Thousands Bury 3 Militants Shot By Israeli Troops

Doctors examine the body of Mohammad Nairoukh who was killed Tuesday by Israeli security forces in the West Bank village of Yatta, south of Hebron, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2013. Israeli security forces shot and killed three suspected militants in a West Bank raid on Tuesday aimed at thwarting an attack on Israeli targets, the military and police said.

HEBRON, WEST BANK (ASSOCIATED PRESS) — Thousands of mourners attended the funerals Wednesday of three suspected Palestinian militants who were killed in an Israeli army raid in the West Bank the day before.

The three were jihadi Salafis, or followers of a militant stream of puritanical Islam, and had planned attacks on Israelis and on the Palestinian Authority, the Palestinian self-rule government in the West Bank, said Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, an Israeli army spokesman.

Lerner said the group had started putting together a terrorist infrastructure, including assembling weapons and explosives. He said the cell was the "first substantial indication" of violent activity by jihadi Salafis in the West Bank.

A Palestinian security official said jihadi Salafis in the West Bank are a cause of concern, but declined to give an estimate on how many there are. Jihadi Salafis are on the rise in the Gaza Strip, which is run by the Islamic militant Hamas. The trend opposes Hamas as too pragmatic because it has observed cease-fires with Israel and has stopped short of imposing Islamic religious law, or Shariah, in Gaza.

In the West Bank, Israel and the Palestinian Authority of Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have cracked down on Islamic militants, particularly Hamas. Palestinian security have closed Hamas-linked institutions and arrested hundreds of Hamas activists since the group seized Gaza from Abbas in 2007.

The three alleged members of the West Bank cell were killed late Tuesday near the city of Hebron. Lerner said Israeli special forces stopped the car the three were riding in and shot out the tires. He said the men in the car acted suspiciously and that soldiers opened fire, killing two, while the third escaped on foot. The fugitive was later killed in a hideout several kilometers (miles) away, Lerner said.

Palestinians identified the three killed as Mohammed Nairouh, 29, Mahmoud al-Najjar, 23, and Moussa Makhamreh, 22. Palestinian security forces previously had attempted to arrest the three, but they escaped, said Nairouh's brother Obeidallah and al-Najjar's uncle, Taleb.

Palestinian police have arrested 22 suspected jihadi Salafis in Hebron and the West Bank cities of Nablus and Jenin in the last three weeks, the Palestinian security official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters.

Obeidallah Nairouh said his brother had served six years in an Israeli prison for Hamas-related activities. In prison, Mohammed quit Hamas and drifted toward the Salafis, his brother said. He said his brother was upset with Hamas for not imposing Shariah law in Gaza and spoke frequently about the need to engage in jihad, or holy war.

Despite Nairouh's apparent falling out with Hamas, the militant group dominated his funeral march in Hebron. Several thousand mourners joined the procession, many of them raising the green flag of Hamas and chanting "revenge, revenge."

The other two men were buried in the nearby town of Yatta, where several thousand turned up for the funeral procession. In Yatta, clashes erupted between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces. Several dozen Palestinian youths hurled rocks and rolled burning tires at soldiers, sending plumes of black smoke into the air. The forces tried to disperse the crowd with sound grenades and rubber-tipped bullets. One youth was seen limping away, but no serious injuries were reported.

Jihadi Salafis believe in a global jihad, or holy war. The ideology is linked to that of al-Qaida. Many have flocked to Syria to fight alongside the rebels trying to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Associated Press writer Karin Laub contributed to this report.

Egypt: Heavy Prison Sentence For Islamist Women

Egyptian women supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi stand inside the defendants' cage in a courtroom in Alexandria, Egypt, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2013. An Egyptian court has handed down heavy sentences of 11 years in prison to 21 female supporters of the ousted Islamist president, many of them juveniles, for holding a protest.

CAIRO, EGYPT (ASSOCIATED PRESS) — Nearly two dozen Islamist women and girls, some as young as 15, were handed heavy prison sentences Wednesday for protesting in a court ruling that came a day after police beat and terrorized prominent female activists in a crackdown on secular demonstrators under a tough new anti-protest law.

The harshness of the sentences and the scenes a day earlier were new signs that the military-backed government is becoming bolder in silencing dissent, turning to abuses reminiscent of the Hosni Mubarak era. Authorities have been justifying tougher measures as needed to fight terrorism and bring stability — while they also appear to be exploiting divisions among secular democracy activists.

