Shadows Over Amsterdam

AUGUSTA, Maine – A Maine legislator wants to make the state the first to require cell phones to carry warnings that they can cause brain cancer, although there is no consensus among scientists that they do and industry leaders dispute the claim.
The now-ubiquitous devices carry such warnings in some countries, though no U.S. states require them, according to the National Conference of State Legislators. A similar effort is afoot in San Francisco, where Mayor Gavin Newsom wants his city to be the nation's first to require the warnings.
Maine Rep. Andrea Boland, D-Sanford, said numerous studies point to the cancer risk, and she has persuaded legislative leaders to allow her proposal to come up for discussion during the 2010 session that begins in January, a session usually reserved for emergency and governors' bills.
Boland herself uses a cell phone, but with a speaker to keep the phone away from her head. She also leaves the phone off unless she's expecting a call. At issue is radiation emitted by all cell phones.
Under Boland's bill, manufacturers would have to put labels on phones and packaging warning of the potential for brain cancer associated with electromagnetic radiation. The warnings would recommend that users, especially children and pregnant women, keep the devices away from their head and body.
The Federal Communications Commission, which maintains that all cell phones sold in the U.S. are safe, has set a standard for the "specific absorption rate" of radiofrequency energy, but it doesn't require handset makers to divulge radiation levels.
The San Francisco proposal would require the display of the absorption rate level next to each phone in print at least as big as the price. Boland's bill is not specific about absorption rate levels, but would require a permanent, nonremovable advisory of risk in black type, except for the word "warning," which would be large and in red letters. It would also include a color graphic of a child's brain next to the warning.
While there's little agreement about the health hazards, Boland said Maine's roughly 950,000 cell phone users among its 1.3 million residents "do not know what the risks are."
All told, more than 270 million people subscribed to cellular telephone service last year in the United States, an increase from 110 million in 2000, according to CTIA-The Wireless Association. The industry group contends the devices are safe.
"With respect to the matter of health effects associated with wireless base stations and the use of wireless devices, CTIA and the wireless industry have always been guided by science, and the views of impartial health organizations. The peer-reviewed scientific evidence has overwhelmingly indicated that wireless devices do not pose a public health risk," said CTIA's John Walls.
James Keller of Lewiston, whose cell phone serves as his only phone, seemed skeptical about warning labels. He said many things may cause cancer but lack scientific evidence to support that belief. Besides, he said, people can't live without cell phones.
"It seems a little silly to me, but it's not going to hurt anyone to have a warning on there. If they're really concerned about it, go ahead and put a warning on it," he said outside a sporting good store in Topsham. "It wouldn't deter me from buying a phone."
While there's been no long-term studies on cell phones and cancer, some scientists suggest erring on the side of caution.
Last year, Dr. Ronald B. Herberman, director emeritus of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, sent a memo to about 3,000 faculty and staff members warning of risks based on early, unpublished data. He said that children should use the phones only for emergencies because their brains were still developing and that adults should keep the phone away from the head and use a speakerphone or a wireless headset.
Herberman, who says scientific conclusions often take too long, is one of numerous doctors and researchers who have endorsed an August report by retired electronics engineer L. Lloyd Morgan. The report highlights a study that found significantly increased risk of brain tumors from 10 or more years of cell phone or cordless phone use.
Also, the BioInitiative Working Group, an international group of scientists, notes that many countries have issued warnings and that the European Parliament has passed a resolution calling for governmental action to address concerns over health risks from mobile phone use.
But the National Cancer Institute said studies thus far have turned up mixed and inconsistent results, noting that cell phones did not come into widespread use in the United States until the 1990s.
"Although research has not consistently demonstrated a link between cellular telephone use and cancer, scientists still caution that further surveillance is needed before conclusions can be drawn," according to the Cancer Institute's Web site.

Motorola Inc., one of the nation's major wireless phone makers, says on its Web site that all of its products comply with international safety guidelines for radiofrequency energy exposure.

A Motorola official referred questions to CTIA.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) –
Google Inc is in talks to buy Yelp Inc, the popular website for reviews of local businesses, in a deal that could help the Internet search leader tap a lucrative local ads market, media reports say.

