The New York Times
Military-Quality Explosives Suspected in London Blasts
By DON VAN NATTA Jr. and ELAINE SCIOLINO
LONDON, July 11 - British investigators believe that the 10-pound bombs used in the coordinated terrorist attacks here contained "military quality" high-grade explosives, British and European counterterrorism officials said Monday.
Investigators said they still did not know whether the explosives contained plastic materials, or were made some other way. But they said the material used in the bombs was similar to the kind manufactured for military use or made for highly technical commercial purposes, such as dynamite used for precision explosions to demolish buildings or in mining.
Because of the small size of the bombs, some investigators initially said last week that they were relatively crude.
On Monday, a senior European-based counterterrorism official with access to intelligence reports said the new information on the material indicated that the bombs were "technically advanced." The official added: "There seems to be a mastery of the method of doing explosions.
This was not rudimentary. It required great organization and was well put together."
Counterterrorism and law enforcement officials interviewed for this article said they would only speak on the condition of anonymity because of the nature of the investigation. They said it was still unclear whether the attacks were carried out by local terrorists, a group from outside Britain or a combination of the two.
The quality of the explosives has led many investigators to theorize that the bombs were assembled by at least one technically savvy bomb maker, who might have come to Britain to build the devices for use by a local "sleeper cell," officials said.
"People assume you can look up a bomb-making design on the Internet and put one together without any training," said one senior counter terrorism official based in Europe. "But it's not that simple or easy."
Investigators say determining the physical origin of the explosives is crucial to helping them determine the origin of the bombs that tore apart three trains in the London Underground and the No. 30 bus in central London during the morning rush hour last Thursday. It was the worst terrorist attack in Britain since World War II.
British intelligence officials have asked their counterparts elsewhere in Europe to scour military stockpiles and commercial sites for missing explosives, three senior European-based intelligence officials said.
Senior counterterrorism officials are concerned that the cell that exploded the bombs might have a stockpile of more explosive material and could strike again, in Britain or in another European country.
"I really pity my British colleagues," a senior European intelligence official said. "It's a very difficult situation. Every hour that passes diminishes the probability to catch those people and increases the chances that this cell might try to strike again."
Britain's terrorism alert was raised immediately after the attacks to "severe specific," the second-highest level overall, and the highest that it has been since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. It has remained at that level since then, reflecting the continuing anxiety of the police and intelligence officials here that another attack may occur in London.
In the attack on commuter trains in Madrid in March 2004, the industrial dynamite used for the bombs had been stolen from a quarry in northern Spain.
A month after the attack, investigators found the terrorist cell that was responsible. But the men blew themselves up in an apartment before the police moved in. Spanish officials said the members of the cell had obtained 230 kilograms (506 pounds) of Goma 2 Eco dynamite, and had intended to build more bombs for additional attacks.
A senior Spanish official said Monday that roughly 130 kilograms (286 pounds) were used in the Madrid attacks, with about 30 in unexploded bombs. The remainder is believed to have exploded when the terrorists blew themselves up. The terrorists had obtained the dynamite from a man named José Emilio Suárez Trashorras, who was arrested shortly after the bombings.
A follow-up investigation last year determined that the police in Spain were informed in early 2003 that someone in northern Spain had been trying to sell a large quantity of explosives, but that the police had not done anything with the tip.
On Saturday, Andy Hayman, who is in charge of Scotland Yard's antiterrorism unit, announced that the four bombs set off in London each contained less than 10 pounds, or 4.5 kilograms, of explosive material. Mr. Hayman said that investigators had determined by the shape of the twisted metal that the bombs had most likely been placed on the floor of the trains, near doorways. He said it was unclear whether the bomb on the bus was on the floor or on a seat.
British investigators believe the London bombs were equipped with timers, but they have not determined if the bombs were set off by synchronized alarms on cellphones or some other timing device, officials said.
Initially, investigators contended that the bombs, outfitted with timers, had gone off at different times; they thought 26 minutes separated the first bomb to explode in the Underground from the third bomb. On Friday, some investigators said that they believed the bombs were crude devices, possibly even homemade.
