

The town is named for the castle of the Gandolfi family of Genoa, which was built around 1200. It was originally a fortress against marauders, which explains its high walls and other ancient barriers. 

Formally speaking, the Vatican assumed control of Castel Gandolfo only in 1929 under the Lateran Treaty, which formalized relations between Italy and the independent state of Vatican City. But in reality, it has been the church's domain since 1596, when Pope Clement VIII seized it from the Savelli family in lieu of unpaid debts, according to the Vatican's official history.

Today, it's home not only to the Apostolic Palace but also the Vatican Observatory (where visitors can see a moon rock collected during the Apollo XVII mission), the Villa Barberini (where many remains of Domitian's palace are still visible), Villa Cybo (which is used by school of the Maestre Pie Filippini religious community), apartments for 21 employees and the Pontifical Church of St. Thomas of Villanova.

The spectacular view of Lake Albano from the complex has inspired many artists. Landscapes of the scene by Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, J.M.W. Turner and Claude Lorraine, among others, hang in some of the world's premier museums.

The complex itself is the setting for stunning works of religious art, as well, among them frescoes by Jan Henryk de Rosen and Angelo Righetti's statue "Madonna of the Park."

The Pontifical Church, designed in 1658 by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the leading sculptor of his age, features interior domes and statues by Antonio Raggi, famous for grand pieces such as the "Virgin and Child" in Paris and the marble "Death of Saint Cecelia" in Rome. One of Bernini's own masterpieces, a fontana, or fountain, adorns the the piazza facing the Apostolic Palace.

At Castel Gandolfo, "I find everything: a mountain, a lake; I even see the sea," Benedict remarked in 2011. Those words are now engraved on a plaque in the town hall.

Benedict will move in to Castel Gandolfo late Thursday afternoon. He'll get there by helicopter — a tradition started in 1975 by Pope Paul VI, who wanted to avoid traffic on the ancient Appian Way.

Paul VI was an especially enthusiastic visitor to Castel Gandolfo. In 1972, he described its charms in words that might resonate with Benedict, who said he was abdicating because of his age and declining health:

"We, too, enjoy this God-given gift, by breathing the fresh air, admiring the beauty of our natural surroundings, appreciating the enchantment of its light and silence and seeking here to restore our lack of energy, which is never enough and now even a little scarce."

Related:

• Pope Benedict tells cheering crowd: I am not abandoning the church
• What's next: Can Pope Benedict really quietly retire?
• Vatican's Greg Burke: Benedict won't be doing any book tours

A meeting with the red-clad “princes of the church.” A 10-minute helicopter ride to Castel Gandolfo. A quick wave from the balcony to throngs in a candlelit square.

That’s the script for Pope Benedict XVI’s final hours as spiritual leader of the world’s 1.3 billion Roman Catholics before his resignation becomes official at 8 p.m. Thursday -- ending an often rocky eight-year tenure and launching the church into a potentially contentious search for his replacement.

---

His farewell address has already happened – a speech Wednesday morning before a cheering crowd of more than 100,000 in front of St. Peter’s, where he acknowledged moments of great joy and difficulty and asked followers to pray for him in his retirement.

The spotlight will remain on Benedict, however, for at least another day before attention turns to the highly ritualized conclave that will choose his successor.

At 11 a.m. Thursday, Italian time, he is scheduled to meet the cardinals that have rushed to Rome for the historic event. Each will have the chance to say a few parting words to him, but a major speech is not expected.

The personal goodbyes will continue as he leaves the Apostolic Palace before 5 p.m. and is driven to the helipad, where Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, will see him off.

The 85-year-old pope knows how to fly a helicopter but presumably will rely on a pilot from the 13^th Squadron of the Italian Air Force for the jaunt to the hilltop town where he will live in his summer residence for a few months while a monastery in the Vatican Gardens is prepared for him.

Town priests are planning a prayer vigil in Castel Gandolfo to begin a few hours before Benedict’s arrival, and he is likely to bestow a brief greeting on the thousands crammed into the town square, clutching rosaries and candles.

