April 18, 2007

US inflation milder than expected http://www.ft.com/cms/s/3b8c2940-ecff-11db-9520-000b5df10621,dwp_uuid=5aedc804-2f7b-11da-8b51-00000e2511c8.html

US inflation was milder than expected last month, according to figures that make the Federal Reserve more likely to keep interest rates on hold and triggered a fall in the dollar against major currencies. The dollar weakened following the government report on Tuesday showing a slowdown in core inflation. Prices excluding volatile food and energy costs rose 0.1 per cent last month after a gain of 0.2 per cent in March. The inflation slowdown suggests the central bank may find itself under less pressure to counter rising prices by raising rates and could give the central bank slightly greater flexibility to consider easing monetary policy in future. Drew Matus, an economist at Lehman Brothers said, “Essentially, the data shows US medical care costs - the inflation demon of the moment - and women’s clothing costs reversed recent trends.” The economist said the central bank was also more likely to keep rates on hold following separate figures on Tuesday showing resilience in the construction sector. US homebuilders started work on more homes than expected as housing starts rose slightly to an annual pace of 1.518m units.

Industrial Chemical That Contaminated Pet Food Is Found in Second Ingredient, Expanding Recall http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070418/pet_food_recall.html?.v=4

The chemical, melamine, is believed to have contaminated rice protein concentrate used to make a variety of Natural Balance Pet Foods products for both dogs and cats, the Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday. Previously, the chemical was found to contaminate another ingredient, wheat gluten, used by at least six other pet food and treat manufacturers.

Russia to attend NATO talks on US missile shield http://rawstory.com/news/dpa/Russia_to_attend_NATO_talks_on_US_m_04182007.html

Senior officials from Russia and the United States are to meet at NATO headquarters on Thursday in a bid to ease tensions over US plans to deploy an anti-missile defence system in Poland and the Czech Republic. In a row that has been described as reminiscent of Russia's Cold War rhetoric against the West, Moscow has raged against the US plan as a threat to its national security. While discussions on the US system can take place within the alliance - with Russia sitting in on some of the talks – NATO diplomats say there is no debate on integrating the US system with any future NATO project. The alliance is working to develop so-called theatre missile defence system by 2010 to protect small areas where troops are deployed.

Russia Plans World's Longest Tunnel, a Link to Alaska http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20670001&refer=home&sid=a0bsMii8oKXw

Russia plans to build a transport and pipeline link under the Bering Strait to Alaska, as part of a $65 billion project to supply the U.S. with oil, natural gas and electricity from Siberia. The project, which Russia is coordinating with the U.S. and Canada, would take 10 to 15 years to complete. State organizations and private companies in partnership would build and control the route, known as TKM-World Link, he said. A 6,000-kilometer (3,700-mile) transport corridor from Siberia into the U.S. will feed into the tunnel, which at 64 miles will be more than twice as long as the underwater section of the Channel Tunnel between the U.K. and France, according to the plan. The tunnel would run in three sections to link the two islands in the Bering Strait between Russia and the U.S. The planned undersea tunnel would contain a high-speed railway, highway and pipelines, as well as power and fiber- optic cables, according to TKM-World Link. Investors in the so- called public-private partnership include OAO Russian Railways, national utility OAO Unified Energy System and pipeline operator OAO Transneft. Russian Railways is working on the rail route from Pravaya Lena, south of Yakutsk in the Sakha republic, to Uelen on the Bering Strait, a 3,500 kilometer stretch. The link could carry commodities from east Siberia and Sakha to North American export markets, said Artur Alexeyev, Sakha's vice president. The two regions hold most of Russia's metal and mineral reserves, yet only 1.5 percent of it is developed due to lack of infrastructure and tough conditions. Japan, China and Korea have expressed interest in the project, with Japanese companies offering to burrow the tunnel under the Bering Strait for $60 million a kilometer, half the price set down in the project. The figures for the project come from a pre-feasibility study.