But on Saturday, Scotland Yard said that a reassessment showed that the three bombs in the Underground blew up within 50 seconds, about 8:50 a.m. The synchronized explosions suggested that the plan might have been more sophisticated than investigators initially believed. Police officials also announced Saturday that the bombs were "high explosives," but they declined to elaborate.
Now, senior British and other European investigators say they are convinced that the cell responsible for the bombings had executed a well-thought-out plan. One official said the cell's attack plan was "highly sophisticated" and "meticulously planned."
Investigators said they had reached their conclusion in part because the devices were powerful enough to blow apart several coaches of the trains and rip the roof off a red double-decker bus in central London.
"The only concrete evidence is that these are not homemade," a European-based senior official said. "We don't know if they are civil industrial or military industrial explosives." Britain has one of Europe's best security systems for warehouses containing explosive materials, specialists say.
British investigators are being helped with the slow forensics work by a teams from the United States, Spain and France. But Britain has a lot of experience doing such work.
In the 1990's, the Irish Republican Army used Semtex B, a Czech-made substance that is often nearly impossible to detect. British antiterrorist police discovered that the bombing of London's Canary Wharf district used Semtex B, and it was enough for then to conclude the I.R.A. was behind the bombing.
A Spanish official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, denied a Spanish press report that suggested that 80 pounds of bomb material was still missing from the dynamite used in the Madrid train bombings.
Don Van Natta Jr. reported from London for this article, and Elaine Sciolino from Paris. Souad Mekhennet contributed reporting from London.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/12/international/europe/12intel.html?hp&ex=1121227200&en=5d548921fb158f53&ei=5094&partner=homepage
The Old Shuttle, New Again
By WARREN E. LEARY
Published: July 12, 2005
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., July 11 - Once again, the future of the space shuttle program will be carried on the wings of the Discovery.
The shuttle sits on a launching pad at the Kennedy Space Center here, redesigned and re-evaluated from the top of its giant orange fuel tank to the bottom of its engine nozzles.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/12/science/space/12shut.html
Cancer Drugs Offer Hope, but Expense Worries Doctors and Patients
By ALEX BERENSON
Published: July 12, 2005
Ten thousand dollars once seemed a lot to pay for a few months' supply of a drug.
No more. Avastin. Erbitux. Gleevec. Herceptin. Rituxan. Tarceva. These are among the first in a wave of new drugs giving hope to millions of cancer patients by treating the disease in new ways, like blocking the blood vessels that feed tumors.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/12/business/12cancer.html?hp&ex=1121227200&en=7c40d71f337a6617&ei=5094&partner=homepage
IT'S the only place that will have them. Send them to Iraq to reform Iraqis it should be interesting.
Evangelicals Are a Growing Force in the Military Chaplain Corps
By LAURIE GOODSTEIN
Published: July 12, 2005
COLORADO SPRINGS - There were personal testimonies about Jesus from the stage, a comedian quoting Scripture and a five-piece band performing contemporary Christian praise songs. Then hundreds of Air Force chaplains stood and sang, many with palms upturned, in a service with a distinctively evangelical tone.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/12/national/12chaplains.html?hp&ex=1121227200&en=1350949db6da5e01&ei=5094&partner=homepage
NRA has developed The New Cop on the Beat, when confronted with anyone of resistance shoot a barage of bullets and ask questions later. Saves society a trial and what is one or two people taken down wrongly?
Man and Young Daughter Die in Shootout With Police
By JOHN M. BRODER
Published: July 12, 2005
LOS ANGELES, July 11 -An armed man and his 17-month-old daughter, whom he had been using as a shield, died on Sunday evening in a shootout with the police here.
The police on Monday defended their actions, saying the man, Jose R. Pena, left them no choice.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/12/national/12shooting.html
After 3 Months on the Shelf, Acelas Begin a Return to Service
By MATTHEW L. WALD
Published: July 12, 2005
WASHINGTON, July 11 - Amtrak put two of its Acela Express trains back in service on Monday, nearly three months after all 20 were sidelined because of cracked brakes.
