House arrest: 2012

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Serena Williams: 'I don't think about' '09 tirade

NEW YORK (AP) — Chuckling and rolling her eyes, Serena Williams dismissed questions Monday about her tirade at a line judge over a foot-fault call at the end of her loss in the 2009 U.S. Open semifinals.

The 29-year-old American is back at the Grand Slam tournament for the first time since that infamous outburst during a match against eventual champion Kim Clijsters. Williams missed last year's U.S. Open after having surgery on her right foot.

Williams played coy at first during a pre-tournament news conference Monday when she was asked what she remembers most from the way her last U.S. Open ended and how "that controversial episode" might have affected the public's perception …

Nitric Oxide Diffusion Rate is Reduced in the Aortic Wall

ABSTRACT

Endogenous nitric oxide (NO) plays important physiological roles in the body. As a small diatomic molecule, NO has been assumed to freely diffuse in tissues with a diffusion rate similar to that in water. However, this assumption has not been tested experimentally. In this study, a modified Clark-type NO electrode attached with a customized aorta holder was used to directly measure the flux of NO diffusion across the aortic wall at 37�C. Experiments were carefully designed for accurate measurements of the apparent NO diffusion coefficient D and the partition coefficient α in the aortic wall. A mathematical model was presented for analyzing experimental data. It was …

EUROPE NEWS AT 1900GMT

UPCOMING COVERAGE FOR MONDAY, MARCH 24:

GREECE-OLYMPIC FLAME

ANCIENT OLYMPIA, Greece _ Beijing Olympics flame-lighting ceremony in Ancient Olympia, birthplace of the Olympic Games. Ceremony begins 0900GMT.

MOVED SUNDAY:

TURKEY-KURDS

ANKARA, Turkey _ Hundreds of Kurdish protesters lob stones at police and soldiers in southeastern Turkey in a fourth straight day of clashes that have killed two people and injured dozens. By Selcan Hacaoglu. AP Photos.

CYPRUS-THE MISSING

NICOSIA, Cyprus _ The final act in dozens of human tragedies from divided Cyprus' troubled past is unfolding in a clinical room with four …

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

It's over when it's overtime Bulls now 0-7 in OT games as Seattle pulls out victory

Sonics 101

Bulls 94

Bulls forward Tyson Chandler was in street clothes Tuesdaywatching his team face the Seattle SuperSonics, and the game didn'texactly soothe Chandler's ulcer.

It hurts when I get excited or tense," Chandler said. It alsohurts when I eat or drink something cold or when I laugh real hard."

Other than that, Chandler can live a normal life. He said theesophagitis could keep him sidelined seven to 10 days.

By that time, the Bulls may have lost their chance to reach the 30-win plateau.

The Bulls (26-49) had a chance to inch closer against Seattle, butthe Sonics (36-37) pulled out a 101-94 overtime victory before 17,879at the …

Stevenson escapes again, sinks Antioch

Sixth-ranked Stevenson, which barely escaped an upset bid byNorth Chicago Friday night, struggled past Antioch 78-74 Friday nightin a North Suburban matchup in Antioch.

The Patriots (6-0, 2-0) went on a 13-2 run to build a 51-42lead, then extended the margin to 11 early in the fourth quarterbefore Antioch (3-4, 2-1) rallied to within a point on two occasions,the last with 38 seconds to play.

Four free throws by Jason Justus sealed the victory. Justusfinished with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Eric Roth had 22 points and11 rebounds. Kenyon Catchings scored 12. Stevenson was playing withleading scorer Chris Coleman, who is out with a sprained ankle.

Antioch …

Tuition hikes fail to stop cutbacks in higher ed

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — America's public colleges and universities have burned through nearly $10 billion in government stimulus money and are still facing more tuition hikes, fewer course offerings and larger class sizes.

Many college students are already bearing the brunt of the cuts in their wallets as they prepare for their future careers.

"This next academic year is going to be the hardest one on record" for cash-strapped colleges, said Dan Hurley, director of state relations for the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.

Hurley said the higher education system has entered a phase in which cuts will begin to affect academics.

Public …

Desperate Somalis seek 'back-door' route to US

The asylum seeker from Somalia hung his head as an immigration judge grilled him about his treacherous journey from the Horn of Africa. By air, sea and land he finally made it to Mexico, and then a taxi delivered him into the arms of U.S. border agents at San Diego.

Islamic militants had killed his brother, Mohamed Ahmed Kheire testified, and majority clan members had beaten his sister. He had to flee Mogadishu to live.

The voice of the judge, beamed by videoconference from Seattle, crackled loudly over a speaker in the mostly empty courtroom near the detention yard in the desert north of Los Angeles. He wanted to know why Kheire had no family testimony to …

Lawmaker `stunned' by N. Korean starvation

TOKYO Their rations reduced to 5 ounces of rice a day, ruralNorth Koreans stripped grass and weeds from the fields and bark fromthe trees - feeding them to their starving families before the eyesof a stunned American lawmaker.

In a four-day tour of North Korea, Rep. Tony Hall (D-Ohio) hadone of the most revealing looks yet at the starvation in thesecretive communist nation: orphans whose growth was stunted byhunger and diarrhea; children going bald for lack of nutrients; ruralfamilies desperately feeding on bark - from the few trees that hadn'tbeen cut down for fuel.

"I was stunned by what I saw . . . and by how much worseconditions have gotten since I was there …

Heavy metal: London 2012 medals are largest yet

LONDON (AP) — Bigger, wider, heavier — that could be the motto for the medals at the 2012 London Olympics.

Measuring 85 millimeters (3.35 inches) in diameter and weighing 375-400 grams (13-14 ounces), London's medals will be the largest ever awarded at a Summer Games.

They dwarf the 70 millimeter (2.76 inch) medals handed out in Beijing four years ago, but don't quite outsize the prizes given at the Vancouver Winter Games last year: those medals were 100 millimeters (3.94 inches) wide.

The London medals were presented by Princess Anne at a ceremony at London's Trafalgar Square on Wednesday to mark a year to go until the 2012 Olympics open.

As is traditional, the …

Ill. inmate died in agony while pleading for help

For days before he died in a federal prison, an Illinois inmate named Adam Montoya pleaded with guards to be taken to a doctor. But he never got any help.

An autopsy concluded that the 36-year-old prisoner suffered from no fewer than three serious illnesses _ cancer, hepatitis and HIV. The cancer ultimately killed him.

