EU envoys endorse sanctions against Iran

BRUSSELS — The European Union reached agreement Thursday on a package of sanctions against Iran which targets Tehran's energy sector over its refusal to halt sensitive nuclear work, an EU diplomat said.


A general view shows the Bushehr nuclear power plant

Ambassadors from the 27 EU member states met in Brussels to endorse the sanctions, which include measures against the oil and gas industry and must be approved at a meeting of foreign ministers on Monday to come into force.




"The text on the restrictive measures against Iran have been adopted," the diplomat said on condition of anonymity.

The UN Security Council imposed a fourth set of sanctions on Tehran in early June, but EU leaders and the United States decided shortly after to impose their own penalties against the Iranian energy sector.

The sanctions are part of a twin-track approach with EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton seeking to revive moribund talks between Iran and six world powers -- the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China.

Western powers have demanded that Iran suspend its uranium enrichment programme, fearing that Tehran would use the material to build a nuclear bomb. Tehran says that its atomic programme is a peaceful drive to produce energy.

EU leaders agreed at a June 17 summit to impose a ban on new investment, technical assistance and technology transfers to Iran's huge gas and oil industry, particularly for refining and liquefied natural gas.

Iran is the world's fourth largest producer of crude oil but it imports 40 percent of its fuel needs because it lacks enough refining capabilities to meet demand.

The US and EU sanctions, seen as much tougher than UN sanctions, were "expected to have a material impact on the country's energy industry," the International Energy Agency said.

The IEA noted that it was "significant" that China and Russia had agreed to back the UN sanctions but that those did not include specific measures aimed at Iran's energy sector.

The US and EU sanctions were harder, and "longer term, development of the country's oil and gas industry will clearly be adversely impacted", the IEA said. "Iran's growing gas and natural gas liquids projects are expected to be hardest hit."

The EU measures also target the Islamic republic's transportation, banking and insurance sectors, and slap new visa bans and asset freezes on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

"These sanctions are suprisingly strong," said Mark Fitzpatrick, director of the nonproliferation programme at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. "They go much further than the UN sanctions."

Fitzpatrick added: "For the first time Iran will face biting sanctions that will significantly impact its economy."

The sanctions "could nevertheless give reasons to Iran to go back to the negotiating table," he said.

"In the past, Iran has always moved once it was under pressure of the international community."

EU foreign ministers, during their meeting on Monday, will urge Iran to set a date for new talks, according to draft conclusions obtained by AFP.

The last high-level talks between Iran and the six world powers were held in Geneva in October 2009 when the two sides agreed a nuclear fuel swap that has since stalled.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said last week that talks could begin in September after Ashton reached out to Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili in a letter in June.

According to the draft conclusions, EU foreign ministers will call on "Iran to seize this opportunity to allay the concerns of the international community about its nuclear programme and agree on a concrete date for talks with the EU High Representative, together with the six countries."

Protests as Australian PM delays climate action

Sky News shows Australian premier Julia Gillard (centre) was heckled by protesters over her plans on global warming


Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard was heckled by protesters on Friday


SYDNEY — Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard Friday announced a new "citizens assembly" to guide action on global warming, in a major pre-election speech which was hit by protests and condemned by critics.

Security staff leapt on one demonstrator who invaded the auditorium and led him away in handcuffs, while chanting could be heard through much of Gillard's address at a Brisbane university campus.





Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has been heckled by protesters as she announced her new climate change policy

The prime minister made only a slight pause and smiled briefly during the disturbance, which constituted the first hiccup of her tightly managed campaign for August 21 elections.

The 150-strong assembly, to consult over 12 months, was the centrepiece of Gillard's long-awaited announcement on the environment, a key voting issue in the world's biggest per capita polluter.

"Through a dedicated discussion, a representative group of Australians drawn from all ages, parts of the country and walks of life will help move us forward," she said.

"And if I'm wrong and that group of Australians is not ready for the consequence of change, that will be a clear warning bell that our community has not been persuaded as deeply as required about the need for transformational change."

Gillard said the assembly, helped by a new commission to sift scientific advice, would examine the case for a carbon-trading scheme which twice failed in parliament and was then shelved by ex-leader Kevin Rudd, badly damaging his support.

Australia's first woman prime minister said she remained committed to a "market-based" solution to pollution as the country bids to cut emissions by five percent from 2000 levels by 2020.

Businesses would be given incentives to act immediately on pollution and Australia would make use of renewable energy, Gillard added, warning that she would only act "in step" with major economies.

But the initiative drew an outraged response from the Greens party, environmental groups and some academics. Greenpeace said Gillard was pandering to the powerful mining industry -- seen as influential in some marginal seats.

"I'm pretty disgusted with what the prime minister came out with today," said Greens Senator Christine Milne. "It was really a pretty weak position on climate change."

Professor Warwick McKibbin, director of the Research School of Economics at the Australian National University, called the approach "extremely disappointing".

"The science and expert input has made a strong case for action for more than a decade. A majority of Australians already want to take action on climate change," he said.

Opposition leader Tony Abbott said the announcement was just "camouflage" for plans to introduce a carbon tax, while a coalition of green groups said the proposal was an "insult" and "appalling".

"The citizens' assembly is basically an insult to the millions of people who did vote for climate change action in 2007," said the World Wildlife Fund's Gilly Llewellyn.

Climate change, along with immigration and the economy, is considered a key issue for next month's elections, where Gillard is seeking a public mandate after her shock ousting of Rudd in last month's party coup.