The crackdown is rearranging Egypt's political map after months when authorities were focused on crippling the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist backers of ousted President Mohammed Morsi. This week, security forces have moved against secular youth activists opposed to the military and police. Some government supporters warn that its actions are widening the base of the opposition and could bring together Morsi supporters and the secular activists, though they bitterly oppose the Islamists and Morsi as equally authoritarian. The crisis is fragmenting the loose coalition of liberal and secular groups that supported the military in its July 3 removal of Morsi.

In a Mediterranean city of Alexandria courtroom, the 21 young female defendants flashed defiant smiles to the media, standing handcuffed in white head scarves and white prison uniforms in the defendants cage. They were convicted on charges related to holding an Oct. 31 protest in the city demanding Morsi's reinstatement.

Among them were seven teenagers aged 15 and 16, who were sentenced to prison terms until they turn 18. The rest — most aged 18 to 22 — were sentenced to 11 years in prison. Six other Brotherhood members were sentenced to 15 years in prison for inciting the demonstrations.

"We thought they will get a month or something but we were shocked with the 11 years," defense lawyer al-Shimaa Ibrahim Saad said. The Muslim Brotherhood's political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, said the sentences are meant to be a "deterrent" for the group's opposition to the military, vowing the verdict "will only increase the determination of the people to get their rights."

Meanwhile, hundreds of secular youth activists protested Wednesday in downtown Cairo against the government's clampdown on dissent. At the center of the crisis is the law issued this week banning any protests or public political gatherings of more than 10 people without a prior police permit, imposing stiff fines and jail terms for violators.

"Those thinking the authoritarian pharaonic style works will find it doesn't anymore," said one protester, Laila Soueif. "There will be a third wave of the revolution much more violent than before. We are witnessing a turning point."

A day earlier, security forces broke up two small activists' protests in Cairo. Security forces beat and dragged women protesters outside parliament. The images were reminiscent of the days of Mubarak, the autocrat who ruled the country for nearly 30 years and was ousted in a 2011 uprising. Under his rule, police at times focused on humiliating female protesters. Similarly, under the rule of the military that followed his ouster, police broke up an anti-military protest, half-stripping a female protester and stomping on her chest.

After breaking up Tuesday's protest, police detained 14 women, then drove them in a van through the desert where they were dropped off on a remote road in the middle of the night, several of the women said. That too is a tactic used by Mubarak-era police to intimidate protesters.

"They want to terrorize us," said Mona Seif, a prominent activist who was among the 14 women. "I think the interior minister decided to escalate and tell everyone whose family was killed... beaten or anything that I am here, this is how I do business, and if you don't like it, beat your head against the wall."

In the face of the criticism, the Cabinet issued a strongly worded statement saying it is determined to implement the new protest law with "all firmness and force ... so freedom doesn't turn to chaos." It linked it to a "war on terrorism" — pointing to the Brotherhood protests and violence by Islamic militants in Sinai.

"There are elements that want to spread domestic chaos in a desperate attempt to hurt the prestige of the state," it said. The law comes ahead of an election season that will include a referendum on amendments to the Islamist-drafted, Morsi-era constitution. Authorities have shown they are eager to push through the new charter — but they could face troubles in the January vote on two fronts.

Secular activists oppose the document because of wider powers it gives the military and the president. The Brotherhood rejects the entire amendment process — along with the new government in general — and although it has been weakened by a crackdown, it has kept up protests for over 20 weeks and can still mobilize against the document.

On Wednesday, the prosecutor general's office ordered 24 people who were arrested in Tuesday's activist protest to be held for four days for questioning on possible charges of violating the protest law.

In a statement, the prosecutors office accused the protesters of "chanting antagonistic slogans against the state" and refusing to end their rally. It said the demonstration "disturbed traffic and affected citizens' interests," terms mentioned in the protest law as violations justifying police action. It also accused them of attacking a police officer and taking his telephone.

The prosecutor also ordered the arrests of Alaa Abdel-Fattah and Ahmed Maher, two top activists, on suspicion of inciting others to break the protest law, the state news agency MENA said. In a sign of the Islamists' eagerness to find a common cause with secular activists, the Brotherhood-led coalition supporting Morsi reached out to them Wednesday with a statement denouncing "brutal repression" of the protests the day before, saying the "youth of the revolution stand united."

The spokesman of the Muslim Brotherhood-led coalition, Diaa al-Sawi, said he will contact youth activists to coordinate rallies. They met a quick rejection, however, from the youth activists, who joined the massive anti-Morsi protests that preceded his ouster.

