Former Russian President Yeltsin dies

The former President "died of a sudden death in Moscow on Monday," the Itar-Tass news agency quoted Kremlin source as saying.

The White House mourned Yeltsin as "a historic figure" and offered condolences to his relatives, according to reports reaching here.

Born on Feb. 1, 1931, Yeltsin worked as construction worker, communist party official and served as Russia’s first elected President since 1991 after the independence of the former Soviet Union member country.

He transferred power to President Vladimir Putin on Dec. 31, 1999 and resigned from his post of President. He then kept a low profile.

Yeltsin graduated in 1955 from the Urals Polytechnics Institute in Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg), where he was born. He joined the Communist Party in 1961.

(VietNamNet Bridge / Xinhua)

Dell Brings XP Back for Consumer PCs

Earlier this month, Dell had reinstituted Windows XP as an option on small business computers, citing the need for more time to transition to Windows Vista. Now, following overwhelming demand expressed through Dell's IdeaStorm Web site, Dell is bringing back Windows XP for several consumer desktop and notebook PCs.

Like a TV show whose fans rally after its cancellation, Windows XP will be back for another season on consumer computers at Dell. The computer maker has announced that, due to overwhelming demand, Windows XP Home and Professional will be available once again on at least some consumer machines.

"We heard you loud and clear on bringing the Windows XP option back to our Dell consumer PC offerings," Dell said on its Web site. Four consumer laptops (Dell Inspiron 1405, 1705, 1505, and 1501) and two desktops (Dell Dimension E520 and E521) will once again offer XP as an option.

The demand was articulated through Dell's IdeaStorm site, where users post their suggestions and vote on the best ones. More than 11,000 votes not to eliminate XP made sentiments clear.

Vista Still a Young OS

Earlier this month, Dell had reinstituted XP as an option on small business computers. "Dell recognizes the needs of small business customers and understands that more time is needed to transition to a new operating system," wrote Dell Small Business Marketing Director Tom West on a company blog at the time. "The plan is to continue offering Windows XP on select Dimension and Inspiron systems until later this summer."

But, he wrote, the company did not intend to provide XP for home users "as the preference and demand is for the 'latest and greatest' technology, which includes Windows Vista."

Apparently, not all home users agreed. Vista is "still a young operating system with its own problems," wrote a user named javaprog07 on February 17, in a posting that started the wave of requests. "I would like to see both Home and Business computers, especially notebooks have an XP Home and Pro option on top of Vista until it has at least been out for a year."

Javaprog07 said the request was "for those seasoned users like me, who just feel that you need to let a new OS mature before jumping right in. I am planning on buying a new notebook , and I would like to insure I won't have to format it on arrival just to have XP."

'Good Idea for Dell'

Dell's response shows that the company is taking the feedback seriously, said John Spindler, an analyst at technology research firm Current Analysis. "It's a good idea for Dell," he said, "because it shows that they give customers a choice."

But he indicated that, in general, the Windows choices for consumers are quickly getting narrow. In the retail market, he said, "less than 2 percent of consumer machines being sold have XP as an option."

Vista apparently gave a small boost to general consumer desktop sales in January and February of this year, he noted, and Dell probably had the same bump. "But there was a 5 percent drop on general desktop sales in March" of this year, he said, compared with the same time last year. "We expected more of a boost from Vista."

Do these numbers portend trouble for Vista? "I think people are going to upgrade to Vista eventually," he predicted, "but they want to wait longer. We'll probably have to wait until a good word of mouth for Vista begins to spread."

By Barry Levine
April 20, 2007 8:48AM
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Chinese Couple Sues Yahoo For Man's Torture

SAN FRANCISCO—A Chinese couple sued Yahoo and its Chinese affiliates on Wednesday, alleging the Internet firms provided information that helped the Chinese government persecute the man for his Internet writings.

Wang Xiaoning was sentenced to ten years in prison last year for "incitement to subvert state power" after he e-mailed electronic journals advocating democratic reform and a multi-party system.

His house and computer were searched in 2002.

In the complaint filed in U.S. District Court for Northern California, Wang and his wife Yu Ling charged that the Internet firms turned over details to prosecutors that helped identify him to authorities.

"While in custody, Plaintiffs were subjected to torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, including arbitrary, prolonged and indefinite detention, for expressing their free speech rights and for using the Internet to communicate about democracy and human rights matters," the filing said.

Yahoo Knew Information Could Lead to State Torture

The suit, advanced by the World Organization for Human Rights USA, based in Washington D.C., said Yahoo benefited financially by working with authorities. China is the world's second largest Internet market.

"Defendants had every reason to know and understand that the electronic communication user information they provided to authorities could well be used to assist in the infliction of such abuses as arbitrary arrest, torture, cruel, inhuman or other degrading threat and prolonged detention and/or forced labor," it said.

In a statement, Yahoo said it was distressed that Chinese citizens had been sent to prison for expressing their views on the Internet.

"However, the concerns raised about the Chinese government compelling companies to follow Chinese law and disclose user information are not new," it said. "Companies doing business in China must comply with Chinese law or its local employees could be faced with civil and criminal penalties."

The lawsuit came on a day Yahoo shares fell more than 11 percent after the Internet firm's earnings announced on Tuesday fell below expectations.

The suit names Yahoo, its Hong Kong subsidiary and Alibaba.com, China's largest e-commerce firm, as defendants. California-based Yahoo bought a 40 percent stake in Alibaba for $1 billion in a 2005 deal.

Yahoo said the U.S. government should seek to lobby for political prisoners in China.

"We call on the U.S. Department of State to continue making this issue of free expression a priority in bilateral and multilateral forums with the Chinese, as well as through other tools of trade and diplomacy, in order to help secure the freedom of these dissidents," the firm said.

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Gates calls on Iraqis to speed up reconciliation, oil laws

Baghdad - US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has called on the Iraqi government to speed up the reconciliation process, according to press reports Friday. Gates urged the Iraqis to push forward with the ongoing Shiite- Sunni reconciliation process and to pass key legislation to settle disputes over control of the country's vast oil fields and revenue.

