Bush aide says warming man-made

The US chief scientist has told the BBC that climate change is now a fact.

Professor John Marburger, who advises President Bush, said it was more than 90% certain that greenhouse gas emissions from mankind are to blame.
The Earth may become "unliveable" without cuts in CO2 output, he said, but he labelled targets for curbing temperature rise as "arbitrary".
His comments come shortly before major meetings on climate change at the UN and the Washington White House.
There may still be some members of the White House team who are not completely convinced about climate change - but it is clear that the science advisor to the President and director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy is not one of them.
In the starkest warning from the White House so far about the dangers ahead, Professor Marburger told the BBC that climate change was unequivocal, with mankind more than 90% likely to blame.

Despite disagreement on the details of climate science, he said: "I think there is widespread agreement on certain basics, and one of the most important is that we are producing far more CO2 from fossil fuels than we ought to be.
"And it's going to lead to trouble unless we can begin to reduce the amount of fossil fuels we are burning and using in our economies."
Trouble ahead
This is an explicit endorsement of the latest major review of climate science from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Professor Marburger said humanity would be in trouble if we did not stop increasing carbon emissions.

The US sees technologies such as biofuels as the way ahead"The CO2 accumulates in the atmosphere and there's no end point, it just gets hotter and hotter, and so at some point it becomes unliveable," he said.
Professor Marburger said he wished he could stop US emissions right away, but that was obviously not possible.
US backing for the scientific consensus was confirmed by President Bush's top climate advisor, James Connaughton.
The chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality told BBC News that advancing technology was the best way to curb the warming trend.
"You only have two choices; you either have advanced technologies and get them into the marketplace, or you shut down your economies and put people out of work," he said.
"I don't know of any politician that favours shutting down economies."

'Arbitrary' targets

Mr Bush has invited leaders of major developed and developing nations to the White House later this month for discussions on a future global direction on climate change.
It will follow a UN General Assembly session on the same issue.
Last week the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum in Sydney backed the UN climate convention as the right body for developing future global policy.
The European Union wants such a policy to adopt its own target of stabilising temperature rise at or below 2C.
But Mr Marburger said the state of the science made it difficult to justify any particular target.
"It's not clear that we'll be in a position to predict the future accurately enough to make policy confidently for a long time," he said.
"I think 2C is rather arbitrary, and it's not clear to me that the answer shouldn't be 3C or more or less. It's a hunch, a guess."
The truth, he said, was that we just do not know what the 'safe' limit is.

Concern over DNA database access

Strict controls are needed to ensure genetic information collected for research is not used inappropriately by outside parties, experts have warned.

Many DNA databases have been collated for specific studies on genes and disease, a British Society of Human Genetics meeting in York heard.
But pressure from other researchers to access the data puts patient anonymity at risk, experts warned.
Safeguards to protect patient data are imperative, speakers said.
Professor Marcus Pembrey, an expert in paediatric genetics, said there was increasing pressure from organisations funding the research to let other people see the information.
The worry is there is a trend coming from pressure from the funders saying that all scientists should have unfettered access
Professor Marcus Pembrey
But the original research team needed to retain control in order to maintain the trust of those who agreed to take part in the study, he said.
There is a real risk that data, which is supposed to be anonymous, could be made available on the internet if researchers are allowed unrestricted access, he warned.

Anonymisation

Professor Pembrey, who was involved in two large UK genetic studies - the Children of the 90s study and the 1958 British Birth Cohort - said the information can be made available for other research teams through collaboration and careful anonymisation.
"The success of such research is based on the trust between the study participants and the team responsible."
He added that participants also entered in the knowledge they would not be told about their genetic results.
"That makes us even more convinced it's essential there isn't inadvertent disclosure of the results on the web.
"The worry is there is a trend coming from pressure from the funders saying that all scientists should have unfettered access."
Professor Pembery has been involved in advising projects such as the UK Biobank, a Department of Health and Medical Research Charity-funded project of 500,000 people aged 40-69, which has just begun recruiting.
He added that "genuine benefits" of such research should not be undermined by lack of public trust in what was happening to their samples.
Professor Rory Collins, chief executive officer and principal investigator of UK Biobank, said in the consent form they were explicit about how the samples would be used.
"It is entirely clear that this information will be available to bone fide researchers whether they're academic or commercial."
And no identifiable information about participants will be available to anyone outside of UK Biobank.
Professor Steve Bain, a member of the Human Genetics Commission, said much greater consideration had gone into databases put together for research purposes than for the national DNA database used for forensic purposes.
Also speaking at the British Society of Human Genetics meeting in York, he said ethics of the national DNA database was only just being discussed despite it being in place for many years.
"When you have research you have to go through the ethics committee and that's always been the case."

