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"Executive Order will Strengthen Further Partnership Between the Federal and State and Local Governments to Better Protect Our Nation The President today signed an Executive Order (attached) establishing a Council of Governors to strengthen further the partnership between the Federal Government and State Governments to protect our Nation against all types of hazards. When appointed, the Council will be reviewing such matters as involving the National Guard of the various States; homeland defense; civil support; synchronization and integration of State and Federal military activities in the United States; and other matters of mutual interest pertaining to National Guard, homeland defense, and civil support activities. The bipartisan Council will be composed of ten State Governors who will be selected by the President to serve two year terms. In selecting the Governors to the Council, the White House will solicit input from Governors and Governors' associations. Once chosen, the Council will have no more than five members from the same party and represent the Nation as a whole. Federal members of the Council include the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, the Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Americas' Security Affairs, the U.S. Northern Command Commander, the Commandant of the Coast Guard, and the Chief of the National Guard Bureau. The Secretary of Defense will designate an Executive Director for the Council. The Council of Governors will provide an invaluable Senior Administration forum for exchanging views with State and local officials on strengthening our National resilience and the homeland defense and civil support challenges facing our Nation today and in the future. The formation of the Council of Governors was required by the Fiscal Year 2008 Na

"*To announce tenure limit of bank MDs, minimum disclosure requirements soon To strengthen credit control and forestall the recurrence of non-performing loans in banks, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that very soon those without the national identity card may not be able to access bank loans. It added that in a few weeks time it will release a new minimum disclosure requirement for banks and tenure limit for managing directors and chief executive officers. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, CBN governor made the declaration at the launch and public forum of CRC Credit Bureau Limited. Experts have hailed the move, saying it has always been easy for people to forge any other identity card, noting that it will be difficult to forge the national identity card. Sanusi said "the CBN will liaison with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) with a view to enhancing the National Identity Card project", and that "whenever the National Identity scheme takes off we will ensure that no new credit is extended to anybody unless the person has a national identity card". Sanusi at the forum warned existing managing directors of banks to start thinking of an exit and succession plan before the imposition of the tenure limit. "

"The national identity card is linked to people's national insurance number, the government hasconfirmed. Home secretary Alan Johnson said NI numbers are one of several data items that are part of the national ID card database but not the passport database. Johnson was responding to a written question from shadow home secretary Chris Grayling. More than 2,400 had applied voluntarily for a card, he said. Johnson said the information in the UK passport database is "very similar" to that held on the National Identity Register. In addition to NI numbers the register also held fingerprint biometrics, which will be required for passport issue "in due course", he said. Johnson said the NI numbers help identity verification checks for identity cards, and in time, passports. The government admitted in 2007 that it had lost nine million NI numbers, some of which were suspected of being used fraudulently."

"Haiti's history is a catalog of political disasters, one after the other. In one account of the nation's fight for independence from the French in the late 18th century, representatives of the nation are said to have made a pact with the Devil to throw off the French. According to this account, the Haitians considered the French as Catholics and wanted to side with whomever would oppose the French. Thus, some would use that tradition to explain all that has marked the tragedy of Haitian history -- including now the earthquake of January 12, 2010. Does God hate Haiti? That is the conclusion reached by many, who point to the earthquake as a sign of God's direct and observable judgment. God does judge the nations -- all of them -- and God will judge the nations. His judgment is perfect and his justice is sure. He rules over all the nations and his sovereign will is demonstrated in the rising and falling of nations and empires and peoples. Every molecule of matter obeys his command, and the earthquakes reveal his reign -- as do the tides of relief and assistance flowing into Haiti right now. A faithful Christian cannot accept the claim that God is a bystander in world events. The Bible clearly claims the sovereign rule of God over all his creation, all of the time. We have no right to claim that God was surprised by the earthquake in Haiti, or to allow that God could not have prevented it from happening. God's rule over creation involves both direct and indirect acts, but his rule is constant. The universe, even after the consequences of the Fall, still demonstrates the character of God in all its dimensions, objects, and occurrences. And yet, we have no right to claim that we know why a disaster like the earthquake in Haiti happened at just that place and at just that moment. The arrogance of human presumption is a real and present danger. We can trace the effects of a drunk driver to a car accident, but we cannot trace the effects of voodoo to an earthquake -- a