Iraqi oil fields are located in the southern and northern parts of Iraq where mostly Shiites and Kurds live. Sunnis have expressed fears that they may be deprived of their rights to oil revenues.

"It's very important that they bend every effort to getting this legislation done as quickly as possible," Gates said.

Gates said passing the legislation would not end the violence that has plagued the country but would show that both sides can work together to address Iraq's challenges.

"It's not that these laws are going to change the situation immediately, but ... the ability to get them done communicates a willingness to work together," Gates said.

Gates, who arrived Thursday in Iraq for a surprise visit, warned that US patience with the Iraqi government is limited and that "the clock is ticking."

The visit is Gates' first to Iraq since the new Fard al-Qanoun (Law Enforcement) security plan was launched by joint Iraqi-US forces on February 14.

US President George W Bush has ordered thousands more American soldiers in Baghdad to quell sectarian violence and terrorist attacks, along with the revised security plan by the Iraqi government.

Bombings have however continued, with more than 200 Iraqis killed since Wednesday in some of the deadliest attacks since US-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein's regime in April 2003.
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Abstinence students no more likely to abstain from sex, study says

WASHINGTON -- Students who took part in sexual abstinence programs were just as likely to have sex as those who did not, according to a study ordered by Congress.

Also, those who attended one of the four abstinence classes that were reviewed reported having similar numbers of sexual partners as those who did not attend the classes. And they first had sex at about the same age as other students -- 14.9 years, according to Mathematica Policy Research Inc.

The federal government now spends about $176 million annually on abstinence-until-marriage education. Critics have repeatedly said they don't believe the programs are working, and the study will give them reinforcement.

However, Bush administration officials cautioned against drawing sweeping conclusions from the study. They said the four programs reviewed -- among several hundred across the nation -- were some of the very first established after Congress overhauled the nation's welfare laws in 1996.

Officials said one lesson they learned from the study is that the abstinence message should be reinforced in subsequent years to truly affect behavior.

"This report confirms that these interventions are not like vaccines. You can't expect one dose in middle school, or a small dose, to be protective all throughout the youth's high school career," said Harry Wilson, the commissioner of the Family and Youth Services Bureau at the Administration for Children and Families.

For its study, Mathematica looked at students in four abstinence programs around the country as well as students from the same communities who did not participate in the abstinence programs. The 2,057 youths came from big cities -- Miami and Milwaukee -- as well as rural communities -- Powhatan, Va., and Clarksdale, Miss.

The students who participated in abstinence education did so for one to three years. Their average age was 11 to 12 when they entered the programs back in 1999.

Mathematica then did a follow up survey in late 2005 and early 2006. By that time, the average age for participants was about 16.5. Mathematica found that about half of the abstinence students and about half from the control group reported that they remained abstinent.

"I really do think it's a two-part story. First, there is no evidence that the programs increased the rate of sexual abstinence," said Chris Trenholm, a senior researcher at Mathematica who oversaw the study. "However, the second part of the story that I think is equally important is that we find no evidence that the programs increased the rate of unprotected sex."

Trenholm said his second point of emphasis was important because some critics of abstinence programs have contended that they lead to less frequent use of condoms.

Mathematica's study could have serious implications as Congress considers renewing this summer the block grant program for abstinence education known as Title V. The federal government has authorized up to $50 million annually for the program. Participating states then provide $3 for every $4 they get from the federal government. Eight states decline to take part in the grant program.

Some lawmakers and advocacy groups believe the federal government should use that money for comprehensive sex education, which would include abstinence as a piece of the curriculum.

"Members of Congress need to listen to what the evidence tells us," said William Smith, vice president for public policy at the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, which promotes comprehensive sex education.

"This report should give a clear signal to members of Congress that the program should be changed to support programs that work, or it should end when it expires at the end of June," Smith said.

Smith also said he didn't have trouble making broader generalizations about abstinence programs based on the four reviewed because "this was supposed to be their all-star lineup."

But a trade association for abstinence educators emphasized that the findings represent less than 1 percent of all Title V abstinence projects across the nation.

"This study began when (the programs) were still in their infancy," said Valerie Huber, executive director of the National Abstinence Education Association. "The field of abstinence has significantly grown and evolved since that time and the results demonstrated in the Mathematica study are not representative of the abstinence education community as a whole."

The four programs differed in many respects. One was voluntary and took place after school. Three had mandatory attendance and served youth during the school day. All offered more than 50 hours of classes. Two were particularly intensive. The young people met every day of the school year.

Common topics included human anatomy and sexually transmitted diseases. Also, classes focused on helping students set personal goals and build self-esteem. The young people were taught to improve communication skills and manage peer pressure.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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Early-stage Sperm Cells Created From Human Bone Marrow

Human bone marrow has been used to create early-stage sperm cells for the first time, a scientific step forward that will help researchers understand more about how sperm cells are created.

The research published in the academic journal Reproduction: Gamete Biology, was carried out in Germany* by a team of scientists led by Professor Karim Nayernia, formerly of the University of Göttingen but now of the North-east England Stem Cell Institute (NESCI), based at the Centre for Life in Newcastle upon Tyne.

For the experiment, Prof Nayernia and his team took bone marrow from male volunteers and isolated the mesenchymal stem cells. These cells have previously been found to grow into other body tissues such as muscle.

They cultured these cells in the laboratory and coaxed them into becoming male reproductive cells, which are scientifically known as ‘germ cells’. Genetic markers showed the presence of partly-developed sperm cells called spermatagonial stem cells, which are an early phase of the male germ cell development. In most men, spermatagonial cells eventually develop into mature, functional sperm but this progression was not achieved in this experiment. How Prof Nayernia and his team cultured from human bone marrow.
Click here for more information.

Earlier research led by Prof Nayernia using mice, published in Laboratory Investigations, also created spermatagonial cells from mouse bone marrow. The cells were transplanted into mouse testes and were observed to undergo early meiosis - cell division - the next stage to them becoming mature sperm cells, although they did not develop further.

