April 14, 2007

HAPPY "WET" YEAR http://allday.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/04/14/149256.aspx

The Thai New Year, Songkran, is possibly the World’s biggest water fight, and the mayhem seems to grow each year, with three days of pitched battles - ending Sunday - and involving a mind-boggling arsenal of water pistols and cannons. Pick-up trucks roam the streets, packed with pistol-toting teenagers, replenishing their guns from big barrels of water at their side. Bangkok’s most intense battlefield is the Khao San Road, a popular area for back-packers, and this weekend you can hardly move down there. Thousands of Thais and foreigners packed in and drenching each other, a scene repeated across the city and the country. The festival is also marked in Cambodia, Laos and Burma (Myanmar). Songkran is a time of renewal, when families gather to go to the temple and cleanse images of the Buddha, or to sprinkle water - just a little - on the hands of their elders as a sign of respect. There's a belief that water can wash away bad luck and usher in a prosperous new year. Security is tight this year. Soldiers and an additional 3,000 police officers have been deployed around the capital. Revelers entering the Khao San Road were searched and had to pass through metal detectors. It’s meant to be a guard against a repeat of the bombings that shook Bangkok on December 31st. The police have also issued urgent appeals to drivers to take care during the festival - and not to drink. Last year nearly 500 people died on the roads nationwide during Songkran, mostly motorcyclists. The festival falls at the hottest time of year, and being doused with a little water can be quite refreshing. As well as spraying water, it's a Songkran tradition to apply a kind of white paste to the face, which is seen as a sign of protection, to ward off evil. To the north of Bangkok, in the historic town of Ayutthaya, a group of elephants joined the fray, dousing the passing traffic.


Bush asks Congress to alter 1978 eavesdropping law http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070413/pl_nm/security_eavesdropping_dc;_ylt=At7Ci4c81IoF5AAgrV_dWxBZ.3QA

The Bush administration asked Congress on Friday to expand the number of people it can subject to electronic surveillance in the United States. The request was contained in a proposed bill authored by intelligence and Justice Department officials that also protects companies that cooperate with spy operations. Under current law, a U.S. person is either a U.S. citizen or a foreign national with permanent residence status. "It adds a new category of individuals to the non-U.S. person-agent-of-a-foreign-power definition to include people who we believe have significant foreign intelligence information but where the relationship between that person and the foreign power is unclear," said one official. Foreign powers can include the governments of other countries as well as militant groups including al Qaeda. A second new category of foreign agents would be non-U.S. persons involved in a deliberate attempt to proliferate weapons of mass destruction. The bill extends the life of court warrants that authorize eavesdropping on non-U.S. persons from 120 days to one year. It also shields companies against legal liabilities if they participate in "lawful" eavesdropping activities. Major telecommunications companies accused of participating in the NSA spying program have faced federal lawsuits charging involvement in illegal espionage.


FCC issues decrees in payola matter http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Business/2007/04/14/fcc_issues_decrees_in_payola_matter/

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission released consent decrees settling payola allegations against four radio stations, levying fines of $12.5 million. The deal struck Friday with CBS Radio, Citadel, Clear Channel and Entercom settles investigations into "possible violations" of the FCC's sponsorship identification rules, Broadcast & Cable reported. The FCC investigation and settlement arose from an investigation by New York state officials, who settled with record companies and some radio companies over charges that the companies paid radio station personalities for airplay. Entercom was fined the most at $4 million. Clear Channel was penalized $3.5 million. CBS Radio received a $3 million fine. Citadel earned a $2 million penalty. Besides the fine, the stations agreed not to take payola and to limit gifts from record companies to employees, the publication said. In addition, compliance executives would be appointed to monitor compliance and conduct training sessions regularly about the payola restrictions.


'Landmark' ocean plan passes in Calif. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070414/ap_on_sc/marine_preserve;_ylt=AoAUVHQFF_XmbGt6x5gVQqNxieAA

One of the nation's most ambitious plans to protect marine life was approved Friday when a state panel voted to ban or restrict fishing across more than 200 square miles of water off Central California. The Fish and Game Commission unanimously designated 29 marine preserves between Santa Barbara and Half Moon Bay, 13 of which would be off-limits to all anglers, commercial and recreational. Deep water fishing would be prohibited in the rest. The plan is the first piece envisioned in a statewide network of similarly protected areas. Commissioners and environmental groups praised its passage at a meeting in Bodega Bay as a landmark for ocean conservation. The regulations, expected to go into effect this summer, were designed to maintain the diversity of a marine population that includes mammals such as otters and whales, crustaceans like crabs and abalone, and migrating Coho salmon and steelhead trout. The California Department of Fish and Game already has identified waters between Half Moon Bay and Point Arena in Mendocino County as the next part of the state where protected marine areas will be proposed.


