Fate, police say, saved baby Grace from being tossed out with the trash.

Were it not for a cleaning lady who chanced upon the newborn waving a feeble arm from a blue trash bag in an airplane bathroom, Grace would have met the fate her mother apparently intended for her, authorities said.

On Wednesday, police in New Zealand charged the 29-year-old woman with abandonment and assault -- for giving birth to the child on an international flight and then leaving her, without alerting anyone, in a toilet bin amid bloodied paper towels.

The woman, whose name was not released, faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.

The case has made headlines in the island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.

The woman is a kiwi fruit picker who was returning from Samoa when she walked off a Pacific Blue flight in Auckland on Thursday, reported the New Zealand Press Association, a cooperative of the country's newspapers.

About 20 minutes later, a cleaning lady discovered the baby in a restroom inside the Boeing 737. Her fellow custodians wrapped the baby in a blanket and handed her to authorities.

About the same time, police spotted the mother in the airport, "looking pale and bloodstained" after she said she had mislaid her passport, said TV New Zealand, a CNN affiliate.

Su'a William Sio, a Kiwi lawmaker of Samoan descent, said cultural stigma and the shame of bearing a child out of wedlock were two reasons why a mother might abandon her child.

"This is mostly derived firstly by fear," he told the New Zealand Herald newspaper. "Fear that they've done something wrong and fear of shame of the 'unmarried' mother bringing to the family."

Grace did not suffer significant injuries or long-term damage, police told reporters. She is in the care of government officials who are looking at long-term arrangements that would be best for her. Read the full story

Threat from terrorists using chemical, biological and even nuclear weapons is growing, Britain said Tuesday, warning advances in technology will enable extremists to conduct more lethal attacks in the future.

The predictions came as Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government's laid out its anti-terrorism policies and strategy in a document containing previously-classified information.

In it the government also warned that although the al Qaeda organization of Osama bin Laden, was likely to fragment in coming years, the group's ideology will live on.

Under the strategy Britain, where 52 people were killed by home-grown Muslim extremists in July 2005 bomb attacks on London's transit network, says it needs to focus on longer-term causes of terrorism.

It says the current threat to Britain and its interests comes primarily from four interrelated sources:

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The Obama administration said Tuesday it's sending hundreds of extra federal agents and new crime-fighting equipment to the Mexican border as the U.S. struggles to roll back a tide of drug-related violence sweeping the Southwest.

The renewed push for a stronger law enforcement presence along the border comes as the administration tries to help the Mexican government break up drug cartels believed to be responsible for the killing of roughly 6,500 people last year in Mexico, according to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

"Our role is to assist in this battle because we have our own security interests in its success," Napolitano said at the White House.

In an interview with CNN later Tuesday, she said, "It's all about border safety and security and making sure that spillover violence does not erupt in our own country."

The new federal plan, developed by the departments of Justice and Homeland Security, calls for doubling the number of border security task force teams as well as moving a significant number of other federal agents, equipment and resources to the border. It also involves greater intelligence sharing aimed at cracking down on the flow of money and weapons into Mexico that helps fuel the drug trade, senior administration officials said.

The plan commits $700 million to bolster Mexican law enforcement and crime prevention efforts. The funds will provide, among other things, five new helicopters to increase mobility for the Mexican army and air force as well as new surveillance aircraft for the Mexican navy.

The funds also will support enhanced communications technology for Mexican prosecutors, law enforcement and immigration officials.

The $700 million allocation, meant to assist what administration officials described as an "anti-smuggling effort," will complement ongoing U.S. aid to Mexico under the Merida initiative: a three-year, $1.4 billion package aimed at helping Mexico fight the drug cartels with law enforcement training, military equipment and improved intelligence cooperation.

The money was allocated last year, but Tuesday's announcement brought the first details of how some of that money will be spent.

On the U.S. side of the border, greater funding will support "prosecutor-led, intelligence-based task forces that bring together all Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security and other relevant law enforcement agencies to disrupt and dismantle the drug cartels through investigation, prosecution, extradition of their leaders and the seizure and forfeiture of their assets," Deputy Attorney General David Ogden said.

"As we've found with other large criminal groups, if you take their money and lock up their leaders, you can loosen their grip on the vast organizations that are used to carry out their criminal activities."

To help strengthen the U.S. side of the border further, the administration also plans to triple the number of Department of Homeland Security intelligence analysts dedicated to stopping Mexican-related violence.

It also will increase the number of immigration officials working in Mexico, double the number of "violent criminal alien" teams on the border, strengthen the presence of border canine units and quadruple the number of border liaison officers working with Mexican law enforcement.

It also will make an additional $59 million in federal funds available to support state, local and tribal border law enforcement operations.

