FIFA will not take action against Spain striker David Villa after he raised his hand to the face of a Honduras player during a World Cup match on Monday.
FIFA spokesman Pekka Odriozola on Wednesday said the disciplinary committee found no grounds to open a case.
Villa appeared to push his hand across defender Emilio Izaguirre's face late in the first half at Johannesburg's Ellis Park, but went unpunished by …
DEAR ABBY: You advised "Wondering in Concord, N.H." (Dec. 29) that"as long as the flag is treated with respect - taken down at night,and not allowed to become tattered and faded because of exposure tothe elements - it would be a loving tribute to (her) friend if itwere displayed."
Although I could not find it in any flag etiquette site, it iscustomary that a flag used on a casket never be unfolded. It wasfolded and presented as an honor to the deceased soldier/Marine andshould be unfolded only by God. This is a sentimental tradition, nota rule or law.
My husband has the flag that draped his brother's casket. He wouldprobably kill before he would let someone unfold …
French police on Wednesday arrested two armed individuals who resemble suspects sought in an alleged ETA shooting over the weekend, the Interior Ministry said. The death toll in the …
Talk to other gardeners in your area before getting started. Since you share similar sun and soil conditions, often what works for them is likely to work for you.
Get started early by planting seeds indoors in a warm room with plenty of sunlight. Transplant your seedlings outdoors as soon as danger of …
NICOSIA, Cyprus Iran indicated Monday it had suffered asignificant setback in its land war with Iraq and pledged toretaliate against the United States for naval attacks in the PersianGulf in which several Iranians were killed or wounded.
Iran's Supreme War Support Council accused the United States andthe Soviet Union of taking Iraq's side in the gulf war.
Tehran Radio, monitored in Cyprus, said, "Two Iranian warships,which inflicted losses on six American warships in a heroic battle,were hit by the American vessels and suffered heavy damage."
The broadcast referred also to fighting on Iraq's Faw peninsula,which Iraq said its forces recaptured …
GLENDALE, Ariz. - Kirk Maltby scored a pair of second-period goals and the Detroit Red Wings rallied to beat the Phoenix Coyotes 5-2 on Saturday night. Henrik Zetterberg had a goal and an assist and Jiri Hudler and Brett Lebda also scored for the Red Wings, who have won three of their last four.
Zetterberg leads the NHL with 17 points and has at least one point in each of Detroit's first nine games, a career-best scoring streak.
Steven Reinprecht and Derek Morris scored for the Coyotes, who lost all three games of their abbreviated homestand. Phoenix has lost five of six since opening the season with a 3-2 home win over St. Louis.
Maltby broke a 2-2 tie with 25.5 …
2009 _ Lucas Glover
2008 _ z-Tiger Woods
2007 _ Angel Cabrera
2006 _ Geoff Ogilvy
2005 _ Michael Campbell
2004 _ Retief Goosen
2003 _ Jim Furyk
2002 _ Tiger Woods
2001 _ y-Retief Goosen
2000 _ Tiger Woods
1999 _ Payne Stewart
1998 _ Lee Janzen
1997 _ Ernie Els
1996 _ Steve Jones
1995 _ Corey Pavin
1994 _ y-Ernie Els
1993 _ Lee Janzen
1992 _ Tom Kite
1991 _ x-Payne Stewart
1990 _ z-Hale Irwin
1989 _ Curtis Strange
1988 _ x-Curtis Strange
1987 …
Life after Yates: State Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Evanston) islaying the groundwork to run for Congress after the 83-year-old Rep.Sidney R. Yates (D-Ill.) retires.
One of the most senior members of Congress, Yates has not saidwhether he plans to seek another term. Neither Schakowsky nor twoother Democrats contemplating a run in the congressional districtthat includes the North Side and northern suburbs say they will runagainst Yates, who holds what politicians regard as a "Jewish seat."
"Right now, I am assuming he is going to run (in 1994)," saidSchakowsky. She is starting to organize now, she said, because "ittakes time to put together a serious campaign. I want …
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel says it expects Lebanon's new government to honor the truce that ended the 2006 summer war between Israeli troops and the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group.