"A message to the Muslim Brotherhood: we will not put our hands in the hands of those who betrayed and hijacked the revolution," said Hossam Moanis, spokesman of one activist group, the Popular Current.

Nigeria Sharia Police Smash 240,000 Bottles Of Beer

AFP
November 27, 2013

Sharia enforcers destroy thousands of bottles of beer outside northern Nigeria's largest city of Kano on November 27, 2013 (AFP, Aminu Abubakar)

Kano — Police enforcing Islamic law in Nigeria's city of Kano publicly destroyed some 240,000 bottles of beer on Wednesday, the latest move in a wider crackdown on behaviour deemed "immoral" in the area.

The banned booze had been confiscated from trucks coming into the city in recent weeks, said officials from the Hisbah, the patrol tasked with enforcing the strict Islamic law, known as sharia.

Kano's Hisbah chief Aminu Daurawa said at the bottle-breaking ceremony he had "the ardent hope this will bring an end to the consumption of such prohibited substances".

A large bulldozer smashed the bottles to shouts of "Allahu Ahkbar" (God is Great) from supporters outside the Hisbah headquarters in Kano, the largest city in Nigeria's mainly Muslim north.

Kegs containing more than 8,000 litres of a local alcoholic brew called "burukutu" and 320,000 cigarettes were also destroyed.

"We hope this measure will help restore the tarnished image of Kano," said Daurawa.

Since September, the Hisbah have launched sweeping crackdowns and made hundreds of arrests in Kano following a state-government directive to cleanse the commercial hub of so-called "immoral" practices.

The 9,000-strong moral police force works alongside the civilian police but also has other duties, including community development work and dispute resolution.

Sharia was reintroduced across northern Nigeria in 2001, but the code has been unevenly applied.

Alcohol is typically easy to find in Kano, including at hotels and bars in neighbourhoods like Sabon Gari, inhabited by the city's sizeable Christian minority.

But the Hisbah boss vowed that this was set to change.

"We hereby send warning to unrepentant offenders that Hisbah personnel will soon embark on an operation into every nook and corner of (Kano) state to put an end to the sale and consumption of alcohol and all other intoxicants," Daurawa said.

People accused of engaging in prostitution and homosexual sex have been among those arrested in the latest crackdown, along with alleged drunks and drug addicts.

Nigeria is divided between a mostly Christian south and a predominately Muslim north.

Copyright © 2013 AFP. All rights reserved. More »

"12 Years A Slave" Leads Spirit Awards Nominations

Chiwetel Ejiofor in a scene from "12 Years A Slave." The film was nominated for a Spirit Award for best feature on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2013. The Spirit Awards will take place Saturday, March 1, 2014.

LOS ANGELES (ASSOCIATED PRESS) — The race to Oscar has officially begun, as the slavery exploration "12 Years a Slave" was nominated Tuesday for a leading seven Spirit Awards, which honor independent film.

The Steve McQueen-directed drama is up for best feature, best director, best actor (Chiwetel Ejiofer), best supporting actress (Lupita Nyong'o), best supporting actor (Michael Fassbender), best screenplay (John Ridley) and best cinematography (Sean Bobbitt).

With six nominations, Alexander Payne's black-and-white comedy "Nebraska" is also in the running for best feature, best director, best actor for Bruce Dern, best supporting actress for June Squibb, best supporting actor for Will Forte and best first screenplay for Bob Nelson.

Other best-picture contenders include J.C. Chandor's near-wordless shipwreck drama "All is Lost," Noah Baumbach's New York tale "Frances Ha" and the Coen brothers' folk music story "Inside Llewyn Davis."
"All is Lost" also earned a best director slot for Chandor. Also up for best director are Jeff Nichols for the coming-of-age drama "Mud" and Shane Carruth for the sci-fi "Upstream Color." Along with Ejiofor and Dern, the best male lead category includes Oscar Isaac for "Inside Llewyn Davis," Matthew McConaughey for "Dallas Buyers Club," Robert Redford for "All is Lost" and Michael B. Jordan for "Fruitvale Station."
Julie Delpy received two nominations, for best female lead and best screenplay for "Before Midnight," the third installment in the romantic drama series that kicked off with "Before Sunrise" in 1995. Delpy shares the best screenplay nomination with Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater, who co-wrote the script.

Among other best actress nominees are Cate Blanchett for "Blue Jasmine," Gaby Hoffmann for "Crystal Fairy," Brie Larson for "Short Term 12" and Shailene Woodley for "The Spectacular Now." Accompanying Delpy in the best screenplay category is Woody Allen for "Blue Jasmine," Nicole Holofcener for "Enough Said" and Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber for "The Spectacular Now."

