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Venezuela recalls Colombia envoy

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — President Hugo Chavez’s government called its ambassador back to Caracas for talks.

The two countries’ leaders have exchanged increasingly sharp words since Colombia’s conservative Alvaro Uribe last week ended Chavez’s efforts to broker a prisoner swap to free hostages held by Colombian rebels, including three U.S. defense contractors and French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt.

The guerrillas on Tuesday issued their first statement on recent events, saying that Chavez’s participation in the fledgling talks had been the only hope for a deal.

Venezuela’s foreign ministry announced it had called home Pavel Rondon, its ambassador in Bogota, to oversee an exhaustive evaluation of bilateral relations.

A foreign ministry official said Rondon has been in Caracas since Saturday.

But Colombia’s foreign minister, Fernando Araujo, vowed not to recall Colombia’s ambassador in Caracas, insisting his government’s dispute is with the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as the FARC, not Venezuela.

The enemy of the Colombian people is the FARC, Araujo told a news conference.

The Andean neighbors share a 1,380-mile border and $5 billion in trade last year, maintaining friendly relations despite sharp ideological differences — until now.

Uribe last Wednesday booted the leftist Chavez and a Colombian senator from talks with the FARC, saying the Venezuelan leader had violated the conditions of his involvement by speaking directly to the head of Colombia’s army.

Uribe’s attitude is wretched, very wretched, to suspend the humanitarian mediation of President Hugo Chavez and Senator Piedad Cordoba, when it was the only hope for achieving a prisoner swap in Colombia, the guerrilla commander known as Ivan Marquez said a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press.

The rebel leader, who had traveled to Caracas to meet with the Venezuelan president earlier this month, thanked Chavez and Cordoba for trying to stimulate talks.

Since taking office in 2002, Uribe’s government has had no face-to-face talks with the rebels. Some FARC hostages have been held for more than? 10 years.

Chavez on Sunday said he was putting relations with Colombia in the freezer, calling Uribe a liar and accusing him of not wanting peace.

Uribe replied hours later, claiming that Chavez is pushing an expansionist project across Latin America and seems to want Colombia to fall victim to a terrorist FARC government.

The rebel force is holding 46 high-profile hostages whom it has pledged to release in exchange for hundreds of imprisoned guerrillas.

Uribe in August invited Chavez to help broker a deal with the leftist rebels, who are sympathetic to the Venezuelan leader’s socialist ideals.

Colombia, Washington’s closest ally in South America, has received billions of dollars in U.S. military aid in the past seven years to fight the FARC and the world’s largest cocaine trade. E-mail to a friend

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Blige, Crow to headline ‘CNN Heroes’ tribute

(CNN) — Mary J. Blige, Sheryl Crow, Wyclef Jean and Norah Jones join CNN for a live global telecast honoring ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute, hosted by CNN’s Anderson Cooper and Christiane Amanpour, honors the most outstanding viewer-nominated CNN Heroes as chosen by a blue ribbon panel of world leaders and luminaries.

The December 6 gala at the American Museum of Natural History in New York is the culmination of a five-month audience nomination process to recognize some of the people among us who see a world of possibility and hope.

The show will include performances from Grammy Award winners Blige and Crow and a duet by Grammy Award winner Jones and acclaimed performer-producer Jean.

Presenters will include Tyra Banks, Glenn Close, Harry Connick Jr., Rosario Dawson, LL Cool J, Kyra Sedgwick and Jimmy Smits.

The CNN Heroes:

Eighteen viewer-nominated CNN Heroes finalists selected from more than 7,000 names submitted by viewers in 80 countries.

Viewers’ Choice: The most popular CNN Hero profiled on air and online between May 1 and September 30, as chosen in a poll conducted on CNN.com.

Everyday Superheroes: Three remarkable people recognized by CNN for their spontaneous acts of courage in the face of danger: Wesley Autrey, who jumped onto New York subway tracks to save the life of a student; Zach Petkewicz, who helped prevent a shooter from killing a classroom of students at Virginia Tech; and John Smeaton, a baggage handler who thwarted a terrorist attack at Glasgow Airport in Scotland.