Once he leaves Rome, there will be only a few more hours in his papacy, which officially ends at the stroke of 8 p.m. Thursday. From that moment on, he will be known as pope emeritus, and aides say a life of quiet reflection will commence.

“I think we’ll probably catch some glimpses of him walking in the garden,” Vatican spokesman Greg Burke told NBC’s TODAY. “He’s not the kind of guy who is going on a book tour.”

At the Vatican, the Swiss Guards will go off duty – and the cardinals will be officially called back to work the next day with a formal announcement of what’s called the sede vacante, Latin for "the seat being vacant."

A Vatican spokesman told the Catholic News Service the college will probably not meet over the weekend but could gather the following Monday for informal talks to set a date for the conclave and begin talking about priorities for 266th pope.

Under old church law, the conclave couldn’t start until March 15, but an amendment this week will allow the cardinals to push up the date as along as all 115 electors are in place. There were supposed to be 117, but one is too sick to attend and another recused himself after being accused of inappropriate behavior with priests.

And, of course, the Vatican guesthouse where the cardinals will stay during the conclave must be swept for listening devices before they can move in for the duration.

The length of the conclave — with its four secret ballots a day, cast in the Sistine Chapel — is anyone's guess; it took just two days to elect Benedict and three to choose his predecessor, John Paul II.

Vatican watchers say there is no clear front-runner and Benedict's legacy will loom large as they look to the future.

An introverted theologian, he is credited with pushing the "new evangelization" and repairing rifts with Jews but faulted for not taking stronger action as a sex-abuse scandal tarnished the church's reputation and letting the Vatican bureaucracy run amok.

He alluded to the crises during Wednesday's address, saying he had often felt like "St. Peter with the Apostles in the boat on the Sea of ​​Galilee."

"The Lord has given us many days of sunshine and gentle breeze, days in which the catch has been abundant," he said. "[But] there have been times when the seas were rough and the wind against us, as in the whole history of the Church it has ever been — and the Lord seemed to sleep."

Related:

Pope Benedict tells cheering crowd: I am not abandoning the church

Papal historian: Cardinals likely to choose an 'extrovert'

'Amateur hour': Vatican conclave drama is one for the history books, experts say

KABUL, Afghanistan — Taliban insurgents poisoned, then shot and killed 17 people as they slept at a local police post in eastern Afghanistan, one of two attacks in as many days targeting Afghan security forces, an official said Wednesday.

It's unclear how the militants were able to drug people inside the post before firing bullets into their incapacitated bodies Tuesday night, said Abdul Jamhe Jamhe, a government official in Ghazni province.

---

Ten members of the Afghan Local Police, a village-level defense force backed by the U.S. military and Afghan government, and seven of their civilian friends died in the attack, said Provincial Gov. Musa Khan Akbarzada. He said there was a conspiracy of some sort but declined to confirm if poison was involved.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack in Andar district. He told The Associated Press by telephone that the attackers fatally shot the men in their sleep, but denied they had been poisoned.

Residents of Andar took up arms last spring and chased out insurgents. The villagers don't readily embrace any outside authority, be it the Taliban, the Afghan government or the U.S.-led NATO military coalition.

The lightly trained village defense force, which is overseen by the Interior Ministry, is tasked with helping bring security to remote areas. But President Hamid Karzai has expressed concern that without careful vetting, the program could end up arming local troublemakers, strongmen or criminals.

In other violence, a suicide bomber slid under a bus full of Afghan soldiers and blew himself up in Kabul, wounding 10 in an attack that underscored the insurgency's ability to attack in the heavily guarded capital. Kabul police said at least six soldiers and four civilians were wounded. The suicide attacker died.

The bomber, wearing a black overcoat, approached the bus purposefully in heavy morning snow as soldiers were boarding, set down his umbrella and went under the chassis as if to fix something, according to a witness. Watching from across the street, office worker Ahmad Shakib said he thought for a moment the man might have been a mechanic.

"I thought to myself, what is this crazy man doing? And then there was a blast and flames," that engulfed the undercarriage, he said. "It was a very loud explosion. I still cannot really hear."