For his performance in the romantic comedy "Enough Said," James Gandolfini earned a posthumous nomination for best supporting male. Though the Spirit Awards were begun to honor lower-budget films outside of Hollywood's mainstream, there is often overlap, and particularly so this year. Many of the 2013 Spirit nominees are expected to be strong Oscar contenders. Higher-budget studio releases like "Gravity" and "Captain Phillips" don't compete in the Spirit Awards, which are limited to films with a budget less than $20 million.

Last year, David O. Russell's "Silver Lining Playbook" swept the Spirit Awards, winning best feature, best director, best screenplay and best actress for Jennifer Lawrence. Presented by the cinema group Film Independent, the Spirit Awards will be handed out the day before the Oscars at an afternoon ceremony along the beach in Santa Monica, Calif., on Mar. 1. The Spirit Awards will air that night on IFC.
Nominees were chosen by panels of film professionals. Members of Film Independent, including filmmakers and movie fans, are eligible to vote on the winners.

Online : http://www.spiritawards.com

Follow AP Film Writer Jessica Herndon on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/SomeKind

Romance Website Match.com Sued For $1.5 billion Over 'Unauthorized' Photos

Miami:  A Florida woman has filed a $1.5 billion class-action lawsuit against online dating site Match.com, alleging the website allowed photos of her and thousands of others to be used illegally to create phony profiles intended to dupe romantic hopefuls out of money.

The website "conspired with criminals operating from locations including Internet cafes in Nigeria, Ghana and Russia" who created fake profiles for romance "scams," according to the lawsuit which was filed last week.

The suit also says that Match.com, owned by media mogul Barry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp, was aware of the fake profiles as the company approves, edits and posts each profile.

"The real scam here is this meritless lawsuit, which is filled with outlandish conspiracy theories and clumsy fabrications in lieu of factual or legal basis," a sposkesman for Match.com said in an emailed statement. "We're confident that our legal system is as adept as we are at detecting scammers and will dismiss this case in short order."

Match.com is one of a stable of dating websites owned by IAC/InterActiveCorp, which also owns content hubs like Vimeo.com.

Match.com was "unjustly enriched" by the publication "of thousands if not millions of unauthorized photographs" the lawsuit argues.

"Not a day goes by when someone doesn't tell me that they saw my pictures posted on Match.com or another website," Yuliana Avalos, a part-time model who is the lead plaintiff in the suit, said in a statement.

"Virtually all of this criminal activity can be eliminated with the introduction of free software to the defendants' website," said New York attorney Evan Spencer, who filed the suit.

"All IAC has to do is screen international IP addresses from posting domestic profiles in the United States, and the vast majority of fake profiles would be eliminated."

The suit also alleges that Match doesn't use facial recognition technology, which Spencer used in his investigation, to spot phony profiles and doesn't police existing profiles to root out scammers.

Nearly 200 photos of Avalos, many of her clad in a bikini posing on the beach, were found in Match profiles, according to Spencer. Pictures of more than 3,000 people, including celebrities, soldiers and Facebook users, were illegally used and disbursed in millions of daily emails to promote niche dating sites based around interests ranging from race to age to political persuasion.

Match.com has been the target of several suits in recent years over false profiles. The website launched in 1995 and claims to have millions of members in 24 countries.

In 2012 a Texas federal judge dismissed a case that argued the company duped consumers into believing it had millions of subscribers when more than half were inactive, fake or scammers.

"The language of the agreements in no way requires Match.com to police, vet, update the website content" or verify the accuracy of profiles on the site, U.S. District Judge Sam Lindsay wrote.

This case is different, Spencer said, because none of the photos were submitted by members on Match.com putting the images outside of the website's terms of use agreement.

© Thomson Reuters 2013

Alicia Keys Visits Typhoon Refugees In Philippines

Grammy-winning singer Alicia Keys, left, touches a typhoon survivor as she visits the Villamor Air Base in suburban Pasay, south of Manila, Philippines, Monday Nov. 25, 2013. Keys visited the air force base to bring cheer to hundreds of evacuees from eastern Philippine provinces wracked by Typhoon Haiyan earlier this month.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES (ASSOCIATED PRESS) — Grammy-winning singer Alicia Keys visited a Philippine air force base Monday to bring cheer to hundreds of evacuees from eastern provinces wracked by Typhoon Haiyan.