Concern over DNA database access

Strict controls are needed to ensure genetic information collected for research is not used inappropriately by outside parties, experts have warned.

Many DNA databases have been collated for specific studies on genes and disease, a British Society of Human Genetics meeting in York heard.
But pressure from other researchers to access the data puts patient anonymity at risk, experts warned.
Safeguards to protect patient data are imperative, speakers said.
Professor Marcus Pembrey, an expert in paediatric genetics, said there was increasing pressure from organisations funding the research to let other people see the information.
The worry is there is a trend coming from pressure from the funders saying that all scientists should have unfettered access
Professor Marcus Pembrey
But the original research team needed to retain control in order to maintain the trust of those who agreed to take part in the study, he said.
There is a real risk that data, which is supposed to be anonymous, could be made available on the internet if researchers are allowed unrestricted access, he warned.

Anonymisation

Professor Pembrey, who was involved in two large UK genetic studies - the Children of the 90s study and the 1958 British Birth Cohort - said the information can be made available for other research teams through collaboration and careful anonymisation.
"The success of such research is based on the trust between the study participants and the team responsible."
He added that participants also entered in the knowledge they would not be told about their genetic results.
"That makes us even more convinced it's essential there isn't inadvertent disclosure of the results on the web.
"The worry is there is a trend coming from pressure from the funders saying that all scientists should have unfettered access."
Professor Pembery has been involved in advising projects such as the UK Biobank, a Department of Health and Medical Research Charity-funded project of 500,000 people aged 40-69, which has just begun recruiting.
He added that "genuine benefits" of such research should not be undermined by lack of public trust in what was happening to their samples.
Professor Rory Collins, chief executive officer and principal investigator of UK Biobank, said in the consent form they were explicit about how the samples would be used.
"It is entirely clear that this information will be available to bone fide researchers whether they're academic or commercial."
And no identifiable information about participants will be available to anyone outside of UK Biobank.
Professor Steve Bain, a member of the Human Genetics Commission, said much greater consideration had gone into databases put together for research purposes than for the national DNA database used for forensic purposes.
Also speaking at the British Society of Human Genetics meeting in York, he said ethics of the national DNA database was only just being discussed despite it being in place for many years.
"When you have research you have to go through the ethics committee and that's always been the case."

Dark matter clues in oldest stars

A computer model of the early Universe indicates the first stars could have formed in spectacular, long filaments.

These structures, which may have been thousands of light-years across, would have been shaped by "dark matter".
Scientists know very little about this type of matter, even though it accounts for most of the mass in the cosmos.
The researchers told the British Association (BA) Festival of Science that their work could reveal the true nature of dark matter.
Liang Gao and Tom Theuns from Durham University, UK, also reported their findings in the journal Science.

Quick or slow

Astronomers believe that more than three-quarters of the matter in our Universe may be "dark". It does not reflect or emit detectable light, and so cannot be seen directly - but it does gravitationally pull on normal matter (the gas, stars, and planets we see in space).
It is this interaction that allows scientists to predict its existence - even if they cannot say what it is. Various types of exotic particle seem to be the favoured theory, with equally exotic names such as neutralinos, axions and gravitinos.
The new research, though, may give some clues as to dark matter's properties. Computer modelling suggests there is a link between the structures assumed by early stars and the temperature of the dark matter amongst them.
Tom Theuns, from Durham's Institute for Computational Cosmology, told the festival: "What we found for the first time is that the nature of the dark matter is crucial to the nature of the first stars.
"In cold dark matter the particles move very slowly; in warm dark matter they move very quickly," he explained.
"We found that if the dark matter consists of these fast moving particles, then the first stars form in very long, thin filaments.
"The filaments have a length about a quarter the size of the Milky Way and contain an amount of matter and gas about 10 million times the mass of the Sun, so that provides a lot of fuel for many stars."

Exotic collection

Some of the stars that formed within the filaments would have had a relatively low mass, which is of interest to astronomers as they have a long lifespan and could still survive today.

