2004 Miscellany News Archive

MISCELLANY NEWS ARCHIVE 2004 ARCHIVES
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20041201
- Robots - "Army to deploy robots that shoot: Next year, the U.S. Army will give robots machine guns, although humans will firmly be in control of them." ... "The Army next March will begin to deploy Talon robots from Waltham, Mass.-based Foster-Miller. The robots will be mounted with M240 or M249 machine guns, said a Foster-Miller spokesman. The units also can be mounted with a rocket launcher. Defense agencies have been testing an armed version of the Talon since 2003." -By Michael Kanellos -CNETNews via -ZDNetNews
20040721
- - "U.S. hostage head found in freezer: The head of slain American hostage Paul M. Johnson Jr., who was kidnapped and beheaded in Saudi Arabia last month, has been found in a freezer [in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia], a Saudi Interior Ministry official said." ... "Two suspected al Qaeda militants were killed during raids, the official added Wednesday." ... "Security forces found the head and a cache of weapons in a raid on a villa Tuesday night and it was positively identified Wednesday morning." -CNN
20040720
- "Rights Group Says Sudan's Government Aided Militias." ... "Human Rights Watch, the New York-based advocacy group, on Monday published excerpts of documents that it says implicate the Sudanese government in recruiting, equipping and guaranteeing impunity for the Arab militias accused of killing tens of thousands of Africans and driving more than 1 million from their homes in the Darfur region of Sudan." ... "The rights organization said the confidential government documents called on local Sudanese officials in February and March to recruit fighters for the militia known as the Janjaweed, to give them "provisions and ammunition," and to tolerate "minor" abuses of civilians." -By Colum Lynch-WashingtonPost
- - "Sudan: New Darfur Documents: Ties Between Government and Janjaweed Militias Confirmed." ... "In a series of official Arabic-language documents from government authorities in North and South Darfur dating from February and March 2004, officials call for recruitment and military support, including “provisions and ammunition” to be delivered to known Janjaweed militia leaders, camps and “loyalist tribes.” " ... "A particularly damning February directive orders “all security units” in the area to tolerate the activities of known Janjaweed leader Musa Hilal in North Darfur. The document “highlights the importance of non-interference so as not to question their authority” and authorizes security units in a North Darfur province to “overlook minor offenses by the fighters against civilians who are suspected members of the rebellion….”" ... "Another document calls for a plan for “resettlement operations of nomads in places from which the outlaws [rebels] withdrew.” This, along with recent government statements that displaced persons will be settled in 18 “settlements” rather than in their original villages, raises concerns that the ethnic cleansing that has occurred will be consolidated and that people will be unable to return to their villages and lands." ... "Human Rights Watch called for Sudan government officials implicated in the policy of militia support to be added to the U.N. sanctions list included as part of a pending U.N. resolution. It also called for international monitoring of the disarmament of the militia groups and the establishment of an international commission of inquiry into the abuses committed in Darfur by all parties to the conflict." -HRW.org
- - "Darfur Documents Confirm Government Policy of Militia Support: A Human Rights Watch Briefing Paper, July 20, 2004." ... "Since February 2003, the government of Sudan has used militias known as “Janjaweed”³ as its principal counter-insurgency ground force in Darfur against civilians from the Fur, Zaghawa, Massalit and other ethnic groups from which two rebel groups known as the Sudan Liberation Army/Movement (SLA/M) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) are drawn. The government-backed Janjaweed militias are derived from the “Abala,” camel-herding nomads who migrated to Darfur from Chad and West Africa in the 1970s, and from Arab camel-herding tribes from North Darfur.⁴ With government aerial support, arms, communications, and other backing, and often alongside government troops, the Janjaweed militias have been a key component in the government’s military campaign in Darfur; a campaign that has resulted in the murder, rape and forced displacement of thousands of civilians.⁵" ... "If genuinely concerned with bringing peace and stability to Darfur and ending the cycle of violence and impunity in the region, the Sudanese government should suspend key government officials who bear responsibility for recruiting, arming or otherwise supporting the Janjaweed militias from official duties, pending official investigation of their responsibility for abuses." ... "In addition, the international community must recognize that the government-backed militias and government forces are clearly indivisible—they are utilized as one entity. Those officials for whom there is evidence of implication in the policy of militia support should be included in any forthcoming international measures, including international travel sanctions, arms embargoes, and investigation by any future international commission of inquiry." -HRW.org
20040718
