Safe sex ideas that raise eyebrows

(Mental Floss) -- Most people know that condoms prevent the spread of HIV and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

Unusual campaigns to promote condom use are being launched in places where condoms are less popular.

But in many parts of the world, condoms aren't very popular.

Here are five novel campaigns launched by nonprofit organizations and condom companies to encourage wider use.

1. A ring tone to remember

In India, people stigmatize condoms and refuse to wear them because they believe only prostitutes must use prophylactics. Leave it one of the world's richest men to find a solution -- the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donated money for a national condom ring tone.

An a cappella group sings "Condom, Condom" -- in the style of doo-wop like the contagious pop song "Barbara Ann" -- when one receives a phone call.

Despite its bubblegum sound, officials hope that the people who have the condom ring tone appear smart and responsible.

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Since the ring tone's August launch, more than 60,000 people downloaded it. Yvonne MacPherson, country director of the BBC World Service Trust (which the Gates foundation funded), sums it up best when she said to the Associated Press: "A ring tone is a very public thing. It's a way to show you are a condom user and you don't have any issues with it."

Right, nothing attracts the amorous attention like announcing loudly that you have a condom.

2. Perks you right up

Ethiopians claim they hate condoms because the smell of latex sickens them. To combat the odor, DKT International, a United Sates nonprofit, created coffee condoms.

These dark brown condoms allegedly (I'm not testing the products) taste and smell like the favorite coffee of Ethiopia -- the macchiato, an espresso with cream and sugar.

One college student claimed the smell reminded him of the beauty of Ethiopian women (it's not clear if that's a compliment). These condoms bolster national identity because

Ethiopians claim to have invented coffee. DKT International also created flavored and scented condoms for Indonesia (durian fruit) and China (sweet corn).

Editor's note: Fareed Zakaria is a foreign affairs analyst who hosts "Fareed Zakaria: GPS" on CNN at 1 p.m. ET Sundays.

Fareed Zakaria says the president-elect won't have much time to celebrate his victory.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Trailing in the polls, Sen. John McCain will travel to seven states in one day as his presidential campaign enters its final hours, the Republican nominee's campaign manager announced Friday.

McCain will campaign in seven cities Monday, just one day before Election Day, Rick Davis said. The final list of cities has not been finalized, Davis said.

McCain and the Republican Party expect to outspend his Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama, by $10 million in the closing days of the campaign, Davis said.

The Republican nominee will not spend all of his final weekend campaigning on serious matters. McCain plans to make an appearance on "Saturday Night Live." He has appeared on the show before, but this weekend will be his first appearance this year.

Polls show that McCain is trailing Obama going into the final weekend of campaigning. A CNN poll of polls calculated Wednesday has Obama leading McCain 50 percent to 43 percent, with 7 percent unsure. The poll of polls is an average of eight national surveys.

In a sign that the Democrats were not going to sit on their lead, the Obama campaign announced Friday that it would begin airing ads in McCain's home state of Arizona.

CNN spoke to world affairs expert and author Fareed Zakaria about what the first order of business will be for whomever wins next week's election.

CNN: What will a president-elect do in the days following the election?

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Zakaria: We spoke with three former administration officials on our show this week: former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Reagan Chief of Staff Ken Duberstein and Carter National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski.

They all remarked that the days following the election need to be focused on putting a team together.

Both Sens. McCain and Obama probably have a list of names for the top Cabinet posts already, but once the election is done, whichever teams wins will need to quickly refocus on putting together an administration. There's not much time to celebrate and savor the win before duties call.

Australia denies residency for dad of boy with Down syndrome

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Thirteen-year-old Lukas Moeller has Down syndrome. His father is a doctor who came to Australia from Germany to help fill a shortage of physicians in rural communities.

Bernhard and Isabella Moeller and their son Lukas moved to Australia from Germany two years ago.

But now Australia has rejected Dr. Bernhard Moeller's application for residency, saying Lukas does not meet the "health requirement" and would pose a burden on taxpayers for his medical care, education and other services.

The case has provoked an outcry in the rural region of southeastern Victoria state, where Moeller is the only internal medicine specialist for a community of 54,000 people. Residents rallied outside Moeller's practice this week, demanding that the decision be overturned, and hundreds of Internet and radio complaints from across the country bombarded media outlets Friday.

Moeller vowed to fight the immigration department ruling.

"We like to live here, we have settled in well, we are welcomed by the community here, and we don't want to give up just because the federal government doesn't welcome my son," he said Friday.

The doctor has powerful supporters. Victoria Premier John Brumby has pledged to support the family's appeal, and federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon said Friday that she would speak to the immigration minister about the case.

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Moeller moved to Australia two years ago with his wife, Isabella, their daughter, Sarah, 21, and sons Lukas and Felix, 17, to help fill a critical need for doctors in rural areas. They settled in Horsham, a town of 20,000 about 100 miles northwest of Melbourne.

Moeller's temporary work visa is valid until 2010, but his application for permanent residence was rejected this week.

In its decision, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship cited Lukas' "existing medical condition," saying it was "likely to result in a significant and ongoing cost to the Australian community," according to a statement Thursday.

"This is not discrimination. A disability in itself is not grounds for failing the health requirement -- it is a question of the cost implications to the community," the statement said.

Moeller said immigration authorities did not take into account the family's ability to provide Lukas with the care he needs.

Sexual Harassment Bill to provide maximum protection to victims : Sherry Rehman

ISLAMABAD, Oct 31 (APP): The Federal Minister for Women Development Ms Sherry Rehman chaired a consultation meeting with government officials and the members of the civil society to finalise the draft of the ‘Protection from Harassment Act 2008’. “Harassment at workplace is a very sensitive matter. Any legislation seeking to deal with the issue must incorporate the element of safety as well as ensure maximum assurance of justice to the victim,” said the Women Development Minister talking to the media after the meeting in Islamabad.

Ms Sherry Rehman pointed out that the purpose of her Ministry’s continued consultation with the Civil Society Organisation over the Bill is to ensure that the draft law is clear in its content and there is no room for any lapses to fail its objectives. “We have broadened the ambit of law, extending it to cover harassment against both women and men. Harassment is a common phenomenon at work, and men could be as much of a target as women are.”

