Globe and Mail
Newfoundland braces for Florence
TARA BRAUTIGAM
Canadian Press
ST. JOHN'S — Strong winds and heavy rain were lashing parts of southeastern Newfoundland as tropical storm Florence hit the province early Wednesday.
The storm was downgraded from a hurricane as expected by the time it approached Newfoundland's shores.
Residents were told to brace for gale-force winds, tidal surges and torrential rain throughout Wednesday.
Florence was set to unleash gusts of up to 120 kilometres an hour and 10- to 12-metre swells, forecasters warned.
“This is a bad storm,” said Peter Bowyer, program manager of the Canadian Hurricane Centre in Dartmouth, N.S.
“This storm will continue probably to have winds at, or close to, hurricane-strength as it tracks all the way south of Newfoundland.”
Between 75 and 125 millimetres of rain were expected along the southern and eastern coastlines of Newfoundland, the most densely populated areas of the province. Florence was also expected to batter the same regions with sustained winds of 70 km/h, with gusts to 120 km/h.
“Pretty much everyone in the southeastern third of Newfoundland ... are going to find the conditions just deteriorating and it will be a very stormy day,” Mr. Bowyer said.
A tropical storm watch was also issued for the northeastern part of the province.
As of 9:30 p.m. local time Tuesday, the eye of Florence was 420 kilometres south-southeast of Nova Scotia's Sable Island. It was moving northeast at 35 km/h.
The province advised municipalities to clear storm sewers and requested emergency personnel to be on call.
Residents were told to stock up on batteries and non-perishable food in the event of power outages. But some laughed off such warnings.
“I'm not even going to let the cat in,” said Bill Oliver as he gazed into the city's harbour Tuesday, which was a picture of calm hours before the storm struck.
“I'll probably buy a rain jacket.”
The 72-year-old St. John's resident said he has seen dozens of storms come and go over the city and has never been impressed.
“I've seen bigger storms in a bathtub,” he quipped.
Mr. Bowyer also advised anyone tempted to get near the surging surf to stay away.
“It's always a bittersweet thing for us to talk about this phenomenon because we're basically saying, ‘Look, the waves are going to be high and dangerous, so stay away from the coast,'” Mr. Bowyer said.
“It's almost like, ‘Oh, let's go to the coast and look at the big waves.' That's not a smart thing to do.”
In July, officials at the Canadian Hurricane Centre warned that the temperature of a large section of the North Atlantic was three degrees Celsius above normal, thereby weakening the ocean's ability to cool tropical storms. Hurricanes tend to lose their power as they pass over cooler waters.
With few physical barriers protecting the province from weather systems sweeping across the Atlantic, Newfoundland is renowned for its wild weather.
On average, one tropical storm a year has passed within 300 kilometres of the province over the last 35 years.
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Largest earthquake in Gulf of Mexico in 30 years
Associated Press
TAMPA, Fla. — The largest earthquake to strike the eastern Gulf of Mexico in the last 30 years sent shock waves from Louisiana to southwest Florida Sunday, but did little more than rattle residents.
The magnitude 6.0 earthquake, centred about 260 miles southwest of Tampa, was too small to trigger a tsunami or dangerous waves, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The USGS received more than 2,800 reports from people who felt the 10:56 a.m. quake. Scientists said it was the largest and most widely felt of more than a dozen earthquakes recorded in the region in three decades.
“This is a fairly unique event,” said Don Blakeman, an analyst with the National Earthquake Information Center who said the quake was unusually strong. “I wouldn't expect any substantial damage, but it is possible there will be some minor damage.”
The most prevalent vibration, which lasted for about 20 seconds, was felt on the gulf coast of Florida and in southern Georgia, Blakeman said. But residents in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana also called in reports.
“It rattled our trailer pretty good,” said Dan Hawks, who lives near Ocala in the small central Florida community of Pedro. “The house started shaking. We could actually see it moving. We looked at each stupidly and said, 'What's the deal?”'
Florida counties along the Gulf of Mexico called the state emergency operations centre with reports of tremors but no damage was reported, spokesman Mike Stone said. Gov. Jeb Bush was informed of the situation, Stone said.
The earthquake likely did not have any effect on oil operations in the Gulf of Mexico, according to Ray Connolly, a spokesman for the American Petroleum Institute, the trade association for the U.S. oil and natural gas industry. Earthquakes are factored into the design of the industry's equipment both onshore and offshore, Connolly said.
The epicentre is an unusual location for earthquake activity, but scientists recorded a magnitude 5.2 temblor in the same location on Feb. 10.
“This kind of occurrence is unusual in that spot, especially for an earthquake of this size,” Blakeman said of Sunday's quake.
The temblor was unusual because it was not centred on a known fault line. The “midplate” earthquake, deep under the gulf, was probably the result of stresses generated by the interaction of tectonic plates in the earth's crust, the agency said.
Only one of Florida's rare earthquakes caused significant damage. In January 1879, St. Augustine residents reported heavy shaking that knocked plaster off the walls.
A more recent temblor, in November 1952, prompted a resident of Quincy to report the shaking “interfered with the writing of a parking ticket,” the USGS said.
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Bolt goes astray for MacLean on spacework
MIKE SCHNEIDER
Associated Press
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Astronauts working to bring to life a new 16,000 kilogram addition to the international space station lost another bolt to the void during a spacewalk early Wednesday.
The bolt was similar to one that popped off Tuesday and floated free during an earlier spacewalk.
Steve MacLean of the Canadian Space Agency told Mission Control on Wednesday that he was removing a cover on a crucial rotary joint when one of the four bolts he needed disappeared.
“I did not see it go,” Mr. MacLean said. “I'm looking to see if anything is floating.”
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Use 12,000 troops to guard Canadian border, U.S. urged
ALAN FREEMAN
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
WASHINGTON — A task force appointed by a Republican congressman from Georgia has recommended that at least 12,000 National Guard troops and additional agents be deployed on the U.S.-Canada border to halt what it fears is a growing flow of illegal immigrants.
"We're talking about tens of thousands of illegal immigrants a year coming from Canada," said John Stone, deputy chief of staff to Charlie Norwood -- a Republican who is active in the immigration reform caucus, which is pushing for tough measures to stop illegal immigration, particularly from Mexico.
Mr. Stone and four retired military and border-patrol officials named by Mr. Norwood have recommended the deployment of 8,000 National Guard soldiers to secure the border with Canada, including round-the-clock surveillance of 1,000 hard-surface roads crossing the border that are currently not patrolled.
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Mongolia ready to grab stake in Ivanhoe mine
GEOFFREY YORK
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
ULAN BATOR — In a fiery speech to mining executives, a senior Mongolian cabinet minister has left little doubt that his government will seek an ownership stake in Ivanhoe Mines Ltd.'s massive Oyu Tolgoi project.
The move could have a significant impact on Ivanhoe because a new law allows the government to acquire up to 34 per cent of private mining projects and there is no clear mechanism to ensure that the government pays a fair price.
Industry and Trade Minister Bazarsad Jargalsaikhan said the issue of state “participation” in the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine will be raised this fall when Ivanhoe meets the government to seek a 30-year investment agreement.