Google may pay more than $500 million for Yelp, according to reports confirmed to Reuters by a person familiar with the situation. It came as the Web giant embarked on an acquisition spree that has netted at least five companies since August.

By swallowing privately held Yelp, Google would own one of the Web's most popular repositories of local restaurant and small-business information, including more than 8 million reviews penned by Yelp's users.

That trove of content and a heavy focus on local businesses could provide a valuable foothold for Google as it seeks to convince local merchants to shift their advertising spending to the Internet.

"The local advertising market is a multibillion dollar market that for all intents and purposes is still untapped on the Web," said Needham & Co analyst Mark May.

In July, Internet portal Yahoo Inc teamed up with AT&T Corp in a partnership that involved the phone company's 5,000 sales people selling Yahoo advertising inventory to local businesses.

News of the recent talks between Google and Yelp -- backed by Benchmark Capital and other venture capital firms -- and the $500 million price tag were first reported by the blog TechCrunch.

The source familiar with the situation said talks were currently bogged down by concerns among some Yelp investors that the company could be selling itself prematurely, and that it could be worth far more than $500 million if it had a chance to develop its business.

The source added that Friday's news stories may have been floated to put pressure on for the deal to be consummated at a price that was too low.

SECOND-TIME SUITOR

Yelp said in an emailed statement that it is frequently approached to discuss "partnerships, investments and more, and the company does not comment on private discussions that may occur."

A Google spokeswoman said the company does not comment on rumors or speculation.

Google has had its eye on Yelp for some time. According to one former Google executive, the Internet company had had "early discussions" with Yelp about an acquisition several years ago, but ultimately passed on the deal.

"Yelp doesn't monetize very well, so it's always a bit hard to justify an acquisition," the person said.

The local businesses that Yelp sells online advertising to are more interested in promoting their businesses through coupons than online ads, he added, noting he believed Yelp was still an unprofitable business.

Yelp was founded in 2004 and has received $30 million in funding from Benchmark Capital, DAG Ventures and Bessemer Venture Partners.

The acquisition talks are the latest in a string of recent deals by Google, including the $750 million acquisition of mobile ad firm AdMob announced in November, that are designed to extend Google's reach into new advertising markets.

The world's No. 1 Internet search engine generated roughly $22 billion in revenues last year, but has seen its top line growth slow from the 40 percent-plus clip it was managing as recently as early 2008.

Google has stepped up efforts to court local merchants recently, encouraging businesses to register their information on its small-business online directory.

But some analysts say Google will have its work cut out trying to sell online ads to local merchants more comfortable with traditional channels like local television, newspapers and the Yellow Pages.

Needham's May estimated that Yelp, which had 8.9 million unique visitors to its site in November according to comScore, is generating revenue at an annual rate of $15 million to $20 million.

"That's a pretty tough nut to crack," May said about selling online ads to local merchants. "Whether Google can crack the code on it, is still to be seen."

(Additional reporting by David Lawsky; Editing by Edwin Chan and Richard Chang)

POKLJUKA, Slovenia – Tim Burke has become the first American to lead the biathlon World Cup standings following a sixth-place finish in a 12.5-kilometer pursuit race.
Evgeny Ustyugov of Russia won Sunday's race, beating Roland Lessing of Austria by 9.3 seconds.
Burke was 37.4 seconds behind Ustyugov, but moved from second to first in the standings. He has 253 points to lead Simon Fourcade of France by seven points.
Burke of Lake Placid, N. Y. said Sunday during a conference call that he's excited and "it has not quite hit me yet." The 27-year-old credits years of biathlon experience and a team effort for his breakthrough in a sport dominated by Europeans.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
POKLJUKA, Slovenia (AP) — Svetlana Sleptsova of Russia has won a World Cup biathlon 10-kilometer pursuit for her second victory in two days.
Sleptsova missed two targets but finished in 34 minutes, 3.2 seconds on Sunday to record her sixth World Cup victory.
Magdalena Neuner of Germany was 36.3 seconds behind with three targets missed. Anna Bogaliy-Titovets of Russia was 43.2 seconds back in third with two missed targets.
Sleptsova also won Saturday's sprint.
Helena Jonsson of Sweden leads the overall standings with 342 points after finishing seventh Sunday. Anna Carin Olofsson-Zidek of Sweden is next with 298 points after coming eighth. Sleptsova rose to third overall with 272 points.