Simulation: With cold dark matter, structures become clumpyDr Theuns added: "In stark contrast, what happens in (the simulation with) cold dark matter is very, very different.
"Here, the first stars formed in little lumps of dark matter, and just one star per dark matter lump. And these stars are probably very massive as well: 100 solar masses.
"Because these stars are so massive, they die very quickly; so you wouldn't find such stars in the Milky Way today," he said.
Scientists believe that the temperature of the dark matter indicates what kind of particles it is made of.

Observational pointers

The research team hopes answers could come from astronomers who are now scouring the skies to find signs of very old stars.
If dark matter is warm, then some of these very first stars may be in the Milky Way today.
However, detecting the massive stars formed in cold dark matter would require very powerful telescopes capable of "peering into the very distant Universe," Dr Theuns added.
"We don't know what the dark matter is, we don't know what the first stars are. If we bring these two problems together, when we know more about one, then we can say something about the other."

Iran warns India against pipeline deal delay

TEHRAN, Sept 16: Iran on Sunday expressed impatience with India over the finalising of a multi-billion dollar gas pipeline deal, warning that it could go ahead with the project with Pakistan alone if India procrastinated.Caretaker Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari said New Delhi and Islamabad were still in discussions over the payment of transit fees by India to Pakistan for Iranian gas from the so-called “peace pipeline”.

He said Pakistani officials were certain to come to Iran next week for talks to finalise the project but the attendance of Indian representatives was still unconfirmed.“Our preference is to have a tripartite negotiation. (But) the trend is moving faster with the Pakistanis,” Nozari told reporters.

“The Pakistanis and Indians are having discussions on the transit fees. If we believe that a serious delay has occurred with the Indians, we will go ahead with the Pakistanis.” Nozari did not elaborate over whether this could involve Iran signing the finalisation for the deal with Pakistan alone.

The Iranian envoy to the pipeline project, Hojatollah Ghanimifar said according to state media: “We have invited the Indians for these negotiations but so far their presence is not definite.”Discussions on the 7.4-billion-dollar project started in 1994, but have been held up by technical and commercial issues.

There have also been strong objections to the pipeline from the United States -- a key friend of Pakistan and an ever closer ally of India -- which is at loggerheads with Iran over its contested nuclear programme.The 2,600-kilometre (1,600-mile) pipeline from Iran’s giant South Pars gas field will initially carry around 60 million standard cubic metres per day of gas.India, which imports more than 70 per cent of its energy needs, has been racing to secure new supplies of oil and gas from abroad besides ramping up production from domestic sources to sustain its scorching economic growth.

Pakistan will itself receive gas as well as transporting India’s share. India will pay Pakistan for the cost of shipping its share of the gas to the Indian border.Iran has the world’s second largest gas reserves after Russia but until now has remained a relatively minor player in the global export market.

France warning of war with Iran

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner says the world should prepare for war over Iran's nuclear programme.

We have to prepare for the worst, and the worst is war," Mr Kouchner said in an interview on French TV and radio.
He was speaking ahead of a visit to Russia on Monday, during which Iran is likely to feature prominently.
Iran's nuclear programme will also be one of the main issues for the UN nuclear watchdog's annual conference, starting in Vienna on Monday.
Iran denies it is trying to acquire nuclear weapons, and says it only wants nuclear power to generate electricity for civilian purposes.
But it has repeatedly rejected UN demands to give up the enrichment of uranium, which the US and other Western states fear is being diverted to a nuclear weapons project.
Tougher approach
Mr Kouchner said negotiations with Iran should continue "right to the end", but that an Iranian nuclear weapon would pose "a real danger for the whole world".
He said a number of large French companies had been asked not to tender for business in Iran.
The shift in Paris is part of a broader change of diplomatic gear under a young and dynamic president

"We are not banning French companies from submitting. We have advised them not to. These are private companies."
"But I think that it has been heard and we are not the only ones to have done this."
Mr Kouchner will seek agreement with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov over tighter UN sanctions to try to force Iran to give up enrichment, the French foreign ministry says.
Russia has a UN Security Council veto over any new sanctions, and its support is seen as vital for any new approach. It also has perhaps the greatest leverage over Tehran, as the supplier of fuel for its nuclear reactor.
But Mr Kouchner said even in the absence of UN action, the European Union should prepare its own sanctions against Iran.
"We have decided while negotiations are continuing, to prepare eventual sanctions outside the ambit of UN sanctions. Our good friends, the Germans, suggested that," he said.
'Playing for time'
Iran has warned that any new punishments could push it to stop co-operating with the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The IAEA's members meet this week in Austria, with Iran likely to top the agenda.
The director of the organisation, Mohamed ElBaradei, has been criticised in the West over a new deal with Iran to clear up questions about its past nuclear activities.

