Morning Papers - continued

The Jewish Week

Global Warming: Why Jews Should Care
Adam C. Stern
As representatives from 180 nations gathered in Montreal this week for U.N. climate treaty talks, leaders in the Jewish community may be asking, why should Jews particularly care about global warming?The answer is multifaceted and starts with our obligation to be stewards of the Earth.“The Eternal placed the human being in the Garden of Eden to till and tend it,” according to Genesis 2:15. Throughout world history, this duty has been followed with varying levels of attention. Only in recent years have we seen industrialized countries, under steady pressure by citizen activists and environmental professionals, reduce air pollution, clean up rivers and streams, and protect wilderness. But now humanity faces an environmental threat of unprecedented scope.

http://www.thejewishweek.com/top/editletcontent.php3?artid=4662


Haaretz

Halutz: Deploy Lebanon army to south or IDF will halt pullout
By Gideon Alon and Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondents, and The Associated Press
Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Dan Halutz said Wednesday that the IDF would halt its withdrawal from southern Lebanon if the Lebanese army did not deploy in the area within days.
"The withdrawal of the IDF within 10 days is dependent upon the deployment of the Lebanese army," Halutz told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Commitee, according to a spokesman.
"If the Lebanese army does not move down within a number of days to the south... the way I see it, we must stop our withdrawal," Halutz added.
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A senior General Staff officer said Wednesday morning that the IDF may be forced to stay in south Lebanon for months until the deployment of an international force.
"The deployment of UNIFIL troops in south Lebanon is likely to take several months. It is not clear exactly how many. Until then, IDF forces will be forced to stay in the field," the senior General Staff officer told the same committee.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/750937.html




First time in 20 years army has deployed at border
Lebanon's army to begin deployment Wednesday in south with symbolic force
By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent and The Associated Press
The Lebanese cabinet on Wednesday opened a twice-delayed meeting and was expected to order the army to deploy to the south while skirting the issue of Hezbollah arms, a key requirement of the cease-fire that has ended fighting between Israel and the guerrillas.
"The Lebanese army will deploy [in the south] and will be for all the Lebanese," President Emile Lahoud told reporters as he entered the meeting.
Hezbollah torpedoed a cabinet meeting earlier this week when it informed the government that it was not willing to discuss disarmament.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/750942.html



Halutz: We didn't know we only had 48 hours for expanded raid
By Gideon Alon, Haaretz Correspondent
The decision to expand the ground operation in Lebanon and advance to the Litani River was not made with the knowledge that the fighting would end within 48 hours, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Dan Halutz told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Wednesday.
"When we began the operation, we did not know we only had 48 hours. We knew a diplomatic process was set to begin, but we didn't know we'd have to stop after 48 hours," Halutz said. He noted that when the decision to expand the fighting was made, the United Nations Security Council had not yet approved a resolution on the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah. He also said the operation had been planned for Wednesday, but was delayed by two days due to diplomatic efforts being made.
Halutz hinted that the expansion of the operation was meant to apply pressure on the UN.
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"It is likely that the political echelons understood that the military expansion must be implemented so as to help with the UN Security Council decision," Halutz said, noting that the resolution had been modified.
MK Danny Yatom (Labor) asked why IDF troops were ordered to advance, even after it was reported that the United States and France had reached an agreement on the resolution. Halutz did not respond to the question.
Halutz said there are "fundamental questions that must be checked and investigated, conclusions must be made, and corrections need to be made from the top to the bottom, from me to the commanders to the brigades. Each thing must be examined."
He stressed that corrections must be made quickly, because "I'm not ruling out that the situation could heat up again, and we as an army must be prepared."
Regarding the rocket threat, Halutz said, "We were successful in destroying 90 percent of the long-range missiles."
He noted that the IDF knew that Hezbollah had rockets and missiles, "but we did not predict that they would fire 4,000 rockets at Israel."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/751340.html



Hanegbi defends Halutz, decries 'culture of passing judgment'
By Zvi Zrahiya, Amos Harel, Gideon Alon and Sami Peretz, Haaretz Correspondents
The chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, MK Tzachi Hanegbi, came to the defense of Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Dan Halutz, who is at the center of a public outcry over his decision to sell off his stock portfolio hours after Hezbollah's kidnapping of two IDF soldiers.
"I have reservations over the personal - and in my eyes, loathsome - attack against the chief of staff over the course of the last day," Hanegbi told the committee on Wednesday. "I assume that my statements reflect the position of all members of the committee."
"The feeling is that a culture of passing judgment has developed among us, and a fashion that is befitting the operators of the guillotine during the French Revolution and not [befitting] our culture," Hanegbi said.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/751242.html



The dictionary of cease-fire cliches
A weakened Hezbollah The polite way of saying: "HEZBOLLAH WAS NOT DISMANTLED."
70% of Hezbollah capability was destroyed But it appears that these terrorist bastards had 750% before the war.
Resolution Something you do as to make sure your August vacation will not be interrupted by Middle Easterners who do not suffer as much from the heat.
Creating a new reality In the Sixties, the kids of Olmert's and Peretz's generation used to do this by experimenting with certain chemical substances. Most of us simply grew out of it; others, apparently, changed the means by which it is achieved (This lovely entry was sent by the reader David de Groot).
New Middle East A new way of saying "status quo ante."
Chief of Staff A citizen with "economic affairs" that should be dealt with before a war is launched.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/rosnerBlog.jhtml?itemNo=751259&contrassID=25&subContrassID=0&sbSubContrassID=1&listSrc=Y&art=1



The war-guide to winners and losers
Israel: Certainly not a winner. "Her people said she did Israel a favor," I wrote today about Secretary Rice, "as it sought a way to stop the bloodshed without seeming to surrender. She saved Israel from itself." Read my analysis here.
The Israelis are those who paid the price. Running for cover while burying the dead.
Hezbollah: Certainly not a loser. "Siniora's government would not order the army to fight Hezbollah for fear of civil war breaking out again," writes Zvi Bar'el here.
The Lebanese: My Lebanese friend wrote me a couple of days ago: "Destroying Lebanon will do you no good; all you're doing is nurturing additional hate towards the Israelis." I have not yet answered. I don't really know what to say.
Syria: A senior Defense Department official told me Wednesday that The U.S. is troubled by what official termed "a rise in Syria's self-confidence." This says it all. Read the rest of what he said here.
Iran: Haaretz' Yoel Marcus phrased it exactly right: "Neither a political accord nor a military victory will change the situation as long as Iran is around, controlling the height of the flames." Read him here.
U.S.: "The fact that the United States has spent major diplomatic capital providing Israel with an unprecedented window of opportunity to deal with Hezbollah, facing down both its European allies and the Arab League, and complicating efforts to launch multilateral sanctions against Iran, makes matters [namely, an Israeli loss] even worse," wrote David B. Rivkin Jr. and Lee A. Casey, echoing an article written by Charles Krauthammer in the Washington Post a couple of days ago (The Haaretz piece here, the Post piece here). I think it is an overstatement, but nevertheless reflects a sentiment that should be taken seriously.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/rosnerBlog.jhtml?itemNo=749495&contrassID=25&subContrassID=0&sbSubContrassID=1&listSrc=Y&art=4



Finance Ministry freezes train expansion projects in north
By Sharon Kedmi, Haaretz Correspondent
The treasury ordered a freeze on funding earmarked for the planned expansion of train services to the north of the country Wednesday.
The Finance Ministry dispatched a letter to Israel Railways management, directing it to halt the multi-year plan, valued at between NIS 20-26 billion and encompassing three significant projects which were approved earlier this year.
Among the railway projects ordered to a halt were the addition of rails to the Acre-Nahariya line at a cost of NIS 1 billion; the NIS 1 billion Haemek train project; and the opening of a Be'er Sheva-Ashkelon train route, which was expected to run NIS 1.5 billion.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/751280.html



Bush will not endorse Republican opposing Lieberman for Senate
By Reuters
U.S. President George W. Bush gave a boost to Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman's re-election bid as an independent by taking the rare step of refusing to endorse the Republican candidate running for Lieberman's Senate seat.
"We are not making any endorsement in Connecticut. The
Republican party of Connecticut has suggested that we not make an endorsement in that race and so we're not," said White House spokesman Tony Snow.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/750996.html



French foreign minister calls for Israel to end military blockade of Lebanon
By The Associated Press
BEIRUT, Lebanon - The French foreign minister on Wednesday called for Israel to lift is air, naval and land blockade of Lebanon, saying it was unnecessary with the UN cease-fire plan holding.
"The blockade imposed on the airport and Lebanese ports should be lifted. We ask Israeli authorities to lift the land and sea siege on Lebanon. And we ask the Lebanese government to strengthen monitoring" of points of entry to insure Hezbollah weapons are banned, said Philippe Douste-Blazy.
"There is no longer a reason for Israel to continue the blockade," he said.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/751323.html



Iran ready to discuss suspension of uranium enrichment
By Reuters
TEHRAN - The Iranian foreign minister said Wednesday Iran was ready to discuss the issue of suspending uranium enrichment in talks with the West but would seek to explain that Tehran believes any halt would be "illogical."
A package of incentives backed by six world powers demanded Iran suspend enrichment before starting negotiations. Iran has said it would respond to the proposal by August 22 but Iranian officials have so far given no indication they will accept.
"We are ready to discuss all the issues including the suspension. There is no logic behind the suspension of Iran's activities. We are ready to explain this to them," Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told reporters.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/751301.html



Assad: Future generations will find a way to defeat IDF
By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent and Agencies
Syrian President Bashar Assad congratulated Hezbollah yesterday for what he described as their success in "defeating Israel." Assad said that the members of the resistance used their "will, determination and faith" to counter Israeli arms, enabling them to defeat Israel.
"The resistance is necessary as much as it is natural and legitimate," he said. Assad said this war revealed the limitations of Israel's military power.
The Syrian leader also railed against the United States and moderates in Lebanon, declaring that the way to victory is via resistance to occupation, and "support for the resistance creates deterrence against aggression."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/750961.html



IDF kills 5 Hezbollah men as gradual withdrawal from S. Lebanon continues
By Amos Harel
Five Hezbollah fighters were killed in two clashes with Israel Defense Forces soldiers in south Lebanon yesterday. Nevertheless, Hezbollah generally honored the truce, and refrained from firing rockets at Israel.
The IDF also continued a gradual withdrawal of forces from south Lebanon, in preparation for the entry of the Lebanese Army and an expanded UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). At the moment, it is primarily withdrawing reservists, and by tomorrow, the last reservists are slated to be out. In some places they are being replaced by regular army troops.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/750959.html