But the coroner and a pathologist were more stunned by another finding: The only …

Hire Gauge; Voice of Experience

Pep Boys

MANAGER'S PRO

DOUBLED UP: Two years ago, Pep Boys decided it needed to split the duties handled by 42 area directors - who each oversaw operations at about a dozen stores - into two jobs, one responsible for retail and the other for services. "It was too much responsibility for one individual," Dedes says. But that meant the company needed to hire another 42 managers.

THE PROBLEM: Pep Boys didn't have a systematic way to find out which employees might be good candidates for promotion into the new jobs. "There's no business that can double its leadership overnight," Dedes says. "But we didn't even have information on who was on our bench."

HIS …

Iran launches homemade satellite into orbit

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran launched a satellite into earth orbit Wednesday, Iran's state TV reported, in a feat that is likely to raise concerns among those who fear Iran's intentions and nuclear development program.

The report said the locally produced satellite, called Rasad, or observation, was launched successfully by a Safir missile on Wednesday. There was no independent confirmation of the launch or of the satellite achieving orbit.

It the second satellite Iran has put into orbit. The first, named Omid, was launched in 2009.

The Iranian TV report said the new satellite is designed to produce high resolution maps.

Iran's decade-long space program has raised …

China's currency move aims to ease trade criticism

By loosening its currency's peg to the dollar, China is seeking to defuse complaints that it keeps its exports artificially cheap, strengthen its hand against inflation and ensure its economy can keep growing at a healthy pace.

The Chinese yuan surged to a record high Monday as Beijing delivered on its central bank's weekend promise of greater flexibility in its exchange rates. World shares rallied as investors took heart from the signal of confidence in China's resilience.

Analysts said the move was not a major shift in foreign policy. They described it instead as a maneuver aimed mainly at countering criticism of Beijing's currency policies before this weekend's summit of the Group of 20 leading economies. Beijing's trading partners have been frustrated by their perennial trade imbalances with China.

"This is a type of 'diplomatese' before the G-20," said Yi Xianrong, a prominent economist at the Institute of Finance in the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a government think tank.

But Beijing's decision to give up the dollar link it imposed two years ago to help its exporters during the recession also shows it recognizes the need for flexibility in its own economic policies.

China's large trade surpluses oblige the central bank to intervene in the exchange market: It buys up excess foreign exchange earnings to keep the yuan's value from rising. Greater flexibility will allow more leeway in China's monetary policies, helping it counter inflation.

"Chinese policymakers are attempting to engineer a scenario that maximizes political goodwill while at the same time minimizes any negative economic impact," said Alaistair Chan, an economist at Moody's Analytics in Sydney.

The shift away from the dollar peg pushed the yuan to 6.7971 on Monday from 6.8272 yuan on Friday. It was a shift of 0.4 percent and an abrupt break from the narrow range around 6.83 yuan to $1 that had held since mid-2008.

The central bank still sets the exchange rate each day before the start of trading and limits daily fluctuations to 0.5-percent. Its announcement late Saturday stressed China's commitment to keeping the currency stable.

Allowing greater flexibility suits China's own needs. Apart from helping Beijing fight inflation, it should encourage manufacturers to improve efficiency and reduce the country's reliance on exports as a driver for growth, the central bank said.

By ruling out any one-time major revaluations, the People's Bank of China also doused speculation over such moves and removed a source of uncertainty for investors. China's share market responded by jumping nearly 3 percent Monday.

"China has to keep the currency stable under the current circumstances and will certainly take any consequences of the yuan's appreciation very seriously," Yi said.

The decision to revert to a basket of currencies including the U.S. dollar, rather than the dollar alone, to set the exchange rate restores policies in place before the global downturn walloped Chinese manufacturers in 2008. Millions lost their jobs.

China had set up the basket-linked exchange rate system in July 2005, allowing the yuan to gradually gain nearly 20 percent until the financial crisis hit.

China's economy surged 11.9 percent in the first quarter of this year, and exports jumped by nearly 50 percent over a year earlier in May. That was despite expectations that Europe's debt crisis would hit demand in the 27-nation European Union, China's biggest trading partner.

Such trends raised expectations that China would adjust policies that critics say keep the yuan undervalued, unfairly holding down prices of Chinese products overseas and making them impossible to compete with. Beijing's gradual approach to currency reform is a perennial bugaboo in relations with Washington.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's immediate praise for the central bank's announcement suggests the move was coordinated to allow him to release a report on China's currency, postponed for more than two months, without having to accuse Beijing of manipulating its currency, Qian Wang, an economist at J.P. Morgan, said in a note to clients.

Geithner delayed the release of the report to allow more time for talks with the Chinese, and the shift in policy is viewed by many as a concession by Beijing.

But President Barack Obama's administration still faces pressure from Congress to name China a currency manipulator, a designation that could potentially lead to U.S. trade sanctions.

"The window was closing for China to act before China-U.S. relations get even more politically charged heading into the U.S. midterm election," Wang said, referring to November's congressional elections.

Though Chinese exporters already operating on razor-thin margins will have to find new ways to stay competitive, the central bank _ echoing many economists _ noted that such changes are crucial for more balanced, sustainable growth that is less reliant on exports.

"The exchange rate problem is one we would have to face sooner or later," said Bai Ming, deputy general manager of Zhejiang Mingfeng Car Accesories Co., which exports car covers to the Americas, Europe and South Korea.

"What we are trying to do is to raise productivity and save costs. We cannot just sit back," he said.

While it has prescribed a small dose of currency flexibility for its own economic health, China still rejects accusations that its currency regime is a major cause of huge trade imbalances that contributed to the global crisis.

G-20 leaders should focus on more urgent global reforms, said a commentary Monday by the official Xinhua News Agency.

"If they cannot make good use of the coming G-20 summit to press ahead with the much-needed overhaul of the global financial system, the international community will soon find to its disappointment that its leaders look only for red herrings, rather than real solutions, at a time when true leadership is badly needed," it said.

___

Associated Press researchers Bonnie Cao in Beijing and Ji Chen in Shanghai contributed to this report.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Station's bid to stay on the air

A Radio station based in St Paul's has been hailed a success afterbeing on the air for a month and now hopes to be granted a long-termlicence.

Ujima Radio, which played a mix of African, Caribbean and Asianmusic, was set up and run by 150 students and staff at the SEED mediacentre in Dean Street.