The American singer distributed crayons and coloring books to children at the Villamor Air Base grandstand, where evacuees from eastern Leyte and Samar provinces arrive via C-130 planes. Social Welfare Department officer Jane Abello says Keys stayed for about half an hour to chat with evacuees.

The R&B star was in Manila for a concert Monday at the seaside MOA Arena. The Philippine Star earlier quoted her as saying that "music has a way of lifting your spirit and that's what I hope to do for the Filipino people."

Keys tweeted three days after the Nov. 8 typhoon: "To the people of the Philippines my heart is with you." She also encouraged fans around the world to donate to the typhoon victims.

Cornell Announces First Africana Studies Ph.D. Program In New York

 NEW DOCTORAL PROGRAM IS ONE OF ONLY TEN IN US

PRESS RELEASE
CORNELL UNIVERSITY NEWSROOM/NEWSWISE
NOVEMBER 25, 2013

ITHACA, N.Y. – Cornell University’s College of Arts and Sciences has announced the establishment of the first Ph.D. program in Africana Studies in New York State.

Although 300 undergraduate programs in Black and Africana studies have been founded in the U.S. over the last 40 years, there are only 10 doctoral programs. With 20 to 30 percent of current faculty in the field likely to retire over the next decade – and only about 10 Ph.D. degrees granted in the field each year – Cornell’s new doctoral program will be an important contribution to the vibrancy of Africana studies.

“With a critical mass of scholars whose work represents the cutting edge in Africana Studies, Cornell is especially well positioned to implement a doctoral program that will meet the future demand for scholars with rigorous intellectual training,” said Gretchen Ritter, the Dean of Cornell’s College of Arts and Sciences.

“Cornell’s unique resources, with its renowned faculty, seven colleges and world-class libraries, will enable this to quickly become one of the top doctoral programs in the field,” said Cornell University Provost Kent Fuchs.

As an interdisciplinary field, Africana studies examines issues such as race, ethnicity, class, gender and sexuality in relation to the history, society, culture and arts of people of Africa and people of African descent in the United States, the Caribbean, Latin America and the broader African diaspora. Cornell’s degree program will consist of two thematic tracks, one focused on “Historical, Political, and Social Analysis” and the other on “Cultural, Literary, and Visual Analysis.” Students within each track will choose a geographic area of concentration: Africa, African America, the Caribbean and Latin America, or “Emerging Studies of the Global African Diaspora.”

Cornell’s Africana Studies and Research Center (ASRC), the administrative base for the new program, was established in 1969, making Cornell a pioneer in the field. About 150 students have received the master’s degree since 1973, and almost one-third of those students have continued on for further graduate study at some of the most selective research universities in the country. Many of them have completed the doctorate and are now teaching at colleges and universities throughout the United States, with most having received tenure.

The new Ph.D. program will build on this success, continuing the ASRC’s tradition of close mentoring and student interaction with faculty. Students will have opportunities to assist faculty with research, teaching and organizing programs, and will be encouraged to participate in formal and informal study groups. They will also have the chance to design and teach freshman writing seminars.

“It is with much excitement that we look forward to welcoming our first class of doctoral students in Fall 2014. We anticipate enrolling four to five students in the doctoral program for academic year 2014-15, with a projected five-year enrollment of 20 to 25 students,” said Salah Hassan, Professor of African and African Diaspora Art History and Visual Culture, and Director of ASRC.

Partly in anticipation of the new Ph.D. program, the ASRC has expanded significantly in the last few years, with five new faculty members and the recruitment of two more underway. This is in addition to the expansion of its African Languages Program, which offers instructions in three African languages, with anticipation of more. The ASRC’s space has been renovated and expanded by over 5,000 square feet, including more space for the John Henrik Clarke Africana Library, faculty offices, four seminar and classrooms, lounge areas for faculty and graduate students, and a large multi-purpose room.

Note: For additional information, see http://africana.cornell.edu/graduate/index.cfm.

Cornell University has television and ISDN radio studios available for media interviews.

Central African President Says France To Supply Extra Troops

 AFP
November 25, 2013

France is ready to send 800 extra troops to reinforce its presence in Central African Republic, the leader of the strife-torn nation said Monday after talks in Paris with France's foreign minister.

Nicolas Tiangaye told AFP that Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius "had spoken of sending 800 men" in addition to the 410 already in the country.

"There is general insecurity... serious war crimes and crimes against humanity are being committed in Central African Republic," said Tiangaye.

A coup by the Seleka rebel coalition in March that toppled president Francois Bozize has unleashed chaos in the large country of 4.5 million, including sectarian bloodshed between Muslims and Christians.