Northern schools to open on time despite damage
By Yulie Khromchenko and Jack Khoury
Most schools in the North will open on time, although some confrontation line community heads have conditioned their opening on a major injection of funding to their education budgets.
Some elementary schools and kindergartens may open as early as August 27, in a summer camp mode, led by soldier-teachers and volunteer teachers. Representatives of the Home Front Command will meet today with representatives of the local authorities, teachers and parents to decide how the school year will open.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/750955.html



Jewish Agency launches campaign to rehabilitate North
By Amiram Barkat
The Jewish Agency has announced it will begin a campaign to rehabilitate the North by assisting small businesses, educational institutions and tourism, students and the injured.
The Jewish Agency has received $60 million from Diaspora Jews, earmarked for various purposes - among them hosting some 30,000 children in the center of the country, and installing thousands of air conditioners, TV sets, lighting and other emergency equipment in public and private shelters in Jewish and non-Jewish communities.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/750950.html



'We have a debt to Israel'
By Goel Pinto
He is a refugee from the north and since the start of the bombing has been staying with his sister at a relative's in Ra'anana. Debora is a tourist from Marseilles, whose parents were not deterred by the war and came to Israel with their three children.
Debora giggles with her friends, consulting as to whether she should keep talking to Bar. Finally she decides to pass, kisses him on the cheek and says in French: "I'll see you inside." Bar does not understand, strokes his cheek and smiles to his friends in triumph. But it seems the refugee and the tourist will never meet again, because the bouncers refused to let Bar into the club on account of his age.
Tel Aviv is full of such encounters these days. One could say that French is the prevalent language heard today on the beaches, in coffee shops and in Tel Aviv stores - closely followed by Hebrew. According to the Tourism Ministry, French Jews have been Israel's most loyal tourists in past years. Close to two million tourists visited here in 2005, and 310,000 of them came from France. The last six months show a similar trend: Out of a million tourists who visited Israel, 120,000 came from France. Last month the French went on their summer holiday, and since then 40,000 tourists arrived in Israel.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/750519.html



The Boston Globe

Toxic algae levels feared in lower Charles River
Officials warn against contact
By Beth Daley, Globe Staff August 16, 2006
Explosive growth of algae that can be highly toxic to humans and animals has streaked the Charles River with fluorescent green filaments, prompting state health and environmental officials to warn boaters and dog owners to avoid any water contact from the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge to the Museum of Science.
The organism, known as microcystis, can secrete toxins that irritate the skin, eyes, and ears of people who come in contact with contaminated water. A person would have to drink an enormous amount of water to become seriously ill, but ingesting even a small quantity may cause diarrhea. Dogs and wildlife, which are smaller and therefore more susceptible, can become sick or die from drinking the water.
Community Boating Inc., located on the Charles River near the Hatch Shell, has temporarily suspended all kayaking, windsurfing, and some sailing classes using boats that can more easily capsize. Rowing teams are steering clear of the lower Charles River.
``We've never seen an algae bloom like this before" on the Charles, said Anna Eleria, a water-quality scientist with the Charles River Watershed Association, an environmental advocacy group that is working to warn the public. ``It's not safe for people to let their dogs in, and we want to warn people to avoid contact."
No one is known to have become sick from the water since testing first indicated a problem Friday, state health officials said, although they received several calls from people wondering what the streaks of green slime were in the water. No animal or fish deaths have been reported. State Department of Conservation and Recreation officials said they put up 50 warning signs over the weekend on the banks of the 1.7-mile contaminated stretch, although none were visible yesterday on the Boston shore.
Though final testing is still needed to confirm that the algae is secreting toxins, state environmental officials said yesterday that the density and type of bloom convinced them it probably poses a danger to humans and animals.
Concentrations of microcystis are extraordinarily high in the river. World Health Organization guidelines say health threats can occur in recreational waters once a threshold of 100,000 cells per milliliter of water is reached. On Friday, state Department of Environmental Protection officials recorded more than a million cells per milliliter in a sample taken two days earlier near the Museum of Science. Subsequent tests Saturday yielded results of 600,000, 300,000, and 200,000 cells per milliliter closer to the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge, and more testing was taking place yesterday in the area and further upstream.
Yesterday's wind and early rain broke up the mats of the organism so that only pea- and dime-sized flecks floated on the water, making them no less toxic but harder to see. Experts say the sun and warm temperatures predicted for the next few days will probably allow the organisms to regroup into what can look like green cottage cheese or streaks of antifreeze. The microcystis is most apparent in lagoons, but it is also in the main river and tends to clump near the banks.
Microcystis is a type of blue-green algae, also known as cyanobacteria, found in fresh water. The organisms are usually present in amounts so small they are harmless, but can have rapid growth spurts when exposed to nutrients. Scientists say large amounts of nutrients, from lawn fertilizer and road runoff, probably washed into the Charles River during the spring's heavy rains. Then hot temperatures allowed microcystis colonies to glom together to grow their telltale long filaments.
Such outbreaks occur with some regularity in New England. New Hampshire has temporarily closed several freshwater beaches this year because of microcystis. In the summers of 1999 and 2000, two dogs died after drinking contaminated water from Lake Champlain on the New York-Vermont border.
``It's a global problem," said Bob Howarth, a professor of ecology at Cornell University who studies cyanobacteria. Howarth said the bloom might not dissipate in the Charles until the cool days of autumn. And since the Charles now has a serious outbreak, he said, it's more likely that another bloom will happen in the future. The bacteria form cysts that sink to the river 's bottom, waiting to start another growth spurt, helped by another nutrient infusion.
The outbreak was first spotted by employees of the Charles River Watershed Association 2 1/2 weeks ago, but they didn't know what it was or think it was serious. Then, the US Environmental Protection Agency scooped up a sample last Wednesday during monthly monitoring of the Charles River. The state Department of Environmental Protection tested the sample by Friday. Soon after, the Charles River Watershed Association began calling boathouses, sending e-mail alerts, and posting red flags that signal poor water quality in the Charles River.
Boaters and rowing enthusiasts seemed largely unperturbed by the bloom yesterday, saying they would simply practice upstream or take care not to be splashed or fall in the water.
The same type of algae has been detected in the Charles River before, but never in the concentrations recorded over the last week.
An official with the EPA said the outbreak shows how much still needs to be done to clean up the Charles. While it's come a long way from being the inspiration for The Standells' song ``Dirty Water" in the 1960s, it still has problems.
``This is a system that's been overloaded for a long time" with nutrients, said Mark Voorhees, an environmental engineer for the EPA.
His agency plans to issue new limits on nutrients in the Charles this fall. ``It's going to take time to fix," he said.
Beth Daley can be reached at bdaley@globe.com.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/08/16/toxic_algae_levels_feared_in_lower_charles_river?mode=PF



EEE mosquitoes are at 5-year high
Greater risk to public feared
By David Abel, Globe Staff August 16, 2006
The number of mosquitoes found carrying the sometimes-deadly Eastern equine encephalitis virus this year now exceeds the number of infected insects identified in each of the past five years, officials at the state Department of Public Health said yesterday.
With two months left in the season, state officials are worried that the rise in the number of infected mosquitoes will soon mean more passing of the virus to humans.
``It's a bad year," said Dr. Alfred DeMaria, chief medical officer for the Department of Public Health, who attributed the rise, in part, to this year's heavy rains. ``There's a lot of EEE out there."
Officials were unsure yesterday whether widespread spraying was needed.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/08/16/eee_mosquitoes_are_at_5_year_high/


London flight diverted to Logan after on-board fight; security threat
By Mac Daniel
Globe Staff
A United Airlines flight from London to Washington, D.C. was diverted to Logan International Airport after a confrontation between two or three passengers and after authorities found "prohibited items" in one of the passenger's carry-on luggage.
A female passenger aboard United Flight 923 had Vaseline, a screw driver, matches and a note referencing al-Qaida, according to Phil Orlandella, spokesman for Boston's Logan International Airport.
All three items were banned from flights after past security threats.
United spokesman Brandon Borrman said a female passenger was spotted engaging in some "suspicious" activity, but he could not immediately say what the activity was.
State Police and federal agencies took control of the plane after it landed.
Passengers were seen coming off the plane on the tarmac and being loaded onto a bus. Orlandella said their carry-on luggage was being checked.
Last week, British authorities said they foiled a terror plot to blow up trans-Atlantic flights from London to the United States.
Federal officials are saying the diversion of flight 923 is not terrorism-related though there was concern about the flight's security.
One of the passengers involved in the fight was reportedly bound in the back of the plane, airport officials said. An FBI spokeswoman said the bound passenger was a female suffering from some form of claustrophobia.
The United Airlines flight landed around 10:13 a.m. carrying 182 pasengers and 12 crew members. It was bound for Dulles International Airport.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is involved, and passengers were expected to be off-loaded shortly, go through customs and be questioned.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_region/breaking_news/2006/08/london_flight_d.html



US defends X-raying of travelers' shoes
Agency's claim is contradicted by federal study
By Leslie Miller, Associated Press August 16, 2006
WASHINGTON -- The government sought to assure airline travelers yesterday that X-raying shoes at security checkpoints was a reliable way of detecting improvised bombs, an assertion that was contradicted by a Department of Homeland Security study.
``Screening shoes by X-ray is an effective method of identifying any type of anomaly, including explosives," Transportation Security Administration chief Kip Hawley said at a news conference at Washington's Reagan National Airport.
A study by the Homeland Security Department, obtained by the Associated Press, states that X-ray images ``do not provide the information necessary to effect detection of explosives."
But under new orders this week, all airline passengers must put their shoes through X-ray machines before boarding their flights.
A scientist who has studied the issue said the truth lies somewhere between the study's findings that X-ray machines can't detect bombs and Hawley's assertion that they can.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/08/16/us_defends_x_raying_of_travelers_shoes/



Israel to halt pullout unless Lebanon army deploys
Israeli soldiers carry their equipment to waiting buses near the northern Israeli town of Nahariya as troops continue their withdrawal from south Lebanon, August 16, 2006. (REUTERS/Mike Hutchings)
By Alistair Lyon, Special Correspondent August 16, 2006
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Israel said on Wednesday it would stop withdrawing from south Lebanon unless Lebanese troops moved there within days, as diplomats worked on plans for a stronger U.N. force to bolster the truce with Hizbollah guerrillas.
The Lebanese cabinet will order an immediate army deployment in the south when it meets later in the day, a senior political source said, adding that a 15,000-strong force would start taking up positions south of the Litani River, about 20 km (13 miles) from the Israeli border, on Thursday.
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy, holding talks in Beirut, urged Lebanon to send the army south rapidly to move alongside U.N. peacekeepers into areas vacated by the Israelis.
"The withdrawal of the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) within 10 days is dependent upon the deployment of the Lebanese army," Israel's army chief Dan Halutz told parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, according to a spokesman.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2006/08/16/israel_to_halt_pullout_unless_lebanon_army_deploys/



