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Sea Shepherd anti-whaling activist arrested in Japan
03/12 | 03:46 GMT
TOKYO (AFP) - A New Zealand anti-whaling activist was arrested in Japan Friday after a harpoon ship he boarded in Antarctic waters last month docked in Tokyo, greeted by police and nationalist protesters.
TOKYO (AFP) - A New Zealand anti-whaling activist was arrested in Japan Friday after a harpoon ship he boarded in Antarctic waters last month docked in Tokyo, greeted by police and nationalist protesters.
Peter Bethune, of the militant Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS), was engaged in months of high-seas clashes with the Japanese whaling fleet but has been in custody since mid-February when he boarded the Shonan Maru II.
About 20 angry nationalist protesters with Rising Sun flags, watched over by riot police, lined the pier and shouted through megaphones: "Step forward Pete Bethune! Apologise to the Japanese people! We will tear you apart!"
The harpoon ship docked alongside a vessel of the Japan Coast Guard, whose officers served him with an arrest warrant for trespass on a ship, a charge that can carry up to three years' jail.
It is the latest chapter in a long-running battle between environmentalists and Japanese whalers, who hunt the ocean giants in the name of scientific research, a loophole to a moratorium on whaling.
Japan maintains that whaling has been part of the island-nation's culture for centuries, and it does not hide the fact that whale meat from its expeditions ends up in shops and restaurants.
As TV helicopters buzzed overhead, the protesters -- watched by riot police and plain-clothed officers with video cameras -- also expressed their fury with Australia, which has threatened to take Japan to an international court unless it commits to ending its annual whale hunts.
Japan's Fisheries Minister Hirotaka Akamatsu told a press conference that the nation would maintain a "resolute stance" but said he did not see a diplomatic row brewing.
Bethune, 44, was the captain of the Sea Shepherds' high-tech powerboat that was sliced in two in a collision with the Shonan Maru II in January.
He climbed aboard the Japanese ship before dawn on February 15 from a jet ski with the stated intention of making a citizen's arrest of captain Hiroyuki Komiya for what he said was the attempted murder of his six crew.
Bethune also presented the Japanese whalers with a three-million-dollar bill for the futuristic carbon-and-kevlar trimaran Ady Gil, which sank in the icy waters a day after the collision on January 6.
Instead, the Japanese whalers took Bethune into custody and sailed for Japan. They reported he was in good health and being treated well, unrestrained but under watch in a private cabin with three meals a day.
The SSCS, which has called Bethune the first New Zealander taken as a "prisoner of war" to Japan since World War II, said on its website it was preparing legal representation for the skipper.
The group declared an end to this season's pursuit of Japanese harpoon ships in Antarctic waters on February 27, saying it had been the most successful campaign so far, saving many whales.
If Bethune faces trial in Japan, it would be the second court case there centred on whaling, besides the ongoing proceedings against two Japanese Greenpeace activists now in the dock in the northern city of Aomori.
The so-called "Tokyo Two" face up to 10 years in prison for theft and trespassing after they took a box of salted whale meat, which they said was proof of embezzlement in Japan's state-funded annual whaling expeditions.
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Regional news agendas on the following day’s big news stories. An international monthly news agenda is produced each week. Updated news agendas are produced several times each day.
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BA worker in court accused of suicide bomb plot
03/11 | 23:53 GMT
LONDON (AFP) - A British Airways computer expert appeared in court Thursday accused of planning suicide bombings and his own martyrdom.
LONDON (AFP) - A British Airways computer expert appeared in court Thursday accused of planning suicide bombings and his own martyrdom.
Prosecutors allege Bangladesh-born Rajib Karim offered to take advantage of a planned strike at the airline by joining the carrier's cabin crew.
The 30-year-old faced three charges under counter-terrorism legislation.
Two relate to planning suicide bombings and his own martyrdom, with one involving Britain and a second alleging he plotted with contacts in his homeland, Pakistan and Yemen.
He was accused at the London court of deliberately staying in Britain, obtaining a passport and finding work with British Airways as part of the plot.
Prosecutors accuse him of sharing information about his work and saying he would join the airline's cabin crew during a strike expected to take place soon.
The third charge alleges he collected money and transferred it to terrorist associates abroad.
Anti-terrorism police arrested Karim in the office where he worked as a computer software developer in Newcastle upon Tyne on February 25.
Forensic experts are going through hundreds of files from computers seized at his workplace and home.
He was remanded in custody and will appear again at court later this month.
UK News
BA worker in court accused of suicide bomb ...Sequencing of patients' genomes offers new hope: studies
03/11 | 18:06 GMT
WASHINGTON (AFP) - US researchers have decoded the entire genome of patients to identify the root cause of their diseases paving the way towards individual genomic treatments, according to newly published studies.
WASHINGTON (AFP) - US researchers have decoded the entire genome of patients to identify the root cause of their diseases paving the way towards individual genomic treatments, according to newly published studies.
James Lupski of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, sequenced his own genome to locate the gene responsible for the rare neurological disorder he suffers from, Charcot-Marie-Tooth syndrome.
Although not life threatening, the disorder affects nerve function in the body's limbs, hands and feet, leading to trouble walking and frequently to deformation of the feet.
