HTC, Nokia to offer first LTE Windows Phones on AT&T

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer made a surprise appearance at AT&T's Developer Summit Monday at the Consumer Electronics Show to say that the operator would be the first to offer LTE Windows Phones, including the HTC Titan II and a phone from Nokia.

"We're thrilled to announce the first LTE Windows Phones in the U.S. on AT&T's network," Ballmer said. The Titan II will have a 16-megapixel camera, offering better resolution than even many stand-alone cameras.

Many people had expected that Nokia, which is holding a press conference later in the day, would deliver the first Windows Phone LTE device. Stephen Elop, Nokia's CEO who also made an appearance at the AT&T event, said he'd share more information about its first LTE Windows Phone at the press event. He also said the company will talk more about its reentry strategy in the U.S., where the world's largest phone maker has scant market share.

Ballmer promoted the differences between Windows Phone, which is widely praised by reviewers yet lags seriously behind competitors in sales, and other phone platforms. Specifically, he noted that Windows Phone lets developers incorporate social and other features into apps so that users don't have to open multiple apps constantly.

He also said that there are 300 apps being published daily in the Windows Phone Marketplace.

AT&T also announced six new Android devices that will run on its LTE network, including the Samsung Galaxy Note and a waterproof tablet from Pantech.

The Galaxy Note is midway between a tablet and a phone with a 5.3-inch screen. AT&T is the first to sell the device, which comes in blue and white, in the U.S. In addition to its size, the Note is unique in that it comes with a pen for controlling the device.

"This pen is not a stylus," said Kevin Packingham, a Samsung product manager. The pen allows for drawing very fine lines on the screen and enables more exact controls, he said.

AT&T will also offer the Galaxy S II Skyrocket HD, another Android phone with a 1.5Ghz dual-core processor and a removable battery.

The Samsung Exhilerate, which is made partly with recyclable materials, will also become available from AT&T.

The operator also unveiled devices from Pantech, including the Element, a waterproof tablet. AT&T is offering a deal where people can buy the tablet and the Pantech Burst phone for US$250. Otherwise, the Burst will cost under $50, AT&T said.

Nancy Gohring covers mobile phones and cloud computing for The IDG News Service. Follow Nancy on Twitter at @idgnancy. Nancy's e-mail address is Nancy_Gohring@idg.com

Source: http://www.itworld.com/networking/239575/htc-nokia-offer-first-lte-windows-phones-att

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Waterproof Android Phones and Tablets Are Swimmingly Refreshing [Android]

Everything should be waterproof. Especially phones, because you know how you love to poop and talk. You can thankfully drop Fujitsu's new line of waterproof Android phones and tablets in the crapper without ruining them. More »


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Papa John's apologizes for racial slur on receipt

Papa John's Pizza is apologizing after an employee typed a racial slur on a receipt to a customer at one of its New York City locations.

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Customer Minhee Cho posted a message on Twitter along with an image of the receipt from a Manhattan location describing her as "lady chinky eyes."

Several hours later after the message had gone viral, the Louisville, Ky.-based company formally apologized on its Facebook and Twitter pages for Cho's experience.

The company says the employee was dismissed.

Spokeswoman Tish Muddon told the Louisville Courier-Journal (http://cjky.it/ADcaKs ) that the company was attempting to reach Cho to apologize.

Cho didn't immediately respond to messages sent by email and Twitter.

The image of the receipt on her Twitter page shows she went to Papa John's on Friday.

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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45916225/ns/us_news/

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Shades of NKorea's founder in its young new leader (AP)

SEOUL, South Korea ? The resemblance is striking: the full cheeks and quick smile, the confident gait, the habit of gesturing with both hands when he speaks.

North Korea's young new leader, Kim Jong Un, appears to be fashioning himself as the reincarnation of Kim Il Sung, his grandfather and the nation's founder, as he seeks to solidify his hold on the nation of 24 million in the wake of his father's death last month.

Unlike Kim Jong Il, who sequestered himself for three years of mourning before formally taking up the mantle of leadership, Kim Jong Un is moving swiftly to demonstrate a decisiveness perhaps aimed at dispelling concerns about his ability to rule. He is only in his late 20s and made his public debut as his father's anointed successor just 15 months ago, far less time than the 20 years Kim Jong Il had to prepare to lead.

