The Scotsman
Snails creep east as sea warms up
ijohnston@scotsman.com)
EVEN by snail standards its movement has been slow. But environmentalists say the purple topshell's 15-year, 50-mile journey along Scotland's coastline is dramatic evidence that the sea is warming up as a result of climate change.
And the purple topshells are not alone. A new report looking at 57 marine species has discovered that Scotland has some of the most dramatic shifts in sea life caused by global warming anywhere in the UK.
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=1888172006
Russia says Libyan verdict on medics is cruel
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia on Wednesday denounced as "exceedingly cruel" the death sentences passed by a Libyan court on six foreign medics convicted of deliberately infecting hundreds of Libyan children with the virus that causes AIDS.
The court sentenced five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor to death on Tuesday, saying they deliberately infected 426 children with the HIV virus at a hospital in the late 1990s.
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=1890872006
Russia criticises West over UN draft on Iran
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's foreign minister on Wednesday criticised Western powers for trying to punish Iran in the U.N. Security Council draft resolution on the Islamic republic's nuclear programme.
Sergei Lavrov, referring to the Europeans and the United States, said a proposed travel ban on Iranian officials "is in our view an attempt to bring an element of punishment and we agreed from the start not to do that".
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=1890842006
Irving wins appeal on Holocaust denial in Austria
By Alexandra Zawadil
VIENNA (Reuters) - Historian David Irving was set to leave Austria after winning an appeal on Wednesday against a three-year prison sentence for denying the Holocaust.
Irving had been in jail since his arrest in November 2005 on a visit to Austria and was convicted in February for denying the Nazis' organised mass murder of 6 million Jews.
The 68-year-old appealed for a reduced sentence while the prosecutor wanted his prison term extended.
The Vienna court ruled the remainder of his three-year sentence should be changed from a jail term to probation.
"The fact that the offence was committed a long time ago, seventeen years, was a mitigating circumstance," said judge Ernest Maurer. "We expect Irving will leave Austria immediately. We don't suspect he will commit another offence."
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=1890912006
50 Taliban killed in Afghan offensive
KABUL (Reuters) - NATO and Afghan forces have killed about 50 Taliban fighters in the past few days in an operation in southern Afghanistan, an alliance spokesman said on Wednesday.
The operation, dubbed Falcon's Summit, was launched on Friday and focussed on the Panjwai and Zari districts in Kandahar province, the same area that was the focus in September of one of the biggest offensives since the Taliban's ouster in 2001.
There were no casualties among NATO and Afghan forces in the latest operation, said NATO spokesman Brigadier Richard Nugee.
"We have cleared one large and two small villages of Taliban. We have killed a reasonable number of Taliban ... it is in the range of about 50," Nugee told a news conference in Kabul.
The Taliban could not be contacted immediately for comment.
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=1891172006
China says "new consensus" reached at N.Korea talks
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's foreign minister said on Wednesday that "new consensus" had been reached at six-party talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear programmes, but the agreement appeared to break no new ground.
"All parties reaffirm that they will implement the September 19 joint statement, they reaffirm that they will resolve the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula through dialogue and peace and they reaffirm that they will uphold the aim of denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula," Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said in a statement on the ministry's Web site (www.fmprc.gov.cn).
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=1890882006
New Pentagon boss visits Baghdad
By Kristin Roberts
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Two days after being sworn in as new U.S. Defense Secretary, Robert Gates arrived in Baghdad on Wednesday to see the war President George W. Bush has said for the first time America is not winning.
The former CIA director's visit follows a Pentagon report that said violence in Iraq was at an all-time high and as President George W. Bush weighs a new strategy in a war in which nearly 3,000 U.S. soldiers have died since the 2003 invasion.
In a turnaround from past assessments on the Iraq war, Bush told the Washington Post in an interview posted on the newspaper's Web site: "We're not winning, we're not losing."
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=1890822006
Concern over rising use of 'chemical cosh' on disturbed youngsters
LYNDSAY MOSS
MORE children than ever in Scotland are being prescribed drugs to treat hyperactivity, figures revealed yesterday.
Statistics show prescriptions for treating attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) increased by almost 16 per cent in 2005-6, with 49,528 handed out by doctors.
This compared with 42,832 the previous year and fewer than 4,000 in 1996.
The cost to the NHS has increased to more than £1.89 million, compared with £1.45 million the previous year and less than £33,000 in 1996.
The Scottish Executive said the rise was due to increased awareness of ADHD and it did not expect to see similar rises in future years.
But many have expressed concerns that controversial drugs such as Ritalin - sometimes nicknamed the "chemical cosh" - are being handed out too readily to children with behaviour problems.
Side-effects of ADHD drugs include possible heart problems, and nine deaths among children taking ADHD drugs in the UK have been reported to the medicines watchdogs.
But doctors and campaigners have defended the medication, saying it dramatically improves the quality of life for families.
http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1886722006
Widespread use of methadone 'fails to tackle the damage of drug abuse'
mhowie@scotsman.com)
SCOTLAND'S reliance on methadone is failing to tackle the damage wreaked on society by drug abuse, it was claimed yesterday, as new figures showed a massive rise in the use of the heroin substitute.
A record 457,092 methadone prescriptions were issued to heroin addicts in 2005-6, compared with 408,877 the previous year and 45 per cent more than in 2001-2.
Methadone is intended to stabilise heroin users' addiction, satisfying their desire for the drug while removing the need for them to resort to crime and prostitution.
But the efficacy of Scotland's methadone policy was questioned last night as new figures showed a steady rise in drug-related crime in the past five years, with offences committed by addicts to service their habits increasing from 36,175 in 2001 to 42,150 this year.