G7 convenes in Washington D.C. http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070413/bs_afp/g7worldbankimfeconomy_070413202503;_ylt=AgkxbhLfZAsDMik5sN52pseFOrgF

Group of Seven finance ministers and central bankers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States went behind closed doors on Friday divided over currency questions and moves to regulate the booming hedge-fund industry. A weakening Japanese yen is causing consternation in European capitals, where officials fear the trend could penalize eurozone exports, making them more expensive and less competitive, and thereby jeopardize a nascent recovery in the 13-nation zone. But European disquiet is not shared by the United States, which argues that the undervalued Chinese yuan is the principal threat, giving Chinese goods an unfair advantage on US markets and costing US jobs. China is not attending the G7 session, as its ministers have done as guests on several occasions in the past. Their absence follows increased trade friction between Beijing and Washington and in particular a US decision this week to lodge a copyright piracy complaint against China at the World Trade Organization. Another hot button issue dividing the G7 is the unregulated hedge fund industry, where lucrative but high-risk investments are drawing serious cash from big banks and public pension funds. Industry representatives were scheduled to hold talks with G7 deputy ministers on Sunday. A German initiative to tighten control over hedge funds is being resisted in the United States and Britain, home to most such instruments. US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke earlier this week reaffirmed his own opposition to government regulation, preferring to leave that job to markets. The IMF as well has rejected tougher hedge fund oversight.


Biotech seeks to ease reliance on corn http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070414/ap_on_sc/food_vs__fuel;_ylt=AiKe4cmJ_4r53sUtrs10DLMPLBIF

The idea is to genetically engineer microscopic bugs such as bacteria and fungus to spit out enzymes that will break down just about every imaginable crop into ethanol. A growing number of biotechnology companies, backed financially and politically by an odd coalition of national security hawks, venture capitalists and environmentalists, are remaking themselves as ethanol producers to cash in on the alternative fuel craze. In February, the U.S. Energy Department awarded $385 million in grant money over four years to six projects dedicated to producing so-called cellulosic ethanol, which avoids the corn problem by making fuel from straw and other inedible agricultural leftovers. Cellulose is the woody material in branches and stems that makes plants hard. Breaking cellulose into sugar to spin straw into ethanol has been studied for at least 50 years. But the technological hurdles and costs — specifically the expense genetically engineering exotic microbes to produce enzymes — have been so daunting that most ethanol producers instead relied on heavy government subsidies to squeeze fuel from corn. That's now changing. Enzyme costs have fallen from about $5 a gallon to less than 20 cents a gallon. Analysts said once enzyme prices gets below a dime, cellulosic ethanol will become affordable.


Chavez says reconciliation with US 'impossible' http://en.ce.cn/World/Americas/200704/14/t20070414_11037807.shtml

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said that reconciliation with Washington was impossible and threatened again to cut off oil shipments to the United States if it supports any effort to oust him. Venezuela was the fourth-largest supplier of crude oil to the United States last year despite the antagonism between the former paratroop commander and the Bush administration. Chavez alleged that Pedro Carmona, who briefly replaced him during the 2002 coup, tried to have him killed in a faked accident. At the presidential palace Friday, Chavez gazed through binoculars down the packed avenue and told thousands of supporters he had never seen such a large crowd there. He compared the 2002 coup bid to the failed CIA-supported Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961, which was routed by Cuban troops led by Fidel Castro. "Does anyone believe there is any agreement possible with the U.S. empire?" Chavez asked. The crowd outside the palace responded with shouts of "No!"


China launches "Compass" navigation satellite
http://en.ce.cn/National/stech/200704/14/t20070414_11035545.shtml

The carrier rocket, Long March 3-A, blasted off Saturday morning from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province at 4:11 a.m., and sources with the center said that the satellite had "accurately" entered its orbit, at the height of 21,500 km. The "Compass" navigational system is mainly designed for the country's economic development, providing navigation and positioning services in transportation, meteorology, petroleum prospecting, forest fire monitoring, disaster forecast, telecommunications and public security, among others. With more satellites to be sent into orbits in coming years, the system will cover China and its neighboring countries by 2008, before being expanded into a global network of navigation and positioning. The launch represents the 97th flight of China's Long March series of rockets.