Bakery owner Mirza Khan said the blast shattered the windows of his nearby shop where people were waiting to buy bread, leaving six wounded.

The Afghan government uses buses to ferry soldiers, police and office workers into the city center on regular routes for work, and the vehicles have been a common target for insurgents.

Mujahid, the Taliban spokesman, also claimed responsibility for the Kabul bombing.

The attack occurred three days after a would-be car bomber was shot dead by police in downtown Kabul. That assailant was driving a vehicle packed with explosives and officials said he appeared to be targeting an intelligence agency office.

It also comes as the U.S.-led military coalition in the country is backing off from its claim that Taliban attacks dropped in 2012, tacitly acknowledging a hole in its widely repeated argument that violence is easing and that the insurgency is in steep decline.

Some 100,000 international troops are helping secure Afghanistan at the moment, but most, including many of the 66,000 Americans, are expected to finish their withdrawal by the end of 2014.

Also on Wednesday, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai to discuss abuse allegations against American special forces and Afghan troops linked to them in the strategic eastern Wardak province.

The allegations led Karzai to issue an order on Sunday calling for U.S. special forces to be expelled from the province within two weeks despite fears that the move would leave the restive area and the neighboring Afghan capital more vulnerable to al-Qaida and other insurgents.

Karzai and Gen. Joseph Dunford, commander of all U.S. and allied forces, discussed the issue and agreed to work together to address the security concerns of the people of Wardak, a coalition statement said.

Related:

Afghan president orders US forces out of key province

10 Afghan police officers killed in suicide attack

ALMATY, Kazakhstan — Another round of talks between six world powers and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program ended Wednesday. And like the air in fog-engulfed Almaty, the Kazakh city where the meetings were held, nothing was very clear at the conclusion of the latest negotiations.

The only thing both sides seemed able to agree on was that they would meet again: The next high-level talks will be held on April 5 and 6, again in Almaty.

---

It is hard to know what exactly has been offered and rejected by Iran and the six powers — France, Germany, the United States, China Russia and Britain — because the negotiations are opaque by nature.

 

While Tehran maintains it is not seeking nuclear weapons, both sides seemed just as far away from an agreement to resolve the dispute that could lead to military conflict in the Middle East.

Israel has hinted that it could strike Iran's nuclear sites if current diplomatic efforts failed to stop its enrichment of uranium to near weapons-grade. Israel is thought to be the only country in the region with a nuclear arsenal.

An American diplomat speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity said that Iran was offered minor sanctions relief if Tehran was willing to scale back certain elements of its nuclear program. It is generally accepted that neither side wants a complete breakdown in talks.

Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili was upbeat and smiling after the talks concluded, and said that the offers made by the world powers was more realist than previous ones.

"In this round of talks we have witnessed that despite all the attitudes during the last eight months, they tried to get closer to our viewpoints," he told journalists.

He also said Western powers had made no demands that Iran shut down a uranium enrichment facility in Fordow, which is hidden deep inside a mountain.

Jalili concluded by saying that Iran had made massive achievements since the last round of talks and that it would not give up its rights.

One Western diplomat who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that that halting enriching uranium to 20 percent fissile purity — a short technical step from weapons grade — shipping out current stockpiles and shutting Fordow was still a prerequisite for world powers.

Speaking to journalists for the six powers, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said that she was glad that the Iranians saw this as a positive meeting.

"I hope the Iranian side is looking positively on the proposal we put forward," she said.

"We have to see what happens next,” she added, striking a cautious tone.

She only took three questions from journalists, replying with very short answers.

Whatever the outcome of the negotiations, one thing that the Iranian team has to look forward to is the approaching Persian New Year.  This, the most important holiday on the calendar, is a time for shopping, buying presents for family and friends and decorations for the festive season.

