ASEAN, China to boost product safety By TERESA CEROJANO, Associated Press Writer

ASEAN, China to boost product safety By TERESA CEROJANO, Associated Press Writer
Sun Aug 26, 5:26 AM ET



MANILA, Philippines - Southeast Asian countries and China agreed to strengthen product standards and safety, economic ministers said Sunday. The move follows recalls of several tainted Chinese products from international markets.

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Chinese Commerce Minister Bo Xilai also defended the quality of Chinese goods, saying 99 percent of his country's exports to the U.S. and Japan pass quality controls and adhere to global quality standards.

A joint statement issued by economic ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China on Sunday, at the end of their annual consultations, said product quality and food safety are common challenges faced by every country. All parties should actively cooperate in improving risk control and ensuring quality, it added.

"The ministers agreed to urge relevant government agencies to properly deal with product quality-related cases by strengthening consultations with the view to protecting the safety and health of consumers while not impeding bilateral trade and economic cooperation," it said.

At a joint news conference by the ministers, Bo pointed out that 50 percent of products manufactured in China are made by foreign enterprises, and more than 60 percent of exports are made and inspected according to standards set by foreign importers and buyers.

"In the past 29 years, the annual growth rate of Chinese exports is 17 percent and this itself shows a high degree of recognition of product quality of China by other countries," Bo said. Nevertheless, if even only 0.1 percent of Chinese products are problematic, his government will seriously address the matter, he added.

China is ASEAN's fourth major trading partner after the U.S., the European Union and Japan. Chinese foreign direct investment in ASEAN nations reached $936.9 million in 2006.

ASEAN and China signed a trade in goods agreement in 2004 and a trade in services deal in January 2007. An investment agreement is still under negotiation as part of steps to realize the ASEAN China Free Trade Area.

As the two sides begin to fully implement the free-trade agreements, they would like to establish common standards and technical requirements for the equal treatment of products, ASEAN Secretary General Ong Keng Yong said.

The common standards are needed to enhance bilateral trade and to ensure access for each other's products in the Chinese and ASEAN markets, the ministers' statement said.

Chinese goods have come under intense scrutiny in recent months after toxic chemicals were found in exports ranging from toothpaste to seafood and pet food ingredients.

With growing numbers of countries rejecting Chinese goods, Beijing has sought to reassure consumers by highlighting similar problems in other countries and criticizing foreign media for playing up the safety problems.

Gay overhauls Powell for 100 world title 5 minutes ago

Gay overhauls Powell for 100 world title 5 minutes ago



OSAKA, Japan - Tyson Gay is the world champion. In a 100-meters final that delivered all it promised Sunday, Gay was slower out of the blocks. Once his legs got pumping, he caught and surged past Asafa Powell to claim his first gold medal at a major international championship in 9.85 seconds.

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Powell, sensing defeat, was passed by Derrick Atkins of the Bahamas at the tape in 9.91. Powell, a co-holder of the world record at 9.77, was third in 9.96 and remains without a major title.

Watched under a full moon by Japanese Emperor Akihito, Empress Michiko and some 40,000 fans at the Nagai stadium, Gay pumped his arms, beat his chest and shouted in delight in the victory that ended weeks of nervous preparations.

Powell showed little emotion — his sullen demeanor said it all.

Gay, regularly slower out of the blocks than Powell, had feared a false start, which would put him even more on edge. But the race went off smoothly. And with his head wobbling from side to side, Gay hit his groove.

With his first global title, Gay's surely the favorite for next year's Olympics in Beijing.

Although the 100 was tough to predict, nothing was easier than picking Carolina Kluft for an unprecedented third straight heptathlon title. And the 24-year-old Swede did it with a European record, becoming the second best heptathlete of all time after American Jackie Joyner-Kersee.

Kluft easily stretched her five-year unbeaten streak, earning 7,032 points to eclipse Russian Nikitina Larisa's 18-year-old European record by 25 points.

Immediately after setting the record, Kluft led all her competitors hand in hand around the stadium, the gesture as much the essence of Kluft as the outstanding performances.