The Federal Information Minister said that her stress on the protection factor in the legislation comes from her own experience of dealing with women who have been victims of gender harassment at workplace. “A woman finds her career as well as her reputation at stake when she takes an offence to sexual harassment. We want the legislation to provide maximum security to the complainant to encourage her/him to pursue the case at an official level. The victim must have an expanded range of choices in terms of authorities dealing with the complaint. We have therefore included an ‘Inquiry Commission’ as well as an Ombudsperson to ensure that there is an internal as well as an external setup to address the grievance.”

Ms Rehman said that the meeting also deliberated the finer details of the draft Bill. “There was extensive consultation on the language and the broader text of the draft Act. This is the first proposed legislation against sexual harassment, and we felt it was important to present the law in a manner that it reinforces the constitutional provisions of right to security and dignity to every citizen. Our constitution is very clear on all matters pertaining to human rights, including right to work and gender discrimination. Laws guided by constitutional principles can not only guarantee protection of rights, but also ensure the supremacy of the constitution.”

The Women Development Minister thanked the members of the civil society for their continued support to the government’s efforts for gender justice.

“We want to establish an environment where the government and civil society work with each other, and not ‘at’ each other, as the practice has been. Our government stands for human rights protection, supremacy of the constitution and a just society. We would continue to work in tandem with the civil society for our objectives, since there is an opportunity for our legislative and policy efforts to be strengthened by the civil society’s capacity for mass contacts and awareness-raising.”

Joystick gold for action shooter

The modern combat-themed first person shooter, Call of Duty 4, has emerged the clear winner at the 2008 Golden Joystick awards.
The game scooped "Ultimate Game of the Year", "Online Game of the Year" and "PC Game of the Year" awards.
The awards, now in their twenty-sixth year, are awarded in 16 categories, and are voted for by UK gamers.
Other winners included Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, Grand Theft Auto IV, and Super Smash Bros.
.
The two most prestigious British awards a video game can win are either a Bafta Video Game Award, or a Golden Joystick.
The Baftas are chosen by experts in the games industry but the Golden Joystick is voted on by the public, with 850,000 gamers voting for the 2008 awards.
Call of Duty 4 is a departure for the series. Previous editions were all set in World War II and this version has players taking on the dual role of an NCO in the SAS and a US Marine sergeant.
FULL LIST OF WINNERS
Nuts All-Nighter Award: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
The Sun Family Game of the Year: Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Bliss Handheld Game of the Year: Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
4Talent Mobile Game of the Year: Bejeweled 2
Mobile Game Pitch 2008: Tobias Rowe with Finders Keeper
Official Nintendo Magazine Game of the Year: Super Smash Bros
ESA PC Game of the Year: CoD 4: Modern Warfare
Activision/Blizzard Retailer of the Year: Play.com
Official Playstation Magazine High Definition PlayStation Game of the Year: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
BBC 1Xtra Soundtrack of the Year: Grand Theft Auto IV
Arvato Digital Services Xbox Game of the Year: Grand Theft Auto IV
Edge Most Wanted Award: Fallout 3
GamesRadar.com Online Game of the Year: CoD 4: Modern Warfare
CVG.co.uk UK Developer of the Year : Rockstar North
E4.com Grand Master Flash Award: Stickman Madness
Play.com One To Watch: CoD: World at War
Future UK Publisher of the Year: Activision Blizzard
Virgin Media Ultimate Game of the Year: CoD 4: Modern Warfare

Obama pushes for McCain territory

Democrat Barack Obama is extending his campaign advertising into traditionally Republican territory, as polls there show him closing on rival John McCain.
Sen Obama is to run ads in Arizona, his rival's home state, as well as North Dakota and Georgia, with only days to go before the US presidential election.
Mr McCain, campaigning for a second day in the key swing state of Ohio, made a last-minute appeal for donations.
Mr Obama is holding events across the Midwest, starting in the state of Iowa.
He will make a brief stop in his home city of Chicago to see his two daughters on Halloween, aides said.
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Speaking at a rally in Des Moines, Iowa, Mr Obama warned that Mr McCain's campaign was likely to escalate into a final crescendo of attacks on him.
Voters will see "more of the slash-and-burn, say-anything, do-anything politics that's calculated to divide and distract, to tear us apart, rather than bring us together", he said.
His campaign plans to run two adverts in North Dakota and Georgia, both states which have usually voted Republican.
One seeks to link Sen McCain, 72, to President George W Bush, suggesting the Republican would continue the same economic policies.
The other relies on Mr Obama's message of "unity over division", highlighting his endorsement by such high-profile Republican figures as former Secretary of State Colin Powell.
McCain campaign manager Rick Davis dismissed the advance into Republican territory, saying he advised Mr Obama, 47, to focus his spending on states which Mr McCain intended to prise from him on 4 November.
Mr Davis also told reporters that the campaign was "jazzed up" about Mr McCain's prospects, saying that he was living up to his reputation as the underdog who fights back.

Oil crew kidnapped off Cameroon

Armed gunmen in speedboats have kidnapped and threatened to kill 10 crew members from an oil vessel off the West African state of Cameroon.
The vessel's owners said those taken hostage were seven French nationals, two Cameroonians and a Tunisian.
The attack reportedly took place near the Bakassi peninsula, which Nigeria recently handed over to Cameroon.
A group called the Bakassi Freedom Fighters has claimed to have carried out the attack.
The group said it would kill the hostages within three days if Cameroon's government did not meet its demands.
It was not immediately clear what the group's demands were.
Reuters news agency reported that the attack had been carried out jointly with a second group called the Niger Delta Defence and Security Council.
Bank raid

