Big-spending teens are retailers' dream

Chelsea Kuball reads Vogue, spends hundreds of dollars a month at the mall and shops online for clothes and accessories she can't find at stores so she'll stand out.

Her favorite find of late was a $500 Jill Stuart dress that was on sale.

“I'll find a dance for this dress,” she says.

She's an impulsive shopper with a sense of style and a thing for sales, a retailer's dream, and she's only 14.

Chelsea, an incoming high school freshman who lives in Brentwood, Tenn., with her parents, an older brother, two dogs and a cat, is part of a generation of teenagers who spent an estimated $179 billion last year on everything from Steve Madden shoes to Madden NFL 07 video games.

Last year, teen spending was up almost 13 percent from the year before, and it's likely to climb higher this year, according to TRU, a market research firm in Northbrook, Ill., that has helped clients from Abercrombie & Fitch to Yahoo get a handle on teen shoppers.

Spending clout is major

On average, teenage boys spend 26 percent of their money on clothes, shoes and accessories; 20 percent on CDs, DVDs and gadgets; and 16 percent on food, according to a survey of teen spenders by investment bank Piper Jaffray & Co.

Teenage girls spend 57 percent of their money on fashion — dresses, jeans, shoes and makeup among the purchases.

With no mortgages or college loans to pay off, teens “have a tremendous amount of spending power,” said Scott Krugman, a spokesman with the National Retail Federation. “Retailers recognize this, and they'd be foolish not to market to them.”

Hollister — the No. 1 clothing brand for teens according to the Piper Jaffray survey — offers a free “jukebox” on its site, hollisterco.com, with songs by Albert Hammond Jr., The New Loud and other artists parents probably haven't heard of.

American Eagle Outfitters, No. 2 on Piper Jaffray's most-popular list, has begun producing three-minute episodes of “It's a Mall World,” an original series that plays on MTV and streams on American Eagle's Web site, ae.com.

Some of the characters on the show get their clothes at American Eagle.

“I think a lot of teens will appreciate that,” said Betty Chen, vice president of equity research with Wedbush Morgan Securities, based in Los Angeles. “It is a fresh, innovative way to market yourself.”

Chains seek teen ‘buzz'

Chains are trying to attract teens through “buzz” marketing, what an earlier generation called word of mouth.

“We tell (our teenage customers) to get out there and push it,” said Korbie Rinehart, manager of the Ecko Unlimited store at Opry Mills Mall in Nashville, Tenn., which counts on teens for about half its business. “Word of mouth is the best way we've advertised so far.”

Word-of-mouth marketing is what led 13-year-old Jessica Stevens of Franklin to spend $200 on MAC Cosmetics. She's liked the brand ever since trying her friend's makeup.

“I kind of want to have their approval,” Jessica said of her friends. “We all tend to dress alike. ... It boosts our confidence.”

Not to be ignored

Sometimes teens just want a little respect before they spend their dollars.

Last weekend, 14-year-old Bailey Sharpe and her friends rushed into an accessories store in the CoolSprings Galleria mall in Franklin, Tenn., piling on four bracelets on their arms as they danced around the store and tried on sunglasses. A store employee glared at them.

Clerks at other stores barely acknowledged them.

“They're not very helpful,” said Bailey, who didn't buy anything at the stores. “They're a little rude.”

Retailers will need to cater more to teens' needs if they want teens' money, said Ann Fairhurst, University of Tennessee professor in retail and consumer sciences.

“Many times, sales associates might not see the teen customer as a real customer, and that really turns the teens off,” Fairhurst said. “They don't want to be ignored and treated indifferently.”

Source : www.theithacajournal.com

In the papers 11 September

Intel revises Q3 forecast upward | Apple sells 1 million iPhones

The Irish Times reports that Cork received a jobs boost on Monday with three companies announcing a total of 188 jobs, including software firm SolarWinds and financial services firm Apex Fund.

The paper also says that an antitrust case opened in Australia's Federal Court on Monday against Google, with the company's Irish operations named as one of the defendants. The proceedings by the Australian Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (ACCC) allege that the search giant has deceived consumers by not differentiating between its organic search results and those which are being displayed because Google has received payment from an advertiser. The ACCC is taking the case against Google Ireland, Google Australia and parent company Google Inc.

The paper also says that Vislink, the Dublin- and London-listed video and communications technology group, has won three significant orders from US security and law enforcement organisations, worth a combined total of USD3.2 million.

The paper also notes that hotel chain Prem Group is to provide free wireless internet access at all of its properties in Ireland, the UK and Belgium, having signed a deal with Dublin-based Free-hotspot.com.

The same paper says that ICS Computing has completed a EUR1.5 million contract to provide an accounting software system to oil importer and distributor Campus Oil.

The Irish Independent says that cosmetics group L'Oreal has launched a legal action against eBay, alleging the online auctioneer does not do enough to combat the sale of counterfeits. The action by L'Oreal follows similar action taken against eBay by luxury groups LVMH and parent company Dior, and US jeweller Tiffany's. eBay argues it clamps down on all cases of counterfeiting notified to it by the firms concerned.

The same paper says that two managers, who stole computer records to set up in competition against their former employer, were found out through a forensic analysis of their computer records ordered by the High Court. Limerick firm Brian A Flynn Ltd, which installs custom-built refrigeration, got a court order allowing computer detectives Critical Data Services to carry out a raid on the new company's premises to seize misappropriated records. John O'Leary of Rivendell, Co Kerry, and Neil O'Connor of Aisling Heights, Co Cork, have agreed to pay the Limerick company damages, lift a major legal costs bill and undertake not to use all records they had taken with them.

The Financial Times says that Apple has dispelled some of the concerns about sales of the new iPhone as it announced that 1 million of the gadgets had been sold by last weekend. Coming some three weeks before the target date that the technology firm had set for hitting the 1 million milestone, the news helped to calm fears that had been provoked by a surprisingly big price cut announced for the handset in the middle of last week. While that news had wiped more than 5 percent from Apple's share price, Monday's announcement prompted a 3.75 percent rebound.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Intel has revised its third-quarter forecast upward. The top chip maker laid out a higher range for revenue in the current period. Based on the midpoint, the forecast points to 10 percent revenue growth from the year-earlier period, compared with the prediction in July of 7 percent growth. Intel also said its gross profit margin will be toward the upper end of a prior forecast.

According to the same paper, Sony has unveiled a small egg-shaped digital music player that spins, flashes lights and jiggles like a robot. The Japanese consumer electronics maker said the palm-sized 'Rolly', which combines audio and robotic technologies, is meant to make it more entertaining to listen to music with other people. While consumers increasingly listen to music through individual headphones, the Rolly has two small speakers but no outlet for headphones.

Source : www.enn.ie

i-mate evangelist draws in Gitex crowd

You'd be hard pushed to find a more enthusiastic person participating in Gitex 2007 than Dale Coffing.