Ujima, which means "people coming together" in Swahili, broadcastmulti-cultural music and programmes on local issues throughoutFebruary under a trial licence.

Bristol West MP Valerie Davey presented students with certificatesfor their commitment to the radio station after its trial period cameto an end on March 4.

Tim Kirby of the SEED centre, who founded the radio station withKevin Philemon, said: "The month trial was very successful, even moreso than we expected.

"We have had lots of positive feedback from our listeners and hopethis will help us to put in a strong bid for a five-year licence."

Mr Kirby said there was no way of measuring how many listeners thestation had, but said they could judge that it was proving popularwith listeners from the number of phones calls and emails theyreceived. He said: "Most of our shows were speech-based, dealing withcommunity issues.

"We would discuss anything from Fair Trade to domestic abuse."

The station was on air seven days a week from 7am to 12am and thenplayed a mix of multi-cultural music through the night.

Natasha Park, aged 27, was one of the presenters of the communityshow at the station.

Miss Park, who lives in Clifton, had been studying media at theSEED centre for 10 weeks and said presenting the radio station was avery exciting experience.

She said: "I learned so much about St Paul's and I think it was areally positive thing for the area.

"We got extremely good feedback.

"I think we have a good chance of getting the licence."

The radio station will put its bid to Ofcom, the independentregulator and competition authority for the UK communicationsindustries, later this year.

Climate change: South Africa has much to lose

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Imagine the savannas of South Africa's flagship Kruger Park so choked with brush, viewing what game is left is nearly impossible. The Cape of Good Hope without penguins. The Karoo desert's seasonal symphony of wildflowers silenced.

Climate change could mean unthinkable loss for South Africa, which hosts talks on global warming that will bring government negotiators, scientists and lobbyists from around the world to the coastal city of Durban next week.

Guy Midgley, the top climate change researcher at the South African National Biodiversity Institute, said evidence gleaned from decades of recording weather data, observing flora and fauna and conducting experiments makes it possible for scientists to "weave a tapestry of change."

Change is, of course, part of the natural world. But the implications of so much change happening at once pose enormous questions, said Midgley, who has contributed to the authoritative reports of the United Nations' Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

In the Karoo, for example, where plants found nowhere else in the world have adapted to long, dry summers and winter rainfall, the weather pattern is changing.

Scientists have noted large die-offs linked to the stress of drought among one iconic Karoo denizen, the flowering quiver tree, a giant aloe that often is the only large plant visible across large stretches of desert. Quiver trees attract tourists, and insects, birds and mammals eat their flowers.

"Any change in climate is going to affect the flowers," said Wendy Foden, a southern African plant specialist with the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Barend Erasmus, an ecologist at Johannesburg's University of the Witwatersrand, worked on some of the first efforts to model how Africa might be affected by climate change. He led a 2001 study that raised the possibility that up to two-thirds of the species studied might disappear from Kruger National Park.

Research done since has made Erasmus less fearful for Kruger's animal population. But he predicts profound effects should a changing climate encourage the growth of thick shrubs, squeezing out zebra, antelope and cheetah.

Already, he said, zebra and wildebeest numbers are declining in Kruger as their grazing areas disappear. The question is how much of the cause is due to high concentrations of carbon dioxide, and how much depends on other factors, including man's encroachment.

Offshore, penguin expert Rob Crawford has looked at changes in the breeding grounds of African penguins and other seabirds, noting South Africa's northernmost penguin colony went extinct in 2006. Crawford and his colleagues wrote in a 2008 paper that the movements "suggest the influence of environmental change, perhaps forced by climate."

The African penguin, also known as the jackass penguin because of its braying call, is found only in southern Africa. A colony near Cape Town has long been a tourist draw.

One penguin parent stays behind to nest and care for offspring, while the other seeks food for the family. If the hunting partner is away too long, the nesting parent has to abandon the chick — or starve. Species like sardines, on which the penguins depend, have been displaced.

"If they don't have sardines, they can't feed their chicks," Erasmus said. "And eventually the colonies just disappear."

The numbers of African penguins have plummeted from up to 4 million in the early 1900s to 60,000 in 2010, according to the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds. Researchers blame humans, who collected penguin eggs for food until the 1960s. More recently, a new threat came with oil spills and commercial fishing's competition for anchovies and sardines.

Erasmus said more research needs to be done, including studies on how plants and animals react to extreme conditions.

A colleague at his university, Duncan Mitchell, has taken up the challenge by tracking and studying antelope living in one of the hottest and driest corners of South Africa.

"We're hoping to find that they have a capacity to deal with water shortage that they're not having to use at the moment," Mitchell said.

"Climate change is going to happen," Mitchell said, adding it's already too late to influence temperatures and water levels over the next four decades. "What needs to be researched is coping with unmitigated climate change."

Coping might involve moving vulnerable animals to cooler habitats — or ensuring they're not so hemmed in by human settlements that they cannot migrate on their own. Park rangers may have to work harder to remove trees to protect savannas. The South African government has called for expanding gene banks to conserve vulnerable species.

Sarshen Marais, a policy expert for Conservation International, says the work her organization is doing to eradicate foreign plants and help farmers better manage their land and water has gained importance.

Climate change experts fear water could become even scarcer in the future, but farmers can take steps that will help cash crops as well as wildlife. Conservation International has encouraged local communities to cut down thirsty foreign plants and sell the debris for fuel, allowing impoverished South Africans to earn while they save native species that are losing in the competition for water.

Researcher Erasmus acknowledges that in a developing country like South Africa, it can be hard to prioritize the plight of plants and animals. But he said an economic argument can be made, including the impact on people living in savannas who supplement their diets with small birds, other animals and wild greens, and who make money selling native fruits.

Tourism also is a consideration.

"Kruger is a cash cow for the whole of SANParks," he said, referring to the national parks department.

Foden, the plant specialist, said that when she thinks of her native South Africa, she thinks of wide spaces filled with a stunning diversity of plants and animals.

"If we were to lose that," she said, "we would lose so much of our identity."

___

Donna Bryson can be reached on http://twitter.com/dbrysonAP

HOW PROMISING YOUTH TURNED BOMBING SUSPECT // Background Mixed Bag On McVeigh

OKLAHOMA CITY To an angry nation, he's a scowling face emergingfrom a country courthouse, surrounded by police.

Those who knew Timothy McVeigh before he became a suspect in theAlfred P. Murrah Federal Building bombing offer a complex,contradictory portrait: a canny boy who would surely "go somewhere,"then an unremarkable student, and later a straight-arrow soldier butalso "a subdued loner" in his Gulf War infantry unit.