Trojan virus steals bank info

The details of about 500,000 online bank accounts and credit and debit cards have been stolen by a virus described as "one of the most advanced pieces of crimeware ever created".
The Sinowal trojan has been tracked by RSA, which helps to secure networks in Fortune 500 companies.
RSA said the trojan virus has infected computers all over the planet.
"The effect has been really global with over 2000 domains compromised," said Sean Brady of RSA's security division.
He told the BBC: "This is a serious incident on a very noticeable scale and we have seen an increase in the number of trojans and their variants, particularly in the States and Canada."
The RSA's Fraud Action Research Lab said it first detected the Windows Sinowal trojan in Feb 2006.
Since then, Mr Brady said, more than 270,000 banking accounts and 240,000 credit and debit cards have been compromised from financial institutions in countries including the US, UK, Australia and Poland.
The lab said no Russian accounts were hit by Sinowal.
"Drive-by downloads"
RSA described the Sinowal as "one of the most serious threats to anyone with an internet connection" because it works behind the scenes using a common infection method known as "drive-by downloads"."
Users can get infected without knowing if they visit a website that has been booby-trapped with the Sinowal malicious code.
Mr Brady said the worrying aspect about Sinowal, which is also known as Torpig and Mebroot, is that it has been operating for so long.
"One of the key points of interest about this particular trojan is that it has existed for two and a half years quietly collecting information," he said. "Any IT professional will tell you it costs a lot to maintain and to store the information it is gathering.
"The group behind it have made sure to invest in the infrastructure no doubt because the return and the potential return is so great."
RSA's researchers said the trojan's creators periodically release new variants to ensure it stays ahead of detection and maintain "its uninterrupted grip on infected computers."
While RSA's lab has been tracking the trojan since 2006, Mr Brady admitted that they know a lot about its design and infrastructure but little about who is behind Sinowal.
"There is a lot of talk about where it comes from and anecdotal evidence points to Russia and Eastern Europe. Historically there have been connections with an online gang connected to the Russian Business Network but in reality no one knows for sure."
That he said is because the group is able to use the web to cloak its identity.
Infection
In April 2007, researchers at Google discovered hundreds of thousands of web pages that initiated drive-by downloads. It estimated that one in ten of the 4.5 million pages it analysed were suspect.
Sophos researchers reported in 2008 it was finding more than 6,000 newly infected web pages every day, or about one every 14 seconds.
RSA's fraud action team said it noticed a spike in attacks from March through to September this year.
That is backed up by another online security company called Fortinet. It said from July 2008 to September 2008 the number of reported attacks rose from 10m to 30m. This included trojans, viruses, malware, phishing and mass mailings.
"The explosion in the number of attacks is alarming," said Derek Manky of Fortinet.
"But trojans are just one of the players in the game wreaking havoc in cyberspace."
Remedies
While attacks are on the increase, there are some simple steps that users can take to protect their information besides using security software.
"We have a saying here which is 'think before you link,'" said Mr Manky.
"That just means observe where you are going on the web. Be wary of clicking on anything in a high traffic site like social networks.
"A lot of traffic in the eyes of cyber criminals means these sites are a target because to these people more traffic means more money," he said.
RSA also urged users to be wary if their bank started asking for different forms of authentication such as a social security number or other details.
"People think not clicking on a pop up or an attachment means they are safe. What people don't realise now is that just visiting a website is good enough to infect them."
RSA said it is co-operating with banks and financial institutions the world over to tell them about Sinowal. It has passed information about the virus to law enforcement agencies.

Austrian hostages freed in Mali

Two Austrian hostages held for eight months by Islamic militants in the Sahara desert have been freed, officials in Mali and Austria say.
Andrea Kloiber, 43, and Wolfgang Ebner, 51, disappeared in February while on holiday in Tunisia.
The North African branch of al-Qaeda said it had seized them.
Mali's government said the two were now "free and under the protection of the Malian army". The statement was later confirmed by the Austrian authorities.
The exact circumstances of the pair's release are not clear.
According to statements posted on the internet earlier this year, the kidnappers demanded the release of militants held in Algeria and Tunisia.
There were also reports of ransom demands.
In Vienna, Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik said a plane was on its way to Mali to fly the two home.

DR Congo refugee camps 'burned'

The UN says it has credible reports that camps sheltering 50,000 displaced people in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have been destroyed.
Reports suggest the camps were forcibly emptied and looted before being burned, the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, said.
Aid groups say they are struggling to reach an estimated 250,000 people in the region fleeing fierce fighting between government and rebel forces.
Intense diplomatic efforts are under way to end the crisis.
A ceasefire is holding in and around Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, but aid agency chiefs say the situation remains highly volatile.
See detailed map of the area
Food and water are terribly scarce, and aid agencies have all but stopped work, says the BBC's Peter Greste in Goma.
Rebel leader General Laurent Nkunda's forces are positioned some 15km (nine miles) from the city.
The origin of the ongoing conflict in eastern DR Congo is the 1994 genocide in neighbouring Rwanda.
Gen Nkunda says he is fighting to protect his Tutsi community from attack by Rwandan Hutu rebels, some of whom are accused of taking part in the genocide.
The Congolese government has often promised to stop Hutu forces from using its territory, but has not done so.
There have also been accusations of collusion between DR Congo's army and Hutu guerrillas.
The Congolese government, for its part, has accused Rwanda of backing Gen Nkunda.
Rwanda denies this, but it has twice invaded its much larger neighbour in recent years.

DR Congo refugee camps 'burned'

The UN says it has credible reports that camps sheltering 50,000 displaced people in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have been destroyed.
Reports suggest the camps were forcibly emptied and looted before being burned, the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, said.
Aid groups say they are struggling to reach an estimated 250,000 people in the region fleeing fierce fighting between government and rebel forces.
Intense diplomatic efforts are under way to end the crisis.
A ceasefire is holding in and around Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, but aid agency chiefs say the situation remains highly volatile.
See detailed map of the area
Food and water are terribly scarce, and aid agencies have all but stopped work, says the BBC's Peter Greste in Goma.
Rebel leader General Laurent Nkunda's forces are positioned some 15km (nine miles) from the city.
The origin of the ongoing conflict in eastern DR Congo is the 1994 genocide in neighbouring Rwanda.
Gen Nkunda says he is fighting to protect his Tutsi community from attack by Rwandan Hutu rebels, some of whom are accused of taking part in the genocide.
The Congolese government has often promised to stop Hutu forces from using its territory, but has not done so.
There have also been accusations of collusion between DR Congo's army and Hutu guerrillas.
The Congolese government, for its part, has accused Rwanda of backing Gen Nkunda.
Rwanda denies this, but it has twice invaded its much larger neighbour in recent years.

'US strikes' on Pakistan villages

More than 20 people have been killed in two suspected US missile attacks in northwest Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan, security officials said.
About 15, including an al-Qaeda leader, were killed in an attack near the village of Mirali, North Waziristan.
In a second attack, seven people were killed in South Waziristan.
The US military has not commented. It has launched many missile strikes from Afghanistan against suspected militant targets recently.
Officials named the al-Qaeda leader in Mir Ali as Abu Kasha, believed to be Iraqi.
Local officials told the BBC that at 2030 (1430 GMT), a drone fired two missiles and destroyed the target - a house in the Esori area about 30km from the town of Mirali.
Militant
They confirmed that Abu Akash was inside the building when the attack took place.
Abu Akash was a well-known militant in the region and had been living in the area near Mir Ali since coming from Afghanistan in 2002.
He was believed to have gone to Afghanistan to fight against the Soviets in the late 1980s, or during the time of the Taleban in the mid-1990s.
Abu Akash, who was born in Iraq, came to notoriety last year when he issued a video that called for attacks against coalition forces in their territories, says the BBC's Syed Shoaib Hassan.
He was also said to have recently broken away from the main al-Qaeda entity and formed his own group.
Border tension
Tensions between the US and Pakistan have increased over the issue of cross-border incursions against militants by American forces based in Afghanistan.
Pakistan's foreign ministry said it had voiced its concern to the US envoy in Islamabad on Wednesday.
"It was underscored to the ambassador that the government of Pakistan strongly condemns the missile attacks which resulted in the loss of precious lives and property," the ministry said in a statement.