Romney swears in new Turnpike head
Governor Mitt Romney swore-in Secretary of Transportation John Cogliano this morning as acting chairman of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, the first of several steps to bring the agency in-line with Romney's goal of making it a more transparent agency.
"There's a new era here," Cogliano said today. "We are going to have for the first time accountability, transparency and reform."
The board is expected to accept an offer of free services by the executive search agency Korn/Ferry International to conduct a search for a new Turnpike chief executive officer. The board is also expected to repeal provisions that had given the Turnpike chairman increased power over the board's agenda.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_region/breaking_news/2006/08/romney_swears_i.html



State closes 2 mortgage firms in Lawrence
Brokers allegedly inflated incomes of applicants
By Jonathan Saltzman and Maria Sacchetti, Globe Staff August 16, 2006
The state has shut two licensed mortgage brokers in Lawrence and fined one of them $200,000 after regulators documented several cases of brokers inflating the incomes of borrowers on mortgage applications, sometimes doubling or tripling the sums, to help home buyers qualify for loans.
The Division of Banks issued cease-and-desist orders against Diamond Mortgage Services and Synergy Mortgage Group, both of which have offices in the same building in downtown Lawrence, after Globe inquiries about possible mortgage fraud in the former mill city of 82,000.
Diamond Mortgage has agreed to close its Lawrence office, to not open any other office in the state for two years, and to pay a $200,000 penalty. The agreement does not affect Diamond Mortgage's operations in Taunton, where it is based.
The state reached no agreement with Synergy Mortgage, which has 20 days to request a hearing to challenge a temporary cease-and-desist order or it will become permanent.
The division said the two brokers arranged loans they knew borrowers could not afford.

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2006/08/16/state_closes_2_mortgage_firms_in_lawrence/?p1=MEWell_Pos4



Wholesale inflation inches up 0.1%
Analysts say surging fuel prices to make the relief short-lived
By Associated Press August 16, 2006
WASHINGTON -- Falling food prices helped keep inflation at the wholesale level contained in July. But a relentless rise in energy prices was expected to make the relief short-lived.
The Labor Department reported yesterday that wholesale prices increased a slight 0.1 percent in July, far below the 0.5 percent jump in June. The improvement reflected a retreat in food prices, which had surged 1.4 percent in June only to decline 0.3 percent in July.
Core wholesale inflation, which excludes energy and food, was also well-behaved in July, posting an unexpected decline of 0.3 percent, the first drop in nine months.

http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2006/08/16/wholesale_inflation_inches_up_01/



List of Dell laptop batteries recalled
By The Associated Press August 14, 2006
Dell Inc. is recalling battery packs made for the following models of notebook computers that were shipped between April 2004 and last month:
Dell Latitude D410, D500, D505, D510, D520, D600, D610, D620, D800, D810.
Dell Inspiron 6000, 8500, 8600, 9100, 9200, 9300, 500m, 510m, 600m, 6400, E1505, 700m, 710m, 9400, E1705.
Dell Precision M20, M60, M70, M90.
XPS, XPS Gen2, XPS M170 and XPS M1710.
The batteries were also sold separately for $60 to $180, including to customers on service calls.
Each battery bears an identification number on a white sticker. Customers should have the number handy when they call Dell to learn if the battery is covered by the recall.
The company planned to launch a Web site, http://www.dellbatteryprogram.com, at 1 a.m. CDT on Tuesday. Customers can also call a toll-free Dell number, 1-866-342-0011, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CDT.
Dell said the notebooks can be safely used on an A/C power cord if the battery is removed first

http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2006/08/14/list_of_dell_laptop_batteries_recalled/



Gerald Ford in Minn. hospital for tests
Former President Gerald Ford and former first lady Betty Ford smile from the front of their house as President Bush, not pictured, leaves after visiting with them at their home in Rancho Mirage, Calif. Sunday, April 23, 2006. Ford was admitted to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota on Tuesday Aug. 15, 2006 for "testing and evaluation," his office said in a statement. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
By Gregg Aamot, Associated Press Writer August 16, 2006
MINNEAPOLIS --Former President Ford has checked into the Mayo Clinic for a few days as he undergoes unspecified "testing and evaluation."
Ford's office released a statement saying the 93-year-old former chief executive was admitted Tuesday, but disclosed little else about the reason for his hospital stay.
The clinic in Rochester, about 75 miles southeast of Minneapolis, offered no additional details.
"No further releases or updates are anticipated prior to early next week," according to the statement issued from Ford's office in Beaver Creek, Colo. Ford also has a home in Rancho Mirage, Calif.
Mayo Clinic spokesman John Murphy said he had no further information. A message seeking comment from Ford's chief of staff, Penny Circle, was not returned.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/08/16/gerald_ford_in_minn_hospital_for_tests/



Arthur Pier; Back Bay doctor built practice on house calls
By Bryan Marquard, Globe Staff August 16, 2006
Well into his 70s, Dr. Arthur S. Pier Jr. would step into the hallway of the Back Bay building that housed his office, pass through the alcove with its musty smell of aged wood, and pull open the ponderous front door. Clad in the tweed jacket and sneakers he wore in any weather, he would turn right on Beacon Street if a patient was ailing near Copley Square or left if the call had come from Beacon Hill.
Black doctor's satchel clutched in his right hand, off he would go to a house call, one of two dozen or more he made each week in the 1980s.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/obituaries/articles/2006/08/16/arthur_pier_back_bay_doctor_built_practice_on_house_calls/



Nine no longer: Panel declares 12 planets
By Gareth Cook, Globe Staff August 16, 2006
The solar system has 12 planetsThat is the conclusion, to be announced today, of an international panel formed to devise a scientific definition of a planet and settle an increasingly intense dispute over whether Pluto qualifies. The panel suggests retaining Pluto and immediately adding three new planets to the nine that are familiar to any schoolchild: Ceres, currently considered a large asteroid; Charon, now considered a moon of Pluto; and Xena, a recently discovered object that is larger than Pluto.
But the group's proposal also makes clear that many more objects in the solar system -- perhaps dozens of them -- could qualify as planets after further study.
The new definition has been approved by the executive committee of the International Astronomical Union , and a vote of the union's general assembly is scheduled for Aug. 24 at a conference underway in Prague. If it is approved, which several astronomers said seems likely, the world's textbooks and museum displays would have to be updated -- not to mention solar system models, posters, software, and toys with only nine planets.
The change, scientists say, would be a mark of the great age of discovery that astronomy has entered over the last three decades, with the advent of space probes, powerful telescopes, and new observational techniques.

http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2006/08/16/nine_no_longer_panel_declares_12_planets/?p1=MEWell_Pos2



Nude man attacks Mo. police officer
August 15, 2006
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. --A naked man attacked a Cape Girardeau police officer and tried go to grab his gun before officers used a stun gun to subdue him.
The incident happened Sunday afternoon as police responded to a call of an attempted break-in at a trailer park, police spokesman Jason Selzer said. At the scene, police spotted the naked man walking.
As an officer was getting out of his car, the 52-year-old man walked toward the squad car and grabbed the officer, slamming him into the side of the vehicle.
The officer fired his stun gun, but the assailant kept attacking, grabbing at the officer's neck. When the two fell to the ground, the man attempted to grab the officer's handgun, Selzer said.
The officer struck the man's face with his forearm and was able to put the suspect's arms behind his back. A second officer arrived, fired his stun gun at the suspect and handcuffed him, Selzer said.
The man was suspected of being under the influence of drugs, and was taken to a hospital for evaluation.
Charges have not been filed. The officer was not seriously hurt.

http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2006/08/15/nude_man_attacks_mo_police_officer/


The New Zealand Herald


Families evacuated after major Wellington slip
UPDATED 3.50pm Wednesday August 16, 2006
Families were rushed from their homes as several thousand tonnes of hillside slipped away above Wellington's Oriental Parade this morning, burying a building up to its second storey and smashing through windows.
Nobody was injured or buried in the slip, emergency services have established.
The five-storey building at 342 Oriental Parade on Wellington's waterfront was being threatened by a "substantial subsidence" of soil, Wellington chief fire officer Jon Graham said.
Mr Graham said several thousand tonnes of soil had come down, coming up to the second level of the building. More soil and rock has become unstable since 1pm, and a large crack has appeared higher up the hill, Newstalk ZB reported.
A total of 18 people were evacuated and busy Oriental Parade was closed for the morning. It has since reopened.
Soil had earlier crashed through windows of the building, which was evacuated along with the neighbours on either side and another building.
A house perched above the slip was also evacuated.
Wellington City Council spokesman Simon Beattie said the Fire Service had brought in specialised equipment to determine whether anybody was trapped in the slip but they were confident that was not the case.
The cause of the slip is not known.
"It looks like a long-term event," Mr Graham said.
"We're certainly not going into the building and we're not advocating any of the residents go into the building as there is still subsidence occurring.
"It's still a very dangerous situation."
City council and Earthquake Commission engineers were still assessing the site to determine what further risk it posed, Mr Beattie said.
Once they had made their assessment the council would decide when the evacuated residents could return to their homes.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10396511



Danger signals from the weather forecast
Wednesday August 16, 2006
By Steve Connor
Forest fires, droughts and floods are all likely to become more severe and more common if global warming heats the planet as seriously as some scientists predict.
A study of what may happen if global average temperatures rise by 3C or more over the next 200 years suggests that extreme weather events are going to be more frequent and more severe.
The study also warns that vegetation could lose its ability to be a net absorber of carbon dioxide, and instead become a net producer of greenhouse gases.
Marko Scholze, a climate scientist at Bristol University in England, said the research showed that if the average world temperature rose by more than 3C over the next 200 years, as widely predicted, there was a higher risk of extreme instances of forest fires or floods.
"We looked at these extreme events and what we found was that a once-in-a-hundred-year event can become a once-in-a-10-year event by the end of the century," he said.
The study analysed 52 computer models of the world's climate. Researchers found that as temperatures rose, so did the risk of forest fires, droughts and flooding caused by the sudden runoff of heavy rainfall.
Even if we stop emitting greenhouse gases today, temperatures are still likely to continue increasing because of the inherent inertia of the world's climate system.
A 2C increase in average temperatures increases by 30 per cent the risk of significant deforestation in the northern forests of Eurasia, eastern China, Canada, and the tropical rainforests of central America and the Amazon.
This risk would rise to 60 per cent and affect wider areas if temperatures rose by 3C.
Other effects of higher temperatures include less freshwater and a greater risk of more intense droughts in west Africa, central America, southern Europe and the eastern states of America.
But one of the most dangerous scenarios depicted in the study involves land vegetation.
"Vegetation takes up carbon dioxide. About half of what we emit is taken up by plants," Dr Scholze said.
But when temperatures rise above 3C, the absorbing effect of carbon dioxide by plants is outweighed by the increase in organic decomposition within the soil, which increases with temperature.
"We then see that we don't only have the carbon emissions from humans, but from the terrestrial biosphere as well," Dr Scholze said.
The climate change study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10396352



