West Virginia routs Clemson 70-33 in Orange Bowl

West Virginia's Chad Snodgrass (65) lifts wide receiver Tavon Austin (1) after Austin scored a touchdown during the first half of the Orange Bowl NCAA college football game against Clemson, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

West Virginia's Chad Snodgrass (65) lifts wide receiver Tavon Austin (1) after Austin scored a touchdown during the first half of the Orange Bowl NCAA college football game against Clemson, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen smiles as a 99-yard run by Darwin Cook is ruled a touchdown during the first half of the Orange Bowl NCAA college football game against Clemson, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith (12) runs for a first down during the first half of the Orange Bowl NCAA college football game against Clemson, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Clemson fans watch as their team falls behind West Virginia during the second half of the Orange Bowl NCAA college football game Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012, in Miami . (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney gestures to quarterback Tajh Boyd during the second half of the Orange Bowl NCAA college football game against West Virginia, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

MIAMI (AP) ? The West Virginia Mountaineers were tough to slow down, and only the Orange Bowl mascot could stop Darwin Cook.

Geno Smith tied the record for any bowl game with six touchdown passes, and the No. 23-ranked Mountaineers set a bowl scoring record Wednesday night with their high-powered offense. But safety Cook made the pivotal play by returning a fumble 99 yards for a touchdown to break the game open and help beat No. 14 Clemson 70-33.

Cook collided comically with mascot Obie after scoring one of the Mountaineers' five TDs in the second quarter, including three in the final 2:29 for a 49-20 lead. It was the highest-scoring half by a team in a bowl game.

Tavon Austin tied a record for any bowl game with four touchdown catches. Smith went 31 for 42, and his 401 yards passing broke Tom Brady's Orange Bowl record. He also ran for a score, helping West Virginia break the bowl record for points established six nights earlier when Baylor beat Washington 67-56 in the Alamo Bowl.

The Mountaineers (10-3) won in their first Orange Bowl appearance and improved to 3-0 in three Bowl Championship Series games. Clemson (10-4) lost playing in its first major bowl in 30 years.

The offensive showcase was the latest in a succession this bowl season, and perhaps the last. Defense is expected to dominate in the final BCS game Monday when Louisiana State faces Alabama for the national title.

Tacklers had their hands full ? or rather, they didn't ? on a chilly night in Miami. Smith and Austin combined on scoring passes of 8, 27, 3 and 37 yards, and Shawne Alston scored on two short runs for West Virginia, which totaled 589 yards and 31 first downs. Smith was chosen the game's outstanding player.

Even when Clemson managed to corral the Mountaineers, the play wasn't always over. Andrew Buie rolled over a defender but was never downed, so he got up and ran for an additional 18 yards.

Clemson couldn't keep up, although Andre Ellington did score the game's first points on a 68-yard run. First-team All-Americans Sammy Watkins and Dwayne Allen combined for only seven catches for 87 yards.

Amid the flurry of points, it was a defender who came up with second-longest scoring play in Orange Bowl history.

Clemson was on the verge of taking the lead in the second quarter when Ellington ran up the middle and disappeared into a heap at the 1. A teammate signaled touchdown, but the ball came loose and Cook grabbed it, then took off with nothing but the end zone in front of him.

After Cook crossed the goal line, he gleefully leaped on mascot Obie, a smiling orange, and they both tumbled to the turf. Obie rose unhurt and resumed her duties, while the potential 14-point swing seemed to deflect the Tigers, who had moved the ball almost at will to that point.

Subsequent turnovers by quarterback Tajh Boyd on consecutive Clemson plays doomed the Tigers. After Smith ran 7 yards on a keeper for a 35-20 lead, Pat Miller intercepted Boyd's pass. Smith flipped a 1-yard touchdown pass to Austin and, on the next play, a call was overturned, with the replay official determining Boyd had lost a fumble.

Alston then ran for a 1-yard touchdown with 4 seconds left in the half.

Defensive woes were nothing new for the Tigers, who won their first Atlantic Coast Conference title in 20 years but gave up at least 30 points in six regular-season games.

