A Canadian judge has acquitted four doctors and a US drug company of criminal negligence in a long-running tainted-blood scandal.
At least 20,000 people were infected with hepatitis C or HIV in the 1980s and 1990s before Canada used up-to-date blood screening practices.
At least 3,000 people are known to have died as a result of receiving tainted blood products.
The case is the first to stem from Canada's worst public health disaster.
The trial covered seven of the more than 1,000 people who were infected from an HIV-infected blood-clotting product made by US-based Armour Pharmaceutical.
A second trial will deal with the bulk of the deaths and the thousands infected with hepatitis C.
'Tragic events'
The defendants in the 18-month trial included Dr Roger Perrault, the former director of the Canadian Red Cross and two former Health Canada officials, Dr John Furesz and Dr Donald Boucher.
The US-based drug company Armour Pharmaceutical and one of its former vice-presidents, Dr Michael Rodell, were also on trial. 
The defendants were alleged to have failed to screen blood products and take adequate measures to prevent people infected with HIV and Aids from donating their blood.
A comprehensive blood screening system was in use in the United States in the late 1980s and early 1990s but was not adopted in Canada.
Ontario provincial Superior Court Justice Mary Lou Benotto said the events were "tragic, but to assign blame where none exists would compound the tragedy," the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported.
In July 2006, the Canadian government announced a C$1bn ($1.008bn) compensation package for thousands of people infected with hepatitis C from tainted blood.
The package included thousands of people left out of a previous compensation agreement.
In May that year, the Canadian Red Cross apologised to the thousands of Canadians infected as a result of the tainted blood.
The government withdrew charges of criminal negligence causing bodily harm against the charity in exchange for a guilty plea under the Food and Drugs Act.
Acquittals in Canada blood trial
Bush seeks flexible CO2 targets
Friday, 28 September 2007
US President George W Bush has said every country must set its own targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Correspondents say Mr Bush's comments, at a meeting of the top 16 polluting nations, suggest the US may not agree to any internationally-binding cuts.
He also said combating climate change should not hinder economic growth.
Critics say the US position could dilute attempts to reach a global agreement through the UN, ahead of the expiry of the Kyoto Protocol in 2012.
Mr Bush, who shortly after taking office in 2001 said he would not submit the protocol to Congress for ratification, has opposed mandatory cuts.
He has instead championed voluntary approaches - echoed by China and India.
'New approach'
Addressing the US-sponsored forum on energy security and climate change, Mr Bush said the two issues were "the great challenges of our time" which the US was taking seriously.
He urged the participants to jointly set a long-term goal for reducing the CO2 emissions that were causing the climate to heat up.
"By setting this goal, we acknowledge there is a problem. And by setting this goal, we commit ourselves to doing something about it," Mr Bush said.
He proposed to hold a summit next summer to finalise the goal and other key elements of what he described as "a new international approach" on CO2 gases.
Mr Bush also said such measures would help "advance negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change".
'Clean technologies'
But he stressed that it was possible to cut emissions without harming economies. 
"Our guiding principle is clear - we must lead the world to produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions and we must do it in a way that does not undermine economic growth or prevent nations from delivering greater prosperity for their people," he said.
He said developing clean energy technologies was the key to success, adding that the global demand for energy was expected to increase by 50% by 2030.
The president announced a new international clean technology fund to help developing countries take advantage of new greener methods of generating energy.
But Mr Bush again hinted that the US would not commit itself to mandatory CO2 cuts, despite growing pressure by some of the forum's participants.
"Each nation must decide for itself the right mix of tools and technology to achieve results that are measurable and environmentally effective," Mr Bush said.
The top UN climate official, Yvo de Boer, said he believed the discussions at the conference could feed back into the UN process.
Mr de Boer said it was crucial that industrialised nations committed to an approach that went "well beyond present efforts, given their historic responsibilities and economic capabilities".