Nalbandian beats Murray in Paris

Andy Murray's superb run of form came to an end with a 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 defeat by defending champion David Nalbandian in the Paris Masters quarter-finals.
The Briton, 21, went into the match as the in-form player on tour, aiming for a record third straight Masters title after 14 consecutive wins.
But after a break of serve apiece, Nalbandian dominated the tie-break and took it with a sweeping forehand pass.
And the Argentine was in great form as he broke four times in the second set.
Nalbandian remains one of the few leading players that Murray has yet to beat, with the Argentine winning their only previous encounter at Wimbledon in 2005.
After tournament victories in Cincinnati, Madrid and St Petersburg, and with a first Grand Slam final at the US Open in between, Murray had finally begun to show signs of a dip in form this week.
The Scot was below his best in beating Fernando Verdasco on Thursday and came up short against a rejuvenated Nalbandian.
"It was obviously a shame that I lost," Murray told BBC Sport after the match.
"But at least it wasn't a bad performance or against a player I was really expecting to beat [easily].
"It was a tough match today but he played really well.
"The one thing I didn't do, that I have done well in the last few weeks, is to serve well. The [first serve] percentage wasn't as high as it has been."

Nadal & Federer out with injuries

Top seed Rafael Nadal and second seed Roger Federer pulled out of the Paris Masters with injuries on Friday.
Federer had been due to face James Blake in the quarter-finals but withdrew because of a back injury.
And Nadal pulled out with a knee injury when trailing Nikolay Davydenko 6-1, having earlier required treatment.
With defeats for Andy Murray on Friday and Novak Djokovic on Thursday, the tournament has now lost its top four seeds before the semi-finals.
Nadal had the trainer massaging his right thigh at the change of ends when trailing Davydenko 4-1 in the opening set, and called it quits two games later.
"This is the first time ever I've pulled out during a tournament, so it feels bad" Roger Federer"I had some pain in the knee yesterday," said the Spaniard. "I felt the pain a lot when I woke up this morning.
"When I push (on my right knee) I feel a sharp pain."
And Nadal admitted he is worried about whether he will be fit for the season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai, which begins on 9 November.
"For sure," he said. "Hopefully it will be fine.... I don't know."
Federer has withdrawn during a tournament for the first time in his career.
"My back has been stiff for the last couple of days and I woke up this morning and it did not respond to the treatment I had last night," he told his website.

Anderson axed for Stanford game

Stanford Super Series, Antigua1 Nov: Stanford Superstars v England (Live on Sky Sports, commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live and the BBC Sport website within the UK), 2130 GMT start

Anderson has been a regular figure in the England one-day set-up
Fast bowler James Anderson is the surprise absentee from the England team to face the Stanford Superstars in Saturday's $20m showdown in Antigua.
Ravi Bopara, Alastair Cook and Ryan Sidebottom will also miss the chance to win the $1m-per-player prize money.
Anderson's omission allows captain Kevin Pietersen to call in Graeme Swann as a second spinner.
It is the first time that Anderson has been dropped from an England limited-overs side for over a year.
The Lancashire man was last omitted for a contest against Australia at the World Twenty20 in September 2007.
However, he missed Tuesday's narrow win over Trinidad and Tobago with a stomach bug.
His omission is the only change from the XI which wrapped up a comprehensive 4-0 victory over South Africa in the NatWest Series.
The effectiveness of the slow bowlers on the Coolidge surface earlier in the week persuaded England's management to draft in Swann, whose last one-day international was against New Zealand in June.
"It was never going to be the easiest decision, in fact it was one of the hardest decisions I've had to make in terms of carrying 11 players on the field," said Pietersen.
"We haven't played a second spinner for I don't know how long but unfortunately conditions have meant Jimmy has to miss out.
"But he has taken it brilliantly well, he has been absolutely fantastic at training.

Anderson axed for Stanford game

Stanford Super Series, Antigua1 Nov: Stanford Superstars v England (Live on Sky Sports, commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live and the BBC Sport website within the UK), 2130 GMT start

Anderson has been a regular figure in the England one-day set-up
Fast bowler James Anderson is the surprise absentee from the England team to face the Stanford Superstars in Saturday's $20m showdown in Antigua.
Ravi Bopara, Alastair Cook and Ryan Sidebottom will also miss the chance to win the $1m-per-player prize money.
Anderson's omission allows captain Kevin Pietersen to call in Graeme Swann as a second spinner.
It is the first time that Anderson has been dropped from an England limited-overs side for over a year.
The Lancashire man was last omitted for a contest against Australia at the World Twenty20 in September 2007.
However, he missed Tuesday's narrow win over Trinidad and Tobago with a stomach bug.
His omission is the only change from the XI which wrapped up a comprehensive 4-0 victory over South Africa in the NatWest Series.
The effectiveness of the slow bowlers on the Coolidge surface earlier in the week persuaded England's management to draft in Swann, whose last one-day international was against New Zealand in June.
"It was never going to be the easiest decision, in fact it was one of the hardest decisions I've had to make in terms of carrying 11 players on the field," said Pietersen.
"We haven't played a second spinner for I don't know how long but unfortunately conditions have meant Jimmy has to miss out.
"But he has taken it brilliantly well, he has been absolutely fantastic at training.

Ten killed in Mardan suicide attack

Updated at: 2212 PST, Friday, October 31, 2008 MARDAN: Ten people including five police personnel were killed and 25 others injured in a suicide attack on a police convoy here on Friday.The suicide bomber blew himself up when he was stopped by the policemen at the entrance of the office of DIG Mardan Akhtar Ali.The powerful blast shattered the window panes of the buildings adjacent to the DIG’s office.The suicide bomber came on foot, said the eyewitnesses.The initial investigations reveal that the bomber was strapped with 6 kilograms of explosives. Eight people including four policemen died on the spot while a passerby and a policeman succumbed to their injuries later in a hospital.DIG Mardan Akhter Ali Shah, while confirming the suicide attack, said that police cordoned off the area.The injured are being provided medical treatment at the hospitals of Mardan and Peshawar where condition of four persons is said to be critical.