- - - - - Osama bin Laden - "9/11 Panel's Report to Offer New Evidence of Iran-Qaeda Ties." ... "The final report of the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks will offer new evidence of cooperative ties between Iran and Al Qaeda, including information drawn from intelligence reports suggesting that Iran provided several of the hijackers with safe passage in the year before the attacks, government officials said yesterday." ... "The officials emphasized that the commission had no evidence to suggest that Iranian officials knew of the Sept. 11 plot. But they said the evidence raised new questions about why the Bush administration focused on the possibility of Iraqi ties to Osama bin Laden's terror network after Sept. 11, 2001, when there may have been far more extensive evidence of an Iranian connection." -By Philip Shenon -NYTimes
20040716
- - - - - "9/11 Commission Finds Ties Between al-Qaeda and Iran: Senior U.S. officials have told TIME that the 9/11 Commission's report will cite evidence suggesting that the 9/11 hijackers had previously passed through Iran." ... "A senior U.S. official told TIME that the Commission has uncovered evidence suggesting that between eight and ten of the 14 "muscle" hijackers—that is, those involved in gaining control of the four 9/11 aircraft and subduing the crew and passengers—passed through Iran in the period from October 2000 to February 2001. Sources also tell TIME that Commission investigators found that Iran had a history of allowing al-Qaeda members to enter and exit Iran across the Afghan border. This practice dated back to October 2000, with Iranian officials issuing specific instructions to their border guards—in some cases not to put stamps in the passports of al-Qaeda personnel—and otherwise not harass them and to facilitate their travel across the frontier. The report does not, however, offer evidence that Iran was aware of the plans for the 9/11 attacks." -By Adam Zagorin and Joe Klein -TIME
20040715
- - "The [diamond] cartel isn't for ever." ... "On July 13th in an Ohio court De Beers, the world's largest producer of rough stones, finally pleaded guilty to charges of price-fixing of industrial diamonds and agreed to pay a $10m fine, thereby ending a 60-year-long impasse. De Beers executives are at last free to visit and work directly in the largest diamond market, America." ... "A few days earlier, on July 9th, the first case of successful industry self-regulation against trade in so-called conflict diamonds took place when Congo-Brazzaville was punished for failing to prove the source of its diamond exports. And on June 28th Lev Leviev, an arch-rival of De Beers, opened Africa's biggest diamond-polishing factory in Namibia." ... "Behind all these events lies sweeping change in an industry that sells $60-billion-worth of jewellery alone each year. For generations it has been run by De Beers as a cartel. The South African firm dominated the digging and trading of diamonds for most of the 20th century. Yet the system for distributing stones established decades ago by De Beers is curious and anomalous—no other such market exists, nor would anything similar be tolerated in a serious industry." -Economist
20040506
- - "Cost of ads on 'Friends' finale at Super Bowl level." ... "Advertisers paid up to $2 million for 30 seconds on the "Friends" finale tonight, making it the Super Bowl of sitcoms." ... "That puts the one-hour finale, which NBC has estimated will draw an audience of at least 50 million people, second in price only to the Super Bowl this year. CBS took in $2.3 million for a half-minute of ad time on the Super Bowl." -AP via -TucsonCitizen.com
20040427
- - "Japanese hostages get $7,000 bills for expenses." ... "Three Japanese who were held hostage for a week in Iraq were billed about $7,000 each to cover their plane tickets home and other miscellaneous expenses, an official said Monday." -AP via -RegisterGuard
20040426
- - "Iowa lab marks century of testing." ... "The Iowa Hygienic Laboratory has been on the forefront diseases for 100 years and counting." ... "The state established the lab in April 1904. It wasn't until later that year, on Sept. 26, 1904, that the first disease sample was recorded - a tuberculosis test result for woman from Shell Rock. It turned out to be negative." -AP via -SeattlePI.NWsource
20040425
- - "Shell says signs Libya oil and gas partnership." -Reuters via -Forbes
20040424
- - "Future of Mitsubishi Motors in doubt as bailout is withheld: DaimlerChrysler insists it will still honor joint ventures." ... "The future of Mitsubishi Motors was thrown into question on Friday after DaimlerChrysler's surprise decision to cut off financial support to its partner. The Japanese automaker's stock collapsed, falling 25 percent before trading was halted." ... "DaimlerChrysler, which controls Mitsubishi Motors through a 37 percent stake, said late Thursday that it had decided "to cease further financial support" for Japan's fourth-largest carmaker. The announcement shocked investors, who had speculated that the German company would announce a cash injection of ¥200 billion, or $1.8 billion, or more. Mitsubishi Motors must now scramble for investments if it is to remain in business." -By Todd Zaun -NYTimes via -Google-News -IHT.com
- "U.S., Libyan Bankers Discuss Frozen Assets -Libya." ... "Libyan officials say assets worth about $1 billion are frozen in the United States, including equity holdings in banks." ... "Although assets remain blocked, a Libyan banking official said there would be no further freezing, which would previously have occurred if, for example, any Libyan dollar transactions were cleared through New York." (1, 2) -By Salah Sarrar -Reuters
- - - - "Bush eases years-long economic sanctions against Libya." ... "President Bush on Friday eased economic sanctions against Libya, ending its status as a pariah nation and clearing the way for the return of American oil companies." ... "Bush's order ending Libya's economic isolation gave Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi the reward that he wanted for agreeing in December to abandon his pursuit of weapons of mass destruction." -By Ron Hutcheson -Knight Ridder via -SLTrib.com