In a tense shot put final, New Zealander Valerie Vili overtook defending champion Nadzeya Ostapchuk of Belarus with her last attempt of 20.54 meters. Ostapchuk, who held the lead from the opening throw, had one attempt to go but was stranded just 6 centimeters short. Olympic silver medalist Nadine Kleinert of Germany took bronze with 19.77.

Misery came just as late to Bershawn Jackson, the defending champion in the 400 hurdles. The American was leading in his semifinal but stumbled on the last obstacle, totally lost his momentum and let two rivals pass. That result pushed him out of Tuesday's final. Olympic champion Felix Sanchez of the Dominican Republic led the way.

In the women's 100 second-round heats, Veronica Campbell of Jamaica cruised into the semifinals with a time of 11.08, hardly breaking a sweat in temperatures that soared into the high 80s late Sunday.

Her main rival, U.S. champion Torri Edwards, won her heat in 11.13, easing up at the finish. "I feel confident I can take this thing, the track is fast," she said. "It's hot, but sprinters like the hot weather."

Defending champion Lauryn Williams was second in her heat, advancing in 11.16.

Perez became the first man to win three successive 20-kilometer walk titles, enough to make him a star in his native Ecuador. Together with the 1996 Olympic title, the 33-year old became a quadruple gold medalist at major competitions.

"I knew I could be the first with three consecutive golds but shortly after the start I forgot about this — I needed to concentrate," he said. "One more medal is not that important."

Spain's Francisco Javier Fernandez was reinstated to silver in the walk after being disqualified for lifting over the final stretch to catch Tunisia's Hatem Ghoula.

In a sport notorious for its technical infractions, Fernandez had both feet off the ground as he raced past Ghoula. The jury of appeal ruled it was insufficient to merit a disqualification. Both racers were given the same time of 1 hour 22.40 minutes, 20 seconds.

The appeal cost Mexico's Eder Sanchez the bronze.

Currency change aimed at adding security By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer

Currency change aimed at adding security By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer
8 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - After six decades in which the venerable greenback never changed its look, the U.S. currency has undergone a slew of makeovers. The most amazing is yet to come.

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A new security thread has been approved for the $100 bill, The Associated Press has learned, and the change will cause double-takes.

The new look is part of an effort to thwart counterfeiters who are armed with ever-more sophisticated computers, scanners and color copiers. The C-note, with features the likeness of Benjamin Franklin, is the most frequent target of counterfeiters operating outside the United States.

The operation of the new security thread looks like something straight out of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This magic, however, relies on innovations produced from decades of development.

It combines micro-printing with tiny lenses — 650,000 for a single $100 bill. The lenses magnify the micro-printing in a truly remarkable way.

Move the bill side to side and the image appears to move up and down. Move the bill up and down and the image appears to move from side to side.

"It is a really complex optical structure on a microscopic scale. It makes for a very compelling high security device," said Douglas Crane, a vice president at Crane & Co. The Dalton, Mass-based company has a $46 million contract to produce the new security threads.

The redesign of the $100 is about one-third of the way complete. The bill is expected to go into circulation late next year.

___

On the Net:

Bureau of Engraving and Printing: http://www.moneyfactory.gov

A history of U.S. currency from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco: http://www.frbsf.org/currency/index.html

Bird flu found at German poultry farm 2 hours, 42 minutes ago

Bird flu found at German poultry farm 2 hours, 42 minutes ago



BERLIN - Tests have found that birds at a poultry farm in southern Germany died of the H5N1 strain of bird flu, and some 160,000 birds were being slaughtered as a precaution, authorities said.

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The virus was detected in ducklings at the farm near Erlangen, in northern Bavaria. A federal lab confirmed that the birds died of the "highly pathogenic" H5N1 variant, the state consumer protection ministry said Saturday.

More than 400 birds had died over a short period of time at the farm, ministry spokeswoman Sandra Brandt said. Authorities planned to start Saturday evening with the slaughter of the 160,000 birds at the farm.

Several cases of the virus have surfaced among wild birds in Germany this year. Last month, it was detected in a domestic goose in the east of the country.

The H5N1 virus has killed more than 190 people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

It remains hard for humans to catch, but experts fear it could mutate into a form that spreads easily among people, potentially sparking a global pandemic. So far, most human cases have been traced to contact with infected birds.