Medicines make 10,000 children deaf a year http://en.ce.cn/Life/health/200704/13/t20070413_11030970.shtml

Medicine abuse is making about 10,000 Chinese children deaf each year, state media said on Friday, putting the blame on doctors and parents alike. Parents had "blind faith" in antibiotics and doctors, who often take kickbacks from drugs middlemen, and were more than willing to prescribe them, the newspaper said. Chinese readily resort to antibiotics for ailments such as colds and soar throats and experts say overuse and resulting resistance pose serious health implications for the 1.3 billion population. Spending on antibiotics accounted for 30 percent of chemists' drug revenues and a quarter of the prescriptions were "unreasonable", the People's Daily said. In the last couple of years, the government has made it harder for people to buy antibiotics but many hospitals still rely on selling strong and expensive antibiotics for their profits.


Researchers consider scrapping Internet
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8OFTIU00&show_article=1&catnum=-1

The National Science Foundation wants to build an experimental research network known as the Global Environment for Network Innovations, or GENI, and is funding several projects at universities and elsewhere through Future Internet Network Design, or FIND. Rutgers, Stanford, Princeton, Carnegie Mellon and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are among the universities pursuing individual projects. Other government agencies, including the Defense Department, have also been exploring the concept. The European Union has also backed research on such initiatives, through a program known as Future Internet Research and Experimentation, or FIRE. Government officials and researchers met last month in Zurich to discuss early findings and goals. A new network could run parallel with the current Internet and eventually replace it, or perhaps aspects of the research could go into a major overhaul of the existing architecture. These clean-slate efforts are still in their early stages, though, and aren't expected to bear fruit for another 10 or 15 years—assuming Congress comes through with funding.

Colorado ski season coming to an end http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/11943698/detail.html

Closing this weekend are Snowmass, Aspen Mountain, Keystone, and Beaver Creek. Also shutting down the lifts Sunday are Copper Mountain, Eldora, Steamboat and Winter Park. Vail and Breckenridge close next weekend. Wolf Creek will open this weekend, close during the week, and open again next weekend. Loveland and Arapahoe Basin will close later. Silverton Mountain will be open weekends through April. Telluride, Crested Butte, Howelson, Buttermilk, Durango Mountain and Aspen Highlands already closed. Powderhorn, Solvista and Monarch also are closed.


Argentina denies interest in Russian arms http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2006/10/28/argentina_denies_interest_in_russian_arms/

Argentina is interested in purchasing arms from Russia, including missiles and helicopters, the Russian news agency Interfax reported Saturday. However, a spokesman for Argentine Defense Minister Nilda Garre -- who met Friday with her Russian counterpart in Moscow -- has denied the report. Argentina is also reportedly interested in purchasing an air traffic control system from Russia, which already supplies arms to Venezuela.

Ohio church's 'Satan' ads draw notice http://www.religionandspirituality.com/currentEvents/view.php?StoryID=20070413-085650-3607r

Motorists in the Toledo, Ohio area might be startled to drive past three billboards that read, "CedarCreek Church Sucks," "I Was Robbed at CedarCreek" and "Boycott CedarCreek," all three of which are "signed" by Satan and include a Web site address, www.SatanHatesCedarCreek.com. The campaign worked, as they say, like the devil. The church's Web site normally gets 1,800 hits a day, but SatanHatesCedarCreek.com drew 3,600 visitors daily since the billboards were posted, Minister Lee Powell said.


Pope Benedict set to name influential U.S. bishops http://www.chillicothegazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070414/LIFESTYLE/704140323/1024

At the top of the list is a looming generational shift among the nation's bishops, whose decisions at the local level greatly affect Catholics in the pews and can carry national weight. For instance, church leaders recently closed parishes in Boston and New York, while the St. Louis archbishop has clashed with a heavily Polish parish over control of its assets. Key appointments are expected in New York, Baltimore and Detroit, where cardinals have reached retirement age - 75. And retirements or appointments are likely in at least seven other archdioceses: Seattle; Minneapolis-St. Paul; Pittsburgh; New Orleans; Louisville, Ky.; Omaha, Neb.; and Mobile, Ala. Then there is the potential ripple effect - if some bishops move to larger cities, then they too must be replaced.


Stop wearing fur, activists tell Pope http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070414/ts_nm/pope_fur_dc;_ylt=AmiP5YlwTpMv66V4osvHai5Z.3QA
The Anti-Vivisection league (LAV) made its appeal ahead of an April 22 visit by Benedict to Pavia, a northern town where Italy's best-known fur makers are based. The Pope, who turns 80 on Monday, has been seen over the past winter donning a red velvet hat trimmed with white ermine fur, known as "camauro." The hat was commonly worn by popes in the medieval period to keep their heads warm on cold days and it featured on many paintings at the time. On special occasions, such as official audiences with heads of state, Pope Benedict also wears a red cape trimmed with white fur.


