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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — More than six weeks after he shot and killed Trayvon Martin , an unarmed 17-year-old with no criminal record, George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch coordinator at a small gated community in Sanford, Fla., was charged by a special prosecutor on Wednesday evening with second-degree murder and taken into custody. The charges, which Mr. Martin’s family praised but called overdue, opened a new chapter in a case that set off a searing national discussion of racial profiling, Florida’s expansive self-defense laws and the fairness of the criminal justice system. The charges against Mr. Zimmerman were announced by Angela B. Corey, the state attorney for the Jacksonville area, who was appointed as a special prosecutor in the case after the local state attorney stepped aside in the wake of criticism that the case had been moving too slowly. Ms. Corey took pains to praise the local law enforcement officials at a news conference in Jacksonville, and pledged to pursue justice for the Martin family. Asked about the racial overtones of the case — Mr. Martin, who was black, was shot and killed by Mr. Zimmerman, a Hispanic man who was not immediately arrested by the local police — Ms. Corey said that law enforcement officials were committed to justice for all, regardless of race, gender or background. “We only know one category as prosecutors, and that’s a ‘V,’ ” Ms. Corey said. “It’s not a ‘B,’ it’s not a ‘W,’ it’s not an ‘H.’ It’s ‘V,’ for victim. That’s who we work tirelessly for. And that’s all we know, is justice for our victims.” If he is convicted of second-degree murder, Mr. Zimmerman, 28, could face life in prison. It is the toughest charge he could have faced, short of first-degree murder, which would have required a finding of premeditation. Mr. Martin’s parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, praised the decision to arrest and charge Mr. Zimmerman at an emotional news conference in Washington, where they had been meeting with their lawyers and supporters. “We simply wanted an arrest,” Ms. Fulton said. “We wanted nothing more and nothing less, we just wanted an arrest. And we got it. And I say, ‘Thank you, thank you, Lord, thank you, Jesus.’ ” Mr. Zimmerman arrived at the Seminole County Jail around 8:25 p.m. and stepped out of a black S.U.V. in the custody of law enforcement agents. The killing of Trayvon Martin — who was shot on the evening of Feb. 26 as he returned from buying Skittles and iced tea at a 7-Eleven, bound for the home in a gated community in Sanford, a small city just north of Orlando, where he and his father were guests — incited outrage and protest marches across the country. Mr. Zimmerman, the founder of the local neighborhood watch, called 911 that evening to report that Mr. Martin looked like “a real suspicious guy.” Some questioned whether Mr. Martin attracted Mr. Zimmerman’s attention simply because he was black. Others were outraged by the slow reaction of the local police and prosecutors, who did not immediately arrest and charge Mr. Zimmerman, saying that Florida’s expansive self-defense law could make it difficult to prove a criminal case against him. President Obama weighed in on the case at one point, saying, “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.” After television commentators suggested that Mr. Martin might have looked suspicious because he was wearing a hooded sweatshirt, people around the country began donning them in solidarity. LeBron James and other members of the Miami Heat basketball team posed in them for a photograph they posted on Twitter. Representative Bobby L. Rush, Democrat of Illinois, even wore one on the floor of the House, saying “Just because someone wears a hoodie does not make them a hoodlum.” The case drew attention to Florida’s Stand Your Ground Law, which was enacted seven years ago after lobbying by the National Rifle Association, over the objections of many law enforcement officials. The law gives the benefit of the doubt to people who claim self-defense, even if they are not in their homes; it says that people who feel that they are in danger do not need to retreat, even if it would seem reasonable to do so. In this case, Mr. Zimmerman, who had founded a neighborhood watch over the summer after a string of burglaries in the area, saw Mr. Martin, began following him, and called 911, telling the dispatcher that he appeared “suspicious.” The dispatcher asked if Mr. Zimmerman was following him. “Yeah,” Mr. Zimmerman said. “O.K.., we don’t need you to do that,” the dispatcher said. Mr. Zimmerman said: “O.K.” The case will probably hinge on what happened next. \|\|\|\|\| This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. • The neighborhood watch volunteer who shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was arrested and charged with second-degree murder Wednesday after months of mounting tensions and protests across the country. George Zimmerman, 28, could get up to life in prison if convicted in the slaying of the unarmed black teenager. Special prosecutor Angela Corey announced the charges but would not discuss how she arrived at them or disclose other details of her investigation, saying: "That's why we try cases in court." Second-degree murder is typically brought in cases when there is a fight or other confrontation that results in death but does involve a premeditated plan to kill. Corey would not disclose Zimmerman's whereabouts for his safety but said that he will be in court within 24 hours. Zimmerman's new attorney, Mark O'Mara, said: "I'm expecting a lot of work and hopefully justice in the end." Zimmerman, whose father is white and whose mother is Hispanic, has asserted since the Feb. 26 killing in Sanford that he shot in self-defense after the teenager attacked him. Martin's family argued Zimmerman was the aggressor. The shooting brought demands from black leaders for his arrest and set off a furious nationwide debate over race and self-defense that reached all the way to the White House. Corey said the decision to bring charges was based on the facts and the law, declaring: "We do not prosecute by public pressure or by petition." One of the biggest hurdles to Zimmerman's arrest over the past month was Florida's "stand your ground" law, which gives people wide leeway to use deadly force without having to retreat in the face of danger. The lack of an arrest had sparked outrage and rallies for justice in the Orlando suburb and across the country. On Tuesday, Zimmerman's lawyers announced they were withdrawing from the case because they hadn't heard from him since Sunday and didn't know where he was. They portrayed his mental state as fragile. "He is largely alone. You might even say he is emotionally crippled by virtue of the pressure of this case," said one of the lawyers, Hal Uhrig. The case has drawn the interest of the highest levels of the Obama administration, with the Justice Department's civil rights division opening its own investigation. Tensions have risen in recent days in Sanford. Someone shot up an unoccupied police car Tuesday as it sat outside the neighborhood where Martin was killed. And a demonstration by college students closed the town's police station Monday. Six weeks ago, Martin was returning to the home of his father's fiancee from a convenience store when Zimmerman started following him. Zimmerman told police dispatchers he looked suspicious. At some point, the two got into a fight and Zimmerman used his gun. Zimmerman told police Martin attacked him after he had given up chasing the teenager and was returning to his truck. He told detectives that Martin knocked him to the ground and began slamming his head on the sidewalk. Zimmerman's father said that Martin threatened to kill his son and that Zimmerman suffered a broken nose. A video taken about 40 minutes after the shooting as Zimmerman arrived at the Sanford police station showed him walking unassisted without difficulty. There were no plainly visible bandages or blood on his clothing, but Zimmerman may have had a small wound on the back of his head. The shooting ignited resentment toward the police department, and Police Chief Bill Lee temporarily stepped down to let passions cool. Civil rights groups and others have held rallies around the country, saying the shooting was unjustified. Many of the protesters wore the same type of hooded sweat shirt that Martin had on that day, suggesting his appearance and race had something to do with his killing. President Barack Obama injected himself into the debate, urging Americans to "do some soul-searching." ''If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon," Obama said March 23. The local prosecutor disqualified himself from the case, and Gov. Rick Scott appointed Corey, the prosecutor for Jacksonville, to take it over. Defense attorney: Zimmerman will plead not guilty Orlando, Fla. • The attorney for neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman says his client will plead not guilty to second-degree murder in the shooting of unarmed teen Trayvon Martin. Attorney Mark O'Mara asks that people not jump to conclusions about his client's guilt. He says he hopes "the community will calm down" now that charges have been filed. Zimmerman has acknowledged shooting Martin but says it was in self-defense after the two got into a fight on Feb. 26. The Associated Press \|\|\|\|\| Criminal justice lawyers said Corey faces an uphill battle in persuading a jury to convict Zimmerman of second-degree murder. Zimmerman told police he was fighting for his life in an altercation with Martin, who was 17 and unarmed, before he fired in self-defense. Murder in the second degree, under Florida law, refers to a killing carried out without premeditation but with “a depraved mind regardless of human life.” If convicted, Zimmerman faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. His attorney, Mark O’Mara, said Wednesday that Zimmerman will plead not guilty. Martin’s parents applauded Corey’s decision to take Zimmerman into custody, calling it a first step toward justice. “We simply wanted an arrest,” said Sybrina Fulton, Martin’s mother. “Thank you, Lord.” His father, Tracy Martin, said: “We got a long way to go, and we have faith. . . . We will continue to hold hands on this journey — white, black and Latino.” Corey said she had personally informed Martin’s parents of the outcome of her investigation. “It was less than three weeks ago that we told those sweet parents that we would get answers to all of their questions no matter where our quest for the truth led us,” she said. Martin was fatally shot Feb. 26 while walking in the Retreat at Twin Lakes, a complex of about 260 peach-colored townhouses in Sanford, Fla. Martin was staying with his father and his father’s fiancee in her townhouse, and he had left briefly to walk to a nearby 7-Eleven to buy a bottle of iced tea and a bag of Skittles. Zimmerman, 28, who worked at a fraud-detection company, was driving to Target, according to his father. Zimmerman spotted Martin and called 911, saying that there had been a rash of burglaries in the area and that there was “a guy . . . walking around, looking about.” “This guy looks like . . . he’s on drugs or something,” Zimmerman said. Before police arrived, Zimmerman and Martin encountered each other in a grassy area between the back yards of two rows of townhouses. Zimmerman says Martin punched him in the face, knocked him down and slammed his head against the pavement. He has maintained that he was defending himself when he pulled a black Kel-Tec 9mm and shot Martin at close range in the chest after the teenager tried to take the gun. When officers arrived, they found Martin dead in a pool of blood in the grass and Zimmerman bleeding from his nose and the back of his head. ‘Stand your ground’ law Authorities in Sanford decided not to charge Zimmerman, citing Florida’s “stand your ground” law, which allows a person to use deadly force in self-defense when there is a reasonable belief of a threat and which does not require people to retreat. \|\|\|\|\| Civil rights leaders and residents of Sanford, Fla., attend to a town hall meeting March 20, 2012, to discuss the death of a 17-year-old, unarmed black teen, Trayvon Martin, who was shot by a neighborhood watch captain on Feb. 26 in Sanford. Photo by Gerardo Mora/Getty Images While local prosecutors have not arrested the shooter, George Zimmerman, the case is now being investigated by the Department of Justice and a Florida state attorney. It’s not clear whether Florida’s self-defense law will be applied in the case. (The police report on the shooting refers to it as an “unnecessary killing to prevent unlawful act.”) “Stand Your Ground,” “Shoot First," “Make My Day” — state laws asserting an expansive right to self-defense — have come into focus after last month’s killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin . Still, in not arresting Zimmerman, local officials have pointed to Florida’s wide definition of self-defense. In 2005, Florida became the first state to explicitly expand a person’s right to use deadly force for self-defense. Deadly force is justified if a person is gravely threatened, in the home or “any other place where he or she has a right to be.” In Florida, once self-defense is invoked, the burden is on the prosecution to disprove the claim. Most states have long allowed the use of reasonable force, sometimes including deadly force, to protect oneself inside one’s home — the so-called Castle Doctrine. Outside the home, people generally still have a “duty to retreat” from an attacker, if possible, to avoid confrontation. In other words, if you can get away and you shoot anyway, you can be prosecuted. In Florida, there is no duty to retreat. You can “stand your ground” outside your home, too. Florida is not alone. Twenty-three other states now allow people to stand their ground. Most of these laws were passed after Florida’s. (A few states never had a duty to retreat to begin with.) Here’s a rundown of the states with laws mirroring the one in Florida, where there’s no duty to retreat in public places and where, in most cases, self-defense claims have some degree of immunity in court. (The specifics of what kind of immunity, and when the burden of proof lies on the prosecution, vary from state to state.) Many of the laws were originally advocated as a way to address domestic abuse cases — how could a battered wife retreat if she was attacked in her own home? Such legislation also has been recently pushed by the National Rifle Association and other gun-rights groups. Click on the state to see its law. Alabama Arizona Georgia Idaho Illinois (The law does not includes a duty to retreat, which courts have interpreted as a right to expansive self-defense.) Indiana Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Michigan Mississippi Montana Nevada North Carolina Oklahoma Oregon (Also does not include a duty to retreat.) South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Washington (Also does not include a duty to retreat.) West Virginia	2012 mugshot of George Zimmerman. Cellphone call to the Sanford Police Department by George Zimmerman before the shooting of Trayvon Martin , the Florida neighborhood watch captain who shot teenager in February, stepped into court for his first appearance Thursday afternoon after his arrest the previous night. The judge found probable cause in the charges of second degree , but Zimmerman's lawyer held off on making a bail request out of concern for his clients safety. At a Wednesday evening news conference in Jacksonville, Florida, special prosecutor announced Zimmerman willingly turned himself in. A law enforcement official said at the time Zimmerman was in custody at the in Florida. Corey said, "It is the search for justice for Trayvon that has brought us to this moment." Zimmerman, 28, was involved in an altercation with the 17-year-old that led to Martin’s death the night of February 26 in , Florida. Zimmerman claimed self-defense when he shot Martin. Martin was in a gated community returning to the house he and his father were staying at carrying a pack of candy and iced tea when Zimmerman followed him and called the police to report a "suspicious" character. Since then, black leaders have demanded justice for a murder that they believe to be driven by race. Zimmerman’s arrest and charge occurred after his lawyers announced Tuesday they were quitting the case after having no contact with him since Sunday. They also said Zimmerman was in a fragile mental state. In Florida, a person charged with second-degree murder can spend life in prison, and the charge is usually when a confrontation ends with the death one of the parties involved. Florida also has a , which means people can use deadly force in cases of self-defense, which is expected to play a major role in the case. In the United States, 24 states, including Florida, have such a law while the other 27 states do not. The pushed for the law's passage in Florida seven years ago. Trayvon Martin’s parents, Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, have been publicly calling for Zimmerman to be prosecuted. They appeared at a press conference after the special prosecutor's announcement with Reverend in Washington, D.C. Fulton said, "We simply wanted an arrest. We wanted nothing more and nothing less, we just wanted an arrest. And we got it." Zimmerman's lawyer Mark O’Mara has already signaled that his client will plead not guilty at a future hearing which the judge set for May 29, but he also expects to request bail for his client once safety details are worked out. Time of important events throughout the Trayvon Martin case. == Sources == * * * * * *
The military has also crushed many of the opponents of Bangkok's powerful elite who have become more entrenched in the institutions of government. A bomb blast at a popular shrine in Bangkok that killed 22 people including eight foreigners did not match the tactics used by separatist rebels in southern Thailand. Credit:Reuters The coup followed a decade-long confrontation between the Bangkok elite and supporters of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a deeply polarising figure in the country. Last week Mr Thaksin posted a message on YouTube urging his followers to reject a draft of the constitution, declaring it undemocratic. Police investigate the scene the morning after the explosion. Credit:AP The bomb also comes at a time that the military-dominated government has moved against powerful mafia-like figures across the country. There have also been tensions over the military's annual promotion list, a traditional source of unrest among different cliques of the army. Experts investigate the remains of destroyed motorcycles at the Erawan shrine. Credit:Reuters Government spokesman Werachon Sukhondhapatipak told reporters, "It's too early to link the bomb to terrorist attack because no group has come to claim responsibility so far." But immediate suspicion fell on the southern militants after Monday's blast at the Hindu Erawan shrine during peak hour when there were scores of tourists and Thais in the area. Thailand's security apparatus was left reeling in April after they linked a bomb in an underground car park of a shopping centre on the resort island of Samui to Asia's longest-running war in Thailand's four southern provinces that has left more than 6300 people dead and at least 11,500 injured. That bomb was one of a few times militants had ventured out of the Malay-dominated provinces of Narathiwat, Yala, Pattani and the four southern districts of Songkhla province. Zachary Abuza, head of South-East Asian Analytics and author of multiple books on the conflict, said insurgents have tended in the past to feel that out-of-area attacks were counter-productive, violated their sense of "defensive jihad" and would unleash Thai security forces on them. But the Koh Samui bombing appeared to be an attempt to sabotage an area of economic significance, which is known to be one of the militants' strategies. The insurgents routinely do not claim responsibility for their attacks in what experts call Thailand's "forgotten war" because it is rarely reported outside of the country. In June, Fairfax Media reported growing fears that the insurgents, who have shunned previous attempts to align themselves with Islamic terrorist organisations like al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiyah, were looking to expand their sphere of influence. Anusart Suwanmongkol, a member of Thailand's military installed national assembly and a businessman in Pattani, a town in the centre of the violence, warned the conflict had entered a new and even more dangerous phase because of the increasing globalisation of Islam through Facebook and other social media. The last major bombings in Bangkok were on New Year's Eve at the end of 2006 when three people were killed and dozens wounded. There was speculation at the time that the perpetrators were supporters of Mr Thaksin, who had been forced from power three months earlier. But the crimes were never solved. As forensic investigators began on Tuesday to piece together the sequence of events to try to track the perpetrators of Monday's bombing there was little doubt it was a deliberate act to harm Thailand's tourism and economy. The Erawan Shrine is a major tourist attraction. National Police Chief Somyot Pumpanmuang told reporters on Wednesday that police are not ruling out any motive, including ethnic Uighurs. Thailand forcibly returned 109 Uighurs to China last month. Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-ocha told reporters there were "still anti-government groups out there" but gave no further details. \|\|\|\|\| Thailand's government has set up a "war room" to hunt down those responsible for Monday's deadly bombing of a Bangkok shrine, as the country's defence minister said the attack aimed to target the country's economy. The explosion, which has killed at least 20 people and injured scores, detonated around 7pm local time at the crowded Erawan Hindu Shrine in the city's busy commercial district. At least eight tourists from China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore are among those killed in the attack. Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan told the Reuters news agency that those responsible "intended to destroy the economy and tourism, because the incident occurred in the heart of the tourism district". "It was a TNT bomb... the people who did it targeted foreigners and to damage tourism and the economy," he said. The government would set up a "war room" to coordinate the response to the blast, the Nation television channel quoted Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha as saying. Notes from the field - Maher Sattar Not too long after the blast, the police started to cordon off the area. As I was walking away I saw one of the officers picking up what looked like little cotton pads that were soaked in blood - probably a leftover from someone trying to treat one of the wounded in the aftermath of the blast. At the spot of the blast there was a motorcycle on the street, blown into at least two pieces. Officials in the area were looking around for more bombs - I kept hearing that more bombs had been found - there were a lot of rumours going around. Soon, all of the press and passersby gathering in the area had to move further and further away - they were expanding the search area for more bombs - the area was not risk-free. Chan-ocha had called an emergency meeting with high-level government officials and military officers in charge of national security in the wake of the attack. No one has claimed responsibility for the blast. Bangkok in shock Al Jazeera's Wayne Hay, reporting from near the scene on Tuesday, said the Thai army chief, General Udomdej Sitabutr, said the bombing "did not match the tactics" of Muslim rebels in the country's south. The rebels, who Thai forces have been fighting for years, have rarely launched attacks outside their ethnic Malay heartland. "Thailand is under military rule....There have been two coups in eight years removing democratically elected governments," our correspondent said. "There are going to be a lot of rumours over coming days and weeks and we may never know." Our correspondent said Bangkok appeared to be "very much in shock" the morning after the attack. While the blast site has been cordoned off and security in the capital has been lifted, a state of emergency has not been imposed. Al Jazeera's Veronica Pedrosa, who was at the scene shortly after the blast, said the explosion sent people "running for their lives". "Bodies, twisted metal and debris were scattered across the street at a place popular with locals and tourists," she said. Source: Al Jazeera and agencies \|\|\|\|\| BANGKOK Thai authorities said on Tuesday they were looking for a suspect seen on closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage near a renowned shrine where a bomb blast killed 22 people, including nine foreigners from several Asian countries. The government said the attack during the Monday evening rush hour, in the capital's bustling commercial hub, was aimed at destroying the economy. No one has claimed responsibility. National police chief Somyot Pumpanmuang said the suspect was wearing a yellow shirt and could be Thai or a foreigner. "That man was carrying a backpack and walked past the scene at the time of the incident. But we need to look at the before and after CCTV footage to see if there is a link," Somyot told a news conference. Police earlier said they had not ruled out any group, including elements opposed to the military government, for the bombing at the Erawan shrine on Monday evening, although officials said the attack did not match the tactics of Muslim insurgents in the south. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha also referred to the man as a suspect without giving details. He said there were "still anti-government groups out there", although he did not elaborate. Police were deployed to the blood-splattered site on Tuesday, some wearing white gloves and carrying plastic bags, searching for clues to an attack that could dent tourism and investor confidence. The Thai baht THB=TH fell 0.57 percent to 35.57 baht, its weakest in more than six years, on concern the bombing may scare off visitors. Thai stocks .SETI fell as much as 3 percent. Police said the death toll was 22, with 123 people wounded. They said the blast was caused by a pipe bomb. "Police are not ruling out anything including (Thai) politics and the conflict of ethnic Uighurs who, before this, Thailand sent back to China," Somyot said. Thailand forcibly returned 109 Uighurs to China last month. Hundreds, possibly thousands, of the Turkic-speaking and largely Muslim minority have fled unrest in China's western Xinjiang region, where hundreds of people have been killed, prompting a crackdown by Chinese authorities. Many Uighurs have traveled through Southeast Asia to Turkey. FOREIGNERS KILLED The Erawan shrine, on a busy corner near top hotels, shopping centers, offices and a hospital, is a major attraction, especially for visitors from East Asia, including China. Many Thais also worship there. Four Chinese, including two people from Hong Kong, were among the dead, China's official Xinhua news agency said. Two Malaysians, a Singaporean, an Indonesian and a Filipino were also killed, officials said. Scores of people were wounded, including many from China and Taiwan. Thailand has been riven for a decade by a sometimes violent struggle for power between political factions in Bangkok. Occasional small blasts have been blamed on one side or the other. Two pipe bombs exploded outside a shopping mall in the same area in February, but caused little damage. Thai forces are also fighting a low-level Muslim insurgency in the predominantly Buddhist country's south, but those rebels have rarely launched attacks outside their heartland. "This does not match with incidents in southern Thailand. The type of bomb used is also not in keeping with the south," army chief and deputy defense minister General Udomdej Sitabutr said in a televised interview. Tourism is one of the few bright spots in an economy that is still struggling, more than a year after the military seized power in May 2014. It accounts for about 10 percent of the economy and the government had been banking on a record number of visitors this year following a sharp fall in 2014 because of protests and the coup. In Washington, the U.S. State Department said it was too soon to tell if the blast was a terrorist attack. Spokesman John Kirby said authorities in Thailand had not requested U.S. help. (Reporting by Amy Sawitta Lefevre, Andrew R.C. Marshall and Aukkarapon Niyomyat; Additional reporting by Khettiya Jittapong, Martin Petty, Panarat Thepgumpanat, Arshad Mohammed and David Brunnstrom; Writing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre; Editing by Dean Yates, Robert Birsel) \|\|\|\|\| Bangkok: A bomb explosion ripped through a shrine in the Thai capital, killing at least 22 people and injuring more than 100 others, according to Thai police. National Police Chief Somyot Poompanmuang told reporters the attack was unprecedented in Thailand. "It was a pipe bomb," Mr Somyot said. "It was placed inside the Erawan Shrine." Several of those killed were foreigners. Carnage ... A policeman photographs debris from an explosion in central Bangkok, Thailand. Photo: AP Most of the injured were tourists from China and Taiwan. CCTV video shows pedestrians running from a flash of bright orange light near the Erawan Shrine near shopping malls and five-star hotels in Bangkok's Chitlom district. Advertisement They included children who fell to the ground in terror. Body parts are scattered around the Erawan Shrine near shopping malls and five-star hotels in Bangkok's Chitlom district. The explosion occurred around 7pm (10pm Melbourne and Sydney time) when the area is usually packed with people. Motorcycles are strewn about after an explosion at a central Bangkok intersection during the evening rush hour, killing a number of people and injuring others, police said. Photo: AP Police said initial reports were that the blast may have been caused by a motorcycle bomb. Witnesses said people at a shrine were hit by the full force of the blast. The shrine adjacent Ratchaprasong intersection, where political demonstrations have taken place in the past is a major tourist attraction. The area has been cordoned off by police. Ambulances were at the scene. Debris lies on the pavement after the explosion took place near the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok. Photo: AP "It was like a meat market," said Marko Cunningham, a New Zealand paramedic working with a Bangkok ambulance service, who said the blast had left a two-metre-wide crater. "There were bodies everywhere. Some were shredded. There were legs where heads were supposed to be. It was horrific," Cunningham said, adding that people several hundred metres away had been injured. Winai Petploy, a rescue worker who arrived to carry away the remains of the dead, said authorities discovered two unexploded bombs inside the Erawan Shrine after he had arrived, The New York Times reported. Other reports were that the two unexploded bombs were found near the shine. The bombs were in small travel bags. Police yelled "get, get out" to bystanders as bomb squad personnel worked to defuse them. Police have not confirmed earlier Thai reports that two other bombs were found near the shrine and had been defused. The device that detonated was also inside the shrine. "I carried one out and then I carried the other half out," Mr Winai said. Injured victims were taken to seven hospitals. The area has been cordoned off by police. Ambulances are at the scene. The blast could be heard a kilometre away. At least one of the dead is believed to have been a guest of a hotel near the blast. Caroen Sida, 37, a security guard, said after the blast "everyone was screaming and running." "There was a huge force coming from a motorcycle. No-one dared go into the intersection," he said. "The perpetrators intended to destroy the economy and tourism because the incident occurred in the heart of the tourist district," Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan told Reuters. The government would set up a "war room" to coordinate the response to the blast, the Nation television channel quoted Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha as saying. Two people from China and one from the Philippines were among the dead, a tourist police officer said. Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has issued a statement on the bombing. "The Australian Government deplores the attack in Bangkok." "The thoughts of all Australians are with the injured and the families of those who have lost their lives. "The Australian Embassy in Bangkok is in contact with Thai authorities to determine whether Australians have been affected. "At stage we have no information that Australians are among the deceased or seriously injured." Thailand has been ruled by a military government since the army toppled democratically-elected government last year. The bomb will inflame political tensions in the country and will likely damage Thailand's tourist industry that had recovered from month's of political instability last year. The military government is likely to react with a security clampdown, possibly martial law. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast. A bomb that exploded in an underground car park of a shopping mall on the Thai tourist island of Samui on April 10 has been linked to a long running and bloody insurgency in the country's Malay-dominated southern provinces. Thai forces are fighting a low-level Muslim insurgency in the predominantly Buddhist country's south, although the insurgents had rarely in the past ventured out of the provinces. But security experts said the Samui bomb appeared to be an attempt to sabotage an area of economic significance, which is known to be one of the militants' strategies. The country has also been riven for a decade by intense and sometimes violent rivalry between political factions in Bangkok and elsewhere. The Erawan Shrine, on a busy corner near top hotels, shopping centres and offices, is a major tourist attraction, especially for visitors from East Asia. Many ordinary Thais also worship there. With Reuters Follow FairfaxForeign on Twitter Follow FairfaxForeign on Facebook \|\|\|\|\| Thailand's baht currency has slumped to a more than six-year low and shares fell in Bangkok over concerns an unprecedented attack in the capital could hit the vital tourism sector. At least 21 people were killed and more than 120 wounded when a bomb ripped through a Bangkok religious shrine late yesterday, in what authorities said was the worst ever attack on Thai soil and targeted at foreigners. The baht fell to 35.648 against the US dollar in early trading today, the lowest point since April 2009. The attack comes after Thailand's economy slowed in the second quarter, hit by weak domestic demand and exports, with growth expected to be hampered this year by China's devaluation of the yuan. AAP	authorities are searching for a man wearing a yellow , recorded on video leaving a backpack shortly before a pipe-bomb exploded two days ago near Erawan Shrine, . The shrine is a popular attraction in Thailand's capital, where at least 20 people, including at least eight foreigners, are reported dead with upwards of 100 injured. The blast occurred at approximately 7pm on Monday (1200 ), when central Bangkok was flooded with pedestrian activity. Authorities say the suspect may have already left Thailand and was assisted by others. Following months of political unrest, since the explosion the hit a six year low. According to Defence Minister Prawit Wonguwan speaking to , the bombing was a deliberate attack on the country's economy and tourism industry. Military authorities said insurgents from the country's southern provinces are unlikely to be behind the attack. == Sources == * * * * * *
'Da Vinci Code' opens with rich ticket sales By Wang Shanshan/Liang Qiwen (China Daily) Updated: 2006-05-20 10:06 "The Da Vinci Code" stormed box offices in major Chinese cities on the first day of its general release on Friday, despite the Chinese Catholic church's call for all believers to boycott the Hollywood movie. By 5 pm, a 10-metre queue had built up outside the Cineplex in Beijing's up-scale Oriental Plaza, one of the dozens of cinemas showing the film in the city. "Even the worst seats are selling like hotcakes," said the ticket-seller at the Cineplex, who identified himself only with the surname Zhang. "It is the most exciting time of the year." The Cineplex is showing "The Da Vinci Code" on all six of its screens. It offers 14 shows a day nine of the subtitled version and five of the dubbed version. In Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong Province, more than half the seats in cinemas affiliated with China Movie Southern New Line were sold during the day on Friday, said Xie Weijia, general manager of CMSNL, one of the two companies to screen the movie in the city. "That's really a high ratio in the daytime on a workday," Xie remarked. He expected most cinemas to be filled to capacity this weekend, adding his company has reaped ticket revenue of more than 3 million yuan (US$370,000) on the first day. Also on Friday, the Chinese Catholic church issued a notice to all its branches nationwide asking all followers to "firmly boycott" "The Da Vinci Code," accusing the movie of going against and distorting the tenets and history of the Catholic church, the Xinhua News Agency reported. "The contents of both the movie and the novel 'The Da Vinci Code' are totally fictional," said the notice jointly issued by the China Patriotic Catholic Association and the Bishops' Conference of the Chinese Catholic Church. All those who went to the movie and were interviewed by China Daily in Beijing said they are not religious. In Guangzhou, Huang Chenxing, an office worker, said: "I did not quite understand the religious content of the film, as I have never read the book and I have little background knowledge of the religion." \|\|\|\|\| Punjab to hire 1,318 engineers: Chief Secretary In a written statement, Vini said the requisition for engineering posts in various government departments had been sent to the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC), which had already started the recruitment drive. Farmers respond positively to agricultural pump power policy A rebate of Rs 256 crore has been given on the amount of Rs 511.26 crore paid. A total of 5,82,114 farmers have paid the arrears. The highest arrears have been paid in the Pune division, an official statement from MSEDCL has said today. Blood shortage in Maharashtra: State govt agency appeals to blood banks to hold more camps The SBTC believes that the coming summer months may prove to be a challenge as people are not likely to turn up for donations. New Commissioner of Police Hemant Nagrale says he will work to “restore the glory and pride” of the force. The 1987-batch IPS officer, who has been holding the charge of state Director General of Police since January, on Wednesday replaced Parambir Singh, who was transferred as DGP Home Guards after the Waze controversy. High Court hints at directing CAG to probe toll collection on Mumbai-Pune Expressway This came after the High Court expressed its surprise that Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) could not recover the total capital outlay of the project, which was open for public use in 2004. Savitribai Phule Pune University finally releases details of online MCQ-based tests, mock exams from April 7 According to the circular, syllabus of most programmes including BA and B Com for external students has been completed and 100 per cent of the syllabus will be considered while setting exam papers. After corporators demand probe, proposal to give Rs 34 crore more to contractor put on hold The civic administration has now come up with a proposal to give the contractor an additional Rs 34 crore for changes and newly added works at a revised cost of Rs 119 crore. A proposal tabled in the Standing Committee for approval has been put on hold. Pune Municipal Corporation nod for extension of Metro route from Swargate to Katraj The approval to the detailed project report (DPR) for the metro route would speed up implementation and enable funds for the project, he said, adding that the proposal will soon be sent to the state government for approval. Undertrial in triple blast case seeks contempt of court proceedings against Taloja jail officials Nadeem Akhtar, who has been behind bars for nearly 10 years, has said he was infected with tuberculosis in jail in 2019, and that it has become resistant leading to a need for medical attention. Police conducted decoy operation, sent officers as cyber experts to crack bank data theft case Meanwhile, police made two more arrests on Wednesday, a woman and a man, taking the number of arrests in the case to 10 till now. Virtual exhibition set to showcase Mumbai’s unique connection with water, communities associated with it The exhibition will have six thematic galleries, each with a set of connected exhibitions and curatorial notes, many of which will be available in Marathi as well. NCDC seeks more samples to explain surge in Maharashtra Maharashtra reported more than 23,000 new cases of coronavirus on Wednesday, very close to the peak of 24,886 it had achieved in September last year. TRP Scam: ED attaches assets of Rs 32 crore belonging to 3 TV channels in Mumbai, Indore, Delhi, Gurgaon In a statement, the agency informed that it has found that the total proceeds of "crime" of the three channels under probe is about Rs 46 crore. The probe is based on an FIR registered by Mumbai Police. Bhelke is ‘Rajan’, he worked with Maoist leader Milind Teltumbde: surrendered Naxal Krushna to court Bhelke and his wife Kanchan Nanaware alias Bhoomi, both from Chandrapur district, were arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad from Pune in September 2014 on charges of being alleged operatives of the Golden Corridor Committee of banned CPI-Maoist. Lonikand and Loni Kalbhor police stations included in Pune Police jurisdiction Now, with the latest government resolution, the merger will be carried out within two to three days, said Pune Police officials. Pune Municipal Corporation to restart Covid care centres amid surge in cases The PMC had set up 31 CCCs across the city after the outbreak of Covid-19, with a total capacity to accommodate around 16,000 patients at a time. Zomato row: Will issue notice to Bengaluru woman ‘after collecting evidence’, say police On March 9, Hithesha Chandranee had shared a video of her bleeding nose on social media while alleging that the accused, identified as Kamaraj, had assaulted her. The accused was later arrested and is currently out on bail. Covid second wave: Punjab to impose stricter curbs from tomorrow, Capt tells PM As active Covid cases in the state surged to 12,616, with daily positivity rate climbing to over 5 per cent, Amarinder urged the Centre to review its immunisation strategy to vaccinate all age groups in selected areas while announcing a stricter policy to deal with the problem. Gujarat: Man arrested for repeatedly raping minor, forcing abortion An FIR was lodged on March 13 at Palanpur Taluka police station after the family submitted a complaint. The Eva Care hospital management has also been booked in the case for failing to inform the police authorities about the abortion. TRP manipulation case: HC asks Mumbai Police why Goswami, Republic TV not named as accused The court also asked the police to inform whether it wants to investigate further, how long it needs to do so and if it wants to proceed against Goswami and Republic TV. Pharma stores selling Remdesivir at higher rate, state BJP chief alleges The demand for the expensive Remdesivir injection had increased following the Covid-19 outbreak in March last year, leading to severe shortage in its supply. \|\|\|\|\| LONDON, May 19 -- Christians in many countries denounced the movie "The Da Vinci Code" as it opened Friday, complaining that the big-screen adaptation of Dan Brown's best-selling novel distorts history and offends Christians. " 'The Da Vinci Code' gratuitously insults Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church," said Vincent Nichols, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Birmingham, England. "It deliberately presents fiction as fact." Some said they saw parallels with Muslims' reaction to the publication of cartoons of the prophet Muhammad in European newspapers. But in that case, the anger led to weeks of violent demonstrations that left scores of people dead; reaction to the worldwide opening of "The Da Vinci Code," which stars Tom Hanks, has consisted largely of calls for boycotts and denunciations by church leaders and commentators. "My question to Dan Brown is this: Would he dare to write such a book about Islam?" said Peter Jennings, a spokesman for Nichols. "No, they wouldn't dare. But they view the Catholic Church as a soft touch." Many Christians are upset by a central theme of the book and film, that Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene married and produced a child and that their bloodline continues to the present day. That contention "ridicules and blasphemes" Christian beliefs, Jennings said. While Brown's book is a work of fiction, Jennings said, the film "muddles fact and fiction, upsetting people who have been Catholics all their lives who now don't know what is true and what is lies." In the Philippines, which has Asia's largest Christian population, the city council of Manila, the capital, passed a resolution banning the film in local theaters. Greek authorities banned the film for viewers under 17, saying it touched on "religious and historical questions of major importance that a minor is not able to evaluate." An Athens court rejected a religious organization's petition for an outright ban, citing freedom of expression. The film's release in India was postponed while government officials considered complaints from the Catholic Bishops' Conference. Bishops across South America have decried the film, and leaders of China's official Catholic church have called for a boycott, although the country's notoriously strict censors allowed the film to be released uncut. In France, Monsignor Jean-Michel di Falco Leandri, bishop of the Hautes-Alpes region, said he saw the film Friday and found it a "grotesque" portrayal of history and Christian belief. But in an interview, Leandri said he would not call for a boycott because the movie "really isn't worth worrying about -- it's so far-fetched that no one will believe it." In Russia, where the Orthodox Church has denounced the film as a "dangerous provocation" and warned of a possible violent backlash from Christians, some commentators linked the situation to the Muhammad cartoon protests. "Representatives from different religions have for the first time united to fight against expressions of modern culture that they find unacceptable," the newspaper Kommersant said in an editorial, expressing "solidarity" with both Christians and Muslims. The Russian newspaper Izvestia predicted that anger over the film would serve only to boost ticket sales. "Common sense tells us that such a virulent reaction on the part of the church, combined with the studio's own marketing campaign, can only excite the curiosity of the faithful," the newspaper said. Brown's book and the film portray Opus Dei, a conservative lay Catholic organization, in an extremely negative light. Several Catholic leaders said that was unfair. But Jack Valero, an Opus Dei spokesman in Britain, was not too concerned. "It's an extraordinarily dull film," he said, "so maybe we shouldn't worry about it too much." Valero said Opus Dei officials were advising their members not to see the film but had not called for a general boycott or public protests. He said he believed the film's promoters wanted the publicity generated by "angry Christians carrying banners." "We won't play into their hands. We'll just smile," he said. "We don't want an Oscar for being the nastiest people on Earth but for being the most friendly people on Earth." Special correspondent Alexandra Topping contributed to this report.	Moviegoers around the world are expected to queue into movie theaters during the opening weekend of the movie "," despite the disapproval of both critics and clerics. The film, directed by , is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by , which has sold over 60 million copies worldwide. Officials at Sony-owned , which distributed the film, expect the film to gross US$50 million to US$80 million during its first weekend in the United States, based on figures from early matinees on Friday. "The early matinees are very strong and extremely encouraging," said Steve Elzer, a spokesman for Columbia. Outside the United States, the film is also proving controversial, as long lines formed outside theatres in China, while the movie's release has been postponed indefinitely in India and banned outright in the Philippine capital of Manila. "The Da Vinci Code" stars and , who respectively play a Harvard professor on religious symbols and a French cryptologist who become involved in a murder mystery revolving around the works of Leonardo da Vinci, a secret that could rock the foundations of the Roman Catholic Church if revealed, and a society formed to protect that secret. The film was previewed at the to mixed reviews, and critics have generally given the film a cool reception. Certain thematic elements in the film and novel have caused a religious backlash, as Catholic officials call the movie blasphemous. "'The Da Vinci Code' gratuitously insults Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church," said Vincent Nichols, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Birmingham, England. "It deliberately presents fiction as fact." The Catholic Church in China called on its followers to boycott the film, while a Catholic lay group in the United States plan is planning rallies outside 1,000 theatres nationwide. Francis Slobodnik, who is coordinating the campaign for the Pennsylvania-based group, called the film "an insult directed towards God."
MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- Members of the Basque separatist group ETA have shot dead a Spanish civil guard and seriously wounded another in southern France, Spanish officials said. French police officers place a cover over a police car after a Spanish civil guard was shot dead. It is the first fatality blamed on ETA in nearly a year. The separatist group claimed responsibility for a December 30, 2006, car bomb at the Madrid airport that killed two men and destroyed a parking garage. The two plainsclothes civil guard officers were in Capbreton, France, to meet with French police about joint operations against ETA, which traditionally uses France as a base for its attacks in Spain, a Spanish Interior Ministry spokeswoman told CNN. It appeared the ETA gunmen recognized the civil guards at a cafe where they had breakfast, the spokeswoman said. The gunmen followed the guards when they left the cafe, and shot them while they were getting into their car, she said. She said there were three ETA suspects -- two men whom authorities believe are responsible for the shooting, and a woman. Don't Miss Bomb in Spanish city wounds guard The ETA suspects fled in a car, later leaving it to commandeer a second car, the spokeswoman said. They held a French woman and her son but quickly released them, she said. Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero canceled his schedule for the weekend and made a statement offering condolences to the slain civil guard's family, as well as words of support for the other civil guard who is in a French hospital. He vowed: "Those who did this will be arrested and tried, and will pay for this." Spanish and French interior ministers who were attending a meeting in Germany, abruptly left the meeting to return to France. ETA, which the United States and European Union list as a terrorist group, is blamed for more than 800 killings. ETA declared a "permanent" cease-fire in March 2006, raising hopes for an end to the violence, but the car bomb at Madrid's airport shattered the fledgling peace process. E-mail to a friend \|\|\|\|\| The civil guards were carrying out surveillance in Capbreton Police at the scene The two men were taking part in a joint surveillance operation with French police against Eta suspects. Spanish PM Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero condemned the attack and said Spain was united by "deep disgust". It was the first killing attributed to Eta since the group ended a ceasefire in June. The two plain-clothed officers were shot from close range as they were getting into their cars outside a cafe at about 0930 (0830 GMT) on Saturday, in the Atlantic resort of Capbreton, police sources said. Raul Centeno died and Fernando Trapero was seriously injured. Mr Zapatero described both men as "very young". French Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said the joint police operation was being carried out against Eta members "who come to French territory to seek refuge or to prepare operations". She said the shooting apparently followed a "chance encounter" between the undercover agents and the suspects in the cafe. After a confrontation the guards were murdered "in cold blood", Ms Alliot-Marie said. French police are hunting three suspects - two men and a woman - who fled the scene, kidnapping a woman and driving her car north, before leaving her tied to a tree in a forest near Bordeaux, 160km (100 miles) away. 'Violence futile' Mr Zapatero condemned the killers. "Spanish society - united today by the sacrifice of Raul Centeno and Fernando Trapero shows its deep disgust with those who - scorning the most fundamental right, the right to life - are trying to frighten the citizens as a whole," he said. Spanish Civil Guard Raul Centeno was described as "very young" "Forty years of black terrorist history haven't been enough for them to realise the great strength of Spanish society. Hundreds of deaths and hundreds of victims haven't made them understand that they won't achieve anything with violence." Eta uses parts of south-western France as a base, even though it carries out most of its operations against Spanish targets in Spain. Spanish media said it appeared to be the first killing by Eta in France in decades. The group wants an independent Basque state in northern Spain and south-western France. It declared a ceasefire in March 2006 but broke it with a car bombing at Madrid airport in December 2006 that killed two people. It formally ended its truce in June. \|\|\|\|\| e garde civil espagnol tué et son collègue grièvement blessé, samedi 1er décembre, lors d'une mission de surveillance de personnes soupçonnées d'appartenir à l'organisation séparatiste basque ETA dans les Landes, ont été victimes d'uneavec des "etarras" présumés, selon la ministre de l'intérieur française, Michèle Alliot-Marie. Les deux hommes ont été atteints par des balles tirées à bout portant, alors qu'ils quittaient un restaurant à Capbreton et s'apprêtaient à monter dans leur voiture, vers 9 heures 30 du matin.où les membres de la garde civile prenaient un café, a indiqué MAlliot-Marie. Elle a précisé que(...)sont impliqués dans ce qu'elle a qualifié d'. Le deuxième garde civil est hospitalisé à Bayonne dans, a-t-elle également déclaré. "QUELQUE CHOSE QUI A ÉTÉ FAIT DE SANG-FROID" Cet évènement, souligne-t-elle, est "tout à fait exceptionnel". "Il est arrivé que l'ETA tire sur des gendarmes ou des policiers mais c'était au cours de contrôles. Là, de toute évidence c'est quelque chose qui a été fait de sang-froid et c'est la première fois que ça arrivait", a-t-elle affirmé. Selon les premiers éléments de l'enquête, les Espagnols se seraient attablés, fortuitement, non loin des membres présumés d'ETA. La ministre ne disposait pas de précisions sur les circonstances exactes dans lesquelles "deux coups de feu" ont été tirés "de sang froid" et a précisé qu'elle ignorait si les gardes civils espagnols étaient armés. Son homologue espagnol, Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, a souligné le fait que "la cafétéria où a eu lieu la rencontre fortuite n'est pas un lieu que ces gardes civils avaient l'habitude de fréquenter". Le premier ministre espagnol, Jose Luis Zapatero, a "très fermement" condamné samedi l'agression de l'ETA, ajoutant que l'organisation séparatiste était vouée à une "déroute inévitable". L'ensemble de la classe politique espagnole a également condamné cet évènement. M. Zapatero a précisé que la victime, Raul Centeno, et son collègue blessé, Fernando Trapero, réalisaient une mission pour repérer et poursuivre l'ETA dans le sud de la France, en coopération avec la police française. Une information confirmée par Michèle Alliot-Marie. Il s'agissait, selon elle, "d'opérations classiques qui tendent à repérer les personnes de l'ETA qui viennent se réfugier sur le territoire français où ils [préparent] des opérations". "Tous les moyens seront mis en oeuvre pour retrouver les auteurs" de l'attaque, a-t-elle ajouté en précisant que le plan d'alerte "épervier" avait été déclenché. UNE PEUGEOT 307 RECHERCHÉE Après la fusillade, les auteurs présumés des coups de feu ont pris en otage une femme dans une Volkswagen Golf grise immatriculée en Gironde, avant de la libérer, saine et sauve, quelques temps après au niveau de la ville de Saucats."Les etarras présumés ont pris la fuite à bord d'un véhicule (...) qu'ils ont rapidement abandonné dans le centre de Capbreton pour s'emparer d'un autre véhicule, conduit par une femme avec laquelle ils sont partis", a expliqué le parquet de Paris, dont la section antiterroriste a été saisie de l'affaire. Une Peugeot 307 de couleur sombre est actuellement recherchée, selon la gendarmerie. Il s'agit du premier garde civil espagnol abattu en France au cours d'une opération visant l'ETA, et du troisième membre des forces de sécurité espagnoles tués dans ce pays, selon l'agence Vasco Press. \|\|\|\|\| LOS PARTIDOS SE UNEN Y CONVOCAN UNA CONCENTRACIÓN EN MADRID Un policía forense examina el vehículo donde fueron tiroteados los agentes. (Foto: AP) RUTH GABILONDO \| CARLOS ÁLVARO \| AGENCIAS CAPBRETON \| SCHWIELOWSEE.- Un guardia civil murió este sábado y otro resultó herido grave en la localidad de Capbreton, en la costa suroeste de Francia, en un tiroteo con presuntos miembros de ETA. El agente fallecido es Raúl Centeno Pallón, de 24 años, mientras que el herido grave es Fernando Trapero Blázquez, de 23, y se encuentra en "coma cerebral". Ambos nacieron en Madrid. En respuesta al ataque, todos los partidos políticos con representación parlamentaria volvieron a unirse contra la banda terrorista con la firma de un comunicado conjunto en el que expresan su total respaldo al Gobierno para conseguir la derrota de la banda terrorista y convocan una concentración para el martes a las 19.00 horas en Madrid. Los grupos, que se reunieron en el Congreso de los Diputados con los máximos dirigentes de los sindicatos UGT, CCOO y USO y las patronales CEOE y CEPYME, acordaron en menos de una hora una declaración y un lema común: "Por la libertad, para la derrota de ETA". Previamente, el ministro del Interior, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, que se encontraba en Schwielowsee (Alemania) y se desplazó a Francia, relató a la prensa lo sucedido. El ataque, el primero llevado a cabo contra guardias civiles españoles en el país, ocurrió hacia las 09.20 horas en la calle principal de Capbreton, cerca del parque natural de las Landas y a unos 25 kilómetros al norte de Bayona. Los agentes realizaban una operación de vigilancia "habitual" y de forma conjunta con la Gendarmería francesa cuando, tras un "encuentro fortuito" en la cafetería Les Ecureuilles, ellos dos y tres presuntos terroristas se reconocieron mutuamente. Los agentes iban de paisano y desarmados. La conversación que mantenían los guardias civiles entre ellos y la interpelación de los supuestos etarras —dos hombres y una mujer— pudo haber hecho concluir a éstos que aquéllos eran miembros de las fuerzas de seguridad, según fuentes de la lucha antiterrorista citadas por Europa Press. Las cinco personas comenzaron a discutir y posteriormente los dos agentes, que no estaban armados, salieron de la cafetería. Fue en ese momento, al dirigirse a su vehículo —con matrícula del Ministerio francés del Interior—, cuando fueron atacados por los supuestos etarras. En concreto, según el ministro del Interior, los autores materiales fueron los dos hombres. "Sonó como una serie de petardos sin que nadie se diera cuenta lo que estaba pasando", aseguró uno de los empleados del supermercado E. Leclerc, situado a unos 200 metros de la cafetería. Según fuentes de la investigación, Raúl Centeno recibió un tiro en la cabeza y murió en el acto, mientras que el otro agresor disparó prácticamente todo el cargador contra Fernando Trapero, que fue ingresado en un centro de la región sobre las 11.00 horas con "traumatismo craneocerebral" y "un coma desde el inicio". Los atacantes huyeron en un Volkswagen Golf de color gris. Tras recorrer unos 70 kilómetros, los dos hombres abandonaron ese vehículo en la localidad de Haut Mauco, cerca de Mont-de-Marsan, y se apoderaron de un Peugeot 307. A su conductora la secuestraron a punta de pistola, la metieron en el maletero y finalmente la dejaron atada a un árbol. La presunta etarra podría haberse dirigido por separado hacia la frontera española, aunque este detalle no fue confirmado oficialmente. Fotografía del guardia civil Raúl Centeno. (Foto: EFE) En un primer momento se informó, citando a fuentes de la investigación, de que la conductora del Peugeot 307 iba acompañada de un niño. Tras el cordón policial de la Gendarmería gala, los agentes encargados de la investigación comenzaron a interrogar a todos los empleados de la cafetería, el supermercado y la estación de servicio que integran el complejo comercial. Durante la investigación, a cargo de la Subdirección Antiterrorista francesa (SDAT), la policía halló un artefacto con 300 gramos de clorato, que puede servir para hacer explosivos, en uno de los vehículos empleados para la huida. Su función podría ser la detonación del automóvil para eliminar las pruebas que pudieran identificar a los terroristas. Cientos de agentes están movilizados en el plan 'Epervier' activado en el suroeste francés para tratar de localizar y capturar a los implicados en la acción. Rubalcaba señaló que ETA "llevaba tiempo intentando matar desde la ruptura de la tregua y hoy lo ha conseguido" y advirtió a los terroristas que deben tener claro que "no les espera otra cosa que la cárcel durante mucho tiempo". El alcalde de San Sebastián, Odón Elorza, que se encontraba casualmente en la ciudad vascofrancesa de Bayona, llegó alrededor de las 14.00 horas al hospital al que fue trasladado Fernando Trapero. También Rubalcaba y su homóloga francesa, Michèlle Alliot-Marie, acompañados por el director general de la Policía y la Guardia Civil, Joan Mesquida, acudieron hacia las 17.30 horas al hospital Côte Basque de Bayona. Los familiares, por su parte, llegaron unos minutos antes al centro médico junto a varias unidades policiales. Tras la ruptura del alto el fuego, ETA ha intentado atentar en otras ocho ocasiones. Sólo consiguió materializar tres; una el pasado 9 octubre, cuando la banda colocó un kilo de amonal en el coche del escolta Gabriel Giner; la segunda, el pasado 25 de septiembre, cuando explotó una bomba junto a la comisaría de la localidad guipuzcoana de Zarautz, y la última, el 24 de agosto, contra el cuartel de la Guardia Civil de Durango, donde dos agentes resultaron heridos leves.	A Spanish civil guard was killed today and another seriously wounded in the town of Capbreton, on the southwest coast of France, in a shootout with suspected members of the Basque separatist group ETA. The events occurred around 8:30 a.m. UTC, when the two plainclothes guards were entering in their car after leaving a coffee shop in the locality. They were then assaulted by two men who fired on them. Agent Raul Centeno Pallón died on the scene instantly, while Fernando Trapero Blázquez was injured seriously and is in a coma. The civil guard were taking part in a joint surveillance operation with French police against ETA in southern France, when the two guardsmen were apparently detected and identified by the suspected ETA members. After the attack, the two suspected ETA members, and a woman who was with them, fled in a car. Having traveled about 70 kilometers, the two men abandoned the vehicle and robbed another car. The driver of the hijacked car was kidnapped, put in the trunk and finally left tied to a tree. This is the first fatality blamed on ETA since it ended the last cease-fire in June, although it has carried out many non-fatal actions. This incident comes a day after the National High Court of Spain issued arrest warrants to round up 46 of 52 Basque citizens prosecuted and sentenced previously on accusations of supporting ETA's separatist ideas.
The president has urged the police to get tough South Africa's police watchdog has condemned the "shooting of innocent people" after a boy of three was allegedly killed by a police officer. The officer reportedly mistook a pipe the boy was carrying for a gun. He was in a car the police thought was being driven by suspected criminals. The family of Atlegang Aphane says the policeman showed "no remorse" about the killing, reports the Sowetan newspaper. The policeman has been charged with murder and remains in custody. President Jacob Zuma recently said police should get tough to deal with the country's high levels of crime, however he said they should not be "trigger-happy". Moses Dlamini from the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) told the BBC that no pipe or firearm had been recovered from the car in Midrand, near Johannesburg. Atlegang's mother Mapule Aphane has accused the police constable of not being remorseful about the shooting. "I could not believe my eyes when I arrived at the scene. "He was busy eating a lollipop. I approached him and asked why he killed my son, but he looked at me as if I was crazy," said Ms Aphane, reports the Sowetan newspaper. \|\|\|\|\| Nov 10, 2009 8:06 AM \| By Staff reporter Current Font Size: Three-year-old Atlegang Aphane was sitting inside a car with his father and uncle in Rabie Ridge, Midrand, on Saturday when police mistook the men for suspects they had been chasing. According to the Sowetan, police opened fired when they mistook a pipe the toddler was holding for a gun. A witness told the newspaper the police had arrived on the scene in private cars and were not in uniform. The tragic incident is the latest in a string of botched police shootings which has resulted in the death of innocent civilians. > Read the full story on Sowetan Online	A police officer in South Africa has allegedly shot dead a three year old boy after he reportedly thought the child was holding a gun. According to reports, Atlegang Aphane, aged three, was travelling in a car being driven by suspected criminals when he was shot by the policeman, who reportedly thought that a pipe the child was carrying was a firearm. Spokesman Moses Dlamini from the Independent Complaints Directorate said to the BBC that no pipe or firearm had been found in the car. The family of the victim also released a statement saying the police officer showed “no remorse” for the shooting. The officer in question remains in custody after being charged with murder. The South African Police Commission has condemned the shooting. South African President Jacob Zuma had previously said he wants the police to “get tough” with criminals, but not to be “trigger-happy”.
Ballot boxes are transparent but the MDC says the vote is not A local poll monitor told the BBC that the voting process had been "smooth", but pointed to earlier problems. By the afternoon, long queues of voters had disappeared from many areas. As he cast his ballot, President Robert Mugabe dismissed as "nonsense" claims that the poll would be rigged and said he was confident of victory. No doubt Human rights groups say the poll cannot be free and fair and suggest that thousands of dead people are listed on the electoral roll. Reginald Matchaba-Hove of the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, which has some 6,000 observers in the 8,000 polling stations, told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme that the atmosphere had changed in the past few weeks, when foreign observers started arriving. We have been ruled by the same party for the past 25 years and they have done nothing to help us in our cause. Velempini, MDC supporter Zanu-PF is the only party in Zimbabwe that has a vision for the country. Olley, film maker and government supporter Voters' views Have Your Say On Thursday, Zimbabwe arrested two British journalists working for the Sunday Telegraph on charges of reporting on the country's election without state accreditation, police said. The offence carries a fine and up to two years in prison. Toby John Harden, 37, and Julian Paul Simmonds, 46, were arrested while travelling with an opposition politician. Counting is due to start now that the polls have closed. Preliminary results are expected within 48 hours. Mr Mugabe was confident as he turned up to vote in the capital, Harare, accompanied by his wife Grace and young son Chatunga. "It's going to be a victory for us - by how much, well, that is what we will see." As he cast his vote in Harare, opposition Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai also said he was confident of victory, although he said the poll was not free and fair. "The people will speak today and I am hoping that the outcome will be an MDC victory, I have no doubts about that," he said. One hundred and twenty parliamentary seats are up for grabs. A further 30 MPs are appointed by President Mugabe. A two-thirds majority for the ruling Zanu-PF party would allow the constitution to be changed, which correspondents say could be crucial when it comes to planning for the post-Mugabe era. 'Ghost voters' Although the campaign has been relatively peaceful, the MDC says the election has been skewed in advance towards Zanu-PF for a number of reasons: State-controlled radio and television, which have a monopoly, favour Zanu-PF; Until recently, they were often refused permission to hold rallies and their activists harassed; Food aid has been denied to opposition supporters, they say; Constituency boundaries have been changed to favour the ruling party. The government dismisses all such reports as groundless, and has introduced transparent ballot boxes it says will reduce the scope for cheating. Despite the general atmosphere of peace, an MDC polling agent in the south-western Insiza constituency has been abducted, the party says. Critics say the land seizures ruined the farming industry and triggered food shortages, inflation and unemployment. The president says the economic crisis is the result of efforts by Washington and Europe, led by former colonial power Britain, to unseat him. A small selection of foreign election monitors have been invited. Many of those critical in the past have been excluded. President Mugabe, 81, has led his party's campaign, although he has said he will not seek re-election in the 2008 presidential election. \|\|\|\|\| > Use our pull-down menus to find more stories -- Regions/Countries -- Central Africa East Africa North Africa PanAfrica Southern Africa West Africa --- Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros Congo-Brazzaville Congo-Kinshasa Côte d'Ivoire Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Gabon Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea Bissau Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa Sudan Swaziland São Tomé and Príncipe Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Western Sahara Zambia Zimbabwe -- Topics -- AGOA AIDS Aid and Assistance Arms and Armies Arts Athletics Banking Book Reviews Books Business Capital Flows Children Civil War Climate Commodities Company Conflict Crime Currencies Debt Ecotourism Editorials Education Energy Environment Food and Agriculture From allAfrica's Reporters Games Parks Health Human Rights ICT Infrastructure Investment Labour Latest Legal Affairs Malaria Media Mining Music Music Reviews NEPAD Oceans Olympics PANA Peacekeeping Petroleum Polio Post-Conflict Pregnancy and Childbirth Privatization Refugees Religion Science Soccer Sport Stock Markets Sustainable Development Terrorism Trade Transport Travel Tuberculosis Urban Issues Water Wildlife Women --- Central Africa Business East Africa Business North Africa Business Southern Africa Business West Africa Business --- Asia, Australia, and Africa Europe and Africa International Organisations Latin America and Africa Middle East and Africa U.S., Canada and Africa Zimbabwe: Over 1,000 "Pro-Opposition" Poll Officials Fired Email This Page Print This Page Visit The Publisher's Site Harare The Zimbabwean government has reportedly dismissed over one thousand polling officers and accredited election monitors, ahead of Thursday's parliamentary elections, on allegations that they support the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). The MDC and some civil society organisations said they were shocked by the expulsion on Monday of 800 election monitors from Mashonaland East province by governor David Karimanzira and Ray Kaukonde, the parliamentary candidate for the ruling ZANU-PF party. According to the pro-government Daily Mirror, the monitors, mainly teachers, were ordered to leave the northern province as they prepared to go to their assigned polling stations. The monitors have since been redeployed around voting centres in the capital, Harare. Neither Karimanzira nor Kaukonde were willing to comment on the issue, but both men had reportedly accused the teachers of being active supporters of the MDC - a view of the profession generally held by ZANU-PF. In Gwanda, in Matabeleland South province, five people who had been appointed and accredited were reportedly dropped just before deployment, also on accusations of being "enemies of the state". The five include two schoolteachers, two college lecturers and one civil society activist. David Magagula, one of the victims, told IRIN that he had received an anonymous call telling him not to report for the final pre-deployment session on Friday morning. "The caller did not identify himself - he just told me that it had been decided that I could not go on with polling duties because I am an enemy of the state. He told me to pass the message on to some of my colleagues, who were also dropped on the same allegations," said Magagula. Registrar-General Tobaiwa Mudede told IRIN it was up to electoral supervisory officers to decide who could take up poll-related duties. "I cannot confirm [the expulsions], but we know there are many opposition supporters in the civil service from which these monitors are drawn. But it is up to electoral supervisory officials to make their own assessments, and judge who can take part in polling supervision. It is a process that requires careful management, so anyone with known political inclinations simply cannot be a polling or presiding officer," said Mudede. Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) chairman, retired judge George Chiweshe, told IRIN on Wednesday that everything was in place for holding a successful ballot. "We have established exactly 8,256 polling stations around the country, and this is much more than the 4,000 polling stations that were in place during the 2002 presidential elections," Chiweshe said. Over 5.7 million Zimbabweans have registered to vote. The election for the 120-seat parliament is basically a two-horse race between ZANU-PF and the MDC, although a few independent candidates are standing, most notably the former minister of information, Jonathan Moyo. For the first time, voting will be held in one day, with counting conducted at the polling stations, in line with the Southern African Development Community's principles and guidelines on free and fair elections. "Voting is expected to start at 7 a.m. and end at 7 p.m., after which counting should start immediately," said Chiweshe. More than 7,000 observers are in the country and over 500 journalists have been accredited to cover the elections. Police spokesman, Assistant Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena, told IRIN that 25,000 officers, assisted by 5,000 police reservists, had been deployed to protect polling stations. "We would like to warn all party supporters to restrain themselves, and not be too excited and disturb the peace if their candidates win," said Bvudzijena. [ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations ]	The main opposition — the , claims that the election has been rigged. Elections in Zimbabwe began with both the ruling and opposition parties predicting victory. Current president Robert Mugabe predicts a "mountainous victory" for his party, the (Zanu-PF). The main opposition — (MDC) claims the election is being rigged, and despite being allowed to freely campaign, the government's intimidation of voters and moves to hurt opposition supporters will prevent the MDC win. The government recently withheld food aid from those supporting the MDC, according to a United Nations report. The UN further reports the government dismissed election officials and poll workers suspected of supporting MDC. Criticism of the government has been loud. Last week, a Catholic archbishop in Zimbabwe urged followers to start a non-violent, popular uprising against Mugabe, and rallies have been common in recent days. The previous elections, which the MDC almost won, were marred by violence and similar allegations of vote-rigging. More than 5.7 million Zimbabweans are registered to vote, and can cast their ballots at one of the more than 8,000 polling stations.
A joint Korean women’s hockey team have practised together for the first team on Sunday, after North and South Korea decided to join forces for the first time ever at an Olympic competition. The team, which consists of 35 players in total – 12 North Koreans and 23 South Koreans – is getting ready to compete at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, which begin on 9 February. The two Koreas have also agreed to march under a single flag at the opening ceremony, according to Seoul's Unification Ministry. The nations came together to discuss the Olympics earlier this month. The talks are seen as an important step as it is the first time the North and South have been in dialogue in around two years. The show of unity has temporarily offered some respite from the growing concerns over North Korea’s nuclear ambition. Each Korean country has sent their own women’s hockey coach, with Sarah Murray from the South and ultimately in control of the joint team, and Pak Chol-ho from the North. Joint Korean women's hockey team has first practice together https://t.co/cRR8tooTzw — Yonhap News Agency (@YonhapNews) January 28, 2018 While the unified Korean team consists of more players than all other countries, who each bring 23, like every other team they will only be allowed to have 22 players on the game roster. Approval was given for the united team by the International Olympic Committee. The team will take on Switzerland on 10 February, Sweden on 12 February and Japan on 14 February, at the Kwandong Hockey Centre in Gangneung. In the past the two Koreas have sent joint teams for table tennis and youth football world championships, but have never joined forces for the Olympics. Great Britain athletes heading to the Winter Olympics 10 show all Great Britain athletes heading to the Winter Olympics 1/10 Biathlon Amanda Lightfoot will be competing in the Biathlon at the Winter Olympics Adidas 2/10 Bobsleigh Montell Douglas is part of the GB women's Bobsleigh team Adidas 3/10 Bobsleigh Bradley Hall, Joel Fearon and Lamin Deen will be competing in the Bobsleigh for GB Adidas 4/10 Short Track Speed Skating Elise Christie is a short-track speed-skater and will be competing in several events in this year's Winter Olympics Adidas 5/10 Short Track Speed Skating Speed Skater Farrell Treacy will be representing Team GB in the short track event Adidas 6/10 Skeleton Reigning Olympic champion Lizzy Yarnold will be heading to Pyeongchang to defend her skeleton title Adidas 7/10 Skeleton Dominic Parsons will be competing in the men's skeleton at the Winter Olympics Adidas 8/10 Curling Anna Sloan is part of the women's British curling team Adidas 9/10 Ski Cross Eight-time British Ski Cross Champion Emily Sarsfield will represent GB at the Winter Olympics Adidas 10/10 Snowboarding Snowboarder Katie Ormerod is heading to the winter Olympics for Team GB Adidas North Korea are sending a total of 22 athletes to compete in the Winter Olympics, who will compete in hockey, figure skating, short track speed skating, Alpine skiing and cross-country skiing. They will also send a 230-person cheering squad as part of the country's 550-strong delegation. \|\|\|\|\| Koreas try out Olympic diplomacy at North Korean ski resort window._taboola = window._taboola \|\| []; _taboola.push({ mode: 'thumbnails-c', container: 'taboola-interstitial-gallery-thumbnails-5', placement: 'Interstitial Gallery Thumbnails 5', target_type: 'mix' }); _taboola.push({flush: true}); window._taboola = window._taboola \|\| []; _taboola.push({ mode: 'thumbnails-c', container: 'taboola-interstitial-gallery-thumbnails-8', placement: 'Interstitial Gallery Thumbnails 8', target_type: 'mix' }); _taboola.push({flush: true}); Photo: Eric Talmadge, AP Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Image 1 of 8 A mother and her daughter take a rest on the slopes at the Masik Pass ski resort in North Korea Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018. The ski resort, built in 2013 at the order of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, is to be the site of joint training for North and South Korean skiers ahead of the Pyeongchang Olympics. less A mother and her daughter take a rest on the slopes at the Masik Pass ski resort in North Korea Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018. The ski resort, built in 2013 at the order of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, is to be the ... more Photo: Eric Talmadge, AP Image 2 of 8 Skiers at North Korea’s Masik Pass ski resort race down the slopes as patriotic music blares from a big screen television in North Korea Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018. The resort is to host joint training for North and South Korean skiers ahead of the Pyeongchang Olympics, with start in South Korea on Feb. 9. less Skiers at North Korea’s Masik Pass ski resort race down the slopes as patriotic music blares from a big screen television in North Korea Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018. The resort is to host joint training for North ... more Photo: Eric Talmadge, AP Image 3 of 8 An imported snowmobile comes back from the top of a ski run at the Masik Pass ski resort in North Korea Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018. Despite international sanctions on luxury goods, the showcase resort built at the order of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in 2013 has everything from ski boots to ski lifts brought in from around the world. The resort is coming under increased attention ahead of its first joint training with skiers from South Korea ahead of the Pyeongchang Olympics. less An imported snowmobile comes back from the top of a ski run at the Masik Pass ski resort in North Korea Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018. Despite international sanctions on luxury goods, the showcase resort built at the ... more Photo: Eric Talmadge, AP Image 4 of 8 North Korean schoolchildren prepare to ski at the Masik Pass ski resort Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018. The resort, which was built at the order of Kim Jong Un in 2013, will host a training session for North and South Korean skiers ahead of the Pyeongchang Olympics in a sign of budding detente between the two countries after a year of particularly high tensions over the North’s nuclear weapons and long-range missile tests. less North Korean schoolchildren prepare to ski at the Masik Pass ski resort Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018. The resort, which was built at the order of Kim Jong Un in 2013, will host a training session for North and South ... more Photo: Eric Talmadge, AP Image 5 of 8 Image 6 of 8 North Korean schoolchildren ski at the Masik Pass ski resort on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018. The resort, which was built at the order of Kim Jong Un in 2013, will host a training session for North and South Korean skiers ahead of the Pyeongchang Olympics in a sign of budding detente between the two countries after a year of particularly high tensions over the North’s nuclear weapons and long-range missile tests. less North Korean schoolchildren ski at the Masik Pass ski resort on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018. The resort, which was built at the order of Kim Jong Un in 2013, will host a training session for North and South Korean ... more Photo: Eric Talmadge, AP Image 7 of 8 Gondolas bring skiers up to the top of the slopes at the Masik Pass ski resort in North Korea Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018. The resort, which will be hosting training for South and North Korean skiers ahead of the Pyongyang Olympics, is getting some attention recently as a symbol of a budding detente between the two Koreas ahead of the Games, which begin on Feb. 9. less Gondolas bring skiers up to the top of the slopes at the Masik Pass ski resort in North Korea Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018. The resort, which will be hosting training for South and North Korean skiers ahead of the ... more Photo: Eric Talmadge, AP Image 8 of 8 Koreas try out Olympic diplomacy at North Korean ski resort 1 / 8 Back to Gallery MASIK PASS, North Korea (AP) — North Korea's only luxury ski resort is getting a taste of the Olympic spotlight, though it is a long way from hosting any events. The Masik Pass ski resort has become something of a symbol of a budding detente between the two Koreas after a year of particularly high tensions over the North's nuclear weapons and long-range missile tests. The resort, completed at the order of leader Kim Jong Un in 2013, has been chosen to host joint training for North and South Korean skiers ahead of the Games' Feb. 9 opening date in South Korea. A team of South Korean officials inspected Masik last week. LATEST SFGATE VIDEOS Now Playing: Now Playing Rock Lab Launch in January 2018 Rocket Lab Crowd at Davos boos after Trump attacks media as 'fake' White House Fresh powder at Kirkwood Ski Resort, Jan. 25, 2018 San Francisco Chronicle Band welcomes Donald Trump to Davos stage White House Immigration Q&A;: What's the deal with H-1B visas? San Francisco Chronicle Do you know your California state symbols? Martin do Nascimento New population of red handfish discovered off Tasmanian coast Antonia Cooper/IMAS The San Francisco Chronicle NBA All-Star mock draft San Francisco Chronicle Official trailer: Winchester Lionsgate Hail storm in Petaluma Jan. 25, 2018 Lisa The decision follows a surprise proposal by Kim in his annual New Year's address for the North to send a delegation to the Games. Though some have called the move an attempt to deflect attention away from the North's nuclear program and drive a wedge between Washington and Seoul, South Korea has generally welcomed the idea and the two countries have held high-level talks and exchanged advance teams to work out the details. North Korea has a relatively thin history of alpine skiing, but Kim has used the resort to promote the sport. The resort is a popular winter stop for foreign tourists. More often, though, it's used by schools or factories or other workplaces to reward workers who have shown extra effort on the job. Despite international sanctions on luxury items, the resort is well equipped with skis and ski equipment from all over the world. On Sunday, resort workers buzzed up and down the slopes in snowmobiles bearing the iconic Canadian "Ski-Doo" brand name and the rental area was stocked full of Nordic brand skis, among others. To add a decidedly North Korea flair, a huge television screen standing near the base of the ski runs blared patriotic music played by the country's most popular musical group, the Moranbong Band. Bringing even a tiny slice of the Olympic extravaganza to the ski resort would be a coup for Kim. His regime is placing a high priority on developing Masik — along with the nearby port city of Wonsan and the scenic Mount Kumgang — as a tourist attraction over the next year. The area has been designated as a focus for construction projects, including more hotels. In 2015, it got a new airport, though it has been used only for domestic flights since. Success will not come easily. The United States recently slapped a travel ban on North Korea following the death of tourist and college student Otto Warmbier, who died shortly after his release from North Korean custody and return to the U.S. With China also tightening its sanctions on the North, significantly increasing the flow of tourists would likely involve opening the door to more South Koreans. That would require better relations and less animosity than what has been the norm in recent years, when ties have been chilly at best. The possibility of being used for the North's advertising purposes, meanwhile, has raised some concern in the South. In a move that might also ruffle some feathers south of the Demilitarized Zone, North Korea is also expected to hold a major military event, probably a parade, on the day before the Pyeongchang Olympics opening ceremony. Even so, for the time being at least, Pyongyang appears to be looking for an Olympic truce — and, maybe, a bit of the Pyeongchang spotlight. ___ Talmadge has been the AP's Pyongyang bureau chief since 2013. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram: @EricTalmadge \|\|\|\|\| The two Koreas will compete as a unified team in the Olympics for the first time, though they have joined forces at other international sports events before. North Korea will send a delegation of more than 400, including 230 cheerleaders, 140 artists and 30 Taekwondo players for a demonstration, a joint press statement released by Seoul's unification ministry said, adding the precise number of athletes will be hammered out after discussions with the IOC. Prior to the Games, the sides will carry out joint training for skiers at the North's Masik Pass resort and a cultural event at the Mount Kumgang resort, for which Seoul officials plan to visit the sites next week. The delegation is expected to begin arriving in South Korea on Jan. 25, the statement said. The North will separately send a 150-strong delegation to the Paralympics. Twenty nations meeting in the Canadian city of Vancouver agreed on Tuesday to consider tougher sanctions to press North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned the North it could trigger a military response if it did not choose dialogue. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono said the world should not be naive about North Korea's "charm offensive" over the Olympics. "It is not the time to ease pressure, or to reward North Korea," Kono said. "The fact that North Korea is engaging in dialogue could be interpreted as proof that the sanctions are working." \|\|\|\|\| SEOUL, South Korea, June 22 (UPI) -- Nearly 80 percent of South Koreans support a resumption of long suspended inter-Korean dialogue, a survey by a presidential advisory panel showed Thursday, indicating strong backing for the policy line of new President Moon Jae-in. In the survey by the National Unification Advisory Council, 76.9 percent of respondents said South Korea should restore dialogue channels with North Korea as part of efforts to play a leading role in the resolution of the North Korean nuclear problem. Of the rest, 22 percent said they disagree. The poll was conducted June 9-11, about a month after the liberal Moon Jae-in administration took office May 10 on a promise to pursue inter-Korean reconciliation under the right conditions. In the same survey, 74.4 percent said they agree with the government's principle of allowing private sector exchanges within the boundaries of the international sanctions regime against Pyongyang. Twenty-three percent said they disagree. Under the new administration, 48.1 percent said they expect inter-Korean relations to improve, up 13.9 percentage points from the previous survey. Also, 39.8 percent described North Korea as a country for cooperation or assistance, up 5.1 points from the earlier survey, while 44.3 percent viewed it as a hostile nation or one to be on guard against. In the field of North Korea and unification policy, 59.6 percent said the government should place top priority on denuclearizing the North and establishing a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula, more than double the figure for improving North Korea's human rights situation, which stood at 25.7 percent. On whether summit diplomacy, including the upcoming meeting between Moon and U.S. President Donald Trump, would contribute to peace and stability on the peninsula, 74 percent responded affirmatively. The survey was conducted on 1,000 adults and had a margin of error of 3.1 points at the 95 percent confidence level. \|\|\|\|\| But, since the ’70s, South Korea has transformed itself from a poor autocracy into a first-world democracy that exports cars, electronics, and “Korean Wave” culture around the globe. Over the same period, North Korea has become more repressive, more impoverished, and more insular. Today, the average South Korean is about three inches taller than his Northern peer and speaks a very different form of Korean, expanded by contact with the wider world. While many parents and grandparents in South Korea still have brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, north of the thirty-eighth parallel, for many in their twenties and thirties, North Korea is simply another foreign country. It remains political suicide in South Korea to bad-mouth unification (the major parties differ over how, not whether, to achieve it). But younger Koreans are increasingly questioning the wisdom of absorbing the bankrupt North. In May, during a trek through South Korea with six other reporters—sponsored by the East-West Center and the Korea Press Foundation—I visited Seoul’s Ewha Womans University, a kind of Korean Wellesley. It was exhibition day, and different clubs were out in full force, with students spinning prize wheels and blasting K-Pop through subwoofers that lined the walkways. In a classroom inside a building that looked like something out of “Star Trek,” a panel of jean-clad students opened up to us about unification. One young woman said that North Korea and South Korea must unite because they were still “one nation.” Another contended that the two Korean governments should simply recognize each other and turn the 1953 armistice into a peace treaty. “One Korea,” she said, “is a romantic slogan.” Whether they supported unification or not, the students seemed far more preoccupied with the financial pressures ahead: landing a well-paying gig in South Korea’s hyper-competitive job market, so they could afford to live in Seoul and put future kids through after-hours private school, which is now practically de rigueur. Their peers are similarly divided. A government survey conducted earlier this year found that, while 78 percent of Koreans 40 and older want unification, support drops to 64 percent for those aged 30-39, and 57 percent for the under-30 cohort. And, while 47 percent of those over 60 say they’re “very interested” in the unification issue, only 23 percent of 30-39-year-olds and 9 percent of 19-29-year-olds express similar enthusiasm. This trend is not lost on South Korean officials. When we visited the Blue House (South Korea’s White House), Chun—the official quoted in WikiLeaks—remarked that younger Koreans have “been living in a divided land their entire lives, so they do not dream about unification every night and they are not ready to die for unification.” Kim Jung-ro, the unification ministry’s director of policy cooperation, told me that the younger generation’s ambivalence about unification was “one of our major concerns.”	The Unification Flag of Korea, which both North and South Korean Olympians will use to represent them in the games. On Sunday, female players from and joined one another for a training session before the upcoming Winter Olympics. Players from the two Koreas are to compete together as a united team for the events hosted in , South Korea, which are scheduled to start on February 9; Seoul's Unification Ministry said. The cross-border gesture is part of diplomatic efforts to ease tensions on the divided and the team was approved by the . The selected Pyeongchang in 2011 to host the event, marking South Korea's first opportunity since the in . The earlier event was marred by violence as North Korea had several months prior, killing over 100 and boycotted the event. Inter-Korean relations have changed considerably in the ensuing thirty years, including the two sending unified teams for table tennis and youth football in other non-Olympic competitions. The announcement that the two countries would compete together was a stated goal of South Korean President . Last year, he announced the proposal and the two nations went into discussion this month. After two weeks, they made the announcement to field a consolidated 35-strong team of ice hockey players and have joint skiing exercises with both team coaches involved. According to Yonhap News Agency estimates, about 80% of South Koreans support dialogue, but the move to have a joint team has been controversial. Over 10,000 South Korean citizens sent a petition to South Korean President Moon opposing the union and a group of North Korean held a protest at the South Korean on January 24, tearing apart photos of the North Korean leader, . Public support for eventual reunification of the Korean peninsula has waned in recent years, with the younger generation more skeptical of the possibility.
Video footage suggests new twist in Arbery shooting Security camera footage taken in December outside a house construction site raises new questions about what Ahmaud Arbery was doing at the site. 'It now appears that ... ' » \|\|\|\|\| Earl Woods (right) was a pivotal force in son Tiger's life Earl Woods was the architect and driving force behind the world number one's incredible career. He died on Wednesday morning after a long battle with prostate cancer, with which he was diagnosed in 1998. "My dad was my best friend and greatest role model, and I will miss him deeply. I wouldn't be where I am today without him," Tiger Woods said. "I'm overwhelmed when I think of all of the great things he accomplished in his life. "He was an amazing dad, coach, mentor, soldier, husband and friend. I'm honoured to continue his legacy of sharing and caring." My father was my best friend, my mentor and perhaps my greatest support system - Earl was all of that to Tiger Jack Nicklaus Last month, Earl Woods was for the first time too frail to travel to the Masters, his favourite major. Tiger, who was the reigning champion, finished tied for third. Tiger, who was introduced to golf as a young child by Earl, has often attributed his mental toughness in tournaments to his former Green Beret father. Earl nicknamed his son "Tiger" after a Vietnamese soldier who became a good friend when he served with the US military in Vietnam. Earl, a former catcher with Kansas State who became the first black to play baseball in the Big Eight Conference, is also survived by three children from his first marriage. Jack Nicklaus, who was also 30 when his father died, said he had long "admired and related to the close bond" shared by Tiger and Earl. "My father was my best friend, my mentor and perhaps my greatest support system. Earl was all of that to Tiger," said Nicklaus, whose record of 18 major victories Tiger - who currently has 10 - is aiming to break.	Earl Woods, the father of Tiger Woods, died from cancer today at his home in Cypress, California, at the age of 74. Woods died of prostate cancer, which returned to his body after a previous bout with prostate cancer from 1986-1998, but it was treated with radiation. Although Earl was sometimes posed as an overwhelming, bossy father, Tiger treated Earl as "an amazing dad, coach, mentor, soldier, husband and friend." Tiger also posted that "I wouldn't be where I am today without him, and I'm honored to continue his legacy of sharing and caring." Tiger skipped this week's PGA Tour event, the Wachovia Championship, to be with his father. Two of his closest friends, Mark O'Meara and John Cook, followed suit. Woods, who grew up as an African-American child during the 1940's in rural Kansas, played baseball as a high-schooler and in the Negro Leagues, withstanding racism the whole way. During his two trips in the Vietnam War as a Green Beret, Woods met his lifelong friend, Vietnamese Col. Vuong Dang "Tiger" Phong, after whom he named his son. Earl met his wife, Kutilda Punsawad, in Thailand. They married in 1969, and their son, "Tiger", was born December 30, 1975.
By C. Bryson Hull (Reuters) - Sri Lankan troops kept the heat on the Tamil Tiger separatists on Monday, a day after seizing the last big town held by the rebels, Mullaittivu. The army's commander, Lieutenant-General Sarath Fonseka, has said the military is close to ending one of Asia's longest-running wars. Few would disagree now that he has the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) all but encircled. Here are some scenarios of what could happen next: FONSEKA'S MARCH TO THE SEA: This month alone, soldiers have run the Tigers out of their self-proclaimed capital Kilinochchi, the Jaffna Peninsula and now the port of Mullaittivu, a major LTTE operations base. When hostilities were reignited in August 2006, the rebels held 15,000 square km (5,792 sq miles). Now, Fonseka says they have only 300 square km (186 square miles) of jungle and a diminishing stretch of the northeastern coast. Much as U.S. civil war Major-General William Tecumseh Sherman made the rebel Confederate army surrender by forcing them to all but jump in the sea at Savannah, Georgia, Fonseka is doing the same -- unless his troops seize the coast and surround the LTTE. Since the Tigers wear vials of cyanide around their necks in case of capture, surrender seems unlikely. ARE THE TIGERS NOW TOOTHLESS? Many analysts say the rebels are down to about 2,000 capable fighters and have little future as a conventional force. The military is now much better equipped and trained than in the past, has President Mahinda Rajapaksa's full backing and experienced, confident leadership in the form of his brother, Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and Fonseka. The LTTE still can carry out suicide bombings in the capital Colombo, and is blamed for one Just after Kilinochchi fell. Fonseka has said he expects the hardest-core Tigers to go underground and conduct hit-and-run attacks once the war nears its end. He also said the army was ready to counter that. WHAT ABOUT CIVILIANS IN THE WAR ZONE? Aid agencies estimate there are about 230,000 Tamil refugees in the shrinking war zone. A government official who was in Mullaittivu said at least 100 were killed in artillery exchanges last week. Pro-LTTE web sites continually report more casualties. Continued... \|\|\|\|\| Velupillai Prabhakaran "is with our people", the rebels say The top leader of the Tamil Tigers has not left Sri Lanka and is still leading the "freedom struggle", the rebels' political leader has said. B Nadesan told the BBC by telephone that reports Velupillai Prabhakaran had fled were "malicious propaganda". He promised the rebels would fight on. Fears for civilians are growing - the UN says dozens are dead or injured. Sri Lanka's army has pushed the rebels from their strongholds. Mullaitivu, their last major base, fell on Sunday. There is no way of confirming claims from either side in the conflict zone as independent journalists are barred. 'Liberation war' Speaking exclusively to the BBC Sinhala service, Mr Nadesan rejected claims Mr Prabhakaran had fled. See map of the region "It is malicious propaganda - our leader is still with us - our leader is giving leadership to our freedom struggle. He is with our people," he said. INSURGENCY TIMELINE 1976: Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam form in the north-east 1987: India deploys peace-keepers to Tamil areas but they leave in 1990 1993: President Premadasa killed by Tiger bomb 2001: Attack on airport destroys half Sri Lankan Airlines fleet 2002: Government and rebels agree ceasefire 2005: Mahinda Rajapaksa becomes president 2006: Heavy fighting resumes 2009: Army takes main rebel bases of Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu Voices from Sri Lanka Tamil diaspora voices Mr Nadesan also said the Tigers would not lay down arms until the freedom and dignity of their people were guaranteed. He shrugged off recent military setbacks which have seen the loss of the key bases of Kilinochchi, Elephant Pass and Mullaitivu. He said: "In a liberation war it is normal for a force to lose territory and regain the same and achieve freedom. In the past we have withdrawn many times and bounced back to achieve big victories." When asked why the rebels would not lay down their arms and talk to the government, Mr Nadesan said: "We took up arms to safeguard our people. We need a guarantee of living with freedom and dignity and sovereignty... until that, we will not come to that point." Mr Nadesan also accused the army of shelling civilians in areas the government had designated safe zones. Military spokesman Brig Udaya Nanayakkara told the BBC the army had no need to fire at civilian areas. Brig Nanayakkara said the rebels were firing from the safe zone "but we don't engage them". 'Crisis' The district director of health for Kilinochchi region, T Satyamurthy, also spoke to the BBC and said that between 1 and 25 January, 145 civilians had died due to the conflict in the region and more than 650 had been admitted to hospitals. Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Advertisement Dr Satyamurthy, the most senior government health official in the district, said that on Monday 27 civilians had been killed and 76 wounded when about 1,000 shells fell on the Udayarkatta and Nattangandal hospital complex in Mullaitivu district. Dr Satyamurthy said the shelling came from the south "where the SLA [Sri Lankan army] is camping". "We don't have any staff or medicine - security is a major problem, so we can't work properly," Dr Satyamurthy said. Brig Nanayakkara insisted the army had "no connection whatsoever with these civilian deaths". HAVE YOUR SAY I wish the world knew more on the basics of the conflict, rather than knowing what happened yesterday or today Ranjit Kumar, Waukesha He said all government officials in the region were "making statements under the pressure from terrorists. I can clearly say that they are making these statements to save their lives". The UN has also expressed concerns about civilian deaths, saying dozens had been killed. Resident coordinator Neil Buhne told the Associated Press news agency the situation was desperate. "There have been many civilians killed over the last two days. It's really a crisis now." There are thought to be about 250,000 civilians in the area in which the rebels are still operating. The army took Mullaitivu town - the last major Tiger base - on Sunday. The military says it is now advancing into the 300 sq km (115 sq mile) triangle of land in which the Tamil Tigers are still operating. Mr Nadesan said the rebels hold twice that area. The government has vowed to crush the rebels, who have been fighting for a separate homeland for Tamils for 25 years. At least 70,000 people have been killed during the insurgency. MAP OF THE REGION Click here to return Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? E-mail this to a friend Printable version \|\|\|\|\| Sri Lankans buy newspapers to read news on the northern war front at a roadside newspaper stand in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, Jan. 26, 2009. Sri Lankan forces have captured the Tamil Tigers' last major stronghold, confining the rebels to a narrow slice of jungle and ending their decade-long domination of the country's north. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) UN official: Sri Lanka fighting traps thousands COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Fighting between Sri Lankan government forces and rebels retreating to a small patch of jungle has trapped thousands of innocent people and killed "many" civilians, a senior U.N. official said Monday. The military captured the rebels' final stronghold of Mullaittivu on Sunday and fought heavy battles with the separatists in a rapidly shrinking, densely populated war zone on Monday, the military said. With a huge civilian population in the confined area, the situation has grown desperate in recent days, U.N. resident coordinator Neil Buhne told The Associated Press. "There have been many civilians killed over the last two days," he said. "It's really a crisis now." Buhne said that until recently both sides in the fighting worked hard to avoid civilian casualties. "But in the current phase, with such a level of fighting and with so many people around, unless there is very, very close attention to it, it's almost inevitable," he said. Human rights groups and diplomats have expressed growing concerns about the safety of the civilians in the north in recent days. Many have accused the Tamil Tigers of preventing civilians from fleeing the war zone, while the government has said the rebels hoped to use the civilians as human shields. The government unilaterally declared a "safe zone" in a small section of rebel-held territory last week and called on all the civilians to move into that area, where they would be protected. But there have been several reports of artillery fire in that region and Buhne said there was regular fighting in the "safe zone" in recent days. "It's hard for us to assign responsibility, but there's definitely been fighting," he said. The military has repeatedly denied fighting in that area. "We are not targeting this safe zone," military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said. "(The rebels) have moved their weapons to the safe zone and are firing from the safe zone but we don't engage them." Rebel officials could not be reached for comment because communications to the northern war zone have been cut. Independent accounts of the fighting are not available because most journalists are barred from the war zone. The Tamil Tigers have fought since 1983 to create a separate state in the north and east for minority Tamils, who have suffered decades of marginalization at the hands of successive governments controlled by the Sinhalese majority. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the violence. The government has vowed to crush the group and has squeezed the rebels into a 115-square-mile (300-square-kilometer) area in the jungle. Troops were consolidating their control of Mullaittivu on Monday while other forces pushed into the jungles in the Vishwamadu area and fought pitched battles with the rebels there, Nanayakkara said. "They are engaging with artillery. They are engaging with mortars. They are engaging with small arms," he said. Reports of civilian casualties in the area have grown in recent weeks. One diplomat said the use of heavy artillery in such a confined area so densely populated with civilians was extremely dangerous and could result in more civilian deaths than if the government relied solely on ground troops. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of antagonizing the Sri Lankan government. International aid workers also refused to speak publicly, fearing the government will brand them rebel sympathizers and expel them. Army commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka said Sunday the war was "95 percent," over but analysts warn that it is simply shifting from a conventional fight between two armies to a guerrilla war. \|\|\|\|\| Troops have been closing in on Tamil Tiger rebels UN says dozens of civilians killed as Tigers flee COLOMBO (AFP) — The United Nations said Monday at least 30 civilians had been killed in fighting between government forces and rebels in Sri Lanka amid a drive to root out the last pockets of Tamil Tiger resistance. The UN spokesman in Colombo, Gordon Weiss, said at least 10 civilians were killed on Monday morning inside an area declared as a "safety zone" by the Sri Lankan military while dozens more were killed or wounded over the weekend. Weiss said he could not say who was responsible for the civilian casualties, but UN staff in the area had witnessed civilians getting hit by artillery shells. "Roughly at least 20 people were killed over the weekend when shells landed on the A-35 road inside the safety zone. Our staff members were at the scene to witness it," he said. "We don't know where the firing came from." The government last week declared a safe zone inside what is left of rebel-held territory in the district of Mullaittivu to prevent tens of thousands of civilians getting caught up in the crossfire. The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) did not comment on the casualties, but pro-rebel Tamilnet.com website said more than 100 civilians were killed in artillery fire on Monday, a charge denied by the military. "More than 100 civilians were killed and hundreds of wounded were helpless without medical attendance as the army continuously engaged in one of the most inhumane artillery barrages on the civilian-populated safety zone," Tamilnet said. Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara dismissed the website report as cheap propaganda. "They (Tamil Tigers) are creating a situation, trying their level best to stop the military onslaught. They are trying to win international sympathy," Nanayakkara said. Government troops on Monday pushed deeper into the last pockets of jungle still held by the Tigers after capturing the rebels' final urban stronghold and military headquarters of Mullaittivu town on Sunday. Soldiers overran Mullaittivu, a northeastern coastal town held by the Tigers for more than a decade, on Sunday -- three weeks after taking Kilinochchi, their political capital where they had their own courts, police and a bank. Army chief Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka said the LTTE now controlled just a "small strip" of land in the northeast, and were cornered and about to be completely defeated. "We have cleared 95 percent of the work (to defeat the Tigers)," Fonseka said, as the island's government expressed confidence it would soon win one of Asia's longest-running civil wars after a massive military offensive. "The end of terrorism is near and we will definitely win," Fonseka said. The defence ministry in a statement said 25 bodies of Tigers were found following Sunday's fighting in the Mullaittivu region. Battlefield claims from either side cannot be verified as independent journalists are barred from travelling to the conflict zone. President Mahinda Rajapakse congratulated his troops, saying Sri Lankans wanted to pay "heartfelt tributes to the war heroes who have fought relentlessly to eradicate terrorism from our motherland." The fate of LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran -- who has been leading a separatist war against Sri Lanka's ethnic Sinhalese majority since 1972 -- is unclear, with some suggesting he has already fled the island. The Tigers are widely expected to return to fighting a guerrilla war from hidden jungle bases. Military officials say 50,000 government troops are now fighting fewer than 2,000 Tiger fighters. Tens of thousands of people have been killed since the conflict began but the government pulled out of an on-off ceasefire last year and launched a fresh campaign to crush the Tigers once and for all. \|\|\|\|\| BBC News Online takes a look at some of the key issues. Where are the talks being held? With a long history of suspicion and mutual distrust both sides agreed to meet at neutral venues. The third round of talks was held in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, between 2 and 5 December. Norway has been seeking to broker peace between the Tamil Tigers and Sri Lankan government for a number of years. The preceding two rounds of talks were held in Thailand between 16 and 18 September, at a naval base in Sattahip, and between 31 October and 3 November at Nakhon Pathom, a riverside resort on the outskirts of Bangkok. How much progress has been made? The talks set out to: consolidate a February 2002 ceasefire set up provisional administrative arrangements discuss a final political settlement. In the first round the Tigers dropped their demand for a separate state and agreed to settle for regional autonomy. The second phase, attended by senior military and political figures from both sides, took on more detailed security and development issues in the conflict areas. Committees were set up to examine rehabilitation needs in war-hit areas, to push for military de-escalation and to look at political questions at the heart of the 19-year civil war. And during the third round both sides crucially agreed to share power within a federal system in which the Tamils would have autonomy in the north and east of the country. What have the Tigers been fighting for? Until a ceasefire first declared in December 2001, the Tigers had been fighting since 1983 for a separate state for Tamils in Sri Lanka's north and east. They argued that the Tamils are discriminated against by the majority Sinhalese population. But, as peace talks progressed, the Tigers dropped their demand for independence and say they will now settle for regional autonomy - a major concession. The government also gave ground - this was the first time it had agreed to share power with the Tamil Tigers. What's the human and economic cost of the war? The conflict has killed about 64,000 people, displaced one million and held back the island's growth and economic development. Some estimates suggest that the government has spent up to 5% of gross domestic product on defence in recent years. Sri Lanka's once successful tourist industry has also been badly hit by the violence. How have the talks been possible? Observers say battle fatigue had set in on both sides, and it was becoming increasingly difficult for the army and the rebels to find new recruits to fight a war that looked more and more unwinnable. Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe won parliamentary elections last December, promising an end to conflict. His keenness to make peace gave Norwegian mediators a huge boost. They brokered a permanent ceasefire in February 2002. Initial fears that the Tigers would use the truce to regroup militarily proved unfounded, and consistent Norwegian pressure finally brought both sides to the negotiating table. And the impact of 11 September in refocusing the world on terrorism and cracking down on the financing of terrorist activities may also have been important. The LTTE are proscribed as a terrorist group in many countries. Is everyone in favour? Government efforts have met some opposition from the powerful President, Chandrika Kumaratunga. She accused Mr Wickramasinghe of giving too much away without securing a promise from the Tigers to renounce violence for good. The government and rebels have tried peace talks several times, most recently in 1995, but they have always ended in renewed violence. That often led to accusations by both sides of not being serious about peace. What comes next? Any changes to the country's constitution - as a transition to a federal structure will require - must be passed by the Sri Lankan parliament. To do so the government will need a two-thirds majority, but it currently has only a slim majority. So the reservations of President Kumaratunga and opposition parties about the extent of the concessions made by the government during the peace talks could become more important. And any solution will face its real test once implemented on the ground. \|\|\|\|\| Elephant Pass (Sri Lanka): The Tamil Tigers are waging their "final battle" and it won't take long for Sri Lanka's dragging Tamil insurgency to finally end, say military commanders here. "It is a matter of time, may be a matter of weeks. We are very confident about it," said Brigadier Shavendra Silva, general officer commanding of the army's 58 Division, which has taken back vast tracts of land from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during months of fighting. The captured territory is spread from the north-western Mannar district up to Pooneryn and Paranthan in the north. "We see light at the end of the tunnel. The LTTE is fighting its final battle and it will be a matter of time before we defeat them completely," said Colonel Aruna Wanniarachchi of the 57 Division, which captured the town of Kilinochchi January 2. Kilinochchi was the LTTE's political hub. Briefing a group of journalists flown to the battle-zone from Colombo, the commanders said that the guerrillas had lost the conventional fighting capability due to a string of defeats at the hands of the army. ‘Prabhakaran vanishes with three aircraft’ Citing intercepted LTTE communication, they said that the group's senior leaders like Theepan, Banu and Vellavan were overseeing the fighting against the advancing troops with "the remaining cadres and whatever resources left with them". Refusing to set a definite time frame for a military victory, they said the high concentration of displaced civilians in areas held by the LTTE in Mullaitivu, the only district still with the Tigers, was a major impediment for the troops. "We are very cautious about the civilian presence there. We have already declared a safe zone for them to move to but the LTTE is not allowing them to go there," Brig. Shavendra Silva said, charging that the rebels were using the civilians as human shield. It was in Kilinochchi that the LTTE had its own police force, courts, banks and a so-called tax regime for nearly a decade, giving an impression to an outsider that a separate state was in the making. Today, Sri Lankan soldiers patrol the roads of Kilinochchi and guard all strategic points. They look relaxed although exchanges of artillery fire can be heard a few miles away. Lankan navy fires at suspected LTTE aircraft "Do not worry. The fighting is taking over 15 km from here," said Maj Vijitha Hettiarachchi who took the journalists to show the LTTE's formerly showpiece Peace Secretariat building, which hosted many foreign visitors when the Norwegian-brokered February 2002 truce was in operation. "The artillery gun fire you hear is what we fire from here to the Vishwamadhu areas where fierce fighting is taking place at the moment," Maj Hettiarachchi said. As he spoke, he pointed out the place where the LTTE's former political wing head, S P Thamilselvan, was killed in an air raid in November 2007. The LTTE had built concrete underground bunkers close to their offices and buildings for their leaders to hide during aerial attacks. Military officials said this indicated that the LTTE had anticipated and was preparing for another war even as they took part in the peace process, which began in 2002 and began crumbling from about 2004. Almost every building along the Jaffna-Kandy highway that passes through Kilinochchi, about 350 km north of Colombo, bears battle scars, indicating how tough the battle for the town was. Forces kept in readiness to capture Prabhakaran Almost all the buildings have had their roofs blown off. Some buildings are in rubble. The main water tank of Kilinochchi has been flattened. A soldier who drove an Indian-built Mahindra and Mahindra jeep we were in said the LTTE razed the water tank before fleeing. The military also now controls the Elephant Pass, the narrow isthmus to the northern Jaffna peninsula that was retaken by the military only a few days after the capture of Kilinochchi. The LTTE captured the Elephant Pass in April 2000 and it was then considered a major success for the rebels. The military has now deployed a new unit - Task Force VII in the area. Its commander, Colonel Roshan Seneviratne, said the main task given to his troops was "to ensure that there was no infiltration from the eastern end" -- a small tip of land on the eastern coastal belt. The capture of the 100-acre garrison at the Elephant Pass saw the rebels lose dominance over Sri Lanka's north. They now hold only a chunk of area between the far-east of Kilinochchi and the jungles of Mullaitivu. Lankan army captures LTTE chief's private bunker It is for the first time in 23 long years that the government has secured full control of the 325-km-long Jaffna-Kandy route. As long as the LTTE controlled the highway, Colombo was forced to send crucial supplies to the troops in Jaffna by air or sea, making it a costly operation. Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, who led the media team from Colombo, said that although the road is used for the movement of troops, it was not immediately possible to open it for public use. "Although the road is usable, the mine-fields on either side have to be cleared before it is opened to the public. It will take some time," said he. Clearing mines in Kilinochchi is no easy task. There could also be lethal booby traps in abandoned buildings and huts and on the wayside. The troops are mounting pressure on the rebels in Mullaitivu. Despite shrinking territories, the Tigers are still offering stiff resistance. With the war entering the final phase, the coming weeks are going be crucial. For more International news \| For more Political news \| For more Offbeat news	A Tamil Tigers car with soldiers in 2004. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, otherwise known as the Tamil Tigers, have told the BBC that they are prepared to fight back against Sri Lankan forces. The vow follows reports that Sri Lankan forces are laying siege to the last rebel-held areas of the island. The Sri Lankan army have said that the "final battle" was underway and predicted that the Tamil rebellion is finished. There have been rumours that Velupillai Prabhakaran, the Tigers' leader since the conflict began, had fled in the face of the assault. But political leader B Nadesan denied this, telling the BBC that the claim was "malicious propaganda". According to Reuters, analysts say that around 2,000 Tiger fighters remain in the face of the 50,000-strong government push into the north, which began in August 2006. Government forces captured Mullaitivu, the last stronghold of the Tigers, on Sunday. The Associated Press says that Tigers have been preventing civilians from leaving the war zone, with the government accusing them of using civilians as human shields. In turn, the government has declared a section of the territory to be a safe area for civilians but there have been reports of artillery fire and the United Nations say troops have been fighting in the area. Lt Gen Sarath Fonseka of the Sri Lankan army was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying "the end of terrorism is near and we will definitely win". Meanwhile aid agencies say 230,000 Tamil refugees are in the remaining battle zone. The Associated Press say that the area is densely populated and diplomats have expressed concern about the use of ground troops in the area. Most journalists are forbidden from entering the war zone, making confirmation difficult. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa won the 2005 election on a hard-line ticket, ruling out autonomy for the Tamil north and east. This led to an increase in the war and the eventual abandonment of a Norwegian-mediated ceasefire at the start of last year.