The self-styled 'Mobile Evangelist' or 'Mobile Enthusiast' is so cheery that his passionate preaching about the
new products at the i-mate stall never fails to gather a big crowd.

The former Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Performer) is also the president of the New Mexico Christian Foundation and has been enlightening the public about the joys of gadgets for over 13 years.

Why have you come to Gitex?
I was invited to talk about the new Ultimate device by i-mate. So I said yes, I'd come in a heartbeat.

---

---

How far have you come?
Pretty far, I actually live in Albuquerque, New Mexico in the United States, so that's about a 10-hour difference in the time zones and about an 18-hour plane ride in total to get over here. My body is just now getting used to the time difference. I'm just here for Gitex so I'll be leaving on Wednesday.

What do you think of Gitex compared to other technology fairs?
I'm just amazed that this show has evolved into something that's so significant, it's pretty powerful. This is now my third Gitex and it's been growing so much. It's fun to watch.

Why makes you so excited about the products?
I was trying to find out the latest that was being done at i-mate because these devices are brand new and they're not out on the market yet. They don't come out for another month roughly and because I'm a mobile nut I like to see these mobile devices. I was really excited to see the latest products and the evolution of devices they've made over the years.

What is the best thing you've seen at Gitex?
I really haven't gone round looking much at Gitex. I haven't had a chance to look at many things. I just like it overall. It's very similar to a thing the United States has, it's called the Consumer Electronics Show, it's very large.

What do you think of Dubai?
It's wonderful! I love coming here. My wife's with me on this trip and it's her birthday today so I'm going to take her on a birthday dinner at Madinat Jumeirah. I'm pretty exited to go there.

There are so many neat things to see in Dubai. We went on a dinner cruise down Dubai Creek, that was really nice. My wife has been over to the Mall of the Emirates so I'm probably broke now. She's been shopping there and loving it. It's a huge mall!

What other plans do you have in Dubai?
What we've been talking about is going skiing. I get back late, so we can go there at night. There's lots of fun stuff to do, we're having fun.

Source : www.gulfnews.com

McCanns' agony as new search begins

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

By Claire McNeilly

Kate and Gerry McCann today face further agony after Portuguese police announced a new set of searches for their missing daughter.

The move comes after reports emerged that a full DNA match to little Madeleine had been found in the hire car used by the McCanns, in addition to the partial match in traces of blood found in the boot of the vehicle.

Portuguese police are understood to be preparing to hand their file on the case to the public prosecutor later today for him to consider whether to bring charges against her parents.

The prosecutor is expected to consider the 40 questions which the McCanns allegedly refused to answer, as well as emails and tapped phone calls made between them and their friends.

Reacting to the news, Gerry McCann described the past week as a " unending nightmare".

"Kate and I are totally 100% confident in each other's innocence, and our family and friends have rallied round unflinchingly to support us," he told his website.

"We have absolute confidence that, when all of the facts are presented together, we will be able to demonstrate that we played absolutely no part in Madeleine's abduction. Our primary concern has always been the search for Madeleine and this aspect, that our daughter is still missing, must remain a priority for the investigation."

In light of the claims, Kate and Gerry (both 39) are also to be questioned by social workers about the welfare of their two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie, at a meeting later this week.

Tests returned from the Forensic Science Service (FSS) in Birmingham on a specimen taken from the McCanns' Renault Scenic showed it was a full match of Madeleine's DNA, sources told Sky News.

The results prove that the girl's body was in the boot of the car, which was not hired until 25 days after she went missing. But Chief Inspector Olegario Sousa, spokesman for the police investigation, denied the report to Portuguese journalists last night.

Alipio Ribeiro, head of the investigative Policia Judiciaria (PJ), also suggested that the forensic tests had not been conclusive.

He told Portuguese state broadcaster RTP: "We can't say with certainty whether it was the blood of person 'A' or person 'B'.

"They help guide us in our investigation but not with the mathematical precision some people are saying," he said.

Police will submit their detailed file to Algarve-based public prosecutor Jose Cunha de Magalhaes e Meneses today.

He will carry out a review of the findings before deciding whether the police evidence is strong enough to warrant charges against the couple.

This could mean months of agonising waiting for Mr and Mrs McCann, who returned home to Rothley, Leicestershire, on Sunday having been named as suspects in their daughter's disappearance.

The prosecutor has three main options - he could bring charges, rule that no action should be taken, or send the papers back to police requesting more evidence.

Senior officers decided to submit the file despite not having all the FSS results. But a source close to the investigation said all results of substance had already been handed to Leicestershire Police and the Portuguese authorities.

Although the Policia Judiciara called off the search for the four-year-old months ago, it revealed fresh plans for another hunt in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz, where Madeleine went missing 131 days ago.

These will take place at "specific locations" to the south of the Ocean Club resort, from which Madeleine disappeared, according to the Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manha. Mr Sousa refused to confirm or deny the report.

Source : www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk

Press disgust at Sharif expulsion

Pakistan's press is unanimous in condemning the deportation of former PM Nawaz Sharif, hours after he returned from a seven-year exile to challenge President Pervez Musharraf in elections.

Sharif was deported within hours of his arrival in Islamabad

Newspaper editorials accuse the government of defying a Supreme Court ruling allowing Mr Sharif to return home, branding the move "disgusting" and "shameful".

Several papers believe the incident smacks of desperation on the government's part, and suggest Gen Musharraf's grasp on power is slipping.

THE FRONTIER POST

The ugly spectacle that the government made of Mian Nawaz Sharif's arrival at the Islamabad airport was intolerably disgusting.

THE POST

The goings on at Islamabad airport can only be described as a shameful episode in our sorry history. It is a clear violation of the Supreme Court's verdict in the Nawaz Sharif return case.

THE NEWS

The forced exile of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is an act of pure and utter desperation by a government that seems to be now operating very much in panic mode. It leaves the government open to severe criticism for acting in a most ham-fisted manner. The treatment of the former prime minister as virtually a convicted felon is only going to add to the growing popularity of Mr Sharif.

DAWN

Monday's events seem to be part of the chain of events occurring in rapid succession, as if with an inexorable force, to rock Pakistan. At stake is not just the survival of a military regime that has been shaken to the core, but the very fate of the ongoing movement for freedom and democracy. Nawaz Sharif's return would have served to strengthen the political process, encouraged other personalities in exile to return and paved the way for hotly contested general elections. This opportunity has been lost.

THE NATION

The government might have heaved a sigh of relief by sending Mian Nawaz back into exile. But then Gen Musharraf and his self-seeking supporters should not forget that this practice of handling political matters through the coercive arm of police and administration will further push the country towards chaos. By overreacting to Mian Nawaz's homecoming, they have only strengthened the perception that the present regime's edifice is too fragile to bear the pressure of one individual.