The report also showed that the number of people convicted of drug offences more than doubled over the same period.
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=1888122006
Physical details of all residents to be held on ID database
HAMISH MACDONELL SCOTTISH POLITICAL EDITOR
EVERYBODY living in the United Kingdom, including foreigners, will be required to have their biometric details recorded under the government's identity card scheme, it emerged yesterday.
John Reid, the Home Secretary, announced that all UK residents, whether or not they were British citizens, would be forced to have their irises scanned and their fingerprints taken for the national database.
http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=1887262006
Warlord admits mass murder for a lower sentence
JOSHUA GOODMAN IN MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA
ONE of Colombia's most feared paramilitary warlords testified before a special tribunal yesterday, a confession meant to sharply reduce any prison term for his role in the murders of hundreds of civilians during a decade-long reign of terror.
Salvatore Mancuso's confession was the first by a top militia commander as part of a 2003 peace deal with the government that led to the demobilisation of 31,000 right-wing fighters.
http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1887912006
Scottish jobs continue to grow
ALISTAIR MCARTHUR
amcarthur@scotsman.com)
BOTH permanent and temporary employment in Scotland continued to rise last month, led by the strength in the Glasgow labour market.
The Bank of Scotland Labour Market Report also revealed wages and salaries continued to rise in November, with employers prepared to pay more to attract skilled candidates.
http://business.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1888132006
MSPs demand to hear the evidence that jobs relocation policy works
PETER MACMAHON SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT EDITOR
pmacmahon@scotsman.com)
SCOTLAND'S senior civil servant clashed with MSPs yesterday after he claimed that the capital had not been affected by the Executive's relocation policy.
But Sir John Elvidge admitted it will be five years before there is any proof that the most controversial jobs move - to Inverness - has worked.
Sir John, the Permanent Secretary at the Executive, came under pressure after he was questioned about the government's policy of forcing civil servants and quango employees out of Edinburgh.
Giving evidence to Holyrood's audit committee, Sir John said that since 1999 38 organisations, with a total of 3,855 employees, had gone through a relocation review.
A total of 2,432 posts had been moved outside Edinburgh and 260 are in the process of moving.
http://news.scotsman.com/politics.cfm?id=1886812006
Wimpey considering more US write-offs
JANE BRADLEY BUSINESS REPORTER
jbradley@edinburghnews.com)
HOUSEBUILDER George Wimpey today warned the City it may decide to write off further land options in the United States, sparking concerns that it may miss profit forecasts for the year.
The firm said it was in the process of reviewing its land and option carrying values in the US following dismal sales across the Atlantic.
http://business.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1890492006
'It's in the post': Romanov blames appeal delay on Christmas mail
STUART BATHGATE
VLADIMIR Romanov is to appeal, after all, against the £10,000 fine imposed upon him by the Scottish Football Association (SFA) for making allegations about referees, despite initially having appeared to allow the deadline to pass without contesting the punishment. In what seemed to be an act of brinksmanship, the majority shareholder of Hearts only sent his written appeal on the seventh and final day allowed to him, and contacted the SFA when it became clear they had yet to receive his communication.
A spokesman for the SFA said at close of business on Monday that Romanov had not submitted an appeal, and a Hearts spokesman also said he had been given no information about any plans to appeal. Yesterday, though, the same SFA spokesman said that Romanov's legal advisors had been in touch to say notification of an appeal had been posted in Glasgow in time. The Christmas post was blamed for the delay.
http://sport.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1886692006
Former Irish PM Haughey lived high life off £8m slush fund
SHAWN POGATCHNIK AND ED CARTY IN DUBLIN
THE former Irish prime minister Charles Haughey received more than 11.5 million (£7.7 million) in secret payments from businessmen and repeatedly lied to investigators about his knowledge of the funds, a tribunal revealed.
Mr Haughey spent the cash, some of which was taxpayers', on designer Charvet shirts from Paris and on enormous bills he and friends ran up at the exclusive Le Coq Hardi restaurant in Dublin. And after preying on the public to raise funds for medical care in the United States for a government colleague, Brian Lenihan, Mr Haughey diverted almost £170,000 for his own use.
http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1888102006
Scotland and early beginnings of festive cards
JENNIFER VEITCH
FOR MOST people who look forward to celebrating Christmas, it just wouldn't be the same without the giving and receiving of special cards. Sending a greeting to family, friends and business contacts has become as much part of the festive fun as trimming the turkey with cranberry sauce or decorating the tree with baubles and chocolate treats.
But unlike the tradition of having a midwinter feast, greetings cards are a relatively recent phenomenon in the history of Christmas. The multi-million pound industry would still be many years away.
The first Christmas cards were printed by Sir Henry Cole in London in 1843 – a thousand of them were produced, each depicting a Victorian family having a traditional turkey dinner and raising their glasses in a toast. The fact that a child was also sipping wine was deemed to be "fostering the moral corruption of children", but the card also depicted scenes showing the feeding and clothing of the poor. It bore a simple message: "A Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year to You." The cards were sold at a shilling a piece – rather a lot of money at the time – and one recently sold at auction for £8,649.
http://heritage.scotsman.com/ingenuity.cfm?id=2437512005
The Salina Journal
Sebelius still mulling ban on coal-fired plants
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- Gov. Kathleen Sebelius still is considering a request from environmentalists that she ban new coal-fired plants, amid questions and criticism about a western Kansas utility's plans to build three of them to generate electricity.
