Omani minister discusses talks to release hiker

President Barack Obama had a key role during negotiations between the Omanis and Iranians that led to the release of an American hiker detained after she and two companions allegedly strayed across an unmarked border between Iraq and Iran.

Yusuf bin Alawai bin Abdullah, Oman's minister responsible for foreign affairs, told CNN that "indecision and confusion" at the White House at times delayed the talks -- which began eight months ago when the United States requested assistance securing the release of Sarah Shourd, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal.

"The White House was confused because it was working on several different tracks at the same time," he said in a telephone interview. There were delays "due to the White House administration."

But it was Obama who cleared up any problems, bin Alawai said. It was "easy for us to talk directly to the president," he said.

The Omanis also dealt with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, saying that negotiators enjoyed good access to both leaders.

The talks "stalled" after only three months. But Omanis helped facilitate a visit from the hikers' families to Tehran.

Talks began again only because of concerns about Shourd's health, the minister said. A spokeswoman for the hikers' families told CNN that Shourd told her mother during their only visit together that she had found a lump in her breast.

Shourd, 32, was released from Tehran's Evin Prison and traveled to Oman on Tuesday. Omani sources paid a $500,000 bail, a senior U.S. administration official said.

Bin Alawai said that Shourd is "in good form and good health" in Oman. There is nothing to stop her "enjoying her life in the U.S.," he said, but she is welcome to stay in Oman as long as she likes.

"There is no pressure on her to leave," he said.

Bin Alawai would not say who paid Shourd's bail.

"I don't want to talk about that" because it might be of "help in the future," he said. He did say, however, that it was a "legal process" that had some "small" problems that were quickly overcome but led to a short delay in the announced release.

Administration officials were somewhat confused over how to deal with the Iranians on some of the issues that came up, the minister said, particularly in July when Iranian nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri appeared at the Iranian interests section of the Pakistani Embassy in Washington demanding a ticket to Tehran.

"It caused a disturbance at the White House," bin Alawai said.

U.S. officials said Amiri defected to the United States in 2009 and provided information about Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program. Iran maintains he was abducted by U.S. agents in Saudi Arabia. Despite the "disturbance," bin Alawai said, the idea of an exchange of Amiri for the hikers surfaced.

"The Iranians were ready to think about an exchange," he said, but at the White House "not everyone was on board at that time."

Bin Alawai avoided saying that Shourd's release was part of an exchange, but allowed that "it may have helped" that Amiri eventually returned to Iran.

Iran has accused the three hikers of spying, but no charges have been filed. Shourd's fiance, Bauer, and Fattal, both 28, remain at Evin Prison. They were detained on July 31, 2009.

Altered photograph in Egyptian newspaper continues to make waves

Cairo, Egypt (CNN) -- Three days after an Egyptian newspaper ran an altered



photograph that suggested President Hosni Mubarak led the recent Middle East peace talks, the digital manipulation continues to make waves here.

"I'm amazed at the reaction," said blogger Wael Khalil, who first spotted the altered photograph, on Friday. "Why is everyone so surprised at this?"

On Tuesday, the government-majority owned Al-Ahram newspaper published a picture showing Mubarak leading U.S. President Barack Obama, Jordanian King Abdullah, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the red carpet, with the words "The route to Sharm Al-Sheikh" beneath it. The phrase referred to the Sharm Al-Sheikh peace talks on that same day.

The original photo, taken September 1, had Obama leading the group. Khalil discovered the altered image had swapped Mubarak for Obama.

Al-Ahram generally reflects the position of the government. Editor Osama Saraya wrote Friday that the controversial picture was "expressive" and it underscored Egypt's historic role in the peace process.

But Hisham Qasim, an independent newspaper publisher and human rights activist, did not mince words.

"The editors of Al-Ahram have gone over the top. They are making Mubarak look silly worldwide," he said. "It's amazing how much coverage Mubarak is getting. It has become the joke of journalism.

"I don't know what the editors can do. Any explanation will make them look even sillier," he added.

