Kidnapped SKoreans prepared to leave as Seoul denies ransom allegations

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Nineteen South Koreans freed by Taliban kidnappers prepared to fly home Friday as their government denied allegations that it paid a ransom to end the six-week hostage standoff. Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi vowed to abduct more foreigners, reinforcing fears that South Korea's decision to negotiate directly with the militants would embolden them at a time of surging violence in the country.

"We will do the same thing with the other allies in Afghanistan, because we found this way to be successful," he told The Associated Press via cell phone from an undisclosed location.

The 19 hostages, all church volunteers seized as they travelled by bus in southern Afghanistan on July 19, were freed in separate handovers on Wednesday and Thursday under the terms of a deal struck between the Taliban and South Korean government representatives.

South Korean presidential spokesman Cheon Ho-seon said in Seoul the former hostages would be leaving Afghanistan later Friday on a flight to Dubai, and then travel onward to South Korea.

Originally 23 South Koreans were seized, but the militants killed two men soon after taking them, and released two women earlier this month in what they termed a "goodwill" gesture.

Under the terms of Tuesday's agreement, Seoul repeated a pledge it had made long before the kidnappings to withdraw its 200 troops in Afghanistan before year's end and vowed to prevent missionaries travelling to the country.

The Taliban apparently backed down from an earlier demand for a prisoner exchange.

A senior Afghan official close to the negotiations alleged Friday the South Koreans also paid a ransom.

"Definitely there was money but I don't know how much. I do not want to lie," said the official on condition of anonymity, because of the sensitivity of the topic.

Cheon dismissed the claim, which other Afghan officials have also aired in recent days.

"There is no additional agreement other than what has been made public," he said.

The Taliban has repeatedly denied receiving any money.

Rumours of multimillion dollar ransom payments have swirled around other deals to release foreign hostages held by criminal gangs or the Taliban in Afghanistan, but they are difficult to prove, not least because neither side has any interest in acknowledging them.

Foreign governments would be strongly criticized because ransom payments are thought to encourage kidnappings, whereas the Taliban's image as a political and religious movement would be sullied if its motives were exposed as criminal.

The Afghan government was not party to the negotiations, which took place in the central Afghan city of Ghazni and were facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The final seven hostages were handed over Thursday to Red Cross officials in two separate exchanges close to Ghazni. The freed hostages did not speak to reporters.

The final three released - two women and a man - were handed over by armed men on a main road in Janda district after apparently walking through the desert for some distance. Covered in dust, they were quickly bundled into a Red Cross vehicle and driven away.

The men accompanying the three gave an unsigned note to journalists accusing the South Koreans of coming to Afghanistan on a mission to convert the staunchly Islamic country to Christianity.

"They came to our nation to change our faith," the handwritten note read. "The Afghan people have given their lives for their faith. This is the reason we arrested them."

The South Korean government and relatives of the hostages - all of whom belonged to a Presbyterian church close to Seoul - have insisted they were not engaged in missionary activities, but were doing aid work such as helping in hospitals.

In Washington, the State Department welcomed the hostages' release. When asked if South Korea's negotiations with the Taliban set a dangerous precedent, spokesman Tom Casey refrained from directly criticizing the Seoul government.

"I'd simply reiterate that the long-standing U.S. policy is ... not to make concessions to terrorists," he said.

South Korea has said it is not unusual to negotiate with hostage-takers.

Afghanistan has seen a spate of hostage-takings this year. The Taliban are still holding a German engineer and four Afghans kidnapped a day before the South Koreans.

© The Canadian Press, 2007

Massage parlours seen as safer option for sex-trade workers

(CBC) - The dangers of working the street are driving prostitutes to work in so-called massage parlours, Vancouver sex-trade workers say.

Vancouver police say Nicole Parisien, who was found dead Monday behind an apartment block in the Kitsilano neighbourhood, was working as a masseuse in a unit of the building. She was allegedly killed by a customer who was arrested Wednesday and charged with second-degree murder.

Working from home or from apartments in highrise buildings that are used solely for that purpose is the safer way to go in an unsafe business, said Sue Davis, a Vancouver prostitute who says she was assaulted as many as two or three times a day when she was working on the street.

Davis said she knows all about the so-called "in service" that was allegedly operating out of the building in Kitsilano.

"As these types of services go, this was one of the better ones,'' she said.

Other residents of the Kitsilano building, who were interviewed by CBC News, said the operation was so low-key that none of them knew it was a massage parlour.

These operations may be more common then most people realize, said Tamara O'Doherty, a masters student who has researched the sex trade.

She estimates that 80 to 90 per cent of Vancouver prostitutes work inside and are not stereotypical street walkers. They tend to field calls that are generated from ads placed either in newspapers or on the Internet.

Davis and O'Doherty both would like to see prostitution legalized.

It is a move, they say, that would help to improve the safety of women who work in a business that can sometimes turn deadly.

Toronto mulls tax on 'big box' retailers, gas stations

(CBC) - Toronto city hall is considering an idea of forcing some businesses - including so-called big-box retailers and gas stations - to pay higher property taxes because they encourage car culture.

A report will be considered at council's executive committee next week that looks at putting mega-stores such as Wal-Mart and gas stations in a higher tax bracket.

The idea is that the money raised from higher taxes would offset the costs to the city of more driving. Any such move by the city would likely require provincial approval.

With a focus on climate change and public transit, councillors are looking for ways to keep people out of cars. Some big-box retailers estimate they can each generate a million car trips a year.

Coun. Cesar Palacio said big-box stores should pay higher property taxes, especially for the enormous lands reserved just for cars.

"They encourage the car culture more and more all the time, and that defeats the purpose of one of city hall's priorities to encourage public transit," Palacio told CBC News.

As for gas stations, Palacio insisted he isn't suggesting they should be eliminated, but should pay more as the city struggles with pollution, traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles.

Coun. Paula Fletcher and many in her eastern Danforth ward are trying to stop a Wal-Mart from setting up on their neighbourhood's waterfront.

She said she doesn't think a higher tax bracket will serve any purpose and would rather have the city go further by banning big-box stores.

"The problem is not how to tax the blight; the problem often is the blight itself," Fletcher said.

No more 'burnt lion's head'; Beijing cleans up menus for Olympics

BEIJING (AP) - Hungry visitors to next summer's Beijing Olympics won't have to struggle to decipher bizarre English mistranslations on restaurant menus.
Xinhua News Agency says the Beijing Tourism Bureau has released a list with thousands of proposed names for dishes and drinks, designed to replace confusing and sometimes ridiculous translations on menus. Foreigners are often stumped by dish names such as virgin chicken (a young chicken dish) or burnt lion's head (Chinese-style pork meatballs).

Other garbled names include the temple explodes the chicken cube (kung pao chicken) or steamed crap (steamed carp).

Xinhua notes these translations either scare or embarrass foreign customers and may cause misunderstanding about Chinese dietary habits.

It's the latest effort among Beijing Olympics organizers to clean up the city and ensure the best image is presented to the hundreds of thousands of visitors expected next summer.

Etiquette campaigns are afoot to stamp out bad manners like jumping ahead in line, spitting, littering and reckless driving. The revised menu names are part of an effort to ban unintelligible English, known as "Chinglish," that abounds on signs everywhere.

A team set up by the Beijing Municipal Foreign Affairs Office and Beijing Tourism Bureau has been working on the menu names for more than a year, Xinhua said. Translators developed names for dishes based on one of four categories: ingredients, cooking method, taste or the name of a person or place.

For example, a dish with mushrooms and duck feet will be listed as simply "Mushroom-Duck's Foot." Other proposed names include "Fish Filets in Hot Chili Oil" and "Crispy Chicken." "Mapo Tofu," a tofu dish, derives its name from a woman named Mapo.

Once a final decision is made on the list of names, they will be used in restaurants across China, Xinhua said.

