Iraq oil contracts http://money.cnn.com/2007/04
The first contracts with major oil firms from Iraq's new government are likely to go not to U.S. companies, but rather to companies from China, India, Vietnam, and Indonesia. While Iraqi lawmakers struggle to pass an agreement on exactly who will award the contracts and how the revenue will be shared, experts say a draft version that passed the cabinet earlier this year will likely uphold agreements previously signed by those countries under Saddam Hussein's government. The contracts under consideration are small, allegedly. But the Asian firms are also well positioned to grab further contracts. Having avoided military entanglements in the region, they may curry more favor with the Iraqi people. None of this, however, suggests standard Western firms like ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco, BP and Royal Dutch Shell (Charts) will be completely cut out of the action. Their technical prowess is world renowned and Iraq's oil contract game has just begun. Memorandums of understanding between Iraq and western majors have been signed for several years. And Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani has said the country plans to tender for major oil projects in the second half of 2007. "Giving out a few crumbs to the Chinese and Indians is one thing," said Steve Kretzmann, executive director of Oil Change International, an industry watchdog group. Kretzmann also noted the draft law was seen by both the Bush administration and the International Monetary Fund before it was given to Iraq's parliament. "But the real prize are the contracts that award long-term rights. I think the [Western oil companies] are biding their time."
Did Nancy Pelosi commit a felony when she went to Syria? http://opinionjournal.com
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi may well have committed a felony in traveling to Damascus this week, against the wishes of the president, to communicate on foreign-policy issues with Syrian President Bashar Assad. The Logan Act makes it a felony and provides for a prison sentence of up to three years for any American, "without authority of the United States," to communicate with a foreign government in an effort to influence that government's behavior on any "disputes or controversies with the United States." President John Adams requested the statute after a Pennsylvania pacifist named George Logan traveled to France in 1798 to assure the French government that the American people favored peace in the undeclared "Quasi War" being fought on the high seas between the two countries. In proposing the law, Rep. Roger Griswold of Connecticut explained that the object was, as recorded in the Annals of Congress, "to punish a crime which goes to the destruction of the executive power of the government." The Supreme Court has spoken clearly on this aspect of the separation of powers. In Marbury v. Madison, Chief Justice John Marshall used the president's authority over the Department of State as an illustration of those "important political powers" that, "being entrusted to the executive, the decision of the executive is conclusive." And in the landmark 1936 Curtiss-Wright case, the Supreme Court reaffirmed: "Into the field of negotiation the Senate cannot intrude, and Congress itself is powerless to invade it." Not all congressional travel to, or communications with representatives of, foreign nations is unlawful. A purely fact-finding trip that involves looking around, visiting American military bases or talking with U.S. diplomats is not a problem. Nor is formal negotiation with foreign representatives if authorized by the president. (FDR appointed Sens. Tom Connally and Arthur Vandenberg to the U.S. delegation that negotiated the U.N . Charter.) Ms. Pelosi's trip was not authorized, and Syria is one of the world's leading sponsors of international terrorism.
UN panel issues stark climate change warning http://uk.reuters.com/article
Climate experts issued their starkest warning yet about the impact of global warming, ranging from hunger in Africa to a fast thaw in the Himalayas, in a report on Friday that increased pressure on governments to act. More than 100 nations in the U.N. climate panel agreed a final text after all-night talks during which some scientists accused governments of watering down conclusions that climate change was already under way and damaging nature. The report said warming, widely blamed on human emissions of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels, would cause desertification, droughts and rising seas and would hit hard in the tropics, from sub-Saharan Africa to Pacific islands. "It's the poorest of the poor in the world, and this includes poor people even in prosperous societies, who are going to be the worst hit," said Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). "This does become a global responsibility in my view."
The IPCC, which groups 2,500 scientists and is the world authority on climate change, said all regions of the planet would suffer from a sharp warming. Its findings are approved unanimously by governments and will guide policy on issues such as extending the U.N.'s Kyoto Protocol, the main U.N. plan for capping greenhouse gas emissions, beyond 2012. In Washington, the Bush administration indicated the United States, which pulled out of Kyoto in 2001, still planned to tackle limiting carbon dioxide emissions on its own rather than support global mandatory caps. Friday's study said climate change could cause hunger for millions with a sharp fall in crop yields in Africa. It could also rapidly thaw Himalayan glaciers that feed rivers from India to China and bring heatwaves for Europe and North America. "This further underlines both how urgent it is to reach global agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and how important it is for us all to adapt to the climate change that is already under way," said European Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas. "The urgency of this report...should be matched with an equally urgent response by governments," said Hans Verolme of the WWF conservation group.
Scientists said China, Russia and Saudi Arabia raised most objections overnight and sought to tone down the findings, including those about the likely pace of extinctions. Other participants said the United States, which cited high costs when it pulled out of Kyoto, had opposed a suggested text that said parts of North America could suffer "severe economic damage" from climate change. China, the second largest source of greenhouse gases after the United States, insisted on cutting a reference to "very high confidence" that climate change was already affecting "many natural systems, on all continents and in some oceans". But delegates sharpened other sections, including adding a warning that some African nations might have to spend 5 to 10 percent of gross domestic product on adapting to climate change.
Unusually Cold Just About Everywhere In U.S. East Of The Rockies http://www.cbsnews.com/stories
Just about everywhere east of the Rockies, it's extremely cold for this time of year – with snow in parts of the Northeast and Midwest, and freezing temperatures elsewhere - and it's going to stay this way right through the weekend. Parts of the upper Northeast are slogging through over a foot of snow which closed schools, tangled traffic and knocked out power to more than 180,000 homes and businesses. Frost and freeze warnings are in effect for the next few nights throughout much of the Southeast, while the snow continues to pile up across portions of the Great Lakes and the Northeast, which has seen more snow so far this April than what fell over the entire month of December. The cold weather, says a CBS News meteorologist is the result of an intense storm system sweeping down extremely cold air from central Canada on down to the eastern half of the U.S. The result is temperatures 15 to 30 degrees below normal, with many record lows likely over the weekend, from the Ohio Valley on down to southeast coast. The flakes fell at a rate of up to 2 inches per hour, and by early Thursday, areas of Maine already had nearly a foot and a half of wet, heavy snow, and central New Hampshire saw 16 inches in spots. Up to 24 inches fell in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, as many as 13 inches in Vermont, and upstate New York had several inches as well. In Kansas, five to eight inches of snow is on the ground in the east-central and north-central parts of the state, and with temperatures expected to dip into the lower 20s and teens in the next few days, farmers are worried about their crops. The cold snap came after two weeks of exceptionally warm weather, with highs around Kansas of from 60 to 80 degrees, speeding up the growth of the wheat by about two weeks.
'Britons Could Attack Us' http://news.sky.com/skynews
The man charged with protecting Americans from terrorist attack has told Sky News he is worried radicalised Britons could try to mount an assault on his country. Michael Chertoff, the Head of Homeland Security, said the US needed further protection from so-called "clean skins" in Britain or Europe. That is the name given by the intelligence community to those people who feel alienated but have not come to the attention of the authorities. Mr Chertoff confirmed America had foiled some terrorist attacks but warned his countrymen not to become complacent. The interview on Sky News came on the eve of the politician's first meeting with Home Secretary John Reid.
Cheney Reasserts al-Qaida-Saddam Link http://www.breitbart.com
Vice President Dick Cheney repeated his assertions of al-Qaida links to Saddam Hussein's Iraq on Thursday as the Defense Department released a report citing more evidence that the prewar government did not cooperate with the terrorist group. Cheney contended that al-Qaida was operating in Iraq before the March 2003 invasion led by U.S. forces and that terrorist Abu Musab al- Zarqawi was leading the Iraqi branch of al-Qaida. Others in al-Qaida planned the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. "He took up residence there before we ever launched into Iraq, organized the al-Qaida operations inside Iraq before we even arrived on the scene and then, of course, led the charge for Iraq until we killed him last June," Cheney told radio host Rush Limbaugh during an interview. "As I say, they were present before we invaded Iraq." However, a declassified Pentagon report released Thursday said that interrogations of the deposed Iraqi leader and two of his former aides as well as seized Iraqi documents confirmed that the terrorist organization and the Saddam government were not working together before the invasion. The Sept. 11 Commission's 2004 report also found no evidence of a collaborative relationship between Saddam and Osama bin Laden's al- Qaida network during that period. The report, which had been released in summary form in February, said that former Pentagon policy chief Douglas J. Feith had acted inappropriately but not illegally in reviewing prewar intelligence.
Solomon Islands: Tsunami relief in chaos http://www.ndtv.com/convergence
Aid workers helping survivors of a tsunami disaster in the Solomon Islands complained on Thursday that the relief efforts are chaotic and lack resources, warning of growing health risks for thousands left homeless in squalid camps. Much of the aid coming into Gizo wasn't being distributed beyond depots because of vehicle shortages, and a lack of workers to load trucks or clear debris that has severed road links to outlying villages. Drinking water is in extremely short supply on Ghizo, the island on which Gizo town sits, as is food and medicine. Most aid was being delivered to Munda, on a nearby island, and a shortage of boats hampered efforts. Most of the local fleet of canoes and other vessels was destroyed by the tsunami. In Honiara, the capital, officials scrambled to find enough supplies to cope with the disaster in the northwest of the country, an impoverished chain of some 200 islands with a population of around 550,000. At least 28 people were killed, with officials saying more reported deaths were expected to be confirmed. Authorities have
estimated the number of homeless at around 5,600. There has been no official tally of the missing.
