Eric Stonestreet Wasn’t Drunk, He Swears

We realize there’s only so much time one can spend in a day watching new trailers, viral video clips, and shaky cell phone footage of people arguing on live television. This is why every day The Atlantic Wire highlights the videos that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention. Today:

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So if you were one of the few people watching the American Music Awards, (which no one watched) you may have seen Eric Stonestreet be a little tipsy. But that isn’t half as enjoyable as watching Eric Stonestreet watching himself be a little tipsy that night. (Also, wow, he’s sort of a bro.)

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A few days ago we found out that Paul Rudd was in play called Grace on Broadway because … (wait for it) someone in the balcony puked on the audience members during the play. Four days late we can laugh at the whole thing. Mostly because we weren’t barfed on: 

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Here’s how to make some magic. What you’ll need: 

(1) Canadian newscaster with chubby fingers

(1) Technology

(1) Drunk piece of technology

Voila: 

And finally. Thanksgiving is upon us!  Today we’re thankful for squirrels who like to eat plastic: 

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“Life of Pi” and “Rise of Guardians” Debut, but It’s Still “Twilight” Time at Box Office

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Ang Lee‘s lyrical epic “Life of Pi,” the computer-animated 3D holiday tale “Rise of the Guardians” and the “Red Dawn” reboot all debut in theaters Wednesday, as the holiday movie season kicks into high gear.

But the current No. 1, “Twilight: Breaking Dawn 2,” will almost surely out-earn the newcomers and dominate the Thanksgiving weekend box office, with a second week that analysts are projecting will hit $ 65 million over the five days. DreamWorks Animation‘s “Rise of the Guardians” will wind up with around $ 55 million and run second, they say.

Add in sturdy holdovers like Sony’s record-breaking James Bond movie “Skyfall” and Disney’s animated “Wreck-It Ralph,” along with expanding awards hopefuls “Lincoln” and “Silver Linings Playbook,” and it shapes up as a very busy weekend at the cineplexes.

Summit Entertainment’s “Breaking Dawn 2″ remains in 4,070 theaters after rolling up $ 141 million in its U.S. debut last weekend.

That was the year’s fourth best opening – behind “The Avengers,” “Dark Knight Rises” and “The Hunger Games” – but fell short of the franchise-best $ 142.8 million set by “New Moon” in 2009. “Breaking Dawn” is expected to play more strongly abroad than domestically, and the first-week numbers reflect that: It took in nearly $ 200 million in its first week of release overseas.

“In the U.S., it didn’t get that finale bump that the last Harry Potter movie did, which was surprising,” Exhibitor Relations senior analyst Jeff Bock told TheWrap, “Its fan base was committed, but Summit couldn’t expand it beyond that.”

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2″ opened to $ 169 million in 2011, well ahead of “Deathly Hallows 2,” which opened to $ 125 million the previous year.

“Skyfall,” which took in $ 41 million in its second week as it became the top-grossing Bond film of all time, is looking at a five-day total of around $ 39 million, the analysts say. Its worldwide gross now stands at $ 672 million, $ 507 million of which has come from overseas.

Buoyed by surprisingly strong results, Disney is expanding “Lincoln” into roughly 2,000 theaters, up from 1,775, on Friday. The DreamWorks Oscar contender was a surprise No. 3 finisher with $ 21 million last weekend, well above analysts’ and the studio’s projections. It’s projected to finish with $ 24 million over the long weekend.

Among the newcomers, Oscar contender “The Life of Pi” is the most difficult to peg in terms of box-office potential.

It’s hard to imagine a tale tougher to bring to the screen than Yann Martel’s 2001 saga of an Indian youth lost at sea with a ravenous Bengal tiger aboard his small lifeboat and their ensuing adventures. But Lee brought martial arts (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”) and gay cowboys (“Brokeback Mountain”) into the movie mainstream, and he’s employed the highest-tech digital tools to bring David Magee’s adaptation to life in 3D.