© The Canadian Press, 2007

Thailand lifts ban on YouTube after site agrees to bar videos that break law

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - The Thai government said Friday it has lifted a four-month ban on YouTube after the popular video-sharing website's operator agreed not to allow videos that violate the country's laws or are deemed offensive to Thai people.
The government blocked access to YouTube on April 4 after its owner, Google Inc., turned down Thailand's request to remove clips seen as offensive to Thailand's revered monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

One of the controversial clips that led to the ban depicted shoes with the soles pointed toward the king's image - a major taboo in a culture where feet are considered extremely dirty and offensive. The video's soundtrack was the Thai national anthem.

Information and Communication Technology Minister Sitthichai Phokai-udom said the government lifted the ban without providing further comment. But in an interview in The Nation newspaper, he said the ban was lifted after the site operator agreed not to run video clips that violate Thai law or are "deemed offensive" in a reference to the monarchy.

Sitthichai told The Nation that YouTube had finished creating a program that would block sensitive video clips from being accessed through Thai Internet service providers.

A spokesman for Google, which is based in Mountain View, California., could not be immediately reached for comment.

"We have the deepest respect for His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej," Google wrote earlier this year in a letter to the ministry. "We likewise respect Thailand's law and tradition and hope that we will be able to reach a mutually acceptable resolution to the current controversy."

The ministry in May talked of filing a criminal lawsuit against Google on charges of lese-majeste, or offence against the monarchy, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

Thai authorities take the issue seriously. A Swiss man was sentenced to 10 years in jail in March in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai after he defaced posters of the king during a drinking binge. He was later pardoned and deported.

© The Canadian Press, 2007

Chinese-language films rise at VIFF

By Craig Takeuchi
Straight.com

Although the Vancouver International Film Festival has had a special program for Asian films since 1985, the VIFF will place special emphasis on Chinese cinema with an expanded Dragons & Tigers series this year.

Dragons & Tigers programming will be divided between long-time D&T programmer Tony Rayns, who will handle non Chinese language East Asian films, and newcomer Shelly Kraicer, who will oversee Chinese-language film programming. Kraicer is a Canadian film scholar who speaks Mandarin and has lived in Beijing for five years.

In a phone interview from Toronto, Kraicer spoke about how Chinese cinema is flourishing. "One of our focuses is on new documentaries because there's an incredible amount of vitality and creativity in the indie Chinese Mainland documentary scene." One such discovery was Bing Ai , an eight-year project by female director Feng Yan about a Chinese woman farmer living near the Yangtze River's Three Gorges dam project who refuses to move when ordered to. The film will have its world premiere at the VIFF.

The Chinese-language program will feature numerous North American and Canadian premieres and will include selections from Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Taiwan. Kraicer says films will range from big-budget features like The Sun Also Rises to zero-budget wonder (shot with a crew of four) Little Moth , about a young girl forced to beg on city streets.

Kraicer also spoke highly of Taiwanese film. "For a long time, people have been saying the Taiwan film industry is stuck, dead, and just producing a few famous art-house films for international audiences. And this year I was excited when I went to Taipei that there are all sorts of signs of revival in the Taiwanese commercial-film industry and among independent young filmmakers."

Chinese North American content includes Arthur Dong's documentary Hollywood Chinese and the Canada-China thriller/horror coproduction They Wait , starring Vancouver's Terry Chen.

Researchers question traditional schooling model in high-tech age

EDMONTON (CP) - As students across Canada head back to classrooms in this high-tech Information Age, there's a question in the front row that demands to be heard:
Why, in the Information Age, are students heading back to classrooms?

Researchers say students weaned on collaborative learning with high-tech devices are suffering in classrooms ruled by defenders of lecture-based orthodoxy wielding overhead projectors and reciting from dog-eared history textbooks that climax with Paul Martin's run for 24 Sussex Drive.

"It's not about using technology for technology's sake. It's allowing students to access the right information because of the information explosion," says Mohamed Ally, director of the Centre for Computing and Information Systems at Athabasca University, Alberta's distance-learning pioneer.

Ally is among a group of researchers across Canada looking at how to overhaul a method of teaching that, in some ways, has not fundamentally advanced in hundreds of years.

"It's pre-Gutenberg," says Don Tapscott, futurist, lecturer and author of bestsellers such as "Wikinomics," laughing as he recalls the assessment he heard from a university president.

"It's a prof working from handwritten notes. The students are all writing it down and the prof is writing on a blackboard. The assumption of the printing press is not even a fundamental part of the learning paradigm."

Dentists, doctors and other professionals asleep for 100 years would awake, he says, to a world where they would not recognize their jobs, much less perform them. But in education, a teacher could walk into a classroom after a century and get busy.

"There's a huge generational clash that's happening in the universities and schools," said Tapscott.

Students, he suggests, forced to line up at the photocopier to run off reams of paper off reading lists wonder why the professor just doesn't set up links to websites containing the material.

"The entire model of pedagogy is wrong for young people," he said.

Students who interact on the web, talk to each other digitally to resolve questions, post to the web and blog on the web are going to have problems adapting to sitting, listening, then regurgitating on an exam the words of one person standing at the front of the room, he said.

Ally notes that the sheer speed of information change makes textbooks, such as those in computing, outdated not in years but months.

"The read-and-remember and the listen-and-remember is kind of an old paradigm because information is changing at such a fast rate," said Ally.

He said the marriage of distance learning at institutions like Athabasca University with technology means the future is limited only by the imagination.

Consider, he says, a future where:

- Other countries could deliver courses to students in Canada. A student living in Calgary could graduate from a high school in Bonn.

- Software can detect ways in which a student learns and can tailor course material to those strengths: more examples if a student learns by example or more graphics if a student excels that way.

- Students continue to work together for much-needed social interaction, but advance according to outcome-based models rather than the age-based cohorts of Grades 1, 2, 3, etc.

- Teachers aren't in the classroom but are available to assist peer-to-peer learning or online to answer questions and give guidance.

Ally is helping to pioneer delivering course work tailored for mobile use on PDAs, iPhones, iPods and the like.

The goal is to free a student from the classroom. A student will be able to complete their course work while travelling the world or just sitting in an airport.

"They will do their reading on the mobile device, and in some cases they can actually take test questions and get immediate feedback."

Tapscott knows how he thinks the future should look: "Every kid has a laptop. They're clustered into groups. It's self-based interactive, student-focused, collaborative learning."

If so, then the future appears to be now at a pilot project beginning this year at Edmonton's St. Mary Elementary School.

About 100 Grade 5 and 6 students in four classes will be equipped with tablet PCs. With those detachable screens, they will be free to move about the wireless facility, doing homework or researching on the web in, say, the gym or library. Should learning stop because there's a system crash, IT staff are on site to get the students back online.

In the classroom, their desks are arranged in clusters to foster peer-to-peer and group problem- solving through a variety of tools like Smart Boards and LCD screens.

"We're not trying to get the technology to replace everything. We want it to be as an additional resource that helps student learning," said Joe Estephan, the teacher of the tablet PC Grade 6ers.

"Technology is the future and we need to catch up, and students are highly motivated when it comes to technology."

Ally and Tapscott say the challenge is not the technology.

"The biggest wall we have to knock down is the attitude of the teachers and some of the faculty to get them to actually use the devices," said Ally. "Some of them, because they've been in the system a long time, are kind of afraid to move toward the technology."

The Canadian Press, 2007

Taliban free 4 more South Korean hostages; 3 others still held

JANDA, Afghanistan (AP) - The Taliban have released four more South Korean hostages.
An Associated Press reporter witnessed the release of the two men and two woman earlier today.

The reporter says they were turned over to representatives of the International Red Cross on a road in the Janda area in central Afghanistan.

That leaves just three South Koreans still in the hands of the insurgents and all are expected to be freed shortly.

© The Canadian Press, 2007

Vancouver hotel workers vote to strike

(CBC) - Workers in four of Vancouver's largest hotels have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a strike.

The 1,400 workers at the Hyatt, Westin Bayshore, Renaissance, and Four Seasons hotels are members of Unite Here Local 40 and have been without a contract since June.