GEO Pakistan ""Suspected U.S. strike kills 21 in Mir Ali

Updated at: 2217 PST, Friday, October 31, 2008 MIRANSHAH: A suspected missile strike by US spy drones destroyed a vehicle and a house in tribal area bordering Afghanistan Friday, killing at least 21 people, security officials said.Two missiles were involved in the strike west of Mir Ali, a town in the troubled North Waziristan tribal region that is a known hub of Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants, they said.The attack came just two days after Pakistan, a key ally in the US-led "war on terror", summoned Washington's ambassador to Islamabad to receive a strong protest over a number of similar strikes.The latest targeted an Al-Qaeda operative, possibly an Iraqi, but officials citing local intelligence reports said he was not believed to be among the dead.Officials gave the targeted militant's name as Abu Akasa Al-Iraqi. Local residents said the strike hit the house of a Pakistani tribesman named Amanullah Dawar.It was the 17th such strike in the past 10 weeks, according to sources.A strike on Sunday killed senior Taliban commander Haji Omar Khan, a lieutenant of veteran Afghan Taliban chieftain and former anti-Soviet fighter Jalaluddin Haqqani.

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Russell Brand: 'It was a really stupid thing to do"
The BBC's director general is to meet the corporation's governing body to discuss lewd phone calls made on comic Russell Brand's Radio 2 show.
Mark Thompson will brief the BBC Trust on a preliminary inquiry into how the calls to Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs came to be broadcast.
Brand has resigned from Radio 2 and Jonathan Ross has been suspended.
The pair made obscene comments about Sachs' 23-year-old granddaughter Georgina Baillie during phone calls.
During the meeting on Thursday, the BBC's director of audio and music, Tim Davie, is due to present a preliminary report on the calls to the trust, which represents the interests of licence fee payers.
"Wrest control"
Mr Thompson will then brief trust members on latest developments, followed by a discussion on what action can be taken.
The BBC's media correspondent, Torin Douglas, said the BBC was perceived as having "lost control" of events following the broadcast and the subsequent row, which has now attracted 27,000 complaints.

Woman loses assisted suicide case

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Page last updated at 11:55 GMT, Wednesday, 29 October 2008
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Woman loses assisted suicide case

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Debbie Purdy: 'I'm really disappointed and surprised'
A woman with multiple sclerosis has lost her High Court case to clarify the law on assisted suicide.
Debbie Purdy, 45, from Bradford, is considering going to a Swiss clinic to end her life, but fears her husband may be charged on his return to the UK.
She had wanted a guarantee that her husband, Omar Puente, would not be prosecuted.
There have so far been no prosecutions of relatives of 101 UK citizens who have gone to the Dignitas clinic.
How can we make sure that we act within the law if they won't tell us in what circumstances they would prosecute?
Debbie Purdy
Q&A: Assisted suicide ruling
'My brother chose to end suffering'
Analysis: The law needs reform
Ms Purdy, who was diagnosed with primary progressive MS in 1995 and can no longer walk, was granted permission to appeal because of public interest in the case.
But speaking outside the High Court after the ruling, she said she was disappointed with the result and would be appealing.
"We still don't know how we can make sure that we stay within the law, because I'm certainly not prepared for Omar to break the law - I'm not prepared for him to face jail."
"How can we make sure that we act within the law if they won't tell us in what circumstances they would prosecute?"
She said she was still considering travelling to Switzerland to take a lethal dose of barbiturates prescribed by doctors at Dignitas.
Ms Purdy wants her husband at her side but fears he may be prosecuted on his return to Britain, and says she may therefore have to make the trip earlier than she really wanted.
Aiding or abetting a suicide is a crime punishable by up to 14 years imprisonment.
Guidance
A judicial review was granted to Ms Purdy on the grounds that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had acted illegally by not providing guidance on how decisions on prosecution are reached.
During the hearing earlier this month, she argued the lack of clarification was a breach of her human rights.
But two High Court judges have ruled they had not been infringed and existing guidelines were adequate.

US interest rates slashed to 1%

US interest rates slashed to 1%

The Federal Reserve has cut its key interest rate from 1.5% to 1% in a widely expected move, as it aims to avoid a possible US recession.
Earlier this month the Fed cut rates from 2% to 1.5% in an emergency move, which was co-ordinated with five other central banks.
But the move did not boost US markets, with the Dow and S&P 500 closing down.
Interest rates have been slashed since September 2007, when the federal funds rate stood at 5.25%.
The 1% level - last seen between June 2003 and June 2004 - did not have a major effect on shares, as traders had already factored in the widely expected cut.
At close of trade in Wall Street, the Dow Jones was down 0.82%, or 74.16 points, at 8990.96. The S&P 500 was down 1.11%, or 10.42 points, at 930.09 and the Nasdaq was ahead 0.47%, or 7.74 points, at 1657.21.
'Moderate economic growth'
The rate cut move is confirmation that inflation is no longer seen as the major threat to the US economy.
Some analysts in fact fear that deflation could be a risk to the economy, as consumers delay any spending they can in the hope that products will be cheaper in the future.

Suicide attack at Afghan ministry

Suicide attack at Afghan ministry

Hundreds of police are at the scene of the blast
A suicide bomber has blown himself up inside an Afghan ministry in Kabul, causing a number of casualties.
The attack took place at the information and culture ministry, in the centre of the capital, causing massive damage.
The Information Ministry says at least five people are known to have been killed or injured.
Security around ministry buildings in Kabul is usually very tight and attacks such as this are not common.
Chaotic and tense
A ministry worker told the BBC's Ian Pannell at the scene that two or three men fought their way past security into the building.
One of them was wearing an explosive device which he then detonated.
Many of the six-storey building's windows were blown out by the force of the blast, and some windows in neighbouring buildings were also blown out.
The atmosphere outside the ministry is chaotic and very tense, with a heavy police presence, our correspondent says, and there is speculation that one of the bomber's accomplices could still be in the area.
There has been a reduction of violence in the city over the past year, but a sense of insecurity and uncertainty is still present.