Rove, others were warned to save e-mails http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-na-documents14apr14,0,2831981.story?track=mostviewed-storylevel

White House officials spent much of Friday reiterating that the missing e-mails were the result of an innocent mistake. About 50 aides in the executive office of the Bush administration have used e-mail accounts provided by the Republican National Committee to keep campaign-related communication separate from their official White House business. However, some of those RNC accounts were used to discuss official matters, including the firing of eight federal prosecutors, which has triggered investigations on Capitol Hill. Democrats contend that politics was improperly inserted into Justice Department decision-making about which attorneys should leave. Though official White House e-mail is automatically preserved in accord with the Presidential Records Act, e-mail that was used by the employees with RNC accounts was not always saved. White House officials this week said the lost e-mails resulted from a failure to clearly communicate Presidential Records Act rules to staffers and to see that the rules were followed. The White House has recently provided guidance to each of the 22 staffers who currently have RNC e-mail accounts. Each person receiving such an account is required to sign a statement acknowledging that he understands the rules. White House employee manuals distributed in early 2001 made it clear that any e-mails containing discussion of official matters should be preserved. Redacted copies of White House employee manuals were shown to reporters late Friday at the White House press office on condition that they not be removed from the premises. The documents included a memorandum from then-White House General Counsel Alberto R. Gonzales, who is now attorney general, cautioning employees that "any e-mail relating to official business … qualifies as a presidential record." The instructions dwell on the importance of separating political from official acts. But they also explain that all e-mail sent "to your official account is automatically archived as if it were a presidential record." The manual adds: "If you happen to receive an e-mail on a personal account which otherwise qualifies as a presidential record, it is your duty to insure that it is saved as such by printing it out and saving it or by forwarding it to your White House e-mail account," the manual said.


Moscow Rally Hears Call For Fair Elections http://www.playfuls.com/news_10_24246-ROUNDUP-Moscow-Rally-Hears-Call-For-Fair-Elections.html

Supporters of an anti-Kremlin opposition coalition demonstrated on the streets of Moscow on Saturday, defying an official ban on their rally to call for democratic reform and fair elections. Up to 170 people including protest organizer and former world chess champion Garry Kasparov were arrested as police and interior ministry security personnel maintained a strong presence on the streets. Witnesses said riot police at times used truncheons against peaceful supporters of the Other Russia coalition. Protestors had marched from the famed Pushkin Square, around two kilometres away, which had been designated as the start point of the rally. Police however sealed off the square, arresting up to 170 activists according to initial reports. Moscow police insisted that the police actions were justified, saying all security personnel had remained within the law in implementing the protest ban. Kasparov described his own arrest. "We were merely walking on the pavement and had done nothing to break the law," the chess player turned political activist said. A crowd of around 100 supporters later gathered in front of the police building where he was being held to demand his release. A police spokesman said he was arrested on the grounds of "openly provocative behaviour." The Other Russia movement, a marginal but vocal coalition of various anti-Kremlin groupings, criticises President Vladimir Putin and the current Moscow administration for what it says are measures that curtail democratic freedoms. Authorities had refused the opposition permission to hold the rally on the grounds that the date and venue had already been booked for a rally by Kremlin supporters. Several hundred supporters of the pro-Kremlin Young Guard movement were seen assembling close to Pushkin Square in the early morning.


Deputy PM reiterates Vietnam's solidarity with Cuba http://www.nhandan.com.vn/english/news/140407/domestic_d.htm

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem reiterated Vietnam's solidarity with Cuba's revolutionary cause during his talks with Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, in Hanoi, on April 13. Deputy PM Khiem reaffirmed that Vietnam is determined to enhance the friendship and fraternal ties between the Vietnamese and Cuban Parties, States and people. Deputy PM Khiem then conveyed Vietnamese leaders’ best regards to Cuban President, Fidel Castro. FM Felipe Perez Roque thanked the Vietnamese Party, State and public for their kind sentiments, solidarity and assistance in supporting the country’s bid to overcome difficulties during its “special period”. FM Roque went on to say that President Fidel's health is improving and that he is taking part in making key government decisions. The two FMs were also in agreement that the two countries will continue their mutual support in international organisations and multilateral forums, including the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, South-South Co-operation and the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Co-operation (FEALAC), while actively contributing to the common struggle for peace, stability, cooperation and development in the two regions and the world at large. FM Roque invited Deputy PM Khiem to visit Cuba, and the Deputy PM accepted the invitation with pleasure.


