South Korea troops on high alert amid North Korea threats

The Associated Press , Seoul Thu, 05/28/2009 11:21 AM World South Korean and U.S. troops facing North Korea boosted their alert level Thursday to the highest category since 2006, after the communist regime threatened military strikes on allied troops in escalating tensions over its nuclear test.North Korea threatened Wednesday to attack any U.S. and South Korean ships that try to intercept its vessels and renounced a 1953 truce halting the Korean War fighting, raising the prospect of a naval clash off the Korean peninsula's west coast.The North was responding to Seoul's decision to join a U.S.-led anti-proliferation program aimed at stopping and inspecting ships suspected of transporting banned weapons, including nuclear technology. South Korea announced it was joining after the North's underground test blast of a nuclear bomb.On Thursday, the South Korea-U.S. combined forces command increased the surveillance to level 2 from the present level 3, Defense Ministry spokesman Won Tae-jae said. He said that was the highest level since 2006, when the North conducted its first-ever nuclear test.The U.S. has 28,500 troops in South Korea as a deterrent against North Korea.Won said the bolstered level means more aviation surveillance assets, intelligence analysts and other intelligence-collecting measures would be deployed to watch North Korea. He refused to disclose further details.The North has long warned it would consider the South's participation in the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative as a declaration of war against North Korea.The North would "deal a decisive and merciless retaliatory blow" to anyone trying to inspect its vessels, according to a North Korean military statement, carried by the official Korean Central News Agency on Wednesday.Key world powers, meanwhile, have proposed a range of expanded U.N. sanctions against North Korea in response to its nuclear as well as measures to give teeth to existing bans and ship searches against the reclusive country, a U.N. diplomat said Wednesday.The five permanent veto-wielding council members - the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France - and the two countries most closely affected by the nuclear test, Japan and South Korea, discussed possible U.N. sanctions and other measures for a new Security Council resolution on Tuesday.The diplomat, who is familiar with the talks but spoke on condition of anonymity because they were closed, said there was a clear commitment to go for sanctions in the new resolution and no reluctance from North Korea's allies, China and Russia. But what measures the 15-member council ultimately agrees to remains to be seen.U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton also said that North Korea faces consequences for its nuclear and missile tests and denouncing its "provocative and belligerent" threats. She also underscored the firmness of the U.S. treaty commitment to defend South Korea and Japan, which are in easy range of North Korean missiles.Pyongyang lashed out at both the U.S. and South Korea, calling Seoul's move to join the Proliferation Security Initiative tantamount to a declaration of war and a violation of the truce keeping the peace between the two Koreas."Full participation in the PSI by a side on the Korean Peninsula where the state of military confrontation is growing acute and there is constant danger of military conflict itself means igniting a war," North Korea's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said in a statement carried on state media.North Korea's army said it would be "illogical" to honor the 1953 armistice between the two Koreas, given the violations by the U.S. and South Korea, and said it could no longer promise the safety of U.S. and South Korean warships and civilian vessels in the waters near the maritime border.Clinton said North Korea has made a choice to violate U.N. Security Council resolutions, ignore international warnings and abrogate commitments made during six-nation nuclear disarmament talks."There are consequences to such actions," she said, referring to discussions in the United Nations about punishing North Korea for its nuclear and missile tests.She did not provide specifics, saying only that the intent of diplomats was to "try to rein in the North Koreans" and get them to fulfill commitments made in the nuclear talks.Clinton said she was pleased by a unified international condemnation of North Korea that included Russia and China, North Korea's closest major ally and the host of the currently stalled disarmament talks.Despite her tough words, Clinton held out hope that North Korea would return to nuclear disarmament talks and that "we can begin once again to see results from working with the North Koreans toward denuclearization that will benefit, we believe, the people of North Korea, the region and the world."At the White House, spokesman Robert Gibbs played down North Korea's angry rhetoric, saying the threats will only add to its isolation.He said North Korea has threatened to end the armistice many times in the past but the peace has held.The Russian Foreign Ministry said it voiced "serious concern" about the nuclear test to the North Korean ambassador and urged Pyongyang to respect the U.N. resolutions and return to the disarmament talks.The truce signed in 1953 and subsequent military agreements call for both sides to refrain from warfare, but don't cover waters off the west coast. North Korea has used the maritime border dispute to provoke two deadly naval skirmishes - in 1999 and 2002.North Korea now is believed to have enough plutonium for at least a half-dozen weapons, but experts say it still has not mastered the miniaturization technology required to mount a nuclear warhead on a long-range missile.After firing a long-range missile on July 4, 2006, and carrying out its first nuclear test three months later, North Korea agreed in February 2007 to start disabling Yongbyon in exchange for 1 million tons of fuel oil and other concessions. Disablement began in November 2007.The process halted last summer in a dispute with Washington over verifying past atomic activities, and Pyongyang said last month it was quitting the talks altogether.