Lebanon this week formed a Cabinet dominated by Hezbollah and its allies. The move capped Hezbollah's steady rise over decades from a guerrilla group fighting Israel to Lebanon's most powerful …
In a story March 7 about Toyota's new ad campaign, The Associated Press reported erroneously that Toyota didn't respond to requests for comment. The company did provide information about the ad campaign, which was included in …
Helicopter gunships, military authorities have assured the UnitedStates, are guarding mountain passes against infiltration. APakistani spokesman has gone so far as to publicly deny that any al-Qaida fighters have made it across the border into Pakistan.
But junior officers speculate that such assurances are given tomake "the Americans feel good." In reality, they say, border tribalpopulations have long been pro-Taliban and pro-al Qaida, the manyroutes over the mountains are impossible to monitor, and escape isentirely possible. Countless painted slogans and posters of Osama binLaden are visible in towns and villages throughout the three keytribal "agencies"--Kurram, …
MUNICH, Germany (AP) — Bayern Munich has reportedly agreed to sign striker Nils Petersen for €2.5 million ($3.5 million) from second-division side Energie Cottbus.
The Sueddeutscher Zeitung newspaper reported Saturday that the 22-year-old Petersen — topscorer in Germany's second division with 24 goals — will sign a three-year contract with Bayern after a medical examination next week.
Kicker …
With the clock on the large television monitor ticking down to zero and a cluster of fans chanting from the balcony, commissioner Bud Selig stepped to the podium and announced that the Tampa Bay Rays had selected high school shortstop Tim Beckham with the No. 1 pick in the baseball draft.
Oh, how times have changed.
The annual 50-round marathon that began Thursday is no longer strictly held by conference call. A portion of the first day was televised live for the second consecutive year from Disney World with about 400 boisterous fans and autograph seekers in house, along with some of baseball's biggest names, including Hall of Famers Al Kaline, Billy Williams and Dave Winfield.
"It's come a long way," said former major league pitcher Brian Anderson, recalling 15 years ago when he gathered with family and friends around a telephone in his Ohio apartment waiting for a call from the team drafting him.
"You didn't even know what time the draft started then. I found out the night before," the third overall pick in 1993 added. "This is awesome. This is great for the game."
Only one thing was missing _ prospects.
One, Aaron Hicks, a high school outfielder and alumnus of baseball's Urban Youth Academy in Compton, Calif., attended with his family and went on stage to shake hands with Selig and pose for pictures after the Minnesota Twins made him the 14th pick.
Many in the crowd wore Rays T-shirts and cheered wildly when Selig announced the selection of Beckham, the talented high school shortstop from Griffin, Ga., that Tampa Bay picked over Florida State catcher Buster Posey.
Beckham was recognized as one of the best pure athletes in the draft and labeled a legitimate five-tool player. He established himself as the top prep prospect in the nation with solid performances at last summer's high school showcase events and hit .482 with six homers, 13 doubles, 41 RBIs and 23 stolen bases as a senior.
"I found out this morning. ... The scouting director gave me a call and the general manager gave me a call. It was crazy. I was about to do a back flip in my room," Beckham said.
"It means everything in the world. I've worked this hard the last three or four years, me and my brothers and my dad. This means all the hard work paid off. I hope to become an All-Star and after that I want to become a Hall of Famer."
With the second pick, the Pittsburgh Pirates chose sweet-swinging Vanderbilt third baseman Pedro Alvarez. Florida high school first baseman Eric Hosmer went third to the Kansas City Royals, and the Baltimore Orioles took top college pitching prospect Brian Matusz out of San Diego with the fourth pick.
This is the second year in a row the Rays have had the No. 1 pick. David Price, a hard-throwing left-hander from Vanderbilt, was the choice in 2007 and is off to a great start with Class-A Vero Beach.
Beckham is the third high school shortstop taken No. 1 overall in the last five years, joining Justin Upton (Arizona, 2005) and Matt Bush (San Diego, 2004).
While there's always pressure to get the No. 1 pick right, the improving Rays imposed some extra heat on themselves this time because they're hoping it will be years before they'll be in a position to select first again.