More than 1100 families flee Sudan floods
4.20pm Tuesday August 15, 2006
Khartoum - Heavy floods have forced more than 1100 families to flee in Sudan, while the river Nile has risen to a serious level, according to local officials.
Awad Widatalla Hussein, head of the civil defence authority, said only one person was officially confirmed dead, although Sudanese papers carried numbers of at least eight killed in Khartoum alone.
The Nile in Khartoum was at 16.40 metres on Sunday, above its height on the same day in 1988, when scores of people were killed and hundreds of thousands lost their homes due to heavy rains and floods.
"This Nile level is high alert," Hussein said. "It is very serious."
"The difference between now and 1988 is that now we have mostly flooding and then we had heavy rain too," Hussein said.
Parts of the capital were under water on Monday with many of the dirt roads turning to clay pits. Rainstorms knocked out electricity in many parts of the town.
Areas of Tutti Island in the confluence where the Blue and White Nile rivers meet in Khartoum were under water.
Heavy floods have been common in the past few years in Sudan's east along the Blue Nile but happen more rarely in the capital and the north where much of Sudan's population live.
An outbreak of cholera early this year in the south, the western Darfur region and in Khartoum has heightened fears of water-borne diseases spreading because of the floods.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10396283



Listeria prompts mussel recall
Wednesday August 16, 2006
Pams and Future Cuisine smoked mussels have been recalled after the discovery of listeria bacteria in samples.
Five batches, numbered 1508, 1509, 1510, 1512 and 1513, with best before dates between August 21 and August 27, are part of the recall.
All flavours and packet sizes are included.
Future Cuisine Ltd says there have been no reports of illness but samples of the mussels tested positive to listeria monocytogenes.
Listeria can cause flu-like symptoms and is particularly dangerous to pregnant women and their unborn children.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10396489



Peters slams Pacific's chequebook diplomacy
2.30pm Wednesday August 16, 2006
By Peter Wilson
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has warned of the dangers posed by chequebook diplomacy in the Pacific, citing Taiwan's involvement in the Solomon Islands as an example.
He said today New Zealand actively discouraged that type of diplomacy, as well as aid with poor accountability, gifts and other practices which encouraged corruption and poor governance.
"Those who seek to manage their relations with the region in this way not only do great harm but also run significant risks to their own international reputation," he said in a speech to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association's Australian and Regional Conference in Wellington.
Mr Peters did not identify any countries in his speech but during a discussion with delegates after delivering it he was asked which ones he had been referring to.
"I think Taiwan's involvement in the recent blow-up in the Solomon Islands is irrefutable," he said. "I think they were engaged in chequebook diplomacy. I think the outcome was disastrous."

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10396529



Breast implants save Israeli's life in rocket attack
6.20am Wednesday August 16, 2006
JERUSALEM - An Israeli woman's breast implants saved her life when she was wounded in a Hizbollah rocket attack during Israel's war with the Lebanese group, a hospital spokesman said yesterday.
Doctors found shrapnel embedded in the silicone implants, just inches from the 24-year-old's heart.
"She was saved from death," said a spokesman for Nahariya Hospital in northern Israel. The woman has been released from hospital.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10396437



UK investigating 'dozens of plots' for mass murder
Monday August 14, 2006
By Jason Bennetto and Nigel Morris
LONDON - MI5, the British intelligence agency, and the police are investigating "dozens and dozens" of al Qaeda inspired plots to cause mass murder in the UK, counter terrorism sources have disclosed.
The alleged plot to destroy up to ten transatlantic airliners, which police say they foiled last week, was just one of about 12 similar terrorist plans to kill hundreds of people currently being investigated.
Britain's Joint Terrorism and Analysis Centre today downgraded its security threat level from "critical" to "severe", saying intelligence suggested an attack was "highly likely" but not "imminent".
The Department for Transport has revised its security measures for airline passengers as a result of the downgrade. Click here for details.
Home Secretary John Reid said the threat level was downgraded because police believed the main suspects in the alleged plot had been arrested, but that there was still "a very serious threat of an attack".
He urged the public to remain vigilant.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10396122




Airlines to cut more Heathrow flights amid security row
Monday August 14, 2006
By Michael Smith
LONDON - Airlines will cut 20 per cent of flights departing London's Heathrow Airport on Monday following a directive by the airport's owner amid a growing dispute over how to handle tougher security measures.
Airport operator BAA Plc said carriers had to cut departures further this week to cope with congestion caused by tightened security or else it may ban them from using the airport.
The directive followed a 30 per cent reduction in flights on Sunday as airlines struggle with tight security at British airports following what police said was a foiled plot to blow up trans-atlantic airliners.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10396146



Mountain of luggage left as passengers fly out of Britain
8.20am Wednesday August 16, 2006
LONDON - Thousands of passengers leaving British airports on Tuesday were doing so without their luggage, which has been held up by security measures brought in after last week's alleged plot to blow up transatlantic airliners.
British Airways said it was trying to clear a backlog of 5000 bags at Heathrow and other airlines were experiencing similar problems.
"We've got articulated lorries going into cities in the UK and Europe and we are using Fed Ex to send bags to Europe and the US," a spokeswoman for the airline said.
"We currently have around 5000 bags waiting to be despatched to their owners."

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10396469



US saw Lebanon war as step towards Iran strike, report claims
1.00pm Monday August 14, 2006
By Andrew Buncombe
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration was informed in advance and gave the "green light" to Israel's military strikes against Hizbollah - drawn up months before the militia seized two Israeli soldiers - it has been claimed.
The US reportedly considered Israel's actions as a necessary prerequisite for a possible strike against Iran.
A report by a leading investigative reporter says that earlier this summer Israeli officials visited Washington to brief the government on its plan to respond to any Hizbollah provocation and to "find out how much the US would bear".
The officials apparently started their inquiries with the Vice-President, Dick Cheney, knowing that if they secured his support, obtaining the backing of the President and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would be easier.
The report by Seymour Hersh quotes an unidentified US government consultant with close ties to the Israelis who says: "The Israelis told us it would be a cheap war with many benefits. Why oppose it? We'll be able to hunt down and bomb missiles, tunnels, and bunkers from the air. It would be a demo for Iran."
A former intelligence officer also quoted, says: "We told Israel, 'Look, if you guys have to go, we're behind you all the way. But we think it should be sooner rather than later. The longer you wait, the less time we have to evaluate and plan for Iran before Bush gets out of office'."

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10396119




Sri Lanka returns to war as Tamil Tigers refuse talks
1.00pm Monday August 14, 2006
By Justin Huggler
Sri Lanka appeared to be returning to civil war yesterday as the worst fighting in four years raged in the north, and the Tamil Tiger rebels ruled out peace talks.
The weekend has seen intense fighting around the Jaffna peninsula, scene of some of the heaviest battles of the civil war.
There were reports of serious casualties in the latest fighting.
The government claimed 200 Tigers and 27 of its own forces were killed on Saturday alone.
Although the wide discrepancy in the government's figures cast some doubt on them, the silence from the Tigers, who have not commented on casualties, suggests they may have suffered heavy losses.
The government's decision to launch a limited ground offensive on Tiger positions near Trincomalee two weeks ago looks increasingly to have opened Pandora's Box on Sri Lanka.
The fighting has spread dramatically.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10396148



Pope says Church not just a string of prohibitions
8.45am Monday August 14, 2006
VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict has said Catholicism should not be seen as a "collection of prohibitions" because of bans on gay marriage, abortion and contraception but as a Church with positive values.
In the long and rare interview with German television and Vatican Radio on Sunday, he also offered some personal insights, saying he was not lonely in his job but did not feel strong enough to plan many long overseas trips like his predecessor John Paul.
He also said he was happy that the world was now noticing other aspects of his personality to correct the stern image many people had of him while, as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, he was the Church's chief doctrinal enforcer before his 2005 election.
The interview, which will be posted on the Vatican website www.vatican.va, was recorded last week at his summer retreat south of Rome and broadcast ahead of a trip to his native Germany next month.
Benedict said while he would not be travelling as much as John Paul, he yearned to visit the Holy Land, but only "in a time of peace".

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10396101



Crowds gather for Maori Queen

UPDATED 2.50pm Wednesday August 16, 2006
By Simon O'Rourke
Dame Te Atairangikaahu's body was brought onto the forecourt of the marae at Turangawaewae in Ngaruawahia this afternoon.
As many as 500 people - including family members, dignitaries and wider family from other hapu within the Tainui waka - were present after her body was moved from within the marae at around 1.30pm.
Dame Te Atairangikaahu, the Maori Queen, died last evening aged 75.
Crowds had gathered this morning on the road outside the marae to lament their leader's death. They were told their Queen was lying in peace, surrounded by about 300 whanau.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10396513

Pictures

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/media.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10396348



Tonga's King 'gravely ill'
10.30am Wednesday August 16, 2006
Tonga's King, Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, is gravely ill in an Auckland hospital, Associated Press has reported the nation's Prime Minister as saying.
Prime Minister Feleti Sevele announced the ailing 88-year-old king's failing health in a special broadcast that interrupted regular late-night programmes on Radio Tonga and Television Tonga.
Sevele said the king's health had deteriorated and asked for prayers for his wellbeing.
Wheelchair-bound King Tupou suffers from heart problems and has been receiving long-term medical care in Auckland. He was well enough to return to Tonga for his birthday celebration in early July.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10396492


WW1 soldiers executed for cowardice and desertion to be pardoned
1.00pm Wednesday August 16, 2006
LONDON - The British government says it will pardon 300 World War One soldiers executed for cowardice, desertion and other offences.
Relatives of the dead British soldiers have long argued the officers who ordered their executions failed to take into account the horrific circumstances of the 1914-1918 war that put soldiers under immense stress and may have affected them psychologically.
One soldier set to be pardoned, Private Harry Farr, was suffering from severe shellshock when he refused to return to the front line, his family has long maintained.
He was shot at dawn on October 2, 1916, aged 25.
Defence Secretary Des Browne said he had decided to grant a group pardon to more than 300 soldiers because the evidence did not exist to assess each case individually.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10396516



Haiti political prisoner released after two years without charge
1.00pm Wednesday August 16, 2006
By Andrew Buncombe
A popular Haitian folk singer and political activist has been released from jail - more than two years after she was seized by US Marines and incarcerated without charge.
Annette Auguste, better known as So Ann ("Sister Ann") was released after her lawyer persuaded a judge in Port-au-Prince that there was no evidence to hold her.
Yesterday, freed after 826 days in jail, she spoke of her incarceration onDemocracy Now radio in the US.
"The conditions in prison were very bad for everyone," So Ann said.
"Everybody was suffering. It was not only me."
"I was only released yesterday after two years and three months. They had no evidence to condemn me - that is why I'm released and I'm free."