India, Pakistan near deal to settle Kashmir dispute http://www.theaustralian.news
The outlines of a possible agreement on the future of Kashmir emerged last night on the sidelines of the South Asian summit in New Delhi, in a deal that would result in Pakistan and India jointly managing the disputed region. The two nuclear-armed neighbours are reportedly "deep in discussion" on a plan for Kashmir that would involve demilitarisation, joint management of Indian Kashmir and Azad (Pakistan) Kashmir, open borders and self-governance. The terms were reportedly hammered out during months of secret back-channel talks between the two countries. Kashmir is seen as the main obstacle to achieving peace in South Asia, given its potential to ignite conflict at any time. The dispute has also caused a rise in Islamiic militancy. Al-Qa'ida maintains the Kashmir conflict is the driving force behind its jihad in the region. The Australian reported this week that the Indian Government was preparing to appoint an expert committee to look into the prospects for demilitarisation, a key aspect of any potential agreement, since both sides of the line of control that divides the disputed territory are heavily militarised. In another sign of progress in the relationship, Indian and Pakistani negotiators will meet in Islamabad tomorrow to finalise agreement on the long-standing dispute between the two countries over the Siachen Glacier region in the Himalayas.
China Probing Tainted Wheat Gluten Claim http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin
China said Friday it is investigating allegations a Chinese company exported tainted wheat gluten used in pet food that has been linked to the deaths of more than a dozen cats and dogs in the United States. It was the first time Chinese authorities officially responded to the uproar that has resulted in a ban on gluten imports from the Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co. and a U.S. recall of nearly 100 brands of pet food. The probe will center on melamine and agency officials will stay in touch with the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. Chinese veterinarians and animal rights activists said they were not aware of any reports of deaths in the country from tainted pet food. Product contamination is a widespread problem in China, but this is the first recent high-profile incident of a tainted food being exported. In domestic cases, such as one involving drug regulators who took bribes to approve shoddy drugs, the government has promised investigations. Chemical scares and mass poisonings are common in China, which has been struggling to improve a dismal food-safety record. Manufacturers often mislabel food products or add illegal substances to them. Cooks routinely disregard hygiene rules or mistakenly use industrial chemicals instead of salt and other ingredients. Last year, seven companies were punished for using banned Sudan I dye to color egg yolks red. The industrial dye, a possible carcinogen used for leather, floor polish and other household chemicals, has been found in various consumer products sold in China, such as roasted meat, chili powder and lipstick. In 2004, at least 12 infants died from malnutrition after drinking formula with little or no nutritional value in eastern China's Anhui province. So far, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has confirmed about 15 pet deaths, while anecdotal reports suggest hundreds of cats and dogs may have died of kidney failure from the tainted food. Last week, the FDA blocked imports from Xuzhou Anying, which says it exports more than 10,000 tons of wheat gluten a year. Only 873 tons have been linked to the contaminated pet food in America, raising the possibility that more of the bad product could still be in China or the United States. Xuzhou Anying says the U.S. is its only foreign market. Marion Nestle, a nutrition professor at New York University, said Friday that importing the ingredients for food products from developing countries is becoming "increasingly common."
A real invisibility cloak is in our grasp: scientists http://rawstory.com/news/afp/A
Scientists have finally come up with a workable design for an invisibility cloak. Physicists figured out the complex mathematical equations for making objects invisible by bending light around them last year. A group of engineers at Purdue University in Indiana have now used those calculations to design a relatively simple device that ought to be able to - one day soon - make objects as big as an airplane simply disappear. The design calls for tiny metal needles to be fitted into a hairbrush-shaped cone at angles and lengths that would force light to pass around the cloak. This would make everything inside the cone appear to vanish because the light would no longer reflect off it. The still-theoretical design will be published this month in the journal Nature Photonics.
Tacoma woman's house emptied after craigslist hoax (submitted by Owen) http://seattletimes.nwsource
Laurie Raye said she had everything stripped from her home after someone placed a fake ad on the San Francisco-based Internet site, a collection of online classifieds. Raye had recently evicted a tenant and cleaned out the rental. The ad posted last weekend welcomed people to take for free anything they wanted from the home. It has since been pulled from the site, but not before the residence was stripped of light fixtures, the hot water heater and the kitchen sink. Neighbors said they saw strangers hauling items away, apparently looking for salvage material. Even the front door and a vinyl window were pilfered, Raye said. Raye said she contacted craigslist and received an e-mail saying officials would need a subpoena or search warrant to release information about who posted the ad. The online hoax isn't unusual, investigators said.
Disney Opens Weddings to Gay Couples http://www.breitbart.com
Same-sex couples who want to exchange vows in front of Cinderella's Castle now have the chance. The Walt Disney Co. had limited its Fairy Tale Wedding program to couples with valid marriage licenses, but it is now making ceremonies at its parks available to gay couples as well. The company said it made the change after being contacted by a gay couple who wanted to use the wedding service, which offers ceremonies at Disneyland in California, Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Disney's cruise ships. The service offers flowers, dining, music and many optional Disney touches, from ceremonies in front of the parks' iconic attractions to having Mickey and Minnie Mouse in formal wear as guests. The packages start at $8,000 and can cost more than $45,000. Groups not affiliated with Disney have held annual "gay days" celebrations at Disney parks for years. Company officials have taken a tolerant attitude to the weekend, allowing party promoters to rent out parks after hours and rebuffing religious groups that condemned Disney. In 2005, Southern Baptists ended an eight-year boycott of the Walt Disney Co. for violating "moral righteousness and traditional family values."
Coke halts Jesus pic http://www.variety.com/article
The Coca Cola Company has taken legal action against producers of a spirituality themed Italian film set in present day Israel in which Jesus drinks a can of Coke in the desert. Titled "7 Km da Gerusalemme" (Seven Kilometers From Jerusalem) pic centers around a Milanese ad exec having a midlife crisis who makes a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. In the desert, near the biblical Emmaus, the Italo ad man gives Jesus a ride in his Jeep, hands him a Coke, and, while Jesus is quenching his thirst, says: "My God, what a testimonial!" Coca Cola in a letter complained to producers Graziano Prota and Angelo Sconda demanding that the scene be cut because it is likely to give Coca Cola a negative image and complaining that use of their brand was unauthorized. "We are not interested in this kind of product placement," a Coca Cola Italia spokeswoman said. Due to be released on April 6, Good Friday, "Seven Kilometers From Jerusalem" has now been pulled by distribbery Mediafilm, which was planning to capitalize on the Easter spirit.
April 5, 2007
Apple not 'green,' Greenpeace says http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack
California's Apple Inc., (on whose Board of Directors sits Al Gore) has the worst environmental policies among major electronics companies, the environmental group Greenpeace says. In a survey of 14 major companies, the manufacturer of the Mac, Powerbook and iPod was put at the bottom of the list for its policies on the elimination of toxic substances and recycling, Amsterdam-based Greenpeace said. The group said Apple "scores badly on almost all criteria" in a survey of its environmental attitudes and practices, including timetables for phasing out hazardous chemicals, Britain's Independent reported. The most environmentally sensitive company is Lenovo Group Ltd. of Raleigh, N.C., which purchased IBM Corp.'s PC division in 2005. Lenovo "offers takeback and recycling in all the countries where its products are sold," Greenpeace said. Lenovo also says how much e-waste it recycles as a percentage of sales, Greenpeace said. Apple said it disagreed with Greenpeace's rating and the criteria the group used. "Apple has a strong environmental track record and has led the industry in restricting and banning toxic substances such as mercury, cadmium and hexavalent chromium, as well as many BFRs (brominated flame retardants)," the company said in a statement.
US asks China to help maintain global maritime security http://rawstory.com/news/afp
The United States on Wednesday asked China to join a global effort to maintain international maritime security, as the Pentagon welcomed Beijing's navy chief Vice Admiral Wu Shengli on a rare visit. Admiral Michael Mullen, the US chief of naval operations, called on Wu to consider "China's potential participation in global maritime partnership initiatives" during talks at the Pentagon, his spokesman told AFP. Mullen was referring to the "1,000-ship Navy" concept, first proposed at an international seapower symposium in 2005, aimed at building -- on a voluntary basis -- a transnational network of navies, the shipping industry and law enforcement agencies to respond to crises or emergencies at sea. The idea was tossed by two American admirals following the rapid international responses to the Asian tsunami in December 2004. The United States, India, Australia and Japan, the four most powerful democratic nations in the Asia-Pacific region, joined hands in a swift operation to help in relief work during the disaster. Wu "expressed interest" in the 1,000-ship Navy plan and "shared concerns in maritime security both regionally and globally," Kirby said. Wu is on his first overseas visit since taking over the helm recently and the Washington trip comes just after the Beijing visit by General Peter Pace, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, aimed at boosting US-Sino military ties. Mullen, speaking at a Washington forum on Tuesday, noted that the Chinese were shifting from a "land-centric force to an air-centric and naval-centric force and clearly that force and capability has the potential to focus very much on the United States navy. "So, clearly, those kind of technological investments have my attention," he said. Mullen said the key was building up ties with China to better understand the nation as Washington had been doing particularly over the last couple of years. Senior US officials have spoken critically of China's military budget, expressing concerns that the Chinese are under-reporting its size and that it is expanding too quickly. China announced last month a 17.8-percent rise in military spending for this year to 45 billion dollars. US Vice President Dick Cheney said last month that China's military build-up and its successful knocking out of one of its ageing satellites with a ballistic missile in January were "not consistent with Beijing's stated goal of a 'peaceful rise.'" The Pentagon is soon expected to submit its annual report to Congress on China's military power.