Saying their employers aren't taking them seriously, they have voted 85 per cent in favour of hitting the picket lines. The vote gives union leaders the authority to call a strike if they feel negotiations with the employer aren't going well.

If the union delivered on the threat, it would be a blow to a city which is already suffering through a six-week-old strike by civic workers.

"I think we've met for 12 sessions up until now and we haven't received any offer whatsoever from the employers,'' said Randall Cooper, a banquet worker and member of the bargaining committee. "I think we've agreed on one very very minor bit of language and that is it."

The union wants higher wages and better benefits. They argue that the cost of living in Vancouver has skyrocketed in recent years, and that benefits and salaries have not kept up.

"I've worked 30 years in the business, and I am retiring in 13 days, and I'm only going to get $200 per month, so that's not a very good pension, is it?" said Carol Spence, who works at the Hyatt.

More talks are scheduled for mid-September.

Border advisory council needed to address Canada-U.S. trade challenges: report

SARNIA, Ont. (CP) - The advocate for Ontario's business community is urging the province to create a borders advisory council to help combat costly border delays.
The Ontario Chamber of Commerce says at least 44 different Canadian and U.S. agencies have jurisdiction over border operations.

A report released today by the chamber says more than 4,500 new or revised border regulations are introduced each year by Ottawa and the province.

They say a borders advisory council is needed to bring together governments on both sides of the border to address those concerns and streamline cross-border trade.

The chamber notes that almost 90 per cent of Ontario's exports went south to the U.S. last year.

They say government regulations and deteriorating infrastructure are creating trade challenges that are costing the Ontario economy $5.25 billion a year.

© The Canadian Press, 2007

Country-specific domain names popular

NEW YORK (AP) - The number of domain name registrations worldwide reached 138 million midway through 2007, a 31 per cent increase from a year earlier, according to the company that operates much of the Internet's core address directories.
Although the ".com" suffix continues to be the most popular, with about 55 million registrations, VeriSign Inc. said country-code domains such as ".fr" for France are strong. There were more than 51 million country-code registrations collectively, a 36 per cent hike from mid-2006.

Germany's ".de" is the leading country code and the second-most popular suffix overall, followed by ".net" in third place. The United Kingdom's ".uk," China's ".cn" and ".org" are among the other leading suffixes.

VeriSign runs the databases listing all ".com" and ".net" names as well as the master directory, or root server, that lists all the Internet's suffixes, meaning all traffic touches the company's computers at one point or another. Domain names are key for helping computers find websites and route e-mail messages.

There are currently 267 domain name suffixes in the main root server, with ".asia" being the latest addition. Most of them are country codes, ranging from ".ac" for the Ascension Island to ".zw" for Zimbabwe.

The Canadian Press, 2007

Ontario grape grower selling $7 million stake to Chinese firm

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. (CP) - The Chinese wine maker Tonghua Grape Wine Co. Ltd. has announced plans to pay $7 million for a 75 per cent stake in King's Court Estate Winery in St. Catharines, Ont., according to filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The family owned winery, established in 1990 by Joe Zimmermann, is known for its ice wines produced from grapes grown on 30 hectares.

It exports its wines to several countries, including China, Japan and Korea.

Zimmermann was in China and was unavailable for comment, King's Court assistant winemaker Roland Zimmermann said from his home on Wednesday.

Tonghua Grape Wine is based in Jilin in northeastern China and was one of the first in the country to produce ice wines.

The aim of the purchase is designed to enhance the company competitive edge by producing high-end ice wines, Tonghua said.

© The Canadian Press, 2007

Canada says seniors and registered aboriginals shouldn't need passports

WASHINGTON (CP) - Canadian seniors and registered aboriginals shouldn't have to produce passports when they cross the border by car or boat, Ottawa has told American officials. And there should be an alternative plan for emergency workers and medical evacuation cases, Canada said in an official response last week to U.S. plans requiring passports next summer from people entering the country by car or boat.

Canada objects to that deadline, saying it should be extended, and wants an explicit agreement that high-technology driver's licences could be used instead of passports.

Ottawa is also considering whether to devise a passport card like the one the United States is developing that would cost less but provide the same proof of identity and citizenship.

In June, U.S. officials issued a reprieve on passports from people entering at land and sea crossings until at least the summer of 2008. It was supposed to go into effect in January.

But that still doesn't leave enough time to cut all the confusion and reduce damage to trade and tourism, Canadian officials say.

There have been long delays in getting passports on both sides of the border since the rules for air travellers were announced, forcing the United States to give its citizens a break until the end of September.

It will be worse for the land and sea border crossings, Canadian officials said, because they account for more than 85 per cent of all cross-border visits and less than 60 per cent of those who make the trip have passports now.

In 2006, there were nearly 160 million cross-border visits and US$710 billion in two-way trade, or US$1.9 billion a year.

The United States has already said it will allow minors to cross with a birth certificate.

But Canada wants the passport leniency to extend to seniors, aboriginals who have certificates of Indian status, people with a Canadian seafarer's identity document and emergency workers.

The break should extend to family members of medical evacuation patients, Ottawa said.

There have been cases where family members of evacuated patients weren't allowed to get on U.S.-bound planes because they didn't have a passport, the Canadian officials said.

© The Canadian Press, 2007

'Product of Canada' label misleading: Consumer

(CBC) - A Charlottetown shopper recently found that food labelled "Product of Canada" didn't necessarily originate here at home.

On a recent visit to the canned fruit and vegetable aisle, Jenny Likely came across different brands of mandarin oranges.

Because of recent recalls on Chinese products like pet food and seafood, Likely said she avoided the cans that said they were from China.

"I like to buy Canadian if I can't buy it local and I will avoid if I can anything from China because of the problems that we've heard about," Likely said.

She bought a jar of mandarin oranges labelled "Product of Canada," but wanted to follow up and called the company.

"I really didn't think that we grew mandarin oranges in Canada, and lo and behold, no, these mandarin oranges come from China," she said.

But the word "China" wasn't on the label.

CBC Radio contacted the company that packaged the oranges, and a spokesperson said it could take a day or two to confirm where the oranges originated.

But it doesn't matter. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said the fruit could still be legally labelled "Product of Canada" as long as the product is re-processed in this country, with at least 51 per cent Canadian labour and/or materials.

Consumers deserve more details on the label, Likely said.

"We have all these labels for everything else, such as energy and cholesterol. One of the basic things is where they were grown," she said.

The CFIA said it investigates about 600 complaints about labels every year.

CD prices cut at all HMV stores

(CBC) - CDs are about to become a lot cheaper with an announcement by music retailer HMV that it is cutting prices.

On back catalogues from popular artists like The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Bob Marley, Metallica and U2, the cuts could be high as $10 per CD.

Effective immediately, prices will drop an average of 20 per cent, with some titles reduced as much as 33 per cent, HMV reported in a press release.

HMV, Canada's biggest music retailer, is billing the move as a result of demand by consumers for lower CD prices.

But Graham Henderson, president of the Canadian Recording Industry Association, says it's an effort to stem the tide of illegal downloading that threatens retailers and everyone else in the recording industry.

"The effect is to put CDs in a price range that will attract more people," Henderson said.

Retailers such as HMV are suffering from plunging sales of CDs, Henderson said.

The price cuts are deepest on older recordings, in an effort to keep baby boomers buying CDs, and stem illegal downloading of older recordings, which is on the rise.

"Canada has the highest rate of illegal downloading in the world," he told CBC News. "It's affecting our ability to build a digital industry."

Other countries, including the U.S. and Britain, have been able to stem the tide of illegal downloading by updating laws and increasing enforcement, he said, but calls from the recording industry for updated copyright laws in Canada have gone unheeded.

"A succession of Canadian governments have sat on their hands and done nothing," he said.

