Simple fertilizer technique promises to feed Africa's hungry

Simple fertilizer technique promises to feed Africa's hungry

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A simple and cheap technique of applying fertilizer in small doses at the right time can double wheat crop yields in sub-Saharan Africa and feed millions of people, agronomists said in a report.A four-year experiment with the technique in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger has boosted sorghum and millet production by 44 to 120 percent, and family incomes by 50 to 130 percent, said an International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) report published Thursday.

The successful technique coupled with awareness of soil type, grain variety and irregular rainfall in the region "has the potential to end widespread hunger in drought prone areas of sub-Saharan Africa", said ICRISAT Assistant Director for West and Central Africa Ramadjita Tabo.

He hopes the system will be adopted by 500,000 farmers in the region over the next five years.

Farmers are quick to learn and can be trained in just one week, Tabo told AFP.

He said they are shown that only six grams of fertilizer per plant is enough, and that small holes dug in the dry ground and filled with manure before the rainy season will hold water for a longer time.

When it starts to rain, a micro-dosis of fertilizer and a plant are placed in each hole so roots can spread quickly an retain even more water, Tabo said.

"Land degradation is particularly acute in sub-Saharan Africa where the soil has been overused, coupled with low, unpredictable rainfall," he stressed.

Farmers in sub-Saharan Africa are so poor they exploit the land to the maximum and consider the cost of fertilizer too high a risk in case of a bad harvest.

"With microdosing, they don't invest much and that reduces their risk," Tabo said.

Fertilizer in Africa is difficult to find and costs two to six times more than the average world price because of low sale volumes, difficulty of transport and because it is not produced locally.

With micro-doses, farmers only need 10 percent of the fertilizer used for wheat and five percent for corn, the ICRISAT report said.

In soils low in nutrients like phosphate, pottasium and nitrogen, micro-doses of fertilizer are enough to double crop yields, Tabo said.

"Reports indicate that land degradation affects more than half of sub-Saharan Africa, leading to loss of an estimated 42 billion dollars in income and five million hectares (12.5 million acres) of productive land each year," ICRISAT said.

"The majority of farmlands suffer from poor soil fertility due to poor farming techniques, nutrient deficiency and lack of water," which also degrades the environment, it added.

Unable to feed their families or afford to buy food, farmers abandon unproductive land to clear forests and plow new land, a practice blamed for an estimated three fourths of the deforestation in sub-Saharan Africa.

ICRISAT has also come with a system allowing poor farmers to borrow against their crops, which they store and sell when the prices go up, eliminating the middle man.

"Thousands of successful experiments across the dryland areas of West and Southern Africa demonstrate that microdosing can boost yields enough to eliminate the need for food aid," ICRISAT Director General William Dar said in the report.

ICRISAT is funded by international donors including the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Ofcom seeks help on mobile rules

Ofcom seeks help on mobile rules

The good and bad aspects of the UK's mobile phone networks are being sought by Ofcom.

The telecoms regulator wants help from consumers and industry on areas that need more regulation or where the rules can be loosened.

It is also looking for ideas on how best to extend mobile networks across the entire nation.

It said rule changes might be necessary given the rapid pace of technological change in the industry.

Strong signal

The consultation has been prompted by the rising number of complaints lodged with Ofcom about mobile services.

It said although 90% of mobile phone owners were happy with their handset, that left about 1.4 million people who were either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their service.

"With significant market and technology developments under way, now is the right time to ask some tough questions about the future approach to regulation," said Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards in a statement.

Ofcom said an indicator of how mobiles were developing was shown by the prediction that mobile calls were "set to outnumber fixed calls in the UK within the next 12 to 18 months".

Via the consultation Ofcom is looking for ways to improve deals for pay-as-you-go customers and reduce the parts of the countryside where no mobile signal can be received.

In particular Ofcom is interested in comments about so-called "mobile termination rates" - the prices phone firms charge each other for access to one another's networks. Cutting these prices may mean lower phone bills for consumers.

It said it would eliminate rules in areas where competition was doing a good job of protecting consumers' interests. This might mean making it easier for new entrants providing novel services to get going.

Ofcom said it welcomed the views of consumers on any and every aspect of the UK mobile telephony market. It has set up a blog to air some of the discussion generated during the consultation period.

The consultation is due to close on 6 November.

Split feared in Pakistan's coalition over judges issue

Split feared in Pakistan's coalition over judges issue

ISLAMABAD (AFP) — Pakistan's fragile coalition government is facing a Monday deadline on reinstating judges sacked by former president Pervez Musharraf that could determine whether its major parties split.

Political infighting has weakened the ability to focus on militant violence -- almost 100 people were killed in bombings in the past week -- and leave the government in disarray ahead of the September 6 presidential election.

Seven militants were killed and three soldiers wounded in the latest violence in the troubled tribal areas along the Afghan border, officials said Sunday.

The party of ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif has imposed a Monday deadline for hearing from its coalition partner, the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), on whether the judges will get their jobs back.

Critics say PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of another former premier, Benazir Bhutto, fears their return could mean the end of an amnesty on corruption charges that brought the couple back to Pakistan last year.

Although the PPP has signalled it will agree to the reinstatement, it has been dragging its feet on the issue, which has threatened to fracture an already fragile coalition that took power after the defeat of Musharraf's allies in February 18 polls.

Sharif held a meeting with close aides Sunday to discuss the political situation, the presidential election and the judges issue, party officials said. A decision whether to participate in the presidential election will be announced on Monday, they added.

Zardari confirmed Saturday that he would run for president in the September 6 poll triggered by Musharraf's resignation to avoid impeachment charges.

A resolution on the reinstatement of the 60 judges, who include the independent-minded former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, would require the PPP's support.

Musharraf's resignation and the race to replace him come amid a prolonged battle with Islamic militants who have carried out a series of suicide bombings and clashed with troops on the Afghan border.

A double Taliban suicide bombing at Pakistan's biggest weapons factory on Thursday, the deadliest ever attack on a Pakistani military site, has put fresh pressure on the coalition to end its bickering and focus on militant violence.

Sharif also wants the powers of the presidency reduced to prevent the next incumbent from dissolving parliament -- a power created by Musharraf -- and said he would back Zardari for president if this happened.

PPP deputy secretary general Raza Rabbani said Saturday that the judges would be restored to office but declined to disclose a timeframe.

Sharif previously threatened to quit the coalition if they were not reinstated by Friday.

The former premier -- who was ousted by Musharraf in a 1999 coup -- had said representatives of the two parties would draft a resolution on restoring the judges over the weekend and then introduce it in parliament on Monday.

Sharif's party spokesman Siddiqul Farooq said the issue of whether Zardari would stand for the presidency was the PPP's "own decision," not that of the coalition partners, but reiterated its leader's demands Saturday.

"We do not want a civilian president with the same powers that Musharraf had, mainly the power to dissolve parliament," Farooq said.

"Our top priority is restoration of the judges and we want it done on Monday," Farooq insisted, adding that the party would meet in Islamabad on Monday to discuss the latest developments.

Farooq on Sunday said the future of the alliance depended on reinstatement of the judges.

"The party will decide its future course of action," Farooq told AFP.

"The alliance is intact today but its future depends on the fulfilment of the promise Zardari made for the restoration of the judges," he said.

The deadlock has heightened the political instability in Pakistan some six days after Musharraf, a key US ally, quit office and as Western nations look for continuity after his departure.

Techblog: Verizon and Google in search deal?

Techblog: Verizon and Google in search deal?


Report: Verizon and Google in search deal

Verizon and Google apparently are working on a deal to make Google the default search provider for mobile devices and perhaps more.The Wall Street Journal reported that Verizon Communications is close to announcing a deal that would create a one-stop shop for mobile searches powered by Google. The deal would help Verizon Wireless pull in more mobile ad revenue, which has been generally anemic. Ultimately, Verizon could place a Google search bar on the home screen of its phones, the Journal said.

Google would get a share of the revenue. And more importantly, it could offer more relevant ads for Verizon users by incorporating location information from the handsets.

The deal signals some improving relations between the two companies. This year Google bid up the C Block of the 700 Mhz wireless spectrum that Verizon ultimately paid $4.7 billion for. Google also managed to place open access rules on the C Block over Verizon's objections. Verizon also has been reluctant to join Google's new operating system, Android, which is scheduled to premiere this year on T-Mobile.