The future of Sunflower Electric Power Corp.'s proposed $2.7 billion project in Finney County rests with the state Department of Health and Environment. It must decide whether to issue a permit saying the project would meet federal air quality standards.
Attorneys general in eight states, including California and New York, worry about the project, and Kansas' health department has heard criticism from across the state. Environmentalists have asked Sebelius to impose a moratorium on coal-fired plants.
"Gov. Sebelius is considering all potential options," spokeswoman Nicole Corcoran said Tuesday. "This is a very complex issue, and Gov. Sebelius and her staff are following it closely."
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/K/KS_SUNFLOWER_PLANTS_KSOL-?SITE=KSSAL&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2006-12-19-17-42-47
Brownback wants to restart hearing process for judicial nominee
By TODD DVORAK Associated Press Writer
DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) -- Sen. Sam Brownback, who wants to champion social conservatives in the presidential race, said Tuesday he wants a Senate panel to re-question a judicial nominee who attended a same-sex union ceremony.
Brownback, a Kansas Republican, said he wants Michigan state judge Janet Neff to testify about her role in the 2002 Massachusetts ceremony, her legal views on same-sex unions and her ability to be impartial if called upon to rule on such cases.
Neff's nomination to federal district court is among a dozen or so now stalled in the Senate, a logjam in part due to Brownback's questions about Neff's attendance at a lesbian commitment ceremony. The Senate Judiciary Committee has already approved her nomination.
Neff was traveling outside the country and could not immediately be reached for comment, said Chris Bockheim, her judicial assistant.
Earlier this month, Brownback, a prominent opponent of gay marriage who is exploring a presidential run in 2008, said he would lift the hold he put on Neff's nomination if the judge agreed to withdraw from ruling on any court case involving the legality of same sex unions.
In Iowa on Tuesday to meet with GOP activists, Brownback said he only wants a chance to question Neff about her role in the 2002 ceremony. Brownback also wants a recorded vote in the Senate.
"I am not opposed to her getting a vote," Brownback said before a lunch with potential donors and supporters in Davenport. "I would like her to come back through committee so she can testify what took place, factually ... her legal views on same-sex marriage and her ability and willingness to be impartial."
Neff has said she attended the commitment ceremony as a friend of one of the two women, a longtime neighbor.
She insisted in an Oct. 12 letter to Brownback that the ceremony had no legal effect and would not influence her ability to act fairly as a federal judge.
Brownback has also been criticized for his proposal that Neff be required to recuse herself from gay marriage cases. Legal scholars said such a deal would infringe on the separation of the legislative and judicial branches of government.
But Brownback said it was simply a last resort to put her nomination forward.
"If we don't testify on her views on same-sex marriage legally, then the only way I can see fit to do this is to have her recuse herself from a class of cases," Brownback said. "Then others stepped in and said 'you can't do that.' Well, that's the only option I had at that late hour."
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/J/JUDGE_GAY_MARRIAGE_KSOL-?SITE=KSSAL&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2006-12-19-14-41-53
Commission grants permit for ethanol plant
DODGE CITY, Kan. (AP) -- The Ford County Commission has approved a conditional permit for a disputed ethanol plant, and opponents said they will decide soon whether to go to court over the issue.
Developers want to build a $185 million plant that will produce 110 million gallons of ethanol per year. The developer, Boot Hill Biofuels, said it hopes to start building the plant a mile east of Wright in July 2007 and have it running by September 2008.
The conditional permit allows the industrial development in an area zoned for agriculture. Now, developers must seek an air permit and begin an equity drive for the plant, said Gary Harshberger of Boot Hill Biofuels.
"I feel very good about it," commission Chairman Kim Goodnight said after the meeting. "Like one of the other commissioners said, we support new ventures. We want to be proactive. I want to wish them a lot of luck."
The commission had to vote unanimously Monday to issue the permit because residents had filed a formal petition with more than 200 signatures against the development.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/K/KS_ETHANOL_PLANT_KSOL-?SITE=KSSAL&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2006-12-19-13-08-58
Report: Sumner County again leads Kansas wheat harvest
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) -- Kansas may lead the nation in wheat production, but it is Sumner County that once again outranks all other Kansas counties in growing the crop, a newly released government report shows.
Months after the last bushel from the 2006 wheat crop was harvested, the Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service recently released its wheat county estimates showing Sumner County was the leading wheat producing county in the state with 13.1 million bushels.
Sumner County held on to the No. 1 spot despite an ongoing drought that slashed the Kansas wheat crop by 23 percent this season, putting the state's crop at 291.2 million bushels from 9.8 million harvested acres. Average yields statewide were 32 bushels per acre.
"All we can do is look forward to the crop that is in the ground now and hope there is some precipitation," said Marsha Boswell, spokeswoman for the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/K/KS_AGR_WHEAT_HARVEST_KSOL-?SITE=KSSAL&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2006-12-19-14-47-43
Engineering firm goes green
Bucher, Willis & Ratliff workers have more windows than they are used to in their new, spacious office at 2335 E. Crawford, and there are "green" amenities to help the planet.
The engineering, planning and architectural firm moved into its new 16,425-square-foot east Salina building Friday. A ribbon-cutting is planned for 10 a.m. Thursday.
"We really like it," office manager and part owner Kenzil Lynn said.
One reason for the $2.3 million building was to attract business from a major client, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Bucher, Willis & Ratliff does work for the Corps, which now requires that firms have Leadership and Energy Environmental Design (LEED) accreditation.
http://www.saljournal.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=9029&format=html
Flood insurance is an issue in Salina, Kansas? That doesn’t sound right. They need to submit the flood maps for reconsideration. I don’t believe this is a realistic expectation of danger to the museum unless there is a significant river, stream or dam that would cause an issue. If that is the case then the entire town needs to receive a flood assessment and soon.