Talking about his newly published research paper, Prof Nayernia, of Newcastle University, said : "We’re very excited about this discovery, particularly as our earlier work in mice suggests that we could develop this work even further.

"Our next goal is to see if we can get the spermatagonial stem cells to progress to mature sperm in the laboratory and this should take around three to five years of experiments. I’ll be collaborating with other NESCI scientists to take this work forward.

Prof Nayernia says a lengthy process of scientific investigation is required within a reasonable ethical and social framework to be able to take this work to its next stage or to say if it has potential applications in terms of fertility treatments in humans.

Prof Nayernia gained worldwide acclaim in July 2006 when he announced in the journal Developmental Cell that he and colleagues had created sperm cells from mouse embryonic stem cells and used these to fertilise mice eggs, resulting in seven live births.

Source : http://www.playfuls.com

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NASA Paid $26.6M to Families of Columbia Disaster Astronauts

NASA reportedly paid $26.6 million to the families of the seven astronauts who died aboard space shuttle Columbia in the 2003 tragedy, according to the Orlando Sentinel. The documents, kept secret for two and a half years, were obtained through a federal Freedom of Information Act request.

The request led to the release of just seven pages, which give scarce information. The U.S. space agency apparently recruited former FBI Director William Webster, who is was also a judge, to act as a mediator between the NASA and the families.

"The members of the [survivors'] families wanted this to be a private matter," said Webster, a consulting partner in Washington with the international law firm of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy. "They were healing, and they were ready to discuss, properly, their rights. . . . Everyone felt it had a better chance of coming together without seeing their name in lights."

"The Columbia astronauts were our friends and co-workers," NASA spokesman Allard Beute wrote to the Orlando Sentinel. "Our concern always has been with the crew's families and their loss, and as a result NASA didn't announce details of the settlement in an effort to protect the personal privacy of the Columbia families."

One survivor of a tragedy's victim told the newspaper that NASA showed deference by not allowing a lawsuit in a hard period for the astronauts' families. "We were in a state of shock," he said. "To go the lawsuit route, it's very painful and very protracted. So we settled," said Dr. Jon Clark, widower of astronaut Laurel Blair Salton Clark.

The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred on February 1, 2003, when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, shortly before concluding its 28th mission, STS-107.

The loss of the Columbia was caused by damage sustained during launch when a piece of foam insulation the size of a small briefcase broke off the main propellant tank under the aerodynamic forces of launch. The debris struck the leading edge of the left wing on the number 8 reinforced-carbon-carbon (RCC) tile, damaging the Shuttle's thermal protection system (TPS). While Columbia was still in orbit, some engineers suspected damage, but NASA managers limited the investigation on the grounds that little could be done even if problems were found.

The crew of STS-107 was:

* Commander: Rick D. Husband, a US Air Force colonel and mechanical engineer, who piloted a previous shuttle during the first docking with the International Space Station (STS-96).
* Pilot: William C. McCool, a US Navy commander
* Payload Commander: Michael P. Anderson, a US Air Force lieutenant colonel and physicist who was in charge of the science mission.
* Payload Specialist: Ilan Ramon, a colonel in the Israeli Air Force and the first Israeli astronaut.
* Mission Specialist: Kalpana Chawla, an Indian-born aerospace engineer on her second space mission.
* Mission Specialist: David M. Brown, a US Navy captain trained as an aviator and flight surgeon. Brown worked on a number of scientific experiments.
* Mission Specialist: Laurel Clark, a US Navy captain and flight surgeon. Clark worked on a number of biological experiments.

On March 26 the United States House of Representatives' Science Committee approved funds for the construction of a memorial at Arlington National Cemetery for the STS-107 crew. A similar memorial was built at the cemetery for the last crew of Space Shuttle Challenger. On October 28, 2003, the names of the astronauts were added to the Astronaut Memorial at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

The landing site of the Mars rover Spirit was named Columbia Memorial Station by NASA, and a complex of hills east of the landers was dubbed the Columbia Hills. The Spirit lander included a memorial plaque to the Columbia crew mounted on the back of its high gain antenna.

(this article contains excerpts on the Columbia tragedy taken from Wikipedia) (the Orlando Sentinel article can be found here)
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US urges N Korea to shut reactor

The US has urged North Korea to fulfil its pledge to shut down the Yongbyon nuclear reactor, as Pyongyang missed a key deadline for closing the plant.

North Korea should "immediately" invite nuclear experts to begin sealing the facility, the US state department said.

But the US said it remained committed to the landmark 13 February agreement.

Under the deal, North Korea agreed to close Yongbyon within 60 days in return for aid. But a row over funds frozen in Macau has stalled progress on the deal.

US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said it was time for North Korea "to make its move so that all of us can move forward".

In Beijing, US nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill said that North Korea's failure to meet the 14 April deadline was cause for concern.

But he said that Chinese officials had urged the US to show patience and to wait "a couple more days" for Pyongyang to comply.

"They said the lines of communication were open... if it is going to get resolved it certainly should be able to get resolved very soon," he said.

Money row

The implementation of the deal - aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear programme - has been delayed by a row over $25m (£13m) of North Korean money held in a Macau bank.

In 2005 the US accused Banco Delta Asia (BDA) of acting as a conduit for money earned by Pyongyang from illegal activities, and the accounts were frozen.

After the February deal, the US unblocked the funds but finding a way to transfer the money took several days. However, the US now says the dispute has been resolved.

North Korea - which insists that progress on implementing the deal is contingent on getting the money back - said on Friday that it would "confirm soon" whether the funds had been released.

Mr McCormack said that if North Korea allowed International Atomic Energy Agency experts in to begin sealing Yongbyon, other countries could then move forward with the provision of heavy fuel oil as agreed under the deal.

A senior US official told journalists that the US was prepared to give North Korea more time.