Dubai Receives Bailout from Abu Dhabi The government of Abu Dhabi has agreed to give $10 billion to its neighboring emirate, allowing the state-owned Dubai World conglomerate to repay its immediate debt obligations. Photo: AP Dubai says more than $4 billion of the injection will be given to Dubai World's property firm, Nakheel, to repay its Islamic bond that matures Monday. The remaining funds will go towards additional expenses. News of the last-minute bailout caused Asian stocks to rebound and pushed European shares up for a third straight session. Markets in the UAE also rose, with Dubai's index moving up by 10 percent and Abu Dhabi's jumping by seven percent. Despite the good news, Algebra Capital Managing Director Dino Kronfol says Dubai is not out of the woods yet. "This is not something that is going to be resolved in a matter of weeks. It's going to take some time," said Kronfol. "It's going to involve restructuring and we'll have to see how that transpires. But nonetheless, this is a positive development today." The situation is completely different from just a few weeks ago, when Dubai World shook up global markets by asking for a standstill on its $26 billion debt. The government of Dubai made matters worse when it announced it would not guarantee the state-owned company's bills. Dubai World's creditors still need to approve the standstill and effectively have until December 28 to make a decision. That is when the grace period of Nakheel's bond ends. The government of Dubai has issued a new law allowing the conglomerate to file for bankruptcy if its restructuring is not successful. But Kronfol says, if the process focuses on necessary aspects, it will succeed. "If the restructuring actually deals with Dubai's contingent liabilities, as a long-term solution, this actually really will help put the whole debt situation of Dubai behind us and really allow the markets to look more positively at 2010 and beyond," he said. Government sources say Dubai World's restructuring process could include asset sales, but they would be limited to the Nakheel and Limitless companies and not include Istithmar World, which owns U.S. Luxury retailer Barneys. \|\|\|\|\| Dubai's property market has been a serious concern for investors Dubai's government has announced it has been given a $10bn (£6.13bn) handout from United Arab Emirates neighbour Abu Dhabi to help it pay off its debts. It will use $4.1bn (£2.5bn) of the money to bail out the government-owned investment company Dubai World. The company's property development operation, Nakheel, needed the money to pay investors in an Islamic bond which was due to mature on Monday. The news lifted investor sentiment around the world. Wall Street's Dow Jones ended Monday trading up 0.3% to a 14-month high, while the UK's FTSE 100 added 1%, with banking stocks among the biggest risers. Market boost ANALYSIS Ben Thompson, Middle East business reporter, Dubai It was a long time coming and many here wondered if it would come at all. And so the news that Abu Dhabi would, once again, bail out Dubai came as a surprise. Not least of course, because the government had gone to great lengths to distance itself from the debts of Dubai World. The company - it said - was responsible for its own actions and its own debts. And so why the sudden U-turn? Some say Abu Dhabi just couldn't let Dubai fail. Too much was at stake - for both national unity and the country's international reputation. The deal also comes with a promise to improve transparency and offer better protection to creditors. Reforms that are long overdue, according to many analysts. But in many respects, this bail-out raises more questions than it answers. In the short term, Dubai now has the cash it needs to pay back its most pressing debts. But in the long-term the city still owes much, much more. Getting access to that extra cash will prove difficult, despite any reform and restructuring. News of the payment earlier boosted share markets in the United Arab Emirates. Dubai's main share index closed 10% higher, while Abu Dhabi's rose more than 7%. Meanwhile, the value of both the euro and the pound improved. Both currencies have been unsettled in recent weeks by news of Dubai's debts. But the head of Middle East government ratings at Standard and Poor's, Farouk Soussa, said the bail-out raised questions about government policy in Dubai. "It's a positive in terms of the debt being repaid, it's a positive in terms of support from Abu Dhabi, but I believe the grey shadow cast over this is really the coherence of policy." There had been speculation that Abu Dhabi would have demanded certain assets in return for the money. However, an unnamed Dubai government source, quoted by the Reuters news agency, said this was not the case. "There are no conditions. This is a government-to-government fund, the terms of that fund are internal to the government of Abu Dhabi and Dubai." 'Crucial' lifeline The payment that was due on Monday was an Islamic - or sukuk - bond, designed to be compliant with Islamic law which prohibits interest payments. There had been fears the Nakheel would not be able to pay off the bonds when they matured and analysts say Abu Dhabi's bail-out came as a surprise. Dubai's fellow emirate has helped its neighbour out before. Their relationship is close, as both are part of the seven-member UAE. Their ruling families are from the same tribe. But unlike Dubai, whose economy is largely a service sector one, Abu Dhabi has substantial oil reserves. It will take time for the implications to unfold. I highly doubt this kind of money has no strings attached John Sfakianakis On 25 November, Dubai's government had said it would ask its creditors for a freeze on Dubai World's $26bn (£16bn) debt repayments. In a statement earlier on Monday the chairman of Dubai's Supreme Fiscal Committee, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saaed al-Maktoum, said: "The government of Abu Dhabi has agreed to fund $10bn to the Dubai Financial Support Fund that will be used to satisfy a series of upcoming obligations on Dubai World." He added: "We are here today to reassure investors, financial and trade creditors, employees, and our citizens that our government will act at all times in accordance with market principles and internationally accepted business practices." He also announced the implementation of new bankruptcy law. "This law will be available should Dubai World and its subsidiaries be unable to achieve an acceptable restructuring of its remaining obligations," he said. John Sfakianakis, the chief economist of Banque Saudi Fransi-Credit Agricole, in Riyadh, called the handout a "crucial and essential lifeline". He told Reuters: "That should bring in a lot of confidence, basically Abu Dhabi is footing the bill. "It will take time for the implications to unfold. I highly doubt this kind of money has no strings attached." Fahd Iqbal, the Gulf region strategist for EFG-Hermes, said the latest development did not necessarily change the "longer-term outlook". He added his investment banking firm still had other concerns regarding the "hit in confidence" Dubai had experienced, Reuters reported. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? E-mail this to a friend Printable version	The resort Palm Jumeirah in Dubai is one of several high-profile projects by the property firm Nakheel, a subsidiary of the state-owned Dubai World, which will receive about $4 billion dollars. The government of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates has agreed to give US$10 billion to its neighboring emirate, allowing the state-owned Dubai World conglomerate to repay its immediate debt obligations. Dubai says more than $4 billion of the injection will be given to Dubai World's property firm, Nakheel, to repay its Islamic bond that matures Monday. The remaining funds will go towards additional expenses. News of the last-minute bailout caused Asian stocks to rebound and pushed European shares up, which saw gains for a third straight session. Markets in the UAE also rose, with Dubai's index moving up by 10 percent and Abu Dhabi's jumping by seven percent. Despite the good news, Algebra Capital Managing Director Dino Kronfol says Dubai is not out of the woods yet. "This is not something that is going to be resolved in a matter of weeks. It's going to take some time," Kronfol said. "It's going to involve restructuring and we'll have to see how that transpires. But nonetheless, this is a positive development today." The situation is completely different from just a few weeks ago, when Dubai World shook up global markets by asking for a standstill on its $26 billion debt. The government of Dubai made matters worse when it announced it would not guarantee the state-owned company's bills. Dubai World's creditors still need to approve the standstill and effectively have until December 28 to make a decision. That is when the grace period of Nakheel's bond ends. The government of Dubai has issued a new law allowing the conglomerate to file for bankruptcy if its restructuring is not successful. But Kronfol says, if the process focuses on necessary aspects, it will succeed. "If the restructuring actually deals with Dubai's contingent liabilities," Kronfol said, "as a long-term solution, this actually really will help put the whole debt situation of Dubai behind us and really allow the markets to look more positively at 2010 and beyond." Government sources say Dubai World's restructuring process could include asset sales, but they would be limited to the Nakheel and Limitless companies and not include Istithmar World, which owns U.S. Luxury retailer Barneys.
AT least 388 people are confirmed dead and 96 missing after rivers of mud and volcanic ash triggered by a typhoon swamped villages in the Philippines, the Red Cross said today. Super typhoon Durian battered the region and set off mudslides. The mudslides reached as high as rooftops as they poured down from Mount Mayon volcano, according to witnesses. \|\|\|\|\| Hundreds swept to their deaths 01/12/2006 10:42 - (SA) Legaspi, Philippines - Around 200 people were swept to their deaths and hundreds more were feared dead on Friday after rivers of mud and volcanic ash swamped villages in the eastern Philippines, officials said. The mudslides triggered by super typhoon Durian's torrential rains reached as high as rooftops as they poured down from Mount Mayon volcano, around 350km southeast of Manila, witnesses said. Rescue teams were hampered by blocked roads and swollen rivers as they tried to reach many of the villages around the still active volcano. "We do not have exact figures, but we are looking at about 200 dead ... principally in the vicinity of Mayon volcano," said Glenn Rabonza, executive officer of the national disaster co-ordinating council. He said rescuers were concentrating efforts "to save lives" and were less concerned about counting bodies. The estimate came as the toll of confirmed fatalities from the mudslides in the Bicol region, south of Manila, continued to rise. The head of the Philippine Red Cross, Senator Richard Gordon, said that 146 people were confirmed dead with 75 missing or trapped on rooftops. Legaspi City mayor Noel Rosal said they would need at least 200 body bags. Elsewhere in the Philippines, at least one person was killed in the town of Canaman after being hit by a piece of metal roofing blown off by the gale force winds, the civil defence office added. Rescue efforts Friday were being hampered by storm damage which knocked out electricity, telephone lines and even water services across much of the Bicol peninsula which includes Legaspi and Daraga. Around 30 000 residents of villages on the slopes of Mayon had been forced to evacuate in August when the volcano showed signs of erupting. They returned home in September after it simmered down. News24 is now available on your cellphone. Sign up and win a Samsung phone!	A fatal series of mudslides have caused hundreds of deaths in the South East Asian nation of the Philippines. They were triggered by super typhoon Durian's torrential rains as the runoff flowed down the slopes of the Mount Mayon volcano, according to witnesses Rivers of mud and volcanic ash have swamped settlements in the eastern region of the country, according to officials. At least 388 people have been confirmed dead, according to the Agence France-Presse.
Parents felt their kids were safe at neighbors', but now one of them is accused of killing girl Hser Ner Moo Goes Missing Hser Ner Moo found Amber alert chronology Photo gallery Hser Ner Moo: A tragic ending At sltrib.com * PHOTOS: A photo gallery of the tragedy and the community reaction. * UPDATES: Get updates and details on the case as they unfold. A photo gallery of the tragedy and the community reaction.Get updates and details on the case as they unfold. SOUTH SALT LAKE - Hser Ner Moo was not walking into the unknown when the 7-year-old girl disappeared Monday afternoon, sparking a frantic search that ended tragically a day later just 50 yards from her family's home.The girl went to a residence where she had played many times, and where she encountered a man who was a family acquaintance, according to police and neighbors.Police booked the man, 21-year-old Esar Met, into Salt Lake County jail Wednesday on suspicion of aggravated murder - which carries the possibility of the death penalty - child kidnapping and evidence tampering.Esar Met allegedly held the girl in the apartment, killed her, hidthe body in his basement room, then took off - all within an hour of when the girl left home, police said Wednesday.South Salt Lake Police Chief Chris Snyder said there was a physical altercation and that "trauma" was inflicted on the girl's body. But he revealed no motive or cause of death, and would not say if the girl was sexually assaulted.On Wednesday, families of Hser Ner Moo and Esar Met were mourning at their apartments, which are just 50 yards apart and separated by a parking lot. Esar Met's parents expressed sympathy for the girl and her family but defended her son, saying he is innocent.The girl left her apartment in the South Parc Townhouses, 2250 S. 500 East, on Monday at about 2 p.m. Her body was found about 7 p.m. Tuesday in nearby apartment No. 472.The apartment was the last in the complex to be searched during a massive police and volunteer effort lasting 29 hours.The family did not report the girl's disappearance to police until about 6 p.m.Meanwhile, neighbor Ma Sei Myint said someone answered the door at No. 472 when she and Hser Ner Moo's father went looking forthe girl about 5:30 p.m. The man who answered indicated he had not seen the girl, Ma Sei Myint said.But nobody was home at No. 472 when police began searching door-to-door for the girl shortly after 6 p.m., or during two extensive searches through the night and the next day, police said.It was not until 7 p.m. Tuesday that FBI agents made contact with four other men who live at the apartment. Allowed to come inside, officers found the girl's body in a basement bathroom. Police said they had no reason to believe the roommates had knowledge of the killing.Snyder said they were not home when the girl was killed, and they did not go downstairs, where Esar Met - who moved in a month ago and reportedly stayed home most days with no job - had his own bedroom and bathroom.Than Hti Ke, a neighbor, said Esar Met stopped by to watch television at his apartment about 1 p.m. Monday, shortly before the girl disappeared. At about 3:30 p.m., Met showed up at his aunt's Fort Union area home. Mi Cho said her nephew stayed the night and displayed no unusual behavior.Mi Cho had heard that a little girl was missing at the complex, but the topic had not come up by the time officers kicked in her door and took a silent Esar Met into custody about 9 p.m. Tuesday, Mi Cho said.On Wednesday, the family of Hser Ner Moo mourned in their apartment. One of herbrothers strummed a guitar while the family prayed - a custom in Karen hill tribe tradition, according to friends.The girl's father, speaking through an interpreter, thanked everyone who helped look for his daughter."I thank all of Salt Lake City for their help and comfort," said Cartoon Wah, as his sons, KerKer Po, 20, and KyiKyi, 18, stood somberly behind him.The father said Esar Met has nothing to do with him and he had no comment about the homicide suspect. Wah said he would let the police deal with him.While Cartoon Wah spoke, neighbors watched as well-wishers brought flowers, stuffed animals and balloons to a makeshift memorialto Hser Ner Moo at a nearby corner. Trees and fences in the apartment complex were adorned with pink ribbons.Across the parking lot, Esar Met's family and friends sat quietly in their sparse apartment, expressing shock and saying they refused to believe he had committed the slaying. Esar Met, however, admitted the slaying to police, according to a probable cause statement filed at the jail."That girl was so young," Esar Met's mother, Ra He Mar, said through an interpreter. "I feel unhappy and sympathy with her parents. That girl was innocent."Ra He Mar recalled seeing Hser Ner Moo playing around the complex and said she had just met the girl's parents last weekend.New to the complex, Ra He Mar sought a ride to a grocery store. Hser Ner Moo's father, Cartoon Wah, obliged, she said, and then stopped by later to check on the family's air conditioner and heating.When the two sets of parents met again this week, it was Hser Ner Moo's mother reaching out to Esar Met's parents as they searched for their little girl.Esar Met's family said he had never run afoul of the law before or displayed any behavior indicating he was capable of killing. Ra He Mar said he arrived in South Salt Lake a month ago after 18 years at a refugee camp.Esar Met and Hser Ner Moo had lived at the same refugee camp in Thailand before coming to South Salt Lake. Their families originate from the same area in Burma (now called Myanmar) but belong to separate tribes, family members said.Ra He Mar said she wanted to reach out to Hser Ner Moo's parents to offer her support, but was reluctant to interrupt their mourning."I also have a daughter," Ra He Mar said. "So I feel empathy for the family."Quietly wandering through a parking lot filled with television cameras and media, 8-year-old Brielle Vargas said Wednesday she didn't know what to make of Hser Ner Moo's violent death and the chaos that has dominated the apartment complex where the two girls lived and played together."She was nice to me and to other people," said Brielle, who said she often played games of tag and checkers with Hser Ner Moo. The girl left a candle and a picture of her friend at a memorial at the complex. \|\|\|\|\| Related Links Father Of Missing Girl Expresses Grief Over Child's Disappearance (April 1 '08) Slideshow Esar Met was arrested and booked into jail in the death of a 7-year-old girl in South Salt Lake (KUTV) South Salt Lake City . The body of Hser Ner Moo was found around 7p.m. Tuesday, more than 24 hours after she disappeared from her family's apartment in South Salt Lake . She was located in a nearby apartment in the same complex. Police say the body showed evidence of trauma. (Due to the tragic death of Hser Ner Moo a trust has been set up at Zion's Bank for her family. Please mention Catoon Wah and Pearlie Wah to donate and help the family.) According to the probable cause statement, Esar Met, 21, “admitted to attempting to confine the victim to the residence by force, resulting in her death.” The statement indicates that Esar Met also “admitted to attempting to conceal the body and other forensic evidence”. Esar Met is one of five people taken from the apartment complex Tuesday night. He was booked in the Salt Lake County Jail on aggravated murder and child kidnapping charges. The four others were questioned by police and reportedly released to return to the apartment complex. South Salt Lake Police intend to have an afternoon press conference at 4 p.m. after an autopsy is completed on Hser Ner Moo. Hser Ner Moo was reported missing on Monday afternoon. She was last seen walking from her family's apartment, located near 2200 South and 500 East in South Salt Lake. Concern about the girl's well-being and constant media reports led authorities to launch a large-scale search effort -- which included surveillance from the air, ground volunteers and K-9 units. The girl's father spoke to the news media throughout the day and pleaded with a potential kidnapper to return his daughter safely. Authorities sealed off the area around the girl's apartment with crime scene tape. During a news conference later, authorities said the girl's body was found inside a bathroom of one of the neighboring apartments. When officers found the girl, she was already dead. "Once inside the apartment, they observed some evidence that led them to the bathroom of the apartment, where they discovered the body of Hser Nay Moo," said South Salt Lake Police Chief Chris Snyder during a news conference late Tuesday. "Our hearts and our sympathies go out to the family," a visibly shaken Snyder continued. "There is incredible emotional investment here. This is the most tragic ending we could anticipate." ( Click here to watch the official announcement It was not immediately clear how the girl died. "There is some trauma present, and that's all I'm going to say," Snyder said. SOUTH SALT LAKE – A suspect has been arrested in the death of a 7-year-old girl at an apartment complex in(Due to the tragic death of Hser Ner Moo a trust has been set up at Zion's Bank for her family. Please mention Catoon Wah and Pearlie Wah to donate and help the family.)According to the probable cause statement, Esar Met, 21, “admitted to attempting to confine the victim to the residence by force, resulting in her death.”The statement indicates that Esar Met also “admitted to attempting to conceal the body and other forensic evidence”.Esar Met is one of five people taken from the apartment complex Tuesday night. He was booked in the Salt Lake County Jail on aggravated murder and child kidnapping charges.Hser Ner Moo was reported missing on Monday afternoon. She was last seen walking from her family's apartment, located near 2200 South and 500 East in South Salt Lake.Concern about the girl's well-being and constant media reports led authorities to launch a large-scale search effort -- which included surveillance from the air, ground volunteers and K-9 units. The girl's father spoke to the news media throughout the day and pleaded with a potential kidnapper to return his daughter safely.Authorities sealed off the area around the girl's apartment with crime scene tape. During a news conference later, authorities said the girl's body was found inside a bathroom of one of the neighboring apartments. When officers found the girl, she was already dead."Once inside the apartment, they observed some evidence that led them to the bathroom of the apartment, where they discovered the body of Hser Nay Moo," said South Salt Lake Police Chief Chris Snyder during a news conference late Tuesday."Our hearts and our sympathies go out to the family," a visibly shaken Snyder continued. "There is incredible emotional investment here. This is the most tragic ending we could anticipate." (It was not immediately clear how the girl died."There is some trauma present, and that's all I'm going to say," Snyder said. Slideshow Hser Ner Moo, 7, was reported as missing on the evening of Mar. 31, 2008. The next day, her body was found in the same apartment complex where she lived. Five people were taken into custody on suspicion of homicide after the discovery of the girl's body, the South Salt Lake police said on Tuesday night. Four of the suspects were detained at the apartment complex and the fifth was later located in the Fort Union area. Authorities said during the course of the investigation, there were three nearby apartments they had not been able to clear of involvement. By Tuesday evening, two of the apartments had been cleared. Snyder said the third and final apartment turned out to be the one where the girl's body was found. "They are experiencing a lot of anger, feelings of guilt. It is very difficult for the brothers right now," said family spokesperson Paul Van Dyke late Tuesday. "She was a wonderful girl... vivacious, pretty. I just hope we can all come together as a community." Exactly what happened to the child in the hours after her disappearance or how she ended up in the neighboring apartment, where her body was found, was not immediately known. Earlier Tuesday evening, the girl's father expressed great concern about the well-being of his daughter during a news conference. "Everybody who looked at her was always jealous of how smart she was," Cartoon Woah said, through an interpreter. "I ask that the Lord will continue to help us find my daughter." Early Tuesday, authorities issued an Amber Alert for the 7-year-old girl since she had been gone for so long and there were some indications that she may have been abducted. That Amber Alert was canceled at approximately 10:00 p.m., after Hser Ner Moo's body was found. ( Click here for photos Five people were taken into custody on suspicion of homicide after the discovery of the girl's body, the South Salt Lake police said on Tuesday night. Four of the suspects were detained at the apartment complex and the fifth was later located in the Fort Union area.Authorities said during the course of the investigation, there were three nearby apartments they had not been able to clear of involvement. By Tuesday evening, two of the apartments had been cleared. Snyder said the third and final apartment turned out to be the one where the girl's body was found."They are experiencing a lot of anger, feelings of guilt. It is very difficult for the brothers right now," said family spokesperson Paul Van Dyke late Tuesday. "She was a wonderful girl... vivacious, pretty. I just hope we can all come together as a community."Exactly what happened to the child in the hours after her disappearance or how she ended up in the neighboring apartment, where her body was found, was not immediately known.Earlier Tuesday evening, the girl's father expressed great concern about the well-being of his daughter during a news conference."Everybody who looked at her was always jealous of how smart she was," Cartoon Woah said, through an interpreter. "I ask that the Lord will continue to help us find my daughter."Early Tuesday, authorities issued an Amber Alert for the 7-year-old girl since she had been gone for so long and there were some indications that she may have been abducted. That Amber Alert was canceled at approximately 10:00 p.m., after Hser Ner Moo's body was found. ( Mourners gathered late on the evening of April 1, 2008 to remember a 7-year-old girl who disappeared from her South Salt Lake home and was later found dead in a neighboring apartment. Officers say the child's Chief Snyder said police interviewed 40 sex offenders who live in the area. Officers also searched vehicles, and went door-to-door at apartments and homes in the neighborhood. More than 100 volunteers connected to the Destiny Search Project joined police in the search on Tuesday. After the discovery of the girl's body late Tuesday, stunned neighbors gathered to take part in a candlelight vigil. "As a mother, you can't think that as long as your child is at home OK that you don't need to go out and help look for somebody else's child," said mourner Bridgette Singleton. "We have been looking all day for her and we didn't want this to be the end result." MORE: Father of missing girl expresses grief over child's disappearance - April 1 '08 Slideshow - 7-year-old girl disappears in South Salt Lake Officers say the child's family is from Burma and immigrated to the United States just last year.Chief Snyder said police interviewed 40 sex offenders who live in the area. Officers also searched vehicles, and went door-to-door at apartments and homes in the neighborhood.More than 100 volunteers connected to the Destiny Search Project joined police in the search on Tuesday.After the discovery of the girl's body late Tuesday, stunned neighbors gathered to take part in a candlelight vigil."As a mother, you can't think that as long as your child is at home OK that you don't need to go out and help look for somebody else's child," said mourner Bridgette Singleton. "We have been looking all day for her and we didn't want this to be the end result." \|\|\|\|\| --- South Salt Lake police are searching for a missing girl. Seven-year-old Hser Nar Moo was last seen at her home on Monday around 2:00 p.m. She was reported missing at about 6:30 p.m. She is 3 feet 8 inches tall, weighs about 45 pounds, has long black hair and is missing her two front teeth. She was last seen wearing a pink coat, blue jeans, and black and pink sneakers. To help in the search, visit the Haven Center at 2290 S. 300 E. SideBar Related Items Videos	Seven year old Hser Nar Moo, who went missing from her home in South Salt Lake, Utah Tuesday, has been found dead less than 100 feet from her home. Hser Nar Moo South Salt Lake Police Chief Chris Snyder said at a news conference, "Once inside the apartment, they observed some evidence that led them to the bathroom of the apartment, where they discovered the body of Hser Nay Moo." It has not been made public how the girl died. "There is some trauma present, and that's all I'm going to say," Snyder said. As of Wednesday morning, police have five men in custody for questioning. Witnesses say that four of them are Burmese immigrants living in the same apartment complex as the child's family. Nar Moo was last seen alive at her home on Monday at around 2:00 PM MDT (UTC-6), and was reported missing at around 6:30 PM. An AMBER alert was issued at 9:42 AM yesterday, before her body was found in the bathroom of a neighbor. The seven year old Asian girl was described as being 3 feet 8 inches tall, weighing about 45 lbs, with brown eyes and long black hair. She was wearing a pink dress to her knees and pink Croc shoes at the time when she went missing. Police reported that she spoke very little English, though she did understand some. It is believed her family is from Burma. The AMBER Alert issued yesterday is no longer active because of the discovery of the body.
DR Congo boat sinking 'kills 140' Like most of DR Congo, Bandundu province has very few roads Up to 140 people are feared dead after a boat carrying passengers and goods capsized on a river in the Democratic Republic of Congo, officials say. The accident happened on the Kasai river - a tributary of the Congo River - in the western province of Bandundu. Information Minister Lambert Mende told the BBC the boat had been overloaded and 80 people had been confirmed dead. Related stories After decades of conflict, DR Congo has few roads or rail links and many people travel on often overloaded vessels. The latest accident occurred on Wednesday. Mr Mende told the BBC the river level had been low and the accident occurred when the overcrowded boat hit a mud bank. It was travelling to the capital Kinshasa from Mushie, about 30km (20 miles) from the town of Bandundu, AFP news agency reports. Last November at least 73 people died when a boat sank on Lake Mai-Ndombe, also in Bandundu province. DR Congo - a country the size of western Europe - has only a few hundred kilometres of paved roads outside the cities. \|\|\|\|\| Congo's government confirmed the incident, but gave a lower toll of 80 and said it may have been caused by low water levels on the river due to the dry season. The accident took place mid-week on a stretch of the Congo River in the western Bandundu province, about 80 miles east of Kinshasa, the capital of the vast central African nation. "The boat was badly overloaded and it didn't make the rough waters," Jolly Limengo, provincial inspector of police for Bandundu, told Reuters by telephone on Thursday. "People here don't know how to swim. Our provisional toll is 138 dead," Mr Limengo added. Naval forces and local Red Cross have gone to assist and collect the bodies, said Lambert Mende, the information minister. Congo is a vast country of jungles and huge rivers in Central Africa. Decades of conflict and neglect have left the nation's infrastructure in tatters, with little more than 300 miles of paved road. Many people prefer to take boats even if they do not know how to swim. The boats are often in poor repair and filled beyond capacity. In May, dozens of people died when an overloaded canoe capsized on a river in eastern Congo. And last November, at least 90 people were killed after a logging boat sank on a lake in Congo. The timber-carrying vessel was not supposed to be carrying passengers. \|\|\|\|\| At least 140 people have died after a ferry overturned in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a local official said on Thursday. There were conflicting reports about how many people have survived. The boat overturned on Wednesday after hitting a sandbank on the Kasai river, a tributary of the Congo river, in Bandundu province in the west of the vast central African country. A local official in the Bandundu province governor's office said that at least 140 people had died. "I can confirm the accident," said the source, who asked not to be named. "We're currently in a crisis meeting," he added. Communications Minister Lambert Mende said he was aware of "80 dead and 76 survivors" according to what he said was the passenger list. "Since there were certainly clandestine passengers, other people will have fallen into the water," said Mende. But they were still trying to find more survivors. Officially, the boat was listed as taking about 180 passengers. But he added: "There are too many people who are in the habit of travelling clandestinely," which meant that the death toll might rise. The accident happened when the boat struck a sandbank at Mangutuka, on the outskirts of Bandundu, said Mende. Another local source said that only two children had survived the tragedy. The boat was carrying an unspecified number of passengers and goods from Mushie, about 30 kilometres from Bandundu, the province's chief town. Neither the UN mission for the stabilisation of the DR Congo (MONUSCO) nor the international Red Cross had any details of the accident. River transport is widely used throughout DR Congo, where the numerous waterways include the 4700 kilometres long Congo river, which traverses seven of the 11 provinces of the country. Scores of people are killed each year in river disasters usually involving overcrowded boats. In November last year, at least 73 people died when two linked barges sank on Mai-Ndombe lake in Bandundu province. In September 2009, more than 250 people died in three boat accidents on Congolese waterways. In one of the worst incidents of recent years, some 200 people were reported missing after a fire broke out on a ferry on the Congo river in the northern Equateur province in 2004. The boat sank with almost 500 people onboard. Apart from overcrowding, other causes of accidents are the bad signposting of navigable channels, the absence of signal lights on boats and inexperienced pilots. Most vessels fail to meet basic safety requirements, including carrying life jackets and lifebelts. AFP \|\|\|\|\| About The Hungarian National Association of Radio Distress-Signalling and Infocommunications (RSOE) operates the Emergency and Disaster Information Service (EDIS) with the objective to monitor, document, analyze and notify customers on events in the world that may cause emergency or disaster. Our service is using the speed and the data spectrum of the internet to gather information. We also monitor and process data of several organizations and authorities to obtain reliable information.	As many as 140 people are feared dead after a boat sank on the , a tributary of the , in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The central African country, of equivalent size to western Europe, has very poor road infrastructure, meaning that many people travel on boats, which are often overloaded. The boat involved in the accident was travelling to the capital city, , from the town of . The accident occurred in the province of , approximately 30 km (20 miles) from the provincial capital, where officials reportedly held a crisis meeting to deal with the incident. The boat is believed to have been overweight, carrying at least 180 passengers as well as goods. It is the dry season in the Congo, so the river is shallow. The sinking was reportedly the result of hitting a mud bank, causing the vessel to capsize. Lambert Mende, the Congolese information minister, said in a statement that at least 80 people had been confirmed dead while 76 were thought to have survived. However, the local police later announced a provisional death toll of 138, and possibly more. Safety standards are poor in the Democratic Republic, with overcrowding common on boats, which often do not carry lifejackets and are forced to navigate poorly marked waterways, meaning that fatal accidents are not uncommon in the country.
A man wielding a knife attacked Indonesia's chief security minister Wiranto on Thursday, during a visit to the town of Pandeglang in Banten province on the island of Java, images from police and television showed. Indonesian national police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo confirmed the incident and told media that the male perpetrator and a second female suspect had been arrested. Berkah Hospital spokesman Firmansyah said the former military general suffered "two deep wounds", but was conscious and in stable condition, adding that Wiranto has been medically evacuated to the capital Jakarta for further treatment. According to reports, Indonesian President Joko Widodo is set to visit Wiranto at the Gatot Soebroto Army Hospital. The local police chief was also reportedly injured, according to Dedi Prasetyo. AFP news agency quoted police as saying that the attacker was allegedly "exposed to IS radicalism". Video clips posted on social media showed the minister was alighting from an SUV, when a man wearing a black shirt sneaked in and stabbed him. Another video clip showed Wiranto stumbling to the ground following the attack, as his security personnel scrambled to restrain the attacker. It looks like Wiranto's aide/security guard managed to stop the perpetrators just before he reached Wiranto The attack occurred when Wiranto just got out of the car to board a helicopter to Jakarta pic.twitter.com/GraG4jbAon — JATOSINT (@Jatosint) October 10, 2019 Several people quickly loaded the injured minister back to the vehicle, as the other people continue to wrestle with the assailant. In recent months, Wiranto has been designated by President Joko Widodo as the person in-charge with the handling of the unrest in the country's West Papua region. President Widodo had appointed the former military chief as the top security minister in 2016. General Wiranto, 72, had been previously accused of committing atrocities during Indonesia's occupation of East Timor. He was in charge of the military when the Indonesian army and paramilitaries carried out deadly assaults after East Timor sought independence from Indonesia in 1999. About 100,000 people are estimated to have been killed, mainly by Indonesian forces and their proxies, or died of starvation and illness during the occupation. Wiranto was among other senior officers indicted by UN prosecutors over human rights abuses during the 24-year occupation period. Despite evidence gathered proving his role in the killings of 1999, Wiranto denies any wrongdoing and has never faced court over the atrocities. As security minister, Wiranto oversees five ministries including foreign, interior and defence. The attack on Wiranto comes just days ahead of President Joko Widodo's inauguration for his second term in office. \|\|\|\|\| Image copyright Reuters Image caption Wiranto pictured last year Indonesia's security minister has been stabbed by a man who police say was "inspired" by the Islamic State group. Wiranto, who uses one name, was getting out of a car in a town square in Banten province when he was attacked. The former military chief and ex-presidential candidate, 72, suffered "two deep wounds" to his stomach but is in a stable condition. A police officer and two other people were injured, while two suspects, a man and a woman, were arrested. The minister was taken by helicopter to hospital in Jakarta. Police said the attacker had been exposed to "IS radicalism". If confirmed as an IS-backed attack, it would be the first by the militants on a politician in Indonesia. Image copyright AFP Image caption Indonesian police and military carry Wiranto on a stretcher to a helicopter The stabbing comes just over a week before President Joko Widodo begins a second term, after winning re-election in April. In May, at least six people were killed and 200 injured in Jakarta during mass rallies against the president. In the same month, police said Wiranto and three other officials were the targets of a failed assassination plot. Born the son of an impoverished teacher, Wiranto graduated from the national military academy in 1968 and rose to become head of the armed forces. Image copyright AFP Image caption An Indonesian Navy helicopter takes off carrying Wiranto after he was stabbed in Pandeglang, Banten province He was accused of being ultimately responsible for the deaths of more than 1,000 people in East Timor in 1999, when the province voted for independence. Denying the allegation, he said: "Indonesian security forces had an extraordinary difficult mission - I call it Mission Impossible." He was a presidential candidate in 2004 but came third.	Wiranto in January 2019 Yesterday, Indonesia's was stabbed, according to government authorities. Wiranto, who was visiting the town of in the province of , survived the attack. Wiranto suffered "two deep wounds" in the attack according to a hospital spokesperson. The local police chief and two others were also injured. Al Jazeera reported that Wiranto was flown to a hospital in Jakarta, and that his condition was stable. Dedi Prasetyo, a spokesperson for the , confirmed that two suspects were arrested. He told the BBC that police suspect the attackers had been "exposed to radicalism". The BBC also cited Budi Gunawan, chief of the , as saying the suspects were linked to the network, which itself was related to the Islamic State. The attack came less than two weeks before Indonesian President 's second term inauguration. Widodo designated Wiranto, a former general, as the nation's security minister in 2016. Al Jazeera reported that Widodo was planning to visit Wiranto, who was being treated at the . == Sources == * *
A major traffic and security plan is underway this weekend for U2's concerts at Croke Park in Dublin. Gardaí closed all roads around the stadium ahead of the concerts, with the traffic restrictions due to remain in place until 1am on the mornings following the concerts. Up to 250,000 people are expected to converge on the venue over the three concert days, Friday, Saturday and Monday. Concert goers are advised to check which part of the stadium their tickets are for and to follow the colour-coded signs to the area. U2 manager Paul McGuinness said on Thursday that the band were apprehensive but very confident about playing in their home city. "Playing Dublin is always extra excitement, extra pressure," he said. "It's great to be playing this magnificent stadium." McGuinness also said that around half the songs U2 played during the concerts would be taken from their last two albums, while the rest would be classics, with the play-list changing every night. Snow Patrol and The Radiators will play support to U2 on Friday night, The Thrills and Paddy Casey on Saturday, and Ash and The Bravery will take to the stage as warm-up acts on Monday. Vertigo tour's production director, Jake Berry, said: "Everybody wanted to be here, at the right stadium in the right city at the right time." The Dublin Chamber of Commerce has estimated that the economic benefit to the capital of the three shows will be approximately €50m. \|\|\|\|\| Almost a quarter of a million tickets were sold in less than four hours The 82,000 capacity Croke Park is one of the biggest stadia in Europe - bigger than both Old Trafford and the Millennium Stadium - but it is more used to hosting Gaelic football and hurling matches. When Coldplay, the group some see as pretenders to U2's throne, played in Dublin this week, frontman Chris Martin rounded off the night by telling everyone to enjoy U2 this weekend - "still the best band in the world", he smiled, to cheers. Dublin is in the grip of U2 fever, and the huge influx of fans has been great news for hotel owners, publicans, taxi drivers and others. The tickets - nearly quarter of a million of them - went in less than four hours. It has been reported that a British fan paid more than $8,000 for a pair of standing tickets last week. And businesses have been quick to capitalise on this fascination. The band's Vertigo tour kicked off in San Diego earlier this year One newspaper reported that hoteliers were charging determined fans double the normal rate, under the headline: "Where the streets have no shame". However, Dublin tourism chief executive Frank Magee insisted that prices were normal for "high season rates" which would "help subsidise cheap rates at other times". The visit is part of the band's Vertigo tour, which kicked off in San Diego in the US earlier this year, and which will see them play a punishing 114 shows around the world. And around the world is where the fans are coming from to see U2 play on home soil. Those lucky enough to have tickets are being promised something special by U2 manager Paul McGuinness "They are very proud and I'm very proud of them to be home and playing in this magnificent facility to a quarter of a million people," he said. "That's quite something." Bono had become a strident campaigner on global issues "There's the particular pressure of being watched by family members and old friends," he said. "There's an intensity about the Dublin shows which is special. I know that as a band, they always invest that bit extra in ensuring something genuinely special. "I think we can anticipate U2 at their best." The last time U2 played in Ireland was back in 2001, but their appeal endures, as the excitement surrounding their current tour shows. Bono's campaigning work on debt and poverty issues may have made them more than just a rock band, but the music still pulls in the crowds. Croke Park is more used to hosting gaelic football and hurling The revered home of Ireland's favourite sports, Gaelic football and hurling, has been transformed mid-season, with thick matting put down to protect the turf from 82,000 pairs of feet. The stadium director said that hosting the concerts would be like organising three, back-to-back All-Ireland finals - the showpiece events of the Irish sporting year. Just five days after the final concert on Monday, the hallowed turf of Croke Park will have to be restored in time for the Leinster hurling final. Dublin may take longer to recover. \|\|\|\|\| Unfortunately, the page you were trying to retrieve does not exist on itv.com Please try one of the following options:	U2 in concert earlier this year in Anaheim 240,000 fans are preparing for Ireland's most successful band ever to return for a hometown gig in . The supergroup is playing Friday, Saturday and Monday in front of 80,000 people a night at . have put in place a massive traffic management plan to cope with the influx of people. Fans have been queing since Thursday morning when a group of fans from , Italy and Canada started queuing outside the stadium. The concert forms part of U2's current "" world tour. The support acts include emerging Irish bands and along with already very popular Paddy Casey. and will cap it off as warm up acts on Monday. The gates for the gig will open at 4pm with the actual band not expected until around 8.30pm. Irish media has entered a frenzied anticipation of the concert all this week, with constant coverage on radio stations. The national broadcaster, , is set to dedicated almost 3hr 30min to the band with an exclusive interview by Dave Fanning forming the centerpiece of the stations coverage of the "U2 weekend". frontman , who played in front of a sell out crowd in Dublin earlier this week told fans that U2 were "still the best band in the world". Croke Park is the fourth largest stadium in Europe, with an official capacity of 82,000 - bigger than both and . Croke Park is used to host GAA matches in sports such as and and regularly attracts audiences of 60,000 or more in the summer months.
Published Date: 15 May 2010 A TORY Prime Minister is shouted down by Scottish protesters angry at job losses and government cutbacks. All that was needed was Spandau Ballet playing in the background and a jogger in spandex rushing by to make this a scene right out of the 1980s, a decade defined by Margaret Thatcher that left so many Scots cold. • David Cameron and Alex Salmond meet for talks. Picture: PA But this is 2010, and yesterday new Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron found out the hard way that he has a big job on his hands to win over voters north of the Border. Scotland is now a very different country. But not if you are a Tory. Despite widespread popular acclaim in England and a pledge to begin a "new politics", Mr Cameron strode into Edinburgh yesterday to the echo of an anti-Thatcherite favourite bouncing up the Royal Mile from protestors. "Tories, Tories, Tories, f* off back to Eton!" screamed an assorted group of some 200 anarchists, communists and Scottish Socialists. Many of them would have been in primary school during the Thatcher years. It was not what Mr Cameron had hoped to hear on his first official trip since taking the official seal of office from the Queen. Nervousness about the reception awaiting Mr Cameron even extended to Tory party officials who passed the time waiting for the new Prime Minister's arrival by practising their clapping. Meanwhile, his security staff, mindful of flying eggs, thought it might be wiser to take him into the parliament through the back way into the underground car park. He had been expected to enter through Queensberry House on the Royal Mile. The new Prime Minister was in Scotland with his Liberal Democrat Scottish Secretary, Danny Alexander, to meet Holyrood party leaders and promote his "respect agenda" for Scottish politics, promising to make annual visits to answer questions from MSPs and send his ministers north of the Border to give reports and answer to committees. But it was also an attempt by the new Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition to underline its mandate to rule in Scotland on reserved issues. Mr Cameron was at pains to point out that the two parties between them picked up 250,000 more votes than Alex Salmond's SNP when it was elected into government in 2007. It was a topical point to make ahead of the meeting with the First Minister in St Andrew's House, but one that was lost on the 1980s re-enactment society outside. "Not our PM" noted one banner. "Free Scotland" suggested another. Then there was the new chant for the new challenges: "They say cut back, we say fight back". And just when you thought that all that was needed to complete the scene was an anti-poll-tax banner then, right on cue, one popped up. It is always comforting to go back to the old certainties. But as in the great Bonnie Prince Charlie tradition, history and myth were happily merged. "We got rid of Thatcher, we can get rid of you," went up a cry. But never to be put off by a heckler or a hundred or two, Mr Cameron strode into the Scottish Parliament with his usual aura of unremitting positivity. There was a quick cheer or yelp as he was rushed through the Garden Lobby to meet a fellow old Etonian – Presiding Officer Alex Fergusson – and the three opposition leaders. Then, half an hour later, he was out again to address the assembled throng of Tory and Lib Dem party employees, who had made sure they were standing apart from each other. The Tories had longer to get their cheer right as he marched purposefully to the microphone with a now slightly dazed and bewildered Danny Alexander in tow. A second effort at having a cheer was led by former Tory campaign chief David McLetchie who, in the spirit of the new politics, was wearing a tie with blue stars on a pale yellow background. There was a handshake for Mr McLetchie from his leader, although a few wondered if that whispered greeting from the Prime Minister was: "Couldn't you do any better than one out of 59 seats?" And with that in mind, he turned round and suggested to everybody that it was time "for a fresh start". "I truly meant what I said in the election campaign about wanting to pursue a respect agenda," he added hopefully. "I believe Scotland deserves that respect and I want to try to win Scotland's respect as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom." Poor Mr Alexander looked as though he did not know what to say. It may be that he is trying to square up his recent statement, "You can't trust the Tories", with being appointed a minister by one. "They're is really not much I can add," he said desperately at one point. So with due "respect" the two sneaked out of the back door again and bypassed the protesters to take the journey up Calton Hill to meet one 1980s figure that still has some caché in Scotland. But it seemed that Alex Salmond was not in the mood for reliving his old poll tax protests and appeared to have been charmed by the new man from Number 10. "I felt the meeting was positive, constructive, detailed and substantive," gushed the First Minister, apparently "surprised" at how well briefed his adversary – or was that new friend – had been on various issues of grudge, gripe and grievance. If only, though, some of that charm could have rubbed off on the 1980s society who had trudged up the hill to continue their protest. As Mr Cameron and Mr Alexander left, there was one last exhausted protest as a flying egg just missed the back of their car. Now that brings back memories of John Major. \|\|\|\|\| David Cameron is to press ahead with plans to give the Scottish parliament greater tax-raising and law-making powers after he held "positive and constructive" talks with the first minister, Alex Salmond, in Edinburgh yesterday. The prime minister said that his government wanted a "fresh start" with Salmond's Scottish nationalist government in an attempt to rebuild trust in the Conservatives in Scotland and restore good relations between the Westminster and Holyrood parliaments. He wanted to pursue a "respect agenda" with all the devolved administrations in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast. That would mean Scottish ministers should appear before Commons committees, and he promised to address the parliament in Edinburgh every year, if invited. "I want to see a real agenda of respect between our parliaments," he said. "Both because I think Scotland deserves that respect but also because I want to win that respect as prime minister of the UK. That was truly said and truly meant." Cameron claimed his coalition had a stronger mandate in Scotland than the Scottish National party would admit. Although the Tories came fourth in Scotland, and have just one MP in Scotland, the Tory and Lib Dem votes combined were greater than the SNP vote when it won the Scottish parliament election in 2007. He said that high on his agenda was to implement proposals from a cross-party commission last year to give Scotland greater financial powers, particularly control over income tax and other duties. He also confirmed – in a move likely to cause friction and opposition within his own party – that the UK government would not impose any cuts on the Scottish government's £30bn-a-year block grant from the Treasury this year, despite his emergency budget in 50 days' time and £6bn in immediate spending cuts. The Scottish parliament had already set and was implementing its budget for this year, he said. "We'd already agreed before the election that the Scottish administration could delay that process and stick to its original budget this year and that's a good example of the respect agenda in action," he said. However, it is expected that cuts next year could be deeper as a result, Salmond later confirmed, increasing demands in Holyrood and Westminster for Scotland to have greater financial responsibility. In a private meeting with Salmond and his finance secretary, John Swinney, Cameron also agreed to consider Salmond's demands for up to £700m in extra funding to be given to the Scottish parliament to increase economic investment. Salmond said Cameron appeared most supportive of requests to release £170m in Scottish funds held by Ofgem from the fossil fuel levy – a request Labour repeatedly rejected. Salmond said he was struck by Cameron's willingness to listen to his case – a dramatic difference from the frequently hostile and dismissive attitude of the last prime minister, he said. Their talks were "positive, constructive, detailed and substantive," Salmond said. "I prefer a 'respect agenda' to a 'disrespect agenda'." He added: "How we judge the outcome of that agenda will be based on the policy options the Westminster government pursues, not just the words." Speaking to the media before he and the new Scottish secretary, Danny Alexander, met Salmond and Swinney, the prime minister said: "I believe, and Danny believes, that we should be pursuing the Calman agenda, and that that is a much greater degree of fiscal autonomy for Scotland." The tax-raising powers were proposed by a commission headed by Sir Kenneth Calman and supported by the Tories, Lib Dems and Labour last year. Calman recommended the Scottish parliament be given the power to set its own income tax rates above 10p in the pound, as well as its own aggregates levy and stamp duty. The commission said the Scottish government's £30bn-a-year block grant from the Treasury could then be cut by at least £5bn a year, making Holyrood responsible for its own spending. It also recommended giving Holyrood the power to set its own speed limits and drink-drive limits. Salmond said Calman's precise proposals on income tax were now unworkable because of the new UK government's plans to abolish income tax for the first £10,000 of income. Tory officials confirmed this was accurate, and suggested it may take some time to investigate how the principle of Calman's proposals could be taken up. Treasury officials are known to have been very uncomfortable with allowing Scotland to set its own income tax rate. The source said Treasury officials would have to "run the reality checks and financial checks, and make sure it does stack up". He added: "The Treasury will have to do some modelling. We take the Calman recommendations as a starting point, as the base line. But in terms of financial recommendations we need to do Treasury modelling, we have to make sure it's the right fit, that there's no unintended consequences, and that it's workable. But the commitment to implement Calman is absolute from both parties and it's in the coalition agreement." \|\|\|\|\| The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there. As David Cameron found out yesterday, the famous opening line of LP Hartley’s The Go-Between applies equally well to Scotland. Fresh from being feted south of the border, the new Conservative Prime Minister was forced to dodge around 200 protesters on the Royal Mile railing against “Tory scum” as he made his northern debut, ducking into the Scottish Parliament by the tradesman’s entrance. The last time Cameron visited Holyrood, just days after being elected his party’s leader in 2005, he swept in via the ceremonial reception at Queensberry House. But with a noisy crowd waving signs such as “Deport the Tories” and “Tory Toffs F* Off” outside, his plan to repeat the move was abandoned in favour of slipping into the secure carpark at the rear of the building. if the Scottish Parliament wish it, I shall appear every year at the Scottish Parliament to answer questions David Cameron Taking a break from singing “There’s only one Scottish Tory”, a protester with a loudhailer informed the waiting media of the change before the parliament’s officials managed it. Coming just a week after the Conservatives failed to add to their single Scottish MP for the third election in a row, it was yet more proof that Cameron was in hostile territory. And once inside the parliament – the first parliament he had been to since getting his seals of office, ahead even of Westminster – he went out his way to acknowledge the fact. Following a half-hour joint meeting with Labour leader Iain Gray, LibDem Tavish Scott and Tory leader Annabel Goldie, Cameron strode into the garden lobby to deliver a statement on the “respect agenda” he plans for Scotland, and which he hopes can blunt SNP and Labour attacks on Tory spending cuts. After almost three years in which Gordon Brown and Alex Salmond barely spoke, far less co-operated, he said he wanted a fresh start to relations between Edinburgh and London. “I promised that if I became Prime Minister I would come to Scotland within a week, in order to come to the Scottish Parliament to show my respect for the devolved institutions and also to seek a meeting with the First Minister. “However much we may disagree about issues we should try to work together for the benefit of the whole of the United Kingdom and for the benefit of Scotland as well. That is what I’m determined to do. “I want to make the devolved institutions in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland work, and work well. And I want a real agenda of respect between our parties, so I want to see Scottish ministers able to appear at select committees in Westminster and I believe if the Scottish Parliament wish it, I shall appear every year at the Scottish Parliament to answer questions.” Besides more of his own visits, Cameron said he would also send Treasury ministers to Holyrood to explain budget decisions, while the Scottish Secretary would explain the consequences for Scotland of legislation in the Queen’s Speech. Cameron also admitted his party remained mistrusted north of the border. “The Conservatives particularly have to work hard to win the trust of the people in Scotland. That’s why I’m here today.” He was slick, well-briefed, focused like a laser on his message, and a born communicator. His sidekick for the day, Danny Alexander, the new LibDem Scottish Secretary, was not. At one point, Cameron tried to bring him into a discussion by saying he was sure Danny had something to contribute. Only Danny didn’t. “I’m not sure there’s much for me to add,” he fumbled. As protesters failed to learn the lesson of Cameron’s entrance and gathered at the pre-announced departure point, the Prime Minister again used the back door for his exit. It was then a quick drive up Calton Hill to St Andrew’s House, where Alex Salmond and John Swinney were waiting in the drizzle to lay on a quick handshake for the cameras. When Cameron left an hour later, a solitary egg from a protester missing his speeding Jag, the First Minister gave his thoughts on encountering his first Tory with power in 13 years. Going beyond the standard nods to positive and constructive dialogue, he said it had been a far more detailed and thorough meeting than he had expected, suggesting Cameron intends to hit the ground running in Scotland and elsewhere. Salmond said he had been “impressed” during the talks, but wanted to see Cameron’s respect agenda translated into deeds as well as words. Action on capital spending, the fossil-fuel levy, knock-on money from the Olympics, and new borrowing powers would be his yardstick. “All in all, it was a good meeting, it was a more substantive meeting than perhaps I’d expected in terms of the examination of the issues, and I think the Prime Minister’s to be commended for that.” Asked teasingly by a reporter if something of a love-in was under way, Salmond looked startled, then, with a dig at Brown, admitted he’d rather have “a respect agenda to a disrespect agenda”. Relatively speaking, that’s progress.	David Cameron pictured here earlier in 2010 Newly-appointed UK Prime Minister David Cameron today travelled north to Scotland to meet with the country's First Minister, Alex Salmond, for the first time since the general election. According to ''The Scotsman'', around 200 noisy protesters greeted the new PM, forcing security staff to take him into the devolved parliament via a back door. Cameron's Conservative Party have traditionally been unpopular in Scotland. They won just one out of 59 Scottish seats in the election, gaining around seventeen per cent of the vote. Prior to the meeting, Salmond told reporters he intended to press Cameron for greater Scottish financial independence from Westminster, including greater tax powers— something supported by the Liberal Democrats, the Conservatives' new coalition partners, and the Lib Dem Scottish Secretary and on which Cameron has promised a cross-party commission. Alex Salmond shown here in 2008 Cameron had been seeking what he called a "fresh start" to restore ties between the parliaments at Westminster and Hollyrood. In addition to meeting the first minister, Cameron also met with the sixteen Conservatives currently sitting in the devolved Scottish Parliament. After the meeting, both Salmond and Cameron agreed that the conversation had been "positive and constructive" and Cameron pledged a mutual "respect agenda" which would see him address the devolved Scottish parliament every year if invited and, in return, MSPs would appear before Commons committees in Westminster. Cameron outlined part of his spending plans in preparation for an emergency budget, scheduled for fifty days after the election. He announced that no cuts would be made to the £30 billion annual budget for Scotland though that £6 billion in spending cuts would have to be made— something likely to cause controversy in Cameron's coalition government. However, both Cameron and Salmond anticipate that cuts may need to be made in subsequent years. At a conference, Salmond said the talks had been "positive, constructive, detailed and substantive. I prefer a 'respect agenda' to a 'disrespect agenda'." He added that "how we judge the outcome of that agenda will be based on the policy options the Westminster government pursues, not just the words". At the same conference, Cameron told reporters "I believe, and Danny Alexander believes, that we should be pursuing the , and that that is a much greater degree of fiscal autonomy for Scotland."
Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Advertisement Presenter Noel Edmonds has stopped paying his TV licence fee as he does not like the BBC's "threatening" manner towards those who do not have licences. "Auntie's put boxing gloves on. I'm so incensed by the idea that I'm guilty of something that I actually cancelled my licence fee a few months ago," he said. No organisation would threaten him, he added. "They haven't found me, and nobody's come knocking on the door." TV Licensing said "the law was clear" that evaders risked a £1,000 fine. A spokesperson said a "comprehensive database of almost 30 million addresses allows us to see exactly which properties are unlicensed". "While we would always prefer people buy a licence rather than risk prosecution and a fine, TV Licensing has a duty to enforce the licence fee on behalf of the honest majority who pay. "Unfortunately some people will only buy a licence when warned of the consequences of being unlicensed." 'Astonishing value' Edmonds, a former BBC Radio 1 breakfast DJ and host of BBC TV shows such as Noel's House Party, said there was now "an aggressive culture" in the UK. "There are too many organisations - and the BBC is a fabulous organisation - that seem to think it's OK to badger, hector and threaten people," he told BBC One's Breakfast. We all have to care a bit more. We have a society where we blame someone else when something goes wrong Noel Edmonds "I worked for the BBC for 30 years. "When I was at the BBC, it promoted the licence fee by saying how wonderful it was because - let's face it - the BBC licence fee is astonishing value," the 59-year-old added. Now, however, the BBC said "we know where you are" in campaigns to avoid evasion, he claimed. About one in 20 viewers failed to pay the £139.50 charge in 2007-8. This week the BBC announced it was giving its audiences the chance to say if they thought the way the fee was collected, and the deterrents for evaders, were appropriate. Sir Michael Lyons, who chairs the BBC Trust governing body, said there needed to be a "balance" between "ensuring compliance and avoiding any disproportionate heavy-handedness". Edmonds spent 30 years at the BBC, with a spell as Radio 1's breakfast DJ Asked to respond to Edmonds' boycott, the BBC avoided commenting directly on his remarks. But it issued a statement referring to the public consultation and said: "We would really encourage people to be part of that." Edmonds was using his interview to promote his new Sky 1 series Noel's HQ, which he said would be responsible for good deeds which would improve people's lives. "The politicians - and I'm talking about Gordon Brown - have had their day," he said. "They've had their chance to do it and look at the mess we're now in." He explained it was "down to the man in the street, individuals, every single person watching us this morning, to say, 'Well, what did I do today for Britain? What did I do for people I don't know?'" E-mail this to a friend Printable version Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? \|\|\|\|\| Noel Edmonds: 'I won't pay TV licence because of 'threatening' BBC adverts By James Tapper Last updated at 1:54 AM on 14th September 2008 Noel Edmonds is refusing to pay his television licence fee in protest at 'threatening' BBC adverts promising to catch evaders. The former Noel's House Party presenter, who was the BBC's main Saturday night host for a decade, said he was prepared to face prosecution for his stand against the Corporation's advertising campaigns. Edmonds accused the BBC of wanting to 'badger, hector and threaten people' over the ?139.50 charge in its commercials and poster adverts, which warn viewers it is 'impossible to hide'. Noel Edmonds confesses to not having a TV licence live on BBC 1 Breakfast news The Deal Or No Deal host decided not to renew his licence four months ago and faces a ?1,000 fine if prosecuted. Faced with the snub, TV Licensing, which is responsible for collecting the fee, said it was 'looking into' his case. Asked if Edmonds was prepared to go to court over his stance, his spokesman Mark Borkowski said: 'Noel has told me he is prepared for the consequences.' Noel tells Charlie Stayt and Suzanna Reid he cancelled his TV licence and few months ago and is waiting for the TV detector vans to come and get him Speaking on BBC Breakfast News Edmonds, who made his name at the Corporation as a presenter on Radio 1, said: 'I worked for the BBC for 30 years. Noel was the BBC's main Saturday night presenter for a decade 'When I was there it promoted the licence fee by saying how wonderful it was. But now Auntie's put boxing gloves on. 'I am not going to have the BBC or any other organisation threatening me. I've cancelled my TV licence and they haven't found me. Nobody's coming knocking on my door. 'There are too many organisations that seem to think it is OK to badger, hector and threaten people.' Edmonds's comments come after numerous complaints about the advertising campaign. The four adverts, launched in April, warn viewers: 'Your town, your street, your home - it's all in the database', adding that it is 'impossible to hide' if you don't pay. Viewers and commentators have compared it to George Orwell's novel 1984. BBC Trust chairman Sir Michael Lyons admitted last week: 'The right balance needs to be struck between ensuring compliance with the law and avoiding any disproportionate heavy-handedness.' TV Licensing said: 'Anyone caught watching or recording TV without a licence risks prosecution and a fine of up to ?1,000.' \|\|\|\|\| Edmonds says no deal to TV licence Published Date: 14 September 2008 TELEVISION presenter Noel Edmonds yesterday revealed he has stopped paying his TV licence in a protest against the way the BBC "badgers, hectors and threatens" those who evade the charge. ADVERTISEMENT Licensing officers last night confirmed they are investigating the former BBC presenter, who faces a £1,000 fine if caught watching television.Edmonds, 59, revealed he cancelled his licence several months ago, because he is "incensed" at the way the BBC deals with non-payers.Tactics used by its enforcement agency include detector vans which can operate from up to 60 metres away from a television set.It has a database of almost 30 million addresses to enable it to monitor which properties are unlicensed.The veteran DJ has cancelled his £139.50-a-year payment, despite the fact he insists it is good value for money.The former presenter of BBC TV shows such as Swap Shop and Noel's House Party said there was now "an aggressive culture" in the UK.Edmonds said yesterday: "Auntie's put boxing gloves on. I'm so incensed by the idea that I'm guilty of something that I actually cancelled my licence fee a few months ago. They haven't found me, and nobody's come knocking on the door."Speaking on BBC1's Breakfast show while promoting his latest television project, he added: "There are too many organisations – and the BBC is a fabulous organisation – that seem to think it's okay to badger, hector and threaten people."We all have to care a bit more. We have a society where we blame someone else when something goes wrong"I worked for the BBC for 30 years. When I was at the BBC, it promoted the licence fee by saying how wonderful it was because – let's face it – the BBC licence fee is astonishing value."Now, however, he claimed the BBC said "we know where you are" in its campaigns to catch licence dodgers.Edmonds is currently promoting his new Sky 1 series Noel's HQ, which he said would be responsible for good deeds that would improve people's lives."The politicians – and I'm talking about Gordon Brown – have had their day," he said. "They've had their chance to do it and look at the mess we're now in."He added: "We all have to care a bit more. We have a society where we blame someone else when something goes wrong."Householders are required to purchase a TV licence to use any television receiving equipment, including computers or mobile phones.A TV Licensing spokeswoman said yesterday it was investigating Edmonds' claims. She said: "We are certainly looking into the situation at the moment. We don't have all the facts yet."She added: "Irrespective of Noel Edmonds' personal opinion, the law is clear: anyone caught watching or recording TV programmes without a licence risks prosecution and a fine of up to £1,000. TV Licensing's comprehensive database of almost 30 million addresses allows us to see exactly which properties are unlicensed."While we would always prefer people buy a licence rather than risk prosecution and a fine, TV Licensing has a duty to enforce the licence fee on behalf of the honest majority who pay. Unfortunately some people will only buy a licence when warned of the consequences of being unlicensed."Our research shows that 88% of people who expressed an opinion thought it was important that TV Licensing sends a strong message to evaders."Last week, the BBC announced it was giving its audiences the chance to say if they thought the way the licence fee was collected, and the deterrents for evaders, were appropriate.A BBC spokeswoman last night refused to comment on Edmond's case or say whether the organisation would be pressing for the TV presenter to be investigated.Mark Wallace, campaign director for the Taxpayer's Alliance said: "We definitely do have concerns about the rate at which the TV licence has risen in recent years and we have sympathy for people who can't afford to pay it."However, Noel Edmonds is in a more privileged position than other people who might be slapped with a fine."	The majority of the BBC's income is from the license fee Noel Edmonds, a British television presenter, has said that he is not paying the television license fee in protest at the way the BBC "badgers, hectors and threatens" people who avoid paying the fee. "Auntie's put boxing gloves on. I'm so incensed by the idea that I'm guilty of something that I actually cancelled my licence fee a few months ago," said Edmonds, making his non-payment of the fee public on the BBC Breakfast television program. "There are too many organisations — and the BBC is a fabulous organisation — that seem to think it's OK to badger, hector and threaten people," he continued. "When I was at the BBC, it promoted the licence fee by saying how wonderful it was because — let's face it — the BBC licence fee is astonishing value," added Edmonds explaining the way he believes the license fee should be promoted. Edmonds also claimed that TV licensing "haven't found me, and nobody's come knocking on the door." This is despite adverts by the organisations that, according to Edmonds, say "we know where you are." TV Licensing responded to Edmond's comments by saying that "while we would always prefer people buy a licence rather than risk prosecution and a fine, TV Licensing has a duty to enforce the licence fee on behalf of the honest majority who pay." "Unfortunately some people will only buy a licence when warned of the consequences of being unlicensed."
Gusmao advises Julia Gillard to firm up boatpeople plan before she calls EAST Timor's leader Xanana Gusmao today advised Julia Gillard not to call him directly about her asylum-seeker plan until the idea was fully formed. Prime Minister Gusmao said he was currently “very busy” with other government business and that he had asked President Jose Ramos-Horta to continue discussions with Ms Gillard and report back to him when the plan was more mature. But Mr Gusmao gave conditional support to the proposal for asylum-seekers to be processed at a regional centre based in East Timor. He said he had “open mind” on the proposal, but warned that he would need to see the detail of Ms Gillard's proposal. Even then, he said at a press conference in Dili, the plan would require extensive investigation by his government and lengthy debate in the parliament before the measure could proceed. Ms Gillard has been accused of failing to properly consult East Timor about her boatpeople plan, with Tony Abbott saying it showed that amateurs were running the country. Ms Gillard should have known to deal with East Timor's prime minister, not its president, who holds no executive role, the opposition leader said. “The fact she did not know this and did not think to ask this demonstrates that frankly we have amateurs running the Australian government,” he said. But Mr Gusmao denied being offended by Ms Gillard's diplomatic gaffe. \|\|\|\|\| More funds to fight people smuggling VIDEO: More funds to fight people smuggling The govt will give Indonesia a $25m package to help fight people smuggling, as another 66 were detained. EAST Timor's leader advises Julia Gillard not to call him about asylum-seeker plan until idea fully formed. Prime Minister Gusmao said he was currently "very busy" with other government business and that he had asked President Jose Ramos-Horta to continue discussions with Ms Gillard and report back to him when the plan was more mature, The Australian reported. But Mr Gusmao gave conditional support to the proposal for asylum-seekers to be processed at a regional centre based in East Timor. He said he had "open mind" on the proposal, but warned that he would need to see the detail of Ms Gillard's proposal. Even then, he said at a press conference in Dili, the plan would require extensive investigation by his government and lengthy debate in the parliament before the measure could proceed. Ms Gillard has been accused of failing to properly consult East Timor about her boatpeople plan, with Tony Abbott saying it showed that amateurs were running the country. Ms Gillard should have known to deal with East Timor's prime minister, not its president, who holds no executive role, the opposition leader said. "The fact she did not know this and did not think to ask this demonstrates that frankly we have amateurs running the Australian government," he said. But Mr Gusmao denied being offended by Ms Gillard's diplomatic gaffe. Ms Gillard has admitted she's yet to speak to East Timorese Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao about her proposal to send asylum seekers to a regional processing centre she wants built there. She said she will speak to Mr Gusmao in coming days, after talks with President Jose Ramos-Horta indicated he was open to discussions about the plan. But Mr Gusmao's deputy Jose Luis Guterres has already said East Timor was "very unlikely" to agree to Ms Gillard's plan announced earlier this week. Across the Tasman New Zealand's refugee council has warned that the country should steer clear of backing Australia's proposed regional processing centre. The New Zealand Refugee Council (NZRC) said Australia had different "asylum issues which are presently bound up in domestic politics related to their own upcoming elections". The NZRC said it didn't think Gillard's proposal to return to Howard era offshore detention centres was a good solution given the "appalling conditions in existing Australian asylum detention centres". "No New Zealand taxpayer funding should be applied to supporting a regional transitional camp in East Timor," a statement from the council said. Ms Gillard said regional talks on the boat people issue had for some time included discussions about a regional processing centre. "This is an idea for a regional processing centre that has been raised and considered for some time," she said. "What's new is my determination to relentlessly pursue it." She said Australia was not the only country in the region grappling with the problem of illegal boat arrivals. "Our officials will now work in the region, with our regional neighbours, to get their views," she said. Ms Gillard said she had recently spoken about the issue of boat arrivals with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key. "It's a problem in our region and it's appropriate that we work across the region," she said. East Timor experts have warned that Mr Gusmao has been making strong anti-Australian remarks recently and was likely to extract a high price for his compliance towards Ms Gillard's proposal. The Telegraph said that Mr Gusmao was still smarting over the Woodside company's decision not to pipe oil and gas from the Timor Sea onshore to Dili, which he believes has cost East Timor hundreds of jobs. Mr Guterres said yesterday that his country had previously rejected a similar request from former foreign minister Alexander Downer and was still "not in a condition to accept a detention centre". "It's very unlikely East Timor will accept the proposal," he told The Sydney Morning Herald. Taken aback Mr Gusmao's Australian wife, Kirsty Sword, who is visiting Sydney, has expressed her scepticism. "I must say I was taken aback when I first heard about it," she told the Herald. "Timor has so many urgent problems in health, education and infrastructure I am not sure it should be distracted by this issue." Ms Gillard yesterday pledged $25 million to fund a crackdown on people-smuggling across the region, including patrol boats and surveillance planes to help Jakarta's efforts during a discussion with President Yudhoyono. She said that thousands of Australia-bound asylum seekers in Indonesia could be moved to the processing centre in East Timor if it were built. Crackdown Many of the asylum-seekers in the Indonesian camps are young Muslim men and concerns have already been raised about the impact of moving them to largely Catholic East Timor and finding them jobs in a tiny nation that has an unemployment rate of about 40 per cent. The announcement of additional resources for the regional crackdown came as another boatload of asylum-seekers was intercepted in waters off Australia's northwest. The boat, with 43 passengers and three crew, took the number of boatpeople arriving in Australia this year to 3575 on 76 separate vessels. Former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Fraser, a trenchant critic of John Howard's Pacific Solution, yesterday gave the new plan his provisional approval. "If the Prime Minister can establish this policy and as a consequence remove the incentive to undertake a voyage in dangerous boats under the charge of the people-smugglers, then that's, I believe, a positive result and quite different from a Pacific Solution," he said. However, Mr Downer, who helped implement the Pacific Solution, predicted the Prime Minister's "new" plan would fail. "We were pretty desperate" Mr Downer said Australia approached East Timor, Fiji and Singapore in 2001, before brokering a deal with Nauru to take more than 400 boatpeople rescued by the freighter Tampa. "We were pretty desperate," the former foreign minister told The Australian. "I mean there was Howard yelling at me, telling me to find somewhere to send these people. And I'm ringing up Ramos-Horta and I'm ringing up the foreign minister of Singapore and I'm ringing everybody, and they're all saying no." Ms Gillard distanced her Timor proposal from the Pacific Solution. "The difference here is we are not acting unilaterally, and we are not doing something quickly for political effect the way the Pacific Solution was done," she said. But Tony Abbott rejected the plan as a "pre-election pose". "How can something that was supposedly immoral when done by John Howard be a stroke of political genius when done by Julia Gillard?" Mr Abbott said. Read more on this story at The Australian. With AAP and The Australian \|\|\|\|\| East Timor PM open to Australia asylum-seeker plan DILI, East Timor — East Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao said Thursday his government was open to discussing Australia's proposal to process Australia-bound asylum seekers in the impoverished nation. New Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said Tuesday she had initial support from President Jose Ramos-Horta for the detention centre, in a pre-election bid to stem an influx of undocumented migrant boat arrivals. Opposition to the plan has grown in East Timor, with Deputy Prime Minister Jose Luis Guterres saying the aid-dependent country is not ready or willing to house refugees, but Gusmao sounded a more positive note. "We are open-minded and open for discussion in participation to solve the problem," he told reporters. "This is not only Australia's problem but also the region's problem. So the government cannot avoid this issue," he said, adding that his nation had a responsibility to help. "We were refugees in other countries and also in our own country," he said of East Timor, which is still dependent on foreign aid more than a decade after its bloody vote to split from Indonesian rule. Gillard, who unveiled the tough proposal this week as she builds towards elections to be held this year, vowed to press on with the plans and said she would hold talks with Gusmao in the coming days. "This is something that we are going to get done," she told public broadcaster ABC late on Wednesday. "I have spoken to the president of East Timor. I?ve spoken today with the president of Indonesia. "And I have tasked Australian officials to now move around the countries of our region working through the issues to create a regional processing centre." Gillard has said that a regional processing centre would "wreck" the people-smuggling trade that brings dozens of boats to Australia's north each year. Australia is a major donor of aid to East Timor and has about 400 troops there as the leader of an international force providing security for the fledgling country. Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved. More »	East Timor's leader, , has advised Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard not to contact him about until a fully formed plan has been established. Prime minister Gusamo claims he is preoccupied with other government matters and has asked , East Timor's president, to continue deliberations on the issue with Gillard. Gillard has proposed a regional processing approach center in East Timor to tackle the increasing numbers of Asylym seekers in the Oceanic Region, to which Gusamo has announced conditional support for by saying that he needed to see the details of the proposal before he could say for certain and would then need to be extensively reviewed in parliament. Australian opposition leader, , has criticised Gillard for not correctly involving East Timor in the proposal's development. This was in light of Gillard addressing the President of East Timor and not the prime minister directly, assuming the president holds the executive powers of the country. This, however, is not the case with the government holding the executive powers. “The fact she did not know this and did not think to ask this demonstrates that frankly we have amateurs running the Australian government,” Abbot claimed. Prime minister Gusamo, however, was not offended by Gillard's gaffe.
Police have launched a bigamy investigation into the polygamous stars of a new reality TV series. The show, “Sister Wives,” premiered Sunday on TLC. But detectives began investigating Lehi advertising salesman Kody Brown and his four wives when the network first announced the show several weeks ago, said Lehi police Lt. Darren Paul. “Admittedly, [the investigation] was brought on by the publicity surrounding the show,” Paul said. “It’s rare because most of the time people don’t bring this kind of attention onto themselves. But it is a state law, and we’re going to investigate it.” Paul would not say whether police have found evidence that Brown legally married more than one of his four wives: Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn Brown. But, he noted, Utah code defines bigamy through cohabitation, not just through legal marriage contracts. Detectives are still investigating and have not turned the case over to prosecutors to be screened for charges, Paul said. Bigamy is a third-degree felony. The law puts police in a position where they have no choice but to investigate “upstanding families” who aren’t breaking any other laws, said Anne Wilde, cofounder of Principle Voices, a plural marriage advocacy group. “This just shows all the more reason the crime needs to be reduced ... so that this doesn’t happen to consenting adults,” she said. “We have a right to form our families in the way we select, just like all the other alternative-lifestyle families in the U.S. — which, by the way, are more than 50 percent of all families.” Kody Brown has 13 children and three stepchildren. He and his wives have said their plural marriage is no secret; they have told their employers and coworkers and their children’s friends and teachers, they said in interviews this weekend with The Tribune. “I know the family so well, and they’re such fantastic people,” Wilde said. “They’re not flaunting it at all. They’re trying to educate people that this is a viable lifestyle.” Brown did not return calls Monday night from The Tribune. A TLC spokeswoman said the network was unaware of the investigation before being called by a Tribune reporter and had no further comment. Tribune reporter Vince Horiuchi contributed to this report. \|\|\|\|\| To view this story, you need to download the latest version Flash Player. 全ister Wives' family under investigation following TV debut LEHI -- A polygamous Lehi family featured on a new TV series that debuted Sunday night has drawn the attention of local police. Kody Brown and his wives are the subject of a TLC program called "Sister Wives". The show premiered with an hour-long special, the first installment of a seven-part "docu-series" about Kody Brown and his three (soon-to-be four) wives -- Meri, Janelle and Christine -- and their 13 children. The series began with Brown announcing plans to take on another wife, Robyn, and her three children. Related: Prosecuting for bigamy poses challenges One legal analyst says it may be an uphill battle for prosecutors to get a conviction if they decide to take the Browns to court. In a statement released Monday, Lehi police said they are now investigating the Brown family for bigamy, a third-degree felony. "At the conclusion of the investigation, the evidence will be forwarded to the Utah County Attorney's Office for review and possible prosecution," according to Lehi Police Lt. Darren Paul. KSL News spoke to the family last week on their promotional tour for the show. Kody Brown and his wives said they made the show knowing there could be legal consequences and decided it was a risk they were willing to take. "That is a part of the risk assessment that we did. I mean, because yes, of course, that is a possibility," Meri Brown, Kody's Brown's first wife, said. Producers of the show apparently feared the Browns could come under legal scrutiny. They contacted the Utah Attorney General's Office months before airing the program. "They called us and said, 践ey, are you going to shut us down?'" said Scott Troxel, spokesman for the attorney general. Troxel said the Utah Attorney General's Office doesn't have the resources to go after polygamists unless it suspects crimes such as child abuse or child trafficking. "Right now, it's not in our hands, but we're not closing the door," he said. Christine Brown, Kody Brown's third wife, told KSL, "We're not living this lifestyle out of disrespect for the law in any way. We're law-abiding citizens. We're doing this just out of our faith." "We are not members of the LDS Church," she added. "They banned polygamy a long time ago, and we actually need to make that certain to protect the Church and to let people know that that's not part of their belief." The Utah County Attorney's Office became aware of "Sister Wives" after receiving several phone calls Monday, said Tim Taylor, chief deputy county attorney. "Obviously, we can't do anything until we get a case," he said before Lehi issued its statement announcing an investigation. "We haven't seen anything. I don't know if we will see anything." Taylor said the county occasionally prosecutes people under its bigamy statute, though not necessarily polygamists. "We'll take a look at any case that comes into our office to see if it has merit," he said. In 2001, one of Utah's most high-profile polygamists, Tom Green, was convicted in Provo's 4th District Court of bigamy and failure to pay child support. He also was later found guilty of child rape. Prior to his convictions, Green and his family talked openly about their lifestyle on international and national TV programs, including "The Jerry Springer Show," "Dateline" and "Judge Judy." Prosecutors said they didn't start investigating Green until seeing him on TV. Meanwhile, TLC spokeswoman Laurie Goldberg had no comment Monday night on the investigation. --- Story compiled with contributions from Nicole Gonzales and Dennis Romboy. \|\|\|\|\| Even when eggs need to be scrambled for 12 children at breakfast, a curious and sometimes enviable calm permeates the polygamist household in "Sister Wives," TLC's much-talked-about and refreshingly frank new reality series set in rururban Utah. Listening to Kody Brown and his three womenfolk describe their marital arrangement -- Kody is legally married to his first wife, Meri, and the other two, Janelle and Christine, are "wives" in a spiritual sense; they're all in their late 30s and early 40s -- one is struck by how common-sense they make it sound, if just for a fleeting moment. They (and their producers) anticipate our questions and answer honestly, but the show mistakenly assumes from the outset that our questions are only about sex and jealousy. ("Jealousy is our Kryptonite," Kody says.) "We don't go weird," Meri says, batting aside the very notion of threesomes or foursomes. Really it's the domestic minutiae that makes "Sister Wives" worth watching: the food supply, the house floor plan, the division of labor, the minor spats. Details jump out at you; small subtextual clues that the show doesn't stop to explore. For example, the wives drive hulking SUVs or minivans, but what does Kody drive? A sporty, two-door Lexus coupe, with no room for a child's car seat. In a way, that's all you really need to know about this family. Kody works "in advertising sales," he tells us cryptically. Which is better than poor Janelle, whom we follow to her 12-hour workday at an office . . . somewhere . . . doing something. The cameras wait outside. It seems the Browns aren't eager to reveal quite all, and much of "Sister Wives" can feel like a calculated performance on their part, especially Kody's, with his Prince Valiant locks, church-rock goatee and a touched-by-an-angel perma-grin. His self-satisfied mugging grows old quick. "Sister Wives" is aptly titled. This is a show about three women (perhaps four, hold on) who are more than capable of speaking for themselves, and do. They embrace "the Principle" of polygamy even when it unnerves them. Meri is studying for her long-delayed college degree. Christine, who is pregnant with baby number 13 (her sixth; a daughter already named Truly Grace), keeps hearth and home with the most gusto of the three wives, and she is most willing to voice her discontent when things get tense. Which they immediately do. After 16 years of tri-connubial bliss (Christine joined the family in 1994), Kody is now gaga for Robin, a 30-year-old divorced mother of three, who lives five hours away. God has revealed to Kody that he should ask Robin to wed him and join the family. The Sister Wives are understandably conflicted, to say nothing of the teenagers in the family, who grew up with three moms and never expected a fourth. In spite of the fact that it's on TLC, "Sister Wives" is carefully made and almost qualifies as a documentary. Every unseemly moment is quickly supplanted by an event or emotion that is, objectively, as tender and revealing as . . . well, as anyone else's reality show. If given a choice among TLC's freakish array of programming, which includes the Gosselins (of "Plus 8" infamy), the Duggars (of "19 Kids and Counting," an ongoing environmental disaster in Arkansas) and a number of large or atypical families that include argumentative dwarfs and/or cupcake entrepreneurs, I'd be tempted to move in with the Browns before any of the others. For anyone who might be championing polygamist rights (is anyone?), the Browns are a public-relations gift from above. Not for them the calico dresses and Laura Ingalls Wilder accoutrements, nor are they afflicted with the strange home perms that hold the God-fearing Duggar girls in sway. There is no compound, no stockpiling for the Apocalypse. The Browns live in a sprawling ranch-style house designed by a "plig" homebuilder: Each mom has a floor and a kitchen. Dad visits each of the marital beds on a scheduled rotation -- and they've all been together going on 20 years. Beat that, everyone. There's a Wii in the main living room, and the Browns prefer to dress in contemporary Target-style fare -- jeans and cute tops. To their credit, the wives seem especially adamant that their children grow up to make their own choices, apart from the clan, which disarms some of the more sinister stereotypes about polygamist sects. When the camera is on, the Browns are glowing with plig pride. ("Plig," as the four adults explain, is a fun slang word for the lifestyle.) Their children go to a plig cooperative school. And there's plig humor: "We are sisters of the same mister, but he's my brother of another mother." Yes, it's a lot like "Big Love." I would find it hard to believe that the Browns haven't seen HBO's fictional melodrama, and that they've not only picked up some cues from the show, but also ascertained from its appeal (and recent news events) that the moment is ripe for some positive plig spin. TLC is only too happy to provide this, in exchange for the ooky allure of it all. As with "19 Kids and Counting," religion is the barely acknowledged elephant in the room, something the producers seem intent on cutting a wide circle around, lest viewers be scared off. Like the Duggars, whose politics and values have been all but scrubbed clean, we see the Browns (who say they are Fundamentalist Mormon) in moments of bedtime prayers, but we do not explore the nitty-gritty of their faith, politics and other core beliefs. The Browns know that their definition of marriage is difficult to describe to outsiders; yet the outside world cannot help but be curious. It's a mysterious and fascinating taboo, crossing as it does the primal wires of biology, culture and religion -- and don't forget law, although the Browns are not technically violating any. Kody and his wives have recognized that a TV show can be a lucrative exchange. We've already established in American society that although a reality show can be unsettling, it's not a sin, and no one's stopping you. Sister Wives (one hour) debuts Sunday at 10 p.m. on TLC.	The family at the center of the new series '''' are now the subject of a criminal investigation. Yesterday, following Sunday's debut of ''Sister Wives'', police in , Utah, where the show is set, announced they are investigating Kody Brown and his four wives for possible charges of bigamy. ''Sister Wives'' focuses on Brown, his four wives—Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn—and his 13 children and three step-children. The family has said they are participating in the show to bring more public awareness to polygamist families and fight societal prejudices. Brown has claimed the arrangement is not illegal because he is only legally married to Meri, and the other marriages are only spiritual unions. However, Lehi police said yesterday that state laws identify bigamy through cohabitation, not just legal contracts. The department plans to turn their findings over to the Utah Attorney General's office at the conclusion of their investigation. TLC contacted the state attorney general's office before the series was broadcast in anticipation of potential legal issues. The office has not explicitly stated they will not charge the Browns, but has stated they do not have the resources to prosecute polygamists unless they are suspected of serious crimes, like and . == Sources == * * *
Politics Halloween banned at Moscow schools MOSCOW. Oct 31 (Interfax) - The Moscow education department has stated that it is unacceptable to hold any Halloween events at Moscow schools. "The department's stance has remained invariable since 2003, when the leadership of the department sent a letter to Moscow principals, which bans holding Halloween events at their schools," press secretary of the education department Alexander Gavrilov told Interfax on Wednesday. The decision was taken because this holiday "includes religious elements, including the cult of death, the mockery of death, personification of death and evil, which contradict the secular nature of state educational institutions," he said. "This is destructive for the minds and the spiritual and moral health of pupils," Gavrilov said, adding that this decision was made in line with the recommendations of psychiatrists. \|\|\|\|\| Russians walk past a pile of Halloween pumpkins in Red Square in Moscow October 30, 2005. Moscow schools have been ordered to ban students from celebrating Halloween despite the widespread popularity of the imported festival to Russia. REUTERS/Ivan Buslayev MOSCOW (Reuters) - Moscow schools have been ordered to ban students from celebrating Halloween despite the widespread popularity of the imported festival to Russia. Halloween is being forced underground because it “includes religious elements, the cult of death, the mockery of death,” a spokesman for the city’s education department Alexander Gavrilov said Wednesday. “It’s not an attempt to block the celebration of this holiday completely, just in schools and colleges,” he added. Pumpkins and images of witches are widespread across Russia, with many bars organizing special fancy dress parties, despite the efforts of the Kremlin, and especially the Russian Orthodox Church, to curb enthusiasm for non-native festivities. “This is destructive for the minds and the spiritual and moral health of pupils,” said Gavrilov.	A pumpkin in a dark field. Schools in Moscow, Russia have been told by the city's department of education to not allow any Halloween-related events. Alexander Gavrilov, press secretary of the education department, told ''Interfax'', "The department's stance has remained invariable since 2003, when the leadership of the department sent a letter to Moscow principals, which bans holding Halloween events at their schools." Gavrilov further said that the ban is because this holiday "includes religious elements, including the cult of death, the mockery of death, personification of death and evil, which contradict the secular nature of state educational institutions." "This is destructive for the minds and the spiritual and moral health of pupils," he said. "It's not an attempt to block the celebration of this holiday completely, just in schools and colleges."
Russia has offered a $10m reward for the warlord's capture The decision follows ABC's interview with Chechen rebel leader Shamil Basayev, who claimed responsibility for the 2004 raid on a school in Beslan. The Russian foreign ministry said last Thursday's broadcast was "abetting the propaganda of terrorism". An ABC spokeswoman said she did not believe the network regretted the decision to broadcast the interview. Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement that it would not be renewing accreditations that allow ABC staff to work in Russia once they expire. It added that further contacts between ABC and Russia's official organisations were "undesirable". Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov declared the network "persona non grata" within his ministry on Sunday. An ABC spokeswoman in New York, Emily Lenzner, was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying: "I don't think we regret having aired the interview." She also said that, although the scope of the ban was not clear, "I don't think this is going to keep us from reporting in Russia". Western 'hypocrisy' The BBC's Russian analyst Steven Eke says the authorities are equally angered that the ABC interview was conducted by Russian journalist Andrei Babitsky. Mr Babitsky, a correspondent for the US-funded Radio Liberty who has covered Chechen themes for many years, is seen by Russian officials as a sympathiser to those they consider terrorists. CLAIMED BY SHAMIL BASAYEV September 2004: Gunmen seize school in Beslan, 320 deaths August 2004: Suicide bombers destroy two airliners leaving Moscow, 89 deaths August 2004: Suicide bomber kills 10 outside a Moscow metro station October 2002: Gunmen seize Moscow theatre, 129 deaths Text: Basayev claims attacks His apparent ease of access to Mr Basayev's hideout in Chechnya - at a time when Russia is offering $10m (£6m) for the warlord's capture - makes a mockery of Russian security, our correspondent adds. Under Russian law, it is illegal to broadcast the voices of those deemed by Russian courts to be a terrorist. The authorities do not accept the argument that freedom of speech extends to individuals such as Mr Basayev, and have again accused Western nations of hypocrisy when it comes to fighting terrorism, our correspondent says. In the interview, Mr Basayev said he was a "terrorist", but said Russians were "terrorists" too. He admitted being behind the Beslan school siege last September, in which more than 320 people, around half of them children, were killed. And he said he was plotting more attacks. \|\|\|\|\| To improve the performance of our website, show the most relevant news products and targeted advertising, we collect technical impersonal information about you, including through the tools of our partners. You can find a detailed description of how we use your data in our Privacy Policy. For a detailed description of the technologies, please see the Cookie and Automatic Logging Policy. By clicking on the "Accept & Close" button, you provide your explicit consent to the processing of your data to achieve the above goal. You can withdraw your consent using the method specified in the Privacy Policy.	The American Broadcasting Company's (ABC) accreditation in Russia will not be renewed by the Russian Government following an interview with Shamil Basayev on ABC. Basayev is a Chechen rebel leader — who seeks an end to Russian rule of Chechnya — and has claimed responsibility for a number of terrorist incidents, including the Beslan school siege where 344 civilians - 172 of them children - were killed. The interview with Basayev was conducted by freelance journalist Andrei Babitsky and was shown during ABC's Nightline. A Russian foreign ministry spokesman said: "A decision was taken that at the end of their expiry period, the accreditations of the workers of this company will not be renewed." Initially, the Foreign Ministry had opposed this action, which was pushed by the Defence Ministry. After Basayev's interview, Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov said that ABC was "persona non grata" and described it as a "rogue tv station". In the interview, Basayev said that he was responsible for the Beslan atrocity and that further Beslan-style attacks would take place.
Afternoon Observer Everything you need to know about the day's news in Charlotte, direct to your inbox Monday-Friday. Recaptcha SIGN UP This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. \|\|\|\|\| Charlotte school bus overturns Divorced parents in SC may have to pay for college Woman accused of stealing from her own daughter (Charlotte, North Carolina-NBC) Jan. 10, 2006 - Two adults and two children received minor injuries when a North Carolina school bus ran off the road and flipped Tuesday morning in Charlotte. There were 18 children and two adults on the bus, which was headed to a pre-school. All the children were strapped into safety seat harnesses, as required by law. The driver said she swerved to avoid a log or tree branch in the road. Posted 4:35pm by Chantelle Janelle	A school bus overturned Tuesday morning in Charlotte, North Carolina causing minor injuries to two children and two adults. The driver reportedly swerved to avoid a log in the road. The bus rolled down an embankment and came to rest on its roof. The children on the bus were 3 and 4 year-olds from the Bethlehem Center Head Start program. The bus was carrying 18 children, all strapped into safety seats in accordance with North Carolina law. The uninjured were transferred to a second bus and taken to school.
AEGON CHAMPIONSHIP Venue: Queen's Club, London Dates: 8-14 June 2009 Coverage: Live coverage on BBC1, BBC2, red button, Radio Five Live updates and BBC Sport website. Find complete listings here Defending champion Rafael Nadal has pulled out of the Aegon Championship at Queen's next week with a knee injury. The world number one, and reigning Wimbledon champion, has been advised to rest by doctors. "I've been having problems in the past months with my knees, that's no secret," said the Spaniard. "I need to recover and get ready for Wimbledon." Meanwhile, Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis has been given a wildcard as replacement for the injured Kei Nishikori. Baghdatis, who reached the final of the Australian Open in 2006, also has pedigree on grass, reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon six months later, beating British number one Andy Murray and Lleyton Hewitt on the way. Murray and four-time champions Andy Roddick and Hewitt are set to play at the Queen's Club event which starts on Monday. Despite his withdrawal, Nadal is optimistic he will be fit to defend the Wimbledon title he won in such dramatic fashion against Roger Federer last year. 606: DEBATE This is a bad omen for Wimbledon agarwalgunner "I am very disappointed to not be able to come this year to Queen's, defend the title I won last year and enjoy playing there in front of the very knowledgeable British crowds," he said. "I need to work with my team to recover my physical condition to be at my top form and get ready for the grass to play at Wimbledon. "I hope I can be ready to compete by then. I am really sorry and I hope that the people at the tournament will still want me to come next year." Nadal's agent Benito Perez-Barbadillo said the Spaniard will continue to monitor his knee but at this stage he is not a doubt for Wimbledon. "I don't think you can call it a risk but obviously he needs to check on the knee and see how it evolves this week and we will know more next week," he said. "It comes and goes, he has decided with his doctors its better to stay at home to keep working on his physical condition. "Hopefully he will be ready for Wimbledon, that is what he has said, hopefully he will be there." Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? E-mail this to a friend Printable version \|\|\|\|\| Rafael Nadal, the reigning Wimbledon champion, will not defend his All England Club title. The world No1 has been forced to pull out of the tournament with tendinitis, becoming only the fourth man in the modern era not to defend his title at the All England Club. "Not to play Wimbledon is one of the toughest decisions in my career but the decision was made easier because I don't feel ready to compete at 100%," said Nadal. "I don't feel like I'm ready to play in a tournament that is as important as Wimbledon." Nadal, who announced his decision at Wimbledon this evening, lost his second exhibition match in consecutive days today, losing 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 10-3 to the No 19 seed Stanislav Wawrinka in the BNP Paribas Fortis Tennis Classic at the Hurlingham Club in Fulham in his final attempt to find his fitness before the fortnight. "I tried everything," said Nadal. "I tried hard in the last week to get in the best condition and today was my last test. I didn't feel terrible but I was not at my best." Nadal had been assigned into the same half of the draw as Great Britain's Andy Murray but Murray will now replace Roger Federer as the No2 seed, with the Swiss player promoted to the No1 slot. The Spaniard won this year's Australian Open but his knee problems contributed to his failure to defend his French Open title successfully at Roland Garros. Nadal needs only the US Open title to complete a career grand slam and his decision to pull out of Wimbledon is aimed at giving him enough recuperation time to make a tilt at the title at Flushing Meadows in August. \|\|\|\|\| Photo: GETTY IMAGES The Spanish world number one suffered a shock fourth-round defeat to Roger Soderling at the French Open as he missed the chance for a fifth consecutive triumph on the clay of Roland Garros, and has since been troubled by knee problems. Nadal, 23, did not play at Queen's, where Murray went on to become the first home-grown winner in 71 years, but was scheduled for a practice session at Wimbledon on Tuesday and may yet take up the invitation to play an exhibition match at the Hurlingham Club on Friday. Nevertheless, Borg - the last man before Nadal to win both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same season - feels the Spaniard will be a spent force at SW19. "Nadal is always a dangerous player because he is the best in the world - but what happened in Paris and then the injury, I am picking Murray or Federer," said the Swedish ace, who shocked the tennis world when he retired at the age of just 26 in 1983 with 11 Grand Slam titles already to his name, six of which came in Paris. "For Nadal to win five in a row <1/8>at the French Open<3/8> was a big goal this year. "I am sure he was very, very disappointed when he went home after Paris. That defeat took him many, many days to get over. "Nadal is saying he has got an injury, but he has to be fit at Wimbledon if he wants to go all the way, and I do not think he will go all the way this year." Borg, though, believes Murray, now up to third in the world rankings, has got what it takes to become a first British winner at SW19 since Fred Perry back in 1936. "Andy has had a great year," said Borg, who was in London on Tuesday for the launch of the HSBC Champions of Wimbledon. "I do not think he was ready to win Wimbledon last year, but it is a different story now. He is ready to win it this year. "He has no weaknesses, he can play on all kinds of surfaces and I was very impressed what he did on the clay court surface. He was hitting the ball extremely well. "Andy Murray seems to find himself on the court and knows how to behave, focus and play his game. "He has matured a lot as a person over the last year and as a tennis player. "If you compare him now to a few years ago he is a completely different player on the court. "He is ready to win a Grand Slam tournament and is one of my favourites to win Wimbledon. "Andy is physically and mentally strong, but there is going to be huge pressure - however, he can handle it if he focuses on the things he can do." Borg added: "If not Wimbledon, he can win the US Open, but if he does not win Wimbledon this year, then he has a good chance in the years to come. "One day, eventually, Andy Murray will win Wimbledon."	Rafael Nadal at the Rafael Nadal, the 2008 Men's Singles winner at , announced today his withdrawal from the because of a knee injury caused by his . The formal announcement came after he had played the second of his warm-up matches. On Thursday, whilst playing , Nadal had experienced issues with moving about the court. Again, whilst playing today, he had problems and lost the match. He will be the first champion to not defend his Wimbledon championship since pulled out in 2002. As a result, fifth seed takes Nadal's place in the first quarter of the draw, seventeenth seed takes del Potro's place in the fifth quarter, becomes the thirty-third seed and takes Blake's place in the fourth quarter, with his own previous spot now filled by lucky loser . was quoted on Tuesday (June 16) as saying "Nadal is always a dangerous player because he is the best in the world — but what happened in Paris and then the injury, I am picking Andy Murray or . … For Nadal to win five in a row (at the French Open) was a big goal this year. I am sure he was very, very disappointed when he went home after Paris. That defeat took him many, many days to get over. Nadal is saying he has got an injury, but he has to be fit at Wimbledon if he wants to go all the way, and I do not think he will go all the way this year."
The UN says that attacks on aid workers in eastern Chad have doubled since last year [EPA] Elisabeth Byrs, a UN spokeswoman, said on Friday that the aid groups include the international Red Cross and French group Doctors Without Borders. The UN says that six aid organisations have halted their work in Chad because of the risk of their staff being abducted or killed. The announcement comes after Laurent Maurice, a Red Cross worker, was kidnapped on Monday and a Chadian aid worker was recently killed. According to a source close to the international peacekeeping force in the reigion, Maurice's kidnappers have demanded $1.5 million for his release. Several armed men on Monday seized the French worker who was in eastern Chad to assess recent harvests in the village of Kawa, about 10km from the border with Sudan. General Oki Dagache, who heads co-ordination with the international force in eastern Chad, has blamed the kidnapping on "crooks from Sudan" and said the kidnappers had crossed back into Sudan's western Darfur region with their captive. Byrs said the suspension leaves at least 37,000 people without aid and that attacks on aid workers in eastern Chad have doubled to about 190 compared with last year. At least 70 United Nations and other aid organisations provide food, water, and medical help to more than 250,000 Sudanese refugees and uprooted Chadians in the east. \|\|\|\|\| GENEVA, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Six aid groups have suspended operations in eastern Chad following the killing of one worker, the kidnapping of another and a spate of banditry, the United Nations said on Friday.The move could hit thousands of people who either have fled the Darfur conflict in neighbouring Sudan or suffer at the hands of Chad rebels who have long operated in the area."To date, five NGOs (non-governmental organisations) and the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) have temporarily suspended their activities in the east," Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told a news briefing."Serious acts of banditry in eastern Chad over the last two weeks jeopardise the continuity of humanitarian operations," she added, citing the death of a local worker for the agency Solidarite and the kidnapping of a French ICRC worker.Byrs said around 37,000 people, often living in vulnerable conditions, would be affected by the suspension.There have been more than 50 armed attacks on humanitarian workers in eastern Chad this year. Armed banditry has been a persistent security threat, with relief groups saying they are targeted because they have cars and other valuables.Earlier on Friday, Chadian General Oki Dagache deplored the "risky behaviour" of foreign aid groups in Chad, urging them to notify authorities of their movements -- something they have resisted for fear it would compromise their operations.The ICRC suspended its field operations in Chad earlier this week after armed men kidnapped Laurent Maurice, an agronomist for the ICRC who was monitoring harvests, and his five Chadian colleagues, in the village of Kawa near the Sudanese border.An ICRC spokeswoman in Abeche, eastern Chad, denied reports it had received a ransom demand of 1 million euros ($1.49 million) for his release. The ICRC says it has been in touch with the kidnappers but has not been able to confirm their identity.(Writing by Mark John and additional reporting by George Fominyen in Dakar; editing by Michael Roddy)	in Chad in Chad Six aid groups have suspended work in Chad today after the killing of one aid worker, a rash of banditry, and a kidnapping, according to the United Nations. The UN says about 37,000 people will be affected in some way by the move. UN spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs noted that the and '''' (Doctors Without Borders) are among those to halt operations. "To date, five NGOs non-governmental organisations and the ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross have temporarily suspended their activities in the east," Byrs said. "Serious acts of banditry in eastern Chad over the last two weeks jeopardise the continuity of humanitarian operations." This comes soon after a worker for the Red Cross, Laurent Maurice, was kidnapped earlier in the week and another local aid worker for the ''Solidarités'' agency was killed. Over fifty attacks on humanitarian aid workers in Chad have been made this year by bandits. Relief workers are targeted by criminals because they have valuables and vehicles.
The St James Park issued a distress call on Monday night saying it had been attacked by pirates Somali pirates have captured two ships with 45 crew off the East African coast, officials say. A UK-flagged chemical tanker, the St James Park, was reportedly captured in the Gulf of Aden on Monday while on its way to Thailand from Spain. Its 26 crew hail from Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Georgia, India, Turkey and the Philippines. The Navios Apollon, a Panamanian-flagged Greek cargo ship with 19 crew, was hijacked north of the Seychelles. The 50,000-tonne carrier - which had been sailing from the US state of Florida to India - was boarded on Monday by 10 men in speedboats, according to the Greek coastguard. Pirate attacks have been common off the Somali coast and international navies have been deployed to counter them. 'No contact' The St James Park issued a distress call on Monday night saying it had been attacked by pirates, said the International Maritime Bureau. Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. The tanker, which was carrying a cargo of chemicals used to make plastics, had changed course and was now heading towards the northern coast of Somalia, said Andrew Mwangura of the Seafarers Assistance Programme. "It is expected to arrive there later this evening," Mr Mwangura told AFP news agency. The ship's owner-operators told the BBC they were working for "the early and safe release of our crew members on board". A spokesman for Zodiac Maritime Agencies said the company had had no contact with the St James Park or the pirates but was in contact with the European naval force in the area. The waters around Somalia are among the most dangerous in the world. Correspondents say the upsurge in piracy in the region is a consequence of the failure to find a solution to Somalia's continuing political disarray. \|\|\|\|\| MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somali pirates seized a chemical tanker and a cargo vessel on Monday, underlining the continued risk to shipping in some of the world's busiest maritime trade routes. World Somalia has been mired in chaos with no effective central government since 1991 and pirate gangs operating from coastal havens have flourished over the past few years. They have made tens of millions of dollars from seizing ships for ransom in the Gulf of Aden, linking Europe to Asia, and are also hunting far into the Indian Ocean to evade foreign navies sent to protect commercial shipping. On Monday, pirates seized the British-flagged chemical tanker St James Park in the Gulf of Aden and the Panama-registered cargo ship Navios Apollon, taking the number of vessels they hold to more than 10, maritime officials said. On the same day, pirates released the Singaporean-flagged container ship Kota Wajar, saying they received a $4 million ransom for the vessel seized in October far out in the Indian Ocean near the Seychelles archipelago. An official with Navios ShipManagement, the managers of Navios Apollon, said the vessel was seized about 800 miles off the Somali coast, north of the Seychelles. The official, who declined to be named, said there had been no contact since. ATTACKS ON THE RISE Somalia's Western-backed government has promised to battle piracy but it controls little more than a few blocks of the capital Mogadishu, and the hefty ransoms are attracting more investors in piracy from within the country and abroad. Analysts say there is scant hope of stamping out piracy unless some order can be brought to Somalia, an unlikely prospect as rebel groups control much of the country and the pirates are well entrenched in their fiefdoms. Foreign navies have been deployed around the Gulf of Aden and have operated convoys as well as setting up and monitoring a transit corridor for ships to pass through vulnerable points. The European Union force, numbering 7 vessels currently, is among navies with warships in the Gulf of Aden. But forces have been stretched over the vast expanses of water including the Indian Ocean, leaving vessels vulnerable. According to the International Maritime Bureau pirate attacks worldwide have risen sharply this year. The increased activity and range of Somali pirates has been behind the increase. In the year to October 20, there were 324 attacks worldwide with Somali pirates accounting for 174 -- up from 194 incidents in the same period of 2008. Of the 37 vessels seized, Somali pirates accounted for 35 and took 587 crew hostage. The raids carried out by heavily armed men in high-speed skiffs have pushed up shipping insurance premiums and forced some vessels to switch routes to try to evade the sea gangs. Andrew Mwangura of the Kenya-based East Africa Seafarers' Association said the chemical tanker and its 26 crew had been sailing to Thailand from Spain with a chemical used to make plastics when it sent a distress signal from the Gulf of Aden. He said crew members were from Bulgaria, Georgia, India, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. The Panama-flagged bulk vessel was sailing from the United States to India with a cargo of fertilizer when it was seized. The Greek management company confirmed there were 19 crew. According to Ecoterra International, a group that monitors shipping off Somalia, at least 10 foreign vessels and 228 seafarers were being held close to the country before the two latest seizures. (Additional reporting by David Clarke in Nairobi, Harry Papachristou in Athens and Irina Ivanova in Sofia; Writing by David Clarke; Editing by Alison Williams/David Stamp) \|\|\|\|\| Login Enter your details below to login If you are an existing member of The Times and The Sunday Times enjoying the full benefits of thetimes.co.uk, then simply enter your Times+ login details below and press 'Enter' Enter your details to login Email address Password Keep me logged in information Keeps you logged in for a rolling 15 days or until you logout	Pirates from Somalia have captured two ships in the Gulf of Aden on Monday. The ships thought to be captured are the British owned St James Park chemical tanker, and the Panamanian Navios Apollon cargo ship. This brings the total number of ships being held by the pirates to ten. Also on Monday, pirates released a Singapore-owned cargo ship, the Kota Wajar, for US$4 million (€2.7m, £2.5m) ransom. Gulf of Aden The pirate commander Mohamed Shakir told ''The Times'' “We have hijacked a ship with a British flag in the Gulf of Aden late yesterday, we have peacefully captured the ship and no shots were fired and there are no casualties.” The ''St James Park's'' owner Zodiac Maritime Agencies released a statement saying that none of the crew had been injured and that they are working to get the crew members released. Somalia's provisional government has vowed to fight piracy in their territory, although the pirates appear to outnumber the government. The government receives aid from foreign nations and the European Union to help fight the piracy. Large ransoms appear to be the motive for young Somalians and foreigners to hijack these ships.
