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LSU Still Alive After Win Over Alabama

BATON ROUGE, La. - With a shake of one of his tree-trunk legs, JaMarcus Russell left an Alabama pass rusher flat on his face, turning a would-be sack into another chance to showcase his powerful right arm. The 6-foot-6, 257-pound Russell foiled the upset-minded Crimson Tide all night with his fancy footwork and three TD passes, helping No. 12 LSU keep its slim hopes for an SEC West title alive with a 28-14 victory Saturday night.

"He's incredible. He's the best quarterback I've faced and this team has faced all year," Alabama defensive end Wallace Gilberry said. "He makes perfect throws. He's big. ... On film he looks slow, but he's very deceiving. He gets those long strides and …

Veteran actor Richard Jenkins shares Oscar's glow

You've seen Richard Jenkins. He was the dead patriarch on HBO's "Six Feet Under" and the beleaguered gym director in 2008's "Burn After Reading." He's played lots of dads ("Step Brothers," "Rumor Has It," "North Country"), cops ("The Mod Squad," "Me, Myself and Irene") and scores of other supporting characters during his 25 years in film.

Now, with his first leading role, Jenkins is an Oscar nominee.

"It's unbelievable," said the 61-year-old actor, sitting in the lobby of his favorite hotel. "This happens to other people, not to me."

Jenkins caught the eye …

Lake Geneva pleasure parlay: Hike plus cruise

LAKE GENEVA, Wis. It is possible to hike the entire 21-mileperimeter of Lake Geneva, thanks to a Wisconsin law requiringlakeside property owners to maintain easement for public use. Aslong as you stay on the three-foot-wide path, you are not trespassingon private property.

It's the intrepid hiker who is willing to take on the fullcircumference of the lake. But this fall brings an excellent chanceto combine an eight-mile hike from the town of Lake Geneva toWilliams Bay with a luncheon cruise.

On weekdays from Sept. 1 to Oct. 31, Geneva Lake Cruise Line'sBelle of the Lake will put out from Williams Bay Municipal Pier at12:30 p.m. for a narrated 1 1/2-hour luncheon …

WCup champion Gimpl skips snowboard season

VIENNA (AP) — Four-time World Cup big air champion Stefan Gimpl of Austria won't compete in the new freestyle snowboarding season, which starts in London on Saturday.

The 30-year-old Gimpl told Austria Press Agency on …

France grants political asylum to Georgia's former defense minister

France has granted political asylum to a former Georgian defense minister who was convicted last month of extortion in his home country, his lawyers said Wednesday.

Supporters of Irakli Okruashvili, who was dismissed from the Cabinet in 2006, say Georgian authorities targeted him because he has been critical of President Mikhail Saakashvili since the dismissal.

Okruashvili's lawyers welcomed Tuesday's decision of the French agency for political refugees to grant him asylum in France.

"It's a very good decision, good news," lawyer Christine Martineau told The Associated Press.

The French Foreign Ministry would not comment on …

'Pitch game for him'; Cubs 5 Nats 4; With 11-year-old nephew

Carlos Zambrano pitched the Cubs to victory with his longest, sharpest start of the season Tuesday on a night his heart was back home in Venezuela.

After the Cubs beat the Washington Nationals 5-4, Zambrano -- who allowed one run and five hits and struck out eight in 7� innings -- hurried to the airport for a late flight to Caracas to join his family at a hospital where his nephew is fighting a deadly bacterial infection.

''It's bad,'' a red-eyed Zambrano said softly. ''He's only 11 years old. And being close to death. ... Sometimes you say people should live till they're old, but when God has something in mind and calls us to heaven, what can we do? It's pretty …

chocolate passion

FIVE REASONS TO GET ALL STEAMED UP ABOUT CHOCOLATE-FOLLOWED BY DECADENT RECIPES WITH NO GLUTEN AND ALL-NATURAL SWEETENERS

You know by now that chocolate is good for you. But all those stats and scientific findings - it reduces the risk of stroke and heart disease, protects against cancer, boosts brain power, improves skin tone, and lowers inflammation - speak to the head, not the heart. And we all know that chocolate is all about love, excitement, and passion.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MORE EMOTIONAL REASONS TO GET SO WORKED UP RBOUT CHOCOLATE? HERE ARE THE TOP FIVE:

1 Chocolate makes the brain release opioids, chemicals found in morphine and heroin, that promote a …

Farmer killed in land mine explosion in south Lebanon

A land mine explosion in southern Lebanon on Thursday killed a Lebanese farmer and wounded a Syrian laborer working with him, security officials said.

The mine, left over from the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war, went off as the 35-year-old Hisham Ghosein was plowing his field with a bulldozer in his home village of Qantara, the officials said.

The blast killed Ghosein instantly and also destroyed the bulldozer, the officials added. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

The village is about 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the Israeli border.

Dalya Farran, a spokeswoman for the …

[ BIZ BRIEFS ]

Feds OK Yellow-USF deal

The Justice Department has allowed the 30-day antitrust period toend without objections to Yellow Roadway's proposed $1.37 billionacquisition of USF Corp., the two transportation companies said.Yellow and USF said they will hold special meetings next month forshareholders to vote on the deal. Overland Park, Kan.-based Yellowsaid in February that it plans to buy Chicago-based USF for $1.37billion in stock and cash.

Cutler leaving SEC

Stephen Cutler, who spearheaded the Securities and ExchangeCommission's crackdown on the corporate fraud and trading scandalsthat rattled U.S. investors following the collapse of Enron Corp.,said he will …

Dan Ryan reconstruction could offer $100 mil in jobs for minority companies

Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) Secretary Tim Martin is committed to significant minority participation in the $430 million Dan Ryan reconstruction project.

The overall economic impact of this commitment could bring in excess of $100 million to minority-owned companies. Additional funds will be dedicated to job and employment training, professional services and other needs associated with the project.

The funding for the Dan Ryan project is based upon current federal funding guidelines that would require IDOT to open bids for contracts in June of 2004. Secretary Martin has voiced concerns that if the project doesn't move forward soon, the federal funds could be …

Tina Fey: Anyone can imitate Sarah Palin's voice

Anyone can do Sarah Palin's voice, says comedian Tina Fey, who has done a pretty good job of it herself. "Not since 'Sling Blade' has there been a voice that anybody can do," Fey said. "Anybody can take a swing at this voice."

Appearing on CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman" scheduled to air Friday, Fey shared her formula for having spoofed the Alaska governor in recent "Saturday Night Live" sketches.

"It's a little bit `Fargo,' it's a little bit Reese Witherspoon in `Election,'" said Fey, adding she also borrowed the Midwestern accent of her friend Paula's grandma, "a sweet, sweet old lady from Joliet, …

Fountain celebrates Chicagoans' ties to Casablanca

Within the glass walls of Garfield Park Conservatory on Saturday,there was little evidence of the heightened tensions between theMuslim and Arab worlds and the United States.

There were no enemies here. Talk during a dedication ceremony fora new fountain on display at the conservatory was all about thefriendships made over the last decade between citizens of Chicago andits sister city in Morocco -- Casablanca.

The fountain itself -- a gift from Abdelkamel Lahlou, head ofGroupe Scolaire Le Cedre, a school in Casablanca -- was perhaps thestrongest indication of the strength of those relationships.

The elaborate 11-foot-tall by 8-foot-wide fountain was …

No Consensus in Lebanon Cease-Fire Talks

ROME - Top U.S. and European officials agreed Wednesday on the need for urgent action to halt the fighting in Lebanon and on the creation of a multinational force to keep the peace. But the two sides had starkly divergent views of what that means.

Most Europeans want Israel to stop its offensive against Hezbollah now - which would leave Hezbollah battered but defiant. The United States wants to give Israel more time to pound the militia into submission as part of the wider war on terror.

The foreign ministers and other senior officials from 15 nations, as well as U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and representatives from the European Union and the World Bank, agreed in Rome on a declaration that expressed "deep concern" for the high number of civilian casualties in Lebanon, where government officials say hundreds of people have been killed. Israel, Iran and Syria did not attend the meeting.

Deep differences in an approach to the crisis were abundantly clear.

In the presence of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema alluded to the discord in post-conference comments. He said many participants appealed for an immediate and unconditional truce "to reach, with utmost urgency, a cease-fire that puts an end to the current violence and hostilities."

Rice, for her part, deflected pressure to lean on Israel to end its 2-week-old offensive, insisting that any cease-fire must be "sustainable" and there could be "no return to the status quo ante."

Later, Rice briefed reporters, saying she told the conference: "The fields of the Middle East are littered with broken cease-fires. ... And every time there is a broken cease-fire, people die, there is destruction and there is misery."

She added that Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora issued an impassioned appeal for peace, asking if the Lebanese people were "children of a lesser God."

At the conference, Saniora had difficultly containing his disappointment, saying the conference made "some progress" but pleading with world leaders to keep working toward a cease-fire.