Clemson kept pace for a while, leading 17-14 after one period. It was the highest-scoring first quarter and first half in Orange Bowl history.

West Virginia went ahead for the first time early in the second period on an 80-yard touchdown drive capped by Austin's 27-yard catch, making the score 21-17. Cook's takeaway touchdown came next, and the Mountaineers were off to the races.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-05-Orange%20Bowl/id-63ff59dbc82948e0b982078c58135675

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Taliban talks: Does Mullah Omar speak for his footsoldiers?

Taliban leaders have agreed to set up an office in Qatar to facilitate peace talks with the West. But it's unclear how well the Taliban communicate among themselves.

After months of setbacks in negotiations with the Taliban, news that the group has agreed to create a political office in Qatar has been heralded as a significant breakthrough. However, agreeing to an office does not solve all the problems of communicating with the shadowy insurgency.

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An office gives the international community a line of communication to the Taliban leadership.?But at this stage of the conflict, it's less clear how much control the Taliban's senior representatives ? believed to be hiding in Pakistan ? exert over the fighters on the ground in Afghanistan.?

US forces have decimated the mid-ranking commanders who moved between the groups of fighters within Afghanistan and Mullah Mohammed Omar and his inner circle across the border, keeping the communication line open.?With Taliban leadership removed from the daily fighting, its ties to those suffering heavy losses on the frontlines, may well have frayed, weakening its authority.

?A limited number of the Taliban leaders are going to Qatar, but the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan doesn?t belong to a limited number of people,? says Salih Mohammad Akhund, a Taliban fighter in Afghanistan?s volatile Helmand province. ?I think those Taliban leaders should first consult with the Taliban members who are fighting on the ground.?

As American and international forces increased their troop levels and ramped up kill and capture operations, the Taliban?s low- and mid-level fighters were particularly hard hit.

During a 90-day period this summer, former top American commander in Afghanistan Gen. David Petraeus told reporters that special forces kill and capture operations had resulted in 1,355 rank-and-file Taliban captured, 1,031 killed, and 365 middle- and high-ranking Taliban killed or captured.

While there has been some criticism that international forces have offered inflated figures, it's clear that military operations here have led to difficult losses for the Taliban.

As a result, much of the Taliban is now made up of younger fighters with limited experience who are harder for the group?s political leadership to control.

?There is some information that young members have been recruited and sometimes the new, young members are more motivated by ideology than politics,? says Mohammad Ismail Qasimyar, the head of the foreign relations department for Afghanistan?s High Peace Council. ?It would be difficult to say Mullah Omar is the leader of all the so-called Taliban.?

If the Taliban leadership in Qatar negotiates a deal, it may struggle to make all of its members adhere to the agreement.

Despite these challenges, Mullah Omar has managed to remain a cohesive figure for the organization and a deal that clearly has his backing should be good enough for most of the Taliban. However, arriving at such a truce that is widely acceptable to the entire group is likely to require considerable patience.

?I don?t know how they can convince the fighters not to fight. They always told them these are the Americans, they are kafirs, non-Muslims, this, this and this,? says Sami Yusufzai, an independent analyst in Islamabad. ?So now how can a guy who has killed a lot of people for the Taliban easily forget everything and say, ?Okay, let?s sit with the people we always believed we had to fight with.? It will take some time.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/tx--IoyhRaQ/Taliban-talks-Does-Mullah-Omar-speak-for-his-footsoldiers

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Pakistan, US assume less cooperation in future (AP)

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan ? In what could be the biggest change in a decade in a relationship that has been a mainstay of U.S. military and counterterrorism policy since the 9/11 terror attacks, the United States and Pakistan are lowering expectations for what the two nations will do together and planning for a period of more limited contact.

The change described by both Pakistani and U.S. officials follows a series of diplomatic crises over the past year that strained an already difficult partnership based around the U.S. goal of stability in Afghanistan and Pakistan and a reduction in Islamic-inspired terrorism.

For Pakistan, cooperation on that agenda was rewarded with billions in financial aid. The change means less cooperation with Washington and a willingness to swear off some aid that often made Pakistan feel too dependent, and too pushed around.