The sense that a deal is on the horizon could strengthen the Iranian currency, which has been in free-fall under pressure from Western sanctions.  A strengthened rial would give ordinary Iranians more purchasing power, and the government more breathing space.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Related:

'Why Almaty?' Journalists at Iran nuclear talks wonder

Iran widens use of clandestine tanker fleet to bust oil sanctions, international officials say

Iran conducts tests to bring down 'hypothetical' drones

In a policy shift, the United States on Thursday will announce plans to channel aid directly to selected groups of the Syrian opposition rather than through non-governmental agencies, senior White House officials told NBC News.

The aid plan, being forged with European allies, will still not include weapons, despite the calls of a growing number of American senators — but the definition of "non-lethal" aid will be more broadly defined, the officials said, noting that details of the plan were still being finalized.

---

Secretary of State John Kerry, who is in Paris on his first foreign trip in his new position, said earlier that Washington is looking for new ways to help rebels fighting the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad and speed up political transition in the country.

"We are examining and developing ways to accelerate the transition the Syrian people seek and deserve," Kerry said during a news conference with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.

The Washington Post has reported that the administration was planning to start sending non-lethal equipment like body armor and armed vehicles to Assad's foes.

Among the items likely to be included in the direct aid to rebels are meals and medical kits, The Associated Press reported.

Kerry was expected to announce the new contributions at the Rome conference, in addition to tens of millions of dollars intended for rule of law and governance programs.

For its part, the Syrian opposition is planning to demand "qualitative military support" at talks with major powers in Rome this week, a leading figure in movement to oust Assad told Reuters on Wednesday.

"We ask our friends to give us every backing to achieve gains on the ground and help reach a political solution from a position of strength, not weakness," said Riad Seif of the Syrian National Coalition umbrella group said a day before a Friends of Syria conference in the Italian capital.

"We expect to receive political, humanitarian and qualitative military support,” he said.

The Friends of Syria group is composed mainly of Western powers, Gulf Arab states opposed to the Iranian-backed Assad, and Turkey.

The West and Syria's neighbors have been looking for a solution to the two-year-old civil war in Syria that has claimed around 70,000 lives and sent 860,000 refugees fleeing abroad. The conflict pitting the largely Sunni rebels against the Alawite-dominated Assad government threatens to destabilize countries in the region, most notably Lebanon.

In Paris, Kerry said the United States wanted the Syrian opposition's advice on how to accelerate a political solution to help halt the bloodshed and protect the interests of the Syrian people.

"We want (the Syrian opposition's) advice on how we can accelerate the prospects of a political solution because that is what we believe is the best path to peace, the best way to protect the interest of the Syrian people," he said ahead of meetings with the opposition on Thursday.

"As I have said, that may require us to change President al-Assad's current calculation. He needs to know that he can't shoot his way out of this. So we need to convince him of that and I think the opposition needs more help in order to be able to do that. And we are working together to have a united position," Kerry added. 

But Iraq's prime minister warned that a victory for the rebels in Syria would create new problems, by creating a haven for extremists and worsening sectarian tensions in the Middle East.

In an interview with the AP, Nouri al-Maliki stopped shy of expressing support for the Assad regime.

The prime minister's remarks reflect fears by many Shiite Muslims in Iraq and elsewhere that Sunni Muslims would come to dominate Syria should Assad be toppled.

"If the world does not agree to support a peaceful solution through dialogue ... then I see no light at the end of the tunnel," al-Maliki said.

"Neither the opposition nor the regime can finish each other off," he continued. "The most dangerous thing in this process is that if the opposition is victorious, there will be a civil war in Lebanon, divisions in Jordan and a sectarian war in Iraq."

As the bloody Syrian conflict wears on, there is a growing number of U.S. legislators urging greater action, including some type of military support for the rebels.

Sen. Roger Wicker, a member of the Armed Services Committee, appearing on NBC's Andrea Mitchell Reports on Wednesday.

"I hope our new secretary of state will listen carefully to the more responsible of the Syrian opposition," said Wicker, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Asked if that meant the United States should provide weapons, he said: "I think there are ways and means for us to see that is done. I think Secretary of State Kerry is going to be listening to those proposals, and I think if he does what he's being told at the highest levels of the Pentagon, we may be moving, yes, to military aid for the responsible opposition groups."