"Our patience is not infinite... but we feel that given that the kind of unexpected complexities that did arise in connection with some of the banking issues that it's probably prudent to give this thing a few more days," Reuters news agency quoted the official as saying.

On Friday, North Korean foreign ministry official Kim Son-gyong told AFP news agency that Pyongyang would "respect our commitment" to the deal.

"There is no reason to be pessimistic. We will be faithful to this agreement if the Americans respect its clauses," he said.

The deal followed heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula after North Korea test fired a new long-range missile in July and then held its first nuclear test in October.

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Protesters, Police Clash in Russia

By STEVE GUTTERMAN

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia - Club-swinging riot police clashed Sunday with opposition supporters as an anti-Kremlin protest dispersed in Russia's second-largest city, chasing small groups of demonstrators, beating some on the ground and hauling them into police buses.

It was not immediately clear what sparked the violence after the rally, which city authorities had authorized and took place under a heavy police presence with at least one helicopter hovering above.

Although city authorities gave permission for the rally in a square on the edge of central St. Petersburg, they had banned plans for the demonstrators to march afterwards to the city government headquarters.

Police trucks and helmeted officers blocked the planned march route. At the end of the 90-minute-long rally, organizers did not exhort them to conduct the banned march but suggested they go on their own to the city government building over the next few days. When the rally dispersed, most participants went to a nearby subway station, where clashes broke out.

In one, police chased a group that included Sergei Gulyayev, a member of the city legislature who had been arrested at a protest in March. Police grabbed some members of the group and pounded them in the head with nightsticks before putting them on buses; it was not immediately known if Gulyayev was among those taken away.

In another clash, police charged a group holding a banner professing love for the city.

The violence came a day after clashes at a similar opposition protest in Moscow, where police detained at least 170 people, sometimes with harsh force. The protests in both cities were called to focus on complaints that Russia under President Vladimir Putin is strangling democracy ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections.

"Yesterday, it became clear that the authorities won't be making any concessions. They have started a war on people," Eduard Limonov, head of the National Bolshevik Party, told the rally.

"Putin and his team are sitting on sacks of gold, at the same time the country is breaking apart in all spheres," said demonstrator Sergei Niluopv, a 56-year-old teacher.

One of the rally organizers, Olga Kurnosova, told The Associated Press that police detained her near her home a few hours before the rally.

She said by telephone from a police station that she was held for distributing brochures about the rally, which she said was an artificial pretext because city authorities had given permission for the demonstration.

"It's clear that the reason was to keep me away from the demonstration," she said.

The weekend protests were part of a series of "Dissenters' Marches" called by the Other Russia umbrella group that brings together an array of opposition factions including one led by former world chess champion Garry Kasparov.

Kasparov was among those arrested in Moscow and was released late Saturday night after being fined $38 for disrupting public order. He did not go to St. Petersburg for the Sunday rally.

Kurnosova, who heads the St. Petersburg branch of Kasparov's United Civil Front, had said Saturday that she expected the tough police action in Moscow to provoke a large turnout in St. Petersburg. But the crowd appeared to be less than organizers had hoped for, filling only about half of the area marked off by metal barricades for the rally.

Putin, whose second and last term ends in 2008, has created an obedient parliament, and the government has reasserted control over major television networks, giving little air time to its critics.

A service of the Associated Press(AP)

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Wolfowitz faces calls to resign

Staff at the World Bank have demanded the resignation of Paul Wolfowitz, the bank's president, after he admitted authorising large pay rises for his Libyan-born partner that took her salary to $200,000.

He faces a fight for his political life after the bank's directors denied his claims the pay rises had been cleared by its ethics committee.

But George Bush, the US president, stood firm behind an old colleague who was one of the architects of the war in Iraq.

"The president fully supports Wolfowitz and wants him to continue his service as World Bank president," Tony Fratto, White House spokesman, said.

The World Bank's staff association said on Friday that Wolfowitz, the ex-US deputy defence secretary, had "destroyed" the trust of employees and should quit.

"He must act honourably and resign," the de facto union said in a letter to the World Bank's 10,000 staff.

The bank's 24 executive directors said the ethics committee had not been involved in the decision to award Shaha Riza rises that gave her a salary greater than that of Condoleeza Rice, the secretary of state.

They adjourned a meeting on Wolfowitz's future, saying they would move quickly to reach a decision.

'An object of scorn'

The Financial Times newspaper also called for Wolfowitz to go in an editorial on Friday.

"If the president stays (the World Bank) risks becoming an object not of respect, but of scorn, and its campaign in favor of good governance not a believable struggle, but blatant hypocrisy," it said.

The controversy has become a deep embarrassment for Wolfowitz as he battles to overcome skepticism about a campaign that he is waging against corruption in the 185-member World Bank's multi-billion-dollar lending.

He is also under fire from long for his management style, following a series of clashes with the board and hostility towards his appointment of US Republican party allies to jobs in his inner circle.

The nomination two years ago of Wolfowitz, a "neo-conservative" hawk, by Bush was widely seen as controversial given his position as a main architect of the Iraq war.

Pay rises 'a mistake'

Wolfowitz apologised on Thursday for the authorising the rises for Riza, describing the move as a "mistake."

"I made a mistake for which I am sorry", he told a press conference in Washington.

Wolfowitz refused to say if he might have to resign as the World Bank's board of governors discuss the row.

Wolfowitz personally ordered the hefty pay rises for Riza, according to a Financial Times report published on Thursday.

It cited two people who had seen a memo from Wolfowitz to the head of human resources spelling out the terms of the package.

'Real regret'

Wolfowitz said: "This was not in any way to protect personal interests. My real regret was that I didn't more forcefully keep myself out it.

"I take full responsibility for the details of the agreement," he said, after saying that he had followed advice given by the bank's ethics committee on the employment of Riza.

Colin Bradford, research professor in economics and international relations at the Brookings Institution, told Al Jazeera: "The fact is that there's evidence that he directly intervened in the matter and made some decision or recommendations that amount to decisions on his case on how to handle it.

