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* stephen hawking's univers
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new zealand miners, louise heal
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Biodun@bbcnews.com
Monday, 12 April 2010
Mine blast probe awaits recovery of final 9 bodies
Topic: wvirginia coal mine, biodun igin


 
Investigators set to enter W. Va. mine Play Video AP  – Investigators set to enter W. Va. mine
Related Quotes
Symbol Price Change
^DJI 11,005.97 +8.62
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^IXIC 2,457.87 +3.

William Roosevelt Lynch AP – A miner's helmet is placed amid the floral arrangements surrounding the casket of miner William Roosevelt …

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Federal investigators arrived Monday at the West Virginia mine where 29 men died in an explosion last week to begin piecing together what caused the worst U.S. coal mining disaster since 1970.

Thirty miles to the north, hundreds of mourners including the governor observed a moment of silence at the state Capitol, during a wreath-laying ceremony at the foot of a statue honoring the state's miners.

The team of inspectors at the Upper Big Branch mine weren't heading underground until searchers finished the grim task of removing the final nine bodies from the mine. The team from the Mine Safety and Health Administration briefed Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis and MSHA director Joe Main at the mine.

The last bodies were expected to be taken out of the mine Monday afternoon, state mine office spokeswoman Jama Jarrett said. Recovery efforts had been stalled in previous days by volatile gases, but teams had entered by early Monday after the tunnels were ventilated.

The state panel that writes mining safety rules and typically reviews mine inspectors' reports after the investigations are complete said Monday it would like to join the investigators underground this time.

Richmond, Va.-based Massey has been under scrutiny for a string of safety violations at the mine, though CEO Don Blankenship has defended the company's record and disputed accusations that he puts profits ahead of safety.

Authorities have said high methane levels may have played a role in the disaster. Massey has been repeatedly cited and fined for problems with the system that vents methane and for allowing combustible dust to build up.

Hours after the blast, the company flew Gov. Joe Manchin back from a Florida vacation on one of its planes, Manchin said Monday. The governor's top lawyer told him the use of the company's plane was acceptable because it was an emergency and a flight on a state plane couldn't immediately be arranged.

Mourning continued Monday, exactly a week after the explosion, with the ceremony at the state Capitol and a moment of silence at 3:30 p.m. President Barack Obama on Monday ordered all U.S. flags in the state flown at half-staff until sunset Sunday.

Beneath a sunny sky, several hundred people held hands and prayed aloud during the ceremony. Four black-ribboned wreaths were placed at the memorial, as more than a dozen family members of those killed looked on. The largest bore white roses for each miner killed, and two yellow roses for the injured. Twenty-nine yellow helmets were lined up in front of the statue, a black ribbon on each.

A bell rang 29 times for each of the fallen miners. During a moment of silence that followed, sobs could be heard both from the family and the crowd thronged around them with heads bowed.

"Our goal is to have the safest workplace in America," Manchin said. "Someone who's willing to work hard and put everything on the line to provide for themselves and their family...should expect to come home safely."

Solis attended the ceremony and echoed that sentiment, while offering condolences to the family from President Barack Obama.

"No miner should ever lose his life in order to provide for his family," Solis said. "I will do everything in my power to ensure that we prevent these kinds of tragedies."

Related Searches:


Posted by biginla at 11:24 PM BST
Updated: Monday, 12 April 2010 11:27 PM BST
Poland to review travel rules after deadly air crash
Topic: russia, maria ogrylo, Lech Kaczy
Languages
Page last updated at 22:11 GMT, Monday, 12 April 2010 23:11 UK
People wait in line to sign books of condolence next to a sea of  candles left by mourners outside Warsaw's presidential palace, Poland,  12 April 2010
People wait in line to sign a condolence book next to a sea of candles left by mourners outside Warsaw's presidential palace

Poland's acting president is to review travel rules for military officials after the president and other top officials were killed in a plane crash.

Bronislaw Komorowski announced the move as mourning continued for the 96 people killed when the jet crashed in fog while trying to land in western Russia.

President Lech Kaczynski's body is to lie in state in a closed coffin.

Questions are being asked about why the jet's pilots ignored advice to divert to another airport because of the fog.

Russia flew the bodies of victims, many of them believed to be disfigured beyond recognition, to morgues in Moscow where only about a quarter of them have been identified.

The body of the president's wife, Maria Kaczynska, has been identified and is to due to be returned to Poland on Tuesday.

There is no precedent for a dual funeral involving a head of state and his first lady, but a spokesman for the president's office said a joint funeral would be held once the bodies of all those killed had been repatriated.