He argued that Ivanhoe should welcome a government stake in Oyu Tolgoi, since it would create more “security” for the Vancouver-based miner as it tries to raise money for a project that will cost an estimated $5.6-billion (U.S.) over the next 40 years. “Mongolian government participation will create even more opportunities for Ivanhoe to raise capital on world markets.”
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Impartial police body necessary, Ian Bush's family says
ROBERT MATAS
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
VANCOUVER — The family of Ian Bush called yesterday for the British Columbia government to follow Ontario's lead and provide for independent investigations into violent confrontations involving police that end in death.
Reform of the current system is "an absolute must," Linda Bush told reporters during a telephone conference call from Houston, B.C.
"I don't see how anyone, no matter how good their intentions are, can be absolutely fair in investigating someone they work with, even if they do not work with them every day," she said.
"They are part of the same force. I just don't understand how they think it is possible to be that impartial."
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Rice warms to 'cool, Atlantic breezes'
Second day of Nova Scotia visit reveals tight-knit nature of bond with MacKay
SHAWNA RICHER
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
STELLERTON, N.S. — At Tim Hortons, Peter MacKay and Condoleezza Rice playfully argued over who should pick up the tab for his tea and her half-regular-half-decaf coffee, black with Splenda.
They wrestled verbally, to and fro, until the clerk behind the counter insisted it was on the house.
The love-in between the Foreign Affairs Minister and the U.S. Secretary of State continued on his turf for the second day yesterday. She toured the quaint waterfront of Pictou in his Central Nova riding, greeting residents and posing for photographs with toddlers before addressing a crowd of about 200 local dignitaries in nearby Stellerton.
Her time with Mr. MacKay, especially the hours spent in his riding, is evidence of the increasingly tight-knit relationship between the administration of Republican President George W. Bush and that of Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper. It is in striking contrast from the bond -- or lack thereof -- that existed between Washington and Ottawa under Paul Martin's Liberals.
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Rare bird discovery a new species
Associated Press
NEW DELHI — A new bird species has been found in India, the first time such a discovery has been made here in more than 50 years, an astronomer and keen bird watcher said Tuesday.
The multicoloured bird, Bugun Liocichla, was spotted in May in the remote Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary in India's northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh near the border with China, said Ramana Athreya, a member of Mumbai's Natural History Society.
Mr. Athreya, who found the bird, named it after the Bugun tribe, which lives in the area. The bird has a black cap, a bright yellow patch around the eyes and yellow, crimson, black and white patches on the wings, he told the Associated Press.
Birdlife International, a global alliance of conservation organizations, described it on its Web site Tuesday as “the most sensational ornithological discovery in India for more than half a century.”
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Opera house enters its Rheingolden age
Company kicks off first Canadian showing of Wagner's Ring Cycle in new arts centre
ROBERT EVERETT-GREEN
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
Das Rheingold
Canadian Opera Company
Four Seasons Centre, Toronto
The Canadian Opera Company opened its new performance home for real last night, with a music drama about a real-estate deal gone horribly wrong.
The COC launched the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts with a thoughtful, elegant and ultimately satisfying new production of Das Rheingold, the opening part of the first-ever Canadian production of Wagner's epic tetralogy, Der Ring des Nibelungen.
Both The Ring and the full display of the opera house (till now used only for a few test concerts in June) were eagerly and widely anticipated. Forty per cent of the opening-night audience came from outside the company's usual market. Dozens of critics from across North America and Europe were in the house.
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$1,400 buys MRI in daytime at public hospital
Practice causing outcry in B.C.
ROD MICKLEBURGH
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
VANCOUVER — Patients willing to pay up to $1,400 to a private medical broker have been able to receive MRIs within days at one of British Columbia's largest public hospitals, while those sticking with the public health-care system languish for months on long waiting lists.
Heidi Bozek, who suffers from painful tumours on her knees and right hand, said this week that she paid the money to Timely Medical Alternatives Inc., after learning she faced a four-month wait for a publicly funded MRI.
A few days later, much to her surprise, she received a daytime MRI session lasting three hours at busy St. Paul's Hospital in downtown Vancouver.
"I couldn't quite understand how a public facility could be contracted out to a private organization for me to have my MRI," Ms. Bozek told reporters, adding that she had expected to be referred to a private clinic.
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Softwood lumber agreement signed in Ottawa
SCOTT DEVEAU
Globe and Mail Update
Canada and the United States formally signed their long awaited, and often divisive, softwood lumber agreement Tuesday in Ottawa.
Canada's Minister of International Trade David Emerson and U.S. Trade representative Susan Schwab held the formal signing ceremony in Ottawa Tuesday afternoon.
"I believe very strongly that this softwood lumber agreement is going to herald a period of stability, predictability and dynamism in the Canadian softwood lumber industry, unlike we've seen in a long, long time," Mr. Emerson said.
The agreement is expected to be introduced and pass through the House of Commons this fall with the Bloc Quebecois supporting Mr. Harper's Conservative government on the bill.
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Israeli general who oversaw war in Lebanon resigns
Associated Press
JERUSALEM — An Israeli general pushed aside in the middle of the recent war against Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas announced his resignation on Wednesday, the army said.
Major Genereal Udi Adam, head of the northern command responsible for securing the Israel-Lebanon border, asked to leave his post “as soon as possible,” the army said in a statement.
“The chief of staff has accepted the request to begin the process of his replacement,” the statement said.
Gen. Adam reportedly had several tiffs with Lieutenant General Dan Halutz, the army chief, during the war. Gen. Adam was apparently seen as too cautious and hesitant in his decision-making, and Gen. Halutz appointed Major General Moshe Kaplinski, deputy army chief, to command the war while the fighting was raging.
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Israeli court orders release of Hamas officials
Judge questions timing of the arrests
SARAH EL DEEB
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
OFER MILITARY BASE, WEST BANK — An Israeli military court yesterday ordered the release of 18 imprisoned Hamas legislators, including three cabinet ministers, in a decision that raised questions about the Israeli army's case against them. The order was a rare setback for military prosecutors, whose arguments are usually upheld by the court.
The military judge questioned the timing of the arrests, noting that the men were permitted to run for office and serve in the Palestinian government for months before their detentions. He said the politicians should be freed on bail while their trials continue.
The men will remain behind bars for at least two more days pending an appeal. A decision on the prosecution appeal is expected tomorrow.
More than two dozen Hamas legislators were arrested after members of the group's military wing in Gaza attacked an Israeli military post in June and captured an Israeli soldier. The soldier is still missing.
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Canadian teens suffering in silence
SCOTT DEVEAU
Globe and Mail Update
Many Canadian teens are suffering with their problems alone, even though a majority of them report being stressed-out.
According to a new on-line national poll, 42 per cent of teens say they rarely or never ask for help when they are feeling overwhelmed. What is more disturbing, the researchers said, is that the one in five teens who reported the highest levels of stress are the ones least likely to seek help from their parents, turn to drugs or alcohol to cope and say their parents are a major source of stress.
“It's too high a percentage of teens that, for whatever reason, are not seeking help when they need it,” Dr. Patricia McDougall, a psychology professor at the University of Saskatchewan and one of the lead researchers of the study.
The survey was conducted on-line with more than 1,000 teens and 460 parents participating from across the country.
