18 Year Arrested for DUI Says He Was Doing 80 mph When He Ran Red Light and Tire Fell Off

Guam - Guam Police Officers arrested 18 year old Ryan T. Manuntag early Friday morning after he reportedly ran a red light doing 80 miles per hour and lost his front left tire.

According to a release from GPD Spokesman, Officer A.J. Balajadia,  about 1 am Friday, Tumon/Tamuning officers responded to a report of an auto-object crash on Route 1 by the Fusion Cafe in Tamuning.

When the officers arrived on the scene they found a 1996 Honda Civic in the median lane with its left front tire missing.

According to Balajadia, Manuntag told the Officers that he had been coming from the Pizza Hut and doing  between 80 and 90 miles per hour when he ran a red light, hit something, and his tire fell off.

The tire hit the left side of a passing 2003 Toyota Corolla that was headed north on Route 1 towards Camp Watkins Road.

The 18 year old Manuntag of Yigo was booked and confined on charges of  DUI, Imprudent Driving, DUI with a Blood Alcohol Content over .08, Speeding in  a Posted Zone and Underage Drinking.

Officer Balajadia says Manuntag BAC’s BAC was .165 which is more than twice the legal limit.

From the Inbox - Tell Congress: Don’t open our lands and oceans to more destructive oil and gas drilling

Donate Join NRDC and help protect the planet’s wildlife and wild places Explore Subscribe to NRDC Online, our weekly newsletter, for news you can use Plug In Connect to Switchboard, the NRDC blog Reach Out Send messages in style with our beautiful nature postcards Update Use your Action Center Profile to manage your subscriptions and personal info February 1, 2012 Tell Congress: Don’t open our lands and oceans to more destructive oil and gas drilling House Republicans have come up with a new strategy to open all of America’s oceans and Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling. This week House Speaker Boehner (R-OH) will introduce a bill that would open all federal waters along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts as well as the Arctic Refuge to oil drilling. To try to lure Congress to go along, the bill would direct some of the drilling royalties into highway work — something that has never been done before. No money actually would be available soon enough to meet our pressing transportation needs; this is just a gimmick to try to persuade Congress to endorse a breathtaking expansion of oil drilling. Practically nowhere in our country would be safe from the dangers of drilling. Indeed, the bill would force new drilling off of the entire Atlantic coast from Maine to Florida, off the California coast and in the pristine Alaskan Arctic, including the fishing mecca of Bristol Bay. It also would expand drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, which is still reeling from the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster, and would force the drilling of oil shale in America’s west. And it wouldn’t stop there. This dangerous proposal would also mandate drilling, for the very first time, in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — one of our nation’s most pristine environments. The House is scheduled to vote on the bill (H.R. 7) in mid-February, so send your representative a message today! What to do Send a message urging your representative to vote No on H.R. 7 and to not sacrifice our lands and oceans to a highway funding gimmick.

Amended Class Action Suit Filed Against GovGuam & GALC Over Tiyan Land Swap Law

Guam - Attorney Curtis Van de Veld Friday filed an amended version of the class action lawsuit first filed  against GovGuam, the Guam Ancestral Land Commission [GALC] over the Tiyan land swap law, P.L. 30-158.

The initial lawsuit was filed in July of 2010 by Van de Veld on behalf of  Maria A. Gange and others who, the attorney says, make up the majority of beneficiaries of the GALC Trust.

READ the amended class action suit filed Friday Feb 3

This amended law suit was filed following Superior Court Judge Arthur Barcinas’ decision last month to issue a temporary injunction blocking implementation of the law which,  Van de Veld has argued,  is illegal because it would transfer the bulk of  the property held in trust by GALC, to roughly 10% of the trust’s beneficiaries, all of whom are former Tiyan landowners or their descendants.

One of the 2 properties in question is a 582 acre property in South Finegayan and the other is a 395 parcel of land straddling the back road to Andersen

READ Judge Barcinas’ January 27, 2012 TRO

The revised lawsuit adjusts the complaint in response to issues raised by Judge Barcinas in his January 27, 2012 decision to impose a temporary injunction.

In particular, the amended complaint responds to concerns raised by Judge Barcinas in his January 27 TRO in which he wrote:

“It is not apparent from the factual allegations of the Complaint that the Plaintiffs have specifically set forth a cause of action challenging Public Law 30-158 … The Plaintiffs merely state that .. [the law]  … is unconstitutional, inorganic, and illegal …at trial, Plaintiffs will be required to prove the elements of each specifically stated cause of action by a preponderance of the evidence.”