The agreement could eventually spill over into Verizon's Web portal or FIOS TV, the Journal said. But for mobile searches, it shows the potential business to be had if mobile carriers and search giants like Google and Verizon team up to make the experience more friendly for mobile users. It's a far cry from online search revenue, but most people assume that with more robust Internet-capable phones, mobile search will start pulling in big money soon.

- Ryan Kim

Citizen journalist site to pay contributors
Allvoices.com, a San Francisco startup that collects and posts news reports from anybody anywhere in the world (as long as they're over 13), is now paying for contributions.

Citizen journalists whose work gets at least 100,000 page views in six months will earn $1,000. If they achieve 1 million page views, they will earn $10,000. If you have a blog and install Allvoices' blogging widget, whatever you write on your blog will be posted directly on Allvoices' site.

The offer expires Feb. 19.

Founder Amra Tareen launched the company in July as a way to get people from all over the world talking about current events. She is a Muslim who grew up in Pakistan and Australia and is an engineer, a Harvard Business School graduate and a former venture capitalist.

She said she realized when she returned to Pakistan to help widows and orphans from the 2005 earthquake that "people didn't like Americans that much. I realized it's not a great state of affairs."

She also discovered that she had a lot of stories to tell about the courage and resilience of the people she met in Pakistan, but no way to tell them. "If I don't know how to optimize a blog for search and build a reputation, nobody will ever look at my stories," she said. "About 80 percent of blogs are never read."

Right now, all content that's submitted to Allvoices is automatically posted after it's combined with other relevant content that Allvoices finds on the Web. In the future, however, Tareen expects to hire human editors. She'd also like to build a community of good contributors and has pitched Allvoices to journalism schools because she figures their graduates will have a hard time finding jobs.

Allvoices expects to make money through advertising and will share a percentage of that revenue with contributors, Tareen said.

Canada Links a 3rd Death to Bacteria

Canada Links a 3rd Death to Bacteria

OTTAWA — Canadian health officials, coping with a national outbreak of a bacterial illness, confirmed a third death on Friday apparently linked to tainted cold cuts from Canada’s largest meat processor.

The bacterial illness, listeriosis, is often fatal to the elderly, the infirm and those with weak immune systems. The three deaths were all elderly women in Ontario.

The meat processor, Maple Leaf Foods, this week recalled more than 1.2 million pounds of lunch meats produced in its Toronto plant. Tests have confirmed 17 cases of listeriosis throughout Canada, including the three fatalities. Another 16 possible cases are under investigation.

The outbreak came as Canada’s Conservative government was considering a controversial plan to transfer all or some of the responsibility for food inspection to the food industry.

Health authorities informed Maple Leaf last Saturday that government laboratories had detected Listeria monocytogenes, the bacteria that causes the illness, in two lunch meats that Maple Leaf sells to restaurants and commercial kitchens. Maple Leaf recalled those products on Tuesday and later expanded the recall to another 19 products made on the same production lines in its Toronto plant, one of 21 that the company owns.

A Maple Leaf spokeswoman, Linda Smith, said that none of the production from the Toronto plant was exported to the United States. Lola Russell, speaking for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, said there had been no known cases of listeriosis in the United States.

Tests to tie the bacteria in the lunch meats definitively to the deaths and illnesses are under way, but not yet complete. “While we have no positive test for these products, we felt we should take action,” Ms. Smith said.

Listeriosis is particularly dangerous because the bacteria that causes it can remain active even in meats, dairy products, fish and vegetables that are properly handled and refrigerated. Foods may be contaminated even though they do not appear or smell spoiled.

Symptoms of the disease include nausea, gastrointestinal discomfort, vomiting, persistent headaches and fever. Severe cases can lead to brain infections or death.

The Maple Leaf plant in Toronto was closed earlier this week and has undergone three sterilizations supervised by a microbiologist, Ms. Smith said. This weekend its interior will be sealed and filled with an antibacterial aerosol in preparation for a reopening on Monday, she said.

The majority of the confirmed cases of the illness have been in Ontario. Most of the patients, public health officials said, were elderly residents of long-term care facilities.

Dalton McGuinty, the premier of Ontario, said the outbreak had been detected by the extensive disease monitoring and control systems that were introduced after an outbreak of SARS in the Toronto area in 2003.

Ms. Smith said that “virtually all” of the meat in the recall has been returned to Maple Leaf or retailers.

Black hole star mystery 'solved'

Black hole star mystery 'solved'

Astronomers have shed light on how stars can form around a massive black hole, defying conventional wisdom.

Scientists have long wondered how stars develop in such extreme conditions.

Molecular clouds - the normal birth places of stars - would be ripped apart by the immense gravity, a team explains in Science magazine.

But the researchers say stars can form from elliptical discs - the relics of giant gas clouds torn apart by encounters with black holes.

They made the discovery after developing computer simulations of giant gas clouds being sucked into black holes like water spiralling down a plughole.

"These simulations show that young stars can form in the neighbourhood of supermassive black holes as long as there is a reasonable supply of massive clouds of gas from further out in the galaxy," said co-author Ian Bonnell from St Andrews University, UK.

Ripped apart

Their findings are in accordance with actual observations in our Milky Way galaxy that indicate the presence of a massive black hole, surrounded by huge stars with eccentric orbits.

The simulations, performed on a supercomputer - and taking over a year of computing time - followed the evolution of two separate giant gas clouds up to 100,000 times the mass of the Sun, as they fell towards the supermassive black hole.

The simulations show how the clouds are pulled apart by the immense gravitational pull of the black hole.

The disrupted clouds form into spiral patterns as they orbit the black hole; the spiral patterns remove motion energy from gas that passes close to the black hole and transfers it to gas that passes further out.

This allows part of the cloud to be captured by the black hole while the rest escapes.

In these conditions, only high mass stars are able to form and these stars inherit the eccentric orbits from the elliptical disc.

These results match the two primary properties of the young stars in the centre of our galaxy: their high mass and their eccentric orbits around the supermassive black hole.

"That the stars currently present around the galaxy's supermassive black hole have relatively short lifetimes of [about] 10 million years, which suggests that this process is likely to be repetitive," Professor Bonnell explained.

"Such a steady supply of stars into the vicinity of the black hole, and a diet of gas directly accreted by the black hole, may help us understand the origin of supermassive black holes in our and other galaxies in the Universe."

Students march for freedom in Indian Kashmir

Students march for freedom in Indian Kashmir

SRINAGAR, India: Thousands of students and protesters marched through the main city of Indian Kashmir on Thursday to press their demands for independence from India.

The demonstration, which came after several days of relative calm, were small compared to the massive protests that have rocked the state over the last two months. At least 34 people have been killed in the unrest.

The students waved pro-independence signs as they marched through the main business district of Srinagar, Indian Kashmir's biggest city, chanting "Burn the Indian institutions" and "It has come, it has come, freedom, freedom." A group of protesters raised an Islamic green flag at the clock tower in the city's main bazaar.

Police and paramilitary forces kept their distance from the protesters and no violence was reported.

The demonstration came during a planned three-day break in the protests that separatist leaders said they would spend charting a future course. They have announced plans for a massive rally and strike for Friday.Meanwhile, Hindu protesters attacked the vehicle carrying a top elected official in Jammu, a predominantly Hindu city that has been the site of large demonstrations, according to the Press Trust of India news agency.

Mangat Ram Sharma, who escaped unharmed, has been attacked twice before in recent weeks because of his senior role in the unpopular state government.

The recent unrest has reinvigorated the region's decades-long separatist struggle. The protests represent the biggest challenge to Indian rule over its only Muslim-majority state since the start of a violent insurgency in 1989 that has killed an estimated 68,000 people.

The crisis began in June with a dispute over land near a Hindu shrine. Muslims held protests complaining that a state government plan to transfer 99 acres (40 hectares) to a Hindu trust to build facilities for pilgrims near the shrine was actually a settlement plan meant to alter the religious balance in the region.

A subsequent decision by the state government to scrap the plan angered the region's Hindus, sparking tit-for-tat demonstrations. At least two Hindus have killed themselves in protest.

Kashmir is split between India and Pakistan, which have fought two of their three wars over the disputed Himalayan region. The separatists seek Indian Kashmir's independence or its union with Muslim Pakistan.