Venetian aims to transform Chinese gambling enclave into full-fledged resort

MACAU (AP) - With the crash of a champagne bottle against a gondola, Macau's Venetian casino opened Tuesday, dwarfing anything in Las Vegas and big enough, its operators say, to shift the magnetic north of the gambling world to this small city in southern China. American billionaire Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam, inaugurated the US$2.4 billion Venetian Macao Resort Hotel on Cotai by smashing the bottle against the gondola. The boat will float down one of three indoor canals - the Venetian in Las Vegas has only one.

Casinos like the Wynn and Adelson's Sands have led this small city in southern China past the Las Vegas Strip as the world's most lucrative gambling centre.

Adelson, chairman of the Las Vegas Sands Corp., wants to take it a step further with the 10.5- million-square-foot Venetian.

Hundreds of visitors streamed under the golden dome just inside the entrance Tuesday, treading on thick champagne-coloured carpet and taking in the fresco paintings on the wall.

Adelson hopes the complex will transform Macau from a gambling pit stop for Chinese tourists to a vacation and business convention destination, where visitors shop, watch shows - and roll the dice.

"Today is the beginning of what has been a dream of mine for some time - to reproduce the capital of entertainment in Asia for Asians," Adelson said at a news conference.

Macau's casinos are currently scattered across the small territory, a peninsula connected to mainland China and two outlying islands by a reclaimed strip of land called Cotai.

Adelson said his Venetian Macao Resort Hotel on Cotai is the cornerstone of what will become a concentrated resort area he calls the Cotai Strip.

Las Vegas Sands claims the Venetian Macao - twice the size of the Las Vegas original - is the largest building in Asia and the second-largest in the world. Boeing Co. claims it has the world's largest building - a plant in Washington state.

The Venetian boasts what it claims to be the world's largest gaming space of 550,000 square feet, housing 3,400 slot machines - with room to expand to 6,000 - and more than 800 gambling tables.

It has 3,000 rooms, a 15,000-seat sports arena, retail space for 350 stores, 1.2 million square feet of convention space, fine dining and a Cirque du Soleil-produced show.

Its decor is Venice inspired - with a Chinese touch. Chinese-style sampans as well as gondolas will sail down canals. The resort also features a replica of Venice's St. Mark's Square.

Adelson also plans to open more hotels under brands such as Four Seasons, Sheraton and St. Regis. In all, his Las Vegas Sands Corp., which also runs the Sands Macao on the Macau peninsula, plans to invest up to US$12 billion and build 20,000 hotel rooms on the Cotai Strip by 2010.

Las Vegas Sands President William Weidner said 44 major conventions have already been scheduled at the Venetian over the next two years.

He also said he expects the Venetian Macao to lengthen the average guest stay to three to four days, from 1.2 days in other Macau hotels.

But it may take time to make Macau a major tourist destination.

Rob Hart at Morgan Stanley said Macau will never be Las Vegas.

"It's going to be slow transition," he said. "It's never going to happen to the same extent."

© The Canadian Press, 2007

Chinese police launch virtual Web patrols to scare surfers from illegal sites

BEIJING (AP) - Police in China's capital say they will start patrolling the Web using animated beat officers that pop up on a user's browser and walk, bike or drive across the screen warning them to stay away from illegal Internet content.
Starting September 1, the cartoon alerts will appear every half-hour on 13 of China's top portals and by the end of the year will appear on all websites registered with Beijing servers.

China stringently polices the Internet for material and content the governing Communist party finds politically or morally threatening.

Despite the controls, nudity, profanity, illegal gambling and pirated music, books and film have proliferated on Chinese Internet servers.

The animated police appear designed to startle Web surfers and remind them authorities closely monitor Web activity.

The male and female cartoon officers will offer a text warning to surfers to abide by the law and tips on Internet security as they move across the screen in a virtual car, motorcycle or on foot.

If Internet users need police help, they can click on the cartoon images and will be redirected to the Beijing Public Security Ministry's website.

China has the world's second-largest population of Internet users, with 137 million people online and is on track to surpass the United States as the largest online population in two years.

The government routinely blocks surfers from accessing overseas sites and closes down domestic websites deemed obscene or subversive.

The Canadian Press, 2007

Taliban release first 12 of 19 hostages being freed under deal with South Korea

QALA-E-KAZI, Afghanistan (AP) - The Taliban on Wednesday released 12 of 19 South Korean captives they promised to free under a deal struck with the South Korean government to resolve a nearly six-week hostage crisis. The hostages were released into the care of officials of the International Committee of the Red Cross at three separate locations in central Afghanistan close to the city of Ghazni, an Associated Press reporter who witnessed the handovers said.

The first group of three women were released in the village of Qala-e-Kazi. Several hours later, four women and one man were released in a desert close to Shah Baz.

As dusk approached, four more hostages were freed on a main road around 50 kilometres from Ghazni, the reporter said.

The three women arrived in Qala-E-Kazi in a single car, their heads covered with red and green shawls. Red Cross officials quickly took the three to their vehicles before leaving for the office of the Afghan Red Crescent in Ghazni, witnesses said.

In Seoul, South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho Hee-yong said the three, who he identified as Ahn Hye-jin, Lee Jung-ran and Han Ji-young, did not appear to have any health problems.

To secure the release of the church workers, South Korea reaffirmed a pledge it made before the hostage crisis began to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year. Seoul also said it would prevent South Korean Christian missionaries from working in the country, something it also had already promised to do.

The Taliban apparently backed down on earlier demands for a prisoner exchange.

The Taliban originally kidnapped 23 hostages as they travelled by bus from Kabul to the former Taliban stronghold of Kandahar on July 19. In late July, the militants killed two male hostages, then earlier this month released two female captives.

The insurgents have said they will free all the hostages, whom they are holding in different locations, over the next few days.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, a former South Korean foreign minister, welcomed news of a deal and called for all the hostages to be freed quickly.

He said he used "all possible efforts" as secretary general to help obtain the release of the hostages, talking to leaders in Afghanistan and the region who might have influence.

The deal, concluded Tuesday, was made in face-to-face talks between Taliban negotiators and South Korean diplomats in the central Afghan city of Ghazni. The Afghan government was not party to the negotiations, which were facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The South Korean government and relatives of the hostages have stressed that the South Koreans kidnapped in Afghanistan were not missionaries, but were doing aid work such as helping in hospitals.

The Taliban had been demanding the release of captured insurgents in exchange for freeing the hostages. But Afghan officials ruled out any exchange, saying such a move would only encourage further abductions.

Abductions have become a key insurgent tactic in recent months in trying to destabilize the country, targeting both Afghan officials and foreigners helping with reconstruction. A German engineer and four Afghan colleagues kidnapped a day before the South Koreans are still being held.

Elsewhere, U.S.-led coalition and Afghan forces killed more than 100 suspected Taliban insurgents, and a suicide bomber blew himself next to an army patrol, killing two Afghan soldiers and four civilians, officials said.

The insurgents were killed Tuesday in Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan after the joint force was attacked by a large group of militants who tried to overrun their position, a statement from the coalition said.

The force called in air strikes, which killed more than 100 suspected insurgents, the coalition said late Tuesday. The casualty figures could not be independently verified because of the remoteness of the area.

The clash left one Afghan soldier dead and three wounded. Three coalition soldiers were also wounded, it said. The nationality of the coalition soldiers was not disclosed, but the vast majority of foreign troops in the area are American.

© The Canadian Press, 2007

Taiwan's Acer Inc. plans to acquire Gateway for US$710 million

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) - Acer Inc. plans to acquire U.S. computer maker Gateway Inc. for US$710 million in a deal that will push the Taiwanese company past China's Lenovo Group as the world's third largest vendor of personal computers. Acer said Monday it is offering to buy Gateway for $1.90 per share - representing a premium of 57 per cent to Gateway's Friday closing price of $1.21, but only two per cent of Gateway's high of US$82.50 in late 1999.

Shares in Gateway increased 59 cents, or 49 per cent, to $1.80 in trading Monday.

With the acquisition, Acer will absorb a company founded in 1985 in an Iowa farmhouse and known for packaging computers in cow-spotted boxes. Now based in Irvine, Calif., Gateway struggled in recent years amid fierce competition and had difficulty selling its products over the Internet and the phone.