NAWA-I-WAQT (PRO-MUSLIM LEAGUE)

By re-deporting Nawaz Sharif instead of facing him in the political arena, the government has opened a new Pandora's box which will have serious consequences for the future of the country's politics and democracy. However, the government decided to do this out of sheer desperation. Now [Nawaz Sharif's wife] Kalsoom Nawaz has announced her return to Pakistan. We shall see what strategy our commando president and his valiant comrades adopt to combat this brave lady.

JANG

It would be better for the government to allow Nawaz Sharif to come home, take part in the next election and play a role in the country's politics. Then, the people would be able to make a clear decision about Pakistan's future leadership. This would have improved the country's image.

AUSAF

The humiliating way in which Nawaz Sharif was deported again has negative repercussions for the country's politics. The two factions of Muslim league - PML-Q and PML-N - are like two disgruntled brothers. Their dispute should not be translated into personal enmity. Both sides should beware of the sensitivity of situation, to improve the country's political culture.

Source : news.bbc.co.uk

PM leads Anita Roddick tributes

Gordon Brown has led tributes to the "inspirational" Dame Anita Roddick, who has died from a brain haemorrhage.

The prime minister said the 64-year-old founder of the ethical cosmetics chain Body Shop was "one of the country's true pioneers".

Her husband, Gordon, and daughters Sam and Justine were with her when she died at 1830 BST on Monday at St Richard's Hospital in Chichester, West Sussex.

She had been taken to hospital on Sunday after complaining of a headache.

Dame Anita set up the first Body Shop in Brighton in 1976. She pioneered cruelty-free beauty products and turned them into a highly profitable business.

High street icon

Gordon Brown said of her: "She campaigned for green issues for many years before it became fashionable to do so and inspired millions to the cause by bringing sustainable products to a mass market.

"She will be remembered not only as a great campaigner but also as a great entrepreneur."

When you look at it today, and how every company claims to be green, she was living this decades ago John Sauven Executive director of Greenpeace Obituary: Dame Anita Roddick

Last year the Body Shop was sold to the French company L'Oreal but it is still run independently.

The daughter of Italian immigrants, Dame Anita became one of Britain's most successful businesswomen. She pioneered the ethical sourcing of products at Body Shop and the chain was one of the icons of the High Street in the 1980s.

In the 1990s its fortunes were hit as rivals started making similar products, but the retailer fought back and has more than 2,100 stores in 55 countries.

US animal rights' group Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) vice president Dan Mathews said she risked her business to be "the first corporation to announce boldly - in letters a foot high in her store windows - 'against animal tests'."

"Before Body Shop you could only find cruelty-free products in hippie shops - now they are everywhere," he said.

Adrian Bellamy, chairman of The Body Shop International, said: "Anita leaves us with an enduring legacy which will long guide the affairs of The Body Shop.

"Our heartfelt condolences are with the Roddick family at this sad time."

In February Dame Anita announced she had contracted Hepatitis C from a blood transfusion in 1971.

Charles Gore, chief executive of the Hepatitis C Trust, said that after her diagnosis she quickly became a patron of the charity.

"The great thing about Anita was that she took all her causes incredibly seriously but she never took herself seriously, which made her really fun to be with," he said.

'Own mortality'

She also revealed she was suffering from cirrhosis of the liver after contracting Hepatitis C from blood given during the birth of her youngest daughter.

She said she had unknowingly lived with "this silent killer" for three decades and only found out about it two years ago after a blood test.

HAVE YOUR SAY She was an inspiration to a generation of people. Her vision and wit in dealing with all issues was a unique gift Bipin Joshi, Godalming Send us your reaction

"What I can say is that having Hep C means that I live with a sharp sense of my own mortality, which in many ways makes life more vivid and immediate," Dame Anita said.

She told BBC News in July she had been having "some tiny heart attacks", which she put down to "getting in and out of aeroplanes so often".

'True champion'

Clive Stafford Smith, legal director of anti-death penalty organisation Reprieve, said she had just agreed to be its chairwoman.

"We were so happy to have her, she was so full of life, so fantastic," he said.

Emma Colyer from the HIV and Aids charity Body and Soul, which Dame Anita set up, said it was a terribly sad day for society at large.

"Anita carried out campaigns on so many issues and often issues that were not popular by the mass of public," she said.

Amnesty International UK director Kate Allen said Dame Anita's passion for human rights was "immeasurable".

She said: "We have lost a true champion of the oppressed and persecuted."

Source : news.bbc.co.uk

The Oprah Factor and Obama

By Julie Bosman

(Photo: Harpo, Inc., via Reuters)

Oprah Winfrey grandly demonstrated her support of Senator Barack Obama last weekend with a lavish celebrity fund-raiser at her California home that collected an estimated $3 million for his presidential campaign.

But will her backing also translate into votes? And more to the point, could Ms. Winfrey drum up support for Mr. Obama on her powerhouse talk show, which attracts millions of daily viewers?

Ms. Winfrey can indeed promote Mr. Obama’s candidacy as freely as she wishes. According to a Federal Election Commission regulation, commentary by the media does not count as a campaign contribution unless the broadcasting station is owned or controlled by the candidate.

And equal-time regulations would not limit Ms. Winfrey’s activities either, so she could have Mr. Obama as a regular guest on her show, but leave out the other candidates, said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, the director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. (In 2000, both Al Gore and George W. Bush appeared on the show.)

“There is no restraint on commercial broadcasters,” Ms. Jamieson said. “Rush Limbaugh can go on the air and say whatever he wants. I don’t think there’s any issue with Oprah.”

Mr. Obama, a fellow Chicagoan shown above with Ms. Winfrey and his wife, Michelle, is the first presidential candidate Ms. Winfrey has ever endorsed, and the fund-raiser at her home exhibited her clout, at least in Hollywood circles, by drawing Cindy Crawford, Sidney Poitier and Chris Rock.

Source : thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com

Legal options in Madeleine case

The McCanns could be interviewed by UK police

Police papers from the inquiry into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are due to be passed to the public prosecutor in Portugal. But what are his options?

With Kate and Gerry McCann back home in the UK, the Portuguese authorities are weighing up what action to take next in relation to them and Robert Murat - the other formal suspect in the investigation into the disappearance of the McCanns' four-year-old daughter Madeleine.

Detectives in Portimao have been preparing the case files to hand them over to Jose Magalhaes e Meneses, the prosecutor overseeing their work, for him to review progress and redirect the investigation if necessary.

"The public prosecutor wants to see the case files," said Chief Inspector Olegario de Sousa, the police spokesman for the investigation.

"Normally we keep him up to date verbally, but when he wants to look at them, we hand them over."

Police said they expected to hand over the files on Tuesday. Once they have done so, the prosecutor will draw together the evidence they contain and decide the next step.

He could conclude there is enough evidence to draw up a charge sheet against one or more of the arguidos, or formal suspects, in the case - Robert Murat and Kate and Gerry McCann - thus bringing the investigation to a close, or that one or more of them should have that status removed, for lack of evidence.

More likely is he will direct police to gather more evidence - for example by carrying out further searches or witness interviews - and to cross-check this with existing information.

