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International Hearald Tribune (www.iht.com)
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Sharon Air Raids Criticized in Israel
In the aftermath of Israel's use of American-supplied F-16 fighter jets in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the first real domestic criticism of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has surged with questions about whether his government has any plan beyond the next retaliation.
NEWS ANALYSIS Carnage in Mideast Shakes Many Assumptions
Two pillars of conventional wisdom in the Middle East have been shaken by the recent carnage here. One is that Arabs and Jews had reached a broad consensus that guns, bombs and bloodshed could never resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
U.S. Cools to Ban on Germ War Weapons
A confidential Bush administration review has recommended that the United States not accept a draft agreement to enforce a 1972 treaty banning germ weapons, according to American officials.
Mischievous Species Capitalize on Globalization
Globalization is dramatically increasing the opportunities for plants and animals to get from where they form a normal part of the flora and fauna to other places where they can become destructive pests, weeds and parasites.
Deciphering Jet Lag: Or, Some Might Ask, Where's the Rest of Me?
A new study suggests that people who undergo repeated, frequent episodes of jet lag may develop impairment of visual memory and may even suffer some shrinkage of an important part of the brain.
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BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/)
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Israel attacks despite talks push
Two Palestinians are killed by Israeli fire, hours before the publication of the Mitchell Commission report aimed at ending the current violence.
Tax and spend battle rages
The UK election battleground shifts onto the economy as the parties trade blows over business policies and tax.
Fears over fresh disease cluster
Farmers are warned to remain vigilant following a spate of cases of foot-and-mouth disease in North Yorkshire.
Megawati puts pressure on Wahid
Indonesia's vice-president says the country risks becoming the sick man of Asia, in a speech seen as a veiled attack on President Wahid.
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NY Times (www.nytimes.com)
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Powell Expected to Present Plan to End Mideast Violence
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell is planning to intensify American diplomatic involvement in the continuing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
When a Test Fails the Schools, Careers and Reputations Suffer
Even though school districts lack the ability to uncover errors in the scoring of standardized tests, school officials have had to bear the brunt of criticism over seemingly poor results.
Bush Pushes Private Sector Role in Aiding Poor
In a commencement speech at the University of Notre Dame, President Bush called on the private sector to become involved with the war on poverty.
General in Balkan War Says Pentagon Hampered NATO
Wesley K. Clark, NATO's commander during the war with Yugoslavia, asserts in a new memoir that the Pentagon discouraged steps that might have made the fighting unnecessary.
Old Rivalry Still Boils
Business competitors Steven P. Jobs and Michael S. Dell seem to harbor a personal grudge.
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Panapress (www.panapress.com/english)
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Police says Kenya is major transit for drugs
Nairobi, Kenya - Kenya has been named as the chief transit country for hard drugs and other narcotics destined for the lucrative European and North American markets.
No improvement in US-Sudanese relations soon
Khartoum, Sudan- A US policy document to end the war in southern Sudan which was prepared by the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is considered by Sudan as the most controversial document issued by the US administration in the past two decades.
Schneider Electric Company to expand its market in Ethiopia
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - Schneider Electric Company (SEC), one of the three largest electrical equipment companies in the world, plans to expand its market in Ethiopia and Sudan where there is a high consumer demand for electrical equipment, official sources said.
Zuma acclaims visit to Mexico, Columbia
Cape Town, South Africa - South Africa's Deputy President Jacob Zuma who returned home Sunday from a week-long trip to Mexico and Colombia, said his trip was a great success and demonstrated the important role South Africa played in the international arena.
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China Daily (http://www1.chinadaily.com.cn/news/index.html)
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Dick Cheney: EP-3 in bad shape, won't fly home
The damaged U.S. spy plane that made an emergency landing in China last month will probably not be able to fly home and will have to be shipped out in crates, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney said on Sunday.
China Telecom faces further reform
China Telecom may soon be split into several parts to help sharpen the competition in the nation's telecom industry, according to published reports and sources close to the Ministry of Information Industry (MII).
Italian director Nanni Moretti won the Cannes film festival's coveted Palme d'Or award on Sunday for "The Son's Room", the tragic story of a family torn apart by the death of a child.
Patten says China's WTO entry a top EU priority
Beijing confident of a good Games if selected
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The Moscow Times (www.themoscowtimes.com/)
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Gazprom Assets A Family Affair
Gazprom executives have transferred to their relatives assets potentially worth billions of dollars.
Revamp of UES Gets Green Light
The government over the weekend approved a sweeping overhaul of Unified Energy Systems.
Memo: Bush, Schroeder to Halt Aid
Two German magazines quoted confidential talks between leaders Schroeder and Bush regarding Russia.
Dutch Mammoet Hired to Lift Kursk
Russia signed a deal with Dutch firm Mammoet on Friday to raise the Kursk submarine, which plunged to the bottom of the Barents Sea last year killing all 118 sailors on board.
Ivanov Wins Early Putin-Bush Summit
Foreign Minister Ivanov reaffirmed Moscow's willingness to reach agreement with the U.S. on arms
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News of the Weird (www.newsoftheweird.com)
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West Hempstead, N.Y., high school guidance counselor David D'Amato, 39, was convicted in April of e-mail-disabling mischief against three universities, crimes motivated by revenge when certain male students at those schools tried to break off their association with D'Amato. Their relationships consisted of D'Amato's paying them each hundreds of dollars over the years for their making videotapes of themselves being tied up and tickled, for D'Amato's viewing pleasure. D'Amato, who was known as "territickle" in his online community, was not charged with sex crimes because the boys were at all times clothed and their activity limited to tickling. (Newsday, 4-7-01)
Crime Pays: Federal and most states' laws require that prisoners be furnished adequate medical care, but Larry Causey has sought benefits of the laws more deliberately than most previous inmates. He pled guilty in March, after being arrested in his car outside the post office in West Monroe, La., which he had just held up, apparently for the sole purpose of being incarcerated so that he would get treatment for his cancer. Upon being jailed, Causey was immediately prescribed three drugs and scheduled for a colonoscopy. (Associated Press, 4-19-01)
Latest High Tech: Researchers at Northwestern University reported recently that they have developed a light-seeking machine that is operated solely by signals from the extracted brain of an eel-like lamprey, which is preserved in an oxygenated saline solution; the technology could be used to develop sophisticated prostheses. And the Office of Naval Research reported in April that the Marines are developing a 4-pound, hawk-sized, unmanned aerial vehicle that can be assembled and launched anywhere and cruise quietly for about 6 miles at 45 miles an hour to transmit video back to, and return to, a hand-held ground station. (Washington Post, 4-17-01) United Press International, 4-20-01)
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And A Happy Birthday to
WolfDaddy