Serbian President Boris Tadic has claimed victory in the general election with early results suggesting a big lead for his pro-Western alliance.

Mr Tadic said Serbs had chosen the path of integration with Europe but he vowed his new government would not recognise Kosovo as an independent state.

Despite its lead, his bloc will have to seek a coalition with other parties.

Its ultra-nationalist rivals say they could still muster enough support for a nationalist coalition against him.

Non-governmental Swiss group Berne Declaration is helping a South African community challenge two European patents concerning use of its local plants in medicines.

German pharmaceutical company Dr Willmar Schwabe, which holds the patents and makes the highly successful umckaloabo® product based on the plants, has denied any wrongdoing.

The dispute, before the European Patent Office in Munich, Germany, involves two species of pelargonium - a type of geranium native to the Eastern Cape of South Africa.

Extracts have been in use in Europe for more than 100 years. Dr Willmar Schwabe markets umckaloabo® for coughs and respiratory complaints.

The two patent challenges - on the extraction method used and the exclusive use of pelargonium in Aids treatments - are being brought by the community of Alice with the African Centre for Biosafety (ACB).

ACB director Mariam Mayat told swissinfo that the community believed that the patents were unlawful and undermined its rights. She was speaking at a media conference in Zurich on Thursday.

"The community has since time immemorial had access to these plants and have used the roots to treat in a traditional way various ailments, in humans and animals," she said, adding that the plant was suffering over exploitation.

Italy's new interior minister wants to re-impose border controls for travellers from Europe's passport-free Schengen zone as part of security measures to crack down on crime and immigration.

The package drawn up by Roberto Maroni, a member of the anti-immigration Northern League, would make illegal immigration a crime punishable by up to four years' imprisonment, according to details published by newspapers on Sunday.

The package will be presented at a cabinet meeting this week. It is expected to be one of the first decrees approved by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's new conservative government, which was sworn in on Thursday.

One of the most controversial measures favored by Maroni is negotiating a suspension of Italy's obligations under the European Union's Schengen scheme. The accord, between 24 of the 27 member states, lets travellers cross national boundaries without checks.

The move is aimed mainly against Romanian immigrants and eastern European Roma people, who have been blamed for crimes in Italy.

ROME: Italy's new interior minister wants to re-impose border controls for travellers from Europe's passport-free Schengen zone as part of security measures to crack down on crime and immigration.

The package drawn up by Roberto Maroni, a member of the anti-immigration Northern League, would make illegal immigration a crime punishable by up to four years' imprisonment, according to details published by newspapers on Sunday.

The package will be presented at a cabinet meeting this week. It is expected to be one of the first decrees approved by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's new conservative government, which was sworn in on Thursday.

One of the most controversial measures favored by Maroni is negotiating a suspension of Italy's obligations under the European Union's Schengen scheme. The accord, between 24 of the 27 member states, lets travellers cross national boundaries without checks.

US Meat retailers can now trace their wares from the ranch to the refrigerator using DNA analysis.

IdentiGEN, based in Ireland with US offices in Lawrence, Kansas, says its DNA TraceBack technology can boost consumer confidence, as well as the value of the hamburger, steak, pork cuts and other meat.

TraceBack can determine not only where meat came from but whether it's organic or Angus - or whatever the label says, company officials said. Chief executive Don Marvin said it's the first product to offer DNA tracing for the entire meat supply chain.

"If you see a DNA TraceBack label, believe it," Marvin said. "It's true. It's DNA."

The technology - approved by the US Department of Agriculture in October - has been in use in Europe since 2000. British grocer Tesco and Ireland's Superquinn and Dunnes Stores use it.

Millions of pounds worth of soft fruit and vegetables are likely to be left to rot in fields this summer because of a shortage of foreign pickers caused by the falling value of the pound and new restrictions on the number of seasonal labourers allowed to enter Britain, farmers' leaders have warned.

As the harvesting season for the UK's £3.5bn horticulture industry gets under way this month, growers are fighting a losing battle to recruit enough labourers from across the European Union to pick more than 50,000 tonnes of strawberries, raspberries and other soft fruits being cultivated for the domestic market.

With thousands of workers from Poland and other eastern European countries returning home to profit from their own booming economies, the reluctance to join the annual picking bonanza is being held up as evidence of Britain's dwindling attraction as a destination for migrants willing to accept low wages or undertake unskilled jobs. A mixture of rising aspirations among the once plentiful supply of foreign labour and Whitehall red tape is being blamed for a "heartbreaking" situation where thousands of tonnes of produce could go to waste.