Thousands ordered to flee Idaho wildfire By KEITH RIDLER, Associated Press Writer

Thousands ordered to flee Idaho wildfire By KEITH RIDLER, Associated Press Writer
Sun Aug 26, 5:50 AM ET



BOISE, Idaho - A mandatory evacuation was ordered Saturday for residents of more than 1,000 homes south of Ketchum, where a massive wildfire raged and high winds grounded firefighting air tankers.

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After three days of relative calm, the 39-square-mile fire was 38 percent contained, but embers blew ahead of the blaze and increased the threat of spot fires, fire spokesman Bob Beanblossom said.

"At this point in the mandatory evacuation, we're giving people the opportunity to get out during the daylight and to keep the highways clear for emergency response vehicles," said Kim Rogers, public information officer with the city of Ketchum.

Another 100 homes remained under a mandatory evacuation order from last weekend, including some worth millions of dollars in the resort area of central Idaho. A shelter was set up at a former high school in the town of Hailey, said Dick Rush, CEO of the American Red Cross for Idaho.

No structures had been reported lost to the lightning-sparked blaze, although winds were gusting to 25 mph, Beanblossom said.

In California, a seven-week-old wildfire in the Santa Barbara County wilderness showed bursts of life Saturday despite firefighters' significant progress.

The blaze was 83 percent contained Saturday evening after burning 239,468 acres, or about 374 square miles, of steep backcountry.

A recommended evacuation was in effect for about nine square miles west of Highway 33, according to an update by fire officials issued Saturday.

The fire was about 15 miles away from the community of Ojai and did not threaten any other large communities, officials said. Despite its size, the fire has only destroyed one structure, an outbuilding.

Hole apparently finds no sign of miners By CHELSEA J. CARTER and JENNIFER DOBNER, Associated Press Writers

Hole apparently finds no sign of miners By CHELSEA J. CARTER and JENNIFER DOBNER, Associated Press Writers
2 hours, 32 minutes ago



HUNTINGTON, Utah - What next? That was the question remaining after a drill punched a sixth hole through a mine shaft and found no sign of six miners last seen before a massive collapse nearly three weeks ago.

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Federal safety officials told families of the missing miners they would conduct testing — air samples, signaling in hopes of a response from the men, and dropping a video camera into the mine shaft — but have been less than hopeful about the results, which were expected to be announced Sunday.

"The only thing they told us is there is no void where the sixth hole is; there is no space," attorney Colin King said after a meeting between the missing miners' families he represents and mine officials.

Crandall Canyon Mine co-owner Bob Murray has said this hole, the sixth to be drilled deep into the mountain, will be the last effort to find a sign of the miners, who may not have survived the massive cave-in Aug. 6.

Families have pleaded with Murray not to halt rescue efforts, and King said officials did not rule out the possibility of a seventh bore hole.

"They left the possibility open that they were possibly considering another hole," King said. "It didn't sound like that was uppermost on their list of to-dos."

Drilling on the sixth narrow inch hole was completed late Saturday afternoon, the U.S. Department of Labor said, reaching a depth of more than 1,700 feet.

Rob Moore, vice president of Murray Energy Corp., co-owner of the Crandall Canyon mine, said he had no comment on the initial findings from the sixth hole.

Previous holes have yielded only grainy video images and poor air samples. Efforts to signal the miners have been met with silence. Tunneling into the mine was abandoned after another collapse killed three rescue workers and injured six others on Aug. 16.

"It is one of my major goals and the families' major goal to get them out. ... We will vigorously resist any attempt to seal this mine so that we can keep those options open," said King, who has been retained by most of the miners' families.

Family and friends of the missing miners have pressed for the efforts to continue, if only to find the bodies of Kerry Allred, Don Erickson, Luis Hernandez, Carlos Payan, Brandon Phillips and Manuel Sanchez.

"At this point, we're very disappointed at the Murray Energy group of companies, which seem to have given up on these people in the mine. They've been unresponsive to our efforts to learn why a large diameter drill hole from above could not have been done and has not been done," King said.

