Deadly storms sweep eastern Asia Advertisement

Deadly storms sweep eastern Asia

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Waves as high as 9m have been reported on China's south-east coast

Two strong storms across the western Pacific have left scores of people dead or missing.

At least 10 people have been killed in Japan in flash floods generated by the approaching tropical storm Etau.

Meanwhile Typhoon Morakot hit mainland China on Sunday, killing at least one child and prompting almost a million people to flee from coastal areas.

It had previously hit Taiwan, killing at least 12 people and causing the worst flooding in five decades.

Taiwanese rescue teams are still searching for more than 50 people registered as missing.

Typhoons and tropical storms are frequent in the region between July and September.

Swept away

Nearly 50,000 people in western Japan have been told to leave coastal areas after warnings of rain, floods and mudslides triggered by the approaching tropical storm Etau.

Animated guide: Typhoons

Eight people have died in Hyogo prefecture, including one man whose car was swept away by a swollen river and a woman who was found dead in a gutter.

Another woman was killed in a mudslide in Okayama prefecture.

The storm may hit central Japan on Tuesday, an official at the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

Meanwhile, Typhoon Morakot dumped a record 2.5 metres (100 inches) of rain on Taiwan over the weekend, leaving at least 12 people dead, among them a group reportedly washed away from a makeshift shelter in Kaohsiung in the south.

In addition to the dead and missing, another 30 people were injured as Morakot buffeted the island with powerful winds.

In one incident, an entire hotel - empty at the time - was swept away by the waters.

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Taiwan hotel collapses after typhoon

The typhoon then went on to hit mainland China on Sunday afternoon, destroying more than 2,000 houses and causing at least one major river to burst its banks.

Chinese state media said the sky turned completely dark in Beibi, Fujian, when it made landfall.

Trees were uprooted as high winds and heavy rain lashed the coast.

Some 473,000 residents of Zhejiang province were evacuated before the storm struck, as well as 480,000 from Fujian, Xinhua news agency said.

In Zhejiang's Wenzhou City a four year-old child was killed when a house collapsed. Dozens of roads were said to be flooded and the city's airport was closed.

Rescuers used dinghies to reach the worst-hit areas; in one area only the tops of trees were said to be showing above the floodwater.

Although the storm is losing strength, violent rainstorms are expected across six eastern Chinese provinces and Taiwan over the next few hours.

Morakot has also contributed to heavy rains in the Philippines. At least 10 people were killed in flooding and landslides in the north of the country last week.

Bomb attacks in Iraq kill dozens

At least four bombs have exploded in Iraq, killing about 40 people and wounding more than 200.

Two truck bombs exploded in a Shia village near the northern city of Mosul, killing at least 23 people and injuring around 130.

Meanwhile, two bombs went off near construction sites in Baghdad, with 16 people killed and more than 80 wounded.

The attacks come a month after US troops pulled back from cities and handed over security to Iraqi soldiers.

At least 36 people were killed in a series of attacks on Shia areas on Friday.

Losing confidence

At about 0400 (0100 GMT) on Monday, truck bombs exploded nearly simultaneously in the village of Khaznah, 20km (13 miles) east of Mosul.

The blasts were so powerful that at least 30 houses in the village - home to the tiny Shia Shabak ethnic group - were completely destroyed.

Police say the death toll could still rise because many people are still buried under the rubble of their own homes.

Ethnically-mixed Mosul - Iraq's second city - is one of the last strongholds of al-Qaeda in Iraq, and still sees frequent attacks despite a decline in violence elsewhere in the country.

However, despite security gains in Baghdad, at least two bombs went off near construction sites in separate parts of the capital on Monday.

They appeared to be mainly targeting labourers who were gathering in the early morning looking for work.

One of the bombs was hidden in a pile of rubbish when it went off in the western district of Hay al-Amel, killing at least seven people and wounding 46.

Minutes later a second bomb went off in the northern area of Shurta Arbaa, killing at least nine people and wounding 35.

The Iraqi government has tried to send a positive message to Iraqis, saying they are in control and these attacks are caused by the remnants of the insurgency.

But this message is getting lost because of the violence, the BBC's Natalia Antelava in Baghdad says.

A car bomb exploded outside a mosque during a funeral service last Friday, killing 30 people.

Meanwhile in Baghdad on Friday, three bombs killed six people returning from a pilgrimage.