'More bureaucracy'

If police want to interrogate Kate or Gerry McCann further, then they must formally notify them of that fact.

Mr and Mrs McCann would then have five working days from when they, or their Portuguese lawyer, receives the letter before having to appear.

If the McCanns refused to return for questioning, the Portuguese could formally request that UK police interrogate them instead, putting to them a list of questions sent from Portimao, perhaps with a Portuguese detective observing.

But all this would mean more bureaucracy, slowing down proceedings.

"As soon as suspects leave the country, another jurisdiction enters the picture," said Rogerio Alves, the head of Portugal's Order of Lawyers.

Robert Murat is the only other formal suspect

"All formal requests will have to be scrutinised by the court system there unless they come voluntarily."

In any case, now the McCanns are arguidos, they are no longer obliged to answer questions during interrogation.

So from the point of view of police, obtaining further evidence becomes still more crucial.

That evidence could come in the form of further results from DNA and other tests done on samples sent some six weeks ago to a forensic laboratory in Birmingham.

These were taken at the apartment from which Madeleine disappeared on 3 May and from a car used by the McCanns more than three weeks afterwards, as well as from other vehicles and sites deemed relevant to the investigation.

It was what police described as "partial results" from those tests which seem to have triggered last week's questioning of the McCanns, during which they became arguidos.

Police say they do not know when the full results will be in, while the Birmingham laboratory said that tests on the samples would continue.

Arrest warrants

Police could force Kate or Gerry McCann to return to Portugal by issuing arrest warrants, which under European Union accords should be executed by the British authorities within 40 days.

Such a move would, however, be worthwhile only if police had sufficient evidence of a serious enough crime to convince a Portuguese judge they should be held in some form of custody.

As to how long the McCanns could remain formal suspects without being charged, in principle it is for eight months.

That could be extended by four months, for example on grounds that the need to shuttle correspondence between Portugal and the UK results in delays.

Once the first eight months are up, one of two things could happen: an arguido may formally request that the investigation be accelerated. This move is, however, in itself not binding.

The investigation could take several more months... it could be up to one year Chief Inspector Olegario de Sousa

"The deadlines are recommended only," said Portuguese lawyer Nelson Lourenco. "If they're not kept to, there's no real comeback."

Alternatively, Portugal's attorney general could step in, on the grounds that one or another deadline for the investigation has been exceeded, and take charge of the case.

In fact, he can intervene earlier if he takes the view that police were treating an individual as a suspect before formally declaring them an arguido.

In any case, police have indicated the McCanns are unlikely to remain in their current situation for more than eight months without being charged or cleared, given that the prosecutor has asked for the case files so soon after they were declared arguidos.

Chief Insp de Sousa said: "The investigation could take several more months. It could be up to one year. But in this case that's unlikely, since the prosecutor is analysing the files now. It shouldn't take long."

Police, he added, will continue their efforts to discover what happened on 3 May, even as the prosecutor pores over the case files.

"In an investigation of this kind there are always things to do," he said.



Source : news.bbc.co.uk

Anita Roddick, 64; founder of Body Shop

Anita Roddick, the founder of the Body Shop chain of stores featuring natural-ingredient cosmetics, died Monday after suffering a brain hemorrhage, according to British news media. She was 64.

A social activist and author as well as an expert on natural-ingredient skin care, hair care and cosmetics, Roddick died after being admitted to St. Richard's Hospital in Chichester, West Sussex, according to British media reports.

Roddick opened the first of her innovative shops in Brighton, England, in 1976. She promoted low-priced cosmetics that she packaged in refillable containers and offered a discount for refill purchases.

She also made a point of avoiding ingredients that had been tested on animals. Instead, she featured products made with banana, strawberry, pineapple, seaweed, jojoba, elder flower and the like. One of the more unusual items she made was a carrot moisturizing cream.

Roddick's passion for the natural and unpretentious in cosmetics fit easily with her commitment to the environment. Over the years she became as well known for her efforts to protect whales and restore rain forests as for her henna hair-coloring products.

Her success as a businesswoman allowed her to aid orphans in Romania, sponsor food and shelter programs for the homeless in London and battle laws she opposed, including the death penalty.

"Our reason for being is to dedicate our business to the pursuit of social and environmental change," Roddick noted in her company's statement of principles.

In 2004, Roddick donated $1.8 million to Amnesty International, the human rights organization.

John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace, called Roddick an "incredible woman" and noted that she was living "green" decades before it was fashionable to do so.

"She was so ahead of her time when it came to issues of how business could be done in different ways, not just profit-motivated but taking into account environmental issues," Sauven said in a statement carried by the Associated Press.

Born Anita Perella on Oct. 23, 1942, in Littlehampton, West Sussex, England, Roddick was the daughter of Italian immigrants.

She graduated from Bath College of Education but often said her best teacher was world travel.

She married Thomas Gordon Roddick, a poet, in 1970. He soon joined her as co-chairperson of her business.

After expanding to include nearly 200 shops in England and Europe, most of them franchise stores, the Body Shop entered the U.S. market in 1988.

Her emphasis on small boutiques that stocked natural ingredients inspired a number of imitators, but she remained the most prominent name in the business for two decades.

Before Roddick and her husband stepped down as co-chairs in 2002, the business had grown to include more than 1,900 stores in 50 countries, according to a company history.

The Body Shop became part of L'Oreal, the French cosmetics industry giant, in July 2006.

Along with building her cosmetics business, Roddick wrote a number of books, including "The Body Shop: Skin, Hair and Body Care" (1994) and an autobiography titled "Business as Usual: The Triumph of Anita Roddick" (2000). She edited "Take it Personally: How to Make Conscious Choices to Change the World" (2001).

She was awarded the title of dame by Queen Elizabeth II in 2003 for services to retailing, the environment and charity.

Earlier this year, Roddick announced that she had contracted hepatitis C from a blood transfusion in 1971. She discovered her condition as the result of her latest blood test.

"It means that I live with a sharp sense of my own mortality," Roddick said of her condition, "which in many ways makes life more vivid and immediate."

Roddick's survivors include her husband and her daughters, Sam and Justine.

mary.rourke@latimes.com


Source : www.chicagotribune.com

Tycoon builds Bear Stearns stake

A Bahamas-based British billionaire has amassed close to a seven per cent stake in Bear Stearns in a bet that the investment bank will bounce back from its 34 per cent fall in its share price this year.

Joseph Lewis, a currency trader and investor, is now the investment bank's single largest shareholder after a stake-building operation which began two months ago.

The disclosure of his stake comes after weeks of speculation that a big investor would take a stake in Bear to help shore up the bank's finances and slow the rapid decline in its shares - which plunged after bad mortgage bets caused two of its proprietary hedge funds to collapse this summer.

However, most of that speculation focused on large financial institutions, including perhaps a Chinese bank, rather than an individual investor.