Tampa Bay whittled its list of candidates for the top pick to five, then trimmed it to two _ Beckham and Posey, a converted shortstop who developed into one of college baseball's top offensive and defensive catchers over the past year.
"It was an active debate, but I think at the end of the day when push came to shove and we were racing time, I think it was pretty clear to everybody that Tim Beckham was the guy at the top of our board," Rays executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said.
"We feel like he's got an advanced approach to the game, a genuine enthusiasm for what he does, and we feel like he's got a great chance to be an impact player in the major leagues."
The Rays called Posey a few hours before the draft to inform him that they were going to select Beckham. The Florida State star, hitting a Division I-leading .468 heading into this week's NCAA super regionals, wound up going to the San Francisco Giants with the fifth pick.
The Florida Marlins, picking sixth, took California high school catcher Kyle Skipworth, whom many consider the top prep prospect at his position since Joe Mauer was selected No. 1 overall by Minnesota seven years ago.
Rounding out the top 10, the Cincinnati Reds took Miami slugger Yonder Alonso seventh, the Chicago White Sox picked Georgia shortstop Gordon Beckham (no relation to Tim) eighth, the Washington Nationals tabbed Missouri pitcher Aaron Crow and the Houston Astros selected Stanford catcher Jason Castro.
It's the fourth time Tampa Bay has had the No. 1 pick in the club's 11-season history. It picked outfielders Josh Hamilton in 1999 and Delmon Young in 2003.
The Rays think the 18-year-old Beckham is more advanced offensively than defensively at this point, but they're confident he has the athleticism, work ethic and attitude to become a complete player.
Second baseman Jemile Weeks, brother of Milwaukee's Rickie Weeks, was one of three University of Miami players selected in the opening round, going to the Oakland Athletics at No. 12.
While six first basemen were selected within the first 23 picks, only two pitchers _ Matusz and Crow _ were taken in the top 10. But seven pitchers were chosen during a 10-pick stretch from No. 19 to No. 28, where the New York Yankees went for California prep right-hander Gerrit Cole.
Two teams, Minnesota and the New York Mets, had two picks in the first round.
After taking Hicks at No. 14, the Twins selected Miami pitcher Carlos Gutierrez 27th. The Mets took Arizona State first baseman Ike Davis 18th and South Carolina shortstop Reese Havens 22nd.
Davis is the son of former big league pitcher Ron Davis. Daniel Schlereth, the University of Arizona pitcher selected 26th by the Diamondbacks, is the son of former Denver Broncos offensive lineman and current ESPN football analyst Mark Schlereth.
In the sixth round, the Chicago White Sox selected Wichita State center fielder Kenny Williams Jr., son of the team's general manager.
___
AP Sports Writer Charles Odum in Griffin, Ga., contributed to this report.
The nation's credit crunch has frozen Florida's ability to borrow money, but that isn't yet causing problems for the state, a top state money manager said Tuesday.
Florida has been unable to borrow money for nearly three weeks, said Ben Watkins, director of the division of the state's Division of Bond Finance.
As such, the state cannot issue bonds for schools, roads or programs to purchase environmentally sensitive land, Watkins said.
Florida, which works on bonds months in advance, is not in a dire need for extra cash, he said.
"It's not creating a problem for us currently," Watkins told Gov. Charlie Crist and members of the Florida Cabinet. "But if this goes on for an extended period of time we will be challenged to have access to the credit markets."
Florida has more than $24 billion in debt. Each year, it borrows anywhere from $1 billion to $2 billion. Two-thirds of the money the state has borrowed has gone to pay for new buildings for schools, community colleges and universities.
The money is paid back through various taxes like those on utility bills and money from selling items such as lottery tickets.
The ongoing credit crisis could eventually affect other functions of state government.
Florida has billions in the state treasury and its massive pension plan for state workers, teachers and county employees that are spread out through various types of investments.
Bob Milligan, the interim executive director of the State Board of Administration, said that the state's $125 billion retirement plan is still relatively healthy and that Florida has a nearly $9 billion surplus.