Rudd won 2007 elections on an environmental platform and signed the Kyoto Protocol, describing climate change as the "greatest challenge of our generation".

But the environmental push was derailed by the carbon scheme's failure and last year's unproductive UN climate summit in Copenhagen, where Rudd was a leading protagonist.

Gillard's speech came as United States lawmakers scrapped plans to introduce climate change legislation, potentially setting back global efforts to control the Earth's warming.

The prime minister, who is in a narrow race with Abbott, was also confronted by about a dozen demonstrators as she arrived for the speech. She later shrugged off the protests.

"We're at a university, and universities tend to be home to passionate young Australians who make their voices heard in a variety of ways," she said. "And we heard some voices today."

I will be next PM: Abbott

Tony Abbott

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has ramped up his campaign rhetoric today, confidently declaring that the Coalition will win the next election.

Speaking in Perth at the opening of the electorate office for Ken Wyatt, the Liberal candidate for the marginal seat of Hasluck, Mr Abbott said he believes he will defeat Prime Minister Julia Gillard.






Tony Abbott in Western Australia


Tony Abbott speaks with WA Premier Colin Barnett at a wharf in Freemantle

"Yes, I think that there will be a change of government and yes, I think that I will be the next prime minister of Australia," he said.

Before the campaign began, Mr Abbott tried to deny leaked comments from a party room meeting that a "famous victory" was in the Coalition's grasp.

But today he was not mincing his words.

"I can sense there will be a change of government come August 21," he said.

Leaders traditionally avoid declaring victory during a campaign for fear of appearing overconfident and Ms Gillard has repeatedly said the election will be close and hard fought.

Mr Abbott has been campaigning in Western Australia, continuing his attack on Labor's mining tax and unveiling a $93 million boost to border security funding.

"As a result of this additional money, we should get a further 52,000 cargo containers screened; we should get an additional $7.5 million air cargoes screened," he said.

"This is a further demonstration of the Coalition's border security credentials."

Despite his confidence during today's launch, Mr Abbott earlier cautioned Liberal voters about expecting a good result from the 'worm' on Sunday, saying it traditionally did not like Liberal leaders.

"Well, look, the worm certainly doesn't like Liberals. I mean, the worm has a long history of disliking Liberals," he said.

Prince Charles keeps smiling as it rains on his parade

A bigger splash: The Prince of Wales,(front row centre) is caught in a sudden torrential downpour as he poses for a regimental photo with 3 Regiment Army Air Corps in the Abbey Gardens in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

Their sleeves neatly rolled up and their matching berets in perfect position, they sat prepared for a formal photograph with the Prince of Wales.

And then the heavens opened.

Prince Charles could be forgiven for grimacing as he was caught in a downpour while posing for a formal photograph with helicopter pilots and ground crew yesterday.







The Prince shares a joke with service personnel from 3 Regiment Army Air Corps (AAC) as he presents campaign medals

His beret may be dampened, but not his enthusiasm: The Prince remained upbeat despite having being caught in the sudden storm

Despite the formal set-up the soldiers, who had recently returned from Afghanistan, couldn't resist sharing a smile with the Prince as they were all drenched with rain.
The regiment are known for their fortitude in extreme adversity, so perhaps a few drops of rain weren't the greatest test.

Charles had been seated for a photograph alongside members of 3 Regiment Army Air Corps at a ceremony in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

The Prince - who is Colonel in Chief of the Army Air Corps - later presented campaign medals as the regiment was given the honorary freedom of the town.

Ministry of Defence officials said airmen and technicians from the regiment, based in Wattisham, Suffolk, had returned home after operating Apache attack helicopters in Helmand.

The Prince wasn't the only one caught out by the stormy weather yesterday.

Lightning strikes were reported to have left at least 8,000 homes in Berkshire without electricity last night.

TV presenter has severe asthma attack live on air after swallowing a mosquito

On-air emergency: The mosquito can be seen flying into Huang Ching's mouth as she's live on air

A Taiwanese TV presenter had a severe asthma attack live on air after a mosquito flew into her mouth and bit her.

Huang Ching had to be hospitalised after she swallowed the insect, which then got stuck in her windpipe while she was reading the news.








Uh-oh: The mosquito gets lodged in the presenter's throat while she reads the news

Huang spent a day in hospital after the incident

The news anchor gamely continued with the broadcast despite the incident but executives from China Television Co decided to take her off air so she could get help.

They put on a four-minute advert and a replacement presenter was brought in to carry on with the broadcast.

Huang spent the following day in hospital after the incident.

'I never expected a mosquito to have such a great power. It really gave me a bad day,' she said.

U.S. 'witch hunt' as Senate summons Straw over Lockerbie bomber... will Blair be next?

Summoned: Jack Straw, left, has been 'invited' to testify at the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the release of the Lockerbie bomber. Last night former PM Tony Blair was forced to deny that he had also been requested to appear

A diplomatic row was brewing between the UK and the U.S. this morning after Tony Blair was forced to deny he had been summoned by the Senate to explain his role in the release of the Lockerbie bomber.







Pressure: The controversy over the Lockerbie bomber's release flared up during David Cameron's visit to Washington for talks with Barack Obama

Controversial: Abdelbaset al-Megrahi landing in Libya after he was released from jail last year

Yesterday Jack Straw, the former Justice Secretary, received an 'invitation' to testify at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing over the release of Abdel Basset al Megrahi.