For the United States, scaling down an expensive military and economic program that has not met expectations could come at the cost of less Pakistani help in ending the war in next-door Afghanistan.

Both U.S. and Pakistani officials said the November killing of 24 Pakistani soldiers in a NATO airstrike and Washington's refusal to outright apologize for the deaths has been a game changer in a relationship characterized by mistrust and mutual acrimony.

In the United States, civilian and military officials have called the friendly fire incident a tragedy caused by mistakes on both sides, but insist that Pakistan fired first. Pakistan denies that, and has called the incident an unprovoked attack.

Pakistan's loudly angry reaction has, if anything, hardened attitudes in Congress and elsewhere that Islamabad is untrustworthy or ungrateful.

A senior Obama administration official conceded that the deaths made every aspect of U.S. cooperation with Pakistan more difficult, and that the distance Pakistan has imposed may continue indefinitely. The official, like most others interviewed for this story, spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of ongoing discussions.

Pakistan has already stopped billing the United States for its anti-terror war expenses under the 10-year-old Coalition Support Fund, set up by Washington after the 9/11 attacks to reimburse its many allies for their military expenses fighting terrorists worldwide and touted by the U.S. as a success story.

"From here on in we want a very formal, business- like relationship. The lines will be drawn. There will be no more of the free run of the past, no more interpretation of rules. We want it very formal with agreed upon limits," military spokesman Gen. Athar Abbas told The Associated Press in an interview in the garrison town of Rawalpindi.

Pakistan will further reduce the number of U.S. military people in Pakistan, limit military exchanges with the United States and rekindle its relationship with neighbors, such as China, which has been a more reliable ally according to Islamabad. Earlier this year Pakistan signed a deal with China for 50 JF-17 aircraft with sophisticated avionics, compared by some, who are familiar with military equipment, to the U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets.

Pakistan retaliated for the friendly fire deaths by shutting down NATO's supply routes to Afghanistan and kicked the U.S. out of an air base it used to facilitate drone attacks in Pakistan's tribal belt. Both U.S. and Pakistani officials expect more fallout, most likely in the form of additional tolls or taxes on NATO supplies into Afghanistan through Pakistan. There could also be charges for use of Pakistani airspace, said some officials in Pakistan.

Pakistan also asked the U.S. not to send any high-level visitors to Pakistan for some time, the U.S. official said. After past crises, including the flare-up of anti-U.S. fervor following the killing of Osama bin Laden by U.S. forces in May, Pakistan had accepted top-level U.S. officials for a public peace-making session rather quickly. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and the then- top U.S. military official visited Pakistan less than a month after the bin Laden raid, and pledged continued cooperation on several fronts.

U.S. officials said they would like to mend fences quickly, but the senior administration official and others said they assume there will be less contact, fewer high-profile joint projects and fewer American government employees living and working in Pakistan.

Since 2001, the U.S. has pumped aid to the country under both Republican and Democratic administrations with the expectation that Pakistan will be a bulwark against the spread of Islamic terrorism. Anti-American sentiment has only grown, and spiked in 2011. In Pakistan, both a military dictatorship and the elected civilian government that followed it have accepted the aid and pledged cooperation against terrorism and on other fronts.

The mutual conclusion that each side can live with a more limited relationship comes at a troubling time for Washington. It has suspended drone attacks in Pakistan's tribal areas since the NATO bombings, yet the unmanned drone is considered by many who are familiar with the conflict to be one of the most effective weapons against insurgents hiding in Pakistan's tribal regions.

With the clock ticking until its combat withdrawal from Afghanistan by 2015, Washington's battlefield strategy is to break the momentum of the Taliban in order to improve its negotiating position at the table. Pakistan is seen as crucial to the success of this effort.

Washington needs Pakistani help to bring the Taliban to the table. Senior Taliban leaders live in Pakistan, and mid- and low-level fighters who target U.S. troops in Afghanistan slip across the Pakistan border to regroup and rearm.

The United States has long pressed Pakistan to flush insurgents out of tribal safe havens along the border, with minimal success. While the Pakistan army denies giving direct aid to Taliban groups, particularly the Haqqani network, it also says it won't launch an offensive to kick them out.