With the world watching, Kim Jong Un has tread confidently down the "red silk carpet" laid before him by his father, as one analyst put it, using family tradition as his guideposts. Kim Il Sung has served as his main muse as he seeks to consolidate power and loyalty.

"The image of a young smiling Kim Il Sung is deeply engraved in North Korean people's minds. It is the image of a young general who liberated the nation from Japan's imperial rule," said Ahn Chan-il, a political scientist at the World Institute for North Korea Studies in South Korea who was born in North Korea. "Kim Jong Un is borrowing from that. Kim Il Sung is resurrected in the looks and behavior of Kim Jong Un."

Two years ago, the world knew so little about the young man that even the South Korean government was spelling his name wrong. Here's a look at what we know now.

___

THE BLOODLINE

Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il were characterized in North Korea as having a divine right to rule, and Kim Jong Un is leaning on this legacy as he shores up support for a third generation of Kim leadership.

Kim Il Sung founded the country in 1948, three years after Korea was divided into the Soviet-backed north and the U.S.-allied south. When he died in 1994, Kim Jong Il took over in what was the first hereditary succession in the communist world.

"His power comes from the bloodline," said Kim Gwang-in, head of research at the North Korea Strategy Center in Seoul.

Plans for Kim Jong Un to succeed his father were laid out after Kim Jong Il suffered a stroke in 2008. As recently as October, Kim Jong Il issued an order to elevate his son to supreme commander of the Korean People's Army, the Korean Central News Agency reported late last month.

"Kim Jong Il laid a red silk carpet, and Kim Jong Un only needs to walk on it," said Jeung Young-tae of the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul.

The most important holidays in North Korea are the birthdays of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, and it's likely that Kim Jong Un's birthday will become a national holiday as well. Exactly when he was born has never been revealed, but it's widely believed that he will celebrate a birthday on Sunday.

In recent days, North Korea's state broadcaster has aired tributes and odes to Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, as well as the first documentary footage of Kim Jong Un and a tune composed to prepare for his leadership: "Footsteps."

___

THE LOOK

Kim Jong Un's resemblance to his grandfather is uncanny ? and probably strategic.

He is in his late 20s, undeniably young for the leader of a nation. But Kim Il Sung was just a few years older when he emerged in 1945 to lead the North after Japan's World War II defeat ended its colonial rule of Korea.

"When Kim Jong Un smiles, that reminds me exactly of a 33-year-old Kim Il Sung," Ahn said.

Photos of Kim Il Sung hanging on the walls of the Workers' Party Foundation Museum in Pyongyang, spotted during an October visit by The Associated Press, show a dapper young man with a startling similarity to Kim Jong Un. Even their hairlines are trimmed identically.

The grandson walks, shoulders thrown back, and gestures with both hands like his grandfather.

Last year, Kim Jong Un appeared in a light gray parka like the one his father famously wore. And during the mourning period, Kim Jong Un donned a dark Mao-style suit like the one his father wore when Kim Il Sung died in 1994.

However, since then, Kim Jong Un has traded the parka for a dark, double-breasted winter overcoat ? much like the jackets his grandfather favored.

___

THE CEREMONIES

Solemn and somber in mourning, Kim Jong Un followed the routine set by his father at Kim Il Sung's 1994 funeral. He bowed at three sides of his father's glass-encased casket at Kumsusan Memorial Palace, just as his father did 17 years earlier.

For the funeral, officials dusted off one of Kim Il Sung's Lincoln Continentals for the procession through the snowy streets of Pyongyang. Just as in 1994, mourners lined the street wailing.

But Kim Jong Un played an even more public role in the procession than his father in 1994. Barehanded and bareheaded, he walked with the hearse, right hand held up in a salute, left hand at times resting on the vehicle.

For many in Pyongyang, it was their first chance to see the new leader in person.

___

THE INSPECTIONS

Kim Jong Un wasted no time in wading into the public eye. His first inspection visit without his father was a well-documented New Year's Day trip to a tank unit with symbolic ties to his family and his nation's history.