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Two cancers soar in young adults
MARTIN MITTELSTAEDT
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
Canadian researchers conducting the most comprehensive study in the world on the changes in cancer rates among young adults have found a dramatic surge in the incidence of thyroid cancer in Canadian women and a sharp increase in testicular cancer among men.
The study, based on cancer trends among those aged 20 to 44, estimated that the rate of thyroid cancer in women rose by 156 per cent between 1983 and 2005, while the rate of testicular cancer was up 54 per cent during the same period.
The reasons for the huge increases remain unclear, according to the study, which was compiled by Cancer Care Ontario, the provincial government research agency, along with the federal Public Health Agency of Canada, and is being publicly released today.
The study is a rare look at one of the least researched aspects of cancer -- the rates of the often deadly disease among young adults who are struck in their prime of life by an ailment that more typically develops in elderly people.
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N.S. schools bid bye-bye to junk food
Canadian Press
BEECHVILLE, N.S. — The Nova Scotia government is eliminating chocolate bars, soft drinks and many deep-fried foods from public schools.
Speaking at a school in Beechville, N.S., today, Premier Rodney MacDonald said the elimination of these foods from school canteens, cafeterias and vending machines across the province is aimed at offering students healthier choices.
The new nutrition policy requires that schools begin phasing out food and beverages with low nutritional values over the next three years.
Ice cream, chips and doughnuts will be off menus starting in January.
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Legal concerns raised over exposing replies to sex ad
ANICK JESDANUN
Associated Press
NEW YORK — At first glance, the posting looked like any number of Internet classified ads explicitly seeking sex. But instead of the 27-year-old woman with long brown hair advertised in the posting, a Seattle-area graphic designer collected the replies and posted them on-line — with photos, names and contact information.
Privacy experts say the case treads the line legally but crosses it morally.
“It's a sad commentary overall,” said Lauren Weinstein, a veteran computer scientist and privacy advocate. “It's one of those situations where both sides look bad. . . . From an ethical standpoint, this isn't brain surgery.”
It all began with Jason Fortuny's posting on the on-line community Craigslist. According to his Web journal, Fortuny took a real ad and reposted it so that responses went straight to him. Among the 178 responses were 145 photos of men “in various states of undress.” The replies included e-mail addresses, names and in some cases, instant-messaging accounts and phone numbers.
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Ballots from Mexico's disputed vote to be burned
WILL WEISSERT
Associated Press
MEXICO CITY — Electoral officials said Tuesday that they will burn the ballots from the disputed presidential election despite calls from both candidates to spare them.
Luis Carlos Ugalde, chairman of the Federal Electoral Institute, or IFE, said in a letter to president-elect Felipe Calderon that a 1990 law clearly called for the burning of the ballots from the July 2 election.
“The IFE is obliged to destroy electoral documentation once the electoral process is concluded,” Mr. Ugalde wrote.
No date was set for the burning.
Leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador had asked that the ballots be saved, claiming fraud and meddling by President Vicente Fox stole the election.
In his own letter to Mr. Ugalde, Mr. Calderon wrote that saving the ballots would guarantee “citizen certainty and confidence in Mexican institutions.”
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San Francisco Chronicle
Tranquility to mark Flight 93 Memorial
Design at site in Pennsylvania to be rife with symbolism
The field where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania five years ago looks much like it did before Sept. 11, 2001.
The land, near the town of Shanksville, is lush and ringed by trees. Wildflowers provide splashes of color on a canvas of green. Any sign of the horror of that day has been removed, leaving only a temporary memorial that overflows with items left by the 130,000 people who visit each year.
Many of those who lost loved ones aboard Flight 93 have called it a remarkably peaceful place that lends itself to reflection. Preserving those qualities was a top priority for the National Park Service as it planned the memorial that will be built on the site, and the peaceful qualities infuse every element of the design by Los Angeles architect Paul Murdoch.
"One of the missions is to retain the peaceful, scenic landscape," said Joanne Hanley, park service superintendent of the Flight 93 Memorial. "It's not a hood ornament in the middle of the ground. The crash site, the sacred land, is the memorial."
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9/11: FIVE YEARS LATER
Slow road to healing
The grief cycle is endless and unflinchingly public for some Californians who lost family in the crash of Flight 93, their hearts torn by life's daily references to Sept. 11.
Joe Garofoli, Chuck Squatriglia, Chronicle Staff Writers
Monday, September 11, 2006
Jack Grandcolas is uncomfortable calling today the fifth anniversary of 9/11.
An anniversary, said the San Rafael resident, implies celebration. There is no celebrating the death of his wife, Lauren, and their unborn child, who were aboard the terrorist-hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 when the San Francisco-bound jet crashed into a Pennsylvania field on Sept. 11, 2001.
He will not be in Shanksville, Pa., today with 300 other Flight 93 family members -- and 500 members of the media -- at services commemorating the 40 passengers and crew members, some of whom kept the terrorists from fulfilling what is widely believed to have been a plot to crash the plane into the White House or Capitol.
Instead, Grandcolas will pass the day alone or with a few friends, maybe stopping by a plaque dedicated to his wife in San Rafael, or at "Lauren's Room," a birthing room at Marin General Hospital supported by her memorial foundation.
The grief cycle is endless and unflinchingly public for the Flight 93 families, about a dozen of whom live in the Bay Area, their hearts poked by life's daily references to Sept. 11.
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Police Discover 65 Bodies Across Iraq
By SAMEER N. YACOUB, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
(09-13) 03:31 PDT BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) --
Police found the bodies of 65 men who had been tortured, shot and dumped, most around Baghdad, while car bombs, mortar attacks and shootings killed at least 30 people around Iraq and injured dozens more.
Two U.S. soldiers were killed, one by an attack in restive Anbar province Monday, and the other Tuesday by a roadside bomb south of Baghdad, the U.S. military command said.
Police said 60 of the bodies were found overnight around Baghdad, with the majority dumped in predominantly Sunni Arab neighborhoods, police said. Another five were found floating down the Tigris river in Suwayrah, 25 miles south of the capital.
The bodies were bound, bore signs of torture and had been shot, said police 1st Lt. Thayer. Such killings are usually the work of death squads — both Sunni Arab and Shiite — who kidnap people and often torture them with power drills or beat them badly before shooting them.
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HP's chair strategy seems a bit wobbly
David Lazarus
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
If your kid sets the house on fire, you don't just tell her to stop playing with matches.
But business ethicists say that's essentially what Hewlett-Packard told Patricia Dunn on Tuesday when it announced that she'd no longer serve as the company's chairwoman after January but would remain as a board member.
Dunn is at the center of an increasingly ugly scandal that involves private detectives being hired to spy on board members and reporters, and personality clashes that are unseemly (to say the least) for one of the largest enterprises in the tech world.
"How a company responds to ethical lapses sends a very powerful signal to shareholders," said John Boatright, a professor of business ethics at Loyola University Chicago. "This is little more than a slap on the wrist."
Following two days of secret board deliberations, HP said the company's chief exec, Mark Hurd, will succeed Dunn as chair after the company's Jan. 18 board meeting -- reversing the board's earlier goal of decentralizing power when Carly Fiorina was ousted last year as chairwoman and CEO.