Iran says its nuclear programme is peaceful
The US and its allies believe the deal just gives Iran more time, during which they fear it will advance its nuclear programme.
Since becoming foreign minister earlier this year, Mr Kouchner has not shied away from controversy.
Last month he was quoted as saying the Iraqi government was "not functioning" and seemed to hint that Prime Minister Nouri Maliki should resign, provoking an angry reaction from Baghdad.
The BBC's diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says France has changed its approach to world affairs under its new President Nicolas Sarkozy, adopting a harder line on several issues, and seeking to improve relations with the United States.
But it is the tougher rhetoric aimed at Tehran which will please Washington the most, he says.
Until now the UN Security Council has imposed economic sanctions on Iran, but did not allow for military action.
The United States has not ruled out a military attack against Iran to prevent it from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

Microsoft loses anti-trust appeal

The European Court of First Instance has dismissed Microsoft's appeal in its long-running competition dispute with the European Commission.

The court upheld the ruling that Microsoft had abused its dominant market position.
A probe concluded in 2004 that Microsoft was guilty of freezing out rivals in server software and products such as media players.
It was ordered to change its business and fined 497m euros (£343m; $690m).
Microsoft has now been ordered to pay 80% of the Commission's legal costs, while the Commission has to carry a specific part of Microsoft's costs.
The court threw out just one small part of the European Commission's ruling, which had established an independent monitoring trustee to supervise Microsoft's behaviour.
The 2004 ruling ordered Microsoft to ensure its products could operate with other computer systems by sharing information with rival software companies.
It was also ordered to make a version of its Windows operating system available without software such as Media Player.
Last year, Microsoft was told to pay daily fines adding up to 280.5 million euros over a six-month period, after it failed to adhere to the 2004 decision.

ICC World Twenty20

ICC World Twenty20 Super Eights, Johannesburg: New Zealand 190 (20 overs) beat India 180-9 (20 overs) by 10 runs

Daniel Vettori produced a superb spell of spin bowling as New Zealand beat India by 10 runs at the World Twenty20.

Vettori took 4-20 as India squandered a flying start in reply to New Zealand's score of 190 all out in Johannesburg.
Gautam Gambhir (51) and Virender Sehwag (40) put on 76 in 5.5 overs but wickets fell regularly after Sehwag was caught and they came up short on 180-9.
Oram earlier made 35 in a crucial stand of 73 with Craig McMillan for the Kiwis after they slumped from 69-1 to 91-5.
The pair struck seven sixes between them but the innings ended in chaos with four wickets falling in the final over, including three run outs.

New Zealand went into the game, the first Super Eight of the tournament, with a side showing one change to that beaten by Sri Lanka less than 24 hours earlier as off-spinner Jeetan Patel replaced Chris Martin.
But he was confined to the dug-out at the start as Mahendra Dhoni won the toss for India and chose to field first.
RP Singh struck in the second over when Lou Vincent mis-timed an attempted pull and was well caught by Dinesh Karthik diving forward at mid-wicket.
But Brendan McCullum played beautifully off front and back foot, collecting nine fours in his 45 off 31 balls as he and Peter Fulton put on 58 for the second wicket.
The introduction of spin checked their progress as Fulton fell lbw for 21, playing across the line to a doosra from Harbhajan Singh, who then had McCullum taken at wide long-on.
New Zealand had lost their way when McMillan and Oram came together in the 13th over, but sheer brute force served them well as they lifted the scoring rate.
Yuvraj Singh conceded 25 from one over as three sixes disappeared into the crowd and Sree Santh suffered the same fate two overs later before Oram finally lofted a catch to long-off.

