TAJIK WOMEN WHO BUY AND SELL BABIES !

By Rayhan Demytrie BBC News, Tajikistan

Abandoned babies become the responsibility of hospital staff

Fifty-year-old Mahbuba has four sons, but she always wanted to have a daughter.

Faced with a complex adoption procedure, she decided to take the easier option - to buy a baby.

"The moment I heard that a woman in a maternity hospital was selling her newborn daughter, I rushed there," Mahbuba said.

"The woman told me she already had five children and she could not afford having another baby. I paid her $100 [£67]."

Her purchase was made 10 years ago. But buying and selling babies is still common in Tajikistan - and it all begins in maternity hospitals.

Some mothers abandon their babies just days after giving birth, leaving the fate of the children in the hands of medical staff.

A young Tajik nurse described how she witnessed doctors helping a woman whose child died at birth to obtain a newborn from a different hospital.

If only I knew... They did give me money but I didn't ask for it Accused midwife

She was not sure whether money was involved in this swap.

"They just wanted to help," said the nurse.

But in Tajikistan, such goodwill could be punished with up to eight years in prison.

In 2008, there were 13 such cases but the number of those involved in trafficking is believed to be much higher.

Some 60km (37 miles) west of Dushanbe in Tursunzoda district, I met two midwives accused of selling a baby boy for $200.

They are currently on a suspended two-year sentence.

Both in their late 40s, they have been working in a maternity hospital for over 20 years.

"If only I knew," said one of them, wiping tears from her eyes. "I fed that child and was looking after him for one month. They did give me money but I didn't ask for it. They slipped the money to my pocket," she said.

"Trafficking in minors is a problem and it still exists," said Azimjon Ibragimov, who heads the Interior Ministry's department on human trafficking.

Trafficking chief Ibragimov says few are aware of legal implications

"Those who buy are usually childless couples. And since the legal procedure of adopting a child is complicated people find it much easier to buy a baby," he said.

"But most of them don't know what the legal implications of this crime are," he added.

Even those aware of the risks often feel they have no choice but to get rid of unwanted children.

Many such cases involve young mothers of illegitimate children.

In conservative Tajikistan, having a child out of wedlock can bring shame on a family.

But increasingly older women with existing families are also selling their children.

In the poorest nation in Central Asia, fathers often work abroad, and the burden of child-care rests with the women.

Some simply cannot afford to feed any extra mouths.

"The main problem which makes our women suffer is that their husbands are gone for work," said Muhabbat Pirnazarova, who heads the centre for civil society.

"They leave their families behind. Some men do send money back home but there are also those who abandon their families altogether," she said.

Cash for babies is a fact of life in Tajikistan.

This is a society where the economic conditions leave some mothers with little choice.

Others who have illegitimate children face social pressure to give them up.

And where the adoption procedure is complicated and lengthy, childless couples will do what they can to obtain a baby.
BBC NEWS REPORT

ZIMBABWE - LETTER FROM THE DIASPORA!

30th January 2009

Dear Friends,

Today's the day! This thirtieth day of January 2009 the National Executive of the MDC will decide whether or not to join the so-called Government of National Unity under Robert Mugabe's presidency. ‘Political analysts' have been very vocal on the subject all week. I've never quite understood what qualifies someone to be called or to describe him/herself as a ‘political analyst' but they certainly have an awful lot to say for themselves! They are ready to air their opinions on every aspect of the subject; supported by unnamed sources these political analysts seek to sway public opinion one way or the other depending on their own political affiliations no doubt.

Like many others in the diaspora – anxious about the future of our country - I too have spent the week trying to analyse the decision that has to be made by the MDC. Armed with a pencil and notepad I have attempted to use my own knowledge and understanding of the situation to list what considerations should be taken into account before making this crucial decision for Zimbabwe's future. Before one can even start the process there are certain facts that have to be acknowledged. In the eleven or so months that have elapsed since the March elections Zimbabwe and the world have changed. Cholera has killed over 3000 people in Zimbabwe, 94% of the population is unemployed and on Zanu PF's own admission the country can no longer feed its own people. " We cannot eat what we do not have" said the Acting Minister of Finance in his Budget speech And in an acknowledgement that the Zimbabwean currency is now worthless, Chinamasa announced that price controls will be abandoned and the Zimbabwe dollar will "operate alongside the US dollar and the SA rand. How that will actually work is not at all clear but what is clear is that Zimbabwe is teetering on the edge of complete collapse. That is the reality that the decision makers have to face. In the wider world too the economic collapse means that the so-called developed world will look very carefully at economic help for poorer nations, let alone those that have collapsed through gross mismanagement. Those people who thought that a GNU would bring immediate western aid for Zimbabwe now have to think very carefully in the light of the changed situation before they make their decision today.

For me there are two internal considerations that take absolute priority. One, is it the right decision for the mass of the people, now and for the foreseeable future? No one in their right mind can believe that joining the government will bring about an immediate change in the desperate plight of the people but maybe, just maybe, the presence of the MDC will moderate some of the more extreme policies of Mugabe's government. Two, the release of the activists rotting in gaol is non-negotiable. Jestina Mukoko and all the other activists must be brought to court immediately and either tried in open court or released. There can be no just settlement while fellow Zimbabweans are unjustly detained. Those as I see it are absolute priorities before the MDC can enter into this alliance with the Mugabe regime.

Making decisions is never easy but I have found it useful to list the arguments For and Against and then decide which side carries more weight. In addition to reasoned argument, there is the emotional aspect which cannot be ignored. More than anything else, Zimbabweans need to feel hope for themselves and for their children's futures. So, why should the MDC enter this ‘unholy alliance' The first point in its favour is that the people appear to want it, presumably because they believe that their lives will be improved once there is a settlement. By joining a GNU the MDC will gain experience in government and finally this is the much vaunted ‘African solution'. Whatever we may think of SADC and the AU there is no doubt that failure to join will bring down Africa's wrath on Tsvangirai's head and give further weight to the notion that he and his party are no more than puppets of the west.

On the other side, Against joining is the undeniable fact that Mugabe is not to be trusted. Bitter experience has shown us that his word means nothing. It is a power-sharing agreement with no real power for the MDC; even in the matter of ministerial appointments we have absolutely no guarantee that Robert Mugabe will play fair. To join such a government will severely damage the MDC's image. Up until now they have held the moral high ground, how will the world and the west in particular respond to an illegitimate government that now contains those very same people they once believed were on the side of democracy? If the MDC decides to join, it will be seen to be an endorsement of Mugabe's policies. It will take the pressure off his regime, leaving him unpunished for the destruction he has wreaked on the country. Even the MDC's majority in the House cannot be relied on, knowing how Zanu PF operates. There is a very real danger that the MDC will become no better than puppets of the regime unable to exercise any autonomy. Mugabe is after all the man who has blatantly ignored the will of the people as expressed in the March elections. Can he now be trusted to abide by the rules? Will not Morgan Tsvangirai and this party be swallowed up in just the same way as the late Joshua Nkomo?

These questions and so many others must be going through the minds of every thinking person as the MDC considers the options. What will happen if the deal collapses in a few months, what might that mean for Zimbabwe? For me, as a Zimbabwean in the UK diaspora and longing to go home, all I can do is hope that their decisions are guided by what is best for the people, all the people, and not by their own dreams of power, big motorcars, handsome salaries and lucrative perks. Having considered the arguments For and Against and although I can clearly see the latter is the stronger side, I have very reluctantly come to the conclusion that the MDC must go along with this flawed Agreement. There are some small signs that their presence in government may well find sympathisers even within the ranks of Zanu PF. The truth is that Mugabe needs the MDC as much as they need to be part of government. It requires, in the words of the BBC correspondent, nothing less than a leap of faith on the part of the MDC. I believe they will make that leap.

Yours in the (continuing) struggle, PH.

"SAYINGS"

"AND IN THE END,

IT'S NOT THE YEARS IN YOUR LIFE THAT COUNT.

IT'S THE LIFE IN YOUR YEARS" !

___________

10 THINGS!

10 things we didn't know this time last week

Snippets from the week's news, sliced, diced and processed for your convenience.

1. The record score in rugby union is 350-0, made when one team was protesting against suspensions.
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2. Naked rambling is legal in Switzerland.
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3. Members of the House of Lords cannot be expelled or suspended.
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4. There is an Apostrophe Protection Society.
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5. Cows who are given names produce more milk.
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6. Poland pays 94% of the funding for the Auschwitz Museum.
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7. Thinking too much makes your golf worse.
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8. The brain chemical serotonin causes locusts to swarm.
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9. Cricket at altitude is potentially dangerous.
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10. Putting nuclear reactors near areas prone to earthquakes was banned in the UK. Now it's not.
More details

BBC NEWS MAGAZINE.

OCTUPLETS' MUM 'ALREADY HAS SIX' !

TV crews have descended on a house in Whittier, near Los Angeles

A Californian woman who gave birth to octuplets earlier this week already has six children, US media have reported.

The eight babies were delivered nine weeks early by Caesarean section in a hospital near Los Angeles on Monday.

The mother has not been named, but US media are quoting family members as saying she already has six other children, including twins.

Doctors say the eight babies are making good progress and are expected to stay in hospital for several more weeks.

Although the babies' mother asked doctors to keep her details confidential, a family acquaintance gave clues to her identity to the American CBS channel.

Shortly afterwards, media camped outside a house in Whittier, near Los Angeles.'

The Associated Press news agency spoke to a man identified as the babies' grandfather, who was with two children. The children said they were excited to have eight new siblings, AP reported.

The Los Angeles Times later carried an interview with a woman identified as the babies' grandmother, who said her daughter already had six young children and never expected the fertility treatment she had received would result in eight more babies.

A huge team was needed to deliver the babies successfully

She said that doctors had given her daughter the option of reducing the number of embryos, but she had declined.

"What do you suggest she should have done? She refused to have them killed. That is a very painful thing," she said.

She added that her daughter expected a big challenge raising 14 children. The woman's husband is expected to return to Iraq where he works as a contractor, the LA Times reported.

Dr Karen Maples: 'She has been able to visit her eight newborns'

Officials at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, near Los Angeles, said the woman was already 12 weeks pregnant when she came to them. Despite media questioning, the hospital has declined to say whether the mother became pregnant through fertility treatments.

The eight babies were delivered by a team of 46 doctors, nurses and assistants in the space of five minutes.

The mother is the second person recorded in the US to have delivered a set of living octuplets.

The last octuplets known to have survived birth in the US were born in Houston in 1998. One of the babies died one week later.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

ZIMBABWE RIVAL TO ENTER COALITION!

Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has said his party will join a unity government with President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF next month.

The deal, proposed by Southern African leaders, would see Mr Tsvangirai sworn in as prime minister on 11 February.

A power-sharing accord between his MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) and Zanu-PF was signed last September, but got mired in ever more bitter disputes.

Zimbabwe is enduring rampant inflation and an escalating food crisis.

Meanwhile the World Health Organization (WHO) says an outbreak of cholera, fuelled by the collapse of infrastructure, has now infected 60,000 people and killed more than 3,000.

Donors have said they would only provide aid once a unity government is in place.

The new timetable was proposed by the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

"We are unequivocal, we will go into this government," Mr Tsvangirai was quoted by French news agency AFP as saying.

"The SADC has decided and we are bound by that decision."

He added that Zanu-PF had made "significant concessions", saying that the MDC would continue the struggle for a democratic Zimbabwe in a new arena.

Mr Mugabe's supporters welcomed the decision.

"We are obviously happy as Zimbabweans that we are now able to focus on reconstructing our country and move away from politicking all the time," Information Minister Paul Mangwana told the BBC.

"This is a glorious opportunity for Zimbabweans to work together and show the whole world that we are able to solve our problems on our own."

A statement by South Africa's foreign ministry, quoted by AFP, welcomed the move, saying it would "help lay the foundation for the people of Zimbabwe to begin to address current challenges facing their country".

Meanwhile UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband said the new government would be judged on its actions.

"The international community will be looking for the government to demonstrate, through its actions, a clear commitment to reform," he said.

The BBC's Southern Africa correspondent Peter Biles says that agreeing to the deal requires a leap of faith for the MDC, which has no trust in Mr Mugabe.

But the decision to commit itself was the only realistic option short of abandoning plans for a unity government, he says.

The disagreements centred on how the most powerful cabinet posts were to be shared out, and on the MDC's insistence that attacks on its members should stop.

Observers say the MDC now appears to have adopted a strategy proposed by SADC leaders that it should first enter the government and then resolve outstanding issues.

The wrangling over power-sharing has paralysed Zimbabwe's government for months.

SADC's POWER-SHARE TIMELINE 5 Feb: Zimbabwe to pass power-sharing constitutional amendment 11 Feb: PM-designate Tsvangirai and his deputies to be sworn in 13 Feb: Remaining ministers and their deputies to take office

Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF and the MDC have also started setting up a joint committee to monitor the power-sharing pact.

The body is the first structure to be formed as a result of political agreement, according to South African mediator Sydney Mufamadi.

The committee would deal with any breaches in the power-sharing deal and could also address concerns the MDC may have about the arrest of party members and activists.

South African President Kgalema Motlanthe, who chaired an emergency summit this week to get a deal, said the MDC was committed to a timeline agreed by the parties.

"...[Mr Tsvangirai] is going to be chairing cabinet and also sitting in the national security council...," he said.

"We believe that this is a transitional authority essentially and its primary task is to achieve stability and the economic recovery of that country."

BBC NEWS REPORT.

N. KOREA TEARS UP AGREEMENTS!

The border area between the two countries remains heavily fortified

Communist North Korea has said it is scrapping all military and political agreements signed with the South, accusing Seoul of hostile intent.

South Korea's government had pushed relations "to the brink of a war", the North's cross-border relations body said on state media.

South Korea expressed regret at the announcement and called for dialogue.

Relations have deteriorated since South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak took a harder line approach to the North.

One agreement the North said it was to scrap covers the maritime border in the Yellow Sea.

The two countries' navies fought bloody skirmishes in the area of the de facto border in 2002 and 1999.

"All the agreed points concerning the issue of putting an end to the political and military confrontation between the North and the South will be nullified," the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said.

It said that the situation on the Korean peninsula had reached a point where there was "neither way to improve [relations] nor hope to bring them on track".

The North has stepped up rhetorical attacks on the administration of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, who has promised to stop the free flow of aid to the North unless it moves to end its nuclear weapons programme.

Earlier this week, North Korea criticised the appointment of a new South Korean unification minister, describing the choice of Hyun In-taek as evidence that the South wanted to intensify confrontation between the two Korean states.

The BBC's John Sudworth in Seoul says some analysts believe that Pyongyang is trying to build up tensions with the South in order to give itself more negotiating power with the new US administration.

A more pessimistic analysis suggests that the rising tension does raise the possibility of small-scale military clashes, says our correspondent.

"Our government expresses deep regret," said Kim Ho-Nyoun, spokesman for South Korea's unification ministry, which handles cross-border affairs.

"We urge North Korea to accept our call for dialogue as soon as possible," he said.

The two states are still technically at war because their three-year conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, in 1953.

The peninsula remains divided by a heavily fortified Demilitarised Zone, with thousands of troops stationed on both sides of the border.

Relations improved in the past decade, with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il meeting with then-South Korean President Kim Dae-jung in a historic summit in 2000.

But tensions have been high since Mr Lee took office in Seoul nearly a year ago pledging to get tough with Pyongyang.

He began rolling back his predecessors' "sunshine policy" of unconditional aid to the North.

The North responded by cutting off talks, suspending key joint projects and stepping up criticism of Mr Lee who it calls a "traitor".

"Never to be condoned are the crimes the Lee group has committed against the nation and reunification by bedevilling overnight the inter-Korean relations that had favourably developed amidst the support and encouragement of all the Koreans and ruthlessly scrapping the inter-Korean agreements," the North said on Friday.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

MANY MISSING IN KENYA STORE FIRE!

A loud blast from the burning supermarket causes people to flee

Thirty-nine people are missing and one person is dead after a fire destroyed a crowded supermarket in Nairobi, Kenya's Red Cross says.

The man died from his injuries after jumping from an upstairs window to escape the flames, officials said.

The fire broke out in the busy Nakumatt store in central Nairobi on Wednesday afternoon.

Witnesses reported seeing people trapped inside as firefighters fought for hours to control the blaze.

The operation to put out the fire was still going on 24 hours after it began, the Daily Nation newspaper reports.

Red Cross spokesman Titus Mung'ou told Reuters news agency "thirty-nine people are unaccounted for".

"One man died from injuries when he jumped from the second floor of the building," he said.

Emergency teams were counselling distraught relatives at a trauma centre set up near the burned-out store.

Women and children and five of the store's 103 staff were reportedly among the missing.

Kenyan media described scenes of chaos as the supermarket became consumed by fire.

Some survivors said they escaped by leaping from upstairs windows.

People said they had received desperate calls from relatives saying they were trapped inside and unable to escape.

Nakumatt insisted the store had been in compliance with safety regulations.

"We also wish to confirm that the building was fully fire-safety compliant and had been installed with advanced fire/smoke detectors," it said.

Experts from the army, police and fire brigade were reported to be on site as an investigation into the fire gets under way.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

ZIMBABWE ABANDONS ITS CURRENCY!

The Zimbabwe dollar is virtually worthless

Zimbabweans will be allowed to conduct business in other currencies, alongside the Zimbabwe dollar, in an effort to stem the country's runaway inflation.

The announcement was made by acting Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa.

BBC southern Africa correspondent Peter Biles says the Zimbabwean dollar has become a laughing stock. A Z$100 trillion note was recently introduced.

Until now only licensed businesses could accept foreign currencies, although it was common practice.

The country is also facing an deepening humanitarian crisis as well.

A cholera outbreak has killed over 3,000 people according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

And the World Food Programme (WFP) has revised up the number of people it says need food aid.

It now says seven million Zimbabweans are in need of food aid, up from 5.1 million in June.WFP regional spokesman Richard Lee said the situation had deteriorated rapidly.

"The economic situation has worsened more dramatically than we had anticipated," he told AFP. "The agency is being forced to halve the cereal rations given to hungry Zimbabweans so that all the people in need can receive aid."

Mr Chinamasa made the announcement as he delivered the annual budget to parliament. "In line with the prevailing practices by the general public, [the] government is therefore allowing the use of multiple foreign currencies for business transactions alongside the Zimbabwean dollar," he said.

The country is in the grip of world-record hyperinflation which has left the Zimbabwean dollar virtually worthless - 231m% in July 2008, the most recent figure released.

Teachers, doctors and civil servants have gone on strike complaining that their salaries - which equal trillions of Zimbabwean dollars - are not even enough to catch the bus to work each day.

A 40-year-old Zimbabwean primary school teacher from the capital Harare, told the BBC news website earlier this week it cost nearly US$2 a day to travel to work, but inflation had reduced the average teacher's wage to the equivalent of US$1 a month.

He said he now made a living reselling maize to families in high density areas, as it made more money than teaching.

Before the announcement, shops in Zimbabwe were increasingly demanding payment in US dollars - a reality acknowledged by Mr Chinamasa.

"In the hyper-inflationary environment characterising the economy, our people are now using multiple currencies alongside the Zimbabwean dollar. These include the [South African] rand, US dollar, Botswana pula, euro and British pound among others."

A Harare resident said even street vendors were refusing to accept Zimbabwean notes.

Last year, the Central Bank was forced to slash 10 zeros from the local unit in an effort to make the currency more manageable.

Correspondents say that although the local currency will still be printed, all prices will be set in US dollars, making the Zimbabwe dollar irrelevant.

The country's economy is now on the brink of collapse - a situation worsened by the political crisis that resulted from last year's disputed presidential elections.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

ANALYSIS: AHMADINEJAD ON THE ATTACK!

By Jon Leyne BBC News, Tehran

The Iranian president's speech was broadcast live on Iranian TV

Nobody was expecting a long and warm honeymoon but the vitriol in President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's remarks to the new US administration was remarkable.

President Barack Obama, in his first foreign interview earlier this week, offered what he called the hand of friendship if Iran "unclenched its fist"

In response, Mr Ahmadinejad jumped back in the boxing ring and resumed a verbal volley of punches.

First he wished former US President George W Bush on his way: "God willing, he has gone to hell."

Then Mr Ahmadinejad laid before his audience the ever-growing list of grievances Iran holds against the US:

• American support for the coup that unseated a democratically elected Iranian government in 1953
• American backing for Saddam Hussein in the Iran-Iraq war
  
• Support for the "Zionist regime" [Israel]
  
• Launching the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq under the pretext of 9/11 - an incident as questionable as the Holocaust, he suggested.
  

Americans had kept Iran away from scientific progress and injected the country with poverty, ignorance and illiteracy, he said. They had turned their embassy in Tehran into a "nest of spies", Mr Ahmadinejad continued.

The US needed to stop talking down to the rest of the world, to change its language and act respectfully, he went on. All American troops should return home. And Washington should apologise for its crimes against Iran.

It was an exceptionally long and angry tirade, even by the standards of Mr Ahmadinejad.

It was tempered only by a few slightly more encouraging words. If there really was a fundamental change in American policy, said Mr Ahmadinejad, then Iran would welcome it.

Tough talk indeed from the man who sent an unprecedented message of congratulations to the new American president after Mr Obama's election victory in November.

So have the hardliners won the policy battle in Tehran? Or is this Mr Ahmadinejad's eccentric way of opening a diplomatic dialogue?

Most observers in Iran believed Mr Ahmadinejad wanted some moves towards reconciliation with Washington, in order to help his bid for re-election in June.

But with a long silence from Tehran on policy towards Mr Obama, it was already clear that a fierce battle was going on behind the scenes.

In theory, it is the supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, who is in charge of foreign policy, though in practice decisions seem to emerge from among a small group of senior officials, military officers and clergy.

When there are differences over policy, the default is always to return to the old certainties: "Death to Israel! Death to America!"

For Washington, this sort of hostility at least helps resolve one dilemma: the administration must be in two minds whether to launch a diplomatic initiative towards Iran before the Iranian presidential election in five months' time.

Why do anything now, when someone else might soon be in power ? After all, dealing with Mr Ahmadinejad was always going to be a high-risk policy.

One of Mr Obama's consistent calls, in his election campaign, was for negotiations with Iran without precondition. For any new dialogue, this was not a promising start.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

JUDGE REJECTS OBAMA DELAY REQUEST!