"The world's largest Internet search company and the world's most powerful electronic surveillance organization are teaming up in the name of cybersecurity. Under an agreement that is still being finalized, the National Security Agency would help Google analyze a major corporate espionage attack that the firm said originated in China and targeted its computer networks, according to cybersecurity experts familiar with the matter. The objective is to better defend Google -- and its users -- from future attack. Google and the NSA declined to comment on the partnership. But sources with knowledge of the arrangement, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the alliance is being designed to allow the two organizations to share critical information without violating Google's policies or laws that protect the privacy of Americans' online communications. The sources said the deal does not mean the NSA will be viewing users' searches or e-mail accounts or that Google will be sharing proprietary data. The partnership strikes at the core of one of the most sensitive issues for the government and private industry in the evolving world of cybersecurity: how to balance privacy and national security interests. On Tuesday, Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair called the Google attacks, which the company acknowledged in January, a "wake-up call." Cyberspace cannot be protected, he said, without a "collaborative effort that incorporates both the U.S. private sector and our international partners." But achieving collaboration is not easy, in part because private companies do not trust the government to keep their secrets and in part because of concerns that collaboration can lead to continuous government monitoring of private communications. Privacy advocates, concerned about a repeat of the NSA's warrantless interception of Americans' phone calls and e-mails after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, say information-sharing must be limited and closely overseen.

Jan. 2 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. East Coast faces the coldest night of the season as frigid air spills south and threatens agriculture in Georgia, Alabama and the orange crop in Florida. Freeze warnings were posted by the National Weather Service as far south as the Orlando area, which may be as many as 20 degrees below normal tonight, the National Weather Service said. The advisory alerts growers that subfreezing temperatures are imminent and may kill crops or other sensitive vegetation. Tampa and others cities in the central part of the state are under a freeze warning from 1 a.m. to 9 a.m. local time tomorrow. Temperatures may fall below 32 degrees Fahrenheit (zero Celsius) for more than three consecutive hours, the National Weather Service in Tampa said on its Web site. "This is a pretty significant cold snap," Matt Keefe, a meteorologist with AccuWeather.com Inc. in State College, Pennsylvania, said in a telephone interview. "This could really put a hurting on the citrus crop." He said the jet stream, which normally keeps the coldest air north of the Hudson Bay in Canada, is centered over parts of Alabama and Mississippi. "The cold temperatures could last for a good part of the week," he said. Jacksonville, Florida, may see a record low tonight, Keefe said. The Miami area will see temperatures 12 degrees to 13 degrees below normal for this time of year, Keefe said. Tonight will be the coldest and offer the greatest danger of crop damage, Keefe said. The next chance for freezing will come next week.

"There is something about the Arab-Israeli conflict that does strange things to people. Even otherwise distinguished personalities, who in every other context are rational, sensible thinkers, become unrecognizable. The international law of self-defense is a case in point. United Nations. United Nations. Photo: AP [file] It is trite to say that the first and most basic human instinct is that of self-preservation. Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, which enshrines "the inherent right" of self-defense, emanates from this. The occurrence of "an armed attack" triggers the right. In the context of Israel's incursion into Gaza last year, in response to several thousand rockets which had been fired from there into Israel over a period of years, a letter appeared in The Times of London, exactly a year ago today, signed by 31 lawyers. The lead signatory was Sir Ian Brownlie, professor emeritus of public international law at Oxford University, undoubtedly one of the world's preeminent international law authorities. The letter asserted, in so many words, the astonishing proposition that the thousands of rockets which landed in Israel (and were aimed at civilian populations and centers) "do not, in terms of scale and effect, amount to an armed attack entitling Israel to rely on self-defense." "

"President Obama by executive order has established a new "Council of Governors" designated to advise on the "synchronization and integration of state and federal military activities in the United States." The recent order, posted on the White House website, was accompanied by the explanation that the group is to work "to protect our nation against all types of hazards." It comes just weeks after the president issue a similarly obscure order vastly expanding INTERPOL's privileges in the U.S. The White House said the new council is to include governors and administration officials to review "such matters as involving the National Guard of the various states; homeland defense, civil support; synchronization and integration of state and federal military activities in the United States; and other matters of mutual interest pertaining to National Guard, homeland defense, and civil support activities." However, there was no definition of what would be included in the group's authority. Can the council recommend "military activities" and can the governors, who already are in command of their own state guard units, mandate activities outside of their areas of jurisdiction? The White House did not respond to WND questions on the issue. "