China tells newspapers to cut out demands for money from subjects http://www.suntimes.com/news
China's government has ordered newspapers to stamp out the common practice of demanding money from people they cover, a state news agency said Tuesday, after the killing of a newspaper employee drew attention to the seamier side of the industry. Newspapers also must make sure that only properly accredited reporters are allowed to conduct newsgathering, the China News Service said, citing an order by the national news industry regulator. The order followed the beating death in January of newspaper employee Lan Chengzhang, who earlier reports said tried to extort money from a mine owner by threatening to publicize his illegal operation.
CIA Blocks Book on Chinese Nuclear Weapons http://www.fas.org/blog
An eagerly awaited book on the history of the Chinese nuclear weapons program will not be published due to objections from the Central Intelligence Agency, which said it contains classified information. A federal court last week ruled (pdf) that the CIA was within its rights to block disclosure of 23 sections of a manuscript by former Los Alamos intelligence specialist Danny B. Stillman, who had brought a lawsuit asserting his First Amendment right to publish the volume. During the 1990s, Mr. Stillman traveled to China nine times, including six trips that took place after his retirement in 1993. He visited nuclear weapons facilities and "engaged in extensive discussions with Chinese scientists, government officials, and nuclear weapons designers," resulting in a 506-page manuscript entitled "Inside China's Nuclear Weapons Program." Since he was a Los Alamos employee prior to retirement, and maintained a security clearance thereafter, he submitted his manuscript to the government for pre-publication review, as required by the non-disclosure agreements that he had signed. His book was written for publication and did not include classified information, in the author's judgment. Significantly, the Department of Energy, which has principal classification authority over nuclear weapons design data, concurred. After initial resistance, DOE gave its approval for publication of the entire volume. But the Central Intelligence Agency, DIA and DoD were opposed. In a March 30 ruling, Judge Emmet G. Sullivan of the DC District Court wrote that the non-disclosure agreements signed by Mr. Stillman contain "incredibly broad language" with regard to protection of classified information.
US to escape recession, world economy looking good: IMF http://www.breitbart.com
The United States will overcome a housing slowdown and avert recession, while the rest of the global economy is in sound health, the International Monetary Fund said Thursday. "The message here is reassuring: we do not think the US is heading for recession," the IMF's new chief economist Simon Johnson told a news conference. Johnson acknowledged the housing slowdown underway in the world's largest economy, "but we're not seeing it spread beyond residential construction." Neighboring Canada and Mexico could feel some effects from the US housing market, "but it won't spill over to the broader global economy," the economist said. Johnson was speaking at the release of a portion of the IMF's semi-annual World Economic Outlook. The full report, with projections for global growth, is to be released next week just ahead of the Fund's annual spring meeting. The IMF report said also that some of the world's economic imbalances may be corrected as the dollar's value declines. The massive US trade gap -- of 763.6 billion dollars in 2006 -- is among key concerns for finance officials as surpluses and currency reserves mount in countries such as China. The IMF concluded that "a real US dollar depreciation of less than 10 percent could bring about a one percent of GDP (gross domestic product) narrowing in the US trade deficit." The US current account deficit is already looking better, Johnson said. "It looks like that part of the global imbalances has turned the corner." In another section, the report said the "effective global labor force" has risen fourfold over the past two decades, reflecting population growth and the increasing integration of China, India, and the former Eastern bloc. But the report appeared to acknowledge that globalization has pushed down wages in wealthy countries, especially in European countries and among unskilled workers.
US reaches visa cap after one day; IT industry calls for reform http://rawstory.com/news/afp
The United States reached its limit for visas for skilled workers, mostly in high-tech industries, after the first day of applications from employers, prompting protests that the program is insufficient. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services said that as of Tuesday it had received "enough H-1B (visa) petitions to meet the congressionally mandated cap" for the fiscal year starting October 1. The agency said it had received 150,000 applications for the special visas and would begin a random selection process for the 65,000 allowed each year under US law. There are another 20,000 visas accorded for persons who have at least a master's degree from a university. Otherwise, employers will have to wait until the following fiscal year -- starting October 1, 2008.
FCC rejects use of cell phones on planes http://rawstory.com/news/afp
After lengthy study US regulators announced they are leaving in place a ban on cell phone use aboard airplanes, saying research remained inadequate to overturn the ban. In a statement published on its website Tuesday, the Federal Communication Commission said it would no longer consider lifting the ban on in-flight use of cell phones and other portable electronic devices (PEDs), which regulators fear could interfere with aircraft navigation and communication systems. Research carried out since the government telecommunications regulator began reconsidering the ban in December 2004 provided "insufficient technical information on whether the use of cellular phones on board aircraft may cause harmful interference to terrestrial networks," it said.
Iran's air defense can repel U.S. air strikes - Russian brass http://en.rian.ru/world
Iran has air defense systems capable of repelling possible United States air strikes, a high-ranking Russian military official said Thursday. A Kuwaiti newspaper warned Wednesday that the United States was planning a missile strike against Iran some time in April. In an editorial citing unnamed Washington sources, As-Siyasa said air-to-surface missiles could be used in U.S. strikes against Iran, but that no ground operation would be launched to avoid casualties among U.S. service personnel. "In line with my assessment, Iran's air defense system is strong enough," Colonel General Yury Solovyov, commander of the Air Defense Forces Special Command (former Moscow Military District Air Defense Command), said. "Currently Iran has our [Russian] air defense missile systems, which are capable of tackling U.S. combat aircraft. Iran also has French and other countries' [defense] systems." Russia, which is separated from Iran in the south by three tiny South Caucasus nations and shares a sea border with the Islamic Republic, has been actively promoting a diplomatic solution to the Iranian issue. Solovyov also said that Russia had been receiving detailed information on the current developments in the Persian Gulf situation. Last week, a Russian security official said that Russian intelligence had information that U.S. Armed Forces had nearly completed preparations for a possible military operation against Iran and would be ready to strike in early April. The U.S. has not excluded a military option in the standoff with Iran over its refusal to abandon its uranium enrichment program. The UN Security Council passed a new resolution on Iran two weeks ago toughening economic sanctions against the country and accepting the possibility of a military solution to the crisis.
Iran says 'unaware' of missing US citizen http://rawstory.com/news/afp
Iran said on Tuesday it was "unaware" of a retired US FBI agent who the United States says went missing last month during a private visit to the Islamic republic. The United States said earlier this week it had asked Tehran for information about the missing man, whose name and age have not been disclosed. US officials have said the man went missing while visiting Kish, a small island of Iran's southern coast that has grown into a major resort and free trade zone. Press reports said he was researching a documentary. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said on Tuesday that Washington was still waiting for Iran's response to a request for information about the retired agent, made through the Swiss embassy in Tehran. Washington has however stressed it sees no connection between the man's disappearance and the affair of 15 British naval personnel seized by Iran on March 23 allegedly for trespassing into Iranian waters.
Iran to celebrate "National Nuclear Day" next week http://rawstory.com/news/dpa
Iran will hold a ceremony next Monday to celebrate "National Nuclear Day" in the nuclear plant of Natanz where the main uranium enrichment process takes place, semi-official news agency Mehr reported on Thursday. Iran named April 9 last year as national nuclear day when the head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization officially announced that for the first time uranium enrichment process was successfully completed at the Natanz plant in the central province of Isfahan.
4,000 flash mob dancers startle commuters at Victoria http://www.thisislondon.co.uk
More than 4,000 clubbers danced through the rush hour at Victoria station in Britain's biggest flash mob stunt. Revellers responded to e-bulletins urging them to "dance like you've never danced before" at 6.53pm. There were knowing looks and giggles among the casually dressed crowd that gathered from 6.30pm, wearing earphones. A deafening 10-second countdown startled station staff and commuters before the concourse erupted in whoops and cheers. MP3 players and iPods emerged and the crowd danced wildly to their soundtracks in silence - for two hours. University of London student Lucy Dent, 20, was among the flash mobbers. She said: "It was my first flash mob and I'm hooked. I've been dancing non-stop since we began. "I didn't even notice the commuters. When you get into the dancing you're oblivious to them and forget you're at a railway station." Chris Gale, 39, brought his daughter Sophia, three, and son Jacob, six. Mr Gale, a property entrepreneur from Bromley, said: "The children were a bit bewildered at first but then had fantastic fun. Some of the commuters are only interested in their trains and had to weave round us to the platforms. But most of them stood and stared, finding it hugely entertaining - and some even joined in. "I saw the straightestlooking guy in a suit with his briefcase doing the freakiest dance moves." Last night's flash mob ended when four vanloads of police dispersed the dancers. The event was staged by clubbing website mobileclubbing.com. Invitation emails and texts went out a week in advance. One commuter failed to see the funny side: "I was trying to get my train home but the whole concourse was filled with students dancing and I couldn't get through. The last thing I wanted after a hard day at work was to miss my train because of the idiots." Flash mobs, groups of people brought together via the internet who perform a bizarre act together before disappearing, took off in America in 2003.