This Behind the Scenes article was provided to LiveScience in partnership with the National Science Foundation.

When people picture faces of famous Americans who are personally affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, they tend to see Magic Johnson, Ryan White, Rock Hudson, Greg Louganis, or Freddy Mercury, to name a few. Seldom, if ever, is the deadly virus associated with the face of a woman.

Now in a new study that's the first of its kind, Celeste Watkins-Hayes is examining how women cope economically with the disease, and her findings could influence today's health care debate.

"For a long time, women with HIV were somewhat invisible in the research field and in our common knowledge," said Watkins-Hayes, associate professor of African American studies and sociology at Northwestern University. "AIDS and HIV got tagged as a 'man's disease' early on in the epidemic even though there were women being infected as well."

In her study, Watkins-Hayes is exploring the economic experiences and related social processes of women living with HIV/AIDS in Chicago. By following a group of women over the course of two years, she plans to uncover which economic situations allow infected women to manage their health most effectively and continue to contribute to society.

Watkins-Hayes' previous research showed that women living with the virus were able to find resilience despite their situations, but having economic stability was a key ingredient to doing so. Most of the women in the study received health care, medication, and social services through the Ryan White Care Act, which is the largest provider of assistance for people with HIV/AIDS in the United States. With funds intact, women were better able to care for their children and prevent HIV from developing into full-blown AIDS.

"In the absence of those resources, the lives of these women would have been devastated," said Watkins-Hayes. "When they didn't have to worry about where their medication and other basic needs were coming from, they could focus on their families and personal wellness. But that is not the case for everybody living with HIV in the U.S."

The new study will look beyond access to medications to explore other economic resources that help women effectively manage their health. When women do not have stable incomes large enough to cover expenses, their focus can move from protecting their health to gathering resources to survive. They may be more likely to live in impoverished neighborhoods where crime and drugs are prominent and more likely to rely on intimate partners for their basic financial needs. This puts them in situations where they may be exposed to non-monogamous partners or sex work to meet their financial needs, which can further spread the virus.

"Much of the work we're doing across the country and globally shows there is a relationship between poverty and HIV in terms of economic disadvantage creating a social context of risk," Watkins-Hayes said.

Watkins-Hayes will follow women from all demographic backgrounds and compare their economic profiles. Among the groups she will study are women who take care of themselves with government funds or disability benefits from social security, women who participate in the labor market, women who receive help from non-profit organizations, and women who rely on a variety of sources to make ends meet.

"When we know what works, then we can figure out how to intervene with policy and programs to keep this epidemic from exploding completely," she said.

As the research is conducted, Watkins-Hayes will disseminate the findings through meetings, conferences, and a series of papers. She also plans to create a web site and policy briefs where people can follow the progress of her work.

"A whole arm of this study is dedicated to communicating to the public about what we're doing and how we're doing it," she said. "I don't want the community to feel like this research happened in an ivory tower and ended up in a journal that is only read by academics."

Funded by an Early Career Development (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation, Watkins-Hayes will begin interviewing research subjects this winter.

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Editor's Note: This research was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF),
the federal agency charged with funding basic research and education
across all fields of science and engineering. Any opinions, findings,
and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those
of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National
Science Foundation. See the Behind the Scenes Archive.

Original Story: The Invisible AIDS Victims: How Women CopeLiveScience.com chronicles the daily advances and innovations made in science and technology. We take on the misconceptions that often pop up around scientific discoveries and deliver short, provocative explanations with a certain wit and style. Check out our science videos, Trivia & Quizzes and Top 10s. Join our community to debate hot-button issues like stem cells, climate change and evolution. You can also sign up for free newsletters, register for RSS feeds and get cool gadgets at the LiveScience Store.