Press Trust Of India New Delhi: Left leaders Prakash Karat, Sitaram Yechury, A B Bardhan, Abani Roy and Debabrata Biswas on Tuesday courted arrest along with hundreds of supporters as part of protests against the recent hike in fuel prices by the UPA Government. Terming the price hike as "unjustifiable and irrational", they demanded a total roll back urging the Government to rationalise the tax structure instead of putting the burden on the common man. Before courting arrest, hundreds of activists of CPI(M), CPI, RSP and Forward Bloc staged a demonstration at Jantar Mantar as part of the nationwide agitations which began on Tuesday. Addressing the gathering, CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat criticised the move by Congress-led state governments to reduce state-level taxes on petrol and diesel to cushion the impact of the price hike. He also said the Centre should first reduce taxes to make fuel cheaper instead of passing the entire burden on the states. Karat said the hike in fuel price could have been avoided had the Government implemented the alternatives suggested by the Left parties, including slashing customs and excise duties on crude imports. "We have also suggested that the oil cess fund, amounting to Rs 1,25,000 crore, could be converted into a price stabilisation fund so that entire burden of global crude price hike was not passed onto the consumers," he said. Left parties have refused to reduce sales tax for petroleum products in states ruled by them even though Congress governments in Andhra Pradesh and Goa have announced such cuts and Delhi too is expected to follow suit. Last week, the Government increased the prices of petrol by Rs four per litre and diesel by Rs two per litre to cut the losses of state-run oil marketing companies that have been hit by soaring global crude prices. \|\|\|\|\| NEW DELHI: The Left parties, joined by regional forces like Samajwadi Party and Telugu Desam Party, on Tuesday staged street protests to demand the roll back of the fuel price hike as the Communists said the UPA government could not take their support for granted. Barring states ruled by the Left and Uttar Pradesh, where the ruling Samajwadi Party's workers stopped many trains and blocked highways at several places, the protests had little impact. Strikes by truckers against the price hike that coincided with the protests, however, affected transport services in Orissa, Tripura and Madhya Pradesh. In Delhi, CPI-M leaders Prakash Karat and Sitaram Yechury and CPI's A B Bardhan courted arrest at the Parliament Street police station with a large number of Left activists. Leaders from the Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Lok Dal and Janata Dal-Secular were also present. They said the protest was meant to mount pressure on the government to reverse its "anti-people" decision and the issue would be raised in the UPA-Left Coordination Committee meeting on Wednesday. In West Bengal, the ruling Left Front organised sit-ins before the offices of oil PSUs. Normal life in Kerala, another Left-ruled state, was paralysed by a dawn-to-dusk strike called by trade unions. Shops and business establishments remained closed while attendance in government offices was thin. Over 5,000 Left activists, including CPI secretary D Raja, were taken into custody across Tamil Nadu when they tried to picket Central government offices and roads. In Uttar Pradesh, train services were affected and minor incidents of violence reported during the strike against the price hike. Long-distance trains were stranded as Samajwadi Party workers squatted on the tracks and stray incidents of violence occurred when the protestors forcibly closed down shops and businesses, police said. Samajwadi Party workers also blocked roads at several places in the state, including the busy Grand Trunk road and the Lucknow highway. The Telugu Desam Party joined the CPI-M for the protests in Andhra Pradesh, holding protest rallies in Hyderabad and several district headquarters during which their workers courted arrest. The TDP chief and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu participated in a "cycle rally" with a large number of his party workers. Left party workers in Madhya Pradesh staged protests, blocked roads and burnt effigies of the UPA government. In Bhopal, they shouted slogans against the Centre, terming the fuel price hike as "unwanted and irrational" and demanding its total roll back. CPI and Samajwadi Party workers joined the demonstrations at Guna and Gwalior, where traffic was blocked by the protestors. Left party workers in Punjab and Haryana staged demonstrations and blocked traffic at Bathinda, Ludhiana and Hoshiarpur. The Punjab Truck Operators Union also held protest demonstrations against the fuel price hike.	The Left parties, joined by regional forces like Samajwadi Party and Telugu Desam Party, today staged street protests to demand the roll back of the fuel price hike as the Communists said the UPA Government could not take their support for granted. Barring states ruled by the Left and Uttar Pradesh, where the ruling Samajwadi Party's workers stopped many trains and blocked highways at several places, the protests had little impact. Strikes by truckers against the price hike that coincided with the protests, however, affected transport services in Orissa, Tripura and Madhya Pradesh. In Delhi, CPI(M) leaders Prakash Karat and Sitaram Yechury and CPI's A B Bardhan courted arrest at the Parliament Street police station with a large number of Left activists. Leaders from the Samajwadi Party,Rashtriya Lok Dal and Janata Dal-Secular were also present. They said the protest was meant to mount pressure on the government to reverse its "anti-people" decision and the issue would be raised in the UPA-Left Coordination Committee meeting on Wednesday. In West Bengal, the ruling Left Front organised sit-ins before the offices of oil PSUs. Normal life in Kerala, another Left-ruled state, was paralysed by a dawn-to-dusk strike called by trade unions. Shops and business establishments remained closed while attendance in government offices was thin. Over 5,000 Left activists, including CPI Secretary D Raja, were taken into custody across Tamil Nadu when they tried to picket Central Government offices and roads.
New Zealand has retaliated to Fiji expelling its acting high commissioner by sending the Fijian high commissioner home, it was reported tonight. TV3 reported that Fiji's high commissioner in Wellington, Ponsami Chetty, would be on the first flight home. The expulsion came just over an hour after news from Suva that Caroline McDonald was told at 5pm she had been declared persona non grata in Fiji. The action against Ms McDonald followed an announcement last night that she would not be expelled, and comments from the interim government that it wanted to improve its relationship with New Zealand. Self-appointed prime minister Commodore Voreqe (Frank) Bainimarama threatened last week to expel Ms McDonald if a student visa was not granted to the son of a senior official in the president's office. He was told last Tuesday it would not be granted. Prime Minister John Key indicated yesterday there would be retaliatory action if Ms McDonald was expelled. - NZPA \|\|\|\|\| Fijilive Hibiscus National Appeal No justification in expulsion: NZ 23/12/2008 New Zealand's foreign minister says there has been "no misbehaviour" by its high commissioner to justify this afternoon’s decision by the Fiji interim Government to expel her. Murray McCully says Fiji officials have not given a reason for Caroline McDonald’s expulsion. "The New Zealand Government can't deal with these discussions with a gun pointed at its head," McCully told the Associated Press. He New Zealand's acting High Commissioner in Fiji was told just this afternoon that she had a week to leave the country. McCully said New Zealand would retaliate by ejecting Fiji's High Commissioner to New Zealand, Ponsami Chetty. Chetty is expected in Fiji on the first flight from New Zealand tomorrow. McCully said Fiji’s interim Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama had earlier threatened to expel McDonald if New Zealand did not grant the visa for the son of a senior official in the Fiji President’s office. The diplomatic spat escalates a rift between the two countries over Fiji military leader Commodore Bainimarama's promise to restore democracy by April next year. New Zealand, along with Australia, has been heading international pressure on Bainimarama to return the troubled nation to democratic rule. The latest sparring started when New Zealand refused to grant a student visa to the son of a Fijian official under sanctions Wellington imposed on key members of Fiji's government and their relatives following the bloodless coup. Fijilive Reader Comments Name Email Comment Posted Comments Posted By: abdul Posted On: Dec 23 2008 20:04:12 Comment: Open your eyes NZ. Can you put pressure on Robert Mugabe? He has ruined his country with high inflation & cholera. But that's ok with NZ, US & allied forces. abdul Posted By: Ashok Kumar Posted On: Dec 23 2008 22:07:28 Comment: I am an ex-Fiji resident living in Australia for the last 15 yrs. Fiji is strong enough to go all the way on its own for road map to democracy. A country like Fiji should not go play puppet to Australia or New Zealand in their bully boy tactic. Ashok Kumar Posted By: Ratu Kulati Posted On: Dec 24 2008 01:55:24 Comment: Oh Mr PM, how I love thee! No more kissing the kaivalagi's butt! Ratu Kulati Posted By: epeli Posted On: Dec 24 2008 04:54:57 Comment: This is not enough. Shut down the NZ embassy. The government should stop talking about Australia and make it very clear that NZ is being singled out because of their "dumb sanctions". NZ is a poor country. They will lose 1/2 billion dollars in trade from Fiji, while Fiji gets very little back. They have more to lose. Let's wake up, NZ is just not important at all. This is not US or China we're talking about. epeli Posted By: Nick Brown Posted On: Dec 24 2008 05:32:48 Comment: Why this makes both countries look like petulant little children. I do not believe the Fijian diplomat did anything to justify his expulsion ... as a New Zealander I deeply regret that Nick Brown Posted By: andrew Posted On: Dec 24 2008 06:40:47 Comment: Pure bully on New Zealand's part. andrew Posted By: boe Posted On: Dec 24 2008 07:07:08 Comment: I think the biggest loser here is NZ for being stubborn. The actions of the Fiji Govt is not hostile, but the reactions from NZ seems pretty hostile. It's like they haven't got their way so they are retaliating. boe Posted By: jioji Posted On: Dec 24 2008 10:19:19 Comment: epeli, NZ is not a poor country. Why do you think a lot of Fijians are lining up up to leave Fiji and settle in NZ? And have you read the statistics regarding poverty in Fiji? Your narrow mindedness shows how naive you are. Or perhaps your visa was declined, sour grapes ay kemuni haha. jioji Posted By: Raj Sharma Posted On: Dec 24 2008 10:30:40 Comment: Fiji should also impose a ban on all imports from New Zealand into Fiji. In any event middle class and low income earners cannot afford to buy goods imported from NZ so this will make the New Zealand businessman to jump. It's time this action is taken. Raj Sharma Posted By: Paula Posted On: Dec 24 2008 11:40:36 Comment: This nation is full of hatred and jealousy, even up to those who's hosting this blog. They only select views that support the interim regime and those that support hatred against either NZ or Aust govt to be published. But we at least we all know that this action is foolish to the highest standard for a normal human being. Paula Posted By: sereyawa Posted On: Dec 24 2008 11:44:34 Comment: The NZ Foreign Minister should give us a reason why civil servants can't be allowed to travel to NZ. These were people who were employed before the coup took place. What have their family members got to do with travel bans placed on their parents. At the end of the day people in Fiji need to feed their families, it means they need a job - is the NZ Govt willing to employ them? Do I watch my family go hungry just for the sake of travelling to NZ or Australia? Absolute rubbish - it won't achieve its aim because it has not worked in other countries with almost a similar situation to Fiji. Guess what it will increase our resolve to stand up to you guys that's for sure and maybe pickup a millilitre of hatred along the way. It just goes to show with all the wisdom you white fellows have none of you know how to tackle Frank - you hit him around the legs - so far your high tackles have not worked - Frank is skilled in the art of ducking. Further advice from me on this matter requires payment of fees. sereyawa Posted By: jioji Posted On: Dec 24 2008 12:52:24 Comment: abdul, what's this got to do with Robert Mugabe? Zimbabwe is not in the Pacific region, is it? It's in Africa and the African Union has been trying to find solutions but to no avail. It's interesting to read that some MPs in Fiji are calling the expulsion a "national disgrace". What do you think of that abdul? jioji Posted By: Kaiviti Posted On: Dec 24 2008 14:32:49 Comment: I was just wondering whether the NZ and Aust Govt stood up like this in the face of Pakistan, Thailand and all those countries that it trades with but had its legitimate govt removed by the military. If not, what a shame ... we are not blind and won't be fooled by your double standards and cowardly tactics. Kaiviti Posted By: yavita Kotomaimoce Posted On: Dec 24 2008 17:34:45 Comment: @ ashok kumar ... you should pack up your bags and go back to Fiji. They need your help for building the new military roadmap to democracy. I wish the Australian government would revoke your citizenship/PR so you can go back to Fiji and help the military regime. @epeli ... the sanctions will prevail and Fiji will soon be back in the hands of the leaders chosen by the people to lead. yavita Kotomaimoce Posted By: epeli Posted On: Dec 24 2008 19:23:13 Comment: Jioji, you need to take a class in "logic". Abdul was making a point about NZ's double standards, because they attack Fiji but they will never dare say anything against, for instance the militia in Darfur, because Fiji is harmless but most of the world isn't. By the way, those politicians using the words "national disgrace" are looking out for their own good, trying to score points for a future election. Notice that they included Indians and Fijians both. Jioji, you are smarter than that. Frank is the only true son of Fiji, fighting for all Fijians, for Fijian pride and sovereignty. God Bless Frank. epeli Posted By: to jioji Posted On: Dec 25 2008 00:16:11 Comment: jioji why can't you see that we are being bullied around by these two so called neighbours. Do you like being bullied around? We Fijians have our own Fijian pride. We don't like being bullied around. It's time we stand up to them. National disgrace - No. A person who sells Fiji's sovereignty to another nation would be a disgrace. Now would you class Frank or Qarase as a national disgrace? to jioji \|\|\|\|\| Fijilive Hibiscus National Appeal Team to improve Fiji-NZ relations 23/12/2008 Fiji will soon set up a committee to work on improving relations with the New Zealand government. This comes as the two countries are engaged in a stand-off over the travel sanction imposed by New Zealand following the 2006 military coup. Fiji’s interim Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said interim Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama will announce in “the next few days a special team to agenda and foster better relations with New Zealand”. While calling for dialogue, Sayed-Khaiyum also urged Fiji’s people and the Pacific to “stand up” to “bullying tactics” by Fiji’s larger neighbours. “We must be proud of our countries and not be intimidated. We need to constructively engage with each other but that engagement must be based on respect and for the difference between our countries and on respect for each other as a sovereign nation.” He said no other country has treated Fiji the way Australia and New Zealand have and they are fond of telling other pacific countries how to deal with Fiji. “The heads of their missions do not engage with the Government Ministers and the State at a political level,” he adds. “The existence of diplomatic missions is to engage with the country in which they are based. The Australians and New Zealanders have not adhered to this basic principle.” Sayed-Khaiyum also asked why Fiji’s interim Government is not being recognized despite a High Court ruling validating its appointment by the President. “In 2000 both these two governments engaged fully with the then interim Government which the Court had declared was illegal. In 1987 it engaged with the decree-led Government for 5 years, following the removal of the Bavadra Government and the 1970 Constitution. “Their inconsistency extends beyond Fiji. When governments were removed in Thailand and Pakistan, the Australia and New Zealand Governments continued full diplomatic engagement. “One is then left with the only conclusion that the Governments of Australia and New Zealand are simply bullying the Pacific, believe they can engage with Fiji and the Pacific in whichever form they want and we in the Pacific are expected to just sit back like children and accept it. “The abuse of diplomacy has extended to their missions, and not only by disengaging with the Fijian Government but by actively engaging with those who are opposed to the Government. They have been engaged in local politics, they are engaged in creating disquiet within the population. This is why (former NZ high commission Michael Green was sent back. “It has also become apparent that Australia and New Zealand appear to be dictating to the rest of the Pacific Island countries as to how Fiji should be dealt with. They have even sought to preempt the outcome of the MCG report.” The high commissions of Australia and New Zealand have yet to respond to the comments. Fijilive Reader Comments Name Email Comment Posted Comments Posted By: Ula Nejad Posted On: Dec 23 2008 12:39:28 Comment: Fiji was proposed to fulfil the sixth or seventh colony of the Australia Star depicted on their coat of arms. He he he. Why is Samoa, Tonga and the rest of the island nations allowed to speak their native language and English while Fiji is left with English? If I was to sit in that newly formed committee, NZ and Aust would not hear the end of it. You have to shove it to them really hard until they don't have any answers. Fiji has leverage over them and just not using it to its potential. Ula Nejad Posted By: Sayde Muntz Posted On: Dec 23 2008 13:50:41 Comment: It is rather ironic that New Zealand and Australia continue to place travel sanctions on innocent members of the public in Fiji and at the same time preach democracy. These two countries have for many years enjoyed the privilege of being able to travel in to Fiji without a visa - and staying for up to a period of 3-4 months. We all know that this same privilege does not apply likewise to Fiji citizens. Is it right that these two countries continue to preach democracy? I think not! Sayde Muntz Posted By: ned kelly Posted On: Dec 23 2008 14:10:06 Comment: It is sad to reach this far. Every action has purpose. We as a nation still not yet met the purpose of the coup. Aust and NZ have a purpose on sanctions which is very clear. So, this IG should understand to meet the purpose of the coup first and they will automatically meet the purpose of the sanctions. Without this happening, I think the sanctions will go worse. We are a nation using a lot of tactics to make our point right. On the other side sits these two countries, Aust/NZ, which have a lot of resources for our people. Pls, IG help this nation for election ASAP. This is the only solution ... no other way. ned kelly Posted By: Samu Posted On: Dec 23 2008 16:22:50 Comment: To SM, the citizens of NZ respect the immigration policies of other countries and as such are allowed to enter a lot of countries. If this applied to Fiji then boat loads of people would come here and never would want to leave. As it is there are thousands of people from Fiji overstaying. Samu Posted By: sereyawa Posted On: Dec 23 2008 17:30:40 Comment: One wonders if NZ & Australia understand that a court ruling has taken place - which means the the IG can run till the President decides what's to happen ie - Charter. Pretty cool scenario - what you reckon - so what's the fusssssssssss NZ & Australia? sereyawa \|\|\|\|\| Key Points: Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully is refusing to comment on claims New Zealand and Australia are tapping the phones of key figures in Fiji's self-appointed government. Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum yesterday alleged Australian and New Zealand authorities were tapping phone lines and using locals employed at their high commissions to spy on the interim government, the Fiji Village website reported. A spokesman for Mr McCully today refused to comment on the allegations. Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said Fiji's interim prime minister, Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama had questioned the Australian Foreign Minister Steven Smith on the alleged tapping. Mr Smith had neither confirmed nor denied the claim. He also lashed out at locals employed at the High Commissions in Fiji alleging that they are acting as spies against their own country. Mr Sayed-Khaiyum earlier denied a decision by his government not to expel New Zealand's acting high commissioner for now was a back down. The diplomatic row is over a demand by Cdre Bainimarama that a visa be granted to the son of a senior official in Suva. He told the Government last week acting High Commissioner Caroline McDonald would be expelled if the visa was not granted to George Nacewa so he could resume studies at Massey University. Cdre Bainimarama was told last Tuesday the visa would not be granted, and since then the Government has been waiting for his reaction. Mr Sayed-Khaiyum yesterday said the government had decided against expelling Ms McDonald for now. The decision followed Prime Minister John Key yesterday warning New Zealand would retaliate if she was expelled. But today Mr Sayed-Khaiyum denied Fiji had backed down. He said some New Zealand diplomats were disengaged with Fiji's government but engaged with the opposition, which he did not see as good diplomatic behaviour. But Cdre Bainimarama had chosen to separate out the actions of Ms McDonald from the government-to-government relations of New Zealand and Fiji. "There is a New Zealand diplomat who is not acting or behaving diplomatically," he said on Radio New Zealand. "That needs to be dealt with on a separate basis. It should not in any way affect our ability on a government-to-government basis to rebuild our relationship or better our relationship." He said Ms McDonald could still be expelled at a later date if she was found to be meddling in Fiji's internal politics. Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said a three-member team was being set up "to try and work with New Zealand to foster better relations". Cdre Bainimarama has become increasingly irritated by the travel sanctions New Zealand imposed on Fiji after he led a coup two years ago that overthrew the elected government. The travel ban applies to members of his government, the military, and their relatives. George Nacewa is the son of Rupeni Nacewa, a secretary in the Fiji president's office. The last contact between the two governments was late last week when Cdre Bainimarama sent an angry letter to Mr McCully. The foreign minister responded by reiterating New Zealand's position. - NZPA understands the Government would consider expelling Fiji's high commissioner in Wellington, Cama Tuiloma, if Ms McDonald was given her marching orders. New Zealand's previous high commissioner in Suva, Mike Green, was expelled in June 2007 after being accused of interfering in Fiji's domestic affairs. A spokesman for Mr McCully would not comment last night on the latest developments in the saga. - NZPA \|\|\|\|\| Michael Green had been high commissioner in Fiji since 2004 The interim government said "provisions remain open" for New Zealand to replace Michael Green as high commissioner. But Wellington reacted with fury at the expulsion, and warned Fiji that there would be repercussions. New Zealand was one of dozens of nations to strongly criticise last December's bloodless coup in Fiji. It imposed sanctions following military leader Cmdr Frank Bainimarama's move to topple elected Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase and his government. Media reports suggested Mr Green, who had been high commissioner in Fiji since December 2004, had upset the government by meeting members of the deposed government. Diplomatic backlash "The practice of quiet diplomacy was foremost given all the chances to prevail by Fiji authorities in our efforts to seek understanding and co-operation of... Mr Green to stop interfering in Fiji's domestic affairs, " the Fijian government statement said. It also went on to say that Fiji's own diplomat in Wellington had "continuously been snubbed" by the New Zealand authorities, "and the attitude of his counterpart in Fiji has done little to help the situation". Cmdr Bainimarama has been sensitive to foreign criticism of the coup The statement ended by saying Fiji considered this a "purely bilateral matter", and should not have any implications for its relations with other countries. New Zealand said it would now be assessing what next steps to take. It has already suspended military ties with Fiji and imposed travel bans on the new leadership since the coup in December. Foreign Minister Winston Peters told the BBC that New Zealand was "looking at every aspect of our bilateral relations" and may impose measures as early as next week. He said the action could involve issuing new travel advisories or putting a freeze on New Zealand bank accounts held by Fiji's leadership. But he insisted aid would not be affected. "We regard the Fijian people as innocent in this matter. We would not want to act in a way that would seem to be a mirror image of the country we are dealing with, in terms of the government." Cmdr Bainimarama said he had no choice in carrying out the coup on 5 December 2006 because Mr Qarase's government was corrupt. He was also angered by a government plan to offer amnesties to those involved in a 2000 coup that he had helped put down. But he has come under huge pressure from overseas since the coup, and lifted a state of emergency in the country at the end of last month.	Fiji and New Zealand are engaged in a game of diplomatic tit-fot-tat after expelling each other's High Commissioners. This afternoon Fiji's military regime expelled acting New Zealand High Commissioner to Fiji Caroline McDonald. The New Zealand government retaliated by expelling Fiji's High Commissioner to Wellington, Ponsami Chetty. Both will be given a week to leave the country. McDonald's expulsion was announced late this afternoon by Fiji's interim Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, who said that it was "a direct result of McDonald's actions over the past year that have been contrary to the accepted international norms of diplomatic behaviour". The Fijian government has accused New Zealand and Australia of spying on Fiji, claiming they were tapping phone lines and listening in on members of the interim regime. The New Zealand government has denied any "misbehaviour" by McDonald. The round of diplomatic tit-for-tat was sparked by growing tensions between New Zealand and Fiji over sanctions put in place in the wake of the 2006 coup. Members of the interim regime and their immediate families are barred from entering New Zealand. Last week the Fijian regime threatened to expel New Zealand's High Commissioner unless the New Zealand government granted a visa to George Nacewa, the son of a senior regime official. But yesterday the interim regime apparently backed down on its threat, issuing a statement that it would not expel McDonald and announcing that it would establish a special team to improve relations between the two countries. McDonald is the second New Zealand diplomat expelled by Fiji. In June 2007 then-New Zealand High Commissioner Michael Green was expelled after being accused of interfering in the country's domestic affairs. Last week ONE News Pacific Correspondent Barbara Dreaver was deported as she arrived to cover the crisis. Fiji's military overthrew the country's elected government in a military coup in December 2006.
Drucken Die Präsidentin des Kammergerichts - Pressestelle - Pressemitteilung 04/2006 Berlin, den 09. Februar 2006 T rotz in Wikipedia (de.wikipedia.org) enthaltener Beiträge über den Computerfachmann „Tron“ darf Wikimedia wieder auf die Enzyklopädie weiterleiten Das Amtsgericht Charlottenburg hat heute die am 17. Januar 2006 gegen den Verein Wikimedia e.V. erlassene einstweilige Verfügung aufgehoben, worin dem Verein untersagt worden war, die Internetadresse wikipedia.de auf die Internetadresse de.wikipedia.org weiterzuleiten, solange unter der letztgenannten Adresse ein Beitrag eingestellt ist, der den bürgerlichen Namen des im Alter von 26 Jahren verstorbenen Sohnes der Antragsteller nennt. Die Antragsteller hatten die einstweilige Verfügung beantragt, weil nach ihrer Darstellung zu diesem Zeitpunkt unter der Domain de.wikipedia.org Beiträge bereitgestellt wurden, in denen der ungekürzte Nachname ihres verstorbenen Sohns - eines in Fachkreisen unter dem Pseudonym „Tron“ bekannten Computerspezialisten - genannt wurde. Dies verletze das „postmortale Persönlichkeitsrecht“ ihres Sohnes. Nach Auffassung des Gerichts steht den Antragstellern ein Anspruch auf Unterlassung der Nennung des bürgerlichen Namens ihres Sohnes im Internet nicht zu, da durch die Namensnennung dessen über den Tod hinausgehendes Persönlichkeitsrecht nicht verletzt werde. Der postmortale Schutz der Persönlichkeit sei vor allem darauf ausgerichtet, den Verstorbenen vor unwahren Behauptungen, vor Herabsetzungen und Erniedrigungen sowie vor groben Entstellungen seines Lebensbildes und seiner Lebensleistung zu schützen. Entsprechendes sei hier jedoch nicht gegeben. Auch eine Verletzung des eigenen Persönlichkeitsrechts der Antragsteller scheide aus, weil allein aus den streitgegenständlichen Beiträgen auf der website eine Identifizierung der Antragsteller nicht möglich sei. Das Amtsgericht hatte bereits am 20. Januar 2006 auf Antrag des Vereins Wikimedia e.V. die Zwangsvollstreckung aus dem Beschluss bis zum Erlass des Urteils eingestellt. Grund für die damalige Entscheidung war die Abwägung zwischen dem Schutz des postmortalen Namensrechts und dem Grundrecht der freien Meinungsäußerung. Das Verbot der Weiterleitung von wikipedia.de zu de.wikipedia.org sei – so die Begründung des Beschlusses - angesichts der geringen Anzahl der das Namensrecht verletzenden Beiträge im Verhältnis zur glaubhaft gemachten Gesamtzahl der Beiträge unverhältnismäßig und geeignet, nicht absehbare wirtschaftliche Schäden hervorzurufen. Gegen die heutige Entscheidung ist die Berufung zum Landgericht Berlin möglich. (Gesch.-Nr. 218 C 1001/06, Amtsgericht Charlottenburg). Bei Rückfragen: Dr. Stephan Kapps \|\|\|\|\| Das Amtsgericht Charlottenburg hat heute die am 17. Januar 2006 gegen den Verein Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. erlassene und kurze Zeit später zunächst außer Kraft gesetzte einstweilige Verfügung aufgehoben. Damit kann der Verein von seiner Domain wikipedia.de wieder uneingeschränkt zur deutschsprachigen Ausgabe der freien Enzyklopädie Wikipedia weiterleiten. Die Weiterleitung wird noch im Laufe des Tages wurde bereits wiederhergestellt. Nach Auffassung des Gerichts verletzt die Nennung des vollen bürgerlichen Namens des verstorbenen Hackers Tron in dem entsprechenden Wikipedia-Artikel nicht das postmortale Persönlichkeitsrecht des Verstorbenen. Auch eine Verletzung des allgemeinen Persönlichkeitsrechts des Vaters von Tron hat der Richter mit klaren Worten verneint. “Wir freuen uns, dass das Gericht unsere Rechtsauffassung vollumfänglich bestätigt hat”, meint Kurt Jansson, Erster Vorsitzender von Wikimedia Deutschland. “Wir hoffen, dass die juristische Auseinandersetzung damit beendet ist und der Anwalt der Kläger angesichts der Eindeutigkeit des Urteils von weiteren Schritten gegen Wikimedia absieht”, erklärt Jansson. Denn wenn die letzten Wochen eines gezeigt hätten, dann dass die juristische Auseinandersetzung einer sachlichen Debatte nicht förderlich war und dem eigentlichen Anliegen der Eltern von Tron mehr geschadet als genutzt habe. Zur Versachlichung der Diskussion könne es auch beitragen, wenn die Eltern von Tron ihre noch im Raum stehende einstweilige Verfügung gegen die Wikimedia Foundation (Florida, USA) freiwillig zurückzögen; schließlich sei nicht zu erwarten, dass das Amtsgericht Charlottenburg hier zu einer anderen Entscheidung kommen werde. Wikimedia Deutschland appelliert auch an die aktiven Wikipedia-Autoren und die gesamte Netzgemeinde: Der Beschluss des Gerichts betrifft nur den konkreten Fall. Über die Veröffentlichung von Klarnamen muss weiterhin im Einzelfall entschieden werden. “Dies hat aus unserer Überzeugung grundsätzlich nur nach sorgfältiger Abwägung aller ethischen und juristischen Aspekte zu erfolgen”, stellte der Erste Vorsitzende Kurt Jansson im Anschluss an die Entscheidung des Gerichts klar. Auch wenn im konkreten Fall eindeutig keine Verletzung von Persönlichkeitsrechten vorliege, begrüßt der Verein ausdrücklich die Forderung zur Formulierung einer Informationsethik für die Wikipedia. Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. wolle dieses Thema zusammen mit Mitgliedern aus der Gemeinschaft der Wikipedia-Autoren und der Öffentlichkeit in den kommenden Monaten voranbringen. \|\|\|\|\| Mehr zum Thema Wikipedia darf damit seine Internetbesucher außerdem wie gehabt von der Domain "wikipedia.de" auf die US-Domain "de.wikipedia.org" umleiten. Die Eltern des im Alter von 26 Jahren gestorbenen Hackers Boris F., Pseudonym "Tron", hatten den Angaben zufolge bereits am 17. Januar eine einstweilige Verfügung gegen den Verein erwirkt. Wikipedia wurde damals die Domain-Weiterleitung untersagt, so lange "Trons" voller Name genannt werde. Wenige Tage später wurde die Verfügung wegen Unverhältnismäßigkeit außer Kraft gesetzt. Jetzt zog das Amtsgericht einen vorläufigen Schlussstrich.Der Anwalt der Eltern, Friedrich Kurz, erklärte: "Wir werden auf alle Fälle in Berufung gehen." Das Urteil sei "willkürlich und greifbar gesetzeswidrig". Denkbar sei auch die Anrufung des Europäischen Gerichtshofs für Menschenrechte. Kurz hatte unmittelbar vor der Verkündung durch das Gericht den Saal erbost verlassen, nachdem ihm der Richter seine Entscheidung mitgeteilt hatte. Laut Gericht ist Berufung zum Landgericht Berlin möglich.Die Eltern hatten eine Verletzung der "postmortalen Persönlichkeitsrechte" ihres Sohnes beklagt, weil dessen ungekürzter Nachname in Wikipedia genannt wird. Das Gericht teilte diese Einschätzung nicht. Ein Anspruch auf Unterlassung bestehe nicht, da durch die Namensnennung das "über den Tod hinausgehende Persönlichkeitsrecht" des Sohnes nicht verletzt werde. Der postmortale Schutz der Persönlichkeit sei vor allem darauf ausgerichtet, den Verstorbenen vor unwahren Behauptungen, vor Herabsetzungen und Erniedrigungen sowie vor groben Entstellungen seines Lebensbildes und seiner Lebensleistung zu schützen, heißt es in einer Erklärung des Gerichts weiter. Entsprechendes sei in diesem Fall nicht gegeben. Auch eine Verletzung des Persönlichkeitsrechtes der Eltern scheide aus, weil "allein aus den streitgegenständlichen Beiträgen auf der Website eine Identifizierung der Antragsteller nicht möglich sei", erklärte das Gericht.Anwalt Kurz wies das zurück. "Der Name wird auf der Website doch in voller Länge genannt. Wie soll da eine Identifizierung nicht möglich sein", sagte er. Außerdem sei der Nachname der Eltern einmalig in Deutschland. "Tron", der als einer der besten Hacker in der deutschen Szene galt, wurde im Oktober 1998 in einer Berliner Parkanlage erhängt aufgefunden. Während die Polizei von einem Selbstmord ausging, verwiesen andere Hacker auf das Interesse von Wirtschaft und Geheimdiensten an den Kenntnissen des 26-Jährigen, der unter anderem Verschlüsselungssysteme für Telefonkarten geknackt hatte. "Trons" Tod bot sogar Stoff für einen Thriller des Autors Jan Gaspard. \|\|\|\|\| Court overturns temporary restraining order against Wikimedia Deutschland In the lawsuit between the registered association Wikimedia Deutschland and the father of the hacker Tron the local court in the Berlin district of Charlottenburg has now proclaimed its verdict: The application of the plaintiff has been dismissed. Wikimedia Deutschland is once again legally entitled to redirect visitors to the domain wikipedia.de to the international domain de.wikipedia.org, the lawyer of the association Thorsten Feldmann reported today. The lawsuit centers on the question of whether Wikipedia is entitled in an article to reveal the real name of the hacker who died in 1998. As early as December 2005 the father of the dead hacker had obtained a temporary restraining order against the Wikimedia Foundation in Florida. However, the foundation does not seem to have been served the order yet. That move on the part of the father was followed in January by a temporary restraining order against the registered association Wikimedia Deutschland, which has now been overturned. The verdict had been delayed several times. Thus the lawyer of Tron's father Friedrich Kurz had last week doubted that the lawyer of Wikimedia Deutschland had a proper mandate and had dismissed the motions against the temporary restraining order submitted by the association's lawyer as irrelevant. After the court rejected the notion that Tron's right to privacy was being violated postmortem, Mr. Kurz argued that as the only living person to bear this particular surname the appearance of his client's surname in the free online encyclopedia violated the latter's right to privacy. The court apparently did not endorse this reasoning. An appeal against the verdict is possible. Last week Mr. Kurz had already proclaimed that he would be taking further legal action to prevent the real name of the hacker from being made public on the Internet. (Torsten Kleinz) (Robert W. Smith) / (jk/c't)	Logo of Wikimedia Deutschland The Amtsgericht Berlin-Charlottenburg has repealed an injunction that it had issued in January against Wikimedia Deutschland, the German chapter of the Wikimedia Foundation. The court found that identifying the deceased Boris Floricic as the hacker Tron in an article of the German Wikipedia does not constitute a breach of the personal rights of Floricic or his parents, the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. It said that those rights only protect deceased persons from libelous or disfiguring characterisations of their biography; this is not the case in the Wikipedia article. The court also found that the personal rights of the parents were not infringed upon as well, as the article does not enable anyone to identify them. The lawyer of the parents, Friedrich Kurz, called the decision "arbitrary", "tangibly illegal" and a "misjudgment" as his clients have a unique surname which would make it possible to connect Tron to them. He announced that he would appeal the decision, even to the European Court of Human Rights if necessary. The chairman of Wikimedia Deutschland, Kurt Jansson, said they are happy that the court "confirmed our interpretation of the law completely" and hoped that the attorney of the plaintiffs would refrain from taking further legal actions due to the "decidedness" of the ruling. The court in Berlin had issued an injunction against Wikimedia Deutschland on January 17th, banning them from redirecting www.wikipedia.de to de.wikipedia.org.
India test fires air-to-air Astra missile Published by: Yateesh Kukreti Balasore (Orissa): India Monday successfully test fired the Astra air-to-air missile from its Integrated Test Range (ITR) off the Orissa coast. The beyond visual range air-to-air missile was tested at the Chandipur test range at about 9.45 a.m. "The test was a success," S.P. Dash, director of the ITR, told reporters. Another Astra missile is scheduled to be tested from the same test range later in the day, he added. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Share it \|\|\|\|\| A cardinal chases a wren away from a feeder in Kentucky Performers dance during the Safai Mahotsav in Etawah Participants at the talented transgender hunt in Mumbai SL President Mahinda Rajapaksa greets monks in Colombo Actors Shahid Kapoor, Genelia D'Souza at an event in New Delhi Actor Aamir Khan with children at an event in Mumbai President Patil greets Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina in Delhi Paramilitary jawans rehearse for Republic Day parade at Rajpath Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina pays homage at Rajghat Kimono-clad women at an event at Tokyo Disneyland in Urayasu Motocross riders do freestyle jumps at an event in Germany \|\|\|\|\| Posted Mon, 01 Jul 2019 17:13:00 GMT by Samantha WaitesWe present some business ideas for those of you who think that the future is greener than the present- we can think of some who don't ---. The advice is general and does not apply exclusively to any one nation. Posted Mon, 29 Apr 2019 14:30:00 GMT by Jane GoodallWe use the tiger (this is a prime Siberian example) to show up our failure to conserve wild species, but while we monopolise all the food that animals require, we could remember that it is not only their conservation we urgently need to cover. It is also our own indulgences. Posted Wed, 05 Dec 2018 00:00:00 GMT by JW. DoweyHow can you describe the threats existing to species, both large and small? Using the highly-threatened primates, we can perhaps see how they have contrived to exist until the current time. Then we can better understand just how we can prevent factors simply wiping them from the face of the earth, often through ignorance, lack of care, prejudice and of course the universal profit motive. Conservation begins in our minds, but demands much more than that. Posted Wed, 12 Sep 2018 13:31:00 GMT by JW, DoweyWhat does that blue butterfly do when you are not watching. We still have to discover exactly how the Eurasian large blue exploits Myrmica ants, but many of its relatives are either cuckoos (eg. (Phengaris alcon), or outright predators like the AustralasianLiphyra brassolis larvae ,eating the whole brood of the green ants they live with. How did such diverse habits evolve? Well, start reading here. Posted Wed, 20 Jun 2018 08:35:00 GMT by Dave ArmstrongFor several years, excitement has been building over the Atlantic presence of Manta birostris and Manta cf birostris/ this is the classification system trying to tell us of a potential new species that is related to genus Manta. Little progress has been made on this W. Atlantic species of oceanic manta, but it cant be long before we can confirm new knowledge of parenting and juvenile growth in at least the main species, which seems to live alongside the potential new manta. Posted Fri, 01 Jun 2018 12:10:00 GMT by Stefan RanstrandOcean plastic pollution could triple in a decade without action by the ocean economy. TOMRA CEO Stefan Ranstrand responds to the UK Governments Foresight Future of the Sea report and explains how container deposit schemes and sensor-based recycling sorting could provide a solution. Posted Wed, 02 May 2018 07:50:00 GMT by JW. DoweyLook at those modified wings and the bee antennae. But this is no stinger or biter. Its a clearwing moth, and you can find similar species near your own location worldwide. Its all about the mimic, and its model- in this case a generalised stingless bee. Trouble is, you wont find this guy. Good luck, but he seems to be almost extinct. One of those many new species that will disappear rapidly, just like many others that have been seen just as we destroy their habitat. Posted Wed, 04 Apr 2018 08:39:22 GMT by Dave ArmstrongThere is a songster we have missed. He sings far beneath the ice in the dark of a polar winter, so maybe its about time we listened to the incredible songs that this whale concocts every winter, every month and possibly each day! Posted Tue, 19 Dec 2017 11:15:00 GMT by Bobbi PetersonYou can deny climate change as much as you like. The evidence contradicts you. Any logical study takes account of scientific data which can be reproduced. That is the difference between media reports and the global warming reality. Here we have an up-to-date report on the state of one nation, with many others also recognising and acting on how to combat climate change in a coordinated global response. Posted Fri, 08 Dec 2017 12:30:00 GMT by JW.DoweyIUCN must be listened to, unless you are one of those who disregards any science on the grounds that it could be fake. Acting is the opposite to disinterest, but what can we do to counter the actions of great industries or the governments of large populations of people? The answer seems bland, but it proves individuals are always important. Posted Mon, 13 Nov 2017 10:10:01 GMT by JW. DoweyFrom Myanmar, through the Congo to the Atlantic forests of Brazil, we are neglecting our rainforests, but temperate forests are also suffering, often from pest influences as global warming really takes hold in certain regions. How to help prevent a treeless future - as always, take these pieces of well-informed, well-rounded and interesting advice. Posted Tue, 26 Sep 2017 09:34:49 GMT by Dave ArmstrongWhere will you wander? The world may be becoming smaller but there are many spots to choose from if you love to explore. A new book reveals many possibilities for those who hanker after a getaway. Whether you imagine shivering in the Antarctic or sweltering in a swamp, this is the ideas factory for you. Posted Wed, 06 Sep 2017 07:15:00 GMT by JW.DoweyDoes the dog in your living room have any similarity to those wild species that we are losing from our savanna and forests? This new discovery of signalling a hunt could lead us to more understanding of much more than our domestic animals. The beauty of the painted dog lies in intricate behaviour and care systems which maintain a society we should envy. Posted Mon, 04 Sep 2017 14:58:01 GMT by Dave ArmstrongZero waste organisations have been spreading to many nations over the last 10 years. Now weve been asking the UK population just how much they care about waste. Posted Wed, 30 Aug 2017 09:45:00 GMT by Dave ArmstrongFor the first time, two otters have a comparative study on their ability to learn from others in their clan. This could lead to study of more animals in this area, providing valuable evidence of evolutionary trends in sociability. Posted Tue, 29 Aug 2017 09:25:00 GMT by JW.DoweyHow can we fight the build-up of plastic on landfill, shores and in the middle of the ocean, as well as inside the fish we eat! Fashion can provide a small part of the answer with this new crowd-funded company called Asanox. Plus, you can actually go and pick up the plastic contaminating our best shorelines, alongside sas.org. Posted Mon, 28 Aug 2017 08:59:00 GMT by Dave ArmstrongOCEANA are fishing closer to home on this occasion, hoping to catch governments and those who wish to destroy our precious, and decreasing stocks of habitats , fish and even sea grass, mud and bivalves. Posted Wed, 23 Aug 2017 09:25:00 GMT by JW. DoweyPeople wonder why and how hunted animals became the quieter beasts of burden and table fodder of modern times. Here is an interesting moment in time, 14,500 years ago as Jordanians hunted sheep and goats with simple bone and stone weapons, prior to their domestication. Posted Wed, 16 Aug 2017 07:45:00 GMT by TalatGreen web hosting is a simple, inexpensive step businesses can take to reduce the environmental impact of their websites. This is how it works... Posted Mon, 31 Jul 2017 08:59:00 GMT by Dave ArmstrongXmas comes very early for us this year, with a tremendous guide to all our ancestors and their evolution into modern forms. You will need a subscription to Nature to read the details but we have the lowdown on the nitty-gritty of fishies and birdies too! The Earth Times site and content have been updated. We do apologise, as this may mean that the article or page you were looking for has changed. The Earth Times now focuses on producing and publishing our own unique content on environmental issues, which is written by our own team of expert authors and journalists. We now publish environmental news articles and information on various environmental problems. You can use the site search at the top of each page, otherwise there are links to some of the main site categories and green blogs we publish included on this page. Some of the environmental topics and categories that we now focus on include climate change and the effects of global warming, including their various impacts on both people and the planet as well as conservation issues and news articles relating to nature and wildlife. The site puts an emphasis on sustainability issues, including the use and technological progress made with various types of alternative or renewable energy. Earth Times runs several eco friendly blogs (environmentally friendly) on various topics such as ecotourism (sustainable travel and tourism), eco fashion, green living, green gadgets and clean technology, plus various other environment based news categories including pollution and science news. If you have any questions or queries please contact us.	India successfully test fired the Astra, meaning "weapon" in Sanskrit, air-to-air missile from a specially-made launcher at about 9:45 am. The launch occured at launch pad number two of the Integrated Test Range complex in Chandipur, 230 kilometres (143 miles) north-east of Bhubaneshwar, Orissa. The single-stage, solid fuel Astra missile, developed by the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), is a high-end tactical missile comparable to the contemporary BVR (Beyond Visual Range) missiles and is capable of engaging and destroying highly maneuverable supersonic aerial targets. It is designed to intercept enemy aircraft at supersonic speeds in head-on mode at a range of 80 km and in tail-chase mode at 20 km. It is capable of carrying conventional payload of 15 kilograms. The missile has a solid-propellant engine and is capable of achieving speeds of around Mach 4, four times the speed of sound. The missile which has a range of 25 km (15 miles) can be fitted into any fighter aircraft. It is intended to be eventually integrated with the IAF's Sukhoi-30MKI, MiG-29, Mirage 2000, Jaguar, and the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft. S.P. Das, head of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Orissa said "It was a very good flight. The test was conducted to prove the control system," after the missile hit targets accurately. Sources at the ITR claimed the tests on the missile's navigation, control, air frame, propulsion and other sub-system have been validated.The complex missile system would undergo some more trials before being made fully operational. They hope to introduce it in India's arsenal by 2011.
Cudicini signed for Spurs from Chelsea in January Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini has suffered "potentially life-changing injuries" in a motorbike accident in east London, police said. He was taken to hospital after his BMW bike was involved in a collision with a car in Walthamstow at about 1030 GMT. He has fractured his wrists and injured his pelvis but a spokesman for the north London club said they were still waiting for hospital test results. The Italian, 36, signed from London rivals Chelsea in January this year. The female driver and a child passenger walked away from the Ford Fiesta Cudicini was in collision with and did not need hospital treatment. No arrests The accident happened on Forest Road. A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: "A 36-year-old male suffered injuries described by the London Ambulance Service as possibly life-changing and was taken to an east London hospital for further assessment and treatment. "No arrests have been made." A statement on Tottenham's website said: "Carlo Cudicini has fractured his wrists and injured his pelvis after being involved in a road accident this morning. Free transfer "The 36-year-old Italian goalkeeper has been admitted to hospital and undergone scans under the supervision of club medical staff. "The club will update supporters on Carlo as soon as there is any further information." Cudicini was signed by manager Harry Redknapp on a free transfer and has made eight appearances standing in for the injured Heurelho Gomes. He spent almost 10 years at Chelsea, making more than 200 appearances after signing for the west London club from Italian side Castel di Sangro, following earlier brief spells at AC Milan and Lazio. His father Fabio was AC Milan's goalkeeper in the 1960s. A statement on Chelsea's website read: "Chelsea Football Club sends our best wishes for a full and speedy recovery to Carlo Cudicini who has been involved in a road accident today." \|\|\|\|\| About Cookies We want you to enjoy your visit to our website. That's why we use cookies to enhance your experience. By staying on our website you agree to our use of cookies.	Cudicini while he was playing for Chelsea Italian goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini has been seriously injured in a motorcycle accident in London. The player, who plays for Tottenham Hotspurs, was involved in a collision with a car at 10:30 GMT. The football club reported that he has fractured his wrists and injured his pelvis. A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police released a statement saying "A 36-year-old male suffered injuries described by the London Ambulance Service as possibly life-changing and was taken to Whipps Cross Hospital for further assessment and treatment". No arrests have been made. Cudicini crashed his motorcycle into a Ford Fiesta with a female driver and a child passenger. Neither the driver or passenger were injured in the accident. Cudicini is the son of former AC Milan goalkeeper Fabio Cudicini. During his career he has played for Lazio, AC Milan and Chelsea. He played for Chelsea for 10 years until he was transferred to Tottenham in January. He made one appearance for the Italian national team.
POSTED: 12:10 pm PDT June 22, 2006 Mayor Ron Gonzales rejected calls to step down after he was booked on fraud, bribery and conspiracy charges from a grand jury probe into a secretly negotiated garbage contract. Gonzales, 55, was released on a $50,000 bond after being indicted on six counts Thursday for allegedly brokering a backroom deal that cost taxpayers more than $11 million. He refused to resign his post and continued to deny any wrongdoing in the scandal that has dogged him for nearly two years. "The people of San Jose elected me to be the mayor of this town, and I am going to be the mayor of this town," Gonzales told reporters at a benefit dinner for a local education foundation Thursday night. He declined further comment. His budget aide, Joe Guerra, and Norcal Waste Systems also were charged in the indictment. All three face arraignment Monday in Santa Clara County Superior Court. Guerra faces charges of fraud, conspiracy and misappropriating public money, according to the indictment. His lawyer, Alan Lagod, confirmed his client was booked and released on bail. The indictment named Norcal in four counts, including conspiracy, bribery and misappropriating public money. Its lawyer, Bill Goodman, said the company denied wrongdoing. Gonzales also faces felony charges of misappropriating funds and falsifying public documents. He could be sentenced to more than a dozen years in prison if convicted, criminal experts said. Prosecutors would not comment on the indictment. They scheduled a news conference Friday to discuss the results of the grand jury probe that had already led city councilors to censure the mayor last year. The indictment alleges Gonzales pressured Norcal to recognize the Teamsters union at a recycling plant run by one of Norcal's subcontractors -- a move the company said would keep labor peace but would cost millions more a year than planned. The indictment said Gonzales suggested to company officials that he could make the city reimburse Norcal. The meeting constituted conspiracy to "cheat and defraud because from this meeting Norcal understood that Gonzales was offering to use his official position to persuade the City of San Jose to pay Norcal an additional estimated two million dollars per year." The indictment alleges Gonzales then took an unspecified bribe from Norcal and conspired over the next four years with Guerra to make good on his plan. Through an elaborate series of misleading statements and falsified public documents, the two convinced the council to approve the extra payments without knowing where the money was going, according to the indictment. District Attorney George Kennedy said in December that he was investigating the deal Gonzales struck with Norcal. At the time, Kennedy said that civil grand jury findings and those of independent investigator Chris Scott Graham raised "serious questions" about the dealmaking process. Gonzales and Guerra treated City Council procedure as a "mere formality" and failed to adhere to the concepts of open government by forging the agreement, Graham said in the report. A civil grand jury accused the two last year of "duping" the council into approving a 2003 rate increase and a 2004 contract amendment to cover $11.25 million in increased labor costs. Gonzales did not disclose to city councilors that $1 of a $1.40 per month garbage rate increase was intended to cover labor costs. Gonzales has acknowledged that he agreed to the pay hikes without informing the council, but said members knew it was happening. As word of the indictment spread, Vice Mayor Cindy Chavez and three city councilors called on Gonzales to step down immediately. The indictment now promises to dominate the city's November mayoral race. Gonzales, whose term is up at the end of the year, is barred by city law from making a third run for the office. Councilor Chuck Reed, who is in a runoff with Chavez to replace Gonzales, has based his campaign on cleaning up City Hall. He's painted Chavez, the mayor's appointee, as tied to a tainted administration. "I plan to continue pointing out that the council terminated the Norcal investigation without clearing up the facts," said Reed, one of two councilors who dissented on the vote last year. Chavez, who first supported the mayor when the allegations arose, on Thursday asked the City Council to convene a special session seeking Gonzales' resignation. If Gonzales won't resign, Chavez wrote in a memo to her colleagues, the council should seek to restrict his ability to act on the city's behalf. She also noted that she would not seek to be named interim mayor while running a campaign for the post. Gonzales' indictment may mark the end of a meteoric political fall. In 1998, he was one of the first Hispanic mayors of a major U.S. city. In 2000, he addressed the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles after being named one of 100 rising stars by the Democratic Leadership Council, a centrist group led by Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., then presidential candidate Al Gore's running mate. Two months later, however, Gonzales' reputation sustained a major blow when he was forced to admit an extramarital affair with a 25-year-old subordinate. Gonzales eked out a re-election victory in 2002, but the city soon struggled under the weight of record deficits following the dot-com bust. The mayor suffered a stroke during his State of the City address in 2004. Copyright 2006 by KTVU.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Since then, the city has been racked by a series of contract scandals, including a sweetheart deal requiring contractors to use equipment from local technology giant Cisco Systems for a new City Hall that has cost more than $500 million. \|\|\|\|\| We are unable to locate the page you requested. The page may have moved or may no longer be available. You may also want to try our search to locate news and information on MercuryNews.com.	150px Ron Gonzales, the mayor of San Jose, California, and his financial aide, Joe Guerra, were indicted by a criminal grand jury on June 22 on six undisclosed charges. Gonzales and Guerra surrendered to the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department Thursday morning, where they were processed and released on bail. While the indictment has been sealed, the grand jury was investigating Gonzales's role in an $11 million contract amendment with Norcal Waste Systems. The County District Attorney has scheduled a press conference for 1:30 p.m. Friday PDT on the indictment. Gonzales and Guerra will appear before the county's superior court for a hearing on Monday, June 26.
Rumors are growing that reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's health is failing. Following the first report on the matter by the Chosun Ilbo on May 28, Japan's Shukan Gendai on Saturday reported that Kim had heart surgery by a team of German doctors, and the U.K.'s Telegraph on Monday wrote that he can barely walk 30 yards without tiring. On May 29, U.S.-based MSNBC wrote on their website that U.S. intelligence officials confirmed that they are "taking seriously recent reports of a deterioration" in Kim's health. A well-informed source on North Korean matters said on Monday, citing diplomats in Beijing, that Kim has been seen being carried into and out of a car, and an intelligence official said there is credible information that Kim's movements have changed recently. Experts on North Korea agree that Kim has a heart problem. A heart specialist at Severance Hospital in Sinchon said, "It is natural for movement to be impaired when a person has a heart problem." Baek Seung-joo, chief researcher with the North Korea division of the Korean Institute for Defense Analysis, said that Kim had a medical exam in China in January because of his heart condition. Former North Korean leader and Kim Jong-il's father Kim Il-sung died suddenly of a heart attack in 1994, meaning the family has a history of heart problems. Senior officials in the National Intelligence Service (NIS) said they are gathering information about Kim's worsening health, including reports of heart problems and diabetes, and that the NIS is conducting a detailed probe into Kim's condition. "The NIS is looking into a report that a German doctor performed heart surgery in North Korea in mid-May. Whether Kim Jong-il was the patient is not clear, but we're trying to trace the facts," an NIS official said. South Korean government officials maintain that Kim seems to be having no serious problems executing official business, since he was seen taking part in a nine-day trip to Kanggye and Sinuiju in late May. There are rumors that the North may be using a "phoney Kim" who resembles the dictator, but those rumors are "hard to evaluate," a government official said. If there were any urgent business to do with Kim's health, the official said, "suspicions would have been triggered by the movements of North Korean diplomats in China or military forces near Pyongyang." The most recent view of Kim was a brief appearance in a broadcast by the official Korean Central News Agency, which makes it hard to determine his health. But a medical specialist at Asan Medical Center said, "Considering Kim's diabetes, high blood pressure, and family history of illness, there is a high likelihood that these things will lead to complications such as a heart attack or a stroke." (englishnews@chosun.com ) \|\|\|\|\| Home North Korea NorthKorea (News Focus) Speculation arises again over N. Korean leader's health By Sohn suk-joo SEOUL, June 11 (Yonhap) -- Keen attention is being paid to the health of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il after a British newspaper speculated that he may need heart surgery to restore his failing health. Citing western government sources, the Daily Telegraph reported North Korea's reclusive leader has been so unwell that he could not walk more than 30 yards without a rest. \|\|\|\|\| Kim Jong-Il's Diabetes, Heart Problems Worsen orth Korean leader Kim Jong Il's health has worsened, a newspaper reported Monday, possibly causing him to limit his public appearances. The Chosun Ilbo newspaper quoted an unidentified intelligence official as saying South Korean authorities were investigating a report that ``Kim's diabetes and heart disease have worsened.'' There have been similar reports about the 65-year-old Kim's deteriorating health in the past, but the latest one is believed to be ``more credible'' than any other reports, the official was quoted as saying. U.S. intelligence authorities obtained a similar report and were trying to verify it, the official said. Health reasons could be causing Kim to curtail his public appearances, the newspaper said, noting he has appeared 23 times this year _ compared to 42 times at the same point last year. The report did not give any more details, including how serious Kim's health conditions were. The National Intelligence Service, the South's main spy agency, said it was checking on the report. Kim has ruled the North with an iron fist after his father and the North's founder, Kim Il Sung, died in 1994. He has three known sons, but has not yet publicly designated any as his successor. Sun May 27, 2007 20:38 EDT MICHAEL HILL Associated Press Writer ALBANY, N.Y.	Pyongyang watchers agree that Kim Jong-Il The Chairman of the Defense Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and defacto dictator, is having health trouble. Due to the secrecy of the North Korean regime only small bits of information are available. Kim is reported to have difficulty walking unassisted and is reported to be frail. Due to these symptoms, Kim's obvious obesity, and the fact that a team of German cardiologists has been dispatched to Pyongyang; It is believed Kim is suffering from congestive heart failure. Kim's father Kim Il-Sung died of heart failure in 1994.
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- A moderate earthquake rocked Baja California in Mexico, shutting down factories near the U.S. border and leaving about 400,000 people without power, authorities said Saturday. No major damage or injuries were immediately reported. The quake that struck around 11:15 p.m. Friday had a preliminary magnitude of 5.4, said Jessica Sigala, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colorado. It was centered 16 miles southeast of the border town of Mexicali and about 100 miles east of Tijuana. "It has been felt pretty widely in Southern California, southwestern Arizona and probably northern Mexico," Sigala said. It was followed by at least 15 aftershocks, including four with preliminary magnitudes of 3.8, 3.6, 3.5 and 3.0. The quake left about 400,000 people without electricity and 1.2 million without cellular telephone service, said Fire Capt. Rene Rosado, director of civil defense in Mexicali. About 80,000 workers were evacuated or were unable to enter factories for Sony Corp., Honeywell International Inc. and other major corporations that typically run 24 hours a day until the buildings could be checked for damage, he said. Two bridges showed 2- to 3-inch cracks and were closed until engineers could assess their safety, he said. The Baja peninsula is a geologically active region. In 2006, a magnitude 5.4 temblor struck the Mexicali area, but there were no injuries or damage. E-mail to a friend Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. \|\|\|\|\| 21 km (13 miles) NW (307°) from Guadalupe Victoria, Baja California, Mexico 32 km (20 miles) SSE (149°) from Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico 36 km (22 miles) SSE (148°) from Calexico, CA 163 km (101 miles) E (94°) from Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico	A moderate earthquake struck Baja California near the Mexico-United States Border at around 8:15 p.m. () February 8. With a of 5.1, the quake's center was reported to have been between the towns of Mexicali and . No injuries or damage was reported. Director of civil defense in Mexicali, Fire Capt. Rene Rosado, said several factories have been cleared of workers so that engineers might access possible damage to the structures. Another two bridges have been closed so that cracks could be examined. 400,000 people have been left without electricity, and 1.2 million are unable to use their cell phones. The initial quake was followed by around 15 aftershocks and felt, "pretty widely in Southern California, southwestern Arizona and probably northern Mexico," said Jessica Sigala, a geophysicist with the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
12 die in collision between train, bus in Slovakia BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — A train collided with a bus in central Slovakia on Saturday, killing 12 people and injuring 21 others, officials said. The collision occurred at about 9 a.m. (0800 GMT, 3 a.m. EST) Saturday at a train crossing near the town of Brezno, Health Ministry official Anton Pencer said. The victims were all passengers aboard the bus, which was carrying 35 people from the town of Banovce nad Bebravou to a nearby ski resort, he said. Pencer said the injured were taken to nearby hospitals. The cause of the crash was under investigation, police spokeswoman Maria Faltaniova told television news station TA3. The two-carriage train with 15 people aboard derailed and two of its passengers sustained minor injuries, Health Ministry spokeswoman Zuzana Cizmarikova said. Cizmarikova said the death toll was raised to 12 after rescue workers recovered one more body from the demolished bus later Saturday. She said six people were either in critical or very serious condition. President Ivan Gasparovic expressed his sympathy for the relatives of the victims. The government planned to declare Sunday a national day of mourning. \|\|\|\|\| Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. At least 11 people have been killed in a collision between a train and a tourist coach in central Slovakia. The accident happened on a level crossing near the town of Brezno as the coach was travelling to a ski resort, officials say. The 36 people on the coach were all from Banovce-nad-Bebravou in western Slovakia, reports say. The train - which was derailed in the crash - pushed the bus for tens of metres, said a rail spokeswoman. "All the dead and injured were on the bus. There were only a few passengers on the train and they didn't suffer any serious injuries," said Martina Pavlikova, of Slovak Railways. The scene of the crash is close to the popular ski resort of Polomka Bucnik. Slovak news agency TASR said the collision occurred at about 0900 (0800 GMT) on Saturday. It said the railway crossing had only light signals with no barriers to stop vehicles from crossing. TASR said several of those injured were in a serious condition. Two people with spinal injuries were airlifted to hospital in the town of Banska Bystrica, while others less seriously hurt were taken to hospital in Brezno, according to the www.sme.sk news website. \|\|\|\|\| 7. listopadu 2003 - Čtyři lidé, včetně českého řidiče, zahynuli při havárii autobusu u města Ružomberok. Autobus pravidelné linky ze Spišské Nové Vsi do Brna narazil do návěsu nákladního automobilu, který se uvolnil a přejel do protisměru.	A collision between a tourist coach and a train at a level-crossing near Brezno, central Slovakia, has left at least 12 people dead and 20 injured. The accident happened at about 09:00 local time (08:00 UTC) on Saturday morning, when a coach from the western Slovakian town of Bánovce nad Bebravou carrying 36 people to the ski resort of Polomka Bucnik, was struck by a train traveling at full speed at a crossing. The train, only two cars long, was reported to have derailed, but passengers on it suffered only minor injuries. BBC News reports that there were no rail barriers to stop vehicles, only lights at the crossing. "All the dead and injured were on the bus. There were only a few passengers on the train and they didn't suffer any serious injuries," said Slovak Railways spokesperson Martina Pavlikova. Two of the most seriously injured casualties, with spinal injuries, were airlifted by helicopter to a hospital in Banská Bystrica, while others were treated locally in Brezno. At least six people remain in serious or critical condition.
TMC's Customized Keymail Alert and RSS Service Usage Instructions To receive daily e-mail alerts and RSS URLs of stories posted on TMCnet.com, please enter keyword terms to match and your e-mail address. To receive daily e-mail alerts and RSS URLs of stories posted on TMCnet.com, please enterto match and your e-mail address. Keyword 1: Keyword 2: Keyword 3: E-mail Address: Search terms are case-insensitive. Enclose in double-quotes for exact phrase match. No password necessary! \|\|\|\|\| Sun sets on Ulysses mission BY DR EMILY BALDWIN ASTRONOMY NOW Posted: June 16, 2008 After more than 17 years dedicated to exploring the effects of solar activity on the space that surrounds us, the sun is setting on the Ulysses mission and will finally fade into darkness on July 1, but its legacy will live on. Hurtling through space at an average speed of 56,000 kilometres per hour, the pioneering joint ESA-NASA Ulysses mission has logged over 8.6 thousand million kilometres during its 17.5 year loop the loop of the Sun and Jupiter, withstanding some of the most extreme conditions in the Solar Systems and surpassing all expectations of an originally proposed 5 year mission. The heliosphere is a big magentic 'bubble' in space carved out by the solar wind. It defines the sphere of influence of the Sun and extends well beyond the furthest fringes of the Solar System. Image: ESA (C. Carreau). Ulysses was designed to explore uncharted territories of our Solar System, including the regions above and below the Sun’s poles, and to study our star’s heliosphere, the vast bubble in space carved out by the solar wind that separates the solar neighbourhood from the interstellar medium. The reams of data Ulysses has returned have forever changed the way scientists view the Sun and its effect on the space surrounding it. The Sun emits a constant stream of particles – the solar wind – which the magnetic field carries through space. Because the Sun rotates, scientists believed that the magnetic field would wind up into a spiral. However, Ulysses showed that the actual magnetic field is much more complex in shape and extent, allowing particles emitted by solar storms at low latitudes to climb up to higher latitudes, and vice-versa. This was an extremely important discovery, as regions of the Sun not previously considered as possible sources of hazardous particles for astronauts and satellites must now be taken into account and carefully monitored. “Over its long life, Ulysses redefined our knowledge of the heliosphere and went on to answer questions about our solar neighbourhood we did not know to ask." Ed Smith, NASA Ulysses Project Scientist. Pre-Ulysses, it was thought that the speed of the solar wind was relatively weak, with sporadic high speed gusts. Ulysses soon showed that for much of the sunspot cycle, it has a dominating fast wind emitted from the solar magnetic poles, and a lesser slow wind. Thanks to the fleet of solar observing spacecraft that have been monitoring the Sun over the last decade, scientists now know that the top speed of the solar wind can reach 2.7 million kilometres per hour, which emanates from polar regions, with a slower wind of about half that originating from equatorial regions. When the Ulysses mission was extended beyond the original goal of one orbit of the Sun, scientists were able to watch how the solar wind changed with time, and found that the emission varies through a cycle of magnetic activity lasting approximately 11 years, culminating in the reversal of the magnetic field direction. “We designed the mission to give us a 3D view of the solar wind, but we got the fourth dimension of time, as well,” says Richard Marsden, ESA Ulysses Project Scientist. Artist impression of the Ulysses spacecraft flying in space. Image: ESA (C.Carreau). Ulysses also showed that the heliosphere could be invaded by dust from deep space, and found 30 times more dust from deep space in the vicinity of the Solar System than astronomers had previously expected. The hardy spacecraft also detected heavy atomic nuclei, or cosmic rays, racing into the Solar System having been accelerated by the explosion of high-mass stars. Ulysses estimated that the average age of a cosmic ray entering the Solar System is 10-20 million years and they have spent their lives streaming through the Galaxy’s outer regions before finding their way into the Solar System. Ulysses also collected rare samples of interstellar helium isotopes. These are especially interesting to cosmologists because theory predicts that their abundance was more or less fixed within a few minutes of the Big Bang. Ulysses measured these isotopes, finding evidence to support the idea that the Universe will expand forever because insufficient matter was created in the Big Bang to halt its outward march. “It is with enormous affection that we bid farewell to Ulysses. It has been a story of remarkable success and collaboration.” David Southwood, ESA Director of Science and Robotic Exploration. Over the next couple of weeks Ulysses will gradually cease to function because of the decline in power produced by its onboard generators, and while engineers have come up with ingenious ways of conserving energy over the last few years, the power has finally dwindled to the point where fuel will soon freeze in the spacecraft’s pipelines. "When the last bits of data finally arrive, it will surely be tough to say goodbye to Ulysses," says Nigel Angold, ESA’s Ulysses Mission Operations Manager. "But any sadness I might feel will pale in comparison to the pride of working on such a magnificent mission. Although operations will be ending, scientific discoveries from Ulysses data will continue for years to come." Around 200 scientists have worked on the Ulysses instrument teams, and around 1,500 peer reviewed papers have been published so far using Ulysses data. Scientists will continue to wring out every drop of data from the mission ensuring that the legacy of Ulysses will live on long after the actual spacecraft has died. For the most up to date picture of the Sun, be sure to get your copy of the July issue of Astronomy Now magazine, which includes an 11-page focus on our very active star.	thumb The Ulysses spacecraft has been retired from service today, following a successful 17-year mission. The probe was launched aboard Space Shuttle ''Discovery'', in October 1990. Following separation from ''Discovery'', Ulysses was boosted into a Heliocentric orbit by an Inertial Upper Stage, and a Payload Assist Module. Ulysses was a joint venture between the European Space Agency (ESA), and the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Its primary mission was to study the Sun. It made several significant discoveries, including that the density of dust particles in the solar wind was over 30 times what scientists had expected, and that the solar magnetic field was weaker, and more complex, than expected. Over the last few years, the spacecraft has started to show its age, and several major systems have failed. When one of the high-band communications antenna was shut down to conserve power, technicians were unable to restart it, and from January onwards, the low-band antenna had to be used to relay all data to and from the probe. When the main power system started to fail, the decision was taken to retire the spacecraft before its propellant froze, making it completely inoperable. Ulysses operated for over three times its design life. It was originally planned to survive for five years, and make a single orbit of the Sun. Its seventeen year mission duration made it one of the oldest spacecraft in service at the time of its retirment, along with the Hubble Space Telescope, which was launched just six months earlier, the Voyager probes, and the much older Pioneer Solar probes. It was also one of a handful of spacecraft to use a nuclear radioisotope thermoelectric generator to generate power.
IMF Survey: IMF Chief Puts Focus on Building Stable Post-Crisis World Recovery under way, but crisis not over Premature withdrawal of fiscal and monetary support could kill recovery Need to build on global collaboration post crisis IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn outlined three principles for building on close international collaboration during the global economic crisis to move toward sustainable and broad-based growth in the post-crisis world. IMF Annual Meetings At a press conference in Istanbul on October 2 ahead of the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings, Strauss-Kahn said the Meetings were being held at a defining moment for the global economy when recovery from deep recession was getting under way. But he warned that the crisis is not over and that unemployment would cast a long shadow over the recovery. “Growth resuming is one thing, but it doesn’t mean that the crisis is behind us.” In its latest forecast for the global economy, the IMF says economic activity worldwide will expand by about 3 percent in 2010, after contracting by 1 percent in 2009. Strauss-Kahn said that unprecedented collaboration during the crisis had helped to avoid a global financial meltdown. G-20 sets the stage He urged policymakers from the IMF’s 186 member countries gathering in Istanbul, Turkey, to use the meetings to build on this collaboration to help reshape the post-crisis world, and strengthen forces for peace by reducing economic instability. Leaders of the Group of 20 (G-20) industrialized and emerging market countries had made a start at their summit in Pittsburgh on September 25 and the IMF would become the machinery to make this collaboration work. With the G-20 framework adopted in Pittsburgh, the IMF would assist in the mutual assessment of economic policies between nations. And he stressed that the historic shift in country representation at the IMF proposed by the G-20 toward dynamic emerging markets and developing countries by 2011 would make the IMF more legitimate and hence more effective. By reinforcing the financial credibility and legitimacy of the IMF, “this annual meeting may be the starting point of a new IMF.” Strauss-Kahn saw several immediate policy challenges: • A premature withdrawal of fiscal and monetary support could kill the recovery. Private demand is not yet self-sustaining. • Efforts to fix problems in the financial sector—where progress has been partial—should stay at the top of the agenda. Without this, the recovery “could wither on the vine.” • What will be the next global growth engine? With U.S. savings on the rise, countries running current account surpluses need to shift from exports to domestic demand. • The low-income countries need increased donor funding. The fallout from the crisis is most severe for the world’s poorer countries—the “innocent victims of the crisis.” In terms of reshaping the post-crisis world, Strauss-Kahn set out three principles to help guide the world toward more sustainable and broad-based growth: • Sustained international policy collaboration. Policymakers must take account of the global collective interest to address the challenge of rebalancing global growth, and for longer-term peace and prosperity. IMF governance reform will facilitate this cooperation at the multilateral level. Moving ahead with a shift in representation at the Fund—towards dynamic, emerging, and developing countries from over-represented to under-represented—is key. • Improved financial stability—better supervision and regulation. Leaders must fix the mistakes that led to the crisis in the first place. “We should widen the regulatory perimeter and take measures to curb excessive risk-taking and leverage, including by raising the amount and quality of capital and liquidity buffers, especially in good times.” • Strengthening the international monetary system. There are many dimensions to this, but the absence of an adequate insurance facility has led many emerging markets to self-insure by building excessively large buffers of foreign reserves. This contributes to instability by fostering global imbalances, and hinders a shift from export-led growth to domestic demand. The IMF has the potential to serve as an effective and reliable provider of such insurance—the lender of last resort—but its resources are currently limited relative to the precautionary demand for reserves. Lender of last resort In a later speech at Istanbul’s Ҫıraǧan Palace entitled “Making the Most of an Historic Opportunity,” Strauss-Kahn elaborated on his proposal for a strengthened international monetary system with a global lender of last resort. The lack of an adequate insurance facility for the global economy has led many emerging markets to self-insure by building excessively large buffers of foreign reserves and created dynamics that “have contributed to ever-widening global imbalances, with damaging consequences for the sustainability of economic growth and the stability of the international monetary system.” The IMF has the potential to serve as an effective and reliable provider of such insurance—the lender of last resort—but its resources are currently limited relative to the precautionary demand for reserves, he said. “As we take on the challenge of reshaping the global economic and financial framework, we should keep our key objective firmly in focus: namely to obtain growth that is balanced, and that can be sustained. We must find ways to move beyond the costly boom and bust cycles that have been the hallmark of recent decades.” Financial sector contribution At the press conference. in response to a question, Strauss-Kahn said the IMF would look into suggestions that the financial sector should contribute to a type of insurance scheme to cover the risks that the financial sector creates. “Considering that the financial sector is creating a lot of systemic risk for the global economy, and that it is just fair that such a sector would pay some part of its resources to help mitigate the risks that they are creating themselves, having some money coming from the financial sector to create a kind of fund for insurance or funding for low-income countries is something that we are going to consider,” Strauss-Kahn said. He said he had asked John Lipsky, the IMF’s First Deputy Managing Director, to prepare a report in response for the G-20 on the issue. “It is widely accepted that deposit insurance should be funded by a tax on the banking system,” said Lipsky. “This can be viewed as a mandatory insurance plan. In the wake of the current crisis, it is appropriate to consider the same issues more broadly across the financial system.” The IMF’s report would cover how potential mitigation costs could be borne and whether it was right to think about specifically charging the financial sector. At the start of the press conference, he expressed sympathy for victims of natural disasters in Asia and the Pacific, including the earthquake in Indonesia, and storm deaths in Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Tonga, and Samoa. Comments on this article should be sent to imfsurvey@imf.org \|\|\|\|\| Finance ministers and central bankers from around the globe are in Istanbul for the semiannual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, which run from Oct. 4-7. Finance officials from the Group of Seven met on Saturday, Oct. 3. Following is a schedule of the top events. All events are in Istanbul and all times listed are in Istanbul local time/GMT, unless noted. For related stories, please click on [G7/G8]. Sunday, Oct. 4 0830/0530 - Turkish Economy Minister Ali Babacan speaks at Institute of International Finance meeting. 0855/0555 - Brazilian central bank chief Henrique Meirelles speaks at IIF meeting. 0900/0600 - Turkish Economy Minister Ali Babacan and Urkraine Vice Prime Minister Hryorly Nemyria participate in discussion on "Crisis, Recovery and Structural Reform in Emerging Europe and Central Asia." 0900/0600 - The International Monetary and Financial Committee, the IMF's steering committee, meets. 1000/0700 - IMF Asia and Pacific Department Director Anoop Singh holds news briefing. 1045/0745 - Bank of Mexico Governor Guillermo Ortiz, Hungary Central Bank Governor Andras Simor, Poland National Bank First Deputy President Piotr Wiesiolek participate in discussion on "Managing Crisis: Lessons of Global Experience from Central Banks." 1100/0800 - IMF Western Hemisphere Department Director Nicolas Eyzaguirre holds news briefing. 1115/0815 - U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp Chairman Sheila Bair speaks at the IIF meeting. 1230/0930 - Turkish Economy Minister Ali Babacan addresses luncheon as part of the IMF/World Bank program of seminars. 1530/1230, approx. - IMFC Chair Minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali and IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn holds news conference. 1700/1400 - Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty holds conference call with reporters Monday, Oct. 5 0800/0500 - U.S. Treasury Acting Undersecretary for International Affairs Mark Sobel, Turkish central bank Deputy Governor Mehmet Yorukogl, Deutsche Bundesbank Executive Board Member Hans-Helmut Kotz and Bank of Italy Director General Frabrizio Saccomanni speak before the Institute of International Bankers. 0900/0600 - "Future of the Global Financial System" with European Central Bank Executive Board Member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, Brazilian central bank chief Henrique Meirelles and George Soros participate in a discussion on the future of the global financial system. 0945/0645 - Joint IMF, World Bank Development Committee meets. 1045/0745 - Korea Financial Supervisory Service Senior Deputy Governor Jang-Yung Lee participates in discussion moderated by Swedish Central Bank Governor Stefan Ingves on regulatory reform. 1045/0745 - Indonesia Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and ECB Vice President Lucas Papademos participate in discussion on crisis prevention and resolution. 1200/0900 - Sri Mulyani Indrawati, finance minister of Indonesia, speaks on the progress of the reform agenda adopted by the G20 Summit. 1345/1045 - Canadian Finance Minister James Flaherty delivers speech at luncheon sponsored by Scotiabank 1545/1245, approx. - Mexican Finance Minister Agustin Carsten, chairman of the IMF/World Bank Development Committee, World Bank President Robert Zoellick and IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn holds news conference. Tuesday, Oct. 6 1000/0700 - IMF/World Bank annual meetings opening plenary session. Wednesday, Oct. 7 0930/0630 - IMF/World Bank annual meetings closing plenary session. For related diaries, please see: DIARY - U.S. Federal Reserve [FED/DIARY] DIARY - European Central Bank [ECB/DIARY] DIARY - Polling Unit Diary for 2006 [POLL/DIARY] DIARY - Today in Washington [WASH/DIARY] DIARY - Key World Financial Events [KEY/DIARY] DIARY - Political and General news [POL/DIARY] DIARY - Index of all Diaries [IND/DIARY] DIARY - G7 Real-Time economic data ECON G7TODAY DIARY - OECD countries upcoming economic data & forecast ECITODAY DIARY - Major Central Bank Events for 2006 [CEN/DIARY] NOTE: The inclusion of diary items does not necessarily mean that Reuters will file a story based on the event. IMF meeting schedule available at:	The 2009 Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the and the IMF will be held in Istanbul, Turkey on October 6–7, 2009. , Managing Director of the IMF. The IMF and World Bank annual meetings which is held in every October with participation of finance ministers, central bankers, and other top economists of 186 member countries. These meetings are held outside Washington, D.C. in every three years. Turkey will host the meetings for a second time. It was the host country for the meetings in 1955. “All eyes will be on Istanbul,” said Murilo Portugal, Deputy Managing Director at the IMF, on a recent trip to Turkey. “The annual meetings are a unique opportunity to discuss issues of great global economic importance, make decisions and provide guidance on the work of the two institutions.”
In this handout provided by NOAA, Hurricane Flossie can be seen along with Hawaii in the top left of the image August 13, 2007. Flossie is currently 600 miles to the southeast of Hilo, Hawaii. Current maximum sustained winds are 135 mph. (NOAA via Getty Images) Public schools closed and Hawaiians were warned to stock up on food and water as Hurricane Flossie roared toward the state early Tuesday. As if the storm wasn't enough, an 5.3 magnitude earthquake jolted the Big Island of Hawaii overnight. The eye of the Category 3 storm, with maximum sustained wind down slightly at 110 mph, was expected to pass less than 100 miles from the islands, lashing the shores with strong wind and up to 15 inches of rain, meteorologists said. The National Weather Service placed the Big Island under a hurricane watch and a tropical storm warning. A flash flood watch was also issued for the island through Wednesday, with possible flash flooding in areas. Gov. Linda Lingle signed an emergency disaster proclamation, which activates the National Guard. Island Mayor Harry Kim also declared a state of emergency Monday as a precaution. All 56 public schools, as well as private schools, on the Big Island also were closed for Tuesday. Just as preparations for the storm were under way, Hawaii got another scare: A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck about 25 miles south of Hilo. There were no reports of injuries or damage in the Monday night quake, although it did cause a small landslide, according to Tom Brown, a spokesman for Hawaii County Civil Defense. The Big Island is largely rural, with about 150,000 people, and most live in the west or northeast, not the southern portion expected to be hit hardest by the hurricane. Other islands are expected to get much less of the storm's wind and rain. At 8 a.m. EDT, Flossie was about 240 miles south-southeast of Hilo and 450 miles southeast of Honolulu, the Central Pacific Hurricane Center said. The storm was moving west-northwest at about 14 mph. Hurricane-force wind of at least 74 mph extended outward up to 40 miles from the center of the storm, while tropical storm force wind of at least 39 mph extend outward up to 150 miles. Meteorologists cautioned that even a slight change of course in the unpredictable storm could take it closer to land. \|\|\|\|\| HILO, Hawaii (AP) -- An earthquake on Monday jolted the Big Island of Hawaii, which is already under a hurricane watch and a tropical storm warning. A video from the International Space Station shows Hurricane Flossie swirling in the Pacific Ocean. The magnitude 5.3 temblor struck at 7:38 p.m. local time, about 25 miles south of Hilo, according to a preliminary report from the U.S. Geological Survey. There were no reports of injuries, structural damage or a tsunami, though the quake caused a small landslide, according to Tom Brown, a spokesman for Hawaii County Civil Defense. Earlier Monday, the weather service placed the Big Island under a hurricane watch and a tropical storm warning, as Hurricane Flossie approached. A flash flood watch was also issued for the island through Wednesday. The Big Island is largely rural, with about 150,000 people, and most live in the west or northeast, not the southern portion expected to be hit hardest by the hurricane. Other islands are expected to get less of the storm's wind and rain. Watch nervous Hawaii residents empty store shelves » Public schools were closed and Hawaiians were warned to have plenty of food and water on hand as Hurricane Flossie roared toward the state early Tuesday. Flossie was downgraded to a Category 2 hurricane Tuesday, but stayed on course to brush the Big Island. The eye of the storm had maximum sustained wind of 110 mph, hurricane specialists noted in downgrading the storm from the earlier Category 3. It was expected to pass fewer than 100 miles from the islands, lashing the shores with strong wind and up to 15 inches of rain, meteorologists said. Gov. Linda Lingle signed an emergency disaster proclamation, which activates the Hawaii National Guard. Mayor Harry Kim also declared a state of emergency Monday as a precaution. All 56 public schools, as well as private schools, on the Big Island also were closed for Tuesday. At 5 a.m. EDT, Flossie was about 260 miles south-southeast of Hilo and 455 miles southeast of Honolulu, the Central Pacific Hurricane Center said. The storm was moving west-northwest at about 15 mph. Hurricane force winds of at least 74 mph extended outward up to 40 miles from the center of the storm, while tropical storm force winds of at least 39 mph extend outward up to 155 miles. Meteorologists cautioned that even a slight change of course in the unpredictable storm could take it closer to land. "We're not out of it, but this is too close for comfort," said Maj. Gen. Robert Lee, state adjutant general and Hawaii National Guard commander. The move also provides access to emergency money. Forecasters earlier had said cooler weather would weaken the storm to a Category 1 hurricane, with sustained wind of at least 74 mph, by the time it passes about 90 miles south of the Big Island of Hawaii on Tuesday. But on Monday forecasters said they now expected a Category 3 hurricane, with little change in strength when it passes the island. Earlier in the day, Flossie had been a Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph. "The intensity has remained stronger than what was originally forecast, but the track has been pretty much right on," said Jim Weyman, the National Weather Service's meteorologist in charge in Honolulu. Officials strongly urged residents statewide to prepare, including having a supply of food, water and disaster plans. "If Flossie misses us, that's great. But we're still in hurricane season," said Ray Lovell, spokesman for the state Civil Defense Agency. Parts of the Big Island, home to one of the world's most active volcanoes in Kilauea, likely will experience tropical storm-level winds and at least 10 to 15 inches of rain, Weyman said. The last time a hurricane hit Hawaii was in 1992, when Iniki ravaged Kauai, killing six people and causing $2.5 billion in damage. Meanwhile, in the Atlantic basin, a tropical depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Dean. The storm was about 1,660 miles east of the Lesser Antilles on Tuesday morning, racing almost due westward at about 23 mph, with maximum sustained winds of about 40 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Forecasters said the tropical storm is expected to reach hurricane strength, with winds of at least 74 mph, by the weekend as it reaches the Windward Islands. The current five-day forecast from the hurricane center has the storm at Category 2 strength, with sustained winds of at least 96 mph, by Saturday as the eye nears the Leeward Islands. However, because hurricanes often move in unpredictable fashion, the actual path a storm takes often varies widely from the long-range forecast. Hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30. In May, forecasters said the Hawaiian Islands and the rest of the central Pacific faced a slightly below-average hurricane season, with just two or three tropical cyclones expected because of lower sea surface temperatures. E-mail to a friend Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. All About USGS National Earthquake Information Center • Hawaii • National Hurricane Center	As residents of the Big Island of Hawaii continue to make preparations for Hurricane Flossie, a 5.3 magnitude earthquake rocked the Big Island at 7:38 p.m. local time last night. The earthquake jolted an area about 20 miles south of Hilo. There were no immediate reports of injuries from the earthquake, as of late Monday night. However, Tom Brown, a spokesman for Hawaii County Civil Defense did report that the quake caused a small landslide. Parts of Hawaii are already under hurricane watches, tropical storm warnings, and flash flood watches as Hurricane Flossie approaches. Public and private schools alike closed early Tuesday morning as residents and visitors were warned to stock up on food and water. Meteorologists predict the eye of the category three storm will pass less than 100 miles from the islands, leaving parts of Hawaii exposed to strong winds and up to 15 inches of rain. However, meteorologists also express caution in saying that even a slight change in course could take the storm closer to land. The Hawaii National Guard has been activated under the command of Governor Linda Lingle, who signed an emergency disaster proclamation ahead of the storm. Mayor Harry Kim also declared a state of emergency on Monday. The last time a hurricane struck the state was in 1992, when Hurricane Iniki devastated the island of Kauai. Six people were killed and over $2.5 billion in damage was caused.
Wales finally won enough ball to allow their backs to show their class Wales (9) 42 Tries: Parker, AW Jones, Williams (2), Charvis Cons: Jones (4) Pens: Hook (3) Parker, AW Jones, Williams (2), CharvisJones (4)Hook (3) Canada (12) 17 Tries: Cudmore, Culpan, Williams Cons: Pritchard Wales survived a huge scare in their opening World Cup match before overcoming a determined Canada side. Canada led 17-9 after 45 minutes in Nantes after tries from Jamie Cudmore, Craig Culpan and Morgan Williams. But the introduction of Stephen Jones and Gareth Thomas sparked Wales to life as they dominated the last half hour. Sonny Parker, Alun Wyn Jones, Colin Charvis and Shane Williams (2) crossed to ensure the victory which had looked a distant dream for the Welsh side. Wales, wearing black armbands in honour of former Welsh Rugby Union president Sir Tasker Watkins who died on Sunday, lined up in unfamiliar grey jerseys. And the dullness of their shirts was matched by their play in the opening exchanges as they struggled to find any cohesion. 606: DEBATE Gareth Jenkins is no clearer in knowing exactly his best XV BBC Sport's Nabil Hassan They at least managed to force Canada to concede penalties in their own half, and James Hook kicked three of his four attempts to put Wales 9-0 up after 15 minutes. Canada's intentions were clear after picking a strong and experienced pack, and their opening try on 25 minutes all down to forward power. A scrum deep in Wales 22 provided the perfect attacking platform, and Cudmore eventually barged his way over from a few yards out as Wales buckled under heavy pressure. Wales were left stunned 10 minutes later as Culpan ran almost the length of the field to score Canada's second try. Wales had looked destined to score as a break by centre Tom Shanklin put Canada on the back foot, but Hook's attempted long pass was intercepted by Culpan and the centre had enough pace to race home. Pritchard converted and the half-time whistle came as a blessing for the shell-shocked Wales players. The break had little effect, though, as Canada scored their third try after just five minutes of the second-half. Scrum-half Williams made the initial break before the Canada forwards again inched their way towards the Wales line with powerful drives. Shanklin was Wales' most potent attacking threat in Nantes The score looked inevitable, and it was Williams who finally borrowed his way through. Wales needed a quick response, and coach Gareth Jenkins immediately turned to the experience of Thomas and Stephen Jones The change had the desired effect as Wales finally came alive. Jones almost scored with his first touch, a desperate Canadian covering tackle preventing the fly-half from grounding the ball as he dived over the tryline. But the crucial score arrived moments later from the resulting scrum as Jones' reverse pass sent Parker over. Jones converted to bring Wales back to within a point. Wales finally had the initiative, and they regained the lead five minutes later. A Canada clearance from behind their own tryline was charged down and lock Alun Wyn Jones pounced on the loose ball to score. With the Canadians tiring, the outstanding Shanklin then had a hand in the next two Wales tries as Williams crossed twice in as many minutes. A Stephen Jones break then laid a try on a plate for flanker Charvis, another replacement who played a huge part in Wales' revival. Jenkins had stressed the importance of starting their campaign with a win, but Wales will need to raise their game a few notches if they hope to challenge Australia in next Saturday's crucial group match in Cardiff. Wales: Morgan; M Jones, Shanklin, Parker, S Williams; Hook, Peel (capt); G Jenkins, M Rees, A Jones, Gough, AW Jones, J Thomas, M Williams, Popham. Replacements: T Rhys Thomas, D Jones, Owen, Charvis, Phillips, S Jones, G Thomas. Canada: Pyke; Van der Merwe, Culpan, Spicer, Pritchard; Monro, Williams (capt); Snow, Riordan, Thiel, Tait, James, Cudmore, Biddle, Stephen. Replacements: Carpenter, D Pletch, M Pletch, Burak, Yukes, Fairhurst, Smith. Referee: A Rolland (Ireland) \|\|\|\|\| By James Standley Flying wing Habana scored four tries for South Africa South Africa (21) 59 Tries: Habana 4, Montgomery 2, Fourie, Pietersen Cons: Montgomery 5 Pens: Montgomery 3 Habana 4, Montgomery 2, Fourie, PietersenMontgomery 5Montgomery 3 Samoa (7) 7 Tries: Williams Cons: Williams South Africa survived a brutal first-half battering by Samoa as they opened their World Cup campaign with an impressive victory in Paris. The Springboks took a 9-0 lead before Samoa scored the first try of the match through Gavin Williams. Bryan Habana and Percy Montgomery tries gave the Boks a 21-7 half-time lead. And further tries from Jaque Fourie, Montgomery, Habana - who claimed a second-half hat-trick - and JP Pietersen wrapped up a fine win. With two of the most physical teams on the planet taking the field at the Parc des Princes the match always promised to be a bash-fest and so it proved as they combined to put on a thrilling opening 40 minutes. Man for man the Samoans could match their Springbok counterparts for power but in the tight phases of the game, the scrum and the line-out, the Springboks had a clear edge. 606: DEBATE And it meant that, once they had weathered a ferocious opening half from the Samoans, the Springboks had control of the game. The fired-up Samoans gave it a lash from the first whistle. Former Leicester number eight Henry Tuilagi produced some ferocious charges, but poor discipline allowed Montgomery to make them pay with three penalties in the opening 15 minutes. The opening 40 minutes was the most physical so far in France The Pacific islanders' inability to secure their own ball at the line-out was costing them dear but when they finally managed some decent possession they opened the scoring with a superb try. Quick ball off the top was spun wide to inside centre Jerry Meafou and the timing of his pass sprung Williams through the South Africa midfield. The Connacht centre outpaced the cover to score under the posts and he added the conversion to make it 9-7 to the Boks. The quicker the pace of the game, the more dangerous Samoa looked, but the quickest man on the pitch was South Africa flyer Habana and his first real contribution to the game saw the Boks stretch clear. You could see a lot of nerves from both sides early on the way they finished it off in the second half is a huge positive South Africa coach Jake White When he took Fourie's pass as the Boks attacked down the blind-side of a ruck there looked to be little on. But the electric Blue Bulls winger carved infield before breaking free of a tackle and scything through the remaining defence for a superb solo try. Montgomery missed the fairly simple conversion but South Africa were soon back on the attack and after a series of attacking scrums Montgomery blasted through the final defender for the Springboks' second try. The veteran full-back added the conversion to make it 21-7 at the break but Samoa came desperately close to cutting the gap when Iosefa Fekori plunged over straight after the restart, only to be pulled back for offside. Lima is the first player to appear in five World Cups but was injured after producing a dangerous tackle Springboks centre Jean de Villiers was helped off the field with an arm injury and was replaced by Francois Steyn. Coach Jake White later suggested the 26-year-old was a major doubt for the match against England on Friday, and possibly the whole tournament. If Samoa's try had been awarded, they might still have been in with a shout but within little more than 10 minutes South Africa had cut loose with a quickfire try treble. Fourie cut back against the grain to burst through the midfield and open his account for the tournament before Montgomery finished off a sweeping passing move to cross out wide. Habana then collected his second spectacular long-range score of the match, beating three men on a dazzling run to the line, and two Montgomery conversions meant South Africa suddenly led 40-7 after an hour's play. The burst of scoring knocked the stuffing out of the Samoans and the pride they would have taken in the sight of 35-year-old Brian Lima coming on as a replacement would soon have evaporated. When he took the field Lima became the first man to play in five World Cups, but he soon got a high tackle horribly wrong, conceding a penalty in the process, and was helped groggily from the field. As the game went on South Africa were happy not to pick up any injuries, while Habana confirmed his status as the world's most dangerous finisher with two more tries. Montgomery converted the first effort and the Springboks will head into Friday's encounter with faltering world champions England brim full of confidence. "You could see a lot of nerves out there from both sides early on but all credit to our boys. "The way they finished it off in the second half is a huge positive for us going forward in the competition." "It seemed everything went against us and that try would have lifted us. "We are that type of team, we need to have our tails up and if we had scored then I think it could have been a totally different story. "I'm not saying we would've won but we wouldn't have conceded so many points." South Africa: Montgomery; Pietersen, Fourie, De Villiers, Habana; James, Du Preez; Du Randt, Smit, Van der Linde, Bakkies Botha, Matfield, Burger, Smith, Rossouw. Replacements: Du Plessis, BJ Botha, Muller, Van den Berg, Januarie, Pretorius, Steyn. Samoa: Lemi; Faatau, Williams, Meafou, A Tuilaga; Sapolu Fuimaono, Poluleuligaga; H Tuilagi, Setiti (capt), Leo; Thompson, Fekori, Johnston, Schwalger, Va'a. Replacments: Fuga, Lealamanua, Vaeluaga, Purdie, Sevealii, Crichton, Lima. \|\|\|\|\| By Thomas McGuigan Rory Lamont inspired Scotland to a comfortable victory Scotland (28) 56 Tries: Lamont 2, Parks, Dewey, Lawson, Southwell, Brown, Ford Cons: Parks 5, Paterson 3 Lamont 2, Parks, Dewey, Lawson, Southwell, Brown, FordParks 5, Paterson 3 Portugal (10) 10 Tries: Carvalho Cons: Pinto Pens: Pinto Rory Lamont scored two of Scotland's eight tries as they overcame a plucky Portugal in their opening World Cup match in St Etienne. Lamont was well assisted by Dan Parks whose try and conversions added 15 points before he was replaced by Chris Paterson in the second-half. Scott Lawson, Hugo Southwell, Kelly Brown, Ross Ford and Rob Dewey also ran in tries for the Scots. Portugal scored their first ever World Cup try through Pedro Carvalho. After a nervous start Scotland took the lead when full-back Lamont collected a short pass from captain Jason White and surged for the line, taking two Portugal defenders with him. Parks kicked the conversion to give the Scots a 7-0 lead and Lamont got his second try two minutes later when he shrugged off challenges from Diogo Mateus and Jose Pinto to score. Parks again converted and the early Scots nerves were replaced with a more confident side looking to attack the Portuguese down the right. Rob Dewey powers past the Portuguese defence Parks turned provider after 23 minutes when his diagonal kick was brilliantly caught by hooker Scott Lawson before he plunged over the line. Portugal's joy at Carvalho short-range plunge was short-lived as Rob Dewey replied immediately with Scotland's fourth try. The inside centre took a high kick and brushed aside two challenges to cross the line with ease. Cardoso Pinto reduced the deficit with a penalty after White broke from a scrum early. Scotland coach Frank Hadden was forced into a change when prop Allan Jacobsen suffered a calf injury, and he was replaced by Gavin Kerr. Portugal flanker Joao Uva was then sin-binned for 10 minutes after persistent handling on the floor. The game was peppered with handling errors and offsides Scotland looked far from convincing after the break and Dan Parks was lucky not be punished when his pass to the wing was intercepted by Portugal's David Mateus. Mateus sped to the try-line, but his joy was short-lived when referee Steve Walsh indicated he was playing advantage for offside. Parks calmed Scottish nerves when he extended their lead after the Portuguese conceded a penalty at the breakdown, and from the resulting possession Simon Webster fed Parks to score. Simon Webster then waltzed past four defenders before offloading to replacement Hugo Southwell, who scored in the corner. Paterson converted before flanker Kelly Brown increased Scotland's lead with a try following good work by Rory Lamont. Replacement hooker Ross Ford got the Scots' eighth and final try of the game when he grabbed a bouncing ball and sped past the tiring Portuguese defence. Paterson added a conversion to give the Scots victory, but they will look to sharpen up for the game against Romania. Scotland: R Lamont; S Lamont, Di Rollo, Dewey, S Webster; Parks, Blair; Jacobsen, Lawson, E Murray, Hines, S Murray, White (capt), Hogg, Taylor. Replacements: Ford, Kerr, MacLeod, Brown, R Lawson, Paterson, Southwell. Portugal: Leal; David Mateus, Sousa, Diogo Mateus, Carvalho; D Pinto, J Pinto; Cordeiro, Ferreira, Spachuck, G Uva, Penalva, Somoza, J Uva, V Uva. Replacements: Mure, Correia, Murinello, Coutinho, Pissarra, Cabral, Portela. \|\|\|\|\| Hard work: Portugal made life difficult for Scotland SAINT-ETIENNE, 9 September - Scotland scored four second half tries to overcome Portugal 56-10 at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard on Sunday, although they did not have it all their own way against the IRB Rugby World Cup debutants. Fly half Duarte Cardoso Pinto kicked off this Pool C encounter for Portugal, but the newcomers then found themselves camped in their own half as Scotland created opportunity after opportunity, but failed to finish them off as passes went astray. Scotland finally made the breakthrough after 13 minutes when a quick tap penalty by number 8 Simon Taylor led to a try for Lamont. The full back added a second minutes later, handing off several defenders to run in. A third try came in the 25th minute when fly half Dan Parks' cross field kick found hooker Scott Lawson free on the left wing, giving Scotland a 21-0 lead despite some strong defence by the Portuguese. The biggest cheer, though, was reserved for Pedro Carvalho's 28th minute try for Portugal which came after their first period of prolonged pressure in the Scotland 22. They bravely tapped a penalty and Pinto offloaded for the wing to score and spark huge celebrations. The euphoria of Portugal's first ever RWC try had barely died down when Scotland centre Rob Dewey broke through to score, but Pinto then kicked a penalty before Portugal had flanker João Uva sin-binned just before half time. Carvalho thought he had scored a second try while Portugal were down to 14-men, but his celebrations were cut short when he realised referee Steve Walsh (NZL) had ruled him to have been offside when he intercepted a Scottish pass. Back to full strength with João Uva's return for the loss of no points, Portugal continued to threaten to reduce the deficit even further with the flanker at the heart of their increasing attacks in the Scottish half. It was Scotland, however, who scored two quick tries just before the hour mark, the first through Parks, before replacement Hugo Southwell touched down his side's sixth. Scotland added tries by replacements Kelly Brown and Ross Ford, but Portugal could hold their heads high after giving their all on their nation's debut on rugby's biggest stage and causing their more experienced opponents a few problems. RNS kb/sek \|\|\|\|\| Skipper Brian O'Driscoll got over for Ireland's opening try Ireland (20) 32 Tries: O'Driscoll, Trimble, Easterby, penalty try, Flannery Cons: O'Gara (2) Pen: O'Gara O'Driscoll, Trimble, Easterby, penalty try, FlanneryO'Gara (2)O'Gara Namibia (3) 17 Tries: Nieuwenhuis, van Zyl Cons: Wessels (2) Pen: Wessels Ireland secured an expected victory in their opening World Cup match but were far from convincing against Namibia. Despite a fourth-minute try from Brian O'Driscoll, the Irish only managed two further touchdowns by Andrew Trimble and Simon Easterby before half-time. Ireland were awarded a penalty try early in the second half but were hit by Namibian tries scored by Jacques Nieuwenhuis and Piet van Zyl. Replacement hooker Jerry Flannery got over for a late try for Ireland. Coach Eddie O'Sullivan is bound to be concerned about Ireland's scrappy display and the number of passes which failed to go to hand. They have a lot to work on before facing Georgia on Saturday. It had all started so promisingly when O'Driscoll chipped ahead, ran onto his kick and shrugged off Ryan Witbooi to score his 30th Test try. O'Gara converted and then landed a penalty in the 17th minute to ease Ireland into a 10-0 lead. Andrew Trimble gathered O'Gara's kick top score a try The fly-half set-up Ireland's second try on 29 minutes by taking a tap penalty and kicking to the right corner where winger Trimble gathered before touching down. Namibia fly-half Emile Wessels landed a long-range penalty on the stroke of half-time. Four minutes into the second half referee Joel Jutge responded to two collapsed scrums by awarding Ireland a penalty try and the Namibians could have few complaints. The score secured a bonus point but the Irish were struggling to put Namibia away. Heading into the final quarter, it was the Africans who were playing with greater conviction big blindside forward Nieuwenhuis thundered over for a 61st-minute try. The Bordeaux crowd were roaring with approval as van Zyl quickly added another touchdown. Ireland got the final score when Flannery seemed fortunate to be credited with a try in the left corner. Ireland: G Dempsey: A Trimble, B O'Driscoll, capt, G D'Arcy, D Hickie; R O'Gara, P Stringer; M Horan, R Best, J Hayes, D O'Callaghan, P O'Connell, S Easterby, D Leamy, D Wallace. Replacements: J Flannery, N Best, M O'Kelly, S Best, I Boss, P Wallace, G Murphy. Namibia: T Losper; R Witbooi, B Langenhoven, P van Zyl, H Bock; E Wessels, E Jantjies; K Lensing (captain), H Horn, J du Toit, W Kazombiaze, N Esterhuize, J Nieuwenhuis, H Senekal, J Burger. Replacements: J Meyer, J Redelinghuys, M MacKenzie, T du Plessis, J van Tonder, LW Botes, M Africa.	125px In the pool stage of the 2007 Rugby World Cup, eight teams played their first matches of the tournament. Wales came from behind to defeat Canada after a first half scare. South Africa comfortably defeated Samoa, while Ireland beat Namibia and Scotland beat world cup debutants Portugal. ---- Canada score a try against WalesImage: ManuelWales prepare for a scrumImage: Manuel In Pool B, Wales took an early lead against Canada with three penalties from James Hook. However Wales struggled throughout the first half, and tries from Canadians Jamie Cudmore, Craig Culpan and Morgan Williams meant that Canada led 17-9 early in the second half. Wales improved in the last half hour of the match. Tries from Alun Wyn Jones, Colin Charvis and a double from Shane Williams regained the lead for Wales. ---- F DanySiva tauImage: F Dany In a very physical encounter in Pool A, South Africa comfortably defeated Samoa. The South Africans led 9-0 after fifteen minutes with Percy Montgomery kicking three penalties. Samoa scored their only points of the match soon afterwards when Gavin Williams scored and converted a try. South Africa led 21-7 at half time after tries from Bryan Habana and Percy Montgomery. They controlled the second half, and tries from Jaque Fourie, J P Pietersen, a second from Percy Montgomery and a second half hat-trick from Bryan Habana completed South Africa's victory. ---- Portugal, making their first ever appearance in the world cup, faced Scotland in Pool C. Rory Lamont scored two quick tries for Scotland followed by a try from Scott Lawson to give Scotland a 21-0 lead. Pedro Carvalho scored Portugal's first world cup try, and Duarte Cardoso Pinto converted as well as scoring a penalty. However Scotland were too strong and Rob Dewey, Kelly Brown, Dan Parks, Hugo Southwell and Ross Ford all scored tries for Scotland. Dan Parks scored 15 points from his try and five conversions. ---- Pool D saw Ireland take on Namibia. Despite a messy performance from Ireland, they led at half time thanks to tries from Brian O'Driscoll, Andrew Trimble and Simon Easterby. Early in the second half, Ireland were awarded a penalty try when two scrums collapsed, but Namibia responded with tries from Jacques Nieuwenhuis and Piet van Zyl. Towards the end of the match Jerry Flannery scored Ireland's fifth try to secure the win.
