NPR News 2010-12-07 加文本

NPR News 2010-12-07

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh.

The embattled founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, is suffering another setback. Switzerland has frozen the bank account of his whistle-blowing website. Lisa Schlein in Geneva reports the bank reportedly acted because Assange allegedly had provided false information when he opened the account.

The Swiss post office bank, PostFinance, is blocking Julian Assange's account which includes a defense fund and personal assets worth 31,000 euros or more than 41,000 dollars. PostFinance says it is taking this action because the Wikileaks founder lied when he opened the account. He provided false information regarding his place of residence, claiming he lived in Geneva, which the bank says is untrue. This is the latest in a series of blows to hit Assange since he published hundreds of cables on his website, angering the US government. Several companies, including PayPal and Amazon, had ended their services. For NPR News, I'm Lisa Schlein in Geneva.

The Israeli government is mourning the death today of a national hero. The country's leading policewoman died from burns sustained in last week's uNPRecedented forest fire. She was the 42nd person killed as a result of the blaze which is now being blamed on a 14-year-old boy. Israeli authorities arrested him today, saying he admitted to smoking a water pipe and throwing burning coals in an open area.

Continental Airlines and one of its mechanics have been found criminally responsible for the Concorde crash that killed 113 people. Anita Elash reports Continental could eventually be forced to pay more than 100 million dollars in compensation.

The judge found Continental Airlines and mechanic John Taylor guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Continental was fined nearly 270,000 dollars. Taylor was given a 15-month suspended sentence and a 2,600-dollar fine. Legal experts say there could be more costs in store for Continental if Air France goes ahead with a suit to try to recover 150 million dollars that it paid to the victims' families. The Concorde jet burst into flames and crashed less than a minute after it took off from Charles de Gaulle airport in July of 2000. An earlier investigation found the Concorde's engine caught on fire after the plane hit a piece of titanium that had fallen from a Continental DC-10 airliner. For NPR News, I'm Anita Elash in Paris.

The Associated Press reports the remains of two American balloonists have been pulled from the Adriatic Sea two months after the pair disappeared. An Italian fishing boat reportedly recovered the balloon from the waters today.

At last check on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average up five points at 11,387, with the NASDAQ up five as well at 2,596.

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Rescue workers at the scene of a landslide in Bello, Colombia today. Some are using their bare hands, searching for victims in the Medellin suburb. At least 20 bodies have been recovered. More than 100 people are still missing.

The latest phase of negotiations between six world powers and Iran are done for the day. Delegates involved in the first such meeting in more than a year will return to the table tomorrow in an attempt to iron out a compromise on Iran's long disputed nuclear program. The major powers include the US, Russia, China, Britain, Germany and France.

"Tangled" weaved a spell of its own to dethrone boy wizard "Harry Potter" from the top of the chart. NPR's Trina Williams tells us the animated feature rose to the top after debuting in second last weekend.

"I've waited my whole life for this day."

"Maybe we should get your home, call it a day."

"Nope."

Disney's "Rapunzel" fairy tale came close to overtaking "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" when it opened in theaters Thanksgiving weekend. Both movies saw ticket sales drop considerably this weekend, but "Tangled" was the stronger. It rules the chart with estimated earnings of 21.5 million dollars. "Burlesque" and "Unstoppable" are neck in neck for third place. "Love & Other Drugs" moved up a notch to fifth. The weekend's new wide release "The Warrior's Way" didn't have many followers. It debuted at No.9. Trina Williams, NPR News.

We're seeing a slight up a bit on Dow. It's up about four points at 11,386 and a slight rise in NASDAQ. It's up five at 2,596.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.