Analysts on Monday said that while the investment represents a vote of confidence in Bear - and investment banking shares in general - it does not provide the kind of balance sheet support that Bear might need if is forced to record major losses on mortgage backed securities it continues to hold on its books. Bear reports third quarter earnings on September 20.

The tabular content relating to this article is not available to view. Apologies in advance for the inconvenience caused.

Bear shares closed 2 per cent higher at $107.50 in New York trade on Monday, indicating that the investment by Mr Lewis did not dispel investor concerns about the bank's future. Bear shares are down 34 per cent this year. The bank suffered a major embarrassment over the summer as two of its mortgage-related hedge funds collapsed, costing investors over $1bn.

The collapse, driven by an increase in defaults among subprime mortgage borrowers, helped propel a wider crisis in the credit markets that has seen investors shun risky debt, especially securities backed by mortgage loans. Other investment banks have also seen their shares decline as leveraged buyout activity has stalled and securitisation revenues have declined.

Bear is viewed as especially vulnerable because it still derives close to half of its revenue from the fixed income markets and gets only about 20 per cent of revenue from outside the US. Some analysts suggest that if Bear shares continue to fall the banks could soon be a takeover for a larger, global institution.

Mr Lewis, who left the UK in 1979 to avoid higher tax rates and whose other investments include a controlling interest in Tottenham Hotspur, the English premier league soccer club, through his co-ownership of Enic, could not be immediately reached for comment on his investment in Bear Stearns. Bear had no comment on the stake.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, Mr Lewis disclosed that he began accumulating his stake in August through five investment vehicles he controls.

The filing said Mr Lewis now owns 8,096,942 Bear shares, or 6.97 per cent of the outstanding float. Mr Lewis made his most recent purchase of 1.2m shares on September 7, paying $104.93 per share, according to the filing. The filing also said Mr Lewis has options that could give him additional long exposure to 791,500 Bear shares and short exposure to 706,500 shares.

Mr Lewis is now the largest Bear shareholder, vaulting past Putnam Investments, which owned 7m shares as of June. Jimmy Cayne, Bear chief executive, is the fourth-largest holder, with 5.7m shares.

Source : news.moneycentral.msn.com

Search For Steve Fossett Continues Into Second Week

Wife Believes Search Will "Eventually Produce Results"

The search for famed adventurer and aviator Steve Fossett continues into its second week.

His wife, Peggy Fossett, issued a statement Monday praising the rescue personnel dedicated to finding her husband. Read by police to reporters at Nevada's Minden Air Base the statement said Peggy Fossett was "confident the daunting search for (her) husband would eventually produce results," according to Agence France-Presse.

"The search for Steve Fossett is intense, thorough and highly professional," she said. "Our hopes are high and I am confident of a successful resolution to this search."

She also thanked the "hundreds of friends and volunteers who are looking for and the millions around the world who are praying for Steve's safe return."

As ANN reported, Steve Fossett departed Nevada's Hilton Ranch airport in a blue and white Super Decathlon, Monday morning, and has not been seen since.

The Associated Press reports Fossett took off from the Flying M Ranch southeast of Reno, NV to scout out dry lakebeds for his next record-attempt -- this one on land.

He did not file a flight plan.

The Nevada Record-Courier reports searchers have stumbled upon a half-dozen accident sites around Nevada and California since the search began in earnest, including a location near Fort Churchill Road that emergency personnel initially thought may have been connected to Fossett.

"That we're finding so many crash sites is an indication of the search we're doing," Civil Air Patrol spokeswoman Major Cynthia Ryan said. "We're putting the area under a microscope, so to speak."

Officials told reporters the search was going to remain focused on a 50-mile radius from the airstrip where he took off, reported the AFP.

"The 50-mile radius from the Flying M Ranch is still the focus," said Lyon County Undersheriff Joe Sanford.

"We're going to stick with this until we find him. As long as there's hope, as long as there are assets, we will continue. We will not rest until we bring this to what we feel is a successful conclusion."

Source : www.aero-news.net

Petraeus's Credibility Wins Bush Extra Time for Iraq Strategy

By Ken Fireman and Janine Zacharia

Sept. 11 (Bloomberg) -- General David Petraeus's four-star credibility has bought President George W. Bush more time to pursue his military offensive in Iraq.

The testimony yesterday of the U.S. commander in Iraq, along with that of U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker, resonated with the two groups of lawmakers whose support Bush needs to keep his strategy going: wavering Republicans and a small band of supportive Democrats.

Republican Senator John Warner of Virginia, who last month called on Bush to begin withdrawing some troops by the end of the year, called Petraeus's testimony ``powerful, compelling and credible.'' Warner is a former chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Representative Jim Marshall of Georgia, one of 10 House Democrats to vote in July against setting a timeline for withdrawal, called Petraeus's testimony ``powerful and persuasive.'' And Senator Ben Nelson, a Nebraska Democrat, also said after the testimony that he remained opposed to a congressionally mandated pullout.

Anti-war critics are zeroing in on Petraeus's credibility, well aware of its potency as a political weapon. They sought to debunk it as they questioned his assessments that violence in Iraq was falling and Iraqi security forces were growing more competent.

`Washington Clock'

Representative Edward Markey of Massachusetts said the general's testimony was a ``Petraeus village'' that was ``just a façade to hide from view the continuing failure of the Bush administration's strategy.''

Markey said Petraeus, 54, ``may be delivering too much White House spin in hopes of adding more time to what he calls the `Washington clock.'''

Some war opponents recalled that Petraeus had made such statements before: in an article in the Washington Post that was published less than six weeks before the 2004 presidential election. They said Petraeus's assertion in the article that Iraqi forces were making ``tangible progress'' proved factually wrong and had improperly boosted Bush's re-election campaign.

``I never saw a military field commander get so involved so close to an election,'' said Lawrence Korb, an assistant defense secretary from 1981 to 1985 who is now an analyst at Washington's Center for American Progress, an opponent of the military buildup and an adviser to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

``Since he's so closely identified with this strategy, since he helped to conceive it, it's hard for him to be objective,'' said Korb of Petraeus. ``Even if he were a saint, it would be very hard for him to be objective about this.''

Judgment Questioned

Representative Eliot Engel, a New York Democrat, asked Petraeus why lawmakers should believe his current judgment given what he had said in 2004 and asked whether he would be ``saying the same thing three years from now?'' Petraeus replied that his 2004 assessment was accurate.

The hardest swipe at Petraeus was taken by the anti-Bush group MoveOn.org. In an advertisement in the New York Times, the group cited the 2004 article and went on to accuse Petraeus of ``cooking the books for the White House.'' It added, ``General Petraeus is likely to become General Betray Us.''

Republican lawmakers and the White House denounced the challenges to Petraeus's credibility.

``I resent the comments of those who have sat comfortably in their air-conditioned offices thousands of miles away from the firefights and the roadside bombs and tried their Washington best in recent days to impugn the general's good name,'' Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said in a floor speech yesterday.