In recent years, acquaintances say, he befriended tax protestersand other anti-government types and his politics turned to the farright. He claimed that the Army had implanted a computer chip in hisbuttocks.

McVeigh visited Waco, Texas, and returned angry. And he neverwent anywhere unarmed.

"He's always looking over his shoulder," said Carl Brocker ofDecker, Mich., where McVeigh spent time off and on in recent yearswith Army buddy Terry Nichols, now being held as a witness.

Neighbors said McVeigh often drove his car around town loadedwith guns and ammunition for sale.

"He was a drifter," said Mary Ann Saenen. "He was very militantand always carried a weapon."

Timothy James McVeigh, arrested on a weapons charge in Perry,Okla., within 80 minutes of Wednesday's bombing, was born on April23, 1968, and grew up in the suburbs of Buffalo, N.Y.

A neighbor during his boyhood, Pat Waugh, recalls McVeigh as achild with promise.

"That kid is going to go somewhere," Waugh said to herself, watching his neighborhood money-making schemes, a gambling casino orhaunted house to draw the kids down the block.

When he was about 10, McVeigh's family split up, his mothermoving away with a younger sister. He, his father and an oldersister moved to a smaller house, Waugh said.

His father still lives in Pendleton, N.Y., where McVeighgraduated from high school in 1986. He was described as a goodstudent and in his high school yearbook, he listed talking, computersand cars as his interests. He also played basketball. Classmate Wendy Stephany said he was quiet and friendly.

McVeigh entered the military after high school and left thearea. Military records have been closed as the investigationproceeds, but his comrades say McVeigh was in the Army from around1989 to 1992, serving at Fort Riley, Kan., and in the Gulf War, wherehe was a Bradley vehicle gunner and a sergeant.

"He was a good soldier. If he was given a mission and a target,it's gone," said James Ives, another sergeant in his Army infantryunit.

Ives agreed with the recollection of another soldier, Robert Copeland of Aurora, Colo., who describedMcVeigh as a loner who rarely joined others after hours, but didn'tseem strange. And he was a hard worker, they said.

During the Gulf War, McVeigh had seen what explosives can do,Ives said. "I remember Kuwaiti and Iraqi villages that had beenblown away . . . little kids, women, children," he said.

Training on his own time, marching with a pack weighing up to100 pounds, McVeigh hoped to join the Army Special Forces but wasinjured during his tryout, failed, and was "extremely disappointed,"Ives said.

He said other ex-comrades told him McVeigh became involved withoff-post political groups with strong anti-government views towardthe end of his military career.

Ives could not identify the groups, saying only, "militias . . .cults is what I call them."

Phil Morowski, an acquaintance, said that when McVeigh returnedfrom the Gulf War, he complained that the Army had implanted acomputer chip in his buttocks, apparently to keep track of him.

One of McVeigh's fellow servicemen was Terry Nichols, and afterliving for a time in Kansas - a Fort Riley address appears on hisdriver's license through November, 1993 - McVeigh went to Decker,Mich.

In Decker, McVeigh worked on a farm owned by Nichols' brotherJames, who also is being held as a witness by the FBI.

There, acquaintances say, McVeigh's anti-government views fit inwell.

An unidentified member of the right-wing Michigan Militia grouptold Detroit-area station WXYZ-TV that McVeigh was at a MichiganMilitia meeting in Jackson, Mich., in January. Speakers talked ofthe need to take action against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco andFirearms, the station said.

Officials of the Michigan Militia said neither Nichols norMcVeigh belongs to their group. They said they were unsure there hadbeen such a meeting.

McVeigh "was known to hold extreme right-wing views . . . andwas particularly agitated about the conduct of the federal governmentat Waco, Texas, in 1993," said an FBI affidavit attached to thecharge against him.

It said he visited the site of the gun battles and siege betweenfederal agents and the Branch Davidian sect, and expressed anger atthe deaths there.

In McVeigh's old haunts, anger about the bombing runs as deep asanywhere.

In his hometown, resident Jim Argo said, "Put him out in thewoods, and we'll hunt him down."

Suicide blasts at Pakistan arms complex kill 59

Two suicide bombers blew themselves up at the gates of Pakistan's main weapons complex Thursday, killing 59 people and wounding 70, officials said.

A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the attack, one of the bloodiest yet in Pakistan's intensifying war with insurgent groups that are also destabilizing Afghanistan.

The bombers struck at two different gates just as workers were leaving the sprawling arms facility in Wah, a garrison city 20 miles (35 kilometers) west of the capital, Islamabad.

Rana Tanveer, who was working at a bank about 200 yards (meters) from one of the gates where a bomber struck, said he was among the first to reach the scene.

"All around the gate I saw blood and human flesh. People helped the injured and took them in their cars and even on motorbikes to the hospital," he told The Associated Press. "Seven or eight people were already dead and another 10 people were breathing their last."

Tanvir Lodhi, a spokesman for Pakistan Ordnance Factories, said 59 people were killed. Mohammed Azhar, a hospital official, said 70 others were wounded.

Among more than a dozen bodies seen by an AP Television News reporter at the hospital were two wearing uniforms, though an army spokesman said he had no information that security forces were among the dead.

Pakistani forces are involved in an escalating battle with Islamic extremists in two nearby regions of the country's violence-plagued northwest, despite government efforts to negotiate peace with extremist groups.

Maulvi Umar, a spokesman for Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, a militant umbrella group, said the suicide bombings were revenge for airstrikes in Bajur, a militant stronghold near the Afghan border.

Umar said militants would carry out similar attacks in other major cities, including Islamabad and the southern port metropolis of Karachi, unless the military halts its operations.

"Only innocent people die when the Pakistan army carries out airstrikes in Bajur or Swat," he said, referring to a mountain valley where the army has vowed to clear out militants who have kidnapped and killed police and troops and burned girls' schools.

"If the army is really fond of fighting, it should send ground forces to see how we fight," Umar told AP by telephone from an undisclosed location.

Regional police Chief Nasir Durrani said the bomber struck as workers were streaming out after a shift change at the weapons complex, Pakistan's largest.

"There are two torn bodies lying there which we believe are those of the suicide bombers," Durrani said.

Soldiers and police later sealed off the area and prevented reporters from approaching. Television footage showed workers struggling to lift a blackened corpse onto a stretcher. Crows as well as forensic teams picked through the scraps of flesh and scattered shoes.