U.S. and Poland sign missile defense deal

U.S. and Poland sign missile defense deal

WARSAW -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signed a missile defense deal with Poland on Wednesday and predicted that future presidents would not undo the controversial program.

Speaking to reporters, Rice said that though legally the pact could be voided by a future White House, it has a rationale and diplomatic momentum that make that unlikely."I believe that the administrations of the future will recognize both the threat that we face and the substantial commitment that our allies have now taken for missile defense," she told a Polish journalist.

When the Bush administration entered office, it placed top priority on the goal of developing the missile defense program in such a way that it could not be dismantled.

The U.S.-Polish effort is part of a controversial worldwide antimissile program that critics consider unworkable and destabilizing. In the late 1990s, the Clinton administration slowed the program because of concern about its value.


Rice cited U.S. concern about Iran's nuclear ambitions as the rationale for the antimissile program, and the willingness of Poland and the Czech Republic to participate as the momentum for the effort.

Rice signed the deal, which culminates a year and a half of talks, with Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski. Polish President Lech Kaczynski and Prime Minister Donald Tusk were also present.

Kaczynski declared that the deal "strengthens the global positioning of the most powerful country in the world." Rice called it a "landmark."

Under the agreement, the United States will build and operate 10 interceptor missiles in Poland that the administration says are intended for shooting down any long-range missiles from nations such as Iran.

Russian officials believe that though the plan is modest, it is the first step in construction of a huge interceptor system that could neutralize Russia's vast missile force, leaving it vulnerable to a first-strike nuclear attack.

They have reacted angrily, and a Russian general said last week that by approving the deal Poland was opening itself to a potential Russian nuclear attack.

Rice responded Wednesday to that threat by saying such comments "border on the bizarre."

The Poland-based interceptors would work in conjunction with a planned U.S. radar system in the Czech Republic that would track missiles.

Two Polish governments have weighed the U.S. proposal, in light of the risk of antagonizing a powerful neighbor that previously has overrun their nation. Polish officials intermittently suggested that the deal might be scuttled.

But Russia's military advance into Georgia on Aug. 8 has strengthened Polish public support for the deal. It was less than 50% for many months, but is now more than 60%, a Polish poll showed.

Polish officials believe that though their country is already a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, this program will give them an added measure of commitment from the United States. Along with the 10 long-range interceptor missiles, they will receive a Patriot missile battery, staffed by the U.S. Army, that will be designed to protect against short-range missiles and warplanes.

The Patriot battery is to be deployed next year, and by 2012 the U.S. is to build a garrison to protect it.

The deal as signed was exactly as it was when announced last week, officials said.

Rice and Sikorski also signed a separate "strategic cooperation agreement" that the State Department said would "elevate cooperation to a new and higher level."

A statement said that the U.S. remained committed to helping improve Poland's military forces.

Brazil's biofuel plane fleet grows

Brazil's biofuel plane fleet grows

BOTUCATU, Brazil (AFP) - Brazilian biofuel, already available for nine out of 10 cars on the roads, is also keeping a small but growing fleet of aircraft aloft, the company making them says.Some 200 single-engine, single-seat Ipanema planes made by Neiva, a subsidiary of Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer, are now burning cheap ethanol made from sugarcane for their crop-dusting and public health missions.

The first of the ethanol-fueled EMB 202As took to the air in 2005, and the company has steadily increased production, with 32 being turned out this year, the head of the factory in the central west town of Botucatu, Almir Borges, told AFP.

Next year, production should stabilize at 36 planes per year, he said.

The biofuel version of the plane is swelling sales of the aircraft, already the market leader in the agricultural aviation segment with a 75 percent dominance. Around 1,000 of the traditional, petroleum-based version have been sold over the past three decades.

The biofuel technology is only being used for the propeller-driven planes, and within heavy restrictions for light aircraft, Borges explained, adding that ethanol was not being used in Embraer's range of jets.

But even taking account of that, the prospects for growing the number of ethanol aircraft in Brazil is huge.

The vast South American nation is home to the second-biggest fleet of light aircraft in the world, after the United States, with 14,000 planes. Around 12,000 of those could be adapted to use biofuel.

Brazil's Aerospace Technical Center estimates that another 400 light aircraft are flying on ethanol in the country, but without the government certification given the Ipanema planes, creating potential safety concerns.

Embraer's studies suggest that having just 600 Ipanemas running on sugarcane ethanol will reduce the demand for traditional petroleum-based jet fuel by 16.8 million liters (4.4 million gallons) per year and save 13.5 million dollars in running costs.

AvAlc, or Aviation Alcohol, as Neiva calls its brand of ethanol for aircraft, costs just 30 percent of what AvGas (aviation gasoline) does.

Brazil is the second-biggest producer of ethanol in the world (again, after the United States), generating 18 billion liters last year, of which around 17 percent was exported.

Rare leopards found in Borneo forest: researcher

Rare leopards found in Borneo forest: researcher

JAKARTA (AFP) - A new population of rare leopard has been found living in thick forests on the Indonesian half of Borneo island, a researcher said Thursday.Camera traps in Sebangau National Park in Central Kalimantan province have snapped pictures of two adult male Bornean clouded leopards in an area once decimated by logging, British zoologist Susan Cheyne said.

The discovery by researchers from Oxford University's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit and Indonesia's Pangkalan Raya University is the first confirmation the clouded leopard, which is classified as vulnerable, lives in the park.

The discovery holds out new hope for the little-understood species, which numbers less than 10,000 individuals and is the top predator on Borneo island, Cheyne said.

"This elusive species is a good indicator of forest health. Large cats need prey and the prey -- deer, macaques and bearded pigs -- need the forest," she said.

"The clouded leopard is the largest predator on Borneo, there are no tigers. Having the island's top predator surviving in an ex-logging concession hopefully means that the species is resilient."

However, the discovery still only provides a small amount of information about the behaviour and distribution of the big cats.

"With more time and increased number of photos we can start to identify individual cats, look at which cameras they show up on to get an idea of range, and possible range overlap with the smaller cats," Cheyne said.

The forests on Indonesia's half of Borneo island are home to some of the world's most diverse wildlife, but are under threat from plantations and logging, much of it illegal.

The Issues Still Separating

The Issues Still Separating Baghdad and Washington

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Some four months before expiration of the U.S. military's legal mandate in Iraq, less than 75 days ahead of the U.S. election, and with plans for key Iraqi local elections now up in the air, negotiators from both countries seem to have finally drafted a framework for American forces to keep operating in the country. But the technical details they resolved will now be subject to intense and potentially conflicting political pressures on both sides.

Hours after news of the draft broke, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Baghdad on a previously unannounced trip, and told reporters that while negotiators had "taken this very, very far … there is no reason to believe that there is an agreement yet." The outstanding issues, she said, concern "exactly how our forces operate," adding that any "agreement rests on aspirational timelines." Those are references to the two toughest points of dispute: the role of U.S. troops in a nominally sovereign country they have dominated for more than five years, and just how quickly some of them will leave.

Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Haj Humood and other people familiar with the matter tell The Wall Street Journal that the draft agreement sets a goal -- this may be the key word allowing Baghdad and Washington to fix some kind of timeline -- of 2011 for the departure of combat troops from Iraq. By the summer of 2009, American forces would mostly disappear from metropolitan areas and other population centers, the Journal says, citing senior officials in Washington who say the talks are over and the agreement is ready to present to political leaders. CNN cites a U.S. source saying any dates are "not a deadline" and are subject to the conditions at the time. And the Associated Press notes U.S. officials have still been resisting any commitment to a firm, specific date for a pullout.

The presence of American forces in Iraq and among Iraqis has been double-edged -- a major factor in reducing the violence so drastically over the past year, but a daily reminder to Iraqis that they remain in many ways an occupied country with little say over their protectors. Which partly explains why the role and legal limits for U.S. forces in the new agreement is so important. (These so-called status-of-forces issues can be touchy even with longtime allies like Japan and South Korea.) The Journal reports that the Bush administration relinquished its insistence that American contractors like those of Blackwater stay immune from Iraqi law, but notes a lingering dispute involves such immunity for U.S. military personal. Mr. Humood, who led Iraq's side in the negotiations, tells the paper joint U.S.-Iraqi committees will be set up to resolve such issues case by case. But history suggests the Pentagon, under any presidential administration, would be extremely reluctant to subject soldiers, sailors and airmen to Iraqi law.

