Falkland Islands referendum

People of Falkland Islands are voting in a referendum on their political status on Sunday and Monday at a time of strained tensions between Argentina and Britain over their sovereignty.

The two countries went to war over the territory, known to the Argentinians as Las Malvinas, in 1982 after the then-military government in Argentina landed military troops on the islands.

According to the Falklands legislative assembly, the vote is intended to affirm islanders' desire to remain a self-governing territory of the United Kingdom and to reject claims of ownership by Argentina.

The question put to voters is: "Do you wish the Falkland Islands to retain their current political status as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom?" The two-day referendum is supported by the British government also.

But the Argentinian Embassy in London said in a statement on Friday that the referendum had no legitimacy, characterizing it as "a further attempt by the British to manipulate the question of the Malvinas Islands."

Because the area around the Falkland Islands is the subject of a sovereignty dispute, it argues, "the United Kingdom has no right to alter the legal status of these territories, not even under the guise of a  'referendum.' "

Argentina's president condemns 'colonial rule'

In January, Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner wrote an open letter, published in the UK press, in which she called on Britain to hand back the islands and accused it of obvious colonialism.

"The Argentines on the Islands were expelled by the Royal Navy and the United Kingdom subsequently began a population implantation process similar to that applied to other territories under colonial rule," she wrote.

"Since then, Britain, the colonial power, has refused to return the territories to the Argentine Republic, thus preventing it from restoring its territorial integrity."

She cited a 1965 U.N. resolution inviting the two countries to negotiate a solution to the sovereignty dispute and has called on the British to abide by the resolution.

The British government rejected Fernandez's call for negotiations, saying the Falkland Island residents have chosen to be British and "have a right to self-determination as enshrined in the U.N. Charter."

The January statement added: "There are three parties to this debate, not just two as Argentina likes to pretend. The islanders can't just be written out of history.

"As such, there can be no negotiations on the sovereignty of the Falklands Islands unless and until such time as the islanders so wish."

The British government blames Buenos Aires of trying to "force" the Falkland Island residents into becoming part of Argentina through intimidation of those involved in fishing and oil exploration, and efforts to isolate the remote islands even further by limiting access by sea.

Long desired for its natural resources

Located in the South Atlantic Ocean, about 480 kilometers (298 miles) east of the tip of South America, the Falklands have long been coveted as a strategic shipping stopover and potential wellspring of natural resources, including efficient fisheries and a growing oil drilling industry.

The islands, which raise their own taxes but rely on the United Kingdom for defense and foreign policy, are one of 14 British Overseas Territories and have been under British rule since 1833.

More than 2,500 people from more than 60 nations live and work there, according to the islands' government website, as well as forces stationed at the British military's Mount Pleasant Complex. Many Falkland Island residents are of British origin.

War broke out over the territory in 1982, when the then-Argentinian military government landed troops on the islands. Argentina put its death toll from the conflict at around 645. Britain's civil and military losses amounted to 255.

On its official website, the Falklands government rejects as false the Argentinian government claim that a civilian population was expelled by Britain in 1833 and argues for the inhabitants' right to choose their path.

"The people expelled were an illegal Argentine military garrison, who had arrived three months earlier," it says. "The civilian population in the Islands, who had sought permission from Britain to live there, were invited to stay. All but two of them, with their partners, did so.

"We are not an implanted population. Our community has been formed through voluntary immigration and settlement over the course of nearly 200 years. ... We are no more an implanted population than are the various populations of South America whose ancestors arrived as immigrants from Europe -- we arrived here as part of the same process and pattern of immigration."

The islands are economically self-sufficient, the government says, except for the cost of defense needed as a result of "the claim made by an aggressive neighbour."

"The Falkland Islanders are a peaceful, hard-working and resilient people. Our society is thriving and forward-looking. All we ask is to be left in peace to choose our own future, and responsibly develop our home for our children and generations to come," the government says.

Bolshoi Ballet 'villain' arrested

Ballet dancer Pavel Dmitrichenko, often cast as the villain in Bolshoi Ballet productions, is now the lead defendant in a plot worthy of a Tchaikovsky score.