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's most senior dissident cleric, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, has died, his grandson said Sunday. He was 87.
Nasser Montazeri said his grandfather, who was seen as the spiritual father of Iran's reform movement, died in his sleep overnight.
Montazeri had been designated to succeed Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the late founder of Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, but the two had a falling out a few months before Khomeini died of cancer in 1989.
Iran's current Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, succeeded Khomeini instead and has been the target of escalating criticism by Iran's opposition movement since June's disputed presidential vote.
Montazeri had repeatedly accused the country's ruling Islamic establishment of imposing dictatorship in the name of Islam.
In 1997, Montazeri was place under house arrest in Qom, 130 kilometers (80 miles) south of Tehran, after saying Khamenei wasn't qualified to rule.
The penalty was lifted in 2003, but Montazeri remained defiant, repeatedly accusing the country's ruling Islamic establishment of imposing dictatorship in the name of Islam. He said the liberation that was supposed to follow the 1979 revolution never happened.
Montazeri was one of just a few Grand Ayatollahs — the most senior theologians of the Shiite Muslim faith.
After he was placed under house arrest, state-run media stopped referring to Montazeri by his religious title, describing him instead as a "simple-minded" cleric. Any talk about Montazeri was strongly discouraged, references to him in schoolbooks were removed and streets named after him were renamed.
Montazeri was still respected by many Iranians, who observed his religious rulings or supported his calls for democratic change within the ruling establishment.
On Saturday, after months of denials, Iran acknowledged that at least three people detained in the country's postelection turmoil were beaten to death by their jailers.
The surprise announcement by the hard-line judiciary confirmed one of the opposition's most devastating and embarrassing claims against authorities and the elite Revolutionary Guard forces that led the crackdown after the vote in June.

Copenhagen,Denmark –
Ministers from more than 190 countries approved a new climate agreement today that lays out emissions-control objectives for the US and a range of developing countries, sets a target of less than 2 degrees for global warming, and pledges $30 billion in aid for adaptation and other climate-related needs for developing countries.
The deal first emerged yesterday after leaders from 28 countries backed the accord, which was negotiated by the US, China, Brazil, South Africa, and India. The goal was to have the pact adopted by all the countries taking part in two weeks of global climate negotiations here.
But the agreement left many observers disappointed – and laid bare the challenges of negotiating a climate agreement among 193 countries with such a broad range of political and economic interests, and with such diverse levels of economic development.
The pact that was agreed to today barely survived last-minute objections in an all-night plenary session aimed at gaining the needed consensus to become an official adjunct to the 1992 Framework Convention on Climate Change. Only after UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and a group of international lawyers intervened with a last-minute word change did negotiators unanimously accept the pact.
The result: a pact countries can sign up for if they want to, once they've had time to study closely its provisions and get comfortable with them. A large number of countries do indeed want to be in on the pact, because of the climate aid package it contains.
Secretary Ban acknowledged that negotiators "did not get everything that everyone hoped for." But, he added, the pact "is an essential beginning. It lays the foundation for the first truly global agreement" on climate."
Not legally bindingTo many negotiators, especially from developing countries, it is a shaky foundation. The pact is not legally binding, although negotiators will try to craft formal treaty language over the next year. The emission-control efforts countries have included in the agreement falls well short of the emissions reductions the UN-sponsored Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicates is needed to achieve a 2-degree goal. And long-term financing provisions to help developing countries adapt to global warming and afford the green technologies they will need to keep their emission-control pledges is too vague for many.
During the morning's plenary debate, the head of the delegation from the Marshall Islands lamented that he would "leave this conference with a sense of loss and sadness." The highest spot among the islands that make up the Marshalls is only about 7 feet above sea level, he explained. The 2-degree goal, he continued, is insufficient to prevent sea levels from eventually rising high enough to swamp most of the islands. "My country is one of the biggest losers in this exercise," he said.
European Union officials, who had dangled aggressive emissions cuts as an incentive for others to offer up more ambitious emission-control, also viewed the pact with a level of resignation.
"This is not a perfect agreement," said Fredrik Reinfeldt, Sweden's prime minister and Eu president. "But this agreement among major players is a start."
Fast-start financial aid for developing countriesOne element that helped the agreement along involved so-called fast-start financial aid to developing countries for adaptation and climate-friendly development. The agreement sets up the Copenhagen Green Fund, into which developed countries will put $30 billion between 2010 and 2012.
If the pact itself leaves many here lukewarm at best about the results, the process does herald a potential change in the way international negotiations are handled, notes Harvard University's Robert Stavin, who heads Harvard's Project on International Climate Agreements.
Heads of government clinched the dealIn essence, the most critical negotiations ultimately were conducted and concluded by heads of government themselves, rather than their ministers.
Indeed, Ban's intervention today in effect acted as a coda to the involvement of such top global politicians. It's a level of engagement seldom if ever seen in any global negotiating forum, adds Robert Orr, the UN's assistant secretary-general for policy and planning.
Usually deals are precooked and leaders smile and sign, he says. This time around, leaders were actively engaged, negotiating in ways they hadn't since their early days as politicians. Leaders were exploring temperature goals with a level of understanding that Mr. Orr says he's never heard before from people at that level.
"Two years ago, I'm not sure that there were but a handful of leaders ... that could have a meaningful discussion on 1.5 versus 2 degrees," he says.
But the talks reopened rifts between rich and poor countries that have flared since the end of colonialization during the last century. It wasn't lost on observers that the deal was struck among countries taking part in Washington's Major Economies Forum on Climate and Energy, a legacy of the George W. Bush presidency.
The next, and perhaps more difficult task, is to fill in the blanks and work out language that yields a legally binding agreement, says Yvo de Boer, the executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. "We've got to achieve in Mexico ll the things we were supposed to achieve here," he said. That includes a legally binding treaty that embraces the US as well as the financial aid provisions, adequate provisions for technology transfer, and other items that dropped from the screen as one draft accord morphed into another. And he looks for results that ensure the 1997 Kyoto Protocol moves into a second commitment period.