Dozens feared dead in India explosions

NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- At least 32 people were feared dead after nine explosions rocked northeastern India on Thursday, according to police and CNN-IBN, CNN's sister station in India.
Police told CNN that the nine explosions took place in four districts in the remote state of Assam.
Thirty-two people are feared dead, CNN-IBN reported.
Television images showed plumes of black smoke pouring into the sky as crowds formed around charred cars and twisted metal.
Police reported three explosions in the city of Guwahati, three in the Kokrajhar district, two in the Barpeta district and one in the district of Bongaieon.

At least 160 killed in Pakistan quake

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Rescuers dug through the rubble left by a 6.4-magnitude earthquake that struck a remote area of southwest Pakistan Wednesday, killing at least 160 people and leaving thousands homeless on the brink of winter, a humanitarian group spokesman said.

Quake victims tend to an injured man in southwestern Pakistan.

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"We can confirm that there are 160 reported dead, 500 injured and around 10,000 population displaced in and around the area of Ziarat," said Asar Ul Haq, senior disaster manager of the International Federation for the Red Crescent delegation in Pakistan.
The death toll was expected to rise as rescue workers dug through the rubble of mud homes in a remote part of Baluchistan province, said the province's Deputy Director of Public Safety Mohammad Ali.
"There are still searching. There are some villages completely destroyed. There is a lot of destruction," Ali said. Watch images of the damage »
The quake struck before daybreak, about 60 kilometers (35 miles) north-northeast of the province's capital, Quetta.
Another quake measuring maginitude 6.2 struck southwest Pakistan Wednesday, hours after the initial jolt, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The worst-hit area appeared to be the district of Ziarat, where a quake-induced landslide buried dozens of houses.
Ali put the death toll at 150 and rising. Thousands of others were homeless, he said.
Ten hours after the quake, the rescue operations continued with the Pakistani army sending helicopters to ferry in blankets and relief supplies and airlift the scores of wounded. Watch a report on the deadly quake »
TV images from the scene showed women squatting next to gaping craters where houses once stood -- their heads buried in their hands.
Villagers clawed through heaps of dirt and debris searching for signs of life. Elsewhere, solemn residents shoveled dirt to create mass graves to bury the dead.
Balochistan, located near the Afghan border, is the largest province in Pakistan but one of its least populated. A magnitude 7.5 quake in the province's capital, Quetta, killed 30,000 people in 1935, according to the United States Geological Survey.

30-minute Obama ad shows campaign muscle

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Barack Obama's 30-minute TV ad, which ran simultaneously on broadcast and cable networks at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday, is muscle-flexing that has little precedent, a campaign advertising expert said.

Sen. Barack Obama aired a 30-minute campaign ad Wednesday night.

"It's evidence, if you needed any, that the Obama campaign has more money than there is ad time left to buy," said Evan Tracey, director of the Campaign Media Analysis Group. "This is flexing the muscles."
Tracey estimates that it will cost the campaign "in the $4 to 5 million range -- at a minimum, $3.5 million."
But, he said, spending the money is a "no-brainer" for the Democratic presidential hopeful.
"The strategic brilliance of this for Obama is that he is going to consume about 24 hours of the news cycle," Tracey said. "It boxes [John] McCain in, takes the oxygen out of the room."
In the carefully produced infomercial, Obama laid out his plans for the economy and for bringing an end to the war in Iraq.
It also featured stories of struggling families in swing states such as Ohio and Missouri and included testimonials from high-profile supporters, including Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.
Obama's Republican opponent, Arizona Sen. John McCain, was not mentioned, nor was the GOP. The spot ended with a brief, live Obama address to a rally in Florida, another hotly contested state in this year's campaign.
"I'm reminded every single day that I am not a perfect man," he said. "I will not be a perfect president.
"But I can promise you this: I will always tell you what I think and where I stand. I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you when we disagree. And, most importantly, I will open the doors of government and ask you to be involved in your own democracy again."
There was so much buzz surrounding the infomercial -- which was announced about two weeks ago -- that on Tuesday, Time magazine's Mark Halperin put the ad's two editors on his daily list of the "five most important people in American politics not running for president."

Balochistan quake death toll rises to 236

Updated at: 1103 PST, Thursday, October 30, 2008 QUETTA: The death toll in an earthquake hit Ziarat division of Balochistan has risen to 236 whereas 391 people were injured. The toll is expected to climb furtherBalochistan police sources said that Ziarat, Khawas, Varshoom are the worst affected areas where more than 300 houses have been destroyed completely and recovery of bodies and injured from the rubble is still underway.Meanwhile, series of aftershocks continue in Ziarat. Metrological office predicted cloudy weather in quake-hit areas of Balochistan.DG Met office Qamaruzzaman Chaudhry said rains are not expected in these areas, however, cold will be increased. He told Geo News that last night temperature was ranged between –1 to –4 C. About aftershocks, DG said so far 44 aftershocks have been recorded and it still continues.

Talks with Taliban agreed -- with strings

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Afghan and Pakistani tribal leaders have agreed to seek talks with Taliban leaders and other militant groups, so long as they promise to abide by the laws of each country.

Former Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah attends the two-day jirga in Islamabad.

The two-day conference, or jirga, ended Tuesday concluding the best way to expedite the process of peace and reconciliation -- and end violence -- would be by establishing contact with the "opposition," according to comments at a news conference.

The Afghan representative, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, said the "opposition" includes any group involved in the region's surging violence. "The door is now wide open," he said.

Earlier this month, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the United States would be prepared to reconcile with the Taliban if the Afghan government pursued talks to end the seven-year conflict in that country. White House spokesman Dana Perino said Tuesday talks with Taliban elements are currently being considered in Washington.

The tribal leaders came from the border areas of both countries to attend the conference, dubbed a mini-jirga because of its size.

The group was divided into committees to work on various issues until the next jirga scheduled for two months.

Jirgas have long been used by ethnic Pashtuns along the Afghan-Pakistan border to resolve conflicts and make decisions.

At a similar, but larger, peace jirga in August 2007 in Kabul, Afghanistan's capital, then-Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf said military action and diplomacy were keys in the fight against the rise in Taliban extremism plaguing Pakistan.

The border region has long been considered by U.S. intelligence as a safe haven for al Qaeda and Taliban fighters battling U.S. and Afghan troops.

Don't Miss

• Analysis: Taliban talks attracts backers
• U.S. training Pakistanis to fight militants

Pakistan and Afghanistan have been bitterly divided over the issue of dealing with extremists along the lawless border, particularly when Musharraf was in power.