Court sides with county on Flywheels variance
The Central Kansas Flywheels Museum officials say it will cost as much as $15,000 to comply with a court decision that the museum must comply with federal flood insurance regulations in constructing two buildings.
The museum board lost its appeal to a Saline County District Court judge over the county's denial of a zoning variance. That denial came after county officials determined that an earlier variance from flood elevation standards, issued in 1992, was improper. The museum grounds are at 1100 W. Diamond, just north of Interstate Highway 70 near Ninth Street.
John Chalmers, a museum board member, said Fywheels will add fill dirt at the site of the new construction to raise the building elevation by nearly 3 feet.
The museum plans to add a museum commemorating Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. The cost is estimated at $300,000, and construction could begin by spring.
Flywheels officials also plan to re-erect a metal building at the site that was the former workshop of Hoff Welding of Salina. That building was in the past of the North Ohio Street overpass, and Hoff Welding donated it to the museum. It will be used to display items from the museum collection.
Growth comes to National Guard range
New jobs, a new building and training for more troops are ahead for the Smoky Hill Air National Guard Range west of Salina.
The range, 10 miles west of Salina, is to be home for an Air Support Operations Squadron. The squadron, announced Tuesday, will allow training that will more closely tie air and ground operations on the battlefield.
The plan is to meld the operations of the bomb range with the Salina-based Kansas National Guard Regional Training Center and the Fort Riley Army base. Plus, the runways of Salina Municipal Airport will support the training missions.
http://www.saljournal.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=9031&format=html
Weather map
http://www.goes.noaa.gov/ECIR4.html
Voters, demand efficiency
City, county consolidation is an issue that should be given a hard look
Saline County Commissioner Sherri Barragree says things are working well in the county, which apparently is one reason she is against consolidating city and county government. She’s correct, for the most part. Many county offices and services are just fine, which is a credit to Barragree and other county commissioners. But good things can be made better. And that goes for several functions in county and city government. Consolidating some city-county activities was on the agenda at a quarterly meeting of the Saline County commission and the Salina City Commission. The meeting was pretty much a repeat of previous discussions between the two commissions. Those with the city keep offering ways to work together, while those on the county commission keep finding reasons to maintain the status quo. But county commissioners took a baby step in the right direction when they agreed — sort of — to consider a streamlined planning process. Currently the city develops its own comprehensive plan and the county does the same. Having separate plans means confusion at Salina’s city limits.
http://www.saljournal.com/?module=displaysection§ion_id=97&format=html
New Zealand Herald
Big wet, snow, gales - we got it all
Our loyalty has been sorely tested this year.
The Aussies tried to tempt us across the Tasman with THAT ad. The one with the bronzed bikini-clad woman strolling along a beach with the bleached sky in the background, appealing in her best twang: "So, where the bloody hell are you?"
And tempting it was. While Australia baked, parts of New Zealand nearly washed away or froze.
As the economic impact of Australia's endless sun became apparent, the Big Wet, the Big Snow and the Big Wind all messed with the hearts and minds of New Zealanders.
The stand-out event was the heaviest snowfall in decades, which arrived in the South Island on June 12, heralding an abrupt start to winter.
"That's probably the significance of 2006 - the early start to winter," said meteorologist Bob McDavitt. "It was all on from then."
The island was blanketed in snow down to sea level - the deepest Canterbury had seen since 1945.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=26&objectid=10416138
United Future unveils climate change policy
Householders would be encouraged to take out bank loans to insulate their homes under United Future policy to address climate change.
It also wants consumers to buy newer, more fuel-efficient cars and wants to limit the number of older imports coming into the country.
Its policy on climate change released today focuses on what individuals can do.
This includes encouraging home owners to borrow around $5000 from banks to insulate their homes, money United Future says will be recouped in savings on consumers' energy bills.
United Future leader Peter Dunne said there would be costs on individuals as a result of climate change but "we are at a point in the life of our planet where significant change needs to be made if we are to survive".
That change could not be made cheaply or easily, he said.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=26&objectid=10416253
The 2007 conference….
The 3rd Australia–New Zealand Climate Change & Business Conference will be held in Brisbane, Australia, 30-31 August 2007. It will be the pre-eminent climate change conference for business and will build on the success of the first and second conferences (November 2004 in Auckland and February 2006 in Adelaide).
http://www.climateandbusiness.com/
New Zealand Climate Change
Climate change: the way ahead
Our climate is changing. How we respond to the issue of climate change now will determine the shape of our future – our economy, environment, and communities. The debate is no longer about whether climate change is happening, but on what we do about it.
The government recognises climate change as a long-term strategic issue for New Zealand within the broader context of economic transformation, national identity, and other leading issues, for example, water quality and flood control. To support the government’s strategy, a series of whole-of-government work programmes has been approved and will be implemented over the next year or so.
http://www.climatechange.govt.nz/
From the mountains to the sea, from the forests to the cities, from the places to the people - New Zealand is special.
Our beautiful environment not only defines who we are, but generates tourism, supports our diverse plant and animal life, and sustains our economy. We can all help protect New Zealand’s environment by making changes in the way we lead our lives and participate in our communities.
Explore this website and become one of the 4 million careful owners your country needs and deserves.
http://www.4million.org.nz/
Alliance of Small Island States
The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) is a coalition of small island and low-lying coastal countries that share similar development challenges and concerns about the environment, especially their vulnerability to the adverse effects of global climate change. It functions primarily as an ad hoc lobby and negotiating voice for small island developing States (SIDS) within the United Nations system.