Super-rich population surges in 2006: survey http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=businessNews&storyid=2007-04-17T175305Z_01_N17443462_RTRUKOC_0_US-MILLIONAIRES-SURVEY.xml&src=rss&rpc=23

The number of U.S. households with a net worth of more than $5 million, excluding their primary residence, surged 23 percent to surpass one million for the first time in 2006, according to a survey released on Tuesday. The survey by Chicago-based Spectrem Group found that the number of U.S. households with more than $5 million rose from 930,000 in 2005. In 1996, there were only 250,000 U.S. households in the "ultra-rich" category, Spectrem said. The survey found that U.S. households that are merely wealthy, defined as having assets of more than $500,000 excluding primary residence, rose 9 percent to 15.3 million in 2006 from the year before. The findings are based on U.S. census data, a July 2006 mail and online survey of 526 U.S. households, and 3,000 telephone interviews throughout 2006.

Kucinich drafting Impeachment articles against Cheney http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Cheney_on_impeachment_papers_No_comment_0418.html

Vice President Dick Cheney's office was looking into news that Articles of Impeachment will be filed by Rep. Dennis Kucinich for crimes which have not yet been identified by the Democratic Congressman. The news appeared on a blog last night produced by the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper. Yesterday, the Washington Post's Mary Ann Akers at her blog The Sleuth revealed Kucinich's plans to file Articles of Impeachment against Cheney. "This week I intend to introduce Articles of Impeachment with respect to the conduct of Vice President Cheney," Kucinich, who is running for president, wrote in a "dear colleague" letter to fellow Members of Congress. Kucinich noted that the actual charges themselves were "confidential" prior to their formal introduction to the House of Representatives. RAW STORY contacted Cheney's press reps yesterday, and was told that the Vice President's office would look into the question.

US warns of growing Iranian support for Taliban http://rawstory.com/news/dpa/US_warns_of_growing_Iranian_support_04182007.html

A leading US official on Wednesday warned of "unhealthy" Iranian involvement in Afghanistan, saying Tehran was meddling in the country's political affairs and providing weapons to a resurgent Taliban. Richard Boucher, US Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asian Affairs, also said Washington was not aiming to "wipe out" the Taliban but wanted to stop the insurgents from disrupting the political development of Afghanistan. Boucher, who met EU officials in Brussels, said Iran was a "developing issue of concern." His comments come only a day after Pentagon's top general Peter Pace said coalition forces in Afghanistan had intercepted Iranian-made mortars and explosives destined for the Taliban.

Court Backs Ban on Abortion Procedure http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8OJ4HT80&show_article=1

The Supreme Court upheld the nationwide ban on a controversial abortion procedure Wednesday, handing abortion opponents the long- awaited victory they expected from a more conservative bench. The 5-4 ruling said the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act that Congress passed and President Bush signed into law in 2003 does not violate a woman's constitutional right to an abortion. Abortion rights groups as well as the leading association of obstetricians and gynecologists have said the procedure sometimes is the safest for a woman. They also said that such a ruling could threaten most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy, although government lawyers and others who favor the ban said there are alternate, more widely used procedures that remain legal. The outcome is likely to spur efforts at the state level to place more restrictions on abortions.

Brothel boss threatens to out Serbian politicians http://rawstory.com/news/dpa/Brothel_boss_threatens_to_out_Serbi_04182007.html

Serbian brothel boss Slavoljub Veljkovic said Wednesday that he would give the names of all politicians who have paid for the services of escorts if a law legalizing prostitution is not adopted.
He told Belgrade daily Press that many influential politicians regularly pay for sex, adding that it is hypocritical that these same politicians refuse to pass laws that would offer the over 7,000 female and male prostitutes working in Serbia health and life insurance, along with better working conditions. Veljkovic heads the Serbian Night Club Association, made up of 130 night club owners who have, along with a team of legal experts, drafted and submitted to parliament a proposal for the legalization of prostitution in Serbia. The association has already announced that prostitutes would hold a protest in front of the government building in Belgrade if the parliament continues to ignore the issue. Veljkovic said that if there is no response after the demonstration, he would publish the names of all politicians who have paid prostitutes for their services.