The spiralling violence in France's former colony has sparked international alarm and last week French President Francois Hollande hinted at a "sensible" increase in troops.

"France has the military, financial and diplomatic means for efficient intervention," said Tiangaye.
However, France's foreign ministry would not confirm the plan.

Ministry spokesman Romain Nadal said only that France's priority was the adoption of a UN Security Council resolution, and that its support would be announced only after consultations with its "partners".
The UN Security Council plans to vote next month on a resolution that would allow Central African Republic's neighbours, the African Union and France, to intervene.

The United Nations, United States and France have all recently warned that the country could be headed for genocide.

The unrest has displaced almost 400,000 of the country's estimated 4.6 million people, left 2.3 million in need of assistance and some 1.1 million scrambling to find food, according to the latest UN figures
French troops would support forces from the African Union-mandated International Support Mission in the Central African Republic (MISCA) there, Tiangaye said.

"All that will be done towards mid-December, after the Security Council vote," he said.

The bulk of MISCA, which should total some 3,600 men at full strength, is provided by Chad, with troops from Gabon, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo and Equatorial Guinea.

Iran Nuke Deal Could Push Oil Prices Lower

Oil pumps work in the desert oil fields of Sakhir, Bahrain. Oil prices could be headed lower after the preliminary nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers, even though it does not loosen sanctions on Iran's oil exports.

NEW YORK (ASSOCIATED PRESS PRESS) — Oil prices could be headed lower after the preliminary nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers, even though it does not allow Iran to export more oil.

In the short term, the deal may make it easier for Iran to sell the oil it is already allowed to sell under the sanctions, which would increase supplies on the world market. And the newfound cooperation between Iran and the West eases tensions that pushed oil prices higher in recent years.

But the deal, described by both sides as only a first step, raises the possibility that a more comprehensive agreement would eventually allow Iran to restore oil production to pre-sanctions levels. That could add 1 million barrels per day of oil to world markets — enough to meet the entire global growth in demand for 2014 projected by the International Energy Agency.

"The initial reaction is going to be a more stable oil market," says Anthony Cordesman, a Middle East and energy expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "But everything will depend on if there's a final agreement and how it is implemented."

Iran reached an agreement Sunday with the U.S. and five other world powers to freeze its nuclear program for six months while the two sides work on a more permanent deal covering Iran's development of nuclear technology. In exchange, some sanctions against Iran will be relieved, and it will get access to some frozen overseas assets, including $4.2 billion in oil revenue.

Kevin Book, an analyst at ClearView Energy Partners in Washington, predicts the price of Brent Crude, an international benchmark used to price oil used by many U.S. refineries, could fall to $90 a barrel by the end of next year if talks yield a final agreement. That's 19 percent below Brent's level Monday, where it closed down 5 cents at $111 a barrel.

Analysts caution, though, that if talks on a final deal fall apart — or even appear to be faltering — oil could instead rocket higher. Iran and the West have been seemingly close to an agreement on nuclear issues in the past, only to abandon talks and descend deeper into acrimony.

"Even the slightest hint of an unraveling of the Geneva accord could restore a vibrant risk premium to crude," Book says. But oil prices appear to be headed lower for now, in part because the prospect of more Iranian oil is coming at a time when production is rising in the U.S., Canada, and elsewhere, helping global supply growth outpace the growth in demand. The average price of Brent crude so far this year is 3 percent below last year's average, and it's on track for its lowest average price since 2010.

Lower prices of Brent crude have helped reduced U.S. retail gasoline prices this year, which are also on track for their lowest annual average since 2010. A further reduction in oil prices could bring additional relief to drivers.

"The perception, whether accurate or not, that next year's surplus could be supplemented by additional Iranian barrels will be bearish for prices," says Judith Dwarkin, director of energy research at ITG Investment Research.

Iran produces 2.7 million barrels of oil per day, 3 percent of world demand that averages 91 million barrels per day. Iran was once the world's third largest oil exporter, but since 2012, when Western nations expanded economic sanctions against the country to include oil, its exports have dropped 60 percent to less than 1 million barrels per day. Limited exports were allowed to continue to some countries, especially in Asia, that rely on Iranian crude.

This weekend's preliminary deal does not change those sanctions, which the White House says cost Iran up to $5 billion per month. The deal, the White House says, allows "purchases of Iranian oil to remain at their currently significantly reduced levels."

