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Karzai unhurt after parade attack

2008-04-27T00:36:00.000-07:00

The moment when gunfire broke out at the military parade

At least one person has been killed and 11 were hurt in an attack on a military parade in Kabul attended by President Hamid Karzai and other dignitaries.

Security forces whisked Mr Karzai away from the scene and hundreds fled as shots rang out. Two MPs were reported to be among the wounded.

The parade was a celebration to mark 16 years since the overthrow of the country's Soviet-backed rule.

A spokesman for the Taleban said the movement had carried out the attack.

The attack caused panic among troops at the tightly guarded event

He said six militants had been deployed near the parade with suicide vests and guns. Three of them were killed and the other three arrested, he added.

In a live TV address after the incident, Mr Karzai confirmed that there had been arrests.

"Fortunately Afghan security forces quickly surrounded them," he said. "Some of them were captured."

"Everything is calm, rest assured."

Mr Karzai has frequently been the target of assassination attempts in recent years.

Anthem playing

The parade, in central Kabul, was part of Afghan National Day celebrations, marking the capture of Kabul from the Soviet-backed government by the mujahideen in 1992.

The national anthem was being played when the attack started.

Live TV showed President Karzai standing on a huge stage surrounded by a crowd of MPs, cabinet members, military commanders and foreign diplomats.

Automatic weapons were fired into the crowd and two people, apparently MPs, were seen slumping into their chairs.

The US and UK ambassadors and the Nato military commander were among dignitaries bundled away by security forces.

Live TV coverage of the event was cut off shortly afterwards, and the state channel switched to music.

Sirajudin, a police officer at the scene, told the Associated Press news agency he saw two people firing AK-47 assault rifles from a house toward the area of the stage.

At least one explosion followed the gunfire, and security forces returned fire.

Soldiers dressed in ceremonial garb were seen running from the scene.

The BBC's Alastair Leithead in Kabul says there was a sense of panic in the streets, with people unsure how serious the incident had been.

The event, which had been shrouded in tight security for days, was cancelled soon afterwards.

Police and army are now in control of the area.

Torch relay begins in South Korea

2008-04-27T00:35:00.000-07:00

Human rights activists staged a demonstration ahead of the torch relay

The latest leg of the Olympic torch relay is underway in South Korea with protestors vowing to disrupt its run through the capital Seoul.

The 24-km (15-mile) route from Olympic Park to City Hall will be guarded by 8,000 police officers.

Human rights groups have said thousands are preparing to protest over China's forced repatriation of North Korean refugees and its crackdown in Tibet.

Police warned anyone trying to disrupt the relay would be severely punished.

The torch arrived in South Korea from Japan, where four people were injured and five men arrested in scuffles.

More than 3,000 police could not stop Japanese nationalists and pro-Tibet activists clashing with pro-Chinese groups in the mountain resort of Nagano on Saturday.

China tries to promote itself as a civilised nation but what it's doing to [North Korean] defectors is uncivilised

Kim Sang-chul Human rights lawyer

A coalition of human rights groups in South Korea is warning of similar scenes during the relay in central Seoul.

Protesters have threatened to stop the Olympic beacon crossing one of the main river bridges in the city.

Thousands of Chinese people study or work in South Korea and many of those are expected to welcome the torch.

About 1,500 flag-waving Chinese supporters gathered at the relay's starting point, and a small group of protestors were also seen in the area.

The US embassy has cautioned its citizens in Seoul to avoid unnecessary travel during the relay, which started shortly after 1400 local time (0600 BST).

Dozens of human rights activists took part in a demonstration near the Olympic Park on Saturday ahead of the torch's arrival.

In addition to protests against the Chinese occupation of Tibet, the relay is also seen as an opportunity to raise the issue of China's policy of repatriating North Korean defectors.

Vowing to stop the march, human rights lawyer Kim Sang-chul told South Korean news agency Yonhap China had repatriated 75,000 North Koreans over the past 15 years.

As in Japan, thousands of Chinese supporters are expected to turn out

"China tries to promote itself as a civilised nation but what it's doing to the defectors is uncivilised," he said.

Security for the relay includes 120 police runners and a helicopter.

"Those who attempt to stop the relay will surely be arrested on the site and given stern punishment," a police spokesman said.

Over the following few days, the torch will stop in North Korea and Vietnam.

The BBC's John Sudworth in Seoul says the Pyongyang leg of the relay is guaranteed to be trouble-free.

North Korea tolerates no public protest and the torch will be greeted by hundreds of thousands of people in a choreographed mass display of flower-waving, he says.

Protests elsewhere on the torch's progress have turned the celebratory tour of 20 countries into what analysts describe as a public-relations disaster for Beijing.

Demonstrations in Athens, London, Paris and San Francisco have dominated media coverage of the relay.

But the flame has made relatively peaceful progress through other cities, including Bangkok in Thailand and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.

Bush pokes fun at his successors

2008-04-27T00:34:00.001-07:00

Mr Bush made a few jokes before conducting the US Marine band

US President George W Bush poked fun at his potential successors during his last White House Correspondents' Association dinner.

The president said he was surprised they were not in the audience before making jokes at their expense.

Referring to Republican candidate John McCain's absence, he said: "He probably wanted to distance himself from me."

The annual dinner dates back to 1924 and is attended by media personalities, celebrities and politicians.

President Bush also put forward mock excuses on behalf of the Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Taking a jibe at controversies which have dogged their campaigns, he said: "Hillary Clinton couldn't get in because of sniper fire and Senator Obama's at church."

He was referring to Mrs Clinton's "mis-speak" when she erroneously claimed she faced sniper fire on a trip to Bosnia in the 1990s; and Mr Obama's pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, who criticised America in fiery sermons.

The president admitted to being a "little wistful" at his final dinner, and video clips of his previous performances were broadcast.

He finished by conducting the US Marine band in a medley of patriotic marches.

Retirement plans

Mr Bush was followed by Craig Ferguson, host of US television's the Late Late Show.

Scottish-born Mr Ferguson asked Mr Bush what he was planning to do after leaving office, suggesting: "You could look for a job with more vacation time."

The president has been criticised for the amount of time he has spent away from the White House during his presidency.

Vice-President Dick Cheney, Mr Ferguson said, "is already moving out of his residence. It takes longer than you think to pack up an entire dungeon".

The White House Correspondents' Association presented its annual awards during the dinner on Saturday in front of a crowd of VIPs, including author Salman Rushdie, singer Ashlee Simpson and actors Ben Affleck and Pamela Anderson.

Mr Bush's appearance at the event continues a tradition begun by US President Calvin Coolidge in 1924.

Mugabe attacks opposition and UK

2008-04-18T18:33:00.000-07:00

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has denounced the opposition and former colonial power Britain in his first speech since the disputed elections.

"Down with thieves who want to steal our country," he told crowds marking 28 years of independence.

The outcome of the presidential poll is unclear but the high court has rejected an opposition bid to stop a recount.

Meanwhile, a Chinese ship carrying arms to Zimbabwe is reported to have left South Africa after failing to unload.

Dock workers had refused to remove the arms aboard the An Yue Jiang, which had been forced to anchor off the port of Durban for four days.

The South African Transport and Allied Workers Union said it did "not agree with the position of the government not to intervene".

Reports say the An Yue Jiang is carrying 3m rounds of ammunition, 1,500 rocket-propelled grenades and 2,500 mortar rounds.

On Thursday, Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), said South African President Thabo Mbeki needed to be "relieved of his duties" as a mediator in the crisis caused by the presidential poll, for which results have not been released.

This is the saddest independence day since our liberation from colonial rule

Morgan Tsvangirai Movement for Democratic Change

Lots of laughs, no answers

Zimbabwe victim: 'I wailed in pain'

Arms ship 'on the move'

Press split on anniversary

He also told the BBC that his party had come close to an agreement with the ruling Zanu-PF to remove Mr Mugabe from power.

Mr Tsvangirai is adamant he won the presidential election outright. But the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission says it cannot release the results until it investigates anomalies.

On Friday, the high court rejected an application by the MDC to stop a partial recount taking place this weekend.

"I find no merit in the application," said Justice Antonia Guvava. "Accordingly, the application is dismissed with costs."

The ruling paves the way for all presidential, parliamentary, senate and council votes cast in 23 out of 210 constituencies to be recounted.

A change in the parliamentary result by nine seats could see the Zanu-PF party regain its lost majority in the assembly.

In the presidential poll, government ministers suggest that a run-off may be needed, and the MDC says its activists in rural areas are being attacked ahead of that possible poll.

The independent Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights has said at least 200 people have been treated for severe injuries as a result of political violence since last month's election.

'British machinations'

Thousands of people gathered at the Gwanzura Stadium in Highfield, a suburb of Harare, to hear Mr Mugabe speak at a rally celebrating the anniversary of Zimbabwe's independence from Britain and the end of white minority rule.

The 84-year-old played a key role in the 1970s war of independence and took power as Zimbabwe's first prime minister in 1980 on a wave of popular support.

We, not the British, established democracy, based on one person, one vote

President Robert Mugabe

Why Mugabe is deaf to the West

Spreading fear in Zimbabwe

Many of those in the crowd wore T-shirts decorated with Mr Mugabe's portrait or held banners showing their support for his government's policies.

"Defending our land from imperialists," said one poster, while another claimed "Zimbabwe has no place for sell-outs."

Mr Mugabe took to the stage to rapturous applause to celebrate what he described as the day on which the "nation finally shook off the chains of British racist settler colonialism".

"Our political history is well known, yet with time, we feel more challenged to recall it, especially for those who appear ignorant of it or are deliberately engaged in reversing the gains of our liberation struggle," he said.

Mr Mugabe brushed aside criticism by the British government of Zimbabwe's human rights record and political system, saying democracy had only been established there after independence.

"We, not the British, established democracy based on one person, one vote - democracy which rejected racial or gender discrimination and upheld human rights and religious freedom," he said.

HAVE YOUR SAY

I predict that the situation will end up like Kenya. Mugabe will be encouraged by the African Union to form a national unity government

Frank Hartry, South Africa

Send us your comments

The president called on Zimbabweans "to maintain utmost vigilance in the face of vicious British machinations and the machinations of our other detractors, who are allies of Britain".

"Whereas yesterday they relied on brute force to subjugate our people and plunder our resources, today they have perfected their tactics to more subtle forms," he warned.

Mr Mugabe also said the government was attempting to deal with the hardships facing Zimbabweans, such as the shortage of food and high unemployment, which have been compounded by hyper-inflation.

'Saddest day'

On Thursday, Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa accused Mr Tsvangirai of treason and working with the UK to bring about "regime change".

Morgan Tsvangirai talks to the BBC

The state-controlled Herald newspaper paper said the details were contained in a "memorandum of understanding" between the MDC leader and "various right-wing groups" in Zimbabwe and South Africa.

The UK embassy in Harare said the correspondence was "a forgery". Mr Tsvangirai also rejected the treason allegations, describing Mr Chinamasa as an "injustice minister" because he had lost his seat in parliament.

At a news conference in Johannesburg, Mr Tsvangirai said Zimbabwe was facing "the saddest independence day since our liberation from colonial rule" and that people were literally starving.

Later, Mr Tsvangirai told the BBC of the near-agreement between the MDC and Zanu-PF that would have removed President Mugabe.

"We were prepared to consider the issue of an inclusive government including some members of Zanu-PF," he said.

"In fact they were suggesting how many and they were talking about a panel from which we were going to choose."

The government talks failed when it became clear there were "others in the establishment who did not want to accept that", he said.

Pope urges global unity on crises

2008-04-18T18:32:00.000-07:00

Pope Benedict XVI visited a synagogue in Manhattan's Upper East Side

The head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI, has told the UN in New York that member states should solve the world's crises together.

Benedict XVI, the third pope to address the UN, said the world was still subject to "the decisions of a few", without naming countries.

He urged states to protect their people from "grave and sustained" human rights abuses or face outside intervention.

The Pope later visited a synagogue as part of his six-day US tour.

Pope Benedict visited Park East synagogue, just hours before the start of the Jewish Passover, becoming the first leader of the Roman Catholic church to visit a Jewish place of worship in the US.

His agenda in New York, his last stop before returning to Rome, also includes visiting Ground Zero and celebrating Mass at Yankee Stadium.

'Decisions of a few'

The UN speech was rather theoretical, reports the BBC's David Willey, who is travelling with the Pope during his visit, with the pontiff referring to no countries by name.

Pope Benedict XVI speaking to the UN General Assembly

"Every state has the primary duty to protect its own population from grave and sustained violations of human rights," the Pope said.

"If states are unable to guarantee such protection, the international community must intervene with the juridical means provided in the United Nations Charter and in other international instruments."