- - - - "NFL, Arizona Football Fans Mourn Death of Pat Tillman, Who Gave Up Career to Fight for Country." ... "Pat Tillman overachieved in football, and just about everything else. He worked his way from seventh-round draft pick to starting safety for the Arizona Cardinals, then walked away from millions of dollars to join the Army Rangers and serve his country. This week, he paid with his life. Tillman was killed in an ambush Thursday night in Afghanistan. He was 27." -AP via -ABCNEWS.com
- - "U.S. Soldiers Re-Enlist in Strong Numbers: Despite Violence in Iraq, U.S. Soldiers Are Re-Enlisting at Rates Higher Than Pentagon Expected." ... "Despite the shrapnel wounds Staff Sgt. William Pinkley suffered during his tour in Iraq, the 26-year-old is joining other soldiers who are re-enlisting at rates that exceed the retention goals set by the Pentagon." ... "As of March 31 halfway through the Army's fiscal year 28,406 soldiers had signed on for another tour of duty, topping the six-month goal of 28,377. The Army's goal is to re-enlist 56,100 soldiers by the end of September." -AP via -ABCNEWS.com
20040423
"Panel Cites 'Virus of Fear' at USA Today: Report Says Warnings on Reporter Ignored; Another Editor Quits." ... "USA Today editors ignored repeated warnings about problems with Jack Kelley's reporting, including from government officials, while a newsroom "virus of fear" deterred many staffers from challenging what became the worst scandal in the Gannett paper's history, an investigative panel said yesterday." ... "Kelley, who has now apologized, made up parts of at least 20 stories stretching back to 1991, according to the report by three outside editors asked to investigate the former star correspondent's work. Kelley also billed the company for thousands of dollars in payments to translators and drivers who now say they never received the cash, the panel found." (1, 2, 3, 4) -By Howard Kurtz -WashingtonPost
20040422
- - - Photo News - "Woman fired by military contractor for published photograph of flag-draped U.S. coffins." ... "A military contractor fired two cargo workers responsible for a photograph of flag-draped coffins of U.S. soldiers that appeared on a newspaper's front page." ... "Maytag Aircraft Corp. fired Tami Silicio, 50, and her husband, David Landry, because they "violated Department of Defense and company policies by working together" to take and publish the photograph, company president William Silva said in a news release Thursday." ... "The firing was first reported Thursday in The Seattle Times, which published the April 7 photo on Sunday." -By Gene Johnson -AP via -SFGate.com
"Tami Silicio's photo of 20 flag-draped coffins bearing the remains of U.S. soldiers appeared on the cover of the Sunday Seattle Times on April 18." -Photo by Tami Silicio -SeattleTimes.NWsource via -SFGate.com
- - - "Researchers: Worry affects female fertility." ... "Women worried about the medical aspects of the procedure had 20 percent fewer eggs retrieved and 19 percent fewer eggs fertilized than women who were less inclined to worry about it, the researchers report in this week's issue of the journal Fertility and Sterility." ... "Patients who were very concerned about missing work had 30 percent fewer eggs fertilized, Hillary Klonoff-Cohen and colleagues found." -Reuters via -CNN
- - - - "Fury over Diana crash photos: Princess Diana's family, British media and the prime minister have expressed outrage at a U.S. television network's decision to broadcast pictures of the princess as she lay dying." ... "CBS, which aired the images in its "48 Hours" program, said the photos were included in a 4,000-page confidential French investigators' file on the accident and that they were not graphic or exploitative." ... "But British newspapers and friends and family of Diana and Fayed strongly disagreed." -CNN
- - - - "UK court to review EU flight delay rule: Airline trade association IATA asked Britain's High Court to review pending EU rules that would force carriers to reimburse passengers for delays, even if caused by security measures or snowstorms." ... "The rules set a baseline of between two and four hours for permissible delays, depending on the length of journey, with anything above that forcing carriers to reimburse passengers."-Reuters via -CNN
- - - ELECTION 2004 - "Saudi envoy: Oil policy standard, not a deal: Calls U.S. politics: 'Your seasonal tribal warfare'." ... "Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States stood firm that his country made no secret deals with the White House to try to drive down gas prices to help re-elect President Bush and sought to reassure Democratic contender Sen. John Kerry." ... ""I really don't see what is the big deal," Prince Bandar bin Sultan told reporters Wednesday after a White House meeting with national security adviser Condoleezza Rice." ... ""Unless somebody would like to see the oil prices stay high, then nobody should complain."" -By John King -CNN
- - - - - "High court mulls Mexican truck access." ... "A Bush administration lawyer told the Supreme Court yesterday that the president must be able to open America's roads to Mexico's trucks without delays for an environmental study." ... "But a lawyer for labor and environmental organizations cautioned justices that ''we're talking about tens of thousands of trucks" packing US roads after a two-decade moratorium ends." ... "Some of those trucks are older and may be pollution-causing safety hazards, said the organizations' lawyer, Jonathan Weissglass." -By Gina Holland -AP via -Boston/Globe