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Moderate GOP senator tops conservative rival in R.I.
Chafee wins crucial primary despite his anti-Bush stances
Shailagh Murray, Zachary A. Goldfarb, Washington Post
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
(09-13) 04:00 PDT Providence, R.I. -- Sen. Lincoln Chafee, a moderate who has frequently clashed with the Bush administration, beat back a strong conservative challenger Tuesday night in the GOP primary in Rhode Island.
The victory came amid heavy turnout, after the same Republican establishment that Chafee has so often defied rallied to his side with money and logistical support for a vigorous get-out-the-vote effort. While there is little personal affection for Chafee at the White House, operatives there and at the Republican National Committee calculated that he is the GOP's best chance of holding the seat in a Democratic-leaning state in November.
Stephen Laffey, the blustery, populist mayor of Cranston, had sought to become the second challenger to topple a senator in a primary this year, after Sen. Joe Lieberman's loss to Ned Lamont in Connecticut's Democratic primary last month.
In the end, however, a race that for weeks had been widely viewed as neck and neck fell decisively in line for Chafee, who commanded 54 percent of the vote with 99 percent of returns counted.
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CENTRAL VALLEY
Settlement will restore San Joaquin River
Glen Martin, Chronicle Environment Writer
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
The San Joaquin River, once a salmon-filled stream that now runs dry in some stretches, will be restored under a settlement announced today.
The accord caps more than 18 years of acrimony and litigation between environmentalists and farmers over the state's second-longest river, a polluted stream sometimes called the colon of the Central Valley.
The salmon runs died and stretches of the river dried up after federal officials built Friant Dam, a 319-foot monolith that holds back nearly the entire river's flow, redirecting it to farms and cities from Chowchilla to the Tehachapi Mountains.
Sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of a federal gag order, told The Chronicle that the settlement between water users and environmental groups requires that Friant Dam release between 364,000 and 462,000 acre-feet of water in normal years to help restore spring and fall salmon runs. One acre-foot is equivalent to 326,000 gallons, or roughly enough to meet the annual needs of five people.
But even in the driest of years, there will be enough water in the river to keep it wet all the way to Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, according to the settlement details.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/09/13/SJRIVER.TMP
Minimum wage hike is now law
Governor signs bill -- Núñez at his side
Matthew Yi, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
(09-13) 04:00 PDT Sacramento -- It's now official. California's lowest earners are getting a pay raise.
As expected, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a minimum wage bill Tuesday that will boost the hourly rate by 75 cents in January, followed by another 50 cents a year later. The result will be $8 an hour, which will be the highest state minimum wage in the nation, if other states' rates remain the same.
The increase is a compromise between the Republican governor and Democratic lawmakers who had been at odds over the issue for the past two years.
At a bill-signing ceremony in Los Angeles, Schwarzenegger reiterated that California's economy simply wasn't ready until this year.
"When I became governor, California's economy and finances were in a wreck," said the governor, who vetoed minimum wage bills the last two years.
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TV channel for babies? Pediatricians say turn it off
Janine DeFao, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, September 11, 2006
In an era of increasing niche programming on TV, women have the Oxygen network, men have Spike TV and some pets are even agog at Animal Planet.
Now, infants can pull up a bouncy chair, grab a bottle and have round-the-clock access to the nation's first channel for babies, BabyFirstTV, featuring three-minute segments designed for babies as young as 6 months.
The satellite channel, which debuted on Mother's Day, touts itself as a "learning experience" for babies and their parents with developmental benefits. But it has come under fire from child development experts who say the claims are false and fly in the face of the American Academy of Pediatrics' recommendation of no TV at all for children under age 2.
"I had that appalled, shocked reaction. (Babies) are these wide-open, defenseless, clueless targets," said Berkeley child psychologist Allen Kanner, co-founder of the national group Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, which has filed a false advertising complaint against the channel with the Federal Trade Commission.
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Harvard drops early admissions -- experts hail new policy as fairer
Carrie Sturrock, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Harvard University has announced it will eliminate early admissions to make the application process more fair, a major change that some believe could significantly reduce the unhealthy frenzy surrounding college admission if other elite schools follow suit.
Education observers across the country hailed the decision as a bold move. One Stanford official called the decision "gutsy" and said his university will study the matter.
"It's something that, along with many other policies, we will consider," said Richard Shaw, dean of undergraduate admissions at Stanford. "I have respect for their decisions."
The decision by Harvard comes as a growing chorus of educators, parents and students decry the high-pressured atmosphere surrounding college admissions that has spawned highly paid consultants who help applicants package their images and a thriving test-preparation industry.
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Drill No. 1: Don't get killed
For youth football coach, turning out great players is easy, but keeping them alive is another story. Each year, he leads them on a funeral home tour to see the grim details of violent death.
Jim Herron Zamora, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
For the kids who join the Berkeley Cougars football team, the toughest part of practice is not the wind sprints, not the 100 leg lifts or the tackling drills. It's the trip to the mortuary.
Before every season, Coach Todd Walker takes players, usually ages 11 to 14, on a tour of an East Oakland funeral home that prepares the bodies of many young men killed in homicides.
"This is where we will work on you if you're not careful," funeral director Anthony London said as he welcomed seven players last month to Whitted-Williams Funeral Home on Foothill Boulevard. "When you walk out of here today, pray you don't come back for a long, long time."
The Cougars, who play their third game of the season Saturday, are a successful team by most measures. They have won several division and state championships, and about two dozen former players have gone on to play in college since the team was created 25 years ago. A handful have made it to the National Football League.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/09/13/MNG7FL4KQU1.DTL
Charm school for men teaches the art of the pickup, or keeping the conversation (and the kino) going
Reyhan Harmanci, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Charm School Boot Camp instructor Dan Williams -- or the Socieal Hitchhiker, as he's known in the pickup community, is offering the lesson of the day to a table of men at the Bamboo Hut in North Beach on a recent Friday night.
"OK guys," he says, "I don't want to see you alone. You know what we call that -- lonesome row. I don't want to see you standing alone, ever.
"Also, don't end a conversation too early. Don't end a conversation before someone, like, pushes you away and says, 'Go away,' " he says, grinning. "Seriously, you can talk to someone for much longer than you think."
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/09/13/CHARMSCHOOL.TMP
Time to take off the bubble wrap
Stanford Stadium ready for unveiling
Michelle Smith, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
In the span of 42 weeks -- dating from the late-November night when backhoes ripped into the turf at Stanford Stadium -- an 84-year-old facility with worn-out bleachers, aging restrooms, a chasm separating fans from the field and tens of thousands of empty seats, has been transformed.
The reincarnation of Stanford Stadium is a remarkable achievement of time, money and the dogged vision of a university benefactor with the clout to match his contributions.
Stanford's $100 million remodeling project, one the athletic department hopes will revitalize its foundering football program, opens Saturday night with what is expected to be a near-capacity crowd as the Cardinal take on Navy at 7 p.m.