Federal officials and mine company executives have said the mountain's instability makes it too dangerous to drill a hole wide enough for a one-person rescue capsule unless there are signs of life.

"The reality is getting worse and worse," King said. "There is nothing on the drawing board as far as we know that would have any way to get to (the miners) in any short time."

A report from eight national mine safety experts detailing the rationale against a rescue capsule hole or continued horizontal drilling has not been provided to families, King said.

"It puts us in a very difficult position to be able to credibly say, 'You should do this' or 'You should have done that,'" King said.

Seismologists say the mountain is crumbling upon itself, bursting support pillars as it shifts, creating phenomena known as mountain bumps.

The thunderous collapse blew out the walls of the mine shafts, filling them with rubble more than 8 to 10 feet deep in some places. If the men were not crushed by rock, they could have been killed by the immense air pressure generated by the collapse, mining executives and federal regulators have said.

Twin bombings kill 42 in southern India By OMER FAROOQ, Associated Press Writer

Twin bombings kill 42 in southern India By OMER FAROOQ, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 34 minutes ago



HYDERABAD, India - A pair of almost simultaneous bombings blamed on Islamic extremists tore through a popular family restaurant and an outdoor arena on Saturday night, killing at least 42 people in this southern Indian city plagued by Hindu-Muslim tensions.

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The restaurant was destroyed by the bomb placed at the entrance. Blood-covered tin plates and broken glasses littered the road outside.

The other blast struck a laser show at an auditorium in Lumbini park, leaving pools of blood and dead bodies between rows of seats punctured by shrapnel. Some seats were hurled 100 feet away.

Officials said Sunday that foreign-based Islamic extremists may have been behind the attacks.

"Available information points to the involvement of terrorist organizations based in Bangladesh and Pakistan," Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh state, where Hyderabad is located, told reporters after an emergency state Cabinet meeting.

Reddy did not name any groups, but Indian media reports, quoting unnamed security officials, identified the Bangladesh-based Harkatul Jihad Al-Islami. Reddy declined to provide more details. "It is not possible to divulge all this information," he said.

Harkatul, which is banned in Bangladesh, wants to establish strict Islamic rule in Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority nation governed by secular laws.

The Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry said Dhaka had not been informed of these allegations.

Witnesses described chaotic scenes in the aftermath of the bombings.

"We heard the blast and people started running out past us. Many of them had blood streaming off them," said P.K. Verghese, the security manager at the laser show. "It was complete chaos. We had to remove the security barriers so people could get out."

Most of the dead were killed in the Gokul Chat restaurant at Hyderabad's Kothi market, said K. Jana Reddy, the state home minister. By Sunday morning, the death toll had risen to 42 as victims succumbed to injuries. Some 50 people were injured in the two blasts.

Hindu-Muslim animosity runs deep in Hyderabad, where a bombing at a historic mosque killed 11 people in May. Another five people died in subsequent clashes between security forces and Muslim protesters angered by what they said was a lack of police protection.

Two other bombs were defused in the city Saturday, one under a footbridge in the busy Bilsukh Nagar commercial area, and another in a movie theater in the Narayanguba neighborhood, a police official said. Late-night movie showings were canceled across the city.

"This is a terrorist act," said Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, the chief minister for Andhra Pradesh state, where Hyderabad is located.

Much of India's Hindu-Muslim animosity is rooted in disputes over the Himalayan territory of Kashmir, divided between India and mostly Muslim Pakistan but claimed in its entirety by both countries. More than a dozen Islamic insurgent groups are fighting for Kashmir's independence or its merger with Pakistan.

More than 80 percent of India's 1.1 billion people are Hindu and 13 percent are Muslim. But in Hyderabad, Muslims make up 40 percent of the population of 7 million.

There has been little progress in the investigation into the May mosque bombing. Underlying the divide, Muslim leaders have said they do not trust local police to handle the investigation into the attack.

A series of terrorist bombings have ripped across India in the past two years. In July 2006, bombs in seven Mumbai commuter trains killed more than 200 people, attacks blamed on Pakistan-based Muslim militants.