The deal will create a multi-branded computer company with more than US$15 billion in revenues and shipments in excess of 20 million units per year, Acer said in a statement.

"This strategic transaction is an important milestone in Acer's long history," said J.T. Wang, Acer's chairman, in the statement. "This will be an excellent addition to Acer's already strong positions in Europe and Asia."

Acer president Gianfranco Lanci said the acquisition will allow Acer to implement an "effective multi-brand strategy and cover all the major market segments."

The takeover will result in reductions in per unit procurement and component costs, and also create an opportunity for the cross-selling of product portfolios, he added.

Ed Coleman, chief executive of Gateway, welcomed the buyout.

"Joining with Acer will enable us to bring even more value to the consumer segments we serve and capitalize on Acer's highly regarded supply chain operations and global reach," he said.

In the second quarter, Acer was the world's fourth-largest PC maker behind U.S.-based Hewlett- Packard, No. 2 Dell, and third-ranked Lenovo Group Ltd. of China, according to research company Gartner Inc.

Gateway is the third-largest PC vendor in the U.S. by market share after Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Inc.

Bryan Ma, an analyst at U.S. market research firm IDC, said Acer's acquisition of Gateway is expected help the Taiwan company's relatively weak presence in the U.S.

"Acer ranked sixth in the U.S. market, while Gateway ranked third as of the second quarter. Combined, they are expected to double their shipments," he said.

Citigroup Inc. is the financial adviser for Acer, while Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is acting as the financial adviser for Gateway.

The Canadian Press, 2007

Pakistan test fires cruise missile capable of carrying nuclear warhead

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistan on Saturday successfully test-fired a new air-launched cruise missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, the military said.
The missile, named Hatf-8 or Ra'ad, has a range of 350 kilometres, an army statement said.

The missile gives the air force a "strategic standoff capability" - the ability to strike over a long distance - and could be fitted with any type of warhead, the army said.

President Gen. Pervez Musharraf congratulated the scientists and engineers who developed the weapon, it added,

Pakistan routinely tests various nuclear-capable missiles in its arsenal, believed to be designed mainly to match that of neighbouring archrival India.

The two countries have fought three wars since gaining independence from Britain in 1947. Both carried out underground nuclear tests in May 1998.

However, in 2004 they began negotiations to normalize relations and settle their dispute over the divided Himalayan territory of Kashmir, over which two wars have been fought.

© The Canadian Press, 2007

Silk Road Music concert

Qiu Xia He, Andre Thibault and special guest: Jun Rong

Friday Aug 31,2007
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden
578 Carrall Street, Vancouver, BC
Door opens at 7pm with concerts beginning at 7:30pm

tickets are on Sale now !
call Melisa 604 662 3207 ext 205

Choice of parking, Street parking on Columbia or in the Parkade near the corner of Columbia St. on Keefer St.

Silk Road Music was formed in 1991 by virtuoso pipa player Qiu Xia He, who came to Canada in 1989 to play the Vancouver Folk Music Festival as part of a touring ensemble from China. She stayed in Canada and has become a vibrant addition to the Vancouver Music scene. Over the years, Qiu xia has had many successes with Silk Road as she introduces new repertoires and artists to the Enchanted Evening series every year. For this special concert, she will present her recent work on the Chinese Pipa, accompanied by guitarist Andre Thibault, and a very special guest on the Chinese Erhu who’s name is Jun Rong.

2006 has been very exciting and eventful for Silk Road Duo.Their new CD Autumn Cloud was nominated in two categories at the Canadian Folk Music Awards. Thanks to Canada Council’s support they started working with manager Derek Andrews of Global Cafe to promote their music in Canada and abroad. The winter tour in toronto featrured a CBC appearance with a terrific public response, performances at the Now Lounge and schools with the Prologue Agency went extremely well; the spring tour taking part in Vermont, Montreal Access Asie Festival and the prestigious International Guitar Festival in Rouyn-Noranda which included stars like John Pizzarelli,Manuel Barrueco and others. The busy summer tour led to exciting festivals in Canada such as the Stan Rogers Fest in Nova Scotia, Sunfest in London ON, Folk on the Rocks in Yellowknife, Harbourfront TO and Blues and Roots in Salmon Arm BC.

Silk Road Duo also did two successful showcases in Artstarts and Pacific contact. 2008’s performances are taking shape.The enthusiastic presenters will bring the group to Vancouver Islands and lower mainland in Feb for Chinese New Year, Central BC in March and Nov, Toronto in April, Washington state in the fall and a special invitation to perform with the Victoria Symphony on Oct 17, 08.

Silk Road Music would like to thank Canada Council for their support to commission Moshe Denburg to write us a fantastic duo piece which will be premiered at today’s concert! Thanks to the Chinese Garden for keeping the Enchanted evening program and provide us an opportunity to perform in our own town! Thanks to all of you for being so encouraging and generous over the years!

Please do write us a note, so we will keep in touch: www.silkroadmusica.ca

Qiu Xia He was born in Baoji China, who once taught at the Xian Academy of Music , toured with the popular Shaanxi Music and Dance Troupe, then decided to become a Canadian. Since arriving in the country 15 years ago,speaking no English and knowing no one - Qiu Xia has risen to the top of her profession once again, performing as a featured soloist with the Vancouver Symphony, Glacier Orchestra of Montana,USA, playing with many top musicians, touring with groups like Silk Road Music and Joutou, and earning a Juno award nomination, and winning twice of the Westcost music award for her CDs of Endless and Village Tales.

Andre Thibault is well respected in the acoustic music world. He is a brilliant guitarist, whose fiery rhythms and stunning technique result from a unique blend of Flamenco and Moorish traditions colored with jazz, classical, and world music. His interest in world music led him to study bouzouki and oud, lutes of the Arabic world. He is also skillful on flutes and percussion. The noted musician Sal Ferreras says: “Andre is a voyageur whose quest for the spirit of Spanish, Arabic and Brazilian folklore is amply evident in the breadth of his work and the beauty of his interpretations. He can transport the listener from the Casbah to the Gypsy caves of Andalucia.”

Special guest: Jun Rong Erhu
Born in a musical family in China's Hebei Province, Jun Rong graduated from the China Music Academy after 9 years of intensive study with well-known professors such as Cao De Wei. After working for the prestigious China Opera and Dance Orchestra of China, she moved to Vancouver and established a second musical career in her new homeland. Her extraordinary command of the erhu (Chinese violin) and her passionate artistic expression have overwhelmed her audiences.She has been invited to perform in many concerts such as the featured soloist for the BC Chinese Orchestra at the Chan Center in 2003. The last few years, she has often been a guest with Silk Road Music for touring and the Autumn Cloud CD.

World Premiere of Passion’s Promise. By Moshe Denburg
A new composition in a modern style using complex harmonies and rythmic divisions featuring the Pipa and guitar.

Silk Road Music
Tel: 604-434-9316
e-mail: qxcloud@telus.net
www.silkroadmusic.ca

Yuriko Kubota

Exhibition opening: August 30, 2007 6-9pm. Artist will be in attendance

PIKTO opens a new exhibition of Yuriko Kubota, Recent Works

Presently, Kubota is working with layering and cutting photographs in order to explore the ambiguous space between the two-dimensional and the three-dimensional object. Kubota places two photographs on top of each other; the image on top has been manually cut into with a utility knife removing ¼ inch strips to reveal the image below. This merging of two images creates an uncertainly in the planes and in the medium of photography itself, crossing over into the realm of sculpture. Kubota's painstaking and time consuming process of cutting the photographs results in images that point as much to the deliberate absence of what is cut away to the presence of what is left behind.

Kubota uses photography as a tool to study and reconfirm her thoughts as well as record what she feels in her journey through life. Kubota studied oil painting at Joshibi University of Art and Design in Tokyo, Japan. Following her studies, she started to experiment with photography as an extension of her painting and found different and exciting possibilities in photography. This exhibition is a result of these explorations.