It is a shinier, noisier, smaller version of its predecessor that took a Herculean effort to complete, an effort that began minutes after Stanford's 2005 football season ended with a dramatic home-field loss to Notre Dame.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/09/13/STANFORD.TMP
Questions rise as Dems admit leak
Angelides camp says tapes were unsecured on official Web site
Tom Chorneau and Carla Marinucci, Chronicle Political Writers
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
(09-13) 04:00 PDT Sacramento -- The acknowledgement Tuesday that the campaign of Democrat Phil Angelides leaked an embarrassing tape of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to the news media set off a new clash between the warring camps over the standards of political ethics in a world dominated by the Internet.
Although a criminal investigation continues into allegations of computer hacking, the manager of Angelides' gubernatorial campaign said members of her staff found four hours of Schwarzenegger's private tapes while perusing the governor's Web site and turned a small snippet over to the Los Angeles Times.
The six-minute section of the tape included comments by the governor attributing the passionate temperament of Cubans and Puerto Ricans to a combination of "black blood" and "Latino blood" -- comments that Schwarzenegger has apologized for.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/09/13/LEAK.TMP
The New Zealand Herald
King's body to lie in state
UPDATED 2.40pm Monday September 11, 2006
The body of Tonga's king, the fourth-longest reigning monarch in the world, will lie in state in Auckland tomorrow before being flown to his island home on Wednesday.
Crown Prince Tupouto'a has already been sworn in as king after the death of King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, aged 88.
But a full coronation for Tonga's new king could be at least a year away, said the Lord Chamberlain, the Honourable Noble Fielakepa.
Until then "he will be effectively the King," he said.
An official period of mourning has begun in the islands which awoke this morning to news of the king's death broadcast on Radio Tonga.
The body of the king, a towering but conservative presence in his kingdom who opposed moves to democracy, will lie in state in his residence in Auckland, Atalanga, on Tuesday then be returned to Tonga on Wednesday.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10396530
Wednesday September 13, 2006
By Maggie McNaughton
Mourners trickled in steadily yesterday to pay their final respects to the late King of Tonga, who was lying in state at the Tongan royal residence, Atalanga, in Epsom.
King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, who ruled Tonga for 41 years, died late on Sunday night at Auckland's Mercy Hospital after a long illness. He was 88.
His body lay inside Atalanga's main building, guarded by two members of the Tongan Defence Force. The gates outside the residence were heavily guarded by police and security guards.
The king's body will be taken to the Air Force base at Whenuapai today and flown back to Tonga in a Hercules aircraft, accompanied by members of the Tongan royal family. The aircraft is due to take off at 10.30am.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10401056
Mayor refuses to mourn 'despot'
Wednesday September 13, 2006
By Stuart Dye
Wanganui has refused to fly its council flag at half mast to mark the King of Tonga's death because, says Mayor Michael Laws, "We don't honour medieval despots."
Prime Minister Helen Clark has asked all councils to lower their flags to honour King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV.
But Mr Laws used his Radio Live show to say the Wanganui flag would not be lowered for "a big brown slug".
Wanganui District Council's policy
"We honour people who have contributed to the community or the nation," he told the Herald. "Not someone who has been a despotic beneficiary of the New Zealand tax-payer."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10401055
Leaders pay tribute to King Tupou
10.30am Monday September 11, 2006
Prime Minister Helen Clark said flags on government buildings in New Zealand would fly at half mast today and on the day of the funeral as a mark of respect for Tonga's King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV who passed away last night.
Helen Clark said the people of Tonga had revered the king throughout his reign.
He had followed a path of peace and stability for his country, she said.
"While retaining the important cultural heritage and institutions of Tonga, he also sought to place Tonga in a position to take advantage of the benefits of economic globalisation.
"Achieving this difficult balance will be perhaps the king's greatest legacy for Tonga."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10400746
Olmert tells Blair he is ready to meet Abbas [+video]
9.50am Sunday September 10, 2006
By Adrian Croft
JERUSALEM - Israeli leader Ehud Olmert has told Tony Blair he is ready to meet the Palestinian president as the British prime minister began a visit to try to revive Middle East peace negotiations.
But Olmert stressed that securing the release of a soldier captured by Gaza militants was top of the agenda ahead of any meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on a stalled peace "road map".
"I assured Prime Minister Blair that I am ready to work closely with Chairman of the Palestinian Authority Abbas to implement the road map," Olmert told a news conference side by side with Blair in Jerusalem.
Blair said he believed it would be possible to make progress on the road map, which has been held up by the failure of both Israelis and Palestinians to meet commitments.
"It is very important that we see what we can do to reenergize this process," Blair said. "It's very easy to be pessimistic, but I do believe that, with the right will, things can be done."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10400621
Abbas 'ready to talk' with Olmert
1.00pm Monday September 11, 2006
RAMALLAH, West Bank - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said today he was ready to meet Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as soon as possible to resume long-stalled peace negotiations.
Olmert, who voiced a willingness on Saturday to hold talks with Abbas, told the Israeli cabinet it was time to create a "new horizon" with the Palestinians, officials said.
"I stand fully ready to meet the prime minister... without prior conditions and we are ready to begin immediately the preparations for this meeting," Abbas told a news conference with visiting British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
But Olmert has made clear there could be no progress toward peace unless the Palestinians meet their obligations under an internationally-backed "road map" that calls for the dismantling of armed groups, such as the governing Hamas movement.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10400773
I didn't know. Seriously, I didn't know Nasrallah and Hezbollah wer the dictators of Lebanon.
Israeli soldiers won't be freed without swap, Hizbollah says
7.25am Wednesday September 13, 2006
DUBAI - Hizbollah will only release the two Israeli soldiers it kidnapped if Israel frees Samir al-Qantar, the Lebanese prisoner held for the longest time by the Jewish state, the group's leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, has said.
"After all that happened and this ends without Samir?" Nasrallah told Al Jazeera television in an interview aired overnight.
Nasrallah stopped short of saying the group would not set the release of other prisoners as part of its conditions.
"There are other prisoners," the interviewer said.
"You ask me, will there be a deal without Samir, I say no ... Absolutely not," Nasrallah answered.
Nasrallah said he expected a UN "mediator" to visit Lebanon next week to try to secure a deal for the release of the two Israeli soldiers the group kidnapped in July.
"He was supposed to come late last week and he is expected to come next week, but negotiations have not yet started."
Nasrallah said the envoy was European but did not give more details.
The kidnapping of the two soldiers triggered a 34-day war between Israel and the guerrilla group.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10401073
Israeli soldier dies
5.20am Wednesday September 13, 2006
Palestinian gunmen fought battles with Israeli troops inside the Gaza Strip last night and Al Jazeera television reported one soldier had been killed.
It said the soldier died near Kissufim, a crossing point into central Gaza.
It gave no further details and the Israeli military had no immediate comment.
The armed wing of the governing Hamas movement and the Popular Resistance Committees said they carried out an ambush, killing an Israeli officer and wounding several other soldiers.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10401030
Pay Africa to stop illegal immigrants, Gaddafi says
1.00pm Sunday September 10, 2006
SIRTE, Libya - European nations should pay € 10 billion ($19.8 billion) a year to Africa to help it stop migrants seeking a better life flooding northwards into Europe, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said on Saturday.
In a speech to an African Union (AU) ceremony, Gaddafi added that African and European leaders should meet soon to discuss the phenomenon, which has soared to unprecedented levels and touched off internal political disputes in many European states.