He laughed and clapped during his visit with the Seoul Ryu Kyong Su tank division, and even pulled officers close to give them a word of advice. He got busy inspecting bunks and testing the water faucets.

The division was the first North Korean unit to march into Seoul during the early days of the Korean War in 1950, and was a favorite unit of Kim Jong Il's. The visit sent a pointed message about Kim Jong Un's intention to uphold his father's "military first" policy, and gave North Koreans a glimpse of his style.

The photos and documentary footage were sent within two days of the visit ? notably quick turnaround for state media, which in the last years of Kim Jong Il's life typically provided only still images of the aging leader.

Ahn said it seemed odd to him that state media would show Kim Jong Un's easy laughter with the troops just two weeks after his father's death.

"It is a sign of the urgency the North feels in trying to put behind the Kim Jong Il leadership," he said.

___

THE PROPAGANDA

New banners and posters in Pyongyang urge the people to "follow the leadership of respected Comrade Kim Jong Un" and "devotedly defend" Kim Jong Un.

Kim Jong Un also made his debut on a postage stamp: a 70-won stamp, equivalent to 50 U.S. cents at official exchange rates, depicts a smiling Kim Jong Un with his father, both clad in the same light gray parka.

His official portrait has not been made public yet, and it remains to be seen whether it will hang next to those of his father and grandfather in every building in North Korea.

Reports in South Korean media say Pyongyang's premier Mansudae Art Studio created a Jong Un portrait in 2010; it could be revealed as early as his birthday Sunday, predicted Cheong Seong-chang, a senior fellow at the Sejong Institute in South Korea.

North Koreans also show their loyalty by wearing pins of the Kims. But even today, most still wear Kim Il Sung's visage pinned to their shirts, not Kim Jong Il's.

___

THE NICKNAMES

Kim Jong Un became known in North Korea as the "Young General" beginning in September 2010, when state media announced that he had been made a four-star general. He became "Respected General" or "Illustrious General" last year in signs that offered blessings to him, his father and grandfather.

The day Kim Jong Il's death was announced, state media referred to the son with a new, telling nickname: "Great Successor."

"Supreme commander" of the military; "supreme leader" of the people, party and army; "great leader": the nicknames began to echo those of his grandfather and father. The most affectionate remains "dear comrade" or "dear respected comrade."

Kim Il Sung ruled as president, and remains North Korea's "eternal president" long after his death.

Kim Jong Il ruled as chairman of the National Defense Commission, a position that under the constitution gave him authority as "supreme leader" of North Korea.

It remains to be seen which title will give Kim Jong Un authority as supreme leader under the constitution.

___

THE IDEOLOGY

Kim Jong Il's "military first" policy may serve as North Korea's main ideology for now under Kim Jong Un, but a new ideology will likely emerge, intended to prove to the people that he can raise their standard of living.

Analysts said the goal is to link Kim Jong Un more closely to the early, nation-building years of Kim Il Sung's rule rather than the economic hardship and famine of Kim Jong Il's era.

In the 1960s and 1970s, North Korea rebuilt quickly from the ashes of the Korean War with Soviet help, and its economy was stronger than that of rival South Korea. But natural disasters and outdated agricultural practices, compounded by the loss of Soviet aid, triggered a famine that killed hundreds of thousands of North Koreans in the mid- to late-1990s. Chronic food shortages persist.

"I expect North Korea to come up with more practical ideas that can help feed the people and strengthen the image of Kim Jong Un as someone who's capable of that," said Koh Yu-hwan, a professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University in Seoul.

Koh added that Kim "has to demonstrate that he is a capable leader from now on."

___

AP's Park Il-hwan also contributed to this report. Follow Jean H. Lee at twitter.com/newsjean and Sam Kim at twitter.com/samkim_ap.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/un/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120107/ap_on_re_as/as_nkorea_kim_jong_un

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DiariodeYucatan: Accidente de autob?s en una carretera de Montana deja dos muertos http://t.co/gC08Zirn

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Samsung launches new wired and wireless headsets for mobile warriors

Samsung wired headset
Samsung isn't letting CES go by without introducing a few new accessories for its mobile devices. A pair of Bluetooth headsets are on tap, the HM1800 and HM6000 (the latter of which boasts a pair of mics for noise cancellation ) but, oddly enough, it the company's "your sound" wired models that are getting the bulk of the attention. The EHS-60, 63, 70 and 71 all offer a twist on the wired stereo headset model. The high-end 70 and 71 are crafted of aluminum and include welcome features like anti-tangle cords. The most interesting, though, are certainly the EHS-63s which feature an in-ear speaker for higher frequencies and an open-air, over-ear one for low-end. Check out the PR after the break.