The treatment of inmates at the prison has outraged human rights groups

A military judge at the Guanatanamo Bay detention facility has rejected a request by US President Barack Obama to suspend the trial of a detainee.

Correspondents say this could be a setback to Mr Obama's plans to close the facility.

Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, a Saudi citizen, is accused of planning the USS Cole attack of October 2000.

Judge James Pohl said the request to halt the trial to allow a review by the new administration was "unpersuasive".

Judge Pohl said that the trial of Mr Nashiri would go ahead.

Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri has said he was tortured into confessing

In one of its first actions, the Obama administration instructed prosecutors to ask for the trials of 21 detainees who had been charged to be delayed by 120 days.

In some cases, the request was quickly granted.

The attack on the USS Cole while it was moored off Yemen left 17 US service personnel dead and 50 injured.

Mr Nashiri was arrested in the United Arab Emirates in 2002 and eventually transferred to Guantanamo.

He allegedly conspired to help two Islamic militants who steered an explosives-laden barge alongside the ship.

The new administration will now have to decide how to proceed, correspondents say.

Mr Obama ordered the review of military trials for terrorism suspects last week. He also ordered the closure, within one year, of the Guantanamo detention centre.

He said the US would continue to fight terrorism but would maintain its "values and ideals" as well.

Some 250 inmates accused of having links to terrorism remain in the facility.

The legal process for these prisoners has been widely criticised because the US military acts as jailer, judge and jury.

A judge has already suspended for 120 days the trial of five men accused over the 9/11 attacks.

These include alleged mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who opposed the suspension, saying he wanted to confess to his role in the attacks.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

HUGE CROWDS JOIN FRENCH STRIKE!

Huge crowds have taken to the streets in France to protest over the handling of the economic crisis, causing disruption to rail and air services.

The head of France's biggest union said a million workers had rallied to demand action to protect jobs and wages.

But despite the show of public support, the strike appeared to be falling short of the paralysis forecast by unions.

Regional trains and those in and around Paris were hit, and a third of flights from Orly airport were cancelled.

Forty per cent of regional services were running, train operator SNCF said, and 60% of high-speed TGV services. Three-quarters of metro trains were running in Paris.

Paris's second airport was heavily hit by the strike, but flights out of the larger Charles de Gaulle hub were experiencing only short delays, AFP news agency said.

Economic woes at heart of strike France takes strike in its stride

Schools, banks, hospitals, post offices and courts were also hit as workers stayed at home. Officials said just over a third of teachers and a quarter of postal and power company workers were on strike.

Overall, some 23% of the country's public sector workers are thought to have joined the action, which was called by eight major French unions.

Bernard Thibault, head of the CGT union, told AFP more than a million workers had taken part in the strike, making it impossible for French President Nicolas Sarkozy to ignore their concerns.

In Paris, police said some 65,000 protesters had joined a march from the Place de la Bastille towards the centre of the city.

Earlier, some 25,000 to 30,000 people rallied in the city of Lyon, according to organisers and police.

In Marseille, organisers and the authorities disagreed, with the former putting the number of demonstrators at 300,000 but the police estimating 20,000 had taken part.

The protests are against the worsening economic climate in France and at what people believe to be the government's poor handling of the crisis.

Opposition Socialist Party leader, Martine Aubry, said people were out in the streets "to express what worries them: the fact that they work and yet cannot make ends meet, retired people who just can't make it [financially], the fear of redundancies, and a president of the Republic and a government that just don't want to change policy".

According to a 25 January poll by CSA-Opinion for Le Parisien, 69% of the French public backs the strike.

"I'm tired and frozen after waiting half-an-hour on the platform," commuter Sandrine Dermont told AFP as she arrived by train in Paris" But I'm prepared to accept that when it's a movement to defend our spending power and jobs. I'll join the street protests during my lunch break," she said.

Last summer, Mr Sarkozy boasted that these days when there is a strike in France, nobody notices, says the BBC's Emma-Jane Kirby in Paris. But this time, our correspondent adds, the strike will hit hard.

Many people are angry French banks were given a multi-billion euro bail-out while floundering industries and businesses were offered far less help.

With unemployment looking likely to hit 10% by next year, the French are now looking for assurances from their president that he will drop his programme of cost cutting reforms and instead turn his attention to relaunching the ailing economy, our correspondent says.

"We want to show how the people are dissatisfied with the situation at the moment," Thierry Dedieu of the CFDT general workers' union told the BBC.

People had the feeling they were paying for a crisis they were not responsible for, he added.

But earlier in the week, French Finance Minister Eric Woerth condemned the strike organisers, accusing them of scare-mongering during a time of economic uncertainty.

"There are other ways to make oneself heard than striking," he said. "Blocking a country, preventing transport from working, bothering people when they are still extraordinarily worried and fearful of the future, is adding fear on top of fear, worry on top of worry."

BBC NEWS REPORT.

CHINA'S TIBET ACTION SPARKS PLEA !

Lhasa has been under heavy security since the violent riots last year

The Tibetan government-in-exile has appealed to the international community to intervene in a Chinese security crackdown in Tibet's capital.

Eighty-one people have been detained and nearly 6,000 questioned in the past 11 days, Chinese state media reported.

The Tibetan Daily said the campaign in Lhasa was targeting criminals.

But the leaders-in-exile say they are concerned that China's "hardline policies" may lead to a repeat of last year's deadly anti-Chinese riots.

The centre of Lhasa has been under heavy security since last March, after peaceful protests turned violent following a military crackdown.

China said at least 18 people were killed during the unrest. Independent rights groups say about 200 people were killed and at least 1,000 are still missing.

Tibet independence campaigners say China's anti-crime operation appears to be aimed at intimidating Tibetans two months ahead of the 50th anniversary of the failed uprising against Chinese rule, which led to the Dalai Lama's flight into exile.

In a statement, Tibet's government-in-exile appealed "governments and individuals around the world to actively intervene" so that "March 2008 may not be repeated again".

It also urged China to call off its crackdown, saying it had created a "heightened sense of fear and intimidation" in Lhasa and in other areas of Tibet.

It warned that the campaign would "only create an atmosphere of further political unrest" but appealed to Tibetans to remain calm despite the "harsh repression".

Tibet's leaders-in-exile fear a repeat of last year's deadly riots

The security operation - the latest to be entitled Strike Hard - began on 18 January, with raids on residential areas as well as hotels, bars and cafes, the state-run Tibetan Daily said.

Officers detained people for robbery, prostitution, theft and having "reactionary music" on their phones, it reported.

It did not say whether those detained were Tibetan, Han Chinese or of other ethnicity.

China has ruled Tibet since 1951 and views it as an integral part of Chinese sovereign territory.

It believes that the Chinese Communist Party liberated the Tibetan people from the oppressive feudal rule of Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, following the 1959 uprising.

For Tibetan groups in exile, the events of March 1959 and the exile of the Dalai Lama were a tragedy.

The Dalai Lama has said he does not want independence for Tibet, only meaningful autonomy.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

"SAYINGS"

"Say not that you know another entirely,

until you have divided an inheritance with him" !
_________

INTOUCHED FLAT IN EAST GERMANY FOUND.

The Soviet bloc state of East Germany existed for about 40 years

A flat apparently untouched since before the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 has been discovered in the German city of Leipzig, German media report.

An architect who renovates buildings in eastern Germany unlocked the door last week and was shocked to find himself in a veritable East German time warp.

It appears the inhabitant of the humble flat fled in a hurry and shrivelled bread rolls still lay in a string bag.

Grocery brands from the Socialist state filled the kitchen.

"When we opened the door we felt like Howard Carter when he found the grave of Tutankhamun," Mark Aretz told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper.

"Everything was a mess but it was like a historic treasure trove, a portal into an age long gone."

A wall calendar showed August 1988 and an empty bottle of Vita Cola, Marella margarine, Juwel cigarettes and a bottle of Kristall vodka were in the kitchen.

Plastic crockery and aluminium cutlery completed the picture of a bygone state.

The only foreign product to be found was a West German bottle of deodorant.

A zinc bath stood upright against a wardrobe. There was no toilet in the flat - the occupant had to use a communal one on the landing.

According to Mr Aretz, documents and letters in the flat suggest the occupant was a man aged 24 who was in trouble with the East German authorities, and who left in a hurry some time before the Wall came down in November 1989.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

AUSTRALIA DEBATES DITCHING QUEEN!

By Phil Mercer BBC News, Perth

As the United States celebrates its first African-American president, the people of another former British colony, Australia, are wondering whether they will ever have their own home-grown head of state.

The issue of a republic is brewing again amid mounting pressure on the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to say when Australians can vote on constitutional reform.

The idea that Britain's Queen Elizabeth should be replaced by an Australian president was enthusiastically endorsed by delegates at Mr Rudd's recent 2020 Summit, which invited 1,000 of the nation's brightest minds to Canberra to debate pressing public concerns.

The prime minister is expected to respond within weeks to their suggestions and those agitating for change believe that the Labor leader must set out a timetable for a referendum.

"It's really about identity and dignity," explained Grant Jordan, Western Australian convenor of the Australian Republican Movement.

I love the Queen, I love what she stands for Steve Amphlett

"It is a bit debasing when you have a situation where a British child born into a particular family can one day become the head of state of your country yet no Australian child can ever become head of state of Australia no matter what he or she achieves in life."

Australia is a constitutional monarchy and it is a decade since the country rejected wholesale reform at the last referendum, thanks in large part to the type of republic on offer, which would have seen a president appointed by parliament and not by the people.

Republicans believe that up to six different models should be put to the popular vote in a plebiscite, with the most favoured then subjected to a referendum.

On a sweltering evening in the northern Perth suburb of Joondalup, home to legions of British migrants, opinion on the issue at the local soccer club was as fierce as some of the tackles at the start of pre-season training.

It's nice she's a titular head of state but I'm not so sure in today's world it's really necessary Alan Vest

"I love the Queen, I love what she stands for," declared club president Steve Amphlett, a salesman originally from Stoke-on-Trent. "I don't see Australia as a republic."

Neither did John Higgins, a bricklayer from Birmingham who emigrated to Perth 18 years ago.

"The monarchy should stay in Australia," he told the BBC. "If you speak to the majority of the English here, they really want it to stay as it is."

Joondalup's soccer coach, Alan Vest, a Yorkshire-born former New Zealand international - whose name may be familiar to older supporters of Barnsley and Rochdale - believes though that constitutional change in Australia is inevitable.

"My mother's a monarchist. She's mad about the Queen. It's nice she's a titular head of state but I'm not so sure in today's world it's really necessary."

Republicans have estimated that up to 85% of Australians support their cause, among them both the Prime Minister and leader of the conservative opposition.

The driver of this Perth car makes his royal allegiance clear

Joondalup club veteran Adrian Kenny, 46, who moved from Stafford when he was seven, said that although his adopted home should treasure its rich British history, it was time to move on.

"I think the Queen's for England," he told BBC News. "I just think Australia is an old enough country to be the master of its own destiny. We are becoming more Asian-orientated and there are more Asian people in Australia and they have no affiliation with the UK."

The republic debate in Australia is always passionate and both sides are promising a forceful campaign when the next referendum eventually comes around.

Neil Gilmore, the Australian Monarchists League representative in Western Australia, remains adamant that voters will favour the status quo.

"The notable thing about Mr Rudd's enthusiasm for a republic is the fact that the people of Australia don't share it," he insisted. "We don't want a republic. We've had stability and prosperity. Everything that we could want we get from our wonderful system of government."
BBC NEWS REPORT.

DID "SAS FANTASIST" DIE IN BELGIUM?

By Margaret Ryan BBC News

"Tom Carew" left a BBC interview in 2001 after being exposed as a fraud

A body discovered in Belgium is believed to be that of a man who falsely claimed to be a member of the British SAS and wrote a best-selling novel based on his fake exploits. So is this the end of the story?

When a body was found last year in a rented garage north of Antwerp, it was difficult to identify who it was.

But documents later found beside the human remains suggested they were those of Philip Sessarego, who once penned a book about his time in the Special Air Service (SAS) under the name of Tom Carew.

Belgian police are now to take DNA from relatives in the UK of Mr Sessarego, otherwise known as Philip Stevenson, to finally confirm the body is his.

Spokeswoman Dominique Reyniers told the BBC News website prosecutors were "99%" sure it was Mr Stevenson, but she added: "In the very near future an exchange of DNA material is planned."

His daughter Claire told a UK newspaper the police had told her they would not believe it was him until they had the DNA.

In his best-selling book Jihad!: The Secret War in Afghanistan, Tom Carew described when he joined the 22nd Special Air Sservice Regiment (22 SAS):

"At the end of the course, there were just a handful of us left who'd passed, together with a couple of guys who hadn't quite made the grade but were near enough misses to merit being kept on with the regiment until they could retake the tests they'd failed."

He also described in detail how he had trained the Mujahideen to fight the Russians in Afghanistan.

He wrote about his time in Afghanistan: "It was 1979 and the Afghans were fighting a superpower with tactics they had used against the British before the First World War."

He continued: "Before leaving Britain, everyone said, 'Be careful; they are barbaric, they'll chop you up'.

"My boss at MI6 gave me a Flashman novel about Muslim brutality - his idea of a joke."

He was later interviewed many times in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks as a former member of the SAS with expert knowledge on the difficulties of fighting the Taleban.

The trouble was that he had never served in the SAS and much of his book was subsequently dismissed as a work of fiction.

It was an investigation by the BBC programme Newsnight eight years ago that uncovered the truth about his service history.

He had served in the Royal Artillery, before trying to be selected for 22 SAS in the 1970s.

But he failed to make the grade. He was allowed to remain in Hereford - the SAS base - in what was known as the Demonstration Troop, a group of ordinary soldiers who undertook jobs for the SAS, like pretending to be the enemy on exercises.

He later tried to join the Reserve or R Squadron of the SAS - part of the Territorial Army - but he failed that selection too and was discharged on 31 December 1975, on his 23rd birthday.

He had made grand claims about how he had fought with the SAS in Oman and helped set up its Northern Ireland cell.

But Newsnight discovered Mr Carew's real name was Philip Sessarego. He had not served in the SAS in the 1970s, had not taken part in combat operations in Oman, and had not rejoined the SAS in the 1980s as he claimed.

After his book was exposed as little more than fiction he moved to Belgium, where he is said to have been known as Philip Stevenson.

He is also thought to have attempted to fake his own death in Bosnia in the 1990s.

As to the discovery of the body in the garage in Belgium, the Ministry of Defence said it would not comment on the death of someone who was not currently serving.

Journalist Joris Van der Aa, of the Antwerp newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws, said: "When the body was found it was in such a state that it could not be identified."

But he said the body was believed to be that of the ex-soldier - who would have turned 55 in 2008 - and there were not thought to be any suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.

The man who had once claimed to be an SAS hero seemed to have been living in reduced circumstances in a garage fitted out with a bed and kitchen.

"The owner of the garage had gone there as the rent was not being paid," he said.

Mrs Reyniers said this was not being treated as a murder investigation.

"His death is in no way suspicious," she said.

She said she could confirm that the cause of death was most probably "a monoxide poisoning".

But given that this is a man who is thought to have previously faked his own death it may only be when the DNA tests have been completed that he can finally be laid to rest.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

SOUTHERN AUSTRALIA FEELS THE HEAT!

Many people are heading to the beach to cool down

Residents of south-eastern Australia are being warned to expect the worst heatwave in a century.

Emergency services are on high alert and, in the state of Victoria, locals are being urged to prepare bush fire plans in case they need to flee.

Temperatures went up to 45.5C (114F) in Adelaide, its hottest day in 70 years.

In Melbourne, two people died in the searing heat, including a 75-year-old man who collapsed while walking to his car, the AFP news agency said.

Some train and tram services were cancelled as rail lines buckled in the heat. There were also power outages, as people turned on their air-conditioning units to cool down.

Spectators have also been feeling the heat at the Australian Open

The heat wave in Victoria is expected to last several days and be the region's worst since 1908, according to AFP. The average temperature in Melbourne at this time of year is 25.8C (78F).

Play at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne was interrupted as temperatures reached 41C (106F) and organisers for the first time enacted their "extreme heat policy".

The women's singles quarter-final between Serena Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova was halted for about 45 minutes as the roof on the Rod Laver Arena was closed, allowing the temperature on court to be lowered.

Williams said: "I was in like an out-of-body experience. I kept trying to tell myself that it's not hot, you know... But it got hotter."

Meanwhile in the state of South Australia, officials cancelled a horse race meeting in the town of Gawler because of the extreme weather conditions.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

IRANIAN LEADER DEMANDS US CHANGE!

Iran's president has welcomed the possibility of a change in US foreign policy but demanded an apology for past US "crimes" committed against Iran.

The US "stood against the Iranian people in the past 60 years," Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said during an address in the western region of Khermenshah.

"Those who speak of change must apologise to the Iranian people and try to repair their past crimes," he said.

The White House has offered to extend a hand if Iran "unclenched its fist".

President Barack Obama discussed the possibility of a softening of US policy towards Iran in an interview recorded with a Saudi-owned Arabic TV network on Monday.

"When they say 'we want to make changes', change can happen in two ways," Mr Ahmadinejad said.

"First is a fundamental and effective change... The second ... is a change of tactics. It is very clear that, if the meaning of change is the second one, this will soon be revealed," he said.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

MAN TRAPPED BY SOFA SIPPED WHISKY

Joe Galliott said the whisky kept him going

A man who became trapped beneath his sofa for two days said he survived by sipping from a bottle of whisky.

Joe Galliott, 65, lost his bearings during a power cut at his home in Yeovil, Somerset, and fell against the three-seater which toppled onto him.

Because of back problems, he was unable to free his 19-stone frame and remained stuck for 60 hours until a neighbour spotted him through the curtains.

He said a bottle of whisky, which had rolled within reach, kept him going.

"The whole settee tipped over catching me like a rat in a trap," he said

"I took a sip of [the whisky] and thought, well this isn't too bad."

But after several hours without food or water, he admits, he became quite worried.

"It felt like a lifetime, you think you're there forever," he said.

The alarm was raised by a neighbour who had peered through the window, after becoming concerned that Mr Galliott's curtains had not been drawn for two days.

He spent five days recovering in hospital after his ordeal earlier this month.

Mr Galliott said he was keeping another bottle of whisky by the sofa "just in case."

BBC NEWS REPORT.

HEDGE FUND MAKES $90 ON RBS FALL!

The UK government now owns almost 70% of R A US hedge fund has made a profit of at least £90m ($127m) by correctly betting that shares in struggling Royal Bank of Scotland would go down in value. Paulson and Co's giant profit has been revealed because investors have had to disclose any planned short selling in UK banks since 13 June. Short selling involves borrowing and selling shares in a firm in the hope of subsequently buying them back for less. The hedge fund, or any other investor, then makes a profit on the difference. Paulson and Co was able to make such a large profit since Royal Bank of Scotland's (RBS) shares - like most in the UK banking sector - have fallen heavily since last summer. SHORT SELLING Investor borrows and sells shares in a firm Aims to subsequently buy them back at a lower price Makes a profit on the difference What is short selling? Financial jargon explained The declines came after many of the lenders were forced to reveal multi-billion pound bad debts linked to the collapse in the US housing market. RBS subsequently had to be bailed out by the UK government, which now has an almost 70% stake in the company. The bank also said earlier this month that it expects to report a 2008 loss before write-downs of between £7bn and £8bn. A spokesman for the UK's financial watchdog, the Financial Services Authority, explained that the high profile ban on short selling in financial stocks from 19 September last year to 16 January 2009 only prohibited newly taken short positions or contracts. They confirmed that it did not apply to any short selling deals already in place. The revelation of Paulson and Co's profit came as a number of senior hedge fund managers were questioned by MPs on the Treasury Committee. After being questioned specifically on the Paulson & Co case, Andrew Baker, of the hedge fund trade association, Alternative Investment Managers Association, said he believed "very strongly" that the global industry would be in favour of a single worldwide rule on short selling, with some kind of restrictions and a disclosure regime. Fellow boss, Stephen Zimmerman of NewSmith Capital Partners, said it was wrong to blame short selling for the woes in the banking sector. "You can see the huge destruction of wealth that has taken place in these companies and I do not believe that it's down to short selling of their shares," he said. BBC NEWS REPORT.

THRILLER MUSICAL SET FOR BROADWAY!

Michael Jackson was not involved with the current UK stage show

Pop star Michael Jackson is to help develop a US stage musical based on the video to his hit song Thriller, it has been announced.

Producer James Nederlander, whose company owns nine Broadway theatres, said the star would "participate in every aspect of the creative process".

Jackson's spokesman said the singer and Mr Nederlander "represent live theatre and musical excellence".

Jackson was not involved in current West End production Thriller - Live.

The show, which is being staged at London's Lyric Theatre, opened earlier this month, and its premiere was attended by Jackson's brother Tito.

Mr Nederlander's organisation said the Broadway production "will be the exclusive Michael Jackson authorised version of Thriller."

The Thriller video became an early staple of MTV

The show is expected to be based around the video for Thriller, which was first shown in 1983 and starred Jackson as a werewolf and featured dancing zombies.

No details of the musical have yet been revealed, but it is thought the stage show will also feature songs from Jackson's 1979 album Off The Wall.

In November, Jackson reached an out of court settlement with an Arab sheikh who claimed the singer had reneged on an entertainment contract worth £4.7m 2005.

Bahraini royal Sheikh Abdulla Bin Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa told London's High Court that he had planned to revive the star's career with productions including albums and a stage play.

He said that no project had ever been finalised.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

MDC DENIES ZIMBABWE DEAL CLAIMS !

MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai is supposed to become prime minister

Zimbabwe's opposition says it does not accept the outcome of a regional summit which said it should join a unity government next month.

The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said the meeting's conclusions "fell far short" of their expectations.

Zimbabwe's deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga told the BBC there would be no more power-sharing talks.

As the arguments continue, more than 100 new cholera deaths have been reported in the past day.

Almost 3,000 people have died in the epidemic since August and more than 56,000 have been infected, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.

'Pushing their luck'

Mr Matonga told the BBC: "There's not going to be any negotiations, I think that process has been done, it's concluded and the president [Robert Mugabe] will form a new cabinet.