"In our final statement we will ask Europe to pay € 10 billion per year if it really wants to stop migration towards Europe," Gaddafi said.
He was speaking at a AU gathering of African presidents and prime ministers marking the seventh anniversary of a summit of African leaders that decided to set up the African Union and set out a timetable for doing so.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10400628
Afghan leader opens Coca-Cola plant in Kabul
11.20am Monday September 11, 2006
KABUL - The blind cleric's haunting Arabic prayer chant echoed among the sterile plastic rows of Coke and Fanta, seeking Allah's blessing for the only major business to open in Afghanistan in more than a decade.
Coca-Cola, with its distinctive red-and-white logo, has come to Kabul in what is at once a sign of economic progress and a symbol of the failure of major businesses to open up in the five years since the fall of the hardline Islamist Taleban.
President Hamid Karzai opened the US$25 million bottling plant in the capital's industrial complex of Bagrami, meaning sweet or fragrant, on Sunday.
Karzai's Western-backed government is desperate to kickstart an economy independent of the US$3 billion ($4.70 billion)-a-year illegal drugs trade, but has been unable to lure investors to one of the world's five poorest countries, where violence has hit a high since the 2001 war.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10400744
Dozens killed in Sri Lanka army offensive
7.20am Monday September 11, 2006
COLOMBO - Sri Lanka's army said yesterday that 28 soldiers and dozens of Tamil Tigers had been killed in their advance across frontlines in the island's far north, as the rebels accused them of shattering what is left of a 2002 truce.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said fighting continued to rage in no-man's land yesterday morning. They said six of their fighters had died since the offensive in the northern Jaffna peninsula began on Friday and 13 were wounded.
"We have destroyed the bunkers of the LTTE," said army spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe. "It was a successful operation and at the moment we are consolidating the area."
He said 28 soldiers had been killed and 119 injured, while the Defence Ministry said it believed at least 60 rebels had died.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10400721
Montenegro holds first independent election
Monday September 11, 2006
PODGORICA - Montenegrins went to the polls yesterday in a general election expected to give their centre-left government a fresh mandate for their first term as an independent country.
Montenegro voted in May to end nearly a century of partnership with Serbia. That decision, buoyed by rapid United Nations acceptance and the prospect of quicker European Union accession, is expected to help Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, the architect of the independence drive.
"I believe the ruling party will win, and things will be better for Montenegro and for all of us," said pensioner Djordje Radesevic after casting his vote early in the morning. "I have full confidence in Milo, he has ruled well so far and will continue to do so."
Polls show voters will hesitate to change horses in mid-stream in a crucial period in which Montenegro must complete its transformation from former socialist Yugoslav republic to well-regulated market economy.
"This vote will first of all be a verification of the referendum result," said journalist and political analyst Ilija Despotovic.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10400714
Chemical leak poisons water supply in central China
5.20am Monday September 11, 2006
BEIJING - A sewage leak from a chemical plant has spilled the cancer-causing chemical arsenide into a river in central China's Hunan province, poisoning drinking water for nearly 100,000 locals, Chinese media said.
Residents in Yueyang county were asked to stop drinking tap water and 18 fire engines distributed fresh water, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.
Fresh water from a nearby reservoir was being discharged into the river in an attempt to dilute the polluted water.
Xinhua said Hunan environmental authorities had detected arsenide levels in the Xinqiang river at 10 times the normal standard, after the case was first reported on Friday.
It said arsenide can damage the liver, kidney and cause lung or skin cancer, as well as cause convulsions which may lead to coma or even death.
A chemical plant in Linxiang city, 50 km upriver, was has been ordered closed after it was found leaking the toxin from its waste water pond.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10400677
Pull British troops out, say dead Fijian soldier's sisters
Monday September 11, 2006
LONDON - The sisters of a Fijian soldier killed by the Taleban have called for British troops to be pulled out of Iraq and Afghanistan, as anti-war campaigners prepare for mass protests at the Labour Party's conference.
Ranger Anare Draiva, 27, was shot dead 10 days ago repelling an attack by the Taleban in Helmand, southern Afghanistan, becoming one of three Fijian-born British soldiers to have died in action this year.
Three of his sisters have now signed an anti-war petition organised by Military Families Against the War, set up last year by Rose Gentle and Reg Keys, which urges Prime Minister Tony Blair to withdraw British troops from both countries.
The campaigners are now preparing to stage a "peace camp" and a mass protest at Labour's annual conference in central Manchester, which starts in a fortnight, where they will launch a new anti-war party called Spectre to contest parliamentary seats held by pro-war ministers.
The Draiva family warned that other Fijians, who are among some 2000 highly regarded Fijian volunteers now in the British Army, could also be killed in the "war on terror". Several cousins are also joining up.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10400710
Russian mine toll reaches 25 as last bodies found
Monday September 11, 2006
MOSCOW - Rescuers yesterday found the bodies of the last four miners trapped deep underground at a remote Russian gold mine, bringing the final death toll to 25.
Relatives had been keeping vigil on the surface hoping the four might be brought out alive after eight survivors emerged from the pit on Saturday.
"We are preparing to bring up the bodies of the last four miners," said a local spokeswoman for the Emergencies Ministry. "Some of the rescue team have left, the rest will stay to ... make sure the fire has been put out."
All 33 men trapped when the fire broke out on Thursday have now been accounted for. The mine, owned by London-listed Highland Gold Mining, is in the remote Chita region of Eastern Siberia near the border with China.
The first funerals, for 14 miners, are to take place today. Most of the miners and their families live in simple wooden houses clustered around the mine. A day of mourning was declared in the Chita region.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10400713
Pilot describes space object flashing in front of cockpit
UPDATED 4.15pm Wednesday September 13, 2006
By Belinda McCammon
A commercial airline pilot believes space debris flashed across southern skies in front of his cockpit as he flew over North Canterbury yesterday.
The pilot -- who did not want his airline or name published -- said an object similar to a meteor -- "but different" -- flashed in front of his cockpit over Hanmer about 3pm yesterday.
'Daddy of all booms' rattles south
The pilot said he did not believe it was a meteor because it was spinning and had reminded him of the debris from the United States space shuttle Columbia when it had exploded.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10401112
Marines deny losing Iraq's biggest province
1.00pm Wednesday September 13, 2006
BAGHDAD - The commander of US Marines in Iraq today denied his troops had lost the vast province they patrol, after newspapers said his intelligence chief had written the grimmest report from the field since the war began.
Washington appears to have been jolted by the classified assessment by Colonel Peter Devlin, which describes the failure of the Marines to pacify Anbar province. The vast western desert makes up a third of the country and is considered the Sunni insurgency's heartland.
The Washington Post reported that officials who have seen the assessment said it described the province as lost. According to the paper, Devlin concluded that Iraq's Shi'ite-led government holds no sway in the province and the strongest political movement there is now the Iraq branch of al Qaeda.
The Marines' commander, Major General Richard Zilmer, told reporters in a conference call he agreed with the assessment, but he disputed the dire characterizations of it in the press.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10401111
Four armed men behind assault on embassy
UPDATED 8.32pm Tuesday September 12, 2006
DAMASCUS - Four armed men attacked the United States embassy in Damascus tonight (NZT), but the assault was repelled and Syrian officials said all diplomats were safe.