- - "UN backs oil for food inquiry." ... "The former chairman of the US Federal Reserve Board yesterday began an independent investigation into allegations of corruption and kickbacks worth $10bn (?5.6bn) in the UN's oil-for-food programme in Iraq." ... "The United Nation's security council unanimously approved Paul Volcker's inquiry into the scheme that US legislators say allowed billions of dollars in illegal oil revenue to flow to Saddam Hussein." -By Gary Younge -Guardian.co.uk
20040421
- - - "Cubans Sentenced in Miami for Plane Hijacking."... "A U.S. judge sentenced six Cuban men to prison terms of 20 years or more on Wednesday for hijacking a Cuban airliner in the Communist Caribbean nation last year."... "The Cubans were convicted in December of air piracy for commandeering a 1940s-era Aerotaxi DC-3 after it took off from Cuba's Isle of Youth and forcing it to Key West on Florida's southern tip on March 19, 2003. The incident was the first in a series of hijackings in Cuba last year." -By Jim Loney -Reuters
- "NASA Spacecraft Ascends to Test Einstein's Theory." ... "Twenty-four hours after a previous launch attempt was stopped with just three minutes to go, NASA successfully sent its Gravity Probe B mission into space." ... "The $700 million spacecraft is designed to test two predictions of Einstein’s general theory of relativity, which he proposed in 1916." -By Sarah Graham -ScientificAmerican.com
"Greenspan's warning on inflation sends stock markets sharply lower." ... "Wall Street took the comments as a sign that a rate increase was likely to come before the November elections, perhaps as early as June. The yield on the two-year Treasury note rose to 2.16 per cent, the highest in 18 months." ... "The S&P 500, which had been idling before the testimony, fell 1.6 per cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.2 per cent, while the Nasdaq Composite posted a 2.1 per cent decline." -By Andrew Balls and Stephen Schurr -FT.com
20040420
- - "Year-long space station trips rejected." ... "NASA has rebuffed a Russian proposal to extend the next mission aboard the International Space Station from six months to a year. Lengthening the mission would have allowed Russia's cash-strapped agency to sell two extra Soyuz spacecraft seats to space tourists, at about $20 million each." -By Will Knight -NewScientist.com
- - "Iron tablets can improve women's brainpower." ... "The brainpower of young women who are lacking in iron can be markedly boosted by taking supplements of the mineral, suggests a new study." ... "Even women who were just modestly iron deficient did much worse on attention, memory and learning tests than those with enough iron in their blood, found the study by researchers at Pennsylvania State University in the US." -By Shaoni Bhattacharya -NewScientist.com
- - - - "Israeli Nuclear Whistleblower Vanunu to Go Free." ... "Israeli nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu goes free on Wednesday after 18 years in jail for spilling secrets that publicly placed the Jewish state among the world's top atomic powers." ... "But the former nuclear technician -- whose revelations to a British newspaper led analysts to conclude Israel had an arsenal of more than 100 nuclear warheads -- will still be subject to a list of stringent security measures to keep him silent." ... "Vanunu was jailed in 1986 for treason after disclosing information to Britain's Sunday Times." (1, 2) -By Megan Goldin -Reuters
- - - - - - - "Powell urges coalition leaders to keep troops in Iraq." ... "Secretary of State Colin Powell said Tuesday the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq remains strong despite decisions by Spain and Honduras to pull out their troops. Later, the Dominican Republic announced that it also would withdraw its troops." ... "Powell told reporters that leaders of 13 coalition countries with whom he spoke by telephone Monday and Tuesday "all expressed steadfast support" for their respective troop commitments." ... "Among the leaders Powell spoke with was Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai." ... "In addition to Surakiart, Powell spoke with leaders of El Salvador, Dominica, Norway, Denmark, Hungary, Portugal, Poland, Bulgaria, Holland, Romania, the Philippines and Ukraine." -By George Gedda -AP via -SFGate.com
20040419
- - - "Negroponte named Iraq ambassador: President George W Bush has named John Negroponte as the first US ambassador to Iraq since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein last year." ... "Mr Negroponte, currently the US envoy to the UN, is expected to take over in Baghdad when the US hands power to an interim Iraqi government by 30 June." ... "The top US official in Iraq, Paul Bremer, is expected to leave once the political transition is completed." -BBC/News
- - - "Profile: John Negroponte: John Negroponte was the man who spearheaded the US diplomatic effort in the lead-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq." ... "The soft-spoken diplomat will head the largest US embassy in the world, in charge of 3,000 staff." ... ""He'll hold the title of ambassador but he's really being appointed de facto governor-general of Iraq because the US is going to retain a lot of authority,'' Ted Galen Carpenter of the Washington-based Cato Institute think-tank told Bloomberg news service." -BBC/News
20040415