Iraqi leader lashes back at U.S. critics By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writer

Iraqi leader lashes back at U.S. critics By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writer
41 minutes ago



BAGHDAD - Iraq's beleaguered prime minister on Sunday lashed out at American critics who have called for his ouster, saying Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Carl Levin need to "come to their senses."

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Nouri al-Maliki, who is fighting to hold his government together, issued a series of stinging ripostes against a variety of foreign officials who recently have spoken negatively about his leadership. But those directed at Democrats Clinton, of New York, and Levin, of Michigan, were the most strident.

"There are American officials who consider Iraq as if it were one of their villages, for example Hillary Clinton and Carl Levin. They should come to their senses," al-Maliki said at a news conference.

Al-Maliki launched the verbal counteroffensive in the final days before the American commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker are due in Washington to report to Congress on progress in Iraq since the introduction of 30,000 more America troops.

The Shiite prime minister said a negative report by Petraeus would not cause him to change course, although he said he expected that the U.S. general would "be supportive of the government and will disappoint the politicians who are relying on it" to be negative.

Al-Maliki appeared stung by the recent series of critical statements about his government, including one from President Bush, who said he was frustrated that al-Maliki had failed to make progress on political benchmarks. Crocker has said the lack of movement had been "highly disappointing."

And most recently Sen. John Warner, R-Va.,said the United States should order a token withdrawal of forces by Christmas. The former chairman of the Armed Services Committee said such a move would show al-Maliki that Washington was serious about progress on reconciliation among the country's religious sects and ethnic groups.

Warner and Levin traveled to Iraq together earlier this month as part of the multitude of Congressional delegations who are visiting the country before the expected heated debate on Capitol Hill about U.S. troop levels and plans for a withdrawal.

Al-Maliki also criticized some U.S. military actions.

"Concerning American raids on Shula (a northern Shiite neighborhood) and Sadr City (the Shiite slum enclave in east Baghdad). There were big mistakes committed in these operations. The terrorist himself should be targeted not his family.

"When they want to detain one person, they should not kill 10 others. These are mistakes which we have to deal with. We will not allow the detaining of innocent people. Only the criminals should be detained," the angry al-Maliki declared.

Two nights ago the U.S. military raided the Shula neighborhood and said it killed eight "terrorists" who had attacked an American patrol from rooftops. Some Iraqis reported many civilians were killed and wounded.

U.S. forces also are routinely raiding Sadr City, often calling in helicopter fire. The U.S. says it targets only Shiite militia fighters. Iraqi officials regularly report civilians killed in the raids.

Meanwhile, waves of Shiite pilgrims descended on Karbala on Sunday for a festival marking the birth of the 9th century Hidden Imam. A woman making the 50-mile trek from Baghdad was shot to death by men in a passing car in the southwest of the capital.

More than a million Shiite faithful from throughout the world were expected to converge on the Shiite holy city for the celebrations, which reach their high point late Tuesday and early Wednesday. The Shabaniyah festival marks the birth of Mohammed al-Mahdi, the 12th and last Shiite imam who disappeared in the 9th century.

Religious Shiites refer to al-Mahdi as the "Hidden Imam," believing he was spared death and will return to Earth to bring peace and justice.

Six men were wounded as they walked toward Karbala with the woman who was gunned down, according to Baghdad police officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

In the past, Sunni religious extremists, including al-Qaida in Iraq, have launched massive and deadly attacks against pilgrims during Shiite celebrations, which have drawn huge crowds since the 2003 ouster of Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated regime.

Last March, about 340 people were killed in a weeklong wave of bombings and shootings. Most of the dead were Shiite pilgrims en route to religious ceremonies in Karbala.

To prevent a repeat, Iraqi authorities Saturday banned motorcycles, bicycles and horse-drawn wagons from the streets of Baghdad indefinitely. Earlier in the day, state television announced that the ban applied to all vehicles, including cars and trucks.

Later, the chief military spokesman for Baghdad, Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Mousawi, said cars and trucks would be allowed but other forms of transport that could slip into smaller places were banned until further notice.

All vehicles were banned from the Karbala city center and each pilgrim entering the district was subjected to a security pat-down by the thousands of police on duty.

