Afghan handover to start late July: top official (AFP)

KABUL (AFP) – The process of handing control from foreign to Afghan security forces and officials in seven areas of Afghanistan will start from late July, a senior official said Thursday.

Ashraf Ghani, a former finance minister who is now in charge of the transition process, said that the much-heralded transition process would start between July 14 and 21.

President Hamid Karzai had previously indicated that transition would start at some point during the Afghan solar month of Saratan which ends on July 22 but Ghani's comments give the most precise timing yet.

"The exact date of transition is from 23 to 30 of Saratan (July 14 to 21)," he said.

Under the transition process Afghan forces and officials will take more responsibility for security and their own affairs, allowing a gradual withdrawal of foreign troops.

Some 10,000 US troops will leave Afghanistan this year and 33,000 will go by next summer, President Barack Obama said this month.

All foreign combat troops are due to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014. There are around 150,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, nearly 100,000 of which are from the US, battling a near ten-year Taliban-led insurgency.

Ghani spoke after a conference attended by the governors of the seven safer areas of Afghanistan which are in the first wave of transition, plus the country's defence and interior ministers and head of the intelligence service.

He said that transition in the seven areas would be "simultaneous."

Western officials say the whole process in these areas -- which include the cities of Mazar-i-Sharif, Herat and Lashkar Gah in the volatile southern province of Helmand -- could take up to 18 months to implement.

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Humans will help lost penguin start long swim home (AP)

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – A young emperor penguin won't be getting a free ride all the way back to its Antarctic home, but its human friends in New Zealand will help it get a little closer.

The penguin is recovering well at Wellington Zoo, where it underwent a medical procedure on Monday to flush out much of the beach sand it swallowed, apparently mistaking it for snow.

It may need a few months to recover, but wildlife officials have been trying to figure out how the 3-foot (80 centimeter) -tall bird will return home. Transporting it to Antarctica is near-impossible in the southern winter, and there are fears the penguin may have acquired infections in the warmer New Zealand environment that could spread to other penguins.

On Wednesday, an advisory group headed by the Department of Conservation decided officials will help the penguin get part of the way home by releasing it into the Southern Ocean, southeast of New Zealand — and letting it swim the rest of the way.

"The reason for not returning the penguin directly to Antarctica is that emperor penguins of this age are usually found north of Antarctica on pack ice and in the open ocean," the department's biodiversity spokesman Peter Simpson said.

The bird is estimated at about 2 1/2 years old, a juvenile in a species that reaches breeding age around 4 or 5. It will be released on the northern edge of the region where young emperor penguins are known to live. Simpson said he was unsure how far the penguin would have to swim before reaching its final destination.

The logistics for the trip haven't been set, and the penguin won't be released until it has recovered, which may be months. Until then, it will remain at the zoo.

The penguin — affectionately dubbed Happy Feet — drew intense interest after being spotted June 20 on North Island's Peka Peka Beach, about 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) from the Antarctic coast. It was the first emperor spotted in the wild in New Zealand in 44 years.

The bird appears to be doing well Wednesday and is isolated in an air-conditioned room filled with large blocks of ice, zoo spokeswoman Kate Baker said.

After an edoscopy was performed Monday, X-rays show the rest of the sand the penguin ate was passing naturally, she said. It's also been more active and eating fish, zoo officials have said.

"The plan from now on is to let him rest, feed him and X-ray him again on Friday or Saturday to see how much sand has passed," Baker said.

Happy Feet's gender hasn't been confirmed, which requires a DNA test.

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Mothers of Iran hikers start hunger strike

The mothers of Shane Bauer (left photo) and Josh Fattal hold their sons photos during a news conference in September 2010.Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal have been imprisoned in Iran since 2009 They were arrested with another hiker along an unmarked border between Iran and Iraqi KurdistanSarah Shourd, a third hiker, was released last year

(CNN) -- The mothers of two Americans accused of espionage in Iran say they started a hunger strike Thursday amid fears that their sons are in grave danger.

Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal have been imprisoned in Iran for more than 21 months.

A trial for the 28-year-old men was supposed to happen last week, but it was delayed without an explanation after they were not brought to the courthouse.

"We have not had any news about Shane and Josh for many months, and we are terrified that they have now gone on (a) hunger strike to protest against this latest, devastating delay," said Cindy Hickey, Bauer's mother.

"We're worried that they are not getting proper medical care and that their lives may be in danger."

Fattal's mother, Laura Fattal, urged Iran to free the two.

"Whoever is to blame for preventing our sons' release is bringing shame on Iran," she said. "Shane and Josh have been denied justice and compassion for far too long. Today we begin a hunger strike and stand with our sons to urge Iran to stop punishing them --and our families -- for no reason."

The two were charged with espionage after being arrested in July of 2009 while hiking along an unmarked border between Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan. A third hiker, Bauer's fiancee Sarah Shourd, was also arrested. She was released last year.

Shourd will take over the hunger strike Saturday, the family said.

CNN

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Days ahead of trial's start, jury in Casey Anthony not set

Clearwater, Florida (CNN) -- Jury selection in the Casey Anthony murder trial continued Saturday afternoon following the rejection of nine potential jurors, including one man who posted to his Facebook account that he had a "title, cover and all" ready for a book about the case.

Attorneys and Chief Judge Belvin Perry Jr. of the Orange County Superior Court had allowed four potential jurors through from questioning by day's end, one a 22-year-old man who said he paid no attention to the news and another a grandmother of a 2-year-old girl who described herself as "firm and fair."

Anthony, 25, is charged with capital murder in the death of her daughter, 2-year-old Caylee, whose body was found in woods near her family's home in 2008. She has pleaded not guilty.

She faces six other charges, including aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter of a child and misleading law enforcement.

Jury selection is occurring at the Pinellas County courthouse. Candidates were questioned Saturday about everything from their news-watching habits to criminal records.

After questioning and quickly dismissing five jurors Saturday morning for reasons ranging from financial hardship to bias, lawyers and the judge began questioning a 22-year-old man who said he doesn't follow the news "because it's just awful."

Assistant State's Attorney Jeff Ashton questioned whether the man would be able to bear the grim details of the case.

"You've already told us you live your life avoiding unpleasant things like the news," Ashton said. "Are you absolutely sure you can do it?"

"Yes, sir," the candidate replied.

"No doubt in your mind?" Ashton asked.

"No, sir," the man replied.

When asked by lead defense attorney Jose Baez whether his decision would be influenced if Anthony declines to testify on her own behalf, the candidate said "I can definitely understand not wanting to be up here."

The line elicited laughter from nearly everyone in the courtroom, including Anthony.

Anthony's lead defense attorney sought to have the man dismissed for failing to disclose an entanglement with the law over apparent marijuana possession, but the judge refused. He was ordered to stand by for possible duty.

Perry later approved the dismissal of a man who posted on his Facebook page what the potential juror said was a joking reference to a "book coming soon" after announcing he had been called for potential jury duty on a big trial.

"Already have the title, cover and all," Assistant State's Attorney Frank George said in reciting one of the posts.

Also dismissed was a woman who said she had lost a son in a car accident that required an extensive police investigation. She said she viewed the charge that Anthony had lied to investigators as evidence of "guilt by omission."

During the afternoon session, Perry dismissed a man who said he was irrevocably opposed to the death penalty.

After extensive questioning by attorneys, he told a grandmother who remembered "sweet pictures" of Caylee but said she had no preconceived notions of the case to stand by for duty.

The two other jurors who will be contenders for the final jury pool are a woman in her 60s who doesn't own a computer, and a 43-year-old man who said that while he's occasionally seen newspaper headlines that suggest Anthony is guilty, he said he is able to set that aside.

"I've also read that Donald Trump is an alien, and that Elvis is still alive and living in Graceland," the man said.