Guthertz Urges Governor to Immediately Impanel Guam First Commission in Wake of Downsized Buildup Reports

Guam - Senator Judi Guthertz is calling on Governor Eddie Calvo to immediately impanel the Guam First Commission, in the wake of reports of a downsized Guam buildup.

 

In his State of the Island address this past Tuesday, Governor Calvo said he “will be issuing an executive order impaneling the Guam First Commission advisory body so that all communications with Washington are made with one voice.”

In her letter to the Governor, the Senator writes: “I respectfully urge that you issue the Executive Order within the coming week, announce the empanelling of the advisory body, and schedule the first meeting in earnest.”

READ Senator Guthertz’s letter to Governor Calvo HERE

Referring to the recent reports of a downsized Guam buildup, the Senator argues that convening the Guam First Commission is “especially important in light of increasing reports that the Obama Administration is adjusting its National Defense Policy to reflect a more agile and mobile force in our region.”

She goes on to write that impaneling the “Guam First Commission will help to send a clear, strong, and unified message to Washington, the Defense Department and most importantly our people” and that the Governor could  “pass along sentiments of the new board on the buildup during his trip to Washington later this month.”

READ Senator Guthertz’s release in FULL below:

SENATOR GUTHERTZ TELLS GOVERNOR CALVO THAT NEW DETAILS ON GUAM BUILDUP/REALIGNMENT CALL FOR IMMEDIATE
EMPANELLING OF GUAM FIRST COMMISSION ADVISORY BOARD

Only a few days after Guam Governor Eddie Baza announced he would appoint an advisory board to the Guam First Commission long advocated by
Senators Judi P. Guthertz and Rory Respicio, two news reports out of Washington offered the outlines of a new buildup strategy that would include a smaller number of Marines and require a scaled back number of support facilities.

This is especially important in light of increasing reports that the Obama Administration is adjusting its National Defense Policy to reflect a more agile
and mobile force in our region,‛ Senator Guthertz wrote to Governor Calvo in her letter, which also suggested Calvo might want to pass along sentiments of the new board on the buildup during his trip to Washington later this month.

Senator Guthertz, Chairman of the Guam Committee on the Military Buildup and Homeland Security did not find the smaller number of Marines to be sent to Guam according to a Bloomberg News report surprising.

It is reassuring to see a more realistic and manageable number of Marines, reported at approximately 4500, projected for the Guam buildup,‛ her letter
said.

The Guam First Commission will help to send a clear, strong, and unified message to Washington, the Defense Department and most importantly our people, that we are indeed a patriotic community that welcomes our Marines, and indeed, as reflected in the storied history of Guam’s sons and daughters serving our nation’s military, all members of the United States Armed Forces.

More important however, Senator Guthertz, said was the claim within the report that the refusal of Okinawans to go along with terms of the U.S.-Japan
agreement to move the Marines out of Okinawa had been resolved.

The Obama administration’s plans to move forces out of Japan are no longer contingent on progress in building a new site for the Futenma airbase on
Okinawa according to people familiar with the plan,‛ according to the Bloomberg story.

Senator Guthertz said the decision to proceed without a decision to move the Futenma Marine Base to a less populated area could likely speed up shipping the Marines to Guam.

However, a later story by another news service, Reuters, questioned whether the Futenma decision was really final, based on a briefing of reporters in
Tokyo by Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba, who told them: “The report [the Bloomberg report] may generate misunderstanding. We are
in talks with the U.S. side, with flexibility in our mind, to seek ways to advance the relocation of Futenma airbase and the shift of Okinawa-based
U.S. Marines to Guam, while upholding policy of reducing the burden on Okinawa in a timely manner and maintaining deterrent effects … nothing has
been finalized.”

There are also a number of issues to be resolved outside of the Japan-US talks, including the currently frozen buildup budget in Washington and conditions imposed for unfreezing it, such as a final Marine ‘lay down’ plan for Corps activities in Guam and a final plan for the overall buildup that would spell out requirements to meet infrastructure needs of the Guam civilian population.