With more than 3,000 Pakistani soldiers killed and thousands more injured in border fights with militants as part of the anti-terror war, Abbas said the Pakistan military has grown weary of Washington's repeated calls for Pakistan to do more.

Meanwhile some U.S. politicians are calling for an aid cut off to Pakistan, arguing that the U.S. has little to show for billions sent to Pakistan over the past decade. A total aid cutoff is extremely unlikely, but Congress has already trimmed back the Obama administration's latest request and is expected to demand less generosity and more strings over the coming year.

The U.S. official said the current political standoff has made the already difficult White House argument to Congress even harder to make. That argument basically holds that because of its geographic location, prominence in the Islamic world, past willingness to hunt terrorists and its nuclear weapons, Pakistan is a partner the U.S. may not fully trust but cannot afford to lose.

Pakistani military officials said a U.S. aid cutoff would suspend delivery next year of six refitted F-16 aircraft. Currently Pakistan currently has 47 F-16s, a small percentage of a fighter wing that also includes Chinese and European-made jets.

Abbas said U.S. cash payments, made through the Coalition Support Fund, have been erratic. In the last 10 years Pakistan's army has seen only $1.8 billion of $8.6 billion in CSF funds. The rest of the money was siphoned off by the military government of Gen. Pervez Musharraf to finance subsidies and prop up his government.

Currently the U.S. is withholding another $600 million in CSF that was promised last year.

"The equipment we have been getting from America over the last five years has been almost a trickle," said former national security advisor retired Gen. Mahmud Durrani.

He complained of "second-hand helicopters that were badly refitted."

Less aid might propel Pakistan toward greater financial independence, he added.

"If the money stops we can get our act together and manage. It is not the first time that American money has dried up and maybe we need to go cold turkey. Maybe in the long term we will be saying, "Thank God this happened.'"

___

Kathy Gannon is The AP Special Regional Correspondent for Pakistan and Afghanistan and can be reached at www.twitter.com/kathygannon.

Gearan reported from Washington.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120102/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_pakistan_us

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Drug Leader Shot in Colombia (Poliblogger)

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Video: Arson fires hit Hollywood area

>> in southern california tonight a growing mystery has police on alert and firefighters scrambling to solve a hollywood whodunnit. a serial arsonist is torching l.a. nbc's george lewis reports.

>> reporter: los angeles firefighters had their hands full as they responded to call after call. autos parked in carports burning, the flames spreading to surrounding buildings in many cases. mike robins went door to door to warn his neighbors.

>> within a couple minute that is carport was pretty well envelopeded.

>> reporter: investigators said the fires had been deliberately set. one firefighter was injured when he fell.

>> very dangerous fires. these can certainly lead to loss of life, injury. we're very concerned about it.

>> reporter: there were a total of 19 fires in hollywood and the neighboring city of west hollywood . some of them near famous landmarks. one of the incidents was at the former home of the late rock star jim morrison . the fire reported at about 1:20 this morning. ironically morrison who performed with the doors in the 1960s was the guy who famously sang "come on, baby, light my fire ." now arson investigators are coming through to see if they can find out who lit these fires. police arrested two men were arson on thursday. they were in jail during friday's incident.

>> when it's something manmade and someone is trying to do harm and trying to cause damage, yeah, it does hit home with us.

>> reporter: law enforcement and fire officials say it's a tense situation tonight as they wait to see if there will be another arson epidemic. george lewis , nbc news, hollywood .

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/45829622/

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iPad 3 Won't Have January Release Date: Rundown of Apple Rumors So Far

If you're one of the people lending credence to the rumors that Apple will release the iPad 3 early, launching two versions of the tablet computer in January to take on the Kindle Fire, I have bad news: it's not gonna happen.

Sources within Apple, the company's numbers and plain common sense all contradict the newest report, which came from dodgy source DigiTimes earlier in the week.

If you're wondering when the release date for Apple's newest iPad is likely to be, however, or want to know more about its rumored specs, you're in luck: here's a rundown of everything we know about the iPad 3 so far.