At the same time, more agents from the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives will be deployed to the border region. The agents will be given updated equipment and surveillance technology to help track the movement of cash, drugs and weapons.

"We are discussing more things we can do to address the very real problem of currency and weapons moving into Mexico and at the same time trying to prevent potential border spillover," one senior administration official said.

At a congressional hearing in Washington on Tuesday, Phoenix, Arizona, Mayor Phil Gordon called the administration's initiative "a great first step," but added, "it's a drop in the bucket in terms of what is needed."

Phoenix finds itself at the center of a "perfect storm" of drug runners and human smugglers, he said. While most traditional crimes are down, crimes associated with the border, in particular drug-related kidnappings and torturing, are overwhelming Gordon's police department.

"Most nights we have over 60 Phoenix police officers (and) some federal agents rushing to rescue those on a reactive basis," Gordon said.

"If you have even one dollar to invest ... I would respectfully request that you put them into these (law enforcement) task forces," he said.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry has also sought additional help for his state.

During a visit to El Paso last month, Perry said he had asked Napolitano for aviation assistance and "1,000 more troops that we can commit to different parts of the border."

Perry said it didn't matter to him what kind of troops came.

"As long as they are boots on the ground that are properly trained to deal with the border region, I don't care whether they are military troops, or National Guard troops or whether they are customs agents."

Last week, a Perry spokeswoman said that federal border protection had been underfunded for some time and that the 1,000 extra troops Perry requested would fill in gaps that state and local agencies have been covering.

The announcement comes shortly ahead of planned trips by three Cabinet secretaries to Mexico before President Obama visits there next month. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton goes to Mexico City this week, to be followed next week by Napolitano and Attorney General Eric Holder. Watch as the plan is unveiled ahead of Hillary Clinton's visit to Mexico »

Napolitano and Deputy Secretary of State Jim Steinberg both emphasized the cooperation and "courage" of Mexican President Felipe Calderon during the news conference announcing the policy changes. Calderon has been pushing back against U.S. criticism of drug cartel-related violence lately, arguing that the U.S. needs to take more responsibility for the outbreaks.

In his speeches and other public remarks, Calderon repeatedly has pointed out that much of the demand for drugs and most of the weapons used by narco-traffickers comes from the United States.

A prominent Washington-based gun control advocacy group released a report Tuesday backing Calderon's assertions regarding weapons trafficking.

The report from the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence asserts that Mexican drug gangs have exploited weak American gun laws and corrupt gun dealers "to amass arsenals of high-powered guns that have killed thousands and pose an increasingly grave security threat to Mexico and the U.S.," according to a statement from the organization.

"Mexican criminals, and traffickers who supply them, cannot get the guns they need in Mexico because of Mexico's strong gun laws," Brady Center President Paul Helmke said in a news conference. But in border states Texas and Arizona, he argued, weaker gun laws provide easy access to a significant supply of high-powered arms. Read the full story

This magnificent planet has been major candidate for the science fiction movies for many decades. When we consider all the facts it is impossible to imagine that any life could exist on Mars. However, scientists believe that straight lines on Mars are evidence of ice deposits underneath the planet's surface. The most concrete theory is that life on Mars existed billion years ago and some believe that there are remains of ancient civilization on Mars surface. The strange belief, based on Mayan studies, is that Martians fled their planet and landed on Earth (some believe that Mayans descended from Mars). Today Mars is made up of iron with largest volcano in our Solar system called Olympus Mons (see photo bellow) and largest canyon Valles Marineris, which is 2,500 miles long. Mars has two moons and scientists believe that the moon Phobos will crash into Mars in less than 50 years. Moon debris will stay in Mars atmosphere thus creating ring around the Mars similar to the Saturn's ring. Interesting fact about Mars is that NASA sent many missions to Mars and more than half of them disappeared without trace.

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	MS Dhoni: "Let's hope we win the series and that will be the best gift we can give to them [the seniors]." © Associated Press

In the end it didn't seem like it had been 33 years in coming. The Indian team hadn't lined up at the picket fence waiting for the winning runs nor did they rush onto the field to soak up what they hadn't experienced on several previous tours - a Test win in New Zealand.

When Gambhir pulled Kyle Mills to seal the 10-wicket win, he looked towards the dressing room, clenched a fist, took one of the stumps as souvenir and shook hands with the bowler. And then, he and Dravid went off. There were handshakes and hugs in the Indian camp, before MS Dhoni, the captain, and Sachin Tendulkar, the Man of the Match, went off for the presentation at the indoors nets. A mandatory press conference for Dhoni followed, after which the team assembled in the dressing room, leaving after a while.

