hNYC mayor vows to listen and lead

January 2, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

YORK (AP) — Mayor Michael Bloomberg sought to strike a humble tone Friday as he began his third term by promising “to listen and to lead” and to take a fresh look at the challenges facing the city.

The 67-year-old billionaire acknowledged the unusual circumstances that landed him on the steps of City Hall to take the oath of office for another four years. A city term-limit law had barred officeholders from seeking a third, consecutive term, but he orchestrated a last-minute law change that let him run again in 2009.

Iraqis outraged over Blackwater dismissal

BAGHDAD — Iraqis seeking justice for 17 people shot dead at a Baghdad intersection responded with bitterness and outrage Friday at a U.S. judge’s decision to throw out a case against a Blackwater security team accused in the killings.

The Iraqi government vowed to pursue the case, which became a source of contention between the U.S. and the Iraqi government. Many Iraqis also held up the judge’s decision as proof of what they’d long believed: U.S. security contractors were above the law.

“There is no justice,” said Bura Sadoun Ismael, who was wounded by two bullets and shrapnel during the shooting. “I expected the American court would side with the Blackwater security guards who committed a massacre in Nisoor Square.”

Russia doubles price of cheapest vodka

MOSCOW — The price of the cheapest vodka on the Russian market more than doubled Friday as the government set a minimum price in an effort to fight rampant alcoholism.

Drinking causes an extraordinary number of deaths in Russia, where male life expectancy is about 60 years, and it contributes to an array of economic and social problems.

The minimum price of 89 rubles ($3) for a half liter of vodka (17 ounces) went into effect at the start of the 12-day New Year’s and Orthodox Christmas holiday, when alcohol consumption is at its highest.

Contact with hostages made in Afghanistan

PARIS — A television executive says authorities looking for two journalists in Afghanistan have made contact with the hostage takers, and the reporters are alive.

France Television executive Paul Nahon says the information came from a colleague in Afghanistan of the journalists, who went missing with two or three Afghan employees on Wednesday.

Nahon told France-Info radio Friday that the news that the journalists are alive is “a great relief.”

French authorities have refused to confirm any hostage-taking and urged discretion in such cases. They only said the journalists for France-3 television disappeared while traveling in Kapisa province east of Kabul.

Lesbian custody case

A woman at the center of a complex dispute with her former lesbian partner defied a court order to give up custody of her 7-year-old daughter Friday, opening the door to possible criminal charges.

A Vermont judge had ordered Lisa Miller to turn over daughter Isabella to Janet Jenkins at 1 p.m. Friday at the Falls Church, Va., home of Jenkins’ parents. Miller did not show up with the girl, according to Fairfax County, Va., police and Jenkins’ Vermont-based attorney.

“She’s very disappointed, obviously,” said Sarah Star, Jenkins’ lawyer. “She’s very concerned about Isabella and asks that if anybody sees Isabella, that they please contact the authorities.”

Associated Press