The real harm, he said, came from indifference or non-intervention.

Rules, the Pope argued, did not limit freedom but promoted it when they prohibited conduct and actions against the common good.

Multilateral consensus, he said, was "in crisis because it is still subordinated to the decisions of a few, whereas the world's problems call for interventions in the form of collective action".

Talking about war, the pontiff called for "a deeper search for ways of pre-empting and managing conflicts by exploring every possible diplomatic avenue".

Attention and encouragement should be given to "even the faintest sign of dialogue or desire for reconciliation".

In a separate speech to UN staff, Pope Benedict praised their work, saying their dedication was never sufficiently acknowledged.

Addressing abuse

Pope Benedict later paid a visit to the Park East synagogue, in Manhattan's Upper East Side, where he was met by chief rabbi Arthur Schneier.

The pontiff said the Jewish community made "a valuable contribution" to life in New York city.

"And I encourage all of you to continue building bridges of friendship with all the many different ethnic and religious groups present in your neighbourhood," he added.

POPE'S ITINERARY

15 Apr: Arrived at Andrews Air Force Base

16 Apr: White House luncheon; talks with Mr Bush. Meeting with US bishops and prayer service in Washington (evening)

17 Apr: Washington Mass; addressed Catholic University; interfaith meeting

18 Apr: Addresses UN

19 Apr: New York Mass at St Patrick's Cathedral

20 Apr: Ground Zero visit; Yankee Stadium Mass

In pictures: Papal Mass

Pope's tour: Reporter's diary

Latinos welcome Pope's words

Pope Benedict then attended an evening ecumenical service with Protestant and Orthodox clergy at St Joseph's church in Manhattan.

Celebrating open-air Mass at the Nationals stadium in Washington DC on Thursday, the Pope spoke of the sexual abuse of children by US Catholic clergy before talking privately to a group of people who had been abused by priests.

The Pope, who was addressing 40,000 people, told the victims he would pray for them and their families.

He spent 25 minutes in individual meetings with half a dozen victims, some of whom were in tears during the encounters, a spokesman said.

During the open-air Mass, the pontiff said: "No words of mine can describe the pain and the harm inflicted by the sexual abuse of minors."

Efforts to protect children had to continue, he said.

Our correspondent says that for the third time in as many days, the pontiff has done what many Catholics have been asking for years.

He has condemned and publicly accepted full responsibility for the crimes of sexual abuse committed by Catholic priests in the US.

On Wednesday, the pontiff met President George W Bush at the White House.

Carter in Hamas 'ceasefire call'

2008-04-18T18:26:00.000-07:00

Jimmy Carter met the Syrian president before his talks with Hamas

Former US President Jimmy Carter has held talks with exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in Syria despite US and Israeli opposition.

Hamas spokesmen said Mr Carter had asked for it to stop rocket attacks on Israel and to enter talks for the release of an Israeli captive.

They said any truce must be two-way and there would be a "price" for freeing Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

Mr Carter earlier met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Gaza boycott

Mr Carter has said he is not trying to mediate in the Arab-Israeli conflict, but believes peace will not be achieved without talking to Hamas and Syria.

Israel, the US and the European Union all refuse to deal with the group directly and pursue policies to isolate it.

A spokesman for US President George W Bush described the meeting as "not wise", and said it had given Hamas a credibility it does not deserve.

Mr Carter, awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, brokered the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty, the first between Israel and an Arab state.

Khaled Meshaal has said Hamas wants a mutual ceasefire

He made no comment after the meeting.

But leading Hamas political bureau figure, Mohammed Nazzal, told reporters: "Carter suggested a truce and that Hamas should stop its rockets against Israel.

"We support a truce, but Israel should support it too."

One senior Hamas official in Damascus told Associated Press news agency Mr Carter had also asked Hamas to agree to a meeting with Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Eli Yishai to discuss a prisoner exchange for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

Mr Nazzal would only say that Hamas leaders were to meet later to discuss the fate of Cpl Shalit, who was captured by Hamas in a raid into Israel from Gaza two years ago.

"They will discuss details related to the price and mechanisms for his release, which will not happen without a price," Mr Nazzal said.

Arab initiative

Hamas gunmen seized control of Gaza in June last year from their rival Palestinian faction Fatah, which has been left in control of the West Bank.

An Israeli boycott of Gaza has isolated the small territory and further deepened the poverty of its 1.4 million residents.

Mr Meshaal has said that Hamas accepts and supports an Arab peace initiative, which offers peace and recognition to Israel in return for a full withdrawal from the land captured in 1967 in the West Bank, the dismantling of Jewish settlements and the establishment of a Palestinian state with a capital in east Jerusalem.

He says Hamas wants a mutual ceasefire, that would also include the West Bank and which would reopen Gaza's borders - but anything else would be Israel dictating a Palestinian "surrender".

'Risk of misrepresentation'

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and other senior Israeli officials earlier snubbed a meeting with Mr Carter, saying to meet him would create the impression of negotiating with Hamas.

Mr Yishai, however, told Mr Carter he was willing to meet Hamas representatives - including Mr Meshaal - for talks to discuss the release of Cpl Shalit.

Such a meeting involving Mr Yishai - the leader of the orthodox Shas party - would be against Israeli government policy. Shas is an important member of the governing coalition in Israel, holding four cabinet posts.

Washington has played down Mr Carter's trip, saying he is acting in a personal capacity and that there is "some risk" that his talks with Hamas "will be misrepresented" by the group.

Syrian state news agency Sana said Mr Carter and Mr Assad had discussed the peace process and ties between the two countries.

After Syria, Mr Carter is due to travel to Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

Zimbabwe party 'was offered deal'

2008-04-17T20:20:00.000-07:00

Morgan Tsvangirai talks to the BBC

Zimbabwe's opposition leader says his party came close to an agreement with the ruling Zanu-PF to remove President Robert Mugabe from power.

Morgan Tsvangirai said his MDC party was approached by presidential envoys about a possible unity government the day after the disputed election.

The talks broke down after a few days, Mr Tsvangirai told the BBC.

On Friday President Mugabe is expected to make his first major speech since last month's elections.

He will speak at celebrations in the capital Harare to mark 28 years since independence from Britain and the end of white minority rule.

Meanwhile, South Africa has said it won't stop a shipment of weapons from China being transported across its territory to Zimbabwe.

Reports say a Chinese cargo ship anchored off the South African port of Durban is carrying 3m rounds of ammunition and 1,500 rockets.

Unity government talks

In an interview with the BBC's Alan Little, Mr Tsvangirai said the MDC had been "absolutely" prepared to give Zanu-PF officials, including Mr Mugabe, guarantees that they would not be prosecuted by the proposed government of national unity.

Hundreds of opposition supporters have been displaced in Zimbabwe

"We were prepared to consider the issue of an inclusive government including some members of Zanu PF," he said.

"In fact they were suggesting how many and they were talking about a panel from which we were going to choose."

The unity government talks failed when it became clear there were "others in the establishment who did not want to accept that".

The MDC leader also hinted that, if he comes to power, he could put Mr Mugabe on trial for his attempts to "suppress the people" who voted against him, despite previously saying there should be no "witch hunt" against the president.

He told the BBC he had to "revisit" this policy and that Mr Mugabe could be tried by "the national courts" or a proposed "justice and truth commission".

Mr Tsvangirai remains adamant he won the 29 March presidential election outright.

But the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission says it cannot release the results until it investigates anomalies - a partial recount takes place this weekend.

'Orgy of violence'

Earlier, the MDC leader had told a news conference in Johannesburg that South African President Thabo Mbeki "needs to be relieved of his duties" as a mediator in the crisis.

Mr Mbeki should be replaced by Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, Mr Tsvangirai said.

Mr Mugabe had "unleashed an orgy of violence against the people", Mr Tsvangirai said.

"As I speak, our people are being murdered, homes burned, children molested, women raped," he said.

Mr Tsvangirai also said he planned to return to Zimbabwe from his current base in Botswana but would not give a timeframe.

"I am not in exile. I am going back to Zimbabwe. I have not run away from the people. I am with them in the struggle," he said.

Arms shipment

Despite increasing concerns of violence in Zimbabwe, South African officials have said they can do nothing to prevent a Chinese shipment of arms from being delivered to the land-locked country.

The An Yue Jiang is reportedly laden with ammunition, mortars and rockets.

The An Yue Jiang, which is anchored just outside Durban harbour, is reportedly carrying nearly three million rounds of ammunition, about 3,500 mortars, and 1,500 rockets destined for Harare.

The South African newspaper Beeld said it had a copy of the ship's cargo inventory which was finalised three day's after Zimbabwe's disputed election.

Mr Tsvangirai described the import of arms rather than food for needy Zimbabweans as "disgusting".

"It only shows the warped nature of the priorities of this regime: that they are more preoccupied with the defence-power project than anything else," he said.

South African officials have told the BBC they cannot interfere in a trade deal between two nations but only ensure proper procedures were followed.

'Abomination'

President Mbeki has defended his "quiet diplomacy" policy on Zimbabwe at the UN in New York, saying dialogue was essential.

It is clear from the correspondence that Tsvangirai along with Brown are seeking regime change in Zimbabwe

Patrick Chinamasa, Zimbabwe Justice Minister

On Thursday, South Africa, the G8 group of major industrialised countries, the European Union and the US urged Zimbabwe's electoral commission to release the presidential election results.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Zimbabwe had become an "abomination".

"It's time for Africa to step up," she said. "Where is the concern from the African Union and from Zimbabwe's neighbours about what is going on in Zimbabwe?"

Zimbabwe's government has meanwhile stepped up its campaign against Mr Tsvangirai, with Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa accusing him of working with Britain to bring about "regime change".

The state-controlled Herald newspaper accused Mr Tsvangirai of approaching the UK government to discuss possible military intervention.

The Herald said it had details of a letter from UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown to Mr Tsvangirai assuring him London would impose more sanctions on Zimbabwe.

"It is clear from the correspondence that Tsvangirai along with Brown are seeking regime change in Zimbabwe... This is treasonous," Mr Chinamasa is quoted as saying.

The UK embassy in Harare said the correspondence was "a forgery". Mr Tsvangirai also rejected the treason allegations, describing Mr Chinamasa as an "injustice minister" because he had lost his seat.

UN warns Pakistan on refugee plan

2008-04-17T20:17:00.000-07:00

Some refugees have already returned

Pakistan needs to revise a plan to repatriate 2.4 million Afghan refugees by the end of 2009, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has said.

Kilian Kleinschmidt, UNHCR assistant representative in Pakistan, told the Associated Press news agency the plan was unworkable and could backfire.

Pakistan said it still hopes most of the refugees will return by the end of next year.

It says Taleban militants blamed for attacks often shelter in refugee camps.

The UNHCR has already agreed to Pakistan's plan to shut down four camps that Islamabad says pose a security threat.

Many of the refugees fled during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s.

Most live in towns or cities, rather than camps.

Pakistan announced the plan to repatriate the refugees early in 2007, when relations with Afghanistan were particularly tense.

Repatriations are supposed to be voluntary, but many refugees say they do not want to return.

Mr Kleinschmidt told AP that the plan needed to be "revised and reviewed".

Refugees who were repatriated would likely go back to Pakistan as illegal immigrants, he said.

"It could even push a number of these returnees into the hands of militants. It could be counterproductive and really affect regional stability," he added.

But Pakistan's commissioner for Afghan refugees, Imran Zeb Khan, said his country should not have to "carry the burden" of the refugees alone, and would still try to get close to its target for 2009.

"We will give it our best shot," he said.

Millions of Afghan refugees have already returned from Pakistan, Iran and other countries since the fall of the Taleban in 2001.

Elderly US pair murdered homeless

2008-04-17T20:15:00.000-07:00

Golay drugged her victims before driving a car over their bodies

Two elderly women have been convicted over the murder of two homeless men in an attempt to collect $2.8m (£1.4m) in life insurance.

Helen Golay, 77, and Olga Rutterschmidt, 75, befriended the men from around Los Angeles, put them up in flats and took out insurance policies.

The two men were then drugged and killed in staged road accidents.

A jury found both women guilty of murder and conspiracy to murder. They face life in prison without parole.

Kenneth McDavid, 50, was found dead in the Westwood area of Los Angeles in June 2005. Paul Vados, 73, died in Hollywood in 1999.

Golay was found guilty of murdering both men for financial gain, and Rutterschmidt of murdering Mr McDavid.

The Los Angeles jury remained deadlocked on Thursday on murder and conspiracy charges against Rutterschmidt relating to the death of Mr Vados.

They will reconvene to attempt to reach a verdict on Monday on those charges.

Charges pending

The women, who had been friends for 20 years, were arrested in May 2006.