The performers:

Mary J. Blige: Grammy-winning Queen of Hip-Hop Soul will give her first live performance of a song from her forthcoming new album Growing Pains.

Sheryl Crow: Singer/songwriter previews her 2008 album Detours with a live performance of one of her new songs.

Wyclef Jean and Norah Jones: Duet and first-ever live performance of a new track from Jean’s new album, Carnival II: Memoirs of an Immigrant, to be released December 4.

The presenters:

Tyra Banks: Supermodel, actor and host of the daytime talk show, The Tyra Banks Show.

Harry Connick Jr.: Musician, singer and actor, heavily involved in efforts to rebuild his hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana, after Hurricane Katrina.

Glenn Close: Academy Award nominee and star of the hit TV series Damages.

Rosario Dawson: Activist, actress, and star of this year’s cult hit Grindhouse.

LL Cool J: Hip-hop legend, TV and movie star, expected to release a new album early in 2008.

Kyra Sedgwick: Emmy-nominated and Golden Globe-winning star of hit TV series The Closer.

Jimmy Smits: Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actor and star of the CBS drama Cane.

Peabody winner producing gala

Joel Gallen, who has helmed ambitious telethon events supporting victims of both the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina, serves as executive producer for the December 6 event.

Gallen won a Peabody Award for America: A Tribute to Heroes and has been nominated for several Emmy awards throughout his career.

From May 1 through September 30, CNN has featured everyday heroes across its television networks, digital services and at CNN.com/Heroes, encouraging viewers to submit and nominate local heroes they deem deserving of recognition.

In its first year, the CNN Heroes initiative received more than 7,000 nominations from viewers in 80 countries. More than 90 countries were represented among the nominees.

For the December 6 gala, honorees will be named in the following categories: Defending the Planet, Fighting for Justice, Community Crusader, Medical Marvel, Championing Children and Young Wonder. E-mail to a friend

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Extent, effects of kids’ cyberbullying debated

ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) — As many as one in three U.S. children have been ridiculed or threatened through computer messages, according to one estimate of the emerging problem of cyberbullying.

Another new study found the problem is less common, with one in 10 kids reporting online harassment.

But health experts said even the lower estimate signals a growing and concerning public health issue.

I wouldn’t consider something that 10 percent of kids report as low, said Janis Wolak, a University of New Hampshire researcher and co-author of the second study.

Wolak and other researchers, though, found that in many cases the incidents of online harassment were relatively mild.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is trying to draw attention to how U.S. adolescents are affected by e-mail, instant messaging, text messaging, blog postings and other electronic communications.

Last year, CDC officials convened a panel of experts to focus on the topic. They also funded a special issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health to publish more research on the subject. The journal released the articles Tuesday.

It’s difficult to say how severe online harassment is as a public health issue, because a posting or e-mail that might upset some children is shrugged off by others, CDC officials said.

And the result of surveys can differ depending on how questions are asked.

But the issue was attracted the attention of lawmakers in Oregon, Washington, New Jersey and other states that have introduced bills or instituted programs designed to reduce cyberbullying. Last week, officials in a Missouri town made Internet harassment a misdemeanor, after public outrage over the suicide of a 13-year-old resident last year.

The parents of Megan Meier claim their daughter, who had been treated for depression, committed suicide after a teenage boy who flirted with her on MySpace abruptly ended their friendship, telling her he heard she was cruel. The story gained national prominence this month when it was revealed the boy never existed — it was a prank allegedly started by a mother in the girl’s neighborhood.

The schoolyard continues to be a source of in-person bullying: Studies indicate roughly 17 percent of early adolescents say they are victims of recurring verbal aggression or physical harassment.

Some kids suffer both in-person and electronic harassment, but it’s more often one or the other. A study by California-based researcher Michele Ybarra found 64 percent of youths who were harassed online were not also bullied in person.

The new studies made conflicting estimates of the size of the problem. The largest estimate came from Ybarra, president of Internet Solutions for Kids, a nonprofit research organization.