At the end of the rare Saturday session around 5:30 p.m., the judge said the court would be in recess until 8:30 a.m. Monday.

In allowing the four candidates Saturday to pass to the next phase, the judge and attorneys increased the pool of potential jurors who have not been dismissed for one reason or another to 12, although attorneys still have until the jurors are sworn in to seek their dismissal, according to the judge.

Perry said he would begin swearing in jurors once the number of unrejected candidates reaches 15.

Coming into Saturday's session, eight people were considered viable candidates for the jury.

Twelve jurors and eight alternates will eventually be seated on the jury, which will be moved to and sequestered in Orange County, where the alleged crime happened and where the trial will take place.

Jury selection was moved from Orlando to Clearwater amid intense media coverage of the case, which could make it difficult to select an impartial jury.

Perry said Friday that it is imperative to seat a jury as quickly as possible before more potential jurors are swayed by the media coverage.

"The longer we wait, the more dangers there are," he said.

The goal is to have everything finalized for opening arguments Tuesday in Orlando.

Prosecutors have said they plan to show Anthony used "a substance" to kill her daughter. The girl's skeletal remains were found in December 2008 in woods near the Anthony home after she went missing for six months.

In Session's Michael Christian contributed to this report.

CNN

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Taliban use child bomber at start of offensive

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — On the first day of its promised spring offensive, the Taliban used a 12-year-old boy as a suicide bomber in an attack Sunday that killed four civilians, President Hamid Karzai said, calling the child's recruitment inhumane and un-Islamic.

It was one of several attacks across the country that killed seven people, government officials said.

The insurgent movement announced in a statement Saturday that it would step up operations against military bases, convoys and Afghan officials, including members of the peace council working to reconcile with top insurgent leaders. The offensive begins each year after a winter lull in fighting.

"The use of children and youths who don't know the difference between right and wrong in terrorist attacks is inhumane and against all Islamic principles," the president said.

The suicide bomber detonated a vest packed with explosives inside a bazaar in the Barmal district of Paktika province, 160 miles (260 kilometers) southeast of Kabul, on the border with Pakistan. The blast killed four civilians and wounded 12, said Mokhlis Afghan, a spokesman for the provincial governor's office.

Among the dead ? and the likely target of the attack ? was Sher Nawaz, head of a new district council in the Shakeen area of Paktika province, Afghan said.

In the Taliban's announcement on its offensive, it suggested it would try to limit civilian casualties in its operations.

"Strict attention must be paid to the protection and safety of civilians during spring operations by working out a meticulous military plan," it said.

A United Nations report released earlier this year presented evidence that the Taliban was responsible for the majority of civilian deaths in Afghanistan in 2010, and Afghan and NATO officials have repeatedly accused the Taliban of breaking its own rules of engagement.

According to documents from the Joint Intelligence Group at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the Taliban systematically recruits and trains juveniles to be suicide bombers.

The documents, recently released under a Freedom of Information Act request, include statements from detainees and suggest that child recruitment is organized and extensive among Islamic militant groups.

U.S. military intelligence officers said juveniles are often recruited at mosques and Islamic schools and that they are in turn encouraged to recruit their friends. Some are lured by extremist literature or videos. The documents suggest that extremists find youths easier to recruit than adults and that they become more pliant disciples of militant Islam.

"Taliban used hard-line interpretation of the Quran as a recruitment tool," according to the confidential documents.

The reports say that juveniles are used to perform a variety of tasks including delivering messages, conducting surveillance and fighting on the battlefield.

"Juveniles are more willing to martyr themselves due to their lack of reasoning on taking innocent lives," the documents say.

A March 2010 article in the CTC Sentinel, published by an independent think-tank called the Combating Terrorism Center at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, described how juveniles routinely attended militant training camps in Waziristan, along the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan near the site of Sunday's suicide attack.