Remains of 'Joan of Arc' are fake http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi
Bones thought to be the holy remains of 15th Century French heroine Joan of Arc were in fact made from an Egyptian mummy and a cat, research has revealed. In 1867, a jar was found in a Paris pharmacy attic, along with a label claiming it held relics of Joan's body. But new forensic tests suggest that the remains date from between the third and sixth centuries BC - hundreds of years before Joan was even born. The study has been reported in the news pages of the Nature journal. Forensic scientist Dr Philippe Charlier, who led the investigation, told Nature: "I'd never have thought that it could be from a mummy." France's national heroine - canonised in 1920 - was convicted of heresy and witchcraft and burned alive in 1431, aged just 19. The "relics" were said to have been found at the stake in the Normandy town of Rouen where Joan was burned. Why it was done remains a mystery.
Orgasm and the brain http://www.smh.com.au/articles
Not only did the women have to stimulate themselves in the laboratory, they had to do it lying as still as possible inside a giant magnet, so their brain activity could be captured on an MRI scan. "It's just unbelievable the things they will do for science," says Professor Beverly Whipple, in a phone interview from the US.
April 4, 2007
Happy Birthday, Jennifer!
Richards 'kidding' about snorting dad's ashes http://rawstory.com/news/2007
Legendary rocker Keith Richards was joking when he claimed to have snorted his father's ashes along with cocaine, The Associated Press reports. "It was an off-the-cuff remark, a joke, and it is not true. File under April Fool's joke," said a spokesperson representing the Rolling Stones. Richards surpassed even his own hell-raising standards for shocking behaviour Wednesday, after joking he snorted his father's ashes during a cocaine-fuelled drugs binge. The Rolling Stones guitarist, infamous for his hard-living, hedonistic lifestyle, made the bizarre faux confession during an interview in which he also voiced surprise he was not already dead himself. "The strangest thing I've tried to snort? My father, I snorted my father," he told the New Musical Express (NME). "He was cremated and I couldn't resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow (cocaine). "My dad wouldn't have cared, he didn't give a shit ... It went down pretty well and I'm still alive." Richards, whose father Bert died in 2002 at the age of 84, has been notorious for his drug use since the Stones became worldwide stars in the 1960s. Despite Richards' later backtracking, the journalist who carried out the interview said the 63-year-old Stones legend had appeared sanguine when recalling the incident -- and did not appear simply to be seeking publicity ahead of a Stones world tour in June.
No more GWOT, House committee decrees http://www.militarytimes.com
The House Armed Services Committee is banishing the global war on terror from the 2008 defense budget. This is not because the war has been won, lost or even called off, but because the committee's Democratic leadership doesn't like the phrase. A memo for the committee staff, circulated March 27, says the 2008 bill and its accompanying explanatory report that will set defense policy should be specific about military operations and "avoid using colloquialisms." The "global war on terror," a phrase first used by President Bush shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S., should not be used, according to the memo. Also banned is the phrase the "long war," which military officials began using last year as a way of acknowledging that military operations against terrorist states and organizations would not be wrapped up in a few years.
Terror group's threat raises Dalai Lama alert http://www.theaustralian.news
SECURITY surrounding the Dalai Lama has been tightened after reports of an attempt by the al-Qa'ida-linked terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Toiba to assassinate the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader. A three-tier security ring has been thrown around the 72-year-old Buddhist head, who lives at Dharamsala, in the Himalayan foothills, Indian police spokesman Prem Lal said. All those approaching the exiled Tibetan chief will be closely watched by highly trained Tibetan security guards as well as heavily armed deployments of Indian police. Visitors are being body-searched before being allowed to approach him. The Dalai Lama is scheduled to make a widely anticipated 11-day visit to cities and regional centres across Australia in early June, making both free and ticketed appearances at public lectures, blessings and teaching sessions. Before that, he will visit the US. Superintendent Lal said police had been alerted by central intelligence agencies to the reported plot by Lashkar-e-Toiba to kill the Dalai Lama "on the directions of a foreign organisation", which he declined to name, but is assumed to be al-Qa'ida. In a recent document, Osama bin Laden denounced "pagan Buddhism" as part of his general attack on anything not Islamic.
Bush agrees with greenhouse gas ruling, sort of http://www.latimes.com/news
President Bush, while acknowledging Tuesday that he took "very seriously" the Supreme Court's ruling that the Environmental Protection Agency must regulate greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles as pollution, set up a potential conflict with Congress by attaching two conditions to comply with the decision. Bush said that any regulatory program should not slow economic growth, nor should its benefits to the atmosphere be offset by mounting emissions from China, India and other growing economies. Congress has been laying the groundwork for tougher regulation of greenhouse gases and Bush's stance appeared likely to retard EPA regulation of carbon dioxide and other gases that trap heat at the Earth's surface.
Rapid Dengue rise in Brazil http://news.xinhuanet.com
Around 135,000 cases of dengue fever have been registered in Brazil till March 26 this year, an increase of 50,000 from the accumulative total recorded on March 12, the Health Ministry reported on Monday. Fourteen people have died of hemorrhagic dengue, the deadliest variant of the acute, infectious tropical disease, the ministry said. In 2006, there were 346,000 dengue cases and 71 deaths in the South American country. Mato Grosso do Sul is the worst affected region, with more than55,000 cases, or 59 percent of the total. Sao Paulo, the second hardest hit, has 12,000 cases, or around 9 percent of the total. The dengue epidemic has been spreading in South America since the beginning of the year, with Brazil posting the largest number of cases. Other affected nations include Paraguay, Bolivia and Argentina.
Extreme weather continues to wreak havoc in Bolivia http://www.reliefweb.int/rw
Bolivia continues to be severely affected by a range of extreme weather conditions which have so far left 51 people dead and six people missing. Over 400,000 people have been affected. Droughts and freezes in most of the provinces in the department of Oruro, Potosà and the north of La Paz have already resulted in 9,000 families losing their harvests. However, floods have so far caused the most destruction. Most of the municipalities and towns in several departments in Beni and provinces in Cochabamba are completely flooded. In many cases communities are almost totally isolated, with no way to reach them but by boat. There is expected to be further flooding within the next few days due to water masses moving towards the north of the country. So far World Vision has distributed five tonnes of medicine worth $US1.7 million between several regions in the country. There has also been 2,000 hygienic family kits and 2,000 water tanks valued at $US21,800 distributed.
Standoff in Ukraine as prime minister defies president's order http://www.iht.com/articles
A day after President Viktor Yushchenko ordered Parliament to disband, his rival, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich, continued to defy the order on Tuesday, as Ukraine lumbered toward another political crisis. Barely two years after the street protests known as the Orange Revolution resolved a standoff over a rigged election, the president and Parliament each claimed authority Tuesday to manage elections and control government. The divisions between the two men, one a pro-Western reformer, the other favoring closer ties with Russia, reflect a wider schism in Ukrainian society, a nation of 47 million people geopolitically balanced between Russia and the West. Also at play are natural gas and oil export routes important for European energy security. Ukraine's currency was stable Tuesday but investors sold off government bonds, a sign that they think the crisis is deepening.
Solar Bursts May Threaten GPS http://www.breitbart.com
The Global Positioning System, relied on for everything from navigating cars and airplanes to transferring money between banks, may be threatened by powerful solar flares, a panel of scientists warned Wednesday. GPS receivers have become widely used in recent years, using satellite signals in navigating airplanes, ships and automobiles, and in using cell phones, mining, surveying and many other commercial uses. Indeed, banks use the system to synchronize money transfers, "so space weather can affect all of us, right down to our wallet," said Anthea J. Coster, an atmospheric scientist at the Haystack Observatory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The cause for their concern, Johnson said, was an unexpected solar radio burst on Dec. 6 that affected virtually every GPS receiver on the lighted half of Earth. Some receivers had a reduction in accuracy while others completely lost the ability to determine position, he said. Solar activity rises and falls in 11-year cycles, with the next peak expected in 2011.
Russia Challenges the U.S. Monopoly on Satellite Navigation http://www.theledger.com/apps
The days of their cold war may have passed, but Russia and the United States are in the midst of another battle — this one a technological fight over the United States monopoly on satellite navigation. By the end of the year, the authorities here say, the Russian space agency plans to launch eight navigation satellites that would nearly complete the country's own system, called Glonass, for Global Navigation Satellite System. The system is expected to begin operating over Russian territory and parts of adjacent Europe and Asia, and then go global in 2009 to compete with the Global Positioning System of the United States. Nor is Russia the only country trying to break the American monopoly on navigation technology. China has already sent up satellites to create its own system, called Baidu after the Chinese word for the Big Dipper. And the European Union has also begun developing a rival system, Galileo, although work has been halted because of doubts among the private contractors over its potential for profits. Russia's system is furthest along, paid for with government oil revenue. Sales of G.P.S. devices hit $15 billion in 2006, according to the GPS Industry Council, a Washington trade group, and is expanding at a rate of 25 to 30 percent annually.