Congress OKs $2B refill of 'cash for clunkers'

WASHINGTON – Pedal to the metal, Congress sent President Barack Obama legislation Thursday night with an additional $2 billion for "cash for clunkers," the economy-boosting rebate program that caught the fancy of car buyers and instantly increased sales for an auto industry long mired in recession.

The Senate approved the money on a 60-37 vote after administration officials said an initial $1 billion had run out in only 10 days. The House voted last week to keep alive the program, which gives consumers up to $4,500 in federal subsidies if they trade in their cars for new, more energy-efficient models.

Without action, lawmakers risked a wave of voter discontent as they left the Capitol for a monthlong vacation.

"Cash for clunkers has been a proven success," Obama said in a written statement issued shortly after the vote. "The initial transactions are generating a more than 50 percent increase in fuel economy; they are generating $700 to $1000 in annual savings for consumers in reduced gas costs alone, and they are getting the oldest, dirtiest and most air polluting trucks and SUVs off the road for good."

Senate supporters of the program hailed its effect on the auto industry — which had its best month in nearly a year in July — as well as its claimed environmental benefits.

"The reality is this is a program that has been working. Consumers believe it's working. Small business people believe it's working. People who make steel and aluminum and advertisers ... and everyone who's involved in the larger economic impact of the auto industry believe it is working," said Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.

The legislation had its share of critics, though, most of them Republicans.

"What we're doing is creating debt. ... The bill to pay for those cars is going to come due on our children and grandchildren," said Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H.

Officials said the program's initial $1 billion probably already has been spent, but a paperwork backlog prevented an accurate accounting. The additional $2 billion is enough to help consumers purchase a half-million more new cars, they added.

There was no suspense about the outcome in the Senate, where supporters of the legislation focused their energies on defeating all attempts at amending the measure. Passage of any changes would effectively scuttle "cash for clunkers," they said, since the House has already begun a summer vacation and is not in session to vote on revisions.

An attempt by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, to limit the program to lower and middle-income consumers was jettisoned on a vote of 65-32. Gregg's call for Congress to offset the $2 billion with spending cuts elsewhere also failed, 51-46.

On the final vote, 51 Democrats, two independents and seven Republicans supported the bill, while 33 Republicans and four Democrats opposed it.

The Senate's debate capped an unusually swift response by lawmakers, who were informed scarcely a week ago that the program was quickly running short of money.

The government said Wednesday that more than $775 million of the original funds had been spent, accounting for the sale of nearly 185,000 new vehicles. Administration officials estimate the extra funding will last into Labor Day.

Under the program, passenger car owners are eligible for a voucher worth $3,500 if they trade in a vehicle getting 18 miles per gallon or less for a new car getting at least 22 mpg. Vouchers of $4,500 are available for owners who trade in a passenger car getting 18 mpg or less for a model that gets at least 28 mpg.

There are similar guidelines for SUVs and pickup trucks.

Dealers are barred from reselling the trade-ins and are charged with ensuring their destruction.

Jeremy Anwyl, CEO of the auto Web site Edmunds.com, said the unintended result is that vehicle prices are climbing.

"What we've created now is a shortage for key models," he said. "Prices are going up dramatically."

Hyundai Motor Co. has added a day of production at its Montgomery, Ala., factory, while Ford Motor Co. and GM are considering following suit.

Tom Stephens, vice chairman of product development at GM, said in an interview that the company has had spot shortages of compact and midsize cars, which have been popular with consumers jettisoning their clunkers. The company also reported an increase in sales of the Chevrolet HHR small sport utility.

"Consumer confidence is really what you need here," Stephens said. "It's hard for them if they don't know if they have a job or a for-sure paycheck to go out and make a major purchase, so I think this is kind of jump-starting some things."

The longer-term impact of the program is less clear.

"Once these clunker rebates expire, it is over," predicted economist Richard Yamarone of Argus Research. "Consumers are not going to keep buying cars. It is a temporary one-time gimmick, not a long-lasting tonic for the recovery."

In the program so far, GM's share of cars sold is largest, accounting for 18.7 percent of new sales. Toyota Motor Corp. followed with 17.9 percent, while Ford had 16 percent. Detroit automakers represented 45.3 percent of the total sales, while Toyota, Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co., all Japanese firms, totaled 36.5 percent.