Czech Republic assists Vietnam in protecting environment http://www.nhandan.com.vn/english/life/140407/life_c.htm

The Czech Republic has pledged US$1.6 million to central Thua Thien-Hue province from now until 2008, to implement environment, social and humanitarian development projects. Czech Deputy Minister of Environment Jan Dusik, while visiting the province on April 13, said he hoped cooperation between the Czech Republic and Thua Thien-Hue province will continue to develop further. During his visit to Vietnam, a memorandum of understanding on environmental protection which focused on the management of refuse, waste water and restoring degraded areas was signed between the Vietnamese Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Czech Ministry of Environment, on April 12.


Republic of Korea assists Vietnam in protecting environment http://english.vietnamnet.vn/tech/2007/04/684876/

The Republic of Korea (RoK)'s government on April 13 pledged a US$900,000 grant to help Vietnam implement a project to enhance its industrial sector’s capacity to protect the environment. Through the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in Hanoi, the RoK side will offer technological consultancy and organise training courses as well as provide Vietnam with the appropriate equipment. In addition, joint research programmes on the environment will be conducted. Significantly, under the framework of the project, environmental watching- and- controlling technology will be also transferred to Vietnamese concerned agencies. Worth US$600,000, the first phase project helped transfer waste treatment technologies to Vietnam, especially for those discharged by the dyeing industry.


PM Repeats Turkey's Call For Iraqi Action Against Kurdish PKK http://www.playfuls.com/news_10_24247-Erdogan-Repeats-Turkeys-Call-For-Iraqi-Action-Against-Kurdish-PKK.html

Turkey expects its southern neighbour Iraq to take "decisive action" to curb the activities of Kurdish rebels operating against Turkey on its territory, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in an interview published Saturday. "Otherwise we have the right to defend ourselves," Erdogan told German news magazine Der Spiegel. Speaking after Turkey's top general, Yasar Buyukanit, had said Thursday that a cross-border military operation was needed against the PKK (Kurdish Workers Party) bases in Iraq, Erdogan said Turkey had shown patience for years. PKK forces have taken refuge in northern Iraq and were attacking Turkey from there, he said. Erdogan also defended Turkey's trade relations with Iran, its neighbour to the east, despite international sanctions imposed on Tehran to pressure it to halt its uranium enrichment programme. Turkey was in favour of diplomacy to end the stand-off between the United States and Iran, he said. Erdogan expressed disappointment with the slow pace of negotiations on Turkey's accession to the European Union and said he had expected more from the current German EU presidency. Noting that the process had begun almost 50 years ago, in 1959, he pledged that "despite the difficulties, we will not deviate one step from our European course."

Hundreds of Thousands Rally Against Turkish Government http://en.epochtimes.com/tools/printer.asp?id=54111

Hundreds of thousands of people marched in Turkey's capital on Saturday to try to stop the ruling AK Party from picking Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan as their presidential candidate because of his Islamist roots. The AK Party has its background in political Islam, and the possibility of an Erdogan presidency after parliament votes in May has split this secular but predominantly Muslim country, which is engaged in membership talks with the European Union. A senior police official told Reuters that more than 300,000 people had attended the rally while the organisers, the Kemalist Thought Association, said the number exceeded 1 million. Some 10,000 police were on duty, but crowds were calm. Tens of thousands of people were bussed into Ankara from across the country to attend the rally in Tandogan square, one of the biggest gatherings in recent years.
"This is the biggest political rally ever in Ankara," said Deniz Baykal, leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party. Tens of thousands of people waving flags and clutching portraits of Ataturk later gathered at his mausoleum, a place where Turks seek solace in times of tension.

The secular elite of generals, judges and university rectors fears Erdogan as president would try to undermine the strictly secular state. They point to efforts by the AK Party to remove a ban on Islamic-style headscarves, expand Islamic teachings and appoint religiously minded members to top positions in the bureaucracy. The AK Party has a big enough majority in parliament to elect Erdogan, or anybody else it chooses, to the seven-year post as head of state. Erdogan denies any Islamist agenda and says he has broken with his past and is now a conservative democrat.
Outgoing President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said on Friday the country's secular system of government faced its gravest danger since the founding of the republic in 1923, in comments seen as a direct attack against the AK Party. The army—the most respected institution in Turkey according to opinion polls—has ousted four governments from office in the past 50 years, most recently in 1997. It views itself as the ultimate protector of Turkey's secular identity.