Those killed had been due to attend a memorial for the Polish victims of the World War II massacre by Soviet secret police at Katyn in the Smolensk region.

Commentators in Poland have stressed the irony that so many senior figures were killed making a visit to commemorate victims of a massacre which targeted the elite of Poland's officer corps.

'Advised against landing'

The Soviet-built Tu-154 airliner clipped tree-tops as it tried to land at a former air base north of the city of Smolensk on Saturday morning.

SENIOR FIGURES KILLED
National leaders:
President Lech Kaczynski and wife Maria
Former President-in-exile Ryszard Kaczorowski
Top civil servant:
Slawomir Skrzypek National Bank of Poland chairman
Other politicians:
Wladyslaw Stasiak chief of the president's chancellery Aleksander Szczyglo chief of the National Security Office
Jerzy Szmajdzinski deputy speaker of the lower house Andrzej Kremer Foreign Ministry's undersecretary of state Stanislaw Komorowski deputy minister of national defence Przemyslaw Gosiewski Law and Justice party deputy chair
Military figures:
Franciszek Gagor chief of the general staff
Andrzej Blasik head of the air force
Andrzej Karweta head of the navy
Tadeusz Buk land forces commander
Aleksander Szczyglo head of the National Security Office
Cultural figures:
Andrzej Przewoznik head of Poland's Council for the Protection of Struggle and Martyrdom Sites
Tomasz Merta chief historical conservator

Polish Prosecutor General Andrzej Seremet said that Polish investigators had talked to the flight controller and flight supervisor and concluded that there had been "no conditions for landing".

"The tower was advising against the landing," he said.

Polish investigators, he said, had not yet listened to the cockpit conversations recorded on the plane's recovered black boxes but would do so to see if there had been "any suggestions made to the pilots" from other people aboard the plane.

There has been speculation the pilot and co-pilot, who were both aged 36, were under pressure not to delay the landing.

Sergei Ivanov, Russia's first deputy prime minister, said the black boxes were "absolutely functional and recorded absolutely all the information, sound as well as parametric [information], till the moment of crash".

"It is reliably confirmed that warning of the unfavourable weather conditions at the North airport and recommendations to go to a reserve airport were not only transmitted but received by the crew of the plane," he added.

Mr Seremet said the remains of 87 people had been found so far and he hoped the rest would be retrieved when the crash debris was lifted with heavy machinery.

Special session

A special joint session of the Polish parliament has been called for Tuesday to debate the disaster whose victims included MPs.

Kaczynski tributes at Warsaw palace

It is believed the funerals could be held this weekend.

The crash shocked many Russians as well, the BBC's Duncan Kennedy reports from Warsaw.

President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have devoted much time and effort to dealing with the aftermath of the crash, he adds, and Monday was a day of mourning in Russia.

The country was "suffering and grieving together with the Poles", Mr Putin told a cabinet meeting.

Russia's handling of the tragedy has been widely appreciated by many in Poland, though others suggest the thaw in relations may not last, our correspondent says.

At least 130 relatives have been flown to the Russian capital in the hope of helping forensic scientists to identify their loved ones' remains. They are being aided by Polish and Russian psychologists.

"We all had to fulfil this difficult duty," said Rafal Dobrzeniecki, whose fiancee's father died in the crash. "I never had the chance to call him my dear father-in-law, he will always stay in my memory."

Map of crashed flight



RELATED INTERNET LINKS
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FROM OTHER NEWS SITES
National Post A list of Polish state officials killed in Saturday's plane crash - 3 hrs ago
CNN Polish president's funeral to take place on Saturday - 7 hrs ago
France24 POLAND: Russia, EU join Warsaw on official day of mourning - 12 hrs ago
Sky News Body Of Polish President Arrives In Warsaw - 29 hrs ago
Boston GlobeNotable passengers on the jet - 32 hrs ago
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FEATURES, VIEWS, ANALYSIS

Posted by biginla at 11:14 PM BST
Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community
Topic: common dreams, bbc news, biodun

Monday 04.12.10

Headlines...

The 'Obama Doctrine': Kill, Don't Detain
http://act.commondreams.org/go/190?akid=21.12486.KywXxx&t=2

Confidential Document Reveals Obama's Hardline US Climate Talk Strategy
http://act.commondreams.org/go/191?akid=21.12486.KywXxx&t=4

Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld Knew They Were Innocent
http://act.commondreams.org/go/192?akid=21.12486.KywXxx&t=6

US Ignorance of Afghan Society Led to Botched Raids
http://act.commondreams.org/go/193?akid=21.12486.KywXxx&t=8

Tax Day Prompts Rethinking on Climate Policy
http://act.commondreams.org/go/194?akid=21.12486.KywXxx&t=10

'Food Hero' says to Value Soil, Not Oil
http://act.commondreams.org/go/195?akid=21.12486.KywXxx&t=12

and more...