"It takes absolutely no brains whatsoever that it is utterly and totally inconsistent with the message of anti-corruption and good governance, which the Bank is trying to promote."

'Personal dilemma'

Riza was transferred from the World Bank's communications office to the US state department in line with bank regulations to avoid a conflict of interest after Wolfowitz's appointment in mid-2005.

While still on the World Bank payroll, she was rapidly promoted and given large salary increases.

Wolfowitz acknowledged that the situation surrounding Riza "had the potential to harm this institution" and said that given his romantic involvement with her, he faced a "painful personal dilemma when I was new to the institution".

source : aljazeera
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China to ban human organ trafficking from May 1

04-07-2007, 14h15

BEIJING (AFP)

China will formally ban the trade in human organs from May 1, state media reported, amid ongoing allegations that the nation's military is involved in harvesting organs from executed prisoners.

The regulation, issued by the State Council, or China's cabinet, does not apply to transplants of human tissue such as cells, corneas or bone marrow, the Xinhua news agency reported on Friday.

"This is the first regulation of its kind introduced by the central government, and it is a milestone in the country's organ transplant history," vice health minister Huang Jiefu was quoted as saying.

China in July last year issued rules on the buying and selling of human organs for transplant.

The new regulation "stipulates that human organ transplants should respect the principle of voluntary and free donation and makes it a crime to harvest organs without the owner's permission or against his will," Xinhua said.

The law, which forbids the use of organs from minors, aims to "safeguard citizens' lawful rights" and ensure the quality of transplant surgery, it added.

The regulation sets out strict guidelines for hospitals allowed to perform organ transplants.

Doctors found to be involved in the organ trade will have their licences revoked, face fines and their clinics will be forbidden from performing transplant surgery for at least three years.

Officials convicted of trading in human organs will be sacked and kicked out of government, Xinhua said.

International human rights groups have long accused China of harvesting organs from executed prisoners for transplant without the consent of the prisoner or his or her family.

Hospitals have also been regularly accused of secretly taking organs from road accident victims and other dead patients without telling family members.

The health ministry has denied those charges, saying most organs are voluntarily donated by ordinary citizens and executed criminals who consented to donations before their deaths.

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さあ審判、各陣営声からし訴え…統一選きょう投開票

「首都決戦」の東京都知事選で、１７日間に及んだ選挙戦のフィナーレを迎えた７日、主要な各候補は新宿、渋谷などのターミナルで「最後の訴え」に声を振り絞り、政党の支援を受ける候補の陣営では党首クラスや都連トップらも次々とマイクを握った。

　１０００万人有権者が選択するのは、都政の継続か、それとも刷新か――。

　買い物客や帰宅を急ぐ人でごった返す新宿駅前。現職の石原慎太郎候補（７４）は午後７時２０分、都庁を見上げる西口に姿を見せた。

　長男の石原伸晃・自民党都連会長や公明党の山口那津男・都本部代表の応援演説の後、トランペット奏者がファンファーレを鳴らし、「Ｔ」「Ｏ」 「Ｋ」「Ｙ」「Ｏ」の５枚の幕を五輪のマークの形に掲げる演出の中、石原候補が選挙カーの上へ。ロータリーを埋めた聴衆に「オリンピックをやって、若い人 にいい夢を残していきましょう」と訴え、「横田基地の軍民共用化で、１日６０便の飛行機が飛びます」と「東京の夢」について熱弁を振るった。

　駅をはさんだ反対側の東口では同じ時間、前宮城県知事の浅野史郎候補（５９）が「反石原」の姿勢を強調してきた選挙戦を締めくくった。広場に集 まった支持者が小旗を打ち振る中、民主党の菅代表代行や社民党の福島党首らから「浅野さんから本当の民主主義が始まる」とエールを送られながら登場した。

　浅野候補は「戦いの相手は石原さんではなく、政治に対するあきらめの気持ちだった。あしたが、東京から日本の政治が変わるスタートの日となる」と声を張り上げた。午後８時以降もマイクを使わず、新宿駅周辺で道行く人に握手を求めながら支持を呼びかけた。

　共産党推薦で元足立区長の吉田万三候補（５９）は午後７時４０分、渋谷駅近くで、「言っていることやマニフェストが途中で変わるような人に都政は変えられない。本気で都政を改革できるのは私だけだ」と訴えた。

　建築家の黒川紀章候補（７２）は午後６時過ぎから日本橋で、能登半島地震後に発表した「東京防災計画緊急提言」をＰＲ。この後、石原候補と政策論争をしようと新宿駅前に出向いたが、支持者らに制止され、拡声機で「石原都政は閉鎖的だ」と訴えた。

　　　　　　　　　　◇

　能登半島地震で最も大きな被害を受けた石川県輪島市門前町地区では、県議選鳳珠（ほうす）郡選挙区（定数２）の候補者３人がいずれも防災服姿で「復興のためにがんばります」と訴えた。

　住民は、がれきの片付けの手を休めて「頼むよ」と声をかけていた。

（2007年4月8日0時0分 読売新聞）

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Dems, Bush Skittish Over Possible Veto

By ANDREW TAYLOR

The Associated Press
Friday, April 6, 2007; 1:54 PM

WASHINGTON -- It's a given that President Bush will veto the big Iraq money bill that sets a timeline for withdrawing U.S. troops. The question is whether he'll veto the next version if it contains what he calls "excessive and extraneous" non-war spending.

Bush is talking tough, as are Democrats on Capitol Hill. But there are signs that both sides want to avoid a second veto.

While the president and Republicans have criticized both House and Senate Iraq bills for including such "pork" spending as $74 million to help peanut farmers store their crops and $25 million for California spinach producers, those types of easy-to-mock items make up a tiny fraction of the $20 billion or so added by Democrats.

GOP critics have been mostly silent or supportive of add-ons such as $4 billion-plus for medical care for veterans and troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, up to $6.7 billion for more hurricane relief along the Gulf Coast and $745 million to cover shortfalls in providing health care to children of the working poor.