"This is the first time we have tried to identify a disease gene this way," Lupski, vice chair of molecular and human genetics at Baylor College of Medicine.
"It demonstrates that the technology is robust enough that we can find disease genes by determining the whole genome sequence," he said.
He said the technology can now be used "to interpret the clinical information in the context of the sequence of the hand of cards you have been dealt. Isn't that the goal or dream of personalized genomic medicine?"
Lupski's research, published online Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, identified several inherited mutations in copies of the gene SH3TC2 in his genome sequence.
Although his parents did not have Charcot-Marie-Tooth syndrome, four of their children had the mutations and the disease.
"I have the disease and I have two mutant genes," said Lupski. "I know I have a genetically-recessive disease and I've known that for 40 years."
With his research team, Lupski first identified the copy of a gene linked to Charcot-Mariet-Tooth syndrome in 1991.
Since then, researchers have discovered mutations in at least 40 genes implicated in the syndrome but none responsible for the form of the syndrome affecting Lupski and his brothers and sisters.
The second study, published Thursday by the online journal Science Express and carried out by the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, sequenced the genome of a family four.
It confirmed the role played by four genes in two rare diseases affecting two children -- Miller syndrome, which is characterized by facial and limb malformations, and Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (PCD), which affects tiny hairlike structures that move mucus out of the airwaves.
The parents had no genetic abnormality but each carried a recessive gene that resulted in their son and daughter acquiring the two extremely rare diseases.
The research was launched in hopes of finding clinical genomic applications for the treatment of cancer or Alzheimer's and comes seven years after the first human genome sequence was completed in 2003 at a cost of 500 million dollars.
Since then at least 10 human genomes have been sequenced and all were of people in good health.
Technological advances make it possible to sequence the genome of a sick person at a more reasonable cost -- about 50,000 dollars -- and with results that are precise enough to have clinical uses.
"We hope we can use the information about you and your genome in your care," said Lupski.
"If you have hypertension, can we use your genome to figure out a better treatment for you? It will take a lot of time. We don't know what 90 percent of the genes in the genome do."
Health/Medicine
Sequencing of patients' genomes offers new hope: ...Juve in Europa League boxseat, Liverpool crash at Lille
03/11 | 22:21 GMT
PARIS (AFP) - Juventus assumed command of their Europa League last-16 tie against Fulham with a 3-1 first-leg win on Thursday, after beleaguered English giants Liverpool were beaten at Lille.
PARIS (AFP) - Juventus assumed command of their Europa League last-16 tie against Fulham with a 3-1 first-leg win on Thursday, after beleaguered English giants Liverpool were beaten at Lille.
Juve took an early lead in Turin when centre-back Nicola Legrottaglie headed home from a ninth-minute corner before right-back Jonathan Zebina extended their advantage with a thunderous 25-yard effort.
Dickson Etuhu's deflected shot reduced the arrears but former France international David Trezeguet restored the home side's two-goal cushion by volleying home in first-half injury time after his shot came back off the post.
Valencia were held to a 1-1 draw at home to last season's runners-up Werder Bremen, who took a 24th-minute lead via a Torsten Frings penalty.
The hosts had Argentine midfielder Ever Banega dismissed in the second half for violent conduct but they drew level almost immediately through Juan Mata, who slotted home after Spain team-mate David Silva's shot was blocked.
A last-minute Hatem Ben Arfa header earned Marseille an impressive 1-1 draw at free-scoring Portuguese league leaders Benfica, while Panathiniakos, who eliminated Serie A heavyweights Roma in the last round, were beaten 3-1 at home by Standard Liege.
Lille followed compatriots Lyon's example, after Claude Puel's side stunned Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday, by consigning Liverpool to a 1-0 defeat at the Stadium Lille-Metropole.
Liverpool, a disappointing sixth in the Premier League after losing 1-0 to Wigan on Monday, were short of fluency on an uneven playing surface and sank to defeat when Eden Hazard's 84th-minute free-kick drifted straight in from wide on the left-hand flank.
The Belgian youngster had been a constant torment with his purposeful running and his goal, albeit fortuitous, puts his side in the driving seat prior to the return match at Anfield on March 18.
"I have confidence we can beat anyone on a good day at Anfield," said Liverpool coach Rafael Benitez.
"I would be worried if the players hadn't worked as hard as they have. The fans will play a part, they will push and will be behind the team."
Benitez's Lille counterpart Rudi Garcia said his team still had work to do.
"Everyone thought we were out when the draw was made. Now, although nothing has been decided, it's a good result for us," he said.
"We have to score over there. The first leg should give us confidence and show us that we're capable of competing with such a big team."
Elsewhere, a delightful curling finish from Bosnian playmaker Zvjezdan Misimovic in the 67th minute earned Wolfsburg a 1-1 draw at Rubin Kazan in the battle of the reigning league champions from Germany and Russia.
Ruud van Nistelrooy scored his first home goal for new club Hamburg as they defeated Anderlecht 3-1, with Jonathan Legear's superb free-kick on the stroke of half-time earning the visitors an away goal.
Sporting Lisbon secured a 0-0 draw at Atletico Madrid despite the 31st-minute dismissal of defender Leandro Grimi for two bookable offences and a straight red card for Tonel in the final minute.
