Gulf states show rising confidence to rattle Iran

In this picture released by Iranian Fars News Agency, on Monday, Jan. 2, 2012, a Ghader missile is launched at the shore of sea of Oman during Iran's navy drill. IFor leaders on the Iranian side of the Gulf, the past days have offered some hard lessons in the politics of oil. Iran has watched as the leader of its most influential ally, China, began a tour of Gulf Arab states and other Asian envoys held talks with oil-rich Gulf rulers, who have shown growing confidence to stand up against rival Iran and use tougher tactics to try to gain the upper hand in their standoffs with the Islamic Republic. (AP Photo/Fars News Agency, Hamed Jafarnejad, File)

In this picture released by Iranian Fars News Agency, on Monday, Jan. 2, 2012, a Ghader missile is launched at the shore of sea of Oman during Iran's navy drill. IFor leaders on the Iranian side of the Gulf, the past days have offered some hard lessons in the politics of oil. Iran has watched as the leader of its most influential ally, China, began a tour of Gulf Arab states and other Asian envoys held talks with oil-rich Gulf rulers, who have shown growing confidence to stand up against rival Iran and use tougher tactics to try to gain the upper hand in their standoffs with the Islamic Republic. (AP Photo/Fars News Agency, Hamed Jafarnejad, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 15, 2012 file photo provided by Saudi Press Agency, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, left, meets with Saudi King Abdullah, right, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during his six-day Mideast trip, which will also take him to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. The Iranians have watched as frustrated bystanders while the leader of its most influential ally, China, has toured the Gulf Arab states with talks in Tehran's top regional rival Saudi Arabia. (AP Photo/Saudi Press Agency, File) EDITORIAL USE ONLY, NO SALES

FILE - In this Friday, Dec. 30, 2011 file photo, Iranian navy speed boats attend a drill in the sea of Oman. For leaders on the Iranian side of the Gulf, the past days have offered some hard lessons in the politics of oil. Iran has watched as the leader of its most influential ally, China, began a tour of Gulf Arab states and other Asian envoys held talks with oil-rich Gulf rulers, who have shown growing confidence to stand up against rival Iran and use tougher tactics to try to gain the upper hand in their standoffs with the Islamic Republic. (AP Photo/IIPA, Ali Mohammadi)

FILE - In this Friday, Dec. 30, 2011 file photo, a member of the Iranian military takes position in a drill on the shore of the sea of Oman, on Friday, Dec. 30, 2011. For leaders on the Iranian side of the Gulf, the past days have offered some hard lessons in the politics of oil. Iran has watched as the leader of its most influential ally, China, began a tour of Gulf Arab states and other Asian envoys held talks with oil-rich Gulf rulers, who have shown growing confidence to stand up against rival Iran and use tougher tactics to try to gain the upper hand in their standoffs with the Islamic Republic. (AP Photo/YJC, Mohammad Ali Marizad, File)

South Korea protesters shout slogans during a rally opposing a visit of Robert Einhorn, U.S. State Department's special adviser for nonproliferation and arms control, in front of the foreign ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012. Einhorn is urging South Korea to reduce its crude oil imports from Iran to put pressure on Tehran over its nuclear program. The letters on the banner read: "Stop sanctions on Iran." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) ? For leaders on the Iranian side of the Gulf, the past days have offered some hard lessons in the politics of oil.

The Iranians have watched as frustrated bystanders while the leader of its most influential ally, China, began a tour of Gulf Arab states with talks in Tehran's top regional rival Saudi Arabia. Two other major Iranian oil customers ? South Korea and Japan ? also had high-level delegations in the Gulf to discuss supply guarantees if they fall in line with U.S.-led pressures to cut back on Iranian imports.

Iran sharply warned its neighbors about making any deals that could undercut its critical oil income. The Gulf rulers barely blinked.

That highlights the growing confidence among the Gulf Arabs ? all close U.S. allies ? to stand up against Iran and use tougher tactics in what they view as the region's hard-boiled realities: Any gain for Shiite power Iran is perceived as a loss for its Sunni rivals led by Saudi Arabia.

The stronger Gulf political posture is unlikely to stray too far from Washington's stances, but it reflects the wider changes for the Gulf's monarchs and sheiks after the Arab Spring revolts. In the past year, the wealthy Gulf states have gone into overdrive against any possible internal threats to their own autocratic systems.