Germany urges higher food import standards

Germany believes China, India and the US should be forced to adopt higher environmental and health standards if they want to export food products to the European Union, says Horst Seehofer, Germany's farm minister.

His comments echo calls by Paris for new EU barriers to free trade in response to rising global demand for food. Michel Barnier, France's farm minister, last month called for curbs on "free-market liberalism", a view reflected by Mr Seehofer: "We need more market liberalisation, but under fair conditions."

"This does not mean more protectionism. We do not want to isolate the EU but to apply EU standards in other parts of the world," he told the Financial Times, adding that new standards should be agreed among industrialised and emerging economies in the World Trade Organisation.

Alistair Darling, UK chancellor, will on Monday fire the opening salvo in what threatens to be a major row with France and Germany over the future of Europe's Common Agricultural Policy, which he claims is exacerbating the world food crisis.

Mr Darling will urge fellow EU finance ministers to support the dismantling of the CAP, claiming it is costing consumers in Europe billions of pounds a year in higher food bills, while hurting farmers in the developing world.

Mr Seehofer dismissed such assertions as "complete rubbish". Rather, political change and greater farming efficiency in the developing world were needed.

"The developing countries need to be able to produce more food [for themselves]. They also need political reforms, better education and less corruption. Steps are also needed against big landowners that think only of maximising profits and not feeding the local population," he said.

Mr Seehofer signalled that Berlin might veto likely proposals from the European Commission to lift a ban on US exports to the EU of poultry products that are processed to lower standards than apply in the European bloc.

Mr Seehofer said the EU had very high standards on "the environment, on water, on health and social issues, that are also expensive for our farmers to implement. The EU should move step-by-step to ensure that third-world countries also have to meet these standards if they want to export to the EU."

He said this idea was broadly in line with France's proposals on a "European preference" in farm products to reflect higher EU standards. Poorer developing countries would not be affected, but the US, China, India and Latin America would, he said.

I've quoted the whole article, because it's all quite important. If the precedent can be created for CAP, then the same logic can apply to the rest of trade. Go, go, go!

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

MOSCOW: Prime Minister Vladimir Putin reshuffled the Russian government Monday in his first major action since leaving the Kremlin, bringing in some high-profile figures from his presidency but leaving prominent ministries unchanged.

The hawkish Sergei Ivanov, once seen as a possible successor to Putin as president, was named deputy prime minister -- a step down from his previous position as first deputy premier.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin retained their posts.

The ministry of energy and industry was split into two separate Cabinet positions, the most major structural change to the new government.

(...)

In all, Putin announced 24 positions, eight of them new.

Among the new appointments were Igor Sechin and Igor Shuvalov. Sechin, formerly Putin's powerful deputy chief of staff, will have oversight of industrial development programs as a deputy prime minister, and apparently will remain chairman of the state-controlled oil company Rosneft.

Shuvalov, meanwhile, will be one of two first deputy prime ministers. He was a top Putin policy aide who attained prominence when Russia hosted the Group of Eight summit in 2006.

Also Monday, Medvedev named Nikolai Patrushev, head of the KGB-successor Federal Security Service, as head of the Russian security council.

Alexander Bortnikov, formerly the head of the agency's economic security division, becomes the new head of the service known by the initials FSB.

The corruption-tainted telecommunications minister, Leonid Reiman, was not reappointed. A Swiss arbitration tribunal ruled in 2006 that Reiman is the true owner of a Bermuda-based fund that once controlled much of Russia's telephone industry.

Reiman, a longtime Putin associate, denied any ownership of the IPOC fund, but the revelations have been seen as evidence of high-level corruption in the Kremlin.

Iranian-backed Hizbullah and its opposition allies yesterday escalated their armed takeover of key areas of Lebanon held by the western-backed government, gaining control of the Druze heartlands of Mount Lebanon and clashing with pro-government Sunni fighters in the northern port city of Tripoli.

The pro-government Druze leader, Waleed Jumblatt, who had controlled the mountain areas south-east of Beirut for generations, ordered his fighters to stand down after fierce clashes with Hizbullah militants in which both sides kidnapped and executed rival supporters.

The area was turned over to the opposition Druze leader Talal Arsalan, who asked the army to deploy. Hizbullah and Amal fighters later largely withdrew from areas occupied in west Beirut after the army pledged that Hizbullah's secure telephone network would not be dismantled.