Teams from Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, the EU, France, Germany, Japan, India, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Russia and the US were taking part in the Washington forum.
The meeting was called by the US as a precursor to UN talks in Indonesia in December, which will seek to launch a successor to the Kyoto Protocol.
Bush approves $25m in N Korea aid
Friday, 28 September 2007
US President George W Bush has authorised $25m (£13m) in fuel aid to North Korea under an agreement aimed at ending the country's nuclear programme.
Under a February deal, the US and other participants at the six-party talks agreed to provide North Korea with aid.
In return North Korea said it would shut down its main nuclear reactor - which it did in July - and eventually dismantle its entire nuclear programme.
Envoys are meeting in China to pin down details of the second part of the deal.
The announcement by the US followed the first day of negotiations in Beijing between the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the US.
'Meaningful disabling'
Heading into the talks on Thursday, Mr Hill told journalists that the idea was "to lay out a road map until the end of the year".
He said that North Korea had agreed to some measures but more work was needed.
"[North Korea] has agreed to some steps and I think we've looked at what they've agreed to and, frankly, we'd like more and they'd like less and let's see what we end up with," he said.
There was no agreement on what constituted disabling yet, he said.
The South Korean negotiator, Chun Yung-woo, said that the differences were not insurmountable because the "political will" was there to reach an agreement.
North Korea tested its first nuclear device in October 2006.
US urges climate change consensus
Thursday, 27 September 2007
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said climate change is a real problem, and world leaders should forge a new global consensus on tackling it.
At a meeting of the top 16 polluting countries, Ms Rice said the US was "a major emitter" and was not "above the international community on the issue".
She said that the "growing problem" should be resolved under UN auspices.
Critics voiced concern that the US was trying to rally support for voluntary rather than binding emission cuts.
This would dilute attempts to reach a global agreement through the UN, ahead of the expiry of the Kyoto Protocol in 2012.
US President George W Bush, who rejected the Kyoto Protocol in 2001, has opposed mandatory cuts, calling instead for voluntary approaches - echoed by China and India.
At the talks in Washington, Ms Rice said: "Though united by common goals and collective responsibility, all nations should tackle climate change in the ways they deem best."
She challenged leaders to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels by moving toward energy sources that would reduce global warming - but without harming their economies.
Delegates will seek agreement on global goals for "energy security and reducing greenhouse gas emissions", the White House said in a statement.
President George W Bush is expected to address the meeting on Friday.
Small practical steps
Representatives from the EU and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change are also attending the US-sponsored meeting.
The BBC's environment analyst Roger Harrabin says Europe's political leaders do not anticipate much from these talks - most have sent junior ministers or even civil servants. 
However, our correspondent says they hope that perhaps some small practical steps may emerge to help share best practice between industrial sectors and they are relieved that publicly, at last, America is saying that climate change is really a problem that needs tackling.
The top UN climate official, Yvo de Boer, said he believed the discussions could feed back into the UN process.
The UN is to hold a meeting in Indonesia in December, where representatives will consider ways to tighten a mandatory clampdown on carbon emissions after the Kyoto pact expires.
Mr de Boer said it was crucial that industrialised nations committed to an approach that went "well beyond present efforts, given their historic responsibilities and economic capabilities".
Many scientists say political action is falling behind what is needed to avert lasting damage to Earth's climate.
Ten 'most polluted places' named
Friday, 14 September 2007
A list of the world's most polluted places has been published by a US-based independent environmental group.
The Blacksmith Institute's top 10 towns and cities included sites in ex-Soviet republics, Russia, China and India. Peru and Zambia were also listed.
The report said an estimated 12 million people were affected by the severe pollution, which was mainly caused by chemical, metal and mining industries.
Chronic illness and premature deaths were listed as possible side-effects.
The annual review, which debuted in 2006, is listed alphabetically, and the sites are unranked "given the wide range of location sizes, populations and pollution dynamics".
Among the new sites listed in 2007 were Tianying in China, where potentially 140,000 people were at risk from lead poisoning from a massive lead production base there.