Ms. Rice, without providing details, said more work is needed to deal with these issues, and suggested this will be the main subject of her meetings on this trip with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. "Ultimately the prime minister has to make the call on moving forward," Ms. Rice said, adding that the visit gives her a chance to "see what we can do from Washington to get to closure." But Mr. Maliki may not be in a position to provide closure even if he wants to, since he must deal with a fractious Iraqi parliament still unable to agree on other important political decisions and touchy about most things American.

In the meantime, the importance of even "aspirational" timelines is likely to be played down by security officials and experts in both countries, including Gen. David Petraeus, the departing commander of American forces in Iraq and soon-to-be military chief for the entire region. Gen. Petraeus, in one of a series of interviews he has given this week, tells the New York Times that despite the U.S. and Iraqi success in reducing the violence, "It's not durable yet. It's not self-sustaining." "You know," he added, "touch wood, there is still a lot of work to be done." And as for his recommendations for the next U.S. president, who'll have to make the actual choice on when to withdraw troops: "The only statement I think somebody in a position like this can responsibly make is that it obviously depends on the conditions and how much risk one is willing to take."

* * *

One Rumor the Fed Couldn't Ignore
In a year when uncertainty has been one of global finance's biggest plagues and rumor a major source of infection, the Federal Reserve made a rare decision to quietly inquire if one alarming bit of information making the rounds was true. A July rumor suggested Credit Suisse Group might be cutting off its line of credit to Lehman Brothers Holdings. And people familiar with the matter tell The Wall Street Journal that Fed officials called the Swiss bank to see if it was true. No, they were told, it wasn't. "The Fed's unusual move underscores the tough position that federal officials are in as the Wall Street investment bank tries to overcome mortgage-related losses," the paper says. "As financial institutions suffer through write-downs and loan woes, the Fed has a strong incentive and the moral authority to dispel groundless speculation that could threaten the viability of an important cog in the U.S. financial system."

Lehman's capital levels have been a source of worries since fellow Wall Street titan Bear Stearns collapsed earlier this year. And ahead of the poor quarterly results Lehman is expected to announce next month, the company has been shopping around part of its respected money-management operations in order to shore up its balance sheet. The Journal reported earlier this summer that Lehman had reached out to a big South Korean investor for cash but hadn't reached a deal. New York-based people familiar with potential buyers now tell the Financial Times that Lehman held confidential talks with South Korean or Chinese parties at the beginning of August about the possibility of selling up to 50% of its shares, but that the buyers found the asking price too high.

* * *

Also of Note…

Associated Press: Spain began three days of mourning today for the 153 people who died when a jetliner crashed shortly after takeoff from Madrid in the country's worst air disaster in nearly 25 years. Only 19 people survived yesterday's crash of a Spanair plane bound for the Canary Islands.

Washington Post: A Bush administration proposal to exempt India from restriction on nuclear trade has aroused skepticism from several members of the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group, diplomats said, making it increasingly unlikely that a deal will be reached in two-day meetings that begin today in Vienna. Both India and the U.S. have lobbied the group for approval of a landmark civil nuclear deal, but the NSG, which governs trade in reactors and uranium, operates by consensus, allowing even small nations to block or significantly amend any agreement.

Guardian: MI-5 has concluded there is no easy way to identify those who become involved in terrorism in Britain, according to a classified internal research document on radicalization based on hundreds of case studies by the security service. The study concludes it isn't possible to draw up a typical profile of the "British terrorist" as most are "demographically unremarkable" and simply reflect the communities in which they live -- a theory that clashes with common stereotypes about those involved in British terrorism.

New York Times: While Medicare's top officials said in 2006 that they had reduced the number of fraudulent and improper claims paid by the agency, keeping billions of dollars out of the hands of people trying to game the system, a confidential draft of a federal inspector general's report says those claims of success, which earned Medicare wide praise from lawmakers, were misleading. In calculating the agency's rate of improper payments, Medicare officials told outside auditors to ignore government policies that would have accurately measured fraud, according to the report.

Reuters: Consumers should brace for the biggest increase in food prices in nearly 20 years in 2008 and even more pain next year due to surging meat and produce prices, the U.S. Agriculture Department said.

Times of London: Iceland is to join the growing rush of countries aiming to tap into the potentially vast oil and gas reserves of the Arctic. Reykjavik is hoping to attract investment from some of the world's biggest oil companies as it finalizes the terms for its first offshore licenses.

Nikkei: Japanese exports to China surged 16.8% year on year to 1.28 trillion yen in July, surpassing U.S.-bound shipments for the first time in the postwar period and making the fast-growing Asian economy the country's largest trading partner, according to figures released Thursday by the Ministry of Finance.

Bloomberg: Indonesia, the world's largest tin exporter, plans to cap production of five minerals including tin to extend mine life and try to control prices, an official said.

Wall Street Journal: Boeing faces a quandary in final contract talks with union machinists that begin today: It must avoid a strike that would cause delays on an already backed-up production line, yet be tough enough to make inroads against mounting pension and health-insurance costs. Meanwhile, the head of the International Air Transport Association said that airlines globally could lose more than $6.1 billion in 2008 because of high oil prices and geopolitical instability, with Asia, particularly China and India, now also starting to feel the effects of the international downturn.

Financial Times: Ferrovial, one of Spain's biggest construction groups, was facing the threat of a forced sale of three of its British airports next year, after a damning report by U.K. competition authorities attacked its dominance of the industry. The U.K. Competition Commission provisionally concluded that Ferrovial's subsidiary, BAA, should be forced to sell two of its three London airports -- Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted -- and either Glasgow or Edinburgh in Scotland. The most likely candidates for sale are Gatwick, Stansted and Glasgow, analysts said.

Roll Call: House ethics Chairwoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, an Ohio Democrat, died yesterday after suffering a massive aneurysm while driving her car the day before, according to family and hospital officials.

* * *

Quote of the Day
"Windows, Not Walls," reads the slogan at the heart of a new $300 million advertising campaign from Microsoft that will use Jerry Seinfeld as a key pitchman, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing people close to the situation. Mr. Seinfeld will appear with Bill Gates in ads and receive about $10 million for the work, in the bid to overhaul an image battered by Apple's "Mac vs. PC" ads, the paper says.

Scores dead in Algeria blast

Scores dead in Algeria blast

A bomb attack at a police training centre in Algeria has killed 43 people and wounded 38.The Algerian interior ministry said terrorists targeted a paramilitary police training school at Issers, 34 miles east of the capital Algiers.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

In recent months the mountainous areas east of Algiers have seen numerous attacks by al-Qaeda's north Africa wing, which is fighting to set up Islamic rule in the oil-rich north African country.

Rebels linked to al-Qaeda killed eight policemen, three soldiers and a civilian in successive ambushes in the region on Sunday.

A suicide car bombing killed at least six civilians in Zemmouri, also east of Algiers, on August 10 in an attack on a coastguard barracks and a neighbouring police post.

Conflict broke out in 1992 when the military-backed government scrapped elections a radical Islamic party was poised to win. About 150,000 people have died during the ensuing violence.

In 2006 the government freed more than 2,000 former Islamist guerrillas under an amnesty designed to put an end to the conflict.

But a hard core of several hundred rebels fights on as members of al Qaeda's north Africa wing, which was previously known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat or GSPC.

Dozens killed in Algerian police school suicide attack

Dozens killed in Algerian police school suicide attack
ISSERS, Algeria (AFP) - A suicide attack on a police school has killed 43 people and wounded 38, the interior ministry said Tuesday.An Al-Qaeda group has claimed previous suicide attacks in Algeria but officials gave no indication who was behind the attack on candidates waiting to take part in an examination at Issers, 60 kilometres (40 miles) east of Algiers.

The Interior Ministry stressed that the casualty toll was still provisional.

But it is already the deadliest attack this year in Algeria and worse than the December 2007 attacks in Algiers against government and United Nations buildings, which killed 41 people and injured many others.

Witnesses told AFP that the attacker drove a car packed with explosives at the main entrance to the school as candidates for an entry exam were waiting outside.

Civilians and police were among the victims and a major security operation was launched, they added.

The attack was just the latest in a series on security forces in recent weeks.

The surge in violence also comes in the run-up to the Ramadan, when Muslims observe a month of fasting and spiritual reflection. Ramadan is considered a peak period for "jihad" or holy war.