Travelers with tickets for the 7 a.m. Metroliners northbound from Washington and southbound from New York were surprised to end up riding the Acelas instead. For now, the high-speed trains are running on the Metroliner schedules - about 10 minutes longer, for a trip of about three hours.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/12/national/12amtrak.html
Chief Justice Stays Execution for Death Row Inmate in Virginia
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: July 12, 2005
RICHMOND, Va., July 11 (AP) - The Supreme Court granted a last-minute stay of execution on Monday for a man convicted of fatally stabbing the manager of a pool hall with a pair of scissors.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/12/national/12virginia.html
The Middle East Times
Taliban rebels offer to hide Afghan prison escapees
Waheedullah Massoud
AFP
July 12, 2005
ESCAPEES: A photograph of a leaflet shows four Al Qaeda militants who escaped from a detention center at Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, on July 11. Afghan officials identified the men as Syrian Abdullah Hashimi, Kuwaiti Mahmoud Ahmed Mohammad, Saudi Mahmoud Al Fathani and Libyan Mohammed Hassan, but did not say who was whom.
(REUTERS)
KABUL -- Taliban rebels offered shelter on July 12 to four Arab militants who are being hunted by US and Afghan forces after they escaped from a high-security prison at the main American base in the war-torn country.
Ground troops and helicopters scoured the area around Bagram Air Base, north of the capital Kabul, for a second day as the US military investigated the circumstances of Monday's jailbreak.
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050712-092312-3233r
Good gas is Gaza's new treasure
Yasser Baraka
Middle East Times
July 11, 2005
GAZA CITY, GAZA -- Palestinians have generally considered that talk of natural gas or similar minerals being found under the Gaza Strip was only for dreamers. However, a recent discovery of a large field of natural gas has gripped the imaginations of many Gazans.
Among them is Moeen Al Banna who holds a Masters degree in gas and oil engineering. Since graduating in 1992 in Ukraine he worked for five years in the Gulf before returning home to the Gaza Strip.
Banna, who is a clerk in an office in Gaza City doing tasks completely unrelated to his field of study, was jubilant at the chance of doing work that he was qualified to do.
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050711-063834-1366r
British police launch raids linked to bombs probe, warn of more attacks
Robert MacPherson and Chris Wright
AFP
July 12, 2005
SEARCH: Police officers attend the scene in Leeds in northern England after raids in connection with the London bombings, on July 12. British police searched five homes in Leeds in the hunt for suspected Al Qaeda bombers who killed at least 52 people in London train and bus attacks on July 7.
(REUTERS)
LONDON -- Police searched five locations in northern England on Tuesday in the first known raids in Britain connected to last week's bombings in London that claimed more than 50 lives, as London's police chief warned that more attacks were likely.
Armed with warrants issued under the Terrorism Act 2000, officers from London's Metropolitan Police moved in on residential premises at four locations in West Yorkshire, northeast England, then proceeded to a fifth address.
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050712-085631-8807r
Lebanon's pro-Syrian defense minister wounded in deadly blast
Henri Mamarbachi
AFP
July 12, 2005
ATTACK: Smoke rises from the scene of an explosion that targeted the motorcade of caretaker Lebanese defense minister Elias Murr in Beirut on July 12. A powerful car bomb blast wounded Murr and killed one person north of Beirut on Tuesday, security officials said.
(REUTERS)
BEIRUT -- Lebanon's outgoing pro-Syrian defense minister Elias Murr was wounded on Tuesday in a car bomb explosion in a Christian suburb north of Beirut that also killed at least one and wounded six others, police said.
The explosion was caused by a car parked on the road taken by the minister who was driving from his home as part of a convoy in the Christian suburbs around 10 kilometers (six miles) north of Beirut, police said.
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050712-064641-2150r
Daughter, colleagues of Egyptian envoy to Iraq condemn his killing
Ola Ahmed
Middle East Times
July 8, 2005
CAIRO -- A videotape attributed to Al Qaeda leader and the most-wanted man in Iraq, Abu Mussab Al Zarqawi, claimed this week that his group had killed the Egyptian ambassador designate to Iraq, Ihab Al Sherif.