The report also said that in the Indian town of Sukinda there were 12 mines operating without environmental controls, leaching dangerous chemicals into water supplies.
Sumgayit in Azerbaijan was also included in the report, which said the former Soviet industrial base was polluting the area with industrial chemicals and heavy metals.
According to the report, cancer rates in Sumgayit were as much as 51% higher than the national average and that genetic mutations and birth defects were commonplace.
The Blacksmith Institute's director, Richard Fuller, said: "The fact of the matter is that children are sick and dying in these polluted places, and it's not rocket science to fix them.
"This year, there has been more focus on pollution in the media, but there has been little action in terms of new funding or programmes. We all need to step up to the plate and get moving," he said.
OJ Simpson quizzed over break-in
Friday, 14 September 2007
Ex-American football star OJ Simpson has been questioned by police in Las Vegas in connection with an alleged armed robbery at a casino hotel room.
The incident occurred at the Palace Station Casino late on Thursday.
Police said they were questioning Mr Simpson and four others over an alleged theft that involved sports memorabilia.
Mr Simpson is reported to have tried to retrieve the items which he claimed belonged to him. Police said he had not been arrested but was "co-operating".
Police were called to the hotel room after a man thought to be a memorabilia dealer reported being robbed by five people, one of whom he said was OJ Simpson.
Police captain James Dillon said: "We have a report from the victim that there were weapons involved. We have not determined that at this time and have not recovered any weapons."
"The items taken were various sports-related products," he said.
Detectives were arranging to interview Mr Simpson again, Capt Dillon said, adding that police were studying video surveillance tapes from the casino.
"There was no hesitation on his part to co-operate, and to immediately meet with police and that is ongoing at this time," he said.
Public outcry
Mr Simpson was tried and acquitted in 1995 of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman on 12 June 1994.
Mr Simpson was later found liable for the deaths in a civil trial and ordered to pay $33.5m (£17m) in damages - money that has never been collected.
In July, the rights to Mr Simpson's book If I Did It were awarded to Mr Goldman's family to help cover the judgement.
The book, in which Mr Simpson describes how he would have killed his ex-wife and her friend, was published in the US on Thursday by Beaufort Books.
The publication followed months of legal wrangling after Rupert Murdoch's companies cancelled plans to publish the book following a public outcry last year.
Six held for abuse of black woman
Thursday, 13 September 2007
West Virginia prosecutors are to bring state kidnap charges against six white people accused of abusing and torturing a black woman for a week.
The prosecutors opted not to pursue race hate charges with a penalty of 10 years, going instead for kidnapping which carries a maximum life term.
The six allegedly beat, stabbed and sexually assaulted the woman, while using a racial slur.
Prosecutors say the woman had been in a relationship with one of the six.
Megan Williams, 20, and her mother, Carmen, agreed to release her name to the media, saying they wanted people to know what she had endured.
Mrs Williams said she was "horrified" by her daughter's injuries.
"I don't understand a human being doing another human being the way they did my daughter. I didn't know there were people like that out there," she said.
Choking
Ms Williams was discovered on Saturday when an anonymous tip-off led police to a remote hillside house in Big Creek, Logan County. She staggered towards them crying "Help me", officers said.
Among the allegations against the six people accused of holding Ms Williams are that they forced her to eat rat droppings and drink from a toilet.
They are accused of pouring hot water over her, choking her with a cable and cutting her ankle with a knife, while verbally abusing her.
Prosecutor Brian Abraham said Ms Williams was not a random target and had a previous relationship with Bobby Brewster, 24, one of the accused.
He was charged in July with domestic battery and assault after a dispute between them.
The six accused face charges including kidnapping, sexual assault, malicious wounding and giving false information to police.
They are Mr Brewster, his mother Frankie, 49, 20-year-old Danny Combs, Karen Burton, 46, her daughter Alisha, 23, and George Messer, 27.