Bush blames Democrats for adding "billions of dollars in domestic spending that is completely unrelated to the war. ... These may be emergencies, they may be problems, but they can be addressed in the normal course of business. They don't need to be added on to a bill that's supporting our troops."

Democrats reply that Bush has routinely accepted non-war items on prior war funding bills, such as a $2 billion border fence to keep Mexicans and others from entering the country illegally.

And last year, powerful Gulf Coast Republicans such as Thad Cochran and Trent Lott of Mississippi successfully pressed for billions of dollars above Bush's prior requests for Hurricane Katrina relief.

Bush's veto threats regarding the Democrats' add-ons have been purposefully vague. In official policy statements, the White House doesn't specify which "excessive and extraneous" items would draw a veto, and it won't set a "top line" figure that it's willing to accept.

That's a change from dealings with GOP leaders when Republicans controlled Capitol Hill.

For example, White House statements don't even mention approximately $4 billion in farm disaster aid sought by lawmakers in both parties. Just last December, it vowed to veto a mostly identical plan.

"As we get closer to understanding how the House and Senate come out of this, we'll be in a position to be more specific," White House Budget Director Rob Portman said in an interview with The Associated Press.

On Thursday, the White House took the Democrats to task for focusing on items other than the war. "What the Democrats did for the last four weeks _ instead of discussing with the president a way to make sure that funding gets to the troops _ they spent the last four weeks cobbling together votes, adding $24 billion in spending for spinach and some tropical birds or fish and shrimp, things like that," said spokesman Gordon Johndroe, who was with Bush in Texas.

Experts warn warming will damage society

Jeff Mason, Reuters

Published: Friday, April 06, 2007

By Jeff Mason

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Top climate experts warned on Friday that global warming will cause faster and wider damage than previously forecast, ranging from hunger in Africa and Asia to extinctions and rising ocean levels.

More than 100 nations in the U.N. climate panel agreed a final text after all-night disputes with some scientists accusing government delegates of watering down their findings in a draft 21-page summary for policymakers.

We have an approved report," Rajendra Pachauri, the chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), told reporters after the talks in Brussels.

The report by the IPCC, the top world authority on climate change grouping 2,500 scientists, will guide policy in coming years on issues such as extending the U.N.'s Kyoto Protocol beyond 2012.

"Conflict is a hard word, tension is a better word," Gary Yohe, one of the report's lead authors, told Reuters of the mood at the marathon talks.

He said China, Russia and Saudi Arabia had raised most objections during the night to a 21-page summary which makes clear that the poor will suffer most. Other participants also said the United States had toned down some passages.

Some scientists objected, for instance, after China tried to eliminate a note saying that there was "very high confidence" that climate change was already affecting "many natural systems, on all continents and in some oceans."

China, the second largest source of greenhouse gases after the United States and ahead of Russia, wanted no mention of the level of confidence.

AFRICA

Still, delegates sharpened other sections, including adding a warning that some African nations might have to spend 5 to 10 percent of gross domestic product on adapting to climate change.

Overall, the report is the bleakest U.N. assessment yet of the threat of climate change, predicting water shortages that could affect billions of people, extinctions of species and a rise in ocean levels that could go on for centuries.

It says human greenhouse gas emissions, mostly from burning fossil fuels, are very likely to be the main cause of warming. It also says climate change could cause a sharp fall in crop yields in Africa, a thaw of Himalayan glaciers and more heatwaves for Europe and North America.

In one section, the IPCC toned down risks of extinctions.

"Approximately 20-30 percent of plant and animal species assessed so far are likely to be at increased risk of extinction if increases in global average temperature exceed 1.5-2.5 degrees Celsius (2.7-4.5 Fahrenheit)," the text said.

A previous draft had said 20-30 percent of all species would be at "high risk" of extinction with those temperature rises.

U.S. delegates rejected suggested wording that parts of North America may suffer "severe economic damage" from warming.

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Seven killed in Sri Lanka bus blast

Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels set off a roadside explosion, killing seven bus passengers and wounding 26 in northern Sri Lanka Saturday, military sources said.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) set off the blast outside the town of Vavuniya, 250 kilometres (156 miles) north of Colombo, a military spokesman said. He said a soldier was among those killed.

"A Claymore mine hit the bus as it was halfway through to the destination," a military official said. "The bomb was rigged up on a tree and manually triggered as the bus passed. It was the work of the Tigers."

Five people were dead on admission to Vavuniya hospital, where two passengers died because of their injuries, a hospital official said, adding that seven soldiers were among those wounded.

The attack came five days after a bomb exploded inside a bus in the east of the island, killing 17 people and wounding 25.

Saturday's bombing came despite tight security across the island's northern and eastern regions in a bid to prevent Tamil Tiger attacks.

The Tamil rebels have waged a 35-year campaign for independence that has claimed more than 60,000 lives in Sri Lanka.

More than 4,000 people have been killed in the latest upsurge of fighting that began in December 2005 despite a truce arranged in 2002.

AFP

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'Iran put psychological pressure on UK captives'

LONDON, April 7 (IranMania) - Iran exerted "psychological pressure" on 15 British naval personnel it held for 13 days, a top British officer said as he defended the group's actions and an inquiry began into their capture, AFP reported.

As some of the 14 men and one woman prepared to make their first public comments since their emotional return to Britain Thursday, Admiral Sir Jonathon Band praised their bravery and dignity during their detention.

But he rejected suggestions that they should not have made "confessions" to their Iranian captors for allegedly breaching the Islamic republic's territorial waters, and only have given their name, rank and serial number.

"They weren't on combat operations. They weren't like people shot down in Tornados in the (first) Persian Gulf War," said Band, who as First Sea Lord is head of the Royal Navy.

"I don't think there is any doubt from the statements some of them made, and certainly the letters, that they were under a certain element of psychological pressure.

"I think you will find out that they were actually a brave set of youngsters."