Mr Straw is the most senior politician to be dragged into the row. The body's request has no legal clout - but thanks him in advance for his cooperation.

Last night former Prime Minister Tony Blair was forced to deny that he has also been called to testify.
Reports claimed that Mr Blair was also being summoned before the Senate Committee after what was described as an 'unauthorised draft letter' was leaked to the media.

But Mr Blair's spokesman said the former PM had received no requests to give evidence.

And Frank Lowenstein, Staff Director of of the Senate Foreign Relations Committe said: 'Let me state unequivocally that Prime Minister Blair will not be asked to testify before the Foreign Relations Committee at the upcoming hearing on the Megrahi affair, and the Committee has no intention of ever asking him to testify on this issue.'

'Tony Blair has not been invited to testify. Any such indication was made in error,' Senate Foreign Relations Committee spokesman Fred Jones told AFP.

It remains unclear how the report first originated.

Frederick Jones, communications director for the Senate foreign relations committee, said: 'I deeply regret any confusion this may have caused. We still have to get to the bottom of this.'
The Scottish government has already snubbed a similar plea to explain why it allowed the release of the Lockerbie bomber.

First Minister Alex Salmond and his justice secretary Kenny MacAskill both rejected formal requests to allow senators to question them at a hearing into the terrorist atrocity next week.

Westminster MPs were angered by the Senate Committee request, with one politician accusing Capitol Hill of a ‘witch-hunt’.

And Mr Straw described the request for him to testify as ‘highly unusual’.

Last night he said he would agree to nothing until he has discussed it with Gordon Brown and the Foreign Office.

The politician finds himself at the heart of the affair because of the role he played in securing a prisoner transfer agreement with Libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi in 2008.

There are suggestions that this paved the way for the terrorist’s release.

In a letter to Mr Straw, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said it wanted his ‘help in understanding the events that led to the release of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet Al Megrahi’.

Mr Straw is in a ‘unique position to help us understand several questions still lingering from this decision’, it added.
Mr Straw’s allies say Al Megrahi was not released under the pressure growing for Labour grandees to explain themselves, Mr Straw said last night that it was ‘highly unusual for the legislature of one country to inquire into the decisions made by a devolved administration of another’.

‘In principle I would have no difficulty in talking to anyone about the negotiations over the Prison Transfer Agreement.’

But he wanted to ‘know the circumstances' before agreeing with the request.

A source close to Mr Straw said: ‘If he goes, Jack will tell them that Al Megrahi was not released under the prisoner transfer agreement. It was a decision for the Scottish executive.’

MPs were incredulous that the U.S. had the temerity to demand such a senior figure to appear before them.

Former Labour defence minister Kevan Jones said: ‘This is now getting out of hand.

‘The Senate inquiry seems to be turning into a hysterical witch-hunt against BP.

'It is unthinkable for a House of Commons select committee to demand that a senior American politician be summoned across the Atlantic in this way.'

Key Ships Leave Oil Spill Site Ahead of Storm-Oil Spill News Investigation and Schwarzenegger on Mel Gibson: He's like the oil leak-DAY 94 Not Seen On TV BP Oil Disaster Government Investigatio

Clinton Denounces North Korean Belligerence, Myanmar Oppression

"A key element of our strategy is to strengthen regional and global institutions," Hillary Clinton said

July 23 (Bloomberg) -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton denounced North Korean aggression and urged Myanmar to make its first elections in two decades more democratic.





“Here in Asia, an isolated and belligerent North Korea has embarked on a campaign of provocative, dangerous behavior,” Clinton told the 27-member Asean Security Forum in Hanoi today. “Peaceful resolution of the issues on the Korean Peninsula will be possible only if North Korea fundamentally changes its behavior.”

The remarks, made in the presence of North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun, came two days after Clinton announced new U.S. sanctions against the regime for sinking a South Korean warship in March. North Korea yesterday attacked her actions and maintained that it didn’t torpedo the corvette Cheonan.

Clinton also used her speech to put pressure on Myanmar, an Asean member that she referred to by its former name of Burma.

“The United States also remains deeply concerned about the oppression taking place in Burma, including restrictive electoral laws that further stifle the lives of the Burmese and make the possibility of free and fair elections this year unlikely,” she said, according to a State Department transcript. “We urge Burma to put in place the necessary conditions for credible elections, including releasing all political prisoners, respecting basic human rights, and ceasing attacks against ethnic minorities.”

Saudi man chains his son in the basement for six years because he is 'possessed by an evil female genie'

A Saudi man has been chained in a basement apartment for more than six years because his father believes he is possessed by an evil female genie.

'When he has fits he has convulsions and his entire body twists and his eyes become completely white,' said the father of the 29-year-old man who has been identified only as Turki.

'Then the voice of a woman can be heard coming from him.'





When Turki first began behaving bizarrely, his father took him to local Muslim clerics to recite the Koran over him.

'But most of them became scared when they heard the female voice telling them that she was a royal jinn (genie) and that no-one can exorcise her unless Turki dies,' his father said.

One cleric advised him to shackle his son’s arms and legs in chains and read the Koran to him.
'We did this. My son became quiet but is totally unaware of what is happening around him. He does not talk and is now unable to harm anyone,' Turki’s father told Arab News, an English language Saudi daily.

But genies, or jinn, in Islamic theology can be much more sinister. Some are good, others bad.

A Saudi family last year took a 'genie' to court, accusing it of theft and harassment.