Households will face a $16.60 rise in the cost of living under a $30 carbon tax, new Treasury modelling shows. That equates to an extra $863.20 a year for petrol, electricity, gas and food. The new modelling, released this afternoon under the Freedom of Information act, does not include extensive compensation for households or industry promised by the government to compensate for the price impacts of a carbon tax. Advertisement: Story continues below The modelling suggests under a $30 carbon price the cost of electricity will rise $4.20 a week, $2.20 a week for gas, $1.70 for food, and $3.60 for petrol. If the price increase of petrol is countered by a cent-for-cent reduction in the fuel exercise — as proposed under the Government’s now ditched emissions trading scheme — the overall weekly costs for households is $11.70. The modelling, outlined in a briefing note to Treasurer Wayne Swan on February 1 this year, is described as ‘‘preliminary.’’ Treasury is now undertaking a more detailed analysis of the impacts of a carbon price. The government is negotiating a deal with the Greens and Independent MPs through a multi-party committee. It is yet to determine a starting price for per tonne of carbon or the size of compensation packages for households and industry. Treasury only modelled a $30 carbon price, but also made estimates for other starting prices. Including petrol, a $40 carbon price would add $22.10 to household costs every week, a $20 price would add $11.10, and a $10 price would add $5.50. The Government’s chief climate change adviser, Professor Ross Garnaut has recommended a starting carbon price of between $20 and $30 a year. \|\|\|\|\| Treasury releases carbon tax cost estimates By Sabra Lane and staff Updated Treasury documents predict householders could pay more than $860 a year under a $30 a tonne carbon tax. However, the documents released under Freedom of Information (FOI) laws do not estimate the size of the promised compensation for businesses and households. Many of the 29 documents are heavily censored; one 39-page Treasury minute about electricity pricing contains only a few sentences. They show electricity prices would rise by $218.40 annually for the average household, gas by $114.40, petrol by $187.20 and food by $88.40. Adding impacts to other goods and services, the total added cost per week of a $30 carbon tax would be $16.60, if fuel were excluded under the plan. But if fuel is included in a carbon pricing scheme, the annual cost to households is $608. A $40 per tonne carbon price would add more than $1,100 per year to a household budget. The Federal Government has promised the money collected by the tax will be used, in part, to offset the price rises. One of the Treasury documents suggests direct cash payments to households are best - in part because they would help counter community concern about cost-of-living impacts. In a joint statement, Treasurer Wayne Swan and Climate Change Minister Greg Combet say it is too soon to speculate on cost-of-living impacts as the compensation package has not been finalised. "No final decisions on the starting price or assistance have been taken and therefore it is far too early to speculate on any potential price impacts," the statement said. "Until the final design and modelling have been settled, anyone who uses these figures to scare families about prices is engaging in a dishonest, misleading scare campaign. "The Government has committed to use every cent raised by the carbon price, which will be paid by the biggest polluters, to support households, support jobs and tackle climate change. "We will continue to consult with the community over the development of the carbon price." No guarantees But the documents also show a carbon tax will not guarantee that any emissions outcomes will be reached, possibly forcing the Government to buy international permits in order to meet its national commitments to cut carbon emissions by 2020. One Treasury minute says the carbon pollution outcomes under a tax, or a fixed-price start, would be uncertain. It goes on to say if carbon pollution levels exceed our national targets, then the Federal Government could purchase international units to enable Australia to meet its international commitments. Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says the Treasury figures show the "extra burden" a carbon tax will be put on families. "This just demonstrates that the Government has known all along that its carbon tax won't clean up the environment but it will clean out your wallet," he said. "That's right and this is $863 a year in extra burden that the Australian people shouldn't have to pay. This is an $863 a year hit on families' cost of living. "Families are doing it tough as things stand. They don't need a bad situation made much, much worse by Julia Gillard's carbon tax." Meanwhile, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) has formally adopted a position to oppose the carbon tax. At their general meeting, all 30 member groups passed a resolution to reject the Government's carbon price plan. ACCI chief executive Peter Anderson says they are concerned the carbon tax will disadvantage Australian industries. He says business owners cannot afford the tax. "Whilst those organisations are at the discussion table with the Government, they're not prepared to trade off the competitive interests of Australian industry," he said. First posted	Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard Treasury documents released today under the (FOI) act reveal that Australians could face up to an 863 rise in household costs per annum if the proceeds with its plans to . The documents reveal an a annual price rise of $218.40 for electricity, $114.40 for gas, $187.20 for petrol and $88.40 for food for the average household. The treasury modelling was based on a $30 carbon tax, but also estimated other prices such as a $40 tax which predicted a rise of over $1,100 to the average household's annual budget. However, they do not take into account the compensation deals and offsets promised by the government if a price is put on carbon. After viewing the treasury modelling, Treasurer Wayne Swan and Climate Change Minister released a joint statement saying without the finalization of compensation packages it is too early to predict price rises. "No final decisions on the starting price or assistance have been taken and therefore it is far too early to speculate on any potential price impacts," the statement said. Until the final design and modelling have been settled, anyone who uses these figures to scare families about prices is engaging in a dishonest, misleading scare campaign." Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said the figures demonstrated the toll a carbon tax would have on Australian families. This just demonstrates that the Government has known all along that its carbon tax won't clean up the environment but it will clean out your wallet," he said. That's right and this is $863 a year in extra burden that the Australian people shouldn't have to pay. This is an $863 a year hit on families' cost of living. Families are doing it tough as things stand. They don't need a bad situation made much, much worse by Julia Gillard's carbon tax." The (ACCI) has also officially opposed the adoption of a carbon tax. A resolution was passed by all 30 members at their general meeting to reject the Federal government's plan. == Sources == * * category:Australia category:Politics and conflicts category:Australian Parliament category:Julia Gillard category:Tony Abbott
Ban Ki-moon will lead the UN for the next five years The resolution, adopted unanimously, follows Mr Ban's nomination to succeed Kofi Annan by the UN Security Council. Mr Annan is due to step down on 31 December after heading the UN for two five-year terms. Mr Ban, 62, will be the first Asian to head the UN since Burma's U Thant, who held the post from 1961 to 1971. The general assembly confirmed Mr Ban's appointment by acclamation - without a vote - on the basis of approval by all 192 members. Priorities Afterwards he told delegates he was "deeply honoured" and vowed to use his position to ensure that the organisation achieved more. "The true measure of success for the UN is not how much we promise, but how much we deliver for those who need us most," Mr Ban said. We reform not to please others, but because we value what this organisation stands for Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon profile Mr Ban cited poverty, HIV/Aids, environmental degradation, protecting human rights and combating terrorism among his priorities. He also mentioned reforms - a key demand of the US, the UN's biggest contributor - but hinted that he would lead the process at his own pace. "We reform not to please others, but because we value what this organisation stands for," he said. "We cannot change everything at once. But if we choose wisely, and work together transparently, flexibly and honestly, progress in a few areas will lead to progress in a few more." Mr Ban's appointment comes as the UN is trying to resolve the crisis over North Korea's nuclear programme. He has played key roles in dealing with the standoff, both as South Korea's foreign minister and as its ambassador to the UN. There was a broad consensus within the UN that the next secretary general should be Asian. Mr Annan congratulated his successor, hailing him as "a man with a truly global mind" with "exceptional qualifications". One of six candidates for the post, Mr Ban came top of all four informal polls in the Security Council and his five rivals all quit the race. \|\|\|\|\| General Assembly Ban Ki-moon Photo: AP S. Korea’s Ban Ki-moon named next UN chief General Assembly adopts resolution appointing South Korean foreign minister to succeed Kofi Annan; Israeli ambassador to UN recently referred to Ban’s appointment as ‘good for Israel’ Associated Press Published: 10.13.06, 22:48 / Israel News Tweet The General Assembly adopted a resolution by acclamation Friday appointing South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon to succeed Kofi Annan as the next UN Secretary-general. When Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa, the assembly president, asked members of the 192-nation world body to adopt the resolution by acclamation, When Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa, the assembly president, asked members of the 192-nation world body to adopt the resolution by acclamation, She then banged the gavel saying “It is so decided.” “I have the honor to announce that His Excellency Ban Ki-Moon has been appointed by acclamation secretary-general of the United Nations,” she said. “This is a historic day for the organization as it continues to evolve and live up to the values and principles of the (UN) Charter.” She then banged the gavel saying “It is so decided.” “I have the honor to announce that His Excellency Ban Ki-Moon has been appointed by acclamation secretary-general of the United Nations,” she said. “This is a historic day for the organization as it continues to evolve and live up to the values and principles of the (UN) Charter.” The council then voted by acclamation to recommend his selection. Ban will oversee an organization with some 92,000 peacekeepers around the world and a USD 5 billion annual budget whose reputation has been tarnished by corruption scandals and whose outdated practices need reform to meet the challenges of the 21st century. The council then voted by acclamation to recommend his selection. Ban will oversee an organization with some 92,000 peacekeepers around the world and a USD 5 billion annual budget whose reputation has been tarnished by corruption scandals and whose outdated practices need reform to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Gillerman recently stated that Ban's appointment was good for Israel's standing in the organization. Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Gillerman recently stated that Ban's appointment was good for Israel's standing in the organization. "He is a quiet, experienced and professional diplomat. He is not a man of fireworks, but nevertheless is very thorough, with a deep and clear understanding of the conflict. I believe that he understands Israel's stance," stated Gillerman. 'We believe he is the right person' Gillerman added that he was hesitant to hold everything to the standard 'Is it good or bad for the Jews?' "If the secretary general is serious and fair and appoints underlings who are serious and fair, and the UN will be serious, clean and organized, this will be good for the Jews." Ban, 62, will become the eighth secretary-general in the UN’s 60-year history on Jan. 1 when Annan’s second five-year term expires. He was one of seven candidates vying to be the UN chief and topped all four informal polls in the UN Security Council. Annan hailed Ban as “A future secretary-general who is exceptionally attuned to the sensitivities of countries and constituencies in every continent” and said he would be “a man with a truly global mind at the helm of the world’s only universal organization.” Annan hailed Ban as “A future secretary-general who is exceptionally attuned to the sensitivities of countries and constituencies in every continent” and said he would be “a man with a truly global mind at the helm of the world’s only universal organization.” Ban has been South Korea’s foreign minister for over two and-a-half years and served as national security adviser to two presidents - jobs that focused on relations with North Korea which he has said will be a top priority in his new job. During a nearly 40-year diplomatic career, he was posted in India, Austria, Washington and at the United Nations. Ban has been South Korea’s foreign minister for over two and-a-half years and served as national security adviser to two presidents - jobs that focused on relations with North Korea which he has said will be a top priority in his new job. During a nearly 40-year diplomatic career, he was posted in India, Austria, Washington and at the United Nations. Speaking for the United States as the host country of the UN, US Ambassador John Bolton said, “We believe he is the right person to lead the United Nations at this decisive movement in its history, particularly as the UN struggles to fulfill the terms of the reform agenda that world leaders agreed to last fall.” Speaking for the United States as the host country of the UN, US Ambassador John Bolton said, “We believe he is the right person to lead the United Nations at this decisive movement in its history, particularly as the UN struggles to fulfill the terms of the reform agenda that world leaders agreed to last fall.” Tweet comment Print Send to friend Bookmark to del.icio.us 10 Talkbacks for this article See all talkbacks Please wait for the talkbacks to load	Ban Ki-moon South Korean Ban Ki-moon, 68, has been endorsed unanimously by the to succeed Kofi Annan as the of the United Nations, on October 13. He will take the position of Secretary General on January 1. When asked by to adopt the resolution by an oral vote, the room filled with hundreds of diplomats and UN staff clapping loudly. A formal vote was not conducted as the decision was unanimous. She banged her gavel after the vote and said, "It is so decided. I have the honor to announce that His Excellency Ban Ki-moon has been appointed by acclamation secretary-general of the United Nations. This is a historic day for the organization as it continues to evolve and live up to the values and principles of the ." At the time of the decision itself, the South Korean was the only candidate for the job - when informal polls were carried out within the UN, the other five individuals fared so badly that they all dropped out of the leadership race. "I will work diligently to materialise our responsibility to protect the most vulnerable members of humanity and for the peaceful resolution of threats to international security and regional stability," Mr. Ban told the Assembly. "The true measure of success for the UN is not how much we promise, but how much we deliver for those who need us most." "The UN is needed now more than ever before." Mr. Ban, the first Asian Secretary General since from Burma, said he was committed to meeting , expanding peace operations and dealing with threats posed by terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, HIV/AIDS and other pandemics, environmental degradation and protecting human rights. He also mentioned , something the United States — which contributes the largest part of the budget of the UN, with 22 % , but also has arrears of 1.3 billion dollars — has long called for. However, the new Secretary General made clear that any changes would occur at his own pace. "We reform not to please others, but because we value what this organisation stands for," he said. "We cannot change everything at once. But if we choose wisely, and work together transparently, flexibly and honestly, progress in a few areas will lead to progress in a few more." Kofi Annan, 68, described Ban as "a future secretary-general who is exceptionally attuned to the sensitivities of countries and constituencies in every continent. A man with a truly global mind at the helm of the world's only universal organisation." He added that he wished Ban strength and courage as he prepared to take over the job and to "have fun along the way." "We believe he is the right person to lead the United Nations at this decisive moment in its history, particularly as the UN struggles to fulfill the terms of the reform agenda that world leaders agreed to last fall," U.S. Ambassador John R. Bolton told the assembly. Israeli Ambassador Danny Gillerman said that it was good for Israel's standing in the organization. "If the secretary general is serious and fair and appoints underlings who are serious and fair, and the UN will be serious, clean and organized, this will be good for the Jews," said Mr. Gillerman. Mr Ban will hold the position for five years until the next election in 2011.
Leading News from Sri Lanka :: Norway says its role in Sri Lanka Peace process ended in 2006 Tuesday, April 14, 2009, 13:00 GMT, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka. Apr 14, Colombo: The Norwegian government today said that it has not been able to play a mediation role in the Sri Lanka's decades long war since the peace process broke down in 2003. "We cannot be facilitators in a peace process which has in effect been suspended since 2006," Norwegian special envoy to Sri Lanka Jon Hanssen-Bauer had told a new agency. The latest statement comes from Norway in response to Sri Lankan government's statement, which said that it is no longer feasible for Norway to act as a facilitator in Sri Lanka's peace process in the current context following the failure of Norway to protect Sri Lankan Embassy in Oslo from the LTTE supporters. \|\|\|\|\| Sri Lanka's embassy in Oslo was trashed by pro-Tamil rebel demonstrators on Sunday [AFP] Sri Lanka's embassy in Oslo was trashed by pro-Tamil rebel demonstrators on Sunday [AFP] Sri Lanka informed Norway of its decision on Monday, a day after supporters of the (LTTE) Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam broke into the Sri Lankan embassy in the Norwegian capital. The Sri Lankan government has stripped Norway of its role as a mediator between the government and Tamil Tiger fighters in the country's peace process. The Sri Lankan foreign ministry made a formal complaint to Norway following the protest. Colombo also recently took exception to Norway arranging a telephone conversation between an LTTE leader and a UN envoy to discuss the humanitarian crisis caused by the conflict. The move means Norway can no longer play a role as one of four mediators, alongside the US, Britain and Japan, in Sri Lanka's peace talks. "We cannot be facilitators in a peace process which has in effect been suspended since 2006," Jon Hanssen-Bauer, Norway's special envoy to Sri Lanka, said. Embassy attacked Demonstartors demanding Norway help bring an end to the conflict in Sri Lanka, broke into the Sri Lankan embassy in Oslo on Sunday, smashing windows and furniture. No one was hurt in the protests, police said, and the demonstrators, who had videotaped themselves and posted the attack on the internet, were not arrested. Sri Lanka's foreign ministry said Norway had shown "sheer neglect" of its obligations by failing to protect the embassy despite repeated requests for better security. Protests have been on the rise in numerous world cities where there are large Tamil populations. "In these circumstances, the government of Sri Lanka perceives that it is no longer feasible for Norway to act as facilitator in the peace process," a statement from Sri Lanka's foreign ministry said. Sri Lanka formally invited the Scandinavian nation to act as a mediator in the conflict in January 2000; Norwegian officials managed to secure a ceasefire which came into force in February 2002. But the Sri Lankan government pulled out of the truce in January last year, accusing the LTTE of frequent ceasefire violations and of using the break in fighting to rearm. \|\|\|\|\| Tamil protesters storm Sri Lankan Embassy in Oslo OSLO (AP) — Police say Tamil protesters have entered the Sri Lankan Embassy in Oslo, smashing windows and destroying office equipment. No casualties were immediately reported. Police spokesman Tor Groettum says about 100 demonstrators joined Sunday's protest of the treatment of Sri Lanka's treatment of its ethnic minority Tamils during a military offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels. Groettum says the demonstrators went on a rampage before police intervened. He says police couldn't immediately identify who had been responsible for the damage. No arrests were made. On Sunday, Sri Lanka's leader ordered a two-day suspension of the offensive against the rebels to enable tens of thousands of trapped civilians to leave the war zone in the north. Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.	Members of the Tamil community in Oslo, Norway are demonstrating in protest of the Sinhalese-dominated government of Sri Lanka. The protests are taking place peacefully on the grounds in front of the Storting, the Norwegian Parliament. Storting on Monday. The demonstrators are supporters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), popularly known as the Tamil Tigers. They criticised the Sri Lankan governments handling of Tamil civilians in the war zone in northern Sri Lanka and are attempting to get the Norwegian government to intervene diplomatically in the conflict to stop the Sri Lankan government from putting civilians at risk. The peaceful demonstrations come the day after Tamil protesters stormed the Sri Lankan embassy in Oslo. In response, this morning the Sri Lankan government refused to let Norway continue its mediating role in the decades-long Sri Lankan Civil War; the Norwegian government, in response, has said its role in bringing the two sides to the table ended in 2006. The protest leaders have apologized for the invasion of the embassy. The Norwegian government has given the demonstrators permission to demonstrate until Friday, but they are forbidden from staying all day or from camping on the Storting grounds. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared a two-day cease-fire in government operations against the LTTE, the largest group fighting against the government, on Monday for the Sri Lankan New Year, to allow civilians to leave the combat zone. Tens of thousands of civilians, many displaced by the war, are in the combat zone. The LTTE has been campaigning violently for an independent homeland for the Tamil people in northern Sri Lanka since 1976. The Sri Lankan government has recently enjoyed a string of military successes against the LTTE, who have been driven out of all major towns they once controlled. The Sri Lankan government has stated it believes that there are now only 500 LTTE fighters remaining, intermingled with civilians in the Jaffna Peninsula.
JERUSALEM, July 17 (Reuters) - The Israeli army said after seven Canadians were killed in southern Lebanon that it had warned residents of the village to clear out of the area and that Hizbollah was responsible for any civilian deaths. "The IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) requested and warned residents of the area not to stay within range of the launch sites" used by Hizbollah to fire rockets into Israel, the army said in a statement. "The responsibility for any civilian casualties rests entirely with the Hizbollah terrorist organization," the army said. Seven Canadians were killed and three more were wounded on Sunday when shells hit their house in southern Lebanon. Canadian media reported that all the dead Canadians were from the same Montreal family in Lebanon for the summer holidays. \|\|\|\|\| TUESDAY 25 JULY Israel's Defence Minister Amir Peretz says Israel will keep control over an area in southern Lebanon until an force of international peacekeepers is deployed. Israeli air strikes on Tyre in southern Lebanon continue The idea of the multinational force will be high on the agenda of an international ministerial meeting on the crisis in Rome on Wednesday. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has completed her diplomatic tour of the region, meeting separately with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli PM Ehud Olmert. Mr Abbas calls for an immediate truce but Mr Olmert says there will be no let-up in army operations. Ms Rice calls for peace across the region and expresses concern for the suffering of "innocent people". UN observers say Israel has taken the town of Bint Jbeil, a Hezbollah stronghold in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah guerrillas continue to fire Katyusha rockets. Israel resumes air raids on Beirut. MONDAY 24 JULY US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrives in the Middle East, making a surprise stop in Beirut for talks with Lebanon's Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. An Israeli helicopter crash killed two pilots Ms Rice reportedly makes the release of the two Israeli soldiers and the withdrawal of Hezbollah forces from the border the pre-conditions for any ceasefire. She later moves on to Israel. The UN launches an appeal for $150m (£81m) in aid and the US pledges a $30m aid package to begin on Tuesday. UK PM Tony Blair says the situation in Lebanon is "a catastrophe", while UN Secretary General Kofi Annan says international ministerial talks in Rome on Wednesday must not fail. Meanwhile, there is fierce fighting in southern Lebanon around Bint Jbeil. An Israeli helicopter crashes in northern Israel, with two pilots killed. Hezbollah claims it shot the helicopter down; Israel disputes this. Air strikes continue on both sides. SUNDAY 23 JULY Israeli strikes hit southern Beirut, the Bekaa valley, Tyre, and - for the first time - Sidon, a southern port city full of refugees from the surrounding countryside. There are no confirmed reports on the number of Lebanese casualties. A volley of Hezbollah rockets hits the northern Israeli city of Haifa, killing two people and injuring 15. The UN's emergency relief co-ordinator, Jan Egeland, is shocked by the ruins he finds as he tours southern districts of Beirut. He says the large scale of the destruction, and its indiscriminate nature, renders it a violation of humanitarian law. Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz says Israel would agree to the proposed deployment of a multi-national force in southern Lebanon and suggested it should be led by Nato. Envoys from France and Britain also hold talks in Israel to look for ways to resolve the crisis. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected in the region. SATURDAY 22 JULY The Israeli army continues ground incursions into southern Lebanon. It says it has gained control of the village of Maroun al-Ras after several days of fighting and warns civilians in 14 specific villages to leave. Troops continue to line up along Israel's northern border, but Israel says it is not planning a full-scale ground invasion. Humanitarian concerns mount as thousands of Lebanese try to flee southern Lebanon. The UN pushes for secure routes for civilians to escape and much-needed aid to be delivered. Israel targets Lebanese phone and television masts in air strikes, while Hezbollah fires dozens of rockets into Israel. The death toll rises to at least 350 Lebanese and 34 Israelis. FRIDAY 21 JULY Israel masses soldiers and tanks on the Lebanese border, called up thousands of reserves, drops leaflets on parts of southern Lebanon urging residents to leave. Israel has warned of a possible ground offensive It maintains its bombardment of the country, hitting more than 40 targets, mainly in southern Beirut. Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora says the offensive is now no longer against Hezbollah, but against Lebanon. The evacuation of foreign nationals continues, with thousands more expected to arrive in Cyprus. THURSDAY 20 JULY UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan calls for a ceasefire and stresses the need to let aid into the region. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agrees to allow aid into Lebanon. Many Lebanese fear their country is being utterly devastated Heavy fighting erupts between Israeli troops and Hezbollah militants inside Lebanon's border. Two Israeli soldiers and a number of Hezbollah fighters are killed, according to the Israeli army. Israel continues its bombing of Lebanon, carrying out 80 air strikes. Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah appears on television, saying Israel has not dented its capabilities. The Israeli army says that Hezbollah has fired 30 rockets into northern Israel during the day, but they do not cause any casualties. The death toll reaches at least 306 people in Lebanon and 31 in Israel. Evacuations continue, with many nations sending both military ships and chartered vessels to remove their citizens from danger. Forty US marines come ashore to help around 1,000 US citizens in Lebanon - the first presence of US troops in the country since Hezbollah militants blew up a marine barracks in Beirut in 1983, killing 241 personnel. But Cyprus, which is taking many of the evacuees, says it cannot cope with the influx and appeals to the European Commission for additional planes to fly people to their home countries. WEDNESDAY 19 JULY As Israeli forces bomb Lebanon for an eighth day, Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora appeals for an immediate end to the Israeli attacks on his country, saying more than 300 people had been killed by the Israeli air raids so far, with 1,000 wounded and 500,000 displaced. Meanwhile, Israeli strikes hit Hezbollah positions in Beirut, as well as targets in southern and eastern parts of the country. The military says its aircraft dropped 23 tonnes of explosives in an evening raid on a bunker in south Beirut where senior Hezbollah leaders, possibly including Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, were hiding. But Hezbollah denies any of its "leaders or personnel" were killed and says the Israeli raid hit a mosque under construction rather than a bunker. More than 60 civilians are killed in raids - 12 in the southern village of Srifa, near Tyre, six in the southern town of Nabatiyeh, and many more elsewhere in the south as well as Baalbek in the east. Israeli troops cross into southern Lebanon to carry out what the army called "restricted pinpoint attacks". Two Israeli soldiers die in clashes with Hezbollah fighters inside Lebanon. Rockets fired from Lebanon strike the northern Israeli city of Haifa, and kill two children in the Israeli Arab city of Nazareth. They are the first Arab Israelis to die in the rocket attacks. Thousands of people continue to flee Lebanon. A British warship arrives in Cyprus, carrying the first 180 UK citizens. A Norwegian ferry takes hundreds of Norwegians, Swedes and Americans to Cyprus, while a US-chartered ship docks in Beirut to evacuate US and Australian citizens. After meeting Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, the EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, says he has seen the suffering of Lebanese civilians and it is nothing to do with the battle against Hezbollah - it was "disproportionate". But Ms Livni says the Israeli military response is proportionate to the threat posed by Hezbollah to the entire region.	In the continued conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, six Canadians, including four children who were killed on Sunday by an Israeli missile hitting a house in south Lebanon have been identified. Saja Al-Akhrass (8), Zeinab Al-Akhrass (6), Ahmad Al-Akhrass (4), and Salam Al-Akhrass (11 months) were in Lebanon for a summer holiday, visiting their extended family. They were killed when their house collapsed after being struck by an Israeli bombardment. Their parents, 36-year-old Ali Al-Akhrass and his wife Amira (23) were also killed in the attack. The family were residents of Montreal. Six others were reported wounded in the attack. "I lost my brother, I lost my sister, my nephew, the family of my nephew, my aunt, my uncle. Oh God," said Hussain El-Akras, brother of one of the victims. He told a Montreal news conference Monday that his family were begging the government of Canada to "put pressure on Israel to stop this barbaric behaviour." The Israeli military statement on the incident said "The responsibility for any civilian casualties rests entirely with the Hezbollah terrorist organization" and "The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) requested and warned residents of the area not to stay within range of the launch sites". Israel says that Hezbollah disperses its weaponry among supporters in residential neighborhoods to avoid being targeted by the much larger, better-equipped Israeli Defense Forces.
"Don't work too hard," wrote a colleague in an e-mail today. Was she sincere or sarcastic? I think I know (sarcastic), but I'm probably wrong. According to recent research published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , I've only a 50-50 chance of ascertaining the tone of any e-mail message. The study also shows that people think they've correctly interpreted the tone of e-mails they receive 90 percent of the time. "That's how flame wars get started," says psychologist Nicholas Epley of the University of Chicago, who conducted the research with Justin Kruger of New York University. "People in our study were convinced they've accurately understood the tone of an e-mail message when in fact their odds are no better than chance," says Epley. The researchers took 30 pairs of undergraduate students and gave each one a list of 20 statements about topics like campus food or the weather. Assuming either a serious or sarcastic tone, one member of each pair e-mailed the statements to his or her partner. The partners then guessed the intended tone and indicated how confident they were in their answers. Those who sent the messages predicted that nearly 80 percent of the time their partners would correctly interpret the tone. In fact the recipients got it right just over 50 percent of the time. "People often think the tone or emotion in their messages is obvious because they 'hear' the tone they intend in their head as they write," Epley explains. At the same time, those reading messages unconsciously interpret them based on their current mood, stereotypes and expectations. Despite this, the research subjects thought they accurately interpreted the messages nine out of 10 times. The reason for this is egocentrism, or the difficulty some people have detaching themselves from their own perspective, says Epley. In other words, people aren't that good at imagining how a message might be understood from another person's perspective. "E-mail is very easy to misinterpret, which not only triggers flame wars but lots of litigation," says Nancy Flynn, executive director of the e-Policy Institute and author of guidebooks E-Mail Rules and Instant Messaging Rules. Many companies battle workplace lawsuits triggered by employee e-mail, according to Flynn. People write absolutely, incredibly stupid things in company e-mails," said Flynn. \|\|\|\|\| SCIENCE WATCH E-mails and egos An inability to step outside of one's own head may be behind e-mail miscommunication, according to recent research. By Lea Winerman Monitor Staff Print version: page 16 Psychologist Justin Kruger, PhD, has seen plenty of e-mails gone awry. Kruger, a professor at New York University, was once a member of a psychology departmental e-mail list at a different university. A job candidate came into town to interview for a faculty position. The faculty member responsible for organizing a meet-and-greet dinner sent around an e-mail invitation that read "talking to the candidate is not required; just don't embarrass us." "She meant it as a joke, but much to her surprise some people were really upset," says Kruger. "It was a comical miscommunication." Now, Kruger and his colleague Nicholas Epley, PhD, of the University of Chicago, have published research that helps explain why these electronic misunderstandings occur so frequently. In a study in the December Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (Vol. 89, No. 5, pages 925936), they find that people overestimate both their ability to convey their intended tonebe it sarcastic, serious or funnywhen they send an e-mail, as well as their ability to correctly interpret the tone of messages others send to them. The reason for this communication disconnect, the researchers find, is egocentrismthe well-established social psychological phenomenon whereby people have a difficult time detaching themselves from their own perspectives and understanding how other people will interpret them. And as e-mail has become more prevalent, Epley says, the opportunities for misunderstanding have increased. "Of course there's nothing new about text-based communication; people have been writing letters for centuries," he explains. "But what's different in this medium is…the ease with which we can fire things back and forth. It makes text-based communication seem more informal and more like face-to-face communication than it really is." What do you mean? Despite this ease, though, e-mail can have some serious disadvantages. In their recent study, Kruger and Epley found that people are better at communicating and interpreting tone in vocal messages than in text-based ones. In one experiment, the researchers tested 30 pairs of undergraduate students. Each participant received a list of 20 statements about topics like campus food or the weather. One member of each pair read their statements into a tape recordertaking either a sarcastic or serious tonewhile the other member e-mailed the statements. The participants also noted whether they thought their partners would correctly interpret each statement's tone. The participants then listened to or read their partners' statements, guessed the intended tone and indicated how confident they were in their answers. Both the e-mailers and those who recorded their messages were highly confident that their partners would correctly detect their toneboth groups predicted about a 78 percent success rate. The speakers weren't too far offtheir partners got the tone correct about 75 percent of the time. The partners who read the statements over e-mail, though, had only a 56 percent success ratenot much better than chance. What's more, the participants who received the messages were no better at predicting their own successboth the listeners and the readers guessed that they had correctly interpreted the message's tone 90 percent of the time. "I think people do have some intuition, abstractly, about the limits of e-mail," Epley says. "But I don't think that in specific instances people realize that a particular message is unclear." In a follow-up experiment in the same paper, Kruger and Epley dug deeper to uncover the reasons behind e-mailers' overconfidence. They suspected that it might be because e-mailers assume that other people have the same inside information about their intentions and motivations that they dowhat social psychologists call egocentrism. Such an effect was found in a 1990 study by psychologist Elizabeth Newton, PhD. For her dissertation, Newton asked participants to tap the rhythm of a well-known tune. The tappers predicted that listeners would be able to identify the songs 50 percent of the time, whereas in reality the listeners could only figure out the tune about 3 percent of the time. The reason for the disconnect, Kruger says, is that tappers would inevitably "hear" the whole, orchestrated tune in their minds as they tapped, whereas listeners heard only an irregular series of taps. "It's impossible not to hear the song as you're tapping away," says Kruger. "So you have a hard time separating yourself from your own perspective and realizing how impoverished the listeners' data really are." Similarly, he says, e-mailers might inevitably "hear" the tone they intend their e-mail to convey, while forgetting that receivers don't have access to that extra information. To test this, he and Epley repeated their first experiment, but this time asked the e-mailers to read their statements aloud before sending them. Half the participants read the statements as they intended them, while half read them using the opposite tone: seriously for a sarcastic statement, and sarcastically for a serious statement. The idea, Epley says, was to force participants to step outside their own perspective, perhaps negating some of the effects of egocentrism. And indeed, that's what happened: Participants who read the statements as they intended them still overestimated receivers' ability to guess the e-mails' meanings, but participants who read the statements using the opposite tone no longer did. Pick up the phone Kruger and Epley's research adds a new level of rigor to previous speculations about e-mail communications, says Lee Sproull, PhD, a sociologist who studies technology and communication at New York University. "What I like about this study is that it applies well-understood ideas about egocentrism and social judgment," she says. "To the best of my knowledge, they are the first to apply those findings to e-mail, and they really reinforce and explain many of the phenomena found in previous studies." Given these findings, then, what's the average e-mailer to do? Well, perhaps just pick up the phone, says Epley. "E-mail is fine if you just want to communicate content, but not any emotional material," he explains. Or, suggests Sproull, try the researchers' manipulation on your ownread your message out loud in various tones of voice, to see how your recipient might interpret it. Overall, she says, she finds the study very informative. "I really think it's lovely work," she says, pausing. "You know, I could have said that same thing to you in an e-mail, but you might not have detected the degree of enthusiasm in my voice!"	People only ascertain the intended tone on an e-mail message about 56% of the time, not much better than chance, according to a study led by Prof. Nicholas Epley (University of Chicago) and Prof. Justin Kruger (New York University). The research also found that people think they've correctly interpreted the tone 90% of the time. Epley and Kruger discovered that not only were the receivers of the e-mails overconfident about their understanding of the message's tone, but the senders were as well. About 78% of the senders thought that the receiver would correctly interpret the tone of their e-mail message. Epley explained that "People in our study were convinced they've accurately understood the tone of an e-mail message when in fact their odds are no better than chance." He observed that "people often think the tone or emotion in their messages is obvious because they 'hear' the tone they intend in their head as they write." Kruger likened this to findings from previous research by Elizabeth Newton that people vastly overestimated their ability to convey a tune by tapping out its rhythm. "It's impossible not to hear the song as you're tapping away," he said. "So you have a hard time separating yourself from your own perspective and realizing how impoverished the listeners' data really are." Epley stated that similar misunderstandings of emotional tone play a major role in starting online flame wars. The study has been published in the ''Journal of Personality and Social Psychology''.
News Moon image using AMIE's clear filter SMART-1's first images from the Moon 26 January 2005 ESA's SMART-1 captured its first close-range images of the Moon this January, during a sequence of test lunar observations from an altitude between 1000 and 5000 kilometres above the lunar surface. SMART-1 entered its first orbit around the Moon on 15 November 2004. It has spent the two months following spiralling down to the Moon and testing its array of instruments. SMART-1 entered its first orbit around the Moon on 15 November 2004. It has spent the two months following spiralling down to the Moon and testing its array of instruments. The first four days after being captured by the lunar gravity were very critical. There had been the risk, being in an 'unstable' trajectory, of escaping the Moon's orbit or crashing onto the surface. Because of this, the electric propulsion system (or 'ion engine') started a thrust to stabilise the capture. The ion engine was switched on until 29 December, allowing SMART-1 to make ever-decreasing loops around the Moon. The engine was switched off between 29 December and 3 January 2005 to allow scientists to start observations. At this point, the AMIE camera took the close-up lunar images. The engine was switched off again to optimise fuel consumption on 12 January, and SMART-1 will spend until 9 February making a medium resolution survey of the Moon, taking advantage of the favourable illumination conditions. ESA's SMART-1 Project Scientist Bernard Foing said, "A sequence of test lunar observations was done in January at distances between 1000 and 5000 kilometres altitude, when the electric propulsion was paused. We are conducting more survey test observations until the electric propulsion resumes from 9 February to spiral down further towards the Moon. SMART-1 will arrive on 28 February at the initial orbit with altitudes between 300 and 3000 kilometres to perform the first phase of nominal science observations for five months." Lunar craters Brianchon and Pascal The first close-up image shows an area at lunar latitude 75° North with impact craters of different sizes. The largest crater shown here, in the middle left of the image, is Brianchon. The second largest, at the bottom of the image, is called Pascal. At low illumination angles, the crater shadows allow scientists to derive the height of crater rims. "This image was the first proof that the AMIE camera is still working well in lunar orbit," says AMIE Principal Investigator Jean-Luc Josset of Space-X. The composite images shown here were created to show larger-scale features. The first mosaic shows the complex impact crater Pythagoras and the strip of images (bottom) was produced from images taken consecutively along one orbit. Starting with this mosaic, SMART-1 scientists expect to build up a global medium-resolution context map, where high-resolution images later observed from lower altitude can be integrated. Pythagoras impact crater A mosaic strip of images Send this page to a friend \|\|\|\|\| ESA's SMART-1 entered its first orbit around the Moon on 15 November 2004. It has spent the two months following spiralling down to the The first four days after being captured by the lunar gravity were very critical. There had been the risk, being in an 'unstable' trajectory, of escaping the Moon's orbit or crashing onto the surface. Because of this, the electric propulsion system (or 'ion engine') started a thrust to stabilise the capture. ESA's SMART-1 captured its first close-range images of the Moon this January, during a sequence of test lunar observations from an altitude between 1000 and 5000 kilometres above the lunar surface.SMART-1 entered its first orbit around the Moon on 15 November 2004. It has spent the two months following spiralling down to the Moon and testing its array of instruments.The first four days after being captured by the lunar gravity were very critical. There had been the risk, being in an 'unstable' trajectory, of escaping the Moon's orbit or crashing onto the surface. Because of this, the electric propulsion system (or 'ion engine') started a thrust to stabilise the capture. Related stories: The ion engine was switched on until 29 December, allowing SMART-1 to make ever-decreasing loops around the Moon. The engine was switched off between 29 December and 3 January 2005 to allow scientists to start observations. At this point, the AMIE camera took the close-up lunar images. The engine was switched off again to optimise fuel consumption on 12 January, and SMART-1 will spend until 9 February making a medium resolution survey of the Moon, taking advantage of the favourable illumination conditions.ESA's SMART-1 Project Scientist Bernard Foing said "A sequence of test lunar observations was done in January at distances between 1000 and 5000 kilometres altitude, when the electric propulsion was paused. We are conducting more survey test observations until the electric propulsion resumes from 9 February to spiral down further towards the Moon. SMART-1 will arrive on 28 February at the initial orbit with altitudes between 300 and 3000 kilometres to perform the first phase of nominal science observations for five months."The first close-up image shows an area at lunar latitude 75° North with impact craters of different sizes. The largest crater shown here, in the middle left of the image, is Brianchon. The second largest, at the bottom of the image, is called Pascal.At low illumination angles, the crater shadows allow scientists to derive the height of crater rims."This image was the first proof that the AMIE camera is still working well in lunar orbit," says AMIE Principal Investigator Jean-Luc Josset of Space-X.The composite images shown here were created to show larger-scale features. The first mosaic shows the complex impact crater Pythagoras and the strip of images (bottom) was produced from images taken consecutively along one orbit.Starting with this mosaic, SMART-1 scientists expect to build up a global medium-resolution context map, where high-resolution images later observed from lower altitude can be integrated.Source: ESA \|\|\|\|\| Titan landing caps stellar year 16:43 AEDT Sat Jan 22 2005 AP - The European Space Agency's historic landing of the Huygens probe on Titan capped a banner year which took agency spacecraft to Mars, the moon and toward a distant comet. The agency's scientists and engineers are now preparing for the next goal of their interplanetary program - a launch to Venus later this year, in another sign of ESA's growing ambition and accomplishments in space. The successful landing of Huygens last week after a seven-year voyage - and the pictures of the haze-shrouded, ice-strewn surface proudly displayed at mission control in Darmstadt, Germany - put ESA in the centre of attention after decades in the shadow of the US and Soviet-Russian programs. "What we're seeing is a flowering, maturing of their planetary exploration capabilities," said Paul Spudis, a planetary scientist at John Hopkins University in Baltimore in the United States. "Their new stuff is every bit as good as the stuff the US is coming up with." Long-term plans for the agency, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, include two flagship missions to Mars - ExoMars would land a rover on the planet, and Mars Sample Return would bring back a sample of the Martian surface. With a budget of $US54 million ($A70 million) earmarked in 2005-2006 for these and other projects to explore the solar system, the Europeans hope to carry out the Mars missions in 2009 and 2011-2014, respectively. In the coming year, ESA also will launch their Venus Express craft, to study the composition of the planet's atmosphere. Additionally, the first of four satellites for the Galileo navigation system, comparable to the US Global Positioning System, is slated for launch in November. Galileo represents what ESA spokesman Franco Bonacina calls the agency's "main objective" - technology that brings something concrete to the average taxpayer. "Of course we don't forget space science, which is the backbone of our being, but we do give priority to things that benefit the European citizen," Bonacina said in a telephone interview from ESA headquarters in Paris. For the moment, though, ESA is basking in the glow of their recent streak of successes, which began last year with photographs from the Mars Express orbiter showing what ESA scientists said was the most direct evidence yet of water in the form of ice on the Red Planet. Although the British-built Beagle 2 lander was lost without a trace after detaching from Mars Express, the orbiter performed flawlessly, delivering detailed images of the Martian surface. SMART 1 - ESA's first ever mission to Earth's moon - tested a fuel-efficient, low-thrust ion propulsion system and navigational software that lets ground controllers know the exact location of a craft in space. It reached lunar orbit in November, where it is busy photographing the lunar poles and using an X-ray camera to provide advanced maps of the surface. In March, the agency launched its Rosetta craft on a 10-year journey to land on a distant comet, where it will search for clues about the birth of our solar system and life here on Earth. One of the main benefits of ESA's growing interest in exploration, scientists say, is the increase in the amount of information gathered. Unlike the days of the Cold War when space exploration served as a battleground for superiority between the United States and the Soviet Union, the European and US missions complement one another. The Cassini-Huygens mission - where ESA's probe "hitchhiked" on the back of NASA's orbiter - is only the most recent example. ©AAP 2005	The European Space Agency's (ESA) lunar probe SMART-1 has taken its first images from a low orbit around the moon, returning images of great detail. SMART-1 caps a streak of major planetary missions by the ESA in the past year. Two features of SMART-1 have brought particular attention to the project: the ion drive and a sophisticated navigational software. The probe features a low-thrust, long-duration ion drive, where ionised particles are accelerated by electromagnets and ejected from the motor of the probe to provide propulsion. The energy for this is supplied by solar panels, potentially allowing months of thrusting. The probe arrived in lunar orbit on November 15, 2004. The ion drive has been firing for much of the time since, leading the probe to orbit ever closer to the lunar surface. The coupling of the camera and the navigational system will allow more precise mapping of the moon's features than ever before. Using very precise positioning, the system will be able to measure the angles of shadows to such a degree that researchers will be able to build a very accurate topographical map of the moon's surface features. The series of images were taken at an altitude of 5,000 to 1,000 km above the Moon to test the onboard camera. On February 9, the ion drive will be turned on once more to drop the probe to a height of 3,000 to 300 km above the surface. From then on, it will begin the bulk of its scientific investigations.
Take Your First Look At The Future of Aviation News and Information... Click Here To Preview the AERO-TV Beta Site! Top News Adam Air To Retrieve Black Box From New Year's Day Crash Has Deal With Salvage Firm, To Start Work In July It was a crash that took 102 lives that has yet to see closure for the families, as well as the aviation community. Reuters reported that Indonesian budget carrier Adam Air is close to signing on with a salvage firm to retrieve the black box of Adam Air's ill-fated Flight 574, a Boeing 737-400. As reported by ANN, Indonesian rescue teams searched for the missing Adam Air Boeing that went down New Year's Day. Late January, the USNS Mary Sears, searching off the western coast of Sulawesi island, detected what the US Navy believed to be signals from the cockpit voice and flight data recorders of the aircraft, but those recorders were never retrieved, as ANN reported. "We have a deal with US-based Phoenix International to retrieve the black box," Adam Air chief executive Adam Suherman told Reuters. "The plan will go ahead in early July." He added, "Retrieving the black box would not only serve the interest of Adam Air but would serve the interest of the aviation community in general." Experts said in January that retrieving the flight recorder, set up to give off a signal for 30 days to aid detection, may be difficult and it could be lying in waters as deep as 5,600 ft. Locating the black box may be even more challenging as it may have shifted or may be buried under sediment. The 17-year-old plane was heading from Surabaya, in East Java, to Manado in northern Sulawesi, when it vanished in bad weather. The plane made no distress call, although the pilot reported concerns over crosswinds. Metal fragments, including the plane's tail section, were found on the bottom of the ocean floor January 12 and confirmed to be from the wreckage of an Adam Air 737, as ANN reported. Email This Article to a Friend Link to this Article Discuss This Topic More Top News Headlines: 2007/09/26 2007/09/25 2007/09/24 \|\|\|\|\| Hockey bombshell: Coach out, system broken One of our most-loved sporting teams is in crisis with the head coach quitting just months before the Tokyo Olympics as a report reveals the dysfunction. Real reason why Cummings covets the Slipper like no other James Cummings says the legend of the Golden Slipper grows every year, but it’s standing as the barometer of the breeding industry is what carries the real weight. V’landys code war: I saved ‘boring’ AFL from ruin The NRL v AFL code war has been reignited, with Peter V’landys taking credit for saving the AFL at the height of the pandemic last year but he’s also taken aim at the game and the fans. \|\|\|\|\| Indonesia's aviation safety agency to publish preliminary report into New Year's Day Adam Air crash despite failure to locate black boxes The flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder from an Adam Air Boeing 737-400 that crashed on 1 January into the sea in Indonesia have yet to be recovered but despite this the country's aviation safety agency is pushing the airline to arrange for their retrieval and still plans to issue a report and put forward a probable cause for the crash. Frans Wenas, the lead investigator from Indonesia's national transportation safety committee KNKT says the onus is now on the airline to select a contractor and pay for the recorders to be recovered. But the KNKT “cannot put it as a requirement [that Adam Air recover the recorders] so it is still voluntary”. Adam Air has been negotiating with private-sector service providers to recover the recorders. “I heard there are some suggested invoices but no final decision because they are still negotiating because of the high price,” says Wenas. He confirms the KNKT is unable to pay and instead wants Adam Air to sign the contract and pay for it although he adds the salvage operation will still fall under the KNKT's authority. The Adam Air 737-400 crashed into the sea on 1 January while en route from Surabaya to Manado and the recorders are at a depth of 2,000m (1,100 fathoms) in Indonesia’s Makasar Strait. The KNKT, with the help of a US Navy oceanographic survey ship, was earlier able to pinpoint the recorders’ location by detecting their transmitter beacons, says Wenas, adding that the beacons normally last for 30 days, meaning those on the Adam Air aircraft would have lasted until the first week of February. NTSC has global positioning system co-ordinates for the recorders and at such depths “there is less drift” so they are unlikely to move, he adds. Even if the KNKT is unable to recover the recorders it still plans to issue a report. “We already have some other facts and findings that have given us some clues. There will be an analysis and a probable cause” given, says Wenas, who fails to elaborate. Adam Air president Adam Suherman says he has been negotiating with two companies and will be choosing one to carry out the salvage mission. One of the two short-listed is Phoenix International, a US company based in Washington, DC that was the sub-contractor to the US Navy vessel that helped with the earlier mission. Currently Adam Air is also busy dealing with the fallout from an incident on 21 February in which a 737-300, registered as PK-KKV, landed hard on the runway at Surabaya resulting in the mid-fuselage buckling. Indonesia’s Directorate General Air Communications responded to the latest incident by grounding Adam Air’s other six 737-300s but Suherman told ATI today that all six have since been released and five are now operating. One is undergoing a heavy maintenance check at maintenance, repair and overhaul firm GMF AeroAsia, adds Suherman. \|\|\|\|\| Jakarta - A dispute erupted Friday between the Indonesian government and budget carrier Adam Air over who should pay for the retrieval of the 'black box' from a commercial jetliner that crashed into the ocean on New Year's Day, killing all 102 people on board. A US naval oceanographic ship located the black box along with a large debris field from the wreckage of the plane, which disappeared off radar screens near the eastern island of Sulawesi and either crashed into the Makassar Strait or exploded in mid-air. The wreckage is hundreds of metres beneath the ocean's surface and it will likely take a remote-controlled underwater robot to retrieve the black box, which contains voice recordings of the Adam Air flight's pilots and could provide clues as to why it went down. 'Indonesia's Search and Rescue Agency doesn't have that kind of budget, so the responsibility now goes to Adam Air,' Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla was quoted as saying by the state-run Antara news agency. Kalla also questioned the need to even retrieve the black box given that no one survived the crash. However, Pring Saputra, managing-director of Adam Air, said the black box needed to be recovered and the government should pay for the operation, though it was unclear who would carry it out. 'It is the responsibility of the Indonesian government because it's now a national problem,' Saputra told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa. 'Also, because a US ship is involved, it's an international problem.' The USNS Mary Sears located the black box on Thursday but was scheduled to depart from Indonesian waters on Friday, according to a statement from the US embassy in Jakarta. According to Kalla, retrieving the black box and wreckage from the plane's fuselage is possible, but not easy. 'It took almost a month just to locate it,' Kalla said. Adam Air Flight KI-574 was carrying 96 passengers - including three US citizens - and a crew of six when it disappeared during a scheduled flight from Surabaya, the capital of East Java province, to Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi province, on January 1. Rescue teams searched in vain for 10 days before debris began floating ashore in South Sulawesi province. No survivors or bodies have been found, although officials say fragments of human hair were recovered from one of the jetliner's headrests. Adam Air has agreed to pay 55,000 dollars in compensation to the families of each passenger. Adam Air is one of dozens of budget carriers to spring up in Indonesia following the deregulation of the domestic aviation industry in 1999. A series of crashes and accidents involving those carriers has raised concerns about safety and maintenance practices. © 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur	An example of a cockpit voice recorder. Indonesia budget airline Adam Air has reached an agreement with United States marine salvage firm Phoenix International to retrieve the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder (or "black boxes") from Adam Air Flight 574, a Boeing 737 aircraft that crashed into the sea on New Year's Day near Sulawesi, Indonesia during a scheduled domestic passenger flight, killing all 102 on board. According to Adam Air chairman Adam Suherman the salvage operation will be conducted in July. Previous disputes had left doubts over whether the devices would be retrieved at all, with both the government and Adam Air placing responsibility for funding the operation on each other. Indonesia does not have the equipment or the funds to conduct the operation itself, and had originally asked Japan, France and the US for help. They eventually announced that they would not pay for the operation, neither could they force Adam Air to. A flight data recorder. However, Adam Air took it upon themselves to retrieve the recorders, culminating in this agreement with Phoenix. The lack of either recorder has thus far made determining the cause of the disaster extremely difficult.
Man decked out in Darth Vader mask robs NY bank SETAUKET, N.Y. — Times must be tough back at the Empire. A bank robber dressed as "Star Wars" villain Darth Vader made off with an undetermined amount of cash after pointing a handgun at startled tellers inside a Chase bank branch on Long Island. Detectives say the stickup man walked into the bank shortly before noon Thursday wearing a full head mask and a blue cape. The only part of the uniform that was out of place were his camouflage pants. And that handgun — no light saber. Suffolk County police Detective Sgt. William Lamb told reporters at least one customer at the time didn't think the theft was legit. The customer, whose identity was not released, can be seen cowering on the floor in a surveillance camera photo, moments after the holdup man shoved him away. "The customer thought it might have been a joke and not a serious attempt at a robbery," Lamb told the Daily News. The only other description of the suspect was his height: between 6 feet and 6-foot-2. He was last seen running across a parking lot. "I thought it was pretty comical, but I guess this guy was pretty serious about needing some money," Michael Aloisio, who works at a nearby restaurant and saw the bandit run past, told the New York Post. "It was pretty crazy. He had the whole outfit on," added Louie Lin, who works at a Chinese restaurant in the shopping center where the bank is located and saw the robber. Mike Fusco, a Chase spokesman, declined to comment other than to say bank officials were cooperating with the investigation. The holdup was the 15th in Suffolk County this year; 30 bank heists were reported in 2009. The robbery comes about a week after a so-called bouquet bandit held up a Manhattan bank. Authorities say Edward Pemberton used a flower bouquet to conceal a note demanding cash during a $440 bank heist July 15. They say he used a potted plant as a similar prop in a holdup at another bank earlier this month. There also have been numerous reports around the country of men dressing as women, wigs, sunglasses and all, holding up banks. A New Hampshire man robbed a bank in 2007 wearing tree branches and leaves. Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. \|\|\|\|\| An unidentified man dressed as Darth Vader is seen robbing a Chase bank branch in Setauket, New York in this July 22, 2010 surveillance camera frame grab. NEW YORK \| NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Force was with a man when he robbed a bank wearing a Darth Vader mask and a cape. Armed with a gun instead of a lightsaber, the man entered a Chase bank branch in Setauket, New York, about 50 miles east of New York City, on Thursday and demanded cash from a teller, police said. He fled through a parking lot with an undisclosed amount of money. The bandit dressed as the "Star Wars" villain was part of a mini-outbreak of unusual bank robbers in the New York area. Earlier this week, New York City police arrested a man accused of robbing two banks with a bunch of flowers and a potted plant. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Bill Trott) \|\|\|\|\| Man wearing Darth Vader mask and cape robs Long Island bank with gun, shoves customer to floor Police are investigating the robbery of a Chase bank branch in Setauket by a man wearing a Darth Vader mask and a cape. A lot of robbers use force. This one used the Force. A bandit decked out in a Darth Vader costume strolled into a Long Island bank on Thursday - and walked out with a wad of cash. The villain looked ready for Halloween, wearing the "Star Wars" scoundrel's signature mask and sweeping black cape. He lost some authenticity points for a pair of camouflage pants. The getup struck one customer as so funny that he started joshing with the Darth Robber after he strode into the Chase bank in Setauket. "The customer thought it might have been a joke, and not a serious attempt at a robbery," said Suffolk County police Detective Sgt. William Lamb. But Darth wasn't kidding - and he wasn't going to be stopped by a non-Jedi Knight. He won a "shoving match" against the incredulous customer before using his piece to order him to the floor, Lamb said. And his weapon was no joke. He was carrying a pistol instead of a lightsaber. Cops released a surveillance camera image yesterday showing Darth at the teller counter, loading bills into a bag, while the customer cowers on the floor. The fake Darth made a quick-footed getaway, and the bank was still checking its drawers late yesterday to figure out how large his take was, Lamb said. It was the second recent off-the-wall bank robbery. On Wednesday, NYPD cops arrested a man dubbed the "Bouquet Bandit," saying he brought flowers and potted plants into banks he robbed. jlauinger@nydailynews.com	Surveillance photo of the robber A man dressed as the '''' antagonist robbed a bank in , New York. The robber was dressed in a character themed mask and blue cape. Armed with a hand gun, the robber stole an undetermined amount of cash from the bank branch. The robber entered the bank saying that he was robbing it. Customers initially thought it was a joke and began laughing. Detective William Lamb of the said that one customer attempted to tackle the robber and was attacked. He can be seen in the background of surveillance photographs. The robber then approached a teller and demanded cash while brandishing a weapon. This robbery is the latest in a string of odd bank robberies in the . Yesterday the arrested a man who robbed banks while carrying flowers and potted plants. Police are also looking for an apparent robber who held up a bank in .
Hyperinflation has made food expensive to produce and buy Speaking to a UK newspaper, Christopher Dell predicted that inflation will leap to 1.5m% by the end of the year. He said political discontent at Mr Mugabe's "disastrous economic policies" meant Zimbabwe was "committing regime change upon itself". Zimbabwe has 80% unemployment and independent economists say inflation is running at 11,000% per year. On Thursday, the value of the Zimbabwean dollar plummeted with black market exchange rates reaching 300,000 Zimbabwean dollars to one US dollar. The official rate is 15,000 to one. 'Lost faith' "I believe inflation will hit 1.5m% by the end of 2007, if not before," Mr Dell told the Guardian newspaper, adding that he believed this was a "modest forecast". He said prices were going up twice a day and people were turning to bartering rather than using rapidly devaluing cash. ZIMBABWE CRISIS Inflation: 4,500% (official estimate) Unemployment: 80% 4m need food aid Life expectancy: 37 (men), 34 (women) Mobiles to beat fuel queues "It destabilises everything. People have completely lost faith in the currency and that means they have completely lost faith in the government that issues it." Mr Mugabe, 83, has already made it clear that he wants to stand for re-election but Mr Dell said he thought change would come sooner. "Things have reached a critical point. I believe the excitement will come in a matter of months, if not weeks. The Mugabe government is reaching end game, it is running out of options." On Thursday, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai made similar predictions of an impending end to Mr Mugabe's rule. "He's got an economy that's down on its knees, he knows he cannot sustain it," Mr Tsvangirai told the Associated Press. "He knows he has an army that is jittery. He knows all his popular pillars of support are up against him." \|\|\|\|\| Zimbabwe's inflation will rocket to 1.5m% before the end of the year, the US ambassador to Harare predicted today, forecasting massive disruption and instability that will drive President Robert Mugabe from office. In a telephone interview with the Guardian, Christopher Dell said prices were going up twice a day, sapping popular confidence in a government that is now "committing regime change on itself". "I believe inflation will hit 1.5m% by the end of 2007, if not before," Mr Dell said. "I know that sounds stratospheric but, looking at the way things are going, I believe it is a modest forecast." Zimbabwe's official inflation is 4,500% but independent economists and retailers say it is actually above 11,000% and picking up speed. The black market rate for the pound soared from Z$160,000 last week to Z$400,000 this week. The US dollar rate has topped Z$250,000, while the official rate is fixed at just Z$250. Mr Mugabe stubbornly insists that the Zimbabwe currency must not be devalued. "Prices are going up twice a day, in some cases doubling several times a week," said Mr Dell, who is approaching the end of his posting to Zimbabwe. "It destabilises everything. People have completely lost faith in the currency and that means they have lost faith in the government that issues it. "By carrying out disastrous economic policies, the Mugabe government is committing regime change upon itself," he said. "Things have reached a critical point. I believe the excitement will come in a matter of months, if not weeks. The Mugabe government is reaching end game, it is running out of options." For Zimbabweans living in the turmoil of economic meltdown, hyperinflation is spreading poverty, as even basic goods become unaffordable. Supermarkets' trollies lie idle as few can afford to buy more than a handful of goods. Government regulations will only permit withdrawals from banks of Z$1.5m per day, which is not enough to buy a week's worth of groceries. At golf courses, golfers pay for their drinks before they set off on their round, because the price will have gone up by the time they have finished the 18th hole. One individual was recently told by a pension company that it would no longer send him statements as his fund was worth less than the price of a stamp. "I can barely cope with inflation in the thousands, but millions? We will die," said Iddah Mandaza, a Harare factory worker. Mr Mandaza said some workers are now saving on transport costs by "going to their jobs on Monday and sleeping at the workplace until Friday. They all share their meals. That's what they do to get by." Many Zimbabweans are resorting to barter. "I traded some soap for two buckets of maize meal [Zimbabwe's staple food]. It was far much better than trying to buy it in the shops," said worker Richard Mukondo. "People in the rural areas are even worse off. You can see they are hungry and their clothes are in tatters. They trade in whatever they can produce: tomatoes, onions, chickens and eggs." Tony Hawkins, professor of economics at the University of Zimbabwe, said that no one holds cash in the country any more. "People spend it as soon as they get it. Goods hold their value, not money. The government has run out of solutions. At this rate perhaps inflation could hit 1m%, but one gets a sense that things will crack before then." At the other end of the technological scale, enterprising Zimbabweans abroad have set up internet trading schemes, such as Mukuru.com, in which Zimbabweans overseas pay for goods with foreign currency and then vouchers for fuel, food and medicines are sent to recipients in Zimbabwe via email or on their cell phones. This business has thrived because more than three million Zimbabweans - a quarter of the country's 12 million people - now live abroad. Half of Zimbabwe's families depend on remittances from overseas to pay basic monthly bills, according to a recent survey by the University of Zimbabwe. Mr Dell, 51, who has had a tumultuous three years as ambassador to Zimbabwe, said that Mr Mugabe faces further trouble from his army, which used to be considered solidly loyal to the president. Last week six men, including an army private and a retired senior officer, were charged in court for plotting against the president. He said the allegations of the coup plot show divisions within Mr Mugabe's ruling party, the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF). "I don't believe it was a real coup plot. I think it shows one side of Zanu-PF plotting against the other. The bitter factional infighting is now dragging in the military. That cannot be good news for Mugabe," said Mr Dell. South African president Thabo Mbeki's efforts to mediate between Zanu-PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) are "the last great hope for a peaceful resolution to Zimbabwe's crisis", Mr Dell said.	Inflation in Zimbabwe is now the world's highest at 11,000 percent and rising. Reports first came in that the value of the Zimbabwean dollar had reached an all-time low two days ago, at which point the official inflation rate was 4,500 percent. Even though this was already high enough to be the world's highest, to make matters worse, independent financial sources estimated the figure to be closer to 9,000 percent. Yesterday, reports came in that inflation had risen to 11,000 percent. US Ambassador to Zimbabwe Christopher Dell is reported to have told ''The Guardian'' newspaper over the telephone that he believes inflation "will hit 1.5 million percent by the end of 2007, if not before," adding that he "know(s) that sounds stratospheric but, looking at the way things are going, I believe it is a modest forecast." Dell went on to predict that president Robert Mugabe would be forced out of power by the hyperinflation, a prediction also made by opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. Dell added that he felt Mugabe would be out in "a matter of months, if not weeks" and justified his comments with the rationale that "It destabilises everything. People have completely lost faith in the currency and that means they have completely lost faith in the government that issues it." Tsvangirai comments to the Associated Press were that: "He's got an economy that's down on its knees, he knows he cannot sustain it." Despite this, Mugabe has expressed intentions to stand for the next election. Exchange rates for the U.S. dollar have reached an official 15,000-1, but on the black market, according to one anonymous illicit money trader, deals have reached 140,000-1 in cash, with a shortage of bank notes creating a 200,000-1 premium on bank transfers and large overseas deals reaching as much as 300,000-1. Meanwhile, in the course of a week the black market exchange for the UK£ has risen from 160,000-1 to 400,000-1. Despite these increases, Mugabe remains adamant that his currency should not be devalued, and is keeping official exchange rates fixed, with the rate for the US$ fixed at 250-1. The dealer said that added uncertainty had arisen from talks held between the current government and the opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change. The official press services published propaganda describing the talks as the opposition negotiating "in bad faith" for its own political gain. Shops are running out of goods due to the huge cost of imported goods and the lack of local ones due to the closure of inflation-crippled factories. "If it goes on like this, we'll have nothing to sell, we'll have no staff and we'll have to close down completely," said one store manager, who was unnamed because he feared retaliation by the state for being a "prophet of doom". Other shops have been closing down temporarily to change their prices. Hyperinflation is also worsening already crippling poverty in Zimbabwe, with people unable to afford the necessary goods for survival. State regulations limit bank money withdrawals to Z$1.5 million per day, hopelessly inadequate given current currency values. One person's pension company informed him he would no longer receive statements because the value of his pension fund had decreased to less than that of a postage stamp. The state daily ''Chronicle'' in the second city of Bulawayo reported that Western countries were planning to become involved with the situation upon Mugabe's departure with a rescue package valued at US$3 billion. Western officials have confirmed that budget proposals exist relating to, according to the ''Associated Press'', "food support, public services reform and the rebuilding of agriculture and general infrastructure over five years in a new political landscape led by reformist Zimbabwean politicians." However, state media again ran propaganda-based stories, saying that Western powers and their close political friends, who state media call the "Fishmongers Group", were "working overtime to destroy the economy, mutilate the Zimbabwe dollar, foment civil unrest and then dangle a rescue package to win the support of gullible politicians."
Hostage killed in foiled plane hijacking in Cuba By Anthony Boadle HAVANA (Reuters) - Two Cuban army deserters tried to hijack a passenger plane to escape to the United States with hostages on Thursday but were arrested after killing an unarmed military officer on board, the government said. The soldiers, who fled from an army base where they were doing military service, commandeered a city bus with several passengers before dawn, drove it onto the tarmac of Havana airport's domestic terminal and seized an empty airliner. They killed one hostages, army Lt. Col. Victor Ibo Acuna, when he tried to stop the hijacking, but were then captured by security forces, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. "Effective and coordinated action allowed security forces to frustrate the kidnappers' plans and save the lives of the other hostages," it said. The two young men had been on the run since escaping on Sunday from an army base with two AK-47 rifles. They shot dead a soldier and wounded another in their escape. A third deserter was arrested earlier, the government said. Cuba blamed the attempted hijacking on the U.S. policy of encouraging Cubans to escape to the United States by offering them virtually automatic residency. "The responsibility for these new murders falls on the highest U.S. authorities, adding to a long list of terrorist acts that Cuba has been victim of for almost half a century," the government said. Armed hijackings are rare in Cuba. In March 2003, two domestic passenger planes were hijacked to Key West, Florida. A month later, three men who hijacked a Havana Bay ferry in a bid to cross the Florida Straits were executed by firing squad. The soldiers deserted from an army base in Managua, about 15 miles (25 km) south of Havana, home to one of Cuba's largest tank regiments. A leaflet distributed earlier this week by police searching for the fugitive recruits in Havana identified them as Alain Forbus, 19, Yoan Torres, 21, and Leandro Cerezo, 19, from the eastern province of Camaguey. It said they had abandoned their guard posts at the tank base and were armed and dangerous. The plane they seized was a Boeing 737 owned by Spain's Hola Airlines and leased to Cuba's national carrier, Cubana, for flight to Venezuela, an airline source said. In December, three recruits killed two officers and escaped from an army unit in eastern Cuba with their weapons, but were quickly captured and are awaiting trial, according to Cuba's main human rights group. \|\|\|\|\| Schools in northern Italy were the first in Europe to close. Since then, teachers, parents and kids across the country have all had to adapt to a new existence – and the results have surprised everyone	Two Cuban military deserters made a failed attempt to skyjack a Spanish Hola Airlines Boeing 737, leased by Cubana Airlines and headed for Venezuela. An unarmed military officer was killed in the process. The two soldiers, Leandro Cerezo Sirut and Alain Forbus Lameru, both 19 years old, took over a local bus and then drove it to the airport and onto the tarmac in an attempt to hijack a plane. Once on the plane, they attempted to take the officer hostage and when they tried to do so, the officer fought back and foiled the hijacking. The soldiers were attempting to flee Cuba and head for the United States. A statement by Cuba's Interior Ministry praised the officer's action: "Despite being unarmed, he heroically tried to prevent the commission of the terrorist act. Effective and coordinated action allowed security forces to frustrate the kidnappers' plans and save the lives of the other hostages," and also blamed the U.S. for the hijacking attempt. "The responsibility for these new crimes lies with the highest-ranking authorities of the United States, adding to the long list of terrorist acts that Cuba has been the victim of for nearly half a century," added the statement. Both of the soldiers, along with a third soldier, Yoan Torres Martinez, 21, were arrested. All three are believed to have escaped from the military base, causing a shootout which killed one soldier and injured at least one other, in which they were stationed. Several passengers were on the bus, but no one was hurt. There were no crew or additional passengers on the plane at the time it was boarded.
Enlarge image Southern’s ’Monumental Accomplishment’ Tempered By Fukushima The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission today plans to award Southern Co. of Atlanta a license to build two reactors at its Vogtle plant near Augusta, Georgia, after approving the plan in a 4-1 vote yesterday. Photo: Southern Company Play Video The chief regulator’s dissent in a vote that approved the first U.S. permit in 34 years to build a nuclear reactor is fueling a debate over safety as the first anniversary of Japan’s nuclear disaster nears. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission voted 4-1 yesterday to award Southern Co. (SO) of Atlanta a license to build two reactors at its Vogtle plant near Augusta, Georgia. The agency should have required the company to implement lessons from Japan’s nuclear crisis last year, said Chairman Gregory Jaczko, who opposed the license. “Right now we know there are things that need to be fixed, things that need to be changed, or at least things that need to be analyzed,” Jaczko said yesterday in an interview at NRC headquarters in Rockville, Maryland. “For us to issue this license, and say ‘we’ll deal with them later,’ to me is kind of putting the cart before the horse.” It has been less than a year after an earthquake and tsunami on March 11 caused meltdowns and radiation leaks at Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501)’s Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant. The industry has faced concerns about nuclear safety at least since a partial meltdown at Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island plant in 1979, and the NRC’s authorization of Southern’s reactor may face a challenge in federal court from environmental groups. “The chairman’s vote reflects the post-Fukushima reality that U.S. reactors are not designed to deal with a meltdown” and will need years’ worth of work “to make them less dangerous,” Jim Riccio, a nuclear policy analyst for Greenpeace USA, an anti-nuclear group, said in an e-mail. Standardized Design Southern will build the first U.S. reactors to use a standardized design, which it says will speed construction and reduce risks. The agency’s vote is a “monumental accomplishment,” Thomas Fanning, Southern’s chairman and chief executive officer, said yesterday in a statement. “Anything that we learn from Fukushima, I assure you we will bring to bear,” Fanning told reporters on a conference call yesterday. The NRC’s review of the planned reactors “has been thorough, it has been thoughtful and it is complete,” he said in an interview yesterday. The NRC is weighing rules to improve safety at existing plants, and by March 9 it may direct owners to take steps to be better prepared for power failures. Improving Safety An agency task force in July recommended that the commission implement rules to improve safety at the 104 U.S. operating reactors, including reviews of seismic and flooding risks. An industry plan to place emergency pumps and generators at plants may speed the agency’s review of the proposed safety enhancements, Martin Virgilio, the NRC’s deputy executive director for reactor and preparedness programs, said at an NRC staff meeting with industry officials Jan. 13. The agency should have required the Vogtle plant to adhere to all post-Fukushima regulations, such as a potential requirement to ensure that spent-fuel cooling pools have better monitoring equipment, Jaczko said. “I’m concerned that we will have challenges getting all of the Fukushima changes made” at the Vogtle plant, he said. The NRC chairman said he will work to make sure the NRC’s Fukushima-related regulations are applied to Southern’s plant as the agency considers the rules, which he wants implemented by 2016. Several environmental and consumer organizations said this week that they may file a lawsuit in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia challenging the NRC award of Southern’s reactor license. Environmental Impact They will ask the court to direct the NRC to complete another environmental impact statement to take into consideration lessons learned after Fukushima, said Stephen A. Smith, executive director of one of the groups, the Knoxville, Tennessee-based Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. “The only way the nuclear power is ever going to be successful is if you assure accidents like Fukushima don’t happen,” Smith said in a phone interview. “Cheerleading and the rush to move forward has overtaken safety,” he said. The U.S. nuclear industry established its own safety- monitoring organization, the Atlanta-based Institute of Nuclear Power Operations, after a partial meltdown at Three Mile Island. Reactor owners have made technology upgrades at power plants, and plant owners spent more than $2 billion to bolster security after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute, a Washington-based industry group. Commercial Facilities “Probably the most robust commercial facilities on the planet are nuclear power plants,” Tony Pietrangelo, senior vice president and chief nuclear officer for the NEI, said in a Jan. 11 interview. Nuclear accidents at U.S. plants would release less radiation than previously thought and would cause almost no immediate deaths, an NRC analysis issued on Feb. 1 determined. Reactor designers are now implementing more “passive” engineering, which relies more on the laws of physics to improve safety, Eric Loewen, chief consulting engineer for GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy in Wilmington, North Carolina, said in a phone interview. “Usually the laws of physics are a little bit more reliable than making sure that somebody left a valve open or making sure that some automated system works,” he said. To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Wingfield in Washington at bwingfield3@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jon Morgan at jmorgan97@bloomberg.net \|\|\|\|\| Nuclear Safety, Cost Issues Loom As U.S. OKs Reactor Enlarge Mary Ann Chastain / AP Steam rises from the cooling towers of nuclear reactors at Georgia Power's Plant Vogtle in Waynesboro, Ga. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved Southern Co.'s application to begin full construction of the nation's first new nuclear units since 1978 at Plant Vogtle. Mary Ann Chastain / AP The nuclear industry is celebrating the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission's decision to give the go-ahead for a utility company to build two new nuclear reactors in Georgia, the first license to be granted for a new reactor in the U.S. since 1978. But last year's accident at reactors in Fukushima, Japan, still clouds the future of nuclear power, as does the cost of new power plants. Southern Co. will build the reactors at its Vogtle site in Georgia, where two older reactors already operate. Scott Peterson, vice president of the industry's Nuclear Energy Institute, says it's not a "nuclear renaissance," but instead a "first wave" for new reactors. "It's obviously a critical event for the industry in terms of moving forward with the next generation of reactor technology," he says. The new reactors would be the first of a standardized design; instead of each one being unique, they'll all be nearly identical. Costs But demand for electricity is flat, and the price of natural gas, also used to make electricity, is low. The Vogtle plant will cost $14 billion at least to build. Peterson says that's OK. Nuclear still has a place, he says; gas prices are unpredictable, and so is energy from wind and solar. "Nuclear plants, because they are very large, 24/7 power producers, really anchor the entire U.S. grid for electricity," he says. There are objections, however. A coalition called the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy plans to sue to stop the reactors. Alliance head Stephen Smith says the region doesn't need a new plant. Smith says the power company is motivated by a healthy profit margin guaranteed by the state, "not because we need the power, but because this is going to so help their bottom line by bringing this major financial asset in." Japanese Meltdown Smith also argues that engineers are still figuring out what went wrong at the Fukushima meltdown in Japan last year. He says Southern Co. might have to make expensive retrofits if the NRC requires big design changes. "We would argue that, not only from a safety point of view but also from an economic point of view, that you need to get these lessons learned incorporated in before you rush to build the reactor," Smith says. Gregory Jaczko, the chairman of the five-member NRC, apparently agrees. His was the sole vote against the license. He says he wants Southern Co. to promise it will incorporate lessons learned from Japan. But experts on the NRC staff point out that the new reactors, made by Westinghouse, can already handle some of the things that went haywire in Japan. For example, in Japan, the reactors lost electric power, so emergency pumps couldn't cool the melting cores with water. Roger Hannah, an NRC spokesman, says the new reactors use gravity instead of pumps to feed in emergency water. "These passive systems do not require electricity to operate the cooling system, so you could actually flood the core and provide water for cooling without having access to power," he says. 'Important Test Case' The Vogtle plant is one of several that have been slogging through the permit process at the NRC. Energy analyst Richard Caperton at the Center for American Progress says its approval provides the nuclear industry with a shot of adrenaline, but it's also going to be a target. "This is going to be an important test case," Caperton says. "What we learn form the Southern plant is going to impact what we do with nuclear power over the next 10, 20 to 30 years in this country." If things go as planned, the reactors will be making electricity four to five years from now. If not, the company is seeking an $8.3 billion loan guarantee from the federal government to cover losses. \|\|\|\|\| By Ayesha Rascoe ROCKVILLE, Md. Feb 9 (Reuters) - U.S. regulators on Thursday approved plans to build the first new nuclear power plant in more than 30 years in spite of objections of the panel's chairman who cited safety concerns stemming from Japan's 2011 Fukushima disaster. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission voted 4-1 to allow Atlanta-based Southern Co to build and operate two new nuclear power reactors at its existing Vogtle nuclear power plant in Georgia. The units will cost Southern and partners about $14 billion and enter service as soon as 2016 and 2017. NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko cast an extraordinary dissenting vote, citing the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in March 2011 that spurred the NRC to review whether existing and new U.S. reactors could withstand natural disasters like earthquakes and floods. "I cannot support issuing this license as if Fukushima never happened." Jaczko said. "I believe it requires some type of binding commitment that the Fukushima enhancements that are currently projected and currently planned to be made would be made before the operation of the facility." The Obama administration has offered Southern and its partners $8.3 billion in federal loan guarantees as an incentive. The new plant will use AP1000 reactors built by Westinghouse Electric, a standardized design approved by the NRC in December that will be the foundation for several other proposed nuclear plants. Westinghouse is majority owned by Japanese multinational Toshiba Corp. SLOW NUCLEAR "RENAISSANCE" There have been no nuclear power plants in the United States since the partial meltdown of the reactor core of the Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania in 1979, which caused construction costs for nuclear plants to skyrocket and stopped dozens of planned plants in their tracks. Southern's Vogtle project is the first in a queue of permits filed by U.S. utilities, like Scana Corp, that were once predicted to usher in a "renaissance" of nuclear power. Nuclear power accounts for about 20 percent of U.S. electric generation. Interest in building new nuclear plants had risen about a decade ago when natural gas prices were soaring and experts thought the U.S. Congress would place first-ever limits on emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. But the case for widespread U.S. nuclear plant construction has eroded due to abundant natural gas supplies, slow electricity demand in a weak U.S. economy, lack of financing and uncertainty following the Fukushima disaster. New nuclear plants are "more questionable because there are economic factors right now which favor gas-fueled power plants and the fact that the economy is only growing slowly means that nationally the need for new generation is lower than people were expecting in 2007," said Michael Golay, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A 1,000-megawatt natural gas plant takes a few years to permit and build and costs up to $1 billion for the most efficient, combined-cycle model. A similar-sized nuclear reactor however could take five to 10 years to develop and build and cost in excess of $5 billion. Industry experts say building interest is centered in Southeast states like Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia, Alabama and Florida, where land is plentiful and a population shift from northern states has boosted electricity demand.	The seal of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The United States (NRC) approved Thursday, in a four to one vote, two new nuclear reactors at 's in , Georgia. This is the first time a new reactor has been approved since 1978, the year before the . The only vote against the plant came from NRC chairman . In a statement, he said "Right now we know there are things that need to be fixed, things that need to be changed, or at least things that need to be analyzed. For us to issue this license, and say 'we’ll deal with them later,' to me is kind of putting the cart before the horse." The CEO of Southern Company, Thomas Fanning, said the approval was a "monumental accomplishment." In a conference call after the approval, he told reporters, "Anything that we learn from Fukushima, I assure you we will bring to bear", referring to the . In an interview, he also said regulatory oversight "has been thorough, it has been thoughtful and it is complete." Environmental groups may bring a case to federal court in order to stop the completion of the new reactors. ''Wikinews'' contacted two environmental organizations, Greenpeace and the . Greenpeace recommended a post about the approval on their staff blog, which said "Rather than expand the use of this dangerous and stupidly expensive technology, our government should stop subsidizing nuclear corporations’ bad investments and instead develop plans to phase out nuclear power and better secure the deadly radioactive wastes." The has yet to comment. The new units are to be reactors. They would each have a net generating capacity of 1117. The construction cost is expected to be roughly 14 billion (10.6b, 1.1 trillion), and the reactors may be operational by 2017. File:Vogtle NPP.jpg\|The current reactors at the Vogtle facility. File:Construction at Vogtle Nuclear Plant.jpg\|Aerial photo of the construction of the new reactors. == Sources == * * * * *
Same-sex behavior seen in nearly all animals Jun 16, Biology/Other Full size image This photo shows a female-female pair of Laysan Albatross. Females cooperatively build nests and rear young when males are scarce. Credit: Eric VanderWerf. Same-sex behavior is a nearly universal phenomenon in the animal kingdom, common across species, from worms to frogs to birds, concludes a new review of existing research. "It's clear that same-sex sexual behavior extends far beyond the well-known examples that dominate both the scientific and popular literature: for example, bonobos, dolphins, penguins and fruit flies," said Nathan Bailey, the first author of the review paper and a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Biology at UC Riverside. There is a caveat, however. The review also reports that same-sex behaviors are not the same across species, and that researchers may be calling qualitatively different phenomena by the same name. "For example, male fruit flies may court other males because they are lacking a gene that enables them to discriminate between the sexes," Bailey said. "But that is very different from male bottlenose dolphins, who engage in same-sex interactions to facilitate group bonding, or female Laysan Albatross that can remain pair-bonded for life and cooperatively rear young." Published June 16 in the journal Trends in Ecology & Evolution, the review by Bailey and Marlene Zuk, a professor of biology at UCR, also finds that although many studies are performed in the context of understanding the evolutionary origins of same-sex sexual behavior, almost none have considered its evolutionary consequences. "Same-sex behaviorscourtship, mounting or parentingare traits that may have been shaped by natural selection, a basic mechanism of evolution that occurs over successive generations," Bailey said. "But our review of studies also suggests that these same-sex behaviors might act as selective forces in and of themselves." A selective force, which is a sudden or gradual stress placed on a population, affects the reproductive success of individuals in the population. "When we think of selective forces, we tend to think of things like weather, temperature, or geographic features, but we can think of the social circumstances in a population of animals as a selective force, too," Bailey said. "Same-sex behavior radically changes those social circumstances, for example, by removing some individuals from the pool of animals available for mating." Bailey, who works in Zuk's lab, noted that researchers in the field have made significant strides in the past two and a half decades studying the genetic and neural mechanisms that produce same-sex behaviors in individuals, and the ultimate reasons for their existence in populations. "But like any other behavior that doesn't lead directly to reproductionsuch as aggression or altruismsame-sex behavior can have evolutionary consequences that are just now beginning to be considered," he said. "For example, male-male copulations in locusts can be costly for the mounted male, and this cost may in turn increase selection pressure for males' tendency to release a chemical called panacetylnitrile, which dissuades other males from mounting them." The review paper: Examines work done to test hypotheses about the origins of same-sex behavior in animals. Provides a framework for categorizing same-sex behavior, for example, is it adaptive, not adaptive, occurs often, infrequently? Discusses what has been discovered about the genetics of same-sex behavior, especially in the model organism, the fruit fly Drosophila, and in human beings. Examines connections between human sexual orientation research, and research on non-human animals, and highlights promising avenues of research in non-human systems. [Home] [Full version] [RSS feed] [Forum] \|\|\|\|\| Captive pandas may need porn to do their thing, but other animals do just fine — including the male macaque monkey, which trades grooming for sex. By LiveScience staff Examples of same-sex behavior can be found in almost all species in the animal kingdom — from worms to frogs to birds — making the practice nearly universal among animals, according to a new review of research on the topic. "It's clear that same-sex sexual behavior extends far beyond the well-known examples that dominate both the scientific and popular literature: for example, bonobos, dolphins, penguins and fruit flies," said Nathan Bailey, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Riverside. Same-sex behaviors in different species are not all equivalent, the review finds. For instance, male fruit flies sometimes court other male flies, but this behavior is due to a missing gene that gives the flies the ability to distinguish between sexes, said Bailey, a co-author of the review. "That is very different from male bottlenose dolphins, who engage in same-sex interactions to facilitate group bonding, or female Laysan Albatross that can remain pair-bonded for life," he added. The review also found a gap in the literature: While many studies have tried to understand why same-sex coupling exists and why it might make sense in terms of evolution, few have looked at what the evolutionary consequences of this behavior might be. "Like any other behavior that doesn't lead directly to reproduction — such as aggression or altruism — same-sex behavior can have evolutionary consequences that are just now beginning to be considered," Bailey said. "For example, male-male copulations in locusts can be costly for the mounted male" and this cost may put evolutionary pressure on the locusts, he said. As a result, a larger number of males may secrete a particular chemical that discourages the mounting behavior, he added. In their future research, Bailey and Marlene Zuk, a biology professor at UCR, plan to try and address questions about the evolutionary outcomes of same-sex couplings, focusing on the Laysan Albatrosses. The review article was published in the June 16 issue of the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution, and the study was funded by the UCR Academia Senate. © 2009 LiveScience.com. All rights reserved.	According to a recent study, almost every kind of animal on engages in same-sex sexual behavior whether intentional or natural. Lead scientist on the study, Nathan Bailey, says the list includes, among others, , penguins, frogs and . "It's clear that same-sex sexual behavior extends far beyond the well-known examples that dominate both the scientific and popular literature," said Bailey, a postdoctoral researcher of biology at . The study was published in today's edition of the journal ''''. In some cases the animals are not aware that they are engaging in same-sex sexual behaviors. One example are male . According to the study, males in some cases will unintentionally cater to other male flies because they lack a gene which allows them to determine the sexes of other fruit flies. have also been known to sometimes engage in same-sex sexual behavior as a way to socially bond with other dolphins. Bailey states that such actions will have an effect on , but that science is only just beginning to research what the effects might be. Bailey also said that natural selection could be playing a role in what animals engage in same-sex sexual behavior. "Like any other behavior that doesn't lead directly to reproduction — such as aggression or — same-sex behavior can have evolutionary consequences that are just now beginning to be considered," Bailey said. He added that "same-sex behaviors — , mounting or parenting — are traits that may have been shaped by natural selection, a basic mechanism of evolution that occurs over successive generations." Scientists included in the study research on the origins of homosexual behavior in animals, examining whether the behavior is adaptive in an animal's environment, and whether it happens often.
Friday June 27, 2008 Bobby Jindal Signs Law Allowing Intelligent Design in Louisiana Schools Teachers can be permitted to supplement textbook discussion on evolution, global warming, human cloning By Peter J. Smith BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, June 27, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Louisiana public school teachers can now educate their students about the theory of intelligent design and scientific criticisms of Darwinian evolutionary theory thanks to a new law signed this week by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. The Louisiana Science Education Act now allows teachers to supplement the state's curricula with additional scientific materials, but groups opposed to any debate over the "origin of the species" have warned that the new law will become the origin of the lawsuits if they believe it facilitates religion. Lawmakers, however, were enthusiastically in favor of the Act signed by Jindal. The state Senate had passed the bill (SB733) with a unanimous vote, and the state House had approved it by a vote of 93-4. The new law requires teachers to follow the standard curriculum, but allows a school district to permit a teacher to supplement his course with additional scientific evidence, analysis, and critiques regarding the scientific topics taught to his students. One major goal of the law is to support an "open and objective discussion of scientific theories being studied including, but not limited to, evolution, the origins of life, global warming, and human cloning" in public elementary and secondary schools. The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) will be required, at the request of local school boards, to "include support and guidance for teachers regarding effective ways to help students understand, analyze, critique, and objectively review scientific theories being studied." Supporters of the law have hailed it as a great step forward for academic freedom in the face of dogmatic proponents of evolution and man-made global warming, who have mischaracterized scientific/philosophical alternatives as "religion." Jindal, a Catholic with a biology degree, indicated his own affirmation of the bill in a statement saying: "I will continue to consistently support the ability of school boards and BESE to make the best decisions to ensure a quality education for our children." Critics of the law have countered it opens a backdoor for putting religious views that they claim would sacrifice science into the classroom. The Louisiana Coalition for Science called SB 733 "a thinly disguised attempt to advance the 'Wedge Strategy' of the Discovery Institute (DI), a creationist think tank that is collaborating with the LA Family Forum to get intelligent design (ID) creationism into LA public school science classes." Americans United for Separation of Church and State warned that a lawsuit would come if they believed the bill was introducing religion into the schoolroom. Louisiana ACLU Executive Director Marjorie Esman, on the other hand, admitted that as long as teachers follow the law as written, and did not introduce religion, it should be fine. Section 1D clearly states that the law "shall not be construed to promote any religious doctrine, promote discrimination for or against a particular set of religious beliefs, or promote discrimination for or against religion or nonreligion." Intelligent Design advocates say ID has no direct bearing on religion and is neither a religious proposition nor "creationist," because it is in fact a rational philosophic position older than Christianity. Ancient Greek philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle taught from observation that matter - which tends toward chaos - was ordered into distinguishable forms, and that everything in a chain of causes must have a first cause, or "prime mover." Only later did Christianity introduce Western science to the doctrine of "creationism" or "creation ex-nihilo" - the idea that the universe was created out of nothing and is constantly kept in existence by God's power. Before this contribution, many philosophers and scientists did not consider the universe had a beginning in time. Back to Top SHARE THIS STORY: E-mail Print Newsvine Digg Reddit Del.icio.us Facebook MORE NEWS: LifeSiteNews.com Home Page Last 10 Days Archives Special Reports Copyright © LifeSiteNews.com. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License. You may republish this article without request provided the content is not altered and it is clearly attributed to "LifeSiteNews.com". Any Internet re-publishing of original LifeSiteNews articles MUST additionally include a live link to www.LifeSiteNews.com. Republishing of articles on LifeSiteNews that have come from other news sources as noted is subject to the conditions of those sources. \|\|\|\|\| NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Louisiana Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal has signed into law a bill that critics say could allow for the teaching of "creationism" alongside evolution in public schools. Jindal, a conservative Christian who has been touted by pundits as a potential vice presidential running mate for Republican presidential candidate John McCain, signed the legislation earlier this week. The law will allow schools if they choose to use "supplemental materials" when discussing evolution but does not specify what the materials would be. It states that authorities "shall allow ... open and objective discussion of scientific theories being studied including, but not limited to, evolution, the origins of life, global warming and human cloning." It also says that it "shall not be construed to promote any religious doctrine, promote discrimination for or against a particular set of religious beliefs, or promote discrimination for or against religion or nonreligion." Jindal's office declined on Friday to comment. The bill was backed by the Louisiana Family Forum, a conservative Christian group, and the Discovery Institute, which promotes the theory of "intelligent design" -- a theory that maintains that the complexity of life points to a grand designer. "Intelligent design is currently not in the Louisiana state science standards and so could not be taught. But this allows scientific criticisms of Darwin's theory to be taught," said John West, a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute. Critics say intelligent design is biblical creation theory by another name and that the new legislation is an attempt to water down instruction about evolution. "Louisiana has a long and unfortunate history of trying to substitute dogma for science in ... classrooms," said the Rev. Barry Lynn, an executive director for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a religious liberty watchdog. Continued... \|\|\|\|\| Louisiana's Governor Bobby Jindal signed Senate Bill 733 (PDF) into law, 27 years after the state passed its Balance Treatment for Evolution-Science and Creation-Science Act, a law overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1987. Jindal's approval of the bill was buried in a press release issued on June 25, 2008, announcing 75 bills he signed in recent days. Houma Today reports (June 27, 2008) that the bill "will empower educators to pull religious beliefs into topics like evolution, cloning and global warming by introducing supplemental materials." Bill Barrow of the New Orleans Times-Picayune broke the story on June 27, 2008, observing that "Gov. Bobby Jindal attracted national attention and strongly worded advice about how he should deal with the Louisiana Science Education Act," and that he "ignored those calling for a veto and this week signed the law that will allow local school boards to approve supplemental materials for public school science classes as they discuss evolution, cloning and global warming." While Jindal did not return media calls for comment, Barrow reports that "Jindal issued a brief statement that read in part: 'I will continue to consistently support the ability of school boards and BESE to make the best decisions to ensure a quality education for our children.'" Local teachers are concerned that the bill could open the door to creationism. As the Lafayette Daily Advertiser put it on June 26, 2008, "The possibility of the introduction of 'wacko' theories of the origins of life Carencro High School science teacher Warren Sensat." Sensat told The Advertiser , "When you open the door to bring in unapproved curriculum, you can bring in some wacko stuff." Other teachers are less worried. Tim Tate, a science curriculum supervisor for the Lafayette Parish schools told The Advertiser "he's not worried about teachers using inappropriate materials. He expects teachers to only focus on the state curriculum, but acknowledges that different ideas will always be brought into the classroom." Ars Technica's John Timmer points out (June 27, 2008), however, that "most observers are expecting the passage of the LSEA by the state to unleash a series of Dover-style cases, as various local boards attempt to discover the edges of what's constitutionally allowable." Timmer cites a letter from Alan Leshner, CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, who told Jindal that the bill would "provoke an expensive, divisive legal fight." The American Institute for Biological Science and a coalition of 8 scientific societies also called on Jindal to veto the bill, pointing out (June 20, 2008) that "If SB 733 is signed into law, Louisiana will undoubtedly be thrust into the national spotlight as a state that pursues politics over science and education." Timmer also quoted comments by Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry, who vetoed similar legislation, suggesting it would end up "subjecting [school officials] to an explosion of costly and protracted litigation that would have to be defended at taxpayers' expense." Timmer argues that, "In essence, Jindal is inviting local school boards to partake in that explosion without committing the state to paying the inevitable costs. In the meantime, the students of the state will be subjected to an 'anything goes' approach to science — if it looks scientific to a school board, it can appear in the classroom." Conservative columnist John Derbyshire echoed these fears, writing "The entire effect of this law … will be that one cartload of Louisiana taxpayers' money will go to the Discovery Institute for their mendacious 'textbooks,' then another cartload will go into the pockets of lawyers to defend the inevitable challenge to the law in federal courts, which will inevitably be successful, as they always are, and should be." Feeding such concerns, bill supporter David Tate, a member of the Livingston Parish School Board, told the New Orleans Times-Picayune (April 18, 2008), "I believe that both sides -- the creationism side and the evolution side -- should be presented and let students decide what they believe," adding that the bill is needed because "teachers are scared to talk about" creationism. LifeSiteNews, a news service "dedicated to issues of culture, life, and family" reported (June 27, 2008) that "Louisiana public school teachers can now educate their students about the theory of intelligent design," a practice ruled unconstitutional in 2005's Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District . The Times-Picayune noted on June 26 that "The bill enjoyed support from the Louisiana Family Forum, a group that is upfront in its push for more religious expressions in the public sphere." The bill's sponsor, Senator Ben Nevers (D-Bogalusa), told the Hammond Daily Star (April 6, 2008) that the LFF drafted the bill and "believe[s] that scientific data related to creationism should be discussed." Discovery Institute vice-president John West insisted that the bill would not be used for such purposes. "This bill is not a license to propagandize against something they don't like in science," West told the Times-Picayune . "Someone who uses materials to inject religion into the classroom is not only violating the Constitution, they are violating the bill." Speaking to WWL-TV, Louisiana ACLU Executive Director Marjorie Esman was less sanguine. "I think there's a lot of room for things to get sneaked into the classrooms that shouldn’t be there," she said. Barbara Forrest, an NCSE board member and member of Louisiana Coalition for Science echoed the concern in an interview with the Associated Press (June 27, 2008), worrying that school boards would "permit any teacher to put any type of creationist supplement into a classroom and use it until they get caught." The Louisiana Citizens for Science website thanked supporters "in keeping with our southern tradition of good manners," but noted that "We intend to hold [supporters of the bill] to [their] public assertions that no creationist materials will be used in our children's science classes and that no religious concepts will be presented to our children as science." Bill opponents say that they are ready to take action should such problems arise. "We're known for suing school boards when we need to do so and we won't shy away from doing that if that's what we need to do this case," the ACLU's Esman told WWL-TV. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State took a firm stance in a press release (June 27, 2008): "Let me state clearly and upfront that any attempts to use this law to sneak religion into public schools through the back door will not be tolerated. … I call on all concerned residents of Louisiana to help us make sure that public schools educate, not indoctrinate." \|\|\|\|\| By John Timmer \| Published: June 27, 2008 - 02:13PM CT As we noted last month, a number of states have been considering laws that, under the guise of "academic freedom," single out evolution for special criticism. Most of them haven't made it out of the state legislatures, and one that did was promptly vetoed. But the last of these bills under consideration, the Louisiana Science Education Act (LSEA), was enacted by the signature of Governor Bobby Jindal yesterday. The bill would allow local school boards to approve supplemental classroom materials specifically for the critique of scientific theories, allowing poorly-informed board members to stick their communities with Dover-sized legal fees. The text of the LSEA suggests that it's intended to foster critical thinking, calling on the state Board of Education to "assist teachers, principals, and other school administrators to create and foster an environment within public elementary and secondary schools that promotes critical thinking skills, logical analysis, and open and objective discussion of scientific theories." Unfortunately, it's remarkably selective in its suggestion of topics that need critical thinking, as it cites scientific subjects "including, but not limited to, evolution, the origins of life, global warming, and human cloning." Oddly, the last item on the list is not the subject of any scientific theory; the remainder are notable for being topics that are the focus of frequent political controversies rather than scientific ones. The opposition The bill has been opposed by every scientific society that has voiced a position on it, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science. AAAS CEO Alan Leshner warned that the bill would "unleash an assault against scientific integrity, leaving students confused about science and unprepared to excel in a modern workforce." Jindal, who was a biology major during his time at Brown University, even received a veto plea from his former genetics professor. "Without evolution, modern biology, including medicine and biotechnology, wouldn't make sense," Professor Arthur Landy wrote. "I hope he [Jindal] doesn't do anything that would hold back the next generation of Louisiana's doctors." Lining up to promote the bill were a coalition of religious organizations and Seattle's pro-Intelligent Design think tank, the Discovery Institute. According to the Louisiana Science Coalition, Discovery fellows helped write the bill and arranged for testimony in its favor in the legislature. The bill itself plays directly into Discovery's strategy, freeing local schools to "use supplemental textbooks and other instructional materials to help students understand, analyze, critique, and review scientific theories in an objective manner." Discovery, conveniently, has made just such a supplemental text available. As we noted in our earlier analysis, Discovery hopes to use these bills as a way to push its own textbook into the classroom. Having now read the text of the book, it is clear that our earlier analysis was correct; the book badly misrepresents the scientific community's understanding of evolution in order to suggest that the basics of the theory are questioned by biologists. In doing so, it ignores many of the specific questions about evolution that are actively debated by scientists. Courts in Pennsylvania and Georgia have both ruled that laws which single out evolution serve no secular purpose and are evidence of unconstitutional religious motivations. Those precedents, however, do not apply to Louisiana, and it's possible that the LSEA will either be ruled constitutional or remain in force for years before a court rejects it. That will leave the use of supplemental scientific material to be determined by local school boards in the intervening years and, if boards in Florida are viewed as evidence, they are likely to be spectacularly incapable of judging scientific issues. As such, most observers are expecting the passage of the LSEA by the state to unleash a series of Dover-style cases, as various local boards attempt to discover the edges of what's constitutionally allowable. The AAAS' Leshner suggested that the bill's passage would "provoke an expensive, divisive legal fight." In vetoing similar legislation in Oklahoma, Governor Brad Henry suggested it would end up "subjecting them [school officials] to an explosion of costly and protracted litigation that would have to be defended at taxpayers' expense." In essence, Jindal is inviting local school boards to partake in that explosion without committing the state to paying the inevitable costs. In the meantime, the students of the state will be subjected to an "anything goes" approach to science—if it looks scientific to a school board, it can appear in the classroom. \|\|\|\|\| The New York Times, in a June 21, 2008, editorial, urged Governor Bobby Jindal to veto Louisiana's Senate Bill 733, a bill that would, if enacted, in effect open the door for creationism to be taught in public school science classes. According to the editorial, "it would have the pernicious effect of implying that evolution is only weakly supported and that there are valid competing scientific theories when there are not. In school districts foolish enough to head down this path, the students will likely emerge with a shakier understanding of science." Noting that Jindal was a biology major at Brown University, the editorial commented, "Jindal must know that evolution is the unchallenged central organizing principle for modern biology," and concluded, "If Mr. Jindal has the interests of students at heart, the sensible thing is to veto this Trojan horse legislation." The American Association for the Advancement of Science, which previously lobbied against the bill, also urged Kindal to veto the bill in a letter (PDF) dated June 20, 2008. "The bill disingenously implies that particular theories, including evolution, are controversial among scientists," wrote AAAS's chief executive officer, Alan I. Leshner. "In 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court declared unconstitutional a Louisiana 'creation science' law. Rather than step backward, look to the future by seeking to provide Louisiana students with a firm understanding of evolution and other essential scientific concepts so they can compete for high-skill jobs in an increasingly high-tech world economy. Asserting that there are controversies about these concepts among scientists -- when in fact there are not -- will only confuse students, not enlighten them," he added. "I urge you to protect the future of science education in your state by rejecting this bill."	Louisiana Republican Governor Bobby Jindal signed a controversial bill hailed by intelligent design supporters, such as the Discovery Institute, and Louisiana Family Forum, a creationist group. Critics of the bill, including several major science organizations, say it allows for the teaching of "creationism" in public schools. The law, Louisiana Science Education Act, allows teachers to use "supplemental materials" when discussing evolution, but it does not state what the materials would be. Citing the 1987 Supreme Court ruling in Edwards v. Aguillard, "Louisiana has a long and unfortunate history of trying to substitute dogma for science in classrooms," said Reverend Barry W. Lynn, an executive director for Americans United for Separation of Church and State. In addition, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, National Center for Science Education, and the Louisiana Coalition for Science opposed the bill arguing it would cause detriment to students' education by letting in unapproved curriculum. According to Reuters, Jindal's office declined to comment on Friday. Similar Academic Freedom bills have been promoted by the Discovery Institute in other states, but so far they have failed.