Planned Pullout

In his testimony, Petraeus said the number of U.S. troops in Iraq could be cut by mid-2008 to about 130,000 from its current 168,000. That would take the troop level back to where it was before Bush ordered a military buildup in January. The general said it was premature to predict whether any deeper reductions could be made.

Petraeus said some drawdowns could begin this month, starting with a Marine expeditionary unit, and that an Army combat brigade could be pulled back in mid-December.

Both he and Crocker, 58, warned that a hasty withdrawal would be perilous. They said it would short-circuit efforts to create political stability, risk triggering full-blown civil war, erode security gains made during the buildup and open the door for Iran to gain even more influence in Iraq.

``The Iranian president has already announced that Iran will fill any vacuum in Iraq,'' Crocker told the congressional hearing. Terrorists could gain safe havens for attacks, he said.

Gains Cited

Petraeus said the military objectives of the buildup ``are in large measure being met.'' Civilian deaths have declined, he said, ``Iraqi security forces have also continued to grow and to shoulder more of the load'' and al-Qaeda terrorists are coming under pressure.

The willingness of Sunni tribes in Anbar province to fight al-Qaeda along with U.S. forces is spreading elsewhere, Petraeus said. Still, Petraeus noted that progress has been ``uneven'' throughout the country and the number of civilian deaths remains ``too high.''

Petraeus's assessment that violence in Iraq has fallen since the U.S. buildup was questioned last week by Congress's investigative arm, the Government Accountability Office. Its study found the average number of daily attacks against civilians had remained about the same during the past six months.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ken Fireman in Washington at kfireman1@bloomberg.net Janine Zacharia in Washington at jzacharia@bloomberg.net

Source : www.bloomberg.com

KKR Buyout Terms May Set the Standard

The truce private-equity giant Kolhberg Kravis Roberts & Co. has reached with its bankers on the financing of First Data Corp. could provide the model for other deals coming to market over the next few weeks.

KKR, known for vowing to hold the line against banks seeking better terms, agreed to make several concessions to bankers, according to people familiar with the matter. But the firm changed the terms largely at the margins. That assured that market attention will remain focused on the $26.4 billion First Data leveraged buyout as the first and most important in a string of coming deals valued at about $400 billion.

First Data "is the canary in the coal mine. If it gets done, then another $350 billion is doable," says the co-head of private equity at one major Wall Street firm. "But if not, then the whole market may plunge, and the rest of the capital markets will react badly."

Sunday night, KKR reached an agreement with its bankers to introduce one covenant, or performance standard, on First Data debt, said the people familiar with the matter. Under the covenant, First Data, a processor of electronic payments, must maintain a certain ratio of earnings before interest payments, depreciation, tax and amortization to its amount of senior debt, these people said. The covenant somewhat reduces risk for investors who buy the debt, though people familiar with the matter say the ratio is modest.

Still, KKR declined to agree to increase fees to the banks to enable them to cut their losses on financing the $24 billion in debt. And more importantly for investors, KKR declined to agree to an increased interest rate on the loans. The concessions were sufficiently toothless, said one banker, to describe them as offering the banks "sleeves on the vest."

The one change the bankers had fought the most fiercely for was for KKR to give ground on the interest rate charged. They argued that First Data is a strong company and by the time KKR sells it, a small increase in interest rates would hardly hurt its overall returns. Their efforts proved unsuccessful.

"First Data has been viewed by many as the deal that would pave the way for other LBO deals to be sold in the market. Unlike many LBOs, the underlying business is strong," said Dave Novosel, an analyst for Gimme Credit LLC, a New York credit-research boutique.

But the fact that KKR moved to appease the market in any way buoyed bankers and could make it harder for other private-equity firms to resist compromising.

It remains unclear, however, whether the modifications will be sufficient for the banks to sell the debt at prices they would like. Most potential buyers have been happy watching from the sidelines. "They think at some point, the banks will conclude that they can't sell at the price they hoped and will dump the debt at more attractive prices," says the head of the financial-sponsors group at one bank.

For weeks, KKR said it wouldn't change the financing contract it had struck with a group of seven banks financing the First Data deal. But behind the scenes, bankers made clear they would work more closely with rival private-equity firms in future deals if KKR refused to make any concessions that they could present to fearful investors.

For now, private-equity firms and bankers will be trying to push through deals already in the pipeline. The banks are expected in October to begin trying to sell off the debt that is part of two more elephantine deals. The first one up is the $24.7 billion buyout of wireless carrier Alltel Corp., which private-equity firm TPG is buying with the private-equity unit of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. TXU Corp., which KKR and TPG teamed up to buy in a $32 billion buyout, should hit the market shortly after that. Shareholders approved that deal last week, leaving regulatory approval as the final hurdle. Both are strong companies with robust and stable cash flows, making them similar to First Data.

The Alltel deal will offer some of its own drama since Goldman will be on both sides of the table -- with the private-equity arm buying Alltel while the capital-markets side finances the debt for the deal. That places top Goldman executives in a delicate position. They will have to decide which side has to make the greater concessions.

First Data's debut sometime this week will be closely watched as a benchmark for the level of pricing for future deals. In recent days, the loan market has become somewhat more stable. The S&P/LSTA Leveraged Loan Index moved into positive territory in August after an unprecedented loss of 3.35% in July. The August move returned the index to the black year to date, thanks to "a growing sense that July's market selloff had created enough value among precorrection loans to draw in nontraditional accounts," according to Standard & Poor's LCD News and Commentary.

The appetite of hedge funds for First Data and other financings will depend on how much they have to pay for the debt and how much money they can borrow from Wall Street. If First Data comes to market, for example, at 95 cents on the dollar, but the banks are willing to lend hedge funds $3 or $4 for every dollar of the hedge funds' own money, the funds can make solid double-digit returns.

Write to Henny Sender at henny.sender@wsj.com

Source : online.wsj.com

Saudi campaign for OPEC output rise gathers pace

VIENNA: OPEC ministers head into crunch talks about the cartel's output on Tuesday, with signs that the group might bend to the will of Saudi Arabia and increase production.

Oil prices in New York closed within striking distance of their record high of 78.77 dollars on Monday, with analysts warning that inaction by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries could send prices above 80 dollars.

A majority of ministers have rejected pressure from consuming nations for higher supplies, but the Saudi kingdom, the biggest producer in the 12-member cartel, may still prevail with a campaign for an increase of 500,000 barrels per day, analysts believe.

In an indication that some members are now willing to concede to an increase, Kuwaiti Acting Oil Minister Mohammad al-Olaim told reporters on Monday: "We have to take our responsibility as producers."

He added: "We have to take care of them (consumers), as they take care of us."

Kuwait had previously dismissed demands for a production increase, along with most of the other OPEC members, arguing that the market was adequately supplied.

High oil prices have become an added burden for the world economy in addition to financial market turbulence and a crisis in the US "subprime" housing market.