Saniora said the violence has brought his country, still rebuilding from its 1975-1990 civil war, "to its knees."

The Lebanese leader recognized that Israel's offensive had been sparked by Hezbollah's incursion across the "blue line" - the border recognized by the United Nations - when it killed eight soldiers and kidnapped two, but added that the military campaign was "disproportionate."

The Western-leaning moderate also appealed to Israel to enter a peace process with all its Arab neighbors - striking a markedly different tone from many previous Lebanese leaders.

The Rome conference did clinch a consensus on establishing a new multinational force for southern Lebanon - one far tougher than the existing, three-decade-old UNIFIL operation which has lacked a mandate to prevent hostilities.

"What we agreed upon is that there should be an international force under a U.N. mandate that will have a strong and robust capability to help bring about peace, to help provide the ability for humanitarian efforts to go forward and to bring an end to the violence," Rice told reporters.

"We all committed to dedicated and urgent action to try to bring about an end to violence that would be sustainable" and leave the Lebanese government in full control of its territory, she said.

She also pointed a finger at Iran and Syria, which she accused of stoking the violence. Rice said she expected both countries not to undermine any agreement reached between Israel and Lebanon and welcomed Annan's offer to use his office "to try to make sure that Syria and Iran behave responsibly."

Syria's U.N. ambassador Bashar Ja'afari said Damascus felt snubbed because it and other countries in the Middle East were not consulted at the Rome meeting.

Italian Premier Romano Prodi put a positive spin on the conference, saying in an interview with The Associated Press that "what could be achieved was achieved."

Prodi insisted Washington wasn't fully isolated with its insistence that a cease-fire should accompany a durable peace, including disarming of the Hezbollah militias. He said the United States received support from Britain and acceptance from Germany that an immediate truce wasn't in the works.

Ultimately, Washington's position seemed sustainable largely because the others - despite shock at the scale of destruction and hundreds of civilians killed - largely supported the goal of disarming Hezbollah and extending the control of the Lebanese government to the south, which the militia has in effect controlled for years.

D'Alema urged Hezbollah to release the Israeli soldiers whose capture helped ignite the latest hostilities.

"It's a gesture that could be done while asking Israel to make the same step, but it could be a way to bring the end of hostilities closer," D'Alema told Italian state TV Wednesday evening.

Prodi said the force must be "sizable" and drawn from a number of countries. He pledged that Italy would commit troops if it has a U.N. mandate.

Israel, which did not attend, said it expected those at the Rome conference to follow up and take action to support Lebanon's army and turn it into a force capable of disarming Hezbollah.

"Israel is forced to continue to defend its citizens, because of the failure to implement these resolutions so far," said a statement released by Israel's Foreign Ministry.

Israeli officials have expressed support in principle for the deployment of an international force, recognizing that the weak Lebanese government could not likely subdue the Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hezbollah without assistance.

Rice said the force's mandate would be discussed over the next several days. "We also have asked that those meetings be held urgently so that force can be put together."

She said she did not anticipate American combat troops being used in the force.

In Brussels, EU officials said a meeting of European foreign ministers would be held next Tuesday to discuss the violence.

Annan said the emerging force would help Lebanon assert its authority and implement existing U.N. resolutions, which would ultimately leave Hezbollah disarmed.

-----

Associated Press Washington correspondent Katherine Shrader, who is traveling with Rice, contributed to this report.

Advantage sun ; Sun pharma's hostile bid to take over Israeli drug major Taro Pharma received a fillip last fortnight. An Israeli court ruled in favour of Sun and against the motion of Taro to conduct a special tender offer.

Sun pharma's hostile bid to take over Israeli drug major TaroPharma received a fillip last fortnight. An Israeli court ruled infavour of Sun and against the motion of Taro to conduct a specialtender offer. Taro's directors had filed a suit in June this year,requesting a Tel Aviv court to force Sun to comply with specialtender offer rules. Such regulation is meant to protect minorityshareholders' interests under Israeli law.

Basically, this case is a big win for Sun. It proves that we havedone everything that was to be done and Taro was not doing what wasin the best interest of its shareholders, says a Sun Pharmaspokesperson commenting on the ruling.

It may be recalled Sun and Taro had signed a merger agreementlast May, which Taro withdrew from almost a year later. Since then,the two companies have been crossing swords in courts in Israel andthe US. Taro had pulled out of the merger agreement citing thatSun's offer price was too low considering Taro's improved financialperformance in calendar year 2007.

Sun had contested the claim saying that the performance would nothave been possible but for Sun's cash injections into Taro. Sun alsoheld the Taro board could not unilaterally terminate the agreementas per their original agreement and that its proposed revised offerof $10.25 per share was a fair price.

Market watchers believe the latest judgment is a positive forSun, although it might be too early to start dancing in the aisles. It's definitely a positive move for Sun Pharma but to say that Sunis closer to acquiring Taro is a bit too early. Taro can stillappeal with the Supreme Court of Israel, says Sarabjit Kour Nangra,VP, Research at Mumbaibased Angel Broking. However, the verdictmight help as a base for any further litigation, she adds. Butthat's just one front that Dilip Shanghvi, founder of Sun Pharma, isfighting Taro on. As a Morgan Stanley research report says: Separately, Sun continues to litigate with Taro promoters in NewYork courts, primarily on two counts.

One, the enforcement of the option agreement; and two, achallenge to Taro's purported termination of the merger agreement.The elimination of the special tender offer holds the key to theTaro acquisition, and now Taro promoters have limited defenseoptions left, we believe. Clearly, it's advantage Sun. T.V.Mahalingam

China reports 76 percent increase in gold reserves

China has increased its gold reserves by 76 percent since 2003 to 1,054 tons and now ranks fifth among nations with the biggest holdings, a state news agency reported Friday.

The figure reported by the Xinhua News Agency would rank China behind the United States, Germany, France and Italy in reserves, according to data from the World Gold Council, an industry group.

Xinhua said Hu Xiaolian, head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, disclosed the figures in an interview.

Beijing has steadily added to its holdings of foreign assets amid an export boom that has swelled its trade surplus. Its foreign currency reserves are the largest in the world at just over $1.9 trillion.

Premier Wen Jiabao expressed concern last month about the safety of Beijing's holdings of U.S. government debt and appealed to Washington to avoid doing anything, in response to its financial crisis, that might weaken the dollar.

Also last month, the central bank governor called for a new global currency to replace the dollar, which is widely used for trade and storing national reserves.

Beijing also added to its gold reserves twice earlier this decade, raising its holdings from 394 tons to 500 tons in 2001, and to 600 tonnes in 2003, Hu said.

___

State Administration of Foreign Exchange: http://www.safe.gov.cn/model_safe_en/index.jsp?id6

World Gold Council: http://www.reserveasset.gold.org

Standard Chartered reveals strong start in 2009

British bank Standard Chartered PLC has started the year "very strongly" but faces more challenges ahead as the world economy struggles through its worst downturn in decades, the company's chief executive said Tuesday.

Standard Chartered is the latest Western-based bank to reassure investors about its earnings amid the global financial turmoil. Citigroup Inc., Britain's Barclays PLC and others have offered similar upbeat assessments in recent days.

"We've started the year very strongly," CEO Peter Sands told reporters in Hong Kong.

Sands said the bank was "very comfortable" with its capital position. At the end of last year, Standard Chartered raised $1.8 billion in a rights issue. Its Tier-1 capital ratio _ the most widely used measure of a bank's solvency _ stands at just over 10 percent.

"I would never rule out raising more capital, but we are very comfortable with our capital position," Sands said.

Still, rising unemployment in its key markets could weigh on the bank, he said. The bank could continue to suffer deterioration in its loan book for the first quarter, but the losses were expected to be less than in the fourth quarter.

The company has no plans to cut jobs, Sand said, though he wouldn't offer a detailed financial outlook for the year.

Standard Chartered focuses on emerging markets and derives nearly all its revenues from Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

The bank would consider acquisitions as it looks to grow in those markets, Sands said, although he added the bank preferred to expand organically rather than by purchasing other companies.

Last week, the company reported 17 percent rise in profits for 2008, driven by growth in wholesale banking.,

For the year ending Dec. 31, Standard Chartered reported a profit of $3.3 billion, up from $2.8 billion in 2007. Operating income rose 26 percent to $13.97 billion and total assets rose 32 percent to $435 billion.

The bank's shares fell 0.2 percent to HK$93.5 in Hong Kong trade.

Channel 2 makes news on Saturday mornings

WBBM-Channel 2 is about to jump into the weekend morning newsbusiness with an ambitious local news block on Saturdays.

Although no talent or producers have been named, the newnewscast is tentatively scheduled to debut Sept. 13 and air from 6 to9 a.m. Saturdays. At the outset, it may air in two-hour form.