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10396518



German town in uproar over plans for neo-Nazi training centre
1.00pm Wednesday August 16, 2006
By Tony Paterson
BERLIN - The citizens of the small German town of Delmenhorst were up in arms yesterday after failing at the last minute to thwart a notorious far-right group's plans to buy up a hotel overlooking its main park for use as a training centre for neo-Nazis from across the country.
The renowned German neo-Nazi and Hamburg lawyer Juergen Rieger was poised to buy up the vacant €3.4m ($6.8m) City Park Hotel in Delmenhorst's centre yesterday despite frantic attempts by local residents to raise enough cash to purchase the building themselves.
The sudden setback for the townspeople occurred after the hotel's owner flatly refused the idea of a residents' buyout and announced that he was ready to donate the hotel to Mr Reiger to avoid paying an outstanding mortgage on the property.
"Legally there is nothing we can do. We cannot stop the owner from doing what he wants with his property," Delmenshorst's exasperated mayor, Carsten Schwettmann, said yesterday.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10396521



Controversy over raunchy pictures of Prince Harry
Wednesday August 16, 2006
By Cahal Milmo
UK's The Sun newspaper was yesterday forced to defend its publication of a picture of Prince Harry fondling a woman in a nightclub after it emerged that the photograph was three years old.
The paper, which has scored a number of royal scoops based on embarrassing pictures of the prince, claimed the photograph of Harry kissing a blonde friend with his hand on her breast had been taken this summer in a trendy London nightspot, Boujis.
But Clarence House said the photograph, accompanied by the headline "Dirty Harry", was taken in 2003 at another night club called Purple, which was located in the basement of Chelsea Football Club and has since closed.
The 21-year-old prince and his party lifestyle have become a circulation-boosting staple for red top tabloids and celebrity gossip magazines.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10396522



Pamphlets plead for news of missing student
9.00am Wednesday August 16, 2006
The parents of 19-year-old student Daniel Hansman, who has been missing for six days, admit they can do little more than wait and hope.
Eddie and Jean Hansman continued to distribute leaflets throughout the Wellington region yesterday pleading for information on their son's whereabouts.
Daniel Hansman was last seen at 11.30 on Thursday night outside the Coyote Bar on Courtenay Place.
The second-year design student was drunk and, with a friend, had been refused entry to several bars before he vanished while his friend went to the toilet.
Daniel Hansman is 1.77m tall with dark hair and a goatee. He was wearing dark jeans, a dark blue-black shirt and black dress shoes.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10396436



Girls exchanging sex for P
11.10am Wednesday August 16, 2006
By Esther McLaren
Girls as young as 16 are being drawn into prostitution to fund their drug habits, police say.
Senior Constable Mike Tahere said police on the Kapiti Coast had come across about five school-leavers who told them they had performed sexual acts with dealers in exchange for methamphetamine, or "P".
"These are young girls who've been introduced to P by dealers. They've told us, 'You know, we do favours', to fund their habit."
The girls had not broken the law by prostituting themselves because they were 16, Mr Tahere said.
But Kapiti police were concerned at the new trend.
Mr Tahere said the problem did not stem directly from gangs, although sometimes gang members were dealing the drug.
"Gangs are involved. Not all of [the dealers] are gang members but you've got what you'd call gang associates."
Police had spoken to the girls after being approached by concerned family members, Mr Tahere said.
They could be referred to youth aid or, if they were over 17, charged with drug possession.
Police Constable Lynette Burns, of Youth Aid, said they had seen a number of girls in recent years who were having sex in exchange for P but it was less of a problem this year than last.
Mr Tahere said the P problem affected the whole Kapiti Coast, and the main aim for police was to catch the dealers rather than the users.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10396499



Watching TV wrestling linked to date violence
11.40am Wednesday August 16, 2006
NEW YORK - High-school boys, and girls in particular, who regularly watch pro wrestling television shows seem to be more likely than non-viewers to get into fights with their partners when they're on dates, new research suggests.
Parents who watch wrestling may not feel it has any effect on themselves and so they don't think it affects their children, but "high school children are very much in a rapid developmental process," study co-author Dr. Robert H. DuRant told Reuters.
"They are affected by this," he said, citing the extreme violence involved in television wrestling as well as the blatant use of sexuality, vulgar language and derogatory terms for women.
DuRant and his team at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, followed a random sample of 2228 students from all of the public high schools in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County, North Carolina for a six- to seven-month period.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10396481



NZ stocks: Shares flat despite stronger offshore markets
6.45pm Wednesday August 16, 2006
Strong offshore markets failed to fire up the New Zealand sharemarket today.
The benchmark NZX-50 index closed up 3.11 points to 3495.35 on moderate trading worth $100 million.
"It's a disappointing performance given the offshore markets and what's happening in Australia," Joe Gallagher of Goldman Sachs JB Were said.
The Australian sharemarket was up 0.6 per cent in mid-afternoon trading on the back of strong profits from Lend Lease and insurer QBE.
In New Zealand, stocks sold down on thin volume included Pumpkin Patch which tumbled almost five per cent or 20c to 400.
The children's clothing company has traded widely over the year, from a year high of $4.51 and a low of $2.86.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=3&ObjectID=10396549




US satellite plan 'will knock out Pacific radio links'
4.00pm Monday August 14, 2006
By Kent Atkinson
Pacific Island nations -- and airline pilots around the globe -- could lose high frequency radio links for up to a week if the US goes ahead with a plan to protect its satellite network, Otago University researchers said today.
They warned the Americans plan to protect its satellites from both natural radiation and "airbursts" of nuclear weapons posed a global communications threat.
The US Air Force and the US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have proposed using very low frequency radio waves to flush particles from radiation "belts" above Earth and dump them into the upper atmosphere over either one or several days.
This deluge of dumped charged particles would temporarily change the ionosphere from a "mirror" that bounced high frequency radio waves around the planet to a "sponge" that soaked them up, Dr Craig Rodger of Otago University's physics department, said today.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10396164



To Google or not to Google? It's a legal question
1.00pm Monday August 14, 2006
By Stephen Foley
NEW YORK - Search engine giant Google, known for its mantra "don't be evil", has fired off a series of legal letters to media organisations, warning them against using its name as a verb.
In June, Google won a place in the Oxford English Dictionary, while "to google", with a lower case "g", was included last month in Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, America's leading reference book.
The online service WordSpy, meanwhile, defines "google" as: "To search for information on the Web, particularly by using the Google search engine; to search the Web for information related to a new or potential girlfriend or boyfriend."

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=3&ObjectID=10396133



Complex model of Sydney Opera House found after 30 years
1.20pm Wednesday August 16, 2006
By Kathy Marks
SYDNEY - An intricately detailed perspex model of the Sydney Opera House, which vanished more than 30 years ago, has surfaced in a warehouse and has gone on display - but only after being reassembled with considerable difficulty.
The model, which was feared lost or destroyed after being sent to the 1974 Washington World Expo, was found inside 24 storage crates at the customs warehouse in western Sydney.
It was, however, in 2,500 pieces, and the instructions for putting it back together were missing.
John Dare, the Opera House's asset development manager, told The Australian newspaper that he hunted fruitlessly through various archives and searched the basement of the Opera House itself.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10396524


Nasa 'misplaces' original tape of moon landing
3.20pm Tuesday August 15, 2006
WASHINGTON - The US government has misplaced the original recording of the first moon landing, including astronaut Neil Armstrong's famous "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," a Nasa spokesman said on Monday.
Armstrong's famous space walk, seen by millions of viewers on July 20, 1969, is among transmissions that Nasa has failed to turn up in a year of searching, spokesman Grey Hautaloma said.
"We haven't seen them for quite a while. We've been looking for over a year and they haven't turned up," Hautaloma said.
The tapes also contain data about the health of the astronauts and the condition of the spacecraft. In all, some 700 boxes of transmissions from the Apollo lunar missions are missing, he said.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10396302

concluding …

Smile for the camera. Okay, you can roar if you want.

Snow Leopard at the Taronga Zoo

A rain frog from Panama's cloud forests is immersed in anti-fungal medication 10 minutes daily for 10 days to make sure it is free of the deadly chytrid fungus.

Morning Papers- concluding

Zoos

Petting Zoos: Legislation Needed to Protect Young Visitors
“Petting zoos are well known E. coli hot zones and should have strong E. coli control measures in place,” said foodborne illness lawyer Fred Pritzker. “This outbreak highlights the need to pass legislation mandating these safeguards in New Jersey.”
(PRWEB) August 15, 2006 -- Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7 causes approximately 73,000 illnesses in the United States annually, leading to an estimated 2,168 hospitalizations and 61 deaths. Children under 5 are at particular risk of becoming seriously ill from an E. coli O157:H7 infection, which can lead to severe dehydration, intestinal hemorrhaging, and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). In the United States, HUS is the leading cause of kidney failure in children. Approximately 3%--5% of HUS patients die each year.
The primary route of transmission for E. coli O157:H7 is foodborne; however, transmission from animal contact does occur in about 3% of the cases each year. Two outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7 infections in 2000 were the first reported in the United States to be associated with direct transmission of E. coli O157 from farm animals to humans. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the factors that led to infection in these outbreaks were direct animal contact and inadequate hand washing.
Since 2000, there have been several E. coli outbreaks associated with animal contact at farms, fairs, and petting zoos. Risk factors for young victims of the outbreaks have included feeding animals, petting animals, caring for an ill calf, getting visible manure on their hands or feet, handling sawdust, eating and drinking in a building where animals were exhibited and breathing in airborne dust. Hand washing and the use of hand sanitizers have helped prevent some transmission of E. coli from animal to child, but hundreds of children have still become ill.
Health officials in New Jersey are currently investigating an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections that may be associated with Palisades Country Day Camp & School in Closter, New Jersey, a day camp and school for children ages 3 to 6. Eight people have confirmed E. coli infections. Palisades Country Day Camp & School has a petting zoo. Although the petting zoo has not been pinpointed as the source of the outbreak, the animals and the animal environment will be thoroughly tested.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2006/8/prweb424627.htm