The jinn was said to have terrified the children by throwing stones, stealing mobile phones and speaking in male and female voices.

Turki lives in a tiny, two-room basement apartment with his impoverished mother and her three other children in the holy city of Mecca. They survive on £150 a month from social security.

His parents divorced before he was 'possessed'.

Turki’s father claimed he himself was afflicted by a jinn at the age of nine and suffered for more than four decades until it was exorcised by a cleric.

'I used to see a woman who would at times appear very beautiful and at times extremely ugly,' he said.

On some occasions she was 'surrounded by fire' and on others appeared 'with animal limbs'.

A Saudi human rights activist and professor in Sharia (Islamic law) who visited Turki found him to be in a 'semi-coma'.

Muhammad Al-Suhali said Turki 'did not know what was going on around him. He could not eat, drink or use the toilet without the help of others'.

The professor added that when started to read some Koranic verses, Turki became furious and shook until he nearly fell out of his bed.

'When I stopped reciting, he became quiet again but was distant and unaware of what was happening,' Suhali told Arab News.

He praised Turki’s young wife for staying with him despite his frightening condition.

Suhali called on Saudi Ministry of Social Affairs to provide the family with better accommodation and to include Turki in its social security programme.

Youngest man to die of breast cancer: 28-year-old fought disease for four years

After a four-year battle against the disease Nicky Avery, pictured here with wife Cheryl, succumbed to breast cancer on Monday

The youngest man in Britain to be diagnosed with breast cancer has died aged 28.

Nicky Avery passed away in hospital on Monday after battling the disease over the past four years.

Before his diagnosis Mr Avery had no idea men could contract breast cancer, but he went on to campaign to raise awareness of the disease.





After initially beating the cancer in his breast, it later returned in his liver and bones and may have ultimately spread to his brain.

The former labourer from Southend-on-Sea underwent chemotherapy earlier this year, but was admitted to hospital after deteriorating and died surrounded by his family.

In April he had achieved his dream of marrying the love of his life Cheryl Perkins, 28.
Mr Avery was diagnosed with cancer in 2006 after a girlfriend convinced him to go to the doctors over a lump in his chest that he had ignored.

A biopsy and scan revealed it to be cancerous. At the time he said: 'I was quite ignorant of the fact a man could get breast cancer.

'Doctors at the hospital said, "Mr Avery, you have got cancer". It was as quick as that. I thought at first they had misdiagnosed me.

'It seemed totally surreal and still does.'

Like many women sufferers, Mr Avery had a radical mastectomy followed by intensive chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

At the time he said: ' During my trips to hospital for treatment, I met women who were also being treated for breast cancer and they were really lovely.

'They were a real inspiration to me because they would go in for treatment and then go home and look after their families.'

Following his gruelling treatment he was told he had beaten the disease in May 2007.

But in March last year he was told it had spread. Despite vowing to beat the cancer again, it proved too severe.

Dr Anne Robinson, consultant oncologist at Southend Hospital and breast cancer specialist, treated Mr Avery throughout his illness.

She said she was amazed when she saw him with the disease at age 24. 'The way he dealt with his illness was inspirational,' she said.

'We don't get many men a year with breast cancer, especially someone his age.

'There are probably four or five men a year here with breast cancer compared with something like 400 women.

In a tribute to Mr Avery, his brother Joe wrote on the website Facebook: 'I'm missing u more than anything ... sweet dreams big bro n il b seein u sumday n were be side by side again love u nicky, ur my hero.'

His widow added: 'He's my hero, too, and will miss him every min of every day.'

Mr Avery's close friend Chris Osborne travelled back to the UK from South-East Asia when he heard he was in hospital, and arrived in time to see him the day before he died.

Mr Osborne later paid tribute online in his blog, writing: 'Nick was a hero to many, as he was always upbeat about battling cancer and still made it his priority to make people laugh and feel good about themselves.

'He was the least selfish person I knew and also the strongest by far.

'His big smile and deep laughter will be remembered by hundreds that were lucky to know him.'


The one in a thousand risk

Breast cancer is extremely rare in men.

A man's risk of developing breast cancer in his lifetime is just one in 1,000.

Every year 44,500 women are diagnosed with the disease compared with 300 men.

Of those women 12,000 die, while around 70 of the male sufferers succumb to it.

The symptoms, diagnoses and treatment are all similar to female breast cancer. The most common symptom is a firm, non-painful lump just below the nipple.

As with women, most cases are 60 to 70-year-olds, although it can affect men of any age.

Risk factors include a high oestrogen levels, exposure to radiation and a family history of breast cancer. Overall survival rate is the same as with women.

Tropical storm Bonnie forces BP to suspend relief well drilling

BP's efforts to finish relief oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico have been set back.

The approaching tropical storm Bonnie has forced BP to temporarily suspend drilling on its relief well in the Gulf of Mexico. Work to permanently plug the oil giant's leaking Macondo oil well, that has spewed more than 4m barrels of oil into the gulf, could be held up for up two weeks.





In a major setback for BP, ships working on the damaged Macondo oil well are leaving the site due to the storm, which formed over the Bahamas and could reach the spill area by the weekend. They have been ordered to evacuate the area by the US government.

The fleet of 65 ships involved in the disaster response is now leaving, including vessels being used in the monitoring of the well, although some ships may remain on site.

Thad Allen, the official appointed by Barack Obama to lead the federal response to the disaster, said: "Some of the boats may be able to remain on site but we will err on the side of safety.