Getting the newscast up and running on schedule is the firstmajor challenge facing Jeff Bartlett, who joined the CBS-ownedstation as news director last month.In his previous position as news director at Philadelphia'sKYW-TV, Bartlett added similar weekend morning newscasts to theschedule and expanded early morning and noon newscasts during theweek as well.During the weekday morning news race, Channel 2 trails the packin the Nielsen ratings.From 6 to 7 a.m. weekdays - when all five local newscastscompete head-on - WLS-Channel 7 widened its lead during July to a 4.8rating and 26 share. WMAQ-Channel 5 was second with a 3.1/17,followed by WGN-Channel 9 with a 2.1/11, WFLD-Channel 32 with a1.4/8, and Channel 2 with a 1.3/7.One local ratings point equals 31,240 households, and share isthe percent of sets in use.Also on the morning television beat, Channel 2 is expected toshift "Guiding Light," the long-running CBS soap opera, to 9 a.m.weekdays - opposite "The Oprah Winfrey Show" on Channel 7."Guiding Light," now airing at 2 p.m., will replace GordonElliott's syndicated talk show at 9 a.m.Tuning in: L.A. looking at Kathy BrockKathy Brock, 6 p.m. news anchor at Channel 7, is being talked up asa possible replacement for Lisa McCree at sister station KABC-TV inLos Angeles. McCree is headed for New York to succeed Joan Lunden asco-host of ABC's "Good Morning America." Brock, who joined Channel 7in 1990, has been filling in as the station's top news anchor whileDiann Burns is on maternity leave.A crew from C-SPAN will be in Chicago to tape Sunday's edition ofBruce DuMont's "Beyond the Beltway" for playback on the cable channelat 7 p.m. Monday. The weekly political talk show is syndicated to 29radio stations nationwide, including WLS-AM (890)."Styx: Return to Paradise Theatre," a 90-minute concert reunitingthe Chicago-based rock group, airs at 9 p.m. Sunday on WTTW-Channel11. The broadcast was taped at the Rosemont Horizon on the finalstop of the group's 75-city tour.Delores Mebain, director of station relations at Channel 5, hasassumed additional responsibilities for day-to-day communicationswhile press manager Jayme Nicholas is on maternity leave.Joseph Kreder, sales manager at Channel 7 since 1990, has beenpromoted to vice president of national television sales for ABC.Dialing: WLS rock jocks plan reunionThe glorious rock 'n' roll era of WLS - from 1960 to 1985 - will becelebrated with a reunion of former staffers over the Labor Dayweekend. The kickoff event will be Aug. 29 at the Museum ofBroadcast Communications.WLEY-FM (107.9), Chicago's newest Spanish-language station, hasunveiled its lineup of Angel Garay in mornings, Ezequiel "Cheque"Gonzalez in middays, Antonio "Orale" Covarrubias in afternoons andChristian Ramos in evenings.Luisa Torres has stepped down as program director of WIND-AM (560).She will continue as news anchor and midday host of "Chicago Al Dia"at the Spanish-language station. No replacement as program directorhas been named.Todd Manley, former production director and evening voice at WPNT-FM(100.3), has joined WCKG-FM (105.9) as production director. Hereplaces the late Bill Towery.Also at WCKG, the new producer of Patti Haze and Mary PatLaRue's midday talk show is Brian Waterkotte, former producer atWMVP-AM (1000).

DP World, Odebrecht buy majority of Brazil port

Port operator DP World and Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht said Sunday they have agreed to buy a majority stake in the Embraport port project near Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Financial details were not disclosed. Under the terms of the deal, Brazil's Coimex Group will reduce its stake but will remain involved with the project.

The deal marks DP World's entry into the Brazilian market. The company's existing South American operations include ports in Argentina and Venezuela.

"This is an unparalleled opportunity to enter Latin America's largest economy and establish a strong position on the east coast," DP World Chief Executive Mohammed Sharaf said.

The first phase of the Embraport project, located in the city of Santos, is expected to cost $500 million and open in 2012. It is being designed primarily to ship cargo containers and ethanol.

DP World, which is controlled by the government of Dubai, operates 49 cargo terminals across six continents.

Perry to play British Open despite mother's cancer

Kenny Perry has decided to play in the British Open next week after meeting with doctors for his mother, who is dying of blood cancer.

Perry was criticized last year when he did not go to golf's oldest championship, sticking to his commitment to play in Milwaukee and to his goal of making the Ryder Cup team for the competition held in his native Kentucky.

He had planned all along to play this British Open, which starts next week at Turnberry in Scotland. Perry had second thoughts, however, when doctors put his mother in hospice. She has been suffering from multiple myeloma.

"Kenny had to wait to see what that meant," his agent, Alan Bullington, said Monday. "He didn't know if that meant she had a month, a week, a year. He met with doctors, and she was stable enough that he felt comfortable leaving for a week."

Perry has been dealing with several family health issues during his amazing run late in his career. Along with his mother's cancer, his father had two stents put in his heart during the offseason last year and lost 20 pounds, although he is doing better.

His wife's mother broke her knee and two vertebrae during a fall, and Perry chose to remodel his home in Franklin, Ky., with wheelchair ramps so they could look after her.

Perry turns 49 next month, yet he already has two victories this year and was runner-up at the Masters, where he lost a two-shot lead with two holes to play and Angel Cabrera won in a playoff.

He won three times last year, qualified for the Ryder Cup team and won his singles match before a home crowd.

Perry is the defending champion at the John Deere Classic this week, then will fly to Scotland with his 23-year-old son and Bullington. His son, Justin, played college golf at Western Kentucky.

(This version CORRECTS to Franklin, Ky., in 6th graf.)

Several Hankamer faculty secure research grants

The Government of Canada gave a $6,750 research grant to economics professor Joe McKinney for studying dispute resolution under NAFTA.

Marketing professors Larry Chonko, Jim Roberts, and Jeff Tanner recently earned a University Research Grant for $3,940. Their proposal was entitled "Factors Leading to Sales Force Automation and Customer Relationship Management."

Associate dean for Hankamer's Graduate Business Programs Linda Livingstone has secured a $90,000 grant from the Summerfield G. Roberts Foundation, which will fund Graduate Business scholarships.

LOOKING BACK: Kananaskis at Five: Assessing the Global Partnership

The Group of Eight (G-8) industrial countries-Canada,-France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States-convened in Kananaskis, Canada, in 2002 for an annual summer summit and created a new and expanded entity, the G-8 Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction, otherwise known as the Global Partnership.

Five years, five G-8 summits, and several billion dollars later, this partnership continues its efforts to secure and eliminate nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons in Russia and former Soviet states. The Global Partnership has accomplished much in its first five years: eliminated nuclear warheads and delivery systems, provided secure transport and storage for fissile materials, secured and neutralized chemical weapons stockpiles, and retrained and re-employed former weapons scientists. Yet, most 10-year goals for elimination of former Soviet weapons of mass destruction (WMD) are less than half accomplished, and many Global Partnership members have not yet fulfilled their sizeable financial pledges. Regardless of growing perceptions of Russia as a newly wealthy country rich in oil and gas, the threat of theft, diversion, and proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons remains very real and a key component of international security for all nations. It is more important than ever that the Global Partnership continue its work to keep these potential tools of terrorists out of the hands of subnational, violent groups bent on obtaining weapons of mass destruction.

Kananaskis is located in Alberta, Canada, just northwest of Calgary. When the G-8 countries met there in June 2002, under the chairmanship of Canada, they were fortunate to have nearby the beautiful vistas of Banff National Park but were also faced with the stark realities of the September 11 terrorist attacks, which had occurred just nine months prior. They were well aware of the ongoing, menacing, and public threat of al Qaeda's desire to acquire nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons for future terrorist attacks and the fact that Russia was having difficulty securing its dangerous weapons and materials of mass destruction.

The Global Partnership set out four major priorities in helping Russia to prevent proliferation, theft, diversion, and accidents of weapons of mass destruction and related materials.

Among our priority concerns are the destruction of chemical weapons, the dismantlement of decommissioned nuclear submarines, the disposition of fissile materials and the employment of former weapons scientists.1

The eight nations committed "to raise up to $20 billion to support such projects over the next ten years," with $10 billion pledged by the United States and a matching $10 billion pledged by the other seven, including Russia. The formula was dubbed "10 plus 10 over 10." The U.S. funding was simply a continuation of annual funding under the decade-old Department of Defense Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program and additional nonproliferation efforts that spun out of the CTR program in the mid-1990s in the U.S. Departments of Energy and State. A few other nations had also been helping the former Soviet Union prior to the establishment of the Global Partnership, but the 2002 G-8 statement was generally viewed as a major step forward by involving additional countries and resources in addressing WMD proliferation, the growing terrorist threat, and in helping the United States "share the burden" of threat reduction activities in Russia.