Oregon Zoo Presents Tillamook Cheese Day, Aug. 25, At The Family Farm
PORTLAND, Oregon - Mooooove over, Packy! Tillie the Cow is coming to visit, as the Oregon Zoo presents Tillamook Cheese Day, Friday, Aug. 25, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the zoo's Trillium Creek Family Farm. " Tillamook Cheese Day is a fun way to bring attention to the importance of farming," says Tony Vecchio, zoo director. "The zoo's heritage livestock breeds take visitors back to a time when Oregon was a vast agricultural center, and we're very pleased that Tillamook Cheese is helping us celebrate this tradition," he added.

http://www.medfordnews.com/articles/index.cfm?artOID=332090&cp=10997



Zoo begins contest to name baby elephant
By Diane Toroian Keaggy
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
08/14/2006
The St. Louis Zoo is asking elephant lovers to help pick the name of its new Asian calf. Elephant keepers selected five names for its naming contest. They all are easy to pronounce and reflect the calf’s Asian heritage.
The choices are:
-- Sundari (soon-dar-ee) which means "beautiful woman."
-- Nisha (NEESH-ah) which means "night."
-- Maliha (mah-lee-hah) which means "strong" and "beautiful."
-- Sashi (SAH-shee) which means "moon"
-- Jaya (JAY-ah) which means "victorious."
Participants may cast their votes online at www.stlzoo.org or www.kmov.com or send a postcard marked "Vote for the Baby Elephant" to KMOV, 1 Memorial Drive, St. Louis, MO, 63102. Include your name, age, address, daytime phone number and name selection.
Voting concludes at noon, Aug. 28. The winner will be randomly selected among those who voted for the top name. The winner will receive a private visit with the elephant, a Zoo membership, an elephant gift basket and other prizes. Only one vote per day allowed. Parents should submit votes from children younger than 18.a

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/EFC004FF148B0247862571CA00561009?OpenDocument



¢7m Zoo for Accra
... animals to be relocated to K’si Zoo
By Razak Mardorgyz Abubakar Posted: Thursday, August 03, 2006
A SEVEN Million modern zoo is to be built in Accra in the Achimota Forest.
To this end, plans are afoot to relocate all the animals and reptiles of the zoo to Kumasi by the end of September this year.
This was announced by the Minister of Land, Forestry and Mines, Professor Dominic Fobih to the Press in Accra when he visited the Flagstaff House, the abode of the Accra Zoo, to find out the stage of preparations to relocate the animals to make way for the construction of the presidential complex palace at the Flagstaff House.
The Accra Zoo, a private zoo for the first President of Ghana, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah at the Flagstaff House, the then official residence of the President, became a public zoo after the 1966 overthrow of the Nkrumah regime.
The Minister observed that since the zoo became a public one, his Ministry had been struggling to build a new zoo befitting Accra, noting that many options had been looked at over the years but the main stumbling block had been resources to start and complete it.
He noted that the relocation of the zoo to the Achimota Forest offers an opportunity to realise the Ministry’s dream to build a new modern zoo for Accra as part of the plan of developing the Achimota Forest.
Prof. Fobih said 102 acres of the Achimota Forest had been zoned for wildlife activities as part of the Ministry’s Achimota Forest Development Plan.
He said the Ministry was in touch with the Zoological Society of London (London Zoo) to work with Ghana’s Wildlife Division to achieve the purpose of the new Accra Zoo becoming and educational institution for children to be educated on conservation, culture, natural, sciences, using the zoo and its exhibits.
Prof. Fobih said the construction of the new zoo has been planned in such a way that it would spread over a period of five years, however, within a maximum of two years, it should be opened to the public while the rest follows in phases.
“It is recognised that the lack of a zoo in Accra has negative connotation and impact and therefore everything was being done to shorten the time to have a functional zoo in Accra”, he said.
The Executive Director of the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission. Mr. Yaw Ofori-Frimpong, noted that the relocation of the exhibits of the Accra Zoo to Kumasi was in the right direction and hoped the relocation, when completed, would be visited by residents of Kumasi so that the zoo could be properly managed because the cost of sustaining the exhibits was becoming very difficult.

http://www.ghanaian-chronicle.com/thestory.asp?id=11056



New Online Anti-Venom Index Launched
CBN News.com
CBNNews.com – SILVER SPRING, Md. -- A venomous snakebite can create a life-threatening situation. And often the proper antidote, and the speed at which it can be obtained, can mean the difference between life and death.
There are approximately 3,000 native and 50 non-native (exotic) bites from venomous snakes reported to U.S. poison centers each year. When the situation involves an exotic species, it can be particularly difficult to determine the appropriate anti-venom, locate a supply, and get it to the patient speedily.
But now, a collaborative effort by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) uses new technologies to get treatment to the patient faster.
The Online Anti-Venom Index is a Web-based database allowing doctors, poison control centers, and hospitals to quickly access up-to-date information about anti-venom stocked at AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums.

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/healthscience/060811a.aspx


THE ON-LINE ANti-VENOM INDEX

http://www.cbn.com/noindex/go.aspx?redirectpage=http://www.aza.org/ai/&title=venomindex



In Athol, zebras aren't just for zoos anymore
Zebras aren't just for zoos anymore

ATHOL, ID. -- A childhood dream has finally come true for an Athol, Idaho woman who is raising a zebra in her backyard. The zebra, Maggie Mae, isn’t being raised as a pet but eventually for therapy.
Maggie Mae is just two months old, and since most people in Athol only see zebras at the zoo or on television, the zebra is getting quite a bit of attention.
The zebra’s owner, Kristina Anderson, takes Maggie Mae everywhere she goes, even to work where Anderson built a pen for her behind her office. Anderson works at a mental health clinic and hopes that one day Maggie Mae's affection will help others heal.
“Somebody that might not be able to sit down and talk to a therapist about something personal may find it easier to relate with the animal and find real healing which is what we all want,” Anderson said.
Even though Anderson says Maggie Mae isn't old enough for therapy, her charm already works on people who stop and stare and even pet the zebra when Anderson takes her out for a walk.
While many consider Maggie Mae adorable she takes a lot of work. It costs $600 a month to feed her and takes eight bottles every three hours and eventually will grow to be 700 pounds.

http://www.kxly.com/news/index.php?sect_rank=3§ion_id=561&story_id=4208



Zoo bosses defend Thai elephant transfer
August 13, 2006 10:17pm
Article from: AAP
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ZOO bosses have brushed off concerns about the controversial transfer of eight Asian elephants from Thailand to Australia.
Critics say the importation of the eight animals contributes to the illegal poaching trade and that the exercise is little more than a money-spinning venture.
Protesters, who initially delayed the elephants' transportation to Utapao airport near Bangkok in June, said the animals should not be transported because they were born in the wild, and would therefore be banned under an international agreement from being traded.
But Guy Cooper, chief executive of Sydney's Taronga Zoo, said he was absolutely confident that the transfer was not inadvertently contributing to the poaching trade, adding that his zoo was keen to start a captive breeding program to save the elephants from extinction.
“We are looking forward to nurturing this family of elephants and ensuring that we have a safety net for this wonderful species for the rest of the century and beyond,” he told Channel Nine's Sixty Minutes program.
“Unfortunately zoos are going to become the last lifeline. That's sad but that's a fact and we've got to be ready for it.”

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20116946-1702,00.html



Human interaction plays larger role in zoos' survival
Some take guests behind the scenes to get them more invested in goals
By JOHN SEEWER
Associated Press
TOLEDO, OHIO — The walk-in freezer at the Toledo Zoo's Arctic exhibit is stocked with fish and frozen treats for the polar bears — including whole fish and pigs' ears embedded in chunks of ice.
It smells as bad as it sounds.
Impressive stuff, however, to 12-year-old Blake Grendel, of Riverview, Mich. "That was really cool," he said during an hourlong tour behind the scenes.
Zoos now are allowing visitors to see and do things that were off-limits until a few years ago. Visitors can help wash an elephant with a scrub brush at the Oregon Zoo and hide toys in the animal enclosures at the Philadelphia Zoo.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/nation/4112238.html



Penguins, pythons and politics: SVSU professors show how political forces shape zoos

At the reptile houses and the tiger pens, the deer area and the giraffe exhibit, everything from the descriptive signs to the layout of the tiger exhibit at your local zoo traces a history of competing political interests.
Jesse Donahue and her husband Erik Trump, political science professors at SVSU, should know. They've visited dozens of zoos nationwide -- looking at more than just the monkeys -- to research their new book, "The Politics of Zoos: Exotic Animals and Their Protectors."
Zoos don't usually take a prominent place in our consciousness, but more people visit them than any other public city attractions, including museums and historical societies, Donahue said.
"They are partly recreational, partly educational, partly political institutions," Donahue said.

http://www.ourmidland.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17046606&BRD=2289&PAG=461&dept_id=472542&rfi=6



Brews at the zoo could be on tap
County to look at request to sell beer, wine
BY JEFF SCHWEERS
FLORIDA TODAY
In the works. Mike Strotman and Justin Atkinson measure and cut wood Friday for the concession area at the Brevard Zoo in Viera. The zoo is hoping to sell alcohol there. Craig Bailey, FLORIDA TODAY
When and where
The Brevard County Planning and Zoning Board meets at 3 p.m. Monday at the County Government Center, 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera.
Visitor numbers
Brevard Zoo has had a strong summer -- 29,378 visitors in July alone, up 17 percent from last July. The zoo's strongest month was March, with more than 57,000 visitors.
VIERA - Visitors to the Brevard Zoo could soon order a tall, frosty one and walk around with beer in hand while checking out the native wildlife and exotic animals.
The zoo is now limited to serving beer and wine at after-hours events, such as "Summer Saturday Nights" and "Boo at the Zoo." But it wants to sell those beverages during the day.
"It's really silly, because if tourists want beer during the day, it's the same," said Keith Winsten, the zoo's executive director.
The East Coast Zoological Society has asked the county to let it serve beer and wine before 5 p.m. The request goes before the planning and zoning board today. The board will pass its recommendation to the county commission.

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060807/NEWS01/608070320



Rescuers race to save Central American frogs
Fungus puts species at risk of extinction
By JENNI LAIDMAN
BLADE SCIENCE WRITER
First of two parts
EL VALLE DE ANTN, Panama - Kent Bekker of the Toledo Zoo starts his day swinging a makeshift net across damp grass. It's about 8:30 in the morning, and already, the air is near liquid with humidity.
One doesn't so much move through the day as swim through it. Nothing dries out. Skin glistens with sweat even when the evening's mountain breezes make light jackets necessary. Car interiors smell of mildew. An abandoned damp towel sprouts a carpet of mold. A climate that allows a gardener's dream of lush flowers is the perfect breeding ground for fungi.
It is also the ideal home for a fungus few here have heard of. It's called chytrid (KIT-rid), or formally Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, and it's completing a deadly sweep through Central America. It threatens to kill nearly all of Panama's frogs, as it has in Costa Rica and Mexico before this, and as it is doing on every continent on the planet. It's why the Toledo Zoo sent Mr. Bekker to Panama. He's part of a team attempting an unprecedented feat: the rescue of dozens of frog species from extinction.