China trade surplus widens further

(FT) -- China's trade surplus jumped in July to its highest level in 18 months, raising new questions about whether the country's currency remains undervalued despite government efforts to introduce a more flexible exchange rate.

The trade surplus for July increased to $28.7bn, well ahead of the $20bn recorded the month before and significantly above analyst forecasts, according to data released on Tuesday.

The pace of increase in exports actually fell last month to 38.1 per cent, year-on-year, down from 43.9 per cent in June. However, import growth slowed even more, moving up 22.7 per cent against 34.1 per cent in June.

The rising trade surplus will increase the political pressure on Beijing to appreciate its currency more rapidly. Earlier in the year, Beijing was able to point to a series of much smaller monthly surpluses -- and a trade deficit in March -- as evidence that the economy was already rebalancing and was much less dependent on exports. However the figures over the last three months suggest that the surplus in the second half of the year is likely to be much larger.

Yet the slowdown in import growth in China could also be a reflection of a significant cooling in the domestic economy, which would make policymakers in Beijing more reluctant to strengthen the currency sharply.

"The two developments will only add to Washington's insistence on a stronger renminbi and to Beijing's resistance," said Ben Simpfendorfer, an economist at RBS in Hong Kong. Such a stalemate could lead to a new push in the US Congress to pass measures penalising Chinese exports, especially as the November mid-term elections approach.

China signalled a major shift in exchange rate policy in late June when it said would abandon the de facto currency peg it had operated for the previous two years against the US dollar. But since then there has only been very modest movement in the exchange rate, with the renminbi rising 0.78 per cent against the US dollar.

The pace of slowdown in the Chinese economy in the second half will be heavily affected by what happens in the property market, which the government has tried to cool after a period of feverish speculation in many cities. House prices last month in the country's 70 largest cities remained flat compared to June, according to figures released on Tuesday, although on a year-on-year basis the pace of increase slowed from 11.4 per cent in June to 10.3 per cent.

Michael Jackson

Songs that didn't make the cut on Michael Jackson albums while he was alive and some forgotten recordings left behind on computer hard drives will be on an album released this fall, sources familiar with the project say.

Jackie Jackson, one of the singer's older brothers, has been working in a studio to help prepare the album, which will include 10 previously unheard songs, according to Jackson estate spokesman Jim Bates.

Jackson's estate and Sony Music announced in March that his next album of unreleased music will go on sale in November.

Music producer Rodney Jerkins, who co-produced Jackson's 2001 album "Invincible," has been working with Sony to put together the new album, a source familiar with the project said. The source asked not to be identified because he was not authorized by the record label to disclose details.

John McClain, one of the two men named in Jackson's will to be executors of his estate, is also working on the album with Jackie Jackson, Bates said. McClain owns a recording studio in Hollywood.

Jackson was known to rent out Los Angeles recording studios for weeks at a time for creative sessions, sometimes alone and sometimes with other well-known artists.

A producer told CNN that he was surprised to find a large cache of forgotten Michael Jackson music files stored on a hard drive at a Hollywood studio in the months after Jackson's June 25, 2009, death.

When he turned the recording device on to start a session, he heard Jackson singing "Hot Fun in the Summertime." The 1969 hit by Sly & the Family Stone is part of an extensive music catalogue that Jackson bought.

The producer said he made a backup copy of the 40 gigabytes of Jackson music and turned it over to one of the Jackson estate administrators. He asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Another computer hard drive with music was found in Jackson's rented mansion in the days after his death, Bates said. A Jackson family member later handed the hard drive over to the estate administrators, he said.

It was not clear if any of that music will be included in the upcoming project, but Sony's Columbia Records has a contract with Jackson's estate for 10 albums of unreleased material over the next seven years.

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Health officials urge evacuations near Michigan oil spill

Health officials urge evacuations near Michigan oil spill


Officials in Michigan Thursday urged residents living near the Kalamazoo River oil spill to evacuate the area because of health concerns.

Between 30 and 50 homes are thought to be affected by the request, which was made by the Calhoun County Public Health Department.

The Environmental Protection Agency indicated Thursday the spill is largely contained.