- - "Web inventor wins top technology prize." ... "The MIT scientist credited with inventing the world wide web, Tim Berners-Lee, was today awarded the first Millennium technology prize." ... "The award, a €1m (£670,000) cash prize, is among the largest of its kind." ... "Mr Berners-Lee is credited with creating the world wide web in the early 1990s while working for the Cern Laboratory, the European centre for nuclear research near Geneva, Switzerland. His graphical point-and-click browser, World Wide Web, was the first client that featured the core ideas included in today's web browsers." -AP via -Guardian.co.uk
- - - Osama bin Laden - "'Bin Laden' tape offers peace deal with Europe." ... "Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda, sought to split the US-led coalition in Iraq by offering European countries a three-month respite from terrorist attacks if they withdrew their forces and left the US to fight alone." ... "The statement said: "I offer a truce to them (Europe), with a commitment to stop operations against any state which vows to stop attacking Muslims or interfere in their affairs, including (participating) in the American conspiracy against the wider Muslim world."" ... "It went on to say that the truce would start "with the withdrawal of the last soldier from our land," and said that the offer to implement it would last for three months from the date of Thursday's statement. "Whoever rejects this truce and wants war, we are its [war's] sons and whoever wants this truce, here we bring it," it said." -By Mark Huband -FT.com
- - Osama bin Laden - "C.I.A. Says Voice on Tape Likely bin Laden." ... "The CIA said Thursday that a tape of a man identifying himself as Osama bin Laden probably is an authentic recording of the al-Qaida leader." ... "The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the tape was probably recorded in the past several weeks because of its reference to Israel's killing last month of Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin. In the tape, the speaker vows revenge against the United States for the killing." -AP via -NYTimes via -AltaVista-News
- - "Iraq death toll reaches new high." ... "The last two weeks have been the bloodiest yet for US soldiers in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein. Iraqi deaths are much harder to track, but an Associated Press estimate puts the total since 1 April at 880." ... "April's casualty count for US soldiers has spiralled to 87, the highest for any month since the war began." ... "Nearly all the deaths have been in hostile incidents in two weeks which have seen major battles with both Sunni and Shia insurgents." ... "Most of the US soldiers have been killed in attacks on road convoys, firefights in the Sunni-dominated towns of Falluja and Ramadi and battles in and around Baghdad." ... "The total of American soldiers killed in Iraq is now 686. More than three-quarters of these have died since major hostilities ceased." ... "Just over a quarter of the casualties have died in "non-hostile" events such as accidents involving vehicles or munitions." -BBC/News
- "China's economy soars despite Beijing's curbs." ... "China's economy grew at an official 9.7 per cent in the first quarter of this year as ambitious local authorities went on an investment binge and banks continued to lend to a roaring property sector in spite of Beijing's orders to rein in credit." ... "The 9.7 per cent increase in gross domestic product to Rmb2,711bn ($328bn) was higher than last year's full-year 9.1 per cent increase. Some independent economists use a range of proxy indicators to suggest that the official figures understate reality and China is actually growing at around an annualised 11 or 12 per cent." -By James Kynge -FT.com
- "Broadcaster mutes liberal radio network in funds dispute: Plug pulled on Air America in L.A, Chicago." ... "Arthur Liu of Multicultural Broadcasting, owner of network affiliates WNTD/950 AM in Chicago and KBLA/1580 AM in Santa Monica, put Spanish-language broadcasts on those stations Wednesday because, he said, Air America had bounced a check and owed him more than $1 million." ... "Meanwhile, Air America attorney David Goodfriend said it had stopped payment on the checks because Multicultural was selling time on the California station it had already leased to the new network." -By Peter Goodman -Newsday.com via -SFGate.com
AirAmericaRadio.com
- - - "A primate primer: Boys will be boys, as girls ape mom: Chimps shed light on roots of sex-based learning differences in human youngsters." ... "The girls watch their mothers closely. The boys horse around. Researchers have found sex-based learning differences in chimpanzees that are similar to those observed in human children." ... "This means, the scientists said, that sex-based learning differences likely have a biological basis that dates back to the last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees." ... "There is still debate, however, over whether biology or culture plays a larger role in the learning differences that have been observed between the sexes in humans." -By Anne McIlroy -TheGlobeAndMail.com
- - "Is this the oldest known piece of jewelry?." ... "Humans living in coastal South Africa about 75,000 years ago may have fashioned snail shells into the world's oldest jewelry, according to a new study. Critics, however, say the dramatic claim lacks the evidence to fully back it." ... "If the 41 snail shells described in today's issue of the journal Science are indeed beads, they would predate the oldest known pieces of jewelry by more than 30,000 years and add significant weight to the idea that symbolic thought and language flowered among modern humans long before their forays into Europe and Asia." ... "Reached by telephone at the South African excavation site known as Blombos Cave, lead author Christopher Henshilwood said storing information in the form of beads or words is a key element of symbolic behavior." -By Bryn Nelson -Newsday.com