SADC's POWER-SHARE TIMELINE 5 Feb: Zimbabwe to pass power-sharing constitutional amendment 11 Feb: PM-designate Tsvangirai and his deputies to be sworn in 13 Feb: Remaining ministers and their deputies to take office

"If they [the MDC] think they can hold Zimbabwe to ransom it will be very unfortunate. I don't think the people of Zimbabwe will allow that to happen. They [the MDC] are pushing their luck."

President Robert Mugabe agreed to share power with MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai last September but they have not been able to agree on how to allocate key government jobs.

After 14 hours of negotiations in Pretoria, the 15-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) said the MDC had agreed to a timeline to form a unity government with Zimbabwe's Zanu-PF.

According to the timeline, a constitutional amendment would be passed to create the post of prime minister on 5 February, with Mr Tsvangirai being sworn in six days later.

South African President Kgalema Motlanthe said: "All the parties expressed confidence in the process and committed to implementing the agreement."

SADC leaders concluded that the contentious home affairs ministry, which runs the police, should be run jointly and reviewed six months after the new government was inaugurated.

Control over home affairs has been a key sticking point, with the MDC insisting it should run the ministry if Zanu-PF is to administer the defence and national security departments.

Hot on the heels of the SADC communique, an MDC statement said the party had not agreed to the deal, although it stopped short of rejecting the summit's conclusions outright.

STATE OF ZIMBABWE Five million people - almost half population - need food aid Central bank introduced Z$100tr note, worth about US$30 (£20) Unemployment more than 80% Nearly 3,000 people dead in cholera outbreak Many teachers, doctors and nurses not working Teacher: 'I can't afford to work' EU tightens sanctions on Zimbabwe

It added that the party's national council would meet this weekend to define its position.

MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa told the BBC: "Unfortunately our expectations were not met, our case was not received, in fact there was no objective understanding and assessment of the situation."

It was the fourth such meeting since the inconclusive elections last March.

The BBC's Peter Biles in Pretoria says SADC looks powerless and has shown no willingness to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe.

The country's state schools were supposed to open for a new term on Tuesday but the teachers' union said its members did not have the resources to get to work.

One teacher told the BBC that his monthly salary was only enough for a one-way trip to work, so he is selling maize meal instead.

The cholera outbreak has been fuelled by the collapse of the water, sanitation and health systems.

Nurses and doctors are also refusing to turn up for work.

Mr Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai failed to resolve their differences during a meeting in Harare last week.

The MDC, along with Western nations, accuses Mr Mugabe of not being sincere about power-sharing, pointing to a spate of abductions of opposition officials and human rights activists.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

TAKING A STAND : JIMMY LAI !

By Fergal Keane Presenter, BBC Radio 4: Taking a Stand

BBC Radio 4's Taking a Stand profiles people who have taken risks and made sacrifices to stand up for what they believe in. Fergal Keane met Hong Kong-based tycoon Jimmy Lai to discuss his pro-democracy campaigning and criticism of the Chinese government.

It's a part of the world where, quite often, the wealthier you are the closer you are to those in power.

In China, and its special administrative region of Hong Kong, business tycoons don't make a habit of taking a stand for free speech and human rights. But there is one very loud exception.

Having made a fortune from his clothing empire, Jimmy Lai could have taken the traditional route for a local tycoon: expanding his businesses in China and winning favoured status in the offices of the powerful.

Instead he decided to confront China over human rights.

Now as the owner of a highly profitable newspaper business based in Hong Kong and Taiwan he remains a sharp critic of the Communist Party. His political coming of age happened during the pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

"I was very hopeful that China was going into political restructuring and I was very excited and I was very depressed and very hurt when they crashed into Tiananmen Square and killed those students.

"I was in Hong Kong but I was watching the news, I was participating, I was paying money. I was very involved. It was a very emotional moment. From then on I said, look, I'm going to fight".

The student protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989 inspired Jimmy Lai

Lai's response to Tiananmen was to level a notorious insult at the then Prime Minister, Li Peng, whom he described as a "turtle's egg" with zero IQ.

Li was seen at the time as the architect of the crackdown. The reference to a turtle's egg has a particularly unpleasant resonance for Chinese people.

"It's very insulting words for a Chinese to say but at that time I was 20 years younger - I was more impulsive then.

"I don't regret what I did and what I said, but I paid a price for it," he recalls.

He estimates that the resulting controversy cost him many millions in lost sales and business opportunities.

It began with him having to close a factory and sell his majority stake in the clothing firm he founded. But China wanted him out completely.

"We had shops in China, we already closed the factory and I already sold my share under 50%, so I thought I'm not the majority. "One day I was in Paris, the CEO then called me and said 'look Jimmy, ultimatum, you have to sell your stock in three days otherwise they will close all the shops'.

"But if they close all the shops Giordano was dead because without China, as a public company we are dead. So I did nothing I said 'look, sell it' so I just authorised my CEO and in three days I was out."

These days the Chinese government tends to ignore Jimmy Lai.

He has been a beneficiary of the largely hands-off approach Beijing is taking towards Hong Kong. Although when China attempted to introduce strict security laws, Lai joined the many thousands who protested.

China ultimately backed down. He is convinced democracy will eventually come to Hong Kong.

"Yes, I'm sure. One day it will have to. China cannot be isolated with the world. If China has to trade with the world so closely, China has to be compatible. "But China cannot be compatible if it doesn't share the same value of the world, and the dominant value of the world is democracy."

It doesn't involve any deep delving to discover what drives the pro-democracy passion of Jimmy Lai.

As it happens he wasn't born in Hong Kong but only arrived there when he was 12 years old, smuggled on a boat from China. His family escaping Chairman Mao's Cultural Revolution.

Lai worked in a local factory as a child labourer and worked his way gradually upwards until he established his clothing brand, Giordano.

The then British-ruled colony of Hong Kong, the boisterous capital of Asian capitalism, made Jimmy Lai rich but also politically aware.

BBC RADIO 4: TAKING A STAND Fergal Keane interviews Jimmy Lai for Radio 4's 'Taking a Stand' Tune in on Tuesday, 27 January at 09.00 GMT and 21.00 GMT Listen again on the BBC iPlayer

"It's like a very heavy load has been laid from my heart. The moment you feel freedom, it's a high I never had again.

"I came to this place when I was 12 with one dollar, and this place has made me what I am and the only way to pay back is just to do what is right: to pursue democracy.

"I think it's something I should do to pay back to a society which has been so good to me."

Lai has been criticised by those who feel that engagement rather than criticism is the way to deal with China. And not all of his business ventures have succeeded, for example an online shopping site failed with substantial losses.

He also roused the ire of the Triad-organised crime gangs in Hong Kong and Taiwan when his newspapers started reporting on their activities. But Jimmy Lai is unrepentant.

"I'm very happy because, you know, I'm rich enough. I need some meaning to live and fight.

"You know, fighting for freedom, for democracy is a great thing for me to feel. I'm just 60, I still need a lot of meaning to live my life."

---

Fergal Keane's interview with Jimmy Lai will broadcast on BBC Radio 4's Taking a Stand on Tuesday, 27 January 2009 at 09.00 GMT. It will be repeated at 21.30 GMT on the same day, or you can listen to the programme on the BBC iPlayer.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

MASSIVE LAYOFFS AS GLOOM DEEPENS!

Many firms expect 2009 to be very tough.

Workers around the world face losing their jobs as several big corporations announced more than 70,000 layoffs in one single day.

The biggest cuts came in the US where construction equipment maker Caterpillar said it would cut around 20,000 jobs.

In Europe, electronics group Philips, financial firm ING and UK steelmaker Corus announced cuts.

The announcements underscore the depth of the global downturn.

"Without a doubt, 2009 will be a very tough year," said Caterpillar chief executive Jim Owens.

Many of the companies making layoffs unveiled poor financial results and issued gloomy outlooks for 2009.

Caterpillar said its fourth-quarter net profit fell 32% from a year ago to $661m (£482m).

US President Barack Obama cited the layoff announcements as he urged Congress to approve an $825bn economic stimulus package of tax cuts, emergency benefits and public spending projects.

"Those are not just numbers," he said, but more working men and women "whose families have been disrupted and whose dreams have been put on hold".

GLOBAL JOB CUTS Caterpillar - 20,000 ING - 7,000 Philips - 6,000 Corus - 3,500 Home Depot - 7,000 Pfizer/Wyeth - 20,000 Texas Instruments - 3,400 Sprint Nextel - 8,000 General Motors - 2,000

The companies making the biggest job cuts include:

• US technology firm Texas Instruments, which makes chips for mobile phones and other gadgets, said it would cut 3,400 jobs, or 12% of its workforce, because demand for electronic devices had fallen.
• Dutch banking giant ING, which said it was to cut 7,000 jobs as it seeks to save 1bn euros ($1.29bn; £949m).

• Steelmaker Corus confirmed that it was cutting 3,500 jobs worldwide, including about 2,500 in the UK. The firm is a subsidiary of India's Tata Steel.

• Consumer electronics giant Philips has reported a fourth quarter loss of 1.47bn euros and said it would cut 6,000 jobs.

• US retailer Home Depot, the world's largest home improvement chain, said it would eliminate 7,000 jobs, or 2% of its work force, as it closes its Expo home design unit.
• US mobile phone service provider Sprint Nextel says it plan sto reduce its workforce by 8,000 as it seeks to cut costs.

• US drugmaker Pfizer said it planned to cut up to 20,000 jobs after it announced a $68bn (£50bn) deal to buy rival Wyeth.

• General Motors said it would shed 2,000 jobs at plants in Michigan and Ohio and cut production at several plants over the next six months.
• Last week Microsoft said it would cut 5,000 jobs, while Intel said it would eliminate 6,000.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

US WOMAN GIVES BIRTH TO OCTUPLETS.

Octuplets mother Chukwu said the new parents had much to look forward to

A US woman has given birth to eight babies, becoming just the second person recorded in the US to have delivered a set of living octuplets.

The six boys and two girls, who were nine weeks premature, were delivered by Caesarean section in the hospital in Los Angeles, California.

The babies weighed in at between 1lb 8 ounces (820g) and 3lb 4oz (1.47kg) and are all said to be doing well.

They were screaming and kicking around very vigorously, a doctor said.

The mother, whose identity has not been revealed, has asked that limited information be released about the births.

Medical team describe a 'successful' delivery

A hospital spokeswoman described the deliveries, which took place in the space of five minutes, as "truly amazing".

The medical team had scheduled a Caesarean section for seven babies, but doctors were surprised when an eighth came out.

"Lo and behold, after we got to Baby G, which is what we expected, we were surprised by Baby H," said Dr Karen Maples.

Three of the babies needed help breathing, but all were otherwise doing well, a doctor said.

The babies will be in incubators for at least six weeks and the mother is planning to breast feed them all, the hospital officials said.

The world's first live-born set of octuplets were delivered in Houston, Texas, in 1998.

One baby died about a week later - but the surviving children celebrated their 10th birthday in December.

Their Nigerian-born mother, Nkem Chukwu, said the new parents had much to look forward to, the Associated Press agency reported.

"Just enjoy it. It's a blessing, truly a blessing," Mrs Chukwu was quoted as saying. "We'll keep praying for them."
BBC NEWS REPORT.

OPRAH 'CONSIDERED FOR OBAMA SEAT'

Scandal-hit US Governor Rod Blagojevich has said he considered offering the Illinois senate seat vacated by Barack Obama to talk show host Oprah Winfrey.

An impeachment trial currently is under way in the state senate over claims Mr Blagojevich tried to "sell" the seat.

He told ABC that Ms Winfrey, one of America's wealthiest women, would have been unlikely to accept.

Mr Blagojevich says he is innocent and that the trial, which he is not attending, has been rigged.

The trial opened in Springfield on Monday, with Illinois Chief Justice Thomas Fitzgerald telling senators, they were about to engage in "a solemn and serious business," the Chicago Tribune reported.

Earlier, Mr Blagojevich told ABC's Good Morning America that Ms Winfrey "seemed to be someone who would help Barack Obama in a significant way become president".

"She was obviously someone with a much broader bully pulpit than other senators," he said.

If I had been watching as I normally watch from the treadmill, I probably would have fallen off Oprah Winfrey Blagojevich trial opens

But he said Ms Winfrey "probably wouldn't take it" and that it would have been hard to offer the seat to her in a way that "didn't look like it was some gimmick and embarrass her".

Ms Winfrey has said she did not know that she was being considered as a potential senator and that she was "pretty amused by the whole thing".

"If I had been watching as I normally watch from the treadmill, I probably would have fallen off," she told the Sirius XM radio station.

Ms Winfrey said she thought she could be a senator but that she was "just not interested".

Mr Blagojevich's eventual choice for the seat, Illinois attorney general Roland Burris, took office in January after initially being blocked by senators.

Under the 17th amendment of the US constitution, state governors have the power to appoint temporary replacements for senators who resign, die or are expelled, until special elections can be held.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

ZIMBABWE PARTIES 'AGREE TIMELINE'!

Motlanthe said Mugabe and the MDC had agreed a power-sharing timeline

Zimbabwe's rival factions are committed to a power-sharing deal, South African President Kgalema Motlanthe has said.

Zanu-PF and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) had agreed to form a unity government next month, he said.

But the MDC said the conclusions of the summit chaired by Mr Motlanthe fell short of its expectations.

President Robert Mugabe reached a deal with MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai last September but they could not agree who should control key government posts.

Zimbabwe is in a state of economic and social collapse, and a cholera epidemic has killed nearly 3,000 people.

After 14 hours of negotiations, leaders from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) issued a statement early on Tuesday saying the MDC had agreed to a timeline towards forming a unity government.

According to the timeline, a constitutional amendment would be passed to create the post of prime minister on 5 February, with Mr Tsvangirai being sworn in six days later.

STATE OF ZIMBABWE Five million people - almost half population - need food aid Central bank introduced Z$100tr note, worth about US$30 (£20) Unemployment more than 80% Nearly 3,000 people dead in cholera outbreak Harare teacher: 'I can't afford to work' EU tightens sanctions on Zimbabwe

"All the parties expressed confidence in the process and committed to implementing the agreement," said Mr Motlanthe.

But an MDC statement said the party had not agreed to the deal, and although it stopped short of rejecting the summit's conclusions outright, it said the summit resolutions "fell far short" of what the party had hoped for.

"Quite clearly, the conclusions reached as reflected in the [SADC statement] fall far short of our expectations," said the MDC

It added that the party's national council would meet this weekend to define its position.

Earlier on Monday, seven people were taken to hospital when police fired rubber bullets at several hundred people demonstrating outside the talks in Pretoria.

It was the fourth such meeting since the inconclusive elections last March.

Mr Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai failed to resolve their differences during a meeting in Harare last week.

One analyst says those talks collapsed in "real acrimony".

The main issue of contention is over who controls key ministries and other top public posts.

President Mugabe has said he will not compromise any further and there have been reports he may ask SADC for the legitimacy to form a new government without the MDC opposition.

SADC looks powerless and has shown no willingness to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe, says the BBC's Peter Biles in Pretoria.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

"SAYINGS"

"NOTHING IS ENOUGH FOR THE MAN

TO WHOM ENOUGH IS TOO LITTLE" !
_______

CRISIS CLAIMS ICELANDIC CABINET!

Prime Minister Geir Haarde had called early elections for May

Iceland's coalition government has collapsed under the strain of an escalating economic crisis.

Conservative Prime Minister Geir Haarde announced the resignation of his cabinet, after talks with his Social Democratic coalition partners failed.

He said he could not accept the Social Democrats' demand to lead the country.

Iceland's financial system collapsed in October under the weight of debt, leading to a currency crisis, rising unemployment and daily protests.

The economy is forecast to shrink by almost 10% this year.

The coalition between Mr Haarde's Independence Party and Foreign Minister Ingibjorg Gisladottir's Social Democrats had been under strain in recent months.

Mr Haarde told reporters on Monday: "We couldn't accept the Social Democratic demand that they would lead the government."

The announcement comes three days after the prime minister called an early general election for 9 May, adding that he would not stand for health reasons.

The coalition government, formed in 2007, had been due to remain in place until 2011.

ICELAND 300,000 people Banking sector collapsed in October 2008 Krona fell by almost two-thirds against euro Economy predicted to shrink by 9.6% in 2009

Ms Gisladottir said a more powerful leadership was needed.

"The government's actions in the last weeks and months were not swift enough," she said.

Her party is now expected to look for new partners to form a government until the election.

In recent months the Social Democrats had urged Mr Haarde to fire the central bank governor and move towards closer ties with Europe.

Iceland, a country of about 300,000 people, has traditionally sought to stay outside the EU.

But last month European Union Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said the island might apply for membership as soon as this year.

The extent of Iceland's trouble became evident as conditions tightened in global credit markets last year.

It emerged that the country's banks, which had amassed debt during years of rapid expansion, owed about six times the country's economic output.

Money from around the world had also poured into Iceland because interest rates there exceeded 10%.

Mr Haarde's government responded to the financial collapse by nationalising leading banks. It also negotiated about $10bn in loans with the International Monetary Fund and donor countries.

The country's commerce minister, Bjorgvin Sigurdsson, resigned on Sunday citing the pressures of the economic meltdown.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

SKY JOINS BBC IN GAZA APPEAL VETO!

Sky has joined the BBC in deciding not to broadcast a charity appeal for Gaza, despite mounting political and public pressure for them to do so.

BBC boss Mark Thompson has again defended the decision, saying it would jeopardise the BBC's impartiality.

Sky News said running the Disasters Emergency Committee advert was "incompatible" with its objective role.

About 60 MPs say they will back a parliamentary motion urging the BBC and Sky to run the appeal.

Sky News had been considering the DEC film, and only reached its decision on Monday, hours before the appeal is due to go out on ITV, Channels 4 and Five.

John Ryley, head of Sky News, said: "The conflict in Gaza forms part of one of the most challenging and contentious stories for any news organisation to cover.

"Our commitment as journalists is to cover all sides of that story with uncompromising objectivity."

Criticism over the BBC's decision not to air the appeal has come from archbishops, government ministers, charity leaders and 11,000 viewers.

The DEC, which represents more than a dozen aid agencies, is asking for money to buy food, medicine and blankets following the Israeli assault on Gaza.

Come on Auntie Beeb. Wake up and get on with it Dr John Sentamu, Archbishop of York Mark Thompson on Gaza appeal The humanitarian battle BBC Gaza appeal row reaction Papers on appeal row Sky statement in full

Pressure has been mounting on the publicly-funded BBC to air the appeal, but the director general reaffirmed his stance on Monday morning.

Mr Thompson said the BBC could not give the impression it was "backing one side" over the other.

He said the DEC had acknowledged from the outset there might be problems airing the appeal on the grounds of impartiality, and it was not the first time the BBC had decided against running an advert on their behalf.

He denied his "arm had been twisted" by pro-Israeli lobbyists and said the BBC would continue to cover the humanitarian dimension of a "complicated and deeply contentious story".

Labour MP Richard Burden, who is putting forward the early day motion, said he was "equally angry" at Sky News and the BBC, who were not being asked to broadcast a "political appeal".

"This is a humanitarian appeal from some of the most respected aid charities in the UK," he told the BBC. "It is about saving lives. "If they (the BBC) want to maintain impartiality, then they should act without fear or favour and treat that child in Gaza just the same as a child in Congo, Darfur or the earthquake in Pakistan."

Culture Secretary Andy Burnham has said the BBC is right to make its own judgement over the appeal.

PREVIOUS DEC REFUSALS East Africa 2006: Famine appeal rejected by BBC because of difficulties of access Lebanon 2006: BBC refused to air appeal for Israel-Hezbollah conflict victims on grounds of impartiality Burma 2008: Appeal was only broadcast once BBC was satisfied aid would reach victims

A string of politicians, including International Secretary Douglas Alexander, Communities Secretary Hazel Blears and opposition spokesmen, have urged the corporation to reconsider its position.

Their comments drew criticism from BBC Trust chairman Michael Lyons who said some were "coming close to constituting undue interference in the editorial independence of the BBC".

The corporation's former director general, Greg Dyke, said it was in a "no win" situation. He agreed with Mr Thompson's decision, saying the BBC had to uphold its "credibility as a news organisation".

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has accused the BBC of getting its priorities "upside down".

The Church of England also waded into the row, with the Archbishop of York appealing for the BBC to consider humanity, not impartiality, and show the film.

Disasters Emergency Committee Gaza humanitarian appeal: Launched by UK charities on 22 January to raise money for Gaza aid relief and reconstruction Participants: Action Aid, British Red Cross, Cafod, Care International, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide, Help the Aged, Islamic Relief, Merlin, Oxfam, Save the Children Tearfund, World Vision Information on 0370 60 60 900 or at DEC website

In a direct appeal to the BBC, Dr John Sentamu said: "Come on Auntie Beeb. Wake up and get on with it."

Labour MP Gerald Kaufman claimed the BBC was worrying about what he called the "nasty pressure" from some pro-Israeli lobbyists.

"Probably the (BBC's) attitude has been: 'Oh this is just too much trouble'," he said.

"And it's too much trouble because of the pressure of the Israelis. This... very active and not very pleasant Israeli diplomatic representation in Britain."

The UN Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa), the largest humanitarian actor in Gaza, said there was a "huge and overwhelming need" for aid.

Unrwa spokesman Chris Gunness told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the situation in Gaza was a "political crisis with grave humanitarian consequences".

He said the estimated cost of "rehabilitation and repair" was $345m (£257m), with $230m (£167m) unfunded.

"We are massively underfunded, and I think the figures involve illustrate the sheer scale of the need involved here," he said.

Meanwhile, the activist group Stop the War Coalition have called for a protest against the decision not to broadcast the appeal outside BBC Broadcasting House in central London .
BBC NEWS REPORT.

EU TIGHTENS SANCTIONS ON ZIMBABWE!

The sanctions target people and firms close to Robert Mugabe

The European Union has tightened its sanctions against Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, EU officials have said.

More than 60 individuals and firms with links to Mr Mugabe have been added to a list of those banned from travelling to the EU or doing business there.

Those on the sanctions list are suspected of having links to human rights abuses in Zimbabwe.

The move comes as Southern African leaders meet to try to resolve the political deadlock in Zimbabwe.

With the additions to the sanctions list, there are now 203 individuals and 40 companies banned from travelling to the EU's 27 member states and doing business there.