The video said that Sherif, 51, had been guilty of being unfaithful to Islam. The message said that the group's religious court "has decided to hand over the infidel ambassador of Egypt, the ally of the Jews and Christians, to the mujahideen to face his punishment".
News of the kidnapping and execution was a great shock for his family. Sherif's daughter, Ingy, told the Middle East Times that the family still held out hope that her father might be alive.
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050708-054918-4550r
Jordanian father bludgeons virgin daughter to death over 'honor'
July 12, 2005
AMMAN -- A Jordanian man has turned himself in to police saying that he bludgeoned to death his 16-year-old daughter with a crowbar for reasons of "family honor", the Jordan Times reported on Tuesday.
The killing came even after a police medical report showed that the teenager, who had run away from home, was still a virgin and had had no sexual activities, the newspaper said quoting official sources.
The girl and a mute sister ran away from home earlier this month. The victim was found by police in a park in Zarqa, north of Amman, and placed under administrative detention "for fear her family might kill her", one source said.
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050712-083131-2120r
Father kills daughter, son-in-law in Pakistan for secret marriage
July 11, 2005
Multan, PAKISTAN -- A Pakistani farmer has killed his pregnant daughter and son-in-law for marrying against his will, police said on Sunday.
Iqbal Bibi, 19, and her husband, Hazoor Bakhsh Ghazlani, 25, returned to her father's home on Saturday, six months after their secret marriage in the rural town of Muzaffargarh in central Punjab province.
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050711-044956-4956r
Saudi woman saves husband by getting behind wheel
July 12, 2005
RIYADH -- A woman in Saudi Arabia, where women are banned from driving, saved her husband by grabbing the wheel of the car that he was driving after he lost consciousness, a newspaper reported on Tuesday.
The Saudi couple was heading to the capital, Riyadh, from the eastern city of Dammam on Sunday night, with the man driving, when he suffered breathing difficulties and passed out, Al Watan said.
His wife got behind the wheel and drove around 15 kilometers (nine miles) to the nearest gas station, where she called for help.
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050712-082654-3706r
Pakistani husband commits suicide after wife gang raped
AFP
July 8, 2005
Multan, PAKISTAN -- A Pakistani man committed suicide on Thursday to protest against the non-registration by police of a complaint over the gang rape of his wife, officials said.
Bashir Ahmed poured petrol over himself then set himself on fire outside the office of a senior police officer in Bahwalpur, some 90 kilometers (55 miles) south of Multan, a police official said requesting anonymity.
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050708-025804-9183r
Pakistan police arrest seven men over alleged revenge gang rape
AFP
July 6, 2005
Multan, PAKISTAN -- Pakistani police have arrested seven men who allegedly gang raped a married woman to avenge her relative's suspected role in the abduction of a girl, police said on Wednesday.
The attack appears similar to one involving another woman, Mukhtaran Mai, who was raped on the orders of a tribal jury in 2002 and whose treatment by Pakistan authorities has caused international outrage.
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050706-081242-3742r
Female rights activist, daughter shot dead in Pakistan
AFP
July 5, 2005
Peshawar, PAKISTAN -- Unidentified gunmen shot dead a women's rights activist and her daughter in deeply conservative northwestern Pakistan, police said on Tuesday.
Zubeda Begum, 40, was killed on the spot late on July 1 while her 17-year-old daughter Shumyla died in hospital on Monday following the attack in the town of Dir, 250 kilometers (156 miles) northeast of Peshawar.
Begum was working for private women's rights group the Aurat Foundation. Aurat means woman in Urdu, Pakistan's official language.
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050705-074040-1543r
Salman Rushdie calls for end to 'culture' of rape in India, Pakistan
July 11, 2005
WASHINGTON -- British novelist Salman Rushdie, in an opinion column published on Sunday in The New York Times, said that both India and Pakistan need to overcome a "culture" of rape that oppresses women.
"The 'culture' of rape that exists in India and Pakistan arises from profound social anomalies, its origins lying in the unchanging harshness of a moral code based on the concepts of honor and shame," Rushdie wrote.