“The Marine Lay down Plan and the Guam Buildup Master plan are being finalized by the Pentagon and we in Guam should be hearing more about
these critical documents as soon as they are approved by the Secretary of Defense. the President, and after they are finally submitted to the Congress as
required by the National Defense Authorization Act,” Guthertz said. “These documents are critical for the Buildup to proceed.”

YOMIURI: Japan U.S. May Transfer U.S. Marines First, Before Futenma Move

Guam -Japan’s Yomiuri newspaper is reporting that the move of U.S. Marines out of Okinawa may happen before the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps’ Futenma Air Station.

 

According to the Yomiuri report, which quotes un-named diplomatic sources, the United States approached Japan in mid-January and proposed revising the 2006 Guam International Agreement. And while both Government’s agree that the number of  Marines that will be transferred out of Okinawa will still be in the 8,000 range, not all of them will be moved to Guam. Instead, the 2 countries “are considering temporarily stationing some of them in Australia, Hawaii and elsewhere,” according to the report.

The paper also reports that Senior Japanese and U.S. officials from the foreign and defense ministries of  both countries will meet in Washington on Monday to hammer out the details of  a revised realignment agreement.

READ the Yomiuri report below or click here to view their website:

The Yomiuri Shimbun
(Feb. 5, 2012)

Japan and the United States are discussing the transfer of U.S. marines stationed in Okinawa Prefecture out of the country ahead of the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps’ Futenma Air Station, government sources said.

The move comes as part of a review of a 2006 bilateral agreement on the realignment of U.S. forces in the country. Under the accord, the transfer of the marines to Guam and the relocation of the Futenma station were supposed to be handled together.

Senior officials of the foreign and defense ministries of the two countries will meet in Washington on Monday to start full-fledged negotiations on a new realignment plan, according to the sources.

The review of the 2006 accord was proposed by the United States in mid-January, the sources said.

Washington apparently took the step in line with its review of the country’s defense strategy, announced on Jan. 5, which is aimed at drastically reducing its defense spending.

The two governments plan to keep the number of U.S. marines to be transferred at 8,000, in line with the 2006 accord.

However, instead of moving all the marines to Guam, the two countries are considering temporarily stationing some of them in Australia, Hawaii and elsewhere.

As for Futenma Air Station, Japan and the United States still want to relocate the facility from the congested city of Ginowan to the Henoko area of Nago in the prefecture, according to the sources.

“We’ve adopted a flexible stance in negotiations with the United States on ways to move forward on both the relocation of Futenma Air Station and the transfer of U.S. marines to ease the burden on Okinawa Prefecture at an early date while maintaining a deterrence,” Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba told reporters Friday night.

This statement suggests the transfer of marines might precede the relocation of the Futenma Air Station and the scale of marines to be redeployed to Guam could be reviewed.

Along with the relocation of the Futenma facility, the transfer of marines from Okinawa Prefecture to Guam is considered a pillar of the realignment of U.S. forces in this country.

The review of the 2006 Japan-U.S. accord could influence the scheduled return of six U.S. military installations in southern Okinawa Prefecture, a plan incorporated in the agreement.

The U.S. government is expediting efforts to transfer marines to Guam, even if the plan has to be separated from Futenma’s relocation, apparently to counter China’s efforts to boost its military presence in the western Pacific, observers said.

Tokyo has agreed to shoulder 6.09 billion dollars of the amount needed to transfer the marines to Guam. This includes a maximum of 2.8 billion dollars in financial assistance, which the government plans to review, according to the sources.

===

Futenma still main problem

Although the redeployment of the marines will help reduce Okinawa Prefecture’s burden in hosting U.S. forces, some observers warn that treating the transfer separately could mean Futenma Air Station will remain permanently at the current location.

This, they say, is because the momentum for relocating Futenma would fall if the marines transfer is handled separately.

The Japanese and U.S. governments aim to reach an agreement on the review of the realignment plan at a summit meeting expected to be held in spring, the sources said.

As the United States is plagued with a massive fiscal deficit, Washington believes reducing the number of marines to be transferred to Guam will help cut defense spending.

For its part, Japan hopes to visibly show the prefecture that it is trying to reduce its burden by handling the marine transfer separately from the relocation issue. Relocating Futenma is a much more difficult proposition.

Both the Japanese and U.S. governments want to relocate Futenma to the Henoko area in Nago. But they must overcome strong opposition from Okinawa residents, who fear the Futenma facility will become a permanent fixture in the prefecture.