Durrani said experts would try to reconstruct the bombers' faces to try to identify them.

At the hospital, relatives searched frantically for loved ones as doctors worked to save those most seriously injured.

A young man who gave his name as Mohammad Asif stood wailing after identifying the lifeless body of his 60-year-old father in an ambulance.

"He was a humble man ... What wrong did he do to anyone? Why was he punished? These cruel people have taken away the great shadow of my father," Asif said.

The bombers managed to enter the cantonment area of the town undetected, but did not penetrate the tightly controlled weapons complex, which houses about a dozen factories.

According to the army, the factories produce rifles, machine guns and ammunition as well as grenades, and tank and artillery shells. Abbas said the perimeter is guarded by a dedicated paramilitary force.

Experts have suggested that facilities related to Pakistan's secretive nuclear weapons program are located in the Wah area, possibly including a uranium enrichment plant. Abbas insisted the complex attacked on Thursday was producing only conventional weapons.

'Entertainment Tonight' mum on Jolie twins snafu

In the world of celebrity news, prematurely declaring the birth of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's twins is like calling an election before enough votes are counted. That was the problem facing the TV show "Entertainment Tonight," which on Monday would not discuss its report that Jolie had given birth, even though Pitt's manager and other news organizations had declared it untrue.

"This is an absolutely huge, huge story for us," said Sarah Ivens, editor in chief of OK! magazine. "Essentially you have two of the most beautiful, famous people in the world. We've all seen they've had one baby, Shiloh, and it is the coolest, most adorable baby on the planet. And this time they're having two? It can't get any better."

It was "pandemonium" at the offices of Us Weekly when the "Entertainment Tonight" report was posted Friday morning, said Dina Sansing, the magazine's entertainment director.

People magazine was first to report that the story was not true. Us Weekly checked its own sources and concluded the same, Sansing said.

During its broadcast on Friday night, "Entertainment Tonight" said that "a source who says she was inside the delivery room tells us yes, the babies were born and yes, mother and babies are doing fine." The newsmagazine also quoted another Web site in giving the babies' alleged names.

Later, however, the story was removed from the "Entertainment Tonight" Web site. A representative from the show, who refused to speak on the record, said Monday that the story had not been retracted. The representative would not comment on whether the show had checked back with the original source after Pitt's manager denied the births.

The show's veteran executive producer, Linda Bell Blue, did not return a call seeking comment on Monday.

"Entertainment Tonight" didn't mention the story on Monday's broadcast. It did, however, pick up quotes from a magazine interview with Angelina Jolie about being married.

The report of the babies' birth was magnified when The Associated Press reported that "Entertainment Tonight" had said the twins had arrived. Although The AP could not immediately confirm or debunk the report, its editors talked with an "Entertainment Tonight" spokeswoman about the source and "we felt confident that they had the story nailed down," said Lou Ferrara, AP managing editor who supervises entertainment coverage.

The AP also felt that "Entertainment Tonight" had a solid reputation in the world of celebrity news, he said.

The story shifted as the day went on Friday, with other celebrity publications posting anonymous denials, and then AP quoting Pitt's manager, Cynthia Pett-Dante, saying it was not true.

The incident has damaged the AP's relationship with "Entertainment Tonight," Ferrara said.

"If you have the story, stand up and shout it from the mountaintops," he said. "If you've got it wrong, you've got to shout it from the mountaintops that you've got it wrong."

A competing newsmagazine, "Access Hollywood," specifically told viewers that its rival had blown it.

"As news and information move at a lightning pace, it's all the more reason to be right first than first wrong," said Rob Silverstein, "Access Hollywood" executive producer.

Jolie has said the babies are due in August. Ivens said OK! grew more comfortable over the weekend that the "Entertainment Tonight" story was wrong because of other clues. There were no reports of flowers being delivered to hospitals, or grandparents flying in, she said, and Pitt was seen attending a sporting event over the weekend _ an unlikely spot for a new father of premature twins.

McCormick Pl. gets new rules that work

Great news for exhibitors at McCormick Place! From now on, ifthey need only one man for a job, the union will require that onlyone man be sent.

And if you think that's really something, then consider anotherchange: If an exhibitor needs to replace a light bulb, he'll beallowed to screw it in himself! (Unless of course, a ladder or toolsare needed, in which case a union member will be required).

That such changes are being hailed as a major, dramatic advancefor McCormick Place merely demonstrates how badly the changes wereneeded. The first work-rule changes since McCormick Place opened inthe 1960s, they indeed will make the giant lakefront exhibition hallmore competitive with other cities.

For years, exhibitors have chided Chicago for the old rules;they were so costly and such a pain in the neck that McCormick Placewas in danger of losing business to more enlightened exhibitioncenters in other cities.

You can get an idea of just how costly and annoying the ruleswere by looking at what the new rules will allow:

Besides being permitted to screw in some of their own lightbulbs, exhibitors also will no longer have to call in one ofMcCormick Place's union electricians to connect their own sound andvideo equipment (as long as it doesn't require tools or a ladder).Among other things, exhibitors also will be allowed to connect theirown computer components, such as keyboards and printers (as long asthe interfacing cables do not exceed 10 feet in length); do their ownvideo taping within the booth; put up their own small booths and blowup their own balloons (provided they are not used in the display).

And this: "On computer equipment and small appliances, crewsizes for operations requiring a rigger will be determined by thesize of the job. If only one man is needed to do the work, then onlyone rigger will be required."

Hosanna.

We don't mean to belittle this surprising and most welcomeagreement. For years, many people in town and out have been beggingfor reform of the work rules. Now that the changes are here, it'sjust - well, hard to believe. Congratulations to the unions thatagreed to them and to the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority,which negotiated the deal.

That any change at all was negotiated is testimony to how realexhibitors' threats to go elsewhere had become. We only hope thatthe agreement signals a new understanding by one and all that in thisbusiness we sink or swim together.

World stocks mixed on economic worries

World stock markets were mixed Monday as early enthusiasm over China's $586 billion economic stimulus plan dissipated amid renewed worries about the world economy after U.S. electronics retailer Circuit City Stores Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection.

U.S. shares, which opened strongly following Friday's strong finish, were down. The Dow Jones index of leading shares fell 31.38 points, or 0.4 percent, to 8,912.43.