Among those targeted, for the first time, are shell companies registered in Europe which EU officials say are being used to channel funds out of Zimbabwe.

The EU has also called for an investigation into allegations that Zimbabwe's trade in illicit diamonds is helping keep Mr Mugabe in power.

If the allegations are proven, Zimbabwe could be suspended from the Kimberley Process, an international certification scheme set up to ensure diamond sales do not fund violent conflicts.

Economic collapse

The tightened sanctions are meant to increase pressure on Mr Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party to implement a power-sharing accord reached in September last year with opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

They have been unable to agree on who should control key government posts.

Zimbabwe is in a state of economic and social collapse with nearly 3,000 deaths from a cholera epidemic.

The EU introduced sanctions against Mr Mugabe and some of his top officials in 2003 and has expanded the list since then.

The US has also levied similar sanctions against individuals and companies with links to Mr Mugabe.

So far, international sanctions have done little to halt the crisis engulfing Zimbabwe, says the BBC's European affairs correspondent Oana Lungescu, in Brussels.

Mr Mugabe has often blamed the sanctions for his country's economic collapse.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

WHY MORE PEOPLE DIE IN WINTER!

By Michelle Roberts Health reporter, BBC News

Wearing the right clothes in winter could save lives

More than 23,000 elderly people died as a result of being too cold last winter in England and Wales.

The year before the toll was 29,000, which is nearly 10 people aged 65 or older every hour.

Yet temperatures only dropped to 4C on average.

Latest figures for Scotland show the nation's winter death toll was the lowest on record. Deaths fell by nearly 1,000, but still totalled 1,790.

Meanwhile, the coldest city in the world, Yakutsk in east Siberia, has no excess winter deaths, even though temperatures there can drop to minus 49C.

So why and how are so many people perishing in the UK from the cold?

.

Professor Bill Keatinge, an expert from Queen Mary University of London, has studied the issue extensively.

He said: "On the whole, the countries that have the mildest winters tend to have a higher mortality than countries with very cold winters.

"This is because the deaths in winter are not due to massive cold, with people being overwhelmed in their own houses and dying of extreme cold.

"It's down to quite minor degrees of cold that people were getting every day."

He said very few of the deaths were caused by true hypothermia, where the core body temperature drops significantly.

"Most of them are due to strokes and heart attacks.

"This is because the blood becomes more liable to clot in people who are exposed to the cold."

TEMPERATURE EFFECTS ON COMFORT AND HEALTH 24C - top range of comfort 21C - recommended living room temperature Less than 20C - death risk begins 18C - recommended bedroom temperature 16C - resistance to respiratory diseases weakened 12C - more than two hours at this temperature raises blood pressure and increases heart attack and stroke risk 5C - Significant risk of hypothermia Source: West Midlands Public Health Observatory

When exposed to cold, the body contracts down the blood vessels in the skin to stop blood flowing to the skin and to prevent heat loss.

This means more of the blood circulates to central parts of the body, which overloads the heart and lungs with blood.

The body gets rid of fluid to reduce this load by excreting salt and water, but the net result is the blood becomes more concentrated and liable to clot.

The next biggest cold-related killer is respiratory infections such as flu.

But Professor Keatinge added: "Flu epidemics have been declining for over 30 years. The last really big one was in 1976."

He said this was mainly down to recent flu viruses being less virulent rather than medical interventions such as annual flu jabs for the elderly.

"The fact that we now keep much warmer in winter and we are aware of the problem means that all the various causes of cold-related illness and death have declined," he said.

But he said people in the UK and places like Portugal, which also has a high rate of excess winter deaths, were still pretty poor at keeping warm in winter.

"People in the north of Finland take great precautions against cold. They keep their houses warmer in winter than we do, and they are much better equipped for outdoor cold.

"They have much better outdoor clothing. They take it very seriously."

Although we are getting better at keeping our houses warm, Professor Keatinge said people in the UK often dress unsuitably for cold weather.

"There is no problem about being out in winter if you are suitably clothed and you are exercising and you stay warm.

People need to realise that cold can kill and they need to keep warm Mr Patrick Sachon from the Met Office

"But if you wait for a bus and you assume a bus is going to come in five minutes and it doesn't come for 45 minutes, and you are at a windy stop with no shelter and without adequate clothing you can get very cold indeed.

"Public transport is a menace from this point of view. It doesn't have to be, but we tend not to have very well heated waiting rooms for trains and bus shelters that are not wind-proofed. That is probably a substantial source of problems," he said.

Studies show elderly people, and particularly those on low incomes, are at the greatest risk. There are a number of reasons why.

Those that succumb are not necessarily sick already, but older people's blood vessels tend to have rougher linings than those of younger people, which makes them even more susceptible to clotting.

Even mild winters claim lives

Those on small pensions might struggle to keep their houses warmer and might have to rely on public transport or walk rather than use a car, for example.

Professor Keatinge also warned that global warming could make the situation worse rather than better.

"Global warming is making our winters milder and that could be dangerous. If people stop worrying about cold they get more careless about heating their homes and wearing warm clothing."

Mr Patrick Sachon from the Met Office said winter deaths go up by about 1.4% for one degree drop in temperature below 18C.

"So it doesn't have to be that cold to start to increase mortality," he said.

"Our winters are much milder than in other countries. It rarely gets below minus five. Most winter days, the temperature usually gets above freezing and when it's mild, it can be 13C.

TIPS ON STAYING WARM AND SAFE If you take medicine for a health condition, make sure you have enough of it and keep it at hand Wrap up warm Keep active Keep your bedroom at 18C Keep your living room at 21C

"But even when it is relatively mild, if there is a strong wind that can make you cold and people are not prepared for that when they are out and about.

"In this country, people don't think about what getting cold will do to them because it doesn't kill them immediately.

"We don't have well insulated houses and we have a culture that believes having a window open to let in lots of fresh air is good for us, even though it is not.

"What you should actually be doing is keeping your living room at 21C and your bedroom at 18C, which is quite warm by most people's standards."

He said this winter was likely to be another mild one in the UK, but he warned this was no reason for people to be complacent.

"We could still get a cold snap. People need to realise that cold can kill and they need to keep warm," he warned.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

INDONESIA CLERICS ISSUE YOGA BAN !

Some aspects of yoga contain Hindu devotional mantras

The top Islamic body in Indonesia has issued a fatwa banning Muslims from practising some aspects of yoga.

The Council of Ulemas (MUI) said exercises containing Hindu elements such as chanting were forbidden and could weaken the faith of Muslims.

The move follows a similar ruling by the religious authorities in Malaysia last year.

Such religious edicts are not legally binding in Indonesia, but most Muslims consider it a sin to ignore them.

Maruf Amin, chairman of the MUI, said some yoga exercises involved the reciting of Hindu religious mantras, something which is forbidden, or "haram", in Islam.

"Muslims should not practise other religious rituals as it will erode and weaken their Islamic faith," he told AFP.

But he said yoga could still be practised if it was purely as a sport or a means of exercise.

Indonesia is officially a secular state but about 90% of the country's 235 million people are Muslim.

Mr Amin said that if any Indonesian Muslims refused to follow the fatwa, they would be committing a sin.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

WACO SECT LEADER'S MOTHER KILLED!

Koresh was born Vernon Howell

The mother of the notorious Waco sect leader David Koresh has been found stabbed to death at the house of a sister in Texas, police say.

Bonnie Clark Halderman, who was in her sixties, was found dead at the home of Beverly Clark who has been taken into custody pending a court appearance.

Police say they have no idea of a possible motive for her death.

She had recently written a book about her son, who led 80 people to violent death in the 1993 Waco siege.

Ms Clark Halderman was found on Friday afternoon at the home of Ms Clark, in a rural area near Chandler, about 175 miles (280km) north of Houston.

"It's still under investigation, and we really don't know what the motive was or what caused this to happen," said Henderson County Sheriff Ray Nutt.

Authorities found a knife they believe was used in the killing, he added.

The siege at Waco shocked America

Deputies had been called to the home and the two women were the only people in the house when they arrived.

Ms Clark Halderman wrote a 2007 book about her son and the cult he came to lead, called Memories of the Branch Davidians: The Autobiography of David Koresh's Mother.

Koresh and 80 of his followers, including more than 20 children, died when a 51-day armed siege of their compound by US federal security forces ended in an inferno.

Independent investigators concluded in 2000 that Koresh had been solely to blame for the deaths.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

ETHIOPIA COMPLETES SOMALI PULLOUT !

Ethiopia says it has completed the withdrawal of its troops from Somalia, two years after entering the country to fight Islamist insurgents.

Ethiopia's information minister told the BBC that the 3,000-strong force had ended the threat from the Islamists.

He said the troops had left Somalia, including the town of Baidoa from where the Somali government operates.

Correspondents say the Islamists and other militia have won back much of the land lost to the Ethiopians in 2006.

Addis Ababa announced late last year that it would fully withdraw from Somalia by the first days of 2009, ending its mission to help the interim Somali government.

Somalia has not had an effective national government since 1991.

About 3,400 African Union peacekeepers are taking up positions in Somalia vacated by the Ethiopians, amid concerns that Ethiopia's withdrawal could lead to further instability.

Government forces only control parts of Mogadishu and the town of Baidoa.

But Ethiopian Information Minister Bereket Simon said that the extremists, known as al-Shabaab, had been so weakened they were no longer an effective force.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

COLD SNAP BRINGS GULF RARE SNOW!

The snowfall was the first in living memory for many residents

Snow has fallen in the United Arab Emirates for the first time in years, shocking residents of a desert country better known for its 50C summer heat.

Meteorologists reported heavy snowfall on the mountains of Ras al Khaimah, the federation's most northerly Emirate, as a cold snap gripped the region.

Many people told local media it was the first snowfall there in living memory.

"This is certainly a rare occurrence that happens every 20 to 30 years," a forecaster told Reuters news agency.

Local newspapers said people were stunned by the white blanket of snow in the Al-Jees mountain cluster.

The range "had heavy night-time snowfall for the past two days as a result of temperatures dropping to as low as -5C [23F]", according to the Gulf News.

In November, the Emirates' leaders asked people to pray for rain

Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, crown prince and deputy ruler of Ras al Khaimah, visited the mountains to see the snow and brought some back to show people, the paper said.

Temperatures in Dubai, which attracts large numbers of tourists seeking winter sun, dipped as low as 12C (53.6F) on Wednesday night. In summer they can top 50C (122F).

Heavy rain led to hundreds of accidents on the roads on Monday, Dubai's police said, because drivers were unaccustomed to the conditions.

Forecasters said the region's chilly spell would probably end by next week, AFP news agency reports.

Only a month ago, UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and other sheikhs led Muslims across the Emirates in prayers for rain.

Demand for water has far outstripped supply in the UAE in recent years, with rainfall well below the seasonal average.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

POPE MOVE IGNITES HOLOCAUST ROW!

The Vatican seeks to separate the bishops' status from their views

The Pope has lifted the excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church of four bishops appointed by a breakaway archbishop more than 20 years ago.

One of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre's appointees, Briton Richard Williamson, outraged Jews by saying the Nazi gas chambers did not exist.

Two of the other three appointees are French while the fourth is Argentinean.

Israel's envoy to the Vatican said the papal decision would "cast a shadow on relations with Jews".

"We have no intention of interfering in the internal workings of the Catholic Church, however, the eagerness to bring a Holocaust denier back into the Church will cast a shadow on relations between Jews and the Catholic Church," Mordechai Lewy told Reuters news agency.

Lefebvre, who died in 1991, rebelled against liberal reforms in the Church, such as the end of the Latin Mass.

He opposed replacing the traditional Mass with services in national languages.

The Vatican said the excommunications had been lifted after the bishops affirmed their willingness to accept Church teachings and papal authority.

Relations between the Vatican and representatives of the Jewish faith have been strained throughout much of the Church's recent history; Jewish groups have accused Pope Pius of turning a blind eye to the fate of the Jews in World War II.

The latest move by Pope Benedict is likely to add to those strains.

Bishop Richard Williamson recently told Swedish TV: "I believe there were no gas chambers. I think that two to three hundred thousand Jews perished in Nazi concentration camps but none of them by gas chambers."

The Vatican has distanced itself from those remarks.

But its spokesman, Rev Federico Lombardi, still stood by the decision to rehabilitate Bishop Williamson and the others.

"This act regards the lifting of the excommunications, period," he told reporters.

"It has nothing to do with the personal opinions of a person, which are open to criticism, but are not pertinent to this decree."
BBC NEWS REPORT

CATHY BUCKLE'S WEEKLY LETTER FROM ZIMBABWE

Ten trillion !

Saturday 24th January 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

The ticking of Zimbabwe's time bomb is getting louder and faster by the day. Power sharing talks have again collapsed; cholera is spreading and the death toll rising; teachers, nurses and doctors are demanding payment in US dollars in order to report for duty and the poverty of most families is growing worse by the day.

There is now nothing you can buy in Zimbabwe dollars as even roadside vegetable vendors have resorted to selling their wares in US dollars or South African Rand. A handful of tomatoes, a bunch of onions, half a dozen bananas or even a single, sweet, sticky mango - all are priced in American dollars. If you don't have foreign currency you go hungry, it's as simple as that. You also go sick, can't get a bed in a private hospital, can't have a baby, can't get on a bus, can't get a passport, can't even buy a packet of headache pills.

The only thing you can do with Zimbabwe dollars, if you can get them out of the bank, is pay your telephone, water, and electricity bills. The authorities running Zimbabwe continue to refuse to allow the utilities companies to charge in US dollars and so the services they provide have deteriorated to the point of almost complete collapse. Stick thin employees at parastatals wearing threadbare suits continue to report for work while everything around them falls apart. They have no stationery to invoice customers, no receipt books, no ink for computers. They have no answers to the increasingly angry queries from their customers such as why have dustbins not been collected for eight months; when are blocked sewer pipes going to be cleared, when are cavernous pot holes on the roads going to be filled. These civil servants have little reason to go to work anymore and it seems only a matter of time before they just don't bother anymore.

For people without foreign currency life has become a living hell. A government teacher I met showed me her December pay slip. Her monthly salary was 10 trillion dollars. The exchange rate on the day meant that in a month she had earned just one US dollar. I asked her if she would be returning to the classroom when schools re-open and she said no. She said the bus fare to get to her school on the first day alone would cost her one US dollar, and then how would she get home, what would she have to eat, how would she get to school the next day.

Zimbabweans are looking to SADC and the African Union in the days ahead. Surely soon they will have to say: enough suffering, enough death, enough?

Until next week, thanks for reading,

love cathy.

10 THINGS

10 things we did not know this time last week.

Snippets from the week's news, sliced, diced and processed for your convenience.

1.In camel racing the jockeys are electronic robots.
More details

2. Ken Clarke doesn't own a mobile phone.
More details

3. Ancient Persians were the first to use chemical warfare against their enemies.
More details

4. Tony Hart designed the original Blue Peter badge.
More details

5. The bubonic plague still exists.
More details

6. Barack Obama's chief speechwriter is 27 years old.
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7. Demand for online pornographic movies peaks at 1116 GMT on Sundays.
More details

8. Film-maker Ridley Scott directed the advert for Apple's first Mac computer in 1984.
More details

9. English businesses do not have to accept Scottish banknotes.
More details

10. Indonesia is the world's largest exporter of edible frogs.
More details

BBC NEWS MAGAZINE.

LITTLE COMFORT IN MILK SCANDAL VERDICTS !

By Quentin Sommerville BBC News, Shijiazhuang

The slogan on Sanlu's HQ speaks of "serving the people" with "quality products"

At Sanlu's headquarters, in the grimy city of Shijiazhuang, most of the signs have been removed from company buildings.

The large Chinese characters are missing; only the skeletal frame remains.

But the company slogan still stands tall. "Make quality milk products, serve the people", it proclaims in Chinese and English.

Sanlu, and its executives, failed on both counts.

Court papers showed that the company first began receiving complaints of children becoming sick after drinking its milk, back in December 2007.

Sanlu was slow to react, but by May 2008 it knew the milk it was selling was poisonous. Still the milk kept flowing, and it was only until the company's foreign partner blew the whistle that production stopped, and the arrests started.

Parents were horrified. Sanlu was one of the country's most trusted brands - its pack came with an official seal of approval.

Some 300,000 children became sick, and at least six died, because of kidney stones and complications, caused by the toxic chemical melamine. As the scale of the problem became apparent, anger spread.

It was only four years since the last baby-milk scandal, when at least 13 children died after being fed fake baby powder that had no nutritional value. They died of malnutrition - their swollen bellies disguising that they were starving to death.

Then, as now, the government promised action, and pledged that such a thing would never happen again.

Even with today's verdicts - two sentenced to death and Sanlu's boss imprisoned for life - few parents feel that justice has been done.

Liu Donglin, the father of one child made sick from drinking contaminated milk, said: "They got the penalty they deserved, but I feel sorry about this whole affair.

I've been in many milking sheds, and they all did the same. They added all kinds of stuff into milk Huo Hongxi Milk farmer

"I think they are scapegoats. The milk producers' association and the people in charge of checking the milk should also be punished."

It emerged that melamine was being added routinely to milk across China. And it wasn't just Sanlu - in all, 22 companies were selling contaminated milk.

But not a single government official or health inspector has been charged with wrongdoing. And only Sanlu's executives have been prosecuted.

The scandal led to product recalls across the globe, and further damaged China's reputation for producing safe and reliable products.

Public accountability and openness is rare in China. Some parents allege that companies and local officials covered up the scandal to prevent causing embarrassment in advance of last summer's Beijing Olympics.

With public outrage growing, the government has moved quickly to draw a line under the affair, even detaining the parents of sick children.

Along with the pain, there is outrage

Dong Shiliang, whose son became sick after drinking Sanlu milk, was detained by the authorities when he tried to fly to Shijiazhuang to hear Thursday's verdict.

"As a victim of the milk scandal I think I have every right to see what the verdict is from the trial. We want to see the criminals punished," he said.

"I can't understand why the government has prevented us from going to the sentencing. We're not trying to make trouble. They have absolutely no reason to control our personal freedom," he added.

The Zhengding Sanjiao Village Collective Milk Farm is typical of the small farms which supplied Sanlu with its milk.

Some 16 families keep around 300 cows in brick pens, centred around a common milking shed.

Huo Hongxi has been farming for about seven years. He said chemicals had been added to milk for years.

"I've been in many milking sheds, and they all did the same. They added all kinds of stuff into milk to meet the quality standards. Their milk was turned down by other companies, but accepted by Sanlu," he said.

He never added melamine, he said, but he saw others do it to thicken thin milk.

"In the summer we milk the cows three times a day instead of two, but they drink a lot of water then, so the protein content didn't meet company standards," he said. But when melamine was added, it did.

Farmers say adding chemicals to milk is common

Sanlu seldom visited his cows or those of the 15 other farmers, with whom he shares a communal milking shed. Health inspectors were rarely seen.

China's government says that milk is now safe. Prime Minister Wen Jiabao gave a rare public apology for failing to prevent the crisis.

But families of the victims are weary of another food scandal, and more hollow reassurances - they have little faith in the country's food safety systems.

Sanlu is now bankrupt and police cars sit outside its headquarters. Beside that sign that promises quality, a new red banner has been added.

"Learn the lesson, face reality, and let's unite and regroup for a new life", it proclaims.

But as another food scandal passes, as the parents of more dead children are paid off, few lessons appear to have been learned. And yet again China's government has failed in a most basic duty - to provide safe food for its people.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

ZIMBABWE - LETTER FROM THE DIASPORA

23rd January 2009

Dear Friends,

Along with billions of others worldwide I watched the television coverage of President Obama's inauguration. An estimated two million people were there in the bitter sub-zero temperatures to witness this truly historic event. They had waited all night, huddled in blankets to see the first African American installed as President of the most powerful nation on earth. They had to see it for themselves, they said, or they would never believe it was true; the 'dream' of Martin Luther King was one big step closer to reality.

It was awe-inspiring to see the huge crowds stretching down the Mall in front of the Capitol - built incidentally by African slaves - an endless sea of waving flags and cheering people. 'O-bama,O-bama,O-bama, they chanted and then there was absolute silence, not a single sound from that vast crowd as he started to speak. From his very first words, "My fellow citizens" we knew that we were witnessing a democratic transition of power. This was the people's victory, a victory of "Hope over fear".

For Africans watching, and I count myself a white African, the event itself and the words President Obama spoke had a tragic resonance. It was impossible not to apply his message to our own situation in Zimbabwe, every phrase, every nuance of meaning seemed to strike directly at the very heart of our own tragic situation where a dictatorship rules through violence and fear. Obama seemed to speak to oppressed people all over the world while at the same time honestly acknowledging America's mistakes of the past: "the greed and irresponsibility on the part of some that had brought about the economic collapse, the worn our dogmas that for far too long have strangled our nation." One after another, the phrases leapt out of the new President's speech, " All are equal, all are free, all deserve a chance to pursue happiness." He spoke of power and the need to establish trust between those who wield power and the people they govern. Power that does not entitle governments to do as they please, he said, but to establish, "Vital trust between the people and their government…the rule of law and the rights of man…ideals that still light the world." And in words which could have been addressed directly to our own dictator in Harare he said, " To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict or blame their society's ills on the west, know that history will judge you on what you can build not on what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist."
Was Robert Mugabe watching as President Obama spoke these words? Certainly his state broadcasting corporation did not give the Zimbabwean masses a chance to see this momentous event on their screens. They totally ignored President Obama's Inauguration and showed an old movie instead - but then reality is not something the regime knows much about. And having lambasted the US as the wicked western imperialist power in the past, what will they find to say now about a country " whose patchwork heritage" of men and women of different races and religions has freely elected the son of a Kenyan father and a white mother to govern them for the next four years? Zimbabwe too has a patchwork heritage, men and women of different ethnic backgrounds which, as Obama pointed out is a strength not a weakness. It is Mugabe and Zanu PF who have divided us; like the racist colonial regimes of the past they have used race and ethnic difference to divide us one from another. There has been no national vision, no leadership from the top, no honest admission of mistakes made and none of the "humility and restraint" that Obama spoke about. All we have seen and continue to see is arrogance and brute force. Witness Grace Mugabe's outrageous attack on a hapless photographer who spotted her leaving a £2000 a day hotel in Hong Kong and dared to take a picture of her. Her guards held the man down while she beat him about the face with her diamond encrusted hands. No "tempering quality of humility and restraint" there.