India were ahead of the game while Sehwag was at the crease
The final over began with Vettori (15) bowled by RP Singh and Shane Bond, McMillan and Patel were all run out in a final over which turned into a procession.
It was still a daunting target for India, but Sehwag set about the task with two fours and a pick-up over long-on for six in Mark Gillespie's opening over, and Gambhir showed little respect for Bond's pedigree by taking 18 off the next.
Patel fared even worse when he was brought on for the fifth over, conceding 20 as Sehwag hit three fours before driving over extra cover for six and it was a huge disappointment for India when the opener hit a Jacob Oram full toss to mid-wicket.
Vettori took a tame return catch and then struck a crucial blow when Gambhir, having struck a six over long-on to bring up his fifty, attempted a sweep later in the over but only succeeded in gloving a catch to the keeper.
Yuvraj only managed five before top-edging a sweep off Patel to deep mid-wicket and India could ill afford the run out of Dhoni for 24 after being sent back by Karthik.
When Pathan was bowled by a beauty from Vettori which hit the top of off stump, India only had the tail-enders left and although Fulton dropped Agarkar in the deep, it did not matter as New Zealand closed out the victory.
Man of the Match Daniel Vettori:"We did well to put a score on the board. It was quite tricky early on, but Craig McMillan and Jacob Oram got us to a defendable total.
"After their start I wasn't so sure but we pulled it back in the middle and our fielding and bowling was exceptional."
"It's a difficult game for a spinner, particularly with the small boundaries, so you have to be a little bit quicker and invent things at times, and I was lucky enough to get away with it today."
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni:"We could have restricted them to 15 or 20 runs less and our bowlers didn't do too well at the end. That was the crucial part of the game.
"After the start we got we should have got the runs but in the middle we lost too many wickets.
"In the first match [against Pakistan], the bowlers took the initiative and in this match the batsmen did pretty well, so in the next match I hope we'll do well as a team."

Beckham Housewives rumour denied

David Beckham will not join the cast of TV show Desperate Housewives, actress Eva Longoria has confirmed.

Rumours circulated last month that the footballer would play one half of a gay couple alongside British pop star Robbie Williams.
"I talked to Victoria [Beckham] the other day," said Longoria, who plays scheming Gabrielle Solis in the show.
"She was laughing," she told US TV show Extra. "David had a good laugh out of it. They're not coming on the show."
The fourth series of the suburban comedy hits US screens on 30 September.
Producers have confirmed a gay couple will move into Wisteria Lane - but they will be played by actors Tuc Watkins and Kevin Rahm.
New actress
Emmy Award-winning actress Dana Delany has also been added to the cast, three years after she turned down the lead role of Bree Van de Kamp.
"She gave a fantastic audition," the show's creator Marc Cherry said last month.
"I offered her the part three times, and she turned it down three times."
The role eventually went to actress Marcia Cross, who has received three Golden Globe nominations for her portrayal of the uptight home-maker.
Desperate Housewives is broadcast by Channel 4 in the UK.

Belgian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton has accused McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso of unfair driving during the Belgian Grand Prix.

Hamilton was upset the double world champion forced him off the track as they disputed third place at the start.
"He has gone and swiped me and pushed me as wide as he could," said Hamilton. "I was just really lucky there was a run-off area so I could take that."
Asked if he thought the move was hard but fair, the 22-year-old Briton said: "I wouldn't say fair, but it was hard."
Hamilton effectively accused Alonso of double standards, saying the Spaniard is "always complaining about people doing unfair manoeuvres".
The championship leader, who finished fourth at Spa, added: "We all had equal starts, perhaps a little bit better for me than for Fernando.
"I braked quite late and was on the outside quite close to the Ferraris. I started to accelerate and all of a sudden Fernando came sweeping across me, and he knew I was there.
"I don't know whether I was ahead but there was enough room for us all to get round fair and square."

It's been a tough week, for sure a lot tougher week for me than for Fernando
Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton was able to continue his battle with Alonso on the run down to the 180mph Eau Rouge corner, which the two entered side-by-side.
"At Eau Rouge it's impossible to take two Formula One cars through there without taking each other out, so I just lifted," said Hamilton.
"Eau Rouge is always going to be a tricky one. He had the momentum on me and was a bit quicker.
"It would probably have been stupid of me just to keep it flat, although I was very tempted. It worked in Formula Three in the wet but I don't think it would work in an F1 car."
Alonso said he had been blocked by Felipe Massa's Ferrari going into the first corner and that he went to the outside of the track to defend his position.