Indian Suraj Sharma, who was 17 and had no acting experience when he shot “Pi,” plays the lead and spends a good bit of the film alone in a boat with the tiger.

The critics love it (92 percent positive on Rotten Tomatoes), calling it gorgeous, innovative and a provocative and soulful examination of faith. Those are admirable qualities in a film, but hardly requisites for – or a guarantee of – box office success.

Fox has the PG-rated “Pi” in 2,700 theaters and it will have the advantage of premium pricing going for it. Analysts see it opening with about $ 25 million over the five days, and feel its long-term playability will hinge on word-of-mouth and awards buzz.

In terms of the box office, the most comparable film could be last year’s Martin Scorsese-directed 3D family adventure “Hugo.” Paramount opened that film around the same time last year to $ 11 million, and it went on to make $ 73 million, $ 185 million worldwide.

With its international cast and exotic settings, “Pi” is another example of a film expected to perform far better internationally than in the U.S. Fox is rolling it out in Taiwan Tuesday, China Wednesday and Hong Kong, India and Puerto Rico this weekend. With Lee’s following in China and young star Sharma expected to draw crowds in India, those two markets should give it fast start overseas.

“Pi” was produced for $ 120 million by Lee, Fox 2000 and special effects firm Rhythm and Hues.

Distributor Paramount is rolling out DreamWorks Animation‘s computer animated family film “Rise of the Guardians” on 3,500 3D screens.

The holiday rollout is a natural for the PG-rated “Rise of the Guardians,” which has a star-studded voice cast, and is executive produced by Guillermo Del Toro and produced by Gary Goetzman.

Based on the William Joyce’s “Guardians of Childhood” series, it tells the tale of Jack Frost (Chris Pine), who gets help from Santa Claus (Alec Baldwin), the Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher) and the Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman) after the evil Pitch (Jude Law) threatens the children of the world.

Awareness of the film is strong, and the critics think it’s pretty good. Seventy percent of the reviews on Rotten Tomatoes are positive, 67 percent at Movie Review Intelligence. DreamWorks Animation has been on a hot streak, and this its first release since “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted,” which has made over $ 735 million worldwide this year.

“Red Dawn” is a remake of the 1984 John Millius war film that helped launch the careers of young stars Patrick Swayze, Lea Thompson, Jennifer Grey and Charlie Sheen. Released at the peak of the Cold War, its populist and patriotic themes resonated strongly. In that film, Swayze’s character leads a group of teens who turn guerrilla fighters to resist Soviet and Cuban invaders who are occupying their state.

Shot in 2009, the “Red Dawn” reboot was to have been released in 2010, but was delayed by the financial troubles of the studio behind it, MGM.

Since then, the careers of several of the film’s stars have taken off. Since shooting “Red Dawn,” Chris Hemsworth has starred in “Thor,” “The Avengers” and “Snow White and the Huntsman,” while Josh Peck was featured in “The Hunger Games.” Josh Hutcherson, Adrianne Palicki, Isabel Lucas and Jeffrey Dean Morgan co-star.

This “Red Dawn” plays more like an action film and is less jingoistic than the original, and FilmDistrict has marketed that way. In addition to targeting fan boys at the Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, and college campuses, “Red Dawn” has been show at more than 100 military bases. The cast did a special screening at Port Hueneme Naval Base in Oxnard, Calif.

Speaking of militaries, while the film was on the shelf: the filmmakers digitally turned the invaders from Chinese into North Koreans after angry denunciations of the portrayals from the Beijing press. The switch shouldn’t hurt at the Chinese box office, either.

FilmDistrict is opening the PG-13-rated “Red Dawn” in 2,600 theaters. The original made the equivalent of $ 90 million when adjusted to today’s ticket prices, while this reboot will be fortunate to make half that amount. A five-day total of around $ 15 million is what the analysts are projecting for the opening.