Tuesday's newspapers here reported an attack on Sunday in which Islamist extremists killed 11 members of the security forces and a civilian in an ambush in the east of the country.

That attack, in the Skikda region, also left about a dozen security officers wounded, the Quotidien d'Oran and Liberte newspapers said. Four Islamist militants were killed.

One soldier killed in the ambush was Lieutenant-Colonel Rahmouni Mohammed, 47, the papers said.

On Thursday last week (August 14) the military commander in the mountainous Jijel region, Abdelkader Yamani, was killed with his driver when a bomb blew up under their four-wheel-drive vehicle.

On August 9, a suicide bomber rammed a van full of explosives into a police post at the beach resort of Zemmouri el-Bahri, in eastern Algeria, killing eight people and injuring 19 others.

Less than a week earlier, on August 3, another suicide attack on a police at Tizi Ouzou, in the eastern Kabylie region wounded 25 people.

Responsibility for that attack was claimed by Al-Qaeda's North African branch.

They also claimed a July 23 attack in which police said a suicide bomber on a motorbike blew himself up and injured 13 Algerian soldiers in Lakhdaria, also east of Algiers.

These attacks ended a six-month period of relative calm that followed the devastating December bombings in Algiers.

That attack triggered the reinforcement of anti-terrorism and security measures around public buildings, as well as an attempt to clamp down on terrorist networks.

Between January and July, Algerian courts handed down 218 death sentences in absentia to armed Islamists on the run, according to judicial sources.

Brain's counting skill 'built-in'

Brain's counting skill 'built-in'

Humans have an in-built ability to do mathematics even if they do not have the language to express it, a research team has suggested.

A study in Australian Aboriginal children, whose languages lack number words, found they did just as well as English-speaking children in numeracy.

The findings contradicts other research which found having "counting words" was the key to developing number skills.

The study appears in the Proceedings of the US National Academy of Sciences.

British and Australian researchers assessed 45 indigenous Australian children aged between four and seven years. They compared those who lived in remote areas and only spoke Warlpiri or Anindilyakawa - two Aboriginal languages with very few number words - with those who lived in Melbourne and spoke English.

Number tasks

The children were asked to "copy" the number of objects the researchers placed on a mat.

They then had to repeat the exercise when objects were added under a cover - so they could not see how many objects were now there but had to work it out.

In the most complex task, the children had to match the right number of counters to the number of times the researcher banged two sticks together.

There was no difference in numerical ability between the children who spoke languages without number words and the English-speaking children.

Study leader Professor Brian Butterworth, from the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London, said two studies in tribes in the Amazon had concluded that words were necessary for exact number tasks but this research showed otherwise.

"We're born with the ability to see the world numerically just as we're born to see the world in colour."

He added that some people may be born without this innate numeracy mechanism - for example those with dyscalculia who struggle to develop number skills.

"This may help explain why children in numerate cultures with developmental dyscalculia find it so difficult to learn arithmetic.

"Although they have plenty of formal and informal opportunities to learn to count with words and do arithmetic, the innate mechanism on which skilled arithmetic is based may have developed atypically," he said.

Professor Butterworth is currently conducting a large twin study to shed light on the differences in brains of people with dyscalculia.

US lesbian wins fertility battle

US lesbian wins fertility battle

California's highest court has ruled that doctors in the US state cannot discriminate against gay patients on the basis of religious belief.

The decision was made after two Christian doctors refused to artificially inseminate a lesbian undergoing fertility treatment.

The doctors said that would have gone against their beliefs and instead told the patient how to inseminate herself.

Guadalupe Benitez, 36, changed doctors and has since had three children.

She sued the North Coast Women's Care Medical Group in 2001, arguing that doctors were subject to law banning businesses from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation.

"It was an awful thing to go through," Ms Benitez was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.

'Unlawful discrimination'

"It was very painful - the fact that you have someone telling you they will not help you because of who you are, that they will deny your right to be a mother and have a family," she said.

The ruling by California's Supreme Court said that although religious liberty was protected by the constitution, this was not an excuse for unlawful discrimination against others.

Neither of the two doctors had could be exempted from the state's law on either freedom of speech or religious grounds, Justice Joyce Kennard wrote in her judgement.

Ms Benitez's lawyer, Jennifier Pizer, said it was a "victory for public health", adding that the ruling should have influence throughout the US.

But one of the lawyers for the clinic, in the city of Vista, California, said the ruling advanced the state Supreme Court's "radical agenda".

"The Supreme Court's desire to promote the homosexual lifestyle at the risk of infringing upon the First Amendment right to free exercise of religion is what the public needs to learn about," Robert Tyler, head of Advocates for Faith and Freedom, told the Associated Press news agency.

Eastern Europe gets jittery over Russia

Eastern Europe gets jittery over Russia

WARSAW -- Signing a missile-defense deal with its good friend the United States has earned Poland nothing less than the threat of nuclear attack from Russia -- a threat that might not sound so empty these days, given Moscow's bloody battle with Georgia.

That conflict has plunged Europe into crisis, sending waves of jitters through Poland and other eastern nations, once-occupied parts of a Soviet empire that some fear Russia may want to reconstruct. Moscow's actions have also succeeded in driving deeper the wedge between Europe's East and West.


"Slowly, the Iron Curtain is being rebuilt," said Jacek Palasinski, veteran foreign affairs commentator for the Polish television network TVN24. "Europe will be divided again -- the lines are different, pushed farther east, but the division is the same. And dangerous."

Ukraine and Moldova are worried that they could be Russia's next targets. The Czech Republic, on the eve of the 40th anniversary of a Soviet invasion that crushed the Prague Spring reform movement, is fretting about history repeating itself. Many Eastern European nations, Poland chief among them, are eager to find safe haven, and have turned to Washington for guidance and reassurance and partnership.

But the fact that the distracted and overly stretched Bush administration took little concrete action to protect Georgia from Russia's wrath must also give pause to nations that would throw their lot completely with the U.S. Is the strategic alliance that many Eastern European countries have been building with the U.S. since the fall of communism nearly two decades ago still worth the risks?


What other options have you got?" said Zbigniew Lewicki, a political scientist at the University of Warsaw. "You cannot conduct foreign policy based on fear of Russia. We've been through this before. Ukraine knows it, the Baltic republics know it.

"I don't think Russia is an immediate threat to us in the military sense. But they are a nasty neighbor," he added. "An alliance with the United States is a long-term investment."

Poland, a member of both NATO and the European Union, views the U.S. as its most reliable ally, far more trustworthy than Western European nations including France or Germany, which Polish President Lech Kaczynski accused over the weekend of being too timid on Russia.

With fighting escalating in Georgia last week, Poland and the U.S. signed a long-stalled agreement in which Poland accepted a U.S. missile interceptor base to be located on its territory. Washington maintains that the base is part of a system aimed at blocking "rogue" attacks by the likes of Iran, but Russia angrily insists that the weapons are directed at it and has vowed to punish Poland.

The Cold War-era rhetoric hit a high late last week when a leading Russian general went so far as to suggest that Russia could retaliate with nuclear weapons.

"Poland, by deploying [the interceptors], is exposing itself to a strike -- 100%," said Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy chief of the general staff. Russian military doctrine permits the use of nuclear weapons "against the allies of countries having nuclear weapons if they in some way help them," he said.

Negotiations over the U.S.-Poland deal had meandered for 18 months, and it is no coincidence that they came to a quick conclusion against the backdrop of bloodshed in Georgia (despite official denials to the contrary). The agreement allows Washington to assert its ability to have influence and presence in the region, and strengthens security measures for Warsaw. The bloodshed in Georgia quieted most domestic Polish opposition to the missile program, which had been persistent; a new poll Monday showed support had grown significantly.

Also key to reaching an accord was Poland's decision to change its key negotiator in early August, appointing a diplomat considered a loyalist of Prime Minister Donald Tusk. He replaced a negotiator who had been named by Tusk's predecessor, the twin brother of President Kaczynski, who was prime minister until his right-wing party was dumped in elections 10 months ago.

The Poles then carried a new proposal to the Americans that included giving Poland an allotment of Patriot missiles as well as stating a "mutual commitment" to coming to each other's aid in case of attack and on a timetable more expedient than provided by the sometimes unwieldy North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Ever mistrustful of Russian ambitions, Poles are of mixed minds about whether to panic at the invasion of Georgia and over how enthusiastic their allegiance to the U.S. should be. "We Poles have the right to feel threatened," Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told the Dziennik newspaper Monday.