****************************************************

 

Help us reach our Spring Goal.

Posted by biginla at 11:05 PM BST
Fears military order may allow West Bank deportations
Topic: israeli-palestinian conflict, na
Languages
Page last updated at 14:17 GMT, Monday, 12 April 2010 15:17 UK
Israeli Soldiers and Palestinain protesters in the twon of Beit  Jala near Bethlehem 11April 2010
Israeli troops would have the power to deport people within 72 hours

Israel is set to impose a military order which rights groups say could see tens of thousands of Palestinians deported from the occupied West Bank.

The order, which comes into force on Tuesday, could have "severe ramifications" for people in the West Bank, human rights groups say.

It classifies people without the right Israeli paperwork as "infiltrators".

Many people in the West Bank have ID cards from neighbouring countries, or papers that list Gaza as their home.

Many others are married to other Palestinians who at one time lived in refugee camps in neighbouring Jordan, Egypt, Syria or Lebanon, and may not have Israeli-approved ID cards.

The Israeli military says that existing orders already allow for the deportation of West Bank Palestinians deemed by Israel to be there illegally, and the new order adds a layer of judicial oversight over deportation procedures.

'Permit'

The wording of the order, known as the Order Regarding Prevention of Infiltration, has been amended from when it was originally drawn up in 1969.

The definition of "infiltrator" was then: "A person who entered the area knowingly and unlawfully after having been present in the east bank of the Jordan, Syria, Egypt or Lebanon following the effective date (of the order being given)."

These military orders belong in an apartheid state. Extensive in scope, they make it infinitely easier for Israel to imprison and expel Palestinians from the West Bank
Saeb Erekat
Chief Palestinian negotiator

Under the new order this would be changed to: "Infiltrator - a person who entered the area unlawfully following the effective date, or a person who is present in the area and does not lawfully hold a permit".

"The orders are worded so broadly such as theoretically allowing the military to empty the West Bank of almost all its Palestinian inhabitants," a letter written by human rights organisation HaMoked and signed by 10 other groups to Defence Minister Ehud Barak said.

72 Hours

But the IDF said Israel was within its rights to restrict people entering the West Bank illegally, and the order was being amended to allow what it called "judicial oversight" in cases of accused "illegal sojourners".

Under the military order, deportations from the West Bank can be carried out within 72 hours.

Suspected "infiltrators" could also be jailed for up to seven years under the new orders. Anyone being removed might also have to pay for the cost of their own deportation, the order says.

This is a pre-existing order which was corrected to assure judicial oversight of the extradition process
IDF statement

The group of 10 Human rights groups in Israel who condemned the new orders included HaMoked - who uncovered the amendments to the order - Betselem, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, and Rabbis for Human rights.

Many Palestinians in the West Bank hold ID cards from neighbouring countries that Israel classifies as its enemies, because they have returned from refugee camps there over the last few years. Some have no identity cards and are technically "stateless persons".

The order could also apply to people from foreign countries friendly to Israel, like the US, UK and Europe.

Sarit Michaeli, director of Betselem, says the order would also undermine the Palestinian Authority, led by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.

"That such a sweeping order, such a draconian order, was allowed to pass without any amount of public debate or proper advertisement, an order which could effect every Palestinian, we intend to fight it in the courts," she told the BBC.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said the new measures "belong in an apartheid state".

"Extensive in scope, they make it infinitely easier for Israel to imprison and expel Palestinians from the West Bank," he said in a statement.

'Pre-existing order'

The IDF said said in a statement that all the requisite notices of the change to the orders had been given.

"The IDF is ready to implement the order, which is not intended to apply to Israelis, but to illegal sojourners in Judea and Samaria [the West Bank]. This is a pre-existing order which was corrected to assure judicial oversight of the extradition process," a statement from the IDF said.

Correspondents say there is great uncertainty among Palestinians about what the new military order means and to what extent it will be enforced.

Confusion about what is meant by a "permit" has lead human rights groups to fear the order could leave many more people vulnerable to deportation than in the past, but it seems their main concern is over two groups who were already at risk.

The first are those whose identity cards show them as Gazans, but who have been living in the West Bank, and children they have had while living there. Israel does not allow them to change their status from Gaza to the West Bank, despite the fact that under the Oslo Accords, Gaza and the West Bank were to be considered a single entity.