Expanding Global Partnership Participation

The G-8 countries encouraged other states to join the Global Partnership by citing the common interest of all countries in preventing the spread and use of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. This effort was quite successful during the partnership's first two years, with 13 additional countries and the European Union joining the partnership. Beginning then, Australia, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, South Korea, Sweden, and Switzerland have all contributed to arms control and disarmament efforts in Russia and elsewhere. Contributions have ranged from $75,000 to several hundred million dollars annually. To date, the non-G-8 participants have contributed roughly $900 million (or $210 million without the EU) to the Global Partnership, certainly a significant amount.

Unfortunately, the Global Partnership's expansion appears to have stalled. With 195 recognized states in the world, there would seem to be much more room for expansion, especially amongst the developed world. All 27 EU members contribute to the EU's substantial common Technical Assistance to the Commonwealth of Independent States and Joint Action programs. Although most of the 160 other states are small and developing, they still remain outside of the partnership.

Also important to note is the fact that Ukraine joined the Global Partnership in 2006 as a recipient state along with Russia. Although the great majority of aid still goes to high-priority projects in Russia, it is likely that more recipient states may join in the future. The United States, through its CTR and nonproliferation programs over the last 15 years, has partnered with Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Ukraine to help establish them as non-nuclear-weapon states after the breakup of the Soviet Union and has also been actively working with Georgia and other former Soviet states along the southern rim of Russia to secure fissile materials and biological pathogens.

Global Partnership Pledges

The initial pledges of the G-8 countries in 2002 to the Global Partnership were about $16 billion, or 80 percent, of the full $20 billion goal. With EU pledges of $1.4 billion, the additional commitments of 13 other countries, and the current weakness of the U.S. dollar, the Global Partnership would appear to be approaching its target amount.2

One of the major challenges in the Global Partnership has been to turn these initial national pledges into funding for actual projects and to appropriate and spend the funds in a timely way. One of Russia's vocal complaints over the past five years is that very few pledges have been received in a timely manner, making project planning extremely difficult and at times impossible. Val�ry Biryukov, head of the Global Partnership for Security and Disarmament Issues in the Russian Foreign Ministry, recently stated, "The large [Global Partnership] donors have not fulfilled their duties in full. Countries offering smaller contributions do not provide them on a regular basis. As a result, foreign aid flows in unpredictable ways. . .. There is a significant gap between the foreign aid amounts declared by government donors and the amounts being provided in reality."3

Similarly, Natalia Kalinina, deputy director of the Inspection Audit Chamber of the Russian Federation, recently spoke about partnership pledges for submarine dismantlement and chemical weapons destruction in Russia. She stated that "foreign partners" had pledged $1.415 billion for Russian submarine destruction but had only financed $313.4 million, or 22 percent, through mid-2006. In the chemical weapons demilitarization field, another major priority for the Global Partnership, Kalinina alleged that $1.65 billion had been pledged, but only $298 million, or 18 percent, was disbursed for projects.4

One must be careful when drawing broad conclusions from these Russian spending estimates because they usually account only for Global Partnership funds that flow through Russian ministries and agencies. Global Partnership spending is typically higher due to funds expended through non-Russian integrating contractors most often closely affiliated with the donor country. However, a review of Global Partnership spending to date indicates that approximately $7.9 billion has been expended, representing about 41 percent of total partnership pledges. TWo countries, Denmark and Russia, have slightly surpassed their total pledges of $24 million and $2 billion, respectively. Another five countries-Finland, Norway, South Korea, Sweden, and Switzerland -and the EU have surpassed the 50 percent mark. The remaining 14 partnership members are below the 50 percent spending mark. Italy and France are by far the slowest in fulfilling their 2002 pledges of $1.4 billion and $1 billion, respectively, with spending to date estimated at only three percent and 14 percent of these amounts.5 These delays have been due to several issues, including tight domestic budgets and challenges in negotiating bilateral agreements with Russia. If the Global Partnership is to be successful in meeting its 2002 goals, spending must be accelerated over the next five years.

Chemical Weapons Destruction

Russia signed the international Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in 1993 and ratified it in 1997. It is one of six declared chemical-weapon-possessor states with 40,000 tons of chemical agents stockpiled at seven sites in Russia. The CWC mandates that all chemical weapons stockpiles must be safely eliminated within 10 years of the convention's entry into force, that is, a decade from April 29, 1997. Russia has missed that date, even though Russia and the United States began bilateral discussions about stockpile destruction almost 20 years ago. Although the United States inspected its first Russian chemical weapons stockpile at Shchuch'ye in July 1994,6 Russia did not make major progress in its destruction program until shortly after the Kananaskis summit in 2002.

Russia's progress in destroying its chemical weapons stockpile stemmed from a lack of funds. Russian officials made clear to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the multilateral agency tasked with CWC implementation and verification, and its states-parties in The Hague in 1997 that, were Russia to ratify the convention, it would need foreign partners to help with the expensive and complex demilitarization program, especially during a unique period of historic socioeconomic transition and political upheaval for Russia.

The Kananaskis Global Partnership statement placed top priority on chemical weapons destruction in Russia for several interrelated reasons: the portable nature of more than four million nerve-agent artillery shells in the Russian stockpile, the lax and antiquated security at the stockpile sites, and the strong interest voiced by terrorist groups in obtaining chemical weapons, sometimes known as the "poor man's weapon of mass destruction."

Russia began operating its first neutralization facility for lewisite and mustard agents at Gorny in the Saratov Oblast in December 2002. Since then, Russia opened two additional facilities: one in Kambarka in the Udmurt Republic for neutralizing lewisite and another in Maradykovsky in the Kirov Oblast for neutralizing nerve agents. To date, Russia has declared about 8,800 tons, or 22 percent, of its chemical weapons stockpile destroyed. Although this advance in its destruction program is important, Russia has been several years behind in meeting interim destruction deadlines mandated by the CWC and has received an extension until April 2012 for destroying its entire stockpile.

The Global Partnership has been an important contributor to helping Russia advance this far in eliminating its enormous chemical weapons arsenal. Germany has provided crucial support, more than $200 million, to Gorny and Kambarka and is currently planning on providing another $207 million for a facility at Pochep that will destroy 7,500 tons of nerve agents. The United States has appropriated more than $1 billion for chemical weapons destruction in Russia, primarily for construction of the nerve agent destruction facility at Shchuch'ye. In addition, it has funded construction of a Central Analytical Laboratory in Moscow, several mobile chemical testing labs, and the dismantlement of former Russian chemical weapons production sites.

Other partnership contributors to chemical weapons elimination, with rough estimates of spending to date, include Canada ($93 million), the EU ($22 million), France ($20 million), Italy ($11 million), the Netherlands ($11 million), Switzerland ($11 million), and the United Kingdom ($29 million). All told, 17 partnership countries, along with the EU, have contributed some $2.1 billion to date to Russian chemical weapons destruction, although Russia estimates receiving only $300 million (in Kalinina's estimate noted above) to $400 million (estimated by Gen. Valeri Kapashin, deputy director of Russia's chemical weapons destruction program).7 This large gap in funding is primarily due to the fact that most Global Partnership financial support goes to integrating contractors from the donor country, providing foreign oversight and accountability but not running directly through Russian ministries and agencies. Russia predicts that its total chemical weapons destruction program will cost $7-8 billion. Moscow is still optimistically aiming to meet the 2012 CWC deadline but will only be able to do so if donor countries fulfill existing pledges and increase their support.

Submarine Dismantlement

The Soviet Union was always known for its large and powerful undersea navy, including both strategic ballistic missile and attack submarines. In 1989 at the end of the Cold War, it listed 63 nuclear-powered submarines with ballistic missiles (SSBNs) and another 280 tactical submarines, of which 141 were nuclear powered (SSNs). The U.S. CTR program identified Russian strategic submarine dismantlement as one of its major goals in the early 1990s and has helped Russia eliminate 30 SSBNs to date, with a commitment to help dismantle another nine by 2012.8

Russia has decommissioned 198 nuclear-powered submarines to date and as of the end of 2006 had scrapped 148, or 75 percent, with the help of several donor countries. Russia's Northern Fleet included 120 decommissioned subs and the Pacific Fleet included 78. Of these, 97 have been dismantled in northwest Russia and 51 in the Far East. According to Russian figures, 23 subs are currently undergoing dismantlement, leaving at least another 26 waiting in line. These figures would apparently account for the whole Russian nuclear-powered underwater fleet 18 years ago, although additional submarine production has taken place in the meantime.9 Russia's current, active nuclear-powered submarine fleet reportedly includes 15 SSBNs and 26 SSNs, about one-fifth the size of its Cold War subsurface fleet.10

The Global Partnership has been anxious to secure and eliminate these submarines for two primary reasons: the nuclear threat from their long-range, nuclear-tipped strategic missiles and the environmental and proliferation risks posed by nuclear reactors and spent fuel assemblies. Many of these old Cold War boats have been floating and leaking at their moorings and dockside in the White or Barents Seas or the Sea of Japan for years.11