One Ybarra study was based on an online survey of 1,588 children ages 10 to 15. It found 34 percent said they were the victim of Internet harassment at least once in the previous year, and 8 percent said they were targeted monthly or more often.

Also, 15 percent said they’re received at least one unwanted sexual communication in the past year. That included solicitations for sex or conversations about sex or questions about bra size or other personal sexual information.

All bothersome communications were included, no matter the age of the sender.

Wolak’s study was a telephone survey of 1,500 Internet users, ages 10 to 17. The 9 percent who said they were harassed online in the previous year was an increase from the 6 percent in a similar study in 2000.

At least part of the difference may lie in how the surveys were done: The New Hampshire study defined online harassment as anyone who said they felt embarrassed, worried or threatened by an online posting or Internet message. Ybarra’s survey asked not only whether someone made aggressive or threatening comments, but also whether someone had made rude or mean comments or spread rumors about them.

In the Wolak study, more than half of the communications came from people that the children had never met. Many were easily handled by deleting the comment or blocking additional postings from the sender.

A lot of the kids were not particularly upset, Wolak said.

Because much of the online aggression is not a recurring harassment, she and others said cyberbullying probably isn’t the best description.

Most of these are pretty brief encounters, she said. E-mail to a friend

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Israelis, Palestinians agree on framework for peace talks

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland (CNN) — Israeli and Palestinian leaders will immediately launch peace talks — aimed at creating a Palestinian state alongside Israel — and they hope to finish negotiations before 2009, President Bush announced Tuesday.

The leaders agreed Tuesday on a document that will guide those negotiations, Bush said during remarks at the U.S. Naval Academy, where all three leaders attended a U.S.-brokered Mideast summit.

Both sides also agreed to form steering committees, which will begin meeting December 12.

Thereafter, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will meet every two weeks to follow up on the negotiations and offer assistance, the statement said.

The three leaders are scheduled to meet again Wednesday.

But there were doubts among both Palestinians and Israelis about whether the peace talks would bring any positive results.

In the West Bank, protesters angry about what they called a sell-out by a weak and compromised Palestinian leadership clashed with police.

Police shot and killed one protester in Hebron, CNN’s Ben Wedeman reported.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh denounced the summit in a televised address Tuesday.

The Palestinian people will not be bound by anything the Palestinian Authority agrees to in Annapolis, he said.

On the Israeli side, one newspaper described the meeting as a summit of low expectations, according to The Associated Press. Demonstrators carrying signs that read Hands off Israel gathered for a protest in Jerusalem on the eve of the talks.

But some Israelis admitted there were few other options.

We don’t have another choice. We are doomed to be here together, the Israelis and Palestinians, so what can we do? one woman said. Watch the reaction in the Mideast

Back in Washington, there were concerns that a work plan would not be agreed upon. Olmert and Abbas showed up to meet Bush on Tuesday morning without a joint statement, a senior State Department official said.

Bush then called on the Israeli and Palestinian foreign ministers to huddle with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and come up with a statement, which they did as the three leaders met separately, the official said.

The document does not contain specifics about the contentious issues that divide the Israelis and Palestinians, Bush said.

Rather, it focuses on principles that will guide future talks, such as a commitment to bring an end to bloodshed, suffering and decades of conflict and a promise to propagate a culture of peace and nonviolence, Bush said. Watch Bush reveal hopes for an end to bloodshed

The document is intended to provide guidelines for talks on the testier sticking points, such as settlements, timelines, the role of the international community, the fate of Jerusalem and the labeling of Israel as a Jewish state.

Arabs and Palestinians have opposed calling Israel a Jewish state because, they say, it would preclude many refugees from returning to Israel, and the label fails to account for thousands of Arabs residing there.

Some of those issues are addressed in the so-called road map to peace established in 2003 by the Mideast Quartet composed of the U.S., U.N., Russia and European Union. Bush said Tuesday that Abbas and Olmert have agreed to immediately implement their respective obligations under the road map.