AOSIS has a membership of 43 States and observers, drawn from all oceans and regions of the world: Africa, Caribbean, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean, Pacific and South China Sea. Thirty-seven are members of the United Nations, close to 28 percent of developing countries, and 20 percent of the UN's total membership. Together, SIDS communities constitute some five percent of the global population.
http://www.sidsnet.org/aosis/
NZ global-warming scientists set Antarctic drilling record
A trail-blazing team of international scientists, including several from the University of Otago, has just drilled its way into Antarctic history.
The US$30 million ($43.4 million) Antarctic drilling (Andrill) project team yesterday drilled more than 1020m into the seabed beneath the continent's massive ice sheets - probing more deeply into ancient sediments than researchers have ever done before.
"This is the first time anyone has recovered such a drill core from beneath a floating ice shelf," Otago University geologist Associate Professor Gary Wilson said. The drilling would continue until Christmas Day.
Professor Wilson the project leader said via email that the "back-to-the-future" scientific venture aimed to learn more about what effects global warming was likely to have on Antarctic ice this century, by discovering more about the ancient behaviour of the continent's ice sheets.
"We will be able to to put some tight age constraints on how long it takes for ice shelves to advance and retreat or collapse under varying conditions.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=26&objectid=10415994
Fires likely to kill off many of Australia's native species
SYDNEY - Hundreds of thousands of native Australian animals such as koalas and kangaroos have been killed in bushfires that have burnt across southeast Australia in the past two weeks, say wildlife officials.
The bushfires, which are still burning in three eastern states, have been so big and intense that wildlife officials fear some species may become extinct as the fires destroy large swathes of animal habitats.
"The fires are so devastating and moving so quickly that animals just don't have a chance to get out of the way," said Pat O'Brien, president of the Wildlife Protection Association.
"Because of the heat and the fireballs that are happening the animals are just bursting into flames and just being killed even before the fire gets to them because its so hot."
Koalas and possums, which instinctively climb to the treetops for safety, would have had no chance of escaping the blazes, and kangaroos and bush birds would have been unable to outrun the fast-burning fires, he said.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10416153
Probe into burns to firefighters
An investigation has been launched into how a group of New Zealand firefighters were injured in Victoria, as three remained in a Melbourne hospital's burns unit.
The Department of Sustainability and Environment said the probe would take in the fire's movements and whether the men were wearing the proper safety equipment.
John Tupara, Barrie Hunt and Nick McCabe, who were part of a 48-strong Kiwi contingent, were airlifted to Melbourne's Alfred Hospital after they were overcome by flames and smoke while fighting bushfires in south Australia.
The trio, who suffered burns to their hands and faces, were among a group of 11 New Zealand firefighters trapped at Mt Terrible on Saturday afternoon.
The department's chief fire officer, Ewan Waller, said the firefighters should have been wearing protective gloves.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=68&objectid=10416029
Tough bikkie 'ready to return' to Australian firefighting
John Tupara dived into a ditch and covered his face with his hands as the flames swept over him and his colleagues.
Last night the firefighter was one of three New Zealanders in hospital recovering from serious burns after they were caught by the bushfires devastating south Australia.
But Mr Tupara's sister, Tiahuia Morunga, said her brother loved the job and it was unlikely Saturday's scare would put him off a career he had been doing for more than 10 years.
"I don't think that would frighten him," she said. "He would still go back. We're tough bikkies."
Mr Tupara, a father of one, was among 11 New Zealand firefighters who became trapped by a large blaze at Mt Terrible, in northeastern Victoria, at 2.30pm on Saturday.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=68&objectid=10415860
Committee calls for ban on 'party pills'
The Government has been advised to outlaw the sale of "party pills" by an expert committee which has been studying their dangers.
The pills can be legally purchased by those over 18, but critics say their main active ingredient benzylpiperazine (BZP) is dangerous and pill doses are often far higher than recommended, leading to significant potential harm.
A Cabinet committee is looking at whether BZP and related substances commonly found in party pills should be banned or further restricted.
Associate Health Minister Jim Anderton today said he was still considering the official advice from the Expert Advisory Committee on Drugs (EACD), but had taken the step of releasing it so people were aware of the pills' dangers.
Mr Anderton, the Minister in charge of drug policy, said considering the advice was the first step he was required to make in taking any statutory decision.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10416231
Australian stocks: Stocks close higher buoyed by resources, financials
The Australian share market has closed at another record high, buoyed by market leader BHP Billiton and a strong showing from banks and insurers.
At the 1615 AEDT close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 48.1 points to 5,607.8, breaking the previous record of 5,591.40 set on Monday, December 18.
It also closed at a new intraday high, beating its earlier high of 5,597.20, set on Monday as well.
The all ordinaries gained 45.3 points to 5,586.90, likewise surpassing its previous closing high of 5,572.2 and beating the previous intraday high of 5577.30.
Both records were also set on December 18.
CMC Markets senior dealer Phil Martin said the big miners had led the market up today, despite small falls in base metal prices overnight.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/3/story.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10416271
Currency: Kiwi edges towards US70C
The New Zealand dollar edged closer towards US70c today after better-than-forecast current account data.
The kiwi closed near its session peak on US69.88c, up from US69.07c yesterday.
The September quarter current account worsened to $4.6 billion, compared to the June quarter deficit of $3.1b but was better than the $5 billion forecast by economists.
The annual deficit narrowed to $14.4 billion, 9.1 per cent of GDP from $15.1 billion, or 9.7 per cent of GDP, recorded in the June year.