Continue reading Samsung launches new wired and wireless headsets for mobile warriors

Samsung launches new wired and wireless headsets for mobile warriors originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Jan 2012 11:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/06/samsung-launches-new-wired-and-wireless-headsets/

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As Obama tweaks policy on illegal immigrants, will Latino voters swoon? (The Christian Science Monitor)

The Obama White House acted Friday to ease the transition from illegal immigrant to legal US resident, another assertion of executive power that sidesteps Congress and a move that some see as calculated to boost the president's standing among Latinos in an election year. 

Beneficiaries of the administration's move are families in which some members are US citizens and some aren't. The aim is to shorten the duration of separation for such families, rather than require the illegal residents to return to their home countries for as many as 10 years before applying for legal US residency, as a 1996 law ??? approved by a Republican-led Congress ??? mandates.

The proposed change will undergo a review but doesn't require congressional approval. Under the so-called "hardship waiver," illegal immigrants who are married or otherwise related to US citizens would be able to pick up the waiver before leaving the United States and then be allowed to return almost immediately after picking up visas in their home countries. 

Could you pass a US citizenship test? Take our quiz.

Critics decry it as a "backdoor amnesty" that eases the path to citizenship for lawbreakers.

In another sign that the Obama administration is working to lower the bar to citizenship, one-quarter of all US immigration officers report they've been pressured by supervisors to overlook problems on citizenship applications, according to a draft report released Friday by the Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General. That report drew a rebuke from Sen. Charles Grassley (R) of Iowa, who accused Alejandro Mayorkas, chief of US Citizenship and Immigration Services, of downplaying national security concerns.

By making it easier for undocumented immigrants from mixed citizenship families to achieve legal status, the administration may tamp down ire within the Hispanic community over record numbers of deportations during the Obama presidency. It also offers a counterpoint to Republican presidential candidates, most of whom endorse policies against illegal immigration that many Latinos see as harsh and even cruel.

Obama's strategy is designed both to normalize relations with an important but restive Hispanic voting bloc and to stoke a political fight with Republicans. The strategy aims to contrast Obama's approach to illegal immigrants against hardline Republican rhetoric about the need to deport each and every one.

Some conservative commentators acknowledge Obama's is a powerful strategy, especially as the GOP presidential candidates, in their many debates, just keep reciting the ills of illegal immigration.

?Immigration has loomed larger as an issue in the Republican presidential debates than it does in the minds of most voters,? writes Daniel Griswold in the conservative publication National Review Online. ?So far, the biggest loser in the competition is the Republican Party. The party is losing out because the rhetoric brings us no closer to actually solving the problem, while driving away voters crucial to the party's long-term success.?

Obama's political strategy has its risks. It is feeding perceptions among conservatives that the president is flouting the Constitution by going around Congress to shape legislative policy. Obama's recess appointment of Richard Cordray to head a consumer watchdog agency and his recess appointments of three members of the National Labor Relations Board are examples of the White House stepping outside executive-branch boundaries, they say.

?The left ? big surprise ? views the Constitution as irrelevant when the president (so long as he?s acting for good and noble reasons) has important things to do,? writes Washington Post conservative blogger Jennifer Rubin of the latest recess appointments. ?It is especially distasteful that he is willing to provoke a constitutional furor ... as a political stunt, to boost his leftist base and pick a fight with a co-equal branch. It?s the politics of Chicago and Newt Gingrich, daring anyone to stop him.?

Rep. Lamar Smith (R) of Texas, author of a 1996 law that created 3- and 10-year bars for deported illegal immigrants to return to the United States, called the administration's move ???an abuse of administrative powers.??

The White House justifies its ramped-up use of executive powers, saying the problems of the country are too serious to be hamstrung by what it sees as obstructionist ploys by Republicans.