In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, rescue workers carry a body of a victim at a coal mine in north China's Shanxi Province, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009. At least 44 miners died and 21 remained trapped underground after a gas blast ripped through a coal mine in northern China on Sunday, the state media said. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Yan Yan) 73 miners die, 113 injured in China mine blast TAIYUAN, China (AP) — A gas explosion ripped through a coal mine in northern China on Sunday, killing at least 73 miners and trapping dozens in the still-burning shaft, state media said. China's mines are the world's most dangerous with more than 3,000 deaths a year in fires, floods and explosions. The pre-dawn blast occurred while 436 workers were in the Tunlan Coal Mine in Gujiao city near Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi province, the official Xinhua News Agency said. At least 73 miners died and 113 were hospitalized, including 21 in critical condition, Xinhua said. It did not say how many workers remained trapped in the shaft but earlier reports said at least 65 were still underground. State television CCTV showed rescuers in orange suits and red helmets with headlamps entering an elevator to be lowered into the mine shaft, while others emerged from the mine carrying workers on stretchers toward waiting ambulances. Nearly 100 rescuers were onsite but their work was hampered by flames still burning in the shaft, CCTV said. The injured miners were suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning, Xinhua reported, citing doctors at a nearby hospital. Exposure to carbon monoxide, an odorless, colorless gas, can lead to death. The mine is owned by Shanxi Coking Coal Group, one of China's largest producers of coking coal, which is used in the production of steel. The company operates 28 mines. No accidents have been reported at the Tunlan mine in the past decade, Xinhua said. The mine produces 5 million tons of coking coal a year. Although China has worked to cut mine accidents by closing more than 1,000 dangerous small mines last year, the country's mining industry is still the world's deadliest. About 3,200 people died in coal mine accidents last year, a 15 percent decline from the previous year. While China's safety record is abysmal, the numbers mask great disparities. Large, state-run mines tend to have safety records nearing those of developed countries while smaller mines have little or no safety equipment and weak worker training. Government figures show that almost 80 percent of China's 16,000 mines are small, illegal operations. \|\|\|\|\| Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Advertisement At least 73 miners have been killed in an explosion at a coal mine in the northern Chinese province of Shanxi. Rescue workers are at the scene in Gujiao city attempting to rescue dozens of miners who remain trapped. More than 400 men were at work at the time of the explosion but most managed to escape, the state-run Xinhua news agency reports. China has the world's deadliest mining industry, with 3,200 deaths reported last year. Rescue workers said 113 miners were in hospital, with 21 being in a critical condition. CHINA'S WORST MINE DISASTERS Feb 1950: Yiluo mine, Henan province - 174 dead May 1960: Laobaidong mine, Shanxi province - 684 dead Sept 2000: Muchonggou mine, Guizhou province - 162 dead Nov 2004: Chenjiashan mine, Shaanxi province - 166 dead Feb 2005: Sunjiawan mine, Liaoning province - 210 dead Nov 2005: Dongfeng mine, Heilongjiang - 171 dead Aug 2007: Xintai City, Shandong province - 181 dead Dec 2007: Rui Zhiyuan mine, Shanxi province - 105 dead State-controlled China Central TV (CCTV) showed rescue crews entering an elevator to be lowered into the mine shaft while injured miners were taken into ambulances. CCTV said about 100 rescuers were working to free the remaining trapped miners but a fire in the shaft was blocking their progress. Some of the trapped miners had used mobile phones to call relatives. Most of the injured were being treated for carbon monoxide poisoning, doctors in Gujiao told Xinhua. Exposure to the gas, which is odourless and colourless, is potentially fatal. 'Safety improving' The true figure of those killed in China's mines every year is believed to be far higher than official figures indicate, says the BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Beijing, as many accidents go unreported. Illegal mining, official corruption and weak safety inspections lead to tens of thousands of accidents each year, our correspondent says. China has said safety is improving, with the official death toll from coal mining accidents falling by 15% in 2008 compared with the previous year. Xinhua also reported that the number of accidents had fallen by 19% to 413,700 last year.	Location of Shanxi province within China According to the Chinese state news agency Xinhua, no less than 73 miners have been killed and a further 113 hospitalised after a gas blast in a coal mine in China on Sunday. The incident occurred before dawn in the mine in Gujiao City, located in the Shanxi province. 436 miners were underground in the mine at the time. Xinhua stated that 340 of the miners had been rescued following the explosion, 21 of which are reported to have sustained serious injuries. The mine belongs to the Shanxi Jiaomei Group, which is the country's largest producer of coking coal, and operates 28 mines. China's mining industry is the most dangerous in the world, with 3,200 fatalities recorded in 2008. The safety record is improving, however, as that figure is a 15 percent decrease over the previous year.
For all of the talk of Bernanke being slow to react to the financial crisis with a too-little-too-late style, some think he has now done too much, overextending the Fed's powers and undermining its independence. Senate Banking Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) who's facing a tough re-election bid this fall, was among the first to comment, offering tepid support for Bernanke in an otherwise skeptical statement about the chairman and the central bank. "There will be a thorough and comprehensive confirmation hearing," Dodd said. "I expect many serious questions will be raised about the role of the Federal Reserve moving forward and what authorities it should and should not have." Though somewhat surprising, the President's timing may hardly be serendipitous, especially since the White House told the press corps over the weekend not to expect any news while the first family was on vacation in Martha's Vineyard. Congress, the home of much criticism, is in recess, and critics of Bernanke and the Fed are scattered around the country, far a field of Washington's center stage. The President's commitment to Bernanke surprised some analysts, who either thought he would appoint an openly Democratic individual—White House adviser and former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers was thought to be waiting in the wings—or accommodate Bernanke critics in the Democratic party. "Experience trumped politics in this apparent renomination, as there were many Democrats calling for change," said Chris Rupkey, economist at Bak of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, in applauding the president's decision. Also interesting is that Obama's announcement comes just weeks after the Fed chairman and the central bank took a rare bipartisan political beating over the White House's proposals to give the Fed sweeping new powers in its regulatory reform plan. That in turn relit the debate over the central bank's supervision of bank holding companies and extraordinary policy responses in bailing out troubled financial firms and reflating the economy beyond the use of basic monetary policy tools. Not only did Congressional critics question the Fed's political independence from the executive branch, they deemed the central bank's unusual and enormous lending programs as a challenge to the spending power reserved for the legislature under the Constitution. Much of that is likely to resurface at Bernanke's confirmation hearing, which has yet to be set. "You have a lot of guys who are professional Fed critics who'll have a great opportunity [with the nomination hearing]," said Bill Frenzel, a 10-term Republican Congressman now with the Brookings Institution. The regulatory reform plan penned by Republicans in Congress would narrow, not expand, the Fed's responsibilities, transfer much of its balance sheet activity to the Treasury Department and impose regular audits by the General Accountability Office. Wariness about the Fed—and by association, Bernanke—has become fairly common in the GOP in the last year and is unlikely to fade anytime soon. "I'd think long and hard about reappointing him," said Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, who is thought to be considering a run for the presidency in 2012. It would be easy to dismiss Republicans on some of the Fed issues, were it not that Democrats at various points of the party spectrum share some of that thinking. \|\|\|\|\| By Ross Colvin and Patricia Zengerle OAK BLUFFS, Massachusetts (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama nominated Ben Bernanke to a second term as Federal Reserve chairman on Tuesday, aiming for continuity at a time when the U.S. economy is breaking free from a deep recession. The decision, while widely expected, was welcomed by financial markets and policy makers around the globe. Economists said it removed uncertainty at a delicate juncture in the economy's recovery. Obama interrupted his vacation on the Massachusetts island of Martha's Vineyard to make the brief announcement with Bernanke, 55, at his side. "Ben approached a financial system on the verge of collapse with calm and wisdom; with bold action and outside-the-box thinking that has helped put the brakes on our economic freefall," Obama said. Bernanke's four-year term expires in January and the president had not been expected to make an announcement until later this year. Critics said the announcement had been timed to deflect attention from less market-friendly news on the government's budget deficit, but an Obama aide denied this. "There has been a considerable amount of speculation in the marketplace, both in the market and among observers of the Fed, and going into the fall the president wanted to end that speculation," Austan Goolsbee, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, told Reuters Television. The White House raised its 10-year cumulative budget deficit projection by $2 trillion on Tuesday to approximately $9 trillion. That would push the national debt up from more than $11 trillion now to more than $20 trillion in 2019. With polls showing Americans deeply worried about the deficit, the new data will make it more difficult for Obama to push through his ambitious economic and healthcare overhaul. U.S. stocks were slightly higher in afternoon trading, buoyed by news of Bernanke's nomination and strong housing and consumer confidence data. OBAMA MADE DECISION LAST MONTH Before the president began a week-long vacation on Sunday, Obama administration officials repeatedly stressed that he would not be making news. Analysts said the timing of the announcement was shrewd. "We entered the financial crisis two years ago with an untested Fed chairman. Bernanke has been through the crucible since then," said Lou Crandall, chief economist at Wrightson ICAP in Jersey City, New Jersey. "Moving into the clean-up phase with another new and untested chairman would have just compounded the uncertainty in the outlook." Continued... \|\|\|\|\| FRANKFURT -- The heads of Europe's leading central banks welcomed the reappointment of U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for another four-year term. "I am extremely pleased to learn that Ben Bernanke has been nominated for a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve," European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said in an emailed statement. "We have had an excellent and very close working relationship during the current episode of exceptional challenges for the world economy. The Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank have, together with other central banks, initiated an unprecedented level of close cooperation, which has been key in coping with the present situation." U.S. President Barack Obama renominated Mr. Bernanke for four more years. The nomination has to be approved formally by the U.S. Senate, but few observers expect the upper house of Congress to block the nomination. Bank of England Gov. Mervyn King, who once worked alongside Mr. Bernanke at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, also praised Mr. Obama's decision. "Ben brings strong leadership to the Federal Reserve at this vital time," Mr. King said. Write to Geoffrey T. Smith at geoffrey.smith@dowjones.com \|\|\|\|\| The Nomination of Ben Bernanke Viewing this video requires Adobe Flash Player 8 or higher. Download the free player. download .mp4 (70 MB) \| read the transcript This morning the President announced the nomination of Ben Bernanke for a second term as Chairman of the Federal Reserve. In his announcement in Martha’s Vineyard, the President put Bernanke’s service in context: THE PRESIDENT: Good morning, everybody. I apologize for interrupting the relaxing that I told all of you to do, but I have an important announcement to make concerning the Federal Reserve. The man next to me, Ben Bernanke, has led the Fed through one of the worst financial crises that this nation and the world has ever faced. As an expert on the causes of the Great Depression, I'm sure Ben never imagined that he would be part of a team responsible for preventing another. But because of his background, his temperament, his courage, and his creativity, that's exactly what he has helped to achieve. And that is why I am re-appointing him to another term as Chairman of the Federal Reserve. Ben approached a financial system on the verge of collapse with calm and wisdom; with bold action and out-of-the-box thinking that has helped put the brakes on our economic freefall. Almost none of the decisions that he or any of us made have been easy. The actions we've taken to stabilize our financial system, to repair our credit markets, restructure our auto industry, and pass a recovery package have all been steps of necessity, not choice. They've faced plenty of critics, some of whom argued that we should stay the course or do nothing at all. But taken together, this "bold, persistent experimentation" has brought our economy back from the brink. They're steps that are working. Our recovery plan has put tax cuts in people's pockets, extended health care and unemployment insurance to those who have borne the brunt of this recession, and is continuing to save and create jobs that otherwise would have been lost. Our auto industry is showing signs of life. Business investment is showing signs of stabilizing. Our housing market and credit markets have been saved from collapse. Of course, as I've said before, we are a long way away from completely healthy financial systems and a full economic recovery. And I will not let up until those Americans who are looking for jobs can find them; until qualified businesses, large and small, who need capital to grow can find loans at a rate they can afford; and until all responsible mortgage-holders can stay in their homes. That's why we need Ben Bernanke to continue the work he's doing, and that's why I've said that we cannot go back to an economy based on overleveraged banks, inflated profits, and maxed-out credit cards. For even as we've taken steps to rescue our financial system and our economy, we must now work to rebuild a new foundation for growth and prosperity. We have to build an economy that works for every American, and one that leads the world in innovation, in investments, and in experts -- exports. Part of that foundation has to be a financial regulatory system that ensures we never face a crisis like this again. We've already seen how lax enforcement and weak regulation can lead to enormous wealth for a few and enormous pain for everybody else. And that's why even though there is some resistance on Wall Street from those who would prefer to keep things the way they are, we will pass the reforms necessary to protect consumers, investors, and the entire financial system. And we will continue to maintain a strong and independent Federal Reserve. We will also keep working towards the reform of a health insurance system whose costs and discriminatory practices are bankrupting our families, our businesses, and our government. We will continue to build a clean energy economy that creates the jobs and industries of the future within our borders. And we will give our children and our workers the skills and training they need to compete for these jobs in the 21st century. Much like the decisions we've made so far, the steps we take to build this new foundation will not be easy. Change never is. As Ben and I both know, it comes with debate and disagreement and resistance from those who prefer the status quo. And that's all right, because that's how democracy is supposed to work. But no matter how difficult change is, we will pursue it relentlessly because it is absolutely necessary to lift this country up and create an economy that leads to good jobs, broad growth, and a future our children can count on. That's what we're here to do, and that's what we will continue to do in the months ahead. So I want to congratulate Ben on the work that he's done so far, wish him continued success in the hard work that he has before him. Thank you so much, Ben.	United States President Barack Obama announced on Tuesday that he is nominating Ben Bernanke for a second term as Chairman of the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States. White House in April. Obama made the announcement during a brief break from his vacation at Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. "The man next to me, Ben Bernanke, has led the Fed through one of the worst financial crises that this nation and the world has ever faced. As an expert on the causes of the Great Depression, I'm sure Ben never imagined that he would be part of a team responsible for preventing another. But because of his background, his temperament, his courage, and his creativity, that's exactly what he has helped to achieve. And that is why I am re-appointing him to another term as Chairman of the Federal Reserve," the President said. "Ben approached a financial system on the verge of collapse with calm and wisdom; with bold action and outside-the-box thinking that has helped put the brakes on our economic freefall," Obama added. "We have been bold or deliberate as circumstances demanded, but our objective remains constant: to restore a more stable economic and financial environment in which opportunity can again flourish, and in which Americans' hard work and creativity can receive their proper rewards," Ben Bernanke said while accepting the nomination. Ben Bernanke, who succeeded Alan Greenspan on February 1, 2006, will now face a Senate confirmation hearing. "There will be a thorough and comprehensive confirmation hearing," said Senator Christopher Dodd, who is the chair of the Senate Banking Committee. "I expect many serious questions will be raised about the role of the Federal Reserve moving forward and what authorities it should and should not have." "I am extremely pleased to learn that Ben Bernanke has been nominated for a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve," read a statement by Jean-Claude Trichet, the President of the European Central Bank. "We have had an excellent and very close working relationship during the current episode of exceptional challenges for the world economy. The Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank have, together with other central banks, initiated an unprecedented level of close cooperation, which has been key in coping with the present situation."
Spider mite's secrets revealed Tiny pest's genome opens door to novel approaches to crop protection and silk production The tiny two-spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae) causes much anxiety for farmers, and has been, to date, a scientific mystery. It feeds on over 1,100 species of plants, including 150 greenhouse plants and crops, such as maize, soy, tomatoes and citrus. The cost of chemically controlling damage caused by the spider mite exceeds USD 1 billion per year. In the latest issue of the journal Nature, a multinational consortium of scientists publish the sequenced genome of the spider mite, revealing how it is capable of such feeding frenzy, as well as other secrets of this tiny pest. These findings open the door to new approaches in pest control and crop protection, by allowing greater insight into the biological interactions between plants and herbivores that feed on them. Élio Sucena and Sara Magalhães, group leaders at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC) and the Centre for Environmental Biology, University of Lisbon (Portugal), respectively, are part of the 55-strong team of researchers from 10 countries that were involved in this project. Led by Miodrag Grbic (University of Western Ontario, Canada), this team analysed the genome of the spider mite, sequenced with funds from the US Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI) programme, Genome Canada and the European Union. The spider mite feeds on an astonishingly large number of plants because it withstands the toxins that plants produce. This in itself is an amazing feat. However, among arthropods (animals with exoskeletons, such as spiders, ticks, crustaceans and insects), the spider mite holds first place in the number of pesticides it is resistant to. Mites become resistant to new pesticides within two to four years, meaning that control of multi-resistant spider mites has become increasingly difficult. Having the sequence of the spider mite genome has shown light on the genetic basis for its feeding flexibility and pesticide resistance. The secret lies in having, on the one hand, more copies of the genes involved in digesting and degrading plant toxins when compared to insects. On the other, the tiny pest seems to have incorporated genes from bacteria and fungi that are involved in digestion and detoxification. Indeed, the researchers identified two groups of bacterial and fungi genes that are unique to the spider mite, suggesting that the tiny arthropod is adept at making the most of the innovation of transfer of genes between distant species (called lateral gene transfer - a rare occurrence in nature). Other groups of genes are shared, with aphids, for example (aphids are insects that also feed on crops). By comparing the aphid genome with that of the spider mite, it seems that the bacterial genes moved first into the insects and from these were taken up by the spider mite. The name gives it away: spider mites make webs, for protection against predators and as a barrier against bad weather. However, their webs are different to those made by spiders: the genome sequence has revealed 17 genes involved in making web proteins. These proteins make thinner fibres, but seem to be slightly more resistant to mechanical forces than other natural materials. All these secrets came out of a very small genome - only 90 megabases (the fruit fly genome has 180 megabases; the human genome has 3,000 megabases). It is, indeed, the smallest arthropod genome sequenced so far, and reveals a remarkable evolutionary history: the spider mite has lost many genes that are shared amongst arthropods, but has accumulated species-specific genes, such as those that give it the ability to withstand toxins and pesticides. The Portuguese scientists were involved in analysing immunity-related genes found in the spider mite genome. The spider mite belongs to the Chelicerata family, the second largest group of terrestrial animals. Chelicerates include spiders, scorpions and ticks. Chelicerates and insects make up the Arthropods. The spider mite is the first chelicerate to have its entire genome sequenced and analysed. ### AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system. \|\|\|\|\| Big pest, small genome: Blueprint of spider mite may yield better pesticides Nov 23, Biology/Biotechnology Full size image Scanning electron microscope image of a two-spotted spider mite, which is less than one millimeter long. Richard Clark of the University of Utah helped lead an international team of 55 scientists who deciphered the genome of the two-spotted spider mite in a paper published in the Nov. 24 issue of Nature. Credit: Nature, Vladimir Zhurov, University of Western Ontario (PhysOrg.com) -- An international research team decoded the genetic blueprint of the two-spotted spider mite, raising hope for new ways to attack the major pest, which resists pesticides and destroys crops and ornamental plants worldwide. The voracious mites, which technically are not insects, can eat more than 1,100 plant species a rare trait. The mites' newly revealed and sequenced genome contains a variety of genes capable of detoxifying pesticides as well as toxins plants use to defend themselves, the scientists report in the Thursday, Nov. 24 issue of the journal Nature. "One key thing that makes spider mites unique is they can eat many, many different plant species," says Richard M. Clark, one of five main authors of the study and an assistant professor of biology at the University of Utah. "These mites are often house plant pests a major cause of people's house plants turning yellow and getting sick. They also are a major problem for agricultural nurseries and greenhouses, and for field crops." Primary targets are tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, strawberries, corn, soybeans, apples, grapes and citrus. Clark says the new study's "importance is largely in understanding how animals eat plants, with the long-term goal of developing effective ways to prevent crop damage from mites and insects. If we can identify the biological pathways mites use to feed on plants, we can potentially identify chemical and biological methods to disrupt those pathways and stop the mites from feeding." The two-spotted spider mite, which is no more than 1 millimeter long, "is a major global pest, and is predicted to be a growing concern in a warming climate because they multiply extremely fast at high temperatures 90 degrees Fahrenheit or more," he adds. "They do really well in hot and dry climates like Utah." Yet, the two-spotted spider mite "has been found to rapidly develop resistance to multiple types of pesticides, often within a couple of years after a pesticide is introduced," says Clark. "It is resistant to many common pesticides used against insects." The Nature study deciphering the genome of Tetranychus urticae, the two-spotted spider mite (which has two red spots), was conducted by an international research team of 55 scientists from North America, Europe and South America. A normal leaf (left) compared with a leaf (right) attacked by two-spotted spider mites, a major crop and houseplant pest worldwide. The pests newly decoded genetic blueprint reveals an ensemble of genes that allow it to disarm plants' chemical defenses and detoxify pesticides - major reasons the mites can eat more than 1,100 plant species. Credit: Richard Clark, University of Utah This microscope image shows a spider mite feeding on a leaf while surrounded by several of its eggs. Credit: Joshua Steffen, University of Utah Uses a different molting hormone to shed its exoskeleton during growth. Has only eight Hox genes to orchestrate body-plan development, compared with 10 in most other arthropods, and thus has only two main body segments instead of three. There are other cases in which Hox genes were activated differently in different arthropods, "but this is an extreme case," Clark says. "The genes are both gone. Makes silk that is strong like spider silk but 185 to 435 times thinner. "Spiders spin silk from their abdomens, spider mites from the head region," Clark says. Spider mites use silk to hide from predators, keep themselves warm, and suspend eggs out of predators' reach. Silk from the mites may prove useful as biodegradable surgical sutures and bandages. It "is very thin and very easy to get because you can grow lots of mites on plants," Clark says. Provided by University of Utah [Home] [Full version] [RSS feed] [Forum]	A spider mite, roughly 0.5mm long A team of 55 researchers led by University of Western Ontario biologist Miodrag Grbic has sequenced the genome of the spider mite '''', a pest that costs over 1 billion to control annually. Their results were published in the journal '''' yesterday. The genome is the smallest arthropod genome sequenced so far. The study was funded by the US Joint Genome Institute programme, Genome Canada, and the European Union. The pest is resistant to major plant toxins, and it takes a spider mite from two to four years to become resistant to new pesticides. University of Utah assistant professor of biology Richard M. Clark, a study co-author, said, "One key thing that makes spider mites unique is they can eat many, many different plant species... These mites are ... a major cause of people's house plants turning yellow and getting sick. They also are a major problem for agricultural nurseries and greenhouses, and for field crops. ... the spider mite has been found to rapidly develop resistance to multiple types of pesticides, often within a couple of years after a pesticide is introduced." The study found the mite's genome includes a variety of genes responsible for digestion and toxin degradation, possibly including some genes from bacteria and fungi. Because these bacterial/fungal genes are peculiar to spider mites, they appear to be a rare example of — gene transfer between distant species. The study also found 17 web-production genes. The spider mite's webs provide weather- and predator-protection and are somewhat stronger than webs of other species.
Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking “I agree” below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. \|\|\|\|\| Pakistan's Musharraf to fight impeachment bid: aides ISLAMABAD (AFP) — Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf will defend himself against impeachment, aides said Friday, a day after the ruling coalition vowed to launch proceedings to drive the key US ally from power. Musharraf was set to meet his top legal and political advisers to discuss his dwindling options in the face of the most serious challenge to the former general's position since he seized power in a bloodless military coup in 1999. The spectre of impeachment is set to deepen the political turmoil in the nuclear-armed nation -- with the manoeuvres open to Musharraf including dissolving parliament or even declaring a state of emergency. "He is considering the options that are available. He will respond to the government's allegations and defend himself," a presidential aide told AFP on condition of anonymity. Key Musharraf ally Mushahid Hussain said his party would back the president. "We will prepare a case, the president should be there (in parliament) and defend himself, and at least say 'I am not a crook,'" said Hussain, secretary general of the Pakistan Muslim League-Q party. Coalition leaders Asif Ali Zardari -- the widower of slain former premier Benazir Bhutto -- and Nawaz Sharif announced on Thursday that they would seek Musharraf's impeachment for allegedly mismanaging the country. Officials said parliament could begin the impeachment process by filing a charge sheet against the president as early as Monday, which is also Musharraf's 65th birthday. The aide said however that Musharraf would "not wait for the numbers game" -- meaning that he would not indulge in political horsetrading to stop the coalition getting the votes it needs. Impeachment requires a two-thirds majority in the upper and lower houses of parliament under Pakistan's constitution. It would be the first time in Pakistan's 61-year history that a president has been impeached. Another Musharraf ally said the coalition could not get enough votes to support impeachment. "We are going to oppose it. It is a half-baked effort and a sure recipe for disaster," Tariq Azim, the information minister in the last government, told AFP. But Azim and Hussain both warned against dissolving parliament, saying it would damage the country's democracy. The coalition is currently several seats short of the 295 votes it requires out of the 439 in the Senate and National Assembly to remove Musharraf. Zardari's Pakistan People's Party and Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, together with smaller coalition partners, have 266 seats and need a further 29 MPs, mainly from the troubled tribal belt bordering Afghanistan. But the key factor in Musharraf's decision is likely to be the support he gets from the army. He quit as army chief last November. "He can dismiss the government, suspend it or leave the stage but that option is very remote -- he would do that only when he realises that the real powers are not supporting him," the presidential aide said. Musharraf's successor as army chief, General Ashfaq Kayani, has shown no signs of disloyalty, and the military has historically acted to defend the honour of its current and former chiefs. But Kayani has also appeared keen to keep the army out of politics after six decades during which the military was in power for more than half the time, damaging its image at home. Imposing a state of emergency would require Musharraf to have military support, while dissolving parliament could also cause unrest in a country already suffering from widespread economic problems. "The army will not like to be part of the power games," said Pakistani political analyst Shafqat Mahmood. The United States, which counts Musharraf as a lynchpin in the fight against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, said that the impeachment was an "internal" matter.	The two dominant parties of Pakistan's National Assembly have united in a coalition to impeach President Pervez Musharraf. The decision was announced by party leaders Asif Ali Zardari, widower of former premier Benazir Bhutto, and Nawaz Sharif, with the parties aiming for a successful no-confidence vote against President Musharraf. The impeachment process is planned to start within the following week. Pervez Musharraf has ruled Pakistan since 1999 There have been concerns that an attempt at impeachment would result in a detrimental political battle in a country already facing political instability. A senior member of a party allied with Musharraf stated that the impeachment would "open a Pandora's box" regarding Pakistan's future. Once the impeachment process begins, the coalition will need to muster a required two-thirds majority in order to successfully impeach Musharraf. Musharraf has little support in the National Assembly, as most of his political allies were defeated in the February elections. If the coalition is successful, Musharraf will be the first president in Pakistan's sixty-one year history to have been impeached. Musharraf has canceled his trip to the Beijing Olympics so that he can focus on planning a response to the coalition. Successfully defeating the impeachment will depend largely on the support of the military, for which he acted as chief until international pressure forced him to step down a year ago. Other options Musharraf may explore include declaring a state of emergency, which could aid him in getting the support of the military, or dissolving parliament, though this would likely lead to political chaos.
The official magnitude for this earthquake is indicated at the top of this page. This was the best available estimate of the earthquake's size, at the time that this page was created. Other magnitudes associated with web pages linked from here are those determined at various times following the earthquake with different types of seismic data. Although, given the data used, they are legitimate estimates of magnitude, they are not considered the official magnitude. The USGS Earthquake Hazards Program (EHP) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is part of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) led by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). \|\|\|\|\| Unfortunately, we are unable to process your request at this time. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please try again later. Return to Yahoo! Copyright © 2005 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy - Terms of Service \|\|\|\|\| Quake kills at least 300 on Indonesian island Vice president says up to 2,000 could be dead (CNN) -- A major earthquake struck off the west coast of Indonesia late Monday, killing hundreds, but fears of another tsunami like those that devastated the region in late December have faded. On Indonesia's Nias Island at least 300 people died and hundreds more were reported injured or trapped, said government spokesman Agus Mendrova. But international news agencies are reporting that between 1,000 and 2,000 people may have been killed on Nias Island. "It is predicted -- and it's still a rough estimate -- that the number of the victims of dead may be between 1,000 and 2,000," Vice President Jusuf Kalla told the el-Shinta radio station, according to The Associated Press. Between 500 and 1,000 homes were destroyed, and the island's public market was ablaze, Mendrova said. Between 10,000 and 15,000 people ran to hilltops for safety in case of a tsunami, Mendrova said. Many of the doctors and nurses who normally would staff the hospital fled to higher ground. "We have not heard of any tsunami hitting anywhere," Jan Egeland, the U.N. emergency relief coordinator, told CNN from New York nearly six hours after the temblor struck. Still, Egeland said, the earthquake itself was responsible for casualties on islands close to the epicenter. Dozens of aid officials met overnight in Sumatra to plan a course of action after daylight breaks in the region, Egeland said. In Washington, State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said the United States is moving into "battle mode" in the wake of the quake, alerting all the U.S. posts in the region and reaching out to aid workers. (Full story) There was a report of heavy damage on Simeulue Island in Indonesia, said Bernd Schell, head of tsunami operations for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Speaking from southern Aceh, Schell said "heavy, heavy shaking" lasted about three minutes. Based on the size of the earthquake, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration initially urged residents within 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) of the epicenter to evacuate coastal regions. But no tsunamis were reported along Indonesia's island coasts, while India, Malaysia and Thailand canceled tsunami warnings early Tuesday. The quake's magnitude was variously reported by monitoring agencies as 8.7 and 8.5. The U.S. Geological Survey reported the former after initially putting the magnitude at 8.2; the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center reported the latter. In the following hours, a series of smaller earthquakes -- one a magnitude 6.7 -- struck the region, the USGS said. The main jolt was located near the coast of northern Sumatra, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) west northwest of Sibolga, and about 1,400 kilometers (880 miles) northwest of Jakarta, Indonesia's capital. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was 30 kilometers (20 miles) deep. The quake struck at 11:09 p.m. (04.09 p.m. GMT, 11:09 a.m. ET). It was felt in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and as far north as Bangkok, Thailand. A 'great' quake The quake was centered on the same fault line where the December 26 earthquake launched a tsunami that left more than 300,000 people dead or still listed as missing. (Full story) The December 26 quake was a magnitude 9.0 -- the strongest in 40 years. It triggered a massive tsunami that devastated coastlines in nearly a dozen nations in Africa and Asia. "This looks like a fraternal twin of the December 26 earthquake," said Kerry Sieh, a professor of geology at the California Institute of Technology. "It's not a duplicate. It occurred a little bit further south," Sieh said. "But it's the same type of earthquake." Only 12 great earthquakes have occurred since 1906, he said. The quake is considered a "great" earthquake, the largest of seven grades. The grades are very minor, minor, light, moderate, strong, major and great. The absence of an early warning system in the Indian Ocean has been decried as contributing to many deaths in December's disaster. "This time, at least, people heard about the earthquake," Egeland said. "Many people fled inland." Spared another tsunami It was not immediately clear why the region was spared another tsunami. Experts agreed the magnitude of the earthquake was sufficient to create one. "At this point in time we don't know what type of fault occurred ... and that is critical information," USGS spokesman Doug Blake said. "It is in the aftershock zone of the December 26 quake. It's a little bit south, but it's on the same fault." A 9.0 earthquake would release about double the amount of energy as an 8.7 quake, said a USGS geologist. The quake may have sent its energy farther south than last year's quake, said Robert Cessaro of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. "So all that pressure to the north would have been relieved" by the December quake, said Cessaro. "We think this event probably ruptured to the south, with the beam of energy probably propagated to the south." Few land masses lie to the south, but among them are the Cocos Islands, located about 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles) north-west of the West Australian capital of Perth. About three hours after the quake, a "small" tsunami was measured on the Cocos tide gauge, the USGS said. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology confirmed that a wave of 25 centimeters passed the Cocos Islands, compared with the 33-centimeter wave recorded after the December 26 earthquake. In Thailand, thousands of people in the six provinces affected by the December 26 tsunami moved to higher ground or 2 kilometers (1.25 miles) inland, the governor of Phang Nga province said. Prass Prawoto, an aid worker in Banda Aceh, which was severely damaged by the December tsunami and quake, said Indonesians moved to higher ground, fearing another massive tsunami. But he said he had not heard of any injuries. CNN producer Kathy Quiano, watching television reports from Jakarta, said there was widespread panic in Banda Aceh, as residents rushed inland. Electricity and phone service were out in major sections of the city. A number of traffic accidents occurred as a result, and people were injured, she said, citing local television reports. CNN's Naurant Prapanya contributed to this report. \|\|\|\|\| But unlike December's quake, this latest one did not lead to a wave with anywhere near the same destructive force. Scientists say this may be because the new quake did not release enough energy to cause slippage in the sea floor - and the quake's focus was also deeper. Measurements show a small tsunami did result but its effects were hardly noticeable. It is likely that we did not have nearly as large a displacement as with the December 26 event Greg Romano, Noaa Energy values The epicentre of Monday's quake was about 200km (125 miles) northwest of the town of Sibolga, at the edge of a particularly high stress area on the undersea Sunda trench fault. Major earthquakes tend to cluster at these subduction zones, where two or more plates of the Earth's outer material grind and overlap. ANIMATED GUIDE How an earthquake happens The disturbance this caused in the water column above generated waves that, by the time they reached land, were up to 10m (30ft) high. The figures quoted by agencies for the size of the quakes are on the moment magnitude scale - and although the jump from 8.7 to 9.3 may not sound like much, the way the calculations are made means there is actually a big difference between the two. In terms of the energy released, Monday's quake was probably 5-6 times smaller than the Boxing Day event. "That's crucial, because the bigger the energy released, the greater the chance that the sea bed will move," said John McCloskey of the University of Ulster. Deep underground Just 10 days ago, Professor McCloskey's team forecast in the journal Nature that the Boxing Day quake had increased stress on two nearby fault lines - the Sumatran fault and on the undersea Sunda trench. Greg Romano, of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), told the BBC: "A tsunami is generally generated when you have a large displacement of water in a vertical direction and it is likely that we did not have nearly as large a displacement as with the December 26 event." The earthquake's magnitude may yet be revised up "We don't know what depth it nucleated at but if the earthquake did nucleate slightly deeper then the effect on the surface is much less," Professor McCloskey told the BBC. "Tsunamis of the type we observed on Boxing Day are thankfully very, very rare." Monday's quake was close to the magnitude range predicted by the Ulster team, which calculated that it would measure between magnitude 8 and 8.5. It could also have added to stress on the Sumatran fault, which cuts through the Indonesian island and was, according to Professor McCloskey's team, also destabilised by the December event.	'''March 28, 2005''' Epicenter map from NOAA A magnitude 8.7 earthquake has been reported in northern Sumatra, Indonesia by the U.S. Geological Survey (originally an 8.2 magnitude at 2:37 ET (7:37 GMT) the USGS reclassified it to an 8.7 magnitude). Government spokesman Agus Mendrova reported more than 290 deaths on the island of Nias. Hundreds of others were reported trapped in collapsed buildings, including structures weakened by the December 26th earthquake. A destructive wave was intially feared and many nations issued tsunami warnings. After the quake a USGS instrument near the Cocos Islands recorded a tsunami type wave which the USGS classified as "small." Tsunami warnings were later withdrawn. The quake occurred at 11:09 ET (16:09 GMT), and is considered a "great" earthquake, the largest of seven grades. This earthquake is also classified as a "shallow" earthquake, occurring within the top 50 kilometres of the Earth's crust. Shallow earthquakes are more likely to cause a tsunami, because as the lower within the surface the earthquake occurs, the less warping of the ocean floor occurs. This earthquake was a thrust quake; the December 26th Indian Ocean quake was considered a megathrust quake. The U.S. Geological Survey originally estimated the magnitude at 8.2, but Japan's Meteorological Agency measured the quake at magnitude 8.5 and the U.S. Geological Survey later raised its estimate to 8.7. In comparison, last December's earthquake was measured at 8.1 initially by the USGS, before finally being placed within the 9.1 to 9.3 range by scientists in February 2005. At 16:29 UTC, an informational Tsunami Bulletin Number 001 was released by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, stating that there is no threat to Pacific coastlines, but warning of the possibility of destructive tsunamis on waters near the earthquake's origin. There have been numerous reports of persons who have felt the earthquake fleeing their homes to higher ground, and Sri Lanka was under an evacuation order. Residents of Banda Aceh, Indonesia, one of the cities most devastated by the December tsunami, also fled. Since the December 26th earthquake relatively minor tremors have been common however this was reported to be more intense and long-lasting than any aftershock. Thailand, which was criticized for its failure to alert citizens to tsunami dangers after last December's earthquake, warned about the possibility that a tsunami might hit that nation's southern provinces.
Annan: Shut Guantanamo prison camp U.N. report calls for terrorism suspects to be tried or released UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has backed a U.N. report calling for the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to be shut down, saying he hoped it would happen "as soon as is possible." In a report out Thursday, U.N. experts said the United States should close the Guantanamo Bay camp "without further delay" and either try the roughly 500 detainees held there or release them. "There's a lot in the report, and I cannot say that I necessarily agree with everything," Annan said. But he said the prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay can't be held "in perpetuity" and need to be "given a chance to explain themselves." "I think sooner or later there will be a need to close Guantanamo, and I think it will be up to the government to decide, hopefully, to do it as soon as is possible," he said. The Bush administration dismissed the findings of the report, with White House spokesman Scott McClellan calling it "a rehash" of claims made by lawyers for some of those prisoners. The 54-page report concluded that prisoners held in Guantanamo, most of whom were captured in the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, should be able to challenge the legality of their detention before a judicial body and be released if no grounds for imprisonment are found. (Watch clips of dramatic new film about Gitmo detainees -- 2:23) "This right is currently being violated," it added. "The executive branch of the United States government operates as judge, prosecutor and defense counsel of the Guantanamo Bay detainees." The United States has defended the use of the facility to hold "enemy combatants" without charges for as long as the "war on terror" may last. But detention without charges runs counter to established human-rights law, and the "war on terror" does not constitute an armed conflict under international law, the report concluded. The report -- which will be presented to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights -- was based on interviews with former detainees, lawyers, public documents, media reports and a questionnaire filled out by the U.S. government. U.S. officials argued that the United Nations had gotten only one side of the story. McClellan criticized the report's authors for not visiting the prison camp, located on a U.S. Navy base near the eastern tip of Cuba. But Manfred Nowak, one of the report's authors, said U.S. officials barred them from speaking to the detainees -- a condition he called unacceptable. "We are serious, objective, independent fact-finders," Nowak told CNN. "We would undermine the U.N.'s fact-finding capacities if we were to accept an invitation that we are not accepting from any other state in the world. "The U.S. government itself is very strong on these terms of reference for other governments," Nowak said. "Then they want an exception for the United States." The report called for U.S. officials to put an end to "special interrogation techniques" and to stop sending detainees to countries where there are "substantial grounds for believing" they might be tortured -- a process called extraordinary rendition. The United States has denied it mistreats prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, which McClellan said houses "dangerous terrorists." "They are people that are determined to harm innocent civilians or harm innocent Americans," he said. "They were enemy combatants picked up on the battlefield in the war on terrorism. They are trained to provide false information." U.N.: Treatment amounts to torture But the U.N. report found that interrogation techniques authorized by the Department of Defense, "particularly if used simultaneously, amount to degrading treatment in violation of ... the Convention against Torture." For example, indefinite periods of detention and prolonged solitary confinement amount to torture, the report said. And it noted a "profound deterioration" in the mental health of many being held on the island. In 2003, more than 350 acts of self-harm were reported, along with individual and mass suicide attempts and hunger strikes, it said. The report also singled out health professionals for criticism, noting that some appear to have been "complicit in abusive treatment of detainees detrimental to their health." Ambassador Kevin Edward Moley, a permanent representative of the United States to the United Nations, said the report "does not reflect the direct, personal knowledge" that a visit would have provided. And John Bellinger, a legal adviser for the State Department, said representatives of the International Committee for the Red Cross are the "appropriate" people to interview prisoners. But the Red Cross is barred from speaking publicly about conditions they find in detention facilities. The U.N. report said every detainee must be given the right to complain about his treatment and have any complaints dealt with "promptly and, if requested, confidentially," it said. Any allegations of "torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" must be investigated by an independent authority and those involved -- "up to the highest level of military and political command" -- must be brought to justice, it concluded. It found that victims of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment should be compensated by the U.S. government, and people who work in the camp's detention facilities should be trained to respect human-rights standards for the treatment of prisoners -- including their right to freedom of religion. It added that some interrogation techniques "are aimed at offending the religious feelings of detainees," a conclusion it deemed "of particular concern." Human-rights group Amnesty International said it welcomed the report but called Guantanamo Bay "just the tip of the iceberg." "The United States also operates detention facilities at Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan, Abu Ghraib and elsewhere in Iraq and has been implicated in the use of secret detention facilities in other countries," the group's statement said. \|\|\|\|\| HUMAN RIGHTS EXPERTS ISSUE JOINT REPORT ON SITUATION OF DETAINEES IN GUANTANAMO BAY The following statement was issued today by the Chairman Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Leila Zerrougui; Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Leandro Despouy; the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Manfred Nowak; the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Asma Jahangir, and the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, Paul Hunt: Five independent investigators of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights are calling on the United States to close immediately the detention centre in Guantánamo Bay and bring all detainees before an independent and competent tribunal or release them. The call comes in a report published today following an 18-month joint study by the experts into the situation of detainees at that United States Naval Base. The report’s findings are based on information from the United States Government, interviews conducted by the experts with former Guantánamo Bay detainees currently residing or detained in France, Spain and the United Kingdom and responses from lawyers acting on behalf of some current detainees. It also relies on information available in the public domain, including reports prepared by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), information contained in declassified official United States documents and media reports. The experts expressed regret that the Government did not allow them the opportunity to have free access to detainees in Guantanamo Bay and carry out private interviews, as provided by the terms of reference accepted by all countries they visit. The five experts – specializing in issues related to arbitrary detention, freedom of religion, the right to health, torture and the independence of judges and lawyers – conclude that the persons held at Guantánamo Bay are entitled to challenge the legality of their detention before a judicial body and to obtain release if detention is found to lack a proper legal basis. The continuing detention of all persons held at Guantánamo Bay amounts to arbitrary detention, they state, adding that – where criminal proceedings are initiated against a detainee – the executive branch of the United States Government operates as judge, prosecutor and defence counsel in violation of various guarantees of the right to a fair trial According to the experts, attempts by the United States Administration to redefine “torture” in the framework of the struggle against terrorism in order to allow certain interrogation techniques that would not be permitted under the internationally accepted definition of torture are of utmost concern. The confusion with regard to authorized and unauthorized interrogation techniques over the last years is particularly alarming. The interrogation techniques authorized by the Department of Defense, particularly if used simultaneously, amount to degrading treatment. If in individual cases, which were described in interviews, the victim experienced severe pain or suffering, these acts amounted to torture as defined in article 1 of the Convention against Torture. Furthermore, the general conditions of detention, in particular the uncertainty about the length of detention and prolonged solitary confinement, amount to inhuman treatment and to a violation of the right to health as well as a violation of the right of detainees to be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person. They add that force-feeding of competent detainees violates the right to health as well as the ethical duties of any health professionals who may be involved. Among their recommendations, the experts say terrorism suspects should be detained in accordance with criminal procedure that respects the safeguards enshrined in relevant international law. Accordingly, the United States Government should either expeditiously bring all Guantánamo Bay detainees to trial or release them without further delay. They also call on the Government to close down the Guantánamo Bay detention centre and to refrain from any practice amounting to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, discrimination on the basis of religion, and violations of the rights to health and freedom of religion. The investigators also request full and unrestricted access to the Guantánamo Bay facilities, including private interviews with detainees. Consideration should also be given to trying suspected terrorists before a competent international tribunal. Chronology leading up to report: The five mandate holders have been following the situation of detainees held at the United States Naval Base at Guantánamo Bay since January 2002. In June 2004, the Annual Meeting of special rapporteurs/representatives, experts and chairpersons of working groups of the special procedures and the advisory services programme of the Commission on Human Rights, decided that they should continue this task as a group because the situation concerns each of their mandates. In studying the situation, they have continuously sought the cooperation of the United States authorities. They sent a number of letters requesting the United States Government to allow them to visit Guantánamo Bay in order to gather first hand information from the prisoners themselves. By letter dated 28 October 2005, the Government of the United States of America extended an invitation for a one-day visit to three of the five mandate holders, inviting them “to visit the Department of Defense’s detention facilities [of Guantánamo Bay]”. The invitation stipulated that “the visit will not include private interviews or visits with detainees”. In their response to the Government dated 31 October 2005, the mandate holders accepted the invitation, including the short duration of the visit and the fact that only three of them were permitted access, and informed the US Government that the visit was to be carried out on 6 December 2005. However, they did not accept the exclusion of private interviews with detainees, as that would contravene the terms of reference for fact-findings missions by special procedures and undermine the purpose of an objective and fair assessment of the situation of detainees held in Guantánamo Bay. In the absence of assurances from the Government that it would comply with the terms of reference, the mandate holders decided on 18 November 2005 to cancel the visit. * *** * For use of information media; not an official recordhr06009e \|\|\|\|\| Czechs refuse ex-terror suspects Security concerns halt U.S. asylum plans for Guantanamo prisoners By Peter Kononczuk Staff Writer, The Prague Post November 09, 2005 The government says security fears prompted it to turn down a U.S. request to grant asylum to former terrorist suspects who are being released from jail in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. But following a report Nov. 2 in The Washington Post that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency has been running secret prisons in Eastern Europe, the Interior Ministry in Prague says it has never been asked to detain those still suspected of terrorism. In news reports last week, Czech and foreign media conflated the two issues: the U.S. asylum request and The Washington Post's story. "The United States did not ask the Czech Republic to host a facility to hold prisoners," said Interior Ministry spokeswoman Radka Kovár ová. Poland and Romania also deny they have secret CIA jails. A month ago the U.S. Embassy in Prague asked the Czech government to grant asylum to a number of Muslims of Chinese origin formerly suspected of being terrorists, said embassy spokesman Jan Krc . He did not say how large the group was. The men were not found to have any links to the al Qaeda network and were to be released from the U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay, where the United States detains hundreds of men captured during the Iraq and Afghanistan invasions. The group faces persecution if they return to China, according to Krc . The U.S. overture to the Czechs about asylum was "a humanitarian request because we clearly need to place these people somewhere," Krc said. He added the intention was that the ex-prisoners would have as much liberty as anyone else given asylum. However, Bublan turned down the Americans' request, as did 10 other European states approached by the United States, including Germany and the Netherlands, said Kovár ová. "Minister Bublan evaluated the whole issue and, bearing in mind potential security hazards, said he would not see offering asylum to these persons as appropriate." Meanwhile, The Washington Post's report that the CIA runs prisons in eight countries which it did not name with the aim of interrogating detainees outside the reach of the American justice system stirred concern from watchdogs, who said such jails would contravene European Union rules on human rights. Krc said that the U.S. Embassy's asylum request was unconnected with the news story on secret CIA jails. Petr Kas par contributed to this report. Peter Kononczuk can be reached at pkononczuk@praguepost.com Reader's Comments: [14/11/2005] : Many Americans who helped Eastern and Central European countries embrace the principles of the rule of law and transparency in government to join the nations of the world who reject torture are now horrified to find that we have met the enemy and it is us. News reports about the Bush administration's policy of torture of prisoners in an unamed Eastern European country is highly disturbing to freedom loving Americans including our former President Jimmy Carter and Senator John McCain of Arizona, himself a former prisoner of war. Even though the Eastern European nation has not been named all one has to do is turn to the list of countries on Bush's "Coalition of the Willing" for a big fat clue. The Czech Republic was never duped into joining the list even though one of your foreign ministers was wined and dined and made pronouncements; your Parliament was said no to joining the Coalition. Remember the countries that courageously signed up to defend the US national security interest and possibly qualify for lucrative contracts?? Opps, big contracts didn't necessarily materialize (no surprise there). But then there's those old abandoned Soviet military bases. It doesn't take a Soviet or US rocket scientist to figure out this one - but we'll just wait until more wining and dining on the next official state visit from the President of Poland for the official announcement. Paulette Will Minneapolis, Minnesota	Scott McClellan, White House spokesman, dismissed a United Nations report today dealing with the Guantánamo Bay facilities. The UN report said that the United States government should "expeditiously bring all Guantánamo Bay detainees to trial" without further delay, and called upon the U.S. to close the Guantánamo Bay detention facility. McClellan responded, "These are dangerous terrorists that we're talking about that are there and I think we've talked about that issue before and nothing's changed in terms of our views." McClellan added, "We know that these are dangerous terrorists that are being kept at Guantanamo Bay. They are people that are determined to harm innocent civilians or harm innocent Americans. They were enemy combatants picked up on the battlefield in the war on terrorism." Three months ago, the US Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Jan Krc, asked that country to give asylum to a group of Guantanamo detainees which would have set them free in Europe. The U.S. request to the Czechs about asylum was "a humanitarian request because we clearly need to place these people somewhere," Krc said. In a press encounter, Kofi Annan responded to a journalist, he didn't accept all the conclusions of the report but, "Sooner or later there will be a need to close Guantanamo, sooner or later". He said, "I cannot agree with everything in the report, but I did indicate that the basic premise, that we need to be careful to have a balance between effective action against terrorism and individual liberties and civil rights, I think is valid." The United Nations report is based upon information from the United States Government, interviews conducted by the experts with former Guantanamo Bay detainees currently residing or detained in France, Spain and the United Kingdom. The U.S. government's invitation for UN investigators to visit the prison was turned down because the United States would not allow the UN investigation team to conduct interviews with detainees. The report follows an 18 month study by 5 experts in various areas of human rights.
HD 189733b orbits very close to its parent star The detection in the extrasolar planet HD 189733b was made using Nasa's powerful Spitzer Space Telescope and is reported in the journal Nature. The team looked for the signal of water absorption in starlight poking through the edges of the atmosphere when the planet passed in front of its star. It is only the second time water has been detected on an exoplanet. Some researchers suggest that the presence of water could be a feature that is common to all gas giants - the type of planet represented by Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune in our own Solar System. The 'holy grail' for today's planet hunters is to find an Earth-like planet that also has water in its atmosphere Giovanna Tinetti, UCL Although water is a key ingredient for biology, the planet is far too hot to harbour life. It orbits extremely close to its parent star - more than 30 times closer to its star than the Earth is to the Sun. As such, temperatures range from a scorching 1,200 Kelvin (930C) on the dayside of the planet, to a relatively balmy 700 Kelvin (427C) on the nightside. This type of planet is known as a "hot Jupiter". Letting off steam Giovanna Tinetti, from University College London and colleagues, measured the radius of the hot Jupiter HD 189733b at different wavelengths by tracking how much starlight is blocked by the planet as it crosses in front of its parent star as viewed from Earth. The planet looked bigger at the wavelength bands that corresponded to water, suggesting water vapour was present in its atmosphere. Nasa's Spitzer infrared telescope More details She added: "Our method can be used in the future to study more 'life-friendly' environments." Another team of astronomers previously detected water vapour in the atmosphere of a "hot Jupiter" called HD 209458b. The study, by astronomers in the US, was published in the Astrophysical Journal earlier this year. But some critics have argued that instrument effects in this data could have created the same signal as water vapour. Life search Dr Tinetti said: "The 'holy grail' for today's planet hunters is to find an Earth-like planet that also has water in its atmosphere. "When it happens, that discovery will provide real evidence that planets outside our Solar System might harbour life." Co-author Sean Carey of the Spitzer Science Center in California commented: "Finding water on this planet implies that other planets in the Universe, possibly even rocky ones, could also have water." Earlier this year, the Spitzer Space Telescope became the first telescope to analyse, or break apart, the light from two transiting "hot Jupiters", HD 189733b and HD 209458b. This led to the first-ever "fingerprint", or spectrum, of an exoplanet's light. \|\|\|\|\| A scorching-hot gas planet beyond our solar system is steaming up with water vapor, according to new observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The planet, called HD 189733b, swelters as it zips closely around its star every two days or so. Astronomers had predicted that planets of this class, termed "hot Jupiters," would contain water vapor in their atmospheres. Yet finding solid evidence for this has been slippery. These latest data are the most convincing yet that hot Jupiters are "wet." Image right: This artist's impression shows a gas-giant exoplanet transiting across the face of its star. Image credit: ESA - C.Carreau + Full image and caption "We're thrilled to have identified clear signs of water on a planet that is trillions of miles away," said Giovanna Tinetti, a European Space Agency fellow at the Institute d’Astrophysique de Paris in France." Tinetti is lead author of a paper on HD 189733b appearing today in Nature. Although water is an essential ingredient to life as we know it, wet hot Jupiters are not likely to harbor any creatures. Previous measurements from Spitzer indicate that HD 189733b is a fiery 1,000 Kelvin (1,340 degrees Fahrenheit) on average. Ultimately, astronomers hope to use instruments like those on Spitzer to find water on rocky, habitable planets like Earth. "Finding water on this planet implies that other planets in the universe, possibly even rocky ones, could also have water," said co-author Sean Carey of NASA's Spitzer Science Center at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. "I'm excited to tell my nephews and niece about the discovery." The new findings are part of a brand new field of science investigating the climate on exoplanets, or planets outside our solar system. Such faraway planets cannot be seen directly; however, in the past few years, astronomers have begun to glean information about their atmospheres by observing a subset of hot Jupiters that transit, or pass in front of, their stars as seen from Earth. Earlier this year, Spitzer became the first telescope to analyze, or break apart, the light from two transiting hot Jupiters, HD 189733b and HD 209458b. One of its instruments, called a spectrometer, observed the planets as they dipped behind their stars in what is called the secondary eclipse. This led to the first-ever "fingerprint," or spectrum, of an exoplanet's light. Yet, the results came up "dry," probably because the structure of these planets' atmospheres makes finding water with this method difficult. Later, a team of astronomers found hints of water in HD 209458b by analyzing visible-light data taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The Hubble data were captured as the planet crossed in front of the star, an event called the primary eclipse. Now, Tinetti and her team have captured the best evidence yet for wet, hot Jupiters by watching HD 189733b's primary eclipse in infrared light with Spitzer. In this method, changes in infrared light from the star are measured as the planet slips by, filtering starlight through its outer atmosphere. The astronomers observed the eclipse with Spitzer's infrared array camera at three different infrared wavelengths and noticed that for each wavelength a different amount of light was absorbed by the planet. The pattern by which this absorption varies with wavelength matches that created by water. "Water is the only molecule that can explain that behavior," said Tinetti. "Observing primary eclipses in infrared light is the best way to search for this molecule in exoplanets." The water on HD 189733b is too hot to condense into clouds; however, previous observations of the planet from Spitzer and other ground and space-based telescopes suggest that it might have dry clouds, along with high winds and a hot, sun-facing side that is warmer than its dark side. HD 189733b is located 63 light-years away in the constellation Vulpecula. Other authors of the Nature paper include Alfred Vidal-Madjar, Jean-Phillippe Beaulieu, David Sing and Nicole Allard of the Institute d’Astrophysique de Paris: Mao-Chang Liang of Caltech and the Academia Sinica, Taiwan; Yuk Yung of Caltech; Robert J. Barber and Jonathan Tennyson of University College London in England; Ignasi Ribas of the Institut de Ciències de l'Espai, Spain; Gilda E. Ballester of the University of Arizona, Tucson; and Franck Selsis of the Ecole Normale Supérieure, France. JPL manages the Spitzer Space Telescope mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Science operations are conducted at the Spitzer Science Center at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena. JPL is a division of Caltech. Spitzer's infrared array camera was built by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The instrument's principal investigator is Giovanni Fazio of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass. For graphics related to this research and more information about Spitzer, visit http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/spitzer and http://www.nasa.gov/spitzer . Media contact: Whitney Clavin 818-354-4673 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 2007-077 \|\|\|\|\| NASA's Spitzer Finds Water Vapor On Hot, Alien Planet Science Daily A scorching-hot gas planet beyond our solar system is steaming up with water vapor, according to new observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. This artist's impression shows a gas-giant exoplanet transiting across the face of its star. (Credit: ESA - C.Carreau) This artist's impression shows a gas-giant exoplanet transiting across the face of its star. (Credit: ESA - C.Carreau) The planet, called HD 189733b, swelters as it zips closely around its star every two days or so. Astronomers had predicted that planets of this class, termed "hot Jupiters," would contain water vapor in their atmospheres. Yet finding solid evidence for this has been slippery. These latest data are the most convincing yet that hot Jupiters are "wet." "We're thrilled to have identified clear signs of water on a planet that is trillions of miles away," said Giovanna Tinetti, a European Space Agency fellow at the Institute d’Astrophysique de Paris in France." Tinetti is lead author of a paper on HD 189733b appearing today in Nature. Although water is an essential ingredient to life as we know it, wet hot Jupiters are not likely to harbor any creatures. Previous measurements from Spitzer indicate that HD 189733b is a fiery 1,000 Kelvin (1,340 degrees Fahrenheit) on average. Ultimately, astronomers hope to use instruments like those on Spitzer to find water on rocky, habitable planets like Earth. "Finding water on this planet implies that other planets in the universe, possibly even rocky ones, could also have water," said co-author Sean Carey of NASA's Spitzer Science Center at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. "I'm excited to tell my nephews and niece about the discovery." The new findings are part of a brand new field of science investigating the climate on exoplanets, or planets outside our solar system. Such faraway planets cannot be seen directly; however, in the past few years, astronomers have begun to glean information about their atmospheres by observing a subset of hot Jupiters that transit, or pass in front of, their stars as seen from Earth. Earlier this year, Spitzer became the first telescope to analyze, or break apart, the light from two transiting hot Jupiters, HD 189733b and HD 209458b. One of its instruments, called a spectrometer, observed the planets as they dipped behind their stars in what is called the secondary eclipse. This led to the first-ever "fingerprint," or spectrum, of an exoplanet's light. Yet, the results came up "dry," probably because the structure of these planets' atmospheres makes finding water with this method difficult. Later, a team of astronomers found hints of water in HD 209458b by analyzing visible-light data taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The Hubble data were captured as the planet crossed in front of the star, an event called the primary eclipse. Now, Tinetti and her team have captured the best evidence yet for wet, hot Jupiters by watching HD 189733b's primary eclipse in infrared light with Spitzer. In this method, changes in infrared light from the star are measured as the planet slips by, filtering starlight through its outer atmosphere. The astronomers observed the eclipse with Spitzer's infrared array camera at three different infrared wavelengths and noticed that for each wavelength a different amount of light was absorbed by the planet. The pattern by which this absorption varies with wavelength matches that created by water. "Water is the only molecule that can explain that behavior," said Tinetti. "Observing primary eclipses in infrared light is the best way to search for this molecule in exoplanets." The water on HD 189733b is too hot to condense into clouds; however, previous observations of the planet from Spitzer and other ground and space-based telescopes suggest that it might have dry clouds, along with high winds and a hot, sun-facing side that is warmer than its dark side. HD 189733b is located 63 light-years away in the constellation Vulpecula. Other authors of the Nature paper include Alfred Vidal-Madjar, Jean-Phillippe Beaulieu, David Sing and Nicole Allard of the Institute d’Astrophysique de Paris: Mao-Chang Liang of Caltech and the Academia Sinica, Taiwan; Yuk Yung of Caltech; Robert J. Barber and Jonathan Tennyson of University College London in England; Ignasi Ribas of the Institut de Ciències de l'Espai, Spain; Gilda E. Ballester of the University of Arizona, Tucson; and Franck Selsis of the Ecole Normale Supérieure, France. JPL manages the Spitzer Space Telescope mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Science operations are conducted at the Spitzer Science Center at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena. JPL is a division of Caltech. Spitzer's infrared array camera was built by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The instrument's principal investigator is Giovanni Fazio of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass. For graphics related to this research and more information about Spitzer, visit http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/spitzer and http://www.nasa.gov/spitzer . Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. New! Search Science Daily or the entire web with Google: \|\|\|\|\| British astronomers have found evidence of water in the atmosphere of a gas giant 64 light years from Earth, the first discovery of water in an extrasolar planet, they say. Researchers at University College London (UCL) found that when the planet HD 189733b passes in front of its sun, "it absorbs starlight in a way that can only be explained by the presence of water vapour in its atmosphere," they said in a release Wednesday. They used data from an orbital telescope to measure wavelengths in the infrared spectrum that demonstrated the presence of water in the planet, which orbits a star in the constellation Vulpecula the Fox. The discovery is a step towards the "'holy grail" for the researchers seeking an Earth-like planet with water, said Giovanna Tinetti, lead researcher and a member of UCL's department of physics and astronomy. "When it happens, that discovery will provide real evidence that planets outside our solar system might harbour life." HD 189733b is about 15 per cent bigger than Jupiter and more than 30 times closer to its star than the Earth is to the sun. That makes it extremely hot, so the water is not a liquid. "It is not even steam; it is in the gaseous form, much like carbon dioxide, nitrogen or methane," said Bob Barber, also from UCL's department of physics and astronomy. Barber and UCL colleague Prof. Jonathan Tennyson used data they generated by computer to identify water in the infrared spectrum of photos taken by NASA's Spitzer Earth-orbiting telescope. Their data is the most complete and accurate list of the spectral features due to hot water vapour, Barber said. Their research produced a satisfactory model of the atmosphere of HD 189733b and has been used to identify water in other bodies in space, including comets, brown dwarfs, red giants and sun spots. The research was published in the July 12 edition of Nature. \|\|\|\|\| Scientists have found the spectral imprints of water vapor in starlight filtered through the atmosphere of a giant gas planet outside our solar system. Combined with a study announced earlier this year, the new finding provides strong evidence that extrasolar planets are as rich in water as the worlds in our solar system, scientists say. The finding is detailed in the July 11 issue of the journal Nature. First solid evidence Called HD 189733b, the planet belongs to a class of gas giants called "hot Jupiters," which orbit their stars from a distance closer than Mercury is to our sun. The fiery world is about 15 percent bigger than Jupiter and orbits a sun-like star located 64 light-years away in the constellation of Vulpecula, the Fox. It has an average temperature of 1,340 degrees Fahrenheit (727 degrees Celsius) and zips around its star in just two days. "We're thrilled to have identified clear signs of water on a planet that is trillions of miles away," said study leader Giovanna Tinetti of the Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris in France. Heather Knutson, an astronomer at Harvard University, called the results "solid evidence" that hot Jupiters contain water. "The detection comes as a relief for theorists who had predicted that water vapor should be a significant component of the atmospheres of hot Jupiters," Knutson wrote in a related Nature article. In April, astronomer Travis Barman of Lowell Observatory announced he had found evidence of water vapor in the atmosphere of another hot Jupiter using the Hubble Space Telescope and a technique similar to the one used by Tinetti's team via the Spitzer Space Telescope. However, Barman's results were such that they might have been caused by instrument noise, causing some scientists to be skeptical. "Spitzer confirms [the Hubble results] by using an entirely different observatory and an entirely different wavelength," said study team member Sean Carey of NASA's Spitzer Science Center at Caltech. "The two in combination are much stronger," Carey told SPACE.com. A second look Scientists had previously looked for signs of water on HD 189733b but failed to find any. At the time, they suspected the water might be hidden beneath a thick layer of silicate clouds. Tinetti and her team offer a different explanation. They hypothesize that unlike Earth, where the atmospheric temperature cools with altitude, the temperature of HD 189733b's atmosphere is uniform over a range of altitudes. In that previous study, the scientists looked for spectral absorption lines created by radiation traveling up from the interior of the planet and passing through layers of cool gas that selectively absorb certain wavelengths of light. Without a temperature difference, no absorption occurs. In the new study, the researchers observed HD 189733b as it passed in front of, or "transited," its parent star. Using Spitzer's infrared camera, the team analyzed light that was emitted from the interior of the parent star and which passed through the planet's atmosphere on its way to Earth. In this case, absorption occurs because of the temperature difference that exists between the star's atmosphere and that of the planet. The researchers found that the planet absorbed starlight in such a way that could only be explained by the presence of water vapor in its atmosphere. Although water is an essential ingredient for life on Earth, HD 189733b and other hot Jupiters are unlikely to harbor any creatures due to their close proximity to their stars. But the new finding does make it more likely that other types of extrasolar planets also contain water, suggest the scientists. "Finding water on this planet implies that planets in the universe, possibly rocky ones, could also have water," Carey said.	NASA says that the Spitzer Space Telescope has detected water vapour on HD 189733b, a massive exoplanet orbiting the dwarf star HD 189733, "trillions of miles" outside our solar system. The water vapours were found in the planet's atmosphere. "We're thrilled to have identified clear signs of water on a planet that is trillions of miles away," said Giovanna Tinetti, a European Space Agency researcher and main author of NASA's study, at the Institute d’Astrophysique de Paris France. The planet, termed a "wet Jupiter", takes approximately two days to orbit its sun and its surface temperatures are estimated to be at least 1,000 Kelvin (1,340 Fahrenheit/727 Centigrade) which, according to scientists, makes it unlikely that life would exist there. The presence of water was observed by using the telescope to examine the absorption spectra as the planet transited across its star. "Finding water on this planet implies that other planets in the universe, possibly even rocky ones, could also have water," said co-author Sean Carey of NASA's Spitzer Science Center at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Similar evidence for another hot gas giant, previously gathered using the Hubble telescope, was not widely accepted due to experimental noise and similar concerns. HD 189733b is located 63 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Vulpecula.
TORONTO: Canadian health department has advised people against using a Neem toothpaste from India, claiming that it contains high levels of harmful bacteria apart from a chemical found in antifreeze which was discovered earlier. Neem Active Toothpaste with Calcium, made by Calcutta Chemical Co. Ltd. in India, should not be used, Health Canada warned. It claimed that ingesting the product could trigger fever, urinary tract infections and gastrointestinal symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain. The health department warning noted that while toothpaste is not meant to be swallowed, young children often do so while brushing their teeth. Children and people with weakened immune systems would be at the highest risk of negative side-effects from using the toothpaste, Health Canada said, adding that Neem Active Toothpaste is not approved for sale in Canada. "Infants, children and vulnerable populations such as patients hospitalised for severe underlying diseases or with compromised immune systems are more sensitive to these effects. Severe vomiting and diarrhoea could lead to potentially life-threatening dehydration," it said in a press release. Late last month, Health Canada warned Canadians not to use the toothpaste because it alleged that the product had been found to contain unacceptable levels of diethylene glycol or DEG, used in the making of antifreeze "Further to the Health Canada warning issued July 26, 2007, further testing on Neem Active Toothpaste with Calcium, manufactured by Calcutta Chemical Co. Ltd in India, has revealed that in addition to unacceptable levels of diethylene glycol (DEG), the product also contains high levels of harmful bacteria," Health Canada's press release said. "This poses additional significant health risks, especially to children and individuals with compromised immune systems." \|\|\|\|\| TheStar.com - News - New warning issued for Indian toothpaste New warning issued for Indian toothpaste Harmful bacteria found after earlier discovery of poisonous ingredient Aug 25, 2007 04:30 AM Iain Marlow Staff Reporter A popular brand of toothpaste imported from India contains dangerously high levels of harmful bacteria, Health Canada says. Yesterday's warning comes a month after the agency revealed Neem Active Toothpaste with Calcium also contains a poison used in antifreeze. Tejinder Narula, owner of Bombay Grocers in Mississauga, stopped selling the toothpaste last week after a customer mentioned the earlier warning. "I use it myself. For 10 years," Narula said. Yesterday, several Indian grocers in Toronto said they too heard of the earlier Health Canada warning only from customers. Health Canada scientists discovered the bacteria during tests conducted after they found the syrupy poison diethylene glycol in the toothpaste made by Calcutta Chemical Co. The bacteria pose "additional significant health risks, especially to children and individuals with compromised immune systems." A woman at the Indian Bazaar in Etobicoke initially said they sell Neem toothpaste but, after being told of the warning, added "Now it's, uh, not for sale." Accidentally swallowing the toothpaste could result in "fever, urinary tract infection, and gastrointestinal symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain," Health Canada said. Throughout the summer, there have been numerous warnings about counterfeit or poisonous toothpaste, many of them imported from China. \|\|\|\|\| Information Update 2007-108 August 24, 2007 For immediate release Neem Active Toothpaste with Calcium found to pose additional health risks OTTAWA - Further to the Health Canada warning issued July 26, 2007, further testing on Neem Active Toothpaste with Calcium, manufactured by Calcutta Chemical Co. Ltd in India, has revealed that in addition to unacceptable levels of diethylene glycol ( DEG ), the product also contains high levels of harmful bacteria. This poses additional significant health risks, especially to children and individuals with compromised immune systems. Health Canada continues to advise Canadians to discontinue use of this product. Potential adverse effects of ingesting products that contain unacceptable levels of harmful bacteria include fever, urinary tract infection, and gastrointestinal symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain. Infants, children and vulnerable populations such as patients hospitalized for severe underlying diseases or with compromised immune systems are more sensitive to these effects. Severe vomiting and diarrhea could lead to potentially life-threatening dehydration. While toothpaste is not intended to be swallowed, it is often swallowed by young children. Neem Active Toothpaste is not approved for sale in Canada. Fluoride-containing toothpastes that have been approved for sale in Canada will contain either an eight-digit Drug Identification Number ( DIN ) or a Natural Product Number ( NPN ). Consumers are advised to monitor the Health Canada Web site for additional updates on this issue and for previous health warnings on toothpaste. Consumers requiring more information about this advisory can contact Health Canada's public enquiries line at (613) 957-2991, or toll free at 1-866-225-0709. Punjabi version (PDF version) (62.8 KB ) Hindi version (PDF version) (55.8 KB ) -30- Media Enquiries: Health Canada (613) 957-2983 Public Enquiries: (613) 957-2991 1-866 225-0709	The Canadian government, through Health Canada, has issued an additional warning to Canadians not to use ''Neem Active Toothpaste with Calcium'', as testing revealed the presence of high levels of harmful bacteria. The same brand of toothpaste was subject to a recall July 26, 2007 when it was found to contain unacceptable levels of diethylene glycol (DEG). Health Canada has advised Canadians to discontinue use of the toothpaste, which is manufactured by Calcutta Chemical Co. Ltd. in India, and keep it out of the reach of children. The toothpaste is not approved for sale in Canada, but has been found in stores across the country. Although the species of bacteria found was not revealed by Health Canada, they described possible adverse effects such as "fever, urinary tract infection, and gastrointestinal symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain." A specific warning focused on particularly vulnerable groups; infants, children and hospitalised patients with compromised immune systems. This current warning from Health Canada follows a similar recall of toothpaste from China, including some counterfeit Colgate brands, which were found to contain DEG and high levels of harmful bacteria. To obtain more information on the most recent warning, consumers are advised to call Health Canada’s public enquiries line at 1-866-225-0709.
Although Mr Annan was personally cleared of improper influence in the awarding of a contract to the Swiss company Cotecna, the committee of inquiry's findings about his son left question marks about his stewardship of the UN, which has come under increasing pressure. Mr Annan was defiant. "As I had always hoped and firmly believed, the inquiry has cleared me of any wrong doing," he said. Asked if he would resign, he replied: "Hell, no." But the secretary general, who is due to retire next year at the end of two terms, could now find it difficult to push through his reform programme, and to pacify his critics. Norm Coleman,a Republican senator, said yesterday: "His lack of leadership, combined with conflicts of interest and a lack of responsibility and accountability point to one, and only one, outcome: his resignation." In Washington, the White House voiced cautious support for Mr Annan. Spokesman Scott McClellan said: "This is a very serious matter. We have stated that repeatedly. Congress has been looking into it as well. We continue to support the United Nations, we continue to support Secretary-General Annan in his work at the United Nations. We will carefully study the report that Mr Volcker has put forward today. We're also looking forward to seeing the final results of his investigation." The inquiry is continuing and is due to issue its final report in the summer. It will give its verdict on the wider issue of the conduct of the oil-for-food-programme, which was set up to minimise the impact of sanctions on Iraq by allowing Saddam Hussein to sell oil in return for food, a system open to abuse. An interim report of the inquiry last month was critical of the UN's handling of the programme. The report yesterday was on the specific issue of whether the award of a contract by the UN to Cotecna, which employed Kojo Annan, was free of improper or illicit influence. Cotecna was selected by the UN in December 1998 to conduct inspections of humanitarian goods entering Iraq. The report concluded: "There is no evidence that the selection of Cotecna in 1998 was subject to affirmative or improper influence of the secretary general in the bidding or selection process." But the report notes that UN rules were not followed: Cotecna was not asked to submit a financial statement, one that might have helped reveal the company's financial strains at the time. Mr Volcker said: "Our investigation has disclosed several instances in which [Mr Annan] might, or could have become aware, of Cotecna's participation in the bidding process. "However, there is neither convincing testimony to that effect nor any documentary evidence." Mr Volcker added: "Taking all of this into account, the committee has not found the evidence is reasonably sufficient to show that the secretary general knew that Cotecna had participated in the bidding process in 1998." But the report is critical of Kojo Annan. He left Cotecna in 1998 but, apparently unknown to the UN or his father, continued to be paid by the company until 2004. The report said after the media disclosed his relationship with the company in January 1999, Kojo Annan "actively participated in efforts by Cotecna to conceal the true nature of its continuing relationship with him. Kojo Annan also intentionally deceived the secretary general about this continuing financial relationship." Nor had he been totally forthcoming to the inquiry about the payments. The report adds: "Significant questions remain about the actions of Kojo Annan during the fall of 1998 as well as about the integrity of Kojo Annan's business and financial dealings with respect to the programme." The inquiry is still looking into this. The report concluded that Cotecna had cooperated in making documents and staff available, but it "has made false statements to the public, the United Nations and the committee". Mr Annan's former chief of staff, Iqbal Riza, is also criticised for allegedly giving the go-ahead for the shredding of documents relevant to the inquiry. The report says an assistant to Mr Riza, who retired in December, had shredded many documents in 2004. The shredding continued even after Mr Annan issued an order that all oil-for-food documents be preserved, Mr Volcker said. Mr Riza "acted imprudently" and in violation of the document preservation order, the committee concluded. \|\|\|\|\| UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, asked if he would resign over the oil-for-food scandal in Iraq, replied, "Hell, no." Annan was speaking on Tuesday after the release of a report by investigators who said there wasn't enough evidence to show that Annan knew of a contract bid by his son's employer, Cotecna Inspection SA, for the oil-for-food program in Iraq. However, they criticised the UN chief for not properly investigating possible conflicts of interest in the matter. Annan said he was happy with the report's findings he committed no wrongdoing, and he accepted the criticism from the investigators led by former US Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker. \|\|\|\|\| The report is a second interim accounting from the commission, which will deliver its final verdict this summer. The panel was commissioned by Mr. Annan a year ago to investigate how Saddam Hussein managed to skim billions of dollars from the $65 billion program and whether there had been corruption in addition to mismanagement on the part of United Nations officials. The first report on Feb. 3 accused Benon V. Sevan, the former head of the program, of a "grave conflict of interest" that "seriously undermined the integrity of the United Nations." The conclusion was based on evidence that he had steered deals to a friend and on his inability to explain where he got $166,000 in cash. A second official, Joseph Stephanides, was accused of violating procurement regulations. The new report questioned the conduct of two more of Mr. Annan's closest advisers: Mr. Riza, his chief of staff until his retirement in December, and Mr. Nair, head of the United Nations' watchdog group, the Office of Internal Oversight Services. Mr. Riza was criticized for ordering the shredding of personal files from the startup period of the oil-for-food program. He said Monday that he had had told aides to do it three months before Mr. Annan ordered all documentation about the program to be saved. The report noted, however, that the actual destruction happened after Mr. Annan's order. Mr. Nair was faulted for appointing a person to a high-level post with oil-for-food responsibilities who did almost no work on the program. But the centerpiece of the report was the awarding of the $10 million-a-year contract for aid inspections to Cotecna, whether Kojo Annan's employment by the company influenced the United Nations' choice of Cotecna, and whether Kofi Annan knew a crucial contract had been won by the company where his son worked. While the commission accepted that Mr. Annan had no knowledge of the awarding of the contract, it faulted him for not acting to curb suspicions of a conflict of interest when a report in The Sunday Telegraph of London raised the issue in 1999.	UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has been cleared of wrongdoing in an investigation of charges that he influenced the UN to award aid-screening contracts in Iraq to Swiss company Cotecna Inspection Services, which employed his son Kojo Annan. The investigation was led by former US Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, who said that the investigation initiated by Kofi Annan should instead have been referred to UN's independent watchdog agency. The report issued was called by the secretary general a "second interim report" in his statement reported in the New Zealand Herald. The commission will issue its final report in the northern hemisphere summer of 2005. While Kofi Annan was exonerated, two of his staff members, Iqbal Riza and Dileep Nair, were criticized by the report. Riza allegedly shredded documents related to the contracts under investigation after the secretary general ordered that they be retained. The New York Times said that Nair was "faulted for appointing a person to a high-level post with oil-for-food responsibilities who did almost no work on the program". According to the New York Times, the Secretary General said "I am deeply saddened by the evidence to the contrary that has emerged, and particularly by the fact that my son had failed to cooperate fully with the inquiry". The Guardian reports that Annan's son concealed from his father the fact that Cotecna continued to pay him for 6 years after "he left Cotecna in 1998". It was not clear from the Guardian report why Cotecna was paying Kojo Annan if he had indeed left the company. Asked whether he planned to step down as Secretary General, as called for by US Republican Senator Norm Coleman, among others, Kofi Annan responded, "Hell, no!" according to Ewen MacAskill of the Guardian, as well as an unattributed Sydney Morning Herald article. Senator Coleman continued to press forward with his criticism of Annan and calls for his resignation despite the report's findings.
WIKIPEDIA has banned members of the Church of Scientology from contributing to articles in a bid to stamp out biased information. The site's administrators allegedly decided to impose the ban after finding members of the church were changing articles related to Scientology to promote their interests. It is the first time Wikipedia has placed a ban on such a large group. In a long running internal review, the site’s Arbitration Committee voted 10 to nil in favour of banning contributions from all IP addresses known to be owned or run by the church. One member abstained from the vote. According to evidence found by Wikipedia, multiple users with known scientology IP addresses had been "openly editing (Scientology-related articles) from Church of Scientology equipment and apparently coordinating their activities". The administrators were concerned the edits were "damaging Wikipedia's reputation for neutrality". Wikipedia promotes the fact its articles are presented from a neutral point of view, and frowns upon users who edit the site "in order to promote their own interests". Individual users who caused mischief have been prevented from editing articles in the past, but this is the first time such a large-scale ban has been placed. The Register reported the ban was the first time administrators had officially placed a block on edits from such a large organisation. A spokesperson from the Church of Scientology's Sydney office said no Australian members would have been involved in editing the site. The Church of Scientology's Wikipedia entry is currently locked, preventing any edits. \|\|\|\|\| Wikipedia has banned the Church of Scientology and its members from editing its site after discovering that members of the church were editing articles in order to give the church favorable coverage. The move is being hailed as "an unprecedented effort to crack down on self-serving edits," and it is the first instance in which Wikipedia has banned a group as large as the Church of Scientology. The Register reports: According to evidence turned up by admins in this long-running Wikiland court case, multiple editors have been "openly editing [Scientology-related articles] from Church of Scientology equipment and apparently coordinating their activities." Leaning on the famed WikiScanner, countless news stories have discussed the editing of Scientology articles from Scientology IPs, and some site admins are concerned this is "damaging Wikipedia's reputation for neutrality." One admin tells The Reg that policing edits from Scientology machines has been particularly difficult because myriad editors sit behind a small number of IPs and, for some reason, the address of each editor is constantly changing. This prevents admins from determining whether a single editor is using multiple Wikipedia accounts to game the system. In Wikiland, such sockpuppeting is not allowed. The Wikicourt considered banning edits from Scientology IPs only on Scientology-related articles. But this would require admins to "checkuser" editors - i.e. determine their IP - every time an edit is made. And even then they may not know who's who. The case — the fourth Scientology-related dispute on the site in four years — opened in December 2008 and closed Thursday with the Wikipedia arbitration committee voting unanimously to block IP addresses associated with the Church from editing the site. "The purpose of Wikipedia is to create a high-quality, free-content encyclopedia in an atmosphere of camaraderie and mutual respect among contributors," part of the decision read. "Use of the encyclopedia to advance personal agendas - such as advocacy or propaganda and philosophical, ideological or religious dispute - or to publish or promote original research is prohibited." "Editors who access Wikipedia through an organization's IP address and who edit Wikipedia articles which relate to that organization have a presumptive conflict of interest," it continued. "Regardless of these editors' specific relationship to that organization or function within it, the organization itself bears a responsibility for appropriate use of its servers and equipment. If an organization fails to manage that responsibility, Wikipedia may address persistent violations of fundamental site policies through blocks or bans." Story continues below advertisement Scientology, the committee concluded, is so controversial a subject that it requires special oversight for the site's purposes: 3.0) This longstanding dispute is a struggle between two rival factions: admirers of Scientology and critics of Scientology. A) Editors from each side have gamed policy to obtain advantage and disputes have spilled over into, for example, articles for deletion, the reliable sources noticeboard, the conflict of interests noticeboard, and sometimes the administrators' noticeboard. B) Aggravating factors have been (i) the presence of editors openly editing from Church of Scientology equipment and apparently coordinating their activities; and (ii) the apparent presence of notable critics of Scientology, from several Internet organisations, apparently editing under their own names and citing either their own or each other's self-published material. C) Each side wishes the articles within this topic to reflect their point of view and have resorted to battlefield editing tactics, with edits being abruptly reverted without any attempt to incorporate what is good, to maintain their preferred status quo. D) The worst casualties have been biographies of living people, where attempts have been repeatedly made to slant the article either towards or against the subject, depending on the point of view of the contributing editor. E) However, this problem is not limited to biographies and many Scientology articles fail to reflect a neutral point of view and instead are either disparaging or complimentary. Read the full decision here. \|\|\|\|\| Wikioperating Thetan Level Zero Hitachi IT Operations Analyzer - 30-day free trial Exclusive In an unprecedented effort to crack down on self-serving edits, the Wikipedia supreme court has banned contributions from all IP addresses owned or operated by the Church of Scientology and its associates. Closing out the longest-running court case in Wikiland history, the site’s Arbitration Committee voted 10 to 0 (with one abstention) in favor of the move, which takes effect immediately. The eighth most popular site on the web, Wikipedia bills itself as "the free encyclopedia anyone can edit." Administrators frequently ban individual Wikifiddlers for their individual Wikisins. And the site's UK press officer/resident goth once silenced an entire Utah mountain in a bizarre attempt to protect a sockpuppeting ex-BusinessWeek reporter. But according to multiple administrators speaking with The Reg, the muzzling of Scientology IPs marks the first time Wikipedia has officially barred edits from such a high-profile organization for allegedly pushing its own agenda on the site. The Church of Scientology has not responded to our request for comment. Officially, Wikipedia frowns on those who edit "in order to promote their own interests." The site sees itself as an encyclopedia with a "neutral point of view" - whatever that is. "Use of the encyclopedia to advance personal agendas – such as advocacy or propaganda and philosophical, ideological or religious dispute – or to publish or promote original research is prohibited," say the Wikipowersthatbe. Admins may ban a Wikifiddler who betrays an extreme conflict of interest, and since fiddlers often hide their identity behind open proxies, such IPs may be banned as a preventative measure. After today's ruling from the Arbitration Committee - known in Orwellian fashion as the ArbCom - Scientology IPs are "to be blocked as if they were open proxies" (though individual editors can request an exemption). According to evidence turned up by admins in this long-running Wikiland court case, multiple editors have been "openly editing [Scientology-related articles] from Church of Scientology equipment and apparently coordinating their activities." Leaning on the famed WikiScanner, countless news stories have discussed the editing of Scientology articles from Scientology IPs, and some site admins are concerned this is "damaging Wikipedia's reputation for neutrality." One admin tells The Reg that policing edits from Scientology machines has been particularly difficult because myriad editors sit behind a small number of IPs and, for some reason, the address of each editor is constantly changing. This prevents admins from determining whether a single editor is using multiple Wikipedia accounts to game the system. In Wikiland, such sockpuppeting is not allowed. The Wikicourt considered banning edits from Scientology IPs only on Scientology-related articles. But this would require admins to "checkuser" editors - i.e. determine their IP - every time an edit is made. And even then they may not know who's who. "Our alternatives are to block them entirely, or checkuser every 'pro-Scientology' editor on this topic. I find the latter unacceptable," wrote one ArbComer. "It is quite broad, but it seems that they're funneling a lot of editing traffic through a few IPs, which make socks impossible to track." And it may be a moot point. Most the editors in question edit nothing but Scientology-related articles. In Wikiparlance, they're "single purpose accounts." Some have argued that those editing from Scientology IPs may be doing so without instruction from the Church hierarchy. But a former member of Scientology's Office of Special Affairs - a department officially responsible "for directing and coordinating all legal matters affecting the Church" - says the Office has organized massive efforts to remove Scientology-related materials and criticism from the web. "The guys I worked with posted every day all day," Tory Christman tells The Reg. "It was like a machine. I worked with someone who used five separate computers, five separate anonymous identities...to refute any facts from the internet about the Church of Scientology." Christman left the Church in 2000, before Wikipedia was created. This is the fourth Scientology-related Wikicourtcase in as many years, and in addition to an outright ban on Scientology IPs, the court has barred a host of anti-Scientology editors from editing topics related to the Church. Many Wikifiddlers have vehemently criticized this sweeping crackdown. Historically, the site's cult-like inner circle has aspired to some sort of Web 2.0 utopia in which everyone has an unfettered voice. An organization editing Wikipedia articles where it has a conflict of interest is hardly unusual, and in the past such behavior typically went unpunished. But clearly, Wikipedia is changing. In recent months, the site's ruling body seems far more interested in quashing at least the most obvious examples of propaganda pushing. Scientology's banishment from Wikipedia comes just days after the opening of a (real world) trial that could see the dissolution of the organization's French chapter. ® \|\|\|\|\| Wikipedia has banned the Church of Scientology from editing its online encyclopaedia after a long-running dispute between the group and its critics. Any computer addresses "owned or operated" by the Church or associates linked to it have been blocked by the popular site. It follows attempts by supporters and those opposed to the group to "slant" the Scientology page, according to Wikipedia editors. The group are legally classified as a religion in the United States and have a slew of celebrity followers, including actors Tom Cruise and Will Smith. But others have used the Wikipedia site to allege Scientology is a cult. Some of those critics are also now barred from changing the group's page. "Each side wishes the articles within this topic to reflect their point of view and have resorted to battlefield editing tactics," a committee of senior Wikipedia editors said. "The worst casualties have been biographies of living people, where attempts have been repeatedly made to slant the article either towards or against the subject, depending on the point of view of the contributing editor." The committee voted to support the ban after a six-month arbitration process. A spokeswoman for Scientology, Karin Pouw, described some online entries as "hateful and erroneous". She added: "We hope all this will result in more accurate and useful articles on Wikipedia." Wikipedia is a free, multi-lingual online encyclopaedia which can be edited and added to by the public. \|\|\|\|\| Wikipedia blocks Scientology from altering entries SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) — Wikipedia has blocked the Church of Scientology from editing entries at the communally-crafted online encyclopedia due to an unrelenting battle over the group's image. A "longstanding struggle" between admirers of Scientology and critics of the group prompted Wikipedia on Thursday to bar online edits from computer addresses "owned or operated by the Church of Scientology and its associates." An array of editors believed to have taken sides in a Scientology public-image war at Wikipedia have also been barred from tinkering with topics related to the church. "Each side wishes the articles within this topic to reflect their point of view and have resorted to battlefield editing tactics," senior Wikipedia editors said in arbitration committee findings backing the decision. "The worst casualties have been biographies of living people, where attempts have been repeatedly made to slant the article either towards or against the subject, depending on the point of view of the contributing editor." A church spokeswoman downplayed the development, saying the Wikipedia arbitration committee is part of a routine process for handling conflicts at the website. "Do Scientologists care what has been posted on Wikipedia? Of course," said Karin Pouw. "Some of it has been very hateful and erroneous. We hope all this will result in more accurate and useful articles on Wikipedia." The Wikipedia committee described the editing clash as "ongoing and corrosive" with "persistent point-of-view pushing." "The corrosive atmosphere has resulted in normally neutral editors adopting polarized positions in countless minor sub-feuds," the committee said in written findings. "Sockpuppetry is rife." Sockpuppetry refers to creating alternative accounts to perpetrate mischief or fraud at the website. Listed among aggravating factors were coordinated Wikipedia edits made from Scientology computers and critics of the church citing self-published material to back entries. "Many Scientology articles fail to reflect a neutral point of view and instead are either disparaging or complimentary," the committee concluded. "Neutral editors entering this topic are frequently attacked from both sides and stand little chance of making progress until the key players disengage." Wikipedia warns that Scientology-related entries are "a hostile editing environment." Wikipedia prides itself on allowing anyone with an Internet connection to contribute or edit content. Wikipedia is one of the most-visited sites on the Internet. "What is really important is Wikipedia has stopped those involved in biased editing for the purpose of antagonism instead of information," Pouw said. "It's good from our perspective." The Church of Scientology and six of its French leaders went on trial on Monday in Paris on charges of organized fraud that could lead to an outright ban on the organization in France. Known for its Hollywood celebrity followers Tom Cruise and John Travolta, the group is in the dock in Paris for the second time in six years. The court is hearing a complaint from two women, one of whom alleges she was manipulated into handing over 20,000 euros (28,000 dollars) for costly Scientology products, such as an "electrometer" to measure mental energy. The second complainant alleges she was forced by her Scientologist employer to undergo testing and enroll in courses in 1998. When she resisted, she was fired. The plaintiffs' lawyers argue that Scientology resorts to harassment and pressure to rein in victims who show signs of vulnerability. The Scientology Celebrity Centre in Paris, its director Alain Rosenberg and five other top officials are accused of preying on fragile followers "with the goal of seizing their fortune by exerting a psychological hold." The group's spokeswoman in France has rejected the accusations, insisting that Scientology was a legitimate religion being "hounded" in French courts because it advocated new ideas. Founded in the United States in 1954 by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, the Church of Scientology is officially recognized as a religion here for tax purposes. Politicians in some European countries including France, Germany, Greece and Russia have accused the movement of exploiting its members financially. The movement claims a worldwide membership of 12 million. Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »	Contributors to ''Wikipedia'', the self-described free, online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, have voted to block the Church of Scientology from editing the encyclopedia. The arbitration committee voted to block the Church with 10 supporting the ban and 1 against it. "All IP addresses owned or operated by the Church of Scientology and its associates, broadly interpreted, are to be blocked as if they were open proxies. Individual editors may request IP block exemption if they wish to contribute from the blocked IP addresses," a statement on ''Wikipedia's'' website explained. The ban comes after an arbitration case that lasted six months, beginning in December 2008. The case was opened after contributors discovered that the Church had been editing Scientology-related articles and removing or adding information to promote the Church's studies. "Editors have been openly editing articles related to Scientology from Church of Scientology equipment and apparently coordinating their activities," added ''Wikipedia''. The committee says that the edits were damaging ''Wikipedia's'' neutral point of view policy. A "host of anti-Scientologist editors" were also banned from working on ''Wikipedia's'' Scientology-related articles. The committee concluded that both sides had "gamed policy" and resorted to "battlefield tactics", with the encyclopedia's articles on living persons among the "worst casualties". Scientology spokeswoman Karin Pouw said some of the encyclopedia's articles had been "hateful and erroneous". She added: "We hope all this will result in more accurate and useful articles on Wikipedia." Scientology spokesman Tommy Davis said church members were only "confronting inaccuracies" on the internet: "The story that's being missed is there were people who were doing non-stop attacks on the church and using ''Wikipedia'' to do it. Those people have been banned." He said there had been no orchestrated campaign by church leaders to have members change ''Wikipedia'' articles: "The church is huge. Scientologists are going to say what they're going to say about their own religion."
mexico 11 Die in Army Helicopter Crash A Mexican army helicopter crashed during anti-narcotics operations in western Mexico on Friday, killing 11 soldiers. The Bell 212 helicopter went down about midday in a rural area in Michoacan state, a major front in the government's army-led war against drug cartels. Officials did not give the cause of the crash. "There are 11 men dead, including a colonel, and one soldier was injured," a spokesman for the state attorney general's office said. Eyewitnesses said they heard the aircraft's engine cut out as it tried to land. "The motor stopped and the helicopter plummeted to the ground," a resident said. China Dozens Arrested in Restive West Dozens of ethnic Tibetans have been arrested following a new protest in a restive region of western China, local residents and an activist group reported Friday. More than 100 ethnic Tibetans, including Buddhist monks and laypeople, were detained after Thursday's protest in Tongren county, Qinghai province, the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy reported. The demonstrators were calling for the release of detained Buddhist clergy. Anti-government protests have sprung up throughout Tibetan-populated areas of western China since demonstrations in Lhasa turned violent on March 14, leaving 22 dead by official count. thailand Premier Hails Olympic Torch The prime minister said Friday that Thais should be honored that the Olympic torch is passing through their country and that protesters would be "crazy and unreasonable" to disrupt the relay. The torch arrived in the morning under tight security and was whisked to a luxury hotel. Thailand's crown princess welcomed the flame, which runners are to carry through Bangkok on Saturday. \|\|\|\|\| Michoacan is a key battleground in the government's war on the drug trade Eleven Mexican soldiers have been killed in a helicopter crash during anti-drug operations in the western state of Michoacan. The Bell 212 helicopter went down around midday (1800 BST) near Uruapan. Eyewitnesses said they heard the engine cut out as it tried to land. Police have cordoned off the crash site and forensic officers are sifting through the wreckage. Michoacan is a major flashpoint in the government's war against drug cartels. "There are 11 men dead, including a colonel, and one soldier was injured," said a spokesman for the state attorney general's office. "The motor stopped and the helicopter plummeted to the ground," said local resident Agustin Vargas. Drug-related violence has become a serious issue across Mexico and since taking office in December 2006, President Felipe Calderon has sent some 25,000 soldiers and federal police to key areas to tackle the drug traffickers. Michoacan's hills and avocado fields are said to hide methamphetamine, or "crystal meth" labs, and landing strips for planes moving cocaine to the United States. \|\|\|\|\| Military helicopter crashes in Mexico, killing 11 MEXICO CITY (AP) — A military helicopter crashed in western Mexico on Friday, killing 11 soldiers and seriously injuring another, the Defense Department said. The soldiers, including an army major, were on their way to raid a marijuana field when their helicopter lost strength and crashed outside the city of Uruapan in the western state of Michoacan, the department said in a news release. It said only one soldier survived, and he was flown to a military hospital in Mexico City where he is in serious condition. The department said it is investigating what caused the crash. President Felipe Calderon has sent more than 20,000 soldiers and federal agents to several states, including Michoacan, to battle powerful drug cartels that have been fighting each other for territory. Drug-related violence has left thousands dead over the past few years.	German air ambulance is similar to the military variant that crashed. Eleven people have died after a military helicopter crashed during an anti-narcotics flight in Western Mexico. The Bell 212 went down near Uruapan in Michoacan. Michoacan is a major area in Mexico's anti-narcotics operations, which are conducted by the nation's military. The rotorcraft went down around midday. Police cordoned off the scene and forensic officers have moved in to examine the site. The Defense Department is investigating. A statement by the military confirmed the crash. "There are 11 men dead, including a colonel, and one soldier was injured," said a state attorney general's office spokesman. The wounded soldier, who was the sole survivor, was flown to a Mexico City military hospital, and remains there in a serious condition. Although authorities released no crash details, witnesses say the helicopter lost power during attempts to land. "The motor stopped and the helicopter plummeted to the ground," said one local resident named Agustin Vargas. The flight had been headed to a marijuana field with the intention of raiding it.