U.S. importer says no contaminated wheat gluten from China in human food supply http://www.iht.com/articles/ap
None of the contaminated wheat gluten from China that led to the U.S. recall of pet food went to manufacturers of food for humans, the ingredient's importer said Tuesday. The Chinese wheat gluten imported by ChemNutra Inc. all went to companies that make pet foods, Stephen Miller, chief executive officer of the company, told The Associated Press. Miller declined to identify what companies ChemNutra supplied. Nearly 100 brands of cat and dog foods made with the ingredient, since found to be chemically contaminated, have been recalled.
Berlin Zoo stock rises 94% on appeal of polar bear cub http://www.iht.com/articles
Shares of the operator of the Berlin Zoo climbed 94 percent this week as investors bet that "Knut," the name of a baby polar bear rejected by his mother, would become a brand name like Paddington Bear or Winnie the Pooh. Knut, born at the zoo Dec. 5, has captivated Germany. Television news channels have documented the fluffy white cub's every move: quaffing milk from a bottle, snoozing in a hammock, snuffling up to his handlers and scampering around outdoors. His appeal was enhanced last month when Bild Zeitung, the largest German newspaper, quoted the animal rights activist Frank Albrecht as saying that the bear should be euthanized rather than be raised by humans. Though Knut was never in danger, schoolchildren wrote letters begging that he be saved. His public debut at the zoo March 23 attracted 400 visitors. "With a professional brand management, Knut's brand value would certainly amount to €10 million," or $13 million, said Björn Sander, a partner at BBDO Consulting in Düsseldorf. Shares of Zoologischer Garten Berlin, a nonprofit entity that does not pay dividends to shareholders, added 33 percent to close at €4,660 in Berlin Tuesday. The stock, which rarely trades, has rallied 112 percent this year. Volume is not huge: Only eight shares changed hands Tuesday.
Massacred for fashion - the annual slaughter of seals http://www.dailymail.co.uk
Yesterday, the world's cruellest cull once more got under way as Canadian fishermen began their annual festival of slaughter - clubbing and shooting tens of thousands of seal pups around the Gulf of St Lawrence. Yet last week, the Canadian government was busy trying to persuade the world that the hunt was humane and necessary and sustainable. An 11-strong delegation, headed by special ambassador Loyola Sullivan, travelled to the EU to plead their case, before turning up at Westminster to meet MPs. (Britain, unlike Italy, Belgium and Luxembourg, has yet to impose a ban on seal products.) Although it is true that the killing of "white coats" - newborn pups with thick, white fur - has been banned since 1983, a pup can still be slaughtered when it is only 12 days old, just as it starts to moult (these are called "ragged jackets"); or when it is a "beater" (still under four weeks old and unable to swim properly). But because the hunt is so remote, it is impossible to regulate or monitor. The atrocities that take place are almost too horrendous to document. Although some pups are shot, the vast majority are clubbed. This is because clubbing is cheaper and doesn't spoil the quality of the pelt. Even in good condition, a pelt is worth just $US 78 (£36). Yet so many are slaughtered that for the fishermen in Newfoundland, the annual cull nets £13 million. Pelts are exported to Norway, Russia, China and South Korea to be made into fashion garments that are sold all over the world. But because public hostility is growing towards the seal cull, unscrupulous dealers often deliberately mislabel seal fur, claiming it is rabbit, or even fake fur. One thing is certain: with demand for fur of all kinds running high on the back of its renewed popularity on the catwalk, the Canadian fishermen can be sure of a vibrant market for this year's "harvest" - though with pups so few in number, the competition between fishing boats will be fierce, resulting in even more frenzied killing.
April 3, 2007
Resisters withhold payment in protest of U.S. sending troops to Iraq http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin
With the tax-filing deadline just two weeks away, some Bay Area residents are using it as an opportunity to protest the war by withholding their tax dollars to fund it. Known as war tax resisters, they consider it an act of civil disobedience. Some withhold only a symbolic portion of what they owe -- $10.40, for example, to represent the 1040 tax form -- while others, like Sebastapol's Dorothy Hansen, refuse to pay anything at all. Many will redirect their tax dollars to a charity of their choice. The risks can be costly if a resister is caught. The Internal Revenue Service recently increased the penalty for people who fail to pay their taxes to $5,000 from $500. Some resisters have had their wages garnisheed or property seized. Jesse Weller, an IRS spokesman, said the agency does not keep statistics on war tax resisters and how much money goes uncollected from them every year. The National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee in New York, as well as its local affiliate, the Northern California War Tax Resistance in Berkeley, said they have no way of tracking their numbers either.
Tainted wheat gluten found in U.S. food plants http://www.iht.com/articles
The tainted wheat gluten that triggered a massive pet food recall also ended up in processing plants that prepare food consumed by people, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said. While agency leaders offered assurances Monday that the U.S. food supply remains safe, they said they cannot yet completely rule out contamination of human food by the suspect wheat gluten, which contained melamine, a chemical found in plastics and pesticides. According to import records, the wheat gluten was shipped to the United States from China between Nov. 3 and Jan. 23 and contained "minimal labeling" to indicate whether it was intended for humans or animals. The agency has banned all wheat gluten imports from the company, Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development, based in Wangdien, China. The vast majority of the contaminated gluten went to pet food manufacturers and distributors, according to the agency. But some of the processing plants that remain under agency scrutiny make both human and pet food. The food scare began early last month when cats involved in a routine Menu Foods taste trial refused to eat. Within days, the Canadian company alerted a university lab that assists with its testing that the cat food could be toxic. On March 16, Menu Foods recalled 60 million cans and pouches of wet pet food. In recent days, the recall has grown to nearly 100 brands, including food manufactured by Nestlé Purina PetCare and Del Monte Foods' pet products division, Hill's Pet Nutrition. Confused pet owners, reeling as the list of recalled products grows each day, will likely face more aftershocks. The agency is tracing the route of nearly three months' supply of the Chinese gluten in the United States, where it is used as a thickener.
Bush holds line on global warming despite ruling http://www.alertnet.org
President George W. Bush said on Tuesday he planned no new action to impose caps on greenhouse gases blamed for global warming despite the Supreme Court ruling that the Environmental Protection Agency must regulate U.S. emissions. Instead, Bush pointed to his proposal to require cars to burn more gasoline made from home-grown sources like ethanol, and repeated his long-held stance that U.S. action is meaningless without changes by China and India. Bush spoke after the highest U.S. court ruled on Monday that the Environmental Protection Agency must reconsider its 2003 refusal to regulate carbon-dioxide emissions from new cars and trucks that contribute to climate change. Bush said the 5-4 decision, with both of the president's conservative nominees voting in opposition, was "the new law of the land." The ruling could have its greatest effect in the U.S. Congress, which is considering legislation that would impose first-ever caps on U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. Bush said Congress already has a solution to global warming -- his proposal to require a five-fold increase in clean-burning fuel use by 2017, which also would reduce automobiles' carbon dioxide emissions. Bush has adamantly opposed mandatory caps -- warning they would cripple U.S. industry's ability to compete with companies like India and China, which have relied heavily on cheap, dirty coal supplies to power their factories.
Taliban deploy thousands of suicide bombers http://www.todayszaman.com/tz
Thousands of Taliban suicide bombers have been deployed across Afghanistan to attack Western troops and the government, the group's military chief said on Monday. Following last year's violence, the worst since the Taliban's ouster in 2001, this year is regarded as the crunch period both for the Taliban and US-led Western troops. Speaking to Reuters by satellite phone from an undisclosed location, Mullah Dadullah, the Taliban's military head, also said the Islamic guerrillas had the ability and the weapons to fight foreign troops for a long time. Suicide attacks, copied from militants in Iraq, increased dramatically in 2006. Close to 4,000 people, nearly a quarter of them civilians, but also including around 170 Western soldiers, hundreds of militants, Afghan troops and dozens of aid workers were killed in fighting last year. US-led forces overthrew the Taliban's Islamist government after its leadership refused to hand over Osama bin Laden following the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.
Top Russian general: U.S. attack on Iran would be 'huge mistake' http://www.haaretz.com/hasen
The head of Russia's general staff, Yuri Baluyevsky, warned the U.S. on Tuesday that a war with Iran would be "impossible to win." "Shockwaves from this attack could be felt around the world," said Baluyevksy, adding that the U.S. would not be able to defeat Iran. Unnamed Russian intelligence sources have said the U.S. may attack Iran as early as April 6. Tensions have accumulated over Washington's accusations that Tehran is building nuclear weapons, and Iran's capture of 15 British naval staff on March 23. Russia sells weapons to the Iranian military, and is building an atomic plant in Iran's southwestern port city of Bushehr. Construction of the plant is currently on hold over a payment dispute.
Iran: Russia may spur Tehran's atomic fuel work http://today.reuters.com/news
Iran said on Tuesday that if Russia does not deliver atomic fuel for the Islamic Republic's first power station the move would justify Tehran's disputed work to make its own nuclear fuel. Russia is building the atomic plant in Iran's southwestern port city of Bushehr but did not deliver fuel as planned in March because of what it says was delayed payments by Iran. Tehran has said it is up to date with its commitments. Iran's own enrichment program to make fuel for power plants is at the centre of a row with the West which believes Tehran secretly wants to enrich uranium to levels which could be used to make material for atomic bombs. Tehran denies this. "If the Russians do not want to deliver the fuel to us it will prove the issue that we should seriously follow enrichment ourselves," Gholamreza Aghazadeh, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, told reporters.