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Release Date: Not Happening in January

Earlier in the week, Apple rumor-mongers went crazy when tech source DigiTimes leaked the news that two versions of the iPad 3 would be launched at the Consumer Electronics Show and MacWorld/iWorld, set for Jan. 10-13 and Jan. 26-28, 2012.

It was January 2010 when Apple first unveiled the iPad at MacWorld, once billed as "the world's ultimate fan event" for Apple lovers. But news of an early launch, already considered "a little suspect," have been dismissed by both Apple insiders and tech analysts.

"These rumors are completely false," The Loop's Jim Dalrymple said. "I checked with a number?of my sources [at Apple] today and an iPad 3 is not planned for release at Macworld... or CES." He points out that Apple withdrew from the MacWorld Expo back in 2009, and has almost never done trade-show unveilings since.

Rumors that the January release date would mean two separate models, meanwhile, have been rejected by Apple insiders as well.

But if the iPad 3 won't be released in January, then when is it likely to come out? Apple rumors put the release dat either in mid-March, the expected launch, or at an early release on Feb. 24, in honor of the late Steve Jobs' birthday.

Although Focus Taiwan, DigiTimes and others have reported the Feb. 24 release date, a recent explosion?at an Apple factory makes the March launch more likely. On Dec. 19, Reuters reported a massive explosion at Apple supplier Pegatron, which was producing iPad 3 casings. 61 workers were injured, and Chief Financial Officer Charles Lin reported that the factory wasn't likely to be up and running for a product refresh for 3-4 months.

Apple Rumors: Going into 2012

But what about the other rumors surrounding the iPad 3, especially its specs? Features like a much-improved camera and perks like a much-slashed price tag have been rampant since the start of 2011.

In anticipation of Apple's 2012 release of the iPad 3, here's what we know (and what we guess) about the tablet computer so far:

Price Range

Yet another iPad 3 rumor was that the "twin" iPads would be split into a cheaper and a more expensive version, presumably with better features on the pricier one. Both models, however, were supposed to be significantly lower in price.

But Apple rarely increases its prices?from one model to the next, beyond a short bump in numbers to take advantage of the initial buying frenzy. Based on past iPads and other Apple products, the iPad 3 will probably cost somewhere between $600-615, and while twin versions may be possible in the future, it's highly unlikely that Apple would release a cheaper version of such an anticipated product right at the release date.

Better Camera

In contrast to Apple iPhones, the iPad has never offered a good camera. In fact, the original iPad had no camera at all. Just based on good salesmanship, therefore, it's unlikely that Apple won't add a better camera to its iPad 3, at least something like the 8 MP camera that the iPhone?4 is sporting. Apple insiders have hinted as much, and with the growth of smartphones in general, tech analysts are certain that the iPad 3's camera will be something to marvel at.

Carbon Fibers and More Colors

Apple hired a carbon fiber expert?last year, fueling rumors that the iPad 3 could be encased in a lightweight carbon fiber casing.

Beyond its outsides, however, carbon fiber is capable not only making stronger yet lighter materials but of taking in and improving color. It's possible that the iPad 3 could offer a tablet with a whole new range of nuanced hues, making for a more vibrant and enjoyable viewing experience.

4G LTE Connectivity

Most of the iPads sold so far have cellular data connections, which improve speed and tech "multi-tasking," and many are hoping for a superfast 4G LTE version of the newest Apple product. LTE (Long Term Evolution) increases data downloads to broadband speeds, and rumor has it that a recent IOS update indicates that Apple is working on creating either an LTE iPhone or iPad to launch in 2012.

It seems unlikely that Apple would add 4G LTE to the iPad before it does so with its iPhone, it's not unthinkable that the iPad 3 will be faster and better able to consolidate its resources than the iPad 2. As far as a 4G LTE version, better wait until 2013.

Faster Processor

The iPad 2 already has a dual-core A5 chipset, so it's not crazy to believe rumors that the iPad 3 will sport an upgrade featuring something like a Quad-Core A6 Processor, making it that much faster and more efficient.

One crazy rumor about Apple's designs on a faster processor, however, may be too good to be true. Rumor has it the instead of running a basic IOS operating system on the iPad 3, like the kind that's been powering its predecessors and its cousin the iPhone, iPad 3 OS will be a hybrid: part IOS, part computer operating system.