Fox Searchlight is rolling out “Hitchcock,” starring Anthony Hopkins as the late director Alfred Hitchcock, in 17 theaters on Friday.

Directed by Sacha Gervasi, with a screenplay from John G. McLaughlin, the film explores the relationship between Hitchcock and his wife and partner Alma Reville (Helen Mirren) while they were working on “Psycho,” one of his most successful films.

Scarlett Johansson, Danny Huston, Jessica Biel, Toni Collette, Michael Wincott, and James D’Arcy co-star in the Montecito Picture Company production.

“Hitchcock” premiered at the AFI Film Festival and has been well-received by the critics. It has a 76 percent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Fox Searchlight plans to expand the film gradually over the next three weeks, ahead of its national release on December 14, when it will be on between 500 and 600 theaters.

The Weinstein Company is expanding its Oscar hopeful “Silver Linings Playbook” into 420 theaters. The dark romantic comedy is directed by David O. Russell and stars Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro.

“Silver Linings Playbook” averaged $ 28,652 on 16 screens in its debut and was to have expanded into 2,000 theaters on Wednesday. But the Weinstein Co. shifted gears last week and decided on a more gradual platform release in hopes of building awards buzz. The Weinstein Co. knows Oscar campaigns; they were behind the last two Best Picture winners, “The King’s Speech” and “The Artist.”

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U.S. soldier accused of Iraq shooting “psychotic”: doctor

TACOMA (Reuters) – A U.S. soldier accused of killing five fellow servicemen at a military combat stress center in Baghdad in 2009 was psychotic and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder during the shooting frenzy, a top U.S. forensic psychiatrist testified on Tuesday.

Sergeant John Russell, 48, is accused of going on a shooting spree at Camp Liberty, near the Baghdad airport, in an assault the military said at the time could have been triggered by combat stress.

Russell, of the 54th Engineer Battalion based in Bamberg, Germany, faces five charges of premeditated murder, one charge of aggravated assault and one charge of attempted murder in connection with the May 2009 shootings.

Six months ago, he was ordered to stand trial in a military court that has the power to sentence him to death, if he is convicted.

Russell’s civilian attorney, James Culp, entered no plea at an arraignment on Monday at a military base in Washington state. Russell’s court martial is tentatively set for mid-March and could last four to five weeks, attorneys told Reuters on Tuesday.

In a second day of hearings to discuss Russell’s state of mind at the time of the shooting and establish what evidence or testimony to admit at the court martial, Robert Sadoff, a University of Pennsylvania forensic psychiatry expert, gave the opinion that Russell was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Russell has “dissociative disorder,” or a lack of memory about the shootings, said Sadoff, who examined Russell for a total of 20 hours after the shootings. “He cannot remember. It’s a legitimate disorder. He also has post-traumatic stress disorder.”

Sadoff, a veteran of 10,000 criminal cases added: “It’s a matter of what’s going on in this man’s mind. He was psychotic. He was not dealing with reality. That’s what psychosis is.”

If the defense can persuade a jury that Russell was not in control of his actions, it may be able to argue that he is not legally responsible and could spare him from the death penalty, if convicted.

During Tuesday’s hearing, Culp sought authority from Judge Colonel David Conn to hire a forensic hypnotist to unlock Russell’s buried memories and conduct a specialized magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test to measure Russell’s “mild diffused brain atrophy”, which Culp argues played a part in his behavior.

This would help diagnose “the extent of brain damage as it relates to criminal responsibility,” Culp said.

Army prosecutors urged the judge to decline. Major Dan Mazzone, one of four Army attorneys prosecuting the case, told the judge that an Army medical review already indicated that Russell’s brain atrophy was typical of a man his age and further testing is an unnecessary expense to the Army.

“The bottom line, this is just not necessary. It’s something the government should not be entitled to fund,” Mazzone said.

The judge is set to rule on the matter over the next few days.