Serbia looks to Russia to block Kosovo independence http://www.gulfnews.com/world
Serb Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica is counting on Russia's help at a United Nations Security Council session today to block a plan giving independence to Serbia's breakaway province of Kosovo. Kosovo has been run by the United Nations since 1999, when Nato bombs drove out Serb forces to stop the mass killings of civilians in a counter-insurgency war. Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority says eight years of limbo has resulted in poverty and demands independence now. Serbia says it will never give up its cultural and religious heartland. Their demands are diametrically opposed and with compromise seemingly impossible, the United States and the European Union believe "supervised independence" under a European Union mission is the only way to avoid renewed violence in the Balkans. Veto holder Russia, Serbia's ally, advocates further talks between Serbia and Kosovo Albanians but has sent mixed signals as to whether it will block the plan.
China offers Sudan stronger military ties http://news.scotsman.com
China and Sudan have agreed to strengthen military ties, state media reported, underscoring the two countries' close and controversial cooperation as some Western nations seek U.N action over bloodshed in Darfur. The United States and other Western powers have sought to pressure Sudan into accepting United Nations peacekeepers to quell violence in Sudan's western province of Darfur, where government-backed militia have been fighting rebel forces. African Union forces there have failed to stop massacres. But China, which buys much of Sudan's oil and wields veto-power over U.N. resolutions, has rejected U.N forces without Khartoum's agreement. In Darfur, over 200,000 people are believed to have died and some 2.5 million have been driven from their homes into squalid camps since ethnic tensions erupted into revolt in 2003. U.N. reports on Darfur have blamed Arab militias, which they say are backed by Khartoum, for atrocities including mass rape and murder. Washington has long criticised fellow permanent Security Council member China for not using its economic sway to press Sudan to let U.N. peacekeepers deploy in Darfur. Beijing says it favours a no-strings approach to investment and aid in Africa. Sudan is the biggest target for Chinese investment in Africa, a U.N. agency reported last week.
Brussels to target Apple's iTunes site http://www.ft.com/cms/s
Apple and several big music companies are facing a European Commission antitrust probe after Brussels issued formal charges alleging that the deals underpinning the sale of music through the hugely popular iTunes platform violated competition rules. In a surprise development, the Brussels regulator last week sent a confidential statement of objections to Apple and "major record companies". These are understood to include Universal, Warner, EMI and Sony BMG. The Commission's main concern is that iTunes' set-up in the European market prohibits users in one country from downloading music from a website intended to serve another. Its move was triggered by a 2004 complaint from Which?, the UK consumer organisation, criticising the fact that the UK version of iTunes was more expensive than the version in other European markets.
Europe tops US in stock market value http://www.ft.com/cms/s
Europe has eclipsed the US in stock market value for the first time since the first world war in another sign of the slipping of the global dominance of American capital markets. The rise of the euro against the dollar, growth of east European markets such as Russia and stock market outperformance spurred by improving profitability have seen Europe close a long-held gap with the US. Ian Harnett at Absolute Strategy Research, who identified the move, said this marked a "seismic shift" in markets. European shares have outperformed the US, with their market capitalisation rising 160 per cent since the start of 2003 in dollar terms, said Thomson Financial. That compared with a 70.5 per cent rise for the US stock market. Over that time the euro has risen 26 per cent against the dollar.
Australia pleads for more babies http://www.gulfnews.com/world
The Australian government's plea for couples to have more children, with "one for mum, one for dad and one for the country," has helped slow the ageing of the nation's population, Treasurer Peter Costello said yesterday.But Australia still faced slowing economic growth and a significant budget shortfall in 40 years due to the demographic impact of the ageing population, Costello said. "Demographic changes are still working against us," Costello said in an address to the National Press Club as he released a government analysis on the impact of an ageing population. He said Australia was currently enjoying a "demographic sweet spot" with the number of working age people, or those between 15 to 64, higher than at any time in the past 40 years. But he warned the numbers were set to decline from 2010. The analysis, by a range of government agencies, said the number of Australians aged 65 or older is set to double by 2047 to 25 per cent of the population, while the number of people aged 85 or more will triple to 5.6 per cent of the population. At the same time, the number of working-age Australians is set to increase only marginally, and will fall as a proportion of the population, putting stress on the nation's health and aged care costs and leading to lower economic growth per capita.
April 2, 2007
Happy Birthday, Jeremy!
Report: US planes violate Iran airspace http://www.dailystar.com.lb
US warplanes have violated Iranian airspace in the southwestern oil-rich province of Khuzestan, Al-Alam Arabic language news satellite channel quoted a local military chief as saying on Sunday. "Two aircraft trespassed into Iranian airspace northwest of [the southwestern port city of] Abadan before flying southwest into Iraq," a local Revolutionary Guards commander in Abadan identified only as Colonel Aqili was quoted as saying on the channel's Web site. http://www.dailystar.com.lb "The planes left white vapor trails, attracting the local people's attention," he said, giving no time of the incident.
Tsunami in the Solomon Islands http://www.hindu.com/thehindu
The UN Children's Fund has pre-positioned emergency medical supplies to help thousands of people in the Solomon Islands while experts from the world body were getting ready to travel to the region to take stock of the situation in the wake of an earthquake and resulting tsunami which struck the region earlier today. An earthquake measuring 8.1 struck 345 kilometres northwest of the Solomon Islands' capital Honiara causing a tsunami and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said they caused damage on the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. Media reports put the number of deaths in the Solomon Islands at eight, though numbers are expected to increase. Some reports are claiming that villages have been "completely wiped out," OCHA said in its first situation report on the emergency. UNICEF has pre-positioned emergency medical supplies in the Solomon Islands for up to 10,000 people including 10 emergency kits, 5 'school in a box' kits and 3 recreation kits. The UNICEF Pacific Emergency Focal Point -- a member of the UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination Team -- will travel to the Islands Tuesday. The Government of the Solomon Islands is expected to make a request for international assistance, OCHA said.
Tsunami hit Africa last week, went unreported http://www.bernama.com.my
A tsunami hit the coast of the self-autonomous region of Puntland in northeast Somalia, a local official confirmed on Monday, saying three people are missing and presumed dead. Saed Waberi, the District Commissioner of Qandala said most of the fishing boats of the residents, who relied mostly on fishing for their livelihood, were swept away by the huge waves which reached half a kilometer inland on Saturday night. "People have become destitute overnight and we cannot do anything for them," Waberi told Chinese news agency Xinhua by phone from his office in Qandala. Waberi said the district hall, a hotel and other houses near the coast were destroyed by the tsunami which was believed to be the result of an earthquake whose magnitude is not clear. This is the second time that this region was hit by tsunami. In 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami disaster, nearly 300 people were killed in the Puntland coastal district of Hafun at the northern tip of Somalia.
Somalia: Earthquake, tsunami rock Puntland http://somalinet.com/news
A powerful earthquake of unknown magnitude hit a northeastern Somalia town with many people unaccounted for overnight, local official said on Sunday. The tremble rocked Qandalla town of the semi-autonomous region of Puntland in northeastern Somalia. At least eight people are missing and are feared to have died in the quake. Saed Waberi, the chairman of Qandalla said the earthquake generated a tsunami which rocked the town mid last night causing casualties. Powerful ocean waves wiped out the town destroying many fishing boats. 16 people were rescued from the waves.
Was the US Navy responsible for news blackout of Somalia tsunami? http://www.whatdoesitmean.com
Russia's Kamchatka Branch for Geophysical Survey of the Russian Academy of Science are reporting today that the India Ocean Region has been hit with a massive earthquake that they have measured as being of 7.9 Magnitude and which has caused a giant tsunami that has hit many regions of the African Continents Eastern coastal areas. To the greatest concern, however, among Russian Researchers are the growing instabilities being formed within the Great Southern Ocean that they believe are contributing to the likelihood of even more and catastrophic, earthquakes in the Pacific Ring of Fire Region. Australian Researchers are, likewise, greatly concerned about the instabilities of the Great Southern Ocean, and as we can read as reported by The Sydney Morning Herald in their article titled "Ocean's heat transfer system 'at risk'". Interesting too about this event is that the United States Military has ordered a complete media blackout of news relating to this giant earthquake and tsunami as it has also affected their massive military re-supply base in the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, and from which they are currently planning their invasion of Iran along with their British and Australian Allies.
Los Angeles suffers longest dry spell in 130 years http://rawstory.com/news/afp
Los Angeles is going through its longest dry spell in at least 130 years, the National Weather Service said Sunday, fueling fears of rampant wildfires which have plagued the US west coast in recent years. It said the southern California city had received just 2.47 inches (6.27 centimeters) of rain since July 1, 2006, far from the normal precipitation of 13.94 inches (35.4 centimeters) in the same period. The record-holder is the 2001-2002 season which saw just 4.42 inches (11.22 centimeters) of rain. Southern California is repeatedly the victim of wildfires, some of them of criminal origin like the arson-caused inferno that blazed Friday near the famed Hollywood sign in the hills overlooking Los Angeles, destroying some 150 acres (60 hectares) of brush. The worst earth-scorching year on record in the United States was in 2006, when fires burned nearly 15.5 thousand square miles (39,957 square kilometers) -- an area close to the size of Switzerland.