The 29-year-old allegedly choreographed an attack aimed to blind Bolshoi artistic director Sergei Filin, the man who put him in the roles of Ivan the Terrible and Swan Lake's genius.

The mystery of who threw sulfuric acid into Filin's face in January has captivated Russians and kept Moscow officers busy probing rivalries within Russia's renowned 240-year-old ballet company.

It might well send Hollywood literary agents and producers scrambling for story details as described by police reports and local media accounts.

Police declared the case was solved this week with a confession by Dmitrichenko

"I organized this attack but not to the extent that it happened," he is heard saying in a video released by the police

The characters in this drama include Dmitrichenko's girlfriend, Anzhelina Vorontsova. She has not been charged, but local press quote ballet members as saying Dmitrichenko was angry because he thought that Filin was stifling her career.

Two alleged co-conspirators have been detained: Alleged hit man Yuri Zarutsky -- a burly, bearded Russian who was previously convicted of beating someone to death -- and Andrey Lipatov, who allegedly drove the getaway car after Zarutksy's battery acid attack on Filin.

Whereas the final act must still play out in a Russian courtroom, the story opens in the nearly two-century-old Bolshoi Theatre.

Ballet is a world where competition is fierce, and where the artistic director wields significant influence in making or destroying careers.

Filin, 42, was promoted to the Bolshoi Theatre's coveted post in March 2011, shortly after the deputy ballet director, Gennady Yanin, who was widely seen as a favorite for the artistic director post, resigned when pornographic pictures of him surfaced online.

There was "fierce rivalry" for the Bolshoi position at the time, according to the RIA Novosti news agency.

That year, two dancers quit, unhappy with the direction the ballet had taken. Another dancer, Nikolai Tsiskaridze, criticized Filin for going over budget in the ballet's renovation.

Tsiskaridze, incidentally, was also a contender for the artistic director job that Filin got.

But beyond professional disagreements, sinister factors were also at play.

RIA Novosti reported that before the attack, Filin suffered months of intimidation, including threatening phone calls.

Someone slashed his car tires. Somebody also attempted to hack his Facebook profile. The trio of conspirators obtained battery acid at a car parts store, and made the acid stronger by evaporating the water from it, police reported.

Dmitrichenko, who studied Filin's schedule, called Lipatov and Zarutsky when he saw Filin leave the theater on the night of January 17, police reported.

As Filin entered the security code at the door of his Moscow apartment, authorities say, Zarutsky confronted him and tossed the sulfuric acid into his face. It caused 3rd degree burns and left him blinded.

Detectives pored over interviews with those who knew Filin and had suspicions about who would harm him. Other clues led them to several cell phones that Dmitrichenko had registered in other people's names, according to a police statement.

Calls from those phones led investigators to Lipatov, the alleged driver. "I didn't see what happened there," Lipatov told them in a video released by police. "I just took Yuri there, waited for him and gave him a lift back."

When an interrogator asked Zarutsky about the crime, he allegedly said, "I don't want to talk about it."

Police concluded a "hostile relationship" stemming from Dmitrichenko's professional interaction with Filin was his motive.

 A Moscow Court

The three men faced a judge Thursday, who ordered that they be kept in police custody until the investigation is over. If convicted, the attackers could face up to eight years in jail for willfully inflicting damage on the health of another. It may take at least six months for Filin to recover from the burns. In the meantime, Galina Stepanenko, a former principal dancer, will run the company. She says she's going to follow Filin's plans and she believes the dancers will now be united by greater respect and care among the team.

Doctors performed a skin graft on Filin and, after a second eye surgery, they were able to save his eye vision. His colleagues are now working to ensure his artistic vision isn't lost.

Berlusconi sentenced to 1 year

Italy’s former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been sentenced to 1 year in jail after a wiretap trial related to the banking scandal in 2005.

The former Prime Minister is accused of violating secrecy laws after making public a police wiretap concerning his political rival in 2005. They were published in  Il Giornale,  a newspaper run by Berlusconi's brother, who was also sentenced to over two years and three months in jail. The leaks were about the attempted takeover of BNL bank by insurance giant Unipol.

Berlusconi denied any wrongdoing and may seek an appeal trial, until the end of which he won’t be put into custody.