KYODO: Japan, U.S. Agree; 4,700 Marines to Guam; Delinked from Progress on Futenma Move

Guam - Japan’s Kyodo News Service is reporting that the U.S. and Japan have now agreed to make revisions to the 2006 Guam International Agreement that will bring substantially fewer Marines to Guam and delink their transfer here from progress on relocating the Marines Futenema Air Station in Okinawa.

In a Sunday, February 5th report, Kyodo quotes un-named U.S. and Japanese diplomatic sources as saying that the actual negotiations to work out the details of a revised agreement will begin in Washington Monday and that they expect the revised agreement will “likely” be officially announced February 13, according to the report.

READ the Kyodo report below:

Sunday, February 5, 2012

TOKYO (Kyodo)–Japan and the United States have agreed to move 4,700 Marines in Okinawa to Guam, delinking the troops’ transfer from the contentious plan to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps’ Futenma Air Station within the southern island prefecture as stipulated in a road map for the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, diplomatic sources from both countries said Saturday.

The transfer of around 8,000 Marines and 9,000 dependents from Okinawa to the U.S. territory of Guam has been a pillar of the 2006 bilateral accord on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, in which progress on relocating Futenma is a precondition for the troops’ move.

However, the U.S. Department of Defense is now considering shifting the remaining 3,300 Marines to elsewhere in the Pacific, such as Hawaii, Australia and the Philippines, the sources said.

Tokyo and Washington plan to stick to the accord to move the Futenma airstrip, located in a crowded residential area of Ginowan, to a less populated coastal zone in Nago, both in Okinawa. Local residents remain fiercely opposed to the plan.

But the United States has conveyed to Japan its plan to conduct repair work at the Futenma facility, assuming its relocation will not realize soon, the sources said.

The two countries will likely officially announce the transfer of the 4,700 Marines to Guam on Feb. 13, the sources said.

With the Marines’ Guam transfer delinked from the base move, chances are growing for the entire road map for the U.S. forces repositioning in Japan to be drastically reviewed, observers say.

Subsequently, the return of six facilities and land occupied by the U.S. military and located south of the Air Force’s Kadena base in Okinawa will be also reconsidered, according to the sources.

The road map says land south of the Kadena base will be returned to Okinawa after the Futenma base is relocated to Nago and the Marines are transferred to Guam, as agreed by the two countries.

Senior foreign and defense officials of Japan and the United States are expected to discuss, in Washington on Monday, the issue of revisiting the return of U.S. military facilities and land areas south of the Kadena base.

They will also consider reviewing the 2006 bilateral accord that says Japan will provide $6.09 billion of the $10.27 billion cost of relocating the Marines to Guam. Washington could ask Japan to pay additional costs to slash its own defense spending amid budgetary constraints, the sources said.

The 2006 accord stated the Futenma relocation would be completed by 2014. But in the face of difficulties, Japan and the United States agreed to drop the deadline at security talks last June between their defense and foreign ministers in Washington.

Syria: Ban voices deep regret after Security Council fails to agree on resolution

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced deep regret after Security Council members were today unable to agree on a resolution backing an Arab League plan to resolve the crisis in Syria, where thousands of people have been killed over the past year since authorities crackdown on a pro-democracy uprising.