They made a profit on the lives of men who were homeless and destitute

Deputy district attorney Truc Do

On Thursday, the judge had ordered lawyers for the defence and prosecution to restate their arguments after the jury failed to reach verdicts on murder charges against Rutterschmidt.

Deputy district attorney Truc Do told the jury the 75-year-old was no pawn in the killings, but rather "fully capable of heading this scheme on her own".

"Golay is not the mastermind of this scheme," he said. "They are 50-50 partners."

Describing the murders, Mr Do had said earlier: "The victim would always be run over - crushed to death - in an alley with no witnesses... it always looked like it was a hit-and-run accident."

Forgotten people

During the four-week trial, Mr Do said the women had found the men in a homeless shelter at a Hollywood church, provided them with apartments and supported them for two years - while taking out multiple life insurance policies on them - before killing them.

You were greedy. That's the problem

Olga Rutterschmidt

Mr Do said the two-year timescale was important, as it was the length of time it would take to make the insurance policies incontestable.

He described the men as "forgotten" people, with no relatives likely to come forward to contest the insurance policies taken out by Golay and Rutterschmidt.

"They made a profit on the lives of men who were homeless and destitute," he said

Prosecutors played jurors excerpts from a secretly recorded conversation between the two women shortly after their arrest.

Rutterschmidt is heard telling Golay: "You were greedy. That's the problem."

Golay replies: "Be quiet. Don't say anything."

China 'now top carbon polluter'

2008-04-14T18:13:00.000-07:00

China 'now top carbon polluter'
By Roger Harrabin BBC Environment analyst

Researchers say China needs to radically change its policies

China has already overtaken the US as the world's "biggest polluter", a report to be published next month says.

The research suggests the country's greenhouse gas emissions have been underestimated, and probably passed those of the US in 2006-2007.

The University of California team will report their work in the Journal of Environment Economics and Management.

They warn that unchecked future growth will dwarf any emissions cuts made by rich nations under the Kyoto Protocol.

The team admit there is some uncertainty over the date when China may have become the biggest emitter of CO2, as their analysis is based on 2004 data.

Until now it has been generally believed that the US remains "Polluter Number One".

Provincial data

Next month's University of California report warns that unless China radically changes its energy policies, its increases in greenhouse gases will be several times larger than the cuts in emissions being made by rich nations under the Kyoto Protocol

The researchers say their figures are based on provincial-level data from the Chinese Environmental Protection Agency.

The only solution is for a massive transfer of technology and wealth from the West

Dr Max Auffhammer, Lead researcher

They say analysis of the 30 data points is more informative about likely future emissions than national figures in wider use because it allows errors to be tracked more closely.

They believe current computer models substantially underestimate future emissions growth in China.

We are awaiting a formal comment from the UK Chinese Embassy, but Dr Max Auffhammer, the lead researcher, said his projections had been presented widely and no-one had raised a serious complaint.

All those concerned about climate change agree that China's emissions are a problem - including China itself.

But China and many other developing countries struggling to tackle poverty are adamant that any negotiated emissions reductions should not be absolute, but relative to a "business-as-usual" scenario of projected growth.

That is why this study is of more than academic interest.

'Truly shocking'

If it becomes widely accepted that China's future emissions are likely to be much higher than previously estimated, that will have to factored into any future global climate agreement if the Chinese are to be persuaded to take part.

In brief, although this study looks bad for China's reputation, it may be good for China's negotiating position.

The new research suggests China's emissions were underestimated

The Chinese - and the UN - insist that rich countries with high per capita levels of pollution must cut emissions first, and help poorer countries to invest in clean technology.

America's per capita emissions are five to six times higher than China's, even though China has become the top manufacturing economy.

US emissions are still growing too, though much more slowly.

Dr Auffhammer told BBC News that his projections had made an assumption that the Chinese government's recent aggressive energy efficiency programme would fail, as the previous one had failed badly.

"Our figures for emissions growth are truly shocking," he said.

"But there is no sense pointing a finger at the Chinese. They are trying to pull people out of poverty and they clearly need help.

"The only solution is for a massive transfer of technology and wealth from the West."

He acknowledged that this eventuality was unlikely.

Those scientists aspiring to stabilise global emissions growth before 2020 to prevent what they believe may be irreversible damage to the climate may be wondering how this can possibly be achieved.

World Bank echoes food cost alarm

2008-04-13T19:02:00.002-07:00

Mr Zoellick called for a "new deal" to help ward off a food crisis

The rapid rise in food prices could push 100m people in poor countries deeper into poverty, the head of the World Bank, Robert Zoellick, has said.

His warning follows that from the leader of the International Monetary Fund, who said hundreds of thousands of people are at risk of starvation.

Mr Zoellick proposed an action plan to boost long-run agricultural production.

There have been food riots recently in a number of countries, including Haiti, the Philippines and Egypt.

"Based on a rough analysis, we estimate that a doubling of food prices over the last three years could potentially push 100 million people in low-income countries deeper into poverty," Mr Zoellick said.

His proposal for a "new deal" to tackle the international food crisis was endorsed by the World Bank's steering committee of finance and development ministers at a meeting in Washington.

The World Bank and its sister organisation, the IMF have held a weekend of meetings that addressed rising food and energy prices as well as the credit crisis upsetting global financial markets.

Spiralling inflation

Food prices have risen sharply in recent months, driven by increased demand, poor weather in some countries that has ruined crops and an increase in the use of land to grow crops for transport fuels.

GLOBAL FOOD PRICE RISES

Wheat: 130%

Soya: 87%

Rice: 74%

Corn: 31%

Time: Year to March 2008 Source: Bloomberg

Food costs: facts & figures

The price of staple crops such as wheat, rice and corn have all risen, leading to an increase in overall food prices of 83% in the last three years, the World Bank has said.

The sharp rises have led to protests and unrest in many countries, including Egypt, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, the Philippines and Indonesia.

In Haiti, protests last week turned violent, leading to the deaths of five people and the fall of the government.

In the capital, Port-au-Prince, a UN peacekeeper from Nigeria was fatally shot on Saturday.

'Hungry mouths'

Restrictions on rice exports have been put in place in major producing countries such as India, China, Vietnam and Egypt.

Importers such as Bangladesh, the Philippines and Afghanistan have been hit hard.

"We have to put out money where our mouth is now so that we can put food into hungry mouths," Mr Zoellick said. "It's as stark as that."

He called for more aid to provide food to needy people in poor countries and help for small farmers. He said the World Bank was working to provide money for seeds for planting in the new season.

He also urged wealthy donor countries to quickly fill the World Food Programme's estimated $500m (£250m) funding shortfall.

Mr Zoellick's "New Deal for Global Food Policy" also seeks to boost agricultural policy in poor countries in the longer-term.

On Saturday, the head of the IMF, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, warned of mass starvation and other dire consequences if food prices continue to rise sharply.

"As we know, learning from the past, those kind of questions sometimes end in war," he said.

He said the problem could lead to trade imbalances that may eventually affect developed nations, "so it is not only a humanitarian question".

Dems put faith front-and-center on the campaign trail

2008-04-13T19:02:00.001-07:00

(CNN) -- In a forum airing on CNN, Hillary Clinton again criticized recent comments made by Barack Obama, saying "the characterization of people in a way that really seemed to be elitist and out of touch is something that we have to overcome."

At a religion forum Sunday, Sen. Hillary Clinton renewed criticism of a comment from her Democratic rival.

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The two Democratic presidential hopefuls are being questioned separately in a forum on faith and politics airing tonight on CNN. Sen. Clinton won a coin toss and chose to be questioned first. Her first question concerned recent controversial comments made by Sen. Obama.

Last Sunday, Obama said some small-town Pennsylvanians are "bitter" people who "cling to guns and religion." On Saturday, he further explained those comments.

Obama said he regretted offending anyone with his wording. "The underlying truth of what I said remains, which is simply that people who have seen their way of life upended because of economic distress are frustrated, and rightfully so," he told a North Carolina newspaper.

Clinton, speaking in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Saturday, said she was "taken back" by what she referred as "demeaning remarks" about "small-town" Americans.

"Sen. Obama's remarks are elitist and out of touch. They are not reflective of values and beliefs of Americans, certainly not the Americans I know, not the Americans I grew up with, not the Americans I lived with in Arkansas or represent in New York," the senator from New York said.

Faith and politics

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama face the hard questions on faith and politics. 8 p.m. ET, Sunday

see full schedule »

Obama's campaign would take issue with Clinton's assertion. It has sent out literature that describes him as a "committed Christian," relates his first religious experience and pictures him at a pulpit, in front of a cross.

So which Democrat has been winning the battle for religious voters? God only knows.

So far this year, Clinton has maintained an edge among Roman Catholics, many of them the Hispanic and working-class white voters who have been among the most loyal members of her base.

Thanks in large part to that support, many surveys had also given her a slight edge over Barack Obama among white Democratic voters who attended church of any kind regularly.

But in exit polls, the category of regular church-goers -- those who attend services once a month or more -- were more likely to choose Obama. That category in many states was dominated by African-Americans, who have overwhelmingly backed the Illinois senator's candidacy.

For years, the evangelical community has largely supported Republican presidential candidates.

Don't Miss

Conservative Christian activists, drawn by the party's stands on abortion, gay marriage and other social issues, have been among the GOP's most reliable foot soldiers. Watch how faith is playing into the election »

But this year, evangelical leaders have split over presumptive Republican nominee John McCain, who is struggling to mend fences with some evangelical luminaries like James Dobson who have expressed disappointment with his selection.

During the primary season, former Baptist minister Mike Huckabee appealed directly to evangelicals as one of their own -- but in opinion polls conducted early in the primary season, those voters preferred either Democrat to the former Arkansas governor.

Last summer, in one of the first Democratic events of its kind, the party's leading presidential candidates discussed their faith and how it has spared their policy positions in a forum co-sponsored by CNN.

Tonight, after a tumultuous campaign season where religion -- both rumor and reality -- has had a starring role, Clinton and Obama, again venture onto terrain that has been dominated by Republican candidates. The pair are discussing faith, politics and policy tonight on CNN at a forum co-sponsored by Faith in Public Life. The event, which began at 8 p.m. ET, is in progress.

Clinton's problem was crystallized in a March editorial in Christianity Today, titled "Hating Hillary: Getting to the bottom of a cultural trend that has seeped into the church."

Obama's campaign has been plagued by false rumors that he is a Muslim, and controversial remarks by his former minister, Jeremiah Wright.

Clinton has told interviewers that she has felt the presence of the Holy Spirit on many occasions, and that she believes the resurrection of Christ is a historical fact; Obama regularly mentions his faith in his stump speech, and has made religion a major element of his appeal in many states.

Kenya unveils coalition cabinet

2008-04-13T19:00:00.000-07:00

Mr Kibaki called for politics to be set aside

Kenya's president has announced a new power-sharing cabinet following a deal with the opposition to end the long-running political crisis.

President Mwai Kibaki named opposition leader Raila Odinga as the new prime minister, after the pair agreed the deal on Saturday in secret talks.

The crisis was sparked by presidential elections in December that triggered violence in which 1,500 people died.

The deal overcame a row over how the cabinet posts would be divided.

International pressure

Mr Kibaki said in a live televised speech alongside Mr Odinga: "My challenge to the new cabinet members and the entire national leadership at all levels is: let us put politics aside and get to work."

KEY CABINET POSTS

Prime Minister: Raila Odinga

Vice-President and Home Affairs: Kalonzo Musyoka

Finance Minister: Amos Kimunya

Deputy PM and Trade: Uhuru Kenyatta

Deputy PM and Local Government: Musalia Mudavadi

Agriculture Minister: William Ruto

Deal draws Kenya back from brink

He added: "Let us build a new Kenya where justice is our shield and defender, and where peace, liberty and plenty will be found throughout our country."

Two deputy prime ministers were named - Uhuru Kenyatta of Mr Kibaki's Party of National Unity and Musalia Mudavadi of Mr Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement.

Mr Kenyatta is the son of Kenya's first president, Jomo Kenyatta.

Finance Minister Amos Kimunya remains in his post and the opposition's William Ruto becomes agriculture minister.

A total of 40 posts were named in an even split between the opposition and the PNU and its allies.

Some lobbyists had argued Kenya could not afford so many posts.

The violence left about 600,000 people displaced

The BBC's Adam Mynott in Nairobi says that with the exception of local government the key posts remain with President Kibaki's close followers.

Although the administration is very large, he says many Kenyans will breath a collective sigh of relief that perhaps the country can now move forward.

The cabinet will work on framing a new constitution over the next year that will tackle long-standing grievances over land, wealth and power.

The two leaders had come under intense international pressure to achieve a breakthrough.