Toyota also has the best-selling new model for traders of clunkers, the Corolla. The Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Toyota Prius and Toyota Camry are also favorites. There is one SUV on the list, the Ford Escape, which also comes in a hybrid model that can get up to 32 mpg. Six of the top-10 selling vehicles are built by foreign manufacturers, but most are built in North America.

US urges Iran reply by September

Mr Gates reaffirmed 'the strong commitment of the US to the security of Israel'

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has urged Iran to respond to US diplomatic overtures by September.

His Israeli counterpart Ehud Barak indicated that military action remained an option on Iran, following talks with Mr Gates in Jerusalem.

Senior US officials are engaged in a drive to breathe new life into faltering regional peace moves.

US envoy George Mitchell met Egypt's Hosni Mubarak, as well as Israel's president and the Palestinian leader.

He has already been in Syria, drumming up regional support for the new US initiative.

Both Mr Mitchell and Mr Gates - as well as two other senior US envoys - are meeting Israeli leaders as part of the bid to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, which has been stalled for six months.

US-Israeli relations have become strained since US President Barack Obama demanded a halt to all Israeli settlement building in the occupied West Bank.

Iran warned

Shortly after coming to office in January, Mr Obama made an overture to Iran, saying that if it and countries like it were "willing to unclench their fists, they will find an extended hand from us".

Tim Franks, News, Jerusalem The public rhetoric is all about "discussions among friends". But the background noise has a different tone. When it comes to Iran's nuclear ambitions, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates was keen to stress the American offer to bring Iran into talks - albeit an offer that was not open-ended. In contrast, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak emphasised an implied military threat to Iran. There has been unease in Israel over Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's comments about a regional "defence umbrella", should Iran acquire a nuclear weapon. The Israeli formula is to say that such a prospect is "unthinkable". The Israelis have also been feeling American heat over the continued building of Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory. Reports are circulating of a possible deal - which might allow as many as 2,000 apartments in the West Bank to be completed. The Palestinians have said they would accept no such compromise. And they say they have a question for the visiting American officials: if the Israelis don't budge, what exactly are you going to do about it?

But Israel says Iran's alleged nuclear ambitions remain its number-one concern and in recent weeks the US has expressed dismay about Iran's suppression of protests over disputed presidential elections.

Iran denies claims it wants to build nuclear weapons, saying it is enriching uranium for a civilian energy programme.

On Monday, Mr Gates said the US offer to Iran was "not open-ended", echoing comments by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton earlier this month.

Mr Obama was hoping for a response by the time of the UN General Assembly in September, Mr Gates added.

Mr Barak cautioned that "no option" had been removed in its handling of Iran - suggesting military force remained a possibility - though "priority should be given still to diplomacy and sanctions".

The two men struck a conciliatory tone, with Mr Gates speaking of a "good meeting" with Mr Barak and reaffirming America's "strong commitment" to Israel's security.

Mr Barak said he was "extremely thankful for US support [on defence] - financial and technological".

Mr Gates later held talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli leader's office said in a statement that he had emphasised the need to use "all available means" to prevent Iran developing nuclear weapons.

Mr Gates then travelled to Jordan for a meeting with King Abdullah, with the Palestinian issue and defence ties on the agenda.

Palestinian division

In Cairo, Middle East envoy George Mitchell met President Hosni Mubarak - a day earlier than initially scheduled, apparently at Mr Mubarak's request.

US OFFICIALS' WEEK OF DIPLOMACY Special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell (to Syria, Israel, Palestinian Territories, Egypt, Bahrain) Defence Secretary Robert Gates (to Israel, Jordan) National Security Adviser James Jones (to Israel) Envoy to the Gulf states Dennis Ross (to Israel)

Their talks came ahead of Mr Mitchell's meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

The Egyptians seemingly had plenty to discuss, reports the BBC's Christian Fraser in Cairo.

They are currently brokering reconciliation talks between the deeply divided Palestinian factions of Fatah and Hamas.

Despite several rounds of talks, the two Palestinian factions are still at odds on the most sensitive issues, such as the shape of a future unity government, the remit of the joint security force and the system that would be implemented for any upcoming elections.

Palestinian leaders have also refused to meet their Israeli counterparts until settlement activity ceases.

All settlements are illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this. Israel has settled more than 450,000 Jews in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

In a meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres on Monday, Mr Mitchell advised him that Israel could improve the climate by "dealing with difficult issues like settlements and outposts".