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060806/NEWS06/608060305




Walk on wild side at an end
Catskill Game Farm, founded in 1933, will close for good at the end of tourism season
CATSKILL -- Its 73rd year will be the last for the Catskill Game Farm. The 1,000-acre tourist attraction that has drawn generations of families from far and wide will close at the end of the season on Oct. 9, owner Kathie Schulz said Thursday.
The game farm, founded by her parents, Roland and Kathryn Lindemann in 1933, imported animals from around the globe and now has about 2,000. Schulz purchased the park in 1989 from her parents.
The animals, as well as the equipment and vehicles, will be sold Oct. 17 and 18 by Coldwater, Mich.-based Norton Auctioneers, which specializes in zoos, amusement parks and museums. Some of the property already is on the market, Schulz said, although she has no immediate plans for the rest of the acreage. The game farm has 30 year-round and 50 seasonal employees.
"This used to be a very busy vacation area," but as other attractions, and hotels and boarding houses, closed, attendance dropped off, Schulz said. "People are looking for more sophisticated entertainment," with baby boomers flying off to distant tourist spots.

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=505472&category=REGION&newsdate=8/4/2006



British Bankruptcies Soar
LONDON, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Personal bankruptcies soared 58 percent in England between April and June as people struggle against rising living costs coupled with low-interest credit cards.
Electric Bills Triple in S. Calif.
ROSEMEAD, Calif., Aug. 5 (UPI) -- The heat wave blamed for 139 deaths in California also tripled many residents` electric bills in July, Southern California Edison says.
Customers used 31 percent more electricity during the July heat wave than they did in June, with many doubling their usage, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.
New York`s Catskill Game Farm to Close
CATSKILL, N.Y., Aug. 5 (UPI) -- A well-known animal theme park in Catskill, N.Y., will close for good Oct. 9 after 73 years, a victim of economics, the owner says.
The Catskill Game Farm, a privately owned 915-acre zoo and animal theme park, will auction most of its more than 2,000 animals in 150 species from around the world, owner Kathie Schultz tells the Kingston (N.Y.) Daily Freeman.
Opened in 1933 by Schultz`s father, the game farm in 1958 became the first privately owned animal theme park in the United States to be recognized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a zoo.
The park, which includes endangered species as well as familiar zoo animals, also features a petting zoo, circus-style animal acts and children`s rides. It is known for breeding animals for other zoos worldwide.
More than 135 million people yearly visit zoos in the United States and Canada, but most zoos operate at a loss.

Florida Theme Parks to Give Storm Refunds
ORLANDO, Fla., Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Walt Disney World and Universal Studios will give full refunds if vacations at their Orlando, Fla., theme parks are disrupted by weather.
Universal says the storms do not need to have hit Florida or even be headed there for vacationers to get refunds. They just need to be active and been given a name by the National Hurricane Center, WKMG-TV, Orlando, Fla., reports.

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/business/article_1187304.php/Business_Roundup



Exotic extinction looms in zoos
Under threat … a snow leopard at Taronga Zoo, which is facing a dramatic fall in its exotic animals.
Photo: Rick Stevens
SAY goodbye to the African elephant, the black rhinoceros and jaguar, for sure. Possibly to the leopard, the polar bear and hippopotamus as well. Most exotic mammals in Australia's zoos are headed for local extinction.
The number of foreign species that the public can see will start to shrink from 127 mammals to as few as 31 in years to come, a survey of the zoos has found.
Long reliant on imports rather than breeding, the institutions have hit trouble in a changing world. Tighter wildlife trade rules and stricter quarantine in the face of more virulent diseases such as bird flu are increasingly keeping animals out, and local numbers are too low to breed.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/exotic-extinction-looms-in-zoos/2006/08/04/1154198329032.html




CHRIS TARRANT EXCLUSIVE: MY ROMP IN A ZOO
EXCLUSIVE
By Cameron Robertson
TV Millionaire host Chris Tarrant has confessed he once had sex in London Zoo.
The presenter said he could not afford a hotel for the romp.
Confronted by comic Meera Syal, embarrassed Tarrant, 59, joked: "It was not with one of the animals, by the way. We were young and in love."
And he gasped: "How did you get into this research? It was a long time ago."
It is thought to have happened before fame hit in the late 1970s.
Last night, Tarrant, who married second wife Ingrid in 1991, was abroad and unavailable for comment.
His confession was on BBC1's The Kumars At No 42, to be shown on August 18.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=17509830&method=full&siteid=94762&headline=tarrant--my-romp-in-a-zoo--name_page.html



Zoos wants to 'milk' elephant
Chawang, the bull elephant at the Night Safari that gained notoriety for nearly goring its keeper to death in 2001, has been isolated once more for aggressive behaviour. But this time, it is because the 29-year-old elephant is in sexual heat, also known as musth.
.
The condition, which can last three to five months, has seen Chawang hurl mud balls at zookeepers, dig his tusks into the ground and chase buggies that come near him.
.
Said the curator of Zoology at the Night Safari, Mr Kumar Pillay: "The word musth is a Persian word which means intoxication. We don't put in females together with him when he is on musth because he is aggressive and we don't want the females to be injured.
.
"Once he is out of musth, he is always with the female and as a matter of fact, we've got two breeding females right now and one of them is already nursing a young and the other female has been mated by him and we are hopeful she is pregnant."
.
And Chawang's popularity has also spread worldwide as a zoo in Europe is planning to purchase his semen for use in artificial insemination in one of their female elephants. Chawang's semen is valuable because he is one of the few wild born elephants to be found in zoos, and he can contribute to the genetic diversity of the global zoo elephant gene pool. — Channel NewsAsia
Chawang, the bull elephant at the Night Safari that gained notoriety for nearly goring its keeper to death in 2001, has been isolated once more for aggressive behaviour. But this time, it is because the 29-year-old elephant is in sexual heat, also known as musth.
.
The condition, which can last three to five months, has seen Chawang hurl mud balls at zookeepers, dig his tusks into the ground and chase buggies that come near him.
.
Said the curator of Zoology at the Night Safari, Mr Kumar Pillay: "The word musth is a Persian word which means intoxication. We don't put in females together with him when he is on musth because he is aggressive and we don't want the females to be injured.
.
"Once he is out of musth, he is always with the female and as a matter of fact, we've got two breeding females right now and one of them is already nursing a young and the other female has been mated by him and we are hopeful she is pregnant."
.
And Chawang's popularity has also spread worldwide as a zoo in Europe is planning to purchase his semen for use in artificial insemination in one of their female elephants. Chawang's semen is valuable because he is one of the few wild born elephants to be found in zoos, and he can contribute to the genetic diversity of the global zoo elephant gene pool. — Channel NewsAsia

http://www.todayonline.com/articles/134527.asp



Polar bears in Berlin's zoo enjoy ice with a difference
Berlin, July 25: The polar bear has a layer of fat that can be as much as four inches thick. This helps it survive in the freezing temperatures of its natural habitat, but doesn't help much in a zoo as the German polar bear Lars discovered.
Lars and his mate live in Berlin Zoo, where the temperature on Friday (July 21) was above 30 degrees celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) again. But Lars has been able to have a refreshing break thanks to his sponsors.
"The company 'Eis Vogel' sponsors the polar bear Lars, and they thought they would bring a bit of diversity into his life and if it is too hot then we shall donate some ice, and that is what they have for a change," Zookeeper Markus Robke said.
'Eis Vogel' donated ice which they usually use for decorations at events, so while wild polar bears are digging out shallow "summer dens" in order to escape the heat, Lars is able to play with the ice footballs or demolish ice on Brandenburg Gate.
Polar bears can survive even when the temperature drops to minus 70 degrees because its fat keeps its body heat trapped inside.
The hairs on a polar bear are hollow and can channel ultraviolet light from the sun down to the bear's black skin, which absorbs it. This means that the bear's body is somewhat like a greenhouse, trapping solar energy and then storing it in the from of heat.
But that is the last thing that the Berlin Zoo bears need in this heat.
Thanks to their sponsors though, the bears can take long cool swims in their ice-cooled pool, and as an extra treat, their food is even chilled too.
"In the large blocks of ice back there are bits of fruit and vegetables and meat, otherwise it is just normal crushed ice which they use for parties," Robke said.
So while the temperatures continue to climb into the thirties in Berlin, polar bear Lars and his mate will be having a nice ice party of their own.

http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=311445&ssid=26&sid=ENV



Int’l zoo conference to be held in Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh City is to host an international conference for the South East Asian Zoos Association on effective management and wildlife conservation, reported the city authorities.
The 15th annual conference is scheduled to take place September 11-13 with participation of 100 experts and officials from zoological and botanical gardens from 26 countries around the world.
Most of the participants to the conference are directors, veterinarians, and technicians.
Under the theme of ‘Zoos on the fringe’, the three-day event’s organization board will hold seminars to discuss topics on everything from animal husbandry and veterinary medicine to fund raising, conservation, animal welfare and ethics.
After the conference, participants will be invited to join an optional tour to Cat Tien national park in southern Dong Nai province, 160km from HCMC, or visit Hue citadel or Hoi An ancient city in Vietnam’s central region.
The event is a great chance for the Saigon Zoo, the largest of its kind in Vietnam to introduce itself and conduct exchanged with counterparts in foreign countries.
Reported by M.V. – Translated by Minh Phat

http://www.thanhniennews.com/entertaiments/?catid=6&newsid=18432



L.A. Zoo's failed fight to save chimp recalled
BY DANA BARTHOLOMEW, Staff Writer
GRIFFITH PARK - The chimpanzees were barking in alarm at something in the grass at the edge of their Los Angeles Zoo exhibit.
Then Judeo, the zoo's oldest male chimp, stuck out his long furry hand to investigate - a moment of curiosity that would cost him his life.
Buried in the pampas was a 3-foot Southern Pacific rattlesnake.
"We knew something was in there, but we didn't know what," said Jennifer Gonsman, one of two great ape keepers eyeballing the commotion with binoculars last week. "He stuck his hand in the bush and pulled it out quickly and that's when he got bit."
Los Angeles Zoo curators, keepers and veterinarians on Wednesday recalled the seven-hour effort to save Judeo, the 28-year-old chimp who died July 26 after the first rattlesnake bite ever to occur at the zoo's house of primates.
And while one zookeeper told the Daily News earlier this week that chimp keepers had waited hours to take action and failed to administer antivenin, Judeo's minders said Wednesday they did everything to save him.