Violence mars Nigerian state elections http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070414/wl_africa_afp/nigeriavote_070414184429&printer=1;_ylt=AtV6_RI4qX7nhMZl9ZyTvTSGOrgF

Nigerians voted Saturday in elections for governors and legislators in 36 states, with security forces on high alert and violence reported in the oil-rich south of the country. Major parties see the polls as an indicator of their chances in the April 21 election of a successor to President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is ending his second four-year term. The presidential vote is expected to lead to the country’s first civilian-to-civilian handover since independence from Britain in 1960. In the commercial capital Lagos Saturday, where the streets and freeways were abnormally quiet, the military was out in full force manning checkpoints at key road junctions. They were searching all vehicles and checking the identity of their occupants. Many polling stations in different parts of the country opened late. By midday however voting was well underway in most places, with the exception of some parts of two southern oil states—Rivers and Delta. In Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers, two police stations were burned down overnight and seven policemen killed by assailants who arrived shouting “We are the Niger Delta youths. Come and do the elections now!” A supporter of local militant leader Ateke Tom said his group, the Niger Delta Vigilantes, carried out the two attacks. At Bodo community in the Ogoni region of Rivers AFP journalists reported seeing two electoral agents stuffing ballot boxes with pre-stamped papers in favour of the ruling party candidate. Government officials also reported at least two dead and one wounded in violence in Yenagoa, the capital of neighbouring Bayelsa State, but details were not immediately available. In Warri, another oil town, voting in some parts of town had still not begun by early afternoon and residents spoke of large gangs of youths fighting the military. Southern Nigeria’s oil-producing region has been the theatre of violence, ranging from gang warfare to kidnappings of oil workers, for the past several years. While the military manned the roads, police were deployed at polling stations throughout the country. The Nigerian government ordered the closure of its land and sea borders for 12 hours on Saturday to “ensure a hitch-free electoral process”, an interior ministry statement said. Nigeria has land borders with Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Niger.


Aussie plan to beat ‘ice’ http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,21558599-910,00.html

Federal Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd has unveiled a plan to defeat the scourge of the deadly party drug “ice”. His blueprint rests on three new initiatives: a ban on the importation of all drug paraphernalia used to ingest methamphetamines, a prohibition on the sale to minors of pseudoephedrine (a legally available ice ingredient) and a ban on the sale of pseudoephedrine over the internet. Mr Rudd said he would also extend the special reference of the Crime Commission on Amphetamines and other Synthetic Drugs (AOSD), which expires in December, so it could conduct a national full-scale investigation into the manufacture, sale and use of ice. But Health Minister Tony Abbott dismissed Mr Rudd’s anti-drug credentials, predicting Labor would do a preference deal with the Greens at election time in what amounted to an endorsement of the Green’s policy to decriminalise all drugs for personal use. A spokesman for Mr Rudd accused the Health Minister of taking cheap shots.


Cocaine energy drink maker receives warning letter from FDA http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/51830.html
Redux Beverages LLC is apparently marketing the drink as a "Legal Alternative” to the illicit drug. In a letter dated April 4, the FDA warned the Las Vegas, Nv. company that it was misleading consumers by tagging labels like "Speed in a can," "Liquid cocaine" and "Cocaine -- Instant Rush." The Cocaine website also claims the drink is a dietary supplement because it contains an ingredient called inositol, which the company says reduces cholesterol levels.


Sodas lose fizz in 2007 forecast http://www.foodproductiondaily-usa.com/news/ng.asp?n=75731-beverage-carbonated-soft-drinks-bottled-water

For the fourth quarter of 2006 the nation's commercial beverage market remained fairly stable during 2006 with an actual, if slight, decline in Q4 compared to the same period in 2005. According to a report by international beverage industry research group Canadean, the most dynamic category during the year was flavored milk, with soy and rice drinks enjoying a "superb" last quarter. However, both beverages are considerably dwarfed in size by soft drinks. Bottled water is also a driving force in the market, particularly still water in single-serve packaging, says the report. The trend is being driven by rising sales of multi-packs, which are eating into purchases of traditional gallon jugs as well as HOD/delivered water. In contrast, carbonated soft drinks saw volumes down one percent in the fourth quarter 2006, compared with the equivalent period a year earlier. Colas - the traditional mainstay of the category - particularly suffered, said Canadean. At the same time, diet carbonates have become a growing source of concern for the industry, says the researcher. Sales during the last three months of 2006 were down by more than 3 percent, despite several years of solid growth and significant brand support, new launches, re-launches and reformulations.


Desalination plan abandoned in Britain http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Science/2007/04/13/desalination_plan_abandoned_in_britain/

British scientists say a plan to convert water from the English Channel into drinking water is unfeasible. A pilot desalination plan at Newhaven Harbor in East Sussex looked at the possibility of building a plant capable of producing 2 million gallons of drinking water a day, The Times of London reported. The plan was abandoned after a two-year trial determined any drinking water it might produce would cost up to 10 times as much as water from traditional sources. The process used too much power and created a highly concentrated brine that was environmentally unacceptable, the newspaper said. Desalination is used in countries "with relatively low energy costs or those with no alternative supplies from rivers or ground water," the newspaper said.