Mr Mitchell is due to meet the Israeli prime minister on Tuesday.

In Damascus on Sunday, the US envoy met Syrian President Bashar Assad for what he called "very candid and positive" discussions on restarting long-stalled peace talks between Syria and Israel.

He said Mr Obama was determined to reach a comprehensive peace between Israel and all its Arab neighbours in order to guarantee "stability, security and prosperity".

Other senior US officials - National Security Adviser James Jones and the US envoy to the Gulf states, Dennis Ross - are also due to visit the region this week.

Home vanishes in German landslide

Homes were swept into a lake Enlarge Image

Three people are missing and feared dead after a landslide swept away two homes in the central German village of Nachterstedt, south-west of Berlin.

Both homes - one of which collapsed completely - stood near a former open-cast coal mine that had been converted into a lake.

Officials said the missing included a couple and a man, all in their 50s.

There had been heavy rain in the area, but experts said mining activity had probably made the land unstable.

Local media said a stretch of land 350m (1,150 ft) long and 120m (390 ft) wide had collapsed into the lake.

Rescue efforts were hampered by the danger of further slides in the area.

Gaffe-prone Japan PM struggling

By Roland Buerk BBC News, Tokyo

Taro Aso apologised for mistakes he has made in office

He put a brave face on it, walking up to the podium and bowing stiffly before he began the news conference.

But even some in his own Liberal Democratic Party fear Japan's Prime Minister, Taro Aso, is leading them to a historic defeat.

He is asking for more time in power. But he began by saying sorry for past mistakes.

"There might have been some inappropriate comments I made that might have led to the lowering of the support of the people of Japan," he said.

"And within our party, the solidarity was lacking and that might have been because of my lack of leadership. And there might have been Japanese people who were not very comfortable about my leadership, and I would like to take this opportunity to apologise."

Mr Aso, who is known for gaffes that have offended people from doctors to the elderly, was speaking after he dissolved the lower house of Japan's Diet, or parliament.

He hopes the general election at the end of August will be about the economy, and security.

He insists he can deliver on both.

Rise from the ashes

But the campaign threatens to be more about whether the Liberal Democratic Party's time is up.

The party has governed Japan for more than half a century, except for a break of less than a year in the early 1990s.

For much of that time the story of Japan was its rise from the ashes of World War II to economic might.

But times have changed.

Japan is now mired in a recession, and that is on top of a decade of stagnation in the 1990s.

"The LDP has nothing to run on, their record is miserable, they've done nothing to alleviate the soaring misery index," says Jeff Kingston of Temple University in Tokyo.

Taro Aso is the third prime minister since the popular Junichiro Koizumi stepped down after winning the last election for the lower house in 2005 on a platform of reform.

"The voters gave Koizumi an overwhelming mandate and they didn't do anything. In the meantime the economy is falling off a cliff and unemployment is soaring," says Jeff Kingston.

Hoping to take power in the next election is Yukio Hatoyama, of the Democratic Party of Japan - like Mr Aso, the heir to a political dynasty.

Yukio Hatayama of the DPJ has already faced embarrassment

His grandfather replaced Taro Aso's grandfather as prime minister in the 1950s.

History could be about to repeat itself.

Mr Hatoyama's party is promising reforms, including strengthening social welfare and wrestling control of policy-making from what it says is an over mighty bureaucracy.

The DPJ is well ahead in the opinion polls, and perhaps Taro Aso's greatest hope of surviving in office is if the opposition stumbles before election day.

In May, Ichiro Ozawa stepped down as the leader of the DPJ amid a political fundraising scandal.

His successor - Mr Hatoyama - has already been embarrassed after it emerged some people listed as his donors were dead.

"It would have to be hugely dramatic, something way out of the ordinary to derail the DPJ express," says Jeff Kingston of Temple University.

"The DPJ has a long history of self-inflicted wounds, of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, but it would have to be something truly extraordinary for them to blow it."

Phone gadget to diagnose disease

The prototype of the device

Researchers have developed an add-on to a mobile phone that can take detailed images and analyse them to diagnose diseases such as tuberculosis.

The CellScope works as a so-called fluorescence microscope that can identify the markers of disease.

It is hoped the device will be useful in the developing world, where such medical diagnostics are rare but mobile ownership and coverage are common.

The research is published in the free-access journal PLoS ONE.