Top court: EPA can regulate emissions http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin
The Supreme Court ordered the federal government on Monday to take a fresh look at regulating carbon dioxide emissions from cars, a rebuke to Bush administration policy on global warming. In a 5-4 decision, the court said the Clean Air Act gives the Environmental Protection Agency the authority to regulate the emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from cars. Greenhouse gases are air pollutants under the landmark environmental law, Justice John Paul Stevens said in his majority opinion. The court's four conservative justices — Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas — dissented. he court had three questions before it.
_Do states have the right to sue the EPA to challenge its decision?
_Does the Clean Air Act give EPA the authority to regulate tailpipe emissions of greenhouse gases?
_Does EPA have the discretion not to regulate those emissions? The court said yes to the first two questions. On the third, it ordered EPA to re-evaluate its contention it has the discretion not to regulate tailpipe emissions. The court said the agency has so far provided a "laundry list" of reasons that include foreign policy considerations. The majority said the agency must tie its rationale more closely to the Clean Air Act.
Corn Plunges 5.1% as U.S. Farmers Plan Most Acres Since 1944 http://www.bloomberg.com/apps
Corn prices fell the maximum allowed by the Chicago Board of Trade after a government survey showed U.S. farmers plan to sow 15 percent more grain this spring, the most since 1944 and above analysts' estimates. Corn acres will rise to 90.4 million acres, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said. Twenty-two analysts surveyed by Bloomberg projected a gain of 12 percent to 87.9 million. Output may rise 18 percent to 12.4 billion bushels, boosting supplies of livestock feed for meat companies such as Tyson Foods Inc. and grain for ethanol maker Archer Daniels Midland Co. Corn futures for May delivery fell 20 cents, or 5.1 percent, to $3.745 on the Chicago Board of Trade, the biggest percentage drop since Aug. 11. Prices have fallen 17 percent from a 10-year high of $4.5025 on Feb. 26. They dropped 7.1 percent this week and 4 percent in the first quarter. The exchange limits daily gains and losses to 20 cents a bushel. Corn is the biggest U.S. crop, valued at a record $33.8 billion in 2006, with soybeans in second place, at $19.7 billion, government figures show.
In case you didn't already know http://www.latimes.com/news
For years, activists in the marijuana legalization movement have claimed that cannabis is America's biggest cash crop. Now they're citing government statistics to prove it. A report released today (Dec 18 '06) by a marijuana public policy analyst contends that the market value of pot produced in the U.S. exceeds $35 billion — far more than the crop value of such heartland staples as corn, soybeans and hay, which are the top three legal cash crops. California is responsible for more than a third of the cannabis harvest, with an estimated production of $13.8 billion that exceeds the value of the state's grapes, vegetables and hay combined — and marijuana is the top cash crop in a dozen states, the report states. The report estimates that marijuana production has increased tenfold in the past quarter century despite an exhaustive anti-drug effort by law enforcement.
Israel PM denies plotting with US against Iran http://rawstory.com/news/afp
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert dismissed as baseless Sunday suggestions that Israel was working with the United States in drawing up contingency plans for conflict with Iran. Olmert's comments followed a briefing given to the Israeli cabinet earlier Sunday by military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin in which he set out his assessment of the likely reactions of Iran's main regional allies, Syria and Hezbollah, to an intensifying confrontation between Tehran and Washington. Although Yadlin insisted Israel had no intention of becoming embroiled in such a conflict, he warned that any moves by the Jewish state could be wrongly interpreted by its neighbours as a sign of hostile intent. Yadlin said he was concerned that the region might inadvertently stumble into a new conflict. On Saturday, Iran's joint chief of staff warned Arab states neighbouring Israel against what he called a "Zionist suicide attack" this year. He predicted that an Israeli attack would start from Lebanon and Syria and proceed to Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
US S Korea free trade agreement http://www.playfuls.com/news
The US and South Korea have reached an agreement on free trade after 10 months of negotiations, officials confirmed Monday. The talks were extended twice since Friday and just met a deadline by the end of Sunday Washington time (0400 GMT) to comply with US Congress rules to meet a 90-day notice period. Bush's fast-track authorization for trade agreements with other countries expires July 1. With that warrant, Bush is able to sign trade pacts, which Congress then has to completely reject or approve within 90 days, but without being able to amend them. The FTA also needs to be approved by South Korea's parliament and is likely to be submitted in September. The agreement could boost US exports to South Korea by 19 billion dollars, and South Korea trade to the US by 10 billion dollars, the US International Trade Commission estimated. Major obstacles included US demands that South Korea ease customs inspection rules for beef and further open its rice market, a South Korea official said earlier this week. Other hurdles include cars and textiles, the Korean pharmaceuticals market and US anti-dumping regulations, reports said. In South Korea, farmers have objected to a further opening of the agricultural market. Especially rice has been seen as a potential deal breaker and officials said that it might be dropped from the FTA with the US. South Korea is the world's 11th-largest economy and the seventh-largest trading partner of the US. Both sides expect an FTA to boost two-way trade, which stood at more than 70 billion dollars last year.
Giuliani's wacky wife worked for dog murderers http://www.nypost.com/seven
Judith Giuliani once demonstrated surgical products for a controversial medical-supply company that used dogs - which were later killed - in operations whose only purpose was to sell equipment to doctors. "It was a horribly cruel, outrageous program," Friends of Animals President Priscilla Feral said about the demonstrations of medical staplers on dogs conducted by U.S. Surgical Corp. employees during Giuliani's tenure there in the late 1970s. Feral said U.S. Surgical's demonstrations on hundreds of dogs each year through the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s were done to boost sales, not for medical re search or testing. The dogs were "either put to death following the sales demonstrations because they can't re cover from them, or they die during them," Feral said. Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign spokesman, Michael McKeon, said of Judi Giuliani's work with U.S. Surgical, "She was in the operating room hundreds of times, using her nursing skills and training doctors in the stapling technique." Asked yesterday about the procedure being performed on dogs, McKeon said, "I've never heard any of this before." Then McKeon said he would have to ask Judi. Finally, he said only that Judi had not been involved in procuring dogs for sales demonstrations - but did not comment on whether she participated in demonstrations involving dogs. Judi Giuliani joined the company as a saleswoman in North Carolina in 1975 after spending a year working as a nurse. At age 19, she married fellow U.S. Surgical salesman Jeffrey Ross, who she only recently disclosed was the first of her three husbands. Giuliani spent four years at U.S. Surgical.
Report: Britons on CCTV 300 x daily http://www.thisislondon.co.uk
According to the latest studies, Britain has a staggering 4.2million CCTV cameras - one for every 14 people in the country - and 20 per cent of cameras globally. It has been calculated that each person is caught on camera an average of 300 times daily. This week, the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE) produced a report highlighting the astonishing numbers of CCTV cameras in the country and warned how such 'Big Brother tactics' could eventually put lives at risk. The RAE report warned any security system was 'vulnerable to abuse, including bribery of staff and computer hackers gaining access to it'. One of the report's authors, Professor Nigel Gilbert, claimed the numbers of CCTV cameras now being used is so vast that further installations should be stopped until the need for them is proven. One fear is a nationwide standard for CCTV cameras which would make it possible for all information gathered by individual cameras to be shared - and accessed by anyone with the means to do so. The RAE report follows a warning by the Government's Information Commissioner Richard Thomas that excessive use of CCTV and other information-gathering was 'creating a climate of suspicion'.
(A belated April Fools story) Underwater fence to be built between U.S., Canada http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs
April 1, 2007
Mysterious mass bee deaths now seen in UK http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/01/nbees01.xml
Devastating diseases are killing off vast numbers of bees across the country, threatening major ecological and economic problems. Honeybee colonies have been wiped out this winter at twice the usual rate or worse in some areas. The losses are the result of either Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), a disease that has already decimated bee populations in the US and parts of Europe, or a new, resistant form of Varroa destructor, a parasite that attacks bees. Experts fear that, because honeybees are responsible for 80 per cent of all pollination as they collect nectar for the hive, there could be severe ecological problems with flowers, fruit and crops failing to grow. In London, about 4,000 hives — two-thirds of the bee colonies in the capital — are estimated to have died this winter. The normal winter mortality rate is about 15 per cent. Bee-keepers in the US, Germany, Poland, Greece, Croatia, Switzerland, Italy and Portugal have also reported heavy losses.