"I was blocked on the inside and I had no space," said the reigning world champion.
"The first corner is a bit more tricky as it is 180 degrees, so there are many possibilities for the racing line out of it.
"Lewis ran a little wide, so he took a little bit of an advantage, and we arrived wheel to wheel into turns three and four. I was lucky to be on the inside to keep the position there."
McLaren team boss Ron Dennis said he was "pretty relaxed" about the incident.
"They were just pushing hard on each other," he said. "I don't have a position on fairness.
"They were just pushing hard and they are fighting for the world championship. They didn't touch. They didn't fall off at the end of the day."
Hamilton also questioned Alonso's loyalty to the McLaren team after a testing week.
The Spaniard opted to travel to Spa instead of attending the 'spygate' hearing in Paris, where McLaren were handed a £50m fine and stripped of their constructors' points.
Hamilton, on the other hand, travelled to France to show his support for the team.
"It's been a tough week, for sure a lot tougher week for me than for Fernando because... I won't say any more," he said.
"I feel more attached to the team, I guess, and I care a bit more."

Sopranos wins top prize at Emmys

The Sopranos has marked the end of its final season with the top prize at the Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles.

The mob drama, which ended in the US in June, took three awards, among them the prestigious title of best drama series.
But star James Gandolfini was beaten to the best actor award by James Spader, star of courtroom show Boston Legal.
British comedian Ricky Gervais was named best actor in a comedy series for his role as a hapless actor in his BBC TV series, Extras.
America Ferrara, star of comedy Ugly Betty, won the award for best female actor in a comedy.
And the Sopranos missed out on a two other acting awards: supporting actor gongs went to Terry O'Quinn, who plays the mysterious John Locke in castaway drama Lost, and Katherine Heigl of hospital show Grey's Anatomy.
But the entire Sopranos cast took to the stage when the show was named the top drama, as a star-studded audience gave them a standing ovation.
"This amazing cast is really what it comes down to. It really is all about them," said creator and director David Chase.

Internet crime 'is big business'

Internet crime is becoming a major commercial activity, according to a report by the security firm, Symantec.

Its report into threats to internet security describes underworld auction sites where bank details and credit cards are on sale.
Commercial software used by criminals to launch attacks on websites is also being traded, the report says.
It also warns that criminals are using trusted sites like MySpace and Facebook to launch attacks on users' computers.

Fake banking sites

The BBC's technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones said: "Until recently young hackers who spread viruses or launched attacks on computer networks were bent on mischief rather than money making."
However, this latest report suggests such attacks are now part of a multi-billion dollar criminal industry.
It highlights online discussion boards where members buy and sell the kind of information that enables identity theft.
Our correspondent said in recent days sellers on one of these sites were offering everything from 100million email addresses to bank logins and credit card details.
Elsewhere, phishing kits are on sale enabling buyers to set up fake banking sites to lure unsuspecting customers.

Ten 'most polluted places' named

A list of the world's most polluted places has been published by a US-based independent environmental group.

The Blacksmith Institute's top 10 towns and cities included sites in ex-Soviet republics, Russia, China and India. Peru and Zambia were also listed.
The report said an estimated 12 million people were affected by the severe pollution, which was mainly caused by chemical, metal and mining industries.
Chronic illness and premature deaths were listed as possible side-effects.
The annual review, which debuted in 2006, is listed alphabetically, and the sites are unranked "given the wide range of location sizes, populations and pollution dynamics".

WORST POLLUTED
Sumgayit, Azerbaijan; Potentially 275,000 affected
Linfen, China; Potentially 3m affected
Tianying, China; Potentially 140,000 affected
Sukinda, India; Potentially 2.6m affected
Vapi, India; Potentially 71,000 affected
La Oroya, Peru; Potentially 35,000 affected
Dzerzhinsk, Russia; Potentially 300,000 affected
Norilsk, Russia; Potentially 134,000 affected
Chernobyl, Ukraine; Potentially 5.5m affected
Kabwe, Zambia; Potentially 255,000 affected
Data: Blacksmith Institute

Among the new sites listed in 2007 were Tianying in China, where potentially 140,000 people were at risk from lead poisoning from a massive lead production base there.
The report also said that in the Indian town of Sukinda there were 12 mines operating without environmental controls, leaching dangerous chemicals into water supplies.
Sumgayit in Azerbaijan was also included in the report, which said the former Soviet industrial base was polluting the area with industrial chemicals and heavy metals.
According to the report, cancer rates in Sumgayit were as much as 51% higher than the national average and that genetic mutations and birth defects were commonplace.
The Blacksmith Institute's director, Richard Fuller, said: "The fact of the matter is that children are sick and dying in these polluted places, and it's not rocket science to fix them.
"This year, there has been more focus on pollution in the media, but there has been little action in terms of new funding or programmes. We all need to step up to the plate and get moving," he said.