"The State Department is planning to welcome thousands of immigrants from terror-watch list countries into the United States this year through a "diversity visa" lottery -- a giant legal loophole some lawmakers say is a "serious national security threat" that has gone unchecked for years. Ostensibly designed to increase ethnic diversity among immigrants, the program invites in thousands of poorly educated laborers with few job skills -- and that's only the beginning of its problems, according to lawmakers and government investigations. "There are a lot of holes in this program in terms of security and in terms of fraud," said Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., who has written legislation aimed at killing the lottery. Now, in the wake of the botched Christmas Day terror attack that emerged from Nigeria and Yemen, members of Congress are worried the system could be vulnerable to radicals looking to "play" the visa lottery as a means of reaching the U.S. Here's how it works: to avoid getting stuck with 3.5 million others on a visa waiting list, hundreds of thousands of people put their names into the separate diversity lottery, which rewards countries that typically see low levels of immigration to the U.S. Immediate family are allowed to join lottery winners. Countries like China, where lots of immigrants originate, are excluded. Then a computer in Kentucky picks names at random from the qualified applicants, who need only a high school degree or two years at a job that requires two years of experience. The program accounts for about 10 percent of all immigrant visas each year. Included in the lottery are all four countries the U.S considers state sponsors of terror -- Iran, Sudan, Cuba, and Syria -- and 13 of the 14 nations that are coming under special monitoring from the Transportation Security Administration as founts of terrorism. Pakistan is excluded because, like China, it sends over tens of thousands of immigrants each year and doesn't need to be in the lottery

"Haitian officials estimated Wednesday that the death toll might reach between 100,000 and 150,000 and that 70,000 bodies have already been buried in mass graves. But U.N. officials say the numbers are at best a guess. The grim process of counting the dead has been complicated by the breakdown of government institutions, including the collapse of hospitals and morgues. Many people are still buried under collapsed homes, hotels and government buildings, making a final count premature. "People are still being pulled out of the rubble, extraordinarily," said John Holmes, U.N. emergency relief coordinator. He noted that foreign rescue teams had pulled more than 120 people out alive from collapsed buildings. "And we'll continue with that as long as there is any hope of finding people alive." Even measuring the United Nations' dead has been a struggle. For several days, it declined to provide details about its deceased staff, leaving it to governments to confirm the deaths of their nationals. U.N. officials said their caution was driven by a concern that families first be notified of a loved one's death and that no mistakes be made. Other officials say the United Nations has been especially cautious about releasing the names of their dead because of previous mistakes. After the 2003 suicide attack against U.N. headquarters in Baghdad, which killed 22 U.N. officials and guests, at least one staffer who survived was reported dead. "

"Dubai: The government of Dubai on Thursday announced that it is fully prepared to host the headquarters of the United Nations if its officials decide to move from New York where the organisation is currently located. According to an official source in the Dubai government, the announcement was made in light of the UAE's - and Dubai's - appreciation of the vital role the United Nations plays in all areas, and in the protection of international peace and security and economic development in particular. The source said Dubai welcomes dialogue with UN officials to provide them with full information on the capabilities which the emirate can provide and which could make it the optimal choice as the new seat of the UN headquarters if a final decision is taken to move out of New York. Among the capabilities which Dubai possesses are suitable geographical location and world-class infrastructure and air, land and sea transport systems which make the emirate an easily accessible meeting point in the middle of the world, noted the source. Dubai's offer is part of efforts the UAE is making to assume its full role as a responsible and effective member of the international community and to find alternatives to contribute to stronger international joint actions."