Pikto is open from Monday to Friday 9-7, Saturday 10-7, Sunday 12-6

Pikto Inc.
The Distillery District
55 Mill St Bldg. 59-103
Toronto ON M5A 3C4
416-203-3443

www.pikto.com

PLAY/GROUNDS at the Queen West Art Crawl

Parkdale Town Square at 1303 Queen St. W. at Cowan Ave.
Saturday, September 15, 10am - 11pm
Sunday, September 16, 10am - 8pm

FREE

Search for the mysterious mushrooms of Parkdale, a friendly bus stop attendant distributes mints and moist towelettes, the glow of black lights illuminates the local thrift store and the first annual tailgatecrasher party invites you to let off some steam! Curated by Elaine Gaito and Chris Reynolds. Presented by Parkdale Liberty Economic Development Corporation and Parkdale Village BIA for Artscape's Queen West Art Crawl, an annual weekend-long festival celebrating Toronto's Queen Street West, happening September 14 - 16, 2007.

The Parkdale Town Square will serve as PLAY/GROUNDS' home base for site specific installations and performance art that engage and interact with passers-by. PLAY/GROUNDS will include work by: Oliver Husain, Katie Bethune-Leamen, Katherine Lannin, Nick Tobier, Jon Sasaki, Laura Nanni, Adam Paolozza, Joy Walker, Anthea Foyer and the Gladstone Cooperative.

Parkdale's streets, empty store fronts, vacant lots, and parks reveal intriguing and adventurous work including: Nick Tobier's Bus Stop Attendant welcoming passengers on board the ubiquitous 501 Queen Street streetcar - this unofficial ambassador of the TTC transforms The Better Way into a place where riders can connect in usual ways; Joy Walker's private studio wall is moved into the public viewing of a storefront space inviting viewers to view her art, and the work that goes into making it, from the other side of the display case; Katie Bethune-Leamen's life-size and miniature Mushrooms of Parkdale appear in the nooks and crannies of the neighbourhood; and Parkdale's Art All Stars and their fans invite you to "kick-back in the lot" long after the wine and cheese marathon ends - bands, beer, pick-up trucks and performance mayhem will converge on the patio of The Rhino, one of Parkdale's favourite local bars - it's time to cheer on the home team!

PLAY/GROUNDS is presented by the Parkdale Liberty Economic Development Corporation (PLEDC) in partnership with Artscape's Queen West Art Crawl. Gladstone Variations, Time Out/Game On and Hidden Toronto: Intimate Walking Tours are co-presented by Artscape & PLEDC. PLAY/GROUNDS is sponsored by the Toronto Arts Council, the Parkdale Village Business Improvement Area, Employment Ontario and the Ontario Trillium Foundation. www.parkdaleliberty.com

JOIN US! The Queen West Art Crawl kicks off with a LAUNCH PARTY at the Gladstone Hotel on Friday, September 14, starting at 7pm. You can take in all of the Gladstone Hotel's Queen West Art Crawl events and party until the last person is left standing!

ABOUT THE QUEEN WEST ART CRAWL
Organized by Artscape, the fifth annual Queen West Art Crawl is one of the largest multi-disciplinary, community-based festivals that Toronto has to offer. In association with Artscape's community partners Parkdale Liberty Economic Development Corporation, Parkdale Village BIA, Gladstone Hotel, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Workman Arts, West Queen West BIA, and 401 Richmond, the Queen West Art Crawl celebrates the buzz, character, edge, authenticity and soul of historic Queen Street West with an annual weekend-long festival happening September 14 - 16, 2007. www.torontoartscape.on.ca/qwac

Canadian sci-fi scribe Sawyer honoured in China

Mississauga man given Galaxy Award for being China's most popular foreign sci-fi writer

CBC Arts

Chinese science fiction readers have honoured acclaimed Canadian writer Robert J. Sawyer with a Galaxy Award at the China International Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival and Conference this weekend.

Sawyer picked up the reader-voted honour, which recognizes the most popular foreign author of the year for his or her body of work, at a gala ceremony Sunday at the Museum of Science and Technology in Chengdu, the capital of southwestern China's Sichuan province.

Sawyer — who lives in Mississauga, Ont., with his wife, poet Carolyn Clink — is the award-winning author of Hominids, Mindscan and The Terminal Experiment.

"The great thing about science fiction is that it transcends national boundaries," Sawyer said in his acceptance speech.

"It's wonderful to be at a conference along with writers from the United States, England, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Russia, New Zealand and Canada. Science fiction really is the literature of planet Earth."

Organized by Chengdu-based Science Fiction World, China's leading science fiction magazine, the four-day festival and conference has attracted more than 4,000 Chinese fans to the city for a weekend filled with panels, lectures, book sales, autograph sessions, stage shows and other events.

In addition to Sawyer, other award-winning authors in attendance include David Brin, Nancy Kress, Michael Swanwick and Neil Gaiman, who spoke on behalf of the foreign guests at Friday's opening ceremony.

"It is important for the world to pay attention to Chinese culture," Gaiman told the crowd during the festival's kick-off, according to local media. "I believe great science fiction will be written by you."

At the ceremony, Chinese officials hailed the imagination of the science fiction and fantasy community.

"A nation's revitalization mostly depends on the taking off of its imagination," said Li Xiuting, an executive of the China Association for Science and Technology.

"Today we have the most imaginative people on the globe here. They can not only boost the development of sci-fi in China, but also enhance human beings' awareness of science and culture."

As the festival winds down in Chengdu, the World Science Fiction Convention will get underway in Yokohama, Japan on Thursday.

Creativity holds key to success, expert says

Dave Hall
Windsor Star

Communities across North America which are able to embrace the shift from a manufacturing economy to one which values creativity and diversity are the ones which will survive in a newly defined global economy, said a noted author and urban studies expert.

Richard Florida, who now teaches at the University of Toronto, told an economic summit "this is even larger than the shift from an agricultural economy to an industrial economy and how communities and cities deal with that shift will determine their economic future."

Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class and The Flight of the Creative Class, said more than 35 million jobs in the creative sector have been added in the U.S. since 1980 and the sector now comprises between 35 and 40 per cent of that country's labour force.

"And what determines where those jobs go is a community's sense of place," said Florida.

"What is it about a city that attracts concentrations of people?

"My critics have suggested this is all about latte bars, music venues and Frisbee-playing fields," said Florida.

"But it's been shown that economic success goes to those places which capitalize on creativity.

"It goes to those which are open-minded and open to immigrants, artists, gays, writers, engineers and anyone else who could be considered creative."

Florida said that "we don't pay for raw materials in our products anymore, we pay for design and creativity. That's where the added value is coming from today."

Florida also said that Windsor-Detroit is part of the second-largest mega-region in the world with more than 45 million people in an area which also includes Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania and developing a binational economic development strategy is critical.

Florida, who's now working on a new book called Who's Your City, said that the number one reason why people choose to live in a particular city is its "esthetic value, its physical beauty, its openness to different cultures.

"While the river has to be part of any development plan, you also need to encourage more residential, office and commercial investment in your downtown but you're almost better off doing nothing than doing it wrong.

"You have a chance to do it right but it has to be economically and environmentally sustainable, creative and provide economic equality for all residents.

"Ultimately, it's those concentrations of people which drives innovation, creativity and economic growth."

Florida said North America's competitors a generation from now will not be from China and India but from Scandinavia and Northern Europe where they have realized the importance of having a creative class which employers also realize is important to their workforce and their ability to recruit talented employees.

© The Windsor Star 2007

Fujifilm announces price increase for color negative photo film products

Fujifilm U.S.A. Inc., Valhalla, N.Y., says it is studying the best pricing structure for its color negative photo film products in the U.S. marketplace. This follows an announcement by its parent company, Fujifilm Corp., regarding worldwide price increases for its color negative photo film products slated for October 2007. Prices are expected to increase globally by around 5 percent, says the press release, but the rate of increase may differ by regional market.