The losses on Wall Street prompted some selling in Europe before the close after earlier strong gains in the wake of the Chinese stimulus package.

The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares ended up only 38.96 points, or 0.9 percent, at 4,403.92, while Germany's DAX was 87.07 points, or 1.8 percent, higher at 5,025.53. France's CAC-40 was 36.63 points, or 1.1 percent, higher at 3,505.75.

Investors became increasingly concerned that the economic recession in the U.S. will be deeper than anticipated and could lead to some high-profile casualties.

"That's likely to hold any recovery somewhat in check," said Hugh Johnson, chairman and chief investment officer of Johnson Illington Advisors.

Those corporate concerns were stoked further Monday when Circuit City, the second biggest electronics retailer in the U.S., filed under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code, which will allow it to hold off creditors and continue operations while it develops a financial reorganization plan.

Circuit City's woes come hot on the heels of General Motors Corp.'s warning Friday that it may run out of cash next year. GM _ one of the 30 companies that make up the Dow _ fell $1.06, or 24 percent, to $3.30.

Worries about the state of the world's largest economy took their toll on oil prices, which were sharply higher early in the session. By early afternoon New York time though, the cost of a barrel was down $0.75 cents at $60.29.

Earlier, the U.S. and Europe followed across the board increases in Asia as investors cheered, at least initially, China's unveiling of a massive 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) stimulus package to help stave off much of the economic slowdown. The package involves a mix of spending, subsidies, looser credit policies and tax cuts.

However, enthusiasm for the package diminished through the day.

"The announcement is not as impressive as it sounds," said Capital Economics analyst Mark Williams. "No details have been given on how much of this spending would be new and the net increase is likely to be a lot less."

Other countries, including the U.S., are expected to unveil fiscal packages soon. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown used an interview on GMTV earlier to suggest that countries could use tax cuts or increase spending to pull themselves out of the downturn.

"What I am determined to do is to get all countries around the world trying to get their economies moving again and one way you can do that is by putting more money into the economy by tax cuts or by public spending rises," Brown said.

Earlier enthusiasm for the Chinese package helped Tokyo's Nikkei 225 stock average surge 498.43 points, or 5.8 percent, to 9,081.43, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 501.20 points, or 3.5 percent, to 14,744.63.

In mainland China, where the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index has fallen by more than two-thirds since peaking October, the index soared 7.3 percent to 1,874.80. Markets in India, Australia, Singapore and South Korea joined the region's advance.

The dollar was down 0.3 percent, at 98.02 yen, while the euro was 0.4 percent higher at $1.2772.

___

AP Business Writers Madlen Read in New York Jeremiah Marquez in Hong Kong and AP reporters Elaine Kurtenbach in Shanghai and Shino Yuasa in Tokyo contributed to this report.

George Michael to be sentenced for drug driving

LONDON (AP) — George Michael is facing a fine or jail time after he admitted driving while under the influence of drugs.

The singer pleaded guilty last month to driving under the influence and possession of cannabis following an incident on July 4 when his Range Rover crashed into a photo shop in north London.

Police said Michael appeared "spaced out" when they found him sitting in the car, its engine still running.

It was the latest in a string of automotive and drug-related mishaps for the 47-year-old star.

At a hearing last month, Judge Robin McPhee banned Michael from driving for six months, and warned he could face jail time.

Michael is due to be sentenced Tuesday at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court in London.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Cologne signs defender Eichner from Hoffenheim

COLOGNE, Germany (AP) — Defender Christian Eichner is joining struggling FC Cologne from Bundesliga rival Hoffenheim.

Cologne said Wednesday that the 28-year-old Eichner's contract lasts through the end of this season. He will join Cologne at its winter training camp.

Cologne gave no financial details of the deal. The club went into the winter break third from bottom in the Bundesliga, with 15 points from 17 games.

Eichner's arrival comes after Cologne also signed former Bayern Munich goalkeeper Michael Rensing.

AP-Yahoo News poll: More than ever, public sees Obama as agent of change, McCain as just old

Now more than ever, it's the old man against the agent of change.

Ask people to blurt out their first words about the two presidential candidates and one in five say "change" or "outsider" for Barack Obama and "old" for John McCain, according to an Associated Press-Yahoo News poll released Monday. Those are not only the top responses for each man but the ones used most often since January, when fewer than one in 10 volunteered those descriptions.

Four months from Election Day, the survey underscores that people see quality and question marks in both contenders as they struggle to control their images. Lack of experience is the next most frequently offered view of Obama, 46, the Democrat who came to the Senate from Illinois less than four years ago; for McCain, 71, the Republican senator from Arizona and Vietnam prisoner of war, it's his military service.

"My husband and I are about the same age as McCain, and I don't think we'd be in a position to take this country in the direction it needs to go," said Rosemary Bates, 65, of Barre, Vermont, an Obama supporter. "We've grown up in a different era. Something is not working and it needs to be changed."

Obama is seen as warmer and more empathetic, McCain stronger and tougher. When people are asked whether specific words and phrases apply to each man, the Democrat does 12 percentage points better for caring about "people like you" and is 11 points more likable. McCain has a 24-point edge as a military leader and is 9 points more decisive.

The Republican's military service "gives him credibility when it comes to running a war, and to running this country when it's at war," said Lydia Muri, 52, a McCain backer from San Diego. "If you haven't been in that situation, it takes away from your credibility."

The image differences even extend to the issues people most trust them to handle. McCain is seen as more capable on hard-edged problems like Iraq, terrorism and guns, while Obama is preferred on domestic matters like the economy, the environment and education.

The AP-Yahoo News poll, conducted by Knowledge Networks, has surveyed about 2,000 people since November to gauge how individuals' views are changing during the presidential campaign. The repeated interviews show the candidates' images have evolved gradually since the fall, with both getting higher favorable and unfavorable marks as additional people form opinions.

Yet peer down to the person-by-person level and things are more tumultuous. Just four in 10 Obama supporters have the same opinion of him that they had in November, with slightly more of the remainder turning more negative. McCain's backers are divided about evenly among those with the same, better or worse views of him.

"In November he was a member of a crowd," said Sam Kemp, 50, of San Francisco, who sees Obama more positively now. "There's more information about his views now."

Racial differences are clear. While whites are evenly split over which candidate better understands the problems of ordinary people, they are a bit likelier to say McCain shares their values, and prefer him by 2-to-1 for keeping the country safe. Nine in 10 blacks say Obama would do just fine in each of those areas, with only small fractions saying so about McCain.