The deal on power-sharing had been brokered by former UN secretary general Kofi Annan in February and a cabinet was scheduled to be announced on 6 April.

But the talks seemed to break down this week as Mr Odinga held out for the 50-50 split in cabinet posts he said he was promised by the accord.

In addition to those who died in the post-poll violence, another 600,000 were displaced in January and February.

Many thousands have yet to return to their homes.

Mr Odinga had accused Mr Kibaki of rigging the tightly fought 27 December presidential vote.

Dhaka-Calcutta train link resumes

2008-04-13T18:59:00.000-07:00

More Bangladeshis than Indians are expected to use the service

The passenger train service between Calcutta in India and the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka, is resuming after an absence of more than 40 years.

The service was suspended in 1965 following that year's war between India and Pakistan, of which Bangladesh was the eastern province.

Bangladesh gained independence in 1971 but the two countries only agreed to resume the train link in 2001.

The train has been dubbed the Maitreyi, or Friendship, Express.

One service is leaving Dhaka on Bengali New Year's Day on Monday for the inaugural 500km (310 mile) run to Calcutta, with another train running in the opposite direction.

The direct bus to Dhaka is expensive, air travel is beyond my reach, but the train should be fine

Rakhal Das, Calcutta

In pictures: New rail link

Bangladesh and India's West Bengal state used to form united Bengal and many people on both sides of the border share a common language and have relatives on the other side.

With one-way tickets starting from $8 (£4), it is expected to be popular with Bangladeshis visiting family, looking for work, shopping or seeking medical treatment in their wealthier neighbour.

One man in Calcutta, however, is hoping to return to Dhaka after leaving the city on what turned out to be the last train out in 1965, when he was nine years old.

"The direct bus to Dhaka is expensive, air travel is beyond my reach, but the train should be fine," Rakhal Das, now 54, told the BBC.

Bilateral relations were dogged by suspicion and rivalry for many years even though India helped Bangladesh win its independence from Pakistan, says our correspondent.

"The agreement will strengthen bilateral relations and provide an alternative mode of passenger transport," an Indian government statement said.

Disagreements over security arrangements delayed the implementation of the rail link after the two countries signed an agreement in 2001.

A passenger coach and freight trains already run between the two countries.

Bush greeting pope in big way

2008-04-13T18:58:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The leader of the world's 1 billion Roman Catholics has been to the White House only once in history.

American and Holy See flags fly during the pope's address Sunday at St. Peter's Square in Vatican City.

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more photos »

That changes this week, and President Bush is pulling out all the stops: driving out to a suburban military base to meet Pope Benedict XVI's plane, bringing a giant audience to the South Lawn and hosting a fancy East Room dinner.

These are all firsts.

Bush has never before given a visiting leader the honor of picking him up at the airport. In fact, no president has done so at Andrews Air Force Base, the typical landing spot for modern leaders.

A crowd of up to 12,000 is due at the White House on Wednesday morning for the pope's official, pomp-filled arrival ceremony. It will feature the U.S. and Holy See anthems, a 21-gun salute, and the U.S. Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps. Both men will make remarks before their Oval Office meeting and a send-off for his popemobile down Pennsylvania Avenue.

The White House crowd will be the largest of Bush's presidency. It even beats the audience last spring for Queen Elizabeth II, which numbered about 7,000.

The evening festivities will mark the first time the Bushes have put on a high-profile meal in honor of someone who isn't even a guest. Wednesday is the pontiff's 81st birthday, and the menu celebrates his German heritage with Bavarian-style food.

But Benedict's prayer service that evening with U.S. bishops at a famed Washington basilica preclude him from coming to the dinner, according to the White House. Catholic leaders will be there instead.

The president explained the special treatment -- particularly the airport greeting.

Don't Miss

"One, he speaks for millions. Two, he doesn't come as a politician; he comes as a man of faith," Bush told the EWTN Global Catholic Network in an interview aired Friday. He added that he wanted to honor Benedict's conviction that "there's right and wrong in life, that moral relativism has a danger of undermining the capacity to have more hopeful and free societies."

President Carter hosted the first White House by a pope. Pope John Paul II was greeted at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington by Vice President Walter Mondale. His stay at the White House featured 10,000 guests -- split between separate arrival and departure ceremonies on the North and South Lawns.

The Bush-Benedict get-together will be the 25th meeting between a pope and a sitting president.

The first did not come until shortly after the end of World War I, when Woodrow Wilson was received at the Vatican by Pope Benedict XV in 1919. The next wasn't for 40 more years, when President Eisenhower saw Pope John XXIII in Rome.

Since then, such audiences have become a must-do. Every president has met with the pope at least once, often more. This week makes Bush the record-holder, with a total of five meetings with two popes.

There are more than 64 million reasons for this. Catholics number nearly one-quarter of the U.S. population, making them a desirable constituency for politicians to court. Watch an analyst discuss the significance of the pope's visit »

"The pope represents not just the Catholic Church but the possibility of moral argument in world affairs and it is very important for American presidents to rub up against that from time to time," said George Weigel, a Catholic theologian and biographer of Pope John Paul II.

The Vatican -- seat of a government as well as a religious headquarters -- has an interest, too.

"It wants to be a player in world affairs, and everyone understands that to do that you have to be in conversation with the United States," said John Allen, the Vatican correspondent for the independent National Catholic Reporter.

On social issues such as abortion, gay marriage and stem cell research, Bush and Benedict have plenty of common ground.

But they disagree over the war in Iraq, just as Bush did with Benedict's predecessor, John Paul.

When Benedict was a cardinal before the 2003 invasion, the now-pontiff categorically dismissed the idea that a preventive strike against Iraq could be justified under Catholic doctrine. In his Easter message last year, Benedict said "nothing positive comes from Iraq."

Benedict told Bush at their first meeting last summer at the Vatican that he was concerned about "the worrisome situation in Iraq." Bush characterized the pontiff's concerns as mostly limited to the treatment of the Christian minority in Muslim-majority Iraq. The statement out of the Vatican suggested a broader discussion.

Weigel predicted talks this time would be focused almost entirely there.

Prominent Christians have been slain in Iraq in recent weeks and tens of thousands of Iraqi Christians are believed to have fled the country because of attacks and threats. "The Vatican is a very adult place," he said. "The arguments of five years ago are over."

The current pope's approach may be softer than that of John Paul, who turned from Bush's presentation to him of the Medal of Freedom in 2004 to read a statement about his "grave concern" over events in Iraq. But Benedict is no less committed to the church's stand on issues such as abortion, stem cells and the death penalty, as well as war.

In fact, the death penalty is another area of long-held disagreement, with Bush a strong supporter. Benedict also speaks forcefully against punitive immigration laws and the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba, and for environmental protection and social welfare -- all in ways that often run counter to Bush administration policies.

But differences between popes and presidents are nothing new.

John Paul and former President Clinton clashed -- with strikingly sharp Vatican statements -- on abortion.

Also, the church's opposition to almost any war but self-defensive ones has been a persistent theme in U.S. relations.

Pope Paul VI wanted to help mediate an end to the Vietnam War. John Paul also urged President Reagan against the arms race and spoke out vigorously against the Persian Gulf war under the current president's father. All these urgings, like the current anti-Iraq argument, were to no avail.

"Modern popes have seen themselves as voices of conscience and peacemakers," Allen said. "U.S. administrations haven't always been excited for them to play that role."

Weighty discussions aside, the talks with Bush are not likely to be the most-remembered or most influential part of the pontiff's six-day, two-city U.S. tour, Weigel said. That is expected to come when Benedict addresses the United Nations on Friday.

"I think it's nice they're going to meet. They have a lot of things to talk about," he said. "But the notion that the world operates by the big guys getting together and cutting a deal is wrong."

Police: Spears has minor accident in Mercedes

2008-04-13T18:54:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Britney Spears' motoring misfortunes continue.

Britney Spears, seen in December, struck a vehicle on a California highway in her 2008 Mercedes, police say.

The pop star was involved in a minor traffic accident late Saturday.

No one was injured and no vehicles were damaged, authorities said.

California Highway Patrol Officer Patrick Kimball says Spears was driving her 2008 Mercedes on the eastbound Ventura Freeway just east of the 405 freeway when the nighttime accident occurred.

Spears was in stop-and-go traffic when her car struck a 2006 Nissan in front of her that had stopped.

The Nissan then pushed forward into another vehicle. No damage was noted to any of the vehicles.

The Highway Patrol took a report and no one was cited.

Captured Marine provoked curiosity in Mexico

2008-04-11T22:14:00.001-07:00

SAN JUAN DE LA VINA, Mexico (AP) -- People wondered about the bearded foreigner who moved into a rustic cabin weeks ago in the pine-clad mountains surrounding this picturesque village.

Marine Cpl. Cesar Laurean, on the run since January, was captured Thursday night in Mexico.

Some thought maybe he was a drug trafficker -- something not unheard of in these parts.

It was not until Friday when they saw Cpl. Cesar Laurean's photograph in the local newspaper that they learned he was a U.S. Marine suspected of killing a pregnant colleague.

Police arrested Laurean, 21, on Thursday as he was walking along the main street in San Juan de la Vina in the municipality of Tacambaro, ending a three-month manhunt.

He is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, 20, who had accused him of rape.

Lauterbach's burned remains were found in January in the backyard of his home near Camp Lejeune, a coastal North Carolina base that is home to roughly 50,000 Marines.

FBI Public Affairs Specialist Amy Thoreson said FBI agents were present at Laurean's arrest in Mexico, but it was unclear what role they played. Watch authorities discuss the arrest »

Don't Miss

DA expects Marine back in U.S. quickly

Bearded and thin, Laurean told police he survived for months largely by eating avocados from the orchard in the mountains where he lived in Michoacan state.

After his arrest Thursday, a slightly disoriented Laurean spoke briefly with The Associated Press while being held by Mexican police.

"You know my name. You know who I am," Laurean said. Asked if he wanted to say anything, Laurean answered, "Proof," but would not explain.

Asked what he would do next, he replied, "Do I have a choice? ... I don't know."

Residents here said Laurean lived in a three-room wood cabin with a corrugated metal roof where he slept on a bed of crushed cardboard boxes.

On Friday, there was a notebook on the cabin's floor showing that he kept a diary of his daily exercise routine, including push-ups, sit-ups and crunches. There were two shelves filled with canned tuna, instant soup and candy.

He walked to town daily, greeting those he passed, and spent hours at the local Internet cafe.

"He always seemed really happy to see us. He was serious, respectful," said Tomasa Boteyo, 78, who lived near his cabin.

Then on Thursday afternoon, state police officers drove through town looking for someone, residents say. They spotted Laurean walking toward the Internet cafe.

Lorenza Olayo, 96, who would greet Laurean daily from her front stoop, said he did not fight back when officers grabbed him.

She said she did not know why the young man was taken away until she saw his picture in the local newspaper the next day.

Lucio Tapia, 22, said before his arrest, Laurean told him he had just returned from Spain and that his parents were punishing him by making him live on an avocado orchard in Mexico.

Laurean was born in Guadalajara but reportedly moved to the U.S. more than 10 years ago.

"I thought he was a drug trafficker," Tapia said. "There's a lot of drugs here and drug traffickers hide out in the mountains here."

On Friday, Onslow County District Attorney Dewey Hudson said Laurean and his wife, Christina, sent Internet messages to each other through the MySpace social-networking service. Christina Laurean used her sister's computer, which was seized, Hudson said.

Christina Laurean did not break any laws by communicating with her husband as long as she did not provide him with money or aid of any other kind, Hudson said.

Onslow County Capt. Rick Sutherland said Cesar Laurean "repeatedly asked for resources from family members" and that his wife "specifically denied those resource when she was asked."

Christina Laurean fully cooperated with investigators, he said, "and got us to the point where we are today."

The FBI said Cesar Laurean, of Las Vegas, is awaiting extradition to the U.S., although local authorities in North Carolina cautioned the process could take a year or more if he decides to fight it. They encouraged him Friday to waive extradition, saying the process -- however lengthy -- will inevitably lead to his return. Laurean was being held at a Mexico City prison.

Hudson, the district attorney, agreed not to seek the death penalty against Laurean in order to win the cooperation of Mexico authorities, who refuse to send anyone back to the U.S. unless assured they will not face execution.

Authorities believe that on December 14, Laurean killed Lauterbach, who was eight months pregnant, after forcing her to remove money from her bank account. See a timeline of events »

On Friday, Navy investigators said they would wait until Laurean is returned to the United States to perform a paternity test to determine if he was the father of the unborn child, because they want a reliable DNA sample from him.