On Wednesday, the court cleared the 76-year-old Berlusconi of accusations that his Mediatrade company, a part of the larger Mediaset group, purchased film and television rights at inflated prices to evade taxes, Reuters reported.

The former premier is also set to appear in court on March 18 on charges of paying for sex with an underage prostitute, and on March 23 in a separate broadcast rights trial.

In October last year, Berlusconi was sentenced to a year in jail after had been found guilty in another fraud case.

That conviction is currently subject to an appeal.

Under Italian law, people over 75 years who are sentenced to less than 2 years don’t have to serve their term behind bars. And, Berlusconi is 76.

Missing Soviet soldier found in Afghanistan

A former Soviet soldier who went m.i.a(missing in action) in 1980 during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan has been found alive almost 33 years after he was rescued by Afghan tribesmen

Now living under the name of Sheikh Abdullah and working as a traditional healer in the Shindand district of Herat Province in western Afghanistan, former Soviet soldier Bakhredtin Khakimov was an Uzbek ethnically.

Khakimov was tracked down by a team from Warriors-Internationalists Affairs Committee, a nonprofit, Moscow-based organization that leads the search for the former Soviet Union's MIAs in Afghanistan.

"He received a heavy wound to the head in the course of a battle in (Shandand) district in September 1980 when he was picked up by local residents," the organization said in a statement posted on its website. "He now leads a seminomadic life with the people who sheltered him."

The organization said it made contact with the man two weeks ago, while he had no personal ID papers, he was able to positively identify photos of other Soviets who served at the time.

"He could understand Russian a little bit, but spoke it poorly, although he remembers his Uzbek language," the organization said. "The effects of his wounds were clearly manifested: His hand trembles, and there is a visible tic in his shoulder."

The deputy head of the organization, Alexander Lavrentyev, told a news conference on Monday that Khakimov, originally from the city of Samarkand in Uzbekistan, was nursed back to health by a village elder. The elder was a healer who taught him his trade, Lavrentyev said.

"He was just happy he survived," Lavrentyev was reported as saying by Russia's RIA news agency. Lavrentyev met with Khakimov in the city of Herat in late February,

The former soldier -- who married in Afghanistan but is now a childless widower -- was keen to meet his relatives. That's something the committee is working to arrange, Lavrentyev told reporters.

A chief of police in Ghor province, Dilwar Dilawar, told CNN Khakimov converted to Islam in 1993.

Local reports, nevertheless, conflict with the Russian version of events.

Local journalist Sharafudin Stanekzai, who spoke with Khakimov, told CNN that Khakimov separated from his unit after stealing a gun and then handed the weapon over to Mujahedeen Islamic guerrillas.

The Warriors-Internationalists Affairs Committee is working to track down 263 Soviet soldiers whose fates are unknown after the bloody nine-year campaign in Afghanistan. So far, it says it has tracked down 29 missing Soviet soldiers.

Lavrentyev said 22 chose to be repatriated to their homes while seven elected to stay in Afghanistan.

About 15,000 of the 600,000 Soviet soldiers who served in the near decade-long war were killed, according to figures cited by RIA from the Soviet General Staff.

Regarded as one of the last Cold War confrontations, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan on Christmas Eve 1979 to secure a Soviet-backed government against rebel forces armed and trained by Western and Islamic countries.

U.N. demands over Syrian rebels

United Nations requests Syrian rebels release peacekeepers

Tension brewed Wednesday between the United Nations and Syrian rebels after about 30 rebels detained 21 U.N. peacekeepers and rejected to release them.

The U.N., in turn, is demanding they be released.The rebels contend that the peacekeepers entered a Syrian village near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, an area where peacekeepers should not be and where intense fighting has been raging for days between rebels and government forces.

The rebels say they suspect the peacekeepers were trying to aid their enemy, which is defending the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

The United Nations confirmed the peacekeepers' detention and explained that the peacekeepers were on a "standard supply mission." The U.N. offered no further details of that mission but said it is "dispatching a team to assess the situation and attempt a resolution."

There are two videos rebels posted on YouTube that present the rebels' point of view.

In one a rebel insists that the peacekeepers will be held until al-Assad's forces withdraw from the village of al-Jamlah, where there has been heavy fighting.