PHOENIX (AP) -- Fifty-three illegal immigrants found Sunday had been held against their will in a fortified home by suspected smugglers demanding more money, authorities said.

The group of rescued immigrants included two 13-year-old girls, three women and a mentally disabled man. The rest were men, Department of Public Safety spokesman Harold Sanders said.

Authorities began investigating Saturday after getting a tip that immigrants were being held captive. Sanders said the smugglers wanted an average of $2,500 for each person's release.

The single-family home where they were kept had been fortified to prevent escape and weapons were seized at the location. The suspected smugglers also took away the immigrants' shoes so they couldn't run off.

Sanders said five people, all residents of Mexico, were being jailed on charges of extortion, kidnapping, aggravated assault and human smuggling.

Authorities on the scene said the immigrants had little food and water and it was unclear how long they had been held inside the house.

Republicans Vote Against Moms; No Word Yet on Puppies, Kittens | Washington Post | 9.05.2008

It was already shaping up to be a difficult year for congressional Republicans. Now, on the cusp of Mother's Day, comes this: A majority of the House GOP has voted against motherhood.

On Wednesday afternoon, the House had just voted, 412 to 0, to pass H. Res. 1113, "Celebrating the role of mothers in the United States and supporting the goals and ideals of Mother's Day," when Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.), rose in protest.

"Mr. Speaker, I move to reconsider the vote," he announced.

It has long been the custom to compare a popular piece of legislation to motherhood and apple pie. Evidently, that is no longer the standard. Worse, Republicans are now confronted with a John Kerry-esque predicament: They actually voted for motherhood before they voted against it.

NAIROBI, May 9 (IPS) - The need to give agriculture top billing on governmental "to do" lists has been highlighted at a telephone briefing to discuss the current food crisis as it affects Africa.

Three top-level scientists from agricultural research institutes addressed journalists Thursday on what has caused food prices to rocket. The press conference also dealt with strategies that African countries might adopt for increasing future yields, mitigating the effects of the crisis, and coping in the event that staples such as rice and maize continue to rise in price.

"In the short run we need soil fertility," said Dennis Garrity, director general of the World Agroforestry Centre, headquartered in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

"Farmers in Africa desperately need nutrients in all forms to replenish their depleted soils. The continent is the lowest user of nutrients, as farmers use less than 10 percent of the fertilizer required per crop."

With fertilizer prices having increased sharply on the back of rising oil costs, governments might have to intervene to improve soil quality: "Fertilizer prices have tripled or even quadrupled...Governments must consider expanding fertilizer subsidies immediately. In addition, farmers must access markets. This will encourage them to increase their production," Garrity said.

The continent's farmers also need training in how to restore soil nutrients in inexpensive ways, such as planting fields with legumes.

The UN is demanding an investigation into how the Israeli military killed one of its Palestinian school teachers by blasting open the front door of her Gaza home with explosives in the presence of three of her children.

Wafer Shaker al Daghma, 34, a teacher at a local UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) elementary school, was killed last Wednesday as she stood preparing to open the wooden door of her home to the troops. According to UNRWA and relatives who found her body, the military used an explosive device on the door which blew most of her head from her body. They then confined the traumatised children - aged from two to 13 - for five hours while the body lay outside the door of the room where they were held.

Although the soldiers finally left the house - in darkness because of a blackout - at around 9pm, Mrs al Daghma's 13-year-old daughter Samira was too terrified to go outside for help for another two hours because of the continued presence of Israeli armoured vehicles outside her home.

Mbeki 'ignored judges' on Zim's 2002 poll : Mail & Guardian Online

Tsvangirai, is expected to return to Harare on Monday to contest a run-off election amid mounting criticism of his decision to flee the beleaguered country while thousands of his supporters were being attacked and some killed.

Tsvangirai has chosen to contend the second round of elections after previously saying he would not run again because he won the first vote outright.

Tsvangirai said Zimbabweans would feel betrayed if he did not run and allowed Mugabe to become president again by default.

"I shall return to Zimbabwe to begin a victory tour. Some might say this term 'victory' is cold and callous, given the hardships endured by the people. But the people are victorious and they are being punished for their victory," he said in Johannesburg, where he has spent much of the past six weeks. "We must free ourselves from those who would steal victory from fellow brothers and sisters by using guns, sticks and screwdrivers,"

Tsvangirai made a number of demands that are unlikely to be met, including that the ballot be held within the next fortnight. The government has said it could take months.