Nigerian army attacks Islamists http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6566841.stm

Some 25 Islamic militants have been killed in an offensive near the city of Kano in Nigeria's north, the army says. Militants held an area after attacking a police station on Tuesday. Nine Islamists have been captured, as well as a quantity of arms, the army says. Police say the militants came to avenge the assassination of a radical Islamic cleric shot dead last Friday. The unrest adds to rising tension, with opposition parties threatening to boycott Saturday's presidential polls. It is unclear how many militants are still at large. In a statement on Tuesday night, 18 of the main parties demanded that the elections on Saturday be delayed and threatened a boycott unless several conditions were met. Their demands include the annulment of last weekend's state polls described by the opposition as a "sham", and the disbanding of the Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec). In Panshekara where Islamists, known as the Taleban, hold an area of the town, heavy shooting started at dawn and residents began fleeing. The army cordoned off the area and engaged heavily armed Islamic militants holed up near the nearby waterworks. The militants arrived in the area on Tuesday and attacked a police station killing 13 people. Police and residents say they number up to 300, including women and children.

Ebola virus killing thousands of apes http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Science/2007/04/17/ebola_virus_killing_thousands_of_apes/

The Ebola virus is killing thousands of Republic of Congo gorillas and chimpanzees in an outbreak possibly caused by transmission between ape social groups. Direct encounters between gorilla or chimpanzee social groups are rare, therefore large ape die-offs were assumed to be caused by "massive spillover" from some unknown reservoir host. But a new study by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Cambridge University, and Stony Brook University at three sites in the northern Republic of Congo suggests Ebola transmission between ape groups might occur through routes other than direct social encounter. For instance, researchers found as many as four different gorilla groups fed in the same fruit tree on a single day. Thus, infective body fluids deposited by one group might easily be encountered by a subsequent group. The study provides hope newly developed vaccines might control the devastating impact of Ebola on wild apes, as well as providing the first evidence gorillas from one social group closely inspect the carcasses of gorillas from other groups. Contact with corpses at funerals is a major mechanism of Ebola transmission in humans.
The research appears in the May issue of The American Naturalist.

Australia-US plan to swap refugees criticised

http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Australia_US_plan_to_swap_refugees__04182007.html

Australia on Wednesday announced plans to swap its detained boatpeople with those held by the United States, a move immediately denounced as "bizarre" by rights groups and opposition politicians. The deal would see mainly Asian boatpeople intercepted on their way to Australia considered for resettlement in the US, while Cuban and Haitian asylum-seekers hoping to live in the US could be despatched to Australia. The exchange would involve boatpeople held by Australia on the remote Pacific island of Nauru and refugees held by the US at its naval base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, said Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews. Prime Minister John Howard said the scheme would deter boatpeople seeking asylum from attempting to come to Australia. Greens Senator Kerry Nettle said the plan could encourage more boatpeople to make the treacherous crossing to Australia."It's a very bizarre suggestion being put forward by the Howard government," she said. "I think that a shortcut for a Green Card into the United States is actually going to encourage asylum-seekers."

Drought uncovers Australia's drowned town

http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Drought_uncovers_Australia_s_drowne_04182007.html

Australia's worst drought in a century has uncovered a town deliberately flooded 50 years ago as part of a massive hydro-electricity scheme, stirring painful memories for former residents. Adaminaby, a small farming town nestled in the Snowy Mountains on the border between New South Wales and Victoria states, was submerged under 30 metres (98.5 feet) of water in 1957 when the local valley was dammed to form the man-made Lake Eucumbene. The settlement was never expected to be seen again but the severity of the drought has evaporated most of the lake, bringing it back to the surface. "We couldn't believe it when the old streets started to reappear," said Leigh Stewart, a local history buff who grew up in the old town and once ran a shop there.

Volcano eruption prompts evacuation of 4,000 in Colombia http://rawstory.com/news/dpa/Volcano_eruption_prompts_evacuation_04182007.html

At least 4,000 people were evacuated in south-west Colombia after a volcano eruption, officials said Wednesday. Large mud slides threatened the population in Nevado de Huila, and an earthquake was registered. The 5,780-metre high volcano was quiet for 500 years until January, when it became active again.