The proceedings, held at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, Washington, come at a sensitive time for the Army, which is in the process of deciding how to prosecute Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, a soldier accused of killing Afghan villagers in cold blood earlier this year.

A two-week hearing at Lewis-McChord to establish if there is sufficient evidence to send Bales to a court martial wrapped up last week after harrowing testimony from Afghan adults and children wounded in the attack.

Bales’ civilian defense lawyers have also suggested he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

On Monday, Russell’s attorney outlined a defense based on his declining mental state.

Russell suffered from depression, thoughts of suicide, anxiety and stress from multiple deployments, and suffered “at least one traumatic experience involving civilian casualties” and “mass grave sites” while serving in Bosnia and Kosovo during 1998 and 1999, Culp said in presenting arguments to the judge after the arraignment.

(Reporting by Bill Rigby; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

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Japan exports dip for fifth month

20 November 2012 Last updated at 21:56 ET

Japan’s exports have fallen for a fifth straight month after demand in China and the European Union (EU) weakened.

Shipment’s fell 6.5% in October, from a year earlier. Exports to China declined 11.6% and were down 20% to the EU.

A territorial dispute with China has dented sales to Japan’s biggest trading partner, while the EU is being hurt by a continuing debt crisis.

Japan’s economy is heavily reliant on exports and a slowdown would hurt growth.

Analysts said that given the uncertain global economic conditions, Japan’s exports may continue to be weak in coming month.

“This is basically the new normal that we have to deal with, well into the next year,” Martin Schulz of Fujitsu Research Institute told the BBC.

The data comes just weeks after Japan reported that its economy contracted in the July to September period.

China impact

China is the world’s second-largest economy and has a huge domestic market that has become vital to many global and regional exporters.

Demand from its consumers is seen as key for countries such as Japan, especially in wake of a slowdown in the western economies.

Continue reading the main story

Japan is being out-competed by China, by South Korea and by its Asian neighbours”

End Quote Martin Schulz Fujitsu Research Institute

However, relations between China and Japan have soured after a territorial dispute flared up in September.

It followed Japan’s purchase of disputed islands in the East China Sea, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.

The move led to widespread anti-Japan protests in China, which turned violent in some areas with people directing their anger at Japanese brands.

October’s decline in exports followed a 14.1% drop in September.

Analysts said the row may continue to damage trade between the two countries.

“You can’t expect China to drive Japanese exports the way it used to, because of the boycotting of Japanese products there due to a territorial dispute,” said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute in Tokyo.

‘Out-competed’

Exports to the to EU, meanwhile, have now fallen for 13 straight months.

Continue reading the main story

Analysts said that as well as the eurozone debt crisis, Japanese exporters were also hurt by the strength of the yen.

A strong yen makes Japanese goods more expensive to foreign buyers, and it gained nearly 7% against the US dollar between March and September this year.

Though the yen has weakened since then, it continues to remain at a level seen as too high by many businesses.

It was trading close to 81.89 yen against the US dollar in Asia trade on Wednesday.

“Japan is being out-competed by China, by South Korea and by its Asian neighbours,” said Fujitsu Research Institute’s Mr Schulz. “This is a problematic situation.”

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Moody’s downgrades French rating

19 November 2012 Last updated at 18:11 ET

The credit ratings agency Moody’s has downgraded France from its top rating.

The country’s debt has been reduced from AAA to AA1 and has kept its negative outlook, meaning it could be downgraded again.

In a statement, Moody’s blamed the risk of a Greek exit from the euro, stalled economic growth and the chances that France will have to contribute to bailing out other countries.

Rival agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded France in January.

Moody’s said the primary reason for the downgrade had been France’s “persistent structural economic challenges” and the threats they pose to economic growth and the government’s coffers.

“These include the rigidities in labour and services markets, and low levels of innovation, which continue to drive France’s gradual but sustained loss of competitiveness and the gradual erosion of its export-oriented industrial base,” Moody’s said.