The violence continues unabated - graphic and appalling pictures for those who follow the links:

This is Zimbabwe

This is little Samson (3 years). He was beaten on Golden Star farm, Shamva. His parents are ex farm workers who remained living on the farm after their white employer was evicted. His parents were beaten on 21st April by militia who were saying "Whites left you on this farm, you are MDC, you want whites to come back and look after you". Their houses and everything they owned was burned. The mother is at the hospital with Samson; her husband and other two children are still somewhere in Shamva. She does not know where.

This is Zimbabwe

On Tuesday night Mr and Mrs Rogers (pictured) were viciously attacked in an incident between Chegutu and Kadoma. Their farmhouse was looted and trashed in the attack.

We have been told that their injuries are serious: Mrs Rogers was beaten and has suffered a cracked jaw and broken ribs. Mr Rogers has broken ribs and a broken nose - and his ear was bitten. He was shot at seven times and apparently said he felt one bullet going through his hair.

We received information today that last night, in the Chegutu area (south of Harare), farmers in the area were all called into the police station in Chegutu and were "re-educated" in a lecture on `how to vote'.

"The Oil Bubble: Set to Burst?" That was the headline of an October 2004 article in National Review, which argued that oil prices, then $50 a barrel, would soon collapse.

Ten months later, oil was selling for $70 a barrel. "It's a huge bubble," declared Steve Forbes, the publisher, who warned that the coming crash in oil prices would make the popping of the technology bubble "look like a picnic."

All through oil's five-year price surge, which has taken it from $25 a barrel to last week's close above $125, there have been many voices declaring that it's all a bubble, unsupported by the fundamentals of supply and demand.

So here are two questions: Are speculators mainly, or even largely, responsible for high oil prices? And if they aren't, why have so many commentators insisted, year after year, that there's an oil bubble?

Now, speculators do sometimes push commodity prices far above the level justified by fundamentals. But when that happens, there are telltale signs that just aren't there in today's oil market.

An earthquake measuring 7.5 has hit south-west China, according to the US Geological Survey.

The quake struck 57 miles (92km) north-west of Sichuan's provincial capital, Chengdu, at 1428 (0628 GMT), the survey said on its website.

Tremors were felt as far afield as Beijing, the Thai capital, Bangkok, and Hanoi in Vietnam.

Workers were evacuated from swaying buildings in several cities, but it was not clear if there were any casualties.

Workers in the Chinese capital, Beijing - about 930 miles from Chengdu - said buildings shook for about two minutes.

In the city's financial district, people poured out of buildings, but there were no visible signs of damage.

China's tallest building, the Jinmao Tower in Shanghai, was also evacuated after the earthquake, Reuters news agency said.

An earthquake measuring 7.5 rocked China's Sichuan province on Monday, less than 100 kilometres from the provincial capital of Chengdu, the U.S. Geological Survey said on its website.

It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties or damage from the tremor, which the USGS earlier put at 7.8.

The tremor, centred 92 kilometres northwest of Chengdu, was felt as far away as Beijing and Shanghai and the Thai capital Bangkok, where office buildings swayed with the impact.

Google news search gives quite a list of recent earthquakes: Tokyo (with aftershocks), Taiwan,  Iran, Kazachstan,  Mississippi, Missouri,  Guam, Alaska,   California,  Nevada, Mexico... all in the last 2-3 weeks, some in series. Besides, we have the volcano in Chile, tornadoes in US, and of course, Myanmar. Is mother nature awakening and learning how to kick us?

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Did U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain vote for President George W. Bush in 2000?

Liberal Internet blogger Arianna Huffington says McCain told her he did not. But the Arizona senator says he did vote for Bush, a fellow Republican, in 2000 and campaigned for him all over the country after his own attempt to win the party's nomination failed.

The claims and counterclaims may provide an entertaining distraction from the day-to-day battle for votes for this November's presidential election, when McCain will face one of two Democratic contenders, Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton.

But Huffington said in an interview the dust-up over the item she posted on her Web site earlier this week has broader meaning than whether or not McCain voted for his rival in the 2000 race for the Republican nomination.

"It's John McCain's relationship with the truth that's at stake here. It's not John McCain's relationship with me," Huffington said.

In the first of an occasional series on foreign unive