Sudan man forced to 'marry' goat http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/africa/4748292.stm

A Sudanese man has been forced to take a goat as his "wife", after he was caught having sex with the animal. The goat's owner, Mr Alifi, said he surprised the man with his goat and took him to a council of elders. They ordered the man, Mr Tombe, to pay a dowry of 15,000 Sudanese dinars ($50) to Mr Alifi. "We have given him the goat, and as far as we know they are still together," Mr Alifi said. Mr Alifi, of Hai Malakal in Upper Nile State, told the Juba Post newspaper that he heard a loud noise around midnight on 13 February and immediately rushed outside to find Mr Tombe with his goat. "When I asked him: 'What are you doing there?', he fell off the back of the goat, so I captured and tied him up." Mr Alifi then called elders to decide how to deal with the case. "They said I should not take him to the police, but rather let him pay a dowry for my goat because he used it as his wife," Mr Alifi told the newspaper.

Two Secret Service officers injured at White House http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyid=2007-04-17T192809Z_01_N17445050_RTRUKOC_0_US-WHITEHOUSE-INCIDENT.xml&src=rss&rpc=22

Their injuries are non-life threatening, the spokesman said. One officer suffered a shrapnel wound to the face, and the other was wounded in the leg. They were taken to George Washington Hospital. "It appears that at approximately 2:10 p.m. (1810 GMT) there was an accidental discharge of a service issued weapon, which occurred inside the Southwest Gate at a security post near the White House," spokesman Darrin Blackford said. Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House, Lafayette Park across the street from the White House and other nearby walkways were all shut down to pedestrian traffic due to the incident. Many police vehicles were in the area.

Copyright Board rejects internet radio appeal http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070416-internet-radio-dealt-severe-blow-as-copyright-board-rejects-appeal.html

A panel of judges at the Copyright Royalty Board has denied a request from the NPR and a number of other webcasters to reconsider a March ruling that would force Internet radio services to pay crippling royalties. The panel's ruling reaffirmed the original CRB decision in every respect, with the exception of how the royalties will be calculated. Instead of charging a royalty for each time a song is heard by a listener online, Internet broadcasters will be able pay royalties based on average listening hours through the end of 2008. Under the previous setup, radio stations would have to pay an annual fee plus 12 percent of their profits to the music industry's royalty collection organization, SoundExchange. SoundExchange is jubilant over the ruling. Noble words, but after today's ruling—which will take effect on May 15 unless the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit agrees to hear an appeal—there probably won't be much of an Internet radio industry left for SoundExchange to work with.

Ruling Limits State Control of Big Banks http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/18/business/18scotus.html?ei=5065&en=b0daa9eeaad4f490&ex=1177473600&partner=MYWAY&pagewanted=print

The mortgage lending subsidiaries of national banks are immune from state regulation, the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday in a decision that upheld a controversial regulation issued six years ago by the office of the comptroller of the currency, the chief federal bank regulator. The attorneys general and bank regulators of all 50 states had urged the justices to find the regulation out of bounds, either as a misinterpretation of the National Bank Act or as a matter of constitutional federalism. Consumer groups told the court that a decision upholding the federal agency’s claimed power of pre-emption would displace state oversight at a time when the mortgage lending industry urgently needed close supervision. Justice Ginsburg said it was appropriate to treat a bank’s operating subsidiary as “subject to the same terms and conditions that govern the national bank itself.” A national bank’s authority to engage in mortgage lending through a subsidiary, a power the comptroller of the currency granted 41 years ago, “cannot be significantly impaired or impeded by state law,” Justice Ginsburg said. Justice John Paul Stevens wrote a vigorous dissenting opinion that Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Antonin Scalia also signed. Justice Clarence Thomas recused himself because his son and daughter-in-law both work for Wachovia Bank, which filed the lawsuit that led to the Supreme Court case.