"We demand from America, U.N. and the Security Council to intervene and get al-Assad forces to withdraw, then we will release these detainees," the rebels say. The other video shows rebels walking near several U.N. trucks.

"This U.N. force entered Jamlah village to assist the regime ... and (the U.N. is) claiming that they are here just to stop the clashing," a rebel says.

Members of the U.N. Security Council condemned the detainment and demanded the peacekeepers be released. The 21 peacekeepers are Filipino, the Philippine government said Thursday.

"The apprehension and illegal detention of the Filipino peacekeepers are gross violations of international law," Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said in a statement.

The peacekeepers are reportedly undamaged, and negotiations are underway to secure their safe release, the Philippine government said. The Department of Foreign Affairs said said it is coordinating efforts with the United Nations' peacekeeping agency.

"What is happening (is a) genocide for the Syrian people with the world watching and listening (and) will lead to the gravest consequences," they wrote.

"The blood of the people of Syria will be a curse on the whole world if there" is "no effective action," it said.

The letter pointed out that the city of Homs is under constant bombardment.

There has been "hardly a Syrian village spared from the regime bombing" the letter said.

"This might be the last message to you," it warns. "I call on you all to bear your international responsibilities before God and the people."

The letter is signed by Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib, the president of the Syrian National Coalition, an umbrella body of anti-Assad rebels.

Violence continued to plague the country this week, as Syria marked the second anniversary of the war. At least 62 people died across the nation Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday, a massive explosion ripped through the city of Raqqa, two days after rebels claim to have captured this provincial capital.

"Honestly, I cried when I saw the bodies. It's the first time I witnessed such ugly images," said Ahmed Tayar, a writer and resident of Raqqa who saw the aftermath of the mysterious blast.

Tayar, 50, told CNN he saw 19 burned bodies at the scene of the blast. An uncut, six-and-a-half-minute amateur video of the immediate aftermath of the explosion showed panicked rebel fighters and civilians racing to pick up several wounded and seemingly dead men.

In the video, two middle-age men lay bleeding in the street next to scattered oranges and tomatoes that they appeared to have been carrying. Smoke billowed in the distance from a burning car. The entire facade of a nearby three-story building appeared to have been blown off by the force of the blast.

It's not clear what was the reason of the explosion, but supporters of the opposition were quick to blame the Syrian government for the blast.

"I thinks it's the regime who killed those people, and that is because the regime wants to take revenge against Raqqa because that it's the first region that was fully liberated," Tayar told CNN.

On Tuesday, witnesses told CNN residents were fleeing rebel-controlled Raqqa, as government war planes bombed targets in the city.

"While we were there, there were two MiG fighter jets running above us that were throwing down missiles," said Ibrahim Olabi, an activist with the Aleppo Media Center, after he visited Raqqa on Tuesday.

"There were no ground clashes," he added, "but only airstrikes from above."

Preffered Picks For The New Pope!

Preferred picks for new pope

A cardinal from the Philippines, another from Austria and an archbishop from Ireland would be the "best possible" choices to be the next pope, according to a group representing the victims of abuse by priests.

The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, released its list Thursday as cardinals held meetings at the Vatican in a prelude to the selection of the next pope.

The three are Cardinal Luis Tagle of the Philippines; Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn of Austria; and Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin, Ireland.

Martin is not a cardinal, but SNAP noted that a man need not be a cardinal to be elected as pope. Historically the role has gone to cardinals, though.

Tagle would normally be considered too young for the role, but Benedict XVI's almost unprecedented resignation might have changed the way the cardinals think.

Wednesday, SNAP named its "Dirty Dozen" list of men it judged would be the worst candidates for pope because of their handling of, or comments on, past allegations of child sex abuse against clergy.

The scandal has shaken global confidence in the church in recent years.

A Pew Research Center poll announced Wednesday indicates U.S. Catholics see it as the biggest issue the Vatican faces.

Asked what they think is the most significant problem, 34% of the U.S. Catholics questioned mention sex abuse, pedophilia or some other reference to the scandal. No other problem garnered more than 10% of the responses.

A report for Italian news magazine Panorama Thursday claims the church hierarchy was alerted to the problem years ago, in 1965, but buried the warnings.