"The age of suicide bombers range from seven to 40," according to the article, which drew heavily from Pakistani police interrogations and interviews with suspected militants. "Large suicide training camps operate in two categories: junior and senior camps."

In other violence Sunday, a gunman opened fire on a checkpoint in the southwest province of Ghazni, killing two policemen and wounding a bystander during an hour-long battle, provincial police chief Zerawar Zahid said.

In a separate attack in Ghazni, militants detonated a bicycle rigged with explosives outside the provincial police headquarters complex, wounding 13 civilians, according to provincial officials.The wounded included an 11-year-old girl and two young boys. They had light shrapnel wounds, said Dr. Mohammad Ismail Ibrahimzai, head of the Ghazni Provincial Hospital.

In the country's south, a suspected militant shot and killed an Afghan soldier at a checkpoint in Kandahar city, said deputy police chief Shershah Yousafzai.

In other violence in Kandahar, policemen receiving NATO-donated supplies including caps and protective eyewear drew guns and fought over the items, leaving one policeman dead and four wounded, said Arghandab district governor Shah Mohammad.

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Obama re-election bid may start Monday

Multiple sources tell CNN that President Obama could announce his re-election campaign as early as Monday. STORY HIGHLIGHTSPresident Obama plans to send supporters an electronic message with the newsThe announcement could come as early as MondaySources say Obama's team also hopes to file with the FEC MondayRELATED TOPICSBarack ObamaElection CampaignsGovernment and PoliticsFederal Election Commission Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama plans to send supporters a text or email message announcing his intention to run for re-election, multiple Democratic sources tell CNN.

The message, which might include a video that would be posted online as well, could come as early as Monday morning. The sources say Obama's team also hopes to file papers with the Federal Election Commission on Monday to launch his 2012 re-election campaign.

The timing of the announcement and the filing could change depending on outside events. The White House is closely watching negotiations on Capitol Hill over the 2011 spending bill, which must be resolved this week to avoid a government shutdown.

This would come more than a week before the president hosts his first re-election fundraiser in Chicago on April 14. These Democrats say no public event is planned because the White House wants to downplay the announcement and minimize the political distraction.

The president is making his campaign official slightly earlier than is typical for an incumbent so he can get a jump on fundraising in a season that's likely to shatter all records. Obama's team has been asking campaign bundlers to raise $350,000 each, no easy task since campaign finance laws limit gifts to $2,500 per donor. Two sources tell CNN the campaign team hopes that in total their bundlers will raise $500 million, leaving the campaign to raise another $500 million and amass a record-breaking $1 billion war chest.

According to these sources, the president has made calls to top donors and conference calls are planned this week to supporters and key Democratic groups. Vice President Joe Biden is already planning to be in New Hampshire Monday and will meet with key supporters in that crucial early voting state. For the past few weeks, Jim Messina, who will manage the campaign, and Patrick Gaspard, executive director of the DNC, have been flying around the country meeting with frustrated donors working to get them re-engaged.

So far no Republican contenders have formally announced. But these days the likely Republican presidential contenders are making endless visits to key early voting states and meeting with supporters across the country.

One top Democrat says, "The Republicans are out there day in and day out beating up on the president -- they're basically running without filing. So to say we're going first isn't totally fair." This person adds, "No one wants to start running now. The president is engaged in the country, this is about getting (campaign) staff up and running."

Additionally, top Democrats say two former White House staffers are likely to set up a third-party outside spending group. Former Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton and Sean Sweeney, former aide to then-Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, have been approached by Democratic donors who are concerned about countering the influence of Karl Rove and the Koch brothers in the upcoming 2012 election.

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Tea Party Gets Early Start on Shaping 2012 Elections

AP

Sen. Jim DeMint, at podium, addresses a Tea Party rally March 31 on Capitol Hill.

The Tea Party doesn't want to be a one-election pony, and is starting early to make sure candidates heed their call for budget cuts and limited government ahead of the 2012 election. 