Over the weekend, life here went on as usual. Along Warsaw's Krakowskie Przedmiescie street, a line of steeples and green domes, families went to church, pushed babies in strollers and paused for coffee. Jerzy Zabielski, an 82-year-old widower, was viewing an outdoor photo exhibit of scenes from the 1944 Warsaw Uprising against Nazi occupation, a war he fought in.

"I am not afraid of an invasion and I hate the Russians," said Zabielski, a retired engineer, dressed in a gray suit and wearing an armband in Polish national colors of red and white, to symbolize his war-vet status. "That empire is very aggressive, but we count on the word of the United States. We will be safe because the U.S. supports us."

Renata Kalisz, an office administrator, spoke in a similar vein.

"Only the U.S. can protect us, not Europe, and so there is no danger for Poland," Kalisz, 48, said as she emerged from St. John's Cathedral, a restored medieval church where a musical trio from the Polish mountains was performing loud ballads in dialect.

Palasinski, the television commentator, said Russia's threats against Poland remained a fact of life regardless of the intensity of Warsaw's friendship with the U.S. Cementing the alliance through the missile deal was the smartest thing Poland could do, he added, amid what is clearly a shifting balance of power and a turning point in European dynamics.

But others said the price for Poland's embrace of U.S. strategic interests like the missile program may be too high.

"One battery of Patriots will provide no security for Warsaw -- there are lots of threats, and not enough privileges," said Marek Siwiec, former head of the presidential National Security Office and a Socialist Party member of the European Parliament.

"The security of the U.S. is very important; if the U.S. feels safe, I feel safe. I understand that philosophy," Siwiec said. "But there are many collateral problems. When it's over, you will have your missiles, and we will have Russia in the neighborhood."

Studies assess risk of suicide by students, Asian Americans

Studies assess risk of suicide by students, Asian Americans

WASHINGTON (AFP) - About 15 percent of college students have entertained suicidal thoughts at some point, while five percent have attempted to take their life, according to a study released this week.The web-based survey of 26,000 students at 70 colleges and universities was conducted in the spring of 2006 by the National Research Consortium of Counseling Centers in Higher Education and written by experts at the University of Texas at Austin.

The research was presented in Boston, Massachusetts this week at a convention of the American Psychological Association (APA).

About six percent of undergraduate students and four percent of graduate students said they seriously considered suicide in the year preceding the survey.

The researchers said the findings underscore the dearth of mental health resources for college students. They said suicide prevention needed to involve a cross-section of college administrators, student leaders, faculty, parents and counselors.

"This would reduce the percentage of students who engage in suicidal thinking, who contemplate how to make an attempt and who continue to make attempts," said psychologist David Drum, a lead author on the study.

Most students described their typical episode of suicidal thinking as lasting one day or less and more than half of subjects queried said they opted not to confide in a friend or relative or seek professional help.

Students gave various reasons for contemplating suicide, including the desire to find relief from emotional or physical pain, problems with a romantic relationship, and problems with school or academics.

Of those who made actual suicide attempts, half said their method of choice was an overdose of drugs, the report said.

A separate study released at the APA convention found that Asian Americans whose families experience a high degree of interpersonal conflict have a three-fold greater risk of attempting suicide compared with Asian Americans overall.

The study, conducted by University of California in Davis, found that 2.7 percent of the Asian Americans reported attempting suicide at some point during their lives, and 9.1 percent reported having had suicidal thoughts.

"Because of the great emphasis on harmony and family integration in many Asian cultures, family conflict is an important factor to consider when studying suicidal behaviors among Asian Americans," said Stanley Sue, a professor of psychology and Asian American studies at the university.

While focusing on Asian Americans, researchers said the study was not designed to compare rates of suicide among different ethnic groups.

"Our study suggests that we need to more precisely determine the kinds of family conflicts that are associated with suicide risk among Asian Americans, and find means of preventing these family problems," said Sue.

Families to get cholesterol tests

Families to get cholesterol tests
The UK is expected to endorse the screening of families for an inherited cholesterol disorder which increases the risk of heart disease.

Final guidance due next week is tipped to recommend that children of people with familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) should be tested by the age of 10.

FH affects one in 500 people in the UK, or 110,000 people, yet only 20% of cases are currently diagnosed.

Siblings and children of people with FH have a 50% risk of inheriting it.

'Silent killer'

FH causes unusually high cholesterol levels from birth and often goes unnoticed until an individual's 30s or 40s when the first symptom could be a heart attack.

However, if identified, FH can be successfully controlled by diet, lifestyle and often using cholesterol-lowering statin drugs.

Two types of statin are already licensed for use in the UK in children with FH.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance is likely to call for the introduction of family screening or cascade testing.
This would mean that once a person is diagnosed, the rest of the family would also be screened as the likelihood is that one in two of them will have inherited the condition.

The screening would include cholesterol and DNA tests from blood samples to spot the specific genetic defect that causes FH.

Expert Dr Dermot Neely of the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle, for the cholesterol charity Heart UK, said: "We need to identify FH as early as possible to treat in childhood to prevent heart attacks in early adulthood.

"We have about 100,000 people with FH to find."

He said the screening was unlikely to be draining on public finances and, comparatively, would be much cheaper to run than some existing screening programmes.

Dr David Wald, a consultant cardiologist at Barts and the London Queen Mary's School of Medicine, welcomed cascade screening, but said it would not identify all cases of FH.

He believes all children should be screened for FH before their 10th birthday, irrespective of their family background.

The families of any children found to have the condition could then undergo screening in order to detect all potential cases of FH.

"We will be piloting this type of screening soon," he said.

Proton rocket in return to flight

Proton rocket in return to flight

A Russian Proton rocket has launched on a mission to orbit one of the biggest commercial satellites ever built.

The Proton is carrying the six-tonne Inmarsat-4 (I4-F3) telecommunications spacecraft on a flight that will last just over nine hours.

This is the rocket's first outing since an upper-stage failure in March left a US satellite at a useless altitude.

The vehicle, operated by International Launch Services, left the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 2243 GMT.

The spacecraft's owner, the UK-based Inmarsat company, says it is confident the Proton will work properly.

"We have been fully involved in the review board that they had into the last failure," an Inmarsat spokesman told BBC News.

"We have obviously ensured that the testing that went on was as comprehensive as possible; and I think it is fair to say we are very satisfied, and that things are in a good position to go for the return to flight.


Historically, the Proton has a fine record


It will be early on Tuesday morning, London time, before the rocket launch can be declared a success.

This is the third I4 platform to go into orbit. It is intended to complete the "constellation" that Inmarsat will use over the next decade to deliver its high-speed (up to half a megabit) mobile internet and phone services to customers across the world.

The I4-F3 is an immense telecommunications spacecraft. The main body is 7m high and incorporates a 9m-wide antenna reflector that is unfurled in space like a fan. The solar panels span 45m.

The two previous I4s were lofted by Atlas and Sea Launch vehicles.

The 58m-high, 700-tonne Proton has been launching commercial satellites since 1996, but it has a much deeper governmental heritage going back to the 1960s.


Protons have despatched science missions to the planets. They also launched key components of the Soviet-era Mir space station and the International Space Station.

Although the Proton can be regarded as one of the most successful heavy boosters in history, it has experienced difficulties in recent times, with three mission failures in as many years.

The Inmarsat mission lasts nine hours and three minutes from lift-off to spacecraft separation. The rocket's Breeze M upper-stage has a flight profile that requires it to make five burns to get the I4-F3 into the correct path, taking it out to 36,000km above the planet.

The satellite will be placed over the Americas at 98 degrees West.

"We are a global operator; we always have been since our inception," the Inmarsat spokesman said.

"This launch will give us a next-generation satellite network that will be in place until the 2020s, so for our user base it is reassurance that we have a network up there that will go well into the the future."


The I4 is one of the biggest commercial platforms in operation today

FBI Had Tossed Out Anthrax Strain Tied to Attacks

FBI Had Tossed Out Anthrax Strain Tied to अत्ताक्क्स

WASHINGTON -- Federal Bureau of Investigation scientists said investigative missteps, including destruction of an anthrax sample provided by their sole suspect, don't diminish conclusive evidence they contend solves the 2001 anthrax attacks.FBI officials held a briefing for reporters Monday to describe some details of the science behind their seven-year investigation, hoping to put to rest some of the skepticism about their case against Army biological-weapons scientist Bruce E. Ivins, who investigators say carried out the attacks through two batches of anthrax-laced letters.