OJ Simpson faces break-in charges

Ex-American football star OJ Simpson has been arrested by Las Vegas police investigating an alleged armed robbery.

He is accused of taking part in a raid on a sports memorabilia dealer at a hotel room in the Palace Station Casino on Thursday.
He faces charges including robbery with a deadly weapon, which carries a maximum sentence of 35 years in prison.
Mr Simpson says he was trying to retrieve stolen items belonging to him, and denies any guns were involved.
At least one other man is in custody, and police said two guns were confiscated during a raid on a house in the Las Vegas area.
Mr Simpson gained international notoriety in 1995 when he was tried and acquitted of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.
'Facing time'
During a press conference, Clark County District Attorney David Roger said prosecutors were preparing several charges against Mr Simpson.
They included robbery using a deadly weapon - the most serious charge - as well as conspiracy to commit robbery, burglary with a deadly weapon, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and coercion, Mr Roger said.
The lawyer said Mr Simpson, who is being held at a detention centre, was "facing a lot of time".
The police, since my trouble, have not worked out for me
OJ Simpson
The 60-year-old Mr Simpson said he and other people were trying to get back mementos that were stolen from him.
But he said his past had prevented him from seeking help from the authorities in retrieving the items.
"The police, since my trouble, have not worked out for me," he told the Associated Press.
He claimed that whenever he had called the police in recent years, "it just becomes a story about OJ".
Although Mr Simpson was cleared of murder in a criminal court in 1995, he was later found liable for the deaths at a civil trial.
He was ordered to pay $33.5m (£17m) in damages - money that has never been collected.
In July this year the rights to Mr Simpson's book, If I Did It, were awarded to Mr Goldman's family to help recoup some of those damages.
The book, in which Mr Simpson describes how he would have killed his ex-wife and her friend, was published in the US last Thursday by Beaufort Books.
The publication followed months of legal wrangling after Rupert Murdoch's companies cancelled plans to publish the book following a public outcry in 2006.

Rugby World Cup

Hosts France got their stuttering World Cup campaign back on track by recording the largest win in their history.

They scored 13 tries against a Namibia side reduced to 14 men after 20 minutes when Jacques Nieuwenhuis was sent off for a high tackle on Sebastien Chabal.
Cedric Heymans, David Marty, Thierry Dussatoir, Lionel Nallet (2) and Vincent Clerc crossed before the break.
And Julien Bonnaire, Chabal (2), Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, Clerc (2) and Raphael Ibanez added further tries.
France are engaged in a three-way fight with Argentina and Ireland for the two quarter-final places in Pool D and they had no margin for error after their 17-12 defeat by the Pumas which opened the tournament.
Ireland's subsequent struggles to beat both Georgia and Namibia will have given a boost to the hosts' shattered confidence.
And with Ireland failing to secure a bonus point in either match the bonus point France earned by scoring four tries on Sunday could prove vital.
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Toulouse is the biggest city in the French rugby heartland in the south west of the country and Les Bleus played with real joie de vivre in front of their passionate fans.
Heymans had been horribly exposed at full-back as Argentina rained high kicks down on him in the first night disaster in Paris, but he was back on the wing on Sunday and grabbed the first try after seven minutes.
The Toulouse crowd greeted the score rapturously and although Namiabia fly-half Emile Wessels soon trimmed the gap as he popped over a sweetly-struck drop-goal, there remained plenty to keep the home faithful happy.
Marty scored the second try after a sublime piece of deception from former Toulouse fly-half Frederic Michalak, who is heading to South African side the Sharks, sparked a long-range attack.
Elissalde, who failed with his first conversion attempt, made no mistake with the extras and France led 12-3.
Any distant hopes Namibia had of upsetting the hosts soon suffered a hammer blow as number eight Nieuwenhuis, who had already been spoken to by the referee for a high tackle, was sent off after laying out Chabal.