"While these actions may delay the effort to kill the well for several days, the safety of individuals at the well site is our highest concern."

He warned: "If we have to evacuate the area ... we could be looking at 10 to 14 day gaps in our lines of operation."

BP confirmed this morning that "relief well activities at the well site will be temporarily suspended because of potentially adverse weather associated with tropical storm Bonnie, which is projected to track into the Gulf of Mexico.

"BP will continue to monitor the well as long as weather permits. Duration of the suspension of relief well activities will be dependent on the weather."

Undersea robots that monitor the sealed well will be the last to leave the site and first to return, because they are connected to ships able to handle waves as high as 15 feet, Allen added.

"We are staging our skimming vessels and other assets in a manner that will allow us to promptly restart oil mitigation efforts as soon as the storm passes and we can ensure the safety of our personnel," he said.

The threat of bad weather has already delayed efforts to plug the well at its source deep beneath the sea bed. Engineers were obliged to suspend work on the first of two relief wells that are being drilled down to the source, setting back the final procedure to plug it.

They had been expecting to spend this week reinforcing the last section of the relief well with concrete, which would have allowed an attempt to plug the well with heavy mud over this weekend. Now that will be delayed .

A federal investigation panel in New Orleans continues its exploration of the causes of the disaster which began on 20 April when the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded. A widow of one of the 11 workers who died, Natalie Roshto, told the hearing on Thursday that he had been anxious about conditions on the rig before it went up. She said that her husband Shane had called it the oil well "from hell" and told her: "Mother Nature just doesn't want us to drill here."

Meanwhile a Senate committee has called on BP boss Tony Hayward to testify before it on whether the company played any role in the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi from prison in Scotland last year. It has been suggested BP lobbied for his release in the hope of securing a lucrative oil deal with Libya.

Clinton Announces New Sanctions Against NKorea-US-South Korean war games a threat to peace, says North

US to hit NKorea with more sanctions in August

From left, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-Hwan, participate in a wreath laying ceremony at the Korean War Memorial, on Wednesday, July 21, 2010 in Seoul, South Korea. Secretary Gates and Secretary Clinton are participating in talks with their Korean counter parts and South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak.

WASHINGTON — Tightening the screws on North Korea, the Obama administration said Wednesday it would expand and strengthen sanctions against the isolated regime and its nuclear weapons program, a tactic which in the past has been undercut by North Korea's knack for finding loopholes and escape hatches.





The fresh round of sanctions was announced by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton during a visit to Seoul, but officials in Washington said the moves will not be ready to be put in place for another two weeks.

The State Department announced that Robert Einhorn, charged with overseeing the administration's implementation of sanctions against North Korea and Iran, will travel to Asia in early August — once sanction details are final — to rally support among U.S. friends and allies.

China, whose role in enforcing North Korea sanctions is considered vital, is a likely stop on Einhorn's tour. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley declined to discuss Einhorn's itinerary.

Clinton is expected to discuss the sanctions with Chinese officials during an Asia security conference in Vietnam this week. North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun is expected to attend those meetings, although he and Clinton are not expected to engage in any face-to-face talks.

In Seoul, Clinton said the U.S. moves will target arms deals and other clandestine trade used to finance the communist regime's nuclear activities, and imports of luxury items for the ruling elite in Pyongyang.

"They are directed at the destabilizing, illicit and provocative policies pursued by that government," she said. Clinton was referring to North Korea's nuclear weapons program as well as its alleged large-scale counterfeiting, smuggling, drug trafficking and weapons technology exports.

The U.S. penalties are intended to further isolate the hermit nation and persuade its leaders to return to talks aimed at getting it to abandon atomic weapons. The U.S. is also trying to forestall future provocative acts like the March torpedoing of the Cheonan, a South Korean naval vessel, which killed 46 South Korean sailors. North Korea denies it sank the ship.

Bruce Bennett, a North Korea expert at the RAND Corp., a federally-financed think tank, said the new U.S. actions are a reflection of North Korea's ability to skirt aspects of earlier sanctions, including two rounds of extensive penalties passed by the U.N. Security Council.

"It's saying, `We haven't been very effective in imposing the previously enacted sanctions,' and so this is an effort to try to strengthen the previous sanctions and make them work," Bennett said.

Crowley acknowledged that North Korea has found ways to evade earlier sanctions.

"North Korean entities are adapting to the existing actions that we have been taking," Crowley said. "We gain significant intelligence information all the time about what they're doing."

The spokesman said North Korea has created foreign front companies to help it get around U.N. sanctions.

"They look to see, you know, which countries have been effectively complying and enforcing, you know, U.N. Security Council resolutions. They look to see if there are seams and gaps in the international effort," he said.

The most recent round of U.N. sanctions was in June 2009. Those sought to deprive North Korea of financing and material for its weapons program and banned it arms exports, especially missiles. It did not ban normal trade, but called on international financial institutions to halt grants, aid or loans to the North except for humanitarian, development and efforts to dismantle its nuclear programs.

Richard C. Bush III, director of Northeast Asia policy studies at the Brookings Institution, said in an interview that he believes the new U.S. sanctions are more than merely a response to the sinking of the Cheonan in March.

He believes they also are meant as a message to the next set of North Korean leaders, who are believed to be angling for positions of power in anticipation of the passing of the nation's current leader, Kim Jong Il.

Nicholas Szechenyi, a northeast Asia policy analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said the key to effective U.S. sanctions is how they are implemented.