The regulation that the court upheld pre-empts state regulation of any banking activity that a national bank conducts through an operating subsidiary. The decision therefore presumably applies beyond mortgage lending to other activities that subsidiaries commonly engage in, like the sale of annuities, automobile loans, small-business lending and investment advice. The office of the comptroller of the currency has licensed nearly 500 national bank subsidiaries that deal directly with consumers in these and other types of retail activities. Some analysts said the ruling could shape the Congressional debate over the need for tougher regulation to protect consumers. “Congress could use it as an opportunity to look at the pre-emption doctrine and put their own stamp on it,” said Brian Gardner, a Washington policy analyst at Keefe Bruyette & Woods in New York. The risk, however, is that it could potentially complicate passage of a predatory lending bill, he said. National banks have unquestionably been immune from state regulation. The issue arose only with the growing number of operating subsidiaries, authorized by the comptroller of the currency in 1966 to conduct various types of financial activities. The regulation issued by the comptroller of the currency in 2001 asserted that state laws could apply to national bank subsidiaries only to the extent that they could apply to the parent banks themselves, thus stripping states of authority they had been exercising for 35 years. The legal question in the case was whether an agency regulation, which was not directly imposed by Congress and purporting to displace state regulatory authority, was entitled to the usual degree of deference that courts give to federal agencies.

Justice Stevens, in his dissenting opinion, said that the absence of Congressional authorization meant that no deference was due. “Never before have we endorsed administrative action whose sole purpose was to pre-empt state law rather than to implement a statutory command,” he said. Justice Stevens said that while he agreed with the majority that the regulation was not unconstitutional, the court should be aware “that its ruling affects the allocation of powers among sovereigns.” In her majority opinion, Justice Ginsburg said the question of deference was “beside the point” and “academic” because the regulation “merely clarifies and confirms” the essence of the National Bank Act.

Ethanol worse for air than gasoline: study http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070418/D8OIQD480.html

Switching from gasoline to ethanol - touted as a green alternative at the pump - may create dirtier air, causing slightly more smog-related deaths, a new study says. Each year, about 4,700 people, according to the study's author, die from respiratory problems from ozone, the unseen component of smog along with small particles. Ethanol would raise ozone levels, particularly in certain regions of the country, including the Northeast and Los Angeles. "It's not green in terms of air pollution," said study author Mark Jacobson, a Stanford University civil and environmental engineering professor. "If you want to use ethanol, fine, but don't do it based on health grounds. It's no better than gasoline, apparently slightly worse." His study, based on a computer model, is published in Wednesday's online edition of the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Science and Technology and adds to the messy debate over ethanol. In January, President Bush announced a push to reduce gas consumption by 20 percent over 10 years by substituting alternative fuels, mainly ethanol. Scientists with the Environmental Protection Agency estimated that could mean about a 1 percent increase in smog.

EPA Chief: Bush Climate Policy Working http://www.localnewsleader.com/olberlin/stories/index.php?action=fullnews&id=95585

The head of the Environmental Protection Agency said Monday the growth of greenhouse gases by less than 1 percent in 2005 shows the administration's program to address global warming "is delivering real results." The EPA said its annual greenhouse gas assessment showed that 7.26 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases were released by U.S. sources in 2005, an increase of 0.8 percent from the previous year. Greenhouse gas emissions have been increasing an average of 1.2 percent a year since 1990, according to the Energy Department, and the smaller increase in 2005 may have had little to do with Bush's climate policy.

"The slow growth in emissions from 2004 to 2005 can be attributed mainly to higher energy prices that suppressed demand, low or negative growth in several energy-intensive industries, and weather-related disruptions," the Energy Department said in a separate report on greenhouse gas emissions. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina disrupted oil and natural gas supplies from the Gulf of Mexico, causing gasoline prices to jump briefly well above $3 a gallon and caused havoc in a number of industries that rely heavily on natural gas. The EPA report shows a 3.6 percent decline in greenhouse gas emissions by industry in 2005, some of which presumably reflected the hurricane-related energy supply problems. Carbon dioxide emissions from power plants increased by 2.8 percent in 2005. The EPA report tracked emissions of carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels - the principal greenhouse gas - and the carbon equivalent of five other greenhouse gases.