They also sense an opportunity to rattle Iran, which is being squeezed by tighter sanctions over its nuclear program and by seeing its main Middle East partner, Syrian President Bashar Assad, struggle with growing street protests and mutinies among his security forces.

"The Gulf states had long looked to Washington to be their protector," said Sami Alfaraj, director of the Kuwait Center for Strategic Studies. "They still have the U.S., but the Gulf is increasingly looking around and saying: 'We need to take care of ourselves, too.'"

Gulf leaders are studying proposals for closer defense cooperation after Saudi-led forces came to the aid last year of Bahrain's monarchy, which claims that Iran has help stir an uprising by the island kingdom's Shiite majority against the minority Sunni rulers. Statements against Iran by the Gulf's six-nation political bloc ? which also includes Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates ? also have grown increasingly harsh, including recriminations about Iran seeking to destabilize the region.

In Abu Dhabi last week, the United Arab Emirates' foreign minister, Sheik Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, said Iran was imperiling the interests of the entire world by threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz, the water route for about one-sixth of the global oil flow. He was joined by Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba, who said his country was "watching the developments in the Strait of Hormuz very carefully and with concern."

Iran threatened to close the waterway over new U.S. sanctions, which have been approved by President Barack Obama with at least a six-month delay before they will be implemented. The sanctions target Iran's central bank and oil exports.

Saudi officials, meanwhile, have refused to publicly accept Iran's claims that it has no link to an alleged plot to kill the Saudi ambassador in Washington. Two men, including a suspected member of Iran's Quds Force special foreign actions unit, have been charged in New York federal court.

"The Gulf states are definitely taking a stronger stance against Iran and are using their considerable influence to try to convince others of their Iranian fears," said Theodore Karasik, a security expert at the Dubai-based Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis.

Among the points in a joint statement Sunday between Saudi King Abduallah and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was a call to make the Mideast free of "weapons of mass destruction including nuclear weapons."

It's certainly a reference to Israel, which is believed to have a nuclear arsenal although officials neither confirm nor deny the nation's weapons capabilities. But, in the current climate, the message is almost fully directed toward Iran.

A regional arms race is one of the West's spinoff worries about a possible Iranian nuclear weapon ? with Saudi Arabia looking to countries such as Pakistan to jump-start an atomic weapons program. Already, the Gulf states are awash in mostly American weaponry ? including a deal last month to sell $30 billion worth of F-15SA fighter jets to Saudi Arabia ? and the Pentagon has significant Gulf resources with warplanes at several bases and the Navy's 5th Fleet in Bahrain.

Iran denies it seeks nuclear weapons and says it only wants reactors for energy and research. Iran refuses, however, to abandon its program to enrich uranium, which the U.S. and many allies believe could lead to weapons-grade material.

The latest U.S.-led drive to aim sanctions at Iran's oil industry ? the source of 80 percent of its foreign currency revenue ? has brought sharp backlash from Tehran. On Sunday, Mohammad Ali Khatibi, Iran's OPEC governor, was quoted as saying that attempts by Gulf nations to replace Iran's output with their own would make them an "accomplice in further events."

"These acts will not be considered friendly," Khatibi told Iran's Shargh newspaper.

Khatibi fired another salvo Tuesday in Europe's direction. He called a proposed European Union embargo of Iran's oil "economic suicide" that would deepen the euro zones fiscal crisis, according to the semiofficial Mehr news agency.

But the Gulf tours of the Far East economic powers appeared to put Iran even more on edge.

China, Japan and South Korea are Iran's top Asian oil markets ? taking an even bigger combined share than the nearly 20 percent that currently goes to Europe. An all-out embargo is highly unlikely. China ? one of five veto-wielding permanent members of the U.N. Security Council ? has consistently opposed tighter sanctions on Iran and Japan and South Korea appear unwilling to risk possible upheaval in their economies.

Still, pressure is growing for some curbs.

A senior State Department envoy, Robert Einhorn, urged South Korea officials Tuesday to reduce crude oil imports from Iran. South Korea's Foreign Ministry said the government hasn't yet decided on a course of action, but reportedly is seeking assurances from other oil exporters that they would fill any gaps.

South Korean Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik joined the Chinese premier in Abu Dhabi for the opening of an alternative energy summit on Monday. They did not mention Iran in public comments, but talks by Kim included top UAE officials who set political and energy policies.