"If the U.S. is doing this in isolation, doing this piecemeal, then I don't think they'll have much effect," he said. "But if there's a unified effort to not only announce these sanctions as an act of solidarity with our South Korean allies but also to apply some pressure on North Korea, then I think over time it might work."

China activates disaster response to Typhoon Chanthu-Worst floods in a decade leave 701 dead in China

Submerged streets are seen at Qu County in Dazhou City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, July 18, 2010. A torrential flood swept the county on Sunday. The flood peak level was 4.66 meters higher than the safe line.


High billows strike the seashore in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province, July 22, 2010. The Typhoon Chanthu landed onto coastal areas in Wuchuan City of Guangdong Thursday afternoon.
BEIJING, July 22 (Xinhua) -- China Thursday launched an early-warning response to Typhoon Chanthu as it is believed the tropical cyclone could devastate parts of the nation's southern coastal areas.

The National Disaster Reduction Commission and the Ministry of Civil Affairs alerted civil affairs authorities in Guangdong, Hainan, Guizhou and Hunan provinces and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, about the risks posed by Chanthu.







 Tourists view dark rain clouds gathering in sky of the coastal area in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province, July 22, 2010. The Typhoon Chanthu landed onto coastal areas in Wuchuan City of Guangdong Thursday afternoon




Dark rain clouds gather in sky of the coastal areas in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province, July 22, 2010. The Typhoon Chanthu landed onto coastal areas in Wuchuan City of Guangdong Thursday afternoon.



Tourists view billows at the seashore in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province, July 22, 2010. The Typhoon Chanthu landed onto coastal areas in Wuchuan City of Guangdong Thursday afternoon.

Chanthu, the third typhoon of the season, made landfall at the coastal area of Wuchuan City, southern China's Guangdong Province, at around 1:45 p.m. Thursday.

The ministry required local governments, particularly in areas previously hit by floods and landslides, and relevant departments to closely monitor the development of Chanthu and take action to alleviate disasters.

The ministry also ordered residents in severely affected areas to relocate, particularly those in port areas, on fishing farms on the sea, low-lying grounds, and places with dilapidated housing.

The ministry required storm shelters be open to the public well in advance.

Torrential rains and floods, the worst in a decade, have claimed the lives of 701 people and left 347 missing in China since the beginning of the year, according to government figures Wednesday.

Floods had hit 27 provinces and municipalities, affecting 110 million people and 8.06 million people had been relocated, figures from the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters and the Ministry of Civil Affairs show.

They also affected more than 7 million hectares of farmland and destroyed 645,000 houses.

Direct economic losses had reached 142.2 billion yuan (20.88 billion U.S. dollars).

Since the beginning of April, when the flood season started, the levels of more than 230 rivers had passed the danger mark. Some areas along the Yangtze River even experienced the worst flooding in 30 years.

Liu Ning, vice minister of Water Resources and secretary general of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, said at a press conference Wednesday that the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River and a series of structures built after 1998, when worst flood in half a century hit south China, had been crucial in controlling the floods.

The flow on the river's upper reaches topped 70,000 cubic meters a second Tuesday -- 20,000 cubic meters more than the flow during the 1998 floods that killed 4,150 people and the highest level since the dam was completed last year.

"The sluice gates have kept the water levels of the dam at 154 meters, enabling the dam to block 4 billion cubic meters of water and preventing severe flooding in the lower reaches," Liu said.

The reservoir has a capacity of 22.15 billion cubic meters for flood control, as water levels could rise to as high as 175 meters, he said.

Flood waters had breached six small reservoirs this year, but timely evacuations prevented any casualties, he said.

Liu also warned authorities to maintain their high alert as the flood season was far from over, and the six to eight typhoons expected to land later this year would bring more rain and exacerbate the situation.

About 287,000 military personnel had been mobilized in anti-flood operations.


The State Council, China's Cabinet, urged local governments Wednesday to step up efforts to combat floods as the nation faces severe weather conditions in several regions.

The State Council made the appeal at its executive meeting presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao.

"The situation is grave," the State Council concluded at the meeting, noting that water levels on the Yangtze River, the nation's longest river, and on the Huaihe River and Taihu Lake are over their respective warning levels.

The arrival of the typhoon season has added to problems, according to the State Council.

Floods in China this summer have left hundreds dead and forced tens of thousands to relocate.

The State Council stressed at the meeting local governments should attach great importance to flood control and protect the public and their property.

Typhoon lashes south China with heavy rain, winds

BEIJING — Typhoon Chanthu sent debris flying through the air in southern China's Guangdong province on Thursday, bringing rain that could aggravate the country's worst floods in a decade.

No casualties have been reported so far from Chanthu, which was upgraded from a tropical storm one day earlier. Authorities urged residents to stay indoors as winds reached up to 70 miles per hour (115 kilometers per hour).





People fill up a hole on a dyke soaked by weeks of flooding in Xingzi county, in central China's Jiangxi province, Sunday, July 18, 2010. At least 146 people have died and 40 remain missing from the floods and landslides caused by heavy rainfalls in China in July, the state news agency Xinhua reported.


In this photo released by China's Xinhua news agency, flood water is released from the Three Gorges Dam's floodgates in Yichang, in central China's Hubei province, Tuesday, July 20, 2010. Rescuers were searching Tuesday for 30 people buried in landslides as flood waters from days of heavy rain surged past the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest



n this photo provided by China's Xinhua News Agency, a man struggles his way in the flooded field in Tieling County, north China's Liaoning Province, Wednesday, July 21, 2010. More than 1,000 people have died or disappeared in severe flooding in China so far this year, and the heaviest rains are still to come, a senior official warned Wednesday.