Since Monday, the gathered cardinals have been holding meetings, known as general congregations, to discuss the most serious questions facing the church.

The last of the cardinals summoned to choose the next pope, Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man of Vietnam, is expected to arrive at the Vatican Thursday afternoon.

No date has yet been set for the conclave, or hidden election, for the new pope, said the Rev. Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman.

The 115 cardinal-electors -- those under the age of 80 who are eligible to vote for the new pontiff -- are taking time to prepare for what many see as their greatest responsibility.

The discussions they are having in the general congregations are a crucial part of the process, he said, since once the conclave starts there won't be much time between votes for reflection or the exchange of ideas.

The cardinals have to have all the information they need in order to make a responsible judgment in the election, especially at a time when the church faces important issues, he said. "The preparation is absolutely key," Lombardi said.

Italian media reports Thursday focus on the Vatican's move to end the news briefings held this week by American cardinals, amid concerns over leaks of confidential discussions among the cardinals.

Sister Mary Ann Walsh, director of media relations for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, wrote in a blog post that the decision Wednesday came after a media report in Italian daily La Stampa, which gave details of who had said what.

"I compared the shutdown to the old Catholic school style of one kid talks and everyone stays after school," she wrote, saying a similar thing happened before the last conclave, in 2005.

"We'll continue briefings, but without cardinals, to help U.S. media especially cover this exciting moment in the church," Walsh added.

It's been a week since Benedict XVI became the first pontiff in six centuries to resign from the role. Popes usually serve until their death.

With Easter around the corner, many inside the Catholic Church would like to see a new pontiff in place to lead ceremonies.

 the cardinals, including those older than 80, are entitled to take part in the closed-door general congregations.

Lombardi said 152 cardinals met Thursday morning. A second meeting will take place in the afternoon, as the cardinals seek to pick up the pace before agreeing on the date for the conclave.

Thursday's business included reports on the fiscal state of the Holy See, Lombardi said. He named the cardinals who delivered the reports but did not reveal their contents.

The cardinals could proceed their meetings on Saturday, Lombardi added, but are unlikely to meet Sunday when Mass may be held.

Some of the discussions happen over coffee, as one Vatican spokesman revealed Monday, the first day of the general congregations.

"There's a coffee break for about 30 minutes at a special buffet area in the front part of the audience hall," said the Rev. Thomas Rosica. "Cardinals have an opportunity to go down and mix and mingle.

"They want to say what the next pope will hear, because he's probably in that room, and they also want to alert the people who haven't spent so much time in Rome just what the situation really is here as they see it," Cardinal Francis George of Chicago said.

The electors also want to go into the conclave with pretty clear ideas about whom to vote for, Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston said. They, too, have no interest in seeing it drag on, and there is no reason to believe that it will.

The past 11 conclaves have lasted no longer than four days, the diocese of Providence, Rhode Island, wrote on its website.

That wasn't always the case. In the 13th century, the election of one pope took two years and nine months, the diocese said. Catholics grew so impatient at the cardinals' indecision from 1268 to 1271, when Gregory X was elected, that they boarded them up in their chamber and tore off the roof to expose them to the elements.

The scandal led to the creation of the conclave and its precise protocol -- partly to expedite the process.

Amid angry threats, U.N. to vote on new North Korea sanctions

With the U.N. Security Council set to vote on a resolution to strengthen sanctions on North Korea, Pyongyang unleashed its latest bout of fiery rhetoric, now threatening its enemies with a possible "preemptive nuclear attack."

Despite the strong and threatening language, analysts have said North Korea is still years away from having the technology to mount a nuclear warhead on a missile and aim it at a target in an accurate way.

The bellicose statement, carried by the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency, comes during a week of tension on the Korean Peninsula as military drills are taking place on either side of the heavily armed border that divides the two Koreas.

The combination of looming sanctions and joint military exercises by the United States and South Korea has worked the isolated regime in Pyongyang into a frenzy of overblown threats.

On Tuesday, the North said it planned to scrap the armistice that stopped the Korean War in 1953 and warned it could perform strikes against the United States and South Korea.

In the statement Thursday, a spokesman for the North Korean foreign ministry recommended the United States "is set to light a fuse for a nuclear war."