The Pakistan government that took over in March has listed dialogue with the opposition as part of a three-pronged strategy to bring about peace. The other strategies are social and economic development and, as a last resort, force.

In Washington, Perino said Tuesday that the United States "realize(s) that we have to reach out on some level" to the militants, and the Bush administration is considering talks with the Taliban as part of its ongoing strategic review of Afghanistan.

Obama, McCain take swipes at each other on taxes

(CNN) -- Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama on Tuesday pounced on each other's tax proposals as they campaigned 90 miles apart in Pennsylvania.

Sen. Barack Obama slams Sen. John McCain's economic policy at a rainy rally Tuesday in Chester, Pennsylvania.

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"John McCain's ridden shotgun as George Bush has driven our economy toward a cliff, and now he wants to take the wheel and step on the gas," Obama said at a rainy rally in Chester.

"When it comes to the issue of taxes -- saying that John McCain is running for a third Bush term isn't being fair to George Bush," he said.

Obama said the country needs a "new direction," adding that he's the candidate who could bring about that change. Watch Obama call for a "new direction" »

In Pennsylvania, Obama holds a lead of 10 percentage points, 52 percent to 42 percent, but McCain's campaign has said it is buoyed by internal numbers not showing up in public polling. Watch the latest on battleground polls »

The state has 21 electoral votes up for grabs. Pennsylvanians have voted for the Democratic nominee in each of the last four presidential elections.

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell last week urged the Obama campaign to return to his state before Election Day.

Battling for votes: Small businesses weigh choices

(CNN) -- Even before the current economic crisis, voters listed the economy as the top issue in the presidential election.

In a CNN.com special report, Battleground Voters, we talked to voters in five battleground states -- Colorado, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio -- to find out how the economy would influence their choice for president.

In the first of four parts, we talked to small-business owners, who have been at the center of John McCain's and Barack Obama's plans on how they would get the ailing economy back on track.

BOULDER, Colorado: 'Is it worth hanging in'

Susan Melching calls enduring current economic conditions "a very frightening experience."

Small-business owner Susan Melching is frightened by the country's economic future.

Melching said this is the first time in 26 years that she is worried her company won't survive.

"This is the first year that I have actually really felt on the verge of 'is it worth hanging in for it?' And it's a very frightening experience. First time ever," she said.

Her company, Susan Melching Inc., provides skin care treatments. Businesses that focus on beauty and luxury goods are usually hit especially hard during economic troubles.

The 53-year-old said she's had to downsize her business by cutting jobs -- from five full-time staff members down to a couple of part-time workers and herself. It's because, she said, customers are simply not coming in as often or at all.

"I'm pretty much relying on myself to get through this," she added. "Everything that I do is focused on keeping the business going. There's not much left for me."

Melching said she'd like the next president to focus on economic policies helping small businesses in small communities -- "financial support in those areas that would in turn benefit the whole country," she said. See how the economy figures into to the politics of business owners »

Doctors work to rescue patients in Iraq's mental health system

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The man sits gently rocking on the bed, one hand clutching a cloth, the other hiding his face from view.

Few patients ever leave Al Rashad hospital, doctors say.

He doesn't look up and he doesn't want to talk. His body language screams despair.

Across the tiled room, other men are sitting on thin, filthy mattresses atop metal bed frames.

"Our life is miserable. It is dirty. The food is bad. Life is very bad here," says one of them, Abu Ismaeil. "I'm always hungry. I do not want to lie. Shame on me if I lie."

Yet, in Iraq, these are some of the luckier ones, and even Abu Ismaeil agrees. Without the hospital. "I would commit suicide," he said.

Their clothes and surroundings may be drab, but these mentally ill people are fortunate to be in Al Rashad Hospital, Iraq's only treatment facility for severe psychiatric disorders. Watch patients cope with stark conditions »

More than 1,000 patients, most of them suffering chronic schizophrenia, call the bleak buildings home.

Through their individual stories, there is one overwhelmingly common theme -- abandonment. In a country where life is difficult for the healthy, the mentally ill are seen to bring shame and greater hardship to families.

Dr. Raghad Issa Sarsam, a psychiatrist, says most of his patients have been rejected by their loved ones. Without the hospital, they would be wandering outside, begging, he said.

Geo News

Pak-Afghan mini Jirga agrees to form contact group
Updated at: 2023 PST, Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Pak-Afghan mini Jirga agrees to form contact group ISLAMABAD: Pakistani and Afghan officials and tribal leaders agreed Tuesday to make contact with Taliban militants in an attempt to end the raging insurgent violence along their porous border.

The declaration came after two days of talks in Islamabad aimed at finding a lasting solution to the unrest which has wracked the region since the US-led toppling of Afghanistan's Taliban regime in 2001.

"We agreed that contacts should be established with the opposition in both countries, joint contacts through the Jirgagai (mini-tribal council)," said former Afghan foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, the leader of the Afghan side.

Asked whether that included the Taliban and other militants, Owais Ahmed Ghani, Governor NWFP and leader of the Pakistani delegation, said, "Yes, it includes all those who are involved in this conflict situation."

The meeting of 50 officials and tribal elders from both sides of the Afghan-Pakistan border was a follow-up to a larger "peace Jirga" held in Kabul in August 2007.

Abdullah said that the mini-Jirga had advised both governments "to deny sanctuary for the terrorists and militant elements which are a threat to all of us for both countries."

"At the same time one new recommendation of the peace Jirga was to expedite the process of peace and reconciliation," he said.

The joint declaration said there was an "urgent and imperative need of dialogue and negotiations with the opposition groups in both countries with a view to finding a peaceful settlement of the ongoing conflict, upholding the supremacy of the constitutions of both countries."

The next meeting would be in Kabul in two or three months, the officials

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US Muslim women seek active faith role

US Muslim women seek active faith role

By Robert Pigott Religious affairs correspondent, BBC News

The Aktar daughters are following their mother into careers

See the Akhtar family at a weekend lunch, and the renewal of Islam in America seems inevitable and irresistible.

Shahid and Mino Akhtar were born in Pakistan and, like their son and three daughters, they are devout Muslims who attend the mosque regularly.

Meeting them at their house in a quiet tree-lined street in Emerson, New Jersey, it soon seems clear that they, and their progressive Islam, are as perfectly adapted to life in modern America as their Christian neighbours.

Shahid is a hands-on dad. While his wife pursued a career as a lawyer he took charge of raising the children. His son Reza, a hospital doctor, is following his example by being the one who cooks dinner and does the dishes as his wife, Amna, also works.