The briefing raised new questions after FBI officials disclosed they destroyed an initial sample Dr. Ivins, 62 years old, submitted because he didn't abide by protocols for evidence. A copy of the sample was sent to an outside laboratory and was preserved. Years later, after it was analyzed, the sample turned out to be an important piece of evidence tying Dr. Ivins to the anthrax found in the mailings, investigators say.

FBI officials say the destruction didn't delay their investigation because there were other technical limitations to resolve before the sample could be conclusively analyzed. It took years, officials say, for the microbial-forensics field to develop methods used in analyzing the anthrax.

"Looking at hindsight, we would do things differently today," said Dr. Vahid Majidi, FBI assistant director for weapons of mass destruction. "Were we perfect? Absolutely not. We had missteps."

The anthrax mailings in the weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks killed five people and sickened 17. Dr. Ivins, an anthrax expert at the U.S. Army's biodefense facility at Fort Detrick, Md., committed suicide last month after investigators notified him they planned to seek an indictment against him.

Dr. Ivins's lawyer says the Army scientist was innocent. Some scientists and lawmakers have raised doubts about the FBI's case.

The major scientific findings underpinning their case, FBI officials said, was that after years of analysis they found that the anthrax used in the mailings had four specific characteristics that only matched anthrax to which Dr. Ivins had access.

More than 100 people had access to the same anthrax, FBI officials acknowledge. Investigators spent a year eliminating other suspects and concluded Dr. Ivins was their sole suspect. FBI officials say they plan to release more evidence to explain how they eliminated other suspects.

The 2002 episode is an important part of the probe. Investigators have described the sample submissions as an attempt by Dr. Ivins to deceive them.

Paul Kemp, attorney for Dr. Ivins, dismissed the FBI's assertions, saying Dr. Ivins wasn't trying to deceive investigators. "They're coming up with an attempted explanation for them destroying evidence back in 2002."

FBI officials said the bureau destroyed the initial 2002 anthrax sample that Dr. Ivins submitted because he didn't follow the guidelines in a subpoena. It is a common move, FBI officials say, because using such a sample would compromise the science and the investigative work.

Dr. Ivins, as instructed, submitted a copy of the sample to Paul Keim, a Northern Arizona University scientist who was a top consultant to the FBI probe. It was that sample that was found years later to tie Dr. Ivins to the attacks.

Dr. Majidi says he knows some skeptics won't be satisfied. "We've had missteps, and those are the lessons learned that are incorporated into today's approach," he said.

Thai poll body meets on disbanding ruling party

Thai poll body meets on disbanding ruling party

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's Election Commission (EC) met on Tuesday to decide whether to recommend that the ruling People Power Party (PPP) be disbanded for electoral fraud, the latest twist in three years of political turmoil.

However, the Thai-language Matichon newspaper quoted an EC source as saying the five commissioners were split on the issue, suggesting their ruling might be delayed beyond Tuesday.

Analysts say the Constitutional Court, which has the final say on the matter, is likely to endorse the EC's findings, although it may take several months to implement any ruling.

If it rules against the PPP, at least 33 senior party leaders from Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej to Finance Minister Surapong Suebwonglee would automatically lose their jobs and be barred from politics for five years.

The case before the Election Commission stems from the guilty verdict handed down in July against a deputy PPP leader for vote fraud in December's election. He was also banned from politics for five years.

Under the constitution drawn up by the army after a 2006 coup, an entire party can be disbanded and all of its executives barred from politics if just one member of the party's leadership is found guilty of vote fraud.

Thai newspapers have reported that the PPP is preparing for the worst and lining up a new "shell" party to admit all its MPs, who might then be able to cobble together another coalition government.

If not, another election -- the fourth in four years -- would almost certainly follow.

Samak shrugged off speculation that he would call a snap election, saying on his weekend television show he would not give up but would "be steering the country to peace and unity".

The PPP won the most votes in the December general election, due largely to continuing support for Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted as Prime Minister in the 2006 coup.

Thaksin skipped bail last week and went into exile in London rather than face a corruption trial involving him and his wife. State prosecutors have begun the lengthy process of trying to extradite him.

Leaders of an anti-Thaksin campaign led 10,000 protesters to the British embassy in Bangkok on Tuesday to demand London return the exiled politician.

"Thaksin, go to jail," chanted the crowd, some of them waving oversized police arrest warrants of Thaksin and his wife Potjaman, who failed to return to Thailand last week after an overseas trip.

U.S. election contrasts two types of patriotism

U.S. election contrasts two types of patriotism

ATLANTA (Reuters) - The U.S. presidential election presents a sharp contrast between two types of patriotism: John McCain stands as a war hero. His rival Barack Obama calls Americans back to the can-do spirit of the nation's founders.

In November the candidates will find out which style appealed more to voters in this time of war and economic uncertainty.

Democratic candidate Obama has made patriotism a core theme of his campaign, seeking to inspire voters to overcome divisions of race and party and using his own story as a child of a Kenyan father and Kansas mother as an example of opportunities available only in America.

But on the campaign trail, audiences also applaud Republican McCain's tales of his experience as a prisoner of war in Vietnam which embody qualities he seeks to project as a candidate.

As a Navy pilot, McCain was shot down over Hanoi in 1967. He was stabbed, beaten, tortured and imprisoned for more than five years, including two years in solitary confinement.

The appeal of that biography was apparent last Saturday in televised interviews with each candidate by a leading pastor, Rick Warren, at his megachurch in California.

Asked to describe the hardest decision he had ever made, Obama talked about his decision to oppose the Iraq war.

McCain recounted how he had decided to refuse early repatriation from a Hanoi prison even though he was injured, because he did not want to jump the line -- a story that visibly resonated with the audience.

Nothing in Obama's life story can match those experiences and they reinforce McCain's slogan of "Country First," said Richard Kohn, professor of history at the University of North Carolina.

"For McCain, not only does it (patriotism) arise from his very being, his identity, but it plays a dual role of emphasizing a national security part of the campaign and the contrast between him and Obama," he said.

McCain retired from the Navy in 1981 and entered politics. He stresses his war years in questioning Obama's foreign policy credentials and readiness to be commander-in-chief.

For his part, Obama praises McCain's patriotic service but has made unswerving opposition to the Iraq war a pillar of his campaign and vows to pull U.S. combat troops out of Iraq.



"SUSPICION"

Obama grew up in Indonesia and Hawaii, an island far from the U.S. mainland. As a result, he could be vulnerable to the charge that his background and values are unfamiliar.

One possible method of exploiting this emerged last week in a memo by campaign strategist Mark Penn for one-time Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton, which suggested she could defeat Obama by running an explicitly patriotic campaign.

Obama should be presented as someone not "fundamentally American," said the memo in advice Clinton did not adopt.

In an apparent bid to overcome any skepticism about his background and values, the Democratic party will showcase Obama's life story at its convention in Denver next week, starting with a speech by his wife Michelle on opening night.

"He's going to demonstrate love of country by word and deed at the convention," said Democratic strategist Mark Mellman.

"It's not something that you repeat: 'I am patriot'. There are no specific patriotic activities. It's got to come across at an authentic and sincere way," Mellman said.

Obama would be the country's first black president and as such faces an extra hurdle as he attempts to persuade voters.

"There is a historic suspicion that African Americans are less patriotic," Kohn said.

Black Americans have fought in all the country's wars but their loyalty has been questioned because many black leaders have criticized U.S. policies on race and some whites assume historic discrimination against them, which includes slavery, would have undermined their commitment to U.S. ideals.

"Conservative whites look at them (blacks) as unpatriotic and yet if you look at the constitution and the history, the black community has been trying to make that constitution work for everybody," said Ronald Walters, professor of politics and government at the University of Maryland.

Walters contrasted what he called "bumper sticker patriotism" with what he said was a struggle many African Americans had engaged in to make the country a real democracy.

Nowhere is McCain's war hero status shown more clearly than in his bond with veterans, a group held in higher public esteem in the United States than in most other Western countries.

But Peter Melendez, a combat instructor recently retired from the U.S. army after 22 years, said that even for veterans McCain's status should not necessarily be a decisive factor.