The second group are spouses of Palestinians, who entered on limited-time visas and have stayed, but not been granted official status.

Both groups could previously have been deported if discovered - for example while passing through a checkpoint in the West Bank - but the possible jail sentences are now tougher.

Human rights groups say Israel has frozen changes to ID cards for many people in both these groups since 2000, leading to the situation where tens of thousands of people are living in the West Bank without the necessary official permission to stay.

Close to 500,000 Jews live in more than 100 settlements built since Israel's 1967 occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The settlements are illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.

There are around 2.5 million Palestinians living in the West Bank.




Posted by biginla at 10:48 PM BST
Former leader of Nigeria Babangida to run for president
Topic: Ibrahim Babangida, nigeria, toku
Languages
Page last updated at 15:57 GMT, Monday, 12 April 2010 16:57 UK
General Ibrahim Babangida
Ibrahim Babangida lost power after he annulled 1993 elections

Nigerian former military leader Gen Ibrahim Babangida will run in the 2011 presidential poll, his spokesman says.

He told the BBC that Gen Babangida will seek the nomination of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP).

Gen Babangida took power in 1985 in a bloodless coup, but was forced to step down in 1993 when he annulled elections generally considered to be fair.

He had declared he wanted the PDP nomination for 2007 elections, but later withdrew his candidacy.

The PDP has said that its presidential candidate will be from the mainly Muslim north, which includes Gen Babangida - or IBB as he is known in Nigeria.

IBRAHIM BABANGIDA
Senior officer during Nigeria's civil war, 1967-70
Participated in three coups - becoming leader in 1985
Survived a 1990 coup attempt
Resigned presidency in 1993 after nationwide strikes and protests
Nicknamed "Maradona" for his clever political dribbling skills
Gave himself the title "Evil genius"

President Umaru Yar'Adua has not been seen in public since November 2009 because of his ill-health and is considered unlikely to seek re-election.

Acting President Goodluck Jonathan is from the south and so would not be a candidate under the PDP's policy of alternating power between north and south, with each region having two terms.

Correspondents say IBB, an extremely wealthy northern Muslim, is a polarising figure in Nigerian politics - a man who either inspires great admiration or intense dislike.

He enjoys the goodwill of those he empowered during his eight-year military rule - people who now hold influential positions in business and politics, and could help his presidential bid.

However, some observers argue that under IBB's rule corruption became endemic in Nigeria, the economy deteriorated and democracy suffered.

His promises to hand over to civilian rule came to nothing and his annulment of the 1993 election allowed military strongman Gen Sani Abacha to assume power.

Gen Babangida pulled out of the 2007 election when then President Olusegun Obasanjo instead declared his support for Mr Yar'Adua's bid for the presidency.



Posted by biginla at 10:31 PM BST
Ukraine 'in uranium pledge' at US nuclear summit
Topic: nuclear proliferation, melissa g
Languages
Page last updated at 20:51 GMT, Monday, 12 April 2010 21:51 UK
Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovych (left) with US President  Barack Obama in Washington, 12 April, 2010
Mr Yanukovych met Mr Obama ahead of Monday's nuclear security summit

Ukraine has agreed to eliminate its stockpile of weapons-grade nuclear material, the US says, as a nuclear security summit opens in Washington.

The White House said Ukraine would by 2012 get rid of enough highly enriched uranium to build "several weapons".

Leaders from 47 countries are taking part in the summit, called by President Barack Obama.

Before the two-day meeting, he said a clear message needed to be sent to Iran over its nuclear ambitions.

White House spokesman Scott Gibbs said: "Today Ukraine announced a landmark decision to get rid of all of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium by the time of the next nuclear security summit in 2012.

"This is something that the United States has tried to make happen for more than 10 years. The material is enough to construct several nuclear weapons."

Al-Qaeda threat?

This summit is all about securing stocks of fissile material - highly enriched uranium and plutonium - that could potentially be used by terrorists to build a nuclear bomb, says the BBC's diplomatic correspondent, Jonathan Marcus, in Washington.

He says the timing of announcing Ukraine's decision may have been choreographed, but it is just the sort of news Mr Obama wants to hear as he launches the summit.

This is an unprecedented gathering - Mr Obama will hope for an unprecedented outcome
Jonathan Marcus
BBC diplomatic correspondent

US officials said that Ukraine has sufficient highly-enriched uranium for several nuclear weapons. This will be removed with some technical and financial help from the United States.

Ukraine's agreement sets a precedent that Mr Obama would like other countries to follow, says our correspondent.