Quite a different feel from when India won at the Wanderers in 2006-07. The team celebrated long and hard then, with famous TV shots of cola being poured over each other, for at least 15 minutes after the match finished. At a time when every small achievement is hailed as a big success and New Zealand is viewed as a Final Frontier (even though India have lost their last series in Australia, South Africa and Sri Lanka), it was almost surreal to see them take this Test win for what it is: a clinical, ruthless performance against a side ranked No. 8 in the world and struggling because of sudden retirements of many senior players. The absence of such characters as Sreesanth and Andre Nel, and Andrew Symonds has helped.

The contrast in celebrations shows how far the team has come. The Wanderers win, even the one in Perth last year, was an unexpected outcome. Hence a more pronounced release. But India came to New Zealand expecting a series win and barely exceeded their expectations in the first Test.

India led from the first session onwards, and kept taking the game away from New Zealand, at times slowly (as in the batting of Gambhir and Dravid), and at times swiftly (Sachin Tendulkar's batting on day three). A Wall Street regular would be proud of how the deal was closed at the Seddon Park. In terms of comprehensiveness, this win stands next to how India beat Australia in Mohali last year - winning every session, every hour of the game.

Was the team surprised at how easily the landmark win came? "It's not about getting surprised," MS Dhoni said. "That's what you want your team to do. To get the opposition out cheaply. Our bowlers' effort was great. I felt there was not much for the bowlers after that first session. Those couple of hours - that was the time there was something in the wicket. After that, it was just great effort, grit and determination. Spell after spell they were eager to bowl, they maintained the ball well, they bowled in right areas, and created opportunities. Whether New Zealand didn't perform up to the mark, as an opposition team you want them to do that." More ruthless words are rarely spoken.

But Dhoni can afford to sound detached because he has not suffered the pain of losses in New Zealand, especially since India were regarded one of the best batting line-ups in the world. The likes of Tendulkar, Dravid and VVS Laxman have endured that humiliation.

Dhoni felt nothing less than a series win would satisfy the Indians. "It's a great feeling, especially for guys who whose careers have spanned more than 10 years," he said. "They have played at most of the venues all over the world, and if it's the first win for them, it can't get better. But hopefully if we can win the series it will be great. One of the first milestones we have achieved is to take the lead, now it's important to play the same kind of cricket in the second and third game. Let's hope we win the series and that will be the best gift we can give to them [the seniors]."

History can be strange. It can keep you wanting for 33 years, and then sneak up in a manner that makes you think 'Wow that was easy'. India's being blasé about this win also shows this team doesn't carry much historical baggage. Only three members of the current team were born when India last won a Test in New Zealand, none were around when India won their last series here. Will they be just as blasé if they win the series?

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QUITO, Ecuador - At least four people were killed when an Ecuadorean military plane crashed into two buildings yesterday in the fog-bound capital city Quito, authorities said.

Defense Minister Javier Ponce said the three military personnel aboard the Beechcraft plane died in the crash and one other person was killed on the ground.

Emergency officials on the site said the plane hit two buildings in a wealthy neighborhood in the northern sector of the city before it crashed in a backyard.

"I felt an explosion when I opened the front door and then heard a loud sound before we raced out," said Elena Morocho, a maid in a nearby home.

The plane crashed near a hotel and the US ambassador's residence in the city. A US Embassy spokeswoman said the ambassador was unharmed.

Fog often causes aviation difficulties and delays in the Andean mountain city. In the last two decades several planes have crashed in the hilly, Gonzalez Suarez neighborhood that stands on the path of landing planes.

In September last year, a plane carrying more than 60 people skidded off a runway and crashed through a perimeter wall before stopping near a busy road, but no one was seriously hurt. Read the full story

Friday, 20 March 2009

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One rocket hit the commercial area of Landi Kotal [A Ten civilians have been killed and at least 38 others injured by rockets fired into the main town in Pakistan's tribal Khyber area. Rashid Khan, a local government official, said suspected Taliban fighters fired three rockets near the town of Landi Kotal, just west of the Afghan border, late on Thursday. He said one of the rockets, aimed likely at the security forces' base, hit the town's commercial area where 10 civilians were killed and 38 others injured. A timber yard and 20 nearby shops were set ablaze. Khan said troops were searching the area on Friday to track and capture the attackers. The Khyber region is on the route for lorries carrying supplies for foreign troops in Afghanistan. Fighters have staged regular attacks in the area in recent months, targeting Nato supply depots. Hundreds of vehicles and containers have been torched. US and Nato officials say the attacks have little impact on their operations in Afghanistan, but have acknowledged they are investigating alternative ways to deliver supplies.

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