Smoke was seen rising from the diplomatic area in the Syrian capital and heavy gunfire was heard.
A Syrian official said four men who tried to storm the embassy were killed.
Officials said the four men shouted religious slogans and threw a grenade into the yard of the embassy.
Witnesses said at least one Syrian guard was killed and a Syrian official told Reuters all US diplomats were safe.
The embassy is in the Rawda area, which also houses vital security installations, the houses of senior Syrian officials and other embassies.
The witnesses said Syrian security forces surrounded the embassy building and sealed off the area.
Britain's ambassador to Syria Peter Ford told CNN that the attack did not appear to be a "major al-Qaeda like operation, but an operation by a small group".
The US State Department in Washington said it was checking the reports and had no immediate information.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10400991
China welcomes US rejection of Taiwan's bid
1.00pm Wednesday September 13, 2006
BEIJING - China has welcomed the United Nations' rejection for the 14th consecutive year of Taiwan's bid to join the global body.
"We urge the Taiwan authorities and a small minority of countries used by the Taiwan authorities to follow the historical trend and stop all secessionist activities," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in a statement.
Suggestions that Taiwan should be let into the UN "challenge the One China principle and do not enjoy popular support", said the statement, carried on the foreign ministry's website.
A UN committee on Tuesday rejected a proposal to put on the agenda of the 61st UN General Assembly session the "question of the representation and participation of the 23 million people of Taiwan in the United Nations."
China had argued orally and in a letter that "Taiwan has been an inseparable part of China's territory since antiquity" and was not an independent nation. Taiwan has formal ties with some 23 nations and a diplomatic presence in 120 countries.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10401105
US says there is no Iran suspension offer
9.20am Wednesday September 13, 2006
WASHINGTON - Iran has not offered to temporarily suspend its uranium enrichment programme as part of an effort to launch nuclear negotiations with six major powers, despite reports it had shown flexibility, the State Department said today.
Indications that Tehran and the major powers might be able to compromise on a nuclear suspension emerged from weekend talks between Iranian negotiator Ali Larijani and European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, representing the six powers.
An EU diplomat said Larijani offered to consider suspending enrichment activity while the two sides discuss incentives for Iran's nuclear cooperation, which he said would take at least two months.
But State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey dismissed reports of "some alleged Iranian offer" and said: "To the best of my knowledge, there's been no Iranian proposal; there's been no change in the Iranian position, meaning they have not agreed to suspend uranium enrichment activities for any length of time that I'm aware of."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10401080
Fuel leak cause of Tauranga pilot's fatal US crash
Wednesday September 13, 2006
A fuel leak and lack of oxygen contributed to the death of a New Zealand pilot while delivering a new plane to its American owners, an investigation has found.
Tauranga pilot Kelvin Stark, 58, died on December 26, 2003, when he crash-landed the Pacific Aerospace Corporation 750XL into the ocean 480km off the Californian coast after reporting a problem with the fuel system.
The Civil Aviation Authority, which investigated the accident, said Mr Stark was flying the plane from Hamilton, where it was built, to Sacramento in California.
The CAA report said that at the plane's last stop-over in Hawaii the refueller was concerned that fuel was leaking from one of the fuel tanks, but Mr Stark told him it stopped when the plane was in the air. In most other planes the leakage would have stopped once the fuel level had dropped and it was not affected by aerodynamic suction, the report said.
But this plane's design meant the front tanks were continuously topped up and fuel would keep leaking until the other tanks were empty.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10400981
Moscow breaks EU 'blockade'
Wednesday September 13, 2006
MOSCOW - Russia has broken what it regarded as an unfriendly European Union blockade of Kaliningrad by opening a sea route to connect the heavily militarised Russian enclave with "the motherland" for the first time.
A sliver of Russian territory sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania, Kaliningrad found itself marooned hundreds of kilometres from the Russian mainland when the two countries joined the EU in 2004.
Since then the enclave has been a source of tension between Moscow and Brussels, with Russia arguing that its access to the region is hampered by Lithuania's Government.
Russia's fears were compounded recently when Vilnius threatened to close the main rail route into Kaliningrad "for repairs" in a tit-for-tat row with Moscow over oil supplies.
From now on the Kremlin will be able to supply its most westerly region via a one-day sea route stretching across the Baltic Sea from the port of Baltiisk in the Kaliningrad region to the port of Ust-Luga in the Leningrad region.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10401024
Japan's male heir named
6.20am Wednesday September 13, 2006
Japan's new Prince, the first male heir to the Chrysanthemum Throne to be born in four decades, was last night named Hisahito - meaning "virtuous, calm and everlasting", the Imperial Household Agency announced.
The infant, who was born on September 6 and is third in line to be the country's Emperor, was named during a five-minute ceremony following age-old imperial rites at the Tokyo hospital where the Prince and his mother, Princess Kiko, who turned 40 the day before, are still recovering from the birth.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10401031
HP chairman to resign over leaks probe
1.00pm Wednesday September 13, 2006
SAN FRANCISCO - Hewlett-Packard chairman Patricia Dunn today agreed to step down in a boardroom shake-up, as the No 2 computer maker tried to defuse a scandal over its investigation into media leaks.
The source of the boardroom leaks, director George Keyworth, also agreed to resign, saying he hoped HP could put to rest the controversy, which has drawn inquiries from US federal and California state prosecutors.
Dunn will give up the chairmanship on January 18 to Chief Executive Mark Hurd, but she will remain on the board, HP said on Tuesday after its board had deliberated for hours on Sunday and Monday over how to handle the furor.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&ObjectID=10401089
Software opens up workforce to people with disabilities
Wednesday September 13, 2006
By Vikki Bland
With one in five New Zealanders living with a long-term impairment or disability, employers with workplaces accessible to disabled employees and customers will benefit through increased staff retention and custom, say workplace analysts - and information technology can help.
Carol Ratnam, an analyst with the Government Office for Disability Issues (part of the Ministry for Social Development), says IT vendors have been developing affordable technologies to support the disabled at work for some time; unfortunately, it's a development many employers haven't caught up with.
"Technology can level the playing field for the disabled and remove the workplace barriers they face. Technology helps people to be no longer [seen as] disabled; just as people," says Ratnam.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10400966
NZ scientists join IceCube team to hunt neutrinos
Saturday September 9, 2006
Two Canterbury University researchers, Dr Jenni Adams and Dr Suruj Seunarine, are to join a team of scientist from seven other countries hunting neutrinos at the South Pole.
The Christchurch physicists have been granted $720,000 from the Marsden Fund as part of the New Zealand contribution to the $38 billion project involving scientists from the United States, Britain, Germany, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Japan.
The project, dubbed IceCube, was launched in 2002, but only detected its first neutrinos on January 29 this year, using holes dug 2500m into ice near the Pole.
It recorded faint flashes of light given off by the particles when they interacted with electrons in water molecules - thought to be the first time neutrinos had been captured in a natural environment.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10400417
Short birth gap risky for parents
Wednesday September 13, 2006
By Maxine Frith
Women who wait less than 18 months between having children are more likely to die younger than those who have a bigger gap between siblings, research has found.
Mothers who have babies in rapid succession could be putting their physical and emotional health at risk, experts said.