'); //--> E-Mail \| Comments \| E-Mail Newsletters \| RSS AFX News Limited Oil prices surge to new record highs on supply worries ahead of winter UPDATE (Updates prices, adds details) LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Oil prices surged to new record highs on ongoing worries over tightening supplies ahead of the northern hemisphere winter and escalating Middle East tensions. The US yesterday announced it is imposing new sanctions on Iran, including designating the Quds Force of the international arm of the Revolutionary Guards a supporter of terrorism. The move has renewed worries that Iran, the world's fourth largest crude producer, could eventually retaliate to sanctions by withholding oil sales to the West. Iran aside, tensions between Turkey and the Kurdish separatist rebels in northern Iraq are continuing, with Turkish forces saying they recently repelled a guerrilla attack near the Iraqi border. Iraq holds the world's third largest reserves of oil. Market participants are worried any possible supply disruptions in the region, either in Iraq or Iran, could worsen the already tightening supply side situation this winter. Weekly US government data released on Wednesday showed a huge 5.3 mln barrel decline in the country's crude inventories, sparking the current rally to new record highs. Analysts were expecting crude stocks to rise by around 1 mln barrels. 'The market has advanced on continuing fears that the winter will see greater tightness in the market, a fear heightened by Wednesday's shocking EIA numbers,' said Bank of Ireland (nyse: IRE - news - people ) analyst Paul Harris (nyse: HRS - news - people ). He added that the current disruption to Mexican oil exports on account of bad weather is prompting concerns next week's data will show even more inventory declines. At 11.01 am, London's benchmark Brent crude contracts for December delivery were up 24 cents at 87.76 usd per barrel, having earlier hit an all-time record of 89.30 usd. Meanwhile, New York crude contracts for December delivery rose 47 cents to 90.87 usd per barrel, having earlier surged to 92.22 usd, their highest ever level. Oil prices have risen some 6 usd since the release Wednesday of US inventory data. Before that, prices had been declining for four days running on concerns over slowing US economic growth. While those concerns remain in the background, they have been somewhat overshadowed by speculation the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week in a bid to prop up the ailing US economy. The rate cut speculation has also served to weaken the dollar further. The currency hit a new record low against the euro earlier today, making dollar-denominated oil cheaper for holders of other currencies. 'Growing belief that the Fed will cut rates next week, precipitating fresh dollar lows, will see oil well supported and testing new highs next week,' said Bank of Ireland's Harris. Meanwhile, the dollar weakness has prompted OPEC officials such as secretary general Abdullah al-Badri to state that high oil prices are not a result of too little supply. The comments have sparked worries that the cartel, supplier of more than a third of the world's crude oil, will not agree to raise output further at its summit in Saudi Arabia next month. The cartel agreed last month to raise output by 500,000 bpd from Nov 1, and recent data from tanker tracking agencies shows it has already implemented these output hikes. Nevertheless oil prices continue to surge higher, with analysts saying even if the cartel agrees to raise production again in November, prices could continue rising. OPEC only has about 2 mln bpd of spare capacity, meaning were it to raise output again by, say, 500,000 bpd, it would be less and less able to soothe the market in the case of an unexpected supply disruption. maytaal.angel@thomson.com ma/slm//cmr COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News. Neither the Subscriber nor AFX News warrants the completeness or accuracy of the Service or the suitability of the Service as a trading aid and neither accepts any liability for losses howsoever incurred. The content on this site, including news, quotes, data and other information, is provided by AFX News and its third party content providers for your personal information only, and neither AFX News nor its third party content providers shall be liable for any errors, inaccuracies or delays in content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. More On This Topic Companies: IRE \| HRS Article Controls E-Mail \| Comments \| E-Mail Newsletters del.icio.us \| Digg It! \| My Yahoo! \| Share \| RSS Related Sections Home > News & Analysis '); //--> News Headlines \| More From Forbes.com \| Special Reports Subscriptions > \|\|\|\|\| '); //--> E-Mail \| Comments \| E-Mail Newsletters \| RSS AFX News Limited Oil crosses 91 dollars in Asian trade - UPDATE 2 SINGAPORE (Thomson Financial) - Crude oil briefly topped 91 dollars in Asian trade Friday on rising tensions in the Middle East following Turkey's military threat against Kurdish rebels in Iraq and new US sanctions on Iran. At 10.00 am (0200 GMT) New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in December, was up 42 cents at 90.88 dollars a barrel after closing at 90.46 dollars in US trading overnight. It touched a new all-time high of 91.10 dollars earlier in Asia. Brent North Sea crude for December was up 52 cents at 88 dollars, also breaking records set in London overnight. Oil prices are 'being supported by an increase in geopolitical tensions and also market developments,' Australia's Commonwealth Bank said in a market commentary. 'The US has announced that it is imposing new sanctions on Iran,' it said. 'Oil markets also continued to have an eye on developments related to the current tensions between Turkey and Kurd rebels in Iraq,' it said. On Thursday, Turkish leaders lent extra weight to their threat of a military incursion against Kurdish separatists holed up in northern Iraq. Many of Iraq's oilfields are located in the north and any conflict with Turkey could disrupt supplies, analysts said. Commonwealth Bank said the market was also reacting to a sharp decline in US energy inventories last week which came ahead of the northern hemisphere winter, when demand for heating fuel peaks. US energy supplies are closely monitored because the United States is the world's biggest energy consumer. afp/ms ms COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News. Neither the Subscriber nor AFX News warrants the completeness or accuracy of the Service or the suitability of the Service as a trading aid and neither accepts any liability for losses howsoever incurred. The content on this site, including news, quotes, data and other information, is provided by AFX News and its third party content providers for your personal information only, and neither AFX News nor its third party content providers shall be liable for any errors, inaccuracies or delays in content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. More On This Topic Article Controls E-Mail \| Comments \| E-Mail Newsletters del.icio.us \| Digg It! \| My Yahoo! \| Share \| RSS Related Sections Home > News & Analysis '); //--> News Headlines \| More From Forbes.com \| Special Reports Subscriptions > \|\|\|\|\| Traders are watching developments on the Turkish border US light sweet crude rose $3.36 to $90.46 a barrel by close of trade in New York, having traded as high as $90.60 earlier in the day. Meanwhile London Brent closed $3.11 higher at $87.48, Tensions along the Iraqi border between Turkey and Kurdish rebels have also played a part in the price rally. US crude oil stocks fell by 5.3 million barrels last week, government data showed, when analysts had been expecting a rise in inventory. Prices had retreated from last week's high, after concerns about the health of the US economy and expectations of more output from Opec. A weaker US dollar makes oil a more attractive investment for holders of other currencies. Despite the surge members of oil producing cartel Opec said they would stick to existing production targets. The group has already said it would increase production by 500,000 barrels a day starting from 1 November, but the US is calling for an additional rise. Eric Wittenauer of AG Edwards said: "I think this is a continuation of yesterday's rally off the surprisingly bullish inventory release." Since the start of 2002, oil prices have increased more than four-fold, and in the period since January, the rise has been around 45%.	Oil has risen to a new all-time record high during trading in Asia, passing US$91.10 at 10:23 p.m. on October 25 (eastern time). In electronic trading at the NYMEX Crude Futures in the United States touched a record price of, at US$92.22, according to ''Bloomberg'', setting another record all-time high. On the IntercontinentalExchange Brent Crude futures reached US$89.30 (basis December) as of 8:34 a.m.. NYMEX Crude closed at $91.86, while ICE Brent closed at $88.69, at the conclusion of Friday's trading. The raise come when the United States announced that it had an "unexpected loss" in the nation's stockpile of oil. The fear that Turkey may launch a large scale attack on Kurdish Militants inside Iraq is also being blamed for the raise in prices and the U.S. imposed more sanctions on Iran for continuing to enrich uranium. Australia's Commonwealth Banks states that the raise is "being supported by an increase in geopolitical tensions and also market developments. The US has announced that it is imposing new sanctions on Iran, Oil markets also continued to have an eye on developments related to the current tensions between Turkey and Kurd rebels in Iraq." OPEC has agreed that by November 1, 2007, they will increase the amount of barrels of oil they produce by 500,000 barrels a day. The U.S. says that they would like that number increased.
NEW ULM, Minn. - The parents of a Minnesota boy who refused chemotherapy for his cancer told a judge Tuesday they now agree to the medical treatment, and the judge ruled their son can stay with them. Daniel Hauser, 13, has Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He and his mother missed a court appearance last week and left the state to avoid chemotherapy and seek alternative treatments. Colleen and Anthony Hauser told a Brown County District judge they now understand their son needs chemotherapy. When Judge John Rodenberg asked an emotional Colleen Hauser if she now believes chemotherapy is necessary to save her son’s life, she replied, “Yes I do.” Daniel is scheduled for a round of chemotherapy on Thursday at Children’s Hospital and Clinics of Minnesota. Daniel and Colleen returned to Minnesota on Monday after almost a week on the run. Dr. James Joyce evaluated Daniel at the family’s home in Sleepy Eye, and then made an appointment for Daniel to see an oncologist. That exam showed a tumor in Daniel’s chest has grown — and is larger than it was when he was diagnosed in January, according to a medical report read in court by Rodenberg. The tumor is pushing against Daniel’s trachea, causing pain that Daniel rated as a 10 on a scale of one to 10. “The doctor is stating in the strongest possible terms that this course of chemotherapy has to commence and commence soon,” Rodenberg said. Attorneys for Brown County Family Services and for the guardian ad litem objected to the judge’s ruling on custody, saying they wanted Daniel to stay in foster care. The judge had ruled earlier this month that Daniel would be placed in protective custody if his parents did not abide by a court order to see an oncologist. Video Mother to comply with court-ordered chemo May 26: After a week on the run to avoid court-mandated medical treatment for his cancer, 13-year-old Daniel Hauser returned home with his mother to Minnesota, where they agreed to continue with the boy's chemotherapy treatments. NBC's Kevin Tibbles reports. Nightly News “I do not see why the court would consider a change in custody status,” said Tom Sinas, attorney for the guardian ad litem. “The only thing that has happened since we were last here is that Colleen Hauser fled the state with her son. I don’t see how that is the basis for revisiting the custody decision.” James Olson, the Brown County prosecutor, said social workers at Children’s Hospital told them that as recently as Monday, when Daniel saw the oncologist, the Hausers were still saying they didn’t want chemotherapy. “I am concerned that if Danny doesn’t like the second round of chemotherapy he’s going to say, ’I’m going to run away again,’ and we’re going to be right back where we started,” Olson said. “These folks have had a history of changing their minds.” Attorneys for the Hausers wanted Daniel to stay with his parents and seven siblings. “This family clearly loves and cares for Danny,” attorney Tom Hagen said. “The environment at the Hausers’ home is loving and caring. It is a healing place. Their main interest is in making sure Danny is OK.” Daniel did not appear in the courtroom Tuesday, but his court-appointed attorney, Philip Elbert, spoke on his behalf. He said Daniel has now had sufficient time to talk to a doctor and discuss the situation with his parents and Elbert. The attorney said Daniel wanted to schedule one chemotherapy session at a time and then be examined before doing the next one. The judge said they had to follow the course of treatment recommended by Children’s Hospital, which back in January was six rounds of chemotherapy, possibly followed by radiation. It’s not clear whether that course of treatment would still apply, given the change in Daniel’s tumor. Daniel underwent one round of chemotherapy in February, but stopped after that, citing religious beliefs. The family prefers natural healing practices suggested by a religious group called the Nemenhah Band, which says it follows American Indian beliefs. Rodenberg ruled earlier this month the parents medically neglected Daniel and ordered them to get him an updated chest X-ray as well as select an oncologist for a re-evaluation. After the X-ray showed a tumor in Daniel’s chest had grown, the mother and son left town. The FBI said the pair flew to Los Angeles a week ago, and returned early Monday. Hodgkin’s lymphoma has a 90 percent cure rate in children if treated with chemotherapy and radiation, but doctors said Daniel was likely to die without those treatments. “Danny loves his parents and they love him. He’s a fine boy, a very pleasant young man. I know he should be in the custody of his parents — as long as I’m satisfied they are going to follow the prescribed course of treatment,” Rodenberg said. Turning to Colleen and Anthony Hauser, Rodenberg said, “I’m taking you at your word. We’re starting over right now.” Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. \|\|\|\|\| Home Colleen and Daniel Hauser, who ended a dramatic weeklong manhunt Monday, were back at home this morning and facing a court hearing this afternoon to clarify Daniel's custody and the next steps in his medical care for Hodgkin's lymphoma. NEW ULM, MINN. -- Colleen and Daniel Hauser, who ended a dramatic weeklong manhunt Monday, were back at home this morning and facing a court hearing this afternoon to clarify Daniel's custody and the next steps in his medical care for Hodgkin's lymphoma. The Hausers returned home to Minnesota on a predawn charter flight after turning themselves in to authorities with the assistance of a lawyer in Southern California. Early reports said that Daniel, 13, was turned over to the custody of Brown County child protection workers. But he was seen by reporters late this morning riding a four-wheeler with his mother on the family’s farm in rural Sleepy Eye, heading across the road to their dairy farm. Calvin Johnson, an attorney for the teen's parents, said Daniel was in the company of Brown County child protection workers Monday and was having his cancer evaluated at a Twin Cities hospital. Daniel's parents were with him, Johnson said, and the boy was expected to return to the family home Monday night. A court hearing is expected to begin at 2:15 p.m. today in New Ulm to clarify Daniel's custody arrangement and determine the next steps in his medical care. Brown County Attorney James Olson said he doesn't expect to charge Colleen Hauser and said arrest warrants have been quashed because she voluntarily returned. The county attorney said the judge will want to know where the parents stand on chemotherapy treatment, which could influence his own course of legal action. Hodgkin's lymphoma was diagnosed in Daniel in January, and a Brown County judge ordered him into medical treatment earlier this month after his parents ceased his chemotherapy, citing religious and other objections. Doctors have testified that the boy has a 90 to 95 percent chance of surviving if he receives a recommended course of chemotherapy but only a 5 percent chance if he does not. In an extraordinary twist to the story, Colleen and Daniel's return was videotaped by a California film company, Asgaard Media, which arranged their charter flight back to Minnesota and made the video of their account available to authorities. Asgaard, whose principals are connected to the California alternative-health community, arranged Daniel's return through a California attorney named Jennifer Keller. The FBI and sheriff were kept posted on the arrangements. Keller said Colleen was worried about being arrested, so the private plane returned to New Ulm at 3 a.m. Teen 'was going to run away' In the video, Colleen Hauser said Daniel was going to run away from home last winter if forced to undergo more chemotherapy. He had one round of chemotherapy in February before his case mushroomed into a national story. "Danny was going to run away," Colleen Hauser said on the video. "Then what do I have? That just broke my heart." In an interview Monday night, Keller said Colleen Hauser told her that she believes chemotherapy is toxic and will ask a judge for permission to use alternative treatments. Colleen Hauser told Keller she would abide by whatever the court orders, including chemotherapy. "He appeared tired, but he was not in acute distress," said Keller, who met the Hausers on Sunday at her office in Irvine, Calif. Hoffmann would not comment on where Colleen and Daniel spent the past week, on whether Daniel received alternative cancer treatment and on who assisted the pair in their remarkable cross-country flight. Another California attorney, Susan Daya, had been seen with the Hausers in Minnesota last week and was listed in a nationwide crime alert issued by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Daya did not return phone calls late Monday. Olson said he expects all charges against Daniel's mother to be dropped, although a statement from Hoffmann's office indicated that charges could be brought against others connected to the case.	After being on the run for about a week, Daniel Hauser and his mother, Colleen, returned home to Minnesota to attend a court hearing and proceed with treatments for Daniel's cancer. The charges will be dropped against Colleen Hauser and her thirteen-year-old son Daniel who has Hodgkin's lymphoma after the pair fled a court order for chemotherapy. Jennifer Keller, an attorney from Orange County, California, assisted the arrangement for the Hausers to return. "She'll abide by what the court says," said Keller, "They always expected to return. She's horrified people perceive her as hiding out. That isn't what she intended. He wasn't in any acute distress. He was quite tired. He was very, very eager to get home." The court hearing scheduled for Tuesday afternoon in New Ulm, Minnesota will decide custody and medical care procedures. County Attorney James Olson said, "A lot depends upon the attitude of the parents, their willingness to get on board with a treatment plan." Daniel has only a five percent chance of survival without cancer chemotherapy treatments. Previous testimony revealed that Hodgkin's lymphoma which was diagnosed January has a 90 to 95% success rate for survival with chemotherapy. The voluntary return of Colleen and Daniel from California was videotaped and arranged by Asgaard Media which submitted the video to authorities. Daniel is in the care of Brown County protective custody services, but was allowed the night at the family farm in Sleepy Eye supervised by sheriff's deputies. He was seen at a Twin Cities hospital on their arrival Monday according to Tom Hagen, attorney for Collen and Anthony, Daniel's parents.
Inferno engulfs Istanbul airport ISTANBUL, Turkey (CNN) -- A massive fire that swept through a cargo area at Ataturk International Airport has been blamed on sparks from a welding operation. At 8 p.m., planes continued to drop water on the charred remains of the 20,000-square-meter (215,280-square-foot) facility to ensure the blaze was wholly extinguished. About 2,000 people were evacuated within minutes after the fire started at 3:30 p.m. (1230 GMT). Three suffered minor injuries, said Istanbul's deputy governor, Fikret Kasapogru. (Watch giant orange flames covered in smoke fill the sky -- 1:00) In addition to holding leather goods and textiles, the cargo area contained explosives and chemicals, which caused the fire to spread rapidly. At the height of the blaze, plumes of thick black smoke from the massive blaze billowed hundreds of meters into the air, darkening the sky above Istanbul. "People panicked when they saw the huge smoke. It was a close shave because it was so near to the international passenger terminal," Mustafa Alpa, a tour guide at the airport, told Reuters. But only one small runway was closed, and planes continued to take off and land at Turkey's largest airport, which is just outside the city. Working from air and ground, firefighters attacked the fire, which had also threatened a nearby hotel. Aided by wind blowing in the opposite direction, hundreds of firefighters worked to keep the flames away from a building near the cargo area that contained fuel tanks. An airport worker said computer systems were temporarily shut down, but flights continued, with workers using manual systems to check people in and out. Hundreds of people gathered along the perimeter of the airport to watch the scene. CNN Turk Producer Kaya Heyse said the fire was contained in the cargo section of the airport, although it briefly threatened a hotel near the airport. An airport worker said computer systems were shut down, but flights were continuing, with workers using manual systems to check people in and out. Priority was being given to landing planes and delays were expected for departures, she said. The general director of state airport authority, Mahmut Tekin, told Reuters the fire had been brought under control and that "there is no problem with air traffic but some flights are delayed." More than 10 million people live in Istanbul and the airport is the country's largest. \|\|\|\|\| Huge plumes of smoke blackened the sky Enlarge Image Three people were injured in the blaze, and an assessment of the damage could only begin once the area had cooled down, officials said. The authorities say a short circuit may have caused the fire. But a Kurdish separatist group said it had started it to protest against Turkish "massacres" against the Kurds. There is no confirmation of the claim sent by the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (Tak) to pro-Kurdish news agency Firat in the Netherlands. Ataturk airport, about 16km (10 miles) from central Istanbul, is the main destination for domestic and international flights - and serves as a hub for tourism in Turkey. Business as usual The fire broke out at about 1230 GMT and quickly erupted into an inferno of flames and plumes of smoke. British passenger Paul Collins said the black clouds and flames were twice the height of the building. He initially feared a plane had crashed, he added. But when he got inside the main passenger terminal - about 1km (0.6 miles) from the cargo area - he said that it seemed to be business as usual. "In the passenger terminal building, apart from a real feeling of apprehension around, nothing appears to have happened," he told the BBC. "It is bizarre watching it out the window as people are going about their business. "It is almost eclipse-like, it is so dark. There are lots of planes coming in and dumping water." All the workers of the cargo section - up to 2,000 people - made it out safely. Spark Occasional explosions were heard as the fire engulfed the cargo building. Fifty fire engines, planes and firefighters from the air force academy were all scrambled to deal with the emergency. ATATURK AIRPORT Turkey's largest airport On European side of city Domestic and international Modern international terminal opened in 2000 60,000 passengers a day 15.6 million passengers in 2004 Yellow firefighting planes, usually used to tackle forest fires, roared low over the building every few minutes carrying water to pour on the flames. Istanbul deputy governor Fikret Kasapoglu says no-one died in the fire and reports suggest just three people have sustained light injuries and smoke inhalation. Three warehouse buildings have burned to the ground. "There are various kinds of materials in there, flammable, explosive, so we have to be careful," Mr Kasapoglu said. But he added: "It was definitely not sabotage." In its claim, the Tak militants said: "The sabotage is a response to the policies of massacre followed by the Turkish state towards the Kurds. Turkish authorities have not commented on the claim. \|\|\|\|\| The fatal shooting of eight people at day spas in and around Atlanta have intensified fears in Asian-American communities that have been the target of attacks since the onset of the coronavirus. Six of the eight victims were Asian women. The 21-year-old suspect, Robert Aaron Long, has been charged with four counts of murder according to media reports.	A huge fire that started in the cargo area has engulfed part of Turkey's Atatürk International Airport in Istanbul. All flights to and from the airport have been diverted and major fire-fighting efforts are in progress. Hundreds of people have evacuated the area, which is about 1 kilometre away from the passenger terminal. A witness told Turkish news channel NTV that the blaze broke out in the cargo area of Terminal A, presumably due to an electrical spark, at around 12:30 UTC. The area in which the fire is raging is near the location of the fuel depots. Unconfirmed reports suggest that there were about 250 cargo-handlers present there but most of them seem to have escaped unharmed. Thirty metre high plumes of smoke are rising into the air and the billows can be seen from all over Istanbul, which indicates the severity of the inferno. Several fire engines and ambulances are rushing to the scene even as aircraft overhead try to douse the fire in an attempt to prevent it from spreading to a hotel nearby. The airport, incidentally, is located very close to a military hangar.
UNITED NATIONS, May 30 (Xinhua) -- The head of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) called on world leaders to make African women's health a priority on their development agenda, the UN said in a press release Friday. The health of African women is lagging behind the rest of the world, UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid said at the 4th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV), organized by Japan and the UN Development Programme. "Of all the Millennium Development Goals, goal number five - preventing women's deaths during pregnancy and childbirth - is generating the least resources and lagging the furthest behind. And African women are paying the price," Obaid said. She also called on all the world leaders "to make the health of women a political and development priority." In a related development at the summit, Japan announced a doubling of development assistance for Africa over the next five years. TICAD IV priorities include boosting economic growth, ensuring human security, securing achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, consolidation of peace and democratization and climate change. Japan said it will feed the results of the summit into the G-8 meeting of leading industrialized nations, which will be held in Tokyo in July and chaired by Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda. \|\|\|\|\| 30 May 2008 YOKOHAMA, Japan – Stronger health systems, improved maternal and child health, and effective prevention of AIDS and other infectious diseases are essential to African development, more than 40 heads of State agreed today. These health priorities were highlighted in the action plan adopted at the close of a three-day summit here hosted by Japan. Some 86 countries were represented, along with many international organizations. Under the theme, “Towards a vibrant Africa: A continent of hope and opportunity”, the meeting sought ways to accelerate economic growth, achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), foster peace and good governance, and respond to environmental concerns and climate change. Participants adopted a Yokohama Declaration and Action Plan for addressing these issues. For UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, the attention given to reproductive health issues was heartening. Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda announced that Japan would double its bilateral development assistance to Africa by 2012, train 100,000 African health workers and increase its support to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. He also identified population as a critical concern for Africa’s development, and offered assistance in improving maternal and child health. United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro told the plenary that “Africa as a region is lagging” in efforts to achieve the MDGs by 2015. She reported that an MDG Africa Steering Group of international development partners had identified key investments needed in agriculture, education, health systems, child survival, transport, energy, water and sanitation, and broadband connectivity. Elaborating on these recommendations at a press conference, Ms. Migiro singled out preventing women’s deaths during pregnancy and childbirth – MDG 5 – as particularly challenging. “Reducing maternal mortality lies at the heart of implementation to achieve all the other goals,” she said. “Of all the Millennium Development Goals, MDG 5 is generating the least resources and lagging the furthest behind. And African women and families are paying the price,” UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid stressed in a session on achieving the goals. She called on all leaders “to make the health of women a political and development priority”. Citing last year’s Maputo Plan of Action on reproductive health, the Yokohama Action Plan calls for universal access to reproductive health services and an increase in the proportion of African women who give birth with skilled assistance to 75 per cent in five years. Trained midwives currently attend fewer than half of all deliveries in the region. “African leaders and their development partners have recognized that investing in women and reproductive health is critical to successful development,” Ms. Obaid said after the action plan was adopted. “UNFPA is ready to help put this commitment into practice.” The Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development continued a 15-year policy dialogue between Africa and its development partners to foster Asia-Africa trade, investment and technical cooperation. TICAD IV — co-organized by the Government of Japan, the United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Africa, the United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank — sought to promote scaled up investments in health, education, agriculture and food security, infrastructure, trade facilitation and national statistical capacity; more predictability in development assistance; and better collaboration in support of African countries’ efforts to achieve the MDGs. * UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is an international development agency that promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. UNFPA supports countries in using population data for policies and programmes to reduce poverty and to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, every young person is free of HIV/AIDS, and every girl and woman is treated with dignity and respect. \|\|\|\|\| 30 May 2008 The health of African women is lagging behind the rest of the world, and leaders should move the issue to the top of their agenda, according to the head of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). “Of all the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), goal number five – preventing women’s deaths during pregnancy and childbirth – is generating the least resources and lagging the furthest behind. And African women are paying the price,” UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid said today. Ms. Obaid was speaking today at the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV), a joint process between Japan and the UN Development Programme (UNDP). She called on all leaders “to make the health of women a political and development priority.” In a related development at the summit, Japan announced a doubling of development assistance for Africa over the next five years. “In the future, Africa will become a powerful engine driving the growth of the world,” Prime Minister of Japan Yasuo Fukuda said at the opening of the conference. Mr. Fukuda pledged that Japan would offer up to $4 billion of loans to assist African countries boost infrastructure and agriculture, and he also announced the creation of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation Facility for African Investment, which would extend $2.5 billion in financial support. “The theme of the Conference very much captures the impressive achievements of many African countries,” said UNDP Administrator Kemal Dervis. “In terms of overall economic progress, average annual economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa has been above five per cent since 2004, reaching 6 per cent in 2007 – one percentage point higher than the world average.” Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro stated that “with a concerted drive by African governments and their development partners, we can accomplish these goals for a better world.” TICAD IV priorities include boosting economic growth, ensuring human security, ensuring achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), consolidation of peace and democratization and climate change. Japan will feed the results of the summit into the G-8 meeting of leading industrialized nations, which will be held in Tokyo in July and chaired by Mr. Fukuda. \|\|\|\|\| 26 May 2008 TOKYO—UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, has urged leaders gathering for the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV) to commit to swifter action to end maternal death and promote women’s rights, to speed up poverty reduction in Africa. TICAD IV will be held in Yokohama, Japan, from Wednesday to Friday. This call to action was made by UNFPA’s Executive Director, Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, who warned that Africa will not be lifted out of poverty and the Millennium Development Goals will not be achieved unless the lives, health and rights of women were promoted more vigorously and fulfilled. “It pays to invest in women–for their families, their communities and their nations,” said Ms. Obaid. “Only when women are healthy, educated and empowered can they lift their families and their nations from the depths of poverty to prosperity.” The Executive Director also hailed the announcement by Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda to double Japan’s official development assistance to Africa by 2012. She expressed hope that more of the funds would be allotted to maternal health. “This action by Japan is a welcome leap,” she added. “I urge other nations to follow this lead.” TICAD IV is organized by Japan’s Government along with several partners. It will bring together African heads of State and Government and leaders of international organizations to discuss concrete ways to promote Africa’s economic growth, ensure human security and address climate change. TICAD holds summits every five years. TICAD IV is expected to adopt the Yokohama Declaration and Plan of Action, which would be presented to the Group of Eight (G-8) Summit to be held in Japan in July. UNFPA urged Japan to make TICAD assistance to Africa even more comprehensive, especially by allotting a greater portion to educating and empowering women and youth, as well as to ensuring universal access to reproductive health. “UNFPA, for its part, is committed to intensifying action with partners to improve maternal health, enhance access to reproductive health and empower women,” said Ms. Obaid. “With stronger political will, more cooperation and funding, we can ensure a more vibrant Africa.” * UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is an international development agency that promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. UNFPA supports countries in using population data for policies and programmes to reduce poverty and to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, every young person is free of HIV/AIDS, and every girl and woman is treated with dignity and respect.	The United Nations (UNFPA) organization United Nations Population Fund emphasized the importance of women's health in Africa at the 4th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV). Priorities of the conference include economic growth, peace and democracy and climate change. The three-day conference which ended Friday included representatives from over 80 countries. Prime Minister of Japan Yasuo Fukuda At the conference in Yokohama, Japan, over 40 heads of State agreed on health priorities adopted at the end of the three-day summit. The theme of the conference was "Towards a vibrant Africa: A continent of hope and opportunity", and approximately 86 countries were represented, as well as international organizations. The Yokohama Action Plan prioritizes universal access to reproductive health services and an increase in the number of African women who give birth with skilled assistance. Japanese Prime Minister of Japan Yasuo Fukuda announced steps which would be taken by his country to further health conditions in Africa, including: increasing funding to The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, training 100,000 African health workers, and doubling the country's bilateral development assistance to Africa by 2012. "In the future, Africa will become a powerful engine driving the growth of the world," said Mr. Fukuda at the start of the conference. The Prime Minister said Japan would offer up to US$4 billion in loans to African countries to go towards agriculture and infrastructure. He announced the formation of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation Facility for African Investment, which will provide $2.5 billion in financial assistance. United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro cited priority 5 of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) - preventing women's deaths during pregnancy and childbirth as a serious challenge. "Reducing maternal mortality lies at the heart of implementation to achieve all the other goals," said Migiro. UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid told conference participants that women's health in Africa should be made a priority. "Of all the Millennium Development Goals, goal number five - preventing women's deaths during pregnancy and childbirth - is generating the least resources and lagging the furthest behind. And African women are paying the price," she said. Obaid urged world leaders "to make the health of women a political and development priority". TICAD holds summits every five years, and is a joint program between Japan and the United Nations Development Programme. Japan will report the conference results at the Group of Eight (G8) meeting in Tokyo in July, which will be chaired by Prime Minister Fukuda.
Click here for terms and conditions All prices carried by BBC News Online enjoy indicative status only. The BBC accepts no responsibility for their accuracy or for any use to which they may be put. All share prices and market indexes delayed at least 15 minutes, NYSE 20 minutes. \|\|\|\|\| Update The US Senate has passed a revised $US700 billion ($890 billion) financial bail-out bill, bringing the rescue plan one step closer to final passage. The vote was expected to send a positive signal to global markets that there may be some systemic relief to the crisis that has ensnared global banking, threatening the world's economy. The initial response in Australia, though, was weak, with the benchmark S&P/ASX-200 share index sliding more than 0.5%, before eventually seesawing back into the black in afternoon trade. The Australian dollar also slumped to below 79 US cents as investors ignored the biggest monthly trade surplus in more than 11 years. Final passage of the US plan, however, needs support in the US House of Representatives, which sent shockwaves through global markets this week by rejecting an earlier version of the bail-out proposal. A House vote may come as early as Friday, US time. President George Bush, along with Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and Fed Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, is anxious for the bail-out to be passed, to avert further corporate failures and restore some calm to financial markets. The plan for the US Treasury to buy up billions of dollars in bad debts has run into a popular revolt by US voters who pressured the Congress to reject the bill just weeks ahead of presidential and congressional elections. The bill today passed easily through the Senate after it was strongly backed by the leadership of both the Republican and Democratic parties. The vote was 74 to 25 against. The Senate vote comes after the global banking system has been plunged into crisis with a string of corporate failures claiming some of the largest US financial firms including Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and American International Group. Market view Traders in Australia were divided over the impact of the Senate's vote. "I don't think it's enough to fix to the system," Rick Klusman, head of institutional trading at Aequs Securities. "I don't think the bill is enough to fix the problem." The string of corporate failures has created a loss of confidence in the market, which will take years to repair, he said. Stockbroker Alex Moffatt, of Joseph Palmer & Sons expressed guarded optimism for the effect of the bill's passage. The legislation today would encourage investors, however, the fate of the bail-out was far from clear. "It's a good thing but it still has to go through Congress," he said. Regarding the local market, Mr Moffatt noted the thin volumes: "This is one step along the way. And it's no guarantee it's going to fix it." US market futures were also less than cheered by the Senate vote. The Dow Jones futures were pointing to a fall of about 0.7% for the Dow Jones Industrial Average when the markets reopen in the US later today, according to Bloomberg. Australian trade figures for August, though, delivered some positive news. Rising prices and volumes for exports commodities including coal delivered a trade surplus of $1.36 billion for the month, the second surplus for the year, and the best result since June 1997. Analysts had been predicting a surplus of $200 million for the month, according to Bloomberg data. Imports, though, fell 2%, an indication of cooling demand in the domestic economy. Senate adds sweeteners The Senate vote is likely to add momentum to the push to pass the plan into law before the weekend. The package had been enhanced with several sweeteners including extending tax cuts for business and for the renewable energy industry and an increase in the insurance limits on bank deposits from $US100,000 to $US250,000. Stockbroker Alex Moffatt, of Joseph Palmer & Sons expressed guarded optimism for the effect of the bill's passage.The legislation today would encourage investors, however, the fate of the bail-out was far from clear."It's a good thing but it still has to go through Congress," he said.Regarding the local market, Mr Moffatt noted the thin volumes: "This is one step along the way. And it's no guarantee it's going to fix it."US market futures were also less than cheered by the Senate vote. The Dow Jones futures were pointing to a fall of about 0.7% for the Dow Jones Industrial Average when the markets reopen in the US later today, according to Bloomberg.Australian trade figures for August, though, delivered some positive news. Rising prices and volumes for exports commodities including coal delivered a trade surplus of $1.36 billion for the month, the second surplus for the year, and the best result since June 1997.Analysts had been predicting a surplus of $200 million for the month, according to Bloomberg data. Imports, though, fell 2%, an indication of cooling demand in the domestic economy.The Senate vote is likely to add momentum to the push to pass the plan into law before the weekend.The package had been enhanced with several sweeteners including extending tax cuts for business and for the renewable energy industry and an increase in the insurance limits on bank deposits from $US100,000 to $US250,000. Senators also retained the limits of "golden parachute'' severance payments to disgraced Wall Street executives, which were not in the original Bush administration plan. Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell said he was hopeful the Senate vote would prompt the House to follow suit. "I think a good vote coming out of the Senate will certainly be helpful over in the House side," he said. But it is still uncertain whether the bill has the numbers in the House of Representatives. It is now not expected to vote until Friday US time (Saturday Australian time), a sign that the leaders are still struggling to persuade 12 lawmakers to change their minds. On Monday, the House stunned the markets by rejecting the package 228-205. Unlike the Senate, where only one third of the 100 senators are facing re-election, the entire House must face the electorate in November.	Stock markets around the world have fallen dramatically today. This is following the ongoing events in the financial world, including the US Government's $700 billion bail out of the financial sector. As of 14:48 UTC, the primary UK index, the FTSE 100, dropped in value by 6.50% (323.65 points) to a point even further below the 5000 mark at 4656.60. The Dow Jones, was down 3.76% at 16:08 UTC, a slight increase from earlier today. The Dow Jones currently has a value of 9936.94 points, below the ten thousand mark. The Nasdaq index has fallen by 100.12 points to 1847.27, while the DAX was 6.62% lower than the start of the day as of 16:08 UTC. The Dow Jones index was one that fared particularly poorly today, as not one of its companies increased its share price. The same is true for the CAC 40 index. The Merval index is another one that fared badly today. It dropped in value by 10.12%, while the affiliated Merval 25 index dropped by nearly as much, 10.03%. One of the worst faring indexes of the day was the Brazilian Bovespa index. It has already fallen by 14.45% today, despite the fact that it is not even half way through the trading day. ===Market data=== }
Beijing - North Korea no longer wants direct talks with the United States to ease the nuclear standoff, China's official Xinhua News Agency on Saturday cited a North Korean foreign ministry spokesperson as saying. The unnamed spokesperson also reportedly reiterated the communist regime's refusal to resume six-party nuclear disarmament talks. "The DPRK has no justification to take bilateral talks... on the nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula with the United States now," Xinhua quoted the North Korean official as saying. DPRK is the acronym for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The spokesperson said Pyongyang was unwilling to hold direct talks with Washington because of an alleged hostile US policy toward North Korea and its alleged persistence in trying to topple the communist regime, Xinhua said. The spokesperson also repeated Pyongyang's announcement that it would "suspend its participation in the six-party talks for an indefinite period," Xinhua said. North Korea said last week it was boycotting the talks until Washington abandoned what it called a hostile policy toward the North. It also made the claim that it had nuclear arms. The announcement posed a further setback to continued attempts to hold disarmament negotiations with the isolated Stalinist regime. A North Korean diplomat last week reportedly requested direct talks with Washington as a way out of the impasse - a move the White House rejected. The spokesperson said North Korea wanted to "solve the nuclear issue through dialogue and negotiations" but it was not clear from the Xinhua report who Pyongyang was willing to hold talks with. Restarting the six-country talks has taken on greater urgency since North Korea's claim that is has nuclear weapons. China has hosted three inconclusive rounds of six-nation talks since 2003. North Korea refused to attend a fourth round, scheduled for last September. The talks involve the two Koreas, the United States, China, Russia and Japan. A top Communist Party official, Wang Jiarui, arrived in Pyongyang on Saturday for talks aimed at bringing North Korea back to the negotiating table. Washington hopes Beijing - Pyongyang's last major ally - will use its economic influence over North Korea to get it to stop developing nuclear weapons. China is an indispensable source of fuel and trade for the impoverished North. - Sapa-AP \|\|\|\|\| Officials: At least three businesses damaged in late-night fire No one was inside at the time and no injuries were reported in the blaze, fire and police officials said. 7:23 AM LI pizza chain opens new location in Oyster Bay It's the smallest location to date, but the menu remains nearly as big. Georgia massage parlor shootings leave 8 dead; man captured Shootings at two massage parlors in Atlanta and one in the suburbs have left eight people dead, many of them women of Asian descent, authorities said. 7:42 AM Papers: Thomas Valva was bruised, had hair missing, walked with limp The new details of Thomas' physical condition were laid out in court documents filed in response to requests from defendants Michael Valva and Angela Pollina to have evidence in the case thrown out. Cold Spring Harbor brick Colonial asks $1.395M The home has a Vermont slate roof with copper gutters. Report: Cuomo staff prepared letter attacking credibility of accuser The New York Times said the governor was involved in preparing the letter after a former aide accused him of sexual harassment. The letter was never sent. Biden: Cuomo should resign if investigation confirms claims The pressure against Gov. Andrew Cuomo over sexual harassment allegations reached the White House on Tuesday, with President Joe Biden saying Cuomo should resign if the state attorney general's investigation confirms the claims against him.	Xinhua quoted an unnamed North Korean spokesman as stating that "The DPRK North Korean government has no justification to take bilateral talks... on the nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula with the United States now." North Korea has demanded that the United States end its perceived hostile policy toward North Korea before talks can begin again. Last week, North Korea claimed to have successfully developed , and pushed for two-party talks with the US. The US and China have pushed for multiple party talks. Though North Korea has not provided any substantial proof for its weapons claims—and has not performed the ceremonious "" usually required by declared nuclear powers to demonstrate their capability—US intelligence agencies believe that North Korea may have produced anywhere from two or three such weapons ('s guess) upwards to fifteen ('s guess). The estimates were made on the basis of the amount of the North Koreans would have been able to recover from their at .
James McFadden was the hero once again as Scotland took another step closer to defying all the odds and booking their place at Euro 2008. JeffJMitchell/GettyImages James McFadden fires home the third goal Kenny Miller and Lee McCulloch both bagged early goals against Ukraine before Andriy Shevchenko hauled the visitors back into the match and threw the outcome into doubt for the Group B leaders. It was left to McFadden - whose superb strike sealed a famous victory in France last month - to ensure another crucial victory as Alex McLeish's men edge ever closer to next summer's finals. The 3-1 win also ended Oleg Blokhin's faint hopes of guiding Ukraine to Austria and Switzerland. Scotland succumbed to a 2-0 defeat on a dark and dreary night in Kiev 12 months ago but this time around optimism radiated from the 51,336 crowd. The final strains of 'I Have a Dream' were still echoing around a packed Hampden when Scotland set about making the dream a reality. A hamstring injury meant Miller had celebrated the now famous win over France in a pub in Birmingham surrounded by jubilant members of the Tartan Army. This time, he made sure he was in the thick of the action. An Andriy Nesmachniy challenge on Scott Brown earned the Ukraine defender a yellow card and the home nation a free-kick in a dangerous area. McFadden whipped a tantalising ball into the box from the right flank and Miller did well to squeeze between two yellow shirts and nod home from inside the six-yard box with just three minutes gone. Ukraine attempted to hit back through Oleg Gusev, who embarked on a mazy run into the area before unleashing a shot which dipped just over the crossbar and drew gasps of relief from the home crowd. Relief then turned to delirium as Scotland doubled their advantage in the 10th minute. A free-kick was played short between Barry Ferguson and McFadden before skipper Ferguson hooked the ball into the path of Rangers club-mate McCulloch, who was on the left edge of the penalty area. The former Wigan man left goalkeeper Oleksandr Shovkovskiy flapping as he sent a delicious curling right-footed shot into the far top corner. Shevchenko then followed Nesmachniy into the referee's book for hacking down Brown, before pulling a goal back for Ukraine in the 24th minute. Nesmachniy caused havoc by punting into the Scotland box, Andriy Vorobei flicked on to Shevchenko and the Chelsea man gratefully rifled into the roof of the net. Scotland could have restored their two-goal lead 10 minutes before the break had Dutch referee Pieter Vink pointed to the penalty spot. Alan Hutton appeared to be tripped by Vorobei in almost exactly the same spot where Saulius Mikoliunas earned his now infamous penalty for Lithuania but there was to be no award this time. Seconds later Vorobei was cautioned for another foul on the Rangers full-back but the yellow card was scant consolation for the seething home supporters. There were then another two penalty claims - one for each side - before half-time. Shevchenko went to ground under pressure from Gary Naysmith, before McFadden looked to be tripped by Anatoliy Tymoschuk. Neither plea appeared to be as genuine as Hutton's but McCulloch's complaints earned him a costly booking which rules him out of Wednesday's qualifier in Georgia. Ferguson also went into the book. Ukraine attempted to crank up the pressure on their hosts in the second half and Andriy Voronin could have restored parity with a vicious 25-yard volley which fizzed inches wide of target just a few minutes after the restart. The experienced Christian Dailly - making his first appearance since the friendly in Austria back in May - was then thrust into the action in place of McCulloch after an hour, before Miller's snatched shot trundled wide. Instead, it was McFadden who once again sealed a memorable win for the Scots. Hutton was the provider with a cross from the right to the feet of the Everton striker who lashed home from just inside the area with 22 minutes remaining. Brown limped out of the action clutching his hamstring, before Garry O'Connor's yellow card ruled him out of the next match, meaning further selection problems for McLeish with the Georgia clash looming large in four days time. But, just at that moment, Scotland were determined to savour another important victory. Voice your opinion: SoccerNation Message Boards Click here to visit the Soccernet Store \|\|\|\|\| Scots bandwagon sweeps over Ukraine - Kenny Miller (left) celebrates with Barry Ferguson and Alan Hutton (©Getty Images) Photos/Wallpapers » Scotland remain on course to qualify for their first major tournament in a decade after a 3-1 home win against Ukraine kept them top of UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifying Group B. Welcome win A second victory over France, in Paris last month, had left Scotland in a fine position to reach their first finals since the 1998 FIFA World Cup, and Alex McLeish's team were quickly into their stride at Hampden Park thanks to early goals from Kenny Miller and Lee McCulloch. Although Andriy Shevchenko halved the deficit midway through the opening period, James McFadden made sure of the points to leave his side clear of Italy and France with two games to play and to effectively end Ukraine's slender qualification hopes. Spectacular start McLeish's men made the perfect start as two free-kicks brought reward inside the opening ten minutes. First, McCulloch's perfect delivery from the left was met by Miller, who headed past Olexandr Shovkovskiy at the near post in the fourth minute. Six minutes later provider turned scorer as Barry Ferguson's set-piece picked out McCulloch with time and space, and the Rangers FC midfielder duly curled in a beautiful shot. Shevchenko shock Ukraine, however, worked their way back into the contest and reduced the arrears in the 24th minute. The Scotland defence was unable to deal with Andriy Nesmachniy's left-wing cross, giving Shevchenko the chance the thump into the roof of the net from close range. The visitors continued to press for the remainder of the first period and the early part of the second, but without creating clear chances. McFadden clincher When a fourth goal did arrive, it was the home team who got it in the 68th minute as a typically driving run from Alan Hutton ended with a cross-field pass to McFadden, who controlled and drilled low past Shovkovskiy to score for the third successive qualifying game. Both sides are in action on Wednesday, when Scotland travel to Georgia and Ukraine take on the Faroe Islands. ©uefa.com 1998-2007. All rights reserved.	Scotland took a step closer to qualifying for Euro 2008 as a 3-1 win against Ukraine kept them top of Group B in UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying. The loss for Ukraine takes their tragic number down to 5 and could be officially be eliminated by the end of play at the end of the day. Scotland took a 2-goal lead in the 1st 10 minutes of the match with goals from and . Ukraine made things interesting when they pulled a goal back when scored off of 's left-wing cross in the 24th minute. secured the win in the 68th minute.
The Pope has been in frail health for several years The Vatican said he suffered a relapse of his flu condition. Reports say doctors are discussing whether to carry out surgery to help ease pressure on his inflamed windpipe. The 84-year-old Pope spent 10 days in the Gemelli Hospital earlier this month suffering throat spasms brought on by the flu. He went home on 10 February. The Pope seemed to have been recovering well, appearing twice at his Vatican study window to greet pilgrims. THE POPE'S ILLNESS 1 Feb: Rushed to hospital suffering from "breathing difficulties brought on by flu" 4 Feb: Health improving and he is eating normally, Vatican says 6 Feb: Appears at window of hospital room and reads the final lines of the Angelus blessing in hoarse voice 9 Feb: Misses Ash Wednesday services at the Vatican for first time in 26 years 10 Feb: Returns to Vatican in motorcade, waving to crowds 13 Feb: Appears at Vatican for Sunday blessing for first time since leaving hospital 22 Feb: Launches new book in which he compares abortion with the Holocaust 24 Feb: Returns to Gemelli hospital after suffering a relapse of his flu condition Gemelli: The Pope's hospital Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said the Pope had suffered a return of flu symptoms on Wednesday afternoon and was admitted to hospital for further specialist treatment and checks on Thursday morning. Italian media reports say doctors are considering performing a tracheotomy, where a small opening is cut into the neck and the windpipe so air can directly flow into the lungs. An official medical bulletin on his condition is not expected until Friday. Italian news agency Ansa said the Pope was conscious as he arrived at hospital. He is reported to have breathing difficulties and a fever. The BBC's Robert Pigott says the Vatican has been keen to show the Pope's health in the best possible light to dispel speculation he may not be able to continue in the role. He says the pontiff has looked frailer since his admission to hospital earlier this month. On Wednesday the Pope gave a "virtual" general audience, addressing thousands of pilgrims via a television link from his study. Ceremony missed Although he sounded hoarse, the 25-minute address was his longest public appearance since leaving hospital. HAVE YOUR SAY I hope the Holy Father will soon be well again Teresa, Cospicua, Malta Send us your comments It was the first time he had missed the ceremony, known as a consistory, in his 26 years as Pope. During his previous spell in hospital, he had also missed Ash Wednesday services at the Vatican for the first time while pontiff. At times in the past three years he has had difficulty completing speeches and tires very quickly during public appearances. The appearance of the pontiff, with his bent frame and trembling hands, sometimes shocks pilgrims who attend audiences at the Vatican. \|\|\|\|\| First public words since hospitalisation. Papal spokesman denies taping claims 08:03 AEDT Mon Feb 7 2005 AP - Pope John Paul II appeared at his hospital window on Sunday, frail and speaking with difficulty but determined to show he can still lead the Roman Catholic Church. The 10-minute appearance at an open window gave the public its first glimpse of the 84-year-old pontiff since his hospitalisation, which rekindled questions about his ability to carry on. He looked rested and alert, and a message read for him by an Argentine archbishop standing beside him seemed to respond to any doubts raised. "... In this hospital, in the middle of other sick people to whom my affectionate thoughts go out, I can continue to serve the church and the entire humanity," the message said. As well-wishers, many with tears in their eyes, gazed up at his 10th-floor window, John Paul gave his usual brief blessing. But his words, in a gravelly voice, were barely understandable. In the evening, papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls denied in a statement Italian media speculation that the pope's words were taped - not live. "Naturally, the words of the Holy Father in the blessing this morning were pronounced at the very moment in which we heard them," he said. "I think it's very touching because the Holy Father is not doing well and seeing his will to appear is moving," said Daniela Sgro, a 25-year-old Italian. "John Paul is a different pope," said Pilar Vizcaya, visiting Rome from Mexico. "He's very humane and has a big heart. Let's hope we can see him again in good health soon." The pope, who has Parkinson's disease and hip and knee ailments, was rushed to Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic last Tuesday with breathing trouble brought on by the flu. The Vatican has said he is steadily improving and that the next medical bulletin would be issued on Monday. Under heavy police security and with TV cameras broadcasting the images around the world, John Paul was seated by the window wearing his usual white robes, a tiny bandage visible on his right wrist and a reddish mark on his chin. Although no date for his release has been given, the pope's spokesman has suggested the hospital stay would last a week. A few kilometers from the hospital on St Peter's Square, where several thousand people gathered to see the pope on four giant video screens, cheers went up as his image appeared. When the pope is well, he gives his weekly blessing from a Vatican window overlooking the square. "To all and each of you I assure you of my gratitude, which is translated into a constant invocation of the Lord according to your intentions as also for the needs of the church and the great issues of the world," the pope said in the remarks read in Italian by Archbishop Leonardo Sandri. ©AAP 2005 \|\|\|\|\| His spokesman, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, said the 30-minute tracheotomy "was performed and completed positively". He said there was no immediate sign of complications. The Pope was recuperating in his hospital room late last night, breathing with the aid of a respirator, according to Italian media. The drastic nature of the surgery - during which a hole is made in the throat and a tube inserted - underlined the grave condition of the frail Pope, who suffers from Parkinson's disease. It also raised the question of whether such a sick man could continue to lead the world's one billion Roman Catholics. The tracheotomy will prevent him from speaking for more than brief periods and may require a prolonged hospital stay. Dr Navarro-Valls said the operation was needed to "assure the patient's adequate ventilation" and help tackle a persistent problem with the Pope's larynx. The 84-year-old pontiff was last admitted to hospital on February 2 suffering from laryngeal spasms that blocked the passage of air to his lungs. The Vatican's spokesman said that the decision to readmit the Pope was because of complications arising from influenza he caught last month. He said that in the last few days there had been a "renewal of bouts of acute respiratory insufficiency". Until yesterday morning, the Pope had seemed to be making a tentative recovery, appearing in public on two occasions.	Vatican officials say the pope has been readmited to hospital Pope John Paul II has been re-admitted to Rome's Gemelli Hospital with a relapse of influenza which saw him hospitalised earlier this month. He was wheeled into Gemelli Hospital on a partially elevated stretcher, and was waving to people as he entered the clinic. Later, Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro Valls announced that the pope had undergone a tracheotomy to assist his breathing. The Pope's re-admittance again raises questions about how long his papacy will last. One of his close aides refused to rule out the possibility of the Pope retiring saying it was up to his "conscience". The Pope has recently indicated that he has no intention of retiring by saying that the call "to guard his flock" was "particularly alive in him". The operation lasted around thirty minutes, and Navarro Valls said to media that it was a success.
WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland’s prime minister said on Wednesday his country could reach agreement with the United States in two weeks on a missile defence shield, but indicated he would not budge on tough conditions he has set for a deal. A long-rage ground-based missile silo is pictured July 17, 2007, at the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, where the United States is testing the missile defence shield. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel Washington signed an accord this week with Prague to install a tracking radar on Czech soil as part of the shield project, but Warsaw wants hefty U.S. investments to upgrade its air defences as a condition for hosting 10 interceptor missiles. Russia, which views the missile defence shield as a direct threat to its security, said it was “extremely upset” by the Czech deal and that it was considering how to retaliate. “The hard negotiating position presented by my government has a chance of succeeding. I am convinced that in the case of the missile shield the American side is beginning to understand our motives,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told reporters. “We are ready for final conclusions in two weeks, but the Polish point of view has to be respected.” Washington wants the shield to protect itself and its European allies against possible attack by what it calls “rogue states”, particularly Iran, or by terrorist groups. It says the shield is no match for Russia’s formidable military arsenal. But Warsaw is wary about further exacerbating already tense ties with Moscow, its former communist-era overlord, and also argues that hosting the interceptors would increase the risk of Poland being targeted by terrorists or rogue states. U.S. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said on Wednesday Washington wanted the interceptors sited in Poland but would consider other options if a deal proved elusive. “RETALIATORY STEPS” Critics of Tusk’s centre-right government, including Poland’s conservative President Lech Kaczynski, say it has overplayed its hand in the negotiations, putting at risk Warsaw’s traditionally very warm security ties with Washington. “(Russia’s reaction) proves we need to strengthen our alliance with the United States, because beyond our eastern border there are politicians who use a language we thought had vanished many years ago, the language of might and imperial ambitions,” top Kaczynski aide Michal Kaminski told reporters. Last week, Tusk rejected what had been billed as the final U.S. offer in the negotiations. The details of that proposal have not been made public, though Tusk has said it included putting Patriot batteries on Polish soil for one year. Some political analysts say Warsaw does not want an accord with a U.S. administration leaving office in less than a year. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski held talks in Washington this week with the two U.S. presidential candidates, John McCain and Barack Obama, after failing to end the deadlock on missile defence with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. McCain said Iran’s decision to test-fire nine missiles on Wednesday proved the need for a European missile defence shield. President Dmitry Medvedev reaffirmed Russia’s opposition to the shield plan during a summit of the Group of Eight leaders in Japan also attended by U.S. President George W. Bush. Asked about the Czech agreement, he said: “We will not be hysterical about this but we will think of retaliatory steps.” He did not specify what these measures might be but Moscow has said in the past it would point missiles at Poland and the Czech Republic if they went ahead with the shield deployment.. (Additional reporting by Washington bureau) \|\|\|\|\| Przed spotkaniem z prezydentem premier Donald Tusk zdementował doniesienia dziennika "Polska". Na swej stronie internetowej gazeta podała, że Amerykanie zerwali negocjacje z Polską, a rozpoczynają rozmowy z Litwą. - Absolutnie nie - stwierdził Tusk, pytany o to przez dziennikarzy.- Dysponuję wystarczającymi informacjami, żeby stwierdzić, iż rozmowy polsko-amerykańskie są poważnie traktowane przez obie strony - stwierdził szef rządu - Nie sądzę, by wariant litewski był dzisiaj prawdopodobny - zaznaczył.Premier podkreślił, że jednym z celów wizyty Radosława Sikorskiego w Stanach Zjednoczonych było kontynuowanie rozmów z Condoleezzą Rice oraz przedstawienie polskiego stanowiska kandydatom na prezydenta USA - Senator John McCain jednoznacznie potwierdził, że polski punkt widzenia jest wart rozważenia - powiedział Donald Tusk.- Jestem przekonany, że w sprawie tarczy strona amerykańska zaczyna rozumieć powody i motywacje, dla których tak mocno stawiamy kwestie polskiego bezpieczeństwa - podsumował premier. \|\|\|\|\| 22:18, 09.07.2008 /TVN24, PAP TUSK ROZMAWIAŁ Z KACZYŃSKIM Około 20.15 zakończyło się spotkanie premiera Donalda Tuska z prezydentem Lechem Kaczyńskim. Głównym tematem rozmowy miała być decyzja ws. tarczy antyrakietowej. - Negocjacje z USA trwają i nie ma mowy o ich zerwaniu – mówił przed wizytą w Pałacu Prezydenckim Donald Tusk. Po wizycie nie wydano żadnego oświadczenia. Tusk piechotą udaje się na spotkanie z prezydentem Twarde stanowisko, jakie zaprezentował mój rząd, ma szanse przynieść rezultaty. Osobiście jestem przekonany, że w sprawie tarczy strona amerykańska zaczyna rozumieć powody, dla których tak mocno stawiamy kwestie polskiego bezpieczeństwa Donald Tusk Twarde stanowisko, jakie zaprezentował mój rząd, ma szanse przynieść rezultaty. Osobiście jestem przekonany, że w sprawie tarczy strona amerykańska zaczyna rozumieć powody, dla których tak mocno stawiamy kwestie polskiego bezpieczeństwa Niestety Twoja przeglądarka nie obsługuje języka JavaScript. Strona amerykańska nie odstąpiła od rozmów z Polską. Nie ma problemu negocjacji ostatniej szansy. Tak poważny projekt wymaga ustaleń, do których w razie potrzeby będziemy dochodzili nawet miesiącami. Pośpiechu nie polecam Donald Tusk Strona amerykańska nie odstąpiła od rozmów z Polską. Nie ma problemu negocjacji ostatniej szansy. Tak poważny projekt wymaga ustaleń, do których w razie potrzeby będziemy dochodzili nawet miesiącami. Pośpiechu nie polecam Szef Centrum Informacyjnego Rządu Jacek Filipowicz powiedział PAP, że CIR nie przewiduje komunikatu po tym spotkaniu.Milczy również Kancelaria Prezydenta, która nie wydała żadnego oficjalnego komentarza po spotkaniu. Po zakończeniu rozmowy z premierem, prezydent nie opuścił natychmiast Belwederu. Krótko po tym, jak Donald Tusk wyjechał ze spotkania z nim, do Belwederu przyjechali szefowa prezydenckiej Kancelarii Anna Fotyga i prezydencki minister Michał Kamiński. Budynek opuścili około 22.Premier miał przedstawić prezydentowi stanowisko negocjacyjne rządu. Dopytywany przez dziennikarzy premier odparł, że negocjacje ws. tarczy nie polegają na rozmowach jego z prezydentem. - To nie są strony rozmów – podkreślił. Zaprzeczył też, jakoby Amerykanie zerwali rozmowy z Polską i rozpoczęli z Litwą.- Strona amerykańska nie odstąpiła od rozmów z Polską. Nie ma problemu negocjacji ostatniej szansy. Tak poważny projekt wymaga ustaleń, do których w razie potrzeby będziemy dochodzili nawet miesiącami. Pośpiechu nie polecam – stwierdził szef rządu.I dodawał: – Twarde stanowisko, jakie zaprezentował mój rząd, ma szanse przynieść rezultaty. Osobiście jestem przekonany, że w sprawie tarczy strona amerykańska zaczyna rozumieć powody, dla których tak mocno stawiamy kwestie polskiego bezpieczeństwa.Także wysoki przedstawiciel Departamentu Stanu odpowiedzialny za politykę europejską USA stanowczo zdementował wiadomość, jakoby rząd amerykański zerwał negocjacje. - To bzdura, wiadomość w stu procentach fałszywa. Nie przerwaliśmy rozmów. Spotkanie między sekretarz stanu Rice a ministrem Sikorskim było pozytywne i konstruktywne. Jesteśmy przekonani, że są perspektywy i jesteśmy gotowi negocjować dalej z Polską - powiedział dyrektor ds. Europy i Eurazji w Departamencie Stanu Daniel Fried.Zapytany, czy USA zmodyfikowały bądź gotowe są zmodyfikować tę ofertę, Fried sugerował, że administracja jeszcze nie podjęła decyzji w tej kwestii. - Polacy przekazali nam pewne pomysły. Myślimy o następnej fazie. Myślimy o następnych krokach po otrzymaniu tych koncepcji od Sikorskiego, ale nie będę negocjował publicznie - powiedział.Spotkanie odbywało się z inicjatywy prezydenta. Strona prezydencka nie komentowała planowanych rozmów. - Od kilku dni pan prezydent i jego otoczenie jest bardzo oszczędne w komentowaniu sytuacji związanej z tarczą antyrakietową, po to, by nie dawać pretekstu do tego typu sformułowań, że jakimiś wypowiedziami mogliśmy się przyczynić do niedobrego rozwoju wydarzeń - mówił Michał Kamiński z Kancelarii Prezydenta.Zaznaczał, że Lech Kaczyński czekał na informacje, a jego stanowisko w tej kwestii jest znane. Pytany, czy do Polski przyjedzie szefowa amerykańskiej dyplomacji Condoleezza Rice odparł, że jest to niewykluczone.Polski rząd chce, by Amerykanie przekazali nam jedną baterię rakiety Patriot, która kosztuje 300 mln dolarów i stacjonuje teraz w Niemczech. Może ona ochronić obszar kilku dzielnic Warszawy.Amerykanie zaoferowali czasowe stacjonowanie w Polsce obronnych rakiet na zasadzie "rotacyjnej". Byłyby one sprowadzane z Niemiec na miesiąc, co kwartał, z możliwością stacjonowania na stałe w przyszłości.kaw//mat	Donald Tusk with Lech Kaczyński, 2007 , the prime minister of Poland, met today with President to discuss the current state of the Polish-US negotiations. The meeting, held in the and proposed by Kaczyński, lasted two hours and ended at about 19:15 UTC. Donald Tusk did not want to talk with the journalists afterwards and there was no official press statement issued. Prior the appointment, the PM denied a report by the daily "Polska", which claimed that the United States government had broken off the negotiations with Poland and opened negotiations with Lithuania. "I have enough information to say that the Polish-US talks are taken seriously by both sides" Tusk told reporters. "There were no last-chance meetings. Such a serious project requires arrangements which can take months to make. I do not recommend rushing," he said. , the Undersecretary of State for political affairs in the , also confirmed that the negotiations continue. "It's nonsense. We haven't broken off the negotiations. The meeting between the Condoleezza Rice and the was positive and constructive. We are convinced that there are some prospects and we are still ready to negotiate with Poland," he said. According to a reporter with online news service newspaper, the president did not leave immediately after his appointment with Tusk. Shortly after the PM left the palace, the Secretary of State at the President's Chancellery and the minister were seen coming to meet the President. They left the palace about 21:00 UTC.
(CNN) -- Friday's launch of the iPhone 3GS could usher in an innovative and lucrative new era for those who create applications for the popular device, developers and industry observers say. This woman in an iPhone costume was among the crowd outside an Apple Store in New York City on Friday. The phone's upgraded hardware, combined with a new operating system, will allow developers to design apps that wouldn't have worked on previous models of the iPhone. For example, developers said, the iPhone 3GS is the first iPhone with a video camera, which could inspire apps that edit or mix video clips. Other developers are eyeing the new phone's built-in compass or its "push notification" feature, which pings users with messages even if its instant-message application is not open. "Apple has given us all these new tools," said William Kasel, founder and CEO of Jumpfox, a San Francisco, California-based company that makes mobile apps. "And I can't wait to see what developers come out with in the next six months. The new features really take [the phone] to a whole new level." Apple fans in the United States and seven other countries lined up Friday morning to be among the first to get their hands on the new iPhone 3GS, billed as the fastest, most feature-laden iPhone yet. iReport: Buying an iPhone 3GS? Lines outside Apple's 211 retail stores in the United States were generally shorter than for last July's debut of the iPhone 3G, probably because owners of that phone balked at paying upgrade fees to wireless carrier AT&T or could simply update their devices by downloading the iPhone's new 3.0 operating system. The buying process also seemed smoother than last summer's iPhone launch, which was marred by slow-moving lines and a flood of customers trying to activate their phones at once. According to reports on Twitter, many iPhone 3GS buyers were able to activate their phones faster and more smoothly than last year. The new iPhone contains a processor that Apple claims is more than twice as fast as its 3G model, plus a video camera, voice control, longer battery life and a built-in compass. It comes with an upgraded operating system -- which Apple released Wednesday for download onto older iPhones -- with 100 new functions, including the ability to copy and paste text. But the phone's biggest game-changer, observers say, may be new software that allows iPhone users to make purchases within applications. On previous versions of the iPhone, applications linked users to Web sites where they could buy consumer goods or other items. With the new iPhone 3.0 operating system, users can shop entirely within apps designed specially for the phone, which promises to make for smoother transactions. App developers love this new function. Until now, they earned money only when people bought applications through Apple's App Store, or from selling ads within the apps themselves. But now, for example, a game developer could charge users a few extra dollars to access higher levels of a video game. Other apps could allow users to locate the nearest movie theater, and then buy tickets. "It's a whole new revenue stream," said Brian X. Chen, who writes about consumer technology for Wired.com. Chen believes the new feature could help iPhone app developers achieve long-term profits instead of hoping for an App Store "one-hit wonder" that sells well and then disappears. "This could be absolutely huge for a lot of people," agreed MG Siegler, who writes for TechCrunch, a popular technology blog. "There's a lot of money to be made there, I think." Siegler believes another bonus of the iPhone 3GS's new software is its ability to interact with special accessories via Bluetooth and the phone's dock connector. To cite one example that Apple showcased at a recent 3.0 event, a diabetes app could hook up with an insulin meter, allowing a diabetes patient to check his or her glucose levels. Developers already are customizing apps for the new iPhone. Jumpfox is hoping to launch BuzzBuy, its PayPal-like e-commerce widget, as an iPhone 3GS app this summer. And ScrollMotion plans to introduce an upgraded version of its Iceberg reader, which will allow iPhone users to download more than 50 magazines, 170 newspapers and 1 million books to their devices for reading on the go. "We love the new 3.0 functionality," said Josh Koppel, a ScrollMotion co-founder, who also believes the phone's copy-and-paste feature will help students and other readers get more use from the Iceberg app. "A new way to monetize on this magical device ... is the best thing we could have asked for." The popular phone went on sale Friday in the U.S. and Canada plus six European countries: France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Watch iPhone buyers lined up in London » About 300 people stood outside the flagship Apple Store on New York's Fifth Avenue waiting for the doors to open Friday morning. In Atlanta, Georgia, more than 100 people were in line early Friday outside an Apple Store at Lenox Square mall. "It doesn't seem like it's the Apple fanatics [this time]. It's moms and dads," said Robin Cutshaw, 51, who lined up for previous iPhone launches in 2007 and 2008. An IT specialist, Cutshaw said he travels everywhere with his iPhone and once even used it to work remotely from a beach in Brazil. "It doesn't go in the shower with me, but that's about it," he said. Some who had preordered phones were frustrated by how slowly their line moved outside the Atlanta store. But Marc Kagan, 31, said that buying his new phone took him about three hours, much less than the 10 hours it took last year. Customers encountered problems activating their new phones last July because demand overwhelmed Apple's iTunes servers. But on Friday, Kagan said it took Apple employees about 15 minutes to activate his phone in the store. "It went pretty smooth. I think they're a little more organized this year," he said. AT&T stores, Best Buy and Wal-Mart also are selling the iPhone 3GS, although preorders through AT&T and Best Buy sold out before Friday. Advance buzz about the iPhone 3GS has been largely positive. In a review, CNET gave it a four-star, or excellent, rating. Compare the iPhone 3GS to three other smartphones » An iPhone 3GS with 16 gigabytes of storage sells for $199 with a new two-year AT&T contract; one with 32G capacity will cost $299. Since June 8 Apple has been selling the iPhone 3G model for $99 -- half its original price. Apple has sold more than 17 million iPhones since the iconic device hit the market in 2007. Apple's phones are the second-best-selling consumer smartphones in the United States, according to the NPD Group, an online market-research firm. See a chart tracking iPhone sales » The launch comes less than a week after rival Palm unveiled its much ballyhooed Pre smartphone on the Sprint network and Research In Motion announced it will debut the new BlackBerry Tour on Sprint and Verizon in the coming months. CNN.com's John D. Sutter contributed to this story. \|\|\|\|\| Unveiled today, the new super-fast iPhone that can tell how far you run By Daily Mail Reporter Last updated at 12:14 AM on 21st June 2009 Apple’s new ‘faster’ iPhone, the 3GS, hit the highstreet this morning. Stores of O2 and Carphone Warhouse were expected to sell out of the model, which adds new features and cranks up the speed of the hugely popular handset, within minutes. But its unclear whether the hefty price tag, at £274 with an 18-month contract, could put off many potential users. Faster and smarter: The iPhone 3GS went on sale today Apple has now sold more than 40 million iPhones and iPod touch devices worldwide. However, the technology giant and 02 have been criticised for the cost of the new iPhone 3GS deals. O2 is forcing owners of Apple's current iPhones to buy out their contracts if they wish to upgrade to the new model, which has angered many. Externally the new version is identical but it has impressive new features inside, including a three-megapixel camera and more memory (32gb rather than the original 3G's 16gb). Games are faster and more responsive and there is also video recording, voice control and the ability to track how far users run with Apple's Nike+ sensor. The iPhone software has also had an overhaul, and lets users cut and paste data as well as receive alerts from software (for instance when players in a game send a message). The camera is probably the best addition. It has an autofocus and pictures are clear and sharp, although with many of Apple's rivals already selling eight-megapixel cameraphones, it is still underpowered - and crucially there's still no flash. The voice control feature works surprisingly well - by pressing a button on the remote users can speak a command, such as "play Kylie" and the iPhone will do it. Users can call people simply by saying their name, and it is also pretty good at understanding different accents. One other interesting inclusion is a digital compass. It knows which way you are pointing, and when tied into Google maps can show users a map of exactly where they are facing. Apple has also been working with TomTom, and a car satnav is expected to be launched within weeks. Apple is also expected to launch applications for the 3GS taking advantage of its faster speed and better graphics, so games fans in particular will want to upgrade. Technology website Gizmodo said the new handset was certainly worth the money. It said: 'Everything is faster. It's exactly the same experience as switching from a two- or three-year-old computer to something brand new. There's a reason why Apple called this the iPhone 3GS for Speed and not the 3GC for 'compass' or 3GV for 'video recording.' Speed is the central upgrade here, and probably is the single biggest reason you would upgrade to a 3GS from a 3G. And if you're coming in as a virgin iPhone user, there's definitely no question: The 3GS is worth an extra $100.	Fans throughout the world have been queuing up outside stores for the release of Apple's new iPhone, titled the iPhone 3GS. The phone went on sale on Friday morning around the world. According to CNN, around 300 people were queuing outside Apple's New York store while employees were briefed inside. Lines however, were not as long as was anticipated, with surplus metal barriers outside stores. An Apple employee was quoted as saying that the lines were shorter than this time last year. The new iPhone contains a faster processor, a digital compass and a video camera. Ever since the launch of the original iPhone two years ago, it has been praised for "making smartphones cool", with over 17 million handsets being sold. However, critics have said that the new update deals are too costly. The telecommunications company O2 has made owners of Apple's current iPhone products buy out their contracts should they wish to purchase the new phone.
Philippines braces for another typhoon MANILA — Philippine authorities Sunday put rescue teams on standby and stockpiled emergency supplies as the country braced for Typhoon Lupit in the wake of two storms which left more than 900 people dead. The government weather service said the outer bands of the latest typhoon, now packing winds of up to 175 kilometres (109 miles) an hour, could affect the north of the main island of Luzon late Wednesday. The eye of the storm stayed nearly stationary for a few hours Sunday, some 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) off Luzon's east coast, but could clip the island's extreme north later in the week, it added. "Those in critical areas should be evacuated now that there is still time," weather service chief Prisco Nilo told a news conference. "It would be more difficult to rescue people in the middle of a typhoon," he added. Colonel Ernesto Torres, spokesman for the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), said people living in coastal areas, river banks, mountain slopes "and other landslide-prone areas should evacuate now." He said President Gloria Arroyo has ordered the police to guard abandoned homes in the path of the typhoon, to protect them from looters. "Some are hesitant to leave their homes because they could be broken into," Torres said. Since Friday, Torres said, government agencies had been "prepositioning relief goods" in the sparsely populated Batan island group near Taiwan, the northern city of Tuguegarao and key population centres in the Cordillera range, which were hard hit by landslides during the previous tropical storms. Government agencies are also under orders to "preposition rescue personnel and equipment in these identified areas." The weather service warned that seven dams in northern Luzon had been releasing water in anticipation of heavy rains brought by Typhoon Lupit. Widespread flooding had killed 380 people and displaced 4.34 million others in and around Manila on September 26 as Tropical Storm Ketsana brought record rainfall to the region, the NDCC said in an updated toll. Tropical Storm Parma hit northern Luzon a week later and hovered over the region for a week, triggering landslides and floods that left 438 people dead and displaced 3.8 million others, it added. About 266,000 people remain in crowded evacuation camps more than two weeks later, and a bacteria-borne disease called leptospirosis has killed another 89 people in flooded areas since then, the health department said. Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved. More » \|\|\|\|\| Few towns have recovered from the destruction caused by last week's typhoon [AFP] Few towns have recovered from the destruction caused by last week's typhoon [AFP] The government weather service said the outer bands of the latest typhoon, now packing winds of up to 175km an hour, could affect the north of the main island of Luzon. Typhoon Lupit is predicted to hit the country on Wednesday and follows in the wake of two storms that have killed more than 900 people. The Philippines has put rescue teams on standby and stockpiled food supplies as the country braces for the third typhoon in as many weeks. The eye of the storm stayed nearly stationary for a few hours on Sunday, about 1,000km off Luzon's east coast, but could clip the island's extreme north later in the week, it added. Prisco Nilo, a weather service chief, told a news conference: "Those in critical areas should be evacuated now that there is still time. It would be more difficult to rescue people in the middle of a typhoon." Landslide risk Colonel Ernesto Torres, spokesman for the National Disaster Co-ordinating Council (NDCC), said people living in coastal areas, near river banks, mountain slopes "and other landslide-prone areas should evacuate now". Since Friday, Torres said, government agencies had been "prepositioning relief goods" in the sparsely populated Batan island group near Taiwan, the northern city of Tuguegarao and key population centres in the Cordillera range, which were hard hit by landslides during the previous tropical storms. The weather service warned that seven dams in northern Luzon had been releasing water in anticipation of heavy rains brought by Typhoon Lupit. Widespread flooding had killed 380 people and displaced 4.34 million others in and around Manila on September 26 as Tropical Storm Ketsana brought record rainfall to the region, the NDCC said in an updated toll. Tropical Storm Parma hit northern Luzon a week later and hovered over the region for a week, triggering landslides and floods that left 438 people dead and displaced 3.8 million others, it added. About 266,000 people remain in crowded evacuation camps more than two weeks later, and a bacteria-borne disease called leptospirosis has killed another 89 people in flooded areas since then, the health department said.	The Philippines has stockpiled emergency supplies and put rescue teams on a standby in preparation for Typhoon Lupit, which is expected to hit the country by Wednesday. It comes only weeks after several other typhoons, which killed almost a thousand people and displaced millions. The government weather service announced that the outer areas of the storm could affect , the country's main island, and have winds up to 175 kilometres per hour. Lupit's eye remained in the same area for several hours on Sunday, about 1,000 kilometres from the eastern shores of Luzon; however, meteorologists predict the storm could move closer to the Philippines. A weather service chief said that areas vulnerable to flooding should be evacuated. "Those in critical areas should be evacuated now that there is still time. It would be more difficult to rescue people in the middle of a typhoon," said Prisco Nilo.
Power loss traps visitors in the Arch ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH 07/22/2007 Hundreds of people were trapped inside the Gateway Arch after an apparent electrical failure Saturday evening.“We think it is in their equipment,” Mike Cleary, a spokesman for AmerenUE, said. “We have people there to assist them.” He said he could not provide any additional information.At a news conference shortly before midnight, Capt. Steve Simpson, a spokesman for the St. Louis Fire Department, said power went out to both legs. He said the officials do not know what happened to equipment or why.There were no reports of injuries. The Arch was calm as people streamed out of the north leg.Mike Maris, deputy superintendent of the Gateway Arch, said the power went out at 8:45 p.m. He said one of nine cables on the south tram may have broken. There were 40 people in each tram, about 100 at the top.Maris said the evacuation of the south tram took about two hours.Workers restored service on the north tram. He said the Arch would be open Sunday with only the north tram running.Several people who had been in the Arch said emergency lights went on as did air conditioning after the power failure.People at the top had to walk down 300 feet of steps to a freight elevator that brought them to the bottom, evacuees said.Simpson said that after workers got the north leg tram working, visitors no longer had to go down via stairs.Shortly before 11:30 p.m. more than 30 people walked out of the north leg toward the Arch’s underground lobby. They hugged each other and friends in relief.Meanwhile, park service workers were taking bottled water to the north leg.The Arch is 630 feet tall. Electrical fires had forced the closing of the Arch in 1998 and 2003.Marcia Ingalsbe of Caulfield, Mo., waited for hours for her husband and two grandchildren to return from a ride in the Arch. They were on a tram that left at 7:55 p.m. She talked to a reporter after 10:30 p.m.She said her husband, Robert, called told her that he and their grandson Robbie, 11, and Stephany, 5, were all right.One firefighter said that the children “are going to have a story to tell when they get back to school.” \|\|\|\|\| ST. LOUIS, Missouri (AP) -- About 180 people were trapped inside the 630-foot Gateway Arch for about two hours after an apparent power outage, authorities said. Tim Johnson kisses his wife, Trudy, after he and three of their six children were trapped in the arch Saturday. The power went out around 8:45 p.m. Saturday night, stalling two trams filled with about 40 people each, said Mike Maris, deputy superintendent of the Gateway Arch. About 100 other people were stranded at the top of the monument of stainless steel, Maris said. He said the evacuation of the south tram, where one of nine cables may have broken, took about two hours. Power eventually was restored to the north tram, and stranded visitors no longer had to use the stairs to evacuate, said Capt. Steve Simpson, a spokesman for the St. Louis Fire Department. He said officials do not know what happened to equipment. Simpson said rescue crews treated two people. One was given oxygen and the other was diabetic. He did not elaborate on their treatment. "Everybody else seemed to be in good spirits, glad and relieved to be coming down," he said. Watch people being evacuated from the Gateway Arch » Anxious relatives stood outside the popular tourist attraction as rescuers worked inside. Dozens of emergency vehicles surrounded the arch. Maris said the Arch would be open Sunday with only the north tram running. The 630-foot-tall structure is operated by the National Park Service and opened in 1966. It is one of the region's most popular attractions. E-mail to a friend Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. All About St. Louis	The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri. On Saturday at 8:45 p.m. (CST), a power outage due to equipment failure at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri trapped 40 people in the two arch trams and 100 people in the observation center at the top of the Arch. It took about two hours to evacuate the south tram after one of the nine cables supporting the tram car possibly snapped because of a power failure. The north side tram and people in the observation center had to walk down approximately 300 feet of steps to a freight elevator to be taken to the bottom of the Arch. They were met by anxious families who had been waiting for hours outside the Arch. Two people needed treatment for minor injuries. The Gateway Arch will be back open Sunday with only the north tram operating. The National Park Service opened the Gateway Arch in 1966 and is one of the region's most popular attractions.
Cooley, driving the forklift, was found guilty of cruel conduct L/Cpl Mark Cooley, 25, was jailed for two years, Cpl Daniel Kenyon, 33, received an 18 month sentence and L/Cpl Darren Larkin, 30, 140 days. Britain's top soldier, General Sir Michael Jackson, apologised on behalf of the Army to the abused Iraqis. The men's lawyers said they had been made "scapegoats" for the abuse. Photos of the incidents at Camp Bread Basket, Basra, in May 2003, have been shown all over the world. General Sir Michael said a "senior, experienced officer" would be appointed to assess "what lessons we need to learn" from this case and other abuse allegations. He said he had been "appalled and disappointed" by the photos. Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon said he had been "profoundly disturbed" by the case and that it was right "to apologise on behalf of the Army to the victims and the people of Iraq". Both emphasised that the guilty men were not representative of the wider British Army. But one of the soldiers' lawyers said his client felt that "a significant number of other soldiers, including many senior to him, some of whom have been promoted, were involved in the mistreatment of Iraqis that day". The fate of the soldiers from the 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers was decided by Judge Advocate Michael Hunter and a panel of seven senior officers. 'Terrified' prisoner The abuse came to light when photographs taken by a fourth soldier, Gary Bartlam, were left in a Staffordshire shop to be developed. Cooley was found guilty on two charges - one of disgraceful conduct of a cruel kind after he drove a forklift truck with a bound Iraqi suspended from the prongs. In passing sentence, the judge told him he had "used the prisoner to amuse himself" and "that man was absolutely terrified". He had told the court that he was moving the man out of the sun's glare. He was also convicted of simulating a punch in a picture. His two-year sentence was the maximum possible. General Sir Michael said the case of the men and four other cases of alleged abuse against Iraqis had to be put in the context of the actions of thousands of British servicemen. He said he did not believe in the concept of an "endemic rotten apple" in the British Army. 'Trophy photographs' Kenyon, the most senior soldier on trial, was found guilty of failing to report that a soldier under his command had caused an Iraqi detainee to be raised on the forks of a forklift truck. In passing sentence, the judge told Cpl Kenyon "you were part of a scheme to produce trophy photographs". He was also convicted of aiding and abetting Larkin to assault a prisoner. And he was found guilty of failing to report that soldiers under his command had forced two naked prisoners to simulate sex. Larkin pleaded guilty to one charge of assault However, Kenyon was found not guilty of two charges of aiding and abetting unknown persons to force the detainees to simulate a sex act. Larkin was sentenced to nearly five months after pleading guilty to assault after he was pictured standing on top of an Iraqi. In their defence, the soldiers claimed that the abuse stemmed from an unlawful mission which took place at the aid camp to capture and deter looters. The mission, codenamed Operation Ali Baba, was ordered by the camp's commanding officer Maj Dan Taylor. Maj Taylor told his troops that the looters should be "worked hard", to try to stop them returning to Camp Bread Basket. Prosecutors said the operation was in breach of the Geneva Convention. General Sir Michael said that although no criminal action had been taken against Maj Taylor, "administrative action" remained a possibility. And he denied assertions by the guilty trio's legal team that they had been made scapegoats, with more senior officers escaping justice. In a separate court martial last year, the soldier who took the photos, Bartlam, admitted taking photographs of the Iraqis simulating sex acts. Bartlam had been due to stand trial alongside the three soldiers but his lawyers negotiated a plea bargain which saw four of seven charges against him dropped. He was sentenced to 18 months in a youth detention centre and disgracefully discharged from the Army. \|\|\|\|\| UK soldiers jailed over Iraq abuse OSNABRUECK, Germany (CNN) -- A military court has sentenced three British soldiers to prison for abusing Iraqi detainees in southern Iraq. The May 2003 incident near Basra sparked outrage after photographs of the abuse were released. Lance Cpl. Mark Cooley, 25, received the maximum two-year sentence; Cpl. Daniel Kenyon, 33, received 18 months; and Lance Cpl. Darren Larkin, 30, received five months instead of the maximum six months. Cooley appeared in photos hoisting a prisoner on a forklift while he simulated punching a detainee. Larkin, who pleaded guilty, was photographed standing on an Iraqi who was bound. Kenyon also pleaded guilty of aiding and abetting in the beating of a detainee, as well as failing to report the abuses. All three were dishonorably discharged and showed no emotion after the judge on Friday announced the sentences, which followed a five-week trial. "What you did was not done to discourage looters, but for the key reason of producing trophy photos," said deputy judge advocate Gen. Michael Hunter, who presided over the case. After the sentences were announced, the head of the British Army, General Sir Mike Jackson, apologized to the Iraqi people at a press conference at the Ministry of Defence in London. "I do apologize on behalf of the Army to those Iraqis who were abused and to the people of Iraq as a whole," Jackson said. The Iraqis in the soldiers' custody had been accused of looting a humanitarian aid warehouse in May 2003. The three soldiers were to spend Friday night in military lock-up before being flown to Britain on Saturday to serve their sentences in civilian jails. Photographs, including humiliating sexual images of naked Iraqis, were taken by another soldier, Gary Bartlam, 20, who then took them to be developed at a shop in his hometown of Tamworth, Staffordshire, where an assistant called in police. At a separate court-martial last month in Hohne, Germany, Bartlam was ordered to be detained at a youth detention facility for 18 months and disgracefully discharged from the army. The judge in charge of the courts-martial said the men's "brutal," "cruel" and "revolting" behavior had "undoubtedly tarnished the international reputation of the British Army and to some extent the British nation too." Meanwhile, British defense officials are investigating accounts given by five men who claim to be the victims of the abuse scandal in Iraq. The Independent and Daily Mail newspapers tracked down the five men, who say they are the prisoners who appeared in the "trophy" photographs taken by Bartlam. The Daily Mail said the men planned to sue the British government over their ordeal. However, a UK Ministry of Defence spokesman told CNN the organization mounted a through investigation at the time and the men had not come forward. "We cannot speculate on the reasons for this," the spokesman said. The five Iraqi men told the newspapers they did not know that a court martial over abuse against them was taking place and had not been contacted about the case. They gave details of the abuse and their injuries and said they were willing to be checked by British doctors. None of the victims gave evidence during the trial, which the Royal Military Police said was because officers were unable to trace the men. However, the newspapers said they found the men living about a mile from the camp within days. A Ministry of Defence statement said: "The information in the articles is not being ignored. The Special Investigations Branch of the Royal Military Police is reviewing the material and has instigated an investigation which will look at the allegations and act on any substantive evidence." However, the spokesman told CNN that "timely and extensive" inquiries had been carried out through humanitarian groups, police, local employers and recreation groups, and no one had come forward.	The three British soldiers in the centre of an Iraqi abuse scandal have been jailed for between 140 days and two years and all three have been dismissed from the army. L/Cpl Mark Cooley, 25, Cpl Daniel Kenyon, 33, and L/Cpl Darren Larkin, 30, assaulted a number of Iraqi prisoners in Camp Bread Basket, near Basra. Gen Sir Michael Jackson said that he wanted to, "place on record how appalled and disappointed I was when I first saw those photographs at the outset of the trial", and has said he apologised "to those Iraqis who were abused" and to Iraq as whole. The men said they felt they were scapegoats as they felt they were other soldiers in the abuse and one of the men's lawyers said there was, "a significant number of other soldiers, including many senior to him, some of whom have been promoted, were involved in the mistreatment of Iraqis that day". In a separate court martial last year, the soldier who took the photos used as evidence in the trial, Gary Bartlam, admitted taking photographs of the Iraqis simulating sex acts. He was sentenced to 18 months in a youth detention centre and disgracefully discharged from the British Army.
TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Bulgaria said it hoped Libya would finalise a deal on Monday to free six foreign medics convicted of infecting hundreds of Libyan children with HIV, a move that would boost Tripoli’s relations with the West. A man passes by a huge poster at the Sofia airport, reading "We are waiting for you", in support of the five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor jailed in Libya for intentionally infecting hundreds of children with HIV, July 18, 2007. Bulgaria said it was hopeful of an agreement with Libyan authorities on Monday that would pave the way for the release of six foreign medics convicted of infecting Libyan children with HIV. REUTERS/Nikolay Doychinov Libya lifted death sentences against the medics last week but is now asking for normalised ties with the European Union and is holding out for more foreign funds to treat the children before it will allow the foreigners to go home, diplomats said. The EU insists the five Bulgarian nurses and Palestinian doctor are innocent and has been unwilling to pay compensation that could be interpreted as an admission of their guilt. Last week a Libyan judicial council commuted the death sentences against the six, convicted of deliberately infecting more than 400 children at a Benghazi hospital, to life imprisonment after the victims’ families received a $460 million settlement. That opened the way for the nurses to return home under a 1984 prisoner exchange agreement. Once in Bulgaria, they could be pardoned by the country’s president, Georgi Parvanov. “We are at the stage now where the decision is purely political,” Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin told reporters in Brussels. “I hope there will be enough will from the Libyans’ side today in order to finalise talks ... If they show this will, then the transfer can be done very quickly.” Bulgarian national television quoted Kalfin as saying later on Monday that Libya was constantly setting new conditions for the medics’ transfer, which was making the negotiations tough. “Allow me not to go into any details because that would make all the efforts that are being made in Libya right now meaningless,” Kalfin was quoted as saying. Libya emerged from decades of isolation in 2003 when it scrapped a programme of prohibited weapons and returned to international mainstream politics. The country has begun opening its big energy reserves to foreign oil firms and the United States said this month it was sending its first ambassador to Tripoli in 35 years, but there could be a heavy diplomatic cost if the medics are not freed. Prospects for their release appeared to rise on Sunday after EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner and France’s First Lady Cecilia Sarkozy flew to Libya. “The European Commission hopes that this situation, which is so painful and has lasted so long, can be resolved in a humane spirit,” the Commission said in a statement. “WE ARE WAITING” An EU official would only say that the two women were in Tripoli talking to the Libyan authorities on Monday, and declined to comment on media reports that the nurses would be flown out to Sofia on Monday aboard a French presidential plane. In Bulgaria, a big poster reading “We are waiting for you” was placed at the Sofia airport’s arrival hall. Last Friday, the EU held out the prospect of a quick boost to trade, aid and political relations with Libya if the fate of the six jailed medics was resolved in a satisfactory way. A Libyan diplomatic source said on Monday Tripoli was after a complete normalisation of its ties with EU states. A French diplomat familiar with the talks said the main obstacle was still money, with Libya holding out for more foreign cash. The families of the 460 HIV victims received $1 million each in the settlement from a fund set up by the Gaddafi Foundation, a charity run by a son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, that a spokesman for the families said was financed by the EU, the United States, Bulgaria and Libya. But diplomats said the Libyans had asked the EU to contribute more money to modernise a health centre in Benghazi where the infected children can be treated and to help pay for their treatment abroad in the interim. Libyan officials have signalled they want an existing agreement on these two points firmed up, with specific details included on how the EU will fulfil its commitments in practice. “Once you remove these two roadblocks, the nurses will find themselves back in Sofia,” said Libya expert Saad Djebbar, a London-based Algerian lawyer. Bulgaria and its allies in the EU have provided long-term medical aid to victims and support for the Benghazi hospital. \|\|\|\|\| The imprisonment of the medics caused an international outcry An EU delegation is in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, aiming to broker a deal to free the five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor. The six, who have always denied the charges, had death sentences commuted to life in prison last week. Libya is also said to be seeking more funds to treat the infected children. The government in Bulgaria wants the medics to be allowed to return home. But the EU is reported to be unwilling to agree any compensation deal that appears to gives the impression that it accepts the six medics are guilty. 'Very tough' Cecilia Sarkozy, the wife of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, is in Tripoli accompanying the EU's external relations commissioner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner. She is said to have met Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on Sunday evening. TRIAL IN DATES 1999: 19 Bulgarian medics and a Palestinian doctor are arrested at a Benghazi hospital after an outbreak of HIV/Aids among children. 13 are later freed May 2004: Libya convicts and sentences five Bulgarian nurses and the Palestinian doctor for infecting children with HIV. A Bulgarian doctor is freed Dec 2005: Libyan Supreme Court overturns the convictions and orders a retrial Dec 2006: Medics sentenced to death a second time Feb 2007: Medics appeal to the Libyan Supreme Court June 2007: Top EU officials hold talks in Libya to try to secure medics' release 11 July 2007: Libya's Supreme Court upholds death sentences Profile of the medics Timeline: Medics trial Mr Sarkozy was also reported to be closely involved in efforts to free the six, despite some criticism from domestic opponents, who accused him of effectively hijacking years of patient work by other EU nations. "What I know is that it's very tough. This has been going on for eight-and-a-half years," Mr Sarkozy said in France. But Bulgaria's Foreign Minister, Ivailo Kalfin, speaking in Brussels, told the AFP news agency that the decision on whether to free the six was now "purely political". "If the Libyans show goodwill enough, the transfer can be done very quickly." Bulgaria has granted citizenship to the Palestinian doctor so that he may also benefit from any deal to transfer the medics to Bulgaria. The six have been imprisoned in Libya since 1999, after being accused and then convicted of deliberately spreading HIV in a children's hospital. They say torture was used to extract their confessions. Foreign experts say the infections started before the medics arrived at the hospital, and are more likely to have been a result of poor hygiene. \|\|\|\|\| By Virginia Savova Sofia, Bulgaria The case generated a national solidarity campaign in Bulgaria TV and radio stations interrupted their programmes to broadcast the announcement of Libya's Judicial Council. "Is this the good news we expected?" asked journalists, wondering whether the final outcome of the case of the medics will depend on new developments in the Lockerbie bombing case. Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin promised Bulgaria would speed up as much as possible its efforts to bring home the medics under a prisoner transfer agreement between the two countries. "This case will be over when our fellow countrymen return home," he said, adding that the Bulgarian authorities continued to be in contact with their European partners on the case. Solomon Pasi, former Bulgarian foreign minister, looked at Libya's Judicial Council decision as a stage in the negotiations between Bulgaria, Libya, the EU and the US. "The announcement should not be dramatised and taken emotionally," he said. One of the defendants' attorneys, Harry Haralambiev, was not satisfied with the news. He explained that if the medics were transferred to Bulgaria, there was a possibility of Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov pardoning them. Relatives react The first relative to comment on the news was Dr Zdravko Georgiev, husband of nurse Kristina Valcheva, who was one of the defendants in the same trial. In 2004, he was released from jail but has not been allowed to leave Libya. TRIAL IN DATES 1999: 19 Bulgarian medics and a Palestinian doctor are arrested at a Benghazi hospital after an outbreak of HIV/Aids among children. 13 are later freed May 2004: Libya convicts and sentences five Bulgarian nurses and the Palestinian doctor for infecting children with HIV. A Bulgarian doctor is freed Dec 2005: Libyan Supreme Court overturns the convictions and orders a retrial Dec 2006: Medics sentenced to death a second time Feb 2007: Medics appeal to the Libyan Supreme Court June 2007: Top EU officials hold talks in Libya to try to secure medics' release 11 July 2007: Libya's Supreme Court upholds death sentences Profile of the medics Timeline: Medics trial "We had a choice between the bad news and the less bad news, and today we heard the less bad news - their lives are saved," he said. Antoaneta Uzunova, daughter of nurse Valya Cherveniashka is angry with the Bulgarian authorities. "I want to ask Prime Minister Stanishev what Bulgaria will do now to free my mother, who is innocent," she said. "The families of the HIV-infected Libyan children took the compensation and we lost a very strong trump." The only relative who was smiling was Zorka Anachkova, mother of nurse Kristina Valcheva. She only wants her daughter to return home and considers Tripoli's announcement as a step closer to achieving that. "I am satisfied," she said. "They [the Libyan authorities] have no reason to keep them any more. I am waiting for the medics to return." 'You are not alone' Throughout the eight years in prison the sentenced medics have had the strong support of the Bulgarian people, who believe in their innocence. Please, Lord forbid this insanity. Eight years of torment and trial. Please let our sisters be home again. Home in Bulgaria Prayer for the nurses The calls for their liberation became organised at the end of 2006 when a Bulgarian newspaper, a television and a radio station launched a nationwide campaign under the slogan "You are not alone". A ribbon with the colours of the Bulgarian national flag - white, green and red - and bearing the slogan in Bulgarian and English became the symbol of the campaign. Thousands of Bulgarians put it on the lapels of their jackets. The ribbon could be seen on posters, in shop windows, on planes of Bulgarian airline companies and on car stickers. Although the campaign was criticised for being launched too late, it gathered momentum and became international. Around one million people worldwide signed the petition for the medics to be freed. Over 100,000 signatures were collected in Sofia alone during a religious event. One prayer said on the day was: "Please, Lord forbid this insanity. Eight years of torment and trial. Please let our sisters be home again. Home in Bulgaria." The petition was handed to EU officials in Brussels in June by relatives of the condemned medics. A 20-metre long poster with the word "innocent" was placed in the centre of Sofia. Messages of public support have been added to the poster. It will be later sent to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.	Last week, Libya lifted the death sentence for five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinean doctor in the case about the HIV infection of hundreds of Libyan children. The deal called for a US$460 million settlement for the families of the children. However, now Libya is holding out for a better deal. According to reports, Libya is seeking more money for the treatment of the children, as well as normalized relations with the European Union. Another sticking point in making a deal has been that Bulgaria and the EU are unwilling to strike any deal that admits the guilt of the medics, whose innocence they insist upon. Ivaylo Kalfin Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin spoke to reporters in Brussels. "We are at the stage now where the decision is purely political," he said. "I hope there will be enough will from the Libyans' side today in order to finalise talks ... If they show this will, then the transfer can be done very quickly." "Allow me not to go into any details because that would make all the efforts that are being made in Libya right now meaningless," Kalfin was quoted to have said later in the day, according to Bulgarian national television.
News ‘I’m still trying to get on top of it’ – Ricciardo reveals crucial area he’s yet to master on new McLaren \|\|\|\|\| Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen has won the Belgian grand prix with Giancarlo Fisichella of Force India, who started on pole, second. Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull was third with Brawn's Rubens Barichello seventh – but neither was able to take full advantage of Jenson Button's withdrawal from the race on lap one. Button, alongside the reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton, was forced off after a collision that required the deployment of the safety car and resulted in four retirements. Button led his team-mate Barrichello by 18 points in the drivers' championship at the start of the race, an advantage that has now been cut to 16. While Vettel claimed six points, moving him into third place overall, his team-mate Mark Webber failed to make up ground on Button after finishing outside the points in ninth. Webber slips to fourth, 20.5 points behind Button with five races to go. The man to gain was Raikkonen, who claimed his fourth Belgian grand prix victory in five years to end a run of 26 races without a win for the 2007 world champion. Fisichella's podium finish gave Force India their first points in Formula One after 30 races. Race standings 1 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1hr 23mins 50.995secs; 2 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India 1:23:51.934; 3 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1:23:54.870; 4 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:24:00.961; 5 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:24:02.271; 6 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 1:24:23.758; 7 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn GP 1:24:26.456; 8 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 1:24:27.203; 9 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:24:27.954; 10 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:24:32.485; 11 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:24:33.631; 12 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:24:37.101; 13 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 1:24:45.236; 14 Luca Badoer (Ita) Ferrari 1:25:33.172 Not Classified: 15 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 26 Laps completed; 16 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 21 Laps completed; 17 Jenson Button (Gbr) Brawn GP 0 Laps completed; 18 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Renault 0 Laps completed; 19 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 0 Laps completed; 20 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso 0 Laps completed Drivers' championship 1 Jenson Button (Gbr) Brawn GP 72pts; 2 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn GP 56; 3 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 53; 4 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 51.5; 5 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 34; 6 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 30.5; 7 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 27; 8 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 22.5; 9 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 22; 10 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 17; 11 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 16; 12 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 16; 13 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 10; 14 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India 8; 15 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 8; 16 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 3; 17 Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Scuderia Toro Rosso 2; (six other drivers on zero points) \|\|\|\|\| Raikkonen edges Fisichella in Belgium Email Share Associated Press SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium -- Kimi Raikkonen held off Force India driver Giancarlo Fisichella to win Formula One's Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday, the Ferrari driver's fourth triumph at the high-speed track in the past five years. [+] Enlarge Vladimir Rys/Getty Images Kimi Raikkonen celebrates after winning the Belgian GP for the fourth time in the last five years. The former world champion, who started sixth, immediately overtook pole sitter Fisichella after the safety car came in following accidents on the opening lap -- including one involving overall F1 leader Jenson Button -- and held for a 0.9-second victory. "It's a proper circuit, an old-style circuit," said Raikkonen, who clinched Ferrari's fifth win in seven races at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. "It's just been good to me." Championship contender Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull, who had retired with engine failures in the last two races, finished third to gain on Button. Button failed to finish in the points for the first time this season, and Rubens Barrichello moved within 16 points of his Brawn GP teammate after finishing seventh despite an oil leak with two laps to go. Barrichello's car caught fire as he rolled into pit lane. Button leads the drivers' standings with 72 points, followed by Barrichello with 56 and Vettel with 53. Mark Webber of Red Bull, who finished ninth after a drive-through penalty, trails by 20.5 points. "This championship is a little crazy to be honest," Vettel said. "It's up and down. [But] we're still in reach." Raikkonen, the 2007 world champion, picked up his first win since last year's Spanish GP in a season made unpredictable by rule changes. The Finn is the sixth straight different winner of an F1 race. A day after earning the Indian team its first pole, Fisichella managed to secure the former Spyker team's first points after 30 races. "I'm a little bit sad for that because I was keeping [Kimi's] pace and exactly same strategy race," Fisichella said. "It's great for second. But actually we could have won the race." Although rain didn't complicate the start, several accidents on the opening lap did -- including Button's. Fisichella held pole into the high-speed Eau Rouge corner as Raikkonen passed the slow starting Barrichello to the outside to sit behind Robert Kubica, who had cut inside, for third. Several cars touched in the opening corner, with Barrichello and Jarno Trulli having to pit for repairs, but Trulli eventually retired after starting second. Romain Grosjean of Renault then ran into Button, who went spinning into the wall at Les Combes. McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton and Jaime Alguersuari of Toro Rosso also exited at the same turn after the young Spanish driver hit the defending F1 champion and sent them both into the wall. "I didn't know what happened, but I got hit from behind," Button said. "It didn't matter anyway because we weren't competitive here." FIA said that both accidents would be investigated. Raikkonen passed Fisichella for the lead immediately after the safety car pitted as the two entered Kemmel Straight, and he held after the first round of pit stops when both pitted at same time. Fernando Alonso, who was running third on a one-pit strategy, pitted after 24 laps in good shape but a problem removing his front left wheel -- which had touched against Adrian Sutil in the opening corner -- eventually forced him to retire. Raikkonen and Fisichella both pitted with 13 laps to go, with the Ferrari nursing a 1-second advantage, but Raikkonen managed to pull out quicker and held to join Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and Jim Clark as the only drivers to triumph at Spa on at least four occasions. Ferrari has won five of the last seven races in Belgium. Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press	File photo of Kimi Räikkönen Kimi Räikkönen at Spa (2007), his third consecutive win at this circuit Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps Ferrari driver Kimi Räikkönen won the FIA Formula One 2009 ING Belgian Grand Prix at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Spa, Belgium. Kimi qualified 6th, but jumped to second after a multiple crash in the first corner involving Jenson Button (Brawn) and Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) collided with the rookies Romain Grosjean and Jaime Alguersuari and all four drivers were out of the race. When the pace car turned off the lights and the race restarted Kimi overtook the pole-sitter Giancarlo Fisichella in Eau Rouge, who drove his Force India to the second place. Sebastian Vettel finished third for Red Bull, while his teammate Mark Webber was ninth after a drive-through penalty for unsafe release from pit-stop. BMW Sauber Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld placed 4th and 5th respectively. Rubens Barrichello finished after Hamilton's teammate Heikki Kovalainen. Nico Rosberg closed the top eight for Williams. Jenson Button did not score any points but still leads the championships with 72. Rubens Barrichello earned 2 points and is within 16 of Button. Sebastian Vettel is now only 3 points behind Barrichello and Mark Webber still has 51.5 points. Brawn GP tops Constructors' standings with 128 points. Red Bull Racing is 23.5 points behind with other far behind.