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050711-045229-5515r
Women becoming new face of Aids in Asia
Hiroshi Hiyama
AFP
July 5, 2005
Kobe, JAPAN -- Even after contracting HIV through no fault of her own and enduring discrimination, Periasamy Kousalya manages to stay cheerful as she relates the plight of Indian women like her.
"My husband was infected. Through him I got the virus," the petite 32-year-old said with a wide smile that disguises her plight as a housewife-turned-HIV activist
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050705-062419-6353r
US first lady starts African tour in South African shantytown
AFP
July 12, 2005
TOURING: US First Lady Laura Bush waves to well wishers on arrival in Cape Town, on July 11. Bush is on an official visit to Africa after the meeting of G8 leaders in Gleneagles, Scotland, and will visit South Africa, Tanzania and Rwanda.
(REUTERS)
CAPE TOWN -- US First Lady Laura Bush started off a three-nation African tour with a visit on Tuesday to a squalid Cape Town township, where she was to hear young HIV-positive mothers talk about their experiences.
Bush, accompanied by her twin daughters Barbara and Jenna, arrived in the Atlantic seaboard on Monday afternoon after spending private time in Botswana.
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050712-081918-4250r
Opinion: Fighting the Iraq war at home
James Zogby
July 6, 2005
US President George W. Bush has a problem. This war was supposed to have gone so differently. By now it is clear that the infantile fantasy of its architects ("shock and awe", "a cake walk", "flowers at our feet", "six months and out", and "the spreading of democracy throughout the Middle East") did not pan out. Instead, US troops have been transformed into an occupation army fighting an enemy about whom we know too little, with stories and pictures of hideous terrorist attacks and growing tallies of war dead filling the daily press.
As a result, strains are beginning to show. US public support for the war is waning, with Bush's job performance in the war effort now down to 40 percent and a strong majority of 60 percent now saying that the war in Iraq wasn't worth fighting in the first place.
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050706-034350-6698r
Opinion: Securing Gaza after pullout
Arthur Hughes
July 12, 2005
WASHINGTON, DC -- Israel's planned withdrawal from Gaza in August amid the resurgence of violence by Palestinian radicals will likely sharpen the debate on security arrangements.
Israelis fear that the Gaza strip under Palestinian control will serve as a base of operation for terrorism against Israeli civilians. Palestinians fear that Gaza will become a prison, cut off from the West Bank and the needed Israeli market and jobs. They also worry about revenge attacks by Jewish settlers forced to evacuate the area.
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050712-075142-9264r
The Latest Disconnect from CNN
Go Figure.
On the internet site CNN reports two separate air show disasters, but, their television broadcasts reports ONLY Canada's. I guess it's bad PR for the USA with a Shuttle launch planned.
Sensationalism and Propaganda Censorship.
Tragedy strikes two air shows
Collisions in Saskatchewan, Delaware kill at least 3 pilots
http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/americas/07/10/ [...]
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Two small planes collide above water near Cape Henlopen
RANDALL CHASE
Associated Press
LEWES, Del. - One pilot was killed and another missing and presumed dead after two small planes practicing aerobatic stunts collided Sunday above Delaware Bay, state police said.
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/12102276.htm
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Investigators search for cause of plane crash
canada.com
July 7, 2005
ANDREW, Alberta -- The Transportation Safety Board says the weather will be one factor it will look at as officials investigate a fatal plane crash northeast of Edmonton.
http://www.canada.com/calgary/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=187987df-6348-4ce5-b189-caaac69cc288
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What's with that? After providing incredible coverage of "Dennis" yesterday putting journalist life and limb at risk; CNN turns around and does something as stupid as this? I think they need a new weekday news crew. They are FIRST political pundits and SECOND a news agency.
That's a darn shame.
The Washington Post
7 Federal Prisons to Get Lethal Electrified Fences
Associated Press
Tuesday, July 12, 2005; Page A19
Seven high-security federal prisons will be getting lethal electrified fences in a $10 million project intended to reduce the number of perimeter guards needed.
