Somali pirate suspects face
death in their U.S. trial


Three Somali men face a possible death penalty when they go on trial this week for a pirate attack that led to the death of four Americans.

Jury selection begins today in the city of Norfolk, Virginia, for Ahmed Muse Salad, Abukar Osman Beyle and Shani Nurani Sheikh Abrar.

The three were among 15 Somalis arrested after the killing of the Americans aboard the "Quest," a vessel hijacked by pirates near the coast of Somalia in February 2011. 

A U.S. indictment accuses Salad, Beyele and Abrar of shooting and killing the four Americans without provocation during hostage negotiations with the U.S. Navy and FBI.

The three face a total of 26 counts of piracy, kidnapping, hostage-taking and discharge of a firearm resulting in death.  All three have pleaded not guilty.

Eleven other Somalis along with an onshore negotiator arrested for the "Quest" incident have received sentences of life in prison. 

The four Americans killed, Scott and Jean Adam of California and their friends, Robert Riggle and Phyllis Macay, both of Seattle, were sailing from India toward Djibouti when pirates seized their boat.

At the time, Somali pirates were attacking dozens of ships each month and receiving multi-million dollar ransoms to release hijacked vessels and their crews.

Since then Somali piracy has been in sharp decline, because of increased security on ships and international naval patrols near the coast. 

The International Maritime Bureau has recorded only seven piracy incidents off Somalia this year, and only one successful hijacking.


Mississippi man indicted
in case of poisoned letters


A U.S. federal grand jury has indicted a Mississippi man for allegedly sending poisoned letters to President Barack Obama, a U.S. senator, and a state judge.

The man, James Dutschke, faces life in prison if he is convicted.

Charges include possessing a biological agent for use as a weapon and threatening the president of the United States. Dutschke says he is innocent.

He is accused of sending ricin-laced letters to Obama and U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi. The letters were intercepted at mail-handling facilities, and the president and senator were never in any danger.

Police arrested Dutschke in April after arresting and later releasing another man whom Dutschke allegedly tried to frame.


Wildfire in California grows
much faster than expected


A fast-moving wildfire in Southern California spread to a total of 30,000 acres over the weekend, and firefighters said they no longer think they can contain it this week.
 
The fire, which started Thursday, grew by 10,000 acres during the day Sunday and overnight into Monday, U.S. Forest Service officer Ronald Ashdale said.
 
The blaze was 40 percent contained by Monday morning, he said, and a change in its direction meant fewer homes were now threatened: 400, down from 1,000.
 
Still, none of the 2,000 evacuated residents had been allowed back in their homes as of Monday morning, Ashdale said.
 
Despite cooler, wetter weather that moved into the region overnight, the firefighters now believe it will take them longer than they had anticipated to contain the blaze, Ashdale said. Full containment, initially predicted for Wednesday, is now not expected until next Monday, he said.
 
The fire started near a power plant owned by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power in the community of Lake Hughes, about 65 miles (105 kms.) north of Los Angeles. By Sunday, it had destroyed six houses and forced 2,000 people out of their homes.
 
Ashdale said 2,185 fire personnel were fighting the blaze from several California agencies.
 
The U.S. Forest Service is using night-flying helicopters to help fight the fire for the first time in decades, although that is a long-standing practice among other firefighters in the region, Ashdale said.


White lightning from China
seeks spot in western markets


Chinese baijiu, a flammable, pungent white liquor averaging a 110-proof wallop, is the world's most consumed form of liquor thanks to its popularity in China. For the first time distillers are looking to develop export markets.
 
According to data from International Wine & Spirit Research, Chinese people drank over 11 billion liters of baijiu in 2012; the spirit, distilled from sorghum, wheat or rice, accounted for more than one-third of all spirits consumed in the world.
 
But as a new generation of Chinese drinkers discovers the imported spirits that were unavailable to their parents, baijiu risks losing that market share unless it creates new markets overseas.
 
"Baijiu hasn't been marketed to the West yet, but I think it can be," said James Rice, managing director of Sichuan Swellfun Co. Ltd., a baijiu maker in Chengdu, western China, in which London-based beverage multinational Diageo has taken a sizable stake.

"People are interested in China, and here's a piece of Chinese culture that can go right to your dinner table."
 
The opportunity has also attracted small entrepreneurs like David Zhou, who founded Everest Spirits LLC in the Washington, D.C., metro area to import a Chinese baijiu and rebrand it for sale locally.
 
"We really want to go for mainstream U.S. consumers, and we do believe they can accept it."
 
But Rice and other distillers have to deal with a major challenge: baijiu tends to make a terrible first impression.
 
"I thought it tasted like paint-thinner and felt like a liquid lobotomy," said Michael Pareles, manager at the U.S. Meat Export Federation in Beijing. "However, like many other things in China, I eventually grew to like it."
 
Torsten Stocker, head of Greater China consumer practice at Monitor Group in Hong Kong, was skeptical about prospects for overseas expansion.
 