The hybrid OS would make the iPad 3 less a cool gadget and more a portable tool. As cool as this rumor sounds, however, users shouldn't hold their breath: it's unlikely a hybrid OS would be introduced on a new iPad when there are so many other updates, and when the (rumored) release date is so soon.

High Resolution Display

Apple iPad 2 has been criticized for the clarity of its 1024x768 pixel screen in the past, which makes images somewhat fuzzy, while the iPhone 4 has been praised for its super-high resolution retina display, which gives great clarity to its screen.

Going simply off economic good sense then, the iPad 3 is likely to sport some serious improvements in resolution. Analyst Richard Shim at DisplaySearch claims Apple is producing 2048x1536 display panels for the iPad 3, meaning a great increase in quality for movies, TV shows and pictures on Apple's newest tablet.

Super-Fast Docking Ports

Rumors indicate that the iPad 3 could have a thunderbolt port, a smaller and superfast docking port used in Macbooks to transfer data as much as 20 times faster than USB 2.0.

This upgrade may be somewhat extravagant for an iPad 3, however, as well as the idea that the iPad 3 will run Flash or have an SD slot. As with the OS hybrid, this is something Apple users should wait on, at least for now.

I Repeat: Not Transparent and Rimless

One of the coolest (and most rampant) rumors about Apple's upcoming iPad 3 began with a viral video predicting that the new tablet would weigh 0.6 pounds, store 16GB, have great battery life and boast 3G connectivity.

The craziest part of the video, put together by the unknown "Dakota Adney," however? The assertion that the iPad 3 would be slightly transparent and completely rimless.

It may be possible that the iPad 3 will be thinner and lighter than its older brothers by as much as 20 percent (though countering rumors say its high-resolution Retina Display may actually make it thicker), but a transparent and rimless design is far too radical a departure?from Apple's very successful past with iPad tablet sales and popularity.

Beyond an issue of style, however, there is also the fact that Apple is already cramming so many features and upgrades into the iPad 3 that if even half the rumors surrounding it are true, transparency and rimless edges would be too much of a burden to bear, especially after the recent explosion at Pegatron.

For those hoping for a transparent and rimless iPad 3, save this rumor for the iPad 5 or 6.

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Source: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/274712/20111230/ipad-3-release-date-january-apple-rumors.htm

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China rights lawyer in remote jail, brother says (AP)

BEIJING ? Chinese authorities have jailed prominent lawyer and outspoken government critic Gao Zhisheng in a remote prison in the far western Xinjiang region, his brother said Sunday.

The whereabouts of Gao, who earlier said he had been kidnapped and tortured by Chinese authorities, had been unknown for 20 months until state media reported last month he was being sent back to prison for three years for violating his probation.

The official Xinhua News Agency did not say exactly where Gao was being held in its Dec. 16 report.

His brother, Gao Zhiyi, said he finally received an official notice of the court's decision by mail on Sunday.

He said the document stated that his brother is being held in the Shaya County Prison in Xinjiang.

A telephone operator said the phone number for the Shaya prison was restricted and couldn't be released to the public. An officer with the Shaya County Public Security Bureau said he didn't know anything about Gao's case.

Gao was a galvanizing figure for the rights movement, advocating constitutional reform and arguing landmark cases to defend property rights and political and religious dissenters. Convicted in 2006 of subversion and sentenced to three years, he was released on probation before being taken away by security agents in 2009 in the first of his forced disappearances that set off an international outcry.

Gao was held incommunicado in apparent disregard of laws and regulations for all but two months of the last three years. When he emerged from the first 14-month period in April 2010, he told The Associated Press that he had been shunted between detention centers, farm houses and apartments across northern China and had been repeatedly beaten and abused.

He said he had been hooded several times, and that his captors made him sit motionless for up to 16 hours and threatened to kill him and dump his body in a river.

While he was missing, Gao's case was raised by the U.S. and European governments, drawing cryptic responses from Chinese officials.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/china/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120101/ap_on_re_as/as_china_missing_lawyer

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