Berkeley Recovers Stolen Laptop PC contained personal information on thousands of grad students. Robert McMillan, IDG News Service Friday, September 16, 2005 Campus police at the University of California, Berkeley have recovered a stolen laptop that contained personal information on more than 98,000 of the school's graduate students. The laptop's hard drive had been wiped clean of information and then sold on an Internet auction site, making it impossible to determine whether the sensitive information it had contained was ever accessed, the University said in a statement. Potential Victims Told Advertisement The laptop was stolen on March 11, after being left unattended in the school's Graduate Division. As a result, U.C. Berkeley officials began sending letters and e-mail notification to the 98,369 graduate students and applicants whose names and personal information had been stored on the computer. Many of the laptop's files contained sensitive information like birthdates, addresses, and Social Security numbers, in addition to names. California law requires that such efforts be made to contact those affected in data theft cases. In late April, Berkeley retained PricewaterhouseCoopers to audit the way the school handles sensitive material, and is now evaluating how to implement the audit's recommendations, said Janet Gilmore, spokesperson for U.C. Berkeley. Even before this theft, the California State University system had been working to encrypt data on its laptops and portable devices, a policy that was spurred by similar data thefts. Last September, one of the state universities lost a laptop hard drive containing sensitive information on 23,000 students and employees. Tracking the Laptop About a month after the theft, an unidentified woman sold the laptop to a San Francisco man, who then sold it on eBay to an unsuspecting South Carolina resident, Gilmore said. That San Francisco man, Shuki Alburati, was arrested on June 8 and charged with possession of stolen property, Gilmore said. That case is pending, she said. By the time it was recovered, the computer's hard drive had been wiped clean and outfitted with a new operating system, making it virtually impossible to determine whether the sensitive information had ever been accessed, Gilmore said. Gilmore would not say how the police managed to track the laptop to South Carolina. Related Topics: Cybercrime Printer Friendly Version \|\|\|\|\| A stolen laptop with personal data for more than 98,000 current and former UC Berkeley students has been recovered with no evidence of identity theft, and a college student has been charged with buying the computer from the thief -- and selling it for profit on Ebay, university officials said Thursday. Shuki Alburati, 18, a City College of San Francisco freshman, is accused of buying a computer from a woman who stole it from a UC Berkeley office in March. Alburati then sold the laptop over the Internet to an unsuspecting South Carolina man. An analysis of the computer at a Silicon Valley forensic lab revealed that it had been reformatted, making it hard to determine whether anyone had accessed the names and Social Security numbers of 98,369 graduate students, graduate school applicants and other individuals, including those who received doctoral degrees as far back as 1976. But university spokeswoman Janet Gilmore said Thursday, "There's nothing in the Police Department investigation that points to any type of identity theft or credit card theft." Alburati, who specializes in selling laptops and cell phones online, told The Chronicle on Thursday that he didn't know the new IBM X40 worth $2,429 had been stolen from an unlocked office at UC Berkeley. He blamed his plight on a woman who sold him the computer in April for only $300 or $340 during a transaction outside his apartment on Leavenworth Street in San Francisco. "It's unfair," said Alburati, a business student who has pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge of receiving stolen property. "I didn't know it was stolen. She should stop what she's doing because she'll get caught eventually." The woman hasn't been identified, and Alburati said he didn't know her name. But he described her as African American, about 5 feet 2 inches tall and 200 pounds, with short, straight hair, which fits the description of a woman in her 40s who was spotted leaving a Graduate Division employee's fourth-floor office in Sproul Hall shortly before 1 p.m. March 11, university officials said. On April 14, Alburati said he received a phone call from a man who saw his ad on Craigslist, the popular online bulletin board where people post job listings, sell things and look for dates. The man said his mother had a laptop she wanted to sell. A couple of days later, the woman double-parked on his street and sold him the computer after saying it wasn't stolen. "The whole transaction only took about one minute," Alburati said in a statement to police. "She seemed suspicious, because she sold me an expensive laptop for such a low price. If the laptop was stolen, I did not know about it. I just took her word for it." Alburati said he didn't remember if he had reformatted the laptop, although he would usually do so if a computer contained personal files. On April 19, Alburati placed the laptop for sale on Ebay, the online auction site, where his posting read, "I sell almost all laptops that exist. I sell new, old, used, broken, working, you name it!" By the end of the week, the winning bidder in South Carolina bought the computer for $1,195.50, although Alburati later refunded him $200 because the laptop didn't use Bluetooth technology as Alburati had advertised. The South Carolina man installed a new operating system on the computer. UC Berkeley police tracked down the computer on June 1 and retrieved it with the help of police in South Carolina. Police arrested Alburati on June 8 on suspicion of two felony counts of receiving stolen property, and he was jailed in lieu of $20,000 bail. The next day, however, prosecutors lodged a single misdemeanor count against him. Alburati is scheduled for trial Sept. 30 before Superior Court Judge Michael Gaffey in Oakland. E-mail Henry K. Lee at hlee@sfchronicle.com.	UC Berkeley San Francisco police have recovered a laptop stolen on March 11 from the University of California, Berkeley. The laptop was left unattended in the Graduate Division and contained personal information on 98,369 graduate students and applicants going as far back as 1976. This information included names, birth dates, addresses, and Social Security numbers. The Silicon Valley forensic lab which analyzed the laptop said it had been reformatted, making it very difficult to determine if the data had been accessed. "There's nothing in the Police Department investigation that points to any type of identity theft or credit card theft" said university spokeswoman Janet Gilmore. The laptop was stolen by an unknown woman, who sold it to Shuki Alburati, who sold the laptop to an unsuspecting South Carolina man. Shuki Alburati was arrested on June 8 for receiving stolen property; he has been charged with one misdemeanor count. He claims he didn't know the laptop, a new IBM X40 worth $2,429, was stolen. He purchased the laptop from the woman, who said it wasn't stolen, for $300 or $340. A few days later, on April 19, he placed the laptop on eBay. The winning bidder was a man in South Carolina who bought the laptop for $1,195.50. Police have said this man is not a suspect. Police were alerted by IBM after the man called IBM for tech support. Shuki Alburati has pleaded not guilty. He claimed "It's unfair, I didn't know it was stolen." His trial is scheduled for Sept. 30 before Superior Court Judge Michael Gaffey in Oakland. The woman who stole the laptop has not yet been found.
Britney Spears' MTV performance caused a stir Los Angeles-based The Firm said: "We have terminated our professional relationship with Britney Spears. "We believe she is enormously talented, but current circumstances have prevented us from properly doing our job," the statement continued. Spears hired the company for the run-up to her comeback album, which is due out in the US on 13 November. Sacked Meanwhile, Spears has parted company with her lawyer in an ongoing child custody battle with ex-husband Kevin Federline. Laura Wasser, who represented the singer until Monday, said she would be in "excellent hands" with her new legal representatives. No reason was given for the change. A former bodyguard for the star, who was due to support claims of erratic behaviour in the case, failed to testify at the hearing in Los Angeles. Tony Barretto was called a 'key witness' by his lawyer Tony Barretto arrived in court but was unable to give evidence before lawyers held debates in a closed session. His lawyer Gloria Allred said: "Our client was prepared to testify on issues of nudity by Ms Spears, drug use and safety issues involving the children." Mr Barretto was hired by Spears in March after she left a rehabilitation facility, but was sacked two months later. According to Ms Allred, he lost his job because "he didn't hear her when she asked him to pick up her hat". Spears' former lawyer Ms Wasser commented that Mr Barretto was a disgruntled employee. The singer, whose divorce with Federline was finalised in July, currently has joint custody of their two sons Sean Preston and Jayden James. \|\|\|\|\| Shock Britney News Britney Spears' troubles seem to be increasing by the day. Her manager is the latest person to have flown the nest, just hours after her lawyer also stopped representing her. Her management company The Firm released a statement saying: "It saddens us to confirm media reports that we have terminated our professional relationship with Britney Spears. "We believe Britney is enormously talented, and has made a terrific record. "But current circumstances have prevented us from properly doing our job. We wish Britney the best." Yet it seems they were keeping schtum over the actual circumstances. The blokey actually representing Brit was Jeff Kwatinetz of The Firm. And it appears that he wasn't the first to up sticks and leave camp Britney. Legal Issues Earlier in the day, Laura Wasser stepped down as her attorney in the custody battle with Kevin Federline. Ms Wasser told People magazine: "I don't want anyone to perceive that we're dumping Britney." And things have taken a turn inside the courtroom also... The Bodyguard Kevin Federline Her former bodyguard has given his version of events - apparently Tony Barretto was so appalled by the treatment of Brit's two children that he decided to speak out in court. His lawyer Gloria Allred told People he was "a key and secret witness in the Britney Spears-Kevin Federline custody battle". The chap was with Brit pretty much 24/7, until he was chopped in May 07. His lawyer added: "Although he was reluctant to come forward and become embroiled in her custody dispute, he felt he had to because of his concerns about the children." About the court proceedings Ms Allred said: "We are shocked that Miss Spears' legal team did not cross-examine our client as to the contents of his statement, which contained concerns regarding nudity by Miss Spears, drug use and the safety of her children. "Since he was not cross-examined on his evidence, it remains undisputed." And now there's also chat that he's going to put forward a complaint with LA social service chiefs about her fitness as a mum. \|\|\|\|\| Submitted by Kiran Pahwa on Tue, 09/18/2007 - 14:31 Washington, Sept 18: Britney Spears has just been dealt with another blow, for her manager has announced that he is parting ways with her. Manager Jeff Kwatinetz of the Firm confirmed that the management company would no longer be repping Britney, after being on the job for just one month. "It saddens us to confirm media reports that we have terminated our professional relationship with Britney Spears," E! Online quoted him, as saying. "We believe Britney is enormously talented, and has made a terrific record. But current circumstances have prevented us from properly doing our job. We wish Britney the best." Kwatinetz is said to have walked after butting heads with Britney over some of the decisions she has taken. However, Spears' label, Jive Records, insists that the move will not affect the singer’s comeback album, the release of which is still on track. "The label does not comment on artist/management relations. We're gearing up for a Nov. 13 album release date," the label said. Britney has been plagued by ill luck over the past few weeks, with things going woefully wrong what with her VMAs debacle, followed by a former bodyguard alleging that she took drugs in front of her kids. (With Inputs from ANI)	''The Firm'', a company which pop singer Britney Spears hired to manage her career just over one month ago, no longer wishes to manage Spears, and has terminated the services they were providing her to promote her new record. "We have terminated our professional relationship with Britney Spears. We believe she is enormously talented, but current circumstances have prevented us from properly doing our job," said the company in a statement to the media. Jeff Kwatinetz was the manager for Spears. It is not yet known what circumstances caused the company to sever their ties with Spears. Spears is releasing a new album, scheduled to be put on shelves in November, and her record label, , has stated that the recent incident will not delay the release of her record. "The label does not comment on artist/management relations. We're gearing up for a Nov. 13 album release date," said the record label in a statement to the media.
For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary January 21, 2008 President Bush Visits Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library Washington, D.C. In Focus: African American History 9:42 A.M. EST THE PRESIDENT: Thanks for having us. Listen, Laura and I are thrilled to be with you. Proud to be with the Mayor and Councilman Jack Evans. We appreciate very much the Serve D.C. that is working to inspire volunteerism, and I want to thank this beautiful library for hosting us. I just got a couple of comments I want to say. First of all, Martin Luther King Day means two things to me. One is the opportunity to renew our deep desire for America to be a land of promise for everybody, a land of justice, and a land of opportunity. It's also an opportunity to serve our fellow citizens. They say Martin Luther King Day is not a day off, it should be a day on. And so today Laura and I witnessed acts of compassion as citizens were here in the library volunteering their time, and that's what's happening all across America today. But a day on should be not just one day. It really ought to be every day. And our fellow citizens have got to understand that by loving a neighbor like you'd like to be loved yourself, by reaching out to someone who hurts, by just simply living a life of kindness and compassion, you can make America a better place and fulfill the dream of Martin Luther King. Martin Luther King is a towering figure in the history of our country. And it is fitting that we honor his service and his courage and his vision. And today we're witnessing people doing just that by volunteering their time. So we're honored to be with you. We're proud to be with you on this important national holiday. Mr. Mayor, thank you for coming. Jack, glad you're here. Appreciate you all taking time out of your day to visit with us. Thank you. END 9:44 A.M. EST \|\|\|\|\| New Yorkers mark King Day with service, activism For some New Yorkers, today's holiday is actually a day to get to work. At least that's the idea in Queens and other parts of the city, where some 10,000 volunteers are expected to participate in a Martin Luther King National Day of Service as they lead food and clothing drives, clean up neighborhood streets and visit senior centers, among other efforts. "We believe that the message of Dr. King was that everyone can be great because everyone can serve," said Hanako Ikeno, a program coordinator with Service For Peace, which is organizing the effort in Queens. Most of the efforts around the country to re-energize the federal holiday are centered on rousting slumbering youth on a day off from school. "The thing about Martin Luther King's dream is that there is still a lot we need to do to improve things," said Esther Allen, 16, of Jamaica, Queens, who last year helped lead a civil rights fair for elementary school children and will volunteer again this year. "You can do something productive instead of just bumming around the house." Martin Luther King Jr. Day became officially a day of service in 1994 when Congress passed the King Holiday and Service Act 11 years after the holiday was created over the opposition of President Ronald Reagan and many conservatives who didn't want another federal holiday. The idea of making the day about service has been slow to catch on, according to former Sen. Harris Wofford (D-Pa.), who spearheaded the effort. "We've come a long way, but we still have a long to go," he said. "If Dr. King came back today, I think he would not be happy to see it as a day off rather than a day of action." Leaders of the Day of Service in Queens say that volunteering is a way to keep the spirit of the civil rights movement alive for those too young to remember it. "King awakened the nation to problems black people were having, and our young folks don't even know about it," said the Rev. James Artis, head clergy of the Sojourner Truth AME Zion Church in St. Albans, which is hosting a street cleanup and food drive today for area residents. "You have to take a stand or it becomes just another holiday where people do nothing," said Artis, who marched with King on Washington in August 1963. Other civil rights veterans, however, worry that too many are stressing service instead of King's message of racial and economic justice. "I'm not sure these nice, cozy celebrations in halls and theaters are the right kind of thing," said the Rev. Herbert Daughtry, minister of the House of Lord Pentecostal Church in Brooklyn and a longtime civil rights activist. "The way to honor King was to do something in the street against some kind of injustice and go to jail. That was the way he was." More articles Get breaking news alerts! Copyright © 2008, Newsday Inc. \|\|\|\|\| Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a national holiday established to honor the legacy of one of the United States’ greatest civil rights leader. 2008 is a year of anniversaries both triumphant and tragic. This year marks the 45th anniversary of the March on Washington, which was capped by King’s “I Have a Dream Speech” on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. It’s the 45th year of King’s famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” This will be the 40th anniversary of his murder in Memphis. We asked four Virginians to share their thoughts about the holiday and about how things have changed in the four decades since King’s death. Troy Wells Troy Wells coaches boys basketball at Martinsville High School. Jeanna Deurscherl \| The Roanoke Times How have things changed in America the past 40 years? I think we’ve come a long way. There’s probably a lot more tolerance and understanding between the races. A lot more opportunities are afforded African-Americans. At the same time, it’s still an ongoing process. There’s still a lot to accomplish, things to work toward to make a better understanding between people. What will you do to observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day? I’ll remember a great American who had a tremendous dream for African-American people ... but also a tremendous dream for all people of the United States. I’ll stop and reflect what his goals were, what his ideals were for black adults, black children, and white adults and white children to come together, living in harmony. Vivian Sanchez-Jones Vivian Sanchez-Jones is the school liaison for Roanoke’s Refugee and Immigration Services. Jared Soares \| The Roanoke Times How will you celebrate observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day? I’ll be taking inventory of the past year and see if I’ve done the things that he struggled with all his life ... his dreams. I want to know if I’m doing my part to achieve his dreams. If Rev. King were in your position today, what changes would he see? More minorities are able to climb up the corporate ladder, more minorities are owning businesses. We have basic education that everyone is eligible for, but we still have a ways to go when it comes to higher education. We still have to provide higher education to a lot of minorities. How should Martin Luther King, Jr. Day be celebrated? I don’t think Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is just a celebration for one day. It’s a style of living reflected every day, not just once a year. Garnett M. Graves Sr. Garnett M. Graves Sr. is the owner of Lafayette Sanitary Barber on Orange Avenue. Jeanna Deurscherl \| The Roanoke Times What has changed in the 40 years since Martin Luther King, Jr. died? People now receive jobs they used to couldn’t get. A lot of young people used to leave town. I have a daughter myself. She had to leave out of town to get a job she wanted. What do people need to do to keep things moving forward in race relations? People now don’t seem to have the ability ... to be together as a nation. We’re so separated now, it’s a pity that things are thataway. We really need to come together. How should Martin Luther King, Jr. Day be celebrated? I think it’s a very important day. We really need to be on our P’s and Q’s to be able to say that this is the day he really died for. ... We should also get out and march and show we really mean what we say about Martin Luther King. It’s for us to keep it going if we can. Sometimes I wonder if we really can keep it going. Cheri W. Hartman Cheri W. Hartman is a youth development director at Family Service of Roanoke Valley Jeanna Deurscherl \| The Roanoke Times How should Martin Luther King, Jr. Day be observed? Family Service of Roanoke Valley and the O. Winston Link Museum are having youths ... give back to the community. They’ve taken photograph portraits of children who all deserve to achieve King’s dream. [The exhibit, “All Can Achieve the Dream,” opens today at the O. Winston Link Museum. $5 adults, $4 children, free for 2 and under.] If Martin Luther King, Jr. were doing your job today, what would be his views on America today? I believe he would see education as a path to success in achieving your dreams. What are the biggest changes you’ve seen in the years since his death? School busing, integration of schools, the No Child Left Behind Act ... the focus on accountability has been an honorable one, but what concerns me is improving teacher training, paying teachers more and honoring teachers and the role in education they play. \|\|\|\|\| (adds Clinton leaving South Carolina, Florida dispute) By John Whitesides and Ellen Wulfhorst COLUMBIA, S.C., Jan 21 (Reuters) - Democrats Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards honored the legacy of slain U.S. civil rights leader Martin Luther King on Monday and said his work paved the way for this year's precedent-shattering White House candidacies. Obama, who would be the first black U.S. president, and Clinton. who would be the first woman U.S. president, joined Edwards at a rally outside the South Carolina state capitol in a hunt for black support on the holiday marking King's birthday. The Republican presidential contenders flooded Florida ahead of a crucial showdown on Jan. 29 in a nomination race where three different candidates have scored wins and a fourth, Rudy Giuliani, is looking for his big breakthrough. For Democrats, South Carolina is the next battleground in a seesawing race to find a candidate for the November election. Obama holds a slim lead in polls in the state, where more than half of the likely primary voters on Saturday will be black. "Let us just take a moment to marvel at the progress we have made together," Clinton, a New York senator, told more than 5,000 people on the lawn of the capitol. She said the rally was a testament to King's efforts to knock down social barriers and bring justice to those who lived on the margins. "But the work is far from finished," Clinton said. "The dream is not fulfilled." Obama, an Illinois senator, marched to the rally with about 1,000 people through downtown Columbia, walking alongside a group of Clinton supporters chanting her name. Once there, the crowd gathered beneath a Confederate flag that once flew on the statehouse. "It's not always easy to see past our differences," Obama said, with Clinton and Edwards seated on stage behind him. "Every day our politics fuels and explores these kinds of divisions." Edwards, who was born in South Carolina and won the state primary during his failed White House bid in 2004, said he was proud to be on the stage with a black and a woman presidential candidate. MARCH TO JUSTICE "All three of us are on the journey with you on the march to justice and equality," said Edwards, who has promised to push on in the race despite distant third-place finishes in New Hampshire and Nevada. The three Democratic contenders will meet in a debate in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, later on Monday night. Clinton will leave the state after the debate for two days of campaigning in California, Arizona, New Mexico and New Jersey, states that vote during the Feb. 5 "Super Tuesday" round of 22 contests. Across the street from the rally, about a dozen protesters held signs picturing the Confederate flag and reading "Yankee Go Home" and "The Flag Stays." Neither party has established a clear front-runner in the race to pick the two candidates to contest the Nov. 4 election to succeed President George W. Bush, as the first major state-by-state battles produced multiple winners. Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who won Republican contests in Michigan and Nevada, also cited King's work during a campaign stop in Jacksonville, Florida. "Sometime you think problems are huge and they're beyond the scope of anyone's ability to deal with them, but an individual of passion and courage and faith and character can help change an entire nation, as he did," Romney said. Romney is in a tight race in Florida with Arizona Sen. John McCain, who won last Saturday's Republican primary in South Carolina and earlier in New Hampshire, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who won Iowa, and Giuliani. Giuliani sat out the early voting states in order to concentrate on Florida in hopes it will propel him on to the Feb. 5 "Super Tuesday" voting with fresh momentum. McCain wooed Cuban-American voters in Miami and told that influential bloc of Republican voters he would not lift the trade embargo on Cuba until it holds free elections. Huckabee attended on Monday King's home church in Atlanta, Ebenezer Baptist Church, before heading to Florida. Obama spoke at the Atlanta church on Sunday. The Democrats also are holding a primary in Florida, but because of a dispute between the state and national parties the candidates have pledged not to campaign there. The Clinton campaign said it would re-evaluate that pledge, however, after Obama bought a national ad on cable television that will be aired in Florida. (Additional reporting by Jason Szep and Tom Brown in Florida; Editing by David Wiessler)	__NOTOC__ __NOEDITSECTION__ Today is Martin Luther King day in the USA. The day has been commemorated by many people including US president George Bush. In a visit to the Martin Luther King Memorial Library, Mr Bush said that he believed "Martin Luther King is a towering figure in the history of the USA." Barack Obama also marked the event by delivering a speech from the church which is seen by many to be the place where King became a prominent figure in the politics of the US. ===New York=== An event in New York was organized that involved attempting to get thousand citizens to perform activities that were intended to help the community. Hanako Ikeno, who helped co-ordinate the event said that this event was organized because she believed "that the message of Dr. King was that everyone can be great because everyone can serve." ===George Bush=== George Bush at the Martin Luther King memorial library President George W. Bush attended the Martin Luther King Memorial Library and gave a speech to mark the event. Bush said that "Martin Luther King Day means two things to me. One is the opportunity to renew our deep desire for America to be a land of promise for everybody, a land of justice, and a land of opportunity. It's also an opportunity to serve our fellow citizens." Later in the speech Bush continued, "Martin Luther King is a towering figure in the history of our country. And it is fitting that we honor his service and his courage and his vision. And today we're witnessing people doing just that by volunteering their time." ===US Democratic party presidential candidates=== Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton and John Edwards took part in a rally to commemorate Martin Luther King day. In the event Hilary Clinton asked the crowd to "Let us just take a moment to marvel at the progress we have made together." After saying that she added "But the work is far from finished, the dream is not fulfilled." The use of the word dream was widely interpreted as reference to Martin Luther King. Obama added to Clinton's speech by saying "It's not always easy to see past our differences, every day our politics fuels and explores these kinds of divisions." John Edwards said that "All three of us Democratic presidential candidates are on the journey with you on the march to justice and equality." ===US Republican party presidential candidates=== Mike Huckabee made a speech from a church that was near the former home of Martin Luther King. Mitt Romney also discussed Martin Luther King and civil rights. In his speech he stated that he believed "the great civil rights issue of our time, is making sure our inner-city schools are up to the task." He added that he believed inner-city schools fail in "too many ways."
NEW DELHI: Of the five assemblies facing elections from the end of this month to April, the stakes are highest for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Kerala. Congress is not in power in any of the four ballot-linked states of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam and the Union Territory (UT) of Puducherry. Still,… \|\|\|\|\| Ghaffor was the last man alive from when the Pakistan football team was good enough to beat USSR, UAE and China. KARACHI: The demise of Abdul Ghaffor Majna, also known as Pakistan’s Pele, can be a perfect metaphor for Pakistan football. Majna, who passed away yesterday after suffering from paralysis for over four years, was the last man alive from the days when the Pakistan football team was good enough to beat USSR, UAE and China – a far cry from the state of affairs right now. He captained the side for 11 years, including the triumphant 1974 Asian Games campaign and, according to his son Abdul Wahid, Majna was the strategist and plotter in the side. Majna’s career began aged just 14 with Calcutta Mohammad but, according to Wahid, the years of service ended in pain as the government turned a blind eye when the footballer fell ill and needed help. According to Mohammad Rashid, who plays for Saifi Club that Majna founded and later trained young players at, the former captain was an encyclopaedia of football and an inspiration even at age 70. Prior to the brain haemorrhage and the subsequent paralysis, Majna would play football with his students and could instantly refer to any moment, even of an old football match, at the tip of his tongue. “He was called Pele not only because his game resembled that of the great Brazilian but also because of his knowledge,” Rashid told The Express Tribune. “He literally lived football. Even as an old man, he would come out and play. In fact, even at this age, he was a better dribbler than us younger ones.” Majna’s Saifi Club now has more than 70 players who participate in different tournaments in Lyari, and Rashid, along with others, hope to carry on Majna’s legacy for years to come. Published in The Express Tribune, September 8th, 2012. \|\|\|\|\| ‘Pakistani Pele’ Abdul Ghafoor dead at 71 KARACHI: Former Pakistan football captain Abdul Ghafoor, also known as the Pele of Pakistan, passed away on Friday after a protracted illness. 71-year old Ghafoor suffered a brain hemorrhage four years ago due to which he was paralyzed. He remained the captain of the Pakistan football team for 11 years from 1974 to 1985 and under his leadership Pakistan triumphed over the national teams of Russia, China and the UAE . He was given the title ‘Pele of Pakistan’ because of his resemblance to Brazilian player Pele. “Abdul Ghafoor was such a kind person, who will be greatly missed by all who knew him,” President of the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF), Faisal Saleh Hayat, said. He added that Ghafoor’s contribution to football in Pakistan was immense and will always be remembered. “I will remember his contribution for the development of football in Pakistan. The loss to football is irreparable, and it will be very difficult to fill the vacuum created by the passing away of such a great star of Pakistan.”	Ghafoor died in the Pakistani captial of Former Pakistani international footballer has died in Karachi at the age of 71. Ghafoor, known as the "Pakistani Pele" died afer a long illness. He was the captain of the during the 1960s and 70s. Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat, the President of the (PFF) released a statement after Ghafoor's death. He said “I was deeply saddened by the death of Pakistani Pele. This must be very difficult for all football lovers and players. Abdul Ghafoor was a kind person who will be greatly missed by all who knew him". The PFF has come under some criticism from the Pakistani media about it's lack of support for Ghafoor in his five years of illness. Ghafoor played his entire career in Pakistan playing for the . He rejected offers to join clubs in such countries as Russia, China and Saudi Arabia to remain in his home country. During his international career he is credited with being part of the best Pakistani national team ever. During this time Pakistan recorded victories over such nations as China and the United Arab Emirates. They were also successful in winning the 1974 Asian Games. Today Pakistan have very little success in international football. They are ranked 177th in the . == Sources == * * *
The terminally ill Libyan convicted over the 1988 Lockerbie bombing flew home from Scotland to a joyous reception Thursday after being freed on compassionate grounds despite US anger over the decision. Hundreds of young people waving Libyan and Scottish flags greeted the aircraft carrying Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi as it landed in Tripoli amid heavy security. He emerged from the plane wearing a dark suit, his hand held by Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi's son Seif al-Islam, who was in the delegation that flew to Scotland to bring him home. Lockerbie bomber freed Abdel Basset al-Megrahi returns home to Libya after being released from Scotland on compassionate grounds. Loudspeakers pumped out patriotic songs ahead of a celebration in the heart of the Libyan capital that Megrahi was expected to attend. The only person found guilty of blowing up a US Boeing 747 airliner and killing 270 people, Megrahi said earlier he was "very relieved" to be freed but described his original conviction as a "disgrace." US President Barack Obama called his release a "mistake." "We have been in contact with the Scottish government, indicating that we objected to this, and we thought it was a mistake," Obama said. Many of the victims on Pan Am Flight 103 were American. Obama added that "we're now in contact with the Libyan government and want to make sure that if, in fact, this transfer has taken place, that he's not welcomed back in some way, but instead, should be under house arrest." US Attorney General Eric Holder repudiated the legal basis of the Scottish decision. "There is simply no justification for releasing this convicted terrorist whose actions took the lives of 270 individuals, including 189 Americans," he said. The Cairo-based Arab League welcomed Megrahi's release. "The Arab League welcomes the Scottish court decision to release Megrahi, taking into consideration his serious health condition," Assistant Secretary General Ahdmed Bin Hilli was quoted as saying by the official MENA news agency. He said the decision came after lengthy Libyan diplomatic efforts. Bin Hilli also voiced hope that "Libya would receive compensation for its suffering during the years of ongoing sanctions as a result of this crisis." In 2003, Libya agreed to pay 2.7 billion dollars in compensation to Lockerbie relatives, paving the way for a thawing of relations with the West. Four hours before his arrival home, dressed in white from head to toe and covering his face with a scarf, the 57-year-old walked unaided up the steps of the Libyan jet sent from Tripoli to collect him. His release from a prison near Glasgow came barely an hour after Scotland's justice minister announced Megrahi was being freed because he has advanced prostate cancer and was expected to die in less than three months. "Scotland will forever remember the crime that has been perpetrated against our people and those from many other lands," Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said, defending his decision. "Our justice system demands that judgment be imposed but compassion be available. Our beliefs dictate that justice be served, but mercy be shown." In a statement issued by his lawyers after his departure, Megrahi said he was "obviously very relieved to be leaving my prison cell at last" -- but called his 2001 conviction "nothing short of a disgrace." "This horrible ordeal is not ended by my return to Libya, it may never end for me until I die. Perhaps the only liberation for me will be death," he said. Megrahi's wife Aisha said she was "very, very happy" at his release, which comes just in time for the start of the Islamic holy fasting month of Ramadan. "I am overjoyed; it is indescribable. It is a great moment which we have been waiting for for nine years. The house is full to bursting; everyone who loves Abdelbaset is with us," she told AFP. Continued… \|\|\|\|\| Abdel Basset al-Megrahi was convicted in 2001 for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103[AP] Abdel Basset al-Megrahi was convicted in 2001 for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103[AP] Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, 57, who is dying of prostate cancer, flew home on Thursday after Kenny MacAskill said he should be released on compassionate grounds. A Libyan former agent jailed for the 1988 Pan Am Flight 103 bombing over the Scottish town of Lockerbie has landed in Libya after being freed from prison on the orders of Scotland's justice minister. "It is my decision that Mr al-Megrahi ... be released on compassionate grounds and be returned to Libya to die," he said. The announcement has been met with heavy criticism from the United States government and some victims' families, who believe al-Megrahi, held responsible for the 270 deaths in the bombing, should remain behind bars. Barack Obama, the US president, described the release as a "mistake" and said that al-Megrahi should be placed under house arrest on his return. Al-Megrahi 'relieved' Al-Megrahi returned to Libya after boarding a plane at Prestwick airport in Glasgow, Scotland. He was earlier released from Greenock prison and escorted by a police convoy to the airport. In a statement following his release, al-Megrahi said: "I am obviously very relieved to be leaving my prison cell at last and returning to Libya, my homeland. "The remaining days of my life are being lived under the shadow of the wrongness of my conviction. "I have been faced with an appalling choice: to risk dying in prison in the hope that my name is cleared posthumously or to return home still carrying the weight of the guilty verdict, which will never now be lifted. "The choice which I made is a matter of sorrow, disappointment and anger, which I fear I will never overcome." 'Going to die' Amr El-Kahky, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Tripoli, the Liban capital, said Libyans were "triumphant" at his return. "Al-Megrahi's mother said she has her home door open, because she won't believe that he is free unless she sees him for herself," he said local press had reported. MacAskill ruled out allowing al-Megrahi to live in Scotland due to security concerns. "Al-Megrahi now faces a sentence imposed by a higher power," MacAskill said. "It is one that no court in any jurisdiction could revoke or overrule. It is terminal, final and irrevocable. He is going to die." MacAskill said the decision was made because Scottish law required that "justice be served, but mercy be shown". US anger The US said it "deeply regrets" the decision made by the Scottish executive, in a statement made by the White House. Al-Megrahi has been serving his sentence in Greenock prison in Scotland [GALLO/GETTY] "As we have expressed repeatedly to officials of the government of the United Kingdom and to Scottish authorities, we continue to believe that Megrahi should serve out his sentence in Scotland," it said. Nick Spicer, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Washington DC, said the US government had been writing to British leaders to try to influence the decision. "But Scottish justice is sovereign, and it is recognised that the US cannot change the outcome of the decision by the Scottish justice minister," he said. Libyan dilemma Speaking to Al Jazeera, Omar Turbi, an expert in US-Libyan relations, said: "I think it [the release] really represents a dilemma for the Libyans. "Will they move forward in their history and time, thinking 'OK, we want the world to think that we took revenge over America's bombing of Tripoli in 1986, or shall we really take this stigma out of the world's view of us and clear it once and for all'. "Libya is going to live with this stigma forever if it does not take a proactive step to clear its name." Appeal dropped The Libyan government had appealed to the court to consider a prisoner transfer or release on compassionate grounds for al-Megrahi. MacAskill rejected the application for a prisoner transfer, stating the US government believed there was an agreement to keep anyone convicted over the Lockerbie bombing imprisoned in Scotland. Frank Duggan, the president of US Victims of Pan Am 103, told Al Jazeera he was "disappointed" that Britain's government did not make discussions over the terms of al-Megrahi's imprisonment clear. "Mr MacAskill said the British government said it had no obligation to honour its agreement that the prisoner would serve his term in Scotland. They said they gave no such assurances to the US government and that's just not true," he said. "It is clear that the agreement was made that he would spend his entire term, the rest of his life, in Scotland." Al-Megrahi's release comes days after he dropped his second appeal against his conviction, a condition necessary for the applications to be considered. Libya responsibility Al-Megrahi, who has repeatedly protested his innocence, lost an appeal in 2002 and last year failed to secure his release on the grounds he was dying. However, there is a fear that, unless a public inquiry into Lockerbie is held, evidence that would have come to light at al-Megrahi's appeal will never be publicly known. His lawyers began an appeal in May this year against his conviction at a court in Edinburgh, saying the case against him was flawed. The attack, which occured on December 21 1988, killed all 259 people on board and 11 on the ground when it crashed into the town of Lockerbie. Four years after al-Megrahi's conviction in 2001, Libya accepted responsibility for the bombing and agreed to pay about $2.7bn in compensation to the families of those killed. That move prompted the lifting of international sanctions against Libya and led to a restoration in diplomatic ties between Tripoli and the West. \|\|\|\|\| Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. The convicted Lockerbie bomber has been flown home to Libya after being freed from a Scottish prison on compassionate grounds. Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, 57, was jailed in 2001 for the atrocity which claimed 270 lives in 1988. The decision to release Megrahi, who has terminal prostate cancer, was made by the Scottish Government. US president Barack Obama said the decision was "a mistake" and some US victims' families reacted angrily. Some 189 Americans were among those who died in the explosion. Megrahi was released from Greenock Prison 'A convenient scapegoat?' Bomber release: What now? Grounds for compassionate release 'No prospect of recovery' A police convoy left Greenock Prison, where Megrahi was serving his sentence, just an hour after the announcement of his release was made. It was greeting by angry jeers from a small group of local residents. Megrahi was taken to Glasgow Airport where he boarded an Afriqiyah Airways Airbus plane bound for Tripoli, wearing a white track suit and clutching his prison release papers. The aircraft took off shortly before 1530 BST and arrived in the Libyan capital shortly after 1930 BST. The government said it had consulted widely before Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill made his decision on applications for Megrahi's compassionate release or his transfer to a Libyan jail. He told a media conference on Thursday that he had rejected the application for a prisoner transfer. However, after taking medical advice it was expected that three months was a "reasonable estimate" of the time Megrahi had left to live. He ruled out the option of the Libyan being allowed to live in Scotland on security grounds. The remaining days of my life are being lived under the shadow of the wrongness of my conviction Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi In full: Statement from Megrahi And Mr MacAskill stressed that he accepted the conviction and sentence which had been handed to Megrahi. "Mr al-Megrahi did not show his victims any comfort or compassion. They were not allowed to return to the bosom of their families to see out their lives, let alone their dying days. No compassion was shown by him to them," he said. "But that alone is not a reason for us to deny compassion to him and his family in his final days." Mr MacAskill continued: "Our justice system demands that judgement be imposed, but compassion be available. Fiona Trott BBC News correspondent, in Lockerbie After the Scottish justice secretary made his announcement, life continued as normal in rain-soaked Lockerbie. People were surprised by the decision he made - the real question was whether they had a strong opinion about it. When the bombing happened 21 years ago, this town was full of army personnel and the emergency services and local people who helped that night became heroes. But it happened a generation ago, and, while some American victims' families say his release is incomprehensible, people here in Lockerbie say they don't see things in black and white. Two families were wiped out here, but the immediate families of the other victims no longer stay in Lockerbie. Some say it's right Megrahi has been released because he is very ill. Does the decision bring everything to a close? People here say no. Even though they have put the event in the past, tourists from across the world still come here. For them, Lockerbie will always be known as the place where PAN AM flight 103 came down. "For these reasons and these reasons alone, it is my decision that Mr Mr Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al-Megrahi, convicted in 2001 for the Lockerbie bombing, now terminally ill with prostate cancer, be released on compassionate grounds and be allowed to return to Libya to die." Mr MacAskill had been under intense pressure from the US government to keep Megrahi behind bars, with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saying his release would be "absolutely wrong". "Compassion and mercy are about upholding the beliefs the we seek to live by, remaining true to our values as a people - no matter the severity of the provocation or the atrocity perpetrated," he added. In a statement released after his departure from HMP Greenock, Megrahi continued to protest his innocence. He said: "The remaining days of my life are being lived under the shadow of the wrongness of my conviction. "I have been faced with an appalling choice: to risk dying in prison in the hope that my name is cleared posthumously or to return home still carrying the weight of the guilty verdict, which will never now be lifted. "The choice which I made is a matter of sorrow, disappointment and anger, which I fear I will never overcome." Reacting to the decision, US president Barack Obama said: "We have been in contact with the Scottish Government, indicating that we objected to this and we thought it was a mistake." He said they had also contacted the Libyan government to ask that Megrahi not be "welcomed back" but instead placed under house arrest. "We've also obviously been in contact with the families of the Pan Am victims and indicated to them that we don't think this was appropriate," he added. The bombing claimed 270 lives Reaction: Lockerbie bomber freed The Libyan government has played down claims Megrahi would return to Tripoli a hero. He will be required to live permanently at a given address in Libya, must agree any change of address and must not travel from Libya without consent, the Scottish Government said. The families of American victims of the Lockerbie bombing reacted angrily to the news of his release. Kara Weipz, of Mt Laurel, New Jersey, who lost her 20-year-old brother Richard Monetti, said: "I don't understand how the Scots can show compassion. It is an utter insult and utterly disgusting. "It is horrible. I don't show compassion for someone who showed no remorse." New York state resident Paul Halsch, whose 31-year-old wife was killed, said of Mr MacAskill's decision: "I'm totally against it. He murdered 270 people. "This might sound crude or blunt, but I want him returned from Scotland the same way my wife Lorraine was and that would be in a box." However, British relatives' spokesman Dr Jim Swire, who lost his daughter Flora in the atrocity, said he believed Megrahi had "nothing to do with" the bombing. "I don't believe for a moment that this man was involved in the way that he was found to have been involved," he said. Have Your Say I am ashamed to be Scottish today. Where is the justice for the victims? Ross MacDonald, Edinburgh "I feel despondent that the west and Scotland didn't have the guts to allow this man's second appeal to continue because I am convinced had they done so it would have overturned the verdict against him. "It's a blow to those of us who seek the truth but it is not an ending. I think it is a splitting of the ways." The BBC's Christian Fraser in Tripoli said that until now, Libyan officials had been careful not to comment in case they jeopardised the release, wary of last minute interventions by the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Officially there are unlikely to be any triumphant statements, but given the personal involvement of Mr Gaddafi it will no doubt be seen as further evidence of his growing stature on the international stage, our correspondent said. It is rumoured that he has asked to see Megrahi when he returns, and the timing is perfect - in 12 days' time Libya celebrates the 40th anniversary of the revolution that brought Muammar Gaddafi to power, he added. Our correspondent said Megrahi's release has been billed by the leader as the new dawn for Libya, and to many it will be viewed as a more palatable ending to one of the darkest chapters in the country's history. Appeal dropped Megrahi was convicted of murder in January 2001 at a trial held under Scottish law in the Netherlands. A first appeal against that verdict was rejected the following year. However, in 2007 the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission granted him a second appeal. It subsequently emerged he was suffering from terminal cancer but a bid to have him granted bail was refused. His second appeal got under way this year but shortly afterwards applications were made for both his transfer to a Libyan jail and release on compassionate grounds. Earlier this week the High Court in Edinburgh allowed Megrahi's application to drop his second appeal. LOCATIONS WHICH SHAPED MEGRAHI'S TRIAL 1. Tripoli, capital of Libya. Megrahi was born here on 1 April 1952, and worked - according to the FBI - for Libyan intelligence services. 2. Malta. Megrahi's day job, as security chief for Libyan Arab Airlines, took him to their office on the island. From there he would travel to Zurich. The bomb began its journey here in December 1988. 3. Zurich, Switzerland. The bomb's timing device was made and purchased here. 4. Frankfurt, Germany. On arrival, a suitcase later found to have contained the bomb was transferred from an Air Malta jet to a flight bound for London Heathrow. 5. London's Heathrow Airport. Pan Am flight PA 103 took off from Heathrow at 1825 GMT on Wednesday, 21 December 1988. 6. Lockerbie, Scotland. The bomb on Flight PA 103 exploded above the Scottish village at 1902 GMT. 7. Camp Zeist, Netherlands. Here, in a landmark trial, Scottish judges convicted Megrahi in 2001. 8. HMP Barlinnie. Megrahi served the first part of his sentence in this Scottish prison. 9. HMP Greenock. Megrahi was transferred from Barlinnie to Greenock in 2005. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? E-mail this to a friend Printable version \|\|\|\|\| Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill announced his release on compassionate grounds in a press conference. Megrahi, who has terminal prostate cancer, could be on his way home within hours to spend his dying days with his family. Sources at a military airport near Tripoli, Libya, said that the plane which will take him back home was en-route to Glasgow Airport earlier today, suggesting he could leave this afternoon. Megrahi, 57, was convicted of killing 270 people in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight. Some 189 Americans were among those who died in the airliner explosion. The decision to free him is likely to cause outrage in the United States, where Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she hoped he would stay behind bars. A White House spokesman said the Obama administration "deeply regrets" the decision. Mr MacAskill made the announcement at the Scottish Government's ministerial headquarters in Edinburgh. He had been considering two applications – one for Megrahi to be moved from Greenock prison to Libya under a prisoner transfer agreement, and a separate application for him to be released early on compassionate grounds. He rejected the first application, and opted for the latter course, meaning Megrahi is able to return home a free man. In the build-up to his decision, Mr MacAskill came under intense US pressure to keep Megrahi behind bars. On Wednesday a cancer specialist called for an "urgent" decision on Megrahi's future. Professor Karol Sikora, who visited him in prison, said the Libyan had an "aggressive" form of prostate cancer which was no longer responding to treatment. "We believe he has only a very short period of time to live," said Prof Sikora, who assessed Megrahi last month. But Mrs Clinton said it was "absolutely wrong" to release Megrahi, and American relatives have been fiercely critical of the reported plans. Speaking on Wednesday, before his release, she said: "We are still encouraging the Scottish authorities not to do so and we hope that they will not." Megrahi successfully dropped his appeal against conviction on Tuesday. The Times reported that Megrahi would be flown back to Libya on Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's private jet. Tripoli-based Afriqiyah Airways, which runs Colonel Gaddafi's personal Airbus A340, contacted Glasgow airport yesterday to report that it would be collecting "a special passenger", the newspaper claimed. However, the flight was cancelled during protracted negotiations over his fate. Another plane is reported to have left a military base near Tripoli for Glasgow, carrying Libyan journalists. Megrahi's wife Aisha told The Times she was "very happy" at the prospect of her husband returning to his homeland. It was also reported that the convicted bomber had called his mother in Libya and told her he hoped to be with her by Ramadan, Hajja Fatma, 95, told the Tripoli Post in Libya: "I do not close the house's door at all. I am expecting him to enter at any moment. "Eleven years I did not spend the holy month of Ramadan with him, I am waiting for that day when he comes back." She maintained that her son was innocent of killing 270 people in the Lockerbie bomb, saying "he would not slaughter a chicken". \|\|\|\|\| Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. The convicted Lockerbie bomber has been flown home to Libya after being freed from a Scottish prison on compassionate grounds. Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, 57, was jailed in 2001 for the atrocity which claimed 270 lives in 1988. The decision to release Megrahi, who has terminal prostate cancer, was made by the Scottish Government. US president Barack Obama said the decision was "a mistake" and some US victims' families reacted angrily. Some 189 Americans were among those who died in the explosion. Megrahi was released from Greenock Prison 'A convenient scapegoat?' Bomber release: What now? Grounds for compassionate release 'No prospect of recovery' A police convoy left Greenock Prison, where Megrahi was serving his sentence, just an hour after the announcement of his release was made. It was greeting by angry jeers from a small group of local residents. Megrahi was taken to Glasgow Airport where he boarded an Afriqiyah Airways Airbus plane bound for Tripoli, wearing a white track suit and clutching his prison release papers. The aircraft took off shortly before 1530 BST and arrived in the Libyan capital shortly after 1930 BST. The government said it had consulted widely before Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill made his decision on applications for Megrahi's compassionate release or his transfer to a Libyan jail. He told a media conference on Thursday that he had rejected the application for a prisoner transfer. However, after taking medical advice it was expected that three months was a "reasonable estimate" of the time Megrahi had left to live. He ruled out the option of the Libyan being allowed to live in Scotland on security grounds. The remaining days of my life are being lived under the shadow of the wrongness of my conviction Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi In full: Statement from Megrahi And Mr MacAskill stressed that he accepted the conviction and sentence which had been handed to Megrahi. "Mr al-Megrahi did not show his victims any comfort or compassion. They were not allowed to return to the bosom of their families to see out their lives, let alone their dying days. No compassion was shown by him to them," he said. "But that alone is not a reason for us to deny compassion to him and his family in his final days." Mr MacAskill continued: "Our justice system demands that judgement be imposed, but compassion be available. Fiona Trott BBC News correspondent, in Lockerbie After the Scottish justice secretary made his announcement, life continued as normal in rain-soaked Lockerbie. People were surprised by the decision he made - the real question was whether they had a strong opinion about it. When the bombing happened 21 years ago, this town was full of army personnel and the emergency services and local people who helped that night became heroes. But it happened a generation ago, and, while some American victims' families say his release is incomprehensible, people here in Lockerbie say they don't see things in black and white. Two families were wiped out here, but the immediate families of the other victims no longer stay in Lockerbie. Some say it's right Megrahi has been released because he is very ill. Does the decision bring everything to a close? People here say no. Even though they have put the event in the past, tourists from across the world still come here. For them, Lockerbie will always be known as the place where PAN AM flight 103 came down. "For these reasons and these reasons alone, it is my decision that Mr Mr Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al-Megrahi, convicted in 2001 for the Lockerbie bombing, now terminally ill with prostate cancer, be released on compassionate grounds and be allowed to return to Libya to die." Mr MacAskill had been under intense pressure from the US government to keep Megrahi behind bars, with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saying his release would be "absolutely wrong". "Compassion and mercy are about upholding the beliefs the we seek to live by, remaining true to our values as a people - no matter the severity of the provocation or the atrocity perpetrated," he added. In a statement released after his departure from HMP Greenock, Megrahi continued to protest his innocence. He said: "The remaining days of my life are being lived under the shadow of the wrongness of my conviction. "I have been faced with an appalling choice: to risk dying in prison in the hope that my name is cleared posthumously or to return home still carrying the weight of the guilty verdict, which will never now be lifted. "The choice which I made is a matter of sorrow, disappointment and anger, which I fear I will never overcome." Reacting to the decision, US president Barack Obama said: "We have been in contact with the Scottish Government, indicating that we objected to this and we thought it was a mistake." He said they had also contacted the Libyan government to ask that Megrahi not be "welcomed back" but instead placed under house arrest. "We've also obviously been in contact with the families of the Pan Am victims and indicated to them that we don't think this was appropriate," he added. The bombing claimed 270 lives Reaction: Lockerbie bomber freed The Libyan government has played down claims Megrahi would return to Tripoli a hero. He will be required to live permanently at a given address in Libya, must agree any change of address and must not travel from Libya without consent, the Scottish Government said. The families of American victims of the Lockerbie bombing reacted angrily to the news of his release. Kara Weipz, of Mt Laurel, New Jersey, who lost her 20-year-old brother Richard Monetti, said: "I don't understand how the Scots can show compassion. It is an utter insult and utterly disgusting. "It is horrible. I don't show compassion for someone who showed no remorse." New York state resident Paul Halsch, whose 31-year-old wife was killed, said of Mr MacAskill's decision: "I'm totally against it. He murdered 270 people. "This might sound crude or blunt, but I want him returned from Scotland the same way my wife Lorraine was and that would be in a box." However, British relatives' spokesman Dr Jim Swire, who lost his daughter Flora in the atrocity, said he believed Megrahi had "nothing to do with" the bombing. "I don't believe for a moment that this man was involved in the way that he was found to have been involved," he said. Have Your Say I am ashamed to be Scottish today. Where is the justice for the victims? Ross MacDonald, Edinburgh "I feel despondent that the west and Scotland didn't have the guts to allow this man's second appeal to continue because I am convinced had they done so it would have overturned the verdict against him. "It's a blow to those of us who seek the truth but it is not an ending. I think it is a splitting of the ways." The BBC's Christian Fraser in Tripoli said that until now, Libyan officials had been careful not to comment in case they jeopardised the release, wary of last minute interventions by the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Officially there are unlikely to be any triumphant statements, but given the personal involvement of Mr Gaddafi it will no doubt be seen as further evidence of his growing stature on the international stage, our correspondent said. It is rumoured that he has asked to see Megrahi when he returns, and the timing is perfect - in 12 days' time Libya celebrates the 40th anniversary of the revolution that brought Muammar Gaddafi to power, he added. Our correspondent said Megrahi's release has been billed by the leader as the new dawn for Libya, and to many it will be viewed as a more palatable ending to one of the darkest chapters in the country's history. Appeal dropped Megrahi was convicted of murder in January 2001 at a trial held under Scottish law in the Netherlands. A first appeal against that verdict was rejected the following year. However, in 2007 the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission granted him a second appeal. It subsequently emerged he was suffering from terminal cancer but a bid to have him granted bail was refused. His second appeal got under way this year but shortly afterwards applications were made for both his transfer to a Libyan jail and release on compassionate grounds. Earlier this week the High Court in Edinburgh allowed Megrahi's application to drop his second appeal. LOCATIONS WHICH SHAPED MEGRAHI'S TRIAL 1. Tripoli, capital of Libya. Megrahi was born here on 1 April 1952, and worked - according to the FBI - for Libyan intelligence services. 2. Malta. Megrahi's day job, as security chief for Libyan Arab Airlines, took him to their office on the island. From there he would travel to Zurich. The bomb began its journey here in December 1988. 3. Zurich, Switzerland. The bomb's timing device was made and purchased here. 4. Frankfurt, Germany. On arrival, a suitcase later found to have contained the bomb was transferred from an Air Malta jet to a flight bound for London Heathrow. 5. London's Heathrow Airport. Pan Am flight PA 103 took off from Heathrow at 1825 GMT on Wednesday, 21 December 1988. 6. Lockerbie, Scotland. The bomb on Flight PA 103 exploded above the Scottish village at 1902 GMT. 7. Camp Zeist, Netherlands. Here, in a landmark trial, Scottish judges convicted Megrahi in 2001. 8. HMP Barlinnie. Megrahi served the first part of his sentence in this Scottish prison. 9. HMP Greenock. Megrahi was transferred from Barlinnie to Greenock in 2005. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? E-mail this to a friend Printable version \|\|\|\|\| Photo: PA Lawyers for the 57-year-old, who is dying of prostate cancer, said he had taken the unexpected decision after his condition took a "significant turn for the worse". He is expected to be freed next week on compassionate grounds, but relatives of the victims had expected his appeal to continue, even after his death. They reacted to the latest news with dismay and immediately renewed their calls for a full public inquiry into the atrocity in which 270 people died. The decision means that Megrahi, who has always protested his innocence, will die a guilty man. He had previously claimed that he would not return to Libya until he cleared his name, and politicians expressed concern that he may have been put under pressure as part of a deal to return home. Scottish ministers are thought to be preparing to free him after being persuaded that he does not have long to live. He lost his original appeal in 2002 but was granted a second appeal after an independent review body ruled that he may be the victim of a miscarriage of justice. The Scottish Executive, which insists no final decision has been taken on the Libyan's fate, said it was not involved in the appeal decision. Reports that Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish justice minister, has already taken the decision to free him next week have infuriated American relatives of the Lockerbie victims. They are convinced of his guilt and believe he should die in jail in Scotland, where he has served only eight years of a minimum sentence of 27 years. Most of the British families believe he is innocent and support his release. Lawyers confirmed that he had asked for the appeal to be dropped and the request will be heard in the High Court in Edinburgh on Tuesday. Pamela Dix, whose 35-year-old brother Peter died in the bombing, said she was disappointed by the decision. Speaking from Woking in Surrey, she added: "At the moment there is no other process or procedure ongoing to tell us how the bombing was carried out, why it was done, the motivation for it and who ordered it." Martin Cadman, 84, of Burnham Market, Norfolk, who lost his son Bill, 32, said: "It's been nearly 21 years since the event and where are we? Nowhere." Meanwhile, Daniel Kawczynski, the Tory chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on Libya, said Megrahi should not be freed until the killer of Pc Yvonne Fletcher Â who was shot dead outside the Libyan embassy 25 years ago - was handed over.	Memorial of , at Dryfesdale Cemetery , the only individual convicted in connection with the bombing of in 1988, has been released by Scottish , on compassionate grounds. Megrahi is suffering from and will be allowed to return to his home country of Libya. 270 people were killed when, on December 21, 1988, the flight from London's Heathrow Airport to New York's was destroyed by a bomb whilst in flight over southern Scotland. A police convoy escorted Megrahi from his former prison home in to , where he boarded an flight to . He was told he could not remain in Scotland on security grounds. In announcing the release on compassionate grounds, Justice Secretary MacAskill stated, "Al-Megrahi now faces a sentence imposed by a higher power. It is one that no court in any jurisdiction could revoke or overrule. It is terminal, final and irrevocable. He is going to die". The conviction remains controversial. Last year then-president of US group ''Victims of Pan Am Flight 103'' told ''Wikinews'' that the vast majority were satisfied in Megrahi's guilt. ''UK Families Flight 103'' painted a very different picture to ''Wikinews'' of the opinions in Britain: "UK Families have different views about Megrahi's guilt or innocence. Certainly some, including my husband and I, believe that we are not in a position to make a judgment about whether he was involved in some way or not," said group coordinator Jean Berkley, whose son was killed. "Much of the evidence at the trial was circumstantial and confusing and it is a fact that the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, after considering the matter for three years, came to the conclusion that there were grounds for appeal. The UK families are united in believing that the full independent inquiry for which we have been asking since 1989 should now take place, to deal with the many unanswered questions and enable the evidence which would have emerged from the now abandoned appeal to be made public." This is in sharp contrast to '''', which earlier reported that the majority of British families felt Megrahi was innocent. The United States government had been strongly opposed to any possible release. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had previously called the possibility "absolutely wrong". MacAskill sought to justify the decision by commenting that "Compassion and mercy are about upholding the beliefs that we seek to live by, remaining true to our values as a people - no matter the severity of the provocation or the atrocity perpetrated." Megrahi issued a statement shortly before leaving HMP Greenock in which he maintained his innocence. "The remaining days of my life are being lived under the shadow of the wrongness of my conviction. I have been faced with an appalling choice: to risk dying in prison in the hope that my name is cleared posthumously or to return home still carrying the weight of the guilty verdict, which will never now be lifted. The choice which I made is a matter of sorrow, disappointment and anger, which I fear I will never overcome," said Megrahi. Robert Gibbs, press secretary for the White House, said "The United States deeply regrets the decision by the Scottish Executive to release Abdel Basset Mohamed al-Megrahi. As we have expressed repeatedly to officials of the government of the United Kingdom and to Scottish authorities, we continue to believe that Megrahi should serve out his sentence in Scotland." Many US victims have also reacted with anger. Many US victims' families have reacted with anger. One relative commented that "This might sound crude or blunt, but I want him returned from Scotland the same way my wife Lorraine was and that would be in a box." Dr. , a UK victim, disagreed, saying Megrahi had "nothing to do with" the disaster and calling the earlier dropping of the appeal "a blow to those of us who seek the truth." Megrahi's plane was greeted by crowds in Tripoli waving both Libyan and Scottish flags. , son of Libyan leader , held his hand as he exited the aircraft amid heavy security. Loudspeakers broadcast patriotic music and it is reported that celebrations are ongoing in Tripoli.
The Harvey Norman Women in League initiative was established in 2007 to celebrate and acknowledge the role of women in the game of Rugby League. Rugby League wants women in the game to feel proud of their role in the game and feel proud of what they do. The game also wants to empower, incentivise and inspire women at all levels and in all roles. Women in League also reflects on how much Rugby League is a part of family and social life for so many Australians. There are three components of the Harvey Norman Women In League initiative: 1. The Women in League Events – including the Favourite Son Award 2. The Women in League Round 3. The Women in League Awards (incorporated within the One Community Awards) Women and girls are an important part of the rugby league family. There are many different ways that women and girls can and do participate in our game, both on and off the field. Click here to find out more. \|\|\|\|\| About the McGrath Foundation A story well known in Australia, Jane and Glenn McGrath’s much-publicised experience with breast cancer led to the formation of what has become one of Australia’s most respected and recognised charities, the McGrath Foundation. Because of their experience came the belief that every Australian family experiencing breast cancer should have access to the support of a breast care nurse shaping the McGrath Foundation’s mission to fund McGrath Breast Care Nurses in communities right across Australia and to increase breast awareness in young women. Today, the McGrath Foundation is considered to be one of Australia’s leading breast cancer support organisations, with over 12,000 Australian families supported by our 73 McGrath Breast Care Nurses nationally in the last three years1. With a McGrath Breast Care Nurse in every State and Territory throughout Australia, families experiencing breast cancer can self refer to their nearest McGrath Breast Care Nurse (ie they do not require a medical referral) and be supported by one of our McGrath Breast Care Nurses free of charge. At the same time, the McGrath Foundation is working to increase breast awareness right across the community and 2012 will see the launch of an education strategy to ensure a more informed population of young Australian women experiencing the best health they can through a better understanding of their bodies and breast health. Everyday, the Australian community supports the McGrath Foundation by making donations, hosting or attending community events or purchasing pink products in our name. Given this we are committed to ensuring all donated funds are used as efficiently as possible to help us achieve our mission. In this context, and based on our financial results for 2009/ 2010, we currently spend approximately 78 cents in every dollar on realising our goals. The balance of any donated funds are then spent on either supporting our fundraising efforts (which currently cost approximately seven cents in every dollar2) and our operating expenses – (which include items such as rent, office fixtures, stationery, travel and all staff salaries and currently account for approximately 15 cents in every dollar2). One woman’s experience has seen a team of passionate and dedicated people come together and step up to the challenge of making life with breast cancer in Australia just that little bit easier. Until there is a cure for breast cancer, we are committed to working to provide as much support as we can for families facing a breast cancer experience through the funding of our McGrath Breast Care Nurses nationally. With the help of the Australian public, the Federal Government, our generous Corporate Friends and our supportive Foundation Friends, everyone at the McGrath Foundation continues to work tirelessly to achieve our mission of a breast care nurse for every Australian family experiencing breast cancer, and to ensure all young women are breast aware. As we say at the McGrath Foundation – together, we can make a difference! 1Based on statistical results collected in July 2011 2These figures come from our FY10 Financial Statements. As part of our commitment to financial transparency, the Foundation is audited at the end of every tax year and we then prepare and lodge full financial statements with the Australian Securities Investment Commission (ASIC). \|\|\|\|\| The Women in League Achievement Award is presented to a woman who has either acted as an outstanding advocate for the advancement and opportunity of women in Rugby League or the advancement of Rugby League generally. She will be recognized for her own personal achievements and contributions to the game. This woman has raised awareness of women's involvement in Rugby League, and played an active role in encouraging more girls and women to participate in rugby league. Or, she may have also made a significant contribution to Rugby League development, competitions or events and demonstrated valuable service to the sport. Harvey Norman will generously donate $5,000 Harvey Norman Gift Card to the winners. \|\|\|\|\| I'm probably not the target market for the National Rugby League's Women in League initiative despite the fact I'm a woman. Which is probably why I find the whole thing rather condescending. The Women in League round kicks off on Monday, a week-long celebration of ''the role of women in rugby league'', culminating in next weekend's round 10 matches where, no doubt, team kits will be pinked up, there'll be plenty of shots of women in the stands and promotion about how family friendly the game is. You can even vote for your favourite son, an NRL player (and there's not one Canberra Raider on the finalists' list) who ''acts as a role model for mothers and families; someone who continues to impress us on the field, however their off-field characteristics embody what it is we love about rugby league''. SHARE Share on Facebook SHARE Share on Twitter TWEET Link What women want from rugby league: A bit of rough stuff. It's what makes the game great. It's not just men who think this. Photo: Brendan Esposito Is this really what women want from the game? Not the ones I'm talking to. They want a quality game, one that showcases skills and speed and toughness, both mental and physical, they want contests, and value for money if they've forked out the dollars to actually attend the game. If they're watching on television, they want less waffle, less crosses to the bookmakers, less flibbertigibbets with blonde hair on the sidelines. Less Phil Gould. More shots of Sonny Bill with his shirt off. SHARE Share on Facebook SHARE Share on Twitter TWEET Link And of course Sonny Bill Williams with his shirt off. These are women who want their sons to play the great game - and it still is despite all its faults - because it is a great game. A team sport that embodies all the qualities that a team sport should, teamwork, mateship, achievement, losing with grace, winning with humility. Women who would not hesitate because they think their sons might get hurt, or be swayed by poor role models. There's more chance of both those things happening off the field. I think it's a great thing that the NRL is acknowledging the role women - there are more than 140,000 directly involved with league, as administrators, players, coaches, employees, volunteers or club members, according to the spiel. Quadruple that at least, if you add in all the mothers, wives, girlfriends and mistresses each player brings along. Kudos to them all. I've done my share of canteen duty, water bottle running and being the supportive partner over the years. But I don't expect any special thanks. I do it because I enjoy the game, and enjoy watching the efforts of whoever it is I'm there watching. Yes, I'm a woman, but in this context, it doesn't really matter. Advertisement So who is it exactly that the NRL wants to entice with this initiative? I guess it's women who don't attend games, mothers who hesitate to let their sons play. Bums on seats and future junior members, both important things to the administrators of the game, sure. But is a woman, who has no real interest in the game, going to be seduced by the offer of a ''half price for your better half ticket'' to WIN Stadium to watch the Dragons play the Eels or follow the Raiders to Shark Park for the chance to get entry to the Pink Pen and a pink scarf and beanie? Not likely. My solution, if they're chasing the mothers, would be to channel the funds into schools. Whose child hasn't come home all worked up after a school visit from an NRL player (warning, these days it's more likely to be those pesky Greater Western Sydney orange ballet dancers)? Get the players, and no not the under-20s, into schools. Kids want Terry Campese and David Shillington. Another initiative the NRL could better plug is Rugby League Reads, which uses the game to promote literacy. It's been running since 2010 and has reached more than 300,000 children, breaking down stereotypes about both reading and rugby league. Just this week Pan Macmillan, the partnership publisher, put out a new series of Footy Fables, think Willie Mason as ''Willie-ella'', Benji Marshall as one of ''The Three Little Tigers'' and Billy Slater and Cameron Smith as ''Hansel and Gretel'' and you get the idea. If I were a mother of a reluctant reader, which I am, and he came home with a rugby-league-themed book, enthusiastic for both the game and reading, that would give me more warm, fuzzy thoughts about the game than any pink jersey. But the NRL has to be publicly seen to doing something affirmative. Tick the pink box and move on. \|\|\|\|\| Women in League Function – 100-4-100 Simon McGuinness The Federal Minister for Sport, Senator the Hon. Kate Lundy, yesterday joined NRL Ambassadors Alan Tongue, Nathan Hindmarsh and Mario Fenech to celebrate the role of the ACT’s female Rugby League supporters at the 2013 Canberra Harvey Norman Women in League event. Senator Lundy spoke at the dinner, which was the second of four official NRL events across Australia, to celebrate the contribution women make to the game in the lead-up to next week’s 2013 Harvey Norman Women in League Round. Raiders skipper Terry Campese and wife Sarah and Jarrod Croker and his partner Brittney Wicks joined more than 100 female guests at the dinner at The Boat House by the Lake in Barton. “Harvey Norman Women in League is now in its seventh year and we’re thrilled to be able to pay tribute to the women of Canberra this evening,” said Ms Trish Crews, NRL General Manager of Community, Culture and Diversity. “Over the past year, participation in Rugby League across the ACT has grown steadily. In 2012, more than 10,000 registered players and school children engaged with Rugby League, and this year the game has already reached 1800 people through gala days and competitions. “Female participation is expected to grow in line with this trend, with an all-female Under 14 and 15 competition scheduled to launch later this month in Canberra.” Across Australia, women’s interest and involvement with Rugby League is at an all-time high with a 20 per cent increase in female registrations in 2012 (5,801 in 2012; 4,814 in 2011), and a 100 per cent increase in registered female coaches (172 in 2012; 86 in 2011). 2013 registrations are still being calculated, but early indications show female participation is continuing to increase nationally, while coaching numbers have already risen 50 per cent to 263. Sharing the spotlight with the ambassadors and players at the dinner was Karen Ebsworth, who has dedicated almost two decades of service to Canberra Region Rugby League (CRRL). Joining the CRRL as an administration assistant in 1996, Ebsworth worked her way through the organisation to her current role as Executive Officer, which she has held for the past 10 years. Ebsworth manages everything from fundraising and accounting, to setting up the draws, booking grounds and the judiciary for 32 junior and senior teams. Together with Ebsworth’s Junior Football Administrator, Nikki McLean, and First Aid officer, Barbara Pfeiffer, the trio of women run Canberra’s grass roots Rugby League operation. Ebsworth has a strong vision for women’s Rugby League in Canberra, with a new U14 and U15 all-female competition to launch later this month. To further celebrate the Women in League function, the Raiders invited 10 of their most passionate female Members as part of the club’s 100-4-100 membership initiative. “It was a really good night and I really enjoyed it,” said Michelle Halpin #561. “Alan Tongue did a really good job as MC on the night and Jarrod Croker’s partner was really funny with some of the answers that she gave about him. “It’s a great thing that the NRL does recognising the contribution of women to rugby league. I’ve been a Member of the Raiders for about 16 years now so hopefully events like this encourage more women to follow the game and volunteer at their local club.” The other nine Members who enjoyed the occasion were Toni McInerney #1417, Emina Poskovic #5570, Adelaide Jones #4255, Amie Jackson # 8587, Dannielle Stewart #3275, Frances Heaney #242, Jodie Clarke #3972, Megan Street # 975 and Rebecca Jakubaszek #6195.	A women's rugby team from Australia in the 1930s Australia's (NRL) is to celebrate "Women in League" week, starting yesterday, with themes including sons, raising funds for support, and club-related specials to encourage women to attend rugby league games. The week-long celebration of women was started in 2006 to highlight the importance of women to the sport and make the game female-friendlier. The NRL is planning to celebrate the week in a number of ways, including having teams compete in pink uniforms, and having fans vote for the NRL player fans believe "acts as a role model for mothers and families; someone who continues to impress us on the field, however their off-field characteristics embody what it is we love about rugby league". Additionally, funds are to be raised for the , a charity dedicated to breast cancer support and education, and the Women in League Achievement Award will be given out with the winner earning a 5,000 gift card to , an Australian electronics store. The 2005 Brisbane women's rugby league grand final between Brothers Ipswich vs West Centenary. The NRL has been promoting the event on their Women in League Facebook page. In the past month, their Facebook updates have included posts featuring male players discussing support they received from women in their lives, sales of pink coloured NRL merchandise, plugs encouraging people to vote for their favourite son, pictures of men supporting Women in League, NRL club promotions for tickets and other events connected to Women in League, and information on a school visit promoting anti-bullying. The Facebook page has also promoted women's participation and profiles of women's players as recently as a month ago, when on April 9, it promoted the Girls 'Come and Try' Day in Canberra. Prior to that, women were last promoted as players on February 10 when pictures were shared of the Women's All Stars team match with the Indigenous All Stars team. 140,000 women in Australia are involved with rugby league as players, sport administrators, coaches, employees, club members, or volunteers. Karen Hardy of '''' estimates this number could easily be quadrupled if wives, girlfriends, mothers, and other female family members who support male players were included. Participation is also increasing, with almost a thousand new female players taking up the sport between 2011 and 2012 for 5,801 total registered female players in 2012. == Sources == * * * * * *
MOSCOW, April 28 (RIA Novosti) - A Ukrainian-Russian carrier rocket has successfully put an Israeli communications satellite into orbit, Russia's Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) said on Monday. The Zenit-3SLB rocket was launched earlier on Monday from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan for the first time under the Land Launch program and after a number of delays. "The separation of the foreign spacecraft from a Russian DM booster occurred successfully and on schedule," a Roscosmos spokesman said. "Control over Amos-3 was passed to the Israeli customer." All previous launches of this type of Zenit rocket were conducted through the Sea Launch program from the Pacific Ocean. The $170-mln Israeli satellite is to join the AMOS-2 satellite, replacing AMOS-1. It will increase capacity, expand coverage, and enhance direct cross-Atlantic links connecting the Mideast to Europe and the U.S. East Coast, according to the fleet's operator, Space Communications Ltd. The Sea Launch and the Land Launch projects are both operated by the Sea Launch consortium, established in 1995. The company is owned by Boeing, Norway's Kvaerner ASA, Ukraine's Yuzhnoye design bureau and the Yuzhmash production association, as well as Russia's RSC-Energia. Sea Launch has performed a total of 26 commercial launches for a range of companies, including EchoStar, DirecTV, XM Satellite Radio, and PanAmSat. \|\|\|\|\| Israeli communications satellite launched MOSCOW (AFP) — A rocket carrying an Israeli communications satellite was successfully launched Monday from a Russian base in Kazakhstan, television footage showed. State Russian television showed a Zenit rocket carrying the Israeli AMOS-3 satellite blasting off from the Baikonur cosmodrome four days after technical problems delayed the original launch. "The decoupling of the rocket's second stage... was successful," a spokesman for the Russian military's Space Forces told the Interfax news agency. The satellite launch was run by US-based consortium Sea Launch in cooperation with Moscow-based Space International Services. The 1.3-tonnes AMOS-3 was to be placed in geostationary orbit 36,000 kilometres (22,000 miles) from Earth. Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved. More »	right At 05:00 GMT this morning, the maiden flight of the Ukrainian-built Zenit-3SLB rocket lifted off from Site 45/1 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Atop it was the AMOS-3 communications satellite for Israeli company Spacecom. The satellite separated from the carrier rocket directly into a geosynchronous orbit, several hours after launch. The Zenit-3SLB is a modernised version of the Zenit-3SL, used by Sea Launch. New features include an upgraded guidance and control system, first flown on the Zenit-2M in June 2007. Today's flight was also the first conducted by Land Launch, a subsidiary of the international Sea Launch consortium, and the first launch of a three-stage Zenit rocket from Baikonur. The first Land Launch mission was originally scheduled for 2007, but was delayed after another Zenit exploded on its launch pad in late January 2007. A further delay from Thursday morning occurred when the errector/transporter component of the launch pad failed to back away from the rocket. This was the 22th orbital launch of 2008. The next Zenit launch is scheduled for late May, when a Sea Launch Zenit-3SL will place the Galaxy 18 satellite into orbit. Launched a little over an hour after an Indian PSLV placed ten satellites into orbit, it also marked the first occurrence for 2008 of two orbital launches on the same day as each other, in GMT.
Somali Pirates Seize Greek-Owned Tanker Maritime officials say Somalia pirates have seized an oil tanker, some 1,100 kilometers off the coast of Somalia. Maritime officials say Somalia pirates have seized an oil tanker, some 1,100 kilometers off the coast of Somalia. Authorities say the Greek-owned Maran Centaurus, with 28 crewmembers on board, was hijacked Sunday. Officials say the tanker, which can transport more than 2-million barrels of oil, was sailing from the Middle East to the United States. A tanker full of oil would be worth millions and could pose a huge security and environmental threat. Somali pirates have hijacked dozens of ships over the past two years, demanding and receiving millions of dollars in ransom from the hijacked ships' owners. World powers, including the European Union, the United States and NATO, have dispatched naval forces to try to protect the busy shipping routes near Somalia from pirate attacks. In response, the pirates have extended their reach, attacking ships up to 1,800 kilometers from Somalia, deep into the Indian Ocean. Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters. \|\|\|\|\| Officials on Monday confirmed the hijacking of the Greek-owned Maran Centaurus, which was carrying crude oil from Saudi Arabia to the United States. Somali pirates have seized an oil tanker, with 28 crew members on board, in the waters around East Africa. Commander John Harbour, a spokesman for the EU naval force patrolling the region, said on Monday that the 300,000-tonne ship had been hijacked the previous day off the coast of Somalia. The ships 28-member crew is thought to consist of 16 Filipinos, nine Greeks, two Ukrainians and one Romanian. Officials could not immediately say how many barrels of oil were on board, but its value would be in the millions of dollars. Although pirates have successfully hijacked dozens of vessels in the last several years, Sunday's attack appears to be only the second ever on an oil tanker. "This is a jackpot to the pirates," Andrew Mwangura, from the East African Seafarers Assistance organisation in Nairobi, told Al Jazeera. In November 2008, pirates hijacked the Saudi supertanker Sirius Star, which held two million barrels of oil valued at about $100m. The tanker was released last January for a reported $3m ransom. Piracy in the region has increased despite the ramping up of international navies patrolling the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest shipping routes.	Somali pirates have seized the Greek-owned ''Maran Centaurus'', an oil tanker with 28 crew members on board, yesterday, according to reports. Officials say the tanker, which can transport more than two million barrels of oil, was sailing from Saudi Arabia to the United States when it was hijacked. A tanker full of oil could be worth millions of dollars, and possibly pose a significant security and environmental threat. Authorities, however, couldn't immediately ascertain how much oil the vessel was carrying. The ship's crew consists of sixteen Filipinos, nine Greeks, two Ukrainians, and one Romanian, the Al Jazeera news agency reports. Somali pirates have hijacked dozens of ships over the past two years, demanding and receiving millions of dollars in ransom from the hijacked ships' owners.
Printable version E-mail this story Posted on: Saturday, April 1, 2006 Makiki to Kane'ohe inundated with rain Rain photo gallery Surprise ending at Kahala Mall movie Floodwaters flip boats, enter Kuli'ou'ou homes Woman, dog, parrot rescued by firefighters Waikiki banyan tree collapses on parked bus Water 'had a really big power' on Kalakaua By Eloise Aguiar Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer KANE'OHE — For a few hours yesterday, the heavens unloaded a torrent of rain on Honolulu that flooded neighborhoods, sent water gushing through Kahala Mall, shut down H-1 Freeway and sent a shiver of fear through upper Manoa. There, nervous homeowners watched the same stream that devastated their community a year and a half ago overflow once more. The National Weather Service said 1 to 2 inches of rain fell per hour in Honolulu and as much as 3 inches per hour in Waimanalo. It fell so furiously that it overloaded the city's overtaxed sewer systems, causing more than a dozen sewage spills in central Honolulu, Kailua and Kane'ohe. It also caused flooding in Kaimuki, Pawa'a and Waikiki, and closed the townbound lanes of H-1 near Middle Street. Two boats tied to a moor in the Hawai'i Kai harbor were flipped over by gushing waters, and one woman in Waimanalo, along with her dog and parrot, had to be rescued from rising waters by firefighters. Perhaps the most eerie damage happened at the Kahala Mall theater, where moviegoers watching "Ice Age" saw a theater wall and part of the ceiling collapse in front of them as rain and a water main break sent flood waters cascading through the theater and the mall's ground-level stores. No injuries were reported, but damage extended to Waimanalo. "It felt like the sky was falling," said Cora Eggerman, head librarian at the Waimanalo Public & School Library. Eggerman said she and her staff anxiously watched as the water level came within inches of the library door. "The school is like a giant lake now," she said. Heavy rain, including thunder and lightning, hit the south side of O'ahu at about 10 a.m. and rolled across East O'ahu, Waimanalo, Kailua and Kane'ohe before heading out to sea at about 1:30 p.m. By 1:45 p.m., the sun was shining more brightly here than it has in more than a month. But while the rain was falling, residents overloaded the 911 phone lines. The Honolulu Police Department sent out a public plea early in the afternoon asking residents not to call 911 unless it was an emergency. It could have been worse. At one point, emergency workers went door-to-door behind Noelani Elementary School warning residents to be ready to evacuate because Manoa Stream was on the brink of overflowing. Though it rose and spilled over briefly, the residents were mostly spared. Longs Drug Store's parking lot in Manoa took in more than a foot of water, witnesses said, but residents said the downpour didn't match that of October 2004, when the overflowing stream carried cars down the street. Yesterday, it was Makiki Stream's turn to cause problems, this time in Pawa'a, where streets, homes and businesses flooded. Makiki Stream's overflow was especially harsh near Ke'eaumoku Street, the upper part of Makiki and as far down as Kalakaua Avenue, said John Cummings of O'ahu's Civil Defense. Larry Leopardi, chief of the city's road maintenance division, said his crews were everywhere yesterday, replacing manhole covers, removing slide debris, delivering sandbags, pumping out flooded areas and checking clogged streams. "We're fully engaged, particularly in our Kailua yard, Honolulu yard, Wai'anae and Pearl City," Leopardi said. "There was another major slide at Round Top (Drive). This is a big one but we just can't hit it right now. We got too many other things going on. "There's not much left up there. I think all the backyards are clean. Anybody who had anything, it's already been moved off." The Fire Department answered 34 calls for water evacuation from Manoa to Pauoa and Kahala to Makiki, said Capt. Chris Ah Mook Sang, HFD spokesman. One call came after a tree fell across University Avenue near Volcano Joe's restaurant. A witness said no cars were damaged and no people were injured, but makai-bound traffic was temporarily blocked. Landslides and flooding also closed roads in Kailua, Lanikai and Waimanalo, according to police. Both lanes into Kailua on Kailua Road were temporarily closed because of rockslides at three locations, police said. Flooding also closed Kapa'a Quarry Road and Kalaniana'ole Highway at Bellows Air Force Station and a landslide and flooding at the entrance to Lanikai temporarily closed the only road to that community, police said. Vehicles had to be towed from the flooded area. Mark Paikuli-Stride, a Maunawili farmer and head of the Aloha 'Aina Health Center, said the rain damaged roads into the valley and forced him to postpone school activities at his taro farm. "We're learning a lot about the land and about the role of the water on the land and how we need to deal with this kind of weather," Paikuli-Stride said. "There's always a learning experience involved." The prolonged rainy weather is causing problems with Hawaiian Telcom's phone system statewide, and the company is asking residents to be patient while the repairs are made. Ann Nishida, Hawaiian Telcom spokeswoman, said yesterday many customers are experiencing heavy static or no service. Problems were especially bad in East Honolulu, Kaimuki, Manoa, Waipahu and Nanakuli, she said. "Sometimes when the line has time to dry up, the problem does go away. But there's been no time for anything to dry up," she said. Nishida said anyone with problems should call the repair center at 611. Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com. \|\|\|\|\| Mahalo for supporting Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Enjoy this free story! A huge bravo to Lee Cataluna for having the courage to print the other side of the story regarding Monsanto (“Those wary of Monsanto’s aim should tour their property,” Star-Advertiser, Dec. 20). Read more Article about Monsanto was ‘right thing to do’ A huge bravo to Lee Cataluna for having the courage to print the other side of the story regarding Monsanto (“Those wary of Monsanto’s aim should tour their property,” Star-Advertiser, Dec. 20). Anti-GMO groups use intimidation and bullying to stifle the truth and get their way. Cataluna could have remained quiet. She spoke the truth because it was the right thing to do. From the time that Monsanto acquired its Kunia property, it worked closely with the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii, spending more than $1 million and many man-hours to facilitate the adoption of 120 acres of the Honouliuli World War II internment site by the National Parks Service. President Barack Obama officially proclaimed Honouliuli as a National Monument. Monsanto did not have to do this and did it with no publicity. Monsanto did it because it was the right thing to do. Les Goto Kaneohe Anti-GMO book might alter Cataluna’s views Does Lee Cataluna think you can look at an ear of corn and know anything about the effects of genetic engineering? Or listen to the paid programming of Monsanto employees and understand the science? It’s probably too much to ask Cataluna to read something like “Altered Genes, Twisted Truth: How the Venture to Genetically Engineer Our Food Has Subverted Science, Corrupted Government, and Systematically Deceived the Public,” by Steven M. Druker. If she were to, she might be a little less glib about “the hysterical distrust of science” and whether distrust of the genetic engineering project is “fearmongering,” “wildly untruthful” and “unproductive.” Patrick L. Brown Kailua Many rail riders will still have to catch buses Many Ewa commuters will want to go to the University of Hawaii-Manoa or Waikiki, not downtown or Ala Moana, so with the current plans for rail transit, they eventually will have to transfer to a bus. If we convert the rail guideways to bus guideways and end them at Middle Street or Iwilei, individual buses could continue on surface roads to various express destinations. Commuters could get over freeway bottlenecks and would have to catch only one express bus to do it. Modern express buses are far more comfortable than many realize. Transit time for the existing express bus from Kapolei to Ala Moana is only about 10 minutes more than what is projected for the train, and the articulated buses currently on Honolulu roads have a capacity equal to the planned train cars. This option could be both better and cheaper than rail. Both the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation and the Federal Transit Authority should consider it. Richard Tillotson Punchbowl Seems like president took Gabbard’s advice I have always had great respect for our U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. Recently she said the United States should leave Syrian President Bashar Assad alone and let the local people handle the situation. America must stay out of changing other countries’ policies, whether democratic or not. Look at what happened in Iraq, although its leader was insane. Now it appear that the White House is in agreement. Good for Gabbard. I hope she keeps it up. Toby Allen Hawaii Kai	Flooded intersection in Honolulu on March 31, 2006 Torrential rains pounded Honolulu and the eastern part of the island of Oahu on Friday during the midday, causing flooding along streams and major highways and closing a major shopping mall. Between 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. HST (2030 to 2300 UTC), rain fell at the rate of about one to two inches (2.5 to 5.0 cm) an hour in Honolulu and up to three inches (7.5 cm) an hour in Waimanalo on the southeast coast. Makiki Stream overflowed its banks at several points along its route, especially in the Pawaa district where homes and businesses near Kalakaua Avenue were inundated by up to a foot of water. Several houses in Manoa were also reported flooded as Manoa Stream overtopped its banks. Kahala Mall, a major shopping mall in the upscale district of Kahala, was closed due to flooding that left 80% of the stores under as much as a foot and a half of water. According to eyewitness reports, the flooding started when rushing water breached a wall in the mall's movie theatres. The mall remains closed today and tomorrow while officials assess damage and clean up. The rainstorm capped one and a half months of heavy rain and thunderstorms in the state of Hawaii, and arguably its rainiest March in recent memory.
US supporters of Zundel opposed his extradition to Germany Ernst Zundel, 65, arrived in Germany on Tuesday and was immediately taken into custody by German authorities. Germany was able to seek his extradition on the grounds that he was running a web site denying the existence of the Holocaust. Zundel once described Adolf Hitler as a "decent and very peaceful man". Last week, a Federal Court judge ruled the his anti-Semitic and hatred-inciting activities were "not only a threat to Canada's national security, but also a threat to the international community of nations". 'Hero' It took Canadian authorities two years to establish whether Zundel, who authored a book called "The Hitler we loved and why", posed a security threat. During that time, he was being held in near-solitary confinement. Denying the Holocaust is a crime in Germany, where Zundel's theories could be easily accessed and read through the Internet. This enabled authorities there to open a case against him. Zundel, who was born in Germany, moved to Canada in the late 1950s. In 1988 he was convicted of "knowingly publishing false news" after issuing a leaflet carrying the title "Did six million really die?". But in 1992, the Supreme Court struck down the "false news" law on the grounds that it violated freedom of expression. Zundel, who never managed to obtain Canadian citizenship, moved to the US in 2001 but was later deported back to Canada for allegedly violating immigration laws. A group that led a campaign to have him extradited, B'nai Brith Canada, welcomed last week's verdict. "For decades, Zundel has spewed his venom and imbued his brand of hate in a new generation of white supremacist groups that had made him a hero," the association's vice president, Frank Dimant, said in a statement. Zundel is now expected to be kept in custody while a German judge reviews his case. \|\|\|\|\| Zundel was due in Germany last night, immigration officials told the Canadian Press news agency. Officials there have said he would be arrested for decades of anti-Semitic activities, including repeated denials of the Holocaust, which is a crime in Germany. Zundel, 65, author of "The Hitler We Loved and Why," had been held in a Toronto jail for two years while authorities determined whether he posed a security risk to Canadian society. Federal Court Justice Pierre Blais ruled last week that Zundel's activities were a threat to national security and "the international community of nations." "Zundel's day of reckoning has finally come," said Frank Dimant, executive vice president of B'nai Brith Canada. The group had been at the forefront of efforts to boot Zundel from Canada. "For decades Zundel has spewed his venom and imbued his brand of hate in a new generation of white supremacist groups that had made him a hero," Dimant said in a statement. Zundel, a leading proponent of white supremacy, claims the Holocaust never happened. Prosecutors in the southwestern city of Mannheim have issued a warrant for his arrest, the federal Justice Ministry told The Associated Press on Monday. A spokeswoman for the ministry said authorities were able to open a case against Zundel because his Holocaust-denying Web site is available in Germany, so he is considered to be spreading his message to Germans as well. The spokeswoman, speaking on the customary condition of anonymity, said he was expected to be taken into custody while a judge reviews the case against him. Born in Germany in 1939, Zundel emigrated to Canada in 1958 and lived in Toronto and Montreal until 2001. Canadian officials rejected his attempts to obtain Canadian citizenship in 1966 and 1994. He moved to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, until he was deported back to Canada in 2003 for alleged immigration violations. Since the late 1970s he has operated Samisdat Publishing, one of the leading distributors of Nazi propaganda and, since 1995, has been a key content provider for a Web site dedicated to Holocaust denial. Zundel has claimed he is a peaceful man with no criminal record against him in Canada. His lawyer had challenged the constitutionality of the security certificate review process, saying it violated his client's right to free speech and association. The Canadian security certificate law, passed after the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States, allows the government to hold terrorism suspects without charge, based on secret evidence that does not have to be disclosed to a suspect or his defense. \|\|\|\|\| Ernst Zundel at a detention review with the Immigration and Refugee Board in 2003. Holocaust denier Zundel behind bars in Germany CTV.ca News Staff After being deported from Canada to his native Germany on Tuesday, white supremacist Ernst Zundel was arrested as soon as he touched ground in Frankfurt. "He has been turned over to German authorities,'' Alex Swann, spokesman for Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan, told The Canadian Press. "This is a significant step. The process has worked.'' German authorities took him into custody on charges of publicly denyng the Holocaust, which is illegal in that country. The German Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler was responsible for the Holocaust, which attempted to eradicate Jews in Europe over the course of the Second World War. Six million Jews died in death camps over that period. "I saw my people being destroyed and I was there for so many months, smelling the putrid smell of burning flesh from those cremetoria chimney," said Holocaust survivor Arnold Friedman, who was incarcerated in the most notorious death camp -- Auschwitz. Of Zundel, he said: "He's going to prove to the world there was no Holocaust and he's talking to guys who went through it." Zundel lived for 42 years in Canada as a landed immigrant. His last two years were spent in a jail cell in Toronto, where he was held under a national security certificate. Last week, a Federal Court judge ruled that Zundel should be deported because he poses a threat to national security. In his 64-page decision, Justice Pierre Blais called the 65-year-old German national a danger to society. "Mr. Zundel's activities are not only a threat to Canada's national security but also a threat to the international community of nations," Blais said. Denouncing Zundel as a Hitler sympathizer determined to propagate the neo-Nazi movement, Blais said Zundel was a "leader of international significance" among white supremacists. Some Jewish groups say Zundel's deportation is the end of a sad chapter in Canadian history. "I just found it an outrage. A sad and depressing outrage that this man would have the audacity to claim that six million Jews were not murdered," said Bernie Farber, executive director of the Canadian Jewish Congress. He felt Zundel's expulsion should have happened sooner. Zundel, who has no criminal record in Canada, was jailed in 2003. It happened after he was deported here by the United States for overstaying his visa there. He had been trying to gain U.S. citizenship. Zundel was detained on a national security certificate. There are advocates who disagree with the use of the certificate, which allows indefinite detention of those deemed a threat to national security without either a charge or trial. Issuing one of the certificates requires the signature of two cabinet ministers and a Federal Court judge. Alan Borovoy of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association said although he believes Zundel is "a nasty, nasty man," Canada is "behaving unfairly because of the way the security certificate system works." Zundel's lawyer in Toronto, Peter Lindsay, said his client is "very disillusioned about the process and about being the victim of a secret trial, and now being deported based on evidence he's never seen." Zundel's legal troubles began in the mid-1980s after the publishing of his pamphlet, Did Six Million Really Die? He was convicted twice, although the verdicts were thrown out on appeal. In the mid 1990s he was charged again, this time over his website which spread his Holocaust-denying propaganda. Zundel fled to the U.S. before a trial. A spokesperson for Germany's federal Justice Ministry said that authorities were able to open a case against Zundel because his Holocaust-denying website is available in Germany, so he is therefore considered to be spreading his hateful message to that country as well. With files from the Canadian Press and the Associated Press \|\|\|\|\| “Zundel’s day of reckoning has finally come,” says B’nai Brith Canada Posted On 03/01/05 “Zundel’s day of reckoning has finally come,” says B’nai Brith Canada Toronto, March 1, 2005… B’nai Brith Canada, which has been at the forefront of efforts to spearhead Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel’s departure from Canada, is pleased that this day has finally come. “Canadians are well served by the deportation of Zundel from this country,” said Frank Dimant, B’nai Brith Canada’s Executive Vice-President. “We are gratified that the Government has moved quickly and immediately to have Zundel removed. We hope that this signals a new and tougher approach by Canada to crackdown without exception on practitioners of hate. “For decades Zundel has spewed his venom and imbued his brand of hate in a new generation of white supremacist groups that had made him a hero. “German Embassy officials have confirmed to B’nai Brith that they will apprehend Zundel as he touches down on his native soil, and enforce the outstanding arrest warrant against him on charges of Holocaust denial. We expect that he will be prosecuted there to the full extent of the law. “Here in Canada, Zundel’s day of reckoning has finally come.” -30- For further information contact, Karen Lazar, Communications Director: 416-633-6224 X 140 (office) / 647-999-9835 (cell) B’nai Brith has been active in Canada since 1875 as the Jewish community’s foremost human rights organization. \|\|\|\|\| Mar 01, 2005 - CJC comments on deportation of Ernst Zundel March 1, 2005 For immediate release TORONTO Canadian Jewish Congress welcomed the closing of a sad chapter in our history the final deportation of Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel. Canadian Jewish Congress has been monitoring the Zundel case since it began in the late 1970s. This is a significant day for the Jewish community and for all those who treasure tolerance in a multicultural society, said CJC National President Ed Morgan. Zundels departure demonstrates Canadas abhorrence for those who would propagate Holocaust denial and antisemitism. It brings closure to our efforts to bring this man to justice. One would be hard-pressed to find many Canadians who will be sad to see Zundel go, added CJCONT Chair Joel Richler. This man has been found to be a threat to national security. By his own admission, he is the guru of the white supremacist movement. Canadas action in deporting him is, without question, the correct one. Canadian Jewish Congress welcomed the closing of a sad chapter in our history the final deportation of Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel.Canadian Jewish Congress has been monitoring the Zundel case since it began in the late 1970s.This is a significant day for the Jewish community and for all those who treasure tolerance in a multicultural society, said CJC National President Ed Morgan. Zundels departure demonstrates Canadas abhorrence for those who would propagate Holocaust denial and antisemitism. It brings closure to our efforts to bring this man to justice.One would be hard-pressed to find many Canadians who will be sad to see Zundel go, added CJCONT Chair Joel Richler. This man has been found to be a threat to national security. By his own admission, he is the guru of the white supremacist movement. Canadas action in deporting him is, without question, the correct one. -30- Contact: Wendy Lampert National Communications Director Canadian Jewish Congress 416-631-5844 wlampert@on.cjc.ca www.cjc.ca Contact:Wendy LampertNational Communications DirectorCanadian Jewish Congress416-631-5844wlampert@on.cjc.cawww.cjc.ca	White supremacist and Holocaust denier Ernst Zündel was expelled from Canada and arrived in Germany today. A Federal Court judge ruled that his anti-Semitic activities were "not only a threat to Canada's national security, but also a threat to the international community of nations." In a press release given by B'nai Brith Canada, executive vice president Frank Dimant said that "For decades Zundel has spewed his venom and imbued his brand of hate in a new generation of white supremacist groups that had made him a hero ... Zundel's day of reckoning has finally come." Canadian Jewish Congress National President Ed Morgan was quoted as saying that “this is a significant day for the Jewish community (of Canada) and for all those who treasure tolerance in a multicultural society ... Zundel’s departure demonstrates Canada’s abhorrence for those who would propagate Holocaust denial and antisemitism. It brings closure to our efforts to bring this man to justice." Zündel's Toronto lawyer, Peter Lindsay, said Zündel is "very disillusioned about the process and about being the victim of a secret trial, and now being deported based on evidence he's never seen." Upon arriving in Germany, Zündel, 65, was immediately taken into custody by authorities on the grounds that he was running a web site denying the existence of the Holocaust, which is a crime in that country. Prosecutors in the city of Mannheim have issued a warrant for his arrest according to the Associated Press. A spokeswoman for the federal Justice Ministry, on condition of anonymity, said authorities were able to open a case against Zundel because his Holocaust-denying site can be accessed in Germany. In 1977, Zündel founded a small press publishing house called Samisdat Publishers which issued such pamphlets as ''The Hitler We Loved'' and ''Why and Did Six Million Really Die?'' by Richard Harwood aka Richard Verrall (a British neo-Nazi leader) as well as booklets claiming that UFOs were actually Nazi secret weapons operated from secret Nazi military bases in Antarctica. Zundel lived in Canada for 42 years as a landed immigrant. His last two years were spent in a Toronto jail, where he was held under the Canadian security certificate law. The law was passed after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, and allows the Canadian government to hold suspects of terrorism without charge, based on secret evidence that does not have to be disclosed to a suspect or his defense.
US intelligence official hints at Lashkar hand 4 Dec 2008, 0106 hrs IST, ET Bureau Print EMail Discuss Share Save Comment Text: NEW DELHI: US National Intelligence director Mike McConnell has pointed to involvement of groups operating out of Pakistan in the Mumbai attack. Although the US official did not name Lashkar-e-Toiba, he said the group that was behind the 2006 Mumbai train bombings was behind the latest attack. He was speaking at Harvard University. The Indian government had attributed the 2006 serial bombings to the Lashkar with logistical support from home-grown Simi. McConnell is the first US official to publicly identify Lashkar as the likely perpetrator. On Tuesday, a reports quoting senior US state department official from Washington had said that evidence suggested that the “brutal, prolonged attack had some roots in Pakistan”. At a Pentagon news conference, defence secretary Robert Gates said that chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, had gone to the region to meet with officials. Mullen’s spokesman, Navy Capt John Kirby, said the attacks reflect a growing sophistication among extremist groups and are going to encourage a regional approach to security concerns. These comments from the US come in the backdrop of confession by the surviving attacker that he and other nine jihadis were trained for months in terror camps run by Lashkar. The Mumbai Police has already confirmed that militants came from Karachi. According to the police, 10 terrorists had sailed in a merchant vessel from Karachi on the high seas, before boarding Kuber, a hijacked Indian fishing boat. After nearing Mumbai, the group left the trawler on an inflatable rubber dinghy, and landed at Budhwar Park near Cuffe Parade. The terrorists later split into five teams of two each and hailed taxis to travel to their ‘destinations’ — Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Oberoi-Trident hotel complex, Leopold Cafe, Taj Mahal Palace and Tower and Nariman House. To read business stories in हिंदी click here. Print EMail Discuss Share Save Comment Text: \|\|\|\|\| MUMBAI, India (CNN) -- Indian authorities Wednesday defused a bomb at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station -- one of the first locations targeted in last week's terrorist siege, authorities told CNN's sister network in India, CNN-IBN. Mohammed Ajmal Kasab at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station. more photos » Security officials told the network that the location of the bomb at the station, formerly known as Victoria Terminus, was provided by Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, 21, who is in police custody and who has been identified as the only surviving gunman. The officials said the explosive device was made from RDX, a powerful explosive. Four other RDX bombs planted during the well-coordinated attacks have also been defused and police believe there are no more, the officials said. Earlier Wednesday the police official leading the investigation said the terrorists spent the last three months in Pakistan training and planning their strike. At least 179 died when a band of gunmen attacked 10 targets in Mumbai. Most of the deaths occurred at the city's top two hotels, The Oberoi and the Taj Mahal. Watch survivor recount Mumbai horror » The attacks sparked three days of battles with police and Indian troops in the heart of India's financial and entertainment capital. Mumbai Joint Police Commissioner of Crime Rakesh Maria said the information had come from his interview with Kasab, who Maria said is from the Faridkot village in the Okara district of Pakistan's Punjab province. He is the son of Mohammed Amir Kasab, Maria added. Watch claims attackers came from Pakistan » But Pakistan's President Ali Asif Zardari told CNN on Tuesday that India has provided no "tangible proof" that the suspect is a Pakistani national. Maria said Kasab spend the last year-and-a-half training at various camps run by Lashkar-e-Tayyiba -- a Pakistan-based terror group allied with al Qaeda. Kasab told police he joined the group, known by its acronym LeT, six months before he began training. The group was banned in Pakistan in 2002, after an attack on the Indian parliament that brought the nuclear rivals to the brink of war. The training primarily took place in the Kashmiri city of Muzaffarabad, he said. The group has denied responsibility for the Mumbai attacks. "He was told things like, 'You'll come in through this door, then go over here, then go out through that door,'" Maria told CNN. "Very very detailed explicit instructions. The gunmen were hand-picked, but there were no examinations per se. While in the camps they all had code names." All of the attackers were trained in Kashmir by former Pakistani army officers, but apparently did not know each other, Maria said. During the last three months of the training, which focused on Mumbai, Kasab was "shown photographs of the locations he was to target," including one of Mumbai's main railway stations and the hospital. Police have identified Kasab as the clean-shaven young man photographed in a black t-shirt carrying a weapon during the attack on Mumbai's Victoria Terminus train station. Maria said Kasab joined LeT because he was poor, but he expressed surprise at how easily he was "brainwashed" into joining the terror group. Maria made his comments as Mumbai prepared for memorial rallies scheduled Wednesday, as well as in several other Indian cities, including New Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai. Earlier Wednesday U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told a press conference in New Delhi that the attacks were "the kind of terror in which al Qaeda participates" -- although The Associated Press reported Rice as saying that it was too early to determine who was responsible. She said Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari had pledged to follow leads in last week's terrorist attacks "wherever they go." "I think that is a very important commitment on the part of Pakistan," Rice said. But she said Pakistani authorities must move with "a real sense of transparency, a real sense of action, a real sense of urgency." India says the coordinated strikes originated in Pakistan, and has renewed its call for Pakistani authorities to hand over about 20 wanted Indian militant leaders who have taken refuge in Pakistan. It has been demanding the extradition of some of those leaders since a 2001 attack on India's parliament that brought the south Asian nuclear rivals to the brink of war, for which Lashkar-e-Tayyiba has been blamed. Rice's visit came as Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari told CNN's Larry King he believed the perpetrators were "stateless actors who have been operating all throughout the region." "The state of Pakistan is in no way responsible," Zardari told King. "... Even the White House and the American CIA have said that today. The state of Pakistan is, of course, not involved. We're part of the victims, Larry. I'm a victim. The state of Pakistan is a victim. We are the victims of this war, and I am sorry for the Indians, and I feel sorry for them." Watch Zardari discuss Pakistan's stance » On Tuesday Mumbai's police chief Hasan Gafoor said that he never received a warning of an impending seaborne attack on Mumbai -- despite Indian security forces telling CNN that U.S. officials warned the Indian government in New Delhi on two occasions about such a threat. According to a U.S. counter-terrorism official, New Delhi was warned about a potential maritime attack on Mumbai at least a month before the massacre. But Gafoor said: "(The warning) that terrorists could arrive by sea was from an intelligence report of last year that only said terrorists could attack Gujarat or industries in the south." Mumbai is located in Maharashtra state, which borders Gujarat state. He added that the 10 attackers hijacked a trawler in the Pakistani port city of Karachi -- about 575 miles (925 km) north of Mumbai -- and came ashore at Mumbai in dinghies. Gafoor said a global-positioning system, or GPS, found with the attackers showed they had come from Pakistan. Intelligence officials told CNN-IBN that the captain of the trawler was found dead, lying face down with his hands bound behind his back. Four crew members who had been on board were missing, they said. CNN's Ram Ramgopal, Harmeet Shah Singh and Nic Robertson contributed to this report. All About India • Pakistan • Mumbai • Terrorism \|\|\|\|\| US intelligence chief implicates Lashkar-e-Taiba in Mumbai attacks WASHINGTON (AFP) — US Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell late Tuesday implicated Lashkar-e-Taiba in the deadly attacks in Mumbai that killed at least 188 people. Speaking at Harvard University, the top US intelligence official left little doubt that he believed the group was responsible for the bloody attacks. "The same group that we believe is responsible for Mumbai had a similar attack in 2006 on a train and killed a similar number of people," said McConnell. "Go back to 2001 and it was an attack on the parliament," he added. The July 2006 bombings of Mumbai commuter trains killed at least 186 people and injured some 700 others. Indian police at the time blamed Pakistan's intelligence service and Lashkar-e-Taiba, which fought Indian rule in divided Kashmir, for the attacks. Indian officials also blamed Lashkar-e-Taiba for the deadly assault on the Indian parliament in 2001. That attack killed 12 people and pushed New Delhi and Islamabad to the brink of war. The radical Islamic group, whose name means "Army of the Pious," has past links to both Pakistani intelligence and Al-Qaeda. McConnell, who did not mention Lashkar-e-Taiba by name, said he did not see the Mumbai attack as a new form of terrorism. "If you examine the groups we think are responsible, the philosophical underpinnings are very similar to what Al-Qaeda puts out as their view of how the world should be. It is a continuation," he said. About 10 gunmen landed in rubber dinghies in Mumbai Wednesday and wreaked havoc with automatic weapons and hand grenades, in a 60-hour assault that killed at least 188 people and injured more than 300. The dead included 22 foreign nationals. Pakistan outlawed Lashkar-e-Taiba after the 2001 attack on the Indian parliament, though Indian officials allege the ban has not been enforced. In his speech, McConnell emphasized the difficulty in fighting shadowy Islamist groups such as Al-Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Taiba. "Democratic systems that promote free speech and free movement and open discussion are incredibly vulnerable to someone who is willing to die in the context of a suicide bomber or a suicide attack," McConnell said. Washington has been dropping hints for days that the group was behind the attacks: a US counter-terrorism official speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP on Saturday that Lashkar-e-Taiba may have been responsible for the attacks. A spokesman for the Pakistan-based group denied any involvement in the Mumbai atrocities. US officials had warned India in October that hotels and business centers in Mumbai might be targeted by attackers coming from the sea, according to US news media reports. Indian intelligence officials intercepted a phone call on November 18 to an address in Pakistan used by the head of Lashkar-e-Taiba, also revealing a possible attack from the sea, ABC News reported. Indian police believe that top Lashkar-e-Taiba member Yusuf Muzammil masterminded the Mumbai attacks, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. Muzammil was identified as the brains behind the attacks by Ajmal Kasab, the only gunman who was captured alive, an unidentified senior police official told the US business daily. \|\|\|\|\| NEW DELHI, Dec 3 (Reuters) - India will not respond to attacks in Mumbai by sending troops to the border with Pakistan, but will instead mobilise global pressure for its neighbour to act decisively against Islamist militants, analysts say. The military strategy was tried in 2001 and 2002 after an attack on India's parliament, but achieved little. The crucial difference this time is that India is dealing with a civilian, democratically elected government in Islamabad -- a reasonably friendly government which does not have full control over a much more hostile, hawkish military establishment. Military confrontation, however tempting as Indian elections loom ever closer, would only empower the hawks across the border. "It is simply not on the table," Siddharth Varadarajan, strategic affairs editor of the Hindu newspaper said. "If India were to take any of the military measures some armchair analysts want, that would almost certainly play into the hands of the military establishment in Pakistan." It would also have played into the hands of the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan, by forcing Pakistan to withdraw troops from its tribal areas and western border. It has even been suggested this was one possible motive behind the attacks. If so, that is not a trap India will fall into, analysts say. Instead, the visit of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to New Delhi on Wednesday marks the first step in a more diplomatic and finessed response to the attacks. It is likely to be a slow process, but the only real option. "Pakistan needs to act with resolve and urgency and cooperate fully and transparently," Rice said on Wednesday. "That message has been delivered and will be delivered to Pakistan." TRIED AND FAILED India says it already has compelling and detailed evidence that the attacks in Mumbai were planned on Pakistani soil and carried out by Pakistani gunmen -- for once, one of the gunmen was actually captured and gave a detailed confession. He said he was given months of commando-style training by Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistani-based Islamist militant group which was effectively established, analysts say, by the Pakistani military's spy agency, the ISI, to fight Indian rule in Kashmir. Lashkar was also blamed for an attack on India's parliament in late 2001, an attack which brought the nuclear-armed neighbours close to war, with hundreds of thousands of troops eyeing each other nervously across the frontline. But there is no point in India brandishing a gun unless it is prepared to use it. The sabre-rattling in 2002 yielded few results -- in the end the government moved the troops back -- and India is not seriously considering starting a fourth war with its neighbour. "The military option has never been an option, because the military can't guarantee you an outcome," said Manoj Joshi, comment editor of the Mail Today. "We have been there, done it, and it doesn't work." Indian security experts believe the attacks were staged in an attempt to undermine a burgeoning friendship between the civilian governments of the neighbouring states, an attempt which could have had support from parts of the Pakistani military. Confrontation would have also strengthened the hands of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a group which the Pakistani military sees as a useful tool to infiltrate India in the event of war. Instead, India has little choice but to try isolate hawks within Pakistani military and work with the civilian government, which has promised to cooperate with the attack investigation. BALANCING ACT But New Delhi has to play a delicate balancing act. Elections are due by May and the government is already under fire for failing to prevent this and a series of preceding bomb attacks on its cities. The opposition says it is "soft on terror". That balancing act is already proving tough, and the government is in danger of overreaching itself, demanding more from Islamabad than it is likely to get. Immediately after the attacks, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanded the head of the ISI visit India to share information. Pakistan snubbed him by promising to send a lower-ranking official -- an embarrassment, proclaimed the media. Again, New Delhi upped the stakes by demanding 20 of its most wanted men be sent back to India from their alleged hideouts in Pakistan. The list is believed to include Dawood Ibrahim, a top Indian crime boss wanted for bomb attacks in Mumbai in 1993 that killed 250 people, and Hafiz Saeed, the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba. Pakistan is very unlikely to comply with that request. It has always insisted Pakistanis would be tried at home, if any evidence was given of their guilt, but that none had been given. Yet Delhi's aim is to harness global outrage at the Mumbai attacks. U.S. President-elect Barack Obama must now realise, analysts say, that reining in Pakistani militant groups must be a top priority -- whether they are attacking India or Afghanistan. "If you want a solution to Afghanistan, you have to lean on Pakistan to shut down all jihadist operations," Varadarajan said. "You have to tackle the root cause, which is the attitude of the Pakistani military. That is the silver bullet." (Editing by Alistair Scrutton and Bill Tarrant)	Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), a militant Islamic fundamentalist group based in Pakistan, has been implicated in last week's Mumbai attacks in India. Rakesh Maria, a commissioner with the Mumbai Police, said that the sole surviving attacker, whom he identified as Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, has admitted spending three months in a Lashkar-e-Toiba camp preparing the attacks. Kasab, who is reported to be 21 years old, told police that he spent a total of eighteen months training at various LeT camps. Some of the aftermath of the attacks Meanwhile, John Michael McConnell, the United States Director of National Intelligence, indirectly implicated LeT. In a speech at Harvard University, he said that the same group responsible for the 2006 Mumbai train bombings was behind last week's attacks. LeT has also been blamed for the attack on the Parliament of India in late 2001 "The same group that we believe is responsible for Mumbai had a similar attack in 2006 on a train and killed a similar number of people," said McConnell without naming LeT. "If you examine the groups we think are responsible, the philosophical underpinnings are very similar to what Al-Qaeda puts out as their view of how the world should be. It is a continuation." Commissioner Maria said that the training took place in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan, near the disputed Kashmir region. Kasab received very specific instructions, according to Maria. Sites of the attacks in Mumbai "He was told things like, 'You'll come in through this door, then go over here, then go out through that door,'" Maria told CNN's Nic Robertson. "Very, very detailed, explicit instructions. The gunmen were hand-picked, but there were no examinations per se." India has also said that Kasab named known LeT leader, Yusuf Muzammil, as the mastermind behind the attacks. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited the Indian capital of New Delhi on Wednesday. "Pakistan needs to act with resolve and urgency and cooperate fully and transparently," said Rice. "That message has been delivered and will be delivered to Pakistan." Analysts cited by Reuters are saying that India will not resort to a military response over the Mumbai attacks. "The military option has never been an option, because the military can't guarantee you an outcome," said Manoj Joshi, an editor at the ''Mail Today''. "We have been there, done it, and it doesn't work." In 2002, India threatened military action after the parliament attack. "If you want a solution to Afghanistan, you have to lean on Pakistan to shut down all jihadist operations," said Siddharth Varadarajan, an editor at ''The Hindu''. "You have to tackle the root cause, which is the attitude of the Pakistani military. That is the silver bullet."