- - - "Oldest Jewelry? "Beads" Discovered in African Cave." ... "Humans may have been wearing jewelry as far back as 75,000 years ago, about 30,000 years earlier than previously thought, if 41 shells found at Blombos Cave in South Africa prove to have been used as beads." ... "Beads are considered definitive evidence of symbolic thinking, which many scientists don't think occurred in modern humans until about 45,000 years ago." ... "The presence of beads, whether used as trade items, to convey group status, or to identify group members or relationships within a group suggests some form of language existed, says [Blombos Cave Project director Christopher] Henshilwood, who is affiliated with the University of Bergen, Norway, and the State University of New York." ... "Recent studies have suggested that Khoisan, a southern African language that includes many clicks, could be as many as 100,000 years old. It's possible the people at Blombos were speaking in some form of click language, Henshilwood said." -By Hillary Mayell -NationalGeographic>News
- - - - - "Japanese Hostages Freed in Iraq; Iranian Killed." ... "Three Japanese hostages were freed Thursday, but the murders of an Iranian diplomat and an Italian captive were chilling proof of the risks foreigners face in Iraq, where rebels are battling the U.S.-led occupation." ... "America's top general said talks were under way to try to bring peace to the embattled Sunni Muslim city of Falluja and to avoid a bloodbath in the Shi'ite shrine city of Najaf." ... "The three [Japanese] seized last week are Noriaki Imai, 18, who wanted to research the effects of depleted uranium weapons, journalist Soichiro Koriyama, 32, and aid worker Nahoko Takato, 34." (1, 2, 3) -By Fiona O'Brien -Reuters
20040414
- - "Insurgents Display New Sophistication: Campaign Leaves Bridges Heavily Damaged, Hampering Military's Push South." ... "Insurgents fighting the U.S.-led occupation force have sharply increased the sophistication, coordination and aggressiveness of their tactics over the past week, Army officers and soldiers involved in combat here said." ... "With occupation forces battling Sadr's Shiite militiamen south and east of Baghdad and Sunni Muslim insurgents to the north and west, the timing of the Iraqis' tactical development is nearly as troubling for U.S. forces as its effect. But the explanation for the change is not yet clear, military commanders said." ... "Here in southern Iraq, which is overwhelmingly Shiite, U.S. officers say the best guess is that former soldiers who served under President Saddam Hussein have decided to lend their expertise and coordinating abilities to the untrained Shiite militiamen." (1, 2) -By Thomas E. Ricks-WashingtonPost
- - - "Dead soldier's sisters excused duty in war zone." ... "Michelle Witmer, 20, died last Friday in an ambush of her Humvee, and her father's plea to the Pentagon to spare his two other daughters, who were also serving in Wisconsin national guard units in Iraq, received attention throughout the US." -By Suzanne Goldenberg -Guardian.co.uk
20040413
- - - - "Iran distances itself from Sadr." ... "Iran is dismissing attempts by Washington to link it to Moqtada al-Sadr, the young radical cleric whose militia has battled US forces in neighbouring Iraq." ... "US officials and administration ad visers have long alleged that Iran has secretly funded Mr Sadr's militia. On Monday, General John Abizaid, commander of US Central Command, told a press briefing "there are indications from intelligence folks that there are some Iranian activities going on that are unhelpful". Last week, Donald Rumsfeld, US secretary of defence, accused Iran of "meddling" in Iraq." -By Gareth Smyth -FT.com
- "Intel Says 1st-Qtr Profit Almost Doubled, Sales Rise (Update2)." ... "Intel Corp., the world's biggest semiconductor maker, said first-quarter net income almost doubled to $1.73 billion as customers accelerated purchases of new computers." ... "Net income was 26 cents a share, compared with 14 cents a year earlier, Santa Clara, California-based Intel said in a statement. Sales rose 20 percent to $8.1 billion." -By Jason Kelly and Ian King -Bloomberg.com
- - - "Chinese hostages 'released'." ... "China was anxiously awaiting confirmation last night that seven of its nationals kidnapped in Iraq had been released." ... "The Xinhua news agency, which broke the news of the kidnappings on Sunday, cited a Chinese merchant in Baghdad as saying that the seven had been handed over to a Muslim association involved with hostage release." ... "It was not clear what the seven latest victims of the hostage drama sweeping Iraq were doing in the country." -By Jonathan Watts -Guardian.co.uk
20040412
- - - - - "Seven Chinese Kidnapped in Iraq; China Urges Rescue." ... "Gunmen kidnapped seven Chinese citizens in Iraq in the latest spate of hostage-taking and Beijing on Monday appealed to Baghdad to rescue them." ... "China was regarded as a friend by Iraq's former Baathist government under the leadership of Saddam Hussein, and it opposed the military invasion of Iraq. Beijing pledged $24 million for rebuilding the country at a donor conference in Madrid last year." (1, 2) -By John Ruwitch -Reuters
- - - "Japan unsure of safety of hostages in Iraq as crisis drags into fourth day." ... "Optimism that three Japanese held hostage in Iraq would be quickly released evaporated Monday, as Tokyo's top government spokesman backtracked on an earlier statement and said authorities were no longer confident about their safety." ... "The hostages[,] two aid workers and a photojournalist[,] were being held by a previously unknown group calling itself the ''Muhahedeen Squadron,'' which demanded Japan pull its troops out of Iraq within three days or it would burn the three alive." -By Eric Talmadge -AP via -Boston/Globe