At present, Russia dismantles about 18 sub- marines annually at an estimated cost of $7 million each. According to Russian sources, the Global Partnership has financed the dismantlement of 39 submarines to date, a total of about $275 million. Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the EU have all been involved in submarine dismantlement, spent fuel storage and processing, and environmental cleanup projects at the Russian nuclear shipyards, some of it through the Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership. Russia estimates that it has spent some $350 million through 2006 and has received an additional $313 million from the partnership through mid-2006 ??t submarine dismantlement and related shipyard activities.12

Russia also underlines the need to deal in the near future with at least three decommissioned submarines that are radioactively contaminated, two nuclear-powered surface ships, and 41 decommissioned nuclear support ships. None of these have yet been addressed by the Global Partnership, but ongoing bilateral and multilateral discussions with Russia indicate that they likely will be over the next five years.13

Nuclear Weapons and Fissile Material

One of the major goals of the CTR program and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has been the security and elimination of nuclear weapons; related strategic launch systems (submarines, bombers, missiles, and silos); and fissile materials (highly enriched uranium [HEU] and plutonium) in the former Soviet Union. In more than 15 years of CTR efforts, much has been accomplished: 6,954 nuclear warheads deactivated; 644 ICBMs and 606 SLBMs eliminated; 155 strategic bombers destroyed; 12 security upgrades implemented at nuclear-weapon storage sites; and 328 train shipments of nuclear weapons to more secure, centralized storage sites.14

Because of these major U.S. program accomplishments related to implementation of the U.S.-Russian 1991 START and 2002 Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty, the Global Partnership has focused its efforts on fissile material security in Russia.

The careful handling and secure storage of fissile materials, whether from submarine spent fuel, nuclear warheads, commercial power and research reactors, or even lighthouse nuclear generators in Russia and many other countries, is a key priority in keeping the potential tools of terrorists away from them.15 Although exact figures are not known, it is estimated that some 1,250 tons of weapons-useable nuclear materials remain in Russia, including more than 600 tons of HEU and plutonium outside of nuclear warheads. The Global Partnership, including CTR and NNSA programs, has therefore been active in upgrading security at 75 percent of nuclear weapons material sites "of concern," including all 50 Russian navy nuclear sites, 11 Russian Strategic Rocket Forces sites, and 175 individual buildings containing weapons-grade materials. These efforts were partly aided by the Bratislava Initiative, signed by Presidents George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin in February 2005, to improve the security of nuclear materials and facilities in each country to stem any proliferation risks. Current plans are to complete all such security upgrades in Russia by 2008.16 Although many of these programs began long before the 2002 Kananaskis summit, security upgrades and safe storage facilities need to be completed and programs for sustainability-ongoing training and equipment maintenance-put in place as soon as possible.

One major fissile-material program is the U.S.-Russian Megatons to Megawatts program. It involves the purchase by the United States of 500 tons of HEU from Russian warheads for down-blending into low enriched uranium for commercial reactor fuel, thereby eliminating the equivalent of 20,000 bombs' worth of weapons-grade nuclear material. This program has already met more than 50 percent of its goal in 12 years and expects to finish by 2013.

The United States, with limited participation from other members of the Global Partnership, is continuing with a $1 billion effort to shut down Russia's remaining plutoniumbreeder reactors and replace them with fossil fuel power plants at Seversk and Zheleznogorsk. The United States has committed more than $200 million to date and the Global Partnership some $30 million. The United States has pledged another $700 million, and U.S. officials would like the partnership to contribute at least another $70 million.

Other related and important efforts include the U.S.-led Multilateral Plutonium Disposition Group, focused on disposing of 34 tons of Russian plutonium; training and physicalprotection upgrade projects led by the International Atomic Energy Agency to prevent illicit cross-border trafficking in nuclear materials; Norwegian- and Canadian-led removal of highly radioactive power sources at lighthouses and replacement with solar power; a German-led effort to build a long-term nuclear reactor storage facility on land at Saida Bay in northwestern Russia; and the Chernobyl Shelter Implementation Plan in Ukraine to upgrade protection at the disaster site.

Nearly all of the members of the Global Partnership are participating in the nuclear weapons and fissile material security projects. Commitments to date total approximately $4.3 billion.

Preventing Brain Drain

A fourth major goal of the Global Partnership has been to support the retraining and re-employment of former Soviet weapons scientists and engineers, thus preventing any brain drain to wannabe nuclear countries and terrorist groups. Support has been directed to the International Science and Technology Centers in Moscow (ISTC) and Kiev (STCU), established by the CTR program before the 2002 Kananaskis summit. Canada, the EU, and South Korea have contributed to hundreds of projects managed through the Moscow and Kiev centers and report that several thousand former weapons scientists and engineers have been redirected into commercial fields.

The United States and the United Kingdom have also been the major supporters of the Nuclear Cities Initiative (NCI), which has engaged in important retraining and reemployment programs in five closed nuclear cities in Russia-Sarov, Seversk, Snezhinsk, Zheleznogorsk, and Ozersk.

Partnership members have also supported programs to prevent the spread of Russian biological pathogens and bioweapons knowledge. Much of this effort has taken place through the ISTC in Moscow and, most recently, outside of Russia. Projects include bilateral and multilateral efforts to improve security of pathogen collections, to improve diagnosis and treatment of diseases from dangerous pathogens, and to identify disease outbreaks more readily. Russia remains very sensitive about this field, as do other major powers as well, and has not allowed any foreign access to its military bio-related sites.

The Next Five Years and Beyond

The Global Partnership has clearly been quite successful in its first five years, 2002-2007, in helping Russia and Ukraine secure and eliminate their weapons of mass destruction. When combined with additional nonproliferation and threat reduction work taking place under the CTR program and related programs in the Energy and State Departments, one can conclude that considerable progress in nonproliferation, arms control, and disarmament has indeed been accomplished. Three former Soviet states-Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine-have been denuclearized;

thousands of nuclear warheads have been deactivated; several hundred nuclear launch systems have been dismantled; almost 9,000 tons of chemical weapons have been destroyed; and dozens of potentially vulnerable nuclear weapons and fissile material sites have been secured.

The Global Partnership itself has expanded in membership from an initial eight countries to 21 today. If one includes all of the members of the EU, the membership would stand now at 35. Yet, no country has joined since 2004, and more than 80 percent of the world still remains outside. Financial pledges are approaching the goal of $20 billion over 10 years, although expenditures to date, an estimated $7.9 billion, fall far short of 50 percent at the halfway point of the Global Partnership.

As the Global Partnership begins its second five years of nonproliferation and disarmament work, it is important that its efforts not wane and its commitment not weaken.

Unfinished Business

The Global Partnership must still keep its eyes on the prize and work to complete its 2002 stated nonproliferation and disarmament missions. More than 30,000 tons of chemical weapons, 75 percent of the declared chemical weapons arsenal, remain to be destroyed in Russia today. At least 50 more decommissioned nuclear submarines and 50 nuclear-powered surface ships remain to be dismantled. Much work remains in short- and long-term storage and management of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste management, both solid and liquid. At least 25 percent of identified nuclear warhead and material storage sites of concern need additional security upgrades and worker training.

Better International Cooperation There has been tremendous difficulty in getting major projects started in Russia, due to central questions of liability, predictable post-Cold War national politics, and preventable bureaucratic snafus regarding visas, taxation, customs, transparency, and access. Some of this has been overcome by new donors piggybacking onto existing bilateral agreements as Canada and other states have done with the United Kingdom. Russia has also helped to resolve bureaucratic roadblocks to efficient and timely work. All parties concerned, including Russia and the United States, must make concerted efforts to expand cooperative behavior and trust. Overcoming disagreements and bureaucratic obstacles and fostering true partnerships must become more the rule than the exception as the Global Partnership begins its second five years of nonproliferation work.

Now is not the time to reduce commitments or to turn over projects totally to Russia. Although some observers may perceive threat reduction efforts as foreign aid to a now wealthy Russia, the fact remains that these weapons and materials of mass destruction are still a global threat and can be best, most safely, and most quickly secured and eliminated with multinational cooperative projects. As part of the CTR program, however, the United States has just signed a bilateral agreement with Russia to have Russia take over major responsibility for the second half of construction of a chemical weapons destruction facility in Shchuch'ye. The Bush administration has also refused to ask Congress for any additional funds for the project, arguing that the U.S. commitment has now been fulfilled. The project is only half constructed, and the United States had promised Russia a turnkey facility for nerve agent destruction years ago. Fortunately, the House of Representatives sees this commitment differently and has appropriated an additional $42.7 million in fiscal year 2008 for the project. The Senate, on the other hand, has authorized only $1 million for chemical weapons destruction in its pending military spending bill, while including an additional $99 million for nuclear and biological weapons destruction. Ideally, the upcoming House-Senate conference committee should include both House and Senate funding and language, thus continuing the U.S. commitment to threat reduction of all weapons of mass destruction in Russia.