Lauterbach and Laurean were both personnel clerks in a logistics unit at Camp Lejeune. Detectives have said Laurean left behind a note for his wife in which he denied killing Lauterbach but admitted burying her remains.

In the note, Laurean said Lauterbach committed suicide by cutting her own throat, an assertion authorities have rejected, citing evidence that she died of blunt force trauma to the head.

Maria's mother, Mary Lauterbach, said Friday that a sheriff telephoned her with news of Laurean's capture.

"This has been a terrible tragedy, not only for our family but for Cesar and Christina and Laurean's family," she said as she backed out of her driveway at her Vandalia, Ohio, home. Watch the victim's mother describe her reaction »

In a separate statement released through her attorney, Lauterbach added that "nothing can replace the pain" of Maria's death. "At the same time, we know that Maria would want justice to be done in this case."

Gen. Paul Eaton: In Iraq, where is the cavalry?

2008-04-11T22:06:00.000-07:00

The Bush administration has chosen to abandon our under-equipped and over-burdened military to fight alone in Iraq.

After successfully alienating potential allies in the prosecution of our war in Iraq, this Administration continues to view our first truly interagency war as a purely military event. The absence of credible State Department participation in this fight and the absolute failure of the rest of the Executive Branch to participate in this war leaves the entire burden upon the shoulders of our Soldiers and Marines.

To witness press and Congressional preoccupation with the military commander at this week’s hearings and mild interest in State’s man, Ambassador Crocker, one would surmise that they don’t understand, either.

Iraq is not the plains of Germany during the Cold War. Iraq is an insurgency.

Our commanders need the application of the full power of the United States to bear upon the fight in Iraq. We need a focused and determined Diplomatic Surge within Iraq — and without. Every interested player –- and that includes all border countries, Israel and Egypt –- needs a seat at the table. Interests need to be identified and let the negotiations begin. Not unlike the Egyptian/Israeli accord or Dayton.

This is hard diplomatic work, and is apparently beyond our current Secretary of State’s intent or capability. The recent example of Turkey’s attack into Iraq is the most recent indicator of our failure to work a competent diplomatic program. A fully engaged diplomatic effort would address internal tensions that bedevil the Al Maliki government and foster competent internal government.

We need to get angry Arab men off the street, gainfully employed. The rest of the President’s cabinet and their departments are very much needed by our military. We need a reinvigorated Provincial Reconstruction Team program – new life to an idea that worked very well for the French in Algeria. In the words of one commander, “I don’t need more combat troops, I need agriculture and water experts.” Yet Commerce, Transportation, Education, Treasury and the rest of the President’s cabinet have been AWOL in this war. General Petraeus was polite during the hearings. He never once complained. He never asked the President: “Where is the cavalry?”

- Maj. General Paul Eaton, U.S. Army (Ret.), former commander of Iraqi Armed Forces and their development command

Zambia summit to tackle Zimbabwe

2008-04-11T22:05:00.001-07:00

The SADC summit comes amid growing tension in Zimbabwe

Zambia is to host an emergency summit of southern African leaders to discuss the post-election crisis in Zimbabwe.

Doubts remain as to whether Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe will attend.

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC party claims they won presidential elections on 29 March but no official results have been released.

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown made his most scathing comments yet on Mr Mugabe, saying he was "appalled" at signs of violence and intimidation.

Summit snub?

Members of the 14-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) are meeting on Saturday in the Zambian capital, Lusaka, to discuss Zimbabwe's post-election deadlock.

But in an apparent snub to the SADC and Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, Zimbabwean state radio said President Mugabe would be represented by three ministers.

The international community's patience with the [Mugabe] regime is wearing thin

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown

Brown warning to Mugabe

Harare diary: Seeking good omens

South Africa's key role

Deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga had earlier said the summit had been "called without consultation with the Zimbabwean government".

But Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme that Mr Mugabe would, after all, attend the SADC meeting.

Correspondents say that if Mr Mugabe does boycott the summit it will be his first public sign of weakness since the election two weeks ago.

They say his absence would make it easier for Mr Tsvangirai to repeat that he won the election fair and square.

Wearing thin

The summit comes amid growing pressure on Mr Mugabe to release the results of the presidential poll held two weeks ago.

"I cannot understand why it is taking so long to announce the result of the Presidential elections," Mr Brown said in a statement released late on Friday.

"I am appalled by the signs that the regime is once again resorting to intimidation and violence."

He said: "the international community's patience with the [Mugabe] regime is wearing thin".

'Responsibility to act'

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon congratulated the SADC for "their timely initiative" and for "mobilising and co-ordinating to help Zimbabwe overcome its post-electoral crisis through peaceful means".

Zimbabwe's police warned political parties against "creating mayhem"

"The secretary-general is concerned that the situation in Zimbabwe could deteriorate if there is no prompt action to resolve this impasse," UN spokeswoman Marie Okabe said.

Mr Ban's predecessor, Kofi Annan, also called for the SADC leaders to push for "a peaceful and just solution" to the "political crisis in Zimbabwe".

"They have a grave responsibility to act; act not only because of the negative spillover effects on the region, but also to ensure that democracy, human rights and the rule of law are respected."

He warned that Zimbabwe was standing "on the brink".

Strike call

Zimbabwean police have banned political rallies "with immediate effect", amid growing tension over the disputed presidential election.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has called for a strike starting on Tuesday to pressure the authorities.

Its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, has been touring southern Africa, urging leaders to put pressure on Mr Mugabe to step down.

He says he won the vote outright and has refused to take part in any second, run-off presidential poll with Mr Mugabe.

In the parliamentary vote also held on 29 March, Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF lost its majority in the House of Assembly for the first time since independence.

Mr Tsvangirai has accused Mr Mugabe of mobilising Zimbabwean security forces and pro-Zanu-PF forces to intimidate MDC voters.

He also accuses Mr Mugabe of interfering with the work of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.

Mr Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980.

Americans keeping summer travel plans, for now

2008-04-11T22:03:00.000-07:00

By Marnie Hunter CNN

(CNN) -- Despite the recent spate of airline cancellations and record gas prices, Americans don't appear to be abandoning their summer travel plans.

Americans are expected to proceed with summer travel, despite airline cancellations and economic concerns.

"Airline service gets worse and worse, delays get worse and worse, and yet people are still flying in record numbers," said Alan Bender, professor of airline economics at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida.

A faltering economy, record-high gas prices and upheaval in the airline industry seem like good reasons to stay home, but AAA spokesman Mike Pina expects the steady increase in summer travel to continue this year.

"It'll affect travel in the sense that people are going to probably take less luxurious vacations," he said.

Pina said Americans may stay closer to home or choose a local amusement park over one of the resort destinations in Florida or California.

"Things are problematic, but they're not so bad that someone will tell their kids they're not going on vacation," he said.

The cancellation by American Airlines of more than 3,000 flights this week, as well as those at a handful of other carriers, has raised concerns that stringent Federal Aviation Administration inspections to be carried out through June 30 will hobble air travel this summer. Watch what's causing the airline cancellations »

Bender said he's cautiously optimistic that the airlines will comply with FAA directives before the summer season begins.

"I believe that the airlines will do everything possible to make this somewhat miserable now to avoid unbelievably miserable conditions in the summertime," he said.

There's no way to know what the FAA might find as inspections continue or which airlines might be affected.

"To some extent, you need a maintenance expert and then you need a crystal ball to see what the political implications are," Bender said.

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Based on the high compliance rates found in the last round of audits, the FAA hopes this wave of inspections will yield relatively few issues, said agency spokesman Les Dorr.

"But that said, if we do find something, we're going to bring it to the carrier's attention, and they're going to have to make a business decision on how they're going to deal with it," Dorr said.

"There could be [more problems], but that's like saying it could rain tomorrow. Maybe it will, maybe it won't."

David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association, an organization that advocates for airline passengers, attributes the current situation to complacency.

"It's not that we're in a terribly unsafe environment, it's just that airlines and the FAA have gotten comfortable with the high level of safety that has existed and haven't been as precise as they should have been," Stempler said.

He expects the airlines to return to normal schedules quickly. "They certainly lose a tremendous amount of money when this happens, so they're going to try to avoid that situation again if at all possible."

Princess Kamara, a Sierra Leone native, said she's pleased to hear that safety regulations are being enforced. She's planning a trip from Atlanta, Georgia, to West Africa in June with her four children.

"I'm just concerned about the safety," she said. "The airline needs to be checked because it's a long flight."

Nancy Strong, owner of Strong Travel Services in Dallas, Texas, said she doesn't think her agency's clients are likely to change their travel plans over recent travel disruptions, or any future airline problems, for that matter.

"You're going to be a little irritated, but you're not going to give up your life, or your holiday or your plans over the airline," Strong said.

She said that she and her agents haven't heard from clients who want to change their summer plans and aren't advising clients to change future plans or hold off on booking summer travel.

Carlson Wagonlit travel agents are seeing the usual seasonal waves of travel bookings, spokeman Steve Loucks said, but he predicts if the airline cancellations continue over the next few weeks it could begin to impact customers' summer vacation decisions.

The vast majority of summer travelers will be driving to their vacation destinations, and regular gasoline prices are projected to average $3.54 per gallon for the summer driving season, up from an average of $2.93 per gallon last summer, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Mitch Autry of Cincinnati, Ohio, said he decided it makes more sense to drive to North Carolina's Outer Banks for a summer getaway.

"It's cheaper than flying four kids and two adults. It's going to be expensive, but it's still cheaper than flying for us," he said.

Compared with last summer, increases in gas prices probably will add less than $40 to the overall cost of a vacation, according to a Travel Industry Association spokeswoman.

For Americans, the average overnight trip lasts three nights and costs an average of $557, excluding transportation, according to the association.

Travelers may stay closer to home or trim a day or an expensive meal or activity off their trips, the association says, but economic and industry woes likely won't keep these Americans at home this summer.

Nepal's Maoists gain first seats

2008-04-11T22:02:00.000-07:00

The Maoists have contested an election for the first ti

Nepal's Maoist party has gained its first seats, as results are declared after Thursday's elections.

With four constituency results confirmed, the Maoists have won two, with the country's two traditionally biggest parties gaining one each.

Trends suggest the former rebels are doing well in the mid-west, where they started their insurrection.

The Maoists, who waged a guerrilla campaign for 10 years, have not been tested at the ballot box before.

One Maoist won in a remote mountain region where his chief rival helped him by standing aside, the BBC's Charles Haviland reports from Kathmandu.

But another won within the Kathmandu urban area.

Tallies of counts in progress are being announced all the time and the rebels may also gain further seats in the capital.

Former US President Jimmy Carter, who is an election observer, has said Washington must deal with the Maoists.

Speaking to the BBC's correspondent in Kathmandu, Mr Carter said: "It's been somewhat embarrassing to me and frustrating to see the United States refuse among all the other nations in the world, including the United Nations, to deal with the Maoists, when they did make major steps away from combat and away from subversion into an attempt at least to play an equal role in a political society".

Significance

Mr Carter also talked about the significance of the elections:

"It's the end, I hope, of armed conflict, of revolutionary war in fact", he said.

"Secondly, it's a total transformation in the form of government from a 240-year-old Hindu monarchy to a democratic republic.

"Third, there's a transformational involvement in the future of marginalised groups. "

Nepal held its first polls since 1999 following the Maoists' decision to quit their armed struggle in 2006.

The polls are for an assembly that is expected to re-write Nepal's constitution and abolish its monarchy.

Results for Kathmandu constituency one were declared quickly because it was the only constituency which used electronic voting machines.

Election official Prakash Man Singh said that the Maoists trailed behind the Nepali Congress candidate and the UML, a centre-left party which polled more than 6,000 votes.

Surprised

The popularity of the Maoist party is being tested at the ballot for the first time in this election.

Results for all the 240 constituencies are expected over the next 10 days. Officials say that polling has been postponed in 10 constituencies.

Many Nepalis and international observers have been surprised that Thursday's nationwide elections, just two years after the end of the Maoist insurgency, took place considerably more peacefully than past votes of the 1990s.

There were four election-related deaths in the troubled south-eastern region.

The Election Commission said there was a turnout of 60%, with polling cancelled due to malpractice in just 33 polling stations out of 21,000.

King Gyanendra seized absolute power in 2005 but was forced to give up his authoritarian rule the following year after weeks of pro-democracy protests.

He has since lost all his powers and his command of the army.

It is hoped the election will consolidate the end of the Maoist insurgency, which stopped two years ago, says the BBC's Charles Haviland in Kathmandu.

US Iraq envoy stresses Arab role

2008-04-11T21:56:00.000-07:00

By Kim Ghattas BBC State Department correspondent

Crocker: No one is talking about war with Iran

The US ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, has called on Arab countries to do more to support Iraq.