20040411
- - "Taiwan Riot Police Battle Election Protesters." ... "Riot police officers fought with demonstrators and used water cannons mounted on armored cars as a large rally turned unexpectedly violent here on Saturday night in front of the presidential palace." ... "A crowd estimated by organizers at 300,000 and by the police at 100,000 assembled peacefully on Saturday afternoon to call for a parliamentary investigation into a shooting incident that wounded President Chen Shui-bian on the eve of elections here last month, and may have helped him win re-election." ... "On March 20, President Chen won a second four-year term by fewer than 30,000 votes out of 13 million cast, defeating Mr. Lien of the Nationalist Party and his running mate, James Soong of the People First Party. The president had been grazed across the abdomen the day before by a bullet while standing in an open Jeep in a motorcade through his hometown, Tainan." ... "The Nationalists have suggested that presidential aides inside the Jeep may have staged the shooting, in a bid to bolster Mr. Chen's support." -By Keith Bradsher -NYTimes
20040407
- - - - "Japan court rules against shrine visits, PM unbowed." ... "A Japanese court ruled on Wednesday that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi had violated the constitution by visiting a shrine honouring Japan's military war dead, a landmark ruling on his annual pilgrimages that have angered China and other Asian neighbours." ... "But Koizumi vowed to keep visiting Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, where war criminals are among those honoured and which critics at home and abroad regard as a symbol of Japan's past militarism." -By Masayuki Kitano -Reuters
20040402
- - - - "Attack on expectant mom a crime against 2: Relatives of Peterson, other victims attend bill signing." ... "President Bush signed legislation Thursday making it a separate crime to harm a fetus during the commission of a violent federal crime against a pregnant woman, and he declared that, with the new law, the United States was "building a culture of life."" ... "The Unborn Victims of Violence Act protects a fetus at any stage of its development. The measure does not deal with abortion but at its foundation it deals with the central question in the abortion debate: At what point does an embryo or a fetus deserve full protection of the law as a living person?" ... "Advocates of abortion rights fear it will be used to establish precedent that could undercut those rights, established in 1973 by the Supreme Court in Roe vs. Wade." -By James Gerstenzang-LAtimes via -SFGate.com
20040401
- - - - "Three countries arrest 53 militants in coordinated crackdown." ... "Turkey, Italy, and Belgium arrested 53 militants in a coordinated crackdown Thursday on a Turkish Marxist group considered a terrorist organization by Washington, Turkey's Interior Ministry said." ... "Police in Istanbul arrested 37 suspects of the Marxist Revolutionary People's Liberation Army-Front, or DHKP-C, while security forces Italy and Belgium detained 16, an Interior Ministry official said, speaking on condition of anonymity." -AP via -USATODAY
20040331
2004 ELECTION - - - - "Political titles play an unusual role in this campaign." ... "The influential role that serious, issues-based books are playing is unusual, historians and political scientists say. "I can't think of anything close to this happening during a campaign, at least in the 20th century," says James Campbell, a political science professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo." ... "The hottest book is Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror by Richard Clarke. The counterterrorism expert served in the Reagan, Clinton and both Bush administrations. He says the current administration paid too little attention to the threat of terrorism before Sept. 11 and made terrorism more of a threat by going to war in Iraq." -By Mark Memmott -USATODAY

Search Google: <"Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror" by Richard Clarke>
- - - "Pushing the limits of 'public use'." ... "Rene Corie installs drapes in Florida mansions. Her husband, David, builds the mansions' gates." ... "Eight years ago, the working-class couple finally found some waterfront real estate they could afford: a two-bedroom house for $70,000 in Riviera Beach, a poor town near the wealthy enclaves of Palm Beach and Jupiter." ... "But Riviera Beach now wants to bulldoze the Cories' home and 2,200 others to make way for one of the nation's grandest redevelopment plans: a collection of high-rise condos, bigger homes and upscale shops. The city plans to use eminent domain — its power to confiscate private property for projects that benefit the public — to take the homes of 5,100 people if the residents do not agree to move." -By Dennis Cauchon -USATODAY
20040324
Water - - "Scientists Report Evidence of Saltwater Pools on Mars." ... "Mars was once a much warmer, wetter place, with pools of saltwater that sometimes flowed across the surface, scientists reported Tuesday." ... "Analyzing findings from sedimentary rocks explored by the rover Opportunity, the scientists said the rocks now appeared to have formed under a shallow bed of softly flowing water near a shoreline — not, as formerly seemed possible, through seepage from underground." -By Warren E. Leary -NYTimes via -Google-News