He agreed that there is a risk to those weapons falling into the hands of radical extremists infiltrating the opposition movement, but said.

"There's no question it's a concern, but this has gone on too long. The Assad regime needs to fall."

Andrea Mitchell is NBC News chief foreign affairs correspondent. Catherine Chomiak is an NBC News producer. Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Related:

Huge blast rocks central Damascus as Assad hints at talks

In initial coup for Kerry, Syria's opposition to attend Rome meeting

Dozens killed after huge car bomb hits Syria's capital

Army Pfc. Bradley Manning released classified documents to WikiLeaks in an effort to "spark a domestic debate on the role of our military and foreign policy in general," according to a statement he will seek to read in a court hearing Thursday.

The lengthy statement, which Manning has already submitted to the judge presiding over his case at Fort Meade, Md., will be his first public account of his motivations for leaking hundreds of thousands of battlefield reports relating to U.S. operation in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as State Department diplomatic cables.

The statement appears intended to bolster the defense his lawyer plans to use at his court martial now slated for June -- that Manning was acting as a whistleblower intending to expose government misconduct.

---

Manning, a former Army intelligence analyst, is facing 22 criminal charges that include "aiding the enemy" and could result in a life sentence. He will seek to plead guilty to lesser charges -- such as unauthorized use of his government computer -- at the pre-trial hearing Thursday.

Prosecutors have objected to Manning's partial plea -- it is not the result of a plea bargain -- and made clear that they fully intend to bring him to trial.

See more investigative reports at The Isikoff Files

In reading his statement, Manning also "will speak to larger issues affecting his case" and will expand upon his guilty plea to establish that he acted from a “noble motive,” according to a news release Wednesday by the Bradley Manning Support Network. 

Although the group did not release the text of the statement, it cited an exchange in a hearing earlier his week in which prosecutors objected to Manning being allowed to read some portions of his statement -- including the passage in which he talks about his desire "to spark a domestic debate."

Prosecutors quoted some of the wording in Manning's statement during the hearing, saying the passage -- and another one relating to leaking information about corruption within the Iraqi Federal Police -- should not be allowed because it would be an admission by Manning to "uncharged misconduct." For example, admitting that he intended to provoke a public debate could expose Manning to an additional charge of intending to "discredit" the U.S. military, prosecutors argued. 

Manning's case has been shrouded in secrecy by the military. On Wednesday, the Pentagon released 84 pretrial documents, bowing to public records requests by news organizations, including NBC News. The documents are the first of about 500 that the Pentagon said it will release in response to the requests.

But in the documents released so far, the name of the presiding judge, Col. Denise Lind, has been redacted.  

More from Open Channel

• Deaths among beginning drivers on the increase
• Horse meat in the US? Unlikely, but tests are rare
• Feds say neo-Nazi with guns was tracking community leaders
• Expert: US in cyberwar arms race with China, Russia

Follow Open Channel from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook 

 

BERLIN — Italian President Giorgio Napolitano canceled a dinner with the German opposition's chancellor candidate on Wednesday after he described Italian former premier Silvio Berlusconi and comic-turned-politician Beppe Grillo as "clowns."

Peer Steinbrueck, a Social Democrat who will take on Chancellor Angela Merkel in Germany's next national election in September, has a reputation for gaffes, and his remark created the first diplomatic incident of his accident-prone campaign.

---

Steinbrueck said on Tuesday he was "appalled that two clowns have won" Italy's Feb. 24-25 election. The vote was actually inconclusive with no party gaining a majority, although Grillo's protest party surged dramatically.

Napolitano, an 87-year-old former communist with no natural affinity for Berlusconi or Grillo, now faces the difficult task of trying to appoint a coalition government.

Italian media said he had expressed concern about "populism" after the election result in a private meeting during his visit to Germany, but these comments could not be confirmed.

As head of state, he may have felt duty-bound to defend the dignity of Italy's political institutions.

The German candidate's spokesman said Napolitano canceled "because of Steinbrueck's remarks on Tuesday" and added that the Social Democrat politician "understood Napolitano's domestic political reasons for canceling."