"India launches biometric census Indian President Pratibha Patil fills in a census form (1 April 2010) The full results of India's national census will be released in mid-2011 India is launching a new census in which every person aged over 15 will be photographed and fingerprinted to create a biometric national database. The government will then use the information to issue identity cards. Officials will spend a year classifying India's population of around 1.2 billion people according to gender, religion, occupation and education. The exercise, conducted every 10 years, faces big challenges, not least India's vast area and diversity of cultures. Census officials must also contend with high levels of illiteracy and millions of homeless people - as well as insurgencies by Maoists and other rebels which have left large parts of the country unsafe. President Pratibha Patil was the first person to be listed, and appealed to fellow Indians to follow her example "for the good of the nation". "Everyone must participate and make it successful," she said in Delhi. "

"Reporting from Washington - President Obama, speaking today from the pulpit of a church where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. sometimes spoke, called on the congregation to rally around the spirit that had helped their ancestors pursue a long road to freedom. "It's that progress that allowed me to be here today," said Obama, the first African American president. The president, who doesn't frequently attend Sunday church services in Washington and has not found a permanent congregation for his family in the capital, joined in the services this morning at the Vermont Avenue Baptist Church. The president arrived with First Lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha. The church, founded in 1866 by seven freed slaves, originally was known as the Fifth Baptist Church of Washington, D.C. "It feels like a family," Obama told the congregation. There are at least a couple of occasions that might have prompted today's outing: the deaths of tens of thousands of Haitians in an earthquake that has shaken all of the Americas, as well as the birthday of the slain civil rights leader King, which is celebrated on Monday with a national holiday. "We gather here on the Sabbath at a time of extreme difficulty for our nation and the world," the president said, speaking much like a preacher from the pulpit. "We are not here just to ask the Lord for his blessing. We're also here to call on the memory of one of his servants, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr." Obama said he had come to a "a church founded by freed slaves . . . whose congregants set out for marches . . . from whose sanctuary King himself would sermonize from time to time." This was as much of a sermon as it was a speech. King "trusted God," the president said. "He had faith that God would make a way out of now way. . . . "Folks ask me sometimes, 'Why do you look so calm?' " Obama said on a particularly personal note, with his voice rising."

"I am not unwilling to become a martyr like those who made that sacrifice after the election for their rightful national and religious demands. My blood is no redder than theirs." Anti-government protests erupted in Iran after the June 12 presidential vote, which secured Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election. The former prime minister at the outset of the Islamic Republic also rejected government claims that the opposition movement was a stooge of Britain and America. "We are neither Americans nor Britons. "We are loyal to the constitution," he said. "We want an honest and compassionate government that considers diversity of opinion and the popular vote to be opportunities, not threats."

"Haitians are lining bodies along the streets of Port-au-Prince, where thousands are feared dead after a massive earthquake destroyed much of the capital. The 7.0 magnitude quake that struck Tuesday was the most powerful to hit the Caribbean nation in 200 years. The temblor collapsed the presidential palace, ministries, homes, schools, monuments and the city's largest hospital. The International Red Cross says up to 3 million people have been affected. Bodies were pulled Wednesday from the collapsed United Nations headquarters in Port-au-Prince. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says more than 100 U.N. personnel are missing, including the mission chief, Hedi Annabi. "

"By joining Fox News in a deal announced Monday, the former Republican vice presidential nominee gains instant access to an audience that gives Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly the highest ratings in cable news -- and a clear boost if she attempts another run for national office. "This gives her a platform she can use to stay relevant, to stay in the public eye and to flush out some of her policy positions," said Republican strategist Todd Harris, who once worked for Palin's 2008 running mate, John McCain. "To the degree it gives her a direct line to the kinds of people who vote in Republican primaries, it does give her an advantage." Out-of-work politicians are increasingly using television and radio to stay on the political radar and keep their options open, which is one reason that former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, an also-ran in the 2008 White House race and possible 2012 contender, is now hosting a weekend show, also on Fox. The former Alaska governor will appear as a pundit on various Fox shows, beginning Tuesday on "The O'Reilly Factor," and host an occasional series that was already in the works, "Real American Stories," which will examine inspirational tales involving ordinary citizens who have suffered setbacks. Palin has used similar language in speeches, and apologized during the presidential campaign for referring to small towns as "the real America" and the "pro-America areas of this great nation." Palin said in a statement that she is "thrilled" to be joining Fox, adding, "It's wonderful to be part of a place that so values fair and balanced news." "