It is estimated there are around 1,600 tonnes of highly enriched uranium in the world - the type used in nuclear weapons.

Experts agree that virtually all of it is held by the acknowledged nuclear-weapons states, most of it in Russia.

There are also about 500 tonnes of the other key ingredient of a nuclear weapon - plutonium.

In total, that is enough to make 120,000 nuclear weapons.

Much international, largely US-funded, effort has attempted to clamp down on the threat of nuclear leakage from Russia in particular, but it remains a concern.

Mr Obama has also highlighted the danger of groups like al-Qaeda getting hold of nuclear devices.

New nuclear policy

Before opening the summit, President Obama held meetings with a handful of international leaders, including Chinese President Hu Jintao, with whom officials said he discussed the prospects of sanctions on Iran.

The White House said in a statement that he had also discussed Iran with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

World leaders have been arriving in Washington ahead of the summit

"The two leaders agreed on the need for the international community to send a clear signal to Iran that while it has the right to develop peaceful uses of nuclear energy, Iran should not use this right to develop nuclear weapons capability," said the statement.

Among those attending the summit are Israel, India and Pakistan - three nations that have not signed the non-proliferation treaty.

Neither North Korea nor Iran, two states with disputed nuclear ambitions, have been invited. The two countries are viewed by the US as violators of the non-proliferation agreement.

Syria was also left off the invitation list because the US believes Damascus has nuclear ambitions, according to the Associated Press news agency.

Israel is being represented at the summit only by a deputy prime minister, amid reports that its government is worried that Turkey and Egypt might use the occasion to raise the issue of its nuclear arsenal.

Last week, the US and Russia signed a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, reducing each country's deployed nuclear arsenal to 1,550 weapons.

Earlier in the week, Mr Obama approved a new nuclear policy for the US, saying he planned to cut the nuclear arsenal, refrain from nuclear tests and not use nuclear weapons against countries that did not have them.




Posted by biginla at 10:17 PM BST
Russia points to human error in fatal Polish crash
Topic: russia, maria ogrylo, Lech Kaczy


 
Polish soldiers stand guard near a sea of candles in front of the  President Palace two days after Polish President Lech Kaczynski died in a  plane cras AP – Polish soldiers stand guard near a sea of candles in front of the President Palace two days after Polish …

WARSAW, Poland – Russian investigators suggested human error may have been to blame in the plane crash that killed the Polish president and 95 others, saying Monday there were no technical problems with the Soviet-made plane.

The Tu-154 went down Saturday while trying to land in dense fog near a Smolensk airport in western Russia. All aboard were killed, including President Lech Kaczynski and dozens of Polish political, military and religious leaders.

They had been traveling in the Polish government-owned plane to attend a memorial in the nearby Katyn forest for thousands of Polish military officers executed 70 years ago by Josef Stalin's secret police.

The pilot had been warned of bad weather in Smolensk, and was advised by traffic controllers to land elsewhere — which would have delayed the Katyn observances.

He was identified as Capt. Arkadiusz Protasiuk, 36, and the co-pilot as Maj. Robert Grzywna, 36. Also in the cockpit were Ensign Andrzej Michalak, 36, and Lt. Artur Zietek, 31.

In Warsaw, there was concern the pilots may have been asked by someone in the plane to land at Smolensk instead of diverting to Minsk or Moscow, in part to avoid missing the ceremonies.

Polish Prosecutor General Andrzej Seremet said Polish investigators talked to the flight controller and flight supervisor and "concluded that there were no conditions for landing."

"The tower was advising against the landing," Seremet said.

The plane was equipped with an instrument landing system, or ILS, said Col. Wieslaw Grzegorzewski of the Polish Defense Ministry.

"I can confirm the pilots were preparing for landing without the ILS system," he said. "The airport didn't have the ILS system."

Russian media reports said the Smolensk airfield is a former military air base that lacks equipment for automatic landings.

The business daily Kommersant said Monday that about 50 military personnel maintain the airport which is used only sporadically for official visits. It said the airfield has no permanent traffic controllers, and they are brought from the city of Tver when it's necessary.

Kommersant also said that that the pilots had been informed about the bad weather in the area while the plane was still over Belarus, but the captain said he would see conditions for himself and then make a decision.

Polish investigators said they will listen to the cockpit conversations recorded on the black boxes to see if there were "any suggestions made to the pilots" from other people aboard the plane.

Other Russian officials said the pilots were offered the chance to land in Moscow, Minsk or Vitebsk, but they chose Smolensk, despite four failed attempts before the fifth and fatal approach.