"We take the ups and we take the downs and we're able to work our way through them," said Milligan.
Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink on Tuesday also remained cautiously optimistic that the state treasury, which holds the money collected from taxes and fees used to pay for day-to-day operations, can weather the current economic crisis.
Although the state does not invest money from the $20 billion to $24 billion treasury in stocks, it does place the money in banks or purchases bonds and securities issued by corporations.
When Sink came into office in 2007, she put in guidelines that limited how much the state could invest with a single financial institution. Last year, the state still found itself holding some mortgage-backed securities that were damaged because of the credit crisis.
While Florida did sell at a loss some holdings with Lehman Brothers earlier this month, there is no need for the state to rush into the market and sell off its current investments at a loss, Sink said.
Sink, a former president of Bank of America operations in Florida, was adamant that something needed to be done quickly to stabilize the financial markets.
"We are in a very critical situation in our country," she said. "If a solution is not found by the Congress, then the whole financial economy is faced with a crisis of enormous proportion."
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Asafa Powell is enjoying being the main attraction ahead of Thursday's Athletissima, where he ran his fastest-ever 100 meters.
Powell told The Associated Press on Wednesday he's "the top man" again in Lausanne, with fellow Jamaican Usain Bolt skipping the Diamond League event.
Powell's 9.72 seconds here in September 2008 remains a career best and track record.
"I was the top man, but at most of these meetings ... it's Usain. It's always a question of if I'm going to beat him," said Powell.
He was the world's fastest man for three years before Bolt took his record ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
A relaxed Powell is heavily favored to lead home a 100 lineup including Frenchman Christophe Lemaitre.
"It's kind of back to my old self where everyone was asking me what time I was going to run," said Powell.
The spotlight will be shared with 800 world record-holder David Rudisha, who returns to the Diamond League after injuring his left ankle.
Croatian high jump world champion Blanka Vlasic will seek her 100th competitive 2-meter leap.
Athletissima marks midway through the 14-meet Diamond League circuit, and parades four current Olympic champions and 12 world champions.
Though the 28-year-old Powell has yet to get a major individual gold medal, he shapes as defending champion Bolt's biggest threat at the worlds in Daegu, South Korea in August.
Powell booked his 100-meter ticket by winning the Jamaican title last Friday, three weeks after straining his right hamstring in a race at Rabat, Morocco.
"I'm confident and it's good to feel healthy," he said at a news conference shared with Lemaitre.
The 22-year-old star of European sprinting, who lowered his best to 9.95 this month, trailed Powell by 0.07 when both were beaten by Bolt at Rome's Golden Gala in May.
"If Christophe is still very close (Thursday) I will be happy for him as well. That means he will get a personal best," Powell joked, getting a laugh from Lemaitre.
Rudisha returns to elite racing, and a clash with world champion Mbulaeni Mulaudzi of South Africa, after running the world's fastest 800 this year in his comeback last Friday.
"Everything went nicely and I was impressed by the time," the 22-year-old Kenyan said of his 1:43.46 effort in Nancy, France. "The pain is almost gone completely. I'm feeling good and my shape is coming nicely despite the fact I was out of training for some weeks."
The 2010 men's athlete of the year has made winning a worlds gold medal his priority before trying to lower his 1:41.01 record — perhaps in September.
"My point of view is 1:40 is possible to run. After the world championships, maybe I have a few races to run. The way I felt last year, if I just push a little bit I could get there," Rudisha said.
After a slow start this summer, Vlasic hopes to raise her spirits by marking a personal milestone of 2-meter jumps.
"If it happens, it will be a really nice celebration," said the 27-year-old Croatian, who won in Rome at just 1.95 then lost at a windy, rainy New York meet.
"I wanted to throw away my passport and never come back home," Vlasic said. "It's very hard to deal with heights below two meters but I think the worst part of the season is over."
Olympic champions competing on Thursday include Norway's Andreas Thorkildsen in the javelin, Cuban 110-meters hurdler Dayron Robles and discus thrower Stephanie Brown Trafton of the United States.