As a result, North Korea "will exercise the right to a preemptive nuclear attack to destroy the strongholds of the aggressors and to defend the supreme interests of the country," the statement said.

Analysts say North Korea is unlikely to seek a direct military conflict with the United States, preferring instead to try to gain traction by threatening statements and the build up of its military deterrent.

South Korea had responded to Pyongyang's earlier saber-rattling with an unusually tough statement Wednesday, warning it would retaliate "strongly and sternly" against North's military command and forces if the "lives and safety of South Koreans" came under danger.

The menacing language from North Korea fits in with the array of pugnacious statements it has made previously -- it has declared the cease-fire to be irrelevant before.

But it comes amid increased concern over Pyongyang's dogged efforts to advance its nuclear and missile technology after a recent long-range rocket launch and underground atomic explosion.

The sanctions proposed by the draft resolution are the latest attempt by the United States and its allies to prevent North Korea's weapons programs and pressure its young leader, Kim Jong Un, into taking a less confrontational approach.

But doubts remain over what difference the new measures will make.Sanctions imposed after previous nuclear tests and rocket launches have failed to deter the North from its pursuit of a strong military deterrent that underpins its approach to foreign relations.

With China, North Korea's key ally, having reached an apparent deal with the United States on the wording of the draft resolution, the text appears likely to secure approval at the U.N. Security Council on Thursday.

Its passage could result in fresh outrage and threats from the North, which sees U.N. sanctions as part of an aggressive, U.S.-led conspiracy against it.

The proposed text of the resolution targets to stymie the activities of North Korean banks and cash couriers who might be funneling money to the secretive regime's nuclear programs.

It also outlines measures to step up scrutiny of suspicious sea shipments and air cargo. And it expands restrictions to encompass several institutions and senior officials in the North's weapons industry, as well as a range of materials and technology known to be used in uranium enrichment.

China and  the United States, two of the permanent member of the Security Council with veto power, had been negotiating for days on the wording of the offered resolution.

Beijing's willingness to support alternative sanctions was seen as an indication of its frustration with Pyongyang's decision to go ahead with the nuclear test last month despite Chinese urging not to do so.

"Kim Jong Un is now paying the price for going ahead with a nuclear test despite Chinese warnings not to create trouble during the political transition that has been under way in Beijing the past year," Mark Fitzpatrick, director of the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Programme at the UK-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, said this week.

"The real question, though, is the degree to which China will be willing to implement the U.N. sanctions and to impose punishment of its own," Fitzpatrick added, highlighting future levels of Chinese grain sales to North Korea as a possible indicator of Beijing's commitment to putting meaningful pressure on Pyongyang.

Analysts say Beijing wants to maintain the North as a buffer between its border and South Korea.

North Korea said the underground nuclear blast it conducted on February 12 was more powerful than its two previous detonations and used a smaller, lighter device, suggesting advances in its weapon technology.

It was the first nuclear test the isolated state has carried out since Kim inherited power in December 2011 after the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, who made building up North Korea's military strength the focus of his 17-year rule.

The test followed the North's long-range rocket launch in December that succeeded in putting an object in the orbit. Pyongyang insisted the launch had peaceful aims, but it was widely viewed as a test of ballistic technology.

The start this week of two months of joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises, known as Foal Eagle, has added to the simmering tensions.

North Korea has called the annual training exercises "an open declaration of a war," but South Korea says it notified Pyongyang that the drills "are defensive."

Another joint exercise, Key Resolve, is scheduled to begin Monday, the day on which North Korea says its military will declare the 1953 armistice invalid.

On Thursday, came news that North Korea was conducting drills throughout its territory, with the South Korean defense ministry describing them as "unusually grand-scaled."

"We are tightening guard and stepping up readiness in case any unexpected or planned provocation happen from North Korea," said Kwon Ki Hyeon of the South Korean defense ministry.

North and South Korea have technically been at war for decades. The 1950-53 civil war ended in a cease-fire rather than a peace treaty.

China supported the North with material and troops in the Korean War. The United States backed the South in the conflict, with soldiers from the two countries fighting side by side. About 28,500 U.S. soldiers are now stationed in South Korea.