French finance minister Pierre Moscovici said the downgrade was motivation to pursue structural reforms.

He also blamed the downgrade on the economic management of previous governments and added that France was still committed to cutting its public deficit to 3% of output next year.

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Turbulence on Cuba-Italy flight leaves 30 bruised

ROME (AP) — An airliner flying from Havana to Milan abruptly plunged some 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) when it hit unusually strong turbulence over the Atlantic on Monday, terrifying passengers and leaving some 30 people aboard with bruises and scrapes, airline officials said.

The flight continued to Milan’s Malpensa airport after the plane’s captain determined that it suffered no structural damage and two passengers who are physicians found no serious injuries, Giulio Buzzi, head of the pilots division at Neos Air, told Sky TG24 TV.

The ANSA news agency quoted bruised passenger Edoardo De Lucchi as saying meals were being served when suddenly there was “10 seconds of terror.” He recounted how plates went flying and some passengers not wearing seatbelts bounced about.

Buzzi had said that the drop measured some 3,000 meters (10,000 feet) in a cloudless sky. But Milan daily’s Corriere della Sera’s web site, quoting Neos official Davide Martini, later reported that the plane first bounced up some 500 meters (1,650 feet), then dropped some 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) to some 500 meters (1,650 feet) below the original altitude.

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Soccer-Liverpool’s Sterling apologises to Watson over collision

Nov 18 (Reuters) – Liverpool winger Raheem Sterling has wished Wigan Athletic‘s Ben Watson a speedy recovery after a freak collision between the pair on Saturday left Watson with a suspected shin fracture.

Sterling, who made his England debut midweek, used his Twitter account to offer an apology to Watson following the Reds’ 3-0 win at Anfield.

Midfielder Watson was taken from the pitch in the first half when he was struck just above the shin by Sterling‘s knee as both competed in the air for the ball.

“To Ben Watson I didn’t realise it was serious as that ill (sic) be praying for a speedy recovery mate ill (sic) have you in my prayers every day. #sorry,” posted the 17-year-old.

Following the defeat, Wigan manager Roberto Martinez expressed concern for Watson as well as Gary Caldwell who has a problem with his hamstring.

“The injury to Ben Watson is a really nasty blow and what we believe to be a broken leg,” Martinez told Wigan’s official website (www.wiganlatics.com).

“We will have to assess the injury and the treatment that Ben will need before we can judge how long he is going to be missing.

“Ben was starting to have a very strong season and was putting in some commanding performances and it is a real shame to lose him to an injury like that.”

Martinez also accused Liverpool scorer Luis Suarez of stamping on David Jones. (Reporting By Mark Pangallo; Editing by Mark Meadows; mark.meadows@thomsonreuters.com; +44 20 7542 7933; Reuters Messaging:; mark.meadows.reuters.com@reuters.net)

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Doping-Four year bans proposed under new WADA Code

Nov 18 (Reuters) – Athletes guilty of serious doping offenses will be suspended for four years from 2015 under proposals being considered by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), but there are no plans for a specific rule to ban offenders from the Olympics.

Currently, athletes found guilty of a first major doping offense are handed a two-year ban with any subsequent positive test incurring a life-ban.

The longer ban would be introduced for offenses that include the use of anabolic steroids, human growth hormone, masking agents and trafficking, according to a second draft of the 2015 WADA code which was reviewed over the weekend.

“It is clear … there is a strong desire in the world of sport, from governments and within the anti-doping community to strengthen the sanction articles in the code,” WADA President John Fahey said in a statement.

“This second draft has done that, doubling the length of suspension for serious offenders and widening the scope for anti-doping organizations to impose lifetime bans.”

The draft does not, however, consider a former International Olympic Committee (IOC) rule regarding Olympic participation, which was ruled in non-compliance with the WADA Code in 2011 by sport’s highest court, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

The IOC rule, introduced in 2008, banned athletes from participating at the next Olympic Games if they had been suspended for six months or longer.