"(CNN) -- Africa's most active volcano, Mount Nyamuragira in the Democratic Republic of Congo, erupted early Saturday, spewing lava off its southern flank, the Congolese Wildlife Authority reported. Rangers in Virunga National Park reported hearing a loud explosion at 3:45 a.m. and then seeing lava flowing from the crater of the 10,333-foot volcano. "I first thought (it) was the sound of war. I thought there was fighting again near our park station," said Innocent Mburanumwe, warden for the southern sector of Virunga National Park. "Then I saw the mountain was on fire with sparks flying. We could see that we were not in immediate danger here at Rumangabo, but there are many people who live to the south of the volcano, where the lava is heading as I speak.""

"The snow is expected to start falling during the late afternoon in the South East and get very heavy by the evening. With Arctic temperatures affecting the whole of the country the National Grid was forced to issue an alert for just the SECOND time in history. The National Grid warned power suppliers to use less gas after seeing a 30 per cent rise on normal seasonal demand during the cold snap. But Prime Minister Gordon Brown today denied the country was facing a gas supply crisis. During a visit to the London Gateway port construction site, near Thurrock, Essex, the PM said: "I think Britain can deal with these problems. "There are always difficulties when we have a long spell of bad weather. But we can cope." "

"The present national identity card system is outdated, and does not create interconnectivity and has many security issues. Therefore, the Government is planning to introduce an electronic smart card system to replace it from this year, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said. "This new smart card system will create connectivity," the Defence Secretary said at the Tech Colloquium Conference on the theme 'The Role of IT in Nation Building' in Colombo on Monday. He said with the introduction of the new smart card system it could be used as an identity card as well as a multi-purpose card for other purposes. This will enable to prevent any security problems like duplication. This will be an advantage for security concerns to do their investigation and surveillance activities without any hazard, he said. Rajapaksa said developed countries use more advanced surveillance systems than Sri Lanka by using new technology and without using physical presence such as Police and Army personnel. Therefore, this can create some inconvenience to the public to a larger extent, he said. The Defence Secretary said developed countries used advanced security and surveillance systems than Sri Lanka without heavy police and military presence. Therefore electronic surveillance systems are linked to control rooms and these control rooms could dispatch security and military personnel to the relevant position. He said they are now in the process of introducing ICT and new technology for surveillance systems like in developed countries. ICT could also bring an economic revival after defeating three decades of ethnic crisis and achieving true victory, he said. "However, Sri Lanka is still not being developed to that level as we are heavily depending on physical systems, which inconvenience the public. The use of high and advanced technology and IT have brought a lot of achievements during the recent past and it almost did a revolutionary change in the war theater to suppress t

"Call it the mystery of the missing thermometers. Two months after "climategate" cast doubt on some of the science behind global warming, new questions are being raised about the reliability of a key temperature database, used by the United Nations and climate change scientists as proof of recent planetary warming. Two American researchers allege that U.S. government scientists have skewed global temperature trends by ignoring readings from thousands of local weather stations around the world, particularly those in colder altitudes and more northerly latitudes, such as Canada. In the 1970s, nearly 600 Canadian weather stations fed surface temperature readings into a global database assembled by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Today, NOAA only collects data from 35 stations across Canada. Worse, only one station -- at Eureka on Ellesmere Island -- is now used by NOAA as a temperature gauge for all Canadian territory above the Arctic Circle. The Canadian government, meanwhile, operates 1,400 surface weather stations across the country, and more than 100 above the Arctic Circle, according to Environment Canada. Yet as American researchers Joseph D'Aleo, a meteorologist, and E. Michael Smith, a computer programmer, point out in a study published on the website of the Science and Public Policy Institute, NOAA uses "just one thermometer [for measuring] everything north of latitude 65 degrees." Both the authors, and the institute, are well-known in climate-change circles for their skepticism about the threat of global warming. Mr. D'Aleo and Mr. Smith say NOAA and another U.S. agency, the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) have not only reduced the total number of Canadian weather stations in the database, but have "cherry picked" the ones that remain by choosing sites in relatively warmer places, including more southerly locations, or sites closer to airports, cities or the sea -- which has a warming ef