Venezuelans line streets for Chavez procession

Venezuelans line streets for Chavez 

As the political sections of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's death remained uncertain, his followers demonstrated Wednesday in plazas nationwide to show that they support a continuation of his policies.

"Take my life, Lord, but don't take that of the president!" wailed a woman who was among a group of mourners in Bolivar Square in Sabaneta in Barinas State, Chavez's birthplace in the country's northwest. "Without him, we are left with nothing. He's the only president who has helped us.""I'm the beneficiary of education, I'm the beneficiary of an honorable, beautiful house, I'm the beneficiary of an honorable job," said a woman in her 20s. "President, wherever you are, we are going to miss you forever."

"I hope we will continue down the path that he showed us," said a man. "Let's continue with socialism, because that is the only path. Commandant Chavez lives and will live in our hearts."Thousands of Venezuelans lined the streets of the capital city, Caracas, Wednesday morning as Chavez's remains were taken from the military hospital where he died to the Fuerte Tiuna Military Academy.

Soldiers held Chavez's simple wooden casket, which was draped with the national flag, as a priest recited a prayer and blessing over it. The casket was placed atop a hearse, which was festooned with flowers and driven slowly toward the military academy.

The streets transformed into a sea of green and red, as soldiers and red-clad supporters followed the procession.

Some wept as the casket passed in front of them, whereas others stretched out their arms to take pictures with their phones.

"Chavez to the pantheon! Chavez to the pantheon!" the crowd chanted, referring to the country's National Pantheon, which houses the remains of Chavez's hero, South American liberator Simon Bolivar, and other Venezuelan luminaries.

The body's arrival at the academy, where it is to lie in state until Friday morning's state funeral, was broadcast live on state television.

A number of presidents have already arrived in the country for the funeral.

The country has declared seven days of mourning, closed schools for the rest of the week and deployed armed forces to "guarantee peace."

For its part, Venezuela's Interior Ministry sought to guarantee sobriety. It said in a statement that it had banned the sale, distribution and consumption of alcohol through March 12 "to guarantee the physical integrity of individuals with the intention to maintain internal order and normal development of the country's actions."

The Chavez faithful were most visible Wednesday, but a sizable and strong opposition to the ruling party continues.

One 27-year-old man said in a CNN iReport that he fled Venezuela a decade ago because he believed there was no future there under Chavez.

"I left Venezuela because my brother got kidnapped, our house got burglarized, cars stolen," Carlos Quijada said. "My parents had an import business and the currency controls made it impossible for them to import anything anymore."

Quijada said he hoped that things will get better with Chavez's death.

"My life was completely altered because of that man," he said. "And I will not hide the fact that I am happy that he is no longer alive."

A new election will be held within a month, possibly signaling a new path for the oil-rich nation.

Opposition politicians have not said who will represent them in the election. But as speculation mounted about Chavez's health in recent weeks, many turned to Henrique Capriles, who lost to Chavez in October's presidential contest.

On Tuesday, Capriles called for a national dialogue including all Venezuelans, not just Chavez's supporters.

"Today there are thousands, maybe millions, of Venezuelans who are asking themselves what will happen, who feel anxiety, and including those who feel afraid," Capriles said.

Vice President Nicolas Maduro, the interim president, has made no mention in public of running for election, but he is  expected to be the United Socialist Party of Venezuela's candidate for the position.

During the three months that Chavez was undergoing treatment and absent from the political stage, Maduro has been highly visible. His addresses to political rallies and updates about the president on national television have drawn support from Chavez loyalists.

Opposition critics said he was campaigning for office, a claim the government denied. Even as it was announced that Maduro would temporarily assume the presidency, some questioned whether that was constitutional because Chavez missed his inauguration while being treated in Cuba for cancer and was never officially sworn in.

"Diosdado Cabello, a key ally whose biography is similar to Chavez's, would be a stronger bet" than Maduro to defeat Capriles, said Daniel Greenberg, a professor of history and founder of the Institute of Latin American Service and Studies at Pace University in New York. "If Capriles wins, Chavez's reforms will most likely be scaled back rather than dismantled. Either way, Venezuela without Chavez will be a vastly different place."