South Africa's Caster Semenya is also a world gold medalist, although the 800 champion runs in the 1,500. The 20-year-old Semenya seeks a first victory in her third Diamond League race since being cleared to return after undergoing a gender test.
Defender Staff Report
Symphony Center will be ablaze this weekend as two jazz greats prepare to do what they do best: dazzle the audience.
Grammy-award winning Dianne Reeves is scheduled to perform at Jazz at the Symphony Center Friday at 8 p.m. Her performance will be followed Saturday by innovative improvisations with jazz pianist Keith Jarrett's solo performance.
Reeves, who has become a jazz vocalist great, has recorded and performed extensively with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center orchestra. She was also featured on a recording of the songs of Duke Ellington with Daniel Barenboim and members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Her list of firsts and bests includes performances at famed music halls, as well as on the Big screen Heeyes was the first singer to ever perform at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and was appointed as the first creative chair for jazz for the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Last year, Reeves appeared in George Clooney's Academy Award-nominated film Good Night, and Good Luck. The film's soundtrack recording handed Reeves her fourth Best Jazz Vocal Grammy in 2006.
A classically trained pianist, Jarrett began his recording collaboration with ECM Records in 1971, a relationship that has produced more than 60 recordings to date.
The foundation of the Jarrett/ECM discography consists of landmark solo piano recordings which have helped to redefine the role of the piano in contemporary music.
In Sept. 2006, ECM released The Carnegie Hall Concert, a 2-CD set of solo piano improvisations recorded live in 'New York, Jarrett's first solo concert, release ever recorded in the US.
For the past two decades, Jarrett's main vehicle for ensemble jazz has been his trio with bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Jack DeJohnette. The trio released 17 award-winning recordings - mostly live in major cities such as Paris, New York, London and Tokyo.
Jarrett's many international honors include Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters from the French Ministry of Culture, membership in the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, the Miles Davis prize and eight Grammy nominations.
Jarrett has the distinction of being the first jazz musician ever to perform improvised music at several of the world's most important music venues, including the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Musikverein in Vienna, and at La Scala at Milan.
BAGHDAD - Prominent Shiite and Sunni politicians called on Iraqi civilians to take up arms to defend themselves after a weekend of violence that claimed more than 220 lives, including 60 who died Sunday in a surge of bombings and shootings around Baghdad.
The calls reflect growing frustration with the inability of Iraqi security forces to prevent extremist attacks.
The weekend deaths included two American soldiers - one killed Sunday in a suicide bombing on the western outskirts of Baghdad and another who died in combat Saturday in Salahuddin province north of the capital, the U.S. command said. Three soldiers were wounded in the Sunday blast.
Sunday's deadliest attack occurred when a bomb struck a truckload of newly recruited Iraqi soldiers on the outskirts of Baghdad, killing 15 and wounding 20, a police official at the nearest police station said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.
Also Sunday, two car bombs exploded near simultaneously in Baghdad's mostly Shiite Karradah district, killing eight people. The first detonated at 10:30 a.m. near a closed restaurant, destroying stalls and soft drink stands. Two passers-by were killed and eight wounded, a police official said.
About five minutes later, the second car exploded about a mile away near shops selling leather jackets and shoes. Six people were killed and seven wounded, said the official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
The Karradah area includes the offices of the Supreme Islamic Council in Iraq, the biggest Shiite party in parliament, and is considered among the safest parts of the capital.
Elsewhere, a bomb hidden under a car detonated Sunday at the entrance of Shorja market - a mostly Shiite area of central Baghdad that has been hit repeatedly by insurgents - killing three civilians and wounding five, police said.
Police also reported they found the bodies of 29 men Sunday scattered across Baghdad - presumed victims of sectarian death squads. Four other people were killed Sunday in separate shootings in Baghdad, police said on condition of anonymity because they were not supposed to release the information.
The string of attacks in the Iraqi capital showed that extremists can still unleash strikes in the city despite a relative lull in violence here in recent weeks amid the U.S. offensives in and around Baghdad.
But the bloodshed in the Baghdad area paled in comparison to the carnage Saturday when a truck bomb devastated the public market in Armili, a town north of the capital whose inhabitants are mostly Shiites from the Turkoman ethnic minority.