Many Hispanics applauded the administration's move for a new provisional waiver. Obama will need a big majority of the Hispanic vote to win the key battleground states of Florida, Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada. One immigration rights activist, Angelica Salas, called the new waiver ?a welcome rational solution to a simple problem that will keep thousands of families together, according to The New York Times.

Could you pass a US citizenship test? Take our quiz. 

Get daily or weekly updates from CSMonitor.com delivered to your inbox. Sign up today.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20120107/ts_csm/446486

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Palestinian Sesame Street ails without US funds (AP)

RAMALLAH, West Bank ? It's quiet time on Palestinian Sesame Street.

The iconic children's program, known as "Sharaa Simsim" in Arabic, has been put on hold for the 2012 season because of a funding freeze by the U.S. Congress.

Sharaa Simsim is one of many U.S.-funded Palestinian programs suffering after Congress froze the transfer of nearly $200 million to the U.S. Agency for International Development in October. The suspension aimed to punish the Palestinians for appealing to the United Nations for statehood.

The funding suspension ? affecting hospitals, education, and government ministries that all rely on American aid ? is breeding resentment and frustration in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, even among the most progressive organizations.

In the Ramallah offices of Sharaa Simsim on Thursday, the writing workshop room was empty and the set was closed.

"If we had funding, we would be writing scripts, we would be reviewing scripts, we would be hiring filmmakers to produce the videos," said executive producer Daoud Kuttab.

Even as the freeze put Palestinian Sesame Street on hold, the State Department is investing $750,000 in the Israeli version of the show, which is now filming its newest season with an emphasis on teaching children the value of fairness.

Danny Labin, an executive at the Israeli TV channel that co-produces Israeli Sesame Street, call the funding halt to the Palestinian show "extremely unfortunate."

"Young children, whether Israeli or Palestinian, who are in need of educational tools to foster diversity appreciation and to prepare for life in a pluralistic society, should not be penalized or held accountable to the politics and political leadership, over which they have no control," Labin said.

Sharaa Simsim, the Palestinian show, debuted in 1996 and has produced five seasons since, with long intermissions for fundraising. It has promoted a message of peace and tolerance that Israeli critics say is often missing from Palestinian airwaves. The main characters Haneen, a red-headed orange muppet, and the green rooster Kareem have became household names for Palestinian children.

Sharaa Simsim is one of about two dozen international shows produced by the Sesame Workshop Staff, the parent company of the American show. Others are aired in Israel, Egypt, Russia and South Africa. In each country, the New York-based Sesame Street staff consults with the local production teams to create a unique cast and content.

Kuttab said production takes months. At the beginning of each season, Palestinian educators and child psychologists work with the Education Ministry to craft themes and curriculum. Then writers draft the episodes, with occasional review from New York. Filmed in Ramallah and airing on Palestinian national television, each 20-minute episode is half Palestinian content and half American footage.

Sharaa Simsim was supposed to begin this process in October, but Kuttab said the show won't be able to air in 2012.

"Every month we are behind schedule it actually means two or three months down the line," he said. "If we don't do the curriculum workshop we can't do the scriptwriting. If we don't do the scriptwriting we can't do the filming, and there are actors who have their own schedules."

From 2008-2011, USAID gave $2.5 million to the program, covering nearly the entire budget, Kuttab said.

USAID was scheduled to issue another $2.5 million grant to Sharaa Simsim last until 2014, Kuttab said. But in early October, Florida Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican, placed holds on $192 million in funding to USAID for programs in the West Bank and Gaza.

She said this was in reaction to the Palestinian's appeal to the U.N. to admit the Palestinians as a full member state. The U.S., Israel and others oppose the move, saying a Palestinian state can only come about through negotiations.

Congress restored $40 million of the funding in December but it's doubtful any will go to the show. Many programs are clamoring for funding, including healthcare and humanitarian projects, said a USAID official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of ongoing Congressional debates.

Bradley Goehner, spokesman for Ros-Lehtinen, did not say if the intention was to cut Palestinian Sesame Street and other programs, or if more USAID funding would be restored.

"It is a matter that continues to be discussed with the administration and pertinent members," Goehner wrote by email.