Polish media reported in August 2008 that pilots flying Kaczynski to Tbilisi refused the president's order to land there because of the country's war with Russia, diverting instead to Azerbaijan.

In remarks on Russian television, Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov told a government meeting including President Dmitry Medvedev that the data recorders on the plane were found to have been completely functional, which will allow a detailed analysis.

"It is reliably confirmed that warning of the unfavorable weather conditions at the North airport and recommendations to go to a reserve airport were not only transmitted but received by the crew of the plane," he said.

Russian investigators have almost finished reading the flight recorders, said Alexander Bastrykin, Russia's chief investigator.

"The readings confirm that there were no problems with the plane, and that the pilot was informed about the difficult weather conditions, but nevertheless decided to land," Bastrykin said during a briefing with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in Smolensk.

The wreckage will remain on site through midweek to speed the investigation, Russian Deputy Transport Minister Igor Levitin said.

In Warsaw, the acting president, Bronislaw Komorowski, moved Monday to start appointing replacements for the many posts left vacant in the presidential office. He appointed a retired general, Stanislaw Koziej, as new National Security Bureau chief, and said the first task he was setting him was a review of the rules for travel of top military officials.

Both Russia and Ukraine declared a day of mourning Monday, as Poles struggled to come to terms with the tragedy that eliminated so many of their government and military leaders.

Tens of thousands watched as Kaczynski's body, returned Sunday to Warsaw, was carried in a coffin by a hearse to the presidential palace. His twin brother, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the former prime minister, was present.

Adam Bielan, an aide to Jaroslaw, said the two brothers spoke briefly Saturday morning when the president called his twin just before the plane crash to say they would be landing soon.

At U.N. headquarters in New York, the U.N.'s blue and white flag flew at half-staff Monday in Kaczynski's memory.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed his "most profound condolence at such a tragic passing away of President Lech Kaczynski, with whom I have been working very closely, especially on climate change."

An annual Holocaust memorial event at Auschwitz-Birkenau on Monday was honoring Kaczynski and the other victims. Organizers of the March of the Living — with some 10,000 Jewish youth marching over about 2 miles (3 kilometers) between the two parts of the former Nazi death camp — said those marching would also remember those killed in Saturday's crash.

Forensics experts from Poland and Russia were working to identify other bodies, including first lady Maria Kaczynska, using DNA testing in many cases.

Jacek Sasin, a spokesman for the Presidential Palace, said Kaczynska's body would be sent to Warsaw on Tuesday.

He said the bodies of the first couple would lie in state at the palace beginning Tuesday, their coffins closed, and the public would be permitted to view them.

"We want every Pole who wants to pay tribute to the president, to be able to come and stand by the coffin," he said.

Sasin said officials are now planning the funeral for Saturday but a final decision depends on when the bodies of all 96 victims are returned home. So far, 87 bodies have been recovered.

Medvedev has said he wants to attend, according to Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski.

Sasin said nothing has been changed in the living quarters of the president and his wife since they were there for breakfast Saturday.

"I don't think there is anyone who would want to change anything there. We still cannot believe what has happened," he said.

Among the victims Saturday was Ryszard Kaczorowski, 90, the last leader of Poland's exiled government in London. The exile leadership was established during the Nazi occupation of Poland and continued to declare itself the rightful government during the decades of communism, until Lech Walesa became Poland's first popularly elected president in 1990.

The crash also took an icon of Poland's Solidarity freedom movement, 80-year-old Anna Walentynowicz. Workers at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk went on strike when Walentynowicz was fired from her job as a crane operator in August 1980 for her opposition activity.

That sparked strikes that spread to other plants across the nation, giving rise to the movement that helped bring about the demise of communism in Poland nine years later.

Also aboard were the army chief of staff, the navy chief commander, and heads of the air and land forces, the national bank president, the deputy foreign minister, the army chaplain, the head of the National Security Office, the deputy parliament speaker, the Olympic Committee head and at least two presidential aides and 17 lawmakers.

___


Posted by biginla at 10:03 PM BST
Updated: Monday, 12 April 2010 10:08 PM BST
Va. paper wins Pulitzer for gas-royalties coverage
Topic: pulitzer prizes, bbc news, biodu


 
FILE - This Nov. 18, 2009 file photo shows T.J. Stiles, awarded  the Pulitzer Prize for Biography for his book AP – FILE - This Nov. 18, 2009 file photo shows T.J. Stiles, awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Biography for …

NEW YORK – The Herald Courier of Bristol, Va., a small paper in the coalfields Appalachia, beat out journalism's powerhouses to win the Pulitzer Prize for public service Monday for uncovering a scandal in which Virginia landowners were deprived of millions in natural gas royalties.