"Basically, the list I put under the Christmas tree two years ago I can put under the Christmas tree again," he says.

LONDON – A drawing by Raphael and a Rembrandt portrait have set records and together sold for almost 50 million pounds ($82 million) at an auction in London.
Christie's auction house said Wednesday that Raphael's "Head of a Muse" fetched 29.2 million pounds ($47.5 million), double its pre-sale estimate, at Tuesday's sale. It is one of the highest prices ever paid for an Old Master at auction and a record for a work on paper.
The work — a study for a fresco in the Vatican — was bought by an anonymous telephone bidder from an unidentified private seller.
"(It) offers us a glimpse into the working mind of a genius; it presents us with the immediacy of his thoughts and ideas, capturing the precise moment at which the artist's hand and mind were applied to paper," said Benjamin Peronnet, head of Old Master and 19th-Century Drawings at Christie's.
A portrait by Dutch master Rembrandt also fetched a record price for the artist at auction, selling for 20 million pounds ($32.7 million).
"Portrait of a Man, Half-Length, with his Arms Akimbo" once hung in the president's office at Columbia University but has not been seen in public for almost 40 years.
Columbia sold the painting in the 1970s. Christie's did not identify the current seller, saying only that the painting was in "a distinguished private collection."
The previous record price for a Rembrandt was 19.8 million pounds ($28.7 million at the time) paid for "Portrait of a Lady Aged 62" at a Christie's sale in 2000.
The prices include buyer's premium.
The sale made a total of 68.4 million pounds ($111.8 million).

SYDNEY (Reuters) –
Many Australians will really have a merry Christmas as more companies forget the financial crisis this holiday season and splash out on year-end parties, according to a business forecast.

After falling sharply in 2008, corporate spending is expected to be on the up this Christmas, with business information analysts IBISWorld forecasting companies will spend over A$560 million ($513.3 million) on events -- an increase of 76 percent from last year.

The number of companies throwing Christmas parties is expected to increase to 92 percent this year, compared to just 67 percent in 2008, and the average spent per employee is set to rise from $75 to $105.

"As we look to 2010, many Australian companies are finding themselves in a much better position than projected," IBISWorld General Manager Robert Bryant said in a statement.

"And while 2008-09 saw corporate Australia slash costs, thus raising capital and expanding profitability, the looming upturn in the job market and need to retain skilled employees will see companies spend up on end-of-2009 events."

In 2008, the global financial crisis drove businesses all over the world to slash spending or cancel Christmas parties altogether.

But Australia's economy has done better than expected this year, with government stimulus packages, interest rate cuts and robust demand for mineral and energy commodities from a resurgent China helping the country to avoid recession.