For me the over-riding memory of President Obama's Inauguration is not just the power and eloquence of his speech, though that was memorable enough, it was his appeal to all that is best in human nature, all that is noble and good. He reached out to every man and woman and spoke to their "willingness to find meaning in something other than themselves". No doubt in the years to come the new President will make mistakes, maybe not fulfil all his goals but feeling the love that poured out to him from the millions of people, black, white and every colour in between, standing there in the bitter cold of that January day he can be sure that he has the trust and affection of the people he governs. Can Robert Mugabe say the same? Can he unclench his fist long enough to take the hand of friendship held out to him by this fellow African in the White House? Sadly, from everything we know of Mugabe, we can say that is highly unlikely. Neither is it likely, judging from various comments I have read this week, that Zimbabweans themselves will do more than grumble and blame the politicians, Morgan Tsvangirai in particular, for failing to bring about change. They appear to have forgotten that it was not Morgan Tsvangirai who destroyed our economy; it was not Morgan Tsvangirai who made us a nation of near-starving beggars or almost destroyed the rule of law through subornation of the judiciary and police force. It was not Morgan Tsvangirai who made the name Zimbabwe synonymous with human rights abuse and wrongful arrest. It was Robert Mugabe whose corrupt and totally incompetent government brought about this tragic transformation of our once prosperous land, forcing millions of Zimbabweans into exile. Instead of blaming the opposition leader, would it not be more honest for us to admit that it is in part our own failure to support the few brave men and women who have overcome their own fear and dared to hope for a better Zimbabwe. Have we, the people done enough to bring about the longed-for change? In the words of an earlier President of the United States: "Ask not what your country can do for you but rather what you can do for your country."

Yours in the (continuing) struggle, PH.

TWO DETAINED OVER TRAVOLTA 'SCAM'

The family has returned to their Florida home with Jett's ashes

Police in the Bahamas have detained two people over an alleged plot to extort money from actor John Travolta after the death of his son, officials said.

Jett Travolta, 16, died following a seizure at the family's holiday home on Grand Bahama shortly after New Year.

An ambulance driver and a female senator have been detained and questioned, police said, but no charges have so far been brought.

Authorities have not revealed what the alleged extortion involved.

Some media outlets suggested it was a threat to sell pictures of Jett's body if the actor refused to pay up to $20m (£15m), but later reports suggest that may not be the case.

One of the detainees is ambulance driver Tarino Lightbourne, who rushed the boy to hospital, and later spoke publicly of trying to revive him.

Senator Pleasant Bridgewater has also been held since Thursday, police said.

Ms Bridgewater, an attorney from Grand Bahama, is a former member of the Bahamian parliament who was defeated in the 2007 general election. She was later appointed to the Senate.

Jett's body was cremated in the Bahamas and his ashes were returned to Florida, where a memorial service was held near the family home near Ocala.

Jett was the only son of 54-year-old film star John Travolta and his wife Kelly Preston, 46. The couple also has an eight-year-old daughter, Ella Bleu.

Travolta's lawyers said making false claims for money was regrettable in a time of such grief.

Police on the islands continue to investigate.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

MEXICO MAN 'DISSOLVED 300 BODIES' !

Mr Meza says he "didn't feel anything" when getting rid of the bodies

A man arrested by Mexican police says he disposed of 300 bodies for a drugs gang over the past decade by dissolving them in chemicals.

Santiago Meza, called the "stew maker", said he was paid $600 (£440) a week to dissolve the bodies of murdered rival gang members in caustic soda.

He was presented to the media by the Mexican army after being arrested on Thursday near the city of Tijuana.

Over 700 people died in the US border city last year in an ongoing drugs war.

The Mexican army says it believes Mr Meza's claims are true.

"They brought me the bodies and I just got rid of them," Mr Meza told journalists at a construction site where he disposed of the bodies over a 10-year period. "I didn't feel anything."

The 300 corpses were said to belong to murdered rivals of Mexican drug kingpin Teodoro Garcia Simental, who is battling for control over drug trafficking routes through Tijuana, after defecting from the powerful Arellano Felix cartel.

Mr Meza was quoted by AP news agency as saying that he "would apologise" if he could speak to relatives of the victims.

Mexico's drug violence has surged and grown more gruesome in recent years, particularly in the northern border cities of Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez.

Also on Friday, two human heads were found inside coolers near police stations in the central Guanajuato state, officials said. The heads were accompanied by a note threatening allies of the "La Familia" drug cartel.

Drug-related violence claimed 5,700 lives across Mexico last year, more than double the number of victims in 2007.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

DIARY: PROTECTING MOUNTAIN GORILLAS!

In July 2007, armed men entered the Democratic Republic of Congo's Virunga National Park and killed five critically endangered mountain gorillas at point-blank range, leaving the bodies where they fell.

Since September 2007, rebel forces have controlled the area, threatening to kill any conservationists or gorilla rangers who attempted to enter the area.

Recently, the rangers and their families had to flee from their homes and live in makeshift camps as the latest outbreak of violence engulfed the eastern part of the country.

Diddy and Innocent are long-serving rangers who have spent their working lives protecting the remaining gorillas in the war-torn region.

In this weekly diary, they describe life on conservation's frontline and the frustration of how current events are hampering their efforts.

Profiles of Diddy and Innocent

FRIDAY 23 JANUARY - BEGINNING OF THE END?

Could the arrest of Laurent Nkunda signal the end of the conflict Rwanda arrests Congo rebel leader

We have been receiving reports that CNDP leader Laurent Nkunda was arrested last night.

I don't know how it seems from the outside, but for us living through these events, it started with disbelief, then confusion, followed by amazement.

Right now, we don't dare hope that peace is finally here.

Last week, Bosco - a very senior CNDP commander - announced a comprehensive ceasefire with the Congolese army.

It was unclear if this was the official CNDP position, and many of us didn't pay much attention to it.

However, it soon transpired that the Rwandan chief of staff was present, together with senior Congolese military officers; that's an unusual mix.

Soon after, CNDP then formally confirmed the ceasefire.

Earlier this week, there were reports of significant Rwandan army movements into Congo. We had heard this before, and I don't always believe it.

Rwandan military moving into Congo is not a joking matter. But suddenly, there they were calmly marching past our park station at Rumangabo.

Snares have been one of the biggest threats to the wildlife in recent months

On Thursday, we looked on as truckloads of Congolese military crossed the battlefronts into CNDP territory.

Now, they're all working together: Rwandan army, Congolese soldiers and the CNDP rebel force.

It remains to be seen what will happen to General Nkunda himself.

The rangers of Virunga National Park have been working under very difficult conditions during the war.

Many have been displaced with their families, some have been caught in the crossfire, and several have died in the line of duty.

We hope that this week marks the beginning of the end of this conflict and that the rangers can get back to work protecting wildlife.

In particular, there is much to be done in the area of the park that had until now been the front-line, such as monitoring the population of mountain gorillas and destroying the hundreds of snares that have been placed in the forest during our absence.

Emmanuel de Merode, Virunga National Park director

BBC NEWS REPORT.

WHAT NEXT FOR GUANTANAMO INMATES?

By Richard Lister BBC News, Washington

About 60 Guantanamo detainees have been cleared for release

Ordering the closure of the prison at Guantanamo Bay was the easy bit.

Working out what to do with the 245 or so inmates who are still there will be much harder.

The Obama administration has a number of options, but none of them will satisfy everybody.

Some have called for all of the inmates to be released.

This simply will not happen, for a number of reasons.

First, President Obama believes that among the inmates are at least some who present a genuine threat to the United States.

The Pentagon said recently that 61 former Guantanamo prisoners have returned to fight the US and its allies in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.

At least one, a Kuwaiti named Abdullah Salih al-Ajmi, appears to have carried out a suicide bombing in Mosul last year.

The five detainees charged with involvement in the 9/11 attacks - including the alleged mastermind Khaled Sheikh Mohammed - have said they want to plead guilty to the charges.

There seems to be no prospect of their being released without first facing some kind of judicial process.

So, will the new administration start by releasing those prisoners who are not thought to present a threat?

Well, the Bush Administration tried to do just that.

Intelligence officials have already cleared about 60 Guantanamo inmates for release, but most would still face persecution in their home nations and other countries have been unwilling to accept them.

Some detainees have already been taken by third countries

Albania previously accepted five Chinese Uighurs released from Guantanamo, and Portugal and Switzerland have suggested that they would be prepared to help.

But European Foreign Ministers meeting in Brussels on 26 January will find themselves under pressure to do more, having pressed so hard for the prison's closure.

It looks likely, therefore, that many inmates will be moved to detention centres in the US.

There are several military prisons which could receive them while they are processed for release or trial.

But it is not a popular option in the US, where polls suggest a majority of people do not want them brought onto American soil.

A recent CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll suggested that the country is split roughly down the middle about whether the Guantanamo prison should even be closed.

If Barack Obama is to fulfil his pledge to both keep America safe and observe its system of justice, his administration will have to set up alternative ways of prosecuting them.

But his decision to suspend the military tribunal system at Guantanamo has already come under fire from such senior Republicans as his former campaign adversary Senator John McCain.

GUANTANAMO BAY Established after 9/11 attacks to hold foreign terror suspects 250 inmates remain in the camp Charges brought in 21 cases Profile: Key 9/11 suspects 'Struggle' to close Guantanamo Q&A: Guantanamo detentions

Mr McCain released a statement saying that - in the absence of any other process - the tribunals should have been allowed to continue their work.

Even the Bush administration appeared to concede tacitly that it was unlikely to be able to prosecute more than a small proportion of those held at Guantanamo successfully.

Evidence to sustain prosecutions was either lacking, or tainted by the way in which it was procured - through torture, coercion or sensitive intelligence methods that the intelligence community might be reluctant to reveal in court.

This raises the question of what happens to those who may well be intent on attacking the US but cannot be prosecuted successfully.

House Republican Leader John Boehner has said he is concerned that some of those "let go too soon could end up back on the battlefield".

Keeping them indefinitely at a detention centre somewhere in the US opens President Obama to the charge that he has simply changed the location without removing the injustice.

The new president wants to ensure that whatever system replaces the Guantanamo process will allow the innocent to be freed and the guilty to be successfully prosecuted, that it will keep America safe and be approved by the Supreme Court.

It is a tall order.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

"Sayings"

"AN OUNCE OF ACTION

IS WORTH A TON OF THEORY" !
_________

JAPANESE FIRMS UNVEIL 'ROBOCOP' !

The T-34 is designed to launch a net over intruders

Two Japanese companies have unveiled a security robot that can be commanded from a mobile phone to hurl a net that traps suspected intruders.

The prototype T-34 was developed jointly by robot firm Tmsuk Co and security firm Alacom Co.

It moves at up to 10km/h (6mph), and can be controlled by someone seeing real-time images on a mobile phone.

The small robot is built on wheels and is equipped with sensors that can detect the movements of intruders.

"Security sensors often set off false alarms but examining the location with the robot will lead to more efficient operations," said a statement from the companies.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

THE 2009 OSCARS NOMINEES !

Here is the complete shortlist for the 81st Academy Awards, which are being held at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles on 22 February.

Best picture
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

Best director
Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire
Stephen Daldry - The Reader
David Fincher - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard - Frost/Nixon
Gus Van Sant - Milk

Best actor
Richard Jenkins - The Visitor
Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn - Milk
Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler

Best actress
Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie - Changeling
Melissa Leo - Frozen River
Meryl Streep - Doubt
Kate Winslet - The Reader

Best supporting actress
Amy Adams - Doubt
Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis - Doubt
Taraji P Henson - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler

Best supporting actor
Josh Brolin - Milk
Robert Downey Jr - Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight Michael Shannon - Revolutionary Road

Best foreign language film
Revanche - Austria
The Class - France
The Baader Meinhof Complex - Germany
Departures - Japan
Waltz With Bashir - Israel

Best animated feature film
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
Wall-E

Best adapted screenplay
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

Best original screenplay
Happy-Go-Lucky
Milk
Wall-E
In Bruges
Frozen River

Best original score
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Defiance
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E

Best original song
Down To Earth - Wall-E
Jai Ho - Slumdog Millionaire
O Saya - Slumdog Millionaire

Art direction
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Changeling
The Dark Knight
The Duchess
Revolutionary Road

Cinematography
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Changeling
The Dark Knight
Slumdog Millionaire
The Reader

Costume design
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Australia
Milk
The Duchess
Revolutionary Road

Best original score
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Defiance
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E

Best documentary feature
The Betrayal
Encounters at the End of the World
The Garden
Man on Wire
Trouble The Water

Best documentary short subject
The Conscience of Nhem En
The Final Inch
Smile Pinki
The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306

Film editing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire

Make-up
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Best live action short film
Auf der Strecke (On The Line)
Manon on the Asphalt
New Boy
The Pig
Spielzeugland (Toyland)

Best animated short film
La Maison en Petits Cubes
Lavatory - Lovestory
Oktapodi
Presto
This Way Up

Sound editing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Iron Man
Wanted
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E

Sound mixing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Wanted
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E

Visual effects
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Iron Man

BBC NEWS REPORT.

FAST BUCKS: hOW PRSCHE MADE BILLIONS!

By Emily Hughes BBC Money Programme

Making and selling cars is just one part of Porsche's business

Porsche is world famous for its iconic sports cars.

But car manufacturing isn't the only thing the company is good at.

Last year it made six times as much on the stock market as it did making cars.

Industry insiders are only half joking when they call it a hedge fund with a carmaker attached.

Porsche says its stock market trades are only for one reason: to take it towards its long term goal, the takeover of car making giant, Volkswagen.

In October 2008, Porsche's takeover moves triggered an unprecedented stock market squeeze when it suddenly revealed it owned or had positions on more than 74% of Volkswagen shares.

The value of Volkswagen stock rocketed to more than 1,000 euros, briefly making it the most valuable company in the world.

Hedge funds, who had gambled that the value of Volkswagen shares would fall are said to have lost between 10bn and 40bn euros.

Porsche denies any wrongdoing and says that it made no profit from the squeeze, but some hedge funds are crying foul.

Now the German financial regulator, BaFin, is conducting an investigation into what it calls "suspected market abuse."

The back story

The stories of Porsche and Volkswagen have long been intertwined.

Wiedeking took the decisions, the risky decisions, to come up with new models Arndt Ellinghorst, head of European automotive research at Credit Suisse

Ferdinand Porsche designed the iconic Volkswagen Beetle in the 1930s, a car that became an emblem of Germany's economic success throughout the world.

He then founded his own company, which became famous for making superfast sports cars.

The Porsche family still owns the company their grandfather founded and now wants to own Volkswagen itself, a company 14 times the size of Porsche.

Volkswagen owns some of the biggest names in European motoring; Seat, Audi, Lamborghini, Bugatti and Bentley.

The personalities

The recession of the early 1990s hit Porsche hard and some questioned if the company would survive.

Then, in 1993, Wendelin Wiedeking was appointed chief executive.

Together with chief financial officer Holger Haerter they are credited with turning the company around.

"Wiedeking took the decisions, the risky decisions, to come up with new models," says Arndt Ellinghorst, head of European automotive research at Credit Suisse.

They also slashed production costs, but most importantly, Mr Haerter used Porsche's cash to enter the financial markets.

He had little experience of car making, but he did bring expertise in investment management.

Through currency hedging he developed a mastery of the markets that he eventually turned towards Porsche's end goal; the take over of Volkswagen.

"Porsche does not have the research and development budget to come up with really the key innovations of the industry," says Mr Ellinghorst.

A takeover of Volkswagen would mean access to its huge production facilities, its technology and,most importantly, its cash.

In 2005, Porsche quietly started to increase its stake in Volkswagen.

Porsche has been accused of speculating in Volkswagen shares

By September 2008 it had acquired 35.14% of Volkswagen shares.

Whilst Porsche stated publicly its long term goal was a takeover, insiders knew this goal was stymied by a peculiar anomaly: the VW Law.

The VW Law essentially protects Volkswagen from hostile take over.

It means that an 80% majority is needed to make "significant decisions" at annual meetings.

This gives the local state government of Lower Saxony, owning 20.1% of the shares, a blocking majority.

Porsche needs to overturn this law before it can reach its ambitious goal.

It is applying the pressure on both the EU and the German government to do this.

While the VW Law is still in place there is consensus among market insiders that there is little point in Porsche increasing its stake in Volkswagen, but sometimes things are not quite what they seem.

Short selling

By July 2008 the credit crunch was hitting the car industry hard and car company share values were plummeting around the world.

But Volkswagen's were remaining stubbornly high.

Porsche would gain from Volkswagen's expertise and finances

Hedge fund managers calculated that Volkswagen shares could not remain so high indefinitely and believed there was an opportunity to make some cash by short selling the shares - borrowing Volkswagen shares off a third party in the expectation that the price would fall so they would be able to buy them back cheaper, later and pocketing the difference.

Volkswagen shares became some of the most "shorted" stocks in Europe.

But despite the downturn, by the end of the summer it was clear there was something peculiar about Volkswagen shares.

The price was not dropping and the reason was about to be revealed.

On Sunday 26 October 2008, Porsche dropped a bombshell.

It announced it had increased its stake in Volkswagen to 42.6% and held cash settled options on a further 31.5% - meaning it had positions on up to 74.1% of all Volkswagen shares.

It seemed it had effectively cornered the market and short sellers who needed to buy back shares to close their positions were forced to fight over the remaining available stock.

How did it happen?

Porsche was able to build its secret holding by using financial instruments called cash settled call options.

Call options essentially give the buyer the option to buy shares at a competitive price at a future fixed date.

A cash settled call option enables the buyer to either take delivery of the share, or the difference between the strike price agreed when the option was bought and the market price when deal is settled.

The buyer can then use this money to purchase the share on the open market.

Porsche proved to be masters at this type of transaction, which, as long as it got the bets right and Volkswagen prices continued to rise, let it buy Volkswagen shares at favourable prices.

In the UK, any increase in share holdings to more than a 30% stake in a company has to be disclosed, whether you do it through cash settled call options or not.

This is not the case in Germany and this enabled Porsche to build up its position in secret.

Investors who were caught short have questioned Porsche's behaviour and the timing of its announcement of its secret positions in Volkswagen shares.

This is now being investigated by the German regulator, BaFin.

Porsche deny all wrongdoing and says its strategy was driven by its goal of taking over Volkswagen, not the wish to make profits from financial speculation.

It says it has invested the profits it made from the squeeze into purchasing more Volkswagen shares outright.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

OBAMA IS SWORN IN FOR SECOND TIME!

Barack Obama has been sworn in as US president for the second time in two days, because one word was given out of order during Tuesday's ceremony.

The Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court, John Roberts, administered the oath again at the White House.

The decision to repeat the oath was taken out of an abundance of caution, an official said.

But Mr Obama joked: "We decided it was so much fun...." before adding: "We're going to do it very slowly."

In contrast to the first oath-taking, Mr Obama did not swear on a Bible and his wife Michelle was not at his side.

And instead of an audience of millions, only a few close aides saw the second attempt, with even journalists excluded from the Map Room of the White House.

Tuesday's stumble went largely unnoticed at the time.

In the oath, as set out in the US Constitution, the new incumbent swears to "faithfully execute the office of president of the United States".

But as Chief Justice Roberts read out the oath for Mr Obama to repeat, he moved the word "faithfully" to the end of the phrase.

Mr Obama, apparently noticing the error, hesitated. Mr Roberts repeated the phrase correctly, but Mr Obama went with the incorrect formula.

"We believe the oath of office was administered effectively and that the president was sworn in appropriately," said White House counsel Greg Craig.

"Out of the abundance of caution, because there was one word out of sequence, Chief Justice John Roberts will administer the oath a second time."

Two other presidents, Calvin Coolidge and Chester Arthur, have had to repeat the oath because of similar problems.

And Chief Justice William Taft introduced a new word into the oath when he swore in President Herbert Hoover in 1929, promising to "preserve, maintain and defend the Constitution", instead of "preserve, protect and defend".

BBC NEWS REPORT.

RISING FAME FOR OBAMA 'LOOKALIKE' !

A "shy" photographer in Indonesia is in great demand because of his resemblance to the new US President, Barack Obama.

Ilham Anas, 34, is already a celebrity in Jakarta, where Mr Obama once lived, but his fame is spreading.

He has appeared on Indonesia's premier TV talk show, done an advertisement as Mr Obama, and received other marketing offers from companies in the region.

The real Barack Obama went to school in Jakarta in the late 1960s, when his classmates knew him as Barry.

Mr Anas told Reuters news agency: "I was in the airport in Malaysia in transit and a man approached me and asked: 'Are you Obama?'. I was very surprised when he asked to take a picture together and bought me a meal."

Mr Anas's increasing popularity arose after his colleagues, at a local teenage magazine, asked him to pose with a suit, tie and American flag, following Mr Obama's election victory in November.

I see my resemblance to Obama as a blessing - I used to look at the mirror and I had a negative perception of myself Ilham Anas

Soon, they were taking photos and sending them to friends. "The pictures spread very quickly on the internet. It was phenomenal. Then TV stations and an advertising agency got in touch with me," he said.

Mr Anas was born and raised in Bandung, West Java. He says he is happy to cash in but there are limits.

"I will take all the opportunities that come my way, as long as they don't violate ethical codes and my personal values," he told AFP news agency.

And he admits that all the attention has given him something of a boost. "I'm actually a shy person. I don't like being put in the spotlight.

"I see my resemblance to Obama as a blessing. I used to look at the mirror and I had a negative perception of myself."

Many Indonesians have a keen interest in Mr Obama, who lived in Jakarta for four years after his American mother, Ann Dunham, married Indonesian Lolo Soetoro following the end of her marriage to Mr Obama's Kenyan father.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

HUNGER STRIKE FOR ZIMBABWE CHANGE!

Desmond Tutu has long been among Robert Mugabe's sharpest critics

Archbishop Desmond Tutu is among activists in southern Africa who have launched a fast and hunger strike in solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe.

The new Save Zimbabwe Now movement says African leaders must abandon the policy of quite diplomacy and recognise there is no legal government in Zimbabwe.

A Johannesburg Methodist church, long a place of refuge for Zimbabweans in exile, will be the protesters' base.

Power-sharing plans in Zimbabwe remain stalled since a deal in September.