Barcelona beats Man United 2-0 in Champions final

Winners' high: Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola is thrown in the air in celebration, at the end of the UEFA Champions League final soccer match between Manchester United and Barcelona in Rome, Wednesday (Thursday in Jakarta). Barcelona won 2-0.

Thu, 05/28/2009 8:08 AM Sports Lionel Messi produced something special to help Barcelona beat Manchester United 2-0 in the Champions League final and establish itself as the unofficial best team on the planet.A rare headed goal.Messi usually uses his head to send instructions to his feet on how to humble defenders, and the combination brought him a season-high nine Champions League goals and 38 in total for Barca.The ninth was a looping header over goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar in the 70th minute as Barcelona proved itself the best around by outplaying defending champion United and swinging the pendulum of power back from the English Premier League to La Liga."This is the most important victory of my life," Messi said. 'When the second goal came that calmed us down a lot."Samuel Eto'o put the Spanish champion ahead in the 10th minute at Stadio Olimpico and the triumph completed a sweep of titles for 38-year-old Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola in his first season, after wins in the Spanish league and cup. The former Barcelona star, who started as a ball boy at Camp Nou, joins five others who have won the title both as a player and a coach."When I won as a player I was young and it was magnificent," Guardiola said of his 1992 triumph at Wembley against Sampdoria. "But now winning the treble at the first attempt is marvelous."United was chasing its fourth European Cup title, and fourth trophy this season after winning the Premier League, FIFA Club World Cup and League Cup.But United was thoroughly outplayed by the Spanish side, which has 153 league and cup goals this season.Xavi Hernandez floated a diagonal ball onto the United area to find Messi unmarked, and the 5-foot-7 (1.69-meter) Argentina striker - renowned for his deft dribbling and shooting - used his head to redirect it past Van der Sar.The loss left Man United manager Alex Ferguson at 25 titles in 23 seasons. He failed to match Liverpool's Bob Paisley'sthree titles in the competition."We started the game brightly. We were confident and we could have been in front," Ferguson said. "We had the ball but didn't use it very well. ... We defended fantastically all season but they were two shoddy goals."We didn't play as well as we can, but they ae a good team. We have to give them credit. Xavi and (Andres) Iniesta can keep the ball all night. They made it very difficult."South Korean winger Park Ji-sung became the first Asian to play in a Champions League final. He almost scored for United in the opening minute but his shot was deflected wide after Cristiano Ronaldo's free kick was blocked by the goalkeeper. It was the nearest United came to scoring all night.The victory also marked the first Champions League title for Barcelona striker Thierry Henry, who was on the losing side when Arsenal lost to Barcelona in 2006."Finally, I've been waiting for so long to get this title and now finally today," said Henry, who had been doubtful for the final because of a knee injury. "The last five minutes were the longest of my life."United almost went ahead in the opening minute when a needless foul by Yaya Toure on Anderson handed Ronaldo a free kick. His powerful drive was blocked by the hands of goalkeeper Victor Valdes and Park's rebound was deflected for a corner by Gerard Pique.With Barcelona's dangerous forwards barely getting a touch of the ball in the early stages, there was little danger at the other end until the Spanish champions went ahead with their first attack of the game.Iniesta started the move with a break through midfield and found Eto'o on the right. The striker cut inside a weak tackle by Nemanja Vidic and poked a low angled shot around Van der Sar."I think the credit must go to the good play of the team," Eto'o said. "I think the victory is much more important than the goal."The goal changed the pattern of the play with Barcelona's stars settling into their confident style of interpassing. United, chasing the score, was unable to create any real danger. Ronaldo wanted to shoot at every opportunity, but fired wide and headed over.Ferguson reshaped his attack for the second half, sending on a second striker, Carlos Tevez, and later added Dimitar Berbatov. That left United undermanned in midfield and Barcelona continued to create openings.Barcelona could have added more but Van der Sar saved twice from Carles Puyol and Ronaldo was shown the yellow card for some petulant late challenges on the Barcelona captain.