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine boxer Manny Pacquiao submitted his candidacy for the 2010 elections Tuesday, his second attempt at a congressional seat.
Pacquiao defeated Miguel Cotto in Las Vegas last month to win his seventh world boxing titles in seven different weight classes. He was accompanied by his wife, Jinkee, and mother, Dionisia, in filing his candidacy in southern Sarangani province's Alabel township.
He was defeated in 2007 when he ran for the congressional seat in General Santos city, where he began his boxing career.
A former baker and construction worker born to a poor family, Pacquiao became an embodiment of a rags-to-riches story in the country where one-third of the 90 million people live on less than $1 a day.
Pacquiao told The Associated Press in March he wanted to serve the many poor people in his province.
"I want to help them because I know what they feel right now. It is not easy to help other people. That is a big responsibility. I will focus on that for the meantime," he told AP.
It wasn't immediately clear if he will still fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. if he wins in congress.
Supporters cheered as he released white balloons and showed them his certificate as the lead candidate of his party, the People's Champ Movement, outside the Commission on Elections office in Alabel, about 620 miles south of Manila.

Forex Alerts

Milton Friedman argued that the best stabilization strategy would be for central banks to buy when the exchange rate is too low, and to sell when the rate is too high — that is, to trade for a profit based on their more precise information. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of central bank "stabilizing speculation" is doubtful because central banks do not go bankrupt if they make large losses, like other traders would, and there is no convincing evidence that they do make a profit trading.

Technical trading considerations: As in other markets, the accumulated price movements in a currency pair such as EUR/USD can form apparent patterns that traders may attempt to use. Many traders study price charts in order to identify such patterns.

PRETORIA (Reuters) –
South Africa, with the world's highest HIV caseload, will roll out life-prolonging anti-retroviral drugs to significantly more people infected with the virus from next year, President Jacob Zuma said on Tuesday. Zuma announced a new era in the approach to AIDS in South Africa, where at least 5.7 million people are infected with HIV and former President Thabo Mbeki was accused of failing to address a sickness that kills an estimated 1,000 people a day.

"Let there be no more shame, no more blame, no more discrimination and no more stigma. Let the politicization and endless debates about HIV and AIDS stop," Zuma said in a speech on World AIDS Day.

From April 2010, all children under one year will get anti-retroviral drugs if they test positive. Pregnant women and patients with both tuberculosis and AIDS will receive treatment if their CD4 or T-cell counts are 350 or less.

Currently, public hospitals dispense ARVs when HIV deteriorates to AIDS and patients' CD4 counts are below 200. It was unclear exactly how many more people would now be covered, or how the government would meet the cost.

Former President Mbeki drew sharp criticism for questioning accepted AIDS science and failing to make life-prolonging ARVs widely available. Mbeki's health minister was lampooned for recommending garlic and beetroot as treatments.

But Zuma, an old rival of Mbeki who was elected this year, encouraged all South Africans to undergo HIV testing and likened the battle against AIDS to the struggle against apartheid.

ZUMA TO TAKE TEST

"Together we fought and defeated a system so corrupt and reviled that it was described as a crime against humanity. Together we can overcome this challenge."

"I am making arrangements for my own test. I have taken HIV tests before, and I know my status. I will do another test soon as part of this new campaign. I urge you to start planning for your own tests," he said.

Zuma's AIDS approach has been welcomed by activists.

That marks a change from their condemnation in 2006 when he admitted at a trial for rape -- of which he was acquitted -- that he had unprotected sex with a woman who was HIV positive and then showered to cut the risk of infection.

South Africa's health minister said in September it would not meet its target of providing life-prolonging drugs to 80 percent of HIV/AIDS sufferers by 2011 due to logistical problems and a lack of personnel.

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said the government's HIV program has a shortfall of around one billion rand ($135 million).

Zuma did not give details of how the government would fund the increased rollout of drugs but said all health institutions in the country would be ready to receive and assist patients with treatment and testing facilities.

Currently only accredited centers can provide treatment, leading to delays in dispensing anti-retrovirals.

The United States said on Tuesday it would provide an additional $120 million funding over two years for ARV drugs in response to a request from Zuma.

(Writing by Marius Bosch; Editing by Matthew Tostevin)

HARARE (AFP) –
A new team of South African mediators have held their first talks with Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe in a fresh bid to ease tensions within the strained unity government, state media reported Tuesday.