At the United Nations, the Security Council held a minute of silence in the honor of Chavez.

It was at a U.N. General Assembly meeting in 2006 that Chavez bluntly referred to his U.S. counterpart, President George W. Bush, who had addressed the world body the day before from the same lectern, as "the devil." "The devil came here yesterday," Chavez said. "And it smells of sulfur still today."

Oscar Pistorius Trial

Not everyone surprised at Oscar Pistorius' fall 

Johannesburg, South Africa (CNN) -- Oscar Pistorius first gained international fame amid a raging debate over whether his prosthetic legs would give him a competitive advantage in the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Now, the disabled star finds himself in the middle of a really serious controversy: whether he intentionally shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, or whether he mistook her for an intruder.

Pistorius has been charged with murder and his trial is sure to provoke worldwide news coverage.

The South African athlete's unaccountable fall from grace surprised many who were inspired by his remarkable story of overcoming adversity to become an Olympian hero.

But not everyone."Here, I think, you had a troubled athlete," said South African sports journalist Graeme Joffe. "Not so much this incredible role model for the rest of the world -- no question about that -- but deep down, this was a troubled athlete."

Joffe is one of the few South African journalists who has been critical of Pistorius. He said the PR machine behind the man they call Blade Runner has all but made him invulnerable."So many incidents have happened and they've been well documented over the last five or six years with Oscar Pistorius," said Joffe, who worked at CNN in the 1990s. "These kinds of cases have disappeared."

The South African media has long adored Pistorius, some would say even protected him. However, some of his friends and colleagues have cast doubt on the spotless image of Pistorius portrayed by the media.

"It's like we were waiting for something like this to happen," said Marc Batchelor, a South African soccer player who socialized with Pistorius in South Africa's glamor and sports circles.

Batchelor described Pistorius as someone who "had a trip switch," quick to get angry and fight. Pistorius caused "a lot of problems," he said.

Batchelor said Pistorius once wanted to fight him because the track star thought his girlfriend was cheating on him. Pistorius, who Batchelor described as drunk, started yelling and swearing over the phone.

"He said he's not scared. If I want to come down there, he knows where I am, and blah blah blah. But I left it," Batchelor told CNN.

One thing many people don't know, Batchelor said, is that Pistorius was armed nearly everywhere he went. He even applied to become a licensed gun collector so he could buy more guns than the four that South Africans are allowed, according to Carvel Webb.

There are no police records of the incident, and CNN could not get a comment from the restaurant. When questions were asked in the media, an unidentified Pistorius friend said it was he who brought the gun to the restaurant, not Pistorius.

Pistorius crossed paths with authorities in February 2009 when the sprinter said he was nearly killed when the speedboat he was driving hit a submerged object. He was airlifted to a hospital and underwent facial reconstruction surgery. Yet, at the time, doctors downplayed the injuries as minor.

Three days later, local news reported police found alcohol bottles inside the submerged boat.

"We are investigating the possibility that the consumption of alcohol had played a role in the boating accident," said police spokeswoman Maria Mazibuko.

The next day the spokeswoman said she was misquoted, and even said police could not confirm Pistorius was driving.

And Pistorius' manager strongly condemned the report:

"That's the problem with South African media. They don't get their facts [straight] and they love to speculate," Van Zyl said.

Police finally dropped their negligent driving charge against Pistorius.

CNN has repeatedly asked the Pistorius family and his lawyers for comment but has been told there would be none. He is next due in court on June 4.

The police have refused to discuss any part of their investigation.

CNN also attempted to reach other friends, colleagues and associates of Pistorius, but all have withheld comment on their relationships with him.

There's little doubt that Pistorius' character and his previous run-in with authorities will be key issues brought up by prosecutors during his trial.

In the meantime, Pistorius has been released on bail and awaits his fate at his uncle's multimillion-dollar mansion in Pretoria, South Africa. He's no longer required to visit police twice a week under the terms of his bail. Instead authorities will now visit him at his uncle's -- and only occasionally.

However his critics viewed him, even the friends who criticized Pistorius' actions defended him.

"He was a good guy," Lerena said, "could have fun with his mates ... but never was he reckless and ever in my company aggressive toward anyone."