Department of Homeland and Security wants master key for DNS http://www.heise.de/english
The US Department of Homeland Security (
DHS), which was created after the attacks on September 11, 2001 as a kind of overriding department, wants to have the key to sign the DNS root zone solidly in the hands of the US government. This ultimate master key would then allow authorities to track DNS Security Extensions ( DNSSec) all the way back to the servers that represent the name system's root zone on the Internet. The "key-signing key" signs the zone key, which is held by VeriSign. At the meeting last week of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ( ICANN) in Lisbon, Bernard Turcotte, president of the Canadian Internet Registration Authority ( CIRA) drew everyone's attention to this proposal as a representative of the national top-level domain registries ( ccTLDs). A representative of the EU Commission said that the matter is being discussed with EU member states. DNSSec is seen as a necessary measure to keep the growing number of manipulations on the net under control.Kremilin news agency RIA Novosti reports U.S. ready to strike Iran in early April http://en.rian.ru/world
Russian intelligence has information that the U.S. Armed Forces have nearly completed preparations for a possible military operation against Iran, and will be ready to strike with missiles in early April, a security official said. The source said the U.S. had already compiled a list of possible targets on Iranian territory and practiced the operation during recent exercises in the Persian Gulf. The source said the Pentagon could decide to conduct ground operations as well after assessing the damage done to the Iranian forces by its possible missile strikes and analyzing the political situation in the country following the attacks. Russian Col.-Gen. Leonid Ivashov, vice president of the Academy of Geopolitical Sciences, said last week the Pentagon was planning to deliver a massive air strike on Iran's military infrastructure in the near future. "I have no doubt there will be an operation, or rather an aggressive action against Iran," Ivashov said, commenting on media reports about U.S. planned operation against Iran, codenamed Operation Bite. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, however, was rather optimistic about the situation and said he ruled out a military resolution of the Iranian nuclear problem
US, UK Arctic Circle submarine exercises anger Russians http://www.plenglish.com
Amid great secrecy, NATO naval forces are trying to control the Arctic Ocean to continue the military bloc's expansion to Russia, local media reported on Thursday. The British Department of Defense admitted that two sailors killed and one seriously wounded in the atomic submarine Tireless were taking part in secret maneuvers under Arctic waters, the newspaper Military Industry Herald reported here. If that accident had not happened, public opinion would have never known that the British and US navies were carrying out military maneuvers under the polar caps, added the publication. Like in the tensest times of the Cold War, troops from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are trying to take control of the Arctic route, said the newspaper. The military exercises in which the two British soldiers were killed are a response to the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile by the Russian strategic submarine Yekaterinburg in the North Pole in October 2006, the source said.
'Nazi' Pope helped Jews flee Holocaust http://www.telegraph.co.uk
Pius XII, the wartime pontiff often condemned as "Hitler's Pope", was actually considered an enemy by the Third Reich, according to newly discovered documents. Several letters and memos unearthed at a depot used by the Stasi, the East-German secret police, show that Nazi spies within the Vatican were concerned at Pius's efforts to help displaced Poles and Jews. In one, the head of Berlin's police force tells Joachim von Ribbentropp, the Third Reich's foreign minister, that the Catholic Church was providing assistance to Jews "both in terms of people and financially". La Repubblica, the newspaper that discovered the papers, said they were sent to the heads of the Stasi, after the Second World War. The revelations they contain will help to clear the name of Pius XII, Eugenio Pacelli, who has long been criticised for turning a blind eye to the Holocaust. During the war, the British Foreign Office even described him as the "greatest moral coward of our age". In 1999, John Cornwell's Hitler's Pope suggested that Pius XII, who had been the papal envoy to Germany before the war, was sympathetic to the Nazis. In addition, an international Catholic-Jewish historical commission, set up by the Vatican, said it was clear that Pius knew of widespread anti-Jewish persecution. However, the commission was forced to disband before it finished its work, and one member said it had run up "against a brick wall" from the Holy See. In his defence, the Pope always maintained he did not speak out further against the Nazis for fear of putting more people in danger. Over the years more documents have come to light as the Vatican has opened its secret archives to scholars in an attempt to clear what it sees as a communist-funded smear on Pius's name. Giovanni Sale, the author of Hitler, The Holy See and the Jews, said Moscow had deliberately funded operations to discredit the Vatican after the war. "I have said for 10 years that the Church fought the Nazis on all fronts," he added.
TURKEY AGAIN REJECTS U.S. MILITARY REQUEST http://www.menewsline.com
U.S. push against Syria steps up http://www.myrtlebeachonline
The Bush administration has launched a campaign to isolate and embarrass Syrian President Bashar Assad, using parliamentary elections in late April as a lever, according to State Department officials and Syrian exiles. The campaign, which some officials fear is aimed at destabilizing Syria, has been in the works for months. It involves escalating attacks on Syria's human rights record, which is generally regarded as abysmal, as well as White House-approved support for Syrian bloggers and election monitors inside and outside the country to highlight the nation's lack of freedom, the officials and others said. The State Department in recent weeks has issued a series of rhetorical broadsides against Syria, using language harsher than that usually reserved for U.S. adversaries. On Friday, the administration criticized a planned visit there by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. "It's the new Cuba - no language is too tough," said one of the officials, who like others insisted on anonymity to discuss internal government planning. The campaign appears to fly in the face of the recommendations in December of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, which urged President Bush to engage diplomatically with Syria to stabilize Iraq and address the Arab-Israeli conflict.
China demands US scrap anti-subsidy duties http://www.dailytimes.com.pk
Beijing demanded on Saturday that the United States reverse its decision to slap anti-subsidy duties on imports of glossy paper from China. US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez announced on Friday a preliminary countervailing duty of 10.90 percent against Shandong Chenming Paper Holdings and 20.35 percent against Gold East Paper (Jiangsu) Co in a case brought last year by NewPage Corp, a Dayton, Ohio, manufacturer. US glossy paper imports from China rose to $224 million in 2006, from $29 million in 2004. NewPage is also seeking a nearly 100-percent anti-dumping duty against China. Anti-dumping duties are imposed on goods sold below fair market value, even if no subsidies are involved. The announcement put pressure on the US dollar because of concern it represented a shift to more protectionist stance. Anger over the US trade deficit with China, which hit a record $233 billion last year, has spurred demands for a tougher response to Chinese government subsidies, which many US lawmakers believe fuel that country's exports.
China finds 'world scale' oilfield http://english.aljazeera.net
China's biggest oil producer says it has discovered a massive new offshore oil field that could become the country's largest domestic petroleum source in a decade. The field in the Bohai Bay, in eastern China, could hold reserves of up to 2.2 billion barrels, the official Xinhua news agency reported. The estimated output is equivalent to 5.4 per cent of China's total crude production in 2006, the agency quoted sources with PetroChina as saying. The find comes amid intense exploration by China's oil companies, looking to reduce the country's rapidly growing dependence on foreign oil. CNOOC, another leading energy company, announced this week that it had also discovered new oil and gas fields in Bohai Bay. Economists say Chinese oil demand, driven by economic growth that reached 10.7 per cent in 2006, has strained world supplies and pushed up prices. The government is trying to improve the energy efficiency of its economy, which consumes several times more units of energy per unit of output than Japan or the US.
US Congress questions Google over maps whitewashing Katrina damage http://www.iht.com/articles/ap
A Congressional subcommittee is calling upon Google Inc. to explain why it was "airbrushing history" by replacing post-Hurricane Katrina satellite imagery on its popular map portal with images of the region as it existed before the storm destroyed neighborhoods, uprooted trees and dashed bridges. Swapping the post-Katrina images, which showed the damage that remains more than a year after the storm, for others showing an idyllic city has fueled suspicions among many locals. Citing an Associated Press report on Thursday, the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology's Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight asked Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt to elucidate why his company is using the outdated imagery. So far, it's unclear why the images were changed. Ohazama said users and governments often ask Google to update and change its imagery, but the office of New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin says it did not have a hand in the matter.
Health and happiness is all down to a roll in the dirt http://www.timesonline.co.uk
A study has found evidence that bacteria common in soil and dirt could improve people's spirits. According to the research, the action of Mycobacterium vaccae (M vaccae) on the brain is similar to that of some commonly used antidepressants. The bacterium, which is related to the microbe that causes tuberculosis, appears to work by stimulating the body's immune system. This, in turn, prompts certain cells in the brain to produce more serotonin, a hormone associated with feelings of wellbeing.The finding follows separate research by other scientists into the impact of bringing children up in "overhygienic" conditions. They found evidence that exposure to a wide range of common microbes in early life helped to promote healthy development of the immune system. Without such exposure, the immune system seems more likely to mistake the body's own cells as invaders and launch attacks on them. This could be one of the mechanisms underlying the surge in conditions such as asthma and eczema.Interest in the project arose after human cancer patients being treated with M vaccae unexpectedly reported increases in their quality of life. The study is highly unlikely to lead to new therapies for depression in the near future but it does build on the growing body of research showing the importance of the human immune system in regulating even the subtlest aspects of health.In families with several children, the youngest often has the least allergies, most likely because it picks up the elder siblings' infections so activating the child's immune system.
Bus driver faints at wheel, then teen steps in... http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg
Australian teenager Laura Simpson became a hero Thursday when she seized the wheel of a Greyhound bus full of schoolchildren after the driver passed out. It was about to crash into a dry creek bed. Laura prevented disaster as the bus started to leave the road near the rural south-eastern town of Muckadilla early Thursday morning. The driver had begun to feel faint and attempted to pull the coach over to the side of the road before he blacked out, the Australian Associated Press reported. Laura was sitting three seats behind the driver and leapt into action as the bus hit a road sign. Her mother, Mrs Megan Simpson, said she immediately grabbed the wheel and kept the bus from heading into a river ahead. She then managed to wake the driver, who eventually lifted his foot off the accelerator and pulled the bus to a halt before passing out again.
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