It was the first time since March 2003 that the annual deficit had narrowed between quarters, SNZ said.
Goldman Sachs JBWere economist Shamubeel Eaqub said a net external liability position of about 60 per cent of GDP was sustainable given national income, public debt and demographics, he said.
"While a catalyst for such a correction is not clearly visible in the near term, substantial NZD depreciation and/or increase in household saving would go some way to restoring some balance in NZ's external accounts.
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World economy on track for strong 2007
Slowing activity in the US economy and a possible sudden cooling of overheated property markets are the main threats to the world economy in 2007 after vigorous recovery this year.
The International Monetary Fund said it was lowering its growth estimate for next year from its current prediction of 4.9 per cent.
But chief economist John Lipsky added that the IMF nonetheless continued "to anticipate a favourable environment for growth" and said he saw "no obvious reason to be concerned" by the recent plunge in the dollar against the euro.
The world is continuing to benefit from its most prolonged economic expansion since the 1970s, with growth of about 5 per cent for each of the last four years.
Even record high oil prices, which this year hovered around US$80 ($116) a barrel, did not slow growth.
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Young back themselves but not NZ, says poll
Young New Zealanders aren't all that impressed by the world around them but they have plenty of confidence in themselves, according to a new survey.
In the Youth Confidence Index, commissioned by ASB bank, market research company 18tracker polled more than 2000 people aged 14 to 29, between March and November this year.
ASB head of marketing Jonathan Symons said 70 per cent of respondents thought life for young New Zealanders was going to get worse in the future, or at least stay the same.
However, when asked about where their own lives specifically were headed, the attitude was extremely positive.
"This could mean that while youth are quite cynical about society in general, personally they are very confident about the path they are choosing for themselves," Mr Symons said.
He said high petrol prices and the cost of living could be behind the fact that only 27 per cent of respondents thought the future was looking good.
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Second arrest over prostitute murders 'significant'
LONDON - In a new twist in the hunt for the killer of five Ipswich prostitutes, a second man has been arrested over the murders in a move described by Suffolk police as "significant".
Meanwhile, detectives continued questioning a supermarket worker held in custody since Monday.
The latest arrest came at 5am on Tuesday local time at a house in London Road, in Ipswich's red light area, when detectives detained a man named locally as Steve Wright, 48, believed to be a former dock worker at the nearby port of Felixstowe.
Mr Wright, who has lived there with his partner, Pamela, for only about three months, was still being questioned last night at a police station in Ipswich.
Police have declined to name the man officially.
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'Sad and lonely' guy drawn to the red light
IPSWICH - Tom Stephens, the first man being questioned over the Suffolk serial killings, is a self-confessed "sad and lonely" man, who claims to have turned to prostitutes following the collapse of his marriage three years ago.
Rarely can a man who is being questioned by detectives over a major serial-killing inquiry have been so publicly frank beforehand about his involvement with the victims.
Stephens, 37, acknowledged that he was a likely suspect, but throughout long and often emotional interviews with the BBC and the Sunday Mirror before he was arrested, he denied all suggestions of personal involvement in the killings, saying he had simply been friends with the five women. He claimed to have been questioned four times, once under caution.
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Palestinian factions agree ceasefire
GAZA - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas said a deal was reached to halt fierce clashes between their rival forces in the Gaza Strip, where six fighters were killed on Tuesday.
A previous ceasefire broke down within 24 hours and it was unclear whether this one would hold.
Security sources and witnesses said rival Palestinian security forces began withdrawing from parts of Gaza City under Tuesday's ceasefire, but minutes after it took effect residents reported an exchange of fire between gunmen.
The internal violence, the worst in a decade, has escalated since Abbas called for early elections on Saturday to try to break a political deadlock with the Hamas government.
A senior Abbas aide said the president planned to issue a decree next week calling for new Palestinian elections, a move Hamas has described as a "coup".
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Gunbattles rage in Gaza, at least three dead
GAZA - Gunbattles raged between Hamas loyalists and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' forces in the Gaza Strip last night, killing at least three people and wounding a dozen others, medical officials said.
Internal Palestinian fighting -- the worst in a decade -- has escalated since Abbas called at the weekend for early elections in an attempt to break a political deadlock with the Hamas government. Hamas has accused Abbas of launching a "coup".
Two security men from a force loyal to Abbas' Fatah faction were killed in a running street battle with Hamas gunmen in Gaza City, hospital officials said.
Hamas and Fatah traded blame on who started the fight and how the two men were killed. Five children were also wounded.
Witnesses and rival factions said a Hamas policeman was killed in an earlier clash at the entrance and inside the compound of the main Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Rocket-propelled grenades were fired in that incident.
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Abbas calls for early Palestinian elections
RAMALLAH, West Bank - President Mahmoud Abbas has called for Palestinian elections, throwing down the gauntlet to his Hamas rivals after days of factional violence that has sparked fears of civil war.
Abbas said parliamentary and presidential polls should be held at the earliest opportunity, but appeared to leave the door open to the ruling Hamas by saying renewed efforts should be made to form a government that could lift Western sanctions.
Prime Minister Tony Blair urged foreign governments to support Abbas while the United States said it hoped elections would enable peace talks with Israel to resume. Israel did not comment on the election call, but lauded Abbas as a moderate.
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Palestinian ceasefire given fighting chance
GAZA CITY - A shaky ceasefire took effect yesterday between Palestinian rivals Hamas and Fatah after days of heavy fighting pushed the Gaza Strip to the brink of civil war.