Globally, Fujifilm says it has undertaken intensive structural reforms to adjust to the harsh market conditions in the photo imaging business. Despite these efforts to reduce fixed costs and improve productivity, however, the company says it can't continue to absorb the rapid rise in costs of silver, oil, and other raw materials.

Sony launches PlayTV

MATT MOORE
Associated Press

FRANKFURT — Sony Corp. took another step to lure new customers for its high-end PlayStation3, saying Thursday it will sell a device to let users record live television that can be stored on the game console or transferred to the PlayStation Portable for later viewing.

The combined television tuner and personal video recorder, dubbed PlayTV, is aimed at helping Sony boost sales of its high-end gaming console as well as its portable gaming unit. Sales are due to start in Spain, Germany, France, Italy and Britain in early 2008.

Sony announced the new product at the Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany.

Using a format known in Europe as Digital Video Broadcasting — Terrestrial, the PlayTV integrates into the PlayStation 3 console and lets users record individual episodes or entire series to its hard drive.

Sony said the device's twin TV tuners are high-definition ready and able to view, record and play back in that format. Recorded video can be sent wirelessly from the console to a PSP.

For all its advances, Sony's PS3 has faced formidable competition from rivals like Nintendo Co.'s Wii and Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360.

Sony had sold 4.3 million PS3 consoles as of June, compared with 11.6 million Xbox 360s and about eight million Wiis.

The PS3 retails for 599 euros ($808 U.S.) in Europe and $499 in the U.S. The company did not say how much PlayTV would cost or when it would be available elsewhere in Europe, Asia or the Americas.

Jonathan Arber and Jonathan Coham, analysts at Ovum, a London-based research firm, said PlayTV was the “next logical step” for Sony in competing with the Xbox 360, but said Sony still has to overcome the console's price and bring out more games.

Sony develops prototype battery, runs on sugar

Sony Corp., Tokyo, Japan, has developed a prototype battery that runs on sugar, breaking down a glucose solution to generate electricity, reports MarketWatch. The method has so far generated 50 milliwatts, enough power to run a Walkman music player, says the company. Since sugar is a renewable resource, use of it as a power source should be environmentally friendly, reports said. The battery's casing is made from a vegetable-based plastic and Sony said it would produce the batteries for commercial use but didn't say when, says MarketWatch.

British Airways, Korean Air fined US$300M each in price-fixing conspiracy case

WASHINGTON (AP) - Two major airlines were fined US$300 million apiece Thursday after admitting they conspired to fix prices on international flights and agreeing to help prosecutors investigate other airlines. British Airways PLC, Britain's largest airline, and Korean Air Co., South Korea's national carrier, pleaded guilty to antitrust conspiracy charges. They acknowledged colluding with rivals over cargo rates and fuel surcharges, which were added to fares in response to rising oil prices. That meant higher costs for international shippers and passengers.

U.S. District Judge John Bates said the case "involved considerable commerce and reflected long-term and widespread conduct involving major airlines and players."

Both saw their potential fines reduced because they co-operated with U.S. Justice Department investigators. Korean Air's fines could have been twice as high and British Airways could have faced fines closer to $900 million, but the Justice Department and the judge credited the company with co-operating.

"Any anticompetitive behaviour is to be condemned at British Airways or at other companies. It will not be tolerated and we remain vigilant in this respect," British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh said in a statement released after court.

Korean Air released a statement saying it was "committed to antitrust compliance" and was taking steps to make sure the conduct was never repeated. Neither company addressed the extent of its co-operation or how widespread the practice was in the industry.

Earlier this month, authorities in London announced $246 million in fines for British Airways in a parallel transatlantic investigation. Both inquiries are ongoing.

Scott Hammond, deputy assistant attorney general for criminal antitrust issues, said the sentences proved that "those who violate the antitrust laws and seek to deny American consumers and businesses the benefits of competition will be held accountable."

Other companies were not named, but Virgin Atlantic has been identified in London but is not expected to face a fine there because it reported its misconduct to authorities.

As part of their plea deals, the airlines acknowledged they colluded with other unidentified companies from 2000 to 2006. The cargo rate scheme meant higher shipping costs for businesses. For passengers, the scheme meant more expensive tickets because the surcharges were wrapped into the ticket fare.

Between 2004 and 2006, fuel surcharges rose from about $10 to about $120 per ticket for a round-trip, long-haul flight on BA or Virgin.

Bates credited both British Airways and Korean Air with turning over hundreds of thousands of documents, some of which needed to be translated, and making executives available for interviews with investigators. As foreign companies, they could have challenged the probe and refused to cooperate.

The $300 million criminal fines were the second-largest antitrust sanction by the Justice Department since 1995. The largest antitrust fine, $500 million, was against vitamin giant F. Hoffman-La Roche in 1999 in a price-fixing case.

© The Canadian Press, 2007

Japan planning world's first countrywide earthquake warning system

TOKYO (AP) - It's still beyond the reach of science to predict exactly when an earthquake will strike, but Japan will soon get the next-best thing - televised warnings that come before anyone feels the ground shake. Japan's Meteorological Agency and national broadcaster are teaming up to alert the public of earthquakes as much as 30 seconds before they hit, or at least before they can bring their full force down on populated areas. The system will be the first of its kind in the world.

It is based on detecting the first seismic waves of a quake that often come seconds before the really destructive waves hit the surface of the Earth.

The system does not predict quakes but can give people enough time to get away from windows that could shatter, or to turn off ovens and prevent fires from razing homes.

And in one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries, every second counts.

"If we can give people enough time to take even a few steps to protect themselves before the shaking starts, it could help reduce injuries and damage," said agency spokesman Makoto Saito.

The warnings, to begin in October, will be based on data provided by the Meteorological Agency, which maintains a network of sensors deep underground that estimate the intensity of a quake as soon as the ground ruptures.

Alarms can go out before the shaking starts because there is a lag between the time it takes for different seismic waves to travel to the surface.

Japan, which sits atop four tectonic plates, has been hit by 83 earthquakes strong enough to cause injury since March 1996, including one last month that killed 11 people and caused a fire and small radiation leak at a nuclear power plant.

The warning system works by detecting primary waves, which spread from the epicentre of a quake and travel faster than the destructive shear waves. When waves of a certain intensity are detected, the alarms are set off. The national broadcaster, NHK, will relay them almost instantaneously to its television and radio audiences.

The agency started issuing warnings last August to more than 500 organizations such as power companies and train operators.

The system is not perfect.

Lightning or other interference can cause false alarms, for example, and early warning won't work for areas directly above the ruptured fault because the two waves would be nearly simultaneous. And residents would have to be watching TV or listening to the radio to get an alert.

Still, the agency says the system helped it issue a tsunami alert for a magnitude-6.9 earthquake in northern Japan this March two minutes faster than its old early warning system would have. The agency also was able to put out a warning ahead of last month's magnitude-6.8 quake.

How the public will react has been a concern.

"Chaos and injuries could result, for example, if an urgent earthquake warning is sent to a facility with large numbers of customers and a crush forms at the exits as people rush to get out," a meteorological agency study group said in a report last year.

The warnings, it was decided, must come with explanations of what people should do - stop cars and elevators, get away from things that can fall and, most of all, protect their heads.

"We realized the warnings won't work if confusion is the result," said Saito. "The public needs to be educated about how and how not to react."

Since early last month, NHK has begun preparing Japan for the alerts, carrying promotional spots accompanied by skits that show how to respond.

© The Canadian Press, 2007

Chinese official says toy recalls a result of new standards, not poor quality

BEIJING (AP) - A global recall of millions of Chinese-made toys was the result of new industry standards, not poor quality, an official said Thursday as a high-level panel announced the launch of a nationwide safety campaign. Earlier this month, Mattel Inc. recalled almost 19 million Chinese-made items, including dolls, cars and action figures. Some were contaminated with lead paint, while others had small powerful magnets that children might swallow and damage their organs.