Sri Lanka delays visas to Amnesty Int’l. http://www.lankaeverything.com/vinews/srilanka/20070417234630.php

Angry with the London-based Amnesty International (AI) for organising a campaign against Sri Lanka during the on-going World Cup cricket tournament in the West Indies, the Sri Lankan government is delaying the grant of visas to an Amnesty team wanting to visit the island. A top official of the Sri Lankan Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Hindustan Times here on Tuesday, that government had not decided to deny visas, but Amnesty had been told that this was not the appropriate time to visit the country. Amnesty had asked people watching matches in which Sri Lanka was playing, to sign white balls carrying the legend "Play by the rules" (ie: "Don't violate human rights"). In a pamphlet distributed simultaneously, it also asked both parties to accept an International Human Rights Monitor. But this campaign triggered a very bad reaction back in Sri Lanka. While the LTTE was silent, the Sri Lankan polity fumed with indignation. In a political climate in which NGOs and the international peace and human rights lobby were being looked at as tacit and behind the scenes supporters of the "terrorist and separatist" LTTE, Amnesty's campaign was seen as a brazenly anti-Sri Lankan move, a move which showed no sensitivity to the sentiments of the majority of Sri Lankans, who were backing the Mahinda Rajapaksa government's strong anti-terror line.

Kremlin: Police Overreacted Amid Protest http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070417/D8OIKN880.html

A spokesman for President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that some police overreacted during weekend opposition demonstrations, in which some participants were beat by club-wielding officers and hundreds were detained. The harsh response to so-called "Dissenters' Marches" in Moscow and St. Petersburg drew wide criticism from human rights groups and reinforced opposition contentions that Russia under Putin is strangling democracy ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections that take place within the next year. The protests and the crackdowns received extensive coverage by foreign news media but Russia's state-controlled or state-influenced TV channels gave little attention. Most channels showed brief footage from the protests and some showed demonstrators being led away, but the clashes were not depicted. Thousands of police and interior ministry troops were on duty for the demonstrations, far outnumbering the protesters, who numbered only a couple of thousand in each city.

Mysterious U.S. Company Buys Yukos’ Energy Assets http://www.mosnews.com/money/2007/04/17/yukossale.shtml

Mysterious company Monte-Valle, founded by unnamed U.S. citizen has won the fourth auction for sale of property of bankrupt Yukos Oil Company. The auction held on Tuesday, April 17, sold stakes in Russian energy companies previously owned by Yukos. Monte-Valle offered 3.563 billion rubles (about $138 million) for the lot. Yukos, once Russia’s largest private oil company, was declared bankrupt on Aug. 1, 2006, following three years of litigation with tax authorities over the company’s tax arrears. The state has already sold Yukos’ gas assets to consortium of Italian energy companies Eni and Enel and a 9.4 percent stake in state-controlled Rosneft Oil Company to Rosneft itself. The third auction, including Yukos’s research and development assets, was called off due to a lack of bids. The fourth round of Yukos auction saw four firms bidding for energy assets in Tambov and Belgorod regions in Central Russia. Monte Valle and another company, called Financial Agency, were the main bidders at the auction. Neft-Aktiv, a structure of Rosneft, offered five bid increments while Versar offered none. Several hours after the auction Prime-Tass news agency reported that Monte-Valle LLC was registered in August 2003. Its general director is Steven Patrick Lynch, while the sole founder is an unnamed U.S. citizen.

Russia Moving Military Equipment Out Of Georgia http://www.turkishweekly.net/news.php?id=31802

A Russian military train loaded with tanks and other equipment is due to leave Georgia today, marking the start of the withdrawal of Russia's military bases from the country. The train is carrying equipment from the Russian base in Akhalkalaki, which is due to be shut down in 2007. Under an agreement reached last year, the other Russian base in Georgia, in the port of Batumi, is due to be closed in 2008.