Oil leaked Monday from a 30-inch pipeline, owned by Enbridge Energy Partners -- moving from Talmadge Creek into the Kalamazoo River, which flows from near the city of Battle Creek into Lake Michigan. The pipeline normally carries 190,000 barrels of oil per day from Griffith, Indiana, to Sarnia, Ontario.

The leak was stopped Tuesday, but not before an estimated 19,500 barrels of oil slipped out. The cause of the spill is under investigation.

"The Health Department is recommending evacuation due to the higher-than-acceptable levels of benzene found in air quality tests and the adverse long-term affect associated with exposure," officials said in a statement.

Benzene can cause drowsiness, dizziness, rapid or irregular heartbeat, headaches, tremors, confusion, or unconsciousness, the department said.

Health officials have advised residents to stay away from oil fumes and to avoid the spill site.

The spill covers 25 miles and resources will be put in full force to prevent it from contaminating Morrow Lake and Lake Michigan, Environmental Protection Agency's Ralph Dollhopf said Thursday.

"We don't anticipate (the spill) getting beyond the containment it already has," Dollhopf.

Enbridge said that 2,400 barrels of oil have been recovered and pumped into large tanks by noon Thursday. An additional 10,000 barrels of oil have been isolated into a holding area and will be pumped into holding tanks, the company said.

Enbridge and the EPA doubled their resources in their bid to contain and clean up the spill and crews were busy along the river Thursday.

Mark Durno, the EPA's deputy incident commander for the site, said that the oil hadn't reached the popular Morrow Lake, between Battle Creek and the city of Kalamazoo, and that holding the oil back from the lake will be "the last line of defense."

Tom Sands, a Michigan state police captain overseeing Michigan's emergency response, said he saw an oil sheen on the lake. He also said containment efforts were falling short. He said he perused the area the day before and said more collections sites were needed.

"This is a serious situation and we need more resources to that area," Sands said.

The action came a day after Gov. Jennifer Granholm demanded a large response to the spill, which was estimated at 19,500 barrels of oil.

Enbridge Energy Partners stopped the leak from its pipeline and is committed to cleaning up the oil, its CEO said Wednesday.

"Our intent is to return your community and the waterways to its original state," Patrick Daniel said at a news conference in Battle Creek, Michigan. "We've made significant progress since yesterday. We still have a lot of work to do."

The company set up a website (www.response.enbridgeus.com) and a toll-free number (800-306-6837) for residents and volunteers.

A Calhoun County Health Department water advisory was issued for anyone with an underground well within 200 feet of the river's banks as a precaution until the water quality can be evaluated, Health Officer Jim Rutherford said at a news conference Thursday. Bottled water will be available for affected residents, which is approximately 100 households.

Allen vows long-term U.S. commitment on Gulf oil spill

Federal officials are far from ready to "write the obituary" on the Gulf oil spill, even as crews count down toward two efforts to seal the crippled BP oil well once and for all.

The retired Coast Guard admiral overseeing the federal response, Thad Allen, offered that assurance to Gulf area residents Friday, as preparations continue for the first of the efforts -- known as a "static kill" -- when mud and cement are poured into the well from above. The static kill has been pushed back about a day, and now is likely to happen Monday or Tuesday, so that debris that collected during Tropical Storm Bonnie can be cleared out.

That will be followed by a final "bottom kill" after a relief well intercepts the crippled well -- a step expected by the end of August. But sealing the well is not the end of the story.

"We should not be writing any obituary on this event," Allen said. He vowed that won't happen "until the well is completely sealed, until we have no more oil on the surface of the water, until we understand where all the oil has gone to, until the beaches are clean -- and state and local officials agree that the beaches are clean."

He noted that tar balls and oil will be "showing up on beaches for quite some time."

"We're still engaged in this fight, and we need to stay engaged," he said.

The next priority, after the well is sealed, will be getting a better picture on how much oil was released and how much oil remains below the surface, even though it's getting harder and harder to spot oil from the air, according to Allen
Flights are going out continually to check for surface oil, including 103 sorties Thursday and 98 Friday, he said. But recently, little has been detected beyond thin sheens of oil.