- - - - Microsoft News - "EU orders Microsoft to pay $613 million fine: Software giant found guilty of abusing "near monopoly"." ... "The European Union declared Microsoft Corp. guilty Wednesday of abusing its "near monopoly" with Windows to squeeze competitors in other markets and levied a record fine of $613 million (497.2 million euros)." ... "The EU's antitrust authority said that "because the illegal behavior is still ongoing," it was also demanding changes in the way the U.S. software company operates." -AP via -MSNBC
20040320
- - - - "Mass Extinction Not Inevitable." ... "Two new studies published this week in Science that show steep declines in bird, butterfly and plant populations across Great Britain provide the strongest proof yet that we are in the midst of the sixth great extinction of life." ... "The British analyzed six surveys covering virtually all of their native species populations over the last 40 years. They discovered birds and native plants had declined 54 percent and 28 percent respectively while butterflies experienced a shocking 71 percent decrease." ... "According to scientists, there have been five prior mass extinctions in the past 450 million years. The last was 65 million years ago, when the dinosaurs and tens of thousands of species disappeared, likely as a result of a comet or large asteroid hitting the Earth." -By Stephen Leahy -Wired
20040319
- "'Small asteroid' bypasses Earth by just 26,500 miles." ... "A 100-foot-wide space rock yesterday missed Earth by only 26,500 miles, the closest asteroid ever detected by astronomers before it actually made its approach. The harmless flyby occurred at 2:08 p.m. Pacific time." ... ""We figure that on average something this size hits the Earth every two to three years," said astronomer Paul Chodas, of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program. "We've never detected them out in space, either approaching or receding. This is the closest."" -By Guy Gugliotta -WashingtonPost with the -AP via -SeattleTimes.NWsource
20040314
- - Free-Speech - "China Changes Constitution to Address Rights Issues." ... "China's Parliament formally approved today constitutional amendments that address private property and human rights, while the country's new prime minister promised to rein in the overheated economy." ... "Chinese legal experts and even lawmakers said the constitutional changes, which were decided in closed-door sessions of the ruling Communist Party last fall and formally approved today, would not lead to lifting restrictions on speech and political protest. China's constitution is subordinate to the party and is amended often to reflect changes in official ideology." -By Chris Buckley -NYTimes
- - - "Spain Studies Alleged al-Qaida Tape Claim." ... "Investigators analyzed a videotape in which al-Qaida reportedly claimed responsibility for the deadly railway bombings earlier this week amid criticism Sunday that Spanish intelligence blundered in failing to foresee the attack." ... "With a mourning nation voting in general elections overshadowed by the attacks that killed 200 and wounded 1,500, officials said five suspects arrested Saturday can remain in police custody for 72 hours, after which police would need a court order for an extension." -By Daniel Woolls -AP via -Miami/Herald
20040312
- "A vote for democracy, Putin-style: Russia's president is expected to win reelection handily Sunday - with tactics that critics decry as 'Soviet.'" ... "President Vladimir Putin, who is expected to win reelection by a wide margin, came to power four years ago promising a "dictatorship of the law." Indeed, he has brought a new stability and economic growth, while playing it tough in Chechnya - as well as with political rivals, constricting the marketplace of ideas in favor of firm control from the top." ... "Critics and a handful of opposition candidates - who between them can't muster a fraction of Mr. Putin's over 70 percent popularity rating - charge that Sunday's vote is a "farce" that has been pre-engineered by the Kremlin, and marks the end of Russia's experiment with democracy." -By Scott Peterson -CSMonitor
20040311
- - "A Primer on the ETA." ... "Euskadi Ta Azkatasuna, translated from Euskara, the Basque language, means "freedom for the Basque country."" ... "And the organization bearing that name, ETA for short, has been fighting for freedom from Spain since the 1960s in an unrelenting campaign of bombings, kidnappings and assassinations." ... "In that respect, today's devastating attacks on commuter trains in Madrid were definitely in character. That may be one of the reasons why Spanish government officials so quickly blamed ETA, without offering concrete evidence or any claim of responsibility." ... "In another respect, however, the attack departed from ETA's pattern: Never before has the organization killed and injured so many people in a single blow." (1, 2) -By Fred Barbash -WashingtonPost
- - - "Alarm Raised Over Quality of Uranium Found in Iran." ... "United Nations nuclear inspectors have found traces of extremely highly enriched uranium in Iran, of a purity reserved for use in a nuclear bomb, European and American diplomats said Wednesday." ... "Among traces that inspectors detected last year are some refined to 90 percent of the rare 235 isotope, the diplomats said. While the International Atomic Energy Agency has previously reported finding "weapons grade" traces, it has not revealed that some reached such a high degree of enrichment." ... "The presence of such traces raises the stakes in the international debate over Iran's nuclear program and increases the urgency of determining the uranium's origin. If the enrichment took place in Iran, it means the country is much further along the road to becoming a nuclear weapons power than even the most aggressive intelligence estimates anticipated." -By Craig S. Smith with contributions by David E. Sanger -NYTimes
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