From the Inbox - Great Places: Finding Love in the Wild

February 2012		Donate | Update Your Profile | Send an Ecard
Featured Image King penguins on South Georgia Island in the southern Atlantic Ocean. Photo © Rick McEwan Download as Wallpaper Show your love of nature and become a monthly giver. Donate Today Connect with Us Other Ways to Give Alderspring Ranch, Idaho. Photo © Bridget Besaw Many employers will match your donation to The Conservancy — meaning that your gift has double the impact. Find out if your company will match your gift and donate using our matching gifts form. Learn More Sports Illustrated and Gilt Support Conservancy Sports Illustrated and Gilt.com have joined to create a unique Gilt City sale, featuring tickets to Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue’s launch parties, in which 100% of each ticket will benefit The Nature Conservancy. Sale runs from January 30 through February 6th, 2012. To coincide with the release of SI Swimsuit 2012 additional sales benefiting the Conservancy will launch on February 14th. Learn More Marketplace by Resolution, Inc. Shop Now Nature Conservancy Magazine Every issue of our magazine includes conservation success stories and in-depth articles —plus gorgeous photography from around the world. Read Excerpts From Our Winter Issue Great Places February 1, 2012 Volume 12, Issue 2		Buying beetles. Photo © Brett Cortesi courtesy of Roger Williams Park Zoo Love in the Wild You think you’ve had some strange dates? This Valentine’s Day, The Nature Conservancy compiled the top 10 most bizarre examples of love in the wild. Check out these amazing creatures — they might remind you of someone you love! Meet the Bizarre Couples Red-eyed tree frogs, Sarapiquí, Costa Rica. Photo © Bruce Leventhal, Stillwater, Minnesota And the Winner Is… Congratulations to Bruce Leventhal, the grand prize winner of The Nature Conservancy’s 6th Annual Digital Photo Contest. See All the Winners Wishing you a happy Valentine’s Day. Photo © iStock Share Your Love of Nature When you give a gift membership this Valentine’s Day, you can share your passion for conservation with your loved ones. View the Gift Guide Vienna Vitek’s hand-painted cards benefit the Conservancy. Photo © Vienna Vitek From the Rockies to the Rainforest Meet one of the Conservancy’s youngest supporters: a 16-year-old Colorado native who is using her artistic talents to benefit conservation in Costa Rica. Hear Vienna’s Story Coffee beans. Photo © TheGiantVermin/Flickr Ask the Conservationist: Coffee, Forests and Poverty — What’s the Connection? In Vietnam’s Central Highlands, coffee plantations are a leading cause of deforestation, but also a leading source of income for local people. One resident wants to know, how can his people earn a living and reduce their environmental impact? Read Our Answer — Then Submit Your Own Question! Photo of the Month “I consider this a lucky shot; this bird swallowed his lunch whole in the blink of an eye.” Read More and Download the Photo as Desktop Wallpaper A Great Egret feeds on a fish at the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Preserve in Encino, California. Photo © Graham F. Owen Go Green Explore eco-tips from Nature Conservancy staff and leading environment bloggers on how to make personal, science-based choices to help save the planet. Get more tips at our Everyday Environmentalist web page. Make Your Wedding Green Something old, something new, something borrowed, something…green. Coral Reef Tips Here are 10 every day steps you can do to protect coral reefs. Say Goodbye to Paper Bills Switching to electronic billing is easy and green. Green Your Pets We’ve all heard about reducing our carbon footprint — but what about our pets’ pawprint? Photo Credits (from top): Photo © HappyHeartPhotography2010/Flickr (Green wedding); © Daniel & Robbie Wisdom (Coral reefs off Fiji islands); © Jeff Metzger/iStockphoto (Bills); © Simon Podgorsek (Dog on leash).

Zimbabwe News Update: Pathologists Differ on Retired General Mujuru’sDeath

Pathologists differ on Mujuru

Saturday, 04 February 2012 00:00
Innocent Ruwende Senior Reporter
Zimbabwe Herald

GENERAL Solomon Mujuru was alive when fire gutted his farmhouse and might have died from inhaling carbon monoxide, a local pathologist said yesterday. However, a South African pathologist hired by the Mujuru family said the autopsy was not adequately and professionally done.

The 36th witness in the inquest, Dr Gabriel Aguero-Gonzalez, who is part of the Cuban doctors’ brigade who spoke in Spanish with Mr Lovemore Gwata interpreting, said the presence of carbon monoxide in Gen Mujuru’s trachea showed that he inhaled the gas while he was still alive.

The pathologist, who has 29 years experience, concluded that Gen Mujuru died due to open fire whose origins were not known.

The Mujuru pathologist, Dr Reggie Perumel - through the family’s lawyer Mr Thakor Kewada - argued that the post-mortem was not done properly because the local pathologist did not carry out an X-ray, examine skeleton structures, investigate the identity of the person and come up with the real cause of death.

He says the autopsy did not exclude traumatic death.

In his evidence-in-chief, Dr Aguero-Gonzalez, who has worked at Harare Central Hospital and Parirenyatwa for the past seven months, said on August 16 this year he was called by Inspector Viano at around 8am and told that a retired army general had died at his farm in Beatrice.

He said they got to Ruzambo Farm at around 9:30am and upon arrival, he saw people gathered outside the house.