"Historically, Iran viewed itself as a kind of big brother, a superior power, to the Gulf Arab states. That view has become badly dated," said Patrick Clawson, director of research at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "The Gulf states now see themselves as mutual powers in the region who can increasingly stand up for themselves. They survived the Arab Spring without too much trouble ? except for Bahrain ? and have come out of it more confident and more willing to go head to head with Iran."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-17-ML-Iran's-Rising-Rivals/id-d55735ca0ff14fc6a8361947d72d53ea

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Feisty Sarkozy shrugs off French credit downgrade (AP)

MADRID ? French President Nicolas Sarkozy bluntly declared Monday that a harsh downgrade by Standard & Poor's of France's formerly top-rung debt rating "changes nothing" for the eurozone's No. 2 economy.

Sarkozy, in a testy exchange with a journalist at a Madrid news conference, suggested that a solid investor demand for a French debt auction Monday and a reaffirmation from rival ratings agency Moody's of France's triple-A sovereign debt had offset S&P's much-publicized downgrade.

"We have to react to this with calm, by taking a step back," he told reporters during a visit with Spain's new prime minister, Mariano Rajoy. "At the core, my conviction is that it changes nothing."

The S&P downgrade Friday ? which Sarkozy's own finance minister called "bad news" ? came just 100 days before the president faces what is expected to be a tough re-election campaign.

The news conference began combatively when Sarkozy refused to answer a question about whether France's downgrade would affect its ability to lead Europe out of the crisis ? and if the move prompted the postponement of a crisis summit for him and the leaders of Germany and Italy next week.

Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have taken the lead in proposing solutions to the crisis and major decisions are often hashed out at their meetings ahead of European summits.

"You don't have the latest information," Sarkozy retorted to a reporter who asked about the downgrade and the summit. Sarkozy refused to answer even after the reporter rephrased his question twice.

The French leader later confirmed that the three-way summit would take place in February and downplayed the S&P downgrade, but never gave a clear answer as to why the summit was rescheduled.

Sarkozy did manage to win much-needed political support from Rajoy ? notably for his pet project for a financial transaction tax that could help ailing European state coffers get out of the red.

France, which has long enjoyed relatively low borrowing costs and had S&P's top-tier AAA rating uninterrupted since the mid-1970s, on Friday was the largest of nine eurozone members hit by S&P downgrades ? dropping one notch to AA+. The agency also kept a negative outlook on French state debt.

Analysts said Sarkozy's denial that the downgrade meant much was wishful thinking.

"The fact that there is a negative outlook, it means that there is a probability ? a quite high probability ? of further downgrade in 2012, 2013," said French economist Norbert Gaillard. "So it's bad news for France."

But in a vindication of sorts for Sarkozy, France sold euro8.6 billion ($10.9 billion) in short-term debt on Monday. The yields ? or the interest rates charged by investors on the debt ? fell, a sign investors still see the country as a good bet.

Spain was also hit by an S&P downgrade, from AA- to A+, but Rajoy said that blow and downgrades for other European nations shouldn't be seen as a sign they will have trouble emerging from the financial crisis.

Rajoy's Socialist predecessor also supported the financial transaction tax, but Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero was ousted from office by Spaniards angry about the country's hurting economy and high unemployment.

The European Commission has estimated that the tax could raise as much as euro57 billion ($72.2 billion) a year, funds that could be used to help reduce the substantial budget deficits crippling European economies.

Moody's cited France's economic strength as a reason for affirming its top rating, but said bleak growth prospects in France and the region present "risks to the French government's fiscal consolidation plans."

Moody's said it would again review French debt later in the first quarter as part of a broader look at sovereign debt within the EU ? meaning a decision is likely close to France's two-round presidential vote in April and May.

Sarkozy's challengers for the presidency ? including Socialist nominee Francois Hollande ? have seized on the S&P downgrade as evidence that his policies are wrong-headed and ineffective.

It will be a bruising election battle for Sarkozy, a dynamic leader who has a strong international profile but is widely disliked at home. Leftists say he has coddled the rich, while many of those who supported him in his 2007 campaign say he hasn't fulfilled his promises.

And Hollande is currently leading in the polls.

___

Angela Charlton and Sarah DiLorenzo in Paris, and Alan Clendenning in Madrid contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120116/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_france_financial_crisis

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Texas Senate race exposes Republican tensions (Reuters)

ROUND ROCK, Texas (Reuters) ? The fierce battle between the Tea Party and establishment Republicans for control of the party is on full display in the Texas race for the U.S. Senate this year, and the outcome could have national consequences.