Napolitano's spokesman was unavailable for comment.

Napolitano and Steinbrueck had been scheduled to meet over dinner at a Berlin hotel. Napolitano, who visited Munich on Tuesday and Wednesday, was due to meet Merkel in the German capital on Thursday.

'Testosterone boost'
Steinbrueck made it absolutely clear in his comments to a party rally in Potsdam he was referring to Grillo and Berlusconi, calling the latter "clearly a clown with a testosterone boost."

"My impression is that two populists won," he said.

Berlusconi, a scandal-ridden billionaire media mogul, is very unpopular in Germany and is assailed often in the media.

But Steinbrueck did himself no favors with his frank talk.

German politicians are expected to strike a serious tone and refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of European partners. On Twitter, some commentators dismissed the acerbic Steinbrueck as the "real clown."

Italy's elections, which threaten to tip the euro zone back into crisis, showed a big swell in support for Grillo's 5-Star Movement and a surprisingly strong result for Berlusconi. He had been expected to lose heavily to the center left, which won the lower house but not the senate.

Both Grillo and Berlusconi campaigned against the austerity measures implemented by technocrat Prime Minister Mario Monti at the urging of Germany's conservative chancellor Merkel.

Grillo, in his popular blog, laid into Merkel for imposing German-style fiscal austerity on Italy. Berlusconi has made more personal attacks on Merkel, whom he blames for his fall from power in 2011 because of her hesitancy on bailouts.

Berlusconi, who has been sentenced for tax fraud and is on trial accused of having sex with an under-aged prostitute, is reported to have made rude remarks about Merkel's appearance in a phone call wiretapped by investigators, though he denies this.

Steinbrueck made waves with undiplomatic statements when he served as finance minister under Merkel between 2005 and 2009, for example referring to the Swiss as Indians running scared from the cavalry during a crackdown he led on tax havens.

Related:

Italy careens toward political paralysis as Berlusconi rebounds

Italy's 'bunga bunga' man Berlusconi, 76, unveils girlfriend, 27

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

A man was attacked and killed by a shark Wednesday off the coast of New Zealand, police said.

Local media identified the victim as 46-year-old Adam Strange, an award-winning director of short films.

The victim was swimming about 200 yards offshore from Muriwai Beach, just west of Auckland, when he was attacked, New Zealand Police Inspector Shawn Rutene said.

---

Witnesses called police and lifeguards quickly jumped into action when the attack occurred about 1:30 p.m. local time Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET Tuesday), but it was too late to save the man, the New Zealand Herald newspaper reported.

Police and lifeguards quickly took to the water in inflatable rescue boats, and officers opened fire on the shark, which "rolled over and disappeared," Rutene said in his statement, adding that the shark was estimated to be 12 to 14 feet long.

Authorities said they had closed Muriwai and nearby beaches as the investigation continued.

Shark attacks are uncommon in New Zealand, according to the University of Florida's Museum of Natural History.

According to the museum's International Shark Attack File, there had been just 48 confirmed attacks, eight of them fatal, since 1852. Those numbers did not include Wednesday's incident.

Neighboring Australia has had 510 confirmed attacks, 144 of them fatal, since 1700, according to the museum's figures, which it says were current as of Feb. 11.

In a biography on Strange's website, he described himself as an avid outdoorsman. 

"When I get a spare 5 minutes, I like to make a fruit smoothy, surf some big waves out on the West Coast," the site says.

The New Zealand Herald reported that Strange had a wife and a baby daughter. "The family are grieving the loss of a glorious and great father, husband and friend," the family said in a statement reported by the newspaper.

A short film by Strange, "Aphrodite's Farm," won a Crystal Bear award for Best Short Film for people over 14 at the 2009 Berlin International Film Festival, according to the Internet Movie Database, or IMDb.com.

Strange said in his biography that he had made television commercials before turning to short film.

Related:

Kill sharks before they attack humans? Australian state will do just that

Fatal shark attacks in 2011 at 20-year high

Great white sharks swimming to extinction?