"I was hesitant to come because I feared a terrorist attack, but when I saw these strict security I felt safe," said Haji Sabeeh Raheem, a 61-year-old pilgrim from Najaf, another Shiite holy city to the south.

Greek fires race toward ancient sites By JOHN F.L. ROSS, Associated Press Writers

Greek fires race toward ancient sites By JOHN F.L. ROSS, Associated Press Writers
21 minutes ago



AMALIADA, Greece - The fires consuming southern Greece raced toward Ancient Olympia and the nearby Temple of Apollo on Sunday, engulfing entire villages and the parched forests blocking their path toward some of the most revered sites of antiquity.

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At least 51 people were confirmed dead, including a woman found with her arms around the bodies of her four children, and more were feared lost in the country's worst wildfires in decades.

Church bells rang out in the village of Kolyri, near Ancient Olympia, as residents gathered their belongings and fled through the night. Villagers returned to find at least seven gutted houses.

"It's hell everywhere," said Costas Ladas, who said the fire covered more than a mile in three minutes. "I've never seen anything like it."

Fotis Hadzopoulos, another resident, said the evacuation was chaotic. "Children were crying, and their mothers were trying to comfort them, " he said.

The worst fires — 42 major fronts — were concentrated in the mountains of the Peloponnese in southern Greece and on the island of Evia north of Athens. Arson has been blamed in several cases, and seven people have been detained.

The flames surrounded and isolated villages, prompting inhabitants to plead for help on television and radio as the fires neared towns near Ancient Olympia in the south.

"We're going to burn alive here," one woman told Greek television from the village of Lambeti. She said residents were using garden hoses in an attempt to save their homes.

Efforts to contain the inferno were initially helped by a drop in the gale-force winds that swept fires through thousands of acres of forest and scrub since Friday, the fire department said. But the winds revived early in the afternoon

"Fires are burning in more than half the country," department spokesman Nikos Diamandis said. "This is definitely an unprecedented disaster for Greece."

The government, which has come under harsh criticism for its response to the fires, on Sunday decided to give up to $13,000 in aid to people who lost relatives or property.

"All these areas have suffered an economic and social catastrophe," Economy Minister George Alogoskoufis said. "We can all sense the grief and pain of afflicted people."

Firefighters began to reach burned-out villages and there were fears the death toll would rise. Diamandis said it was impossible as yet to estimate how large an area had been burned and how many homes had been destroyed.

Winds abruptly intensified early Sunday afternoon, whipping flames in the direction of Ancient Olympia — where the Olympic Games were held in antiquity.

The fire blazed into the nearby village of Varvasaina, destroying several houses. As residents rushed to battle the flames, others, stunned, walked the streets holding their heads in their hands. One man dashed out of his house clutching a shotgun.

Dozens of charred bodies were found across fields, homes, along roads and in cars. The fire department confirmed 51 deaths, and there were fears the toll could increase as rescuers searched burned areas.

Flames were also approaching the ancient temple of Apollo Epikourios, near the picturesque town of Andritsaina in the southwestern Peloponnese.

Andritsaina Mayor Tryphon Athanassopoulos said the fire was less than two miles from the 2,500-year-old monument — and less than a mile from his town.

"We are trying to save the Temple of Apollo, as well as Andritsaina itself," he told state NET television.

Much of the Peloponnese was ablaze, and churches across the country were filled with people praying for the fires to relent.

Nearly 1,000 soldiers and military helicopters reinforced firefighters stretched to the limit by Greece's worst summer of wildfires. In the most ravaged area — a string of mountain villages in southern Greece — rescue crews picked through a grim aftermath that spoke of last-minute desperation as the fires closed in.

By sea and by land, authorities evacuated hundreds of people trapped by the flames.

At least 12 countries were sending reinforcements for Greece's overstretched firefighters, and six water-dropping planes from France and Italy were due to start operations later Sunday.

"So many fires breaking out simultaneously in so many parts of the country cannot be a coincidence," Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis said in a nationally televised address. "The state will do everything it can to find those responsible and punish them."

___

Associated Press writers Elena Becatoros and Nicholas Paphitis in Athens contributed to this report.