Some partnership members have not even begun to approach their financial commitments to Russia. Italy, for example, pledged some $400 million for construction of a chemical weapons destruction facility at Pochep and an additional $430 million for submarine dismantlement but has not yet followed through on these important commitments. The two main reasons for Italy's tardiness are prior disagreements in the Russian-Italian bilateral agreement around liability, which has recently been resolved, and Italy's ongoing budget deficit, which has not yet been resolved. This lack of follow-through by Italy has frustrated Russia and led to ongoing risks of proliferation in Russia of weapons of mass destruction and related materials. This cannot be allowed to continue.

Russia's Requirements

Suspicions still abound in Russia about the motives behind the Global Partnership and its representatives in Russia. The anecdotes of visa complexities, expulsion of foreign workers, customs delays, misleading public statements, and lack of access to Russian sites have been all too common over the past five years to overlook. These challenges have introduced a certain weariness into threat reduction and nonproliferation efforts, but the goals of the Global Partnership are too important to abandon.

The many ongoing nonproliferation and demilitarization projects in Russia today will last long beyond 2012. Yet, the Kananaskis commitments will end that year. The complexity and cost of many, if not all, of these programs to secure and eliminate nuclear and chemical weapons, fissile materials, and related launch systems will clearly cause costs and schedule to surpass these targets. Projects may indeed proceed more quickly now that bilateral agreements have been negotiated and working relationships developed, but the tasks outlined above remain enormous and challenging.

The very serious threat of proliferation of weapons and materials of mass destruction still remains. This point alone well justifies continued Global Partnership projects with Russia, providing more finances and energy to secure and destroy these materials. Should Russia be left alone to deal with these challenges, it is likely to require much more time with greater risk of theft, accident, and pollution. Those who argue that Russia should now be left alone to bear these burdens do not adequately understand the threat nor the positive aspects of multilateral cooperation in this area.

Little has been said about these efforts in the past two G-8 summits in St. Petersburg, Russia, and Heiligendamm, Germany. One has to scroll down to the bottom of page five of the German chairman's statement to see any mention of the Global Partnership. Nevertheless, the G-8 leaders emphasized that "[w]e acknowledge the progress made since the launch of the partnership in 2002. We will do more to increase the effectiveness of our cooperation. On the occasion of the midterm-review we reaffirm our commitments made in Kananaskis and will discuss in the years to come the geographical scope of the Global Partnership and whether it should be extended beyond 2012."17

As the 2009 G-8 summit in Hokkaido Toyako, Japan, approaches, Global Partnership states should seriously evaluate progress toward the 2002 Kananaskis goals, work to fulfill their pledges in a timely way, and be prepared to extend these commitments to meet global security needs.18

The Cold War legacy of the former Soviet Union, especially Russia, continues to be fraught with tremendous challenges in nonproliferation, public health protection, and environmental cleanup. Until these challenges are resolved, not just in Russia but globally, no one will be safe from the accidental or intentional use of nuclear and chemical weapons, biological pathogens, and radioactive materials.

[Sidebar]

Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses the press at the start of June 26, 2002 afternoon session of Group of Eight summit in Kananaskis, located in Alberta, Canada, just northwest of Calgary.

[Sidebar]

It is more important than ever that the Global Partnership continue its work to keep potential tools off terrorists out off the hands of subnational, violent groups bent on obtaining weapons of mass destruction.

[Author Affiliation]

Paul F. Walker is Legacy Program director at Global Green USA, the U.S. affiliate of Mikhail Gorbachev's Green Cross International, in Washington, D.C. Maria Amodio, a graduate student intern with Global Green USA, helped with research on this article.

Prosecutors open proceedings against Siemens ex-boss amid corruption investigations

Prosecutors said Friday that they have opened administrative proceedings against former Siemens chief executive and board chairman Heinrich von Pierer on suspicion of possible violation of oversight duty.

However, they stopped short of launching a criminal investigation against the former company boss in the scandal over corruption and bribery at the Munich-based conglomerate, saying the evidence they found did not indicate criminal conduct that would warrant a felony investigation.

Administrative proceedings can lead to fines but not imprisonment.

Munich prosecutors said in a statement that they have opened proceedings against von Pierer and other former company officials on suspicion of possible "violation of duty of oversight in companies."

The statement did not identify the other ex-officials, saying only that currently active management and supervisory board members were not among them.

Prosecutors say that they found no "sufficient indications of criminally relevant behavior" that would have justified opening a criminal investigation against von Pierer.

Von Pierer's lawyer, Winfried Seibert, said in a brief statement that his client "takes note of this decision and continues to be ready to cooperate fully with prosecutors."

Siemens has acknowledged dubious payments in the corruption case that came to light last year of up to euro1.3 billion (US$2 billion).

Speculation swirled that prosecutors might move against von Pierer in the long-running affair when German media reported last month that an official had linked him to alleged wrongdoing.

Von Pierer has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing. He served as Siemens CEO until 2005, then became head of its supervisory board _ the German equivalent of a board of directors. He stepped down last year _ as did his successor as CEO, Klaus Kleinfeld, who was replaced by Peter Loescher.

Last month, Munich prosecutors interviewed von Pierer, long one of corporate Germany's most-prominent leaders, but gave no details.

Siemens said Friday that it welcomed prosecutors' decision to determine whether former officials failed to fulfill their duties, and stressed that it will cooperate.

"With a view to possible consequences of the investigation for the company, Siemens will examine all necessary measures" to defend its interests, it said in a statement. "This _ as already announced _ includes the examination of possible damages claims."

Siemens, which makes everything from wind turbines to trams, agreed in October to pay a euro201 million (US$309 million) fine to bring an end to some legal proceedings in Germany related to the investigation.

Siemens' own investigation has found evidence of violations across the company and in several countries.

In a summary of the Siemens-commissioned report released April 29, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP said it examined business transactions that took place between 1999 and 2006, an found that "domestic as well as foreign compliance regulations have been violated."

Several different countries, including the U.S., Switzerland, Italy and Greece, have launched investigations into suspected bribes to win contracts. Siemens also is being investigated in China, Hungary, Israel, Russia, Norway and Indonesia.

"The violations in question reflect not only outright incidents of corruption, but, in many cases, violations of regulations pertaining to internal controls and the accuracy of documentation," the report said.

The first trial related to the scandal is to open in Munich on May 26. A former top-level sales manager, identified only as Reinhard S., faces charges of complicity to fraudulent breach of trust for his role in setting up a complex network of shell corporations allegedly used to siphon off company money.

Shares of Siemens were down nearly 3 percent after Friday's announcement, falling to euro74.25 (US$113.95) in Frankfurt trading.

___

On the Net:

http://www.siemens.com

Schilling, Red Sox Take 2-0 Series Lead

BOSTON - First a blowout, then a nail-biter. October ace Curt Schilling and Boston's stingy bullpen figured out another way to stop Colorado. Relying more on guile than pure gas, Schilling pitched the Red Sox to a 2-1 victory Thursday night and a 2-0 lead in the World Series over the suddenly stagnant Rockies.

Mike Lowell hit a tiebreaking double in the fifth and the Red Sox got 3 2-3 innings of shutout relief from Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon to win their sixth straight Series game, including a sweep of St. Louis in 2004.

"This was the Pap-ajima show tonight," Schilling said. "That was just phenomenal to watch."

The victory in '04 ended an 86-year title drought and set off a wild winter of celebrations all over New England. Two more wins this year and the party's on again.

The Series shifts to spacious Coors Field for Game 3 on Saturday night, when $103 million rookie Daisuke Matsuzaka pitches for Boston against Josh Fogg.

"Our hometown crowd is probably looking forward to this as much as anything in a long time," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "We could use the support."

With no designated hitter allowed, the Red Sox must decide whether to play hobbling slugger David Ortiz at first base or leave his mighty bat on the bench.

If they keep getting this kind of pitching, it might not matter.

One night after Josh Beckett blazed through the Rockies with 97 mph fastballs in a 13-1 rout, Schilling shut them down with savvy and splitters.

Nearly automatic in October, he improved to 11-2 with a 2.23 ERA in 19 postseason starts and tipped his cap to the pulsing crowd as he walked off the mound - perhaps for the final time in a Red Sox uniform.

His fastball hovering around 87 mph, Schilling held punchless Colorado in check for 5 1-3 innings and became the second 40-year-old starter to win a World Series game. Detroit's Kenny Rogers did it last year against the Cardinals.

Coming off eight days of rest, the wide-eyed Rockies looked awfully rusty while getting blitzed in the opener. They hardly resembled the team that had won 10 straight and 21 of 22 to earn the first pennant in its 15-year history.