The CellScope is made up of conventional microscope optics as well as some equipment to make it function as a fluorescence microscope.

Fluorescence occurs when certain molecules are illuminated with a certain colour and "shine" for a period in a different colour.

Fluorescent "tagging" molecules can be specially designed to latch on to, for instance, the bacteria that are a sign of tuberculosis (TB).

The device can work also as a conventional microscope

But diagnosing tuberculosis requires a fluorescence microscope, which can illuminate a blood sample that has been treated with "tagging" molecules and detect just the light that those molecules emit with great sensitivity.

However, typical fluorescence microscopes are bulky, expensive devices limited to hospitals and laboratories.

"There are other people who have been working on developing portable fluorescent microscopes," said David Breslauer, a University of California Berkeley researcher and lead author of the study.

"The innovation on our front is that we've integrated that with a cell phone rather than just making a standalone microscope."

The researchers used a standard Nokia handset with a 3.2 megapixel camera, developing a "snap-on" addition that includes the microscope optics and a holder for blood samples on glass slides.

The CellScope uses cheap commercial light-emitting diodes as the light source - in place of the high-power, gas-filled lamps used in laboratory versions of the device, and cheap optical filters to isolate the light coming from the fluorescent tags.

The device has a resolution of just over one millionth of a metre, and the team was able to identify tuberculosis bacteria in a sample. Several other tagging molecules are in development to address the diagnosis of other diseases.

Upon the removal of the filters, they were able to use the CellScope as a standard, white-light microscope, identifying malaria parasites and the misshapen cells typical of sickle cell anaemia.

'Portable clinic'

Mr Breslauer says that more than just a camera, the incorporation of a mobile phone "gives us access to the computational power of the phone as well as the mobile communications aspect".

That computational power could be put to use in running image analysis software, which could easily be built into a small application that the phone runs.

But it is the mobile communication aspect that makes the device particularly useful for use "in the field".

"In many developing world and rural areas, you could be hundreds of miles from hospitals or miles away from power - but the mobile infrastructure is well-established and pretty much blanketing the globe," Mr Breslauer said.

"So if you can have a portable, battery-operated system to take these images, analyse, and transfer them, you're creating a portable healthcare clinic. Your doctor can see your samples without actually having to be present."

The team is now making a more robust, "field-ready" version of the device, which will be used in field testing and clinic

Expenses clean-up bill is passed

The bill was a response to the MPs' expenses scandal

A bill aimed at cleaning up Parliament after the MPs' expenses scandal has become law after getting Royal Assent.

However, the government dropped plans for a legally-binding code of conduct and two new criminal offences for MPs in the face of stiff opposition.

Ministers insisted the changes made for a better bill and that it was vital it became law before the summer recess.

Opponents complained it has been rushed through and Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said it would not restore public trust.

The Parliamentary Standards Bill sets up an independent body to authorise MPs' expenses.

Justice Secretary Jack Straw said its speedy approval was imperative for rebuilding public confidence in the way Parliament works, with MPs leaving Westminster for their constituencies.

Nothing really has been done to fix the rotten state of British politics Nick Clegg Liberal Democrat leader The new rules for MPs explained

When it was introduced, it had been expected to apply eventually to peers as well as MPs.

However, as it returned to the Commons on Tuesday, the Lords had been assured "categorically" it would not apply to them.

Two of three proposed offences - relating to breaking rules on the registration of interests or the ban on paid advocacy - had been dropped.

A bid to scrap Parliamentary privilege, which protects MPs from court action over what they say in the Commons, was also rejected after a surprise Commons defeat for the government.

During Tuesday's debate on amendments made in the House of Lords, which were approved without a vote, Mr Straw faced accusations the bill had been rushed through for "public relations purposes" and had since been "emasculated".

Punishment threat

He said "improvements" had been made to the bill and the three main parties had backed plans for a new Parliamentary Standards Authority but they had to work "from a standing start".

He said it had been a difficult process and he would have been condemned if he had resisted making changes.

"I think we have achieved a very much better measure as a result," he said.

In a later interview, Mr Straw said the new authorisation process for expenses, combined with full transparency in the disclosure of claims, would mean past abuses could not happen again.

"Thankfully the expenses scandals will be a thing of the past," he told the BBC.

Jack Straw responds to criticism of the legislation

He said any MP "daft" enough to fiddle their expenses in future would be severely punished.