President Robert Mugabe and opposition factions ended 12 hours of talks on Tuesday with no progress.

The activists said they would protest next Monday at a special regional summit, set for South Africa or Botswana, that has been convened in the latest effort to break the deadlock.

The BBC's Peter Biles in Johannesburg says with no end in sight to Zimbabwe's political impasse, the daily suffering of ordinary people goes on.

Food shortages, a cholera epidemic, the collapse of the health and education systems, and an economic meltdown are among Zimbabwe's litany of woes.

STATE OF ZIMBABWE Five million people - almost half population - need food aid Central bank introduced Z$100tr note, worth about US$30 (£20) Unemployment more than 80% More than 2,200 people have died in cholera outbreak Harare diary: 'Hope has died'

The Methodist church in the centre of Johannesburg was draped on Wednesday with anti-Mugabe banners as well as the drying laundry of the hundreds of Zimbabweans living there.

Kumi Naidoo, a veteran of the anti-apartheid movement, began a 21-day, water-only fast.

Retired Cape Town Archbishop Tutu, 77, long among Mr Mugabe's sharpest critics, will fast one day a week.

The Nobel laureate has in the past urged the international community to use the threat of force to oust Mr Mugabe.

Human rights activist Graca Machel, who is also the wife of former South African President Nelson Mandela, attended the launch at the church but said she would not be fasting for personal reasons.

The 63-year-old said of Mr Mugabe's administration: "Any government which goes and assaults its own people has lost any kind of legitimacy, completely."

Wilson Mugabe, a pastor from Zimbabwe who is not related to its president, broke down in tears as he told the congregation about the plight of his country men and women.

"Please hear us as Zimbabweans, we've suffered enough," he said.

Ms Machel and Mr Tutu are both members of the Elders, an international team of statesmen founded by Mr Mandela and including ex-US President Jimmy Carter, which tries to find solutions to global crises.

In November, Mr Mugabe's government barred the Elders from making a fact-finding tour of Zimbabwe.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

MURDER OF LAWYER SHOCKS RUSSIANS!

By James Rodgers BBC News, Moscow

The murder of Mr Markelov has echoes of the Politkovskaya case

The double murder of a top human rights lawyer and a journalist in Moscow has reinforced the fears of those who say that in Russia words alone can put you in mortal danger.

"His murder shows that those who speak out against abuses and work to hold abusers to account risk their lives," Rachel Denber of Human Rights Watch says of the death of the lawyer, Stanislav Markelov.

A journalist who was wounded in the attack which killed Mr Markelov later died of her injuries. The dead reporter, Anastasia Baburova, was with Mr Markelov when - investigators say - a masked gunman shot him in the head. After shooting Mr Markelov, the gunman shot her.

Anastasia Baburova was a trainee with the newspaper Novaya Gazeta.

The paper specialises in human rights stories, and used to employ Anna Politkovskaya, the investigative reporter who was herself murdered in 2006.

If this killing has shocked Moscow, it is mainly because it is not the first. The newspaper Izvestiya lists other victims - including Ms Politkovskaya - and asks "who's next?"

Mr Markelov had said that Russia's legal system was deeply flawed

The newspaper front pages with the body lying in the street, or in a bullet-riddled car, are not as common as they were at the height of Moscow's "wild east" era in the 1990s.

Nevertheless, a relatively new presidential administration dedicated to strengthening the rule of law has been unable to stop them.

In September last year, Ruslan Yamadayev, a member of a prominent Chechen family, was shot dead as his car stood at traffic lights in central Moscow. That attack took place at rush hour - almost in the shadow of the main offices of the Russian government, and the British embassy.

Mr Markelov had worked on numerous high-profile human rights cases. Most famously, he represented the family of Elza Kungayeva, a Chechen woman killed by a Russian army officer in 2000. Elza Kungayeva - who was known as Kheda to her family - was murdered by Colonel Yuri Budanov.

Mr Markelov had campaigned against Yuri Budanov's early release. But last week, a court ruled that he could go free.

The court decision led to protests in Chechnya, a volatile North Caucasus republic deeply scarred by heavy fighting between Russian forces and separatist rebels since 1994.

At the time of his death, Mr Markelov was also involved in the case of a newspaper editor from Khimki near Moscow. The editor, Mikhail Beketov, was severely beaten by unknown assailants.

Journalist Anastasia Baburova, 26, died of a gunshot wound to the head

Investigators conducting the murder inquiry are working on the assumption that the killing was linked to Mr Markelov's work.

"We are looking into every possible theory, but the main one is linked to the job of the victim," Anatoly Bagmet, head of the Moscow department of the Russian Investigative Committee, told the Interfax news agency.

Russia's liberal Yabloko Party had a bleak assessment of the significance of the killing. "This murder shows that political murder becomes the decisive factor in Russia's social life, and the use of force - the main argument against a personality," the party said in a statement.

Nicola Duckworth, a Europe and Central Asia specialist at Amnesty International, called Stanislav Markelov's murder "a despicable crime".

"The Russian authorities must take decisive steps to show that such crimes will not be tolerated. Silencing those who defend human rights and work to uphold the rule of law is absolutely unacceptable," she said.

Mr Markelov's supporters will be watching the investigation closely. Its progress will inevitably be seen as a sign of how serious the authorities here really are about making those graphic, grim front pages a thing of the past.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

OBAMA SPEECH CENSORED IN CHINA!

By Michael Bristow BBC News, Beijing

China has censored parts of the new US president's inauguration speech that have appeared on a number of websites.

Live footage of the event on state television also cut away from Barack Obama when communism was mentioned.

China's leaders appear to have been upset by references to facing down communism and silencing dissent.

English-language versions of the speech have been allowed on the internet, but many of the Chinese translations have omitted sensitive sections.

China keeps a firm grip on the country's media outlets and censors their news reports as a matter of routine.

Like the rest of the world, it has been keenly following developments in the United States; President Obama's inauguration was front page news.

But the authorities seem not to want ordinary Chinese people to read the full, unexpurgated version of the president's speech.

In his inauguration address, President Obama said: "Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions."

That entire passage was retained for an English-language version of the speech that appeared on the website of state-run Xinhua news agency.

Xinhua did not mention the word "communism" in its Chinese version

But in the Chinese-language version, the word "communism" was taken out.

President Obama's comments addressed to world leaders who "blame their society's ills on the West" also fell foul of the censor's red pen.

"To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history," the president said.

Once again, Xinhua included the passage in full in its English version, but the sentence was taken out of the Chinese translation.

Similar changes were made to versions of the speech that appeared on other websites based in China.

And websites were not the only media organisations that struggled to report some of the comments made by President Obama.

China Central Television, the country's main broadcaster, aired the speech live with a simultaneous Chinese translation.

But when the translator got to the part where President Obama talked about facing down communism, her voice suddenly faded away.

The programme suddenly cut back to the studio, where an off-guard presenter had to quickly ask a guest a question.

Censoring sensitive news reports is nothing new in China, where officials go to great lengths to cut critical material.

These officials appear a little nervous about the arrival of a new US President, who might not be as friendly to China as President George W. Bush.

As an editorial in the state-run China Daily put it: "Given the popular American eagerness for a break from the Bush years, many wonder, or worry to be precise, whether the new president would ignore the hard-earned progress in bilateral ties."

BBC NEWS REPORT.

ISLAM FILM DUTCH MP TO BE CHARGED!

Geert Wilders lives under police protection because of death threats

A Dutch court has ordered prosecutors to put a right-wing politician on trial for making anti-Islamic statements.

Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders made a controversial film last year equating Islam with violence and has likened the Koran to Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf.

"In a democratic system, hate speech is considered so serious that it is in the general interest to... draw a clear line," the court in Amsterdam said.

Mr Wilders said the judgement was an "attack on the freedom of expression". "Participation in the public debate has become a dangerous activity. If you give your opinion, you risk being prosecuted," he said.

Not only he, but all Dutch citizens opposed to the "Islamisation" of their country would be on trial, Mr Wilders warned.

"Who will stand up for our culture if I am silenced?" he added.

The three judges said that they had weighed Mr Wilders's "one-sided generalisations" against his right to free speech, and ruled that he had gone beyond the normal leeway granted to politicians.

"The Amsterdam appeals court has ordered the prosecution of member of parliament Geert Wilders for inciting hatred and discrimination, based on comments by him in various media on Muslims and their beliefs," the court said in a statement.

"The court also considers appropriate criminal prosecution for insulting Muslim worshippers because of comparisons between Islam and Nazism made by Wilders," it added. The court's ruling reverses a decision last year by the public prosecutor's office, which said Mr Wilders's comments had been made outside parliament as a contribution to the debate on Islam in Dutch society and that no criminal offence had been committed.

Prosecutors said on Wednesday that they could not appeal against the judgement and would open an investigation immediately.

Gerard Spong, a prominent lawyer who pushed for Mr Wilders's prosecution, welcomed the court's decision. "This is a happy day for all followers of Islam who do not want to be tossed on the garbage dump of Nazism," he told reporters.

In March 2008, Mr Winders posted a film about the Koran on the internet, prompting angry protests across the Muslim World.

Opponents say Mr Wilders has been fuelling hate against Muslims

The opening scenes of Fitna - a Koranic term sometimes translated as "strife" - show a copy of the holy book followed by footage of the bomb attacks on the US in 11 September 2001, London in July 2005 and Madrid in March 2004.

Pictures appearing to show Muslim demonstrators holding up placards saying "God bless Hitler" and "Freedom go to hell" also feature.

The film ends with the statement: "Stop Islamisation. Defend our freedom."

Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said at the time that the film wrongly equated Islam with violence and served "no purpose other than to offend".

A year earlier, Mr Wilders described the Koran as a "fascist book" and called for it to be banned in "the same way we ban Mein Kampf", in a letter published in the De Volkskrant newspaper.

Mr Wilders has had police protection since Dutch director Theo Van Gogh was killed by a radical Islamist in 2004.

Correspondents say his Freedom Party (PVV), which has nine MPs in the lower house of parliament, has built its popularity largely by tapping into the fear and resentment of Muslim immigrants.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

NOTES TO OBAMA : MAYA ANGELOU

A new president cannot have too much good advice, so BBC World News America is asking personalities from various walks of life to tell President-elect Barack Obama what they think he should do when he takes up his new job on 20 January.

Maya Angelou gives her thoughts on America's next president, Barack Obama

I am a poet. What I'm going to say to you now, however, is not a poem, it doesn't pretend to be. These are ruminations or reflections upon the advent of President Barack Obama.

We needed him. We the race needed him. We the American people, we needed him.

Banks, automobile companies, insurance companies needed him. The stock market in Japan and Germany, in France and Britain, in China, in New York City needed him.

And out of that great need, I believe he came. Barack Obama, Senator Barack Obama came.

Intelligent, facing forward, including everyone, excluding no-one. He came with some charm - not enough to make him seem glib.

But what he did is he brought something we cannot live without, and that is hope. He brought the possibility that we might really see ourselves as we really are. A great country.

I believe in the secret part of every heart of an American is the desire to belong to a great country.

I think that President-elect Barack Obama offers us the chance to have a great president with whom we can identify.

Not as a black person, not even as a male, but really as an American citizen who will speak for the voiceless, who will not forget the poor black or the poor white, who will remember the out-of-work Asian and the dislocated Spanish-speaking person.

This is a man who I think I would like to hear speak to people in hospitals, he has intelligence and compassion. Those two elements are not always to be found in the same person.

It is said to whom much is given from them much will be expected. I believe we have been given a great president. I believe he needs us probably more than we even needed him.

I believe that each of us, each American, has got to pay back or pay it forward. I believe each of us has got to do something to help us become more of what James Baldwin called these yet-to-be United States.

I think that each of us can find a place to give some time... I think these seem to be small things but they accumulate. And I do believe that good done anywhere is good done everywhere.

I think that our new president deserves all our help. I believe we Americans, we deserve the most we can get. I believe we are a great people and I believe we will have a chance to show it.

When I see the cabinet President-elect Obama has chosen, I realise he's very serious. He really means to bring together a team who will match the mountain of work - we have men and women in that cabinet who match the mountains.

They may not be all that cunning politically but we've had quite enough of that, I think. They may be more forthcoming, and not a minute too soon.

I know what an American is. You can say it in these three words: Yes I can.

I can be better than you imagine. And if you force me, I can be worse than you can imagine. Yes I can.

In a climate where all men and women are known to be equals, "yes I can" speaks for the brahmin in Boston and the theologian in Nashville, Tennessee. It speaks for the rabbi at the hall of tolerance in Los Angeles and it speaks for the imam in the largest mosque in the United States. It speaks for us all.

BBC World News America airs on BBC World News weeknights at 0000 GMT.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

CHINA STRESS AS RUSH HOME BEGINS!

By Shirong Chen BBC China Editor

Authorities are trying to ease the pain

The Chinese authorities are trying to calm the fears of millions of railway travellers anxious to get home for the traditional Lunar New Year.

Ticket touts have been arrested, and freight traffic stopped to make way for more passenger services.

The Chinese Year of the Ox starts on 26 January this year.

It is a time when tens of millions of students, migrant workers and other travellers go home for the traditional family reunion.

Train ticket shortages are a recurring problem during the Chinese New Year.

The Chinese Railway Ministry estimates that 232 million people are seeking to travel by rail this year, but there is a shortfall of 44 million tickets due to limited capacity.

That is why travellers became enraged when they saw a video recording posted online of a Beijing ticket saleswoman printing more than 100 tickets.

The suspicion was that the saleswoman was selling tickets on the side - but it turned out she was simply preparing tickets for sale.

Deputy Rail Minister Wang Zhiguo nevertheless apologised for the misunderstanding, which he said had hurt the feelings of desperate travellers who had been queuing up for hours for tickets in major cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

It is a mass migration of people

The authorities are anxious to avoid any situation which may lead to angry protests by travellers, many of them migrant workers already suffering a loss of income due to the worsening global financial crisis.

President Hu Jintao told the ministry to use their brains and take transparent measures to reduce the tension.

Freight traffic has been halted along many routes to make way for more passenger services.

Police have also detained more than 2000 alleged ticket touts.

With the travel peak predicted from today onwards, it will be an uphill struggle to get everybody home for the Chinese New Year.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

KIDNAPPED AID WORKERS ARE ALIVE!

The International Committee of the Red Cross does not pay ransoms

The International Committee of the Red Cross has said that the three staff abducted by gunmen in the southern Philippines are alive and well.

Telephone calls made by the three from Friday to Monday have confirmed they are still being kept together.

But they also relayed a message from their abductors demanding that the military stop searching for them.

The ICRC also quashed rumours that any ransom demand had been made, stressing the organisation does not pay ransoms.

Swiss ICRC staffer Andreas Notter, 38, Italian Eugenio Vagni, 62, and Filipino Mary Jean Lacaba, 37, were taken from their car on Jolo Island last Thursday.

The three kidnap victims were able to use their mobile phones to call their Manila-based colleagues for the first time on Friday, and have called daily since then.

ICRC spokeswoman Anna Nelson confirmed the calls, and said that to the best of their knowledge "they are still together and they tell us they are in good health".

"For us the priority really is that they say they are in good health and that's extremely important," Ms Nelson said. "It's firstly important to note that we don't have direct contact with the people who have abducted our colleagues. "So we don't know at this stage who they are, what they want or where they are," she said. "Regarding ransom, as a matter of general policy we do not pay ransom and we want the unconditional release of our colleagues," Ms Nelson added.

Jean-Daniel Tauxe, head of ICRC in Manila, said rumours that the kidnappers had demanded a $5m (£3.5m) ransom were unfounded. He said the ICRC "would like the safe and unconditional return of our colleagues as quickly as possible".

The Red Cross workers had been visiting a jail where they were working on a water and sanitation project.

Jolo Island, southern Philippines is a base for the Abu Sayyaf gang

Initial reports, and statements by the chairman of the Philippine National Red Cross, Senator Richard Gordon, suggested the kidnappers were from the notorious Abu Sayyaf gang, which is based in the area.

These suspicions are shared by Philippine police and military officials, but cannot be confirmed.

At least 1,000 Philippine soldiers are said to be searching for the kidnapped aid workers.

They say a former prison guard, disgruntled at losing his job, appears to have helped set up the kidnapping, which took place a few metres outside Sulu provincial jail on Jolo island.

They are also investigating whether a jailbreak on 13 January, in which 12 prisoners broke free, was connected to the abduction two days later.

Abu Sayyaf has twice attacked luxury beach resorts and taken away tourists, including Westerners.

In 2001, three kidnap victims, including an American, were beheaded by their captors.

The police and military say about 380 Abu Sayyaf fighters - down from 1,000 in 2002 - are hiding in Jolo and Basilan islands.

The poor and underdeveloped area is home to decades-old Muslim separatist rebellions.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

AMAZING ESCAPE FOR FISHERMEN !

By Nick Bryant BBC News, Sydney

The two men had been drifting for 25 days, officials say

Two Burmese fishermen have survived for almost a month in shark-infested waters by floating on a large ice box after their fishing boat sank.

The men, in their 20s, were spotted by an Australian coastal patrol aircraft at the weekend and winched to safety by a helicopter.

The fishing boat sank in heavy seas off the north coast of Australia 25 days ago, with the loss of 18 lives.

The survivors had no safety equipment and no means of communication.

They survived by clinging to the ice-box that was about the size of a desk, according to officials from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (Amsa).

The monsoon season and recent cyclone storms in the region make their survival all the more remarkable, and Australian officials said it was amazing that the men were spotted in such a vast expanse of water.

Their ordeal began on 23 December, when their wooden fishing boat sank in heavy seas.

They were eventually spotted by the Australian coastal patrol plane, then rescued by a helicopter which flew them to Thursday Island, off northern Queensland.

Health officials said the pair were hungry and dehydrated, but were recovering well and had already been released from hospital.

They had gulped down water as soon as they were winched aboard the rescue helicopter.

The men will now be questioned by police and immigration officials who are keen to discover how they survived and what they did for food and water.

The men said they were the only crew members who managed to cling to a flotation device, and could not say precisely where their Thai-registered boat went down.

The Australian authorities have decided not to mount a search for any other possible survivors.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

CRUCIAL ZIMBABWE TALKS COLLAPSE!

Mr Mugabe, 84, has ruled Zimbabwe since independence in 1980

Talks in Zimbabwe aimed at breaking the deadlock over the formation of a unity government have collapsed.

Southern African mediators said after 12 hours there had been no agreement between President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

Mr Tsvangirai called the impasse "the darkest day" but Mr Mugabe said he hoped for a new round of talks.

Both sides said earlier the talks would be the last chance to save a power-sharing deal signed four months ago.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) led the efforts to save the deal and the group is to hold a crisis summit in Harare next week.

Mr Mugabe accused Mr Tsvangirai of presenting proposals which differed from recommendations by the 15-nation SADC.

Under September's deal, Mr Tsvangirai would serve as prime minister while Mr Mugabe remained president.

The deal first faltered after Mr Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) accused Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF of trying to keep the most powerful ministries.

The political deadlock has exacerbated the problems facing Zimbabweans, from a cholera epidemic and an economic meltdown to food shortages and the collapse of basic services such as health and education.

"For us as the MDC this is probably the darkest day of our lives," Mr Tsvangirai said.

"I am sure the whole nation is waiting anxiously for the resolution of this crisis. We are committed to this deal but subject to Zanu-PF conceding on these issues."

Mr Mugabe said he would seek further talks before the SADC summit.

"We shall continue to exchange ideas and see where the differences are with the SADC proposal," he added.

Zimbabwean journalist Brian Hungwe - who was at the talks taking place in a luxury Harare hotel - said Mr Tsvangirai had presented a thick dossier of new conditions at the meeting, prompting an angry response from Mr Mugabe.

South African President Kgalema Motlanthe, his predecessor Thabo Mbeki and Mozambican leader Armando Emilio Guebuza attended the talks, pushing for a breakthrough.

Also attending was Arthur Mutambara, the head of an MDC breakaway faction who is supposed to become deputy prime minister under the pact

On the eve of the meeting, Mr Mugabe said he had done everything required under the agreement and the time for talks was over.

Mr Tsvangirai (C) had been out of Zimbabwe since November

The clear implication was that if the MDC did not signal agreement, Mr Mugabe would go ahead and form a government unilaterally, the BBC's Peter Biles in Johannesburg says.

The MDC wants a share of the security ministries, ambassadors and regional governors.

Under the deal, it has 13 ministries to 15 for Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF but under the existing proposals, Zanu-PF would hold national security and defence, while home affairs, which runs the police, would be shared.

The MDC has also demanded an end to the abduction of opposition and human rights activists by state security agents.

Mr Tsvangirai arrived back in Zimbabwe on Saturday after an absence of more than two months, telling reporters his party would not be "bulldozed" into any deal not reflecting the will of the people.

Mr Tsvangirai gained the most votes in elections last March but not enough for outright victory.

He pulled out of a run-off in June against Mr Mugabe, citing a campaign of violence against opposition supporters.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

"SAYINGS"

"SOME CAUSE HAPPINESS

WHEREVER THEY GO,

OTHERS WHENEVER THEY GO" !
_______

PAINTER FINDS FAKES AT ART SHOW

Mr Raza is one of the most respected Indian arti

A leading Indian artist has said he was "stupefied and outraged" to find that many of his paintings at a show he was inaugurating were fakes.

SH Raza was inaugurating the exhibition at an art gallery in Delhi.

The Dhoomimal Art Gallery closed its show as soon as Mr Raza pointed out the fakes but said it had sourced them from the painter's family.

There is a flourishing market for fakes of most leading painters in India, art gallery owners and experts say.

The gallery was hosting an exhibition of Mr Raza's work, which was to run till the end of the month.

Mr Raza, 86, said when he reached the exhibition on Saturday, he found that a number of the paintings were fake.

"At this stage of my life, this was the last thing I wanted to do - grace an exhibition of my own fake paintings. I am so upset and cannot get over it," Mr Raza wrote in the Mail Today newspaper.

He said he had been advised by his friends to take legal action, but he had not decided.

"This shows Indian art in a very poor light. We need to find out how this happened," Mr Raza wrote.

The owner of the 70-year-old gallery, Uma Ravi Jain, told the BBC that Mr Raza's paintings for the exhibition were sourced from the painter's nephew.

Only two of the 30-odd paintings which were being displayed were from the gallery's own collection, she said.