Colorado came to play in Game 2. But Boston's pitchers were too much for an offense that really hasn't hit all month. The Rockies' incredible charge to the World Series masked this fact: they came into Thursday batting only .235 in the postseason.

Okajima entered with two on in the sixth and Boston leading 2-1. He retired Garrett Atkins on a grounder and struck out Brad Hawpe to squash the threat.

There was more to come. The rookie left-hander from Japan fanned three straight before he was pulled for Papelbon with two outs in the eighth.

"His command was spectacular, and that set up the whole game," Boston manager Terry Francona said of Okajima.

Matt Holliday spun Papelbon off his feet with a shot up the middle for his fourth hit. But the closer got even when he left the NLCS MVP sprawled in the dirt at first base with his first career pickoff.

"They gave me the (sign) from the dugout," Papelbon said. "I kind of just held the ball for a second, got relaxed and did a nice easy pick over there. I don't know if he was going or what."

Papelbon finished up in the ninth, securing Schilling's third win in four starts this postseason and his second save. He and Okajima have combined for 17 1-3 scoreless innings in October.

With two outs in the fifth, Ortiz walked and Manny Ramirez singled before Lowell pulled a 2-1 pitch from losing pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez down the left-field line for a 2-1 Red Sox lead.

Boston loaded the bases, but Matt Herges retired Jason Varitek on an easy fly ball to end the inning.

The Red Sox won their previous four games by a combined score of 43-6 and became the first team in postseason history to put up double-digit run totals in three straight.

But with a bright autumn moon hanging high behind the right-field grandstand, Jimenez seemed to have the Red Sox spooked early on.

A hesitation in his windup, cap tilted slightly to the side, the 23-year-old rookie held Boston hitless for three innings with an array of 96 mph fastballs and sharp sliders. He stayed poised, too, calmly taking time to gather himself behind the mound as Boston's big boppers stepped in.

Jimenez walked two in the third and Ortiz took a shot at Pesky's Pole, barely missing a three-run homer on a drive that curled just foul. Tied up on a tough slider, Ortiz later fanned for the third out.

But the patient Red Sox started to wear down Jimenez, laying off balls and driving his pitch count up. Soon, they broke through.

Lowell walked with one out in the fourth and J.D. Drew singled to right for Boston's first hit. Lowell aggressively turned for third and, with a headfirst slide, beat a long throw from strong-armed Hawpe that was just off line.

Varitek's sacrifice fly tied it at 1. Jacoby Ellsbury drew a walk and stole second, but Jimenez retired Julio Lugo with runners at second and third to end the inning.

Schilling settled in after allowing a run in the first. Twenty days shy of his 41st birthday, he got an inning-ending double play in the second and struck out two in the third. He put the leadoff batter on in the next two innings, but pitched out of trouble.

The Rockies flashed their speed in the first, one key element that sent them on that incredible surge into the Series.

Schilling hit Willy Taveras on the left hand with a 1-2 pitch and he raced to third when Holliday's single deflected off the glove of a diving Lowell at third.

Helton's RBI groundout put Colorado ahead.

Notes:@ Matsuzaka left for Denver about 5 p.m in preparation for Game 3. ... Of the 50 previous teams that took a 2-0 lead in the World Series, 39 went on to win - including six straight and 12 of the last 13. ... Okajima became the first Japanese-born pitcher to play in a World Series game. He struck out four, including former Japanese star Kaz Matsui. ... Jimenez had a 1.59 ERA in two playoff starts. ... James Taylor, a lifelong Red Sox fan, sang the national anthem.

Oilers' Gretzky to wear a visor

EDMONTON, Alberta The sight of defenseman Borje Salming's faceafter a severe on-ice incident in a game last week has persuadedcenter Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers to try playing hockeywith a visor.

Salming, of the Toronto Maple Leafs, needed more than 100stitches in his face when he was cut by a skate blade. He hadremoved the visor he formerly used.

Salming said if he had been wearing the visor, he wouldn't havesuffered the cut.

"I have a whole new appreciation for face shields," saidGretzky, the Oilers' captain who has resisted wearing one. He neverhas had a serious cut around his eyes.

"The shield has always been too heavy for my light helmet, butthey've come out with a smaller, thinner one now," he said. "I'll tryit in practice for a few weeks. I've done it before, but taken itoff."

Gretzky said other players tend to carry their sticks higharound players wearing shields, another reason he has resistedwearing one.

However, he said, "They're cleaning the game up now, crackingdown on high-sticking."

'Countries Like India are Ideal Models' ; Mohamed ElBaradei, Egypt's Opposition leader and former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, spoke to Anika Gupta and Somnath Dasgupta. Edited excerpts:

The world's attention is focused on how Japan is tackling thecalamity brought about by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, andprodemocracy movements in West Asia and north Africa.

In Delhi, on the invitation of the India Today group for itsConclave, Mohamed ElBaradei, Egypt's Opposition leader and formerhead of the International Atomic Energy Agency, was much soughtafter.

The former diplomat, who is standing for the presidency, spoke toAnika Gupta and Somnath Dasgupta. Edited excerpts:

On running for Egypt's presidency:

We are at an early stage of the transitional period and I amfocusing on making sure that we do it right... In my view we need anew Constitution, we need to give the right to give people the rightto establish parties, to reactivate civil society, before we go intoelection...If we do it right, the impact on the Arab world will betremendous.

On help from India for the elections:

We haven't lived in a democracy, people don't even know whatdemocracy is about, how to go about elections... We are a novice inall that... I think a country like India - particularly a countrylike India [could help], because people have their own perceptionsabout the West coming to tell them, in having a hidden agenda. Idon't think anybody will think that India will have a hidden agenda.

"We are at an early stage of the transitional period and I amfocusing on making sure that we do it right."On Egypt's economy andhis plans for it:

I would like to focus on basic needs- 40 per cent of Egyptianslive on less than two dollars a day. The gap between the rich - andwe have quite a few billionaires on the Forbes 500 list - isobscene. The priorities of course are health care, food, housing andeducation. Education is No. 1. Unless you invest heavily ineducation, you will not be able to compete.

I have always advocated that we need to cooperate closely withcountries like India, South Africa, Brazil. These countries havegone through our experience, have knowledge that fits our culture,our level of development. I need to look more to the emergingpowers, and not really to the West, because, you can get cheapertechnology, you can get technology that is easily adaptable.

But this is just off the cuff. In a democracy, we have to sittogether and make sure that we make use of the best brains we have.And Egypt for one thing is not short of good, qualified people.

On the nuclear non-proliferation treaty or NPT:

It is not sustainable... you have to engage India, you have toengage Pakistan.... I think in any disarmament negotiation, Indiahas to be at the table, Pakistan has to be at the table, Israel hasto be at the table. It is a fiction to think these are not nuclearweapon states. To me it is not the question whether you are arecognised or not recognised. It is a reality that they are weaponstates, it is a reality that they have a security threat, and youhave to address the security threats, and develop a global securitysystem where everybody feels secure - one that does not rely onnuclear weapons.

TODAY'S MAJOR LEAGUE LEADERS

NATIONAL LEAGUE

BATTING_Guzman, Washington, .327; Braun, Milwaukee, .322; McGehee, Milwaukee, .315; ASoriano, Chicago, .315; Tulowitzki, Colorado, .314; Prado, Atlanta, .313; AMcCutchen, Pittsburgh, .313; CGonzalez, Colorado, .313; Freese, St. Louis, .313.

RUNS_Kemp, Los Angeles, 38; Tulowitzki, Colorado, 37; Braun, Milwaukee, 36; BPhillips, Cincinnati, 34; Uggla, Florida, 34; Utley, Philadelphia, 34; Prado, Atlanta, 33; Reynolds, Arizona, 33.

RBI_McGehee, Milwaukee, 41; Reynolds, Arizona, 39; Ethier, Los Angeles, 38; CYoung, Arizona, 37; Cantu, Florida, 36; Heyward, Atlanta, 35; Victorino, Philadelphia, 33; Votto, Cincinnati, 33; Werth, Philadelphia, 33; DWright, New York, 33.

HITS_Prado, Atlanta, 62; Braun, Milwaukee, 59; AMcCutchen, Pittsburgh, 57; Theriot, Chicago, 57; McGehee, Milwaukee, 56; Polanco, Philadelphia, 56; Byrd, Chicago, 55; Howard, Philadelphia, 55; HRamirez, Florida, 55.

DOUBLES_Werth, Philadelphia, 22; Byrd, Chicago, 16; BPhillips, Cincinnati, 16; Keppinger, Houston, 15; ASoriano, Chicago, 15; Tulowitzki, Colorado, 15; 5 tied at 14.

TRIPLES_AEscobar, Milwaukee, 5; Morgan, Washington, 5; Victorino, Philadelphia, 5; Bay, New York, 4; SDrew, Arizona, 4; Venable, San Diego, 4; 7 tied at 3.