Shadow Commons leader Alan Duncan said the bill had arrived "in a state of some confusion" and he was pleased "significant" concessions had been made.

"It was obvious that ministers had been required at very short notice to create a bill that had to match the prime minister's press release, initially at least, no matter what the consequences."

The Lib Dems said the government's enthusiasm for a radical reform of the political system in the wake of the expenses scandal had been short-lived.

Nick Clegg said it "beggared belief" that MPs should be about to go on a 82-day recess with so little achieved in the way of real reforms to the House of Lords, party funding and new mechanisms for sacking dishonest MPs.

He had called for Parliament to continue sitting until such measures had been introduced.

"It[the bill] is a fig leaf to cover up the government's abject failure to deliver on the promises it made to the British people at the height of the expenses scandal that it would sort out British politics for good," he said.

Chechnya's dissenting voice silenced

The murder of Russian human rights activist Natalia Estemirova shows that life in Chechnya - although more peaceful than it was a decade ago - can still be brutal, says Rupert Wingfield-Hayes.

Now Natalia herself has become a victim of the brutality she had worked so fearlessly to document

I cannot pretend to have been a friend of Natalia Estemirova.

I met her only once, in April this year, in her little office in the Chechen capital Grozny.

We sat for an hour sipping tea as she told me about the latest horrors she and her team had uncovered in the dirty war that is still going on in southern Russia.

Outside, a group of rough-looking country folk were sitting in the hallway, their faces strained, their eyes haunted.

Natalia was the person they all came to, to tell of a missing son or husband, of a fresh abduction in the middle of the night, or a house burned in retribution for a rebel attack.

Most recently, Natalia had been investigating a killing by a government death squad in a small village in southern Chechnya.

Last words

Locals told her an old man had been accused of giving one of his sheep to the Islamic insurgents. On 7 July, government troops came to his home, dragged the old man to the village square, and then - as villagers looked on - they shot him in the head.

"This," they were told, "is what will happen to any of you who help the rebels."

Now Natalia herself has become a victim of the brutality she had worked so fearlessly to document.

At 0830 local time on Wednesday, four men dragged her from her apartment in the centre of Grozny.

Passersby saw her being forced into a white Lada. She managed to shout out: "I am being abducted."

They were the last words anybody would hear her say.

Nine hours later, her body was found 30 miles (50km) away, dumped in a forest. She had been shot in the head.

Sitting here in Moscow it is still very hard to comprehend how anybody could murder this softly spoken 50-year-old woman.

The finger of blame has immediately been pointed at Ramzan Kadyrov, the 32-year-old warlord who now runs Chechnya at Moscow's behest.

He has emphatically denied it, and has promised that he will personally take control of the investigation.

That promise has been met with derision by friends and colleagues.

The truth is that Natalia was not short of enemies.

She was born to a Russian mother and Chechen father. When the first Chechen war broke out in the mid-1990s, most with Russian blood fled Grozny.

But she refused to leave.

Critics 'end up dead'

When Moscow began its second onslaught on the city in 1999, she fled.

But a year later she returned and began documenting the abductions, torture and murders of thousands of young Chechen men by federal Russian troops.

President Kadyrov denies any involvement in Estemirova's death

Later - as Moscow handed its war to its Chechen allies - she took on the local regime.

She was a thorn in the side of many, but particularly of President Kadyrov. And she is not the first of his critics to end up dead.

Three years ago a Chechen man called Umar Israilov turned up in Austria seeking political asylum. For several years he had worked as one of Mr Kadyrov's bodyguards.

In testimony to Austrian authorities he said he had personally witnessed Mr Kadyrov taking part in torture sessions. He also said Mr Kadyrov kept a list of 300 enemies to be killed.

On 13 January this year, Umar Israilov was shot dead outside his Vienna apartment.

Sulim Yamadayev is another of Ramzan Kadyrov's enemies to have met a sticky end.

He used to be one of the most powerful military commanders in Chechnya. But last year he fled to Dubai after falling out with the Chechen president.

On 30 March this year, Sulim Yamadayev was shot dead in the car park of his Dubai apartment. A week later the Dubai police issued an international arrest warrant for a man named Adam Delemkhanov.

It just happens that Mr Delemkhanov is Ramzan Kadyrov's right-hand man. In April when I went to the Grand Mosque in Grozny for Friday prayers, there he was kneeling down right beside Chechnya's president.

