U.N. condemns Syria as tanks park in Hama
DAMASCUS, Syria, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- The U.N. Security Council Wednesday condemned the Syrian government for its violent crackdown on demonstrators as Syrian tanks parked in central Hama.
The council's action came after Syrian President Bashar Assad's military defied international pressure and launched new attacks Wednesday on Hama, a hub for the movement seeking to oust the regime, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The council, which hadn't been able to agree on the severity of its response, reached a compromise Wednesday and condemned the "widespread violations of human rights and the use of force against civilians by the Syrian authorities" in a statement that doesn't include any enforceable demands or sanctions, diplomats said.
The United States and Western allies on the council had sought a resolution, which has the force of international law, against Assad's regime, while other countries, such as Russia, urged the council adopt a statement.
The action fell short of protesters' hopes, the Journal said.
"It's unfortunate that after 1,810 deaths, for which we have documented names, and tens of thousands of detainees, this is the strongest language they were able to come up with," said Omar Idlibi, a spokesman for the opposition group Local Coordination Committees, based in Beirut. "But we weren't expecting a stronger statement, and it's a good entry point for the international community."
Syrian tanks, after spending three days at the edge of Hama, moved to the city center Wednesday. Witnesses and activists said they saw three tanks positioned at Assi Square and snipers on nearby rooftops.
The number of casualties and injuries was uncertain, the Journal said.
Insan, a Syria-focused rights group based in Europe, accounted for 10 people killed and 86 injured by late morning, but said it hadn't receive any more information throughout the day.
"We don't have a clue about how many were killed after that, but by 2 p.m. we had reports of bodies lying on the streets," said Wissam Tarif, Insan's executive director.
The government cut off telecommunications links early Wednesday and turned off water supplies to the city's main tanks in the afternoon, residents and activists said.
"It's a disaster," said one resident of Hama reached by telephone after cellphone communications appeared to be restored. The resident told the Journal houses were "flattened to the ground" in the city's Hamidiya neighborhood.
The city is running out of food and supplies, a resident told CNN.
"In a couple days, this will be a major humanitarian issue," the resident said.
Since Sunday, at least 140 people have been killed, mainly in Hama, as the Syrian government tries to quell dissent. Assad has pledged reforms but has blamed the violence on "armed gangs" propped up by foreign governments it has not named.
On Tuesday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Assad lost "all sense of humanity."
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed sympathy for all victims of the Assad regime's abuse during a meeting Tuesday with a group of U.S.-based Syrian activists.
The United States will support Syrians "in their efforts to begin a peaceful and orderly transition to democracy in Syria and to have their aspirations realized," Clinton said. "We have nothing invested in the continuation of a regime that must kill, imprison and torture its own citizens to maintain power."
Anthony probation order stayed
ORLANDO, Fla., Aug. 3 (UPI) -- A Florida judge stayed an order Wednesday that Casey Anthony return to the state to report to the probation office in Orlando.
Belvin Perry Jr., the chief judge in Orlando, signed an order that delays Anthony's appearance until her lawyers have a chance to argue she has already served her probation on a check fraud charge, Orlando's WFTV-TV reported. Perry, who presided over Anthony's murder trial for the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, took over the case after Judge Stan Strickland, who ordered Anthony to appear, recused himself Wednesday.
Anthony left the state immediately after she was released from jail. She was acquitted of murder but convicted of lying to investigators.
Jose Baez, who headed Anthony's defense team, told NBC's "Today" show Wednesday he believes she would be in danger if she returned to Florida. Defense lawyers also argue Anthony served her probation while she was in jail awaiting trial on the murder charge, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
The celebrity Web site TMZ has reported sources said Anthony is getting mental treatment. Her whereabouts are unknown although TMZ ran photos of a woman it said was Anthony taken in Columbus, Ohio.
Polygamist Jeffs says he's persecuted
SAN ANGELO, Texas, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs said in his opening statement Wednesday his child sexual assault trial in Texas amounts to persecution.
Jeffs, who made his 30-minute opening statement after prosecutors wrapped up their case, never brought up sex, marriage to underage girls or any specifics of the state's case against him, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.
Instead, he gave a history of Christianity, Mormons, his sect and the nation, and talked about religious persecution in Europe and how Mormon Church founder Joseph Smith was killed by a mob and became a martyr.
"Two times in our history, families carried away with the government, intent to break up families because of prejudiced beliefs," Jeffs said, warning against prosecuting someone on the basis of religion. "If it comes against unpopular religions a persecuting zeal, where should it end?"
Earlier in the day, a so-called sex tape recording was played in which Jeffs can be heard panting.
Prosecutors rested their case after playing the 21-minute tape recording, in which they allege Jeffs, 55, has sex with a 12-year-old girl he took for his wife in 2006, the Tribune said. Several jurors put hands over their mouths as the tape played.
Jeffs twice refers to the alleged victim by name and a girl's voice is heard at times, the newspaper said. She is not heard resisting, the newspaper said.
While there are no direct references to sex in the recording, earlier testimony indicated phrases heard on the tape, such as "heavenly comfort" and "heavenly sessions," refer to sexual intercourse, the Tribune said.
Near the conclusion, Jeffs, who had objected unsuccessfully to the prosecution's playing of the tape, is heard saying, "In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."
A girl's voice is heard responding, "Amen."
It was not clear whether Jeffs, who is representing himself, would call anyone on the stand, the Tribune said.
Jeffs, leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints -- a Mormon splinter sect -- is charged with sexual assault of a child in 2005 and aggravated sexual assault of a child in 2006. Jeffs, who is charged with first- and second-degree felonies, could face 119 years in prison.
The aggravated sexual assault count asserts that he married a 12-year-old girl and fathered a child with her. Under Texas law, a girl that age doesn't have the legal right to give consent for sex.
Layoffs rise for third month running
CHICAGO, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- U.S. companies announced 66,414 layoffs in July, the highest total in 16 months, a private consulting firm said Wednesday.
After a first half of the year with announced job losses the lowest since 2000, international outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said July's announced layoffs rose 60 percent over the previous month and 59 percent over July 2010.
The job cuts announced in the month were "dominated by a flurry of large layoffs by a handful of private-sector employers," the firm said.
Companies that announced layoffs in July Included Boston Scientific, Borders, Cisco Systems, Lockheed Martin and Merck & Co.
Those five firms contributed 57 percent of the total, Challenger, Gray & Christmas said.