There was still confusion over the death toll.
Two police officers - Col. Sherzad Abdullah and Col. Abbas Mohammed Amin - said 150 people were killed. Other officials put the death toll at 115. Abbas al-Bayati, a Shiite Turkoman lawmaker, told reporters in Baghdad that 130 had died.
Regardless of the precise figure, the attack was clearly among the deadliest in Iraq in months. It reinforced suspicions that al-Qaida extremists were moving north to less protected regions beyond the U.S. security crackdown in Baghdad and on the capital's northern doorstep.
In a joint statement, U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and U.S. military commander Gen. David Petraeus said the attack against the Turkoman Shiites was "another sad example of the nature of the enemy and their use of indiscriminate violence to kill innocent citizens."
Turkish military air ambulances evacuated 21 people wounded in the attack for treatment in Turkish hospitals, the country's Foreign Ministry said. Turkey feels special responsibility for its ethnic brethren, the Turkoman, who speak a Turkic language.
During a news conference Sunday in Baghdad, al-Bayati criticized the security situation in Armili, saying its police force had only 30 members and that the Interior Ministry had finally responded to requests for reinforcements only two days before the attack.
In the absence of enough security forces, al-Bayati said authorities should help residents "arm themselves" for their own protection.
The call for civilians to take up arms in their own defense was echoed Sunday by the country's Sunni Arab vice president, Tariq al-Hashemi, who said all Iraqis must "pay the price" for terrorism.
"People have a right to expect from the government and security agencies protection for their lives, land, honor and property," al-Hashemi said in a statement. "But in the case of (their) inability, the people have no choice but to take up their own defense."
He said the government should provide communities with money, weapons and training and "regulate their use by rules of behavior."
Another prominent Sunni lawmaker, Adnan al-Dulaimi, said Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had failed to provide services and security but he stopped short of saying his followers would seek to topple the Shiite-led government in a no-confidence vote.
The CBS Evening News reported Saturday that a large block of Sunni Iraqi politicians will ask for a parliamentary vote of no-confidence against al-Maliki's government on July 15.
"The situation has become terribly bad," al-Dulaimi told The Associated Press. "All options are open for us. We are going to study the situation thoroughly, and we are going to look into the possible measures which go with the interests of the Iraqi people. We will also consider whether to keep on with the government or not."
But Iraq's national security adviser, a Shiite, insisted that the government still enjoyed broad support and he warned against any effort to replace al-Maliki.
"I can tell you one thing that after Maliki, there is going to be the hurricane in Iraq," Mouwaffak al-Rubaie told CNN's "Late Edition." "This is an extremely important point to make across and to the Western audience and to the Arab audience as well as the larger Muslim audience."
The idea of organizing local communities for their own defense has caught on here in recent months following the success of Sunni Arab tribes in Anbar province that took up arms to help drive al-Qaida from their towns and villages.
U.S. and Iraqi officials have said they hope to replicate the "Anbar model" elsewhere in the country, albeit under government supervision and control.
On Sunday, Lt. Gen. Ali Gheidan said the Iraqi army planned to raise volunteer forces in Diyala province, where U.S. and Iraqi forces have driven al-Qaida fighters from part of the capital of Baqouba. He said more than 3,800 volunteers had already been recruited.
"Their mission will be like the police, working under the Iraqi police," Gheidan told reporters. "They work as a protection for each area, and they will only be from the residents of that area. Their role is to hold onto territory after it has been cleansed by the military."
U.S. commanders have long believed the key to restoring security was the ability of Iraqi forces to hold on to areas cleared by American troops. Several senior U.S. officers have questioned whether the Iraqi police and army were capable of preventing insurgents from returning once the Americans had left.
Local defense forces would offer a way to compensate for weaknesses in the Iraqi police and army, but without careful controls, the system could backfire by promoting more militias in a country already awash in weapons.
Also Sunday, the British Defense Ministry announced the death of a British soldier who was wounded Saturday in the biggest British offensive against Shiite militias this year.