Vice-Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng said 18.2 million of the recalled products - including popular Polly Pocket dolls and Barbie play sets - were pulled off shelves because of a revision of international standards in May involving magnets.

"The U.S. dealer voluntarily recalled the toys that were made and sold before 2007, which at the time conformed to standards. This is a very responsible action for the health of children and consumers," Gao said at a news conference.

"But strictly speaking, it has nothing to do with the toys' quality or its manufacturers," Gao said.

Mattel first announced a recall involving magnets in November 2006, after several Polly Pocket-related injures were reported.

It extended that recall this month following the change in industry standards that required safety warnings for toys with magnets or magnetic components not attached tightly.

Gao said Mattel was partly responsible because it did not conduct "strict examinations" when it received toy shipments. But, he said, China was taking the quality issue seriously.

"Even if there is only one per cent of products that have quality problems, we will seek to establish the facts and take them very seriously and investigate and punish those companies involved," Gao said.

Toys are the latest in a long list of Chinese exports that have come under intense scrutiny in recent months because of safety concerns. Toxic chemicals have been found in products ranging from toothpaste to seafood and pet food ingredients.

This week alone, the United States has recalled tens of thousands of Chinese-made SpongeBob SquarePants products because of lead hazards, while New Zealand launched an urgent investigation after children's clothes imported from China were found to contain dangerous levels of formaldehyde.


Also Thursday, a cabinet-level panel announced the start of a nationwide safety campaign focused on food and drugs, as well as increased monitoring of exports, underscoring the government's ongoing efforts to win back consumer confidence.

"There are still many problems in product quality and food safety in some places, industries and companies," Vice-Premier Wu Yi, who is heading a cabinet-level panel on product quality and food safety, said at a conference where the campaign was announced.

The program, which runs through December, will ban false advertising, require all food producers to be certified and increase inspections for food, drugs, and agricultural products, Wu was quoted as saying on the government's website.

© The Canadian Press, 2007

Ban smoking on screen?

Most Canadians think that would be a drag

ALWYNNE GWILT
Globe and Mail

Canadians are finding it hard to get lit up about the idea of a smoking ban in movies and TV shows.

A new Angus-Reid poll of more than 1,000 adult Canadians found that 52 per cent would be against a ban.

It's an issue that has the film industry alight, with Universal Studios and Disney both declaring they will cut smoking from all films that target a youth audience. Two years ago, India declared that its massive Bollywood film industry would also see actors butting out on screen.

But here in Canada, where stringent anti-smoking policies have come into effect in the past few years for offices, bars and shopping malls, viewers don't seem as concerned.

An Angus-Reid research manager said it's likely more out of a respect for freedom of choice than for support of cigarettes.

"I think the smoking numbers in Canada are under 20 per cent so obviously there are some people out there who see the artistic ability to have smoking in films," said Lucas Marshall, senior marketing manager.

Perhaps the most surprising numbers come out of the West, where in British Columbia anti-smoking laws have been in place for years. The province also has one of the lowest smoking rates in the country. Marshall said he thought that resistance to a ban would come more from the East.

"Traditionally Quebec has been the one province in Canada where smoking is more prevalent, but they're not very different as to whether they support the ban," he said. About 40 per cent of Quebeckers would want a ban, the same amount as Ontarians.

A large split that Marshall highlighted was between generations. In the fifties and sixties, scenes of starlets smoking were considered classy. But for those now in the baby-boomer age range of 55-plus, only 39 per cent wouldn't support the ban, while nearly twice as many (70 per cent) people 18 to 34 years old would be against the ban.

In the United States, more research has highlighted the effect of smoking in the movies. A study by the Centers for Disease Control last year found the number of depictions of smoking in movies was about at par with 1950 levels.

That's disheartening to some advocacy groups such as SceneSmoking.org, which are looking to protect children more than any other group, especially after a team from Dartmouth Medical School in New Hampshire found in a 2005 study that "exposure to movie smoking accounts for smoking initiation among over one-third of U.S. adolescents." SceneSmoking.org has asked the Motion Picture Association of America to place a big fat R on films that include smoking.

"It's very simple, very clean," said Kori Titus, the director of policy and communications.

In the U.S., ratings may soon include smoking as a factor as worthy of a strict rating as gore and foul language are, she said, highlighting the decision this year of the industry to start considering it.

But a lack of discussion is what may prompt Canadians to vote against banning cigarettes in movies, said one person with Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada. And the U.S. rating system would not work this side of the border.

"In the U.S., the ratings are being put on by movie theatres," said Cynthia Callard, the executive director of the group. In Canada, she said, kids under 18 often go to see R-rated movies because the theatres don't regulate it as much.

Nonetheless, Callard added that she's actually quite "heartened" about the fact that 38 per cent of Canadians would be up for a ban when it hasn't even hit the minds of many studios in Hollywood North.

"Movie producers are much more willing to put someone on screen who is smoking but not someone saying 'fuck' because the rules say that swearing is bad but smoking isn't," she said. "[But] I think it's a very important thing to be looking at."

Muncipal strike means higher prices for homebuyers

(CBC) - A strike by municipal employees is expected to increase the already-high cost of buying a home in Vancouver as developers move to pass on their rising costs to consumers.

With the strike entering its second month, anyone wanting to buy a new home can expect a five per cent to 10 per cent hike in prices, said Jon Stovell a general manager with Vancouver property developer Reliance Holdings Ltd.

Stovell said this is because the strike is preventing developers from securing city hall approval for key building permits, putting many new projects in limbo and costing the developer.

"The developer is forced to pass those costs on because they have to have certain levels of profits or they won't be able to get financing from the banks," said Stovell.

He said most key building permits require city approval and, at this point, some projects are folding, while others are on hold.

Maureen Enser, an executive director with the Urban Development Institute in Vancouver says there is a ripple effect throughout the economy. Constructions crews and staff working on each project will soon have to be let go.

Enser says smaller developers are losing about $20,000 per day, while larger ones are taking around $35,000 in daily losses.

"If we don't see an end in sight in short period of time everyone needs to be alarmed," she said

Every prudent developer budgets a contingency fund to deal with problems like this, but now Enser says those funds are running on empty.

More than 6,000 city employees represented by three CUPE locals are into their fifth week off the job.

Most substance abusers out West, study finds

(CBC) - If Ontario and Quebec spring to mind at the mere mention of drug and alcohol abuse, think again. A new study finds the western provinces have a high number of substance abuse problems.

The study finds that the prevalence of substance abuse in Canada is about 11 per cent. Ontario, Quebec and Prince Edward Island have the lowest rates of abuse of alcohol and illicit drugs, with a prevalence rate lower than the national average, while B.C, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta have prevalence rates that are above average.

The report, Geographical Variation in the Prevalence of Problematic Substance Abuse in Canada, is authored by researchers at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). It is published in the July issue of the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry.

In Canada, the prevalence of substance abuse is higher in mid-size cities than in rural or larger cities, the research finds.

The researchers have a number of explanations for their findings. "Major cities include large numbers of immigrants, among whom drug and alcohol problems are less common. People who decide to come to Canada, and are accepted, tend to be healthy and high-functioning, and some immigrant cultures also reject alcohol and drug use," said Scott Veldhuizen, research analyst at CAMH, in a release.

Other possible factors discussed include migration within Canada, differences in the availability of alcohol or illicit drugs, the accessibility of treatment, the local culture, and local policies, say the study's authors.

The study reports that about 80 per cent of Canadians aged 15 and over have had alcohol in the past year and 13 to 15 per cent have used illegal drugs.

Nine per cent of these drinkers and 18 per cent of the drug users reported experiencing harmful side-effects, such as health problems, relationship issues, as well as financial, employment and legal problems.

Younger men are the most likely to be substance abusers, as well as those individuals who are single, have low income or low education, according to the study. Alcohol dependence, for example, is estimated at 8.6 per cent among those aged 20 to 24, versus two per cent for those 35 and older.

Of the households initially contacted for the study, 77 per cent responded, for a total sample size of 36,984 households.