Culture of impunity

Anna Politkovskaya exposed Russian excesses in Chechnya

My guess is that it will never be proved who ordered Natalia Estemirova's killing. In Russia such murders are rarely solved.

Look at the case of journalist Anna Politkovskaya, shot dead outside her Moscow apartment three years ago.

Or of human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov, gunned down in broad daylight in Moscow this January.

They were both close friends of Natalia Estemirova.

There is what Amnesty International this week called a culture of impunity in Russia.

One by one, the voices of those still willing to stand up and speak out are being silenced.

Without them the outside world will never know about the horrors still being committed in places like Chechnya.

China quarantines school groups

The four teenagers are holed up in a hotel room

More than 100 schoolchildren and their teachers from the UK and US have been quarantined in Beijing after eight children were found to have swine flu.

The four UK and four US children are being treated in a Beijing hospital and are said to be in a stable condition.

China has this year quarantined hundreds of foreign visitors who have shown symptoms of the H1N1 virus.

Four of the 52 British pupils affected told the BBC from their hotel room that they were being well looked after.

The four, who attend Clevedon School in north Somerset, are all in their late teens and are part of a group of 12 from that school, plus two teachers.

"We are quarantined in the hotel and are all currently well as we have daily temperature checks which are all good," they said in an e-mail sent from their hotel room.

Joe Robinson: "It's all good and well here"

"The hotel is really nice and we have proper toilets. We hope we experience more of China as we should be out within four days."

One of the boys, Christopher Hicks, said that they had been visiting the Great Wall of China when they were called back, because they had previously shared a bus with a pupil from another school who had tested positive for the virus.

High temperatures

Another pupil, Joe Robinson, said: "We're being treated very, very well. The food's great. We've got our own individual tellies."

They also had individual rooms, he said, although they had to wear protective face masks and were not allowed outside of the quarantined zone.

More than 600 Britons are on the trip, organised by the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT), the Department for Children, Schools and Families, the British Council and Chinese organisation Hanban.

Speaking about the four UK pupils who have swine flu, the SSAT's Katharine Carruthers said: "They are being extremely well looked after and cared for, to the extent where they're getting pizza delivered to where they are. They are all happy and getting better.

Amii van Amerongen, one pupil's sister said they had found the experience "intimidating"

"There are a number of children in quarantine in very comfortable conditions in a four-star hotel in Beijing, who have been in close contact with the swine flu cases.

"Everyone is in good spirits, getting involved in activities and carrying on their Chinese learning."

The vast majority of the students are continuing their trip as normal, she said.

The BBC's Quentin Sommerville, in Beijing, said three of the four UK children were found to have high temperatures when they arrived in Beijing earlier in the week.

They were taken straight from the airport to a hospital where it was confirmed they had the virus. A fourth classmate fell ill later.

Chinese health officials monitor passengers arriving in the country

The American children had been in contact with the UK group and four of them were also diagnosed as having the virus.

Amii van Amerongen, from London, told the BBC that her 15-year-old sister was one of the children under quarantine.

"She called me this morning telling me that she is confined in a hotel and she is being very brave about the whole thing. She said it was quite intimidating - they have these 'guns' that they point at your head which measure your temperature," she said.

Chinese officials told the BBC that the children were being well looked after and they had regular contact with their families.

Simon Calder, travel editor for the UK's Independent newspaper, told the BBC that many countries were using "thermal imaging" at airports to test travellers, and the UK was viewed as a high-risk area.

Gempa Berkekuatan 6,1 Guncang Papua Nugini

Washington (ANTARA/Reuters) - Gempa dengan kekuatan 6,1 pada skala Richter telah terjadi di lepas pantai Papua Nugini, demikian laporan U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Rabu waktu Amerika.

Gempa tersebut, yang berpusat 105 kilometer di sebelah selatan Kavieng di ujung utara pulau New Ireland, terjadi pukul 10:44 waktu setempat Kamis (03:10 WIB).

Pusat gempa berada pada perairan dangkal, pada kedalaman hanya 19,5 kilometer, kata USGS.

Gempa dengan kekuatan 6.0 pada skala Richter mampu menimbulkan kerusakan parah, tapi gempa semacam itu sering terjadi di Papua Nugini, yang berada di wilayah yang disebut Pacific Ring of Fire, daerah dengan kegiatan seismik tinggi.