SHANGHAI (AP) — Apple Inc. says its audits found a doubling in labor, safety and other abuses by its suppliers in 2010, though it praised Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn for saving lives through its handling of a spate of suicides at its factories in China.
The findings, outlined in Apple's annual supplier responsibility report, prompted local reports Wednesday to decry the "high price" paid by Chinese workers who assemble hit gadgets like the iPod and iPad.
"Apple Releases Supplier Report: Chinese Environmental Groups Dissatisfied," said a headline Wednesday in the state-run newspaper 21st Century Business Herald. "China Pays a High Cost for Apple's Success," said the Shanghai Daily.
Apple's report outlines the company's progress on problems with underaged workers, involuntary or debt-bonded labor and unsafe handling of dangerous chemicals, among other abuses found in audits of 127 production facilities.
Cupertino, California-based Apple has sought to keep secret details of its production in China, where many of its top gadgets are assembled. But a string of suicides at the heavily regimented factories of Taiwan-owned Foxconn Technology Group last year drew unwelcome attention to conditions faced by workers in China who put iPhones and other devices together.
Meanwhile, the company said it was working with Foxconn, a major supplier to many electronics makers, to help prevent further suicides at its factories, which employ more than 920,000 people and are expanding into China's inland areas.
"We were disturbed and deeply saddened to learn that factory workers were taking their own lives," said the report. It praised Foxconn's improved support for its mostly young, migrant work force and said an independent investigation had found Foxconn's handling of the problem "had definitely saved lives."
Apple said its audits found 91 underaged workers at 10 Chinese factories.
China allows employment only from age 16, although many children leave school before then. In the worst example, Apple said it stopped doing business with a factory that had hired 42 underaged workers supplied by a vocational school that had falsified their documents.
Apart from other labor problems, such as excess working hours, the company said that it required suppliers to reimburse $3.4 million in overcharges by employment agencies that provided contract migrant laborers from various countries in Asia, such as the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam to factories in Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore.
The report acknowledged other troubles, such as inadequate safety provisions at factories, including one case last year in which dozens of workers were poisoned by unsafe handling of the chemical n-hexane at a factory in Suzhou, near Shanghai.
Apple said it required the supplier, Wintek, to stop using the chemical and repair its ventilation system and will audit the factory again this year to ensure it is complying with its standards.
Chinese environmental groups are growing increasingly outspoken on such issues and a report released last month by three dozen groups, "The Other Side of Apple," accused the company of being the least responsive to health and safety concerns among more than two-dozen companies that were surveyed.
While contracts for Apple components are lucrative, the company's rigid quality standards led contractors to do whatever they can to ensure their products pass muster, the 21st Century Business Herald said, citing Chinese environmentalist Ma Jun, whose Center for Public and the Environment helped compile the "Other Side" report.
Ma said Wintek had gotten better results using n-hexane, a solvent that can cause nerve damage, rather than alcohol to clean screens and switched to the more toxic chemical without telling Apple.
Overall, Apple said it ordered changes by 80 suppliers that were found to be mishandling or improperly storing hazardous chemicals.
The standoff between some House Democrats and Gov. R. Blagojevich may be headed towards a budgetary "meltdown" because the "stakes are high" and repercussions are great, especially for the children, the governor warned Sunday. And, if this battle isn't resolved, the governor said: "The impact on Chicago is onerous because Chicago schools would lose $106 million in the wake of ten Chicago schools having recently closed, and 50,000 men, women, and children who have health care in Chicago would lose it; so, the stakes are very high.
"And, the consequences are severe because they impact people, and when people think about budgets, they think about numbers matching up, but, they're supposed to match up so they can help people, not just [satisfy] accountants," he said on V-103's Cliff Kelley show.
While saying there has been some progress, the governor said he has met with legislative leaders. "There is a consensus, for the first time, that we ought to close some corporate loop holes, not as many as we'd like, but there are some.
"It's the first time we've gotten all of them to agree to that.
"We've agreed to reduce spending in state government in agencies, with the exception of education and health care, around two percent" though he said there will be some exceptions with that.
"The big issues are whether we are going to invest more money in education and health care. That is the area where we still have a great deal of disagreement," Blagojevich said.