Court Steps Into Ukaine's Power Struggle http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070417/D8OIAO9O0.html

Ukraine's Constitutional Court initiated hearings Tuesday on the legality of the pro-Western president's decree dissolving parliament, trying to resolve a power struggle that has paralyzed the country. President Vikto Yushchenko has defended his two-week-old decree as necessary to prevent the usurpation of power by his archrival, Premier Viktor Yanukovych. Yanukovych and his majority in the 450-seat parliament have defied the order and appealed to the court to resolve the matter. The stalemate has become the worst political crisis in this ex-Soviet republic since the 2004 Orange Revolution, and government business has ground to a halt. The 18-judge Constitutional Court has complained of enormous political pressure, and many lawmakers questioned whether it is capable of a decision that all sides will honor. The court has one month to consider the matter, but with elections slated for May 27, the judges have been asked to move faster.


Operation into Iraq will spell ‘disaster,’ says Clinton http://www.turkishweekly.net/news.php?id=44285

"America should deploy its troops in Iraq in Kurdistan and regions neighboring Kurdistan," ex-President Clinton was quoted as saying by the ANKA news agency in an interview with London-based Arabic language daily Asharq Al-Awsat. The troops to be deployed would prevent Turkey from entering the region, thus helping to protect Iraqi Kurds from external forces, Clinton said. "Although Turkey has all along been an ally for us, it should not be let to enter Iraqi lands. Turkey's incursion into the region will bring disaster to the region," he said. Clinton's remarks came as an apparent comment on Turkey's top general's call for a military operation to quash members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq. The PKK is listed both by Washington and the EU as a terrorist organization as well as by Turkey.

EU aims to criminalise Holocaust denial http://www.ft.com/cms/s/122134be-ed14-11db-9520-000b5df10621.html

Diplomats in Brussels voiced confidence on Tuesday that the controversial plan, which has been the subject of heated debate for six years, on Thursday will be endorsed by member states. However, the Baltic countries and Poland are still holding out for an inclusion of “Stalinist crimes” alongside the Holocaust in the text – a move that is being resisted by the majority of other EU countries. The latest draft, seen by the Financial Times, will make it mandatory for all Union member states to punish public incitement “to violence or hatred directed against a group of persons or a member of such a group defined by reference to race, colour, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin”. They will also have to criminalise “publicly condoning, denying or grossly trivialising crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes” when such statements incite hatred or violence against minorities. Diplomats stressed the provision had been carefully worded to include only denial of the Holocaust – the Nazi mass murder of Jews during the second world war – and the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. They also stressed that the wording was designed to avoid criminalising comical plays or films about the Holocaust such as the Italian comedian Roberto Benigni’s prize-winning Life is Beautiful . The text expressly upholds countries’ constitutional traditions relating to the freedom of expression. Holocaust denial is already a criminal offence in several European countries, including Germany and Austria. It is not a specific crime in Britain, though UK officials said it could already be tackled under existing legislation.

Three More Families Appeal for Help as Germany Continues Crackdown on Homeschooling Families http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/apr/07041609.html

Three more German families have issued an international appeal for help against the German government’s stepped up persecution against Christian homeschooling families. Germany has been condemned by the UN for its inflexible and intolerant school system. The International Human Rights Group, which has been championing the case of Melissa Busekros - a German home schooled student seized from her home two months ago by the Jugendamt (Youth Welfare Office) and police forces - and other German homeschooling families, met last week with a group of homeschooling families in Bischofswerda, a small town in the state of Saxony. Three families gave IHRG a letter describing their battle with the government, which has dedicated itself to vigorously enforcing Adolf Hitler’s 1938 edict banning homeschooling and enforcing compulsory education. The letter from the Schneider, Harder, and Krautter families shows how they have endured crippling fines over €5,000, and face threats of arrest, or loss of custody of their children. Officials have seized government stipends earmarked for home improvements, frozen bank accounts, and threatened to take away their homes as payment for the fines. IHRG also met with the Brause family, who lost legal custody of their children to the Jugendamt, the youth welfare office instituted by Hitler in 1939 to oversee families politically. The Jugendamt has requested the parents come in for a meeting this week, a possible prelude to actual seizure of children. While IHRG reported that the family of Melissa Busekros has been thankful of the support they have received, including 200 letters and cards, Joel Thornton, president of IHRG, believes American homeschooling families do yet not understand the importance of the situation.