UN climate talks to include WOC statement

Adianto P. Simamora and Andi Haswidi , The Jakarta Post , Manado Thu, 05/14/2009 9:50 AM World Ocean Conference
Ministerial level talks at the World Ocean Conference are expected to lead to the adoption of the Manado Ocean Declaration (MOD) on Thursday, to urge the United Nations to integrate ocean issues in the UN climate talks in Copenhagen in December.
Senior officials from 80 developed and developing countries have reached an agreement on the crucial role oceans play in climate change, after two days of intensive talks at the WOC.
“In principle, senior officials from all countries at the WOC meeting have agreed on the draft of the MOD,” Indonesian Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Freddy Numberi said Wednesday after opening the Global Ocean Policy Day (GOPD), a side event at the WOC.
“Amendments to the MOD are just a matter of ‘wording’” and comprises about 20 points, he said.Freddy said the officials’ meeting had also agreed on the need for adaptation funds and technology transfer to help developing countries deal with climate change impacts, as drafted in the MOD.
He added the meeting had also agreed on a road map proposed by Indonesia to promote ocean issues at climate change talks before the December talks.
The Copenhagen climate conference – which carries the tag “Seal the Deal” – will bring together world delegates to adopt a new commitment on emissions cuts to replace the existing Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.
The Kyoto Protocol requires developed nations to cut greenhouse gas emissions by about 5 percent to stabilize carbon in the atmosphere, with the main culprits being the energy and forestry sectors.
Indonesia, one of the largest ocean countries, said it was time to also treat the oceans as carbon sinks.
The declaration will be tabled at the 30th session of the United Nations Framework Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC) in Bonn, Germany, in June. More meetings will follow, again in Bonn in August, then in Bangkok in October, before winding up in Copenhagen.
The UNFCCC is an international treaty on environmental issues related primarily to climate change and rolling back global warming.
About 400 climate scientists at the GOPD acknowledged the crucial role oceans played in climate change.
They include Stephen R. Palumbi from Stanford University, Wang Yamin from Shandong University in Weihai, China, and Jo Ann Leong from the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology.
Prior to the opening of the WOC, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono arrived at the Grand Kawanua main venue for a final check.

Federer beats Nadal for Madrid title

The Associated Press , Madrid Sun, 05/17/2009 11:13 PM Sports Roger Federer has beaten top-ranked Rafael Nadal in a final for the first time in two years to claim the Madrid Open title 6-4, 6-4.Second-ranked Federer broke a sluggish Nadal once in both sets before firing his sixth ace of the match to claim his 15th Masters Series title on the second match point on Sunday.It was only Federer's second victory over his top rival on clay with the other coming at the Hamburg final two years ago. Federer also won here in 2006 when the event was played on indoor hard court.Federer's first title of the season ended Nadal's 33-match clay winning streak going into the French Open, where the Spaniard is going for a fifth straight title.Earlier, top-ranked Dinara Safina of Russia beat Danish teenager Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 6-4 to win the women's title.

Spain raises to 44 number of swine flu cases

The Associated Press , Madrid Mon, 05/04/2009 4:07 PM World Spain's Health Ministry has raised the number of confirmed cases of swine flu to 44.That number means Spain remains the hardest-hit nation in Europe amid the worldwide outbreak.A ministry statement says four new cases have been confirmed in the northeastern regions of Aragon and Catalonia.It says the four have been allowed leave hospital. In all, 38 of the 44 confirmed cases have returned home. Another 67 people are under observation.The statement says Health Minister Trinidad Jimenez is meeting Monday with the national committee set up to monitor the flu epidemic. He is also meeting with Development Minister Jose Blanco to discuss preventive measures to apply at Spain's airports.

Portugal reports 1st confirmed case of swine flu

The Associated Press , Lisbon Mon, 05/04/2009 7:06 PM National Portugal's health minister says a 30-year-old woman who recently returned from vacation in Mexico is the country's first confirmed case of swine flu.Health Minister Ana Jorge says the woman has recovered but is being kept in isolation at home.Jorge says health officials have located people who have been in contact with the woman since she returned from Mexico.Jorge announced the positive test results from a London laboratory at a news conference Monday.All Portuguese tourists returning from Mexico are being contacted by health officials on board their planes when they land at the country's airports.