The 12-foot-high "stun-lethal" fences, similar to ones used at some state prisons, can be set to deliver a shock if touched once, and a fatal jolt if touched a second time.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/11/AR2005071101282.html
Ford Rushes New Hybrid SUV
Vehicle Comes A Year Early as Demand Rises
By Amy Joyce
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 12, 2005; Page D02
Ford Motor Co., the second-largest U.S. automaker, began taking orders yesterday for a hybrid version of its Mercury Mariner sport-utility vehicle a year earlier than planned in response to increased interest.
The vehicle follows the Ford Escape Hybrid SUV, which was introduced last fall. Production of the Mariner will begin in October, with 2,000 vehicles available in the first model year. The company expects to double production the following year.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/11/AR2005071101461.html
Senate Rethinks Proposed Cuts In Mass-Transit Security Funds
By Shailagh Murray
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 12, 2005; Page A03
The Senate is having second thoughts about cutting mass-transit security funding after last week's London bombings.
As lawmakers began debate yesterday on $31 billion in 2006 funding for the Department of Homeland Security, the terrorist attacks Thursday on three crowded subway trains and a double-decker bus provided a stark backdrop to complaints from urban lawmakers that mass transit gets short shrift in funding compared with air travel.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/11/AR2005071101364.html
Toddler Is Killed in Shootout
Associated Press
Tuesday, July 12, 2005; Page A02
LOS ANGELES, July 11 -- A 19-month-old girl was fatally shot when her intoxicated father used her as a shield during a fiery gun battle with police after a standoff that lasted three hours, authorities said.
Police Chief William Bratton said Monday that his officers were well within department policy when they shot car wash owner Jose Raul Peña on Sunday. Peña, 34, also was killed; an officer was shot in the shoulder but was expected to recover.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/11/AR2005071101406.html?nav=hcmodule
Srebrenica Recalled With Grief and Shame
World Let Bosnians Down, Leaders Say at Anniversary of Massacre
By Daria Sito-Sucic and Maja Zuvela
Reuters
Tuesday, July 12, 2005; Page A14
SREBRENICA, Bosnia, July 11 -- With shovels and bare hands, Bosnian Muslim families buried the skeletal remains of 610 victims Monday as thousands of citizens and political leaders gathered at ceremonies marking the 10th anniversary of the massacre that took place around this mountain town.
Thousands of men in long rows passed flag-draped coffins above their heads toward freshly dug graves, where women in white head scarves, weeping and silently praying, waited by wooden markers.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/11/AR2005071101439.html
Ford Rushes New Hybrid SUV
Vehicle Comes A Year Early as Demand Rises
By Amy Joyce
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 12, 2005; Page D02
Ford Motor Co., the second-largest U.S. automaker, began taking orders yesterday for a hybrid version of its Mercury Mariner sport-utility vehicle a year earlier than planned in response to increased interest.
The vehicle follows the Ford Escape Hybrid SUV, which was introduced last fall. Production of the Mariner will begin in October, with 2,000 vehicles available in the first model year. The company expects to double production the following year.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/11/AR2005071101461.html
The National Zoo
July 2005 Update: The Giant Panda House will be closed through at least September as new mother Mei Xiang bonds with her cub, born July 9. The outdoor yard will remain open to the public, and male panda Tian Tian can be seen there. The litter of five cheetah cubs, born in April, are outside every day from around 8 a.m. to around 1 p.m.
Every day of the year you can walk the grounds of the National Zoological Park.
And every day that you do, chances are you'll notice something new about the place and the creatures inhabiting it: such as the funny way the orangutans hesitate before climbing out on the Orangutan Transport System (the overhead cables they travel from the Great Ape House to the Think Tank, where they show off their communication skills). You'll notice the regal indifference of African cheetahs as they sashay from one side of their "simulated savanna" to the other, and you'll spot the nests of 400 black-crowned night herons that decided (coincidentally?) that the zoo would be a fine place to call it a night after a full day of fishing on the Potomac River.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?node=entertainment/profile&id=792112
The Japan Times
U.N. calls for antidiscrimination law
Investigator says Japan must acknowledge its racism
By MASAMI ITO
Staff writer
The government urgently needs to acknowledge that deep discrimination against minorities, Korean and Chinese residents and other foreigners exists in Japan, an independent investigator said Monday.