Dr Aguero-Gonzalez said he was introduced to some policemen before he went to the spot where the remains of Gen Mujuru were in the company of Insp Viano who acted as an interpreter.

“We found the body was completely carbonised and burnt, it was partially covered with a cloth and we removed it completely.

“We found that the body was lying with the face looking downwards, part of the hand was under his chest and legs were spread apart,” he said.

The expert said they tried to move the remains, but they were badly burnt and they realised that some of the parts were shifting.

“Taking into account the state of the body we decided that it should be carried to a place where an examination would be carried properly.

“I instructed them (police) to carry the body, ash and anything around it and in such a way that they did not disturb it,” he said.

Asked what he meant by appropriate place by Mrs Sharon Fero of the Attorney-General’s Office, he said the mortuary.

He said he did not state any specific place, but “we discussed that the body be taken to Parirenyatwa but taking into account the person (Gen Mujuru) they agreed that he be taken to a place where there were no other bodies”.

The doctor said he was told that Gen Mujuru was to be taken to One Commando Barracks, which was a quiet place because it was a military place.

He said he accompanied the remains to One Commando Barracks.

The pathologist said they waited for some time for the mortuary to be adjusted into suitable conditions and their first challenge was that there were no instruments to examine the remains.

“Insp Viano went to Parirenyatwa and brought some tools we wanted,” he said.

He said the tools were not adequate, but this could not affect the examination.

“We started by looking at the skull and observed that parts of the skull had broken due to the intensity of the heat. We did not see anything that was not normal on the skull, on the chest and abdomen it looked like the skins were open as a result of the fire,” he said.

Dr Aguero-Gonzalez said some parts which include the walls of the abdomen were missing.

Asked if he established what happened, he said considering the way he found the body, he suspected that they might have been burnt.

He said the internal anatomy of the body was burnt and they could not find them.

Dr Aguero-Gonzalez said the body was stiff, but there was no indication that it was hurt.

Asked if it was possible to detect injuries with the state of the body, he said it was difficult but not impossible.

The doctor said some parts of the body were burnt to ashes.

He said there was carbon in the trachea, which was black and also dark blood and they cleaned the trachea to find out what it looked like without the carbon.

They also looked at the lungs and saw that they were badly burnt.

He said the presence of carbon monoxide in the trachea showed the General was alive when the fire started and he inhaled the carbon monoxide.

He said the stomach was burnt and destroyed while the teeth were affected by the fire and became fragile.

The pathologist said the aesophagus was destroyed by the fire.

Asked what the cause of death was, he said: “We concluded that death was caused by inhaling gases after fire broke out.”

He said the type of gas inhaled was carbon monoxide.

“We could not establish completely that the inhalation of gases is the main cause of death because we did not have sufficient tools to come to that conclusion.

“We are taking into consideration that we were not able to study blood samples given the state of the body,” he said.

He said if the quantity of carbon monoxide was not high, a person could be intoxicated or become unconscious but if it is high a person dies.

Asked by Mr Kewada if he was a registered medical practitioner in Zimbabwe, Dr Ageuro-Gonzalez said he was part of the Cuban medical brigade serving in the country.

He contended that they carried out a proper post-mortem.

However, he said an X-ray was one of the things to be carried out in an autopsy but it was not possible for him to carry out one because they did not have the equipment.

Mr Kewada suggested to him that a proper autopsy is carried out by removing body parts and examining each part individually and he said it was inconvenient in the case given the state of the body.

The Cuban doctor said they did not cut the skull because it would break into pieces.

Asked how he was going to see internal injuries if they did not open the skull, he said there could not be such injuries in the absence of external ones.

He said the brain was damaged by the fire hence he could not examine it.

The pathologist conceded that he saw a ring on Gen Mujuru’s left finger, but he does not know what happened to it.

He said they could not remove teeth to check for DNA because they were fragile as a result of heat and it was not necessary at the time since everyone was convinced that the body was that of Gen Mujuru.

He said they later took the samples after doubts emerged.

Asked how he could tell that Gen Mujuru was alive when fire broke out he responded: “How then did he inhale the carbon monoxide.”

He said he concluded that it was carbon monoxide because of the colouring that was a product of incomplete combustion when quizzed how he reached the conclusion.

Quizzed further, he said that he was not saying that death was caused by the inhalation of carbon monoxide, but it was a vital point.