But the Geneva deal may make it easier for Iran to sell the oil allowed under the sanctions. ClearView's Book estimates that Iran could increase sales by about 285,000 barrels per day over the next month before reaching the 1 million barrel per day limit allowed by the sanctions.

While modest, that could help lower global prices by making up for a sharp drop in Libyan crude exports in recent months caused by civil unrest. The simple fact that the two sides reached any agreement at all will also help reduce prices. Oil has been more expensive in recent years in part because traders worried that the heightened tensions between Iran and the West would lead to a sudden interruption of oil supplies. Iran in the past has threated to block or attack oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage in the Persian Gulf through which one-fifth of the world's oil passes.

Also, traders worried that the West would further tighten limits on Iran's oil exports. While those limits won't be loosening soon, the threat of even less Iranian oil on the world market has all but evaporated — for now.

Jonathan Fahey can be reached at http://twitter.com/JonathanFahey .

Afghan Leader Seeks To Position On Security Deal

Afghan women with their children enjoy a view over Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Nov. 25, 2013. Human Rights Watch says that the Afghan government should reject a proposal to reintroduce public stoning as a punishment for adultery, but the Justice Ministry says such a law has not yet been sent for review as part of a new penal code that is still being drafted. When the Taliban where in power from 1996 to 200, convicted adulterers were routinely shot or stoned in executions held mostly on Fridays. Women were not permitted to go out on their own, girls were barred from schools and men were obliged to grow long beards.

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (ASSOCIATED PRESS) — Afghanistan's president said Monday he told the U.S. national security adviser that he won't back down from his refusal to sign a security agreement with the United States, but will instead defer it to his successor.

Hamid Karzai's surprise decision to ignore Sunday's recommendation to sign by an Afghan assembly of dignitaries has cast doubt on the future presence of American and allied troops in Afghanistan. Washington and many Afghans had hoped the pact could be signed to allow troops to stay after 2014 to train soldiers and police to face a persistent Taliban insurgency.

Washington has asked him to change his mind. But the mercurial Karzai, in a meeting with National Security Adviser Susan Rice, says he laid out a series of new demands — albeit ones mostly involving steps the U.S. has already said it would take.

Karzai's office said that in the meeting with Rice, he also asked for further assurances from the United States that its forces will not raid Afghan homes and that America express a sincere commitment to help start stalled peace talks with the Taliban. He also reiterated his demand that the United States commit to holding free and transparent elections on April 5.

"During this meeting both sides spoke about the Bilateral Security Agreement ... President Karzai, besides emphasizing his previous position, also mentioned the stopping of all foreign forces operations in residential houses, the start of an honest cooperation on the peace process, and also the holding transparent and fair elections that will be on time," the statement said.

The statement further added that Karzai asked Rice to convey his concerns about the raids and peace talks to President Barack Obama so that he can "give assurances regarding the issues to the Afghan people."

Obama has already addressed the issue of raids in a letter to Karzai last week that was read to the assembly. In it, Obama assured Karzai that under the agreement, the U.S. will continue to respect "Afghan sovereignty." He also said the U.S. military will not conduct raids on homes except under "extraordinary circumstances" involving urgent risks to U.S. nationals.

The US has repeatedly urged Karzai to sign a deal that would allow about 8,000 American troops to stay in the country beyond a 2014 withdrawal deadline. On Sunday, a 2,500 tribal elders and regional leaders known as a Loya Jirga not only overwhelmingly approved the deal after a four-day meeting but urged him to sign it by Dec. 31.

As the U.S. national security adviser met Karzai in Kabul, the White House again urged him to sign the deal before the end of the year. White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters traveling along with Obama aboard Air Force One to San Francisco that America's position was clear.

"Our view on this has been pretty clear that in order to plan for post-2014 military presence with our allies, we need to get this agreement signed and we need to get this agreement signed before the end of the year," he said.

"Reaching this agreement was a painstaking path," Earnest said. "We should get the deal signed and set about the work of planning the presence of the United States and our allies after the war ends next year."

The two-term Afghan leader has insisted that the winner of an April 5 election to succeed him should be the one to sign the deal. More than $8 billion in annual funds for Afghanistan's fledgling security forces and development assistance also are at stake.

Karzai may be seemed concerned about his legacy, worried he might be seen as responsible for an agreement that some Afghans will likely see as selling out to foreign interests. In a further complication Karzai told Rice that the United States should address a suggestion by the Loya Jirga that all Afghan prisoners be released from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

According to the statement, Karzai "said the United States of America should respond to the suggestion mentioned in the resolution of the Loya Jirga to free all the afghan prisoners in Guantanamo." There are nearly 20 Afghans currently being held at the American facility in Cuba.