HOME RUNS_KJohnson, Arizona, 12; Reynolds, Arizona, 12; Uggla, Florida, 12; Ethier, Los Angeles, 11; Rolen, Cincinnati, 11; Barajas, New York, 10; Dunn, Washington, 10; Utley, Philadelphia, 10; Votto, Cincinnati, 10.

STOLEN BASES_Bourn, Houston, 16; AMcCutchen, Pittsburgh, 12; Venable, San Diego, 12; JosReyes, New York, 11; Stubbs, Cincinnati, 11; Braun, Milwaukee, 10; Headley, San Diego, 9; Morgan, Washington, 9; Theriot, Chicago, 9; Victorino, Philadelphia, 9.

PITCHING_Jimenez, Colorado, 9-1; Pelfrey, New York, 7-1; Clippard, Washington, 7-3; Silva, Chicago, 6-0; Garland, San Diego, 6-2; Billingsley, Los Angeles, 6-2; Zito, San Francisco, 6-2; Wainwright, St. Louis, 6-3; Halladay, Philadelphia, 6-3; DLowe, Atlanta, 6-4.

STRIKEOUTS_Lincecum, San Francisco, 80; Haren, Arizona, 76; Oswalt, Houston, 69; Wainwright, St. Louis, 69; Gallardo, Milwaukee, 66; Dempster, Chicago, 65; JoJohnson, Florida, 63; Hamels, Philadelphia, 63; Kershaw, Los Angeles, 63.

SAVES_Capps, Washington, 16; Cordero, Cincinnati, 15; HBell, San Diego, 13; BrWilson, San Francisco, 12; Broxton, Los Angeles, 11; Marmol, Chicago, 11; Lindstrom, Houston, 10; Franklin, St. Louis, 10; Dotel, Pittsburgh, 10.

...A Fidel se le Acabó el Tiempo...

Hablando con la Verdad

El tirano dijo: No pudo inventar noticias buenas, porque no ser�a �tico, y si las noticias fueran malas, el �nico que va a sacar provecho es el enemigo, en la situaci�n espec�fica de Cuba, debido a los planes del imperio, mi estado de salud se convierte en un secreto de Estado. Estimados lectores a�n ante el umbral de la muerte este personaje quiere estar seguro de darle connotaci�n de Estado a su condici�n de salud. Por otra parte habla de �tica. �Cu�ndo Fidel Castro, ha tenido verg�enza ni �tica? Pero los tiempos llegan y todos los plazos se cumplen y a Fidel Castro se le acab� el tiempo.

Particularmente yo no me siento contento por la desaparici�n f�sica y abrupta por enfermedad del anciano d�spota cubano. Participo con toda firmeza que Fidel Castro debe de vivir, para que el pueblo cubano ya en libertad pueda llevarlo ante el tribunal del pueblo y juzgarlo por alta traici�n a Cuba y todos los asesinatos cometidos por el y por su r�gimen. Un estado de derechos no podr� pasar por alto el hundimiento del remolcador "13 de Marzo", donde murieron mujeres y ni�os y por los asesinatos de otros muchos compa�eros de arma quienes fueron los arquitectos del proceso revolucionario que expuls� al gobierno de Batista del poder. Entre algunas de las muertes que se le atribuyen a Fidel Castro est�n las del los comandantes Camilo Cienfuegos, Eddy Sunol, William Morgan, Son Mar�n, el coronel De la Guardia y el general Arnaldo Ochoa, esto sin mencionar los cr�menes cometidos con la poblaci�n penal conocida como "presidio pol�tico cubano" y otros muchos cr�menes que por falta de espacio no podemos mencionar los cuales son responsabilidad de este viejo demoniaco.

Ser�a ciertamente reconfortable para el pueblo cubano y para la familia de las v�ctimas que el actor intelectual y material de la traici�n a Cuba y responsables de tantas muertes viva confinado en una prisi�n teniendo que trabajar diariamente para pagar por los alimentos que consume y por el agua que se toma as� como por el cuidado m�dico para mantenerlo vivo. Si el destino nos impone que la vida del dictador cubano termine y entregue su alma al diablo, lo aceptamos, pero siempre llevaremos el dedo por el regl�n de la historia y en ausencia un d�a no muy lejano lo llevaremos ante los tribunales del pueblo en una Cuba libre bajo un estado de derechos.

Los intentos desesperados de la dinast�a militar y de la pi�ata millonaria para retener el poder en Cuba, hacen un esfuerzo descomunal para legitimizar el golpe de estado al pueblo Cuba, pueblo que tiene una vehemente aspiraci�n a convertirse en un pa�s: libre, independiente y democr�tico. No habr� ninguna formulaci�n en la nomenclatura del r�gimen dictatorial que le permita a la presente dinast�a militar una sucesi�n con m�s de lo mismo. Casi medio siglo de un solo partido comunista gobernando con la misma gastada figura del viejo d�spota quien encontr� un pa�s pr�spero y organizado socialmente donde la libertad y los derechos de los ciudadanos estaban garantizados por la constituti�n de la rep�blica. Le tom� a Fidel Castro casi medio siglo de desgobierno convertir a Cuba en el pa�s m�s pobre y paup�rrimo de Latino Am�rica, donde se violan todos los derechos humanos del pueblo, llevando a Cuba a la degradante condici�n de pa�s mercenario con guerras en Angola y otras regiones del mundo. Ni Julio Vernes, no podr�a jam�s con su f�rtil imaginaci�n poner en contexto la gran desgracia que representar�a para Cuba el advenimiento de Fidel Castro como dictador vitalicio de Cuba.

Dentro de la nomenclatura de gobierno en el escalaf�n de los herederos al poder despu�s de la desaparici�n del tirano, hay otros que se consideran con m�s credenciales que Ra�l Castro, ya que este personaje es adem�s de impopular, es moralmente inepto borracho y criminal. Nosotros estamos en deacuerdo que la peor elecci�n para la sucesi�n es el hermano afeminado y Ministro de Defensa. Pero el dictador quiere a toda costa que la dinast�a de los Castro sobreviva a su desaparici�n f�sica y contin�e hasta que el pueblo cubano se ponga de pi� y exija derechos y cumpla deberes.

El tiempo lleg� para una Cuba para todos los cubanos. Demandar pac�ficamente los derechos de todos con la libertad de todos los presos pol�ticos y elecciones libres y la libre expresi�n del pensamiento constituir� el principio y el fin de casi medio siglo de dictadura nazifacista bajo la bota de Fidel Castro y la pi�ata millonaria.

Al-Qaida in Yemen threatens to topple president

SAN'A, Yemen (AP) — Al-Qaida's offshoot in Yemen warned Tuesday it is setting up a "new army" to overthrow the country's president in response to his U.S.-backed counterterrorism campaign and said it would fill its ranks with snipers and bomb makers.

"Run for your life," the group's military chief warned President Ali Abdullah Saleh in an audio recording that surfaced on militant-affiliated websites.

The commander, Qassim al-Raimi, did not reveal the size of the new fighting force, but said its ranks were already overflowing with so many volunteers — including some from abroad — that many had to be turned away.

Yemen's al-Qaida-allied militants and other extremists have long sought to topple Saleh's government in response to its relationship with the United States, which is deeply concerned about al-Qaida's reinvigorated operation in Yemen.

The alliance of Saudi and Yemeni fighters known as al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, which formed a year and a half ago in the largely lawless south, has pursued Saleh's government with a campaign of attacks on security forces and Western targets inside the country.

At the same time, it has sought to show it has global reach by claiming it was behind the failed attempt to bomb a Detroit-bound airliner in December.

The U.S. responded by increasing its military assistance to Yemen this year, pledging $150 million for helicopters, planes and other equipment. American forces are also providing military training.

Al-Raimi, speaking under the nom de guerre Abu Hurira al-Sanani, said the group's fighters were "liberating territories from crusaders and apostate traitors."

He said President Saleh would meet the same destiny as Pakistan's former President Pervez Musharraf, who also lost popular support for cooperating with the U.S. in fighting al-Qaida's central leadership and the Taliban in northwest Pakistan. Musharraf stepped down in 2008 amid protests and after a heavy election defeat for his supporters.

"You fool, you are digging your own grave," al-Raimi said. "Run for your life, Ali, because Pervez perished."

The commander read off a list of attacks and assassinations of senior intelligence and counterterrorism officers, saying the group has effectively used snipers and explosives and that the two methods would be the new fighting force's main tactics.

On Monday, a pair of bombs detonated one after the other, killing two people and injuring 12 near a sports club in the port city of Aden. A day earlier, gunmen shot dead a policeman in the southern province of Abyan.

"Our war with him (Saleh) is a war of attrition and exhaustion to weaken the enemy, and it will be easy to eat him up," al-Raimi said.

The new force, the Aden-Abyan army, takes its name from two southern provinces. The same name was also used by a now-dissolved jihadi group active in the late 1990s.