The storm comes as China grapples with severe flooding that has left more than 701 people dead and 347 missing so far this year, according to the flood prevention agency. The death toll is the highest since 1998, when more than 4,000 people died. Damages are in the tens of billions of dollars.

In Guangdong, floods have killed more than a dozen people and forced the evacuation of tens of thousands, the state-run Xinhua News Agency has said. Landslides triggered by heavy rains crushed homes and floods have wiped out crops across the province since June.

Chanthu reached Leizhou city in Guangdong early Thursday and was rumbling north along the coast of Guangdong's southern tip, China's Meteorological Administration said. The storm was expected to travel farther inland toward the Guangxi region later in the day, the administration said.

State broadcaster CCTV's noon broadcast showed intense winds tossing around large pieces of debris and objects such as pipes and shingles in Maoming prefecture. Two people were killed in southern China last week by falling debris from Typhoon Conson.

Calls to the Guangdong provincial government office rang unanswered on Thursday.

More torrential rains are expected across China this week, in provinces ranging from Yunnan in the southwest to Jilin in the northeast.

Parents' fury as teenage daughter dies just days after doctors sent her home and 'told her to take paracetamol'

Amy Carter, on the day she was released from Worcestershire Royal Hospital. She died three days later after suffering multiple organ failure and four heart attacks

A schoolgirl suffered multiple organ failure and four heart attacks just days after doctors sent her home with paracetamol and told her to take 'plenty of rest', an inquest heard.

Amy Carter, 15, begged doctors not to discharge her, telling them 'I'm dying' but medics assured her she would be fine.

She developed septicaemia after being released by doctors who had diagnosed her with glandular fever.

Two days later on Christmas Eve, Amy - who had not been able to eat for 19 days and weighed just six stone - was taken to hospital and died hours later.





Amy with her father Richard. After the inquest he said: 'We don't feel they did everything they could to give Amy the best chance of surviving'

Dr Andrew Short, clinical director at Worcestershire Royal Hospital (pictured), said Amy's condition was 'unique' and nothing would have saved her. He told the hearing: 'This tragic outcome could not have been foreseen'

She developed septicaemia after being released by doctors who had diagnosed her with glandular fever, an inquest heard.

A post-mortem examination revealed Amy, from Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire, died from glandular fever and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome - a lethal combination of conditions never before seen in a patient.

But despite the hospital's evidence that Amy was treated in the correct manner being accepted, her parents Richard, 43, and Jacqueline, 48, are still demanding answers.

Mrs Carter told the inquest: 'I can't express myself properly to emphasise how poorly she was. She wasn't well enough to go home.

'I had to reassure her she was going to be alright. She even asked if she was going to die because she was that frightened.

'If they [the doctors] had stood there and watched her properly they would have told she was poorly but no one spent any time with her.

'Is a child who has not eaten for weeks well enough to go home?'
Amy was discharged by the Worcestershire Royal Hospital before results of blood tests and a throat swab were known - the swab later revealed bacteria that entered her bloodstream and triggered septicaemia.

Despite the inquest hearing the infection was not associated with the condition, her parents believe the treatment of their daughter was 'inadequate'.

Speaking after an inquest, Mr Carter said: 'We weren't allowed to ask the questions we wanted to ask. We don't feel they did everything they could to give Amy the best chance of surviving.'

He added: 'The doctors said she was going to be really poorly but was going to be ok. I thought we were being a pain by phoning up the doctors.

'On the 24th I got up to go to work, gave her a kiss, said goodbye then never saw her alive again. My daughter died and I think her care was inadequate and more could have been done.'

Amy fell ill at the beginning of last December suffering flu-like symptoms.

Her parents, who both run pet shops, took her to an out-of-hours medical unit at Worcestershire Royal Hospital.

An on-call doctor diagnosed sinusitis and prescribed a one-week course of antibiotics and sent Amy home.

Days later her face swelled up so much that she couldn't open her left eye and Amy was taken to her local GP who gave her antihistamines.

But over the next few days her health deteriorated.

On December 19 she was taken to hospital after collapsing at home and doctors diagnosed glandular fever, which was backed up by blood tests.

Three days later on December 22 she was discharged from hospital and told to take paracetamol and take plenty of rest.

But on Christmas Eve she was rushed to Worcestershire Royal Hospital.

Doctors desperately tried to revive her using adrenaline injections after she suffered four cardiac arrests but she died at 3.14pm.

Dr Mary Hanlon, the consultant paediatrician responsible for patients on the ward when Amy - who also had pneumonia - was discharged, said the bacteria entered the bloodstream and caused septicaemia but it was not 'medical practice' to treat it when it was first detected.

She said: "We wouldn't have waited for the results of the swab before sending her home. We had a diagnosis of glandular fever.

'Every person who gets glandular fever from now on, should they get a throat swab and then treat it in case they get septicaemia? That is not current medical practice.'

Margaret Barnard, deputy coroner for Worcestershire, asked: 'Do you think this should change?' 'No, I don't,' Dr Hanlon replied. 'We do not give people with glandular fever anti-biotics to stop them getting septicaemia.

'It's just very unfortunate that Amy got this other infection on top of having glandular fever. Once the septicaemia gets into your bloodstream it is rampant.'