But he suggested the liquor could be better distributed to the swelling overseas Chinese community, which now depends on duty-free stores in airports to stay stocked.
 
Baijiu's punch makes it a tough sell in Western bar culture where people drink on an empty stomach. So does its fuel-like odor and its aftertaste. But the history of alcoholic beverages shows that nearly any taste can be acquired.
 
"Tequila has a very unusual flavor compared to more popular spirits," said Derek Sandhaus, industry consultant and author of a forthcoming book on baijiu appreciation.
 
"But through clever marketing, good cocktails, and good management, it's earned a place on the bar shelf. I see no reason why the world's most popular spirit can't do the same."

But an adjustment is still probably necessary.
 
Matt Trusch, a former China resident, founded a distillery called Byejoe USA that imports baijiu base from China, then re-filters it to make it more drinkable.
 
"We've made it much more palatable to American tastes."
 
Vinn Distilleries in Portland, Oregon, founded by a family of ethnic Chinese immigrants from Vietnam, is reproducing a generation-old baijiu recipe, and Vinn president Michelle Ly has marketed it in very small volumes to non-Chinese consumers.
 
Curiously enough, she said a group of investors had approached her with an idea to export her U.S.-made baijiu back to China, advertising it as a product of high quality control, an issue domestic baijiu brands have struggled with.
 
Baijiu expert Sandhaus thinks the best avenue for developing drinkers overseas is to follow the model of Japanese sake and market baijiu as the alcohol to drink with Chinese food. But he added that there is no need for distillers to rush.
 
"It will still be a very long time before baijiu stops being a very lucrative business in China."


Healthiest U.S. cities list uses
obesity, parks, playing fields


U.S. cities that provide parks, walking trails, playing fields and running tracks are setting standards for the country's healthiest urban areas and showing that if they build fitness opportunities, residents will come.
   
A new ranking of the 50 healthiest U.S. cities weighs community indicators that include everything from obesity rates and percentage of smokers to the number of baseball diamonds and tennis courts.
   
“Community indicators and personal health pretty much follow each other,” said Walter Thompson, the chairman of the American College of Sports Medicine's American Fitness Index Advisory Board, which compiled the report.
   
Despite its bone-chilling winters, Minneapolis-St. Paul topped the list for the third year in a row. High obesity and smoking rates placed Oklahoma City at the bottom.
   
Minnesota's Twin Cities understand that at certain times of year they will be buried in snow, and so they have created lots of places to exercise indoors, Thompson said. The report also notes Minneapolis-St. Paul's generous per-capita number of dog parks, golf courses and baseball diamonds.
   
More than 76 percent of Minneapolis-St. Paul residents reported exercising in the past 30 days.
   
Minnesota is sometimes referred to as the land of 10,000 lakes, and the natives appear to use every one of them.
   
“We have a lot of triathlons because we have so many lakes,” said Minneapolis-based fitness expert Chris Freytag. “There is a lake every five miles, so you can't get far from a lake with biking paths, windsurfers, kayaks. Water is a motivator.”
   
The index relied on information from municipalities and federal government data, such as Centers for Disease Control and U.S. Census reports.
   
Washington, D.C., Portland, Oregon; San Francisco and Denver scored well in the fitness stakes, while Memphis, Tennessee; Louisville, Kentucky; San Antonio, Detroit and Oklahoma City were the least healthy.
   
Robust park-related spending helped Portland spring to third place from seventh in 2012 and Denver move to fifth position from ninth.
   
Anne Graves, director of health initiatives and partnerships for the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis, sees her city's 45th place ranking as a challenge and an opportunity.
   
“We use AFI as our guide,” said Ms. Graves, adding that the YMCA has convened a coalition of community partners to focus on AFI points, from increasing the number of farmers' markets and bicycle lanes to encouraging physicians to emphasize the importance of exercise.
   
The California cities of San Francisco, Sacramento and San Jose fell within the top 10 on the list.
   
American Council on Exercise spokeswoman Jessica Matthews said California's beautiful weather, daily farmers' markets and abundance of parkland were only part of the story.
   
“California public schools have pretty high standards for physical education,” said Ms. Matthews, a former physical education teacher living in 14th-ranked San Diego, California. “Great habits are instilled at a young age.”


World Health is expressing
concern over Mideastern virus


The World Health Organization says that since September 2012 there have been 53 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with a new virus called the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome known as MERS-CoV, and 30 of the people infected with the disease have died. All those who have come down with MERS-CoV had a direct or indirect connection to the Middle East, but there is growing concern that the virus could spread quickly and threaten the entire world.

The new Middle East Respiratory Syndrome strain was diagnosed in Saudi Arabia last year. It is a coronavirus, the same viral family that triggered the outbreak of SARS, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, that killed 775 people in 2003. At first, the symptoms can seem like a severe stomach virus accompanied by breathing problems. The illness can lead to pneumonia and kidney failure.