The issue of Jerusalem also poses problems. After Bush’s announcement, Abbas said Tuesday that he will not back down on his demand that East Jerusalem be named the capital of any future Palestinian state. Nor will he relent on his calls for Israel to dismantle its outposts in the West Bank, he said.

I must defend the right of our people to see a new dawn, Abbas said, calling also for the release of Palestinian prisoners, the lifting of roadblocks and the removal of what he called the separation wall that surrounds the West Bank.

Olmert spoke after Abbas, saying that Israel was prepared to make a painful compromise, rife with risks, in order to realize these aspirations of peace.

Olmert said he had hesitations and doubts about attending Tuesday’s summit, but Israel nonetheless will be part of an international mechanism to establish the guidelines and boundaries for a future Palestinian state.

Olmert called on the Arab nations in attendance to also make concessions, namely to end their boycott of Israel. See who’s there and what they want

It does not help you, and it hurts us, Olmert said, citing his nation’s peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan as a solid foundation of stability and hope in our region.

Earlier, an Israeli official attending the U.S.-brokered Mideast summit said Israel is ready now for a deal.

Olmert and Abbas have very good chemistry, the official said. The two leaders met Monday night to hammer out a statement that could guide peace negotiations but could not come to an agreement.

The official said some of the 40 nations represented at the summit have offered Israel a chilly welcome, but their participation alone is encouraging.

The Saudis won’t shake our hands; the Syrians won’t say nice things about us, the Israeli official said. But they’re here.

The coming months will be crucial to the peace deal’s fate, the official said. That sentiment was echoed by Bush during remarks later in the day.

Bush said that while Tuesday’s summit is an important event, it is merely a starting block for future negotiations that he hopes will ultimately yield a Palestinian state existing peacefully alongside Israel.
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Barca win group as Lyon fight on

LYON, France — Barcelona reached the knockout phase of the Champions League Tuesday as group E winners after drawing 2-2 away to French champions Lyon who can still join them as runners-up.

Lyon go to Glasgow next month knowing that a win would take them ahead of Rangers into second place after the Scottish side crashed 3-2 away to group also-rans Stuttgart.

Juninho was on target twice for Lyon in a high-tempo match which featured two second-half penalties.

Lyon’s captain cancelled out Andres Iniesta’s third minute strike with a long-range set piece four minutes later, before replying to Lionel Messi’s 58th minute spot kick with a penalty of his own 10 minutes from time.

The French were without their injured top goalscorer Karim Benzema while Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard opted to keep embattled Brazilian star Ronaldinho on the bench even though he was missing Thierry Henry and Samuel Eto’o.

Perhaps buoyed by the news that Stuttgart had levelled against group qualification rivals Rangers, Lyon emerged a more determined team in the second half.

But they suffered a huge setback when Barcelona were awarded a penalty when Messi was fouled by Sebastien Squillaci as he headed for goal.

The Argentine stepped up and sent Vercoutre the wrong way with a left-foot shot, but was then booked for walking too slowly back to the centre spot.

In the 67th minute Barca came close to a third, but Vecoutre pulled off a superb diving save to block Gudjohnsen’s close-range drive.

Rijkaard then sent on Ronaldinho for Gudjohnsen, but with 10 minutes left Lyon were given a lifeline as the referee pointed to the spot for an Abidal foul on Abdul Kader Keita.

Juninho’s effort wrong-footed Valdes and levelled the scores at 2-2 in the 79th minute.

Rangers boss Walter Smith admitted Stuttgart’s equaliser on the stroke of half-time was the turning point as his side went down in Germany to leave their campaign still in the balance — and needing at least a draw at home to Lyon.

Rangers had taken the lead through substitute Charlie Adam before Stuttgart hit back through Cacau in first-half injury time.

Barry Ferguson then cancelled out Pavel Pardo’s strike before Ciprian Marica clinched the win late on.

We came out and worked very hard and managed to get back on level terms, then we had another opportunity just after when Charlie Adam could have put us in front, Smith said on Sky Sports News.

I’m a little bit disappointed to lose but at the end of the day, I felt losing the goal before half-time was probably the turning point in the game from Stuttgart’s point of view. E-mail to a friend

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