Dr Andrew Short, clinical director for paediatrics at Worcestershire Royal Hospital, carried out an investigation into Amy's death to see if any lessons could have been learned.

He admitted nurses failed to correctly mark up the overall scores on her early warning chart but retrospectively said the correct information would still have resulted in her being discharged.

Dr Short added the medical cause of Amy's death was streptococcus toxic shock syndrome - a condition which has never previously been linked to glandular fever - after results from a swab revealed streptococcus was present in her throat.

He added this is present in the throats of 30 per cent of the population and it is not medical practice to treat it when someone is diagnosed with glandular fever.

'Of all the cases of children with streptococcus toxic shock syndrome over the past two years not one was associated with glandular fever,' said Dr Short. 'This case was unique.

'This tragic outcome could not have been foreseen.'

Deputy coroner for Worcestershire Margaret Barnard recorded a verdict of natural causes and accepted the evidence from doctors who decided not to treat the bacteria with anti-biotics as it had potential side-effects.

She said: 'Miss Carter suffered an infection in her throat which spread to her windpipe and into her blood.

'There is no medical record or literature of anyone suffering glandular fever and streptococcal toxic shock and that made Miss Carter unique.'

After the inquest Amy's parents - who have another daughter Sam, 17, and son, Ben, 24 - said they were considering taking legal action against Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.

Mr Carter said: 'We don't feel they did everything they could to give Amy the best chance of surviving.'

The Trust's chief executive John Rostill, however, insisted the care Amy received was appropriate.

He said: 'Following Amy's death a full investigation was carried out by the Trust which found that at all stages of her hospital stay, Amy received appropriate care.'

How a brain scan could help you choose the perfect career

Brain scans showed a close correlation with traditional tests

Brain scans may be able to help people choose their careers, scientists claim.

Researchers used a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner to study the brains of 40 volunteers seeking career guidance.





They then compared the results to see if there was a correlation between person's brain and their aptitude for different tasks.

The discovered that the amount of grey matter - the parts of the brain used for dealing with information - showed how good the volunteer was at tasks like remembering facst and arithmetic.

And they found structure patterns that correlated with different kinds of ability, such as speed of reasoning, numerical skills, spatial awareness, and memory, as well as general intelligence.

The results matched test scores from a battery of traditional mental tests.

Study leader Dr Richard Haier, from the University of California at Irvine, said: 'A person's pattern of cognitive strengths and weaknesses is related to their brain structure, so there is a possibility that brain scans could provide unique information that would be helpful for vocational choice.

'Our current results form a basis to investigate this further.'

The 40 participants had all consulted the Johnson O'Connor Research Foundation, a non-profit organisation that provides psychometric assessments for vocational guidance.

The findings are published in the online journal BMC Research Notes.

French footballer Franck Ribery facing three years in jail for underage prostitute offence

Questioning: French football star Franck Ribery, right, arrives at a Paris police station for questioning today

To be Franck: Despite the scandal, Ribery was called up for the French national team for the World Cup

French midfielder Franck Ribery is facing up to three years in prison after being charged with soliciting an underage prostitute for sex.

Karim Benzema, a fellow French national team player, was waiting to hear if officers investigating the case would charge him as well.

The pair were earlier held for questioning by police as part of an investigation into an alleged prostitution ring.






Under age: Zahia Dehar, now 18, has told vice squad officers that Ribery flew her to Munich to celebrate his birthday

Break: Ribery on holiday last week in Spain, pictured with his wife, Wahiba, and one of his two daughters

Inquiry: Munich forward Ribery could face up to three years in prison and a £40,000 fine if found guilty of paying to have sex with a minor

They were taken in by a special prostitution brigade in Paris at the request of an investigating magistrate.

The inquiry became public this year after a young woman claimed that several football players on France's national team paid to have sex with her when she was 16.

Zahia Dehar said the players were not aware of her age when they had sex with her.
Prostitution is legal in France, but prostitutes must be over 18 years old, and clients are liable if they are not.

Munich forward Ribery, 27, could face up to three years in prison and a £40,000 fine if found guilty of paying to have sex with a minor.

'It is an intentional offence, he would have to know her age, which wasn't the case,' said Ribery's lawyer, Sophie Bottai.

'She would have to look minor, which wasn't the case, she would have to tell him she was minor, which wasn't the case, since all over the press she claimed that she was adult and that she was more then 20 years old.'

Dehar said she had been paid for sex since the age of 16 when she began partying in Paris.

She claimed she met Benzema at a nightclub and he bought her services, and alleged that Lyon and France forward Sidney Govou had, too.

She told Paris Match magazine that Ribery flew her to a hotel in Germany for the night as a birthday present to himself.

Dehar, who was 17 at the time, told the magazine: ‘He made reservations at a luxury hotel in Munich. We had sex and he paid me. I was a lovely little present, wasn't I?'

Despite the scandal, Ribery was called up to the national team for the World Cup in South Africa, where France did not advance past the first round following a string of poor performances.
Benzema was left off the squad, with then-coach Raymond Domenech saying it was because of his unimpressive season.

Dehar had written a letter to Domenech asking him not to take the case into account before announcing his squad for the World Cup.

Following the scandal, Ribery said: 'It hurt my family, above all those close to me. That’s all I want to say.’

However, Ribery's childhood sweetheart Wahiba, who he converted to Islam for in order to marry, has clearly decided to stand by her husband after the scandal.

The family put on a united front on holiday in Formentera, Spain recently.