David Dewhurst, the Texas lieutenant governor since 2003, represents the establishment wing of the party in the first Texas open U.S. Senate race in a decade.

He is challenged by former state solicitor general Ted Cruz, who is stealing the hearts of Tea Party groups around the country. Republican Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison is retiring.

No Democrat has won statewide office in Texas since 1994, so the victor in the Texas Republican primary will likely be coronated in the November general election.

A date for the primary has not yet been finalized because of a separate court battle over how to redraw the electoral district lines in Texas.

Texas is the most populous Republican-leaning, or "red" state, and has one of several U.S. Senate races where tea party groups are backing anti-establishment conservatives intent on pushing the Republican Party to the right.

"There is a civil war going on in the heart and soul of the Republican Party," Cruz said at a recent candidate forum in Round Rock, north of Austin. "Texas should lead the fight."

Incumbent Republican Senators Orrin Hatch of Utah and Richard Lugar of Indiana face primary challenges from Tea Party disciples. Tea Party activists are also mounting challenges to establishment candidates in races where no incumbent is running in New Mexico, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Virginia.

In Texas, Cruz has never run for office. But he was hailed by the conservative National Review magazine recently as "the next great conservative hope."

Former Dallas mayor Tom Leppert and former ESPN football analyst Craig James are also contenders in the Republican primary race. Democrats command a 53 to 47 majority in the U.S. Senate, so Republicans need to gain four seats to take control of the chamber.

The Texas race has so far received little attention except for political insiders, partly because the national focus is on the Republican presidential nomination battle, where Texas Governor Rick Perry is fighting to survive.

"Dewhurst might have a Tea Party problem, but it's a label and a moving target," Jim Henson, who directs the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas, told Reuters. "It's too soon to tell."

A University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll of self-identified Republican primary voters released in November showed Dewhurst with the support of 22 percent of respondents, Cruz with 10 percent and Leppert with 5 percent. James had not yet joined the race. Half the respondents were undecided.

Dewhurst and Leppert, who have given significant amounts to their own campaigns, each had nearly $4.2 million on hand as of the latest filing deadline on September 30. Cruz had about $2.4 million on hand.

Cruz, who was Texas' first Hispanic solicitor general, is the son of a man who came to Texas from Cuba at 18 with $100 sewn into his underwear. Cruz graduated from Harvard Law School and is a partner at a Houston law firm.

He has been endorsed by conservative groups FreedomWorks and Club for Growth -- the latter bought advertising casting Dewhurst as a "moderate," which is a pejorative term to conservative Republicans.

Cruz also touts the endorsements of Republican Senators who back the Tea Party including Jim DeMint of South Carolina, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky.

It is unclear what impact Cruz's out-of-state endorsements may have -- or whether Tea Party groups can repeat the influence they had in 2010. Dozens of Texas groups have endorsed Dewhurst, including the Texas Right to Life Political Action Committee, Texas Alliance for Life and the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas.

The lieutenant governor also got a boost last week from Perry, who said in Iowa that "Lord willing," Dewhurst will soon become a member of the U.S. Senate.

"David Dewhurst is engaging Texas voters on a daily basis to repeal President (Barack) Obama's disastrous policies," campaign spokesman Matt Hirsch told Reuters. "What you see from us are endorsements but they are from Texas. That's what we are concerned about."

Dewhurst, a Houston businessman and rancher, this week also snagged the endorsement of former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, a former presidential candidate.

Dewhurst has drawn criticism from opponents for missing candidate forums, but he is scheduled to attend a debate on Thursday in Austin.

Democrats have struggled to field a strong candidate. Former state Representative Paul Sadler is running after fellow Democrat Ricardo Sanchez, a retired Army lieutenant general, withdrew.

Southern Methodist University Political Scientist Cal Jillson said the race is Dewhurst's to lose, even with the traction Cruz has gained among tea party groups.

"The Tea Party enthusiasm has waned," Jillson said. Cruz "is a talented, intelligent, articulate guy, but he has not run for public office ... Plus, campaigning in Texas is an expensive enterprise."

(Additional reporting by Nick Carey; Editing by Corrie MacLaggan and Greg McCune)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120112/pl_nm/us_campaign_senate_texas

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Michelle Obama stresses service at BET honors (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? First Lady Michelle Obama took the stage at an awards ceremony Saturday with poet Maya Angelou, performers Stevie Wonder and Mariah Carey, and other African American celebrities who called the black community to civic action, starting with voting in the 2012 presidential election.