http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_4128769



Zoo celebrates birth of its new top cats
These cute cubs are a purr-fect excuse for celebrations at a Norfolk zoo.
The birth of two strong, healthy - and very lively - Sri Lankan leopards has delighted staff at Banham Zoo, near Diss.
They had been anticipating the possibility of cubs ever since a new female arrived in June 2005 and was introduced to the zoo's male leopard.
The keepers observed the pair's behaviour so they could predict when such an event might occur and, following a successful mating in March this year, the pregnancy was monitored closely. The female was moved to the cubbing quarters in good time for the birth which took place, as expected, on June 6.
Initially, mum and cubs were given complete privacy, and it is only in recent days that keepers have been able to confirm there were two youngsters as they ventured out into their enclosure.

http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/news/story.aspx?brand=EDPOnline&category=News&tBrand=EDPOnline&tCategory=news&itemid=NOED02%20Aug%202006%2021%3A03%3A36%3A387



Elephant calf goes on public display at Dickerson Park Zoo
© 2006, Springfield News-Leader
The baby elephant born at the Dickerson Park Zoo last week is now on display to the public.
The as-yet unnamed female calf was born to Moola on July 18. The elephant is the third calf born to Moola and the first calf born at the zoo since Haji in 1999.
Dickerson Park Zoo will announce by week's end the guidelines by which people in the community can suggest names for the elephant.
The elephant is the third calf born to Moola and the first calf born at the zoo since Haji in 1999.

http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060725/BREAKING01/60725012



Zoo's oldest Asian elephant to be euthanized
This is a press release courtesy of the Oregon Zoo
Pet, the Oregon Zoo's oldest Asian elephant, is experiencing a health crisis, and zoo veterinary and keeper staff have run out of medical treatment options. The 51-year-old elephant and herd matriarch has degenerative arthritis and other age-related conditions, which are not responding to medication any longer.
"Pet has always been pigeon-toed and we've been managing her arthritis through medication and exercise for a long time," said Mike Keele, the zoo's deputy director. "The inward angle of her front feet has exacerbated her arthritis and lately it's become clear that she's in discomfort."

http://www.katu.com/news/story.asp?ID=87942



Zoo & Golf Courses
Beth Shayne
County commissioner Mike Severino sees the Potter Park Zoo like this: "It's kind of like a car where you owe more than it's worth."
He says an asset, yes, but it's a burden too, and one Ingham County shouldn't take on without an incentive.
"Before they come to my constitutents and ask for tax dollars as a bail out, I'd like to see the city council bring more assets to the table," he says.
His proposal would have Lansing give up two golf courses as well. The mayor had proposed selling them earlier in the year, but council is opposed to the idea.
Severino says Ingham County could use the green space as a park, recreational area, or even a water park, and the city could use the help. "The city council's been...non committal. I'd really like to see them come to this with an open mind," he says.
For now, he has City Councilwoman Kathie Dunbar's Attention. She says voters should focus on the zoo millage separately for now, but down the line, sharing the land that is the golf courses with the county could be a win-win.
She suggests shortening the Red Cedar's 9-holes and using the extra space for a cross-county skiing area. "Nobody loses," Dunbar says. "We get additional park space used by more people, and golfers get golf."
Could the plan hold up a deal on the zoo millage? City and county insiders emphasize it is not the issue now.
Still, Severino says make it one. "If we're gonna regionalize the zoo, we need to provide resources and opportunities for the tri-county area." He says it's best way to sell Potter Park as an opportunity for all.

http://www.wilx.com/news/headlines/3422226.html



Endangered Animals Seized, Drugs Found Near Local Zoo
POSTED: 4:37 pm EDT July 25, 2006
UPDATED: 5:34 pm EDT July 25, 2006
ROCKWELL, N.C. -- State and federal agents seized endangered animals from a local exotic animal park that was temporarily shut down.
Officials said they found drugs and guns inside the owner's home right near the children's exhibits at the Metrolina Wildlife Park.
Located in Rowan County, the park has venomous snakes, exotic birds, wolves, bears, and big cats including tigers and lions. There's also a petting zoo.
About 500 people visited the park in Rockwell just last week.
Undercover officers got a tip about some native wildlife being held illegally and executed a search warrant on Tuesday.

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/9573557/detail.html



Officials skip work for zoo trip, end up in flower garden
HANDA, Aichi -- Assembly members and officials of the Handa Municipal Government ignored the official schedule to go sightseeing when they visited Sapporo for a national city conference, it has been learned.
From Handa in central Japan, 16 municipal assembly members spent 225,000 yen each, covered by the local government, to attend the conference in Sapporo on July 20 and 21, designed to discuss local administration topics. Two top officials also accompanied them.
After arriving in Sapporo on July 19, they attended the conference on July 20. A panel discussion program and four inspection trips were planned for July 21. Those from Handa were set to attend one of the inspection trips to a beer brewery.
On that day, however, 12 of the Handa assembly members and the two officials visited Furano to see its famous lavender instead.
They reportedly went there after initially trying to go to a zoo in Asahikawa, but gave up due to heavy traffic. Their absence was reported when those from other cities noticed they didn't attend the inspection on July 21.
Assembly members made an apology during a meeting on Tuesday.
"We talked with the head of the Asahikawa zoo on the first day of the conference and decided that a visit to the zoo was more valuable than an inspection tour," one of them said. "We now regret the decision." (Mainichi)

http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20060726p2a00m0na007000c.html



Plight of animals at Haifa Zoo
By Raffi Berg
BBC News, Haifa
Buba the bear is not well. She has been locked inside for most of the past nine days and the effects are beginning to show.
"She has developed an abscess on her leg and I am worried about her," said Dr Etty Ararat, the director of Haifa Zoo.
Like all the mammals at the zoo, Buba, an eight-year-old Brown Syrian bear, has been confined to her concrete sleeping quarters for her own safety as the city is bombarded by missiles from Lebanon.
"The bears are not stressed by the air raid sirens but they don't understand why they have to be inside all the time," said Dr Ararat.
The staff at the zoo cannot take any chances. Sirens sound repeatedly throughout the day and where rockets have landed the effects have been devastating.
The animals are let out under supervision for short periods, but when the alarms sound they are hurriedly ushered back in.
Search for food
Of the zoo's regular 40-strong staff, Dr Ararat is one of only four who remain at the eight-acre site to take care of 1,000 animals, despite the danger.
The zoo's plight is made worse by the fact that the conflict has forced it to close to the public at what should be its busiest time of the year.
"In July and August we get about 3,000 people a day but now we are losing money every day, which will have an impact on everything," Dr Ararat said.
"Also, our suppliers are closed, so trying to find food for the animals is a mission these days, when usually it's not, and we need help."
As she makes her rounds, Dr Ararat stops at the big cats enclosure, a spacious, sculpted compound where the lions, tigers and leopards normally roam free. But here, too, the animals are languishing indoors, with just enough space to pace or lie on the floor.
The conditions are taking their toll on Barbara, an elderly 32-year-old Bengal tiger, who first arrived at the zoo, starving, some 20 years ago after being abandoned by a travelling circus.
"Barbara is depressed," said Dr Ararat. "She likes to play outside but since she has been in here she has stopped playing. She usually comes to me, but now she doesn't pay any attention."
Anxious baboons
Next door, three African lions - Simba, Jungle and Gov - sit in their small indoor compound, watching with suspicion as I enter.
They barely stir but begin to growl as I move closer, making me wonder if the warring has left their nerves on edge.
"Actually, the sirens don't have any effect on them," Dr Ararat said. "All big cats are lazy and they don't seem to mind being in here, so long as we bring them food. But of course, it's not good for them."
The carnivores are also kept inside for another reason. The bars of the lions' enclosure were recently replaced with glass, which could be shattered by an exploding missile.
"If the glass breaks and they get free, it would be dangerous for all the people in the town," said Dr Ararat.
Of all the animals in the zoo, the worst affected by the sirens and intermittent booms are the 17 baboons.
"We can see the change in their behaviour," said Dr Arafat. "They are very anxious to get out and they are starting to knock on the doors.
"Today we gave the baboons a treat of popcorn, which they love. At the moment they're still eating and if we see any signs of stress then of course we will act accordingly."
Dr Ararat says the longer the war continues, the worse it will get for the zoo.
"I hope it will end soon - it's no good, for people or animals. But I am a born optimist and one way or another, the zoo will survive."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5213602.stm

continued ...

The Antarctica Wind Chime

August 14, 2006.

0036 gmt.

Pacific Global Satellite.

In all these satellite pictures there is some minor air exchange between the higher latitudes and the Antarctica Ice. That has resulted in higher temperatures, near zero, but at the same time it is not so overwhelming that the continent is still above zero. This is the most pleasant I have seen the troposphere in a long time. It's still winter in Antarctica.

August 14, 2006.

Africa - Europe Global Satellite.

Here again there are vortices over the Atlantic Ocean in the Northern Hemisphere still talking it's toll on the Artic Ocean but the Antartica Continent is a happy ice continent today.

I like to see that nice healthy separation between equator aire and Antarctica aire. Nice.

August 14, 2006.
0026 gmt.

Western Hemisphere Global Satellite.

The Arctic Ocean is still under the influences of Northern Hemisphere vortices. But, the Southern Hemisphere is looking better than it has in a long time.

Click on to animate

Auguat 14, 2006.

12:00 AM. Antarctica.

It's fairly warm. (Click on) Not the hottest of temerpatures around the continent. All appear to be below zero if just bearly with still some very much below zero. It's nice to have the entire continent below freezing. It speaks to the sequestered status of the Anrtarctica Vortex to the continent without the extension to latitudes approaching the Tropic of Capricorn.

Morning Papers - concluded

The weather in Antarctica (Crystal Ice Chime) is:

Scott Base

Cloudy

Fine

-20.0°

Updated Monday 14 Aug 1:00PM


The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Wind Chime) is :

55 °F / 13 °C
Overcast

Humidity:
77%

Dew Point:
48 °F / 9 °C

Wind:
4 mph / 6 km/h from the South

Pressure:
30.07 in / 1018 hPa

Visibility:
10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers

UV:
1 out of 16

Clouds:
Scattered Clouds 900 ft / 274 m
Mostly Cloudy 3900 ft / 1188 m
Overcast 6500 ft / 1981 m
(Above Ground Level)

end

August 12, 2006.

Celina, Texas.

Photographer states :: This storm went up fast and very high because of daytime heating and a frontal boundary draped over the area. But with the lack of upper level support, the updraft collapsed and rushed toward the ground, picking up speed as it met the rain falling beneath. The result was severe wind and many blown over trees in McKinney, Texas. I'm shooting the event from my house in Celina, just to the northwest.

Honk for Peace. Honk for Justice. Do it twice !!

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Do it Twice

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Honk all the way to Traverse City.