“If Germany continues to behave in this way and get away with it, this will empower other anti-homeschooling groups ... to get away with cracking down on homeschoolers and home school freedoms more,” said Michael Donnelly of the Home School Legal Defense Association, who added that officials in several countries are taking a cue from Germany and beginning to tighten restrictions on homeschoolers. In France, Donnelly explained, efforts were made to curtail homeschooling after the Konrad v. Germany decision in September 2006, when the European Court of Human Rights ruled in favour of Germany against a homeschooling family. The Court stated that “Parents may not refuse the right to education of a child on the basis of their convictions” and added that the right to education “by its very nature calls for regulation by the State.”Germany’s actions have not gone unnoticed by the United Nations, which criticized Germany for its education system. “The promotion and development of a system of public, government-funded education should not entail the suppression of forms of education that do not require attendance at a school,” said the UN report by Special Rapporteur on the right to education, Vernor Muñoz. “In this context, the Special Rapporteur received complaints about threats to withdraw the parental rights of parents who chose home-schooling methods for their children.” Muñoz said both “distance learning methods and home schooling represent valid options” and were in keeping with parents’ rights to choose education for their children under article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

See the UN report by Special Rapporteur on the right to education, Vernor Muñozhttp://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007_docs/UNright_to_educationin...


Whale swims off Brooklyn shore http://english.pravda.ru/news/hotspots/18-04-2007/89947-whale-0

Whales are a rare sight inside New York harbor and it was not immediately known when a previous sighting last occurred. The Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation, based in Riverhead, New York, said its rescue program director, Kim Durham, was en route to the scene. The Riverhead Foundation specializes in cases involving whales, dolphins, seals and sea turtles. The whale was reported to be swimming near the shore off Pier 22 in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Sunset Park, not far from the year-old Brooklyn Cruise Terminal that opened last year. The creature was described by CBS News as a 12-foot (3.7-meter) baleen whale, a variety noted for being able to leap completely out of the water. The Channel 2 network said its helicopter, hovering overhead, had videotaped the whale "jumping in and out of the water several times."

Finland's new ruling coalition reserved 12 of its 20 Cabinet posts for women http://english.pravda.ru/news/world/17-04-2007/89940-Cabinet_posts-0

President Tarja Halonen the country's first female head of state was to appoint the new government officially on Thursday. The government was formed after national elections in March that also brought 84 women into Parliament, or 42 percent of the 200 seats, a Finnish record. The elections were held 100 years after Finland became the first country to allow women to stand for election. Announcing the centrist ministers, Vanhanen said he had wanted a government that respected "gender equality." Earlier Tuesday, Vanhanen who was prime minister in the previous center-left coalition was elected by lawmakers to continue as head of government after leading weeks of talks that resulted in the new coalition. Not much was expected to change in the shift from center-left to center-right in a country ruled for decades by consensus politics. But the presence of more women could improve their position in society, Kuusipalo said.

United States find Indonesian airlines dangerous http://english.pravda.ru/news/world/17-04-2007/89930-Indonesian_airlines-0

An Indonesian jetliner plunged into the sea from 10,000 meters (33,000 feet) on New Year's Day, killing all 102 people on board. Weeks later, another plane's fuselage split in half after a hard landing. And last month, a Boeing 737 careened off a runway and burst into flames, leaving 21 dead. The Indonesian government has since carried out a review of its 20 carriers, concluding that none met all safety requirements. The worst seven were told they had three months to improve their records or face closure. "Whenever possible, Americans traveling to and from Indonesia should fly directly to their destinations on international carriers from countries whose civil aviation authorities meet international aviation safety standards," the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta said on its Web site. It noted that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration lowered its safety rating for Indonesia from Category 1 to 2 - the lowest - this week "due to serious concerns" about oversight and operational control systems. Dozens of airlines emerged after Indonesia deregulated its aviation industry in the 1990s, raising concerns that growth has outpaced the supply of trained aviation professionals, regulatory oversight and ground infrastructure.