They suggested that the strain of caring for more than one young child at a time, coupled with the fact that a woman's nutritional health might be depleted by the impact of a short birth interval, might be to blame for the higher death rates.
Researchers from the Centre of Population Studies at the School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in London studied three sets of data from women in the UK and the US.
The largest data set covered 1 per cent of the population of England and Wales born between 1911 and 1940.
Another survey from the Medical Research Council included information about 1500 women born in 1946.
The third study, from the US, tracked changes in health, employment, income and wealth for about 10,000 people born between 1931 and 1941.
Analysis found that women who had less than an 18-month gap between their children had a death rate after the age of 50 that was 20 per cent higher than those with a larger sibling age gap.
They were also more likely to suffer from long-term illnesses such as diabetes and arthritis later in life.
Fathers of children born in quick succession had a slightly higher mortality rate, although the effect was not as pronounced as it was in the mothers.
Professor Emily Grundy, who led the research, said: "We show that having a short birth interval of less than 18 months between children carries higher risks of mortality and poor health.
"That finding is particularly interesting because, to our knowledge, it is the first time that later health consequences of birth intervals have been investigated in a developed country population."
She said that the reasons for the higher death rate were complex but could be partly down to sleepless nights and constant feeding demands that come with a rapidly growing family.
"It fits into the theory that having a number of small children at the same time produces both physical and social strains that can affect parents," she said.
"As well as the physical and mental stress involved, it might be that nutrition is important.
"Women might not be recovering from the nutrition depletion caused by having children when there are short birth intervals."
Breastfeeding may also play a part in the findings, the study suggested.
Women who breastfeed tend to wait longer between having children.
In addition, breastfeeding protects against some forms of cancer.
The study also provided further evidence of the link between teenage motherhood and poorer health in later life.
This appeared to hold true whatever a mother's background.
In contrast, women who were over 40 when they had a child seemed to experience better health in later life.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10400956
Net's mystery 'Lonelygirl15' revealed as 19 year-old NZ actress
4.55pm Wednesday September 13, 2006
By Kent Atkinson
A 19-year-old New Zealand actress has been revealed as the mystery girl named Bree, known to millions of people on the internet as LonelyGirl15.
The San Francisco Chronicle today reported that former Mount Maunganui actress Jessica Rose has been posing as the 16-year-old home-schooled teenager posting "LonelyGirl15" online video diaries on sites such as YouTube and MySpace.
The New York Times also reported Bree had been identified as Rose, a New Zealand resident who is a graduate of the New York Film Academy.
She has been making a serialised version of a project planned to become a movie: episodes suggested Bree was the home-schooled daughter of strictly religious parents who was sneaking away to send internet video blogs of her inner thoughts.
They have caused a cyber-stir not seen since The Blair Witch Project -- and the mystery has fuelled the popularity of the short videos on sites such as YouTube, where Bree's videos have become one of the most-viewed.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10401130
Britney Spears 'gives birth to boy'
UPDATED 12.15pm Wednesday September 13, 2006
Pop star Britney Spears has given birth to her second child in Los Angeles, news media reported today.
Spears reportedly gave birth by ceasarean section at around 2am Tuesday (9pm Tue NZT), a family source told US music network MTV.
US magazines Us Weekly and People have reported the baby to be a boy.
US entertainment show Access Hollywood said it had confirmed the birth with Spears' father Jamie, who said he had already seen his grandchild, adding "Everything is great."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/6/story.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10401100
Drug can make men last longer
Monday September 11, 2006
by Jeremy Laurance
Hope for embarrassed men - and their unsatisfied partners - affected by one of the commonest sexual problems has been raised by research showing premature ejaculation can be treated safely and effectively with a new drug.
The drug, dapoxetine, more than trebled the time men on the highest dose took to ejaculate, as well as improving their sexual satisfaction and that of their partners.
It was effective even for those who suffered the worst symptoms, ejaculating within seconds of penetration, say the American researchers who publish their findings in the Lancet.
Premature ejaculation affects between a fifth and a third of men and can lead to withdrawal from sex - of either partner - and the breakdown of relationships.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10400643
Baby Bang experiment could open door to new dimension
Monday September 11, 2006
Deep underground on the Franco-Swiss border, someone will throw a switch next year to start one of the most ambitious experiments in history, probing the secrets of the universe and possibly finding new dimensions.
The Large Hadron Collider - a 27km-long circular particle accelerator at the CERN experimental facility near Geneva, will smash protons into one another at unimaginable speeds trying to replicate in miniature the events of the Big Bang.
"These beams will have the kinetic energy of an aircraft carrier slammed into the size of a zero on a 20p piece," Brian Cox of Manchester University told the annual meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.
"We are going to make mini Big Bangs.
"There has never been such a jump in particle physics. It will go into an area that we don't really understand," he added.
The fundamental goal of the massive machine is to answer the basic but crucial question of how matter was created at the birth of the universe.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&ObjectID=10400645
Christchurch trials biodiesel on buses
9.20am Monday September 11, 2006
A 12-month trial is under way to find out whether biodiesel is a suitable alternative fuel for Christchurch buses.
The regional council, ECan, will run four buses on a blend of animal fat and plant oil.
Spokeswoman Nicky Wagner said biodiesel had been trialed in Auckland, but that ECan wanted to do its own study to find out how well the fuel worked in Christchurch's colder temperatures.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10400735
Safer, cheaper way to treat solid waste
Monday September 11, 2006
By Owen Hembry
Auckland-based Flo-Dry Engineering has developed a safer and cheaper way to treat human sewage to target a global market the company says is worth millions of dollars.
Flo-Dry project manager Tissa Fernando said the worldwide demand for the technology used to dry out sewage sludge for disposal or recycling was worth €300 million ($597 million) a year and growing.
"The concept is changing," Fernando said. "There's a lot more pressure on treatment works to get rid of their sludge in a safe and beneficial manner."
A city roughly the the size of Auckland with one million people pumps out 250 tonnes of wet sludge every day, which once dried could be reduced to about 100 tonnes.
Many countries no longer allow the dumping of solid waste at sea, meaning it must be treated for safe use or disposal on land.
Once the sludge has been dried it can be used as a fertiliser or as a fuel with half the heating value of coal.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&ObjectID=10400665
Astronauts 'at ease' after shuttle inspection
6.20am Monday September 11, 2006
HOUSTON - Shuttle Atlantis astronauts yesterday guided a sensor-laden robot arm along the outside of their spacecraft to check for damage after launching on a flight to restart construction of the International Space Station.
Nasa executives said pieces of ice and foam from Atlantis' fuel tank glanced off the spacecraft several minutes after take-off from Florida on Saturday, but they believe no harm was done.
Television shots from the arm slowly scanned the surface of Atlantis as astronauts looked for nicks in the vulnerable heat shield that protects the shuttle during return to Earth.
The painstaking inspections with lasers and cameras attached to the robot arm are now a routine part of shuttle flights after the Columbia disaster in 2003.
Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas as it returned to Florida on February 1, 2003, after a 1.67lb(756g) piece of fuel tank insulating foam struck its wing and broke the heat shield during launch.
The seven Columbia astronauts were killed and the shuttle program, including space station construction, was put on hold.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10400712
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