One faction of that movement, the Tea Party Patriots, held a small but vocal rally Thursday on Capitol Hill to pressure Congress to hold down spending for the rest of the year. The rally of about 100 people was a rather mild reminder of the Tea Party's might. Elsewhere, the strategists behind the multi-headed movement are plotting once again to make waves in the primaries and general election. 

With the budget debate in full swing, they warn that any Republicans failing to live up to their vows to cut spending could face a challenge in the primary season. But as in 2010, different groups have wildly different goals. 

Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips has been threatening to put somebody up against House Speaker John Boehner, griping that he's not done enough to get control of the debt. 

But over at Tea Party Express, Boehner is not considered a problem. 

Sal Russo, chief strategist with the group, said Tea Party Express so far has four targets, two from each party -- Democratic Sens. Ben Nelson in Nebraska and Debbie Stabenow in Michigan, and Republican Sens. Richard Lugar in Indiana and Olympia Snowe in Maine, both moderates. 

He said the group has been meeting with possible Senate challengers in those races since the beginning of the year, and has made some decisions about endorsements, though he declined to reveal them. 

He said that during the primaries, the group will look to galvanize fundraising for favored candidates and get supporters across the country to work the phones in key races. He said Tea Party Express would also run ads in the general election, with the ultimate goal of winning for Republicans a 60-seat, filibuster-proof majority -- something Democrats are determined to not let happen. Russo said the organization is waiting for redistricting before it starts strategizing at the House level, since districts could change, in turn affecting the vulnerability or strength of candidates. 

"Somebody may be vulnerable today, but when the map gets drawn, they may be in a safe district," Russo said. 

New for the Tea Party this cycle will be the chance to have an impact on the presidential race. Tea Party Express plans to invite presidential candidates to speak at stops on its planned bus tour later this year, and will co-host a presidential primary debate in the fall. 

The Tea Party already is part of the presidential primary trail. 

The Boston Herald reported that former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who recently launched his exploratory committee, plans to speak to the Boston Tea Party during its April 15 Tax Day rally. 

While candidates and Tea Partiers work through the awkward getting-to-know-you phase, Tea Party leaders are sending out a stern warning to incumbents. 

"If they don't cut the spending that they promised to cut, we're going to get back in 2012 and we are going to get them out of there," Ana Puig, with the Pennsylvania-based Kitchen Table Patriots, told Fox News. 

The Tea Party Patriots' Jenny Beth Martin also told Fox News that some members will "probably be primaried" if they don't live up to expectations. 

"We're going to have an impact in this debate, we're going to have an impact when it comes to the budget in 2012 and we're also going to have an impact in the debt ceiling and next year's elections," she said. "We're not going away. We're here. We're going to be vigilant." 

As Democrats openly spoil for a fight with the Tea Party by labeling their views "extreme," Republicans on the Hill continue to pay deference to the movement, in a sign of its importance in 2012. 

Boehner, who blames Democrats for the lack of progress on the budget, said lawmakers should "welcome" the input from people like those protesting on Capitol Hill Thursday. "I'm glad that they're engaged in the process," he said. 

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a freshman senator elected with help from Tea Partiers in his state, warned lawmakers not to push their buttons. 

"A lot of these people have found their expression in the Tea Party movement. I think that's a positive development in American politics, and I think our leaders should not be criticizing everyday Americans who decide to express themselves through the political process," Rubio told Fox News. 

Recent polls have suggested enthusiasm for the Tea Party might be waning, at least in the drought period between elections. A CNN/Opinion Research poll out Wednesday showed about half of those surveyed having an unfavorable view of the movement, apparently the first time that number has been as high as it is for Democrats and Republicans. 

But Russo said he expects the movement to "grow" as the campaigns get underway. 

"I think we're in that frustration period among those that think the 2010 elections were determinative," he said. "We got one-half of one-third of the government. It was a first step." 

FoxNews.com's Judson Berger and Fox News' John Brandt contributed to this report.

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