There was no immediate comment from American officials on Karzai's statement, but the statement said that Rice told the Afghan president that the U.S. was committed to transparent elections that will be held on time and without interference as prescribed by Afghan law.

It added that Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, the top U.S. and coalition commander, told Karzai he had ordered his troops "to act according to the security agreement and suggestions of the consultative Loya Jirga."

But is also said Rice did not provide a commitment on the peace talks. Karzai has blamed the United States for the collapse of talks that were to be held at a Taliban office in the Gulf State of Qatar.

The Taliban office which opened in Doha last June after talks between the United States and Qatar closed after Karzai accused the religious movement of trying to set up a government-in-exile by identifying its office as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. It also hoisted the same white flag flown during the Taliban's five-year rule of Afghanistan that ended with the 2001 American-led invasion.

A furious Karzai told the Loya Jirga delegates on Sunday that Obama had promised him the Taliban would not open an embassy. Rice met with Karzai at the end of a previously unannounced three-day trip to Afghanistan to visit U.S. troops and civilians for the Thanksgiving holidays, the White House said, adding that the meeting was at Karzai's request. Her spokesman, Patrick Ventrell, said the meeting was the last stop on her trip.

Karzai, who had convened the Loya Jirga, complicated the debate by announcing on the opening day that he wanted delegates to endorse the deal but he would not sign it. He repeated that stance Sunday laying down a series of ill-defined conditions and promising to continue negotiations with the United States. They included demands that America ensure peace in a country that has been at war for more than 12 years and guarantee transparent elections.

Karzai, who is constitutionally barred from running in the upcoming presidential vote, also accused the United States of meddling in the 2009 elections, which were marred by fraud, and said he wanted to keep that from happening again.
Even if the president changes his mind and signs the document, it still must be approved by the Afghan parliament, then finally signed into law by Karzai.

Associated Press Writers Jim Kuhnhenn aboard Air Force One and Pauline Jelinek in Washington contributed.

Follow Patrick Quinn on Twitter at www.twitter.com/PatrickAQuinn

Obama Pushes Back On Critics Of Iran Deal

President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks about immigration reform, Monday, Nov. 25, 2013, at the Betty Ann Ong Chinese Recreation Center in San Francisco. Obama is traveling on a three day West Coast swing to Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles that will feature a bit of official business but mostly fundraising for the Democratic party.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Responding to his critics, President Barack Obama forcefully defended the weekend nuclear agreement with Iran, declaring that the United States "cannot close the door on diplomacy."

The president's remarks came as criticism of the deal to temporarily freeze pieces of Iran's nuclear program mounted from Capitol Hill and some allies abroad, most notably Israel. Obama acknowledged that tough obstacles remain before the diplomacy with Iran can be deemed a success, but he insisted the potential rewards are too great to not test Tehran's willingness to strike a longer-term deal with the U.S. and other world powers.

"If Iran seizes this opportunity and chooses to join the global community, then we can begin to chip away at the mistrust that's existed for many, many years between our two nations," Obama said during an event in San Francisco.

For Obama, the shift to foreign policy could be a welcome change from the domestic problems that have plagued the White House in recent weeks, especially the troubled rollout of his signature health care law. The president used the opportunity to remind Americans that the current diplomacy with Iran is in part the result of the pledge he made at his inauguration to talk to the Islamic republic without preconditions.

"When I first ran for president, I said it was time for a new era of American leadership in the world, one that turned the page on a decade of war and began a new era of engagement with the world," he said. "As president and as commander in chief, I've done what I've said."

The weekend agreement between Iran and the so-called P5+1 countries — the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany — is to temporarily halt parts of Tehran's disputed nuclear program and allow for more intrusive international monitoring of its facilities. In exchange, Iran gets some modest sanctions relief and a promise from Obama that no new economic penalties will be levied during the terms of the six-month deal.

The groundwork for the accord was laid during four clandestine meetings between U.S. and Iranian officials throughout the summer and fall. An earlier meeting took place in March, before Iranians elected their new, more moderate-sounding President Hassan Rouhani. Details of the secret talks were confirmed to The Associated Press by three senior administration officials.

With a short-term pact in place, the U.S. and its partners will now set about trying to negotiate a broader agreement with Iran to permanently neutralize the nuclear program and assuage international concerns. The U.S. and its allies contend Iran is seeking a bomb, while Tehran insists it is pursuing a peaceful nuclear program for energy and medical purposes.