Namibia fought hard but were outgunned as France came to life
Dussatoir was driven over after France kicked the penalty to the corner and they added three more tries before the break.
Clerc skated over in between a brace from giant Castres second row Nallet, and four Elissalde conversions meant the hosts led 40-3 at half-time with the bonus point already safely tucked away.
Soon after the re-start the France pack drove the seven-man Namibia pack back over their own line to hand a push-over try to Bonnaire before Chabal, who has become a French folk hero in recent months, exploded into life.
First he pouched Elissalde's cute kick from a penalty to open his account before bursting clear from the halfway line and brushing off three men to score the most popular try of the night.
The fiesta continued until just before the final whistle with Elissalde, Clerc, who grabbed a quick-fire brace, and Ibanez all crossing.
The final word went to Namibia as centre Bradley Langenhoven grabbed an interception try, which was converted by Tertius Losper, in the last minute.
But, with Elissalde including 11 conversions in his personal haul of 27 points, France recorded their record win and they will go into Friday's crunch match against Ireland in a far more positive frame of mind.

France coach Bernard Laporte:"We played very well. Unfortunately we had a few scars as a result of the Argentina game.
"Since that Friday, we thought the memory of that result might cause us problems. But we were committed and brave. We showed the spirit necessary to pick ourselves up.
"When bad things happen, we have to keep playing our best to revive our honour. We had to drive our World Cup forward in this match.
"If we hadn't done this, we could have found ourselves in trouble. We respect the Namibians. They didn't pose us too many problems though. The team as a whole played very well, especially in the last 20 minutes. We scored many tries. We played to our strengths."

Namibia coach Hakkies Husselman:"After 20 minutes, we were down to 14 men.
"No matter who the team, they would have finished up with a result like we did. The score could have been 120-0. It was very hard for us.
"However, the French still made quite a few errors, but they managed to score a lot of tries."

Nawaz calls on king, meets Fazl

JEDDAH, Sept 16: Since landing here on September 10 after his deportation from Islamabad, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has been striving over the past week to get over an apparent ban on his political activities. During these days, he has remained almost incommunicado, confined to his ‘Sharif Palace’ in the posh Al-Hamra district of this Red Sea City and attempts to contact him have been futile.

However, the PML-N leader who had been desperately trying to get in touch with the Saudi leadership, succeeded on Saturday evening when he was allowed to call on King Abdullah at the Royal Palace.

A brief statement on the meeting by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said that the king had met Mr Sharif in Jeddah. No details of the meeting were given, except that they exchanged ‘cordial talks’.

The Saudi Press Agency also circulated a photograph of the meeting and some Saudi newspapers carried it in their Sunday edition.Analysts here are of the opinion that during the meeting, the king must have stressed the need for Mian Nawaz Sharif to honour commitments and let the temperature cool down in Pakistan.Some of them also say that the anti-Saudi statements expressed by the Nawaz League and other opposition parties might also have come under discussion.

The monarch, they said, might have conveyed his displeasure at the statements being issued by opposition leaders.Meanwhile, attempts by Mian Sahib to get some of the restrictions relaxed appeared to have succeeded to some extent on Sunday and Maulana Fazal was allowed to call on him and he was invited for iftar at the Sharif PalaceTalking to Dawn after the meeting, Maulana Fazl said Mr Sharif was in good mood and good health.

During their talks, they agreed on the need to strengthen the All Pakistan Democratic Movement (APDM).

The Maulana was of the opinion that in the current circumstances, and if there was no change in status quo, Mr Sharif might have to spend the next three years in the kingdom.On Mr Sharif’s meeting with King Abdullah, Maulana Fazl said it was meeting between a host and a guest.

On APDM’s decision to resign from the assemblies, he said he would look into it after returning to Pakistan.It may be mentioned that the Maulana had been trying unsuccessfully to meet Mr Sharif since arriving here a few days ago.

On one occasion, he was reported to have been stopped by security personnel posted outside the Sharif Palace.According to some analysts, despite the meetings between King Abdullah and Mr Sharif, the overall condition under which the former prime minister has been living here may not change at least in the short term, until at least the elections – both presidential and general – are over.

South Africa beat England

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 16: South Africa beat England by 19 runs in the Twenty20 World Cup Group E match in Cape Town on Sunday.

Scores: South Africa 154/8; England 135-7.

Australia beat Bangladesh by nine wickets in the Group F match.

Scores: Australia: 124-1 (M. Hayden 73); Bangladesh 123-8;

New Zealand beat India by 10 runs in the Group E match.

Scores: New Zealand 190, India 180-9 (G. Gambhir 51).