"The rest came from Mr Raza's family, so we did not suspect they were fakes. This is the first time we've had such an experience," Ms Jain said.

One of Mr Raza's friends, who accompanied him to the exhibition, said the paintings were obviously wrong.

"If you have an original and you make a copy, you still retain the style of the artist. But when you make something totally unrelated to what the artist is known for and then pass it off under his signature, it is actually an original fake," writer Ashok Vajpayee told Mail Today.

Mr Raza, whose paintings have sold in leading galleries around the world for record amounts, lives and works in France these days.

The owner of the gallery admitted that fakes had become a big problem in India's growing art industry.

"There are a lot of fakes moving around in the market. They have become a big problem," said Ms Jain.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

ZIMBABWE RIVALS HOLDING KEY TALKS

Mr Mugabe, 84, has ruled Zimbabwe since independence in 1980

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai are holding talks seen as "make-or-break" to salvage a unity government.

The two men are discussing a power-sharing agreement, stalled since September. The presidents of Mozambique and South Africa are also attending.

Mr Mugabe says he will not make any more concessions until a unity government is formed.

Mr Tsvangirai says he will not be bulldozed into an agreement.

Under September's deal, Mr Tsvangirai is to become prime minister while Mr Mugabe remains as president.

But the deal faltered after Mr Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party accused Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF of trying to keep the most powerful ministries - including the one that controls the police - to itself.

The political deadlock has exacerbated the problems facing Zimbabweans, from a cholera epidemic and an economic meltdown to food shortages and the collapse of basic services such as health and education.

The MDC has also complained about the abduction of opposition and human rights activists by state security agents.

Zimbabwean journalist Brian Hungwe - who is at the talks taking place in a luxury Harare hotel - says he has been told that Mr Tsvangirai presented a thick dossier of new conditions at the meeting, prompting an angry response from Mr Mugabe.

STATE OF ZIMBABWE Five million people - almost half population - need food aid Central bank introduced Z$100tr note, worth about US$30 (£20) Unemployment more than 80% More than 2,200 people have died in cholera outbreak Crunch time for Zimbabwe?

He says there is not much hope among Zimbabweans for great strides forward, given the political rivals' hard positions, and the mood is one of despair.

One man in Harare told him: "People's lives here have collapsed significantly. People can't afford food, school, transport. I want a revival of that.

"If those talks are not going to meet those minimum requirements then those talks are nonsense."

Another man said: "My desire would be to see these two guys coming together. We, as Zimbabweans, we are suffering... it's so pathetic. I look forward to a positive result."

Zimbabwe analyst Knox Chitoyo told the BBC's Network Africa programme that the two sides had lost all trust in each other.

"It's hard to envisage how they find any middle-ground, said Mr Chitoyo, from the London-based Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). "One or other of them is going to have to climb down seriously."

Mr Mugabe told state media that the MDC must "accept" the deal at Monday's talks, "or it's a break". "If they have any issues they deem outstanding, they can raise them after they come into the inclusive government," he added.

Mr Tsvangirai (C) has been out of Zimbabwe since November

South African President Kgalema Motlanthe, his predecessor Thabo Mbeki and Mozambican leader Armando Emilio Guebuza are attending the talks to push for a breakthrough.

But Mr Mugabe said he had done everything required under the agreement and the time for talks was over.

"We have gone past negotiations and whatever concessions were there to be made have already been made," he said in the state-owned Sunday Mail.

"We have done all that SADC [Southern African Development Community] expected us to do and all that remains is fulfilling the agreement by forming an inclusive government."

The clear implication is that if the MDC does not signal agreement now, Mr Mugabe will go ahead and form a government unilaterally, the BBC's Peter Biles in Johannesburg says.

The MDC was deciding how to proceed with outstanding issues, particularly what it called Zanu-PF's unchanged "mindset and attitude" about a smooth running unity government.

Spokesman Nelson Chamisa told AFP news agency: "There has to be finality to the dialogue process - either in failure or in success."

Mr Tsvangirai arrived back in Zimbabwe on Saturday after an absence of more than two months, telling reporters his party would not be "bulldozed" into any deal not reflecting the will of the people.

Mr Tsvangirai gained the most votes in elections last March but not enough for outright victory.

He pulled out of a run-off in June against Mr Mugabe, citing a campaign of violence against opposition supporters.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

SERFS' EMANCIPATION DAY FOR TIBET

By James Reynolds BBC News, Beijing

China says it liberated Tibetans from feudal rule; many Tibetans dispute this.

China has declared a new annual holiday in Tibet called Serfs' Emancipation Day, to mark the end of what it says was a system of feudal oppression.

The local parliament in Tibet has passed a bill which declares 28 March as the new holiday.

The announcement comes in the run-up to the 50th anniversary of the escape into exile of the Dalai Lama.

The 49th anniversary a year ago led to widespread protests by monks and others in and around Tibet.

China's position on Tibet is built on two beliefs - firstly, that Tibet is an integral part of Chinese sovereign territory, and secondly, it believes that the Chinese Communist Party liberated the Tibetan people from the oppressive feudal rule of the Dalai Lama.

China is keen to promote its beliefs - particularly because the 50th anniversary of the escape into exile of the Dalai Lama is just a few weeks away.

It was on March 28th 1959 that the Communist Party announced the dissolution of the existing local government in Tibet - following the Dalai Lama's escape a few days' beforehand.

China says that this move freed about one million Tibetans from serfdom and slavery.

But Tibetan groups in exile see it all very differently. For them, the events of March 1959 and the exile of the Dalai Lama from his homeland were a tragedy.

One exile group has called the new holiday an effort at rewriting history, which is provocative and irresponsible.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

TORIES PLAN 'ENERGY REVOLUTION' !

Electric cars need to be charged at special plug-points

Street plug-points for electric cars, smart meters, and energy efficiency loans for homes are among Tory plans for an "energy revolution".

David Cameron launched plans he said would lower carbon emissions, create jobs and reduce oil and gas imports.

He said a £1bn upgrade for the national grid would encourage people to generate their own power and boost renewables.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband dismissed the plans as "a bad combination of the reheated and the uncosted".

Launching what the party calls its green paper on low carbon, Mr Cameron said even those who were not convinced by climate change had to recognise the need for "energy security" - reducing reliance on countries like Russia and the Middle East for oil and gas

And he said there was no reason why, if electricity networks were updated to include computer intelligence, people should not be saving money in future.

This would include a "smart grid" and smart meters in homes - which monitor kitchen appliances every second, altering the amount of power that is sent down the line to ensure only the minimum necessary is used.

The stuff in this paper will help employ people and create jobs David Cameron Conservatives

Mr Cameron said it would make it possible to have "the Holy Trinity of big supplies of secure energy, green low-carbon energy and cheap energy", by removing the requirement for the grid to have huge excess capacity in order to meet fluctuating demand.

The Conservatives say it would also pave the way for large-scale use of renewable energy sources, by introducing "feed in tariffs" - paid by power companies to people who generate power via wind turbines and solar panels.

They would also make more use of technologies like tidal power and biogas - creating power out of the waste vegetable matter from farms or households.

They say they would introduce a new "national recharging network" to encourage the use of electric cars and hybrid cars.

Wind power

Energy companies would borrow money, underwritten by the government, to fit every home with up to £6,500 of energy efficiency improvements - like insulation.

Householders would then repay the loan over up to 25 years through their fuel bills. The Conservatives say they would still save money because bills would be lower.

The Tories like to posture on climate change when the cameras are pointed their way, but they simply cannot be trusted to deliver Nick Clegg Liberal Democrats

There would be incentives to "vastly expand" offshore wind and marine power, and backing for a network of marine energy parks.

"The stuff in this paper will help employ people and create jobs," Mr Cameron said.

"It will help cut people's bills as well and transform our lives and give them a higher quality.

"In this recession we have got to do things that are both good for us now but also good for us in the future."

Cost effective

The proposals were welcomed by energy campaigners. Philip Sellwood, head of the Energy Saving Trust, said they were "absolutely spot on".

Greenpeace executive director John Sauven said the Conservatives appeared to "be taking a leaf out of [US president elect] Obama's book and looking to stimulate the economy by boosting the green industries of the future."

FROM THE TODAY PROGRAMME More from Today programme

But he said for it to be "fully convincing", Mr Cameron should be clear he would rule out all "dirty" coal fired power stations - including plans for a new plant at Kingsnorth, Kent.

Mr Miliband accused Mr Cameron of having "no idea" how he was going to find the money to make homes more energy efficient or for any of the other proposals.

"He has actually promised to cut budgets across the board - including cuts which could fall on our programmes which help the poorest keep warm," he said.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats said the Tories could not be trusted to "deliver" in the battle against limate change.

Leader Nick Clegg said: "This announcement is like David Cameron riding his bike, but what is important is what is in the car behind him.

"In there we find a Conservative Party that despite all its rhetoric will dodge a vote on Heathrow's third runway; that supports future nuclear power plants; and that's so anti-Europe it fails to understand that the only way to fight climate change is to work together internationally.

"The Tories like to posture on climate change when the cameras are pointed their way, but they simply cannot be trusted to deliver."
BBC NEWS REPORT.

EUROPEANS GROWING ANGRY OVER GAS!

Despite an apparent agreement on Monday to resume Russian gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine, no gas is flowing to Central and Eastern European countries.

The ongoing dispute between Russia and Ukraine has put a strain on vulnerable economies at a time of economic downturn.

Here readers from affected countries describe the effects the gas crisis is having on their lives and urge governments to rethink their energy strategy.

MARIA DROGANOVA, TIRASPOL, TRANS-DNIESTER

The situation in Trans-Dniester has been very bad for more than a week. We got our heating back this morning, a week after it was turned off. And we are still without gas for cooking. We can't cook anything now and what we eat reminds me of the student days.

We had a bread crisis at the beginning of the week. People started buying bread in panic as there were fears that the bakeries will stop working. There were long queues for bread in the morning and then you couldn't find bread anywhere.

The vacation for schoolchildren has been extended until next week. My mum is a teacher and she goes to school only to do admin work.

More and more people are getting sick. Pharmacists say they've been selling more medicine for cold and flu.

The dispute between Russia and Ukraine is continuing and people are very angry. People say that it hasn't been so bad for 40 years. As our region is very pro-Russian, everyone blames Ukraine for our suffering.

MIRZA TROZIC, SARAJEVO, BOSNIA-HERCEGOVINA

The people of Bosnia are very grateful to President Tadic of Serbia for sending us gas when we urgently needed it. Thanks to him we are no longer without heating.

I live in the old part of town and during the freeze I had to go to friends' houses to have shower. I wanted to buy an electric heater, but they were sold out. So my mum, who lives in another part of Bosnia sent me one by post.

I am a university student and our university was closed because of lack of heating. We were supposed to have a study week before the exams, but that didn't happen.

People are now using more coal, wood and fuel oil and it has made a difference to the air. After spending a while outside my hair and clothes get a bad smell.

We have a smog alert, which happens every year, as Sarajevo lies in a valley, but apparently this year is much worse.

People here are reminded of the siege, when they didn't have heating, electricity and hot water. So this situation brings up bad memories.

JERZY WOJCICKI, VINNYTSIA, UKRAINE

I am not worried at all about this gas crisis. People in some parts of the country, especially in big cities, have had a reduced heating. Some heating systems are now running on fuel oil.

Each town has its own reservoirs, that's why we are not affected in Vinnytsia. We have plenty of gas and the whole of Ukraine has enough gas to last us for two months.

The thing is, we have this dispute with Russia every year, so people are prepared for this situation. We've got large reserves and individual households are also equipped with electric heaters and stoves.

And we have our own gas in Ukraine. We've been using Russian gas for many years, because it was very cheap. But now we need to rethink the situation and make ourselves more self-sufficient.

NIKOLAI PENKOV, SOFIA, BULGARIA

After much of Sofia lost its heating, the heating is back on, working with fuel oil. It's not ideal, but at least we are warm.

We've had a week with power cuts, as increased demand put pressure on electric grids.

Fuel oil is very polluting and the air around Sofia is dirty. There are calls for people not to use their personal cars to minimise the impact on the environment.

The gas crisis is going to have a really bad effect on the economy. Many factories have closed or work at a minimum.

Bulgaria is having a tough time now anyway. The EU recently froze funds for Bulgaria, the country is suffering the consequences of the economic downturn and just when you thought that's bad enough, its people were left in the cold.

Our government is very pro-Russian and they've signed contracts with Gazprom, committing us to higher prices each year, while not being able to guarantee delivery in return.

People are angry. Tension has been building up for a while and it's hardly surprising that there was violence and destruction at the protests yesterday.

FERNANDO BARBOSA, PRESOV, SLOVAKIA

The more days go by, the more aware people become of the problems this situation could bring. And they are becoming more and more worried.

Our biggest problem is the impact this is going to have on the economy. Major factories have closed - Kia and Peugeot have stopped production temporarily. There's a limit on the use of gas for smaller businesses.

Our president wants to restart the nuclear reactor, which was closed as a condition for EU entry. I think that if the situation escalates, this could be a good short-term solution, though I doubt the EU will agree to it.

The lesson for the future is to have several sources of gas. Russia has the monopoly and they are using it to demonstrate their power. No hard-feelings towards Russia, but we have to find other alternatives.

RENARS SPAKS, RIGA, LATVIA

Our country relies exclusively on Russian gas, though unlike other European countries, we are not affected by the ongoing dispute between Russia and Ukraine.

For us energy is not an immediate, but more a long-term problem.

It is worrying to see what's happening in central and eastern Europe right now.

Our perspective on Russia is quite different from that of western European countries. We used to be part of the socialist bloc and we are suspicious of everything the Russians do.

They are demonstrating again that they can and will use energy resources for political reasons.

We pay for our gas and the gas prices go up each year. We would like to be less dependant on Russian gas. Our alternative would be to use more nuclear energy, but the EU is not happy about that.

Interviews conducted by Krassimira Twigg.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

Italy focuses on 'Foxy Knoxy' as trial opens!

By Duncan Kennedy BBC News in Perugia

Amanda Knox was voted a personality of the year in Italy

As the Meredith Kercher murder trial starts, much of the attention will be on just one of those accused of her death - her friend Amanda Knox.

Perugia is set to become gridlocked with television satellite trucks.

Around 150 journalists are expected to descend on the central Italian town to cover the murder trial of 21-year-old British student Meredith Kercher.

And they are prepared for the long haul. The trial could last until July.

The prosecution alone has filed a list of 90 witnesses and the court will sit only two or three times a week.

The raw facts surrounding the death of Meredith Kercher - she died on 1 November 2007 between 2030 and 2300 in Perugia - are not in dispute.

Pretty much everything else is.

Which is how we've arrived at this point of two people on trial for killing her.

Meredith Susanna Cara Kercher was from Coulsdon, South London, and was a student at Leeds University. She was part of the Erasmus student exchange programme and it took her to Perugia. She became a friend of, and shared a house with, Amanda Knox, an American student from Seattle in Washington State.

Amanda Knox had a boyfriend called Raffaele Sollecito, another student at the University of Perugia.

Police say Meredith's body was found under a blood-soaked duvet in an upstairs bedroom of the house she lived in with Amanda Knox. Her throat had been cut.

Initially, detectives believed she may have been attacked by a burglar, as the door to her room was locked and one of her windows broken.

Meredith Kercher was a British student in Italy

But they now suspect the break-in was staged.

They believe that Miss Knox stabbed Miss Kercher while Mr Sollecito held her down and a third man tried to rape her during a sex game that went badly wrong.

That third man is Rudy Guede, who has already been convicted of killing Meredith after a separate trial last year. He was given a 30-year life sentence.

Miss Knox and Mr Sollecito claim to have been together at Mr Sollecito's apartment at the time of the murder and therefore could not have done it.

That apparently contradicts earlier statements to the police in which Miss Knox stated she had heard Meredith's screams and that she had put her fingers in her ears as she was so frightened.

Her defence team say that her memory was clouded because she had been smoking hashish that evening.

But police say they have more evidence. They say they found Miss Knox's DNA and Meredith's DNA on a knife in Mr Sollecito's kitchen which investigators believe is the murder weapon. They also claim there were traces of Miss Knox's blood mixed with Meredith Kercher's in their bathroom.

And they say there were traces of Mr Sollecito's DNA on a clasp from Miss Kercher's bra.

As they have done at previous hearings, defence lawyers are likely to argue that the DNA evidence was contaminated and is therefore unreliable.

However, while there are two people on trial, Amanda Knox has in many ways become the public face of this case. It's perhaps not surprising. Just look at the alleged ingredients of the case: sex, murder and outsiders in a foreign land.

Amanda Knox was portrayed as a Lady Macbeth figure before she was even put on trial.

Raffaele Sollecito gets no such coverage.

You can see the difference in Italian and other newspapers.

Hardly any report is complete without reference to what they say are Amanda Knox's "angel-faced" good looks. Some have found it hard to resist using the rhythmic concoction of "Foxy Knoxy" . They relish any news that comes out of the jail she is being held in.

Take, for instance, the role she had in a movie filmed inside the prison.

Called The Last City, Miss Knox plays an inmate dreaming of escape.

Not only did news of her participation fill pages of newspapers and online sites, but the outraged reaction to it generated yet more coverage.

And all this despite it being an approved prison project partly-funded by a local authority

Then there was the pre-Christmas "personality of the year" poll that put her in fourth position, ahead of other candidates like France's first lady Carla Bruni and former French-Colombian hostage Ingrid Betancourt.

The poll, for an Italian TV news channel, gave her 8% of the vote, the highest-ranked woman in the survey.

More headlines followed.

Amanda Knox's quasi-celebrity status has also been fuelled by a website in her name established by her family.

Primarily a platform for generating money to fund her legal case, it also provides a catalogue of photographs from her childhood to the present day thereby partially fuelling, still further, curiosity in her.

Family members and friends are quoted on the site saying Amanda Knox is "misunderstood" and speak of the "ugly lies" about her.

Her parents, Curt and Edda, say the site is a way of redressing the imbalance they see in the reporting. They seem genuinely astounded at the level of interest in Amanda and deeply disillusioned by what they see as the distorted coverage of the case. There is much at stake. Their daughter's liberty for one thing.

The trial opening in Perugia is about Amanda Knox, but it is also about Raffaele Sollecito.

And it is about Meredith Kercher and her family. They are civil plaintiffs in the case and could be called as witnesses.

It can sometimes be easy to lose track of that.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

ARMSTRONG FEVER HITS DOWN UNDER

Armstrong cycle fever hits Down Under

Lance Armstrong practices with his team-mates

By Nick Bryant BBC News, Adelaide, Australia

Adelaide has been invaded by a lycra-clad army of cycling enthusiasts, with the capital of South Australia feeling more like 'Planet Lance'.

More than three years after retiring from professional cycling, Lance Armstrong is taking part in the Tour Down Under, his much-anticipated comeback race.

In all, there are 133 riders here from 23 countries, but the focus is solely upon the 37-year-old Texan who retired in 2005 after securing his seventh victory in the Tour de France.

His face seems to be everywhere, from the arrivals hall at the airport to the side of trams gliding through the streets.

Tourism chiefs are promoting the tour as "Your Chance to See Lance".

Adelaide has not seen anything like it since the great Donald Bradman left his native New South Wales and decided to play his cricket for South Australia, and The Australian newspaper described him as a "one-man stimulus for the South Australian economy".

Armstrong won the Tour de France seven times

Rather like a visiting head of state, he received a personal welcome to the city by the premier of South Australia, while the hometown newspaper, the Adelaide Advertiser, has printed a special souvenir picture of him every day this week.

I suppose you could say that Australia's City of Churches is displaying an almost religious-style fervour.

At the pre-race press conference, one journalist asked him if he felt like Jesus Christ.

"I've been called a lot of things in my life," deadpanned Armstrong.

"I don't know if he rode either. He could do a lot of things, apparently, but I don't know if he rode."

Still, this could be the start of the great Armstrong revival, since he has his determined glare fixed on this year's Tour de France.

The man who survived testicular cancer 12 years ago hopes his return to racing will boost cancer awareness - that, he says, is his primary motivation.

But his competitive instincts have clearly been aroused.

Though he does not think he will end up with the winner's jersey in the Tour Down Under - that would be unrealistic, he says - in six months time he may well be a world-beater again.

At the press conference, he said he would have a better sense of his fitness in April and May.

Having trained in Hawaii, Armstrong claims his fitness through November, December and January has been better than it was when he won his last Tour De France.

And this week, on his police-escorted training rides in the Adelaide Hills, he has left his Astana team-mates in their wake.

The pre-race talk is that he will try at least to dominate the Tour Down Under.

"I have been drinking beer and sitting on my ass for three years," he scoffed at that suggestion. "How could they think that?"

Then he struck a more serious note, and his competitive streak came to the fore.

"If the opportunity is there I will certainly take it. I guarantee I will take every opportunity to be at the front of the race and to animate the race and be active. "No doubt. No bluffing and no hiding. If the race dictates that, and I feel good, I promise you I will attack. I just don't know whether I will be in a position to do that."

As for the delicate matter of his age, he jokingly threatened to throw out reporters who were audacious enough to mention that he is three years shy of 40.

He admits to a little stiffness and soreness, but that his recovery rate and power were good.

Armstrong says his fitness is as good as ever

Armstrong also has a specially-designed new bike, which has been emblazoned with two numbers: 27.5, signifying the 27.5 million people who have died of cancer since the 2005 Tour de France; and 1274 - the number of days which have passed since his last professional race.

Even if he were to come fifth in the Tour de France, he said, he would still have deemed his comeback a success if he managed to raise global awareness about cancer.

From a sporting perspective, he admitted there was a risk to his legacy. "I'm willing to take that risk," he said. "From a human perspective and from a cause perspective, I think it's well worth the sporting risk."

The Town Down Under starts on Tuesday, with its six stages taking in the bush, the outback and South Australia's Barossa Valley wine region.

But Armstrong returns to competitive action on Sunday evening in a race called the 50km criterium around a circuit in Adelaide's Rymill Park, where 100,000 spectators are expected.

Fittingly enough, for a man so dedicated to his cause, it is called the Cancer Council Classic.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

ISRAEL 'TO ANNOUCE CEASEFIRE' !

The Israeli cabinet is set to back an end to military activities in the Gaza Strip, three weeks after operations there began, the BBC understands.