Court Victory for Riga Gay Pride http://www.247gay.com/article.cfm?section=66&id=14127

The Regional Administrative Court ruled Thursday that the decision by the Riga City Council to ban last year’s Gay Pride March was illegal – and overturned a lower court decision – leaving Mozaika, the alliance of LGBT and their friends, “gratified”. Mozaika, the march coordinators, had notified the City of the planned march, but were told by the authorities that it could not go ahead “on safety reasons”. The District Administrative Court subsequently upheld the city council’s decision. In its decision, the Court commented on the City Council’s infringement on the rights of the LGBT community by not suggesting an alternative route for the march and by not adequately evaluating the threat posed to the marchers and the resources necessary for neutralizing the threat.


For E. China Sea gas fields, the question is 'where?' http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200704130103.html

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao agreed Wednesday to jointly mine gas and oil fields in "wide waters" acceptable to both nations. But despite the general agreement, the two nations have yet to define the border between their exclusive economic zones (EEZs) in the East China Sea. Japan claims the border should be placed along the median line between the coastlines of the two nations. China insists the border should extend to the edge of Chinese continental shelf, along the Okinawa Trough. The border claimed by China would be east of the Japan-claimed boundary, eating into Japan's EEZ. The Japanese government is adamant about sticking to its proposal to jointly develop the fields in the waters along the EEZ border it claims. But the Chinese side showed no signs of conceding in Wednesday's agreement. Harufumi Mochizuki, director-general of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, said the most common remedy for similar international resource problems was to put territorial issues on the shelf and jointly develop the disputed areas. The estimated gas reserves under the East China Sea are not large enough to make a significant economic impact. However, a senior industry ministry official said it is important for importers of energy resources, such as Japan and China, to have gas fields in their own territories even if reserves are limited and costs are high. "It is a matter of saving or losing face," another industry ministry official said.

Serbian Constitution undergoes criticism http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2007&mm=04&dd=14&nav_category=90&nav_id=40680

In a recently published report of the plenary session held March 17 and 18, the Venice Commission noted that the lack of opportunity for the Constitution’s public discussion raised questions of its legitimacy. The Venice Commission is an advisory body of the Council of Europe (CoE). It provided the assessment of the Serbian Constitution acting on the request of CoE Parliamentary Assembly’s Monitoring Committee. “Against this background of a hasty adoption it is particularly surprising that the Constitution is extremely rigid and that large parts are very difficult to amend,” the report said. The Venice Commission, however, assessed that in general many aspects of this Constitution meet European standards, even though there were certain provisions that fell well below those standards and those that were unclear or contradictory due to the hasty drafting. The Commission assessed the Constitution’s Preamble, which defines Kosovo as an integral part of the territory of Serbia enjoying the status of substantial autonomy, stressing it was not up to them to interfere with the process designed to determine Kosovo’s future status: “In contrast with what the preamble announces, the Constitution itself does not at all guarantee substantial autonomy to Kosovo, for it entirely depends on the willingness of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia whether self-government will be realized or not,” the Commission remarked. The Commission also censured the part of the Constitution that states that “parliamentary deputies irrevocably put their terms of office at the disposal of the political party they belong to.” “It seems that it intends to tie the deputy to the party position on all matters at all times. This is a serious violation of the freedom of a deputy, concentrating excessive power in the hands of the party leaderships,” the report said. The Venice Commission also criticized the excessive role of the National Assembly in judicial appointments, adding “it reinforced the risk of a judicial system within which all positions are divided among political parties.” Prof Vesna Rakić-Vodinelić from the Institute of Comparative Law told B92 that the gravest remarks the Venice Commission made were related to Constitutional provisions regulating human rights, judiciary, and relations between domestic and international law, in addition to the preamble's discussion of Kosovo. “The Constitution gives too much freedom to the legislator when it comes to regulating human rights practises, including the possibility of their restriction, which is not allowed,” she said. Speaking of the Commission’s criticism of the relations between domestic and international law, she said that the report maintained that the domestic law couldn't always be given supremacy over the international law, which meant the Constitution would have to be amended. “The Constitution enables the Constitutional Court to deprive ratified international treaties of their internal legal force when they do not comply with the Constitution,” the Commission noted, adding the following: “In that case the Serbian State, in order not to violate its international obligations deriving from ratified treaties, would either have to amend the Constitution – which will not always be possible in view of the complex procedure provided for in the Constitution, or denounce the treaty or withdraw from it, if the possibility to do so is provided for in the treaty itself.”