Saudi Arabia is believed to be worried that high oil prices could drag on economic growth, which would reduce demand for oil in the long term. Oil prices spiked higher on Monday in New York and London, with New York prices at 77.49 dollars and London above 75 dollars.

Algerian Energy Minister Chakib Khelil, arriving late on Monday, also opened the door to an output hike, acknowledging the danger of supply shortages heading into the peak demand period for oil in the northern hemisphere winter. "Right now, as of today, there is no problem between supply and demand," he said, before adding: "Maybe we'll have a problem in the next few months." Indonesia and Iraq are also in favour of taking action to lower prices, but there is stiff opposition from OPEC's leading hawks, Iran and Venezuela. Khelil said the group had still not found a consensus.

The International Energy Agency, the energy watchdog for the world's rich, oil-consuming countries, warned again on Monday about a shortage of supply in coming months.

"The current market is very tight," new IEA chief Nobua Tanaka said in Berlin.

Analysts at Barclays Capital warned last week of new record highs of more than 80 dollars a barrel unless OPEC ministers made a gesture to show they were ready to cool the market.

"OPEC recognises prices are too high as we're going into the winter months (in the northern hemisphere)," OPEC watcher John Hall of London-based oil consultancy John Hall Associates told AFP here.

"The Saudis will closely listen to what the US and Europe want," he added. After holding informal meetings throughout the day on Monday, the 12-member group will make a formal decision on Tuesday at the cartel's headquarters here.

Analyst Hall said that the final outcome would be determined by Saudi Arabia, the only OPEC member with the ability to increase production significantly.

"Saudi Arabia is the key to this," he said.

Vera de Ladoucette, analyst at influential consultancy Cambridge Energy Research Associates, added: "There is speculation about an increase of 500,000 barrels."

OPEC produces about a third of world crude supplies.

It has an output target of 25.8 million barrels, but the 10 members constrained by output limits are estimated to be producing almost a million more barrels a day than this.


Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com

AT&T shifts to wireless focus with new ads and color

To those who think the Apple iPhone is just a clever way for AT&T (T) to grab wireless market share — think again.

AT&T's new chairman and CEO, Randall Stephenson, says the iPhone is just one part of a multipronged global strategy to turn AT&T into a "mobility" play. That's Stephenson-speak for any type communication anywhere, anytime.

"Wireless is the core of the business now," Stephenson says. "It's the core of how we grow the business going forward."

To help drive that message home, AT&T today kicks off an advertising campaign that will underscore the company's new, mobility-centric view of life. The tagline: Your Seamless World.

AT&T is also introducing a new company color for its mobility services: orange.

The choice is a respectful nod to Cingular, whose corporate color was orange. That brand was retired after AT&T bought its Cingular partner, BellSouth. The combined wireless operation now goes by one name: AT&T.

The blue-and-white sphere — AT&T's corporate logo — will not change.

Like his predecessor, Edward Whitacre Jr., who oversaw the transformation of AT&T into a wireless power, Stephenson says he won't be shy about shaking up the status quo.

For years, he notes, big carriers have forced U.S. consumers to buy traditional phone service if they wanted the best deal on broadband and wireless services.

Those days are over, he says.

"We're freeing our broadband customers from having to buy an access line (regular phone service)," he says. Such an approach "is an old mind-set. We need to get over it."

He says a handful of AT&T wireless stores recently began test-marketing a bundle of just wireless and home broadband services.

The $60-a-month package offers customers a 1.5-megabit home DSL connection, 450 anytime wireless minutes, plus 5,000 night and weekend minutes, unlimited calls to AT&T customers and rollover of unused minutes to the next month. Five bucks more gets 200 text messages.

In a first for AT&T, however, customers do not have to buy regular phone service to get the package price.

Stephenson says the response from consumers has been overwhelming. Sales "have jumped."

As a result, Stephenson says, AT&T plans to start selling the package nationally. "We'll blow this out over our entire footprint."

Inherent in the offering, he says, is a message for consumers — and a message for AT&T's workforce. "We're not going to force customers into (a service) they don't want to use."

Stephenson says the iPhone, distributed exclusively by AT&T, has met the company's expectations. The only surprise, he says, is the impact on data usage by iPhone owners. It's double what AT&T had expected, and more than half of that usage is taking place at Wi-Fi hotspots, he says.

Stephenson says he supports Apple's decision to cut the iPhone's price by $200, noting that it should boost sales during the upcoming holiday season. He also thinks the $100 credit offered by Apple to those who paid the original retail price of $599 was "respectful of customers."

The impact of the device on AT&T is undeniable, he says. In India recently to talk with large-business customers about AT&T's product offerings, Stephenson says the first question was one that is becoming increasingly familiar to him: "Do you have an iPhone?" (He does.)

AT&T is beefing up its global profile and trying to cut better "roaming" deals with international wireless carriers to carry calls from iPhones and its other devices.

"We pretty much cover the globe now," Stephenson says. "We just want to cover it cheaper."

Source : www.usatoday.com

Pakistan's ex-premier back in exile

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — President Pervez Musharraf's government quickly deported a former prime minister who tried to return home from exile Monday, eliminating a potential challenge to Musharraf but risking heightened political protests and setting up a clash with a newly emboldened Supreme Court.

Two-time Premier Nawaz Sharif, exiled to Saudi Arabia in 2000, flew into Islamabad's airport from London early Monday, a few weeks after the Supreme Court said he had an inalienable right to return home.

But Sharif, who had hoped for a warm welcome from supporters, never got further than the airport lounge.

He was detained by security agents who boarded his plane, threatened him with arrest on corruption allegations and, hours later, put him on a plane to Saudi Arabia.

"They stormed in like bees," said Amjad Malik, a British lawyer for Sharif who accompanied him on the plane. "There was a big hoo-ha. Mr. Sharif may have been hurt, I'm not sure. I'm very worried about his well-being."

On the road to the airport, Sharif supporters carrying "Long live Nawaz" posters were met by hundreds of police officers holding sticks and riot shields and blocking the way. Many of them, including the leaders of his political party, were arrested in chaotic scenes.

Analysts predict ripple effect

While Sharif's deportation marginalized one of Musharraf's biggest foes, analysts said it likely will create other problems for the U.S. ally in the war on terror and deepen resentment of his military rule, which began when he seized power from Sharif in a bloodless coup in 1999 and later exiled him.

Critics said the government's reaction to Sharif's return showed just how much the opposition worries Musharraf. Opposition leaders vowed to continue fighting him, both in court and on the streets, and Western officials criticized his government for the way it handled Sharif.

"The decision to deport him runs contrary to the Supreme Court's decision," U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in Washington.

Musharraf, also the country's army chief, faces mounting challenges to winning another 5-year term in an upcoming presidential election.

His popularity has plummeted since an attempt to oust the country's chief justice in March, while Sharif's popularity had skyrocketed, largely because of his anti-Musharraf stance.

Sharif had hoped to rally opposition to the president, possibly mounting his own campaign for the presidency.