The daily was honored for what many regard as an endangered form of journalism in this age of wrenching newspaper cutbacks — aggressive reporting on local issues.

The Washington Post received four Pulitzers — for international reporting on Iraq, feature writing, commentary and criticism. The New York Times won three — for national reporting, for explanatory reporting, and for investigative reporting for collaborating with the fledgling news service ProPublica for a story on the life-and-death decisions made by New Orleans doctors during Hurricane Katrina.

The ProPublica prize — and an editorial cartooning award for the self-syndicated Mark Fiore, whose work appears on the San Francisco Chronicle Web site SFGate.com — represented a victory for new media in a competition long dominated by ink-on-newsprint.

ProPublica, a 2-year-old organization, is bankrolled by charitable foundations, staffed by distinguished veteran journalists, and devoted to doing the kind of big investigative journalism projects many newspapers have found too expensive.

The Pulitzers opened its doors wider in recent years to online-only material. The changes reflect the seismic shifts going on in the industry in the past decade, with readers getting their news online at all hours, in a never-ending news cycle.

Pulitzer administrator Sig Gissler said there about 100 online entries from 50 sites this year, up from 65 entries last year.

"You could see they're really doing serious journalism," he said. "I think over time they're going to get stronger."

The 33,000-circulation Herald Courier — with only seven reporters — won the Pulitzer for reporter Daniel Gilbert's computer analysis that showed how a state board allowed the energy industry to funnel into an unaudited escrow fund tens of millions of dollars in royalties owed to people in one of the poorest regions of the state.

Gilbert called the award "a hell of an honor" and said it underscores the importance of public service reporting in rural areas.

A prize for investigative reporting also went to the Philadelphia Daily News for exposing a rogue police narcotics squad.

The Seattle Times staff was honored in the breaking news category for its coverage of the shooting deaths of four police officers in a coffee shop.

"It's hard to absorb," said Steve Miletich, one of the reporters who worked on the shooting story. "It was a team effort. We're all really honored by it. We set out to inform the community about a really tragic event at a time they really needed it."

The Pulitzer for local reporting went to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for a series of stories on fraud and abuse in a child-care program for poor working parents.

The Dallas Morning News won for editorial writing.

The Des Moines Register won for breaking-news photography for capturing a rescuer trying to save a woman trapped beneath a dam, and the Denver Post was honored for feature photography for a portrait of a teenager who joined the Army at the height of insurgent violence in Iraq.

The Washington Post's award for international reporting went to Anthony Shadid for what the Pulitzer board called "his rich, beautifully written series" on Iraq as the U.S. military gets ready to withdraw. Shadid has since left the Post for The New York Times.

The newspaper's Gene Weingarten won in feature writing for what the board called a "haunting" story on parents who accidentally kill their children by leaving them in cars.

The Post also won in commentary for Kathleen Parker's witty columns on political and moral issues, and in criticism, for Sarah Kaufman's writing on dance.

The New York Times won for national reporting for a series of stories in print and online on distracted driving, and for explanatory reporting for writing about the dangers of contaminated hamburger and exposing defects in federal food-safety regulations.

The Pulitzers are the most prestigious awards in journalism and are given out annually by Columbia University on the recommendation of a board of distinguished journalists and others. Each award carries a $10,000 prize except for the public service award, which is a gold medal.

Related Searches:


Posted by biginla at 9:48 PM BST
Breaking News Alert: Dow Closes Above 11,000 for First Time Since September 2008
Topic: dow jones, judith stein, bbc new

 by Judith Stein, BBC's Financial Analyst, for the BBC's Biodun Iginla, who is in London on assignment


Mon, April 12, 2010 -- 4:16 PM ET
-----


The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 11,000 points
on Monday for the first time since the start of the financial
crisis
.

The move above 11,000 was the latest milestone in a rally
that has brought Wall Street back from the brink of economic
collapse
. It came as investors welcomed a long-awaited rescue
plan for Greece and amid signs that American companies were
poised to report strong first-quarter profit, with earnings
season beginning in earnest this week.

The Dow ended the day at 11,006.19, rising about 9 points or
0.08 percent. It last closed about 11,000 in September 2008.

Read More:
http://www.nytimes.com?emc=na


Posted by biginla at 9:26 PM BST
Obama meets China's Hu at nuclear summit
Topic: Barack Obama, China, Hu Jintao,


WASHINGTON
Mon Apr 12, 2010 3:06pm EDT

WASHINGTON  - Ukraine agreed to give up its bomb-grade uranium on Monday at the start of a 47-nation nuclear security summit that President Barack Obama hoped to use to entice China to support tougher sanctions on Iran.