After the rule was ruled non-compliant, Britain was forced to overturn lifetime Olympic bans on their drug cheats.

“The rational is if more four-year sanctions are delivered, then there won’t be any need for (the IOC rule) because the athletes will be missing the next Olympics,” WADA spokesman Terence O’Rorke said by telephone from Montreal.

The new WADA Code draft also includes a proposal that to be prohibited, substances or methods must be performance enhancing, contrary to the spirit of sport or contrary to the health of athletes.

The proposed code will undergo further review between now and March 2013, when it will be presented to the WADA Foundation Board before a final draft is prepared for ratification at the world anti-doping conference in Johannesburg next November.

“Athletes must know that there is a heavy price to pay for intentional doping,” Fahey said. “I am confident this draft will deliver that message loud and clear.”

WADA also said its funding would be frozen for a second successive year at approximately $ 28 million in 2013.

“This freeze is not ideal for the fight against doping in sport,” Fahey said. “It is widely accepted that doping is a major issue no longer restricted to the sporting world, and that it must be addressed by society as a whole.” (Reporting by Gene Cherry in Salvo, North Carolina, editing by Nick Mulvenney)

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Virgin wins Heathrow routes bid

18 November 2012 Last updated at 22:19 ET

Virgin Atlantic has been offered the rights to operate Heathrow links to Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

Sir Richard Branson’s airline bid successfully for the London landing slots formerly operated by BMI.

The slots were released to others by regulators as a condition of allowing the takeover earlier this year of BMI by British Airways’ owner IAG.

Virgin Atlantic intends to start operating the new services from the end of next March.

BA already flew between Heathrow and Scotland in competition with BMI, and the European Commission ruled that the London airport’s scarce and valuable slots had to be released to other airlines for links to Edinburgh and Aberdeen, as well as Cairo and Moscow, where BMI and BA had formerly competed.

Virgin Atlantic is to lease Airbus A320s from another operator on its new routes.

Its first move into short-haul flights began last August, when it announced a new route between Manchester and Heathrow, building on an often bitter, 28-year rivalry between British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.

Continue reading the main story

We have fought hard for the right to fly short-haul”

End Quote Steve Ridgeway Virgin Atlantic chief executive

The only other airline known to have put in a bid for the slots was Aer Lingus.

Steve Ridgeway, chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, said: “We have fought hard for the right to fly short-haul and take a strong challenge to British Airways within these shores.

“This is the beginning of an exciting new era in Virgin Atlantic history and we now feel a responsibility to everyone that has supported us in this challenge.”

The airline is to finalise its timetable plans over the next two weeks.

Edinburgh Airport chief executive Gordon Dewar said the new regular service would provide choice for travelling to Heathrow and open up a new set of onward destinations for passengers.

Scotland’s Transport Minister Keith Brown said it was a welcome announcement for both passengers and the air industry.

Mr Brown added: “The detail will be worked out over the next couple of weeks but we are pleased that the European Commission has taken note of the need for both Edinburgh and Aberdeen to be served and that Virgin Atlantic will now be able to operate from two of Scotland’s most important cities.”

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Rebels in Congo reach door of Goma

GOMA, Congo (AP) — A Rwandan-backed rebel group advanced to within 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) of Goma, a crucial provincial capital in eastern Congo, marking the first time that rebels have come this close since 2008.

Congolese army spokesman Col. Olivier Hamuli said the fighting has been going on since 6 a.m. Sunday and the front line has moved to just a few kilometers (miles) outside the city. After more than nine hours of violent clashes the two sides took a break, with M23 rebels establishing a checkpoint just 100 meters (yards) away from one held by the military in the village of Munigi, exactly 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) outside the Goma city line.

Contacted by telephone on the front line, M23 rebel spokesman Col. Vianney Kazarama said the group will spend the night in Goma.