On Thursday, Royal Marines officer Lieutenant Colonel Andy Price claimed some of the group may have been left in solitary confinement during their detention, despite the 15's appearance together on Iranian television.

Meanwhile, the eight Royal Navy sailors and seven Royal Marines spent their first night of freedom at the Royal Marine Base Chivenor in Devon, southwest England, after being reunited with their families and friends.

They are being debriefed and undergoing medical examinations. Some of the group are due to address a news conference at 1500 GMT. In a joint statement released Thursday, the group said their ordeal had been "very difficult".

A military inquiry was under way to determine how they came to be captured as they conducted what Britain said were routine anti-smuggling operations near the Shatt al-Arab waterway dividing Iraq and Iran.

Band said the probe would look at the rules of engagement, intelligence gathering, equipment and procedures to prevent any repeat.

Until a complete review of the situation is complete, the Royal Navy has suspended all boarding operations in the area, he added.

One of the 15, Royal Marine Captain Chris Air, told Sky News television in an interview recorded a week before their detention that British crews did gather intelligence on Iranian activities in the Persian Gulf area.

In his BBC interview, Band dismissed suggestions that the 15 had surrendered too easily and that they should have fought back against their captors.

"I think our people have reacted extremely well in some very difficult circumstances," he said, adding that the decision to board and search a merchant ship that led to their seizure was "absolutely proper".

"I think they acted with considerable dignity and a lot of courage," he added.

The group's return made headline news Friday, but coverage was tempered by the deaths of four soldiers, including two women, in a roadside bomb attack in southern Iraq on Thursday.

The deaths bring the British death toll in Iraq in the last week to six and 140 since the start of the US-led invasion in March 2003.

Prime Minister Tony Blair on Thursday repeated his assertion that "elements" in Iran were backing insurgent attacks in Iraq, although it was too early to say whether there were definite links for the latest attack.

British newspapers highlighted similarities between explosive charges used by insurgents in southern Iraq and Iranian weapons.

The Sun tabloid said Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has "our blood on his hands", claiming the bomb attack that killed the four soldiers was "almost certainly engineered" by the Iranian president.

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Indonesian Teen Dies of Bird Flu

Boston (eCanadaNow) - The H5N1 bird flu continues to rage through Indonesia as it has taken another victim, a 15-year-old girl. This brings the death toll in the hardest hit country to 73.

The girl came down wih serious condition and was brought to a hospital for treatment. From there though she ended up getting worse and eventually died. The girl was 15-years-old and from the capital of Indonesia, Jakarta. She died after having many of her organs fail on her suddently. The doctors stated that by the time they had a chance to do anything she was gone.

The bird flu continues to go through Asia with Indonesia being the hardest hit. The hot spot of the H5N1 bird flu virus at this point is clearly Indonesia with all of the cases coming out of there as well as due to the high density of poultry and the human population.

The worry is still there and continues that this virus could mutate into a form that can be spread easily among humans, creating a pandemic which could end up killing millions and millions of people on a global scale, not just in Asia.

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Massa Takes Pole Position For Malaysian Grand Prix

Ferrari's Felipe Massa took pole position for Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang after posting the fastest time in Saturday's qualifying session. The Brazilian registered a time of 1 minute 35.043 seconds on the 5.543-kilometre circuit to make up for the disappointment in the opening race of the season in Australia, where he was forced to start from the back of the grid due to engine trouble. Defending world champion Fernando Alonso in a McLaren-Mercedes was second fastest in 1:35.310 followed by Australian GP winner Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari in 1:35.479 minutes. Alonso's team-mate Lewis Hamilton was fourth while Germany's Nick Heidfeld in a BMW-Sauber continued his impressive start to the 2007 season by claiming fifth place on the grid. Nico Rosberg in a Williams took sixth with Robert Kubica in the second BMW-Sauber seventh fastest. Renault had a disappointing qualifying session with last year's winner Giancarlo Fisichella and new team-mate Heikki Kovalainen both failing to qualify for the final qualifying round. Honda's poor start to the season continued as Rubens Barrichello was eliminated after the first session, registering the 19th fastest time. Jenson Button in the second Honda qualified down in 15th place. © 2007 DPA

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Iranian president says he will release sailors

By Ramin Mostaghim and Kim Murphy, Special to The Times
3:50 PM PDT, April 4, 2007

TEHRAN -- Ending a tense, two-week diplomatic standoff, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad today pardoned 15 British sailors and marines detained while on patrol in the Persian Gulf and said he was sending them home as a "gift" to the British people.

The Iranian president made the unexpected announcement during a news conference at which he pinned medals on the border patrol officers who oversaw the detention of the sailors March 23.

"On the occasion of the birth anniversary of the great prophet of Islam, and on the occasion of Easter and Passover, I would like to announce that the great nation of Iran, while it is entitled to put the British military personnel on trial, has pardoned these 15 sailors and gives their release to the people of Britain as a gift," Ahmadinejad said.

British diplomats appeared to be caught off-guard at the announcement but scrambled to make arrangements for the sailors' return to Britain, tentatively expected at midday Thursday. The British Foreign Office said Britain's ambassador in Tehran had visited with the detainees today.

The logjam appears to have broken after telephone contacts Tuesday night between Ali Larijani, Iran's chief international negotiator, and Nigel Sheinwald, Blair's chief advisor on foreign affairs, who is slated to become Britain's new ambassador to the United States.

It also followed the release in Iraq of an Iranian diplomat detained in Baghdad in February, prompting the British media to raise the specter of a "secret deal." British officials said the events were unconnected.

Also in Iraq, the U.S. military disclosed today that it was considering an "informal" request from Iran to allow a consular visit to five Iranians detained in Iraq since January. The Islamic Republic News Agency reported that an Iranian Embassy official was scheduled to meet with the detainees. Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell, a U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, said an Iranian was among a Red Cross delegation that visited the five men.

"An informal request has come in for a consular visit and is being assessed at this time," he said.

In his news conference, Ahmadinejad said the pardon did not represent a sudden shift in Iran's position.