“Tycoons rule Serbia” http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2007&mm=04&dd=14&nav_category=93&nav_id=40682
Serbia is ruled by tycoons that dictate terms to the technical government, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) vice presiden Nataša Mićić says. She went on to say the current state of affairs in Serbia could only “prompt the recognition of Kosovo’s independence, without Serbia being involved in the process.” “Who can believe we are capable of negotiating with ethnic Albanian representatives over Serb rights, if we ourselves cannot come to an agreement to finally form new government and institutions,” she wondered. Mićić voiced conviction that the full truth regarding political instigators that brought about late Prime Minister Đinđić’s assassination would come to light. According to her, a normal democratic country “can’t develop in the atmosphere of assumptions and half-truths concerning an ominous crime that deprived the state of its prime minister.” “Serbia has to get to the bottom of this case. It should become its priority,” she concluded.

Indonesia Ex-Garuda Chief Arrested in Murder Probe http://en.epochtimes.com/tools/printer.asp?id=54106

A former head of Indonesian carrier Garuda and another airline official have been arrested in connection with the murder of a leading rights campaigner who was poisoned during a flight, an airline lawyer said on Saturday. Munir Thalib, known for his critical views on the military, was murdered during a flight on Garuda when he was on his way to the Netherlands for postgraduate studies in 2004. In October, the Supreme Court overturned the guilty verdict of off-duty pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto in the murder case, saying there was not enough evidence and no witness to support the case. The acquittal put pressure on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who had vowed to get to the bottom of the case when he took office in late 2004. "Our clients, Indra Setiawan, former president director of Garuda, and Rohainil Aini, a flight operations officer, were arrested and are being held by the police at this moment," Garuda's lawyer, M. Assegaf, told reporters. "Indra Setiawan and Rohainil Aini are suspected of aiding Pollycarpus in the murder of a person, in this case, Munir," he said. Munir was an outspoken critic of the military and its methods in quashing dissent and separatists in hotspots such as Aceh and Papua provinces.


Raytheon Receives Approval for Precision Placement of NPOESS Antennae in Antarctica http://www.epicos.com/epicos/portal/media-type/html/user/anon/page/default.psml/js_panename/News+Information+Article+View;jsessionid=8D924560A205DA4648F9357C16232E2B.tomcat3?articleid=75745&showfull=false

Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) received approval of its environmental assessment from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for precision placement of two National Polar-orbiting Operational Environment Satellite System (NPOESS) Safety NetTM data-receipt antennae at the McMurdo Bay research station in Antarctica. This milestone will enable construction to begin on the NPOESS antennae, or receptor sites, in McMurdo during the 2007-2008 Southern Hemisphere summer. NPOESS will monitor global environmental conditions and collect and disseminate data related to weather, atmosphere, oceans, land and near-space environment. SafetyNet, a major feature of the NPOESS ground system, is a unique and innovative network of 15 data-receipt antennae sites and fiber- optic communications around the world. SafetyNet will provide the time-critical NPOESS data to civil, military and science users in fewer than 30 minutes, compared to current data delivery for U.S. polar-orbiting weather satellite systems, which requires more than two hours. The optimum for weather forecasting is to have the most minimal data delivery time possible, increasing the ability to forecast weather in a more timely and accurate manner. Raytheon Intelligence and Information Systems is part of the Northrop Grumman Corporation-NPOESS team. Northrop Grumman is the prime contractor and has overall responsibility for the program development effort. Based in Garland, Texas, Raytheon IIS is a leading provider of information and intelligence solutions to the government. Raytheon IIS has annual revenues of approximately $2.6 billion and employs more than 8,000 engineering and technical professionals worldwide. Raytheon IIS recently achieved a strategic milestone in earning CMMI® (Capability Maturity Model Integration) Maturity Level 3 accreditation for the full model scope (System Engineering, Software Engineering, Integrated Product and Process Development, and Supplier Sourcing) across its enterprise.

Pharmaceutical firm Lilly jumps into pet market http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070414/BIZ/704140330/1005/BIZ

The company will market Reconcile, a beef-flavored chewable tablet that helps treat dogs for separation anxiety, in the United States. The medicine is supposed to be used in combination with behavior management training to help dogs that have difficulty being separated from their owner or family members. Lilly estimates that more than 10 million dogs suffer from some form of separation anxiety. Reconcile, which uses the same compound as the human antidepressant Prozac, has one competitor on the market. Novartis AG makes Clomicalm.


Thousands Protest Climate Change Across the Country http://www.alternet.org/envirohealth/50577/
Today, 1,400 actions are taking place in all 50 states in the country's largest protest against global warming.