The Aktar daughters are pursuing careers as a lawyer, businesswoman and dentist. Their emancipation has not diluted their sense of being Muslim, but it has changed it.

Sheema wears shorts to play soccer, but sees no conflict with the duty to behave modestly. They feel bound by the duty to pray, for example, but not at five set times each day.

Mino Akhtar says connection with God is what counts.

"In terms of the daily practices, when I travel on business I don't get to get to pray five times a day," she says. "It's my connection with the creator that's more important than how I do it."

"Absolutely," says her daughter Sheema. "We're just adapting to the surroundings. As long as you have the basic principles, and you abide by them and remember Allah every day."

Women 'reclaiming Islam'

American Muslims' determination to grasp the basic principles of their religion - rather than the sometimes harsh rules contributed by other cultures during its long history - grew out of the wreckage of the World Trade Center towers.

Page last updated at 17:24 GMT, Monday, 27 October 2008 E-mail this to a friend Printable version

Fighting for Muslim women's rights

Some of the world's leading Islamic feminists have been gathered in Barcelona for the third International Congress on Islamic Feminism, to discuss the issues women face in the Muslim world. Some of the women taking part in the conference explained the problems in their home countries, and where they hoped to make progress. ASMA BARLAS, Author, Pakistan Religions always come into cultures, they don't come into abstract and pure spaces. Islam came into a very patriarchal, tribal and misogynistic culture. One of the deepest damages to Islam has been its reduction to "Arabisation". Islam is influenced by the culture of the country it enters I'm not going to say that the Arabs are particularly misogynistic in a way that nobody else is, but I do think there are very particular traits and attitudes towards women that have crept into Islam. I have a friend who has been studying the interface between what he calls the Persian models and the Arabist models of Islam in the subcontinent and surprise, surprise: the Arabist models are misogynistic, authoritarian, unitarian and the Persian models are much more plural and tolerant. This is a fight on two fronts - on the one hand we are struggling against the kinds of oppression dominant in Muslim patriarch societies and, on the other, Western perceptions of Islam as necessarily monolithic, and confusing the ideals of Islam with the reality of Muslim lives. If we read the Koran as a totality rather than pulling out random verses or half a line, that opens all kinds of possibilities for sexual equality.

Europe

Page last updated at 00:57 GMT, Tuesday, 28 October 2008 Maldives holds election run-off By Roland Buerk BBC News, Maldives Other opposition candidates have backed Mohamed Nasheed The people of the Maldives are set to vote in the run-off round of the first democratic presidential election. Asia's longest-serving leader, President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, is facing former political prisoner and pro-democracy leader Mohamed Nasheed. President Gayoom won the first round earlier this month, but failed to secure the 50% needed for outright victory over Mr Nasheed. Both candidates say they are confident of victory. The campaigning was noisy with rallies late into Sunday night and parades of trucks and taxis in the narrow streets of the cramped island capital of Male. Opposition candidates who were knocked out are now supporting Mr Nasheed, known as Anni. President Gayoom has ruled the Maldives since 1978 and claims credit for making the country South Asia's most prosperous, largely thanks to tourists who come for the white sandy beaches and turquoise lagoons. He began a reform programme following international criticism of his suppression of street protests in 2004. Reasons to win This is the first time President Gayoom has allowed competition in an election. Mohamed Nasheed has said he is a dictator and a has-been sultan, and that the Maldives needs change.

Climate bill 'to include planes'

Ministers are under pressure over aviation emissions

Aviation and shipping look set to be included in a government bill targeting cuts in greenhouse gases, to head off a rebellion by backbench MPs.

MPs will vote later on a bill to enforce an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050.

More than 50 Labour MPs have backed an amendment calling for the law to cover emissions from planes and tankers.

Ministers said the bill would "take into account" the two sectors, a move welcomed by environmental campaigners.

'Comprehensive approach'

But it is unclear what this will mean in practice and whether ministers will back the rebel amendment, signed by 56 MPs, seeking statutory rather than voluntary targets for aviation and shipping.

The amendment seeks equivalent cuts in emissions elsewhere to make up for any rise in those from the two industries.

The government has resisted calls in the past for such a move, arguing it would be difficult to determine how international aviation and shipping emissions could be allocated between different countries.

Controversial ivory sale to open

By Richard Black Environment correspondent, BBC News website

Consignments of illegal ivory are still recovered leaving Africa

The first officially sanctioned sale of ivory in southern Africa for almost a decade opens on Tuesday.

Namibia, Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe will auction more than 100 tonnes of ivory from stockpiles to buyers from China and Japan.

The money raised will go into elephant conservation projects.

Some environment groups say the sales encourage poachers elsewhere in Africa to kill elephants for ivory that can be fed into the illegal trade.

However, data collected by the wildlife trade monitoring network Traffic shows that seizures of illegal ivory fell in the years following the last legal sale in 1999.

We are deeply concerned that these sales will open the floodgates to additional illegal trade Will Travers, Born Free

The secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the UN body that sanctioned the sale, says it will monitor trade in China and Japan to make sure companies are not mixing illegally sourced ivory with these legal shipments.

Cable TV provider plans its own wireless network

NEW YORK (AP) -- Cable TV provider Cox Communications Inc. was set to announce Monday that it plans to have its own cellular network up and running next year, a move that intensifies cable's competition with phone companies.

Cox Communications appears to be the only major cable company building its own cellular network.

Cox had signaled an interest in building a wireless network by spending $550 million on licenses to use the airwaves. But such spectrum purchases don't always lead to the building of a network, and privately held Cox hasn't previously detailed its plans.

The Atlanta-based company plans to build its own network in its cable service area, and partner with Sprint Nextel Corp. for roaming outside those areas.

Cox's spectrum licenses cover the areas around Atlanta, New Orleans, San Diego, Omaha, Neb., and Las Vegas as well as much of Kansas and southern New Mexico. Those areas have about 23 million people, said Stephen Bye, Cox's vice president of wireless.

Wireless phone service will add to Cox's video, phone and Internet services to head off competition from phone companies like AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc., which already have wireless service and are rolling out video.

Cox, which has 6 million customers, appears to be the only major cable company that is building its own cellular network right now, but it's an area where the cable industry has long been involved.

Cox itself built and operated a cellular network covering Southern California and Las Vegas in the 1990s, then sold it to Sprint in 1999. Comcast Corp., the country's largest cable company, also owned a wireless network in the '90s and had ties to Sprint.