"I didn't change my decision suddenly. From the beginning, I didn't want to have any confrontation. We wanted our rights," he said. "The British government behaved badly, and it took longer."

He said no concessions had been offered by the British government in exchange for the release but contended that British officials had assured Iran there would be no future incursions into Iranian territory.

"Nothing specifically was done by the United Kingdom. The U.K. government has sent a note, a memo, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and in that letter they mentioned that incident would not be repeated," the president said. "Of course, that decision that we are going to release the 15 British sailors is not related to that letter, and it was a gift from the Iranian people to the British people."

A Foreign Office spokesman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he "certainly could not confirm" that Britain offered any pledge not to "repeat" the incident.

"I think if that area is raised as an issue in the future, then it could be considered in the future," he said.

Ahmadinejad's pardon announcement came after the Iranian president had spent more than an hour of a scheduled press conference deploring historical Western transgressions against Iran, the plight of the Palestinians, the grim history of Iran's war with Iraq and the actions of the British sailors who "invaded" the territory of Iran.

"I express my admiration for the commander who managed to capture these people who came to our border. I want to thank him for his bravery," said the president as he pinned medals of valor on the chests of three Border Guards officers. Moments later, he announced the release of the captives.

Almost immediately, the captives were shown in gray Sunday suits, smiling and shaking hands with Ahmadinejad, who jokingly referred to their "mandatory vacation" in Iran.

"I'd like to say that myself and my whole team are very grateful for your forgiveness. I'd like to thank yourself and the Iranian people," one crew member told the president.

Later, Iranian television broadcast brief interviews with several detainees, in which they described their treatment during captivity in positive terms.

It was a far different scene than in previous days, when Iranian television broadcast images of detainees, still in uniform, saying that they had strayed into Iranian waters.

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CTIA Wireless 2007: the Week that Was

CTIA Wireless 2007: the Week that Was

Fri Mar 30, 2007 1:05PM EDT

After three days, countless cell phones and too many cocktail parties, the CTIA Wireless fest in Orlando finally drew to a close yesterday. I'm now back in New York City, trying my best to make some sense out of the chaos. While I couldn't point to a single, overarching theme at the show, I've managed to pick out a few general themes, plus some picks for my favorite new handsets.

Design is key: This year more than most, I've been seeing new phones with particularly arresting designs. One of the biggest trends is the mirrored external display; Sony Ericsson took an early lead on this with phones like the Z610 clamshell, but at CTIA this year LG debuted its mirrored, brushed-metal LG VX8700 Shine phone, while Nokia had its N76 flip with an external mirrored display capable of showing videos, and Sony Ericsson dipped into the mirrored well again with the snazzy Z750. Meanwhile, Kyocera made some waves with its new runway-ready handsets, especially the "S"-shaped, stainless-steel E5000 clamshell. Samsung's UpStage music phone wasn't my favorite handset at the show, but it's dual-face design will certainly be influential. Finally, Motorola generated some much-needed heat with its cool RIZR Z8, the "kickslide" phone that curves to fit your face.

Consumer phones get the message: Most consumer-oriented phones pay little more than lip service to e-mail; usually, you get links to mobile Web e-mail sites on your WAP browser, maybe an app that collects messages from a Web mail account (if you're lucky), and that's about it. Recently, however, consumer handsets (not counting business-leaning smartphones like the Moto Q or the Samsung BlackJack) seem to be getting more serious about messaging. Sony Ericsson's new, U.S.-bound Z750 handset, in addition to being an eye-catching clamshell, also supports Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and push e-mail. Even more surprising was Helio's new Ocean, which takes a clear shot at T-Mobile's Sidekick 3 and the LG enV messaging phones with its ActiveSync support for mail, contacts and events.

Touch-screen phones fall a bit flat: There's been a lot of talk on new touch-screen handsets since Apple dropped its iPhone bombshell in January, so Samsung and LG got some extra attention at CTIA with their respective touch-screen models. Unfortunately, after all the hype and expectations, it was letdown to realize that these phones are, in fact, just phones. LG showed off a working model of its Prada handset, the KE850, and yes, its nearly featureless, jet-black face and animated icons are something to see. But after tapping around for awhile, it dawned on me that we're still talking about the same features you'll find on just about any phone; calling, messaging, texting, a calendar and a media player. Nothing life-changing here. It was harder to judge Samsung's Ultra Smart F700, since the display model of the touch-screen, QWERTY slider had a dead battery, but still, seeing the thick, bulky phone and the somewhat dinky keypad in person was a disappointment. Which leads us to...

Red-hot iPhone cools off: When Steve Jobs interrupted CES back in January to announce the iPhone, it felt like a hush literally fell over Las Vegas. Suddenly, all anyone wanted to talk about was the new touch-screen wonder. But that was then, and now, about two-and-a-half months later, the iPhone honeymoon is definitely over. Sure, it's not surprising to hear rival manufacturers taking digs at the iPhone, but almost everyone I talked to at the show (ranging from fellow reporters to casual observers) seemed to have about a dozen reasons each why the iPhone would fail. In fact, I felt like the only goofball at the show who still wanted to buy one. Why the loss of enthusiasm? Again, I think that after taking a cold, hard look at the iPhone's features, not to mention the sky-high price tag, most people have concluded that beyond Apple's characteristically smooth, intuitive interface, there's nothing all that earth-shattering in store.

Best of show: Helio's earlier phones have all failed to impress me, but I think the MVNO may have a hit on its hands with the Ocean; everything on that phone, from its unified messaging interface to its new Helio Up feature for photos, seems to be clicking. Nokia's thin and light N76 flip-phone won me over with its sleek lines and razor-sharp display. While Motorola can't seem to get enough of its tired RAZR line, I admired the powerful RIZR Z8 with its impressive video abilities and cool kickslide action. LG's slick, silver VX8700 also manages to stand out from the crowd, while the Sony Ericsson Z750 is sure to make a splash when it arrives in the States.

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