The taping of the BET Honors, hosted by Black Entertainment Television was held at the historic Warner Theatre in downtown Washington.

It brought out stars including singers Patti LaBelle and queen of soul Aretha Franklin, as well as Washington political figures such as former Secretary of State Colin Powell and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.

The politics-meets-glamour event fits in with the recently ramped up efforts by Obama to help her husband, President Barack Obama, win a challenging re-election bid in November.

Obama, in a crimson, one-shouldered gown, presented the Literary Arts award to Angelou and appealed to the crowd to follow Angelou's example as an activist.

"It is not enough merely to seek greatness for ourselves, we must help others discover greatness within themselves. We need to reach down and reach out, and give back and lift others," she said.

Speakers at the ceremony praised the Obamas for being the first black family in the White House and told the audience to "vote like your life depends on it."

"We have to exercise our constitutional right to vote. And there's a man out there with a vision for this country and he intends to finish what he started," said Beverly Kearney, head coach of the University of Texas' women's track team.

Those honored were filmmaker Spike Lee, World War Two Tuskegee airmen, as well as Angelou, Kearney, Wonder and Carey.

Obama stayed for the three-hour taping during which several acts had to be done over. While posing on stage with the award winners an audience member yelled, "We love you, First Lady!"

"Just her coming out and having a good time, it comes off like she's just like the rest of us. Since she connects, it's going to be helpful to her in helping Barack get another term," said Sonya Lowery, 41, of Maryland.

(Reporting by Lily Kuo; Editing by Jackie Frank)

(Corrects spelling of Tuskegee)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120115/en_nm/us_usa_obama_michelle

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Video: Reaching across the aisle

A Second Take on Meeting the Press: From an up-close look at Rachel Maddow's sneakers to an in-depth look at Jon Krakauer's latest book ? it's all fair game in our "Meet the Press: Take Two" web extra. Log on Sundays to see David Gregory's post-show conversations with leading newsmakers, authors and roundtable guests. Videos are available on-demand by 12 p.m. ET on Sundays.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608/vp/46004849#46004849

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Gingrich defends Bain criticisms in SC GOP forum (AP)

CHARLESTON, S.C. ? Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich said Saturday that Republicans will err if they don't scrutinize Mitt Romney's role in a private equity firm called Bain Capital.

Gingrich, the former House speaker, said President Barack Obama will hammer away at Bain if Romney is the nominee this fall.

"I don't see how you can expect us to have a presidential campaign in which an entire sector is avoided," Gingrich said on a Fox News program that included five of the six Republican candidates. Each fielded South Carolina voters' questions for almost 20 minutes.

Many Republican and conservative leaders have rebuked Gingrich for criticizing Romney's role at Bain. The private equity firm had a mixed record of job-creation at the companies it restructured in the 1980s and `90s.

Program host Mike Huckabee, who ran for president in 2008, gently reprimanded Gingrich for citing Romney by name. The candidates appeared separately, never confronting each other. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas did not participate.

The South Carolina GOP primary is Jan. 21.

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, said he wants the federal government "out of the housing business" so the free market can work. Mortgage interest payments should remain tax-deductible, he said.

When a woman said expressions of Christian faith are under attack, Romney, a Mormon, said, "I will stand up for the ability of Americans to worship the god they choose." That would include public displays of manger scenes, menorahs and other religious symbols, he said.

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman was asked why he supports legalized abortion in cases of rape and incest if he believes life begins at conception.

"I am pro-life," Huntsman said. "I have stipulations." Exceptions for rape and incest represent "where I am. I always have been, and I hope it's good enough for you," he said.

Former Sen. Rick Santorum noted that he does not support legalized abortions in cases of rape or incest. But he supports the death penalty, he said, because it does not involve "innocent life."

Santorum acknowledged voting to raise the federal debt ceiling at least five times while in Congress. But he said he consistently worked to reduce federal spending and to make the government more efficient.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry touted his call for a 20 percent flat tax, which would eliminate many existing loopholes. He would keep the deductibility of charitable gifts, local taxes and mortgage interest payments, he said.

Perry said he would dramatically reduce federal intervention in state actions regarding labor, the environment, voting laws and other matters.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120115/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_campaign_forum

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Peru court sentences Van der Sloot to 28 years (AP)

LIMA, Peru ? A Peruvian court on Friday sentenced Joran van der Sloot to 28 years in prison for murder of a young woman he met at a Lima casino, even as the family of U.S. teenager Natalee Holloway sought to have him prosecuted in the U.S. over her disappearance in 2005.