He said there was, however, no doubt that Gen Mujuru inhaled carbon monoxide.

Mr Kewada suggested that his expert (Dr Perumel) disagrees that there was no blood to test for the presence of carbon monoxide.
Dr Ageuro-Gonzalez said the blood was contaminated.

Mr Kewada also suggested that Dr Perumel said it was not possible for the stomach to be destroyed considering that the General was lying facing downwards.

He also suggested that it was not possible because the carpet beneath was protected.

Dr Ageuro-Gonzalez said the intestines got out and were burnt and the kidneys were burnt, an assertion doubted by Mr Perumel who said kidneys are found in a protected area.

Mr Kewada said Dr Perumel feels the post-mortem was not properly conducted and the cause of death could not be ascertained in the absence of an X-ray, skeleton structure and brain examinations.

He said the doctor should have differentiated between injuries and heat by separating muscles from bones, adding that he could tell whether there were gunshots or wounds.

“The conclusion is my expert feels that the autopsy was not adequately and professionally done,” he said.

The Cuban doctor maintained the autopsy was professionally done.

Mr Kewada submitted that if his expert was to give meaningful evidence, the body has to be exhumed but presiding magistrate, Mr Walter Chikwanha said exhumation had nothing to do with the inquest.

Mr Chikwanha said he needed to go through Dr Perumel’s statement before he makes a decision to call him as a witness.

Mr Clemence Chimbare of the AG’s Office said Vice President Joice Mujuru was the outstanding witness before agreeing that her evidence be accepted as part of the docket without her testifying.

Mr Chikwanha deferred the proceedings to Monday when he is expected to rule on whether or not to call Dr Perumel.

Iranian Cleric Delivers Major Address Amid Israel and US Threats

Iranian Religious Leader Delivers Speech

TEHRAN, Iran — A fiery anti-Israel speech by Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, delivered shortly after a successful Iranian satellite launch, added to growing global tensions Friday, as Israel warned it might mount a pre-emptive strike against the Islamic republic’s nuclear facilities despite U.S. objections.

“From now onward, we will support and help any nations, any groups fighting against the Zionist regime across the world, and we are not afraid of declaring this,” Khamenei said during a rare Friday prayer lecture at Tehran University.

Most of Khamenei’s rhetoric was not new. But the timing and setting of his speech hardened a standoff that some analysts say has the potential to spark military action. Such a development would disrupt the international coalition that has emerged to confront Iran over its nuclear program and jeopardize oil markets and the fragile global economy.

The Obama administration is increasingly concerned Israel will strike Iranian nuclear facilities in the coming months. The administration also has repeatedly refused to rule out U.S. military action as a last resort.

Israeli leaders delivered blunt new warnings Thursday about what they called the need to stop Iran’s nuclear program. Israel, the U.S. and their allies fear Iran could use its uranium-enrichment labs — which make nuclear fuel — to eventually produce weapons-grade material. Iran insists it seeks reactors only for energy and medical research.

Khamenei’s speech, which comes ahead of a planned resumption of nuclear talks with the West, exemplified his view of Iran as the flag-bearer in battles against the “arrogant powers,” a term used in Iranian political discourse to describe the United States and its allies.

U.S. and European sanctions, Khamenei said, are helping Iran to develop and will never succeed in halting the country’s nuclear-enrichment program. “These sanctions are aimed at making Iran back down, but Iran will not back down,” he said.

Khamenei’s tone Friday differed from that struck recently by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who said last month that Iran is ready for talks with the West.

While Khamenei did not mention the upcoming nuclear discussions, he made clear that compromises, such as suspending uranium enrichment, are not on the table. Iran has the upper hand in its standoff with the West, he indicated, because its opponents are “fading powers.”

Khamenei also said Israel has become “weakened and isolated” in the Middle East because of the revolutions — he called them “Islamic awakenings” — that have spread through the region.

Khamenei’s speech came hours after Iran’s state-run media reported the country had launched a small satellite into space, carried by a homemade rocket.

The launch, planned and announced months ago, is part of a series of festivities celebrating the 33rd anniversary of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, which culminated in the collapse of the monarchy Feb. 11, 1979.

State-run television reported the microsatellite carries camera and telecommunication devices and was designed and manufactured in Iran. It is the third small satellite Iran has built and launched in the past few years.

Material from The Associated Press is included in this report.