"You can't beat something with nothing," he said, urging great Arab diplomatic and economic engagement to counterbalance Iranian influence.

He added that the US was ready to hold security talks to Iran in Baghdad but was waiting for an Iranian response.

Mr Crocker was speaking after a week of testimonies in front of the US Congress, on progress made in Iraq.

President George W Bush on Thursday announced that he was reducing the length of the deployment tour in Iraq back to 12 months, down from 15, but said there would be no further pull-out of troops after the five surge brigades return home this summer.

Mr Crocker talked again at length about what the US sees as Iran's negative role in Iraq but he struck a slightly more positive note than during the Iraq hearings in Congress.

Iran, he said, was not about to take over its neighbour and he spoke of a backlash starting against Iranian-backed militias in Iraq.

Ryan Crocker also said the US was ready to resume talks with the Iranians about security issues, in Baghdad; two meetings have already been held over the last two years.

He pointedly added, that no one was talking about war with Iran.

Saudi stop

The veteran diplomat was critical of Arab nations for not doing more to help Iraq.

Countries like Saudi Arabia and Egypt are worried about Iran's influence and interference in Iraq, but have yet to open embassies in the Iraqi capital, unlike Tehran.

"If the Arabs are concerned about Iranian influence and encroachments in Iraq ... They need to be diplomatically involved there," said Mr Crocker.

The level of diplomatic or economic engagement with Iraq by Arabs remains extremely low, he said, adding that Iraqis were starting to be sensitive about the issue, including the Sunnis.

The ambassador and General David Petraeus, the commander of US troops in Iraq, will be stopping in Riyadh on their way back to Baghdad to make that point to the Saudis.

Over breakfast with journalists in Washington, Mr Crocker also said that American diplomats will start moving into the new US embassy Baghdad at the end of May.

The massive complex inside what is known as the Green Zone or international zone is the size of about 80 football fields and has cost around $600m.

The Green Zone has repeatedly come under attack, with an increase in rocket attacks in recent weeks.

Bush 'is avoiding Iraq decisions'

2008-04-10T23:03:00.000-07:00

The withdrawal of US troops is a key issue in the presidential campaig

Democratic opponents of US President George W Bush have accused him of putting off tough decisions on Iraq until after the presidential elections.

The criticism follows Mr Bush's announcement of a "major strategic shift" that includes suspending troop withdrawals after July.

He says this would allow senior commander General David Petraeus to assess the next step in Iraq.

But his opponents say the people want answers from this president, now.

The decision to halt withdrawals means the US presence in Iraq is likely to last well beyond January 2009, when Mr Bush will leave office and whoever wins the November elections will take over.

He is just dragging this out so he can put it at the doorstep of the new president of the United States

Nancy Pelosi Democratic Speaker of the House

The Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said the president had failed to answer key questions, including what conditions would allow troops to come home.

"The president has taken us into a failed war, he's taken us deeply into debt and that debt is taking us into recession," she said. "We need some answers from the president."

Graph of US troops and military deaths

By July, the US presence in Iraq should be reduced from 20 brigades to 15 - leaving about 140,000 troops in the country, about the same number as were present before the troop surge began in early 2007.

The president said there had been significant military, political and economic progress in Iraq since then, and that "today we have the initiative".

Read a transcript of President Bush's speech [24k]

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Democratic leaders did welcome Mr Bush's shortening of combat tours from 15 to 12 months, but said keeping troops committed to Iraq was unacceptable.

The speech "can only be described as one step forward and two steps back," said the leader of the Democrats in the Senate, Harry Reid.

Autumn reduction

US Defence Secretary, Robert Gates said he hoped Gen Petraeus would be able to make an assessment of further troop reductions later this year.

"A brief pause for consolidation and evaluation following a return to pre-surge troop levels will allow us to analyse the process and its effects in a comprehensive way," he told the Senate panel in Washington.

"I do not anticipate this period of review to be an extended one, and I would emphasise that the hope, depending on conditions on the ground, is to reduce our presence further this fall."

The BBC's Kim Ghattas, in Washington, says that dissenting voices are now being heard among Republicans as well, because of the high cost of the war, and the long-term agreements which are being negotiated between Iraq and the United States.

Iraq is one of the key battlegrounds of the election campaign, with Republican John McCain arguing for continued engagement while Democratic rivals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama call for full withdrawal.

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Polygamist ranch raid climaxed with nonviolent protest at temple

2008-04-10T23:02:00.000-07:00

ELDORADO, Texas (CNN) -- Nearly 60 men surrounding the temple of a polygamist sect in Texas dropped to their knees, prayed and wept openly -- but never violently resisted -- as law enforcement officers raided the building they hold sacred.

Law enforcement officials converge outside the temple walls at the YFZ Ranch in West Texas.

1 of 3

Authorities on Thursday wrapped up nearly a week at the YFZ (Yearning For Zion) Ranch, where they say a 16-year-old girl had called social workers and timidly recounted being beaten, choked and sexually assaulted by the 49-year-old man who had fathered her child after their "spiritual marriage" last year.

Two people were arrested and 416 children were taken into state custody at the ranch -- which is run by founder Warren Steed Jeffs' Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. At the ranch, authorities say, men routinely took multiple wives, and girls as young as 13 were forced into sexual relationships with adult men.

Authorities say the most tense moment of the raid came Sunday night, when they went to search the group's temple. As in mainstream Mormon worship, the group considers its temple sacrosanct, and custom forbids any nonbeliever from entering.

Texas Rangers and other law enforcement officials believed the church may have used that custom to hide children inside the building. Watch how children may be coping after being removed from compound »

"We knew that the temple was going to be the most sensitive issue and building on the property," said Texas Rangers Capt. Barry Caver, who over the past four years had made multiple contacts with leaders at the compound. "We opted to do that last -- we felt like if there was going to be any resistance at all, it would occur then."

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Caver and Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran said they'd spoken repeatedly with Merrill Jessop, an elder in the church and supervisor of the ranch, in hopes the search would go as smoothly as possible.

But Caver said the elder told him the men of the church would draw a line at giving access to the temple.

"They lined up about 57 people, as we counted them, around the walls of the temple," Caver said. "They told us if they did not do that, then they would basically be in violation of their beliefs by not defending their temple."

While some of the men cried and prayed, none violently opposed the officers, Caver said. One man "decided to attempt to resist our entry" and was quickly arrested without incident, he said.

Another man was arrested during the days-long raid for attempting to destroy evidence. Both men have been released from jail on cash bonds.

Caver said no one was found inside the temple. But a Texas Rangers affidavit released Wednesday cited evidence that included unmade beds in the temple that an informant said were used for grown men to have sex with their young "spiritual wives" after weddings.

Also Thursday, Doran defended not raiding the 4-year-old ranch sooner, despite suspicions that FLDS men took multiple wives and had sex with teen girls.

"We are aware this group is capable of it," Doran said. "But, there again, this is the United States. We are going to respect them -- we are not going to violate their civil rights -- until we have an outcry, a complaint, and I've said that from day one."

On Thursday, a man who came to the gate at the ranch told CNN that "no family, only men" now remain inside the compound.

"We trust in the heavenly father," he said.

He then added: "We always believed America to be a free land."

Meanwhile, authorities did not directly address why the man named in the teen girl's telephone calls has not been apprehended -- even though his parole officer in Arizona says he checked in as recently as Tuesday.

Dale Evans Barlow, now 50, pleaded no contest in 2007 to charges of conspiracy to have sex with a minor. He was sentenced to 45 days in jail and placed on three years' probation.

In an e-mail to CNN, Friend Walker, chief of the Mojave County Probation Department in Arizona said authorities know where Barlow is and haven't been given a warrant for his arrest.

And Barlow himself told a Utah newspaper that he hasn't been to Texas in over 30 years.

"I do not know this girl that they keep asking about," Barlow said, according to an article in Thursday's edition of the Deseret Morning News.

Probation officials told CNN they talked to Barlow on the telephone Thursday and have no knowledge of him leaving his home in Colorado City, Arizona, for Texas. While they said the claims may be true, they said it also could be a case of mistaken identity because so many members of the FLDS have similar names.

Caver suggested authorities want to further interview the teen girl, whom state aid workers call Sarah, before making an arrest.

"Until we find her and sit her down and take a complete statement from her, and gather hopefully more information, we have no way of knowing" if Barlow should be arrested, he said.

Texas child welfare workers believe that they have the girl in protective custody but that she may be too scared to come forward and identify herself.

The children are being housed at a pair of shelters in nearby San Angelo, Texas.

In addition to the children, 139 adult women have voluntarily gone to the shelters.

Drug to protect against radiation

2008-04-10T23:00:00.001-07:00

Radiotherapy for cancer can also damage healthy ce

A drug which may protect the body against damage from radiation has been developed by US scientists.

It is hoped it could make radiotherapy safer for people with cancer and could also be used in the event of a "dirty bomb" or nuclear disaster.

Known as CBLB502, and so far tested in animals, it switches on a biological mechanism that helps healthy cells survive blasts of radiation.

The findings published in Science are set to be tested in clinical trials.

Radiation kills cells by causing damage which encourages cell suicide, or apoptosis.

But healthy cells may be killed alongside tumour cells in the process which is why radiologists need to target the tumour as specifically as possible.

If the protective properties seen in this laboratory study can be reproduced in people with cancer, this could be an important step towards reducing side effects for people having radiotherapy

Dr Joanna Owens, Cancer Research UK

Researchers developed the drug after looking at how some resistant cancer cells are able to withstand radiotherapy.

It works by inhibiting the protein that initiates the cell suicide programme.

Studies in animals suggest CBLB502 protects healthy cells in the bone marrow and digestive tract against radiation but does not seem to protect tumour cells which remain vulnerable to treatment.

Mice and monkeys injected with the drug between 45 minutes and 24 hours before being subjected to normally lethal radiation were more likely to survive or live longer than untreated animals, the researchers found.

Side-effects

One risk of preventing cell death is that defective cells may be allowed to survive which could then turn cancerous.

However, the researchers found no sign of this happening in the laboratory tests on mice.

Also, there were no apparent side effects.

Protecting healthy cells against the effects of radiation may allow cancer patients to receive higher doses of radiotherapy, or longer courses of treatment.

The drug may also be useful in protecting against fall out from a nuclear disaster, such as Chernobyl, or the effects of a terrorist "dirty bomb".

Dr Andrei Gudkov from the Lerner Research Institute in Cleveland, Ohio, said they had set out to enable healthy cells to imitate the ability of tumour cells to avoid cell death.

But they had to develop a way of making this effect temporary and reversible.

"We demonstrated the drug is efficacious when injected before radiation and after radiation.

"In summary, CBLB502 reduces radiation toxicity without diminishing the therapeutic anti-tumour effect of radiation and without promoting radiation-induced carcinogenicity."

Dr Joanna Owens, science information officer at Cancer Research UK, said: "These are interesting results and we look forward to following the progress of CBLB502 through planned clinical trials.

"If the protective properties seen in this laboratory study can be reproduced in people with cancer, this could be an important step towards reducing side effects for people having radiotherapy."

Defense secretary breaks with Bush on Iraq pullout

2008-04-10T22:57:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates appeared Thursday to disagree with President Bush and the top U.S. general in Iraq about when the United States will be able to pull more troops out of Iraq.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates testifies Thursday during a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Gates said he hopes the United States will be able to "reduce our presence further this fall" after a "brief pause" for review after the number of troops drops to about 140,000 in July.

"I do not anticipate this period of review to be an extended one," he said in testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee.

That contrasts with an announcement made by the president earlier in the day, and with testimony from Gen. David Petraeus earlier in the week.

Petraeus Tuesday recommended troop withdrawals from Iraq be paused for 45 days after July.

Bush accepted this recommendation Thursday, saying Petraeus will "have all the time he needs."

Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, the committee's chairman and a Democrat critical of the conduct of the war in Iraq, seized on the differing views.

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"What recommendation did President Bush adopt a few hours ago? Gen. Petraeus' open-ended approach or Secretary Gates' brief pause?" he demanded.

"The answer is Gen. Petraeus, since the president said that Gen. Petraeus, quote, 'will have all the time he needs,' and even went so far as to say that, quote, 'Some have suggested that this period of evaluation will be a pause, and that is misleading,' to use the president's words," the senator said.

Despite Gates' professed optimism about further troop withdrawals, he admitted levels will not fall as low as 100,000 by January of next year, as he had hoped last September.

The president also said that "while this war is difficult, it is not endless." Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen, the top U.S. military officer, echoed that sentiment in Senate testimony alongside Gates.

"It's not a blank check. It's not an open-ended commitment of troops," he said.