On Monday, several legal experts and analysts questioned whether Musharraf could hold onto power for much longer, despite his support from the U.S.

"He can't survive any more as a political entity," said Iftikhar Gilani, a senior lawyer with the Supreme Court and former law minister. "It's the end of him."

Sharif was exiled in 2000 after being sentenced to life in prison, primarily on charges of corruption. As part of the deal, Sharif allegedly agreed to make his home in Saudi Arabia for 10 years. On Monday, Sharif was given a choice to be arrested or deported, the country's official news agency said. He chose to go to Saudi Arabia, officials told Pakistani media, although that could not be independently confirmed.

Government defends action

"Sharif's deportation is in accordance with law and ethics," Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao told Dawn TV. Aryone World TV showed footage of an official from the government's anti-corruption agency, the National Accountability Bureau, reading out the recently resurrected corruption charges to Sharif in the airport lounge.

Musharraf's future will likely be decided by the Pakistani court whose ruling he disregarded Monday.

Since the Supreme Court decided in July to challenge the president and reinstate the country's popular chief justice, it has issued several other major court decisions that have gone against the government.

Until Monday, the government had respected every decision, releasing from prison an opposition leader and alleged Islamic militants who had never been charged with crimes.

Other pending cases could hurt Musharraf directly, including one that challenges his dual role as president and army chief.

On Monday, though, Musharraf showed that he was still very much in charge.

Cell phone coverage was blocked around the airport after the government jammed the networks. Thousands of police, commandos and other security forces set up blockades, using barbed wire, trucks and tractors.

Rows of police blocked some roads, holding batons and riot shields. Officers fired tear gas at pro-Sharif crowds in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad.

Ahsan Iqbal, the spokesman for Sharif's political party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, said Monday that 4,000 opposition members had been detained in the run-up to Sharif's return.

Iqbal was arrested a short time later, and the party's secretary general, Iqbal Zaffar Jhagra, was among those arrested on the road to the airport. After Jhagra got out of his vehicle, he joined Muhammad Rafiq Tarar, president of Pakistan from 1998 until 2001. Police and commandos surrounded them.

"This is the former president of the country," shouted Jhagra, his voice shaking. "Please let us go. …Why are we being stopped? I don't know why this is happening. Why are you stopping us, for God's sake?"


Source : www.chicagotribune.com

DNA in car 'matches Madeleine's'

A sample taken from the boot of the hire car used by Madeleine McCann's parents is a "99% match" for the missing girl's DNA, a report claims.

The dramatic claim comes as Portuguese police prepare to hand their file on the case to the public prosecutor for him to consider whether to bring charges against her parents.

Tests returned from the Forensic Science Service (FSS) in Birmingham on a specimen taken from the McCanns's Renault Scenic showed it was a full match of Madeleine's DNA, unnamed sources told Sky News.

The results prove that the girl's body was in the boot of the car, which was not hired until 25 days after she went missing, the sources said.

But Chief Inspector Olegario Sousa, spokesman for the police investigation, denied the report to Portuguese journalists.

Alipio Ribeiro, head of the investigative Policia Judiciaria, also suggested that the forensic tests had not been conclusive.

In Britain, Kate and Gerry McCann faced fresh distress on Monday after social services held talks with police about their other children, two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie.

Police had planned to submit their file to Algarve-based public prosecutor Jose Cunha de Magalhaes e Meneses on Monday, but it will now be delivered this morning, Mr Sousa said.

The prosecutor will decide whether the police evidence is strong enough to bring charges against the couple.

This could mean months of agonising waiting for Mr and Mrs McCann, who returned home to Rothley, Leicestershire, on Sunday having been named as suspects in their daughter's disappearance.

Source : ukpress.google.com

Mexican Rebels Claim Pipeline Attacks

VERACRUZ, Mexico (AP) — A shadowy leftist guerrilla group took credit for a string of explosions that ripped apart at least six Mexican oil and gas pipelines Monday, rattling financial markets and causing hundreds of millions of dollars in lost production.

The six explosions could be seen miles away, and set off fires that sent flames and black smoke shooting high above the Gulf coast state of Veracruz.

At least a dozen pipelines, most carrying natural gas, were affected, said Jesus Reyes Heroles, the head of Mexico's oil monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos, without providing specifics. The explosions occurred in valve stations where different pipelines intersect.

He said there would be hundreds of millions of dollars in lost production and about nine states and the capital, Mexico City, would be affected.

"It is a big blow," he said. "You can't store natural gas or transport it by truck."

The blasts caused brief jitters in international markets, with natural gas futures up as much as 20.2 cents on news of the explosions, although prices dropped in later trading. One oil pipeline was hit in Monday's attack but Pemex said the damage wouldn't affect crude exports.

Some local factories were forced to shut after natural gas supplies were cut. Residential supplies were not expected to be affected.

There were no immediate reports of injuries directly caused by the explosions and fires, although Fernando Leon Yepez, a civil defense official in Omealca, reported that two elderly women died of heart attacks shortly after the explosions.

It was the second time in three months that the so-called People's Revolutionary Army claimed responsibility for a pipeline attack as part of what it has labeled its "prolonged people's war" against "the anti-people government."

The group, known as the EPR, is a secretive, tiny rebel group that staged several armed attacks on government and police installations in southern Mexico in the 1990s. It was later weakened by internal divisions, leaving it unclear which splinter group may have carried out Monday's attacks.

The EPR claimed responsibility for a July attack on a major gas pipeline from Mexico City to Guadalajara in western Mexico that forced at least a dozen major companies, including Honda Motor Co., Kellogg Co. and The Hershey Co., to suspend or scale back operations.

That attack sent the Mexican government scrambling to increase security at "strategic installations" across Mexico. It was not clear what security measures were in place at the pipelines that exploded Monday.

The government did not immediately confirm the EPR's claim of responsibility. Interior Secretary Francisco Ramirez said the federal Attorney General's Office was trying to determine who was responsible.

"Pemex's fundamental installations are adequately protected by our armed forces, and we will do our utmost to find those responsible," Ramirez said.

At least 21,000 people were evacuated as a precaution. Some of them were later allowed to return home.

Flames could be seen up to six miles away, said Pedro Jimenez, a resident who was packing his family into a truck to leave. "You could see the fields of crops lit up."

At least one undetonated explosive device was later found beside a pipeline in a swampy area about 500 yards from a highway toll booth just north of the port of Veracruz, state civil defense coordinator Ismael Reyes said.

President Felipe Calderon condemned the attacks in a statement from India, where he was on a state visit.

"I want to say that my government severely condemns this and all other acts of violence and those who promote it in our country and anywhere in the world," he said. "There is no room for such criminal acts in a democratic Mexico."

Mexico is a major oil producer and exporter, with oil and related taxes accounting for over a third of the federal government's revenue. The U.S. imported 12.7 million cubic feet of natural gas from Mexico in 2006, only about 0.3 percent of total imports that year.

Source : ap.google.com