The decision comes two days after the young Dutchman pleaded guilty to killing Stephany Flores, a 21-year-old business student.

The court also ordered him to pay $75,000 in reparations to the victim's family, deeming the killing "cruel" and "ferocious."

Van der Sloot showed no emotion as the court clerk read the sentence, describing how he elbowed Flores in the face then beat and strangled her with his bloodied shirt. He told the court he would appeal the sentence.

It is the first ever imposed on him, despite prosecutors' repeated efforts to prove he was involved in Holloway's apparent death on the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba.

The judges said that due to time already served, van der Sloot's sentence would end in June 2038. But under Peru's penal system, Van der Sloot could become eligible for parole after serving half of the sentence with good behavior, including work and study.

The prosecution had sought a 30-year sentence for first-degree murder and theft.

Van der Sloot's lawyer argued he killed Flores on May 30, 2010, in a fit of rage he blamed on psychological trauma from being hounded as the prime suspect in Holloway case.

The victim's father, Ricardo Flores, complained after the sentencing that Van der Sloot was living well in a Lima prison, where he has been set apart from the general population.

"A jail isn't a five-star hotel," Ricardo Flores told reporters. "Let's hope the authorities take that into account and not just in our case."

"Since the first day we've been complaining about the excessive privileges" that Van der Sloot allegedly enjoyed in jail. He said he would present evidence of that at a news conference on Monday.

Unconfirmed news reports, denied by penal authorities, say Van der Sloot has also had a television and video gaming console. As in many developing nations, foreigners with money can buy superior treatment in Peru's prisons.

The Holloway case remains open and a U.S. judge on Thursday declared her dead.

Her parents want Van der Sloot to eventually be extradited to the U.S. and tried on related charges, although Peruvian criminal law expert Luis Lamas said the law specifies that Van der Sloot must serve his time before he can be extradited.

Van der Sloot was indicted on extortion charges in Alabama the same day he was arrested for the Flores murder for allegedly accepting $25,000 in return for a promise to lead a lawyer for Holloway's mother to her daughter's remains.

Van der Sloot didn't deliver on the offer, and may have used some of that money to fly to Peru two weeks before the Flores murder.

After killing the Lima woman, he took nearly $300 in cash from Flores as well as credit cards, and was captured four days later in Chile.

Van der Sloot told police he flew into a rage when she discovered his connection to Holloway via an instant message sent to him while they were playing online poker in his hotel room.

Police forensic experts disputed that story, and the three female judges who sentenced him noted that Van der Sloot later recanted the confession, claiming it was exacted under duress and without an official translator.

The victim's family contends Van der Sloot killed Flores in order to rob her.

The imposing young man raised on a tourist island has been a staple of tabloids and true crime TV, as well as the subject of several books about Natalee Holloway.

"We've been dealing with her death for the last six and a half years," her father, Dave Holloway, said after Thursday's hearing in Birmingham, Alabama.

He said the judge's order there on his daughter's death closes one chapter in the ordeal, but added: "We've still got a long way to go to get justice."

Natalee Holloway, an 18-year-old from the wealthy Birmingham suburb of Mountain Brook, disappeared on May 30, 2005, during a high school graduation trip to Aruba, where Van der Sloot grew up.

Her body was never found and repeated searches turned up nothing even as intense media coverage brought the case worldwide attention.

Van der Sloot said he was involved in her disappearance in a videotape clandestinely made by a Dutch journalist. He later denied it, however, and has told several interviewers that he is a pathological liar.

A homicide investigation into Holloway's death remains open in Aruba though there has been no recent activity, said Solicitor General Taco Stein, an official with the prosecutor's office in Aruba.

There is no indication U.S. officials have moved to seek to extradite Van der Sloot; Peru's Foreign Ministry said this week that it has no U.S. extradition request for him.

No members of Van der Sloot's family attended the trial in Peru. His lawyer said the defendant's mother, Anita, did not want the media attention.

The defendant's father, a prominent lawyer, died of a heart attack at age 57 in February 2010.

___

Associated Press Writers Martin Villena and Franklin Briceno contributed to this report.

___

Online:

AP interactive: http://hosted.ap.org/interactives/2012/natalee-holloway

___

Frank Bajak on Twitter: http://twitter.com/fbajak

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/latam/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120113/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_peru_van_der_sloot

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