And he warned that maintaining troops in Iraq is harming overall U.S. military capabilities, saying he is "deeply concerned" about the situation in Afghanistan, even with the additional 3,500 troops the United States recently sent there.

"The Taliban is growing bolder, suicide attacks are on the rise, and so is the trade in illegal narcotics," he said.

"Requirements exist there that we simply cannot fill and won't likely be able to fill until conditions improve in Iraq."

Gates said the United States needs more troops to hold areas of southern Afghanistan and to train local army and police personnel.

"The principal area of concern has been in the south, and I would say that your characterization of ... not having enough forces to hold areas that we had cleared is an accurate description," he said. "I would also say that, countrywide, one of the shortages is for people to train the Afghan army and police."

Mullen said he needs about 3,000 trainers, but added that "actually, from a fighting, combat standpoint, I'm pretty comfortable this year in Afghanistan."

Final day of campaigning in Italy

2008-04-10T22:53:00.000-07:00

Both candidates have promised to revitalise Italy's econo

Campaigning in Italy is in its final day ahead of this weekend's elections.

The vote comes three years early, after Romano Prodi stepped down as prime minister when his coalition government collapsed in January.

Billionaire businessman and former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, 71, wants a third term as prime minister.

His main rival is 52-year-old Walter Veltroni, the former mayor of Rome. Mr Berlusconi is ahead in opinion polls but 15% of voters are undecided.

'Little difference'

At his final election rally in Rome on Thursday, Mr Berlusconi appealed to his supporters to bring in more voters.

"Get out there and do missionary work," he told a crowd of 3,000 supporters.

Mr Berlusconi is the head of a business empire that spans media, advertising, insurance, food and construction and includes the successful football club AC Milan.

He is heading a new party - the People of Liberty.

Mr Veltroni is also leading a new party - the Democratic Party.

He compares himself to US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and has promised to boost pay and pensions to stimulate the Italian economy.

In truth, there is little to choose between the policies of the two candidates, says the BBC's Christian Fraser in Rome.

Both are promising to lower taxes and to cut public spending, our correspondent says.

The Italian debt is now 1,400bn euros (£1,100bn; $2,200bn) - more than the annual GDP.

The cost of paying the annual interest on that debt is around 1,200 euros per Italian - and all the signs point to the situation getting worse.

Apparent tornadoes strike Texas, Oklahoma and Michigan

2008-04-09T23:47:00.001-07:00

BRECKENRIDGE, Texas (AP) -- Powerful storms including apparent tornadoes moved through parts of Texas and Oklahoma on Wednesday, destroying several homes, knocking out power for many, and causing some injuries and at least one death.

This house was moved 10 feet off of its foundation Wednesday after an apparent tornado in Texas.

In Breckenridge, 125 miles west of Dallas, at least five homes were destroyed and there were reports of minor injuries, police said.

Crews with Oncor Electric Delivery were arriving in Breckenridge to survey the extent of the damage. Several poles were down and most of the city appeared to be without power, said Oncor spokesman Neal Blanton.

Robbie Dewberry, an administrator at Stephens Memorial Hospital, said the hospital treated three people for storm-related injuries. He said the hospital was on emergency backup power.

Dallas-Fort Worth television KTVT showed footage of damage at the small airport in the town. A twin-engine plane sat amid the crumpled sheet metal that had been a hangar.

Several outbuildings were also damaged, but officials could not immediately confirm that the damage was caused by a tornado, said Jessica Schultz of the National Weather Service in Fort Worth.

Earlier Wednesday, storm chasers reported that a tornado briefly skipped twice on Interstate 20 west of Abilene, said Mary Keiser of the National Weather Service in San Angelo.

Don't Miss

The accompanying thunderstorm sent hail -- some chunks up to the size of a baseball -- pounding down in several counties around the Abilene area, Keiser said.

Officials in Palo Pinto County said roofs had been blown off a few homes and trees were down in Oran, about 80 miles west of Dallas. The storm moved north of the Dallas-Fort Worth area Wednesday night.

In Oklahoma, National Weather Service meteorologist Andrew Taylor in Norman said there had been two reports of a tornado in Choctaw County in the southeastern part of the state, although no damage was reported. Taylor said the reports could have been tied to the same tornado.

A woman was killed when her vehicle skidded off a highway and struck a pole and tree in Caddo County during heavy rain, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said.

Flooding caused the Oklahoma Department of Transportation to close five highways in the state, and the National Weather Service issued flood warnings for several eastern Oklahoma waterways.

Meanwhile, a small tornado caused scattered damage in southwest Michigan, authorities said.

No injuries were reported but authorities say several horses were trapped inside a barn that was damaged by the stormy weather early Wednesday.

The National Weather Service said one of its investigators went to the area and determined that the damage was caused by a small twister.

Consumers Energy said more than 6,500 customers lost power, primarily in Kent and Muskegon counties. The company expected to fully restore service by the end of the day.

The weather service also warned of strong thunderstorms Wednesday in parts of Oklahoma.

Olympics to 'rebound from crisis'

2008-04-09T23:45:00.002-07:00

The torch was taken on a surprise route through San Francisco

Torch rela

The head of the International Olympic Committee has said the Beijing Games will rebound from "crisis" after days of protests along the torch route.

Jacques Rogge told a meeting of national committees in the Chinese capital that they should assure their countries the Games would succeed.

The US stage of the torch relay passed off amid confusion and tight security in San Francisco on Wednesday.

The route was totally changed at the last minute amid anti-Chinese protests.

Torch-bearers were immersed in a cocoon of security, surrounded by dozens of police officers and Chinese guards in track-suits.

Map of planned world torch relay route

The Olympic flame was lit in Greece on 24 March and is being relayed through 20 countries before being carried into the opening ceremony in Beijing on 8 August.

Demonstrators sought to disrupt the torch relay in Athens, Istanbul, Paris and London, while it passed successfully through Almaty, in Kazakhstan, and St Petersburg, in Russia.

It is due to arrive in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, later this week.

'Saddened'

Mr Rogge said he had been "saddened' by violent protests in Europe but he believed the San Francisco relay had been an improvement.

'Houdini torch' relay disappoints

In pictures: San Francisco relay

Mihir Bose blog: Balancing act

"It was, however, not the joyous party that we had wished it to be," he added.

Speaking at a joint meeting between the Association of National Olympic Committees and the IOC executive board, he said officials should reassure athletes.

"Tell them not to lose faith," Mr Rogge said.

"Tell them that they are going to set an example and that the world will be watching them.

"We have 120 days to achieve that and I am sure it is going to be successful."

In the US, both Democratic presidential hopefuls have now called on President George W Bush to consider boycotting the Beijing opening ceremony if China did not improve its human rights record.

"A boycott of the opening ceremonies should be firmly on the table but this decision should be made closer to the Games [in August]," Barack Obama said a day after a similar call by Hillary Clinton.

The US House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed a motion condemning China's "extreme" response to protests in Tibet.

The Dalai Lama, who is due in Tokyo en route to the US, is expected to give his reaction to the torch protests at a news conference on Thursday.

Also on Thursday, members of the European Parliament will vote on a draft resolution calling on EU leaders to boycott the games if there is no resumption of dialogue between the Chinese authorities and the Dalai Lama.

The resolution is non-binding, but the BBC's Oana Lungescu in Brussels says it's bound to increase pressure on EU leaders to take a tougher stance towards China.

A spokeswoman for UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he would not be attending the opening ceremonies, but had never intended to do so and would be at the closing ceremony.

Whisked away

Thousands of spectators had been waiting hours to see the torch pass through San Francisco and demonstrators were out in force along the waterfront relay route.

But immediately after the torch was lit, the torch-bearers turned into a warehouse building, disappearing for an hour.

They reappeared at a new starting-point across the city where it was handed to two runners, away from the protesters.

The planned waterfront closing ceremony in Justin Herman Plaza was moved to a motorway fly-over.

"We assessed the situation and felt that we could not secure the torch and protect the protesters and supporters to the degree that we wished," San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom told Reuters news agency.

In Paris, the torch had to be extinguished three times, while in London there were 37 arrests.

OLYMPIC TORCH ROUTE

Torch lit in Olympia on 24 March and taken on five-day relay around Greece to Athens

After handover ceremony, it is taken to Beijing on 31 March to begin a journey of 136,800 km (85,000 miles) around the world

Torch arrives in Macau on 3 May. After three-month relay all around China, it arrives in Beijing for opening ceremony on 8 August

See detailed route on Beijing 2008 official site

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Will you be watching the torch as it travels through Buenos Aires? Are you in China? What do you think of the protests and the torch relay? You can send your comments using the form below:

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At no time should you endanger yourself or others, take any unnecessary risks or infringe any laws.

'Two dead' inside doomsday cult cave

2008-04-09T23:45:00.001-07:00

MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- A cult member who spent several months holed up in a cave with dozens of other people anticipating the end of the world claimed Wednesday that two women died and were buried inside.

An above-ground kitchen used by the doomsday cult in the Penza region during the summer.

The former cave-dweller, Vitaly Nedogon, relayed his claims to Russian TV journalists, according to Anton Sharonov, a spokesman for the administration of Penza, a region southeast of Moscow.

The official said Nedogon did not report the information to police or authorities. Once the rest of the apocalyptic sect leaves the cave, investigators will move in to try to confirm Nedogon's report, Sharonov said.

Nedogon and others left the cave, said to be near the village of Nikolskoye, about 700 kilometers (435 miles) from the Russian capital, about a week ago, after part of its ceiling collapsed.

He claimed two women died at different times during the cult's seclusion, which began in November 2007. One woman died of cancer and the other from excessive fasting, he told the media.

"However," Sharonov told the Russian news agency Interfax, "the Penza regional administration is of the view that these deaths must be proven legally, which is possible only if all the people leave the cave so that investigative officials can examine it."

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Cult set to give up wait for world's end

Sharonov said those who remain in the cave told Penza officials during negotiations that they would come out by the Russian Orthodox Easter, on April 27. He said officials believe 11 people are left in the cave, but only nine will be alive if Nedogon's report is true.

According to Interfax, Penza Deputy Governor Oleg Melnichenko, who is leading the local effort to resolve the situation, said he was unaware of any deaths in the cave.

The cave ordeal began when Kuznetsov, the group's leader, told his followers to hide themselves to await the end of the world, which he predicted would take place in May.

They had threatened to commit mass suicide if authorities tried to intervene.

Thirty-five sect members are believed to have entered the cave initially, Interfax said.

Burma migrants suffocate in lorry

2008-04-09T23:44:00.001-07:00

More than 50 Burmese illegal migrants have suffocated in the back of a lorry taking them to southern Thailand, Thai police say.

The 54 migrants were found dead inside the packed container lorry after dozens more managed to escape from the vehicle and flag down police.

Police said the migrants had suffocated after the ventilation failed.

Thailand acts as a magnet for poor Burmese workers, with thousands risking the often perilous journey there.

Enticing wages

Police said that the Burmese workers had crossed by boat to the Thai town of Ranong from Burma's southern tip at Victoria Point - a route often used by illegal immigrants.

They had then been packed into an airtight container on a lorry for the journey to the resort island of Phuket, but the ventilation in the container failed, Col Kraithong Chanthongbai said.

"The people said they tried to bang on the walls of the container to tell the driver they were dying, but he told them to shut up as police would hear them when they crossed through checkpoints inside Thailand," he told the French news agency AFP.

One Burmese migrant's story

Police found 54 dead workers - 37 women and 17 men - inside the container, which measured just 6 metres by 2.2 metres.

Twenty-one other workers were taken to hospital suffering from dehydration and lack of oxygen, he said.

Those who did not require hospital treatment were detained by the Thai authorities.

The driver of the lorry fled the scene.

There are thought to be up to two million Burmese workers in Thailand, more than half of whom are in the country illegally.

They fill the low-paid, often dangerous jobs in sectors including textiles, construction and fisheries that Thai workers do not want.

But these jobs offer the migrants salaries that far exceed what they could earn in military-ruled Burma, one of the region's most impoverished nations.

Google and Yahoo to share web ads

2008-04-09T23:42:00.000-07:00

Yahoo says the experiment may not lead to a "lasting relationshi

Yahoo and Google, the world's two biggest search engines, have announced a two week experiment that will see them share advertising space.

During the pilot, Google will be able to place ads alongside 3% of search results on Yahoo's website.

Analysts say the move is designed to frustrate Microsoft, which has offered to buy Yahoo for $44.6bn (£22.6bn), or extract a higher offer.

Microsoft said any lasting deal would not be in the consumers' interests.

"Any definitive agreement between Yahoo and Google would consolidate over 90% of the search advertising market in Google's hands. This would make the market far less competitive," Brad Smith, Microsoft's General Counsel said.