Explaining the difference, the governor said he and Senate President Emil Jones, Jr. want to invest more money in schools and provide more health care for working men and women and for children.
"We also want to invest more money in preschool so more kids can have access to preschool -- particularly kids from at-risk communities."
Blagojevich said his budget will also help seniors offset the high costs of prescription drugs.
"Yet, Speaker (Michael) Madigan and Senate Minority Leader (Frank) Watson, the Republican leader in the state senate from downstate Illinois -- the two of them are sort of working hand-in-hand right now -- if they have their way, the effect of their budget" would be devastating, the governor said.
Explaining, Blagojevich said, "The effect of what their budget would be would mean a cut in education; a cut in health care."
He said under their budget 150,000 men, women and children would lose the health care they enjoy today; 8,000 "kids who're about to go to preschool under our budget wouldn't be able to go."
He said 56,000 men and women who work but are unable to afford health care wouldn't get it, but "would get it under the budget Senate Jones and I support -- that passed the senate.
"The 20,000 kids about to be enrolled in the KidCare program -- kids who don't have health care who would get health care -- wouldn't get if Speaker Madigan and Senator Watson have their way."
While Democrats and Republicans are flexing their political muscles, Blagojevich has begun to publicly fight back saying: "The battle is do we make these investments?"
He said the money is there to pay for agenda items and in a way "that doesn't require us to go back to the taxpayers to ask for an income or sales tax increase.
"The money is there by closing corporate loopholes, closing prisons we don't need, by consolidating funds that exist in state government that have a surplus --the people's money -- and use that for these purposes by reduction in other areas in state government.
"There is a way to do it. It's just a question of getting Speaker Madigan and Senate Minority Leader Watson to see it as we see it," the governor said.
He explained that they had until May 31st' to pass a budget. "Senate President Jones and I reached an agreement and a budget was passed before the deadline that included no income or sales tax increase with more money for education.
"It was sent to the House," he said. "They didn't act on the budget. Speaker Madigan disagreed with those investments; so, they didn't act on the budget. It sat there. He didn't call it for a vote."
As a result, the three-fifths rule for passing any legislation went into effect which requires a super majority. Both houses are now Democratically controlled.
Blagojevich said "ironically, it was the Democrats in the House that pushed for a six-months budget for Health and Human Services Director Dr. Carol Adams led by Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie (D-25th). Things are upside down right now."
Article copyright REAL TIMES Inc.
Bangladesh is "an island of stability" in South Asia, the country's foreign affairs adviser said Wednesday, one year after political violence led to a state of emergency.
"We used to hear that we are a failed state. We have come far from there," said Iftekhar A. Chowdhury, a former envoy to the United Nations who is now foreign affairs adviser to the country's interim government.
"In a turbulent region, Bangladesh is an island of stability."
Following weeks of violent opposition protests before general elections scheduled for Jan. 22, 2007, the president declared a state of emergency, postponed the polls and appointed a nonparty interim government.
That government, headed by former central bank chief Fakhruddin Ahmed, has the backing of the country's influential armed forces, and has received support from international development partners.
"Our aim has been to get the world community interested and involved in Bangladesh," Chowdhury told reporters at a year-end briefing on the government's foreign policy.
Bangladesh saw a huge international response for emergency relief after a cyclone devastated the country's southern coast in November.
The government also mostly enjoys the support of a public fed up with political bickering, abuse of power and corruption.
A nationwide campaign against corruption and crime, which has put businessmen and top politicians _ including two former prime ministers _ behind bars, has widespread backing.
"My perception is we have got the whole nation behind us," Chowdhury said of his government's main achievement.
But rising food and commodity prices, fertilizer and power shortages have plagued Ahmed's administration. Independent human rights groups, like Amnesty International, have also claimed abuses by security forces.
Officials blame the high prices on hikes in international markets. The government, meanwhile, has delegated troops to sell essential food items at controlled prices.
Chowdhury said human rights had to be part of any domestic policy.
"The government has to uphold human rights and stand against crimes against humanity in any form," Chowdhury said, adding that the government had approved the formation of an independent human rights commission.