“We are about to take the town. We will spend the night in Goma tonight,” said Kazarama. “We are confident that we can take Goma and then our next step will be to take Bukavu,” he said mentioning the capital of the next province to the south.

The M23 rebel group is made up of soldiers from a now-defunct rebel army, the National Congress for the Defense of the People, or CNDP, a group made-up primarily of fighters from the Tutsi ethnic group, the ethnicity that was targeted in Rwanda‘s 1994 genocide. In 2008, the CNDP led by Rwandan commando Gen. Laurent Nkunda marched his soldiers to the doorstep of Goma, abruptly stopping just before taking the city.

In the negotiations that followed and which culminated in a March 23, 2009 peace deal, the CNDP agreed to disband and their fighters joined the national army of Congo. They did not pick up their arms again until this spring, when hundreds of ex-CNDP fighters defected from the army in April, claiming that the Congolese government had failed to uphold their end of the 2009 agreement.

Reports, including one by the United Nations Group of Experts, have shown that M23 is actively being backed by Rwanda and the new rebellion is likely linked to the fight to control Congo’s rich mineral wealth.

The latest fighting broke out Thursday and led to the deaths of 151 rebels and two soldiers. On Saturday U.N. attack helicopters targeted M23 positions in eastern Congo.

Also on Saturday, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon had called Rwandan President Paul Kagame “to request that he use his influence on the M23 to help calm the situation and restrain M23 from continuing their attack,” according to peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous who spoke at the U.N. headquarters in New York on Saturday.

North Kivu governor Julien Paluku said Saturday that the Congolese army had earlier retreated from Kibumba, which is 30 kilometers (19 miles) north of Goma, after thousands of Rwandans, who he says were backing the rebels, attacked early Saturday.

“Rwandan forces bombarded our positions in Kibumba since early this morning and an estimated 3,500 crossed the border to attack us,” he said Saturday.

In downtown Goma, panicked residents had come out to try to get more information on what was happening. A 45-year-old mother of five said that she has nowhere to go.

“I don’t really know what is happening, I’ve seen soldiers and tanks in the streets and that scares me,” said Imaculee Kahindo. Asked if she planned to leave the city, she said: “What can we do? I will probably hide in my house with my children.”

Hamuli, the spokesman for the Congolese army, denied reports that soldiers were fleeing.

In 2008 as Nkunda’s CNDP rebels amassed at the gates of Goma, reporters inside the city were able to see Congolese soldiers running in the opposite direction, after having abandoned their posts. The Congolese army is notoriously dysfunctional with soldiers paid only small amounts, making it difficult to secure their loyalties during heavy fighting.

“We are fighting 3 kilometers from Goma, just past the airport. And our troops are strong enough to resist the rebels,” said Hamuli. “We won’t let the M23 march into our town,” he said. Asked if his troops were fleeing, he added: “These are false rumors. We are not going anywhere.”

U.N. peacekeeping chief Ladsous said that the rebels were very well-equipped, including with night vision equipment allowing them to fight at night.

Reports by United Nations experts have accused Rwanda, as well as Uganda, of supporting the rebels. Both countries strongly deny any involvement and Uganda said if the charges continue it will pull its peacekeeping troops out of Somalia, where they are playing an important role in pushing out the Islamist extremist rebels.

The U.N. Security Council called for an immediate stop to the violence following a two-hour, closed-door emergency meeting. The council said it would add sanctions against M23 rebels and demanded that rebels immediately stop their advance toward the provincial capital of Goma.

“We must stop the M23″ because Goma’s fall “would, inevitably, turn into a humanitarian crisis,” said France‘s U.N. Ambassador, Gerard Araud. He added that U.N. officials would decide in the coming days which M23 leaders to target for additional sanctions.

___

Associated Press writer Maria Sanminiatelli at the United Nations and Rukmini Callimachi in Dakar, Senegal, contributed to this report.

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