The survey suggests Obama faces a bigger problem than McCain from growing negative impressions.

Both are seen favorably by about half of those surveyed, and unfavorably by roughly four in 10. But Obama's image has deteriorated with two crucial groups: 52 percent of whites view him negatively, up 12 points from November. And 48 percent of independents have an unfavorable view of him, up from 31 percent last fall.

Obama has not capitalized on his party's far stronger popularity than the Republican Party, while McCain is exceeding his party's miserable public perception. Obama is viewed less positively than the Democratic Party by 5 percentage points, while McCain's favorable image is 9 points better than the Republican Party's.

That suggests a lost opportunity so far for Obama, and that McCain has had some success distinguishing himself from a Republican Party that only four in 10 think of positively.

The poll also shows Obama still has wounds to heal among those who backed Hillary Rodham Clinton, his Democratic rival in this year's bitter primary campaign. The number of Clinton supporters who find Obama likable and strong has not improved since November, and those considering him honest has actually dropped.

McCain has problems lurking, too. Six in 10 think he will follow the policies of the widely disliked President George W. Bush, including more than half of whites, three in 10 Republicans and nearly six in 10 independents. That's a linkage Obama is sure to emphasize in hopes of fraying McCain's support.

In addition, respondents who are either undecided or say they could change their minds are as likely as everyone else to volunteer "old" when describing McCain _ not the attribute his campaign wants them focused on. So do one in seven independents, a significant number.

And people who in January did not provide a word for McCain now offer "old" far more often than anything else _ hinting that those paying little attention to the campaign six months ago are now struck by McCain's age.

The AP-Yahoo News poll of 1,759 adults was conducted from June 13-23 and had an overall margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.3 percentage points. Included were interviews with 844 Democrats and 637 Republicans, for whom the margins of sampling error were plus or minus 3.4 points and 3.9 points, respectively.

The poll was conducted over the Internet by Knowledge Networks, which initially contacted people using traditional telephone polling methods and followed with online interviews. People chosen for the study who had no Internet access were given it for free.

___

AP News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius contributed to this report.

___

On the Net:

Polling site: http://news.yahoo.com/polls

Haye hopes Klitschko fight can be rescheduled

David Haye hopes his world heavyweight title fight against Wladimir Klitschko can be rescheduled for July.

The British fighter pulled out of the scheduled June 20 bout against the IBF and WBO champion on Wednesday after injuring his back in training.

The fight was scheduled to take place before a sellout crowd of more than 60,000 at Schalke's football stadium in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.

Haye's manager, Adam Booth, said Thursday the boxer was returning to Britain for treatment and hoped a new fight date would be arranged.

"It looks like there will be only a three-week delay from the original fight date, which hopefully means that Wladimir will only postpone the fight, rather than cancel it," Booth said in statement.

Haye is 22-1 and has recently moved up from cruiserweight. Klitschko, considered the best of the heavyweights, is 52-3.

"I'm sorry to disappoint all my fans across the world and I hope that once I have had the sufficient treatment, I will be able to start training again and we can get the fight on as soon as possible," Haye said. "I know this is the fight the fans want and I will do everything to make sure it happens."

Klitschko's manager, Bernd Boente, said the fight could be moved to late July.

"Contractually, we have to first of all see how bad the injury is," he told Setanta Sports News. "If there is just a small postponement, maybe we could do the fight four weeks later. We have put a lot of training into the fight but we will have to see."

Klitschko voiced his frustration and suggested he could find a new opponent.

"I've been waiting for this David Haye fight for half a year," Klitschko said. "But now I have no David Haye on June 20th, so we'll keep the date and I wish a fast recovery to him."

Actresses win 'war' at Performance Network

REVIEW

'The War Since Eve'

Performance Network Theatre, 120 E. Huron St., Ann Arbor. Thursday-Sunday through Feb. 13. $25-$41. 734-663-0681.

www.performaneenetwork.org

Some time ago I attended a staged reading of a new play by local author Kim Carney. I've been a fan of Carney ' s work for quite some time - she's the author of such favorites as "The Home Team" and "Moonglow," for example - and so out of curiosity I trekked to Ann Arbor one night to check out her latest project. "The War Since Eve" was under consideration for an upcoming production at Performance Network Theatre, teased Artistic Director David Wolber, and after an impressive read-through, it came as no surprise that months later the Network announced its world premiere during the company's 2010-11 season.

It was then that I decided to review the show. It would be fun, I thought, to see how the show has evolved since its initial reading - and what Carney changed to make the work stronger. (She received plenty of comments after the initial reading - some insightful, some not.) But what cemented my decision was director Wolber' s choice to bring back actors Henrietta Hermelin and Leah Smith and added Sarab Kamoo to complete the cast. With a dream team such as this, how could the show miss?

On opening night I discovered the answer: Carney and Performance Network have another hit on their hands!

"The War Since Eve" is the story of Roxie Firestone (Hermelin), a beloved 70- something feminist icon whose life and life choices come back to haunt her after she arrives in Washington D. C. to accept the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Accompanied by her eldest daughter, the over-worked and under-appreciated Milty (Smith), the feisty, outspoken and very opinionated Firestone plans to blaze yet another new trail: She's writing a memorable speech for the presentation - despite the fact honorees are to be seen and not heard from. "Well-behaved women seldom make history," Roxie says with condescension toward the award's protocol. And feminism's leading voice has been anything BUT well behaved throughout the decades - at least according to rules promulgated by polite society. "Let's just say... it's gonna be memorable."

Of course, the night becomes just that - but for a totally different reason.

A knock at the door reveals Roxie's youngest daughter, Tara (Kamoo), who's been estranged from the family for 20 years. "Let the dead rest," Roxie said of Tara in an earlier conversation. But when face to face with her long-lost daughter, Tara is warmly welcomed back into the fold - much to Milty' s shock and chagrin. But hold on tight to your copy of the "Feminist Manifesto," because by the time the night ends, long-held secrets will come tumbling out faster than you can say "Gloria Steinern" -and the family may never be the same again.

Nor will audiences, after watching Carney's delightful story unfold before their very eyes. Plays featuring an entire cast of strong female characters are rare - as are juicy roles for the more seasoned actress. Yet that's precisely what Carney delivers with "The War Since Eve."