Doudou Diene, appointed by the U.N. Human Rights Commission in 2002 as special rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, was in Japan for more than a week on a fact-finding mission.
As a way to prevent further racial discrimination, a national law must be enacted, Diene, from Senegal, told a news conference at the United Nations University in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20050712a1.htm
BODY FOUND IN OITA MUDSLIDE
Death toll from downpours hits four
OITA (Kyodo) A body was found Monday morning at the site of a mudslide in Oita Prefecture, brining the death toll from last weekend's torrential rains to four, police said.
Rescuers search the debris Monday left by a mudslide in Hita, Oita Prefecture, that was triggered by torrential rains the previous day.
The body was apparently that of a 57-year-old man who was reported missing Sunday.
Police and the Self-Defense Forces mobilized 230 rescuers Monday to look for Migaku Takano, 57, who disappeared in the mudslide triggered by the downpours that hit Kumamoto, Nagasaki and Oita prefectures.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20050712a6.htm
Airlines grapple to root out human error
Recurring cycle of mishaps points to deeper flaws, safety critics say
By MIYA TANAKA
The airline industry and the transport ministry are trying to overhaul safety standards following a series of blunders involving commercial aircraft, but finding a quick solution will not be easy.
Employees of Japan Airlines Corp. inspect a plane at Tokyo's Haneda airport that lost its two nose gear wheels during landing on June 15.
At least 13 of about 20 major problems revealed this year resulted from human error on the part of pilots, cabin attendants and mechanics, raising fears of a major crash, like that of the Japan Airlines jumbo jet in the mountains of Gunma Prefecture in 1985 that killed 520 people -- the worst single-aircraft disaster in history. The crash was blamed on faulty repair work after the jet's tail scraped a runway on an earlier flight.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20050709f2.htm
Some hope from the G-8
It is easy to be cynical about G-8 summits. The annual meetings of the heads of state of the leading industrialized nations are equal parts political theater, photo opportunity and security nightmare. Each summit produces a lofty statement that echoes its predecessors, is invariably bland despite (or perhaps because of) having been worked out in agonizing detail in advance, and contains exhortations rather than commitments. Their consistency suggests that the leaders of the most powerful nations on the planet have not acted to confront the problems they identify each year as serious. Observers complain of a "compliance deficit."
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/geted.pl5?ed20050712a1.htm
Beijing aims to politically isolate Koizumi
By ERIC TEO CHU CHEOW
Special to The Japan Times
SINGAPORE -- The feud between China and Japan over the contents of Japanese history textbooks, sovereignty of the Senkaku (Diaoyu) Islands and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's periodic visits to Yasukuni Shrine came to a head in April when anti-Japanese riots broke out in some Chinese cities.
Since then, delegations from both sides have met in Beijing, Kyoto and Tokyo, but they have made little progress on resolving the contentious issues between the two countries.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/geted.pl5?eo20050709a1.htm
OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
WOODLAND JOYS AND WOES
Battling for nature in the face of greed and neglect
By C.W. NICOL
I started to buy neglected woodland on a mountainside near where I live in Nagano Prefecture more than 20 years ago. Together with a local forester (and now long-time friend), Nobuyoshi Matsuki, we began tending the woods. One of the delightful results was the blooming of hundreds of wild Calanthe discolor orchids , which are known as ebine in Japanese.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?fe20050707cw.htm
NATURAL SELECTIONS
WHOSE RIGHT TO KNOW?
Changing values pose problems for terminal care in Japan
By ROWAN HOOPER
Several years ago, I read cancer surgeon Fumio Yamazaki's unforgettable book titled "Dying in a Japanese Hospital." Through case studies of his patients, he describes the final moments in the lives of terminal cancer sufferers. Invariably, just as a patient is slipping away, doctors battle to resuscitate him or her, shooing family members away while they perform various aggressive procedures, only for the patient to die soon after, away from loved ones, without dignity.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?fe20050630rh.htm
A fight to the death
One of Japan's longest-running legal feuds reignites amid worsening ties with Korea
By DAVID McNEILL and ANDREAS HIPPIN
Her bony, 80-year-old body floating around inside a nylon shirt and cigarette permanently clamped between what appear to be her two remaining front teeth, Kan Kyon Nam is an unlikely illegal squatter.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?fl20050712zg.htm
Koizumi expects N. Korea back in six-way talks
EDINBURGH, Scotland (Kyodo) Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Friday it looks as if North Korea will soon return to the six-way nuclear talks.