It was unclear whether the truce would last as groups of heavily armed gunmen from both sides continued to roam the tense streets of the impoverished coastal strip.
Fighting escalated after President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah on Sunday called for fresh presidential and parliamentary elections, a move intended to break political deadlock with the Hamas Government and lift Western sanctions on its administration. Hamas, which surprised the once dominant Fatah to win January elections, said it would boycott new polls.
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Schwarzenegger orders death penalty review
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has ordered reforms of the state's death penalty programme after a judge ruled the state's procedure for administering lethal injections is unconstitutional.
Judge Jeremy Foley ruled there was a risk that inmates receiving lethal injections were suffering unnecessarily.
Cannabis America's biggest cash crop
LOS ANGELES - Marijuana is the most valuable cash crop in the United States, worth more to its growers than corn and wheat combined, according to a new report by a leading American drug reform lobbyist that cites the US government's own figures.
Decades of government efforts to crack down on both the cultivation and consumption of pot have had a counter-productive effect, since even the most conservative government estimates suggest domestic marijuana production has increased tenfold in the past 25 years.
It is the leading cash crop in 12 states, and one of the top five crops in 39 states.
The report's author, Jon Gettman, says it is "larger than cotton in Alabama, larger than grapes, vegetables and hay in California, larger than peanuts in Georgia, and larger than tobacco in South and North Carolina".
California accounts for almost a third of all US production.
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Norfolk Island's governance to remain unchanged
CANBERRA - Norfolk Island's governance will remain unchanged despite months of tense negotiations between Canberra and the Pacific island.
Territories Minister Jim Lloyd made the announcement today, saying any changes to the island's government could harm the fragile economy.
"The government has taken account of the efforts of the Norfolk Island government to increase revenue and to promote the growth of tourism to the island," Mr Lloyd said in a statement.
Norfolk Island is an Australian territory with a government which raises revenue under its own system of laws, mainly from such sources as customs duty, liquor sales, departure fees and a financial institutions levy.
The backflip on possible reforms comes after Mr Lloyd said earlier this year that Norfolk Island could not govern itself.
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US troops' suicide rate in Iraq doubles
WASHINGTON - Suicides among US soldiers in Iraq doubled last year over the previous year to return to a level seen in 2003, US Army medical experts have said.
Twenty-two US soldiers in Iraq took their own lives in 2005, a rate of 19.9 per 100,000 soldiers. In 2004, the rate was 10.5 per 100,000 and in 2003, the year of the US-led invasion of Iraq, the figure was 18.8 per 100,000.
The figures cover US Army soldiers only. They do not include members of other US military services in Iraq such as the Marine Corps.
Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley, the Army's surgeon general, cautioned against over-interpreting the figures, saying suicide rates tended to fluctuate from year to year.
"We think that the numbers are so rare to begin with that it's very hard to make any kind of interpretation," he said at a news conference to present a study on the mental health of US soldiers in Iraq.
"We have not made a connection between the stress on the force and some massive or even significant increase in suicides," he said.
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US still holds hundreds of al Qaeda suspects
The United States is still holding several hundred suspected al Qaeda or Taleban fighters throughout the world, including about 400 at Guantanamo Bay, the White House says.
About 21,000 US forces are deployed in Afghanistan, 134,000 in Iraq, 1700 in Kosovo and 100 at Nato's Sarajevo headquarters.
Attacks in Iraq at record high: Pentagon
WASHINGTON - Attacks in Iraq on US-led forces, local security personnel and civilians have surged 22 per cent to record levels, the Pentagon said in its latest quarterly report on Iraq.
The report also noted a rise in civilian casualties and said this was directly linked to the rise of sectarian death squads, which were helped by elements of Iraqi forces.
The report was released on the day Robert Gates was sworn in as US defence secretary and as President George W. Bush considers changes to his Iraq policy. Gates replaces Donald Rumsfeld, heavily criticized for his handling of the war.
"Attack levels - both overall and in all specific measurable categories - were the highest on record during this reporting period," said the report, "Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq", produced for the US Congress.
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Three more show poison traces in spy case
LONDON - Tests on three more London hotel workers have shown they were exposed to low levels of polonium 210, the radioactive poison that killed former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko, health authorities have said.
The tests bring to 10 the number of people in Britain found to have been contaminated by polonium since Litvinenko died on November 23. He accused the Kremlin of assassinating him in a murky spy case which has strained relations between London and Moscow.
Moscow has strongly denied the charge and dismissed Litvinenko, a former member of its FSB security agency, as a low-level figure with no access to intelligence secrets.
The Health Protection Agency said the 10 people exposed in Britain, nine hotel staff and Litvinenko's wife, face no immediate danger, and any long-term health risk is likely to be very small.
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Annan steps up UN pressure on Khartoum
NEW YORK - United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who leaves office in less than two weeks, is making a last-ditch effort to convince Sudan to accept a much stronger peacekeeping force in Darfur.
Annan told the UN Security Council he was naming former General Assembly President Jan Eliasson as a special envoy to Sudan, to serve during the transition to incoming UN leader Ban Ki Moon.
Annan was also sending a top aide, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, to Khartoum to pin down the Government's position on a UN proposal to build up the African Union mission already in Darfur with substantial UN resources in a proposed "hybrid" force, he told Ban and council members at an informal meeting. - REUTERS
Blair's successor must look to Europe: report
LONDON - Prime Minister Tony Blair's foreign policy has failed because of his inability to influence Washington and his successor must rebalance British interests between the United States and Europe, a report said yesterday.