"He has been in combat and I have been in combat but just because he is a military man running for office doesn't mean he has the right to run the country," Melendez said.

With Mamata firm on agitation, Nano may miss deadline

With Mamata firm on agitation, Nano may miss deadline

Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee's plan for an indefinite blockade at the Singur plant of Tata Motors from August 24 has generated serious concerns among the industry and business lobby here.

Right now, Tata Motors is racing against time to meet the October deadline for Nano. Should Mamata insist on a showdown, the company's time frame may go haywire. Industrialists say that this would reflect badly on the overall business environment in West Bengal and as a result, not only the Tatas, others would suffer too.

The state Government, the industry, and Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee have all, in the past weeks, made repeated appeals to Mamata to sort out differences through negotiation and not upset the progress of the plant which might jeopardise the interests of the state. On Monday, the CM invited her for talks and again stressed the importance of the project for the state.

The industry is also trying to put an indirect pressure on her. On August 19, it will be a rare occasion, when responding to the invitation from several chambers of commerce - representing a cross section of industry in Bengal - Mamata will participate in an interactive session.

The Trinamool chief, however, is in no mood to let go of the land issue with Lok Sabha elections round the corner. Her party's Singur Krishi Jami Raksha Committee is preparing for a show of strength with 200,000 people and 21 points of blockade along the Tata Motors plant. Mamata is demanding that Tata and the state Government return 400 acres of land for which farmers have not taken their compensation. This land, she claims, the company has in excess of its requirement.

"We will organise a peaceful agitation near the plant. It will be a continuous agitation. It is the state Government which is inciting violence. Recently, the state Home Secretary went to Singur and said that he will arrest farmers," she said, when asked whether the agitation would be peaceful or not.

Her party has constructed 21 makeshift stages across the boundary wall of the Tata Motors site and along the Durgapur Expressway. "We are expecting 200,000 supporters to turn up from different districts, apart from the farmers of Singur," said Becharam Manna, convenor of Singur Save Farmland Committee. Members of the Committee said there are chances of people storming the project site during the agitation, "If people get emotional, what can we do? We can only request them to show restraint. If the police use force, we will not sit idle," said Manna. The party plans to block workers from entering the site, thus thwarting the project work.

Last week, the TMC and Save Farmland Committee organised a number of meetings in Singur and other districts to garner support for the agitation. The party is bullish because of its success in Singur in the recent panchayat elections.

Out of the 16 village panchayats in Singur, TMC has won 15. In the last elections it had won only four. It has also increased its tally from 12 seats, last time, to 37 in panchayat samitis. The party has won all the three zilla parishad seats in Singur. Naturally, it is time for Mamata and her supporters to flex some muscles.

Meanwhile, officials working at the Tata plant fear that hundreds of daily labourers might flee the site and that would slowdown the work and would pose a serious problem. Apart from a sustained agitation, the TMC-led panchayat samiti is likely to stop giving out licenses to the ancillary units, which would further create problems for the functioning of the plant. According to officials at the plant, the company may bring in components from outside, if the ancillary plant is not ready within the given time frame.

On July 29, members of the Singur Krishi Jami Raksha Committee beat up an engineer of the construction agency. Violence and intimidation also drove out a number of workers from the plant site.

"Two weeks back only 40 per cent of the workers were available at the plant, following disturbances. Last week, the attendance jumped to 65 per cent. We are holding regular meetings to review the security situation," said Prasenjit Chattopadhyay, BDO of Singur and a member of the state Government's monitoring team.

The local CPI(M) leaders, backing the project, are hopeful that Nano will meet its deadline, but are not so sure whether the entire project will be ready by October. "Tata's mother plant will be ready, considering the current pace of work, but the entire project may not meet the deadline. The ancillary units are yet to pick up," said Dibakar Das, district CPI(M) leader.

"According to Tata Motors' report, submitted to us last week, 75 per cent of the work is over. With the current pace they are expected to meet the October deadline, provided there is no disruptions inside the plant. But there are problems pertaining to the ancillary units. Out of the 35 which were given licences, 17 are in various stages of construction. We do not expect them to start operating on time and be ready for the October-November deadline," said the BDO. "The work for engine shop, paint shop is complete. There are six big shades which are also complete," he added.

The state Government and plant authorities are gearing up for August 24 agitation. Following the on-the-spot assessment by the state Home Secretary, Ashok Mohan Chakrabarti, and the state Director General of police, A B Vohra, security inside and around the 997.11 acres plant has been upgraded. Armed policemen and RAF personnel are manning the entry points and guarding the periphery wall of the plant. The local administration and plant authorities also plan to arrange for the stay of the labourers inside the site so that they are not harassed during the agitation.

Nano: Progress Report Card • 75% of the work complete

• Work on engine shop, paint shop, six big shades complete

• Approach ways into the plant from its five gates complete

• Effluent treatment plant being set up

• Roads inside the plant almost complete

• 55 ancillary units have been allotted land

• 35 ancillary units have been given licences

• 17 ancillary units in various stages of construction

Source: Prasenjit Chattopadhyay, BDO of Singur

Oil prices climb on storm fears in Gulf of Mexico

Oil prices climb on storm fears in Gulf of Mexico

LONDON (AFP) - World oil prices rose on Monday as traders fretted about the potential impact of Tropical Storm Fay on energy facilities in the Gulf of MexicoNew York's main contract, light sweet crude for September delivery, added 35 cents to 114.12 dollars a barrel after bouncing above 115 in electronic deals.

London's Brent North Sea crude for October advanced by 43 cents to 112.98 dollars.

Oil futures had fallen sharply last week on the prospect of reduced demand for energy around the globe owing to slower economic growth.

"Crude prices were higher (on Monday) due to the possibility of supply disruptions in the Gulf of Mexico amid Tropical Storm Fay," said Sucden analyst Nimit Khamar.

"The US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) expects Fay to miss offshore production areas in the Gulf and instead hit Florida on Tuesday or Wednesday.

"However, some computer models are predicting Fay could strike production areas in the eastern Gulf of Mexico."

Anglo-Dutch energy group Royal Dutch Shell said over the weekend that it had evacuated 360 hundred staff from the region as a precaution.

"Given the current forecast, as a precautionary measure, we will continue to reduce offshore staffing levels," Shell said.

It added: "There remains no impact to Shell operated production at this time. Additional personnel being evacuated today are not essential to current ongoing drilling and production operations."

Tropical storm Fay powered towards hurricane strength Monday as it hit Cuba and headed toward the Florida Keys after claiming at least 11 lives in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

Maximum sustained winds from the sixth storm of the Atlantic hurricane season were clocked at 85 kilometers (50 miles) per hour, the Miami-based NHC said.

Elsewhere on Monday, analysts kept one eye on ongoing developments in the conflict between Georgia and Russia.

Oil exports of 50,000-70,000 barrels a day from Azerbaijan, headed for the West via Georgia, have been suspended after the destruction of a key rail bridge in Georgia, energy group BP said.

"There's nothing going on that rail link for the moment," a BP spokeswoman told AFP.

Damage to the bridge, caused during the Russia-Georgia conflict, and the shutdown of two other oil pipelines means the Baku-Novorossiisk pipeline, transporting 100,000 barrels a day, is currently the only western export route for Azeri crude.

Supply from the region was already hampered by the closure of the key Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil link, which BP also operates. The BTC line -- the world's second-longest pipeline -- was shut earlier this month after a blast in a pump at a section in eastern Turkey.

Turkey said Monday that it expected to reopen the BTC soon after completing repairs to the fire-damaged link.

"An intensive effort is underway... Production will begin again in a few days if there are no

S. Ossetia president sacks government

S. Ossetia president sacks government

TBILISI, Georgia, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity has thrown out the government of the Georgian province and declared a state of emergency, his office said Monday.

The decrees were signed Sunday; the state of emergency is set to expire Sept. 17, reported RIA Novosti, the Russian news agency.

Kokoity also will name an emergency committee to handle the aftermath of fighting between the breakaway province and Georgia, which resulted in Russian forces overwhelming Georgian troops nearly two weeks ago. The speaker of the separatist parliament, Znaur Gassiyev, was appointed to head the committee.

At a government session on Sunday, Kokoity criticized the cabinet over how it distributed humanitarian aid to South Ossetians.

"I'm completely dissatisfied with the work of the government," Kokoity said.