American opposition to the Palestinian bid raised hackles in the West Bank, ruled by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority. Days after the USAID funding hold, Palestinian protesters hurled a shoe at an American diplomatic convoy in Ramallah.

Nasser Abdul Karim, an economist at Birzeit University in the West Bank, said the freeze hurt Washington's image and will push Palestinian groups to diversify their funding.

"Because of the U.S. support of the Israeli agenda, (Palestinians) look at American aid with a lot of suspicion," Abdul Karim said.

The U.S. donates more than $500 million a year to the Palestinians, including funds for security forces, the government's operating budget and USAID programs.

Kuttab said he is using some last-minute funding from the Palestinian Authority to tape small-scale children's programs. Core staff are working on reduced salaries, and freelancers are off the payroll.

In the meantime, the show's muppets have been sent to New York for repairs.

Sesame Workshop in New York confirmed the Palestinian show is on hold. Spokeswoman Beatrice Chow said Sesame hopes USAID will resume its support.

Since it was founded, Sharaa Simsim has reflected the region's political ups and downs.

In the first season, muppets from Israeli and Palestinian programs visited each other on TV. After the outbreak of the second Palestinian uprising in 2000, the cooperation crumbled.

USAID backed out of funding after the Hamas militant group won Palestinian elections in 2006, and Kuttab scrambled to create a mini season with funding from Holland and small organizations.

Actor Rajai Sandouka, who plays the rooster Kareem, said he is working as a freelance actor in theaters and as a drama teacher while he waits for the latest freeze to be lifted. He said kids recognize his voice when he is on stage, even when he plays other characters.

"A lot of people are asking about me," said Sandouka, 50, from east Jerusalem.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120107/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_palestinians_struggling_sesame_street

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DaveCarroll: RT @CBCCommunity: Marketplace's season premiere, Canada's Worst Customer Service: The Store Edition is Fri., Jan. 6.at 8 p.m. ET on CBC. ...

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Ecuador upholds Chevron oil fine

An Ecuadorean appeals court has upheld a ruling that Chevron should pay damages totalling $18.2bn (?11.5bn) over Amazon oil pollution.

Chevron said the judgement was "illegitimate" and "a fraud".

Texaco, which merged with Chevron in 2001, was accused of dumping toxic materials in the Ecuadorean Amazon.

The original ruling ordered Chevron to pay $8.6bn in damages, which was more than doubled after the company failed to make a public apology.

"We ratify the ruling of February 14 2011 in all its parts, including the sentence for moral reparation," the court in the Amazonian city of Lago Agrio said in its ruling, according to Reuters.

Long-running battle

In a statement released in response, Chevron said the decision was a "glaring example of the politicization and corruption of Ecuador's judiciary". It said it would continue to seek recourse through proceedings outside Ecuador.

The decision is the latest twist in a long-running legal battle between Chevron and the Ecuadorean plaintiffs.

The lawsuit was brought on behalf of 30,000 Ecuadoreans, in a case which has dragged on for years.

Ecuadorean indigenous groups said Texaco dumped more than 18bn gallons (68bn litres) of toxic materials into unlined pits and rivers between 1972 and 1992.

But Chevron says Texaco spent $40m cleaning up the area during the 1990s, and signed an agreement with Ecuador in 1998 absolving it of any further responsibility.

In September, a US appeals court overturned a decision to block the collection of the fine from the company.

Plaintiffs, who had agreed not to attempt to collect the damages until the appeals process was completed in Ecuador, welcomed Tuesday's ruling.

"This [ruling] confirms and ratifies that the company polluted and affected the Amazon," they said in a statement.

"It is necessary to clarify that no amount will be enough to repair all the crime they did in our area, nor will it be enough to bring the dead back to life."

Ecuador's President Rafael Correa described the dispute as a "David and Goliath" battle.

"I think justice has been done," he said after the ruling was announced.

"The harm that Chevron caused to the Amazon cannot be denied."

Chevron has challenged the fine, arguing that lawyers and supporters of the indigenous groups who brought the case conspired to fabricate evidence.

In a previous separate case, international arbitrators ordered the Ecuadorean government to pay $96m to Chevron because Ecuador's courts had violated international law as a result of delays in resolving commercial disputes involving Texaco.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-latin-america-16404268

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