"I had an impression from comments of fellow leaders in the (Group of Eight) meeting that North Korea will return to the six-party talks in the near future," Koizumi said during a news conference in Edinburgh after the three-day summit at the Scottish resort of Gleneagles.
But Koizumi declined to elaborate on what exactly convinced him of the optimistic prospects. More than a year has passed since the talks were last held.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20050710b2.htm
The Boston Globe
Police search homes in N.England after UK bombs
A police forensics officer leaves a house in Leeds in northern England after raids in connection with the London bombings, July 12, 2005. British police searched five homes in Leeds on Tuesday in the hunt for suspected al Qaeda bombers who killed at least 52 people in London train and bus attacks on July 7.
By Ian Hodgson July 12, 2005
LEEDS, England (Reuters) - Police said they searched five homes in northern England on Tuesday as a "significant" part of the investigation into last week's London bombings, blamed on al Qaeda, which killed at least 52 people.
Detectives from London, together with local officers from West Yorkshire, searched four properties around the city of Leeds and were examining a fifth.
The searches were part of a pre-planned intelligence-led operation, a spokeswoman said. No arrests had been made so far.
"The searches are in connection with the terrorist attacks in London on July 7," she added.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/07/12/uk_bomb_police_search_houses_in_n_england/
Bosnian Muslims bury victims of 1995 Srebrenica massacre
By Associated Press July 12, 2005
SREBRENICA, Bosnia-Herzegovina -- Women wept as they finally buried husbands and sons yesterday, 10 years after Europe's worst massacre since World War II -- funerals made possible by the excavation of mass graves of victims killed by Bosnian Serb forces.
An extraordinary gathering of 30,000 people -- including the Serb president -- came to Srebrenica to mark the anniversary and honor the dead.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/07/12/bosnian_muslims_bury_victims_of_1995_srebrenica_massacre/
Shuttle risk level acceptable, NASA says
Cites steps taken to improve safety
By Beth Daley, Globe Staff July 12, 2005
Two and a half years after the Columbia space shuttle disaster grounded the US manned space program, NASA plans to launch seven astronauts into orbit tomorrow in a more than $1 billion effort to restore the nation's faith in space travel and solidify the program's international reputation.
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2005/07/12/shuttle_risk_level_acceptable_nasa_says/
State strives to reduce water, energy consumption at flagship university
July 12, 2005
AMHERST, Mass. --The state is endeavoring to save millions of dollars annually through conservation, and some of the most ambitious efforts are at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.
Thousands of toilets and faucets have already been replaced to reduce water consumption at the state's flagship university, and dozens of hybrid vehicles are being purchased with the goal of cutting energy costs by about $6 million per year, or 25 percent of the campus utility bill.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/07/12/state_strives_to_reduce_water_energy_consumption_at_flagship_university/
NAACP releases business diversity report
NAACP Interim President and CEO Dennis Hayes speaks at the Economic Reciprocity Report Card press conference at the NAACP 96th annual convention at the Midwest Airlines Center, Milwaukee, Wisc., Monday, July 11, 2005. (AP Photo/Darren Hauck)
By Erin Texeira, AP National Writer July 12, 2005
MILWAUKEE --When NAACP officials began grading corporations operating in the U.S. on racial diversity nine years ago, they had hoped companies would show steady gains each year.
But the latest report released Monday indicates many of the 55 companies analyzed seem to be stagnating, with most earning virtually the same grades as last year -- an indication some businesses are not making much effort to improve, said Dennis C. Hayes, interim president of the civil rights group.
The report is "a measuring tool upon which consumers can rely to make informed choices about where to spend their dollars," Hayes said. "It is meant to serve as a catalyst for positive change."
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/07/12/naacp_releases_business_diversity_report/
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