Israel's leaders are expected to approve a ceasefire at a meeting later on Saturday, after which PM Ehud Olmert will address the nation, sources said.

The sources said the ceasefire deal did not involve Hamas.

It is not clear how Hamas will respond; its officials say the group will ignore any truce unless its demands are met.

Ahead of the move violence continued in Gaza, with 50 Israeli air strikes overnight. Rocket fire from Hamas militants also continued.

About 1,200 Palestinians have been killed since the violence began on 27 December. Thirteen Israelis - three civilians and 10 soldiers - have been killed during the campaign.

The Israeli move follows intense diplomacy aimed at ending the conflict.

Israeli sources told the BBC's Middle East editor, Jeremy Bowen, that Mr Olmert would announce an end to offensive military operations from "H-Hour", the exact timing of which is not yet clear.

Mr Olmert was expected to link the move to Israel having achieved its goal of curtailing rocket fire from Hamas-linked militants, the sources said.

If rocket fire continued after "H-Hour", Israel would respond, the sources said.

The sources stressed that this was a unilateral action by Israel. How Hamas responds remains to be seen.

Hamas insists that any ceasefire must involve Israeli troops withdrawing from Gaza and an immediate lifting of the Israeli blockade.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

"SAYINGS"

"TAKE THE WORLD AS IT IS,

NOT AS IT OUGHT TO BE" !
___________

ZIMBABWE - LETTER FROM THE DIASPORA !

January 16th 2009

Dear Friends,

Jestina Mukoko, that ‘threat to society’ as the new Attorney General branded her, sobbed as she described in court the abuses that had been inflicted on her whilst in custody.

“I work for a non-profit organisation, and I am not involved in any political activity…I repeatedly told the interrogators that I'm not a member of the MDC. I'm a human rights activist, currently employed by ZPP. The objectives of ZPP do not talk about toppling the government."

A Supreme Court judge had meanwhile ordered that Jestina be allowed urgent medical attention. As of Thursday 15.01.09 that had not happened. Jestina Mukoko along with other female detainees, is being held in solitary confinement in the Maximum Security section of Chikurubi, a place normally reserved for hardcore male prisoners. Like the dozens of other activists Jestina Mukoko is charged with attempting to overthrow the Mugabe government. The newly appointed Attorney General Johannes Tomana, a Mugabe loyalist if ever there was one, says he will oppose her release. “Any attorney general in the world would do what I am doing given a case like the one involving Mukoko. Evidence gathered proves that she is a threat to society and should not be released now.” Tomana does not say how that so-called evidence was gathered but more than one testimony this week reveals torture and abuse as the preferred method to gain ‘evidence’.
One ‘suspect’ who was released this week was a two year old child. Having been held in confinement for 76 days the small boy was taken away from his mother (and father) who are still in custody and released into the hands of strangers. One can only imagine the mother’s anguish as her child was taken from her. The image of that tiny child’s face must haunt the mind of every decent human being. Along with pictures of the truly appalling suffering being inflicted on innocent children in Gaza, this new year seems to herald a new dark age of barbarism against the most vulnerable and innocent members of society. While the government propaganda in Zimbabwe stridently condemns the Israelis for the slaughter in Gaza, that same government has very recently imported weapons from Israel to suppress the people. All week long the streets of Harare have been patrolled by gun-toting police and military determined at all costs to suppress any form of popular uprising. Now we hear rumours that the Russians will be assisting Mugabe in his desperate attempts to suppress the people. In exchange for shares in diamond mines and other profitable mineral concessions no doubt we hear that the Russians will send in ‘technical advisors’ to assist the military. It was not so long ago that Mugabe described Tsvangirai as a ‘political prostitute’ because he was going round Africa seeking support for democratic change in Zimbabwe. Rumour has it that Mugabe will travel to Moscow on Saturday to finalise the deal with the Russians. With the Chinese, the Russians and possibly the Indians too in on the act, Zimbabwe is up for sale to the highest paying clients. Political prostitution indeed!

Amidst all the other horror stories from Zimbabwe this week the report from the Physicians for Human Rights revealed the total collapse of the health system. The cholera outbreak is the worst in Africa since 1999 when 2085 people died in a Nigerian cholera outbreak. Currently, the death toll in Zimbabwe has exceeded 2000 but it is not only cholera that is killing our people. With such severe levels of malnutrition all are vulnerable: people with HIV unable to acess drugs, malaria sufferers, diabetics, TB patients; women in childbirth in short anyone with a medical emergency faces a death sentence under the collapsed heath care system in the country. The report makes for very painful reading. That of course will not alter Mugabe’s stance for one moment, not even the conclusion that “These findings add to the growing evidence that Robert Mugabe and his regime may well be guilty of crimes against humanity.” Evidence emerged this week of donated medical supplies being sold on the black market by corrupt officials who will sink to any depths to make a quick buck even to the extent of depriving the sick of medication and mosquito nets which must be paid for in forex. More evidence of the total collapse of Zim dollar, Gideon Gono announced just yesterday that his Reserve Bank has introduced a new ‘family’ – how cosy that sounds – of notes, this time in the trillions. 100 of these new $trillion notes will buy you just six loaves of bread.

The PHR Report concludes that Zimbabwe’s health system should be taken over by the UN though why Mugabe’s responsibility for the mismanagement should be handed over to the international community is beyond me. It is precisely the fact that Mugabe and his cohorts have refused to acknowledge their own responsibility to feed and care for the needs of the people that has caused the problem in the first place. By passing the problem on to the UN, Mugabe once again gets away with the complete failure of governance that has dominated every aspect of life in our country for the past ten years. Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF have totally failed and it is time they were made to take responsibility for their failure instead of blaming everyone else.

Yours in the (continuing) struggle PH

FLORIDA FUND MANAGER 'MISSING' !

Investors called police with concerns about their money

An American fund manager responsible for millions of dollars of investors' money has been reported missing by his wife in Florida.

Police said they were searching for Arthur Nadel, 75, and investigating his investment company in Sarasota after clients complained of missing funds.

Police described it as "a very significant amount of money".

US investors have been hit by plunging values in some hedge funds, and concerns about a major alleged fraud.

Sarasota police said Mr Nadel was reported missing after he had sounded "distraught" in a phone call to his family on Wednesday.

Police also said at least five investors began calling on Friday about their money.

"It was brought to our attention that there has been a very significant number of victims with a very significant amount of money that has disappeared. Allegedly it's hundreds of millions of dollars," Sarasota Police Captain Bill Spitler said.

Mr Nadel's disappearance comes weeks after the the arrest of Bernard Madoff, 70, a former chairman of the Nasdaq stock market.

There is no suggestion the two were connected in any way.

But Mr Madoff's arrest, charged with masterminding what may be the largest investor fraud ever committed by a single person, has sent shock waves through the investment community.

In another unrelated case, businessman Marcus Schrenker apparently tried to fake his own death this week because of mounting financial problems.

He has been charged by US federal authorities.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

OIL DEMAND TO FALL AGAIN IN 2009 !

Opec announced a cut in oil production last month

Global oil demand is due to fall for the second year in succession in 2009, the first consecutive annual declines in 26 years, a report has predicted.

Demand will decline this year by an average 940,000 barrels per day to 85.3 million, a 0.6% fall from 2008, said the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The IEA, which represents the main oil consuming nations, said the expected fall was due to the global slowdown.

It said the world economy will now grow 1.2% in 2009, half its past estimate.

The IEA had previously predicted that global oil consumption would recover slightly this year, after 2008's 0.3% fall, led by demand in the developing world.

It now warns that demand will also cool, particularly in China, where the rate of Chinese economic growth will slow to 6.5%, its weakest level in eight years.

The IEA report comes a month after oil producers' cartel Opec announced a record cut in output, as it aimed to shore up prices that have fallen sharply since record highs last summer.

"Global oil demand is reducing at an alarming rate," said Rob Laughlin, senior oil analyst at MF Global in London. "This latest report from the IEA is another warning shot across the bows to OPEC that supply is still outpacing demand and the situation is getting worse seemingly day by day."

US light crude was trading down 30 cents to $35.10 a barrel on Friday morning. Last July it hit a record $147.

Brent crude was up seven cents to $47.75.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

CRUNCH 'COST ARABS $2.5 TRILLION' !

Kuwait City's stock exchange lost 38% of its value last year

The global economic crisis has cost Arab countries $2,500bn (£1,690bn) in the last four months alone, according to Kuwait's foreign minister.

Sheikh Mohammed al-Sabah told reporters in Kuwait City that oil-rich Gulf Arab states had postponed or cancelled 60% of development projects.

He did not give details for his figures, which were released days before an Arab Economic Summit.

Stock market falls and a low oil price have contributed to the losses.

The biggest loss was an estimated 40% drop in the value of Arab investments abroad, which had previously totalled around $2.5tn, AFP news agency reports.

"The Arab world has lost $2.5 trillion in the past four months," Mr Sabah said after meeting fellow foreign and finance ministers.

Kuwait City is due to open a two-day Arab Economic Summit on Monday, the first of its kind.

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa earlier described the meeting of 22 heads of state as "the largest and most important" Arab event of 2009.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

10 THINGS !

Snippets from the week's news, sliced, diced and processed for your convenience.

1. Motown was originally called Tamla.
More details

2. Northern Rock and Lehman Brothers were both founded in 1850. And both failed in spectacular fashion exactly a year apart.
More details

3. There are more than 50 million lightning strikes in Brazil each year, on average.
More details

4. Countdown is French.
More details

5. The most-littered food is McDonalds.
More details

6. City traders with long ring-fingers make more money.
More details

7. A typical Google search produces between 0.2g and 7g of carbon dioxide.
More details

8. An intense ketamine high gives an out-body-experience known to recreational users of the horse tranquiliser as the "K-hole".
More details

9. The first man to view the Moon through a telescope was not Galileo. He was English.
More details

10. John the Good was bad and William the Bad was good.

More details.

BBC NEWS MAGAZINE.

CHINESE WOMEN WANT MORE BABIES!

Chinese parents say their only children are often spoiled 'little emperors'

The authorities in China say they have found that most Chinese women would like to have more than one child.

Family-planning officials say their research indicates that 70% of women want to have two babies or more.

Chinese couples who ignore China's strict one-child policy must pay fines and often face discrimination at work.

The authorities say the policy, which will not be relaxed, has prevented hundreds of millions of births and has helped to make people wealthier.

The research was conducted in 2006 but has only been released now.

China has the world's biggest population, of more than 1.3 billion people, and has restricted most families to one child since the late 1970s.

The China Daily reported the survey results, which showed parents would like a son and a daughter, at least.

"Our research shows that 70.7 percent of women would like to have two or more babies," the China Daily quoted Jiang Fan, vice-minister of the National Family Planning Commission, as saying.

Most women, or 83 percent, want a son and a daughter, the survey said.

"Some mothers think only-children suffer from loneliness and can become spoiled," the minister was quoted as saying.

Magazine editor Lin Ying, 26, told the newspaper she wanted to have two children in the next five years.

"Only-children often grow up to be self-centred," she was quoted as saying.

The many only children of China have earned the nickname of "little emperors" for the love and treats lavished upon them.

Despite the survey results, the commission said China would achieve its goal to keep its population within 1.36 billion by the end of next year.

"China's family planning policy underpins the country's economy and demographics," Li Bin, minister of the commission, was quoted as saying.

China's one-child policy has been hugely controversial at home and abroad, as enforcement of it has involved forced abortions and other abuses.

It has also been blamed for a gender imbalance, as a traditional preference for boys has persuaded some parents to abort girl foetuses.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

PILOT HAILED FOR 'HUDSON MIRACLE'!

The pilot of an airliner that ditched in New York's Hudson River has been hailed a hero after all 155 passengers and crew were rescued.

The US Airways Airbus A320 made the crash-landing minutes out of LaGuardia airport, both its engines apparently disabled by a flock of birds.

Passengers were rescued from the wings or helped from the icy water by divers.

Captain Chesley Sullenberger was praised by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg for his "masterful" landing.

The state governor spoke of a "miracle on the Hudson".

HERO PILOT Chesley B 'Sully' Sullenberger III Age 57, from Danville, California Former Air Force fighter pilot 29 years with US Airways Has own consulting business, Safety Reliability Methods Inc Profile: Capt Chesley Sullenberger Tale of miraculous escape

The BBC's Greg Wood reports from New York that it was a true delivery from disaster, a commercial airliner forced to ditch in the river just next to the skyscrapers of mid-town Manhattan but with no fatalities.

One person suffered two broken legs and paramedics treated 78 patients, most for minor injuries but, through a combination of luck, the skill of the pilot and a rapid emergency response, 155 people have had a very narrow escape, our correspondent says.

Air accident investigators are in New York to probe the cause of the incident.

'Everyone counted out'

Flight 1549 departed LaGuardia en route to Charlotte, North Carolina, at 1526 local time (2026 GMT), after delays, said Laura Brown of the Federal Aviation Administration.

"We believe it was airborne for three minutes after take-off when it crashed into the Hudson River," she said.

The pilot reported a "double bird strike" less than a minute after take-off and asked to return to the ground, before ditching in the Hudson, an air controllers union spokesman said.

1 1526 local time (2026 GMT): Flight 1549 takes off from LaGuardia airport 2 1527 (2027 GMT): Pilot Chesley Sullenberger reports birds hitting engines 3 1528 (2028 GMT): Pilot told to land at Teterboro airfield 4 1531 (2031 GMT): Pilot ditches plane in Hudson River

Ferryboats arrived within minutes of the crash to begin the rescue as passengers emerged in life jackets.

The temperature was almost -7C and the current in the Hudson was running rapidly.

BIRD STRIKE DANGER Large passenger jets can withstand being hit by a 4lb (1.8kg) bird, but problems can arise with flocks of small birds, or with larger birds 219 people have been killed worldwide as a result of wildlife strikes since 1988 In 2007, over 7,600 birds and other wildlife were reported to have hit civil aircraft in the US Bird strikes cause $600m damage to aircraft in the US every year Source: Bird Strike Committee USA How birds can bring down a plane In pictures: New York plane crash 'We knew we were going down'

The plane moved rapidly down river, threatening to submerge at one point, until guided to a halt by tug boats against a pier.

"It would appear that the pilot did a masterful job of landing the plane in the river, and then making sure that everybody got out," Mr Bloomberg said on Thursday evening.

"I had a long conversation with the pilot. He walked the plane twice after everybody else was off and tried to verify that there was nobody else onboard. And assures us there were not."

The mayor also commended emergency services, saying: "They train for these kinds of emergencies, and you saw it in action."

New York Governor David Paterson said: "I think that in simplicity, this is really a potential tragedy that may have become one of the most spectacular days in the history of New York City's agencies."

Bracing for impact

Stephanie Nachman, who works in a high-rise building in Times Square, said she had seen the plane crash.

"It wasn't wild or erratic but if as it was landing on a runway," she said.

Within minutes, she added, people got out, doors popped out and rafts unfurled.

Jeff Kolodjay, a passenger on the plane, described the moments before the landing:

"About three or four minutes into the flight... the left engine just blew... flames coming out of it and I was looking right at it cos I was sitting right there.

"And it just started smelling a lot like gasoline and a couple of minutes after that the pilot said 'you guys gotta brace for a hard impact'.

"And that's when everyone started, to be honest, saying prayers and we looked over the water and we thought we had a chance because, you know, there's some water."

Moments after impact, the situation inside the plane was "just controlled chaos", said passenger Dave Sanderson, of Charlotte.

"People started running up the aisle, people were getting shoved out of the way," he said.

Another passenger, Alberto Panero, said that a couple of people then "just kind of took charge and calmed everyone".

BBC NEWS REPORT

DISEASE AND STARVATION IN ZIMBABWE!

With the Zimbabwean government accused of failing to protect the health of its people by the campaign group Physicians for Human Rights, the BBC's Paul Martin sees first hand how the country's health system has disintegrated.

Many nurses and doctors in Zimbabwe have been on strike or left the country

At the age of 29, Charity was about to give birth to her first child in the maternity ward at the Central Hospital in Zimbabwe's second city, Bulawayo.

But there was no qualified nurse there, and no doctor, to observe an irregular heartbeat developing - until it was too late.

Local newspaper reports say more than half the nurses in Zimbabwe have now left their jobs or left the country in search of a better life abroad.

Much the same applies to the doctors, and many hospital wards have been forced to close.

I drove past the state-of-the-art Joshua Nkomo Hospital on the outskirts of Bulawayo. It lies locked and totally unused, a decade after being built: a criminal waste of resources.

Most imported goods have to be bought with foreign currency

To get into the city's mental hospital, I sneaked past guards at the big iron gates, ducking low in a car's back seat - the authorities do not like nosy journalists.

But I managed to get a few furtive words outside from one white-coated assistant. "I don't feel like a nurse," he said, "I feel like a mortuary attendant, that's all I am."

Outside one ward, I saw a smart white car, with no number plates. I was told that the government was so desperate to keep the remaining doctors, it was dishing out government vehicles as a sort of bribe.

After many months, the government has finally agreed to let nurses and doctors get paid in foreign currency. It is not much, but enough to survive.

Meanwhile, we were told, but it is impossible to confirm, that 50 patients at the mental hospital have died of starvation.

The only way to get anything worth having - including petrol - is to pay in foreign currency - the Zimbabwean dollar is inflating so fast that no-one wants it.

Some businessmen are doing well from the crisis - mainly through barter deals.

One told me he received 4,000 crates of beer from the country's biggest brewery in exchange for supplying imported petrol for the brewery's fleet of trucks.

But most simply cannot get hold of foreign cash.

For example, a teacher who goes to work in a shared taxi spends his entire monthly wages on the five South African rand demanded each way by the taxi driver. Five rand is worth 34-pence at the time of writing (50 US cents).

Frequent power cuts have left people having to work by candlelight

It's no wonder teachers are now refusing to mark examination papers. But it means the pupils are not receiving the educational certificates which are vital in their hunt for jobs.

In any case, many schoolchildren - as many as four out of five, according to Unicef - have simply stopped turning up for class.

Teachers, too, are staying away, and the start of the new school year has been officially postponed.

It is not just the hospitals and schools that have ground to a halt. Bulawayo's main power station shut down long ago.

The authorities mistakenly thought they could rely on importing power from abroad. In a government office that is supposed to maintain the city's electricity grid, I watched as the boss desperately tried to locate enough petrol to enable his chief engineer to drive a vehicle to a broken-down electrical station. He failed.

The saddest thing is seeing how Aids victims are suffering. A doctor from the charity, Medecins Sans Frontieres told me that Aids is easily the biggest cause of death in Zimbabwe. According to them, it is killing far more than the current cholera epidemic.

I drove into a poor township on the outskirts of the city, its streets in some places flowing with open sewage.

There, cooking some maize-meal porridge and huddled next to a small fire, because there was a power failure throughout the township, was Doris, an emaciated but still friendly and eloquent lady, hugging her two little grandchildren.

Physicians for Human Rights wants the UN to take over the health service

Doris - I have changed her name for security reasons - is or was a university lecturer. She cannot work any more as the disease is slowly killing her.

"If I had relied on the normal health system to get my anti-retroviral drugs," she told me, "I would already be dead by now".

Locals say many sufferers die while they are still on a waiting list to be seen by a doctor. It is, one doctor told me, a natural cull.

If you do make it to see a doctor, there is a shortage of drugs anyway, and a shortage of places to get regular treatment.

Doris managed to get anti-retrovirals through connections that her teachers' union had. But her future is bleak. Her daughter simply disappeared when she discovered her mother had Aids, leaving both of her little children, aged four and six, in the care of this dying woman.

"When I'm gone, I am afraid these two children will die too," Doris told me.

The children nodded, wide-eyed and scared. "Who will look after them?"

I had no answer, except to go to the car, fish out some provisions I had bought in South Africa to avoid eating and drinking the local products. Chocolate. Her eyes lit up. "I haven't had that for two years," she said.

Each child got a block. A tiny moment of happiness in a world of anguish.

From Our Own Correspondent was broadcast on Thursday, 15 January, 2009 at 1100 GMT on BBC Radio 4. Please check the programme schedules for World Service transmission times.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

MUGABE 'TO HOLD TALKS WITH RIVAL' !

Morgan Tsvangirai had threatened to pull out of the power-sharing deal

Zimbabwe's opposition leader said he is due to hold talks with President Robert Mugabe "within this coming week" to try to resolve the political crisis.

Morgan Tsvangirai said he was returning to Zimbabwe for the first time in two months, and said he was still committed to an "inclusive" government.

He described Mr Mugabe as "part of the problem but also part of the solution".

Disputes over who should control the most powerful ministries have stalled last September's power-sharing deal.

Mr Tsvangirai told a news conference in Johannesburg the meeting with Mr Mugabe would also include South African President Kgalema Motlanthe, but said he could give no details about the time and place.

"I still believe that a political agreement offers the best means of preventing Zimbabwe from becoming a failed state," he said.

"I am committed to forming a new inclusive government in Zimbabwe and all I lack is a willing partner".

He had said he would pull out of the power-sharing deal unless the abduction of opposition and human rights activists stopped by 1 January.

Mr Tsvangirai, who has been out of Zimbabwe since November, is expected to return home in the coming days.

He said he had no choice but to deal with Mr Mugabe. "It doesn't mean that I trust him wholly," he said. "I regard Mugabe as part of the problem, but also part of the solution."

Robert Mugabe has resisted growing calls for his resignation

Mr Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF agreed to a power-sharing deal after disputed presidential elections in March.

Under the agreement, Mr Tsvangirai would be prime minister while Mr Mugabe would remain as president.

But the deal faltered after the MDC accused Zanu-PF of keeping the most powerful ministries - including the one that controls the police - to itself.

As the political wrangling continued, Zimbabwe has been hit by a cholera epidemic that has claimed more than 2,000 lives, made worse by the collapse of the water, health and sanitation systems.

Mr Tsvangirai, and western nations, accuse Mr Mugabe of not being sincere about power-sharing.

Mr Mugabe insists he welcomes the power-sharing deal, and has resisted growing international pressure to resign.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

"Sayings"

"THE SOONER YOU FALL BEHIND

THE MORE TIME YOU'LL HAVE TO CATCH UP" !

_________

OBAMA'S 'BEAST' OF A CAR REVEALED !

By Rajini Vaidyanathan BBC News, Washington