In fact, there are so many flights, Allen met before Friday's briefing with service personnel at Tyndall Air Force Base on the Florida panhandle to review air coordination efforts. The briefing then was held at the base.

Allen said a coming priority will be to develop an "oil budget" -- estimating how much was released altogether during the nearly three months the BP well was spewing out oil after the Deepwater Horizon explosion, how much was removed from the surface by skimming ships, how much evaporated, how much was removed from burning surface oil and how much was broken up through the application of dispersants.

A ream of additional data will come when the static kill is performed, he said. But in addition, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ships are combing the Gulf -- with about five operating at any one time -- testing the water for hydrocarbons that would indicate the presence of oil. Another method involves placing in the water modified crab pots that contain oil trapping devices.

"Right now, it's incumbent upon us to acquire as much information as we can," Allen said.

Another step expected in weeks ahead involves gradually removing the 11 million feet of boom arrayed along the Gulf Coast. It was effective in helping to stop thick oil from reaching shore but does little to stop tar balls from washing up from the ocean depths.

The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources made that point as it outlined a plan to remove all boom off its shores by the end of August.
"While we will continue to see tar balls come on shore, they are scattered events that are cleaned up by BP contractors, and they maintain the capability to quickly move tar balls," the department said in a news release. "Boom does not stop tar balls most of the time, and the placement of some booms could cause severe damage to our marshes and property damage if we have a storm."

The department developed the plan after meetings with coastal mayors and county officials.

Allen's comments followed similar assurances from incoming BP CEO Bob Dudley -- that BP has a "long-term commitment" to the region.

Dudley, currently the company's managing director, stressed during a visit to Mississippi that the spill has been a "catastrophe" and a "real wake-up call for change." We have to "treat it as an opportunity to change for the better," he said.

Shortly before Dudley made his remarks, BP announced that it is setting up a $100 million charitable fund to support unemployed oil rig workers experiencing economic hardship due to the deepwater drilling moratorium imposed by the Obama administration.

The establishment of the Rig Worker Assistance Fund "fulfills the commitment" BP made on June 16 to provide $100 million in assistance "as a gesture of good will for the people of the Gulf region," according to a company statement.

The company also announced that James Lee Witt, director of Federal Emergency Management Agency during the Clinton administration, will be advising Dudley on BP's disaster response efforts.

Witt, who was appointed in June to conduct an independent review, joined Dudley in Mississippi.

There was a bit of good news for residents of South Florida, the Florida Keys and the East Coast. A NOAA analysis indicates the region will be spared much of the fallout from the spill -- assuming the BP well remains capped.

"The coast remains clear," NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco said in a news release. "With the flow stopped and the loop current a considerable distance away, the light sheen remaining on the Gulf's surface will continue to biodegrade and disperse, but will not travel far."

Meanwhile, the man on the receiving end of much of the public anger over the disaster -- outgoing BP chief Tony Hayward -- said in an interview published Friday that he has become "a villain for doing the right thing."

"But I understand that people find it easier to vilify an individual more than a company," he told the Wall Street Journal. "I didn't want to leave BP, because I love the company. ... (But) because I love the company, I must leave BP."

Hayward will be replaced by Dudley on October 1.

Diego Maradona news

Much of Diego Maradona's life has seemed to play out at a different level to ordinary mortals, so it was no surprise that the announcement of his departure as Argentina coach was spiced with high drama.

Maradona raised the temperature by countering a bland statement from the Argentine football authorities that his contract had not been renewed (because of his refusal to countenance a change to some of his technical team,) with a visceral attack on his alleged enemies.

He accused national team director Carlos Bilardo of betrayal, and Julio Grondona, president of the Argentine Football Association, of being part of a conspiracy to unjustly oust him.

Maradona: I was lied to and betrayed

There is nothing Diego likes more than to be placed in a situation where he can rally his believers round a claim of martyrdom by sinister powers. He did so when he was busted for drugs back in the early 1990s, and he did it again when he tested positive in the football World Cup in the U.S. in 1994.