But Yahoo said the testing did not necessarily mean that "any further commercial relationship with Google will result".

Investors reacted positively to the announcement with Yahoo shares rising 7%.

"Yahoo has made a really clever move here," Cowen and Co analyst Jim Friedland said.

"It looked like Microsoft had all the cards, Yahoo is at least now able to use this for leverage to get Microsoft to pay more," he said.

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer on Saturday gave Yahoo three weeks to agree to the company's offer or risk having the offer lowered.

Iraq's oil surplus fuels criticism in war hearings

2008-04-09T23:39:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- With U.S. gasoline prices setting records, opponents of the war in Iraq have raised a new complaint this week: The budget windfall that skyrocketing oil prices has given Baghdad.

Iraqi employees attend the opening ceremony of a new oil refinery plant in Najaf, Iraq, on March 15.

Crude oil futures topped $112 a barrel in Wednesday's intraday trading in New York -- up from about $35 a barrel before the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Though Iraq's oil exports have yet to top prewar levels, the price rise has meant a $6.4 billion surplus for the Iraqi government, according to the Pentagon's last quarterly report on the war.

With the five-year-old war's cost to U.S. taxpayers estimated at more than $600 billion, the Iraqi windfall provoked sharp questions from Congress during two days of testimony by the top U.S. officials in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker.

"This nation's facing record deficits, and the Iraqis have translated their oil revenues into budget surpluses rather than effective services," Rep. Ike Skelton of Missouri, the Democratic chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said Wednesday.

"Under these circumstances and with a strategic risk to our nation and our military readiness, we and the American people must ask: Why should we stay in Iraq in large numbers?"

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-California, proposed the Iraqi government pay the cost of stationing U.S. troops in its country under any future agreement between Washington and Baghdad -- and said he would introduce legislation to require that.

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"The United States government and the people of the United States have paid an awful price," Rohrabacher said. "It's time for the Iraqis to pay that price for their own protection."

Crocker said Iraq has allocated $13 billion for reconstruction projects in 2008 and plans to add another $5 billion this summer. The U.S. focus will shift to improving Iraq's economy at the local level and expanding its export capacity, he said.

"The era of U.S.-funded major infrastructure projects is over. We are seeking to ensure that our assistance, in partnership with the Iraqis, leverages Iraq's own resources," he said.

Five years after Baghdad fell to a U.S.-led army, many Iraqis still lack basic services such as water, sewer connections and electricity. Nevertheless, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said the government is "doing its best" to spend money to improve the country.

"I think the government has a responsibility, definitely, to care for its people, to provide services and to use the oil money for reconstruction and development," Zebari said.

The United States has committed about $45 billion to Iraq's reconstruction since the March 2003 invasion, according to a report last month from the Government Accountability Office.

The agency, the investigative arm of Congress, concluded that Iraq's oil revenues could top $100 billion in 2007 and 2008.

When President Bush announced he was dispatching almost 30,000 additional U.S. troops to Iraq in January 2007, he told Americans that Iraqis would spend $10 billion on reconstruction projects and pass a law allocating the country's oil wealth as steps toward a political settlement of the war.

The GAO, however, found Iraq had spent only 7 percent of that budget by November 2007, and the proposed oil law has stalled in the country's fractious parliament.

Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh blamed the ongoing insurgency and the "socialist command economy" left behind by ousted dictator Saddam Hussein for the slow pace of reconstruction.

"At the time we were trying to reform it, open up the system, when we are faced with the terrible challenge of al Qaeda and this tornado of terrorism afflicting the society day in, day out," Saleh said. "People should not be too judgmental."

But Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, said Tuesday the issue is "a burr in the saddle of the American people" -- particularly since Bush administration officials told Congress before the invasion that Iraq could finance its own reconstruction with oil revenues.

Rep. Walter Jones of North Carolina -- a Republican opponent of the war -- pointed out the United States "is borrowing money from foreign governments to pay our bills" while oil and gas prices have more than doubled.

"The issue is that we in this Congress are going to be cutting programs to help our elderly with health care," he said Wednesday.

"The American people want to know that the Iraqi government understands that we do not have treasure and blood to go on and on and on."

Texas takes legal custody of 401 sect children

2008-04-07T17:28:00.001-07:00

(CNN) -- Authorities said Monday they have taken legal custody of 401 children who lived on an isolated West Texas polygamist retreat built by imprisoned "prophet" Warren Jeffs.

Authorities load members of the FLDS onto buses as they search their Texas ranch for clues of abuse.

1 of 3

The children are being kept at a temporary shelter at historic Fort Concho in nearby San Angelo while authorities investigate whether a child bride gave birth on the ranch at age 15.

The children in state custody are joined at the shelter by 133 women, most of them mothers, who were taken during the past few days from the sprawling Yearning for Zion ranch, said Marleigh Meisner, a spokeswoman for the state's Child Protective Services agency.

The women are free to return to the 1,900-acre compound, officials said, but many have chosen to remain. At this point, officials said, the children's fathers are not permitted to see them. See buses take girls from compound »

Court proceedings began Monday to determine whether there is enough evidence to remove the children from their homes on the ranch, which is near Eldorado, Meisner said. A hearing is scheduled April 17.

The children will be appointed lawyers and legal guardians in about two weeks, she added.

Meisner said the temporary shelter is filling up quickly, and officials are facing a "critical shortage" of foster homes. Officials will try to keep siblings together, she added.

Law enforcement officials would not provide many details of their investigation, but Meisner said the 401 court affidavits being filed Monday should shed some light on the alleged abuse.

The investigation, which began Thursday night, is continuing and authorities remain on the property to search for evidence and other children, said Tela Mange of the Texas Department of Public Safety.

One man has been arrested, allegedly for interfering with investigators. He faces a misdemeanor charge, authorities said.

Investigators said they believe more children will be found at the ranch, but Mange stopped short of saying they were being hidden. See why police want every child removed »

Authorities would not say whether they have located or identified the teen tipster whose call prompted the raid.

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219 women, children taken from sect's ranch
iReport.com: Aerial photos of ranch

On March 31, a 16-year-old called and reported physical and sexual abuse on the ranch, authorities said. She said she was married to a 50-year-old man. Authorities are looking for evidence the girl had a child at the age of 15.

It remains unclear whether the girl who reported being abused is among the children being interviewed -- or was whisked away from the compound under a different name before authorities arrived.

"I am confident that this girl does indeed exist," Meisner said earlier. "I am confident that the allegations that she brought forth are accurate."

One issue compounding an already difficult and sensitive investigation is the difficulty pinning down exact names and ages of the people being interviewed -- as well as of the people being sought.

The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints bought the ranch four years ago and began erecting dormitories and a large, white temple. Hundreds of Jeffs' followers moved from Arizona and Utah as authorities there stepped up their investigations.

The name is taken from one of Jeffs' spiritual songs, "Yearning for Zion."

Authorities began blocking roads to the YFZ ranch Thursday, then raided the compound and began busing women and children off the property. Most were girls, and most wore hand-sewn prairie dresses. Watch Eldorado residents react to the removals »

Officers entered the compound with a search warrant for 50-year-old Dale Evans Barlow, who they believed was married to the 16-year-old tipster. The search warrant authorized law enforcement to seize any evidence of a marriage between the two including CDs, DVDs and a computer hard drive, The Associated Press reported.

Barlow was sentenced to jail last year after pleading no contest to conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor, the AP said.

Barlow was ordered to register as a sex offender for three years while on probation, the wire service reported. Barlow's probation officer, Bill Loader, told The Salt Lake Tribune in Utah that he was in Arizona and did not know his accuser.

It remained unclear, the spokeswomen said, whether that was the same Dale Barlow named in their warrant. They acknowledged the man they are seeking might not be in Texas, but said they had no other details about his whereabouts.

CNN's previous visits to the ranch revealed the compound was guarded by armed men equipped with night-vision gear and other high-tech surveillance tools.

Authorities would not say Monday whether they had found any weapons.

Jeffs remains jailed in Kingman, Arizona, where he awaits trial on four counts of incest and sexual conduct with a minor stemming from two arranged marriages between teenage girls and their older male relatives.

Jeffs was sentenced in November to two terms of 5 years to life for being an accomplice to the rape of a 14-year-old girl who said she was forced to marry her cousin.

Privacy Policy

2008-02-16T00:47:00.000-08:00

News™ Privacy Statement What follows is the Privacy Statement for all News™ websites (a.k.a. blogs) including all the websites run under the http://newsofcyber.blogspot.com domain. Please read this statement regarding our blogs. If you have questions please ask us via our contact form. Email Addresses You may choose to add your email address to our contact list via the forms on our websites. We agree that we will never share you email with any third party and that we will remove your email at your request. We don’t currently send advertising via email, but in the future our email may contain advertisements and we may send dedicated email messages from our advertisers without revealing your email addresses to them. If you have any problem removing your email address please contact us via our contact form. Ownership of Information News™ is the sole owner of any information collected on our websites. Comments/Message Boards Most News™ websites contain comment sections (a.k.a. message boards). We do not actively monitor these comments and the information on them is for entertainment purposes only. If we are alerted to something we deem inappropriate in any way, we may delete it at our discretion. We use email validation on most of our message boards in order to reduce “comment spam.” These email addresses will not be shared with any third party. Cookies Currently we assign cookies to our readers in order to save their preferences. This data is not shared with any third party. Accessing our websites is not dependent on accepting cookies and all major browsers allow you to disable cookies if you wish. Third Party Cookies Many of our advertisers use cookies in order to determine the number of times you have seen an advertisement. This is done to limit the number times you are shown the same advertisement. News™ does not have access to this data. Traffic Reports Our industry-standard traffic reporting records IP addresses, Internet service provider information, referrer strings, browser types and the date and time pages are loaded. We use this information in the aggregate only to provide traffic statistics to advertisers and to figure out which features and editorials are most popular. Legal proceedings We will make every effort to preserve user privacy but News™ may need to disclose information when required by law. Business Transitions If News™ is acquired by or merges with another firm, the assets of our websites, including personal information, will likely be transferred to the new firm. Links News™ websites frequently link to other websites. We are not responsible for the content or business practices of these websites. When you leave our websites we encourage you to read the destination site’s privacy policy. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by News™ Notification of Changes When News™ makes changes to this privacy policy we will post those changes here. Contact Information If you have any questions regarding our privacy policy, please contact us.

Medical plants 'face extinction'

2008-01-18T19:02:00.000-08:00

Magnolias are one of hundreds of plants under threat

Hundreds of medicinal plants are at risk of extinction, threatening the discovery of future cures for disease, according to experts.

Over 50% of prescription drugs are derived from chemicals first identified in plants.

But the Botanic Gardens Conservation International said many were at risk from over-collection and deforestation.

Researchers warned the cures for things such as cancer and HIV may become "extinct before they are ever found".

The group, which represents botanic gardens across 120 countries, surveyed over 600 of its members as well as leading university experts.

MIRACLE CURES MOST AT RISK

Yew tree - Cancer drug paclitaxel is derived from the bark, but it takes six trees to create a single dose so growers are struggling to keep up

Hoodia - Plant has sparked interest for its ability to suppress appetite, but vast quantities have already been "ripped from the wild" as the search for the miracle weight drug continues

Magnolia - Has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for 5,000 years as it is believed to help fight cancer, dementia and heart disease. Half the world's species threatened, mostly due to deforestation

Autumn crocus - Romans and Greeks used it as poison, but now one of the most effective treatments for gout. Under threat from horticulture trade

They identified 400 plants that were at risk of extinction.

These included yew trees, the bark of which forms the basis for one of the world's most widely used cancer drugs, paclitaxel.

Hoodia, which originally comes from Namibia and is attracting interest from drug firms looking into develop weight loss drugs, is on the verge of extinction, the report said.

And half of the world's species of magnolias are also under threat.

The plant contains the chemical honokiol, which has been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat cancers and slow down the onset of heart disease.

The report also said autumn crocus, which is a natural treatment for gout and has been linked to helping fight leukaemia, is at risk of over-harvest as it is popular with the horticultural trade because of its stunning petals.

Many of the chemicals from the at-risk plants are now created in the lab.

But the report said as well as future breakthroughs being put at risk, the situation was likely to have a consequence in the developing world.

It said five billion people still rely on traditional plant-based medicine as their primary form of health care.

Report author Belinda Hawkins said: "The loss of the world's medicinal plants may not always be at the forefront of the public consciousness.

"However, it is not an overstatement to say that if the precipitous decline of these species is not halted, it could destabilise the future of global healthcare."

And Richard Ley, of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, added: "Nature has provided us with many of our medicines.

"Scientists are always interested in what they can provide and so it is worry that such plants maybe at risk."