Although the play's title relates to feminism's fight for equality (and comes from the speech Roxie made upon receiving her medal from President Obama), it actually refers to a different battle that has raged since the beginning of time: the push-and-shove and the love-and-hate between mothers and their daughters.

To tell her story, each of Carney 's characters is well defined. One daughter sacrificed her own life and happiness to devote herself entirely to her mother's career, while the other rebelled and married the man her mother despised. And one award Roxie will never receive is that of Mother of the Year. Yet despite the problems between them, Carney never loses sight of the familial bonds that unite them.

[Sidebar]

Henrietta Hermelin and Leah Smith in "The War Since Eve." Photo: Jude Walton

[Sidebar]

To read the complete review, log on to ...

www.EncoreMichigan.com or PrideSource.com

Italy arrives at its Euro 2008 training base in spa town outside Vienna

Italy arrived at its training base for the European Championship on Monday after a short flight from Milan.

The World Cup champions are staying in Baden, a leafy spa town on the southern outskirts of Vienna where Ludwig Van Beethoven used to vacation.

A handful of fans were waiting outside the Hotel Schloss Weikersdorf when Italy's bus arrived.

The Azzurri were to hold their first training session later Monday at the Bundesstadion Sudstadt in Enzersdorf.

Italy plays all three of its group games in Switzerland.

The Azzurri open against the Netherlands in Bern next Monday, face Romania in Zurich four days later, then close out group play against France on June 17.

Chicken soup for your troops

Williams Country Store

Chicken Noodle soup mix

Price: $4.79

Makes 8 1-cup servings

1 serving: 100 calories, 1.5 g fat, 480 mg sodium

Two stars

When the temperature dipped, the troops were shouting for soup, soOutta tried Williams Country Stores chicken noodle. The package saidit was 44created to be every bit as good as the homemade soups youremember from your childhood. Plus, it was 44made with hearty,wholesome ingredients for 44a rich, flavorful taste. The deal-maker,however, was that the 8-ounce dry package serves eight. This was nocup-of-soup, this was pot-of-soup. Sold!

It had carrots and celery, scoring it as a bit more ambitious thanmost dry soup mixes. The noodles were nice and fat. Plus it made awhole lot of soup-plenty for seconds--in less than half an hour.

However, it is an insult to grandmothers to say that Williamschicken noodle was every bit as good as the soups from childhood. Itis not bad, but it is not that good.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

VOA NEWS: U.S., VIETNAM TO COOPERATE ON AGENT ORANGE DAMAGE

The Voice of America issued the following story:

By Matt Steinglass

When Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet met United States President George Bush in Washington last week, they announced new efforts to tackle the damage caused by Agent Orange. Although the countries agreed victims of Agent Orange need help, scientists are still arguing over how harmful the chemical defoliant really was. Matt Steinglass has more from Hanoi.

Vietnam claims about three million of its citizens suffer health problems stemming from Agent Orange, which U.S. forces sprayed on Vietnamese jungles during the Vietnam War. The defoliant contained high levels of the toxic chemical dioxin.

For many years, the United States rejected Vietnamese appeals for compensation for these victims, saying claims that diseases were caused by Agent Orange were not supported scientifically.

But recently, the U.S. has increased funding for medical aid to people with disabilities in Vietnam, and the U.S. Congress has appropriated $3 million for cleanup and treatment of dioxin-related illnesses.

Tom Leckinger, Hanoi representative of the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, is pleased.

"I've been involved with Agent Orange literally since like the late '70s [1970s]," he said. "It has moved more in the past two years than it had in the entire the decades prior to that."

At a recent workshop in Hanoi, the U.S. Department of Defense presented Vietnam's Defense Ministry with an exhaustive two-year study showing how much Agent Orange had been stored and sprayed, and where.

Nathan Sage, environment officer at the U.S. Agency for International Development in Hanoi, says such cooperation is part of the countries' increasingly friendly relationship.

"The level of cooperation on this issue has never been better," said Sage. "And we will continue to support them because they asked for the assistance."

Leckinger says attitudes began to shift in late 2005, when a study by a chemical analysis firm, Hatfield Consultants, showed high levels of dioxin contamination on former U.S. bases where Agent Orange was stored, but no contamination in the countryside.

"I believe that freed up the Vietnamese government to finally come forward and say, 'Now we have to address this,' without being concerned about export issues, agricultural and seafood exports," he said.

It also reassured the U.S. that assistance could focus on cleaning up dioxin "hot spots" near former U.S. bases.

Although the governments are cooperating, the scientists still often disagree on how much Agent Orange-related dioxin is in Vietnam, and what the health effects are.

U.S. scientist Alvin Young has been studying Agent Orange since the early 1970s. He says the Hatfield data on dioxin in the central Vietnamese city of Danang, is misleading.

He says much of the dioxin, or "TCDD", that Hatfield found might have come from other sources. Young points to Hatfield's discovery of dioxin in the Vietnamese city of Can Tho, which he says probably came from the open-air burning of trash at a municipal dump.

"My conclusion: it is highly unlikely that Hatfield Consultants detected TCDD from Agent Orange," Young said.

Dr. Le Ke Son, head of the Vietnamese Red Cross's Agent Orange victims program, disagrees. He says he has found clusters of birth defects near Agent Orange storage sites.

Son notes that the U.S. government has recently set aside money to help Agent Orange victims. He says Vietnam appreciates this as a sign that the U.S. sees the problem from a new angle.

For three years, a group of Vietnamese Agent Orange victims has been suing the U.S. manufacturers of the defoliant. The suit was dismissed in 2005, but the Vietnamese appealed and argued their case in New York last week.

Leckinger of the Vietnam Veterans Group says that, even if the suit is reinstated, compensation is a long way off.

"I would bet a month's salary we're looking at 10 years before this thing would come even close to a trial," he said. "So to be implying that there's some level of compensation in any near future time-frame is simply raising people's hopes falsely."

Even if some American scientists still do not accept how serious the damage from Agent Orange was, the U.S. and Vietnamese governments are cooperating to help some of those who Vietnam says are victims. For those long involved in the issue, that counts as progress.

Steinglass report: http://www.voanews.com/mediaassets/english/2007_06/Audio/Mp3/steinglass_vietnam_agent_orange_26jun07.Mp3

Listen to Steinglass report: http://www.voanews.com/english/figleaf/mp3filegenerate.cfm?filepath=http://www.voanews.com/mediaassets/english/2007_06/Audio/Mp3/steinglass_vietnam_agent_orange_26jun07.Mp3