He arrived at the World Cup in South Africa, already hitting back at all those journalists who had noted his apparent incompetence as a coach and predicting failure from the outset. Such antagonism fuels his popularity among the downtrodden and dispossessed. But I am not alone in believing his protests are actually an attempt to cover up his own professional and personal failings.

If this were happening in another country, then the reason for Maradona's sacking should be plain. He may once have been a great player, and he brought us some entertainment in an otherwise rather dull World Cup in South Africa (La Roja's justified victory excluded,) but Argentina's thrashing by Germany exposed his shortcomings as a coach, and the lack of professionalism of some of his hand-picked advisers, which had been a subject of public debate for well over a year.

In the end, the myth of Diego's divinity -- the "hand of God" -- was brought crashing down by a German team that played better because they were coached better. The Argentinean team realized belatedly that Maradona's genius lay in personal instinct rather than in any system, and there was a limit to what that could achieve.

You may bring a smile to global TV audiences by kissing your players and dancing like a pogo stick each time your side scores a goal, but you need technique and strategy, not just inspiration, to win a championship, and Maradona, in the end, badly let down his team of superstars.

But then this is Argentina -- a country where politics and football make a potent mix. Maradona not only has a popular following among his country's more fanatical football fans, but continues to be looked at as a political vehicle by sectors of the populist government of Cristina Fernandes. Which is why I doubt this is the final chapter of the flawed genius's extraordinary life.

On the psychological front, there are testing times ahead for Maradona, and thus for the Argentine nation. His self-proclaimed dream was to coach his national team to World Cup victory. He failed in South Africa, but afterwards said he would do it, next time, when the tournament is played in neighboring Brazil.

Without the motivation that the coach's job provided, some of his fans fear he may return to the bad old days of depression, self abuse and intensifying paranoia.

The myth of Maradona's invincibility has been severely dented and may prove irrevocable. But he has been down before, and fought back. There will be more dramas ahead -- of that I am sure.

Manchester United manager Ferguson defends Glazer family

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has defended the club's American owners telling CNN he has "no complaints" with the way they have done their job.

The 18-time English league champions were bought by the Glazer family in 2005 but have long been targeted by the club's supporters for running up huge debts.

Though United have recently been rated as the world's most valuable sporting club by Forbes they still have estimated debts of over $1bn, leading many fans to call for a change of ownership.

A group of wealthy businessmen called the Red Knights tried to launch a takeover bid last season but were knocked back, and now Ferguson has insisted the current owners are doing a good job.

Is this the real Alex Ferguson?

He told CNN: "The debt has come through by the club being bought out by an owner. You know fine well that when a business is bought it's usually bought with debt.

"Because it's a football club it seems to attract a different type of negative reporting via the media and, particularly some of our fans.

"But Manchester United football club, when it went plc, it was always going to be bought. It was inevitable. So when a particular family like the Glazers have bought it, it's unfair they come in for criticism because anybody could have bought it.

I have to say they've done their job well. They support myself, the manager, they've supported the players. I've never been refused when I've asked for money for a player.

"So what can I do other than carry on the way we're doing it and the way I'm allowed to carry on, I've no complaints.''

Ferguson is about to enter his 24th season as manager of one of the world's most high profile clubs. In that time he has won 11 English league titles and two European Cups.

Speaking to CNN World Sport anchor Terry Baddoo on the club's pre-season tour of the United States, 68-year-old Ferguson reiterated his desire to continue as manager as long as he retains his health.

He said: "I'm at the right club, it's a fantastic club, it demands a challenge all the time. Every day, every year there's the challenge of being at the top and that helps me. I think you need good natural energy and I've been blessed with that.

"What you have to do is maintain the success of the club and make sure no matter when I quit the club is always in good hands and that's when I come back to the point about having young players.

"There's no need for a complete overhaul of the playing squad. I've got 12 players aged 21 or under which means the future should be pretty secure with them.

"Whenever I do go, and I don't seeing that being tomorrow, having my health is important. If I've got my health I can carry on. There will be a point when I do quit but when it is I've absolutely no idea.

"I tried it a few years ago and it was an absolute disaster. My wife made me change my mind and she was dead right. But when the time comes, I think the club should be ok."