"President Robert Mugabe yesterday met the visiting South African mediation team," the state owned Herald said.

The mediators -- including South African President Jacob Zuma's foreign policy adviser Lindiwe Zulu -- met with Mugabe at his State House offices, the paper said.

Zuma named the new team last week to take over the regional mediation role previously held by former South African president Thabo Mbeki, who brokered the power-sharing deal signed last year that created the unity government.

Mbeki, however, had faced widespread criticism over his "quiet diplomacy" which critics said was too soft on 85-year-old Mugabe, who has ruled since independence in 1980.

The team also met with negotiators from Mugabe's ZANU-PF party as well as rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the Herald said.

The unity government created in February has been plagued by a raft of disputes that led Tsvangirai to boycott cabinet for three weeks in October.

Regional leaders in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) ended the standoff at a special summit in Mozambique, tasking Zuma with helping the parties resolve their differences.

Among the issues contested by the rival parties are the appointment of the central bank governor and the attorney general, as well as the naming of provincial governors and removal of a Western travel ban and asset freeze on Mugabe and his inner circle.

NEW YORK – Families of some of those killed in the Sept. 11 terror attacks welcome President Barack Obama's plan to deploy thousands more troops to Afghanistan as a long-overdue surge that could win the war.
"I think it's a long time coming," said Debra Burlingame, whose brother, Charles, was the pilot of the hijacked plane that crashed into the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.
"My feeling is that the war in Afghanistan is an essential war," she said Monday. "This is where we must win. We cannot cede this territory back to al-Qaida."
Others were less hopeful about sending more Americans to fight a war that has gone on for so long that its connection to the terror attacks has become lost to some.
"We kind of abandoned the people in Vietnam," said Lee Ielpi, a Vietnam veteran whose firefighter son was killed on 9/11. "I'm not sure what we accomplished other than 58,000-plus people killed. I don't want to see the same thing happening in Afghanistan."
Ielpi said he hopes the administration heeds Vietnam's lessons, and has "a solid goal on where we're going, how we're going to help Afghanistan when we leave."
The president plans to announce his new Afghan war strategy, including deploying thousands more American forces to the region and laying out a path toward disengagement, in a national address Tuesday night from West Point, N.Y.
Many family members of those killed on Sept. 11 are infuriated that Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders remain at large after so many years.
"We need to continue to deny them sanctuary," said Tim Sumner, whose brother-in-law was a firefighter killed at the World Trade Center. "The same folks that conspired against us on 9/11 and continue to conspire against us are holed up in the northwest corner of Pakistan. We can't let up pressure from both sides of the border to eliminate this threat."
Hamilton Peterson, who lost his father, Donald, and stepmother, Jean Peterson, when the hijacked United Flight 93 crashed into a Pennsylvania field, said the planned surge is overdue.
"I don't see how the president could not do it. I'm a bit frustrated it's taken so long to do so," he said. "Sometimes the best decisions are the most difficult and unpopular."
Nancy Nee, whose firefighter brother, George Cain, was killed in New York, said she feels a strong bond with families of soldiers who risked their lives or were killed in overseas wars against terror.
"I hope the president fulfills the requests of the generals that are over there to finish the job," Nee said. "It would be a shame to just pull out now and have everything fall flat."
Sally Regenhard, whose son, Christian Regenhard, served in the U.S. Marine Corps and was a New York City firefighter who died in the attacks, had mixed feelings about sending thousands more soldiers.
"I don't want to see more young people killed," Regenhard said. "But I really feel that this president is in a no-win situation. I just hope and pray that this is the right move and that we can get out of this area."
Administration officials have said the president's goal is to train Afghan security forces to eventually take over from the U.S. and to disengage U.S. forces from the area. Some family members thought the timing of that strategy was tricky.
Charles Wolf, whose wife, Katherine, was killed at the trade center, said Obama should do a better job of selling the war to the American people, and that the plan should not include an exit date.
"I think it is a very dangerous thing to be telling our enemy how long we're going to be there, because they'll just play dead for a while," Wolf said.

"We should be going in there and telling them that yes, we are going to map out a strategy, and we are going to be there as long as it takes to get rid of you."

___

Associated Press writer Dan Nephin in Pittsburgh contributed to this report.