The Chatham House think-tank said in a wide-ranging analysis of Blair's foreign policy that he was the first to recognise how the United States would react to the September 11 attacks. But the influential London-based institute said the Prime Minister had made a mistake in failing to co-ordinate a European response that might have tempered Washington's actions.
Chatham House concluded that the US-led invasion of Iraq was a "terrible mistake" leading to a "debacle" that will have repercussions on policy for years.
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Former Iranian President Rafsanjani in comeback
TEHRAN - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's allies failed to dominate elections for a powerful Iranian clerical body and local councils, early results showed, in what analysts said was a setback to his standing.
Saturday's twin elections for the clerical Assembly of Experts and local councils, the first nationwide vote since Ahmadinejad took office in 2005, will not directly impact on policy.
But turnout of around 60 per cent and Ahmadinejad's close identification with some candidates, particularly in Tehran, suggested a shift towards more moderate policies and away from the President's ultra-conservative line.
Former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a moderate cleric, led the count in Tehran for the Assembly of Experts.
Rafsanjani lost to Ahmadinejad in the 2005 presidential race.
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Fiji chiefs face threat of 50-year regime
SUVA - Fiji's coup leader says his military regime can rule for "up to 50 years" if the nation's powerful tribal chiefs continue to block his push to reappoint an interim government.
Military commander Frank Bainimarama has been pressuring the Great Council of Chiefs to appoint a new President, who can then swear in his military-appointed Cabinet.
But the council has remained loyal to the government of ousted Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase, and has demanded his reinstatement and a return to democracy.
The council, which is responsible for appointing the President and Vice-President, will meet to discuss the crisis next week.
Commodore Bainimarama told local radio he had not yet been invited to the meeting, but he had a stark warning for the chiefs.
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Zimbabwe party endorses extension of Mugabe's rule
GOROMONZI, Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe's ruling party has approved a preliminary move to extend President Robert Mugabe's rule by two years, a step critics say would plunge the southern African country deeper into crisis.
An annual conference of Mugabe's ZANU-PF party noted and adopted a motion approving the plan to move presidential polls from 2008 to 2010 so they can be "harmonised" and held at the same time as parliamentary elections.
The proposal has been passed to ZANU-PF's policy-making central committee, which meets about four times a year and is expected to endorse the plan which has been backed by a majority of the party's provincial executives. The next central committee meeting is expected before March.
The proposal must also be approved by parliament, but that also is assured because it is dominated by Mugabe's party.
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Tamil Tigers lose tough negotiator with sharp claws
COLOMBO - Anton Balasingham was the international face of the militant group that pioneered suicide bombing, yet he was welcomed in the drawing rooms of Europe.
The Prime Minister of Norway addressed him as "Excellency", as if he were an ambassador for an internationally recognised state, instead of chief negotiator for the Tamil Tigers, banned as a terrorist organisation in the European Union and the United States.
The Tigers are also on Britain's list of banned terrorist groups for their remorseless campaign of violence to win independence for Sri Lanka's Tamils, a campaign involving suicide attacks that have claimed the lives of hundreds, including that of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. Yet Balasingham, who died at the weekend of bile duct cancer, had a British passport and was allowed to live in Britain and openly conduct the Tigers' business - the West accepted the Tigers were a militant group that it had to be prepared to talk to.
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First lady Laura Bush treated for skin cancer
WASHINGTON - First lady Laura Bush was treated for skin cancer on her leg last month, her spokeswoman said today.
Mrs Bush did not appear to have difficulty walking at a Hanukkah reception at the White House on Monday but a bandage was visible below her right knee.
Mrs Bush had a biopsy of a small sore on her leg in late October, revealing a squamous cell carcinoma, the second most common type of skin cancer, Susan Whitson, spokeswoman for the first lady, told Reuters.
Mrs Bush had the small growth removed from the shin area of her right leg shortly after Election Day on November 7, she said.
"Because of Mrs Bush's early detection and treatment, the area on her leg is healing well and it has not interrupted her schedule," Whitson said.
Mrs Bush had the growth removed before she and President George W Bush went to Asia later in November, Whitson said. - REUTERS
Steve Irwin among top 2006 Google searches
Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin was among the most popular subjects typed into the Google search engine in the United Kingdom this year.
A survey by the internet group found the life and death of Irwin was surpassed only by video searches - such as those found on YouTube.com - and queries about the soccer World Cup in the list of the UK's top 10 fastest-growing query subjects, British media report.
Irwin, who was killed in September when a stingray barb pierced his chest, also featured on the list of most searched-for celebrities.
Tom Cruise's wedding to Katie Holmes was the most popular celebrity wedding among UK "Googlers", followed by the nuptials between Cruise's ex-wife Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban in Sydney.
Google examined billions of searches from the past year to create a snapshot of queries for its 2006 End of Year UK Zeitgeist. - AAP
Medics sentenced to death for infecting kids with HIV
TRIPOLI - A Libyan court sentenced five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor to death tonight for deliberately infecting hundreds of children with the HIV virus that causes AIDS.
The verdict and sentences were announced by judge Mahmoud Haouissa. The six are accused of infecting 426 Libyan children with HIV at a hospital in Benghazi in the late 1990s. The prosecution had demanded the death penalty.
"In the name of the people and after reviewing the documents and hearing the arguments by lawyers of both sides, the court decided on death sentences," Haouissa said, winding up a seven-month retrial of the case.
"They caused the spread of the disease that caused the death of more than one person."
Relatives of the children attending the hearing broke down in tears of joy and shouted "God is greatest".
The medics had denied the charge. They were convicted in a 2004 trial and sentenced to death by firing squad. But the supreme court quashed the ruling last year and ordered the case be returned to a lower court.
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