Barack Obama  |  China

Obama began the unprecedented two-day gathering with a series of one-on-one sessions with some of the world leaders gathered for the summit, which is aimed at preventing terrorists from gaining access to nuclear materials.

His talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao were expected to go some way toward determining whether China is prepared to join the United States, Britain, France, Russia and Germany in a new round of U.N. sanctions on Iran. Tehran says its nuclear program is peaceful and it does not intend to build a weapon.

The summit, one of the largest international groups ever staged in the United States, had its first tangible outcome with Ukraine's announcement that it would give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium by 2012, most of it this year.

Kiev has enough nuclear material for several weapons. It will convert its civil nuclear program to operate on low-enriched uranium. Washington agreed to provide technical and financial support for the effort.

"This is something that the United States has tried to make happen for more than 10 years," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs.

Hu's agreement to attend was perceived as a positive sign in Washington after U.S.-Chinese relations were strained by Obama's meeting with the Dalai Lama, China's Internet censorship, and U.S. pressure over China's currency.

Diplomats believe China might be willing to join the latest Iran sanctions push but it was still unclear how far Beijing would go to penalize a country with which it has significant economic ties.

China has made clear that it dislikes a proposed ban on new investments in Iran's energy sector as part of a new round of U.N. sanctions, diplomats said on Sunday. Russia is also skeptical about energy sanctions on Iran.

Financial markets will be seeking further signs of China giving ground over its currency valuation. The United States agreed to delay its planned mid-April determination of whether China was considered a currency manipulator, sparing Hu from potential embarrassment.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and White House economic adviser Larry Summers attended Obama's talks with Hu. Geithner made a brief visit to Beijing last week to discuss U.S. concerns that the yuan is seriously undervalued and that this contributes to a trade imbalance.

IRAN DISMISSES SUMMIT

Iran dismissed the U.S. summit and said it would not be swayed by any decisions made there. "World summits being organized these days are intended to humiliate human beings," Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in Tehran.

Obama began his one-on-one meetings by seeing Jordan's King Abdullah, who like many Arab leaders is worried about the potential for Iran developing a nuclear weapon and triggering a Middle East arms race.

The two leaders agreed on the need for advancing Middle East peace efforts through indirect talks that would quickly transition to face-to-face negotiations.

The White House said Obama and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak agreed the international community should "send a clear signal" to Iran that while it has the right to develop nuclear energy it must not make nuclear weapons.

The summit in Washington's downtown convention center, which was surrounded by a heavy security cordon of troops and police and high fences, is the culmination of a hectic period of nuclear diplomacy for Obama.

Last week he signed a new treaty to cut U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals and unilaterally announced the United States would limit its use of nuclear weapons, a plan that came under heavy fire from his conservative critics.

The summit -- the biggest U.S.-hosted assembly of world leaders in six decades -- will be a test of Obama's ability to rally global action on his nuclear agenda.

In a sign of progress on the issues, the Russian foreign ministry said Moscow and Washington would sign a deal on Tuesday on reducing stocks of weapons grade plutonium.

On the eve of the conference, Obama told reporters: "We know that organizations like al Qaeda are in the process of trying to secure a nuclear weapon, a weapon of mass destruction that they have no compunction at using."

A draft final communique shows leaders will pledge to work toward safeguarding all "vulnerable nuclear material" within four years and take steps to crack down on nuclear smuggling.

NOT ON AGENDA BUT ON SUMMITEERS' MINDS

Iran and North Korea are not on the guest list or the summit agenda. But their nuclear standoffs with the West were likely to weigh heavily in Obama's talks with Hu and other leaders like German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She will sit down with the U.S. president on Tuesday after the summit is over.

"I think time is pressing and a decision on potential sanctions will need to be made soon," Merkel, referring to Iran, said in Berlin before leaving for the United States.

The list of leaders in attendance ranged from heads of state of traditional nuclear powers like Russia and France to nuclear-armed foes like India and neighboring Pakistan.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani assured Obama in talks on Sunday his government has "appropriate safeguard" for its nuclear arsenal.

(Additional reporting by Caren Bohan, Ross Colvin, Susan Cornwell and Matt Spetalnick in Washington, Dave Graham and Brian Rohan in Berlin, and Ramin Mostafavi in Tehran; Editing by David Storey)


Posted by biginla at 9:14 PM BST

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