World Heritage Committee inscribes a total of 21 new sites on UNESCO World Heritage List Nogorongoro Conservation Area The 34th session of the World Heritage Committee meeting in Brasilia since 25 July today finished its consideration of nominations for the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger. Meeting under the Chairmanship of the Minister of Culture of Brazil, João Luiz da Silva Ferreira, the Committee inscribed 21 new sites, including 15 cultural, 5 natural and 1 mixed properties. Three countries, Kiribati, Marshall Islands and Tajikistan, had sites added for the first time. One existing natural site was also recognized for its cultural values and thus becomes a mixed site. The World Heritage Committee also added four sites to the List of World Heritage in Danger and removed the Galapagos Islands (Ecuador) from this List. The new sites on the World Heritage List of Sites in Danger are (in alphabetical order): The new mixed site is: Papahānaumokuākea (United States of America) The new cultural sites are: The new natural sites are: World Heritage sites that have been extended are: The Committee also recognised the cultural values of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (Tanzania), which was inscribed in 1979 as a natural site. This property now becomes a mixed site The 34th session of the World Heritage Committee opened on 25 July and will close on 3 August. The next session will be held in June 2011 in Bahrain. \|\|\|\|\| Erik Van ‘T Woud/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Will the entire known world eventually be a Unesco World Heritage Site? As of Sunday, 890 locations were designated by the World Heritage Committee as “having outstanding universal value.” On Monday, when the committee completed its consideration of new nominees, a new set of 21 places joined that list. The additions range from remote natural locations, like the central highlands of Sri Lanka, to well-trodden urban places, like Amsterdam’s 17th-century canal belt. The committee also added four locations to their list of sites in danger, including the Everglades National Park in Florida. They removed the Galápagos Islands from that list as well, having found that significant progress had been made in combating “threats posed by invasive species, unbridled tourism and over-fishing.” (The islands remain on the larger site list.) The Unesco campaign began after Egypt’s 1959 decision to build the Aswan High Dam, which would have flooded the valley containing the ancient Abu Simbel temples. (The temples were dismantled, moved to dry ground and reassembled.) In 1978, 12 sites made up the initial list. In the years since, sites have been nominated based on a specific set of criteria — which include representations of “a masterpiece of human creative genius” and examples of “superlative natural phenomena” — and are then voted on by the committee, made up of members from a variety of countries. The newly designated sites also included the Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands, the imperial citadel of Thang Long-Hanoi in Vietnam, and the Atsinanana rain forest in Madagascar. Among others, Mount Vernon, George Washington’s estate, will have to wait until the next go-around: it was nominated but rejected.	. Unesco's World Heritage Committee inscribed 21 new sites into the World Heritage list on Wednesday, during the 34th session of the committee's meeting in , Brazil under the Chairmanship of the Minister of Culture of Brazil, João Luiz da Silva Ferreira. Three countries had sites added to the list for the first time: Tajikistan, Kiribati, and Marshall Islands. The Committee added four sites to the World Heritage in Danger list, including the and , both in Georgia. The Galapagos (Ecuador) were removed from this list. Some of the newly included World Heritages are: (United States), (Mexico), and (Brazil). Unesco World Heritage sites have special cultural or physical significance as a place or region. Unesco conserves, names, and catalogues these sites for the common heritage of humanity. Italy ranks as the country with the most World Heritage sites, having 45 in total.
An Airbus A320 airliner has crashed in the French Alps between Barcelonnette and Digne, French aviation officials and police have said. The jet belongs to the German low-cost airline Germanwings, a subsidiary of Lufthansa. The plane was reported to be carrying 142 passengers and six crew members. Both Airbus and Germanwings have said they aware of the reports but cannot yet confirm them. \|\|\|\|\| GETTY•ARCGIS The Germanwings plane crashed in the French Alps The first pictures of the crash site have emerged after French Prime Minister Manuel Vells said a helicoptor had managed to land near the site and had found no survivors despite earlier reports of a "moving body" being spotted among the wreckage. Parlementarian Christophe Castaner told local radio station France Info one of the plane's black box had been found It is thought the dead included 16 German schoolchildren on an exchange to Spain, two teachers and two babies. Gilbert Sauvan, an official with the local council, told Les Echos newspaper: "The plane is disintegrated. The largest debris is the size of a car." The Germanwings aircraft, owned by aviation heavyweight Lufthansa, was flying from Barcelona to Dusseldorf when it disappeared from radar at 10.39am local time after air traffic control issued a distress warning - 39 minutes after take-off. It plunged from its cruising height of 40,000 feet to 6,200 feet in 8 minutes, which aviation experts have described as being a "catastrophic loss" of altitude. "It is going to take days to recover the victims, then the debris," said senior police officer Jean-Paul Bloy French authorities have confirmed 144 passengers, two pilots and four stewards were on board - none are believed to have survived. It is thought 63 of the passengers were German and the Spanish deputy prime minister has confirmed 45 are Spanish, including two babies. UK Prime Minister David Cameron said his thoughts are "very much with the families and friends of all those aboard" and the Foreign Office was making inquiries about whether any Britons were on board. matrixpictures.co.uk Pictures of the Germanwings crash site have emerged Selon Christophe Castaner, député du 04, “une des boîtes noires a été retrouvée” (télé) #4U9525 pic.twitter.com/cqCiQQFRks — Breaking 3.0 (@Breaking3zero) March 24, 2015 Getty The plane dropped from 40,000ft to 6,200ft in 10 minutes Germanwings chief executive Thomas Winkelmann said the captain on board was experienced and had been with the airline and with Germanwings' parent company Lufthansa for more than 10 years and had clocked up 6,000 flying hours on this particular Airbus model. He added that the plane, which was 24-years-old, had had a normal service at Dusseldorf yesterday and its last major check-up was in the summer of 2013. The Spanish aviation authority has set up a room in Barcelona's El Prat airport for family and friends of the Spaniards on the flight which set off from Barcelona at 9am Spanish time today. The last A320 to crash was AirAsia Flight QZ8501, which was flying from Surabaya to Singapore in December. All 162 people on board died. Today's crash in the Massif des Trois évêchs in the valley of Haute-Bléone, in the Digne region is near the ski resort of Barcelonnette. It is not yet known whether anybody on the ground has been affected but police helicopters were scrambled immediately and have reported debris strewn on the ground. The area is very remote and the only way to reach it is via helicopter or a two and a half hour hike from the nearest village. 244 firefighters and the same number of police are said to be on their way to the scene. UK weather experts said conditions in the area at the time of the crash were "nothing out of the ordinary" but by Tuesday afternoon there was chilly rain falling. TWITTER Helicopters prepare to take off to view the crash site TWITTER Emergency vehicles on standby There are no survivors President Hollande French President Francois Hollande said: "The conditions of the accident, which have not yet been clarified, lead us to think there are no survivors." Mr Hollande said the crash was a tragedy and called for solidarity with the victims, adding that the area of the crash was very difficult to access. The cause of the crash is unknown but flight crews were reportedly aware of the problem and signalled to air traffic control before the plane went down. Carsten Spohr, Lufthansa's CEO, said: "We do not yet know what has happened to flight 4U 9525. "My deepest sympathy goes to the families and friends of our passengers and crew on 4U 9525. If our fears are confirmed, this is a dark day for Lufthansa. We hope to find survivors." AP Francois Hollande with Queen Leitzia of Spain and King Felipe KCS Presse•Splash News President Hollande and Spanish Queen Letizia look sad as they meet in Paris Family and friends of those on board the plane were escorted to a private room at Barcelona's El Prat airport. The Germanwings plane was used frequently by Spaniards who have emigrated to Germany to escape mass unemployment. Spanish King Felipe VI has cancelled a three-day official visit to France after arriving today with wife Letizia, but is expected to visit the crash scene later. David Cameron took to Twitter to express his condoloences and said: "Today's plane crash in the Alps is heartbreaking news. The UK will do everything it can to support the French emergency services." Deputy UK Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: "My heart goes out to the family and friends of the people who have appeared to have lost their lives in this devastating crash in the alps and must be the most dramatic time." REUTERS Distraught family members arrive in Barcelona Aviation expert Captain Mike Vivian told Sky News: “Germanwings is a very competent company as you might expect given that it is wholly owned by Lufthansa, the major German flag carrier. “Something either catastrophic obviously has taken place, or there has been a major emergency. “If it has been the second, it would probably be preceded by a radio call, but I don't know whether there was one or not.” The Airbus A320 is a single-aisle aircraft, popular for short and medium-haul flights. It comes from the world's best-selling single-aisle aircraft family which includes the A318, A319, A320 and A321 models. On its website, Airbus reports that an A320 family aircraft takes off or lands every 2.5 seconds of every day. It is used by many airlines including low-cost carriers such as easyJet. British Airways operates 120 Airbus A320s. REUTERS A rescue helicopter from the French Securite Civile flies over the French Alps	D-AIPX taking off from in May 2014. , an Airbus carrying 150 passengers and crew, crashed into the yesterday between and . Officials said there were no survivors. The plane was flying to , Germany from , Spain. An emergency recovery team made its way to the crash site and reportedly recovered one of the plane's . According to French authorities, 144 passengers were aboard the plane, reportedly including sixteen school children who were travelling on a German exchange project. A further six crew were present, including the two pilots. The flight was predominately made up of Spanish and German citizens. The pilots did not send a distress signal. Various officials described the crash as an accident; the stated terrorism is not believed to be a factor. The weather reportedly was clear when the crash occurred. The plane descended for eight minutes before impact falling, by various reports, more than 30,000 . French President François Hollande said regarding the accident "I would like to send all our solidarity to the family of the victims... It's a new air tragedy; we must know all the causes. We are in mourning because this accident happened on our territory". He said he has been in contact with both German Chancellor Angela Merkel and King , the later of whom cancelled the remainder of his state visit to France. According to French prosecutor Bruce Robin the plane was completely destroyed. He said "The body of the plane is in a state of destruction, there is not one intact piece of wing or fuselage". He made the comments to news agency describing his view of the crash site from a helicopter. Germanwings is owned by Lufthansa. CEO of Lufthansa said "We do not yet know what has happened to flight 4U 9525. My deepest sympathy goes to the families and friends of our passengers and crew on 4U 9525. If our fears are confirmed, this is a dark day for Lufthansa. We hope to find survivors." The plane, registered as D-AIPX, had been in service for nearly 25 years. It first flew on November 29, 1990 and had been last checked earlier this month. == Sources == * * *
Ship catches fire off Mindoro, 5 die Five people died and seven others were injured when a passenger ship went up in flames off Mindoro island's Paluan Bay Sunday morning. Reports said some of the passengers and crewmen jumped to the sea after they saw flames had already engulfed parts of the vessel. Most of them suffered burns on their faces. At least 100 of those who jumped to safety were rescued by fishing boats. Rear Admiral Damian Carlos, meanwhile, told abs-cbnNEWS.com in a telephone interview that the MV Cataleen-D left Pier 2 at the Manila North Harbor around 7 p.m. Saturday. He said the ship was bound for Coron, Palawan. He said that an initial inquiry with the ship’s crew revealed that fire started from the vessel's cargo section around 5 a.m. Carlos added that the captain of the ship steered the vessel toward the shoreline of Mindoro when firefighters failed to control the blaze. He said the cause of the blaze has not been determined. “Marami pwede umipasahan. Baka pwede naninigarilyo, pwede rin spontaneous combustion. Nagtatanong pa kami. (There are a lot of possible sources. It could be that someone was smoking a cigarette, it is also possible that there was a spontaneous combustion. We are still asking around),” he said. Carlos said that 260 passengers were on board when the ship caught fire. He said the first distress call was sent by the crew shortly before 8 a.m. Carlos said the BRP Pampanga was the first Coast Guard ship that responded. “It was a good thing that the rescuers were on a mission in Corregidor,” he said. The Coast Guard will be conducting a thorough investigation on the cause of the blaze. The fatalities were brought to a funeral parlor in Pasay City. A DZMM report identified the ship's captain as Danilo Faeldog. The vessel is owned by San Nicolas Shipping Lines based in Manila. The ship fire Sunday was the second tragedy to hit the shipping firm. In 2003, some 25 people were killed when a ship owned by the same company collided with a WGA Super Ferry vessel. The MV San Nicolas sank near the Corregidor Island after the accident. The ship had 203 passengers. \|\|\|\|\| Ship owner may face criminal raps over Mindoro tragedy 06/10/2007 \| 06:44 PM The owner of the ship that caught fire off Mindoro Island may be slapped with criminal charges, radio dzBB reported on Sunday. Quoting Admiral Damian Carlos of the Philippine Coast Guard, dzBB said San Nicolas Lines, its owner, identified as Samuel Nicolas, and others who can be found responsible for the sea mishap that claimed the lives of five people, may be charged with "reckless imprudence resulting in possible homicide." DzBB said the sea mishap was not the first time for the shipping company. In February 2004, a passenger ship of San Nicolas Lines reportedly collided with a Super Ferry ship that resulted in fatalities. The same report said the Coast Guard's probe of the incident is ongoing. The Maritime Industry Authority is expected to do its own investigation through the Board of Marine Inquiry. At least five people, one of them a five year-old girl, were killed in the fire that hit passenger ship MV Catalyn-D on Sunday. Commander Joseph Coyme, spokesman of the Philippine Coast Guard, told dZBB that they received reports at about 8 a.m., Sunday, that MV Catalyn-D was on its way to Palawan when tragedy struck. The ship was en route from Manila to southwestern Palawan province with at least 216 passengers and 21 crewmen on board when the fire broke out, Coyme said, prompting passengers to abandon the ferry. He said several passing ships rescued passengers, and the coast guard was still in the process of matching names of people recovered with those on the manifest. So far 128 survivors have been counted, while another passing ship which rescued about a hundred people has not yet submitted its list, Coyme said. - GMANews.TV \|\|\|\|\| Hundreds of people were rescued when a wooden-hulled ferry caught fire in rough seas near Mindoro island in the southern Philippines on Sunday, a coast guard spokesman said. Commander Joseph Coyme said 255 crew and passengers of the ferry, MV Catalin-D, were rescued by passing fishing boats and a Philippine Coast Guard ship. Five people died. "Based on our initial investigation, the fire started in the ship's cargo bay," Coyme told reporters as dozens of people plucked from the sea were brought back to Manila. "An investigation is underway to determine what caused the fire." Coyme said the coast guard received distress signals early on Sunday morning, a few hours before the fire engulfed the ferry, causing it to sink. The ferry left Manila late on Saturday night for Palawan. The Philippines' worst ferry disaster was in the 1990s when a ferry collided with an oil tanker in the central Philippines, killing about 5,000 people.	Five people were killed today and several more injured when a ferry carrying 260 passengers caught fire off Mindoro island's Paluan Bay in rough seas. One of those killed was a five-year-old girl. The bodies of the deceased were taken to Pasay City. The wooden-hulled ferry was completely destroyed by the fire and sank as a result. Rear Admiral Damian Carlos of the Philippine Coast Guard told reporters that the fire started in the cargo hold of MV Cataleen-D about 5 a.m. local time (2100 UTC yesterday), and the first distress signal was received by authorities at approximately 8 a.m. He went on to speculate that a cigarette or spontaneous combustion may have caused the blaze. When the captain realised the firefighters were unable to contain the blaze he steered the vessel towards the Mindoro shoreline. Most of the passengers and crew jumped into the safety of the sea when they saw that other parts of the ship had been engulfed by flames. The majority of them suffered burns to their faces. The first Coast Guard ship that responded was BRP Pampanga, with local fishing vessels saving around a hundred of those in the water. Carlos said of the Coast Guard, “It was a good thing that the rescuers were on a mission in Corregidor.” The ship was owned by Manila-based San Nicolas Shipping Lines and captained by Danilo Faeldog. It had departed from Pier 2 at the Manila North Harbor around 7 p.m. Saturday, and was destined for Coron, Palawan. It is the second disaster to strike San Nicolas Shipping Lines. In 2004 the MV San Nicolas sank after a collision with a WGA Super Ferry vessel. The San Nicolas was carrying 203 passengers, of which 25 were fatally injured. The Coast Guard has initiated a full investigation into the cause of the disaster. The Maritime Industry Authority is expected to conduct its own investigation via the Board of Marine Inquiry. Carlos said the vessel's owner, identified as Samuel Nicolas, and anyone else found responsible could be charged with "reckless imprudence resulting in possible homicide."
Amazon says 'appropriate' executive to be available, as U.S. panel calls on Bezos to testify Amazon.com Inc said on Friday it would make an "appropriate" executive available to the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee to testify about allegations related to how the company uses third-party sellers' data. \|\|\|\|\| Front Page PM sending Karan to King, message clear: restore democracy Pranab Dhal Samanta / Yubaraj Ghimire Posted online: Wednesday, April 19, 2006 at 0000 hrs Nepal Let political parties take charge and sort out the Maoist problem, say India, US envoys NEW DELHI, KATHMANDU, APRIL 18: With tensions rising in Nepal and economic indicators worsening, India today decided to send senior Congress leader Karan Singh on Wednesday as a special envoy, carrying a message from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for King Gyanendra. The message from the PM, while expressing concern, is expected to emphasise the need for the King to immediately respond given the public outrage and protests being backed by the seven-parties political alliance. This could also open up opportunities for negotiations with the Maoists, who are a major security challenge for the monarch. The Prime Minister, in his message, will make it clear that while India does not have any intention of intervening in the domestic issues of its neighbouring countries, it was extremely concerned by the developments in Nepal. Karan Singh, related to the monarch through his wife, told The Indian Express that he did know Gyanendra tremendously well but had met him a couple of years ago. I knew his father well... but I will give it a shot because the situation is getting dangerous and deteriorating fast. While Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran will be joining him from Bhutan tomorrow, Singh said he will hold a one-on-one meeting with the King and personally hand him over a message from the PM. Some steps need to be taken... the institution of democracy needs to be restored. Singh also gave examples of other monarchs across the world, including the Bhutan King who has voluntarily taken steps towards democracy. That Gyanendra does not have much time to decide was made clear by US Ambassador James Moriarty in Kathmandu. In an interview, Moriarty did some plainspeak, saying nobody wanted a situation where the King would have to cling to the wheel of a helicopter and flee. Moriarty too had advised the King that power should be irreversibly handed over to the political parties who would be responsible for finding a solution to the Maoist problem. All Headlines All Front Page News Google Ads \|\|\|\|\| Deccan Herald » Front Page » Detailed Story Karan rushed to Nepal as special envoy DH News Service New Delhi: In efforts to end the deepening political crisis in Nepal, India on Tuesday decided to rush a special envoy to Kathmandu to open talks with a recalcitrant King Gyanendra and the agitating pro-democracy leaders. In efforts to end the deepening political crisis in Nepal, India on Tuesday decided to rush a special envoy to Kathmandu to open talks with a recalcitrant King Gyanendra and the agitating pro-democracy leaders. Former union minister and senior Congress leader Karan Singh will reach Kathmandu on Wednesday as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s special envoy. It appeared that the special envoy’s stay in the Nepali capital is open-ended. “During his visit the special envoy is expected to receive an audience with His Majesty King Gyanendra Bir Biram Shah Dev. He is also expected to meet political party leaders in Nepal,” External Affairs Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said here on Tuesday while announcing the Prime Minister’s initiative on Nepal. The move to send the senior Congress leader came in the backdrop of a review meeting the Prime Minister held on Sunday on the deteriorating political and economic situation in Nepal under the impact of an indefinite agitation launched by the Seven-Party Alliance (SPA) and Nepali Maoists in the first week of April demanding the immediate restoration of multi-party democracy. On the same day, Indian Ambassador in Kathmandu Shiv Shankar Mukherjee met King Gyanendra and conveyed India’s concern over the situation. The king has so far displayed no flexibility. While he offered democratic elections a few days ago, he made no efforts to reach out to the SPA because the agitating parties rejected his offer. In efforts to end the deepening political crisis in Nepal, India on Tuesday decided to rush a special envoy to Kathmandu to open talks with a recalcitrant King Gyanendra and the agitating pro-democracy leaders.Former union minister and senior Congress leader Karan Singh will reach Kathmandu on Wednesday as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s special envoy. It appeared that the special envoy’s stay in the Nepali capital is open-ended. “During his visit the special envoy is expected to receive an audience with His Majesty King Gyanendra Bir Biram Shah Dev. He is also expected to meet political party leaders in Nepal,” External Affairs Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said here on Tuesday while announcing the Prime Minister’s initiative on Nepal.The move to send the senior Congress leader came in the backdrop of a review meeting the Prime Minister held on Sunday on the deteriorating political and economic situation in Nepal under the impact of an indefinite agitation launched by the Seven-Party Alliance (SPA) and Nepali Maoists in the first week of April demanding the immediate restoration of multi-party democracy. On the same day, Indian Ambassador in Kathmandu Shiv Shankar Mukherjee met King Gyanendra and conveyed India’s concern over the situation. The king has so far displayed no flexibility. While he offered democratic elections a few days ago, he made no efforts to reach out to the SPA because the agitating parties rejected his offer. \|\|\|\|\| Protests have spread across Nepal It takes to 10 the number of people killed during rallies calling for an end to direct rule by King Gyanendra. An 18-hour curfew has been announced in the capital from 0200 (2015 GMT), ahead of a planned rally on Thursday. The authorities seem increasingly unable to cope, reports the BBC's Charles Haviland in Kathmandu. They have warned that those who violate the curfew in Kathmandu could be shot. Earlier, two senior opposition leaders - the Communist Party (UML) leader Madhav Kumar Nepal and Ram Chandra Poudel of Nepali Congress - were freed from jail as an Indian special envoy flew in for crisis talks. UN condemnation The Indian diplomat, Karan Singh, is to meet King Gyanendra and opposition politicians. He is expected to express Delhi's concern over the rising instability in Nepal. Locals and tourists in Nepal give their views on the crisis In pictures The latest killings, in Jhapa district, appeared to be a bloodbath, correspondents say. Reports from the scene in the town of Chandragardi suggest that at one point the crowd of anti-royal demonstrators started to run. The security forces are said to have channelled protesters towards a stadium and then opened fire. Many people were injured. International condemnation of the crackdown on the protesters has been growing. The UN's special human rights representative to Nepal, Ian Martin, said on Wednesday that the government must respect international standards and show restraint. They ought to be allowing peaceful assembly, Mr Martin said, rather than "closing off the avenues by which people can protest peacefully". 'Teachers arrested' Earlier, it emerged that a woman injured by a tear gas shell fired during a protest in the western town of Nepalganj on Tuesday had died. India is seriously worried with the worsening situation in Nepal Indian envoy Karan Singh In pictures: Protest strike Meanwhile, security forces are reported to have arrested some 250 teachers who joined anti-monarchy protesters in the town of Pokhara, a Himalayan trekking hub some 200km (120 miles) west of Kathmandu. Dozens, including troops, were hurt in clashes in the tourist town. Wednesday was the 14th day of a nationwide shutdown called by the opposition in protest at the king's coup. An addition to Thursday's planned curfew in the capital, the government has doubled the period of detention orders on a number of imprisoned human rights campaigners and opposition politicians. India 'worried' The Indian envoy said his prime minister had asked him to take a message to the king and "make a general assessment of the situation". According to the BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Kathmandu, the Indian envoy will tell the king it has become extremely difficult for Delhi to continue backing him - though India does not really want the monarchy to wither away. India borders Nepal and is a major ally. "India is seriously worried with the worsening situation in Nepal," Mr Singh told the BBC. "People in Nepal are also suffering a lot. Violence and anarchy is continuously increasing," he said.	India has decided to send Karan Singh as the Prime Minister's special Envoy to Nepal. Singh is scheduled to hold talks with King Gyanendra as well as the leaders of the Nepalese pro-democracy movement, in an effort to end the deepening political crisis in that country. Nepal has witnessed growing protests against King Gyanendra's decision last year to dismiss the government and assume direct rule. Since then, a seven-party opposition alliance has led nationwide protest demanding that the King immediately hand over power to an all-party government, dismissing King Gyanendra's offer to hold election by April 2007. Nepal's long and porous border with India poses security concerns for the two countries The King is also directing a difficult campaign against a Maoist guerilla movement in the countryside. Singh is a senior diplomat and is also related to King Gyanendra by marriage. India's foreign secretary Shyam Saran is also scheduled to accompany the special envoy. India has long expressed concern over the situation in Nepal, calling for a return to representative government. Speaking to a television news channel, Singh said "It is not our intention to interfere in the internal affairs of another country but the last thing that we would want is for Nepal to dissolve into chaos because India's vital security interests are involved. Our human interests are involved. There's an open border between Nepal and India and our commitment to parliamentary democracy is there."
Två bussar i krock utanför Gagnef - flera skadade Linjebussen hade släppt av två passagerare och skulle svänga ut på vägen. Då kraschade den andra bussen in bakifrån. Fem personer skadades svårt och minst tio fick lindrigare skador i krocken i Gagnef i Dalarna. - När vi kom till platsen såg det alldeles kaotiskt ut, sa Thomas Gruhs vid räddningstjänsten under en presskonferens på torsdagen. Klockan var strax före elva på förmiddagen när den våldsamma olyckan inträffade på riksväg 70 vid Djura i närheten av Gagnef. En linjebuss hade stannat för att släppa av passagerare vid en hållplats, och föraren svängde ut på vägen utan att se den ryska turistbussen som kom bakom. En av bussarna fick sladd och turistbussen kraschade rakt in i den bakre delen av linjebussen. Minst en kämdes fast Den ryska bussen vräktes av vägen och minst en person klämdes fast. - Vi har ingen uppgift om exakt hur många som är skadade i nuläget, säger Jonas Nordin vid ambulansen i Leksand vid en presskonferens efter olyckan. Han var i ambulansen som var först på plats. - När vi kom dit var det rejält kaos, berättar han. På den ryska bussen fanns cirka 55 turister från St Petersburg. De hade lämnat Stockholm på morgonen och var på väg till Mora. Flera barnfamiljer fanns ombord, sammanlagt 10-15 barn. Kaoset på olycksplatsen förvärrades eftersom många av de ryska passagerarna inte kunde varken svenska eller engelska, berättar Jonas Nordin. Elva till sjukhus Klockan 12.40 fördes de sista passagerarna ut ur bussarna. - Sju skadade har förts till sjukhus i Falun, och fyra till Mora. De har alla medelmåttiga skador. Två eller tre har fått vård på vårdcentralen i Gagnef. Resterande har vi skjutsat till församlingshemmet där de tas omhand, säger Jonas Nordin. TT uppgav i de första rapporterna att en person hade omkommit i olyckan, men har senare ändrat uppgiften. "Ska ha funnits barn" Under presskonferensen bekräftar räddningstjänsten att det finns ett större antal lindrigt skadade. En person bedömdes som allvarligt skadad vid undersökning på plats. Det är oklart om någon av de skadade är barn. - Det ska ha funnits barn bland svenskarna, men det är lite osäkert, säger Carina Isenberg i kommunens krishanteringsgrupp. En bidragande orsak till olyckan kan ha varit det dåliga väglaget på riksväg 70. - Det var glashalt, säger räddningsledare Thomas Gruhs. Av Carl V Andersson carl.andersson@ gt.se \|\|\|\|\| En svår busskrasch inträffade utanför Gagnef i Dalarna vid lunchtid på torsdagen. Enligt polisen var många i turistbussen familjer med barn. Femton av dem skadades – och fem fick svåra skador. De 55 ryssarna var på väg till Mora då det small. Det var en turistbuss med 55 ryssar på väg till Mora som krockade våldsamt med lokala linjebuss 58. Olyckan hände på riksväg 70 vid avfarten mot Djura och Gagnefs kyrkby i Dalarna. Barnfamiljer – I linjebussen färdades fem passagerare plus chauffören. De är lindrigt skadade. I turistbussen har fem personer skadats allvarligt. Alla är rysktalade och de har förts till lasarettet i Falun, säger kommissarie Sven-Åke Petters vid polisen i Dalarna. Övriga skadade har förutom lasarettet i Falun också förts till sjukhus i Mora och vårdcentralen i Gagnef. St Petersburg Turistbussen kom från St Petersburg. Alla de skadade är ryssar i 30-50-årsåldern. Passagerare som klarat sig fördes till församlingshemmet i närheten, där kommunens Posomgrupp samlades. – De flesta är familjer med barn, säger Petters. Varför bussarna krockade är inte klart, men det var glashalt på vägen. Taket på turistbussen slets delvis av och skadorna blev fruktansvärda då passagerare klämdes fast med frakturer och krosskador. Bägge chaufförerna har alkotestats och det finns ingen misstanke om rattfylleri. – Vi vet ännu inte om det här är en korsningsolycka eller om någon fått sladd. Men mycket talar för att det är en korsningsolycka. Linjebussen, som kör mellan Borlänge och Rättvik, brukar svänga vid den här korsningen, säger Petters. Bussarna hade bälte och däck i bra skick. Färdskrivarna ska nu analyseras. Alla tillgängliga ambulanser Räddningstjänsten fick larmet om olyckan klockan 11.34. Alla tillgängliga ambulanser i Dalarna kallades till platsen och minst sju personer uppgavs först vara svårt skadade. Senare uppgifter från sjukhuset säger en svårt skadad men tillståndet är inte livshotande. – Vi har också många med lättare skador, säger Tomas Grus vid räddningstjänsten i Gagnef till aftonbladet.se. Uppgiften från TT i början om att en person avlidit dementerades strax före klockan 13 av polisen. – Det är ingen avliden i olyckan, säger Bo Eriksson, informationsansvarig vid Dalapolisens länskommunikationscentral. Förhöjd beredskap Klockan 13 hade samtliga skadade förts till sjukhus. Många av de övriga drabbade var chockade, men behövde inte läkarvård. Ett mycket stort räddningspådrag sattes in för olyckan. Omkring 20 ambulanser från Dalarna, Västmanland och Gävleborg skickades till olycksplatsen. Vidare skickades en sjukvårdsgrupp från Falun, samt sjukvårdscontainrar och bussar där passagerare kunde värma sig. Vägen blockerades helt i samband med räddningsarbetet. Det bildades kraftiga köer och all trafik leddes om på mindre vägar. \|\|\|\|\| We are unable to locate the page you requested - We are unable to located the requested story, if you would like assistance in locating the requested story, please contact UPI support Please find current stories from Top News, below. 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Bill Richardson is being cajoled by former President Bill Clinton to endorse his wife Hillary's presidential nomination bid. UPI NewsTrack TopNews Published: Feb. 4, 2008 at 12:04 PM News from United Press International, around the world around the clock ... Talk-to-text utility meets safety concerns Published: Feb. 4, 2008 at 12:02 PM CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 4 (UPI) -- A new voice-to-text technology reportedly meets the safety challenges in the United States posed by a more mobile and more connected society. Divers search for missing British girl Published: Feb. 4, 2008 at 11:58 AM PRAIA DA LUZ, Portugal, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- A lawyer in Portugal is spending his own money for divers to scour a lake for the body of a British girl missing since May, British newspapers reported. Florida man held in slaying of parents Published: Feb. 4, 2008 at 11:54 AM FOUNTAIN, Fla., Feb. 4 (UPI) -- A mentally ill Florida man was in jail Monday after allegedly telling 911 dispatchers he had shot his parents to death with a hunting rifle. Temple linked to terrorists still active Published: Feb. 4, 2008 at 11:52 AM VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- A Sikh temple in Canada said it will conduct normal activities despite being denied charitable status for possible links to a terrorist organization. Weather better for N. Calif. skier search Published: Feb. 4, 2008 at 11:42 AM ALPINE MEADOWS, Calif., Feb. 4 (UPI) -- Searchers planned to use a break in the weather to speed up the search for two skiers missing in the snowy backcountry near the California-Nevada border. U.S. troops kill nine, Iraqi minister shot Published: Feb. 4, 2008 at 11:32 AM BAGHDAD, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- Unidentified gunmen killed a senior Iraqi Foreign Ministry official Monday following reports of nine civilian deaths at the hands of the U.S. military. Pakistani troops find 'torture cells' Published: Feb. 4, 2008 at 11:30 AM ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- Pakistani troops reportedly destroyed several torture cells in the tribal regions where they are fighting escalating militant violence. Bush unveils $3 trillion budget Published: Feb. 4, 2008 at 11:28 AM WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- Security and prosperity are the overarching principles guiding the $3 trillion federal budget for fiscal year 2009, U.S. President George Bush said Monday. Four killed in N. California house fire Published: Feb. 4, 2008 at 11:09 AM NAPA, Calif., Feb. 4 (UPI) -- Firefighters in Northern California's wine country said four people were killed Monday in an early morning house fire. Hearing begins for Canadian detainee Published: Feb. 4, 2008 at 11:06 AM GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- Defense attorneys planned to use age as an argument for the release of a Guantanamo Bay detainee accused of killing a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan. Injuries, sickness hobble U.K. military Published: Feb. 4, 2008 at 10:54 AM LONDON, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- As many as one in 14 British troops are sick or injured and are hurting war efforts, Britain's Conservative opposition party claimed. Tobacco dollars in academia draws fire Published: Feb. 4, 2008 at 10:48 AM WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- The funding of research projects by major tobacco companies at leading universities in the United States raises concern over objectivity, a report said. Palestinian militant killed after bombing Published: Feb. 4, 2008 at 10:48 AM JERUSALEM, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- Israeli forces killed a senior Palestinian militant Monday using a car bomb in the hours following a suicide bombing in the Israeli city of Dimona. Pellicano sued by Chicago couple Published: Feb. 4, 2008 at 10:40 AM LOS ANGELES, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- A Chicago couple in prison for bilking the government are suing private investigator Anthony Pellicano for helping prosecutors build a case against them.	Dalarna County, Sweden, where the crash took place. A Russian charter bus collided with a local transit bus near the town of Gagnef in Sweden. At least five passengers were seriously injured, with many others sustaining minor injuries. Rumours also stated that there had been one fatality, but the local authorities claimed that this information is incorrect. The accident occurred on Highway 70 near Gagnef when a local transit bus was leaving a road-side bus stop and was hit by a chartered Russian bus. As a result of the collision the roof of the charter bus was partially sheared off. At the time of the accident the vehicles were carrying a total of about 60 persons, 20 of whom were children. The accident occurred after midnight local time on January 3, 2008. The cause remains unclear. According to the officials the accident area had received a thick snow cover and the roads in the vicinity were icy.
Six people died after two blasts went off within minutes of each other on Sunday outside a police station in Nalbari, a town near the state capital, Gauhati, a local police official said. Two bombs have exploded in India's northeastern Assam state, killing six people and wounding dozens more, police say. Up to 25 people have been wounded in the blasts. Bhaskar Mahanta, Assam's police chief, said authorities suspect the separatist group United Liberation Front of Asom, or Ulfa, is behind the blasts. No group has claimed responsibility. A senior Ulfa leader, however, telephoned local newspaper offices and television stations to deny its involvement. Mahanta said the bombers had parked two bicycles fitted with carriers packed with explosives outside the Nalbari police station, which is located in a congested part of the town. These went off, killing passers-by and wounding the others. Mahanta said police had received intelligence reports suggesting that the Ulfa was planning to avenge last week's arrest of two of the group's leaders. The blasts came soon after New Delhi announced the government will provide safe passage to separatist leaders willing to talk and find a lasting solution to the state's problems. Last week, suspected Ulfa fighters triggered a powerful explosion, derailing a freight train and setting more than a dozen oil-tanker railway cars on fire in Assam. India's northeast is beset by scores of conflicts. More than 10,000 people have died in separatist violence over the past decade. The region is home to dozens of separatist groups who accuse the Indian government of exploiting the area's natural resources while doing little for the indigenous people. \|\|\|\|\| The two devices exploded within minutes near a police station At least seven people have been killed in two bomb blasts in India's north-eastern state of Assam, police say. The explosions happened within minutes in Nalbari, 70km (43 miles) from the state capital, Guwahati. Police said the two devices were mounted on bicycles left near a Nalbari police station and some 25 other people were hurt, reports said. The police suspect separatist militants from the United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa) carried out the blasts. No group has so far claimed responsibility for Sunday's attacks. Paramilitaries deployed Television images showed injured people being dragged away a fire caused by one explosion, minutes before another blast nearby. There were unconfirmed reports of a third blast in a nearby town less than an hour after the first two explosions. Police and paramilitary troops were deployed across Assam last week after the reported arrest of two Ulfa leaders prompted the group to enforce a 12-long strike across the state. It has been fighting for an independent homeland in north-east India since 1979.	Two bomb explosions in the northeastern Assam state of India have killed at least seven people and injured 25 more today. The blasts, which happened within several minutes of each other, occurred outside of a police station in the town of Nalbari, 70 kilometres from the state capital of Guwahati. According to security officials, the explosives were attached to bicycles. Police believe that the separatist rebels from the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) were behind the bombings, but a senior ULFA member denied that the group carried out the attacks. Nobody has yet claimed responsibility. There were reports of another explosion nearby soon after the first to explosions; however, they have not been officially confirmed.
News Release UWINNIPEG SECURITY UPDATE September 21, 2007 5:00 p.m WINNIPEG, MB The safety and security of students, faculty and staff is our number one priority.The University of Winnipeg is doing everything possible to ensure the provision of a safe and secure learning and work environment on our campus today, on September 26, and into the future. The University is open and continues to operate on a normal basis but with enhanced security measures. We are undertaking additional measures to ensure and assure the community that this obligation is being met. Having said this, there may be some individuals who still may make a personal decision not to be on campus on Wednesday due to the exceptional circumstances; the University respects those who make that decision and places no judgment on those who make that decision. Students The University has consulted with The University of Winnipeg Students Association and the Executive of The University of Winnipeg Senate. As is the case in normal circumstances of any missed class, assignment or exam, students who make a personal choice not to attend class must make arrangements with professors to make up the assignment and/or the exam at a later date. All necessary accommodations will be made to help students in this regard. For example, marks will not be deducted for lack of attendance or participation on that day. Please notify your professor by the end of day Monday, September 24 (if possible) if you do not intend to attend classes on Wednesday. Faculty The University has consulted with The University of Winnipeg Faculty Association and the Academic Vice-President. Faculty members who make a personal decision not to come to campus on Wednesday should inform their Chairs by the end of the day Monday, September 24 so that alternate arrangements can be made, particularly for those who are scheduled to teach classes. Instructors who normally teach on Wednesday and who do not plan to be on campus that day are asked to inform their students in advance. Staff The University has consulted with the Association of Employees Supporting Education Services, the International Union of Operating Engineers and the Vice-President of Human Resources. Staff who make a personal choice not to come to campus should speak with their department director by the end of the day Monday, September 24. Department directors will exercise flexibility and determine how staff can make up any missed time; management will exercise flexibility in this regard. This also applies to excluded staff. Human Resources will provide a range of options and guidelines to department directors on Monday. Enhanced University Security Measures Enhanced video monitoring capacity; Electronic billboards to improve dissemination of information; Security will be making random checks of backpacks and bags (Your cooperation is requested in this regard); The Winnipeg Police Service has increased its presence an campus and increased security measures are being taken; The University is working closely with the Winnipeg Police service and the provincial government on an ongoing basis to assess risk and ensure appropriate security measures are in place; University faculty, staff and students are asked to be vigilant and report any specific knowledge of this incident or any suspicious behaviour to our Security Office immediately; A Security Office hotline (786-9235) is being staffed on a 24 hour basis; A phone TIP line is operational (258-2930); An e-mail TIP line has been established: tips@uwinnipeg.ca ; ; The Universitys Personal Safety Guide, which was distributed widely at the commencement of the school year, provides a thorough overview of safety tips and security services and what to do in an emergency situation; and The Universitys Director of Security Services and Emergency Preparedness Coordinator are working with relevant authorities to implement an operational plan. On July 23, the University announced a series of new initiatives that reflect the institutions pro-active approach to campus safety including the phasing in of a SALTO Access Control system, a state-of-the art electronic locking system, and the development of an in-house security team. These new initiatives complement existing initiatives such as: Safe Ride and Safe Walk Programs; Community Ambassador Services Program; Safety presentations at Campus Orientation sessions; and Safety talks on Parents nights. The University is disseminating regular information updates to our community and has taken the following steps to establish ongoing communication with those on our campus: Senior managers have been phoning their staff; E-mail messages have gone to a wide distribution of faculty, staff and students; The University has engaged its union leadership; The University has engaged The University of Winnipeg Students Association which has been disseminating the information through its networks; and Information was e-mailed to 7,655 personal student e-mail accounts. Existing Counseling Services available on campus: Student counseling can be accessed by calling 786-9231; Staff and Faculty counseling is available through the Employee Assistance Program at 1-800-387-4765; and Faculty counseling is available at 786-9022. Students are asked to activate their University iam email accounts. To access your UWinnipeg email account please go to https://uportal.uwinnipeg.ca For Current Students, Staff and Faculty (Main Campus): You will login to using your current User ID and password. If you do not already have a University of Winnipeg ID and password you can (re)claim your account in 4C32B or anywhere you have access to the Internet at: https://claimid.uwinnipeg.ca/claimid/. For Collegiate Students: You should have received a new User ID and password. Use these the first time you login to myUWinnipeg. When you click the login button you will be prompted to change your password. You will only have to do this once. While this may be graffiti the University is treating this message seriously, is taking the responsible approach by disclosing it to the community, and has increased its security measures. The University will share further information with the community as soon as it becomes available. Updates will be provided via email and will be available on the University web sites homepage www.uwinnipeg.ca Classes and University business are continuing as scheduled. Much like airports have had to change their security measures due to changing times, so do universities. And universities, like airports and other public institutions, must still continue to function. -30- FOR MORE INFORMATION Dan Hurley, Executive Director, External Affairs, The University of Winnipeg P: 204.786.9027, C: 204.290.4525, E: d.hurley@uwinnipeg.ca \|\|\|\|\| Police officers patrol the halls of the University of Winnipeg on Friday, Sept. 21, 2007. University of Winnipeg on high alert after threat CTV.ca News Staff Students at the University of Winnipeg will be sharing the halls with police and security guards today after a threat was scrawled on a men's bathroom wall in the school. CTV Winnipeg has learned the message threatened to "shoot up this place on Sept. 26." University of Winnipeg spokesperson Dan Hurley told CTV Newsnet Friday that the university is taking no chances and is doing all it can to warn students about the threat. It's sending out emails, leaflets, and media reports to get the word out that the campus community needs to be vigilant. "Certainly in this day and age and certainly with recent incidents on campuses in North America we wanted to take this very seriously and make people aware of it," says Hurley. On its website, the university confirmed the message warned of an occurrence on the morning of Sept. 26. The statement from President and Vice-Chancellor Lloyd Axworthy said the university is working closely with the Winnipeg Police Service, security has been boosted and an investigation is underway by the Major Crimes Unit. The school has remained open, but security was tightened at the downtown campus and students were urged to keep their identification handy. "First let me say that the safety and security of students, faculty and staff is the number one priority of the university," Axworthy, a former Liberal foreign affairs minister, said in a statement. "The university has taken the responsible and appropriate approach by disclosing to our community a warning message found written on a wall of one of our washroom facilities." The statement said a student reported seeing the message on Sept. 19 and it was immediately reported to Winnipeg police who sealed off the bathroom and examined the scene. Police have not yet determined whether it is simply graffiti or a more serious threat. A search has been conducted of all other bathrooms at the university. No other messages were discovered. The university has about 10,000 full- and part-time students. Axworthy said Thursday that universities have been increasingly targeted, following tragedies like those at Virginia Tech and Dawson College. He also said the university has experienced similar threats in the past, but none have been this personal. \|\|\|\|\| Winnipeg university on alert From Friday's Globe and Mail WINNIPEG Police officers and campus security stood guard around the University of Winnipeg yesterday after a scrawled threat was found in a men's bathroom.University president Lloyd Axworthy said the message warned of an attack next Wednesday, Sept. 26, around midmorning. After recent school shootings at Dawson College and Virginia Tech, Mr. Axworthy said, these kinds of threats have to be taken seriously. The full text of this article has 447 words. To continue reading this article, you will need to purchase this article. Already have a member account? Login now	A message warning of a shooting was found on a men's washroom wall, across from the library, on the first floor of the University of Winnipeg's Centennial Hall, in Manitoba, Canada. The message said: I'm going to "shoot up this place on Sept. 26." According to the ''Globe and Mail'', the exact wording of the message is disputed. It was reported to campus security by a student just two days ago on Wednesday morning. Police examined the scene and checked other washrooms in the facility for related threats, but found none. The washroom is closed and police are guarding it. Several school entrances were guarded off on Thursday. As a precaution, the University has tightened up security, and an investigation with the Major Crimes Unit is already in the works. They are still trying to determine if this is a prank by one of the students, or if this is an actual threat. "The university has taken the responsible and appropriate approach by disclosing to our community a warning message found written on a wall of one of our washroom facilities," said President of the school and Vice-Chancellor Lloyd Axworthy, who was on a trip to Chicago when he heard of the news. "In these circumstances you're never sure," he said. "The graffiti was on the wall. There have been similar kinds of pranks in the past at the University of Winnipeg. There have been bomb threats, and we have taken appropriate action over the years, but you can never rely on that," Axworthy added. "In today's heightened and somewhat dangerous circumstances, and the society we're in, we can't take any chances." The University's press release (see sources section) says frightened students and instructors can stay home on Wednesday. "The University respects those who make that decision and places no judgment on those who make that decision." Students can arrange to finish their missed exams on a separate date. The press release asks students to "notify your professor by the end of day Monday, September 24 (if possible) if you do not intend to attend classes on Wednesday." Faculty members, instructors, and staff are asked to notify the school on Monday if they do not wish to come on Wednesday. Security are making random checks in students' backpacks, bags, and other items. Police are preparing plans to take instant action on the day of the threatened shooting. The last major shooting at a Canadian school was at Dawson College in Montreal, Quebec last year. Less than 10,000 people are enrolled at the University of Winnipeg.
Unknown illness in Angola - Update 21 November 2007 The investigation of an outbreak of unknown origin in Angola has revealed extremely high levels of bromide in plasma sampled from several affected patients. As of 19 November 2007, over 390 cases had been identified and treated at the Municipal Hospital in Cacuaco. About 64% of those affected are children below 15 years old. Toxicological tests carried out in Munich, Germany, detected very high levels of bromide in 5 out of 6 plasma samples taken from affected patients. Bromide intoxication has been one of the working hypotheses being explored by WHO and partners as a cause of the outbreak. The laboratory results provide an important focus for testing on human, environmental and food samples to confirm these bromide levels. Additional samples are currently on the way to a laboratory in the UK for testing for bromides. On Wednesday 21 November WHO deployed further technical and operational support to assist Angolan health authorities, including a field coordinator, clinician, two epidemiologists, food safety expert, laboratory specialist, and a logistician. This team will support further epidemiological studies, case management, social mobilization and risk communication, environmental investigations and laboratory testing to confirm the cause of the outbreak, and to support response and control measures. \|\|\|\|\| printable version Unknown illness in Angola 16 November 2007 An outbreak of a disease of unknown etiology is currently ongoing in Cacuaco municipality, Angola. The first cases were reported on 2 October. As of 15 November 2007, a total of 370 cases had presented for treatment at the Municipal Hospital in Cacuaco. It is anticipated that additional unreported cases may be occurring within communities among patients preferring to remain at home or to receive treatment from traditional healers. The clinical symptoms of the disease are extreme drowsiness, waking only to painful stimuli. Patients recover slowly, over a number of days, but remain ataxic with many unable to walk unaided. The symptoms are most extreme in children. The neurological indication is of a cerebellar abnormality with no sign of peripheral neuropathy. Reflexes are normal. The case presentation suggests a toxicological cause, however, the etiological agent has not yet been identified. Samples taken from patients have been tested for 300 organic solvents and a general drug screen covering 800 compounds has also been carried out. These tests have so far proved negative. Tests for cadmium, lead, mercury and manganese have shown levels within the normal range. Environmental samples, as well as food and drinking water, have also been taken and results of tests are awaited. Epidemiological investigations so far have not revealed a common source or route of exposure, and these investigations are now being extended in scope.	Location of Angola within Africa. Health authorities from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the government of Angola have revealed that bromide poisoning may be the source of a mystery illness first reported in early October. The outbreak of over 400 reported cases of a neurological disorder was centred in the Cacuaco district of Angola's capital city Luanda. A majority of the afflicted have been children under the age of 15. There have been no deaths attributed directly to the disorder. According to a statement in the state-run ''AngolaPress'', symptoms have included "sleepiness, blear-eyedness, dizziness and difficulty to speak, walk and extreme tiredness." WHO described the drowsiness as being so severe that the patient would require "painful stimuli" to be awoken. Sodium bromide. Results from laboratory tests carried out in London and Munich indicated elevated levels of bromide present in the blood and kitchen salt samples examined. It is suspected that sodium chloride (table salt) may have been contaminated with sodium bromide, an agent used in pharmaceuticals and industry. However, authorities caution that more investigation is required to determine the source and cause of the illness. Consequently, further testing of blood, food and water has been initiated. On Wednesday, WHO dispatched additional technical and support personnel to Angola to assist local health officials.
Israel has admitted pathologists harvested organs from dead Palestinians, and others, without the consent of their families – a practice it said ended in the 1990s – it emerged at the weekend. The admission, by the former head of the country's forensic institute, followed a furious row prompted by a Swedish newspaper reporting that Israel was killing Palestinians in order to use their organs – a charge that Israel denied and called "antisemitic". The revelation, in a television documentary, is likely to generate anger in the Arab and Muslim world and reinforce sinister stereotypes of Israel and its attitude to Palestinians. Iran's state-run Press TV tonight reported the story, illustrated with photographs of dead or badly injured Palestinians. Ahmed Tibi, an Israeli Arab MP, said the report incriminated the Israeli army. The story emerged in an interview with Dr Yehuda Hiss, former head of the Abu Kabir forensic institute near Tel Aviv. The interview was conducted in 2000 by an American academic who released it because of the row between Israel and Sweden over a report in the Stockholm newspaper Aftonbladet. Channel 2 TV reported that in the 1990s, specialists at Abu Kabir harvested skin, corneas, heart valves and bones from the bodies of Israeli soldiers, Israeli citizens, Palestinians and foreign workers, often without permission from relatives. The Israeli military confirmed to the programme that the practice took place, but added: "This activity ended a decade ago and does not happen any longer." Hiss said: "We started to harvest corneas ... whatever was done was highly informal. No permission was asked from the family." However, there was no evidence that Israel had killed Palestinians to take their organs, as the Swedish paper reported. Aftonbladet quoted Palestinians as saying young men from the West Bank and Gaza Strip had been seized by the Israeli forces and their bodies returned to their families with missing organs. The interview with Hiss was released by Nancy Scheper-Hughes, professor of anthropology at the University of California-Berkeley who had conducted a study of Abu Kabir. She was quoted by the Associated Press as saying that while Palestinians were "by a long shot" not the only ones affected, she felt the interview must be made public, because "the symbolism, you know, of taking skin of the population considered to be the enemy, [is] something, just in terms of its symbolic weight, that has to be reconsidered." Israel demanded that Sweden condemn the Aftonbladet article, calling it an antisemitic "blood libel". Stockholm refused, saying that to so would violate freedom of speech in the country. The foreign minister then cancelled a visit to Israel, just as Sweden was taking over the EU's rotating presidency. Hiss was removed from his post in 2004, when some details about organ harvesting were first reported, but he still works at the forensic institute. Israel's health ministry said all harvesting was now done with permission. "The guidelines at that time were not clear," it said in a statement to Channel 2. "For the last 10 years, Abu Kabir has been working according to ethics and Jewish law." • This article was amended on 21 December 2009. The headline was changed as it did not reflect accurately the contents of the story. Nancy Scheper-Hughes's name was misspelled as Nancy Sheppard-Hughes in the original text. \|\|\|\|\| Harvested organs were alleged to have been used by the military and in public hospitals [File: AFP] Harvested organs were alleged to have been used by the military and in public hospitals [File: AFP] The admission follows the release of an interview with Jehuda Hiss, the former head of Israel's forensic institute, in which he said that workers at the institute had harvested skin, corneas, heart valves and bones from Israelis, Palestinians and foreign workers. Israel has admitted that it harvested organs from the dead bodies of Palestinians and Israelis in the 1990s, without permission from their families. In the interview, which was conducted in 2000 when Hiss was head of Tel Aviv's Abu Kabir forensic institute, he said: "We started to harvest corneas ... Whatever was done was highly informal. No permission was asked from the family." Nancy Scheper-Hughes, who conducted the interview, told Al Jazeera on Monday that Hiss had said the "body parts were used by hospitals for transplant purposes - cornea transplants. They were sent to public hospitals [for use on citizens]. Guidelines 'not clear' "And the skin went to a special skin bank, founded by the military, for their uses", such as for burns victims. The practice is said to have ended in 2000. The interview was also reported on Israel's Channel 2 television, which quoted an Israeli military statement that said: "This activity ended a decade ago and does not happen any longer." Israel's health ministry said in the Channel 2 report that at the time the guidelines for transplants "were not clear" and that for the last 10 years "Abu Kabir has been working according to ethics and Jewish law". Scheper-Hughes, who is a professor of anthropology at the University of California-Berkeley, said that she made the interview public because of the controversy last summer over allegations of organ harvesting made by a Swedish newspaper. In August the Aftonbladet newspaper ran an article alleging that the Israeli army had stolen body organs from Palestinian men after killing them. Israel denied the claims, calling them anti-Semitic, and the incident raised tensions when Sweden refused to apologise for the article, saying that press freedom prevented it from intervening. 'Conflict deaths' Donald Bostrom, the journalist who broke the story in Aftonbladet, told Al Jazeera: "UN staff came to me and said that you have to look into this very serious issue. Palestinian young people were disappearing in the areas and five days later they appear back in the villages with an autopsy done on them against the will of the families. "We need to know who are the victims. Mothers need to know what happened to their sons." Bostrom said that there is no proof that people were killed for their organs but that an investigation is needed to find out whether there was a policy in place or if the bodies used were random. Bostrom added that Hiss is the "main key" to solving such unanswered questions, but that there would also be other people involved who could help uncover the truth. Scheper-Hughes said that some of the dead Palestinians from whom organs were harvested were killed during military raids. "Some of the bodies were definitely Palestinians who were killed in conflicts," she told Al Jazeera. "Their organs were taken without consent of families and were used to serve the needs of the country in terms of hospitals as well as the army's needs." 'Technically illegal' She said that Hiss told her "that the people who did the harvesting were sent by the military. They were often medical students". "He did it informally and without permission, and it was technically illegal," she said. The military establishment gave their "sanction and approval" to the procedures, according to Scheper-Hughes. During his interview with Scheper-Hughes, Hiss said that the eyelids of bodies were glued shut to prevent the removal of corneas being found out. Hiss was dismissed as head of Abu Kabir in 2004 over irregularities in the use of organs, but charges against him were eventually dropped. He still holds the position of chief pathologist at the institute. \|\|\|\|\| A senior Israeli scientist has admitted that in the 1990s Israel routinely harvested organs from dead bodies without telling families. (ABC News Photo Illustration) The revelation came from an interview with Dr. Yehuda Hiss, former head of the country's Abu Kabir forensic institute, which was broadcast on Israel's Channel 2 this weekend. "We started to harvest corneas....Whatever was done was highly informal. No permission was asked from the family," Hiss said in the interview. According to the program, pathologists at the Abu Kabir institute also took skin, heart valves and bones from the bodies of Israeli soldiers, Israeli civilians and Palestinians. They often did so without seeking the permission of relatives. The Israeli military confirmed the practice took place but said: "This activity ended a decade ago and does not happen any longer." The original interview with Hiss was conducted in 2000 by American researcher Nancy Scheper-Hughes who decided to release it because of the controversy surrounding an allegation in a Swedish newspaper that Israel was killing Palestinians for their organs. Israel has strongly denied the charge. There was nothing in this weekend's report to substantiate such a claim. Scheper-Hughes, professor of anthropology at the University of California at Berkeley, told the Associated Press that Palestinians were "by a long shot" not the only ones affected. She decided to release her interview with Hiss because "the symbolism, you know, of taking skin of the population considered to be the enemy is something just in terms of its symbolic weight, that has to be reconsidered." The accusation made in Sweden's Aftonbladet newspaper claimed Israel was taking organs from living Palestinians. The story caused a massive diplomatic row with Israel accusing the paper of anti-Semitism, and demanding the Swedes condemn the article. They refused and the Swedish foreign minister cancelled a planned official visit to Israel. \|\|\|\|\| Report: Israel admits to harvesting organs JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Israel admitted to harvesting organs from dead bodies in the 1990s. The admission came after the release of a 2000 interview with Dr. Yehuda Hiss, who was the head of Israel's L. Greenberg Forensic Institute in Abu Kabir, The Associated Press reported. Hiss told an American academic in the interview, parts of which were broadcast on Israel's Channel 2 over the weekend, that the institute used corneas from bodies, including Israeli soldiers, Palestinians and foreign workers. Channel 2's report said that corneas, heart valves, skin and bones were used from the corpses without families' permission. The scholar released the interview following a report in a Swedish newspaper that Israel was harvesting the organs of Palestinians killed by Israeli soldiers, an accusation that Israeli officials have denied, AP reported. The Israel Defense Forces confirmed to Channel 2 that the organs were used, but stressed that the practice stopped a decade ago. Click to login and write a letter to the editor or register for a new account. This article was made possible by the support of readers like you. Donate to JTA now. \|\|\|\|\| Infamous Chief Pathologist to Once Again Evade Punishment by Ezra HaLevi (IsraelNN.com) According to the arrangement, the prosecution will request that Prof. Hiss receive only a reprimand for his involvement in the unauthorized removal of parts from 125 bodies. In exchange, Hiss will admit to the acts. The plea bargain is subject to the approval of the court. In all of the 125 cases, Dr. Hiss and his subordinates removed organs, bones and tissue without the permission of, and in many cases, against the expressed wishes of the families of the deceased. According to evidence submitted in the past, Abu Kabir had a “museum of skulls” set up by Dr. Hiss that included the skulls of IDF soldiers that had been shot in the head. He has also been investigated for selling organs and falsifying testimony. Hiss was fired from his position as Director of the institute shortly after the courts became involved in allegations against him, but has remained the Chief Pathologist at the Institute. This is not the first time that Hiss has escaped legal consequences for his actions. Former Attorney-General Elyakim Rubenstein aroused objections from several directions when he ruled that Hiss should not be charged with criminal behavior, even though he provided "expert testimony" about autopsies at which he had not been present and used tissues and organs after autopsies without permission from the families of the deceased. In July 2002, while Hiss was under police investigation for suspicions including the removal of organs from 81 deceased persons without familial consent, the Supreme Court rejected a petition by the Movement for Quality in Government (MQG) demanding his suspension. State Pathologist Hiss generally decides Israel's pathological-legal questions, and many people have been sent to prison based on his findings. His professional standards have often been publicly maligned. In August 1999, Jerusalem District Court Judge Ruth Orr sharply criticized him for testifying that a 12-year-old Arab rock-thrower died as a result of a beating by Beitar security chief Nachum Korman three years earlier. She wrote that Hiss "was carried away by his desire to find the exact cause of the death... and ignored important pathological findings that did not correspond with this desire." Dr. Hiss’ name has turned up repeatedly in relation to controversial events in Israel’s history, including the investigations into the Israeli government’s involvement in taking Yemenite children away from their parents in the 1950s, putting them up for adoption and the telling the parents that the children had died. In Oct. 1997, Margalit Omeisi filed a police complaint against Hiss, charging him with "violating the medical secrecy to which he obligated himself." Prof. Hiss had released, without authorization, the results of a DNA test he carried out, purporting to show that Omeisi was not related to a woman from California whom Omeisi said was her missing "Yemenite child" daughter. Both Omeisi and her apparent daughter said they did not accept the results of the Hiss test, and that the method he used was not authoritative. Tests carried out elsewhere did in fact prove the two to be mother and child. Hiss has also been the subject of controversy regarding the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin. The police were asked to investigate charges that Hiss altered Rabin's wounds and submitted false evidence to the Shamgar Commission that investigated the killing. In March 1999, a group of Israeli academics presented findings showing that Hiss' pathology report contradicted other authoritative findings. Prof. Hiss had stated that Rabin suffered no damage to his spinal cord, nor was he wounded by a frontal gunshot wound to the chest. But Dr. Mordechai Gutman's surgical report, as well as taped testimony by Ichilov Hospital Director Dr. Gabi Barabash and former Health Minister Ephraim Sneh, indicate that Rabin's backbone was shattered and that there was a frontal chest wound. The MQG had requested that former Rubenstein reconsider his decision not to indict Chief Pathologist Prof. Yehuda Hiss. Rubenstein had stated that even if the Institute did not act properly, "there is no suspicion of corruption or profiteering on the part of Prof. Hiss, whose only interest was the advancement of medical research." Sign up to receive the Daily Israel Report by email (Free) © IsraelNN Syndications - This article may not be republished freely. Review what you can publish free of charge and what requires a syndication payment on the Syndications Page. Special Forces Head to Hevron Hamas Forges Ties with Israeli Arabs, Accuses Jews of Adultery \|\|\|\|\| Israel 'confirms organ harvesting' Published Monday 21/12/2009 (updated) 23/12/2009 09:19 [MaanImages] Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – Israel has confirmed that its forensic scientists in the 1990s took organs from dead bodies, including those of Palestinians, without their families’ consent, an Israeli television report said. Israel’s Channel 2 TV aired an interview on Saturday with the former director of the Abu Kabir forensic institute, Dr Yehuda Hiss, in which he admitted to taking skin, corneas, heart valves, and bones from Israeli soldiers, Israeli civilians, Palestinians and foreign workers. The report appeared to confirm the premise of an article in the Swedish daily Aftonbladet, which caused an explosive controversy when it appeared in August. The article quoted Palestinians alleging that Israel returned their relatives bodies with their chests sewn up, suggesting organ harvesting. Israeli officials denounced the report at the time, labeling it "anti-Semitic," but did not comment on the specific allegations. The interview with Hiss was filmed in 2000 by an American academic, Nancy Sheppard-Hughes, a professor of anthropology at the University of California-Berkeley, who said she released the footage in the wake of the Aftonbladet controversy. In a response to the TV report, the Israeli military confirmed that the practice took place. "This activity ended a decade ago and does not happen any longer," the military said in a statement quoted by Channel 2. In the interview, Hiss describes the steps he and other scientists took to conceal the thefts. "We used to take corneas without plucking out the eyes. We used to glue them shut. We did that for the purpose of scientific advancement," Hiss said in the interview. "We used to take skin from the backs of dead people, and the families wouldn’t notice that because they buried the dead without turning them over," another pathologist is quoted as saying in the report. Hiss said he ignored Israeli law that prohibits harvesting organs without a family’s consent. "We used to send organs to Israeli hospitals, particularly Tel Hashomer in Tel Aviv, because many doctors there were friends of mine. We didn’t ask for money in return, but four years later, the hospital gave us a microscope. We also sent organs to Hadassah Hospital, and in return they gave us a video camera that can film corpses from inside," Hiss was quoted as saying. According to Channel 2, In 1986, Israel established a skin bank. Skin supplied by the Abu Kibir institute was used in transplants for wounded soldiers and burn patients. The right-wing Israeli Knesset member Aryeh Eldad, a plastic surgeon, was also quoted on the program saying, “We had orders to harvest organs without families consent.” Former Israeli MK Arieh Eldad who is a surgeon specialized in plastic surgery and burns said, according to Israeli TV report, "We had orders to harvest organs without families consent." Lawsuits were filed against the institute, however, including by the families of Israeli soldiers. One of these came from the father of a soldier, who appeared on the Channel 2 report saying that he opened his son’s coffin to find that his neck was cut and his eyes plucked out. Under mounting pressure, Hiss was fired in 1998. Israel’s Health Ministry told Channel 2 that all harvesting had been done with permission and, "For the last 10 years, Abu Kabir has been working according to ethics and Jewish law."	In an interview conducted in the year 2000, Dr Yehuda Hiss, former head of the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute near Tel Aviv, admitted that in the 90's pathologists at the institute harvested the organs of Israeli soldiers, Israeli citizens, Palestinians, and foreign workers. In 125 cases, Dr. Hiss and his subordinates removed organs, bones, and tissue without the permission of, and often against the wishes of, the families of the deceased. Abu Kabir included a “museum of skulls” set up by Dr. Hiss that included the skulls of IDF soldiers that had been shot in the head. He has additionally been investigated for selling organs and falsifying testimony. Hiss was fired from his position as Director of the institute shortly after the courts became involved, but has since remained the Chief Pathologist at the Institute. In the interview, Hiss claims that, "body parts were used by hospitals for transplant purposes — cornea transplants. They were sent to public hospitals." Facts from the interview were later confirmed by an Israeli military statement on the issue which claimed, "This activity ended a decade ago and does not happen any longer." What is still not confirmed, however, is whether or not the Swedish newspaper, Aftonbladet, was correct when it claimed that Israeli soldiers were stealing organs from both dead and living Palestinians, and whether or not Israelis were intentionally killing Palestinians for their organs. In the controversial article published in Aftonbladet, it was alleged that Israeli soldiers stole the organs of Palestinians after killing them. Israeli officials have vigorously denied the charge that Palestinians are being killed for their organs and have called the article in Aftonbladet "anti-semitic".
Corporate Press News The Co-operative Group and Somerfield The Co-operative Group and Somerfield - £1.565bn acquisition 16/07/08 The Co-operative Group and Somerfield today announce that they have entered into an agreement for the Co-operative Group to acquire Somerfield for £1.565bn on a cash-free debt-free basis. Somerfield operates approximately 880 local grocery retail outlets across the UK. In the year to April 2008 Somerfield generated net sales of £4.2bn, and earnings before interest, tax and depreciation of £233m. At the year end net assets totalled £1.3bn. The combined food business will operate more than 3,000 grocery stores and generate net sales of about £8bn, making it a market leader in convenience food retailing and the fifth largest food retailer in the UK with a market share of approximately 8%. Peter Marks, Chief Executive of The Co-operative Group said: "This is good news for consumers and for competition in the grocery market, where we will create a stronger fifth player in food and a convenience store chain with unrivalled geographic reach. "For The Co-operative Group this is a transformational deal – cementing our position as the UK’s premier community retailer and helping us significantly as we lead a renaissance of The Co-operative brand. Together, The Co-operative and Somerfield colleagues will be better placed than ever before to provide consumers with great choice, value and service. "The acquisition of Somerfield will provide the rocket fuel for our three-year growth plan outlined in April of this year. Under this plan we are revitalising our retail estate under a single unified brand – modernising our stores, improving our product offer and service levels for customers and members, and reinforcing our co-operative difference. "There is a strong strategic fit between the two businesses, with both focused on the highly competitive top-up and convenience shopping market. We anticipate real cost and revenue synergies, enabling us to enhance still further the overall value we deliver to our customers. "Given a deal of this nature, there are likely to be some local competition issues. We are confident we will be able to work through these with the Office of Fair Trading." Paul Mason, Chief Executive of Somerfield said: "The Co-operative Group and Somerfield have a similar focus in terms of customers, store types, product ranges and business vision. Our shared vision of providing a high-quality and affordable convenience offer to local communities means that together we will be twice as strong, and therefore twice as able to deliver the local grocery shops British customers demand. "Over the last two years we have transformed every aspect of Somerfield, a significant achievement, and as a result we are now trading from a position of strength. With Somerfield and The Co-operative Group as one business, we believe that we can learn from each other’s strengths to ensure we continue to develop the best local grocery shops in Britain." The transaction will be financed through committed bank facilities underwritten by Barclays, Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets and The Royal Bank of Scotland, with significant funding also provided by Bank of Ireland and The Co-operative Bank. Financial advisers to The Co-operative Group were Credit Suisse (lead financial adviser) and RBS/ABN Amro Corporate Finance (joint financial adviser). HSBC were also financial advisers. Citi were advisers to Somerfield. The transaction is conditional on receipt of appropriate regulatory approvals. More about The Co-operative Group Find out more about our family of businesses These figures are unaudited Notes to editors Somerfield Somerfield, whose mission is to be ‘Britain’s favourite local grocery shop’, operates approximately 880 stores (including 150 forecourts) across the UK and employs 42,000 colleagues. Somerfield was taken private in December 2005 and is owned by a consortium consisting of Apax Partners Worldwide LLP, Barclays Capital, the Tchenguiz Family Trust, Kaupthing Bank and Management. In the year ended 26 April 2008, Somerfield had sales of £4.2 billion and EBITDA of £233 million. \|\|\|\|\| Co-op boss Peter Marks says the deal will provide "rocket fuel" for the firm The Co-operative Group (Co-op), the UK's fifth largest supermarket chain, has agreed to buy rival Somerfield. The Co-op said the £1.57bn ($3.1bn) purchase would strengthen its position in the UK retail market. Manchester-based Co-op, a mutual group run on behalf of its 2.5 million members, also said the deal was done on a cash-free and debt-free basis. With more than 4,300 UK retail outlets, it employs 85,000 people. Bristol-based Somerfield has about 900 stores. The latest figures from research firm TNS, show that in the 12 weeks to the middle of June, the Co-op had 4.4% of the UK grocery market, and Somerfield 3.7%. Stores sell-off? Somerfield is owned by a consortium that includes private equity firm Apex, Barclays Capital and property magnate Robert Tchenguiz. SUPERMARKET SHARE Tesco: 31.2% Asda: 16.8% Sainsbury's: 15.9% Morrisons: 11.4% Total Co-ops: 4.2% Waitrose: 3.9% Somerfield: 3.7% Aldi: 2.9% Lidl: 2.3% Iceland: 1.7% Netto: 0.6% Farm Foods: 0.5% Source: TNS They bought the chain for about £1.1bn three years ago. Somerfield was put up for sale in January and the Co-op first expressed an interest in a possible purchase in April. The Co-op may now be told by competition watchdogs to sell some of the stores it has purchased, with Morrisons, Waitrose and Iceland touted as potentially interested parties. Co-op chief executive Peter Marks says Somerfield's acquisition will provide "rocket fuel" for his group's growth plans. Profits target Mr Marks said the deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, would "create a stronger fifth player in food and a convenience store chain with unrivalled geographic reach". SOMERFIELD FACTS Founded as JH Mills in 1875 Renamed Gateway in 1950 Renamed Somerfield in 1994 Floated on stock market in 1996 In April, the Co-op said it would spend £1.5bn to revamp its business and lift its fortunes, after 2007 profits fell 46% to £195.5m. The firm also said then that it aimed to double its profits over the next three years. It expanded in July 2007 when it merged with fellow mutual United Co-operatives. 'Big four' Neil Saunders, consulting director at Verdict Research, told the BBC: "The benefits for the Co-op of this move are that they have a larger scale, and it propels them into a different league in terms of food retailing. "Unless you have scale in the market, it is hard to compete with the big four grocers. "Now it can compete more effectively, but it has to be said that the big four will still remain some bit ahead. "For consumers, it probably means a slightly better standard of store. The Co-op has traditionally been better at that than Somerfield, although Somerfield has put a lot of effort into their stores recently." E-mail this to a friend Printable version Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these?	The Co-operative Group (Co-op) and Bristol-based Somerfield today agreed on a deal worth £1.565 billion which results in Somerfield being acquired by Co-op. Co-op has said that the acquisition took place on a "cash-free debt-free basis." A high street store run by Somerfield. Peter Marks, chief executive of The Co-operative Group, claimed that "this is good news for consumers and for competition in the grocery market, where we will create a stronger fifth player in food and a convenience store chain with unrivalled geographic reach." He then said that "for The Co-operative Group this is a transformational deal – cementing our position as the UK’s premier community retailer and helping us significantly as we lead a renaissance of The Co-operative brand. " Paul Mason, chair of privately-held Somerfield, also commented on the takeover. "The Co-operative Group and Somerfield have a similar focus in terms of customers, store types, product ranges and business vision. Our shared vision of providing a high-quality and affordable convenience offer to local communities means that together we will be twice as strong, and therefore twice as able to deliver the local grocery shops British customers demand," he said. With 4.4% share of the market, the Co-op is the fifth largest grocery chain in the UK. Somerfield is the seventh largest with a 3.7% share. The owners of Somerfield made their wish to sell the company clear in January of this year. Co-op first expressed an interest in the purchase in April. BBC News Online reported that the Competition Commission may force Co-op to sell some stores due to its increased presence.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn became a free man Tuesday when a judge ended the sexual assault case against him at the request of prosecutors, who said the hotel maid who accused the former International Monetary Fund chief couldn't be trusted. Though evidence showed Strauss-Kahn had a sexual encounter with Nafissatou Diallo in his hotel suite more than three months ago, prosecutors said the accuser was not credible because of lies she has told, including an earlier false rape claim. State Supreme Court Justice Michael Obus said he would dismiss the case, but there was one more legal twist to get through: He first wanted an appeals court to hear a request from Diallo's attorneys to keep the case alive by appointing a special prosecutor. The criminal case ended about two hours later, when the higher court agreed with Obus that there was no legal basis for removing the district attorney from the case. The case drew global attention and left both the accuser and the accused _ a one-time potential candidate for the French presidency _ with tattered reputations. Strauss-Kahn arrived at court in a six-car motorcade and was greeted by protesters wielding signs carrying such messages as "DSK treats women like property" and "Put the rapist on trial _ not the victim." The shouting could be heard inside the courtroom. He appeared resolute inside. He smiled and shook hands with his biographer as his wife, journalist Anne Sinclair, sat nearby. The couple left court without speaking to reporters, but Strauss-Kahn later issued a statement describing the case as "a nightmare for me and my family." "I want to thank all the friends in France and in the United States who have believed in my innocence, and to the thousands of people who sent us their support personally and in writing. I am most deeply grateful to my wife and family who have gone through this ordeal with me," he said. "We will have nothing further to say about this matter and we look forward to returning to our home and resuming something of a more normal life." Diallo's attorneys said they would aggressively litigate their civil case against Strauss-Kahn _ though they expect it would take two years to go to court. Strauss-Kahn lawyer Benjamin Brafman noted in an interview Tuesday that Strauss-Kahn could file his own counter-lawsuit. Brafman said "that's certainly a consideration" because he has "suffered enormous damages" from allegations prosecutors say were made by a woman with a history of lying. Brafman said the encounter was consensual but Strauss-Kahn doesn't want to detail his version of what happened. Brafman said because it's not a criminal matter it's "not something that needs to be discussed publicly." Later, Strauss-Kahn appeared outside the posh Lower Manhattan townhouse where he was held under house arrest until July _ when prosecutors first publicly admitted they had doubts about the maid's credibility. He summed up the statement in French and was mobbed by reporters. Diallo, from the West African nation of Guinea, claimed that the 62-year-old diplomat chased her down, grabbed her crotch and forced her to perform oral sex when she arrived to clean his luxury suite May 14. He was charged with a criminal sex act, attempted rape and sexual abuse, and was jailed for nearly a week before being released on $1 million bail under pricey house arrest. DNA evidence showed Strauss-Kahn's semen on Diallo's work clothes, and prosecutors on Monday revealed additional details that led them to believe a sexual encounter occurred. But Strauss-Kahn's attorneys contended it wasn't forced. "At the very first appearance ... I said in open court that this was not a forcible encounter," Brafman said outside court. "You can engage in inappropriate behavior, perhaps, but that is much different than a crime. And this case was treated as a crime _ when it was not." When prosecutors brought charges, they said their evidence was strong and Diallo was credible. But in July they said she had told them a series of troubling falsehoods, including a phony account of having been gang-raped in her native Guinea. She told interviewers she was raped in her homeland under other circumstances and embellished the account to enhance her 2003 application for political asylum. Prosecutors continued investigating and said Monday they uncovered further information that led them to believe they couldn't ask a jury to believe her story. Like many sexual assault cases, in which the accused and the accuser are often the only eyewitnesses, the Strauss-Kahn case hinged heavily on the maid's believability. "Our inability to believe the complainant beyond a reasonable doubt means, in good faith, that we could not ask a jury to do that," assistant district attorney Joan Illuzzi-Orbon said in formally recommending the case be dismissed. She added that prosecutors' decision to drop the case "does not mean that we, in any way, condone the defendant's behavior." The case was the biggest for Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance in his 18 months in office. He said in a statement that his job is to seek justice _ not convictions at any cost. "We should not blindly advocate for one side, or be afraid to assess honestly whether we can meet our burden of proof. Because when prosecutors fail to follow the facts where they lead, justice becomes secondary to victory," he said. "In dismissing the case today, we believe _ and I believe _ this is the right decision." Vance had scheduled a news conference to discuss the dismissal, but as it began the courts building started shaking from the earthquake in Virginia that was felt along much of the East Coast. Reporters and others rushed out of the building and the event was canceled. Diallo, 33, continues to insist that Strauss-Kahn attacked her; her attorneys vainly argued that Vance was biased. She has maintained that she feared what would happen if she had told the truth about her asylum application earlier. Diallo has sued Strauss-Kahn and came forward in a series of interviews with media after it became clear prosecutors were losing faith in her credibility. The Associated Press does not usually name people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they come forward publicly, as she has done. Diallo did not attend the hearing in which Obus decided to dismiss the case. Her attorney Kenneth Thompson said outside court that she had been abandoned. "No man, no matter how much power, money and influence he has, has a right to sexually assault a woman," Thompson said. "We are disappointed that District Attorney Vance apparently does not believe in equal justice under the law and has denied an innocent woman a day in court." Thompson's partner addressed members of the French media in Paris, expressing similar concern and frustration. Diallo's lawyers had no other plans to appeal. In France, Strauss-Kahn's fellow Socialists lauded the end of the criminal case. Party chief Martine Aubry called it "an immense relief." "We were all waiting for this ... for him to finally be able to get out of this nightmare," she said on France-Info radio. On the streets of Guinea's capital, Conakry, and on its airwaves and on the editorial pages of its major newspapers, opinions were mixed. A small and unscientific sample indicated that women tended to back Diallo, while men questioned her version of events. "Since the beginning of time, the powerful have always won. Nafissatou Diallo didn't stand a chance against DSK," said Pepe Bimou, a computer programmer. "The only possible outcome was that she would lose." Meanwhile, another sex assault case in France against Strauss-Kahn continues. Novelist Tristane Banon, who says Strauss-Kahn tried to rape her in 2002, has filed a new criminal complaint in France. Strauss-Kahn's lawyers have called her account "imaginary." ___ Associated Press reporter Boubacar Diallo in Conakry, Guinea, Verena Dobnik and Associated Press Television News Reporter Bonny Ghosh in New York contributed to this report. \|\|\|\|\| A judge formally ordered the dismissal of all criminal charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn on Tuesday, but he said his order would be stayed until an appellate court decides whether a special prosecutor should be appointed. Prosecutors in the office of Cyrus R. Vance Jr., the Manhattan district attorney, told Justice Michael J. Obus of State Supreme Court in Manhattan that they could not prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt because of serious credibility issues with the hotel housekeeper who had accused Mr. Strauss-Kahn of sexually assaulting her as she entered his suite to clean it. The dismissal brought some semblance of vindication to Mr. Strauss-Kahn, 62, the former managing director of the International Monetary Fund, after his stunning arrest more than three months ago. He was taken into custody aboard an Air France jet at Kennedy International Airport and then paraded before news cameras, looking disheveled and in handcuffs. For his accuser, Nafissatou Diallo, a 33-year-old Guinean immigrant, the result caps a precipitous fall. Prosecutors initially portrayed her as a credible and powerful witness, only to say that her myriad lies about her past — which included a convincing, emotional but ultimately fraudulent account of being gang raped by soldiers in Guinea — ended up undermining the case. Ms. Diallo, who has made her identity public, still has a civil lawsuit pending against Mr. Strauss-Kahn for unspecified monetary damages, and her lawyer, Kenneth P. Thompson, has been relentless in his assertion that Mr. Strauss-Kahn sexually assaulted his client and that Mr. Vance’s office abandoned the case too soon. Mr. Thompson made one last desperate attempt to keep the criminal case going, filing a motion on Monday asking that Mr. Vance’s office be disqualified. But about an hour before Tuesday’s hearing started, a court clerk handed out a one-page decision in which Justice Obus denied Mr. Thompson’s motion. However, Mr. Thompson has appealed the decision, which led to Justice Obus’s staying the dismissal. After the hearing, Mr. Strauss-Kahn issued a statement, characterizing the past two and a half months as “a nightmare for me and my family,” and thanking the judge, his wife and family and other supporters. He added that he was “obviously gratified that the district attorney agreed with my lawyers that this case had to be dismissed.” “We appreciate his professionalism and that of the people who were involved in that decision,” he continued. Mr. Strauss-Kahn added that he looked forward to “returning to our home and resuming something of a more normal life.” The case has attracted international attention ever since the arrest of Mr. Strauss-Kahn, a leading figure in the Socialist Party who was considered a top candidate for the French presidency; each appearance in court has drawn a carnival-like atmosphere outside, with journalists and camera crews mixing with protesters. The scene on Tuesday was no exception: Well before Mr. Strauss-Kahn arrived at 11:03 a.m., about three dozen protesters gathered. The bulk of the sentiments were decidedly against Mr. Strauss-Kahn. There were chants (“D.S.K., shame on you,” and “Whatever we wear, wherever we go, yes means yes, no means no”). There were placards (“All rape victims deserve a fair trial,” “Stop victim blaming of rape victims” and one with an illustration of a police officer admonishing a top-hatted plutocrat and the slogan “Go to jail”). And there were a few speeches in which people condemned Mr. Strauss-Kahn as a serial sexual abuser and criticized Mr. Vance for ending the case against him.	Dominique Strauss-Kahn Dominique Strauss-Kahn was freed of sexual assault charges yesterday after the New York courts found the accusations against him not credible. After the shocking arrest three months ago when Nafissatou Diallo accused Strauss-Kahn, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, of assaulting her, the prosecutor deemed the accuser not credible due to previous false rape claims. The ''New York Times'' quoted Strauss-Kahn saying the case has been "a nightmare for me and my family". ''Taiwan News'' also quoted Strauss-Kahn who said, "I want to thank all the friends in France and in the United States who have believed in my innocence, and to the thousands of people who sent us their support personally and in writing. I am most deeply grateful to my wife and family who have gone through this ordeal with me." On May 14, Diallo claimed that Strauss-Kahn forced her to interact in sexual activity in his hotel suite. DNA on Diallo's clothes confirmed an interaction but whether the encounter was forced or not was unsure. In July, she falsely told reporters she was assaulted in her homeland which erased her credibility. Diallo and her legal team made a last attempt in the criminal case, filing a motion on Monday asking that Mr. Vance’s office be disqualified but early Tuesday morning Justice Obus denied the motion. The encounter between Diallo and Strauss-Kahn was deemed to be consensual leading to Strauss-Kahn's freedom. Strauss-Kahn is undergoing accusation in another sexual case in France. His lawyers have said this is also a false account.
New theory rejects popular view of man's evolution By Ian Sample in London Ancestors learned to walk in trees, says UK team - Researchers base claims on watching orang-utans Humanity's earliest ancestors did not drag their knuckles along the ground before mastering life on two feet, but learned to walk upright while still living in the trees, according to a team of British scientists. The claim challenges the belief that humans evolved from chimp-like creatures that descended from the trees to roam the savannahs of east Africa, using their knuckles for support, before slowly rising to the upright posture of more modern humans. The theory marks a dramatic twist in evolutionary thinking that suggests some of our earliest ancestors may have begun walking on two legs up to 24m years ago, rather than shortly after the human lineage split from chimpanzees around 6m years ago. It suggests early humans adapted rapidly to open landscapes by honing the basic walking skills they developed to move around the forest canopy. The team, led by Robin Crompton at Liverpool University and Susannah Thorpe at Birmingham University, claim our tree-dwelling ancestors learned to walk on two feet because it helped them edge along outer branches while having their hands free to grasp ripe fruit. The tactic also enabled them to clamber between neighbouring trees without having to descend to the forest floor. The scientists reached their conclusions after spending a year observing the movements of orang-utans in Sumatra. The great apes of the region are the only species to spend their entire lives in the trees. Footage of nearly 3,000 movements showed the apes consistently walked on two legs to reach the outer branches of trees, using their arms primarily for balance. Unlike gorillas and chimps, which bend their knees to walk on the ground, the orang-utans straightened their legs to adopt a more human-like gait. Professor Crompton said such skills would have benefited early human ancestors enormously between 24m and 5m years ago, when eastern and central Africa experienced dramatic climatic cycles and the forests first thickened and then died back. "As the forests became sparse, the strategy of our human ancestors was more or less to abandon the canopies and come down to the ground, where they could use this bipedalism immediately to get around," he said. Writing in the US journal Science, the team describes how the ancestors of other great apes, such as gorillas and chimpanzees, may have continued living in the trees, but later evolved to walk on their knuckles, to help them move quickly between one tree and another on the forest floor. "While they were more innovative and developed this new way of moving, our ancestors were more conservative, using a form of walking that was already in their repertoire." Carol Ward, a palaeoanthropologist at the University of Missouri-Columbia, said the study fundamentally altered our view of human ancestry. "Our entire conception of human evolution has included us going through this chimp-like, knuckle-walking phase, but this is saying maybe the trajectory of changes that led to humans didn't look like that at all. It's profound," she said. Other researchers were more sceptical. "The main evidence is that our closest living relatives are not orang-utans, they're chimps and gorillas, and since both climb trees and walk on their knuckles, it's most likely our ancestors did that too," said Brian Richmond, an anthropologist at George Washington University. "One of the only anatomical features we share explicitly with chimps and gorillas is that we only have eight wrists bones, while almost all other primates have nine. In humans, chimps and gorillas, two bones have fused into one to stabilise the wrist, making it stronger for knuckle-walking. It's not a smoking gun, but it's the best evidence we have." Sci. & Tech. \|\|\|\|\| Lessons From The Orangutans: Upright Walking May Have Begun In The Trees Science Daily By observing wild orangutans, a research team has found that walking on two legs may have arisen in relatively ancient, tree-dwelling apes, rather than in more recent human ancestors that had already descended to the savannah, as current theory suggests. An adult female Sumatran Orangutan resting in Gunung Leuser National Park, Indonesia. (Credit: Image courtesy of SKS Thorpe) An adult female Sumatran Orangutan resting in Gunung Leuser National Park, Indonesia. (Credit: Image courtesy of SKS Thorpe) Upright walking, or bipedalism, has long been considered a defining feature of humans and our closest ancestors. One of the most popular explanations, known as the savannah hypothesis, suggests that the ancestors to chimps, gorillas and humans descended from the trees and began walking on the ground on all fours. Over time, this four-legged gait would have evolved into the "knuckle-walking" that chimps and gorillas still use today and then into upright, two-legged walking in humans. Paleontologists have conventionally used signs of bipedalism as key criteria for distinguishing early human, or "hominin," fossils from those of other apes. But, this distinction is complicated by recent fossil evidence that some early hominins, including Lucy (Australopithecus afarensis), lived in woodland environments, while even earlier forms such as Millennium Man (Orrorin) appear to have lived in the forest canopy and moved on two legs. "Our findings blur the picture even further," said Robin Crompton of the University of Liverpool in Liverpool, Great Britain, who is one of the study's authors. "If we're right, it means you can't rely on bipedalism to tell whether you're looking at a human or other ape ancestor. It's been getting more and more difficult for us to say what's a human and what's an ape, and our work makes that much more the case." Crompton and his colleagues, Susannah Thorpe and Roger Holder of the University of Birmingham in Birmingham, Great Britain, came to their conclusions by observing wild orangutans in Sumatra, Indonesia. Orangutans spend almost their whole lives in trees, making them useful models for how our ancestors moved around several million years ago. To collect the data, Thorpe spent a year living in the Sumatran rainforest and recording virtually every move the orangutans made. Then, she and her colleagues used these observations to test the hypothesis that bipedalism would have benefited tree-dwelling ape ancestors. Because these ancestors were probably fruit-eaters, as orangutans are, they would have needed a way to navigate the thin, flexible branches at the tree's periphery, where the fruit typically is. Moving on two legs and using their arms primarily for balance, or "hand-assisted bipedalism," may have helped them travel on these branches.The researchers analyzed nearly 3,000 examples of observed orangutan movement, and found that the orangutans were more likely to use hand-assisted bipedalism when they were on the thinnest branches. When bipedal, the animals also tended to grip multiple branches with their long toes. On medium-sized branches, the orangutans used their arms more to support their weight, changing their moving style to incorporate hanging. They only tended to walk on all fours when navigating the largest branches, the researchers found. Hand-assisted bipedalism may have offered several advantages that allowed our arboreal ancestors to venture onto thin branches. They could have gripped multiple branches with their toes and distributed their center of gravity more effectively, while keeping one or both of their long arms free to reach for fruits and other supports. Orangutans also keep their legs straight while standing on bending branches, the authors report. The exact benefit of the straight legs is still unclear, but when humans run on springy surfaces, we also keep our weight-bearing legs relatively straight, so this may have an energy-related advantage. "Our results suggest that bipedalism is used to navigate the smallest branches where the tastiest fruits are, and also to reach further to help cross gaps between trees," said Thorpe. The authors propose an evolutionary scenario that begins as other researchers have envisioned. Somewhere toward the end of the Miocene epoch (24 to 5 million years ago), climate in East and Central Africa became alternately wetter and drier, and the rainforest grew increasingly patchy. Apes living in the forest canopy would have begun to encounter gaps between trees that they could not cross at the canopy level. The Science authors suggest that early human ancestors responded to this by abandoning the high canopy for the forest floor, where they remained bipedal and began eating food from the ground or smaller trees. The ancestors of chimps and gorillas, on the other hand, became more specialized for vertical climbing between the high canopy and the ground and thus developed knuckle-walking for crossing from one tree to another on the ground. "Our conclusion is that arboreal bipedalism had very strong adaptive benefits. So, we don't need to explain how our ancestors could have gone from being quadrupedal to being bipedal," Thorpe said. Observations of orangutan movement should be useful for conservation efforts, according to Thorpe. These animals are seriously endangered, primarily due to habitat destruction. "If you can understand how they cross gaps in the forest, you can learn about effects that living in logged or degraded habitat would have on their locomotion. These could affect energy levels, for example, if they have to go to the ground, which is incredibly risky because the Sumatran tiger is down there licking its lips. The Sumatran orangutan population is predicted to be extinct in the next decade if habitat degradation continues. Our research further highlights the need for protecting these animals," she said. These findings appear in the 1 June 2007 issue of the journal Science, published by AAAS. Article: "Origin of Human Bipedalism as an Adaptation for Locomotion on Flexible Branches," by Thorpe et al. This research was supported by The Leverhulme Trust, The Royal Society, The L.S.B. Leakey Foundation and The Natural Environment Research Council. Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by American Association for the Advancement of Science. New! Search Science Daily or the entire web with Google: \|\|\|\|\| WASHINGTON Maybe walking upright on two legs isn't such a defining human feature after all. Scientists who spent a year photographing orangutans in the rain forest say the trait probably evolved in ancient apes navigating the treetops long before ancestors of humans climbed to the ground — a hypothesis that contradicts science museums the world over. But it's more in tune with fossil evidence, contends Robin Crompton of the University of Liverpool, who co-authored the report in Friday's edition of the journal Science. • Click here to visit FOXNews.com's Evolution & Paleontology Center. "An increasing number of people have been questioning this old 'up from the apes' idea" of how bipedalism evolved, Crompton said. The popular explanation: Some chimpanzee-like creature that dragged its knuckles on the ground descended from trees into grasslands, and gradually straightened up to walk like modern humans. (Story continues below) Advertise Here Advertisements Advertisements Yet climate data and fossils of such creatures as the famed Lucy suggest that early ancestors of humans lived in forests for far longer, and could move on two or four legs. Think orangutans just swing around? Maybe in zoos. Actually, it is orangutans — not the chimps who genetically are humans' closest relatives — that can walk most like people, Crompton said. Recording orangutans in Sumatra, Susannah Thorpe of Britain's University of Birmingham measured something counterintuitive: When they move to the skinniest branches, where the tastiest fruit grows, they stand stiffly straight-legged, like a person. Why? They've got great long toes to wrap around skinny branches and hang on, balancing with one arm overhead while the other reaches for food. Evolution requires a reason for such a special skill. Thorpe compares the orangutans' walking-in-treetops to the straight-legged gait of athletes running on springy tracks. Bending knees makes leg muscles work harder, she explains. Squatting makes more sense for chimps and gorillas, who developed stronger forearms as they climbed up and down big trees, than for smaller orangs, who spend all day in trees to avoid tigers. "It's energetically quite economical for orangutans to feed and move on these bendy branches using bipedalism," she concludes. Other evolution experts praised the work, but aren't convinced. Why would chimps lose that bipedal ability while whatever became human retained it, asked Will Harcourt-Smith of the American Museum of Natural History in New York. "Another view of this might be that actually, our ancestor was rather good at doing a number of things," said Harcourt-Smith, who believes there were several gradual shifts to walking upright instead of one big leap. Evolution aside, the new insight into how orangutans reach their food may help efforts to conserve the dwindling habitat of these endangered apes, Crompton said.	An orangutan. Scientists from the United Kingdom who spent one year watching orangutans have revealed in a study that humans may have learned to walk while still living in the trees, and that humans may not be that closely related to chimpanzees. "An increasing number of people have been questioning this old 'up from the apes' idea" of how bipedalism evolved. As the forests became sparse, the strategy of our human ancestors was more or less to abandon the canopies and come down to the ground, where they could use this bipedalism immediately to get around," said one University of Liverpool scientist who headed the study, Robin Crompton. Museums and schools across the world have been teaching that humans evolved from an animal much like that of a chimpanzee and that humans started to walk along the forest floors, with their arms hanging, and knuckles scraping across the ground. It is also taught that those animals then began to walk upright once they adapted to living on the ground. Orangutans were observed by researcher Susannah Thorpe of the University of Birmingham in Sumatra, Indonesia for one year. She documented that the orangutans would generally walk on their hands and feet, but when food was at a height that they could not reach, the orangutans would stand on their feet, extend upright, and grab the fruit or food item they want. This movement also allowed them to swing from the branches of trees more efficiently, without having to touch the forest floor. Frankfurt, Germany. "When they move to the skinniest branches, where the tastiest fruit grows, they stand stiffly straight-legged, like a person. It's energetically quite economical for orangutans to feed and move on these bendy branches using bipedalism," said Thorpe who also has over 3,000 different movements on film that show orangutans standing on their own 2 feet, upright, and reaching for objects. "Our conclusion is that arboreal bipedalism had very strong adaptive benefits. So, we don't need to explain how our ancestors could have gone from being quadrupedal to being bipedal," added Thorpe. The researchers also compared evidence from the remains of Lucy, past climate conditions on the planet and fossils to the workings of orangutans, and all suggest that humans were living and swinging in the trees for a much longer period of time than previously thought. The study shows that humans may have learned to walk at least 24 million years ago, rather than 6 million years ago. Some experts disagree with the study. "The main evidence is that our closest living relatives are not orangutans, they're chimps and gorillas, and since both climb trees and walk on their knuckles, it's most likely our ancestors did that too. One of the only anatomical features we share explicitly with chimps and gorillas is that we only have eight wrists bones, while almost all other primates have nine. In humans, chimps and gorillas, two bones have fused into one to stabilise the wrist, making it stronger for knuckle-walking. It's not a smoking gun, but it's the best evidence we have," said anthropologist at George Washington University, Brian Richmond.

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