Anthony S. Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said they do not yet know how the virus is transmitted to people.

"We are assuming that they are being exposed inadvertently to an infected animal. The characteristics are that it doesn't spread well at all from person to person, so it doesn't have what's called sustained transmissibility from you to me, from me to my family, etcetera,'' said Fauci.

While the number of cases is relatively low so far, Fauci said there is growing concern the deadly virus could mutate and be spread by direct human contact. If that happens, it could spark a global outbreak, something experts fear. 

"When you look at a typical influenza virus, for example seasonal flu, where you have millions and millions of people infected, the mortality is less than one percent, a fraction of a percent. The mortality for this if you do the math is 50 cases and you have 30 deaths, so you are talking about a 60 percent mortality already," said Fauci.

The virus has been found in Middle East countries and isolated cases have been exported to Europe by visitors. But the largest cluster of infections is in Saudi Arabia, home to the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina, which draw millions of pilgrims a year. The World Health Organization says it is closely monitoring the situation but is not currently recommending any travel or trade restrictions.


Traditional power in decline,
says Venezuela ex-minister


What do Syria's crisis, Europe's economic woes and global warming have in common?

Moises Naim, senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, says the answer is simple.

"All three are events that we need to stop," said Naim. But, "no one has the power to stop them."

Naim, on a discussion show, said globalization and a deeper interdependence have caused the number of problems and challenges that cannot be solved by any one country to soar.

Naim describes this phenomenon in his new book, "The End of Power."  A former trade and industry minister for Venezuela, Naim said from battlefields to boardrooms, "being in charge isn't what it used to be" when it comes to making things happen.

Across the globe, he said, well-established governments and corporations are being upended by micropowers, such as fringe political groups, insurgents or innovative start-up companies.

Naim said historically, powerful individuals or institutions had been able to protect or shield themselves from these rivals or challengers.

"Those barriers are now easier to overwhelm, easier to circumvent or undermine," he said.

As an example, he cited Eastman Kodak, a once-dominate U.S. photographic products company that filed for bankruptcy last year.  He said Kodak had lost ground to online start-ups like Instagram, a photo-sharing and social networking service.

Researchers Diego Comin and Thomas Philippon reached the same, broad, conclusion in their New York University study, "The Rise in Firm-Level Volatility: Causes and Consequences."

"The expected length of leadership of any particular firm has declined dramatically," they said, primarily because of increased competition in product markets.

Naim said increased competition has benefited consumers by giving them more choices and options.

However, he said it also had a downside - a dilution of power, especially in terms of governments.

A lot of groups, or in some cases individuals, now had enough power to block the initiatives of others, but no one had enough power to push through an agenda, Naim said.  He cited Washington gridlock as an example of what he said had become a global trend.

Naim said the power shift is playing out differently in some parts of the world.

In China, he said, a profusion of products and wealth has resulted in a more informed and better connected population.  Naim said the government, which in his view has been stagnant, will have to adjust to address the needs of China’s dramatically transformed population.

In sub-Saharan Africa, Naim said, life for autocrats has become deeply uncomfortable as populations become better connected through social media.

Author Joseph Nye offers a similar world view on government authority in his book, "The Future of Power."

"The problem for all states in the 21st century is that there are more and more things outside the control of even the most powerful states, because of the diffusion of power from states to non-state actors," said Nye.

Naim said that while it may not be possible to stop the erosion of traditional power, there are things that can be done to lessen the negative effects.

In his book, Naim suggests working to restore trust in institutions, which, he said, will result in more effective collaboration.

He also said traditional political parties should work to broaden their appeal and platforms - especially to young voters - so that potential supporters are not swayed by fringe groups.


Bus seat with marijuana
put woman in Mexican jail


Mexican authorities have released a U.S. mother of seven who was being held on drug trafficking charges, in a case that had attracted global headlines and threatened to upset U.S.-México relations.

Yanira Maldonado was greeted by her family and other well-wishers as she walked free last week out of a prison in the Mexican border town of Nogales, where she had been held for nine days.

The Mexican military had jailed her after more than five kilograms of marijuana were found stashed under her seat in a passenger bus headed for the southwestern U.S. state of Arizona.

Charges against her were dropped after a review of security tape footage at the bus station appeared to show her and her husband boarding the vehicle with only blankets, water bottles and her purse.

Maldonado is a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in México. She and her husband Gary said they were visiting México to attend a relative's funeral.

She has repeatedly pleaded her innocence during television interviews from the prison, saying she is a devout Mormon who is not involved in the illegal drug trade.  Media outlets have reported that court records suggest there have been no prior drug charges against her.

Drug traffickers in México have in the past tried to smuggle their goods into the U.S. using passenger buses.

The Maldonado family believes they were framed. They say they were originally told they could bribe the judge with $5,000 in order to release the charges, but the deal fell through.

The Maldonado case had drawn the attention of several Arizona politicians and U.S. officials who had been pushing for her release.